The Last Witch Hunter

My View:  The Last Witch Hunter (2015)  PG-13  An immortal witch hunter named, Kaulder (Vin Diesel), teams with a beautiful female witch (Rose Leslie) to stop the covens of New York City from destroying humanity by unleashing a horrific plague. This is a film where you know what you are getting even before the opening titles run; a film that isn’t bad enough to be fun but a mediocre film that gets old very quickly. The action sequences are horribly staged with shaky camera work and a lot of very quick cuts.  The cuts are so fast I had a hard time knowing what was happening. It’s a movie that thinks it has to explain everything, sometimes two or three times. Vin Diesel is fine as an action hero, but he has trouble with slow moving scenes where he has to handle a lot of dialogue and, unfortunately, there a lot of them. He does have nice chemistry with Leslie, who plays his reluctant sidekick, but she isn’t given much to do in the film, except to scream. Michael Caine is wasted as a priest who helps the witch hunter in his missions, but he spends most of the film in a drug-induced deep sleep.  I almost fell asleep while watching this slow moving “action” film.  My Rating: Cable   The Last Witch Hunter Website

Indiefest:  Rock the Kasbah  (2015)  R  Richie (Bill Murray) is a Rock-N-Roll manager who has seen better times. While taking his last remaining artist on a USO tour in Afghanistan, he finds himself in Kabul and discovers a young Afghan girl (Leem Lubany) whom he mentors while she competes on the Afghanistan version of American Idol.  This is one disappointing film, so much so, that you feel that actors like Bruce Willis and Danny McBride did this movie just for the paycheck. There are a couple of times you can see glimmers of a better film, but those moments are few and far between. More often you are frustrated by the weak and lazy script that seems to put every cliché character that you could think of in the film. My biggest disappointment is with Murray. He comes off not as the charming and impish actor we all adore, but one who is irritating and annoying. Murray tries to put on the charm, but it never clicks, just making those attempts seem tired and lacking any emotion. Murray isn’t helped by a script written by Mitch Glazer and directed by Barry Levinson. They give Lubany, who has a beautiful singing voice, absolutely nothing to do but say a few throwaway lines about being brave. Levinson, who directed such gems as “Avalon,” “Diner” and “Wag the Dog,” is at his worst in this film. The film feels choppy as the transitions from each scene drag, and the few action sequences seem stilted. The film lacks any powerful emotional moment and never gives us anything to cheer for. The last ten minutes of this movie just seem to give up and go for the big clichéd finish because the script paints the story into a corner.   My Rating: Cable   Rock the Kasbah Website

Indiefest:  Time Out of Mind (2014)  PG  George (Richard Gere) has been homeless and on the streets for a long time. He seeks refuge at Bellevue Hospital, a Manhattan intake center for homeless men. He makes friends with a fellow homeless man (Ben Vereen) who convinces George to try and mend his relationship with his daughter.  This film tackles the subject of the homeless by slowing immersing us in their world. The film follows George from a distance, shooting him from afar as we look at George through windows and doorways.  We see a man who has been beaten down by life, his only mission is to survive and find a place to sleep for the night. George is a man who handles the rejection by the public with a quiet grace, never getting into confrontations, even with the people who throw him out of buildings or entrance ways.  It’s a stunning and fascinating performance by Gere, and he is on-screen throughout the entire film. It’s a role that few would tackle, as Gere lets us see a character who is raw and exposed. This is a film that lets us see a person on the street as someone human, not a person that we usually just ignore.  This is a film that will change the way you see and deal with a very difficult subject.   My Rating: Full Price   Time Out of Mind Website

My View:   Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension  (2015)  R  Ryan (Chris J. Murray) and his family have just moved into a new home. Ryan finds a 20-year-old tape that shows two girls being taught supernatural abilities by what appears to be their mother.  Soon, after viewing the tape, strange things start happening in the house, and it seems Ryan’s daughter is being targeted by supernatural forces. The fifth and hopefully last of the “Paranormal Activity” series is the worst of the bunch, going out like a whimper of a person being terrorized by a ghost. While the film was shot in 3-D, it doesn’t look it, as the 3-D effects only show up when the supernatural beings appear. The scares are minimum and are all of the "jump out of the dark" with a loud noise variety. The film uses the  “found footage” genre, but that genre is getting old and has worn out it’s welcome. What started out as a phenomenon has ended as a ho-hum bland film. And please, no one stare into a mirror and say "Bloody Mary" three times. I really don't want to see any more of these films!   My Rating: You Would Have to Pay Me to See It Again     Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension Website

Indiefest:  Experimenter (2015)  PG-13  A famous social psychologist, Stanley Milgram (Peter Sarsgaard), in 1961, conducted a series of behavioral experiments that were extremely controversial. The experiments tested ordinary humans and their willingness to obey authority, even if it meant that someone else might get hurt.  A bit of a warning; this film isn’t for everybody as it “breaks the fourth wall” - the main character, Milgram, speaks directly to the audience while the scene he is in continues in the background. Also, the film uses techniques such as having the characters do a scene in a car that is obviously shot on a soundstage or using a background that is painted on a big canvas, not looking very realistic at all. A couple of times, Milgram is talking about the “elephant in the room,” when there is literally an elephant in the room. The film is an interesting look at the human condition and why we do things when we know they could be wrong or have a bad outcome. Sarsgaard gives an intelligent and dazzling performance as the complex and complicated psychologist. While not a challenging role, I did enjoy Winona Ryder as Milgram’s wife who becomes a partner in Milgram’s experiments. It’s a challenging film to watch, but much like its main character, it’s worth getting to know.   My Rating: Full Price

Forgotten Film:  All the Right Moves  (1983)  R   A high school football player (Tom Cruise) who sees football as a way to get out of his small, steelworker town, clashes with  his head coach (Craig T. Nelson), a man who seems to be on track to get a college coaching job. Cruise gives a flawless performance as the headstrong high schooler who is convinced that he has the talent to play at the next level.  Nelson gives one of his better performances as the hard driving, stubborn coach who rules over his team with an iron fist. What makes this movie is the performance of Lea Thompson, who plays Cruise’s characters girlfriend. Her character isn’t just the usual teenage girlfriend, but Thompson makes her a real person who is just as desperate to get out of the small town but doesn’t see as many opportunities to escape as her football playing boyfriend has.   My Rating: Full Price   All the Right Moves Website

Weird Credits:  From the credits of Experimenter:  Art Swing

Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You:  Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse (2015)  R  I think the title says it all…that and the poster.   Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse

Until Next Time!

Bridge of Spies

My View:  Bridge of Spies (2015)  PG-13  Brooklyn lawyer James B. Donovan (Tom Hanks) works for an insurance company during the height of the Cold War. He is volunteered by his company to be the lawyer of an accused Russian spy.  Donovan finds himself at the center of a “war of nerves” between the United States and the Soviet Union.  This is a big, sprawling Hollywood film that Steven Spielberg is so good at directing, and it opens with an almost silent sequence that perfectly sets up the remainder of the film. This is a role that is tailor-made for Tom Hanks who plays the determined lawyer who seems part every man and part brilliant lawyer. Hanks plays Donovan as a man who, while somewhat easygoing, is committed to do the right thing and is compassionate about his fellow man. Hanks plays his character as a man who can find humor in almost any situation. It’s that sense of humor that helps his character deal with the desperate situations that he gets into in the film. I had a hard time coming up with anyone else who could play this role so well. George Clooney, maybe, but he would have to tone down the smart aleck vibe that Clooney often tends to give out on the screen. Bridge of Spies is the type of big “Hollywood “ film that is so hard to pull off, but Spielberg succeeds. He brings us a tale that is tension filled and thrilling but also filled with small, emotional scenes that make this film so enjoyable to watch. It helps when your leading man is up to the task of a very demanding role of a character that is willing to take on the world.   My Rating: Full Price   Bridge of Spies Website

My View:  Crimson Peak  (2015)  R  Set in England in the late 19th century, Edith (Mia Wasikowska) falls in love and marries Sir Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston). They move to Sir Sharpe’s mansion, a crumbling home that harbors some sinister entities that will threaten Edith’s life. Crimson Peak is not a horror story but a Gothic romance with a mystery built-in. There are some stunning looking ghosts, but they never deliver the scare that you want. The film looks incredibly beautiful and striking; with a set design that creates a mansion that is gloomy and menacing, making it another character in the movie. This movie is all flash and very little substance, with the cast being let down by a script that is highly predictable. I did enjoy Jessica Chastain as Sharpe’s very strange sister, but it doesn’t make up for a script whose ending I figured out almost from the start of the film. There is a rather gruesome death in the first half that may disturb some viewers.     My Rating: Bargain Matinee   Crimson Peak Website

My View:  Steve Jobs  (2015) R   A look at the founder and leader of Apple, Steve Jobs (Michael Fassbender). The film is set backstage at three iconic product launches and gives us a look at the man, the myth and the legend.  This is a scintillating film about a complex, brilliant but flawed man who changed the way we use technology. The film is revealed in three sections and takes place before three separate product launches. The film isn’t about the product launches, but it’s mostly about the relationships that Jobs has with his fellow workers and family. Fassbender is mesmerizing as Jobs, and while he does not look or talk like Jobs, he has still captured the essence of the man. Kate Winslet gives a sure Oscar-nominated performance as Jobs’ Marketing Manager who is the only person who can tell Jobs the truth about how badly or well he is handling his personal relationships. The script, by Aaron Sorkin, is fast moving with witty and dazzling dialogue. The direction by Danny Boyle is perfection with some luminous camera work. It’s a fascinating film that gives us an inside look at the man who changed how we deal with daily life.    My Rating: Full Price    Steve Jobs Website  

Indiefest:  Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead: The Story of the National Lampoon (2015)   R   Documentary about the humor magazine that created a culture through its magazine and movies that changed comedy forever.  National Lampoon was a humor magazine long before it started putting out movies. It was irreverent, sometimes vulgar and always contained shots of topless women in humorous situations. Its covers were legendary, and some of the most brilliant comedy writers got their start at the magazine.  This film is funny and  insightful with excellent interviews  from Lampooners like Chevy Chase and P.J. O’Rourke. There is fascinating footage of people like John Belushi and Gilda Radner who worked on National Lampoon projects, and the stories of the glory days of the magazine will amaze you. I do want to warn you that there many on-screen inappropriate things   My Rating: Full Price   Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead Website

Indiefest:  Beasts of No Nation (2015)  R  Agu (Abrahma Attah) has a good life. He lives in a village with his family and goes to school that is run by his father. It’s a loving family, and while Agu gets into a bit of mischief from time to time, he’s a good kid. All that changes when civil war breaks out. His mother and his baby brother are sent away to escape the war, and then government forces invade the village and kill his father and brother. Agu escapes into the wilderness, eventually being captured by Commandant (Idris Elba) and his band of rebels. Agu is soon indoctrinated into the rebel army, and he is now a soldier in a war that will destroy a lot of lives. This is a powerful movie that is tough to watch at times due to the extreme violence of war and the psychological abuse by Commandant to get Agu and the rest of child warriors to commit to the cause. Idris Elba is superb as the fascinating but brutal Commandant, a man who expects his men to lay down their lives for the cause. Abrahma Attah is amazing in the role of Agu, a child whose life is turned into hell by a war that no one seems to win. Beasts of No Nation is a film that will stay with you for a while, and you will feel that you have spent time in a world that has been turned upside down.   My Rating: Full Price   Beasts of No Nation Website

Family Faire:  Goosebumps (2015) PG   Zac (Dylan Minnette) moves to a small town and meets Hannah (Odeya Rush) and her father, the famous writer R.L. Stine (Jack Black) the creator of the children’s horror series “Goosebumps.”  Zac mistakenly opens one of R.L. Stine’s manuscripts that releases every ghost and ghoul from Stine’s works. Now Zac, Hannah, and her father must team up to try and get the monsters back where they belong. Fans of the book series are going to love this film and parents will enjoy it also. It’s a funny and creative film that tells a new original tale that is an imaginative take on the horror film. I thought Minette had great chemistry with Rush, making their attraction seem real. The monsters are fun (though maybe too scary for the under six crowd), and the story moves quickly once the Stine’s creations are released. Goosebumps was not shot in 3-D, so save the extra bucks. It’s a fun film that while not a great movie, was a blast to watch.    My Take: Bargain Matinee   Goosebumps Website

Forgotten Film:  Matinee (1993)  PG  At the height of the Cold War, exploitation filmmaker, Lawrence Woosley (John Goodman), has brought his latest film, “Mant,” to town. Woolsey’s “Mant” is a grade B-picture about a man who has mutated into a giant ant. To bring in an audience, Woolsey is setting up the theatre with devices to thrill theatre goers and possibly keep them from noticing how bad the film is. Gene (Simon Fenton) is attempting to woo a girl by taking her to the film. This is a fun, funny film about a time when technology was simpler and movies were trying to stand out from TV shows. There are some great laughs, and the film shows just how far and how desperate filmmakers were.    My Rating:  Full Price   Matinee Info

Weird Credits:  From the credits of Crimson Peak: Piano Coach for Jessica Chastain

Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You:  Rock the Kasbah (2015) R  Richie (Bill Murray) is a rock manager who has seen better times. While taking his last remaining artist on a USO tour in Afghanistan, he finds himself in Kabul and discovers a young Afghan girl who he mentors while she competes on the Afghanistan version of American Idol.  Besides Bill Murray, the cast includes Bruce Willis, Kate Hudson, Zooey Deschanel and Danny McBride. Rock the Kasbah Website

Until Next Time!