Insidious: The Last Key

My View:  Insidious: The Last Key  (2017)  PG-13  Parapsychologist Dr. Elise Rainier (Lin Shaye) is used to battling the paranormal bad guys. This time it’s personal; they are taking over her childhood home.  As this series progresses (this is the fourth one), the filmmaking becomes sloppier. The dialogue in this film is horribly written with lines that seem to be created by a ten-year-old. The scary parts of the film are your ordinary jump-out-of-the-dark variety. I did enjoy a rather interesting twist to the story but feel the ending was rushed and didn’t give me much satisfaction. The tension never builds, and I never sensed that Dr. Rainier (the hero of the story) was ever in any real danger (a problem for horror films). Let down by a weak script and even weaker plot, this series should probably be put to bed or at least hidden in a corner with the ghosts.  My Rating: Cable   Insidious: The Last Key Website

My View:  Hostiles  (2017)  R  In 1892, legendary Army Captain and Indian Fighter, Capt. Blocker (Christian Bale), reluctantly agrees to escort a dying Cheyenne Chief (Wes Studi) back to his native lands so that the Chief can die in peace.  I enjoyed this western (a genre that I love), especially the performance of Christian Bale, who plays the rough and tumble Captain. Writer/Director Scott Cooper wrote this film with Bale in mind, and you can tell because it plays to Bale’s strengths as an actor who uses silence and small gestures to communicate what he is thinking and feeling. Wes Studi gives a moving and intense performance of the Cheyenne Chief who wants to go home to die. I also enjoyed the performance of  Rosamund Pike who plays a widow that the Captain agrees to transport to the next fort. The action sequences are plentiful and realistic, making the scenes very powerful. The message of the film is that you might not know your enemy as you think you do, as there are always two sides to every battle.    My Rating:  Full Price   Hostiles Info

In Case You Missed It (Movies just released on DVD/BluRay): Battle of the Sexes  (2017)  PG-13  This film is loosely based on the 1973 tennis match that all America watched between Bobby Riggs (Steve Carell), an aging huckster who used to be a great tennis star, versus Billie Jean King (Emma Stone), the best woman tennis player of all time. This is two films in one; the story of how the most watched tennis match happened, and the slow realization by Billy Jean King that she is a lesbian. I enjoyed this film because I am old enough to remember the match, and the look and feel of the early 70s is perfectly captured. The film does a superlative job of mixing in actual footage from the match, including showing Howard Cosell on-screen with Natalie Morales, who plays tennis player Rosie Casals. Steve Carell is brilliant as the bombastic Bobby Riggs, who was a man who lived and loved to gamble. In contrast to Carell’s over-the-top Riggs (warranted because that’s how Bobby Riggs acted), Emma Stone gives a quiet but convincing performance of a woman who dared to take on the world to get women’s tennis the prize money and notoriety it deserved. The film feels long because it spends so much time on King’s awakening to her true feelings. There are too many scenes of her exchanging glances with the hairdresser (Andrea Riseborough) with whom she eventually falls in love. Overall, buoyed by the spectacular cast, Battle of the Sexes is an exciting look at a time when a tennis player changed her sport through her toughness and determination.    My Rating:  Full Price   Battle of the Sexes Website

In Memory of Ed Wood (A Movie I've Only Seen in Trailers but Just Looks Like a Bad Idea):  Fifty Shades Freed  (2018)  R  The third installment of the Fifty Shades of Grey series. I have somehow managed to avoid the first two films…I think I will keep this streak alive.   Fifty Shades Freed Website

Forgotten Film:  A Slipping-Down Life  (1999)  R  Evie (Lili Taylor) is a lonely young woman living in a small town. One evening, she hears a small-time rock star, Drumstring Casey (Guy Pearce), interviewed on the radio promoting a local gig. She goes to the gig and instantly becomes obsessed with the singer, and it changes her life forever. Lili Taylor gives a breathtaking performance as Evie, who restarts her life with one shocking act (I won’t tell you what it is, but it is brutal to watch). The film feels real, helped by a supporting cast including Tom Bower, John Hawkes, and Veronica Cartwright. It will be a long time before you forget Evie.    My Rating:  Full Price   A Slipping-Down Life Info

Weird Credits:  From the credits of Hostiles:  Virtual Instrument Designer

Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You: Proud Mary  (2018)   Mary (Taraji P. Henson) is a hit woman for hire whose life is turned around when she meets a young boy during a hit gone wrong.  Taraji P. Henson shooting guns and taking names, sign me up!    Proud Mary Website

Until Next Time!

Dolphin Tale 2

My View: Dolphin Tale 2 (2014) PG  Winter the dolphin and the rest of the gang are back at the Clearwater Marine Hospital. Now it appears that Winter has become depressed and is in need of a companion. Will the rescued dolphin, survive, and will this be the partner that Winter needs? It’s hard to strike lightning twice, and sequels usually don’t .  I thought the first Dolphin Tale was an interesting and moving family film that worked because it focused on the human element. This film doesn’t work because it forgets about that element; instead of focusing on the human storyline, it focuses on the animals. The only part I found interesting was at the end when the actual animals are rescued and rehabbed by the Marine Hospital.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Dolphin Tale 2 Website

My View: No Good Deed (2014) PG-13 Terri (Taraji P. Henson) is a mom, home, alone, with her two young kids. A dangerous escaped prisoner (Idris Elba), claiming car trouble, shows up at Terri’s door. Terri offers to let the man in to use the phone and soon she learns that no good deed goes unpunished.  I enjoyed this film that has a few twists and turns to the plot along the way. The strength of this film is the two leads as Henson and Elba are on-screen together for most of the film.  I especially enjoyed the character development of Henson’s character, who goes from a milk toast soccer mom to someone who can stand up for herself. While not a great film, this is an enjoyable thriller with two outstanding actors.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee  No Good Deed Website

Indiefest: Love is Strange (2014)  R  Ben (John Lithgow), and George (Alfred Molina) have been a couple for thirty-nine years and decide that the time is right to get married. When word reaches the archdiocese, George loses his Catholic school teaching job and, now, without an income, the couple cannot afford their apartment. Each of them move into separate homes to stay with friends or families. Will the marriage survive this separation?  This is a moving film about how quickly our good fortune can change at a moment’s notice. Lithgow and Molina make us believe they have been a couple for almost forty years. Lithgow gives an understated performance that perfectly blends with Molina’s portrayal of the more positive and high-strung character. This is a film that shows the power of faith, and family can overcome almost any obstacle.  My Rating: Full Price  Love is Strange

Indiefest: The Drop (2014) R Bob (Tom Hardy) works at a mob-controlled bar, where money is funneled to local gangsters. Bob finds himself at the center of a robbery gone bad and now must use every resource of his neighborhood to get out of this mess. I think Tom Hardy is one of our finest actors, but even his presence can’t make this film be more than just an ordinary mobster movie. It’s sad that this is the James Gandolfini’s last film appearance, and he is not given enough to make his part memorable. I did enjoy the interaction between Hardy and Noomi Rapace, who plays his love interest. The storyline is simple with a script that doesn’t live up to its actors. It’s not a bad film, but it’s not the complex, exciting film that you wanted for this cast.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee The Drop Website

Indiefest: The Man on her Mind (2014) Nellie (Amy McAllister) is a young woman having a secret affair with Jack, a super cool lawyer. The only problem is that Jack is a figment of Nellie’s imagination based on a man, Leonard (Samuel James), whom she went on a blind date with a few months ago. Leonard also has an imaginary lover, based on Nellie. Now the two meet once again in real life. Will they choose reality or keep their perfect imaginary lovers? This film is based on a very successful West End stage play. The problem is it still looks and sounds like a stage play. The acting is overly dramatic, the dialogue is unnatural and too rapid, and the placements of the camera make you feel like you are sitting in row five, center, watching the story acted out in that West End Theatre. The concept was original, but the execution lacked any imagination. My Rating: Cable  The Man on Her Mind Info

Forgotten Film: Bird (1988) R Clint Eastwood directs this bio-pic about the legendary jazz saxophone musician, Charlie Parker.  Forest Whitaker is masterful as the talented but troubled Parker. Eastwood perfectly blends the drama of the story with some of the best jazz music to ever grace the screen. Diane Venora plays Parker’s wife, Chen, who heart is broken trying to save her husband from drugs and his demons.  My Rating: Full Price  Bird Info

Weird Credits: From the credits of Love is Strange: Paperwork PA

Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You: The Boxtrolls (2014)  PG A young orphaned boy is raised by underground trolls who collect trash. The boy must mount his courage and try to save his friends from an exterminator. This stop-motion animated film is from the same people who gave us the 2009 animated film Coraline.   The Boxtrolls Website 

Until Next Time!