Prisoners

My View: Prisoners (2013) R  When Keller Dover’s (Hugh Jackman) young daughter and her friend go missing, the families of the two girls start to panic.  A main suspect is released due to lack of evidence, and that’s when Keller decides to take matters into his own hands.  How far will he go to find his daughter?  The film is highlighted by two brilliant performances by Jackman, as the father who will do anything to find his daughter, and Jake Gyllenhaal, a detective who has always solved his cases.  The problem with this film is its length (almost 2hours and thirty minutes), and its pacing.  It just takes forever for anything in this film to develop.  The film does have some nice twists and turns to the plot that keep you guessing, but I would have liked to have gotten to the end quite a bit sooner. My Rating:  Bargain Matinee   Prisoners Website

Indiefest:  Thanks for Sharing (2013) R   Adam (Mark Ruffalo), Neil (Josh Gad) and Mike (Tim Robbins) come from different backgrounds and seem like they wouldn’t have anything in common, except they are all addicts in a support group… a support group for sex addiction.  Ruffalo is outstanding as the troubled Adam, a man who is tempted at every corner by provocative ads but is determined to stay clean.  Josh Gad is becoming one of my favorite actors, and he does a great job playing Neil, a doctor who hasn’t fully realized that if he doesn’t change his ways, his life could be ruined.  I also like Pink (acting under her given name of Alecia Moore), a sex addict who becomes friends with Josh Gad’s character.  The film tackles a tough subject with humor but too many times goes into melodrama, which make the characters, especially Adam’s new girlfriend (played by Gwyneth Paltrow), seem one-dimensional.    My Rating:  Bargain Matinee  Thanks for Sharing Website

Family Faire:  The Wizard of Oz  (1939) PG  Dorothy (Judy Garland), her dog Toto, The Scarecrow (Ray Bolger), The Cowardly Lion (Bert Lahr), and The Tin Man (Jack Haley) are off to see The Wizard (Frank Morgan).  The Wicked Witch of the West (Margaret Hamilton) is out to stop Dorothy from finding a way home.  This timeless classic is worth seeing in the theatre because the restoration brings out the vibrant colors in the film, and it is so much fun to experience the film with an audience, especially kids who haven’t seen it before.  At the screening that I attended, kids were laughing and having the best time watching this beautiful film.  The 3-D aspect doesn’t add too much, but seeing the film on the big screen is a great experience.  My Rating:  I Would Pay to See it Again  The Wizard of Oz Website

Indiefest:  The Short Game  (2013) PG  The World Championship of Junior Golf brings 1500 young golfers from 54 different countries to compete in a tourney that will crown the next possible “Tiger Woods.”  This entertaining film follows 8 young golfers, ages 7 and 8, from around the world, in their quest to win the championship.  Some of the kids are adorable, including little Sky Sudberry, who is a tiny little girl with a big heart, and Zamokuhle Nxasanna, a roly-poly kid from South Africa, who is just there to make friends, play as well as he can and have fun.  There are a couple of kids that you sort of root against, including Alan Kournikova, the brother of tennis star Anna, who is the epitome of the rich, stuck up kid who thinks he’s God’s gift to golf (and he maybe, since he is that good), and Amari “Tigress” Avery, who is coddled by her dad and has temper tantrums on the course when she hits a bad shot.  This is a must for any golfer, though throughout the film,  you will say to yourself “Man, why can’t I hit the ball like that?”  My Rating: Full Price   The Short Game Website

Forgotten Film:  The Last Waltz  (1978)  PG   A documentary, directed by Martin Scorsese, about the last concert that the legendary group The Band performed at in 1976 at San Francisco’s Winterland.  The film contains interviews with the band members about their 16 years of being on the road.  Singers such as Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young and Emmylou Harris appear on stage to sing in celebration of one of the ground breaking groups of the 60’s/70’s. This is one of the best concert films of all time.   My Rating:  Full Price  The Last Waltz Info

In Case You Missed It (A Film Just Released on DVD / Blue-ray):  World War Z  (2013)  PG-13  Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt) just might be the world’s only hope to stop the zombie apocalypse that is at the brink of destroying all mankind.  Pitt is a former UN investigator who served in some of the world’s worst war-torn areas.  He is given the job to find out where the Zombie outbreak came from and determine if he can find some sort of cure. I really didn’t like this film as I felt the film had dull moments, the Zombie attacks were mostly shown in long shots, and the ending was ill-conceived and a little forced.  My Rating:  Bargain Matinee   World War Z Website

Weird Credits:  From the credits of Prisoners (2013):  prop body and snakes

Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You:  12 Years a Slave  (2013) R  This film about a free black man (Ehiwetel Ejiofor), who is abducted and sold into slavery, was the talk of the Toronto International Film Festival.  The film is being talked about as a sure thing for a nomination for Best Picture.

Until Next Time!

Iron Man 3

My View:  Iron Man 3  (2013 )  PG-13  Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) is obsessed with building more of his Iron Man suits, however they are causing him sleepless nights and are straining the relationship with his girlfriend, Pepper (Gwyneth Paltrow). A new villain, named Mandarin (Ben Kingsley), is suddenly attacking the U.S. and is hell-bent on destroying everything Tony holds dear, including Pepper. Iron Man has done it before, but can he come back from the brink of destruction once more?  I enjoyed this film more than Iron Man 2, as I felt the action sequences were well done and exciting. The chemistry of Downey and Paltrow from the earlier films is still there and working.  What I didn’t like about the film is that all through the film, Tony Stark is making quips, and that constant need to utter a  punch line after punch line became old after a while. But, overall this is an entertaining film.  Ben Kingsley does his usual brilliance with the bad guy Mandarin, and it is worth seeing in 3-D for all the action sequences. Be sure and stay through all the credits as there is a bonus scene at the end of the film.    My Rating:  Full Price   Iron Man 3 Website

The 50 (A Movie from My Best/Worst Films of All Time):

#6 Worst Film

Santa Claus Conquers the Martians  (1964)  The children of Mars are upset because Santa Claus doesn’t visit them at Christmas time.  So the Martians hatch a plan to kidnap Santa and bring Christmas to Mars.  The film is filled with horrible costumes, acting that gets on your nerves and incredibly poor special effects. Legendary bad actress Pia Zadora (The Lonely Lady) makes her big screen debut as an earth child who is kidnapped to Mars along with Santa. She sings the show stopping number, Hooray For Santy Claus, which, much like the rest of this film, will haunt you for years.    Santa Claus Conquers the Martians Info

Forgotten Film:  Jacob’s Ladder  (1990):   R  Part horror film, part psychological drama that stars Tim Robbins as Jacob Singer, a man, who at the start of the film is an American soldier in Vietnam under attack.  The next thing we know, Jacob wakes up in the New York Subway, dressed as a mailman, trying to figure out how he got there and what has happened to him for the last 4 years. The film is full of mystery and suspense, with director Adrian Lyne doing a masterful job taking us back and forth between the present and the past where Jacob relives the traumatic experiences of his life.  Robbins is brilliant as the tormented Jacob, a man who only wants to find out the truth, but may never get it.    My Rating:  Full Price   Jacob's Ladder Info

In Case You Missed It (A Film Just Released on DVD):  Gangster Squad (2013)  R  I didn’t like this film about an elite squad of  1950’s Los Angeles policemen who try to stop a mob boss (Sean Penn) from taking over the city.  I felt the film had an almost cartoon-like feel to it, as if they were remaking the 1990 Warren Beatty film, Dick Tracy.   My Rating:  Bargain Matinee    Gangster Squad Website

In Memory of Ed Wood (A Movie I’ve Only Seen in Trailers But Just Looks Like a Bad Idea):  After Earth (2013)  PG-13  I only have to tell you one thing about this film, and you can make up your mind on whether to see it or not:  It’s directed by M. Night Shyamalan, whose last three films were The Last Airbender (2010), The Happening (2008) and Lady in the Water (2006).    After Earth Website

Weird Credits:  From the credits of Iron Man 3:  Costumer to Mr. Cheadle

Coming Soon to a Theater Near You:  Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)  PG-13  I have always been more a fan of the Star Trek series than Star Wars.  I loved the first J.J. Abrams directed Star Trek (2009) film, which, I thought, was a fresh take on the series.  Can’t wait to see what kind of bad guy Benedict Cumberbatch will play in this one.    Star Trek Into Darkness Website

Until Next Time!