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Flash Movie Review: No Good Deed
I am generally not as kind of a person as I used to be or even want to be. Those within my circles of friends and family I try to be kind and thoughtful; however, these days strangers are a whole different story. And I have to tell you I hate being that way. Through the years as some of my displays of kindness were met with deceitfulness, those layers of negative experiences started to pull the kindness inside of me down into a setting hardness of mistrust. There were the relationships where kindness was met with covert acts of hurtfulness; helping the high school student who was selling local newspaper subscriptions but my money never made it to the newspaper office and the former co-worker who took my data to pretend it was their own hard work; each thing kept chipping away at me. Look at all the news being reported about internet or phone scams that prey on unsuspecting individuals; it is enough to make one never answer the phone or open a piece of mail again. I know all of these things can lead to a society that is made of closed up and isolated people; it is a scary thought. KINDNESS was met with a night of terror and horror for Terri, played by Taraji P. Henson (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Person of Interest-TV). All it took was to help a stranded driver who had a car accident and needed to make a phone call. Unbeknownst to Terri the gentleman was escaped convict Colin Evans, played by Idris Elba (Pacific Rim, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom). The strongest element in this crime thriller was Taraji and Idris. The rest of the cast that included Leslie Bibb (Iron Man franchise, Law Abiding Citizen) as Meg and Henry Simmons (World’s Greatest Dad, Madea’s Family Reunion) as Terri’s husband, really took a back seat to Idris and Taraji. With their solid acting the two actors had a believable chemistry that kept me interested in the story. Now about that story; the script was kept at such a poor level that the movie kept brushing into hokeyness. It was astounding how many times Taraji’s character Terri, who was a lawyer, kept making poor choices. Even though the story was predictable and filled with cliches, I still was able to be mildly entertained for a portion of the time. It was a shame this movie was not kind to its actors and it would be unkind of me to tell you to go see it at the movie theaters. There were several scenes that had violence and blood in them.
2 stars
Flash Movie Review: The November Man
The time was put in and you felt you paid your dues. There was a sense of success associated with the job that enabled you to feel proud. But when the time came you were done; you did not want to have to put in another day doing the same thing you had been doing for many years. A long time ago I had a part-time job as the manager for a furniture company’s moving crews. Prior to taking the position, the department was constantly under fire from customer complaints about the damage caused by the crews delivering the furniture. My responsibilities were to setup weekly routes for the various crews; manage the loading of the moving vans and reduce damages to a minimum. It was a grueling job since more times than not I had to fill in and be part of a crew. I was constantly amazed by the customers who bought furniture that would not fit into their houses. When the time came to leave that job I was glad and vowed I would never move another piece of furniture again. However, I soon learned never to say never because anytime a friend asked me to help them move something I could not say no. These are some of the things you just do for friends. Similarly former CIA agent Devereaux, played by Pierce Brosnan (Love is All You Need, The Ghost), had the same dilemma when he agreed to come out of retirement to extract a friend from a potentially hostile situation in Russia. Due to the length of time away from the agency, there was a chance Devereaux’s special skills would not be able to serve him well this time. This action thriller played out as a light version of James Bond; without the sophistication, charm and witty dialog. Though there were plenty of explosions and chases, the script was a poor excuse for a crime film. Pierce was convincing in his role which helped fellow cast members Luke Bracey (Monte Carlo, G.I. Joe: Retaliation) as Mason and Olga Kurylenko (Quantum of Solace, Seven Psychopaths) as Alice. Unfortunately the directing was not very good; I found myself becoming bored as the story spiraled into a multitude of cliches and predictability. With the recent releases of these action films starring aging movie stars and their obvious stunt doubles, I did appreciate the fact that Pierce appeared to be doing some of his own stunts; if not, the camera work was much better here because it was convincing to me. It would have been fun to watch Pierce in this type of role since I was always fond of his James Bond movies; however, it could not be found here because this film was easily forgettable.
2 stars
Flash Movie Review: Sin City: A Dame to Kill For
Such a fickle force that makes us breathlessly swoon as we extend our arms into an inviting hug; yet, it can similarly drive us to a dark place to commit a murderous act of passion. It is frightening how much power love can have over us. In yesterday’s review I spoke of love’s ability to move us to a point where we would willingly take the suffering and pain away from the person we love if we could. With today’s movie I am being led to the darker qualities of love. I have met several people who were obsessed by love. For those in a relationship, they needed constant reinforcement from their significant other that they were being loved. If it was not enough they would seek it from outside their relationship. Unfortunately I have dated this type of person and discovered it in an inconvenient place. We had traveled out of the country for a vacation; I was not familiar with the language, but they were fluent. During our stay at the hotel the assistant manager always made a point to come up to us to say hello or ask how we were doing, conversing in English for me and Spanish for them. I did not think much of it at first; however, their conversations seemed to last longer filled with chuckles and smiles. As the week progressed the assistant manager periodically popped up at our door just to check on us and chat. I think you know where this is going. When I returned to the hotel room early from a tour I had taken by myself, I caught them in bed together. Evidently they needed to be loved by more than one person. EMOTIONS of love and hate ran high, driving people to do extreme things in this action thriller. It seemed as if several of Sin City’s citizens with hidden agendas were crossing paths on their way to administering their own form of justice. This sequel to the 2005 movie was able to stand on its own; it had to because I vaguely remembered the first one. The cast included Josh Brolin (Oldboy, Men in Black 3) as Dwight, Eva Green (Casino Royale, Dark Shadows) as Ava and Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler, Angel Heart) as Marv. Using the same stylized graphics as the previous film, the majority of violent scenes were made to look more cartoonish; though, there were a couple of places I had to turn my head away from the screen due to the intense violence. In spite of this I was entertained by watching this crime picture. It was nothing spectacular and I was a bit confused in some spots; but, the story was easy to follow and I enjoyed trying to figure out which actors were playing the unrecognizable characters. I believe a majority of viewers will either love or hate this movie.
2 1/3 stars
Flash Movie Review: God’s Pocket
I feel very fortunate that I grew up in the city, in an established neighborhood. Before I knew our neighbors they already knew me. You see, everyone knew each other from the block. My first playground was essentially the hallway of the apartment building where I was born. I used to crawl up and down the staircases, visiting any neighbor who happened to have their front door open as I came by. Once I was able to go outside to play, I quickly became friends with the other kids who lived on the block. Unbeknownst to us at the time, there were always at least a couple of mothers watching us while we played. We felt we owned the streets and alleys as we would set up forts made of snow in winter and during summer we would use any bushes or leaves as a cover for our secret spy meetings. It constantly baffled us how each of our mothers already knew what we were doing before we would come in to tell them about our day. As they say a mother always knows and the proof can be seen in this dramatic film. GOD’S Pocket was a tough, gritty neighborhood of Philadelphia. After she found out her son Leon, played by Caleb Landry Jones (No Country for Old Men, Antiviral), died at work Jeanie Scarpato, played by Christina Hendricks (Drive, Life as We Know It), was convinced it was not an accident. She wanted her husband Mickey, played by Philip Seymour Hoffman (A Late Quartet, Capote), to find out what really happened to her son. This Sundance Film Festival nominated movie captured the look and feel of a rugged, economically depressed area during the 1960s. There was a general heaviness that weighed on everyone including the viewer. Besides Philip and Christina performing on a high level, I thought John Turturro (Fading Gigilo, Barton Fink) as Arthur “Bird” Capezio and Richard Jenkins (The Cabin in the Woods, The Visitor) as Richard Shellburn stood out in the cast; though everyone did a convincing job of acting. The downfall to this picture was all in the script. The story was filled with cliches, did not offer anything original. There were moments where I wondered if the writers intended the scene to be funny, but it only created a messiness that left me perplexed. What a shame for this to be one of Philip Seymour Hoffman’s final films; the story did no favors for anyone. It boiled down to tough luck in a tough neighborhood. A couple of brief scenes with blood.
2 stars
Flash Movie Review: Deliver Us from Evil
They are talking though they are standing alone. Without evidence of an earpiece or some other type of cellular device, you search for any visual clue that can help you evaluate the person’s mental state. The hair is disheveled as if a gust of wind tried to steal several strands and the clothes appear to be well-worn, nothing out of the ordinary. Just their slight swaying side to side as if they were pouring their body weight from one leg to the other makes you pause a second before walking past them. I cannot tell you how many times this very thing has happened to me. It is quite ironic that I am one of the more skeptical ones in my circle of friends and yet, I am the one that attracts people who appear to be living in a reality that was somewhat askew. Walking down the street with several friends around me, I will be the one that gets signaled out by a person asking off the wall questions, expecting me to answer in kind. A majority of these encounters tend to happen to me on public transportation. In the past I have dismissed these individuals as addicts or chemically imbalanced; but after seeing this horror movie, I have to wonder now if there was something else going on for those strangers. INSPIRED by a true story, this film festival nominee would not be something I would classify 100% as a horror picture. It was more of a crime, thriller, horror film. Based on the book by New York police officer Sarchie, played by Eric Bana (Star Trek, Munich), this story followed Sarchie and his partner Butler, played by Joel McHale (Ted, Blended), as they were investigating a series of unexplainable acts taking place around the city. I really liked the acting from Eric and especially Joel, who was more familiar to me playing comedic roles. Edgar Ramirez (Wrath of the Titans, Vantage Point) was just as good with his character Mendoza. There were several scenes that worked well with tension and fear. Unfortunately it was not sustained throughout the movie, some parts were just flat. The main reason this film did not work as well as it could was due to the story, there was absolutely nothing new compared to any of the previous movies that involved individuals appearing to be possessed. It was a missed opportunity because there were inklings of this movie becoming a good scary flick. On the other hand I now have something else to think about when a stranger approaches me and that scares me more. There were several scenes that had blood and violence in them.
2 stars
Flash Movie Review: The Internet’s Own Boy
Survival of the fittest has always been the mantra regarding the animal kingdom. It used to be for mankind but I am not so sure of it these days. Our gene pool has taken so many hits from various sources. In fact, I recently saw a television program where a scientist was talking about the overuse of antibiotics in our society. He said as a species, mankind has had good bacteria inside of them that dates back eons. With the constant ingestion of antibiotics we are killing off these defense fighters and they will not be passed down to future generations. I find it scary. As it stands now our gene pool produces people that fall on the spectrum from one extreme to the other. I remember there was a kid in elementary school who was different from the rest of us. The questions he would ask in class went over all of our heads and would even stump the teacher. There were students who were book smart, were good at memorizing and testing; but he was so different from us, talking about things that we did not even hear the adults around us ever talk about. I know a 3 year old boy, who when told he had 5 more minutes of playtime before he had to go to sleep, asked what was 5 minutes in a lifetime; it just makes you wonder doesn’t it? This biographical documentary written and directed by Brian Knappenberger (Into the Body, Life After War) was about a boy from one extreme of the human scale. Aaron Swartz was pivotal in the development of basic internet protocol, what we refer to as RSS. He also was the co-founder of Reddit. At a very early age Aaron was already far advanced from any of the other kids around him. This Sundance Film Festival nominee traced Aaron’s life from childhood prodigy to internet activist. I had never heard of Aaron Swartz before; only recently becoming aware of him due to seeing his name in the news. The layout of scenes in this film provided me a clear and easy picture of Aaron’s life. I found the home footage of him as a child quite fascinating as you could see he was someone special. The interviews of family members, friends and peers painted an amazing picture of Aaron’s life; it made watching this movie a highly interesting and fascinating experience. After watching this film is when I really started thinking about the gene pool we all share. What I assumed to be a random process in our development I now question when I see someone like Aaron.
3 1/2 stars
Flash Movie Review: The Rover
Stuff just becomes stuff after time has passed. Things that seemed important now only take up space in your home. I can still remember the 1st piece of advice I received when I was learning how to drive, “A car can always be replaced, but not a human being.” So when I look around my house I have a different perspective on what objects are important to me. If there was some kind of impending doom about to happen to my place, I would save my photo albums and postcard collection. The photographs span decades of living, starting before I was born. I took over the job of photographing everyone when I received my 1st camera when I was 13 years old. All the postcards have been mailed to me by friends and family, from places all over the world. With the photos and postcards I feel like I have a little piece of the person close to me; capturing a moment of their time that will always be a memory. I know I sound like a greeting card, but these items provide endless pleasure with their retro feeling. I never want to lose them for they are dear to me. Just as important to Eric, played by Guy Pearce (Lawless, The King’s Speech), in this crime drama was his automobile. When his car was hijacked right in front of him, Eric would have to track down the thieves through the challenges of the Australian Outback. There was no guarantee he would succeed let alone survive. With the story done by actor Joel Edgerton (Warrior, The Great Gatsby), I found the camera work and music score captivating. Maybe because the landscape looked so bleak and different to me, the sense of doom seemed to be more prominent. Guy was so intense in the role that I became increasingly anxious as the story progressed. The big surprise for me was seeing Robert Pattinson (Twilight franchise, Remember Me) in a role where I totally forgot he was Edward the vampire and believed him as the injured Rey. He was as convincing as Guy was determined in getting his car back and they were excellent together. The downside of this picture was the lack of explanation in several scenes. I felt some of the drama was just being repeated but with different characters. Eric’s actions led me to assume he was a certain type of individual but it did not jive with part of the story. There is a chance some people will not like the ending to this film festival nominated movie. However, you cannot fault someone for fighting to hold on to those things that were important to them. There were several scenes with violence and blood.
2 2/3 stars
Flash Movie Review: 22 Jump Street
They may be called a bestie, a homeboy, a BFF or bestbud; but they all refer to a best friend. This is the person who has the ability to step into your shadow and know what is going inside your head before you utter a single word. The two of you share a certain rhythm that permeates into your physical and emotional state, allowing both of you to share in similar reactions. Once a bond has formed between the two of you, it grows deeper and fuller throughout life like the roots of a mighty tree. Except for a conscious parting of the ways, there is nothing that can interfere with the tightness you each feel towards the other. Now this does not imply that the relationship will never evolve because it will. When one of the pair meets someone who they want to hang out with or date, it cannot be helped that the dynamics will change between both of you. Depending on the situation there may be hurt feelings or a sense of abandonment. In this action comedy Officer Schmidt, played by Jonah Hill (The Wolf of Wall Street, Moneyball), was feeling left out when his partner Jenko, played by Channing Tatum (The Vow, White House Down), started hanging out with football quarterback Zook, played by Wyatt Russell (This is 40, Cowboys & Aliens). In this sequel Schmidt and Jenko had to go undercover as college students to try and find the drug dealer who was selling a lethal drug on campus. This crime film does not hide the fact that the story is essentially the same as the previous movie, where the partners were pretending to be high school students. In fact the characters joke about it in a tongue and cheek type of way. Ice Cube (Ride Along, Friday) who reprised his role as Captain Dickson had more scenes in this film, a couple were quite funny. Everything that made you laugh in the first movie was incorporated into this sequel. I enjoyed the stunts, gags and dialog for the most part; it was obvious Channing and Jonah were both having a good time. The issue I had with this version had to do with the jokes; the writers let some of them drag on too long. The first time may be funny but to come back to the same themes over and over got old for me. I wished they would have expanded the story more than they did; but I understood they did not want to tamper with a winning formula. However, I have to tell you I thought the ending credits were more creative than parts of the movie. There was an extra scene at the end of the credits.
2 1/2 stars
Flash Movie Review: Oculus
They say the eyes are the windows to the soul but a mirror reflects what is in the mind. When one looks at themselves in a mirror they may not be seeing an accurate image. One person can only see all the derogatory names they were called when they were younger. Another individual may see the most beautiful person they have ever seen. I have had a love/hate relationship with mirrors that has mostly been hate. I have arranged my classes where the participants can see themselves in the mirrors. It makes sense that people should see what they are doing in class. The added benefit is I do not have to see myself because I know the person in that mirror has a warped perception of themself. There was a summer during my college years where I was greeted in the mirror by someone who had the confidence of Tony Manero from Saturday Night Fever. It did not last long before the image was replaced with a man, who used to carry 85 extra pounds on their body splattered with bruises. I know when I look into a mirror these days I rarely see any feel good attributes. There are days where the mirror tries to be kind and others where it is gloomy; however, I am grateful I have never seen anything sinister like I saw in the mirror in this horror film. Karen Gillan (We’ll Take Manhattan-TV movie, Not Another Happy Ending) played Kaylie Russell who wanted to prove what happened to her and her brother Tim, played by Brenton Thwaites (Home and Away, Charge Over You), had to be something supernatural. I feel I always have to preface my review of horror movies by saying I am not a big fan of them. If this film is any indication I may no longer need to state it. Without gratuitous bloodshed or gross mutilations, I found this movie to be tensely exciting. There was a continuous thread of dread throughout as the story reeled between the adult and childhood versions of the brother and sister. Katee Sackhoff (Riddick, Battlestar Galactica-TV) and Rory Cochrane (Argo, Dazed and Confused) were wonderful as the siblings’ parents Marie and Alan Russell. At one point I felt I was witnessing a psychotic episode, the next a hallucinatory one; all of it made for a mind bending experience where I was fidgeting in my seat with anticipation. I will tell you there were several scenes that made me squeamish and there was blood shown; but on the strength of the script, I know if I had seen myself in a mirror afterwards I would have seen a satisfied moviegoer.
3 stars
Flash Movie Review: Brick Mansions
It seems to me we are still an appearance motivated society. With the recent controversies concerning digitally altered photographs and racial comments in the media, one has to wonder where this obsession on a person’s looks came into our thought process. Did you know even in the most innocent of places, people will react to someone else’s looks? I saw it happen in one of my yoga classes. A large man wearing a bandanna tied around the top of his head walked into my classroom. His body bore a couple of tattoos and he had a small metal chain around his neck. The members became quiet as they tried to discreetly keep their eyes on him as he moved to a corner of the room. He did not seem to notice he was the center of everyone’s attention. It did cross my mind for a moment that maybe he was in the wrong room; however, he walked over to the pile of yoga mats and grabbed one before settling down into his spot. The windup to this story was he not only was a yoga enthusiast, he would become one of my biggest advocates. I always found it amusing when we were in the locker room and he was saying something complimentary about the class; the men within earshot would turn and take a look at him. Here was an imposing looking man who you could easily see riding off on a big ole motorcycle, dressed in leather, talking about yoga. It just goes to show you there is always something more behind the surface and this action drama would be the proof. Paul Walker (Fast & Furious franchise, Hours) played Detroit undercover policeman Damien Collier. When an advanced weapon was stolen and transported to the worst part of town, Damien would have to rely on convicted cop killer Lino, played by David Belle (The Family, District B13), to get him into the area and disarm the device. This crime picture was a remake of the French film District B13 that starred the same David Belle who was reprising his role here. I appreciated that Paul Walker’s character was not made to be an equal to Lino’s fighting skills because his were based on the Parkour training discipline. The story was attention getting, but I enjoyed the original movie more. The editing and directing were too choppy for me in this one; it felt as if I was jumping from scene to scene without getting any time to see the actors develop their characters. On the surface this looked like an exciting film but in reality there was nothing special going on here.
2 stars
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