JMcNaughton, Author at tmc.io 🍿 watch movies with friends 47

Home Again Movie Review

September 8, 2017 (updated September 7, 2017) Published by JMcNaughton

If you like the movies of Nancy Meyers, then you enjoyed ones like “It’s Complicated”, “The Intern” and “Something’s Gotta Give”. Along comes her daughter Hallie Meyers-Shyer, and she is taking her family heritage to heart. She is the creator of “Home Again”, which a similar type of romantic comedy with a strong central female character, surrounded by a group of unusual characters. However, this outing feels less like a new model and more like a retread.

Alice Kinney (Witherspoon) had grown up in Los Angeles, the daughter of a famous movie director and his much younger starlet wife. Alice later married a music producer named Austen (Michael Sheen) and lived in New York, later having two young girls. But the marriage is on the rocks, and Alice moves the two girls back to LA. Her mother Lillian (Candice Bergen) wants Alice to start a new chapter in her life. During her fortieth birthday party with friends, she happens to meet up with three much younger guys.

The three guys are film-makers in LA to turn a small award-winning short into a full-sized movie. They just need the right connections, the right meetings, and oh yeah – a new place to live. They have almost no money and are getting desperate. The young director is Harry (Pico Alexander) and he meets Alice in the bar. Harry’s brother George (Jon Rudnitsky) is the writer and their friend Teddy (Nat Wolff) is an aspiring actor. Harry meets Alice, but at the end of the night, the party has moved to Alice’s place.

The next morning, her mom Lillian meets the guys and finds out that they need some short-term housing. Alice agrees to let them stay in the cozy little guest house on the property. They find the arrangement quite suitable. Especially Harry, because he and Alice start up a hot little romance. Alice has some built-in babysitting and help with the chores, while she attempts to get her business up and started. She is going to be an interior designer, and she has a new client.

Alice meets her client Zoey (Lake Bell) and finds that she is bit more than she can handle. Zoey thinks that a consultant in her house is always avaialble for odd jobs, like unloading furniture and giving her child a bath. Life for Alice keeps getting even more complicated when Austen decides to come to visit at the old house. He meets the trio of much younger men and sees he has some competition. Alice and Austen are together, but the problems in the marriage have not gone away. Will Alice and Austen reconcile, and will the three upcoming film-makers be rewarded by Hollywood?

This movie does its best to keep you involved in Alice’s rich white girl struggles. But the basic plot thread of making the best of an awkward ‘blended’ family does not ring true. The scenes are set in picture book beautiful places, and they are filled with attractive people. However there is not a real situation faced by honest everyday folks for miles. It is all a wonderland fantasy of how some people might want to live.

Reese Witherspoon is a very talented actress. Playing Alice takes about a fraction of her talent and charisma. Not that Witherspoon is bad, but there is not a whole lot room to develop a character. Michael Sheen is very reliable, and he plays Austen mostly in his rugged facial expressions. Candice Bergen still has great timing for dialog and comedy.

The three guys playing the film-makers are just OK. Wolff, Jon Rudnitsky, Pico Alexander leave a handsome impression. But sometimes it is hard to know which is which, and who has what name. The characters are underdeveloped. Even Pico Alexander, who is playing Alice’s love interest, is not on the same level as Reese Witherspoon. He is in the same game, but playing in a different stadium.

If this is your cup of chamomile tea, than “Home Again’ will be a delightful little movie for you. Not everyone has that type of interest in estrogen-powered comedies. So your mileage may vary. Reese Witherspoon does have quite a potential for playing a role and making a character really stand out. Too bad that in this movie, she only can be “Legally Bland”.

Crown Heights Movie Review

September 8, 2017 (updated September 5, 2017) Published by JMcNaughton

“Crown Heights” is a story of a man unjustly sent to prison for a crime that he did not commit. But because it was in 1980 and it was a period of high criminal activity in New York City, this man had no chance. Even worse, he was a black immigrant from Jamaica. His life was changed when some dishonest cops pressured some young teenagers to testify against him. But he had one thing that kept him going, a good friend on the outside who would stop at nothing to see him set free.

Colin Warner (Keith Stanfield) was originally from Trinidad in Jamaica. But his family moved to the Crown Heights area in New York. When he was 18, he was picked up by the police for a murder that happened a few blocks away. Colin’s friend named Carl King (Nnamdi Asomugha) attempted to get him released. But the police had gotten some local kids to falsely testify that Colin was involved in a drive-by shooting. There was another guy who was picked up for being the actual gunman, but the police claimed that Colin drove the car in the shooting. Even when in truth there was no drive-by and there was no car.

Colin was railroaded and he thought that being innocent would save him. It did not. He was found guilty and was sentenced to 15 years to life. He had no idea that the legal system would not help a young black man when the cops wanted to close a case at any price. The price for Colin was his freedom. Carl King, along with Colin’s family and local friends did everything to come to his aid. They tried to publicize his case, but to no avail. They raised money for a legal defense to attempt an appeal to Colin’s conviction. But the lawyer they hired did not care about the case and it went nowhere.

Colin’s months in prison turned into years. His frustration grew to the point that he attacked a guard. He then spent two years in isolation. He just about gave up hope, but a local woman from his old neighborhood remembered about Colin. Antoinette (Natalie Paul) started to visit him in prison, and they eventually became sweethearts. Years later, they were married, even as Colin was still behind bars. His friend Carl would never give up on his quest to free Colin.

Carl’s devotion to the goal took a toll on him and his family. He lost his job and his wife separated from him and took their children. Still Carl sees that he could do some good. He became a process server to learn the legal system and to meet more lawyers. He soon meets an honest lawyer named William Robedee (Bill Camp). Carl make his plea to Bruce and asks him to review the case. Bruce is fascinated that such a miscarriage of justice can occur and that nobody has appealed correctly.

Meanwhile, Colin has been rejected for parole and has become resigned that he will be behind bars for the rest of his life. He is aware that Carl has found some lawyer who will review his case, but that does not give him much hope. There is not a day that Colin wakes up in the morning with his eyes closed and he does not say “Please don’t let it be a cell”.

Based on true story, this is a tale of a broken legal system that delivers justice as an after thought. Especially when the person charged is a young black man in New York City. Even with such a depressing topic, this movie shows that the underdog can always have the last word in court. The fact is that Colin Warner was convicted based on false evidence, and that he was finally released, 21 years later. But by then, Colin had spent more years in prison than he had spent as a free man.

Keith Stanfield and Nnamdi Asomugha do tremendous work as Colin and Carl, respectively. There is a worn-down acceptance that Colin has in his face over time. And Carl also faces adversity, but in a different way. He needs to teach himself the rawest points of a flawed legal system, so that he can use any pressure that he can to free Colin.

This movie is co-presented with Amazon Studios. So there is a lot going for it in the movie marketplace. In the Phoenix area, this movie will be playing at these theaters:

Harkins Gateway Pavilions
Harkins Christown
Harkins Arizona Mills
AMC Westgate

Terminator 2: Judgment Day 3D Movie Review

August 25, 2017 (updated August 24, 2017) Published by JMcNaughton

Should I assume that I will not give away anything new in the plot or reveal any spoilers? After all, this movie was originally released in 1991. Just about everyone has seen it by now. There will be some people in the audience who may not have been born back then, but they have probably seen this movie on DVD. So, will a reboot to make a 3-D version of “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” do justice to the original? I mean, this was one of the greatest Sci-Fi action movies ever! Putting a new depth into the action SHOULD just make it better…

“The Terminator” (1984) brought out Arnold Schwarzenegger as the killing machine android type T-800. He was a relentless assassin sent from the future to kill Sarah Conner (Linda Hamilton). But that movie was so popular that “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” was created to carry on the story. In the future, Skynet dominates the world, and schemes to destroy the person(s) who could end the future artificial intelligence, before it becomes self-aware. The plan is to send a new, better quality Terminator back to the past to kill John Connor (Edward Furlong).

The upgraded Terminator is a type T-1000 (Robert Patrick). It arrives in 1995 to find and eliminate John. However the future Resistance (led by an older John Connor) sends back a type T-800 (Schwarzenegger). But this android is reprogrammed to find and protect John. The T-800 will face off against the T-1000, and will keep John safe. Sarah and John go with the T-800 to Cyberdyne Systems, which is the place where the future androids are being developed. The chief engineer is Miles Dyson (Joe Norton), who does not believe that the future will be filled with Terminators that he helped to create.

But by the sacrifice of Dyson, Cyberdyne Systems is destroyed. That puts an end to the development of a neural net processor that would form the basis of the future SkyNet. But the chase is not yet over. The T-1000 is still hot on the trail of Sarah, John and the reconfigured T-800. There is still more action yet to happen. Before you can say “Hasta la vista, Baby!”, the three of them are found by the T-1000 and more mayhem ensues. They get trapped in an old steel mill, and the T-800 seems to be out for the count. But he prevails and the T-1000 is defeated. All traces of the future androids are destroyed, so nobody can reverse engineer the future tech. So, there can be no more sequels, right? Don’t bet on it!

“Terminator 2: Judgment Day” was always considered a rare sequel that lived up to, and improved on the original. James Cameron had quite a few restraints in 1984 that were gone in 1991. Movie making technology had gotten so much better that “T2” now seems better than the first one. The carryover of the two main stars, Schwarzenegger & Hamilton, also gave it a big boost. Even a minor character Dr. Peter Silberman (played by Earl Boen) gave a continuity to both movies. Computer Graphic Imagery (CGI) also was way ahead by 1991. However, the movie used CGI in some scenes but did not go overboard.

All the acting in right on point. Arnold Schwarzenegger makes an about-face from the original movie – where he was the ultimate bad guy. Here he works on the side of angels to protect young John Connor. Linda Hamilton makes Sarah into one tough chick, and she does not back down. Robert Patrick plays the creepy T-1000 with a strange detachment from humanity. Joe Norton plays the doomed engineer Dyson, and he is perfect in the critical role. If there is any quibble, it could be with Edward Furlong, but he does just enough to get by…

The biggest role is in the movie is the action and special effects. The story mixes quite well with the original movie, and the new aspects relate with most of the first story. Making the T-800 out to be a savior rather than the original mechanical death machine is a smart move. Making the T-1000 into a major upgrade of the earlier T-800 also works out great. The story sizzles along with a lot of energy, especially when the T-800 (Schwarzenegger) is taking on the T-1000 (Patrick). There are chases and fights and a few slower periods, but all are mixed together beautifully.

But why this re-release? Because now there are 3-D effects added to the original movie. The addition of 3-D is pretty minimal, but there are some scenes where it does stand out and you can notice extra depth. So while it does not substantially improve the viewing experience, it does not distract.

Does it matter why “T2” is again on the big screen? Not really, and as long as it can be viewed in the regular theater…

I’ll Be Back!

Good Time Movie Review

August 25, 2017 (updated August 24, 2017) Published by JMcNaughton

An independently produced film can be very uneven, compared to a major studio release. But if the small film has a lot of heart and some great acting, then it could be ready for success. Ben & Josh Safdie are brothers who have come up with a movie equivalent of “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride” with one called ‘Good Time’. It takes a main character who has a dubious moral code and follows his as he embarks on a crosstown adventure in New York City. With a minor budget, they have made a major effort to produce a fine movie.

Connie Nikas (Robert Pattinson) is a smooth-talking con-man loner. His mentally-challenged brother Nick Nikas (Ben Safdie) depends on Connie to protect him. He has a girlfriend Corey (Jennifer Jason Leigh) who sponges off her grandmother. Low on cash, Connie schemes to hold up a bank with Nick. But all hell breaks loose and Nick is arrested. Connie swears that he will get his brother out tonight, because his brother will not be able to survive. He gets the cash from the robbery, still stained with the explosive ink dye, and takes it to Bail Bond place. Connie is still short on the bail amount for Nick.

However, Nick is not going for a bail hearing tonight. He has been injured in a fight and is at the hospital. Connie goes to where they have taken Nick. A police guard is at the door, but Connie sneaks past and gets the guy handcuffed to the hospital bed. He somehow gets away with the injured man he puts in the wheelchair. Connie sweet-talks an older lady to let him and the injured guy a place to stay. He meets the older lady’s grand-daughter named Crystal (Taliah Webster). The injured sleeping guy wakes up and Connie finds out it not who he thought it was.

Instead, it is Ray (Buddy Duress) who is an ex-con who just got out of jail the day before. He has a wild story to tell about how he got into the hospital. Ray tells a fantastic tale of his first day of freedom, and how he got mixed up with drinking and drugs. He remembers that a load of money and lot of drugs got stashed at a local amusement park. Connie takes a car and goes with Ray and Crystal. Connie is always talking up a great story with elaborate lies. He and Ray go to search the empty amusement park while Crystal stays in the car and waits. Connie and Ray search for the money and drugs, but a security guard named Dash (Barkhad Abdi) finds them. They overpower Dash and Connie dresses up as the guard. Crystal gets caught by the police and they also take Dash, who is now unable to prove who he is.

Connie and Ray leave and go to Dash’s nice apartment. They still have no money, but they found the drugs – so Connie plans of selling them to get the money for Nick’s bail. Ray has a friend who can help with that, but they get suspicious of Connie. But has there been enough laws broken and innocent people hurt for one night? Or does Connie think that his web of deception is strong enough to get his brother back and make with square with his girl? Connie is such a sociopath that he thinks whatever he does will work. So far this single evening, he has not been proven wrong….

Robert Pattinson does an incredible job with this role, his commitment to the role is outstanding. He lives the part playing Connie, with all of his flaws and unrealistic dreams. Connie has a deep emotional bond with his brother Nick, and he will stop at nothing to try and make their lives better. He tells people want they want to hear, with no intention of following through. He even dyes his hair after the robbery when he sees his photo on the evening news. He is dangerous and vicious and he creates a wave of destruction in his path.

The other actors are quite good, even with limited experience. Ben Safdie plays Nick, but he is also the co-director. Buddy Duress plays Ray, and he plays a convincing down-on-his-luck man with a face full of (make-up) injuries. Taliah Webster plays Crystal, and she holds her own against some more seasoned actors. Jennifer Jason Leigh has a little more than a cameo role, as does Barkhad Abdi (he is remembered from the movie ‘Captain Phillips’).

The low-budget does not stop the Safdie bothers from telling an engaging, yet meandering, story. With the pulsating background music that sounds like an all-night rave, this movie has a very wild and almost out-of-control feeling. The craziness of Robert Pattinson in this role gets a person thinking – whatever will come next? You are always kept guessing and wondering, what is the next bad choice will Connie make? And what type of major lie will he tell to get it to happen? What results will occur that could harm even more people?

“Good Time” is a very unusual film, but you can see that there was a lot of thought put into it. The way that it starts like a spinning top, spinning fast in a tight little circle. And then slowly going to wobble just a bit, and then a little bit more… Soon the whole thing could just topple over, but it is fascinating to see what happens next…

Menashe Movie Review

August 18, 2017 (updated August 8, 2017) Published by JMcNaughton

‘Menashe’ is a most unusual movie. The entire movie is set in Brooklyn’s ultra-Orthodox Hasidic Jewish section of the city. The main character is Menashe, a down-on-his-luck Hasidic Jew. Everyone with whom he interacts speaks in Yiddish, with a few minor exceptions. Nearly all of the characters are Hasidic Jews, and they dress and display all of the mannerisms as such. The movie is not a documentary, but it has the feel of a true life story being documented on film.

Menashe (Menashe Lustig) is a middle-aged man attempting to make his way in life. But since the death of his wife a year ago, he has had some difficulties. First, his young son Rieven (Ruben Niborski) is not allowed to live with him, without the presence of a wife in the house. The local Rabbi (Meyer Schwartz) has determined that a lack of a wife is not good for Menashe and would not be good for raising Rieven. So it was determined that the son would go and live with Uncle Itzak (Yoel Weisshaus). His house has the proper environment for a young boy to be raised.

Menashe is not ready to remarry, but that seems to be the only way that he can ever get his boy back to live with him. Uncle Itzak is very stern with Rieven, but he has a household that is keep kosher by a hard-working wife. Itsak is fairly wealthy, and he looks down on his brother-in-law Menashe. Once Menashe remarries, then the Rabbi might reconsider his decision.

Menashe works at the small kosher neighborhood store. His boss is the owner, and he thinks Menashe is more trouble then he is worth. The trouble is that Menashe often proves him correct. Like the time he goes to pick up a big order of gefilte fish in the store van, and Mehashe manages to turn a corner and dump most of the boxes out into the street. Plus all the times that he gets into work late, and forgets to mop the floors, well – just say that Menashe is not the most prized employee.

The Rabbi decides that a week of Menashe taking care of his son Rieven would be okay. It will be until the one-year anniversy of the death of his wife. If Menashe can show that he is making good progress at work and taking care of Rieven, then the Rabbi will reconsider his final decision. He still wants Menashe to find a new wife, so his household wll be complete. After all, when Menashe wants to hold the memorial dinner at his little apartment, and cook the kugel for ceremony, what could go wrong? As you might suspect, everything could go wrong…

This is not a documentary movie. However the director has made these in the past, and he brings a ‘documentary’ style to this movie. The story about Menashe is played by Menashe Lustig, and his life story is the actual basis of the movie. So there is that aspect…

The acting is plain and pedestrian, since none are professional actors. All of the visual shots are either close-up faces framed in the screen view, or long telescopic shots from a distance. There is a little bit of music for a soundtrack, and it does have a Jewish melodic flavor to it. The story is nothing more than a string of small slices of Menashe’s life, showing how much of a doofus that he can be.

There is not a lot to recommend in this movie, except that the story is told in Yiddish. If you are Jewish and want to brush up on your Yiddish skills, then have at it… Even with the English subtitles, there is not a lot going on.

The Hitman’s Bodyguard Movie Review

August 18, 2017 (updated August 17, 2017) Published by JMcNaughton

Sure, Ryan Reynolds can play Deadpool. But can he play Deadpan? As in, a straight man to an out-of-control Samuel L. Jackson? Yes, yes he can, and the results are hilarious. “The Hitman’s Bodyguard” takes a ton of common movie clichés and pummels them into submission with violent comedy timing and hard R-rated language that could make a sailor blush. No new ground is being broken here, but the interaction between the two stars makes for a fun, if silly, joy ride.

Michael Bryce (Ryan Reynolds) is in charge of a triple-A rated ‘special protection’ company, who makes it point to keep his clients safe from bad guys and hitmen. Hitmen such as Darius Kincaid (Samuel L. Jackson) who has tangled with Bryce at least 28 times in the past. Bryce keeps his clients protected, until he doesn’t, and a murder of Bryce’s client puts him into the doghouse. He loses his top rating and becomes a low-level bodyguard. Bryce blamed his ex-girlfriend for blabbing out the name and location Bryce’s 29th client, the one who was killed. Amelia Roussel (Élodie Yung) is an Interpol agent and the ex-girlfriend who comes back two years later to ask Bryce for a favor.

The hitman Kincaid has been captured, and Interpol wants him to testify at the World Court in The Hauge. There is an Eastern-European exiled dictator named Dukhovich (Gary Oldman) on trial for genocide. Kincaid will testify against the murderous fiend, but only if the Dutch release from prison his wife and one true love – Sonia (Salma Hayek). Kincaid is taken by Agent Roussel and other Interpol agents to get him The Hague. The convoy is ambushed by Dukhovich’s henchmen. They had been given the Kincaid’s position by Agent Roussel’s boss, Director Foucher (Joaquim de Almeida). Foucher is double-crossing Interpol by working with Dukhovich.

Roussel needs Bryce’s help to deliver Kincaid to the World Court to testify. Kincaid has attempted to kill Bryce’s past clients at least 28 times. So there is plenty of bad blood between the two men. But a job is a job, and Roussel makes a promise to get back Byrce’s triple-A rating. So there is a journey to be made across England and then into Amsterdam, all the while being pursued by Dukhovich’s henchmen. This will result in R-rated bickering, violent mayhem, and cross-county male bonding. Bryce is a button-down, by-the-book kind of guy – but with Kincaid he is at wit’s end. Kincaid will shoot first and ask questions later, and takes life for all that he can.

Kincaid is willing to be in jail if he can free his beloved and street tough Sonia. She and Kincaid where made for each other. Kincaid asks Bryce about why he broke up with Agent Roussel, because he knows how much she means to him. Advice for the lovelorn from a Hitman, why not? There are car, boat, and motorcycle chases down the streets and canals. The climax brings Bryce and Kincaid together to face off against Dukhovich and Director Foucher, with explosive results. Sonia could be freed from jail and Agent Roussel might get back with Bryce. So will it be a happy ending for all concerned?

Ryan Reynolds is the dashing professional service provider Michael Bryce who has been turned into a low-life bottom-dwelling bodyguard. He wants to be back on top, but his life keeps getting worse. The interplay between Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson is wonderful to behold. Reynolds sad-sack face stays at a mild grimace whenever Jackson goes on off on one of his many tirades. Jackson is an R-rated class clown and he can wield the mother-f**ker phrase in the same way a brain surgeon can use a scalpel. His over-the-top antics are contrasted to Reynolds methodical ways for laughs. The two of them mesh in these roles in a way that makes it fun to watch.

All the other actors are well suited for each role. Gary Oldman seems a little over-qualified for his role. Salma Hayek is a major hoot as Sonia, who can drop enough f-bombs to peel the paint off the jail cell wall. Élodie Yung and Joaquim de Almeida also good. The stunt work and fight scenes are well-paced, and the canal chase is all crazy all the time. It involves a bunch of car, boat, and motorcycle chases down the narrow streets and even tinier canals in Amsterdam. Again, nothing that is brand new, but it is done really with a lot of spirit.

This movie will not resolve and world issues, but it will give you a taste of some R-rated frolics. Until the next Deadpool, and the next time Samuel L. Jackson ‘walks the path of the righteous man’, this one will do. Hey it even gets Jackson singing an end title song, which he also wrote. What a bad Master-Flicker…

Annabelle: Creation Movie Review

August 11, 2017 (updated August 9, 2017) Published by JMcNaughton

First in 2013 came ‘The Conjuring’, which later brought ‘The Conjuring 2’ and a movie called ‘Annabelle’, which was a spooky possessed doll first seen in ‘The Conjuring’. Now this movie ‘Annabelle: Creation’ goes way back to determine the reason this doll is so evil. It is basically an excuse to create a non-stop scare machine that runs in turbo mode. And it does that very well.

Samuel Mullins (Anthony LaPaglia) and Esther Mullins (Miranda Otto) have a little girl nicknamed ‘Bee’. Samuel is a dollmaker by trade and he is the one who created the ‘Annabelle’ doll. But the daughter dies tragically at a young age. Their house is empty for twelve years, until they open it up for new guests. The people moving in are orphans and a young nun named Sister Charlotte (Stephanie Sigman). One of the orphans is named Janice (Talitha Bateman) who suffers from polio and is crippled in one leg. Another orphan is Linda (Lulu Wilson), who is close friends with Janice.

All the orphans are told to stay out of a locked room, which was the dead daughter’s bedroom. Of course, this being a horror movie, Janice goes in there and (JUMP SCARE!) finds a secret locked room containing the ‘Annabelle’ doll. Soon things go very haywire (LOUD SCREECHING STRING NOISES!) and soon Janice is fighting off a demon (DOOR SLAM!). Linda wants to protect her friend but (QUICK CUT TO GLOWING EYES IN THE DARK!) the monster comes after her.

Mr. Mullins thinks he can control the evil (SOUND OF BONES CRACKING!) but that does not end well. Mrs. Mullins, who was attacked many years ago, by the creature, is set up for another attack (BLOODY IMAGES!). Also, that does not end well. Sister Charlotte does her best to protect the children (FLASH OF A SHARP KNIFE!) and ends up knocked out on the floor. Janice may have become a victim of the ‘Annabelle’ horror (JUMP SCARE!). Will the orphans and Sister Charlotte be able to get to safety and (SCARY SCARECROW ALERT!) contain the horrible monster?

This movie follows the basic formula of what a horror movie should be. It does follow the guidelines very well. All the dark backgrounds with a glimmer of movement are there. All the rising string crescendos that get louder and louder as the screen slowly zooms into a scary image are there. All the normal, standard common things are there, but they are done really well. This movie does not break any new ground, but the results are spooky and effective.

The acting is perfectly fine, with most of the good shots saved for reacting. Reacting to sounds, to quick sudden events, to all the weird paranormal things that are going on around them. As it always goes in these movies, everyone does the least logical thing to keep the scary stuff going on. Not supposed to go into that room? Sure, get in there – why not? Not supposed to open a locked door? Hey, here’s the key, go and get that possessed evil doll – that’s ok…

Yup, there is the normal amount of (JUMP SCARE!) and (BLOODY IMAGES!) that you would expect in a horror movie. “Annabelle: Creation” does not disappoint.

Wind River Movie Review

August 11, 2017 (updated August 8, 2017) Published by JMcNaughton

Taylor Sheridan has written the screenplays for some terrific movies, including ‘Sicario’ and ‘Hell or High Water’. Now you can add ‘Wind River’ to his growing list of accomplishments. On top of that, he also directed this movie. Sheridan is becoming a major player in Hollywood. ‘Sicario’ was set in the American Southwest and Northern Mexico. ‘Hell or High Water’ was set in West Texas. Now ‘Wind River’ is set in the Pacific Mountain West, and it is brutal look at the land and people who live there.

Cory Lambert (Jeremy Renner) works for U.S. government in Wyoming for Fish and Wildlife department. He is in charge of ‘predator control’, meaning he tracks and kills wolves, mountain lions and the like. One day he is out tracking and he finds the body of a young Indian woman. She is from the Wind River reservation. His ex-wife is also from the ‘rez’, so he goes and checks out what they say. He meets the Tribal Police Chief Ben (Graham Greene) and meets with the father of the young woman. Martin (Gil Birmingham) is the father and he is heart-broken.

They all meet up with a young and inexperienced FBI agent, Jane Banner (Elizabeth Olsen). she was sent to help solve the murder. The young woman was raped and beaten, then while bleeding still she ran six miles barefoot in the snow. However, the local coroner is not helping. Even with the amount of violence heaped on her, he will not mark the cause of death as ‘murder’. The FBI will not send any more resources in to help out. Jane must ask Cory for his help, even though he is not in law enforcement.

Cory knows how to track, so that is how he helps. They go out and discover another body. So there is plenty of bad stuff going on. They just need to see what is behind it all. They go with Chief Ben to visit the young woman’s druggie brother and a couple of loser friends. That ends in a violent confrontation. But they learn that the woman had a white boyfriend named Matt (Jon Bernthal). Matt works on a security team at a nearby oil rig setup, about six miles from where Cory found the body.

Cory and Jane are beginning to think that some things are starting to come together, as a cloud of suspicion falls over Matt. So they plan for a trip out the oil rig location to find out what the people stationed there know about Matt or the woman. If they can place Matt somewhere near the place where Cory found her body, then they might be able to solve the case. But could there be more twists and turns in store for the investigators?

Jeremy Renner plays Cory in a very understated manner. He is not flashy, but focused – his character also has a tragic past with a dead daughter. He agrees to assist Jane because she is out of her depth when she is out on the reservation and in the wilderness. He portrays a dedicated man in touch with deep inner sense of justice, and he is not afraid to be a tracker/hunter for all types of predators.

Elizabeth Olsen does a wonderful job as Jane. Because her character is struggling in an overwhelming situation, she uses the talents of the people around her; Cory, Chief Ben and others. She is not afraid to confront wrongdoers, and she can take charge when she needs to. She has a palpable sense of outrage over the young woman’s rape and murder. The local customs and traits of the reservation are alien to her, and she out of her range when in the wilds of Wyoming.

The rest of the cast fits in perfectly with all the roles helping move the story along. The pacing is slower at the beginning, and then there are some areas where the danger and suspense kicks in and keeps you tense. It is an intriguing story that marries the reservation world with the larger one surrounding it. It keeps you wanting to learn more of Cory’s background and what makes him tick. You want to see a murder solved, even if the local coroner is not able to declare it a ‘murder’.

Justice must be served, and it is served in the chilly snow of the Rocky Mountain peaks. Taylor Sheridan has created a new genre with this movie. I would call it ‘Snow Noir’.

Detroit Movie Review

August 4, 2017 (updated August 3, 2017) Published by JMcNaughton

You can’t spell Detroit without R I O T…

Kathryn Bigelow wants to take you back fifty years in “Detroit” to see one of the most vicious race riots in America. The fuse had been lit long before that and was smoldering. But an incident where the Detroit police closed down an unlicensed after-hours bar set off the spark. This movie takes a close-up view of the events in that time. It shows a brutal and unfiltered look at the Algiers Motel incident and the aftermath. This was an awful display of racist police brutality and indifference by people who might have stopped it.

After three days of rioting in the streets of Detroit, destruction is widespread. But a new Motown vocal group is about to hit the stage at the Fox Theatre. The police close it down and send everyone home, since more rioting is coming closer. But not before Larry (Algee Smith) takes a shot a singing to the empty seats. Larry and his friend Fred (Jacob Latimore) head over to the Algiers Motel, hoping that it will be free from disruption. They meet two white girls there at the motel, Julie (Hannah Murray) and Karen (Kaitlyn Dever). They have met some other black guys named Carl (Jason Mitchell) and Greene (Anthony Mackie).

After hanging out in various rooms, Carl takes a starter pistol and says he can shake up the white police and National Guard. He aims the harmless pistol out the window and shoots a few times. The National Guard thinks they are under attack from a sniper at the Algiers Motel. The Guard bands up with the Detroit police and Michigan state troopers to surround the building. They are insisting that they will not leave until a sniper or a weapon has been found. The police patrol is led by Officer Krauss (Will Poulter) who is partnered with Officer Flynn (Ben O’Toole) and rookie Officer Demens (Jack Reynor).

A black security guard named Melvin Dismukes (John Boyega) also follows the other officers inside, thinking that he can defuse the tension. But Krauss is taking no prisoners and all three officers round up all people inside the hotel annex building. Carl tries to run and is shot dead. Every other person there, all the black men and the two white women, get hours of harassment and beatings. Krauss is the bigoted leader and Flynn and Demens follow his lead.

The Michigan state police see the Detroit police abusing people and leave the area. There are some National Guardsmen also inside, attempting to keep order. But when they see that Krauss is out of control, they also leave. Before the end of the night, there are three people dead in the hotel annex, most of the rest are bloodied and beaten. There is never any gun found…

There is a section of follow-up in the last part of the movie. Kraus, Flynn and Demens are charged with abusive behavior and murder. For some reason, Melvin Dismukes is also charged, even though he tried to keep things calm. At the trial, police union Attorney Auerbach (John Krasinski) puts many of the victims under suspicion for their past crimes. An all-white jury found nobody was guilty of anything.

Kathryn Bigelow has (again) made a very moving and profound movie. She and screenwriter Mark Boal also teamed up to make “Zero Dark Thirty”. This time they tackle the historical events of a terrible tragedy. The Detroit riots cause 43 deaths in total, including a few police and firemen. But the big focus here in the inept and racist ways that a few people in authority could destroy the lives of some folks at the Algiers Motel.

The movie is shot with a documentary style, with camera movement tracking closely behind various groups. The tension and the panic and stress are perfectly portrayed. Each situation where a bad decision is made turns into several other worse choices. The entire event seems to spin wildly out of control, with deadly consequences.

Every actor is well-cast and does a superb job. John Boyega and Will Poulter both stand out in the role. Boyega is the small-time security guard in over his head. Poulter is an over-the-top sadistic racist cop who would rather shoot all of them dead. Algee Smith is also convincing as man who wants to be free to sing to the world, yet he is trapped in the worst place ever.

Race relations back fifty years ago could bubble up into hatred and violence. But it has done so again since then; in Los Angeles (1992), then again in Ferguson (2014) and in Baltimore (2015). The movie “Detroit” can never solve the problems of racism and deep internal feelings of rage. Perhaps watching this will give people a chance to reflect, and then talk about it, instead of acting on it.

Kidnap Movie Review

August 4, 2017 (updated August 3, 2017) Published by JMcNaughton

Halle Berry has won an Oscar for her role in “Monster’s Ball” back in 2001. But then she got a Razzy award for her terrible acting in “Catwoman” just a few years later. So, her work is really all over the place. Now she is starring in “Kidnap” and the results are a bit dubious. Berry may hope for another Oscar nod someday, but she will not get one for this car wreck of a movie. Literally, a good half of the run time is her driving like a maniac causing and being in many car wrecks…

Karla (Halle Berry) has a six-year-old son named Frankie (Sage Correa). She is in a custody battle with her ex, and her son is the best thing in her life. She and Frankie go to the park, and she takes a phone call from her lawyer. Her phone battery is almost dead, and she gets emotional when she hears that the ex wants sole custody. But when the phone dies, she turns around and see Frankie is missing. She asks several people about her boy, and nobody knows where he went. Then she sees him across the parking lot being dragged off by a large lady who is putting him in a battered car. She gets to the lot and the car takes off, so she gets her minivan in hot pursuit.

At this early point in the movie, the ridiculous factor kicks into high gear. Two kidnappers plus Frankie are going to be chased by Karla and her minivan for about half the movie. They cause numerous accidents and possibly a couple of fatalities. Even when a motorcycle cop catches up to Karla’s bad driving, the bad guys dispatch him with no problem. There is an unbelievable showdown between Karla and the male kidnapper named Terry (Lew Temple). His accomplice, the large lady named Margo (Chris McGinn) will ride with Karla to take her to the destination. This does not end well for Margo, who winds up on the side of the road.

Karla keeps after the car to try and get Frankie back. But there are more accidents and hit-and-runs, then Terry hot-wires a new getaway car. But Karla continues to chase them even when she runs out of gas. By the way, the movie ran out of gas much earlier than she did. Karla somehow finds a house where Frankie is being held, and by that time, Terry is out of the picture and Margo is back at the house. So, there must be a final showdown with Karla and Margo. Karla has caused countless accidents, injuries and more than a few fatalities, but she must prevail and be declared a hero – damn it!

Halle Berry plays a brain-dead character here, so that does not help her at all. Karla will literally stop at nothing, driving her minivan into all kinds of traffic violations. She has no depth and no clever ideas about how to combat the kidnappers. She seems to use a ‘spidey-sense’ to know where the bad guys go, because she never uses any logic or serious thinking. Karla just never gives up, but never makes any smart choices either. Halle plays her as determined, but dumb. It is amazing how much damage is done in the wake of Karla’s pursuit.

There is no other acting as such in the movie, just a few characters up on the screen playing the worst stereotypes ever. There is little in the way of plot, other than making Karla into a ‘Mad Max in a Minivan’. The editing and shot selection are rough and choppy. It is difficult to get a sense of place or direction when the scenes are cut together so awkwardly. There are several somewhat suspenseful scenes near the end, but these seem to come from a different movie. The final wrap-up is pretty bad, declaring Karla a hero, when she was responsible for several deaths and untold property damage.

The hashtag line for this movie is “#DontMessWithMom”. I would suggest a better one is “#DontMessWithLogic” or “#DontMessWithPlot”.

Author: JMcNaughton