MOVIE REVIEW: THE 355

 

CIA agent Mason "Mace" Brown joins forces with a rival German agent, a cutting-edge computer specialist and a Colombian psychologist when a top-secret weapon falls into the hands of a group of mercenaries. Together, the four women embark on a breakneck mission to save the world while staying one step ahead of a mysterious figure who's tracking their every move.

Director: Simon Kinberg

Cast: Jessica Chastain, Penélope Cruz, Fan Bingbing, Diane Kruger, Lupita Nyong'o, Édgar Ramírez, Sebastian Stan

Release Date: January 7, 2022 

Action, Thriller

Rated PG-13 for sequences of strong violence, brief strong language, and suggestive material.

Runtime: 2h 4m

Review:

The 355 is stacked with star power that makes its generic spy thriller worlds more watchable and enjoyable than it deserves to be.  Simon Kinberg's film has a generic quality about it that makes it almost indistinguishable from troves of similar films.  Exotic locales and large action set pieces aren't terribly memorable but they're entertaining as mindless junk food. Jessica Chastain leads the cast ably as a believable action star but it's hardly just her show.  The film is an impressive ensemble piece with Lupita Nyong'o, Diane Kruger, Penélope Cruz and Fan Bingbing all getting ample screen time to shine.  Their chemistry together is ultimately what makes the whole thing work in spite of the scripts hacky shortcomings.  They are believable as a group of ass kicking spies with smaller moments fleshing out their characters.  Its a testament to their assembled talents that this works as well as it does with such a generic story and cliched MacGuffin and villain, the film gives Sebastian Stan woefully little to do.  The 355 offers up the kind of mindless popcorn fun which offers up female empowerment without ever beating you over the head with it.

B-

Cindy Prascik’s reviews of The Host / G.I. Joe: Retaliation

Dearest Blog, on Good Friday I set out for the cinema, hoping religious observances coupled with a warm spring day would give me the place to myself.

Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailers.

Since we didn't get The Place Beyond the Pines, my leadoff batter on Friday was The Host.

Alien beings inhabit human bodies and take over the Earth, leaving only small pockets of human resistance.

The Host is a profoundly bad film. It's based on a novel by Stephanie Meyer, of Twilight fame, who writes at about a fifth-grade level. I never assumed this'd land among the alltime greats, but I hoped by this point filmmakers were pumping enough cash into her garbage to make it halfway tolerable. That hope was misplaced.

The premise of The Host is fine, if nothing new, but the execution is awful. The dialogue is painfully awkward, particularly exchanges between the lead girl and the alien that occupies her body. Poor writing doesn't help the young cast shine, but the actors have to shoulder some of the blame for their uninspired performances. Every turn is predictable, and, at a bloated two hours and five minutes, this disaster is easily 125...er...30 minutes longer than it should have been.

The Host runs 125 minutes and is rated PG13 for "some sensuality and violence." The whole thing plays like a bad (but overfunded!) film school project, and if I hated it less than Twilight, that's only because I don't love aliens like I love vampires. Of a possible nine Weasleys, The Host gets two.

Next on my agenda was G.I. Joe: Retaliation, admittedly one of my most-anticipated movies of the year. Go ahead, laugh!
Framed and branded as traitors, the G.I. Joes must save the world from destruction while restoring their good name.

Dear Blog, let me admit to you that I'm not well-versed in Joe Lore, and I did myself no favors by failing to re-watch the last G.I. Joe film before I saw this one. I spent a lot of time wondering, "Now what's this guy's deal again?" but that didn't dampen my enthusiasm for the movie one teensy bit.

Dwayne Johnson may never win an Academy Award, but he's certainly one of the more engaging leading men making movies today. After a more subtle turn in Snitch, G.I. Joe sees him back in full ass-kicking mode. The enjoyable supporting cast includes Channing Tatum, Jonathan Pryce, Ray Park, Byung-hun Lee, Adrianne Palicki, Joseph Mazello, and two folks who make me giddy whenever they turn up: Ray Stevenson and Walton Goggins. I found them a very likable group, with nice chemistry.

I did not see this in 3D, but I have no doubt the mountain scenes alone would be absolutely worth the upcharge and 3D-glasses headache.

As you'd expect, G.I. Joe: Retaliation is heavy on big action and light on pretty much everything else. It could fairly be compared to last summer's Battleship, but, unfortunately, G.I. Joe lacks that surprise bit of heart and sincerity that made Battleship more than it had to be.

Still, it's good, dumb fun, and no doubt will be counted among the summer's monster hits, even though we've barely made it to spring.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation clocks in at a fast-paced 110 minutes and is rated PG13 for "intense sequences of combat violence and martial arts action throughout, and for brief sensuality and language." I loved it every bit as much as I expected to. Of a possible nine Weasleys, G.I. Joe: Retaliation earns seven.

So, dearest Blog, that's about all the news that's fit to print for this lazy Sunday. Since I had my cinema fun on Friday, I guess that makes tomorrow closet-cleaning day. Ugh.

Until next time.......




*shameless fangirling*

MOVIE REVIEWS: UNKNOWN

IN THEATERS

UNKNOWN


A man (Liam Neeson) wakes up from a coma while on a business trip to Europe only to find that some other man has taken his identity and stepped into his life. Diane Kruger and January Jones co-star. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi

Director: Jaume Collet-Serra

Cast: Liam Neeson, Diane Kruger, January Jones, Aidan Quinn, Bruno Ganz

Release Date: Feb 18, 2011

Rated PG-13 for some intense sequences of violence and action, and brief sexual content

Genres: Drama, Suspense/Thriller

Review:

Unknown is a capable and engaging thriller that major fault is simply being overly derivate throughout. Jaume Collet-Serra gives his film a glossy sheen and directs the action and suspense with appropriate vigor even if the extent of an artist side extends to having the camera turn askew when his main character questions his situation. Truthfully, you could watch sections of this film and Neeson’s 2008 spy film Taken and never know the difference. Neeson brings the same gravel voiced gravitas he brought to his last pulp hit but with a twinge of confusion and desperation. He’s still incredibly magnetic and believable even in some of the more ridiculous sequences presented here. Diane Kruger is adequate even if her fluctuating Bosnian accent is sometime more intriguing than her character. January Jones has perfected the art of the blank stare to the point were she should consider trade marking it. Bruno Ganz has a fun supporting role which he seems to enjoy as much as the audience. Aidan Quinn and Frank Langella show up momentarily purely for nefarious reason and disappear just as quickly. The third act has a slight twist which is bit of let down because it can’t even be called derivative anymore as it’s closer to plagiarism of another recent spy franchise. Still, if you can get past how everything reminds you of something else you’ll be moderately entertained, mainly by Mr. Neeson’s bravado.

C

Movie Reviews: INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

Saturday, August 22, 2009
Movie Reviews: INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
IN THEATERS

INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

“Inglourious Basterds” begins in German-occupied France where Shosanna Dreyfus(Mélanie Laurent) witnesses the execution of her family at the hand of Nazi Colonel Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz). Shosanna narrowly escapes and flees to Paris, where she forges a new identity as the owner and operator of a cinema. Elsewhere in Europe, Lieutenant Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) organizes a group of Jewish soldiers to engage in targeted acts of retribution. Known to their enemy as “The Basterds,” Raine’s squad joins German actress and undercover agent Bridget Von Hammersmark (Diane Kruger) on a mission to take down the leaders of The Third Reich.

Cast: Brad Pitt, Eli Roth, Diane Kruger, B.J. Novak, Melanie Laurent, Samm Levine

Director: Quentin Tarantino

Opened August 21, 2009

Rated R for strong graphic violence, brief sexuality and language

Genres: War Adventure, War



Review:




If you go into Quentin Tarantino’s last film expecting a serious WW2 film filled with historical accuracy then you are guaranteed to walk out disappointed. “Once upon a time in Nazi Occupied France” begins Tarantino’s latest revenge fantasy borrowing from Sergio Leone in his opening and other war films throughout, only loosely on the 70’s film of the same name, he once again shows his talent of borrowing elements from cinema history and blending them into something incredibly fascinating and utterly watchable. Paced like a slow moving train going up hill, those expecting a spatterfest in the vein of Kill Bill Vol. 1 with a WW2 will be let down by the lack of action. That’s not to say there isn’t bloody and gore, there is but not in the mass quantities of the aforementioned films. Instead Tarantino relies more on this dialogue and strong episodic pacing to create some wonderfully tension filled sequences. The opening episode and a scene in a bar, with a climax that makes the Reservoir Dogs finale look like a Disney film, are the strongest of the lot. While Tarantino’s talent as a writer is on full display and so is his knack for casting his large ensemble pieces with pitch perfect precision. Sold as a Brad Pitt film by the advertising, he’s hardly the central character. Pitt does seem to be having a ball with Aldo’s Popeye brow and chin and his southern drawl, he’s great fun throughout. Mélanie Laurent gives a well rounded performance as Shosanna as she displays a natural ability to display both toughness and vulnerability in her character. Diane Kruger also delivers a noteworthy performance in limited screen time as Bridget Von Hammersmark. The real standout here though is Christoph Waltz who sizzles with an inquisitively villainous intensity that permeates the screen from the moment he hits the screen. He crafts the performance so well that by the middle of the film any and every mundane movement comes off as sinister. The rest of the ensemble all do well in their roles and fill the caricatures adequately even if they lack any semblance of depth. Some may see this as a major drawback but considering this film is more a tall tale than anything else, it’s easily forgivable. There are a few more glaring issues which depending on which side of the Tarantino divide you’re on maybe nothing or something. His inability to quell his overindulgences do prop up from time to time with some scenes going on for a seemingly endless amount of time. The pacing isn’t going to be for everyone just like his decision to use multiple languages throughout, something I consider a stroke of genius, and relying on subtitles for extended amounts of time. Personally I’ve always enjoyed his excesses and appreciated them that doesn’t change with Inglourious Basterds.



A-