MOVIE REVIEW: AD ASTRA

Thirty years ago, Clifford McBride led a voyage into deep space, but the ship and crew were never heard from again. Now his son -- a fearless astronaut -- must embark on a daring mission to Neptune to uncover the truth about his missing father and a mysterious power surge that threatens the stability of the universe.

Director: James Gray

Cast: Brad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones, Ruth Negga, Liv Tyler, Donald Sutherland,

Release Date: September 20, 2019

Genre: Adventure, Drama, Mystery

Rated PG-13 for some violence and bloody images, and for brief strong language

Runtime: 2 h 3 min

Review:

Ad Astra answers a question nobody ever asked, what if Apocalypse Now and Solaris had a baby.  The answer is laid bare in beautifully filmed, poetic film that thinks subject matter is meatier than it actually is.  James Gray delivers an impressively filmed movie that’s filled with striking visuals that echo 2001 and Solaris on multiple levels.  It’s hard to not appreciate the level of craftsmanship even if the film moves at a snails pace with random bit of surprising violence.  To say that Brad Pitt carries the film would be an understatement.  Pitt delivers one of the best performances of his career with measured, thoughtful delivery.  While the film’s story has a big celestial basis, it’s a very much a personal story.  Unfortunately, the main crux of the film deals with daddy issues which seems like a theme that’s been beat into the ground.  It’s hardly a fatal flaw but do sort of wish that the story had something new or more meaningful behind it.  It still doesn’t take away from those few passing moment of Pitt and Tommy Lee Jones performing together in some incredibly moving and heartbreaking sequences.  Ad Astra is the type of film that will be remembered fondly by cinefiles but rarely revisited.


A-

MOVIE REVIEW: SUPER

ON VIDEO

SUPER



An average guy reacts to the frustration of losing his wife by adopting a crime-fighting persona known as the "Crimson Bolt," and targeting any criminal who crosses his path -- no matter how minor their infraction may be. Frank (Rainn Wilson) is husband to former alcoholic and drug addict Sarah (Liv Tyler), and he loves her with all his heart. Their wedding day was one of but two perfect moments in this Frank's life, but when Sarah runs away with charismatic drug dealer Jacques (Kevin Bacon), the loss was just too much for her mild-mannered husband to take. Subsequently transforming himself into the Crimson Bolt, Frank reasons that if he can take down Jacques along with the rest of the city's scum, his beloved wife will soon come running back. With his homemade suit and his handy pipe wrench, Frank goes to work cleaning up the streets and starts making headlines. But just as the Crimson Bolt becomes the talk of the town, sociopathic comic-store clerk Libby (Ellen Page) reinvents herself as "Boltie," and makes a play to become the controversial street hero's trusted sidekick. Perhaps by working together, the Crimson Bolt and Boltie can make an example of Jacques, and keep the streets safe for average citizens. But real life isn't like comic books, and sometimes when an average person tries to be a superhero, things can go very bad, very fast. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
Director: James Gunn

Cast: Rainn Wilson, Ellen Page, Liv Tyler, Kevin Bacon, Michael Rooker

Release Date: Apr 01, 2011

Rated R for strong bloody violence, pervasive language, sexual content
& drug use

Runtime: 1 hr. 36 min.

Genres: Art House, Comedy, Superhero

REVIEW:

James Gunn has shown a talent for a twisted sort of humor and a love for fanboy genres. His 2006 film Slither was a wonderful homage to classic 80’s creature features that people like me just loved. Super tries something similar with superheroes, it suffers from a variety of issues first and foremost Kick Ass having recently and successfully traversed the same path beforehand. At this point it’s almost impossible to avoid the comparisons. Still taken on its own merits Super just misses more than it doesn’t. You get the sense the heart of a good strong idea is in there somewhere but it never comes to fruition. The film just lacks any sense of rhythm or cohesion. It’s a real shame because there’s a strong cast assembled and everybody seems game. Rainn Wilson turns in a believable performance throughout. Ellen Page is mildly unhinged and kind of fun in limited screen time. Kevin Bacon and Nathan Fillion are criminally underused, a shame since more screen time for both of their characters might have helped the film. Liv Tyler and Michael Rooker show up but aren’t really asked to do much. While I’m sure Gunn’s heart was in the right place Super just feels like a massive misfire.

C-

Movie Reviews: THE INCREDIBLE HULK & THE HAPPENING

Sunday, June 15, 2008
Movie Reviews: THE INCREDIBLE HULK & THE HAPPENING
IN THEATERS





THE INCREDIBLE HULK

Still stuck with the ability to turn into a raging behemoth, Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) desperately searches for a cure that will rid him of his gamma-irradiated alter ego once and for all. However, he's barely given a chance to stop running from the obsessed General Thunderbolt Ross (William Hurt), who will use the entire might of the U.S. military to find Banner and kill the Hulk. Meanwhile, Banner must also deal with his tortured relationship with Betty Ross (Liv Tyler), as well as contend with a new opponent, another gamma-created monstrosity called the Abomination (Tim Roth).

Cast Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, Tim Roth, Tim Blake Nelson, Ty Burrell, William Hurt (more)

Director(s) Louis Leterrier

Writer(s) Edward Norton, Zak Penn

Status In theaters (wide)

Genre(s) Action/Adventure

Release Date June 13, 2008

Running Time 114 minutes

MPAA Rating PG-13 - for sequences of intense action violence, some frightening sci-fi images, and brief suggestive content

Review:

Louis Leterrier's The Incredible Hulk supplies plenty of what most felt was missing from Ang Lee's much maligned Hulk, lots of crazy smashing and carnage. Gone is the Freudian mind trip and it's been replaced with a more straight forward comic book action movie. Personally, I have always thought Ang Lee's Hulk wasn't as horrible as most make it out to be, it's slow but thoughtful and really try to turn the genre into something artful, even with it's faults it was bold. That being said it didn't get the reception that most would have expected. Leterrier's straight forward action flick is pretty much bare bones in terms of story and heavy on the smashing. It knocks out the origin in the opening credits and immediately begins making visual connections to the 70's TV show, something that continues throughout the film. Edward Norton as Banner is good if not great. Norton isn't really given very much to work with as the script is clunky, filled with unnatural dialogue. Norton gives it his best try and makes Banner a brooding reluctant hero who hates his power. He's effective but I can't help but feel that with a better script he could have done so much more with the character. Liv Tyler has the thankless job of being the female lead and she's given even less meat to chew on and it shows. Her character is fairly one dimensional and in the end we know fairly little about her and Banner history. William Hurt gives General Ross a slightly harder edge but it veers terribly close to caricature which isn't helped by the fact that the character lacks depth. Tim Roth's character is the hidden gem here and at times I was more interested in his character than Banner's. Roth does a solid job here and actually brings a lot more to the table than the bigger names. Action wise Leterrier's keeps the carnage coming throughout, huge set pieces filled with Saturday morning comic book goodness. The final battle, which is nearly 20 minutes long, starts to feel a bit like a video game more than an actual movie, this is mainly because the CGI varies from very good to very bad. The mildly redesigned Hulk looks a tad less cartoon-ish equipped with more rippling sinewy muscles this time around. As a whole The Incredible Hulk delivers what you would have expected from this modern day Jekyll and Hyde action flick, lots of bashing mixed with a dash of anguish. Is it great? Not really. Is it fairly enjoyable, sure but its kind of forgettable as well.

C+


THE HAPPENING


When the entire fate of humanity is threatened, Elliot Moore (Mark Wahlberg) takes his family and tries to avoid the impending apocalypse.

Cast Mark Wahlberg, Zooey Deschanel, John Leguizamo, Betty Buckley (more)

Director(s) M. Night Shyamalan

Writer(s) M. Night Shyamalan

Status In theaters (wide)

Genre(s) Action/Adventure

Release Date June 13, 2008

Running Time 91 minutes

MPAA Rating R - for violent and disturbing images

Review:

I had given up on M. Night Shyamalan films after The Village, his mock Hitchcock style had just grown old and his twist endings were becoming more and more tired. I skipped Lady in the Water entirely and from everything I've read and heard it was probably for the best. Still it was hard not to be intrigued by The Happening, it looked like it may have something worthwhile, it looked like it might be suspenseful. Sadly it's neither of those things. Shyamalan has been on a fairly steady decline since the oft overrated The Sixth Sense launched his career and now his craft is at such a level of degradation that one has to wonder if his first success was more dumb luck than actual talent. Not since George Lucus have I seen a director suck the life out his actors so completely. Mark Walburg is horribly miscast and has to utter some of the worst dialogue outside of an independent middle school stage production. Zooey Deschanel is completely wasted and is also given lines of lame of dialogue to utter. She's tasked only to occasionally react and move along a subplot that doesn't fit or really matter to the overall story. John Leguizamo is in the film for a quick moment and disappears from the story so quickly it makes you wonder why Shyamalan bothered to cast him in the first place. Slow, feeling hours longer than its actual running time, The Happening plods along like some lost troll on the road to no where. Shyamalan might tell you this film says something about man and his place on the earth and that conversation would probably be more compelling and suspenseful than this waste of celluloid.


D-