Cindy Prascik's Reviews of The Good Nurse & See How They Run

My dear reader(s): Yesterday I treated myself to a good old-fashioned double-feature. If it was from my sofa rather than from my old seat at the cinema...well...I'm still going to frame it as a step back towards normal. On the docket: The Good Nurse and See How They Run.

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

First up: The Good Nurse.

A physically and financially overburdened nurse begins to suspect her helpful new co-worker is not as he appears.

Based on a true story, the Good Nurse stars Academy Award winners Jessica Chastain and Eddie Redmayne, punching below their weight. The film maintains tension decently — even if viewers may remember the outcome from the news — yet it still seems to arrive at its destination a little too quickly and conveniently. Fortunately, the story itself is compelling enough to hold attention, and Chastain and Redmayne (along with the stellar Noah Emmerich) would make it worth a look regardless of its other flaws.

The Good Nurse runs 121 minutes and is rated R for language.

The Good Nurse is essentially a network movie of the week, elevated by its exceptional cast. Of a possible nine Weasleys, the Good Nurse gets six and a half.

The Good Nurse is now streaming on Netflix.

Next on my agenda: See How They Run.

In 1950s London, attempts to make a film version of a long-running play are derailed when a key individual is murdered.

See How They Run is a proper, old-school murder mystery with an excellent cast, featuring Sam Rockwell, Adrien Brody, David Oyelowo, a particularly charming Saoirse Ronan, and the always delightful Ruth Wilson. The self-aware film moves quickly, keeps its secrets well, and boasts terrific costumes, styling, and set design. In the "before times," this is the sort of movie I'd have awaited anxiously, run out to see on opening day, and written about — if not glowingly — then at least very, very positively. These days, I'm excited it turned up for free, I loved watching these actors work with a decent script and pretty outfits, and I liked it well enough that I didn't play on my phone the whole time it was on.

See How They Run clocks in at a quick 98 minutes and is rated PG13 for "some violence/bloody images, and a sexual reference."

See How They Run is a fun mystery that boasts solid performances from its wonderful cast. Of a possible nine Weasleys, See How They Run gets seven.

See How They Run is now streaming on HBO Max.

Until next time...

MOVIE REVIEW: SUPER 8

IN THEATERS

SUPER 8



Writer/director J.J. Abrams teams with producer Steven Spielberg for this period sci-fi thriller set in the late '70s, and centering on a mysterious train crash in a small Ohio town. Summer, 1979: a group of young friends are filming a Super-8 movie when a pickup truck derails a speeding train. When the locals start to disappear and even the inquisitive deputy can't come up with answers, suspicions emerge that the incident was anything but an accident. As the truth finally begins emerge, no one is prepared to learn what now stalks the unsuspecting citizens of this once quiet community. Kyle Chandler and Elle Fanning star. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Director: J.J. Abrams

Cast: Kyle Chandler, Elle Fanning, Noah Emmerich, Ron Eldard, Katie Lowes

Release Date: Jun 10, 2011

Rated PG-13 Intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence, language and some nudity

Runtime: 1 hr. 52 min.

Genres: Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Review:

Super 8 is an ambitious homage that tries incredibly hard to pay respects to Steven Spielberg’s 80’s films like ET and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. J.J. Abrams never reaches those levels, instead delivering a hodgepodge of clichés that lacks any real thrills. Abrams borrows from a variety of sources with ET and The Goonies being the most obvious. Thematically he set his film up nicely and the child actors used are all impressive with Elle Fanning delivering an impressive performance. The main issue that permeates this film is a sense of pandering to the children of the 80’s. Yes the nostalgia is nice but if you are going to try and emulate the films from that era at least give the audience something new and fresh. Abrams, along with his trademark lens flare, directs the film with impressive gusto and keeps a steady pace throughout. Once the trip down memory lane ends, Abrams takes up down another familiar road with a Cloverfield, which Abrams produced, type second half which is watchable but lacks the thrills you’d expect. The creature itself, which is hidden for the better part of the film, even looks like the Cloverfield monster to a certain extent. Like the first part of the film, that latter is all very familiar territory stacked with macguffins that even the casual movie goers will recognize. Super 8 isn’t a bad film it’s just not a very original film, that being said the children in the cast are all very impressive and be sure to stick around during the credits to see the kid’s finished film.

C-