MOVIE REVIEW: AVA

 

An assassin becomes marked for death by her own black ops organization after questioning orders and breaking protocol.

Director: Tate Taylor

Cast: Jessica Chastain, John Malkovich, Common, Geena Davis, Colin Farrell, Ioan Gruffudd, Joan Chen

Release Date: September 25, 2020

Action, Crime, Drama

Rated R for violence and language throughout, and brief sexual material

Runtime: 1h 36m

Review:

Ava has all the hallmarks of Luc Besson’s late career films, a betrayed assassin fighting for survival with extreme prejudice and a bass heavy techno beat playing the background.  Throw in a nonsensical plot and this is the type of movie you probably end up watching during a sleepless night on Showtime simply due to a lack of options.  The oddity here is that this isn’t a Besson film, Tate Taylor directs this overly busy femme fatale cliché minefield, led by some model turned actress instead it stars Jessica Chastain.  Chastain also produced the film which leads me to believe it might be a bit of a vanity project where she could try her hand as an action hero.  As usual, Chastain is the most interesting person on screen and she handles herself well in the action portions of the film, making for a believable killer.  The supporting cast is also filled with name stars all making what’s onscreen far more interesting than it should be.  The main problem is the film’s script is so hackneyed that once you get past Chastain killing 30 armed guards with her bare hands in a spaghetti strapped cocktail dress you start to notice the film and characters are all kind of ridiculous.  Chastain’s character for example doesn’t just have one thing haunting her instead she’s got a bevy of them, she’s an alcoholic, a terrible sister with daddy issues.  The fact that Chastain makes this all passable is a testament of her strength as an actress but by the point you have John Malkovick karate fighting Colin Farrell it’s a bit tough to overlook the issues with the script.  I can’t say Ava isn’t fun in a trashy sort of way because it is in its own way especially watching all the grade A talent slumming it because of a overcooked script.

C+

Cindy Prascik's Reviews of The Girl on the Train & The Birth of a Nation

Dearest Blog: Yesterday it was off to Marquee Cinemas for the buzzkill double-bill of The Girl on the Train and The Birth of a Nation. 

 

Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailers. First on the docket: The Girl on the Train. An unhappy divorcee makes up stories about the people she sees on her daily commute, then becomes entangled in the case when one of them goes missing. 

 

The Girl on the Train is such a pedestrian mystery that, never having been anywhere near the novel, it took me approximately 23 minutes to clock exactly how it was going to play out...and that was far from my final check of the time, believe me. 

 

Emily Blunt plays the titular girl as a sloppy, irritating drunk, and the supporting characters are so odious it's impossible to care what happens to any of them. (Though I'd forgive Luke Evans for pretty much anything once he started peeling off those clothes.) 

 

A few laughable bits--including a full-on Cameron Frye moment in a gallery--spell a miserable whole that plods along with varying versions of events. Who's telling the truth? Who's lying? 

 

You'll stop caring long before this mess crawls to its predictable finish. About the only things The Girl on the Train has to recommend it are a properly menacing score by Danny Elfman and a couple frames of Evans' glorious bod. 

 

The Girl on the Train runs an excruciating 112 minutes and is rated R for "violence, sexual content, language, and nudity." The Girl on the Train is a slow, dull exercise that made me want to throw myself on the tracks. 

 

Of a possible nine Weasleys, The Girl on the Train gets four. 

Fangirl points: Luke Evans. Luke Evans' abs. Luke Evans' bottom. 

 

Also, a girl in a Damned shirt...yay! Next up: The Birth of a Nation. The true story of Nat Turner, a slave and preacher who orchestrated a rebellion in 1831. 

 

The Birth of a Nation is difficult to watch, and more than once I had to look away from the brutality and abuse. Performances are fantastic across the board, with Nate Parker and Aja Naomi King outstanding in the leads, and Armie Hammer his usual reliable self in an important supporting role. 

 

Turner's Christian faith is central to the story, but the movie also exposes the contradictory nature of the Bible and those who presume to speak for their gods. 

 

The subject matter is unpleasant enough to make the film feel much longer than it is; for the duration I kept thinking the last thing we really need right now is yet another reminder of how horrible people can be to one another. 

 

Only afterward did it occur to me, maybe exactly what we need right now is a reminder of what happens when people are encouraged to treat others as less than themselves. 

 

The Birth of a Nation clocks in at an even two hours and is rated R for "disturbing violent content and some brief nudity." The Birth of a Nation is a well-acted picture with a timely, important message, but, sadly, none of that makes it a truly great movie. 

 

Of a possible nine Weasleys, The Birth of a Nation gets five. .

 

 Fangirl points: The aforementioned Armie Hammer. Mark Boone Junior (Bobby Elvis)! 

 

Until next time... 

 

MOVIE REVIEW: THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN

In the thriller, Rachel (Blunt), who is devastated by her recent divorce, spends her daily commute fantasizing about the seemingly perfect couple who live in a house that her train passes every day, until one morning she sees something shocking happen there and becomes entangled in the mystery that unfolds. Based on Paula Hawkins’ bestselling novel, The Girl on the Train is adapted for the screen by Erin Cressida Wilson and Taylor. The film’s executive producers are Jared LeBoff and Celia Costas, and it will be released by Universal Pictures.

Director: Tate Taylor

Cast: Emily Blunt, Rebecca Ferguson, Haley Bennett, Justin Theroux, Luke Evans

Release Date: Oct 07, 2016

Rated R for violence, sexual content, language and nudity

Genres: Suspense/Thriller

Review:

Is it possible to make an interesting movie with a cast of characters who are all unlikable and fairly terrible?  The Girl on the Train tries really hard to pull it off and has a decent amount of success even if the “mind blowing” twist is telegraphed fairly early on.  Tate Taylor is clearly trying to emulate David Fincher’s Gone Girl but he’s not as talented a filmmaker to make it work.  As is, the film is a surprisingly engrossing tale of bad people doing bad things repeatedly.  Taylor’s real talent is getting some truly impressive performances out of his cast especially Emily Blunt.  Blunt is incredibly impressive throughout with multiple scenes set up to showcase her acting chops.  Haley Bennett, who looks distractingly like a Jennifer Lawrence clone, is just solid even though her character feels unwritten.  It’s a shame because the character seems to be most interesting of the group.  The Girl on the Train is trying it’s hardest to be some special but it never quite gets there.

B-