Cindy Prascik's Review of Sully

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dearest Blog: Today it was off to Marquee Cinemas to kick off Awards Season with Sully. Spoiler level here will be mostly mild, nothing you haven't seen in a trailer or on the news. Sully is based on the true story of pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, who made an emergency water landing on the Hudson River when his plane lost both engines shortly after departing Laguardia Airport. 

 

Sully is an entertaining movie, but probably a bonafide awards contender for Tom Hanks' performance only. The true story is compelling enough, but this telling is painted with such broad strokes as to be almost comical at times. 

 

The picture is hampered by awkward dialogue and cartoonish good and bad guys. Even when Sully's decisions come into question, the movie wants to make sure you remember whose side you're *supposed* to be on. A good movie lets you make up your own mind, and a truly good movie gets you where it wants to without beating you over the head; that seems well beyond Sully. 

 

On the plus side, Hanks carries the film with his usual flair, a performance that should be good enough to land him on most of the Best Actor shortlists, especially considering the Academy really owes him one for the Captain Phillips snub. 

 

Aaron Eckhart leads a solid supporting cast full of faces you'll recognize even if you may not know the names. Anything--and I do mean anything--having to do with the flight itself is beautifully filmed, from takeoff to unexpectedly-damp touchdown. There's one glorious moment when that nose-diving aircraft seems to be coming right off the screen...made me a little wistful for 3D! Finally, the movie is smart enough to recognize the limitations of the story it has to tell, and clocks in with a very reasonable runtime. 

 

Sully runs 95 minutes and is rated PG13 for "some peril and brief strong language." Though it occasionally strays into Airplane! territory, Sully is an inspiring outing built on another stellar leading turn by Tom Hanks. 

 

Of a possible nine Weasleys, Sully gets seven and a half. 

 

Fangirl points (there are a lot of 'em this time): The USS Intrepid! Sam Huntington! Holt McCallany! Valerie Mahaffey! My beautiful New York City!! 

 

Until next time...

Cindy Prascik's Review of Mechanic: Resurrection

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dearest Blog: yesterday it was off to the pictures for Jason Statham's latest, Mechanic: Resurrection. 

 

Spoiler level here will be pretty mild, mostly nothing you wouldn't know from the trailers. A former assassin is forced out of retirement when the love of his life (whom he's known for all of three days) is kidnapped. 

 

Alrighty, folks, I gotta tell ya: if this isn't the dumbest movie I've ever seen, it's good and damn close. 

 

However, it's also pretty funny (usually not on purpose), so I'm not suggesting you shouldn't get out and see it while you can. I have a feeling it won't be around long. The picture kicks off with a good, old-fashioned Statham ass kicking, and smartly keeps 'em coming regularly. 

 

As spectacularly ridiculous as they often are, they're genius compared to everything in between. Jessica Alba is as vapid as she is gorgeous, offering a performance that mostly consists of vacant looks that are meant to pass as terrified (I think?). 

 

Tommy Lee Jones: WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU DOING HERE?? Continuity issues abound, most notably Alba's split lip that keeps appearing and disappearing, and good and bad guys are as broadly drawn as any Saturday-morning cartoon. 

 

The movie boasts action end to end, yet still feels a bit slow at times. Breathtaking stunts, gorgeous locations, and a rip-roaring score by Mark Isham help salvage the whole, but, sadly, this is just not a very good movie. 

 

Mechanic: Resurrection clocks in at 99 minutes and is rated R for "violence and language throughout." Mechanic: Resurrection is good for a laugh, but it probably just should have stayed dead. 

 

Of a possible nine Weasleys, Mechanic: Resurrection gets four. Until next time... 

 

MOVIE REVIEW DON’T BREATHE

Three friends (Dylan Minnette, Jane Levy, and Daniel Zovatto) plot to end their money woes by burglarizing the home of a blind recluse (Stephen Lang), but the heist quickly goes awry when they discover that their target is concealing a horrifying secret -- and that he isn't as harmless as they had thought. Directed by Fede Alvarez (the 2013 Evil Dead remake). ~ Jack Rodgers, Rovi

Director: Fede Alvarez 

Cast: Dylan Minnette, Jane Levy, Stephen Lang, Katia Bokor

Release Date: Aug 26, 2016

Rated R for the Language, Disturbing Content, Sexual References, Terror and Violence

Runtime: 1 hr. 28 min.

Genres: Horror, Suspense/Thriller

Review:

Don’t Breathe is the kind of stripped down thriller that doesn’t seem to get made much anymore.  The film is being sold as a horror movie but it’s really just a straight forward thriller with some slight horror tendencies.  Fede Alvarez carefully sets up his setting and delivers some genuine scares and tensions the full run of the film.  It’s an interesting piece of cinematic alchemy with large portions of the film moving along with nary a word of dialogue.  The cast does it job with the home intruders delivering a decent amount of terrified looks.  The most memorable thing about them is Jane Levy’s odd fashion choice of pantyhose with shorts and sheer top for a home invasion.  Stephen Lang is appropriately intimidating but I get the feeling he could pull that off on a bad day.  

B

Cindy Prascik's Review of Ben-Hur & Kubo and the Two Strings

Dearest Blog: Yesterday it was off to the chariot races...erm...off to Marquee Cinemas for Ben-Hur and Kubo and the Two Strings. Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailers.

First on the docket, the ill-advised remake of Ben-Hur. An exiled prince returns home to seek revenge on the brother who wronged his family.

Regular reader(s) may recall that religious-themed movies fall at or about Nicholas Sparks-level on the list of "Things I Endure Only Under Duress."

I have no great love for 1959's Ben-Hur, but it's an iconic enough piece of cinema that even I recognized this remake as a bad idea. However, I think any movie with Jack Huston is a very good idea indeed, so I headed out to cheer on my man in his silly chariot race.

*sigh* The good news is, while Ben-Hur is far from a great movie, it's not nearly as terrible as I'd feared. Let's get the bad out of the way first, shall we?

This remake is a good 90 minutes shorter than its predecessor, but it still goes on a bit. Some of the dialoge is wrong for the characters and/or the time period, and some of it is just plain wrong.

The first act features some weirdly awkward time hops, the second act is a criminal waste of Morgan Freeman, and the ending is so cheesy it's almost physically painful, but....... Jack Huston is in nearly every single frame of this picture.

I mean, almost every last one. When a guy's the sole reason you plunk down your ten bucks for a ticket, it's hard to complain about a movie that ponies up like that.

Huston is a truly great actor and Ben-Hur doesn't come close to giving his talent a workout, but he does as well as anyone could with it.

There are some gorgeous costumes and nice looking sets, and the film's sound effects are particularly well done. I'm not a believer, myself, but Jesus (whose appearance amounts to little more than a cameo), provides a timely and important reminder that we have to start being better to each other. Really, people. Finally, if the chariot race is what puts butts in the seats, that sequence is a well-executed nail-biter, even if you already know the outcome.

Ben-Hur clocks in at 124 minutes and is rated PG13 for "sequences of violence and disturbing images."

Ben-Hur isn't quite the disaster most anticipated, but that's hardly a ringing endorsement. Oh, and, Jack...if the best of your last three movies is Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, it might be time to have a little chat with the agent.

Of a possible nine Weasleys, Ben-Hur gets five. (But I'll probably see it again because...SO MUCH JACK HUSTON!)

Next up: Kubo and the Two Strings. A boy sets out on a quest to find the magical items that will protect him from an old enemy.

Kubo and the Two Strings is a gorgeous telling of a gorgeous story. The art and animation are breathtaking and unique, and the tale reflects its culture while being signifcant and relatable to everyone.

Big-name voice talent, in the form of Charlize Theron and Matthew McConaughey, adds to the film's appeal, as does a lovely score by Dario Marianelli. (Be sure to stick around for Regina Spektor's haunting cover of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" over the end credits!) On the downside, the story is a little slow at times, and some parts may be too scary for younger viewers.

The 3D is also kind of pointless, so don't waste the extra three bucks if you can avoid it. Kubo and the Two Strings runs 101 minutes and is rated PG for "thematic elements, scary images, action, and peril." 2016 is proving to be a banner year for really great animated offerings, and Kubo and the Two Strings is among the best.

Of a possible nine Weasleys, Kubo and the Two Strings gets seven and a half.

Until next time...