TV SHOW REVIEW: House of Cards

Francis Underwood is Majority Whip. He has his hands on every secret in politics - and is willing to betray them all to become President.


Cast: Kevin Spacey, Michael Gill, Robin Wright, Kate Mara, Michael Kelly, Corey Stoll

Executive Producers: David Fincher, Kevin Spacey, Eric Roth, Joshua Donen, Dana Brunetti, Andrew Davies, Michael Dobbs, John Melfi, Beau Willimon


Netflix’s decision to give original programming a shot was something that could have gone very badly. It could have been some cheaply produced muck with low rent actors. The decision to remake the British series House of Cards, after outbidding the cable networks, with A-list talent in front and behind the camera was a master stroke. With David Fincher at the helm for the first 2 episodes, allowing him to establish is distinctive style, gives the series instant legitimacy. The cast instantly shows you they are on their A game with an incredibly magnetic performance by Kevin Spacey at its center. The supporting cast such as a luminous Robin Wright textures the world being presented. Robin Wright’s performance as Underwood’s wife is just as interesting and complex as Spacey’s, a lesser actress could have faded into the background. Kate Mara continues to leave a noticeable impression even when working with some grade A talent. Other supporting players like Corey Stoll and Michael Kelly round out an impressive cast. The story and characters are all incredibly rich giving all these actors so much to work with throughout. Its plot feels like a MacBeth, King Lear hybrid blended into a modern day Washington all of it handled in an incredibly watchable and engrossing manner. Season 1 only failing speaks to effectiveness, the finale leaves you wishing you could watch season 2 instantly, a real triumph for Netflix.

A

Netflix Streaming Exclusive with all 13 episodes available

MOVIE REVIEW: FLIGHT

FLIGHT




A pilot with a substance-abuse problem has to land a crippled airliner in this Robert Zemeckis-directed drama for Paramount Pictures. Real Steel's John Gatins provides the script. Denzel Washington heads up a cast that includes The Hurt Locker's Brian Geraghty, along with John Goodman and Don Cheadle. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi

Director: Robert Zemeckis

Cast: Denzel Washington, Don Cheadle, Kelly Reilly, John Goodman, Bruce Greenwood

Release Date: Nov 02, 2012

Rated R for Intense Action Sequence, Drug and Alcohol Abuse, Language and Sexuality/Nudity

Runtime: 2 hr. 18 min.

Genres: Drama

Review:

After watching Flight I’d come to the realization that Denzel Washington had been churning interesting and impressive performances in some rather lackluster films for a good while. So much so that I’d almost consider him unappreciated, considering how some Academy Award winners have been known to phone it in more often that not. Flight is a bloated ham fisted film that’s elevated by its incredible leading man. Denzel Washington is the show here and the film dips significantly whenever he’s off screen. Thankful he’s onscreen for the better part of the film and he’s entrancing even though he’s dealing with a script that rams every cliché it could think of into the characters and plots. Washington performance is so much more impressive considering what he’s handcuffed with and I shudder to think of what a lesser actor would have done in this role. Robert Zemeckis has been removed from live action film directing for a while and outside of truly spectacular and horrifying crash sequence he overdoes everything. There’s a scarcity of quiet moments where he’s just pulls back and lets Denzel do his thing. Instead there’s are some eye rolling bad musical cues to hammer home each point not to mention an overused religion slant which is just as frustrating as the rest of the script. Denzel doesn’t just carry this film he drags it kicking and screaming to respectability that alone deserves kudos and awards.

C+

MOVIE REVIEW: WARM BODIES

WARM BODIES




A tormented zombie (Nicholas Hoult) experiences a profound transformation after entering into an unusual relationship with the daughter (Teresa Palmer) of a military leader charged with eradicating the walking dead. As the unlikely pair build a tenuous bridge between the living and the dead, those on both sides of the battle begin to sense that nothing in their world will ever be the same again. Warm Bodies is based on the novel by Isaac Marion. Rob Corddry and John Malkovich round out the starring cast. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Director: Jonathan Levine

Cast: Nicholas Hoult, Teresa Palmer, Rob Corddry, John Malkovich, Dave Franco

Release Date: Feb 01, 2013

Rated PG-13 for zombie violence and some language

Runtime: 1 hr. 38 min.

Genres: Comedy

Review:

Warm Bodies is a simple film which a bit of a statement for a zombie rom-com. Director Jonathan Levine keeps things as simple as possible while giving us a self aware version of Twilight with a much better sense of humor. Its light fare at it’s fluffiest. Its center is an incredibly fun, charming and ultimately engaging performance from Nicholas Hoult. From the moment we hear his internal monologue the audience is sucked into his plight and quest for zombie reinvention. R is pretty much Buddy from Day of the Dead with a romantic heart. Love truly conquers all, even rigor mortis. As mentioned the plot is thread bare and while it’ll keep you grinning throughout you can’t help but think it could have been streamlined or that it’s rather neutered to keep that sacred PG-13 rating. Teresa Palmer is rather bland but serviceable. Rob Corddry and a steady John Malkovich do solid work in limited roles. Warm Bodies is an almost sugary sweet zombie love story, it’s not perfect but who is.

B-

MOVIE REVIEW: END OF WATCH

END OF WATCH




David Ayer's End of Watch stars Michael Peña and Jake Gyllenhaal as a pair of L.A. cops and close friends who work to keep the streets safe. Shot in a found-footage style, the movie follows the duo as they make enemies with a major drug cartel and attempt to lead happy personal lives. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Director: David Ayer

Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Peña, Anna Kendrick, Frank Grillo, America Ferrera.

Release Date: Sep 21, 2012

Rated R for sexual References, Pervasive Language, Some Disturbing Images, Some Drug
Use and Strong Violence

Runtime: 1 hr. 49 min.

Genres: Drama

Review:

End of Watch is an aggressive film which feels like a cop version of into The Heart of Darkness. David Ayers uses a lot of filming techniques to get give his film a crazy kind of energy that makes the more mundane parts of the film seem less so. His style works for the most part but occasionally it’s more distracting than it needs to be, detracting from the quality of the story and excellent performances on display. Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña have some of the best chemistry I’ve seen in ages in this type of film. Each works off each other extremely well. Their performances have a tangible and believable sense of authenticity throughout. It’s the best performance from both in a long while. They are the heart and soul of the film, creating an impressive connection with the audience even as the story gets more and more extreme, occasionally veering into implausibility. The supporting cast fills out the character’s world well, adding to the film’s overall quality and compounding the emotional punch the climax delivers.

B

MOVIE REVIEW: COMPLIANCE

Inspired by actual events, writer/director Craig Zobel's sophomore feature Compliance examines the complex hierarchy of authority through the experiences of a teenage fast-food restaurant clerk who falls victim to a twisted practical joke. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Director: Craig Zobel

Cast: Ann Dowd, Dreama Walker, Pat Healy, Bill Camp, Ashlie Atkinson

Release Date: Aug 17, 2012

Rated R for language and sexual content/nudity

Runtime: 1 hr. 30 min.

Genres: Suspense/Thriller

Review:

Compliance is the type of feel that really feels like its stretching credulity and good taste various times during its runtime. At certain points during the film, I couldn’t help but feel like there was something exploitative or embellished about the proceedings but sadly, the plot of the film following the real life events fairly closely. It’s a disturbing and frustrating experience which leaves you with plenty of questions, most of which aren’t answered in the film or in real life for that matter. Craig Zobel shows an impressive talent as a director bringing an immediacy and authenticity to the proceedings. Ann Dowd’s complex and layered turn as the manager adds to the sense of authenticity. Dowd is always the most interesting person the screen even though there are other strong performances. The film loses some of its power when she isn’t front and center which happens for the better part of the final act. Dreama Walker is just as impressive with a performance that leaves her character exposed on multiple levels, both literally and figuratively. It’s a thankless role in many ways but she commits fully and believably. Pat Healy is appropriately detached yet sinister as the caller. It’s not a showy role but effective. We don’t know much about his character or motivations outside of tidbits of information that we are shown throughout the film after he’s revealed. In fact there we don’t get very many answers about him or the other characters, only a quick wrap up of each finishing with an interview with Dowd’s character.

B+

MOVIE REVIEW: THE LAST STAND

A border-town sheriff pulls out the heavy artillery to prevent an escaped drug kingpin from blasting his way into Mexico in this sun-scorched action opus starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and directed by Kim Jee-Woon (I Saw the Devil, The Good, the Bad, and the Weird). Johnny Knoxville, Luis Guzman, and Rodrigo Santoro co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Director: Kim Jee-Woon

Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Peter Stormare, Forest Whitaker, Jaimie Alexander, Luis Guzman

Release Date: Jan 18, 2013

Rated R for strong Bloody Violence and Language

Runtime: 1 hr. 46 min.

Genres: Action/Adventure, Suspense/Thriller

Review:

The Last Stand is Arnold’s triumphant return to the big screen as a leading man. Its ludicrous plot sounds like the perfect fodder for a good old fashion Arnie blowout. My only question is why Kim Jee-Woon decided to waste so much time with pointless set up whiling trying to shoehorn in some seriousness into the plot. The first act of the film is incredibly choppy seemingly reluctant to embrace its own silliness. Once the ball actually starts rolling and the property damage increases it finally stops taking itself so serious and starts having fun. Arnold is rather flat which doesn’t come as a surprise as he works his way back into the acting game. The rest of cast give forgettable performances with Johnny Knoxville and Rodrigo Santoro battling for silliest and most of the top performance of the movie. As an action film its enjoyable fluff but the script doesn’t do it any favors serving up some incredibly hammy lines creating some groan inducing moments. Kim Jee-Woon would have been well served to reference Con Air, a movie with a similarly outlandish illogical plot, to get an idea about setting up a tone for his film. There’s plenty of fat which could have been cut to streamline the old school action which is what everybody was paying to see.

C+