Tree Gelbman is a blissfully self-centered
collegian who wakes up on her birthday in the bed of a student named Carter. As
the morning goes on, Tree gets the eerie feeling that she's experienced the
events of this day before. When a masked killer suddenly takes her life in a
brutal attack, she once again magically wakes up in Carter's dorm room
unharmed. Now, the frightened young woman must relive the same day over and
over until she figures out who murdered her.
Director: Christopher B. Landon
Release Date: Oct 13, 2017 Cast: Jessica Rothe, Israel Broussard, Ruby Modine, Charles Aitken, Rachel
Matthews
Rated PG-13 for violence/terror, crude
sexual content, language, some drug material and partial nudity
Runtime: 1 hr. 36 min.
Genres: Mystery/Thriller, Horror
Review:
Happy Death Day takes the
Groundhog Day conceit and gives it a fun horror spin.Christopher Landon directs his film with
tongue placed firmly in cheek.Those
expecting some sort of a straight forward hardcore horror might be a bit let
down since the film isn’t ever really scary or thrilling.That being said, it’s still an impressively
fun film that really never loses energy during its incredibly efficient
runtime.There are plenty of laughs
abound as the day replays over and over again with Jessica Rothe delivering a
great central performance.Rothe has
some impressive comedic timing and she puts it to great use throughout.The central mystery isn’t all that difficult
to figure out but that really doesn’t detract from the overall enjoyment.Horror fans have to trudge through a lot of
garbage before something worthwhile pops up, thankfully Happy Death Day is a
nice surprise.
Officer K (Ryan Gosling), a new blade runner for the Los Angeles Police
Department, unearths a long-buried secret that has the potential to plunge
what's left of society into chaos. His discovery leads him on a quest to find
Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), a former blade runner who's been missing for 30
years.
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Release Date: Oct 06, 2017
Cast: Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, Ana de
Armas, Robin Wright, Lennie James.
Rated PG-13 for language, Brief Suggestive
Content, Sequences of Sci-Fi Action and Violence Runtime: 2 hr. 43 min.
Genres: Suspense/Thriller, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Review:
Making a sequel to a
seminal sci-fi film is a huge task, especially 35 years after the fact.Denis Villeneuve and his cinematographer
Roger Denkins deliver a visually mesmerizing film that’s gorgeous from start to
finish.It’s an impressive
accomplishment that honors the original but also expounds on it.Ryan Gosling ably leads the film with an
understated performance that’s surprisingly nuanced and layered.Those expecting a heavy dose of Harrison
Ford’s Deckard will be left disappointed since he’s only
in the film for a small amount of the film’s runtime.While it’s hard to ignore the high level of
craftsmanship and artistry, you do have to wonder if Villeneuve fell a little
in love with his creation.The film’s
nearly 3 hour runtime isn’t necessary since some scenes seem inconsequential to
the overall plot.That’s not to say the
film isn’t enjoyable or engaging but I can’t help but feel like there’s a
tighter more efficient film in there somewhere.
Dearest Blog, yesterday it was off to Marquee Cinemas to see the highly-touted Blade Runner 2049 and not-at-all-touted The Mountain Between Us.
Spoiler level here will be mild for 2049, somewhat elevated (see what I did there?) for Mountain, but nothing really plot-related.
First on my agenda: Blade Runner 2049.
A young Blade Runner unearths a secret that sends him on a dangerous quest.
Ohhhhh...Ryan Gosling...you owe me. La La Land. Lars and the Real Girl. The Place Beyond the Pines. Only God Forgives. (Worst. Movie. Ever.) At this point, *I* could be forgiven for thinking this guy willfully takes only projects he hopes will bore me to death. Slowly.
In the interest of full and fair disclosure, here I'll confess that I haven't seen the original Blade Runner in about a hundred years and thus I remember very little (read: nothing) about it. I had good intentions of revisiting it before the new one hit cinemas, but never got around to it, so I know there were certain "recognition" moments that were lost on me. I should also note that I was in no way predisposed to dislike this, so the degree to which I did came as something of a surprise.
Blade Runner 2049 actually does have a fair few things going for it. The principal roles are carried by well-known and well-decorated actors who do as much as they can with wooden characters. Gosling is never less than watchable, and Robin Wright is the same. Harrison Ford takes his sweet time showing up, but when he does it's welcome, even if it seems a rehash of pretty much everything Harrison Ford does these days. The picture boasts astonishing, Oscar-worthy visuals and an ominous score that I can't wait to torture my coworkers with. For at least the first half of the movie, all of that was enough that I didn't hate it, but the longer it dragged on, the less interested I became in finding that silver lining, and there you'll find the movie's chief handicap: it is just too long to be as slow as it is (or too slow to be as long as it is). Yes, it's pretentious at times (lots of times). Yes, Jared Leto is ridiculous. Yes, it's often too dark to see anything at all, and yes, the 3D is utterly pointless.
BUT...2049 likely could have gotten away with most of that if only it weren't So. Damn. Long. I saw a few social media posts yesterday saying that the film leaves many questions to be answered by a potential "next installment," but the only question Blade Runner 2049 left me was: "Can Robin Wright take a drink without slamming it like a belligerent pirate?" The world may never know.
Blade Runner 2049 clocks in at a painful 163 minutes and is rated R for "violence, some sexuality, nudity, and language."
Blade Runner 2049 is a flaming bag of poo left on my cinematic doorstep, but it sure looks and sounds pretty! Of a possible nine Weasleys, Blade Runner 2049 gets four.
Next up: The Mountain Between Us.
Two professionals who HAVE TO BE SOMEWHERE charter a small plane and end up not getting anywhere.
The Mountain Between Us is nothing more than badly-done fanfiction, Twilight for grownups, minus the sparkling. How on Earth anyone got one--nevermind TWO--actors the caliber of Kate Winslet and Idris Elba to sign on for this drivel is beyond me. The most entertaining thing about the whole mess was the two older folks in my screening who loudly admonished the screen: "You should have waited for the other plane!" "You should have brought warmer clothes!" (It's a testament to just how bored I was that I found that amusing instead of infuriating.) The picture plods on for nearly two snowy hours, hitting every tired AO3 tag you can think of, and often turning very specifically reminiscent of 1993's Alive. (Spoiler alert: Except they never ended up having to eat each other. At least not literally.) By the time the movie reminds you for the last time that this horrible experience has made someone FEEL ALIVE, you'll be wishing you weren't.
The Mountain Between Us runs 103 minutes and is rated PG13 for "a scene of sexuality, peril, injury images, and brief strong language."
If ever I am stranded somewhere with Idris Elba and you send someone to "rescue" me, I will end you.
Of a possible nine Weasleys, The Mountain Between Us gets three.
Barry Seal, a TWA pilot, is
recruited by the CIA to provide reconnaissance on the burgeoning communist
threat in Central America and soon finds himself in charge of one of the
biggest covert CIA operations in the history of the United States. The operation spawns the birth of the Medellin cartel and almost brings down the
Reagan White House.
Director: Doug Liman
Cast: Tom Cruise, Sarah Wright, Domhnall
Gleeson, Jayma Mays, Jesse Plemons
Release Date: Sept 29, 2017
Genres: Action, Adventure
Rated R for language throughout and some
sexuality/nudity
Review:
American Made, the second collaboration between
Doug Linman and Tom Cruise, is a fun fast paced quasi docudramedy.Linman delivers a fizzy if somewhat light
hearted take on Barry Seal’s crazy story.Tom Cruise is front and center throughout and he’s clearly having a
great time in the role.Sporting a
barely convincing southern accent, Cruise is still great.He’s the driving force of the movie
throughout, so your enjoyment of the film will depend on how much you like
Cruise.Personally, I think it’s one of
best performances in a good while.The
character is incredibly compromised and not nearly as smart as he thinks he is,
so it’s a bit of a change of pace for Cruise and it works well for him and the
film.The supporting cast is a bit under
developed and I would have liked to know a bit more about Domhnall Gleeson’s
shady CIA character but it’s not a massive misstep.A tad bit of trimming towards the end would
have helped but as is it’s a strong showcase for Cruise and Liman.
