KEVIN COSTNER & WOODY HARRELSON PLAY 'THE HIGHWAYMEN'

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR-BqesIcqPVGxPM5D9_IZerMd6_8EsmEPWfwEdhX3n4zrfM1W4TaOJR_psFOmctWJ9W83F9GHmjdPMt51AvH0N0SJA_VHmNCWA0Iw7JTENJ2uSac6JMpcpLKChGi4-9TZ1nJtuGbIQrRN/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-12-07+at+6.23.07+PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="725" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR-BqesIcqPVGxPM5D9_IZerMd6_8EsmEPWfwEdhX3n4zrfM1W4TaOJR_psFOmctWJ9W83F9GHmjdPMt51AvH0N0SJA_VHmNCWA0Iw7JTENJ2uSac6JMpcpLKChGi4-9TZ1nJtuGbIQrRN/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-12-07+at+6.23.07+PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Kevin Costner as a straight-shooter in THE HIGHWAYMEN Year: 2019</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Arthur Penn's BONNIE AND CLYDE hasn't really aged all that well. Still entertaining, and reinstating Depression-set gangster films during the counter-culture, it's said to have borrowed the style of French New Wave... But all the phony-looking back-projected driving scenes resemble b-pictures from the time of the couple's reign...<br> <br> Well this isn't a review of <i>that</i> movie but a much better and more realistic one: THE HIGHWAYAMEN centers on <i>the guy</i> who took down that famous Depression-era bank-robbing couple, and Kevin Costner's Frank Hamer, unlike Denver Pyle in 1967, isn't an inept, vengeful dolt. How the former UNTOUCHABLES star portrays Hamer, you couldn't imagine him captured and humiliated by Warren Beatty's beanpole Barrow. Herein even the couple look more like they actually did...<br>

2019, action, adventure, depression-era, gangster, kevin costner, netflix, new, road movie, thriller, william sadler, woody harrelson

KEVIN COSTNER & WOODY HARRELSON PLAY 'THE HIGHWAYMEN'

Kevin Costner as a straight-shooter in THE HIGHWAYMEN Year: 2019 Arthur Penn's BONNIE AND CLYDE hasn't really aged all that well...

PAMELA SUE MARTIN POSSESSES 'BAY COVE' WITH TIM MATHESON

<span style="font-size: 100%;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVvHEbew72cCzvwnfJqTdk_pMfP_mxYsdvSthYFczVDhTnCeeh0_ZTjzu9oRnAI0He1o8Uw7k5JwzusO5-lzLOXV5ngsMGotFsomdD-yIFzEkh2CWhrwfPZdbspvdQEmgyZsi9tIg4fKcNtN1qM1DwWJ0tWClRz6SXIOeNOzTuXjED_i0WTFXbwA7LIp4q/s1536/Screen%20Shot%202023-08-21%20at%204.24.46%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1232" data-original-width="1536" height="321" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVvHEbew72cCzvwnfJqTdk_pMfP_mxYsdvSthYFczVDhTnCeeh0_ZTjzu9oRnAI0He1o8Uw7k5JwzusO5-lzLOXV5ngsMGotFsomdD-yIFzEkh2CWhrwfPZdbspvdQEmgyZsi9tIg4fKcNtN1qM1DwWJ0tWClRz6SXIOeNOzTuXjED_i0WTFXbwA7LIp4q/w400-h321/Screen%20Shot%202023-08-21%20at%204.24.46%20AM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><u>Pamela Sue Martin in BAY COVE Year: 1987 Rates: ***1/2<br></u></span></span></span></td></tr></tbody></table>Occasionally, made-for-television horror movies are surprisingly good, like GARGOYLES, SALEM'S LOT, or </span><span style="font-size: 100%;">Pamela Sue Martin and Tim Matheson as a big city couple who decide to move to the nearby old-fashioned island of BAY COVE, which, it turns out, has some strange content...</span><br> <br> <span style="font-size: 100%;">Including an eerie old man who stares out a window SENTINEL style; neighbors who hatefully fear dogs like STRANGE INVADERS; and a cemetery that's most recent headstone dates back to the 1700's, possibly making the middle-aged residents a couple hundred years old as Pamela Sue's our investigative Mia Farrow ala ROSEMARY’S BABY (sans impregnation) while in-denial Matheson adheres quickly to the weird locals, taking the John Cassavetes soulless husband mantel; and Woody Harrelson's the heroine's best friend who, like Maurice Evans, gets a piece of clothing stolen before buying the farm... </span><br>

barbara billingsly, eighties, exploitation, horror, james b. sikking, jeff conaway, marsha moreau, mystery, occult, pamela sue martin, thriller, tim matheson, tv movie, witch, woody harrelson

PAMELA SUE MARTIN POSSESSES 'BAY COVE' WITH TIM MATHESON

Pamela Sue Martin in BAY COVE Year: 1987 Rates: ***1/2 Occasionally, made-for-television horror movies are surprisingly good, like GARGOYLE...

THURSDAY NIGHT REVIEW OF 'SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY'

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju3fiZ5S-9O3GrQd4drU2nPMiD28b7oJSzPdkYEiG0IXXWvo_ImMfDQDUg11_7Gufv8JZfILLnCSlHxzUMHWpyGkWzUPPyZnc6gW1R-mrYOwW_XY_HtadYABcewf9YLxS2GfoCGFEJBBn6/s1600/solo-a-star-wars-story-4k-poster-sd.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1002" data-original-width="1600" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju3fiZ5S-9O3GrQd4drU2nPMiD28b7oJSzPdkYEiG0IXXWvo_ImMfDQDUg11_7Gufv8JZfILLnCSlHxzUMHWpyGkWzUPPyZnc6gW1R-mrYOwW_XY_HtadYABcewf9YLxS2GfoCGFEJBBn6/s400/solo-a-star-wars-story-4k-poster-sd.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Year of Release: 2018</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> About as intense as watching someone play a video game, or playing one you've already mastered...  </blockquote> As is already known, Ron Howard had the task of correcting while directing SOLO — replacing the original filmmakers whose take was too comedic, or something that didn't gel with Lucasfilm's Kathleen Kennedy and writer Lawrence (partnered with son Jonathan) Kasdan: Could be those poor young filmmakers, who made the popular kid flicks LEGO MOVIE and CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS, put too much color into a story meant to be edgy and dark...<br> <br> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVNBqInMQGMLl-TrNmtvrw_0juQzWxP6rM_JeSUay1rqfRlxiWL17G75XsbDfev4qdVQ9TwmQw_B-2NcY5fck4EBiabgwWnq3IOOeCn-3-N0yykpPD7K9nRAUYBdEC-v7ytKQKtfHLAdHX/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-07-07+at+1.53.36+AM.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="244" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVNBqInMQGMLl-TrNmtvrw_0juQzWxP6rM_JeSUay1rqfRlxiWL17G75XsbDfev4qdVQ9TwmQw_B-2NcY5fck4EBiabgwWnq3IOOeCn-3-N0yykpPD7K9nRAUYBdEC-v7ytKQKtfHLAdHX/s320/Screen+Shot+2018-07-07+at+1.53.36+AM.jpg" width="104"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>A Pointy Falcon</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> If so, Ron Howard sure did darken it up, and not in a good BLADE RUNNER gloomy industrial kind of way. It's like looking outside a dirty window — at more dirt. And this galaxy doesn't seem all that far, far away like a fantasy-driven STAR WARS installment should. With human characters so immensely droll and mundane, every time the usual weird-looking alien pops up, it seems out of place and, for lack of a deeper, more insightful description, pretty stupid. <br> <br> But there's really only one big question for die-hard fans concerning this STAR WARS STORY. Does <i>He</i> live up to <i>Him</i>? Him meaning Harrison Ford and He meaning Alden Ehrenreich, not tall and deep-voiced but an irritating shrimp with a nasally whine, as if Leonardo DiCaprio were imitating Christian Slater channeling Jack Nicholson... <br> <br> With a filler girlfriend/crush (Emilia Clarke), and the gurgling Chewbacca at his side (after meeting in a fight scene that could've been decent given more logic in the first place), Ehrenreich doesn't even seem to be trying — for anything. His brand of cocky confidence is narrowed into a bratty grin. And while critics are praising Donald Glover's imitation of Lando Calrissian, he's got as much to do with the story as anyone on board: He's just there. And bored.<br> <br> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm_Rx1x7GZKKRuKjUZa2tHVxpkSK9RFx5ywbBqj5jQ5OjMt3ZVAFhv7n__pSwFjaCjNMq4XA2hJ2OkIfpypWsIwOzVOm4EvSPrvBT7WIWECb7hXJKjTrSDFNb02c2__4F49TTOx1LFDrr2/s1600/rc_fandango_handout_13x19_v3_lg_1.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="361" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm_Rx1x7GZKKRuKjUZa2tHVxpkSK9RFx5ywbBqj5jQ5OjMt3ZVAFhv7n__pSwFjaCjNMq4XA2hJ2OkIfpypWsIwOzVOm4EvSPrvBT7WIWECb7hXJKjTrSDFNb02c2__4F49TTOx1LFDrr2/s400/rc_fandango_handout_13x19_v3_lg_1.jpg" width="143"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>SoloMovieScore: *</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> With a non-existent plot involving several raids including a train robbery (why would tracks be needed in a world full of hovering vehicles?) to nab some kind of expensive gas to pay off a crime lord, the attempt for a pulpy pirate adventure is drowned-out by melodramatic pathos concerning slave labor, which happens on a pathetic, pretentious, manipulative loop. Even Lando's female robot literally screams for "equal rights"...<br> <br> And while Woody Harrelson tries his best as a semi-rogue named Beckett (the kind of clever/crooked mentor you'd think Solo would emulate to reach his maverick NEW HOPE persona), he's simply another ragged soul along for the ride. What's meant to be the most suspenseful scene is both a carbon-copy and contradiction of the Millennium Falcon asteroid-dodge in EMPIRE STRIKES BACK. The characters are either sitting on board the old reliable ship or flying it. Neither matters. It's about as intense as watching someone play a video game, or playing one you've already mastered...  <br> <br> While SOLO <i>seems</i> to be about how the experienced, world-weary smuggler acquired the guts to take big risks at a young age, Alden Ehrenreich plays him so bland and lazy, any intrepid skills seem merely built-in and unexplained during capers both simplistic and overly-complicated. But nothing's worse than the random pockets of embarrassingly awkward silences: Whether it be after Ehrenreich fouls-up yet another glib one-liner, or Chewbacca waiting passively for something meaningful to react to, Ron Howard, in attempting to resurrect a broken engine, has pieced together a vapid, sterile machine that's not just a let-down in the inevitable grade-curve of the STAR WARS franchise, but is simply a lousy, cheap-looking movie. Period. <br>

2018, action, adventure, alden ehrenreich, donald glover, emilia clarke, fantasy, franchise, new, ron howard, science-fiction, star wars, woody harrelson

THURSDAY NIGHT REVIEW OF 'SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY'

Year of Release: 2018 About as intense as watching someone play a video game, or playing one you've already mastered...  As is alr...

BELATED REVIEW OF WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjgOuAPYPzeGoauRGQXjj_tIEZmaxFJBMwovBxgiQbcamdDat51JB_5gRZIVBSJFZQhXt3ymeIhtSHyxhETPYoCf8Xs7Pfw3h9-tDVW8BKkyxH5VV-G9_gVi1GPFP1rWL42Cz-drj4HnuY/s1600/gallery5-gallery-image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1399" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjgOuAPYPzeGoauRGQXjj_tIEZmaxFJBMwovBxgiQbcamdDat51JB_5gRZIVBSJFZQhXt3ymeIhtSHyxhETPYoCf8Xs7Pfw3h9-tDVW8BKkyxH5VV-G9_gVi1GPFP1rWL42Cz-drj4HnuY/s400/gallery5-gallery-image.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Have These Apes Reached Their Long Goodbye? YEAR: 2017</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The good old days of the original PLANET OF THE APES, as that franchise ended with a BATTLE instead of WAR at the head of its title, things weren't so good <span style="font-family: "times";">—</span> the budget got lower with each installment so the climax was... well... very anticlimactic... </span><br> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br></span> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">And now, as far as money goes, sky's the limit, and WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES, while looking terrific with tons of special effects, has hardly anything to do with the title wherein BATTLE FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES simply lacked the necessary ingredients for it to matter...</span><br>

2017, action, franchise, sequel, woody harrelson

BELATED REVIEW OF WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES

Have These Apes Reached Their Long Goodbye? YEAR: 2017 The good old days of the original PLANET OF THE APES, as that franchise ended wit...

REVIEW OF THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY PART 1

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAQGmbmcblwdHKeXMpN2i5ZFsOjJ1-ywqv16u4dfBGt6fQq4iY300hwY8FJbu4KJxcHuNXbxG31Y1kKYXlonnYXY9uo5ccioYf4fcFM6_zrEwJVTIP5rHUogqOb-NXkvs_1Mgli_Q356E/s1600/hunger_games__mockingjay_part_1_movie_poster_by_triggerhappy039-d7iav0c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAQGmbmcblwdHKeXMpN2i5ZFsOjJ1-ywqv16u4dfBGt6fQq4iY300hwY8FJbu4KJxcHuNXbxG31Y1kKYXlonnYXY9uo5ccioYf4fcFM6_zrEwJVTIP5rHUogqOb-NXkvs_1Mgli_Q356E/s320/hunger_games__mockingjay_part_1_movie_poster_by_triggerhappy039-d7iav0c.jpg" width="221" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2014 rating: ***1/2</td></tr> </tbody></table> Once again, Woody Harrelson receives most of the giggles, but it was nice hearing the late Philip Seymour Hoffman get the first real laugh… <br /> <br /> When Jennifer Lawrence’s Katniss Everdeen erupts with angry passion about her captive soulmate, Peeta... who spends most of the film <i>being</i> filmed far away from the underground compound where the rebellion resides... Hoffman’s Plutarch Heavensbee points at Katniss and shouts something like “That’s it” with genuine heartfelt emotion: for now they’ve found the perfect commercial girl for propaganda…<br /> <br /> Propos, for short, are broadcasts to inform districts that still aren't aware of President Snow’s villainy, thus catapulting the masses into hopeful revolution. To explain the backstory would be a waste of time: if you haven’t seen THE HUNGER GAMES or CATCHING FIRE, maybe you should. And despite being a means to an end, this is the most fulfilling episode for a reason...<br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibr2cS1xb8XTg2ZypGZCXFKyIeahOh0OPi7szYztrdUTWw210r_DTWddcI6umNol4co1aJHUGQlhBi9SLJjYK_32HLT1yIMPlVglxKS_9k7OI5LGckAX_c-cEwJG_yCpbQioJ1OCX4q7w/s1600/mockingjay.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibr2cS1xb8XTg2ZypGZCXFKyIeahOh0OPi7szYztrdUTWw210r_DTWddcI6umNol4co1aJHUGQlhBi9SLJjYK_32HLT1yIMPlVglxKS_9k7OI5LGckAX_c-cEwJG_yCpbQioJ1OCX4q7w/s1600/mockingjay.jpg" width="193" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A posthumous Hoffman</td></tr> </tbody></table> From covert operations to code breaking to air raids to city ruins to dams being blown to bits, MOCKINGJAY PART 1 is a bonafide 100% good old fashion war movie. Taking a while to get rolling, the pace is intentionally slow until, as Katniss finds true motivation in battle, the action scenes occur but never without reason.  <br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> Winning an Oscar isn’t the only proof of Jennifer Lawrence’s talent as an actress... The fact she pulls off being a terrible one during the first of several propos auditions is something that takes an experienced performer to achieve… Check out an intentionally monotone Julianne Moore in one BOOGIE NIGHTS scene and you’ll get the idea...<br /> <br /> Speaking of whom, Moore is cast as the underground leader bringing the eclectic lot together. And the only real downer is exactly what the teenage target audience needs most… Romance!<br /> <br /> During weepy moments where Katniss has second thoughts while brooding over Peeta, grownup viewers may wish they’d leave Romeo and Juliet for the last (upcoming) installment... Which, gladly enough, <i>is</i> the case here... And not without a strange last-minute twist that could blast PART 2 into melodrama overdrive. But that's another bridge to cross. Let's hope it doesn't go <i>too far!</i>

2014, action, franchise, jennifer lawrence, julianne moore, philip seymour hoffman, sequel, war, woody harrelson

REVIEW OF THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY PART 1

year: 2014 rating: ***1/2 Once again, Woody Harrelson receives most of the giggles, but it was nice hearing the late Philip Seymour Hoff...

OUT OF THE FURNACE

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6RwY7-1pTXTyQOQpgUvFh728SIw1-b_qRK-NSp8bBpMNvlGeM0WX9IOKWXosyLmlAThYtlOMJmDUaRXOB2_Lm5COZRXs1PsGEiYwlXoYg-v9thcfqhR282RouYgbAJ5bI5fPnc4VKAsk/s1600/bale.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="406" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6RwY7-1pTXTyQOQpgUvFh728SIw1-b_qRK-NSp8bBpMNvlGeM0WX9IOKWXosyLmlAThYtlOMJmDUaRXOB2_Lm5COZRXs1PsGEiYwlXoYg-v9thcfqhR282RouYgbAJ5bI5fPnc4VKAsk/s640/bale.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2013 cast: Christian Bale, Casey Affleck, Woody Harrelson, Willem Dafoe, Sam Shepard rating: **</td></tr> </tbody></table> Woody Harrelson’s Harlan DeGroat is a bad ass, but more of a bad date… At the drive-in theater with his girl, he forces a hotdog into her mouth and abuses her physically. After which, he beats up a man who felt his chivalric duty to step in… Harlan won’t have none of that.<br /> <br /> Meanwhile, in a town close by yet worlds apart, Christian Bale is Russell Baze, a factory worker with a sick dad; a mellow uncle; and a little brother about to go to Iraq: A lean, wound-up Casey Affleck is Rodney Baze, and like cinematic icons Charles Bronson and Clint Eastwood, he takes part in illegal warehouse fights. These quick brawls are as good as things get, for a while. The film skips around as Bale’s Russell goes in and out of jail, loses his girlfriend, and argues with his determined (war vet) brother in choppy montage sequences not only seen in the prolonged theatrical trailer, but still resembling one. The blue collar siblings do seem real, extremely real, but they aren't that interesting nor given a chance to be.<br /> <br /> The best scenes in OUT OF THE FURNACE actually brings us closer to the fire – this involves the return of Harrelson’s sinister Harlan, who, it turns out, is a redneck meth dealing/dope shooting psychopath and, oddly enough, the most "fleshed-out" character on board… He does very bad things, one in particular, and this morphs our tough but tender anti-hero into the kind of guy to <i>finally</i> root for: When Russell decides to do something, he's got his whole heart in the matter. Too bad he wasn’t pushed a lot sooner.

2013, casey affleck, christian bale, neo noir, sam shepard, woody harrelson, zoe saldana

OUT OF THE FURNACE

year: 2013 cast: Christian Bale, Casey Affleck, Woody Harrelson, Willem Dafoe, Sam Shepard rating: ** Woody Harrelson’s Harlan DeGroat i...

THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcDZVXvDXAEmAVBO4JmzED5a6XjuyEBXqd0eyD5dXUzw3Kqhwsnrto6CcMbDYX6YkMD16CuqwuCkjBcBDoEwBoJbU4uyL6XRjK3XT3knP-ovZKuXuicenZEJon6wj7DdDFnosqpWHxt3A/s1600/hunger-games.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcDZVXvDXAEmAVBO4JmzED5a6XjuyEBXqd0eyD5dXUzw3Kqhwsnrto6CcMbDYX6YkMD16CuqwuCkjBcBDoEwBoJbU4uyL6XRjK3XT3knP-ovZKuXuicenZEJon6wj7DdDFnosqpWHxt3A/s640/hunger-games.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2013 cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Woody Harrelson, Donald Sutherland rating: *</td></tr> </tbody></table> Before you catch fire this weekend, be sure to rewatch THE HUNGER GAMES, because for the first half of this brooding, inferior sequel, the characters do nothing but wallow in their extremely complicated past… <br /> <br /> With banal, pretentious dialogue even worse than a soap opera, the teen-adored romantic adventure has reached an extremely corny level... Even the preparation for the games, introducing a new crop of teams and contestants, is dull and uninteresting: The overall plot involves a post-apocalyptic world wherein The Capitol rules with an iron fist, and to avoid threat of revolution there are televised games in which young people fight each other to the death... Making one highly-skilled warrior, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), a revered folk hero risking everything for true love. Well if that sounds both intriguing and exciting, it sure <i>was</i>...<br /> <br /> But this time around, the cutthroat survival aspect has been replaced by a wannabe JURASSIC PARK with fanged baboons and other acts of bizarre nature including killer fog, thunderstorms and tidal waves: This overly computer-generated switch-up, attempting to raise stakes from the original, ultimately leaves the audience – both within the film’s game show and inside your local theater – nothing and no one to actually root for.<br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizNI3gHl5Ps050m0iRinmPh_A5YM_1yRZrTR0duUQlvKGDXJ9x8VYCeqc0PMpgJ1Kazddk5yqSNtVgSEvlVHYokvE9KQr87pO8V6rqsFgctX-QU_xtUQEud_RWPzoDs60nkiANSZx45zfq/s1600/456x330.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="462" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizNI3gHl5Ps050m0iRinmPh_A5YM_1yRZrTR0duUQlvKGDXJ9x8VYCeqc0PMpgJ1Kazddk5yqSNtVgSEvlVHYokvE9KQr87pO8V6rqsFgctX-QU_xtUQEud_RWPzoDs60nkiANSZx45zfq/s640/456x330.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>archive review: </b>THE HUNGER GAMES <b>year:</b> 2012 <b>cast:</b> Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson<b> rating:</b> ***1/2</td></tr> </tbody></table> As a herd of children and teens are gathered for the selection of two players… one boy and one girl… who will fight to the death against 23 others on live TV resulting in one sole survivor, they're shown a short film explaining why this kind of thing happens.<br /> <br /> Set in a post-apocalyptic world, the Capitol needs these violent games as a reminder of hope and spirit, or something like that. Doesn’t make too much sense, and the premise borrows from THE RUNNING MAN while the goofy looking adults – including the show’s host and backers – resemble characters from Tim Burton's Willy Wonka. But the grownups aren’t the thing here.<br /> <br /> Jennifer Lawrence plays Katniss Everdeen, a teenage bow-and-arrow huntress who bravely offers herself as a replacement for her lithe younger sister to take part in The Hunger Games. She, along with the male selection, Peeta (Josh Hutcherson)  – whose meek disposition clashes with Katniss’s steady prowess – are sent to a big futuristic city: a much different world than their rural district.<br /> <br /> During the training process we get to know both characters... while the adults (especially a snarky talk show host) provide exposition to make things clear.<br /> <br /> The story doesn’t rush to the titular game, allowing the viewer, like the characters, to feel involved in the initial process that – while leading to a death sport with inevitably dire consequences – is filled with suspense, melancholy, and even hope as Katniss remains a constantly evolving character, learning to charm the show's viewing audience. And when the Games are underway, we’re thrust from an intentionally vapid society into a sparse brutal wilderness.<br /> <br /> Centering on Katniss and her skills to survive… especially when teamed against by a group of cutthroat players… she eventually bonds with Peeta – and the Shakespearean love story doesn’t mar the action. Especially thanks to Jennifer Lawrence, who makes one of the greatest cinematic female heroes for the teen set. With narrowed eyes and swift agile, her natural beauty’s matched by cunning resilience while her pale vulnerability keeps us hoping she survives.<br /> <br /> Filmed mostly in closeups and tense medium shots, THE HUNGER GAMES is replete with twists, turns and backstory only readers of the popular novels can fully understand – but the characters are everything here. It's their tale. It's their fight. And we're just along for the ride.

2013, adventure, donald sutherland, franchise, jennifer lawrence, sequel, woody harrelson

THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE

year: 2013 cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Woody Harrelson, Donald Sutherland rating: * Before you catch fire this weekend, be...

FREE BIRDS

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJfZ8jIJ4-T_f_sPzhcCj8OasXMkT-d3nQkvfoKjRUWDdhIHWWCPWrUTVeqA4H7lbDvHSaKDgrYGXneQ__vK2EmqTSr7nWSlMI8iLNkFDMSQU2OCNwr4wbc0HK3m04wcD_-5MKs_oxbg0/s1600/free-birds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJfZ8jIJ4-T_f_sPzhcCj8OasXMkT-d3nQkvfoKjRUWDdhIHWWCPWrUTVeqA4H7lbDvHSaKDgrYGXneQ__vK2EmqTSr7nWSlMI8iLNkFDMSQU2OCNwr4wbc0HK3m04wcD_-5MKs_oxbg0/s640/free-birds.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2013 cast: Owen Wilson, Woody Harrelson, George Takei, Keith David, Amy Poehler rating: *1/2</td></tr> </tbody></table> It’s been a while since history class… Was Miles Standish, one of the original Plymouth Rockers, as much a tyrant as General George Custer? Well he is here in this time-traveling kiddie flick about a couple of turkeys going to the past, days before the first Thanksgiving, to make sure Turkeys are off the menu: Owen Wilson, using his signature surfer deadpan, becomes the laidback blue turkey that doesn’t fit in with the others. He's a surprise choice, picked by the President of the United States resembling a square-jawed superhero with Bill Clinton’s voice, to be the one turkey pardoned for his rambunctiously spoiled daughter…<br /> <br /> Soon enough Reggie is abducted by Woody Harrelson’s alpha male Turkey, Jake, from a charmed life in Camp David… A good bulk of the first half takes place inside the spacey underground where the President keeps a top secret time machine... When Jake and Reggie thwart the President’s guards, there’s a whole lotta mindlessly entertaining action… But when they enter the Pilgrim era inside an egg-shaped vessel (voiced by George Takei), the film doesn’t progress… The duo meet up with a band of turkeys holed up underground – despite being targeted for the upcoming dinner, they live a safe and secluded existence. Reggie meets his too-perfect love interest while, on the outside, the evil Miles Standish plans the upcoming slaughter...<br /> <br /> Children will yawn and adults will sigh as the next hour deals with the turkeys, liken to Native Americans battling evil white men. But that’s giving the bickering second act way too much credit… Even the action sequences are tedious and dull, mainly because our heroes deserve to be eaten – which would at least shut them up...

2013, animated, george takei, owen wilson, woody harrelson

FREE BIRDS

year: 2013 cast: Owen Wilson, Woody Harrelson, George Takei, Keith David, Amy Poehler rating: *1/2 It’s been a while since history class...

NOW YOU SEE ME

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY3IDGZ7zejpBGhz4yQ3Ev5Od6bOLv1lDhRxFBgIooXac5tIzO6Q7HjX_fa5AMVnFM-W-NCD3WUO0HbE7FoOlVZbTkVu-j7w6U0msP5VitngCfPsCvIhYqgwiKax3QJhtDSju_MtqcemcX/s1600/now-youseeme.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY3IDGZ7zejpBGhz4yQ3Ev5Od6bOLv1lDhRxFBgIooXac5tIzO6Q7HjX_fa5AMVnFM-W-NCD3WUO0HbE7FoOlVZbTkVu-j7w6U0msP5VitngCfPsCvIhYqgwiKax3QJhtDSju_MtqcemcX/s640/now-youseeme.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>year: </b>2013 cast: Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Isla Fisher, Michael Caine <b>rating:</b> ***</td></tr> </tbody></table> Perhaps NOW YOU DON’T, the second half of the famous line NOW YOU SEE ME, would be a more fitting title… After we get to know “The Four Horseman,” a group of magician/con artists using their showcase to steal from the rich and give to the poor (think David Copperfield meets Robin Hood), we don’t see them very much or get to know them all too well.  <br /> <br /> That’s not entirely bad since Mark Ruffalo’s put-upon FBI agent Dylan Rhodes… constantly on the trail of the roving charlatans, each a solo act until they were hired by a mysterious backer to pull off three big heist/shows as a team… is a worthy main character: Through his befuddled eyes we venture from one level onto the next.<br /> <br /> The Horseman include Jesse Eisenberg as a snarky card shark; Isla Fisher as a risk taking performance artist; Dave Franco as the group’s physically-charged street fighting freshman trying to prove his worth; and scene stealer Woody Harrelson as a charming comic relief mentalist creeping into everyone’s minds. Woody’s Merritt McKinney is, by far, the coolest cog in the wheel. But once each score is done we’re left with duped agent Rhodes lost in a perpetual cat and mouse maze.<br /> <br /> Along with an exposition-spouting Morgan Freeman, whose act is to debunk all magicians, you’ll be guessing through each step: although the actual stage shows are downright preposterous unless you put this movie in the Science Fiction category. And to bring the cerebral mind games down to earth there’s a prolonged fistfight and car chase leading to a giant twist ending too complicated for its own good, over-explaining the ultimate ruse and making everything (and everyone) seem simplistically sleight of hand in comparison.

2013, jesse eisenberg, mark ruffalo, michael caine, morgan freeman, thriller, woody harrelson

NOW YOU SEE ME

year: 2013 cast: Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Isla Fisher, Michael Caine  rating: *** Perhaps NOW YOU DON’T, the sec...

THE HUNGER GAMES

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizNI3gHl5Ps050m0iRinmPh_A5YM_1yRZrTR0duUQlvKGDXJ9x8VYCeqc0PMpgJ1Kazddk5yqSNtVgSEvlVHYokvE9KQr87pO8V6rqsFgctX-QU_xtUQEud_RWPzoDs60nkiANSZx45zfq/s1600/456x330.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="462" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizNI3gHl5Ps050m0iRinmPh_A5YM_1yRZrTR0duUQlvKGDXJ9x8VYCeqc0PMpgJ1Kazddk5yqSNtVgSEvlVHYokvE9KQr87pO8V6rqsFgctX-QU_xtUQEud_RWPzoDs60nkiANSZx45zfq/s640/456x330.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>year:</b> 2012 <b>cast:</b> Jennifer Lawrence<b> rating:</b> ***1/2</td></tr> </tbody></table> As a herd of children and teens are gathered for the selection of two players… one boy and one girl… who will fight to the death against 23 others on live TV resulting in one sole survivor, they're shown a short film explaining why this kind of thing happens.<br /> <br /> Set in a post-apocalyptic world, the Capitol needs these violent games as a reminder of hope and spirit, or something like that. Doesn’t make too much sense, and the premise borrows from THE RUNNING MAN while the goofy looking adults – including the show’s host and backers – resemble characters from Tim Burton's Willy Wonka. But the grownups aren’t the thing here.<br /> <br /> Jennifer Lawrence plays Katniss Everdeen, a teenage bow-and-arrow huntress who bravely offers herself as a replacement for her lithe younger sister to take part in The Hunger Games. She, along with the male selection, Peeta (Josh Hutcherson)  – whose meek disposition clashes with Katniss’s steady prowess – are sent to a big futuristic city: a much different world than their rural district.<br /> <br /> During the training process we get to know both characters... while the adults (especially a snarky talk show host) provide exposition to make things clear.<br /> <br /> The story doesn’t rush to the titular game, allowing the viewer, like the characters, to feel involved in the initial process that – while leading to a death sport with inevitably dire consequences – is filled with suspense, melancholy, and even hope as Katniss remains a constantly evolving character, learning to charm the show's viewing audience. And when the Games are underway, we’re thrust from an intentionally vapid society into a sparse brutal wilderness.<br /> <br /> Centering on Katniss and her skills to survive… especially when teamed against by a group of cutthroat players… she eventually bonds with Peeta – and the Shakespearean love story doesn’t mar the action. Especially thanks to Jennifer Lawrence, who makes one of the greatest cinematic female heroes for the teen set. With narrowed eyes and swift agile, her natural beauty’s matched by cunning resilience while her pale vulnerability keeps us hoping she survives.<br /> <br /> Filmed mostly in closeups and tense medium shots, THE HUNGER GAMES is replete with twists, turns and backstory only readers of the popular novels can fully understand – but the characters are everything here. It's their tale. It's their fight. And we're just along for the ride.

2012, action, blockbuster, donald sutherland, jennifer lawrence, woody harrelson

THE HUNGER GAMES

year: 2012 cast: Jennifer Lawrence rating: ***1/2 As a herd of children and teens are gathered for the selection of two players… one...

FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq5POI0Hoo_4_P6_gL8l2JDM2YhMT77LyvGH5EPjflLX8iZkpNuVALsORfH-FXPZl_kN6tdWhoueXMYnRmoTeXLPTQaOaFEh2_H2x0LlU7wAYeHS9TkuNzxNq2v_SmyOh5FreZItHOzdGO/s1600/kunis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq5POI0Hoo_4_P6_gL8l2JDM2YhMT77LyvGH5EPjflLX8iZkpNuVALsORfH-FXPZl_kN6tdWhoueXMYnRmoTeXLPTQaOaFEh2_H2x0LlU7wAYeHS9TkuNzxNq2v_SmyOh5FreZItHOzdGO/s320/kunis.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><b>title:</b> FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS<br /> <b>year:</b> 2011<br /> <b>cast:</b> Justin Timberlake, Mila Kunis<br /> <b>rating:</b> ***<br /> <br /> This movie does one thing successfully – and it’s mindboggling. Mila Kunis, as a young lady no one wants to commit to, will seem completely unattractive. Kunis plays a big city corporate “headhunter” dumped by a guy who, in real life, wouldn’t tie her shoes. She then hires Justin Timberlake into their big city firm. Their job doesn’t matter and both actors seem way too young for their occupations – much of the dialog sounds forced into the mouths of two actors better suited for a college-based TV show. But both try their best to make the premise believable: two beautiful people agree to remain friends with benefits i.e. they can have great sex but won’t be in an actual relationship. Of course they wind up falling for each other but there’s a lot happening before this inevitable conclusion – which is never fully realized. The scriptwriters try so hard to stray from the cookie-cutter rom-com template that there’s a movie within a movie (starring Jason Segel) that purposely basks in clichés, including manipulate sappy soundtrack and banal one-liners: making it clear to the characters and audience we’re breaking new ground. But are we? This premise has been done before, but Kunis and Timberlake have an essential chemistry to make their sexual escapades – and the morning-after banter sparking an inevitably tense kinship – feel fresh and involving. Patricia Clarkson adds the needed aged experience as Kunis’s quirky mom and Woody Harrelson’s turn as Timberlake’s gay pal basks in intentional scene-stealing dialog. But it’s Timberlake who, despite a whiny high-pitched voice not fully befitting the big screen, succeeds by convincing us that Kunis might not be a worthy long-term girlfriend – now that’s a feat.

comedy, justin timberlake, mila kunis, patricia clarkson, woody harrelson

FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS

title: FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS year: 2011 cast: Justin Timberlake, Mila Kunis rating: *** This movie does one thing successfully – an...