Movie Roundup — April Edition
May. 17th, 2014 01:47 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
llcoolvadAPRIL MOVIES
I am behind on my media consumption cataloging! Sorry. And apparently April is METH MONTH, judging by the number of movies I watched this month (4) with meth as a seedy undercurrent.
21. Captain America, Theater. See previous reviews regarding the Marvel movies. YAY! Very glad I watched this before I saw the Agents of SHIELD episode that week, because I would have been very spoilered.
22. Winter's Bone, Netflix DVD. Riveting, but just made me sad. It's obviously a worst case scenario on top of another worst case scenario, but there are a lot of poor people all over the world who face similar circumstances every day, and that just sucks. John Hawkes is as mesmerizing as always. Oh, and I had to look away during the squirrel skinning and prepping scene, of course.
23. Out of the Furnace, Redbox. I simply love everything Christian Bale does. He just inhabits every single character he plays. Stunning in American Hustle, great in this—and so different. He's an honest but not bright blue collar steel worker with a kind heart in rural Pennsylvania who goes to jail for an accident. He's got a brother (Casey Affleck) who has got pretty awful PTSD from Iraq, and who can't stop himself from gambling. There is Trouble. And then there's BIG trouble in the form of Woody Harrellson, who plays the scariest dead-eyed uber redneck I've ever seen. It's also got Forest Whitaker who I generally loathe but didn't so much in this one, Sam Shepard, Willem Dafoe, and Zoe Saldana, so that's a pretty awesome cast.
24. Homefront, Redbox. Jason Statham is a retired undercover cop who put away a bad guy and was present when the bad guy's son was killed by the police. He now lives with his kid in big beautiful house in a dreary Louisiana small town riddled with poverty, meth dealers, and other bad things. James Franco is a meth dealer. Winona Ryder is his meth-whore girlfriend. Franco goes to scare away Statham and takes his kitty. Stuff happens, worse guys ride into town, fighting, shooting, dying. Clancy Brown is the sheriff and mostly isn't in the movie. Kitty is saved (I was nervous about that). I like most Statham movies for some inexplicable reason, and this was ok. Not any wry quips to speak of, so that's a mistake. But asses were kicked and bad guys were appropriately mauled.
25. Hours, Redbox. Paul Walker is almost the only character in this Katrina set piece. His wife dies in childbirth during Katrina, and through a series of events Walker is left behind with his ventilator-reliant newborn when the hospital gets evacuated. And the vent has a bad battery that he manages to charge manually--every three minutes. For two solid days. And he faces looters and a wandering dog and other things. It's a bit slow moving, but the sense of dread is pretty grippy. Walker and his charm is almost able to pull it off, but he was never an actor with a lot of range and this script would have worked better with a better actor. Plus the cookie cutter bad guys are pretty unbelievable. Still, I didn't dislike it. Cute dog, too.
26. Grudge Match, Redbox. Stallone and DeNiro are retired prize fighters who have a long history. Honestly, what else is there to say? It was actually kind of cute, except there were a couple of scenes where Stallone tries for comedy, and honestly, why? He's got his schtick. Let him do it. I had to look away during those parts almost as much as I had to look away during the squirrel skinning in Winter's Bone. Scary and cruel. Good casting, tho. Raging Bull vs. Rocky Balboa? Choice.
27. Junction, Redbox. I almost turned this one off. Felt like a writer/director debut production, and indeed it turned out to be so. Four strung-out meth addicts need money to score, and their dealer (Anthony Ruivivar chewing the scenery like it was taffy) cuts them a break: bring him a television for his mother's birthday, and he'll hook them up. They find a likely house, find a television right away, but poke around a little before they leave. They find out that the homeowner has a terrible secret. What to do? Hostage taking time, naturally. It doesn't end well, but it was pretty interesting and tense by the end. A Guiding Light star, some bit players, former As the World Turns AND Guiding Light star, and a couple of famous faces. I hope the soap stars weren't counting this as their big break!
(NOTE: I didn't pick this one based on that description, but on this one: "In the idyllic upscale neighborhood of Verterra Hill, a privatized community full of manicured lawns and sprawling colonials, four strangers make a choice that sets in motion a series of events that will change their lives, the lives of some not-so-innocent homeowners and a troubled police force forever. On a road full of twists and turns each group will be forced to make a decision that will send them all careening headlong into a deadly confrontation. In a place where nothing is what it seems and no one is who they appear to be, only one thing is certain: all choices come with a price." Doesn't that sound interesting? That's what I get for not surfing Rotten Tomatoes first! And seriously, they weren't strangers!)
28. The Last Days on Mars, Redbox. So, common opinion is that any movie with Mars in the title, with the possible exception of Veronica Mars, generally sucks. I have liked almost all of them, but that is perhaps because I am a glutton for punishment. This movie is basically zombies on Mars, and for all of that it's pretty claustrophobic and awesome. Liev Schriber, Elias Koteas and a mean Olivia Williams are part of a scientific crew on Mars. They have JUST ONE DAY left before they are to leave, and one of them has made a discovery. Instead of sharing that information with his crew, he goes out with one other person right before dark to get another core sample. Bad idea, science boy! One by one the crew gets cray-cray and the suspense builds as they destroy the habitats that the remaining crew needs to survive. Will anyone make it out alive? Big ups to the makeup crew for the shuffling frozen no-atmosphere almost-skeletal faces of a couple of the undead. Nice job!
29. The Bag Man, Redbox. Another John Cusack movie. He either must owe the mob money or have an inability to sit still, because he just works and works and works. This was pretty good for the recent crop of Cusack movies. Cusack plays a delivery guy who has to deliver a bag to his boss, Robert DeNiro (who seems to have his own issues with taking any damned movie at all—are they both vying to be the new Michael Caine?) with the stipulation that he not under any circumstances look in the bag. He has a prearranged meeting spot at the creepiest motel in the world run by the always creepy Crispin Glover. All kinds of messed up stuff happens, with Cusack grimly keeping the bag throughout. (All kinds of stuff. Midgets with pistols. Russian hookers. Dirty cops. Crispin Glover in a wheelchair. Oh, and LOTS of murder) Then the denouement and more mayhem. Fun in a grim kind of way. Not Grosse Pointe Blank fun, but still fun.
I am behind on my media consumption cataloging! Sorry. And apparently April is METH MONTH, judging by the number of movies I watched this month (4) with meth as a seedy undercurrent.
21. Captain America, Theater. See previous reviews regarding the Marvel movies. YAY! Very glad I watched this before I saw the Agents of SHIELD episode that week, because I would have been very spoilered.
22. Winter's Bone, Netflix DVD. Riveting, but just made me sad. It's obviously a worst case scenario on top of another worst case scenario, but there are a lot of poor people all over the world who face similar circumstances every day, and that just sucks. John Hawkes is as mesmerizing as always. Oh, and I had to look away during the squirrel skinning and prepping scene, of course.
23. Out of the Furnace, Redbox. I simply love everything Christian Bale does. He just inhabits every single character he plays. Stunning in American Hustle, great in this—and so different. He's an honest but not bright blue collar steel worker with a kind heart in rural Pennsylvania who goes to jail for an accident. He's got a brother (Casey Affleck) who has got pretty awful PTSD from Iraq, and who can't stop himself from gambling. There is Trouble. And then there's BIG trouble in the form of Woody Harrellson, who plays the scariest dead-eyed uber redneck I've ever seen. It's also got Forest Whitaker who I generally loathe but didn't so much in this one, Sam Shepard, Willem Dafoe, and Zoe Saldana, so that's a pretty awesome cast.
24. Homefront, Redbox. Jason Statham is a retired undercover cop who put away a bad guy and was present when the bad guy's son was killed by the police. He now lives with his kid in big beautiful house in a dreary Louisiana small town riddled with poverty, meth dealers, and other bad things. James Franco is a meth dealer. Winona Ryder is his meth-whore girlfriend. Franco goes to scare away Statham and takes his kitty. Stuff happens, worse guys ride into town, fighting, shooting, dying. Clancy Brown is the sheriff and mostly isn't in the movie. Kitty is saved (I was nervous about that). I like most Statham movies for some inexplicable reason, and this was ok. Not any wry quips to speak of, so that's a mistake. But asses were kicked and bad guys were appropriately mauled.
25. Hours, Redbox. Paul Walker is almost the only character in this Katrina set piece. His wife dies in childbirth during Katrina, and through a series of events Walker is left behind with his ventilator-reliant newborn when the hospital gets evacuated. And the vent has a bad battery that he manages to charge manually--every three minutes. For two solid days. And he faces looters and a wandering dog and other things. It's a bit slow moving, but the sense of dread is pretty grippy. Walker and his charm is almost able to pull it off, but he was never an actor with a lot of range and this script would have worked better with a better actor. Plus the cookie cutter bad guys are pretty unbelievable. Still, I didn't dislike it. Cute dog, too.
26. Grudge Match, Redbox. Stallone and DeNiro are retired prize fighters who have a long history. Honestly, what else is there to say? It was actually kind of cute, except there were a couple of scenes where Stallone tries for comedy, and honestly, why? He's got his schtick. Let him do it. I had to look away during those parts almost as much as I had to look away during the squirrel skinning in Winter's Bone. Scary and cruel. Good casting, tho. Raging Bull vs. Rocky Balboa? Choice.
27. Junction, Redbox. I almost turned this one off. Felt like a writer/director debut production, and indeed it turned out to be so. Four strung-out meth addicts need money to score, and their dealer (Anthony Ruivivar chewing the scenery like it was taffy) cuts them a break: bring him a television for his mother's birthday, and he'll hook them up. They find a likely house, find a television right away, but poke around a little before they leave. They find out that the homeowner has a terrible secret. What to do? Hostage taking time, naturally. It doesn't end well, but it was pretty interesting and tense by the end. A Guiding Light star, some bit players, former As the World Turns AND Guiding Light star, and a couple of famous faces. I hope the soap stars weren't counting this as their big break!
(NOTE: I didn't pick this one based on that description, but on this one: "In the idyllic upscale neighborhood of Verterra Hill, a privatized community full of manicured lawns and sprawling colonials, four strangers make a choice that sets in motion a series of events that will change their lives, the lives of some not-so-innocent homeowners and a troubled police force forever. On a road full of twists and turns each group will be forced to make a decision that will send them all careening headlong into a deadly confrontation. In a place where nothing is what it seems and no one is who they appear to be, only one thing is certain: all choices come with a price." Doesn't that sound interesting? That's what I get for not surfing Rotten Tomatoes first! And seriously, they weren't strangers!)
28. The Last Days on Mars, Redbox. So, common opinion is that any movie with Mars in the title, with the possible exception of Veronica Mars, generally sucks. I have liked almost all of them, but that is perhaps because I am a glutton for punishment. This movie is basically zombies on Mars, and for all of that it's pretty claustrophobic and awesome. Liev Schriber, Elias Koteas and a mean Olivia Williams are part of a scientific crew on Mars. They have JUST ONE DAY left before they are to leave, and one of them has made a discovery. Instead of sharing that information with his crew, he goes out with one other person right before dark to get another core sample. Bad idea, science boy! One by one the crew gets cray-cray and the suspense builds as they destroy the habitats that the remaining crew needs to survive. Will anyone make it out alive? Big ups to the makeup crew for the shuffling frozen no-atmosphere almost-skeletal faces of a couple of the undead. Nice job!
29. The Bag Man, Redbox. Another John Cusack movie. He either must owe the mob money or have an inability to sit still, because he just works and works and works. This was pretty good for the recent crop of Cusack movies. Cusack plays a delivery guy who has to deliver a bag to his boss, Robert DeNiro (who seems to have his own issues with taking any damned movie at all—are they both vying to be the new Michael Caine?) with the stipulation that he not under any circumstances look in the bag. He has a prearranged meeting spot at the creepiest motel in the world run by the always creepy Crispin Glover. All kinds of messed up stuff happens, with Cusack grimly keeping the bag throughout. (All kinds of stuff. Midgets with pistols. Russian hookers. Dirty cops. Crispin Glover in a wheelchair. Oh, and LOTS of murder) Then the denouement and more mayhem. Fun in a grim kind of way. Not Grosse Pointe Blank fun, but still fun.
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Date: 2014-05-17 07:24 pm (UTC)Of course most of your reviews are talking me out of the movies--all except "The Bag Man." (I've already seen "Captain America" and "Winter's Bone.")