Recent theatrical viewings

[Rev. Powell]

RIFFTRAX: MIAMI CONNECTION: I had never seen this movie before; I think Rifftrax was a good way to approach it. The film is an oh-so-80s mashup about a bad pop band who are also tae-kwon-do experts and the mess they get into with some ninja bikers. It's bad---real bad---but it doesn't have all the WTF? scenes I look for in a bad movie, so extra jokes were welcome. The short, about the useless superhero "Measuring Man," who teaches young boys about measurements, was a hoot. 3.5/5 overall.

[Rev. Powell]

SICARIO: A gruesome discovery in a drug house leads an FBI officer to join a multi-agency team conducting dubious clandestine anti-cartel actions across the Mexican border. Ethically complex dramatic thriller that takes out a hit on the current prosecution of the drug war. 3.5/5.

[Rev. Powell]

THE INTERN: A bored retiree (Robert de Niro) becomes a "senior" intern at an Internet startup, becoming the unofficial mentor of the millennial workers, including the business' harried, workaholic founder (Anne Hathaway). Pleasant and predictable bit of nostalgia for the avuncular idea of manhood as solid, hardworking, gentlemanly; the audience laughed at all the obvious points, until the plot takes a late detour into too much drama. 2.5/5.

[Derf]

Pan (2015). Much better than I feared it might be. It begins with infant Peter being left on the steps of an orphanage during WWII. The boys in the orphanage, run by evil nuns who steal their rations and beat them (as you would expect in a story like this) begin to go missing, and Peter investigates, only to find himself a victim of kidnapping by pirates in a flying galleon who take him to Neverland. Adventures ensue. The ending leaves an obvious set up for a sequel, but the movie is well done enough that I didn't mind and will go see it. The only performance that seemed subpar to me was that of Hook, whose affectations were obviously put on to make him "memorable." 3/4 Sprinkles of Fairy Dust.

[Derf]

The Martian (2015). Matt Damon stars as Mark, who is stranded on Mars for over a year while rescue efforts are made. It is basically "Cast Away" meets "Apollo 13." The only thing missing was him drawing a face on a potato and naming it Spud. It is reasonably well done, but not quite as great as it wants to be. 2/4 stars.

[Rev. Powell]

GOODNIGHT MOMMY (2014): When a mother of twins returns home after an unspecified operation, one of the brothers come to believe that the stern woman whose face is hidden behind bandages is an impostor. Starts with a slow psychological burn, but by the end it will have you squirming as much as any torture porn fest. No mother will ever allow her child to keep hissing cockroaches as pets after seeing this. 3.5/5.

[Rev. Powell]

THE MARTIAN: A botanist is accidentally left behind on Mars and must figure out how to stay alive for months until a rescue mission can be arranged. A tribute to the human spirit of exploration, more inspirational than believable. Of course, the most science-fictional element of the story is the idea that NASA would launch a manned mission to Mars in our lifetime. NASA could probably send five astronauts to the corner deli to pick up lunch, but that seems to be about the limit of its capabilities right now. 4/5.

[BoyScoutKevin]

The Martian (2015). Matt Damon stars as Mark, who is stranded on Mars for over a year while rescue efforts are made. It is basically "Cast Away" meets "Apollo 13." The only thing missing was him drawing a face on a potato and naming it Spud. It is reasonably well done, but not quite as great as it wants to be. 2/4 stars.

The 1st weekend it opened, it had the 2nd biggest weekend opening in October, at somewhere north of $50 million. The 2nd weekend, it continued to be the #1 film at the box office in the U.S., at somewhere around $42 million. Apparently, it has "legs."

Of course, for every winner, we have one or more losers.

"Pan," a film that apparently cost $150 million to make, had an opening of around $15 million here in the U.S., and is thus unlikely to earn back at the box office, the cost it took to make it.

"Steve Jobs," while it did apparently have a decent opening, has faded fast at the box office, and is thus a film that apparently is without "legs."

[Rev. Powell]

BRIDGE OF SPIES (2015): Insurance lawyer James B. Donovan (Tom Hanks) is tapped to defend an accused Soviet spy at the height of the Cold War, then negotiates a prisoner exchange with the Warsaw Pact powers. The first half proposes that America's strength comes from its adherence to fairness and the rule of law no matter the security panic of the day---always a relevant theme---while the second tilts towards painting a portrait of Donovan as a badass negotiator, making him into a mini-Oskar Schindler. 3.5/5.

[Rev. Powell]

THE PEANUTS MOVIE (2015): Lovestruck loser Charlie Brown tries to impress the new kid in town, "little red-haired girl." Low key nostalgic tour through "Peanuts" familiar running gags---kite-eating tress, 5-cent psychiatry, long-suffering Charlie Brown's continual sacrifice of his dignity for the amusement of his cruel peers---with a spiffy visual upgrade that stays true to the character design. I do miss my favorite "Peanuts" character, Dolly Madison, the kid who always had snack cakes. 3.5/5.

AIMY IN A CAGE (2015): While a mysterious virus ravages the outside world, a creative but bratty teenage girl is forced to undergo brain surgery to become normal, then imprisoned by her family in an increasingly nightmarish and surreal captivity. This super low-budget indie has an interesting cast (Allyisn Ashley Arm, Crispin Glover, Paz de la Huerta) and spectacular art design that makes Aimy's world looks like a post-apocalyptic "Pee-Wee's Playhouse", but the humorless psychological torture, unlikable characters and nonsensical manic pacing make for an unpleasant movie. I saw it in a pre-release screener, but I don't think this will end up with any serious distribution. 2/5.

[Rev. Powell]

Not really theatrical viewings but I have screeners for movies still in theaters, so I'm putting them here for now...

ENTERTAINMENT: A low-rent insult comedian who performs in a tux with a grotesque combover plays unappreciative dive bars throughout the Southwest on an increasingly surreal tour. Imagine Andy Kaufman's "Tony Clifton" character as a real person with a tragic backstory and an almost autistic inability to connect to his fellow human beings and you will get a hint of the unique tone of this despairing but bitterly honest film. 3.5/5.

3 1/2 MINUTES, TEN BULLETS: Told from the victim's family's perspective, this documentary follows the Jordan Davis murder trial, where, after a parking lot argument over loud rap music, a forty-five year old white man fired ten shots into a car with four black suburban teenagers, claiming self-defense because he thought he saw Davis brandishing a weapon (no weapon was ever recovered). A beautifully composed, thorough and moving look at a senseless tragedy, although the legal, factual and moral issues involved in this case are not actually very complex. 4/5.

[Rev. Powell]

More screeners...

BROOKLYN: A young, poor, small-town Irish woman takes a job in Brooklyn in the 1950s, and must choose between her longing to return to her home and the promise of love in her adopted country. Pleasant, if somewhat cliched, historical romance with an excellent performance by Saoirse Ronan; will especially appeal to Irish grandmothers and partisans of "old-fashioned entertainment." 3/5.

[Rev. Powell]

SPOTLIGHT: Reporters from the Boston Globe's "spotlight" investigative reporting team uncover a conspiracy by the Catholic Church to systematically cover up incidents of sexual abuse by the clergy. Mark Ruffalo is the designated hothead, but in general SPOTLIGHT is wisely content to avoid "Oscar-bait" acting moments and let the drama of the situation carry the day. 4/5.

IRIS (screener): A portrait of spry, spunky 93-year old fashion plate and "geriatric celebrity" Iris Apfel, known for her colorful style and trademark glasses. Keep in mind I'm in the minority here, but although Iris is sweet this is disappointing lightweight fluff from a documentarian as legendary as Albert Maysles, and for a heterosexual guy it's a little like going clothes shopping with your grandma---no matter how much you love her, you'd rather be watching a football game. 2.5/5.

[Rev. Powell]

CREED: Adonis Creed, the illegitimate son of Apollo Creed, seeks out Rocky Balboa to train him as a fighter. New blood, old formula, good fight footage, this virtual remake of the original ROCKY works reasonably well, but I'm not looking forward to the five rematches. 3/5.

JAMES WHITE: Unemployed, irresponsible, hard-drinking 21-year old New Yorker James White tries to pull himself together long enough to take care of his mother as she dies from cancer. This downbeat death drama/character study is an actor's showcase for Christopher Abbot and Cynthia Nixon. 3.5/5.

[Rev. Powell]

CAROL (2015): Two women in 1950s New York embark on a secret affair at a time when a "diagnosis" of lesbianism could cost a mother custody of her child. When watching a gay romance movie, I always ask myself: would this bore me if the story was rewritten as a relationship between two straight people? The answer is almost always "yes." 3/5.