Army Ranger Briggs (Tatum) is messed up with head trauma and PTSD after his service in Afghanistan. He’s begging to re-up, but can’t get permission from his supervisor. He makes such a pest of himself, the captain sends him on a mission, and if he completes it successfully, Briggs will get what he wants. How […]
Netflix’s first action flick of the new year opens with an explicative “this,” explicative “that,” explicative “everything,” covered by a barrage of gunfire intended to bait the mindless action movie fan on the end of their remote. If you remember that terrible Anthony Hopkins exorcism film called “The Rite” (2011), it’s the same director. Mikael
Although this is an interesting story, The Last Vermeer is uneven in its presentation and inserts events in the script that seem to be intended simply to make the film more exciting to the current generation. John Orloff (pen name, James McGee) wrote the script about a character named Han van Meergren who sold forged Vermeer paintings to
Film critic turned director Rod Lurie’s latest film “The Outpost” is based on CNN Reporter Jake Tapper’s book by the same name. It opens with quotes from military leaders regarding the unique dangers of this part of Afghanistan, background notes about time and place, title credits, the names of every character on screen, location credits,
Documentarian Dan Krauss wades into his first feature film, adapting his 2014 doc The Kill Team for the big screen. While virtually nothing’s new in the story of a young US Army Soldier finding a conscious when faced with moral decay in his unit, Krauss dramatization of this true story is still effective. Less is
Acclaimed director Jennifer Kent has followed up international hit horror film “The Babadook” with something even more unsettling. “The Nightingale” takes the viewer deep into the Tasmanian Bush, in Colonial Australia. The controversial film premiered to accolades at the Venice Film Festival in 2018 but prompted walkouts during its Sydney, Australia premiere. “The Nightingale” depicts brutal scenes of
The foreign film category has more buzz this year than usual. With Netflix pushing Roma all the way into the main categories including best picture, and becoming the presumed foreign language winner, there is a heightened awareness in non-English language movies. Cold War made a big splash at Cannes, resulting in it’s purchase by Amazon
Documentary filmmaker Matthew Heineman successfully navigates the transition to feature films with A Private War. Like embedded war laden journalism films before it, A Private War follows the extremist (not extreme) style dedication of women who put duty and self-assigned purpose over everything else, including their own lives. Veronica Guerin comes to mind, although her
Just what we need, a submarine action flick depicting Americans and Russians working together for the greater good. Hunter Killer is suspenseful for sure, but not very engaging, because it’s completely ludicrous. Nearly anytime you see Gerard Butler’s name on a movie, you better wait for matinee pricing or a dollar rental, otherwise, you are
Sam Claflin forgoes his usual romantic-leading-man role for a muddy cerebral one in the trenches of this World War I drama. Journey’s End opens at an almost stagnant pace, with no score, only uniformed men talking and moving around. When Paul Bettany (The Avengers) finally gets on screen, the story livens up a bit. To