After Earth 2013

     An asteroid storm causes a team of space travelers to crash on a desolate planet Earth 1000 years in the future.  The only survivors are Gen. Cypher Raige and his 13 year-old son, Kitai.  Their distress beacon is destroyed and Raige is badly injured.  The only hope of rescue is for Kitai to find the tail portion of the spaceship and locate the back-up rescue beam.  The beam can summon another ship to take them back to Nova Prime where humans have fled from the polluted Earth.  It will be a difficult journey since every creature on Earth has grown more hostile toward human life and the atmosphere has less oxygen content.

     The story line is thin but that’s not what we are here for in an action movie!  I wonder if everyone is gotten so used to bashing work done by Shaymalan that they believe everything he’s connected with must be awful?  I didn’t find that the case in this film, it’s interesting and a different take on the broken Earth theme.  3 ½* (I liked this movie)

100 min, Action directed by M. Night Shaymalan with Will and Jaden Smith, Zoe Kravitz, Sophie Okonedo, Glenn Morshower, Kristofer Hivju, Sacha Dhawan.

Note:  Blockbuster 2 ½*, imdb 5.0 out of 10, 11% critic 38% audience on Rotten Tomatoes.

Running Wild 2013

     Dayton O. Hyde is a cowboy, conservationist, award-winning writer and he is 88 years old.  He was always drawn to horses, when he witnessed the ill treatment of wild mustangs, he had to do something about it.  He established a sanctuary to help them and to preserve their bloodline.  The Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary in South Dakota has 12,000 acres and more than 500 mustangs.  All the wild horses were rescued from the wild horse roundups.  He also raises cattle to supplement the income needed to run the ranch.

     This cowboy has had a long and interesting life.  He cares about people too and many people are changed after they visit the sanctuary.  He also offers a place for Native American Indians to do their sun dance.  There are many scenes of beautiful animals and the unspoiled land.  3 ½* (I liked this movie)

93 min, Doc directed by Suzanne Mitchell with Susan Watt, Dayton O. Hyde, Tom Cook Andrew Hyde,

Note:  Imdb 7.6 out of 10. 100% audience on Rotten Tomatoes.

White House Down 2013

     John Cale is a policeman for Washington DC and he is a veteran of Afghanistan.  He is turned down after an interview for a position with the Secret Service.  He was hoping to get this job to bring him closer to his daughter since she is a big fan of the President.  Unable to tell her the truth, he accepts an offer of a tour of the White House as a side step.  A heavily armed paramilitary group picks this exact time to stage an attack to take the President hostage.  There is a powerful explosion targeting the Capital Dome.  Mass chaos ensues inside the building and John is separated from his daughter, Emily.  John goes on full military defense to save his daughter and rescue the President.

     A very high body count and you can’t feel any sorrow for the attackers, some are too dumb to think about and some are too deranged to consider.  Emily is the one to watch, if she gets killed, she knows she did her best in a stressful time.  3* (This movie is OK)

131 min, Action directed by Roland Emmerich with Channing Tatum, Jamie Foxx, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jason Clarke, Richard Jenkins, Joey King James Woods.

Note:  Blockbuster 4*, imdb 6.4 out of 10, 50% critic 63% audience on Rotten Tomatoes.

The Note III 2012

     Several characters from the original Note movie are in this film.  This series is based on a novel by Angela Hunt.  Peyton Danville is a writer and she goes to meet with her friend Dot.  Peyton is going to sign her latest book at the store Dot has taken over from her mother.  Dot is also an attorney but she’s finding it rewarding to run the store.  Violet hears Peyton being interviewed on the radio and she visits the store to meet Peyton.  Violet needs help and she’s hoping Peyton will be able to give her aide.  Violet has a young baby boy, she’s just lost her job and her place to live.  She’s run out of money and she doesn’t know what to do.

      A made for TV movie with the gaps for the commercials.  Focuses on the struggles of a young mom without any family willing to help her.  I found it interesting that Peyton’s husband is named King?  3* (This movie is OK) 

87 min, Drama directed by Douglas Barr with Genie Francis, Ted McGinley, Laci J. Mailey, Brenda Crichlow, Rob Morton, Marilyn Norry.

Note:  Blockbuster 3 ½*, imdb 5.4 out of 10.

The Heat 2013

     Sarah Ashburn is an egotistical and ambitious FBI agent.  She's a good agent but the other agents don't like her.  She loves to show her team and also the drug dog that they’ve overlooked both narcotics and firearms during a bust.  The dog was distracted by the wax coating on the drug package and a plate of meat placed on the table above the package.  Sarah is promised consideration for a promotion if she can bring down a new drug lord setting up shop in Boston.  Everything does not start off very well when she is teamed with loud-mouthed and rough Shannon Mullins.  They don’t just dislike each other, they hate each other as soon as they meet.  Sarah does things by the book and Shannon does things her own way.

     This film had a lot of potential and could have been much better.  It’s the swearing, it’s every other word and it gets tiresome very quickly.  There are some funny moments but there needs to be more.  If the funny could replace the swearing, it would be much different.  2 ½* (This movie is so-so)

117 min, Comedy directed by Paul Feig with Sandra Bullock, Melissa McCarthy, Demian Bichir, Marlon Wayans, Michael Rapaport, Jane Curtin, Spoken Reasons, Dan Baddedahl, Taran Killam.

Note:  Blockbuster 3 ½*, imdb 6.7 out of 10, 66% critic 73% audience on Rotten Tomatoes.

 

Short Term 12 2013

     This film expands on a 2008 short film of the same name.  Grace is the supervisor of a foster-care facility for at-risk teenagers.  She works with a team of counselors trying to help kids pulled from bad home situations.  Grace knows first-hand what it is like to live with an abusive parent.  She still has a difficult time talking about and processing what happened to her in the past.  The teens at this center are suffering from depression, substance abuse, self harm and other outer expressions of great inner suffering.

     This is a good film with a good message that doesn’t take a preaching stance.  It’s day-to-day life that can explode into something else at any moment.  3 ½* (I liked this movie)

96 min, Drama directed by Destin Cretton with Brie Larson, Frantz Turner, John Gallagher Jr., Kaitlyn Dever, Stephanie Beatriz, Rami Malek, Alex Calloway, Kevin Hernandez, Lydia Du Veaux, Keith Stanfield.

Note:  Imdb 8.2 out of 10, 99% critic 94% audience on Rotten Tomatoes.

Fill The Void 2012

      Esther and Yochay are ultra-Orthodox Hasidic Jews living in Tel Aviv and expecting their first baby.  This is a very happy time for them until Esther has complications in childbirth and she dies.  Esther's family steps in to help Yochay care for the baby boy.  Rabbi Aharon, Yochay's father-in-law, counsels him to remarry as soon as he feels able for his benefit and also for his young son.  An eligible woman is found in Belgium but it requires them to leave Tel Aviv.  Esther’s mother, Rivka, feels her heart will break at the loss of both Yochay and the baby after the loss of her daughter.  Rivka comes up with a plan for her 18-year-old daughter Shira to marry Yochay.  Everyone connected with the family feels this is a drastic step and they are against the marriage.

     Shira is very naïve and she lives a closed and cloistered life.  She is meeting approved gentlemen her age but suddenly hit with a very different choice.  A very narrow focus in this film and also slow moving.  3* (This movie is OK) 

90 min, Drama directed by Ifal and Rama Burshtein with Renana Raz, Yiftach Klein, Hadas Yaron, Chayim Sharir, Irit Sheleg, Razia Israeli.

Note:  Blockbuster 4*, imdb 6.8 out of 10, 87% critic 72% audience on Rotten Tomatoes.