We've all seen disaster films and inspirational films as well, but have you seen a film that is both disaster and inspirational? Interestingly, we have this combination in the form of "Left Behind".
One of the most important events in the history of mankind is happening right now. In the blink of an eye, the biblical Rapture, or to be caught up, strikes the world. Millions of people disappear without a trace. All that remains are their clothes and belongings, and in an instant, terror, chaos and pandemonium spread around the world. The vanishings cause unmanned vehicles to crash and burn. Planes fall from the sky. Emergency forces everywhere are devastated. Gridlock, riots and lootings overrun the cities. There is no one to help or provide answers. In a moment, the entire planet is plunged into darkness.
This story centers on Ray Steele (Nicolas Cage), a commercial pilot who, on his birthday, decides to pull an extra shift and do a flight only to end up leaving his daughter, Chloe (Cassi Thomson), coming to surprise him, at the airport. While she's there she ends up meeting well known investigative reporter, Buck Williams (Chad Michael Murray) whom happens to be booked on her dad's flight. Later, while Chloe and her young brother Raymie (Major Dodson) are at the mall, she goes to hug him and he suddenly vanishes. Chaos ensues from this point leaving all to wonder what in the world is going on.
Others to round out the cast are Lea Thompson as Irene Steele, Ray's wife, Nicky Whelan as Hattie Durham, a flight attendant, Gary Grubbs as Dennis, Martin Klebba as Melvin Weir, Jordan Sparks as Shasta Carvell, Stephanie Honore as Kimmy, another flight attendant, Quinton Aaron as Simon, Alec Rayme as Hassid, Han Soto as Edwin. Lance E. Nichols as Pastor Bruce Barnes and Kamryn Johnson as Katie.
Believe it or not, this film was directed by a stunt coordinator--Vic Armstrong ("Army of One" '93). Whether it be doing stunts or coordinator, he has been involved in 117 films. Wow! So, how does this make one a director? Being involved in coordinating stunts and working along side of one director after another will definitely rub off, especially if one is interested in soaking up as much knowledge as possible. This was written by Paul Lalonde and John Patus based on the novel by Jerry B. Jenkins and Tim LaHaye. These guys basically wrote a novel and script using biblical scripture as its base source. The film uses the scripture: Mark 13:32 (But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.) There are others scriptures as well, but suffice it to say, these guys are definitely driving home a point. It is an effective story giving you a glimpse of what happens to those that are left behind, and allowing us to meditate over this event.
As both an inspirational and disaster film, this gives all something to gnaw on. With this event apparently coming soon, should those who definitely don't know where they stand with the Lord turn and change or do they, too, want to be left behind. Think about it.
Out of 4 Stars: 3 Rated: PG-13 110mins.
When I saw the first trailer of "Gone Girl", I started yawning, because I just ascertained that this was going to be another Scott and Lacy Peterson ,'wife gone missing and husband is soon suspected of foul play' type of film. The main reason I was motivated to see this was for Affleck's acting. He's typically a hit and miss, however from the trailer, he looked like he was going to give a riveting performance which he did. After watching this film, I truly got much more than I bargained for.
On the occasion of his fifth wedding anniversary, Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) after entering his home one morning, soon reports that his wife Amy (Rosamund Pike), has gone missing. Under pressure from the police, namely Detective Rhonda Boney (Kim Dickens) and a growing media frenzy, Nick's portrait of a blissful union begins to crumble. Soon his lies, deceits and strange behavior have everyone asking the same dark question: Did Nick Dunne kill his wife? Or did he not due to some weird twists in this outlandish story?
Others to round the cast are Neil Patrick Harris as Desi Collings, longtime friend of Amy's, Tyler Perry as Tanner Bolt, Nick's attorney, Carrie Coon as Margo Dunne, Nick's twin sister, Patrick Fugit as Officer Jim Gilpin, David Clennon as Rand Elliott, Amy's father, Lisa Banes as Marybeth Elliott, Amy's mother, Missi Pyle as Ellen Abbott, Emily Ratajkowski as Andie Hardy, Lola Kirke as Greta, Boyd Holbrook as Jeff, Scoot McNairy as Tommy O'Hara, Sela Ward as Sharon Schieber and Leonard Kelly-Young as Bill Dunne, Nick's father.
This was brilliantly directed by David Fincher ("The Beat of the Live Drum" (Documentary) '85, "Alien 3" '92, "Se7en" '95, "The Game" '97, "Fight Club" '99, "Panic Room" '02, "Zodiac" '07, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" '08, "The Social Network" '10, "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" '11). This guy has a true gift in being able to extract that certain intensity out of his actors so it's almost as if you're looking at real people and not actors at work. He has proved this time and again: "Fight Club" and "Se7en" in particular. Now the real question is: Where did the writer, Gillian Flynn come from? Wow, even though this was based on her novel of the same name, her experience in screenwriting is quite limited. Most novelists can't write themselves out of a wet paper bag, however this IS the exception. There is more work she is working on, and no doubt we will be seeing her name more than once in the very near future. I'll tell you, this script simply flowed like water from one scene to the next, and it could've been easily convoluded, because there was a bit of back-tracking here to lead us to the ultimate climax, and what a climax! This has many one, two punches in it that you do NOT see coming, so beware.
What can I say but that what I perceived as an ordinary plot/storyline was truly one well crafted American film that has possible Oscar nods come that time. If a good story, fine acting, directing and writing is your thing, look no farther--this has it all in spades!
Out of 4 Stars: 4 Rated: R 149mins.
Vigilante films are very popular especially in this day and age where, so much of the time, the victim of a crime seems to get less and less justice, and the criminal gets away with 'murder'--quite literally in some cases. So with a populace more and more up in arms with the 'status quo', it's no wonder how films like "The Equalizer" would be more popular today than ever.
Robert McCall (Denzel Washington) is a man who believes he has put his mysterious past behind him and dedicated himself to beginning a new, quiet life. But when McCall meets Teri (Chloe Grace Moretz), a young girl under the control of ultra-violent Russian gangsters, he can't stand idly by--he has to help her. Armed with hidden, lethal skills that allow him to serve vengeance against anyone who would brutalize the helpless, McCall comes out of his self-imposed retirement and finds his desire for justice reawakened. McCall soon realizes that by attacking and killing a good deal of the gangsters, he just opened up 'Pandora's Box' in the process. All this only alerted the Russian kingpin, Teddy (Marton Csokas) to come to the U.S. to now have to get involved, and this is when it really gets ugly. If someone has a problem, if the odds are stacked against them, if they have nowhere else to turn, McCall will help, because he is The Equalizer.
Others to round out the cast are David Harbour as Masters, a corrupt cop helping the Russian mafia, Haley Bennett as Mandy, Bill Pullman and Melissa Leo as Brian and Susan Plummer, former colleagues of McCall, David Meunier as Slavi, Johnny Skourtis as Ralphie, Alex Veadov as Tevi, Vladimir Kulich as Vladimir Pushkin and E. Roger Mitchell as Lead Investigator.
This was directed with such underlying intensity by Antoine Fuqua ("The Replacement Killers" '98, "Bait" 2000, "Training Day" '01, "Tears of the Sun" '03, "Lightning in a Bottle" (Documentary) '04, "King Arthur" '04, "Murder Book (TV movie) '05, "Shooter" '07, "Brooklyn's Finest" '09, "Olympus Has Fallen" '13, "Exit Strategy" (TV movie) '14). The character of McCall could have played out in an over-the-top type character, and would have been effective, however with Fuqua's fine directing along with the incredible acting of Washington, this man possessing a subtle, calculating, slow-fuse, underlying, seemingly quiet individual made this man more dangerous to these brutal killers than the other way around. In other words, it was the mouse chasing the cat and not visa versa. This was well written By Richard Wenk based on the TV series by Michael Sloan and Richard Lindheim. You must be patient with this film--it starts off a bit slow, however, after a point, you'll see why. This must give the audience the feeling of what McCall does in this is truly justified, and to accomplish this task, Wenk had to let you get to know this guy on many levels so we can see that he's a 'regular' guy, but if push comes to shove, what's going to send him over that edge? All of this is delineated at the beginning--it is extremely important to take this in. This is not perfect, but considering there is only a couple of choppy places, those are not enough to impede on this story, and watching Denzel is just so effortless, one has a tendency to forget everything else on the screen.
As said above, even if you're not into vigilante films, Denzel's performance will keep you riveted to that seat, and that alone is worth the price of admission.
Out of 4 Stars: 3.5 Rated: R 131mins.
As we have recently entered one of the two film dead zones of the calendar year--the other being from Jan.1st-May 1st, there is an occasional gem thrown in to keep our attention on that movie screen. That gem is in the setting of "The Boxtrolls" which is a fun-filled, fantastical joyride for all to see.
This speaks of a community of quirky, mischievous creatures who have lovingly raised an orphan boy named Eggs (Isaac Hempstead Wright) in the amazing home they've built beneath the streets of a city called Cheesebridge. The story is about Eggs being raised by underground cave-dwelling trash collectors who tries to save his friends from an evil exterminator, basically the town's villain, Archibald Snatcher (Ben Kingsley). When Snatcher comes up with a plot to rid the town of The Boxtrolls--he receives the coveted 'white hat' from Lord Portley-Rind (Jared Harris) for doing so, Eggs decides to venture above ground and "into the light" where he meets and teams up with assertive, feisty Winnie (Elle Fanning). Together, they devise a daring plan to save The Boxtrolls Family.
Others to round out the cast are Nick Frost, Richard Ayoade and Tracy Morgan as Mr. Trout, Mr. Pickles and Mr. Gristle, respectively, henchmen of Snatcher, Dee Bradley Baker as Fish/Wheels/Bucket, Steve Blum as Shoe/Sparky, Nika Futterman as Oil Can/Knickers, Pat Fraley as Fragile/Sweets, Fred Tatasciore as Clocks/Specs, Simon Pegg as Herbert Trubshaw, Toni Collette as Lady Portley-Rind and Maurice LaMarche as Sir Langsdale.
This was directed with grit, pathos and poignancy by Graham Annable (Shorts) and Anthony Stacchi ("Open Season" (co-dir.) '06). Considering these guys haven't sat in that director's chair very much, these two were amazing. Every character's feelings were incredibly well delineated. It was equally well scripted by Irena Brignull and Adam Pava based on the delicious children's story, "Here Be Monsters" by Alan Snow. With such a great story, how could these writers possibly go wrong? The way that this showed us that monsters aren't monsters just because they're ugly was amazing. Monsters are what goes on in the heart, not necessarily the external, and this was made crystal clear all in an entertaining and artful way. Even if the message doesn't grab you, the Claymation animation will. This was created by Laika Entertainment ("Coraline" '09 and "ParaNorman" '12), and was just as creative as its predecessors.
This fantastic story is one for all who like a fun-filled, high-energy, adventurous tale for the young as well as for the young at heart all in a rollicking 3D format to make that roller coaster ride that much more eventful. Kudos to all who had anything to do with this production!
Out of 4 Stars: 4 Rated: PG 97mins.
Crime mysteries are always compelling to view, because you know the law has to be upheld and at the same time, one wonders how the law can be upheld when the main characters are under such stress in order to solve the case. Films like "Zodiac", "Prisoners", the most recent "The Drop" and others are compelling because they put us in a place where we must figure out what's going on and what can be done to solve the problem without the risk of vigilantism. "A Walk Among the Tombstones" walks that tightrope along with the aforementioned films as well.
New York City, 1991. Matt Scudder (Liam Neeson) is off duty as a NYPD cop having a drink in a neighborhood bar, when three thugs walk in, scuffle with the bartender, shots break out, Scudder shoots two of them all the while a crisis happens and the scene fades.
New York City, 1999. Scudder is now an ex-NYPD cop who works as an unlicensed private investigator operating just outside the law. When Scudder reluctantly agrees to help a heroin trafficker Kenny Kristo (Dan Stevens) hunt down the men who kidnapped then brutally murdered his wife, Carrie (Razane Jammal) the PI learns that this is not the first time these men have committed this sort of twisted, psychotic crime...nor will it be the last. Blurring the lines between right and wrong, Scudder races to track the deviants, Ray and Albert (David Harbour and Adam David Thompson) through the back streets before they kill again. He enlists Kenny's pathetic, sad, drug addict brother, Peter (Boyd Holbrook) and a street-wise saavy kid, TJ (Brian 'Astro' Bradley) in order to find these guys before they succeed at yet another murder.
Others to round out the cast are Olafur Darri Olafsson as James Loogan, an eye-witness, Sebastian Roche as Yuri Landau, Liana De Laurent as Yuri's wife, Mark Consuelos as Reuben, Eric Nelsen as Howie and Laura Birn as Leila Alvarez.
This was surprisingly well directed by Scott Frank ("Lookout" '07). I say this because considering this guy is a seasoned screenwriter, first of all, they usually don't delve into the director's chair, and secondly, when they do, the results are less than impressive. And when I realized that this guy only had one theatrical film to his credit, my appreciation for this director increased even more. It was also written by Frank ("Dead Again" '91, "Little Man Tate" '91, "Malice" '93, "Get Shorty" '95, Heaven's Prisoners" '96, "Out of Sight" '98, "Minority Report" '02, "Flight of the Phoenix" '04, "The Interpreter" '05, "The Lookout" '07, "Marley & Me" '08, "The Wolverine" '13) based on the novel by Lawrence Block. As stated prior, this guy is a seasoned screenwriter, and while this was written well and most things did connect as should happen out of a screenplay, there were areas where it seemed a bit choppy and a couple of places that were not clearly spelled out. But these areas certainly weren't enough to take away the grit and suspense that this guy was obviously attempting to convey. Even though Neeson was in a role that one certainly wouldn't be surprised-- remember he did "Non-Stop", "Taken" Taken 2" and "The Grey", he was still able to capture your attention in a way that made you riveted to your seat.
Even if your taste is in the crime mystery genre, one must pay a bit sharper attention to the different nuances that are intertwined in this, lest you become confused and end up missing parts of it. Don't get me wrong, this is not a bad film, it just needed a bit more polishing to really grab you by films' end.
Out of 4 Stars: 2.5 Rated: R 114mins.
As I mentioned in prior reviews, in this day and age, comedies are typically a better bet for quality writing and directing when presented in a dramedy (comedy/drama) format and "The Skeleton Twins" is no exception. Rare is it when a comedy is funny enough to hold its own without drama, music or the like to make it work. I'm not sure if this is a trend that comedies are going or not, but be sure that a good quality comedy is worth its weight in gold when a solid writer can produce one.
After ten years of estrangement, twins Maggie (Kristen Wiig) and Milo (Bill Hader) coincidentally cheat death on the same day-- Maggie getting ready to take a handful of pills when she receives a phone call from a hospital to let her know that her brother tried to commit suicide but is now doing OK. This prompts her to reunite with her brother and has him come home with her until he gets better. Home is the hometown in New York state where they were raised in which Maggie still resides. As they are now together and exchange what's going on in their respective lives-- Lance (Luke Wilson), husband of Maggie, and Maggie working on being pregnant as to start a family, Milo trying to make it as an actor in L.A., they end up confronting how their lives went so wrong. As the twins' reunion reinvigorates them both, they soon realize that the key to fixing their lives just may lie in fixing their relationship with each other.
Others to round out the cast are Ty Burrell as Rich, Boyd Holbrook as Billy, scuba diving instructor, Kathleen Rose Perkins as Carlie, Joanna Gleason as Judy, Maggie and Milo's mother, Adriane Lennox as Dr. Linda Essex and Paul Castro Jr. as Eric.
This was directed by newcomer to theatrical films, Craig Johnson ("True Adolescents" '09). He really was able to get these two actors to open up and let these 'odd' characteristics shine which ran the gambit--from silly to fun to explosive to showing poignancy. I believe this guy will be around for a while-- he's raw and gritty which are the right ingredients no matter what the genre is. Since Hollywood is in dire need for comedy writers, now more than ever, the writers, Mark Heyman ("Black Swan" '10) and Johnson ("True Adolescents" '09) would be a shoe in to write some smart comedies, especially since they can write both comedy and drama. It would be interesting to see either or both write an incredible comedy that we could really sink our teeth into. And since these guys are relatively new to the theatrical realm, they wouldn't have all the fear and intimidation that Hollywood can thrust on newbies. Wouldn't that be a refreshing change?!
If you like quirky with a dysfunctional bent, this is definitely the film for you. This is not the comedy that everyone will get into, but if you watch this and get into the quality--both Wiig and Hader give solid performances considering they are comedians, it will be a film that will leave you thinking even if the bittersweet ending isn't your cup of tea.
Out of 4 Stars: 3.5 Rated: R 93mins.
While comedies will always be my favorite genre, the combination of comedy and drama is usually carried out in a somewhat realistic way--taking people's problems, dysfunctions and issues and bringing them to a head where by film's end will hopefully teach one something. Case in point with "This Is Where I Leave You" takes you on this roller coaster ride frought with dysfunction amidst an obvious love for one another is what this troubled family is made of.
When their father passes away, four grown siblings, Judd, Wendy, Phillip and Paul Altman (Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Adam Driver and Corey Stoll) respectively, bruised and banged up by their adult lives, are forced to return to their childhood home and live under the same roof together for seven days, along with their over-sharing, manipulative mother Hillary Altman (Jane Fonda) and an assortment of spouses, exes and might-have-beens. Confronting their history and the frayed states of their relationships among the people who know and love them best, they ultimately reconnect in hysterical and emotionally affecting ways amid the chaos, humor, heartache, dysfunction and redemption that only families can provide-- driving us insane even as they remind us of our truest, and often best, selves.
Others to round out the cast are Rose Byrne as Penny Moore, Kathryn Hahn as Annie Altman, Paul's wife, Connie Britton as Tracy Sullivan, Phillip's girlfriend, Timothy Olyphant as Horry Callen, Dax Shepard as Wade Beaufort, Judd's boss, Debra Monk as Linda Callen, Abigail Spencer as Quinn Altman, Judd's wife, Ben Schwartz as Rabbi Charles Grodner (aka Boner), Aaron Lazar as Barry Weissman as Wendy's husband and Cade Lappin as Cole.
This was effectively directed by the comedy veteran Shawn Levy ("Address Unknown" '97, "Big Fat Liar" '02, "Just Married" '03, "Cheaper By the Dozen" '03, "The Pink Panther" '06, "Night at the Museum" '06, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" '09, "Date Night" '10, "Real Steel" '11, "Family Trap" (TV movie) '12, "The Internship" '13) and "Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb" is right around the corner, while still in post production will be released in December. I call this guy the director with a heart, because we seem to usually learn something from the films he directs--must have a lot to do with the writers he associates with. He doesn't typically do silly, over-the-top, toilet humor comedies which is a plus in my book. Please stay in business Shawn! This was uproariously written by Jonathan Tropper based on his novel. Trust me, this isn't perfect--there were a few places that were far-fetched even for this family, but suffice it to say, it goes into one dysfunctional issue to another. What makes this work is the fact when the chips are down, the family, with all its problems and pitfalls, still sticks together in spite of what's going on and Tropper made this honestly clear. Another film that had similarities to this, but still was able to hold its own was last year's amazing "August: Osage County". Siblings forced back to their childhood home because of their father's death, having to face their dysfunctional mother and each other's issues while trying to keep what's left of their sanity. That, as this, was solid writing.
The lesson here is that even though we have issues with our respective families, we can still experience love, acceptance and redemption because we are family and that, for reasons we cannot explain, is the key which is why families typically stick together.
Out of 4 Stars: 3 Rated: R 103mins.
We've all seen disaster films and inspirational films as well, but have you seen a film that is both disaster and inspirational? Interestingly, we have this combination in the form of "Left Behind". 
