From time to time, I forget or not motivated enough to write a full length review for every single film I have seen in theaters.
As to catch up, here are some short form reviews:
The Bourne Legacy
Decompression at its worst; was Brian Michael Bendis the script doctor? I still haven't watched the two acclaimed sequels to THE BOURNE IDENTITY but any non-attentive viewer can see this spin-off has major problems. I did like Jeremy Renner as the Bourne-like Aaron Cross, a super-assassin who is on the run from the NSA and CIA while searching from the power drug pills that make him into the next Roger Ramjet. Despite Renner's likability and some finely executed action and suspenseful sequences, the story moves at a snail's pace, with scenes stretched out that would have been heavily red-lined by a Screenwriting 101 teacher. There is so much padding, not to mention the endless amount of talking, that the film literally ends at its second act. I guess the third act will be its sequel because Universal Studios and the Kennedy/Marshall Company love money.
FINAL REVIEW: 3 / 5
Lawless
Yet another disappointment from Australian director John Hillcoat. The movie is a forever bouncing ball, moving between two tones constantly. One moment, you're watching some kinetic hootenanny, then head right into cruel, black comedy. Sometimes the characters behave interestingly and off-putting, the next their intelligence drop to stupidity levels. I do enjoy the film's weird humor and BONNIE AND CLYDE exploits involving a gang of moonshiners fighting against the morally corrupt officials who wish to piggy off their backs but I suffered too much mood whiplash and too much Shia LeBeouf. I can't really be delighted in seeing the young star be increasingly beat up when I have to suffer from a by-the-numbers plot and a low-budget looking set design. It is partially worth it for the performances by Tom Hardy, Jessica Chastain, Guy Pearce, and Gary Oldman, but not enough to sustain the two hour running time.
FINAL REVIEW: 2 / 5
Hit & Run
Home movies are not actual movies. If they were, everyone's filmography would be several miles long. Here, star/writer/co-producer/co-director Dax Shepard made one just to show how much he loves cars and his real-life girlfriend Kristen Bell, and then came up with an excuse of a plot to fatten up its shockingly long run time. Shepard is frankly fine as a Witness Protected getaway driver who wants to drive his lover to a ob interview in L.A. only to cross paths with the friends he snitched upon, such as an ugly dread-locked Bradley Cooper. The problem is that everything here is either preachy as all hell (Shep and Bell have a overlong conversation about the other "f" word) or completely unfunny despite featuring talented workers (Kristin Chenoweth, why?). The levels of conflict are often barren and the chase scenes do not warrant an "ooh" or "aah". This film does have the feel of small independent labor of love among friends but that doesn't excuse the opening to ending laugh-less ride, unless you are the type of person who thinks the sight of a lemon party is hilarious.
FINAL REVIEW: 1 / 5
No comments:
Post a Comment