Jack Reacher: Never Go Back

Maybe Go
Little mystery and suspense
In Tom Cruise’s two iconic characters, Ethan Hunt and Jack Reacher, he should only play Ethan Hunt.
Lee Child always made sure the reader understood the size of Jack Reacher 6’5″ weighs 250 LBs as an introduction to almost every fight. In this movie everybody is larger than Tom Cruise. In one fight scene he gets tossed about by one guy who isn’t very big. In the first movie you could overlook the fact that Tom Cruise is not even 6 feet tall but not so in this movie.
Cobie Smulders really delivers as Major Turner, showing she is every bit Reachers equal. Danika Yarosh as daughter Samantha is a quite scene stealer, she really holds her own with Cruise and Smulders.
Wait for the dvd – on sale.

The Accountant

Go
This film connected with me on so many levels. It delivered in ways I was not expecting. I was laughing, cheering, crying, and ultimately walked out of that theater feeling more than satisfied. I’ll be the first to admit I have no idea how autism really affects people and how accurate it is or is not portrayed in this movie; I saw this movie as nothing more than what it is: a fictional story to entertain.
Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) is a brilliant accountant at the same time, due to his autism: He has a savant’s grasp of facts and numbers (think Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man) but a serious deficiency in the affective and communicative categories. All the acting is exceptional. Anna Kendrick, J.K.Simmons, Jon Bernthal, Jeffrey Tambor, John Lithgow and Jean Smart. What a lineup – go watch them hit it out of the park!

Captain Fantastic

MUST GO

The film is captivating, with Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn from Lord of the Rings) fitting the renaissance profile of Ben like a glove. He projects all the arrogance and hardheadedness of Ben together with his warmth, adoration for his children, and respect for his wife’s wishes with grace and subtlety in one of the most seemingly effortless performances I have seen. He is also surrounded by an excellent supporting cast, from the children to his in-laws and sister.

In addition to the terrific performance by up-and-comer George MacKay as Bodevan, the other actors playing the kids are all very strong and believable: Samantha Isler as Kieyler, Annalise Basso as Vespyr, Nicholas Hamilton as Rellian, Shree Crooks as Zaja, and Charlie Shotwell as Nai. Screen vets Frank Langella and Ann Dowd bring presence to the role of their grandparents and provide the greatest contrast to the off-the-grid existence of the kids.

Captain Fantastic mostly focuses on the children. If you need to teach your child about the “birds and bees” take them to this movie. Ben tells the truth. Eight-year-old Nai (Charlie Shotwell) asks what sexual intercourse is, and Ben answers with a mechanistic explanation that leaves Nai wondering why a man would want to do that. Ben explains that it is pleasurable and creates babies. Later, on the family-created holiday, Noam Chomsky Day, Ben gives Nai a copy of “The Joy of Sex” as a little hilarious joke. The real gift is a super-cool 7″ hunting knife.

The Cashes are driven into modern-day America by the suicide of Leslie (in flashbacks, Trin Miller), the children’s mother. Finally receiving treatment in a facility for long-term bipolar disorder, she was unable to fight her mental illness any longer. The arrangements for a Christian funeral by her rich father, Jack, played with smooth stolidness by Frank Langella, enrage Ben, since his Buddhist wife had specifically requested a cremation and toilet-flushing of her ashes in her Last Will and Testament.

Stubbornly, Ben and the kids devises a plan to steal her body and carry out Leslie’s final wishes. The final flush is hilarious.

BTW: do you know who Noam Chomsky is?

Queen of Katwe

review by She Who Must Be Obeyed
MUST must GO
A beautiful love story. I cried with joy in a couple of places. All I can say is that it moved me. It is the type of film that you see and it makes you feel good in the most positive way imaginable
Well made and well acted. Teary in parts. It has been a while since a movie has had all the components of this movie. It captures how privileged we are in the west and out of pure will and following your passion you can come to be whom you really are against all odds.
The cinematography is excellent, with great shots of the children reacting to a world they had never seen before, be it an upper crust school, snow or the view from a airplane window. As good as the performances of David Oyelowo as Robert Katende, and academy award winner Lupita Nyong’o, as Nakku Harriet, are, the child actors in the movie also give great performances as well.

It’s such a great inspiring story. Watching the story unfold is very heartwarming. I could not help but to get teary eyes as I watched this girl Phiona (Madina Nalwanga) take her talents all the way to the top.

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children

Go
A very peculiar film.
Eva Green (Vesper from Casino Royale) once again shows why she is regarded as one of the finest actresses in the business with a wonderful performance as Miss Peregrine. Her command of every scene and her obvious love for the children is a pleasure to watch. Ella Purnell as Emma Bloom is incredible. She expertly displayed Emma’s own strength and older-sister like care mixed in with the intense streaks of vulnerability that define her character. All the while making her one of the most lovable characters I have ever seen on the silver screen.
However, the real star of the show is Asa Butterfield as Jake. He gives one hell of a performance. Butterfield has been acting since the ripe old age of nine, and almost every role he’s had has been a leading role. There’s a reason for that, and as with Hugo, The Boy In The Stripped Pajamas, and Ender’s Game, he proves that yet again.

Magnificent Seven

Must Go
“I seek righteousness. But I’ll take revenge.” Hayley (Emma Bennett)
My best takeaway quote in the movie came from Sam Chisolm (Denzel Washington), opining on the consequences of the Civil War and refusing to look back – “What we lost in the fire, we’ll find in the ashes”
The 1960 original (run time 2 hours 8 minutes), directed by John Sturges was itself a remake/reimagining of one of the greatest films ever made: Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai – 1954 (run time 3 hours 27 minutes). Both are must-see’s for any movie lover. Given the technical advancements in filmmaking over the past 50-60 years, it only makes sense that director Antoine Fuqua (Southpaw, Training Day) would go bigger, faster, louder. What he can’t do is match the cool factor of Steve McQueen, Yul Brenner, James Coburn, Charles Bronson, or of course, Toshiro Mifune.
Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, and Ethan Hawke, are all great but I still must give the edge to Vincent D’Onofrio (Jack Horne) as my favorite character. I was delighted to see him in here as I always loved him on “Criminal Intent”. His role of a huge gutsy mountain man, who is at the same time very devoted to the lord, stays memorable for me. Also one of the finest comedic moments – “was that a bear in a man’s clothing?”.
She who must be obeyed is a HUGE cowboy film fan, so we sat through both previous films before going to this. It was worth every minute of the 2 hour 13 minute run time.
Don’t do that! It is 7 hours 48 minutes. Just go see this movie.
Spoiler Alert: each movie ends with the same last shot of four graves.