Autumn Movies Catch Up: These 4 films I saw in theaters in the last month or so and haven't reviewed yet.

Here's just a quick little look at some films which I didn't feel strongly enough about to fill a major review, but which I did see and want to comment on.

Snowden: Good lead performance by Joseph Gordon-Levitt and some nice supporting parts by Shailene Woodley, Nicolas Cage, Timothy Olyphant, Zachary Quinto, Joely Richardson, Tom Wilkinson, Melissa Leo, Scott Eastwood, and Rhys Ifans. This is a very well-executed suspense film, with tons of moments of tension and is quite paranoia-inducing, something Oliver Stone has always been great at capturing. Gordon-Levitt captured Snowden's voice and mannerisms to a tee, and the only complaints is that the final act is kind of rushed because the film is already fairly long, but I felt the suspense could've been milked during the leaking/espionage moments just a bit longer. There is one major surprise towards the end which I won't spoil but which floored me and made my jaw drop a bit. Better than the average biopic/historical thriller. 7/10 stars.

 

Blair Witch: As both a fan of the original and of Adam Wingard's work, I was crushed by how disappointing, insulting, bland, boring, and hollow this film was. It was so empty and had such a lack of characters it felt like it breezed by in 40 mins, and the visuals of the cabin may have been nice, but unlike the original, this feels like a run-of-the-mill, direct-to-video throwaway found footage film, not a taut and slowly creeping horror phenomenon. I expected more humor, ingenuity and genuine chills from Wingard but this was just trash. I recommend the oft-forgotten and surreally bad Blair Witch 2: Book of Shadows over this any day. There was talks of making the 3rd film in this series an origin/period piece of the witch, which would've made a unique trilogy where each film is drastically different in style and execution but alas, this is a watered-down, nonsensical sequel with no real point. It would've been better to just ket the franchise die than to get this. 2/10 stars.




Jack Reacher: Never Go Back: The original Jack Reacher was a surprise audience favorite in December 2012, as it had a lot of exciting action mixed with lighthearted humor and poked fun at its own tropes. The sequel follows suit and manages to deliver another fun, harmless little spy thriller with a ridiculously skilled main hero as well as some new cast additions such as Cobie Smudlers, Aldis Hodge, Patrick Heusinger, Danika Yarosh, Holt McCallany, and Robert Knepper. The plot isn't quite as intriguing or twisty as the original's, but it is a solid follow-up with some Halloween sequences to hammer home the season. Edward Zwick brings his experience directing action to this film, and it's nice to see him and Tom Cruise work together again, though now it's becoming clear Cruise's age is beginning to make his roles as unstoppable super-killers less believable. 7/10 stars.

The Accountant: This unique thriller film sees Ben Affleck fully inhabit a character again, playing a man with some form of autism that makes him a genius mathematician and who is also trained to be an unstoppable murder machine by his ex-military father. The cast is fantastic, featuring J.K. Simmons, Jeffrey Tambor, John Lithgow, Jon Bernthal (a lot of TV bad guys here), Anna Kendrick, and Cynthia Addai-Robinson, and the plot is structured kind of strangely, with many plots not really coming full circle until the very end, but it is almost like a well-written suspense novel in that way, and I was sure it was based on some source material, but no, it's all from the screenplay of Bill Dubuque. Some of the twists may land differently for some people, but I felt they were all executed satisfyingly and probably can provide a lot of enjoyment on second viewings. Overall, a very solid thriller film with a great lead character. 7/10 stars.

                                                  (Images: Wikipedia)

Mission: Impossible- Rogue Nation: A review so late this movie will probably be on Blu-ray soon

Sorry for the extreme delay on reviews, I'll be pumping out more in the next few days and probably do another "Top 10 Horror" list for Halloween.

Mission: Impossible, Rogue Nation:
Ethan Hunt is on the run from the CIA, after the Impossible Mission Force is shut down completely. Not only that, but he is trying to single-handedly unravel the conspiracy surrounding The Syndicate, a "rogue nation" of sorts that is essentially an evil IMF dedicated to advancing its' own goals and goals of its' investors through strategic terror attacks made to look like they are connected to other groups. Hunt must team with mysterious newcomer Ilsa and his old teammates Benji, Luther, and William Brandt to clear their names, avoid the CIA, and prove to the world that The Syndicate is real.
    Now, this was originally scheduled for a December release, like the previous installment Ghost Protocol, but was pushed forward to avoid box office conflict with Star Wars VII (smart move). This is a film that feels like a rushed release. Released with little publicity for a summer blockbuster in late July, it just felt forced and unnatural. This is also obviously similar to the upcoming Bond film Spectre, in that both focus in on the heroes fighting an evil organization that is a dark reflection of their own agency, and both evil organizations in the films are iconic enemies of their respective franchises.
    Tom Cruise is still a very entertaining and formidable action star and is able to put his absolute all into every scene and stunt, which is very admirable; it's amazing how few of his films use stunt doubles. Ving Rhames, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Alec Baldwin, and Rebecca Ferguson make up a strong supporting cast with Rhames and Pegg being the best of them, with Rhames having a smaller but still pivotal role. Ferguson makes a decent newcomer to the cast, but there's something so cliched about her whole femme fatale mystique that detracts a bit from the performance.
    Sean Harris plays the film's main mystery villain, whose identity I won't spoil. He is the leader of The Syndicate, and is fairly slimy and creepy, almost reminiscent of Toht from Raiders of the Lost Ark or Le Chiffre from Casino Royale. However, he is nowhere near as strong or memorable as a Bond villain, but is an improvement over the previous installment's slightly underwhelming villain.
    However, this is the only thing that Rogue Nation improves on. Despite some impressive set-pieces such as the opening plane sequence (which was spoiled in the trailer and felt rushed in the film, as well as feeling like too much too early), Ethan's escape early on, the fight with an assassin in a theater, the motorcycle chase, and the final confrontation with the villain, the action feels lackluster when compared to the unpredictably excellent sequences in Ghost Protocol. This film just doesn't feel as grand or investing as Ghost Protocol, and feels closer to a run-of-the-mill Hollywood sequel, unlike the last two films.
    Christopher McQuarrie has done some good work in the past, especially with Bryan Singer, but surprisingly he doesn't feel as prepared for this as Brad Bird did last time, despite Bird never directing an action film, or even a live-action feature.
    Mission: Impossible- Rogue Nation is an entertaining and worthwhile spy thriller, though it's not as enthralling or slick as the last two in the franchise, and probably won't be as intriguing or artful as Spectre. 6.5/10 stars.

                                                     (Image: Wikipedia)