For a film with a drug that unleashes the full potential of the human mind at the center, you’d think that Limitless could have tried a little harder to maximize its smarts and not opt to simply dissolve into a by-the-numbers, action thriller. Interesting ideas are abound here about the nature of sanity, memory, human intelligence, morality, etc. are rampant and the film squeezes those themes in an enigmatic and stylishly ethereal package.
The grittier and slightly more realistic alien invasion film Battle: Los Angeles poses and addresses the intriguing question of how the military would respond in the event of a full-on attack at the hands of an unknown enemy. The answer? Clichés; tons of them. Round up the troops, grab whatever clichés you can find so we can get the hell out of this cliché, and under absolutely no circumstances should you leave a cliché behind — unless it’s for the greater cliché.
The Adjustment Bureau, starring Matt Damon and Emily Blunt, is a surprisingly good mixture of heady science-fiction and romance that would make its original author, Phillip K. Dick, proud. While some of the concepts come across as a bit silly, the film gets past that with strong chemistry between its leads.
No, Rango won’t challenge kids to contemplate their role in the cosmos, but that’s precisely the predicament of its main character. Yet in addition to all its verboseness and abstract homage to classic Westerns, Rango equally dishes out top-notch physical humor and creative characters for the young ones to lap up, even if they’re not exactly of age to, as the film puts at least once, “ruminate.”
Looking for a batshit crazy genre-blending soupy mess of an exploitation action flick? Enjoy body parts, revving engine blocks, and chunks or burning rubble barraging your face for the duration of your outing? No? Well then feel free to speed right past Drive Angry 3D and onto the next one but for those in the right mood (and with a few beers in their stomach) Nic Cage’s latest action outing will certainly top off your weekly quota for guts, profanity and nudity.
A harrowing portrait of a teenager forced to be an adult out in the Ozarks, the epicenter of crystal meth activity, Winter’s Bone feels more harsh and real than any other film that brief summary evokes. Debra Granik’s film seems unequivocally true, so while I’m sure Daniel Woodrell’s novel paints an extremely accurate portrait of these white rural communities devastated by drug trafficking, there’s no question that Granik’s turned his story into something truly lifelike, not “Hollywood” lifelike.
Just Go With It? My advice is to go without it. Adam Sandler has turned out another unfunny comedy for the masses of his loyal fans. Sandler is doing his same old routine. Check out hot chicks that are far too good for him, throw in a few toilet jokes, be innocent and endearing, wrap it up with a too-good-to-be-true ending. As has been the case of late, Sandler forgets to throw in a dash of comedy.
Heading up the real American heroes of “G.I. Joe” doesn’t exactly count for star capability, and while The Eagle can barely hold a candle to the Roman epic of all Roman epics that is Gladiator, it certainly can be seen as a more serious step for Tatum and one in which the target audience has no interest in ogling him — just watching him kill savages.
No denying that there is a niche market for “inspired by a true story” films, but it’s still a niche market. If such a film is going to be pulled off successfully, oftentimes they need to be fueled by characters that can be identified with: whether they be you or your neighbor, you buy that these characters on screen walked the Earth at one point or another. Sanctum, while having remarkable source material to work with, fails to establish it’s characters believably before throwing them headlong into danger.
