The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death

A bunch of London children are packed up and shipped off to a huge house in the country for safekeeping during World War II. And once there, they find something rather unexpected. 

Sounds a little like the beginning of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, doesn't it? Except there's no magical wardrobe ready to spirit curious kiddos off to a nifty land named Narnia in this tale—just a creepy old cellar, a supposedly locked nursery and lots of disturbing playthings. There's no lion, either. But a witch? Oh, yes. There's a witch.

No white witch, this one, but a mysterious, ghoulish figure who skulks through the house dressed all in black. She died in the house some time ago, but her sadness and hate make her linger. And she does love little children—to death. She'd like nothing more than have this new busload of little ones stay with her ... forever.

GENRE

Drama, Mystery/Suspense, Horror

CAST

Phoebe Fox as Eve Parkins; Helen McCrory as Jean Hogg; Jeremy Irvine as Harry Burnstow; Oaklee Pendergast as Edward; Adrian Rawlins as Dr. Rhodes; Amelia Pidgeon as Joyce; Jude Wright as Tom; Leanne Best as The Woman in Black

DIRECTOR

Tom Harper

DISTRIBUTOR

Relativity Media

IN THEATERS

January 2, 2015

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American Sniper

They call him the Legend.

You wouldn't necessarily know it by looking at him. He's not eight feet tall or covered in jangling medals—just a burly ol' cowboy with a baseball cap and Texas drawl. But put him behind a sniper rifle, and Chris Kyle is war-torn Iraq's own avenging angel—a hand of judgment laid heavy on the enemy. With a perch on a rooftop and a finger on a trigger, he wields the power of life and death. A man runs into the street with a grenade, threatening the American troops below? Crack. Thoomp. A small spray of blood and one life is gone while others are saved.

It's harsh work, but no one does it better. The real-life Chris Kyle racked up more than 160 confirmed kills and probably hundreds more. He was so lethal that insurgents slapped an $80,000 bounty on his head and dubbed him the Devil of Ramadi. Not that Chris was phased by their threats: He signed up for four tours of duty and seemed, at times, invulnerable. He thrived in those Iraqi deserts, at home in the heat.

But in this movie from Clint Eastwood, it was home that felt dangerous to Chris. It was home that was dangerous.

GENRE

Drama, War

CAST

Bradley Cooper as Chris Kyle; Sienna Miller as Taya Renae Kyle; Brian Hallisay as Captain Gillespie; Luke Grimes as Marc Lee; Jake McDorman as Ryan Job; Max Charles as Colton Kyle; Kyle Gallner as Winston; Keir O'Donnell as Jeff Kyle

DIRECTOR

Clint Eastwood (Jersey Boys, J. Edgar, Hereafter, Invictus, Gran Torino, Changeling, Letters from Iwo Jima, Flags of Our Fathers, Million Dollar Baby, Mystic River)

DISTRIBUTOR

Warner Bros.

IN THEATERS

December 25, 2014

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Exodus: Gods and Kings

The gods? Pish. Moses can do without 'em.

In the ancient Egypt reconstructed here by famed film director Ridley Scott—where rivers, rocks and rising suns all have their own personal deities, where the pharaoh Seti scrutinizes animal organs for omens—Moses puts his faith in himself and his own strong right arm. As one of Seti's most trusted generals, he knows full well the challenges facing this riverfront empire: Neither Amun nor Osiris nor any other deity is going to save the Egyptian people from the Hittites. Moses and his princely stepbrother, Ramses, at the front of the Egyptian army, stand a better chance of protecting the kingdom than a handful of goose guts. 

So when a priestess uncovers an omen in some entrails—that in an upcoming battle a leader will be saved, and the savior will lead—Moses shrugs it off. And even when he does rescue Ramses from impending doom, he takes pains to minimize it. Prophecy, schmophecy.

Not Ramses, though. Even though the prince loves Moses like the brother he grows up to be, the foretelling now makes him a foe. And when Ramses hears rumors that Moses might not be Egyptian at all—that he could be, of all things, a Hebrew, one of those who were enslaved by the Egyptians 400 years earlier—Ramses knows that Moses will have to go.

Ridley's Ramses exiles Moses to the wastelands beyond the Nile, where Moses eventually finds Jethro and his fair daughters in the land of Midian. There, he finds a wife (Zipporah), a new life (as a shepherd) … and a new God to deal with. Moses' own son points to a mountain and tells him that it's sacred. "God's mountain," he says. And when Moses hesitates to accept, Zipporah chastises him for confusing the child.

"Is it good for a boy to grow up believing in nothing?" She asks him.

"Is it bad to grow up believing in yourself?" Moses retorts.

But when a few sheep scamper up this sacred hill and Moses runs after them, something happens to shake his agnosticism. He gets knocked around and knocked out by a landslide. And when he comes to, he sees a burning bush. Beside it, a child—a child who talks as no child should.

"Who are you?" Moses asks.

"I Am," the child tells him.

Moses told himself that he wanted nothing to do with all those gods. But it seems that God may want something to do with him.

GENRE

Drama, Action/Adventure, War

CAST

Christian Bale as Moses; Joel Edgerton as Ramses; Aaron Paul as Joshua; John Turturro as Seti; Maria Valverde as Zipporah; Isaac Andrews as Malak; Ben Kingsley as Nun, Sigourney Weaver as Tuya

DIRECTOR

Ridley Scott (The Counselor, Prometheus, Robin Hood, Body of Lies, American Gangster, A Good Year, Kingdom of Heaven, Matchstick Men, Black Hawk Down, Hannibal, Gladiator)

DISTRIBUTOR

20th Century Fox

IN THEATERS

December 12, 2014

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The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

When last we left Peter Jackson's three-part cinematic adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, Smaug was swooping down upon the burgh of Laketown with desolation on his dragony mind. 

Smaug the mighty. Smaug the fire-bringer. Smaug the invincible. 

Or so he thinks. 

As the winged wyrm torches the tinderbox town, the man known as Bard nocks arrows to fell him. Smaug mocks. Smaug laughs. And Smaug dies. Bard's last projectile pierces the lone point of vulnerability in the dragon's otherwise impenetrable hide, slaying the hated and hateful beast. 

It should be a time of celebration. Of emancipation. But devastation is all that remains in the wake of the firedrake's conflagration. So the now-homeless denizens of Laketown turn their eyes toward their only nearby refuge: the crumbling walls of Dale near the gates of Erebor, the fabled mountain redoubt of the dwarves lately devoid of the scaly interloper that had slumbered there for six decades. 

The fallout of Smaug's downfall is not lost on the band of dwarves who plotted his eviction. Led by Thorin, they watch Laketown smolder from Erebor's heights. With Bilbo's burglaring help, they'd achieved their quest against long odds, vanquishing the dragon and reclaiming their ancestral fortress. 

It should be a time of celebration. Of emancipation. But more devastation awaits. 

That's because Erebor is home to the most fabulous treasure in Middle-earth … treasure all the races believe they're entitled to. The dwarves. The elves. The bedraggled refugees of Laketown, whom Thorin had promised recompense if they helped. 

But that was before Thorin saw it. 

All. That. Gold. In all of its blazing, beautiful, corrupting, corroding luster. Having seized Erebor's inestimable fortune, and having been seized by its seductive allure, Thorin has no intention of sharing any of it. 

"By my life," he vows, echoing Smaug's own declaration before he perished, "I will not part with a single coin, not one piece of it." 

Even if it means hardening his heart to the downtrodden survivors of Laketown. Even if it means going to war with an elven army led by their king, Thranduil. Even if it means spurning the friendship and counsel of Gandalf, Bilbo and all the other members of his company. Even if it means abandoning an army of dwarves (led by Thorin's cousin Dáin) that arrives at Erebor hours after Thranduil's bow-bearing elven battalion does.

"Will you have peace or war?" Bard asks Thorin on the threshold of a cataclysmic conflict. 

"I will have war," the dwarven leader spits. 

And that's when the orcs and the goblins and the wargs and the trolls and all manner of other misbegotten adversaries join the fray. Led by Thorin's lifelong nemesis, Azog, these creatures have still another claim in mind: the would-be dwarf king's head.

GENRE

Drama, Action/Adventure, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, War

CAST

Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins; Ian McKellen as Gandalf; Richard Armitage as Thorin; Ken Stott as Balin; Graham McTavish as Dwalin; William Kircher as Bifur; James Nesbitt as Bofur; Stephen Hunter as Bombur; Dean O'Gorman as Fili; Aidan Turner as Kili; John Callen as Oin; Peter Hambleton as Gloin; Jed Brophy as Nori; Mark Hadlow as Dori; Adam Brown Ori; Orlando Bloom as Legolas; Evangeline Lilly as Tauriel; Cate Blanchett as Galadriel; Christopher Lee as Saruman; Sylvester McCoy as Radagast; Lee Pace as Thranduil; Luke Evans as Bard; Manu Bennett as Azog; Lawrence Makoare as Bolg; Mikael Persbrandt as Beorn; Benedict Cumberbatch as the voices of Smaug and Necromancer

DIRECTOR

Peter Jackson (The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, The Lovely Bones, King Kong, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring)

DISTRIBUTOR

Warner Bros.

IN THEATERS

December 17, 2014

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Wild

Only a hundred or so more days to go.

After day one of her hike up the Pacific Coast Trail—a winding path that stretches from the Mexican border all the way up the West Coast of the U.S. to the outskirts of Canada—Cheryl Strayed is seriously questioning her willpower. And her sanity. 

But it was kind of a mental meltdown that got her here in the first place.

Her life has become a mess. She knows it, and everyone around her knows it. Before she set her feet down on this rough-cut trail, she had been on a self-destructive path of drug addiction and sex with strangers. It was a trek that had destroyed her marriage and sucked away her health. Maybe walking a thousand miles will set things straight.

If nothing else, this journey might give her a chance to think, to dissect the mistakes she's made, to salve the things that hurt the most. Maybe this exhausting slog filled with aching muscles, scraped knees and bloody feet will allow her to finally dig up all the stuff she's had buried down deep.

So she shrugs into her huge and agonizingly heavy pack once again. She takes the next step. She conquers the next mile. She embraces the next hour alone with her thoughts. 

With only a hundred or so more days to go.

GENRE

Drama

CAST

Reese Witherspoon as Cheryl Strayed; Laura Dern as Mom/Bobbi; Thomas Sadoski as Paul; Keene McRae as Leif

DIRECTOR

Jean-Marc Vallée (Dallas Buyers Club, The Young Victoria)

DISTRIBUTOR

Fox Searchlight

IN THEATERS

December 3, 2014

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Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb

It's been quite an adventure for Larry Daley. Who woulda thought he could've risen from being a frowned-upon night watchman at New York's famous American Museum of Natural History to almost being in charge of the place? Or at least he's in charge of the museum's amazing animatronics display that everybody's raving about.

Of course, the truth of it is that there's no animatronics involved in his presentations at all. No wires, strings or well-devised 3-D images either. It's all brought about by the golden Tablet of Akmenrah—a long-ago unearthed magical artifact from Egypt that can somehow bring statues, figurines and T. rex bones to life every night with its mysterious powers.

But now the supernatural tablet is beginning to corrode for some reason. And Larry's in a panic about what to do. With each new inch of gold-gobbling rust, his cast of moving and talking historical characters and big bony buds seems to be losing its collective life force.

Time to go back to the beginning. Not his faltering start at the museum two movies ago, but actually the start of the tablet itself. He's going to have to find out more about the archeological dig that first uncovered it. And that will likely entail taking it to the British Museum of Natural History, home of Akmenrah's mummified parents, Merenkahre and Sheoseheret. If he can magically bringthem to life—along with every other artifact and fossil in that vast building—maybe he can get some good answers to his bad problem.

GENRE

Comedy, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Action/Adventure, Kids

CAST

Ben Stiller as Larry Daley; Robin Williams as Teddy Roosevelt; Dan Stevens as Sir Lancelot; Rebel Wilson as Tilly; Ben Kingsley as Merenkahre

DIRECTOR

Shawn Levy (This Is Where I Leave You, The Internship, Real Steel, Date Night, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, Night at the Museum, The Pink Panther, Cheaper by the Dozen)

DISTRIBUTOR

20th Century Fox

IN THEATERS

December 19, 2014

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Into the Woods

Film: Into the Woods

Starring: Emily Blunt (Looper), Meryl Streep (August: Osage County) and Anna Kendrick (Pitch Perfect)

Director: Rob Marshall (Chicago)

U.S. Release: December 25th, 2014 (Rated PG)

Genre: Musical

Runtime: 125 minutes


As the calendar year turns to 2015 and movie theaters become mobbed by people of all ages enjoying the freedom of the holiday season, I nestled comfortably into my seat to catch the latest Oscar-buzzed musical, Into the Woods. With many worthwhile films entangled in the crowded Best Picture race, I wanted to see for myself if Rob Marshall's adapted twist on the classic Brothers Grimm fairy tales is a justifiable inclusion. Marshall certainly has a bit of history on his side as the director of the 2003 Best Picture winning musical, Chicago, which tallied an astounding 6 wins and 13 nominations all together. Yet, even though Into the Woods may slip into the final pack for the year's most prestigious award, I wouldn't expect a similar result as 2003.

A baker and his wife (played by James Corden and Emily Blunt) are visited by their witch of a neighbor (Meryl Streep) and tasked with collecting specific items from the famous Brothers Grimm fairy tales we all know and love: Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, Cinderella and Rapunzel. If they can collect the items in 3 days time, then the witch will reverse her curse of infertility on the baker's wife. So the husband and wife set out deep into the unpredictable woods in hopes of obtaining the items and beginning a family together.

While I definitely understand the appeal, meaning Into the Woods combines a Tony-winning soundtrack with familiar childhood stories in a modern and genre-bending new light, I will never understand or defend the feature's punishing third act. As someone who admittedly has no knowledge of the original Broadway musical, the film's final portion does nothing but tear down an otherwise sturdy foundation built by a solid first two acts. Into the Woods does an exceptional job of developing and and interconnecting these legendary tales into a fresh new story, but everything after Cinderella's marriage to the prince is an absolute abomination. The story becomes completely outstretched, the songs weaken in quality and everything falls into disarray. Perhaps the award winning musical offers a similar regressed finale, but it clearly doesn't work in the film's favor. Therefore, Into the Woods culminates as a mediocre musical adaptation at best.

Despite the feature's regrettably sub-par third act, I must admit that the first hour and a half is actually a delight. Dwelling on Meryl Streep's nearly annual inclusion at the Academy Awards ceremony always makes for good fodder, but it shouldn't be overstated that the queen of Hollywood usually warrants the attention she's given, and her performance here is no exception. Alongside Streep, castmates Emily Blunt and Anna Kendrick happen to shine the brightest. This female-heavy showcase is filled with powerful vocal contributions from everyone involved. But even though Into the Woods delivers good tunes and stunning visuals, the sum of these parts isn't nearly enough to undo the film's harshly tarnished conclusion.

Although Disney has a history of catering to families, this drawn out and over two hour affair is probably too much for younger children to sit through. Furthermore, in a surprising turn of events, Into the Woods stays true to the dark nature evident in the Brothers Grimm fairy tales. The film doesn't harp on these violent and predatory undertones, but it also doesn't ignore them in prototypical Disney fashion. Into the Woods is a middle of the pack musical that may find favor with Oscar voters, but it won't top many of the sprouting year's-best lists either.


Stars: 2 stars out of 4

Grade: C+

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The Taking of Pelham 123 : movie review

The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 Is a New thriller starring Denzel Washington and John Travolta directed by Tony Scott shot in the subways of New York City. The story starts as a man who calls himself "Ryder," (John Travolta) leads a band of thugs as they highjack a subway train and MTA dispatcher Walter Garber (Denzel Washington) who is Reluctantly forced to be the Lead negotiator.

movie review The Taking of Pelham 123

This Film is a remake of a 1974 movie of the same name and reworked to meet a new audience. With modern dialog and cell phones, laptop computers and of course the fact that 911 effects the city still, this film was a really fast pace based roughly on the old plot. There are some wild scenes in this movie of New York City as the Mayor, (James Gandolfini) agrees to pay a $10 million ransom and they try to get the money across the city to the subway station. If nothing else is worth the price of admission to see James Gandolfini, Tony Soprano as mayor of New York it’s so cool. Denzel Washington and John Travolta work wel together and their voices are what id cool to have to big name actors in a dialog driven story about two characters that interact over a radio on the subway car. This film was made for a younger audience and I think that those are ones that do go to the movies regularly.

I think my fellow Critics just didn’t get that part of the puzzle, that this film was made with the 17-27ish age group in mind, so it’s fast cuts and rough, realistic dialog. What would a career family man with a Wife and kids and an ex-con straight out of prison talk like, what would the banter be? I think the writers nailed it dead on and the two main actors and Gandolfini included deliver the lines flawlessly. Also, the fact that this film has scenes filmed on the streets of New York to would in my opinion must have been a logistical nightmare and an undertaking that is in itself a commendable feat. This film also has some great editing and that’s often overlooked, editor Chris Lebenzon stitches together a compelling series of images that suck you in, and work well with the Music by Harry Gregson-Williams. This is a good film, not a great film and it overcomes a story that is antiquated, and turns it into a new and improved version that is engaging to watch.

Directed by Tony Scott
Produced by Tony Scott, Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal, Steve Tisch
Written by Screenplay: Brian Helgeland, David Koepp (uncredited),
Novel: Morton Freedgood
Starring Denzel Washington, John Travolta, James Gandolfini, Luis Guzman, John Turturro, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Frank Wood
Music by Harry Gregson-Williams
Cinematography Tobias A. Schliessler
Editing by Chris Lebenzon
Studio Relativity Media, Scott Free Productions,Escape Artists
Distributed by Columbia Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Source

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