Mar 20 2015

Insurgent

Sometime in the future mankind has been reduced to ruins living within the confines of a crumbling city. Governed by 5 groups of people, each with distinct personality characteristics it would appear as if Beatrice (Shailene Woodley) fits in with more than one group– thus making her divergent. Thought to be a plague that needs to be eradicated, governess, Jeanine (Kate Winslet), is on a mission to round up all divergent humans, but for what purpose and to what end? Could it be that Beatrice just might be the missing link to save humanity but also destroy it? insurgent Directed by Robert Schwentke and based on the novels by Veronica Roth this young adult action adventure journey continues to do exactly what’s expected of the genre, continuing to play out like a Hunger Games knock-off. Points for originality? Nope, not a chance. Points for acting? Eh, maybe a few. Points for engaging action? Sure, a few nods and smiles here. Anything else really noteworthy? Not particularly, if you’re a fan of the books you’ll probably have greater appreciation overall. For the rest of us, skip it and use your two hours in some other productive manner. Insurgent is rated PG-13.


Mar 20 2015

The Gunman

A former spec ops mercenary, Terrier (Sean Penn), working in the Congo finds himself the target of a mysterious hit squad. Questions loom, who sent the hit and why, who will survive, and what about Terrier’s love interest and inspiration Annie (Jasmine Trinca)?gunman Directed by Pierre Morel and produced by Sean Penn this paint by numbers action flick delivers its payload exactly as prescribed by every other action flick we’ve seen in the last decade messaged with sparse political insight to corruption within Africa and the Congo. Enigmatic in the fact that the sum of the parts all add up to an impressive and talented cast with bit parts from Javier Bardem, Ray Winstone, and Idris Elba; but, left with such an unimaginative scenario, the movie barely stays afloat for its runtime just shy of two hours. Still, if action is your bag, well choreographed fight sequences won’t disappoint. More of a rental The Gunman is rated R.