Aug 12 2016

Hell or High Water

Brothers Tanner and Toby (Ben Foster and Chris Pine) set out on a mission to save the family farm in West Texas; a scheme that includes robbing a series of small town banks. Picking up on the scent, Texas Rangers Marcus and Alberto (Jeff Bridges and Gil Birmingham) are on the case, a collision of story-lines is inevitable, the end result will be difficult on all, but who will carry the stress best and why? HellHighwater Directed by David MacKenzie and Written by Taylor Sheridan (Sicario) this weighty drama brings out stellar genuine performances from both duos along with a perfectly haunting score by Nick Cave along with knuckle duster radio tunes to highlight the bleak and arid landscape. Furthermore, Sheridan’s attention to character detail and development gives us plenty to sink our teeth into start to finish. Sitting nicely on the shelf between No Country for Old Men and The Big Short, this woeful tale has all the pedigree markings of a winner. Hell or High Water is rated R.


Aug 12 2016

Florence Foster Jenkins

New York heiress/philanthropist and appreciator of the arts, Florence Foster Jenkins (Meryl Streep), was a legend in her own mind around World War II. Supported by her husband/agent, St. Clair Bayfield (Hugh Grant) and accompanist Cosmé McMoon (Simon Helberg) Jenkins hatched the idea to perform as an opera star for the troops benefit, just one problem, she could barley carry a tune in a bucket. Enabling Jenkins to success and making her mark on history, this is her story. florencefoster Directed by Stephen Frears and Written by Nicholas Martin, based on a true story, this bittersweet tale of the things we do for love contains knockout performances all round and situational comedy gold that hits the right notes as a respectful tribute to a woman who so badly wanted to do good but just didn’t have the artistic talent to do so. Additionally, Streep’s ability to accurately mimic the operatic qualities of Jenkins, not an easy task, proves further her talents as an actress and performer with no bounds. Still, despite the solid acting and production the film doesn’t quite provide enough compelling magic or mystery to demand a viewing on the big screen, a rental will do just fine. Florence Foster Jenkins is rated PG-13.


Aug 5 2016

Suicide Squad

In the shadow of Superman the world has developed a fear for unknown superpowers that might pose as a threat to earth. So, naturally, in order to combat the unknown, a secret government agency run by Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) decides to round up some of the world’s greatest super villains to create a dream team of bad guys to fight badder guys. It’s an antihero free for all! But, is the world big enough to fit all this evil?suicidesquad Written and Directed by David Ayer (Fury, End of Watch) this convoluted mix of story lines reaches for the stars but only manages to grasp a rain cloud of frustration by spending the first third of the film giving origin stories to all of the characters but really focusing a majority of screen time on Deadshot (Will Smith), world’s deadliest assassin, and Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), a former psychiatrist at Arkham Asylum gone completely mental with a penche for booty shorts and baseball bats. As for the rest of the squad, a small taste is given, but we have no reason to care about them, except for the underutilized Diablo (Jay Hernandez)– one of the few rounded and more three dimensional characters. And then, there’s the elephant in the room, The Joker (Jared Leto), a modernized gangster version of the anarchist audiences have come to love and fear, quite possibly the most interesting character on the screen and yet has the least amount of overall screen time out of all. That is to say, there are interesting characters within this film; but the ones we want more of are sadly given far less to do. Meanwhile the last two acts of the film twist and turn in such a safe and predictable fashion, shoulder shrugs are the final reaction. Finally, bringing the cow back into the barn, the supposed main antagonist who shall remain nameless for the sake of SPOILER ALERT factor is brought down in one of the largest plot hole finishes in recent history, blast it all, foiled again by these meddling kids! If you’re a comic fan you’ll see this anyway, but save yourself the dime and go matinee, for the rest of the world, this is rental at best. Suicide Squad is rated PG-13.