Jack Reacher

The idea of Tom Cruise portraying Jack Reacher was laughable to my late mother, a fan of the novels. Cruise’s relatively diminutive physical presence is apparently not a match for the character on the page, but, as this film demonstrates, it’s not really an issue once the longtime star makes the role his own. The bedrock of Cruise’s success in movies has been confidence, the possession and projection thereof—and as usual, Cruise brings his A-game essence to this story. You get the sense, when you’re watching his portrayal of the ex-army investigator, that Cruise’s Reacher really can take out five or so dudes of bad intention without any help. You also believe the more contemplative aspects of the tale—for an action thriller, this film has a lot of quiet and talky (but not boring) scenes—and that Reacher is not just a bundle of writhing muscles, but a substantial brain, too. The mystery requires that sort of thinking; while some pieces of the puzzle may seem (or are) simple, how the picture resolves offers a worthy challenge to even the most seasoned whodunit fan. Put all that together with strong supporting work by Rosamund Pike, Richard Jenkins and David Oyelowo, as well as the city of Pittsburgh in all its glorious grittiness, and you end up with a perfectly respectable thriller that doesn’t, um, fall short of expectations.

Wrath of the Titans

There may be a class-action case in the title here: technically, there's only one titan present in this tale, Kronos. That's one of the minor quibbles with this flick. That in and of itself is a surprise, as this work exceeds the standards of its predecessor. There's the usual dose of professional CGI work in the monsters and battle scenes, but there's also some real plot at work in this story, including good symmetry in the interactions of multiple father-son storylines. There is, dare I say it, some pathos included with the blow-shit-up sensibility typical of these swords-and-sorcery flicks. The eye-candy factor is lessened here, though Rosamund Pike gamely tries to hold up her end of the bargain. Still, this was one sequel that turned out surprisingly good, from what seemed like unpromising potential, so it definitely deserves some props for that. Like the Greeks, I have a word for it: goodenough.

Hostiles

Show this flick in a double feature with The Revenant and everyone in the theater would kill themselves before the second movie ended. That's not a casual, throwaway pairing; this film is a spiritual sibling to the other. Both are exceptionally grim western dramas that will be, for the majority of moviegoers, tough films to watch. But this work has many virtues. It's well shot; every frame looks beautiful. The performances are strong; Christian Bale is good at this sort of brooding, complicated character (much like his work in 3:10 to Yuma some years back), and even the supporting players acquit themselves quite well. Mostly, this piece earns its rating for its ambition. In a cinematic world of shits-and-giggles lightweight fare, this movie sticks out like a sore thumb for being so challenging. Not everyone will want to watch this picture; many will find it slow, depressing, and downright off putting. But grown-ups who are willing to contemplate life's rougher edges will find something interesting and meaningful here.

Die Another Day

(Re-viewed and reviewed as part of the 2017 "Watch all James Bond movies in sequence" project.) Brosnan goes out with a bang. Several of them, in fact. Brosnan was, by this point, a solid number two on the Bond list (after Connery, of course); his films largely held their own among entries in the canon. This one did not impress me that much upon first viewing, but it has aged well and earns higher marks upon a second showing. The strengths here are in the action sequences, including some truly audacious work with hovercraft, cars (on ice, no less), and a helicopter escape from a disintegrating cargo plane. the eye-candy remaining top notch, with Rosamund Pike getting bested by Halle Berry (it’s closer than you’d think). There are downsides: we’ve seen the orbiting super weapon at least three times now. But generally, this is an entertaining and satisfying entry in the series; at this remove one wonders why any felt an urgent need to reboot the franchise. Perhaps Brosnan had simply had enough. The reboot idea turned out to be golden, in hindsight, but on the strength of this flick, at the time, you could have made the case to keep going with one more effort along these lines.

Gone Girl

Hard to tell what to say about this one. A couple of things spring out: for one, this story relies on the same conceit as almost all mystery genre works, namely that there can be such a thing as the perfect crime. Certainly, this is a story that believes wholeheartedly in its own smartness; perhaps it's better to say the author believes in how smart she is. But this scenario would almost certainly not play out this way in real life; the presumed mastermind would be caught and exposed much easier than is seen here. The movie does make its case (so to speak) that one could get away with it because media are so guilty of fashioning "the truth" that it hazes everything, including detective work. It also implies something I've known since at least the old days of watching Xena: Warrior Princess: men can be bad, but when a woman goes wrong you get a real monster. That may be a minor spoiler, and sorry for that, but that slip doesn't really give much away. All in all, it's entertaining, and I'm not sure it ever could have been anything more that that. Mostly, you'll have to rely on your own judgement here.

The World’s End

Consistently amusing and entertaining story about drinking, friendship, and the apocalypse, not necessarily in that order. The Britishness of the principals involved really shines through, lending the film heavy doses of appealing eccentricity as well as a notable way with the language that sparks many of the laughs. Interesting to compare and contrast this with that other apocalyptic comedy, the recently viewed This Is The End; the differences clearly stem from the creators’ nationalities, and each film is appropriate to its own kind. Can’t really say which is better or worse; just that, in this case, this is exactly the kind of funny movie the limeys do best.

The Libertine

Not exactly a laugh riot, though it has its moments. Hell, it's damn near impossible not to have 'moments' in a Johnny Depp film, and this one delivers a couple of nice ones. But they're too few and too disconnected to add up to a good flick--especially when the ending is as much of a downer as you have here. A nice try, but ultimately not really worth it.

Pride And Prejudice (2005)

Five more minutes of running time and I probably would have grown a uterus just from watching this flick. So says my curmudgeonly side, but alas, I too was won over by Elizabeth Bennett and her pas de deux with Mr. Darcy. Combine the clever interplay with charming characterizations and artful direction and cinematography, and you have a very entertaining film. Posted