GONE GIRL

(2014) 149 Minutes, Rated R

A.C.’s Review:  The latest Ben Affleck vehicle is also the most recent offering from one of Hollywood’s most acclaimed directors David Fincher. It details the sudden disappearance of Nick Dunne’s wife Amy played by Die Another Day’s Bond Girl Rosamund Pike, Amy whose life was the basis for a series of children’s books by her parents therefore when she goes missing the case draws national attention with the usual media circus descending on the Dunne’s small Missouri town. Dunne finds himself pilloried by a Nancy Grace clone on the cable channels and pursued by a pair of police detectives. His only allies are his twin sister and a high priced attorney played by Tyler Perry. 
 

If Alfred Hitchcock were alive today this is the kind of movie he would have made. It’s filled with twists and turns that I would not wish to spoil in a review. The movie clocks in at two and a half hours, maybe more but I don’t really see much that could be trimmed out of it. All the screen time is used accordingly.

I will say the ending literally brought howls of protest from the audience when after its lengthy running time ended abruptly and not in a way that pleased the theater goers who sat through it. It’s been a long time since I heard anyone shout at the screen but it happened here. I have to admit I would have preferred a better ending myself.

Fincher is an interesting director for me that I have never seen his appeal and that is because the saying is true about you only get one chance at a first impression. Fincher’s first movie was Alien 3 which I was greatly anticipating for so long and when it finally came out the results were disastrous. I hated that movie. Hated it! So I never bought into the Fincher hype in all the years since. He’s made movies people have raved about like Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and The Social Network but he has also made Zodiac another very bad movie. I will say Gone Girl is one of his better efforts.

Best Scene:  I can’t reveal but it’s when the Big Twist is revealed and we see exactly how it went down.

A.C.’s Rating:  Reluctant full price because the ending nearly demotes it to Matinee.

DRACULA UNTOLD

(2014) 92 Minutes, Rated PG-13

Bean's Review: Different perception of the creation of Dracula.  Luke Evans portrays Vlad, who then becomes Dracula and performs the part quite well.  Dracula is portrayed as a hero, a loving husband and a caring father, despite his prior acts in the Sultan of Turkey’s wars, in which he became known as Vlad the Impaler.  After his service, Vlad became prince of Transylvania.  He became the “monster” in order to save his people from the Turks, as the Sultan wanted all of the boys from Transylvania for his army.  Vlad’s sacrifice enabled his son and kingdom survive the Turks take over. 

The characterization was well developed in that I could really sympathize with Vlad in the death of his wife, played well by Sarah Gadon.  The portrayal of the “original” vampire, was well played by Charles Dance.

  

With the death of Vlad’s wife and the turning of his people into vampires and then Vlad’s vampires turning on his son was causing me to question the point of Vlad becoming a vampire initially.  However, the storyline had his son beginning saved and becoming the next ruler of Transylvania and then seeing Dracula in modern times, as the audience was thinking he was dead from sun exposure, mollified my question of his sacrifice.

I quite enjoyed this interpretation of Dracula.  The casting was well done, as well as the setting.  An apropos movie for the Halloween season.

Best Scene:  When the Sultan of Turkey, portrayed by Dominic Cooper, another good job, fought Dracula in the reign of silver coins

Bean's Rating: Full price ticket

Mike's Review: I haven't seen any movies just completely about the origins of Dracula or how he came to be, but I have seen a ton of movie with little bits of Dracula background and many different story lines that had parts of a Dracula or similar type of all mighty Vampire.

This movie had a very interesting spin on how Vlad the Impaler became Dracula. Which is why it surprised me on how short this movie actually was, I could have watched this movie as a two hour movie easily.  But with Universal Pictures wanting to "re-vamp" their old classic monster/horror movies for a new generation of movie watchers, you can see why they didn't want to put to much into their first of many new movies coming out. And also why they ended this movie the way they did in the present.  I think their gamble is going to pay off for them, and in the process create a whole new era of "classics".

Best scene: I liked the battle scene where Dracula is controlling all of the bats.  And I also liked the ending.  Let the games begin.

Mike’s rating:  Worth the price of the ticket.

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THE BOXTROLLS

(2014) 96 Minutes, Rated PG

Mike's Review: I am a big fan of stop motion animated movies. I think Tim Burton's - The Nightmare Before Christmas is one of the best ones created and will live on forever...but this movie, The Boxtrolls was kind of strange.  The story is about a boy that ends up living with trolls that wear boxes.  The bad guy I did not care for at all, and I didn't even have a clue he was voiced by Ben Kingsley until after the movie.  The back story line of all the things that happened in the movie were for a hat and cheese was also very strange.

I did like the Boxtrolls and the story of the boy growing up with them and trying to protect his adopted family.  I even liked the way it ended, but the whole bad guy and back story could have been much better.

I think if they had a better back story and a better "bad-guy" and maybe even lightened the gloomie-ness up a bit this movie would have taken off into a huge block buster.

My 5 year old daughter said that she liked the movie and really liked the Boxtrolls and thought they were funny.  But she did not like the scene were all the trolls seem to get squashed in a big press. 

Best Scene:  The buffet scene were Eggs tries to blend in was pretty funny.

Mike's Rating: DVD

ALEXANDER AND THE TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE, NO GOOD, VERY BAD DAY

(2014) 81 Minutes, Rated PG

Mike's Review: Not to mush to say on this movie...It was just an entertaining movie that was fun to watch.  It had a cute story and the the actors and actresses fit their roles well.  I even laughed out loud a few times.  This movie kind of reminded me just a little bit of Home Alone mixed with A Diary of a Wimpy Kid. 

Best Scene:  There were some cute scenes, but I liked the job interview dinner and the book reading scenes the best.

Mike's Rating: Worth the price of the Ticket.

Bean's Review: Cute, light-hearted family movie.  Alexander is an 11 year old boy who experiences very bad days, whilst his family members seem to enjoy idyllic days.  However, on his birthday, the tables are turned.  Steve Carell portrays a very caring father who is looking for a job, and his wife portrayed by Jennifer Garner has too much of a job.  The cast did a good job and there were some fairly funny scenes.

  

Overall, a good-feel movie.

Best scene: when the oldest son, played by Dylan Minnette, cast his prom date aside for his family

Bean’s rating:  DVD - I typically do not pay to see many family type movies

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LEFT BEHIND

(2014) 110 Minutes, Rated PG-13

A.C.’s Review:  The End Times are nigh….at least in the new movie LEFT BEHIND. Without warning one day The Rapture from Heaven occurs and all children and adult true believers are swept away to heaven leaving only their clothing behind and a terrified world of the unbelievers and unfaithful that are in for seven years of tribulations and hell on earth as the Antichrist rises.
 

The movie however basically covers the early hours of The Rapture as chaos descends on the ground and in the air where Nick Cage is playing an airplane pilot who must suddenly deal with the disappearance of many passengers and a struggle to bring his plane back to JFK after it is clipped by another jet (the pilots of the other jet were raptured away and it was out of control-tough luck if you are a passenger on that plane). Meanwhile on the ground his daughter must deal with a world gone mad by the disappearances which include her devout mother (Lea Thompson from BACK TO THE FUTURE!  Man, it was good to see her again) and her younger brother.

On board the plane Cage is aided by a globetrotting reporter who is his daughter’s love interest as well as a stewardess he is having a torrid affair with (she doesn’t know he’s married). With JFK in shambles with no clear runways due to crashed planes death seems certain for the passengers unless Cage can somehow find a way to land the plane…with his daughters help.

This movie was a win win for me because it combined two of my favorite genre’s. The airplane movie and the disaster movie. There was no escaping this was a movie marketed to the religious crowd but I went along with the flow just for the elements that I liked. Some of it was good…and some silly….like the hot young stewardess having an affair with aging Nick Cage but all in all I liked it.

Due to its limited appeal it got “Left Behind” at the box office on opening weekend so see it soon if you want to as it will be raptured out  of the theatre’s fairly quickly.

Best Scene: The near mid-air collision between the jets.

A.C.'s Rating: Matinee

ANNABELLE

(2014) 98 Minutes, Rated R

A.C.’s Review:  Last year a movie came out called THE CONJURING. It dealt with a real life husband and wife team of paranormal investigators called the Warrens. This movie featured the Warrens dealing with a family living in a haunted house. Based on a true story I suspect 99% of it was embellished by Hollywood but that is neither here nor there. I bring this up because in the movie the Warrens have a collection of items they have amassed on their cases…sort of like the trophy room you use to see in Batman comic books.

Instead of a giant penny like Batman has they have instead in a glass case with a warning never to open a doll named Annabelle that is said to be cursed. The doll proved so terrifying in its brief appearance an entire prequel has been constructed around it and that is this movie.

In the film a pair of expectant parents living in the seaside community of Santa Monica in the year 1970 soon have their world thrown upside down. When a pair of cult members go all Helter Skelter and murder their next door neighbors in a satanic ritual a demon is unleashed and takes up residence inside of the woman’s doll named Annabelle. The rest of the movie is the terrorizing of the couple as the demon attempts to claim a soul even that of the newborn baby is possible.

While not particularly scary to me I found the movie a passable way to spend the afternoon. I was more interested in it for its early 1970’s setting because I like to see the cloths and automobiles again from childhood. The actors are serviceable and the biggest name in the movie is Alfre Woodard who is obviously there to pick up an easy paycheck but she had the best role in the movie for what it was.

Best Scene: The attack by the cult members early in the movie.

A.C.'s Rating: DVD

THE EQUALIZER

(2014) 131 Minutes, Rated R

Mike's Review: Now this is my kind of movie.  This is in the league of the first Taken with Liam Neeson or Hitman with Timothy Olyphant.  If you enjoyed those movies then you will enjoy Denzel Washington  doing what he does. The fight scenes are very believable with a kind of Matrix style to them.  The story was well done and the character development was pretty well done.  The ending even left it open for a squeal, which I would see in a heartbeat.

Best Scene:  I liked the fight scenes, but I like the ending as well when he says he can help.

Mike's Rating: Worth the price of the Ticket.

Bean's Review: Fairly violent and riveting movie.  Denzel Washington plays an ex-CIA agent/spy, Robert McCall, trying to distance himself from his past career by working at a big box home improvement store and generally living a solitary, simple life.  However, his casual acquaintance with a very young Russian prostitute, Teri a/k/a Alina, played well by Chloë Grace Moretz, leads him back to his past activities and training, as Alina is hospitalized after a severe beating by her pimp, Slavi, played by David Meunier. 

The movie also displayed an underworld, the Russian mafia, that was quite disturbing.  Denzel Washington is quite convincing in his role, which is similar to his role in Man on Fire.  However, the storyline and acting in Man on Fire was better, especially the acting of Dakota Fanning.

 

McCall’s interaction with his co-workers at the store was developed nicely, but his interaction with the ex-director, played by Melissa Leo, or whatever her position was within McCall’s past career, was not, as it was unclear to me of her position in the movie.  Bill Pullman’s role seemed to be a token bit, which is unfortunate.

I enjoyed McCall’s trait of counting down the seconds in disarming/killing the “bad guys”.  Overall, a good, entertaining movie, but not as well acted or developed as Man on Fire or Training Day.

Best scene: quite a few-one that stands out is McCall’s initial encounter with Alina’s pimp and McCall’s obsessive/compulsive behavior with the skulls on the desk.  I also enjoyed his encounter with the “cops on the take”.

Bean’s rating:  borderline Matinee/Full Price-would definitely watch again

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