Mike's Movie Tips

2.5/4 Starring: Jason Clarke, Josh Brolin, Emily Watson, Keira Knightly, Jake Gyllenhaal, John Hawkes, Robin Wright, Sam Worthington, Michael Kelly Rated PG-13 for Intense Peril and Disturbing Images "Everest" is an intense film that will leave you reeling.  It is also insanely maddening because it could have been so much better.  I don't know what it is about big budget movies these days, but I prefer to be able to hear the dialogue over the special effects.  This is one of my biggest pet peeves, and boy, does "Everest" ever break it! Yes, I get it.  The majority of the film takes place on Mount Everest in the middle of a fierce storm, so naturally the dialogue would be set against a bunch of noise.  Well, so was " Vertical Limit ," and at least director Martin Campbell made sure that we were able to pick out the dialogue over the screaming winds.  The same cannot be said about Baltasar Kormakur, who thinks that this movie will work if we can...

1.5/4 Starring: Kate Mara, David Oyelowo, Michael K. Williams, Lenor Varela, Mimi Rogers, Elle Graham Rated PG-13 for Mature Thematic Elements involving Substance Abuse The good news is that the new Christian film "Captive" doesn't pile on the preachiness like " War Room " and no one utters a single Bible verse, unlike last year's monstrosity, " God's Not Dead ."  The bad news?  It's dull beyond words. Ashley Smith (Mara) is a meth addict struggling to stay sober.  Her young daughter Paige (Graham) is living with her Aunt Kim (Rogers) until she can stay clean, but it's a losing battle.  Brian Nichols (Oyelowo) is on his way to a lengthy prison term when he escapes and goes on a killing and carjacking spree that reminded me of "Grand Theft Auto."  He eventually takes Ashley hostage and hides out in her apartment while planning his next move.  Meanwhile, two cops, John Chestnut (Williams) and Carmen Sandoval (Varela) are...

2.5/4 Starring: Johnny Depp, Joel Edgerton, David Harbour, Benedict Cumberbatch, Kevin Bacon, Corey Stoll, Dakota Johnson Rated R for Brutal Violence, Language Throughout, Some Sexual References and Brief Drug Use I gotta hand it to Scott Cooper, the director of "Black Mass:" he's ambitious.  With this film, he seeks to profile the rise and fall of notorious gangster James "Whitey" Bulger (Depp) through his dealings with John Connelly (Edgerton).  Unfortunately, it's too ambitious of a scope for Coopers limited talents (his previous film, " Out of the Furnace ," had a similar problem). By the 1970's, James "Whitey" Bulger was already a hardened criminal.  However, while he had served time in the slammer, he's not the FBI's most pressing concern.  That would be the Italian mafia.  An eager beaver of the FBI named John Connelly, who knows Whitey from the neighborhood, thinks that they can use him to get to the mafia.  Hi...

3/4 Starring: Lorenza Izzo, Ariel Levy, Nicolas Martinez, Daryl Sabara, Kirby Bliss Blanton, Magda Apanowicz, Richard Burgi Rated R for Aberrent Violence and Torture, Grisly Disturbing Images, Brief Graphic Nudity, Sexual Content, Language and Some Drug Use The road to hell is paved with good intentions... "The Green Inferno" is probably the most violent horror movie I have ever seen in a movie theater.  Check that, it's the most violent movie period t hat I have ever seen in a movie theater.  It is bloody.  It is shocking.  And it will turn off many people who watch it.  However, it is intense and scary, and since that is what horror movies are supposed to do, I'm giving the film a recommendation. Justine (Izzo) is an aimless college student at an unnamed university (judging by the setting, I'm guessing NYU or Columbia).  She blithely scoffs at the activist students protesting for the janitors on campus (director Eli Roth has some fun at the exp...

3/4 Starring: Charlie Bewley, Clive Standen, Ivan Kaye, Guy Flanagan, Michael Jibson, Theo Barklem-Biggs, Alexandra Dowling, Finlay Robertson, James Cosmo, Elliot Cowan Rated R for Bloody Violence, Language including Sexual References, and Some Nudity "Hammer of the Gods" seeks to be more than a " 300 " clone.  While it's got more than enough brutal bloodshed to satisfy gorehounds and adrenaline junkies, the plot is deeper and the characters are better developed.  Director Farren Blackburn has fashioned a more realistic action movie set in the ancient world. The Vikings have long since settled in Northern Britain, although their hold on it is weakening.  The Saxons are invading, and they don't have the strength to repel them.  King Bagsecg (Cosmo) has sent for his son Steinar (Bewley) to lead the reinforcements, but when the prince arrives, his father has been gravely wounded and has only about a week to live.  His half-brother Harald (Standen) is ne...

1.5/4 Starring: Dylan O'Brien, Ki Hong Lee, Rosa Salazar, Jacob Lofland, Kaya Scolodero, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Dexter Darden, Aiden Gillen, Patricia Clarkson, Giancarlo Espisito Rated PG-13 for Extended Sequences of Violence and Action, Some Thematic Elements, Substance Use, and Language Typically if it's longer than a day or two between when I see the movie and when I can get to a computer, I skip the review.  But I decided to review this movie despite the fact that it's been a week since I've seen it for two reasons: one, I remember full well exactly what I was going to write, and two, I need a review for when I compile my Bottom Ten list this year, as this stinker will surely be on it. " The Maze Runner " is yet another sci-fi/fantasy (both genres are okay for Hollywood these days) book series that's being turned into a movie franchise.  While not as financially successful as " Twilight " or " The Hunger Games ," last year...

3/4 Starring: Sanaa Lathan, Michael Ealy, Morris Chestnut, Holt McCallany Rated PG-13 for Violence, Menace, Sexuality and Brief Strong Language "The Perfect Guy" is closer to a misfire than a "perfect" movie, but that doesn't mean it's a waste of time.  The performances are effective and it packs enough thrills to satisfy despite editing mishaps and an overlong running time. This movie has been mismarketed, perhaps to make it seem different than the genre movie it actually is.  It's been marketed as a film where a woman has to decide which over her lovers is genuine and which is a closeted psycho, but that's not the case.  This is really a "stranger within" movie like " Single White Female " or " Fatal Attraction ."  It's closest cousin is " Fear ," and while it isn't in the same league, one must remember how high that movie set the bar. Lobbyist Leah (Lathan) is at a crossroads with her boyfr...

1/4 Starring: Elizabeth Berridge, Cooper Huckabee, Largo Woodruff, Miles Chapin, Wayne Doba, Herb Robins, Shawn Carson Rated R (for Horror Violence, Language, Sexuality and Drug Use...I guess) In general, horror movie characters come in three flavors: smart (" The Descent ," " Scream "), stupid (" The Vatican Tapes ," " Valentine ") and "too dumb for reproduction" (" Terror Train ," " The Ice Cream Man ").  Then there are these doofuses, who are just asking for it. I'm serious.  The four protagonists are so dumb that I was actively wishing for them to die.  Hell, the only reason I wouldn't give the killer the Nobel Peace Prize is because he's equally stupid. How dumb are they?  Let's see...well, they make the usual stupid mistakes, like needlessly putting themselves in danger (par for the course), not checking their aim, and so on.  That will hurt a horror movie, but it's excusable.  The...

2/4 Starring: Luis Carlos Vasconcelos, Ivan de Almeida Rated R for Strong Bloody Violence/Carnage, Language, Sexuality and Drug Use About a month ago, I saw " Bloody Sunday ," a documentary-like look at the Bloody Sunday massacre in Derry, Ireland.  That film rejected traditional filmmaking tropes, such as well-developed characters (complete with arcs) and a clear narrative.  Its power came from its sole focus on showing what happened and why (to the extent that anyone knows). "Carandiru" opts for a more traditional approach, although not necessarily for the better.  The film takes an inordinate amount of time to develop more than a dozen characters, but it's all for naught since most of them have only a few moments of screen time, if that, in the climactic massacre.  Not only that, the dialogue is bland and the characters exhibit little in the way of personality or sympathy.  "Carandiru" represents a very long 2.5 hours. The Carandiru prison...

3/4 Starring: Robert Redford, Nick Nolte, Emma Thompson Rated R for Language and Some Sexual References One of the reasons why Robert Redford has survived in Hollywood over the years (despite the fact that age hasn't been good to him) is his effortless charm.  He's so disarmingly charming and likable with such a warm presence that it's impossible not to like him in the movies.  That quality has permeated into many of the films he has starred in (" Sneakers ," for example).  Add "A Walk in the Woods" to that list. "A Walk in the Woods," directed by TV vet Ken Kwapis, isn't any sort of groundbreaking movie.  It's not going to show up at the Oscars (except perhaps for the cinematography, although it's a longshot).  It's not going to be on my Top 10 list when I compile it at the end of December.  It is however warm and occasionally funny.  It's a nice and relaxing time at the movies. Travel writer Bill Bryson (Redford)...

1/4 Starring: Jason Statham, Jet Li, John Lone, Ryo Ishibashi, Sung Kang Rated R for Sequences of Strong Bloody Violence, Sexuality/Nudity and Language Gaston: Lefou, I'm afraid I've been thinking... Lefou: A dangerous pastime- Gaston: I know.  I thought about those lyrics from " Beauty and the Beast " while I was watching this monstrosity of an action movie.  I don't expect great storytelling from an action movie, but I do ask for something that holds my attention and quickens my pules.  Is that really too much to ask?  For Phillip G. Atwell, who made his directorial debut with this film, and Lee Anthony Smith and Gregory J. Bradley, who wrote it (or at least are the only ones who are credited, the answer would be yes. There is a war going on between the Chinese Triads and the Japanese Yakuza.  Someone betrayed someone else, or someone slaughtered the other's family.  I don't know...the movie had kind of lost me at this point.  But ...

2/4 Starring: Priscilla C. Shrier, Karen Abercrombie, T. C. Stallings, Alena Pitts Rated PG for Thematic Elements Throughout Christian films represent a huge paradox for Hollywood; despite being generally regarded with derision and spite, they make big money at the box office.  It's certainly not the first time this has happened (the " Twilight " franchise is an example), but it remains perplexing.  It's generally not all deserved (" Hardflip " and " Mom's Night Out " are actually good movies), but they have a tendency to become mouthpieces for evangelism rather than telling compelling, or even interesting stories (last year's despicable "God's Not Dead" is an example, and Kirk Cameron's "Saving Christmas" faced a severe internet backlash because of it). A while back, I read an interesting article on why Christian films are so bad.  The author concluded that it was because the audience of evangelical Chri...

3/4 Starring: Wei Tang, Tony Leung, Joan Chen, Leehom Wang Rated NC-17 for Some Explicit Sexuality Ang Lee has never been what you'd call a "conventional filmmaker."  Concentrating more on character and tone rather than plot or special effects, Lee has made a career out of flouting normal filmmaking conventions while at the same time respecting them.  To put a finer point on it, he's a filmmaker, not a hack determined to bombard the ADD-crowd with as many "cool" images as possible (although he has a keen eye for beauty) or some geek who got lucky ( Joss Whedon ). "Lust, Caution" is a WWII thriller, albeit a low-key one.  Anyone expecting gunfights or a "bruised forearm movie," as the late great Roger Ebert called them, will be disappointed.  This is a "slow burn" thriller that requires patience and dedication.  You get what you put into it.  Those who want the movies to do the thinking for them will be lost and bored. ...

3/4 Starring: Christian Slater, Morgan Freeman, Minnie Driver, Randy Quaid, Ed Asner, Peter Murnik, Betty White, Richard Dysart Rated R for Violence The 90's were populated by disaster movies...usually related to weather.  Let's see, you've got volcanoes (" Dante's Peak ," " Volcano "), tornadoes (" Twister ") and hurricanes (" The Perfect Storm ," although I'm not sure that counts).  It only makes sense to add a flood-disaster movie into the mix. Actually, the flood only the setting.  The real story is focused on a stash of $3 million dollars and the various lowlifes who are trying to get it.  Armored truck drivers Tom (Slater) and Charlie (Asner) are transporting the cash (grand total is roughly $3 million) from local banks out of the flood zone, when they get stuck in a dip in the road.  That's when they run into Jim (Freeman), a thief looking for his "retirement fund" and his gang of misfits.  Despite...

1/4 Starring: Anthony LaPaglia, Barbara Hershey, Kerry Armstrong, Rachael Blake, Manu Bennett, Daniela Fariacci, Geoffrey Rush, Russell Dykstra, Leah Purcell Rated R for Language and Sexuality Apparently teenagers aren't the only ones filled with romantic angst, as the " Twilight " movies would have you believe.  The grown ups are just as screwed up too, but strange as it is to say, the results are even less interesting to watch.  Not only are they mopey and self-absorbed, they're two-dimensional at best and totally lifeless.  Seldom outside of a Wes Anderson movie have I seen a cast of movie characters so in need of Red Bull. "Lantana" is about nearly a dozen characters brought together by relationships and coincidence.  Leon (LaPaglia) is a cop in Australia who feels numb to life.  He's having an affair with Jane (Blake), a woman from his dance class.  His wife Sonja (Armstrong) tells her psychiatrist Valerie (Hershey) that she suspects an aff...

2.5/4 Starring: Rupert Friend, Hannah Ware, Zachary Quinto, Thomas Kretschmann, Ciaran Hinds Rated R for Sequences of Strong Violence and Some Language The history of video games turned into movies is not good; at best, they’re cheesy fun like “Laura Croft: Tomb Raider,” but at worst, they’re monstrosities like “ Doom .”   The original “Hitman” movie wasn’t as bad as that, but the only things worth noting about it were the performances by Timothy Olyphant and Olga Kurylenko.   This new version reboot is nothing special, but it’s at least entertaining. Years ago, a scientist named Litvenko (Hinds) found away to genetically enhance the human species to become super soldiers.   Terrified of what he created, Litvenko disappeared.   Now, a young woman named Katia (Ware) is searching for her father, but she’s staying on the run from those who want to kill her, like a mysterious assassin (Friend).   Her only ally is a man who calls himself John Smith (Quint...