Movie Review: Run All Night (2015)

Genre: Action Thriller  

Director: Jaume Collet-Serra  

Starring: Liam Neeson, Ed Harris, Joel Kinnaman, Vincent D'Onofrio, Common, Nick Nolte, Genesis Rodriguez, Boyd Holbrook, Bruce McGill  

Running Time: 114 minutes  

Synopsis: In New York City, Jimmy (Liam Neeson) is an aging hitman working for his life-long friend, mobster Shawn Maguire (Ed Harris). Shawn's unhinged son Danny (Boyd Holbrook) instigates a bloodbath witnessed by Jimmy's estranged son Mike (Joel Kinnaman), a limousine driver and family man who wants nothing to do with his father. Over one long night, Jimmy has to protect Mike and his family from Shawn's wrath, a corrupt police force, and a professional assassin (Common), while police Detective Harding (Vincent D'Onofrio) tries to pick up the pieces.

What Works Well: The father-son redemption story is elevated by an exceptional cast in top form. In the interludes between uncompromising action set-pieces, Liam Neeson and Ed Harris share several scenes full of sorrow, lament, the weight of history, and an understanding of a looming fate. Neeson's Jimmy is increasingly unable to hide from the ghosts of his victims, but now finds a purpose in a mission to rescue his son and maybe get a glimpse of family life. Director Jaume Collet-Serra adds style by cutting through the darkness with glistening swoopiness.

What Does Not Work As Well: Many of the action scenes are prolonged beyond what is necessary, including a long-winded car pursuit, a chaotic search-and-escape through a large apartment complex, and a subway station hide-and-seek sequence. In contrast, several interesting secondary characters including Mike's wife (Genesis Rodriguez) and Jimmy's brother (Nick Nolte) and mother (Lois Smith) are short changed.

Key Quote:

Jimmy: It's your regrets that haunt you in your final moments. Everything you've failed to be. Everyone you let down. Everything you'd go back and change, if only you had more time.

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Movie Review: F/X (1986)

Genre: Thriller  

Director: Robert Mandel  

Starring: Bryan Brown, Brian Dennehy, Diana Venora, Cliff De Young, Jerry Orbach  

Running Time: 108 minutes  

Synopsis: In New York City, movie special effects expert Rollie Tyler (Bryan Brown) is hired by Justice Department official Lipton (Cliff De Young) to stage the death of mob informer DeFranco (Jerry Orbach). But immediately after the fake assassination, Rollie finds himself a target and realizes he has been set-up, with his girlfriend Ellen (Diana Venora) also endangered. Rollie has to use his special effects skills to escape and clear his name, while gruff police Detective McCarthy (Brian Dennehy) wades into the case.

What Works Well: A relatively innovative premise creates intriguing opportunities for melding visual tricks of the screen into the "real" movie-created world. Bryan Brown is lithe and suave in the central role, and Brian Dennehy as a frumpy battering ram of a detective provides a good counterpoint. Director Robert Mandel ensures brisk pacing and high-energy chase and action scenes.

What Does Not Work As Well: The plot mechanics are ludicrous to the point of not even attempting an explanation. Rollie transitions, in a quite a hurry, from a regular Joe to an all-action hero with secret agent abilities and willingness to use lethal force. The whiff of a B-movie is accentuated by clunky dialogue and amateurish secondary performances, with Martha Gehman as Rollie's assistant suffering the most.

Key Quote:

Ellen: Nobody cares about making movies about people any more. All they care about is special effects.

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Movie Review: Enola Holmes (2020)

Genre: Mystery Action  

Director: Harry Bradbeer  

Starring: Millie Bobby Brown, Sam Claflin, Henry Cavill, Helena Bonham Carter  

Running Time: 123 minutes  

Synopsis: It's England in the 1880s, and parliament is debating expansion of voting rights. 16-year-old Enola Holmes (Millie Bobby Brown) was raised as an independent thinker by her mother Eudoria (Helena Bonham Carter), after her older brothers Sherlock and Mycroft (Henry Cavill and Sam Claflin) left home. Now Eudoria disappears, and Enola is unwillingly thrust into the care of the traditionalist Mycroft. She runs away and encounters Tewksbury (Louis Partridge), a young aristocrat also running from his family. Using clues left by her mother, Enola has to find Eudoria, help Tewksbury, and evade capture.

What Works Well: The target audience of 12 to 15-year-old girls will enjoy Millie Bobby Brown's spunky performance and the can-do message of girl power. England of the 1880s is recreated with beautiful settings, including the lavish Holmes estate and the muddy bustling chaos of London.

What Does Not Work As Well: As the jumbled and overstuffed action shifts from Eudoria's disappearance to Enola's escape then Tewksbury's barely explained sub-plot, Enola breaks the fourth wall with annoying frequency. Meanwhile, the anachronistic militant feminist message (with a generous side-dish of anti-male contempt) is delivered with sledgehammer subtlety, while the caught-in-the-middle Sherlock Holmes has never been less effective. In the rush to lecture and hector, the script fails to properly discuss neither the politics nor the threat of violence that supposedly propel the plot.

Key Quote:

Tewksbury: I'm a man.

Enola: You're a man when I tell you you're a man.

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Movie Review: Extreme Prejudice (1987)

Genre: Modern Western  

Director: Walter Hill  

Starring: Nick Nolte, Powers Boothe, Michael Ironside, Maria Conchita Alonso, Rip Torn  

Running Time: 104 minutes  

Synopsis: Jack Benteen (Nick Nolte) is the Texas Ranger in El Paso. Across the border, his childhood friend Cash Bailey (Powers Boothe) is controlling the illegal drug trade, protected by an army of thugs. A shadowy group of ex-soldiers under the command of Major Hackett (Michael Ironside) arrives in town on a bank heist mission. Jack warns Cash to abandon his criminal ways, but instead Cash targets Jack's girlfriend Sarita (Maria Conchita Alonso), leading to violent showdowns.

What Works Well: Director Walter Hill transposes traditional Western fundamentals to a more modern setting, with The Wild Bunch a main source of inspiration. This is an action-packed macho-dominated world of few words and much intimidation, Nick Nolte, Powers Boothe, and Michael Ironside forming an uncompromising triangle of good, bad, and ugly. The history of friendship between Jack and Cash adds a layer of regret, and Powers Boothe cuts a dashing villain in a white suit that gets increasingly soiled as his soul surrenders to evil.

What Does Not Work As Well: The emphasis on cool visuals and an elegiac definition of manhood as stripped-down willingness to engage in one-on-one death duels abandons a cluttered plot overstuffed with sweaty characters. The ex-soldiers and their plan to rob a bank consume an inordinate amount of time, and illogical incidents serve as wallpaper to the main objective of staging blood-soaked shoot-outs.

Key Quote:

Cash: You know, Jack. I got a feeling the next time we run into each other, we gonna have a killin'. Just a feeling.



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Movie Review: Ammonite (2020)

Genre: Romantic Drama  

Director: Francis Lee  

Starring: Kate Winslet, Saoirse Ronan, Gemma Jones, James McArdle  

Running Time: 117 minutes  

Synopsis: The setting is the small English seaside village of Lyme Regis in the 1840s. Fossil collector Mary Anning (Kate Winslet) runs a small shop with her mother Molly (Gemma Jones), and spends her days on the beach looking for geological artefacts. Mary is single and never received recognition in a male-dominated profession. Her mood is further soured when she is asked to care for the ailing Charlotte Murchison (Saoirse Ronan), a neglected wife recovering from a miscarriage while her husband (James McArdle) travels in Europe. But gradually, romance blossoms between Mary and Charlotte.

What Works Well: A historical fiction story constructed around real characters, this romantic drama uses sparse words and focuses on a sense of time and place. Director Francis Lee conveys a tough existence within a rustic village ambience, Mary in her element on windswept beaches and relishing the muddy work of finding and extracting fossils. With Mary overlooked by her profession and Charlotte ignored by her husband, the romance unfurls with tenderness, two women finding passion in the absence of respect.  

What Does Not Work As Well: The pacing is glacial and the mood uniformly dour - smiles less common than precious archeological finds. The focus on a fictional romance rather than Mary's professional achievements and struggles is a dubious narrative decision.

Key Quote:

Charlotte: You look after me like your child. You don't have any?

Mary: What a lot of questions. I might have preferred it when you were unconscious.

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Movie Review: Downhill (2020)

Genre: Dramedy  

Director: Nat Faxon, Jim Rash  
Starring: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Will Ferrell, Zach Woods, Zoe Chao  
Running Time: 86 minutes  

Synopsis: Married couple Billie and Pete Stanton (Julia Louise-Dreyfus and Will Ferrell) arrive at an Austrian Alps ski resort for a vacation with their two teen-aged sons. There is tension in the marriage, and Pete is frequently distracted by his phone. An avalanche mishap exposes Pete's poor judgment under pressure, and Billie is further infuriated when he avoids communicating. The arrival of Pete's friend Zach (Zach Woods) and his partner Rosie (Zoe Chao) adds further strain.

What Works Well: This remake of Force Majeure occasionally finds the biting seam between compromise and confrontation. Billie and Pete are largely performing as happily married for the benefit of their children, but she is reaching the end of her patience bandwidth. When he flees the avalanche leaving his family in harm's way, pretense is replaced by barely contained hostility. While their passion suffocates beneath the snow, moments of irreverent humour lighten the mood.

What Does Not Work As Well: Although they try hard, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Will Ferrell are both miscast, their personas less than suitable for the dark hypocrisy, emotional vengeance, and self-delusional defensiveness required by this story. The short running time does not allow a deep dive into churning emotions, and the ending is abrupt and all too pat.

Key Quote:

Billie (referring to the avalanche): It looked like it was gonna kill us...

Pete: For a moment.

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Movie Review: I Met A Girl (2020)

Genre: Romantic Drama  

Director: Luke Eve  

Starring: Brenton Thwaites, Lily Sullivan, Joel Jackson, Zahra Newman  

Running Time: 108 minutes  

Synopsis: In Perth, Devon (Brenton Thwaites) is a musician suffering from schizophrenia. After a meltdown at the wedding of his brother Nick (Joel Jackson), Devon is institutionalized. Five years later, Nick and his wife Olivia (Zahra Newman) ask Devon to move into his own apartment, triggering a crisis. Devon is saved by the caring Lucy (Lily Sullivan), and they bond over a magical night. When she disappears leaving a note asking him to follow her to Sydney, Devon embarks on a cross-country journey seeking the love of his life.

What Works Well: This mix of romance and mental trauma treats a delicate topic with demonstrative sensitivity. Writer Glen Dolman humanizes Devon but avoids sugarcoating his ordeal, and several scenes capture harrowing disorientation when competing inner voices, one of them vicious, demand his attention. Elsewhere, the difficulties faced by a family caring for a mental health patient are presented through the pragmatic perspective of Nick and Olivia, who have to balance empathy for Devon with protecting their newborn.

What Does Not Work As Well: The narrative is choppy in service of the "is Lucy real or is she fantasy" quest, and Devon's road trip meanders through a few too many detours and quirky encounters. A twist arrives too late to deliver the desired impact, and the ending succumbs to tidiness.

Key Quote:

Devon (to Lucy): It's like you're from a fairytale. Like I've dreamt you.

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Movie Review: Remarkably Bright Creatures (2026)

Genre: Drama  

Director: Olivia Newman  

Starring: Sally Field, Lewis Pullman, Sofia Black-D'Elia, Joan Chen, Kathy Baker, Colm Meaney, Alfred Molina  

Running Time: 111 minutes  

Synopsis: In the idyllic seaside community of Sowell Bay, Washington, Tova (Sally Field) is the lonely nighttime cleaning lady at the local aquarium, and still grieving the loss of her teenaged son years ago. Her one true companion is the aging octopus Marcellus (voice of Alfred Molina, who narrates). Cameron (Lewis Pullman) arrives in town looking for his long-lost father, and befriends Tova and local shop owner Avery (Sofia Black-D'Elia). As Tova and Cameron gradually find out more about each other, they confront the past and re-examine their attitudes.

What Works Well: The adaptation of Shelby Van Pelt's best seller is a heartwarming story about human connections, the nature of family, and the ghosts of the past influencing the present. Sally Field finds another great role as Tova, and in several scenes she expresses the pain of profound loss, regret, and unanswered questions. Director Olivia Newman captures a scenic small-town setting (filmed in Deep Cove, British Columbia) populated by gossipy but charming locals (including Joan Chen, Kathy Baker, and Colm Meaney), and crafts the perfect balanced tone between drama, humour, octopus wisdom, and pathos. 

What Does Not Work As Well: On a few occasions the plot requires a distinct absence of curiosity to hide crucial revelations until the final act.

Key Quote:

Marcellus (narrating): I can deduce that the cleaning lady and the juvenile share a similar affliction.

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Movie Review: Invasion U.S.A. (1985)

Genre: Action  

Director: Joseph Zito  

Starring: Chuck Norris, Richard Lynch  

Running Time: 107 minutes  

Synopsis: Heavily-armed terrorists assembled by evil masterminds Rostov (Richard Lynch) and Nikko (Alexander Zale) land on a Miami beach, jump into waiting trucks, spread out into neighbourhoods, and start slaughtering civilians. Retired CIA Agent Matt Hunter (Chuck Norris) is Rostov's nemesis, and returns to action to stop the carnage. Meanwhile, a reporter (Melissa Prophet) tries to cover the story.

What Works Well: Retreading the America-under-attack threat from Red Dawn, this B-movie deploys a relatively large budget to unleash impressive destruction, including residential homes and a shopping mall slated for demolition in real life. The stunt performers are the real stars, dodging danger amidst the pyrotechnics. 

What Does Not Work As Well: The early scenes tracking the terrorists getting organized (involving the Coast Guard, a drug deal, and an arms depot) appear to be fragments of incomplete ideas, and the subsequent endless action set-pieces fail to coalesce into a movie. Despite the generous running time, not even rudimentary attempts are made to round-out the characters or describe the ultimate objective (or backers) of the ragtag invasion. A largely disinterested but absolutely indestructible Chuck Norris cruises through the action spouting a variety of one-liners but careful to maintain a singular expression.

Key Quote:

Rostov: 18 hours from now, America will be a different place.

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Movie Review: The Rental (2020)

Genre: Suspense Horror  

Director: Dave Franco  
Starring: Dan Stevens, Alison Brie  
Running Time: 88 minutes  

Synopsis: Two couples decide to spend the weekend at an idyllic but secluded California ocean-front rental home. Charlie and Michelle (Dan Stevens and Alison Brie) are a couple, while Charlie's business partner Mina (Sheila Vand) is in a relationship with his brother Josh (Jeremy Allen Wright). After the house caretaker Taylor (Toby Huss) hands them the keys, tensions and romantic complications arise, before a disturbing discovery in the shower increases the stakes.

What Works Well: Dave Franco's directorial debut invests admirable time defining the four main characters, drawing out an entangled bundle of emotions. Charlie and Mina work closely together, generating natural unease within Michelle and Josh. Mina's ethnicity exposes Taylor's potentially racist attitudes, while Josh is the less impressive brother, susceptible to a short temper and bursts of violence. When bad decisions set the stage for real trouble, the final third enjoys a suitably ominous soundtrack and pointedly challenges genre cliches.

What Does Not Work As Well: The aesthetic and visuals are frequently a combination of murky and muddy, and the vacationers become less likeable as they reveal their true characters. While the theme of surveillance tied to danger holds interest, fundamental narrative decisions related to the source of villainy are polarizing.

Key Quote:

Michelle: This will never be over.

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