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in her lap along with a stranger (Jonathan Rhys Myers) who can’t remember who he is, much less why he’s drawn to her. Running on instinct and a small bit of info from friends of her grandfather, she travels to a hidden compound where things begin to reveal, and unravel, themselves. She discovers her destiny and for some reason knows the stranger fits into it.
The scene is set in a small gated community with perfectly manicured lawns, lavishly decorated living rooms and constantly roaming security guards on Segways. A young man, Zhenia (Alec Utgoff), convinces the powers that be that he should get a pass to work as a masseur within the high walls.
Miriam Ghani has unearthed an engrossing bounty of cinema and history from 1970’s and 80’s Afghanistan. Several established filmmakers of the time give first-hand accounts of their experiences making movies while footage from several of their unfinished works are continuously running in the background. It creates a rich tapestry of the frankly mad circumstances of the time.
Jungle Cruise, based on the Disney World amusement park ride of the same name, begins in the early 1800’s with Lily (Emily Blunt) and MacGregor (Jack Whitehall) McHughton attempting to convince a bunch of stuffed shirts to allow them to borrow an artifact that they believe will lead the two to a tree with healing powers beyond anything the world could imagine. Lily manages to nab the artifact without permission thoroughly pissing off an ominous German military man who desires the same magical healing only to help the German army in WWI. He then pursues them throughout the film as the perpetual baddy causing havoc. After a number of mishaps and deceptions Frank (Dwayne Johnson), a gruff yet charming riverboat captain, agrees to take the siblings through treacherous terrain to find the ancient tree, hinting at designs of his own. A lot of dad jokes, some love/hate chemistry between Lily and Frank, and a bit of danger leads us to their final destination where they face off with several enemies while attempting to gain their prize.
Snake Eyes is all about the origin story of the popular character of the same name in the cartoon series (played here by Henry Golding). It started like so many hero origins do: a family member is killed in an incredibly traumatic way, the child swears revenge and dedicates their life to bringing it about. This one veers off the typical path of “good guy stops himself before its too late” and goes kinda dark instead. It’s a bit surprising considering this is billed as a sort of family flick (or maybe that was just my assumption since it’s based on a cartoon), but it still made for a good story. Snake goes to incredible lengths, and makes nice with some truly awful people, to accomplish his goal without learning his lesson until his choices cause irreparable damage; and honestly he’s pretty dang violent in the interim. I don’t think I’m adding any spoilers here (since we know him as a decent guy in the G.I. Joe universe), he finally comes to his senses; as the film ends he’s putting his efforts toward becoming a true American Hero.
An attractive forty-something, semi-successful actor from New York, Michael (Andy Karl), dies single. He’s told by a magical CEO (Christina Ricci) in a high rise in the sky that he has to find his soulmate to ascend and there’s a ticking clock to find them before he literally ceases to exist. So… eternity with a partner or you literally disappear never to be heard from again; useless and unloved.
I had really high hopes for this quirky British comedy about a woman, Frankie (Maeve Dermody), who is sick and tired of being dumped. We meet her as she’s left by her “perfect man” via his little brother Wilbur (yes, he broke up with her by proxy) and through some awkward interactions with this little messenger (Rory Stroud) , she finds out there maybe a gene that consistently makes you the dumpee at the end of a relationship rather than the dumper. For the rest of the film she tries to fix this defect.
What could possibly go wrong? Two low-level crooks, both near strangers to each other, are asked to “babysit” a man’s family while he retrieves some documents for their employer. Well… everything; everything can go wrong, and did, in this maze-like crime drama about the mob, murders, lies, and corruption. A couple of infamous criminals, Curt Goynes (Don Cheadle) and Ronald Russo (Benicio Del Toro), in 1950’s Detroit fall deeper and deeper into a scandal as they uncover the layers of a well-hidden secret. Attempting to use it to their advantage and up their payout, both try to double-cross their employer, the other players, and each other to come out on top. Based on a true story surrounding the automotive industry at Detroit’s height of success, No Sudden Move proves what a scuzzy industry it really was (and let’s be honest… still is).
The concept was a good one and the trailer had me intrigued, but this “buddy detective” style dark comedy fell sadly flat of its potential. The two daughters, Nic and Ping, of life-long friends and partnered detectives are thrown into the seedy underworld of trying to find out why their fathers met an untimely death…
That it is based on a book of the same name, which is in turn based on the author, Judith Kerr’s, early life and her family’s escape from Nazi Germany adds stark reality to this sweet, yet stirring film.
