MAMA
Clichés mount in this supremely stylish supernatural thriller presented by Guillermo del Toro. The story is about Victoria and Lilly, two little girls who disappear into the woods the day their mom is murdered by their dad. Years later, when they are rescued by the desperately searching Uncle Lucas and his girlfriend Annabel (Jessica Chastain), it seems someone still wants to come and tuck the girls in at night. I was jolted several times and the movie did not end as I expected, but I was strangely satisfied. Chastain is a wonder and inhabits a character that is so unlike anything she has done – or that you’ve seen.
LAST STAND
Wow, this was not what I expected and I doubt it’s what the filmmakers actually set out to do. After more than a decade, Arnold Schwarzenegger is back on the big screen as the star of a big action film (his cameos in THE EXPENDABLES and its sequel hardly count). Very old school in its structure and form, the similarity to what Schwarzenegger did so well (depending on your cinematic literacy) back in the 70s and 80s is on overdrive here.
Arnold plays a retired cop now a sheriff in a sleepy Arizona border town who must stop a violent Mexican drug kingpin from getting back across the border after escaping from U.S. federal marshals. Oh, and the drug lord is driving a souped-up Corvette that can top out at 250 mph! So there’s plenty of great action and a few comic moments. And yes, famed North Korean director Kim Ji-Woon’s movie is not as bad as you might assume, but what really got me was the sad, bittersweet metaphor of Schwarzenegger as an old, rich, famous guy with tons of complicated, negative baggage, an immigrant, making a last stand on an unfinished bridge in his adopted country that goes nowhere. If Arnold Schwarzenegger never makes another film and completely disappears from public life — as I think he should — I suggest this film will gradually be recognized as a remarkable final epitaph with a far more poignant and potent message embedded beneath the superficial action on the screen.
JACK REACHER
When the teaser trailer for the latest Tom Cruise movie was first shown in a local theater, the audience laughed. That’s never a good sign. Months later, a new trailer was cut with a harder edged vibe and lots of action. This time, there was not much laughter, but clearly scattered snickering. This outlandish, talky drama turns the fictional Jack Reacher character, an unstoppable giant in the franchise novels by Lee Child (actually British writer James Grant) into a diminutive shadow of his literary iteration. Sadly, even with nice fight and action choreography, this grim crime procedural about a serial killing sniper lacks the charismatic fascination and force of Child’s novel “One Shot,” from which the movie was adapted. Some movie stars apparently forget that how they portray themselves in real life spills onto the big screen and it gets harder and harder for an audience to willingly suspend disbelief and enjoy the movie.
GANGSTER SQUAD
I was rather disappointed with this cartoonish version of what could have been a terrific movie. Riddled with factual errors, Mickey Cohen’s reign of criminal intimidation in 1940’s Los Angeles is devoid of originality, emotional and moral depth despite the terrific production design and costumes that wonderfully evoke an era. My impression is that director Ruben Fleischer and screenwriter Will Beall never got a handle on the material. Or were torn between doing a parody and a heavy drama. A great cast is somewhat wasted here. Sean Penn is the Brooklyn born mobster Mickey Cohen who cornered L.A.’s illicit gambling, drugs, guns and prostitution rackets — all under the protection of corrupt police and politicians. The core of the story is about a secret unit of the LAPD determined to rip the heart out of Cohen’s operation. Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone co-star.
DOWNTON ABBEY Season 3
The Great War is over and a long-awaited engagement is on, but all is not tranquil at Downton Abbey as wrenching social changes, romantic intrigues, and personal crises grip the majestic English country estate for a third thrilling season. With the return of its all-starcast plus guest star Academy Award® winner Shirley MacLaine, DOWNTON ABBEY, Season 3 airs over seven Sundays on PBS. It began on January 6 but is available on Blu-ray in the original UK edition. Along with BREAKING BAD, this has got to be the best show on TV. And yes, Maggie Smith continues to steal every scene in which she appears.
RobinESimmons@aol.com
