Theatrical Releases: The 33 & By The Sea

November 13, 2015 / Leave a Comment

BY THE SEA || November 13th, 2015

	THE 33 \|\| A little too sentimental, Antonio Banderas leads a crew of miners in the true story titled “The 33” about the Chilean mining disaster that trapped that many men underground. Using The Great Big World’s “Say Something” probably wasn’t the best option with a film that is too sentimental to begin with. It’s a great song, but it really makes the whole film seem cheesy and faith-based without having the content to actually back that up.	PASS
	BY THE SEA \|\| Angelina Jolie Pitt writes, directs, and stars opposite her real life husband Brad Pitt in “By The Sea,” a hard drama set in 1970s France as a couple vacations while their relationship is in crisis. Visually, the film is impressive, and Angelina and Brad are impossible not to enjoy, but story-wise, both from what I’ve read and the lack of any substance in any of these trailers leads me to believe that there’s not much there. Regardless, she’s a formidable director and I’d still like to see what she can do.	RENT
	ENTERTAINMENT \|\| No part of me wanted to see this film until I saw Michael Cera show up in the cast run. That got me the slightest bit interested. But otherwise, “Entertainment” is simply about a small time comedian trying to find his way and failing, at least from what I can see. And even alongside John C. Reilly and Tye Sheridan, leading man Gregg Turkington is hard to watch and the dry comedy in the film is sometimes unbearable. It’s possible I might fast-forward through this just to see Cera’s performance.	PASS

	10 DAYS IN A MADHOUSE \|\| Overacted and missing production quality, “10 Days In A Madhouse” starts to feel like a student film. Strange dips in film quality and some monologues that feel so forced it hurts is all that is shown in this trailer. The story follows a female reporter in 1887 who goes undercover in a mental asylum to uncover some iffy practices, but with no exit strategy, she might be stuck there. This is mostly everyone’s first dive into feature films, no it’s no shock that it doesn’t quite work.	PASS
	CASA GRANDE \|\| A foreign film about a wealthy family on a downward spiral, the majority of the film seems to center on the son’s relationship with a half mulatto, half Japanese girl who is very outspoken and not quite what the son’s father has in mind for who his son should be with. Regardless, there is no keeping them apart. And thus the drama of the film.	PASS
	CONDEMNED \|\| A group of young adults go spend the night in some “punk rock” dilapidated apartment complex and come the morning they find out that the door’s been locked and there’s no getting out. Turns out the apartment complex is the site of some gnarly infection that authorities don’t want getting out and thus no one is going anywhere. All while they attack one another and simply try to survive. There’s plenty of things working in the favor of this film, like the sexuality, but other than that, it feels retread and flat.	PASS
	DANGEROUS MEN \|\| Iranian filmmaker John S. Rad moved to America with a dream to create a no hold barred action epic. 26 years later it is finally complete and releasing in theaters. “Dangerous Men” has guns, sex, and violence, but don’t ask me what it’s about because the trailer does not really divulge beyond the point of repeating that it’s unlike anything we’ve ever seen before, both in type and in voice over. It even opens with a claim-line from the director… super classy.	PASS
	THE FUNHOUSE MASSACRE \|\| Thanks to his years as Freddy Kruger, actor Robert Englund will have a place in the horror genre for as long as he lives and he proves that yet again in “The Funhouse Massacre,” where a group of the most insane serial killers are somehow let loose in a funhouse where they pose as characters. Making a just observation at the lack of shock when it comes to kids these days, from years of desensitization, the comedic elements of the film actually work really well considering.	STREAM
	HEIST \|\| On one hand, this has an impressive cast that any action thriller would dream of, including Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Robert De Niro, Kate Bosworth, Gina Carano, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Morris Chestnut, and Dave Bautista. So they grab your attention. But sadly, this film is all over the place and paper thin. It’s a heist film turned into a hostage bus movie, where you really start to not like anyone involved. Everyone looks great and the roles are almost right, but something in the production and thin writing make this ugly in the end.	PASS
	INGRID BERGMAN: IN HER OWN WORDS \|\| Three-time Oscar winner Ingrid Bergman was Sweden’s greatest movie star. And with the help of her daughter Isabella Rossellini, director Stig Björkman delivers never-before-seen footage, writing, and images straight from Hollywood’s Golden Age darling herself. You know her from “Casablanca” (1942) and “Gaslight” (1944), but behind the scenes she was a woman above all else.	PASS
	JAMES WHITE \|\| Christopher Abbott looks seriously impressive in “James White,” where he plays an aimless twentysomething in New York City. Despite his mother (Cynthia Nixon) dying of a serious illness, he refuses to put his life of drugs and sex behind him. Both Abbott and Nixon are celebrated for their performances, and from the looks of it, that’s no lie. I’ve also always been thoroughly impressed by Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi’s performances in the past and he looks to continue quite well in this.	STREAM
	KILO TWO BRAVO \|\| “If anything happens to be down there…” is the one of the first dialogue lines spoken in this trailer… Guess what: something happens to him. Based on a true story, “Kilo Two Bravo” depicts men in active duty in Afghanistan missioned to take down a Taliban roadblock. But they soon find themselves in an active minefield. Not being able to move and with an air rescue mission to risky, these men must dig deep and find their own way out.	PASS
	LOVE THE COOPERS \|\| Despite knowing that it’s not going to be a good film, “Love The Coopers” somehow finds a way to rope in so many talented people that I almost feel obligated to give it shot. Look at this cast: Alan Arkin, John Goodman, Ed Helms, Diane Keaton, Anthony Mackie, Amanda Seyfried, June Squibb, Marisa Tomei, and Olivia Wilde. How can you say no? It’s holiday fluff with zero effort shown, but at least its pristine veneer makes it easily digestible.	STREAM
	MAN UP \|\| As much as I enjoy both Simon Pegg and Lake Bell, there seems to be something so formulaic to the romantic comedy “Man Up” that it feels almost impossible to sit through. Bell plays lead, meeting a woman on a train that explains her pending blind date, using a popular book to mark as a sign for the other person. When she leaves the book on the train, Bell runs into the blind date, played by Pegg, and hijacks the date, lying to him. Despite having a great time, when the truth comes out, things get off to a rocky start. But as with all romantic comedies, we can only assume they work things out.	PASS
	MY ALL-AMERICAN \|\| Having had a supporting role in “Unbroken,” Finn Wittrock finds himself in the leading role of “My All-American, ” about a young football player, whose height limits him from being accepted by many colleges. But when Aaron Eckhardt steps him with an offer, the kid cannot refuse. But an injury seems to put everything into jeopardy just when things are finally looking up. Robin Tunney and Sarah Bolger also star in what feels like a faith based film, but only on surface level.	PASS
	SHELTER \|\| Jennifer Connolly rubs in some dirt and plays a homeless woman who, according to her cardboard sign, “used to be somebody.” Now she wanders the streets with Anthony Mackie, who puts on an accent, and talks about the life that used to be. Actor Paul Bettany takes the reigns of “Shelter” as writer and director, showing that every homeless person, regardless of who they are, has a story of where they came from. Hopefully this message isn’t lost on two attractive people playing homeless.	PASS
	SONG OF LAHORE \|\| The messaging of “Song Of Lahore” is spectacular, just because someone is Pakinstani does not make them a terrorist. In saying so, these musicians from all around the world come together to produce renditions of popular songs that go viral. Being the sensation that they are, they are eventually invited to play with the Jazz at the Lincoln Center in New York. The documentary shows their road to getting their and pushes their message even further.	PASS
	STEVE MCQUEEN: THE MAN & LE MANS \|\| If you don’t know who Steve McQueen is, he was one of the coolest actors around in the 1970s, with a unique passion for cars that was apparent in his films. But even if you do know McQueen, many do not know about his passion project, “Le Mans,” about the 24-hour car race in France and the troubles it had getting off the ground. Now, with never before seen footage and interviews with those involved, fans have an opportunity to get a glimpse behind the scenes of this enigmatic man.	PASS