NON-STOP (2014) review
written by: John W. Richardson, Chris Roach and Ryan Engle
produced by: Joel Silver, Alex Heineman, Steve Richards & Andrew Rona
directed by: Juame Collet-Serra
rating: PG-13 (for intense sequences of action and violence, some language, sensuality and drug references)
runtime: 106 min.
U.S. release date: February 28, 2014
Terror at 30,000 feet!!! There’s all sorts of crazy, scary, terrifying situations out there. But what about those situations where you simply can’t get away from it? Like literally, can’t get away, like on a plane flying at 30,000 feet. There’s a fun, little sub-genre of movies like this, including “Air Force One”, “Flightplan”, “Red Eye”, and most recently, “Non-Stop”.
RUNNER RUNNER (2013) review
written by: Brian Koppelman and David Levian
produced by: Arnon Milchan, Jennifer Davisson Killoran & Leonardo DiCaprio
directed by: Brad Furman
rating: R (for language and some sexual content)
runtime: 91 min.
U.S. release date: October 4, 2013
DVD/Blu-ray release date: January 7, 2014
If you would have told me back in the late 1990s, that some 14 years later Justin Timberlake would be where he is right now……….yeah, I would have said you were nuts. The ‘N Sync front guy?!? Really?!? But here we sit, Timberlake one of the biggest stars in entertainment in music, film, even on TV pairing with his buddy Jimmy Fallon. Good for him, the star doing quite the job of marketing himself. And then there’s “Runner Runner”, setting him back in a bad way.
CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER (2014) review
written by: Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely
produced by: Kevin Feige
directed by: Anthony and Joe Russo
rating: PG-13 (for intense sequences of violence, gunplay and action throughout)
runtime: 136 min.
U.S. release date: April 4, 2014
At the end of “Captain America: The First Avenger”, Colonel Nick Fury had assured a thawed out, time-displaced Steve Rogers that things haven’t changed all that much in 70 years. That there was still work to be done….a soldier’s work. For a hero who had seemingly lost everything, it was a reassuring statement, confirming that Rogers is needed. Indeed he is.
NOAH (2014) review
written by: Darren Aronofsky and Ari Handel
produced by: Darren Aronofsky, Scott Franklin, Mary Parent & Arnon Milchan
directed by: Darren Aronofsky
rating: PG-13 (for violence, disturbing images and brief suggestive content)
runtime: 138 min.
U.S. release date: March 28, 2014
Aronofsky’s back with a new film, and, despite only being in theaters for two days, has already sparked enough controversy to last the remainder of 2014. That film is the Biblical adaptation “Noah”, which is more a cousin to Martin Scorsese’s “The Last Temptation of Christ” than John Cleese’s “Life of Brian”. That is to say, it’s an affirmation of faith rather than a scathing critique, and while both classic films are skeptic of the divine, one encourages that feeling while the other confronts it.
SABOTAGE (2014) review
written by: Skip Woods and David Ayers
produced by: Al Ruddy, Bill Block, Paul Hanson, Joe Roth, Palak Patel & Alex Ott
directed by: David Ayers
rating: R (for strong bloody violence, pervasive language, some sexuality/nudity and drug use)
runtime: 109 min.
U.S. release date: March 28, 2014
The crime thriller “Sabotage” is the least predictable and most intense of the handful of post Governator action movies Arnold Schwarzenegger has starred in. Last year’s “The Last Stand” had a sense of humor about it, along with a nod to classic Westerns, that lightened the bloody violence, but here is a gritty film that proudly displays its tattoos and adrenaline in a testosterone-laced delivery that even has its few women posing a legitimate threat to their manly costars. While there is some humor here, it comes from R-rated bro-camaraderie, that is – the kind of jokes you crack after you’ve just turned a bad guy’s head into a squishy tomato during a drug raid.
ESCAPE PLAN (2013) review
written by: Miles Chapman and Jason Keller
produced by: Mark Canton, Randall Emmett, Remington Chase, Robbie Brenner & Kevin King Templeton
directed by: Mikael Hafstrom
rating: R (for violence and language throughout)
runtime: 115 min.
U.S. release date: October 18, 2103
DVD/Blu-ray release date: February 04, 2014
The 1980s and much of the 1990s were the Age of the Overblown, Dumb, Mindless Action Movies, stars like Jean-Claude Van Damme, Steven Seagal, Dolph Lundgren and others dominating the genre. The action genre has changed a ton in the years since, but the stars are still there, including two of the biggest stars who reunite in 2013’s Escape Plan.
DIVERGENT (2014) review
written by: Evan Daugherty and Vanessa Taylor
produced by: Douglas Wick, Lucy Fisher and Pouya Shabazian
directed by: Neil Burger
rating: PG-13 (intense violence and action, thematic elements and some sensuality
runtime: 139 min.
U.S. release date: March 21, 2014
Based on the best-selling trilogy from Veronica Roth, “Divergent” is the latest addition to the YA movie adaptations. Studios are aware of the potential for success these books offer, as they cater to established fans and aim to attract a predominately young audience. While the dystopian near-future sci-fi premise shows promise, it unfortunately delivers a bland and derivative movie on many levels. It’s a movie that will unlikely be accepted by viewers unfamiliar with the source material and will predictably be embraced by those who are.
300: RISE OF THE EMPIRE (2014) review
written by: Zack Snyder and Kurt Johnstad
produced by: Gianni Nunnari, Mark Canton, Zack Snyder, Deborah Snyder & Bernie Goldmann
directed by: Noam Murro
rating: R (for strong sustained sequences of stylized bloody violence throughout, a sex scene, nudity and some language)
runtime: 107 min.
U.S. release date: March 7, 2014
“War! War! War!” So King Leonidas’ 300 Spartans chanted as the battle cry of men that were sculpted to kill. They were built to brutalize. They were bred to maim. As anyone who saw the original “300” knows, they fulfilled their purpose. In one spectacular single-take sequence, time is warped to the rhythm of curved steel blades separating flesh from flesh. Blood smears the screen in explosions of comic book violence to punctuate the mayhem—the radical idea of slowing down time to intensify the buildup to a kill and to speed it up as the blade meets its mark.
THE WIND RISES (2013) review
written by: Hayao Miyazaki
produced by: Toshio Suzuki
directed by: Hayao Miyazaki
rating: PG-13 (for some disturbing images and smoking)
runtime: 126 min.
U.S. release date: November 28, 2013 (New York/Los Angeles), February 21, 2014 (limited) and February 28, 2014 (wide)
Hayao Miyazaki is one of the most influential and powerful forces cinema has seen in the last twenty years, helping define Japanese art and culture for much of the West. People all across America will instantly recognize Totoro, the massive cuddly cat-like character from the film “My Neighbor Totoro”. The character has become a part of American iconography, endearingly embraced by children around the world. Hell, you can find a Totoro plushy in many stores, and some of the younger kids in my family have a plushy Totoro as part of their stuffed animal collection. He even has a cameo in “Toy Story 3”.
DON JON (2014) review
written by: Joseph Gordon-Levitt
produced by: Ram Bergman, Nicholas Chartier, Bruce Wayne Gillies, Nikos Karamigios, Ryan Kavanaugh and Tucker Tooley
directed by: Joseph Gordon-Levitt
rating: R (for strong graphic sexual material and dialogue throughout, nudity, language and some drug use)
runtime: 90 min.
U.S. release date: September 27, 2014
DVD/Blu-ray release date: December 31, 2014
Is there a bigger rising star out there right now than Joseph Gordon-Levitt? The child star of “3rd Rock from the Sun” has turned himself into a legitimate dramatic and comedic actor since then with countless roles like “The Lookout”, “The Dark Knight Rises”, “500 Days of Summer”, “Inception” and “Looper”. Well, he’s stepping behind the camera now, starring in while also writing and directing “Don Jon”.
