Sunday, August 27, 2017

Movie Review … American Made



‘Truth is stranger than fiction’ is an often used phrase.  All fiction is based on reality one way or another with true-life tales often more engrossing with ‘American Made’ being a fine example.  The story feels fanciful yet plausible.  It helps having Tom Cruise as its lead as he has made a career of portraying characters to which audiences can relate.  Assisted by Doug Liman’s tight direction, ‘American Made’ is an outlandish tale ripped from yesterday’s headlines.

Barry Seal (Tom Cruise) is a former airline pilot working with a dubious crowd.  Discarding the clean life and now smuggling drugs into Central America, Barry is enjoying the life of easy money and dark crimes.  His wife Lucy (Sarah Wright) tries to keep out of his wayward life which is made harder by the arrival of the C.I.A.  Recruiting Barry to provide intelligence into the main cartel he’s involved with, the federal agency takes no prisoners. With both the government and criminals on his trail, Barry’s actions have consequences reaching all the way to the White House.

American Made’ is an entertaining history lesson.  Filling in the details of a scandal that engulfed Ronald Reagan’s Presidency, it explores the main players in a tawdry saga.  Whilst events are played in a heightened manner, you can see how certain people justified their actions.  In Tom Cruise’s energetic performance, Barry is an opportunist who goes with the flow as long as it suits his needs.  His dealings with various suspect types alter his mindset and determination to live life to the fullest.

Liman’s focussed direction mixes the drama and humour well.  Although its subject matter is serious, ‘American Made’ presents it in a rousing manner mirroring its high-flying excessive 1980’s period setting.  Greed was certainly good for Barry and his cohorts with little of the screenplay feeling drawn out.  There’s hardly a dull moment with real-life figures given bouquets and brickbats in gleefully equal doses.

Tom Cruise again proves his gift for picking the right material. He is well cast in ‘American Made’ with his co-stars giving their all in an engaging movie.  Although some situations may have been changed for narrative purposes, this true-life tale still fascinates decades after its denouncement.


Movie Review Rating out of 10:  7

Movie Review by Patrick Moore

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Patrick Moore's Movie Review is an alternative look at movie releases in Australia.

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Movie Review … The Hitman’s Bodyguard



Chemistry is an important part of a film’s success.  If the leads fail to gel as a believable team, a movie can quickly sink.  Whether it is romance, drama, comedy or action, chemistry plays a huge role in driving the story along which ‘The Hitman’s Bodyguard’ highlights.  With the ever breezy Ryan Reynolds and the consistently bad-ass Samuel L Jackson as leads, ‘The Hitman’s Bodyguard’ already has much going for it.  It needs to as their presence enlivens a very predictable screenplay with a plot failing to match their spirited performances.

Michael Bryce (Ryan Reynolds) is an in-demand bodyguard whose skills are second to none.  After a case goes horribly wrong, his reputation is in tatters.  When enlisted to protect notorious hitman Darius Kincaid (Samuel L Jackson), Bryce enthusiastically accepts.  Seizing the chance to salvage his ruined career, Bryce gradually learns why Kincaid needs protection.  Having information that could put evil dictator Vladislav (Gary Oldman) in jail for life, Kincaid is a wanted man.  When Vladislav sends an army of killers on their trail, Bryce and Kincaid form a reluctant partnership in order to survive.

A word that could describe ‘The Hitman’s Bodyguard’ is ‘bland’. Whilst Jackson and Reynolds deliver rousing performances and the action is incredible, the script is banal.  Those who haven’t seen an action movie in the last decade may be surprised by its revelations, although others may get a sense of déjà vu.  Director Patrick Hughes tries hard putting flair into the by the numbers screenplay, but even his enthusiasm can’t hide the overlong film’s general ho-hum nature.

‘The Hitman’s Bodyguard’ thrives on its action scenes.  They are incredibly realised and use the foreign locales well.  The stunt-work gone into creating these sequences is amazing with the performers giving them their all.  The banter between Jackson and Reynolds is great even if tonally the film is all over the place.  The minor exploration of the nature of good and evil gives things vague depth but generally the plot gives way to the action which is its main asset.

Having genuinely funny moments and plenty of colourful pizazz, ‘The Hitman’s Bodyguard’ is silly hokum.  It isn’t that memorable and could have benefitted with copious editing.  For a ‘no-brain’ action comedy, it achieves its target and is dopey fun if you like no-frills thrills.



Movie Review Rating out of 10:  6

Movie Review by Patrick Moore

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Patrick Moore's Movie Review is an alternative look at movie releases in Australia. 

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Movie Review … The Dark Tower



Movies based on books by Stephen King have often been hit and miss.  For every ‘Carrie’ and ‘Christine’, there have been duds like ‘Sleepwalkers’ and ‘The Lawnmower Man’, with not many falling in between.  Perhaps it’s the lack of imagination on the film-maker’s part rather than King’s as he has written some excellent work.  Derived from his eight book series, ‘The Dark Tower’ blends a myriad of genres in a very bland package.  Predictability has never been one of King’s mainstays with only cinematic forays like these muddying the author’s allure.

Discovering another dimension called Mid-World, young Jake Chambers (Tom Taylor) sets on an amazing journey.  Upon entering the new world, he meets mysterious gun-slinging cowboy Roland (Idris Elba) who is on an important mission.  Roland wants to reach The Dark Tower, which is in End-World.  There he must prevent a cataclysm threatening to consume all reality from the denizens of Hell.  Only evil sorcerer Walter aka The Man in Black (Matthew McConaughey) can stop them.  With obstacles at every turn, Jake and Roland must complete their quest before the universe is destroyed.

Despite the great cast, intriguing characters and arresting action scenes, ‘The Dark Tower’ amounts to very little.  With so much to work from in King’s book franchise, the film version takes the blandest and simplest option.  What has made his stories memorable is his unlimited scope and bravery in crafting complex characters rarely seen in ‘The Dark Tower’.  What’s on offer is interesting, with Roland and Walter really magnetic characters, but their background is so sketchily done that it frustrates one considering what could have been.

‘The Dark Tower’ plays like an expensive pilot to a TV series.  Given there actually is one in the works, this shouldn’t be a shock. What’s shocking is how little effort has gone into creating the truly expansive world King has provided the film-makers.  Whilst the CGI is reasonable, the movie looks cheap with most of the budget seemingly gone into paying the top billed stars.  The direction is adequate although with such a threadbare script to work from the film’s mechanics slowly grind to the ho-hum finale.

It’s disappointing watching a movie throw away the potential gift of King’s original books.  After years of development hell, ‘The Dark Tower’ arrives in cinemas like stale weet-bix whose tasty artifice has long since vanished.  The latest Stephen King movie adaptation goes into the negative side of the ledger with a genuine hit needed to ensure more movie magic from the American king of fantastical horror.

 

Movie Review Rating out of 10:  4

Movie Review by Patrick Moore

Agree with Patrick's Movie Review? Then please use the comment box.

Patrick Moore's Movie Review is an alternative look at movie releases in Australia.

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