Now Playing
Here's a look at the new movies I saw this week.
7500 (Amazon Prime)
Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Synopsis: This original film for Amazon takes place aboard an international flight that departs from Germany. It doesn't take long for things to go horribly wrong, leaving the co-pilot (Gordon-Levitt) alone in the cockpit trying to make an emergency landing after terrorists attempt to seize the aircraft. This is a tense premise, and the 90-minute film makes the most of it, especially thanks to having a great actor in the lead. While there are other characters in the film, this is mostly a showcase for Gordon-Levitt, who spends swaths of time connected to the world outside the cockpit only through radio, the on-plane phone and a video monitor. Gordon-Levitt is great in this film, which features a number of difficult sequences. The tension remains high and the film moves at a good and interesting pace. This is well worth checking out.
Rating: R for violence/terror and language
Verdict: Three stars out of four.
Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Synopsis: This original film for Amazon takes place aboard an international flight that departs from Germany. It doesn't take long for things to go horribly wrong, leaving the co-pilot (Gordon-Levitt) alone in the cockpit trying to make an emergency landing after terrorists attempt to seize the aircraft. This is a tense premise, and the 90-minute film makes the most of it, especially thanks to having a great actor in the lead. While there are other characters in the film, this is mostly a showcase for Gordon-Levitt, who spends swaths of time connected to the world outside the cockpit only through radio, the on-plane phone and a video monitor. Gordon-Levitt is great in this film, which features a number of difficult sequences. The tension remains high and the film moves at a good and interesting pace. This is well worth checking out.
Rating: R for violence/terror and language
Verdict: Three stars out of four.
Crawl (Amazon Prime)
Starring: Barry Pepper and Kaya Scodelario
Synopsis: This film from director Alexandre Aja was released in theaters last summer and now is available for a summer watch on Amazon Prime. It centers on a young college swimmer (Scodelario) who travels toward her home despite an incoming Category 5 Hurricane because she hasn't heard from her father (Pepper). When she finds him in the crawl space of their home as the storm makes landfall, she finds a swarm of aligators as well, forcing them to battle the elements and some creatures bent on killing them in order to survive. This isn't a great film, but it's an entertaining premise. And if you enjoy weather films or creature attack films. I like both, so this was a nice mash up. You also have to suspend your disbelief quite a bit, but it's a wild and entertaining ride, perfect for this time of summer where you don't want to have to think too hard.
Rating: R for bloody creature violence, and brief language.
Verdict: Two stars out of four.
Starring: Barry Pepper and Kaya Scodelario
Synopsis: This film from director Alexandre Aja was released in theaters last summer and now is available for a summer watch on Amazon Prime. It centers on a young college swimmer (Scodelario) who travels toward her home despite an incoming Category 5 Hurricane because she hasn't heard from her father (Pepper). When she finds him in the crawl space of their home as the storm makes landfall, she finds a swarm of aligators as well, forcing them to battle the elements and some creatures bent on killing them in order to survive. This isn't a great film, but it's an entertaining premise. And if you enjoy weather films or creature attack films. I like both, so this was a nice mash up. You also have to suspend your disbelief quite a bit, but it's a wild and entertaining ride, perfect for this time of summer where you don't want to have to think too hard.
Rating: R for bloody creature violence, and brief language.
Verdict: Two stars out of four.
Feel the Beat (Netflix)
Starring: Sofia Carson, Wolfgang Novogratz, Donna Lynne Champlin, Rex Lee, and Enrico Colantoni
Synopsis: This original Netflix film features Carson as a young dancer who, after a horrible set of circumstances, bombs a broadway audition and ends up moving back to her home town. There she's asked to help guide students at a dance studio, but that could end up providing her a chance to impress a Broadway Producer (Lee) and earn her way back to the big stage. This isn't a deep or complicated film, but it's the kind of light and entertaining. I thought there was some good humor and characters, and the dance sequences worked well, too. I thought Carson did a nice job in the lead role, and the supporting cast was solid as well. Netflix has had a strong output of original content during this pandemic period and has been a place to find all kinds of original shows and movies each weekend. If you're looking for something light and fun, "Feel the Beat" fits the bill.
Rating: TV-G
Verdict: Two stars out of four.
Starring: Sofia Carson, Wolfgang Novogratz, Donna Lynne Champlin, Rex Lee, and Enrico Colantoni
Synopsis: This original Netflix film features Carson as a young dancer who, after a horrible set of circumstances, bombs a broadway audition and ends up moving back to her home town. There she's asked to help guide students at a dance studio, but that could end up providing her a chance to impress a Broadway Producer (Lee) and earn her way back to the big stage. This isn't a deep or complicated film, but it's the kind of light and entertaining. I thought there was some good humor and characters, and the dance sequences worked well, too. I thought Carson did a nice job in the lead role, and the supporting cast was solid as well. Netflix has had a strong output of original content during this pandemic period and has been a place to find all kinds of original shows and movies each weekend. If you're looking for something light and fun, "Feel the Beat" fits the bill.
Rating: TV-G
Verdict: Two stars out of four.
Wasp Network (Netflix)
Starring: Edgar Ramirez, Penelope Cruz, Wagner Moura, Ana de Armas, and Gael García Bernal
Synopsis: This film is about a set of Cubans who come to America to help the Cuban government keep an eye on radicals and prevent terrorist attacks. For their efforts, most were arrested as spies and placed in U.S. prisons. But they're largely viewed as heroes in Cuba, and this film is meant to share their story and struggles from the early 1990s through the early 2000s, and to paint a picture of their sacrifice. This is especially true for the Rene Gonzalez (Ramirez), who is among the first to come to the United States. While his wife (Cruz) and family in Cuba are told he's a defector and a traitor, he's really on a secret mission. The film follows Gonzalez and his wife through the many years of their struggles and what they sacrificed for their country. The other big players it follows are Gerardo Hernandez (Garcia Bernal), who was a point of contact for the network and Juan Pablo Roque (Moura), who was something of a celebrity. His story was a bit dour, as he takes a wife in America (de Armas), only to abandon her in a return to Cuba. It was a bit of a cold-hearted tale in the midst of this story meant to honor the struggle and sacrifice of this group, and tell a story not many in this country are familiar with. Director Oliver Assayas does a nice job of putting the tale together, and I thought this was engaging and compelling, a story worth checking out with some solid performances.
Rating: TV-MA
Verdict: Three stars out of four.
Starring: Edgar Ramirez, Penelope Cruz, Wagner Moura, Ana de Armas, and Gael García Bernal
Synopsis: This film is about a set of Cubans who come to America to help the Cuban government keep an eye on radicals and prevent terrorist attacks. For their efforts, most were arrested as spies and placed in U.S. prisons. But they're largely viewed as heroes in Cuba, and this film is meant to share their story and struggles from the early 1990s through the early 2000s, and to paint a picture of their sacrifice. This is especially true for the Rene Gonzalez (Ramirez), who is among the first to come to the United States. While his wife (Cruz) and family in Cuba are told he's a defector and a traitor, he's really on a secret mission. The film follows Gonzalez and his wife through the many years of their struggles and what they sacrificed for their country. The other big players it follows are Gerardo Hernandez (Garcia Bernal), who was a point of contact for the network and Juan Pablo Roque (Moura), who was something of a celebrity. His story was a bit dour, as he takes a wife in America (de Armas), only to abandon her in a return to Cuba. It was a bit of a cold-hearted tale in the midst of this story meant to honor the struggle and sacrifice of this group, and tell a story not many in this country are familiar with. Director Oliver Assayas does a nice job of putting the tale together, and I thought this was engaging and compelling, a story worth checking out with some solid performances.
Rating: TV-MA
Verdict: Three stars out of four.
Comments
Post a Comment