THE MOUNTAIN BETWEEN US Review

Israeli-born director Hany Abu-Assad makes no apologies for the type of movie he's made in The Mountain Between Us. There is no reason to, either. The film is a handsomely mounted, beautifully photographed, human drama about two people who become stranded with no documentation whatsoever about where they might be. This is a movie that totally accomplishes what it sets out to do, that completely embodies what it is meant to be, and on most levels you have to applaud a film for being as much. It's admirable that Abu-Assad, working from a screenplay by Chris Weitz (About a Boy) who adapted Charles Martin's 2010 novel of the same name, followed this desire to adapt the source material in the vein of this grand romantic adventure tale of old that so willingly commits to the type of movie it wants to be that we honestly don't see much of anymore. Is there room for criticism? Of course, but it's difficult to balance. The movie is inherently melodramatic and rather frail in its plotting in how it documents the passage of time (hint: poorly), but stars Kate Winslet and Idris Elba always look just the right amount of roughed up to still be attractive in that rugged sense that will surely make couples on a date night want to get lost in the wilderness together. All of that said, this isn't a great movie despite having several positive attributes-most being in the sweeping visuals-but when taken on the terms of the type of movie it is aiming to be and given The Mountain Between Us is essentially the most prestigious pile of dopey cheese one could ever create-it works for what it is. It does, it really does. Early in the film a plane flies overhead while Elba's character struggles to shoot off a flare. Winslet's character yells at the top of her lungs, but out of frustration Elba's Ben turns to her and tells her that they can't hear her. "I know they can't hear me! It's just what you do!" She replies. Watching The Mountain Between Us is kind of like that as well; even if you're intelligent enough to know the movie isn't a great movie you keep watching out of a need and/or want to feel something specific and have a certain kind of experience. The Mountain Between Us fills this kind of quota in spades.

DIRTY GRANDPA Review

Dirty Grandpa is the kind of movie that longtime fans of Robert De Niro will scoff at and that others will see as Zac Efron continuing to hang his movie stardom on the only game in town that seems to work for him: R-rated comedies. By this point in time though, De Niro isn't hurting his legacy as much as he is simply continuing to do what he loves, but with less demanding material. The guy's legacy is cemented in the films he made and the roles he personified in his prime that are still discussed today. Dirty Grandpa won't hurt his legacy because no one will remember Dirty Grandpa two months from now. Efron, on the other hand, has been testing this reliable formula since Charlie St. Cloud and the indies he attempted didn't hit. The moment that not only The Paperboy failed to connect, but both At Any Price and Parkland failed critically and commercially it was as if Efron told his agent to only send him one type of script. Over the past two years Efron has starred in That Awkward Moment, Neighbors, We Are Your Friends and the movie we're discussing in this review. Just around the corner, the actor has four movies in some stage of production all of which are comedies, and all likely rated-R. So, what does this tell us about Dirty Grandpa? Well, it tells us to expect nothing more than the tried and true formula that has kept Efron afloat and that will continue to give De Niro paydays in the vein of The Intern and Last Vegas. These are perfectly fine, broad comedies that do what they are intended to do and little more. They open up with an accessible premise, do their job for an hour and a half, and wrap everything up nicely so we can go home feeling good about the ten bucks we invested in it. Dirty Grandpa certainly tries too hard in certain moments and director Dan Mazer (I Give it a Year) doesn't know how to balance the raunch with the heart very well, but I laughed often enough to qualify it as more of a win than a waste of time. At the very least there is genuine character development happening as the arc of the film depends on it and there is clear effort being made to craft a legitimately funny movie which is more than I can say for the total cash grab that is Ride Along 2.

First Trailer for DIRTY GRANDPA Starring Zac Efron

The first trailer for Zac Efron's spiritual sequel to High School Musical that was apparently hijacked by Robert De Niro, Dirty Grandpa, has premiered. The VVS film looks to take what would have essentially become of Troy Bolton and thrown the veteran actor into the mix to wake Efron's character up from the sleepwalking state he's trapped in as Efron's character is a guy who's always done what people expected of him even if those choices went against his own desires. I already feel like this is getting deeper into the character than the movie will though as, for the most part, Dirty Grandpa looks to be more in line with the shenanigans of Neighbors than melodrama of the disaster that was We Are Your Friends. While Efron is actually making a sequel to that Seth Rogen co-starrer that will drop in May of next year it seems this road trip comedy with the hit or miss De Niro will prime us for the antics the actor will get into next summer. I frame the film this way as I doubt Dirty Grandpa (which I'll inexplicably get confused with Bad Grandpa a thousand times before it's release) will be anything more than a slight diversion, but that isn't to say it won't be a pleasant diversion. The cast is chock-full of solid comedic actors in supporting roles and the trailer in and of itself includes some pretty funny moments without feeling like it's giving away it's best bits. To boot, the first poster for the film is also pretty great. Check out both the trailer and first poster below after the jump. Dirty Grandpa also stars Julianne Hough, Aubrey Plaza, Dermot Mulroney, Jason Mantzoukas and opens on January 22, 2016.

INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 3 Review

There is something to be said for a scary movie that can make you legitimately feel chills in the dead of summer. Granted, summer doesn't actually begin until June 21st, but as the third chapter in the Insidious saga somewhat oddly comes to us on the first weekend of June rather than in the midst of fall I was rather cautious as to if this release date was more a strategy to cover up the lack of quality with the excitement of summer or if it was simply time for Insidious to play with the boys of summer. Due to the fact director James Wan, who guided the first two films in the series to great success before taking on Furious 7, exited and both the scripting and directing duties were handed over to Wan's longtime collaborator, Leigh Whannell there was reason to be hesitant. It certainly seems Whannell has at least been paying attention and taking notes since the two first collaborated on Saw over a decade ago as Insidious: Chapter 3 is a sufficient if not significant piece of horror that does its job in terms of getting you to jump at the right time while adding depth to some of the more interesting characters in the previous two films. The downfalls aren't so much downfalls in that they make the movie any worse than it might have been, but more in the fact they simply allow the film to be adequate and exactly what one would expect without striving to be anything more. This makes for a rather pleasant viewing experience that fulfills expectations and plays into ones predictions for how things may go, but unlike Chapter 2 it doesn't delve narratively into new territory, but more recreates the first film with a new set of characters that just so happens to take place prior to the events that occurred in the Lambert household. Lin Shaye is your connective strand as psychic Elise Rainer tough she is hardly the central character. What is more disappointing than anything is that this third film doesn't take on the story that was hinted at in the end of Chapter 2 that might again deal with the red-faced demon from the original, but instead seems to be saving that for the fourth film inevitably making Chapter 3 feel like little more than a footnote.

THE D TRAIN Review

The D Train is an odd movie. It's an interesting one, don't get me wrong, but it's an odd one for sure. I'm a rather faithful comedy fan and have said many times on this site before that I carried a rather rabid affinity for the fan appointed "Frat Pack" that originally consisted of Jack Black, Ben Stiller, Owen and Luke Wilson, Vince Vaughn and Will Ferrell. Any time any of these guys decided to head up a film there was a desperate hope they would include a couple of the others in the proceedings. Soon, Judd Apatow and his gang emerged and the universe has been expanding ever since. In the wake of this merger it always felt like Black was somewhat left behind. This was obviously unfortunate given Black is one of those guys who can make you laugh with a simple facial expression, but his output has become increasingly stale since hitting a high mark in 2008 with Tropic Thunder and Kung-Fu Panda. Looking back through his filmography it is almost alarming how little he has done in the past few years with his last out and out feature being the horribly marketed and little-seen The Big Year in 2011. With The D Train, Black seems to be making something of a statement in that, at the very least, he'd like to see his career go in a more mature way, one that puts him in the position of actually investing in his characters and developing his skills rather than simply cashing the quick check and making the same faces. We've seen this before from the comic, especially in the underrated Bernie, but here it is more of a concentrated effort than the seemingly haphazard way in which Black picked projects prior.

First Trailer for INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 3

While I always hope for folks to stop while they're ahead, when you're making as much money as the folks behind Insidious are and spending so little to make them, it is hard to argue their point. I enjoyed much of the first Insidious back in 2011 though I thought it fell apart somewhat in the last act while last years sequel was surprisingly coherent throughout and superior in both execution and scares in my opinion. I actually enjoyed Chapter 2 more than I did director James Wan's other horror feature last year, The Conjuring. All of that said, the conclusion of Chapter 2 certainly left the story open for more investigations and so Leigh Whannell, who wrote the screenplay for both the original and its follow-up, has taken the reigns here from Wan who went on to make the seventh Fast & Furious film. Whannell both wrote and makes his directorial debut with this third chapter and has set it around the haunting of a family that predates the events of the first two films surrounding the Lambert family. It will be interesting to see where Whannell takes things as he will no longer have to restrict his narrative to one particular case, but will seemingly branch out and delve into more of Lin Shaye's characters adventures. Along with Shaye and Whannell, Angus Sampson also returns for this third outing while new cast members include Dermot Mulroney and Stefanie Scott. Insidious: Chapter 3 is set to open May 29, 2015.

AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY Review

August: Osage County bring us into the dynamics of the dysfunctional Weston family as well as the countless issues, secrets, lies, and attitudes that constantly butt heads and leave everyone in a state of disarray and disappointment. There is much to be marveled at here as the cast is expansive and the acting is the real draw, but beyond the performances and familiar names this was first a stage play written by Tracy Letts (who also wrote Killer Joe which should give good indication as to how much bite this has) that no doubt won a Tony and the Pulitzer Prize due to its strong narrative and sharp dialogue. It is one of those films made for a very specific set of minds who find things such as this to be both entertaining and insightful. I find the psychology of what it means to each person to lead a successful life fascinating and to see a family, a group of familiar but distant characters, come together over a tragedy and let the flood gates open when it comes to expressing each of their issues with one another (and not in a calm fashion, mind you) to be something of a real treat. That said, this isn't the film the trailers have somewhat attempted to make it out to be. There is some feel-good music, but it is more for storytelling purposes than that of creating a certain tone. There are comedic moments, some that we readily identify with, but overall this is a very dark picture that delves into the issues each family member literally and figuratively brings to the table. There is so much characterization, so much to be learned from the small visual and vocal indications each of the characters give one another yet the film never feels overstuffed or bloated. Director John Wells (The Company Men) coaxes the tangled web of plotlines nicely as Letts adapted his own play for the screen and no doubt worked closely with the director to better translate his story for the more personal format of film rather than the open, less claustrophobic setting of a stage play. In the end, August: Osage County may have one too many twists to render it as credible as it would like to be, but after really thinking about it I couldn't help but feel even this was more the presentation of these facts rather than the fact they actually happened. We are talking about full lifetimes here and all the mistakes and events that come with that. It is an intense look at putting perspective on things and one that flourishes due to those bringing it to life.