SUICIDE SQUAD Review

Don't believe everything you hear. That would be the first thing I would tell people if they were to ask what I thought about the latest entry in the DC Comics extended universe as funded by Warner Brothers. Don't believe everything you hear in that Suicide Squad isn't nearly as terrible as those early reviews have made it out to be, but don't believe everything you saw in those trailers that made you think this might be a new super hero masterpiece either. Suicide Squad has its flaws. Plenty of them in fact-the biggest perpetrator being the convoluted  story that ultimately does so many circles around itself that it becomes a pointless exercise in power for Amanda Waller (as played by the wonderful Viola Davis). Suicide Squad also has its fair share of highlights as well-most of them concerning the effort the cast is putting into making this group of misfits feel like a family when the script gives them little to work with. This is all very disappointing mind you as writer/director David Ayer (who wrote Training Day and who wrote and directed the likes of End of Watch and Fury) clearly has a knack for these types of characters and putting such characters in high-stakes situations that bring out qualities and traits viewers will find endearing and affecting despite potentially being revolting. The issue here is that Ayer seemingly felt the need to include so many characters that he let his storytelling techniques get away from him and instead decided to give us an introductory hour where we are presented with each of the ten (count 'em ten) main characters as well as how they all ended up together and walking into the plot device that is both meant to unite them and that could have also been completely avoided if the idea to bring them together was rejected in the first place. There is interesting ideas aplenty here and the film very well could have explored the difference between bad and evil and how many bad things one has to do or ends up doing before they cross that line. Instead, Ayer uses this opportunity to bring together his comic book version of the Dirty Dozen and expose them at face value, for what they are, and how they work together. Just so we're all on the same page-that would have been fine. I don't have an issue, especially at this stage of the game, with a DC film not leaning too hard on the philosophical stuff and instead focusing more on simply having fun, but even in doing this Ayer's story does itself no favors by making everything interconnected to the point the film renders itself irrelevant when all he really needed to do was give these usual foes a formidable one of their own.

Third Trailer for SUICIDE SQUAD Starring Will Smith

After what will undoubtedly go down in history if not the record books as something of a disappointing run for Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice it seems Warner Bros. will not only be "releasing fewer films", but also focusing more on the franchises they already have in motion. The worst thing the studio could do at this point is administer a knee-jerk reaction and completely rethink their DC extended universe plans. So BvS didn't go exactly as they'd hoped critically or commercially-that doesn't mean you scrap your entire slate (which WB would never do, but they might certainly alter it significantly) and it shouldn't mean that you start trying to bend to the whim of every internet comments section, especially when you have something as unique and fantastic seeming as Suicide Squad on the horizon. By the time August comes around BvS will already be on home video outlets everywhere allowing more people to discover the film for the first time and for those who disliked it the first time, a chance to give it another shot and possibly warm up to it more. If Suicide Squad is indeed as good as its trailers have indicated so far Warner Bros. could essentially move the conversation in their favor and have people once again excited for next summer's Wonder Woman and possibly even next November's Justice League Part I. While the issue with director Zack Snyder is one that looms large over the Warner offices, Suicide Squad comes to us courtesy of acclaimed director David Ayer (End of Watch, Fury) so there is no reason to expect less than excellence from what Suicide Squad promises. Only time will tell, but I sincerely hope Warner Bros. doesn't take too much early action a la those "re-shoots" to make the film more "fun" and simply allows their films and the people behind them a little breathing room. Suicide Squad stars Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Jared Leto, Jai Courtney, Joel Kinnaman, Cara Delevingne, Viola Davis, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Adam Beach, Jay Hernandez, Karen Fukahara, and opens on August 5th, 2016.

New Trailer & Posters for SUICIDE SQUAD

It seems strange that after last summers Comic-Con fiasco where Warner Bros. attempted to have the first footage of Suicide Squad taken down after it was pirated and leaked that they would already be releasing another trailer for the film. Given they were unsuccessful in having the footage removed and ultimately decided to release the high-quality version and because the movie doesn't come out for another six more months one would imagine another trailer would be held at least until the release Batman v Superman, but here we are. The CW aired a special tonight titled The Dawn of the Justice League hosted by Kevin Smith and Geoff Johns, Chief Creative Officer at DC Entertainment, and in lieu of simply giving another thirty second TV spot for Bats vs. Supes DC and WB opted for this two and a half minute peek at the second film in their cinematic universe that runs the risk of feeling old by the time the movie arrives in August. That said, the trailer is pretty fantastic and it's clear director David Ayer (End of Watch, Fury) is really in tune with this band of anti-heroes whose story he is conveying. While I would have kept more of Jared Leto's Joker in the shadows as the first trailer revealed just enough I won't say I wasn't excited to see the footage I just know I'd have been more pleased if I hadn't seen it until I saw it in the context of the film. Suicide Squad also stars Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Killer Croc, Will Smith as Deadshot, Jai Courney as Captain Boomerang, Cara Delevingne as Enchantress, Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flagg, Karen Fukuhara as Katana, Jay Hernandez as El Diablo, Viola Davis as Amanda Waller, as well as Jim Parrack, Adam Beach, Scott Eastwood, Common, David Harbour, Ike Barinholtz and opens on August 5, 2016.

INSURGENT Review

It is odd to come to the realization that you are no longer within the target audience for a certain genre of film. Sure, I may not have enjoyed Insurgent, the second film in the Divergent series, but the makers of the film don't care if I like it or not. This is a film catered to the junior high audiences that eat up these young adult novels in spades and move on to the next one in order to satisfy their angst-ridden school days. This isn't a bad thing, especially with the recent wave of strong leading female characters no doubt making young women feel more able than ever and alleviating the need to conform. That may sound rather banal in terms of themes, but they are ideas every generation needs to learn and it just so happens the current generation is picking up on such ideas by way of brave heroine's in dystopian futures. While I rather enjoyed author Veronica Roth's initial trip into a futuristic Chicago where society has been divided into five factions according to individual personalities, I found it difficult to make it through the second book in her trilogy. Insurgent always felt more like a trudge than Divergent when it should have been an opportunity to go a step further than it's exposition-filled predecessor. Insurgent, the book and the film, want so bad to open up this world that Roth has created, but instead this middle chapter is hindered by not having the structure of a clear beginning or end. I had to force myself to begin reading the source material again after a previous false start. I made it through in my second attempt, but it was more of a chore than anything and I've yet to pick up Allegiant, the third and final book in the series that will of course be split into two movies, and honestly have no desire to do so. While Insurgent is certainly a competent film and has flashes of real creativity and strong performances, it stalls early in it's storytelling prowess and never recovers. By the end of the film I felt like almost nothing had happened and the ball had been pushed only a few yards down the field from where we started two hours before. It's hard to know who to blame-Roth's overly layered source material or the multiple screenwriters tasked with adapting the it that have streamlined it to the point it all feels pointless, but someone should be held accountable.

Comic-Con Trailer for SUICIDE SQUAD

While many seemed to doubt the organizational skills of Warner Bros. when it came to their own comic book universe, their showing at Comic-Con this past weekend has certainly silenced many. With the one-two punch of Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice and now the first look at director David Ayer's (Fury, End of Watch, Training Day) Suicide Squad the DC comics universe is more than ready to stake their claim in todays cinematic landscape. The integration of both Batman and Superman into this world is already very much apparent as there are allusions to The Joker in the BvS trailer while we explicitly see that Ben Affleck's Batman is present in this footage. While I was concerned over how quickly WB seemed to put their plans for a rival comics universe in motion they also seem to have hired people who are very much in tune with the material and who share a common vision for the universe as a whole. It should be noted that WB attempted to have this footage taken down after it was pirated and leaked from Comic-Con on Saturday, but after being unsuccessful have decided to release the high-quality version. This move is defended by President of Worldwide Marketing and International Distribution for WB, Sue Kroll, who says they, "cannot continue to allow the film to be represented by the poor quality of the pirated footage stolen from our presentation.”  Suicide Squad also stars Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Killer Croc, Will Smith as Deadshot, Jai Courney as Captain Boomerang, Cara Delevingne as Enchantress, Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flagg, Viola Davis as Amanda Waller, as well as Jim Parrack, Adam Beach, Ike Barinholtz and opens on August 5, 2016. 

TERMINATOR GENISYS Review

After the one-two punch of Rise of the Machines and Salvation it's unclear who exactly was clamoring for more Terminator films, but Arnold Schwarzenegger's career clearly called for a boost and so here we are. It is easy to be cynical, but it's difficult to let go and embrace an entity for what it might be regardless of the strings attached and the fifth film in the Terminator franchise certainly had some heavy strings attached to it. From the moment the title was revealed with its misspelled subheading there has been something of a backlash towards the film, an inherent feeling that whatever this could be it would really only be little more than a cash grab and excuse to reinvigorate its stars dwindling career. The trailers, posters and overall spoiler-heavy promotional campaign did little to booster any kind of confidence in the final product and only added to the complete lack of interest on my part as the expectations really couldn't have been much lower. Given that environment I came away from Terminator Genisys rather surprised at how much I enjoyed myself. This brings us to the question of if a movie can be entertaining without necessarily being what we might typically consider "good"? As far as director Alan "Thor: The Dark World" Taylor is concerned it seems he thinks so as he has again crafted a cookie-cutter studio film that follows the template of any other action film and, if nothing else, creates an entertaining film that I was able to consistently have fun with as it continued to defy my expectations of not actually being horrible. The real tragedy of the project is that there might have actually been more to tap into here. With the two listed screenwriters being Laeta Kalogridis (Shutter Island, Alexander) and Patrick Lussier (Drive Angry) the expectations are again leveraged due to the somewhat bad quality of many of their credentials, but it's clear a lot of thought and planning was put into re-tooling the storylines of the first two films so that Arnold's T-800 might have a more substantial role and so Paramount might launch another trilogy of films. The problem is, the film never utilizes the social commentary or ideas around mortality that it touches on sporadically to be anything more interesting than a two-hour sizzle reel of action scenes.

THE WATER DIVINER Review

The major reason as many people are discussing The Water Diviner as there seem to be can be sourced back to one single reason and that is the fact it serves as the directorial debut of one Russell Crowe. Would there be as much conversation around the film were it made by another first time director? Would the film have even been made had Crowe not put his weight behind it and chose it as his debut project? Probably not and so we can at least thank him for deciding to do something suitable for his stage in life by bringing audiences an adult drama that major studios don't tend to make much anymore. While this is by no means a substantial film it is more passable for its well-meaning story and, at the very least, to see where Crowe's inclinations lead him as a director and what we can take away from this semi-experiment that might apply to better, more assured products under Crowe's supervision in the future. That isn't to say The Water Diviner is a bad film or one that is actively trying to be nothing more than adequate, it is just simply that: adequate on every level without coming close to exception in any case. Some parts are stronger than others, some acting is better given what characters are included in a given scene, some scenes are staged more effectively than others with more interesting shooting techniques while the pacing is about as good as one could expect given the film doesn't know how to cut the unnecessary plot points that probably felt necessary in the script, but make the experience of actually watching the film drag on. There is no doubt that Crowe and screenwriters Andrew Knight and Andrew Anastasios intended for this to be something of a large, sweeping historical epic, but the scale of filmmaking is simply not here for that ambition to be met and the impact of the story is felt more through the acting of Crowe than any of his directorial choices that might have made this a more affecting and therefore more significant experience.

UNBROKEN Review

Unbroken is perfectly positioned and has every credential imaginable to become a classic Hollywood drama like those of years gone by. It is the kind of film that wins awards and pleases crowds as it not only serves as a testament to the will and strength of the human spirit, but chronicles a difficult road to overcoming impossibilities that should redeem our faith in ourselves and our race. Based on a New York Times best seller by Laura Hillenbrand, adapted for the screen by Joel and Ethan Coen, shot by Roger Deakins and directed by Angelina Jolie this film truly has everything going for it and while it may be intentionally old school in its structure and execution in this day and age it ends up feeling a little too calculated and at times way too amateurish for the talent it has behind it. That said, this is only Jolie's second directorial effort and her first of this scale and so it is to be understood if some of the choices here feel safer than necessary. Where Jolie the director and Jolie the storyteller differ though are in their passion for the story and their ability to strongly convey all that it holds. It is obvious this is an inherently amazing story, one any filmmaker would be happy to try their hand at. What Jolie has brought to the project is the aforementioned classical approach that beautifully captures the scope and horror of the situations our hero fell into, but what it lacks is any real insight into the mind of this man who was pushed to his limits. Technically, everything looks great and is cohesive to the point that those watching will understand what is going on and even gather a deeper meaning from it to a certain extent, but only if you're looking for it. Otherwise, Unbroken is unfortunately little more than surface deep. Again, it's understandable given this undertaking comes from someone accustomed to solely focusing on one aspect of a production transitioning to a role where they are looked at to be something of an expert in all areas so if there is good news to take away it is that the film ends better than it starts. Almost as if it were shot chronologically and Jolie became a better director as the film went on. That may be something of faint praise, but despite the content of the film not being nearly as engrossing as it has the potential to be it is the good intentions and admirable effort that allow forgiveness for the moderate results of an extraordinary story.

Full Trailer for THE DIVERGENT SERIES: INSURGENT

The problem with The Divergent Series (as it has been dubbed by its studio) is a question of quality. The first film didn't receive great reviews and a lot of that honestly had to do with the complicated world building that was necessary. This will not only cause trouble in initiating new viewers as the series goes on, but the books seem to get progressively worse as well. I made it quite briskly through the first book in the series, but it took me forever to get through Insurgent and I've yet to even crack open Allegiant which I honestly have no desire to read. That said, this more in-depth trailer for the second film looks visually promising if not all over the place with its narrative. It has been a couple of months since I finished the book on which this film is based and as I watched the trailer I couldn't remember any of the context for what I was seeing. Taking over for Neil Burger from the first film is director Robert Schwentke who could really send this series in either direction. He has produced fun, action filled adventures before with the likes of RED and even the subliminally enjoyable Flightplan while also being at the helm of junk such as The Time Traveler's Wife and R.I.P.D.  I'll of course give this second film a shot as I'm eager to see if Schwentke's visual stylings make for a more interesting film than read, but don't know how to gauge my expectations which inherently causes a fair amount of hesitation. The Divergent Series: Insurgent stars Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Kate Winslet, Octavia Spencer, Naomi Watts, Miles Teller, Jai Courtney, Ray Stevenson, Maggie Q, Zoe Kravitz, Daniel Dae Kim, Suki Waterhouse and opens on March 20, 2015.

First Trailer for TERMINATOR: GENYSIS

I remember sitting in my first non-IMAX show of The Dark Knight in 2008 and seeing the trailer for Terminator: Salvation for the first time. There was a clear excitement in the air for it and not only because Christian Bale had a role, but because it had been a solid six years since the T-800 had hit the screen. Even better, director McG seemed genuinely invested in the story and continuing the saga of John Connor rather than simply capitalizing on the success of the earlier films. Well, believe it or not, but the same amount of time between Rise of the Machines and Salvation has again passed and next summer we will receive the fifth feature length film in the James Cameron spawned series. Unlike Salvation though, Terminator Genesys seems to exist solely to make Arnold Schwarzenegger a box office star again. The first trailer that dropped today gives us a look at the other side of the coin from the original 1984 film as we see the deliberations that went into future John Connor sending his fellow soldier, Kyle Reese, back in time to save his mother, Sarah. This time though screenwriters Laeta Kalogridis and Patrick Lussier have essentially scrapped the events of the original film in order to incorporate Schwarzenegger's character back into this world. Who knows, this could turn out to be better than this first look gives it credit for, but even the extravagant effects feel hollow. Directed by Alan Taylor (Thor: The Dark World) Terminator Genesys has a lot to prove on its opening day as I was excited for Salvation and it proved little more than a distraction. If this is indeed as bad as it looks it may in fact be time for the Governor to call it quits. The film also stars Jason Clarke, Jai Courtney, Emilia Clarke, Matt Smith, Byung-hun Lee, Dayo Okeniyi, Courtney B. Vance, J.K. Simmons and opens on July 1, 2015.

Teaser Trailer for THE DIVERGENT SERIES: INSURGENT

It is difficult to even remember what exactly occurred and what the ultimate goal was in last springs Divergent, a film based on another young adult dystopian trilogy with a female heroine. As much as I was anticipating the film because I generally enjoyed the first novel, the further I get away from it and now having battled through the second book I can't seem to muster much excitement for the film adaptation. Naturally, Summit has decided to extend the final book in the series, Allegiant, into a two-parter, but the big question right now is if Insurgent will even do big enough business to justify continuing the series. On a budget of $85 million Divergent brought in $288 million worldwide so there is clearly a fanbase here, but the $54 million opening weekend number and almost half of that worldwide total coming from overseas doesn't leave a lot of confidence for room to grow. Comparatively, the first Hunger Games film made more in its first day of release than Divergent did in that opening weekend. In lieu of this foresight Summit has already announced that Insurgent will be brought to us in 3D which will certainly add some type of boost. The problem with The Divergent Series (as it has been dubbed by its studio) though is a question of quality. The first film didn't receive great reviews and a lot of that honestly had to do with the complicated world building that was necessary. This will not only cause trouble for initiating new viewers as the series goes on, but the books seem to get progressively worse as well. I'll of course give the second film a shot as I'm eager to see if it makes a more interesting film than read, but at least this first teaser offers something intriguing in its minimal approach. The Divergent Series: Insurgent stars Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Kate Winslet, Octavia Spencer, Naomi Watts, Miles Teller, Jai Courtney, Ray Stevenson, Maggie Q, Zoe Kravitz, Daniel Dae Kim, Suki Waterhouse and opens on March 20, 2015.

DIVERGENT Review

If Divergent is anything it is competent. Everything about it screams ambition, what it wants to be and the actual product itself shows it has the ability and the right amount of reverence for the source material to be successful in conveying the spirit of Veronica Roth's novel to the screen. The drawback is that while it is indeed capable and is able to make a suitable enough film for fans of the novel to more or less enjoy and pick apart, nothing about the execution of bringing this story to life screams exceptional or even, for lack of a better term in this case, divergent. I finished the first book in Roth's trilogy a few months back and have since moved on to the next one, but while I was suspicious of this new dystopian franchise with a young female heroine for the lead I was eventually able to look past the similarities between it and The Hunger Games and at least understand the merit people were finding in these books. It might be too much (or too early for me as I'm in the middle of Insurgent) to say that Roth's series is the better written of the two from a creative standpoint, but it is already clear that Suzanne Collins series lends itself well to the cinematic world even if people were weary of it at first given the titular event included the slaughtering of children. I, personally, thought Divergent would be the easier story to tell onscreen, but it becomes obvious within the first hour or so of the film that this may not be so as things and events begin to collapse in on themselves and it is only with the promise of another chapter and the idea that these plot strands with less attention paid to them this time around may rise to become more relevant in the future. It is an odd feeling because as the film unfolded and I was referencing the book in my head wondering when or if they would include certain scenes it became apparent the writers and the filmmakers weren't quite sure how to structure things. The film plays out well enough and we understand the point of why everything is happening, but we don't necessarily feel the tension or the growing fear that should be mounting in our protagonist until it is too late and we feel the film has gone on for too long without ever feeling whole.

I, FRANKENSTEIN Review

There is little to say about a film or anything really when it feels the "artists" behind it didn't care enough to invest their own interests in it. There is little vision to be held with something like I, Frankenstein as it is nothing more than a typical January release, an ugly step-sister to the summer blockbusters that have equally silly stories or premises, but real vision and money behind them. With something like I, Frankenstein what we have is the writer of such blockbusters as Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and the first G.I. Joe, but who also has more credible fare like Australia (c'mon you know you liked it) and Collateral to his name and has now apparently earned the right to direct his own feature and so Lakeshore Entertainment, for some unknown reason, entrusted him with a rather large budget and gave him free reign to pen a script that concerned Victor Frankenstein's monster living on into the modern world and being caught in the middle of a war that has been raging between demons and gargoyles. Sound ridiculous? It is. Its essentially another attempt to capitalize on bringing well known, well respected properties back to the big screen in more gritty fashion. It seems Stuart Beattie, the aforementioned writer turned director, decided he'd go just outside the realm of fairy tales and instead chose to pick from the iconic roster of horror figures and give them an all CGI environment with dark and brooding attitudes that would be fine if this were a substantial take on the gothic romanticism of Mary Shelley's source material, but instead it seems to want to achieve little more than box office success and disregards any sense of deeper storytelling in order to fit squarely into this pre-ordained January genre. It is an ugly genre, one where we get movies year in and year out like any one of the Underworld films (which this so proudly touts as being produced by the same people) or last years Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters or even Season of the Witch from two years ago (see a trend?). It is one of those films, set in a period where set designs call for grotesque statues and worn out castles, where CGI baddies look ridiculous and we forget about character and story the moment we walk out of the theater. You'd think, given Beattie's track record in writing he would jump at the chance to make his own film and be keen on leaving a good impression so as to earn another turn behind the camera, but if I, Frankenstein is any indication he should never be allowed to direct or pen a script again.

First Trailer for I, FRANKENSTEIN

How movies like I, Frankenstein continue to get made is something that baffles me. They all have this cheap fantasy element to them and none of it comes off as particularly original, but rather and mixed bag of references to better, more established material and archetypes taken from other genres of film and applied to these age old stories and myths that hopefully turn out to be something truly original, yet the majority of the time are nothing more than half-baked ideas set into typical action film beats where our hero must save the world from some unknown threat he helped create or unleashed from his realm, world, galaxy, story...you get the picture. A movie like this is below Aaron Eckhart who, after The Dark Knight, I believed would have a prolific career that would produce several good films and performances, but his mix of direct-to-video movies combined with big action fare that has been more or less forgettable has made him that exact thing. This kind of role and film seems destined for the $5 bin at Wal-Mart and along the lines of every Underworld, Resident Evil, or Priest and Legion that studios decide to release in the doldrums of September or the early months of the year (in this case, January). I'm slightly engaged by the trailer only because the visual element at least seems to be going for something and as this is director Stuart Beattie's first major film there might be some real inventiveness and energy here that the whole vibe I'm getting from the film is covering up. We'll just have to wait and see as I, Frankenstein opens January 24, 2014 and also stars Bill Nighy, Yvonne Strahovski, Miranda Otto and Jai Courtney.

First Trailer for DIVERGENT

I've yet to read the Veronica Roth novels on which this latest cinematic attempt to capitalize on the "wildly popular" young adult book series is based. Though I can tell there is a difference between Divergent and the likes of those attempts that have failed to capitalize on that wave of pop culture this year such as Beautiful Creatures, The Host, and most recently, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones. My wife is a ninth grade English teacher and it is easy to pick up on which books are actually connecting with a majority of the students and which are more brought about by false hype trying to convince audiences they are in fact popular. Divergent seems to be in that category where there is a genuine interest in the material and the eventual movie version which we gained our first look at yesterday. As I said, I haven't read the novels so I don't know the details of the plot or the motivations of these characters. The first trailer certainly gives off a Hunger Games vibe as it positions a teenage girl at the center of circumstances she doesn't believe she can overcome and offers an overseeing government that forces her to act against her will. In this case, Kate Winslet is literally forcing the act of free will out of the citizens she commands. Beyond this, all I know is that our protagonist portrayed by the lovely and talented Shailene Woodley (The Descendants) doesn't fit into any of the factions her society divides people into based on their personality. As a result, Tris (Woodley) faces certain consequences that will no doubt put her in harms way. The film also stars Theo James, Miles Teller, Jai Courtney, Ashley Judd, Tony Goldwyn, Ray Stevenson, Zoe Kravitz, Maggie Q, Mekhi Phifer, Ansel Elgort, Christian Madsen, Ben Lloyd-Hughes, Ben Lamb, and Amy Newbold. Divergent opens in traditional theaters and IMAX on March 21, 2014. Hit the jump to check out the first teaser trailer.

A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD Review

A Good Day to Die Hard is not a movie, not really. There literally could not have been a script for this mess, but we are inclined to believe there was. That it was written by the same guy who penned the horrible X-Men Origins: Wolverine and Hitman makes it easier to see why this latest film in the now twenty-five year old franchise is nothing more than a few action scenes strung together by corny dialogue that hearkens back to milestones from the earlier films and a storyline that means absolutely nothing and makes almost no sense whatsoever. I've never been particularly invested in these films as the first, the one many consider an action classic, was released the year after I was born and so I was late to catch up on the earlier films until just before the 2007 sequel Live Free or Die Hard. I enjoyed that film well enough and it was directed by Len Wiseman, the guy in charge of the Underworld series and that rough remake of Total Recall last summer whose films always seem more wrapped in style and noise than any type of substance; even that movie had more of a relation to the earlier films than this. Having given the reigns of the fifth installment in the Die Hard franchise to John Moore (Max Payne, The Omen) he has frantically spliced together all the footage he was able to capture of shoot outs and car chases that were filmed for this movie in hopes that it would turn out to be more than just those sequences. Instead, at a brisk hour and a half the film has three major action pieces that come in 30-minute increments that the director hopes will fool the audience into thinking they've received everything they paid for. In reality, there is absolutely nothing about this film that will stick with you. It will disappear from your memory almost immediately with its generic plot and zero character development. It will leave no impression, and honestly that is the best thing we could ask from a movie that stinks this bad.

JACK REACHER Review

I am not a fan of Lee Child’s Jack Reacher novels, but that is only because I have never been afforded the chance to read one. I am a fan of Christopher McQuarrie though. McQuarrie wrote the script for one of my favorite films of all time, 1995’s The Usual Suspects. So, it is no surprise that I was genuinely excited to hear he was writing and directing a film and that it was an adaptation of a popular book series about a military investigator. Those that have read or are fans of Mr. Child’s book series were likely also very excited to hear One Shot was going to be brought to the big screen but not so much when Tom Cruise was cast in this lead role. Apparently Jack Reacher, our main protagonist, is a 6’5 beefed up ex-military man who is also a womanizer and leaves an unmistakable impression every time he walks into a room. As big a movie star as Tom Cruise is it is still hard to see his much shorter stature make up for all he is lacking physically with the intensity he was sure to bring to the role. Having not read the books this quarrel was something that was less of an issue with me and rather allowed me to be more inclined to enjoy the film rather than constantly holding my breath to see if Cruise could actually do it. While the books seem to be a series of nicely written cop procedural, stories that you might here on an episode of 48 Hours or some such programming both McQuarrie and Cruise are able to elevate this to something fresh on screen by taking notes from those that have come before. Jack Reacher is a very serious, hard edged cop drama that knows it isn’t breaking any boundaries but does what is expected of it very well.