Anthony Reynolds, Owen Teague, Clark Sarullo, Stacy Keach, Isabelle Fuhrman, Samuel L. Jackson, Erin Elizabeth Burns, John Cusack
Clay Riddell (John Cusack) is in the airport when he notices everyone who is on their cell phone screaming, then turning into maniacal killers killing themselves and everyone around them. A strange signal pulses though the phones turning filling everyone on their phone with incredible rage. Those not on their phone at the time, soon called 911 or someone at home to find out what was going on and were exposed to the sound. Clay escapes the airport, but sets out on his way to determine what happened to his wife and son who were home at the time of the cell phone attack. He runs across Tom McCourt (Samuel L Jackson) who is a locomotive engineer and they team up to try to survive the pockets of murderous monsters that are everywhere. The try to figure out the rules of how to deal with this problem while trying to stay alive.
This is based on a novel by Stephen King. I haven’t had the opportunity to read the book yet, and from those who have read it, the film pales in comparison to the book, but not having that to compare it with, I really enjoyed this film. It seems that Stephen King has a problem with Hollywood producers doing a weak job of migrating his books into films. I liked the fact that this was a zombie movie with living zombies. It was an interesting twist, as though these folks were clever and fast instead of stupid and slow like the typical zombie. In typical King fashion, we’re not going to get all the answers. He seems to like to tell the story of what happened and let you draw your own conclusions as to the whys and hows. The suspense was intense, although this is more of a science fiction story than a horror story. But King is like that too, typically. This is a really intense story, and the pair of Cusack and Jackson really go well together. This movie has a lot of people who dislike it, but for me it’s one of the better modern Stephen King movies I’ve seen. I enjoyed the scares and the suspense, and found it a very enjoyable little film. For Sci-Fi and Horror buffs, why not give it a try.
John Cusack, Thomas Jane, Damien Garvey, Zoe Ventoura, Christopher Morris
Peter Roberts (Thomas Jane) was a top notch race car driver. But his wife wanted him to quit as she was pulling in a decent salary and she was afraid he might get hurt. So he works part time as a driving instructor. One day he is requested to teach Simon Keller (John Cusack) and he sets out to teach him how to drive on the “other” side of the road since he is not familiar with driving on that side. But after a brief stop at the bank, Peter learns he is now the getaway driver of a massive bank heist, and they are running for their lives from both the good guys AND the bad guys in this exciting high speed adventure.
John Cusack is really good in this role that is just right for him. It was great casting. He’s perfect for those understated, overly calm, crazy people that is perfect for this role. Jane on the other hand, is very good at the broken down, self doubting husband, who is afraid that his wife doesn’t care for him anymore. He’s making choices to try to make her happy, but the more he tries, the more he fails, so even though he is appalled at being kidnapped and forced to drive on a trip that he probably won’t survive, on some level it’s the most excitement he’s had in a long time. This is an action packed adventure with some Fast and Furious style driving, gun fights, double crosses, and twists and turns all the way through. I saw this film on Netflix and I found it actually worth-while. It has been in my watch list for quite a while, and I’m glad that I finally got around to it/ I should have watched it sooner, as it was an exciting film.
Bill Camp, Jake Abel, Paul Dano, Elizabeth Banks, John Cusack, Paul Giamatti
This is what they are calling a biopic. It feels like a documentary, and is based of real Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys and the terrific talent he showed and the horrible price it cost. Brian Wilson, the young startup singing sensation is played by Paul Dano. The foundation and extreme popularity of the California surfing scene resonated with America and the world and they were very popular. But as time passed and the pressures grew, Brian was faced with continuing the success of the group who depended on him, but fighting his inner demons, like drug addiction and voices in his head. He had music that he wanted to get out, but the other members of the group were not so interested in Brian’s new sounds, and he was meticulous in getting everything perfect. What resulted was the Pet Sounds album which soared the Beach Boys back to the top and became legend in itself. Brian’s problems come from a number of things, not the least of which was an abusive, never satisfied father who criticized every thing he did. The “future” Brian Wilson is played by John Cuasak, who meets Melinda Ledbetter (Elizabeth Banks) who falls in love with Brian and is willing to stand up against Dr. Eugene Landy (Paul Giamatti) who is on one hand Brian’s enabler, but at the same time insists on complete control over his every action. This is the story of one of the worlds greatest singer songwriters and the life he was forced to live by his extreme talent.
This is a great follow up to The Wrecking Crew [Click Here for Ed’s Review] which is a true documentary of the many musicians in the L.A. area who performed the studio recordings of many great groups including The Beach Boys. But this focuses on Brian Wilson himself, and I found the two different actors playing the same role to be a bit off putting. I am not sure why they needed to do that as there is not that many years difference in the character, but it was an interesting gimmick to throw in to instantly let us know what is early Beach Boys days and what is happening in the later years. It might be hard to cut the film into so any flashbacks without a trigger to let you now you’re time warping again. Still, both Brian Wilsons do a pretty good job and it is an entertaining film. I grew up in the East, and the California sound, though onmipresent, didn’t quite grab us back there. We were more interested in the Philly, Detroit, and East Coast soul groups that really spoke to us. But the first time I heard Good Vibrations, I became a Beach Boys fan, and through my connection to what Brian was saying in these songs, I learned to be a fan of their early stuff as well. All in all, this is a good moviefied version of a documentary of the trials and tribulations of a great musician and I really did enjoy it enough to say, watch it if you can. It’s a good one.
Jason Patric, Bruce Willis, John Cusack, Rain, Jessica Lowndes, Johnathon Schaech, Gia Mantegna, 50 Cent
Paul (Jason Patric) used to be a mafia hit man, but has gotten away from the mob and is living peacefully as a mechanic. His daughter is in college, or he thinks she is, but he soon finds she has dropped out. Trying to track her down, he finds she has gone with a guy to New Orleans and has dropped out of sight, so Paul has to head back to New Orleans to find her. He soon finds out that an old rival leader, Omar (Bruce Willis) is behind the plot to kill Paul and he sends his best goons out to take him out.
This is not a big budget film by any means. Bruce Willis is in it, but not that much, and though he’s good when he’s on screen, most of the time he’s just a threat. John Cusack is also a bad guy in this film who isn’t bad, but isn’t that great either. Jason Patric has the largest role, but though the movie starts out pretty well, it slowly turns to a crawl. It’s not a horrible film at all, but it’s probably not worth the effort to seek it out. I can say that it’s very predictable, and the ending has no surprises. Also when it should be building up to a big finish it’s petering out to a fizzle. This is available in streaming and on cable, so if it came on, I wouldn’t mind watching it, but I was not overly impressed. Basically a few days after you’ll think of The Prince and can’t remember what it was about. It’s highly forgettable.
Prospero Pictures, Sentient Entertainment, SBS Productions,
Julianne Moore, Mia Wasikowska, John Cusack, Robert Pattinson, Olivia Williams, Evan Bird, Sarah Gadon
The Weiss Family, Dr. Stafford Weiss (John Cusack), shrink to the stars, Benjie (Evan Bird), spoiled rotten child star, wife Christina (Olivia Williams) stage mom of epic proportions, and Agatha (Mia Wasikowska), estranged psycho sister, come together in this most dramatic, dark, comedy you’ve seen in a long time. This is a parody piece making fun of the Hollywood lifestyle while doing it in a seriously warped dramatic way. This family is desperate to maintain their celebrity status no matter what it takes. Throw in a washed up film star Havana Segrand (Julianne Moore) and Limo driver wannabe actor Jerome Fontana (Robert Pattinson) and you have the wacky cast that might bring down the entire Hollywood system as they crash and burn everything and everyone they touch.
A few minutes in to this cockeyed movie you realize you’re being put on. This is told like a true life story until it becomes clear everyone is connected to everyone else in ways you could hardly expect. Very frank and in your face brutal from the language to the really explicit scenes to the actual story, everything is rude and crude. There is a fairly good deal of humor in it all, but it’s like an inside joke for those in one the inside, unless you’re a Hollywood Celebrity yourself, it may not really make a lot of sense. Much like my review of “Birdman (or the unexpected virtue of ignorance)” this feels like you’re an outsider at at insider party and you are not welcome. Perhaps I’m wrong, but this is how I felt through this whole thing. It was used to watching news on TV, but when my wife started turning on “Good Morning ” I hated it. It felt like a party was going on and I was watching in through the window. A lot of jokes and dancing and laughing going on and I didn’t know any of it. That was the feeling I got in this movie. Perhaps I’m being a little bit harsh, as it wasn’t really terrible, but I just didn’t really get into it. I never found myself “in” the story and it was mostly just over my head. I gave this a 3 star review because of the quality of the performances of the actors in this film, but I don’t really recommend it unless you are interested in the subject or the actors.
