Category: Drama

Gangster Squad

Set in 1949 Los Angeles, “Gangster Squad” is about the Brooklyn mob king Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn). Mickey Cohen runs the show in Los Angeles and he wants everyone to know it. He has judges and cops in his back pocket and believes he is untouchable, but along comes a few of LA’s finest that he doesn’t have in his pocket and they decide to form a squad to take Mickey and his gang down once and for all. The story unfolds from there…
This is based on a true story. The timeline is good, but the story is a bit choppy. Things bounce around a bit and at times don’t quite make sense. The ensemble of actors is good. The right people were picked. Sean Penn is very good as Mickey Cohen; although at times he does not come across as menacing as he should have.
I love Josh Brolin and he does an excellent job of leading the charge, but alas something is missing. The movie does not hold as much excitement as the previews lead you to believe.
The original opening date for this movie was September 2012, but it was moved to January 2013 and I am not sure why.
“Gangster Squad” will be good to watch on Blue-Ray or DVD. Wait for it unless you have nothing else to do.

Promised Land

The economic decline gives way to a big natural gas company who is trying to secure drilling rights in a small farm town. They send in their corporate sales partners Steve Butler (Matt Damon) and Sue Thomason (Frances McDormand) to sway each farmer to sell their land and move. But in swoops what is believed to be an environmentalist to try to sway the town’s folks from selling. The story unfolds from there…
The paid critics were “Luke-warm” about this movie, but I don’t think it’s bad at all. Matt Damon is an excellent actor. He will make you believe in his character. The movie is a bit slow, but all of the pieces do come together in a surprise ending.
If you are a Matt Damon fan “Promised Land” is worth a look.

Lincoln

“Lincoln” is a HUGH ambitious undertaking for Steven Spielberg, but he pulls it off nicely.
“Lincoln” focuses on the last few months of our nation’s 16th president and his trials and tribulations at getting the Emancipation Proclamation passed and ending the war.
“Lincoln” is a great story nicely done. Two-time Academy Award winner Daniel Day-Lewis as “Lincoln” will make you believe. The cast of this movie is very talented and deep.
“Lincoln” is definitely worth the price of admission.

Flight

Mr. Washington was masterfully brilliant in his portrayal of “Whip Whitaker a commercial airline pilot. Whip has an addiction to alcohol and drugs, but so far he’s managed to complete his flights without incident.
Whip’s luck runs out when a horrific mechanical malfunction of some of the planes hydraulics sends his plane hurling through the sky toward the ground.
Shocked and shaken Whip decides to give up the alcohol, but when the NTSB starts to investigate the crash and the events that led up to the crash, Whip finds himself out of control. The story unfolds from there…
“Flight” has excellent acting and a great cast. This is Denzel Washington’s movie from start to finish.
My only problem is that the plane crash sort of takes a back seat to the addiction that Whip has. Not enough attention was given to the other survivors of the plane crash.
To sum things up, “Flight” is about Heroism, Addiction, Recovery and Forgiveness.

Argo

Remember when Iranian Revolutionaries stormed the American Embassy in November 1979? “Argo” is about the situations that led up to, during and after this awful event.

During the rioting and chaos 6 Americans were able to escape and find refuge with the Canadian Ambassador. However it was discovered by the revolutionaries that some of the Embassy staff was unaccounted for. Worried that they may be found and executed, the US Government calls extractor Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck) to get the refugees out.

Tony’s plan is to pose as a Hollywood producer who is scouting the location to film a movie and plans to use the refugees as his crew. The story unfolds from there…

“Argo” is based on a true story. The movie is executed brilliantly!! The attention to detail is astounding. It’s “Dark, Intense and Sometimes Comical”.

For those of you who do not like a lot of profanity in your movies, BEWARE, the “F” word is used constantly. Sometimes it’s funny, but most of the time not so much.

End of Watch

“End of Watch” is a very gruesome and realistic view of what two LA police officers deal with on a daily basis. Patrolling the mean streets of Los Angeles is no joke and the LAPD put their lives on the line every single day to try and keep the good citizens of Los Angeles safe.
The movie is so realistic that at times I covered my face because what was being shown would make me ill.
“End of Watch” is very bloody, realistic, and gruesome and in its own way awesome because it’s not sugar- coated. It’s the real deal.
The on-screen chemistry between Gyllenhall and Pena is really good. The scenes with them in their squad car really gives you a great understanding of what police officers deal with while cruising the streets. With everything that goes on in “End of Watch” the movie is really good, but it loses steam at the end and that’s what will keep it from being a great movie.
If you can stand the bloodiness and the gruesome factor, “End of Watch” is worth seeing.

Trouble With the Curve

“Trouble With the Curve” is not Clint Eastwood’s best movie, but it’s not his worst. The movie is slow and a bit dry. If you are expecting a movie solely about Baseball, forget it!!
Gus Lobel (Clint Eastwood) has been one of Baseball’s best scouts for many years. He has aged and his eye sight has deteriorated to the point that he can hardly see a pitcher pitching. Even when his bosses question his judgment, Gus refuses to quit.
Gus’s daughter (Amy Adams) is a high powered workaholic attorney living in another city. One of Gus’s bosses contacts her and asks her to come and see about her Dad. The story unfolds from there…
Often times slow and quiet, you are not sure where the movie is headed. There is more than one story going on in the movie. Gus Lobel’s (Clint Eastwood) grumpiness will wear you down, but there is a Father/Daughter story in this movie just trying to break free.
The acting and on screen chemistry between Eastwood and Adams is great and that is what makes the movie plausible.
“Trouble With the Curve” is passable as movie entertainment

Lawless

Set in the 1930’s in Franklin County Virginia, “LawLess” is about the Bondurant Brothers (Forrest, Howard and Jack) who run a backwoods restaurant/general store. This backwoods store is a front for their real business which is bootlegging. They package up their booze and make their deliveries in the wee hours of the night.
The local sheriff and his men have take bribes and left the brother to their own devices. When a Chicago lawman (Guy Pearce) comes to town and tries to put the brothers out of business a war erupts. The story unfolds from there…

“Lawless” starts off boring and slow. The first 30 minutes will lull you to sleep, but all of a sudden the movie picks up and is like a run away freight train flying down a dirty track. The violence is gruesome and bloody. The movie is just “Ok”. It’s not as interesting as I had hoped given the cast. The dialog of the movie leaves something to be desired. At times it’s difficult to understand what is being said.

The paid critics were “luke warm” about “Lawless”, so am I!!!

Sparkle

“Sparkle” can be thought of as the ending of a brillant career for actress/singer (Whitney Houston) and the beautiful beginning for another (Jordin Sparks).

American Idol winner, Jordin Sparks makes her acting debut in this adaptation of “Sparkle”. “Sparkle” is a singing prodigy who writes music constantly, but is afraid to sing solo in public. She resides in an affluent neighborhood in Detroit, raised by a single mother (Whitney Houston) along with her two sisters.

Sparkle tries to balance a budding romance with her music manager Stix (Derek Luke) while trying to adjust to the changes that come with her and her sisters (Carmen Ejogo, Tika Sumpter) as they embark on what could be a potential singing career and also trying to keep her mother happy. The story unfolds from there…

The camera loves Jordin Sparks. She looked great throughout the movie. Her acting is pretty good. It doesn’t hurt that she can sing. Whitney Houston has a very nice Gospel solo that will bring you to tears.

The paid critics were a bit luke-warm about “Sparkle”, but over all I thought the movie was pretty good, though there are a few holes and several loose ends were not tied up at the end.
If you are a Whitney Houston or Jordin Sparks fan then you should see “Sparkle”.

The Paid Critics gave this movie 2 1/2 stars. I Think it’s worth 3 stars.