Peppermint

First Hit: I enjoy a well-acted and thoughtful revenge film and this one fits the bill.

Riley North (Jennifer Garner), her husband Chris (Jeff Hephner) and their daughter Carly (Calley Fleming) are a happy family except money is always an issue. Chris and  his co-worker Mickey (Chris Johnson) hatch a plan to steal a drug dealers loot. But Chris thinks twice and calls Mickey to tell him he wants out, that he cannot risk himself and his family's well being.

However, the dealer learns of the plot, kills Mickey and sends gang-bangers to kill Chris. They find Chris with his family enjoying an amusement park for Carly's birthday. When they kill Chris they do it with automatic weapons and not only kill Chris, they kill Carly and Riley is shot and injured. After mourning her family and getting nowhere with the police investigation, she disappears for five years. Riley leaves the country and upon her return, she’s transformed herself from supportive housewife to killing machine. While away she's learned martial arts, how to stalk people, how to kill with guns and her bare hands, and new she's back and wants revenge on the whole gang who killed her family.

The police and FBI pick up on the trail of bodies she leaves behind, including the three bodies hanging upside-down on the Ferris wheel at the amusement park where she was shot and her husband and daughter died five years earlier.

Riley is being hunted by the FBI, L.A. Police Department, and the gang. Will she win in the end? What price will she be willing to pay?

Garner is fantastic as Riley, a revenge filled killing machine. Her skills in body movement, and the belief in her eyes, had me rooting for her all the way. Hephner was good in his small role. Fleming was excellent in her role as well. Juan Pablo Raba as drug lord Diego Garcia was very strong. John Gallagher Jr. as Detective Stan Carmichael was excellent. John Ortiz as a seasoned Detective Moises Beltran was perfect. Annie Ilonzeh as FBI Agent Lisa Inman was very good. Chad St. John wrote a strong revenge script. It was this script, Garner’s acting and Pierre Morel’s direction that made it all work.

Overall: This was a excellent revenge film and sometimes a woman’s revenge is best.

Going in Style

Overall:  This film was enjoyable and its nice to see acting veterans ply their trade. Willie (Morgan Freeman), Joe (Michael Caine) and Albert (Alan Arkin) are three buddies who spent a lifetime working together in a manufacturing factory and live across the street from each other in Queens. They’ve all retired and are collecting their pensions.

However, the money flow has stopped and the bank wants to foreclose on Joe’s home. At the time, Joe’s daughter and granddaughter Brooklyn (Joey King) are living with him and he’s afraid to let them down as well as himself.

Albert and Willie are living together and have an interesting and supportive relationship. However Willie has a kidney problem that he’s not told his buddies’ about and he finds out that if he doesn’t get a transplant soon, he’s going to die soon.

They are all going broke so they decide to rob the very bank that has Joe’s mortgage and is managing the refinancing the sale and closure of the factory. They practice by robbing a local grocery store and it is hilarious. The stuffing of food in their jackets and pants followed by the getaway Joe and Willie make in an electric scooter and Al trying to out run a younger man lasting about 100 feet and gives up is very funny.

Donning Rat Pack masks they rob the bank of enough money to cover their pensions. Pursing them is FBI Special Agent Hammer (Matt Dillon) who suspects the three men and builds up a solid case. However, the guys have done their homework and have their stories and alibies down pat. The clincher comes during a line up when a little girl, who recognizes Willie, decides to protect him.

This film is about loyalty, connection, and family. To this end, it is very good as it has small side stories that make it work. There’s the story about how Willie gets his kidney, how the grumpy Albert gets involved with an admirer named Annie (Ann Margaret). The lodge buddy’s, Milton (Christopher Lloyd), odd view of the world. And finally, Jesus (John Ortiz) who shows these old guys the ropes to rob the bank.

Caine was wonderful, and my favorite scene was when he got angry and gave Jesus a piece of his mind. I could see the how Caine’s real and documented difficult scrappy upbringing was used to make this scene effective. I wouldn't want to mess with him. Freeman was gracefully effective as the selfless friend. He supports and takes care of Albert and doesn’t bother anyone with his critical kidney issue. He effectively portrayed his longing to see more of his daughter and granddaughter. Arkin is perfectly cast as the grumpy curmudgeon of the three. He’s the downer guy and doesn’t want his world mussed up much, however, when he’s in, he’s a force and gives it his all. Loved his interactions with Annie his admirer. King was fantastic as Joe’s granddaughter by being interesting, loving, and engaged making her grandfather proud. Margret was amazing as the woman who sees past Albert’s gruff exterior and wants to create something more. Ortiz was strong as the guy who teaches the “rat pack” how to rob the bank. Dillon was very good as the agent who knows who the robbers were and tries to build a case against them. Siobhan Fallon Hogan as Mitzi their favorite waitress was superb. She embodied the part perfectly. Theodore Melfi wrote a really good script and screenplay. Zach Braff had a great handle on the actors and screenplay. I think he knew exactly what he wanted and got everyone engaged to his vision.

Overall:  Although I think there could have been more laughs, this film was lighthearted and very enjoyable.

Silver Linings Playbook

First Hit: A well-acted film about how people can find peace in their lives by looking from within. 

Pat (played by Bradley Cooper) leaves a mental hospital where he found himself after an outburst of anger where he nearly kills his wife’s lover. Justified?

No and this is what the film is about. It is about finding other ways to recognize and re-channel feelings that can lead to strong physical and emotional outbursts. He still loves his wife Nikki (played by Brea Bee) and believes she will come back to him if he loses weight and becomes a nicer and more rounded individual.

His father Pat Sr. (played by Robert De Niro) is not the best example for him to follow. His entire life is wrapped up in the Philadelphia Eagles and his passion is so high that he is permanently banished from coming to the stadium games because of fighting.

While at his friend Ronnie’s (played by John Ortiz) house he meets Tiffany (played by Jennifer Lawrence) who also has a history of acting out. Her acting out is through sex with anyone after her husband dies.

This story is about how these two find the silver linings in their own lives through their relationship.

Cooper is strong and good as a guy who is focused on getting his wife back if only he can act right but finds his buttons being pushed from every vantage point. De Niro is good as the father seeing how his own behaviors contribute to his son’s struggles to find himself. Lawrence is amazing (Oscar worthy) in this role. Her eyes showing both strength and vulnerability in this role show why she’s one of the very best young actresses to make the scene. Ortiz is wonderful and perfect as Cooper’s true friend. David O. Russell wrote and directed with very wonderful script. I loved how he was able to have 3 – 4 people yelling all at once, yet have each point be clearly made.

Overall: This was a very fine film and deserves to be seen.

Jack Goes Boating

First Hit: At times it was well acted and engaging but overall the unevenness took away from its impact.

This is a sweet story of Jack (played by Philip Seymour Hoffman) who lives his life in a quiet desperation. He would like a relationship and yet keeps his life in control and on a very short leash.

He’s a limousine driver, listens to the same cassette tape over and over again, has scruffy natural dreadlocks from not combing his hair and barely looks comfortable in any situation. His best friend Clyde (played by John Ortiz) is also a limo driver, is married to an edgy girl named Lucy (played by Daphne Rubin-Vega), and they both want Jack to be happy and settled in a good relationship unlike theirs.

Lucy and Clyde introduce Jack to Connie (played by Amy Ryan) who is a bit afraid of the world, is smart but hesitant, and has the vibration of having given up trying to have a relationship. The beauty of this film is in the moments when Jack and Connie are together and some of the best moments are when there is no dialogue.

The silences of both of them processing information and dealing with their own thoughts and insecurities are wonderful. Their dialogue is in tune with their experience of life and direct with a beautiful honesty.

They have a first date in early winter and plan a second date for the summer to go boating. You have to love that. However, they do figure out they can actually have dates in-between.

The downside of this it the film felt uneven in its execution. At times it had the pacing of a slower character study French film and at other times the pace was a bit too quick.

Hoffman both directed and starred. From an acting point of view he is solid as Jack and the deep smoldering anger that shows up in one particular moment is very defining and clearly in character. As a director the unevenness is directly related to an unsure way of how to direct this story in addition to plot difficulties that needed refinement. Ryan was exquisite and she also carried much of her role within and let it show evenly and with clarity. Ortiz’s character was difficult to understand and I don’t know if it was the role, him or the direction. Rubin-Vega was angry most of the film and it was within the character. But I wanted to know more as to why she felt so angry. Because of this her character felt constrained but key to the major dramatic moments.

Overall: A good film, some strong acting, and a story about people we might not see because they are hiding within most of the time.