The Martian

First Hit:  Matt Damon is wonderful in this interesting and engaging film.

With the latest news indicating that there is water on Mars, this film will have even more interest from audiences.

I cannot speak to the science demonstrated in the film and I will say the story is compelling mostly because of the acting. We have a crew on an extended mission to Mars but because there is a huge storm, they have to leave early leaving behind one of their team.

Mission Botanist Mark Watney (Matt Damon) was thought to be dead when the crew led by Captain Melissa Lewis (Jessica Chastain). NASA led by Teddy Sanders (Jeff Daniels) decides to not tell the crew heading back to Earth that the person they left behind is still alive. The reasons he uses are valid from one point of view but, the on Earth, person responsible for the crew, Mitch Henderson (Sean Bean) decides to inform the crew about Mark’s survival on Mars.

This works well as a plot device to set up an attempted rescue by this same crew later in the film. A good portion of the film is about how Mark solves the dilemma of being in a place where his food won’t last until a possible rescue mission comes back for him. He solves this problem with great verve, humor, ingenuity.

There is a bit more focus on the music he’s left with (disco era music) by Captain Lewis and it got old to me. I know it was used a clever plot device to created amusement and it wore thin. I’ve no idea if NASA works the way the film portrays but it was believable.

Besides the wonderful acting by Damon on Mars, the mixture of other characters helping to rescue him was also very good.

Damon was really strong as “the greatest botanist on the planet”. He does well at showing a positive outlook, intelligence, and fortitude to take this difficult situation and survive. Chastain was good as the mission leader, showing compassion, strength, and willingness. Daniels was very good as the no-nonsense NASA leader. Sean Bean was good in his small yet pivotal role. Donald Glover was probably the most interesting minor character. His portrayal of a certified genius able to solve the problem of identifying a rescue plan was perfect. Drew Goddard wrote a wonderful, interesting and, at times, amusing script. Ridley Scott did a great job of creating great sets (spaceship scenes were reminiscent of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001) and getting some very strong performances from his actors.

Overall:  Although a little long it was an enjoyable and entertaining film.

No Escape

First Hit:  It was an OK story with better than average acting.

The Dwyer family moves to a country bordering Vietnam (could have been Cambodia or Laos). Jack (Owen Wilson) is moving his wife Annie (Lake Bell) and two girls Lucy (Sterling Jerins) and Beeze (Claire Geare) to their new home because it is the only job he can get. The job, he believes, is helping the country’s water purification system and so he believes he's doing good for others.

On the first night, a coup breaks out killing the country’s Prime Minister. The ensuing chaos has the rebel citizens killing foreigners, especially anyone who is associated with the water company Jack works for. The rebels attack the hotel, killing almost everyone and now Jack and his family are in danger of being killed.

The rest of the film has the Dwyer family running for their lives and being assisted by Hammond (Pierce Brosnan) who is an English intelligence agent. The scenes of the streets and alleyways in this unnamed city are perfect. All of them had the right feel. Having spent a lot of time in Asia, I was happy to not see manufactured vistas or an inaccurate beautified view.

I thought the plot needed a little working, by providing a little more background of the coup as well as the Jack’s previous work. I did think the director created the right amount of intensity in this full movie chase. The most insightful scene to mark Jack and Annie’s relationship was when Annie, being sad and unhappy, tells Jack that she cannot help him feel better about their being away from their Austin home.

Wilson was good, although there were a couple of moments, I sensed his laissez faire persona creep through. Bell was superb. I thought she held the film together. Jerins and Geare were really good and realistic in their roles. Brosnan was amusing in his role and it worked. John Erick and Drew Dowdle wrote the script. As previously mentioned, I thought there were strong points and some missing background. John Erick Dowdle directed this films and given the probable limited budget did a great job of creating intensity.

Overall:  The film was entertaining and Bell was the strongest of the characters.

American Ultra

First Hit:  The abilities of Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart made this film work.

When we are introduced to Mike (Eisenberg) he sits bloodied and being questioned by a law enforcement officer.

Then we quickly reel back to where his voice over tells the audience that he is a major screw-up. He gets high all the time, he’s afraid to leave his town. He works at a “Cash and Carry” convenience store in a small, sleepy, and uneventful town. He lives with his girlfriend Phoebe (Stewart) who seems to really care about him and doesn’t seem to mind Mike’s inabilities to function at a very high level.

What we end up learning that Mike and Phoebe are both CIA agents, with Mike being a secret weapon. He’s in hibernation, but when he becomes activated he’s a killing machine. Supervising CIA Agent Adrian Yates (Topher Grace) decides he want to eliminate Mike and begins a plan kill him with his own brand of psychologically modified agents. Protecting Mike and Phoebe is Agent Victoria Lasseter (Connie Britton) who activates Mike so that he can protect himself. Some of the funniest scenes are short scenes with Mike’s friend Rose (John Leguizamo).

Eisenberg is perfect for this role, introverted, intense, physically adept and fully in-charge of his character. Stewart is wonderful as the agent who falls in love with the person she was assigned to protect. Their chemistry and interaction is wonderful. Grace is very good as the guy trying to make a name for himself. Britton is good as the protecting agent. Leguizamo is fantastic as Mike odd-ball, drug dealing friend. Max Landis wrote a strong, interesting and funny script. Nima Nourizadeh did a wonderful job of making the script come alive with action and dark comedy.

Overall:  I enjoyed the ways kitchen items can be used to create harm.

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation

First Hit:  This film was action packed although it did not unnecessarily make much sense – but who cares – it's really fun to watch.

Each MI film is a stretch of the imagination and Rogue Nation continues the tradition. Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) never plays by the rules because he knows better than any other character in the film. And as obnoxious as that is, it works really well.

Cruise makes statements so strong and with such confidence that certainty of his plan or statements are never questioned, despite the strong smart people on his team. In this film in the opening scenes (which is also in the trailer), he grabs on to the side of a plane taking off so that he can get inside and foil the bad guys who are transporting poisonous gas. His crew William (Jeremy Renner), Benji (Simon Pegg), and Luther (Ving Rhames) are here again and with the introduction of Ilsa (Rebecca Ferguson) as an English agent representative working the same sort of case.

The villain they are after is Atlee (Simon McBurney) who portrays an evil doer looking for a huge payoff. The action scenes are not so elongated that the audience tires, yet the film is filled with them. The chase scenes are long and short enough to capture interest. The quips by the MI team are well thought out. Is this film filled with award winning performances? No. Is the storyline one for the ages? No. Yet the film works and is very fun to watch.

Cruise is easy to watch. He’s competent at making the audience think and believe he’s the character. Cruise does intense and action well. Simon Pegg is funny and good as the head support guy in the MI group. Renner is OK in a more subdued role and delivers what is required from the part. Ferguson is strong as an English counterpart to Cruise. Rhames is OK is a small and important part. McBurney was good as the villain. Christopher McQuarrie wrote a strong action script and did a really good job of directing this action film.

Overall:  This is a fun action film.

Southpaw

First Hit:  Although at times hard to watch, this is an extremely well-crafted and acted film.

It is hard to see someone get hit in the face. It is even harder when they mug and beg the person to hit them.

Boxer Billy Hope (Jake Gyllenhaal) does this time and time again as a way to get angry enough to beat his opponent. As the Light Heavyweight Champion he uses this tactic to win all his fights. Outside the ring he has one focus, his family. When he looks over the ropes, face looking like beaten hamburger, his wife Maureen (Rachel McAdams) gives him the look – the look that says “I love you and let’s go home”.

When he finishes the job, she takes him home, and he goes to his daughter’s Leila’s (Oona Laurence) room and becomes a heart filled father. Maureen and Billy have a single focus around their love and interdependence; recoup from the battering Billy takes and ready himself for the next one.

Maureen and Billy were both brought up by the State of New York and share a deep bond and connection that works perfectly for this film. Maureen makes all the decisions for their family; when to fight and when to rest is the primary focus. She is his rock and life, while he is the spirit and strength. A tragic shooting sets Billy’s life spinning out of control and everything falls apart. Billy becomes lost and he’s left to find his way back home.

This is when Tick Willis (Forest Whitaker), who owns a boxing gym becomes a trusted guide for Billy’s salvation. All the fight scenes are extremely well choreographed. The settings and feel of the locker rooms, boxing arenas, charity gatherings, and the 300 square foot apartment Billy finds himself living in are spot on. 

The dialogue (of which Billy has little) between everyone; Jordan (Curtis Jackson 50 Cent) the fight promoter, Willis, Leila, Maureen, Hoppy (Skylan Brooks) the kid who’s looking for guidance, and all the characters is well timed, has the right flavor and are perfect for the roles.

Gyllenhaal is jaw-dropping amazing. By far and away, performance of the year. He does so much with his eyes, face, posture, that one doesn’t notice that he doesn’t steal the film with dialogue. McAdams is wonderfully centered and perfect for the role of a beautiful woman brought up in a tough life and who loves her man. Jackson (50 Cent) was a very good opportunistic promoter who’s only thinking of himself despite his words. Whitaker, as usual, steals every scene he’s in – you just can’t take your eyes off him (he seem always on the edge of bursting). Laurence was sublime and if this young person’s performance is any indication of her future – we’ll be seeing a lot more of her. I won’t list them all here and everyone’s performance in this film was very well done. Kurt Sutter wrote an amazing script that captured the tenderness and bravado of the people in the sport of boxing. Antoine Fuqua got everything and more from the script and actors – not sure this film could have been done any better by anyone.

Overall:  This film is filled with the highest level of craftsmanship imaginable by everyone who had a hand in creating it.