Black or White

First Hit:  Good theme however the execution was very uneven.

Elliot Anderson’s (Kevin Costner) wife dies suddenly. He and his wife have been the primary care takers for their deceased daughter’s child, Eloise (Jillian Estell).

The child is of mixed race and her black father Reggie (Andre Holland) is addicted to crack cocaine and has not been present in Eloise's life. Reggie’s mother (the other grandparent) Rowena (Octavia Spencer) now wants to have custody of Eloise because she doesn’t think Elliot will be a good parent and because she wants her granddaughter to have a black family experience. To do this Rowena hires her nephew Jeremiah (Anthony Mackie) who is a corporate lawyer.

This film comes to a culmination in a couple of courtroom scenes and a scene at Elliot’s home towards the end of the film. At times, I was waiting for the film to progress and at other times it was interesting. The addition of Duvan (Mpho Koaho) as Eloise and Elliot’s tutor was great. The point of the film was; what’s the difference between how black people see white people and how white people see blacks - only one scene in the courtroom begins to address this important item.

Costner is at times good (as a drunk) and OK with the rest of the role. Estell was fabulous and was the star of the film. Spencer was good as the pushy woman who usually gets her way but having a blind spot for her family. Koaho was divine and joy to watch. Mackie was strong as the Jeffers’ family attorney. Holland was OK as the drugged out father. Mike Binder wrote and directed this film and unfortunately it didn’t live up to the possibilities.

Overall:  The film was contrived at times and funny at others.

Draft Day

First Hit:  Overall, it was enjoyable, partially predictable and at times surprisingly unpredictable.

The world of drafting sports players onto professional teams has become big business. Television rights, high-level news reporting and “fantasy leagues” all contribute to the business side of televising this event. Although I’m aware of the draft days (mostly for football and basketball), I do not care enough to watch these events because it just isn’t that important or interesting to me.

What interested me about this film was hoping to see how deals were made before the choices are announced on television. I also thought that Kevin Costner, playing Cleveland Brown’s General Manager Sonny Weaver Jr., would be good at playing this sort of character. He did and so did Dennis Leary as Coach Penn. They both played great antagonist, power control issue roles. 

The story begins with 24 hours on the clock before teams, in their draft order, have 10 minutes name the player they want to sign to their teams. There is always heavy competition by the players to be picked high up in the draft because that guarantees’ them more money. Weaver begins the final day receiving phone calls from players who want him to draft them and also from the team’s owner Anthony Molina (Frank Langella) who wants his GM to “make a splash”.

The pressure is building because Coach Penn wants specific people drafted. Then the calls from other GM’s wanting to trade people and draft choices begin to come in. To add a more human aspect of Weaver’s life, he has a relationship with Ali (Jennifer Garner) the team’s financial guru. She had told Weaver the night before that she is pregnant with his baby and supposedly their relationship is hidden from the staff. But it is the final moments of when the league commissioner begins to announce the choices and how the dealing of people quickens.

Costner is smooth, intelligent and believable in this role. He was very strong as the general manager. Leary was perfect as the strong ego centric coach that wants to prove himself with the right players. Langella was sublime as the team’s owner – he carried this role perfectly. Garner is plenty smart and good in this role and I guess there was more of her character in the film. Griffin Newman as Rick the intern was specifically fun to watch and he did the intern role very well. Scott Rothman and Rajiv Joseph wrote a credible screen play. Ivan Reitman directed this with a good view of the way a draft day could play out.

Overall:  I people knowledgeable of the draft process would appreciate the way it is done here because it is educational. 

3 Days to Kill

First Hit:  Parts were really funny; some were really unrealistic, but overall it was entertaining.

Does the CIA really have agents that act and look like a hooker that drive around in an Audi R8 sports cars? I doubt it. But here the head agent Vivi Delay (Amber Heard) charged with killing “The Wolf” (Richard Sammel) gets to do this and more.

The plot is a bit convoluted with “The Albino” (Tomas Lemarquis) and some other characters who work for The Wolf while he’s trying to sell a dirty bomb. To get the job done Vivi hires Ethan Renner (Kevin Costner) who is a veteran at killing people for the agency. He’s grizzled yet he’s got a soft spot for his daughter Zoey (Hailee Steinfeld) whom he hasn’t seen since she was a small child.

Each year he contacts her on her birthday but that’s it. He’s fighting what he thinks is a cold but discovers he’s got cancer and only has a few months to live. With this news he wants to spend more time with his daughter and wife Christine (Connie Nielsen). Both are reluctant to have him back in their lives while Christine makes him promise to quit doing jobs for the Agency. But Vivi hooks him in by offering him a unclassified drug that might extend his life a bit.

The funniest part was when he and Vivi are trying to decide which guy in the room is The Wolf’s accountant.

Costner is fun, craggily, physical and smooth. I enjoy watching him use his experience in these parts to make them work for the audience and story. Heard is quirky and electric as the agent. Steinfeld is very good as the daughter who is trying to figure out if she cares, why she cares, and how to express her mixed emotions. Nielsen is very good as Costner’s estranged wife. Adi Hasak and Luc Besson wrote an unbelievable script but in the end it worked. McG (Joseph McGinty Nichol) directed this and cannot figure out what impels him to use “McG” as his name, when the film pretty good – don’t we want to know his name?

Overall:  I was entertained throughout this implausible story.

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit

First Hit:  Better than I thought it would be with a good story, believable acting, and the way suspense was created.

Carrying on the legacy of Clancy’s Jack Ryan character is a tall order. Just like carrying on the 007 story with different actors, it takes someone who can embody the spirit of the character, yet show us something and someone new. Daniel Craig has definitely moved 007 forward.

Here Chris Pine, just as he did with Captain Kirk, moved the character of Jack Ryan forward. As his mentor, Kevin Costner is excellent as Commander Thomas Harper. I loved his wry smile, direct commands and hands on engagement.

This is where this film excels. It wasn’t someone behind a desk giving commands from HQ to the lowly analyst (Now your Operative) it was a team of people letting Ryan be the lead, yet knowing he was fully supported by a competent team made it all work. Keira Knightley, as Ryan’s wife Dr. Cathy Muller, was really good and it was great to see her again in a film role.

Briefly, Jack, inspired by September 11th, joins the Marines to fight for the US. He’s super smart and although he’s been sending great intelligence to the Marine’s HQ, he’s doing a grunt role. He gets hurt and rehabs at Walter Reed Hospital where he meets Dr. Muller. Harper read Ryan’s reports and begins to recruit him into the CIA.

As an intelligence analyst he’s real good, and on a trip to Russia to do an audit of a client, he uncovers a plot to destroy the US (of course you would expect this from a Jack Ryan story). It is here that he becomes an operative. Just because we know the ending doesn't take away from the way we get there.

This is what makes this film very watchable, entertaining, and enjoyable.

Pine was an excellent choice for the Ryan role with his charming good looks, intelligence, and ability to be physical. Costner was great as the older, wizened, and veteran CIA operative in charge of the mission. Knightly was sublime as Ryan’s wife Muller. There was enough strong independence as well as intelligent support of her husband. Kenneth Branagh as Viktor Cherevin was particularly strong and I felt he clearly knew how to direct himself. Adam Cozad and David Koepp wrote a wonderful script based on Tom Clancy’s characters. Branagh did a wonderful job of creating suspense and excitement throughout the film.

Overall:  This was a very entertaining film made well by strong people.

Man of Steel

First Hit:  By the last 45 minutes I got bored stiff with the relentless ill conceive battles.

A little over a week ago I was watching the “Colbert Report” and he posed a question to the director (Zack Snyder) of this film: Why did you forgo the red trunks this character has always worn? Snyder’s response was we wanted to make this film more realistic. Really?

Make a film more realistic about a man who flies faster than a speeding bullet, leaps tall buildings in a single bound, and more powerful than a locomotive, realistic? I will say that Snyder did do a good job of making Clark Kent / Kal-El (AKA: Superman) (played by James Cavill) somewhat human as we go from his childhood to adulthood. It is when we get to his having to fight General Zod (Michael Shannon) his home planet Krypton for his and earth’s survival that it loses steam.

Be prepared to spend 40 – 60 minutes watching an ill-conceived battle. It is a wasteful use of CGI and my time. Superman is about helping individuals in trouble on earth, not fighting some alien invasion.

Cavill as Superman is good. There is some depth in his character but made to spend all his time fighting Zod. Amy Adams playing Lois Lane is wonderful. I really like her. Shannon was very good as Zod but unfortunately his role was too large. Diane Lane and Kevin Costner play Clark Kent’s earthling parents and they were very good – grounded. Russell Crowe as Jor-El (Superman’s father) was overplayed. The only reason we saw so much of Jor-El was because he was Zod's arch enemy and I'm sure they felt required to beef up the role for Crowe. David S. Goyer wrote an overly long battle driven script. Snyder wasn’t able to make Clark Kent both human (he did this better) and savior. He made this film about fighting Zod – so what.

Overall:  Wasted my time despite some wonderful moments.