Review: "Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit"

There is a very good sequence in Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, that begins with a fight in a hotel room, continues with a frantic phone call, and ends with two men on a park bench making sense of the events. At the end of that sequence, Jack Ryan (Chris Pine), a CIA analyst with serious back problems and very little field training, is handed a gun and upgraded to "operational." In that moment, Paramount Pictures effectively reboots the character as an action hero who shoots and punches his way to victory.

Now, I'm a complete sucker for secret agent movies, but in a post-9/11 world -- a fact unnecessarily emphasized in the very first scene -- where films like Zero Dark Thirty and Showtime's original series Homeland have proven that audiences still crave intelligent espionage stories, it seems silly to roll with the Bonds and the Bournes of the movie world, especially when you have a character who has always been distinguished by his intelligence. But, that's their hook. Like it or not.

Review: "Last Vegas"

After a spur of the moment proposal that took even him by surprise, perpetual playboy Billy (Michael Douglas) is finally getting hitched to a woman less than half his age. Aiming for a quick and simple ceremony in Vegas, he gathers his three best childhood friends for a little bachelor party fun in Sin City.

Archie (Morgan Freeman) has recently recovered from a stroke and feels suffocated by the oversight of his protective pill-doling son, while Sam (Kevin Kline, where have you been?) is withering away in retirement community hell. Both are excited at the prospect of getting away from their lives for a few days, and are each aiming for a different type of enjoyment. Paddy (Robert De Niro), on the other hand, is cocooned up in his Brooklyn apartment, with no desire to frolic like a teenager any longer. A recent widower, Paddy is still bitter over the loss of his wife and very angry at Billy for not showing up for her funeral.

Once in Vegas, they meet Diana (Mary Steenburgen, striking even at 60), a divorced empty-nester trying to make it as a lounge singer. Right away, it's clear that both Paddy and Billy are taken with her, and she could easily be just the thing Paddy needs to get back to living, or perhaps, the first woman of his own age that Billy could have a relationship with. Either way, she could be the thing to tear them apart forever. Meanwhile, Archie is busy winning enough money at blackjack to get the boys a free suite for the weekend, and Sam -- little blue pill burning a hole in his pocket -- mistakenly hits on the cross-dressing Madonna-lookalike Maurice (Roger Bart), while trying to get laid.

The rest of the movie goes pretty much the way you would expect -- lots of old age jokes turn into "old school" cool by the end as these guys work out their differences and rule the Vegas strip like men half their age. I laughed a good bit, but felt that the humor was better punctuated in the trailers than played out in the film. Performances are solid, but it's disappointing that there are no surprises here. Beat for beat, director Jon Turteltaub (National Treasure) knows what the audience expects, and for better or worse, delivers it every scene. This is harmless fun, but not the sort of material that befits the abilities of such heavy-hitters.

STF Podcast Episode 5 - Gravity, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, and more!

For this episode, I am again joined by Cesar Alejandro from Film Smash to discuss Alfonso Cuaron's amazing new film, Gravity, as well as Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D (during which we speculate about a potentially major spoiler, so consider yourself warned), my feelings on 3D use in modern movies, and much more! It's been months since we recorded a podcast and you'll be able to tell that we're a bit rusty, but we fall back into our groove by the end of the episode. Check it out by clicking here or visit us on iTunes.

The Cover Photo: Poltergeist (1982)

Insidious: Chapter 2 was released to theaters this weekend, and that got me thinking of this film again.

It's always difficult for me to pick just one image from a film when choosing a screenshot for my Facebook cover photo. In the case of Poltergeist, it was very hard not to pick Carol Ann (Heather O'Rourke) with the television set, which is easily the most iconic image of the film -- and that would have been a good one. The shot below, however, has always stuck with me. It's a kiss that might have been their last one ever, but it gives Steve (Craig T. Nelson) the courage to let his determined wife, Diane (Jo Beth Williams), enter into the great unknown to save their child. It's the scariest moment of their lives, and yet for us, it's the most reassuring moment in an amazing film.