Edge of Tomorrow (Live. Die. Repeat) (2014)

8.5 Popcorn boxes

Tom Cruise is Major William Cage, a pampered media officer with the United Defense Force, comprised in this instance of US Marines.  He has no combat experience, but is pressed into service by General Brigham (Brendan Gleeson).  For some reason, Brigham dislikes Cage, and he assigns him to the first wave of an invasion of Europe to rid the planet of the Mimics, a space faring alien species that has overrun and destroyed the life of countless planets.  Earth is next on the list.

He goes in the first wave, and is soon killed by the swift moving Mimics, but not before he is able to kill an unusual Mimic.  Immediately after being killed, Cage wakes up on the same Marine base where he started his ordeal with Brigham.  He meets Sergeant Vrataski (a very buff Emily Blunt), with whom he seems to have a definite connection.

Together, they try to destroy the Mimics, resetting the day over and over again as Cage is killed, each time learning how to better survive.  Eventually, the pair are confronted with the ultimate foe.

This is a crisp, first-rate science fiction thriller.  Cruise is very effective as the pampered media officer who learns how to become a killer.  Blunt is capable and convincing as his tough, no-nonsense partner.  Together, they make a good team.

There are a few plot holes, but not much to get in the way of the action.  Edge of Tomorrow delivers on the non-stop battle action one would expect.  The special effects are extremely good as well.

Rated PG-13 for science fiction violence

Koyaanisqatsi (1982)

10.0 Popcorn boxes

This film is simply one of the best films ever made.  Made over 30 years ago, it pioneered many of the film images and techniques we take for granted.  It's listed as a documentary, or a visual poem, but it's in a category almost by itself.  Let's just say it's a work of visual and audio art.

Director Godfrey Reggio and photographer Ron Fricke started filming without a clear end in mind, but after years of working on footage, shot on a very low budget, they fashioned a film combining human imagery with natural footage without humans or structures in sight. 

The visuals are stunning, and, combined with the moving Philip Glass score, Koyaanisqatsi is a riveting exercise in filmmaking.  It is a film that needs to be seen on a big screen, in a quiet venue, with compatible company.

A treasure.

Unrated

St. Vincent (2014)

8.5 Popcorn boxes

Vincent MacKenna (Bill Murray) is a broken down older man who lives alone in Brooklyn.  He's pretty dysfunctional, drinking heavily and smoking to excess.  He also gambles, and as a result owes some unsavory characters money.  His fortunes change when a single mother, Maggie Bronstein (Melissa McCarthy) and her 12-year-old son Oliver (Jaeden Lieberher) move into the house next door.  Maggie works irregular hours and hires Vincent to watch the boy.

This may not be the best of ideas, given Vincent's profligate ways and the unsavory company he keeps, but Oliver soon bonds with Vincent, who is able to pass on a lifetime of knowledge to the boy, in some cases of dubious value.

Ths is Bill Murray's film, and he makes the most of it. It's quite funny, and though it has some dramatic moments included, I'd classify it as a comedy.  I laughed throughout.

If you're a Murray fan as I am, don't miss this one!

Rated PG-13

Paranormal Activity (2009)

9.0 Popcorn boxes

This film is famous for giving probably the best return on investment of any film ever made.  Reportedly costing $15,000 to make, it's earned about $200 million world-wide to date.  It's a fantastic example of how a well-executed, small budget film can be a powerful (and scary) success.

Presented as 'found footage', Paranormal Activity chronicles a couple and their efforts to track supposed supernatural goings-on in a woman's San Diego apartment.  Micah and Katie notice some strange occurrences in the apartment, so they set up a video camera to record anything that happens in the apartment when they're away, and after they go to sleep.  What they discover is beyond their expectations.

I am not one scared by horror films, but this truly unsettled me.  I watched it late at night, alone.  Near the end of the film, something crashed in the kitchen.  Not a good thing to happen during this film, which builds and builds until an unexpected conclusion.

Written, produced, photographed and directed by Oren Peli, who presumably is one fat cat movie guy at this point. 

Rated R for language

Beautiful Boy (2011)

7.5 Popcorn boxes

Bill (Michael Sheen) and Kate (Maria Bello) have just sent their son off to college, but it's not healed the discord in their marriage.  Son Sam (Kyle Gallner) is hard to get in touch with, but Kate finally does via the computer.  She doesn't realize it, but Sam is deeply troubled.  Bill barely acknowledges his own son.

They subsequently hear the television news that there's been a shooting at Sam's college.  They are worried, and go home.  Soon, the police come to their door to tell them that not only is their son is dead, but he's the killer responsible for the shooting.

The film depicts all the modern events that accompany tragic news such as this; the media hounding them, making them prisoners in their own home, well-meaning friends that question what led up to the tragedy, and strangers who feel the parents are responsible.

It's an interesting premise, and fairly well carried off, but really, other than shock and dismay among all concerned, what else can the film convey?  The main strength of the film is to put us in the shoes of the family.  It asks the question, what would you do, how would you feel?

Rated R for theme, language, and some sexuality

The Impossible (2012)

7.5 Popcorn boxes

The historic tsunami that struck Southeast Asia on the day after Christmas in 2004 is chronicled in this film, which personalizes the event through the eyes of one family, the Bennetts (changed from the actual Spanish names, to give a more universal appeal).  Henry (Ewen McGregor), his wife Maria (Naomi Watts) and their three boys have travelled to Thailand for a Christmas holiday, staying at a resort on the Indian Ocean.  They have settled in, and are enjoying the start of their holiday when, at 10:25 am, a tsunami triggered by a massive earthquake inundated their resort and miles of the surrounding coastline.  The family is immediately broken apart, and scattered, although Maria and her son Lucas survive the devastation together, and are rescued by local Thais, and brought, eventually, to a hospital.  Maria is seriously hurt, but Lucas suffered only minor injuries.  The film focuses on the efforts of Maria and the rest of the family to survive and regroup amidst the terror and confusion of the horrific calamity.

 It's a compelling tale, and gives us an inside look at a disaster and the aftermath.  There is much doubt throughout the film as to the outcome of each character, and the film is sensitive and insightful regarding the logistics of getting aid to victims, the role of the local population in handling the difficulties of managing the fates not only of their own people, but the thousands of visitors who, in many cases, spoke not one word of Thai.

The film is effective and touching.  Most people seemed to be doing the best they could under the circumstances, and the rescue effort seemed remarkably free of the selfishness and price gouging that might be expected elsewhere (not that that didn't happen, but it's not seen here).

Special note must be made of the special effects duplicating the actual tsunami.  It wasn't an easy task to relate the effects of billions and billions of gallons of seawater had on the low-lying land, but they did a very good job here, on a fairly limited budget.

The film was directed by Antonio Bayona, and based on the esperience of Maria Belon.

The film is rated PG-13 for somewhat graphic scenes of disaster victims and brief nudity

Desert Hearts (1985)

6.5 Popcorn boxes

This film has been in my film collection for years; I finally got around to watching it.

It's billed as a ground-breaking film that seeks to show a lesbian relationship that doesn't end in suicide, madness, or a sudden conversion to heterosexuality.  Despite its legendary status among gays and lesbians, 'Desert Hearts' in an uneven film.

Vivian Bell (Helen Shaver) is a Columbia English professor who travels to Reno, Nevada, to establish the six week residency necessary in the 1950s to achieve a 'quickie' divorce.  She stays at a 'divorce dude ranch' to wait out her six weeks.  The ranch is run by Francis Parker, a lonely widow, who tries to support the ranch outside of Reno by taking in borders such as Bell.

Also living at the ranch is a change girl, Cay Rivvers (the very lovely Patricia Charbonneau).  Cay is introduced to Vivian in a stunning car scene, in which the car Cay is driving, goes in reverse at high speed to match Vivian and Francis' car.  Later, as Vivian settles in her temporary home, She encounters the unconventional Cay in more relaxed settings.  Cay is attracted to Vivian from the start, but Vivian doesn't reciprocate.  Later, Vivian begins to change her mind, and, tentatively responds to Cay's overtures.

First the good points: the film is lushly photographed.  High desert such as the area around Reno can be quite beautiful, and it's on high display here.  The period cars (the film is set in 1959) are fantastic.  The soundtrack is a high point, relating time-appropriate music.  The two leads are beautiful, well-costumed, and know their lines.

The bad points: the story is stilted, as is the acting.  The film is curiously emotionless. Shaver is only somewhat believable as she softens her tone to Cay Rivvers.  For herself, Charbonneu doesn't fully inhabit her role.  Audra Lindley is not very believable as Parker.  She's stiff and a bit wooden in her performance.  You never know if she's got a sexual desire for Cay, or just wants companionship.  Even the ending is unsatisfying.

Rated R for graphic sexual scenes.