He’s a Publicity Stuntman. He’s the…
Vidiot
Week of January 8, 2016
Black Friday Sales are really Boxing Day
Week Sales in disguise. First up…
The Visit
The scariest thing in the world to anyone
over the age of sixty is the thought of having to use their telephone.
Thankfully, the seniors in this thriller
have grandchildren to assist with voicemail.
Aspirant director Rebecca (Olivia DeJonge)
and her brother (Ed Oxenbould) urge their single mom (Kathryn Hahn) to let them
stay with their estranged grandparents (Deanna Dunagan, Peter McRobbie) while
she goes on vacation.
Over the course of their weeklong visit,
the siblings experience several strange incidents involving Nana and Pop Pop’s
behavior. As their visit concludes, their grandparents’ erratic conduct reaches
its crescendo and their true nature is revealed.
While this found-footage fairy tale is a
return to form for former wunderkind writer/director M. Night Shyamalan, its
frightful formula, however, does grow increasingly less so as the timeworn
twist-ending unravels.
Either way, this movie isn’t as scary as
listening to old people talk about other ethnicities. Yellow Light
Sicario
The biggest importers of drugs across the
Mexico/US border are seniors on fixed incomes.
But as this crime-drama depicts anything
stronger than blood-pressure medication is moved by the Mexican cartels.
Asked to join a covert CIA task force after
she uncovers a cartel graveyard on American soil, upright FBI agent Macer
(Emily Blunt) finds her ethics compromised under the direction of her unlawful
team leader Matt Graver (Josh Brolin).
Joining their manhunt for the drug lord
responsible for the corpses is the enigmatic Gillick (Benicio del Toro), who
has ulterior motives for tagging along.
Riddled with gritty performances from the
entire cast and intense gunplay throughout, this brutal depiction of the drug
war across the border, and the questionable characters involved in its
continuance, is as eye opening as it is intriguing.
Hopefully all this bloodshed will end when
Mexico finally builds a wall to keep out American law enforcement. Green Light
Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse
The scariest thing in the world to the Boy
Scouts of America is a gay man applying to be a Scout Leader.
The second scariest thing - as this horror
movie surmises - is likely the undead.
When an infected janitor (Blake Anderson)
escapes a laboratory, he contaminates the residents of a small-town, including
Scout Leader Rogers (David Koechner).
When Rogers doesn’t show for their campout,
mature Scouts Ben (Tye Sheridan) and Grant (Logan Miller) ditch their dutiful
Scout friend Augie (Joey Morgan) for a senior party.
The troubled troupe – now including a
shotgun-touting cocktail waitress (Sarah Dumont) - reunites to defeat the horde
that has descended on the celebration.
Despite its wafer thin set-up and horny
teenage boy discourse, this campy addition to the genre manages to bring some
genuine laughs and innovative zombie killing methods along.
In other news, the Boys Scouts of America
now accepts transgender zombies. Yellow
Light
The Walk
If you string rope between any two objects
in NYC it will become a clothesline in minutes.
That’s why the tightrope walker in this
drama is so secretive about his latest stunt.
Tired of busking in Paris, street performer
Philippe Petit (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) sets his sights on New York’s Twin
Towers.
With assistance from circus performer Papa
Rudy (Ben Kingsley), Petit learns proper wire set-up and the proper mindset for
the feat.
But securing the wire between the towers is
only half the battle.
Based on events from 1973, director Robert
Zemeckis attempts to make a man walking on a wire interesting - a feat he only
half accomplishes.
While the final walk is heart pounding, the
journey there not so much, thanks impart to Gordon-Levitt’s authentic but
annoying accent.
Incidentally, in New York, even on the high
wire, there’s a good chance you could be hit by a cab. Yellow Light
***Acrobat-Man***
Trapeze
The best thing about being a trapeze artist
is you’re safe when the circus elephants stampede below.
But, as this drama demonstrates, there are
plenty more dangers under the big top.
Aspirant high wire aerialist Tino Orsini
(Tony Curtis) heads off in search of an injured trapeze legend Mike Ribble
(Burt Lancaster) so that Mike can teach him the deadly triple-somersault
routine that nearly ruined him.
But Tino is not the only performer
interested in Mike’s attention as an attractive tumbler (Gina Lollobrigida)
joins the ranks and drives a jealous wedge between Tino and his mentor.
Needles to say, this love triangle begins
to affect their precarious performance.
Despite its capable male leads, exciting
backdrop and array of aerial feats, this sluggish melodrama never gets off the
ground thanks to its lacklustre script and amoral leading lady.
Furthermore, I always thought injured
circus performers were fed to the clowns.
He’s a High Wire Actor. He’s the…
Vidiot
No comments:
Post a Comment