A Walk Among the Tombstones

First Hit:  Neeson is really good in an OK film.

Even when he’s given a poorly conceived script, Liam Neeson brings the quality of any film up. Take the last film I saw him in, “Non-Stop”, it was truly a mediocre script, but he made it better.

Here he does the same, although this script is better and overall it's a much better film than “Non-Stop”. As a former police officer who accidentally kills a young girl in a shootout after he’d been drinking, he gives up the drink and law enforcement. When we are re-introduced to Matt Scudder (Neeson’s character), we see he's a changed man, he does AA meetings and does unlicensed PI work on the side.

The story begins when he’s asked to find the killers of a drug dealer’s wife even though the husband paid the kidnappers $400,000 in ransom money. Will he take the job? Yes. At times the scenes of NYC are stunningly shot.

The grit, yet livability of the spaces and streets are true to form and add to the film’s story-line and feel. Scudder meets TJ (Astro) a homeless sickle cell stricken young man who ends up becoming an “associate” that helps him find and apprehend the culprits. Ray and Albert (David Harbour and Adam David Thompson respectively) are two really sick guys that kidnap, kill and maim their young female victims. Their mode is to hit on drug dealers who will have lots of cash on hand, have meaningful women in their lives, and ask for and get a ransom.

However they are sick guys who also just want to maim beautiful women, and paying the ransom won’t return them to their loved ones. I found myself wondering more about the interaction between these two guys because they were sick and odd. This could have been explored more along with their fixation with deviant sexual practices (thrill killing) and the cutting up women.

This edge in the film hung there like a huge weight.

Neeson as is his way, kept the film edgy and believable. Astro was great as the young man wanting to be a part of something and matter in some way. The interactions with Neeson were great. Harbour and Thompson were both perfectly sick in their actions and the way they interacted with each other. Scott Frank both wrote and directed this film.

Overall:  Aspects of this film were strong yet I felt something missing and maybe it was knowing more about the kidnappers.

The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them

First Hit:  Slow, sullen, and it seemed like pieces were missing to have the film be engaging.

This film is one of three, I think. There is a “Them” meaning that there is also a “He” and a “She”. Will we ever see them? Probably not, because this one, “Them”, just didn’t have the goods to make the story interesting enough to see more.

Not that there weren't moments in this film that the dialogue wasn’t interesting, it is that the spaces between the interesting moments were few and far between. The audience finally figures out that Conor (James McAvoy) and Eleanor (Jessica Chastain) are married, had and lost a small child, and Eleanor tries to kill herself (the opening scene).

Dialogue between Professor Friedman (Viola Davis) and Eleanor were highlight moments as were a few moments of dialogue between Conor and his father Spencer (Ciaran Hinds), especially at his father's restaurant. However, most of the film was watching Eleanor’s angst without having much context as to how or why her child died or why she was so lost.

Chastain was interesting and aloof in this role. Her look was great but one cannot carry a film without giving the audience something to chew on and think about. McAvoy was better because his role did have more dialogue; however it was hampered by the overall story. Davis was great. She used the most of her small but pivotal role to get the audience engaged. Hinds was equally good in his very small role. William Hurt (as Julian Rigby) was strong as the quite inward father who tries not to preach to his daughter. His story about almost losing Eleanor in the ocean was extremely powerful. Isabelle Huppert (as Mary Rigby) was also very good and I felt she was a great choice to be Eleanor’s mother. Ned Benson both wrote and directed this film and unfortunately it seemed really long.

Overall:  This film had a point but seemed to spend its time dancing everywhere else but with an engaging story.

The Maze Runner

First Hit:  Possibilities existed but were wasted in a poorly written script with a lack of background to give the story context.

I get why the pre-teens and teenagers in the audience clapped at the end of the showing I attended. There was enough there that would appeal to a younger audience.

Young attractive actors, fighting against an unknown master, fear of the unknown, and kids their age being left to fend for themselves. There was a “Lord of the Flies” sense about it, yet where Lord focused on change and how it happens, here we have little substance and even less character development.

However, what I really struggled with was context. Even at the end when you get some context, and there wasn’t enough good information that would make me want to see the sequel (pointedly announced by the storyline). There is little information to make this story intellectually interesting and it doesn’t develop much in the way of curiosity.

There are moments where I could have been attentive but it faded away as lightweight fare with a weak script. From a filming standpoint, it also could have been more interesting by giving more in-depth views of the square area they lived in and I would have enjoyed more maze scenes where the boys were figuring out the maze.

Dylan O’Brien (as Thomas) was a reasonable main character but the script and story wasn’t there for development. Aml Ameen (as Alby) was the leader of this community because he was the first person sent to the area and as such commanded respect. He carried this load fairly well. Ki Hong Lee (as a runner) was OK, but again I think the story line was too weak to support good acting. Blake Cooper (as the youngish Chuck) was one of the better characters in the entire film – there was a realness to him that made it work. Thomas Brodie-Sangster (as Newt) was good, but again more could have been done to create a character. Will Poulter (as Gally) was the most dynamic person in the film but his role was predictable. Lastly, Kaya Scodelario (as Teresa) - the only girl, had a limited role and was OK. She brought some fun to the film at her arrival. Noah Oppenheim and Grant Pierce Myers wrote this poorly conceived and executed script. Wes Ball did a poor job of directing this poorly imagined film.

Overall:  It was bored most of the time although there were moments of interest when the maze was featured.

This Is Where I Leave You

First Hit:  Moments of brilliance with moments of negating over the top behavior.

The Altman  family gathers together because the father has died. Hillary (Jane Fonda) is the widow and her 4 children come to pay their respects to their father. She states that their father wanted the children to sit 7 days of Shiva. Reluctantly the children sit in chairs that are too low to the floor and begin the process of relating to each other again.

This could have been a more powerful story with comedy woven in, however the behavior of the adult children, especially youngest son Phillip (Adam Driver), turned me off to what could have been a more compelling story. Scenes where he turns up the baby monitor, in front of all the guests, to hear his brother and sister-in-law have sex at their father’s Shiva was tasteless.

Yes, it was supposed to be funny but it came off as insensitive. Then there were the physical fight scenes – where the brothers were in fisticuffs with each other over petty stuff – just seemed to be more than needed. However, there were also great touching scenes of both the comedic and sensitive nature.

Sister Wendy (Tina Fey) hitting her brother Judd’s (Jason Bateman) former boss Wade (Dax Shepard) because he slept with Judd’s wife was priceless. Just as was the scene of the brothers smoking the pot left in their father’s jacket while in a classroom at the Jewish temple – very funny, revealing and a true family and brotherly like moment.

Bateman was effective as the guy who has lived a very controlled precise predictable life and has had it turned upside down. His character change to someone that is willing to add a bit of complication in his life was very good. Fey was adorable as the sister among 3 very different brothers. She held her own both based on the role as well as her acting strength. Corey Stoll (as oldest brother Paul) was very good. He definitely had the older responsible, stay with the family business attitude down. Driver was good, but I didn’t like the script for him. It made him seem both dumb and ridiculous and he was really neither. Rose Byrne (Penny Moore) as Bateman’s old childhood friend was fantastic. I would have liked more of her in the film. Fonda was a hit. She really had me each time she was on the screen. I’ve loved her since the 1960’s (Cat Ballou – 1965 – where I first enjoyed her dramatic and comedic turns). Shepard was strong as the affected self-absorbed Disc Jockey. Jonathan Tropper wrote an occasionally strong and often misguided script. Shawn Levy didn’t seem to have a really clear direction as to what he wanted: Drama with great laughs or a comedy with some high-school like behavior out of adults while dealing with a serious subject.

Overall:  This film had glimpses and the possibility of being much better than it ended up being.

The Drop

First Hit:  I liked the developing twist of who really was in-charge of the neighborhood scene.

It isn’t easy to play the guy who appears to be a little slow of mind on the outside while really taking stock of everything and making sure it all works out for the best.

Tom Hardy plays Bob the bartender to his uncle’s bar. Although Cousin Marv (James Gandolfini) manages the bar he once owned, he sold it to some Chechnya tough guys who use the bar as a money drop for illicit activities.

Bob is quite, responds to situations in a measured way and isn’t rattled by threats. He happens upon a beaten and cut dog in a trash can and decides to rescue it. The trash can resides on Nadia’s (Noomi Rapace) property. Slowly they become friends around caring for the dog.

As Marv believes he can scam the new owners for one last large big score, he knows Bob will attempt to keep things on par and do what he has to do to keep clarity with a sense of purpose. Brooklyn, thugs, and a closed tight neighborhood are also stars of this film.

Some of the shots of the neighborhood and the interaction and closeness of bar patrons in “their bar” are sublime.

Hardy is brilliant. It isn’t easy to play the type of character this film calls for, while not giving away the actor's intelligence. Hardy does it in spades and makes this one of the very best performances  I’ve ever seen him give. Gandolfini was difficult to watch. The way he smoked his cigarettes belied a man who was sucking smoke to ease the hassle of living not only as a man but as the character. Life and art being one here. Although he did a good job with this character, I couldn’t help but watch him slowly dig his own grave through his unhappiness. Rapace was sublime. Her vulnerability, strength and action based on fear were perfect for the role. Dennis Lehane wrote a very strong screenplay. The direction by Michael R. Roskam for this story was very good and I liked how the brooding mood was consistently felt throughout the film.

Overall:  It was well acted and strong film.