Kidnap

First Hit:  This movie was well paced and kept me fully engaged.

I was somewhat skeptical walking into this film because I knew nothing about it. I quickly got up to speed because it doesn't waste much time jumping into the story. In just a few words it is about what a mother, Karla (Halle Berry), will do to locate and take back her kidnapped son Frankie (Sage Correa).

Karla is divorcing and her, soon to be, ex-husband sends her a legal notice stating he wants primary custody of their son mostly because he’s financially well-off and can give their boy the very best. Deeply hurt, Karla takes Frankie to a park to enjoy the day together. Getting a phone call, she steps away from her son to better hear the caller.

When she turns back towards her son, he is gone. Frantically searching the nearby area and parking lot, she sees Frankie being pulled and pushed into a car. She  screams and starts running towards the kidnapper's car. Along the way she drops her mobile phone which puts her at a disadvantage because she cannot call the police. Getting into her van, she begins to chase after the kidnapper's car.

Here is where the film gets intense. The car chase scene, which takes up about half the film, is intense, filled with suspense and makes you question, what would you do. There is no question about what Karla is going to do and as an audience member, I suggest that you sit back and enjoy the ride.

The film editing is wonderful. The choreography of the automobiles on the highways is engaging and clearly well thought-out.

Berry is really strong in this film. I fully bought her character and it is clear she's capable of carrying this entire film. She does this extremely well. Correa is good in his small role. Chris McGinn (as Margo) is sufficiently mean and perfect as the in-charge kidnapper. Lew Temple is good as Terry, the subservient kidnapper to Margo. Knate Lee wrote a strong action script. Luis Prieto did a wonderful job of making excitement last throughout this film.

Overall:  This film may not get the audience it deserves but the people who see it will be very entertained.

Detroit

First Hit:  Extremely powerful film about racial injustice in the city of Detroit in 1967.

Kathryn Bigelow has a history of taking on difficult powerful subjects and bringing them to life. She is a master director. Her filmography continues to get stronger and stronger. From her Blue Steel and Point Break days to The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty and now, Detroit.

I feel fortunate that, once again, in the matter of a few short weeks I’ve been able to see films where the focus is the story and not particular characters. And what makes this film even better is that although it takes place in 1967 it reflects the targeting of blacks today by law enforcement.

To do this Bigelow seamlessly incorporates actual 1967 film footage and stills into her vision of this story. We follow several black characters who end up being innocently targeted by law enforcement for being at a particular place, at a particular time, and because of the color of their skin.

The script was developed from court transcripts and proceedings, interviews of some survivors and an honest interpretation by the writer. The focus is the murder of three black men and the beatings of seven other black men and two white women by the Detroit Police Department and tacitly condoned by US National Guard. This incident took place at the Algiers Motel, in Detroit during the 12th Street Riots. They victims had gone to the hotel to hide out and stay off the streets because there was a curfew and people couldn’t get home.

One of the guests at the motel shoots a toy pistol, which is mistaken by the police and National Guard as sniper fire. In rushing the motel’s building the police drag these motel guests down to the bottom floor and begin interrogating them to discover where the gun was and who shot the gun. Despite killing the person who shot the never found toy gun, the police used extreme tactics to scare the other guests. They systematically pulled people into rooms threatening to shoot them if they didn't have answers to their questions. They also mercilessly beat each person.

In doing so, they killed another two. For hours they continued to beat each of the suspects to get them to talk. Finally, the police decided they need to leave. To cover their tracks, they threaten each of the remaining suspects, that if they were ever to speak of this event again, they will die.

Eventually, this event and the officers are brought to trial and the all-white jury exonerates the three guilty police officers. Sound familiar?

John Boyega (as Dismukes) is amazing as the black private security officer that attempts to be the peacemaker and mediator between the cops and guests. Boyega is great at hinting, what appears to be, regret that he didn’t do more to help his fellow brothers. Will Poulter (as Officer Krauss) did a wonderful job being everyone’s nightmare. It was not an enviable role but as the racist officer he made the hate real. Algee Smith and Jacob Latimore (as friends and bandmates Larry and Fred respectively) were fantastic as their dreams were taken from them that night. Hannah Murray and Kaitlyn Dever (as Julie and Karen respectively were the beaten white women) were wonderful. They really made their roles standout with honesty. Anthony Mackie as Greene the Vietnam vet who got caught up in the motel was perfect. Mark Boal wrote a fantastic Oscar worthy script. Bigelow, as I previously said, is clearly one of the strongest directors of our time. Her clarity of vision and storytelling is amazing.

Overall:  I recall reading and seeing television news stories about these events when they happened, but only until I saw this film, did I understand the horror.

The Dark Tower

First Hit:  Story lacked punch and was not compelling. Having seen “An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power” and witnessing the real life demise of our planet, followed by watching a film where the falling of some tower in some unknown place will destroy the world seemed silly.

In addition, two of the three main characters were either miscast or poorly directed. The Man In Black (Matthew McConaughey) looked like he step right out of his Ford Lincoln Continental commercial and into this role. Both his attitude and look said this every time he came on the screen.

On the other hand, the guy saving all the worlds from The Man In Black, Roland Deschain aka The Gunslinger (Idris Elba) seemed to carry the energy that I would have contributed to the man trying to destroy the worlds.

The third character Jake Chambers (Tom Taylor) was the only one of these three that kept true to his role, a young boy, with dreams that foresaw the pending calamity if something isn’t done.

However, gathering up and shooting bright smart children’s energy at the Dark Tower to collapse it, seemed dumb to me. Although I know this story comes from a series of well-read and popular books, how it plays out in this film attempts to make everyone’s imagination and internal interpretation the same. And this interpretation lacked soul and was not compelling.

In essence, since Jake’s father died in a fire, protecting and saving others, Jake’s has dreams of the children being harvested, The Man In Black using them to collapse the tower and world. He also dreams about The Gunslinger who is, alone, trying to save the world.

The physical world is supporting his dreams because each time a child’s energy is shot at the dark tower an earthquake happens on earth and he feels it.

In the waking hours Jake draws his dreams and although psychologists keep telling him their “only dreams”, Jake is convinced it’s all real. When The Man In Black sends his earthly New York agent Sayre (Jackie Earle Haley) to collect young Jake, he escapes and finds himself going through a portal where he meets The Gunslinger.

McConaughey is just too slick, smarmy, and straight out of a high end commercial to make this role work. Elba is good, however I’m not sure he needed to be so dark spirited in this role. It was almost like he and McConaughey could have switched roles. Taylor was very good and I thought he did a great job of being both strong and naive. Haley is always strong in his roles and here is no exception. He gives it his all. Katheryn Winnick as Jake’s mother was good but I’m not sure it is believable that she would send Jake away. Akiva Goldsman and Jeff Pinkner wrote the screenplay, which I didn’t find very compelling. Nikolaj Arcel was the director and as I’ve previously stated I didn’t think the film worked very well.

Overall: I have heard that this was supposed to be the first in a series of films based on these books, I’d recommend that they re-think this strategy.

An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power

First Hit:  Powerful sequel about the environmental demise of our planet.

Ten years ago, Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” was a powerful statement about what is happening to our planet. This follow-up film states this truth more clearly, emphatically, and provides additional data that our planet is suffering from global warming.

It also shows what many are doing to fight this battle. From the Paris Accord, to what other countries and cities are doing on their own. The film also shows how our new President said, in so many words, he doesn’t care about the planet. One example is that he feeds his immediate ego by being a savior to the coal industry. The problem is saving this industry supports killing our planet sooner. It is sad that money becomes the common denominator by which things do or don’t change. What about changing because it's the right thing to do.

Al Gore makes this point many times over and by using his intelligence and negotiation skills, he shows how to balance economics and solving the global warming problem. Fixing the global warming problem can be economically good.

The evidence is clear. When I read about these overt and obvious changes in our environment in the daily newspaper, I am no longer shocked about the stories of flooding, fires, drought, and rising sea levels (take heed Miami). Our planet is in trouble and we don’t do something about it, my grandchildren may not be able to have children, because there won’t be a planet to raise them on.

Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk co-directed this powerful, poignant, and persuasive film. Al Gore was very engaging because he is fully engaged.

Overall:  This film is a strong warning to all of us.

A Ghost Story

First Hit:  Long languished scenes and little dialogue lead to waiting, just like the ghost.

Do not expect to be led into and through this film. The audience must work and carefully watch this film to be able to understand it and I use "understand" very loosely. The basis of this film is to explore love, loss and existence beyond the physical realm.

C (Casey Affleck) and M (Rooney Mara) are talking about moving from this simple home in suburban America. Then, as they sleep, they hear a bang on the piano in the living room. They explore and find nothing.

C is killed near the home in an automobile accident. M goes to the hospital looks at C lying on the table and pull the sheet up over his head. In what seems like an eternity, after she has left the morgue, the camera focuses on the body lying on the gurney. Then C sits up and gets off the gurney with the sheet over his entire body. When faced with a opening in a wall to walk into the light, the ghost C, turns left and walks down the hall.

Walking in his home, C stands there and watches M live her life, alone, and sad. There is a scene where a neighbor brings a pie over to M’s house and leaves it on the table. M comes home and ends up sitting on the floor of the kitchen, back against the sink cabinet and practically eats the entire pie, runs to the bathroom and throws up. This is a very telling and powerful scene.

The minimal dialogue adds to both the intrigue and patience forcing. At one point M moves away from the home and C is left there alone. He tries to get a small note M has stuffed into the door jamb but because he’s a ghost, he can barely make a more on the door jamb’s paint. Wandering into the bedroom, C looks across at another house and sees another ghost wearing a patterned sheet. They wave and communicate by telepathy, the words appearing as sub-titles on the bottom of the screen. Other people come and go living in the house while he’s still present.

They the film shifts time and takes us both into the future of the land where his home stands and the goes into past of the same land. The ghost simply stands on the property in these time shifts.

Eventually hes witnesses and watches when he and M come to live in the house for the first time. Here is where we see the first smiles from both C and M. It was a reflection of their happier times together. The rest of the film is about re-seeing the beginning of the story again but from a different view.

Affleck is difficult to review because he spends 97% of the film under the sheet. I can imagine that it wasn’t an easy part to fulfill, but it does work. Mara is, as always, an enigma. She is fantastic at being haunting and creating the sense that you want to know what is going on inside of her. She gives few signals but they are the right signals. David Lowery both wrote and directed this effort. I sense he has a lot to share about the flow of life, life after death, and evolution of life and this was a reasonable effort at sharing these ideas.

Overall:  If you go see this film, be patient and you may end up learning something about yourself and how you think about life.