Author: Matthew Liedke

Journalist and film critic in Minnesota. Graduate of Rainy River College and Minnesota State University in Moorhead. Outside of movies I also enjoy sports, craft beers and the occasional video game.

REVIEW: ‘Pan’

Director:
Joe Wright
Cast:
Hugh Jackman
Levi Miller
Garrett Hedlund
Rooney Mara
Rated: PG

In the latest adaption of the story featuring a boy who never grows up, Levi Miller is tasked with playing the legendary character Peter Pan. In “Pan,” Peter starts off his journey growing up in an orphanage with less than stellar conditions making up his surroundings.

It all changes, though, when he is whisked away by a group of pirates who are kidnapping orphans.

The pirates, who operate massive flying ships, bring Peter to Neverland and that’s where he comes to meet Blackbeard (Jackman), the leader of the bandits who is using kidnapped orphans to dig for the precious commodity, crystallized fairy dust. Peter decides to get away from the whole situation and does so with the help of a young man named Hook (Hedlund).

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The Walk review

Director:
Robert Zemeckis
Cast:
Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Ben Kingsley
Charlotte Le Bon
Cesar Domboy
James Badge Dale
Rated: PG

“The Walk” follows the true story of French high wire artist Philippe Petit (Gordon-Levitt) who attempted a crossing between the twin towers of the World Trade Center in the 1970s. The film begins with Petit’s childhood and explores how he discovered his passion for wire walking, when he realized his dream of walking across the iconic New York City buildings and what he needed to do in order to make it all happen.

Along the way, the movie introduces accomplices to Petit who assist in sneaking their way through the then under construction towers and setting up the high rise wires.

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Sicario review

Director:
Denis Villeneuve
Cast:
Emily Blunt
Benicio Del Toro
Josh Brolin
Victor Garber
Rated: R

“Sicario” is directed by Denis Villeneuve, who helmed my favorite picture of 2013 “Prisoners.” The director returns for another dark film with “Sicario,” which follows an FBI agent named Kate Macer (Blunt) who joins up with an elite government task force to fight the drug war on the southern U.S. border.

Kate quickly finds out that the team, led by agent Matt Graver (Brolin) and an expert hired by the government named Alejandro (Del Toro) don’t exactly operate within all the boundaries of the law.

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The Martian review

Director
Ridley Scott
Cast:
Matt Damon
Jessica Chastain
Jeff Daniels
Kristen Wiig
Sean Bean
Rated: PG-13

Matt Damon plays Mark Watney in “The Martian,” an astronaut who is part of an expedition on Mars which includes a couple of other researchers. The film opens with the exploration of the red planet going relatively smoothly, however, when a storm comes along, things go south.

During an escape to return to Earth, all of the astronauts make it to the ship to get back home, except for Mark, who gets stranded by himself on the deserted world. It’s now up to Mark to figure out a way to survive and up to NASA to find a way to get him back home.

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Hotel Transylvania 2 review

Director:
Genndy Tartakovsky
Cast:
Adam Sandler
Andy Samberg
Selena Gomez
Kevin James
Rated: PG

“Hotel Transylvania 2” picks up a few years after the first movie finished. Jonathan (Samberg) and the vampire Mavis (Gomez) are married and both live and work at the hotel run by Dracula (Sandler). As the movie goes on. Jonathan and Mavis have a son named Dennis. While the young couple are thrilled, the fact that Dennis doesn’t show any qualities of being a vampire concerns Dracula.

To help the situation, Dracula and his friends Frankenstein (James), Wayne the Werewolf (Buscemi), Griffin the invisible man (Spade) and Murray the mummy (Keegan-Michael Key), team up to teach the young kid how to be a monster.

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The Intern review

Director:
Nancy Meyers
Cast:
Robert De Niro
Anne Hathaway
Anders Holm
Rated: PG-13

In “The Intern,” Robert De Niro plays Ben, a senior citizen and widower who has become a bit bored in his retirement. He’s taken up hobbies and traveled to other countries, but still feels like there’s more to do. The movie picks up when Ben comes across an ad marketing an intern program for seniors at an online clothes store.

Despite not having much experience with today’s technology or the newest fashion trends, Ben throws his hat in the ring and gets picked up as a new intern at the business. While there, he is tasked with being an assistant to the company’s owner Jules, played by Anne Hathaway. Jules is a bit difficult to work with, though, as she’s under pressure to make a decision regarding hiring a CEO for the company.

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Everest review

Director:
Baltasar Kormakur
Cast:
Jason Clarke
Josh Brolin
Jake Gyllenhaal
Sam Worthington
Rated: PG-13

“Everest” tells the true story of a group of mountain climbers who were caught in a severe storm while trying to reach the summit. The film centers on the real-life climber and guide Rob Hall, played by Jason Clarke, who led a group on the mountain in the mid-1990s.

Other true to life characters in the film are portrayed by Josh Brolin, Jake Gyllenhaal, John Hawkes and Sam Worthington. The film follows these characters as they prepare for the climb and the eventual storm that arrives when they take on the endeavor.

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Black Mass review

Director:
Scott Cooper
Cast:
Johnny Depp
Joel Edgerton
Benedict Cumberbatch
Kevin Bacon
Peter Sarsgaard
Rated: R

Johnny Depp plays real life gangster James “Whitey” Bulger in “Black Mass,” the latest film from Director Scott Cooper. The film starts in the mid-1970s and focuses on Bulger as a powerful crime lord in Boston and an FBI informant.

The film is told through flashbacks from the perspective of multiple true-to-life characters who are being interrogated by law enforcement.

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The Visit review

Director:
M. Night Shyamalan
Cast:
Olivia DeJonge
Ex Oxenbould
Deanna Dunagan
Peter McRobbie
Kathryn Hahn
Rated: PG-13

In “The Visit,” a pair of siblings named Becca (DeJonge) and Tyler (Oxenbould) are sent by their mother (Hahn) to visit their grandparents they’ve never met. While doing so, Becca decides to film the visit to create a documentary. Upon meeting the two grandparents, played by Deanna Dunagan and Peter McRobbie, the brother and sister find them to be nice and welcoming.

This begins to change, though, when the grandparents begin exhibiting odd behavior and eventually start acting somewhat threatening.

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