Matthew Liedke

Non-Stop review

Director:
Jaume Collet-Serra
Cast:
Liam Neeson
Julianne Moore
Michelle Dockery
Rated: PG-13
Trailer

If Liam Neeson keeps making movies like this he will have a bigger action library than anyone in “The Expendables.”

“Non-Stop” follows the story of Bill Marks (Neeson), a United States Air Marshall who has a drinking problem. As he boards a flight that will go over the Atlantic Ocean, everything seems like “another day at the office,” that is until he starts receiving mysterious text messages from someone making threats.

As the flight reaches higher altitudes, the texts continue, and the culprit threatens to kill a passenger every 20 minutes. From that point on it’s up to Bill to try and stop the threat, however, as time goes on the suspect makes it seem like Bill himself is trying to hijack the plane.

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February 2014 Mini Reviews

RoboCop – 2 out of 5
The remake of the 80s remake was just OK. For an action movie with a sci-fi element, it’s not bad, but it lacks the over-the-topness and R rating that made the first one such a fun flick. On top of that, the movie spent a little too much time on the main character training and not enough time on the streets of Detroit. The movie did get a good boost from the acting of Michael Keaton, Gary Oldman and Jackie Earle Haley, though. Plus, Samuel L. Jackson added a fun element.

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January 2014 Mini Reviews

Devil’s Due – 0.5 out of 5
Probably the laziest and an early candidate for worst movie of 2014. Every bit of so called horror this movie tries to shove in your face has been seen before in the “Paranormal Activity” series. On top of that, the plot just stumbles along without ever really having a structure making for a confusing story that in the end never really goes anywhere. On top of that, the performances were terrible.

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Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit review

January is probably the worst time to be a film critic. Sure, the award ceremonies are fun, but almost without exception, the movies are just terrible. I’m looking at you “Devil’s Due.”

Fortunately, though, Hollywood just released, “Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit,” last month and it turned out better than expected.

Directed by Kenneth Branagh, who also stars, the film follows the title character.

Jack Ryan, played by Chris Pine, is a former marine who now works as an analyst for the Central Intelligence Agency. While analyzing financial reports with Russia, Ryan notices an irregularity and the CIA, namely his superior Thomas, played by Kevin Costner, sends him to Moscow to investigate.

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Top 10 Best Movies of 2013

Honorable mentions:
Before Midnight
Lone Survivor
Gravity
Monsters University
The Conjuring
The World’s End
This is the End
Pacific Rim
Man of Steel

10. “The Wolf of Wall Street”
Martin Scorsese’s latest movie was not without its flaws. The film went on a tad too long, coming in at a full three hours, and it could have used some focus on other characters. Still, this was a really well made film by Scorsese and the performances by both Leonardo DiCaprio and Jonah Hill were fantastic.

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Inside Llewyn Davis review

Director:
Ethan Coen
Joel Coen
Cast:
Oscar Isaac
Carey Mulligan
Justin Timberlake
John Goodman
Rated: R
Trailer

I can’t say that I’m the biggest folk music fan out there, but I wouldn’t mind having the soundtrack to this flick.

“Inside Llewyn Davis” is a film that explores the title character during a week of his life. Davis is a young folk singer living in New York City in the early 1960s and survives by playing at gigs and staying at the homes of his friends. At the same time, he continues to try and get his solo album produced and on shelves to make a living.

Throughout the film, Davis’ life is on full display. On top of his work in the music industry, the movie also examines his relationships, friendships, people he relies on and the overall circular life that he lives.

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August: Osage County review

Director:
John Wells
Cast:
Meryl Streep
Julia Roberts
Chris Cooper
Ewan McGregor
Juliette Lewis
Julianne Nicholson
Rated: R
Trailer

This movie had more family drama than five Jerry Springer episodes.

“August: Osage County” follows a family living in rural Oklahoma that isn’t on the best terms with each other. After a tragedy occurs, the family gathers at the home of now widow Violet Weston (Streep). Violet’s three daughters, which includes Barbara (Roberts), Ivy (Nicholson) and Karen (Lewis) all arrive bringing their own problems, as do other family members.

Over the next few days that pass by in the film’s runtime, multiple fights and arguments break out and light is shed on various secrets that all of the family members hold. In simple terms, chaos ensues.

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REVIEW: ‘Her’

Director:
Spike Jonze
Cast:
Joaquin Phoenix
Rooney Mara
Amy Adams
Scarlett Johansson
Rated: R

Good science fiction is all about creating a world that is different or perhaps farther in the future than our own, yet still is able to make strong social statement about our society and keeping it centered around a well structured story. “Her” manages to capture all of this and is the reason it’s one of 2013’s best.

The film follows a the character Theodore (Phoenix), who is in the going through the final stages of a painful divorce and now finds himself all alone. On one of the days that he is on his way home from work, Theodore finds out that a new operating system with fully functioning A.I. has been put out on the market.

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Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom review

“Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom” turns out to be a very long movie as it encompasses a huge portion of the political figure’s life.

The movie begins with Nelson Mandela, played by Idris Elba, as a young attorney and follows his path to becoming an idealist and eventually a revolutionary leader. The movie also chronicles his personal life, including his marriage to Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, who was played by Naomie Harris.

Eventually, the movie also goes into detail about the 27 years Mandela spent in prison which was followed by his election as president of South Africa.

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Top 10 Worst Movies of 2013

10. 47 Ronin
Well, before coming to an end, 2013 just had to shove in one last bad movie. “47 Ronin” was a poor excuse for a fantasy samurai adventure movie. The acting was bland, the characters weren’t worth rooting for and the movie played itself way to seriously for taking a more fantasy approach to a really interesting Japanese legend. It’s a shame because the story the movie is based on could make for a great picture.

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