Labor Day (2013)
Escaped convict Frank Chambers (Josh Brolin) takes refuge in the home of single mom Adele Wheeler (Kate Winslet), holding her and her son Henry hostage as he recovers from his injuries.
Frank is inevitably caught, but not before teaching Henry how to cook and falling in love with Adele, a horrible mother who values her own desire for romance and adventure over the well-being of her son.
Rose, Clementine, Sarah Pierce, April Wheeler. Winslet specializes in lonely women suffering existential crises emanating from powerlessness in their most important relationships.
Smarter people than me have belabored the point, but Josh Brolin is a younger Tommy Lee Jones, gruff and humorless with a subtle twinkle to let us know he’s in on the joke.
It’s fun to see James Van Der Beek in a small role as Officer Treadwell, but it’s a distracting reminder of the glory of Dawson’s Creek.
Always a solid background player, Clark Gregg excels as Gerald, Adele’s ex-husband, and JK Simmons demonstrates once again why he’s in the supporting actor Hall of Fame as Mr. Jervis.
Jason Reitman, son of successful director Ivan Reitman, is a capable director. Juno (2007), Up in the Air (2009), and Young Adult (2011) are very good movies, but this is not. It’s a dull story about boring characters which ends predictably.
Scary Movie 5 (2013)
Calling this pastiche of popular culture landmarks a parody seems generous.
This is a low point in the career of Molly Shannon, Darrell Hammond, Heather Locklear, and Jerry O’Connell.
Remember when Charlie Sheen was an actor and not a punch line?
Remember when Lindsay Lohan was not the poster child for the corrupting power of Hollywood?
Tyler Posey’s work as Scott McCall is more enjoyable and sophisticated than anything he does here.
Even though I watched the movie, I’m not sure what Snoop Dogg and Usher were doing.
Mike Tyson struck gold with The Hangover (2009), but could not replicate his success here.
I suppose if you liked the first four entries, you’d be inclined to watch this. I’d advise against such torture, but to each their own.
Getaway (2013)
When former racecar driver Brent Magna (Ethan Hawke) comes home to find his wife missing and his house ransacked, a mysterious Voice (Jon Voight) calls demanding he participate in a series of robberies or his wife will die.
For some never explained reason, Magna winds up with a sidekick, The Kid (Selena Gomez).
I like Ethan Hawke. He’s been in some of my favorite films, but this is a serious misstep.
If Selena Gomez has designs on a respectable acting career, she might want to attach herself to respectable projects.
Jon Voight won an Academy Award for Coming Home. Sadly, Oscars don’t come with stipends. This is not the worst film of Voight’s late career, but it’s in the running.
This spiritual successor to Speed (1994) is a frustrating waste of time and talent.
The Old Man and the Sea (1958)
I enjoyed Hemingway’s novel; John Sturges is a competent director of machismo classics including Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957), The Magnificent Seven (1960), and The Great Escape (1963); I’m a huge fan of Spencer Tracy.
All of this translated into a wonderful film about a stubborn man’s dogged determination: a paean to perseverance.