Parkland 2013

Only reviewing because its a Kennedy Assassination movie and its the eve of the fifth anniversary. I saw JFK and this movie is no JFK. Its an apology piece for the Warren Commission. Its boring.

1/2 Star

The East (2013)

This move is a collaboration between  director Zal Batmanglij and Writer/producer and Star Brit Marling. Both are on a trajectory to be huge stars.  The East is an Eco terrorism group lead by Eric from True Blood. Ellen Page is also a member of the gang. Sarah a deep cover operative from a very tony private security firm infiltrates the group. Of course she discovers she is in way to deep.
The movie is very preachy but in a good hearted way. There last ten minutes is full of great twists and turns.  It got a well deserved 75% from Rotten Tomatoes, the box office was disappointing at less than $3 million, but hopefully it does well in DVD. Well worth the rental or purchase.

Three point six stars

White House Down

Its a movie by Roland Emmerich of Independence Day fame. He also did Stargate, The Patriot, 2012 and The Day after Tomorrow. This is one of his best.  WHD stars Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx, two actors who I am generally lukewarm on.  Tatum takes on the Bruce Willis role in this Die Hard formula flick and Jamie plays a very Obama like president. What really grabbed me about this movie is how prescient it was about today's headlines. White House Down rocks. I have one little quibble about the basement tunnels and when you see the movie I am sure you will agree. White House Down had the misfortune to come out a few weeks after the very similar but not nearly as good Olympus has Fallen. Rotten Tomatoes piled on giving it only 50%, I say its at least 50% better than that. I strongly recommend this movie.

Three point seven five Stars

The Raid: Redemption (2012)

Its an Indonesian movie but the plot could be a domestic  A SWAT team raids a gangs holdout and gets more than they bargained for. The story is very close to Dredd, and I would be surprised if there were not some copyright infringement by the Dredd creators.
For a foreign film to break through the chatter and have success in North America is rare, those with subtitles jump over a higher bar. The Raid succeeds because its speaks a universal language of highly stylized violence and action. The cover of my DVD says " one minute of romance and 99 minutes of non-stop carnage"  At least half a dozen minutes of that Yayan Ruhian play MAD DOG in some very intense Pencak Silat martial arts fights to the death. He would make a wonderful villain in any movie, and I really hated his character in this one. Rotten Tomates gave it 85% and for a movie that cost about a million to make made $4Mill box office in the USA alone. If action films are your genre this is a sure thing.

Three point eight stars

Fast and Furious 6 (2013)

Movie begins with Fast and Furious crew enjoying retirement and living large off the loot from Fast and Furious 5. Of course they are recruited by The Rock to take on a doppelganger of ex military. Michelle Rodriquez who was missing from 5 reappears as Letty, except this time she is working for the bad guys. Will Dom rescue her? Gina Carano continues to impress me as an action star. Her fight scenes are so authentic. Overall I liked 5 better, but the action sequences in this are as good as it gets. If you liked 1 and 5 this is right up your alley. Rotten Tomatoes gave is 69% and that's about where I would place it. It did $238 million domestic, not bad for a franchise I would put not far ahead of Transformers for lightness.Be sure to watch the credits because FF7 is previewed and Justin Statham will be in it.

Three point one Stars

The Iceman (2013)

A movie based upon the 100 plus kills of the hitman/serial killer Richard Kuklinski. The main weakness of the film belongs to director Ariel Vromen. The storytelling gets a little disjointed and it might have been better if they followed the true story more carefully. However I would watch a movie only knowing that he was the director. Micheal Shannon who fans of Boardwalk Empire will recognize, makes a very convincing hit-man. Ray Liotta who I like in everything is a mob boss. David Schwimmer has a nice bit role as a screw up. A barely recognizable  Winnona Ryder has the role of Kuklinski's naive wife. I loved the cinematography, it looked like  I remember the colors of the 70's. Rotten Tomatoes gave it 67% and I would not argue. It was a total bomb at the box office not even $2 million domestic and about the same international. Still for the summer of 2013 one of the better movies out there.

Three Stars

World War Z (2013)

Fundamentally it is a very good movie. There is constant suspense that had me squirming from beginning to end. Marc Forster has made some great movies like Quantum of Silence and the Kite Runner, this may be his best work to date. The effects creating waves of maniacal zombies are fantastic. I am not saying she was terrible but I did not like Mirelle Enos playing the wife to Brad Pitt. I did not like the children either, I found all three really annoying. The Zombies are fast movers, even faster than the 28 days later, and super-strong like the I am legend Zombies. From the time a human is bit until they turn is only 15 sec. I found this prototype of Zombie a little bit of blasphemy. Rotten Tomatoes gave is 67% I would have it close to 80. The movie cost $190 million and brought in $200 domestic. So hopefully the trilogy will be completed. Not as good as 28 day/weeks but better than I am Legend.

Four Stars