jarthur0111 Reviews

Reacher (2022– )

An absolute blast to watch.

[10/10 · 9 February 2022]

I was familiar with the popular Jack Reacher series of novel that Lee Childs had written, but thanks to the prodigious output of Michael Connelly & his Bosch/Lincoln Lawyer/Ballard series I have never gotten around to reading them. I may start after devouring the 1st season of this show.

Alan Ritchson, who plays the title character, was a complete unknown to me like most of the rest of the outstanding cast. Wow, he make an immediate impression when you first see him. Think of The Terminator,--only taller-- without the cyborg interior. The show uses his imposing presence to maximum effect. Fortunately, he has a very dry sense of humor that barely registers because it doesn't need to have its effect (think of Michael Shannon in "The Shape of Water").

Willa Fitzgerald & Malcolm Goodwin play his main allies & give increasingly great performances as the series goes. This a very smarty written show.

It delivers the all of the action tropes you look for in this kind of show. The fights are brutal (Bourne-worthy), some of crime scene shots are very gruesome. This isn't a show for weak stomachs (but it doesn't linger on the gore either).

All in all this the most fun I've had watching a show since the 1st season Jack Ryan &, of course, all of Bosch.

Father Soldier Son (2020)

Paths of Glory?

[10/10 · 21 July 2020]

The years of work making this movie have paid off handsomely & tragically. If you were wrecked by the excellent documentary "Gleason" & fascinated by the excellent Oscar winning "The Hurt Locker" then you must watch this film. This intimate look at a military family is complex & deeply moving. It'll have your heart & your spinning.

The History of Time Travel (2014)

Clever take on a classic sci-fi trope

[9/10 · 13 July 2020]

If you like time travel stories & movies as much as I do then treat yourself to this very smartly written pic disguised as a History Channel doc. Its obvious low budget is just right for it. It has a weird vibe comic/tragic vibe about that's sets this movie apart. It never gets bogged down in it own cleverness despite getting very twisty as it hums along. Another low budget sci-fi indie, "The Vast of Night", is getting a lot of attention. That movie is very good, but this one is great. It belongs right up there another sci-fi indie from a few years ago "Safety Not Guaranteed".

Tread (2019)

"Duel" for real

[9/10 · 16 June 2020]

This news story always stuck in my mind when it was 1st reported well over a decade ago so I was intrigued to learn more about it. "Tread" tells the story of a man getting revenge on City Hall & building a marvel of a machine to exact it with. The film does a brilliant job at setting everything in motion, covering all sides of small town politics & a gifted welder driven to madness. Fortunately no one was seriously hurt during his rampage so there is nothing you have to turn your head away from while watching it. The incredible act of destruction is captured with actual news footage, photographs & some recreation. It'll give any action movie fan a rush. Do NOT let this documentary escape your attention.

Extraction (2020)

I Am Curious Yellow

[5/10 · 18 May 2020]

This is a decent a decent escapist flick with some some great action scenes. It is a heckuva lot better than that Michael Bay perfume commercial action movie "9 (something)". Hemsworth is fun to watch. My big question is: Why did they shoot or color correct this movie almost entirely in yellow & orange? It was hard to watch. Never has the color scheme of a movie take away from so much of my enjoyment as this the super hot colors that drench this movie did.

Elle (I) (2016)

Verhoeven + Huppert = subversive, 3rd rail baiting fun.

[9/10 · 19 March 2017]

Whatever you think this movie will be about it is not. Paul Verhoeven has never been better or more provocative. His past film work has often touched the 3rd rail of social norms & morality & this film practically gives it a bear hug. It is gleefully dark.

Isabelle Huppert is phenomenal as the amoral CEO of a graphic (emphasis on "graphic") video game company. The film opens with a shock as she is brutally & sexually assaulted. The first face you see, however, is that of her cat implacably watching the act. Huppert's "Michele" treats the aftermath with the same sort of chill. She will not let herself become a "victim" defined by the violence done to her.

The movie becomes a study of manners of her & the people she is surrounded by --good & bad-- & it is, more often than not, hilarious. (The rest of the cast is great.) You don't know if she is plotting her revenge upon her assailant or trying to put it behind her. The assault is always there but takes on less importance. What becomes fascinating very quickly is Michele's past & present. It is one of the best & nuanced characters I've ever seen in movies. If you want to champion her "female empowerment" you can. She is not a terribly likable person, but you have to admire her backbone.

Verhoeven's style may be more muted her than in his previous films but he still pushes boundaries of tastes. There is a French coolness & sophistication that perfectly fits the hot button themes in it & that leads to some very funny & cutting scenes. (But I laughed uproariously at the excellent "Gone Girl" too. Nothing bad happens to "the cat" in either movie. Whew!)

If you are opened-minded to the unexpected & casually cruel then you'll find "Elle" to be one of the best movies of the past year.

Gleason (2016)

Astonishing, intimate, gut-wrenching

[10/10 · 2 January 2017]

(I thought that "O.J.:Made In America" was going to be the best doc of 2016.)

This is an amazing movie. It is an intensely personal movie of a man & his wife/life partner/angel living with one of the most life-sucking illnesses known to mankind. It's tough to watch. It is worth the effort.

I struggle with words 3 nights removed from witnessing this film. This is a story of courage, pain, triumph, faith (not in the way you would expect), friendship, sacrifice &, above all, love. There are so many levels deftly handled & addressed in this film. It ends with an odd subtext of man melding into a machine. (Forgive me. I love sci-fi).

IDK. I do know it is one of the very films of 2016. SEE IT!

Sully (2016)

It "sticks the landing"

[9/10 · 23 December 2016]

Here is a movie that got very good reviews, did very well at the box office & after a half hour into it isn't really flying. It is a "Clint Eastwood movie" starring Tom Hanks so you give it the benefit of doubt.

Then this movie finds its thrust. It gets better & better as it goes along before it really sticks its landing (to borrow a term from gymnastics).

The ever reliable Tom Hanks --my generation's "Jimmy Stewart"-- turns in another fine performance as the unflappable Capt. Chesley Sullenberger who, of course, landed a United Airways flight on the Hudson River with all 155 souls surviving while 9/11 was still fresh on our collective minds. Yeah, it winds up being a "feel good movie" that unexpectedly begins as a "feel bad movie".

This movie brings back some some very good memories while exploring some under-reported angles. The script becomes very crisp & witty while spreading credit to to "Sully's" co-pilot Jeff Skiles (nicely played by Aaron Eckhardt), crew & first responders. There is also a cool role played by the air traffic controller who thought he lost the flight.

There is a surprising lot of stuff going on in this under 2 hour movie. The ever efficient Eastwood directs it with his usual assured economy & rarely overplays his hand emotionally & cinematically. Laura Linney must also be applauded for her touching "phone scenes" (those could not have been easy for an actor).

This is one of the best films of the year.

Doctor Strange (2016)

Dr. Stephen: Or How I stopped Worrying & Love the Drive-thru Menu

[7/10 · 21 November 2016]

Just when you were hoping that Marvel was going to boldly go where it has not gone before the studio delivers another one of its brands.

I'm as familiar with Dr. Strange as I am with Dr. Oz (not very). I have grown tired of Marvel's formulaic product which is becoming more pronounced now that is under the aegis of Disney (I fear that Star Wars may fall victim to the bland). Marvel is the McDonald's of movie studios. It churns out (seemingly daily) easily digestible & reliably satisfying movies that never rise above an OK cinematic experience despite some fantastic production values. (Counterpoint: they never dip below OK either.)

I had given up on the studio following that large order of fries that was "Captain America: Civil War". However, I was intrigued by this seemingly off-the-comic-interstate character of Dr. Strange especially when Benedict Cumberbatch was cast along with Tilda Swinton & Mads Mikkelsen. These are always interesting actors just like Chiwetel Ejiofor who is also here. They normally are not in this kind of movie (the same could be said of Robert Downey Jr. in another lifetime). Heck, I was delighted to see Daniel Bruhl in Civil War.

This movie IS different in many welcome ways from the other Marvel happy meal movies. The SFX are amazing. They're the best I've seen in the last few years. Imagine "Inception" or M.C. Escher drawings on steroids. They are trippy & far out, dude (here is your Oscar). Marvel has never stinted on production values, but you can say the same thing about all of those Transformers movies.

My main (ground) beef with this movie is that I wasn't emotionally involved with it. The actors all give very professional performances & the weird doctor's cape is a hoot. The time in the theater moves briskly. This movie is never boring. I wish, however, Marvel would stop putting on all of those extras scenes on during & after the credits unless it is the studio's way of making sure you see all of the names & companies that evidently work very hard to put all of this eye candy up on the screen & thus thanking them (that is something I respect & forgive them for).

Compared to "Arrival", "Jason Bourne" & "Deepwater Horizon", "Dr. Strange" didn't give me goosebumps watching it or any heart-in-the- throat moments. It IS occasionally strange. Think of a Big Mac with a dash of wasabi on it.

Suicide Squad (2016)

Spectacular setup, mediocre resolution

[6/10 · 9 August 2016]

There are a lot of things to recommend about SS: Margot Robbie's performance, Margot Robbie's ass, Jared Leto's Joker, Will Smith, Viola Davis & a long set-up featuring great introductions & mission aims.

Unfortunately, this criminal team has to go on that mission to save the world from blob zombie soldiers & way too much Mayan/Aztec/Incan mysticism. (A lot less Enchantress would have served this movie well.) This battle is endless & needed severe cutting &, for the most part, looks generic as anything you've ever seen. Was Capt. Boomerang necessary? Killer Croc's rubber suit needs to be thrown into The Black Lagoon.

The more I think about this movie the less I like it.

I want to see the shorter R-rated version of SS.

Jason Bourne (I) (2016)

Bourne is back as great as ever.

[10/10 · 31 July 2016]

I went into this movie with very high expectations & it met them. It may not be the best of the Bourne movies with Matt Damon, but it belongs right there with them (certainly topping "Identity"). It is, by far, the best movie I've seen this year. (This is not a back handed compliment.)

It is a Paul Greengrass movie & you know what that means. Damon continues to thrill in playing the haunted Bourne for the 4th time (unlike Daniel Craig who clearly grew tired of playing Bond for the 4th time). Alicia Vikander & Tommy Lee Jones are great fun to watch in their roles. Vincent Cassell is a much better hit-man than many reviews would have you believe. Julia Stiles has the most heart wrenching scene. Riz Ahmed is well cast as a Silicon Valley magnate.

The action is without parallel. Nobody does action like Greengrass -- not even George Miller. The two major set pieces (in Greece & Vegas) are lengthy & astonishing. A car stunt in the Vegas chase may be the best I've ever seen on screen. (I sure as hell won't tell what it is & let you discover it for yourself.) The editing is precision perfect --even in the non-action scenes-- & there is less "shaky-cam" in any Greengrass film since "Bloody Sunday" ("shaky-cam" never bothered me).

The adrenaline is all there, but what really makes this movie memorable are the issues it addresses with 21st Century privacy versus nation security versus the definition of patriotism. Yeah, that is all there. Is any wonder that Greengrass is circling a 3rd big screen adapt of "1984" as a future project?

This new "Bourne" does not sacrifice intelligence at the altar of entertainment although it seemed to last half of its actual running time.

The Big Short (2015)

Pyhrric Victory

[10/10 · 24 December 2015]

Remember Alex Gibney's brilliant doc "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room"? Remember how high that made your blood boil? Now imagine that movie spiced up with some killer humor & some great performances then you get this movie. ("The Wolf of Wall Street" confessing its sins.)

Christian Bale, Steve Carell & Ryan Gosling (who I've always viewed as best seen on a poster in some sorority girl's room i.e. over-rated as an actor) all give knock out efforts in this extremely well cast, well edited & extremely well written film.

It is as brainy as my other "10" film of the year, "Ex Machina". It has all of the moral outrage of anything I've seen in quite a while. Despite all of the laughs in it --which come at you from all angles & often quite unexpectedly-- this is NOT a "feel good" movie. It's morally complex because you are rooting for the guys who are betting on the collapse of the American economy.

There may be (has, see "Ex Machina") films as good as this one this year, but there won't be a better one.

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

The Road Warrior updated

[8/10 · 25 May 2015]

It's nice to see a "George Miller movie" that's aimed at adults. Basically this is an updated version of his classic "Mad Max 2" --as it was known in the parts of the world that doesn't call futbol "soccer".

It is a bloody fine actioneer that isn't quite as relentless as the rave reviews would have you believe. This not "The Bourne Supremacy" or "The Bourne Ultimatum".

Miller has more toys to work with here &, boy, does he use them to (mad) max effect. This movie is front loaded. The first half is relentless before it takes time to breathe. Charlize Theron is terrific as Imperator Furiosa.

The only thing I really missed from this was a Mel Gibson from 3 decades back. Hardy doesn't quite exude the haunting hallow shell of a man a much younger Mel brought to the role. (It reminds of something I once read --or came up with-- "a vast emptiness fills me")

The young'uns should be properly blown away by this movie. It is far & away better than any Fast & Furious movie. But for of us who were taken by surprise & storm by "The Road Warrior" Miller doesn't quite re-invent his wheel here.

Ex Machina (2014)

Pure bliss for sci-fi geeks

[10/10 · 26 April 2015]

Believe all the rave reviews. Like "Interstellar", this movie will bore to tears people who are not fascinated with speculative scientific thought & extrapolation i.e. fiction.

Alex Garland wrote one of my favorite movies of the century, "Never Let Me Go", & now has written & directed this movie which already rates high on that list.

It is chilling & extremely thought provoking with outstanding performances by the 3 leads + a supporting role that seems to come out of nowhere. This movie does a beautiful job at turning up the heat while it thaws out. It has a very graceful pace that tightens around your throat until it leaves you breathless & dizzy.

Some movies wear their heart on their sleeves. This movie wear it brain on its sleeve. It is the year's first great movie.

(Since this movie doesn't feature a disabled English subject serving the Queen it chances for any Oscar consideration is absolutely zero.)

Bosch (2014–2021)

Unbelievably pitch perfect

[10/10 · 28 March 2015]

I've been hooked --addicted-- to the Bosch novels for the better part of the last decade thanks to a local assistant D.A. so I was very apprehensive about any screen adaptation of them & especially how this iconic character would be portrayed & by the actor who would dare to replace "my Bosch" with his.

It took me about 3 episodes to wrap my head around Titus Welliver as Harry Bosch, but after that I began "getting" the things he was doing with the role & realize he is perfect as the wisdom weary man of few words detective. If Welliver doesn't fully inhabit this role then the series fails, but instead the series soars.

It is as good as anything I've seen on TV the last few years including "Breaking Bad" & its excellent spin-off "Better Call Saul", "True Detective", "House Of Cards" & "Gotham".

Welliver doesn't bear the entire load. He is surrounded by a fine cast. Michael Connelly's DNA is all over this show as a producer & writer. This is crucial to show's success. The production values -- cinematography, editing, sets, locations, etc.-- are as good as anything I've seen on the big screen this past year.

The jury may be still out but this 1st season points to this show as becoming one of the all-time best cop shows ever produced. Amazon picked it up for a 2nd season saying it was an easy call.

Gotham (2014–2019)

A 2nd brilliant take on Batman

[10/10 · 17 February 2015]

The Nolan films rescued Batman from the silliness of the 2 Batman films b4 them. Burton's "Batman Returns" belongs aside Nolan's (& the uncredited Frank Miller) "Dark Knight Trilogy".

Bruno Heller is miraculously doing what Nolan did. He is reinventing the Bat-mythos. This show is played like "NYPD Blue" or "Hill Street Blues" with some colorful characters. It is light years away from the idiotic series of the '60s. It may not be as "heavy" as the Nolan films (which I love), but it is clearly not meant for kids. It is a bit lighter, but just a wee bit. It shouldn't air at 8.

EVERY single element of this series soars. The writing, casting, acting, production & editing is the type that I expect to pay HBO or Showtime kind of bucks for (and I would). It IS that good.

AMC has "Better Call Saul" & Amazon Prime has "Bosch" currently airing. "Gotham" plus these 2 shows are shockingly good. For those of us who mourn the departures of Leno, Colbert & Jon Stewart (coming) from late late night these shows are candles in the dark.

Interstellar (2014)

Field of Dreams meets 2001

[10/10 · 10 November 2014]

I was shocked my how many tears I shed while experiencing (you don't "just watch" this film) this mind bending space odyssey. I haven't cried this much during a movie since "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button". No science fiction film since "E.T.", "Close Encounters..." or "Contact" has been so heartfelt.

This is a movie that you feel about it as much as you think about it. It is a VERY challenging movie that revolves around worm holes, black holes, time displacement, 5th dimensions & other astrophysical dreams. This, of course, leaves this movie open to a lot of debate & criticism. It demands a lot of its audience.

The acting is 1st rate all across the board. Your heartstrings wouldn't be tugged so hard if McConnaughey, Chastain, Hathaway, Caine, Lithgow & Mackenzie Foy & the rest of the cast weren't at the top of their game.

This is Nolan's most ambitious --and probably best-- film. It is not a smooth ride all the time. (How many perfect films have ever been made? "2001"? "The Godfather I & II"? "Heat"?, "A History of Violence"? "United 93"? "Contact"?...) Of course, its enormous ambitions & execution from preclude it from any serious Oscar consideration aside from tech categories (which are no slouch).

Thank You Christopher Nolan for dreaming HUGE.

Nightcrawler (2014)

Forget e-bola, let's cure Lou Bloom.

[9/10 · 2 November 2014]

Jake Gyllenhaal is spectacular as an scanner trolling, ambulance & opportunity chasing freelance news photog in this lurid overstuffed 1st- World nightmare of a movie.

Make no mistake, this is B-movie with all of the improbable twists & turns of the genre. It is also as relentlessly entertaining featuring an action scene as tense & nerve wracking as any I've ever seen in a Paul Greengrass movie. It's a "B-movie" like Michael Mann's "Collateral". (It also shares that movie's dreadfully beautiful look at L.A.)

Dan Gilroy's script is loaded with observations about the media, corporate, naked ambition & lust without ever being didactic. It crackles

I worked a news photog for nearly 30 years. The movie takes some liberties (in 2 --effective-- scenes it takes some outrageously so) with the way most pros go about covering tragic scenes. This movie is not about a pro news photog. It does capture the rush & adrenaline that sometimes comes from rushing to a scene most sane people would avoid.

Gyllenhaal's "Lou Bloom" is a marvel of socio-pathology. This a guy who the more you get to "know" him the less you wish you hadn't. He is "The Joker" & "John Doe" (remember "Se7en"?) incarnate. There a date scene that is worthy of Travis Bickle. He makes you squirm as much "Amy Dunne" in "Gone Girl".

This is easily one of the best films of the year. Gyllenhaal's work is for the ages.

Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (2014)

For all the wrong reasons...

[8/10 · 22 August 2014]

OK, maybe this movie isn't aimed at "mature" audiences, but for adults looking for a trashy good time at the movies then you won't get a movie any better than this. If you want to see unrelenting brutality & most of Eva Green you will get your money's worth & then some.

Green totally owns the "Dame" role that she was perfectly cast for. When her story ends the movie does drop off (fortunately her story is most of the movie).

The "Sin City look" is enhanced by 3D (I normally avoid 3D) & rates as one of the best uses of 3D I've ever seen. Fans (like me) of Miller's "A Dame To Kill For" comic book will be thrilled at it's obsessive loyalty to word & frame screen treatment. It looks fantastic! (Maybe, I mean to say that Green looks fantastic. It's both.) I don't get all the criticism of how this "look" has grown tiresome --not for me in 3D.

All the actors in big roles to small look like they are having a sinful amount of fun, but Joseph Gordon-Levitt is almost as strong as Green in a new role in one the new stories written for the movie. If you saw "Looper" (or "Inception") you already know that JGL can play a tough guy despite his physical size.

Make no mistake this movie is a feature length Roadrunner cartoon for adults --emphasis on "adults"--with all of the ridiculous action & over- the-top violence that only a cartoon can get away with because of the way it's rendered.(No kids, please: there is just enough gore that isn't so cartoonish to make it unfit for children.)

Like the first Sin City 9 years ago, this new Sin City is B-movie bliss. (I still don't like Jessica Alba as "Nancy".)

Transcendence (I) (2014)

The deep end of the pool.

[8/10 · 22 April 2014]

This movie is WAY TOO SMART for its own box office good.

This is an extremely thoughtful, well acted & well written movie that refuses to give in to Hollywood convention.

I was expecting a more polished version of the likable "The Lawnmower Man", but instead got an almost Zen-like meditation of developing A.I. technologies. The plot seems to be almost a slave to the head spinning ideas proposed by the movie...& it works.

Depp, Rebecca Hall & Paul Bethany deliver top notch performances that occasionally bought tears to my eyes (I'm "off" that way). BUT if you prefer "Duck Dynasty" over "Cosmos" then your money is better spent on another Bud Light.

It's paced like an foreign film, but doesn't have the disjointed nature of a movie like "American Hustle". It all flows with a deliberateness that sometime tests your patience. If you give into it & bring your brain to it "Transcendence" may be a transcendent experience for you.

Blackfish (2013)

Gut Wrenching

[10/10 · 27 October 2013]

This documentary is one of the best docs I've ever seen. Tilikum, the Orca who is the film's focus, is not the only tragic victim in this movie. We feel the loss of Dawn Brancheau & the other trainers killed in this movie acutely.

There are scenes of wild orcas that are rapturous & conversely there are scenes with them that are filled with tension & dread. The filmmakers aren't out to shock you with graphic imagery (if any exist). The spoken & written descriptions are horrifying enough. (It is not for children!) I wish I could un-hear the plaintive cries of a mother orca after being separated from her child. That scene had to be in the film, but it is almost --it is-- too much.

To call this film one-sided is like calling a film about the horrors of meth addiction, child abuse or the dangers of cigarette smoking biased. How could it be any other way?

It is an absolutely unforgettable film.

Update 2015: This film is even more powerful if you see it after you had read John Hargrove's book "Beneath The Surface" which explores the film's subject in greater detail. I can't think of a film + book that complement each other so perfectly except maybe "Eight Men Out" & "Into The Wild" (maybe Cheryl Strayed's "Wild" which I haven't read that was adapted into an excellent film).

Rush (I) (2013)

Fast & Serious

[10/10 · 10 October 2013]

This movie has is ALL! This has a great story told with a great screenplay, great acting, great action & it is as sexy as any James Bond movie & it is based on true events.

If you liked Chris Hemsworth as Thor you'll like him even more as playboy/racer James Hunt. I've not seen this kind of star power since Clooney. His work here is almost a shock whereas Daniel Bruhl as the Niki Lauda -- Hunt's deadly serious rival --gives the breakout performance of the year.

I am not a racing fan at all but I love action. Ron Howard & his amazing team put you inside a Formula 1 race car as effectively as Alphonse Cuaron & company put you in space in "Gravity". The race scenes are far & away the best ever put on film & that's only half the movie.

The scenes off the race track are as equally effective due to the contrasts between Lauda & Hunt. Peter Morgan's screenplay gives you a deep understanding of these two rivals. They're intense competitors who have a grudging respect for each other despite their polar opposite personalities. I liked each of them for entirely different reasons. Hemsworth & Bruhl do a great job at capturing their charms & quirks.

The cinematography is gorgeous throughout. The editing never lets up while never beating you up.

Ron Howard has done great work in the past. This rates alongside "Apollo 13", "Cinderella Man" & "Frost/Nixon" as my favorite films of his.

Rush" is a rush.