While the true summer blockbuster season doesn’t really get underway until mid to late May, there are more movies that ever being released each week. Some small, some big and everything in between, there’s no shortage of cinema available if you’re willing to look for it. With more movies than I can review, individually, it’s once again time to do another quick review roundup, especially as we head into the breach of Summer Movie Season followed quickly by the Fall Festival Season, then the Oscar race begins. It’s the calm before the storm, and here are a few films to check out before the chaos begins!
“The Accountant 2” – In Theaters
The “Dudes Rock” TNT Dad Movie is back and stronger than ever with “The Accountant 2,” the kind of buddy cop, no nonsense action thriller fit for cable and I mean that as a compliment. It’s the kind of movie we used to get all the time and don’t get nearly enough anymore, and “The Accountant 2” rips with roaring gun fights and a lighter, more comedic tone than its 2016 predecessor thanks to the perfect dude bro pairing of Ben Affleck and Jon Bernthal. I couldn’t tell you one thing about the plot, which is overly convoluted and nearly impossible to make sense of for even the most astute film goer. But it honestly doesn’t matter, because “The Accountant 2” packs itself with charming energy and maintains its “Rain Man” meets “John Wick” hybrid inspirations front and center. Admittedly it takes a little while to get going, but once the guns come out and bullets start spraying, it is absolutely electric. It’s not the best of its kind but “The Accountant 2” is the kind of movie that knows what it is and who its for and delivers that big Dad mid day action energy we all, deep down, truly love.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Stars
“Borderline” – VOD
I’ve got heavy stock in Samara Weaving – I even sat through the dreadful “The Babysitter: Killer Queen” and I’m genuinely rooting for Ray Nicolson. So the pairing of these two in something like “Borderline,” a dark comedy thriller should be right up my alley. And to be fair, this is exactly the kind of small indie film that both should be in, a vehicle for them to experiment and explore new facets of their talents. Unfortunately, “Borderline” is a nonsensical, tonal mess, bogged down by constant inconsistency with its pacing and editing and unable to properly oscilate between comedy and drama. “Borderline” can’t decide if it’s a satire or examination of its own themes, leaving Weaving and Nicolson putting in backbreaking work to keep it all afloat. They’re both too good for the misfire film itself, even Alba Baptista having some fun turning in an absolutely unhinged performance. “Borderline” would be decidedly better if made up its mind about what it wants to say – or not say – about mental health and let the star power work with something a bit more substantial than nothing. There’s enough charm to see it through to the end, but I don’t know that its enough for everyone to do so when asked.
Rating 2.5 out of 5 Stars
“Fight or Flight” – In Theaters
Josh Hartnett’s return to the screen has been a welcomed one, particularly with the films he’s choosing. “Fight or Flight” is no exception, a balls to wall, messy descent into unadulterated mayhem. Sure, it’s messy as hell and the third act is definitively kitchen sink filmmaking that doesn’t all land. But there’s a certain air of self awareness of its own silly premise that allows “Fight or Flight” to be a charming romp in the skies, powered further by an excellent performance from Hartnett. It’s hard to picture him as a John Wick-esque kind of action star, but through sheer magnetism and sweat equity (he did most of his own stunts here) he pulls it off and sells himself as legitimate. “Fight or Flight” doesn’t work without someone like Hartnett at its center putting in overtime to gleefully sell the tongue in cheek approach. And while it doesn’t reinvent the wheel and constantly feels like “Bullet Train” on a plane, it’s having a little bit more fun than its inspired frameworks. “Fight or Flight” is a perfect airplane watch, a film that doesn’t require a lot of your attention but is still worth your time if it comes across your screen.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
“The Surfer” – In Theaters
A psychological pressure cooker, “The Surfer” is an exercise in surrealist examination of toxic masculinity and blurred reality that only someone like Nick Cage can make work as well as this does. The indie arthouse style clashes with the silliness of its initial characters and the unfolding escalation of events with all the allure and violence of waves themselves crashing against the shore. At first, “The Surfer” feels out of place with its premise, the strangeness of its execution hard to grasp and a bit off-putting. Cage is as Cage as ever, once again approaching a role with complete abandon and insanity and Lorcan Finnegan smartly lets him run wild. “The Surfer” becomes almost too much bare – watching Cage descend deeper and deeper into the madness and on the wrong end of constant bullying and beatdowns is sometimes stomach churning, and after an hour of so watching it continue leaves you wondering if you really need to sit through more of this. But then something happens in the third act of “The Surfer” that may not work for some but had me locked in and recontextualize everything prior. It’s a bold move but one that melds the sand and water of its shore. It may not be fore everyone, but fans of Cage will enjoy “The Surfer,” a risky, audacious thriller with something to say.
Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
“Warfare “- In Theaters and VOD
I’m not entirely sure what Alex Garland’s recent obsession with American politics and military are, but “Warfare” is an unrelenting experience that transcends normal war movie fodder and thrusts you into its sheer brutality with unflinching patience and unwavering focus. There’s an argument to be made that “Warfare” is both an American war propaganda film and/or an indictment of war itself regardless of conflict. Further still one can read it as another neutral attempt at examining politically motivated conflicts without commenting on Garland’s own ideas about them like “Civil War.” No matter how you read it, “Warfare” is still unforgettable, strengthened by its impeccable sound design and visceral real time cinematography. It sheds the hoo-rah attitudes of its soldiers often depicted in the genre and shows us boys fighting wars without anything to guide them beyond their orders.
“Warfare” is constructed from memories only of the men who lived it, and shows us nothing beyond that. This allows the film the operate in real time and without typical soldier hero tropes, an angle that proves to be as fascinating as it is frustrating. Garland his a bit more skin the game here thematically, but a lot of it is undone by its credits montage that seem to undercut almost everything we just witnessed. However you come away from it, “Warfare” is one of the most harrowing and expertly crafted experiences I’ve had in a theater that I will probably never watch again.
4 out of 5 Stars
So that’s my recent round up! There’s plenty more but I think these are probably the better of the bunch.
