Criminal Activities
Blu-Ray/DVD
Rated: Not Rated
Studio: Image Entertainment
Running time: 94

Media Mikes Score: 4.5 out of 5 stars

It all comes down to bad luck. One day you’re wondering how your friend is doing, the next your at his funeral because he got run over by a city bus. Such is the day that Zach (Michael Pitt), Noah (Dan Stevens), Warren (Christopher Abbott) and Bryce (Rob Brown) have when they attend the above named friend’s funeral. Meeting up afterwards they catch up with each other’s lives. All are doing fine but, like everyone else, can surely use a bump in income. Bryce shares with the others a medical company his cousin works for is about to go public. He also notes that they have an FDA approved drug about to be released. His cousin has accumulated a lot of stock and is looking to sell some. The price: $200,000. Only Noah seems to have the necessary funds so he agrees to front the amount for the group. Things go well until it’s discovered that the drug company was a sham and now it’s time to pay the piper. And the piper wants his money NOW!

“Criminal Activities” is the cleverly written directorial debut of actor Jackie Earle Haley and is a gem that was sadly overlooked during it’s theatrical release last November. The film follows the young quartet as they meet up with their financial benefactor, Eddie (Travolta, in tip-top “Get Shorty” form). With interest, etc, the boy’s $200,000 debt is now doubled. Eddie gives the lads a chance to clear the books. It seems one of his underworld rivals has kidnapped a family member and Eddie wants to repay the favor by having the rivals’ nephew snatched. It’s obvious that the boys are in over their heads when none of them recognize the gangster’s name. “Google him,” they are told. They somehow manage to pull off the kidnapping but they end up grabbing much more than they bargained for.

A triumph on all levels, the film’s strongest point is it’s cast. All four young leads have energy to burn, as does Edi Gathegi, who plays their kidnapee, Marques. As the old pro, it’s so good to see John Travolta having so much fun with a role. Director Haley cast himself and Christopher Jay Gresham as Eddie’s henchmen, and their interaction with the others makes for some of the films more humorous moments. As a director, Haley keeps the story moving at a fine pace, making great use of both long tracking shots and the sights of the city of Cleveland at night. Robert Lowell’s script is witty and sarcastic, with a twist to rival “The Usual Suspects.” If you didn’t get the chance to see this last year, I hope you find the time to see it now. You won’t be disappointed.

Directed by: Robert Eggers
Starring: Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie
Rated: R
Running time: 1 hr 33 mins
A24
Our Score: 4 out of 5 stars

It’s the 1630’s in Puritan New England, and we’ve just watched a family leave the safe confines of their settlement to go out on their own. It’s unsettling. It’s unsafe. And it’s just the beginning.

The Witch, Robert Eggers’s first feature film premiered to much acclaim at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, and after having seen the film, it’s no surprise. Eggers has managed to create a fresh film in an often-described, stale genre. We follow Thomasin, a teenage girl masterfully played by Anya Taylor-Joy, as her family leaves the community under the threat of church banishment to settle on their own in a remote patch of land. That just happens to be next to an imposingly dark, tall forest. When the family infant is stolen right from under Thomasin’s nose in the most terrifying game of peekaboo that you’ll ever see, we watch as a family based on faith and loyalty unravels. Possession, accusations, suspicions, and paranoia mount as things continue to go from bad to worse for the family. Oh, and did I mention there’s a witch in the woods?

Eggers got his start doing production design and that background influence is strong in the film. The color work is deliberate. Just as the lives of the characters are bleak and their faith restrictive, so too is the landscape Eggers has placed them in. It’s gray, dull, and repetitive; so much so that when we do encounter the witch, we are almost relieved, as she comes with color in her scenes. What at first feels like a breath of fresh air in the barren landscape soon encircles us with a feeling of dread. These vibrant colors do not belong in this world. This type of unease is helped along by the superbly discordant score, which both pulls us in and jars us away throughout the film. The actors do an expert job playing a family on the verge of destruction, walking that fine line between rationality and unsteadiness. The camera work keeps you on the edge of your seat- never have I been so terrified of a goat before.

Watching The Witch is a study in psychological stress. It’s slow-paced and deliberate, and it leaves you with the feeling that you’ve seen something that you weren’t supposed to. The fact that the film is largely based off of historically real accounts of events of that time period only adds to this overwhelming feeling of unrest. This is not the film to see if you are looking for a “jumpy” horror film, but if you are looking for something that will get under your skin and will still have you thinking about it days later, The Witch is for you.

The Witch opens on Friday February 19th

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If you’ve made the right decision this Valentine’s Day weekend and have checked out Deadpool then you may not have heard Greg LaSalle but you definitely saw him. Sort of. LaSalle is one of the tech wizards behind the Academy Award winning MOVA Facial Performance Capture system used in bringing Deadpool’s X-men reinforcement, Colossus, to the screen. While Colossus’s body and voice were provided by actor Stefan Kapicic, LaSalle stepped in front of the MOVA cameras to give the metallic facial performance.

The morning after Deadpool made its New York debut amidst a Deadpool fan costume contest, I sat down with LaSalle for a conversation on Deadpool, other Marvel films and this amazing process used to bring characters such as the Incredible Hulk and Thanos to life.

Lauren Damon: Did you go to the fan premiere last night?
Greg LaSalle: Oh yeah, that was a lot of fun.

How many Deadpools showed up?
LaSalle: Oh you mean the people who dressed up? Oh I don’t know, I think there were quite a bit. I think they chose like seven of them or something, it was pretty funny. One in a tutu, I mean…it was hysterical.

Are you someone who goes to conventions in general seeing that?
LaSalle: No–
“Avoid them like the plague!”
LaSalle: [laughing] No, it’s not that, you know it’s just I have so many things to do. I don’t get a chance to do that very often.

Can you talk about what MOVA Facial Performance Capture is?
LaSalle: I’ll start by telling you first a little bit about what motion capture actually is–which is where you would wear the reflective markers. And that system, those systems were actually developed to deduce where a skeleton is moving. So as those cameras became higher resolution, people started shrinking the dots and gluing them to people’s faces. The data set you get from that is only like 200, 250 points. So a friend of mine in the bay area decided that he would fund the development of research to find out how to actually capture the entire surface of the skin deformity and that’s where MOVA comes from. That development.

So it’s super high resolution, it captures about 7000 data points, all the wrinkles, all the subtlety of the performance is captured. So it’s basically like capturing a scan per frame of the film of the actor. And then about two years ago Digital Domain developed a technique to take those and apply them mathematically to a computer generated character. So the entire performance gets carried over so it really looks, you know, all the performance is captured.

I heard that it’s captured through paint instead of dots?
LaSalle: We apply, it’s invisible makeup in white light that just is applied as a random pattern and then the system has strobing black lights and white lights. So certain cameras take a picture when the black lights are on and all they see is this random pattern makeup. And that’s what’s used to create the scans and track the points across the face.

Seeing as you worked on both Avengers and Age of Ultron and a couple years had passed between them, did the process for capturing the Hulk change? If you worked on the Hulk?
LaSalle: I did, in the first Avengers that’s what it started out as actually, it was before filming was working with Industrial Light and Magic to capture Mark [Ruffalo] to see how he would move as the Hulk. On set they used a bit of different technology so this new technology that we used for Colossus is actually the first time it’s been used. This mathematic transferring of the performance. Things like in the past, like in Avengers, we surveyed the actor. We’d get all the information about how the actor’s face would move and then companies would build a rig which is just a way of animating and when you run a slider, the lip goes up and it goes up as if it was the actor. But it doesn’t have all the subtlety and nuance of the variation in a performance. The new technology the does.

Did you have any hand in that Hulk-smashing-Loki scene?
LaSalle: Well we only specialize in the facial stuff, so only the expressions part of–but that was my favorite part of the first Avengers movie. That ‘boom boom boom!’ [LaSalle does some pretty accurate Hulk smashing motions] It’s a shame though to see Tom Hiddleston beat up like that because he’s such a nice guy.

You captured his face for that? Wasn’t it just grunting?
LaSalle: Yeah yeah…It’s so many years ago now and we’ve done so many things that I can’t remember exactly what we did. If I remember correctly, they put a pipe with some foam on the end and they kept [jabbing motions, laughing] like they’re pushing the back of [Tom’s] head so that he’d [jerks his head]…It was very strange!

What did you work on for Age of Ultron?
LaSalle: Actually I only did the–Thanos. Working with Josh Brolin.

Also on Guardians of the Galaxy too?
LaSalle: Mhmm.

I don’t know if Marvel would let me ask you but when is he coming back?!
LaSalle: That’s really funny because I was convinced while we were filming Age of Ultron that they’re gonna–I just have this feeling that something will happen. I mean he’s like the baddest dude in the whole universe and they have to do something–

Yeah coming up of course we have [Captain America] Civil War, that’s Earth-bound but [Thor] Ragnarok is coming and that’s out there! He’s waiting in the wings…
LaSalle: I mean I wish I could say. I’m not privy to those kinds of things to begin with. But it would be really cool to see a bad ass movie with Thanos. I mean they have so many characters and so many things to do. Kevin Feige–he’s the president of Marvel–knows this universe probably better than Stan Lee and he has this all mapped out in his head. He knows exactly what he’s doing.

Do you keep up with the other projects in between what you’re working on?
LaSalle: I don’t actually like actively keep up. I look for within the industry, what we could work on and how we could pull things off.

So working as Colossus, you’re performing his scenes and they just transfer your face into his?
LaSalle: Yes, in simple terms, yes. It creates a scan first and then this fancy math transfers that by figuring out where–you teach it ‘Okay, this is where the center of my cheek is and this is the center of where Colossus’s left cheek is’ and it mathematically calculates what else is going on in that area. It transfers it.

How did it come to be this split performance where you’re on the face and Stefan Kapicic provides the body and voice?
LaSalle: Tim Miller understands this technology really well, so he figured he could take the best of what different people had to offer and Frankenstein all that together. And he was adamant about having an authentic Russian voice. I believe he even recorded another and he just didn’t like it and then he found Stefan. And I think it works extremely well. It’s a pretty cool way of using the technology.

What was the most fun about being Colossus?
LaSalle: Well I’ve known Tim for a long time and I just like working with him. He’s fun, he’s actually a lot like Deadpool in his comedy and the way he’s sarcastically funny. So I enjoy working with him on that. But I also did the tests which we did like six years ago so it’s been really awesome to see it finally get made. So just the general overall feeling of being happy about that.

Was Tim involved at all in how Deadpool was treated in [2009’s] Wolverine?
LaSalle: No

Was there discussion about just getting away from that entirely?
LaSalle: Tim is a huge comic book fan. He reads a ton, he likes graphic novels. He knew that he wanted to take what’s on the page and have that be what’s in the film. He wasn’t going to mess with it, he wanted to–as a fan he knew that that’s what everybody wanted to see. That’s what he wanted to do.

How instrumental was Ryan Reynolds also in getting this?
LaSalle: I think it was a collaborative effort because they all have their understanding of the character so they–and Tim is great that way. I know he had people that they discussed it: ‘This is what I’d like to see, this is what you’d like to see’ and then they figured out a way to get that all to happen.

This is your second time in front of the camera [after an appearance Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb] is this what you’d like to do more of?
LaSalle: Well I think it’s fun, I’ve been acting for a while and that’s why Tim gave me the part. But I like to do both. I think it’s fun to play the computer generated characters because you get to do really wacky stuff. And then but I also like really small, intimate type live action things. So I’ve been shooting a few short things.

What’re some of your favorite films this past year?
LaSalle: Oh, I liked the Big Short, I liked Trumbo if you’ve seen that. I thought Trumbo was really good.

Yeah, it was weird to watch that in the context of “Award season” since there’s so much of Oscar in the storyline…
LaSalle: I know! You gotta block all that stuff out. Well it’s so interesting too. I mean it’s doubly cool that it’s true.

Do you have more acting roles coming up?
LaSalle: I just finished filming, ironically with Blake Lively [married to Reynolds]. A movie with her called All I See is You which there’s what we call invisible effects. It’s a live action movie but they wanted to use this new technology to drive her newborn baby being born and a character that she sees in her head. So I played both of those parts.

Playing a fetus?!
LaSalle: Not the fetus! As soon as it’s born I had to do the scenes of taking the first breath of screaming and crying and opening the eyes and looking around. They wanted all this subtlety. They figured a live performance would do that more than trying to animate all that subtlety into it.

[This next question features discussion of a specific Deadpool moment, so for the SPOILER-shy, skip down past this one!]

Does that mean you had anything to do with Deadpool regrowing a baby hand? [A brilliant moment after Deadpool cuts his off to escape Colossus’s handcuffs]
LaSalle: (Laughs) No! No. It’s so funny because I’d known that he cuts his hand off for a very long time but I never go to see anything–I only knew because Colossus ends up with his hand. And I never knew what happened. So when he cut his hand off, the first time he saw the movie it was like ‘OK now how does it grow back? How does it grow back?’ And then they even made that funny, it was awesome. I didn’t know what to expect because I don’t like to see the movie until they’re completely done because there’s just so many things that pull you out of it, you know? So I wanted to wait til it was done and I think that all this talk–the blood and the guts and the R-rating, it’s perfect. I don’t care!

It would be weird if you had this much violence and then just no blood, it’s annoying when PG-13 movies do that–
LaSalle: Plus it’s there because it needs to be, a couple of short seconds and it’s not gross. It’s just real.

[Spoiler over!]

Back to Deadpool , considering there are so many films now in the ‘Marvel Universe’, what do you think is most appealing about this character, what does he bring?
LaSalle: Well I think his authenticity to the original character. And the comedy. I mean I think there’s a lot of funny stuff in the Avengers movies and some of the other stuff, but that’s what Deadpool’s character is built around. And I think that that just makes it’s different and stand out.

If Deadpool had to be pitted against any of the Avengers, who do you think would win out?
LaSalle: Oh…This might sound bad but I think Deadpool is way smarter than those other characters. So I think he’d win a lot of stuff. Because he thinks differently than they do.

Review by Mike Smith
Starring:  Michael Moore
Directed by:  Michael Moore
Rated:  R
Running time:  1 hr 59 mins
IMG Films
Our Score: 5 out of 5 stars

It’s been six years since Michael Moore released a documentary.  He spent that time traveling the world on a mission. To make America the best country in the world.  And he accomplishes this by “invading” other countries and, by planting the US flag, “claiming” their riches for America.

The film begins with a series of news clips from the past 40 years, highlighting our Commander’s in Chief talking about world issues.  Moore overlaps those sound bites with current footage of things happening in the US.  “What happened,” he asks?  How can we make, with apologies to Donald Trump, America great again?

Moore begins his journey in Italy, where he learns that the average worker receives seven weeks vacation each year, along with another dozen federal holidays off.  If you get married your employer gives you three weeks off – with pay – for your honeymoon.  And if you’re too busy, don’t worry.  Your vacation days roll over.  He interviews one police officer who has 80 days “in the bank,” not including the current years seven weeks.  The police man and his wife are horrified when they learn that American workers are guaranteed ZERO weeks vacation by law.

In France he visits a public school, where lunch is served on real plates and is usually a four course event.  In Finland, he “claims” the education system; in Sweden, the prison system, where inmates sentenced to maximum security are greeted by a welcome video of the prison guards singing “We Are the World.”

As he continues his travels he comments on how things got away from us here in the states.  What is amazing is that, when he asks the foreign leaders how they came up with their ideals, they cite that they are based on the same principles that the U.S. was based upon.  Moore goes about the film with his usual sarcastic wit but the message isn’t lost. Also not lost is the message that almost 60% of our taxes goes to support our military.  In Italy, a country with only two warships, it is 1%.

Fans of Moore will appreciate his ideas behind the film.  Those who aren’t probably won’t.  To them I suggest moving to Germany, where your local doctor can write you a prescription for a three-week stay at a posh spa to relieve the tension.

Review by Mike Smith
Starring: Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson and Will Ferrell
Directed by: Ben Stiller
Rated: PG 13
Running time: 1 hr 42 mins
Paramount
Our Score: 2.5 out of 5 stars

The film Zoolander is remembered for a couple of things. First, the awesome “pose” that is called Blue Steel. That is a good thing. It was also the first film to be released after September 11, 2001 in which images of the World Trade Center were digitally removed from the finished film. That’s a bad thing. Something tells me Zoolander 2 is going to be remembered for only one thing. And it ain’t good.

It’s been almost 15 years since we last saw Derek Zoolander. He had just finished building his school “for kids that can’t read good.” As we catch up to him now, he is a pariah, the school collapsing due to poor construction (Derek had the school built out of the same materials used to build the model – including popsicle sticks and rubber cement), killing his wife. He is soon found to be an unfit father and loses custody of his son. A mysterious designer has summoned Derek (Stiller) and Hansel (Wilson) to Rome to model a new line. Hoping it will resurrect their careers they jump at the chance. Sadly it doesn’t. They’d have been better off doing a sequel to a film that no one was asking for a sequel to.

No they wouldn’t.

I find it hard to believe that four people helped write this film. I’m thinking that three of them just wrote “put in awesome cameo here” on their pages. Unlike some films, like Anchorman, where the occasional cameo is not only expected but appreciated, this is like Anchorman 2, where there were so many cameos it took you out of the story. Zoolander 2 gives you, just off the top of my head, Keifer Sutherland, Susan Sarandon, Joe Jonas, Ariana Grande, Billy Zane and Benedict Cumberbatch as a model named “All.” Not that cameos are bad. But when they seem to be the one thing driving the plot – Justin Bieber, Susan Boyle, M.C. Hammer, Tommy Hilfiger and one of the Kardashian gals – it just becomes boring.

Stiller and Wilson give their all (it’s obvious that they enjoy working together), but it’s not enough to save this film. Their fans may like this film. I’d rather send them to the Derek Zoolander School for Actors Who Can’t Read Scripts Good.

Review by Mike Smith
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Ed Skrein and Morena Baccarin
Directed by: Tim Miller
Rated: R
Running time: 1 hr 48 mins
20th Century Fox
Our Score: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Sometimes you know a few minutes into a film what the tone is going to be. Deadpool sets it almost immediately when, during the opening credits, the Producer is identified as: SOME ASSHAT! Thank you, Mr. AssHat, for making one hell of a film.

One of the lesser known (to me anyway) of the Marvel Comic characters (think Spider-man in red without the webs), Deadpool (Reynolds) is a foul-mouthed fool who enjoys his work a little too much. And when I say “foul-mouthed,” I’m talking filthy. He makes Hit Girl in Kick Ass look like Little Miss Sunshine. Known to his friends as Wade Wilson, he earns his money by taking down local bullies. Things are going well for Wade. He’s just found the perfect woman of his dreams (Baccarin) when he learns he has cancer. He is offered a chance for the cure if he becomes part of a mercenary team. Instead he is greatly disfigured by the treatments he receives and decides to just disappear from those that love him (“please don’t make the suit green or animated,” he tells his handlers, pointing fun at Reynold’s last attempt as a hero, “Green Lantern”). If smart-assed sarcasm is your cup of tea, then Deadpool will quench your thirst.

As a character, Deadpool is unlike any “hero” you’ve ever seen. He has no qualms with blowing a bad guys head off with his pair of nine-millimeter pistols or cutting them off with his twin katanas, he’s mixing it up with both the on-screen baddies and the audience. Between breaking the fourth wall and dropping little “inside” quips – when told he needs to go see Professor Charles Xavier he asks, “Stewart or McAvoy?” If I have to explain that comment to you, stop reading now. You don’t want to see this movie.

A superhero film is only as good as the actor playing him and, if ever an actor was meant to play Deadpool, it is Ryan Reynolds. Ever since “Van Wilder” he has spent his career trying to re-capture that “smart-ass” charm. He fits the bill here perfectly. He is surrounded by some strong co-stars, including Skrein as a fellow mercenary and Baccarin who is as tough as she is loving. And I’m sure Stan Lee will agree with me when I say this is his “best cameo EVER!” Throw in a couple of X-men and you’ve got a damn good escape for the weekend.

Starring: Tom Hiddleston, Mia Wasikowska, Jessica Chastain, Charlie Hunnam and Jim Beaver
Directed By: Guillermo Del Toro
Distributed by: Universal
MPAA Rating: R
Running Time: 119 Minutes
Release Date: February 9th 2016

Film: 4 out of 5 stars
Extras: 5 out of 5 stars

Universal did a disservice this past fall in marketing Guillermo Del Toro’s gorgeous gothic romance Crimson Peak as straight up ‘horror film’. It has its share of ghosts and oozes atmosphere but it’s far from the slasher genre. Hopefully this Gothic romance will find a larger audience as it makes way onto Blu-ray and DVD today.

Synopsis: Mia Wasikowska stars as Edith Cushing an aspiring ghost story author in 1901 Buffalo, New York. She’s won over by mysterious English baronet Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston) who, along with sister Lucille (Jessica Chastain), is seeking to do business with her father (Jim Beaver). Upon the brutal death of her father, Edith is off to England to become the Lady of the Sharpe’s ancestral home, the ominous Allerdale Hall. There, Edith contends with the decaying architecture, ghostly warnings and the Sharpes’ own secrets coming to light.

Blu-Ray Review: Crimson Peak was one of my favorite films of 2015 (you can read my full theatrical review here). Hiddleston and Chastain make for a formidable brother-sister duo opposite Wasikowska’s tenacious Edith whose character only grows stronger as the film progresses. The real achievement of the film however is Del Toro’s impressive production design team. From Tom Sanders’s meticulously detailed sets, especially the built-from-scratch rooms of Allerdale Hall–to Kate Hawley’s fairytale-ready costume designs, the film is visually jaw dropping. All the better then to see it again on blu-ray now where I was excited to pore over more details than I could catch quickly on the big screen.

In this regard the special features on this disc definitely deliver. Several featurettes cover every aspect of Peak‘s world particularly “A Living Thing” which sees the sets of Allerdale Hall worked and reworked from scale models to the final product over a five month period. Tom Hiddleston then offers a walking tour of “the biggest and most extraordinary set [he has] ever seen” in “Beware of Crimson Peak” as we see how functional the set was in action. His commentary adds somewhat wistfully that this was the last day the set was up, but what a relief this release sees them so fully documented.

Del Toro’s commentary track finishes off the extras and, as expected, is filled with the director speaking about influences and inspirations for the film whether from art or film history. The whole thing is worth a listen, but if you’re not so into commentary viewing I gleaned my five favorite trivia bits (spoilers, of course):

• The ghostly appearance of Edith’s mother in the opening of the film was based on Del Toro’s own mother’s experience in seeing his grandmother’s ghost on the very day of her funeral. Del Toro also speaks about having stayed in his own haunted hotel room in New Zealand when scouting locations for The Hobbit (when he was still attached to direct).
• In the New York party scene, Del Toro had to restructure the waltz performed by Thomas and Edith to be only performed by Hiddleston and Wasikowska, lest the production have to shell out over a million more dollars in upgrading his acting extras to ‘dancers’.
• The hallway of Edith’s childhood home is patterned in the same way as Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion, a favorite of Del Toro’s.
• Del Toro decided he wanted to flop the gender norms of the Gothic Romance in Crimson Peak. In this spirit, he cast Charlie Hunnam’s Dr. Allan as ‘the damsel in distress’ in the latter sequences of the film (to which Hunnam eagerly agreed) and flipped what GDT dubbed ‘the nudity quotient’ in the intimate scene between Hiddleston and Wasikowska.
• As Edith gets further into danger at Allerdale Hall, the actual props around her were scaled up in proportion to Edith. Things like a wingback chair and the ominous teacup were made roughly 30% larger than they originally appeared. (No doubt inflicting some Wonderland deja vü for Wasikowska!)

Crimson Peak is available on Bluray and digitally now. Meanwhile, you can check out a look at some of the set featurettes from Universal Home Video below:

Starring: Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay
Directed by: Andrew Haigh
Rated: R
Running time: 1 hr 35 mins
IFC Films

Our Score: 4 out of 5 stars

I love actors. When placed in the right mouths, words that may seem meaningless become poetry when those mouths open. Two of the best ever, at least in my generation, are Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay. You may remember Rampling as the dishonest love interest of Paul Newman in ‘The Verdict” and Courtenay holding his own against Albert Finney (both men earning Oscar nominations) in “”The Dresser.” Three decades later these two are still at the top of their game in the new film “45 Years.”

Meet Kate (Rampling) and Geoff (Courtenay) Mercer. They are full of excitement as they prepare to celebrate 45 years of marriage. As Geoff was ill when year 40 rolled around, Kate has decided to make this event one for the ages, and the majority of their small town will be at the celebration But as the day approaches Geoff receives a mysterious letter from Switzerland. He learns that the body of Katia, his first love, has been discovered. She disappeared over 50 years ago. Due to the circumstances she is literally frozen in ice, as beautiful as she was the day she disappeared. Even though Geoff feigns a slight interest, it is evident to Kate that the news is effecting him. Investigating on her own, Kate discovers secrets that make her question not only Geoff’s love, but their marriage.

A film this small scale – there are very few cast members – is only as good as its cast and the two veterans deliver in spades. Rampling, still beautiful at 70 — I’m sorry….is that a sexist statement…like I shouldn’t expect her to be beautiful at this age — says as much with her expressions and mannerisms as she does her words. Courtenay is her acting match here, observing small things and affecting small changes in his life. It’s obvious to both that the mystery of Katia is something that will linger for a long time.

The film is slight as far as subject matter is concerned but the two stars keep the pace moving, with Rampling shining in an Academy Award nominated performance. A fine alternative if you’re tired of bears, both grizzlies and pandas.

Starring: Benjamin Walker, Teresa Palmer and Tom Welling
Directed by: Ross Katz
Rated: PG 13
Running time: 1 hr 51 mins
Lionsgate Films

Our Score: 3 out of 5 stars

Lonely man making his way through life meets woman with a past. They fall in love. Something bad happens. If you’re thinking to yourself, “this sounds like something Nicolas Sparks would write,” give yourself a prize. And welcome to “The Choice.”

Travis (Walker) is apparently the world’s greatest veterinarian. Even though he lives in Wilmington, North Carolina his practice, which he shares with his father, provides enough money for him to live in a beautiful house on the water, where he barbecues on weekends when he’s not out in his cool boat. One night, during one of his barbecues, he is asked to turn the music down by Gabby (Palmer), a nurse studying for some medical exams. One thing leads to another and soon Travis and Gabby are fishing and boating and spending way too much time out in softly lit rainstorms. Things go well in the friend zone until Gabby’s wealthy M.D. fiancé’ (seriously, is there NOBODY in North Carolina that ISN’T wealthy?) has to go out of town for a month. The fact that he is played by Tom Welling means nothing to the pair and soon they have kindled a hot and heavy romance. Cue the music.

If you’re familiar with Nicolas Spark’s novels then you pretty much know what to expect going in to “The Choice.” What makes this film a notch above other cookie-cutter Sparks adaptations is a strong cast, particularly from the supporting actors. Of the three leads, Walker does the best. I enjoyed him as our 16th President in “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter,” and he credits himself here. Palmer tries to be the spunky girl but she can’t convince us that she has no interest in Travis. As for Welling…he has gotten HUGE. Too bad they’ve got Henry Cavil to play Superman because Welling looks like he could easily fill out the super-suit now. Supporting work by Tom Wilkinson, as Travis’ father, and Sharon McCormick, as their loyal receptionist, do make the film go by easier than expected. So if you “choose’ to see it with someone, let them know that it could be much worse!

Starring: Josh Brolin, George Clooney and Alden Ehrenreich
Directed By: Joel and Ethan Coen
Rated: PG-13
Running Time: 106 minutes
Universal Pictures

Our Score: 4 out of 5 Stars

The Coen brothers seemingly find a way, movie after movie, to blend genres and create something completely unique, pushing the envelope about what theater goers expect in terms of storytelling, plot, and character development. “Hail, Caesar!” is no different. There’s no denying the Coen brothers talent when it comes to their dramatic works, but when they focus solely on their comedic efforts, it yields a unique array of ideas. They’ve crafted cult classics, toe tapping musicals, and dull remakes. “Hail, Caesar!” falls on the high end of that their comedic works.

There’s a pretentious nature to what the Coen brothers do. There’s an inside joke to a lot of their movies, and if you don’t get, they won’t tell you. The inside joke to “Hail, Caesar!” is the film industry, celebrities, the 1950’s, and I’m sure something else. Someone my age may not understand the mocking nature of the inner workings of the movie studios, the nuances of an era before my time, or the parody nature of the movies shown during the fabulous fifties, but I still enjoyed the oddball nature of “Hail, Caesar!”. It’s a blown kiss and slap in the face to the Hollywood industry.

Eddie Mannix (Brolin) is a “fixer” for Capitol Pictures. His job is to run around all day, making sure the press doesn’t get wind of the latest shocking scandal (a starlet having a child out of wedlock), making sure productions are up to snuff, and that the men financing everything are happy. Of course for “Hail, Caesar!”, he’s also trying to find out where studio star, Baird Whitlock (Clooney) has run off to. Well, he hasn’t gone on one of his alcoholic benders or, as his wife puts it, at some floozies place. But Baird has been kidnapped.

Most other movies would make this plotline essential to the storytelling aspect of this movie, but the Coen brothers find entertainment in the array of movie products, random actors and actresses, and Eddie’s personal home life. There are so many cameos in this movie, it’s impossible to talk about every single one, as well as their subtleties that they add to the plot, the various themes, or their potential jab at real-life events and celebrities. Of course, as I stated earlier, the character may be a part of an inside joke that you may or may not get.

So in essence, it’s a Coen brother’s movie. “Hail, Caesar!” is rich with witty dialogue involving thick-headed actors and sophisticated directors. Channing Tatum, Scarlett Johansson, Tilda Swinton, Jonah Hill, Wayne Knight, Frances McDormand, and others are scattered about, adding their own flavor to the movie. At times it can be overwhelming, but equally underwhelming at times, especially when we find out who has kidnapped Baird and why.

Just take a step back and accept that this is a screwball, ensemble comedy. With that in mind, you should be able to enjoy it’s, at times, confusing narrative. like a fine wine, I expect “Hail, Caesar!” to age gracefully and be a delight to watch occasionally, much like “Raising Arizona” or “The Big Lebowski”. It’s not a masterpiece by “Fargo” and “No Country for Old Men” standards, but it’s certainly a fine addition to the Coen’s collection.

Starring: Fernando Alves Pinto and Alessandra Negrini
Directed by: Afonso Poyart
Rated: Not Rated
Running time: 1 hr 41 mins
XLrator Media

Our Score: 4 out of 5 stars

“Nobody is bad. People just go the wrong way sometimes.”

Wisdom and reason, all in ten words. And the driving force behind the new film “Two Rabbits,” a film with so many twists and turns you’ll need to wear a seatbelt while watching it.

The basic story is redemption. The film begins with a horrible car accident which kills a woman and her son while they are walking across the screen. Through flashbacks we meet the people involved: the driver of the car, the woman’s husband, the local crime boss, his attorney and the attorney’s police officer wife. We soon learn that things are not as they seem. The wife, Julia (Negrini), finds mistakes in the police files or removes evidence, allowing her husband Henrique (Neco Villa Lobos) to get his high profile clients off in court. His current client is the evil Maicon (Marat Descartes), who will need all the help he can get if he wishes to be found not guilty. All of these people interact with Edgar (Pinto), a man with a past and, hopefully, a future. As the story progresses, things that seemed clear become blurred and people reveal themselves to be exactly what you DIDN’T think they were.

While director Poyart has written a strong script, one which could stand alongside “The Usual Suspect” as far as twists go, he double downs on the story with some amazing camera work. Portions of the film play like a straight-up thriller, others like a scene taken directly from the video game “Grand Theft Auto.” It’s a curious choice but one that works in Poyart’s hands. Poyart also served as the film’s editor, ensuring that the final vision is his. The cast is equally strong and as the plot slowly unwinds they roll well with the punches.

This is Poyart’s feature film debut as both a writer and director and it should be noted that his work here earned him the director’s gig on this fall’s upcoming mystery “Solace,” which will star Anthony Hopkins and Colin Farrell. I’m predicting no sophomore jinx for this filmmaker.

Writer/director Justin D. Chambers has released an advance trailer for his upcoming film, “American Bred,” which will debut in March at the D.C. International Film Festival. MovieMike got an early peek at the film and loves it. Look for his complete review soon.

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In order to celebrate this week’s release of “Kung Fu Panda 3” (which is amazing BTW), Dreamworks Animation is re-releasing the first two “Kung Fu Panda” films with over 80 minutes of new bonus content including an all-new 22 minute animated adventure, “Secret of the Scroll,” and an exclusive sneak peek of DreamWorks Animation Kung Fu Panda 3 as well as Digital HD copies of each film.

Official Premises: In DreamWorks’ Kung Fu Panda, Jack Black is perfect as the voice of Po, a noodle-slurping dreamer who must embrace his true self – fuzzy flaws and all – in order to become the Dragon Warrior. Black reprises his role as Po in Kung Fu Panda 2, the fiercely funny Academy Award-nominated sequel. In his biggest challenge since becoming the Dragon Warrior, Po must lead his friends and fellow kung fu masters, The Furious Five, on a mission of epic proportions to defeat his most threatening rival yet!

This franchise features an all-star voice cast including Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, Gary Oldman, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, David Cross, Michelle Yeoh, Danny McBride and Jean-Claude Van Damme. There is ZERO shortage of amazing talent in these films!

The special features included are a Martial Arts Awesomeness Music Video which features the best fight sequences in the beat of “Kung Fu Fighting”. “Mash-Up of Awesomeness: Slo-Mo” focuses the franchises more intense action scenes in slow-motion. There is a “Mash-Up of Blunders” which is basically a gag reel of Po’s most embarrassing moments. Lastly there is an all-new Kung Fu Panda 3 sneak peek with introduction by Jack Black rounding out the extras. If you have never purchased these films, might be a good time to pick them up!

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Starring: Chris Pine, Casey Affleck and Holliday Grainger
Directed by: Craig Gillespie
Rated: PG 13
Running time: 1 hr 57 mins
Walt Disney Pictures

Our Score: 3.5 out of 5 stars

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…somewhere on the Walt Disney lot is a small office in which sits a little man not unlike Burgess Meredith in the “Time Enough At Last” episode of “The Twilight Zone” who does nothing but reads all day, looking for stories, new and old, about amazing events that leave the reader feeling good. It took him six decades but he finally found the story behind “The Finest Hours.”

It’s a cold day in February 1952 as the residents of the small town of Chatham, Massachusetts prepare for a storm. Among the locals is phone operator Vivian (Grainger) and her boyfriend Bernie Webber (Pine), who is stationed at the local US Coast Guard station. The townspeople are a little moody as they recently observed the one year anniversary of a horrible boating accident which killed many. Due to the weather conditions, the Coast Guard was not able to perform a rescue, and some in town still hold a grudge. It is when a similar incident arises, and Webber and his men are sent out into the storm, that old memories prove they do not die easily.

Based on a true story, “The Finest Hours” tells the tale of the four enlisted men who risked their lives in an attempt to bring back thirty-two survivors from a horrible accident in which their actual vessel broke in half. Led by Pine and Ben Foster, the brave military men are a strong and determined lot. Self-reminded of their failure the year before, the men go above and beyond to help. On the ship itself, the men are a motley crew of seasoned vets and young rookies. Let by Affleck’s chief mechanic, some are willing to listen while others distrust him. Then there is the ship’s cook who keeps things light by repeatedly singing “Sit Down, You’re Rocking the Boat” from “Guys and Dolls!”

Technically the film is top notch. The special effects are well done and the various period pieces take you back to a time in life when you couldn’t just pick up your cell phone and check in with others. Do save your money and don’t see “The Finest Hours” in 3D. This may very well be the “least” 3D movie of any 3D movie I’ve ever seen. You’d be better served with an umbrella.

LOS ANGELES, CA (January 12, 2016) – Fans of all ages will rejoice as Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment’s THE PEANUTS MOVIE arrives on Digital HD Feb. 12 and Collector’s Edition Blu-ray™ & DVD March 8, 2016. Every underdog has his day in this fun, family film hailed by critics as “clever and charming” (USA Today), “the year’s best family film” and “funny and heart-warming” (CBS Radio News).

And for a limited time, get a Snoopy Flying Ace plush toy with THE PEANUTS MOVIE DVD,
Blu-ray™ and Digital HD combo pack on March 8 making it the perfect gift for Easter baskets.

In THE PEANUTS MOVIE, good ol’ Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy, Linus and the rest of the beloved Peanuts gang appear as you’ve never seen them before in a brand-new feature film from the imagination of Charles M. Schulz and the creators of Ice Age. Join everyone’s favorite eternal optimist, Charlie Brown, as he embarks on a heroic quest, while his beagle pal Snoopy takes to the skies to pursue his arch nemesis, the Red Baron. It’s a hilarious and heart-warming adventure!

THE PEANUTS MOVIE is directed by Steve Martino (Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who!) and produced and written by Bryan Schulz, Craig Schulz and Cornelius Uliano. Paul Feig (Spy, The Heat) and Michael Travers are also film producers.

With the Collector’s Edition Blu-ray™, DVD and Digital HD fans can go deeper into the world of THE PEANUTS MOVIE with these fun-filled special features! Watch all-new Snoopy Snippets, check out the delightful documentary about the film’s extraordinary journey from the comics to the big screen, learn to draw Peanuts characters, sing along to music videos, choose your favorite songs from Snoopy’s Playlist and more!

THE PEANUTS MOVIE Blu-ray 3D™, Blu-ray™ & Digital HD includes:

Feature film in high definition
Special Features:

• Snoopy Snippets – Can’t get enough of your favorite Peanuts characters? These six all-new Snoopy Snippets will brighten your day!
• You Never Grow Up Charlie Brown – In this fascinating documentary, you’ll learn about Charles Schulz, the history of the Peanuts gang, and their journey to the big screen!
• Snoopy’s Sibling Salute – It’s a Snoopy family reunion as The Peanuts Movie filmmakers introduce viewers to Snoopy’s siblings: Andy, Olaf, Spike, Belle and Marbles.
• Learn To Draw Snoopy, Woodstock and Charlie Brown – Director Steve Martino provides fun, step-by-step tutorials on how to draw Snoopy, Woodstock and Charlie Brown.
• Get Down With Snoopy and Woodstock Music Video – Clap, dance and sing along with Snoopy, Woodstock and Charlie Brown to an all-new version of everyone’s favorite Peanuts song!
• “Better When I’m Dancin’” Meghan Trainor Lyric Video – The Peanuts gang is dancing up a storm with moves like you’ve never seen before—and on-screen lyrics so you can sing along.
• “Better When I’m Dancin’” Meghan Trainor Music Video – Escape to a wonderful, whimsical world with Meghan Trainor’s music video for her hit song “Better When I’m Dancin’.”
• Behind The Scenes of “Better When I’m Dancin’” – Meghan Trainor takes you on an exclusive tour behind the scenes and on the set of her “Better When I’m Dancin’” music video!
• Snoopy’s Playlist – Now the music from the movie is at your fingertips—use Snoopy’s Playlist to jump directly to your favorite songs.

THE PEANUTS MOVIE DVD includes:

Feature film in standard definition
Special Features:

• Snoopy Snippets – Can’t get enough of your favorite Peanuts characters? These six all-new Snoopy Snippets will brighten your day!
• Learn To Draw Snoopy, Woodstock and Charlie Brown – Director Steve Martino provides fun, step-by-step tutorials on how to draw Snoopy, Woodstock and Charlie Brown.
• Get Down With Snoopy and Woodstock Music Video – Clap, dance and sing along with Snoopy, Woodstock and Charlie Brown to an all-new version of everyone’s favorite Peanuts song!
• “Better When I’m Dancin’” Meghan Trainor Lyric Video – The Peanuts gang is dancing up a storm with moves like you’ve never seen before—and on-screen lyrics so you can sing along.
• “Better When I’m Dancin’” Meghan Trainor Music Video – Escape to a wonderful, whimsical world with Meghan Trainor’s music video for her hit song “Better When I’m Dancin’.”
• Behind The Scenes of “Better When I’m Dancin’” – Meghan Trainor takes you on an exclusive tour behind the scenes and on the set of her “Better When I’m Dancin’” music video!
• Snoopy’s Playlist – Now the music from the movie is at your fingertips—use Snoopy’s Playlist to jump directly to your favorite songs.