Smart thriller more fun than mega-flop
Safe House goes on a merry ride, but John Carter just splutters
Safe House: Just like the stripper, prostitute and gangland assassin, the CIA agent has been glamorized on the big screen. Trained to believe the bullets will fly at any moment, the bored agent’s eyes glaze over like a Tim’s doughnut. Certainly, that’s the case for Ryan Reynolds’ Matt Weston, a rookie agent taking care of a safe house where he spends the day twiddling his thumbs. Bored beyond the bounds of his cranium, Matt wants some action, and he gets his wish in the form of Tobin Frost (Denzel Washington), a rogue agent suspected of treason. Frost is in custody when he’s brought into the safe house, but he promptly busts out, accusing his bosses of corruption and threatening to get even. Who’s telling the truth, and who’s a big fat liar? Finding out makes for a pretty fun ride in this smart, well-acted thriller that doesn’t reinvent the wheel — but gives it spinner rims. Special features include digital copy, second screen experience, making-of video, shooting the safe house attack, behind the action, Inside the CIA and more. (out of five) John Carter: It’s big. It’s bold. It’s incredibly silly and will go down as one of the biggest flops in Disney history. Yet, the only thing truly wrong with John Carter — the mega-budget action flick that spans galaxies and eras of human history — is the mismatch between source and ambition. Director Andrew Stanton tried to make a splashy, sophisticated picture. But the whole premise of a Civil War vet going to Mars and saving an alien race is so cheesy, the movie had to immerse itself in a Saturday matinee feel to really work any magic. Besides, we’ve seen all this stuff before in the Star Wars franchise and everything that followed, so the only real meat was star Taylor Kitsch and the Chuck Heston quality he brings to the screen. Kitsch does a great job, but the movie hasn’t been tailored to his form and feels baggy — if not entirely outdated. Special features include digital copy, Barsoom bloopers, audio commentary, Disney Second screen focus in mythology, deleted scenes with optional commentary and more. Machinegun Preacher: Everyone loves a reclamation story, but even the saintliest recreation feels a little shallow at the end of a gun barrel. That said, this story of a convicted drug dealer and biker gang member who finds Jesus and brings vigilante justice to Sudan runs into problems. Based on the real-life transformation of Sam Childers, this Marc Foster ( Finding Neverland, Quantum of Solace) movie stars Gerard Butler as Childers and Michelle Monaghan as his frazzled wife, a woman who must watch as her entire safety net is forfeited for a group of kids half a world away. The film is awash in moral grey zones, but the writers tried to hammer Hollywood values into the frame, ensuring the whole structure feels lopsided — and just a little too pushy. The biggest problem is Childers, played by a seething Butler sans empathy. If we don’t like our hero, the violence is repulsive and the preaching just feels arrogant. Special features include a spotlight on the music, trailer, and more. 1/2 Act of Valor: Army recruitment efforts have given us some of the most important artifacts of our time, from Uncle Sam’s pointing finger of responsibility to the stoic “Keep Calm and Carry On” merchandise that’s now ubiquitous in every gift shop. As a result, it’s no surprise the people looking for human sacrifice have latched on to the power of the motion picture and produced Act of Valor. A red, white and blue ode to patriotic bloodletting, Act of Valor stars real life Navy Seals as, um, Navy Seals assigned to free a CIA agent from a group of baddies nesting in the jungle. While the weapons and hardware look macho and shiny, the dialogue and acting are just plain lame as they desperately attempt to glorify wholesale killing in the name of international justice. Special features include deleted scenes, Christo’s House, Shabal on Boat, Shabal in Kiro, director commentary and more. W.E.: Madonna takes on the directing reins in this second effort, and once again proves she’s got a great feel for design, but no narrative touch. The upside is the performance value generated by the two leads, Andrea Riseborough and Abbie Cornish. The former plays Wallis Simpson, royal object of desire to King Edward VIII, while the latter plays a modern-day obsessive and former gallery dealer who imagines what crushing romance might feel like. Everything feels a little soapy in this bodice-ripper that eventually bores. Special features include the making of W.E. and more.
1/2 Man on a Ledge: The cast is tremendous: Sam Worthington, Elizabeth Banks, Jamie Bell, Anthony Mackie and Ed Harris. So why does Man on a Ledge teeter on the edge of the dreary abyss for the duration? The whole movie is structured in reverse, which means we’re forced to trace the plot through a series of back-and-forth motions. Worthington plays the “jumper,” a man who walks onto the ledge of a Manhattan hotel in the opening scene. He seems awfully together for a man about to commit suicide, and that’s because he’s hatched a complex plan to clear his own name from the windowsill. The story feels like an afterthought that eventually slips and goes splat. Special features include The Ledge featurette, commentary with Elizabeth Banks and more. 1/2