Quick takes on 5 films

Green Room is sort of meh. Actually not a bad movie, but a little stereotypical of this genre. A rock band is touring from town to town, barely making enough money to keep gas in the van. As a last resort they take a gig at a neo-nazi hangout. When they witness a murder in the back room though, they are held prisoner, and the decision is made to kill them as witnesses. They decide not to go down without a fight. The bad guys are a little cliché but the action is good and the film doesn’t play out in an entirely foreseen way. Not all that memorable, but a worthy way to spend 90 minutes.

Triple 9 is one of those movies where the amazing cast can’t quite save the story. Not a bad movie, but when you look at the actors (Casey Affleck, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Kate Winslet, Woody Harrelson, and those guys from “Breaking Bad” and “The Walking Dead”, among others!), you expect something pretty stellar. The movie is about a group of thieves and dirty cops, doing a couple jobs for the Russian mafia, and the good cops and detectives trying to put it all together. A lot happens in the first 20-30 minutes where you think it is going to get really deep and complex, and then it never does. But still, good action and decent acting (at least they weren’t just mailing it in) put together a passable film, but a few too many holes will leave you wanting more.

45 Years is very enjoyable, and a poignant look at how events long past can have real implications on your emotions in the present day. Kate and her husband Geoff are getting ready to celebrate their 45^th wedding anniversary, having had to postpone a big party on their 40^th when Geoff underwent a major heart procedure and had to fight back to life. A week before the big party this time around, Geoff receives a letter that an old girlfriend’s, Katya’s, body has been found. They had been hiking in Switzerland when she’d slipped off a cliff, and apparently she’d become frozen in the ice, her body now preserved all these years. Though this was all before Kate ever knew Geoff, she is consumed by feelings of jealousy and hurt, especially when Geoff admits that Katya was more than a girlfriend, and in fact they were engaged at the time. Over the next few days, Geoff becomes increasingly possessed about Katya and their time together 50 years past, and withdrawn from Kate, and Kate doesn’t know what to make of it as their anniversary party approaches. The ending is just ambiguous enough. Fantastic acting by Charlotte Rampling, who was nominated for an Oscar.

Eye in the Sky is a movie that will get you thinking. Helen Mirren oversees a drone strike program, jointly between the UK and the USA. They are hunting 3 high profile targets in Africa, and when the 3 come together in a house, the team is faced with the decision to take them out and risk killing nearby innocents, or miss possibly their greatest chance to get all 3 terrorists at the same time. Really fine cast including Alan Rickman (his last on-screen movie), Aaron Paul, and Barkhad Abdi (from the hit Captain Phillips). The movie shows the strife amongst politicians, when everyone keeps passing the buck higher up the food chain, as no one wants to be the one to make the final decision, as well as showing the turmoil among the military. Some are willing to take the shot, seemingly not caring how many innocents die, and others struggle with killing even one non-target. The movie does a great job of balancing the good and bad consequences of the choice, and ultimately, the decision made will affect different viewers in very different ways.

I may have mentioned it before, but I have a soft spot for sports films, and I like the Olympics, so a movie about the Olympics will get me every time. I really enjoyed Eddie the Eagle, but not just because of its setting. Taron Egerton is incredible as Eddie, who wanted nothing more than to play in an Olympic games. After trying different sports growing up, he finally settles in as a ski jumper, mostly because his native UK has no team, so it is an easier road to the games. He latches on to a former jumper as a coach (played by Hugh Jackman), and sets out to reach his goals. I’m not sure how factual the base-on-a-true story movie is, but it is quality film and can be enjoyed by all ages.