Volcano (1997)

Genre: Thriller

Directed by: Mick Jackson

Starring: Tommy Lee Jones, Anne Heche, Don Cheadle

Running time: 104 minutes

When an impromptu volcano erupts underneath Los Angeles, Mike Roark, the director of the city’s Office of Emergency Measures, has to find a way to divert the massive flow of dangerous lava, all the while worrying about the safety of his teenage daughter. Roark gets some assistance from geologist and seismologist Amy Barnes.

This is your run-of-the-mill generic disaster movie where the end seems dire, but you never really doubt that someone will same the day. Most of the acting is good, except for Anne Heche, who felt widely out of place in there. Not a bad movie, just nothing special.

Rating: «««

Hotel Transylvania (2012)

Genre: Animated / Comedy

Directed by: Genndy Tartakovsky

Starring: Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg, Selena Gomez

Running time: 91 minutes

Count Dracula has Hotel Transylvania built, where he hosts monsters, offering them shelter from humans, that he has grown to fear, blaming them for the death of his wife. As he is about to celebrate his daughter Mavis’ 118^th birthday (her majority as a vampire) with friends, Johnny, a 21 years-old human ventures into the hotel, creating chaos. The overprotective father will try to get rid of the boy before his daughter falls for him and his monster guests realize there is a human in the place.

This is a cute animated film. The story is fine, in a thin sort of way. Some of the comedy made me chuckle, though it is pretty tame for adults. Children will sure appreciate. There is a little message here about acceptance, which is fitting for these times.

Rating: «««

Heaven Strewn (2012)

Genre: Drama / Thriller

Directed by: Jeremiah Gurzi

Starring: Wyatt Denny, Rob Tepper, Alexandra Williams

Running time: 78 minutes

Mickey is trying to make up for his losses encountered in a botched counterfeiting transaction by making a play on a looming drop by those who played him. To accomplish this, Mickey convinces his best friend Jasper to drive him, under the guise of a meteorite hunting expedition. Soon enough, this little adventure lands the two friends in more trouble than they bargained for.

Honestly, I never managed to get into this film. It got some great reviews, but it kept losing me. I gave it multiple chances, and it still put me to sleep. Gave up. It’s only quality is that it is short.

Rating: «

The Indian Runner (1991)

Genre: Drama

Directed by: Sean Penn

Starring: David Morse, Viggo Mortensen, Patricia Arquette

Running time: 127 minutes

Based on the Bruce Springsteen song called Highway Patrolman, The Indian Runner is the story of two Nebraska brothers, Joe and Frank Roberts. Joe took a job as deputy sheriff after losing his farm and he lives with his wife Maria and their young son. Frank has been in trouble all his life. After coming back from Vietnam, Frank is soon plagued by restlessness, which is bound to get him in trouble.

The Indian Runner is a very subdued film. It is a compelling character study, as the two brothers represent the opposition of the two extreme opposite sides of manhood. One would probably say that it is probably an illustration of both sides within director Sean Penn’s personality. In this film, what is not said is far more important than what is not said, and bother lead actors do a great job with the tough material. The pace is slow and deliberate, and it takes effort to get into this one, but it is well worth it.

Rating: ««««

Beautiful Boy (2018)

Genre: Biographical / Drama

Directed by: Felix van Groeningen

Starring: Steve Carell, Timothée Chalamet, Maura Tierney

Running time: 120 minutes

New York Times writer David Sheff has a very difficult relationship with his teenage son Nicholas, who is battling through sessions of therapy and relapses of a severe addiction to methamphetamine. The father stands by his son and fights for him constantly, though it might look from the outside like a losing battle. This film is based on the memoirs published by David Sheff and Nicholas Sheff.

I so wanted to love this movie, but I had a hard time getting into it. Over the first half, the story kept jumping back and forth in a way that I would not call seamless. Steve Carell and Timothée Chalamet did their best to carry their roles through, and they were quite good, but the storytelling felt very muddled and confusing.

Rating: ««

The Day After Tomorrow (2004)

Genre: Science-fiction

Directed by: Roland Emmerich

Starring: Dennis Quaid, Jake Gyllenhaal, Ian Holm

Running time: 123 minutes

Climatologist Jack Hall has been trying to convince the American government that climate change could very well bring another ice age somewhere down the life if nothing is done, but he never expected to see it in his life time. When it comes, Jack has to travel in the cold from Washington to New York to rescue his teenage son, who is taking part in an academic decathlon.

Visually-speaking, this is a breath-taking film. The special effects and visuals are great. Most of the acting is pretty good. As for the story itself, while it is scientifically inaccurate and melodramatic at times, it is still quite entertaining.

Rating: ««««

End of Watch (2012)

Genre: Action / Thriller

Directed by: David Ayer

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Pena, Anna Kendrick

Running time: 109 minutes

This film, written and directed by David Ayer, follows Brian Taylor and Mike Zavala, two young LAPD cops, around in their day-to-day job as police officers, their relationships and their friendship. They cover an area where drugs and gangs are prevalent.

The acting is mostly good here, except maybe for Anna Kendrick, who I found to be very non-believable. The story is also quite compelling and the action feels realistic. Unfortunately, while it might have been good for realism, the parts shot with a hand-held camera were more distracting than anything else to me.

Rating: «««