Jim Stockton

Tour de force by Ryan Reynolds. Nails it! The movie isn't intended to be funny - some reviewers seem to lack imagination to appreciate a movie that purposefully colors outside the lines. Nothing conventional here. Not horror or suspense like Psycho, or full-on psycho melodramatic social critique like American Psycho. The Voices is intimate with a main character that is a sympathetic as he is sick. That's the point of the movie. Thus character isn't just a spectacle to observe. His persona is affectionately recognizable. Sad, scary, all that, but not sinister. An interesting provocative and thoroughly unique film.

I enjoyed this movie, laughed out loud throughout. It spoofs so many targets and coordinates them intricately well. The cinematography is first-rate and the special effects as top not h as any Star Wars, Armageddon, or Independence Day. It occurs to me that people were expecting something more predictable and derivative. This flick is truly original AND full of popular cultural references. In addition, the actor's are all unknown to American audiences but each is excellent in his or her role, from main character to anonymous. This shows they had an excellent director. The narrative is cohesive and coherent, and moves at an engaging pace. Much of the humor is found in the subtleties of almost every scene. This is inevitably lost on audiences who expected the standard action sci-fi flick. Their loss. See this movie. Expect nothing. Just let it unfold before you on its own terms. You'll bust a gut, be amazed, and very glad you watched it.

In every way, Kimi is excellent! Kravitz perfectly presents Angela, initially a curious character, then weird and troubled, maybe even irritating. Then she becomes as intriguing as the mystery she's stumbled across, and we're hooked! This is a contemporized iteration of Hitchcock's Rear Window with touches of Audrey Hepburn in Wait Until Dark. This flick is as good. It requires the viewer to be observant, attentive, as the clues emerge without the narrative spoon-feeding lazy critics and gen Z-ers simultaneously on Instagram. This movie is SMART and Zoe Kravitz makes this movie great. A great and surprising cast of co-stars and supporting make it just about perfect. Ignore the simpletons and check it out for yourself. You'll be very glad.

Better a short film than full-length flick. JG's character has so many temper-tantrums that the narrative strains credibility to the breaking point. Riley Keough surely simply followed director Fuqua's guidance and offered a character who became so annoying that one no longer cares and just wants her to stop speaking entirely. Far too many implausible behaviors by almost every character rendered this story just silly. That's sad since Jake G. is capable of far more than all chewing of scenery this role required of him.

Reminds us that Nicholas Cage is an outstanding actor. He inhabits the role, not a false move, ever. The rest of the cast is pure, focused, sharp. Representing post-modern narrative at its best, the story is both tragedy and triumph, and absolutely absorbing.

Expert blending of atmospheric style and realistic grit. Best we've seen from James Caan in quite some time. Directors should keep him in mind for parts like this, quiet, strong, understated. Patricia Clarkson is perfect for this starring role. Driven by buried personal trauma that evolved into her expertise as a top homicide detective, she is world-weary while committed to the whole truth. Viewers looking for a formula mystery won't find it here, whence the poor reviews that have emerged. There is, indeed, mystery here, and crime. The ethereal and the interplay with theoretical physics are added decoration and sources of legitimate intrigue related to the homicide for both the detective and the viewer. However, don't be misled; this is not science, science fiction, or mysticism. It's a mystery thriller with interesting characters and original crucial elements of narrative, whose protagonist ends up paradoxically inspired by the homicide she is investigating. If the viewer doesn't mind thinking once in a while, this movie will reward.

It's a movie that's smarter than its predictable audience. A subtler title would've helped draw proper attention. A good cast of veteran and rising stars should cue folks that is a film worthy of Nicholas Cage rather than just one of his paycheck flix. Takes about 5 minutes to make that this ain't that. For those who ignored this film just because... suspend your assumptions and check it out. You'll be glad. For those expecting the predictable schlock, you're right to be disappointed; this movie wasn't made for you.

Batman is the best superhero because he possesses no extraordinary powers. The character's wealth, as is true also of Marvel's Iron man, is his advantage, and he uses it for the cause of justice. This iteration has the Batman label himself 'Vengeance,' but Pattinson's characterization still avoids becoming criminal in his own actions. The story is intriguing, smart, satisfying. The movie needed an editor. True to DC, except for RED, this flick chooses to show every laborious step, to linger over every long shot, rather than using shorter edits to tighten and energize the viewer's experience. It's weird, given the variety of directors, but DC just can't seem to leave some footage on the floor. Example: this movie has four distinct end scenes, so the inclusion of all just muddies the ending. And the teaser for a sequel, a "comeback story," is painfully obvious and awkwardly wedged into the multiple endings. Paul Dano is always wonderful to watch and hear; but here, for some reason, his quiet quirky intense initial discourse with Batman from his jail cell, surrenders to a predictable and cliche version of a supposed psychopath. Jack Nicholson's Joker owns the giddy self-absorbed loon, apparently inspired by James Cagney's Cody Jarrett. It's long past time for actors and directors to go in another direction with Batman's villains. Heath Ledger pulled it off with a three-dimensional portrayal of a psycho. In addition, the audience was never subjected to some tortured explanation or origin story. The Riddler became smaller rather than larger as this story went on. His menace never rose to the level the narrative assigned it. Last, the scale of this production needed creative cinematography rather than a super-abundance of static camera, and mid to wide range shots that cried out for close ups. The result is the viewer has little opportunity to infer a character's feelings or motivation. We are left mostly to observe from a distance. As a result, it remains difficult to care about any of them. Some very good talent went untapped here. It's worth viewing, perhaps over several sessions. It is not worth buying.

Fine flick. Smart. Respects the audience's intelligence to follow the winding narrative without having to be spoon fed. The story plays out bit by bit, unpredictably, engagingly. Great performances by everyone, so an excellent director in Clark Duke. Quiet, human, complicated, characters. Real people instead of comic book bad guys, trying to adapt and stay ahead of consequences. No flash, no explosions. Just gripping cinematic story-telling.

Frank Grillo at his best, and that's a high standard. He brings the character Roy such depth and breadth that the viewer cares about him, shares vicariously Roy's desire to succeed. And the changes that the story brings as Roy's goals change is fantastic. The narrative is subtle, the dialog is smart, and the cast is a great ensemble. Mel Gibson is perfect as a bad guy but he manages masterfully to convey the fact that his character's ambitions for humanity are, arguably, commendable, and he's simply defending them while failing to understand that catastrophic flaw in his technology. Naomi Watts has little screen time here, but she owns every moment of it. It's a great to see Michelle Yeoh and brilliant how the narrative teases out her role in the narrative. Will Sasso is uncharacteristically a serious badass in the flick, but still genuinely fun to see. Ken Jeomg is fun, his talent for timing and subtle delivery is perfect. The surprise gem here is Selina Lo ironically named Guan Yin. Appropriately, her characterization perfectly personifies the martial and pugilistic tension opposing Roy's quest. The progress of the time she occupies in the story as it unfolds is a gift to the viewer and an example of the sophistication that underlies this movie. This movie gets better and better as it plays on. Exciting, surprising, fun, a great delight.