Erik M.

Léon aka The Professional pairs Jean Reno and then-newcomer Natalie Portman as a lonely hitman named Leon with a code of honor and a streak of decency with an abused, neglected and equally lonely child named Mathilda caught in the cross-hairs of a corrupt DEA and his murderous colleagues. Léon meets and grows to care for sullen Mathilda instantly when he moves into the meager apartment building she and her uncaring and criminally involved family reside-only her baby brother brings her any love or joy. Mathilda's life soon is in danger when her father crosses the sinister and psychotic, drug-addled DEA Stansfield, who executes her entire family and seeks to silence her. Léon takes Mathilda in and they forge a potent relationship that's something between best friends, substitute father/daughter and even unconventional lovers with coming-of-age undertones as the socially stunted Léon protects Mathilda and she seeks revenge for her little brother's death. The movie balances crime drama, action and thriller elements with a developing a subplot akin to a love story, as Léon and Mathilda's feelings blossom and redeem them both. While the notion of older man/younger girl bonding might well be off-putting for many, director Luc Besson manages to keep it innocent and focuses on how two hurt and lonely hearts might meet and discover love despite innumerable obstacles. Years later, this is one of those movies that can stand the test of time and be both entertaining and thought-provoking! For fans of Luc Besson films, a terrific Jean Reno, an adorable then-first-time actress Natalie Portman, and a scene-chewing Gary Oldman as the twisted main villain. A Classic.

Erik M.

Maleficent is a reimagined telling of the Disney classic Sleeping Beauty that stars Angelina Jolie as the title character, a good and powerful fairy who was betrayed and mutilated by a mortal human she cared about and left for dead while he ascended the throne of a nearby kingdom. Maleficent's backstory is revealed as she grows in power and malice, then curses the baby daughter of her enemy. Princess Aurora and Maleficent's relationship, over time, causes the broken and wounded heart of Maleficent to heal and for her to rise up and combat the cruel king and his dark rule. Well cast, with good SFX/CGI, setting, and a compelling story, Maleficent is well worth seeing with the family, but may be scary for youngest viewers. Hero and villain, you may find yourself rooting for Maleficent to rise up and fight back.

Erik M.

Natalie Portman gives a stunning performance as a tormented ballerina who loses her sanity while working far too hard at being the best embodiment of Swan Lake's Swan Queen. Hallucinations, infighting, overbearing mothers, seeming body transformations, inappropriate relationships, and doppelgängers all together seem to try to thwart an obsessed dancer's dream. Mila Kunis stars as a rival whose presence helps unravel the protagonist's tenuous grip on reality. Good music and choreography as well as a great supporting cast make Black Swan a memorable, and hellish descent into one woman's waking nightmare! It deserved the attention and accolades it received back in 2010. Don't miss this horror/thriller-drama.

Erik M.

Yogi, Boo-Boo, and Ranger Smith return in a kid-friendly, live-action/CGI 3-D movie where the smart bruin tries to steal more pic-a-nic baskets, loaf around and find ways to make mischief throughout Jellystone Park as it nears its 100th Anniversary. A selfish mayor seeking to rezone the financially struggling park for lumber and gain points with voters for an election bid to become governor threatens the bear's home, the livelihood of Ranger Smith and his budding romance with nature photographer Rachel. Can they save Jellystone from being logged? Can Yogi do more with smarts than steal food? This movie is geared for the younger set, and it could entertain the little ones awhile, but adults might quickly tire of the antics and talents Anna Faris, Tom Cavanagh as well as voice talents of Dan Aykroyd and Justin Timberlake might not be enough to keep adults from growing bored. The movie was a financial success and it did stay faithful to the original series in tone and humor, but if you want to see Yogi bear, do yourself a favor and watch the cartoons.

Erik M.

The Little Rascals is a movie adaptation of the classic black and white 1922 to 1944 series of short comedy films about a love-sick junior crooner named Alfalfa trying to win the affections of a little girl named Darla while dealing with a pair of bullies, general opposition by his other friends and members of their club, and a rival who is wealthier than him. At times cute and endearing, the language is slightly updated while everything else is very faithful to the old shows and can be very dated. Look out for Mel Brooks, the Olsens as kids, George Wendt, Whoopi Goldberg, Reba McIntyre, Daryl Hannah and even Donald Trump! OK, but with recycled skits and gags. Might appeal to very young children and very nostalgic adults.

Erik M.

Frances Ha is a black and white comedy-drama about a quirky aspiring dancer living in New York who is trying to sort out her life while looking for work, a decent relationship, a place to live and figure out who she is. Star Greta Gerwig plays the spirited title character with a sweet, naturalistic style in a Woody Allen-like slice of life film that never tries to be too funny or too serious, but relatable.

Erik M.

The Road is a grim, gritty, desaturated and grayscale dystopian Science Fiction drama that draws from a number of post-Apocalyptic tropes to tell the tale of a father and son desperately trying to survive illness, savage attacks by fellow survivors, the terrible weather and lack of resources. Viggo Mortenson, Charlize Theron, Kodi Smit-McPhee and Robert Duvall all try to hold together this bleak story, and flashbacks to happier times contrast and haunt rather than provide respite for the audience or the protagonists as the main characters trudge along. As pointed out on the mistakes page, there are some problems here, not the least of which is that you've seen just about everything here somewhere else. Best advice: Steer clear of this road and program your GPS for somewhere more hopeful.

Erik M.

Let Me In is a remake of a 2008 Swedish film entitled Let the Right One In. Here, Chloë Grace Moretz plays Abby, a child Vampire who has taken an interest in a lonely and outcast boy named Owen. As her own companion is growing old and less able to provide for her, Chloe bonds with Owen while she feeds on Owen's neighbors and, eventually, kills those who torment Owen. The movie is a strange coming of age/friendship horror tale where the mysterious Abby is the only one who's kind and compassionate to the boy, while savage and monstrous when hungry or angered, embodying childhood rage at bullying and a wish to be able to enact revenge. While not as elegant and developed as the original film or book that it's based upon, Let Me In does have a creepiness and a chemistry between the main characters that is compelling, and the idea of a child vampire is as disturbing here as in Anne Rice's movie adaptation of Interview with A Vampire. If you hear tapping in Morse code after watching this film from start to finish, consider running.

Erik M.

A tense and convoluted drama/thriller about a 16 year old girl's sudden disappearance and her widower father's desperate attempts to use smartphone, computer, internet and social media to find out the truth about what happened and the life she lived that he was unaware of. Shown almost entirely on screens, the story has a modern and timely feel though the shocking conclusion is a bit of a stretch. Still, John Cho and Debra Messing are in top form as the worried and intense father and special detective investigating the child's whereabouts and fate.

Erik M.

Winchester stars Dame Helen Mirren as heiress Sarah Winchester, who had seen a medium and then spent years building a 7-story labyrinthine house under the belief that the weapons her family produced caused the spirits to curse and pursue her and her kin. The period horror film, set in the early 1900s, explores the premise that the multitude of rooms contain the upset spirits of those killed by the arms, sealing them away until they make peace with their demise. Dame Helen Mirren provides a strong performance while the rest of the cast try to support what amounts to every haunted house and ghost story trope that can be crammed into the running time. Lavish period sets, faithful costumes and a film palette that lends both an spooky and aged look help sell the time period, but the film seems as lost as the souls trapped in the ever-expanding, odious house.

Erik M.

Venom takes the massive, viscous and vicious dark alien "suit" from Ted Raimi's Spider-Man 3 and Marvel Comics that had bonded to Journalist Eddie Brock and gives him his own story to rampage through. Eddie here is a decent man trying to bring down an utterly unethical scientist named Carlton Drake who is willing to experiment on and kill innocent human test subjects in his pursuit of fame and curing human frailties. When an alien parasite is discovered, Drake immediately begins lethal human testing while seeking out suitable hosts. Eddie and his fiancee, Ann, are both fired from their jobs when Eddie blows an interview with Drake. Things go from bad to weird when Eddie gets a scoop that leads him to Drake's lab and the Venom organism bonds with him. The two, merged, find common cause to stop Drake and another version of the parasite from causing the destruction of Earth by a full-scale invasion by the creatures. Violent, fast-paced and fairly faithful to the source material, Venom can entertain fans of the anti-hero as well as those new to his brand of chaos.

Erik M.

Tomorrowland is a science fiction and mystery adventure that revolves around themes of nostalgia, the golden age of futurists, and a need for wonder and positivity in the face of growing cynicism and negativity. Casey is an optimistic, bright and inventive teen girl who finds herself in the strange place populated by sophisticated androids and other technological wonders. This world, however, is in danger, as is our own, from decay and catastrophe related to the belief in dire and unavoidable entropy, eventually causing an apocalypse. The film seems to be trying to appeal to kids and much older adults as it references the 1964 Worlds Fair, early Disneyland, tosses in old and new pop references, and the technology showcased has a retro-futuristic vibe. Can young Casey and adult inventor, Frank, save the future from disaster and bring back healthy curiosity, imagination, creativity and hope? Is destiny set? Visually interesting and easy-viewing, but plays like an extended made-for-TV film for...I'm still not certain. That is a problem-elements of Tomorrowland haphazardly hitting and missing an undefined target audience. What's meant to be amazing-thanks to a glut of other CGI-saturated shows-comes across as less-than-spectacular and just OK. Watch for a mild adventure that delights in-and tramples over-early dreams of what the far future might be like.

Erik M.

It's giant shark (s) verses tasty humans in this Science Fiction action film starring Jason Stratham as a weary rescue diver who has to get past past trauma and loss, rising to the occasion and becoming a hero once again when prehistoric predatory fish from the depths of the pacific ocean threaten oceanographic researchers, hapless swimmers, and a tiny dog! Fast-paced, with action and even humor, boasting pretty good CGI sea-life and practical effects, The Meg swims up and takes a sizable bite out of boredom! Is it a nod to Jaws and other fish-from-Hell films-YES, but it's a fun trip under the waves, so don't let this one sink out of sight under the sea. Give it a look.

Erik M.

Very Bad Things can be viewed as a dark comedy about a bachelor party that goes absurdly wrong and spirals out of control into murder and further immorality when an adult entertainer is accidentally killed and the panicking groom, best man and friends try to cover it up. The shrewish, obsessed bride to be (played by Cameron Diaz) will stop at nothing to have her wedding, even if she has to get in on the escalating violence. Poetic justice and mayhem follow in a film that is funny for some in an absurd, brutal slapstick way. Think Christian Slater in Heathers meets The Hangover.

Erik M.

Devil's Pass is a Horror/Science Fiction movie about a small group of U.S. students who go to Russia to investigate a bizarre and mysterious tragedy involving hikers there. Shot in a "found footage" style, the film right away evokes Blair Witch Project but then goes right off a frozen cliff with a mash up of ideas involving conspiracies and secret experiments, mutants, teleportation and mayhem by the third act. The original premise of the dead Russian hikers is based upon the real Dyatlov Pass incident-and a serious exploration of that might have made for better movie. Laughably bad dialog, poor decisions by the main characters along with sets and pacing more appropriate for a horror video game than a movie make this one weird film that tries to tie together too many outlandish ideas.

Erik M.

The Young Messiah is a fictional imagining of a glimpse into the life of 7-year-old Jesus as he, Mary and Joseph along with members of their family, traveled to Nazareth. Along the way, Jesus witnesses some of the cruelty of the Roman occupation, experiences danger and bullying from his own people, performs early miracles and seeks knowledge while trying to understand his destiny. Mostly British accents and some historical inaccuracies undermine an otherwise earnest and reverent attempt to examine a little known period in Jesus' life. Slow-paced, and may be challenging to some for its depictions.

Erik M.

The Wolfman (2010) is a lavish reboot of the original classic film that has nearly all of the ingredients for a hit-great cast, scenery and sets, costumes and music-but not the best screenplay and lacking in suspense and surprises. The practical effects actually outshine the CGI visuals, and the murky atmosphere doesn't hide Joe Johnston's directorial pacing or the script's inability to make the characters more compelling. In short, it's a movie that could and should have been better, but the various parts just didn't add up to more than some gory, snarling whole with an odd, emotional disconnect.

Erik M.

Poltergeist (2015) is a remake of the 1982 Spielberg classic with some minor tweaks and updates, but otherwise follows faithfully to the story of the original. Angry spirits torment a family recently moved into a seemingly normal house and abduct their youngest daughter. The family then reach out to parapsychologists for help with getting the child back and escaping the ghostly nightmare. Some scary moments are elaborated upon, and the movie may work for those who never saw the original or its sequels, otherwise there's little new to experience here.

Erik M.

The Andromeda Strain is the grandfather of epidemic outbreak movies. A space probe brings back a highly contagious microbial life-form that infects and kills humans and animals, consumes plastics and thrives off nuclear energy! An isolated team of top scientists try to contain and stop the germ from spreading, but it seems to keep thwarting them in this slow, tense thriller. Somewhat dated, sexist and plodding, The Andromeda Strain does hold merit for early CGI use, adapting Michael Crichton's book of the same name remarkably faithfully, lying the foundation for later outbreak-themed films, and meticulously portraying what a response to such an outbreak might be. Will humanity survive this alien plague? Watch one day and see.

Erik M.

Congo is a throwback African Jungle adventure that pits a primatologist, fortune hunters, an ex-CIA agent and others against warring factions, hungry hippos, and killer volcano-dwelling mutant apes bred to defend an ancient diamond mine! Laura Linney, Bruce Campbell and Tim Curry are nearly upstaged by a clever, "talking" gorilla named Amy, who just wants to return to her kind. Some jokes here and there soften the blow of bad acting, very contrived dangers and other faux pas. Not one of the best adaptations of a Michael Crichton book by far, but oddly entertaining at times.

Erik M.