Movie Reviews: ‘Gifted’ requires some more assembly

Published 12:00 pm Friday, April 28, 2017

“Gifted” (Drama: 1 hour, 41 minutes)

Starring: Chris Evans, Mckenna Grace, Lindsay Duncan and Octavia Spencer

Director: Marc Webb

Rated: PG-13 (brief violence)

Movie Review: Narrative flaws plague a heartfelt story with a likable cast. “Gifted” is enjoyable as an emotive production, but story elements detract from a likable cast. 

At the heart of this tale is Frank Adler (Evans), a single man and retired philosophy professor, and his niece, Mary Adler (Grace), a child, who is a mathematical prodigy. They live along the Gulf Coast of Florida. Their lives are swell until Evelyn Adler (Duncan), Frank’s mother and Mary’s grandmother, arrive and want custody of Mary.

Evelyn believes a child prodigy such as Mary needs a more enriching environment. Their fight becomes a court battle with severe consequences for Frank and Mary. 

Other than Octavia Spencer’s character, Roberta Taylor, the rest of the cast appears to all be suffering from some unknown aggravating past. Tom Flynn’s screenplay leaves serious questions unanswered.

Why did the grandmother wait years to visit her grandchild? Why did Frank leave academia? Why does the onscreen court appear to omit these elements?

Director Marc Webb (“500 Days of Summer,” 2009) makes this a touching movie, one with enriching, likable people. The characters are interesting, but their story is not on par.

Grade: C+ (A gift, but it is a minor one.)

“The Promise” (Historical Drama: 2 hours, 13 minutes)

Starring: Terry George

Director: Oscar Isaac, Charlotte Le Bon, Christian Bale

Rated: PG-13 (Thematic material including war atrocities, violence and disturbing images and sexuality)

Movie Review: Set during the end of the Ottoman Empire, this historical drama follows the plight of the Armenian people during grievous times. It is riveting although its love triangle competes with the beginnings of World War I. 

In 1914, as the Armenian people face annihilation at the hands of the Ottoman Empire, a love triangle develops between medical student Mikael Boghosian (Isaac), American journalist Chris Myers (Bale) and dance instructor Ana Khesarian (Le Bon). 

Their relationship woes pale in comparison to the genocide of certain Armenians, especially those who are Christian. 

Far too often, American movies proceed as if African-American and Jewish Americans are the only racial and ethnic groups to face harsh treatment or slavery in the 20th century. “The Promise” shows another group, Armenians, many of whom migrated to the United States after harsh Turkish treatment during the early 1900s.

Numerous Turkish officials still say genocide or harsh treatment of the Armenians did not occur. The movie focuses on the atrocities as reported by Armenians during that period and a world media news. 

“The Promise” is riveting. 

It creates a nice set of character relations, but their story competes with actions of the waning Ottoman Empire’s efforts against the Armenian people. The love triangle and the humanitarian story constantly distract, diverting one’s attention from the other.

Grade: C+ (Offers much but no promises.)

“Born in China” (Documentary: 1 hour, 19 minutes)

Starring: John Krasinski and Xun Zhou

Director: Chuan Lu

Rated: G (Some intense scenes)

Movie Review: China’s vast terrain offers an adventurous trek into the wild to find life in multiple forms thriving in “Born in China.” 

It captures beautiful imagery of several animals living in their natural habitat during a year. The movie does a nice job of focusing on animals in a personable manner. This creates engaging characterizations. 

The documentary follows the lives of a panda and her cub, a snub-nose monkey ostracized by its troop, and a mother snow leopard caring for two cubs. Audiences also see the flight of cranes and a herd of antelope.

Narrated by John Krasinski (“13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi,” NBC’s “The Office”), the tale is nicely rendered for audiences looking for an adventure. Often, the narrator’s voice can be powerful in a way that distracts because one realizes the celebrity’s presence. 

“Born in China” keeps its focus on the animals. Krasinski’s voice works well here in a congenial manner. His vocals do not interfere with the main stars – the animals.

Their lives are inviting via nice visuals that lead you to these animals. Once with them, audiences are able to see the families react with others of their families, other species and elements of their environment. 

Like humans, these animals want the safe environments for those they protect. This makes the movie enjoyable because the conditions displayed are relatable, human elements, too.

Grade: B (Good birthplace for these animals.)

“Phoenix Forgotten” (Horror/Mystery/Sci-Fi: 1 hour, 29 minutes)

Starring: Florence Hartigan, Chelsea Lopez, Justin Matthews and Luke Spencer Roberts

Director: Justin Barber

Rated: PG-13 (Terror, peril and strong language)

Movie Review: The horror picture is a light “The Blair Witch Project” (1999) with respects to suspense. Its basis is supposedly actual events, which involve unidentified flying objects. 

Several mysterious lights appeared over Phoenix, Ariz., on March 13, 1997. Shortly after, three teens, Ashley Foster (Lopez), Josh Bishop (Roberts) and Mark Abrams (Matthews), go on a quest into the desert to find the cause of the mysterious lights. The three young people have been missing ever since.

The movie details the last moments of three teenage lives. The movie boasts that it has unseen footage. Well, the best footage would be actual images of the teens last moments. Instead, the movie tries to create a suspenseful production from makeshift documentary and clichéd first-person aspects. The results are less than stellar. 

Grade: C- (Forgettable)

“Unforgettable” (Drama/Suspense: 1 hour, 40 minutes)

Starring: Rosario Dawson, Katherine Heigl and Geoff Stults

Director: Denise Di Novi

Rated: R (Violence, sexual content, violence, profanity and nudity)

Movie Review: Despite the talents of the beautiful Dawson and Heigl, “Unforgettable” appears as an unoriginal screenplay. Such contrived writing is present constantly on the Lifetime channel.

Julia Banks (Dawson) moves in with her fiancé, David Connover (Stults), and his young daughter. Tessa Connover (Heigl), David’s ex-wife, does not want to leave her family. Tessa begins malevolent acts that threaten Julia and possibly her new family.

Denise Di Novi directs her first screenplay. She makes this a messy piece that fails to be compelling ultimately. 

The result is two women fighting over a man, where one is innocently kind and the other is evil. The material is far from original, and Di Novi does not try to make the formula any better. 

Grade: C (Forgettable.)

“Free Fire” (Action/Crime: 1 hour, 30 minutes)

Starring: Cillian Murphy, Sharlto Copley, Brie Larson and Armie Hammer

Director: Ben Wheatley

Rated: R (Violence and profanity. sexual references and drug use)

Movie Review: For this film, gun control is whether or not one can hit a target. 

An hour-and-a-half gunfight in a large warehouse is the plot of “Free Fire.” The movie is mainly one long scene of violent behavior and profanity-laced sentences from a large cast. The movie is innovative in its purpose to create a crime caper gone wrong, even if unconvincing in its final moments. 

A gritty 1970s Boston is the setting for an arms deal gone wrong. Entrepreneur Justine (Larson) and her business associate, Ord (Hammer), arrange a black-market weapons deal in a deserted warehouse. 

The deal is between IRA arms buyer Chris (Cillian Murphy) and shifty South African gunrunner Vernon (Copley). A cordial deal turns sour after two men begin a fight that leads to bullets flying all over the place.

“Free Fire” is a different type of movie. 

The difference is its ability to offer something fresh. It is a lengthy gunfight, a high-energy action piece. Filmmaker Ben Wheatley (“The Duke of Burgundy,” 2015), the director and screenwriter, gives audiences an array of personas. Each trying to survive a deadly shootout. 

It is a fast-paced feast for lovers of the action genre and independent type movies. 

Multiple characters commit violent acts constantly in one location. The fact the movie plays like one long scene is inspiringly riveting, as long as one does not look away for an extended time. The characters’ actions are the story and many of their actions are quick visual moments back by equaled repartee. That is the beauty of “Free Fire.”

The movie’s one big flaw is the characters’ lack an appropriate response to the danger in which they exist. The numerous bullets that bombard scenes do not seem life-threatening elements to the cast. They cut jokes and makes quips about their foes like this is just a regular day occurrence. 

The characters have dark motives. They exist in a noir action film. These people are not saints, and their world is violent. 

Once audiences move past the fact this movie has no definite protagonists, the plot becomes more affecting. It is one bad person killing another. The question is who will survive?

Grade: B- (A long shoot out is worth a shot.)

“Grow House” (Comedy: 1 hour, 30 minutes)

Starring: DeRay Davis, Lil Duval and Snoop Dogg,

Director: DJ Pooh

Rated: R (Drug use and language throughout, including some sexual references)

Movie Review: Apparently, the only way to enjoy this comedy is under the influence. For those of us who prefer to remain drug-free, “Grow House” is a mess. It boasts bad acting, lame characters and a story that appears as if two monkeys with a typewriter hatched it from a trashcan.

Pat (Davis) and Darius (Lil’ Duval) realize they can grow their own cannabis. To do so, they need a place. With a loan from Snoop Dogg, playing himself, they manage to grow their own medical marijuana. 

The operation to grow the plants is easy. Their efforts to keep their merchandise are not.

April 20, 2017, was the debut date for this wayward comedy directed and written by Mark “DJ Pooh” Jordan (“The Wash,” 2001). Silly is the word to describe the asinine material of “Grow House.” The actors act as if they are in rehearsal. Their lines are stupid moments of elementary material. 

“Grow House” does not grow you. 

Grade: F+ (Needs fertilizer.)