“Cold Pursuit” (Action/Drama: 1 hour, 59 minutes)

Starring: Liam Neeson, Laura Dern, Tom Bateman and Tom Jackson

Director: Hans Petter Moland

Rated: R (Violence, strong language, drug content and sexual references)

 

Movie Review: “Cold Pursuit” is an engaging tale. 

It is an adaptation of the Norwegian film “Kraftidioten” (2014), known in English as “In Order of Disappearance.” Hans Petter Moland is the director of both movies. 

Moland does a good job directing “Cold Pursuit,” despite casting Liam Neeson. While Neeson is an incomparable actor, his role in this movie appears similar to his “Taken” movies, so the casting of him as a father wanting revenge may appear too familiar for some.

Nels Coxman (Neeson) is a snowplow driver. After his son, Kyle Coxman (Micheál Richardson), is killed, he begins seeking those responsible. His revenge trek leads him to drug dealers he thinks killed his son. He begins killing those connected to his son’s death. 

His executions ignite a turf battle between a drug cartel of kingpin Trevor “Viking” Calcote (Bateman) and a Native American crime syndicate led by White Bull (Jackson).

Approximately 25 people die in this movie in some form. Each death is followed by an in memoriam pause, a few seconds of their name in white print appears on a black screen. Excluding Coxman’s son, each moment is humorous via the manner the movie inserts the deceased notices for audiences.

“Cold Pursuit” is similar to a mix of “Pulp Fiction” (1994) and “Taken” (2008). The result is an enjoyable movie that entertains with the best of them. The comedy occasionally takes away from the dramatic moments and suspenseful action scenes, yet, as farfetched as the satirical moments may be, they become an expected part of the entertainment.

Director Hans Petter Moland allows a more artistic flair with a bit of humor for this adaptation of “Kraftidioten.” The movie provides action, a mystery and subtle comedic moments. One can easily appreciate this movie, even during its unconvincing moments.

Grade: B (A cold setting delivers engaging entertainment.)

“The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part” (Animation/Adventure: 1 hour, 47 minutes)

Starring: Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett and Tiffany Haddish

Director: Mike Mitchell

Rated: PG (Violence and rude humor)

 

Movie Review: This sequel to “The Lego Movie,” (2014) is an enjoyable adventure. “The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part” delivers engaging characters, voiced primarily by the same actors from the prequel. 

While it is not as creative or intelligently scripted as the 2014 movie, it provides enough comedy and action to keep parents and their small fries entertained

Chris Pratt returns to voice Emmet an easy-going, continuously happy and gregarious master builder of Bricksburg. For years, everything has been awesome for the citizens of Bricksburg. Then, LEGO DUPLO invaders from outer space arrive, attack Bricksburg and turn the city into a post-apocalyptic wasteland named Apocalypseburg. 

Years later, DUPLO invaders return and abduct several people, including Lucy (Banks) and Batman (Arnett). Emmet travels far away to find them, facing superior foes that are led by Queen Watevra Wa-Nabi (Haddish).

The LEGO movies provide humor and a nice escape for those wanting a good family outing. As an animated feature, “The LEGO Movie 2” provides an adventurous quest, humor and nice vocal talents by its star-clad cast.

Grade: B (Still a ‘block’ buster.)

“What Men Want” (Comedy: 1 hour, 57 minutes)

Starring: Taraji P. Henson, Aldis Hodge, Josh Brener

Director: Adam Shankman

Rated: R (Profanity, sexuality and drug content)

 

Movie Review: The trailers for this movie advertise it well, giving away all the highlights of the movie. “What Men Want” fails to offer the very thing its title suggests. Instead, it offers a predictable romantic comedy.

Ali Davis (a talented Henson) is a sports agent at a very elite firm. Most of her coworkers are men in her competitive field. Ali works hard, but she is omitted for a promotion after told she has a difficult time dealing with men.

Shortly after, she has a head injury which allows the ability to read men’s minds. She uses her new telepathic gifts to manipulate the actions of her male counterparts. 

Adam Shankman (“The Wedding Planner,” 2001) directs this movie that is an adapted remake of the Mel Gibson movie “What Women Want” (Director Nancy Meyers, 2000). The problem is the movie’s formulaic screenplay, even if a few light laughs are present. 

It is good until it turns into silly comedic moments. Even more, the romance is been-there-done-that material seen multiple times.

Grade: C (Men want an unclichéd romcom.)

“The Prodigy” (Horror/Thriller: 1 hour, 32 minutes)

Starring: Taylor Schilling, Jackson Robert Scott and Peter Mooney

Director: Nicholas McCarthy

Rated: R (Violence, profanity, disturbing and gore, sexual references and nudity)

 

Movie Review: Several movies have debuted involving children, particularly boys, as serial killers. 

This gives audiences an innocent, cute kid and then tries to make him a malevolent being. The child actor Jackson Robert Scott plays his part well, but the script is not conclusive. It tries to involve horror world events without real-world consequences.

Miles (Scott) becomes a major concern of his parents when he exhibits violent tendencies. Sarah and John Blume (Schilling and Mooney) get counseling for Miles, but their efforts are too late. A dark force now inhabits their son.

A few frights are present with this horror, yet the screenplay never moves beyond a lukewarm plateau. The movie’s great flaw is its attempt to describe what is happening to a boy with science and spiritualism. The science becomes a pseudoscience and the spirituality becomes an unrealistically substitution for an explanation. 

The problem is the movie allows little time to give audiences a chance to adapt to catastrophic changing situations before it moves on without repercussions of the events.

Even more, the movie sets up a process by which it can continue with sequels if wanted. Therefore, it is open-ended when clearly this boy needs some discipline as much as this screenplay.

Grade: C (This is not the work of a prodigy.)

“Destroyer” (Drama/Crime: 2 hours, 1 minutes)

Starring: Nicole Kidman, Toby Kebbell, Tatiana Maslany

Director: Karyn Kusama

Rated: R (Profanity, violence, sexual content and drug use)

 

Movie Review: Nicole Kidman is impressive in every role. She easily makes her characters tangible in a fascinating method that lingers after one finishes observing her performance. Superbly, she is the heart of “Destroyer,” a gritty crime drama.

Detective Erin Bell (Kidman) was sent on an LAPD case when she was younger. The case resulted in a tragedy. Many years later, she confronts her past by finding those responsible for the terrible results of her yesteryear. Her trek for justice is an odyssey of ethical dilemmas and existentialism.

Kidman is barely noticeable at this movie’s beginning. Makeup allows her to appear aged and worn down by time and a heavy conscience. She appears like a drug addict with the intoxication of alcohol. Kidman manages to deliver a keen performance despite her character’s immoral actions.

Kidman’s character is on a mission, and Director Karyn Kusama (“Girlfight,” 2000) is intent on telling a straightforward story. However, flashbacks that tell the back story become annoying as the present is more gratifying in the non-flashback sequences.

Kidman’s performance is the solid part of this movie that otherwise fails to allow audiences enough time to know its characters. It spends too much time developing the history for each character without giving one a reason to care about them.

Grade: C+ (A powerful performance destroyed by a less than par narrative.)

“They Shall Not Grow Old” (Documentary/History/War: 1 hour, 39 minutes)

Director: Peter Jackson

Rated: R (Disturbing war images)

 

Movie Review: Moviegoers know Peter Jackson as the maker of “The Lord of the Rings” and the “The Hobbit” series. 

This outing, Jackson delivers an attention-getting documentary about World War I, using archival footage not seen previously. “They Shall Not Grow Old” commemorates the centennial of the end of World War I.

Peter Jackson and several teams use enhanced and colorized archival footage. The footage is then juxtaposed with actual interviews made in the 1960s and 1970s from those who fought in the war. The result is a riveting movie that renders a nice homage to the brave British soldiers who fought on the front lines in Belgium. 

The movie is one hour and 39 minutes, but Jackson offers a few minutes to introduce the movie and he talks about the movie afterward. The introduction and discussion about making this documentary add about 33 minutes to the 1hour, 39 minutes of runtime. Jackson’s chat after the movie is a moviemaking course. Jackson tells how old footage was used to create a movie.

He also rendered a 3-D version. However, the 3-D version provides little, as the effects are not superior enough compared to the traditional visualizations. The movie is already engaging enough that it needs no extra gimmicks to sell it.

For those who like historical documentaries, Jackson and his team offer a nice view of the war from those who fought. Audiences get a first-hand account from the brave men of the war. This film celebrates their courage to defend their country and its allies.

Grade: B (Tales of bravery never grow old.)

Adann-Kennn Alexxandar lives and works in Valdosta.