By Adann-Kennn J. Alexxandar

 

“Here”

(Drama: 1 hour, 44 minutes)

Starring: Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Paul Bettany and Kelly Reilly

Director: Robert Zemeckis

Rated: PG-13 (Thematic material, suggestive material, strong language and smoking.)

Movie Review:

“Here” sells itself by noting it reunites the actors Tom Hanks and Robin Wright, Director Robert Zemeckis and writer Eric Roth from the classic movie “Forrest Gump” (1994). However, this movie is nowhere near the enjoyment and storytelling that Forrest Gump was. “Here” consists of several boring scenes that are slivers of various families’ lives over multiple generations in one house’s living room.

Audiences are introduced to several other families beginning with a Native American tribe on the land before the house where most of the story takes place is built to a modern suburban African-American family. In between, Caucasian-American families inhabit the home built in 1900.

The only family the audience gets to know in depth is the one of Tom Hanks’ character, Richard Young. We see his parents and siblings and Richard’s wife Margaret, played by Robin Wright. While the other families are intriguing occasionally, the drama exists with three generations of The Youngs.

Based on the 2014 graphic novel by Richard McGuire, “Here” bores with nearly an hour with nonsynchronous time jumps occurring for approximately 250 years. Director Robert Zemeckis makes the house the main star, but he only shows one room of the house except for two scenes near the conclusion. The living room is the only room showcased. The setting becomes the star.

“Here” takes a two-story Victorian-style house with all its decadence and only shows one room. The house should sue its agent.

Grade: C+ (While artistic, not here in cinemas for long.)

“Lost on a Mountain in Maine”

(Drama/Documentary: 1 hour, 38 minutes)

Starring: Luke David Blumm, Caitlin FitzGerald and Paul Sparks

Director: Andrew Boodhoo Kightlinger

Rated: PG (Thematic elements, peril, language and some injury images.)

Movie Review:

Based on the book titled the same, “Lost on a Mountain in Maine” plays as drama, its better part, and as a documentary. The drama is good but is constantly interrupted by archival footage of people discussing the event decades later.

The event is a true story about 12-year-old Donn Fendler (Blumm). Climbing Mount Katahdin, he becomes lost in the backwoods of northern Maine in July 1939 for 9 days. For over 80 miles, he struggles to survive remembering the survival instructions from his father Donald Fendler (Sparks), with whom the boy departed on bad terms.  Donn travels 80 Miles in 9 days managing to stay alive.

A solid story exists that is inspirational; the problem is its rendering on the big screen. The archival footage constantly interrupts the drama. Director Andrew Kightlinger and the producers of this screenplay should have placed the actual people chatting about the event after the movie, but not during the movie.

Grade: C+ (Interesting yet lost in two genres competing.)

“Absolution”

(Action/Crime: 1 hour, 52 minutes)

Starring: Liam Neeson, Yolonda Ross, Frankie Shaw and Ron Perlman

Director: Hans Petter Moland

Rated: R (Violence, language throughout, sexual content/nudity and drug use)

Movie Review:

“Absolution” is the latest Liam Neeson action/drama movie. Hans Petter Moland directs Neeson again. The two last worked together in the superior “Cold Pursuit” (2019). Neeson is good at both the action scenes and doing good dramatic acting. However, his movies are all beginning to appear alike. This one resembles Michael Keaton’s “Knox Goes Away” (2023), in which Keaton plays a contract killer with aggressive dementia.

Neeson plays a thug who suffers from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). As he battles mental deterioration, he wants to reunite with his estranged daughter Daisy and her children. He is also quietly trying to maintain his long-time position with a local crime syndicate run by Charlie Conner (Perlman).

If you have seen any of Liam Neeson’s tough movies of recent years, this one is similar. Neesom’s acting is consistently remarkable, but the type of characters he has played since the “Taken” franchise started in 2008 are comparable in action and crime movies.

On a good note, Neeson continues to entertain, and his movies are never boring, even if they feel all too familiar.

Grade: C+ (Not an absolution but entertaining.)

“Hitpig”

(Animation/Action: 1 hour, 25 minutes)

Starring: Jason Sudeikis, Lilly Singh and Rainn Wilson

Directors: Cinzia Angelini and David Feiss

Rated: PG (Action/peril violence, rude humor and some thematic elements.)

Movie Review:

From the imagination of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Berkeley Breathed, “Hitpig” is a movie about a roughneck pig voiced by Jason Sudeikis, a bounty hunter who captures and returns abducted, escaped and lost animals to their owners.

Hitpig finds himself in a moral dilemma when returning an elephant named Pickles (Singh) to its unethical and abusive master Leapin Lord of the Leotard (Wilson), who owns a one-man circus. Beneath his tough guy exterior, Hitpig gains a compassionate conscience. His dubious newfound ethics cause doubt and jeopardize a million-dollar payment for his latest job.

On the surface, this movie has a similar feel to 2016’s “Sing” and its sequels. They both involve talking animals except Hitpig has animals mixing with humans in a steampunk meets James Bond world. The problem is the world of their interactions is never explained convincingly.

Instead, “Hitpig” rests on great animation, adventure and some comedy. They are not enough to enliven this feature beyond its mediocrity.

Grade: C (Not a hit swine.)

“The Carpenter”

(Action/Drama: 1 hour, 52 minutes)

Starring: Kameron Krebs, Kaulin Krebs and Jeff Dickamore

Director: Garrett Batty

Rated: PG-13 (Violence and thematic elements)

Movie Review:

A mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter is the focus, and Jesus is a secondary character. One expects the Lord and Savior to be front and center in any Christian screenplay, but that is not the case with “The Carpenter,” an average religious sports movie.

Oren, an adopted Viking orphan, is the main star, played former collegiate football athlete Kameron Krebs. In 29 AD, Oren becomes the carpenter apprentice of Yeshua (Dickamore), a mysterious Nazarene sage. As a side gig, Oren fights as a sport with his brother Levi (Kaulin Krebs) as his manager and trainer.

It is difficult to believe that Jesus would condone violent sports, but I cannot express that for the son of The Almighty.

“The Chosen” meets MMA fighting mix of this film is interesting as a Christian movie, but its non-traditional execution may lose many.

On the other hand, the way Jesus is betrayed is kind, nurturing and so wisely impressive. This movie inspires you to follow him, even if this thin narrative written by the Krebs Brothers and director Garret Batty and the characters do not have a similar gravitas.

Grade: C (A talented craftsman whose talents are not fully utilized.)