“The Accountant 2”
(Action/Mystery/Crime: 2 hours, 12 minutes) 

Starring: Ben Affleck, Jon Bernthal and Cynthia Addai-Robinson

Director: Gavin O’Connor

Rated: R (Strong violence and strong language throughout.)

Movie Review:

“The Accountant 2” is a follow-up to 2016’s “The Accountant.” Actors Ben Affleck, German Bernthal, Cynthia Addai-Robinson and J.K. Simmons return along with director Gavin O’Connor and writer Bill Dubuque. They make this sequel entertainingly rewarding. This accountant cannot help with your tax returns due this week, but he provides a good cinematic experience.  

Christian Wolff (Affleck) returns to help solve another mystery after U.S. Treasury Deputy Director Marybeth Medina (Addai-Robinson) asks Wolff to help her determine what happened to her former supervisor, Ray King (Simmons). Their only clue is a picture of a migrant family and a mystery woman (Daniella Pineda) who met with King minutes before his death. Wolff realizes he will need help and enlists his brother Braxton (Bernthal). Together, they search for clues that lead to something much larger involving assassins, mob bosses, money laundering and human trafficking.

Like its predecessor, “The Accountant 2” has plenty of action, mainly done by Ben Affleck and John Berthal’s Wolff and Braxton. They play brothers as before. One is a very meticulous, older brother who is autistic. The other is a happy-go-lucky guy who likes fighting. They provide action, humor and a reason to see this movie.

Affleck and Bernthal make their characters interesting. One wants to see where their story goes next. This notion does not imply a sequel should happen. After all, “The Accountant 2” seems an appropriate final act for these gentlemen.    

Grade: B (Count on him.)

 

“The Amateur” 

(Action/Thriller: 2 hours, 03 minutes) 

Starring: Rami Malek, Holt McCallany and Laurence Fishburne

Director: James Hawes

Rated: PG-13 (Strong Violence and strong language)

Movie Review:

“The Amateur” lives up to its name regarding its main character, played by Academy Award winner Rami Malek. This is a different action flick. The main character is not a sophisticated spy like James Bond, and he cannot annihilate foes like Sylvester Stallone’s Rambo. The protagonist of this movie uses his intellect to seek revenge. While it is surprising he survives multiple attempts on his life, this amateur manages to be in an engrossing spy feature despite the sloppy manner that allows Malek’s character to become a field agent.

Charlie Heller (Malek), a brilliant CIA decoder, is called into an assistant director’s office where his superiors inform him terrorists in London killed his wife. When he asks if he can receive field training to track down and kill the people who murdered his wife, his immediate supervisors tell him no. They tell him he is not cut out for fieldwork, and they will handle the situation. After some manipulative negotiations within the CIA, Heller leaves for Europe immediately, seeking retribution.

The setup is flawed, but “The Amateur” entertains while appearing as if a recap of a television series’ debut season. It mainly does this by delivering a few unexpected events. However, the movie fails with passé narrative material involving the United States’ government. Lately, scripts feature corrupt government officials. The uncreative trend is getting tiresome and merely tells of writers’ discontent and mistrust of the government.

Malik is engaging as always. His scenes with Lawrence Fishburn are some of the movie’s best. Too bad, writers and mainly teleplay director James Hawes (“One Life,” 2023) did not allow them more screen time together. Yet, these characters would make better personas if they were part of a television series.   

Grade: C+ (He is smarter than James Bond but not as exciting.)

 

“Drop”

(Mystery/Thriller: 1 hour, 34 minutes) 

Starring: Meghann Fahy, Brandon Sklenar and Gabrielle Ryan

Director: Christopher Landon

Rated: PG-13 (Strong violent content, suicide, strong language and sexual references)

Movie Review:

“Drop” is creative yet poorly executed. It is one of those cinematic features that is easy to sit through but has an asinine narrative. It is filled with hackneyed material. The conclusion especially goes awry. It goes from interesting to dumb and then to dumber quickly.

Violet (Fahy) is a widowed single mother of one. She goes on a date with photographer Henry Campbell (Sklenar). Neither has been on the dating scene in a while and is nervous. They are two attractive people on a date at the high-rise restaurant Palate, and all goes well until Violet starts receiving Digi-Drops, essentially airdrops, to her phone, commanding her to do multiple things, including killing her date.

A hitman goes through a lot of trouble just to assassinate one person in this thriller that involves plenty of cliché material, which includes corrupt government officials. Plenty of scenes in this movie just plain do not make logical sense. The most notable ‘drop’ is the plot’s climax scenes. One discernible moment is a mother’s quick drive across town, nearly causing wrecks and other havoc to get home to save her son when she could dial 911. Law enforcement could get there quicker.

Directed by Christopher Landon (“Freaky,” 2020), this movie entertains, but this does not mean such equates to a quality narrative. “Drop” amuses with stupidity. If one dismisses logic and only appreciates the mystery and thrills, the thrills work. Otherwise, the true mystery for the writers is why they take a simple plot and overly complicate it.  

Grade: C+ (Enjoy and then drop out.)

 

“Warfare”

(Docudrama/Action): 1 hour, 35 minutes) 

Starring: D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Will Poulter, Charles Melton and Finn Bennett

Directors: Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza

Rated: R (Intense war violence, bloody, grisly imagery, strong language)

Movie Review:

“Warfare” is one of the best military movies in a while. Written and directed by Iraq War veteran and first-time director Ray Mendoza and Alex Garland (“Ex Machina,” 2014; “Civil War,” 2024), it features several young and capable actors who play Navy SEALS fighting in Iraq in 2006. The plot is a composite of stories told by the men who lived the events portrayed in this movie.

In Ramadi, Iraq, during November 2006, a platoon of Navy Seals on a surveillance operation finds itself surrounded by hostile forces in a small town. Held up in a residential structure, the men soon realize they must fight their way out to survive. The one concept they can rely on is their unity.

Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman’s phrase “War is hell” is warranted here. The realness this screenplay brings to the combat situation makes this movie unique. It is not like other action movies where one person takes out 20 other bad guys with a knife without getting a scratch. It portrays events as they happened, according to the accounts of people who were there. It does so with plenty of war action, but it also allows one to see these men surviving rough conditions as a part of their mission.

“Warfare” features several young men portraying the noble duty of several of the United States military’s finest. The cast is exceptional, playing the parts well. The standout being D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, who plays Ray Mendoza. Woon-A-Tai becomes this movie’s lead. Alex Garland and Mendoza prove the collaboration of a good film director with someone with firsthand experience can produce a solid war screenplay without the typical Hollywood antics associated with the genre.     

Grade: B+ (Bravo Zulu.)

 

“The King of Kings”

(Animation/Family: 1 hour, 43 minutes) 

Starring: Kenneth Branagh, Uma Thurman and Oscar Isaac

Director: Seong-ho Jang

Rated: PG (Thematic material, violent content and scary moments.)

Movie Review:

“The King of Kings” is a holiday movie. It is perfect for the coming Easter. It is especially good for families with young children.

The movie recounts the life of Jesus (Isaac) through the narration of Charles Dickens (Branagh) as he tells his rambunctious son Walter (Roman Griffin Davis) about the true king of kings. His son initially does not want to hear the story of Jesus. He wants one that involves wizards and the Knights of Camelot. As Dickens tells the story, his son becomes more interested, visualizing this story and himself in it as his father talks about the events leading up to Jesus’ birth until his resurrection.

Besides Kenneth Branagh and Oscar Isaac, the movie also features the voices of well-known actors: Pierce Brosnan, Uma Thurman, Forest Whitaker, Ben Kingsley and Mark Hamill. They lend their voices to agreeable animated characters.

The movie hits most of the highlights from the Bible about Jesus while making the scripture enjoyable for children. The animation and a kid as one of its main characters easily make “The King of Kings” worthy for children and older audiences.

Grade: B- (He remains a divinely regal treat.)

 

“Sacramento”

(Comedy: 1 hour, 32 minutes) 

Starring: Michael Angarano, Michael Cera, Maya Erskine and Kristen Stewart

Director: Michael Angarano

Rated: R (Strong language and mild violence)

Movie Review:

In Michael Angarano’s “Avenues” (2017), two friends wander the streets of Manhattan contemplating life as adults. In “Sacramento,” for which he is a co-writer with Chris Smith, a similarly structured movie exists. “Avenues” and “Sacramento” have immature characters experiencing overwhelming circumstances. Angarano’s insertion of comedy lessens their meaningful existences. Think of “Sacramento” as a lighter version of last year’s “A Real Pain.”

Rickey (Angarano) is a free-spirited, immature and energetic man still grieving the loss of his father. Glenn (Cera) is married to a pregnant Rosie (Stewart), and he strives for order, a facet of his severe OCD. Rickey and Glenn take an impromptu road trip from Los Angeles to Sacramento. Along the way, they have time to ponder their friendship and futures as family men.

The casting of actors known for their comedic performances in a screenplay does not mean a movie is a comedy — at least something that inspires consistent laughter. “Sacramento” has adult men behaving like children. They exist in a story that has the potential to be a solid screenplay with profound meaning. The intention is noteworthy but lacks the natural sincerity and humor that lasts.

Grade: C+ (A city of nice views interrupted by childish pranks.)