Scenic Route

For a film that many critics slammed, Scenic Route was well worth the trip to the Redbox. (See what I did there?) Josh Duhamel and Dan Fogler team up to bring us the story of two long-time, but recently distant friends stranded in the desert with a brewing schism of their relationship looming over the horizon. With fledging directors Kevin and Michael Goetz at the helm, Scenic Route offers solid lead performances and a thoughtful script that poses weighty questions about life and the choices that shape our journey. For a film that most people will overlook, I was pleasantly surprised.

Josh Duhamel, whose career has been all over the map, delivers an emotional haymaker in what could be his best performance yet. Dan Fogler, who has made a decent living as a voice actor, comes through with a compelling reason for us to forget the horrible Balls of Fury.

Unsettling and relentless in nature, Scenic Route forcefully pushes you along a road of brutal self-discovery and examines the thin line between humanity and the instinct to survive. Where does this road lead? Salvation? Damnation? You’ll have to see it to find out!

Prisoners

I've often said that if anyone ever harmed one of my children I could easily end up in prison. The only thing keeping me from savage revenge would be the fact that my remaining family would still need me to be a father. This film forces you to consider what you would do. Directed by Denis Villeneuve, Prisoners  is a forcefully paced thriller that grabs around the throat and drags you to its stunning conclusion.

The stakes of this film could not be higher. When two young girls go missing, Keller Dover (Jackman) takes matters into his own hands when he feels the police are not doing enough to bring them home.  As time passes and the police continue to be puzzled by the girls' disappearance, the desperation mounts. Challenging the audience to consider its own response to such a traumatic reality, Dover pushes the limits as he searches for answers.

At times, this film is difficult to watch, but you will be compelled to hang in there until its riveting final moments.  Well-written, chilling, and ruthless in its emotional content, Prisoners  brings together a wonderful cast, with Hugh Jackman clubbing you over the head with a stunningly powerful performance.

Prisoners  is an absolute must-see. It is quite possibly Hugh Jackman's best performance to date. It certainly puts Villeneuve on the map as a director to watch.  Take a Xanax and go see this! Then go home and hug your children!

The Iceman

 

Based on real life events spanning 20 years, The Iceman details the story of Richard Kuklinski who leaves his job as a film lab technician to become a notorious contract killer for the mafia. For years, Kuklinski builds a reputation for his brutal cold blooded professionalism, all the while raising an adoring family who are kept in the dark about his true career and identity. Though Kuklinski desperately tries to keep his two lives separate, circumstances propel those disparate lives toward a terrible but inevitable collision as the consequences of his life's choices finally catch up to him.

Screened at the Venice, Telluride, and Toronto Film Festivals, The Iceman was received in limited release in US theaters. And though it made a horrible showing in terms of box office receipts, don’t let its lack of commercial success keep you from a magnificently acted film.

Michael Shannon, whom you will recognize from the recent Man of Steel, is simply great. His unnerving, chilling depiction of Kuklinski is riveting. Shannon’s cold dedication to his heinous craft is matched only by his intense commitment to and love for his family. Chris Evans, Ray Liotta, Winona Ryder, James Franco, and Stephen Dorff all serve admirably in supporting roles.

Directed by Ariel Vromen, The Iceman poses a difficult question that an examination of many of history’s monsters force us to consider: Are some men beyond redemption? Or is there a redemptive quality alive in everyone?

Mud

If you’re like me, you missed this when it came to the theater. (Due to its limited release, it might not have even come to your theater at all.) Mud, written and directed by newcomer Jeff Nichols, received some acclaim from both the Cannes and Sundance Film Festivals but never got much love from American movie-goers. What a shame!

Though it’s not a film I think a ton of people will love, I believe those who are willing to set aside their penchant for constant explosions and special effects will appreciate this little secret. Mud features a heavy sense of place that covers you like an old memory, giving you the feeling that you’ve seen these places before. Kudos to Nichols has given us a well-written drama with a Tom Sawyer-esque vibe that powerfully pulls you towards its emotional conclusion.

Mud churns and flows along like the Mississippi River on which it is set, featuring a wonderful cast whose performances are spot-on. So many times, films set in Southern culture are grossly overdone, leaving us with cardboard caricatures rather than genuine characters that we want to know more about. Not so with Mud. Matthew McConaughey leads a fantastic ensemble with Tye Sheridan, Sam Shepard, Reese Witherspoon, and Michael Shannon in supporting roles. The performances are effortless and noteworthy, especially that of Sheridan who I GUARANTEE you will see in future roles.

With themes of family, sacrifice, hard-won wisdom, and the consequences of choices, Mud delivers as a gritty, soulful, and smoldering film which is one of the most overlooked and under-appreciated of the year.