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Reviews for January 10th, 2025

 

      Nicholas "Big Nick" O'Brien (Gerard Butler) travels to Europe to hunt down Donnie (O'Shea Jackson Jr.) and a infiltrates a group of diamond thieves that Donnie gets involved with called the Panther mafia in Den of Thieves 2: Pantera. The screenplay by writer/director Christian Gudegast is a dull, tedious and uninspired blend of action, thrills and drama. There are too few surprises because the perspective shifts from one character to another, so the audience remains a few steps ahead of Big Nick. Why not just follow Big Nick from the very beginning which would allow the audience to be on the same page as him? The action scenes are decent, but the attempts at adding character depth and to ground the film in humanism fall flat, especially during the scenes between Big Nick and Donnie where they just talk. The film nearly comes to a standstill in one of those scenes that goes on and on and on. So, there are pacing issues. Slick production values along with Gerard Butler's charisma aren't enough to elevate this bloated B-movie masquerading as an A-movie. The pizzazz and suspense of the first film can't be found here. At an overlong running time of 2 hours and 24 minutes, Den of Thieves 2: Pantera opens nationwide via Lionsgate.

Number of times I checked my watch: 5







      Diane Warren: Relentless is a well-edited, mildly engaging, but conventional and often hagiographic documentary about songwriter Diane Warren. Director Bess Kargman interviews Warren herself along with colleagues like Cher, Gloria Estefan and record producer Clive Davis to shed light on her life and work. Despite 15 Oscar nominations, she hasn't won a single Oscar yet. After watching this documentary, there's no doubt that Warren is very talented and hasn't received enough recognition for her talents. Kargman also delves a little into Warren's childhood where she was bullied by classmates and came from a dysfunctional family. Her relationship with her father was a bit rocky. Kargman is lucky to have Diane Warren as a subject because she comes across as blunt, candid, witty and flawed which makes her all the more interesting and relatable. To be fair, though, Diane Warren: Relentless doesn't transcend beyond mediocrity and lacks emotional depth as well as revelations. It's not as poignant and insightful as the superior documentary biopic, The World According to Allee Willis. At a running time of 1 hour and 31 minutes, Diane Warren: Relentless opens at Quad Cinema via Greenwich Entertainment.

Number of times I checked my watch: 2





 

       In Eat the Night, 17-year-old Apolline (Lilia Gueneau) plays an interactive video game called Darknoon with her older brother, Pablo (Théo Cholbi). She's disappointed that the game will be gone for good very soon. Meanwhile, Pablo befriends Night (Erwan Kepoa Falé) and gets into a life of crime with a drug cartel. The screenplay by writers/directors Caroline Poggi and Jonathan Vinel and their co-writer, Guillaume Bréaud, bites off more than it can chew. One minute it's a coming-of-age story about a videogame-obsessed teenager and the next it's a crime thriller with a sprinkle of romance. Were it to have focused entirely on Apolline and actually tried to get inside her heart, mind and soul, perhaps Eat the Night wouldn't have been such a shallow and disjointed genre-bending film. It's ultimately less than the sum of its parts. At a running time of 1 hour and 47 minutes, Eat the Night opens at IFC Center via Altered Innocence.

Number of times I checked my watch: 3







      Every Little Thing is a heartfelt, captivating and beautifully shot documentary about Terry Masear, a wildlife rehabber who rescues hummingbirds in Los Angeles. Director Sally Aitken follows Terry at her home where she has been operating Los Angeles Hummingbird Rescue since 2005. It's both fascinating and heartwarming to watch her taking care of injured hummingbirds with her patience, skills and knowledge. She explains in detail why one of the birds can't fly despite repeated attempts. Even though much of this documentary has joyous moments and breathtaking images of hummingbirds, it doesn't shy away from heartbreaking moments like observing a lonely hummingbird cry or seeing the image of two hummingbirds that killed each other. There's more to hummingbirds than meets the eye. Terry discusses what makes hummingbirds so special to her and how they stand out from other birds. In one of the most moving parts of the film, she bravely mentions her traumatic childhood and how it has shaped her during her adulthood. Her genuine compassion is inspirational, and the same can be said about her emotional generosity in front of the camera because she's unafraid to show her vulnerability. Kudos to Aitken for now prying too much into Terry's private life. She clearly understands the concept of boundaries and restraint. Perhaps Terry's hummingbird rehab can be seen as a form of protest against all the hate, abuse and cruelty that she experienced as a child. Love, compassion and empathy toward others and toward oneself is a great way to protest against all of those vices. Hopefully, Terry and anyone else who has ever experienced trauma or anything dehumanizing can heal from the following poem by Pablo Neruda: "They can cut all of the flowers, but they can't stop the spring from coming." At a running time of 1 hour and 33 minutes, Every Little Thing opens at IFC Center via Kino Lorber.

Number of times I checked my watch: 1







      Oceans Are the Real Continents follows three stories set in San Antonio De Los Baños, a small town in Cuba. In one story, Milagros (Milagros Llanes Martínez) reads letters from her husband who died in Angola. In another story, Edith (Edith Ybarra Clara) plans to leave Cuba for Italy while her boyfriend, Alex (Alexander Diego), prefers to stay in Cuba. Two 9-year-old friends, Frank (Frank Ernesto Lam) and Alain (Alain Alain Alfonso González), dream of emigrating to America where they hope to attain freedom and pursue their love of baseball. Writer/director Tommaso Santambrogio has woven a gently moving and poetic drama with mesmerizing cinematography. He trusts the audience's emotions, patience, imagination and intelligence because he moves the film at an unhurried pace and doesn't over-explain anything or spoon-feed the audience. There's no schmaltz, melodrama or anything over-the-top. Patience audience members will be rewarded the most. At a running time of 1 hour and 47 minutes, Oceans Are the Real Continents opens at Film Forum via Film Movement.

Number of times I checked my watch: 1





 

       Fok Chi-ho (Donnie Yen), a new public prosecutor in the Department of Justice, believes that Ma Jia Jie (Mason Fung), the young man he's prosecuting for drug trafficking, is innocent, so he investigates the crime while Ma remains incarcerated in The Prosecutor. Director Donnie Yen and screenwriter Edmond Wong have made a taut, suspenseful and exhilarating crime thriller. The less you know about the plot beforehand, the better because it comes with many twists and turns as Fok gets closer and closer to uncovering the truth. Has Ma been framed? If so, how, why and by whom or who? Wong incorporates just the right amount of exposition to keep the audience at their toes, so you'll know as much as Fok does and be shocked when he's shocked. It's refreshing to watch a film about a lawyer who has a conscience and isn't afraid to follow it. Towards the end, to be fair, the plot does feel somewhat convoluted, though. The Prosecutor does have its fair share of exciting, slickly-edited action scenes, but its most compelling moments occur during the courtroom scenes. Donnie Yen's lively and charismatic performance is just icing on the cake. At a running time of 1 hour and 57 minutes, The Prosecutor, directed by Donnie Yen, opens at AMC Empire 25 via Well Go USA.

Number of times I checked my watch: 1





 

       To avoid losing his ranch, John (Graham McTavish) agrees to allow a film production to use his property to shoot a film in Somewhere in Montana. Disagreements with the director, Fabian (Matt Drago), causes tensions to escalate between them. Writer/director Brandon Smith has made a tender, captivating and provocative story with a few surprises along the way.   Will John and Fabian be able to find common ground despite their differences? It's fascinating to observe how their relationship evolves throughout the course of the film and, more importantly, how they change innately. Neither of them comes across as a villain, so kudos to Smith for treating them as complex human beings, warts-and-all. Without revealing any spoilers, the third act does go into somewhat darker territory in a scene that feels clunky and leads to some tonal unevenness, but those minor issues are ephemeral. Smith makes the most out of the Montana landscape which becomes a character in itself.  At a running time of 1 hour and 44 minutes, Somewhere in Montana opens in select theaters via Nova Vento Entertainment.

Number of times I checked my watch: 2