Grade: B+Since "Rocky," we have come to develop certain expectations for a "boxing movie." Typically, we are given an underdog story of a down-and-out but up-and-coming fighter, who against all odds punches, dodges and parries his way to the top. There is usually a girl who believes in him and a trainer that takes a chance on him. The movie almost always includes a training montage and a nemesis that is easy-to-hate, and culminates in a main event that has our hero going blow-to-blow in front of a shouting, cheering crowd accompanied by a swelling musical score meant to inspire and to prove that dreams do come true, if you are willing to work hard to achieve them. What a breath of fresh air then, that "Hands of Stone" (opening today, Friday 8/26) contains almost none of this. It's the story of boxing legend Roberto Duran, and it pulls no punches in telling an unflinching tale of one man's rise to the top, avoiding the normal boxing cliches that usually jab away, relentlessly.
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Action star Jason Statham reprises his role as Arthur "The Mechanic" Bishop in the sequel that nobody asked for, "Mechanic: Resurrection" (opening Friday, 8/26). It's the sequel to the 2011 film "The Mechanic," which itself was a remake of the cult 1972 film of the same name, starring Charles Bronson. The 2011 version only grossed 11 million in the U.S., and even with worldwide totals factored in, by all accounts, "The Mechanic" was break-even at best. But strong On Demand and rental numbers apparently made another go-around possible. The sequel is actually a mild improvement over its predecessor, but still just a throw-away action flick.
As seen on the syndicated TV show "Movie Show Plus." movieshowplus.com This week film critic Tom Santilli reviews "Hands of Stone" and "Kubo and the Two Strings." Tom Santilli is a film critic for AXS.com, the current President of the Detroit Film Critics Society and member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association. He appears on air weekly on the syndicated TV show "Movie Show Plus" and on "Critic Lee Speaking" on FOX-2 in Detroit. Follow him on Twitter: @tomsantilli Read Tom's full review of this movie at the following link:
http://www.axs.com/movie-review-hell-or-high-water-powered-by-great-performances-105055 Movie review: 'Ben-Hur' not only an epic failure, but a shameful smear of the classic 1959 film8/19/2016 Throwing a bunch of ingredients in a bowl, doth not an apple pie make. "Ben-Hur" (opening today) is the latest head-scratcher to come out of Hollywood, an unnecessary, unwanted remake of what should have been an untouchable classic. Taking memorable characters and scenes and shoving them kicking-and-screaming into the meat-grinder of universal modern appeal, this latest movie takes one of the greatest cinematic achievements of all time and reduce it to ground bologna.
As seen on the syndicated TV show "Movie Show Plus." movieshowplus.com
This week film critic Tom Santilli reviews "Florence Foster Jenkins" and "Sausage Party." Tom Santilli is a film critic for AXS.com, the current President of the Detroit Film Critics Society and member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association. He appears on air weekly on the syndicated TV show "Movie Show Plus" and on "Critic Lee Speaking" on FOX-2 in Detroit. Follow him on Twitter: @tomsantilli Read Tom's full review of this movie at the following link:
http://www.axs.com/movie-review-sausage-party-doesn-t-quite-cut-the-mustard-104605 Read Tom's full review of this film at the following link:
http://www.axs.com/movie-review-florence-foster-jenkins-shows-love-is-blind-and-sometimes-104600 As seen on the syndicated TV show "Movie Show Plus." movieshowplus.com This week film critic Tom Santilli reviews "Suicide Squad" and "Don't Think Twice." Tom Santilli is a film critic for AXS.com, the current President of the Detroit Film Critics Society and member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association. He appears on air weekly on the syndicated TV show "Movie Show Plus" and on "Critic Lee Speaking" on FOX-2 in Detroit. Follow him on Twitter: @tomsantilli How can you possibly mess up a "Suicide Squad" movie? Let's count the ways. There has simply not been another movie in 2016 that has been so hyped-up, so eagerly anticipated by millions. It was supposed to pull the DC Movie Universe from the disastrous ruins left in the wake of "Batman v Superman" last Spring, and had all of the promise and hope that a movie could ask for. It was nearly impossible over the past year to miss headlines about Jared Leto's take on the iconic Joker role, or Margot Robbie's turn as his girlfriend, Harley Quinn. "Suicide Squad" (opening today) was the talk of Comic-Con, and had activated a rabid fan-following even before it hit theaters. There is no pleasure in delivering the painful news my friends: "Suicide Squad" is just bad, but not in a good way.
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