‘Movie Corner’ Archives
“The Accountant” & “Moonlight”
** out of 5 stars “Accountant,” “R” Rating Ben Affleck”'s character Christian Wolf in “The Accountant” lives in an Airstream trailer in the hinterland where he stocks weapons, money, paintings by Renoir and Jackson Pollack (bought on the black market). He”'s involved with some nefarious organizations and some of assignments are completed by his expertise as an assassin. Christian”'s activities draw Treasury Department Director Ray King (J.K. Simmons) to track him down using unethical means by forcing a department analyst, Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addal-Robinson) to find The Accountant in one month or be exposed for serious crimes in her past. A hit man from Chris”' past Brax (Jon Bernthal) appears to be a thorn in his side. But Christian goes to Living Robotics where he meets a kindly inventor Lamar Black (John Lithgow) and his sister Jean Smart (Rita Blackburn) before Mr. Wolf starts to investigate millions of dollars [...]
Snowden
*** out of 5 stars Oliver Stone is the ideal director for “Snowden”, the man I”'ve admired who back in the 1980s and the early 1990s would willingly step into controversial subject matter such as his films “Platoon” (1986), “Born on the Fourth of July” (1989) and “JFK” (1991). “Snowden” is one of those controversial men who for most Americans are shaped in a binary cup: either hero or traitor. Oliver Stone”'s entire cast give solid performances though I must say compared to Laura Poitras”' 2014 documentary “Citizenfour”, Stone”'s biography of Edward Snowden , roughly over a ten year period”“c2004-2013”“seizes on some of the same talking points with less gusto. The story starts (in some flashbacks) with Snowden in the Army Reserves and being rewarded by hired with the CIA as a brainy nerd sur-passing his colleagues in scores. While working for the CIA, Snowden (Joseph [...]
Hell or High Water
(Left to right) Ben Foster and Chris Pine in HELL OR HIGH WATER. ***** Crime/Drama/Quasi-Modern Western R-Rated “Hell or High Water” is the real deal as far as a solid heist film that is reminiscent of the 1960s and early 1970s heist films such as the late director Michael Cimino”'s heist film “Thunderbolt and Lightfoot” (1974) starring Clint Eastwood and Jeff Bridges. (Jeff Bridges stars in “Hell or High Water” as well.) Taking place in sultry small-towns in Texas, towns that have seen better days, but are now just mere shadows of their former times. Picture perfect scenes ripe for a heist just waiting around the corner. Two men, Tanner (Ben Foster) and Toby (Chris Pine) Howard, brothers, rob the bank early in the morning when the first teller arrives for work. They are just beginning to go on a litany of bank robberies with Midland Texas Bank a main target. While the duo is robbing bank after bank in torrid town after another, Texas [...]
