Stretch

Way back in 2004 -- good Lord, that's 11 years ago already -- I was introduced to Patrick Wilson with one of my favorite movies, the newest version of The Alamo. In the decade-plus since (again, it's 11 freaking years later), Wilson has worked steadily and turned in some very solid performances. He hasn't taken that next step though, no star-making role that helped him take the next step. Courtesy of some studio shenanigans, this next flick might not be that role, but Wilson, well, he absolutely steals 2014's Stretch.

After several years in Los Angeles trying to become an actor, a man named Stretch (Wilson) has cleaned himself up after a particularly bad break-up with the girl (Brooklyn Decker) he was about to propose to. He kicked a drug and drinking problem and has slowly but surely been paying off his gambling debt. Well, all his plans are kinda up in the air now. Working as a limo driver, he's threatened by his boss to pick things up, to help the company, and to do so NOW. That's the least of his problems though. As he's off to pick up a client, his bookie chases him down with a menacing thought. His debt has been bought by a rival bookie, and now Stretch has until midnight to pay up the $6,000 he owes. What sounds impossible might not be too bad if his next client, eccentric billionaire Roger Karos (Chris Pine) somehow comes through with a huge tip. What's getting that tip entail? Even Stretch doesn't know what awaits.

This helter-skelter crime thriller (with some very funny moments mixed in) from director Joe Carnahan (who also wrote the screenplay) has a less than pleasant production run. Originally scheduled for a theatrical release March 2014, it was scrapped and only released via iTunes, Amazon and On-Demand this past fall, October 2014. Biggest takeaway? I don't know what kind of response 'Stretch' would have gotten in theaters, but I loved it. Smart, funny, stylish and featuring a deep, talented cast that looks to be having a ball. It isn't your normal old action thriller either, trying to be something different, something better. In a movie age of lowest common denominator -- what appeals to the most viewers -- it's cool and refreshing to see a movie just try something different. When it works? All the better, and Stretch works in a big way.

It starts with a style. Voiceover narration is nothing new in crime thrillers, but this one is almost non-stop. If Wilson's Stretch isn't actually talking on-screen, the narration kicks in. That could be a deal-breaker, but man, it works. Stretch wants to be an actor and as he gets deeper and deeper into this whirlwind of a night, he becomes that actor, pretending to be all sorts of things to get in and out of all these messes. As a CSI Miami producer once told him, 'Own your space.' Well, he does. The basis for the story is a sub-genre, the overnight movie where a whole bunch of stuff happens in one extended night. 'Stretch' was filmed in Los Angeles at night, a world unto itself and all the people and goofs and crazies that our intrepid, troubled limo driver will come across. It gets crazier by the minute, and I laughed and loved it throughout. Style to burn but not a style that tries too hard.

There's a certain charm to Wilson's titular character and a credit to Wilson in general. Our desperate, not so heroic limo driver isn't the most likable character. He's a bit of an a-hole. Now that said...I did like him. You're rooting for him because it's just too goofy not to. I thought Wilson was great here. He's excellent delivering the narration as the action develops, as we hear his thoughts in the moment of how to improvise, how to get through this night alive and with some cash. By the end of the movie, he's beat up, bloodied and bruised, and you feel like you've been through the ringer with him. A sign and show of the talent he has, talent that will hopefully lead to more bigger and better parts.

I thought it was odd that co-star Chris Pine went uncredited for his part here. He's previously worked with Carnahan on Smokin' Aces and has the second-most screentime of the entire cast. Blah blah blah I guess. He's a scene-stealer. His Karos is unhinged, possibly a lunatic and an alpha-male who doesn't have a care in the world...although he definitely should. Similar to his part in Horrible Bosses 2, Pine just commits to the craziness/goofiness and goes for it. The result is that it feels real and funny, not forced. His chemistry with Wilson is perfect as the night goes on, two guys playing off each other seamlessly. Also, stick around for the outtakes in the credits. There's a ton of laughs, but the best scenes have Wilson and Pine trying not to crack up in what looks to be an improvised scene. Very funny stuff.

The cast overall is excellent. Also look for Ed Helms as Karl -- with a 'K' -- a limo driver who killed himself and now serves as Stretch's conscious of sorts...while sporting a mustache he grew in Hell. Yeah, go with it. It works. Jessica Alba plays Charlie, Stretch's dispatcher trying to help him out with some major clients while James Badge Dale plays Laurent, a mystery man caught up in the nighttime full of betrayal and international intrigue. Appearing as themselves as clients are David Hasselhoff and Ray Liotta (another Smokin' Aces co-star) while Randy Couture appears in uncredited fashion as El Jovi, a rival limo client with some extravagances. Matthew Willig is memorable as Boris, his tow-truck driving brother and enforcer.

In the end, things are wrapped up a little too tidy for my liking, but overall, I loved this movie. A thrill ride in 94 minutes, the pace never slows down and it's entertaining and fun throughout. Highly recommended tracking it down.

Stretch (2014): *** 1/2 /****

Horrible Bosses 2

With the comedy genre maybe more than any other successful genre, I think the sequel can be a dangerous thing. What was funny about the first one? Can that success and formula be duplicated? Are things tweaked too much or not enough? I'm looking at you Hangover trilogy. Would anyone be truly sad if that series had ended after the first flick? Nope, it's a classic. So what about this follow-up? Let's see where 2014's Horrible Bosses 2 stands.

After avoiding the debacle that was trying to kill their bosses at work, Nick (Jason Bateman), Kurt (Jason Sudeikis) and Dale (Charlie Day) have moved onto bigger and better things. In fact, the trio of friends have gone into business together, developing a shower product that seems ready to take off on the market. They just need a buyer, and they seem to have found one in Bert Hanson (Christoph Waltz), a powerful executive with a catalog featuring an open spot for their product. Well, he did. He takes advantage of these business novices and leaves them high and dry, stealing their product right out from under them. They've invested all their money into the business, and now they are just days away from the company and their product being foreclosed on. What to do? The three wannabe crooks head back to a life of crime. No, it's not murder this time around. They're going to kidnap Hanson's son and get enough money to pay off their loan with the ransom. What could possibly go wrong?

Released back in 2011, Horrible Bosses was a solid, funny comedy with a cool premise and a fun cast. I gave it 3 stars but still can't quite put my finger on it. The first movie was really funny but missing that special something. I'll be giving this 2014 sequel the same rating -- 3 stars -- but it's better. From director Sean Anders, 'Bosses 2' feels more comfortable in its own skin. It's a funny premise again where just about everything that can go wrong will go wrong. But here's the guts of it. I laughed a lot at this one. I laughed out loud. I laughed a lot more than I did with the original. I still struggle to review comedies at times, but this one's easy. I was entertained throughout and a goofy premise and fun cast provides some great laughs. And in sequel mode, it tries something different, not necessarily going for status quo. Yes, kidnapping is different than murder, and that's what I'm counting as different. Deal with it.

This one's pretty simple. Do you like Bateman, Sudeikis and Day? Do you like them working together? If you answered 'Yes,' then you're safe. If you answered 'No,' then this might not be the movie for you. Their on-screen chemistry is easy and funny and does a good job showing three friends who have been friends forever. They've got a rhythm when they talk, inside jokes like Dale insisting he always sits in the middle of the backseat ("I always sit in the middle!") and a history that's far before anything we see in either movie. Bateman is the quiet, usually frustrated leader, Sudeikis the kinda off the wall sidekick, and Day (to quote It's Always Sunny) is the wildcard. You just have to go along with things. Forced to take drastic measures, this trio of friends decides kidnapping (or 'kidnaping' maybe) is their best option. Let's do this!

The rest of the cast is excellent as well, bringing back some familiar faces while introducing some fresh blood. Waltz is underused as the money-minded, calculating businessman so the best addition to the cast is his son, Rex, played to perfection by Chris Pine. One of the big rising stars in Hollywood, Pine just brings this crazy, frenetic energy to the part, especially when he takes the lead in his own kidnapping. His chemistry with the kidnapping trio is perfect throughout, especially their scene planning how to pull it off. Returning from the original are Jennifer Aniston as Dale's former boss, a sex addict who takes a keen interest in what Dale and Co. are up to, Jamie Foxx as "Motherf****r" Jones, the trio's criminal muse, and Kevin Spacey as Nick's former boss, now locked up but still offering advice to the bumbling crooks. Cool to see those three back for more shenanigans.

The humor at times is pretty dirty, and a handful of times the seeming improvisation tries too hard. They're going for a big laugh, and it just isn't there, especially when the three friends throw their voices to call with ransom demands. For the most part though, the dead on arrival laughs are over pretty quickly, getting back to the goofy fun. I liked the whole movie a lot, but felt like it really hit its stride in the last hour when Pine's Rex gets involved with the kidnapping plot. Their brainstorming session is a great montage, and when we see how their plan is supposed to work....well, we know it won't. The actual kidnapping and ransom drop is dumb and fun and goofy. Stay tuned through the early parts of the credits too for some good laughs as we see all the flubs during filming.

Definitely worth seeking out. Fun cast, very funny sequel.

Horrible Bosses 2 (2014): ***/****

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit

I think the first 14 years of the 21st Century have earned a new nickname, a new era. We are residents of the Reboot Era!!! Basically any successful franchise series from the past, from any decade with any potential for earning money is going to get a reboot. Young audiences can't be trusted to actually look to the past, can they? Some are good, some are worthy, and some are clearly ploys to make boatloads of money. Enter 2014's Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit because there was audiences knocking down doors for a reboot of the famous Tom Clancy character.

Studying in London when the 9/11 attacks occur in New York, Jack Ryan (Chris Pine) decides to put his academics on hold, joining the Marines and becoming a hero in Afghanistan in a helicopter accident, saving two fellow Marines. The accident almost cripples him, but as he goes through extreme rehab, Ryan is approached by Thomas Harper (Kevin Costner), a C.I.A. official interested in recruiting Ryan as an agent. His hope? Harper wants Jack to work as a compliance officer at a brokerage house on Wall Street, looking for patterns and algorithms in the sales and deals. Ryan heads back to school, gets his degree, gets a job and goes to work for the C.I.A. deep undercover. Ten years pass, Ryan staying in touch with Harper, especially when he starts to find hidden accounts from Russian organizations that are doing the exact opposite of what the market suggests. This is enough money to cripple the United States, its government and its economy. Looking to get some answers, Jack heads to Moscow to investigate.

Before his surprising passing in October 2013, Tom Clancy was a go-to author for anyone interested in espionage and military science and technology. His most iconic character? That would be Jack Ryan who has been played by Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford and Ben Affleck in four Ryan movies. All four movies are good in their own right, but it's been since 12 years since 2002's The Sum of All Fears. Did we really need a reboot? Were audiences clamoring for a new movie? For me, it seems like a ploy to make money, pure and simple. Naive of me? Probably, but here we sit. Still, there was a lot of talent assembled here, and as a Jack Ryan fan, I wanted to give it a shot even if I wasn't dying to see this new espionage thriller from director and co-star Kenneth Branagh.

So is it worth it? Yes and no. I've got some issues with it. This is the first Ryan movie not to be based off a Clancy novel, and I think it shows. We're re-introduced to the character, tweaking his backstory to make it more modern, more appropriate for the 2010s, not the 1980s/1990s. For starters, the movie clocks in at just 105 minutes. Take away a seven or eight minute credit sequence at the end, and we're talking a movie just over 90 minutes long (about the length of your average screwball comedy). From the opening 10-15 minutes, things are far too rush. Ten-plus years of Jack's backstory are jammed into that first 15 minutes. We go from London to Afghanistan to Walter Reed in a flash, and then we're off to international intrigue as Jack really delves into things in the financial world. The character is too cool for it not to be at least remotely interesting. While it has its moments though, it feels like James Bond meets Jason Bourne meets the Mission Impossible series. Not unique enough to really stand out. Still entertaining? Yes, but nowhere near as good as it could have been.

There are positives, starting with the cast. A star of another successful franchise reboot with the Star Trek movies, Pine is a strong choice to play Jack. He's likable, funny, and more than capable of handling himself in an action scene (but more on that little thing later). Too much time is spent on his relationship with his fiance, Cathy (Kiera Knightley, rocking an American accent), as they try to figure out what their future holds. Oh, by the way, he can't tell her he's a C.I.A. agent, Cathy a young, successful doctor relegated to paranoid girlfriend mode. The human element is one thing, a good thing, but focus on the espionage more! Costner has officially become that Actor, the older actor who isn't the A-list star who carries a movie. Instead, he has become that great actor who now plays the key supporting part, stealing scenes left and right. His Thomas Harper is a great supporting part. As for the villain, Branagh plays Viktor Cherevin with relish, a fun bad guy who's smart and sinister and extremist. A fun part, up there with Costner as the best characters.

Rushed though the story may be, it has some really cool set pieces. Upon arriving in Moscow, Ryan must face off with a hired killer (Nonso Anozie), a brutal, knock down fight in a high-class hotel room. The fallout and payoff is just as good, a CIA team coming in to remove any traces of the fight, including the body. Later in a scene reminiscent of 1996's Mission: Impossible, Ryan must sneak into Cherevin's highly-guarded office with every sort of security imaginable. Knightley's Cathy helps distract Cherevin while Costner's Harper looks on as security from the building across the street. It is a perfectly tense extended sequence that shows you don't need huge special effects or explosions or gimmicks to work. Definitely the high point of the movie.

Where are the gimmicks then? In the immediate follow-up, and that's where the rushed feeling of the entire movie becomes an issue. It's the type of scene that drives me nuts. With time running out, Jack figures out in about 37 seconds what Cherevin's plan is, how he'll execute it, where he'll do it, when, how his sleeper agent (Alec Utgoff) will accomplish it, how he created the bomb, blah blah blah. It's an almost painful scene, agents sitting around a command post and plane while Ryan rattles off numbers and names and questions, clues coming together at an alarming rate. Yeah, I get it. He's a brilliant analyst, but he's able to do in minutes what the C.I.A. and all the government agents couldn't do in years? Come on, man! I'm not buying it. The one actual action sequence in the movie follows it up, a sequence with a complete lack of a payoff. It counts far too much on coincidence to work, characters doing things that need to happen for the story to continue, not because it makes any sense.

I realize I'm really ripping this one. I can't help it. When it is bad, it is really bad, but I still found myself liking it. I walked away disappointed because the finale is so dumb, but the build-up was entertaining. 'Shadow' does have the feel of a throwback spy movie where the Russians are evil, the Americans angelically good, and dammit, we've gotta save the world. Definitely a mixed bag, but just enough to recommend in the mindless entertainment department. I just expect more from a Jack Ryan movie.

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014): ** 1/2 /****

Star Trek Into Darkness

One of the most popular franchises in pop culture history, Star Trek has been on the public mind since it debuted on TV in the 1960s. It has spawned spinoffs, films, countless iconic characters and pop culture moments. In 2009, it got a franchise reboot of sorts with the highly successful and very entertaining feature film, Star Trek. It took a couple years, but the sequel hit theaters this past spring/summer and was just as good and just as entertaining. Warp speed to 2013's Star Trek Into Darkness.

It's the year 2259 and Captain James Kirk (Chris Pine) remains the commander of the U.S.S. Enterprise, one of Starfleet's most important ships. Following a mission on a primitive planet that forces Kirk to disobey orders and put the crew and ship at risk, Kirk has the Enterprise taken away from him and much of his crew reassigned to other ships. The reassignment is put on hold though when a former Starfleet officer, John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch), leads a brutal attack on a Starfleet officer with horrific casualties inflicted. Harrison escapes Earth into deep space, but Kirk isn't far behind. He's been placed back in command of the Enterprise and must pursue Harrison. His orders seem suspicious though, and as Kirk, Mr. Spock (Zachary Quinto) and the crew of the Enterprise draw closer to their destination, they all begin to suspect what they've been sent to do.

Before seeing the 2009 franchise reboot, I had no experience with the Star Trek world(s) other than the most prominent cast members and a pop culture reference here and there. It's everywhere. You've got to pick up some stuff almost incidentally, right? I headed into both these movies with no real expectations. I wanted to be entertained. So what have I taken away from both these science fiction flicks? One word, and that's F-U-N. These are good, old-fashioned science fiction films with tons of action, very cool characters, and the necessary imagination to explore all sorts of far-off worlds with the energy of a little kid. I liked this sequel as much if not more than the original, 133 minutes of pure fun. It's a little long but the movie itself is never slow. If you're a fan of the franchise, series or just the original, you'll definitely like this one.

Whatever director-writer-producer extraordinaire J.J. Abrams seems to touch, he does so with a golden touch. I think his genuine love of what he's doing translates to his stuff, TV shows like Lost, the Star Trek movies, his Mission: Impossible entry. He's like a kid at heart. Above all else, Abrams' goal seems to be to entertain. With a science-fiction story like this, there's a natural dependence on CGI, but 'Darkness' never overdoes it. Sure, it's obvious we're watching CGI, but it blends in seamlessly with the action. We've got cool, roguish heroes like Pine's Kirk, a great villain in Cumberbatch's Harrison, a very solid supporting cast and action around every corner with all sorts of very visual, very colorful planets and aliens to explore and meet. Also worth mentioning is composer Michael Giacchino's score (Giacchino, a frequent Abrams collaborator), helping pump the action and story along. 

Playing the iconic Captain James Kirk (still no William Shatner cameo), Pine again brings a great energy to the lead role. He's funny, cocky, a very capable officer, always looking for a new adventure, and always, ALWAYS looking out for his ship, his cast and his friends. The dynamic between Pine and Quinto's Mr. Spock is pretty perfect, two polar opposites managing to make their friendship/relationship work so well together. Kirk is all about impulse and in the moment, not always thinking about the long-term consequences. Spock, a Vulcan (look for the pointy ears), is all about logic, what should be done, and the percentages of getting the job done. They play off each other effortlessly, Kirk trying to humanize Spock, Spock trying to bring Kirk back down to some sort of Earthly norm. Also look for Leonard Nimoy in a quick appearance.

The rest of the ensemble cast fills in the parts nicely around the leads. Returning from the original as the crew of the Enterprise are Karl Urban as Bones, the medical officer, Zoe Saldana as Uhura, the communications officer, Simon Pegg as Scotty, the ship's fiery Scottish engineer, John Cho as Sulu, the helmsman, and Anton Yelchin as Chekov, the ship's navigator. New to the crew is Alice Eve as Carol, a weapons specialist who knows more than she's letting on. Also returning is Bruce Greenwood as Starfleet officer and mentor to Kirk, Admiral Pike. Peter Weller plays Fleet Admiral Marcus, one of the highest ranking Starfleet officers around. In the villain department, Cumberbatch is perfect as Harrison (but that ain't his name....wink, wink), a more than worthy foe to Kirk and the gang, a villain potentially for many movies to come.

For the diehard Trekkies, there's also some cool nods to the franchise. Most importantly though, it knows where the franchise, series and characters have come from, but it creates its own legacy. These movies were meant to be fun and eaten with a big tub of popcorn, basically the definition of a summer blockbuster. It made almost $500 million worldwide so audiences are clearly eating it up. From the opening chase on a primitive red-planet to the non-stop chase through the second half of the movie, it's one fun scene after another. It's not a great movie, but it's not supposed to be. Popcorn, summer blockbuster = epically fun.

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013): ***/****

This Means War

Just try. Do something a little different. If it fails, at least you made an attempt and didn't go for the same old, same old formula. Here we are again at the romantic comedy where humor and schmaltzy love stories go to die in mediocrity. If you try, and it's a little goofy, even dumb at times, at least the effort was made. Take 2012's This Means War. Goofy? Yes. Dumb? At times. But it's fun, and it's different. I'm a cheap date. That's all I'm looking for.

Working on a case in Hong Kong, C.I.A. field agents F.D.R. (Chris Pine) and Tuck (Tom Hardy) are best friends and have been for years to the point where they're like family. FDR is a bit of a ladies man while Tuck is divorced/separated from his wife and their 7-year old son. Tuck though decides he wants more, a meaningful relationship and hits it off immediately with product tester Lauren (Reese Witherspoon) on a date set up by an online dating site. Saying goodbye to Tuck, Lauren meets FDR down the street coincidentally at a video store, and they too hit it off. It isn't long before the two CIA agents figure out they're dating the same girl. Who will get Lauren? It's spy vs. spy.

Because a last name is unnecessary, director McG (of Charlie's Angels, Terminator Salvation fame) certainly has some fun with this one. As I mentioned earlier, 'War' is goofy, dumb and even a little stupid at times, but it commits to being all those things. This is no hardcore story of CIA agents looking for love, the opening over-the-top action scene on a Hong Kong skyscraper's roof points to that. This is a world where well-trained, world class secret agents use all sorts of government software to track each other down, track a pretty girl down, monitor each others' dates. It is goofy, dumb and a little stupid at times, and that's not a bad thing. It owns up to that. No message here, no bigger picture about secret agents in love. Just two old friends going toe to toe for a girl....oh, and they're epically talented government killing machines. How can that not be enjoyable?

So as a romantic comedy on steroids, 'War' works in a lot of ways. Two of the bright young stars in Hollywood, Pine and Hardy are perfectly cast alongside each other. Their friendship of many years -- not to mention working as partners in the field -- seems genuine. They jab and mock and ridicule each other like only close friends can. They compete at everything so when they meet a girl like Witherspoon's Lauren, it's game on. The biggest laughs come from this competition, each agent trying to sabotage the other. FDR sets the sprinklers off in Tuck's loft at a romantic dinner. Tuck drills FDR with a knock-out dart from across a street as he makes a move on Lauren. Pine and Hardy are perfect together, and Witherspoon is about as adorably cute as you'd expect. She has some funny scenes with Chelsea Handler as Trish, Lauren's sister(?)/friend, confidant and adviser in love.

As for the CIA agent storyline, we get a pretty straightforward, nuts and bolts type story. FDR and Tuck are after one bad German dude, Heinrich (Til Schweiger), who is up to no good. What exactly? It's enough to know that's he up to no good, and now he's looking for revenge against these two CIA agents. Any more information would just be wasted. The action sequences are ridiculously over the top and ultra-choreographed, slow motion galore. They're the type of scenes where a car explodes when it flips because....well, cars look cool when they explode on impact. The scenes are action-packed but funny too, Tuck always needing to use FDR's pistol clips in the midst of a chaotic gun battle. The focus is obviously on the love triangle, but that whole secret agent thing is pretty cool too.

Through all the goofiness that ensues, I found myself really liking this movie. It sounds simple, but I liked the characters, and too often in rom-coms, that's left by the wayside. Characters become cliches, stereotypes or something nasty in between. I liked all the characters here. FDR realizes he genuinely likes Lauren and doesn't intend to play her. Lauren is the same, looking for a good normal guy, and Tuck's looking for love. I'm a huge Tom Hardy fan, and he was my favorite here, especially his background with his ex-wife (Abigail Spencer) and son, Joe (John Paul Ruttan). Nothing groundbreaking, but it is different from the usual romantic comedy. It is a good, old-fashioned popcorn movie. Easily digestible and fun from start to finish.

This Means War <---trailer (2012): ***/****

Unstoppable

What makes a good bad guy? I'm not talking run of the mill, everyday type villains.  We're talking epically bad, that perfect villain that doesn't have an ounce of good, a shred of decency in them. There's Darth Vader, the T-1000, Anton Chigurh, and any number of quality ones that I could write whole reviews about.  For the most part, the problem with many villains is that they can be stopped. Morals, principles, exhaustion, a bullet to the head (or a thousand), things can stop them. What about something man-made though with no conscious or thought process to slow it down. In the case of 2010's Unstoppable, that villain is a runaway train carrying thousands of gallons of diesel fuel and a cargo of highly dangerous chemicals.

Before I go into the movie too much, I'm going to say that I like director Tony Scott and several of the movies he's made over the years. There is nothing wrong with a director who finds a niche and sticks with it.  Whole careers have been made off that premise.  But in Scott's case, I'm struggling to think of a director currently working in Hollywood who has become more cliched, more of a stereotype of himself than Scott.  His movies are good, mindless flicks that require no thinking at all.  But seriously, I feel like I could do a movie for him with all his personal touches and audiences might not know the difference.  Unstoppable is like that, one cliche after another.  The movie isn't bad, but it's not good either.

On his first day at a new job as a train conductor for a railroad line in Pennsylvania, Will Colson (Chris Pine) is assigned to work with veteran engineer Frank Barnes (Denzel Washington) hauling 20 rail cars from one stop to another. Arriving at her office, yardmaster Connie Hooper (Rosario Dawson) receives a call that one of her trains is loose on the tracks with no one on board controlling it. The report says it's a coaster, a train that should be easily stopped, but it isn't. The half-mile long train is picking up speed, and with thousands of gallons of diesel fuel and seven cars of a dangerous chemical, it is becoming an immense missile heading into a highly populated area full of towns every few miles. All sorts of rescue efforts are brought up, but it may come down to Will and Frank riding their engine backwards, desperately trying to catch up to the runaway train, latch on and brake it before it derails. But is there enough time?

Yes, of course there's enough time. Did you really think a major studio release starring Denzel Washington and Chris Pine was going to have a downer ending? Shame on you if you did. This has to be one of the most cliched movies I've ever seen. The trailer I'll link to later basically throws everything at the wall with the hope that something sticks, something makes the audience nervous.  A train full of little kids is on the same track as the runaway train. A horse trailer is almost smashed to bits. Washington's character is about to be fired. Pine's character is having struggles back at the old homestead with the wife. There is nothing here that you won't have seen before. Nothing at all.  It's never boring, but you certainly have that feeling of having been there and done that with countless other movies.

You can't chalk that all up to Scott because the script is obviously a major contributor to the damage.  Some of it though? Oh, yeah, the blame goes on his shoulders.  Tony Scott has a very distinctive, unique shooting style.  His editing is fast, even choppy and hard to decipher at times, throwing countless quick cuts and images at you in an almost non-stop barrage.  With a story like this, that is almost necessary.  It keeps things going, adding to the sense of urgency settling in on all these people desperately trying to stop the runaway train.  But just like the issues with the story, it's the same thing over and over again.  If you saw Man on Fire, Taking of Pelham 123, Deja Vu, Spy Game, Enemy of the State (all movies I like and recommend), you've seen it all, and Scott feels like he's mailing it in here.  Not the director's best work.

The saving grace amidst all the chaos is Washington -- one of Hollywood's most bankable stars -- being paired with Pine -- one of Hollywood's up and coming stars.  In the worst movies, Denzel is worth watching, and that's no different here. He is as natural, as easygoing, as personable as any movie star I've ever seen. The fact that his character is basically a rehash of the one he played in Pelham 123 is a minor thing. His chemistry with Pine is great, their dialogue scenes so perfect you question if this movie could have been so much better if more time could have been focused on these two guys.  I've had a crush for years on Rosario Dawson so I'll basically watch anything she's in. Her part is one that just about any actress could play, but she's good nonetheless.  Also worth mentioning is Ethan Suplee as Dewey, the conductor who let his train go rogue, Kevin Dunn as a railroad exec trying to figure out what to do, Kevin Corrigan as a railroad safety expert helping Dawson, and Lew Temple as a railroad employee who may be a wild card in solving the situation.

Watching this based on a true story movie, I was never bored. How could a suicidal runaway train not be interesting, right? But that's it. There's nothing else. At 98 minutes, the movie felt stretched out, like Scott used everything he had at his disposal to get it to that length. The portrayal of the media coverage is interesting as incidents like this in the modern world of a 24/7 news cycle don't go unnoticed.  But though it may try for all it's worth, the movie never amounts to anything other than mindless -- very mindless -- entertainment.  Know what you're getting, and hopefully you'll get some enjoyment out of it.

Unstoppable <---trailer (2010): ** 1/2 /****   

Star Trek

Thanks to his work with ABC's Lost, director/producer extraordinaire J,J. Abrams has basically got free reign if you ask me. Anybody who produces a show as good as Lost gets the benefit of the doubt, even if MI:3 was a bit of a disappointment. He seems to have a golden touch with whatever he goes after so when a teaser trailer was released for an updated version of Star Trek, more than a few eyebrows were raised. With a franchise as hugely popular and successful as Star Trek, anyone taking that on has got some guts.

Now other than some pop culture references (for one, George Costanza screaming 'Khan!'), I have no background in the Star Trek universe. Sure, I've heard of Captain Kirk and Spock and the Enterprise and all that good stuff, but I've never seen even a minute of any of the different shows or movies that so many fans swear by. In that way, I'd like to think I'm in the target audience for Abrams' movie, noobs almost completely oblivious to the series and franchise. With a sequel already announced after the huge success Star Trek had this summer -- over $250 million-- the opener in what could be a long series is an entertaining flick that sets the groundwork for fans new and old to the series.

In the year 2233, a Starfleet ship, the U.S.S. Kelvin is destroyed by a monstrous Romulan warship deep in space with first officer George Kirk (Chris Hemsworth) ordering an evacuation before sacrificing himself and the ship. One of the people escaping is George's pregnant wife who gives birth to a son, James. Flash forward some 20 years later and James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) is all grown up. Meeting a high-ranking Starfleet officer, Capt. Pike (Bruce Greenwood), Kirk is convinced into joining Starfleet where he enters officer training. After three years of study --taken care of quickly with a 'Three Years Later" title card-- Kirk does not get the orders he wanted, a position on the fleet's flagship, the U.S.S. Enterprise.

But with some help from friend and medical officer Bones McCoy (Karl Urban), Kirk gets on board as the flagship takes off leading the fleet on a dangerous mission. Reaching their destination, they find the same Romulan warship that destroyed the Kelvin almost 25 years earlier waiting for them with maniacal leader Nero (Eric Bana) in command. Having heard how his father died, Kirk suspects the fleet is flying into a trap and must do his damnedest to save the fleet, including taking over the Enterprise. There's elements of time travel and changing the future too so brace yourself for a handful of scenes that make your head hurt with some fast-paced conversations.

It's refreshing to see a big budget action movie with lots of style and glitz that is, well, good. Star Trek isn't just good in one aspect, it's a solid movie across the board. There's great action sequences blending CGI and actual stunts on a more personal level to go with believable and interesting interactions among a long list of characters. As the special features documentary mentions, Abrams has the ability to blend both the large and little scales, hitting you with an over the top space fight and then intimate moments after the battle. At just over 2 hours long, you won't even notice as the time flies by.

From what little I know of the franchise, this reboot sticks close to all the versions that came before it. Pine is a strong choice to play Kirk, and thankfully he doesn't do his best Shatner impression. He makes James T. Kirk a cocky but likable character that is easy to root for and get behind. The other key character is of course, Spock Prime, played to perfection by Zachary Quinto. Spock is half-man, half-Vulcan so he blends the characteristics of both species, the logic of a Vulcan and the fire and emotion of a human. The natural rivalry and subsequent bonding between Kirk and Spock is a key one that will almost assuredly be carried into later movies.

As for the rest of the cast, Abrams assembled a strong group of young, up and coming actors who will provide a strong springboard into the series. Urban plays McCoy, the medical officer, Zoe Saldana is Uhura, the linguistics expert, scene-stealing Simon Pegg is Scotty, the engineer, John Cho as Sulu, the Enterprise's pilot, and Anton Yelchin as Checkov, the navigator. Other than Pegg, no one really shines here but most of the group's screentime is setting up who they are and what they do. It will be interesting to see how they develop. Bana is a good villain if a bit underused, but it's the original Spock, Leonard Nimoy, that makes a great extended cameo. An all-around solid cast that helps bring the movie up a notch.

A pleasant surprise for another franchise rebooting, which I've got to say is not necessarily a bad thing with Daniel Craig reinvigorating the Bond series, Christian Bale doing the same for Batman, and now Abrams, Pine and Quinto stepping up to the plate with one of the most popular science fiction franchises ever. If you're concerned about not knowing anything about the series, don't be. The movie is a polished, exciting, well-told story. Don't miss it.

Star Trek <----trailer (2009): ***/****