MOVIE REVIEWS - Now In Theaters

Here's a look at some of choices you have at the movies this weekend.  And yes, the new Star Wars movie is out as well.


Collateral Beauty 

This is a really good idea, and my feeling is this would read in a book very well.  But as a movie, I'm not sure.  This has an all star cast including Will Smith, Kate Winslett, Helen Mirren, Keira Knightley, Edward Norton and others.  So clearly star power is not the issue here.

This is the story of Howard, his friends and his advertising company. Howard has an extreme personal tragedy and retreats entirely from life. This is the story of bringing him back as best as he can be brought back.  As he writes abstract letters to things like, Death, Love, and Time.  And he gets an answer from each of them - but how?

This is done as well as it can be, problem is I think you need your imagination here more than your eyes.  This is a story that doesn't transfer well to the visual.  Plus, in this adaptation, the ending was insanely predictable.  You will be way, way ahead of the movie, even though they think they are smarter than you.

This is emotional, entertaining, and pretty well paced. Is this great?  No.  But it's worth the time and money if you are in for a emotional ride at the movies.

Office Christmas Party

What can you say?  It's 2 hours of footage from a huge office party.  Big cast, some laughs, topical at times.

Story attempted, but you don't really care about it. You just want to see the party shenanigans and watch all of our stars again try their hand at non-scripted improvisational jokes.


Miss Sloane

Here comes another political thriller with an agenda that was supposed to make a big splash at the box office but did not, and will not. Jessica Chastain is terrific as Miss Sloane.  She is a tough as nails, smart, slick Washington DC lobbyist with a great track record, this time taking on the NRA and trying to get control legislation passed.

But there are a few really big problems here. First, this is too long, and draggy at times. Second, even though Chastain is great, the character they portray is simply a horrible, ugly, lost, immensely terrible person in general. You are supposed to be pulling for her, but you really just hate her more as time rolls on.  They try at the end to redeem her, but you could care less about her by then.  This movie also becomes a lecture about, well basically everything, and her dialogue is simply not credible.

Chastain does a lot with a little, and she is to be commended. Also, these movies with anti-everything agendas for the most part flop and flop hard, as this will. And even a small 18 million dollar budget will still be a huge tanker.

scott@wqmx.com