Seems Like Westworld To Me..."Vice"

Vice (2015)

Rated R

Starring Ambyr Childers, Thomas Jane, Bruce Willis

Directed by Brian A. Miller

The Story:

Welcome to Vice! The ultimate resort where anything goes, because all of the residents are robots. Fulfill your darkest fantasy. The only problem, Kelly (Childers) is starting to not completely reboot and remembering things that have happened to her before. Meanwhile, Roy (Jane) is a hard-boiled cop who thinks people acting out at Vice bleeds back to the real world and wants to shut the place down. This puts both of them in the crosshairs of Julian (Willis) who wants to shut them both down, permanently.

I hope I didn't make it sound too interesting... because it wasn't.

It was sooooooo boring.

I've yet to watch the re-imagining of Westworld on cable, but I have brief memories of the movie from the 70s.

My guess is they wanted to cash in before the new series came out.

I hope the series is more interesting.

Then again, I can't imagine it being any worse.

Willis and Jane cashing their direct to DVD checks, neither one mustering much effort to care, so I'm not going to either.

Currently streaming on Netflix if you're up for the challenge.

Final Grade:  F

'Eleven Hundred Men Went Into The Water'... "U.S.S. Indianapolis: Men of Courage"

U.S.S. Indianapolis: Men of Courage (2016)

Rated R

Starring Nicolas Cage, Tom Sizemore, Thomas Jane, Matt Lanter, James Remar, Brian Presley, Yutaka Takeuchi,

Directed by Mario Van Peebles

The Story:

Captain McVay (Cage) receives orders to deliver a Top Secret cargo which will help end World War II. Because of the secrecy, nobody is tracking the departures and arrivals of the U.S.S. Indianapolis. Once the cargo is delivered, McVay requests their tracking to be announced, but he is told since they "never officially arrived, how can they officially depart?" As they return home, they are torpedoed and sank in the Phillipine Sea. No rescue efforts were mounted, as no ship was presumed missing.

Naturally, this one is based on the true story of the U.S. Navy's single worst disaster in history.

If you've seen the movie Jaws, then you've heard this story encapsulated into one of the best monologues ever delivered in cinematic history, that of Quint's recount of surviving the sinking and the subsequent days of shark attacks on the survivors.

This movie stretches that 5 minute scene into 2 hours, but the film divides the storyline very well.

We get to know the Captain and the crew in the first half, so that when the attack and subsequent sinking occur, we feel sympathy and sadness as each character meets their fate, whether they survive the initial sinking or perish days later due to a shark or exposure.

Of the 1,100 men that went into the water, days later just a little over 300 came out alive when they were finally rescued.

The film ends with the court martial of Captain McVay, the only Naval commander to be court martialed for losing a ship during the war. Even the enemy submarine commander (Takeuchi) testified on whether or not McVay's decision of not to zig zag the ship played any part in the attack.

The attack haunted McVay in the years that followed. Families of those that lost someone called him for years and said hateful things to him until he could take it no longer.

It's a good, but not great account of the tragedy.

If you don't have the time though, spend 5 minutes and look up Quint's speech on YouTube if you've never seen Jaws before, or it's been years, and you'll save a few hours instead.

Final Grade: C

It's Dangerous To Wander "Into The Grizzly Maze"

Into the Grizzly Maze (2015)

Rated R

Starring James Marsden, Thomas Jane, Piper Perabo, Scott Glenn, Michaela McManus, Adam Beach,

Directed by David Hackl

The Story:

Rowan (Marsden) and Beckett (Jane) are two brothers who haven't seen each other in ages. When Rowan returns to town in Alaska, he's on a mission to help a friend. However, those plans are in jeopardy when both brothers need to survive the Alaskan wilderness while they are being stalked by a grizzly bear.

This was a pretty effective little thriller, where the monster is told more than shown, so much like Jaws, the scares are often implied versus explicitly shown.

However, when they do allow the bear to attack, there's buckets of gore aplenty. :)

Billy Bob Thornton is on hand as the Quint character who is there to stop the bear, however, well, as the Quint character, you should already know how that's going to turn out, right?

In addition to the issues with the bear, the group also has to deal with their feelings for each other.

Even in the face of a man-eating beast, some differences don't just go away because you're in danger.

Otherwise, you've got a great cast doing their best to make you feel their fear and it's a pretty good little B movie to pass the time.
Final Grade:  B- / C+ range

Good Versus Evil..."Standoff"

Standoff (2016)

Rated R

Starring Thomas Jane, Laurence Fishburne, Ella Ballentine,

Written and Directed by Adam Allenca

The Story:

Bird (Ballentine) witnesses a murder by Sade (Fishburne) and runs in fear. She winds up finding refuge at a nearby house where the owner, Carter (Jane) protects her. However, Sade wants her dead, and Carter's just about out of bullets in his gun. This may not end well for Bird.

That's pretty much the movie.

It's a rather claustrophobic set as 90% of the film takes place in Carter's house.

Carter holds the stairway to the 2nd floor with Bird while Sade roams freely on the first floor.

It's then a back and forth between the two as they trade barbs and stories with one another while each trying to save or kill the little girl.

Allenca does quite well for himself for the first time behind the camera and he keeps the movie moving along nicely.

He's got two fine actors who are clearly into their roles, and Fishburne owns the screen whenever he's on, and if he had a moustache, you know there would be a scene where he's twirling it.  He embraces the nobility of his villain and you can almost....almost... see his side of things.

A taut thriller enhanced greatly by two great actors.

Final Grade: B- / C+ range

And The Oscar Goes To... "Drive Hard"

Drive Hard (2014)

N/R (R)

Starring Thomas Jane, John Cusack

Directed by Brian Trenchard-Smith

The Story:

Peter (Jane) is a former race-car driver who left the thrills and spills and moved with his family to Australia. He now teaches people how to be drivers. Cue the appointment with Simon (Cusack) who takes him out for a lesson, then along for the ride of his life!

Throw caution to the wind, and watch a pair of American actors race across the Outback eluding the police!

Cusack is having a ball as the bad guy, but not as bad of a guy as you might think...

Jane waffles between amused and bemused as the poor driver taken hostage and forced to work his old magic to keep himself alive.

But that's just it, this is a cheesy, cornball of a movie where it seems like they said, hey, Australia wants to make a movie two, here's a pair of actors you can use, have fun with it.

They did.

You're rolling your eyes one minute, and then laughing in spite of it the next.

Cusack has been doing a lot of these films that are coming straight to streaming or otherwise missing the appearance in theaters.

Whether he's doing it "for the paycheck" or not, that's a whole different argument.

He at least is always a professional and gives a good performance and that is commendable.

I wasn't expecting much, heck, I thought it was a sequel to Nic Cage's Drive Angry at first, but I stayed for the whole thing and didn't feel bad about those 90 minutes slipping away.

:)

Currently available to stream on Netflix as of this writing.

Final Grade: C+

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I could watch it again in the future, but I've got plenty of other things to watch first! :)