Gil Mansergh’s Cinema Toast
New Release For the Week of 1/27/17
Gold (R)
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Edgar Ramirez, Bryce Dallas Howard, Corey Stoll, Bruce Greenwood
Director: Stephen Gaghan
In Stephen Gaghan’s Gold, a team of prospectors announces they discovered a “mountain of gold” in the Indonesian jungle. Needing money to finance excavation, they statr selling “penny” stocks, but when carefully leaked information gets out, these stocks soar above $200 a share. Based on a true story, the company in question has been relocated from Calgary, Alberta Canada to Reno, NV in the good old US of A. This was done not only to provide the rationale for McConaughy’s distinctive Texas drawl, but also to categorize this film as a satire of American greed. Based on the previews, audiences could expect a rough-and-tumble backwoods tale set in a steamy jungle, but instead, the film quickly becomes an expose’ on the shenanigans of a con man. Too bad the screenplay and direction never make the “truth” rise above a lackluster presentation.
2 pieces of gold smells of nothing toast
xXx: The Return of Xander Cage (PG-13)
Starring: Vin Diesel & Samuel L. Jackson (USA), Donnie Yen (Hong Kong), Tony Jaa Thailand), Deepika Padukone (India), Ruby Rose & Toni Collette (Australia), Rory McCann (Scotland) Kris Wu (China), Neymar (Brazil)
Director: D. J. Caruso
You probably didn’t notice that Vin Diesel was absent from the second film in this series, but that oversight is corrected with his “return.” You will also notice that I have listed the country of origin for each of the stars involved. That’s because the producers have made this movie to cash in on the international market for action/adventure films featuring muscled men, muscle cars, and shapely women. The story involves a CIA operative “coaxing” Vin Diesel’s character out of retirement to do battle against what she calls “very bad guys” and their “very bad thing”—which is a system that turns satellites into flaming bombs. Armed with clever one-liners, Ruby Rose provides the breakout performance as a sexy sniper but those of you who want over-the-top stunts which defy the laws of physics and Hammurabi’s code, will enjoy yourselves.
2 pieces of Vin Diesel’s back toast
A Dogs Purpose (PG-13)
Starring: Dennis Quaid, Britt Robertson, K. J. Apa, Peggy Lipton, Pooch Hall and the voice of: Josh Gad
Director: Lasse Hallstrom
Reincarnation is at the heart of this talking-dog movie. The proposition is that the soul (and voice) of a dog is transferred from one canine to another. You could assume that since dogs live a relatively short time (compared to humans), a typical guy will have five or six canine companions during his life. But this film isn’t content to have dogs live normal lifespans. So to speed the reincarnations up a bit, they have a police dog shot on duty, sick dogs euthanized, and even leave a cute puppy in the deadly heat of locked car. Despite this audience abuse, this is supposed to be a “cute” family-oriented film showcasing how A Dog’s Purpose is to offer unconditional love and slobbery kisses to a guy as he transforms from kid to teen to grown up. Since we humans delight in anthropomorphizing our pets, in this movie, the supposed transference of the dog’s soul isn’t open for discussion, it just is.
2 pieces of no animals were harmed in the making of this movie toast