By Rick Davis
Although Tom Cruise’s box office appeal may be waning somewhat with the lack of success of Jack Reacher: Never Go Back and The Mummy, he can still be a part of some good movies. He still brings in the audiences for the Mission: Impossible movies and others like Oblivion and Edge of Tomorrow are still good even if they are not blockbusters.
For his latest, American Made, he re-teams with Edge of Tomorrow director Doug Liman for the real-life story of Barry Seal, a TWA pilot in the 1980s who is recruited by the CIA to provide reconnaissance on the burgeoning communist threat in Central America. He soon finds himself in charge of one of the biggest covert CIA operations in the history of the United States that spawned the birth of the Medellin cartel and eventually almost brought down the Reagan administration with the Iran Contra scandal.
This movie looks to be very entertaining and while, like most “based-on-true-events” movies it will likely take liberties with the truth, it will give an interesting personal story within events that had the world fixated during the infancy of the 24-hour news cycle. Director Doug Liman has a strong track record having helmed movies like Swingers, Go, The Bourne Identity, Mr. & Mrs. Smith and is expected to re-team with Cruise for the Edge of Tomorrow sequel.
In 1990, Flatliners was a moderate hit that starred some of the biggest stars at the time including Keifer Sutherland, Julia Roberts, William Baldwin and Kevin Bacon. It was an interesting concept about medical students who stop their hearts for short periods of time so they can have a near-death experience. However, it starts becoming a competition of who could be out the longest but the longer they cross over, the more they must confront the sins of their pasts as well as deal with the paranormal consequences of trespassing to the other side.
The remake does not have the marquee stars of the original, but Ellen Page (Juno), Diego Luna (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) and Nina Dobrev (TV’s The Vampire Diaries) are very recognizable as well as Keifer Sutherland making appearance. Director Niels Arden Oplev is not well known in North America but is well known in Scandinavia for directing the original Swedish The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
If you are looking for something different to watch, there is a Canadian and an international option to check out. Great Great Great is a Canadian drama about a woman who has been in a five year relationship that seems to be going nowhere. When a past love unexpectedly reappears in her life, the movie becomes an uncomfortable yet incredible look at a woman who makes difficult choices in hopes of discovering what she truly wants. It shows at Landmark Cinemas Grand 10 on Wednesday, October 4 at 7 p.m.
And starting this weekend at the Grand 10, Nikka Zaildar 2 is a Punjabi film (with English subtitles) which is a romantic comedy-drama from popular writer-director Simerjit Singh.