Short Attention Span Review - The Brink (2017)

Short Attention Span Review - The Brink (2017)

The Brink is a curious film that doesn't seem to know just what it wants to be.  It works best when it's an ultra stylish and hyper-kinetic action smorgasboard a la John Wick.  This serves stars Jin Zhang and Shawn Yue best, and this was one of those riveting thrillers wherein I liked the bad guy (Yue) almost as much as I liked our hero (Zhang).  And that's saying something, because Zhang is way too cool in this movie, sporting a punk rock dye job and his standard graceful yet devastating martial arts talents.  The Brink also works surprisingly well as a zany spiritual journey where greed, vengence, and even love intersect, and fates are decided at the whims of a callous Sea Godess who may or may not exist--though without some sort of divine intervention, I'm not sure how anyone could have survived the waterlogged conclusion.  And then there are the melodramatic moments, which aren't nearly as overwrought as they can be in this breed of action movie, but still frequently crash and burn.  And while that awesome finale (a threeway showdown on the deck of a trawler being tossed around by a typhoon) is wild to look at, it does stretch the film's razor-thin sliver of plausibilty to its limits and beyond.  It remains an entertaing and flamboyant romp, with dazzling imagination and sizzling choreography to spare.  It's a bit silly here and there, and a bit sappy in parts as well, but that's easy enough to overlook when you have Jin Zhang kicking ass all over the place.  Oh, and Yue's bad guy had a wicked little weapon roughly the size of an ink pen that fired miniature silver harpoons.  Sounds ridiculous, but it was ill.

Final Grade: C+

When The Brink works, it works because stars Jin Zhang and Shawn Yue  really throw themselves into their parts.

Short Attentin Span Review: Wind River (2017)

Short Attention Span Review: Wind River (2017)

How often does a great movie come along?  I'm a big fan of motion pictures and I'm very picky about what I sit down to watch, so I enjoy much of what I see.   I often use my blog to tell you about really good movies--or movies I enjoyed in spite of some rather obvious flaws. Wind River isn't entertaining in spite of its flaws and it wouldn't be fair to describe it as merely "really good" either.  Wind River is a great movie.  Dark, mystifying, and thoroughly engrossing, it boasts several setpieces of significance, to include both powerful jolts of excitement and poignant flourishes of staggering emotional depth.  Founded upon a splendid script and masterful direction from Taylor Sheridan, the picture also sports a phenomenal cast.  The supporting players never falter, and Elizabeth Olsen is perfectly case as one of the two leads, but the star of this one is clearly Jeremy Renner.  He may not be included in such conversations, but I firmly believe that Renner is one of the finest actors working today.  He is a joy to behold here, offering up a landmark performance with admirable restraint.  He endows Wind River with an abundance of heart and fire, but does so with impeccable nuance and subtlety.  Renner is truly exceptional here, and Wind River is a brooding masterpiece.  I think this is the best movie I've seen in 2017, and it has the substance and authority to stand the test of time.

Final Grade: A+

I firmly believe that Jeremy Renner is one of this generation's finest actors.  His work in Wind River is far less explosive but just as impressive as his more dynamic turns in great films like The Hurt Locker and The Town.