The Mechanic
1972's version of The Mechanic
featured Charles Bronson at his steely best as a hitman who begins teaching the tricks of the trade to a young protege. In Simon West's 2011 remake, Jason Statham fits comfortably into a role that he's pretty much been playing his entire career, that of the gritty, cold faced killer. It's only in the addition of Ben Foster as his slightly unstable young charge that that The Mechanic begins to set itself apart from the original. Foster brings a level of nuance to the role unseen in the original, as well as a chaotic energy that is a nice balance to Statham's cool demeanor. The Rite
Demonic posession has never been so...relaxed. Anthony Hopkins stars as an eccentric exorcist who has seen too much to ever doubt the existence of pure evil. So when a young student comes under his tutelage, full of questions and doubts, the sparks should be flying, but they never really set off. Hopkins is in sleep mode until he goes into full Instinct mode at the end, but that wasn't enough to make The Rite more than a rental for most fans of the genre.
The Other Woman
Another one of the many flicks(Your Highness
, Hesher
, No Strings Attached
) that Natalie Portman crammed in before some dude gummed her all up. The Other Woman is a low key affair featuring the Oscar winner as a woman struggling to connect with her new stepson, who apparently hates her or something. How can anybody hate that face? Does not compute.The Roommate
Memorable only for poking fun at the obvious ripoffs from Single White Female
; Minka Kelly's smokin' hot bod; Cam Gigandet's futile attempts at acting; and Leighton Meester's innocent/psychotic stares that make her look like the world's most insane babydoll.Thor: Tales of Asgard
Marvel's animated features have always been hit or miss. Some work, some crash pretty mightily. Take this misguided attempt to cash in on the Thor movie, by presenting a Thor that nobody will ever recognize. Seriously? Thor with a sword? Gimme a break, dudes.
Elephant White
Djimon Hounsou and Kevin Bacon pair up as a merc and weapons dealer caught in the middle of a war between two rival gangs. Sign me up.
Vanishing on 7th Street
The name alone will probably have you thinking of some of the classic horrors from years ago: Last House on the Left
or House on Haunted Hill
. But then you see Hayden Christiansen and there has to be some recognition that this won't be nearly as fun, unless you count the number of times his whiny voice cracks. This is one I really wanted to check out, mainly due to Brad Anderson's direction. The guy has been tops on my list after his film Transsiberian
wound up on my Top 10 best films a couple of years ago.
