The Weekly Movie Watch Volume 61

This week I watched Taken 3, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Good Kill, Ferrell Takes the Field.

I watch movies every week and then write down my thoughts. Read my previous reviews!
My rating is simple, Watch It, It Depends, Skip it.

Taken 3 - Proving that, yes, they can do worse than Taken 2.

Taken 3 (2015)
Watch Taken 3
Written by: Luc Besson & Robert Mark Kamen (written by) and Luc Besson & Robert Mark Kamen (characters by)
Directed by: Olivier Megaton
Starring: Liam Neeson, Forest Whitaker, Maggie Grace
Rated: PG-13

Plot:
Liam Neeson is back, and this time it's personal. Framed for a murder he didn't commit, he has to elude the cops to clear his name.

Review:
The Taken formula is simple. Have Liam Neeson kick butt. It's so simple, yet somehow this movie can't adhere to it. We get unnecessary drama from his daughter and from his wife. It's not just unnecessary, it's uninspired and cliche. Oh and let's back up to the intro scene with a Russian criminal, I've never seen that before. Why try to shoehorn in a plot this movie doesn't need? This movie is a masterclass in failure. Instead of clever solutions to problems, we get cheap tricks. Find me a police car that doesn't have a divider between front and back. This movie has one and it's completely ridiculous. This movie keeps going down. Even Forest Whitaker didn't work out for this movie. They give him a few ticks to add depth, but it's obviously superficial.

Verdict:
If you want to watch a Taken movie, watch the original. There are many things wrong with this movie. There is no situation that involved me recommending this movie.
Skip it.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show - A visual and auditory assault.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
Watch The Rocky Horror Picture Show
Written by: Richard O'Brien (original musical play), Richard O'Brien and Jim Sharman (screenplay)
Directed by: Jim Sharman
Starring: Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, Barry Bostwick
Rated: R

Plot:
A couple's car breaks down and they seek help at the castle of Dr. Frank-N-Furter. I think you can guess the rest. If you can't, an extremely odd series of events unfold.

Review:
It's odd, very different. It's very much a B movie. Viewing this as a cult classic, I don't get it, unless it's just counterculture. Viewing the movie on it's own merits, it's just a very odd movie. We get the B movie staples like a castle with creepy inhabitants, a mad scientist, aliens, death, and a helpless couple. Tim Curry does a great job. It's unlike any role I've seen him in. Susan Sarandon isn't bad either. The movie enthusiastically embraces it's quirkiness.

Verdict:
I can't recommend it, but then again as its referenced throughout pop culture, it's difficult to say skip it.
Skip it.

Good Kill - Understated but solid film about the effects of war.

Good Kill (2014)
Watch Good Kill
Written by: Andrew Niccol
Directed by: Andrew Niccol
Starring: Ethan Hawke, January Jones, Zoe Kravitz, Bruce Greenwood
Rated: PG

Plot:
Ethan Hawke is a drone pilot, questioning the morality of the mission to remotely bomb suspected terrorists and acceptable casualties.

Review:
Written and directed by Andrew Niccol, who also did one of my favorite films Gattaca. It's a well done film and Ethan Hawke does a nice job. Ut's a slow burn movie. I wondered trhoughout if there would be a big finish, something shocking. It didn't go that route, the movie kept a constant pace and the ending was in line with the rest of the film. It's not a commentary on the military but more the struggles and ethical dilemmas of war. What makes this war different is that pilots man drones. The drones are nearly invisible, and even if one is shot down, a new one would be launched instantly.
Ethan Hawke's character becomes increasing distraught about targeting terrorists with little intelligence and having to follow orders that put civilian life in harm's way. The big bad in this movie is the CIA, who orders the Air Force to bomb indiscriminately in the plight to fight terror. As the movie says 
"How's the war on terror doing?" 
"About the same as the war on drugs."

Verdict:
It's as poignant film, but I was hoping for something more, a big punch in the end that brought everything together. While the movie pulled a punch, it just didn't feel like enough because Ethan Hawke's character felt like he might lose it at any instant. He did lose it, and the action fit the movie, but there's just something missing. While good, the movie comes up lacking.
It depends.

Ferrell Takes the Field - That's the same look I had, wondering if the editors purposely
wanted the movie to fail.

Ferrell Takes the Field (2015)

Directed by: Brian McGinn
Starring: Will Ferrell
Rated: TV-14

Plot: 
Will Ferrell plays ten different positions for ten different baseball teams to raise money for charity.

Review:
I like the premise, but not the execution. The opening credits were the best part. This movie pretends that Ferrell is really a rookie and getting traded or released by teams. I thought the comedy would be seeing Ferrell trying to play with pros, but the movie edits out any part where one might see Ferrell actually play. The one field play he has, it cuts right before the ball drops and jump cuts to him throwing the ball. Is the edit to make him look better than he is or to not make him look terrible? We didn't even get to see him take batting practice, instead he espouses the greatness of the bunt.
Why didn't the movie focus on charity and the inherent comedy of an amateur playing at the professional level. I don't want Ferrell's jokes. The jokes were forced and not funny. The best ones were already seen in the trailer.

Verdict:
There is no conceivable reason to watch this. The gimmick of him being 'traded' multiple times and then let go wore thin quickly. The editing completely sucks the life out of this. Watching the one minute trailer, it has everything you need and then some.
Skip it. Attempt to blot it from memory.