Critics Consensus: Arnold Makes a Satisfying Return in The Last Stand
Plus, Mama is a mixed bag, and Broken City doesn't match its ambitions.
This week at the movies, we've got a border skirmish (The Last Stand, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Johnny Knoxville), haunted children (Mama, starring Jessica Chastain and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), and a shady election (Broken City, starring Mark Wahlberg and Russell Crowe). What do the critics have to say?
The Last Stand
59%
It's been a decade since Arnold Schwarzenegger toplined a movie. And though the former governor of California shows signs of age in The Last Stand, critics say the movie is a reasonably satisfying meat-and-potatoes action flick that harkens back to Schwarzenegger's 1980s heyday. The Governator stars as the sheriff of a small border town who becomes the last line of defense when a notorious cartel leader and his heavily-armed henchmen attempt to escape into Mexico. The pundits say The Last Stand is a formulaic action flick, but one that's elevated by Schwarzenegger's assured presence, and the result is violent, exuberant fun. (Check out this week's 24 Frames, in which we present a pictoral history of Schwarzenegger's films.)
Mama
65%
Mama is a ghost story with a strong pedigree: it stars Oscar nominee Jessica Chastain and was executive-produced by Guillermo del Toro. But while some critics say the movie is chilling and atmospheric, others find it clichéd and unable to fulfill its potential. Two sisters disappeared the day their mother was murdered, and after years of searching, their uncle Lucas (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and his girlfriend Annabel (Chastain) find the girls and bring them home. But soon, the sisters seem to be communicating with a spectral entity. The pundits say Mama is elegant and spooky, but it chills more than it scares and some feel it doesn't fully develop its intriguing setup.
Broken City
30%
Broken City is an ambitious political thriller with neo-noir crime elements. Unfortunately, critics say a fine cast can't save the film's overstuffed and implausible script. Mark Wahlberg stars as Billy Taggart, an ex-cop-turned-private eye who's hired by New York City Mayor Nicolas Hostetler (Russell Crowe) to investigate his philandering wife; soon, Taggart has uncovered evidence of a far-reaching conspiracy. The pundits say Broken City has its moments, but it's too familiar and contrived to work as a whole.
Also opening this week in limited release:
- Birders: The Central Park Effect, a documentary about the folks who observe our feathered friends in the heart of New York City, is at 100 percent.
- Hors Satan, a drama about a teenage girl who befriends a mysterious hermit, is at 78 percent.
- Here and There, a drama about a migrant worker reuniting with his family in Mexico, is at 50 percent.
- LUV, starring Common and Dennis Haysbert in a coming-of-age drama about an 11-year-old who spends a day with his ex-con uncle, is at 33 percent.
Finally, props to Bentley Lyles for coming the closest to guessing A Haunted House's eight percent Tomatometer.>
Daniel Irwin
The current state of the horror genre leaves me all but worried about "Mama" right now, because it actually looks appealing. Don't forget we still have the X-mas leftovers, or Arnie's under-promoted comeback vehicle.
Jan 17 - 04:54 PM
Bradly Martin
What is going on with the horror genre? I don't want to sound like an old fuddy duddy but in my day a victim was someone who got killed for being in the wrong place at the wrong time and all these current horror films seem to have people getting killed for being incredibly stupid beyond all reason. It just seems less scary to me because of this.
Jan 17 - 06:53 PM
Colson Engelberger
I feel exactly the same way. I like to watch the older horror films versus the new ones. I mean, I still check behind the shower curtain after watching Psycho. Nowadays, horror feels like the same thing every time. Like, oh there's this really deformed guy with a knife and he goes around only killing hot teenagers. That's why Insidious,Sinister,and MAMA all seemed so good to me. It was just refreshing to not have a gore fest for once.
Jan 17 - 07:18 PM
ram bond
for me the horror genre peaked in the 80's, when there was the fog,the changeling,poltergeist,the dead zone,evil dead 1 and 2,they live,prince of darkness,hellraiser man that was the time of horror
Jan 22 - 10:49 AM
Infernal Dude
The torture stuff has run its course, IMO, so we're left with the almost scary haunted house stuff like Sinister and Insidious (which are coincidentally made by the U.S. torture horror kings) and possession garbage. But there is a lot of under the radar horror that is still damn good. Check out Session 9 if you haven't yet. I just watched it again the other day and remembered how underrated it is.
Jan 17 - 07:29 PM
Daniel Irwin
Oh, and I still want to see "Sinister" (Insidious was plagued by the presences of Oren Peli and James Wan).
Jan 18 - 05:21 PM
Mohd Syafiq Bin Jabaruddin
I thought it have always been in horror that deaths always have some moral-related reasons. I don't think people dying randomly is all that common even from the times of the Universal monster movies.
Jan 18 - 01:48 AM
MicHaeL Hendriks
What is going on with the Horror-genre is that people have the wrong view of the genre these days. As in, indeed that it has to all be in this certain typical way as how these movies are these days. Filmmakers (that really want to make horror) should really go back to the idea of what real horror is and come up with something actually original.
People always instantly think of scares, killing and murdering, death, torture, monsters, ghosts and all those typical things. But that's just not the way to approach "horror". FEAR is (only) one of the key things to look at. You have to get under people's skins and into their minds, and that's not done by showing gore, especially not the bodyparts of some people on-screen that you don't care about.
The Horror-genre as it stands now is in a very deep rut and barely anybody knows how to really use it, so studios keep on hammering out the same type of "horror"-flick multiple times a year.
In fact, even recently there have been more shocking and horrific scenes and images in good movies that aren't made as a Horror-movie, than the actual so called "Horror-movies" themselves are.
So they should really just lay off trying to force "horror" and trying to make "horror movies" specifically, and just make good movies. That's also the mistake, deciding on a genre before you made your creation, because in fact it should be placed in a genre only when it's done.
But you can't just decide to make a Horror-movie and then only throw together clichés, mix things up a little, shoot it, and expect it to be a good and scary movie per definition. That's just not how creating ANYTHING works.
Jan 18 - 03:18 AM
Matt Jordan
Horror is in the eye of the beholder. The genre is fine for those that it really matters. To see who those folks are you just have to visit any of the annual conventions, as I do, and you will see smiling faces lining up to chat with icons from the good, bad and the ugly form the genre. the majority of mainstream critics have never been big supporters of the genre, and in all honestly from what iv'e read in these comments sections neither are a majority of folks that post here. I've been a fan of the genre since i saw NOTLD when i 13 and will always show my support by going to see the films in theaters. Not all of them, but the ones that appeal to my tastes. As will all the true horror fans.
Jan 18 - 12:35 PM
Bradly Martin
Yeah I like the classics a lot Colson. Hope your right about the Torture stuff running it's course. Possessions are so dull to me. I don't know if it's because I just never believed in it or if its how slowly a lot of them move a long but it's never been my thing. I think Session 9 is on Netflix. I'll put it in the queue. Thanks for the rec. Infernal dude. You make a good point Mohd. It's probably because classic moral problems seemed more innocent. I want to sleep with my girlfriend being a moral outrage still seems more rational than Lets break into an abandoned ware house for a sex orgy or lets say Who the F- are you! to the 7 foot tall zombie monster.
Jan 19 - 12:04 AM