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The Raid 2

by M. Faust
It would fill in a few plot details, but you don’t need to have seen 2012’s The Raid to enjoy this sequel, in which the plot is about the last item of interest.

The Face of Love

by M. Faust
There’s a reason why top actors are so well paid: because they can connect an audience to a film even when its primary material, the script, is second rate or shoddy. You could hardly ask for a better example than The Face of Love, in which a half-baked idea with delusions of Hitchcockery is fleshed out by the efforts of stars Annette Bening and Ed Harris. Without them, this would have been lucky to get an overnight slot on the Lifetime or Hallmark Channels; with them, it’s an engaging if ultimately frustrating drama.

Le Week-End

by M. Faust
“It will make you fall in love all over again,” proclaims an idiotic and ill-chosen blurb on the poster for Le Week-End. That the poster also finds it necessary to provide a translation for that title—is anyone surprised to learn that it means “The Weekend”?—indicates that this distributor may need to hire a new marketing team. The one they have did no one any good with its handling of this smart, acerbic, and moving film by pitching it as a gay romp in Paree.

Draft Day

by George Sax
Buffalo Bills President Russ Brandon has a bit in Ivan Reitman’s new football pic, Draft Day. He plays the president of the Bills and gets two lines. I thought he was pretty convincing, although it is sort of typecasting. I do realize that there are disgruntled fans who may suggest that the part is a bit of a stretch for Brandon, but you’ll get no such cynical snark here.



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