Movie Review: Roadie (2011)

It's hard to go home again

Jimmy, who has spent years on the road with Blue Oyster Cult, finds his services no longer needed.  Not knowing what else to do, he ends up back in his hometown.  Staying with his mother and reconnecting with old friends has him missing his life on the road.  A great little film with really strong characters, Roadie shows.how hard it is to go home again.  Jimmy's struggle with being back in his old stomping grounds and having no one really care about his life is heartbreaking.  A very we'll made film with great characters, good acting, and a great story.

Roadie brings home 3 out of 5 stars!

Director: Michael Cuesta
Writer: Gerald Cuesta, Michael Cuesta
Starring: Ron Eldard, Bobby Cannavale, Jill Hennessy
Rotten Tomatoes: 72%
Metacritic: 61%

Beyond the Black Rainbow

A long strange trip

Elena is held in a facility, seemingly against her will.  She is controlled by a glowing pyramid.  And yes, it gets weirder.  Set in 1983, this film is billed as an homage to sci-fi thrillers of the 1980s.  The visuals are very striking, the cinematography is great, but Beyond the Black Rainbow lacks a lot.  The story is very thin, and at times is non-existent.  This is resolution to the story at the end, but it could have been arrived at in half the time.  It might have worked well as a short film, but fails as a feature.  To say it is weird is an understatement. 

Beyond the Black Rainbow gets 2 out of 5 Poblanos!

Director: Panos Cosmatos
Writer: Panos Cosmatos
Starring: Eva Allan, Michael Rogers and Scott Hylands
Rotten Tomatoes: 42%
Metacritic: 49 out of 100

Red Cliff (2008)

Not missing much if you missed this one
I love China, having lived there for three years.  I also enjoy Chinese historical epics.  Not many countries have a history as long and rich as the Middle Kingdom does.  That history usually translates well to film.  But this particular epic falls flat.  John Woo is great, but this film has too many characters, too much melodrama, and not enough substance.  The filmmaking is high quality, the costumes and sets and are gorgeous, and the cast is great, but the story is not interesting.  And at the heart of every film, there should be a good story.  I watched the first half telling myself I'd finish it the next night, but realized I didn't care how it ended so I never finished it.  Maybe I've just seen more than my share of this type of film which were much better that this.  Side note: this film was brought to the US by Magnolia/ Magnet, one of my favorite film distributors.  They bring great indy and foreign films to the big and small screen. 

Red Cliff left me hanging with only 2 out of 5 Poblanos!

Director: John Woo
Writer: John Woo, Khan Chan, Cheng Kuo, Heyu Sheng
Starring: Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Takeshi Kaneshiro and Fengyi Zhang
Rotten Tomatoes: 89%
Metacritic: 73 out of 100