New in Home Entertainment
January 31, 2017
Jack Reacher: Never Go Back
Rated PG-13 for sequences of violence and action, some bloody images, language and thematic elements
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 37%
In number two of Tom Cruise’s portrayal of the famous character from Lee Child’s best-selling book series, Reacher finds himself being hunted by the military while simultaneously investigating a young girl who might be his daughter. While I hated the first Reacher film, I found this one pardonable, mostly due to the far superior pacing, no doubt provided by director Edward Zwick (Glory). Unfortunately, the screenplay is a mess with a plot that feels like it wants you not to try to figure it out so that you won’t recognize its obvious problems. Full disclosure – I still have an issue with Cruise’s notorious real life which I have to admit gets in the way of my full enjoyment, although I really do try to keep this fair. C+
Mastermind
Rated PG-13 for crude and sexual humor, some language and violence
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 32%
Zach Galifianakis once again plays your average boring guy, who upon falling for a crazy co-worker played by Kristen Wiig, is talked into committing a heist. Director Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamite) does have a unique style, but the story never seems to take off, mostly because it feels like a big pile of been-there-done-that with great comedic actors playing one-dimensional caricatures that aren’t as funny as the writers think they are. This movie was supposed to be released a year before it was and the final product shows why the studio heads tried to find the perfect time to dump it. C-