August movie reviews

In theaters:

THE NAKED GUN

Did we need a reboot/legacy sequel to one of the absolute all-time classic comedies? No. But as a joke delivery machine, this still delivers a lot of laughs. Liam Neeson is fun, and Pamela Anderson's career resurgence continues with a game comedic performance. 

WEAPONS

The summer's biggest sleeper hit, this one hooks you with a terrific, mysterious premise involving missing children. And the mystery carries the film far. But oftentimes it's when the mystery is revealed that these films lose their oomph. Here, however, once we know the truth it actually gets arguably MORE fun, and climaxes with a finale that is genuinely hilarious. 

HONEY DON'T

A very frustrating film. The 2nd collaboration between Ethan Coen and his wife Tricia Cooke, after the pretty entertaining Drive Away Dolls, seems to have all the pieces in place to be another snappy fun crime caper. Quirky characters, a good cast (Margaret Qualley, Aubrey Plaza, Chris Evans), talent behind the camera. But absolutely nothing comes together in a film with truly one of the most disjointed screenplays I have seen in ages. I'm not sure why anyone felt it was even in a filmable form. None of the dialogue is really that clever. It is even one of those films that just ends randomly. 

CAUGHT STEALING

An unusual choice for director Darren Aronofsky, this is a snappy crime caper in which the pieces DO fall into place. I enjoyed this a lot. Austin Butler is really good as a former ballplayer (and diehard Giants fan) who gets involved in one of those movie crime plots involving mobs and dirty cops and assorted lowlifes. I might have preferred a tinge more comedy, but there's amusing stuff here, and not at the expense of the story. Zoe Kravitz is really in peak form here, as well. 

Everything else:

WORKING GIRL

I guess you had to be there. This 1988 yuppie romcom was a hit and got a bunch of Oscar nominations, but I thought it was just okay. Sigourney Weaver is a sex bomb. Harrison Ford is charming. Melanie Griffith...ehh. I guess. Some of the hairdos in this are frightening. 

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