Nerd in the 'Noke

Wind River (2017), R, 1h 47min - About three weeks ago, an old college buddy of mine had a post of Facebook asking if anyone he knew had seen a film called Wind River.  I had had no prior knowledge of the film, but after seeking out the trailer, I began to really look forward to seeing it.  It took a couple more weeks for it to get released in my area and yet another week before I could work it into my schedule, but yesterday I was able to check out the latest film from writer/director Taylor Sheridan, starring Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen. While tracking predators that have been killing livestock on the Wind River Indian Reservation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Agent Cory Fisher (Renner) discovers the body of an 18 year old girl miles away from civilization.  He instantly recognizes the remains as being Natalie Hanson (Kelsey Asbille), one of his daughter's closest friends.  Rookie FBI Agent Jane Banner (Olsen) is dispatched to determine whether or not ...

Arrival (2016), PG-13, 116 minutes - Despite being very intrigued by the trailer last fall, I missed this film in theaters due to the craziness of trying to prepare for the holidays.  Having seen that it was nominated for a number of Academy Awards this year, my wife and I picked it up from Redbox last weekend and were both really impressed with what we saw. The film begins with flashbacks of expert linguist Louise Banks (Amy Adams) with her daughter, who we are shown passes away from an unspecified ailment (presumably cancer of some sort).  We then shift to the present and where Louise is beginning a lecture for a University class she teaches.  Class is interrupted by the news that twelve extraterrestrial ships have appeared across the globe.  Shortly thereafter, Louise is visited by Colonel Weber (Forest Whitaker).  She had helped the military with some translations in the past and still had an acceptable security clearance level.  She politely tur...

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015), PG-13, 131 minutes - The Mission: Impossible franchise has proven to one of the strongest film franchises out there.  It has survived nineteen years, five films, and even more impressively, the fall and subsequent rise of it's star in the collective public eye.  One could even argue that through it all, the franchise is as strong as it has ever been.  And after seeing Rogue Nation myself, I certainly wouldn't argue that point. This fifth installment continues the adventures of IMF agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise), this time as he tries to track down and eliminate The Syndicate, an organization that, for all intents and purposes is the anti-IMF.  Back on the home front, CIA Director Alan Hunley (Alec Baldwin) sits before the Senate oversight committee, requesting that the IMF be disbanded and absorbed into the CIA due to prior recklessness in the field and their lack of accountability for their actions.  Hunley's reque...

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), PG-13, 141 minutes - What does one do to follow up a film that becomes a global phenomenon and banks more than one billion dollars at the box office? If you're Joss Whedon, you co-create a television series within the shared universe (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) then take the reigns of the follow up film; taking the Avengers on a romp around the world, neutralizing another global threat, and officially solidifying them as Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Not having to worry about introducing the world to these characters, Whedon throws us right into the fray as the Avengers: Iron Man/Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Captain America/Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), Hulk/Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson), and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) - lay siege to a H.Y.D.R.A. stronghold under Baron Wolfgang von Strucker's (Thomas Kretschmann) command. A mission that uncovers the artificial intellige...

American Hustle (2013), R, 138 minutes - What do you get when you combine an Oscar nominated director, six Oscar nominated/winning actors and actresses, and a con-man story that takes place in the 1970's?  American Hustle, a David O. Russell film that juggles so many people conning one another that it's almost hard to believe the line that opens the film: 'Some of this actually happened.' The framework for American Hustle's story is this: Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale) is a con-man who owns a small chain of dry cleaners and deals some counterfeit art on the side.  He also runs a phony loan scheme.  Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams) enters his life when they both attend the same party and connect over their mutual love of Duke Ellington.  Eventually Irving tells Sydney the truth and asks her to join in on his scheme.  To his surprise, she accepts his offer and creates the identity of a British woman with royal lineage and banking connections in London.  Tog...

The Avengers (2012), PG-13, 142 minutes - Wow.  I'm completely nerding out right now.  I've had high hopes for The Avengers for a while now.  Ever since the idea of cramming a bunch of super heroes into a single movie was teased with the post credits scene of Iron Man.  Hopes were raised even more when Marvel announced that Joss Whedon would direct.  That's right, Joss Whedon.  He who has an amazing resume when it comes to highly entertaining tv and film revolving around character driven stories with a large, diverse cast.  The Avengers really couldn't have been put in better hands.  But even though I had raised my hopes so high, the comic book nerd in me wondered if The Avengers would really work on the big screen.  Could you fit that many characters in a movie that wasn't five hours long?  And if you could get a script down that solved those potential problems, could you piece together a cast that could set aside egos and bring it a...

The Town (2010), R, 120 minutes - The Town is Ben Affleck's sophomore outing as a director and with it he proves that the ability he showed behind the camera on Gone Baby Gone was not a fluke. Like Gone Baby Gone, The Town is a crime drama/thriller based in Affleck's hometown of Boston. This time around, Affleck focuses primarily on the criminals, their lives and their motives. Affleck joins Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker) as one of two primary characters who are both best friends and partners in crime. Doug MacRay (Affleck) and James Coughlin (Renner) are residents of Charlestown, MA, which the opening of the film claims has the highest bank/armored car high jacking rate in the country. After one job, James takes a hostage (the bank's assistant manager - Claire Kessey, played by Rebecca Hall). He let's her go unhurt, but decides after wards that she may need to be 'taken care of' as it turns out she is a local resident. He's afraid that she may be ...