Greetings to all from the Big Island of Hawaii!
It has be a great week with our cousin Niki and her friends. The movie scene is somewhat unique, a bit far flung to be sure but still enough first run releases for this post. We will most likely be on a plane back to San Francisco as you read this.
Enjoy! J&J
Acts of Violence
This film is listed as an Action/Thriller featuring Bruce Willis in a soft role. There are fair performances by Sophia Bush, Cole Hauser, Shawn Ashmore, Ashton Holmes, Mike Epps, Sean Bronson and Jenna Kelly.
All said, this movie just chugs along. It wanders through a lost plot, almost insulting to audiences that deserve a better movie experience. There is simply too much violence in this serious flawed plot about human trafficking.
It is rated R for violence, language, sexuality, nudity and drugs. Children should not see this film. Run time is 1 hour, 26 minutes.
Rating 
Den of Thieves
This is an unusual film where virtually none of the characters are very likable. Both the LA Sheriffs and LA ex-military gang members square off over a robbery from the Federal Reserve Bank.
Both the actors and the screenplay are pretty intense. Gerard Butler, Christian Gudegast, Ryan Kavanaugh, Tucker Tooley and Mark Canton do a reasonably good job portraying their characters. Though it seems to toggle between a heist film and a testosterone showdown.
The movie is rated R for violence, language and sexuality/nudity. The genre is listed as Action and Adventure, Drama. Running time is 2 hours, 20 minutes.
Rating 
Maze Runner: The Death Cure
The latest dystopian film in the Maze Runner franchise is a big step up for the popular series. This episode pulls out the stops and decides to break into the “Last City”, the tightly controlled capital in hope of finding a cure for the “flare virus”.
The cast is familiar with Dylan O’Brien, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Kaya Scodelario, Will Poulter, Rosa Salazar, Patricia Clarkson and several others from the previous editions.
Audience and critic reviews have been mixed. We liked it and found it an intriguing chapter in the series.
It is rated PG-13 for intense sci-for violence, action language and some thematic elements. It’s genre is listed as Action & Adventure, Drama, Science Fiction & Fantasy. The run time is 114 minutes.
Rating
After reading your reviews of these movies, I wonder why you just didn’t sit in the sun and enjoy the scenery! I hope SF has a movie menu that is more enticing! Xoxox
I look forward to reading Willie Brown’s column each week in the SF Chronicle. He has a special insight into politics that is always worth reading. He also sees many movies and at the end of his column he briefly talks about movies he saw this week. He did say Den of Thieves was so awful he walked out in the middle. Being fair he also walked out on the Shape of Water.
I don’t know what that means but you guys keep the reviews coming!