WIND RIVER: Jeremy Renner plays Cory, a US Fish and Wildlife Service tracker whose job to dispatch the wolves and mountain lions that kill livestock on the Wind River Indian reservation in Wyoming. When he discovers the frozen body of a young Indian girl the FBI is called in. A rookie agent from Las Vegas named Jane (Elizabeth Olsen) soon discovers that she is out of her depth in this particular land where government is not a thing to be trusted. The talented Graham Greene gives a wonderful low-key depiction of the reservation police force head. Filmed beautifully in a bleak, snow-covered landscape, this land of snowmobiles is breathtaking at times, as is the performance by Mr. Renner (his best work to date). A bit slow, now and then, but ultimately very satisfying. A near perfect movie.
THE HITMAN'S BODYGUARD: If you want action.... if you want comedy... this is the film for you. And while most of the action is what we've come to expect, the real fun is in the constant bickering between the two lead actors. Samuel L. Jackson is the hitman who must testify against a dictator (Gary Oldman) before the International Court of Justice in the Hague. Ryan Reynolds is the bodyguard assigned (coerced) to make sure he gets there. On opposing sides of the law previously (Jackson has tried to kill him on numerous occasions, they try to bury their differences and stay alive as the dictators thugs are in hot pursuit. Along the way, Salma Hayek gives a funny, trash talking performance as Jackson girlfriend and there is a wonderfully choreographed chase of two....particularly one involving cars, a speed boat, a motorcycle and a Netherlands canal....it took my breath away. (Spoiler alert....Best line in the film....Reynolds asks about Jackson and Hayek ....."How did you meet? Christian Mingle?") A funny, preposterous at times, throwback to those good guy/bad guy buddy movies we all loved. And still do, as it turns out.
THE GLASS CASTLE: Based on a memoir by Jeannette Walls, this film examines the coming-of-age of a young girl in a dysfunctional family. Brie Larson is the girl (as an adult) with Woody Harrelson as the alcoholic, dreamer father and Naomi Watts as the artistic mother. Slow moving, but always interesting, it still lacked some punch here and there. It felt as if the story was, indeed, a view of this family but tainted by the authors remembrances of how she thought it was (or should have been) In other words, it didn't ring true all of the time. Still, it has it's moments (and a wonderful performance by Ella Anderson as the younger Jeannette) This is the best Harrelson performance to date and he might get a nomination for the Oscar. So, although it was not my favorite film out there, it's worth a viewing.
