Paper Towns: TEENAGE ANGST Part 891

Paper Towns follows the story of Cara Delevingne (Margo, such an exotic name she must be complex and a unique rebel) and Q. Neighbors since they were 8, Q has a crush on Margo, but they grow apart in town and rarely speak now that they are seniors in high school. Margo takes Q on a tale of revenge against her cheating boyfriend and her friends, but after their night of fun and debauchery, SHE DISAPPEARS. In typical Margo fashion she leaves clues for Q, but he works to piece them together and find her. He has a couple friends, like in all angsty, nerdy, teenager movies that are with him throughout. The acting is pretty solid surprisingly and Delevingne definitely has a career acting if she wants it. It's harmed by being similar to every other movie of this genre ever made, but that doesn't mean it isn't alright. Bottom Line: 6.4 out of 10. Take a flyer on this one when it hits the cable circuit. It's worth that much.

Don't Breathe: (The Movie, I'm not telling you to stop breathing)

Don't Breathe is an interesting movie focusing on three 18-ish year olds living in Detroit. One of them dreams (Rocky, but it's a female) of moving away to L.A., but is raising capital (Financial term I think sounds fancy here) by robbing homes that her friend Alex, has keys and information on since his dad owns a security company. They keep theft under $10,000 to avoid federal prosecution (The second movie I've seen that rule preached in this month, which is weird) and therefore much attention. They stumble upon a house on an abandoned block in Detroit where the man living there received a large settlement (not generally public knowledge) from his daughter being hit and killed by a drunk driver, who happens to have very wealthy parents. The man is a veteran who was blinded by grenade shrapnel. They throw all rules out and decide to try to find the cash. Coincidentally the man is Stephan Lang, who is awesome in the role and is the only reason the movie is viable. Despite being blind, he is still terrifying and extremely capable. His home is his castle and he doesn't need vision to find his way around. They find themselves trapped and some twists and turns ensue. Bottom Line: 7.1 out of 10. Worth seeing in theatres, though when I went someone made a really loud farting noise, maybe it was the pleather seat, but it was hilarious and mood ruining all at once. Lang is fantastic and that's worth the price of admission alone. It made me wonder if I could win a fight if he were truly blind? I'd cheat and grab something to hit him with, but I think he'd beat my ass all things being equal. I'd do better than Alex though, I know that much.

Hell or High Water

Sorry for the unintentional hiatus, but I've still been watching movies. I just saw Hell of High Water yesterday and felt like I should talk about since it's a pretty good independent film that won't get a lot of attention. It's a very simple film centering around two brothers who look nothing at all like brothers (Chris Pine and Ben Foster, who is awesome). Foster is the slightly crazy and regular prison inhabitant older brother and Pine is the quiet, shy, boring younger brother. You jump in immediately on a bank robbery, but they only take small bills ($20 or smaller) from two small, local banks. It isn't the bank robbery you normally think about. It stirs up little attention other than from a retiring Texas Ranger (Jeff Daniels). He drags his partner into this seemingly minor case and digs in. You learn the rest of the plot along the way, but it's very simple and well done. The scene of quiet, open, Western Texas is generally pretty. Foster is excellent and Pine is pretty good (shockingly) as a couple of simple brothers trying to make life a little better. Bottom Line: 8.5 out of 10. Solid film that's pretty believable, which is rare. The cast is excellent. It's refreshing that nothing is extravagant at all, it adds credibility.