Recently we’ve seen several solid biographical sports dramas come down the movie pipeline. The latest is “The Hill” from director Jeff Celentano. It stars Dennis Quaid who is certainly no stranger to said biographical sports dramas. Written by Angelo Pizzo and Scott Marshall Smith, the film seeks to tell the inspiring true story of Rickey Hill who refused to let his physical disability stop his pursuit of a baseball career.

“The Hill” is a heartfelt and well-intended feel-good feature that is more of a melodrama than a full-on sports story. Obviously baseball plays a key part. But it’s much more about a close-knit yet struggling family, particularly the relationship between a stern and overprotective father and his gifted and determined son. There’s plenty of good material there to work with. But the wildly uneven handling of it leaves the movie oscillating between sincerely touching and overly sentimental.

Since he was a child Rickey Hill (played by Jesse Berry and later by Colin Ford) had a knack for hitting a baseball. But a degenerative spinal disease put him in leg braces as a child making his dream to play in the Major Leagues seem unreachable. Rickey’s strict but well-meaning father James (Dennis Quaid), a small town Texas pastor, discourages him from pursuing baseball out of fear of serious injury. He’d rather Rickey follow in his footsteps and preach. But over time his hardline orthodoxy does more to push his son towards his dream than discourage him from it.

So “The Hill” follows two paths – Rickey’s and his father’s. To its credit, the movie takes its time developing the family dynamic and showing the hardships they faced in 1970 rural Texas. Rickey’s path is one of trials and challenges, but also of unwavering confidence and resilience. James’ path is one of spiritual conflict and stubbornness. But James is no villain. The film does a good job showing how his actions, though often misguided, are rooted in a genuine love for his son.

Several other characters do a good job filling out these two central stories. Gracie (first played by Mila Harris and later by Siena Bjornerud) is Rickey’s self-proclaimed girlfriend who proves to be his biggest encourager. Joelle Carter is really good playing James’ supportive yet frustrated wife Hellen. And it was great seeing Scott Glenn pop up later as the gruff big league scout Red Murff (Scott Glenn). But at the same time the movie is hampered by some really bad performances in smaller yet reoccurring roles. They can be a real distraction.

After a shaky first 30 minutes the movie eventually hits its stride only to be tripped up in a painfully mawkish final 20 minutes that sees Celentano attempt to yank every emotional string, hit every schmaltzy cue, and lean on every baseball movie cliche in the book. There are a couple of surprising cameos in the last 15 minutes including an appearance by the real Rickey Hill. But the movie wraps up on such a false note which ends up being too much for the film’s better moments to overcome. “The Hill” opens in theaters August 25th.

VERDICT – 2.5 STARS

I can honestly say that of all the possible team-ups for a new action buddy comedy, Jackie Chan and John Cena wasn’t a pairing that would have ever crossed my mind. Yet that’s what we get in “Hidden Strike”, a new Chinese-American produced film that recently debuted on Netflix. The movie is directed by former stuntman Scott Waugh who’s also helming “Expend4bles” (aka “Expendables 4”) set to come out later this year.

Unfortunately “Hidden Strike” doesn’t have enough to tide over anyone who might be looking forward to a new “Expendables” movie. It’s a stale and charmless misfire that’s funny in all the wrong ways. The CGI-heavy action is too preposterous to be even remotely thrilling, and the humor languishes thanks to the patently unfunny dialogue and the complete absence of comic chemistry between Chan and Cena (it’s telling when the end credits blooper reel is 10x funnier than anything in the actual movie).

Not that story matters much, but it goes something like this. After repeated attacks by mercenaries on a Chinese-owned oil refinery in Iraq, ex-special forces soldier Luo Feng (Chan) and his team are sent to evacuate and escort the civilian employees and their families from the refinery to a safe zone. To do so they’ll have to travel the hilariously direct Highway of Death. A character actually tells us it’s “the most dangerous road in the country”, as if its goofy name didn’t make that abundantly clear.

Meanwhile former US Marine turned bighearted meathead Chris Van Home (Cena) has found a home in a small Iraqi village where he plays a lot with young orphaned children just to show us he’s a swell guy. The village has been in desperate need of water since a nearby dam was built and in order to get it flowing they need $100k. So Chris reluctantly agrees to help his injudicious mercenary brother Henry (Amadeus Serafini) on a job to earn some quick cash for his village.

It turns out Henry is working for an old acquaintance of Chris’ named Owen Paddock (Pilou Asbæk) and the job is to attack the convoy of civilians Luo Feng is escorting and kidnap a highly valued scientist. Chris quickly comes to realize he’s being used for nefarious purposes. But of course it takes one face-off between the film’s two stars before they realize they have a common enemy. And their only chance of taking that enemy down is by working together. Yeah teamwork!

Aside from the swings and misses at humor and the incredibly bad lines of dialogue, the movie is hampered by several other blunders. For starters the performances are pretty dreadful, especially from Cena who isn’t the slightest bit convincing no matter what he’s doing on screen – fighting, joking, trying to show actual feeling. Nothing about the performance works. Then you have the story itself and its flimsy attempts at showing a human heartbeat. There is the half-baked tension between Luo Feng and his estranged daughter, Mei (Chunrui Ma). And then you have the scenes between Chris and Henry. None of them ring true.

I will say that even though the CGI is overused to the point of being almost cartoony, there is some artistry involved and Waugh, along with the digital effects team, create some eye-popping and undeniably fun shots and sequences. But the computer-generated bombast is hardly enough to cover the movie’s shallow script, bland performances, and the bone-dry chemistry between its two leads. “Hidden Strike” is now streaming on Netflix.

VERDICT – 1.5 STARS

It’s hard to say why, but it seems that Gal Gadot has become a favorite punching bag for those trapped within the echo chambers of certain social media circles. But for most people who aren’t confined in those bubbles, the star of DC’s still terrific “Wonder Woman” remains a big draw. And Netflix is counting on that with their latest release “Heart of Stone”, a late summer season blockbuster exclusive to their platform.

“Heart of Stone” is directed by Tom Harper working from a screenplay written by Greg Rucka and Allison Schroeder. This big-budgeted action spy thriller is highlighted by a compelling international cast, some eye-catching locations, and several big set pieces that are nothing short of impressive. Some of its machinations can be a tad formulaic and be ready to navigate patches of bad dialogue. But the film has more than its share of surprises, and I admit to being wowed by some truly spectacular action sequences.

The film opens high in the snow-capped mountains of Italy where a team of undercover MI6 agents attempt to snag a notorious European arms dealer who has been lured to a party at a posh ski resort. Their team consists of field agents Parker (Jamie Dornan) and Yang (Jing Lusi), their driver Bailey (Paul Ready), and newcomer Rachel Stone (Gadot), a hacker with little experience and only a few missions under her belt. She’s the one who routinely gets the “stay in the van” order.

What her MI6 teammates don’t know is that Rachel is actually a highly trained asset for an underground group known as The Charter. Believed by most to be a myth, they’re actually a secret peacekeeping organization of ex-intelligence operatives from around the world who answer only to themselves. They’re free from the shackles of national allegiances, government interests, or political pressures. They put out fires and do so with a highly sophisticated quantum computer known as The Heart. It enables them to see everything, hack anything, and foretell outcomes with frightening accuracy.

The mission in the mountains goes sideways after a mysterious young woman named Keya Dhawan (Alia Bhatt) reveals herself and thwarts the team’s plan. The Charter learn that Keya, and whoever she’s working with, want to get their hands on The Heart. Jack (Matthias Schweighöfer), Rachel’s eyes and ears with The Charter, tracks Keya to Lisbon, Portugal . They then leak the information to MI6 who sends Rachel’s team to bring her into custody.

It’s hardly a spoiler to say Rachel eventually has to come clean with her fellow agents and put her true super-spy skills to good use. Gadot physically commits and has some good team chemistry with Dornan, Lusi, and Ready. It’s solid lead work by the 38-year-old star although she does occasionally find herself handcuffed to some pretty corny one-liners that frankly no one could pull off. They’re easy to get past but impossible to miss.

As with any good spy thriller, the filmmakers treat us to a few unexpected twists and turns. The bigger ones land pretty well while others you can see coming from a mile away. That very same predictability is most noticeable in the final act where it ends up stripping the film of any suspense. Over time the storytelling caves to formula and its over-reliance on well-worn arcs and tropes keeps the movie from being as original as it could have been.

Still there’s a lot to enjoy in “Heart of Stone” if you can kick your feet up, recline back, and toss aside any baked-in preconceptions you may have (about Gadot, about Netflix, about any of the other stuff people were saying well before the movie even released). Its flaws are obvious. But so are its strengths. Among them are a solid cast and some lights-out action which plays like a healthy mix of “Mission: Impossible” and “Pathaan” (read about that film HERE). That’s more than enough for a fun evening with the family. “Heart of Stone” is now streaming on Netflix.

VERDICT – 3.5 STARS

Dropping right on the heels of the biggest movie weekend of the year (aka Barbieheimer) is no enviable task. Yet that’s where Disney’s “Haunted Mansion” finds itself. Both “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” broke records and shattered expectations during their opening weekend and both are still bringing in huge numbers heading into week two. And the terrific “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” is still in the early weeks of its release as well.

So from the very start it looked to be an uphill battle for this supernatural horror comedy. That’s tough news for Walt Disney Studios who is in desperate need of a big screen winner. Sadly this somewhat fun yet mostly unnecessary reboot isn’t likely to provide the box office kick the House of Mouse needs. “Haunted Mansion” certainly has a talent-rich cast and the studio has put nearly $160 million into its production. But the movie is the very definition of a mixed bag and it’s hard to imagine it’ll make the kind of mark needed at the theaters.

Directed by Justin Simien and written for the screen by Katie Dippold, “Haunted Mansion” is a tale of two halves. Things start promising as we’re introduced to Ben (LaKeith Stanfield) – once an ebullient and ambitious astrophysicist with a girlfriend he loved deeply; now down on his luck and living alone in New Orleans where he gives walking tours through the city’s historical district.

One day Ben is paid a visit by a local priest named Father Kent (Owen Wilson) who tells him about Gabbie (Rosario Dawson), a single mother who has just moved to New Orleans from New York with her young son Travis (Chase W. Dillon) in hopes of making a fresh start. Gabbie has purchased an old mansion outside of town with hopes of turning it into a bed and breakfast. But she has one very specific problem. Yep you guessed it – it’s haunted.

So Gabbie sought out Father Kent who in turn sought out Ben. You see, years earlier Ben invented a quantum lens (aka ghost camera) that’s able to do “spectral photography” (i.e. it can take pictures of invisible spirits). At first Ben has no interest in helping. But when he’s offered $2000 he agrees to drive out and humor the young family (and make some quick cash). But Ben soon learns that once you cross the threshold into their haunted mansion that you’re forever bound to the house.

Ben and Father Kent seek the help of Harriet (Tiffany Haddish), the only psychic in their price range, and Bruce (DannyDeVito), a history professor at Tulane who happens to specialize in haunted mansions. Together their paranormal “Dream Team” set out to uncover the secrets of the mansion so that can sever its bonds and free the young family and themselves. There are some good laughs baked into these moments and there’s a fun, playful spirit that comes out most in these early scenes.

But in the second half the movie starts to run out of steam. That laughs are harder to find which makes some of the hokey dialogue stand out more. And some characters get lost for extended periods of time. It’s all mostly due to the film’s length. You get the sense that there’s a much better 90-100 minute movie there somewhere. Instead the cut we get tops two hours and you can feel it during those last 20 minutes.

The performances are mostly what you would expect from such a stellar cast, but even they suffer a bit in ways you might not expect. Take Stanfield (a great actor) who at times seems unsure of how to deliver some of the lines he’s handed. But is it him or the direction? Dawson is terrific with what she’s given, but her character is so tightly confined to a specific type that we rarely get to see the actress show her chops. And then there’s the always affable and delightfully goofy Owen Wilson who is very much playing an Owen Wilson character. Unfortunately he often fades into the background. More Wilson would’ve been better.

I do appreciate Simien’s attempts at bringing some emotional weight to the story. For the most part it has the desired impact. The same could be said for the visual effects. They’re noticeably shaky in spots, but overall they get the job done. Still the movie can’t quite kick into gear during its second half and stalls during what should have been it’s big buildup to the final act. It’s unfortunate because there’s some really good talent onscreen. And you hate to see that kind of quality ensemble go to waste. “Haunted Mansion” is in theaters now.

VERDICT – 2.5 STARS

Robert Rodriguez’s new mind-bender “Hypnotic” screened as this year’s SXSW Film Festival as a “work in progress”. Now just two months later it’s getting the full theater treatment. I’m not sure what has been added, subtracted, or fine-tuned since its recent premiere. But the theater release we get is a twist-filled, deceptively deep, and wildly entertaining genre film that was constantly exceeding my expectations.

“Hypnotic” is a Robert Rodriguez movie through-and-through, not so much in terms of style and flourish (although we do get some of that), but in a more literal sense. Rodriguez directs, produces, conceived the story, and wrote the script along with Max Borenstein. Rodriguez also edited the movie and shares co-cinematographer credit with Pablo Berron. His fingerprints are all over the film.

Rodriguez came onto the scene in the early 1990s alongside Quentin Tarantino. And while the latter has turned into one of the most heralded and talked-about filmmakers of our time, Rodriguez has often flown a little closer to the ground – under the radar to some but sticking close and staying true to his renegade style of genre filmmaking. The results certainly vary, but I’ve always loved his faithfulness to his interests and his belief in cinema as entertainment first and foremost.

All of that comes through in “Hypnotic”, a movie that features more cinematic sleight of hand than anything Rodriguez has attempted before. Early on it’ll have you questioning some of his choices, picking apart some of his execution, and wondering if he has gotten in over his head. But then when you’re least expecting it, Rodriguez hits us with an assembly line of reveals and suddenly everything starts coming together. And I for one ate it up.

A somber and wounded Ben Affleck is a near perfect fit as Daniel Rourke, an Austin police detective tortured by memories of the day his daughter Minnie was abducted while the two of them enjoyed an afternoon at the park. That was seven years ago. An unstable 18-year-old named Lyle Terry was charged for the abduction but was ruled innocent by reason of insanity. Minnie’s body was never found and Lyle has maintained he has no memory of committing the crime or disposing of her body. Daniel clings to a sliver of hope that his daughter may still be alive.

In the opening few minutes you’ll swear you’re in for a by-the-book police procedural. After the cops get tipped off about a possible bank heist, Daniel and his partner Nicks (J.D. Pardo) are sent to stake out the place. But things take a trippy turn when a mysterious man (William Fichtner) appears and begins controlling people with nothing more than his words. Chaos ensues, people are killed, the mystery man escapes, and Daniel discovers a clue that seems to have been left specifically for him.

Later Daniel tracks the anonymous tip to a dime-store psychic named Diana Cruz (Alice Braga). She clearly knows more than she’s willing to tell and Daniel is immediately suspicious. But after the mystery man shows up and attempts to kill them both, they begin to open up. Diana reveals the man’s name is Dellrayne and he’s what’s called a hypnotic. What’s a hypnotic you ask? “They’re people with an ability to actually influence the brain over a psychic bandwidth,” she explains. Clear as mud.

We get several more amusing attempts at explaining such as “Telepaths just read the mind. Hypnotics reshape its reality.” At first Daniel doesn’t buy it and brandishes the same amount of skepticism we do. But then Diana puts on a little display and changes his mind. Yep, she too is a hypnotic although not nearly as powerful as Dellrayne.

I don’t dare reveal any more because what makes the movie so entertaining is watching all the pieces come together. Again, much of what you see early on will undoubtedly have you questioning the story and pointing out holes in its logic. But once Rodriguez starts peeling back the layers things start to click into place and suddenly most of our questions have answers.

The cast is top-to-bottom strong with Affleck wonderfully selling us a dogged father who is both burdened and driven by his pain. He’s a little dry in spots, but it makes sense why. I love seeing Braga getting a well-deserved meaty role. And then there’s William Fichtner, one of today’s best character actors who has shined in films like “Black Hawk Down”, “The Dark Knight”, and “Heat”. Here he brings a quiet menace to the film’s devilishly fun antagonist. Terrific faces like Jackie Earle Haley and Jeff Fahey are icing on the cake.

Clocking in at a brisk and compact 94 minutes, the sleekly made and surprisingly inventive “Hypnotic” resembles an “Inception” inspired thriller with a dab of Alfred Hitchcock and a full helping of Robert Rodriguez. It makes for a tasty meal, especially for fans of genre filmmaking. By the way, stay for the cool mid-credits scene which teases a possible sequel if this one manages to find an audience. Hopefully it does because I’d love to pay another visit to Rodriguez’s delightfully idiosyncratic world. “Hypnotic” hits theaters this Friday.

VERDICT – 4 STARS

To fully grasp writer, director, editor, and cinematographer Cheng Er’s new period espionage thriller “Hidden Blade” requires at least a working knowledge of the complicated politics of China during World War II (certainly more than I have). His film is built upon a dense and layered story that’s deeply rooted in history and laced with pinches of propaganda. That may sound daunting, but Er’s gifts as a filmmaker and storyteller makes it worth the effort.

Adding to the challenge is Er’s choice to hop back and forth across his timeline. It’s an artistic stretch that can seem frustrating at first, but that ultimately comes together in some pretty clever ways. Er flashes back to 1937 during the bombings of Guangzhou, hops ahead to December 8, 1941 – the day after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, and spends most of his time in Shanghai in the days leading up to Japan’s surrender to the Allies on September 2, 1945. There’s quite a bit of time-hopping and it can be disorienting, at least until you get a sense for what Er is doing.

A strong cast fills out this engrossing story about a select group of Chinese counter espionage agents in Shanghai tasked by the puppet Wang Jingwei regime to root out, interrogate, and terminate fellow countrymen who are secretly working to undermine the Japanese occupation. But covertly working within the group’s ranks were members of the Chinese Communist Party’s underground. These double-agents risked their lives secretly gathering vital intelligence that helped build a stronger and more unified resistance.

A brilliantly understated Tony Leung plays Mr. He (Leung), the director of the counter espionage unit working directly under a Japanese officer (a really good Hiroyuki Mori). Other key members of the group are Mr. Ye (Wang Yibo) and Mr. Tang (Da Peng). Both are stern and business-like agents who do everything from rounding up suspects, to overseeing (often brutal) interrogations, to executing prime targets.

Yet all of the key players remain a puzzle. Knowing that this is a spy thriller, we venture into it with our antennas up, looking for clues as to where each person’s loyalty may lie. But Er does an excellent job keeping allegiances and motivations under wraps, revealing them at just the right time and with just the impact they need.

As we begin to get a clearer picture of who’s who, we’re treated to some riveting confrontations. Some are impeccably written and performed one-on-one conversations where characters seek to prove or disprove their suspicions. Some burst out into full-on violence. Chases, shoot-outs, and one especially exhilarating fight scene are handsomely staged and shot. Just to be clear, “Hidden Blade” is far from an action-heavy movie. But the action we get is first-rate and comes at crucial points in the story.

As for the overall look of the film, Er gives us one stunning shot after another. The framing, the blocking, the lighting – it all adds to the immersion and shows off a pretty clear noir influence. And while he shoots action exceptionally well, I also love the way Er shoots his characters. Through his camera he’s able to pull so much from his actors, often without them uttering a word. The visuals turn out to be a crucial part of Er’s storytelling. That may sound obvious since most filmmakers consider it important. But here there’s a special emphasis that really enhances the experience.

Sadly Zhou Xun, Jiang Shuying, and Zhang Jingyi aren’t left with much to do in the film’s three female roles. They each give sublime performances that left me wishing the movie had gone deeper into their characters. And again, putting all the pieces of the story together can be more challenging than it needs to be (truthfully, the nonlinear structure doesn’t seem necessary, and I can see it being a frustration for some). But if you toss those two issues aside, it’s hard to find much wrong with “Hidden Blade”. It’s absorbing cinema. And even with its not-so-hidden nationalistic bend, its a beguiling spy thriller with a stylishly sumptuous genre veneer.

VERDICT – 4 STARS