Tim joined Tom Barnard and the crew on “The KQ Morning Show” on KQRS-FM Thursday to review the sci-fi adventure “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.” Click to listen below. Then on Friday, Tim reviewed “The Rise of Skywalker” and more with Paul Douglas and Jordana Green on the “Paul and Jordana” show on WCCO-AM. The segments are brought to you by Michael Bryant and Bradshaw & Bryant.
Tim Lammers reviews movies weekly for “The KQ92 Morning Show” on KQRS-FM, “Paul and Jordana” on WCCO Radio, “It Matters with Kelly Cordes” on WJON-AM, KLZZ-FM, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere, and reviews streaming programming on WCCO Radio’s “Paul and Jordana” as well. On TV, Tim has made hundreds of guest appearances on “KARE 11 News at 11” (NBC).
The combination of a group of talented actors adds up to nothing in “Triple Frontier,” Netflix’s latest foray into theatrical/streaming territory. Now playing in limited release in theaters across the country, the streaming service waited a week after its big screen debut to launch it on its venerable streaming platform, which is appropriately where it belongs. There’s nothing about the film that feels cinematic, even though it employs such notable actors as Ben Affleck, Oscar Isaac, Charlie Hunnam, Garrett Hedlund and Pedro Pascal.
“Triple Frontier” aspires to be an action heist movie, where a group of struggling ex-Special Forces operatives concoct a plan to travel to zone known as “The Triple Frontier” in South America (a tri-area border located at the junction of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay) to kill a drug kingpin and boost the $75 million in cash that he’s sitting on in a hidden jungle compound. The operation yields a much bigger stash than they ever imagined, though, and when greed kicks in and the take rises to $250 million, the stakes are raised considerably, and the group of buddies’ plan disintegrates fast.
For as much talent that’s involved in “Triple Frontier” in front of and behind the camera (“All is Lost” helmer J.C. Chandor directed, and the film is co-written and executive produced by “The Hurt Locker” screenwriter Mark Boal), it is surprisingly second rate throughout its duration. The plot is dull and predictable, and the acting, particularly by Affleck, is horrible.
Aside from a couple funny one-liners, the film is just a procedural bore that feels like it’s been told 100 times before. It’s probably a good thing Netflix is releasing the film theatrically on a limited basis, because despite the marquee talent attached, it’s essentially a dud and would have ticked off moviegoers who would have doled out their hard-earned money to see what amounts to a squandered opportunity. At least in streaming mode, they can click away to their next choice without feeling cheated out of nothing more than time.
Lammometer: 4 (out of 10)
Tim Lammers reviews movies weekly for The KQ92 Morning Show,” “KARE 11 News at 11” (NBC), WCCO Radio, WJON-AM, KLZZ-FM, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere.
VIDEO: See Tim’s review of “Annihilation” with Zachery Lashway on KARE 11.
“Annihilation” (R)
Natalie Portman makes a rare appearance outside of her largely dramatic film career with “Annihilation,” a thought-provoking sci-fi thriller that elevates the genre to the next level.
Portman plays Lena, an expert biologist who joins a secret expedition to investigate an alien phenomena call “The Shimmering,” a prism-type of barrier that surrounds a huge quarantine zone in the Florida wild. Many people have entered The Shimmering but no one has returned, apart from Portman’s husband, Kane (Oscar Isaac), who emerges in a zombie-like state and on the verge of death.
Once inside The Shimmering, Portman and her fellow expeditioners (Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tessa Thompson among them) discover everything inside the dreamlike zone from plant to animal life mutates, leaving Lena and the team in a desperate situation to discover its mysteries since borders of the quarantine zone are rapidly expanding and consuming everything around it.
A brilliant follow-up to his stunning debut “Ex Machina” with Alicia Vikander, Domhnall Gleeson and Issac, “Annihilation” feels refreshingly original, even though it draws from many sources including “Arrival,” “Alien” and “The Thing.” It’s hauntingly atmospheric, as well as very violent and bloody at times, yet it’s definitely not a typical sci-fi film. Instead, it mirrors the greatness of “The Outer Limits” and “The Twilight Zone,” but with the benefit of a bigger budget.
Defying sci-fi film convention (in a welcome shift, the film’s protagonists are a group of five females with scientific backgrounds instead of the usual group of macho male lunkheads spewing one-liners), “Annihilation” ultimately offers a narrative much more cerebral and thought-provoking, and the conclusion leaves as many questions as there are answers — something that makes sense since it’s based on the first book in author Jeff VanderMeer’s “Southern Reach” trilogy. With any luck, “Annihilation” will do well enough at the box office so Garland can complete the thrilling tale.
Lammometer: 8 out of 10
AUDIO: Hear Tim’s review of “Annihilation” and “Ash vs. Evil Dead” Season 3 with Tom Barnard on “The KQ92 Morning Show” (segment begins 2 minutes in).
Tim Lammers reviews movies weekly for The KQ92 Morning Show,” “KARE 11 News at 11” (NBC), WCCO Radio, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere.
AUDIO: Tim reviews “The Last Jedi” on the “KQ Morning Show” with Tom Barnard. Segment beings 7 minutes in.
“Star Wars: The Last Jedi” (PG-13)
Writer-director Rian Johnson expertly creates the unexpected in “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” the eighth chapter in the Skywalker family space saga conceived by George Lucas 40 years ago. Naturally, after seven “Star Wars” films (eight, if you include last year’s spinoff, “Rogue One”), the environment is going to feel familiar at the outset of “The Last Jedi,” but the minute that Rey (Daisy Ridley) completes the stirring scene that started at the conclusion of “The Force Awakens” and hands the long-exiled Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) his lightsaber, the unexpected takes hold and all bets are off.
Although virtually no time has passed between the end of “The Force Awakens” and beginning of “The Last Jedi,” the celebration of the Resistance after blowing up the First Order’s Death Star-like Starkiller Base is short-lived. The base, while massive, is only one component of the First Order’s cache of weapons, and its stranglehold on the Resistance has reached a critical point.
With virtually nowhere else to turn, Rey must convince Luke to come out of hiding to help the Resistance before its too late, but Luke’s more fearful of Rey’s Jedi powers and that they may lead her down the same dark path as his former student and nephew, Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) – the former Ben Solo and son of Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and General Leia (Carrie Fisher). Meanwhile, Kylo’s powers are growing as he’s continued his training under the vengeful alien Supreme Leader Snoke (motion capture by Andy Serkis), and their resolve to capture Luke is drawing closer to a reality until Rey marches forth to thwart their plans.
In addition to Hamill, “The Last Jedi” features an expanded role for Fisher, who sadly passed away last year after she completed her work on the film. Because of that, Johnson stayed the course and didn’t alter Leia’s storyline, yet given the circumstances, her dialogue in “The Last Jedi” takes on a deeper meaning and is all the more poignant.
Despite that dark cloud hanging over the film, “The Last Jedi” has a wide range of emotions, from euphoria to dread, with lots of moments of levity in-between. There’s a lot of welcome humor in the film, and a lot of times it comes from the characters you wouldn’t expect. That includes from the new cuddly creatures the Porgs, the inhabitants on Luke’s remote planet in a galaxy far, far away, who are destined to become favorites of fans of all ages. In the end, “The Last Jedi” is a perfectly blended mix of action, intrigue, humor and emotion, easily making it the best film in the series since “The Empire Strikes Back” in 1980.
It’s hard to say where the franchise will go from here with one episode in the Skywalker family saga left, but for the time being, there’s no question that Johnson has brought balance to The Force with “The Last Jedi.”
