This week at the movies: a touchy-feely bonding comedy, and a cold, limp spy movie.
The Transporter Refueled
We’re so confused. We thought Labor Day weekend was a big film weekend, one with big releases and big blockbusters and movies you want to go to. Unfortunately folks, I have to be the bearer of bad news; you’re just going to have to grill more barbeque. Unless, of course, you want to watch a generic retired-spy-gets-back-into-the-game-one-more-time-with-lots-of-car-chases movie (which is actually a sequel to a movie barely anyone remembers). Oh yes, the lead actor, he’s cute, but I’ve never heard of him before (Ed Skrein), and he’s no Vin Diesel or Jason Stratham.
Perfect For: You are really into spy movies with plots about millions of dollars being stolen and fast cars and stuff blowing up. So into it, in fact, that you don’t care if there’s an actual movie or plot or stars.
What the Critics Say: They don’t have enough thumbs to point downward but are having fun with their puns ripping the movie (more fun than the actors starring in it). The Wrap: “The original "Transporter" films were hardy filet mignon - more like Hamburger Helper. ‘The Transporter Refueled’ feels even more bulked up and bland Hamburger Helper, a re-launch of a franchise that didn't really need, or deserve, one.” The Hollywood Reporter: “The Transporter Refueled is running on cheap gas.”
Our Take: Watch a Furious flick at home while you eat your grilled meat.
A Walk in the Woods
Robert Redford comes back to the big screen for this middling comedy (based on a memoir by best-selling author Bill Bryson), about a retiree who decides that he’s going to hike the Appalachian Trail in his sunset years. His tranquil plan is foiled when his long lost best friend, a cantankerous, out-of-shape Nick Nolte, shows up and insists that he come along. Also starring Emma Thompson and Mary Steenburgen.
Perfect For: You like buddy movies, fish-out-of-water movies and good acting.
What the Critics Say: Safe, pretty enjoyable, probably won’t be winning awards, but Redford and Nolte have good chemistry and banter. Writes Entertainment Weekly: “Robert Redford takes a hike, literally, in a genial broad-strokes comedy based on writer Bill Bryson's 1998 account of his attempt to walk the Appalachian Trail.” Writes the New York Times: “It is unexpectedly moving and occasionally delightful to spend time with these titans of cinema as they walk and sometimes wobble, delivering words that become meaningful because they're lucky enough to be spoken by Mr. Redford and Mr. Nolte.”
Our Take: If grandma and grandpa are tired out after the barbeque, treat them to this flick. They will get a kick out of it (and so will you, probably.)
