Crisp Criticism - "The Girl on the Train", "Masterminds", "Inferno", "Other People"

by

Julien Faddoul

The Girl on the Train

A divorcee becomes entangled in a missing persons investigation that may involve her more than she realizes.

A thriller that invites one’s laughter at every opportunity: Ridiculously plotted and hysterically directed, it attempts to soak its audience in the misery of its characters so aggressively that all seriousness feels abrogated.

d – Tate Taylor

w – Erin Cressida Wilson   (Based on the Novel by Paula Hawkins)

ph – Charlotte Bruus Christensen

pd – Kevin Thompson

m – Danny Elfman

ed – Andrew Buckland, Michael McCusker

cos – Michelle Matland, Ann Roth

p – Jared LeBoff, Marc Platt

Cast: Emily Blunt, Rebecca Ferguson, Haley Bennett, Luke Evans, Laura Prepon, Edgar Ramírez, Allison Janney, Justin Theroux, Lisa Kudrow, Marko Caka, Darren Goldstein

Masterminds

A night guard at an armored car company in the Southern U.S. organizes one of the biggest bank heists in American history.

Insufferable, unfunny mess that hides behind the moniker of being based on a true story yet is never at any point interested as to why what happened, happened. It is far more interested in watching its cast get hurt by things.

d – Jared Hess

w – Emily Spivey, Chris Bowman, Hubbel Palmer

ph – Erik Wilson

pd – Clayton Hartley

m – Geoff Zanelli

ed – Keith Brachmann, David Rennie

cos – Sarah Edwards

p – John Goldwyn, Lorne Michaels, Andrew Panay

Cast: Kristen Wiig, Owen Wilson, Jason Sudeikis, Zach Galifianakis, Leslie Jones, Mary Elizabeth Ellis, Ken Marino, Devin Ratray, Kate McKinnon, Rhoda Griffis, Jill Jane Clements

Inferno

After waking up in a hospital with amnesia, professor Robert Langdon and a doctor must race against time to foil a deadly global plot.

The dullest so far in an already eminently dull series of films based on the best selling books. This one is extra silly and even though the fate of humanity is at stake, its director and star are as stiff as they’ve ever been.

d – Ron Howard

w – David Koepp   (Based on the novel by Dan Brown)

ph – Salvatore Totino

pd – Peter Wenham

m – Hans Zimmer

ed – Tom Elkins, Dan Hanley

cos – Julian Day

p – Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, Michael De Luca, Andrea Giannetti

Cast: Tom Hanks, Felicity Jones, Omar Sy, Irrfan Khan, Sidse Babett Knudsen, Ben Foster, Ana Ularu, Slim Khezri

Other People *

A struggling New York comedy writer, fresh off a breakup, returns home to Sacramento to care for his dying mother.

Unsatisfactory family dramedy based on the life of its writer/director. It offers nothing new. Goodish acting.

wd – Chris Kelly

ph – Brian Burgoyne

pd – Tracy Dishman

m – Julian Wass

ed – Patrick Colman

cos – Kerry Hennessy

p – Adam Scott, Naomi Scott, Sam Bisbee

Cast: Jesse Plemons, Molly Shannon, Bradley Whitford, Madisen Beaty, Maude Apatow, John Early, Zach Woods, June Squibb, Paul Dooley