Day 224: Midnight Special (2016)

MIDNIGHT-SPECIAL-QUADThis wasn’t really on the list of must see films that I made up the other day, but I remember a friend of mine strongly recommended the film. The film that I am talking about is the Sci-Fi movie Midnight Special which was released earlier in the year and it was available via Redbox. Alton (Jaeden Lieberher) is a very special eight year old boy with very special powers that one side believes that he is the messiah while another side believes that he is a dangerous weapon. Roy (Michael Shannon) believes that his son is special too and will do anything that it takes to get him to where he needs to go before either the cult or the FBI gets to him. The film also stars Joel Edgerton (Exodus: Gods And Kings) as Lucas, Kirsten Dunst (Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind) as Sarah, Adam Driver (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) as Sevier, Sam Shepard (Black Hawk Down) as Calvin Meyer, Bill Camp (Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)) as Doak, Scott Haze (The Sound and the Fury) as Levi, Paul Sparks (Boardwalk Empire) as Agent Miller, David Jensen (Ocean’s Eleven) as Elden, and the film was written and directed by Jeff Nichols (Mud).

midnight-special-022-featuredThe thing I loved most about the film was the actual story itself because for the most part you’re wondering what is this kid? Is he human, mutant, or alien? For the most part, you don’t really know what he is and they don’t really tell you for most of the film. Then there is the human element of the film where there are people that truly believe in this child’s ability that they will go all out for him. One thing that I did want to comment on is that the filmmakers make Kirsten Dunst look old (I don’t mean super old) in the film which just amazed me. She actually looked like someone in her mid to late 30’s in the film, but for the time she is on screen she does a great job. The real MVP of the film besides Jaeden is Michael Shannon who plays the father that will do whatever it takes to protect his son and get him to the destination no matter the cost. I have to be honest in saying that there really isn’t a bad performance from anyone in the film. Everybody knows their role and they play it right like Adam Driver who is the NSA agent who just thinks all of this is cool. The special effects are very cool especially the scene with the satellite crashing to Earth was cool. The film definitely asks the age old question of are we really alone in the universe? Is there other life forms somewhere we don’t know? If you are a fan of Sci-Fi movies then you owe it to yourself to at least check this one out. I am going to give Midnight Special an A- for a final grade.

Day 167: The Medallion (2003)

the-medallion123For today’s Ass Whoopin Wednesday film, I searched the internet far and wide to find a film that peaked my interest. I settled on a Jackie Chan (Rumble In The Bronx) film that I had never seen in The Medallion. In the film Chan plays a Hong Kong detective named Eddie who is hot on the trail of a criminal named Snakehead (Julian Sands). When he gets close to Snakehead, he finds out that Snakehead is after the chosen one Jai (Alex Bao) for a medallion. After an accident finds him dead, Jai uses the medallion to bring him back to life and it turns him into a super warrior. Now with the help of Interpol agents, he has to stop Snakehead from getting his hands on it. The film also stars Lee Evans (The Fifth Element) as Arthur Watson, Claire Forlani (Green Street Hooligans) as Nicole James, John Rhys-Davies (The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring) as Cmdr. Hammerstock-Smythe, Anthony Chau-Sang Wong (The Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor) as Lester, Christy Chung (The Defender) as Charlotte Watson, Johann Myers (Black Hawk Down) as Giscard, and the film was directed by Gordon Chan (Fist Of Legend). To see the rest of the review and see the stats, please click here to go to Moshpits and Movies.