Action Point (Rated R)
Johnny Knoxville returns as the unstoppable daredevil risking pain and bodily injury to entertain the audience that can’t seem to get enough of his hijinks. Knoxville plays D.C., the proprietor of a low-rent amusement park that responds to its slick, corporate competition by creating scarier, less safe rides in an effort to wow patrons. The crashes you see are real, at least where Knoxville is concerned. His eye socket was broken on the set and subsequently, that eyeball popped out of its orbit on two occasions. Knoxville’s fearless antics translate into big box office receipts, but I hope he spends every dime because each film could well be his last.
Adrift (Rated PG-13)
This true account is based upon the novel Red Sky in Mourning by Tami Oldham Ashcraft. It’s a riveting story. I know this, or more accurately, I believe this, because my mother happens to be an acquaintance of the author and has read of her book. Having met and become engaged to soulmate Richard (Sam Claflin), 23-year-old Tami (Shailene Woodley) joins him on a 4,000-mile sailing trip from Tahiti to San Diego. The romantic voyage turns deadly when they are caught in a category five (that is, really powerful) hurricane. Tami spent 41 days battling to get their broken craft to safety, and her survival is a triumph of fortitude and determination.
Upgrade (Rated R)
Left paralyzed by the same brutal attackers who killed his wife, Grey Trace (Logan Marshall-Green) accepts a billionaire’s offer for an experimental cure via technology. Determined to take revenge against his wife’s killers, Grey soon discovers that the chip, newly implanted in his neural network, is faster and more accurate than his adversaries when he grants it control of his body. The film showcases inventive ways to kill, walking the line between comic and grisly. Eventually, Trace confronts another person with similar abilities, but as he works to unravel a mystery that is obvious to viewers, the film fails to fully deliver on its premise.
