A Cure for Wellness R
While CEO Harold Pembroke (Harry Groener) vacations at a Swiss spa in the Alps, an urgent situation arises at his Manhattan company. Young stockbroker Lockhart (Dane DeHaan) is sent to fetch Pembroke; however, after reaching the remote spa, Lockhart’s efforts to reach him are repeatedly stymied. Then, Lockhart is waylaid by an accident, and he meets beautiful Hannah (Mia Goth), the adopted daughter of the spa’s director, Dr. Heinrich Volmer (Jason Isaacs). “You will never leave here,” she warns. After undergoing several painful procedures, Lockhart finally learns the spa’s sinister purpose. Dribbling out clues to its mystery bit-by-bit, this watch-checker lacks a satisfying payoff in exchange for your 146 minutes.
Fist Fight R
On the day before summer break, mild-mannered high school English teacher Andy Campbell (Charlie Day) accidentally gets tough-guy teacher Ron Strickland (Ice Cube) fired. Gunning for some payback, Strickland challenges Campbell to an after-school fight. Having no fight experience, nor any knowledge of how to defend himself, Campbell is advised in fighting technique by both students and teachers, all of whom are excited to see two staff members duke it out. What sounds promising for a 30-minute sitcom feels forced and stretched to fill this 90-minute format. A bad indicator is a 2-minute trailer that barely rates a chuckle.
The Great Wall PG-13
A thousand years ago, a band of Europeans, seeking Chinese gunpowder, are attacked by alien monsters outside China’s Great Wall. Matt Damon portrays William Garin, an expert archer and one of two survivors of the attack, along with his friend, Pero Tovar (Pedro Pascal). Following a short imprisonment, William and Tovar join a well-trained army of Chinese warriors in an effort to repel the advancing horde of lizard-like “taoties.” Blending story elements from TV’s “Game of Thrones” with Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films, this American and Chinese co-production hopes to ride a tried-and-true formula to success. Expensive visuals may help, but the absence of a compelling storyline makes the project forgettable.
