Transformers: The Last Knight,
directed by Michael Bay
(PG-13, 2 hours, 29 minutes)
Like all Transformer films, The Last Knight -- fifth in the franchise that started in 2007 -- careens along at an insanely breathtaking pace, without allowing a moment's pause to get a sense of what is going on and why anyone would care about it.
It's like being in the path of a tornado, a seemingly never-ending, ear-splitting endeavor that's all about images being flung about at breakneck speed, without a shred of context or meaning.
Here's what passes for a plot: With Optimus Prime gone and humans and Transformers at war, human survival will depend on the unlikely alliance of Cade Yeager (Mark Wahlberg); Bumblebee, an English Lord (Anthony Hopkins; what's he doing here?); and an Oxford University professor (Laura Haddock). With Josh Duhamel, Stanley Tucci.
The Blu-ray release includes featurettes on the history of the Transformers (you do know they're not real, right?), military training, the alien landscape, and Transformers in the UK.
Lycan (not rated, 1 hour, 27 minutes) A mediocre werewolf thriller with wise-guy dialogue that falls short of scares and doesn't deliver for the we-love-gore set, Lycan concerns a college professor (Vanessa Angel) who gives six students an assignment to research a historical event. One member of the group (Parker Croft) convinces the others to investigate a 19th-century legend involving a werewolf in the Georgia backwoods. Terror awaits. With Dania Ramirez, Rebekah Graf, directed by Bev Land.
The Death of Louis XIV (not rated, 1 hour, 55 minutes) A dignified, intimate and stately examination of human mortality, this artistic endeavor illustrates the slow, agonizing deterioration of the health of the French Sun King in 1715 that causes suffering not only for the monarch but for his relatives and doctors. With Jean-Pierre Leaud, Bernard Belin, Marc Susini; directed by Albert Serra. In French and Latin with English subtitles.
Flatliners (R, 1 hour, 55 minutes) This flashy yet ultimately disappointing 1990 sci-fi mystery concerns medical school pals Nelson Wright (Kiefer Sutherland), Rachel Mannus (Julia Roberts), Joe Hurley (William Baldwin), David Labraccio (Kevin Bacon), and Randy Steckle (Oliver Platt) who scheme a process to experiment on themselves by stopping all brain activity to briefly experience death before being resuscitated. As you can imagine, the results are mixed. With Hope Davis, Kimberly Scott, Joshua Rudoy; directed by Joel Schumacher.
The Piano Teacher (R, 2 hours, 11 minutes) Not for everybody, this disturbing, intense 2001 drama explores the off-kilter sex life of a lonely, alienated, emotionally distressed 40-year-old spinster (Isabelle Huppert) who teachers piano at the prestigious Vienna Conservatory. With Susanne Lothar, Annie Girardot, Udo Samel; directed by Michael Haneke. In French and German with English subtitles.
47 Meters Down (PG-13, 1 hour, 29 minutes) For shark-scare enthusiasts, this low-budget actioner offers a few surprises in between sticking to a predictable path as it follows two sisters who attempt shark diving while on vacation in Mexico. It's all fun and games until the observation cage they're in breaks its cable tether and sinks, meaning they're got a very limited amount of oxygen to keep them alive in order to get to the surface. Plus, there are sharks hanging around. With Claire Holt, Mandy Moore, Matthew Modine; directed by Johannes Roberts.
MovieStyle on 09/29/2017