Shameless Self Expression

A sprawling look at New York in the early 1900s, with an eventual focus on African-American piano player Coalhouse Walker Jr. (Howard Rollins Jr.), who arrives on the doorstep of a white couple (rigid James Olson and the warm-hearted Mary Steenburgen) to reconcile with his beloved Sarah (Debbie Allen), whom the couple have taken in, along with her baby. Apparently Coalhouse abandoned them, but he claims he did so because he needed to go away and make money to support them. Unfortunately the reunion is to be short-lived due to tragedy. Coalhouse is already incensed that some racist white firemen (led by Kenneth McMillan) have vandalised his car and there isn’t a damn thing he can do about it, so that this latest tragedy sends him right over the edge and he takes drastic measures to demand compensation for the vandalising of his car or else! This involves Coalhouse and his newly formed band of brothers holing themselves up in a local library building and claim to have rigged the place w…

Set in the wintry wilderness, Eric Bana and Olivia Wilde are a possibly too close brother and sister who have just pulled off a casino robbery and are headed for the Canadian border. Unfortunately, a car accident gets in the way of those plans, and Bana is subsequently forced to kill an investigating state trooper. Bana then suggests they split up, with Bana laying low in a cabin trying to stay hidden from investigating cops. Wilde hitches a ride with Charlie Hunnam, a recent parolee (and Olympic Silver medallist boxer!) headed home for Thanksgiving, who has already gotten himself in enough trouble to send him back to the slammer if it catches up with him. Poor Hunnam has no idea what he’s in for, nor do his estranged parents Kris Kristofferson (apparently unforgiving of his son’s misdeeds) and Sissy Spacek (a peacemaker), the former a retired lawman himself, whose house is near the border. Treat Williams plays the chief of police whose misogynistic treatment of young officer Kata Mar…

Dusty Crophopper (voiced by Dane Cook) receives the devastating news that he has broken parts inside of him (a shonky gearbox) that are too outdated to replace. His racing career over because he can’t risk going to top speeds, Dusty is at a loss to what to do with himself now. However, a fiery mishap later and he decides to join the fire and rescue crew as a water-dumping plane. Ed Harris provides the voice of Blade Ranger, the veteran plane of the fire and rescue crew, whilst old favourites Chug (voiced by Brad Garrett), Skipper (voiced by Stacy Keach), and Dottie (voiced by Teri Hatcher) make small return appearances.

Unlike the animated “Doc Hollywood” rip-off “Cars”, Disney’s “Planes” pretty much told its own original story, albeit a clichéd one. It was no world-beater but it was nice and looked terrific. Unfortunately, this 2014 sequel from director Bobs Gannaway (“Leroy and Stitch”) and screenwriter Jeffrey M. Howard (who wrote “Planes”) is a pretty big disappointment. Opening t…

Same as last time, except they’re posing as college students to stop a drug dealer. Hey, don’t blame me, the characters themselves talk non-stop about this being the same damn film, and it’s true. Wyatt Russell plays a dim star football player who has an awkward relationship…or something with Channing Tatum’s Jenko, but might also be the culprit. Amber Stevens is the pretty college girl that Jonah Hill’s nerdy Schmidt falls for. Peter Stormare phones it in as a crook. Ice Cube is still angry. Yadda Yadda.

I questioned co-writer and star Jonah Hill’s apparent fandom of the classic 80s TV series “21 Jump Street” with the 2012 big-screen version. It really had nothing at all to do with the TV show outside of the premise, which it then went on to use for comedic purposes. If thought of as “Superbad 2”, the film provided a few laughs, I suppose. But I was disappointed. Well, here’s the 2014 sequel from returning co-directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (“Cloudy With a Chance of Meatba…