Shameless Self Expression

Clint Eastwood stars as a 90 year-old horticulturist who is estranged from his family. They want nothing to do with the man who has spent his entire life (and money, it seems) on himself and his beloved flowers. And now he’s practically broke. Turning up at a wedding rehearsal for his granddaughter Taissa Farmiga (the only family member who greets him with anything remotely close to cordiality), he’s approached by a guest from the soon-to-be groom’s side of the fence with a job offer. The job? Act as a mule for Mexican cocaine dealers (Who’d want to hire someone so old, though? It’s never terribly convincing, despite being based on supposed fact). Eastwood is desperate, and sees that some quick money might allow him to do a good deed and contribute to the financing of the wedding, so he agrees. Upon meeting his new employers/co-workers (Robert LaSardo and Noel Gugliemi among them), he realises he’s in a dangerous position, but not one he can really remove himself from, at least not...

Set in a dire straits American near future, Nic Cage stars as a Humanity Bureau agent assigned the task of evaluating the po’ folk for relocation to the promised land known as New Eden. That’s the place where the least desirable/capable citizens are sent for the rest of their lives. Sarah Lind and her young boy are Cage’s latest cases, and she’s very, very reluctant to leave her rural homestead. Cage takes pity on the duo and suggests they are not viable candidates for reassignment. This doesn’t go down well with higher-ups like the antagonistic Hugh Dillon, and before long Cage is on the run with the mother-and-son with agents (including Vicellous Shannon from “The Hurricane” ) on their tail. Cheap, obvious, and heavy-handed near-future nonsense from 2018 is pretty tired and dull stuff with a Nic Cage performance to match. Even with Sarah Lind and particularly Hugh Dillon putting in better efforts (whilst Vicellous Shannon continues to dwindle in nothing parts), this is a fa...