Faster - C+, Get Low - B

Both on DVD and Blu-ray

In Faster, Dwayne Johnson plays a recently released convict hellbent on revenge for the murder of his brother. He goes about murdering a list of 5 guys one by one while 2 cops (Billy Bob Thornton and Carla Gugino) are hot on his trail. He's also being pursued by a contract killer (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) who wants to settle down. There are some nifty twists and turns and the last part of the film has a nice spiritual feel as one of the last targets has become a preacher . . .

It's nice to see Johnson return to the action genre rather than wallowing in kiddie crap like The Tooth Fairy, but he's humorless and impenetrable - leaving the audience cold. Thornton is slumming as bad as Joan Allen in Death Race - next stop -> CBS. It's shot and edited similar to any modern action film and is good enough for action fans. C+

Early on, Billy Bob does a slo-mo walk to Kenny Rogers's "Just Dropped In" which immediately reminds you of the classic hallucination scene in The Big Lebowski. Get Low makes a similar misstep when it uses, "If I Didn't Care" which played during the opening scene of The Shawshank Redemption. There are thousands of unused songs - at least use one in a film not regarded as a classic. Come on, people.


In Get Low, it's the mid 1930s and Robert Duvall plays a self-imposed hermit who wants to throw a funeral party for himself - before he dies. He enlists Bill Murray, a funeral director, to arrange everything - including a raffle which will give the winner Duvall's land upon his actual death. But, things get confusing when money is involved and Murray's assistant (Lucas Black) finds himself coming of age. The film builds up to a huge speech - given by Duvall at his party - where he will admit past wrongs. But this is all known early on - leaving the film predictable.

Black is hopelessly outmatched by Murray, whose unusual and hilarious line readings keep the most perfunctory scenes interesting. Duvall displays his usual range of naturalism and depth, carrying the film effortlessly. The ending is terrific, but it takes awhile to get there and there isn't enough plot to elevate it beyond a one-and-done viewing. B

Both The Rock and Duvall find their redemption in very different ways. And it's nice to see respectable preachers (in both films) doing and saying the right things.