Monday, April 13, 2015

Solo at the Movies: "Kill Me Three Times" at Landmark's Nuart Theater

Theater Info:
Landmark’s Nuart Theater
11272 Santa Monica Blvd., West Los Angeles
Cost: $9.00 for a matinee showing

Movie Stats:
Released 2014 (Canada)
Australian & American, in English
Director - Kriv Stenders
Stars - Simon Pegg, Alice Braga, Luke Hemsworth, Teresa Palmer and others

Plot Summary:
When professional hit-man Charlie Wolfe (Pegg) is hired to follow Alice (Braga), whose husband suspects her of cheating, he unwittingly becomes embroiled in a complicated and murderous insurance plot. Hemsworth co-stars as Dylan, the local gas station owner, and Palmer as Lucy, Alice’s sister-in-law.

Warnings:
Graphic violence; lots of blue language (the first word of the movie is an f-bomb); brief female nudity (breasts and butt only); relatively graphic sexy times.

Bad Stuff:
For the type of movie it is, I thought it was a little boring. I expected it to be faster paced.

I didn’t think that it did the “out of order timeline” thing especially well.

The happy tone of the ending didn’t feel right to me.

Good Stuff:
I love watching Simon Pegg play badass characters. I’m not sure why; maybe because he often plays goofballs and/or hapless, lovable schlubs. That makes it more entertaining when he plays out-of-type.

It had some very funny moments, especially if you have a dark sense of humor.

The cinematography was surprisingly great.

The Verdict:
I went to see this because Simon Pegg is in it. I’m a big fan, so I make an effort to see his films (looking at his IMDB, I see that I’ve missed quite a few). While this is not one of my favorites of his, I thought it was okay. You won’t hear me wax poetic about it (like "Shaun of the Dead") but you won’t hear me say that I wish I could forget I ever saw it (like "Mission Impossible III," which I only watched for him and then he was barely in it). It kept me fairly entertained for an hour and a half. I wouldn’t say there are any bad performances, and I thought the story was fairly tight. The insurance scam was a bit complex, but it made sense. I just wish the film had a bit more oomph.

I give it 3.5 stars.

About Landmark’s Nuart Theater:
This place isn’t much to look at from the outside. Frankly, it looks old and rundown, and I was “looking forward” to finding old seats and sticky floors when I got inside. What a pleasant relief it was to be wrong! It’s completely renovated on the inside. It’s actually really quite nice, one of the nicest theaters I’ve been in in a long time. There’s only one screen. The room is large, the seats are cushy, and the rows are surprisingly wide. I think that was my favorite part. Even though I’m short, I often leave movie theaters with aching knees because the seats are just too close together. That wasn’t a problem here. The biggest downside to this theater is parking. It doesn’t have its own lot, and the street meters are hour only, so you have to find neighborhood parking if you’re going before 6 p.m. Luckily for me, I’m familiar with the neighborhood and knew where to easily find a spot. I had to walk a few blocks, which isn’t a problem for me, but a lot of LA people seem to hate that.

2 comments:

Patricia said...

I had a moment where I thought the Hemsworth in question was Chris and got excited. But alas, it's the other one.

Hey look! It's a movie I haven't heard of! I had to look it up on IMDB.

I enjoy Simon Pegg as a badass character also, and I'm quite happy that this theater was quite nice. And that you had to walk a few blocks. (Perish the thought.)

Speaking of driving and LA, I love that scene in Swingers (I think) where they all get in their individual cars and drive to the party.

balyien said...

I spent literally the whole movie thinking it was Liam. I was like, "I don't remember Liam being this huge. Isn't he the skinny Hemsworth brother? What did they do to his face? He looks so weird!" I was genuinely so confused! Then the credits rolled and I was like, "Duh, it's the THIRD Hemsworth brother." Lol!

Idk about other people, but my friends here, we all make a concerted effort to carpool because driving and parking is such a pain. However, do you know that SNL skit the Californians? That's very true to life here. "You get on the 10, take it to the 110, get on the 5..."