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.