Short Reviews of Movies Playing at the Pearl (1600 N Broad St.)
The Pearl Theater/Max Pulcini
London Has Fallen
Treading the same water that the original 2013 film, “Olympus Has Fallen”, did, “London Has Fallen” follows Secret Service agent Mike Banning (Gerard Butler), trying his hardest to save the life of the President (Aaron Eckhart) from blood-thirsty terrorists. It’s basically the same plot of the original movie, except that this time, it’s all set in London.
Not much has changed this time around, except for the fact that the movie is tighter at 99 minutes, quicker, and most of all, more violent. Of course, the movie’s ideas about terrorism and politics are dated, to say the least, which causes problems whenever it tries to be more serious than it has any right to be. Still though, when there is action, it’s fun, exciting and as vicious as you can possibly get with an R-rating. Some people will hate “London Has Fallen”, but then again, they may not be the audience the movie had in mind.
2.5 out of 5 stars
The VVitch
Set in 17th century New England, “the VVitch” is about a close-knit Puritan Christian family who has been recently excommunicated from a plantation and now need somewhere to live. Without many options, they choose this rural farm seemingly in the middle of nowhere, where they have nobody else to communicate with or rely on, except each other. This spells out great issues when the newborn goes missing and nobody has a clue who — or what — is to blame. From here, first-time writer/director Robert Eggers drives up the tension without ever making it clear just where he’s taking the story next, or what exactly is lurking in the woods that surround this small family. What we do know is that something here is not right and because of that, the chill remains in the air and makes for a terrifying, but memorable experience. Expect to be chilled for days after seeing this one!
4.5 stars out of 5 stars
Dan O’Neil is currently a Journalism student at Temple University. He can be reached at tuf73940@temple.edu, or at his blog, dtmmr.com.
