Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
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The roots go back to the heinous experiments by the Third Reich, the idea of taking people with psychic powers and weaponizing them. In the new film "Push," we're introduced to a grundle of these folks. Some are working with the infamous Division -- those who are furthering the experimentation -- and others are just trying to fly under the radar and live their lives.
Camilla Belle is Kira, who is undergoing a life-threatening test to enhance her powers. When she escapes from Division, even those who have stayed on the sidelines are swept up in the fray. The effort to rescue her is lead by reluctant hero Nick, played by Chris Evans, who is a mover, a person who can cause inanimate objects to, yes, move. He teams with little Cassie, played by Dakota Fanning, who is a tracker. She predicts the future through her drawings.
"Push" gets so convoluted that it's nearly impossible to keep track of everyone's weird powers. I particularly like the Screamers who, with ear-piercing vocal talent, bring humans to their knees and break glass. Where are the X-Men mutants when we need them? I didn't see one stand-out performance although it's interesting to see little Dakota growing up. But even she's a wasted talent.
What a disappointment. I'm giving just one and a half stars for "Push" and it's rated PG-13.
Here's another film out this week: "Pink Panther 2."
Watching Steve Martin step into the shoes of Peter Sellers as Jacques Clouseau is painful. It was painful in 2006; it's painful now. This time a thief is filching priceless artifacts from around the world causing the effected countries to offer up their very best detectives.
Clouseau is joined by Alfred Molina as Pepperidge, Andy Garcia as Vicenzo and Yuki Matsuzaki is detective Kenji. Together they bumble and stumble all over the clues and each other. The funniest bits in the movie focus on the Human Resources director, played by Lilly Tomlin, who is constantly busting Clouseau for sensitivity indiscretions.
I know that there's a whole new generation of movie-goers who aren't burdened by memories of this franchise being done light-years better, and I suppose they were the ones laughing a lot at the screening. But for me, watching "Pink Panther 2" was, well, sad. Just one and a half stars for "Pink Panther 2" and it's rated PG.
