Support the Free Press | Facts matter. Truth matters. Journalism matters
Salt Lake City Weekly has been Utah's source of independent news and in-depth journalism since 1984. Donate today to ensure the legacy continues.
Friday, August 21, 2015
Movie Reviews: American Ultra, Hitman, The End of the Tour
Also: Best of Enemies, Sinister 2
Posted By Scott Renshaw on August 21, 2015, 2:29 PM
Killers dominate the multiplexes, while subtler fare highlights independent releases in Utah theaters this week.
American Ultra (pictured) casts Jesse Eisenberg as a stoner who doesn't remember that he's a highly-trained CIA sleeper agent, in a frantic movie that's certainly unique but tries too hard for a midnight cult-film vibe. Hitman: Agent 47 returns to the video-game based world of the emotionless genetically-engineered assassin in a monotonous attempt to recreate the Eurotrash action sensibility of a Luc Besson production. The most fascinating clash comes in the documentary Best of Enemies, about the paradigm-shifting on-air "debates" between Gore Vidal and William F. Buckley during the 1968 Republican and Democrat National Conventions.
Eric D. Snider finds Sinister 2 somehow both tamer and nastier than the creepy original.
In this week's feature review, The End of the Tour—based on interviews between journalist David Lipsky and author David Foster Wallace—is a great character piece until it collides with the question of what a fact-based drama owes to its real-life subjects.
Not reviewed this week—but featuring Don Hertzfeldt's remarkable World of Tomorrow, and therefore likely worth any ticket price—is a program of short films from the 2015 Sundance Film Festival.
American Ultra (pictured) casts Jesse Eisenberg as a stoner who doesn't remember that he's a highly-trained CIA sleeper agent, in a frantic movie that's certainly unique but tries too hard for a midnight cult-film vibe. Hitman: Agent 47 returns to the video-game based world of the emotionless genetically-engineered assassin in a monotonous attempt to recreate the Eurotrash action sensibility of a Luc Besson production. The most fascinating clash comes in the documentary Best of Enemies, about the paradigm-shifting on-air "debates" between Gore Vidal and William F. Buckley during the 1968 Republican and Democrat National Conventions.
Eric D. Snider finds Sinister 2 somehow both tamer and nastier than the creepy original.
In this week's feature review, The End of the Tour—based on interviews between journalist David Lipsky and author David Foster Wallace—is a great character piece until it collides with the question of what a fact-based drama owes to its real-life subjects.
Not reviewed this week—but featuring Don Hertzfeldt's remarkable World of Tomorrow, and therefore likely worth any ticket price—is a program of short films from the 2015 Sundance Film Festival.
On Topic...
-
Film Reviews: New Releases for April 18
Sinners, The Wedding Banquet, Sneaks, The Ugly Stepsister, One to One: John & Yoko
- Apr 17, 2025
-
Comedian Steve Hofstetter interview
Veteran standup talks about getting started, dealing with hecklers, and learning a valuable lesson in SLC
- Apr 11, 2025
-
Film Reviews: New Releases for April 11
The Amateur, Drop, The Ballad of Wallis Island, Warfare, King of Kings, Sacramento
- Apr 10, 2025
- More Movies » More Culture »
More by Scott Renshaw
-
Film review: THE ACCOUNTANT 2
Follow-up to the 2016 Ben Affleck action drama embraces the weird, for better or worse.
- Apr 23, 2025
-
Comedian Steve Hofstetter interview
On his comedy origins, dealing with hecklers, and how a Utah appearance helped define his on-stage sensibility
- Apr 23, 2025
-
Film Reviews: New Releases for April 18
Sinners, The Wedding Banquet, Sneaks, The Ugly Stepsister, One to One: John & Yoko
- Apr 17, 2025
- More »
Latest in Buzz Blog
