Movie Reviews: “Broken City” And “The Impossible”

On Friday's KARZ-TV's morning show, I reviewed “Broken City” and “The Impossible.”

“Broken City” stars Russell Crowe, Mark Wahlberg and Catherine Zeta-Jones.  New York City mayor Crowe suspects his wife, Zeta-Jones, is having an affair and hires former cop, and now private investigator, Wahlberg to investigate.  Walhberg's service on the police force was cut short seven years ago after being involved in a questionable shooting of a suspect and now owns a barely solvent PI business while living with his actress-girlfriend who is tied to the shooting that got him fired from the force.

The subplot with Walhberg and his girlfriend goes nowhere and she quickly disappears from the film after Walhberg becomes jealous of her love scene in her screen debut.

This film attempts to be an intricate political thriller, but instead its convoluted plot leaves the viewer confused and bored.  It's the type of film you forget seeing a day or two after viewing it.

I give this film a 4 out of 10.  Save your time and avoid this lackluster film.

“The Impossible” is based on a true story of a Swiss family of 5 that miraculously survives the tsunami that devastated Thailand which killed roughly 100,000 people.

Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts play the parents of the three boys who are on Christmas holiday on the Thailand coast when disaster strikes.  The family is swept away and separated with Watts with one son and McGregor with the other two and neither group knows if the other is alive.  Watts is injured and is taken to a hospital with her son, played by a masterful Tom Holland, and McGregor searches for them while trying to take care of the other two boys.

The scenes of the destructive tsunami are terrifying and the director captures the horror of this natural disaster.

The focus of this film is on the family and their amazing true story, but I felt the film gave short thrift to the tens of thousands of Thai citizens who died while focusing on one family of wealthy tourists.  It's like the director felt inconvenienced to explore the heartache and loss of the Thai people.

The film was a bit melodramatic and emotionally manipulative at times, but the performances of the main characters kept me engaged. The scene of McGregor calling home to his father-in-law in the midst of his search for his family is heart-breaking.

I gave this film a 7 out of 10.

To see video of my review today, just click on this link.