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Marshall and The Foreginer are different than advertised but both have solid performances.

Incredible acting carries Marshall. Jackie Chan gives rare dramatic turn in The Foreigner.

I’ve already caught grief for not reviewing Happy Death Day. So, if you’re here hoping for that, I apologize. I didn’t see the point in it. It looks like campy horror fun and I knew that no matter how good or bad it was, I would be thinking “this is a rip off of so many other movies”. I just think it would have biased any thoughts I had about it.

So, we move on…

Marshall is the story of one of future Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall’s cases. Chadwick Boseman plays the young lawyer who travels to a conservative Connecticut town to defend a black chauffer, played by Sterling K. Brown) who is charged with the sexual assault and attempted murder of white employer, who is played by Kate Hudson. He partners with a Jewish lawyer named Samuel Friedman, played by Josh Gad. In an environment of racism and anti-Semitism, the two mount their defense and the case would serve as the beginning of the NAACP legal defense fund.

If you go in expecting a biopic of Thurgood Marshall, you’re going to be disappointed. Marshall is a look at one case, in which he practically takes a back seat in the courtroom after the judge refuses to allow his law license from Maryland to be transferred to Connecticut. He is the driving force behind everything, giving guidance and helping to examine witnesses and evidence. This is a courtroom drama and if you approach it that way, then it becomes interesting.

The highlight of the film is the incredible acting. Chadwick Boseman has played Jackie Robinson, James Brown, and now Thurgood Marshall. He’s worth watching in this film and I’m shocked to say that Josh Gad turns in the best performance of his career. I did not expect him to be good in this, but I was shocked. The entire film was full of good performances. As I say that, I also need to say that none of these roles felt taxing, no one had to go out on a limb for their role, which is good because they all felt comfortable and at ease.

The Foreigner is also in theaters this week. It starts Jackie Chan and Pierce Brosnan and is directed by Martin Campbell (Casino Royale). Chan plays a restaurant owner in London whose daughter is killed in an act of terrorism. Brosnan is a government official who has ties to the IRA, or Irish Republican Army, and may be the key to finding the people responsible as they also claim to be members of the IRA. Quan (Jackie Chan) starts his search for the killers by visiting Hennessy’s (Pierce Brosnan’s) office but when he doesn’t get the names of those who killed his daughter he starts a game of cat-and-mouse, stalking Hennesy everywhere he goes and threatening to bring down his entire life. Meanwhile, Hennessy is trying to uncover the truth for his own political gain.

The Foreigner is billed as an action-packed vehicle for Jackie Chan, it’s made to look like it’s some sort of John Wick-style revenge film. It’s not. There are two sides of this film. One of them is Jackie Chan’s story about seeking vengeance for his daughter’s death and the other is Pierce Brosnan’s political/terrorist thriller. They work well together but I felt cheated. I didn’t get what I was expecting and what I was led to believe that I would get from this film.

What I did enjoy about The Foreigner is that it was a departure for Jackie Chan’s usual fare. This may be most dramatic role he’s played. It’s not a slapstick action film. His character has some real depth and you feel his loss and his pain.

Also new in theaters this week…

Happy Death Day, in which a college student (Jessica Rothe, La La Land) relives the day of her murder with both its unexceptional details and terrifying end until she discovers her killer's identity. Happy Death Day is directed by Christopher Landon (Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones) and written by Scott Lobdell and Landon.

Dr. Marston & the Wonder Women is the true story of what inspired Harvard psychologist Dr. William Moulton Marston to create the iconic Wonder Woman character in the 1940's. While Marston's feminist superhero was criticized by censors for her 'sexual perversity', he was keeping a secret that could have destroyed him. Marston's muses for the Wonder Woman character were his wife Elizabeth Marston and their lover Olive Byrne, two empowered women who defied convention: working with Marston on human behavior research -- while building a hidden life with him that rivaled the greatest of superhero disguises.

Want to see a free movie?

Columbia Pictures is hosting a special advance screening of Only The Brave at Cinemark Colonel Glenn at 7 p.m., Oct. 16!

It's not what stands in front of you... it's who stands beside you. Only the Brave, based on the true story of the Granite Mountain Hotshots, is the heroic story of one unit of local firefighters that through hope, determination, sacrifice, and the drive to protect families, communities, and our country become one of the most elite firefighting teams in the nation. As most of us run from danger, they run toward it - they watch over our lives, our homes, everything we hold dear, as they forge a unique brotherhood that comes into focus with one fateful fire.

Only The Brave stars Josh Brolin, Taylor Kitsch, Miles Teller, Jeff Bridges, Andie MacDowell and James Badge Dale. It is rated PG-13 for thematic content, some sexual references, language and drug material.

For your chance to get a pass, log on to SonyScreenings.com/Redeem and enter code: THV11OTB

Each pass is for two people but does not guarantee admission. Passes are limited and available on a first come, first serve basis.

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