The weekend of October 14 offered a plethora of new films, but I only had time for two: “The Foreigner” and “Battle of the Sexes.” Neither is a must-see, but both are interesting.
I usually avoid Jackie Chan movies, but “The Foreigner” has a twist; the actor portrays a character as old as Chan himself. His major antagonist is a devious IRA leader who may or may not know which splinter group murdered Chan’s daughter and many other innocents. Pierce Brosnan is reasonably good as the former terrorist who now serves in the government of Northern Ireland, but there are a few inconsistencies in his performance. It is a good action film, but nothing more.
I was curious about “Battle of the Sexes” since I remember watching the original tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs. I was suffering from a severe case of “dissertationitis” at the time, and was not really aware of the issues involved in the match.
Emma Stone and Steve Carell are good as the two antagonists, but the film spends too much time trying to be politically correct. Carell makes Bobby Riggs as obnoxious as I remember while reminding the audience that Riggs was once a very good tennis player.
Two films still on my list are “Marshall” and “Victoria & Abdul.” The latter film is in very limited release, and may never go into wide distribution.