Susan Granger At The Movies

Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse

In his 1993 best-seller “Without Remorse,” novelist Tom Clancy introduced Navy SEAL John Kelly, a character in the Jack Ryan series who has been previously been played on-screen by Liev Schreiber (“The Sum of All Fears”) and Willem Dafoe (“Clear and Present Danger”). Now it’s Michael B. Jordan’s turn.

As this espionage thriller begins, Kelly’s head emerges from underwater in full scuba gear. He’s on a mission to extract an ‘asset’ out of Aleppo in Syria, where he and his men must unexpectedly battle Russian soldiers instead of the mercenaries that his CIA boss (Jamie Bell) said would be guarding the hostage.

Returning home, Kelly is ready to retire from the military since his wife Pam (Lauren London) is seven-months pregnant and the idea of a peaceful family life beckons. But that’s not going to happen.

Russian nationals are determined to retaliate against every Navy SEAL on the Aleppo mission. In a stealthy home invasion, Kelly’s wife and unborn daughter are executed. Kelly manages to kill three of the gunmen and vows to hunt down the fourth.

Although the CIA refuses to certify a revenge mission, grief-stricken Kelly garners ‘intelligence’ from his Navy SEAL Lt. Commander Karen Greer (Jodie Turner-Smith). Sanctioned by the Secretary of Defense (Guy Pearce), Kelly joins an elite squad sneaking into the Russian port city of Murmansk to uncover a ruthless Cold War conspiracy.

Adapted as an all-too-familiar original story by Taylor Sheridan (“Yellowstone”) and Will Staples (“Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3”), it’s tautly directed by Stefano Sollima (“Sicario: Day of the Soldado”), working with cinematographer Philippe Rousselot to effectively stage three exciting action sequences.

Despite the script’s shortcomings, Michael B. Jordan (“Creed,” “Black Panther”) emerges as a charismatic action hero, and the mid-credits conclusion leaves Kelly — now known as John Clark — ready for sequels.

Full Disclosure: My son, Don Granger, is listed as one of the executive producers.

The Nevers

Set in London in 1896 during the last years of Queen Victoria’s reign, the new HBO six-episode, sci-fi series called “The Nevers” revolves around ‘Touched’ people — mostly women — who suddenly manifest an astonishing variety of abnormal abilities.

The phenomenon begins with a spectral glow in the overcast sky as glittering particles fall to Earth. Suddenly, young women, many from the lower classes, demonstrate mysterious capabilities — so extraordinary that they’re considered threatening by wealthy, aristocratic men.

Widowed Amalia True (Laura Donnelly), who often has disturbing ‘glimpses’ of the future, is determined to save and shelter these outcasts in an orphanage where they can thrive. She’s joined by an intrepid inventor, Penance Adair (Ann Skelly), who can visualize and predict the flow of electricity and direct it where it needs to go, creating clever new devices far ahead of her time.

Heiress Lavinia Bidlow (Olivia Williams) provides finances for the orphanage. But how does her brother, Augie Bidlow (Tom Riley), figure in the plot?

Early on, Amalia and Penance go to the opera, where they encounter Maladie (Amy Manson), a ‘Touched’ killer, and Mary (Eleanor Tomlinson), whose singing reveals the ‘Touched’ to one another.

Colorful characters with sub-plots abound. There’s diabolical Doctor Edmund Hague (Dennis O’Hare), who’s curious about how the brains of the ‘Touched’ work; Lord Massen (Pip Torrens), who rages against the ‘Touched’; Frank Mundi (Ben Chaplin), a police inspector pursuing Maladie; Hugo Swann (James Norton), who runs a sex club for the super-rich; and the Beggar King (Nick Frost).

Created by Joss Whedon (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D”) and scripted by his longtime collaborators Jane Espenson and Doug Petrie, it’s unfortunately unfocused and uneven — probably with good reason.

After accusations of “abusive, unprofessional” behavior by several actors with whom he’s worked in the past, Whedon abruptly left the series in November, 2020, and was replaced as showrunner/executive producer by Philippa Goslett.

The Virtuoso

What a shame that — after winning the 2021 Best Actor Academy Award for “The Father” — Anthony Hopkins’ new neo-noir thriller “The Virtuoso” is such a dud!

The titular character (Anson Mount) is a nameless contract killer, a methodical mercenary, who shows no remorse about the way he earns a living … until a woman, an innocent bystander, is burned to death in front of her young child. He knows it’s “collateral damage,” but the horror awakens his conscience.

And since he narrates the story in a monotone, it’s told entirely from the taciturn hitman’s point-of-view: “Perfection demands precision. Precision demands perserverance.”

When his mentor (Anthony Hopkins) calls again, the assassin is dispatched to a small town in the middle of nowhere, looking for someone connected with the cryptic words “White Rivers.”

At precisely 5 pm, he enters Rosie’s Roadside Café, where he encounters several customers: Handsome Johnnie (Richard Brake) sitting with his Girl (Diora Baird), a gun-toting Loner (Eddie Marsan), and a Deputy Sheriff (David Morse), along with an overtly flirtatious Waitress (Abbie Cornish).

Having no idea who his quarry is, the Virtuoso waits for each of them to leave and then proceeds to target and track them down, hoping to discern the meaning and significance of “White Rivers.” At the same time, he begins to suffer from PTSD.

Working from a contrived, cliché-cluttered screenplay by James C. Wolf, it’s inconsistently directed by Nick Stagliano, who managed to attract a stellar cast to this mediocre material, filmed in a digital format.

Best known from TV’s “Hell on Wheels” and “Star Trek: Discovery,” Anson Mount is a stoically handsome but inherently enigmatic protagonist. Anthony Hopkins’ appearance is brief but he delivers a rambling, yet memorable graveside monologue about how he and The Virtuoso’s father participated in massacre of innocent children and civilians during the Vietnam War.

Susan Granger is a product of Hollywood. Her natural father, S. Sylvan Simon, was a director and producer at M.G.M. and Columbia Pictures. Her adoptive father, Armand Deutsch, produced movies at M.G.M.

As a child, Susan appeared in movies with Abbott & Costello, Red Skelton, Lucille Ball, Margaret O’Brien, and Lassie. She attended Mills College in California, studying journalism with Pierre Salinger, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with highest honors in journalism.

During her adult life, Susan has been on radio and television as an anchorwoman and movie and drama critic, syndicating her reviews and articles around the world, including Video Librarian. She has appeared on American Movie Classics and Turner Classic Movies. In 2017, her book 150 Timeless Movies was published by Hannacroix Creek Books.

Her website is www.susangranger.com. Follow her on Twitter @susangranger.