STRANGE BUT TRUE Will Shock and Jaw Drop

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to Bluray and Digital from director Rowan Athale, CBS Films and Lionsgate is a family in mourning until a shock knocks on their door with a story that is STRANGE BUT TRUE.

It has been five years and Philip (Nick Robinson) is a young man deal with the death of his brother Ronnie (Connor Jessup) and how it has effect mom Charlene (Amy Ryan) and estranged dad Richard (Greg Kinnear). Making things more interesting is the knock on the door by Melissa (Margaret Qualley), Ronnie's girlfriend at the time of his death.

The shock is that Melissa is very pregnant and tells Charlene and Philip that the father is Ronnie. Unable to explain why she believes it, Charlene immediately goes into freak out mode. Trying to understand why she would make up such a story, Charlene begins to research her thought process.

In the meantime, Melissa is living in a small house on the property of friends Gail (Blythe Danner) and husband Bill (Brian Cox). The couple see her as the daughter they never had and are mystified about her reason for keeping the identity of the baby's father from them.

Philip begins to friend Melissa and wants to help, especially because she could be telling the truth about the baby's paternity. Charlene reaches out to Richard trying to find answers since he is a doctor. They can't help but snap at one another because of the hurt feelings and animosity that has grown over the years between the two.

That doesn't stop Charlene from slowly ruling out scenarios but the secrets are starting to slowly unravel on their own. In the cross of it are Philip, Melissa and the truth about her baby!

Robinson as Philip is a young man dealing with the death of his brother but getting his own life twisted in the meantime. That's why he reaches out to Melissa as a connection to Ronnie by someone who cared for him just as much as he did. Robinson has a scene where he finally speaks out about his feelings and it is full of all the emotions his character has been keeping hidden, this young actor nails it.

Ryan as Charlene is full of anger for both the death of her son and the death of her marriage. Ronnie's girlfriend is the last person she wants to see let alone see her pregnant with a story about paternity. Ryan gives this character righteous anger and emotions of a mother who can't find a place for her grief. Kinnear as Richard looks for solace from his grief far from home and with someone else. He has secrets of his own and the question is how much longer can he kept them hidden?

Qualley as Melissa believes what she believes and doesn't concern herself with whether anyone trusts her word. She knows that her friendship with Gayle and Bill will give her time to have her baby and go from there. Danner as Gayle is a loving friend who never had children of her own. Friending Melissa makes her feel as if she has a chance to be motherly. Danner is always a force on the screen no matter if it's big or small. Cox as Bill loves his wife dearly and lets her know it. His concern for Melissa is ever present and sees her child as something joyful for Gayle and that's important for him. Cox is not front and center in the film but his presence is palpable.

Other cast include Janaya Stephens as Pilla, Mena Massoud as Chaz, Sarah Allen as Holly, Darryl Flatman as Vaughn and Allegra Fulton as Chantrel.

Lionsgate is a global leader in motion picture production and distribution for theatres, television, home entertainment and more. Theatre franchises include THE HUNGER GAMES, and DIVERGENT along with JOHN WICK. Now, adding this film to its 16,000 motion picture and television titles you can see everything coming soon as well as available now at http://www.lionsgate.com.

STRANGE BUT TRUE is a film that has so many twists and turns one could easily get whiplash. In the mixture of grief and anger are two stories that will merge together but not with an ending anyone would expect. This is an interesting cast that has been put together to tell the story because as each secret comes out, the reaction and next secret just muddies the waters again so well done.

So don't blink or the connections will fly by and don't make too much noise eating popcorn or you won't hear what is shocking or you'll forget you have a mouth full of popcorn because your jaw will be dropping. STRANGE BUT TRUE is reinforces what happens when a family has secrets, tells themselves lies and let anger control every move.

In the end - some things are impossible to conceive!

AMERICAN ASSASSIN

Jeri Jacquin

In theatres this Friday from director Michael Cuestra, CBS Films and Lionsgate brings action and suspense with the AMERICAN ASSASSIN.

Mitch Rapp (Dylan O’Brien) is vacationing with his girlfriend in a blue water tropical paradise. In an instant shooting begins as terrorists walk the beach killing tourists, including Mitch’s girlfriend.

Wanting revenge, Mitch goes out on his own to try and find the man he saw kill his girlfriend. Going online to reach out to a terrorist organization, he doesn’t know that the CIA see’s everything he is doing. When he finds his target, the CIA Deputy Director Irene Kennedy (Sanaa Lathan) sends in a crack team of military to save him.

Angry that his goal is thwarted, Director Kennedy brings in Stan Hurley (Michael Keaton), a Cold War Vet, to train Mitch as a black ops recruit. Out in the woods, Mitch works with others on what it takes to go on dangerous missions. That is when the CIA receives word that someone is putting together the parts to build a bomb.

Hurley, Mitch and other agents arrive in the Middle East and Annika (Shiva Negar) is their contact when they discover they are looking for a Ghost (Taylor Kitsch). Almost immediately they believe they are on the trail of the scientist who is helping to build the bomb. Hurley knows something about Ghost but instead of sharing it with the team, he becomes frustrated because Mitch isn’t taking orders.

When Hurley is kidnapped by Ghost, Mitch kicks it into gear to find his mentor and stop a bomb from starting a war!

O’Brien as Mitch is a brooding, sarcastic and perfect person to train even though he does take matters into his own hands. I write it off as rambunctious youth and I don’t mind it. His mind is constantly on the move and his body follows throwing caution to the wind. I really enjoyed O’Brien’s performance and can even see a few more films coming out of this character.

Keaton as Hurley is equally brooding, sarcastic and the perfect person to train Mitch. He is a strong character in the film and fast in his reaction to situations. Now, I have to say there is a scene (no, I won’t tell you which one but trust me when I say you’ll know immediately when you see it) between Hurley and Ghost where I almost sat on the edge of my seat waiting for Keaton to say “You want to get nuts! Let’s get nuts!”.

Lathan as Kennedy sees something in Mitch and knows how to use the pain that he has endured. From the loss of his parents to the murder of his girlfriend, she knows that using it all to become a black ops specialist will make him perfect for the job.

Kitch as Ghost just plain doesn’t give a damn about anybody or anything except making the world pay. His story is a mystery for most of the film but he eventually makes it clear why he wants to watch the world burn. There is a crazy Kitch manages to give that made me nervous! Negar as Annika is an agent who, like Mitch, has personal reasons for wanting to bring down Ghost and she’ll do anything to make that happen.

Other cast include Scott Adkins as Victor, Joseph Long as General Rostami, Navid Negahban as Minister Behurz, Trevor White as Dr. Frain, David Suchet as Director Stansfield, and Shahid Ahmed as Adnan Al-Mansur.

I had a good time watching AMERICAN ASSASSIN! It is fast paced, takes no prisoners, and basically takes us on a roller coaster ride of espionage, mystery and a big ending. The film is basically effortless in keeping viewers attention because this is exactly why many go to the movies – to be taken away with a big bowl of popcorn and no analyzing or figuring out anything.

O’Brien and Keaton are pretty cool together because their characters share more in common than either will admit. Playing off of one another they played into the films twists and turns with ease. The film is one hundred and eleven minutes long and there isn’t a moment that doesn’t have something going on.

The films as of late have claimed promises of stories that weren’t kept which makes AMERICAN ASSASSIN so much fun. You get what you pay for and happily pay for the ride. This isn’t just a ‘guys’ film, it is a gather-up-the-gang and go out for a good time at the movies and don’t forget a huge bucket of popcorn for everybody.

In the end – assassins aren’t born, they are made!