By Dave Montalbano

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

Based on a graphic novel by Alexis Nolent, “Bullet to the Head” has all the elements of a pulp noir crime drama. When you factor 66- year-old Sylvester Stallone as your noir protagonist, one expects a world-weary perspective about the mean streets.

Ironically, Stallone seems to be the most energetic actor in the movie.

He portrays a hit man in New Orleans. After shooting a corrupt policeman, his partner is killed. Given that it was a police shooting, a federal investigator (Sung Kang) gets involved with the muddled investigation. Through happenstance, the New Orleans hit man and the federal investigator realize it is better to work together for mutual survival.

Given we spent last weekend watching the beauty of New Orleans from Super Bowl 47 coverage, Bullet to the Head presents sights not approved by the Louisana Tourist Board. Prostitutes, perversions and pain are the focus of the Big Easy in this film.

Guilermo Del Toro presents Mama, a ghost story in the vein of The Orphanage, The Devil’s Backbone and Don’t be Afraid of the Dark. There are genuine scary moments that will make audience members jump, but Mama is also a personal story about the family dynamic.

Raised in a forest with a dubious past, two feral girls are adopted by Lucas (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and his punk rock girlfriend Annabel (Jessica Chastain). Lucas harbors guilt about the children’s current disposition; his brother (also played by Coster- Waldau) tried to kill the girls.

When Lucas is hurt in a mysterious accident, the punk rock girlfriend (with NO maternal instinct) becomes an instant nanny. Through querulous circumstances, the punk rock nanny learns that these two children have a guardian devil.

While not Oscar quality, both Bullet to the Head and Mama exemplify genre expectations. Of the two movies, Mama is the better produced and most thought provoking.