A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD (RATED R)

Though only half as old as the James Bond franchise, the “Die Hard” films hold the distinction of having only one actor in the role of wisecracking, hard-boiled police detective John McClane.

Showing few signs of slowing down, Bruce Willis has notched 25 years in his tough guy role of a New York police detective who manages, usually by trying to help a close family member, to get in the middle of messy situations.

“A Good Day to Die Hard” takes John McClane far afield of his familiar turf, no longer fighting the good fight on American soil, usually against some nasty, silky Euro trash in sharp suits.

This time around, at the film’s opening, McClane is dropped off at the airport by his daughter Lucy (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), who warns him not to make a “big mess” of things upon his arrival in Moscow.

Lucy wisely knows of what she speaks, having been McClane’s targeted family member in “Live Free or Die Hard,” the previous installment. Now, it’s up to McClane to help his estranged son Jack (Jai Courtney).

McClane can never ignore family in peril, even if Jack is being held in a foreign prison on a murder charge. As he must, John McClane will get to the bottom of the matter.

Our hero arrives just in time for Jack’s show trial in a courtroom where he is supposedly giving testimony that may implicate Russian thief-turned-whistleblower Komarov (Sebastian Koch).

Komarov poses a threat to his former partner Chagarin, a politician desperately trying to conceal his connection to the theft of weapons grade plutonium from Chernobyl. So Chagarin’s thugs blow up the courthouse.

Ensconced in bullet-proof holding tanks, Jack and Komarov survive the blast and make a daring escape, while the assorted bad guys shoot up the place in what is only the first of many extensive shootouts.

Meanwhile, John instinctively decides to help his son and Komarov escape from the villains, but Jack is not too pleased that his meddlesome father has arrived on the scene.

An even bigger surprise is that McClane Senior, a renowned detective, has no idea that his offspring is an undercover CIA agent who is helping Komarov in order to foil Chagarin’s ascension to greater political power.

At this point, the audience, and perhaps even the actors themselves, have only the vaguest notion of about the extent of the political intrigue and why Moscow is becoming like a war zone in an extreme videogame.

This fifth installment of the “Die Hard” series, dispatching character development to the lowest priority status, is all about action, the more explosive and violent the better.

What ensues is a spectacular, mind-blowing street chase that flattens and ravages more vehicles than the combined destruction of at least a decade’s worth of demolition derbies.

The father-son team of John and Jack has little time for bonding while dodging bullets and firebombs, and then executing narrow escapes.

Considering the brooding Jack harbors too many pent-up feelings of neglect, the glossing over of family drama is just as well. McClane Senior tries to lighten the mood by calling his son the “007 of Plainfield, New Jersey.”

The plot, such as it is, involves the unmasking of a prominent Russian figure, and in service of this objective is a virtual non-stop trail of violent action, with the McClanes surviving enough stunts that would kill or maim ordinary mortals.

One thing missing is an abundance of McClane’s sardonic one-liners, and though I think that McClane yelled his ubiquitous “Yippee Ki-Yay” punch line, just about any dialogue gets lost in the clutter of director John Moore’s obsession to blow up stuff.

By now, John McClane should be running out of relatives to save, but a “Die Hard 6” is reportedly in the works. Though fast approaching 60, the still fit Bruce Willis seems far removed from collecting Social Security.

Fans of the franchise should take to heart the title of “A Good Day to Die Hard,” knowing it’s a good day at the movies if all the chases, fights, shootouts and explosive stunts capably serve up the popular action thrills.

Those who have enjoyed recent action films like “Parker” and “Bullet to the Head,” to name a few, would seemingly find “A Good Day to Die Hard” a good bit of satisfying action entertainment.

DVD RELEASE UPDATE

Keeping to the action theme of this week’s film review, this is a good time to notice that Hollywood’s first great action hero was Douglas Fairbanks.

Cohen Media is releasing a pristine new restoration print of “The Thief of Bagdad,” Fairbanks’ magnificent 1924 fantasy epic.

“The Thief of Bagdad,” one of the biggest blockbusters of the silent era, is a dazzling “Arabian Nights” adventure fantasy, wherein Fairbanks’ dashing Ahmed is the thief who wins a princess.

More contemporary action fare comes from stylish, tense Asian action thriller “4 Assassins,” where four colleagues reunite in a dangerous face-off.

Ace hit-man Marcus Nang (Will Yun Lee) checks into a Hong Kong hotel room, waiting for his old colleagues, for reasons that remain a mystery.

First to arrive is lovely Cordelia Leigh (Mercedes Renard), Marcus’ former lover and equally deadly killer. The others soon show up, and then accusations fly, secrets are revealed and bullets let loose.

Following the standard formula, “4 Assassins” culminates in an explosive showdown from which no one is safe.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Art House Gallery will host its Third Friday Gala art reception on Feb. 15.

The reception will take place from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the gallery, 15210 Lakeshore Drive, Suite No. 1, in Clearlake.
 
Tour the gallery and see more than 25 artists display their work in wood, pastels, acrylic, oil, ceramics, bronze, mosaics, tile, wearable art, basketry, gourds, water color, burls and unique one of a kind jewelry.

There also will be live music and refreshments.

For more information call the gallery at 707-994-1716 or visit www.thearthousegallery.net .

It seems that love poems have a better chance of being passed around from person to person than other poems, and here’s one by Richard M. Berlin, who lives in the Berkshire hills of western Massachusetts, that we’d like to pass along to you.

Einstein’s Happiest Moment

Einstein’s happiest moment
occurred when he realized
a falling man falling
beside a falling apple
could also be described
as an apple and a man at rest
while the world falls around them.

And my happiest moment
occurred when I realized
you were falling for me,
right down to the core, and the rest,
relatively speaking, has flown past
faster than the speed of light.

American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation ( www.poetryfoundation.org ), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright 2011 by Richard M. Berlin from his most recent book of poems, Secret Wounds, BkMk Press, 2011. Poem reprinted by permission of Richard M. Berlin and the publisher. Introduction copyright 2013 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction's author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006. They do not accept unsolicited manuscripts.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Soper-Reese Community Theatre and Lake County Friends of Mendocino College will present the third annual Professional Pianists Concert on Sunday, March 10.

Enjoy the performances and conversations of six of Lake and Mendocino's best pianists – Elena Casanova, Tom Ganoung, Tom Aiken, David Neft, Elizabeth MacDougal and Spencer Brewer.

A reception will be held at 2 p.m., with the concert beginning at 3 p.m.

Premium reserved seats cost $30 per person, with regular reserved seats priced at $25.

Tickets are available online at http://www.soperreesetheatre.com , at the theater box office on Fridays from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., telephone 707-263-0577; at The Travel Center, 1265 S. Main St., Lakeport, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays; and at the door.

The Soper-Reese Community Theatre is located at 275 S. Main St., Lakeport.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The local radio and theater production of Lake County Live! kicked off its second season on Jan. 27 at the Soper-Reese Community Theatre in Lakeport.

The show featured the usual cast of characters including Ladies of the Lake, featuring Richard Smith, Suna Flores, Kris Andre, Pamela Bradley and Vicky Parish Smith, along with guest Cindy Strong.  

Along the way, the audience was treated to Ask Lake County Live, a report from the Lake County Daily Herald Sentinel, a visit with the Dogs of Clearlake, and other surprises.  

Musical guests on this most recent show included Three Deep, featuring the guitars and vocals of Jill Shaul, Anna McAtee and Sarah Tichava, and the incredible guitar of Travis Rinker.  

Nearly 110 people came to the live performance and broadcast, and had a great time with comedy, music and entertainment for all ages.  

Lake County Live! is a local production broadcast live on Lake County Community Radio KPFZ at 88.1 FM and streamed live on the Internet at www.kpfz.org .

The next show will be at 6 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 24, at the Soper-Reese Community Theatre, 275 S. Main St. in Lakeport.  

Tickets are available at the theater box office open Fridays from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and at the Travel Center at 1265 S. Main St. in Lakeport.  

Tickets also may be obtained online at www.soperreesetheatre.com .

Mark your calendars for the last Sunday of each month for Lake County Live!

IDENTITY THIEF (Rated R)

Identity theft is a serious problem. Just ask any victim. But there’s no topic too serious that can’t be turned into a comedic adventure, given the right script.

Starring Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy, “Identity Thief” offered high expectations for some gut-busting laughs in a screwball comedy exploring the clash of diverse personalities.

As written by Craig Mazin (“The Hangover Part II”) and directed by Seth Gordon (“Horrible Bosses”), the upshot of “Identity Thief” is a more formulaic comedy, having something more in common with “The Guilt Trip.”

Still, there is laughter to be found here, if mainly because the plus-size Melissa McCarthy, much like she did in the insanely funny “Bridesmaids,” has a knack for stealing scenes.

For “Identity Thief,” McCarthy’s Diana is a big-haired, white-trash fraudster living in a small house in Winter Park, Florida, crammed full of ceramic junk and other ill-gotten gains.

A compulsive hoarder with bad taste, Diana lives it up at local spas, hair salons and local bars where she buys everyone rounds of drinks, all the while maxing out the credit cards of her victims.

Her latest casualty is a poor schmuck with the gender-neutral name of Sandy Bigelow Patterson (Jason Bateman), a Denver family man with a pregnant wife (Amanda Peet) and two small children.

The film has no problem straining credibility right from the very start.

You’d think that Sandy, an accounts supervisor at a large investment firm, would know better than to give out his vital information over the phone to a telemarketer.

Struggling to support his family and tired of dealing with his horrible boss (Jon Favreau), Sandy’s fortunes look up when he’s invited to take an executive position with an upstart competitor.

And yet at the same time, all that he has worked for is suddenly threatened, after a gas station attendant tears up his maxed-out credit card and the police arrest him for having skipped a court date in Florida.

Though some of the problems are sorted out, a Denver detective (Morris Chestnut) informs Sandy that his legal troubles could go on for many months because the culprit resides in another state.

Given a week by his impatient new boss (John Cho), Sandy travels to Florida to confront Diana and to bring her back to Denver so that her testimony can clear him of still pending charges.

Needless to say, the fake Sandy is not willing to help the real one get his life back, and so a few fights are in the offing, resulting in the destruction of his rental car and harm to various body parts.

Diana becomes more agreeable to Sandy’s plan to leave Florida when a pair of assassins (Genesis Rodriguez and T.I. “Tip” Harris) is gunning for her because she sold them phony IDs and credit cards that don’t work.

To add to her woes, Diana is also being pursued by a redneck bounty hunter (Robert Patrick), so crazed and unhinged in his chase that he’s a greater threat than the hired killers.

The road trip to Denver proves to be a test of wills between the straight-laced nebbish and the wild child of reckless behavior. Many fights, some physical, ensue.

At times, the mind games played by Diana are amusing. But when she hooks up with an overweight cowboy named Big Chuck (Eric Stonestreet), it proves humiliating for Sandy and uncomfortable for the audience.

The story offers some momentary promise when Sandy resorts to unsavory tactics directed at his former corporate boss. Unfortunately, Jon Favreau’s villainous Harold Cornish does not return to the action.

“Identity Thief” has its moments of fun, and yet it doesn’t quite fully connect in the possibilities of an odd-couple road movie. It aimed for “Due Date” territory and proved about as engaging as “The Guilt Trip.”

Nevertheless, “Identity Thief,” though stitched together with the standard comedic blueprint, presents enough amusement, thanks to the talents of Melissa McCarthy and Jason Bateman.

DVD RELEASE UPDATE

This column space often serves to announce the arrival of a new DVD release for a television series. For the most part, I aim to focus on something unusual or vintage.

Arriving unsolicited in the mail was a copy of “Gossip Girl: The Complete Sixth and Final Season.” As you can imagine, I did not immediate load this into the DVD player.

The only thing thrilling about the news release accompanying the delivery of said DVD was the fact that it revealed the 10 one-hour episodes of this season represent the final season.

This means, of course, that I will be spared any more installments of the “scandalous and seductive series” (to quote the over-exuberant press release).

The press release breathlessly informs that Season Six opens with the Upper East Siders working together to find Serena, who’s gone off the grid. I say if someone has gone off the grid, you just need to let the person go.

Other newsy tidbits reveal that Blair and Chuck reunite with a bang and Lonely Boy Dan writes a new tell-all book.

Fans of “Gossip Girl” will probably want this new DVD. As for me, I shall remain blissfully unaware of the identity of Gossip Girl.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.