Charlie (Rami Malek) doesn’t like to fly, and he doesn’t like to take risks. It’s something his wife, Sarah (Rachel Brosnahan) teases him about, so much so that she gifts him with an old Cessna plane, squirreled away in a barn on their rural Virginia property, to help him to conquer his fears.
As the titular character of “The Amateur,� Charlie comes off as timid and cautious, both at home and in his professional life as a decoder at the CIA. But Charlie’s life changes in an instant when Sarah is murdered during a terrorist attack in London, and blinded by grief, he discovers the breadth of his unique skill set outside the walls of the George Bush Center for Intelligence. Fear of flying? Aversion to risk? That all goes out the window when he’s driven by vengeance.
This is a light and breezy affair with a few unexpected twists, some social commentary that doesn’t entirely land, and it might not have enough staying power for it to be truly memorable. -- Katie Walsh, Tribune News Service Read moreMovie Review: 'Clown in a Cornfield' a light, breezy slasher
This flick isn’t a masterpiece, not even a vulgar one, but it’s cheeky and entertaining enough in its giddy hyper-violence, thanks almost entirely to the star turn of Josh Hartnett, who has proven in his recent renaissance that he’s especially great in bozo mode. -- Katie Walsh, Tribune News Service Read moreMovie Review: Josh Hartnett saves 'Fight or Flight' from crash landing
Perhaps we don’t need the reminder that our personal relationships with animals are some of the most special and rewarding ones that we can enjoy as human beings, but “The Penguin Lessons� also underscores that our relationships with people are even more important, and that sometimes animals are the best stewards for this particular journey.-- Katie Walsh, Tribune News Service Read moreMovie Review: A teacher's pet warms the heart in 'Penguin Lessons'
