The Factory; Thriller, released 2013

It seems that John Cusack’s contractual wardrobe obligations took a small turn in 2013’s The Factory. Although attired in the appropriate black suit and black-accented tie, he forgoes the black shirt in favor of neutral gray for the film. The selection seems appropriate for the drab Buffalo, NY winter; but it’s also much easier to see blood splatter against a shade that’s lighter than midnight. The frigid, snowy weather also provides a perfect excuse for Cusack to brood his way through the film in a long black overcoat, even in the comfort of his own home, so his gothic silhouette remains consistent with the outfits throughout his more recent body of work.

Maybe the change in shirt color stems from playing a lesser hero – Mike Fletcher, a Buffalo Homicide detective, who has effectively burnt himself out pursuing a serial killer that preys on prostitutes. A new murder with the right M.O. saves the case from being put on the back burner, and Mike, an absentee father, sets out with his partner, Kelsey Walker (Jennifer Carpenter), to track down leads.

The story itself becomes a jumble of tired, lazy plot threads that weave the past and present of psychopath Gary (Dallas Roberts), into Mike’s angst-ridden teen-aged daughter Abby’s (Mae Whitman) uncanny ability to be in the wrong place at the wrong time in a blizzard. Drugged and imprisoned, she becomes part of what is probably near the top of every woman’s greatest fear – being forced by torture to bear children for a twisted and misogynist maniac.

Mike, juggling old and new leads, drives pell-mell through the snow-packed streets of Buffalo, avoiding accidents by sheer will of rage alone. His SUV plows through massive drifts and skids across lanes of traffic, providing what little action graces the screen as time runs out for his non-compliant daughter.

I am a huge fan of surprise endings, stories that have a hook that opens one’s eyes to everything that was quietly going on in the background of the plot while the story distracted completely. It’s the trick that made films like The Crying Game and The Usual Suspects into critical successes. But when not done correctly, the big reveal is more like a slap in the face instead of the sudden, warm, revelatory feel. Much like this film, which ended in such a confused jumble of pick-up-sticks that the final minutes are little more than a denouement, much required.

It’s little surprise this disturbing and violent film stayed on the shelf for more than a year; no happy endings come from this tale. The beginning of The Factory starts out with a title, saying it was based on a true story, but little on the screen is a reflection of any notable abduction cases. Instead, it seems to just take the sensationalized and manufacture a nightmare that’s a hundred times worse.

Rating: 2 of 5 pairs of John Cusack's sunglasses

Pain level: 5

Medication: Gabapentin, 300mg x3

TO WATCH THE FACTORY ON NETFLIX, CLICK HERE

The Numbers Station; action, 2013

There is a rule in Hollywood – this may actually even be contractual – that John Cusack be dressed in nothing other than an all black suit, tie optional, throughout. His agent probably dictates he only play complex, conflicted, and complicated hit-men or government super secret black ops agency spies. With sunglasses.

With such an iconic, high-contrast look, well aged and practiced through one forgettable film after another (with the possible exception of Grosse Point Blank), it stands to reason that he would cut new fabric on the old tired action hero. But sadly, it seems his tailor is in control through The Numbers Station where, once again, Cusack is an Agency man with a black wardrobe and pasty face.

Emerson Kent is a CIA black ops lifer with “Grim Reaper” practically tattooed across his head. When a hit on a former agency man goes south and leaves loose ends, he refuses to kill the witnesses’ daughter. As punishment, he is sent to sweat out his time in a bare-bones, cold-war relic, a “Numbers Station” that broadcasts highly sophisticated numeric codes to spies via a bunker-like radio station. Kent’s full-time partner is the station operator and cryptographer Katherine, played by Malin Akerman.

Things are going swell on his job as the one-man security force for the expansive underground military bunker; until the day it doesn’t. A team of commandos penetrated the station and made a series of broadcasts before killing the earlier shift. Kent and Katherine arrive, get attacked, manage to slip past the sniper and lock themselves in the bunker. Once inside, they have to find a way to break the codes, recall the commands, and fight off the bad guys who show up with the same predictability as Cuasck’s wardrobe.

There are no real hooks or surprises in the story, or even much depth assigned to the characters. There’s not even enough excitement to generate a cheer when the last baddie dies. But as boring movies go, it’s put together well. The story, although not terribly original, is not as trite as expected – but there still isn’t enough substance to keep the still air of the secure bunker from becoming musty and old.

Numbers Station is one of those films that will eventually find a home on broadcast television, where it will play regularly as the weekend movie before regulated to those new extra digital channels that run old 70’s and 80’s movies. It does the job, and little else.

Ratings: five of ten brussel sprouts

Medication: 30 mg oxyxcodone, 300 mg gabapentin

Pain Level: 5

TO WATCH THE NUMBERS STATION ON NETFLIX, CLICK HERE