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THE GOOD LIAR (2019)
Oh what a tangled web we weave….
Bill Condon’s The Good Liar is a showcase for veterans Helen Mirren & Ian McKellen.
I’m not going to spoil anything for those who haven’t seen it, but it is ICY COLD…HAHA Brrrr!!!
All I’ll say is McKellen plays Roy, a career con man, and his mark is Helen.
Great movie.
SCHINDLER’S LIST (1993)
I hadn’t seen this in over 25 years, and it was a stark reminder of how inhuman the Nazis were.
The Warsaw ghetto, work camps, forcing Jews out of their homes and to wear the Star of David, taking their valuables and property, sniping Jews…. the injustices are plenty.
Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley and Ralph Fiennes are very effective here.
The camerawork is stunning- vivid black and white that looks amazing on blu-ray.
It’s an uncomfortable movie, but an important one.
BLADE RUNNER (1982)
I'm happy that I saw The Final Cut, the only version Ridley Scott had creative control over.
It's visionary no doubt, but it's also slow and odd.
I didn't know what to make of this as I watched it.
One thing's for sure: it was ahead of it's time. The visuals are amazing and should be applauded.
Based on a Philip K. Dick novel, it tells of a weary cop and his tracking down of "Replicants".
Quality sci-fi.
I was also very happy to see Kubrick alum Joe Turkel in a small role.
The music by Vangelis was also tremendously atmospheric.
ADRIFT (2018)
This is a powerful story of survival, set in 1983.
Tami (Shailene Woodley) is a young free spirit who travels around on boats doing odd jobs.
She lands in Tahiti and meets Richard, a handsome British sailor with his own boat.
They develop feelings for one another, and when Richard gets offered a job to sail a yacht to San Diego he agrees, if they pay for return airfare to Tahiti for Tami too.
The trip goes well until they enter a hurricane, flipping the boat and causing flooding.
Richard is also lost in the ocean, which sets up an interesting part of the movie where Tami rescues him...or did she dream it?
Great acting from two unknowns, beautiful camerawork means two thumbs up.
This was a true story- Tami survived at sea for 41 days until rescued.
DRIVE (2011)
Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, this is a pretty good action/heist film.
Be warned tho: there are scenes of graphic violence, with one in particular in an elevator being notorious.
Ryan Gosling plays a hollywood stunt driver who also does work driving for the criminal underbelly of L.A.
Bryan Cranston is his only ally.
He's attracted to his neighbor (Carey Mulligan), and he helps out her newly released from jail boyfriend. He owes protection money, and they set out to rob a pawn shop.
Things get botched, and the movie takes a wild turn.
Good performances, a nice car chase in the middle and interesting support from Ron Perlman and Albert Brooks as gangsters.
YESTERDAY (2019)
Himesh Patel stars as Jack Malick, a musician who wakes up one day in an alternate reality, one where The Beatles never existed. He proceeds to re-introduce the songs as his own.
I didn't like this movie. I don't like Danny Boyle films. Patel is unappealing, and I didn't like the idea of pilfering the Beatles' legacy, even if they supposedly don't exist.
The songs are performed ok, I just can't stand the premise. This is labelled as a rom-com but I felt it was neither. The Beatles deserve better. These aren't just "some songs"...these are some of the best songs ever written!
THE APPALOOSA |(2008)
This is the Ed Harris directed western, not the original with Marlon Brando.
An entertaining/engaging western, I enjoyed The Appaloosa.
Ed Harris stars as Virgil Cole, recently appointed Marshal.
Viggo Mortenson is Everett Hitch, his deputy.
Renee Zellweger plays Allie French, the love interest of Cole.
Jeremy Irons is the villain of the piece, as Randall Bragg, in custody for murder.
Allie has trouble being loyal to her man, the city is under threat because of the arrest of Bragg and Cole's methods for keeping the peace don't help matters.
Recommended.
THE BATMAN (2021)
Matt Reeves made a disappointing Batman movie.
I’m sick and tired of the “motorcycle suit” Batman.
He’s supposed to be so physically tough that he doesn’t need body armour.
I couldn’t care less about both The Riddler and Robert Pattinson’s Batman.
One was a shrill freak in a green gimp suit and the other was a brooding wooden Dracula.
The things I liked were Penguin, Catwoman and Gordon. The Batmobile was nice too.
But everything else was just sour boring window dressing.
The ending was hopeful, so we’ll see what the sequel brings.
THIS IS WHERE I LEAVE YOU (2014)
When their father dies, 4 adult children move back into their mother’s (Jane Fonda) house for a week.
Family dysfunction takes over.
This is a comedy and there are laughs, but I felt they were trying too hard to get us to feel for the characters.
Starring Jason Bateman, Tina Fey and Adam Driver, this was a one time watch.
ALL EYEZ ON ME (2017)
This is a fantastic biopic directed by the aptly named Benny Boom.
We get the sum total overview of Tupac Shakur’s short but brilliant life.
He’s played by Demetrius Shipp, and it’s a great performance.
The music is super-cool. Hearing those songs again took me back to the mid-90’s.
Highly recommended.
We get his youth, legal troubles/ jail time, early career with the Digital Underground, superstardom, acting career, hanging with his peers Notorious B.I.G., Snoop Dogg & Dr. Dre, his time at Death Row records and his untimely death.
TO THE WONDER (2013)
I loved this film, as I love all of Terence Malick’s films.
However if you’re looking for a plot…. You’re out of luck.
Gorgeous imagery/cinematography should keep your peepers locked onscreen.
Ben Affleck stars.
The narrative moves from Paris to Oklahoma, involving Ben’s relations with two women.
This was the last movie Roger Ebert ever reviewed, giving it 3 and a half stars out of 4.
THE LAST RIDE (2011)
Harry Thomason directs Henry Thomas as Hank Williams, in this weak film.
Hank gets driven to his final performances, and he’s a drunken lout!
The whole movie is just him being chauffeured around, from town to town, as a drunk obnoxious git.
There are no original recordings of Hank’s here either- they’re all modern covers.
Big disappointing “tribute” to a true Legend.
ARGO (2012)
Ben Affleck directs this Best Picture Oscar winner, which is very good.
The American Embassy in Tehran, Iran is attacked by Islamists on Nov. 4th, 1979.
Six manage to get out, but 66 staffers are taken hostage.
Enter Mendez (Affleck), a CIA man specializing in rescues.
He concocts a plan whereby the six pretend to be a Canadian film crew, making a sci-fi film called ARGO.
Great film. Tense, nice re-enactments, great acting from Bryan Cranston and John Goodman.
Yes, ARGO was very popular at the time. I was glad for Affleck to have a triumph. But there was debate about the factuality aspects of this "true story" and complications in the falsified last 20 minutes, and the degree of credit and/or responsibility of Canada vs. the CIA. Here is the end of a page-long article, "The Canadian-Less Caper: The Controversy Surrounding Oscar-winning film Argo" (date? current?):See the whole page for the details. In my 2012 review, I admitted to being surprised this was such a huge hit with the critics and to finding aspects of it a bit too "ultra-square" for me. I also pointed out it would play less well in Canada ("but not as badly as it will play in Iran").Quote:
"Affleck’s Oscar-winning film has played directly into perpetual English-Canadian insecurities about the country’s relationship with the US and about its lack of a clear and distinctive identity. These perpetual demons in the psyche of English-speaking Canadians means that Argo will not be preferred viewing for years to come."
I felt that Canada was heroic enough in Argo, that we weren’t lacking in praise for helping in the clutch.
This is a movie and it won’t be 100% accurate anyway.
I was entertained. Affleck didn’t reinvent the wheel here.
But I suppose the Iranians being painted as villains would rankle…..