15 | February | 2020 | Movie Reviews 101

Director: Jesse Peretz

Writer: Evgenia Peretz, Jim Taylor, Tamara Jenkins (Screenplay) Nick Hornby (Novel)

Starring: Chris O’Dowd, Rose Byrne, Ethan Hawke, Phil Davis, Lily Brazier, Denise Gough, Ayoola Smart

Plot: Juliet, Naked is the story of Annie (the long-suffering girlfriend of Duncan) and her unlikely transatlantic romance with once revered, now faded, singer-songwriter, Tucker Crowe, who also happens to be the subject of Duncan’s musical obsession.

Tagline – What if you met the man of your man’s dreams?

Runtime: 1 Hour 37 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Charming & Delightful

Story: Juliet, Naked starts as we meet Annie Platt (Byrne) who had to give up her dreams to take over her family business of running the local museum, she is living with long-term boyfriend Duncan (O’Dowd) who is a teacher and has an obsession with musician Tucker Crowe, even running a fan site in his name. when Duncan receives a new unreleased album, Annie comments on his website, which sees her getting an email from Tucker (Hawke) himself.

When Tucker and Annie become long-term pen pals, Annie starts having telling new stories unlike before, just as Duncan starts becoming even more distant from her, putting her in a difficult position of being involved in a friendship with her partners idol.

Thoughts on Juliet, Naked

Characters – Annie Platt did study art history, but gave that up to take over the family business of running a small-town museum on a seaside town, she is dealing with her partner’s obsession with Tucker Crowe until she gets an email from Tucker starting a new friendship, giving her a chance to give up what she sees as a lonely life. Tucker Crowe is a one-hit wonder that has gathered a small cult like following, he has gone off the radar for years and emails Annie after her comment on a board about his album, he starts a friendship with Annie, while dealing with his past which sees him have children with different women and is facing the reality of becoming a grandfather soon. Duncan is Annie’s boyfriend, he is a teacher by day and by night he leads the Tucker Crowe fan club online, idolising him, his obsession with Tucker does make him distant from Annie at times. He does end up leaving Annie and ends up becoming instantly jealous of Annie’s new friendship with Tucker.

Performances – Rose Byrne is a delight to watch in this film, we see her bring to life this character in ways that make us understand her position in life. Ethan Hawke will always be great in roles which see him playing somebody who has been struggling with life choices, he knows how to make this character his own. Chris O’Dowd is great too completing the main cast with his ability to nail the comedy moments.

Story – The story does follow a couple that are torn apart after one’s affair, leading to the other to start a relationship with his idol, opening her eyes to the bigger world out there. This is a story that is about how to find love in people and in life, figuring out what would be best for you and not letting everyone else in your life controlling you. We do get ideas of how difficult it could be to meet your idol and what would happen if you ex started hanging out with that idol too. We see how life can become easy to pass you by and how important it can be to make up for your own mistakes and spend the future making things right.

Comedy – The comedy in the film plays into the drama of everything going on, most of the laughs will come from Duncan’s obsession with Tucker.

Settings – The film shows us the settings by use the quiet seaside town, where life can be safe and how the big city could be an escape you could on dream of having, or stay away from out of fear.

Scene of the Movie – Dinner scene.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – The sister character seems to be here just for laughs, not for plot.

Final Thoughts – This is a delightful comedy that will get laughs and will reflect the reality of how difficult life can be.

Overall: Sweet comedy drama.

This is under O because of star Olivia Wilde.

Director: Clint Eastwood

Writer: Billy Ray (Screenplay) Marie Brenner (Magazine Article)

Starring: Paul Walter Hauser, Sam Rockwell, Olivia Wilde, Kathy Bates, Jon Hamm

Plot: American security guard Richard Jewell saves thousands of lives from an exploding bomb at the 1996 Olympics, but is vilified by journalists and the press who falsely reported that he was a terrorist.

Tagline – The world will know his name and the truth.

Runtime: 2 Hours 11 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Shocking Trial by Media

Story: Richard Jewell starts as we meet Richard Jewell (Hauser) a man that has always wanted to work in law enforcement, starting in a mailroom where he meets lawyer Watson Bryant (Rockwell) before moving into security just in time for the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, while on duty he discovers a suspicious package, which turns out to be a bomb, saving thousands of lives.

With no idea who left the bomb, FBI agent Tom Shaw (Hamm) is leading the case, which starts to look into Richard, while ambitious ruthless reporter Kathy Scruggs (Wilde) is looking to get the story first, Richard turns to Watson to help him prove that he is innocent after the press turns on him.

Thoughts on Richard Jewell

Characters – Richard Jewell is a man that has always dreamed of working in law enforcement, he will always follow the law even too close to the line, never over it. He might rub people the wrong way, with his honest persona, which Watson is the only way to see through. He is always wary on his duty as a security guard, which is why he discovered the bomb, saving people, he wants to clear his name because he knows he hasn’t don’t anything wrong. Watson Bryant is the lawyer that represents Richard after the two have had friendship in a previous job. He sees that Richard is bring framed by a media trial and will do everything in his power to defend him. Tom Shaw is leading the investigation, he also leaks the idea they are looking at Richard, which puts his job on the line, with him needing to find the suspect fast. Kathy Scruggs is the reporter that is always looking for a juicier story, she gets the story about Richard out there being the one that leads the goose chase. Bobi is Richard’s mother that has raised him well, honest and to work hard, she is left distraught by the stories about him knowing just how honest he is to the world.

Performances – Paul Walter Hauser is brilliant in this leading role, showing the calm the man shows despite the pressure thrown on his character. Sam Rockwell once again shows us to be a wonderful supporting actor, while Jon Hamm and Olivia Wilde are strong throughout, Kathy Bates is fantastic too showing all the added stress and trauma placed on her character.

Story – The story here shows the security guard that saves thousands of lives from a bombing that the media decides to turn into the prime suspect despite his innocence, where he needs to prove his own innocence before the case just gets framed onto him. This story is based on the real events, which saw thousands saved from certain death, only shows how the panic to solve the case saw one person accused of being guilty of the crime, even though he saved them. It shows how the media has become judge and jury at times, which can be more damaging than the crime itself. This does highlight just how sudden somebody can be turned from hero to villain, though it would have been interesting to see and learn a little bit more about the full investigation.

Biopic/Crime – This film uses the real event to show Richard Jewell’s life just before and just after the bombing, showing us how the crime was focused on the wrong person, sadly, we don’t spend enough time trying to solve the crime.

Settings – The film uses a few main settings, the bombing locations, which is the horrors of the events, the home which shows us the loss of privacy the Jewell family received and the offices where questioning takes place.

Scene of the Movie – The private hearing.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Not looking at solving the crime.

Final Thoughts –This is a fascinating drama that showed us the shocking story of trial by media of an innocent man with impressive performances throughout.

Overall: Fascinating.