Category: Movie Review

This is my entry for the Robin Williams Blogathon, you can find more entries here

Director: Steven Spielberg

Writer: Liz Hannah, Josh Singer (Screenplay)

Starring: Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Sarah Paulson, Bob Odenkirk, Tracy Letts, Bradley Whitford, Bruce Greenwood, Matthew Rhys, Alison Brie

 

Plot: A cover-up that spanned four U.S. Presidents pushed the country’s first female newspaper publisher and a hard-driving editor to join an unprecedented battle between the press and the government.

Runtime: 1 Hour 56 Minutes

 

There may be spoilers the rest of the review

 

Verdict: Great Historical Thriller

 

Story: The Post starts as we learn how the Presidents have been involved in Vietnam war, either trying to control the country or sending troops there. With one man Daniel Ellberg (Rhys) taking the top secret pages to expose the truth. When the New York Times start publishing these secrets the President starts to panic.

In Washington the Post owner Kay Graham (Streep) is about to turn her paper over to the stock exchange, her editor Ben Bradlee (Hanks) is always up for taking a risk and when he learns of the papers he will stop at nothing to get the story to the people even if the government halts the publishing of the story.

 

Thoughts on The Post

 

Characters – Kay Graham inherits the role of owner of the paper, she takes over after her husband’s death with her position being questioned by the male board as she tries to turn the paper public as the biggest story unfolds. This is a perfect example of a person needing to take a role they are not prepared for. Ben Bradlee is the editor of the Post, he will push to get any story out believing the press should be able to report a story. He was also friends with the Kennedy’s putting him the elite of society. We do meet plenty of other members of the paper and the families of the people involved.

Performances – Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks in the leading roles, do we need to talk about the performances anymore, we know they are two of the greatest actors in history and they show us just how good they are. The rest of the cast are fantastic too showing that Spielberg can get performances out of any actor.

Story – The story follows the days before the Watergate scandal which shock America to its knees when it came learning the truth about Vietnam. We focus on just one paper as they were deciding if they should expose the truth which could find them going to jail. We get to see the balance between which is the right or the wrong side of the story which makes this a captivating story to see unfold.

Biopic/History/Thriller – The people we follow took a massive risk to expose the truth because they new it was the right thing to do as they helped show a moment of history which people will never forget. We are kept on edge of our seat as we see how the story could bring down parts of American history.

Settings – The film does use the settings well making us feel like we are in the time the movie takes place, we see the different classes involved in the story.

Scene of the Movie – Deciding whether to publish is not.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Moments of the camerawork feel unnecessarily shaky.

Final Thoughts – This is a brilliant thriller that helps expose the biggest scandal that hit America and how the press were trying to find a way to expose the truth.

 

Overall: Thriller that brings us in to a biggest secret.

Rating

 

 

 

2017 Award

Best Actor in Leading Role

January is here and that means award season and for the whole of January I will be looking at a range of best and worst subjects,

NOMINATIONS

James McAvoy – Split

Hugh Jackman – Logan

Daniel Kayuula – Get Out

Chris Evans – Gifted

Bryan Cranston – Wakefield

Chris Hemsworth – Thor Ragnarok

Ben Stiller – Brad’s Status

Andy Serkis – War for the Planet of the Apes

Kumail Nanjiana – The Big Sick

Jeremy Renner – Wind River

Kyle Mooney – Brigsby Bear

Jacob Tremblay – Wonder

 

 

Winner

James McAvoy – Split

Reason – James takes on 24 personalities in this film and he doesn’t shy away from the extremes of each personality. This shows his full range and in some scenes, we see the range between sentences not just cuts of the camera. This is one of those horror performances that should get looked at as a great, wonderful or fantastic acting performance.

 

Director: David Fincher

Writer: Andrew Kevin Walker (Screenplay)

Starring: Morgan Freeman, Kevin Spacey, Brad Pitt, Gwyneth Paltrow, John Cassini

 

Plot: Two detectives, a rookie and a veteran, hunt a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as his motives.

Tagline –  Earnest Hemingway once wrote, “The world is a fine place and worth fighting for.” I believe the second part.

Runtime: 2 Hours 7 Minutes

 

There may be spoilers the rest of the review

 

Verdict: One of the Best Dark Crime Thrillers

 

Story: Seven starts as Detective Mills (Pitt) a cocky young detective joins seasoned veteran Detective Somerset (Freeman) who is on the verge of retirement to teach Mills the ropes in the new city. While the two don’t hit it off because of the clash of backgrounds Somerset doesn’t want anything to do with the latest murder but when Mills take over the case upon the second body, Somerset agrees to assist Mills in the cracking the case.

When the case turns into a hunt for a serial killer who is picking his victims to represent the seven deadly sins, the pair know there are going to have more victims but must race to stop this killer before the victim count gets too high.

 

Thoughts on Seven

 

Characters – Somerset is the veteran detective one week from retirement, who must take short tempered detective under his wing for the final week. Somerset has an old school style along with a gentle tone though the crimes. Mills is the short-tempered detective that moves into the new city and must learn the way of the police there, he is happy to break a few laws to get the correct answer when investigating a crime which goes against everything Somerset stands for. Tracy is the wife of Mills, who is also new to the town, she hasn’t found a job and is finding herself lonely with Mills on the job. John Doe is the man behind the crimes, he is calculated in his every move who is almost mocking the detectives with his actions.

Performances – Morgan Freeman is excellent choice in the leading role because he sums up calm and gentle nature needed for the role, Brad Pitt steps up to the darker movie with ease because he gets to keep his cocky swagger for the role. Gwyneth Paltrow is good but doesn’t get the screen time we could have gotten from her character. Kevin Spacey is the secret star of this film because when he enters the story you are left to sit on the edge of your seat waiting to see what he does or says next.

Story – The story is a serial killer building up the number of bodies while two unlikely detectives must put aside their differences to stop the killer. The dark tone going on through the story shows how the killer’s motives are perfectly placed out and it is the detectives are the ones that need to think quickly to stop the next step. If you like a crime story that involves solving the case this will give you one of the best, but the lack of suspects might put people off in places.

Crime/Mystery/Thriller – The murders are graphic in how we see the effects of what has been done to the victim, the mystery comes from leaving us to wonder why the victims have been selected and we are left on the edge of our seats from the start to the finish of the film.

Settings – The city is never made clear which shows how the crimes could happen in any town, city, country if the believer is willing to follow through with his beliefs.

Scene of the Movie – Visiting the suspect.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Hard to find one.

Chances of Sequel: No

Post Credits Scene: No

Box Office: $100 Million (USA)

Budget: $33 Million

Final Thoughts – This is easily one of the greatest thrillers of all time, it is edge of your seat material from start until the end even on repeat viewings you will find yourself gripped.

 

Overall: Must watch crime thriller.

Rating

 

 

Director: Jay Silverman

Writer: Jennifer Goldson (Screenplay)

Starring: Santino Fontana, Dania Ramirez, Makenzie Moss, Maria Conchita Alonso, Jen Lilley, Kristen Dalton, Ian Reed Kesler

 

Plot: An unlikely heir to a Mexican fast-food franchise goes ‘cuisine’ hunting for the next culinary big thing, and finds himself in a small, dusty New Mexican town where foodies come from all over to salivate over the culinary treats of a local, authentic, and feisty female chef.

 

Runtime: 1 Hour 36 Minutes

 

There may be spoilers the rest of the review

 

Verdict: Dishes up a Delightful Story

 

Story: Off the Menu starts as the man child Joel Flanagan (Fontana) the heir to Mexican fast-food chain Tortilla Hunt must take responsibility for his life, by going into the field to search for new flavours for the chain. Joel finds himself stranded in a small New Mexican town with their own star chef Javiera Torres (Ramirez) whose dishes bring people from all over the state to try her speciality. As the two clash at first, they both start to learn more about life, business and food as the true meaning of Javiera’s art form is revealed.

 

Thoughts on Off the Menu

 

Characters – Joel is a man child, set to inherit his fortune from his family business, not taking responsibility for his action and reluctantly taking the journey to New Mexico in search of new flavours. He can easily push people the wrong way, which leaves him needing to build the bridges he can burn so quickly. Javiera Torres is a singer mother and feisty chef that runs her own café, it gets rave reviews because of her ability to bring out the best in her culinary skills which brings people from all over to try her speciality. She enjoys the art of cooking which has seen her hurt in love too often, this café keeps her happy and her love for food alive. The rest of the characters include the family and friends of Javiera and the business associates of Joel’s.

Performances – Santino Fontana is an actor I am unfamiliar with, he comes into the leading role and manages to make you feel the way you are about his character from the opening hatred for him to the support you will show him by the end of the film. Dania Ramirez has appeared in plenty of films in supporting roles, to see her step up into the leading role is great and just like Santino she works great, the two work wonderfully together on screen. The rest of the cast work well through the film too.

Story – The story follows in the footsteps of Chef and Burnt, using love of food to tell and story, this time a love story. We have the idea a member of a mega rich fast-food chain is sent to try and steal ideas from small independent food source have made their unique touch to bring to the masses, but a new respect and a moment to grow up gives our character a chance to do the right thing. This story brings us everything we need for this to unfold as we know without offering any fresh touches, but this isn’t a bad thing it hits all the markers needed to make this an enjoyable story to see.

Comedy/Romance – The comedy comes mostly from Joel’s reaction towards people, it comes off more light-hearted over full blown comedy too, the romance is what you have come to expect, it works and is believable throughout.

Settings – The film uses the settings show the two different worlds Joel and Javiera come from and what is a real home to these two people.

Scene of the Movie – Drunk cooking challenge.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Businesses acting like the way they do.

Final Thoughts – This is a delightful rom com that brings the love of food into the mix, we have great performances, a simple idea that works so well and the cooking ideas will leave you wanting dinner, (so bring out a cooking book to go with the film).

 

Overall: Enjoyable from start to finish.

Rating

 

 

 

2017 Award

Worst Actor

January is here and that means award season and for the whole of January I will be looking at a range of best and worst subjects,

Winner

Theo James – Underworld: Blood Wars

Reason – This performance continues to show how he has little talent in a leading roles and needs to stop being dull, emotionless leading actors.

 

Director: David Fincher

Writer: James Vanderbilt (Screenplay) Robert Graysmith (Book)

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr, Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Edwards, Brian Cox, John Carroll Lynch

 

Plot: In the late 1960s/early 1970s, a San Francisco cartoonist becomes an amateur detective obsessed with tracking down the Zodiac Killer, an unidentified individual who terrorizes Northern California with a killing spree.

Tagline – There’s more than one way to lose your life to a killer

Runtime: 2 Hours 37 Minutes

 

There may be spoilers the rest of the review

 

Verdict: Great But Too Long of a Thriller

 

Story: Zodiac starts as the infamous Zodiac killer strikes in San Francisco before demanding his code be printed in the newspaper, the Chronicle, where Paul Avery (Downey Jr) is getting the letters and works with cartoonist Robert Graysmith (Gyllenhaal) who has a knack for cracking codes. As the body count continues to grow Inspector David Toschi (Ruffalo) and Inspector William Armstrong (Edwards) investigate the crimes as the people of San Francisco start to panic throughout the spree.

With time passing by Avery uses the press the play with the Zodiac, making David’s job difficult as it draws out all the people who want to be known as the Zodiac, while Robert becomes obsessed with cracking the codes being left in letters and solving the case.

 

Thoughts on Zodiac

 

Characters – When looking at the characters you must remember these are based on real people, Robert Graysmith is a cartoonist working for the Chronicle newspaper that becomes obsessed with cracking the Zodiac codes while working with writer Paul Avery. Paul Avery is the writer at the Chronicle that is receiving the letters from the Zodiac killer, he is willing to take a risk to get the story and potentially making himself famous. Inspector David Toschi is the lead investigator working on the Zodiac case, he must overcome derestriction nightmares while tracking any clues, suspects or letters that come his way.

Performances – Jake Gyllenhaal is brilliant in this leading role showing how a man out of his field can become a conspiracy driven man. Mark Ruffalo shows here that he will always be a shining light in an ensembled cast. Robert Downey Jr was always skilled enough to be a great character actor and this one started to show he could return to the top of the industry. The supporting cast through the film are also great with their roles.

Story – The mystery of the Zodiac killer is one of the most famous unsolved serial killings in history. Most of the film follows Robert’s spiral into conspiracy theorist that is searching for the Zodiac killer, which does work and become the most interesting part of the film. the problem I am facing looking at this movie is that the first half seems to mix who the main character is trying to solve the case while the enjoyable part is all Robert and of course we don’t know the complete truth on these murders either.

Crime/Mystery/Thriller – The crime is one of the most famous in modern history, one that is unsolved which does play into the mystery side to everything we are watching too.

Settings – The timelines we follow give us authentic settings for everything as the film does span over two decades.

Scene of the Movie – Robert’s face to face with a potential suspect.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – The film itself is too long.

Budget: $65 Million

Final Thoughts – This is an interesting look at one of the most interesting unsolved murder mysteries, it gives us a detailed look at three main men involved in investigating the crime all with different motives from different backgrounds.

 

Overall: Detailed but overly long look at the Zodiac case.

Rating