Tag Archives: 2013

Jun 28 2020

Tobey Maguire Weekend – Labor Day (2013) Movie Review

Director: Jason Reitman

Writer: Jason Reitman (Screenplay) Joyce Maynard (Novel)

Starring: Kate Winslet, Josh Brolin, Gattlin Griffith, Tobey Maguire, Tom Lipinski, Maika Monroe, Clark Gregg, James Van Der Beek

Plot: Depressed single mom Adele and her son Henry offer a wounded, fearsome man a ride. As police search town for the escaped convict, the mother and son gradually learn his true story as their options become increasingly limited.

Runtime: 1 Hour 51 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Lifeless

Story: Labour Day starts when single mother Adele (Winslet) who has become depressed hiding from the world with her son Henry (Griffith) who is used to her routine, on the latest trip to the store, the pair meet Frank (Brolin) an escaped criminal looking for somewhere to hide out.

Instead of continuing his escape plan, Frank ends up staying with two, as she starts to show Adele a good time, showing he is a nice guy, only the known murder charge left on his head, is only putting a toll on the relationship between Adele and Henry.

Thoughts on Labour Day

Characters – Adele is the depressed single mother that has seen her husband leave and start a new life, leaving her with their only son, she doesn’t like to leave the house and when she does, she will follow a strict routine, until Frank starts to show her something different in life. Frank is a criminal who escaped from prison while receiving medical treatment, he uses Adele and Henry to hide out, where he shows himself to be a nice person capable of being part of a family, giving Adele hope she never imagined. Henry is the teenage boy that has been helping his mother through her struggles, he does spend one day a week with his father and now he is starting to find himself in a position where he might be getting replaced by Frank, leading him to feel insecure about his own future with his mum.

Performances – A film that has Kate Winslet in the leading role should be elevated, while her performance does this, she can’t save the film, neither can Josh Brolin who fails to make the big impact required. Gattlin Griffith does well for the youngster next to the big names, being the most interesting of the characters in the film.

Story – The story here follows a depressed single mother that takes in a convict on the run and the two start to fall in love, helping her get out of her slump in life. This story isn’t the most interesting with the idea being that two people from different worlds could make each other happy even though we can see how many problems them being together could have with them being together. The story is told from a grown up son’s point of view, which shows how at the time he doesn’t understand everything, but now he understands everything that is going on.

Romance – The romance side of the film shows the two falling in love slowly despite being in different stages of life.

Settings – The film is mostly set in the family home, with Frank being unable to be seen outside of the house, this keeps everything together for what is going on without needing the usual over the top romantic gestures.


Scene of the Movie – Cooking.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Pacing.

Final Thoughts – This is a dull romantic drama that even with a-list stars, just doesn’t save this from being enjoyable.

Overall: Dull throughout.

Apr 15 2020

ABC Film Challenge – Action – O – Olympus Has Fallen (2013) Movie Review

Director: Antoine Fuqua

Writer: Creighton Rothenberger, Katrin Benedikt (Screenplay)

Starring: Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, Rick Yune, Morgan Freeman, Angela Bassett, Dylan McDermott, Melissa Leo, Radha Mitchell

Plot: Disgraced Secret Service agent (and former presidential guard) Mike Banning finds himself trapped inside the White House in the wake of a terrorist attack; using his inside knowledge, Banning works with national security to rescue the President from his kidnappers.


Tagline – When our flag falls our nation will rise. 

Runtime: 1 Hour 59 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Action-Packed Thriller

Story: Olympus Has Fallen starts after disgraced secret service agent Mike Banning (Butler) has found an office job near the White House after failing to save President Benjamin Asher’s (Eckhart) wife after an accident. With the President holding talks with the South Korean Prime Minister, Washington comes under attack with the President finding safety is the bunker, only to learn known terrorist Kang (Yune) has been planning this attack for a long time.

Mike Banning finds his way into a battered White House to help save the President’s son first before looking to rescue the President with his only communication being from the current leaders of the country, can he save the day from this ruthless terrorist.

Thoughts on Olympus Has Fallen

Characters – Mike Banning was once the President’s closest friend in the secret service, the one his trust, he lost this trust after an accident sees Mike choosing to save the President over his wife (even though that is his job). He is left disgraced, but always ready to protect his country and his president, which he will have to do today, showing off all of his military training to take on the full army of enemies stood in his way. Mike is clearly designed to be like John McClane too, with how he goes about dealing with the enemies. President Benjamin Asher is a much-loved President, he is looking to help South Korea with the problem they are facing from the North only to find himself held captive, he doesn’t want to see his team injured or killed, forcing them to help give away the codes Kang wants, trying to prove America won’t negotiate with terrorists. Kang is the terrorist that has been known to the world by name, never face, until today, he takes over the White House with his men and wants the President to help him withdraw forces in the oceans around South Korea, he isn’t afraid to kill people to get what he wants and will make the President watch too. Speaker Trumbull takes control of the country with the President and Vice-President held captive, he must help make the difficult decisions which could see people killed.

Performances – Gerard Butler is intense as the action hero, we know he is always going to be strong in these type of films and here is no different. Aaron Eckhart as the president is always going to be a good choice because he does have a calming presence which we saw in places during The Dark Knight. Rick Yune as the villain is strong showing his cold side through the film, while Morgan Freeman does lead a strong cast through the table of power.

Story – The story here follows a disgraced secret service agent that will get the chance to redeem his name after the President is taken hostage in the White House by a terrorist. This is a pure action film, it does everything that we saw in the likes of Die Hard, with one man needing to do everything he can to save the hostage, which just so happens to be the President. We don’t get many twists or turns along the way, with everything just being what we need to keep us guessing to what will happen next, because we know Mike isn’t going to be losing along the way. The side of the story which does shine, comes from just how deadly the terrorists are by how many people they are willing to kill.

Action – The action in the film does include large scale destruction with bodies flying everywhere, we do calm this down with a much more scaled down approach within the walls, but this is still showing us how good Butler is at action.

Settings – The film is set in the White House, one of the safest places and hardest to break into, this does help show how dangerous this situation has become because the people being held hostage have the power to destroy the world.

Special Effects – When it comes to the special effects, this could well be the weakest part of the film because we see a clearly CGI attack happening from the outset, which looks like it has dated badly.


Scene of the Movie – The attack might well have CGI issues, but the scale is brilliant.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Seems too easy to pull off.

Final Thoughts – This is a pure fun action movie that easily knows what it is, with it being action packed fun, it is one man verses an army which is all we need at times.

Overall: Big action spectacle.

Mar 3 2020

ABC Film Challenge – Favourite Films – C – The Conjuring (2013)

ABC Film Challenge

Favourite Films

C

The Conjuring

Why I’ve Picked this choice – The Conjuring was the first instalment of the Warren movies, showing the story of the paranormal investigators that solves cases from all over the world, with the most famous being the Annabelle doll, we only get a fleeting visit to how the couple get the doll itself, with the story having focus elsewhere. The Warren’s are asked to help with a new case about a farmhouse with a new family moved in, that soon start getting haunting events. Where the haunting start tame and become more dangerous as the film unfolds. While the Warren’s are always dealing with the ideas of how the media report about them and their work. We do have some excellent scare moments, showing James Wan is easily one of the best horror directors in the business. The hand clapping the light out and the demon in the hand mirror are two of the great moments in the film.