Tag: 2016

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Movie Review

The Perfect Match (2016) Movie Review

The Perfect Match – ABC Film Challenge – 2010s Movies – P – The Perfect Match – Movie Review

Perfect Match

Director: Bille Woodruff

Writer: Brandon Broussard, Gary Hardwick, Dana Verde (Screenplay)

Cast

Plot: A playboy named Charlie, convinced that all his relationships are dead, meets the beautiful and mysterious Eva. Agreeing to a casual affair, Charlie then wants a bit more from their relationship.

Runtime: 1 Hour 36 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: The Perfect Match starts as playboy Charlie (Jenkins) shows off his womanising ways. His best friends Rick (Faison) and Victor (Riley) constantly listen to his stories and his sister Sherry (Patton) questions why he can’t settle down.

When Charlie meets the mysterious Eva (Ventura), his vision of relationships starts to change. Charlie is left to wonder if he is ready for a relationship with a woman that openly says she wants to have fun.

Verdict on The Perfect Match

The Perfect Match is a romantic comedy that follows a playboy that finds love in an unlikely place. Only not everything is as smooth as he had hoped, and he sees his life turned upside down.

When it comes to romantic comedies about a playboy discovering more about life. This does everything it needs to, as for the story side of things. It gives a life lesson to the main character while having fun supporting characters along the way. This tackles problem that people can have in love, from the search and how they act. The performances are strong as the whole cast shows excellent chemistry throughout the movie.

Final Thoughts – The Perfect Match is an easy to watch fun romantic comedy.

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Movie Review

American Wrestler: The Wizard (2016) Movie Review

American Wrestler: The Wizard – ABC Film Challenge – 2010’s Movies – A – American Wrestler: The Wizard – Movie Review

American Wrestler

Director: Alex Ranarivelo

Writer: Ali Afshar, Brian Rudnick (Screenplay)

Cast

  • George Thomas (American Fighter)
  • William Fichtner (Armageddon)
  • Ali Afshar (Born Champion)
  • Lia Marie Johnson (Murder at Yellowstone City)
  • Jon Voight (Midnight Cowboy)

Plot: In 1980, a teenage boy escapes the unrest in Iran only to face more hostility in America, due to the hostage crisis. Determined to fit in, he joins the school’s floundering wrestling team.

Runtime: 1 Hour 57 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: American Wrestler: The Wizard starts when Ali Jahani (Thomas) escapes from Iran to join his family in America. Ali struggles to fit in high school until he starts to prove himself in the wrestling circle. He steps up to take on the best member of the team.

This sees Ali get noticed by Coach Plyler (Fichtner) who gives him a chance on the team. Ali must learn the self-discipline to be part of the team while honouring his family’s beliefs. All this is as he starts to enjoy the American experience, despite people still looking down on him.

Verdict on American Wrestler: The Wizard

American Wrestler: The Wizard is a sports drama that brings an Iranian refuge to America in the 1980s. It sees him needing to deal with the tension between the two nations, despite being a teenager just trying to grow up. He must earn the respect of the other students by becoming a member of the wrestling team.

Taking on the world a sports drama, we know how most of them go. Is it real life, like this one, or a made-up one? It targets an underdog who must overcome different hardships to make it in the sport, even only at the high school level. This is based on Ali Afshar’s experiences who also plays the Uncle and producer of the movie.

The story is wholesome and the performances are solid throughout, making this an easy-to-watch sports drama.

Final Thoughts – American Wrestler: The Wizard is an enjoyable by-the-books sports drama.

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Movie Review

Chronically Metropolitan (2016) Movie Review

Chronically Metropolitan – ABC Film Challenge – Comedy – X – Xavier Manrique’s Chronically Metropolitan – Movie Review

Chronically Metropolitan

Director: Xavier Manrique

Writer: Nicholas Schutt (Screenplay)

Cast

  • Shiloh Fernandez (Evil Dead)
  • Chris North (Sex and the City)
  • Addison Timlin (Odd Thomas)
  • Mary-Louise Parker (RED)
  • Josh Peck (Mean Creek)

Plot: A cynical and clever coming-of-age film about first-time novelist Fenton Dillane, who returns to New York City unannounced to confront his family, his ex-girlfriend, and a few lingering childhood fears.

Runtime: 1 Hour 30 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Chronically Metropolitan starts as first-time novelist Fenton (Fernandez) returns to his family home. He wants to get advice from his estranged father Christopher (North) while making up with his family after his sudden departure.

As Fenton learns that his parents have been splitting up because of the accident Christopher had while cheating on his wife. Outside of Fenton’s journey, his sister Layla (Timlin) starts to grow up faster than Fenton was ready for, missing his friends he wouldn’t want her around.

Verdict on Chronically Metropolitan

Chronically Metropolitan is a comedy-drama that shows how a family is starting to fall apart and change, as one member returns after running away. It shows that the family is all flawed and has their own problems going on in life and sometimes they need fixing.

The bulk of the story ends up focusing on the writer returning back home seeing everything he left behind and regretting it. everything does end up coming off like they deserve another chance with whom they walked away. It never puts focus on enough of the new lives people had moved on to without them around.

Final Thoughts – Chronically Metropolitan is a directionless story about wanting people to forgive you.

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Movie Review

Rules Don’t Apply (2016) Movie Review

Rules Don't Apply

Director: Warren Beatty

Writer: Warren Beatty (Screenplay) Bo Goldman (Story)

Starring: Warren Beatty, Lily Collins, Alden Ehrenreich, Taissa Farmiga, Haley Bennett, Paul Sorvino, Matthew Broderick, Annette Bening, Ed Harris

Plot: The unconventional love story of an aspiring actress, her ambitious driver, and their eccentric boss, the legendary billionaire Howard Hughes.

Runtime: 2 Hours 7 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Rules Don’t Apply starts by following an ambitious driver Frank Forbes (Ehrenreich) who wants to get close to eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes (Beatty). To discussion a development opportunity. Howard Hughes has been stocking up his movie studio with many beautiful young women. With his latest being Marla Mabrey (Collins) who is fresh to the big city, being shown around by Frank.

As Frank and Marla start getting close, breaking Howard’s rule, Howard continues to battle his own desires to conquer the skies, while others want to bring him down.

Thoughts on Rules Don’t Apply

Thoughts – Rules Don’t Apply is a drama about Hollywood’s yesteryear. Getting to focus on how Howard Hughes ran his movie studio and kept beautiful women around him to keep the appeal of the studio going. There is a romance story going on here between a driver and aspiring actress, each with a connection to Howard Hughes. This isn’t the most interesting movie, as none of the major factors get enough time to shine, leaving us feeling flat with each side story. Which will leave things feeling missing. The performances in the film are fine, everything does fit their characters well without going down the road of being breath taking when it could come to seeing the people they are playing.

Final Thoughts – Rules Don’t Apply is a Hollywood stardom based movie that lacks direction.

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Movie Review

Masterminds (2016) Movie Review

Masterminds – ABC Film Challenge – Comedy – M – Masterminds – Movie Review

Masterminds

Director: Jared Hess

Writer: Chris Bowman, Hubbel Palmer, Emily Spivey (Screenplay)

Cast

Plot: A guard at an armored car company in the Southern U.S. organizes one of the biggest bank heists in American history. Based on the October 1997 Loomis Fargo robbery.

Runtime: 1 Hour 35 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Masterminds starts when armoured car company driver David (Galifianakis) is starting to get tired of his everyday routine. His former partner Kelly (Wiig) offers him a chance to rob his work, along with Kelly’s friends Steve (Wilson) a petty thief.

As David agrees, he prepares for the operation he finds himself becoming the pawn in the bigger game. After the job is complete, it isn’t the end of everything David has been through.

Verdict on Masterminds

Masterminds is a biographical crime comedy that follows a career criminal that seduces an armoured car driver to do a massive heist from his work. It follows the different lives that come together to make things happen, as the two criminal sides are highlighted.

This is shown to be a story that is negative, with how the characters come together, playing into the fact they aren’t the smartest. It shows how easily it gets completed and how things can spiral out of control. The performances play into the comedic actor’s strength, even if the comedy doesn’t always hit home.

Final Thoughts – Masterminds is a slow-moving comedy heist that doesn’t click as well as it should.

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Movie Review

A Hologram for the King (2016) Movie Review

ABC Film Challenge – Comedy – A – A Hologram for the King – Movie Review

A Hologram for the King

Director: Tom Tykwer (Cloud Atlas)

Writer: Tom Tykwer (Screenplay)

Writer: Dave Eggers (Novel)

Cast

Plot: A failed American sales rep looks to recoup his losses by travelling to Saudi Arabia and selling his company’s product to a wealthy monarch.

Runtime: 1 Hour 38 Minutes 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: A Hologram for the King starts as failed American sales rep Alan (Hanks) looks to redeem his career. He heads to Saudi Arabia in an attempt to sell a product to a wealthy monarch. As he arrives, he learns the king hasn’t been to the location for years.

Alan starts to wonder what the point of his visit is and misses his family back home. The only friend he makes is driver Yousef (Elba) that offers to show him around the town. Alan soon starts to learn more about the country and culture to understand what he is doing there.

Verdict on A Hologram for the King

A Hologram for the King is a romantic comedy following a middle-aged man who has lost direction in his life. He takes a job in Saudi Arabia where he starts to learn about a new culture and learns to start living again.

This is a story about finding yourself against all the odds. Following on from many stories that tell people to explore a new world, one away from their own. It is interesting seeing how Alan is adapting to the new country, and new cultures and trying to make his job work. The bigger problem comes from not really seeing enough of the reason why he is in the country.

Tom Hanks is wonderful in the leading role, but would you expect anything less from him? The supporting performances are strong too, where we meet a host of different characters through the film.

Where to Watch: A Hologram for the King is available to stream on Freevee.

Final Thoughts – A Hologram for the King is an interesting journey through an unknown land.

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Movie Review

Battle for Moscow (2016) Movie Thoughts

Battle for Moscow (Panfilov’s 28) – ABC Film Challenge World Cinema – P – Panfilov’s 28 – Movie Review

Battle for Moscow

Director: Kim Druzhinin, Andrey Shalopa

Writer: Audrey Shalopa (Screenplay)

Cast

  • Andrey Shalopa
  • Kim Druzhinin
  • Dmitriy Girev
  • Yakov Kucherevskiy
  • Aleksandr Ustyugov

Plot: In November 1941, a remaining squad of Soviet soldiers must stop a column of Nazi German tanks.

Runtime: 2 Hours 1 Minute

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Battle for Moscow starts as we meet the small unit of Soviet soldiers. They must set up to defend themselves against Nazi tanks using their limited resources. This sees them setting up their own defences to best fight back against the numbers that are incoming.

Verdict on Battle for Moscow

Battle for Moscow is a war movie that shows the odds a small Soviet unit of soldiers faced in a battle during World War II. It shows us how they prepared for the battle and how they did it once they entered the battle.

While most of the movie is everything we have seen before, there is some heart involved with the passion project of the directors. However, it doesn’t end up being fresh enough and by the end of the movie, we know how most of it will unfold.

Final Thoughts – Battle for Moscow is a typical war story following a group of heroic actions.

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Movie Review

The Housemaid (2016) Movie Review

The Housemaid – ABC Film Challenge – World Cinema – H – The Housemaid – Movie Review

Housemaid

Director: Derek Nguyen

Writer: Derek Nguyen (Screenplay)

Cast

  • Nhung Kate
  • Jean-Michel Richaud
  • Kim Xuan
  • Svitlana Kovalenko
  • Kein An

Plot: When an orphaned Vietnamese girl is hired to be a housemaid at a haunted rubber plantation in 1953 French Indochina, she unexpectedly falls in love with the French landowner and awakens the vengeful ghost of his dead wife… who is out for blood.

Runtime: 1 Hour 45 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: The Housemaid starts when a young woman Linh (Kate) takes a role as a housemaid. She will be working for Captain Sebastien Laurent (Richaud) who lives in a haunted rubber plantation. Linh starts to get closer to Sebastien, leading to the pair falling in love.

However, this unleashes a vengeful spirit of Sebastien’s wife, who doesn’t want him to be with another woman. Linh must uncover the truth before she becomes the latest victim.

Verdict on The Housemaid

The Housemaid is a horror mystery that follows a new young housemaid. She falls in love with the owner of the home, only to start learning about the darker secrets the home holds. This forces her to learn the truth before she becomes the next victim.

The movie here follows many traditional horror movies. Using the new person to a location unlocks a series of haunting events. Each one leads to a bigger clue to the truth. It follows the nice style of horror where the hauntings become increasingly worse as they get closer to the truth. A truth that is equally disturbing and surprising. The movie does have strong performances from the whole cast throughout the movie to keep us on edge about the truth.

Final Thoughts – The Housemaid an entertaining horror mystery with plenty of twists and turns.

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Movie Review

Blood Orange (2016) Movie Review

Blood Orange – Movie Review

Blood Orange

Director: Toby Tobias

Writer: Toby Tobias (Screenplay)

Starring: Kacey Clarke, Iggy Pop, Antonio Magro, Ben Lamb

Plot: Blood Orange stars Iggy Pop as Bill, an ageing rock star living with his beautiful and promiscuous young wife Isabelle (Kacey Barnfield). Into their peculiar paradise comes a dangerous ex-lover (Ben Lamb) hell bent on revenge.

Runtime: 1 Hour 25 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Blood Orange starts as an aging rock star Bill (Pop) living with his beautiful promiscuous wife Isabelle (Clarke) in a paradise location, where Isabelle is having an affair with the pool boy David (Magro), while her ex-lover Lucas (Lamb) arrives trying to win her back, wanting the money he believes is his from her marriage to his father.

As the weekend spirals out of control, we see just how out of control the situation gets, when love takes controls with Isabelle always being in control.

Thoughts on Blood Orange

Blood Orange is a small cast thriller, showing how one woman is looking to control the men in her life. It is playing them into a position where she will get something from all of them, be it money, sex or lust. This is a thriller that doesn’t seem to get going in the ways it would like to. As most of what is happening doesn’t lead to the bigger picture going on.

The performances are mixed, as Karen Clarke does commit to this role. While Iggy Pop doesn’t convince in the aging rocker role. The location will give us the feeling of paradise within the film, showing just how far away from the world the couple find themselves. This is a largely forgettable thriller that never gets to hit the heights it wants to.

Final Thoughts – Blood Orange is a forgettable thriller.