Tag: 2017

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Movie Review

Retaliation (2017) Movie Review

Retaliation – Shocking Drama

Director: Ludwig Shammasian, Paul Shammasian

Writer: Geoff Thomas (Screenplay)

Starring: Janet Montgomery, Orlando Bloom, Anne Reid, Charlie Creed-Miles, Alex Ferns, Kyle Rees, Josh Myers

Plot: An adult victim of childhood sexual abuse confronts the horrors of his past.

Runtime: 1 Hour 31 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Retaliation starts as we meet Malky (Bloom) a demolition man that is haunted by his past, he has an abusive relationship with barmaid Emma (Montgomery), one he can’t commit too. His mother (Reid) is left broken by the acts of violence he seemingly can’t control and the people around him know just how dangerous he can be.

Malky must look to address what he went through if he is ever going to recover from the sexual abuse he suffered as a child, one that he has used to fuel is pain and anger.

Thoughts on Retaliation

Characters & Performances – Malky is a demolition man that has suffered through childhood abuse and has turned to violence to unleash the pain and anger in his life, not being able to build close relationships and snapping in a second. Malky is a man that has been through more than anyone should have and Orlando Bloom gives us one of his best performances of his career in this role. Emma is the barmaid girlfriend of Malky, she is getting tired of the indecision from Malky, not knowing the truth about his suffering. Janet Montgomery does well in her part of the film, giving us a more grounded everyday character. We get to meet the co-workers that know some of the suffering along with Malky’s mother that is always there for him, but is ashamed of what he did.

Story – The story here follows a man that suffered sexual abuse when he was young and never managed to recover from growing up, giving him a violence streak and making it difficult for him to build relationships. This is an eye-opening look at how different people who have suffered sexual abuse will turn to extreme lengths to cope with what happened to them. It shows us that unless someone will talk about it, it will only grow to make things worse for the victim. We don’t get to see what the punishment for the predator would have been, only following the victim’s story, which shows the broken life he is living and one he is trying everything to put back on the right path. It is a hard watch for what is going on and the subject matter, but it does feel important.

Themes – Retaliation is a hard hitting drama that gives us the shocking look at the damage done to an abuse victim. The locations show that Malky is trying to face what happened, with where he finds himself working, trying to find the answers.

 

Retaliation is a hard hitting drama about the survivor of sexual abuse, where Orlando Bloom is truly disturbingly brilliant.

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Movie Review

Still/Born (2017) Movie Review

Director: Brandon Christensen

Writer: Colin Minihan, Brandon Christensen (Screenplay)

Starring: Christie Burke, Jesse Moss, Rebecca Olson, Jenn Griffin, Michael Ironside, Sheila McCarthy

Plot: Mary, a new mother, gives birth to twins, but only one of them is alive. While taking care of her living child, Adam, she suspects that something, a supernatural entity, has chosen him and will stop at nothing to take him from her.


Tagline – Losing a baby is devastating, but having a baby is terrifying.

Runtime: 1 Hour 27 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Still/Born starts as Mary (Burke) returns home with her first born child Adam, she lost the twin during the birth, which would cause the pain she is going through, while her husband Jack (Moss) is returning to work to cover their luxury life.

When Mary start to suffer from visions of something supernatural in the house, she doesn’t know who to turn to for help, with her husband continuing to want to work away, she must try to figure out the truth.

Thoughts on Still/Born

Characters – Mary is the new mother that did lose one of the twins in child birth, she is looking to get used to motherhood in the new home, without anyone she knows around her, with her husband working away. She does make friends with a neighbouring mother but starts to believe something is trying to take her baby and shows signs of increased paranoia. Jack is the husband that is spending more time away from home for work because of the commitments he has made for the future. Rachel is the only friend that Mary has made, a new mother herself she welcomes her to the neighbourhood.

Performances – Christie Burke takes the leading role of the film, which will see her needing to take control of the horror moments, showing the fear through the film well, but struggling to mix between the fear and calm. The rest of the cast don’t get much time to shine in the film, with them filling the generic roles.

Story – The story here follows a new mother that starts to believe that a supernatural spirit is trying to take her baby, growing ever increasingly worried about the truth as her sanity it put into question. This is a story that we have seen before, as we know how this will unfold with the mother dealing with her own side effects of post-natal depression, we get to see how there might be a supernatural side to everything, which no one else believes. The story does have big questions about it, which is why the husband went back to work so quickly after the loss, it might well have a few differences to what we know, but overall it is mostly more of what we have seen before.

Horror – The horror in the form comes from seeing how Mary is struggling to cope with losing a baby, while believe a supernatural presence is trying to get to her baby.

Settings – The film is mostly set in one location, which is the home that Mary has found herself isolated in during the early days with her baby.


Scene of the Movie – Hospital camera viewing.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Jack doesn’t seem like a good husband.

Final Thoughts – Still/Born is a simple by the book horror that doesn’t hit the full heights of many horrors around the genre.



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Movie Review

An Ordinary Man (2017) Movie Review

Director: Brad Silberling

Writer: Brad Silberling (Screenplay)

Starring: Ben Kingsley, Hera Hilmar, Peter Serafinowicz, Robert Blythe

Plot: A war criminal in hiding forms a relationship with his only connection to the outside world, his maid.

Runtime: 1 Hour 30 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: An Ordinary Man starts as a war criminal known only as the General (Kingsley) is forced to relocate with his driver Miro (Serafinowicz), finding him confined to an apartment, he wants a normal life, but his actions have caused the problems he is facing, he gets to meet his maid Tanja (Hilmar), who will be the first person he gets to talk to.

As the General gets to know Tanja, he starts to question her life choices, passing on his own words of wisdom to the young lady, while having her own agenda for getting close to him.

Thoughts on An Ordinary Man

Characters – The General is one of the last wanted war criminals left out free, he is in a form of hiding, which will see him try to live a normal life, while his closest followers will make sure he needs to keep moving to remain safe, often left to occupy himself, he makes a new friend in his maid, who he tries to teach life lessons too. Tanja is the maid that has been cleaning the current apartment, she is left intimidated in the presence of the General, but starts to learn life lessons from him.

Performances – Ben Kingsley is a joy to watch through this film, showing moments of humour to balance out the arrogance of the character. Hera Hilmar stands toe to toe with the icon of the industry, always looking to learn like her character.

Story – The story here follows a war criminal in hiding that befriends a new maid, becoming a mentor to as he looks to confess some of his crimes and live an ordinary life. This is an interesting look and an idea of how a war criminal might well try to live their life, seeing the world from not hiding, but in plain sight, where they can keep seen by the people, but not captured. We do get to see a mentor like relationship between the two as well, which will help carry the story through.

Settings – The film keeps us in the hidden, quiet location within the city walls, where the war criminal is being forced to live for his own safety.


Scene of the Movie – The road trip.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – The ending was disappointing.

Final Thoughts – An Ordinary Man is an interesting look at how a war criminal is left in hiding, wanting a life he could have had before his actions took that away.



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Movie Review

Shock and Awe (2017) Movie Review

Director: Rob Reiner

Writer: Joey Hartstone (Screenplay)

Starring: Woody Harrelson, James Marsden, Rob Reiner, Tommy Lee Jones, Jessica Biel, Milla Jovovich, Richard Schiff, Luke Tennie

Plot: A group of journalists covering former President George W. Bush’s planned invasion of Iraq in 2003 are skeptical of the President’s claim that Saddam Hussein has “weapons of mass destruction.”


Tagline – The Truth Matters

Runtime: 1 Hour 30 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Slow Moving Thriller

Story: Shock and Awe starts in the aftermath of 9/11, journalists Jonathan Landay (Harrelson), Warren Strobel (Marsden) and John Walcott (Reiner) are looking to have the story about who was really behind the attack, being surprised that Iraq has become the main location for a connection.

As the story builds the pair start looking for comments which will hint the truth, as they looks to expose the reality of the future war with Iraq before it is too late and innocent American soldiers will become victims of a conflict they don’t need to be involved in.

Thoughts on Shock and Awe

Characters – Jonathan Landay and Warren Strobel are the two head writers, they have sources in government and will only look to bring the truth to their readers, they are loyal to their contacts and will wait before publishing any stories. John Walcott is their boss, he will expect the stories that will bring the truth forward, he does want to stay ahead of rivals, but doesn’t want to make up stories which could bring the writers under flack. Joe Galloway is a Bronze Star winning former soldier who has written for years, he brings a fresh set of sources to the paper, as they look to get the truth.

Performances – We do have an excellent cast, where Woody Harrelson and James Marsden do work well together, Rob Reiner is strong too, while Tommy Lee Jones, does seem slightly wasted with the importance of his character.

Story – The story follows four journalists who looks to expose the truth on the war in Iraq before America went to war, only their sources won’t speak out and the pressure from other papers looking to publish stories which would endorse a war. We do have an interesting story, one that should have been pushed through harder, only it gets to pair needing to hold back, it shows how the government used a national tragedy to endorse a war which will be remembered as an important piece of history. Where this story isn’t the most interesting is following the early relationship between Warren and his new girlfriend Lisa, it is part of the story we don’t need to see and fills like filler. Nothing through this film feels as intense as it should be, when it comes to dealing with the truth, which other films like ‘Spotlight’ covered with ease.

Biopic – This is looking at the time when the journalists were trying to put together a story which could bring the system down, they had everything they needed, only they couldn’t push home the story.

Settings – The film uses the settings to show where the journalist work and how they were connecting with sources, only we do spend too much time with the personal life, distracting from the bigger story.


Scene of the Movie – Learning defeat.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Too much personal life filler.

Final Thoughts – This is a film that is trying to tell an important story, only it gets bogged down in parts it doesn’t need to be covering.

Overall: Journalism 101.

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Movie Review

ABC Film Challenge – Favourites – H – Hampstead (2017) Movie Review

Director: Joel Hopkins

Writer: Robert Festinger (Screenplay)

Starring: Diane Keaton, Brendan Gleeson, James Norton, Lesley Manville, Simon Callow

Plot: An American widow finds unexpected love with a man living wild on Hampstead Heath when they take on the developers who want to destroy his home.


Tagline – See love from a new perspective

Runtime: 1 Hour 42 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Great Drama

Story: Hampstead starts as widowed American Emily (Keaton) is starting to see her funds dry up with her charity shop job not helping make her life easier, her son is looking to move away and her, with the leader of her apartment Fiona (Manville) trying to force Emily into different mindset, which includes the destruction of the old hospital across the road from them.

Emily learns of a hermit Donald (Gleeson) peacefully living on the land and the two hit it off, learning that life is worth enjoying, not destroying, which sees Emily finding a cause to fight for, as she starts to find love once again.

Thoughts on Hampstead

Characters – Emily is a widow who has been getting on with her life, not taking life too seriously after her husband’s death, working in a charity shop, listening to people that have bigger plans, just going along with them. Her son is looking to move away leaving her alone, until she learns of a hermit living across the road from her flat, one that she wants to help keep his home, that has been planned for destruction for a new flat. Her kind nature is what makes her special, she doesn’t want to use the position her husband left her in to look down on people. Donald is the hermit living in the heath, he has done for years now, he keeps to himself, while having a connection to the locals, who respect the work he does for them, where he never bothers anyone in life, he must learn to accept help with Emily trying to help him keep his home, the one people want to take away from him, meaning he must hide his aggressive side, which could cause more problems. Philip is Emily’s son that has stay around longer than he would have liked to, where he is going to be living away soon. Fiona runs the flat, trying to keep everyone together in decisions regarding the flat, using the position of power to keep everyone away from the lower classes.

Performances – Diane Keaton and Brendan Gleeson in the leading roles are fantastic, they bring to life these two characters with ease, being enjoyable to watch throughout. Lesley Manville does bring the closest side to a villain to life, being the rich person looking down on people.

Story – The story here follows a widow that befriends a hermit as they fall in love in the fight to keep his shack from destruction from developers who want to put a new flat structure there. This is a story that shows that people need to learn other people’s stories in life before deciding they are causing problems, open up to life and learn more about the people around you. It shows that even after losing loved ones, you could find love in the last place you look and that if something is worth fighting for, you can help people. This is told in the sweetest way without needing to become too in your face either.

Comedy/Romance – The comedy in the film comes from see how the unlikely duo come together in life, with the romance playing into that showing us that life isn’t always what you expect it to be.

Settings – The film uses the settings very well, we see the luxury like flats that Emily lives in, along with peace and quiet that Donald lives in, even in the big city.


Scene of the Movie – Court case.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – How the rich act.

Final Thoughts – This is an enjoyable romantic comedy that shows that you can find happiness in the strangest places in life, carried by excellent performances.

Overall: Enjoyable.

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Movie Review

Apostasy (2017) Movie Review

Director: Daniel Kokotajlo

Writer: Daniel Kokotajlo (Screenplay)

Starring: Siobhan Finneran, Robert Emms, Brownyn James, Steve Evets, Sacha Parkinson, Jessica Baglow

Plot: A faithful Jehovah’s Witness is forced to shun her own sister because of a religious transgression. As the separation draws out, she starts to question the meaning of God’s love.

Runtime: 1 Hour 35 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Slow & Surprising

Story: Apostasy starts as we meet a family of Jehovah witnesses, Ivanna (Finneran), Luisa (Parkinson) and Alex (Wright), they are devoted in their following, until one day Luisa reveals she is pregnant with a man that doesn’t follow the same beliefs.

Luisa is forced out of the community, which leaves Alex torn between wanting to support her sister, while hitting the most important part of her part of the group, while starting a relationship with Steven (Emms) the news member of the communion.

Thoughts on Apostasy

Characters – Alex is an 18-year-old Jehovah Witness, she was raised in the religion and has becomes a loyal follower within it, she passes the world of her God around, only now she will face her own toughest test, when her sister is kicked out of the religion and her own health starts to get worse. Ivanna is the mother of the two girls, she is left with no option to push her eldest daughter away after her own action, to remain within the religion she has devoted her life too. Luisa is the eldest daughter that is forced out of the religion after becoming pregnant with a no believer, she struggles with being away from her family. Steven is the newest member of the group, he wants to bring a change to the way everything is conducted only he still needs to keep the strictness that has been bought through the generations.

Performances – We do have a group of wonderful performances from the cast, with Siobhan Finneran, Sacha Parkinson and Molly Wright, each showing the difficult struggles they are going through.

Story – The story here follows a family of Jehovah’s Witnesses whose life is thrown into turmoil after the eldest daughter becomes pregnant and is banished from the religion leading the family needing to make difficult decisions with their own futures. The story shows us just how devoted one person could be, showing how they could almost become blind with their devotion they will only make mistakes with seeing how important other things can be in life. It doesn’t show Jehovah’s Witnesses in a negative light, showing how they act like they are better than other people with how they believe God is for them. One of the biggest problems in the film, shows us just how important life moments are pushed aside for a belief in a God figure that people might well believe in, they just ignore the life matters.

Settings – The film uses the settings to show us how they are involved in an everyday life even with their religious life.


Scene of the Movie – The chance to return meeting.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Everyday problems are just pushed aside.

Final Thoughts – This is a well-acted drama that does show us how a religion can take control over people’s lives, splitting families apart when left to choose between them or God.

Overall: Wonderful Performances

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Movie Review

Stephanie (2017) Movie Review

Director: Akiva Golsman

Writer: Ben Collins, Luke Piotrowski (Screenplay)

Starring: Shree Crooks, Frank Grillo, Anna Torv, Jonah Beres, LaSaundra Gibson, Samantha Smith

Plot: After a mysterious global crisis, a young girl is left alone to hide from a malevolent power that stalks her home. Her parents eventually return and the struggle begins to save their daughter.

Runtime: 1 Hour 26 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Strong Until the End

Story: Stephanie starts as we meet a young girl Stephanie (Crooks) living alone with her teddy bear Francis, she cooks, prepares meals for a family, but is alone, only she has something make noise around the house, haunting her from the shadows.

Stephanie does get a surprise visit from her parents (Grillo) and (Torv) who she thought had left her, only there is something different about them, something that makes her feel uneasy, despite finally having someone to talk too and protect her from the monster.

Thoughts on Stephanie

Characters – Stephanie is a young girl that seems to be all alone, her parents have vanished, her brother has died, she only has her teddy bear to keep her company, which sees her needing to feed herself and make friends with the local wildlife, despite being in fear of something that lurks in the shadows away from her, waiting for her. Mum and Dad do return, though something is different about them, as they look to protect her from a monster that is around, they bring a smile to Stephanie’s face, one that has been missing for so long.

Performances – Shree Crooks in the leading role is excellent, she brings the innocence to the character, which is needed to show how helpless she is during the film, while Frank Grillo and Anna Torv doing well in their roles in the film.

Story – The story here follows a young girl that is left alone during an incident, she is trying to keep her life together, feeding not going crazy and living in fear, until her parents return, with a new revelations that will change the life of the young girl. This is a story that works on the idea of mis-direction by taking us one way, only tot turn everything on its head, which is interesting to see, as we are left surprised with what happens and in many case, shocked because you won’t see it coming.

Horror/Mystery – The horror in this film comes from seeing first what Stephanie is going through, with her haunting and then the reveal of the monster, with the mystery playing into a lot of why Stephanie is alone and what the monster is.

Settings – The film is set in one location, a house in the middle of a orchid that has seen Stephanie left alone, waiting for her parents to return.

Special Effects – The effects are the weakest part of the film, as they show us how CGI certain parts of the film are.


Scene of the Movie – The truth about the monster.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – It does leave too many questions.

Final Thoughts – This is an interesting horror that gets about 90% right, only it seems to fall apart with the conclusion, which is more of a non-finish.

Overall: Lacks the Ending.

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Movie Review

Trafficked (2017) Movie Review

Director: Will Wallace

Writer: Siddharth Kara (Screenplay)

Starring: Ashley Judd, Brian Thompson, Elisabeth Rohm, Sean Patrick Flanery, Anne Archer, Jason London, Courtney Gains

Plot: In this story inspired by real characters, three girls from America, Nigeria and India are trafficked through an elaborate global network and enslaved in a Texas brothel, and must together attempt a daring escape to reclaim their freedom.


Tagline – Last year slave traders made $100 billion.

Runtime: 1 Hour 44 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Eye Opener

Story: Trafficked starts as we see how Amba (Banker), Mali (Obilom) and Sara (Washington) get taken from their different worlds and shopped around the world before finding themselves meeting in a Texas brothel.

Simon (Flanery) runs the brothel with the deal being 500 men and they can leave, the three learn to survive in this environment, hear the other victims stories, learning just how deadly the world is for everyone involved.

Thoughts on Trafficked

Characters – Sara was raised in a catholic school, reaching the age to leave, she is promised a bright life away where she could achieve great things, only she is tricked and taken to the Texas Brothel, forced into complying with the promise of freedom. Amba is from India looking to break away from the traditions and find herself dreaming of studying in America, she is taken after rejecting a marriage plan, passed around Europe before arriving in Texas. Mali is a Nigeran woman that has been in the brothel for a while, she takes the younger woman under her wing, trying to find a bright light to survive the situation. Simon runs the brothel, he is strict and doesn’t let the girls leave, he has his finger in nearly every pot, controlling everyone around him. We do meet many other people who arrange the deals around the world, along with many other victims who face a darker fate.

Performances – The performances from the three leads, Kelly Washington, Jessica Obilom and Alpa Banker are very strong showing how hopeless the situation feels for them, showing us just how bleak the future will be for them. We do have some big names like Sean Patrick Flanery and Ashley Judd, but they don’t take anything away from the three leading ladies.

Story – The story here follows three victims from around the world, kidnapped and sold into the sex trafficking business who meet in a brothel, where they must learn how to survive, while waiting for any chance to escape. This is an eye opener to the cruelty and suffering experienced by women all over the world, we might only focus only three women who all get their own stories of how they ended up here and what it would mean to escape. How everything unfolds is similar to what we have seen before, offering little new to the overall story side of the film.

Thriller – We are left on the edge of our seats with what might happen to the women, if they could escape or what would happen if they don’t follow instructions.

Settings – Most of the film is set on the Texas brothel, before hand we do get to see how the normal lives did get ripped apart from the young girls, showing how this is a global problem.


Scene of the Movie – The escape.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – That this is happening.

Final Thoughts – This is an eye opening drama that shows us how profitable a business that abuses people around the world, with three young stars shining through the film.

Overall: Must Learn Movie.

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Movie Review

Who We Are Now (2017) Movie Review

Director: Matthew Newton

Writer: Matthew Newton (Screenplay)

Starring: Julianne Nicholson, Zachary Quinto, Jess Weixler, Lea Thompson, Jason Biggs, Jimmy Smits, Emma Roberts

Plot: An ex-con tries to get back custody of her son with the help of an idealistic young public defender and at the same time falls into a romantic fling with a traumatized former US soldier.

Runtime: 1 Hour 35 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Powerful Drama

Story: Who We Are Now starts as Beth (Nicholson) finds herself making an unannounced visit to her child, which leads her facing backlash in a fight to get custody of her son, young idealistic public defender Jess (Roberts) is given an offer from her boss Carl (Smits) to step up, with the number of cases, which will see us going through the struggles she is going through.

Jess will end up working with Beth trying to help her get her child back, while Beth tries to rebuild her life, be it finding a job or starting a relationship with traumatized soldier Peter (Quinto).

Thoughts on Who We Are Now

Characters – Beth has been in jail, she is out, cleaned up her life and would like to have her child back, only she is trying to keep the joint custody with her sister from going in the way of her sister, she is trying to keep employment, trying to get a full-time job, which she is struggling with, she is starting a relationship with someone else who has troubles in Peter. Jess is a young public defender that is trying to help people in need, she gets offered a chance at a promotion and is left torn between following her family’s wishes or making a difference in people’s lives. Peter is a former solider that has been traumatized by his time there, he finds friendship in Beth, as they are both broken from what has happened to them in their lives.

Performances – Julianne Nicholson is fantastic in the leading role, she brings the pain and determination her character is going through to get her child back, despite having little to stand on. Emma Roberts brings us the idealistic character that is unsure on her future to life, showing us just how difficult this time of her character’s life will be. The rest of the cast do show the pain or struggles in their lives.

Story – The story here follows a woman who is out of prison and looking to gain custody of her child again, with a young defender looking to take her case on, while trying to restart her life. This is a story that does follow many lives showing the struggles in life after prison sentences, while others are trying to help them get a chance other aren’t willing to give them. We might have a lot of characters does seem to get in the way of certain character developments. This does show the importance of giving people another chance in life and will be one that shows the struggles the people will have on making amends.

Settings – The film doesn’t give us the most unique use of settings, with the generic office, bars and low level employment that Beth is trying to find.


Scene of the Movie – The final hearing.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Some characters don’t get enough time on screen.

Final Thoughts – This is a powerful look at how the legal system can hold people up in life, stop them getting another chance and end up causing more problems in life. We have excellent performances from all involved though, which carry the film to the next level.

Overall: Important Drama.