Tag: Dermot Mulroney

Director: Hany Abu-Assad

Writer: Chris Weitz, J Mills Goodloe (Screenplay) Charles Martin (Book)

Starring: Idris Elba, Kate Winslet, Beau Bridges, Dermot Mulroney, Linda Sorensen, Vincent Gale

 

Plot: Stranded after a tragic plane crash, two strangers must forge a connection to survive the extreme elements of a remote snow-covered mountain. When they realize help is not coming, they embark on a perilous journey across the wilderness.

Tagline – What if your life depended on a stranger?

Runtime: 1 Hour 52 Minutes

 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

 

Verdict: Strong Performances, Over Dramatic Story

 

Story: The Mountain Between Us starts when Ben (Elba) and Alex (Winslet) are trying desperately to get home, but a storm has put a hold on those plans with the planes delayed for the day. The two make a deal to let pilot Walter (Bridges) fly them home, but mid-flight he suffers a stroke and the plane crash lands in the snow-covered mountain range.

Ben and Alex survive the crash and must learn to work together to survive against the harsh weather conditions and nature hidden in the mountains or face certain death.

 

Thoughts on The Mountain Between Us

 

Characters – Ben Bass is a surgeon, he needs to get back to New York to perform an operation, when the crash happens, he focuses on aiming to stay at the crash site believing he will get rescued, reluctant to follow Alex’s idea to find their own way out. His skills as a doctor are key to survive this one. Alex is a photographer heading home for her wedding, she does get hurt in the crash and wants to go in search of help rather than wait. These two are professionals that make decisions based on logic over panic which is why even if they are opposite, their discussions make sense.

Performances – Idris Elba and Kate Winslet are the only ones that get any major screen time, they are both great in this film as we see them both playing to their strengths.

Story – The story here follows two strangers who are involved in a plane crash in a mountain range and must put their differences a side to survive while searching and hoping for rescue. This is a survival movie at heart with a weak romance movie on the side, we go through the normal can they survive situations, each one becoming deadlier as they go along and leaving us guessing how rather than if they will get rescued, it seems to clear to say that they won’t make it because of it only being a two person. The fact that the dog is the most interesting character doesn’t help us out here and the timing we go through just seems weak when it comes to telling us how long they have been there, we get the odd scene, but learn nothing about moments inbetween.

Action/Adventure/Romance – The action comes from the scene in which the plane crashed, it is shot well but is the only one we see. The adventure side of the film shows us just what the two must go through to survive their ordeal. The romance between them seems to just get tagged in for no particular reasons.

Settings – The film puts us in the middle of nowhere in a mountain range, it looks stunning with views from the top, the biggest problem with the setting is we just don’t get the full scale of the situation.

Scene of the Movie – The crash scene.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Not explaining the time period there are lost for.

Final Thoughts – This is a standard movie with a simple story that gets everything it needs to in the film without being anything overly memorable.

 

Overall: Standard and safe.

Rating

 

 

Director: John Wells

Writer: Tracy Letts (Screenplay)

Starring: Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Chris Cooper, Ewan McGregor, Margo Martindale, Sam Shepard, Dermot Mulroney, Juliette Lewis, Abigail Breslin, Benedict Cumberbatch

 

Plot: A look at the lives of the strong-willed women of the Weston family, whose paths have diverged until a family crisis brings them back to the Oklahoma house they grew up in, and to the dysfunctional woman who raised them.

 

There may be spoilers the rest of the review

 

Verdict: Actors Dream

 

Story: August: Osage County starts when Beverly (Shepard) goes missing causing his cancer striken wife Violet (Streep) to get the family back together to help find him, this brings Barbara (Roberts), Bill (McGregor), Jean (Breslin), Charlie (Cooper), Mattie Fae (Martindale) and Ivy (Nicholson) which helps expose all the problems between the family.

When Beverly’s body is discovered the rest of the family Karen (Lewis) her new boyfriend Steve (Mulroney) and Little Charles (Cumberbatch) return home for the funeral as more of the family secret come out

 

Thoughts on August: Osage County

 

Characters/Performance – The characters in this film are all different aged members of one big dysfunctional family with their own problems, they all have their own secrets that will be getting exposed through the time together.

The acting performances in this film are all top notch with the stars all giving brilliant performances where they can all show their abilities throughout.

Story – The story is about how the family are forced to go through the good and bad moments from life that get exposed over one week from the moment the father goes missing, through the funeral and the aftermath. There are plenty of stories going on through the film which draw you into want to know what is happening with this family.

Drama – This is a drama through and through where we see how the family have been through all sorts through the years with everything getting exposed in one week when they are bought back together.

Settings – The film is mostly set in and around the one house where the family must return too, we get to see how the memories come back for the characters involved.

Final Thoughts – This is an actors dream to watch, you get fine performance from everyone but this isn’t going to be for the casual film fans.

 

Overall: A film for aspiring actors to watch.

Rating

 

 

Director: Baran bo Odar

Writer: Andrea Berloff (Screenplay) Frederic Jardin, Nicholas Saada, Olivier Douyere (Original Film)

Starring: Jamie Foxx, Michele Monaghan, Scoot McNairy, Dermot Mulroney, T.I., David Harbour, Gabrielle Union

 

Plot: A cop with a connection to the criminal underworld scours a nightclub in search of his kidnapped son.

 

There may be spoilers the rest of the review

 

Verdict: Forgettable Actioner

 

Story: Sleepless starts in Las Vegas as dirty cops Vincent (Foxx) and his partner Sean (T.I.) are taking down their latest score from the mob in the city. Things don’t go as planned which brings in Internal Affairs pairing Bryant (Monaghan) and Dennison (Harbour) to look at the case.

Vincent’s day continues to get worse as he once again lets down his ex-wife Dena (Union) and his son Thomas (Johnson) before casino boss Rubino (Mulroney) has Thomas kidnapped, promising to hand him over to Novak (McNairy) the drug lord if the product isn’t returned in three-hours.

We are left to see how Vincent tries to clean up the mess he finds himself in, he must deal with the drug lord, the casino owner, the internal affairs agents and his angry ex-wife all in one night inside the casino.

 

Thoughts on Sleepless

 

Characters/Performance – Vincent is the dirty cop that has been stealing from criminals for his own personal gain, this has left his personal life in ruins and now he has one night to save his career and his relationship with his son. Bryant is Internal Affairs that has recently found herself assaulted with everyone trying to nurse her back into her job even though she is ready to return. Novak is a drug lord reluctantly working with casino boss, he is ruthless like you would expect him to be. Rubino is the casino who has everything but has dived into the drug world to keep his guest happy. The rest of the characters are also who you expect without being anything special.

Performance wise, Jamie Foxx is good enough in the leading role without being a great action star, with Michelle Monaghan doing a good job in here role, being the star of the film. Scoot McNairy gets to have a lot of fun in the villainous role which he always delivers in. some of the supporting roles are left questioning how capable the stars really are though. With Gabrielle Union doing all she can with the generic concerned mother that only moans a lot role.

Story – The story is fine, it has twists and turns along the way as you must figure out who is good, bad, dirty or criminal all while seeing how a drug bust can go wrong. This does have plenty going on and if you blink you might miss a beat but otherwise it doesn’t leave too much to the imagination.

Action/Crime – The action is always going to be hard to find anything new or original which is why the action turns out slightly flat. The crime world created is solid enough though.

Settings – Nearly the whole film is set inside the casino which does show things happening near real time.

Final Thoughts – This is fine action film, it isn’t great or bad it is just average.

 

Overall: Average film that is easy to watch but never pushes the boundaries.

Rating

 

 

Director: Clint Eastwood

Writer: Dustin Lance Black (Screenplay)

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Armie Hammer, Naomi Watts, Judi Dench, Jeffrey Donovan, Josh Lucas, Dermot Mulroney

 

Plot: J. Edgar Hoover, powerful head of the F.B.I. for nearly 50 years, looks back on his professional and personal life.

 

There may be spoilers the rest of the review

 

Verdict: Slow Moving Biopic

 

Story: J. Edgar starts as we learn that J Edgar Hoover (DiCaprio) wanting to tell his story as he goes back to 1919 when he witnesses the crime being committed against his boss Mitchell Palmer. We see how Palmer give Hoover a chance to search for the communist which are targeting high ranking members of America.

With Hoover’s first act he plans to deport any non-America who poses a threat to the country a new law was born and peace came from the rebel. Being put in charge of the Bureau of Investigation Hoover cleans out the corruption to build his own force as he wants to use new technology to help fight crime. While his professional career shines and rises his personal life where he tackles his own relationship with Clyde Tolson (Hammer) that has to remain a secret. The birth of the FBI is told through this story too.

J. Edgar shows the amazing career and life of one of the most important men in American history as we see how he came to help change how law was thought and studied. This will never be questioned but his methods on achieving this could be questioned as he does push many morale boundaries. It is the look into his personal life which also interests because for a man rising against authority to be homosexual at the time would have been looked down on so Hoover also becomes victim to the personal choice being the thing that held back his career. The problem with this film is not in the performance because DiCaprio shines in this role but the problem comes with the fact that this is slightly too long at nearly two and half hours long we could have easily have had a two-hour film because the whole film feels slow at times.

 

Overall: Slow biopic with heavyweight performances.

Rating

 

 

Director: Chan-wook Park

Writer: Wentworth Miller (Screenplay)

Starring: Mia Wasikowska, Nicole Kidman, Matthew Goode, Lucas Till, Alden Ehrenreich, Jacki Weaver, Dermot Mulroney

 

Plot: After India’s father dies, her Uncle Charlie, who she never knew existed, comes to live with her and her unstable mother. She comes to suspect this mysterious, charming man has ulterior motives and becomes increasingly infatuated with him.

 

There may be spoilers the rest of the review

 

Verdict: Solid Thriller

 

Story: Stoker starts as we meet the teenager India (Wasikowska) who has the ability to hear at an enhanced level who has just lost her father Richard in a car crash. India lives with her mother Evelyn (Kidman) who has been struggling with the loss of her husband but when the unknown Uncle Charlie (Goode) arrives on the scene India starts to learn more about her past.

When other members of the family turn up in India’s life we get to learn that Charles might not be all he appears to be but why has he taken such an interest in India is the question remaining.

Stoker is a solid thriller that does in a direction you can ready quite easily. Saying that the mood to create this works and with the final twist you will find yourself surprised with the outcome. The story does tackle family relationships but is trying way too hard to keep up with most of Hitchcock’s work. I do feel most of this is forced and doesn’t feel like a natural story unfolding either.

 

Actor Review

 

Mia Wasikowska: India in the teenage student who is considered so what of a loner, she had a very close relationship with father but when he is killed she finds herself struggling to fit in. when her Uncle turns up in her life she starts to notice a few more things in her life. Is India ready to become her father’s daughter. Mia gives us a good creepy performance throughout.

Nicole Kidman: Evelyn is the grieving mother of India’s who has turned to the bottle to get over the loss of her husband as well as trying to find her own relationship with the estranged brother in law. Nicole is solid but only this supporting role.

Matthew Goode: Charles is the mysterious Uncle that turns up in India’s life, he can sense the two being very similar and as we wait to see what he true motives are. Matthew is good in this role where he can always have the slightly quirky roles.

Support Cast: Stoker has a supporting cast which includes fellow members of the family who know the truth but also include the high schoolers that India has to deal with each day.

Director Review: Chan-wook Park – Chan-wook gives us a slow moving thriller that doesn’t reach all the potential it has.

 

Thriller: Stoker tries to keep us wondering but really doesn’t give us enough for the whole idea behind the film.

Settings: Stoker keeps the settings looking like we are in a high class of people and their dramas.
Special Effects: Stoker has good effective special effects when needed.

Suggestion: Stoker is only really one to try because it is slow moving and doesn’t go too far. (Try It)

 

Best Part: Good performances.

Worst Part: Slow story.

 

Believability: No

Chances of Tears: No

Chances of Sequel: No

Post Credits Scene: No

 

Oscar Chances: No

Budget: $12 Million

Runtime: 1 Hour 39 Minutes

Tagline: Innocence Ends.

 

Overall: Slow moving thriller that does tackle growing up.

Rating

 

 

Director: Joshua Michael Stern

Writer: Matt Whiteley (Screenplay)

Starring: Ashton Kutcher, Dermot Mulroney, Josh Gad, Lukas Haas, Matthew Modine, J.K. Simmons, Lesley Ann Warren

 

Plot: The story of Steve Jobs’ ascension from college dropout into one of the most revered creative entrepreneurs of the 20th century.

 

There may be spoilers the rest of the review

 

Verdict: Was Jobs like this?

 

Story: Jobs starts by introducing us to Steve Jobs (Kutcher) the visionary behind Apple describing his company’s newest toy the IPOD. Flashback to 1974 when Mr Jobs was still in college, well after he dropped out but still went around the college learning. He comes off as the typical college guy who enjoys drugs and exploring himself. Move forward a couple of years and Steve now works for Atari but has terrible people skills he ends up getting a project which could prove himself in the industry along with Steve ‘Woz’ Wozniak (Gad). Together they set out to try and sell their very first computer along with finding his its name ‘Apple’.

We watch how Steve tries to make the sale of his computer idea while building the computers in his parent’s basement. A favour called in give Steve the chance to meet Mike Markkula (Mulroney) who offers the team a chance to get to the next level. With the company flying Steve starts to change and demand more success which is the beginning of the end before he turns yet another dead end project around yet he still get pushed out of his own company before being the saviour when it needed him.

Jobs would join the category of films about icon people that will make them look imperfect. In fact this made Steve Jobs out be kind of an asshole and failed to show the brilliance in the technology that his company created. We see how he dumped out friends to continue in his rise to the top forgetting the people who helped him get to where he was. I am sure that a lot of the details between the board and Steve were very political that would all come off very boring to film and it shows in the board scenes. We have a story about the biggest visionary of the 20^th century and miss everything he gave the world. (3/10)

 

Actor Review

 

Ashton Kutcher: Steve Jobs the mastermind who starts off as a wonder around college before trying to create one of the first next level computers of its time. Even though he continued to push the boundaries of technology he only isolates himself by doing so.  Ashton does well with certain moments but I do feel this was too much too early for an unproven serious actor. (4/10)

 

Support Cast: Jobs has a large support cast of people who Jobs met through the decades, some help him some prevent him but in the end they all end up helping him achieve what he did. All the actors are solid but out of all the names I have only heard of one of them.

 

Director Review: Joshua Michael Stern – Does an average job with directing he offers nothing to truly teach us about the man which is what would have been what we wanted to see. (4/10)

 

Biographical: Jobs shows the rise, the fall and the comeback but fails to show what he truly did to the world of technology. (5/10)

Settings: Jobs has good settings but they weren’t difficult to create. (7/10)

Suggestion: Jobs is one to try, if you want to learn the basics of what happened in the world of Apple and Steve Jobs this gives some information but fails to offer enough. (Try It)

 

Best Part: Starts promising with the building of the first board.

Worst Part: it becomes boring without the inclusion of the technology talk.

 

Believability: It is meant to be based on Jobs. (9/10)

Chances of Tears: No (0/10)

Chances of Sequel: No

Post Credits Scene: No

 

Oscar Chances: No

Box Office: $35 Million

Budget: $12 Million

Runtime: 2 Hours 8 Minutes

Tagline: Some see what’s possible, others change what’s possible

Trivia: Almost all of the scenes involving Jobs’ parents’ house and garage were filmed in the actual Los Altos, California house and garage where Steve Jobs grew up in the 1970s.

 

Overall: Why doesn’t the biopic work at the moment?

Rating

Director: Joe Carnahan

Writer: Joe Carnahan, Ian Mackenzie Jeffers (Screenplay) Ian Mackenzie Jeffers (Short Story ‘Ghost Walker’)

Starring: Liam Neeson, Frank Grillo, Dermot Mulroney, Dallas Roberts, Joe Anderson, Nonso Anozie, James Badge Dale, Ben Bray

 

Plot: In Alaska, a team of oil workers board a flight home; however, they cross a storm and the airplane crashes. Only seven workers survive in the wilderness and John Ottway (Neeson), who is a huntsman that kills wolves to protect the workers, assumes leadership of the group. Shortly after they learn that they are surrounded by a pack of wolves and Ottway advises that they should seek protection in the woods. But while they talk through the heavy snow, they are chased and attacked by the carnivorous mammals.

 

Verdict: Survival Thriller

 

Story: Having a group of generic survivors in an against the odds race to survive is not the most original of stories. This puts these survivors up against a different enemy though, being the wolves which are just as lethal as any other enemy they could have come up against. The story has it’s touching moments when the group talk about what they are trying to get back to, as well as having the tense showdowns with the wolves next to the fights with them. The story offers everything to enjoy and moves at a nice pace, it just lacks original characters for the scenario. (7/10)

 

Actor Reviews

 

Liam Neeson: Ottway the man whose job it is to stop the wolves hunting the workers and after the crash uses all his experience to keep everyone alive as long as he can. Haunted by a troubled past and visions of his wife we are left to guess throughout what happened to her that drove him to his isolation state. Great performance from Liam showing he is now a lead action star. (9/10)

 

Frank Grillo: Diaz the typical against the hero guy, unwilling to help and constantly disagreeing with Ottway, but in the end makes a sacrifice for the good guys when the time came. Good role and performance from Grillo. (8/10)

Dermot Mulroney: Talget an older member of the survivors who really is out his depth, but understands what is going on just not how to survive it. Good role that fills the wiser stereotype character. (7/10)

 

Dallas Roberts: Hendrick the quiet one who somehow makes it a long way before going. Good performance filling the role of a character that we don’t seem to need to rot for even though he makes it so far. (7/10)

 

Joe Anderson: Flannery talks too much causing everyone to be on edge, the first member of the team to make contact with Ottway but is the first to not make it on the journey. Good supporting role that makes a character you will actually remember even though he is only disposable one.(7/10)

 

Nonso Anozie: Burke the token sick character that slows the team down, but never wants to give up or let them down. Good supporting role that shows how hard it is to give up during such an impossible time. (7/10)

 

Director Review: Joe Carnahan – Good direction building up tension, throwing in a few jumps and having a gentle moment when it is needed. (8/10)

 

Action: When the action happens it is good stuff, with the plane crash being one that will stick with you. (8/10)

Thriller: Great tension built up throughout. (9/10)

Settings: Great setting to create true isolation that leaves the guys not knowing where to really go for safety. (9/10)
Special Effects: Good special effects for most of the wolf attacks, and plane crash. (9/10)

Suggestion: I would suggest to try it, I think thriller fans will enjoy this, but it might not work for all as the slow moments can take away some of the best moments of tension. (Try it)

 

Best Part: The final showdown.

Worst Part: Misleading trailer.

Action Scene Of The Film: The Plane Crash.

Kill Of The Film: Hernandez

Believability: Works on the belief that this is how wolves act when an unknown enemy enters their territory. (5/10)

Chances of Tears: No (0/10)

Chances of Sequel: Unlikely.

Post Credits Scene: Yes

 

Oscar Chances: No

Box Office: $77,278,331

Budget: $25 Million

Runtime: 1 Hour 57 Minutes

Tagline: Live or Die on This Day.

Trivia:Bradley Cooper was originally cast, but Liam Neeson replaced him.

 

Overall: Run, Hide, Fight, Survive, Just Avoid The Wolves

Rating