Best of 2019

Knives Out

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Knives Out
  • IMDb: link

Knives Out movie reviewRian Johnson delivers a devilishly good time in this fantastically entertaining whodunit set around the apparent suicide of the patriarch (Christopher Plummer) of a wealthy family. Set almost entirely in the Thrombey home, the writer/director makes excellent use of both setting and a talented cast featuring Daniel Craig as private investigator Benoit Blanc who has reason to believe murder has been committed. Part Hercule Poirot and part Columbo, Craig is in good form as the smartest man in the room.

The suspects include every member of the dysfunctional Thrombey family (Jamie Lee Curtis, Toni Collette, Chris Evans, Don Johnson, Katherine Langford, Michael Shannon, Jaeden Martell, and Riki Lindhome) each of whom has motive for murder. To help unravel the family’s dysfunction, Blanc enlists the help of the deceased’s nurse (Ana de Armas). The large supporting cast offers opportunities for several of its stars to steal scenes including Evans playing a role as far removed as possible from Steve Rogers and Johnson as a perfect rich douchebag completely oblivious to his own behavior.

…

Knives OutRead More »

Knives Out Read More »

Official Secrets

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Official Secrets
  • IMDb: link

Official Secrets movie review

The world could use a few more people like Katherine Gun. Based on the true story of a British Intelligence officer discovering her government’s willingness to assist the United States in moving forward with an invasion of Iraq regardless of actual facts, director Gavin Hood‘s film stays focused on the personal cost to whistleblower Katherine Gun (Keira Knightley) as the film takes us through her discovery of a memo from the NSA asking for help blackmailing nations on the United Nations Security Council in order to rubber stamp the 2003 Iraq invasion through to her day in court a year later.

Knightley is terrific in the role of the defiant but terrified woman whose actions cause ramifications not just for herself but for her husband (Adam Bakri) who is nearly deported by a spiteful government that leaves her twisting in the wind for the better part of a year. Her supporting cast isn’t too shabby either including Matt Smith as the reporter who broke the story (but who only shares a single scene with Knightley on-screen), Rhys Ifans as another reporter on the scent, and Ralph Fiennes and Matthew Goode who emerge when the case moves to trial.

…

Official SecretsRead More »

Official Secrets Read More »

Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood
  • IMDb: link

Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood movie reviewThe latest from writer/director Quentin Tarantino includes all the trappings that fans have come to expect over the past two decades. Overly talky, in need of a little editing, with a few too many shots of his characters’ feet, Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood is still quite entertaining and easily the best film Tarantino has made since 2009’s Inglourious Basterds. Most comparable with Death Proof, Once Upon a Time offers a slow build-up focused on character and snappy dialogue before jumping headfirst into an explosive finale.

Set in 1969 Hollywood, the plot follows the exploits of western star Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) on the downside of his career, his friend and stuntman Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt), his new neighbor Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie), and the Manson Family. The separate threads will eventually intertwine late in the film’s final act on one fateful night in the Hollywood Hills, but for most of the film Tarantino takes his time with each, featuring the Dalton/Booth friendship most prominently with plenty of inserts of the the actor’s glory days as the star of Bounty Law which came to an abrupt end after he started chasing a movie career.

…

Once Upon a Time … in HollywoodRead More »

Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood Read More »

With One Magic Word… SHAZAM!

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: SHAZAM!
  • IMDb: link

SHAZAM! movie reviewOne thing people forget about DC’s Captain Marvel is just how big of a super-hero he was in the Golden Age of comics (arguably more popular than Superman for a time). Fast-forward several decades and the character’s name has changed, although I give credit to Henry Gayden‘s screenplay in purposely obscuring what he should be called in clever way to get around using a name the character can never utter aloud to introduce himself, but the core of the character remains the same (even if he’s a little rougher around the edges on-screen).

Our main character is orphaned teen Billy Batson (Asher Angel) who has been moved to a new foster home after running away yet again in a failed attempt to find his long-lost mother. The good-natured couple (Cooper Andrews and Marta Milans) who take him in already have a cast of kids under their care including Freddy Freeman (Jack Dylan Grazer) who will become Billy’s closest friend and help him in exploring the powers gifted to Billy by the wizard Shazam (Djimon Hounsou).

…

With One Magic Word… SHAZAM!Read More »

With One Magic Word… SHAZAM! Read More »