Drama

The Front Runner

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: The Front Runner
  • IMDb: link

The Front Runner movie review30 years later, The Front Runner takes a look back at the fall of Senator Gary Hart (Hugh Jackman) who in the space of three weeks went from the presumptive Democratic nominee for the President of the United States to a cautionary tale. After some initial set-up laying the groundwork for the stranglehold Hart had on his party’s nomination in 1988, the script by Matt Bai, Jay Carson, and director Jason Reitman dives into Hart’s relationship with the media covering his campaign and his extra-marital indiscretion which, when brought to light, would be the end of his political career.

The Front Runner plays like a trainwreck in slow motion. It’s somewhat torturous to watch unfold seeing everything the uncompromising Hart worked for fall apart so quickly. Everyone, except Hart can see what’s coming. Unable to fathom how his personal life was the business of either the media or voters, Hart struggled with handling the situation which quickly escalated out of control as it opened the doors to a new form of tabloid journalism in politics (a slippery slope Hart himself commented on during the final speech of his campaign).

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Creed II

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  • Title: Creed II
  • IMDb: link

Creed II movie reviewPart Rocky III and part Rocky IV, Creed II offers the highs and lows of boxer Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) who wins the title but is then faced with a ghost from the past in the return of Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) and the introduction of his son Viktor (Florian Munteanu).

Despite the film going full-on-Rocky at times, director Steven Caple Jr. works to stay true to the tone of Creed by focusing as much on what is going on outside the ring with Adonis Creed as what is happening inside the squared circle. Sylvester Stallone returns again as mentor, although one conflicted about the history tied up in a Creed v. Drago match. Tessa Thompson and Phylicia Rashad reprise their roles as Creed’s support system and family whose love will be tested when Creed accepts the challenge from Viktor Drago over their objections, and those of Rocky.

With Munteanu speaking very few lines of dialogue, the script relies on Lundgren to act as the film’s more vocal villain (while also exploring the reasons for Ivan needing this match for his prosperity and a future for his son).

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The Old Man and the Gun

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  • Title: The Old Man and the Gun
  • IMDb: link

The Old Man and the Gun movie reviewBased on the life of career criminal Forrest Tucker (Robert Redford), who in his 60s (after escaping from prison yet again) put together dozens of bank heists across the country until finally being captured by the FBI, writer/director David Lowery‘s film offers a look at the criminal’s “last hurrah” (although he would commit one more crime spree at the ripe old age of 79) and the Dallas Police Detective (Casey Affleck) instrumental in capturing him.

Redford is put to good use here as the gentlemen robber who never fires a shot (in fact, in every bank robbery sequence he alludes to, but never draws, a gun). The actor easily captures the charm of the man who robbed more for the thrill than the money, always with a smile on his face. Over the course of the film we watch Tucker rob several banks, sometimes by himself and sometimes with the help of two other elderly gentlemen (Danny Glover and Tom Waits) who gain notoriety for the four-year bank robbing spree. The movie also includes a subplot involving Tucker’s interest in a widow (Sissy Spacek) who, like the previous loves of Tucker’s life, never knew or believed what Tucker did for a living.

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Isle of Dogs

/ / Home Video

Isle of Dogs Blu-ray reviewWriter/director Wes Anderson‘s return to stop-motion may not measure up to Fantastic Mr. Fox, but the quirky tale of an injured boy searching a quarantined island for his lost dog hits most of the right notes. When the dog population becomes infested with Dog Flu, all the dog’s in Japan are quarantined to an island of trash where the nephew (Koyu Rankin) of the mayor crash lands in search of his loyal dog.

The story is presented mostly from the point-of-view of the dogs (voiced by Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Bob Balaban, Jeff Goldblum, and Bill Murray), who are unable to communicate with the the boy but instinctively set-out to help find his lost dog. Even the reluctant stray (voiced by Cranston) discovers why young boys are a dog’s best friend.

The plot gets a bit over-complicated by a conspiracy within the Japanese government, drones and robotic hunting dogs sent to bring back the boy, an exchange student (Greta Gerwig) at a school newspaper’s search for the truth, and a romantic subplot between a couple of the dogs.

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Colette

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  • Title: Colette
  • IMDb: link

Colette movie review

Beginning in the late 19th Century, Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (Keira Knightley) became one of several ghostwriters for her husband Willy (Dominic West) who was notorious for putting out other’s work under his name (which helped secure better publishing rights and a broader audience than any of the writers could achieve on their own). A womanizer and gambler always living beyond his means, Willy was always looking for the next big thing (and wasn’t above bullying those around him to achieve his goals).

By far, Willy’s largest success were a series of novels penned by Colette, but released under his own name, about a French girl named Claudine. Much like Willy’s financial success was built on the hard work of his wife, so too is director Wash Westmoreland‘s new film built on the back of Keira Knightley’s performance. A talented woman born a century too early for her talents to be fully appreciated, Colette focuses on the first-half of the artist’s life including her marriage, the writing of her Claudine novels, her growth as an artist, her romantic relationship with both her husband and female lovers (Denise Gough and Eleanor Tomlinson), and her eventual independence.

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