Drama

Sorry Nina, It’s All About Mary

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: All About Nina
  • IMDb: link

All About Nina movie reviewI really wanted to like All About Nina. I can certainly tell what drew Mary Elizabeth Winstead to the project in which she plays a stand-up comedian struggling with her career and relationships. While Winstead makes the most of the dramatic moments, particularly during an impressive breakdown on stage, the script from writer/director Eva Vives does the actress no favors.

Had Nina (Winstead) been written as an average struggling comic the script may have worked better, but, while Winstead does her best to sell Nina’s material on stage, the jokes aren’t strong enough to sell the character as comedy’s next big thing.

Leaving New York, and a dysfunctional relationship with a married man (Chace Crawford), Nina heads to Los Angeles. Not the actual Los Angeles, but the cliched movie version with hippie roommates and fame and soulmates just waiting to be found. While auditioning for a job that would launch her career, Nina begins an emotional relationship with an LA local (Common) who apparently is the first nice guy Nina has ever met, let alone dated.

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A Star is Born

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  • Title: A Star is Born
  • IMDb: link

A Star is Born movie reviewWhile not the most original of projects, A Star is Born is the fourth movie of that name which older artists help to launch the careers of younger artists, the story is emotionally engaging and expertly told. There is always a challenge with musicals when choosing either actors who can sing or singers who can act. For its two leads, A Star is Born chooses one of each. In the first 10 minutes we learn three things. First, Bradley Cooper can direct. Second, Lady Gaga can act. And finally, Bradly Cooper can sing. All of this results in a compelling film.

Cooper stars as Jackson Maine, a musician who can still sell out arenas but is obviously on the downside of his career. An alcoholic and drug addict, Jackson meets Ally (Lady Gaga) in a drag club one night. Sparks fly nearly immediately as Jackson discovers not only does Ally have a great voice but also a talent for writing personal songs. A friendship and romance blossoms as Jackson pushes Ally into the spotlight launching her career and creating new tensions between the two artists and lovers concerning Ally’s rise to fame and issues and addictions Jackson chooses not to speak openly about.

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Christopher Robin

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  • Title: Christopher Robin
  • IMDb: link

Christopher Robin movie reviewChristopher Robin is a safe, by-the-numbers, inoffensive Disney live-action film that is likely to appease (although probably not delight) its target audience. Based on the Winnie-the-Pooh stories by A. A. Milne, Ewan McGregor stars as the fictional character Christopher Robin (originally based on Milne’s own son) who has grown-up and left his childish things long behind and currently is lost in a stressful job while struggling to connect to his wife (Hayley Atwell) and daughter (Bronte Carmichael). In the midst of a crisis, Christopher Robin is shocked by the sudden appearance of his old friend Winnie-the-Pooh (Jim Cummings) who arrives in London and enlists Christopher Robin to help find the rest of the old gang who have disappeared.

There’s an interesting idea for a dark comedy in Christopher Robin about a middle-aged man having a psychotic break and running into the countryside with a make-believe talking bear made of felt. Sadly, that’s nowhere near the film Disney was interested in making. Instead, Christopher Robin takes his pal back to the old stomping grounds and, while in search of the other characters, rediscovers a bit of his old self.

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The Darkest Minds

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  • Title: The Darkest Minds
  • IMDb: link

The Darkest Minds movie reviewThe Darkest Minds is a mess. It’s as if someone took an entire season of a Freeform sci-fi series made for a tweenage fanbase and condensed it into a single two-hour film. Based on the story structure and pacing you can tell immediately that the movie was adapted from a novel. Drawn-out events are presented in meandering fashion as we follow Ruby (played in early scenes by Lidya Jewett and later by Amandla Stenberg) through a troubling adolescence when she becomes mutated by a virus that leaves 98% of the world’s children dead and the remainder gifted with poorly explained powers.

After being taken from her family by the Federal Government and thrown into a concentration camp for mutants, Ruby eventually escapes through the help of a social worker (hey, Mandy Moore is still working) who exists only as an agent to further the plot and lead Ruby to other kids like herself (Harris Dickinson, Skylan Brooks, and Miya Cech) hunting for a mythical camp of lost boys living outside the system. Yeah… because societies put together by kids (with super-powers no less) are sure to be super stable.

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Sicario: Day of the Soldado

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  • Title: Sicario: Day of the Soldado
  • IMDb: link

Sicario: Day of the Soldado movie reviewScreenwriter Taylor Sheridan reunites Benicio del Toro and Josh Brolin for the sequel to 2015’s Sicario. When the United States realize that terrorists are being smuggled across the Mexican border along with illegal immigrants, Matt Graver’s (Brolin) team is brought in to deal with the problem. Wanting to start a war between the cartels, Graver decides to bring back Alejandro Gillick (del Toro) who a personal grudge against one of the cartel leaders.

Stefano Sollima steps in for Denis Villeneuve (who directed the first Sicario) this time around. Since Sicario is easily my favorite of Villeneuve’s films, I was sorry to not see him return. The biggest difference between Sicario: Day of the Soldado and the original is the lack of female lead. Filling that spot is the side story featuring Elijah Rodriguez a young wannabe on the Mexican border (which is never as compelling as it should be). The sequel definitely misses Blunt as the only female characters of import are Catherine Keener as Graver’s boss and Isabela Moner as a cartel princess whose abduction becomes part of Graver’s larger plan. While both are important to the plot, it’s really del Toro’s movie this time around.

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