Felicity Jones

The Midnight Sky

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: The Midnight Sky
  • IMDb: link

The Midnight Sky movie reviewWhat went wrong here? Based on the novel Good Morning, Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton, The Midnight Sky is a mess of mishmashed themes from other films such as The Martian, The Road, Gravity, Apollo 13 and others (all of which work far more effectively than what we’re given here). George Clooney directs and stars as the last man on Earth, a dying scientist in the Arctic who remains after the rest of humanity has fled to the stars when “something” happens to the planet (other than it being bad and having to do with radiation, the film never bothers to explain). I’m usually a fan of Clooney, particularly when he steps behind the camera, but The Midnight Sky never quite works.

Apparently none of the fleeing spaceships fare much better than those wiped out by radiation as our scientist turns his attention to one ship returning from a long mission on a moon of Jupiter. While most of the story takes place with Clooney is full grizzly mode, we get flashbacks to his past (where he provides the voice for Ethan Peck in some seriously disjointed scenes), and other sequences show life aboard the returning spaceship.

…

The Midnight SkyRead More »

The Midnight Sky Read More »

The Aeronauts

/ / Home Video
  • Title: The Aeronauts
  • IMDb: link

The Aeronauts movie reviewThe Aeronauts is equal parts celebration of dreamers, disaster movie, grand adventure, romantic comedy, overcoming fears and past mistakes, and scientific exploration. Not surprisingly, this proves to be a few too many balls for writer/director Tom Harper to keep aloft while attempting to juggle the various aspects of the script (which could have been streamlined quite a bit) and still provide a singular, if historically inaccurate, vision of James Glaisher story.

Based loosely on real events, Eddie Redmayne stars as scientist James Glaisher who was obsessed with proving his meteorological theories. Taking the place of the actual balloon pilots who took the scientist high enough to shatter the world record, Felicity Jones stars as the fictional Amelia Wren on-hand to both fly the hot air balloon and offer some spectacle to the crowd to increase interest. An amalgamation of multiple balloonists, the fictitious Wren allows for the re-teaming of of Redmayne and Jones (who previously starred together in The Theory of Everything) providing some nice moments between the pair high above the clouds (and also some questionable drama stumbling around on Earth).

…

The AeronautsRead More »

The Aeronauts Read More »

On the Basis of Sex

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: On the Basis of Sex
  • IMDb: link

On the Basis of Sex movie reviewOn the Basis of Sex examines Ruth Bader Ginsburg‘s (Felicity Jones) road from one of only a handful of women granted entry into Harvard to arguing a landmark decision in front of the US Court of Appeals, while fighting sexual discrimination in some form or another every step of the way.

Broken into two parts, the film examines the discrimination and struggles Ruth went through both in college and as a graduate unable to find any firm interested in hiring a female litigator. While there’s plenty about the woman’s life left untold, such as the span and scope of her career following these events, the film spends quite a bit of time on Ginsburg’s family life and personal struggles which dovetails into the larger themes of the script allowing for the plot to climax in Ginsbrug’s argument before the US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit in the first case of her career. Jones proves to be the movie’s greatest strength, handling a complex range of emotions over the course of the film leading to Ginsburg’s big moment and, as the film frames it, finding her purpose.

…

On the Basis of SexRead More »

On the Basis of Sex Read More »

A Monster Calls

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: A Monster Calls
  • IMDb: link

A Monster Calls movie reviewReminiscent of other movies about a kid losing himself in his imagination rather than deal with the difficulties of his life, A Monster Calls is a visually impressive adaptation of the book of the same name. The story may not offer a darkness as palpable as “The Nothing” (points for all who get that reference), but there’s plenty of real emotion beyond Conor’s (Lewis MacDougall) struggle to hide from both the constant bullying at school and his mother’s (Felicity Jones) deteriorating health.

Conor’s fantasy comes in the form of a giant walking tree who returns night after night to share stories with the boy while demanding Conor reveal the truth concerning his own dark nightmares. Once played out the plot plays a bit too much like a bizarre therapy session, but the film’s message certainly rings true.

Other aspects of the script deal with Conor’s loose relationships to both his father (Toby Kebbell), who has moved on to a new family, and his grandmother (Sigourney Weaver), who is just oblivious and strict enough not to understand Conor’s struggle but never mean enough to come off as evil.

…

A Monster CallsRead More »

A Monster Calls Read More »

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
  • IMDb: link

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story movie reviewThe first of the standalone Star Wars movies, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is set just prior to the events of the original Star Wars as a struggling Rebellion learns about the newest Imperial weapon capable of destroying an entire planet. Just as memorable for what it keeps from the Star Wars template as what it chooses to change about the formula, Rogue One offers no opening crawl, no screen wipes, and the unnecessary need to name every planet shown on screen in subtitles (something George Lucas’ original films allowed the dialogue itself to deal with).

For as much as it leaves behind, however, Rogue One recycles plenty of Star Wars ideas including an orphaned hero (Felicity Jones) reluctantly called into the service of the Rebellion, a soldier of questionable character (Diego Luna) and his lumbering sidekick, a funny robot (Alan Tudyk), an impossible mission, strange aliens, and a Rebellion (albeit a less united one than fans will remember from the previous films) focused on taking down the Galactic Empire. Along with new planets such as Jedha, Wobani, and Scarif, there’s plenty of familiar sights including Yavin 4 and, of course, the Death Star.

…

Rogue One: A Star Wars StoryRead More »

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Read More »