Viola Davis

Widows

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Widows
  • IMDb: link

Widows movie reviewRe-imaging a twelve-hour mini-series into a two-hour film, Steve McQueen delivers an action-drama featuring Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, and Elizabeth Debicki as the widows of an armed robbery team who are forced by the gangster (Brian Tyree Henry) turned political figure their husbands robbed to pay back what they owe.

There’s an awful lot of plot and superfluous characters here, most likely because they appeared in the mini-series. A tighter focus on Viola Davis’ character and the robbery itself could have helped shore up the script a bit more, which gets lost in the weeds a bit when dealing with the political aspirations of a criminal and the criminality of the son (Colin Farrell) running for his father’s (Robert Duvall) office, as it seems to need at least one additional rewrite. The also the trouble with Debicki’s arc, while her new-found self-confidence makes sense as part of the robbery I’m not sure how it makes her twice as intelligent by the movie’s end (seriously, I was starting to expect a Keyser Söze twist). And the film isn’t without twists, although none are particularly necessary to the overall plot or natural conclusion of the story. (And one actually wraps up things a bit too neatly.)

…

WidowsRead More »

Widows Read More »

Fences

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Fences
  • IMDb: link

Fences movie reviewAdapted from the Pulitzer Prize winning play of the same name, Fences is notable more for its impressive performances than plot. Denzel Washington, who does double-duty as both lead actor and director, does all that he can to make the stage play fit the big screen but there’s little doubt what venue the story is best suited. As a film the story certainly works, but I wonder how much better it may have appeared on stage.

The talky script, adapted from the stage by playwright August Wilson, offers a slice of Americana in a low income area of Pittsburgh where former Negro League baseball player turned criminal turned garbage man attempts to make the best of the life he’s carved out for himself. The small cast focuses on Troy’s (Washington) relationships with close friends and family including his wife Rose (Viola Davis), son Cory (Jovan Adepo), troubled brother Gabriel (Mykelti Williamson), and best-friend Bono (Stephen Henderson). The more we learn about the outwardly charming Troy the less we like him. Troy is a bully, alcoholic, adulterer, and an all-around son of a bitch. The film’s first hour is a slow boil under the which pressure continues to rise until it boils over when the conflict between Troy and his family comes to a head.

…

FencesRead More »

Fences Read More »

Suicide Squad

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Suicide Squad
  • IMDb: link

Suicide SquadMaybe DC should shy away from its major heroes and concentrate on the fringes of the DCU. I don’t know that you should call a $175 million theatrical release with an excessive marketing campaign a B-movie but that’s exactly what Suicide Squad is. Writer/director David Ayer delivers an unapologetically trashy B-movie that, despite its faults, is fun.

Sure, the script spends far too long awkwardly introducing the various super-villains thrown together by Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) for her super-secret black ops squad. And yes, the final act suffers from a villain more interested in putting on a giant light show than presenting a coherent threat. However, somewhere in-between these problematic areas Ayer provides room for his cast of malcontents to shine.

…

Suicide SquadRead More »

Suicide Squad Read More »

Blackhat

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Blackhat
  • IMDb: link

BlackhatAlthough less intentionally comedic than Hackers, the idea of Chris Hemsworth as one of the world’s most preeminent hackers is no less ridiculous than Angelina Jolie as one. The movie’s story revolves around the search for those responsible for cyber attacks in both United States and China which causes the creation of a joint task force and brings Chen Dawai (Leehom Wang) to the United States to get his old college buddy Nick Hathaway (Hemsworth) out of prison to help with the search.

Along for the ride are Dawai’s sister Lien (Wei Tang) who wastes no time in taking a romantic interest in Hathaway (creating a problematic romantic subplot that has no hope of ever paying off), Holt McCallany as a Federal babysitter, and Viola Davis having fun as the one-note Department of Justice ball-buster who uncharacteristically chooses to help the criminal putting her own career and life in jeopardy when the plot demands it.

…

BlackhatRead More »

Blackhat Read More »

Prisoners

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Prisoners
  • IMDB: link

PrisonersPrisoners is an infuriating movie that wastes the strong set-up of the raw emotions of families going through the kidnappings of their young daughters in favor of a descent into average thriller territory that continues twists and turns long after you’ve given up caring. Had the film stayed with the themes of emotion and loss and how far one will go for answers when the lives of their children are at stake, rather than force an unnecessary whodunit twist ending involving puzzles, complicated motives, and elaborate reveals, director Denis Villeneuve‘s film would have been much better off.

Hugh Jackman and Terrence Howard star as fathers who face the hard reality of their daughters disappearing on lazy weekend afternoon. Although convinced the police have the right man in custody, a mentally-retarded Paul Dano, Keller Dover (Jackman) becomes increasingly agitated when the police release the man from custody.

…

PrisonersRead More »

Prisoners Read More »