Early Review: Mission Impossible Rogue Nation

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE ROGUE NATION
Directed and Screenplay by Christopher McQuarrie
Starring Tom Cruise; Jeremy Renner; Simon Pegg; Rebecca Ferguson; Ving Rhames; Alec Baldwin; and Sean Harris

Alec Baldwin, representing the CIA, wants to disband the IMF. Why? I don't know, but I can tell you this spy vs spy movie is better than any new James Bond film (And recent Bond films have not been that bad). It's exciting, and funny, and full of energy.There are great and fun action sequences on an airplane; in an opera house; under water and on a motorcycle, that can put those CGI filled Fast And Furious films to shame. Plus knowing Tom Cruise likes to do his own stunts it leaves you holding your breath. Director Christopher McQuarrie should also get a lot of credit for this excellent  and intense action thriller. From London to Morocco the film looks great, and the action sequences with a shaky cam puts you in the action.
As for the plot? I was confused often but I went with it because the film kept pushing forward at high speed. There are betrayals and deceptions around all the turns in this spy thriller, you really do have to just pay attention and hope it gets cleaned up and understood in the end.

One of the big differences in this film is Cruise lets his costars take center stage often. We see a lot more of Simon Pegg, which means a lot more humor, in fact there are some very funny moments. We also see a strong female character in Isla Faust a British Intellgence Agent played by a new comer, a fantastic Rebecca Ferguson. We also have Jeremy Renner and Ving Rhames playing, well, Jeremy Renner and Ving Rhames. And most important it would not work without a really good bad guy in Sean Harris.

Negatives? Maybe a few plot holes and maybe the film could have been shortened (maybe cutting short some chase scenes).

Still.....4 out of 5 stars for MI Rogue Nation. The best Mission Impossible yet...hands down. Real fun.

From the shadows as always thanks for your time!!

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New Review: Vacation

VACATION
Directed and Screenplay by John Francis Daley and Jonathan M Goldstein
Starring: Ed Helms; Christina Applegate; Skyler Gisondo; and Steele Stebbins



Rusty Griswold takes his own family on a road trip to "Walley World" in order to spice things up with his wife and reconnect with his sons.

You go in telling yourself over and over again to be fair and do not compare it to the original. However it is hard because it refers to the original often.
I can tell you this, this Vacation is an R, and it earns it. This is not your old school Vacation, there are many crude jokes and crude visual jokes. Many of those jokes fall very flat.
On the other hand, it has many jokes that work, including a very funny visit to Chris Hensworth's farm. Who would have thought Thor could be so funny??!!  And we already know that Applegate and Helms have fantastic comic timing.
You go and see this film to laugh and I can tell you that this film was much funnier than I thought it would be and I laughed out loud often. So in that respect I have to give it 3 1/2 stars out of 5 for Vacation, a little bit of an enjoyable surprise.


As always from the shadows thanks for your time.

New Review: Southpaw

SOUTHPAW
Directed by Antoine Fuqua
Screenplay by Kurt Sutter
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal; Rachel McAdams; Oona Laurence; Forest Whitaker; and 50 Cent



Boxer Billy Hope (Gyllenhaal) turns to trainer Tick Willis (Whitaker) to help him get his life back on track after losing his wife (McAdams) in a tragic act of violence and his daughter (Laurence) to child protective services.

I took a while to post this review. I really wanted to sit on it and make sure my review was not influenced by other reviews.
Well yes, reviews for this film have been mixed. I can see why, the wonderful acting throws reviewers off a bit. The actors in this film (except 50 cent who is stiff as a board) are wonderfully cast and are all fantastic in their roles. Is Gyllenhaal's performance Oscar worthy? Yes!!! He is really good as an almost crazy/punch drunk Billy Hope. I also think Oona Laurence who plays Leila the daughter is fantastic and maybe, if the Academy remembers her role in January, she should get a strong look at for a nomination. Also Whitaker gives a possible Oscar worthy performance. And lastly Rachel McAdams in a small role is really good.
So we come now to the script. When McAdames dies (not a spoiler it is in the trailer) the film becomes very cliché. While McAdams is alive we get this  interesting look at the behind the scenes life of a successful boxer. The pain, not only the physical pain we see of Billy Hope bleeding, and barely walking the next day, but also the pain and anguish it causes the family. However, like noted, when Maureen Hope dies, the story, which was interesting dies also. It becomes a boxing film we have seen before. The film breezes over some subjects that could be interesting. Like he loses all his money. How? He has an interesting relationship with his daughter and new trainer but it does not dig deep into the "Hows" and "Whys" that makes him change. There was something here but it fell apart.

3 1/2 stars out of 5 for Southpaw. It may be worth a look when it hits home viewing, mainly because of the performances.


Well as always from the shadows thanks for your time.

It's Wednesday...And It's YAY Or NAY Trailers!! With Sisters; Crimson Peak; and The Visit!!

Each Wednesday I pick out three trailers and judge the film just by watching the trailers Yay Or Nay!! Play along!!


CRIMSON PEAK
Release Date Oct 16 2015



Yes it looks like a good scary story for October. And yes I Like Jessica Chastain and Mia Wasikowska. However I can never connect with Guillermo Del Toro. I think he is more flash than story. Be it Pans Labryinth or Hellboy...his films always seem like a visual buffet but with no real meat. His stories seem to open well but then go off track. Critics I think get fooled by the beauty of his films. As for the Crimson Peak trailer...it looks the same problem NAY!!


SISTERS
December 25 2015



Wow Christmas day looks like a big day for movies!! Sisters; Star Wars; Joy; Hateful Eight; and Snowden. As for this film, the trailer looks funny and lets face Poehler and Fey, I am in!! YAY!!


THE VISIT
Release Date September 11 2015



Wow!! This looks funny and creepy at the same time. A visit to the grandparents will never be the same. M. Night needs a hit.....this looks too creepy to be it but I am in....the trailer did it's job and got me interested. YAY!!


Well as always from the shadows thanks for your time as always.

New Film Review: Testament Of Youth

Another Tuesday without a new release for home viewing to be noted..
So a new film review this Tuesday:


TESTAMENT OF YOUTH
Directed by James Kent
Based on the book by Vera Brittain
Screenplay by Juliette Towhidi
Starring Alicia Vikander; Kit Harington; Taron Egerton



Testament of Youth is considered one of the great war memoirs by Vera Brittain, and now after all these years it hits the big screen.
The film has been criticized a bit over seas that it skips many scenes from inside the trenches of World War 1 that were a part of the memoir. I greatly disagree, I felt this was a film about the domestic view of the war and the screenwriter Towhidi made a very good decision. Something had to be left out and we all have seen films depicting the fight scenes and the pictures of war. The film Testament of Youth explores the utter loss, the despair, the incredible empty feeling of losing all that you love. The domestic side of war.

The film starts out like an episode of Downton Abbey. We see Vera swimming on a sunny day with her brother Edward (Taron Egerton) and his friend Victor (Colin Morgan). We see her dream of a better future with hope of being excepted to Oxford. We see her meet and fall in love Roland (Kit Harrington). The film progressively gets darker as war becomes more of a presence within the story, We start to see heartbreaking scenes from her work  as she works nursing the injured, and her wish to transfer to the front line in France. There is no holding back in how disturbing of an experience it was for Brittain as we are shown first hand of the unpleasantness and the aftereffects of war on both sides.

Here comes an I told you so!!!!!!! Weeks back on my Shadow Awards I noted Alicia Vikander as a star to watch out for after her wonderful performance in Ex Machina. Well I told you so because I think she gives an Oscar worthy performance in this film. She is on the screen 98% of the film and we see her go through a roller coaster of emotions.  Somehow, Vikander sells it all, not with big gestures, but with vulnerability, sincerity and the sort of strong energy that can't be described in a review. Vera, to see her in joy and then the umbrealla of sadness as a viewer you just feel her emotions.
Also a quick note: At Oscar time if they ignore Consolata Boyle for Costume Design there is definitely something wrong with the Academy.

Negatives? Just a couple.
-I thought the casting of Kit Harrington as Roland was... well..bad. He had no chemistry with Alicia. I had a hard time believeing they were in love.
-The umbrella of sadness that I mentioned before. You cannot get around it. It is hard to tell people go see a film like this because of the sadness. It is war. Vera gives a speech about war near the end, questioning if there is another way besides war to solve the problems. That question is still relevant today. What is the answer when you are dealing with lunatics like Hitler or ISIS? There is no straight forward answer. She is right by questioning and it is sad there still is no answer.

Testament Of Youth 4 1/2 out of 5 stars...based on a classic autobiography. Adapted to a great screenplay. And a wonderful performance by Alicia Vikander. It is very good, try and catch it.


From the shadows as always thanks for your time.

Monday Recommended: Clouds Of Sils Maria

Okay....I am getting a lot of looks in Ireland so welcome my Irish friends!!!


Now...full disclosure I blew it!! Clouds Of Sils Maria slipped by me a couple weeks ago and I did not add it to my new release list on DVD/BLURay/Streaming.
So I will make it an opportunity!!! So this week I recommend:

CLOUDS OF SILS MARIA
Direction and Screenplay by Olivier Assayas
Starring: Juliette Binoche; Kristen Stewart; and Chloe Grace Moretz



 Maria Enders (Binoche) is asked to perform in a revival of a play that made her famous twenty years ago. However, 20 years ago she played the part of the young sexy girl Sigrid who pushes and pushes and eventually drives her boss Helena to suicide. Now she is being asked to step into the other role, that of the older Helena. With some reluctance she agrees to play the part, to respect the actress who played Helena before her. She departs with her assistant Valentine (Stewart) to rehearse in Sils Maria; a remote region of the Alps. A young star with a history of problems (reminding you of Lindsay Lohan ) Jo-Ann Ellis (Moretz)  is set to play Sigrid. Maria, while rehearsing,  slowly finds similarities between herself and Helena. Valentine is frustrated by Maria's push back, while rehearsing. Valentine also starts to see similarities between herself and Maria; and Sigrid and Helena. Maria's frustration is that she is trying to push back time, which obviously she cannot bring back what once was.

This film seems like it could be a stage play, and interesting enough, this film is about prepping for a stage play. It gives you an insiders look at the film business and the sometimes hardships of fame.
The acting here is fantastic. Two Oscar worthy performances by Binoche and Stewart.
Julie Binoche as Maria, is pretty much a snotty successful actress who is fighting her age, and sort of holds onto her stardom by making people beg her to do parts. As this is going on she is going through a divorce. Age, divorce, stardom, she becomes an actress fighting for acknowledgement, while fighting her own pride (with some fear).
Kristen Stewart is on a roll right now. Still Alice; On The Road; and now Clouds Of Sils Maria. She plays Valentine with almost a fierceness.  Often she says so much with just a look. Richard Roeper noted this performance reminds people she is one of the best actresses of this generation. I have to agree.
I cannot review this film without mentioning Moretz as Jo Ann Ellis. I have not seen Moretz give a bad performance yet in her film career. She is very good here again this time in a smaller role.
Now for the film itself. A nice interesting film that is a bit too long. Too many shots just being held to show us a hill. I have nothing against nice shots of hills but when your screenplay is slow and you are pushing two hours, I think some things can be left on the floor. The film also leaves many questions left open. At one point a main character vanishes which is being debated online what the heck happened to the character, or what was the character. It is intriguing but a little annoying because the film lags a lot and you spend so much time with the characters, you are vested in their lives and you want to know what happened to them in the end.  I just think Assayas tried to be too artsy here, and I feel it slows things down.


Still, what we have here is a film with three lead women,(YES THREE LEAD WOMEN!!) who are acting the hell out of this film that has a "dragging" script. I give Clouds Of Sils Maria 4 out of 5 stars. Why? The acting here is that good. It is like a "how to" film for future actors. I recommend it this week just for you to see something different and maybe you can figure out the end.




Well from the shadows as always thank you for your time.
  

Early Review of Paper Towns

PAPER TOWNS
Directed by Jake Schreier
Screenplay and book by John Green
Starring Nat Wolff and Cara Delevingne



Adapted from the bestselling novel by author John Green, Paper Towns is a teenage story centering on Quentin (Wolff) and his beautiful/offbeat neighbor Margo (Delevingne), who loved mysteries so much she became one. After taking him on an all-night adventure through their hometown, Margo suddenly disappears - leaving behind cryptic clues for Quentin to decipher. The search leads Quentin and his friends on an adventure that is a little bit funny and also moving.

Before I start with my review, a big THANKS to Regal and 20th Century Fox for the pass I received for the sneak peek at Paper Towns tonight with a Q and A afterwards with the stars and John Green which was simulcast from Anaheim and Toronto. More on the after show following the review.

I did not read the book, so I went into the screening with out much knowledge of the plot.
The good:
Casting Delevingne and Wolff as the leads were perfect, with great chemistry. The friends on the road trip all with different personalities. Halston Sage (My favorite) as Lacey the understanding and kind friend of Margo. Justice Smith as Radar as the friend who has a girlfriend but is a bit embarrassed of his friends so he tries to keep the two worlds separate. And Austin Abrams as Ben the friend who wants to push the limits, however he is kind of clueless.
 The film also had some small funny bits, that worked and some did not.
Well that is all the good, sadly, just casting and chemistry, and some humor.

Margo is the most interesting person in this movie and she is not on the screen that often. In fact the character development here is really lacking. I have to wonder if there was more to these characters in the book. The movie was about 109 minutes, why not  make the film over 2 hours and give us some character development?  I found Quentin boring, I did not really care about him and he was the lead! Margo, who I still cannot put my finger on whether she is mean and selfish (for leaving without a notice to anyone) or brave (for deciding to live a different life then others expect of her), is an interesting character but not in the movie very much. When she is not in the film, it dies. I could have had the movie twist around and just follow her travels. The film is billed as a road trip of high school friends, I did not see much of a road trip, maybe 15 minutes of the movie was the road trip . Was the road trip longer in the book? I don't know. The film was also booked as a coming of age story, I did not see that at all. Just an oh well, crap happens story. In fact I think The Duff from earlier in the year was a better coming of age film.
Damn!!! I wanted to really like this. It is just a paper town, with paper houses and paper streets and paper people. I would give it a little better than average maybe 3 1/2 out 5 stars. I understand the film is not for me but for teens, still, I did not read the book, and the book was popular and well received, so I imagine too much was left out. It is funny after that tough review I was thinking I would love to have the two leads meet up again in a future movie like 7 years later, ala the Before Sunset Series, and see what became of them (In hope Quentin became more interesting). There is a Margot story that can be told here.

Now there is not much to add from the after show.
We heard a song sung live by Saint Motel and they were pretty good.
The Q and A with the cast was flat. I got the feeling they may have decided to partake in some liquid refreshments before hand because the cast was kind of too giddy and off topic most of the time. I was shocked however that Delevingne is from London with a thick accent. I would have never guessed from watching the film.
We finished with a fantastic musical performance from Nat Wolff and his brother Alex. Very talented.


Well as always from the shadows thanks for your time.

It's Wednesday...And It's YAY Or NAY Trailers!! With Joy and Pixar's The Good Dinosaur!!

Each Wednesday I pick out three trailers and judge the film just by watching the trailers Yay Or Nay!! Play along!!


JOY
Release Date December 25 2015



David O'Russell directing and Jennifer Lawrence; Robert Deniro; Bradley Cooper all back together again. I really cannot tell what the heck the plot is, however I liked them all together in Silver Linings. I am just excited to see them again ....so YAY!!


THE GOOD DINOSAUR
Release date November 25



It is funny from the trailer it looks like the same plot as Ice Age.
The trailer I thought was awful, which makes me worry about the film. Nay!!


THE DRESSMAKER
Release Date October 22 2015



Wow!! This looks good. It looks fun and a little romance and some secrets. Also I like Liam Hensworth when he is not Thor I think he has wonderful comic timing. Well I hope it gets a full release in October. YAY!!


Well as always from the shadows thanks for your time.

A Post Comic-Con 3 Big Highlights Yay Or Nay!! Including a must see making of!!!

Tuesday I usually cover new home viewing releases, however this week with no new releases of interest, it brings us to a perfect time to cover 3 highlights of Comic-Con YAY Or NAY!!!


I will start out with a sneak peek, must see, of the making of:


STAR WARS THE FORCE AWAKENS
Release Date:: Christmas 2015



Real sets!! Practical effects!! Limiting the CGI!!
Love it. The excitement from the cast and director JJ Abrams gives you goose bumps. It looks old school. Yet new!! A big YAY. This making of was, what, 3 minutes, but better then most trailers you see. It shows excitement and the hard work being done however there are no spoilers.


And now a Comic-Con new teaser trailer for:
BATMAN VS SUPERMAN
Release 2016



Well, what is interesting is it looks like part of the plot line is about what I brought up in my Half The Year Awards. There are people in those buildings that are being destroyed!!! Who is responsible?
It is interesting and it looks like Batman wants revenge for something ( Always miserable).
Well it looks dark. The red capes are coming!! I am going with a slight YAY because there looks to be an actual story here.


SUICIDE SQUAD
Release 2016


Well it highlights Marot Robbie a lot as Harley Quinn. After a lot of criticism of her casting she looks the part, to a point you cannot really recognize her as Robbie. The music is cool,I know the song  I cannot place the singer. The whole tone is creepy. I cannot see me ever cheering for bad guys and that is my problem. NAY!! Also a quick note: Does the sun ever shine in these cities???!!


From the shadows as always thanks for your time.

Monday Recommended: Cinema Paradiso 25 years ago it hit the USA!!

CINEMA PARADISO
Directed by Giuseppe Tornatore
Screenplay by Giuseppe Tornatore
Starring: Philippe Noiret and Salatore Cascio



A filmmaker recalls his childhood, when he fell in love with the movies at his village's theater and formed a deep friendship with the theater's projectionist.

In 1988 Cinema Paridiso was released over seas. However in 1990 it hit our shores. An ode to movie houses. An ode to film. It is a basic film and maybe there lies its magic: no Hollywood superstars, no special effects, just pure emotions and feelings, love, fear, grief and regret, nostalgia for childhood and youth, memories of places and time that have disappeared, it is simple and beautiful.
The score!! The Look!! The Actors!! It is perfection!! I guess it has to be mentioned it starts and ends with the great direction and screenwriting by Tornatore. It is a master class of filmmaking.
'Cinema Paradiso' is in my top ten films of all time. If you love movies, how can it not be? It is a tip of the hat of what film and the experience of watching films can and should be. Magic. Some on movie boards question if there is even a storyline, I disagree. For those who say there isn't maybe they were just thrown off by the score which commands the film.A young boy learns many lessons of life in a movie house, and that is your story. I love how all films have to be screened by the priest before public viewing. He is the editor, and the little boy wants to see them before the edit!
5 out of 5 stars for 25 years of Cinema Paridiso. Did I say enough good things? Available through streaming on Netflix.



 Now, the film that hit the shores of the United States was 120 minutes  This version is the one that won Best Foreign film in 1990. This version was also seen by most people over seas. HOWEVER!! There is a 3 hour version floating around out there. Which I have been lucky enough to see. Tornatore was asked to cut the film down because it could not be seen in 1988/1990 in small Cineplex's because most movie house's only had two screens and well a three hour film loses a Cineplex and production companies money. It is all about how many eyes they can get to watch the film in one night.
So how is the 3 hour version? Not as good, and shockingly a totally different story. It is amazing that chopping off a third of a film can change so much. While the shorter version is magical and sweet. The longer version is depressing and sad and a totally different story. However the strange thing is the longer version is really good also. Just a different tone and look.
Well anyway the streaming version and most rentals are the short version which should be seen first.


From the shadows thanks for your time as always.