Well there are 4 home viewing releases this week to note.
First I wanted to let people know who get to my blog through a link on Facebook, yes it is messy. There is an ongoing problem with links to Facebook. Not just for me but for other bloggers. I am watching sites to see if anyone comes up with a way to solve it. Word is....it is a new Facebook blocker. Well anyway it may look messy but you can still click it and get to the blog, or just go right to my blog and see what is new.
STEVE JOBS
Directed by Danny Boyle
Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin
Based on the book by Walter Isaacson
Starring Michael Fassbender; Kate Winslet; Seth Rogan; and Jeff Daniels
In this revealing film we explore the trials and triumphs of a modern day genius and maybe carnival barker, the late CEO of Apple inc. Steven Jobs (Michael Fassbender).
It is like a stage play, most of the film taking place behind the scenes right before three important product launches in 1984 The Macintosh; 1988 NEXT Cube; and 1998 the IMAC.
Fassbender is fantastic as Jobs, he takes Sorkin's rapid fire dialogue and never misses a beat even with many conversations going on at the same time, always looking confident. He is in every scene. He is a jerk. He is confident. His social skills are just way off. He is Steve Jobs!
Then you have Kate Winslet as Joanna Hoffman as Steve's right hand assistant and advisor. The only one who could tell him off. She is wonderful. Nervous and frustrated and almost caring and motherly.
Seth Rogan as Steve Wozniak, Steve's partner who is constantly being treated as an assistant, in reality he is the inventor. There is no doubt this is Rogans best performance ever.
Then we come to Jeff Daniels as John Sculley. Jeff Daniels could be one of this countries most underrated actors. Like in the film Martian he comes in here and just commands the screen as Job's mentor/father. He is an interesting actor, alongside his screen work, Daniels is the founder of The Purple Rose Theater Company in Chelsea, Michigan in the town where he lives. Then he pops in to films and TV roles and then leaves for a couple years then pops back in. He always seems to find good roles (ignoring dumb and dumber 2).
As for Boyle he made an interesting decision to have each part of the movie filmed differently. 1984 was filmed with 16mm. 1988 in 35 mm. 1998 in digital. You can clearly see the difference and it really works. It gives the film a great feel of time and place.
Sorkin, as noted before, gives his usual rapid fire dialog. Surprisingly the focus is not on Jobs and Apple, but his relationships with people close to him and mostly spotlighting on the relationship with his daughter Lisa. However, here is the film is not true. Yes it is true that Jobs was a very difficult person, but 95% of this movie is false....including the final scene with his daughter that did not happen in 1998 but a year earlier. I do not know how fair it is to write real facts into a script and then use them all in a consolidated different time span, and almost selling it as being true. I guess it is up to you, the viewer to decide if that is right or wrong.
I give it 4 out of 5 stars for the wonderful performances highlighted by Fassbender bringing Jobs back to life.
The Good Dinosaur
Directed by Peter Sohn
Screenplay by 7 people
What if the big meteorite missed. Thus begins an epic journey into the world of dinosaurs where an Apatosaurus named Arlo makes an unlikely human friend.
Yes going in I knew that this Pixar film has had a lot of trouble. I mean 7 writers. I hear that at one point they scrapped a storyline and all the artwork and had to start over again. I also knew going in that this Pixar film had the tough job of following in the foot steps of Inside Out. I tried to go in however with a fresh look. Just judging the film on its own merits. This film is not bad but it really has many a problem.
Yes you can see that they had an idea.... boy meets dinosaur... but I really don't think they knew where to go with it. It felt like I was watching the same scenes over and over again, Walk attacked walk attacked walk attacked. It became boring a bit. Another problem I did not care for the dinosaur or the boy. I found them both annoying, and like most good Pixar characters you fall in love with them and care about them. Here, not so much. This film just seemed flat and by the way...very violent. Animals are getting eaten constantly it seems like. The film can be scary.
Now I know this film is not meant for me, it is for kids and the kids in the theatre seemed to sit still and enjoy it. So I will push my rating up a notch just for that.... 2 1/2 stars for The Good Dinosaur. 3 out of 5 for kids. A Pixar miss.
BLACK MASS
Directed by Scott Cooper
Screenplay by Mark Mallouk and Jez Butterworth
Based on the book by Dick Lehr and Gerard O'Neill
Starring Johnny Depp; Joel Edgerton; and Benedict Cumberbatch
John Connolly ( Edgerton) and James "Whitey" Bulger (Depp) grew up together on the streets of South Boston. Decades later, in the late 1970s, Connolly was a major figure within FBI's Boston office and Whitey had become head of the Irish Mob. What happened between them - being a one sided informant and the take down Boston's Italian Mafia would spiral out of control. All leading to murders, drug dealing, racketeering, and finally to Bulger and Connolly being brought down.
Johnny Depp is fantastic in this saying so much with a look and stare. However the movie is not about him. It is more about John Connolly played by Edgerton. He may even be better than Depp. We follow him as he gets deeper and deeper into the mob mess.
Surrounding these two main characters are a bunch of wonderful small performances. Dakota Johnson, is not in the film as much as the press releases would have you think, is very good as Whitey's wife. A fantastic performance by Julianne Nicholson as Connolly's wife. Come to think about it does she ever give a bad performance. She stole Osage County away from the bigger stars. Cumberbatch as Whitey's brother, like Depp, says so much without talking. He is stuck between being a good man and being a loyal brother to Whitey. And then there is Kevin Bacon as FBI Boston Office head who cannot seem to get anything on Whitey because Connolly continuously blocks the office.
All these fine performances are blocked by a cold...sterile screenplay. Yes Depp drips of evil but we are really never allowed to see the "Whys and What" of his life. We constantly see the end product which is a sadistic killer. We rarely get his thoughts. So we are then left with a film that leaves us walking away thinking, well that was okay and interesting...and that is about it. We even have people like his wife who just disappear, we do not get below the surface of Whitey. Maybe they did not have that much info on Whitey, they only knew what he did.
3 1/2 out of 5 for this violent cold film. I would have started the film from his life out in California and how he lived out there then bring in flashbacks. It would have let us know more about him. We, as a viewer would be more involved.
TRUMBO
Directed by Jay Roach
Screenplay by John McNamara
Based on the book by Bruce Cook
Starring Bryan Cranston; Diane Lane; Elle Fanning; and John Goodman
In 1947, Dalton Trumbo was Hollywood's top screenwriter until he and other artists were jailed and blacklisted for their political beliefs.
The film sounds deep and thought provoking, touching on the Hollywood Blacklist. However in reality, the film almost comes across as funny, because of the combination of Trumbo's eccentric behavior and the way he got around being black listed.
There is a lot of talk about Cranston's wonderful performance. I just think that this performance is one note and that is hold the cigarette and lecture. Also, his character is mean, which makes it hard to cheer him on. He treats everybody around him like employees including his family. Communist or not, he is sort of an ass.
Diane Lane really does not have much to do here, Her talents were wasted. Elle Fanning (My favorite young actress) also, not much to do here. John Goodman however as Frank King a producer is awesome and hilarious, think about it...he is always good but has not received an Oscar nomination along the way.
Louis CK as Arien Hird is quietly good as a friend of Trumbo who also gets treated like an employee also. His part is just sad.
Well it was an interesting film, it just seemed, a little better than okay. I never felt bad for Trumbo. I felt bad form his friends and family, and I do not think that was suppose to be the point of the film. 3 stars out of 5.
As always thanks for your time from the shadows.
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