Well I have come to the half way mark of the year. So here are my top five films of the year so far in no particular order:
THE UPSIDE
Not as good as the French film The Intouchables that this film is based on which came out in 2012, but still pretty good. The acting makes it work..
Kevin Hart as Dell. This may be his best performance.
Bryan Cranston is believable as Phillip the wheelchair bound individual
Nicole Kidman as Yvonne. Another small role, I like her better in here than Boy Erased which she got Oscar buzz for.
The film has many laughs, and as you can imagine it is also sad in parts...and it is uplifting.
The Upside is available for home viewing.
THE HOTEL MUMBAI
This is the true story of the attack of the Taj Hotel in Mumbai in 2008.
It is intense to the point of exhaustion, and I was not even there. I cant imagine what these people went through. It is a story of survival and bravery of the guest; and the staff who decided to stay in the face of the danger to protect the guest. There was a point while watching this film on the edge of my seat I looked at my phone and realized we have an hour to go still. That depressed me! It was just frightening to watch.
I take away from this film how kind the people were in Mumbai. How they really were not prepared or knew what to do in the face of this evil.
As for the performances:
I was thinking after watching this, has Dev Patel ever gave a bad performance??!! I mean Slumdog; Lion; The Wedding Guest and Marigold Hotel, just as examples. Here he is wonderful once again as Arjun a worker at the Taj.
Here is the list:
Nazanin Boniada
Armie Hammer
Jason Isaacs
And maybe the greatest actor coming out of India Anupam Kher.
Everyone...everyone gives an outstanding performance!
Oh boy..
The humanity, the violence...it is brutal. You wonder sometimes is it pandering to the violence in the hotel as we are watching. This is no White House Down film, this happened. I always say does real violence watched create violence. Is there too much? I did read some people were totally turned off by the violence in this film, they gave it a bad review. I disagree here. The violence shows the heroism of those who stayed behind. It also shows terrorism as raw as it can be, and how anything that can be done to stop this brutality I am all for. These terrorist were there just hunting people. Some say this is not entertaining. Well is a documentary entertaining? This film puts you in the middle of a true story. Either you watch it or not, it still happened, you can ignore it if you like, it is your loss. Director Anthony Maras did not sugar coat this film.
Hotel Mumbai is available for home viewing.
BOOKSMART
This is pretty much a modern female version of Superbad, it may be a bit better, and it definitely earns its R rating.
It follows 2 very smart high school students,,,,who want to break loose for the first time on the night before graduation.
The two students Amy and Molly are played by Kaitlyn Dever and Beanie Feldstein. Both actresses coming from popular TV shows are just excellent. They are the film. Wilde took a chance for 2 newbies in the lead and it worked. In fact every character in this film is perfectly cast, so kudos to Wilde for her casting choices.
As for the script it is funny and and sometimes cringe worthy in a good way (When you see it ...The Panda; The barbie dolls; The sex scene). Then she adds some emotion within the deep friendship between Amy and Molly.
It is fun and crude yet funny!!
This is another film I just do not understand why it did not do better in the theaters,
Booksmart is still out in limited release and will be available for home viewing in August. There is a rumor it may be re-released in the theaters in September however.
AVENGERS ENDGAME
Here is my favorite Avengers Endgame reaction video. I laugh every time I see it.
By Leah Nicole
Endgame, Directed by the Russo brothers is fantastic!! Funny .....suspenseful ....intriguing....and sad (there are 2 deaths that are heartbreaking). All rolled up in a Marvel film. Oh and by the way many theories from the trailers were just theories...not panning out! They made you look left when you should have looked right.
A wonderful ending to this long series.
A couple quick notes ....Hemsworth has the best comic timing and he shows it over and over. It is underrated I think.
Also I hope people understand how legendary the score is by Alan Silvestri...it is fantastic. I hope they think of him at Oscar time.
Avengers Endgame is available for home viewing in August.
YESTERDAY
YESTERDAY
This film from Danny Boyle, who is known for Slumdog Millionaire, is a sweet love story hidden in a fantasy.
Danny Boyle does a lot right:
Casting-
Himesh Patel as Jack is just awesome here. Sometimes saying so much from a look. He can not only act, he is a pretty good singer.
Lily James as Ellie, oh come on, she is always good. One of the best young actresses working today. She does not disappoint.
Kate McKinnon is perfectly cast as agent/manager Debra Hammer. She brilliantly honest in a funny way. I laughed at the comments that rolled off her tongue often.
Surprisingly Ed Sheeran is very good. I thought he was just going to have a cameo. However he has a big part in this film. He is funny, often making fun of stardom, or himself. Like having his song as his ringtone.
Story-
I liked the story. It is a fantasy. We never really know why the world does not know about the Beatles. So, you really just have to go with it. If you cannot then this film is not for you. What is interesting here also is how Danny Boyle kind of reminds us, that hidden in that big larger than life name of The Beatles, lets not forget they wrote some very good songs.
Also there is the over riding theme of...To be dishonest and taking shortcuts to reach your dreams, can eat at you over time...there are lessons here for sure.
Still fun and entertaining.
Yesterday is still showing the theaters.
Well there are my top five so far this year. It has not been a great year for films for sure but these five standout.
I will be back later on this week with the 6 films I am most looking forward to seeing for the rest of the year by month.
From the shadows as always thanks for your time.
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