Well August will be a slow month for new releases for home viewing. This week there is only one to note:
A HOLOGRAM FOR THE KING
Directed by Tom Tykwer
Screenplay by Tom Tykwer
Based on the book by Dave Eggers
Starring Tom Hanks; Alexander Black; Sarita Choudhury
Tom Hanks plays Alan an American businessman heading to Saudi Arabia to try and close a big deal that would help his company and himself.
This will be short because there is not much I can say without spoiling it.
This film is very quiet...it is almost like a combination of Lost In Translation and Salmon Fishing In The Yemen. Tom Hanks, Alan, is in Saudi Arabia and is dealing with time changes; culture changes; and health issues. Alan is also dealing with the slower way of life in Saudi Arabia while the company back home does not understand this way of life. So, he is feeling pressure.
This film also has the great Sarita Choudhury as Zahra the Dr helping Alan. I mean you have her and Hanks how could it be bad???!! Two of the best actors in the world!! She plays her part so soft, and it works compared to the high strung Hanks/Alan.
Alexander Black as Yousef is hilarious. He adds much needed levity, plus he is wise and he shows Alan the culture and life in Saudia Arabia.
Like noted before, this film is quiet and soft. When I left I thought...okay. Just...okay. However it stays with you. It touches on what so many people are going through these days, from, work layoffs, overseas competition, trying to make your family proud, all in a big ball of pressure. It is very real,
If I had an issue with this film it is that it moves at a nice quiet pace and it seems to really rush the ending. It is based on a book but it is only a an hour and thirty five minutes long, so they must have really cut a lot out. I wanted a little more of Alan's life going forward.
4 out of 5 stars for this beautiful nice and soft film.
Directed by Gabriele Muccino
Screenplay by Brad Desch
Starring: Russell Crowe; Amanda Seyfried. Aaron Paul; and Kylie Rogers
The film follows the relationship between author Jake Davis (Crowe) and his daughter Kate ( played by both Seyfried and Rogers)
I just got done reviewing Cafe Society. I mentioned how odd it is to see a soft quiet film in between all the loud summer blockbusters. Well here is another soft film, however this one as opposed to Cafe Society which has a bit of joy in it, this film has an umbrella of sadness to it.
Let me start with the good:
The acting is just wonderful.
Russell Crowe as always is good, here playing the father desperate to keep his daughter while fighting a personal illness. My blinders may be on because Crowe is my favorite actor working today.
Amanda Seyfried plays the older Kate and is a mess. She is spot on playing the ball of emotions this young lady is.
Aaron Paul as Cameron Kate's love interest. He plays against type as the kind patient boyfriend.
Kylie Rogers playing the young Kate, swoops in and out performs everyone. She is asked to show a wide range of emotions in this film and she is spectacular.
Then come the bad.
The film moves in slow motion, which can be fine but the story is so sad, and many parts drag as I felt I was seeing the same pieces of the story over and over again.It is painful.
Then the film is showed sometimes in flashbacks and sometimes not, which makes it confusing.
Another problem is the older Kate is ....annoying. Yes she has been through a lot, but she comes across as an asshole. Even with the ending, which seems rushed, I did not care about her.
As stated above, it has a nice story about a father fighting for his daughter, however there is an umbrella of sadness. 2 out of 5 stars for Fathers And Daughters. Great performances bogged down with a depressingly slow sad script, with odd editing between different time spans.
Directed by Woody Allen
Screenplay by Woody Allen
Starring Jesse Eisenberg; Kristen Stewart; Steve Carrell; and Blake Lively
Phil Stern (Eisenberg) moves to Hollywood and gets a job working for his uncle (Carrell). He stumbles on a relationship with Vonnie (Stewart), thus opening up a love triangle.
This film kind of surprised me. It is very soft, and as a viewer it come across as, maybe, just nice, just because it is the summer. I get so used to films with loud bangs; special effect; and powerful issues, all thrown at me. Here, it is just a soft interesting film that is likable.
Eisenberg's Phil is pretty much a young version of Woody Allen. He has all the twitch's and stutters that Woody has.
This is Kristen Stewart's third film with Eisenberg. their chemistry shows. Readers who have been with this blog for awhile know I think Stewart is an underrated as an actress and is one of the best young actresses working today. She does not do very well with interviews and paparazzi , and I think people see that and can not separate that from her performances which is sad because if you look at her performances after Twilight film you will agree with me. Here in Cafe Society she plays Vonnie so soft and confused that it may come across as easy but she is playing against big personalities.
Steve Carrell is pretty good in his role as Phil Stern, however as opposed to Eisenberg and Stewart Carrell and Stewart have no chemistry and it hurts the film a bit.
As for the script and look.
Like noted before, the script is soft yet funny and touching. It touches on a love triangle and how sometimes when it comes to love you cannot go back. I also love how it takes you to a time and place where Hollywood was magical and so was New York City (And throw in the mob lol). It gives you a feeling of yearning. If the script had a fault maybe it finished a little too soft (No Spoilers). The film came in under 1:30 and I could have used more.
4 out of 5 stars for Cafe Society. A film that does not really fit in with all the summer blockbusters, however there is something to be said about a cute, quiet, lovely, interesting story.
Directed by Matt Ross
Screenplay by Matt Ross
Starring Viggo Mortensen and George Mackay
Viggo Mortensen plays Ben who is raising his six children out in the wilderness of the Pacific Northwest. He stresses rigorous physical and and intellectual education. Things change when he has to leave his wilderness home to take a trip into the world.
I watched this film weeks ago....and to be honest I wanted to sleep on it for a bit. I could not ...well... it is odd. There are negatives but I cannot figure out if they are negatives in my head or that is just the way the film was leaning.
The film is well acted. Every one of the six children are amazing while handling heavy subjects often. Plus they are very funny spitting out their lines with spot on timing.
Still this film has two fantastic performance:
Viggo Mortensen as Ben...is part spiritual and part just crazy. As he often does, he lives, he owns the characters he plays. So there is no surprise how good he is in this Oscar worthy performance.
George McKay as Bo the oldest son. Just wonderful playing tug of war with the life he has now and the life he feels is out there waiting for him. As the film moves on you feel like maybe the film is about him.
As for the script and look:
Well the look is beautiful as you can imagine.
Now the script is what gives me pause.
I walked away thinking, I understand what Ben is doing with his family, and I kind of understand (No Spoilers Here As Usual) what he is doing, as the film moves on you understand that he is a good father, but at the same time he has them doing dangerous and odd things that makes him a bad father. He almost steps on his own feet. He comes across as a bit crazy, and the ending seems simplified. I have trouble believing the changes came by so easy, and that makes the film seem to finish with a quiet thud, or maybe there is a time span where things changed not showed. Or maybe I am overthinking this film.
Another maybe.....Maybe the point is to get us the viewers to think about how our lives are complicated and maybe we bring that on ourselves.
4 out of 5 stars for a well acted film. An interesting story that will definitely have you thinking afterwards. This was a hard review to do because of my no spoilers review, so I apologize for it being choppy and sporadic. What I can tell you is, it is a good road trip film and for those who followed my blog from the beginning know that I am a sucker for road trip films!!!!!!!!!!!
So critics are ripping it apart. Me? It is not great, but it is good. It is a nice intro to some really interesting characters. The film will make a lot of money no matter what the critics say, so it is a nice set up for future films.
Lets me go through the cast:
Margo Robbie as Harley Quinn- She is the real star of this film. They try to push Will Smith, but no it is Margo. She is perfectly cast, and she plays Harley spot on. A little sad, a lot wacky, a loose cannon. Perfect. If there is one negative it is the New York/Jersey twang that goes in and out.
Will Smith as Deadshot: He is a big time star and is generous here to take a role where his character takes a back seat often. He does get a very generous backstory. He plays Deadshot as a sniper with feelings, and it works.
Jared Leto as The Joker-I do not know what to think. After all the talk in the press about his Joker, He really is not in the picture much. It is interesting how he manipulates Harley. However that is all back story, not much of The Joker after that. As for his Joker. From the little we see of him....slightly overrated, Heath Ledger is still the best Joker.
Jai Courtney as Boomerang-He was really good but he took a big backseat and we really did not find out much about him. He was just there, at least he added humor.
Jay Hernandez as Diablo-He is really good, he brings feeling to his part. We see his inner struggles. He almost just wants peace. He almost hates himself. In a part that going in I did not think much about he really shines.
Adewale-Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Killer Croc-Just a waste. Not much of a back story and I really did not understand a thing he said. I guess he is good...could not really tell.
Karen Fukuhara as Katana-we did not get much press on her part or Karen herself. She made her part interesting. There is a language barrier yet you see that what she is doing is bigger than this mission. Think about it...no press...language barrier and you still feel her emotions. She is really good.
Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flag-In my opinion one of the best working actors out there (See The Killing or Run All Night). Again a wonderful performance here as Rick Flag. He is a bundle of emotions as a Service man understanding his mission but struggling with the ramifications of his mission. He is really good.as usual.
Cara Delevingne as June Moone/Enchantress-She was the only good thing in Paper Towns, here she is unrecognizable as a witch and really has nothing to do except get lost in special effects. Cannot go beyond that ...my no spoilers review promise.
Viola Davis as Amanda Waller-You cannot criticize her I mean she is Viola Feaking Davis or her in this part mainly because all her cards have no been shown yet. I will leave it at that.
So it is well acted, and that brings hope for future Suicide Squad films...but here come the bad.
The look! The special effects seem cheap,
Dark. I mean not in tone but dark. The sun never shines. Even in flashbacks. WTH?
People? Where is everybody?? No citizens! No Police! No ambulance/paramedics! What is everybody on vacation? It is just stupid.
I would love to have the bad guy/girl/or whatever have a purpose. Nothing is explained except...I guess ending the world. In fact the story line is not as interesting as the characters. That is a problem because it is the point of the story.
Editing. Just bad decisions. Where to start. Quick edits during battles that take us away from what we are seeing. In the middle of battles we get flashback scenes, in other words we get into exciting scenes and out of nowhere we are in some club!! Why??!! Just bad decisions everywhere in editing/storytelling.
In other words...the next Suicide Squad should be without Mr Ayer.
3 stars out of 5 for Suicide Squad, for the acting and just interesting characters. Not great but good.
A couple last notes:
1-Look for Common; Ezra Miller; Scott Eastwood; and Ben Affleck all making small appearances.
2-Stay during credits...in the middle is a set up for Justice League and maybe Suicide Squad 2.
A big week for home viewing. So I will start with the best of the four.
KEANU
Directed by Peter Atencio
Screenplay by Jordan Peele and Alex Rubens
Starring Jordan Peele and Keegan-Michael Key
Rell has lost his girl. Now, has lost his cat. Rell and his best friend Clarence will stop at nothing to get his cat Keanu back.
Damn that cat is cute.
I saw that this film is not getting great reviews. I disagree with them. After you see the trailer or the commercials you go for comedy and action. I think it delivers.
Damn That cat is cute.
This film at times is laugh out loud funny. Even the whole idea is so ridiculous, fighting gangsters for a kitten, is so far out there it is funny. Then you throw in two gentleman who try to be street and gangster like and clearly are not. That is funny. As you see in the trailer, the Wham/George Michael scene is funny, however there is another scene that had me laughing out loud (As always no spoiler review). In fact George Michael is a running joke through out the film. They throw in some action pretty much for us to see the main characters reactions. That works also.
What also works is there are a lot of small parts played by the "gangsters" here that are hilarious because they are all in. They are often as funny as Key and Peele.
Damn that cat is cute.
Negatives? The plot is very thin, and at one hour and thirty five minutes it oddly seems long. Again, it has to be the thin plot. There is only so many funny/ridiculous gunfights I can watch without getting bored and after awhile it ceases to be funny. It almost seems like a plot from their TV show they they stretched out too long.
Damn that cat is cute.
4 stars out of 5 for Keanu. It delivers what it promises. Just a little long.
Did I note that cat is cute.
MOTHERS DAY
Directed by Gary Marshall
Screenplay by Tom Hines; Lily Hollander; Anya Konchoff; and Mathew Walker
Starring: Everybody in Hollywood
Jennifer Aniston, Sandy, is a single mom dealing with her exhusband's new younger wife while raising 2 boys.
Kate Hudson, Jessee, is dealing with the visit of her prejudice parents.
Jason Sudeikis,Bradley, is a single father raising 2 girls and dealing with the death of his wife.
Juliet Roberts, Miranda, is a home shopping network host who meets her daughter, Brit Robertson's Kristen, who she gave up for adoption.
Coming off the sad death of Gary Marshall comes the last wide release of his.
I liked Gary Marshall's Valentines Day. Did not love it but I liked it. New Years Eve was unwatchable. So now Mothers Day. Mothers Day is not good but not bad. It just lays there, and does not do much.
Casting: This film has a star studded cast that all look like they rather be in a dentist chair than in this movie. I know they all love Gary Marshall, who does not, but if you don't want to be all in, do not be in. I felt like I was watching a bunch of actors sleep walking. The best performance was by Britt Robertson but she is barely in the film. Plus, they put sooo much makeup on this pretty girl, to make her look older I guess, she is almost unrecognizable.
As for the script? It comes across as a serviceable ABC Friday night sitcom. However...I hate calling it "sitcom like' because I honestly did not laugh once. It is bogged down with too many story lines and because of that it lacks character development and lazy story lines that all tie up "Blah, at the end. One story line involving Kate Hudson seems so dated it is hard to watch. I almost wanted to know where Jack Tripper and Mr Roper was (For the youth that is a Three's Company reference).
After all that that trashing, there is nothing really crude or bad,so it works as a lite safe film. 1 1/2 stars out of 5 for Mothers Day.
Note: You see two kids cart wheeling in a wedding scene. That is the debut of Hazel and Henry Moder the children of Juliet Roberts.
This is the 18th film that Hector Elizondo has been in that Gary Marshal directed.
THE LOBSTER
Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos
Screenplay byYorgos Lanthimos and Efthymis Fillippou
Starring: Colin Farrell; Rachel Weiz; and Lea Seydoux
In a future society, being single is frowned upon. To a point that, if you are single, you get sent away to some.....hotel..or resort to find a match. However if you do not find a match within a certain time you get turned into an animal of your choice.
Did you see that trailer????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Funny !!!!! Quirky!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well then you are fooled. This film is like a Hunger Games however not pitting the war between haves and the hungry. This is pitting the couples against the singles.
The difference? Remember, and I think people forget, that the Hunger Games films were based on YA novels. Not this film!! This film shows you the violence. Even the singles are violent against each other in an awful fashion
This film is so hard to watch.
- Hunting single people with darts
-Killing animals that are suppose to be former people and you see them all bloody
-Sewing peoples mouths shut, and other areas!!
-Because you have to be a perfect match ...like if you have a limp they have to have a limp...which means you get the pleasure of watching people severely damaging themselves to find a match so they will not be turned into an animal
-how about blinding people
You cannot tell that from the trailer can you?
I understand critics like this film (I saw that one critic called it the best film of the year) because they want to seem smart and see the deeper meaning (I have said from the beginning, here you get real reviews. I am not here to show you how smart I am. I am here to give my opinion and help you decide if you should spend money on a film). I get the deeper meaning: Societies influences on people to become a couple and how they, unknowingly or knowingly look down on being single in society. I get it. However...this movie is hard to watch, is upsetting and I had to close my eyes many times.
A great performance by Farrell cannot make this film watchable. 1 1/2 stars out of 5, and that 1 1/2 is just for Farrell, for this just hard to watch ugly film.You know my rules when I started this thing:
Was I entertained? You are sick if you were entertained by this. I mean the ending??? I get it...for love...I do not need to see it or pay to see it.
Did I learn from this? No.
THE BRONZE
Directed by Bryan Buckley
Screenplay by Melissa and Winston Rauch
Starring Melissa Rauch; Gary Cole; Haley Lu Richardson; Thomas Middleditch; and Sebastian Stan
Melissa Rauch plays Hope who wins a bronze medal in gymnastics. Years later she is a foul mouthed former star who lives with her father, still wears her USA Sweats and thinks she should not have to pay for anything in the small town she grew up in.
The story surprised me a bit. The film is lead by this fantastic performance by Rauch. Yes her character Hope is unlikable, however you watch and see she hurts. She gives a look like all this anger is just a wall. You know where this story is going. Still it is interesting film following a young star who is a has been in her teens. Where does she go from there?
Now Rauch and her husband produced this film and they did a great job of casting:
Gary Cole as the kind loving dad.This is a different role for Cole. No dry humor here. He is kind and plays Melissa's punching bag sort of.
Haley Lu Richardson as Maggie, the young up and coming gymnast, is fantastic in her role. She is a star in the making.
Thomas Middleditch, as the keeper of the gym, is soooo sweet and soft playing the yin to Melissa's yang.
Again, you see where this is going. And in Hope's last speech to Maggie, you see how far Hope has come.
Vulgarity, with an odd sex scene, that adds some laughs. The film works. It is not great but I thought it was good. 3 stars out of 5 for The Bronze.
Rauch is not the Rauch you see on Big Bang that is for sure.
