The Shadows Summer Awards!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The summer film season has come to a close. It is time to dress up in warm comfy clothes and read The Shadow Awards for the summer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now my rewards are for the unofficial start of the summer Memorial Day weekend until the unofficial end......Labor Day.

BEST FILM OF THE SUMMER



Don't Think Twice
I know, you are saying....sell out ...you are such a critic liking the small films over the big. No!!
Think about it....was there any BIG movies that you walked out of the theater thinking "I can't wait to see that again". Sadly no. It was a disappointment. In fact I waffled between this film and and another small film...Hell Or High Water.  So, a BIG film was never really thought of as the best.

Don't Think Twice offers everything...humor...friendship...jealousy...even love...and a touch of the real world. It is short and simple but I wanted to see it again and I did not want it to end. I liked spending time with these characters.

WORST FILM OF THE SUMMER



INDEPENDENCE DAY RESURGENCE

I love that it is tagged with "We Had Twenty Years To Prepare". yes they did. They had twenty years to prepare for this film. How can the plot and acting be so bad. Maybe the worst acted film of the year. Just bad.

BEST ACTRESS OF THE SUMME



MERYL STREEP

In Florence Foster Jenkins she makes a great comeback after the awful Ricki And The Flash.
A wonderful funny yet sad performance. It may be interesting at Oscar time to see a Streep vs Sally Fields showdown.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS OF THE SUMMER



GILLIAN JACOBS

In Don't Think Twice Jacobs come In and takes over the film. Just watch her performance in the well at the end of this film. Sadly the film may be even too small for Oscar voters.

BEST ACTOR OF THE SUMMER



JEFF BRIDGES

It was almost a part made for him. An sheriff who is persistent, gruff, funny, and...I guess Texas...as he looks into the eyes of retirement.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR OF THE SUMMER



GEORGE MACKAY

As Bo in Captain Fantastic he swoops into this film showing such a wide range of emotions...he almost steals the film away from Viggo Mortensen. He is fantastic...no pun intended.

MOST EXCITING "SUMMER" MOVIE



THE SHALLOWS

This film that is not even 90 minutes long, yet it gave the viewers all the edge of your seat excitement that you want in the summer.. A wonderful performance by Blake Lively, just a woman vs a shark. That simple. No car chases, No buildings falling down. Just a simple premise. It just worked. Yes she makes stupid mistakes, however don't we all. That within its self makes it real.

FUNNIEST FILM OF THE SUMMER



MIKE AND DAVE NEED WEDDING DATES

There were pretenders that started out real funny...Sausage Party....Pop Star....but they died quickly at in the second half. Mike And Dave, yes it got sloppy at the end, but it still stayed funny. It kind of surprised me, because it seemed like everyone in the film gets big laughs, and that makes it work. Amazingly a true story!!!. Throw in a massage that you will never forget.

BEST FAMILY FILM OF THE SUMMER



PETE'S DRAGON

With a summer of  animated films for the family...........this film stands out as the winner.
It does everything right, (if kids can get past the first 5 minute BAMBI moment). It is soft. Exciting. It looks wonderful. Plus it has Robert Redford!! It is still out there in theaters....go see it!!

BEST DRAMA/ROMANTIC FILM OF THE SUMMER



ME BEFORE YOU

The summer is usually not the time for this type of film. Usually the Fall or Spring these films come out. However this summer this film delivered. At first I compared it too much with the wildly popular book. Then I watched it twice and realized, standing on its own it is a really interesting story about love, and also life. I would be leaving another film and I would see people crying as they leave their theater. I knew which film/theater they came out of. It delivered what people wanted to see.
It also had some good performances and chemistry by Emilia Clarke and Sam Claflin.

BEST CHARACTER OF THE SUMMER



HARLEY QUINN

I thought Suicide Squad was not great but not as bad as critics said. I just think they had a lot of characters to introduce and forgot to develop a good bad villain.
However the one thing I can say is Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn owned this movie. Point....every time she is off screen the film drops down a bit. In fact after all the talk of Jared Leto as the Joker, he was over shadowed by Robbie. She is fantastic.


Well bring on the Fall. from the shadows as always thanks for your time.

New Releases For Home Viewing This Week: Two really Good Films

ME BEFORE YOU

Directed by Thea Sharrock
Screenplay and Novel by Jo Jo Moyes
Starring Emilia Clarke and Sam Clafin



Lou Clarke (Emilia Clarke) takes a job as the caregiver for Will Traynor (Sam Claflin) who is Paralyzed.

I read the book. I had to get that out of the way. I always prefer to see a film before reading the book. I think if you watch the film then read the book, you let the book expand on the film. However, like noted, I read the wonderful book. Which makes it difficult to review this film without thinking what they left out. I will be honest without giving out spoilers with a review that will mention the book when need be.
Right away I will tell you I liked the film, I loved the book. I like the premise of the film and the thought process of the book being............. attack life.
Where did the movie miss the mark making it just likable?
Lou Clark. In the book she is struggling with life outside of her job/relationship with Will Traynor.
The relationship with her sister was written out. The deeper struggle with her boyfriend. The struggle with not having a place in her own home. All written out. The maze scene was a real deep situation in the book also written out, and that told us where Clark is coming from. I feel it is important that the struggles are shown and it was a bad decision. Why? It adds to the ending. The meaning of where she is at the end (no spoilers). Where she is, compared to where she came from, not financially, but it is part of her growth. Big mistake. What we get is Clarke playing Lou as an odd happy go lucky person which comes across in the beginning as annoying and her eyebrows almost become a character in the film.
So now I compared the film to the book, How was this film standing all by itself?

If I was in charge of the movie world (I hope you vote for me) I would make sure that Thea Sharrock will never direct another film. How can she take this really good story and make a shockingly bad decision to add a soundtrack to this film????!!!! At some point she thought....I do not think this film brings enough emotion....lets add some sad/or happy songs!! UGH!!! It was eye rolling because the music was not needed. Maybe just trust the words and add a score!!! Again UGH!! There is a reason why the book was popular. The page!! The feelings coming off the page. Trust!!

Yes I know most of this review has been negative. You need to know there is a lot to like. In fact there is a lot to like.
The heart of the story is still there.
The acting in this film is wonderful. The chemistry between Clarke and Claflin is spot on.
Claflin has a difficult role of acting without moving which makes it a struggle for him to project emotion. He is very good.
As for Clarke. With a film covering tough subjects she does do a very good job at adding levity and humor to this movie. It is funny, that in the beginning, I thought....this is not the Clark from the book, however as the story went on she grew on me. Not as the Clark from the book but as a different Clark, the character in this movie. Which is okay, she became her own Clark.

One last note: So I am watching this film and thinking, that gentleman playing Patrick, Clark's boyfriend, I have seen him somewhere before. Where? I know I have seen him before. Where? Where? So I stay for the credits and ...WOW! Patrick was played by Matthew Lewis!! Yes Neville Longbottom!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He looks so.................UN-NEVILLE LONGBOTTOM!!! It shocked me lol!!

Well 4 out of 5 stars for Me Before You. You have to try, I know it is hard, to approach without the book in your head. Clarke and Clafin are wonderful together. It does deliver the emotion and laughs that you come for. I hope this film did well enough so they can also do Me After You.

JUNGLE BOOK

Directed by John Favreau
Screenplay by Justin Marks
Based on the book by Rudyard Kipling
Starring Neil Sethi




Jungle Book You know the story.

This film is gorgeous. Absolutely beautiful!!
The film does not veer to much from the cartoon we all know and love. In fact it is the same plot minus the same ending. It even has Bare Necessities and I Wanna Be Like You (it does not have the March Of The Elephants).
So you know the plot.
Amazingly there is only one actor and that is Seth as Mowgli. He performs wonderfully against nothing if you think about it. He is by himself against a green screen I am sure. I hear they put him with Bill Murray a couple times but he is not a bear!! The kid is real good and I hope they remember him at Oscar time.
Have to say great voice work by Bill Murray (Baloo); Ben Kingsley (Bagheera); Idris Elba (Shere Kahn); Christopher Walken (King Louie/with a little tip of the cap to the cowbell by the way); Lupita Nyong'O  (Raksha). They do a great job at voicing emotions. With help from wonderful CGI work.
And finally the score by John Debney is fantastic, it sets the tone nonstop through out the film

WARNING!!!!!!!!!!!!
This film is violent. Death and killing. Scary jungle scenes. I would say 8 and over. If your kids get frightened still by the flying monkeys in The Wizard Of Oz, they will be scared here.

4 out of 5 stars for this Beautiful Jungle Book. I just wished they would have done something different in this remake. Still see it, yes you know the story but this is gorgeous looking.

From the shadows as usual thanks for your time.

New Film Review: Don't Think Twice

DON'T THINK TWICE

Directed By Mike Birbiglia
Screenplay by Mike Birbiglia
Starring Mike Birbiglia; Gillian Jacobs; Kate Micucci; Tami Sagher; Kegan Michael Key; and Chris Gethard



One of the best films of the year.
There are movies that are made for multi millions of dollars knowing full well it will be a blockbuster film or even a blockbuster failure.
Then there are smaller films that have award season goals. That is not bad. I tend to like those films because they seem to be better written. I also can go the other way with them because they tend to be depressing.
Then there are films like Don't Think Twice, that are low budget, and are so small that it falls under the radar of award season because it does not have the advertisement push and such (See also Sing Street). However they get made because along the way a producer saw a nice funny quiet story.

Here come Don't Think Twice, one of the best films of the year.

There is not one thing I can find wrong here.
Directing and the screenplay and even the acting by Mike Birgbiglia is all spot on and wonderful.
The film follows a small comedy troupe and close nit friends called The Commune. When one member gets the ultimate job to be on Weekend Live, jealousy and egos start to find its way into the troupe but also into the friendships.
The script is funny touching and thought provoking. Mainly because this type of situation does not just happen in acting/comedy, it happens in the real world. When a co-worker/ friend gets a promotion. When friends go in opposite directions. It is real.
The known star here is Key, But he steps back and lets the other actors shine and they do.
They are all great performances however Gillian Jacobs as Samantha shine above them all.
She is amazing here spotlighted by her last performance on the stage for The Commune. Tears and laughter all at the same time. She is great and one of the best female supporting performances of the year. However like noted in the beginning, it may be even too small for Oscar voters.

Small yes. It does not take away from this emotional yet funny fantastic film. I wanted to see more, I did not want it to end.

5 out of 5 stars for Don't Think Twice. Small but still you have to find it.


From the shadows as always thanks for your time.

New Film Review: Don't Breathe

Don't Breathe

Directed by Fede Alvarez
Screenplay by Fede Alvarez and Rodo Sayagues
Starring Jane Levy; Dylan Minnette; Daniel Zovatto; and Stephen Lang




A couple plot holes (Worst police investigation ever). Many times I want to scream at the screen move, stop staring, move!!!!!!!!!!!

However.....I can give that all a slight pass. Why? Because this film delivers what you go to this movie to see or experience. Scares. Tension. Shocking reveals. Crazy twists It does everything right.

It has wonderful acting highlighted by Jane Levy as Rocky. She is a very good actress (See Suburgatory in which she was better than the scripts she worked with), who is in almost every scene here and she really sucks you in as you feel her fear.
Also Stephen Lang as The Blind Man is spot on. This film does not work without a good bad guy, and in a very difficult part to play, Lang is believable and almost scary pathetic. Because of his size he almost seems like a modern Michael Myers.

Negative and a big one:

This will not be a spoiler because it is the first scene you see. Lang dragging Levy down the street.
Who made that stupid decision!! It reveals.................well.......what is to come......if that makes sense.
No spoilers here so I will not go further.

Like I noted this film delivers what it promises, it is almost exhausting. So Tense!!
4 stars out of 5 for Don't Breathe. Fun, scary film.

By the way, I started thinking this film has a lot in common with Hell Or High water the film I also reviewed today, in that it has us cheering for people to steal money. It is not theirs!!! Yes the characters in both films have a very good reason to want the money but....it is not yours. Funny how films can pull at our heart strings and have us cheer on people to do the wrong things.

Well from the shadows as always thanks for your time.

New Film Review: Hell Or High Water

HELL OR HIGH WATER

Directed by David Mackenzie
Screenplay by Taylor Sheridan
Starring Jeff Bridges; Chris Pine; Ben Foster; and Gil Birmingham





Wow. After a summer full of so-so films, or just okay or better than okay films this shows up in August. One of the best films of the year period.
I think about films and TV shows that show bank heists, that the viewers seem to always cheer on the bank robbers. Even here, with Jeff Bridges as Marcus Hamilton, a pit-bull of a Sheriff who is doing the right thing. Even here with Hamilton's side kick Alberto Parker played wonderfully by Gil Birmingham as he puts up with Hamilton's off color jokes. Even here with Ben Foster, in another of his great performances, as a wacky unlikable bank robber Tanner Howard who shoots before he thinks. So why do we cheer for the bad guy to get away with a bank robbery? This film touches on it. Here in modern times especially, banks are looked upon as the bad guy. This movie touches on this often, and that makes the film even more interesting. We as viewers are kind of split in our emotions. We love a successful bank robbery but we also want Hamilton to catch the robbers, to be successful as he winds down his career.

It is well acted, in fact all four actors deserve consideration during awards season. Maybe the best performance of Chris Pines career. He is like us, he knows he is doing wrong but has to push forward with his plan to rob the banks. The same banks that he feels are doing his family wrong and in the long run will help his said family.

The script by David Mackenzie is one of the best if not the best of the year. Kind of a western....kind of not. Kind of a story about the economic plight of land owners in the south, yet kinda not. It has you thinking to the end.

If I had a complaint I thought the ending was too open. Yes I want that final showdown. However maybe the last conversation is all the showdown that was needed. Even that conversation had me thinking. No spoiler reviews as always.
So.......before I end this. The best male performance of the year so far by Jeff Bridges. He is smart, yet rude, yet obnoxious, yet a little sad. He mumbles like he is always saying his thoughts. He is great, just great here.

4 1/2 out of 5 stars for one of the best, interesting, exciting, well written films of the year. Find it, see it.


From the shadows as always thanks for your time.