New Film Review: Knives Out

KNIVES OUT

Its murder I tell you...It is murder!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This will be short, because it is a mystery , I do not want to sway the ending and surprise..

I can tell you the script is wonderful and very tight...I cannot find holes(well one that involves blood maybe). The film Is written and directed by Rian Johnson making a nice comeback after The Last Jedi film.

Everybody was fantastic in their small parts and one particular suspect in a bigger part. Again not mentioning names for fear of spoiling the film.

I can say Daniel Craig is a blast as southerner Benoit Blanc. Oscar nomination worthy!!

4 1/2 stars for this near perfect film. It is a bit long. Plus...when you watch once ...do you really want to see it again once you know the mystery? 5 star movies I want to watch over and over, but to be honest I maybe want to see this one more time to see what I missed.
What a fun well done film!!!

From the shadows as always thanks for your time.

New Film Review: 21 Bridges

21 BRIDGES

21 Bridges follows 2nd generation NYPD Detective Andre Davis (Chadwick Boseman)  as he chases down a  two cop killers and drug runners through New York one evening.

It is a fun action film, filled with many holes and coincidences.
Holes?
-Like why would these criminals run down the middle of a road if cops are driving on roads looking for them?
-One bad guy has an opportunity to stay in a hotel room all night. Wait for sunshine so he can mix into a crowd...but no. What?
-The Island is a big place but somehow Andre seems to be getting place right away.

Now that I made fun of the holes...I have to say the film and script were enjoyable. The highlight came when two of our best actors working, Boseman and J.K. Simmons sit down at a table and talk and I kept thinking this is a great moment. Alas it was short.

Throw this in....Sienna Miller miscast woefully as Frankie Burns.

2 1/2 stars out of 5 for 21 Bridges (By The way 21 bridges is a poor title it never really comes into play)...It is worth a fun action packed matinee.

From the shadows as always thanks for your time!!

New Film Review: Frozen 2

FROZEN 2

Its called Frozen 2, I do not know how much thought went into that, maybe as much thought went into this convoluted story.
NO SPOILERS HERE...
So Anna; Elsa; Kristoff; Olaf; and Sven all go into this forest because it is calling Elsa. Maybe this is where Elsa can find out about her past or her family history.
Well I felt like the plot was thrown together and kind of messy. Messy to a point of...I wanted to stop a kid ( if it was not creepy) and ask them to tell me what the story was. I can promise you most kids under 7 would be like..."They went to the forest and used magic". I understood the mystical idea, but even that was a stretch...but I get it and I went with it enough to.. like it. However I think I liked it not because of the strange story but maybe because I just like the characters. However in an odd twist I found Olaf kind of annoying here. Like the annoying little brother who is not funny annoying (That being said he did have the funniest moment while explaining Frozen 1). Oh well. I still like the cast.

The high point of this film is definitely the look. This may be the most beautiful animated film in years. Just gorgeous with layers of background colors. Colors are sharp, highlighted by a water horse that...is just beautiful.

How about the music?
Oh brother! In the first film the music flowed with the story. Here the music stops the story and almost gets in the way of the story, it felt more like a Broadway Musical. There are some clunkers for sure highlighted by Kristoff's (Johnathan Groff) Lost In The Woods song, which is just bad, to a point I was not sure if it was suppose to be funny. I know I literally said out loud make it stop. That bad song was off-set by a couple good songs like Elsa's (Idina Menzel at her best) Into The Unknown and Anna's (Kristen Bell) The Next Right Thing, which may be everybody's favorite. Evan Rachel Wood who voices the girl's mother sings a sweet song called All Is Found. Plus during the credits we have the wonderful Kacey Musgraves singing her version of All Is Found.
Well back to the film, it is not bad, it is not great either it is just better than good, then add points for how beautiful it looks. Again, it is fun to see these characters again.
3 1/2 out of 5 for Frozen 2. Stay through the credits for a funny scene.

As an add on...I think the ending was suppose to be uplifting but I found it cold and a little sad. Which brings me to a concern....since Disney lost John Lassiter they have a problem in my opinion. He was a master at pulling at your heart....see UP...see Inside Out...see Toy Story 3. Toy Story 4 was good but it felt cold. The ending here...kind of the same. Disney may have a problem

From the shadows as always thanks for your time.

New Film Review: A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood

A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD

I was looking forward to this film after seeing the documentary that I put into my top ten last year Won't You Be My Neighbor. If you have not seen this documentary please find it ...you will love it.
As for this film...what a surprise...a bait and switch!!!
 You may think this film is about Fred Rogers, I mean he is highlighted in the trailer....I mean look at the poster above. Wrong. In fact, it is about a 2 hour film, Fred Rogers is in it maybe for 30 minutes.
This film is about the writer of an article about Fred Rogers written by Lloyd Vogel for Esquire Magazine. This is a film about how Fred helped Lloyd get through some personal issues.
With that angle, the film was kind of boring. I was suppose to care about Lloyd but really did not until the end. Just a bait and switch.
Positives?
Well acted by all:
Tom Hanks should get a Supporting Actor nod for this...he was great. Definitely not a lead.
Matthew Rhys as Lloyd was very good in a kind of ...downer of a role.
Susan Kelechi was really good as Andrea the exasperated wife of Lloyd.
Chris Cooper...yes he is in this!!! He plays Lloyd's father.

As for the script...I get it...it follows Mr Rogers thoughts on dealing with disappointment and forgiveness. It was interesting as a true story,,,but for 2 hours I could not help but think...this was not the story I thought I was going to see.

2 1/2 stars out of 5 for A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood.

From the shadows as always thanks for your time.

New Film Review: Ford V Ferrari

Ford V Ferrari

The films follows the Ford Motors Team as it works to do the impossible....beat Ferrari at 24 Hours At Le Mans.

What an enjoyable film. I am not a gear head or anything but I hear that it 99 percent on point the 1 percent is for structure and tension which is okay by me because it sounds like all main points are crazy true. What is interesting is not only are Carroll Shelby (Wonderful restrained performances by Matt Damon) the designer fighting Ferrari but also fighting Ford higher ups.

The rest of the cast here is great:
Christian Bale as Ken Miles, gives an Oscar worthy performance as loose cannon and a somewhat crazy driver, yet brilliant in his own odd way.
Josh Lucas as Leo Beebe the bad guy at Ford. Well done.
Jon Bernthal as Lee Iacocca ...Jon is becoming an all-star at being a supporting actor. He is really good here again.
Noah Jupe..as Peter Miles...Wonder...A Quiet Place..now here..this kid can act!
Caitriona Balfe as Mollie Miles is really good in a small part saying so much with just a look.

The script I found really well done. Again I am not a gear head and a lot of people are not, however the script took its time explaining some of the nuances of racing. Plus I really did not know much about the race itself, which I found exciting.

Negatives....
The ending: That 1 percent (No spoilers) played with time and it was kind of depressing of an ending. Blah.
I think this film needed a bit more editing, over 2 and a half hours, boy. I mean how many times can we see them race and move the gear shift when we go...okay..seen that. Or fights with Ford. It really could have been done in 2 hours. I understand it takes time to develop a story, but for the non gear heads....mmm it gets old. I imagine for car enthusiast, it was fine.

4 stars out of 5. I know what you are thinking you loved it why only 4. With the ending, and length, I really do not need to see it again. Movies above 4 I always at least want to see it one more time. Still 4 stars is a really good movie worth going to see on the big screen. It is beautiful to see on the big screen.

Oh one last thing. I saw NBC did an article complaining that Caitriona Balfe was the "Token" female in a "Thankless" role. REALLY???!! I just covered this in the Charlies Angels review! This is time and place and a true story! There were not many women involved in racing. It is what it is!!! So what you are saying I can complain that Timothee Chalamet is the token male in the new Little Women??!! No...I cannot because...IT IS THE STORY!!! Just stop!

Okay sorry. From the shadows as always thanks for your time.

New Film Review: The Good Liar

THE GOOD LIAR

The Good Liar follows scammer Ray Courtnay played by Ian McKellen as he tries to scam the money away from widower Betty McLeish  played by Helen Mirren.

As you can imagine the acting is great with two of the best in the world in this film.
Then throw in Jim Carter (Downton) playing Ray's partner in crime Vincent. Also Russell Tovey as Betty's  nephew Stephen. All very good performances.

As for the plot, it starts out really intriguing. You feel guilty thinking Ray is kind of fun to watch. Then things change quick when he goes after Betty. It is a fun and tense ride.
HOWEVER...then it gets really odd...and the script gets real loose...with things that seem to have holes....like no spoilers here,,,but per example...how long was she sitting in an empty house. What if he waited 24 hours? What if he got another money exchange device from the bank fast?
So yes a loose ending but a sad ending to at what happened to this family. What started out as a fun con to watch got real....sad. Which I guess is okay, but I had trouble believing it would go that far. She could have done the same thing without the trip.

Well I will stop...3 1/2 stars out of 5 it starts out strong...then it gets too loose...and odd...still a fun watch, worth a matinee.

From the shadows as always

New Film Review: Charlies Angels

Charlies Angels

Oh boy..........

The angels return directed by and written by Elizabeth Banks.

The plot is a bit messy...involving many Bosleys (Yes I know), and some power source that can injure people or something.

I do not know where to start here but...
-The plot is just not strong. It involves too many plot holes. People we do not care about. Way too many coincidences like "Hey how did they figure that out"...or "How did they get all those people there".

Casting...
Elizabeth Banks is miscast in her own movie!!! WTH were the producers afraid to tell her, she was soooo weak and astonishingly not believable.\

Naomi Scott as Elena Angel and Ella Balinska as Jane Angel....both miscast and shockingly boring and not believable.

Bright spots were:

Kristen Stewart as Sabina Angel. As oppose to many I think Stewart is a good actor I think she just picks roles of a person who is sad or depressed often. Here she breaks out and adds humor to a very bad script. She is really good.
Patrick Stewart as another Bosley seems to be having fun and is a bit over the top on purpose.
Jonathan Tucker is really good as a bad guy...he really helps the film.
Luis Ferardo Mendez as Saint. He is like Q on the Bond films, he is very funny.


Now as for the comments by Elizabeth Banks that this movie failed because of men.
-Well the films produced by Drew Barrymore did well! Well enough to make two of them.
-People go to a film to be entertained, to escape. The Me Too movement is a thing. Okay. When you make a movie you do not pander obviously to an agenda to get attention to be popular, even if it interrupts a film. She has us watch an opening scene, which was exciting...okay...then for some odd reason she runs opening credits with music and real videos of strong young girls...nothing to do with the film. Then the end of the movie she panders again by having all these women angels save the day, like we are to believe they were all able to convene in a short time...but she wanted to show women power...it made no sense!!! Then during the credits she shows female stars and athletes training angels...oh brother. So men cant train women now?! Oh they can but Banks was pandering to the end. Make the movie!! Stop it with your agenda. I walked away from the Barrymore films thinking...these women were bad ass...it did not have to be thrown in my face over and over to push an agenda...its a MOVIE. Make a documentary if you want to push something!!

1 1/2 stars out of 5 for Charlies Angels. They even made Charlie a woman!!! It was kinda cool but...why not just be a woman and use a woman's voice. I will stop.

From the shadows as always thanks for your time.