New Film Review: The Invisible Man

THE INVISIBLE MAN

Cecilia's ex-husband takes his life and leaves her a fortune. However is he really dead???!!

Elisabeth Moss is great!
Elisabeth Moss is great!
Elisabeth Moss is great!
Elisabeth Moss is great!
Elisabeth Moss is great!

Did I happen to tell you that...Elisabeth Moss is great!

If you are a frequent flyer to this rambling, grammatically incorrect, real, anti-critic blog, (you really should be) you will know I am not a horror film guy. So...I went into this with much trepidation.
So?

Well Elisabeth Moss is great!
The film is inexhaustibly... good. I mean...it is not easy to watch some one get harassed for 90 minutes of a 2 hour film. I felt like walking out!! It is difficult!! What kept me there...is...Elisabeth Moss is great!

Other than Elisabeth Moss being great, what else works?

The story by Leigh Whannell actually delivers what people coming to this film actually want...thrills,and tension. Her story, even though is not possible to be invisible, make you really believe. Plus, she does not get into the science of it all, we just want to know it happened and move on.
Casting was spot on with Moss and her best friend James played by Aldis Hodge, they had great chemistry.

Negatives:
I already said a tough watch.
The ending is a little odd...no spoilers here but...at the end you cannot just walkaway from the final incident you have to wait for others.
Holes. Like if you are invisible it does not mean you can walk through walls.
Editing....2 hours is too long...90 minutes is too long too watch someone suffer. Whannell could have left a good amount on the floor.


Still if you go see Invisible Man you know what you are getting into...and it delivers...With Elisabeth Moss being great! I know it is just February and voters have short memories. I know critics are snobs about horror films. However Moss puts on an Oscar worthy over the top performance here.

4 stars out of 5 for the Invisible Man

From the shadows as always thanks for your time.

New Film Review: The Assistant

THE ASSISTANT

The Assistant follows a day in the life of Jane (Julia Garner) an assistant for a high power film studio executive.

I read that many people detested this film. Calling it just boring and nothing happens. People have walked out of this film. In fact one walked out during my screening.

It will be hard to review without spoiling...but the boss is doing more then producing work, with many ladies. However by doing that he pulls in all his employees to cover for him, and if they don't he gets belligerent. Jane is often frustrating to watch, often you want to scream...leave..just leave...QUIT! We are not in her shoes however, we are just witness to this train-wreck I personally could not look away.

Julia Garner is just soooooo good. It is like a one woman show, she is in every scene. Saying so much with just a tired look, as everyone is treating her as less. Sometimes less because she is a woman; sometimes because she has a quiet personality; sometimes people are just taking advantage of Jane's soft personality and position.

Yes nothing much happens here...at the same time a lot is happening you just have to open your mind and eyes.

I really liked it, it is a fascinating study that probably happens in many offices. I want to also point out that people say this is what it is like for women in the workplace. Maybe. I think with this story she was so soft she was eaten up, this can happen to men and/or women. The big issue is the Weinstein industry they also highlight.

Negative? Not much happens. Most things happen off screen and we have to use our imagination. So we are just watching Jane's eyes and her worries. It is just slow, if you do not like slow it is not for you.

I give The Assistant 3 out of 5 stars. Julia Garner is just fantastic and helps propel the slow story forward.

From the shadows as always thanks for your time.

New Film Review: Call Of The Wild

CALL OF THE WILD

Based on the Jack London book, and based on the movie and another movie.
Call Of The Wild follows a dog and his adventure into the Artic.

This film is being criticized for using a CGI dog. I had no problem with that going in if the CGI was legit. I have to say it was legit. Plus, I can see why they used CGI dogs, a real dog would not be able to go thru what this CGI dog did: Freezing cold water; buried over and over in snow; and beatings. Animal rights groups would not be be to pleased if a real dog was used.

This film was a pleasant surprise, it just did a lot right. Yes the bases of the classic film was already there , however as we have seen with movies, classics can even be messed up. However  director Chris Sanders stayed on point:

-His CGI really worked

-Casting for all was spot on. Harrison Ford was advertised in the trailer and literature for the film, but to be hones he is only in half the film. The real star is, and a wonderful performance by Omar Sy as Perrault. He is just great.
-Voice over work by Harrison Ford is perfect. That harsh coarse voice is just perfect for the rugged adventure in the film.

Well there is a lot to like in this film. I think it was well done. If there was a negative, I think it was a generic, light weight version of the book, that was probably cut for time or  to make it more of a family film. I get it.

I just think it was a fun well done film. It is not great, but it is fun and harmless.
3 1/2 stars for Call Of The Wild.

New Film Review: Downhill

DOWNHILL

Barely escaping an avalanche during their family ski vacation...the event puts a knife into the plans for a fun vacation.

I am one of the rare people who saw the French version in the theaters Force Majeure which was winderful. I was excited to see the American version.

Well ...this version tries to add more humor it fails. Two directors, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, both could not make it work. The tone shifts were clunky. Pete (Ferrell) is a nervous wreck afraid all the time of death. Billie (Dreyfus) is just a miserable person.
There is not much that is good about this film. Awkward in a bad way. A flat tone. Not funny. We do not care about the characters to get or feel the drama.
It is just not pleasant.

The french version I think did not try the humor, it trusted the humor in the situation, everything flowed..This was not good...

Any positives?
I give Downhill 1 out of 5 stars and that one star is for the two leads were believable as a couple..so that is something.
This is not a good film....they should have trusted the source material.

From the shadows as always thanks for your time.

New Film Review: Photograph

PHOTOGRAPH

A series events lead 2 people together into a relationship.

Oh my gosh what a nice sweet film!! Highlighted by a wonderful soft performance by LaKeith Stanfield as Michael Block. Michael is a reporter who is looking into some old photographs he stumbled on. This leads him to the photographers daughter Mae...played by Issa Rae. This also leads to us following another story of Mae's mothers past.

Some would call this film slow. I have to agree with that it is slow...however the film catches you with wonderful characters and a nice wonderful soft performance by Stanfield. When Stanfield and Rae are on the screen they remind me of Delpy and Hawke in Before Sunrise, who wanted tell each other so much, they're feelings, but were afraid to go to big at first, which adds tension. You as the viewer gets hooked!!

No spoilers here...
Negatives...
The movie was written and directed by Stella Meghie. I wish she went big and made this rated R. Other than Stanfield, there is not much here that separates this from a Hallmark film. I think they should have gone big...go R. You do not market this movie to teenagers anyway, it is for adults. Give them an adult love story!

This was a nice surprise, yes slow, but it is a sweet story with wonderful performances.
4 stars out of 5 for Photograph

From the shadows as always thanks for your t ime.

New Film Review: Birds Of Prey And The Fantabulous Emancipation Of One Harley Quinn

BIRDS OF PREY AND THE FANTABULOUS EMANCIPATION OF ONE HARLEY QUINN

Look!! After taking a couple weeks off to recover from Oscar week I have returned and now it is time to catch up!! I have been watching  many films how ever....

Birds Of Prey follows Harley Quinn as she tries to get over The Joker, yet she has a target on her back because of the people she rubbed the wrong way while she was with The Joker. She gets help from The Huntress; Black Canary; and Renee Montoya.

It is an entertaining movie yet messy film. I think the Director Cathy Yan knew the character of Harley was a mess, so why not make the film messy. So she almost shot the story and/or look of the film in a comic book style. Bright colors. Shadows. Some of it worked...the characters themselves..Especially The Huntress! Some did not work. As odd this sounds the overall story worked but the story line was messy and all over. Writer Christina Hodson had a lot of problems with tone. Flipping from violence to humor works if the humor is good (Daredevil). Here...I think the jokes did not work, I maybe laughed once. From awkward fights to humor...(roller skates) just messy.

I feel like I am being too negative here. There is a lot to like:
Margot Robbie is soooo freaking good as Harley. She carries this film. She is in almost every scene. Plus, after busting on writer Hodson , she does at least deliver some tension with the story line.
You need a good bad guy for it to work and Ewan McGregor as the fantastically evil Roman Sios fills that bill perfectly.
Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Helena Bertinelli...The Huntress is the most intriguing character. Winstead does well...she does not look like the Huntress I am familiar with in the comics, but she makes it work.

I am getting long winded, so let me finish. You can do a lot worse than Birds of Prey however it is a bit sloppy with its editing...and with that the tone is off...but the story as a whole works and the acting is wonderful. 3 stars out of 5 for Birds of Prey.

From the shadows as always thanks for your time.

My Number 1 Favorite Film Of The Decade

We have come to my favorite film of the decade!!

Surprisingly, my top choices differ from others but the top film here was at the top of some other critics top film of the decade (or the tens)....so...there is that!!!!!!!!

Which actor is in my top 20 the most?
That would be Domhnall Gleeson in 4 of the 20 films!
What was the best year for films of the decade? 2015!!
And now my top film................................................................

BROOKLYN (2015)
Directed by John Crowley
Screenplay by Nick Hornby
Based on the book by Colm Toibin
Starring Saoirse Ronan; Domhnall Gleeson; Emory Cohen; Jim Broadbent; and Julie Walters



An Irish immigrant (Ronan) lands in 1950s Brooklyn, where she quickly falls into a new romance. When her past catches up with her, however, she must choose between two countries and the lives that exist within.

Ronan as Ellis gives an Oscar worthy performance as a confident and brave yet scared Irish girl establishing a new life in Brooklyn. Ronan says so much by just a look.....just wonderful.
I love a good dinner table scene and in this film there are many highlighted by another Oscar worthy performance by Julie Walters who is hilarious as the house mother for all the girls.
Now the real stars in this film are Yves Belanger the cinematographer and Odile Dicks-Mireaux as the costume designer. This film looks beautiful, every seen is perfectly shot. The look almost steals the film away from the great acting and screenplay.
Acting....screenplay...look...altogether a wonderful film.  A must see romantic, beautiful film.

Nick Hornby!!! He can tell a story...Brooklyn...Wild...An Education...About A Boy. He is just great.

Many agree, Brooklyn is the best film of the decade!!!

From the shadows as always thanks for your time.