Archive for December, 2018

Movie Mayhem – Vice

Posted by Bryan Caron in Entertainment, Film, Movies, Reviews on December 30, 2018

Vice — 2018; Directed by Adam McKay; Starring Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Steve Carell, Sam Rockwell, Jesse Plemons, Alison Pill and Lily Rabe

There’s a mid-credits scene in Vice that writer/director Adam McKay deliberately uses to get out in front of those who will say his new politically polarizing film is nothing but biased propaganda. In the scene, a member of a focus group questions the film for being biased, in which another member retorts that it’s based on facts. This eventually leads the ignorant redneck to start a fist-fight. The scene represents everything that’s wrong with American politics today, and by placing it in the film at all validates the fact that McKay is well-aware of his own personal bias — and doesn’t care. A quarter of the audience will love the film for putting a knife into former Vice President Dick Cheney (Christian Bale), another quarter will hate it for the same reason. It’s the middle half, of which I believe I am a part, that will feel as though, even if the film is based on fact, nothing portrayed can be believed because it’s been tainted by McKay’s obvious preconceptions. Read Full Review

Entertainment, Film, Movies, Reviews, Vice

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Movie Mayhem – Welcome to Marwen

Posted by Bryan Caron in Entertainment, Film, Movies, Reviews on December 23, 2018

Welcome to Marwen — Directed by Robert Zemeckis; Starring Steve Carell, Leslie Mann, Merritt Weaver, Gwendoline Christie, Stefaniw von Pfetten, Janelle Monáe, and Eiza González

I always tend to enjoy films that play with the imagination as a means of dissecting abstract emotions. Whether it’s a guy breaking from his mundane life to achieve an adventure beyond his wildest dreams, or kids creating their own fantastical world to cope with the suffering of those they love, these films give us permission to escape into ourselves in order to work through depression, fear and loneliness, and secure a strong, healthy pathway to heal. Welcome to Marwen, the true story of man fighting to overcome the demons that haunt him through the stories he creates with a set of dolls, portrays its hero in a serious way without taking away from inventiveness of the human mind. Read Full Review

Entertainment, Film, Movies, Reviews, Welcome to Marwen

Movie Mayhem – Mortal Engines

Posted by Bryan Caron in Entertainment, Film, Movies, Reviews on December 16, 2018

Mortal Engines — 2018; Directed by Christian Rivers; Starring Hera Hilmar, Robert Sheehan, Jihae, Stephen Lang and Hugo Weaving

In Return of the Jedi, as the Rebel Alliance attacks the second Death Star, Lando Calrissian pilots the Millennium Falcon into the core to set off a few ion charges and start a chain reaction that will ultimately destroy it. As he does so, Luke Skywalker is on board the Death Star helping Anakin Skywalker find redemption. As the explosions start burning away at the core, both characters — as well as that infamous ship — are in danger. By the time the Falcon blasts from within the fire to come out (relatively) unscathed, we’re all cheering in excitement because we want to see these heroes we’ve grown to love survive. There’s a similar sequence in the new post-apocalyptic adventure, Mortal Engines, that falls extremely flat, mostly because unlike the sequence in Jedi, we aren’t invested in any of the characters enough to have that same breathless urgency. Read Full Review

Entertainment, Film, Mortal Engines, Movies, Reviews