Archive for category Film
Movie Mayhem – Quick Takes 2
Posted by Bryan Caron in Entertainment, Film, Movies, Reviews on November 25, 2018
Ralph Breaks the Internet — 2018; Starring the voices of John C. Reilly and Sarah Silverman; Creed II — 2018; Starring Sylvester Stallone, Michael B. Jordan and Dolph Lundgren; Widows — 2018; Starring Viola Davis, Colin Fareell, Michelle Rodriguez and Liam Neeson; Robin Hood — 2018; Starring Taron Egerton, Jamie Foxx and Ben Mendleson; The Front Runner — 2018; Starring Hugh Jackman, Vera Farmiga and J.K. Simmons
Along with holdovers and independent releases, there were three major films that made an attempt to dominate the box office this Thanksgiving. Because I all but haunted the cineplex over the long weekend, I decided to give a quick take on all five of the films I went to see. Read Full Reviews
Movie Mayhem – Instant Family
Posted by Bryan Caron in Entertainment, Film, Movies, Reviews on November 18, 2018
Instant Family — 2018; Directed by Sean Anders; Starring Mark Wahlberg, Rose Byrne, Isabela Moner, Gustavo Quiroz, Julianna Gamiz, Tig Notaro and Octavia Spencer
In 1993, Robin Williams starred in a film about a man so desperate to see his kids after separating from his wife (Sally Field), he turned to cross-dressing as a nanny to spend time with them every day. The film, of course, is Mrs. Doubtfire and was an instant classic, not only for its clever humor (and Williams’s winning performance), but because at its core was a strong respect for parents and children who have gone through divorce. It didn’t try to pander to anyone while depicting the hardships in sharing custody and provided an uplifting message that when a couple at odds with one another can find it in their hearts to put their children’s interest first, parents can make things work for the best.
Instant Family treads in the same waters as Mrs. Doubtfire even as it tackles a different subject altogether — foster care and adoption. Though the premise may be slightly different, what remains is the pure heart the filmmakers have for the subject and the respect they have for those individuals who truly care about giving kids in unfortunate circumstances a better, more prosperous life. Read Full Review
Movie Mayhem – Hunter Killer
Posted by Bryan Caron in Entertainment, Film, Movies, Reviews on October 29, 2018
Hunter Killer — 2018; Directed by Donovan Marsh; Starring Gerard Butler, Gary Oldman, Common, Linda Cardellini, Alexander Diachenko and Michael Nyqvist
Like a lot of mainstream genres, action can be defined in several different sub-genres. A couple of examples include hardcore action, which usually includes heavy violence and gore; action-comedy, in which the action can be the product of the comedy or the reason for it; and military action, where the action is set primarily in war scenarios. Hunter Killer, the new submarine film, falls under the last example, mixed heavily with one of the hardest action sub-genres to get right, the action-thriller. There are a lot of elements that need to fit perfectly together in order to keep the tension tight throughout the entirety of the film. Director Donovan Marsh follows in the footsteps of Tony Scott, who utilized his incredible cast (including Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman) to create one the best military action-thrillers in Crimson Tide. With the exception of Gerard Butler and Gary Oldman (who only has a few minutes of screen time), there isn’t anyone in Killer that even comes close to that level of notoriety, however, Marsh is able to pull together a cast of relative unknowns that emulates the same taut atmosphere to keep your heart pounding even when there isn’t any action happening on screen. Read Full Review
Movie Mayhem – The Sisters Brothers & The Old Man and the Gun
Posted by Bryan Caron in Entertainment, Film, Movies, Reviews on October 21, 2018
The Sisters Brothers — 2018; Directed by Jacques Audiard; Starring Joaquin Phoenix, John C. Reilly, Jake Gyllenhaal and Riz Ahmed; The Old Man and the Gun — 2018; Directed by David Lowery; Starring Robert Redford, Sissy Spacek, Casey Affleck, Danny Glover and Tom Waits
For a long time, especially throughout the sixties and seventies, westerns ruled the roost in the cineplexes. But as the blockbuster slowly took over and science fiction finally found a strong footing in people’s wallets, the western eroded into a forgotten medium that occasionally rears its head to peek in on what’s happening around them, sometimes to great critical acclaim (Tombstone, Unforgiven, Open Range), other times in blink-and-you’ll-miss-it fashion (The Quick and the Dead, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Cowboys and Aliens) and tepid remakes (3:10 To Yuma, True Grit, The Magnificent Seven).
In that time, the western also evolved; it was no longer just your typical men on horseback in the dusty old west anymore. We now had what’s known as the modern western, which took the style and themes of the old and paired them in an era full of cars and modern technology (Hell or High Water). Two films went wide this week that convey both sides of the western coin: The Sisters Brothers, reveling in the harsh realities of a time when uncivilized gunslingers are starting to fade into the civility of the modern world; and The Old Man and the Gun, meditating on a modern bank robber who reminisces of days gone by, but is just as happy with the respect he provides his victims. Read Full Review
Movie Mayhem – Bad Times at the El Royale
Posted by Bryan Caron in Entertainment, Film, Movies, Reviews on October 14, 2018
Bad Times at the El Raoyale — 2018; Directed by Drew Goddard; Starring Jeff Bridges, Jon Hamm, Cynthia Erivo, Dakota Johnson, Lweis Pullman, Cailee Spaeny and Chris Hemsworth
Earlier this year, Hotel Artemis, a film with a big name cast gathering inside a hotel for various reasons, was released. It didn’t last long in theaters, and it’s not hard to understand why: the film couldn’t figure out what it wanted to be as the majority of the cast sailed through their usual schtick without much passion behind it. None of the characters were all that likable, mostly because, aside from the Doctor (Jodie Foster), we never really got to know any of them outside of their overt personalities, so their choices didn’t give us anything to identify with or hold onto. Fast forward a few months to Bad Times at the El Royale, another film with an all-star cast about a group of strangers coming together at a hotel for their own nefarious purposes. The similarities end there, as El Royale turns out to be what Hotel Artemis was hoping to be. Read Full Review
Movie Mayhem – A Star Is Born
Posted by Bryan Caron in Entertainment, Film, Movies, Reviews on October 7, 2018
A Star Is Born — 2018; Directed by Bradley Cooper; Starring Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga, Sam Elliott, Andrew Dice Clay, Rafi Gavron and Anthony Ramos
For a long time, I never thought of Lady Gaga as anything but an act. By this I mean, she was all gimmick, no substance, more focused on the persona she presented than with the music she performed. Although her music was fine, her shtick so far overwhelmed it, I always felt she was covering for a lack of vocal talent. Then in 2015, she appeared completely stripped down (no weird outfits or heavy makeup) at the Oscars to sing a beautiful rendition of “The Sound of Music.” It was clear she was an extremely talented vocalist, and it made me wonder why she’d spent so much time hiding behind a mask. A Star Is Born, the newest remake of the film made famous by Barbara Streisand (which itself was a remake), in some ways mirror’s Lady Gaga’s rise to fame and how she may have felt when she herself was coming up in an industry obsessed with appearance. Read Full Review
Movie Mayhem – Smallfoot
Posted by Bryan Caron in Entertainment, Film, Movies, Reviews on September 30, 2018
Smallfoot — 2018; Directed by Karey Kirkpatrick and Jason Reisig; Starring the voices of Channing Tatum, James Corden, Zendaya, Common, Danny DeVito, LeBron James and Gina Rodriguez
Pixar has dominated the animation stage for so long now, sometimes we forget there are other animation studios that have delivered some exceptional animated films as well (though the majority of them do tend to run their brands into the ground with too many unnecessary sequels and spinoffs). Sony Animation has produced several fun films, Dreamworks Animation has delivered a couple of standouts, and of course, we all know Disney Animation’s history. Then there’s Warner Brothers Animation, who, outside of their DC, LEGO and Hannah-Barbara brands, hasn’t delivered a whole lot in terms of winning products. So it was interesting to see them step out of their comfort zone once again (after 2016’s Storks, which did impress me quite a bit!) to produce a film that resembled something you might expect from a studio like Blue Sky. I can’t say that Smallfoot is full of laugh-out-loud moments, but it does have a strong, tender narrative that keeps it from sinking into the ice. Read Full Review
Movie Mayhem – Assassination Nation
Posted by Bryan Caron in Entertainment, Film, Movies, Reviews on September 23, 2018
Assassination Nation — 2018; Directed by Sam Levinson; Starring Odessa Young, Hari Nef, Suki Waterhouse, Abra, Colman Domingo, Bill Skarsgård and Joel McHale
When grading films, books or any other type of entertainment, there are a lot of factors I take into account — acting, writing, editing, character development, cinematography, direction, pace and overall entertainment factor, among others. This is why I very rarely give anything an F, as there is almost always some redeemable qualities that keep it from being a complete disaster. It’s also why I’ve never walked out of a movie; no matter how bad it is, there’s always a chance the film will redeem itself in some way. Within the first minutes of Assassination Nation, the new sociopolitical mind rape that just hit theaters, I was sickened and completely disengaged; an F was certainly on the horizon as I bordered that fine line between holding true and walking out. As the movie progressed, so too did my tolerance to the point where it was clear there could have been a good, meaningful film somewhere hidden under the grotesque masks of sadism. Read Full Review
Movie Mayhem – Peppermint
Posted by Bryan Caron in Entertainment, Film, Movies, Reviews on September 9, 2018
Peppermint — 2018; Directed by Pierre Morel; Starring Jennifer Garner, John Gallagher Jr., John Ortiz, Juan Pablo Raba, and Annie Ilonzeh
In the trailer for Peppermint, one of the characters asks what Jennifer Garner’s Riley North was doing traveling the world for five years, bouncing from place to place (paraphrasing of course). Within the context of the movie, my first thought when I heard this — she was becoming Sydney Bristow! For anyone who remembers Alias, the terrific spy series that ran on ABC from 2001-2006 and made Garner a name for herself in the industry, you’ll know that she’s more than capable of unleashing hell on her enemies and look good doing it. And though it’s great to see Garner returning to her action roots after a string of dramas, rom-coms and faith-based films, I’m not sure how I felt about her kicking tail and taking names for the sake of vengeance rather than justice. Read Full Review
Movie Mayhem – Kin
Posted by Bryan Caron in Entertainment, Film, Movies, Reviews on September 2, 2018
Kin — 2018; Directed by Jonathan and Josh Baker; Starring Myles Truitt, Jack Reynor, Dennis Quaid, Zoë Kravitz and James Franco
When someone sets out to tell a story, the intent is to capture the audience’s imagination and provide a satisfying climax that keeps people wanting more. Everything is developed in a way that allows us to fall in love with the characters so much, we want to continue to spend time with them, even though they have received closure at the end of their story.
Sometimes, though, this need for more stems from the wrong reasons. The characters may meander through circumstances that don’t necessarily add up, eventually throwing us a curveball at the end that makes you wish that story was the one they had told instead of the one you actually had to sit through. This scenario is Kin in a nutshell — a film that provides nothing of substance until the very last minute, but by then, it’s far too late. Read Full Review
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