Wheelman- Movie Review

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Action, Action Movies, Frank Grillo, Jeremy Rush, Wheelman

Wheelman is a slick, lean thriller that achieves almost everything it sets out to do, and benefits greatly from it’s central gimmick. The film follows a getaway driver (Frank Grillo) who’s put in a compromising situation when he’s forced to navigate through a mafia plot in order to save his family. The gimmick, of course, is that a majority of the film is just Grillo talking to people in a car, and while it’s a concept that’s been seen before, the film’s lean 82 minutes maximizes it’s potential as a very well made B-movie.

The film keeps the viewer guessing at every point, and the story never gets too complicated that it undermines the adrenaline and intensity of the filmmaking. Yet, the film’s greatest strength is Grillo, who gives a commanding performance that’s demanding of attention in every scene; it’s a role that requires the audience to invest within the lead character in every scene, and Grillo provides a compelling dramatic, yet surprisingly vulnerable performance. It’s a great thrill ride, an expert depiction of a simple concept, and a huge genre win for Netflix. Grade: B+

1922- Movie Review

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1922, Drama, Thomas Jane

1922 is essentially Stephen King’s “A Tell-Tale Heart”, a simple yet highly effective depiction of crime and guilt with a career best performance by Thomas Jane. The film follows Jane as a proud farmer who murders his wife (Molly Parker) when she threatens to move to a large city and steal his son (Dylan Schmid). It’s a perfectly simple premise, but the film has an excellent grasp on tension and visual metaphors, creating a thoroughly nasty and skin crawling story.

Jane gives a masterful performance here; his intentions and motivations are clear in every scene, and while the role could’ve easily been a one note, broody murderer, Jane gives subtle signs of emotion and the fear his character faces. While the metaphorical imagery is hardly original, it’s effective for what the film is attempting, and fits perfectly with the social norms and concepts of the 1920s. 1922 is a masterful adaptation, a great slow burn that brings a consistent sense of dread matched with a straight forward, yet never meandering, narrative. Grade: B+

Goodbye Christopher Robin- Movie Review

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Domhnall Gleeson, Drama, Goodbye Christopher Robin, Kelly MacDonald, Margot Robbie, Simon Curtis

Goodbye Christopher Robin is one of the best films of the year; a heartfelt, heartbreaking, and beautifully simple story of father and son, told with elegance and maturity. The film is more than a standard biopic, telling a startling story about the unimaginable pain inflicted upon an entire generation through the eyes of a frustrate writer. It’s highly emotional without descending into melodrama, and there’s a genuine nature that is rare in any film.

The film follows author Alan Milne (Domhnall Gleeson), a prolific comedy writer and World War I veteran who retires to a house in the woods to focus on his writing. When facing a conflict with his wife (Margot Robbie), Milne is inspired by his son Christoher Robin (Will Tilston) to create the character of Winnie the Pooh, once again becoming a prolific writer, yet crippling his relationship with his child. Gleeson gives some of his best work here, playing a scarred veteran who’s constantly reminded of the hell of war, and is unable to move forward while looking back.

Yet, it’s Kelly MacDonald’s performance as Christopher Robin’s caretaker that give the film it’s true heart, as MacDonald perfectly displays the nurturing behavior that the boy lacks in his life. The film is rarely flashy and often understated, carving a slow journey that explodes into a beautiful ending that ranks among the year’s best scenes. It’s a somber journey at times, but the hope within Goodbye Christopher Robin is some of the year’s most inspiring filmmaking. Grade: A

The Florida Project- Movie Review

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Drama, Sean Baker, The Florida Project, Willem Dafoe

The Florida Project is a consistently watchable, often entertaining, and quite often portrayal of childhood, dealing with many challenging concepts through the innocence of a child’s eyes. While the film is mostly a series of vignettes telling the story of a young girl and her mother, there’s a depiction of childhood that feels utterly unscripted, as the film’s showcase of the lives of those living week to week is eye opening and moving in a way few films are.

Leading the story is Brooklyn Prince, a six-year-old actress who’s performance is so natural it almost doesn’t feel like acting; the performance, perhaps through the direction, fits perfectly within the “slice of life” style the film is attempting. Also strong is Bria Vinaite as Prince’s mother, who’s performance is shattering in a different way as a loving, yet wildly irresponsible mother. The film is anchored in a supporting role from the great Willem Dafoe in the role of a hotel manager who watches the story unfold; it’s a quiet, subtle performance of a man at his wit’s end who still cares very deeply about people, and Dafoe is absolutely brilliant in every scene.

The Florida Project is perhaps about ten minutes too long, and although it’s a fairly straightforward story about innocence and childhood, there’s something compelling with how simple and unresolved it is. There’s not one “shocker” scene or one emotional gut punch designed to torpedo the film’s themes; it simple plays out in a plain and honest way, and when the conclusion hits, it’s unsurprising yet still impactful. The Florida Project is brutally honest in a way few film are, an optimistic, yet unsentimental look at one family’s story. Grade: B+

The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)- Movie Review

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Adam Sandler, Ben Stiller, Comedy, Drama, Dustin Hoffman, Elizabeth Marvel, Emma Thompson, Grace Van Pattern, Noah Baumbach, The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)

Noah Baumbach has a rare ability as a filmmaker of creating beauty and humor out of dysfunction, and shaping characters that are convicted and ideological, yet unpretentious. It’s a trait that all his films seem to carry, and The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) is not only his most interesting ensemble, but his most humane and affecting film to date. The film lives and dies with its terrific ensemble, and while the film often drifts between melancholy and humor, there’s a surprising complexity to the characters, and their ability to speak freely while maintaining the film’s relentless pace.

When an aging artist (Dustin Hoffman) and his fourth wife (Emma Thompson) prepare his work for an exhibition, he’s visited by his three adult children; Danny (Adam Sandler), who’s preparing to send his daughter (Grace Van Patten) to college, Matt (Ben Stiller), a successful yet unhappy businessman, and Jean (Elizabeth Marvel), the peculiar yet most stable of the children. Hoffman is excellent here; he’s one of the greatest actors of all-time, and he’s both charming and despicable as a talented artist who’s cast a long shadow for his children to live up to.

Yet, it’s Sandler’s performance that truly leads the film; Sandler is rarely given credit for his dramatic work, which is a shame, as he’s completely committed and utterly perfect as the family’s hapless dark horse. The scenes between Sandler and Patten, one of the most exciting young actresses in the business, are among the film’s strongest, and the entire dynamic Sandler crafts between himself, Stiller, and Marvel is exceptional.

The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) could have easily been a series of humorous, yet unimaginative short clips, but Baumbach crafts an elegant portrayal of a privileged, yet peculiar and troubled family. The film asks the hard questions about age and growing apart, and while there are certainly solid laughs throughout, it’s more of a serious story that happens to revolve around ridiculous people. It goes without saying that the cast is phenomenal, but it’s even more impressive that the film’s “slice of life” approach could prove to be so impressive. Grade: A-

Blade Runner 2049- Movie Review

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A+ Films, Action, Ana de Armas, Blade Runner 2049, Dave Bautista, Denis Villenueve, Drama, Harrison Ford, Jared Leto, Robin Wright, Ryan Gosling

1982’s Blade Runner isn’t just one of the greatest films of all-time, but an incredibly influential sci-fi film that inspired and instigated the art of generations hence. It’s hard to follow up to something so monumental, but visionary director Denis Villenueve has crafted a jaw dropping sequel in Blade Runner 2049, a beautiful dystopian noir that asks the biggest questions in the world about the definition of humanity and the task of meeting your maker, enthralled with beautiful spectacle and memorable performances in. In following up to a classic, Villenueve has crafted his own masterpiece, expanding the world of Blade Runner in one of the most gorgeous films ever made.

Actors aside, the star of the film is cinematographer Roger Deakins, who has shot a gorgeous epic in which each frame is a painting, and each shot is individually beautiful and intricate. Matched with an incredible experimental score by Hans Zimmer, the film uses it’s breathtaking filmmaking to service an even greater story, a noir mystery that asks both physical questions, and the questions at the core of our existence. It’s daunting, and Villenuve crafts an extension of Ridley Scott’s world that slowly connects in the most genius of ways to the original film, both through characters and it’s themes and visual cues.

Ryan Gosling a very different performance, a stoic yet vulnerable turn as L.A.P.D. officer, and Harrison Ford brings the perfect energy and gravitas in his return to the role as Rick Deckard, which in turn gives the film even more emotion. In fact, the entire cast is terrific, and among the amazing ensemble, it’s Ana de Armas’s turn as Gosling’s lover that is the most memorable, bringing a beautiful sense of innocence and beauty to each of her scenes.

The film industry is inundated with sequels, yet Blade Runner 2049 joins the likes of recent sequels such as Mad Max: Fury Road or The Dark Knight in that it stands alone as a future classic. The emotional drama, matched with its breathtaking technical achievements, are reasons why we go to the movies, and Blade Runner 2049 is a cinematic event unlike we’ve seen in quite sometime. Grade: A+

Gerald’s Game- Movie Review

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Bruce Greenwood, Carla Gugino, Drama, Gerald's Game, Horror, Mike Flanagan

Gerald’s Game is a thoroughly nasty piece of work, a searing and chilling Stephen King adaptation that’s challenging in the very best way. The isolated thriller follows a woman (Carly Gugino) as she find herself trapped in an isolated resort, trying to save her life as her paranoia and past come to haunt her. Director Mike Flanagan crafts a haunting and hard to watch thriller, trapping the audience within the mind of the main character as she finds herself trusting nothing, not even her own senses.

Carly Gugino delivers what is absolutely the finest work of her career, and one of the year’s best performances; she’s completely vulnerable, giving an intense and terrified performance that matches the film’s rising levels of insanity. While there are elements of the ending that are difficult to comprehend, there’s something to be said for the film’s ability to be ambiguous, yet emotionally satisfying. It’s by far Flanagan’s best feature, and one of the best horror films of the year. Grade: B+

Stronger- Movie Review

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David Gordon Green, Drama, Jake Gyllenhaal, Stronger, Tatiana Maslany

Stronger is a phenomenal biopic, purely due to the maturity with how the film approaches its subject. The film tells the true story of Jeff Bauman (Jake Gyllenhaal), a Costco worker who’s legs are destroyed in the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombing, and the complicated relationship Bauman had with his girlfriend Erin Hurley (Tatiana Maslany). It’s the story behind the story that the film tells, showing Bauman as a troubled man before his tragedy and his reluctance to take on the role of a “hero”.

The film relies on a strong central performance, and Gyllenhaal once again gives a terrific performance as a selfish, yet good hearted man child who’s life is forever altered by one day, and is once again worthy of an Academy-Award nomination. Maslany is also fantastic, and the film’s entire supporting cast work to sell the very specific Boston culture. There’s a humor to the film that gives it life, but it’s the maturity of the film’s non-glamorized depiction of one man’s tale amongst a larger strategy that makes it so special. Grade: A-