MOVIE REVIEW: BELFAST

 

A semi-autobiographical film which chronicles the life of a working class family and their young son's childhood during the tumult of the late 1960s in the Northern Ireland capital.

Director: Kenneth Branagh

Cast: Caitríona Balfe, Judi Dench, Jamie Dornan, Ciarán Hinds, Colin Morgan, Jude Hill

Release Date: November 12, 2021

Genre: Drama

Rated PG-13 for some violence and strong language

Runtime: 1h 38m

Review:

Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast is a heartfelt rose colored spat of nostalgia that’s touching and occasionally harrowing.  Branagh wrote and directed the film which feels incredibly personal from the start, it’s a more ground approach from the renown director.  The black and white approach echoes Alfonso Cuaron’s Roma which ran the same semibiographical gamut from a different part of the world.  This film balances the heartwarming memories with sparks of real world violence which permeated the era.  Jude Hill is one of those rare child actors that carries an air of authenticity.  He’s the lynch pin of the entire film which is peppered with award worthy performances from its supporting.  Caitríona Balfe and Jamie Dornan almost make you forget that best looking working class couple ever with sincere performances that are grounded and not overly showy.  Balfe in particular delivers the kind of performance that feels universally recognizable no matter where you are from.   Ciarán Hinds and Judi Dench play doting grandparents with Hinds being the film’s secret weapon.  Hinds steals every scene he’s in with a singular turn which should garner some awards consideration.  Belfast is the type of film that tugs at your heart strings in the best way possible, it’s uplifting and harrowing as it captures a moment in time that feels relatable regardless of where you are from. 

A

MOVIE REVIEW: FROZEN 2

Elsa the Snow Queen and her sister Anna embark on an adventure far away from the kingdom of Arendelle. They are joined by friends, Kristoff, Olaf, and Sven.

Director: Jennifer Lee, Chris Buck

Cast: Idina Menzel, Kristen Bell, Jonathan Groff, Josh Gad, Ciarán Hinds, Sterling K. Brown, Evan Rachel Wood, Alfred Molina, Martha Plimpton, Jason Ritter, Rachel Matthews, Jeremy Sisto

Release Date: November 22, 2019

Genres: Animation, Adventure, Comedy

Rated PG for action/peril and some thematic elements

Runtime: 1h 43min

Review:

The original Frozen was a film I ignored as long as I possibly could.  Once I finally succumbed to the weight of its cultural impact and finally watched the film, I was left shrugging my shoulders.  The film itself is perfectly fine but it reminded me a lot of older Disney films which never really did much for me.  The songs were catchy enough to make the whole thing watchable.  The sequel has a very similar feel with a story that’s adequate if uninspired.  Honestly, the music is the center piece of this animated musical.  The songs are all solid enough but sadly none are nearly as memorable as “Let It Go” from the original.  As such, it’s easier to dissect the fairly routine story that doesn’t hold any sort of tension for anyone over the age of 10.  Pixar has raised the bar so high for children’s films that it’s almost quaint to run into a film that’s perfectly fine just catering to its core audience while leaving very little for the adults in the audience.  It’s a shame the story isn’t a bit more dense because the cast is all impressive with Idina Menzel and Kristen Bell carrying the film with great ease.  Josh Gad’s Olaf still fluctuates between amusing to annoying and his character is given a bigger role in this sequel.  Ultimately, this sequel checks all the boxes to keep the younger kids entertained but I doubt anyone will look back on this entry with sort of great fondness or affection. 

B-

MOVIE REVIEW: FIRST MAN

On the heels of their six-time Academy Award®-winning smash, La La Land, Oscar®-winning director Damien Chazelle and star Ryan Gosling reteam for Universal Pictures’ First Man, the riveting story of NASA’s mission to land a man on the moon, focusing on Neil Armstrong and the years 1961-1969. A visceral, first-person account, based on the book by James R. Hansen, the movie will explore the sacrifices and the cost—on Armstrong and on the nation—of one of the most dangerous missions in history. 

Director: Damien Chazelle

Cast: Ryan Gosling, Claire Foy, Jason Clarke, Kyle Chandler, Corey Stoll, Ciarán Hinds, Christopher Abbott, Patrick Fugit, Lukas Haas

Release Date: October 12, 2018

Genres: Biography , Drama , History

Rated PG-13 for some thematic content involving peril, and brief strong language

Runtime: 2h 21 min

Review:

First Man is an incredible achievement on multiple levels.  Damien Chazelle’s film is a technical achievement as it puts you in the ships and modules on a visceral and claustrophobic level.  All of the flight sequences are just trilling but that shouldn’t come as a surprise considering Chazelle’s talent.  The quieter moments, there are plenty, are just as engaging thanks to a pair of wonderful performances from Ryan Gosling and Claire Foy.  Gosling’s turn is understated but you can sense the simmering emotions behind his eyes.  Neil Armstrong is always guarded but driven by past pain as portrayed by Gosling.  Claire Foy is just as strong throughout; so much so that you wished the film spent a bit more time with her but the film is focused on Neil.  It’s an introspective yet epic tale about the man who achieved such a landmark moment in human history.  The flag controversy is thoroughly overblown as the film couldn’t display American achievement anymore than it already does.  First Man is an engaging character study that tries to get us into this pioneer’s headspace and does it with class.

A-

Cindy Prascik's Reviews of Death Wish & Red Sparrow

 

 

 

Dearest Blog: Yesterday it was off to Marquee Cinemas to kiss Awards Season goodbye with Death Wish and Red Sparrow.

 

Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailers.

 

First on the docket: Death Wish.

 

A surgeon goes vigilante after his family is attacked.

 

Regular reader(s) will not be too shocked to hear I couldn't be bothered to revisit the original Death Wish (which I've seen exactly once) before checking out the the remake/reboot/whatever, so...no comparisons here, sorry.

 

2018's Death Wish is a by-the-numbers revenge thriller that holds few surprises. With Bruce Willis in the lead, it's passably entertaining, but not really dark enough to be taken seriously nor crazy enough to be much fun. Vincent D'Onofrio is wasted in a cookie-cutter sidekick role, though the silver lining is mercifully little screentime for the annoying Elisabeth Shue. Law enforcement is played as bumbling comic relief, with a standard baddie around every turn. I clocked shout-outs to two of my favorite made/set in Chicago movies, The Dark Knight and Ferris Bueller's Day Off, but I'm pretty sure they weren't on purpose. Ultimately, I enjoyed Death Wish because it's my kinda movie, but I in good conscience I couldn't recommend it to anyone who doesn't share my affinity for witless shoot 'em ups.

 

Death Wish runs 107 minutes and is rated R for "strong bloody violence and language throughout."

Death Wish is a reasonably entertaining way to give your brain a couple hours' rest, but you'll forget it almost as soon as you exit the theater. 

 

Of a possible nine Weasleys, Death Wish gets five.

 

Next up: Red Sparrow.

 

When a Bolshoi ballerina's career is ended, she's recruited for a secret Russian intelligence service.

 

Hey you guys, remember that George Clooney movie The American? The trailers sold it as a thriller, but in actual fact it was the slowest, quietest movie in the history of movies?* (*Including silent movies and The Revenant.) Well, welcome to The American's step-sister, Red Sparrow. While Red Sparrow is neither as quiet nor as plodding as The American, it disappointed me in many of the same ways. Red Sparrow runs two hours plus and moves at a snail's pace. Criminally underusing the talents of James Newton Howard, it's often so quiet I could hear the people ten rows behind me chewing their popcorn. The movie spotlights every uncomfortable, disturbing, or just plain gross moment for the sake of it; in more skilled hands it could and should have been genuinely disturbing, but instead it's just sensationalized for shock value's sake. (It hurts me to say that, as director Francis Lawrence masterfully helmed three episodes of one of my all-time favorite TV series, NBC's short-lived Kings.) Though it's pretty tense throughout, Red Sparrow didn't once surprise me; its twists and turns are too easily anticipated. The film is a decent vehicle for showcasing the brilliance of Jennifer Lawrence, and the supporting cast is plenty solid (nice to see you, Ciaran Hinds!), but it's a shame the movie isn't half as smart as it wants to be. Red Sparrow's one real accomplishment is giving me a weird crush on Joel Edgerton, which I'm guessing won't be too rewarding for the creative team. Oh, and, hey...don't forget to make fun of me for hating this in two weeks when I tell you all how awesome Sherlock Gnomes is, m-kay?

 

Red Sparrow clocks in at 139 minutes and is rated R for "strong violence, torture, sexual content, language, and some graphic nudity." (Movie fans, they're serious. This one is not for the squeamish.)

 

Red Sparrow is a coulda-shoulda-woulda been thriller that's worth seeing for Jennifer Lawrence, but not for much else. 

 

Of a possible nine Weasleys, Red Sparrow gets four.

 

Until next time...

Cindy Prascik's Reviews of American Ultra & Hitman: Agent 47

Dearest Blog: Yesterday it was off to the pictures for a pair of shoot-em-up flicks, American Ultra and Hitman: Agent 47.

Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailers.

This week's first kudos go not to either movie, but to the schedule maker(s) at Marquee Cinemas, who receive a full nine Weasleys for two 90-minute films with 30 minutes in between. Perfection!

First up on that ideal schedule: American Ultra.

All is not as it seems with a pair of stoners in a (made-up) little West Virginia town.
American Ultra is one of those movies that has the potential to be accidentally awesome. It doesn't look like anything special, but all the pieces are there so it *could* be, you know? It isn't quite awesome, but it's still pretty solid.

Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart share an awkward chemistry that serves them well as a couple pretty awkward people. Eisenberg moves effortlessly from mellow to panicked to deadpan to badass, always believable and sympathetic.

Stewart is often accused of being expressionless, but she's solid here as well. The supporting cast is uniformly decent, for as much as they need to be (what a waste of Bill Pullman!), but basically, if you don't like Eisenberg and/or Stewart, that's going to be an almost insurmountable hurdle with this movie. American Ultra has plenty of twists and turns, with fast, brutal, bloody action, and a dry wit that holds it all together.

American Ultra clocks in at 95 minutes and is rated R for "strong bloody violence, language throughout, drug use, and some sexual content."

American Ultra is missing that *something* that would have made it exceptional, but I still found it smart, exciting, and entertaining.

Of a possible nine Weasleys, American Ultra gets six and a half.

Next on the agenda, Hitman: Agent 47.

A woman reluctantly teams with a super assassin to unravel the mysteries of her past.

Dear reader(s), there's no sugar-coating it: Agent 47 is a real snooze-fest, and, if not for my mad crush on Zachary Quinto, I might have nodded off. There's not a hint of genuine emotion or excitement to be found anywhere in Agent 47. Nicely-designed stunts are blandly executed, and the leads are as dry as my lawn invariably is 'round about this time of the year. Hannah Ware has all the expression of the freshly-Botoxed, and Rupert Friend looks like a perpetually-annoyed Orlando Bloom. Ciaran Hinds gets the job done, but he doesn't turn up until it's far too late to salvage anything. It's quite a feat for a movie this short to wear out its welcome, but that seems to be the one area where Hitman: Agent 47 actually succeeds.

Hitman: Agent 47 runs 96 minutes and is rated R for "sequences of strong violence, and some language."

Agent 47 is so dull I was hardly even annoyed when the guy next to me played on his iPad the whole time.

Of a possible nine Weasleys, Hitman: Agent 47 gets two.

Until next time...

Curiously, this is also how my homecooked Sunday dinners usually turn out!

MOVIE REVIEW: THE RITE

THE RITE



Inspired by author Matt Baglio's nonfiction book of the same name, director Mikael Håfström's supernatural thriller traces the experiences of a young seminary student who discovers the true power of faith after being drafted into the Vatican's Exorcism School and confronted by the forces of darkness. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Director: Mikael Håfström

Cast: Anthony Hopkins, Colin O'Donoghue, Alice Braga, Ciarán Hinds, Toby Jones, Rutger Hauer

Release Date: Jan 28, 2011

Rated PG-13 for Disturbing thematic material, sexual references, language, frightening images and violence

Runtime: 1 hr. 52 min.

Genres: Drama

Review:

Anthony Hopkins’ character asks, early on in this insipid and horribly clichéd film, “What were you expecting? Spinning heads and pea soup?” At that point in the film, that’s exactly what I wasn’t hoping for and with such a garish dismissal of the usual exorcist genre tropes it leaves you wondering if perhaps we’ll see something new and fresh. Sadly, it doesn’t take The Rite long to fall into an all too familiar pattern. A young priest lacking faith, an elder priest who’s been battling the devil for his entire life, standard contortions and demonic sounding voices, etc, etc…. Throw in some shoddy and thoroughly unnecessary CGI just for good measure. So if we don’t get a fresh take on this genre then at the very least the film should frighten us. Even here it fails, using the cheapest of scares while never getting within shouting distance of any sort of tension. The character’s barely register and carry all the emotional weight of a paper bag. Colin O'Donoghue doesn’t bring much to the table and is instantly forgettable. Alice Braga is thoroughly self serious throughout while being given very little to do. Anthony Hopkins seems to sleep walk through most of his scenes only to pull out a faux version of his Lecter character in the final act which borders on parody. Strangely the only actor who brings any level of creepiness is Rutger Hauer who’s in the film for a total of 5 minutes. Director Mikael Håfström tries to dress this all up as much as possible but in the end it’s like putting make up on a hog.

D-