Old tensions resurface when former bandmates who were former lovers reunite for a private show at the island home of an eccentric millionaire.
Director:James Griffiths
Cast:Tim Key, Tom Basden, Carey Mulligan, Akemnji Ndifornyen, Sian Clifford
Release Date: March 28, 2025
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Music, Romance
Rated PG-13 for some language and smoking.
Runtime: 1h 40m
Review:
The Ballad of Wallis Island is one of those indie gems that pops up every so often that's so subtly heartfelt and funny that you barely notice how engaged you’re with it until it lingers in your memory long after the film ends. The film is surprising on multiple levels as it traffics in various rom-com/awkward comedy tropes but takes them in refreshingly unexpected directions. Director, James Griffiths, reunites with writers/stars Tom Basden and Tim Key for this feature length adaptation of their 2007 short The One and Only Herb McGwyer Plays Wallis Island. Their familiarity working together and the subject matter is readily apparent as they create something disarmingly funny, sweet and meaningful. Tim Key brings an endearing but oblivious awkwardness that could have bordered on creepy if his performance wasn't so carefully nuanced. Key gives his character a well-meaning authenticity to the man simply trying to memorialize his deceased wife with a performance from his favorite musicians. Tom Basden brings an appropriate sense of self-importance to his half of the musical duo at the center of the film. Basden performance is a fascinating blend ego paired with self-loathing as he’s desperate to find his musical groove again after pursuing a more commercial career at the cost of his relationship. Carey Mulligan is pitch perfect as his ex-who’s moved on but is willing to revisit that part of her life as part of the gig. Mulligan's character is measured and layered in a way that you rarely see in these kinds of movies. Her character acts like a real person throughout especially in the final act which touches on the recurring themes of regret, loss and acceptance. It all builds together to make The Ballad of Wallis Island something truly special and memorable in the best way possible.
The New York Times journalists Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor publish a report that exposes sexual abuse allegations against powerful Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein. The shocking story also serves as a launching pad for the #MeToo movement, shattering decades of silence around the subject of sexual assault and harassment.
Director: Maria Schrader
Cast:Carey Mulligan, Zoe Kazan, Patricia Clarkson, Andre Braugher, Jennifer Ehle, Samantha Morton, Ashley Judd
Release Date: November 18, 2022
Genre: Drama, History
Rated R for language and descriptions of sexual assault.
Runtime: 2h 15m
She Said is a smartly written and well acted journalistic thriller joining the ranks of Spotlight, The Post and All The President's Men. Maria Schrader's film has a focused immediacy to the proceedings which makes the film engaging even during some of it's dryer stretches. Its subject matter is well known so there aren't many surprises in store but it smartly focuses on the individual women's stories as the two reporters peel back the layers of the abuse. Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan carry the film with relative ease while giving their characters a solid amount of depth to make you care about their journey which becomes more personal as it goes along. Mulligan is a strong and forceful while Kazan is more demure but no less determined and motivated with the film perking up noticeably when they share the screen. Patricia Clarkson and Andre Braugher have small but important supporting roles as no nonsense editors. Jennifer Ehle, Samantha Morton and Ashley Judd have impactful scenes as victims recounting their experiences. Additionally, the film uses a real recording of Weinstein berating a victim to chilling effect. She Said is the type of film that's built on a series of conversations and its ability make it engaging with a predetermined finale is truly impressive.
Nothing in Cassie's life is what it appears to be -- she's wickedly smart, tantalizingly cunning, and she's living a secret double life by night. Now, an unexpected encounter is about to give Cassie a chance to right the wrongs from the past.
Director: Emerald
Fennell
Cast: Carey
Mulligan, Bo Burnham, Alison Brie, Clancy Brown, Jennifer Coolidge, Laverne
Cox, Connie Britton
Release Date:
December 25, 2020
Genre: Comedy,
Crime, Drama
Rated R for
strong violence including sexual assault, language throughout, some sexual
material and drug use
Runtime: 1 h 53
min
Review:
Promising Young Woman is a wickedly sharp dark comedy/revenge thriller from first time filmmaker Emerald Fennell. Fennell writes and directs her film with an impressive bit of visual flair. Certain scenes are framed with such meticulous care that you have to appreciate the talent and craftmanship on display. Her script is equally impressive with biting dialogue that pops from the opening sequence. At the center of the whole thing is a career defining performance from Carey Mulligan who delights in playing against type. Her Cassie is a force of vengeful nature whose laser focused on her task. Mulligan is clearly enjoying herself in the role but she and the script are savvy enough to open up Cassie and give her some semblance of happiness during the middle of the film. Fennell and Mulligan lull you into an uncomfortable sense of calm before ripping the rug right from under your feet. It's one of the most searing gut punch of a finale of the year that's bound to stay with you long after the film ends. The ending is a bit too tidy for my taste but you can't deny that it's a cathartic release and the indictment of the bro/rape culture especially in our current environment.
Dearest Blog: yesterday it was off to Marquee Cinemas for a double-feature of Suffragette and In the Heart of the Sea, or, as I like to call it, the Ben Whishaw Film Festival.
Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailers.
Yesterday's opening act: Suffragette.
The war for equal voting rights has a great personal cost for the women fighting it.
Regular reader(s) will be well aware that Suffragette is hardly my kind of movie.
It's about women. It stars Carey Mulligan, whom I loathe. No cities get crushed by aliens or giant robots...and I don't even know what the filmmakers were thinking there, as surely giant robots could have facilitated voting rights much more quickly than a few rocks through windows!
At any rate, it's awards season and we all must make sacrifices, so, Suffragette it was. I'm pleased to report I didn't hate it.
The bad news is, obviously, Carey Mulligan. If the woman were any more bland she'd be invisible, and, since she's the primary star of the film, it's a little hard to get around that.
The good news is, she's surrounded by people who do a pretty good job of getting around it, including Helena Bonham-Carter, my beloved Ben Whishaw, the brilliant Brendan Gleeson, Romola Garai, and Meryl Streep, doing her very best impersonation of Mother Nature in A Year Without a Santa Claus.
All in all, it's pretty easy to forget about Mulligan, which is probably not what the "star" of any movie wants to hear. In typical British fashion, Suffragette understatedly tackles an epic story; no one will be unaware that this fight was eventually won, but the movie plays out the victory sans the fireworks and trumpet fanfare that surely would have concluded an American telling of the tale.
Finally, though it's mostly talkey rather than actioney, the film moves at a good clip and is smart enough not to bog down and wear out its welcome.
Suffragette runs 106 minutes and is rated PG13 for "some intense violence, thematic elements, brief strong language, and partial nudity."
Suffragette is a well-paced, finely-acted reminder of the cost of standing up for what matters, and why it's worth it.
Of a possible nine Weasleys, Suffragette gets five and a half.
Yesterday's headliner: In the Heart of the Sea.
The kinda-sorta true story of the kinda-sorta true story that inspired the classic novel Moby Dick.
By now anyone reading this likely will have heard that In the Heart of the Sea is being pummeled by critics and sinking at the box office (see what I did there?), the second "serious" project fronted by Chris Hemsworth to achieve these dubious honors.
Hemsworth isn't a terrible actor, though his accent is all over the place, but I think perception of him is a big part of In the Heart of the Sea's biggest problem, that is: the movie just doesn't know what it's supposed to be. Inspired by a literary legend and dropped smack-dab into the middle of awards season, the supporting cast is littered with some of moviedom's most talented actors, but in the end it can't help itself being a big-budget actioner with a Marvel hero front and center.
It's a little like that Benghazi trailer, which looks serious as a heart attack until it says "Directed by Michael Bay," and then you chuckle quietly and check your phone one last time before the feature begins. Brendan Gleeson, who deserved an Oscar last year for Calvary (still holding a grudge, thank you), is (again) nothing short of brilliant, as is the always-stellar Cillian Murphy.
Ben Whishaw is terrific, because Ben Whishaw is always terrific, though this role hardly stretches his abilities. I'm also delighted to see that Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (which, for the record, I loved) hasn't killed Benjamin Walker's career, though it looks like he's gonna give career-suicide another go with that Nicholas Sparks movie next year.
*sigh* I saw In the Heart of the Sea in 2D, and, outside of a bit of wonky green screen, it looks great, but I didn't notice anything that would be appreciably better for seeing it in 3D. In the Heart of the Sea isn’t short on superficial assets--great water and disaster effects, nice cinematography, stupidly handsome principals--but under the surface there's little to get or hold your attention.
The unfortunate truth is the film is rather dull.
In the Heart of the Sea clocks in at 121 minutes and is rated PG13 for "intense sequences of action and peril, brief startling violence, and thematic material."
If there's one thing a movie about a boatload of hot dudes getting attacked by a giant whale should never be, it's boring; sadly, that's exactly what In the Heart of the Sea is.
Of a possible nine Weasleys, In the Heart of the Sea gets five.
An aspiring writer falls under the spell of an aloof millionaire with designs for the young scribe's unhappily married cousin in director Baz Luhrmann's adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's celebrated novel. It's the spring of 1922, and wide-eyed Midwesterner Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire) has just moved to New York City in pursuit of the American Dream. Settling into a home next door to wealthy Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio), Carraway grows increasingly fascinated by the elaborate parties held at his new neighbor's estate. Meanwhile, across the bay, Carraway's cousin Daisy (Carey Mulligan) flounders in her marriage to philandering aristocrat Tom Buchanan (Joel Edgerton). Inspired by the debauchery on display at Gatsby's wild parties and the lives of the wealthy elite, Carraway begins putting pen to paper as it gradually becomes clear that his cousin and the millionaire share a complicated romantic past that remains unresolved. Isla Fisher, Jason Clarke, and Elizabeth Debicki co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
Rated PG-13 for some violent images, sexual content, smoking, partying and brief language
Runtime: 2 hr. 22 min.
Genres: Drama, Romance
Review:
Let me start off by saying that I personally love Baz Luhrmann’s style. I’ve been a fan since I first saw his take on Romeo and Juliet. Moulin Rouge was one of the best movie going experiences I’ve ever had, turning me into a fan of movie musicals along the way. I’ll even admit that I enjoyed Australia which was an over long bloated mess of a movie but there was enough there for me to like that I had no problem trudging through its 3 movies in one self. Needless, to say I’m an easy mark for his latest adaptation and slightly biased. My expectation were set fairly high and while the movies runtime worried me, especially after sitting through an overlong Iron Man 3 last weekend. When it was all said and done I wasn’t disappointed. I watched the film in 3d, of the few shot in nascent 3D, and it thoroughly impressed me in its immersion especially in the frenetic first half where you feel like streamers and confetti fall around for the better part of the hour. Once we head into the more somber 2nd half of the film Baz pulls back, as required by the plot, and it’s equally engaging. The 4 primary cast members all deliver excellent performances throughout. Leonardo DiCaprio is mysterious and mostly restrained; he does a good job of capturing Gatsby psyche on film. Tobey Maguire, who’s usually bland for me, was rather impressive as the doe eye naïve narrator who slowly becomes more and more cynical as the film progresses. Carey Mulligan isn’t asked to do much but she does display a broken sadness appropriate for her character throughout. Joel Edgerton is just as impressive as DiCaprio and Maguire as the brutish Buchanan, his performance is actually quite eye catching. Equally eye catching is seeing Baz Luhrmann’s last 3 films come together to form this film. There are bits and pieces that taken from each but combined to deliver one of his most complete and compelling films.
Dearest Blog, with an extra-busy weekend ahead, yesterday I spent the afternoon with The Great Gatsby.
A smalltime New York stockbroker is drawn into his mysterious neighbor's bigtime life.
Not sure how I could spoil a story that's almost 90 years old but, for argument's sake, we'll say spoiler level here is mild, nothing you wouldn't have gotten from the trailers.
Dear Blog, we all know too-high hopes often lead to disappointment. Since I burned vacation time to see this opening day, it goes without saying my expectations were ridiculous, but I'm pleased to report the movie met all of them.
Starting with the obvious, Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby looks magnificent. I elected to pass on the 3D, and it was still as amazing as anything I've ever seen, so much so that I'll be seeing it again in 3D as soon as I can. The costumes, sets, and makeup are effectively another character in the film, setting each scene's mood and even its tempo. The quirky soundtrack suits the movie perfectly.
Leonardo DiCaprio is an actor I'll see in anything. Even if the project doesn't appeal to me, I know he'll be good enough to make it worthwhile. His Gatsby is alternately infuriating and heartbreaking, another stellar turn in an amazing career. Carey Mulligan does a fine job in the female lead, difficult for me to admit since I despise her. I generally have no feelings on Tobey Maguire either way, but his is the one role I wished had been filled by someone else. Curiously, his Spidey replacement Andrew Garfield kept coming to mind as a better fit. Gatsby reunites Zero Dark Thirty's Joel Edgerton and Jason Clarke in two quite unsympathetic roles. My favorite performance in the film is from newcomer Elizabeth Debicki. She doesn't have as much to do as some others, but every second of her screen time had my full attention.
Gatsby exceeds two hours by a fair bit, but it never felt long to me; I enjoyed every minute. If I ever knew what caused its release to be moved from December to May, I've forgotten, but after seeing the film it seems wrong. Gatsby is definitely more Awards Season fare than Summer Blockbuster.
The Great Gatsby runs 143 minutes and is rated PG13 for "some violent images, sexual content, smoking, partying, and brief language." (Does the MPAA seriously use "party" as a verb...and have a warning for it??) It is a beautiful, spectacular movie-going experience, and I can't wait to see it again.
Of a possible nine Weasleys, The Great Gatsby gets eight.
Now, if anyone needs me, I'll be building a mansion across the bay from where Gary Oldman lives with his wife.
Until next time...
Guys, guys, guyzzzzzzz...I think I'm in love (again)! ;-)
I’ve watched this trailer a few times and I’m still a little taken aback by it. Personally I’ve been a fan of Baz Luhrmann, even enjoyed his over bloated Australia, but I’m going to hope some of the odd choices can be written off to a strange marketing campaign. I’ll hold judgment until I see more but for right now I’m a tad confused at what direction this is going to take….
