MOVIE REVIEW: AMSTERDAM

 

Set in the '30s, it follows three friends who witness a murder, become suspects themselves, and uncover one of the most outrageous plots in American history.

Director: David O. Russell

Cast: Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, John David Washington, Chris Rock, Anya Taylor-Joy, Zoe Saldaña, Mike Myers, Michael Shannon, Timothy Olyphant, Andrea Riseborough, Taylor Swift, Matthias Schoenaerts, Alessandro Nivola, Rami Malek, Robert De Niro

Release Date: October 7, 2022

Genre: Comedy, Drama, History

Rated R for brief violence and bloody images.

Runtime: 2h 14m

Review:

David O. Russell's star studded Amsterdam is a strange amalgam of a convoluted storyline that's nearly offset by energetic turns from its cast.  The film itself is impeccably shot with a glossy look that gives everything an air of Norman Rockwell nostalgia brought to life.  The visuals keep things interesting while the plot's expansive and overly busy story threads start unfurling.  This is the type of film that's in no hurry to get anywhere as it relishes in setting up scene and sequences which allow his cast to shine.   Christian Bale, Margot Robbie and John David Washington make up the primary trio carrying the film and each of them brings a specific sort of energy to their characters.  Christian Bale's Burt is a collection of idiosyncrasies in a hunched over, emaciated, battle scarred body.  It’s a showy role, the type Bale loves sinking his teeth in and does so with his usual gusto.  John David Washington's character is the opposite side of the coin, and he delivers a turn that's confidently cool and authentic. Margot Robbie brings a nice mix of bohemian and manic energy which is an old hat to her by this point in her career.  All three make their characters incredibly likable which makes the film's unfocused story more palpable and enjoyable.  The supporting cast is a cavalcade of well known actors gleefully chewing up scenery as an assortment of quirky characters.  Amsterdam is the type of film that allows actors to dig into their characters, unfortunately the story doesn't meet the challenge leaving it an uneven experience where the performances are far better than the mystery laid out.  

B-

MOVIE REVIEW: SPIRAL: FROM THE BOOK OF SAW

Working in the shadow of his father, Detective Ezekiel "Zeke" Banks and his rookie partner take charge of an investigation into grisly murders that are eerily reminiscent of the city's gruesome past. Unwittingly entrapped in a deepening mystery, Zeke finds himself at the center of the killer's morbid game.

Director: Darren Lynn Bousman

Cast: Chris Rock, Max Minghella, Marisol Nichols, Samuel L. Jackson, Ali Johnson, Zoie Palmer

Release Date: May 14, 2021

Genre: Crime, Horror, Mystery 

Rated R for sequences of grisly bloody violence and torture, pervasive language, some sexual references and brief drug use

Runtime: 1h 33min

Review:

The Saw franchise, now 9 films in with this most recent entry, has always been a low rent Se7en knock off.  It was gorier but the first few films were mildly clever but they fell into more extreme and nonsensical plots something that happens to most horror franchises that are long in the tooth.  Spiral: From The Book of Saw is a soft reboot of the series which explores some interesting concepts but doesn't really explore them, leaving the whole thing feel predictable and half baked.  Darren Lynn Bousman, who is well versed in the Saw universe, returns behind that camera and delivers grungy look that feels like it borrow from Se7en and Predator 2, it's kinetic and sweaty in spurts.  The film's biggest asset is Chris Rock and  Samuel L. Jackson who inject some life into the lackadaisical by screaming most of their lines, early on in the film it almost feels like some of Rock's stand up was ported into the script.  At the very least they both keep the proceedings interesting while you move from one inventive and gruesome trap to another.  The biggest issue is that the central mystery isn't all that difficult to figure out, the film telegraphs it very early on.  As a result, everything feels perfunctory and predictable not to mention that Max Minghella is wasted for the majority of the film.  The films' biggest fault is that the story could have taken a more interesting thematic turn but it never delves into it with any serious effort.  It's a shame that Spiral ends up being another a non descript gorehound sequel instead of the promised reinvigoration of the series.  

C

Movie Reviews: BEE MOVIE

Friday, November 09, 2007
Movie Reviews: BEE MOVIE
IN THEATHERS



BEE MOVIE


Recent bee graduate Barry B. Benson (Jerry Seinfeld) isn't thrilled at having just one option for a career, namely honey. After he befriends a human woman named Vanessa (Renée Zellweger) who saves his life, he finds out that humans eat lots of honey and decides to sue humanity for stealing from bees.

Cast Jerry Seinfeld, Renée Zellweger, Matthew Broderick, John Goodman, Chris Rock, Alan Arkin

Director(s) Steve Hickner, Simon J. Smith

Writer(s) Jerry Seinfeld, Spike Feresten, Barry Marder, Andy Robin

Status In theaters (wide)

Genre(s) Family

Release Date Nov. 2, 2007

Running Time 90 minutes

MPAA Rating PG - for mild suggestive humor

Review:

Bee Movie, Jerry Seinfeld's pet project, is a scattershot attempt that can provide laughs during moments of inspired hilarity but then change gears so abruptly that it makes the entire endeavor hard to digest. Seinfeld's brand of humor is all over this film but, like most of the movie, it ranges wildly from super kid friendly to satirically adult. Seinfeld does well as Barry and gives the character a certain amount of likability needed for these kind of projects. Matthew Broderick is kind of in the background and is never given too much meat to work with, he's very non- descript throughout. Renee Zellweger comes off very comfortable in her role; she and Seinfeld have pretty good chemistry even if the interspecies crush is a bit odd. Seinfeld had been working on this project, which he co wrote, for nearly 4 years and after viewing it you get a real sense that he had way too many ideas that he wanted to cram into this movie. As mentioned before, it's not entirely unfunny but kids will probably gloss over some of the better moments, some I confirmed while watching and hearing only parents and myself laugh but nothing else. In the end, it's an animated film that can't find a singular purpose but instead shoots off in different direction, thematically, in a moment's notice and can't seem to stay on track for too long. When compared to the stellar Pixar movies it really pales in comparison.

C