MOVIE REVIEW: THE BRIDE

 

In 1930s Chicago, groundbreaking scientist Dr. Euphronious brings a murdered young woman back to life to be a companion for Frankenstein's monster. What happens next is beyond what either of them could ever have imagined.

Director: Maggie Gyllenhaal

Cast: Jessie Buckley, Christian Bale, Peter Sarsgaard, Annette Bening, Jake Gyllenhaal, Penélope Cruz

Release Date: March 6, 2026

Genre: Drama, Horror, Romance, Sci-Fi

Rated R for strong/bloody violent content, sexual content/nudity and language.

Runtime: 2h 7m

Review:

Maggie Gyllenhaal’s The Bride! burst on the screen with an anarchic energy, powered by a pair of gloriously unhinged performances from Jessie Buckley and Christian Bale which carries the film first half before losing a hefty amount of its propulsive fervor in the back half of the film.   There is a noticeable spark of energy from the start as the 30’s stylized Chicago setting is used to great effect with Buckley taking center stage with an intriguing dual role.  Buckley’s a real treat as we watch her effortlessly flip back and forth between Ida’s and Mary Shelly’s personas showing an impressive commitment to the role.  She’s generally the most captivating performer onscreen with Christian Bale delivering a more subdued turn for the better part of the film.  They make for a rather fascinating pair as they bounce off each other with such natural ease that it makes the whole thing work even as the film takes some chaotically strange turns.  In lesser performers’ hands, this film would have flown off the rails immediately, but they manage to make the first half immensely watchable and engaging.  The back half of the film starts to lose its luster once the film moves into a pseudo-Bonnie and Clyde mode which feels rather undercooked much like all the well-worn themes it throws onscreen.   There’s a noticeable sense that the script is trying to say something impactful about gender roles, but the concept is so unfocused and superficial that it never really lands the way it should.  The supporting roles are populated with name stars such as Annette Bening, Peter Sarsgaard, Penélope Cruz and Jake Gyllenhaal, which the film never fully takes advantage of by handing them the most generic, one note roles.  Peter Sarsgaard and Penélope Cruz’s detective subplot in particular brings the film to a grinding halt, sapping much of film’s initial energy and the less that’s said about Cruz’s rather unfortunate “Lord Farquaad” haircut the better.  It proves to be a bit frustrating by the time The Bride! comes to an end because you’re left with the feeling that there’s a much better film in there somewhere had it kept a sharper focus.  

B-

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: THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER

 

Director: Taika Waititi

Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Christian Bale, Tessa Thompson, Jaimie Alexander, Taika Waititi, Russell Crowe, Natalie Portman

Release Date: July 8, 2022

Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Music, Romance, Sci-Fi

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, language, some suggestive material and partial nudity.

Runtime:1h 59m

Review:

Taika Waititi's Thor: Love and Thunder, his follow up to Thor: Ragnarok, is a chaotic unfocused kaleidoscope that struggles to find the consistent fun and charm that made the previous film so enjoyable.  Waititi's delivers some truly impressive set pieces the majority of which are colorfully opulent but one monochromatic fight sequence is likely to leave the biggest impact.  You get the sense that he's poured his mind onto the screen like a visual trek through his stream of conscience.  It works in spots, but it never finds its footing consistently due to sizable tonal shifts throughout the film which makes for some noticeable dead spots.  The script, written by Waitit, tries to include some heftier emotional depth to the whole thing but it never connects the way it should.  Additionally, the humor here never feels as organic as it did in the previous entry making for more chuckles than laugh out loud moments.  The film relies heavily on Chris Hemsworth's charm, and he carries the film with relative ease that shouldn't come as a surprise since the character is like a second skin by now.  He's clearly having a great time and that energy is the driving force for the film. Natalie Portman returns to the fold but there is a strange lack of chemistry between her and Hemsworth.  Her bulked up frame makes for a great visual when she's in her Thor attire but her performance is noticeably stiff reminiscent of her turns in the Star Wars prequels.  Their relationship is the central part of the story but there is a disconnect which hurts the film overall.  Tessa Thompson returns but isn't given all that much to do outside of a few quips and action sequences.  Likewise, Christian Bale's villain is underutilized for the better part of the film which is a shame because the character's story is intriguing.  There are moments where you get the sense that Bale is trying to give his character more depth but the film never gives him enough time to fully realized it.  It's an issue with the film overall, there are plenty of solid ideas but very few of them are allowed to blossom organically due to its frantic and scattershot approach.  As such, Thor: Love and Thunder is all candy colored empty calories with very little actual substance.

B-

Cindy Prascik's Flashback Cinema Review of The Dark Knight

My dear reader(s), this week theaters that subscribe to the Flashback Cinema series were blessed — BLESSED, I tell you — with the return of one of the greatest films of all time: the Dark Knight.

The middle installment of Christopher Nolan's Bat-verse sees the Caped Crusader facing off with his iconic arch-nemesis, the Joker.

Spoiler level here will be...um...no promises. The movie's thirteen years old; I feel like, if you wanted to catch up with it, by now you would have.

There are four movies that, at any given time, I would call "my all-time favorite." The Dark Knight is one of them. I saw it 27 times in its original theatrical run. I've watched it hundreds of times since. It is at once entirely comfortable and entirely fresh. The current Flashback Cinema series represents the first time I've had the opportunity to "retro-review" something I reviewed upon its initial release. I guess that means I'm old. (Thanks to Facebook having discontinued its Notes feature, my original review is lost to time and the vast space of the ethernet.) It also represents my first opportunity to revisit TDK on a big screen since that original run. You needn't read further (though I hope you will) to be assured: the Dark Knight has aged better than the finest wine.

Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy is defined by many things, not least of which is the exceptional actors his team assembled. If Ben Affleck is my favorite Batman, I don't think a finer actor than Christian Bale has ever worn the cowl, and his Bruce Wayne is surrounded by the best of the best. Michael Caine. Morgan Freeman. Gary Oldman. Aaron Eckhart. Cillian Murphy. William Fichtner. The movie also gave me some folks I now look out for in anything: David Dastmalchian, Keith Szarabajka, Ritchie Coster. And then there's Heath Ledger, of course, whose chilling, Oscar-winning turn as the Joker has become the definitive rendering of a character with a history stretching back more than 80 years.

The Dark Knight features (yes, wait for it...) one of the best, if not *the* best, openings in film history. The picture is distinguished by stunning visuals and extraordinary stunts, which are sometimes enormous but never comically absurd in the way of the Fast saga. The smart, meticulous story boasts well-crafted (and quotable) dialogue. The movie runs two and a half hours, but doesn't seem even one second too long. And the score — Oh! That score! — by Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard is just exquisite. If Merriam-Webster were to loan me the whole of its collection of superlatives, I still wouldn't have enough to effectively convey the brilliance of the Dark Knight. 

The Dark Knight clocks in at 152 minutes and is rated PG13 for "intense sequences of violence and some menace."

More than a decade later, the Dark Knight remains the gold standard for its genre, and one of the most extraordinary movies ever made. Of a possible nine Weasleys, the Dark Knight gets all nine, plus one for each Weasley grandchild that has come along since the inception (see what I did there?) of the Weasley scale.

The Dark Knight is now playing on big screens wherever Flashback Cinema is shown, and streaming on HBO Max.

Fangirl points: My Gary (of course). Cillian Murphy. My favorite director I've ever worked with*, Christopher Nolan.

*Statement is both technically true and terribly misleading.

Until next time...

Cindy Prascik's Reviews of Ford v Ferrari, The Good Liar & Doctor Sleep

Ford v Ferrari / The Good Liar / Doctor Sleep CINDY PRASCIK·TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2019·5 MINUTES An extra-long weekend left me with an opportunity to see the weekend's two new releases at my local cinema, as well as catching up a bit from a couple weeks back. On my agenda: Ford v Ferrari, the Good Liar, and Doctor Sleep.

Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing plot-specific.

First on the docket: Ford v Ferrari.

In the mid-1960s, American auto maker Ford decides to challenge perennial champion Ferrari on the world racing stage.

I feel it's first important to note that I would not hesitate to recommend Ford v Ferrari to anyone, even if you don't like cars or racing, even if you think it's just a white-guy movie, even if the sight of Matt Damon makes you want to punch a wall. (I seem to know an inexplicable number of folks in that last group.) It's just a good movie, sans any qualifiers. Ford v Ferrari starts with compelling story, but, as Midway would be happy to show you, not all compelling stories make compelling films. Where Ford v Ferrari succeeds is in making you care about its story, its characters, and its outcome, whether or not you are pre-disposed to do so. Christian Bale and Matt Damon are terrific in the leads, so much so that I think it would be a mistake to write off either in the upcoming best actor races. (As with Joaquin Phoenix, just ceding the nominations. They also may not have Taron's Oscar.) A two-and-a-half-hour runtime is solidly paced and never drags, and the beautifully-filmed racing scenes are tense enough to leave you holding your breath. The movie is funny, too, often unexpectedly so, and it has tons of heart. If it is cars you love, well, there are plenty of revving engines and sexy shots of gorgeous automobiles to go 'round. A phenomenal score by Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders ties a bow on this true gift of a film.

Ford v Ferrari runs 152 minutes and is rated PG13 for "some language and peril."

As someone whose sole knowledge racing comes from Talladega Nights and that one Finnish driver I follow on Twitter, I am here to tell you, dear reader(s), that Ford v Ferrari is a great movie for everyone. Of a possible nine Weasleys, Ford v Ferrari gets eight and a half.

Next up: the Good Liar.

A career con-artist sets his sights on a seemingly naive, well-to-do lady.

The Good Liar is the sort of grown-up movie that people complain Hollywood doesn't make anymore, then everyone stays home when it turns up at the cinema. That seems a real shame here, with two icons--Helen Mirren and Ian McKellen--fronting a well-crafted yarn that holds a number of surprises. Mirren and McKellan are expectedly fantastic, playing off one another as only two of the best can do. The story itself is a layered one that takes a darker turn than I expected. It's often said that R-rated films weed out not only those viewers who are too young for extreme content, but also those of a certain age who might prefer their entertainment minus violence and vulgarity. Certainly the Good Liar isn't Saw or the Human Centipede, but with a fair few F-bombs and some intense (though not graphic) violence, I wouldn't take my mom to see it, either. The Good Liar moves slowly enough in spots that it gets to feeling a bit overlong, but it's also smart enough to hold your attention pretty much end to end.

The Good Liar clocks in at 109 minutes and is rated R for "some strong violence, and for language and brief nudity."

The Good Liar is the sort of film that will suffer for having nothing to gain by being seen on a big screen, but it's definitely worth catching in some form whenever it crosses your path. Of a possible nine Weasleys, the Good Liar gets eight.

Fangirl points: Russell Tovey!!

Finally, yesterday I closed out my weekend with a-day-late-and-a-dollar-short screening of Doctor Sleep.

Years after the events of the Shining, an adult Dan Torrance must protect a young girl who "shines" from a dangerous cult of immortals.

Doctor Sleep starts off promisingly enough, teasing a few ominous bars of the original Shining theme, but, sadly, it's all downhill from there. The film creeps along at a snail's pace, offers little new or interesting, and is never really properly scary. Nods to the original are copious and always entirely expected, especially towards the final act. Ewan McGregor really seems to have no idea how to salvage the material, and--at a bloated two-and-a-half hours--the movie overstays its welcome by a good 45 minutes. Now...here's why you'll want to go see Doctor Sleep anyway: Rebecca Ferguson. While everyone else seems adrift in a sea of clunky dialogue and predictable turns, Ferguson chews up the pedestrian material and spits it right back out into a riveting turn as Rose the Hat. She's creepy, she's sexy, she's camp, she's absolutely fantastic. You won't be able to take your eyes off of her. It's a performance well worth whatever it costs to see it on the big screen.

Doctor Sleep runs a plodding 152 minutes and is rated R for "disturbing and violent content, some bloody images, language, nudity, and drug use."

If you're an insomniac, Doctor Sleep is the cure. Of a possible nine Weasleys, Doctor Sleep gets four.

Fangirl points: Zahn McClarnon! Bruce Greenwood!

Until next time...

MOVIE REVIEW: FORD V FERRARI

American automotive designer Carroll Shelby and fearless British race car driver Ken Miles battle corporate interference, the laws of physics and their own personal demons to build a revolutionary vehicle for the Ford Motor Co. Together, they plan to compete against the race cars of Enzo Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France in 1966.

Director: Jason Mangold

Cast: Matt Damon and Christian Bale, Jon Bernthal, Caitriona Balfe, Tracy Letts, Josh Lucas, Noah Jupe, Remo Girone, and Ray McKinnon

Release Date: November 15, 2019

Genres: Action, Biography, Drama

Rated PG-13 for some language and peril

Runtime: 2h 32min

Review:

Ford v Ferrari an interesting throwback film that’s got so much more going on besides racing.  James Mangold directs his film with a glossy veneer that just screams prestige picture.  A two and half hour film needs to be engaging to keep from becoming a slog.  Thankfully, the film’s story is thoroughly entertaining throughout, so much so that if rarely feels slow.  Having a cast of top level talents all delivering excellent performances.  Matt Damon gives his Carroll Shelby a good old boy charm and dogged determination which shines through an understated delivery.  Christian Bale delivers another physical transformation for this performance but beyond that he gives his character a likable stubbornness that provides the film its beating heart.  Together Damon and Bale make this bromance work and it’s incredibly watchable.  The supporting cast is equally strong with Tracy Letts, Jon Bernthal and Caitriona Balfe all leaving their mark in limited screen time.  On its surface, the film is about winning a car race but peeling back some of the layers reveal a beefier and headier story at work about creation, invention and innovation.

A

MOVIE REVIEW: VICE

Gov. George W. Bush of Texas picks Dick Cheney, the CEO of Halliburton Co., to be his Republican running mate in the 2000 presidential election. No stranger to politics, Cheney's impressive résumé includes stints as White House chief of staff, House Minority Whip and defense secretary. When Bush wins by a narrow margin, Cheney begins to use his newfound power to help reshape the country and the world.

Director: Adam McKay

Cast: Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Steve Carell, Sam Rockwell, Jesse Plemons

Release Date: December 25, 2018

Genres: Biography, Comedy, Drama

Rated R for language and some violent images

Runtime: 2h 12 min

Review:

Vice is an interesting movie to experience.  At its base it’s about a Washington power player who ascends to the highest levels of office and enacting some of worst portions of the Bush presidency.  Vice, though, isn’t interested in a straightforward approach.  Instead Adam McKay opts for something a bit more comedic and much more meta.  As such, the film is  entertaining because of how the story is told even while rooting around in some of the darker parts of the last 10 years.  In addition to McKay’s style, the cast is all stellar with each of them disappearing into their respective roles.  Christian Bale leads the film with one of his body transformations.  But outside of the drastic body transformation, Bale simply dissolves into Dick Cheney utterly inhabiting his skin. It’s the type of performance that’s a shoe in for an Oscar nod.  Amy Adams, in a quieter and less showy role, is equally impressive as Cheney’s Lady MacBeth Lynn Cheney.  The supporting roles are peppered with familiar faces like Sam Rockwell and Steve Carrell all of whom turn in quality performances that make the film all the better.  Ultimately, your enjoyment of the film maybe tempered by your political stance since the film isn’t necessary going to win many approving nods from one side of the isle.  If the film has a major fault it’s that even with all the excellent performances, we are kept at arms length from the characters themselves.  We never get a real sense of who these people are or what truly motivates them.  We see their actions but never truly know why they do what they do and perhaps that’s McKay’s point.

B+

Cindy Prascik's Reviews of Vice & Mary Poppins Returns

Dearest Blog: Yesterday I made my last trip of 2018 to Marquee Cinemas for a final holiday catch-up double-header.

On the docket: Vice and Mary Poppins Returns. Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailers.

First up: Vice. A look at the personal life and political rise of former Vice-President Dick Cheney.

Vice is a tough film to get through, but I need to call out the positives, because the movie's difficulties do not lie with the quality of the filmmaking. Vice's primary draw is the caliber of its cast. Much has been made of Christian Bale's physical transformation for this role, but frankly we've seen enough of that from Bale in the past that it loses a bit of its impact. More impressive is the ability of such familiar actors to disappear so thoroughly into equally-well-known political figures. Hair and makeup offer valuable assists, but it's the performers' skills that convince our eyes we're looking at George Bush when we can see Sam Rockwell's face. Amy Adams gives a particularly terrific turn as Cheney's wife Lynne, but, again, it's something Adams does so often that it's easy to take it for granted. Actual news footage is cut with the film to illustrate the impact of Cheney's influence and decisions. Flashbacks--not generally a favorite of mine--are smartly used to emphasize the ex-Veep's path to power. Vice is a very clever, very, very well-done movie...and I would never, ever watch it again. I actually walked out in the middle to got some popcorn, because I was so uncomfortable I couldn't stand it. (Spoiler alert: I didn't even want popcorn.) News footage of atrocities both against and by the United States is impossible to watch without feeling sick. Behind-the-scenes machinations are appalling, even if only half are true. Vice is, quite simply, a sobering tale of the worst of us.

Vice clocks in at 132 minutes and is rated R for "language and some violent images."

Vice is a very good movie about some very bad people; it's exhausting but imperative viewing.

Of a possible nine Weasleys, Vice gets seven and a half. Fangirl points: Justin Kirk! And...it's awards season so you know what that means: Shea Whigham all 'round!!

Next on my agenda, a welcome change of mood with Mary Poppins Returns.

The Banks family again finds itself in need of a magical nanny's particular talents. Mary Poppins Returns is one of those movies that probably works as well as it does thanks to being released into the warm and fuzzy holiday season. That's not to say it isn't a good movie--I think it is--but its success will definitely be aided and abetted by Christmas cheer and maybe some spiked eggnog. There's an all-new soundtrack to enjoy, but familiar musical cues never miss an opportunity to remind the viewer: You already love this! I, personally, found the songs a bit La La Land-blah, but the production of the musical numbers is extraordinary and the choreography is exquisite. Emily Blunt is a delight as Mary Poppins, a role she seems to have been born to play. Lin-Manuel Miranda infuses every second of his screen time with a joy that runs through him like his very blood, and Ben Whishaw does his usual superb work as a grown-up Michael Banks. Kid actors can be a crapshoot, but Pixie Davies, Nathanael Saleh, and Joel Dawson aren't too annoying. In supporting roles, Julie Walters, Colin Firth, and Meryl Streep are great if underused, though Streep still manages to steal the show. Mary Poppins returns is filled with striking scenery, beautiful costumes, and eye-popping colors, and it sticks firmly to its old-school musical roots. While there's no mistaking the movie's overall good vibe, it also stresses the importance of each of us--young and old--doing what we can to bring our own positivity to every situation.

Mary Poppins Returns runs 130 minutes and is rated PG for "some mild thematic elements and brief action."

Mary Poppins Returns is a breezy bit of holiday cheer that should be a staple for years to come.

Of a possible nine Weasleys, Mary Poppins Returns gets eight.

Fangirl points: Well, not naming names, but as soon as I heard the Coachman's voice, I kept waiting for him to say, "Have you tried turning it off and back on again?"

So...it's almost 2019, when am I getting a Cats trailer??

Cindy Prascik's Reviews of Hostiles & Maze Runner: The Death Cure

Dearest Blog: Yesterday it was off to Marquee Cinemas for another uninspiring pair of January releases: Hostiles and Maze Runner: The Death Cure.

Spoiler level here will be mild, but I'd hazard a guess, dear reader(s), that you won't much care either way.

First on the agenda: Hostiles.

Nearing retirement, an Army captain is coerced into one final official chore: escorting a dying Cheyenne Chief and his family back to their home.

Hostiles is is blessed with a great cast, intriguing characters, and a multi-layered story, so after seeing it I can only ask: How can it be SO bad?

We'll start with the obvious. Hostiles wants you to understand from the outset that it is a Very Serious Movie. As such, everything Very Serious about it is overdone to the point of being comical. The opening scene is brutal, yet its outcome is hilariously improbable. Christian Bale throws down two hours of his best Ennis Del Mar impersonation, mumbling and maintaining such a persistent scowl I'd be surprised if his face didn't stick that way. (Everyone's mother said it would, right?!) As characters suffer terrible losses, the camera lingers on their fabricated grief so long the faces become caricatures. There are many (many, many) panoramic shots of the parade of horses on their journey...across the plains, over the mountains, through the forest. WE GET IT, YOU'RE GOING SOMEPLACE! The film overuses every tired Cowboys-and-Indians trope to such a degree your brain will become convinced the picture hasn't just borrowed the overused cliches, but rather that you've seen this actual movie somewhere before. Hostiles tries to show each side of every situation as both the good and the bad guys, but--rather than weaving thoughtful complexities--it is contrived and impossible to believe that some of the characters could have gotten from Point A to Point B over the film's duration. Its messages are many and mixed; your moral compass won't know where to aim. Finally, and most egregiously, Hostiles is a criminal waste of the extraordinary Ben Foster, who doesn't have more than 15 minutes total screen time.

Hostiles runs 134 minutes and is rated R for "strong violence and language." (Trigger warning: Though it's not in the official MPAA warning, the film does allude to a rape that is not depicted onscreen.)

Its trailers made Hostiles seem a surefire awards darling, but, sadly, it's an exercise in frustration that will leave you wondering how it could fail so spectacularly with the tools at its disposal.

Of a possible nine Weasleys, Hostiles gets three.

Up next, the final (?) installment in the Maze Runner series, The Death Cure.

The kids from the Maze aren't in the Maze anymore. Now it's like the Walking Dead, but younger and less sweaty.

Confession time: I can't remember much of anything about the first two Maze Runner movies. I don't remember how these people got out of the Maze, or how they got into the Maze in the first place, or if the Maze even has anything to do with where they find themselves in Installment #3. I didn't care enough to refresh before seeing the movie, and I definitely wasn't interested enough to try filling in the gaps after. That being said, thanks mostly to an engaging cast, I didn't hate The Death Cure. (I don't think I hated the middle one either, though I'm pretty sure I hated the first one. Nah...not worth looking THAT up, either.)

As any Young Adult series will tell you, when the world is falling apart, it's up to young heroes to save it. The Maze Runner series filmed quickly, compared with some other YA sets, yet it's hard not to feel the leads have aged out of their roles a bit. Still, Dylan O'Brien effectively sells it one last time, Thomas Brodie-Sangster is always a delight, and the older cast is more than capable. (Is there anything that can't be improved by the presence of Walton Goggins? I think not.) The film kicks off with an exciting sequence straight out of The A-Team, and from there it seldom lets up, a wise choice given its excessive length and lack of real substance. Effects are solid, tension is pretty amped up at times, and the picture does have a few small surprises up its grungy sleeve, tying things up in a satisfying, if predictable, bow at the end.

Maze Runner: The Death Cure clocks in at a bloated 141 minutes and is rated PG13 for "intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, language, and some thematic elements."

Maze Runner: The Death Cure doesn't reinvent the wheel, but, compared to some of January's other offerings, it doesn't seem so bad.

Of a possible nine Weasleys, Maze Runner: The Death Cure gets four.

Fangirl points: Giancarlo Esposito! Aidan Gillen!

Until next time...

Cindy Prascik's Reviews of Concussion, Joy & The Big Short

Dearest Blog: A point I've previously belabored: Awards Season necessitates sacrifice, and, thus, yesterday I found myself drowning in a triple-bill of critical darlings at Marquee Cinemas, rather than enjoying the second Star Wars viewing I'd have preferred. Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailers or, I guess, from real life, as all three of these films are based (at least loosely) on actual people and events. 

 

First on my agenda: Concussion. After uncovering the disturbing results of repeated head trauma among former players, a medical examiner faces off with the National Football League. Dear reader(s), I gotta be straight with ya: I don't like football. 

 

There, I said it. In a place where the sun rises and sets on the Pittsburgh Steelers, where many fans would sacrifice a virgin, cut off a limb, or bop their neighbors on the head with a hammer for that seventh Super Bowl ring, I couldn't possibly care less. Thus, I figured Concussion for the lemon in yesterday's lineup. I figured wrong. 

 

Will Smith is extraordinary as Dr. Bennet Omalu, the Allegheny County coroner who first discovered the potential link between the game's violence and former players' mental and physical troubles. As enthusiastic for new knowledge as he is horrified by his findings and determined to prevent further damage, Smith is sincere, believable, and fierce. A non-believer myself, I found it oddly comforting that Omalu is portrayed as both a man of science and a man of faith, two things that seem almost mutually exclusive in today's world. 

 

Concussion's supporting cast is solid, and the story is fascinating and well executed, as Omalu and a few allies butt heads (see what I did there?) with a juggernaut reluctant to acknowledge a very serious potential black mark on its image. 

 

Concussion clocks in at 123 minutes and is rated PG13 for "thematic material including some disturbing images, and language." Concussion is a well-written, well-acted film that will have no trouble holding your attention from start to finish, even if you don't know the difference between a quarterback and a cornerback. 

 

Of a possible nine Weasleys, Concussion gets eight. 

 

Next up: Joy. A young divorcee hopes to improve her complicated life with a new invention. Joy is essentially a showcase for Jennifer Lawrence, who is fantastic in the title role, yet the constantly-exaggerated circumstances leave her looking a bit like a female Forrest Gump. The supporting cast includes notables like Robert DeNiro, Virginia Madsen, Diane Ladd, Isabella Rossellini, and Edgar Ramirez, but their characters are little more than paper dolls, every move entirely predictable. 

 

Bradley Cooper turns up for a cup of coffee, only because, of late, it seems director David O. Russell doesn't want to make a movie without him, a sad waste of his talent and charm. The story's a jumble that always seems to be moving, yet never gets anywhere, making the movie feel longer than it is. All in all, Joy is much more interested in showing off its star than it is in being a great movie. 

 

Joy runs 124 minutes and is rated PG13 for "brief strong language." It's nothing special, but Joy is still an enjoyable watch. 

 

Of a possible nine Weasleys, Joy gets six and a half. 

 

And the final item on yesterday's docket: The Big Short. A handful of financial fringe operators predict (and attempt to cash in on) the big bust of 2008. 

 

The Big Short is a hard film to pin down. It's funny, but it shouldn't be. These guys the film would have you rooting for? They're in the market to rip someone off just as much as the ones you're rooting against. 

 

The terrific cast has already nailed down some awards love, but nobody turns in a game-changing performance. Smart, funny dialogue gets lost in a sea of gratuitous swearing. (Deadwood fan here, so I'm not timid about bad words, but they're not always the right fit.) The story is frenetic, yet the movie seems slow and long. 

 

The narrative setup is interesting, I love the way the film marks time, and, though the characters are comical, The Big Short eventually brings home the gravity of a disaster that destroyed millions of lives. The Big Short runs an excessive 130 minutes and is rated R for "pervasive language and some sexuality/nudity." A comic take on a story that's anything but funny, The Big Short is depressing and entertaining at the same time. 

 

Of a possible nine Weasleys, The Big Short gets seven. 

 

Until next time...may the Force be strong enough to scare off unwanted holiday visitors, so I can squeeze in another Star Wars screening before going back to work! 

 

MOVIE REVIEW: EXODUS: GODS AND KIN

From acclaimed director Ridley Scott (Gladiator, Prometheus) comes the epic adventure “Exodus: Gods and Kings,” the story of one man’s daring courage to take on the might of an empire. Using state of the art visual effects and 3D immersion, Scott brings new life to the story of the defiant leader Moses (Christian Bale) as he rises up against the Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses (Joel Edgerton), setting 600,000 slaves on a monumental journey of escape from Egypt and its terrifying cycle of deadly plagues.

Director: Ridley Scott     

 Cast: Christian Bale, Joel Edgerton, John Turturro, Sigourney Weaver, Aaron Paul 

Release Date: Dec 12, 2014

Rated PG-13 for violence including battle sequences and intense images     

Runtime: 2 hr. 22 min.    

Genres: Drama    

Review:

Exodus: Gods and Kings is a throwback to the big scale biblical epics from the past.  Ridley Scott brings a sweeping grandeur to the whole thing but it never really gets its footing with any of the characters.  The film clocks in at nearly 2 and half hours, some of which is quite a slog, yet we never really get any real connections to the characters.  Christian Bale is fine as Moses but he doesn’t give the character any heartfelt drive to save his people.  As such Moses comes off as an annoyed nut whose just doing something because he has to.  At lease the script gave Moses a bit more of a tacticians mind as he plots his revolt that will lead to the liberation of the Israelites.  Rames, played by a guy liner-rrific Jole Edgerton, comes off as a bumbling buffoon all the way through.  There’s a little effort to give him a bit more depth but not nearly enough to matter in the long run.  The supporting cast is prestigious but underused and ultimately wasted.  The film’s lack of three dimensional characters is ultimately its biggest downfall.  Ridley Scott created a visual spectacle which is finely produced but it all feels hollow since we really don’t care about any of the characters, not the way we were supposed to at least.

C+

Cindy Prascik's Review of Exodus: Gods and Kings

Dearest Blog, end of the year means burning that unused vacation, so today I found myself at a mid-afternoon screening of Exodus: Gods and Kings.

Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailers.
Believing he's been called by God, Moses leads hundreds of thousands of Hebrew slaves out of Egypt.

Dear reader(s), in the interest of full and fair disclosure I'll note that to me the Bible is as real as a Twilight novel. I mean that not to insult anyone's beliefs, but to make it clear that Biblical accuracy or lack thereof is not why I hated this movie. I hated it because, to quote one of my all-time favorite reviews, it is "a lumbering bore."

Much has been made of all the white folks portraying characters who would have been decidedly un-white, and that does make it a bit hard to take the movie seriously. Sigourney Weaver as an Egyptian queen gave me a fit of the giggles that I almost didn't get past, and I'm pretty sure a servant girl was wearing one of Lady Gaga's wigs. Close-ups reveal French manicures on some of the women. (I'm not even kidding.) Accents are all over the place--hell, Christian Bale runs through four or five different ones himself--and the language is too modern to suit the movie's time frame. If Lord of the Rings bought its battle scenes at Wal-Mart, they'd probably look a lot like the ones in Exodus. Much of the CGI is laughably bad; in fact, the whole thing kinda looks like a regional theatre production of Jesus Christ Superstar. And if being bored to tears isn't bad enough, there's a boatload of explicit animal cruelty for your viewing pleasure, and a blustery score that occasionally goes all "NCIS terrorist cue." It's more than a little offensive.

Bale's Moses is an unsympathetic character, who, like Russell Crowe's Noah, comes off as cold-hearted screwball rather than a man agonizing over choices he must make for the greater good. Moses' "brother" turned nemesis Ramses, played by a barely recognizable Joel Edgerton, is a buffoon in enough guyliner for a Motley Crue video. Ben Mendelsohn turning up was a pleasant surprise, but that's about the only good thing I have to say about Exodus.

Exodus: Gods and Kings clocks in at a bloated 150 minutes and is rated PG13 for "violence including battle scenes and intense images."

Of a possible nine Weasleys, Exodus: Gods and Kings gets two. It's a trainwreck.

Until next time...

I am, in fact, too fast for love.

Cindy Prascik's Reviews of Saving Mr. Banks & American Hustle

Dearest Blog, yesterday I braved the holiday throngs for a couple movies I hoped would prove worth it, Saving Mr. Banks and American Hustle.

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

First on my agenda was Saving Mr. Banks, the story behind the story of Mary Poppins, and of Walt Disney's struggle to bring the beloved classic to the big screen.

If ever one of my reviews required a disclaimer, it's this one, so here it is: I HATE Mary Poppins. I hate the character, I hate the story, and if you start singing one of those stupid songs within my earshot, I will pull out your vocal cords through your eye sockets. I was recently scarred by an attempt to watch I'm Not There despite the fact I despise Bob Dylan, so, if I feared my distaste for the subject matter might leave me unable to enjoy this film on its own merits, it's understandable. As it turns out, I needn't have worried.

Saving Mr. Banks is a glorious piece of filmmaking, carried squarely on the shoulders of its magnificent leads, Emma Thompson and Tom Hanks. The two so thoroughly embody P.L. Travers and Walt Disney that it's almost jarring when the old photos used in the end credits don't have their faces. Thompson makes Travers a sympathetic character, even at her stiffest and most difficult, and Hanks...well, if Mr. Disney and Captain Phillips land him two spots on the "Best Actor" lists come year end, that's fair. The supporting cast is also pretty special, with standout performances from Ruth Wilson, Colin Farrell, and Paul Giamatti.The story-within-the-story flows smoothly between flashbacks and present-day happenings, and the costumes and scenery effectively dictate the feel of each sequence and scene. "Nice" is so vanilla that it almost doesn't seem like a compliment even when it's meant as one, but Saving Mr. Banks is just a nice movie that I think pretty much anyone will enjoy. If the film is sentimental, it's in a good way, rather than the eye-rolling way of some of the unfortunate trailers running with it. I cried so much I had to sneak out the back door of the cinema because I was embarrassed to walk through the lobby! If it had that effect on someone so utterly UNsentimental about Mary Poppins, those who love the book and/or the movie had better bring a whole box of Kleenex with them!

Saving Mr. Banks runs 125 minutes and is rated PG13 for "thematic elements including some unsettling images."

Young or old, Mary Poppins fan or not, I don't think a person could help but enjoy this movie. Of a possible nine Weasleys, Saving Mr. Banks gets eight.

Next up was my birthday present from Hollywood, American Hustle.

When a pair of con-artists is busted, they're forced to work with the FBI in an attempt to hook some bigger fish.

It will come as no surprise to anyone when I say awards season movies aren't necessarily my cup of tea. That's not to say I don't often enjoy them, but my taste generally runs more summer blockbuster than Oscar bait. When I start seeing "Academy Award Nominee" and "Golden Globe Winner" before all the names in the trailers, that's exactly what I'm looking for in those movies, performances that knock my socks off. I am pleased to report American Hustle delivers more than a few of those in a fun, exciting ride that will hold your undivided attention from start to finish.

Christian Bale is terrific in the lead, the formerly cut Bruce Wayne barely recognizable as a paunchy fashion nightmare with a bad combover. Bale gained 40 pounds for the role, and, sadly, this movie makes more of a point of showing off his flabby bare belly than the last Batman did of his six pack. His performance is extraordinary, smart and subtle when it needs to be, over the top when it has to be, just all-around perfect. Bradley Cooper is terrific as the FBI agent slowly losing his grip as he tries to make his name on the case, as is my beloved Jeremy Renner as a politician trying to do the right thing in perhaps not quite the right way. On the ladies' side, Amy Adams is fantastic, but can't help be overshadowed by another stellar showing from Jennifer Lawrence. If you were harboring any inexplicable, lingering doubts as to whether Lawrence is actually the most perfect human being in existence, well, this should erase them for good. Finally, I was absolutely delighted to see two of my Boardwalk Empire favorites, Jack Huston and Shea Whigham, who are both great in smaller roles.

American Hustle begins with the warning: "Some of this actually happened." Like Pain & Gain, these people's behavior is sometimes too stupid to believe, and yet...there it is. The movie goes from serious as a heart attack to laugh-out-loud funny in the blink of an eye, the plot zigging and zagging to keep you on the edge of your seat, without getting muddled or confusing. The awesome 70s soundtrack is bound to bring back fond memories for those who remember the era, even if the hairstyles and fashions do not!

American Hustle clocks in at 138 minutes and is rated R for "pervasive language, some sexual content, and brief violence."

For all the time I spend at the cinema, I think I deserved a really great movie for my birthday and, with American Hustle, I got it. Of a possible nine Weasleys, American Hustle gets eight and a half.

So, dear Blog, that's all the news that's fit to print for now. If time and the listings cooperate, and if I can manage to make myself see something besides The Hobbit, I've got a half-dozen new releases to squeeze in over the next seven days before I can finalize my year-end top ten. Fingers crossed!

Until next time...



Would you believe me if I said these are three of Hollywood's hottest leading men??

MOVIE REVIEW AMERICAN HUSTLE

Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, and Amy Adams star in director David O. Russell's fictional period crime drama about a reckless FBI agent who recruits a con man and his alluring partner into a scheme to ensnare corrupt politicians and gangsters. Smooth-talking Irving Rosenfeld (Bale) is a hustler of the highest order. No mark is off limits for Rosenfeld, especially when his crafty partner Sydney Prosser (Adams) is by his side. When renegade FBI agent Richie DiMaso (Cooper) thrusts the deceptive duo into the treacherous world of New Jersey power players and underworld heavies, the thrill of the hunt grows too strong to resist. Meanwhile, New Jersey politician Carmine Polito (Jeremy Renner) gets caught in the middle, and Rosenfeld's capricious wife Rosalyn (Jennifer Lawrence) holds more power than anyone could imagine. Louis C.K. and Jack Huston costar. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Director: David O. Russell

Cast: Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Jennifer Lawrence.

Release Date: Dec 13, 2013

Rated R for pervasive language, some sexual content and brief violence

Runtime: 2 hr. 9 min.

Genres: Drama

Review:

Who said prestige films had to be a laborious task? American Hustle is wonderfully crafted and skillfully acted film that sizzles from the opening scene. David O. Russell has been on a hot streak as of late and American Hustle may be his best yet. I’d never have imagined that Russell would have become an actor’s director after all the fall out from I Heart Huckabees but some how he’s become a master at extracting some of the finest work from his performers. American Hustle’s cast is firing on all cylinders deliver performances that are fully realized and engaging throughout while being incredibly entertaining. It’s the kind of filmmaking high wire act that incredibly hard to pull off but the cast and crew deliver in all facets. Christian Bale continues to top himself with each performance and this might be his best. Bale’s performance is a virtuoso exhibition of varying shades of gray throughout while maintaining a real sense of the character’s heart. Amy Adams, whose becoming a much more interesting actress with each role, gives her character a fiery but broken heart. Adams has more than a few moments where she just commands the screen with emotion streaming out of her eyes. Bradley Cooper is perfectly manic and unstable as the FBI agent, showing again that Russell can get him to deliver his best work. Jennifer Lawrence is equally impressive in a smaller role. Lawrence may have a limited role but her screen time and character are incredibly memorable. Jeremy Renner also delivers some of his finest work as the good hearted but misguided mayor. American Hustle is one of those films that is so well done that the 2 hours just fly by with nary a dead spot. It’s one of the year’s best which is likely to rack up nominations come award season.

A

Cindy Prascik's Review of Out of The Furnace

Dearest Blog, yesterday I used my trip "recovery day" to catch up on the weekend's cinema. On my agenda: the locally-filmed drama Out of the Furnace.

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

After four tours of Iraq, a soldier (Casey Affleck) returns home and gets himself in trouble with a brutal criminal (Woody Harrelson), leaving his hard-luck brother (Christian Bale) to try and sort things out.

Trailers for Out of the Furnace were promising, and--with this group of actors--how bad could it be, right? Well...

The cast is, to a person, very very good, but unfortunately a full third of the dialogue is unintelligible. It's like a whole movie full of Ennis Del Mars! I can't say the accent/diction would have been the actors' call. I can say I live near where this movie is set and was filmed, and nobody around here talks that way. It was a very poor choice and almost lost me before the film even hit its halfway point. Christian Bale gets plenty of "I never learned to read!!" Oscar-clip moments, and his co-stars don't come up short in that regard, either. Affleck has some solid moments as the veteran coming off the rails, and Harrelson is especially effective as the film's baddie. The lovely Zoe Saldana holds her own with her decorated co-stars, in a more limited role.

Out of the Furnace conveys hopelessness and despair with every frame. From the dying mill to the family's claustrophobic home to their ugly neighborhood, all of it looks like someplace you'd never want to be, which is exactly where the main characters are...not just physically, but mentally and emotionally. Bale's character might well have been called "Job" for the bad luck he endures, and that seemed very contrived after a point. Much like Gravity before it, the number of things that had to go wrong to get Out of the Furnace where it's going were too unbelievable. The movie also shows its hand pretty early on, leaving little in the way of twists or surprises. The first act is painfully slow and, while the finale picks up a bit, I still lost count of how often I checked the time. In my sparsely-attended weekday screening, a couple people left and didn't come back.

Out of the Furnace clocks in at 116 minutes, which feels like about eight hours. It is rated R for "strong violence, language, and drug content."

Out of the Furnace is a hard film to rate, weighing the huge discrepancy between top-notch performances and the lack of anything else to recommend it. It definitely gets a full point deducted for making me listen to Pearl Jam, a band I despise with the fire of a thousand suns, not just once, but twice!! I suppose we'll say, of a possible nine Weasleys, Out of the Furnace gets four and a half.

Until next time...



I liked you better when you were Batman!

MOVIE REVIEW: THE DARK KNIGHT RISES [Spoiler Free]

IN THEATERS

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES




Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy concludes with this Warner Brothers release that finds The Dark Knight pitted against Bane, an unstoppable foe possessed of tremendous physical and intellectual strength. Nearly a decade after taking the fall for Harvey Dent's death and disappearing into the darkness, a fugitive Batman (Christian Bale) watches from the shadows as the Dent Act keeps the streets of Gotham City free of crime. Meanwhile, an elusive cat burglar seizes the chance to strike, and a masked anarchist plots a devastating series of attacks designed to lure Bruce Wayne out of the shadows. Determined not to abandon the people who he once risked his life to protect, The Dark Knight emerges from his self-imposed exile ready to fight. But Bane (Tom Hardy) is ready, too, and once Batman is within his grasp, he will do everything in his power to break Gotham City's shadowy savior. Oscar-winner Michael Caine and Gary Oldman return in a sequel also starring Anne Hathaway, Marion Cotillard, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Director: Christopher Nolan

Cast: Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-
Levitt, Michael Caine , Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman

Release Date: Jul 20, 2012

Rated PG-13 Intense Sequences of Violence, Intense Sequences of Action, Language and some Sensuality

Runtime: 2 hr. 45 min.

Genres: Action/Adventure, Suspense/Thriller

Review:

In a summer of movies where one anticipated film is followed by another, there was only one that truly and deeply had me waiting desperately and impatiently. After having digested The Dark Knight Rises twice now, I can say that Christopher Nolan has created one of the best trilogies of all time for one of the seminal character in pop culture. With TDKR Nolan has made the Avengers look quaint in comparison. Incredibly satisfying and emotionally impactful, this finale ends the series with a real bang. Borrowing pieces from graphic novels like The Dark Knight Returns, No Man’s Land, a sampling of Batman Beyond and even a bad Batman The Animated Series episode, TDKR is a cornucopia of delights for Batfans like me. Little winks and nods of fan service are peppered into the film making me about gleeful as an unsupervised child in a candy store. The story meshes incredibly well with the overall arch of the first 2 films especially Batman Begins. Bale is given the spotlight here, rightfully so, and he’s incredible. Bale portrays Wayne, Batman himself is actually only in about a third of the overall film, as a man dealing with the after effects of the 2nd film’s finale. He displays Bruce’s struggle to find meaning and direction in his life with textured nuance. Tom Hardy, who looks like Brian Urlacher dressed for an S&M party, is quiet impressive as the primary villain here. Sounding like a cross between Darth Vader and Sean Connery, his Bane is a shark to Heath Ledger’s wild dog Joker. Bane is menacing and intimating, brimming with confidence in every scene which is impressive considering Hardy only has his hands and eyes to act with because of the face mask. Equally impressive and perhaps more surprising is Anne Hathaway’s Catwoman. Hathaway just nails the character’s essence and persona right from the start. This is a more traditional Catwoman than the S&M Burton version. As such it feels more in keeping with her character from the comic and animated sources, a real delight. Joseph Gordon-Levitt & Marion Cotillard both do solid work in roles that are vital to the story arch. With all the new faces in this entry some of the series standby take a bit of a back seat but still leave their mark such as Oldman perfect pitch Gordon which is always a joy, as is Morgan Freeman’s Lucius Fox. Michael Caine though deserves special recognition as Alfred even though he’s in this film a lot less than previous entries. Caine has a few scenes that deliver potent emotional punches in his roles as Bruce’s paternal figure. Together this cast creates a lush and vivid Gotham that’s alive and earned through the other film’s set up. The film rolls towards it’s final act which itself is an impressive piece of directing by Nolan since it’s pretty much a very well orchestrated version of the 1966 Batman finale where Adam West was running around with a bomb over his head. Of course that’s an exaggeration but it’s a testament to the strength of the film that it works so well as a thrilling finale giving me many a goose bumps throughout. If there are a few nitpicks they are very minor. Some of the dialogue feels clunkier that the previous entries and some character’s like Matthew Modine’s Assistant Chief serve little to no purpose. Minor issues but apparent. Regardless, you’ll leave the theater wondering how that nearly 3 hour run time passed by so fast and when you can see it again.

A

[Final Trailer] THE DARK KNIGHT RISES

An early gift has presented itself, maybe because Nolan doesn’t want fanboys to forget his little film with all The Avengers hype leading up to this Friday.

This final trailer is incredible, probably up there with the Prometheus trailer. It’s quiet, dark and full of foreboding mixed with plenty of new images to just make a fan like me go batty…..

[Trailer] The Dark Knight Rises

The full trailer for The Dark Knight Rises is finally out on the web. I saw it on IMAX this weekend before Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol and after watching it again I’ve had the same reaction.

The hairs on my arm just stand up as I witness the epic-ness that on display…..

First look at Anne Hathaway As Catwoman From The Dark Knight Rises

First shot of Anne Hathaway as Catwoman from The Dark Knight Rises is out, kind of straight forward but high tech looking, would need to get a full look at the outfit to make a final decision.

From this it just looks kind of ho hum, a high tech jumpsuit. Less impressive than the Bane reveal if you ask me….




Below are some better looks at the outfit from the set while they are shooting....

MOVIE REVIEWS: THE FIGHTER

IN THEATERS

THE FIGHTER

Mark Wahlberg stars in Paramount Pictures' inspirational docudrama exploring the remarkable rise of Massachusetts-born, junior welterweight title winner "Irish" Micky Ward. A determined pugilist whose career in the ring was shepherded by his loyal half-brother, Dicky (Christian Bale) -- a hard-living boxer-turned-trainer whose own career in the ring was nearly sent down for the count due to drugs and crime -- perennial underdog Irish Micky rebounded from a disheartening series of defeats to win both the WBU Intercontinental Lightweight title and the WBU Light Welterweight title thanks to a fierce combination of determination and hard work. David O. Russell directs from a script by 8 Mile's Scott Silver and Paul Attanasio (The Bourne Ultimatum). ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Director: David O. Russell

Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Melissa Leo, Jack McGee

Release Date: Dec 17, 2010

Rated R for some violence, sexuality, language throughout and drug content

Runtime: 1 hr. 54 min.

Genres: Documentary, Drama

Review:

Films based on sports stories always have inherent obstacles to clear to make an impression. Those obstacles are simple in that the plots are all identical, underdog rises get to the big game fight etc., and the faux sports never feels truly authentic. As a result this genre always has to work a bit harder than most. The Fighter works as a true life Rocky story because it’s a thoroughly compelling story about family and dysfunction with the sports aspect almost an afterthought. David Russell delivers a film that engaging from the moment it begins. It features some of the best all around acting from its stellar cast. Mark Wahlberg is soft spoken and heartfelt throughout, he tends to blend in to the background from time to time. It’s not really because of anything Wahlberg does but the other parts are meatier roles. Case in point, Christine Bale’s amazing performance as Mickey’s crack addict / trainer Dicky. Bale is a method actor through and through and here he’s manipulated his body to another extreme similar to what he did in The Machinist. His appearance and mannerism are just spot on throughout especially when you see footage of the real person. Bale has shown incredible versatility over the past couple of years and this role should give him the accolades and Oscar he’s deserved. Amy Adams is also impressive playing against type and does it extremely well. Melissa Leo reeks of authenticity as Mickey’s mother and manager. As a whole the cast share fantastic believable chemistry that boosts the story’s emotional center making everything ring true.
A-