MOVIE REVIEW: BOMBSHELL

A revealing look inside the most powerful and controversial media empire of all time and the explosive story of the women who brought down the infamous man who created it.

Director: Jay Roach

Cast: Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, Margot Robbie, John Lithgow, Kate McKinnon, Connie Britton, Malcolm McDowell, Allison Janney

Release Date: December 13, 2019

Rated R for sexual material and language throughout

Runtime: 1hr 48 min.

Genres: Biography, Drama

Review:

Bombshell’s impact on anyone is sure to be colored by their feeling about the real life people portrayed.  Jay Roach delivers a funny but ultimately depressing tales about the behind the scenes machinations at propaganda machine as known as Fox News.  Roach has the unenviable task of displaying people who are all on varying scales of terrible.  The tale about Roger Ailes numerous misdeeds was previously covered on Showtime’s The Loudest Voice so Bombshell feels a bit like a companion piece since this film focuses more on the woman than Ailes himself.  As such the trio of Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman and Margot Robbie are front and center and truly carry the film.  Charlize Theron’s Megyn Kelly is one of those transformative performances that is sure to garner her a lot of awards buzz and with good reason.  She’s nearly unrecognizable here, capturing Kelly’s look and voice with an uncanny degree of accuracy.  The performance is such an attention grabber that it’s easy to overlook Nicole Kidman and Margo Robbie slightly more subtle performances.  Kidman’s take on Gretchen Carlson is solid but it’s hard to say it any better than Naomi Watt’s version on The Loudest Voice.  Robbie’s character is a composite character but serves a purpose of putting us in the room with Ailes while he’s harassing and victimizing these women.  John Lithgow’s take on Roger Ailes isn’t as a nuanced as Russell Crowe’s take earlier this year which leads to the bigger issue at play.  Bombshell seems content with going through basics but never really cares to dig any deep or offer any colors of gray.  As such certain characters are painted as heroes which can be difficult to swallow since their real life counterparts are terrible for other reasons. 

B

Movie Reviews: HALLOWEEN 2

Sunday, August 30, 2009
Movie Reviews: HALLOWEEN 2
IN THEATERS



HALLOWEEN 2

Evil comes home to roost as unstoppable killer Michael Myers (Tyler Mane) pursues injured Laurie Strode (Scout Taylor-Compton) through Haddonfield's hospital.

Cast: Tyler Mane, Scout Taylor-Compton, Danielle Harris, Brad Dourif, Sheri Moon Zombie, Malcolm McDowell

Director: Rob Zombie

Opened August 28, 2009

Runtime: 1 hr. 41 min.

Rated R for bloody violence, language, nudity, disturbing graphic images, strong brutal violence and crude sexual content

Genres: Slasher Film, Horror



Review:




Rob Zombie is back to “terrify” us with his “extreme” vision of The Shape in this nearly unwatchable and unintentionally funny sequel. The Shape isn’t a boogey man anymore instead he’s a really determined homeless man who’s got some serious mommy issues. This sequel picks up moments after the end of the first one and it runs through a dream sequence/homage to the original sequel and a cow crossing gone horribly wrong. From the opening we are exposed to Zombie’s failed film school machinations. His use of symbolism is anything but subtle, in fact nothing about this film is subtle, and it’s rammed into our face throughout the film’s runtime in the form of a while clad Sherry Moon Zombie and a white horse, hard to tell which is which at times. It’s so ludicrously handled and silly that it becomes funnier the more they appear on screen, doesn’t help that he starts the film with an explanation of the horse’s meaning. Art house attempts to make this film deep aside, the film’s gore is equally over the top. Overkill doesn’t quite cover what happens to victims when this hobo gets angry. Michael Myers doesn’t just stab, beat or pound someone, he turns them into mincemeat so much so that Tyler Mane actually sounds a bit winded at the end of some of the sequences. Zombie never avoids the opportunity to show us the results either and the effects are impressive but utterly pointless. Why, well because none of these characters are anything but pointless caricatures. Taylor Scout Compton returns and she has two modes shrill and shriller. Zombie attempts to give Laurie a realistic post traumatic but fails to deliver any real insight. Instead we are presented a character that has gone from regular high school girl to heavy metal fan, guess that’s what murder and mayhem cause at least according to Zombie. Brad Dourif, Danielle Harris and Malcom McDowell all return with varying results. Dourif is given some truly horrendous dialogue to utter and I was impressed he was able to pull it off with a straight face. Harris seems to be the only one who’s actually trying and she turns in a nice little performance in a terribly underwritten role. Malcom McDowell is on full ham mode and is comedy gold, intentional or not. So much so that I started to think that Zombie should abandon the horror genre and make straight up comedies. Genre cameos pepper the film, much like the first vary in effectiveness. Zombie said in a recent interview that he was freed in this chapter because he wasn’t bound by the first film anymore. It makes me wonder if that gave him license create this stylistically neutered film that ends with a woefully horrible rip off of a genre classic. Compton’s sly smile at the end is really Zombie’s because he fooled us into think he could deliver something substantial and like the rest of his film’s he got some good ideas but no idea how to execute them. In the end the joke’s on us.




F