MOVIE REVIEW: MEN

 

In the aftermath of a personal tragedy, Harper retreats alone to the beautiful English countryside, hoping to find a place to heal. However, someone or something from the surrounding woods appears to be stalking her. What begins as simmering dread soon becomes a fully formed nightmare, inhabited by her darkest memories and fears.

Director: Alex Garland

Cast: Jessie Buckley, Rory Kinnear, Paapa Essiedu, Gayle Rankin

Release Date: May 20, 2022

Genre: Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi

Rated R for disturbing and violent content, graphic nudity, grisly images and language.

Runtime: 1h 40m

Review:

Alex Garland's third film, Men, is a stylish fever dream that takes broad strokes at it central theme.  The film establishes an unsettling atmosphere immediately juxtaposed with the lush beauty of the English countryside.  Flashbacks establish the central character's state of mind while dealing with increasingly nightmarish situation.  Each scene is a meticulously constructed and packed with subtle and overt thematic overtones as the tension increases as the film moves on.  Jessie Buckley carries the film with ease as the central woman in a vortex of menacing masculinity.  The script doesn't ask much from Buckley outside of being confused and terrified but she adds layers to the character that isn't on the page.  Its a fascinating performance that puts you in the character's skin and makes you feel every bit of terror as the film becomes increasingly disturbing and abstract.  Veteran British actor, Rory Kinnear is tasked with playing nearly every other character onscreen.  It's a dauting, disjointing task but Kinnear's talents are up to the task with each character feeling like a singular representation of masculinity.  Garland clearly has something to say and for the most part he accomplishes it even if the actual story is decidedly simplistic while he take big swing at bigger idea instead of character depth.  

A-

MOVIE REVIEW: THE IMITATION GAME

Alan Turing, a pioneer of computers, led a group of scholars to crack the codes of Germany's WWII Enigma machine. A genius under nail-biting pressure helped to save millions of lives and was ultimately convicted for the crime of homosexuality.

Director: Morten Tyldum 

Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Allen Leech, Rory Kinnear, Mark Strong.

Release Date: Nov 28, 2014

Rated: PG-13 for some Sexual References, Mature Thematic Material and Historical Smoking

Runtime: 1 hr. 53 min.

Genres: Drama

Review:

The Imitation Game is a fairly standard biopic that’s finely crafted and well acted even if it’s a bit mechanical at times.  It benefits greatly from some impressive performances by Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley.  Benedict Cumberbatch captures the sadness, awkwardness and intelligence of Turing with subtle power.  There are moments in the film that provide him a perfect platform to display his immense talent.  The always reliable Keira Knightley is excellent in a supporting role.  It feels like a standard role at first but as the film moves on she’s allowed to flesh out the roles giving us a meatier role that what’s on the page.  The Imitation Game is filled some incredibly tense moments along with a fresh bit of humor sprinkled in, something you wouldn’t expect from this type of film and it’s theme.  The film’s script is filled with tons of parallels and metaphors which will keep your mind churning well after it’s done.  It’s a tragic tale but one that deserved to be told with an excellent and entertaining film.

B+

Cindy Prascik's Review of Mortdecai & The Imitation Game

Dearest Blog, lemme tell ya: I'm a little bit exhausted from juggling all these awards hopefuls (that I never expected to see in my area) with regular new releases and weekly screenings of The Hobbit!

However, thanks to an understanding boss, this weekend I was able to catch Johnny Depp's latest as well as one of Oscar's favorites.

First on my agenda: Mortdecai.

Johnny Depp stars as art dealer/thief Charlie Mortdecai, called upon by MI5 to assist with a case.
Well, dear reader(s), even as a die-hard Depp fan, I'm growing bored with his seemingly endless succession of interchangeable goofy characters. Alice in Wonderland, Dark Shadows, and even Transcendence were all terrible disappointments to me. So, as a Depp fan, I'm pleased to say that Mortdecai, while far from perfect, represents a bit of a rebound.

Comedies are a sketchy business...so often you pay ten bucks for a ticket only to find that all the really funny bits were in the trailer. It is, perhaps, because Mortdecai is more amusing than gut-bustingly funny that it doesn't seem that way; instead of a dozen big laughs spread over two otherwise boring hours, Mortdecai is a more evenly-entertaining experience.

Depp is terrific as the self-absorbed Mortdecai, and, if his "weird people with English accents" routine is wearing thin, it works better here than it has in his last few attempts. As Mortdecai's loyal and long-suffering manservant, Jock, Paul Bettany is the movie's highlight.

 A running gag with Jock--not so much as hinted at in the trailers--provides the movie's best laughs.

Mortdecai is a caper as well as a comedy, and it's pretty entertaining. It doesn't drag on or over-inflate itself with unnecessary pretense. It's not too clever, but it IS fun, and, yes, there are even some laugh-out-loud moments.

Mortdecai runs 106 minutes and is rated R for "some language and sexual material." (For my money, I've seen far worse rated PG13...don't understand this rating at all.)

Mortdecai is not a special movie--you won't be talking about it next week, let alone next year at awards time--but Mortdecai IS a bit of mindlessly fun entertainment. Last I checked, that wasn't yet a crime in Hollywood.

Of a possible nine Weasleys, Mortdecai gets five and a half.

(It would have been six had it co-starred ANYONE besides Gwyneth Paltrow!)

Next up was The Imitation Game.

During World War II, English mathematician Alan Turing leads a team attempting to break Nazi codes.

Alright, I'm gonna say it straight up: though it has zero chance of taking home the Oscar, The Imitation Game is easily my favorite of the Best Picture nominees I've seen.

 (Still missing Whiplash, which hasn't hit my orbit yet.) Benedict Cumberbatch is phenomenal in the lead, often abrasive but still strangely sympathetic. Again, though he doesn't seem to have a legitimate chance of hearing his name called on the big night, his performance is as good as any I saw last year, and the supporting cast is uniformly strong as well.

The Imitation Game races against the clock to break Nazi codes and prevent further loss of life; as such, it's more "edge of your seat" than it probably seems from the description. The movie also touches on Turing's homosexuality, for which he was prosecuted later in life, under UK laws of the time. It's heartbreaking, but never miserable.

The Imitation Game clocks in at 114 minutes and is rated PG13 for "some sexual references, mature thematic material, and historical smoking."

The Imitation Game is riveting from start to finish, beautifully executed on all levels. The very definition of "must see!"

Of a possible nine Weasleys, The Imitation Game gets nine. Just go see it already!

Until next time...

Somehow I knew the Internet wouldn't make me do this myself! :-)