MOVIE REVIEW: DUMB MONEY

 

Everyday people flip the script on Wall Street and get rich by turning GameStop into one of the world's hottest companies. In the middle of everything is Keith Gill, a regular guy who starts it all by sinking his life savings into the stock. When his social media posts start blowing up, so does his life and the lives of everyone following him. As a stock tip becomes a movement, everyone gets wealthy -- until the billionaires fight back and both sides find their worlds turned upside down.

Director: Craig Gillespie

Cast: Paul Dano, Pete Davidson, Vincent D'Onofrio, America Ferrera, Nick Offerman, Anthony Ramos, Sebastian Stan, Shailene Woodley, Seth Rogen

Release Date: September 15, 2023 

Genre: Biography, Comedy, Drama

Rated R for pervasive language, sexual material, and drug use

Runtime: 1h 44m

Craig Gillespie's Dumb Money takes the 2021 GameStop stock madness and breaks it down into an easily digestible and enjoyable annotated version of the true story.  He gives his film a chaotic energy which fits the subject matter perfectly even though the film describes the investing strategies at play.  The early exposition dump does a solid job of explaining the concepts in such a manner that any layman, myself included, can follow the ideas with general ease.  The story follows multiple angles of the story with the central focus being on Dano's Keith Gill who kick starts the events.  Additionally, we get moments with the hedge fund managers and retail investors as the stock situation explodes on the scene.  The ensemble does a solid job of making these moments engaging even if they don't offer the sort of depth that the main storyline is afforded.  Seth Rogen, Nick Offerman, Vincent D'Onofrio and Sebastian Stan make up the money side of the story with Rogen getting the most screen time and subsequently leaves the biggest impression. Offerman, D'Onofrio and Stan aren't asked to do much outside of looking smug or annoyed for a variety of reasons.   The rest of the ensemble played by familiar faces like America Ferrera and Anthony Ramos makes up the everyday retail investors who rally behind Gill's market play.  The characters themselves are composites of real people with the film content to use them to represent types of people as opposed to something a bit more nuanced and three dimensional.  Dano gets much more to work with his character getting more depth and texture throughout the film.  In turn he delivers a likeable, sincere performance that makes his character easy to root for from start to finish.  The film does gloss over some of the murkier details on the Reddit boards, other stocks that were part of situation and overall lasting effect of everything that went down.  There are plenty of documentaries that get into more the nitty gritty of what happened, but Dumb Money makes for a fascinating, well crafted cinematic retelling that captures the spirit of the moment.  

B+

MOVIE REVIEW: THE EYES OF TAMMY FAYE

 

In the 1970s, Tammy Faye Bakker and her husband, Jim, rise from humble beginnings to create the world's largest religious broadcasting network and theme park. Tammy Faye becomes legendary for her indelible eyelashes, her idiosyncratic singing, and her eagerness to embrace people from all walks of life. However, financial improprieties, scheming rivals and a scandal soon threaten to topple their carefully constructed empire.

Director: Michael Showalter

Cast: Jessica Chastain, Andrew Garfield. Cherry Jones, Vincent D'Onofrio, Fredric Lehne, Louis Cancelmi

Release Date: September 17, 2021

Genre: Biography, Drama, History

Rated PG-13 for sexual content and drug abuse

Runtime: 2h 6min

Review:

The Eyes of Tammy Faye, based on a documentary of the same name, is an engrossing biopic that's heavier on style than actual substance.  Michael Showalter's film has a candy colored approach to its primary subjects which is appropriate even if it glosses over some of the grimier realities of their actions.  His film is visually engaging and entertaining throughout especially as everything becomes increasingly garish and outlandish.  The lynchpin of the entire film though is Jessica Chastain who sports chipmunk cheek prosthetics and increasingly layered on make up which leaves her nearly unrecognizable by the end.  Chastain's performance is the type of transformative turn that's ready made for awards season.  She displays an impressive bit of versatility by playing against type with a turn that's heavy on wide eyed naivety and optimism with breakthrough moments of pain underneath it all.  It's difficult to take your eyes off her bombastic turn but Andrew Garfield is just as strong with a slightly more subdued turn. Garfield paints Bakker as a weaselly huckster who's going through his own personal battles while defrauding millions in the process.  A climatic fight lets both actors put their talents on full display.  Cherry Jones and Vincent D'Onofrio turn in solid work in supporting turn which would have been forgettable in lesser actors’ hands.  While the film has plenty going for it you can't help but feel that it's only scratches the surface of these people.  The script takes too broad of an approach to dig deeper in the pair with Tammy being treated with kid's gloves more or less absolved of any blame.  Even with a pedestrian script, The Eyes of Tammy Faye deserves to be seen for its singular performances from Jessica Chastain and Andrew Garfield.

B-

Cindy Prascik's Reviews of Death Wish & Red Sparrow

 

 

 

Dearest Blog: Yesterday it was off to Marquee Cinemas to kiss Awards Season goodbye with Death Wish and Red Sparrow.

 

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

 

First on the docket: Death Wish.

 

A surgeon goes vigilante after his family is attacked.

 

Regular reader(s) will not be too shocked to hear I couldn't be bothered to revisit the original Death Wish (which I've seen exactly once) before checking out the the remake/reboot/whatever, so...no comparisons here, sorry.

 

2018's Death Wish is a by-the-numbers revenge thriller that holds few surprises. With Bruce Willis in the lead, it's passably entertaining, but not really dark enough to be taken seriously nor crazy enough to be much fun. Vincent D'Onofrio is wasted in a cookie-cutter sidekick role, though the silver lining is mercifully little screentime for the annoying Elisabeth Shue. Law enforcement is played as bumbling comic relief, with a standard baddie around every turn. I clocked shout-outs to two of my favorite made/set in Chicago movies, The Dark Knight and Ferris Bueller's Day Off, but I'm pretty sure they weren't on purpose. Ultimately, I enjoyed Death Wish because it's my kinda movie, but I in good conscience I couldn't recommend it to anyone who doesn't share my affinity for witless shoot 'em ups.

 

Death Wish runs 107 minutes and is rated R for "strong bloody violence and language throughout."

Death Wish is a reasonably entertaining way to give your brain a couple hours' rest, but you'll forget it almost as soon as you exit the theater. 

 

Of a possible nine Weasleys, Death Wish gets five.

 

Next up: Red Sparrow.

 

When a Bolshoi ballerina's career is ended, she's recruited for a secret Russian intelligence service.

 

Hey you guys, remember that George Clooney movie The American? The trailers sold it as a thriller, but in actual fact it was the slowest, quietest movie in the history of movies?* (*Including silent movies and The Revenant.) Well, welcome to The American's step-sister, Red Sparrow. While Red Sparrow is neither as quiet nor as plodding as The American, it disappointed me in many of the same ways. Red Sparrow runs two hours plus and moves at a snail's pace. Criminally underusing the talents of James Newton Howard, it's often so quiet I could hear the people ten rows behind me chewing their popcorn. The movie spotlights every uncomfortable, disturbing, or just plain gross moment for the sake of it; in more skilled hands it could and should have been genuinely disturbing, but instead it's just sensationalized for shock value's sake. (It hurts me to say that, as director Francis Lawrence masterfully helmed three episodes of one of my all-time favorite TV series, NBC's short-lived Kings.) Though it's pretty tense throughout, Red Sparrow didn't once surprise me; its twists and turns are too easily anticipated. The film is a decent vehicle for showcasing the brilliance of Jennifer Lawrence, and the supporting cast is plenty solid (nice to see you, Ciaran Hinds!), but it's a shame the movie isn't half as smart as it wants to be. Red Sparrow's one real accomplishment is giving me a weird crush on Joel Edgerton, which I'm guessing won't be too rewarding for the creative team. Oh, and, hey...don't forget to make fun of me for hating this in two weeks when I tell you all how awesome Sherlock Gnomes is, m-kay?

 

Red Sparrow clocks in at 139 minutes and is rated R for "strong violence, torture, sexual content, language, and some graphic nudity." (Movie fans, they're serious. This one is not for the squeamish.)

 

Red Sparrow is a coulda-shoulda-woulda been thriller that's worth seeing for Jennifer Lawrence, but not for much else. 

 

Of a possible nine Weasleys, Red Sparrow gets four.

 

Until next time...

MOVIE REVIEW: RINGS

In this third installment in the horror franchise, a young woman tries to save her boyfriend from a haunted video that kills people seven days after they watch it. However, she soon discovers that the video's secrets go far deeper than anyone has ever suspected. Matilda Lutz, Vincent D'Onofrio, Johnny Galecki, Laura Wiggins, Aimee Teegarden, Alex Roe, and Bonnie Morgan star. Directed by F. Javier Gutierrez. ~ Jack Rodgers, Rovi

Genres: Drama, Horror

Director F. Javier Gutierrez

Cast: Aimee Teegarden, Johnny Galecki, Alex Roe, Zach Roerig, Bonnie Morgan, Vincent D'Onofrio

Release Date: Feb 03, 2017

Rated PG-13 for thematic Elements, Some Sexuality, Brief Drug Material and Violence/Terror

Runtime: 1 hr. 47 min.

Review:

The horror genre is littered with massive valleys and huge peaks in terms of quality.  The original Ring film was an impressive piece of filmmaking and one of my favorite horror films of all time.  Sadly, after that a lesser sequel followed and the franchise seemingly died off.  Rings is an ill conceived attempt to restart the series.  F. Javier Gutierrez borrows heavily from Gore Verbinski’s visual style which creates an effectively moody look.  Unfortunately there’s not much else to the film since the story decides to sideline Samara for the better part of the film.  Instead we’re treated to another origin story which isn’t nearly as interesting as it was the first two times we’ve seen it.  Making matters worst is the cast that’s made up of uncharismatic leads.  It’s hard to tell if the actors are just bad or if the direction has to do something with it because even name actors like Johnny Galecki and Vincent D’Onofrio deliver incredibly stiff and uninspired performances.  Sadly, we are left with nothing more than a boring slog of a film that doesn’t even offer cheap scares to keep you awake.

F

MOVIE REVIEW: THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN

In this remake of the classic 1960 oater of the same name (itself a Western remake of Akira Kurosawa's masterpiece, The Seven Samurai), seven gunslingers join forces in order to protect a small town from a mining tycoon (Peter Sarsgaard) and his goons, who plan to seize the residents' land by force. The seven-man army is led by a mysterious bounty hunter (Denzel Washington), and also includes a sharp-witted gambler (Chris Pratt), a troubled ex-Civil War soldier (Ethan Hawke), a mountain man (Vincent D'Onofrio), an expert knife thrower (Byung-hun Lee), an outlaw (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), and a Comanche warrior (Martin Sensmeier). Directed by Antoine Fuqua (Training Day). ~ Jack Rodgers, Rovi

Director: Antoine Fuqua

Cast: Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D'Onofrio, Lee Byung-hun

Release Date: Sep 23, 2016

Rated PG-13

Runtime: 2 hr. 12 min.

Genres: Action/Adventure

Review:

I’ll start by saying that I’ve never seen the original The Magnificent Seven film so I don’t have anything to compare it to.  The plot itself has been recycled multiple times so the story itself doesn’t hold much in the way of surprises.  Antoine Fuqua seems to know this so he tries his best to honor the classic westerns of yesteryear.  As such, you get plenty of scenic cinematography and high intensity shoot outs throughout.  Ultimately, the only way this film would maintain anyone’s interest would be because of the cast.  Denzel Washington holds the entire film together as the steely eyed bounty hunter.  The film is at it’s best during the first half as the team is assembled and we get a taste of each of the characters being assembled.  Some of which get more time than others but in the end you can tell the actors are just having a blast.  That keeps the film fun and interesting even as we start heading into very well worn territory in terms of story.  As such, The Magnificent Seven is an enjoyable bit of entertainment that could have used a tad bit more depth to make it truly standout.

B

Cindy Prascik's Review of The Magnificent Seven

Dearest Blog: Yesterday it was off to Marquee Cinemas for one of my more anticipated offerings of 2016, Antoine Fuqua's remake of The Magnificent Seven. Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailers. 

When a brutal robber baron tries to steal a town right out from under its inhabitants, the townsfolk turn to an eclectic band of gunslingers to defeat him. So, dear reader(s), you're tired of remakes and reboots and rehashes, right? I hear ya. Hollywood apparently doesn't, but I do. Scarred though you may be by lady Ghostbusters and a decidedly Michael Bay-ish Ben-Hur, I'm asking you to give this one a chance. Please. 

Throwing the universe's most watchable actor, Denzel Washington, into an ensemble picture is a bit like putting a perfect diamond on a CZ-tennis bracelet--no matter how good the rest is, it won't compare--but he does a masterful job of leading this pack without actively scene-stealing. 

His diverse group of not-so-merry men is uniformly fantastic, with Byung-hun Lee and the brilliant Vincent D'Onofrio nearly walking off with the movie. Gunfights are tightly-choreographed chaos, a delight to watch. The picture also boasts some majestic scenery and a lovely score by Simon Franglen and the late James Horner. 

Throughout, it feels like a throwback to the glory days of Hollywood westerns. Among The Magnificent Seven's relatively few weaknesses: It relies just a little to heavily on Chris Pratt's appeal, while criminally wasting the lovely Matt Bomer. 

Haley Bennett overacts like a madwoman at times. There are some weirdly obvious inaccuracies, like blindingly-white teeth all 'round, and a few prominently-placed prostitutes who more closely resemble 1980s video extras than anything from the wild west. The entire cast is sweat-shiny for the duration...except Denzel, who is cool as a cucumber until the very end. 

Also, the movie is occasionally so very traditional as to appear almost comical on today's cinema landscape. This remake defies many current cinema norms. Though a battle is the picture's primary focus, there are no bloated, never-ending fight scenes. The pace is deliberate, but the movie is never dull. There's surprisingly little graphic gore, despite a Game of Thrones-esque body count. 

The single female lead provides opportunities aplenty, yet she's never shoehorned into a romance with any of our heroes. Finally, this film is utterly disinterested in kicking off a franchise. Come on, reader(s), when was the last time you walked out of the theatre without feeling like you'd just been set up for the next sequel? 

The Magnificent Seven is a beautifully-filmed, epic western that features top-notch performances from some of today's best and most-loved actors. Simply put, movies like this are why I go to the movies. 

Of a possible nine Weasleys, The Magnificent Seven gets eight. 

Until next time... 

MOVIE REVIEW: JURASSIC WORLD

Steven Spielberg returns to executive produce the long-awaited next installment of his groundbreaking Jurassic Park series, Jurassic World. Colin Trevorrow directs the epic action-adventure from a screenplay he wrote with Derek Connolly. Frank Marshall and Patrick Crowley join the team as producers.Jurassic World will be released in 3D by Universal Pictures on June 12, 2015.

Director: Colin Trevorrow 

Cast: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Vincent D'Onofrio, Ty Simpkins, Omar Sy.

Release Date: Jun 12, 2015

Rated PG-13 Intense Sci-Fi Violence and Peril 

Runtime: 2 hr. 4 min. 

Genres: Action/Adventure, Family, Sci-Fi/Fantasy 

Review:

Oh, yeah. Oooh, ahhh, that's how it always starts. Then later there's running and um, screaming. - Dr. Ian Malcolm The Lost World: Jurassic Park

That quote from the first sequel to Jurassic Park kept running through my mind as I was watching the 4^th entry into the franchise.  Colin Trevorrow’s entry is an impressive and enjoyable revamp of the original with plenty of call backs to keep most fans content. There’s plenty of spectacle to keep audiences entertained and its fun enough that you can gloss over some of the more glaring script issues.  The script issues are fairly obvious with broadly written characters and gender stereotypes that seem like they were written from another decade.  Most films would suffer terribly from these flaws but somehow Trevorrow keeps it all light and fun enough to keep things enjoyable.  It helps to have Chris Pratt as your leading man.  Pratt’s general likeability carries a large portion of the film even making Bryce Dallas Howard’s terribly written character bearable.  Howard has become one of my favorites as of late but even she can’t do much with the hackneyed character she saddled with.  The most impressive part of the character is her unbreakable high heels.  Thankfully, the dinosaur action is excellent and thoroughly enjoyable. We get a steady stream of large set pieces that builds to a rousing third act finale that’s sure to make fans giddy.

B

Cindy Prascik's Review of Jurassic World

Dearest Blog, yesterday it was off to see Jurassic World with everyone else in the known universe.
Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailers.

The money-grubbing folks who run a dinosaur-themed attraction decide a genetically-engineered new species would be good for business. What could possibly go wrong?

Dear reader(s), I gather many of you are just a smidge unhappy with this latest Jurassic installment. I'm fairly giving points to the "too many remakes/reboots/sequels/prequels" club, but, otherwise, I found a lot to like.

Obviously, first we have DINOSAURS. They are big, they are scary, and--even in 2D--some of them feel a little close for comfort. I'm hearing complaints about "too much CGI" (people do realize there weren't any actual dinosaurs available, right?) and poor CGI, but it looked pretty solid to me. Jurassic World boasts some lovely scenery, filmed in glorious, sweeping shots, a true pleasure to watch from the very first frame. There's plenty of action, from nail-biting chase scenes to epic dino-battles, and, if the humor is predictable, it's also pretty funny.

The characters are formulaic and one-dimensional, but most (*most*) of them are enjoyable anyway. Chris Pratt is especially fun in the lead, as likable and easy to root for as ever. Unfortunately, his female counterpart, played by Bryce Dallas Howard, is one of the worst characters in recent memory, and her teary-eyed routine grows old very quickly.

The movie runs just a tad long, and a few of the dinosaurs look weirdly like Jar Jar Binks, but overall I have only petty quibbles.

Jurassic World runs 124 minutes and is rated PG13 for "intense sequences of science-fiction violence and peril."

It may not measure up to that Jurassic fave from your childhood, but Jurassic World is a lot of fun in its own right.

Of a possible nine Weasleys, Jurassic World gets seven.

Until next time...

Mmm...humans...

MOVIE REVIEW: ESCAPE PLAN

A structural security expert must escape from a prison based on his own designs in order to track down the person who framed him in this gritty action thriller staring Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger. However should they fail, they will both perish in a hell that was constructed as a place where people disappear forever. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Director: Mikael Håfström

Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, James Caviezel, Vincent D'Onofrio, Vinnie Jones, Amy Ryan

Release Date: Oct 18, 2013

Rated R for violence and Language Throughout

Runtime: 1 hr. 55 min.

Genres: Action/Adventure, Suspense/Thriller

Review:

Escape Plan is the kind of ridiculous throwback you’d expect from a team up of Stallone and Schwarzenegger. It’s got enough potholes to give your brain suspension failure. The plot is overly complicated and muddled for no good reason other than to confuse you into thinking it’s smarter than it is. Once you come to the realization that you can make your way through most of the plot without the assistance of Stallone’s slurred/grunting exposition it’s clear it’s not a film that requires your acute attention. Stallone, or the wax figure that they’ve been passing off as Stallone since the late 90’s, is surprisingly serious throughout. I didn’t expect tongue in cheek cheese of The Expendables 2 but I did expect him to have a little fun. Thankfully Schwarzenegger is having a great time onscreen and he’s far more engaged more than his official return The Last Stand. Schwarzenegger gives the film a nice dose of energy each time he pops up on screen, oddly he and Stallone don’t have much chemistry in this film. Perhaps it’s personal preference but I’ve always enjoyed Schwarzenegger more than Stallone so maybe that skews my enjoyment. The supporting cast is made up of an impressive array of strong actors. Unfortunately, they are mostly wasted as very minor background characters. James Caviezel delivers a fun performance mainly because he’s in full mustache twirling villain mode completes with non-descript European accent. Vinnie Jones makes for a perfect henchman since he looks like he could have been plucked from either of the stars 80’s films. Mikael Håfström’s direction is generic with very little in terms of style, mostly he just gets out of the way of the cast and lets them have their fun. A bit of trimming would have streamed line this film, there’s no reason for it to be nearly 2 hours long. Still it’s a serviceable action flick, personally I still like the novelty of seeing Stallone and Schwarzenegger together, that doesn’t require too much brain power and if you bought a ticket for this film that’s probably what you were expecting.

C+