The "Collateral Beauty" Of Life

Collateral Beauty (2016)

Rated PG-13

Starring Will Smith, Edward Norton, Kate Winslet, Michael Pena, Naomie Harris, Helen Mirren, Keira Knightly, Jacob Lattimore,

Directed by David Frankel

The Story:

Howard (Smith) is an advertising executive who owns his own firm. After a personal tragedy, he retreats within himself and his behavior grows stranger and stranger. His three best friends (Norton, Winslet and Pena) also work with him and they are growing concerned that his reckless behavior is going to cause the business to fold and all of their employees will lose their jobs. When they discover that he has written letters to Love, Death and Time, they hire actors (Knightley, Mirren and Lattimore) to play those parts.

Needless to say, the three friends get much more than they bargained for in this endeavor.

It was a very tricky movie to pull off, because quite frankly, aside from a brief glimpse at Howard at the beginning of the movie, there was nothing in the first act of the film that inspired that kind of friendship and loyalty from his friends.

Quite frankly, if not for the rest of the cast, it would have been easy to turn it off.

Howard was so undeserving of anything at all from any character or the audience for that matter.

Thankfully when he finally gets around to interacting with Death, Love and Time, his character finally begins to regain some humanity, and then you can sympathize with what he is going through.

It does indeed pick up though, and the rest of the cast soars as they bring the emotional weight of the film full circle.

A stronger beginning, yes, maybe even making this film a little longer, would have possibly made this an even stronger movie.

I still recommend having a tissue nearby before it is all over though.

Final Grade: B

Not Worth The Risk..."Everest"

Everest (2015)

PG-13

Starring Jason Clarke, John Hawkes, Emily Watson, Sam Worthington, Keira Knightley, Josh Brolin, Jake Gyllenhaal, Robin Wright

Directed by Baltasar Kormakur

The Story:

In 1992, Rob Hall (Clarke) started a service to bring ordinary hikers of all abilities to the summit of Mt. Everest. In the ensuing 4 years, they never lost a climber. By 1996, many other upstart companies were looking to make money by doing the same thing. Just to avoid the logjam, Hall proposed taking two groups to the top with rival Scott Fischer (Gyllenhaal). Unfortunately, one of the worst storms in the history of Mt. Everest was just hours away.

This is their story.

And boy, is it a lousy one.

First, it's beautiful. The location, the scenery, all amazing. What's real and what's fake are pretty hard to differentiate, and that's great in a movie like this.

However, there really isn't a lot of suspense.

You know the storm is coming, and you know just about everyone in the cast is going to die.

And if...IF.. the way the story unfolds is the honest to goodness truth...

Well, okay, I hate to speak ill of the dead...

BUT...

This wasn't the storm's fault.

Look at the number of climbers that survived the trek up and back.

No, this was the fault of the professionals who decided to shrug their shoulders and say, well, okay hiker, we'll get you to the top instead of sending your butt back to base camp.

That's infuriating.

None of them "deserved" to die, but if you were to say this was a movie and not based on real life, then yes, several of them got exactly what was coming to them.

And several others died because of the stupid choices that were made along the way.

Ugh..

The more I type, the angrier I get.

Which is not what I want from a movie-going experience.

So, I can't fail the movie on those terms, as it's technically competent and has a phenomenal cast.

Instead, I'll just advise you to spare yourself 2 hours of misery and annoyance.

Just watch the trailer, that's where all the excitement is, and know that pretty much everyone dies.

The end.

:)

Final Grade: C-

Potential...Wasted. "Laggies"

Laggies (2014)

Rated R

Starring Keira Knightly, Chloe Grace Moretz, Sam Rockwell

Directed by Lynn Shelton

The Story:

Megan (Knightly) is having a bit of a somewhere-in-life crisis. She's not ready to settle down when her boyfriend pops the question. Then she runs across a kid (Moretz) who wants her to buy her and her friends some beer. Why not?  Eventually she will move in with said kid and her dad (Rockwell) and you can guess where this one is going.

Although I can't tell you if it gets there, because at the 10 18 minute mark, I turned it off.

Utterly bored.

Which is a shame, because I am a fan of all three leads, especially Rockwell.

But there was nothing in this one to keep me interested.

Wasn't funny enough for a comedy.

Wasn't dramatic enough for a drama.

I saved myself an hour's worth of pain, and sent it back.

Your mileage may vary, but I remain unimpressed.

Final Grade: D

The Music Lives On... "Begin Again"

Begin Again (2013)

Rated R

Starring Keira Knightly, Mark Ruffalo, Adam Levine, Mos Def,

Written and Directed by John Carney

The Story:

Gretta (Knightly) is a singer-songwriter who has written a song for her boyfriend (Levine) who is a popular musician. Dan (Ruffalo) is a music producer who hasn't found a hit talent in ages and he's trying to keep his career and balancing being a dad to his teen daughter.  When Dan hears Gretta sing, he knows she'll be a star.  The problem? She's got no interest in becoming a star.

Here's the complaint I give this, and many other films, so you probably already know what's coming.

This had potential to be a great film, but again, the writer (who happens to be the director) wanted to make it edgy and adult...

So he fills the film with f-bombs to get an R rating.

Did it enhance the story?

No.

All it did was ensure that the audience for this little movie that works slowly to charm and delight the audience has a much smaller audience overall than it could have.

Otherwise, make a dialogue change, and you've got a little winner of a movie that is enjoyable and rather sweet.

Thankfully, the romance that could have happened in this movie never does.

Plus, just when you think the movie is over, they give an even happier ending through the credits.


Final Grade: B-

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I could own it and watch it again down the road. Good, but could have been better.

How To Reboot A Franchise: Step 1: Hire Chris Pine ... "Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit"

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014)

Rated PG-13 for language and violence

Starring Chris Pine, Keira Knightley, Kenneth Branagh, Kevin Costner

Directed by Kenneth Branagh

The Story:

This is the story of how Jack Ryan (Pine) becomes an analyst for the CIA.  We will meet his mentor (Costner), his wife (Knightley) and even some pesky Russian villain (Branagh).  In short, this is the origin of America's James Bond.

So the question:

Is it worth it?

In a word: Yes.

While this is not The Hunt For Red October, this is clearly the best Jack Ryan we've been treated to in a generation. 

Honestly, I remember very little about the Ben Affleck version of the franchise, but perhaps that is for the best?

Branagh spins a tight tale behin the camera, while portraying the bad guy in front of it.  With Thor and now Jack Ryan under his belt, his days of being just a Shakespearean director are long gone.

Chris Pine steps in to the role of Jack Ryan, and does a nice job of making anyone that remembers the old movies forget Baldwin, Ford and Affleck.

Of course, this is a lot easier than stepping into the role of Kirk in Star Trek, but just like that franchise, a fresh coat of 21st century paint shows there are a lot of miles left in these franchises.

The only real problem...

Will audiences tire of seeing Chris Pine in everything?

Adding Costner as Ryan's mentor works nicely.  They now have a character that could be spun into his own movies if the mood strikes, either prequels or sequels with or without Ryan as the partner.

Anyway, a good first effort, and I look forward to seeing what they come up with next.

Final Grade: B-

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Not a bad reboot to the franchise.  I'd be willing to own/watch it again.

Are You Tough Enough to Live on "London Boulevard" ?

London is one tough town...

The Story:

Mitchel (Colin Farrel) is one tough ex-con.  He gets out of jail and wants to go straight and becomes security for a reclusive actress (Keira Knightly).  Sadly, Mitchel's quest for vengeance for a friend, and the dark London underworld keep trying to drag him back into the gutter.  He has to make a decision about what to do, and with that decision comes some massive consequences for a whole lot of people.


Okay.

You all know me by now, and you know I'm a sucker for a happy ending.  Granted, not every movie has to have one, but when I get stuck with a downer of an ending, it can ruin an otherwise pretty cool picture for me.

This is a movie that falls into the latter category.

It didn't have to have a downer of an ending, but it did. 

The violence and escalating repercussions were warranted and made sense in the movie.  Up until that point, the movie rolled along at a pretty decent clip, the story was engaging and enjoyable.

The ending was a bit depressing, a real gut punch that I frankly didn't care for, and judging by how careful Mitchel had been up to that point came across as disappointing and frustrating.

In other words, don't show remorse to your enemies, because it will come back to bite you in the end.

This film is available to stream instantly as of this writing on Netflix.

Final Grade: C+  Getting a big downgrade due to the ending.  Bah!

Would I Own It: Nope. 

Bruce Willis Did Not Save the Day... "Seeking a Friend for the End of the World"

Ah Steve Carrell.

He's a funny guy, but likes to stretch his dramatic muscles from time to time.

So here he goes again, in an offbeat romantic drama about the end of the world...

The Plot:

There is an asteroid heading to earth.  The shuttle that was sent to destroy it failed.  Earth has 3 weeks left before all of humanity is wiped out.

What would YOU do?


This is an interesting movie to review.  It's a drama that makes you laugh.  It's comedic in the absurdity of the whole situation with the world literally coming to an end, and the ways people react to it.  Then you add a love story that is literally too little, too late for the stars.

It's sweet, a little sad, and there is no happy ending...

Or is there?

That is primarily left to the viewer.  Could one asteroid destroy the world?  Hard to say.  The finale of the movie is simply the easiest way for the story to end, and it works.

The romance between Keira Knightly and Steve Carrell is natural and not-forced.  You watch them grow and care for one another as the clock literally counts down to their, and all of humanity's, end.

In fact, it's both poignant and touching as the last act unfurls and the decisions that they both make to ensure they are ready for the end.

Again, it's a quirky little film.  Worth a viewing, but I can totally see people not enjoying the film as it simply is an odd story.

This is one of those movies to me that is good/great... but I'll never likely want to watch it again.  The rewatchability factor is huge for me with movies.

Give it a try sometime, you might surprise yourself.