Grief Counseling..."Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri"

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)

Rated R

Starring Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell

Written and Directed by Martin McDonagh

The Story:

As the title suggests, these three billboards are placed outside of the town by a grieving mother (McDormand) questioning the police chief (Harrelson) about why her daughter's murderer has not been caught. 

There's a lot to soak in with this movie.

It's probably the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful of Martin McDonagh's catalog of films. 

That's a good thing, but all of his previous work that I've seen, I've always enjoyed. 

The cast, which I'm limiting to just the three principal players, is simply outstanding. 

I'm happy for the film and all the awards it was nominated for, and rightfully won. 

The worst part was having Harrelson and Rockwell competing against each other for the same category.

Both are great, I would personally have given the edge to Harrelson, but that's me. 

My only real complaint with the film, it wanders a touch here and there, maybe 10 minutes or so too long, but still comes in shy of 2 hours. 

I won't go into much more than that, but if you were hesitant to see it, add it to your list and see what all the fuss was about. 

I think you'll be glad you did. 

Final Grade: A-

What's In A Name? "Creed"

Creed  (2015)

Rated PG-13

Starring Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone

Directed by Ryan Coogler

The Story:

Adonis Johnson (Jordan) is a boxer with a desire to win. He also happens to be the son of the late Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers). Which means, he's sorta drawn to an old run-down champ named Rocky (Stallone). Will Adonis be a chip off the old block, or a chump with no heart?

The very first time I saw the trailer for Creed, I was indifferent and thought, nah, I'll pass.

Then about halfway through the trailer, Stallone popped up and I thought, is that Rocky?

Once I realized it was, my interest was raised and I figured it was worth a shot.

Even though I've only watched one previous Rocky film (Rocky Balboa) I get the gist of the series.

And I was right, it was indeed worth a shot.

Stallone is the heart of the movie as he takes Adonis under his wing to teach him that there is more to boxing than just hitting and getting hit.

He becomes the father Adonis never had and in return gets the son who never really wanted him.

His work in the picture earned him a Best Supporting Actor nod at the Academy Awards which he subsequently lost.

 Stallone was robbed.

I saw the movie, Bridge of Spies, with the performance that he lost to.

No offense, but that performance, while a great, is not at the heart of the entire movie. Take him out of the story completely, Bridge of Spies still works.

Take Rocky out of this film, nobody watches.

Hyperbole, probably, people will watch just about any film to give it a try.

However, without Stallone, there would be no heart and soul to the film, it would just be another film about an athlete who wants to overcome the odds.

Yawn.

We've seen it all a million times.

The wise sage teaching the young upstart.

But when you have Rocky as the master teaching the pupil, you're already emotionally invested in the storyline because you have a history with Rocky Balboa whether you've watched all the films, or even never watched one, you know Rocky.

Everyone knows Rocky.

And that carries some emotional heft to the story and helps transform this film into something bigger than itself.

Final Grade:  Solid B, possibly even a B+

The "Spotlight" On A Great Movie About A Terrible Subject

Spotlight (2015)

Rated R

Starring Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Mark Ruffalo, Brian d'Arcy James, Liev Schreiber, John Slattery, Stanley Tucci

Directed by Tom McCarthy

The Story:

It's 2001 and The Boston Globe gets a new editor (Schreiber). As he feels his way into the job, he decides to pull his Spotlight team (Keaton, McAdams, Ruffalo, James) and put them on the hunt about a Catholic priest who may have abused multiple children and his exploits were known and covered up by the Catholic Church. What starts with dead-end after dead-end soon unravels one of the most scandalous real-life stories ever told.

Wow.

That is likely the feeling you will get as you watch the film and when it concludes.

It deserves every accolade it received, and while I see a great vocal assortment of film watchers clamoring that this movie should not have received the Best Picture Oscar, and it should have gone to The Revenant instead.

That simply reminds me that many people can be wrong.

:)

The cast all give strong performances, and it's a little sad that Brian d'Arcy James doesn't even get billing on the movie poster. He gives an honest, raw performance of a news reporter who wants to tell the world, or at least his corner of it, but can't due to his duty to the story.

Strangely, only Mark Ruffalo's performance is the one I cared for the least. He seemed a little too excitable and manic, and several times I smiled thinking he would turn into The Incredible Hulk when he started stressing out.

Well worth your time and energy.

It should begin streaming on Netflix sometime this summer if  you haven't seen it by then.

Final Grade:  A

You Do Not Have To Shoot Him Now..."The Revenant"

The Revenant (2015)

Rated R

Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Domhnall Gleeson, Will Poulter, A Very Angry Bear

Directed by Alejandro D. Inarritu

The Story:

Hugh Glass (DiCaprio) is a scout for a fur expedition in the wild American frontier of the 1820s. After leading the group away from an Indian attack, Glass is attacked and brutally mauled by a bear. As they are trying to outrun the Indians that want them all dead, Glass is simply slowing them down.  They leave a few behind including John Fitzgerald (Hardy) to care for him. Bad idea. Fitzgerald wants to leave Glass high and dry. Now Glass has to survive his wounds, the weather, escape the Indians and find Fitzgerald and kill him!

Naturally you have to mention that his was inspired by true events.

How much, and what exactly was true, well that's a mystery lost to the ages.

But Glass was a real guy, and he was attacked by a bear and lived.

Other than that, feel free to take creative license and do what you will with the story.

That DiCaprio finally won an Oscar for this role is odd to say the least.

For the first half of the movie, he barely has any dialogue at all.

Then the last half, well he has a reason not to talk, but still.

It seems like anyone could have the role of trying to survive and seek vengeance. I'm not so sure what was so special about DiCaprio's performance in this film that finally pushed him over the edge with voters.

Matt Damon in The Martian or Bryan Cranston in Trumbo (review coming soon!) were much more watchable and entertaining in their roles than DiCaprio.

Of course, that's not the only example of actors to have lost that deserved to win (those reviews still to come as well!)

And seriously, what was with all the actors breathing heavily onto the camera?

We get it, it's cold out there.

Seems like amateurish filmmaking more than symbolic or anything else.

The good part, with the majority of the film being dialogue free, I was able to Fast Forward through much of the 2 1/2 hour (!!! seriously ?!? !!!) runtime to get to the scenes where things actually happened or people actually spoke.

It's a fine, watchable movie, but Best of the Year or Most Entertaining?

Not even close.

Final Grade: C

You Will Appreciate The "Gravity" Of Their Situation

Gravity (2013)

Rated PG-13 for language and space peril

Starring Sandra Bullock, George Clooney, Ed Harris

Directed and written by Alfonso Cuaron

The Story:

Dr. Ryan Stone (Bullock) is on her first shuttle mission.  Teamed with veteran mission commander Matt Kowalsky (Clooney) everything is going fine until they are warned by Mission Control (Harris) that there is debris heading towards the shuttle and they need to abort their mission and get clear of the debris.  Before they can, the debris tears through their area, killing everyone except Stone and Kowalsky.  Adrift and alone, can the two survive in outer space and find a way to get back home?

Well, yes and no.

This is a pretty good little dramatic thriller.

The movie is pretty much all Sandra Bullock's and she does admirably as the astronaut who is in over her head.

Saved by her commander, she has one shot at getting home alive, but it's going to be a very perilous journey.

Think Apollo 13, but not real life, and much fewer actors.

Clooney's role is much smaller than you would imagine, but he does a great job with playing George Clooney.

:)

Beautifully shot, I have no problem with this film winning the Best Director award at the Oscars.

Otherwise, it's an engaging 90 minutes worthy of your time.

Final Grade: B

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I could watch it again in the future, but no need to own it, and no hurry to rewatch.  Maybe in a few years.

Today's Review Is Designed To Fly Under The Radar... "Stealth"

Stealth (2005)
Rated PG 13 for Language

Starring Josh Lucas, Jessica Biel, Jamie Foxx, Sam Shepard

Directed by Rob L. Cohen

The Story:

The Navy has developed a fighter jet with an artificial intelligence running the show.  Teaching it the ropes are three of the Navy's best, Lt's Gannon (Lucas), Wade (Biel) and Purcell (Foxx).  But when lightning strikes the jet, the A.I. malfunctions and decides it must take out all hostiles.  Can the 3 humans talk some sense into their computerized counterpart before World War III starts?


Remember War Games and Short Circuit?  Mash the two together, and there you go.

:)

Okay, not quite, but that might have been more interesting than what we got.

And really, this film isn't really that bad...

It just wasn't as good as it should have been.

Josh Lucas does fine as the leading man, and perhaps of the 3, is the most believable as a great Navy pilot.

Does This Flight Suit Make Me Look Fat?

Biel suffers a similar fate to Denise Richards in a Bond movie, and she just doesn't seem that believable as a fighter pilot.

Then there's Jamie Foxx who rebounded from this one to snag an Oscar for Ray.

Does This Flight Suit Make Me Look Like An Oscar Winner ?

Shepard plays the human villain role, but his is more from a misguided duty than pure evil.

Most disappointing were the cheesy special effects.

No offense, but when a jet smacks into a mountain, don't go slow motion, it just really destroys the credibility of your movie.  Better to just hit it with an explosion than show a really poor model crumbling into a ball.

This is the 2nd time I've seen it since it was released.

I think I liked it better the first time I saw it and thought I would purchase it in the future.

Now?

Final Grade: C-

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Nah, future me has talked myself out of it. ;)