Putting Lipstick On A Pig... "Our Brand Is Crisis"

Our Brand Is Crisis (2015)

Rated R

Starring Sandra Bullock, Billy Bob Thornton, Anthony Mackie, Joaquim de Almeida, Ann Dowd

Directed by David Gordon Green

The Story:

In 2002, former Bolivian President Castillo (de Almeida) is so far behind in the presidential election polls, the group that is trying to get him elected turns to former election strategist "Calamity Jane" Bodine (Bullock) to do what she can to get him elected. The problem is, the people don't want him in charge, so Jane works to create a message that will resonate with the people, even if her candidate doesn't.

Based on a true story.

Can you imagine that?

An election with candidates so awful, that you have to spin anything to try and promise some hope and whiff of chance that your candidate is the only one that can save the day.

Bolivia 2002, or America 2016?

Either way, it tries hard to be both a comedy and a drama. A thriller and a political satire.

Perhaps it tries too hard? There's a good story in there, but sometimes trying for a bit or a moment, the story feels forced and doesn't organically flow.

It all amounts to not a whole lot, other than some really good actors given not a whole lot to do except bark at one another.

Thornton plays very well as the yin to Bullock's yang.

The main problem:  this is Sandra Bullock. If we are supposed to have any doubts that she can be devious and willing to risk it all, those ideals are packaged into one of America's sweethearts, and it's much harder to buy that as the audience.

And there are several moments that work, the llama scene and the election coverage spring to mind.

Joaquim de Almeida impresses as always. He could be a bad guy in any role on any movie, and you will believe it. And he has enough charisma and presence that you like to hate him, or hate to like him.

It was good, but with a few tinkerings, it could have been great.

Now I have to wonder which of the 2016 campaigns Jane is working on...

Final Grade:  C+

Hopefully Santa Brought You Cool Stuff "While You Were Sleeping"

While You Were Sleeping (1995)

Rated PG

Starring Sandra Bullock, Bill Pullman, Peter Gallagher, Peter Boyle, Jack Warden

Directed by Jon Turteltaub

The Story:

Lucy (Bullock) works for the subway and every day she pines for mysterious stranger Peter (Gallagher). When she saves his life on the subway, a case of mistaken identity occurs when the nurse introduces Lucy to the family as Peter's fiancee. They are thrilled, and all of them love Lucy, except Jack (Pullman) who is a bit suspicious.  When Peter awakens, it appears he has some very specific amnesia concerning Lucy, but is willing to ignore it since apparently they are in love and are to be married.

I bet you can see where this one is headed, right?

And the truth is, you won't care because it's a fun, sweet story with a marvelous cast from start to finish.

The final Christmas movie to be reviewed this holiday season, While You Were Sleeping takes place between Christmas and New Years, so it's a great way to end the holidays.

It's also a minor part of the story, so you can really watch it any time of year.

This one used to be watched at least once a year, but then sort of fell off the radar over the last decade or so, and that's a shame.

Next year marks the 20th anniversary of this film, and it's high time you revisit it if it's been some time since you last saw it.

Available to stream instantly on Netflix as of this writing.

Final Grade: A-

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Not sure if it will become an annual holiday tradition, but it's high time to watch it more often than every decade.

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.

Spice Things Up With..."The Heat"

If you can't stand The Heat...

Well, I don't know if "can't stand" is the right choice of words.

The Story:

FBI Agent Ashburn (Sandra Bullock) is an uptight, by the book agent that none of her fellow agents really like.  She's bucking for a promotion, and needs to head to Boston to catch the latest suspect that could put her at the top of the list.  There she meets a detective (Melissa McCarthy) who's a foul-mouthed, uses a book to beat the suspect instead.  Needless to say the two don't get along from the start, but they must work together if they want to solve the case and stay alive.

Hilarity ensues.

How much, is totally dependent on the individual.

So, here I come to stomp over another favorite comedy of 2013.

:)

It was a box office success, and people raved about how awesomely funny it was.

Meh.

There were some genuinely hilarious moments/bits of dialogue throughout the movie.

The rest... it was incredibly average.

Sandra Bullock took her Miss Congeniality FBI agent, stripped it of a personality, and voila!  She's the straight man to the bumbling McCarthy.

Got it.

This is the second straight box office success for McCarthy that I really didn't care for (Identity Thief).

And again, most of the laughs are generated by her performance, but otherwise, I guess I'm finding her to be a one-trick pony?

Kudos to the effort to bring a 2 female lead to the buddy cop action comedy, and I'm pretty sure there will be a sequel being greenlit as we speak.

And sure, I'll probably watch it as well.

I'll be hoping it's better than this one though.

Final Grade: C

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I could watch it again if I had to do it.  Won't likely find myself in that situation though. ;)

I Need A Little More Than "Two Weeks Notice"

Another romantic comedy?

Yep!

The Story:

George Wade (Hugh Grant) is an extremely wealthy businessman who is the face of the company, even though it's his brother that makes it work.  Wade encounters Lucy Kelson (Sandra Bullock) an environmental lawyer who wants to make sure a community center is not demolished with Wade's new project.  She comes to work for him to help ensure her vision becomes reality, but slowly the job consumes her life as George becomes increasingly dependent on her. 

And then one day, it's time for Lucy to leave George's side...

It's fun watching some of my favorite films after some time has passed. 

Do they remain favorites, or are they best viewed with rose colored glasses?

In today's case, just about a decade has passed since I first watched it, and I think it's just as funny now as it was the first time I saw it.

Why?

For starters, let's take the director, Marc Lawrence.

He's only directed 3 feature films thus far in his career, and all have starred Hugh Grant.

This was their first collaboration, and it is a wonderful comic gem that perfectly balances the oil and water relationship of a romantic comedy with the will they or won't they tension because the two characters can't stand each...because ultimately they have fallen in love with one another.

Did I mention he also wrote the film?

I can see why Hugh Grant likes working with him, as he has probably all of the best lines in the film.

However it wasn't just his first time writing their co-star, Sandra Bullock.  Lawrence also penned the wonderfully pleasing Miss Congeniality, another family favorite in our house.

So not a bad first crack at the director's chair.

However, I found his follow-up with Grant, Music and Lyrics to be even better, and while their third vehicle, Have You Heard About the Morgans wasn't as good, it was still enjoyable enough to watch.

This would explain why his next venture is yet another Hugh Grant movie, and I'm indeed looking forward to it.

Final Grade: A-

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I own it, and I would say it gets watch on average once a year.

The Month of September? Consider it..."Erased"

I thought I already wrote this review...yet it mysteriously vanished from my computer!

The Story:

Ben Logan (Aaron Eckhart) is living in Belgium, doing security work for a firm.  He's brought along his daughter, Amy (Liana Liberato).  The two are dysfunctional at best, as she resents having to leave her life in America to live with her dad.  Of course, she doesn't realize that her dad has some secrets up his sleeve that will reveal his past in the CIA.  Of course, when Ben stumbles upon what his employers are up to quite by accident, they erase his identity and send the assassins in to clean up the job.  Ben's going to have to save himself and his daughter in a foreign land.

Piece of cake.

Meh.

It's nothing you haven't seen before (Bourne... Taken...) and Eckhart is a serviceable leading man, who is also very believable as a securities expert who is also part deadly assassin when needed.

But the daughter... she is annoying and just drags the film down. 

The idea of the film is solid enough, heck, when they did it years ago with The Net starring Sandra Bullock, it was quite enjoyable.

When the Big Bad Agency erases your identity and makes life difficult, that's a pretty scary story already.

We don't really need an angsty whiney teenager pouting about why her dad knows how to kill people.

Gee kid, I just saved your life, you're welcome...

: /

Now available to stream instantly on Netflix as of this writing.

Final Grade: C

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Serviceable movie, but nothing I'm in any need to see again.

100 Greatest Movies of All Time...That I Own. # 58 ~ Speed

It's Die Hard...on a bus!

Convince me that wasn't the pitch for this movie, and I'll take it off the list.

Until then, welcome to today's installment, Speed.

The premise is quite simple.  There's a bomb on a bus.  If the bus drops below a certain speed...

Kaboom!

Keanu Reeves plays the cop who's going to save the day.  Meanwhile, his partner, Jeff Daniels, is frantically trying to stop the madman who is attempting to kill them.

The madman in question?  Dennis Hopper. 

The movie pretty much grabs you and doesn't let go.  It's one action scene after another, with just enough quiet time to let you get your breath back before the next spectacular stunt.

It was a great directorial debut for Jan de Bont, who followed it up with Twister...and then his career has relatively flatlined.

However, it did make a star out of Sandra Bullock, who is spunky and adorable, and has been a star ever since.

It's an entertaining thrill-ride that seems impossible and implausible all at the same time. 

Plus, you get your proof that Keanu isn't as dumb as he seems as an actor.

After all, he was the one that DIDN'T come back to do Speed 2.

: )