Category Archives: Drama Movie Reviews
Lee Daniels’ The Butler (2013)
Lee Daniels’ The Butler (2013)
The movie should have just been called The Butler, but director Lee Daniels somehow felt that he had to put his name in the title. I’m not sure if there is a real reason for his name being in the title, but to me, it just seems a little narcissistic.
Lee Daniels’ The Butler is very, very lightly based on the life of Eugene Allen. The film changed Allen’s name to Cecil Gaines (Forest Whitaker). The film paints a pretty disturbing picture of the struggles and pain that Gaines and his family faced during his childhood and throughout his life as a butler at the White House for 34 years. The movie showed how the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement had a major impact on his life.
The rest of the noteworthy cast includes Cuba Gooding Jr., David Oyelowo, Oprah Winfrey, Terrence Howard, John Cusack, James Marsden, Robin Williams, Liev Schreiber, Alan Rickman, Jane Fonda, Vanessa Redgrave, Lenny Kravitz, Mariah Carey, Clarence Williams III, John P. Fertitta, Colman Domingo, Yaya Alafia, Minka Kelly, and Nelsan Ellis.
The movie modifies many of the facts about Allen’s life in order to make it more entertaining and therefore less true.
I left the film wondering just how much of it was true. After doing a little bit of research, I found out a number of things about the movie that are completely fiction. It’s a little upsetting to me how this film tries to pass itself off as based on a true story. I don’t want to spoil anything about the movie for anybody, but let me just say that a lot of it is pure fiction.
I really felt for the main characters after seeing what they went through, and thinking how terrible things were for them. After finding out that a lot of the details in the movie are made up, I question just how honest the rest of the movie is. I feel like I was a little duped. I felt bad for Cecil Gaines, but that was not even his real name. I felt bad for some of the things that Gaines went through, but found out that some of those things didn’t even happen. Because the writers and director played so fast and loose with the facts and tried to pass it all off as truth, they succeeded in ruining the movie for me.
The film was very slow and dragged on at times.
There were so many big names in this movie that a few of them were underused. A lot of the supporting characters do not get fully developed. They are in the film in almost cameo-like roles, and then they are gone.
Forest Whitaker is superb in the lead role. His performance alone is enough to make the film worth watching. Even at the film’s slowest and almost boring parts when the movie seems like it is unraveling, Whitaker is enough to bring everything back together again.
Oprah Winfrey was miscast. Her character hardly seemed believable and this took away from my enjoyment of the film. The rest of the supporting cast all did a fine job.
Overall, I felt like the movie was too slow at times. If they had trimmed some of the fat and gotten rid of a few scenes, the film could have been better. I am a little annoyed at how many facts were changed as they are trying to pass this movie off as inspired by a true story. Most people read “true story” and think that it is true. If they dressed this movie up to make it more entertaining, I cannot imagine how slow it would have been if they had stuck more to the facts.
Setting all of the things about this film that I did not like aside, Whitaker and most of the rest of the cast all do a great job. It’s fun to see all of these big names in the same movie even if some of them are not in it long enough. The film does an excellent job of showing people overcome hatred and violence and that is always a good shot to the arm for the human spirit.
I rate this movie a 6.5 on a scale of 1-10.
Buy, rent, or run? Rent.
42 (2013)
42 (2013)
Unfortunately I missed this film in the theatre. It was one that I wanted to see, but I just did not get to it.
42 is based on the incredible true story of how Jackie Robinson (Chadwick Boseman) broke the color barrier in major league baseball in 1947 with the help of the Brooklyn Dodgers Executive Branch Rickey (Harrison Ford).
The film was written and directed by Brian Helgeland and the rest of the noteworthy cast includes Nicole Beharie, Christopher Meloni, Ryan Merriman, Lucas Black, Andre Holland, Alan Tudyk, Hamish Linklater, John C. McGinley, Toby Huss, Brett Cullen, and Jesse Luken.
The film feels like a genuine depiction of America’s favorite pastime in the 1940s. Having not lived during that time, I cannot say it is exactly like it was, but the set certainly brings you back to an earlier time. The cars, clothes, uniforms, houses, and cleanliness of the cities make it look like the 1940s, but it’s the performances by the actors and how they are filmed that make it actually feel like the 1940s.
The scenes during baseball games were so detailed that I could practically taste the Cracker Jacks. It felt like you were in the stands with the rest of the audience watching history being made.
I was familiar with who Jackie Robinson was and what he did before watching this movie, but I did not know much of his story. 42 tells his story so well on screen that if I didn’t know any better, it could have actually been the real Jackie Robinson in the film.
You are really able to feel for Boseman’s Robinson character and the racial hatred that he was subjected to and stood up against. He persevered, overcame, and ultimately changed baseball forever. He was the tip of the spear that cut out racism not only in professional baseball, but in all professional sports.
42 could quite possibly be Harrison Ford’s best performance as an actor. He was brilliant, but Boseman was equally dazzling as Robinson. If you ask me, I think that Boseman could easily win an Academy Award for Best Actor and Ford could win one for Best Supporting Actor. It would be a crime if neither actor is at least nominated. They both deserve recognition for their awesomeness.
My only issue with the film was that it was so good throughout that the ending seemed almost anticlimactic. Instead of building up to a finale, it felt like it just ended a little too abruptly. The ending was not bad by any means, it was just a little unexpected.
You do not have to be a fan of baseball to enjoy this movie. However, baseball fans will probably respect it even more.
I rate this movie a 9 on a scale of 1-10.
Buy, rent, or run? Buy.
Stoker (2013)
Stoker (2013)
Stoker is a well-made, bizarre dysfunctional drama that is difficult to like, yet hard to stop watching. The acting was very solid. The dialogue was very delicately written. The editing was fantastic. However, the story was bitterly perverse. It was fine writing, but twisted subject matter. The filmmakers took a pretty messed up story and through the art of storytelling, they dressed it up and made it almost hypnotic.
Some parts of the movie were predictable, while others completely took me by surprise. For the most part, the film keeps you guessing throughout.
After the death of her father, India (Mia Wasikowska) and her mother (Nicole Kidman) are visited by his brother (Matthew Goode) whom she never knew existed. He decides to move in with them. Why she had not met him before is a mystery in itself. Why he waited to visit until after her father died is puzzling. His presence is disturbing and India becomes obsessed with learning more about him and what he wants.
The film is directed by Chan-wook Park and the rest of the noteworthy cast includes Dermot Mulroney, Jacki Weaver, Alden Ehrenreich, Lucas Till, and Phyllis Somerville.
In Stoker, Wasikowska proves that she has the ability to carry the majority of a film by herself. She is an excellent actress and I wouldn’t be surprised if she gets an Academy Award nomination in the near future.
Kidman continues to choose darker roles and this one turns out to be one of her better performances in recent years. Given her recent movies, that might not be saying that much.
This is the first film that I have seen Goode in and I thought that he was superb.
When the credits rolled, it was hard to tell right away if I liked or disliked the film. In that sense, it sort of toyed with my emotions. It does a great job of being disturbing.
If you are looking for a positive and uplifting movie, Stoker is not for you. If you like twisted dysfunctional stories, then you will probably enjoy this film.
I rate this movie a 7 on a scale of 1-10.
Buy, rent, or run? Rent.
The Machinist (2004)
The Machinist (2004)
Before he played Batman, Christian Bale turned into a character named Trent Reznik in The Machinist. Reznik is an insomniac who has not slept in a year. His body begins withering away. His mind begins to deteriorate. He is so exhausted that he becomes delusional and paranoid. Eventually his symptoms cause an incident at work that sets off a chain reaction that sends his life spiraling out of control as he loses grip on reality. He becomes a man tormented by his own mind.
The film is written by Scott Kosar and directed by Brad Anderson.
The rest of the notable cast includes Jennifer Jason Leigh, Aitana Sanchez-Gijon, Michael Ironside, John Sharian, Lawrence Gilliard Jr., Reg E. Cathey, Craig Stevenson, and Anna Massey.
The Machinist is brilliant. The plot has so many twists and turns that will keep you entranced and guessing until the conclusion sneaks up on you.
9 years after watching this movie for the very first time, it’s still just as potent as ever. That is a symptom of excellence. It never gets old.
Christian Bale appears like he went through hell preparing for his role as Reznik. He went from being in close to perfect shape to looking like death. He was so bony that he literally appeared like he could drop dead of starvation at any moment.
Shortly after seen this movie for the first time, I remember reading that Bale lived off of nonfat lattes, green apples, and cigarettes. That was his diet. It was basically all that he ate for weeks. I think it’s incredible how his body went from one extreme to another. To top it all off, shortly after The Machinist, he got into even better shape than he was prior to filming The Machinist, in order to become Batman. Talk about a man dedicated to his work. His devotion to his character helped to turn this movie into a masterpiece.
The Machinist is pretty warped. The film will mess with your mind in its own unique sort of way. Prepare to be puzzled. This is filmmaking at its best.
I rate this movie a 10 on a scale of 1-10.
Buy, rent, or run? BUY!
If you liked The Machinist, then you will probably enjoy the following films:
Now You See Me (2013)
Now You See Me (2013)
Now You See Me is a film about a group of 4 magicians brought together by an unknown person. They are convinced to become a team and eventually they land their own show in Las Vegas. When one of their tricks involves stealing a large amount of money, they become part of a cat and mouse chase with the FBI.
The film was directed by Louis Leterrier. The cast includes Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Mark Ruffalo, Dave Franco, Isla Fisher, Melanie Laurent, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Michael Kelly, Common, and David Warshofsky.
Now You See Me hypnotized me with its excitement. It was certain to amaze. The cast of characters were all clever and quite entertaining. For a while I was caught up in the illusion of the promise of something great. Eventually I was let down. The ride was a thrill. The destination however, was a disappointment.
I enjoyed seeing Eisenberg and Harrelson teamed up together again for the first time since Zombieland (2009).
This is the 4th time that Freeman and Caine have been in the same film. The previous 3 films were The Dark Knight Trilogy.
Now You See Me could be Dave Franco’s best performance to date.
It was nice to see Laurent in another American made movie. This is the first film that I have seen her in anything since Inglourious Basterds (2009).
The story was unfinished and sort of lacked a point. The movie became dependent on sleight of hand in order to entertain. You can only one-up a magic trick so many times before it starts to get a little worn out.
The ending of the film acted like it was a big grand conclusion when in reality it just fizzled. Don’t get me wrong, the movie was fun and amusing. It was worth seeing, just not in the theatre. The film is like any magic trick, once you know the secret behind it, it is no longer exciting.
I rate this movie a 7 on a scale of 1-10.
Buy, rent, or run? Rent.
The Iceman (2012)
The Iceman (2012)
The Iceman is the chilling true story of one of the most famous contract killers named Richard Kuklinski (Michael Shannon). He was known as “The Iceman.” Kuklinski was believed to have killed at least over 100 people. He had ties to the mob and he had his family convinced that he was a businessman.
The movie is directed by Ariel Vromen.
This is another limited release movie with a huge cast that also includes Winona Ryder, Chris Evans, Ray Liotta, Robert Davi, David Schwimmer, John Ventimiglia, Danny A. Abeckaser, James Franco, and Stephen Dorff.
Why does a movie like this have such limited release? The only answer that I can think of is that a film about a real-life serial killer is not a topic that would be popular to the general public. We all know that is not true with all of the hardcore violence in movies and television these days. So, the question still remains and I don’t have a real answer for it.
I knew absolutely nothing at all about “The Iceman” before watching The Iceman with the exception that he was a real hit-man at one point in time, and I had seen the trailer for the movie. What I learned about the guy from the movie was creepy and insane. It kind of makes me want to read the book that the movie was based off of written by Anthony Bruno called “The Iceman: The True Story of a Cold-Blooded Killer.”
Michael Shannon has been a wonderful character actor ever since his first film appearance in Groundhog Day (1993). In more recent years he has successfully made the transition to making movies as an awesome main character. This trend started when he made Take Shelter (2011). In The Iceman Shannon is electrifying. His performance is nothing short of deserving Oscar gold. He was extremely convincing as a stone-cold murdering lunatic with a love for his family.
Chris Evans was unrecognizable at first, but very entertaining.
Winona Ryder made a big comeback in Black Swan (2010). In The Iceman, I think that she successfully clinched her comeback into the spotlight. She brought talent to the movie not seen out of her since the 90s. Dare I say another person from this film deserves an Oscar? She should at least be nominated.
I would say that 2012 is the year that Ray Liotta died as an actor and then was resurrected. He looked and acted like death in the unwatchable Killing Them Softly (2012). He was resurrected in The Place Beyond the Pines (2012) and he became his old bad-tempered self again in The Iceman.
The rest of the cast was there to put all of the pieces of this true serial killer story together.
As expected, the movie was brutally violent and loaded with f-bombs. What I did not expect was the strong presence that each of the main characters had on screen. They each did an outstanding job in becoming the real people that they were playing and telling their terrible story on film. Their performances made the movie powerful and worth watching.
I think that it is worth tracking down a theatre that is actually playing this movie and checking it out for yourself, that is, if you are a fan of true crime films.
I rate this movie a 9 on a scale of 1-10.
Buy, rent, or run? Buy.
Mud (2012)
Mud (2012)
There has been some Oscar buzz around the grapevine involving Matthew McConaughey‘s performance in Mud. I think that he did a superb job in his role, but I don’t think that the role itself is Oscar worthy. They might just nominate him to give him a little bit of well-deserved recognition, but he won’t win.
McConaughey has always been a very likable actor. He carries himself well and always brings a lot of energy to his characters. He is usually in excellent shape and the ladies love him. I think that is why he has made so many “chick flicks.” Because of his many romantic movies, I think that a lot of people, including the Academy don’t take him seriously as an actor. I believe that is why he gets overlooked when it comes time to give out awards. It’s a shame because the guy certainly is capable of an Oscar worthy performance, just look at The Lincoln Lawyer (2011), Two for the Money (2005), and Frailty (2001), to name a few.
In Mud, Matthew McConaughey plays a man named Mud. He is an outlaw living like a bum on an island in Arkansas. Two teenage boys (Tye Sheridan and Jacob Lofland) get more than they bargained for when they meet Mud after they find a boat high up in the trees on the same island.
The film was written and directed by Jeff Nichols.
The rest of the noteworthy cast includes Reese Witherspoon, Sarah Paulson, Ray McKinnon, Sam Shepard, Michael Shannon, Paul Sparks, and Joe Don Baker.
Mud was not exactly what I expected. I guess I didn’t know quite what to expect. The film was unique. The story was original which these days is a little rare. It was a nice change of pace to see a one-of-a-kind movie instead of a sequel or a remake of another movie.
Being basically unknown actors, I thought that Sheridan and Lofland both did an exceptional job of carrying their part of the movie.
Shepard and Shannon were both fun additions to the film.
I’m not a huge fan of Witherspoon, but I felt that she did an okay job in the film. However, I think that her character needed more screen time. That isn’t her fault. The movie could have been improved upon if her part of the story was better told. It just felt like her part was lacking something. I left the theatre thinking that the movie was really good, but something was missing. Her character could have provided that something.
The film did a fine job of developing most of its characters and building suspense. It was intriguing. It kept you wanting to know what was going to happen next and was not very predictable.
Unfortunately the movie is in limited release. It is a little bit surprising to me that the film is not in wide release. It is the first movie that I have seen in a long time that I could not sit in the part of the theatre that I wanted. I had my choice between the second or first rows. That is how packed the theatre was.
Mud is worth checking out if you are sick of the same old sequels or remakes that Hollywood keeps regurgitating for your enjoyment week after week. It’s a nice change of pace to be able to watch a movie that allows the actors to act and counts on their ability and the storyline alone to be entertaining and successful.
I rate this movie a 8 on a scale of 1-10.
Buy, rent, or run? Rent.
Note: After watching this movie a second time, I had to raise my initial rating from a 7.5 to an 8. The film is better than I originally gave it credit for.
Tomorrow You’re Gone (2012)
Tomorrow You’re Gone (2012)
Tomorrow You’re Gone is star power without the shine. The presence of Stephen Dorff, Michelle Monaghan, and Willem Dafoe all in this film is enough to make you want to see it. Do not be fooled though, that is the only thing that this movie has going for it. The fact that those actors would actually decide to be a part of such an atrocious excuse for a movie actually gives me less respect for them.
The movie follows Charlie Rankin (Dorff) as he gets out of jail. He sets out to do one more job for his friend The Buddha (Dafoe) and along the way he gets mixed up with his conscience and Florence Jane (Monaghan).
The movie is directed by David Jacobson. Hopefully it will be his last attempt at filmmaking. If he were playing baseball, he just struck out.
The cast also includes Robert LaSardo, Tara Buck, and Kerry Rossall.
The film is basically pointless. It is a complete waste of time. It drags on at a snail’s pace and is really boring at times. It is filled with meaningless babbling and wasted talent. The movie tries so hard to be something artistic and deep, but it comes off cheap.
The story is broken and hard to follow. You can’t really feel anything for the characters because they are just sort of there.
This movie is the definition of hitting rock-bottom for anyone who was a part of the filmmaking process. It is hard to come back to making good movies after making something this bad. I think that I have lost any and all hope for the cast. They are all usually better than this, but maybe that is not the case anymore.
Do yourself a favor and keep your dignity by not every watching Tomorrow You’re Gone.
I rate this movie a 1 on a scale of 1-10.
Buy, rent, or run? “Run Forrest, run!”
The Impossible (2012)
The Impossible (2012)
The Impossible left me breathless multiple times.
The movie is based on a true story about what happened to one family in 2004 who were vacationing in Thailand when the hotel that they were staying at gets hit with a tsunami.
The way that the disastrous tsunami is depicted in the film is absolutely incredible. The movie seems so real that it could be mistaken for actual footage. The chaos portrayed in the film is a work of art all by itself. Not only does the natural disaster seem so genuine, but I was left wondering how anybody could possibly try to make a film like this one and succeed.
The film brings with it a wave of emotions. You can almost feel the grief, loss, and pain that the characters on screen are feeling. As they fight to try to survive, you are right there with them hoping that they can make it and willing them to keep trying and don’t give up. You wish that you could reach into the movie and help, but you can’t so you are helplessly stuck just watching and waiting for the story to unwind.
It is one of those movies that are hard to watch and makes you cringe, but you are compelled to keep watching because you must know what happens next. You get entangled in this mess of a story and you fight to keep watching.
This movie far exceeded my expectations. The filmmaking was a work of genius. I credit the director Juan Antonio Bayona who is also known for directing The Orphanage (2007).
Sergio G. Sanchez wrote the screenplay and Maria Belon wrote the story. The cast includes Naomi Watts, Ewan McGregor, Tom Holland, Samuel Joslin, Oaklee Pendergast, Marta Etura, Sonke Mohring, Geraldine Chaplin, and Ploy Jindachote.
Naomi Watts did an amazing job. Her part stood out above everyone else. She didn’t become her character. She was her character.
This film would have been spectacular in the theatre on the big screen, but it was still pretty great on DVD.
I rate this movie a 9 on a scale of 1-10.
Buy, rent, or run? Buy.
The Company You Keep (2012)
The Company you Keep (2012)
The Company you keep is based off of the novel with the same name written by Neil Gordon.
The film follows a journalist (Shia LaBeouf) who discovers the true identity of a former member of The Weather Underground (Robert Redford) who is wanted in connection to a murder.
I was excited to see this movie because I often enjoy movies about investigative journalism, not to mention the cast is fully loaded with talent. Redford directs and stars alongside LaBeouf, Julie Christie, Susan Surandon, Stanley Tucci, Terrence Howard, Nick Nolte, Chris Cooper, Richard Jenkins, Brendan Gleeson, Sam Elliot, Stephen Root, Anna Kendrick, Brit Marling, and Jackie Evancho. Redford may be getting old, but he still has the star power to bring together a big A-list group of actors to make a movie.
The Weather Underground is an anti-war activist group that was around during the Vietnam War era. I had heard about this group before, but I went into the film knowing absolutely nothing about them. The movie explains what the group was all about, but given the fact that the story is based off of a novel, they sort of mix fact with fiction.
Like most films about investigative journalism, the story moves along at a slow to steady pace as the reporter tries to figure things out about the story that he is trying to tell. There is plenty of time for character development and the dialogue is well-written. Great actors tend to pop up out of the woodwork like weeds when these types of movies are made and The Company you Keep is no exception.
It was refreshing to see Robert Redford acting again. He hasn’t been in a movie since Lions for Lambs (2007). Although he has always been a tremendous actor, he really has aged. They tried to make him seem younger in the film by dying his hair and having him jogging in one scene. But, when all is said and done, the movie icon was too old for the part he was playing. This fact took a little bit away from the film.
The person that really stood out the most was Shia LaBeouf. He has strong screen presence, and when he is not doing a Transformers movie, his charisma can really take over a movie. The rest of the cast played their parts well but, LaBeouf was the glue that held the film together.
The Company you Keep was quality filmmaking with a few flaws. The flaws weren’t very noticeable until a little over halfway through the film. Redford did his best with the story that he had, but ultimately the movie was anticlimactic and it became predictable. The dialogue was great, the acting was superb, but there were few surprises along the way to make the movie stand out.
The film was worth seeing, if only to watch masters of the acting craft at work.
I rate this movie a 7 on a scale of 1-10.
Buy, rent, or run? Rent.
If you liked The Company You Keep, then you will probably enjoy the following films:
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