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All the Money in the World (2017)
All the Money in the World (2017)
When I think of All the Money in the World, it is hard not to think about everything that happened with Kevin Spacey and the bad publicity that surrounded this film because of him. It is my understanding that the movie was just about completed when the news came out about his sexual allegations.
(This is my review of All the Money in the World, but I feel that it is important to talk first about the cloud of negativity that hovered over this movie before its release. There is a certain amount of hypocrisy that has been a part of the Hollywood machine for many years. It still is today).
I think that the producers of the movie agreed that All the Money in the World was guaranteed to bomb at the box office because of Spacey. So how did they resolve this problem? The same way that Netflix resolved their Spacey problem with the infamous House of Cards firing, they cut him out of the film completely. They brought Christopher Plummer in to replace him. Then they had to reshoot all of Spacey’s scenes with Plummer instead. How that will pan out with the Netflix Original Series House of Cards is yet to be seen, but that is a topic for a different day.
Spacey was originally billed second. His character was a big deal to the film. They had to bring in the other actors and redo a good chunk of the whole movie so that they could replace him. This all had to be done with only weeks remaining until the film was due to be released!
I read that it took about 9 days to completely reshoot the necessary scenes to cut Kevin Spacey completely out of All the Money in the World. That is insane if you think about it. Ridley Scott did what they thought would be impossible to try to salvage the film.
Now, if that was not enough, more controversy instantly surfaced about the reshoots. Apparently, Walhberg negotiated that he would get paid somewhere in the millions of dollars if he had to film any extra scenes. He has a good agent and he is one of the highest paid actors out there, so this comes as no surprise right? Wrong. To stir things up more, now all of a sudden, people were complaining because he got paid far more than Michelle Williams or any of the other actors for his reshoots. They were paid thousands and he was paid millions. The complaint was that there should be closer to equal pay for all involved.
I am all for women’s rights. I am glad that they were able to erase Spacey from this film because of his sexual misconduct. They should have cracked down on all of that years ago. We all know, and they all know that people in power in Hollywood have been taking advantage of that power for far too long and nothing has really been done about it until recently.
However, I believe in the free market. People should be able to negotiate their worth. They get paid for what they contribute. The superstars get paid more because they bring more to the table. That is how it always has been and how it always should be. If you want to look at equal pay between men and women in Hollywood, I think you need to look deeper into the fact that Hollywood treats women like objects. Hollywood writers do not write many quality roles for women. Instead women are seen as window dressing and men are made out to be the heroes. That is not a problem with the actors or actresses. That is a problem with the filmmakers, and ultimately the big production companies that have gotten big for a reason, because they know how to make money.
What does Mark Wahlberg do when he hears that many people believe that he got overpaid and he is looked at as being part of the problem? Marky Mark turns around and donates all of the extra millions of dollars that he made for reshoots to “Time’s Up” in Michelle Williams name.
All of the Money in the World is based on true events. It is about a teenage boy who is kidnapped and held for ransom because his grandfather is the richest man in the world. The grandfather will not pay the ransom, and the boy’s mother is forced to do whatever is in her power to try to get her son back.
The movie was directed by Ridley Scott and the noteworthy cast includes Michelle Williams, Christopher Plummer, Mark Wahlberg, Timothy Hutton, Charlie Plummer, Romain Duris, Charlie Shotwell, Andrew Buchan, and Marco Leonardi.
Ridley Scott generally knows how to get a film done right. He has got the process down. Sometimes the expectation is higher than the outcome, however. This is the case with this movie. It is well made to a point. It jumps around a lot. Usually that is OK to tell a story, but it makes this film feel a little choppy. It also seems to take away from how we feel about the characters in the story. We are not given much of a chance to really like and care about the people in the movie. If we do not care much about the characters, then we do not care much about what happens to them.
I think that this disconnect exists in the movie because it is in fact, based on true events. They follow the story line of what happened in real life, but they do not give you much reason to like the characters. This strongly takes away from how good the movie could be. It is good up to a point, without the possibility of being better.
Christopher Plummer got nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for this movie. He was part of the film for 9 days of reshoots. With all of the chaos that surrounded All the Money in the World, it seems like Hollywood was just throwing the movie a bone when they nominated Plummer for an Oscar. He is a solid actor and he was good in this film, but not Oscar good. Not even close. I think that this is a case of Hollywood trying to recoup their investment and show praise for Ridley Scott’s ability to get the job done that needed to get done. If there is an Oscar nomination of any kind for a movie, it pretty much guarantees that people will see it. It is sort of like the media. They tell you what they want you to hear. In this case, they tell you what they want you to watch.
I cannot help but wonder, what the other version of the film with Spacey was like. With my tainted view of him as an actor at this point, I would have hated the movie. It was definitely the right thing to do replacing him. I used to be big fan of Spacey, but it is amazing how quickly your view of someone changes once their true colors bleed through.
Overall, the movie was good, but not that good. It is an interesting true story that was certainly worth telling. It felt rushed, because it actually was rushed. I feel that with more thought placed on character development, the movie could have been a lot better.
I rate this movie a 6.5 on a scale of 1-10.
If you liked this film then you might also enjoy:
John Q. (2002)
Proof of Life (2000)
Hostage (2005)
Inside Man (2006)
The Negotiator (1998)
Ransom (1996)
Death Wish (2018)
Death Wish (2018)
Why do we like vigilante justice? I think that it is because someone does exactly what we are thinking should be done or we would like to do, ourselves. Also, vigilante justice in the movies is often portrayed as sticking up for ones that cannot stick up for themselves. If you are like me, then you enjoy rooting for the underdog.
Death Wish is about a doctor who decides to take matters into his own hands after an attack on his family. He decides to find the men responsible and serve up his own form of vigilante justice.
The movie was directed by Eli Roth and the noteworthy cast includes Bruce Willlis, Vincent D’Onofrio, Elisabeth Shue, Dean Norris, Camila Morrone, Beau Knapp, Kimberly Elise, Len Cariou, Jack Kesy, and Ronnie Gene Blevins.
I am not usually one to be into remakes. It seems like Hollywood remakes or reboots just about everything these days. Often, I say leave well enough alone, but sometimes the right remake idea comes along and the right actor is cast in the lead role.
In this case, Willis was very fitting for the role in Death Wish. It was his best performance since Looper (2012). He has been making a lot of B-rated straight to DVD movies lately, so it is nice to see him return to his former glory. I am glad to see that he has not gone the way of Nicolas Cage (spitting out one piece of trash after the next). Death Wish is a one-man-show and Bruce was clearly up for the task.
This movie is a scary concept because of how realistic it is. What I mean by that is that it shows just how worthless the police department and justice system can be sometimes. Too often, it is the people that deserve to see justice be done, that are the ones stuck without any justice at all. It also goes to show just how vulnerable we all are.
The likable Dean Norris has quickly been typecast as the police or detective type thanks to the success of the television series Breaking Bad. His part in this movie is good, but it does quickly make you think of Breaking Bad.
There are a few noticeable gruesome scenes in this movie that had Roth’s signature all over it. So far, I believe that this film is Roth’s best work as a director. He did a terrific job setting the tone of Death Wish and sticking with it throughout.
It has been a very long time since I have seen the original Death Wish (1974), but watching this version has made me want to go back and watch the original sometime soon. The new film is a quality remake done with today’s technology. The original movie is now 44 years old and it shows its age.
This movie is a murky suspense/thriller with good old fashioned popcorn-popping action. Willis as the protagonist doing bad for good reasons will keep you on the edge of your seat hoping that justice gets done.
I rate this movie an 8 on a scale of 1-10.
If you liked this film then you might also enjoy:
Death Wish (1974)
Death Sentence (2007)
The Brave One (2007)
Man on Fire (2004)
The Equalizer (2014)
The Punisher (2004)
Sin City (2005)
Harry Brown (2009)
RED (2010)
John Wick (2014)
John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017)
Defendor (2009)
The Best Movies of 2014
The Best Movies of 2014
Below is my list of the best movies that I have seen that were released in 2014 (even if some were made in 2013). I have included trailers for each movie. I would love to eventually write a review of each of these films and talk about why I enjoyed them so much. But for now, just know that I highly recommend all of these movies. I will continue to add to this list if I see any more movies from 2014 that are worthy of this list.
American Sniper (2014)
Fury (2014)
John Wick (2014)
Gone Girl (2014)
Nightcrawler (2014)
Interstellar (2014)
Still Alice (2014)
Edge of Tomorrow (2014)
The Imitation Game (2014)
Unbroken (2014)
Exodus: Gods & Kings (2014)
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
Dumb and Dumber Too (2014)
Neighbors (2014)
Non-stop (2014)
Good movies that did not make the cut were:
This is Where I Leave You (2014)
The Equalizer (2014)
The Judge (2014)
The Gambler (2014)
Sex Tape (2014)
Let’s Be Cops (2014)
22 Jump Street (2014)
Sabotage (2014)
3 Days to Kill (2014)
Wonder (2017)
Wonder (2017)
I think you have to be in the right mood to watch this kind of movie. You know that you are going to feel bad for the main character. In a way, you feel their pain, so to speak. It’s the kind of story that makes you appreciate your life more because you realize that no matter how hard you may feel like you have it sometimes, there is always someone out there that has it way worse. This I could grasp just from watching the trailer.
Wonder is about a previously homeschooled boy with a facial disfigurement who faces the challenge of going to a normal school for the first time.
You have to prepare yourself mentally to watch this movie, because you know it is not going to be fun, exciting entertainment. It is going to be blunt and in your face honest. It is going to evoke emotion and make you think. It is not necessarily an escape from the outside world, like most films are. Instead, it is more of a reminder of what things are really like. That makes this a solid movie because it is more real.
The movie was directed by Stephen Chbosky and the noteworthy cast includes Jacob Tremblay, Owen Wilson, Julia Roberts, Izabela Vidovic, Mandy Patinkin, Noah Jupe, Bryce Gheisar, Elle Mckinnon, Daveed Diggs, Ty Consiglio, and Danielle Rose Russell.
The story of Wonder was told in chapters. Each chapter is a different characters perspective. I like that because it allows you to get into the mind of each character in a way that you otherwise might not be able to. It makes the storytelling more interesting
For those of you who have ever been an outcast, this film is for you. Childhood is hard. School is harder. Now, imagine that your face is deformed. Kids are mean.
Owen Wilson and Julia Roberts played their parts well as loving parents.
Jacob Tremblay did a wonderful job as the boy with a disfigured face. He is pretty talented for only being 10 years old when this movie was being made. This kid is only 11 years old and has already been in 8 films and has 3 more on deck.
The movie is pretty predictable at times, but it does tug at the heartstrings. The film is rated PG, so it is a pretty wholesome and clean movie. A nice one to watch with the family. It is a warm-hearted movie about how the struggles of life bring us closer together when we overcome adversity.
I rate this movie an 8 on a scale of 1-10.
If you liked this film then you might also enjoy:
The Cure (1995)
Rudy (1993)
Stand By Me (1986)
The Man Without a Face (1993)
24 Hours to Live (2017)
24 Hours to Live (2017)
Ethan Hawke in a shoot ‘em up, no holds barred action thriller is just the type of movie that I would want to see. So I did. It appeared like it would have a lot of similarities to Crank (2006). Crank is off the hook in all senses of the word, so 24 Hours to Live sparked my interest.
The film is about a hired killer out for revenge after he is brought back to life after being shot. The medical treatment he received is only keeping him alive for 24 hours, so he must seek his revenge in a hurry.
The movie was directed by Brian Smrz and the noteworthy cast includes Ethan Hawke, Liam Cunningham, Rutger Hauer, Paul Anderson, Hakeem Kae-Kazim, Tanya van Graan, Qing Xu, and Jenna Upton.
The movie was fun, but convenient at times. The action was sometimes a little choppy. Lots of good ruthless ideas. Some worked and some fell flat. Not enough follow through. The film was a bipolar rollercoaster of really good sometimes, followed by a sort of fizzle and then back to better again. In a strange way, the film felt like a financial rollercoaster also. Sometimes it felt a little cheap and B-rated, while other times really expensive and classy. It just could not hold its momentum. Along with that problem, it was occasionally a bit hard to follow. Overall, it just felt like it was lacking something.
Hawke is dual-wielding and he’s got nothing to lose. His role was awesome and he pulled it off well. He is the same old slick, and smooth likable guy. His character developed well, but the supporting cast, not so much.
Cunningham was very enjoyable, but could have been better. He just was not used enough.
The film was reminiscent of Crank (2006), minus the extreme intensity throughout and not near the same caliber film.
24 Hours to Live was a fun concept. It was an entertaining flick, but a bit disappointing because it did not reach its full potential. However, it was nice to see Ethan Hawke carrying an action movie by himself again.
I rate this movie a 6.5 on a scale of 1-10.
If you liked this film then you might also enjoy:
Crank (2006)
Crank: High Voltage (2009)
Running Scared (2006)
Shoot ‘Em Up (2007)
Training Day (2001)
Assault on Precinct 13 (2005)
Game Night (2018)
Game Night (2018)
If you are a fan of games like I am, then this movie probably looks like fun to you. The concept of diving into the unknown and stirring up your plain everyday life sounds great, doesn’t it? Of course it does. That is why I had to check this movie out. Because, it is about exactly that. It is about a game night filled with endless possibilities, mystery, and excitement. Also, the trailer for the film is pretty funny and I wanted to see more. The next best thing to playing a game is being a spectator.
This movie is a comedy about a group of friends that get together for a regular game night. Their most recent game night gets a huge upgrade when one of the friends surprises the others with a real life puzzle. One of them will be kidnapped and it is up to everyone else to find that person by following the clues left behind.
The film is written by Mark Perez and directed by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein. The noteworthy cast includes Jason Bateman, Rachel McAdams, Kyle Chandler, Jesse Plemons, Billy Magnussen, Sharon Horgan, Lamorne Morris, Kylie Bunbury, Michael C. Hall, Jeffrey Wright, Danny Huston, and Chelsea Peretti.
There have been a lot of comedies in recent history that have fallen flat. The humor often is just not there or it is not consistent enough to warrant the genre of a Comedy. Game Night is not one of those movies. It is all kinds of funny. It takes a little while to get going, but then it does not stop.
This film feels like a fun game. The title is fitting, but for a couple of reasons. The obvious reason is that it is about a game night, but more importantly the movie itself actually feels like a game night. It is a great movie to see in the company of others (as comedies often are). See this movie on movie night and it will feel just like a game night. All the ingredients are there. The excitement, the fun, the laughs, and the good time are all a part of it. Buy some snacks at the concessions and you got yourself some good old-fashioned entertainment.
There is a comfortable assortment of humor in this movie; witty, dark, sarcastic, situational, and stupid. It is a tasteful variety that is sure to make anyone laugh.
The film had a bit of a The Man Who Knew Too Little (1997) feel to it. The characters think something is fake when it is actually real and hilarity ensues.
I felt like the cast all did a superb job in their roles. The casting department compiled an enjoyable bunch of characters.
Bateman continues to prove his versatility between comedy and drama. Not a lot of actors are capable of drama and humor at the same level. Jason nails it!
McAdams, who is not known for her comedy, manages to pull it off because there is also just the right amount of drama in this film.
Chandler keeps up the trend of being always likable no matter what part he is playing in an acting role.
Michael C. Hall had a great cameo performance. I think it worked well in this film because of his excellent history as the phenomenal Dexter in the well-known Dexter (2006) TV series.
Plemons continues to prove himself as a solid actor every time that I see him in a movie (which has been a lot lately). In this one, he hysterically steals the show.
If you are looking for an exciting comedy, Game Night is totally worth it!
I rate this movie an 8.5 on a scale of 1-10.
If you liked this film then you might also enjoy:
The Man Who Knew Too Little (1997)
The Hangover (2009)
Horrible Bosses (2011)
Wedding Crashers (2005)
The Post (2017)
The Post (2017)
Steven Spielberg directing Hanks, Streep, Odenkirk, Greenwood, Plemons, and Brie should make a lot of money and be a high quality movie, right?
The film is about The Washington Post Newspaper it 1971. It chronicles how the press defies the government as they want to release loads of classified documents pertaining to the Vietnam War.
The movie was directed by Steven Spielberg and the noteworthy cast includes Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, Bob Odenkirk, Bruce Greenwood, Jesse Plemons, Alison Brie, Sarah Paulson, Tracy Letts, Bradley Whitford, David Cross, Zach Woods, and Michael Stuhlberg.
The Post is dry as the desert sand. Bright, but also burned out.
The movie was a little hard to follow in the beginning. It has a slow start. Almost every scene seemed drawn out. Because some of the scenes drag on, it takes away from the storyline. You either lose interest and it makes it harder to remember small details that do not matter until later on.
Like many political dramas, the stars come out to play. However, often there are too many stars in the sky, so to speak. There is not enough movie to go around. That is exactly the case with this film. There was this kind of detachment from the main characters.
Odenkirk was probably the most entertaining part of the film and it felt like he was hardly in it. Hanks was likable, but his performance was nothing special. Streep’s character started to develop about halfway through. I feel like the movie had plenty of time for us to become attached to the characters, but it just never gets there.
The entertainment value that we have come to expect from a Spielberg directed film, was hard to find. The spark was just was not present. The scenery was great. It felt like the right time and place that it was depicting. There was not a shortage of acting ability. The Post just falls short of all expectations.
It is a likable overrated, underachieving, sluggish, and detached film. It is worth a one-time rental.
I rate this movie a 6 on a scale of 1-10.
If you liked this film then you might also enjoy:
Bridge of Spies (2015)
Bobby (2006)
Doubt (2008)
Lions for Lambs (2007)
JFK (1991)
All the President’s Men (1976)
Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)
Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)
Dark humor in an edgy looking story jammed packed with character actors galore. Why wouldn’t I want to see this film?
The movie is about a broken woman whose daughter had been raped and murdered less than a year earlier and the crime is still unsolved. She decides to purchase advertisements on three billboards outside of Ebbing, Missouri, essentially publically calling the police out for not doing their jobs. This gets the attention of the police station and stirs things up around town.
The film was written and directed by Martin McDonagh and the noteworthy cast includes Frances Mcdormand, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, Peter Dinklage, Caleb Landry Jones, Abbie Cornish, Lucas Hedges, Zeljko Ivanek, Christopher Berry, John Hawkes, Clarke Peters, and Darrell Brit-Gibson.
The casting is superb. The characters are excellent. Rockwell and Harrelson are likable jerks (as they often are). They play their parts well. Mcdormand steals the show with her best performance in years.
The multiple characters stories join together well in a web of darkness. The movie allows its cast to take their time to develop their characters in an overly dysfunctional drama. They really did not disappoint.
Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri is a blunt force. It has the right amount of dark humor carefully thrown into the mix to break up the brutal honesty of the film.
This film is a miserably twisted tale that goes to some dark places. You can really feel the pain and anguish on screen. However, it leaves those places leaving you feeling better about the whole thing afterwards.
There is more cussing in this film than I have heard in a newer film for a while. The dialogue and writing are top notch. I enjoyed how the film did not really edit itself. It may not be much for the politically correct crowd. If you cannot handle harsh language, this movie is not for you. Given some of the horrible situations in this film, I feel that the language was justified and also more realistic. It served as another tool to get the point across.
The movie pushes the boundaries on what you expect. Lots of surprises keep you guessing throughout. It’s witty and charming, but in a dysfunctional, hellish way.
I rate this movie a 9 on a scale of 1-10.
If you liked this film then you might also enjoy:
Fargo (1996)
North Country (2005)
Mr. Right (2015)
Choke (2008)
Matchstick Men (2003)
Triple 9 (2016)
Emagine Willow Creek Theater in Plymouth, MN
Emagine Willow Creek Theater in Plymouth, MN
Gone are the days of the singing candy boxes dancing across the screen along with the trailers before the feature film. Gone are the days of the Cineplex Odeon Cinema. Muller Family no longer owns this theater. Emagine has redefined what I call my “home theater.” The Willow Creek Theater has come a long way, and I’ve been along for the whole ride.
This movie theater opened in 1989. It is the first theater that I remember visiting as a child.
I visited the nearby General Cinemas Shelard Park Theater in St. Louis Park since I was in the womb up until near the time that theater closed. However, I’ve kept coming back to Willow Creek.
Willow Creek has always been more memorable and it has stood the test of time. The evolution of this theater has been a sight to see. Emagine has made some very tasteful upgrades that has transformed this movie house into a new kind of awesome.
These days, theaters need the cushy recliners in order to compete. A bar and restaurant is also becoming the norm. Willow Creek has all of that and more. The popular film themed paintings on the walls are a nice added touch. It classes the joint up, along with the chandelier in the entryway and the weeping willows.
This place is almost a classic. I have spent many a bag of popcorn exploring the movie world here. The movies change, but this theater still feels like home.
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