Category: Movie Reviews

AFI Latin American Film Festival: Marshland (Spain)

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NOTE: This is a SPOILER-FREE review.  DC area folks can see this film tomorrow (SAT, 9/19/15) at 9:15PM at AFI Silver.

Marshland shows us a world where everyone is out for themselves.  -Gareth Wood (Maverick Film)

We’re quite familiar w/ the set-up already: missing girls, small town w/ secrets/corruption, and two VERY different homicide detectives (from the big city) brought in to help solve the case.  However, this film is set in Spain in 1980, soon after General Franco was overthrown and the country (struggling economically) became a democracy.  The missing teens are two sisters, Carmen and Estrella, who were known to “have a reputation.”  The cops from Madrid are idealistic father-to-be, Pedro (Raul Arevalo), and jaded, hard drinking Juan (Javier Gutierrez). 

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Some frames of the film are based on photographs of Atín Aya, whose work impressed the filmmakers when they knew his work in a retrospective exhibition. -IMDB

I recommend this film for fans of Southern Gothic stories, character dramas, and those who like suspense (NOT only action).  Don’t worry, there are a FEW well done action scenes. On the way, the cops are assisted by Jesus (a local guide), who provides some of the humor in his dark tale.  Jesus gets caught hunting a deer (“Bambi,” he jokes) w/o a license.

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The cops work together, BUT also on their own following different leads.  The cinematography in this film is VERY good, as my friend commented.  The location is almost like a character in the story- we see desert, marshes, rivers, and (in the climax) a rainstorm.  If you liked HBO’s True Detective (S1), this is for YOU. 

 

Home from the Hill (1960) starring Robert Mitchum

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home from hill_posterKind of man that walks around with nothing in his pockets, no identification because everyone knows who you are. No cash because anyone in town would be happy to lend you anything you need. No keys ’cause you don’t keep a lock on a single thing you own. And no watch because time waits on you.  –Wade (Robert Mitchum) explains to his 18 y.o. son Theron (George Hamilton) about the kind of man he should aim to be

“Wow, what a speech!”  My dad commented.  Plus, who doesn’t LOVE Robert Mitchum!?  He was the quintessential “man’s man” (NOT unlike George Clooney is today).  If you read this blog, you know that I’m a BIG fan of Mitchum’s acting!  In this (dysfunctional) family drama set, he plays wealthy, womanizing, and hard-drinking Texan- Capt. Wade Hunnicutt.  (Warning: It’s a LONG film, but has some VERY fine moments!)  I saw it on TCM last month; you can check it out for $2.99 on Amazon Instant Video.  This film, b/c it came out in 1960, could pull the cover off topics which were hidden/NOT directly mentioned in previous decades.

home from hill_denHe’s got a mind of his own. I gave him that. Don’t think he’s gonna come to heel like one of your hunting dogs at the snap of your fingers.  -Hannah (Eleanor Parker) explains to Wade about Theron

Mitchum suits his role VERY well, BUT he’s well-matched by onscreen wife Eleanor Parker.  (The actress, best known for the playing curvy/glam/ independent baroness in The Sound of Music, passed away almost 2 yrs. ago at age 91.)  But unlike that iconic role, Parker has a VERY different look in this film- she’s thin, dressed prim/proper, yet also a fighter (in her own way). 

home from hill_dateTheron (a bright, kind, sensitive, yet sheltered young man) has to navigate his parents, falling in love (first time), and more.  For most of her son’s life, Hannah has kept him away from his father and his bad influences.  One Summer, Wade decides that he must teach the boy “how to be a man.”  In time, Theron discovers a BIG secret about his family!

Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation (NOW PLAYING)

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NOTE: This is a SPOILER-FREE review.

I went to see this action film b/c it was FREE (w/ my movie Meetup)!  LOL… I’m NOT a big fan of Tom Cruise, BUT I don’t loathe him (like SO many out there).  I was (pleasantly) surprised that I had a GOOD time; the same goes for the ladies in my group (we’re ALL female, BTW).

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Tom Cruise and Rebecca Ferguson star in “Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation.”

I was esp. glad to see a strong female counterpoint to Cruise in the form of Swedish actress Rebecca Ferguson (who plays a Brit).  Yes, she’s a beautiful lady, BUT she is also tall, muscular/solid build, and does some AWESOME stunts!  Is her character a good spy or a baddie?  It takes a BIT of time for that to be revealed. She and Cruise have TERRIFIC onscreen chemistry.  FYI: This is her FIRST big movie role.

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Actress Rebecca Ferguson at a premiere for the film.

As for the men, I liked Simon Pegg’s computer expert character- he provided a LOT of the humor.  Jeremy Renner- don’t know WHY this guy keeps getting cast in big movies!?  The poor guy just has NO screen presence; forget about ever being a leading man.  Ving Rhames is underused, as is Alec Baldwin (looking good, as always).  Baldwin has one of the funniest lines in the film though.

The soundtrack is one of the BEST things about this movie; one (well-known) piece of opera is woven throughout a pivotal scene.  Also, everyone likes hearing the MI theme song, right?

Check out The Super Fantastic Nerd Hour podcast (Episode 72) if you’ve seen this film and want to hear an in-depth review.

Good Kill (2015) starring Ethan Hawke, Bruce Greenwood, Zoe Kravitz & January Jones

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NOTE: This is a SPOILER-FREE review. 

This is a small (as in intimate) movie w/ a VERY serious message- distancing and dehumanizing your enemy is ALSO a way of dehumanizing yourself.  I went to see this film back in May w/ my ladies’ movie Meetup; there was a brief Q&A w/ Ethan Hawke (VERY pleasant/thoughtful guy) and the director (Andrew Niccol, a Brit).  Aside from my group, there were press folks, and many associated w/ MSNBC’s news show, Hardball (Chris Matthews was the moderator).  A few members of the armed forces were also present; they seemed to relate to a LOT the film from comments I heard.  

Good_Kill_cockpitFighter pilot Major Tom Egan (Hawke) is STILL fighting The War on Terror, though he now works from a pod in the Nevada desert, not too far from the suburban Las Vegas home he shares w/ his wife, Molly (January Jones), and their two young kids.  Tom and his team conduct drone strikes; it looks a LOT like playing a video game (disturbing, yet darkly humorous to a layperson).  We see that Tom is dissatisfied w/ his work; his supervisor Lt. Col. Johns (Bruce Greenwood- provides wry humor and some of the best lines) knows that it’s NOT an ideal situation, but they are still “doing good.”

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This is a one man’s journey (Hawke is VERY well-suited) type of film, which uses tight close-ups on Hawke and his team, which later includes a young newbie, Airman Suarez (Zoe Kravitz, who does a decent job).  The people in Afghanistan (locals, baddies, etc.) are seen in grainy video- no closeups there.  Check out this film (recently available on Redbox) to see what happens! 

Inside Out (NOW PLAYING) starring the voices of Amy Poehler, Lewis Black & Mindy Kaling

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NOTE: This is a SPOILER-FREE review.

I saw “Inside Out” at a free pre-screening w/ my movie Meetup (all ladies) and a large group of press folks (who were pretty quiet during the film, which is common).  Before the main attraction, we saw a short film (“Lava”) about a lonely volcano that wants to have someone to love.  I’m NOT sure if this story was based on a Hawaiian folk tale.  There was a song all through the short, which was cute and catchy.

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I went in NOT knowing much about the film, BUT I liked it!  Some critics say it’s the best thing since “Toy Story,” which was a big hit for Pixar.  I suggest it for kids 10 and up, especially, as it deals w/ themes that MAY go over the heads of the younger crowd.  There is also a LOT for grown-ups to enjoy.

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Riley, an 11 y.o. girl, goes through a period of displacement and sadness after moving from her suburban home in Minnesota to an apartment in San Francisco.  Aside from Riley, the main characters are the emotions inside her head: Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Anger (Lewis Black), Disgust (Mindy Kaling), and Fear (Bill Hader).  I wanted to see this mainly b/c I’m a fan of Black and Kaling. 

In the beginning, everyone was bummed out by how Sadness (who is blue, wears a turtleneck) was acting, BUT we know that people can’t always be happy.  Riley has to get used to her new room, new school and classmates, and missing her best friend.  She finds it VERY difficult to be her usual positive self, even though she knows that’s what her parents (voiced by Diane Lane and Kyle McLachlan) want.  Joy tries hard to get Sadness out of the way, BUT an accident pulls these two main emotions away from the control room.