Trumbo

First Hit:  Although I didn’t like the main character much, this was an excellent well executed film.

This is one of a few new films that reach back into the 1950’s and the cold war with Russia. All of them, including this one, are very good.

This movie is about how Congress, more specifically a few Republican members, decided to railroad anyone in Hollywood that was connected with the Communist party. The fear based thought of these politico was a reminder of some of the fear based thought we have today in the Republican candidates.

The film doesn’t focus on Communism or anything other than people sticking up for their beliefs under the rules set forth in the Constitution and Bill of Rights in the United States. This is the heart of the story and how a group of writers, led by Trumbo (Bryan Cranston), were blacklisted from writing Hollywood scripts and therefore making a living because they were Communists.

Famous Hollywood gossip columnist Hedda Hopper (Helen Mirren) was a major source for identifying Hollywood folks who had communist leanings. When actors and sympathizers like Edward G. Robinson (Michael Stuhlbarg) couldn’t find work, they named names as well.

Led by John (Duke) Wayne (Davis James Elliot), a group of Hollywood stars jumped on the Congressional band wagon and supported rooting out and keeping Communists from getting work. Trumbo’s family suffered and did everything he could to keep his family with a roof over their head.

He also helped his writer comrades as well. But of course it was hard and it hurt his relationships with his wife Cleo (Diane Lane), family, and especially his admiring daughter Niki (Madison Wolfe and Elle Fanning). On his side was B level film producer Frank King (John Goodman) and fellow writer Arlen Hird (Louis C.K.).

Bryan Cranston was very good. He embraced this character fully and made it work very well. Mirren was fantastic as Hopper – very believable. Davis James Elliot was very good as John Wayne. He embraced the man I ran into once in Newport Center coming out of a bookstore. Stuhlbarg was fair as Robinson however, my history of watching the real Edward G. on film this performance didn’t quite match up. Lane as Trumbo’s wife was perfect: Strong, intelligent and also devoted with perseverance. Both Wolfe and Fanning were great as daughter Niki. Extra kudos to Fanning as she showed once again how to command the screen and scene when needed. Goodman was very good as B film producer King. C.K. was very strong as blacklisted writer Hird. John McNamara wrote a very strong script. Jay Roach did a great job of piecing together real historical footage and filmed footage.

Overall:  This was a valuable story and came through the lens elegantly.

Secret In Their Eyes

First Hit:  There were some good moments, but it lacked the kind of tenseness to make it interesting.

There are films that do time shifts well and others that do not. This film does not.

When the audience has to work, look for clues, to find out what time period they are in, it takes them out of experiencing the story. This is what happens here, because some of the characters don’t show the 13 year change or difference enough to know what time frame we are in at that moment of the new scene gets presented to the audience. I had to think “what time are they in now?”

The character that was the most difficult was Claire (Nicole Kidman), she was rarely discernable. Ray (Chiwetel Ejiofor) was, at times, discernible between the two different time periods, and other times I had to look hard at his hair or facial features to figure out where the film was. Jess (played by Julia Roberts), however, was easily discernible between the time periods mostly because her grieving and self-made purgatory created a look that was far different than the earlier time period.

This story is about three people, Ray, Claire and Jess who are attempting to capture and prosecute a man Marzin/Beckwith (Joe Cole) who raped and killed Jess’ daughter Carolyn (Zoe Graham). It is also about obsession. How people get obsessed with people whether they are, friends, infatuations, or object of an investigation.  

Initially the murderer gets off on a technicality but Ray's obsession of finding and trying Marzin, after 13 years of looking, is a good story. When he finds, who he believes is the man, he's convinced the team can put him away this time. The film tells the initial story of Carolyn’s death and the killer getting off, as well as the new road the three take to get Marzin convicted this time around. I did think that Roberts was really good in unglamorous role. The way she wore the pain of the death of her daughter was spot on good.

Kidman was OK, her best part was interviewing Marzin. The sultry, focused, primal nature of her questioning was amazing. Ejiofor was strong however there were too many scenes I didn’t know what time period he was in soon enough – I had to think about it. Kidman was good but besides the interviewing Marzin scene, her role wasn’t dynamic. Dean Norris as Bumpy Willis was the easiest character to know the time span, his role and the makeup did him right. In this role he was very good. Michael Kelly as Reg Siefert was also very good as the antagonistic cop who worked both for and against the main characters during all these years. Billy Ray and Juan Jose Campanella wrote an interesting screenplay but the execution wasn’t quite good enough through Billy Ray’s direction.

Overall:  The story good, the execution was less than good which brought down what could have been a better film.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2

First Hit:  I was barely able to watch, let alone like, the screen for its 137 minute running time.

I thought that Part 1 was one of the worst of this series until I watched this final film of the 4 part series. I enjoyed the original film, the second, “Catching Fire”, was too long and wasn’t up to the first film’s stature.

Part 1 (#3 in the series) was one very long uneventful setup for Part 2 (#4). This series started on a high note and fell into the gutter. For instance, what was the fighting scene in the sewers about? It had no value except to get some people killed and make Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) feel more pain to spur her on.

The ending was obvious and exposed way too soon. There was no surprise (reminded me of the line from a Who song: Meet the new boss, same as the old boss). The acting in most cases seem stilted and without feeling, like the actors just wanted to get through it.

Watching a purposefully elongated story was absolute torture. It is hard for me to conceive of people with active and useful brain cells objectively watching this film and thinking it is good. There is nothing that I can say that is good about this film except I don’t ever have to watch another Hunger Games film again.

Lawrence was good at times but generally, it felt as though she wanted it to be as over with as I did. Josh Hutcherson as Peeta had one of the most difficult and awkward roles. As a plot ploy, he had to pretend to be both in love with and be a hurtful enemy of Katniss. It’s difficult to pretend to be brainwashed and Hutcherson didn’t pull it off. Liam Hemsworth as Gale was a poorly executed character. His role of hero martyr felt stilted and without soul. Woody Harrelson as Haymitch tried to bring adult thinking to the role – he failed because the film failed to make it important. Donald Sutherland as President Snow, did his job and it felt like it. Philip Seymour Hoffman as Pluarch was painful to watch because it’s a lousy role, his performance poor, and it is the last time we’ll see him in a new film – sad. Julianne Moore as the new President Alma Coin was so below her recent performances that I cringed. Peter Craig and Danny Strong’s script was lazy, without interesting dialogue, and bloated. Francis Lawrence’s direction provided little interest and absolutely no excitement.

Overall:  I wanted to leave the theater so bad that I felt like a runner waiting for the starting gun and when final credits began to role – like a flash I was gone.

Brooklyn

First Hit:  This film shares a wonderful heartfelt story with remarkable acting and stunning visuals representing the 1950’s.

Irish immigration to the US and specifically to Brooklyn during the 1950’s (the 3rd wave) is highlighted in this film.

The film does give homage to an earlier 2nd wave of Irish Immigration to the US by sharing information about how they built a lot of the infrastructure in eastern US cities. Knowing that by 1860 or so, one quarter of New York City’s population was Irish, when we join this story we are aware of Irish influence in the city.

This story begins with Eilis (Saoirse Ronan) living with her mom and sister in a small Irish town. She works as a clerk in Miss Kelly’s (Brid Brennan) small store. Where Eilis has a quiet caring heart Miss Kelly is mean and spiteful. This life is weighing Eilis down, so her sister Rose (Fiona Glascott) sets her up with a Visa and a job in New York City.

Afraid and excited, she leaves on a ship only to land in a repressive boarding house run by Mrs. Kehoe (Julie Walters) and working as a clerk in a fancy department store. She is lonely and sad, misses her family, and is terribly homesick. All this changes when she meets a young Italian plumber named Tony (Emory Cohen). He is totally smitten by her and while she’s slowly warming up to the attention and affection, Tony blurts out his love for Eilis.

The scenes of them together are amazingly precious. The first meal at his family’s house is ripe for enjoyment. Then there are scenes at the Ms. Kehoe’s boarding house dinner table that are simply funny, witty and insightful to the plight of these young girls trying to find a life in New York City.

Then there are the heartfelt and decisive scenes back in Ireland when Eilis returns to pay her respects to her recently deceased sister. The heart pulling wish of her mother wanting her to stay and not go back to New York, along with her ability to see her old friends as well as being seen as someone who is beautiful and smart makes her wonder about staying.

Ronan is beyond wonderful. She gave the kind of performance that elevates her incredible resume. I loved her as a young curious and confused girl named Briony in “Atonement”. She sparkled physically and intensely as the assassin in “Hanna”. Here she gives a deeply moving and evolving portrait as a women coming into her own. This is a great actress. Cohen is so wonderfully charming in his role, you just cannot help but love him here. Walters is perfect as the strict matron of her boarding house, trying to keep her women on solid respectful footing. Glascott was perfect as the thoughtful sister. Brennan was on point as a sharp, pushy, and mean store owner. Jim Broadbent as Father Flood was flawlessly cast as Eilis’s rock during her first months in the US. Nick Hornby wrote a dazzling screen play capturing the feel of the time and the intent of Colm Toibin’s novel. John Crowley captured the innocence, despair, history, and feeling of the time perfectly.

Overall:  Wonderful to watch, beautiful to feel.

Spotlight

First Hit:  Excellent writing, outstanding acting, powerful scenes, and a story that turned out to be spot-on.

This is a story about how Catholic Priests took advantage of young boys (and girls) by molesting them and getting away with it for years.

It begins with the Boston Globe getting a new Chief Editor named Marty Baron (Liev Schreiber) and while doing his due diligence of current staff, discovers that the Globe has a small group of reporters called “Spotlight”. This team digs deep to uncover meaningful stories that make a difference to Boston and beyond.

An old article comes across his desk about priest abuse and he asks Walter “Robby” Robertson (Michael Keaton), head of the Spotlight team, if this is the kind of story they work on. The team of Mike Rezendes (Mark Ruffalo) Sacha Pfeiffer (Rachel McAdams), and Matt Carroll (Brian d’Arcy James) are asked to take a deeper look. As they begin to dig, the level of cover up by Cardinal Law (Len Cariou) and his crew of Bishops and Priests becomes grossly apparent.

Many people are involved with the cover up including the creation of a cottage business where lawyers and their law firms defending the church reap high fees while the abused is paid next to nothing and told to keep quiet. There were many heart breaking interviews with the abused including Eric Macleish (Billy Crudup) who, with needle marks in his arm, tells how this has affected his life and his family.

The script was sharp, always on point, and reflected a caring towards giving the audience a clear understanding of the problem. This film never lagged and reflected the urgency required to make a difference.

Ruffalo was superb. His ability to be smart, urgent and both careful and reckless and the same time was perfect. Schreiber was excellent as the steady hand looking to make the paper relevant again and seeing that this story was worthy of the effort being put in by his staff. Keaton was amazing as the leader of Spotlight, knowing when to reign in or let his staff loose. The confrontation with Ruffalo was respectfully wonderful and intense. McAdams was strong and especially good in her interviews with the abused. Her empathy and ability to obtain information was excellent. James was wonderful. I loved his caring about the home near his house and how he wanted to ensure everyone knew about the danger lurking inside for young kids. Crudup was so strong in his portrayal of an abused man that I felt his pain while he spoke. Cariou was very good as the Cardinal who tried to come across as Teflon. One of the most outstanding parts is by Stanley Tucci as an independent attorney working for the abused. His role was amazingly great because of him. McCarthy and Josh Singer wrote a remarkably strong pointed script. There was no fat, just great dialogue. McCarthy directed this film with a purpose, to tell a difficult story with clarity of purpose.

Overall:  I was fully engaged and entrenched in this story in every way.