Den of Thieves

First Hit:  Although interesting at times, overall it wasn’t a really good heist film.

I love good heist films. The original 1960 “Oceans 11” and the 2001 “Oceans Eleven” films were fun examples of heist films as was “The Thomas Crown Affair” in its own way.

Here we have, what we’re made to believe is, a set of former military men fresh out of prison planning to rob the LA Federal Reserve Bank. Although the general plot line was interesting enough, the twist can be spotted early on, which makes watching this an exercise in waiting for the cat to be out of the bag.

Chasing this gang of thieves is a miss-fit Sheriff's unit lead by Big Nick O’Brian (Gerard Butler). His gang of thuggish deputies determine that Ray Merriman (Pablo Schreiber) and his group of thieves, Enson Levoux (Curtis “50 cent” Jackson), and Bo “Bosco” Ostroman (Evan Jones) have been responsible for all the unsolved bank robberies in LA.

To introduce Donnie Wilson (O'Shea Jackson Jr.), the film has Merriman adding Wilson as a driver to assist his crew in robbing banks.

The interaction between the Sheriff and his deputies and the thieves is ridiculous. Especially when they interrogate Donnie in a motel room and when Big Nick walks into a restaurant where the whole gang is celebrating. The interaction is unrealistic.

We are also treated to the ass like ways of Big Nick when he’s trying to tell his wife to not leave him, sitting at a strip club, and speaking with his FBI counterpart.

Some of the ingenious planning and execution of the robbery was interesting, but in the end it just fell flat and lacked luster of any kind.

Butler played a jerk and there was nothing that would have the audience care about what happens to him. His behavior almost deserved a movie death. Schreiber was good enough to believe he was hardened and didn’t want to go back to jail. 50 cent was good, although I keep sensing he needs to lose who he is so that he can become an actor of merit. I did love the garage scene when he takes his daughter’s date into the garage. Jones was strong and intense in his role. Jackson Jr. was OK, although I’m not sure I bought the premise of his involvement in the overall story. Christian Gudegast wrote and directed this, and it might be some time before he’s loaned money to do another film.

Overall: This film lacked effort, suspense, and a decent plot line.

Hostiles

First Hit:  Although it is long and at times languid, it tells a wonderful story of coming to grips with our internal and external enemies.

I like films that have the main characters learn from introspection and if done well, they bring a smile to my face.

The film’s setup is watching the cruelty of a family being slaughtered by a small band of renegade Comanche Indians. They come to steal their horses, will kill everyone, and set fire to their home. The wife/mother finds a way to hide and although her husband and three children are killed, she survives.

Then we switch to lifelong (since age 14) Indian fighter Captain Joseph J. Blocker (Christian Bale) of the U.S. Calvary, as he captures and brings in what he hopes to be the last of the Apache Indians that have been fighting settlers.

His hatred for the Indians that have scalped and killed settlers is ever present in his face and manner. When summoned to Colonel Abraham Biggs office, we learn the depth of his hatred. The cause for his outburst is that he’s been assigned, under the orders of the President of the United States, to take his sworn enemy Chief Yellow Hawk (Wes Studi), who is dying, to the Chief's home in Montana to die peacefully.

During this mission, he comes across Rosalie Quaid (Rosamund Pike) the lone survivor of the first scene’s massacre. He takes her with him on the mission and together they find it in their hearts to both suffer, learn, and forgive.

The film just takes a while to get there but in the end I thought it was worth it. The hints of Blocker's deeper compassion are displayed through the kind gestures Blocker he shows his men and Quaid.

The beautiful scenery in the film improved and made the journey of watching much better. The way Blocker’s past kept arriving to him as a reminder of his ways while watching Quaid grow from her terrible ordeal, was exquisite. The scene when Blocker speaks with Corporal Henry Woodsen (Jonathan Majors) while they said goodbye was deeply touching of the deep respect and love they had for each other. The caring Blocker had for Master Sergeant Thomas Metz (Rory Cochrane) was divine. When Metz said that he was tired and done with this path, instead of dismissing this, Blocker embraced the place from which Metz said it. As Quaid supported the Indian women and men during the journey, the audience felt her movement towards forgiveness.

These connections made this film work. However, it does take a while to get there, so if you see this film, sit back, relax and let the film speak to you internally.

Bale was clearly wonderful in this role. His ability to show compassion and caring for another human being as well as his hatred was amazing. His physical expressions rarely changed much, it all came from his eyes. Pike was sublime. She showed a depth of angst that is rarely expressed on screen, and her movement towards forgiveness was perfect. Cochrane was great. I loved his ability to make his role real. Majors showed great depth of character in a role where he gets to stand for something and honor another as well. Studi was perfect and the Chief who kept his honor while making his way towards death. Scott Cooper wrote the script and directed this film. I saw both his reasoning for making it 2 hours and 14 minutes long and also saw where there could have been cuts which would have made it crisper.

Overall:  After letting the film settle in, I found that I enjoyed the journey.

Phantom Thread

First Hit:  I wasn’t impressed or engaged with the story but the characters were interesting on their own.

The setup of Reynolds Woodcock (Daniel Day-Lewis) as a particularly fastidious man, was watching him shine his shoes. Any man who has shined shoes, knows what he was doing was very detailed and time consuming. He also liked silence at breakfast while he works on dress designs.

The relationship between him and his sister Cyril (Lesley Manville) was clearly identified when she asks Reynolds if he would like her to get rid of the woman currently living with them. She’s the controller and enforcer of his life because he just wants to create dresses. The world revolves around him.

Taking a short vacation to his country home he is bowled over by a waitress in a café. Alma (Vicky Krieps) shows her interest and he invites her to dinner. Soon he has her posing in one of his dresses in his dressmaking studio.

In his creative world, he’s focused on one thing, making his art. She’s both fascinated and slightly cautious, when he begins to take her measurements. All of a sudden and un-expectantly, Cyril walks in, grabs his notebook, sits down, and records the measurements as Reynolds barks them out. Her stare at Alma indicates a sort of an; oh another one and how long will this one last, sort of feel.

Reynolds likes her and she becomes both, his lover and worker as she melds into his life in the London home.  This home is also their factory and about a half dozen women come each day to sew his creations that me makes for the upper crust of society.

When he starts criticizing Alma’s loud eating habits at breakfast, it is instantly known how his world is only about himself and what he wants. When a gross woman of wealth passes out in one of his creations, Alma suggests that they take back his work of art and they proceed to strip the passed-out woman of this dress. This makes Reynolds happy because she's protecting his work.

However, his me first behavior gets old in the film and for Alma. Eventually, Alma finds a way to make Reynolds pay more and deeper attention to her, and although it’s a deadly dance, it works.

There is a craftsmanship in this film that is unmistaken. One scene reflecting this, is when Alma and Reynolds are walking down a cobblestone street. The luminescence of the street and background are wonderful.

Day-Lewis is intense and good in this role, but to select this as his last film, I think he could have selected a more engaging and interesting character. Manville was amazing and her performance is the most powerful thing in the film. Krieps is strong and I liked her strength and vulnerability. Paul Thomas Anderson wrote and directed this film. I thought the dialogue was interesting but the story wasn’t one that kept my attention.

Overall:  There wasn’t enough to make this story really engaging.

Academy Awards - The Oscars

Once again it is time to celebrate a year of film watching. Here are my choices for the following awards along with a few thoughts about some of the selections and non-selections The Academy made.

• Actor in a Leading Role – The nominees are: Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out), Timothee Chalamet (Call me by Your Name), Gary Oldman (Darkest Hour), Daniel Day-Lewis (Phantom Thread), and Denzel Washington (Roman J. Isreal, Esq.). Who else could be on this list? Tom Hanks (The Post), James Franco (The Disaster Artist), and Richard Gere (Norman). However, regardless of who wasn’t on the list, the runaway best performance is Gary Oldman for Darkest Hour. His Winston Churchill was simply sublime.
• Actress in a Leading Role – The nominees are: Meryl Streep (The Post), Sally Hawkins (The Shape of Water), Margot Robbie (I, Tonya), Francis McDormand (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri, and Saoirse Ronan (Lady Bird). Who didn’t get nominated? Rachel Weisz (My Cousin Rachel), Emma Stone (Battle of the Sexes) and Jessica Chastain (The Zookeepers Wife). If it were up to me, I’d select Saoirse Ronan in Lady Bird because of the variety and excellent delivery of teenage emotions she effectively brings to the screen. Margot Robbie was utterly fantastic as Tonya Harding. Francis McDormand was filled with angst and fire as the woman who lost her daughter to rape and murder. Sally Hawkins was ethereal as Elisa Esposito a deaf woman who communicates with the captured creature. Meryl Streep showed the subtle development of strength as her character Katharine Graham.
• Supporting Actress – The nominees are: Lesley Manville (Phantom Thread), Laurie Metcalf (Lady Bird), Allison Janney (I, Tonya), Mary J. Blige (Mudbound). Octavia Spencer (The Shape of Water). Who is missing from this list? Melissa Leo (Novitiate), who gave one of most outstanding performances of the year. The film wasn’t seen and that is a shame. This is a strong field but choosing from the nominees, I’d select Allison Janney. Her depiction of Tonya Harding’s mother was vividly cold.
• Supporting Actor – The nominees are: Christopher Plummer (All the Money in the World), Woody Harrelson (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri), Sam Rockwell (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri), Willem Defoe (The Florida Project), and Richard Jenkins (The Shape of Water). A great set of actors. Missing? Steve Carell (Battle of the Sexes) gave us an incredibly life like Bobby Riggs. I’d have to say that Sam Rockwell would get my vote although each of the above deserve the recognition.
• Best Cinematography – The nominees are: Bruno Delbonnel (Darkest Hour), Hoyte van Hoytema (Dunkirk), Rachel Morrison (Mudbound), Dan Laustsen (The Shape of Water), and Roger Deakins (Blade Runner 2049). Great list of people creating and delivering great pictures. My vote would go for Hoyte van Hoytema in Dunkirk. I admired the multitude and type of scenes that were shot and how they were made into a cohesive feeling of awe.
• Writing (Adapted Screenplay) – The nominees are: Dee Rees and Virgil Williams (Mudbound), Michael H. Weber and Scott Neustadter (The Disaster Artist), James Ivory (Call Me by Your Name), James Mangold, Michael Green and Scott Frank (Logan), and Aaron Sorkin (Molly’s Game). My vote would go to  Michael H. Weber and Scott Neustadter for The Disaster Artist.
• Writing (Original Screenplay) – The nominees are: Guillermo del Toro and Vanessa Taylor (The Shape of Water), Martin McDonagh (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri), Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani (The Big Sick), Jordan Peele (Get Out) and Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird). This is probably the tightest category to be contested. Each of these stories is amazingly original. Therefore, I don’t have a single selection, they all are deserving.
• Film Editing – The nominees are: Lee Smith (Dunkirk), Tatiana S. Riegel (I, Tonya), Jonathan Amos and Paul MacHliss (Baby Driver), Sidney Wolinsky (The Shape of Water), and Jon Gregory (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri). All very good, however the standout in editing goes to Lee Smith for Dunkirk. This is a story based film and not a character based film and because of this the editing makes this film engaging.
• Directing – The nominees are: Paul Thomas Anderson (Phantom Thread), Guillermo del Toro (The Shape of Water), Christopher Nolan (Dunkirk), Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird), and Jordan Peele (Get Out). What is missing. To me there are huge gaps here. Margaret Betts (Novitiate), Kathryn Bigelow (Detroit), Craig Gillespie (I, Tonya), and Joe Wright (Darkest Hour) all had a great firm hand on their story's and told them with excellence. Out of the nominees, I’d vote for Christopher Nolan and Dunkirk because he made this event come alive. However, Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird) got amazing performances from her cast.
• Picture – The nominees are: Darkest Hour, Dunkirk, Phantom Thread, Get Out, The Post, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, The Shape of Water, and Lady Bird. All these pictures, except Phantom Thread (review in process) are films I loved to watch for different reasons. What is missing? I think Novitiate, Detroit, and Battle of the Sexes were deserving as well. However, Novitiate would be my candidate for replacing Phantom Thread which I didn’t really find likable or engaging. Who will win? My wish would be Dunkirk, Lady Bird, and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri in that order. If Novitiate was in the mix, it would be a tie between it and Dunkirk.

Thank you for visiting my site. May you all Be Well...

My Favorite Films of 2017

Last year I listed my favorite films of 2016 and I thought I'd do this again for 2017. I revisited by 150+ films I saw and reviewed in 2017 and here are the films I enjoyed the most. The listing is in order of when I saw them in 2017. Julieta: Pedro Almodovar created a thoughtful and wonderful film about a woman’s life. Using flashbacks and her daughter's absence, Almodovar shows us how life becomes complicated and filled with new questions the older she gets.

Paterson:  A very sweet story about a bus driver, his wife and the small town they live in. Jim Jarmusch wrote and directed this effort.

The Founder:  This is the story about Ray Kroc (Michael Keaton), the founder of McDonalds. Keaton brought an energetic style that was very engaging.

Hidden Figures:  A powerful film about how women, black women, helped solve the complex problems of our space program while pushing for racial equity.

Get Out:  This film starts out one way, and lo and behold, it turns out to be a great horror mystery. Jordan Peele made this very interesting film with crystal clarity. Daniel Kaluuya as the main character Chris was phenomenal.

I Am Not Your Negro:  The most powerful documentary this year. James Baldwin was a man with an amazing ability to articulate race.

Land of Mine (Under Sandet):  Extremely tense and strong story about how after WWII, the Germans were made to de-mine 2,000,000 on Denmark’s beaches.

Gifted:  I liked the thoughtful engagement of the roles in this wonderfully acted film.

The Zookeeper’s Wife:  Jessica Chastain shines in this great story about how she and her husband saved Jews from being killed by the Germans.

Their Finest:  Another WWII film that shows yet another aspect of how the British fought for their island against Hitler.

Jeremiah Tower: The Last Magnificent:  I loved this one especially because I ate at his "Stars" restaurant numerous times and watched the Jeremiah show while eating some of the best food that passed my palet.

Norman:  I loved Richard Gere as a New York fixer, who tries to put people together hopefully to make a profit in the end.

Megan Levy:  Being a dog owner, how could I not love this story.

My Cousin Rachel:  Rachel Weisz is powerfully convincing in this role of deceit.

I, Daniel Blake:  This heart filled story is about how a working bloke can get screwed by a system that is supposed to help him.

Dunkirk:  My best film of the year. This tells the story of escape in a way that fully engages the audience. The power of the story over the character, makes the audience feel the danger.

City of Ghosts:  If you want to know how some Syrians fought ISIS (Desh), watch this film and learn.

The Last Dalai Lama:  Having met his holiness in Dharamsala, I was captured by this story from the opening title till the end credit.

The Big Sick:  Great acting telling a funny and deeply touching story.

Baby Driver:  I love films that have good driving and this one was great to watch.

Wind River:  Superb acting brings this crime and mystery film alive.

Brigsby Bear:  Very odd story brought to life with poignant acting.

Detroit:  One of the best films this year. Kathryn Bigelow brings this true story to life. I'm saddened that Bigelow didn't get a director nomination for this superb effort.

Battle of the Sexes:  Loved the story and how pulled back the curtains of they very public true event. Emma Stone and Steve Carell made this film live.

Polina:  I love the ballet and dance, and here we get to see a young women find her way the world of dance all the way from Moscow to the the west..

The Florida Project:  This film is shot so realistically, it felt more like a documentary. Powerful story.

Goodbye Christopher Robin:  Although I’ve never been a Winnie the Pooh fan, this film made the story powerful. Touching dialogue all the way through.

Horn from the Heart: The Paul Butterfield Story:  Having listened to and seen Paul play, I fell in love, again, with this enigmatic man’s ability to make music.

Lady Bird:  I love watching Saoirse Ronan act in anything, and here she is nothing short of amazing. This performance shows, yet again, why Ronan is the best young actress we have today.

Novitiate:  This film was barely seen. This is sad because it was fantastic. The look into how a young woman chooses to become a nun is insightful. There are so many powerful scenes played out by amazing performances, it is a must see.

I, Tonya:  This was one of the joys of 2017 was watching this film. Great acting by Margo Robbie and Allison Janney.

The Shape of Water:  Excellent performances bring this darkly sadistic green tinted film to life in full color.

The Disaster Artist:  Who knew that a film about the worst film ever made, would be so good.

Darkest Hour:  This film includes the finest performance by a male actor in a leading role, Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill. I would rank his performance as one of the best I've ever seen.

Wonder:  This was one of the most emotionally touching films this year. I saw this film twice and cried more the second time than the first.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri:  Dynamic performances by Francis McDormand and Sam Rockwell are only part of the reason why this film is so talked about.