Michelle Darnell (Melissa McCarthy) puts the C and the B in Taking Care of Business. She’s the 47th richest woman in America. Yet, she still couldn’t resist the temptation of earning more money.
Renault (Peter Dinklage) gave her a lead and took her to the cleaners. Although, she did make the Federal Pen look great.
Where’s a freed mogul to go? Apparently, it’s not Trump Tower. She’ll have to squat with Claire (Kristen Bell), her former assistant, and Rachel, Claire’s daughter,..in a one bedroom apartment. Huh?
Darnell’s gone from the penthouse to a loft? Don’t get too discouraged. She found her ticket back to the big time. Who doesn’t love Dandelion Cookies?
Apparently, she doesn’t and Claire bakes one helluva of a brownie.
Will Michelle give Renault a taste of sweet revenge? Will the Dandelions wilt in her potential conquest?
The Boss was co-written and produced by Melissa McCarthy. She has brought another ballsy, alter ego onto film.
McCarthy is joined by a comedic ensemble including Kristen Bell, Kathy Bates, & Peter Dinklage.
Dinklage has fun again away from the house of Lannister. He soars comically in another atypical role.
So, gather your troop and prepare to battle over brownies.
Four men saw an opportunity in the U.S. real estate market and decided to gamble. The risk would be just a footnote.
The Big Short is the Wall Street of the 21st Century. It details the faulty, realty investments that lead to the 2008 financial collapse.
Short features a great ensemble including Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, & Christian Bale. It is based on Michael Lewis’ book and slickly directed/co-written by Adam McKay. The film was nominated for five 2016 Oscars including Best Picture & Best Director.
However, the Academy snubbed Barry Ackroyd for his sharp, documentary style of cinematography. The film is a must see. It beautifully captures the infinitely cyclical trend of greed.
Adam McKay & Charles Randolph earned a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar at the 2016 Oscars.
(This review was originally written on February 5, 2016)
Jackson Healey is brains and brawn. Holland March is just a private investigator. However, the two will become interlinked over a young woman named Amelia. She has a string of bodies including a porn actress, a porn producer, and an experimental filmmaker. Yet, she’s not a serial killer.
Who had them killed? What’s so special about Amelia?
The Nice Guys was directed & co-written by Shane Black (Iron Man 3). He has two great leading actors in Russell Crowe & Ryan Gosling. Crowe is tough yet funny as Healey. Gosling is hysterical as March.
They are joined by a great supporting cast including Kim Basinger & Keith David. The film marks a reunion for Basinger & Crowe. They had previously worked together on L.A. Confidential in 1997.
Yet, the best & creepiest role in the film belongs to Matt Bomer. His performance is a great departure from lighter roles in Magic Mike & White Collar. Also, Gil Gerard (yes, Buck Rogers himself) has a small, supporting role as well.
If you loved Inherent Vice, you’ll love The Nice Guys. It has an atypical mixture of action, humor, and mystery.
Sing Street takes place in Dublin circa 1985. Conor (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo) is the middle child in a Protestant, working class home. Due to his parents’ limited employment, he is forced to enroll in Synge Street, a Catholic school. Well, what’s the old saying about shite running downhill? It describes his introduction to this new environment. He’s already on the bad side of Father Baxter, the headmaster, by wearing brown shoes.
However, brown shoes are the least of his worries. Barry, a bully, is under the presumption that Conor is gay (he’s not) but decides to make his life hell. Yet, the solution is obvious and comes from an unlikely source. Darren (Ben Carolan) has an idea of starting a band. Conor isn’t keen on this but a young lass changes that notion. Raphina (Lucy Boynton) is her name. She has the hybrid style of Sheena Easton and Madonna. Oh, she’s a model for print and in videos? Videos as in Top of the Pops and MTV.
Conor is asked to sing by her and she’s hooked. The name of the band is Sing Street. One big problem: No instruments, no musical abilities, and no band members. Hmm, problem solved. He has a friend named Eamon (Mark McKenna). Eamon could be the Mick version of Prince and has musical chops (along with mutton chops). Problem seems to be solved.
Will Raphina be their video vixen? Will Conor ever beat up Barry? Will Sing Street rock the school and then the planet?
Sing Street is written and directed by John Carney (Once). He has captured the essence of adolescence and musical discovery. He co-wrote the original songs including “The Riddle of the Model”, “Drive It Like You Stole It”, “Up”, and “Go Now”. The success of this film lies within the talented ensemble. The actors in the group Sing Street are all singers and musicians. Without this ability, the film would’ve hit a sour note.
However, this isn’t the case. John Carney has captured the magic of MTV. Yes, they used to play videos and still do.
Yet, Carney has done something viewers could never fathom. He brought to life “The Coolest ‘What If?’ in Teen Cinema History.”
Ready for it. Here Goes. What if John Hughes had made a teenage version of The Commitments? You’re welcome!
In giving birth to this concept, Carney has created one of 2016’s best throwback films. Also, it is one of 2016’s Ten Best Films. Viewers will find themselves humming and singing while leaving the cinema.
So, take a chance, form a band, and sing like there’s no tomorrow.
Captain America: Civil War opens with a flashback to 1991 and The Winter Soldier being prepped in Russia for a mission. The mission is go to the United States and retrieve a case containing serums.
Now, present day; we find Captain America, Falcon, Scarlet Witch, and Black Widow in Lagos, Nigeria. They are on the trail of Crossbones. He’s scoping out a financial institution but his gang eyes something further down the blocks. The real prize is a super virus. His plan is thwarted but with a cost. The cost is innocent civilians. The story goes out online and on-air. The fallout is immediate calling for The Avengers to reigned in.
Meanwhile, Tony Stark is speaking at M.I.T. and announces that all the students’ projects will be funded. The response is amazing and he walks off stage. However, he is confronted by Miriam, a grieving mother. Her son was on a mission trip in Sokovia and was killed while The Avengers were battling Ultron. Stark is at a loss for words.
General Ross, now Secretary of State, calls a meeting with The Avengers. In the aftermath of Lagos, The United Nations has proposed The Sokovia Accords. The Avengers have operated for far too long without oversight. The Accords would require them to attain permission to take action in a hostile situation.
Tony Stark takes the side of Gen. Ross after Miriam spoke with him. However, Steve Rogers wants The Avengers to keep operating as they have been. Choose a side: Team Stark or Team Rogers.
Captain America: Civil War is the most intriguing Marvel Film to date. It makes us question the real consequences of heroic actions. The Russo brothers have a directed an action packed, psychological thriller. They still bring the real time, jaw dropping fights as featured in The Winter Soldier. However, the tension between Stark and Rogers has never been higher.
However, the comedic aspects of this film come courtesy of The Avengers and Spiderman (Tom Holland). Spidey provides the comic relief of the film.
Viewers will also be introduced to Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman). Boseman brings an intensity and integrity never before seen in the Marvel Universe.
There will be some unexpected moments that will leave audiences in laughter and tears.
Civil War is a must see and will leave film goers cheering for more. Stay before and after the credits: the extra scenes are worth it.
Before Midnight opened with Jesse (Ethan Hawke) bidding his son Hank adieu in a Greek airport. Hank is heading back to Chicago and to Jesse’s ex-wife. Meanwhile, Celine (Julie Delpy) waited for him outside the terminal. However, it has been nine years since Paris. They are married with two twin girls, Ella and Nina.
The five, now four, of them are winding down a six-week holiday to the Southern Peloponnese. While the girls rest, Jesse and Celine pickup an adult conversation. They are on their way to visit Patrick, an acclaimed professor, before the trip concludes. We find them at ease with the Mediterranean’s beautiful vistas and saline, saturated air. They enjoy the seaside estate and dinner with Patrick’s friends. One of the couples has a wonderful surprise for them; a night at a luxury hotel.
Will this be the spark that Jesse and Celine need to refresh their courtship? Or could it spell the end of the strangers’ love on the Viennese train?
Before Midnight was the third and final installment of the Before Trilogy. Richard Linklater saved the juiciest and best film for last. He captured the passion of Before Sunset and married it with the angst of an Ingmar Bergmann film. Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke relish and ignite the screen one last time as Celine and Jesse. They also co-wrote the film along with Richard Linklater and earned a 2014 Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay.
The three writers seamlessly blended improvisation with scripted dialogue. At times, viewers will find themselves laughing and feeling a gut check as well. The film has a true triumvirate in Linklater, Delpy, and Hawke.
How many times in cinema can one director over three films and two decades accomplish this? The only other director with more films with the same two stars would be Woody Allen. The difference between Linklater and Allen lies within the character confines. Linklater’s films featured the same characters over two decades. Yet, Allen’s films/pairings featured himself and Diane Keaton as different characters, who were only once portrayed as married. Also, Linklater’s characters had some neuroses but Allen’s characters were filled with them.
Yet, the two find common ground with rich, heartfelt, and humorous dialogue. Viewers should be grateful to live in a world with these two independent masterminds.
I’ll back off the soapbox for a moment. Linklater has constructed a trilogy of intercourse films. Alright, I hear some jackass making XXX jokes while reading that last sentence. Intercourse as in talking not fornicating…GOT IT!
He took a gamble on a Texan and a Parisian and struck Indy Gold. Also, viewers were treated to Viennese, Parisian, and Peloponnese sightseeing along the way. He gave us the ultimate “Wait until next fall or year or decade love trilogy”. We are forever thankful for this Before Trilogy and look forward to Linklater’s next phase as a filmmaker.
Miles Ahead chronicled the unlikely pairing of Dave Braden (Ewan McGregor), Rolling Stone reporter, and Miles Davis (Don Cheadle), music legend. Davis was not seen performing after 1975 in Tokyo. He was taking a breather. However, Columbia Records was in his craw over a new album. They presumed it was a “comeback album” but Davis saw it differently. Braden entered his life with a cold call that resulted in a Miles cold cock.. However, things unraveled when Braden drove Davis to Columbia. The head of A & R didn’t set up an interview with Rolling Stone. A sour note like no other was struck. The result was a violent outburst from Davis and Columbia demanded the tape for the $20k rights upfront.
Would Davis get the master tape to Columbia? Would Braden survive a stint with “The Howard Hughes of Music”? Bitches Brew would be the least volatile drink from Davis to Braden.
Miles Ahead is produced, directed, co-written, additionally composed, and starring Don Cheadle. Cheadle is the man to beat for Best Actor at the 2017 Oscars. He captures Davis like no other and even learned the trumpet for the role. However, he did play the saxophone in high school.
He joined by a great supporting cast including Ewan McGregor, Emayatzy Corinealdi, and Theron Brown. McGregor is a terrific balance to Cheadle’s Davis. He provides some of the unlikely moments of the film. However, Emayatzy Corinealdi is an early contender for Best Supporting Actress as Frances Taylor. She stands toe-to-toe with Cheadle without backing down. Theron Brown is terrific as an upstart jazz musician named Herbie Hancock.
Miles Ahead is one of 2016’s 10 Best Films. This will silence all the “Oscars Be So Lily White!” haters. Don Cheadle will be one of several Oscar nominated black actors, actresses, producers, directors, and/or writers at the 2017 Oscars. Here’s to Miles Davis, a truly, original musician.
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