Category: Drama

Documentary Drama Throwback

“All The President’s Men”

By Brett_G on

7.4

Better as a book…

Not that the movie was bad, and I understand it’s a classic and an important story. However, the book was better in this case. I know this is sacrilege as a movie critic.

The performances are spot on and the script really does a great job of hitting the essential marks in the story, but there’s only so much they could fit into the runtime, and there was simply too much to fit into a reasonable runtime. Definitely one of those “Hollywood can’t write something this crazy” stories, that Hollywood struggled to translate to the silver screen.

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Comedy Drama Indie

“Scrambled”

By Brett_G on

7.7

An eggcelent film.

Reminiscent of “The Pod Generation” from last year, this one delves into the complicated, beautiful, messy dynamics of reproductive health in modern society. Leah McKendrick absolutely kills it here. Her performance, especially a tender moment in the third act alongside Vee Kumari had me on the edge of my seat and bought in from the first frame. Never have I ever expected myself to actually laugh out loud during a scene set in a miscarriage support group, but here we are… only to mere minutes later be inspired and a little misty eyed by the ensuing speech. Movie didn’t play it safe, and I appreciated that. The exploration of this territory with the necessary nuance and levity to counter the natural weight has been a renaissance of sorts.

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Drama Romance Throwback

“Secretary”

By Brett_G on

7.8

Where did he find that tiny saddle? One of many questions I found myself pondering with this one.

His positive punishment scheme also backfired on him here, becoming positive reinforcement real quick. Who woulda thunk it?

Being a lawyer, he should have known that you’re not allowed to ask ANY of those questions in an interview. Let alone the next hour and forty five minutes of OSHA violations. Pretty sure that spreader bar was a workplace injury waiting to happen.

Oh yeah, the actual movie – this Mr. Grey at least has some depth to him. As does Lee. James Spader and Maggie Gyllenhaal killed it here. They had much better source material than the “50 Shades” trilogy to work with, in defense of Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan. Unlike the purely (and poorly executed) sexual nature of that series, this film puts forth a valiant effort to venture into the deeper psychology behind BDSM. The definition of character study.

I can’t remember how this one ended up in my Amazon Prime Video queue, but I’m glad I finally gave it a go.

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Comedy Drama Indie

“American Fiction”

By Brett_G on

8.6

“At least he’d be rejecting the real me.” – This line, in the context of the scene it comes from, was a gut punch for the ages.

Eccentric, esoteric, and in the end, exceptional.

I’ve been intrigued as hell about this one since I first came across the trailer. Jeffrey Wright, Sterling Brown, and Issa Rae never miss, however, this takes things to a whole other level of cerebral subtext. I’m happy to report that not only does it give “South Park” a run for its money in holding a mirror up to the occasional absurdity of our human culture, but it’s also a fabulously crafted family drama under the hood. I didn’t expect the deep emotional impact of that plot to really round out and ground a wild main plot as it did. From the first to the very last frame, I can honestly say I was in disbelief. Absolutely brilliant!

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Documentary Drama

“Steve Jobs”

By Brett_G on

8.6

I’m a sucker for Aaron Sorkin dialogue and a good walk and talk, so I’ve loved this film since the first time seeing it in the theater. Since then, I’ve occasionally passed by it in my library, meaning to one day re-watch it and see if it recaptured the magic. Spoiler alert – it does! Even more so after I finished the Steve Jobs biohgraphy recently, which prompted my re-watch recently. The attention to detail in the film was all the more breathtaking and spot-on than I had realized during that first watch years ago. What it does better than most, that “Oppenheimer” and “Killers of the Flower Moon” also later did, was nailed the tone of the story. A complicated, dynamic character that goes on to change the world. Weighing the impact they have on the world with the destruction they left in their wake. Uncovering the dark sides of once unknown or little known details that shine a new light on what had become a fairy tale image of history.

Michael Fassbender kills it as Jobs, with Kate Winslet as his character foil. The framing device of product launches was the perfect choice, as Apple became the center of Jobs’s being, with supporting cast came in and out of his life during different episodes in the saga. It wasn’t quite as reflective as the book, but the impact was nearly the same. It’s a busy 2+ hours, but well worth the runtime if you’re game for a breakneck pace of words per minute.

Book: https://a.co/d/97Q8XDY

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