Brett Garten, Movie Extraordinare
Cinematic Sommelier
7.6
A much better than expected thriller. Tight runtime, tight story… kept me engaged from beginning to end! Do they all start to rhyme with “Die Hard” after a while? Sure! The main thing is that the movie is entertaining, and this one delivers. Taron Egerton is a bit clunky as the lead at times, but Jason Bateman more than makes up for it, playing a bad guy no less! Well worth checking out.
6.9
So… this thing turns into a comedy in the second half. I did NOT see that coming!
There are many lessons here… don’t marry an exotic dancer? Don’t marry an heir to a Russian mob fortune who didn’t get permission to get married? Don’t untie your hostage early? Make sure the mom likes you?
Whatever the takeaway, the fun remains. This was an incredibly unexpectedly funny one that left me befuddled from beginning to end, in a good way. Well worth a watch, for the plot.
8.2
Hugh Grant is so damn charming… you don’t want to believe that he’s as evil as he is here. Which coincidentally, makes him the perfect villain in this film and cranks the tension up to an 11.
What could have easily fallen flat as a “philosophy 101” lecture masquerading as a more depth-filled work actually ended up being genuinely intriguing and sinister. The twists and turns feel naturally methodical and the pacing is perfection, keeping the tension at the brink of boiling over almost the entire runtime, which was perfectly balanced for this type of film. Not dragging, but also not rushed. Extremely well done!
7.8
One word – intense.
Sorry, almost forgot – Peace be with you.
Like “Bridge of Spies” from a few years ago, but far better, in my humble opinion.
This cast is absolutely stellar. There’s so much fire power that there was an underlying temptation to overpower each scene, but they all turned in perfectly balanced performances anchored in intensity and restraint with each passing frame, in a sort of dance with one another as we all worked our way to the credits rolling.
I NEVER expected the twist in the third act… I was genuinely shocked by that bomb they dropped.
Even if you’re not Catholic, you’ll find something to enjoy in this one. A procedural drama masterclass.
6.8
With this being Anna Kendrick’s debut in the director chair, and me loving Anna Kendrick, I went a little easier on it. Overall, I expected more… but I wasn’t completely disappointed. It has its moments where it really takes off and becomes truly creepy. That said, this subject had so much potential that I felt was missed and left us hanging a bit. A solid movie that had the potential to be great. “Late Night With the Devil” was my comp, and a much better film in my opinion.
Brett Garten, Movie Extraordinare 