Cinematic Sommelier
6.5
The first half hour of this had so much promise. The role so perfect for Nicholas Cage…
Then, it crashes and burns. Leaving originality to succumb to mediocrity and in the end lands on being quite bland and predictable. Sad, really. To see such a great premise wasted.
7.3
In one word – adorable. A bit on the nose, but adorable.
A situation that hits a little close to home for a lot of us out here on the battlefield of love. “Not from my perspective.” is a comeback for the ages! Owen Wilson playing the heel is a fun twist in this one. I enjoyed watching him play against his usual, while Paul Rudd does Paul Rudd things and brings a strong adorable puppy dog love to the equation. Jack Nicholson really seemed sparse, but plays a great bad guy and sells the finale of the film. A traditional, by the numbers rom-com that won’t let you down.
7.1
Maybe not the best laid plans, but a solid movie nonetheless.
Some of the film hit the notes I was worried about, some of it hit the high gear I was hoping it would. There are parts of the film that beat you over the head with the stereotypical college freshman taking on the world, blissfully unaware of the verbiage coming out of their mouth. Some of it hit the high gear of realizing that sometimes in the pursuit of a righteous goal, one becomes the very thing they seek to destroy. We then explore the irony of that for approximately 45 seconds. A brief glimmer of hope.
Technically, this film had me on the edge of my seat like I was re-watching “The Hurt Locker.” Something about watching someone handle explosives set to a score as tightly wound as the devices wiring was spell-binding. The story structure was also a nice creative choice that broke the tension and gave needed reprieve and backstory before diving back into a sweat session in the thick of the execution of the group’s plan. I can honestly say that the twist at the end caught me by pleasant surprise.
A solid, albeit odd film. I’m glad I finally got to see it on the big screen after months of it sitting in my Hulu watchlist.
8.4
Ridley Scott – Director of “Alien,” “Blade Runner,” “Gladiator”… and “Thelma & Louise.” AND a Hans Zimmer score!
Now that I have my film geeking out of the way – holy crap was this a fun movie! For such dark subject matter, Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis make such loveable, fun characters and an approachable story that keeps you on the edge of your seat until the very end! The premise of the film is so simple, but the story milks so much adventure out of this road trip that it’s truly mind-blowing, yet completely believable. I never once questioned whether hitchhikers really look like Brad Pitt or the reality of these two becoming national criminals over the course of a long weekend and outrunning the FBI and multiple state law enforcement agencies.
Buck up, and enjoy the ride!
7.4
I may have over-hyped this one in my head a bit. It even got me to subscribe to Netflix for a month to watch it. (It’s one of the few streaming services I don’t have unless they suck me in with a release like this that I would have had to travel to CHICAGO to see)
It’s absolutely gorgeous, and Michael Fassbender is perfect in this role. But the the film itself was… surprisingly okay for me. It was solid, but not life-changing as some (including myself) had been expecting.
Brett Garten, Movie Extraordinare 