Tag: Historical

The Words Will Lull You To Sleep

Bradley Cooper and Zoe Saldana in the film The Words

The Words

Directed by Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal
Written by Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal

The review:

In 2012, the trailer for this film was paired with every movie I watched in theaters and I was not interested because it was one of those trailers that reveals pretty much everything.* However, this was the only unwatched DVD in the house** and there was no internet so I watched this film and found that there was a plot wrinkle the trailer hadn’t told me about that was, alas, not interesting enough to save the film.*** They did a great job making the 40s scenes look like the 1940s, but otherwise the acting ranged from okay to not great.

The verdict: Skip

Cost: I believe I paid some impulse-buy exorbitant amount of $12.99 or something. So this was $4.33
Where watched: at home

Consider watching instead:

Further sentences:

*Also, it didn’t look like a very good film, even with all those actors I like who usually give good performances.
**How did a movie I am not interested in come to be in the house? It has to do with impulse buying at the grocery store. It was bundled in one of those Let’s Fleece the Customer at the Checkout Stand DVD packs and included the two movies I did want, The Vow and Dear John. This film is for sure the one thing that was not like the others in the package.
***I also found that it muddled things.

Questions:

  • How did you find Bradley Cooper’s performance in this film?
  • What did you think about the Olivia Wilde/Dennis Quaid interaction?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

Lee Sternthal and Brian Klugman wrote the script back in 1999. As friends of Bradley Cooper before his The Hangover (2009) fame, they ask him to play the lead, he accepted then, and kept his word more than ten years later.

Other reviews of The Words:

Orange background with a white frame. Text: We all make our choices in life, the hard thing to do is live with them. --The Words. Read the three sentence movie review at 3SMReviews.com

The Devil All the Time Brings the Ick

Picture of Tom Holland in the film The Devil All the Time

The Devil All the Time

Directed by Antonio Campos
Written by Antonio Campos & Paulo Campos

The review:

While politicians during election season like to talk about the United States of America as a Shining City on a Hill, directors like Antonio Campos do their duty to remind audiences that the USA was born in violence and wacko religion and that reality has passed through every generation.* This was a chance for a lot of actors to work on their accents** and bring their best Midwestern Gothic, which I found they succeeded at across the board. This was one of those violent films*** where I was entranced by a lot, and also intrigued because I wasn’t sure how the stories were going to come together.****

The verdict: Good

Cost: Netflix monthly charge ($8.99)
Where watched: at home. I watched this because my “recent activity” page on Letterboxed was full of this poster. Having not heard of the film, I googled. Seeing the cast, I made plans to watch it that very night.

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*There’s an overarching icky feeling from the first frame of this film to the last. I enjoyed the contrast with the setting of the 1940s through the 1960s, which, when rendered in film, tends to lend itself to a peaceful nostalgia.
**There are a lot of not-from-the-US actors in this: Tom Holland (British), Robert Pattinson (British), Harry Melling***** (British), Mia Wasikowska (Australian), Bill Skarsgård (Swedish), Eliza Scanlen (Australian), Jason Clarke (Australian). In fact, of the top cast, only Riley Keough and Haley Bennett were born in the US. Sebastian Stan came to the US at age twelve by way of Austria and Romania. Donald Ray Pollock, who wrote the novel the movie is a based on and serves as the narrator, is from Ohio.
***“How is your violent film?” asked the boyfriend. “How do you know it’s violent?” I asked instead of answering. “I could hear it,” he told me. Aside from a host of people being killed, a dog is also among the murdered.
****They did come together in the end.
*****Mr. Melling seems to becoming a reliable Netflix film dude. I’ve seen him in this, The Old Guard, and The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. He’s sung in two of those roles.

Questions:

  • Who was the most magnetic character?
  • Movies that feel icky. Yay or nay?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

Real spiders were used.

(I wondered)

Other reviews of The Devil All the Time:

A Quiet Passion Is Quite Dull

A picture of Cynthia Nixon and Jennifer Ehle in the film A Quiet Passion

A Quiet Passion

Directed by Terence Davies
Written by Terence Davies

The review:

Oh my god, there’s quiet, and then there’s glacial and uninteresting.* There is passion and then there’s randomly shrieking about stuff while your kind sister looks on.** Plus, acting that reminded me of very dedicated high school students of middling talents*** making for an overall excruciating film.****

The verdict: Skip*****

Cost: Free via Kanopy
Where watched: at home

Consider watching instead:

Further sentences:

*About twenty minutes in, I thought, “Uh oh, this already feels like a long movie.”
**I understand Dickinson’s passion was her poetry and staying true to herself, but I never felt like the movie showed me, or hinted at, what was causing her outbursts. Also, the switch to the older actors early had me very confused at how much time was passing between scenes. Watching fifty-two-year-old Duncan Duff (Austin Dickinson) introduce the wife he married while studying at Harvard was odd, to say the least.
***Catherine Bailey as Vryling Buffam was particularly terrible.
****One nice feature: the Dickinsons sitting for portraits and seeing them age into their older characters. That meant that 50-year-old Nixon played Emily Dickinson from age 20 onward. See above about confusion as to what year it was.
*****The movie included Mabel Loomis Todd, which is the interesting (and titillating) part of the Dickinson family story, but was still boring in this film. There’s another Dickinson film that goes in a different direction. I’ll see if it’s any good. I suspect we’re still waiting for a film worthy of the writer.

Questions:

  • What’s the thing to focus on with a Dickinson film?
  • Was Cynthia Nixon the right choice for this role?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

Terence Davies first met Cynthia Nixon when auditioning actresses for a comedy film called Mad About the Boy that ultimately never got made.

Other reviews of A Quiet Passion:

Clarity is one thing; obviousness is quite another. —A Quiet Passion. Read the three sentence movie review 3SMReviews.com

First Cow Shows off Reichardt’s Skills

A picture of Orion Lee and Toby Jones in the film First Cow

The review:

There’s a sense of peace that comes over me when I watch any Kelly Reichardt film.* Watching Cookie and King-Lu form a friendship and a business in the time of early 19th-century Oregon was a quiet meditation on friendship and dreams of the future. As always, the dialog is sparse, the actors telegraph much,** and the landscape is almost another character.

The verdict: Recommended

Cost: $3.99 via Redbox On Demand
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*It’s the equivalent to those people who find it calming to hear people whisper.
**Watching the actors in a Reichardt film is always a treat, and this pair (John Magaro and Orion Lee) reminded me a lot of Daniel London and Will Oldham in Old Joy. So much unsaid but still said!

Questions:

  • Did you feel the opening of the film unduly influenced your viewing of the film?
  • Why do you think Cookie and King-Lu connected?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

First Cow (2019) is the first Kelly Reichardt film to receive a PG-13 rating.

(I can’t think why. Language?
Common Sense Media says language, drinking, and smoking.)

Other reviews of First Cow:

Orange background with text: Some people can’t imagine being stolen from. —First Cow. Read the three sentence movie review. 3SMReviews.com

Dunkirk is Nolan’s Best

A picture of Tom Hardy from the movie Dunkirk

Dunkirk

Directed by Christopher Nolan
Written by Christopher Nolan

The review:

Nolan’s love of playing with time adds a ton to this taught, tense* depiction of a memorable event. The cast is well balanced, with mostly unknowns playing the men on the beach** and more well-known actors (and members of his informal company) handling the sea and air roles.*** I love this film for portraying how random war is, for the differing time lines, and for how much feeling wells up when those boats appear.

The verdict: Recommended.

Nolan’s best film!

Cost: $3.99 via Redbox OnDemand
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*Unlike Interstellar and Inception, Nolan never lets the narrative get away from him. It’s also a much shorter film. Coincidence?
**It is at this point that someone usually brings up Harry Styles. Yes, he is in this film. Yes, teenage girls also like him. All of those things are okay. Move on.
***“Is Michael Cain in this film?” I asked Boyfriend Matt as it started. We both did the squinting off into the distance thing while we pondered. My question was answered quickly when Cain’s voice came over the radio, talking to Tom Hardy. And the pretty-eyed Cillian Murphy made an appearance too.

Questions:

  • Which is your favorite story: land, sea, or air?
  • Which character is the heart of this film?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

In the sequence where the Spitfire ditches into the English Channel, an IMAX camera was strapped into the cockpit to film Collins (Jack Lowden) trying to get out. However, during filming, the plane with the camera still inside sank quicker than predicted. It took so long to retrieve the plane, that the IMAX camera housing filled with water, potentially ruining the expensive camera and the film inside. Christopher Nolan used an old movie technique of keeping the film wet, and shipped it back to Los Angeles, getting it processed before it dried out. The take from that scene is in the movie.

Other reviews of Dunkirk:

Text: You can practically see it from here. —Dunkirk. Read the three sentence movie review. 3SMReviews.com

Hamilton: For Those Who Missed the Theater Experience

A picture of Daveed Diggs, on stage as Thomas Jefferson in Hamilton (he's so great!)

Hamilton

Directed by Thomas Kail
Written by Lin-Manuel Miranda

The review:

Recreating live theater experiences on film* is a tricky feat, and I’m pleased that this effort was a successful one.** I’m also thankful I can see a simulation of what everyone was talking about five years ago.*** I found this to be a deeply nerdy musical**** which didn’t take away from how enjoyable it was; my standouts were Renée Elise Goldsberry as Angelica, Jonathan Groff as King George,***** and Daveed Diggs, who was good as Lafayette, and amazing as Thomas Jefferson.

The verdict: Recommended

Cost: $13.00? (Matt signed us up for some combo Hulu/Disney+ deal which we will evaluate if we will continue.)
Where watched: at home with Boyfriend Matt

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*Or “film” given that digital has taken over.
**Other “live” experiences I’ve taken in this year that were great: Homecoming, a Flim by Beyonce, Stop Making Sense. (Those are both concerts, though, not theater.)
***My plan was to see Hamilton on it’s second run through Portland as it was impossible to get tickets in my price range during the inaugural run. It looks like theater is paused for the foreseeable future, so I’m glad this option was available.
****Musicals are already the nerdiest of performance mediums. (And I say this as a big fan of musicals) Layering on a studious biography about early American politics increased the nerd factor exponentially.
*****I had no idea about this character and enjoyed him so much. “Sweetheart, it’s a domestic violence song!” I exclaimed during his first number.

Questions:

  • Who gave your favorite performance?
  • What’s your favorite stage-to-screen musical adaptation?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

Filmed over the course of three days in June 2016. It started by filming a live Sunday matinee performance with cameras in the audience, after which the cast and crew spent the rest of the day and evening filming close-ups, dolly shots, and crane shots. Filming continued all day Monday (normally the cast’s day off) with more close-ups and Steadicam footage. More filming took place on Tuesday morning, before shooting another live performance on Tuesday evening, with cameras again in the audience but in different positions. Lin-Manuel Miranda said, “It was basically a three-day film shoot with the best-rehearsed cast in the history of the movies, ’cause we’d all been doing the show for a year at this point.”

Other reviews of Hamilton:

Text says: I know I talk too much, I'm abrasive. —Hamilton. Read the three sentence movie review 3SMReviews.com

Apollo 13: When You Need to See a Finest Hour

A photo of actors in the movie Apollo 13

Apollo 13

Directed by Ron Howard
Written by William Broyles Jr. & Al Reinert

The review:

In a time when the U. S. of A. seems to be a little wobbly, I wanted to spend Independence Day being reminded of a time when things went wrong, people pitched in, and it all worked out.* Ron Howard films tend to sag, but this one remains taut throughout. Aside from space drama tension the acting is so very good by all the players, especially Kathleen Quinlan who makes the most of her worried-wife-stuck-on-earth role.

The verdict: Recommended**

Cost: $3.99 via Google Play
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*Granted, a small group of people getting three men back from the moon is problem solving on a different scale than systemic racism and global pandemics, but you know, baby steps. Plus Matt had never seen this and also wasn’t sure who Gary Sinise was (even when I told him repeatedly: He’s Captain Dan in Forrest Gump!) so that took care of that, too.
**Random me fact: I watched this in 1995 when it was released, but I associate it with 9/11 as it was the Saturday Night Movie one of the big-three networks played when they returned to regular programming after days of covering the attacks. I watched it (with commercials) on Georges Island in the Boston Harbor with fellow park ranger Joel.

Questions:

  • Would you watch a drama that focused on the women who happen to be married to astronauts?
  • Who was your favorite of the Apollo 13 crew? (Matt’s favorite was Gary Sinise, because he did all the hard work back on Earth to get them home.)

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

When the real Jim Lovell saw the film, he found the CGI work so convincing that he firmly believed that the filmmakers had uncovered some hitherto unseen NASA footage.

Other reviews of Apollo 13:

Text: With all due respect, sir, I believe this is going to be our finest hour. —Apollo 13. Read the three sentence movie review at 3SMReviews.com

Just Mercy: a Social Justice Courtroom Procedural

Just Mercy

The review:

Just Mercy is a solid courtroom procedural, directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, that draws attention to the faulty mechanisms of justice, specifically concerning prisoners on death row.* Michael B. Jordan brings his best intense focus** to assist Jamie Foxx’s Walter McMillan in his quest to clear his conviction for murdering a woman he had zero contact with. While this movie is slightly too long, it does a lot, not only with plot, but also by giving example after example of how the scales of justice are more equal for some than others.***

The verdict: Good

Cost: Cost: $1.425 due to Redbox promos, but actually free because I used a gift card.
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*It’s been a while since I’ve seen a movie dealing with the courts, which was a welcome change.
**He is so good at intense focus!
***And this, not really equal at all.

Questions:

  • What do you think of the statistic given at the end of the film? For every nine people put to death in the US, one has been freed.
  • What aspect of discrimination was the most difficult for you to view in this film?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

In one scene, Bryan and Eva sit on the banks of the Alabama River and watch a recreation of a nineteenth-century riverboat sail by. Bryan says to Eva, “Nobody wants to remember that this is where thousands of enslaved people were shipped in and paraded up the street to be sold. Ten miles from here, black people were pulled from their homes and lynched and nobody talks about it. ”

This is a nod to the fact that years after this movie takes place, Stevenson’s organization the Equal Justice Initiative expanded its mission. Although it continues to provide legal defense and advocacy for prisoners on death row, children in adult prisons, people who have been wrongfully convicted, and others in need of defense, they also started to memorialize the history of slavery and lynching in America.

In April 2018, EJI opened two new facilities. One was the Legacy Museum: From Enslavement to Mass Incarceration, a museum located in a former warehouse where black people were enslaved in downtown Montgomery, Alabama. The other was National Memorial for Peace and Justice, dedicated to the legacy of enslaved black people and people terrorized and murdered by lynching. EJI also works with communities to install historical markers that acknowledge lynchings in those cities’ pasts.

Other reviews of Just Mercy:

Just Mercy

The Prestige: When Two Men Just Can’t Quit

The Prestige

The review:

Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige is an engrossing battle of wills between two magicians who never say never.* During this grim battle between Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman the movie has many time jumps, a lot of schemes, tricks, and maneuvering. The final reveal, once arrived at, had me marveling that I remembered a part with a dead bird for fourteen years,** but forgot the bigger tragedy.

The verdict: Recommended

Cost: $2.99 via Google Play
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*It also contains two-and-a-half roles for women! (Piper Perabo, Rebecca Hall, and Scarlett Johansson). It’s always a joy to come across Rebecca Hall in a movie. She brings such careful feelings.
**The dead bird is the only thing I remembered about this film. This might be because Matt and I rented both this and The Illusionist (2006) and watched them the same night. I remember nothing about the other film, except that I liked this one better.

Questions:

  • In the end, which magician do you think did the most damage?
  • Which of the women in the film had it the worst?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

Alfred Borden’s infant was played by one of Christopher Nolan’s children.

Other reviews:

The Prestige

Crooklyn Captures a Place and Time

Crooklyn

The review:

Spike Lee’s Crooklyn is a solid family drama* with an excellent soundtrack and a charming montage of games urban kids used to play in the early 70s. It’s also got a trio of stellar leads in Alfre Woodard & Delroy Lindo as the parents and Zelda Harris as Troy, the only girl among the five siblings. It’s not the most plot-driven of films, but the energy running through the characters is enough to keep things moving forward.

The verdict: Good

Cost: $3.99 via Google Play (The subtitles were bad. A bit behind and trying to do too much)
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching:

  • This is apparently the only movie about black families
  • I’ve just googled for 10 minutes and I get:
  • *Movies for families to watch
  • *Movies about white families (sort of)
  • *Spike Lee movies
  • Gah!

Further sentences:

*With a lot of yelling (you have to be okay with yelling families, which I am) and an attitude toward animals I couldn’t stomach.**
**One scene with a cat, and two scenes with a small dog. Both are played as funny.

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

The “disorienting” view when the family is in the country was created by shooting in widescreen without anamorphically adjusting the image.

(I include this trivia item as a public service because I wasn’t sure if it was a glitch on my TV)

Other reviews:

Crooklyn