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Joy (2015)
Lame story but well done
Let me clear I liked this movie but I am not without criticism.
Joy is about a woman (Joy) inventing a miracle mop and becoming head of a big company. The road to this ending is paved with obstacles to overcome. Meanwhile she is also very busy with her complicated and full family life. And therein lies my criticism. It is a very cliché story. The story told many times of the American dream, the underdog making it big after a series of challenges. Blah blah blah it gets a bit annoying. Its a true story and in its genre certainly not a bad one but if you're looking for an original story this is not the movie for you.
I was entertained nevertheless. What I liked was the story of the family, the interactions and dynamics. Some of it quite funny.
Jennifer Lawrence is as always a joy (no pun intended) but I have seen her better. I also liked Robert DeNiro and Bradly Cooper. Really great was Diane Ladd in the role of Joy's mother Mimi. In light of the award season coming up I am rooting for her.
In short, though its a cliché of a story it has enough redeeming qualities to make it entertaining and worth a watch. You'll have a nice time I think.
Carol (2015)
Delicate and true
Carol is the story of a young sales clerk in the 50ties that falls for an older married woman.
This movie is filled with beautiful images. Great sets, great costumes, great cinematography. So for the eyes alone it is a feast.
The story is told in a very subdued way but this gives it its beauty. Its subtle, delicate and true. Its not a movie with great dramatic scenes but one that is almost, though not quite, understated. I thought it was beautiful in every way. A gem of a movie. True beauty instead of forced drama.
Rooney Mara and Cate Blanchett are fantastic.
If you like true beauty instead of high drama this is the movie for you.
Spotlight (2015)
An important movie, very well executed.
Spotlight is the story about how the spotlight team, a research team connected to the Boston Globe uncovers a great scandal in 2001; the abuse of many children, mostly boys in the catholic church by priests. When further investigating they find that this is global and has been known higher up within the church but kept hidden. This was the start of the uncovering of many such scandals within the catholic church a.i. involving sexual abuse and the cover up of this abuse.
This story is a serious one and didn't need thrills and frills. So I am glad it was filmed and scripted in a very natural way. No Hollywood drama but real drama. An important and real story that was dealt with accordingly.
A very good job was done of writing it out in such a way that it feels natural, close to how it really must have gone at the time. The acting compliments this very well. This is an all star cast with people like Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo and Rachel McAdams. They are well casted and work well together. Their acting is mostly subtle but this is good in my opinion. Like I said no Hollywood drama, this feels very real. Liev Schreiber a nice surprise, never a bad actor but this time rising above himself playing the best role he ever played.
In turn the filming, sets and cinematography compliment the story and acting giving it even more of a real feel. The messy desks, the casual look the office has etc all feel very much natural.
With the award season coming up this movie could be one of the big winners. In my opinion Liev Schreiber should be nominated for best supporting actor. And the movie for best movie.
All in all a must watch movie.
Concussion (2015)
Nice job by Will Smith
Concussion is based on the true story of a doctor from Kenia living and working in the US who uncovers CTE, brain trauma found often in footballers due to repeated blows to the head. This is a serious trauma often leading to death. However the football world does not want to hear of this and a David and Goliath kind of story unfolds. The fight from this doctor to get recognition and help for this trauma in footballers.
The movie opens with a scene where Will Smith is talking in a court room. I was immediately nicely surprised. Will Smith is engaging, endearing and his accent is well done. Accents are often annoying and so often sound fake. Will Smith does a great job of speaking with a French accent. Throughout the movie he sustains what starts in that first scene. He does a great job of portraying this doctor.
The only scenes where I feel he felt fake is in some of the scenes with Gugu Mbatha-Raw. These scenes feel fake and cheesy. Made my toes curl a bit with embarrassment for them. In general I didn't think Gugu managed to portray Prema in a convincing way.
As for the story I thought it was well told though maybe at times a bit slow and a bit flat.
Overall I enjoyed the movie. For me not among the best movies of the year but for sure a good one. One thats worth a watch.
Sicario (2015)
A nice surprise
Sicario is a movie about a girl that works for the CIA. She is asked to volunteer for a certain project involving a drug cartel. She says yes but from the start she really doesn't know or understand what the project is really about. Everybody involved acts vague and mysterious about it. And more so why is the character of Benicio Del Toro (Aljandro) joining this project for. What is he; CIA, FBI, something else? And what is his goal? They get involved in a strange shoot out with people from the cartel and the plot thickens.
I found myself getting drawn in and wanting to understand what was going on. Benicio Del Torro does a great job of adding to the mystery, playing a mysterious and ruthless guy with an unclear objective. Emily Blunt complements him well. As far as I know this is her first more serious role, first time she plays a more in depth character in a serious movie. She strikes a very good balance between portraying a relatively experienced CIA agent and a young girl that gets sucked in a weird project feeling not quite sure how to react. She is very natural in this role, very human.
There is a nice build up of tension in this movie. The scenes are almost all exciting in the sense that there is tension that puts you on the edge of your seat. And slowly this tension leads to the unfolding of the story and truth behind what is going on. I thought this was very well done. On top of that this is a story thats different from the usual stories about drug cartels, drug wars etc. Its not a cliché action movie. It has more depth and feels more realistic.
Other then that the movie is a great watch where it comes to how its filmed and the cinematography,a joy really.
All in all a great watch. If you're looking for something exciting, to be drawn in and forget about your daily life for two hours this is a movie for you. For movie lovers in general its a must watch.
Trumbo (2015)
Good but not outstanding
This movie has been rumored to be a shoe in for an Oscar or more. In my humble opinion I do not think the movie as a whole is a worthy of an Oscar. Its a good movie but it doesn't rise above just that; being a good movie. This is because the script is a bit tame. The story nicely flows along and is entertaining enough but not outstanding.
I can however imagine an Oscar for Helen Mirren and/or John Goodman both in supporting roles. They are a joy to watch.
Bryan Cranston does a good job too but just like the script he doesn't rise above "good".
So should you watch this movie? Yes, it is well worth a watch. It is an entertaining movie with some good acting in it. I think you will be entertained and you will learn a bit of Hollywood history. What more do you want?
Suffragette (2015)
Fails to engage
I feel the main issue with this movie is the script. It lacks depth, the characters are flat, it just failed to engage me. The actors did a good job but whats not in the script is not in the script. Meaning I feel they did their best but where not able to overcome the dullness of the script and the characters in it. The characters felt very self righteous to me, I did not feel heart. I did not feel they had real passion for the cause.
The subject you'd think is an engaging one and has potential but it did not deliver. I kept waiting for the movie to grab me somehow, it never did.
I also thought the scenery was lacking. I understand it was meant to look depressing but I felt it was more then depressing. It lacked, just like the characters did, a certain depth, a certain soul.
I don't think its a bad movie. I have certainly seen worse. But I do not recommend it.
Room (2015)
Perfect
This movie is pretty much perfect. The story is one that will grab you and stay with you. I am amazed and more then pleased with how well these characters are written. And the actors did an awesome job of portraying them. Alison Brie is amazing and the little boy well I have no words. I do not know how such a young child managed to act out such a complicated role so incredibly well.
There is nothing bad I can say about this movie. I was enthralled from start to finish. And I have the attention span of a 5 year old so thats saying something.
Its a movie any red blooded movie lover needs to see.
The Diary of a Teenage Girl (2015)
A well done combo of light and dark
I had no idea what to expect when I started watching this movie. It drew me in right away.
Its a very real coming of age movie. Real not only because it is based on a true story but also because the characters have different shades to them. They are not one dimensional. The bad guy is also misguided and means well. The girl is not just an innocent victim but also makes some bad choices. And so though I want to express I am not OK with abuse (!) what I am trying to say is there is some gray in this story. This movie very correctly shows us that life is hardly ever black and white.
Its a touching story and its very easy to feel sympathy for this girl. I found myself very engaged and curious about where and how it would end.
My only comment is that some of the script is a bit jumbled to me. Missed flow, I cannot explain it better then that.
Overall very well done so I recommend you give it a go.
The Danish Girl (2015)
Not perfect but pretty close
I did not expect much from this movie when I saw the low score it had gotten here on the IMDb. I was pleasantly surprised.
I was touched by the characters. And enchanted with the beautiful cinematography, costumes and sets. Those alone make it worth the watch. But there is more it is a beautiful story that deals with things like love, the need to be able to be our true selves and how strong that need can be. And lastly its about loss and letting go.
The acting is wonderful. It could have easily become camp or lame but it didn't.
The only real criticism I have is that the script is sometimes a little bit lacking, the storyline gets a clumsy at times.
I cant help but think the score here on IMDb is so low because of the controversial subject. And hence peoples feelings about the subject I feel may have gotten in the way of appreciating properly this gem of a movie.
So my advise is to give this movie a chance.