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I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore

9/1/2017

5 Comments

 

B+
​3.17

A woman teams up with her neighbor to track down the thieves who robbed her.

Directed by Macon Blair
Starring Melanie Lynskey and Elijah Wood
Initial Review by Sean Riley

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I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore is a terrible title. I always hated calling How I Met Your Mother HIMYM but then I typed it two three times so from here on I’ll refer to this movie as IDFAHITWA. Shit, that sucked too - “this movie” - Perfect!

This movie is about Ruth, a nursing assistant played by Melanie Lynskey who embarks on a vigilante mission with neighbor Tony (Elijah Wood) to find who broke into her home and stole her computer and grandma’s silverware. Ruth is introduced as a fairly depressing character without much going for her, crappy house, bad neighborhood, lonely, weird neighbors, etc. When she is robbed and police do nothing it is a breaking point for her to seek justice. Ruth describes her brand of justice as not wanting people to be assholes anymore. That’s a big ask but a noble one. Between plaster casting a footprint in the garden and using her find my laptop app she is able to eventually track down the perpetrators with the help of Tony who joined primarily it seemed because he was into the chance to bust out his weaponry towards the aim of moral justice.
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I’m not a fan of the review style that breaks down scene by scene and retells the story so I’ll end by summarizing- a string of events featuring multiple laugh worthy gags and a few oh shit moments and one very predictable gun malfunction lead this movie to a satisfying conclusion.
Brilliantly weird, A-.

5 Comments

Broadcast News

6/2/2017

6 Comments

 

B+
​3.20

A news producer, field reporter, and anchorman wrestle with personal and professional changes.

Directed by James L. Brooks
Starring Holly Hunter, Albert Brooks, and William Hurt
​Initial Review by Sean Riley

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​Broadcast News is a tremendous example of what makes movies and tv shows about the news such an appealing medium for Hollywood. Network, The Paper, Anchorman, NewsRadio, Newsroom, etc. Much of the appeal to me seems that the principal characters (anchors) in real life walk that perfect fine line between normal person and celebrity that Americans love so much. I remember seeing a local Evansville weather guy singing smooth Karaoke at the Fox and Hound in the early 2000s and the college girls were swooning. If he wasn't on tv they'd have been clowning the old bald guy who couldn't sing. 

Broadcast News reflects the "these are real people with real insecurities" angle more than the celebrity angle and crushes it. Holly Hunter, Albert Brooks and William Hurt shine in their roles. For Brooks, when you add this movie to Taxi Driver he might be the all-time best friendzoned actor. William Hurt's biggest flaw is that he isn't handsome enough by modern standards to play the guy getting by with only his sexiness and charisma. Otherwise he nails it. Personally I partly wondered if he wasn't smarter than he let on and played that role enough in order to use the strengths of those around him to propel him farther faster. Holly Hunter was brilliant while playing the perfect producer and only slightly less so playing the bumbling personal life crying out loud in moments by myself lady. 

Best Writer/Director nom for the mediocrities from me for James L Brooks and Best everything else noms for the movie and cast. 

The only thing that kept it from A+ (this is an A) for me was I think they went too far in the polar opposites of Hunter and Brooks being perfect at what they do and completely worthless outside that zone. Brooks' sweating scene looked like it was from Airplane! and Hunter packing an entire box of condoms is a total rookie move.

6 Comments

Mississippi Grind

1/17/2017

18 Comments

 

B+
​3.43

A sad-sack gambler meets his lucky charm, convincing him to go on a gaming pilgrimage down the Mississip'

Directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck
Starring Ben Mendelsohn and Ryan Reynolds
Initial Review by Sean Riley

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They say misery loves company.

Mississippi Grind is a road trip story of degenerate gambler Gerry (Ben Mendelsohn) and his good luck charm new friend Curtis (Ryan Reynolds). Mississippi Grind asks a lot out of the 2 leads to carry the film start to finish by putting them on a road trip never spending too long in any stop and they absolutely deliver.  The introduction of Gerry and Curtis is an absolute homerun.  Gerry listening to Joe Navarro’s 200 Poker Tells (6.99 for Kindle at Amazon, use the link below) before walking into a casino where he is obviously a regular, his messy hair, his posture, his sad face - the viewer knows Gerry is a lifelong loser before he speaks a word.  Our first look at Curtis is a cool confident operator.  Reynolds shows through Curtis that he is the best in Hollywood at playing disarmingly charming, entering the poker game as an outsider at a table full of regulars and very quickly wins them over with that charm.  After the tourney at the bar, Gerry tells the barman he placed 3rd and immediately bet the winnings on a basketball game showing his addiction, then tells Curtis he placed 2nd, showing his character. The two of them get wasted and bond over a rainbow, and gambling.  Curtis is Gerry’s lucky charm and Gerry is a buddy for Curtis to hang out with before Machu Picchu time.  


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18 Comments

The Two Faces of January

9/28/2016

6 Comments

 

C-
​1.67

An expat amateur conman helps out a pro and his wife in Greece.

Directed by Hossein Amini
Starring Oscar Isaac, Viggo Mortensen, and Kirsten Dunst
Initial Review by Sean Riley

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Netflix describes The Two Faces of January as “A tour guide and part-time con artist finds himself caught in a dangerous arrangement when he meets a wealthy couple sightseeing in Greece” Genres: 20th century period pieces, thrillers, crime thrillers. Suspenseful.
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Based on that description I added to my list and was excited. I loved Oscar Isaac in Ex Machina, Viggo Mortensen and Kirsten Dunst are recognizable so I was expecting a combination of excitement and beautiful scenery. We start strong. Oscar Isaac is very charismatic as tour guide conman Rydal and you can see all the girls on his tour swooning over him and his quick exchange rate swindles over lunch establish who he is.  Viggo and Kirsten as Chester and Collette are introduced as the typical rich American tourists heavy on the cash and light on the local knowledge and language. The exchange in the bazaar when they overpay for the bracelet is brilliant. Rydal begins with throwing out a price that is more than enough then “negotiates” it down while tacking on a chunk for himself to the delight of the salesman as he gets paid and a couple American fat cats get screwed because they don’t know any better.  So far I’m feeling like we’re getting a version of The Talented Mr Ripley.


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6 Comments

Flame and Citron

6/6/2016

5 Comments

 

A-
3.58

A dark retelling of WWII resistance fighters and Danish heroes, codenamed Flammen and Citronen.

Directed by Ove Christian Madsen
Starring Mads Mikkelson and Thure Lindhardt
Initial Review by Sean Riley

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Flame and Citron is a story about a pair of members of the Danish resistance group Holger Danske during World War II.  Flame and Citron are assassins who calmly carry out their missions with little information in regards to their targets only knowing they are Danish informers or collaborators with the Nazi occupation of Denmark.  They purposely do not target German officials despite their desire to do so for fear it will increase the chances of retaliation.  The build up here is a little slow but the noir-ish style of the film directed by Ole Christian Madsen, and the performances of Thure Lindhardt and Mads Mikkelsen as Flame and Citron respectively engage you through the slower setup and lead into scene after scene of excellence as events begin to unfold. 


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