Starring Julie Walters, Jessie Buckley, Sophie Okonedo and directed by Tom Harper; at the centre of new music/drama Wild Rose is Rose-Lynn Harlan (Buckley), a musician from Glasgow with big dreams of becoming a country music artist in Nashville, USA.
I’m in for a story about a dream that seems so far from a person’s beginnings and circumstances, and yet they still believe. I’m also interested in the family dynamic.
On a separate but connected note, I’ve just tried but currently cannot think of a single British musician who’s made it big in Nashville. That’s not to say that it can’t or hasn’t been done, of course. Anything is possible.
Jamie Sives, Gemma McElhinney, James Harkness, Ashley Shelton, Tracy Wiles and Daniel Campbell also star.
Vice, writer/director Adam McKay’s biography of Dick Cheney (Christian Bale), the most powerful Vice President in history, is a movie I both enjoyed and did not enjoy.
The parts I found least engaging were the moments that explained the ins and outs of the White House and/or American politics during Cheney’s time as VP. It’s quite unfortunate because I’d actually hoped that Vice would be a movie that caught me up on some of America’s political history. It turns out that the way McKay’s story is told just didn’t hold my attention as I’d hoped it would.
The parts that did have me paying very close attention were the moments that revealed Cheney’s character and emotional journey. Especially as he grew into a successful man. To put it another way, I liked the parts that revealed Cheney’s heart, the character study, rather than the political details of his operations post 9/11.
Where his wife Lynn Cheney (Amy Adams) is concerned, even though I may not agree with much of what she stands for, it was great to see a strong, confident woman speaking up for herself and taking charge of her destiny.
In addition to the great performances by Bale, Adams, Steve Carell, and Sam Rockwell, I also want to congratulate the makeup and prosthetics team for a job well done. I was most impressed by the transformation of Rockwell into George W. Bush.
As for the all-important question of whether Vice is worth your time, if politics, American politics in particular, is especially interesting to you, perhaps give it a go. I can’t guarantee that you’ll like the way McKay chose to tell this story, but you may enjoy the content. I myself probably would have stopped watching Vice long before the end if I weren’t such a big fan of Bale and Adams.
Green Book (2018), Mahershala Ali, Viggo Mortensen
Directed by Peter Farrelly and starring Mahershala Ali, Viggo Mortensen and Linda Cardellini, Green Booktells the story of the great friendship between a working-class Italian-American bouncer/driver and an African-American classical pianist. Since Farrelly’s story is set in 1960s America, racial tensions play a significant part in the movie. Nevertheless, the main focus is very much on the developing friendship between the two men.
There’s a number of heartbreaking scenes in Green Book but there are definitely far more that’ll make you smile and have you thinking about the great friends you have and/or want in your life. You may also be moved to be even kinder than I’m certain you already are.
What stands out most for me about Green Book, in addition to the great performances, is the realisation that Green Book is one of those movies with a rhythm so perfect that there wasn’t a single moment when I questioned any of the director/editor’s choices. Everything just flowed beautifully, as I let myself be led by the eyes without hesitation or resistance, until the very end.
Some of the music in Green Book definitely had me contemplating dressing up and showing up at the nearest jazz venue, not that the main music featured is jazz, mind you. I also thoroughly enjoyed Mortensen’s performance as one of the most convincing non-Italians to play an Italian-American that I’ve ever seen on screen.
Watch Green Book because it’s good, and to see an example of an inspiring, growing friendship/respect between two men. One that alters them both.
After being told his whole life that humans don’t exist, young Yeti Migo (Channing Tatum) finds evidence to the contrary and wants all his people to know. Except that things don’t quite go as he expected.
Co-written and directed by Karey Kirkpatrick and Jason Reisig, I like the way Smallfootflips the story of Yetis and humans by telling it from the perspective of Yetis. I also appreciate what Smallfoot has to say about the errors in how we tend to treat those we see as very different from us, and how counterproductive the lies we tell to protect can sometimes become.
With other key cast including Zendaya, Common, Danny DeVito, and James Corden, the film’s general execution is somewhere between OK and OK-ish, partly because I didn’t find the writing as fun/good as the trailer led me to expect. Furthermore, I wish that Smallfoot didn’t have the musical numbers. It would have been fine if I felt that most of the songs and singing were great.
I was most engaged towards the end, and when the Yetis were being pursued. The most memorable moment for me is when a very everyday human item is amusingly referred to as ‘the scroll of invisible wisdom.’
Salma Hayek, Alexander Skarsgård and Jesse Eisenberg are the stars of The Hummingbird Project, a Kim Nguyen-written/directed drama about two high-frequency traders facing off with their former boss.
The prize available is serious money in a fibre-optic cable deal.
I’m in for the showdown, because I love Hayek, I want to see Eisenberg in what looks like a more crazed version of his role as Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network (2010). And lastly, I have to see more of Skarsgård’s character running.
Michael Mando, Johan Heldenbergh, Ayisha Issa, Sarah Goldberg and Kwasi Songui also star.
