The Rhythm Section (2019), Blake Lively, Paramount Pictures
In new action/mystery The Rhythm Section, Blake Lively is a woman determined to seek revenge against the people behind a plane crash that killed her family.
Directed by Reed Morano; additional key cast includes Jude Law, Sterling K. Brown and Max Casella.
Both Peppermint (2018) and Taken (2008) came to mind as this trailer played. That’s precisely after the thought, ‘Is Blake Lively speaking in a British accent?‘ The answer is yes, and my fingers are crossed that the end result is as thrilling as this trailer suggests.
Daniel Mays, Richard Brake, Raza Jaffrey, Geoff Bell, Nasser Memarzia, Jade Anouka, Jack McEvoy, Tawfeek Barhom and Ivana Basic also star.
Director Paul Feig’s crime/thriller about a mommy vlogger trying to find out the real reason behind her new best friend’s sudden disappearance is a movie I liked less than I expected to.
Starring Blake Lively, Henry Golding and Anna Kendrick, what I appreciated most about A Simple Favor, besides Lively’s character Emily’s great sense of style, is her embodiment of a young woman in charge who refuses to take nonsense from anyone.
It’s therefore no wonder then that Kendrick’s outwardly super sweet Stephanie was very much drawn to the clearly inspiring and very fun to watch Emily.
There was a moment after all the key characters seemed to have been established that I wondered where the story was really going. What I most certainly didn’t expect was that I’d find A Simple Favor to be rather unsatisfying overall.
Having never read the book on which this movie is based, I’d prepared myself for a different kind of experience; one that was a fun mystery with entertaining dialogue, but without things taking quite the dark turn that they did. And when I say ‘dark,’ I’m really mostly referring to the truth behind Emily, her true nature. It’s clear to me now that I simply wanted to like her but couldn’t
The last time a movie did something similar to me, almost like a bait and switch was The Lobster (2015). And just like the Lobster, I liked the earlier half of A Simple Favor more.
Watch it if you’re so curious, maybe you’ll enjoy the darkness.
Blake Lively, Anna Kendrick and Linda Cardellini are the stars of Paul Feig’s latest, a crime/mystery/thriller, A Simple Favor.
Kendrick is a mommy vlogger who seeks to uncover the truth behind her best friend’s sudden disappearance.
I only really know Feig for his hit comedy films. Namely Bridesmaids (2011) and Spy (2015). May his transition to the non-comedy category also prove fruitful.
I can’t say that I’m a fan of the various moments of ‘dialogue minus imagery’ in this trailer, yet I am intrigued and I like Lively and Kendrick enough to take a chance.
Henry Golding, Rupert Friend, Eric Johnson and Sarah Baker also star.
All I See Is You (2016), Blake Lively, Jason Clarke
In All I See Is You, Blake Lively is a blind woman whose relationship with her husband changes when she regains her sight and discovers disturbing details about themselves.
Directed by Marc Forster; Jason Clarke, Yvonne Strahovski and Danny Huston also star.
This looks like it could be Lively’s darkest role yet and that’s a prospect too intriguing for me to ignore.
I also just want to know the nature of the ‘disturbing details’ discovered.
Café Society (2016), Kristen Stewart, Jesse Eisenberg
It’s generally understood that Hollywood films about Hollywood tend not to do well at the box office. I’d only been aware of this phenomenon anecdotally. That all changed once I watched Hail, Caesar! (2015), a movie that I, along with many others did not love.
I’m yet to see the most recent Hollywood film about Hollywood. Namely Warren Beatty’sRules Don’t Apply (2016), but I know that it also didn’t do particularly well upon release.
The most recent Hollywood movie about Hollywood I’ve watched is Woody Allen’sCafe Society (2016). I took my time to watch this one for the reasons stated above. It was my love for Allen’s Blue Jasmine (2013), my favourite of his films, curiosity about Blake Lively and Kristen Stewart’s acting that made me finally tune in.
Cafe Society isn’t one of Allen’s most raved about films. Still, if I had to choose between it and Hail, Caesar! (2015), the latter absolutely would not win, except that the costumes in Hail, Caesar! are more fun.
I wasn’t in love with the ending of Cafe Society and I admit to largely losing interest when one or two of the main characters shows up again towards the end; something to do with my general ‘liking’ Blake Lively’s character, perhaps.
Somehow, I did manage to make it to the film’s conclusion, a rather anticlimactic end I might add. As pleasing as that ending might be to Allen and everyone else, I felt, for want of a better phrase, ‘left in limbo‘.
Performance-wise, Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart were fine but I loved Steve Carell and Parker Posey more. My favourite thing about Cafe Society is the colour filter and the music. I’m just glad that the film didn’t prove to be a waste of my time to the levels of Hail, Caesar! (2015). I wouldn’t say that ‘You simply must see it! You must!’ because I only found it just OK overall.
The Movie My Life 