Starring Jennifer Hudson, Kelvin Harrison Jr and Jeffrey Wright; Monster follows the dramatic journey of a smart, likeable film student whose world comes crashing down after he’s charged with felony murder.
Directed by Anthony Mandler, additional key cast includes Nasir Jones, John David Washington and Tim Blake Nelson.
This movie has thatWaves(2019) feel. Particularly the way that it’s about a young man with plenty of promise. One whose life suddenly takes a seriously tragic turn.
It was so comforting to see Wright’s face in this trailer. I look forward to learning more about his character’s experience of parenthood.
Rakim Mayers, Jharrel Jerome, Jennifer Ehle and Paul Ben-Victor also star.
There are some rather good things about Malcolm & Marie; director Sam Levinson’s drama/romance starring Zendaya and John David Washington.
The first is the two lead performances, which, for me, represent some of the actors’ best work. The second is some truly great moments of dialogue that had me thinking, ‘If only I could express myself this clearly during disagreements.’
I’m glad to confirm that there’s humour to be enjoyed early in Levinson’s story about the night a director and his girlfriend decide to iron out the issues in their relationship. I was most amused with the scenes when Malcolm failed to notice that all was not well with Marie.
As tensions escalate, there are triggering scenes when you’ll find yourself appalled at Malcolm’s behaviour. Especially when his ego is shinning incredibly brightly and he’s unable to admit any dependence on Marie. Nevertheless, you soon realise that both parties are flawed and in desperate need of sorting through the issues stemming from their codependent relationship; one in which an imbalance of power is undeniable.
Along with the moments of great dialogue in Malcolm & Marie, some scenes had me incredibly frustrated. To the point where I had to pause the film and do something else. Even though the movie is one hour and forty-six minutes long, at approximately thirty-seven minutes into the couple’s argument, I’d had enough. And as much as I appreciated the self-analysis and honest dialogue they were having, it all began to feel unbearably self-indulgent.
Watching Malcolm & Marie soon had me feeling like someone who couldn’t leave their arguing friends because the three of us were in the middle of nowhere and they’re my ride home.
This one is a movie to watch if you’re particularly curious. For me, I wish the whole experience had been more tightly edited and far less frustrating.
Director Sam Levinson’s latest drama/romance has Zendaya and John David Washington as Malcolm & Marie.
Malcolm & Marie is the story of a director and his girlfriend’s relationship. One that is tested after they return home from his movie premiere and await critics’ responses
First and foremost, I love the lighting. It’s not often that black and white movies are as immediately appealing, visually as this.
I’m completely in for what looks like an intriguing relationship story and very promising dialogue. The kind of dialogue that would work brilliantly on a live theatre stage.
Thank goodness, we don’t have to wait too long for this one.
TENET (2020), John David Washington, Warner Bros. Pictures.
Tenet, Christopher Nolan’s latest action/sci-fi movie is, as expected, a notable cinematic experience. Nolan’s story of a protagonist on a mission that unfolds beyond real-time, as he journeys through a world of international espionage is a film that pulls you in immediately in a brilliantly immersive way, thanks to the engaging action and powerful musical score.
Like in Nolan’s much-loved Inception (2010), you will need to pay close attention as Tenet plays. The complexity of the story and great production demands it. Yet, whether or not you’re a science expert, you will still be able to follow what’s going on enough to enjoy it, just as long as you pay attention.
Another bit of good news is that even though both Tenet and Inception are action/sci-fi movies that sometimes aesthetically appear similar, I’d say that’s mainly due to the filmmaking team being the same, because the stories are quite different.
Forced to choose a favourite of the two, I’d opt for Inception because I connected to the story, and especially DiCaprio’s Dom Cobb character, more than I did to John David Washington’s ‘the protagonist.’
As for specific highlights, the character I enjoyed watching most is Kenneth Branagh’s Andrei Sator. Once you meet him, you won’t soon forget. At least I did not. For me, the main stand-out scenes happen towards the end, starting with a memorable sequence that involves several vehicles on the road, including a fire truck. Everything after that just gets better and better until the satisfying end that may or may not leave the door wide open for a sequel.
There are just two things I didn’t love about Tenet. The first one being that I wasn’t fully convinced by the ‘love connection’ between Elizabeth Debicki’s Kat and the protagonist. And by love, I don’t mean romantic love. I simply didn’t understand why he cared so much for Kat, a seemingly random woman, even though her story is empathy-inducing. Perhaps it’s due to time being non-linear in Tenet. Meaning all I needed to see to understand why he cared so much happens in another timeline, one that’s not shown in the movie. Considering my limited understanding of how time travel works, I can only hope that I just made sense.
The second thing that would have made Tenet better for me is similar to the first; I wanted to connect to Washington’s character more and sooner. It seemed as though too much of his personal story was kept a mystery.
Overall, there’s certainly more to love about Tenet than not. As such, watch it because there is only one Christopher Nolan, and we must enjoy his creative gifts while we can!
Lastly, I will be watching Tenet again next week because I want to experience everything that it does so well all over again.
Christopher Nolan’s new sci-fi/action/drama Tenethas a brand new trailer, and of course it’s good!
Starring Robert Pattinson, John David Washington, Himesh Patel and Aaron Taylor-Johnson, the subject is international espionage, time travel/inversion, and evolution.
As I’ve come to expect with Nolan trailers, this too is well edited and builds up in a great way.
There’s almost no watching this trailer without 2010’s Inception coming to mind. I just hope that I can keep up with all the ‘time travel science’ because, let’s just say that it took me several listens before I understood what Hulk was saying in Avengers – Endgame (2019) when he explained how time travel supposedly works:
‘Changing the past doesn’t change the future. If you travel to the past, that past becomes your future and your former present becomes your past, which can’t now be changed by your new future.‘
In all honesty, I may have misspoken about finally understanding the above explanation. Nevertheless, I do plan to make sense of it soon, with regular attempts.
Kenneth Branagh, Elizabeth Debicki, Michael Caine, Clémence Poésy, Yuri Kolokolnikov, Himesh Patel, Martin Donovan, Carina Velva, Dimple Kapadia and Andrew Howard also star.
The Movie My Life 