I’m glad that Sandra Bullock said yes toThe Unforgivable, a well-executed tale of one woman’s journey to reconnect with her sister after finishing a twenty-year prison sentence.
Directed by Nora Fingscheidt, what stood out immediately, in addition to the excellent performances, is how engaging the story is. I cared about Bullock’s character and couldn’t wait for everything to unfold. At the same time, the pacing and story edit are both so good to the point where I hardly found myself wanting things to move faster.
Then there’s the perfectly complementary musical score and the kind of tense moments that never have one too sure about how things will unfold.
Even though there is one moment where I felt the catalyst that was supposed to lead to a key character’s change of heart was insubstantial, The Unforgivable is still worth watching.
See it for the generally well-executed story and because Viola Davis, Rob Morgan, Vincent D’Onofrio and Jon Bernthal make up the supporting cast.
Directed by Nora Fingscheidt; The Unforgivable has Sandra Bullock as Ruth Slater, the perpetrator of a violent crime who’s just been released from prison
Sandy B. (I’ve heard Chris ‘Captain America’ Evans refer to her this way) looks incredible in this. I’m ready to watch her and all the movie powerhouses (Viola Davis, Vincent D’Onofrio and Jon Bernthal) flex their acting muscles in this story; the kind where a happy ending seems unlikely. But maybe the start of healing is what we’ll get.
I’ve missed Sandy B. So glad she’s back at her best.
Aisling Franciosi, Richard Thomas, W. Earl Brown, Linda Emond, Tom Guiry, Rob Morgan, Emma Nelson and Jessica McLeod also star.
Knowing my history with Netflix movies and how I’ve found the vast majority to be quite disappointing, I wasn’t sure how I’d feel after Bird Box. To my surprise, I actually enjoyed director Susan Bier’s post apocalyptic sci-fi thriller more than I expected to.
Intrigued by the story of how a woman and two children were going to escape the mysterious force that compels all who see it to kill themselves right away, I couldn’t wait to see how the characters would survive. Especially since they have to be blindfolded when outside.
As soon as the opening scene in Bird Box started to play, I had a good feeling because of how the scene immediately held my undivided attention. Leading up to the final thirty minutes of the movie there were other very engaging, ‘edge of your seat’ suspenseful moments. However, the best stretch of time and my favourite part of Bird Box is without a doubt the last thirty minutes. It is the scenes when the key characters are truly most vulnerable and there are endless near disasters happening one after the other.
Similar to 2017’s A Quiet Place, Bird Box will likely Have you thinking about parenthood and the gargantuan undertaking that it truly is. I enjoyed leading actor Sandra Bullock’s performance, plus the moments in the story that moved, thrilled and surprised me, especially the last thirty minutes.
As for the parts of Bird Box I wish weren’t quite so, those would include approximately thirty minutes into the film when, instead of being fully engaged, I found myself distracted by the fact that I hadn’t seen the ‘monster’ yet and I really wanted to. Secondly, I think there were too many characters ‘in the house;’ one or two of whom proved quite annoying. There were also others that seemed like props who were just there to play their relatively small parts just to move the story along and sometimes provide a fast thrilling moment.
Thirdly, I understand the reason for the ‘flashback and back to present day’ editing choice. However, it had a little bit of a negative effect on the flow of the story and subsequently had me wondering how different it could all have been if everything had played out in regular order.
Overall I say give Bird Box a chance because it has some great moments and for me personally, it’s definitely an improvement on the last few Netflix movies I saw and some I tried to watch but had to abandon.
In new sci-fi / thriller Bird Box, after a mysterious force decimates the world’s population, only one thing is certain, if you see it, you take your own life. And so begins the journey of a woman and two children who make their way through a dystopian setting along a river whilst blindfolded.
Directed by Susanne Bier; key cast includes Sandra Bullock, Sarah Paulson, Rosa Salazar, Trevante Rhodes…
First of all, ‘Hello great trailer! I like the way this reminds me a little of A Quiet Place (2017). May it be equally thrilling if not more.
I also rather like the combination of Bullock and Paulson in one movie.
Lil Rel howery, Jacki Weaver, Machine Gun Kelly, Parminder Nagra, John Malkovich and David Dastmalchian also star.
Ocean’s 8 (2018), Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter
My fears about the extent to which I’d enjoy Ocean’s Eight were kind of realised. Starring Sandra Bullock and Cate Blanchett – to name just two, director Gary Ross’s movie isn’t quite as exciting for me on the whole as the other Ocean’s movies I’ve seen. It didn’t help that the eight members in Ocean’s group barely interacted long enough for me to gage much about their group chemistry, but I feel as though ‘sizzling’ wouldn’t really be the right word.
Another key reason I didn’t have as much fun is that for a good portion of the first half of the film, even though I was happy to be introduced to the members of the final eight, I found myself a little bored. This is partly because the real reason for Ocean’s elaborate upcoming heist was yet to be revealed.
Ocean’s 8 (2018), Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett
Once the motivation for the heist was mentioned, I became that little bit more invested. Prior to that it felt as though I was being asked to ‘cheer’ for a major career criminal without really knowing enough about her – except that her brother Danny Ocean was in the same field of work.
I will admit that I was impressed by all of Ocean’s cons immediately post release from prison. Yet, deep down I couldn’t help but judge her. I’d likely have to re-watch the other Oceans movies to find out precisely why I don’t recall judging Danny quite as harshly, if at all. My guess would be that part of the reason is I don’t really identify with Danny. Whereas I have at least one thing in common with his sister. Furthermore, I don’t remember seeing Danny conning the sweet looking lady at the cosmetics counter, though I could be wrong.
Overall, Ocean’s Eight really became most engrossing once the actual steal got under way. Even though Ross’s film didn’t thrill me as much as it’s predecessors, I did identify three things in the movie that I may not forget any time soon. Firstly, Anne Hathaway’s performance. I thoroughly enjoyed watching her behaving terribly. Especially because it seems so far removed from her true character or any other roles I remember her playing. Second, I liked the little moments of comic relief courtesy of Mindy Kaling; an example being the scene where she, erm, ‘speaks French’. There’s also James Cordon whose Britishness among all the Americans proved quite fun to watch.
Give it a chance if you’re so curious. Perhaps you’ll be wowed more than I.
Directed and co-written by Gary Ross, Oceans 8 is an all-female leading cast that stars Sandra Bullock as Debbie Ocean. Ocean gathers a crew to attempt an impossible heist at New York City’s yearly Met Gala.
It looks as though Debbie is supposed to be a relation of Danny Ocean rather than a female Danny Ocean character, in a world where George Clooney’s Danny Ocean never existed. interesting.
I really want Ocean’s 8 to be good and my hopes are relatively high mainly because Cate Blanchett is in it. Such pressure on ‘queen Cate’.
Helena Bonham Carter, Mindy Kaling, Sarah Paulson, Anne Hathatway, Dakota Fanning, Samantha Cocozza and Olivia Munn also star.
Minions (2015), Stuart, Kevin, Bob (Pierre Coffin)
Minions is the film I had been waiting and hoping for ever since I saw the first Despicable Me (2010) movie. It was clear for me even then that the minions were the ones I wanted more of.
After spending time dreaming about a minion focused movie, I’m glad to confirm that any fears I had about the end result not being as good as hoped were a complete waste of time.
Directed by Kyle Balda, Pierre Coffin and written by Brian Lynch, my favourite thing about Minions besides the adorableness of the yellow, banana loving and happiness inducing beauties is the fact that this time, the audience got to know more about the minions. You learn more of their story, from how they they came to where those blue dungarees to the different personalities of the three main minions, Stuart, Kevin and Bob.
I haven’t yet met anyone that doesn’t enjoy the minions, though I’m certain that they exist.
I love them so much that I’ve been known to yelp with delight and at head-turning volumes at the sight of them. I was caught off guard with tens of minions plush toys in a busy mall. Looking back, it was quite embarrassing, but who has time for embarrassment, really, when lots of minions soft toys are right in front of you?
Minions (2015), Scarlet Overkill (Sandra Bullock), Herb Overkill (John Hamm)
The film isn’t perfect in the traditional sense but it’s hugely loved nonetheless because it doesn’t need to be nor does it need to follow all the traditional rules.
Watch Minions for a fun adventure that’ll leave you with a sizeable smile on your face, praise for the ending and a prayer for an even better next instalment, should it make sense.
Sandra Bullock is great as super villain Scarlet Overkill. Jon Hamm Allison Janney, Michael Keaton, Pierre Coffin, Steve Koogan and Jennifer Saunders provide some of the the voices that bring the other key characters to life.
Our Brand Is Crisis (2015), Sandra Bullock, Anthony Mackie
The trailer for Sandra Bullock’s new movie, Our Brand Is Crisis just landed…
David Gordon Green, a man I know of because he directed one of my favourite movies, Pineapple Express (2008) is in charge.
Really looking forward to this, mainly because of Bullock but also Zoe Kazan, an actress/ writer I love because she’s the reason for the existence of the movie Ruby Sparks (2012).
The Movie My Life 