Movie Reviews

The American President (1995)


The American President (1995)

Director:

Rob Reiner

Starring:

Michael Douglas

Annette Bening

Plot:

Comedy-drama about a widowed U.S. President and a lobbyist who fall in love. It’s all above-board, but “politics is perception”, and sparks fly anyway.

Review:

The world was a different place when this was written. Kind of. I mean, yeah, the environment and guns were still a huge issues, but we actually thought they could be solved. We were innocent.

In the past I’ve liked this movie. It’s from Aaron Sorkin, so it definitely idealizes the American government but it’s also much more believable than the movie Dave. Now, though, it’s depressing to watch. It’s really impossible to watch and ignore the politics of everything and just take it as a romance. He’s the president, she’s a lobbyist. The politics are enmeshed in everything.

Maybe in another time I’ll be able to watch this again and enjoy it. I really hope so, I used to love re-watching West Wing. My heart just can’t handle it right now.

4/5

 

Deadpool 2 (2018)


Deadpool 2 (2018)

Director:

David Leitch

Starring:

Ryan Reynolds

Josh Brolin

Morena Baccarin

Julian Dennison

Zazie Beetz

Brianna Hildebrand

Stefan Kapicic

Plot:

Foul-mouthed mutant mercenary Wade Wilson (AKA. Deadpool), brings together a team of fellow mutant rogues to protect a young boy with supernatural abilities from the brutal, time-traveling cyborg, Cable.

Review:

This is one of those rare instances when the sequel is better than the original. I loved the first Deadpool movie, but this just about blew it out of the water, and I haven’t even seen the unrated cut yet.

Holy shit, the music, the jokes, the action! It was all spot on. I seriously can’t think of a single complaint and hope to god that Deadpool 3 and X-Force can live up to what Deadpool 2 has done.

Ryan Reynolds, Deadpool, kills all the bad guys, except one. Unfortunately that one ends up destroying all of Reynolds happiness. Due to his mutant ability he is unable to kill himself and finds himself at a loose end. He tries to be an X-Men and that fails. He tries to make his own team, that does not work as planned. Eventually, it takes a time traveling Josh Brolin to tell him his path back into the arms of his love. It’s beautiful.

In a year where we’ve had the fucking amazing Black Panther, Deadpool earns it’s position right up there with it. So good.

5/5

October Sky (1999)


October Sky (1999)

Director:

Joe Johnston

Starring:

Jake Gyllenhaal

Chris Cooper

Laura Dern

Chris Owen

William Lee Scott

Chad Lindberg

Plot:

The true story of Homer Hickam, a coal miner’s son who was inspired by the first Sputnik launch to take up rocketry against his father’s wishes.

Review:

Homer Hickam Jr., Jake Gyllenhaal, does not want to work in a coal mine, but has been born into a coal mining town and family. His brother has found his way out with sports, but Homer is not athletic and ends up failing to secure a spot on the football team. Dejected he feels as though there is no way to escape, while his friends and family are telling him to accept the inevitable.

Around this time Russia launches Sputnik and Homer gets the idea to make his own rocket. He doesn’t really think there’s a future there, at least I don’t think he does at first, but it gives him something to think about that isn’t his bleak future. His friends being the friends that they are they help him out.

This is very much a feel good story, but having watched it after Hidden Figures I don’t consider it to be inspirational. It’s nice to see some boys from a poor town succeed and I did wonder what was in the water in West Virginia that is spawned so many math minded individuals during that time, but I didn’t get as much of a warm fuzzy feeling.

Also, coal mines are scary.

4/5

Knight and Day (2010)


Knight and Day (2010)

Director:

James Mangold

Starring:

Tom Cruise

Cameron Diaz

Plot:

A young woman gets mixed up with a disgraced spy who is trying to clear his name.

Review:

I’ve watched this movie twice and I still don’t know if the characters are crazy. If they are then I think the movie is asking the question, is crazy something you can catch.

Tom Cruise is a spy that uses Cameron Diaz to get past airport security. She ends up getting pulled into his crazy life and eventually catching the crazy. Or maybe he just brings what was already there to the forefront, not sure.

In all fairness, she tries to escape multiple times, but he repeatedly drugs her and she eventually just accepts her fate. Then decides if you can’t beat them best join them so she starts pulling her own crazy shit.

Honestly, the movie is odd because of how Tom Cruise decided to play the character. Maybe he was trying to make it very different from Mission Impossible but still remain a badass, I’m not sure. He was just odd and Diaz just went from there.

3/5

Sherlock Holmes (2009)


Sherlock Holmes (2009)

Director:

Guy Ritchie

Starring:

Robert Downey Jr.

Jude Law

Rachel McAdams

Plot:

Detective Sherlock Holmes and his stalwart partner Watson engage in a battle of wits and brawn with a nemesis whose plot is a threat to all of England.

Review:

I remember this movie being better. Maybe it’s my extreme dislike of Tony Stark coloring my opinion of Robert Downey Jr. in this movie, but I thought his British accent was horrible.

Sherlock, RDJ, is a brilliant detective with social issues that he doesn’t care to fix. Watson, Jude Law, enjoys the thrill of danger and adventure, but wants a more traditional life as well. They clash, but ultimately come together to prove that magic is not real. Irene Adler, Rachel McAdams, apparently is usually Sherlock’s foil and the only woman to ever best him. This time her incredible intellect is used to seduce Sherlock, be a damsel in distress, and then be caught by him. I’m sure she was able to escape once she got away from him, though.

3/5