Sing

December 24, 2016 (updated February 24, 2017) Published by Shari K. Green

No matter what an adult thinks of a film like “Sing”, it’s going to do well because of what it is. It’s a not half bad movie made for kids that has cute and amusing animals singing their hearts out. It’s colorful and silly and this, as we all know, is a combination that spells success. There have been many animated films released in 2016 that have done incredibly well but this one is lucky it’s being released right before Christmas or it might not have done quite as well; it’s probably at the bottom of the list of the animated films this year. However, that said, if you’re looking for frivolous, it’s still eager and zippy.

“Sing” has a few problems with being a tad over the top too often which will annoy the parents of the kids sitting in the audience but the songs will ultimately win them back. The tunes played throughout the film are great and the chosen numbers sung by characters during the auditions near the beginning of the film are good and the way their presented are very creative. I wish they could have gone on longer, as a matter of fact.

The auditions I’m talking about are given because a koala bear, Buster Moon (McConaughey), the main character, needs money to keep his theatre afloat. He loves the theatre and isn’t about to lose his. Someone suggests to him that a singing competition is a good idea and he agrees that it should get his theatre back in good working order. He decides to give a thousand dollar prize to the winner of the competition believing this will bring the customers back once again to his beat up and neglected old theatre. As things do, something goes wrong when Miss Crawly, (played by Jennings who also wrote the film), Buster’s ancient and possible old age home bound secretary, is put in charge of the flyers. She accidentally releases the flyers with a much, much larger sum promised as the prize. That’s a mess. Everyone in the city who can or thinks they can sing flocks to have a chance at being on stage in front of a large audience and winning the prize money.

Here is where you meet the main characters and a few you wish you’d see again but, sadly, will not. Some of the singers chosen are a gorilla named Johnny (Egerton), who has a gangster as a father but wants a crime free life and a mouse named Mike played by Seth McFarlane, who gets a chance to really show off his pipes, worth the price of admission alone. Mike loves jazz and poker and is a bit squirrly for kids, to be honest. There’s also an elephant named Meena (Kelly) who could be a heavyweight in the competition, as beautiful and powerful her voice is, but is paralyzed with stage fright; and a pig named Rosita (Witherspoon) who is burdened with a husband who doesn’t know she’s alive any more and twenty-five piglets to take care of but doesn’t see how they can stop her dreams from being fulfilled. I’m sure you can see where this is headed. Conquer your fears and quell any voice on the inside or outside that tries to crush the ambition and desire within you.

If you like animated family films, I’d recommend taking the family to see this at a matinee. The kids will have a good time, even if the messages get lost. It does have dazzle at its core. With the combination of fast action, cute animals and songs, especially with such talented stars singing them, the mix works. However, as I stated at the beginning, you’ll take the kids and they’ll be happy you did but I’m of the opinion that Santa won’t be putting it under the tree so they can add it to their home DVD collection because it’s a one time watch at best.

Why Him?

December 23, 2016 (updated January 8, 2017) Published by JMcNaughton

In today’s world, and R-rated comedy means more vulgar words and juvenile ideas, and not much of any highly sophisticated adult-related concepts. Today’s ‘dumbed down’ culture demands more formula driven comedies, not the better ones from the old days (“Caddyshack”, Animal House”, “Blues Brothers”, “Stripes”). Sometimes even the formula style comedy can hit a few high notes and be something fun to watch. That is especially true when the leads are Bryan Cranston and James Franco.

“Why Him?” is the story of Ned Fleming (Bryan Cranston) the owner of a family-run printing business in Grand Rapids. Ned and his wife Barb (Megan Mullally) have a daughter Stephanie (Zoey Deutch) who is in California attending college. They also have a younger son named Scotty (Griffin Gluck). Ned and Barb learn that Stephanie has a boyfriend and he wants the whole family to come out and meet him.

The boyfriend is Laird Mayhew (James Franco) who is a multi-millionaire slacker dude who made a mint creating an online video gaming company. He is friendly and totally outgoing, but is lacking in many social graces. He is loud, rude, vulgar, and is heavily tattooed. Laird is an online gaming genius and a business wiz, but he lacks any type of social filter and he blurts out everything he thinks about at every second. When Ned and Laird meet – well — it does not go over well.

Laird is planning on asking Stephanie to marry him, and his idea is to make sure Ned is OK with that. Ned is not OK with that, and he wants to find anything that he can to use against Laird. Laird has Stephanie in his corner, and slowly he gets more help from Scotty and Barb. Laird has a full-time assistant/estate director named Gustav (Keegan-Michael Key) and with his help, Laird is able to win over everyone, except for Ned.

So it is a back-and-forth between Ned and Laird, all concerning Stephanie and a marriage proposal. There are quite a few funny moments, but there are even more periods of slack so-called comedy. When a major plot point takes place on a toilet, well, things could turn out crappy. And an artificial intelligence device called ‘Justine’ that Laird invents has the voice of Kaley Cuoco (of “The Big Bang Theory”) and makes jokes about how her voice sounds just like the girl from “The Big Bang Theory”.

Bryan Cranston is a joy to watch, but he gets stuck in the grouchy curmudgeon role. He gets to play off the slacker goofball that is James Franco, and Franco gets his role just right. There is not a whole lot of growth or development in either character, because the main function for each is be annoyed with the other one.

Megan Mullally does OK with the mom role, and Zoey Deutch as Stephanie proves that she has a mind of her own. Griffin Gluck is kind of stuck to the side. Keegan-Michael Key has a bizarre Slavic accent and a character that does not really do that much of anything. There are a lot of loose ends and odd things in this movie. Such as a ‘work of art’ that is a stuffed moose in a glass enclosure full of moose urine…

And as Chekov once famously said “If you show a glass box of moose urine in Act One, you must later see that used in Act Three”. Wait, did he say a ‘glass box of moose urine’ or did he say a ‘gun’? Either way, you can see that “Why Him?” is loud and occasionally funny vulgar comedy. It is much more enjoyable if you have a thing for toilets and moose urine, so that might narrow the audience a little bit.

La La Land

December 20, 2016 (updated February 24, 2017) Published by Shari K. Green

“Here’s to the fools that dream.” That is the theme of this comedy, drama… musical. Yes. This is a musical but I would like to ask that you don’t fear the musical! It’s not in the style of “Cats” or the like so be willing to go. If you love a good story and a good film that’s well done in almost every way possible… don’t worry. You’ll love this movie! Now, on to the review. I can’t remember the last time we saw this but with “La La Land” we have a musical for the big screen that’s not based on a hit Broadway show! “La La Land” stars Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling as an aspiring actress and jazz pianist, respectively, who fall in love. Both have dreams very different from the other but the desire and ambition they see in one another, calls out to each other and attracts them even more. The music and the romance at the heart of this story are alluring and will tantalize you, and the love… you will feel it. In fact, it’s hard to believe Gosling and Stone aren’t a real couple.

To shed some light on where this came from, here’s a bit about the writer/director. Damien Chazelle, is only thirty-one yet has accomplished so much. Not only did he write and direct, “La La Land”, which is a very unique to these times piece, but he also wrote “Whiplash” and “10 Cloverfield Lane.” J.K. Simmons won the Oscar for his performance in “Whiplash” so for Chazelle, after graduating Harvard, the Oscar win for Simmons is yet another feather for him to add to his cap; a cap that may be riddled with feathers really soon. I’m looking very forward to his next project but let’s get back to this one.

The love story is classic in that it starts out as anything but and becomes two people crazy about one another but Chazelle gives us, ultimately, what feels and looks real because not only is there a bond between the two with all the hopes they share freely but their chemistry is palpable. Great job casting these two as Sebastian and Mia. Another thing that gives the audience a connection is this; when have we not all desired something so greatly that we’d give up almost for it? These two beautiful creatures love their goals as they do one another but the vital and fundamental question here becomes, would you give one of them up for the other?

“ The music is amazing. Oscar will be nice to them…”

Shari K. Green

Sr. Film Writer and Community Manager, tmc.io

As far as dancing, I’ll admit that they aren’t Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, but the choreography doesn’t ask too much of them and they handle themselves gracefully. The footwork is impressive and they’re cute together; she not as polished as he but it works.

Regarding musical taste Mia tells Sebastian that she doesn’t like jazz, his true love, and he takes it upon himself to show her that she doesn’t understand the complexity of it; that you can’t just hear it, you have to feel it by watching someone play. He wants Mia to see its conflict and get excited because it needs help… ‘It’s dying’ he fears. Well, he does until his friend, Keith (Legend), explains to him that Jazz is about the future, not the past. Sebastian has always held onto what Jazz has always been and here, he discovers a bit about himself as well as what pushes him… that things change. He decides to tour with Keith and Mia learns quickly that tours aren’t overnight. She realizes dreams of becoming an actress aren’t either. Maybe it’s time to move on?

I’ll leave it there. You need to go and experience “La La Land” to find out what happens. Visually, the film beguiles but it’s not perfect. You’re not going to hear their songs on the radio, however, the opening song, “Another Day of Sun” and the score won’t soon be forgotten, nor will Sebastian singing “City of Stars”… okay, the music is amazing. Oscar will be nice to them. The dance numbers can be a little clunky but overall the film is pretty extraordinary; sweet and innocent. As much as it is a musical, it often feels like a play, which was another aspect that I adored. You’ll never get bored and the final act will whisk you away to another place, and in today’s world, we need a little of that. Comedies and Musicals don’t usually win Oscar gold for Best Picture but it wouldn’t surprise me if Chazelle’s effort pays off with a few statues. If it walks away empty handed, it’ll be a travesty.

Collateral Beauty

December 16, 2016 (updated December 20, 2016) Published by Shari K. Green

Going to the movies has always been a wonderful experience because they are a way for a person to get away from their lives… possibly from big problems in their life. Movies offer an escape for you to get to be someone else for awhile or at least push reality aside for a bit, right? In “Collateral Beauty”, Will Smith plays Howard, a man in such deep pain, you hope that he will leap from the screen and the two of you go find a joyful comedy to watch. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not necessarily saying the movie isn’t worth seeing at all, but maybe take some antidepressants before you go if you do.

“Collateral Beauty” is written by the very adept and creative, Allan Loeb, who has scores of credits to his name, so with David Frankel directing, the story is in good hands. He has won an Emmy and an Academy Award and he directed “Devil Wears Prada” but then we should remember he also directed “The Big Year” so it’s hit or miss. I think this time it’s a miss… more or less. The trailer misleads you to a point but in the end, I think that was wise; it got you to consider going.

Howard owns a company with his friends, Whit (Norton), Claire (Winslet) and Simon (Peña). Howard is the driving force for the company and when his daughter dies, he checks out of life and being involved at all in the company. Of course, things begin to go south. Howard has 60% of the voting shares and, even after being begged to, he will not help save the business. Without Howard’s initiative and his innovative spirit, not to mention his vote, Whit, Claire and Simon, who have their entire lives and well-being riding on an upcoming offer, do not stand a chance of surviving the impending failure of the company. What makes this film ultimately a DVD watch only is what happens next. Howard’s friends and partners, knowing he’s struggling with depression after the tragic loss of his daughter, want to, for all intense and purposes, do away with him. That’s appalling! But watching Howard walk around totally lifeless and staring off into space, unless he’s setting up dominoes, which is explained later but still doesn’t have true function in the film, perhaps you would, too. The dominoes are a symbol for breaking down walls but nah… I’m just not buying it. The time spent on those dominoes is painstaking to sit through, too, but then so is my mentioning it for this long, so I’ll continue with the review.

Howard believes there are three things that connect everyone on earth and those are time, love and death. Not particularly happy with his time anymore, losing the one thing he loved most and wishing to die but still existing, he writes a letter to the three of them. The knuckleheads in the office have been scheming and hired someone to follow him. She brilliantly retrieves the letters from the mailbox he dropped them into. Now partaking in a federal crime, the three of them take the three letters to three actors. Three… I’m sensing a pattern here. The actors played by Knightley, Latimore and Mirren are offered a unique opportunity to represent one of the words and confront Howard with the letters he wrote. As well intended on recreating “It’s A Wonderful Life” as Allan Loeb and David Frankel, as well as the three actors playing death, time and love are, the story of a man losing a child but then choosing to give up everything else that might give his life some meaning, simply doesn’t makes sense. He refuses help, he can’t say his child’s name… it just doesn’t add up. You’re more or less frustrated through the entire film.

There are a few glaring twists that make it a see it on cable or DVD watch, but I wouldn’t recommend spending your hard earned money on running to the theatre this weekend. I do think that Smith, toward the end, Mirren (always delightful) and Naomie Harris’s grief support group leader, Madeleine, sort of lend the film more purpose but the more I thought about it after seeing it, I wasn’t impressed at what they were trying to accomplish and that was a big emotional response from you and some tears. If you lay down ten or more dollars at the theatre this weekend, the response and tears will more come from you asking, ‘why did I spend the money for this?’, than from the film itself.

Office Christmas Party

December 13, 2016 (updated December 13, 2016) Published by Shari K. Green

“Office Christmas Party” is directed by Josh Gordon and Will Speck, who both directed “Blades of Glory” and “The Switch”, as well. Their strength is comedy but when a movie is good just not good enough, it doesn’t surprise me when I find out there was more than one director. I can imagine the back and forth they might have about how to go about a certain scene and you can definitely tell when one man’s option should have won over the other. However, I could be reading into it too much. Don’t get me wrong. This is a good, dirty and off-colored little picture, just in time for your holiday cheer, and one you will enjoy watching if you’re a fan of the genre… but had they put a little more effort into originality, you would have applauded the effort and most likely added it to your ever growing pile of every year holiday favorites. As it is, this is a one time watch and one time only. It’s your atypical party flick with one advantage… almost the entire cast of SNL has a spot in the film. Think, “The Hangover”, “Superbad” and the like. You’ve seen this before but not only have you seen the film, you’ve seen the actors play the same characters time and time again. I’ll admit, I love it when I see Aniston play a cold, calculated b*tch but wasn’t “Horrible Bosses 2” out not that long ago?

“This is a good, dirty and off-colored little picture, just in time for your holiday cheer”

Shari K. Green

Sr. Film Writer and Community Manager, tmc.io

Moving on. We meet the boss of the company ZenoTek, Clay Vanstone (Miller) and his right hand man, Josh Parker (Bateman) directly before the moment CEO, and Clay’s sister, Carol (Aniston) walks in. We’ve established that Clay and Parker love to have fun and don’t necessarily adhere to company rules very well, despite the efforts of human resources head, Mary (McKinnon), but Carol is not sweet on the branch, nor is she thrilled with her brother. Forever the butt of his jokes and constantly reminded by him that he was dad’s favorite, she uses the fact that their father made her CEO and not him, against him. After this latest visit it’s time to show Clay why. She will keep the company a success at any cost… even if that cost is him. After cancelling their Christmas bonuses and party, she gives him two days to turn things around or he would face cuts or possibly branch closing.

His only hopes of saving the branch is to catch a major client, Walter Davis (Courtney B Vance), and to impress him, they throw the party of a lifetime; two birds with one stone. Proud of himself, Clay is certain it’ll all work out to plan. What could go wrong? The employees get Christmas joy and he saves the branch. What could go wrong? Everything! When a fun office party becomes a drunken brawl with alcohol, drugs and pimps having a bad day, what could go right? Actually, several things do go right, and they are the reasons to see this nonsensical comedy. The cast is great, T.J. Miller does a good job as he steadily gets drunk and Jillian Bell is hilarious as a pimp with a personality disorder. The script has its fun moments but it goes overboard at times. You will cherish the efforts from the cast to stand out, but there’s not enough of a discernible difference between it and films of the genre to say its worth paying a high ticket price for. This is matinee at best.

Miss Sloane

December 13, 2016 (updated February 24, 2017) Published by Shari K. Green

From “Shakespeare in Love” director, John Madden, comes “Miss Sloane”, a furiously clever film that has today’s politics in mind but is not its only theme. It’s the story of a very efficient and skilled, nay cutthroat, lobbyist, Elizabeth Sloane, played by Jessica Chastain, who takes no prisoners when she wants to win for a client, putting any and everything in peril, including friendships, to do so. One thing the film does more than anything, especially at a time when the country seems to really need it, is make it clear to a filmgoer exactly what a lobbyist does. Let’s start with the definition of a lobbyist; one who engages in “lobbying”; trying to influence public officials to support a position on legislation. It’s fairly obvious where the term may have derived from which is from these particular individuals waiting in the lobby outside a public official’s office. Yes. A story about a lobbyist just became compelling

Screenwriter Jonathan Perera penned such a monumental script that Madden had to direct and knew right away who to cast. It’s so intense that he knew the very diverse Chastain had to be in the lead role. He had been searching for the right project for her and this was it. Of her as Sloane he told me, ‘Okay, now we have it!’ You’ll agree when you see her transformative performance; the best I’ve seen from her to date.

This will most likely be considered a political thriller as it centers on the D.C. lives of lawyers and lobbyists but it’s much more. Sloane is a master manipulator and at the heart of this movie is the ambition within her to win at any cost. This cold, hard woman who could be placed in any position, anywhere; who would have any ruler at her feet, doesn’t have to be pegged into a certain hole nor does the film. It’s a thriller, plain and simple and you get to see Chastain work both ends of the spectrum. I’ll let you discover that on your own. There is so much I want to tell you but I refuse to spoil it all the same.

“Chastain will get an Oscar nod. Her character is brilliant and her performance is, possibly, twice as good as the film.”

Shari K. Green

Sr. Film Writer and Community Manager, tmc.io

Madden’s cast is exceptional. Chastain will get an Oscar nod. Her character is brilliant and her performance is, possibly, twice as good as the film as she goes deep to find this steely woman inside of her. Perhaps some of the tedious language of the political rhetoric in the film would have you thinking you’d rather skip this movie. Don’t make that mistake. A lobbyist advocating for or against gun control may be a point in the film; it’s no way the main topic but rather a catalyst to move Miss Sloane forward. The pacing of the movie is such that you’re always consumed, helped by Madden’s foresight to capture you further with the perfectly chosen music so make “Miss Sloane” your choice this weekend at the theatre… no waiting until Netflix for this one.

Jackie

December 13, 2016 (updated February 24, 2017) Published by Shari K. Green

“Jackie” is a film about what Jacqueline “Jackie” Kennedy had to endure directly after the assassination of not just the President of the United States of America, the country she loved so much and the man she most admired, but the assassination of her husband, Jack Kennedy, who was that President. It’s an accurate portrayal of a woman in agony. She loses the husband she always had to share with the world and has to share the pain of this, as well. Nothing can be personal; nothing private. The delicate nature of the story itself is handled beautifully. To your joy, what is evident from the first moment she speaks is that Portman will not only get a Best Actress nomination but quite possibly win the Oscar this year. She is Jackie.

To begin the film the theatre goes dark and sounds of gun shots fill the house. It’s November 22, 1963. Dallas. We also spend time in 1961 when the First Lady is giving a tour of the White House. This is broadcast on television and is, some would consider, the defining moment for the American people, who fell in love with Jackie when Kennedy first took office, that she was their queen. Why we’re flashing back to her life becomes clear when we are suddenly in a room on her estate in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts with “the journalist” (Crudup) from Life Magazine who is there to talk to her for his publication about the assassination and her life since.

Many have told the Kennedy stories in books and on film but not so have they delved quite so deeply into the woman behind the man especially when it comes to touching the sensitive subject of her life directly after the his death.

Quite addled, she clings to what she has left of the soon to be past position she held of First Lady with more than high acclaim in the world. There are key moments in the film where we see her pain and if you’ve done any Kennedy reading you’ll recognize the truth telling of this piece, especially about why she wore her blood-stained dress, ‘Let them see what they’ve done’, and how difficult it became for, not only her, but for the Johnsons’ to get her to leave, which is why I appreciated this movie even more.

“It isn’t the tale of Camelot but a reminder of how it all ended”

Shari K. Green

Sr. Film Writer and Community Manager, tmc.io

Using real clips mixed in with those of director of photography, Stéphane Fontaine, who also shot this years, “Captain Fantastic”, one of my top five for 2016, Larraín creates for us the real trauma that was happening at the time. The story may not be pretty but it does her justice in a way that it shows not only her vulnerability and vanity but her misery and contempt for what “they” did to her. Writer Noah Oppenheim tells of one of the darkest times, the story of Jackie planning Jack’s funeral procession. She wants the world to know that a good man was murdered and much to the chagrin of all around her, she wants the parade to be long and large, one like that of Lincoln. Being, clearly, a very intelligent woman, she knew her children were at risk so she takes certain precautions with them during this time.

As I previously mention, Portman is fascinating in this role. Billy Crudup isn’t really given much to do but be a character for Portman to act opposite of. His character could have been a lamp and it wouldn’t have mattered. Sarsgaard isn’t the best Bobby but again, the film was not about him; it’s about Jackie and if you want to see a film where only one role is sufficient enough for the film to stand on its own, it’s this. Only she is truly necessary to move the story along. This is a must see for anyone who likes biography’s and for anyone who lived through the Kennedy era and like to peek inside the dynasty that once was. It’s a brave film. It isn’t the tale of Camelot but a reminder of how it all ended; how one woman suffered through it and how we as a country were never the same.

Transformers: The Last Knight – New Poster!

December 13, 2016 (updated December 22, 2016) Published by Shari K. Green

This summer, rethink your heroes.

TRANSFORMERS: THE LAST KNIGHT is in theaters June 23,

Directed By: Michael Bay

Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Josh Duhamel, Laura Haddock, Isabela Moner, Jerrod Carmichael and Sir Anthony Hopkins

#Transformers

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Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/transformersmovie/

Snapchat: TFMovie

Optimus Prime finding his home planet, Cybertron, now a dead planet, which he comes to find he was responsible for killing. He finds a way to bring the planet back to life, but in order to do so he needs to find an artifact, and that artifact is on Earth

Man Down

December 2, 2016 (updated December 6, 2016) Published by JMcNaughton

Is there an issue with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder? Of course there is, and it needs to be addressed. Is there a potential for family issues when a solider comes back to his family from the war front? Yes, and it can be quite severe. Is the best way to present these problems wrapped up in a movie that cannot decide if it is a serious look at the situation, or an overly dramatized version of the warrior’s mental disconnect?

That is “Man Down”, which follows the solider named Gabriel Drummer (Shia LaBeouf) who is married to Natalie (Kate Mara) and has a young son named Jonathan (Charlie Shotwell). He joins the Marines with his best friend Devin (Jai Courtney). Gabe gets sent to Afghanistan, while Devin recovers from an injury back in the States. Devin soon joins him over there in the thick of the nasty action.

Later, Gabe has a sit-down session with Captain Peyton (Gary Oldman) about ‘the incident’. It is finally revealed that a mistake by Gabe led to an ambush attack that had killed Devin. But then, later on when Gabe is back with his family, Gabe shuns his wife and his son to hang around with Devin. Eventually Gabe and Devin prowl about the bleak apocalyptic landscape for his son. But Devin did not make it back…

The late Devin is Gabe’s closest friend and Gabe’s metal state is in question. Captain Peyton talked with Gabe about his reaction to ‘the incident’, and Gabe is still in denial. So now Gabe and Devin are searching a destroyed cityscape searching for his son. They meet a guy named Charlie (Clifton Collins Jr.) who says he knows nothing. But there are many clues that he knows Gabe’s son, and where he might be hiding.

But how much of Gabe’s post-war travels with Devin are real? Exactly what happened in ‘the incident’? And what happened back on the home front between Devin and Kate, when Gabe was deployed overseas? Does Captain Peyton know how broken Gabe is on the inside?

Any of these questions could be enough to construct a deep and meaningful movie. But the way that the various incidents and episodes are put together on the screen make a little too jumbled. The connection between the bleak deserted place and the happy home front does get revealed, and it is done in a very subtle way. But the various sequences do not seem to tie up as neatly as they should.

Shia LaBeouf does a workable job as Gabe. He is mostly very understated, but then at some points he is a little bit overemotional and melodramatic. Kate Mara and Jai Courtney have very cookie-cutter roles, and they do the best that they can. Gary Oldman puts some empathy into his character and makes a very good impression. Clifton Collins Jr. has a brief role, but is creepy and odd-ball as that character.

A movie a few years back about the mental tribulations of John Nash was called ‘A Beautiful Mind’. This movie might be called ‘A FUBAR Mind’. That would describe the nightmare of delusions that Gabe finds himself in during the movie. It is truly scary place to be. But is might not be the best way to bring attention to the real problems of soldiers.

Nocturnal Animals

November 24, 2016 (updated February 24, 2017) Published by Shari K. Green

Tom Ford, a fashion designer turned filmmaker, gives us “Nocturnal Animals”, his second feature film. Ford clearly knows beauty when he sees it and makes this film a stunning piece of art to gaze upon, to say the least. “Nocturnal Animals” is unusually artistic, intoxicatingly dark. It’s a stylistic and clever drama/thriller that contrasts one scene with the other, one feeling with another and doesn’t give its audience an opportunity to feel vindicated in either of them.

At the beginning, we’re led into the tale of Susan (Adams) and her ex-husband Tony (Gyllenhaal). She is now a successful art dealer married to the rich playboy, Hutton Morrow (Hammer), whom she left Tony for; the playboy who is never home and who sleeps around on her. If she isn’t at an opening, she’s generally alone. Unexpectedly, she receives the proof of Tony’s new book to read. Having always encouraged him to write better she’s excited to begin reading it. As she reads, she is spooked by how good he has become and terrorized by the narration. As she reads, the tale unfolds before us. It flashes back to Susan with Tony when they were younger and we after his face is established, we see that she has interjected her ex-husband into the lead character of the book in her hands. The story is about loss. Perhaps Tony’s new book is a message to her. Maybe it’s just a book but all writing is ultimately about the writer in some sense or another and the loss in this frightening novel is clear and quite brutal… maybe how Tony felt when he lost his wife.

“Florence Foster Jenkins” is enchanting! The cast is delightful. This is an absolute must see!

Shari K. Green

Sr. Film Writer and Community Manager, tmc.io

Ford opens the film with a live art exhibit and closes the film the same way. Though the players are different, it is obvious they are on display. You’ll be moved by the opening and touched by the end. The first might incite you to smile and giggle a bit at wiggling pounds of flesh dancing before your eyes and the later will stir you to sadness and despair. Played beautifully with the music, we see Susan, a living art piece of her own, but I’ll not spoil all of that.

“Nocturnal Animals” is a movie you have to experience. It’s simply not like all the rest. It will pull you into the story as Tony’s book does to Susan. Every background is contrived, locations are perfect, and the performers are good but if you didn’t already believe Michael Shannon is an acting deity, here’s another reason why so many do.

Category: Reviews

Sing

Why Him?

La La Land

Collateral Beauty

Office Christmas Party

Miss Sloane

Jackie

Transformers: The Last Knight – New Poster!

This summer, rethink your heroes.

Man Down

Nocturnal Animals

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