I, Tonya (2017)

Director: Craig Gillespie

Cast:

Margot Robbie – Tonya Harding

Allison Janney – LaVona Harding

Sebastian Stan – Jeff Gillooly

Paul Walter Hauser – Shawn

Summary:

“I, Tonya” is directed by Craig Gillespie and stars Margot Robbie as Tonya Harding. The film tells the story of Tonya’s upbringing with her abusive mother LaVona played excellently by Allison Janney as well as her passion for ice skating. Tonya Harding was born in Portland, Oregon and is a well rounded redneck. Trained at a young age, Tonya rose through the ranks to become one of the top ice skaters. Tonya had a rough childhood as her dad left her because LaVona went crazy on him. LaVona would swear at Tonya as well as smack and push her around. Tonya meets a boy named Jeff Gillooly and they fall in love and get married at a young age. Living together, things start to go wrong as Tonya receives abuse from him. Tonya deals with the constant fighting with Jeff and the seclusiveness of her mother LaVona all the while she trains for the Olympics. In the past, Tonya was given low scores and it wasn’t for her performance but because of her appearance. Then the incident occurs, Tonya Harding and Jeff Gillooly are charged with the assault of Nancy Kerrigan. Craig Gillespie directed this film remarkably well and it had the same style and flow as “The Wolf of Wall Street.” Documentary style shots showcase present versions of the cast as they reflect on the past. Margot Robbie and Allison Janney go toe to toe with each other and Sebastian Stan gives a reclusive performance. “I, Tonya” is a tremendous retelling of an event that vilified Tonya Harding and with this film, you see the other side to her life.

Score: 4.9/5

The Disaster Artist (2017)

Director: James Franco

Cast:

James Franco – Tommy

Dave Franco – Greg

Seth Rogen – Sandy

Alison Brie – Amber

Paul Scheer – Raphael

Summary:

“The Disaster Artist” is the true story account of the making of Tommy Wiseau’s “The Room” and the insight into the relationship between the two leads, Wiseau and Greg Sestero. This film marks the directorial debut of James Franco who portrays Tommy Wiseau. He completely loses himself in the role as he perfectly captures the mannerisms and accent of Wiseau. Dave Franco plays his brother’s opposite in the film as Greg Sestero, Tommy Wiseau’s best friend and co-lead. These two brothers have perfect chemistry with each other and easily recreate the relationship between Tommy and Greg brilliantly. This is easily James Franco’s best performance and is deserving of an Oscar nomination. The movie features a ton of cameos that range from Judd Apatow to Seth Rogen. They play roles that were present during the making of “The Room” and they added their own comedic touch to the film. The Disaster Artist” is a terrific recreation of a devoted person who put his heart and soul into a project he deemed worthy enough to be watched by all.

Score: 4.6/5

All Eyez On Me(2017)

Director: Benny Boom

Cast:

Demetrius Shipp Jr. – Tupac Shakur

Danai Gurira – Afeni Shakur

Kat Graham – Jada Pinkett

Dominic L. Santana – Suge Knight

Summary:

“All Eyez On Me” is the untold true story of one of the most influential musicians of all time, Tupac Shakur. The film is directed by Benny Boom who is well known for shooting music videos for big artists during the early 2000s. You really see that side of him as this film is filled with concert scenes of Tupac and is shot as if we were witnessing a music video being filmed.  This became an overused gimmick that was made in the vain to give young fans of the artist their own personal concert of him. The story of the film essentially gives us insight into certain events during his short lived life. Some of these events come as a surprise as I had no idea of how Tupac started in the music industry before he became big. It is interesting material for the most part and it really gives Shipp Jr. a chance to show off his acting chops and he does a decent job. The standout in the film for sure was Danai Gurira as Tupac’s mother Afeni. She really breathed wisdom and a ferocity that I’ve never seen in a film. She is a dangerous woman because of the fact that she knows so much and she sheds this light upon her son as she foreshadows the events to come. There were two storylines that played throughout the film that never come to fruition. They involve two famous people and when it seemed like the film was going to continue with it, the film decides to go back to more concert shots. That’s my biggest issue with the film is that it can’t focus on what it wants to do with the film as a whole. It wants to be a drama centered around an musical icon whilst trying to be the greatest music video ever. “All Eyez On Me” is a disappointing film about an influential musical icon with an actor that looks the part but fails to be a coherent film throughout its entirety.

Grade:  B-

The Fate of the Furious(2017)

Director: F. Gary Gray

Cast:

Vin Diesel – Dom

Jason Statham – Deckard

Dwayne Johnson – Hobbs

Michelle Rodriguez – Letty

Tyrese Gibson – Roman

Ludacris – Tej

Charlize Theron – Cipher

Kurt Russell – Mr. Nobody

Verdict:

“The Fate of the Furious” is directed by F. Gary Gray and is the eighth entry in the “Fast and the Furious” franchise. This film continues to follow Dom (Diesel) and his gang of car driving criminals as the team faces a personal threat. For reasons unknown, Dom has gone rogue and starts working with an infamous cyber-terrorist known as Cipher (Theron). Returning characters include Roman (Gibson), Tej (Ludacris), Letty (Rodriguez), Hobbs (Johnson) and Deckard (Statham). The movie continues to showcase ridiculous fun action. There is a wrecking ball and a scene involving Hobbs. Johnson continues to show off his comedic talent. He has a hilarious scene involving a girls soccer team. The return of Statham was great and his chemistry with Johnson was on point. The character of Dom is deeply explored in this film as he is constantly making tough decisions that affect the ones he loves. Diesel’s performance in the film at times was over the top as he is trying to win an Oscar. Charlize Theron was great as the villainous Cipher as she is constantly towing with Dom and his emotions. Her character is acting in the more serious side of the film and it is effective. The film overall jumps between the tones of seriousness and dumb fun. This at times is not effective as characters are acting differently in the movie they are in. Also, what’s with the murder in the film. It’s unnecessary and doesn’t belong in this type of film. “The Fate of the Furious” is a goofy action movie with slick cars and effective acting that once again shows how strong the family image is in this long running franchise.

Grade: B-

The Birth of a Nation(2016)

Director: Nate Parker

Cast:

Nate Parker – Nat Turner

Armie Hammer – Samuel Turner

Penelope Ann Miller – Elizabeth Turner

Jackie Earle Haley – Raymond Cobb

Mark Boone Junior – Reverend Zalthall

Colman Domingo – Hark

Verdict:

“The Birth of a Nation” is written, directed and stars Nate Parker as Nat Turner. This film

tells the story of a literate slave who led a group of slaves in a rebellion against their slave

owners in the early 1800s. This film is under a lot of controversy regarding the star, and I

went into this film putting all of that aside and just focusing on the material at hand. I

found this film to be at its strongest in the middle and falling flat in the beginning and the

end. The movie starts with a young Nat Turner witnessing his father fight back against

slave owners and then it cuts to the dad saying “I need to leave, I just killed a white man.”

That felt completely rushed and was not impacting on Nat’s character. The movie then

jumps forward to Nat as an adult and he has become a preaching man and through his

stoic presence and use of words, he presents a rallying cry to his captive brothers and

sisters. The movie showed reasoning for Nat’s calling through the use of brutal and

horrific imagery. This sends a spark through Nat’s body as he becomes fed up with

witnessing all the damage done to his fellow slaves. There were also cases of ridiculous

imagery involving a young white girl skipping with a young black girl who had a noose

around her neck. Armie Hammer is in the film as Nat’s owner who has a past with him and

he didn’t do much except being drunk and falling asleep. Jackie Earle Haley is also in the

movie as this diabolical slave owner who you just want to see get the sharp end of a knife.

When it comes time for the actual rebellion I was excited. This let me down as it felt

rushed and just to the point. I will say that “The Birth of a Nation” did justice on the part

of presenting the perilous journey these characters went through, especially Nat and I felt

that the movie was at its strongest when Nat presented the slaves with a sense of hope

and courage through bible scripture.

Grade: B

Snowden(2016)

Director: Oliver Stone

Cast:

Joseph Gordon-Levitt – Edward Snowden

Shailene Woodley – Lindsay Mills

Melissa Leo – Laura Poitras

Zachary Quinto – Glenn Greenwald

Rhys Ifans – Corbin O’Brian

Nicolas Cage – Hank Forrester

Tom Wilkinson – Ewen MacAskill

Ben Schnetzer – Gabriel Sol

Verdict:

“Snowden” is directed by Oliver Stone and stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Edward

Snowden, an NSA contractor who gave information to the press about how the

government was spying on us. The film tells Snowden’s start in the Army to his finish in

the NSA. Gordon-Levitt was amazing as Edward Snowden from his appearance to his vocal

tone. Shailene Woodley was equally as good as him, for she plays his girlfriend who is

caught between Snowden’s personal life as well as his work life. The supporting cast

across the board was tremendous from Nicolas cage playing this form of mentor to

Snowden to Rhys Ifans who was Snowden’s former teacher and boss who was so menacing

and intimidating. The central theme of the story fascinated me throughout as you watch

Snowden who is pro-America witness the government watching all of us through our

electronic devices and it just eats away at him. The style and direction of this film was also

captivating from its use of peering into a computer screen, then channeling into people’s

social lives and ending with a close up shot of Snowden’s eye. It was brilliant. The one

negative I have involves these blackout scenes with Snowden and he is thinking of the

government spying on his girlfriend. This became repetitive and unnecessary to the story.

I liked the allegory depicted at the end of the film with a sign saying “Big Brother is always

watching” and then I cut back to the scene involving Snowden and Ifans character where

he is questioning Snowden about his lie-detector test albeit through a huge screen. These

little things make me question how much do I trust my government and how far are they

willing to go to succeed in preserving their “great America.” “Snowden” is a captivating

hard look at a man who put his morals and principles on the line for the greater good of

his peers. Whether he was right or wrong is your decision.

Grade: A-

 

Straight Outta Compton(2015)

Director: F. Gary Gray

Cast:

O’Shea Jackson Jr. – Ice Cube

Corey Hawkins – Dr. Dre

Jason Mitchell – Eazy-E

Paul Giamatti – Jerry Heller

Verdict:

Straight Outta Compton is directed by F. Gary Gray and is the true story about the rise of

one of the most influential rap groups ever created “N.W.A.” The performances from the

main cast are fantastic. O’Shea Jackson Jr. really portrayed his father well by showing how

smart and witty he was when it came to black brutality and how he viewed the world he

was living in. Corey Hawkins was also very good playing Dr. Dre who is a realist, for he

wants to do bigger and better things with his life. Jason Mitchell was spectacular playing

Eazy-E as he really pulled off the emotion and ingenuity that “E” very much did and was.

F. Gary Gray directed the hell out of this movie pulling off a great opening sequence and

some of his one take shots were directed really well. This movie is influential as it shows

how nobodies can turn into somebodies with lyrics that speak the truth about society.

Grade: A-

The Aviator(2004)

Director: Martin Scorsese

Cast:

Leonardo DiCaprio – Howard Hughes

Cate Blanchett – Kate Hepburn

Alec Baldwin – Juan Trippe

Kate Beckinsale – Ava Gardner

Verdict:

The Aviator is a story that is so well told and Leonardo DiCaprio gives a

fantastic performance as Howard Hughes and it tells the story about how

he had such a troubled aviation career. Hughes has another problem as it

is a personal problem that he tries so hard to hide from the world for they

do not understand. The supporting cast is also good with great

performances from Cate Blanchett as Blanchett really transforms into

Kate Hepburn for she is extremely eccentric and giddy all the time. This

movie really captures its time that its set in with the bright ball rooms and

the colorful dresses. The movie never drags and it tells a great story about

one mans life.

Grade: A