Tag Archives: Willem Dafoe
Rob’s Quick Review: John Wick
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Letter Grade:
A- |
The Good: Stylish The Bad: They try to get a little too cute with the subtitles. |
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Cast & Crew: Director: Chad Stahelski, David Leitch |
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John Wick is a stylish, fast-paced take on the revenge action genre. It’s very well written, interlacing funny moments into the action sequences, reminding me of the best of Shane Black’s writing. I don’t quite understand the decision to go and seemingly randomly bold and colorize certain words in the subtitles.
Jennie’s Review: The Grand Budapest Hotel
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Letter Grade:
B+ |
The Good: All of the Artistic Aspects The Bad: The R Rating Limits It |
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Cast & Crew: Directed By: Wes Anderson Rated R for language, some sexual content and violence |
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The story opens with an author (Tom Wilkinson) revisiting how his younger self (Jude Law) came about the story of The Grand Budapest Hotel and its current owner (F. Murray Abraham)/ former lobby boy (Tony Revolori) Zero Moustafa. It is sort of a story within a story within a story. Luckily the main focus of the film resides with the early 1930’s storyline. The main story is set in a fictionalized European styled location called Republic of Zubrowka. In an also fictionalized history that somewhat mimics the years leading up to World War II. So much so, that there is an occupation of the hotel towards the end of the movie by the ZZ (seemingly replacing the Nazi SS). This movie, like all Wes Anderson movies, is quirky and strange throughout. This one however is not so far over the edge that is distractingly so. With many of his films, about 1/3 of the way through you’re thinking “No one is actually like this” and start just focusing on the absurdities. Not that this one isn’t absurd in many ways, but something about it already being set in a fictional place in an alternate history makes this OK. (more…)
Jennie’s Review: Out of the Furnace
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Letter Grade:
A |
The Good: Acting The Bad: If I have to pick, I'd say that it isn't exactly uplifting. |
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Cast & Crew: Directed By: Scott Cooper Rated R for strong violence, language and drug content |
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Out of the Furnace opens with Harlan DeGroat (Woody Harrelson) at a drive in theater. He is on a date and the woman with him says something that upsets him. He proceeds to throw her food out the window, jam a cigar down her throat, slam her head against the dash board, and then beats a good samaratatin checking on his date so savagely that onlookers are calling 911 by the end of the scene. In case you missed the subtlety of this scene, he’s an awful person and the most 
obvious bad guy of the movie… unless of course you include post traumatic stress disorder and crippling depression as bad guys as well.
We then meet Russell Baze (Christian Bale) a worker at the local Steel Mill and his brother Rodney (Casey Affleck), a Veteran who has done a few tours in the Middle East and is heading out for another due to being stop-lossed. Rodney has a gambling problem (and a Bare-knuckle boxing to pay off his debts problem), Russell works hard and tries to bail him out as much as he can but it’s not enough. Their father, who also spent his life working at the Steel Mill, is dying and hooked up to all sorts of medical equipment in his own living room. Russell’s girlfriend Lena (Zoe Saldana) wants more of a commitment, specifically a baby, but he does not believe he is financially ready for that sort of step.
Then Russell makes a terrible decision that changes his life and the lives of his loved ones forever.
This is the second endeavor for Director Scott Cooper. His directorial debut was the critically acclaimed, award winning, and box office success Crazy Heart. While this movie did not garner as much hype as the first one did, and it will not surpass its success, I believe it to be a wonderful piece that Cooper should be proud of. (more…)
New Trailer: Out of the Furnace
When Rodney Baze mysteriously disappears and law enforcement fails to follow through, his older brother, Russell, takes matters into his own hands to find justice.
2013 seems to be the year of wonderful ensemble casts, and this movie is no exception. Out of the Furnace stars Christian Bale, Casey Affleck, Woody Harrelson, Zoe Saldana, Forest Whitaker, Willem Dafoe, and Sam Shepard. Not to mention that every one of these actors (with the exception of Dafoe… maybe) is in at least one other major or critically acclaimed movie this year. Directed by second time director Scott Cooper, whose directorial debut was the Oscar winning 2009 hit Crazy Heart.
*Photo courtesy of Relativity Media via image.net
