One of the early tragedies of the Netflix distribution line must be the 
J.C. Chandor (A Most Violent Year, All Is Lost) Triple Frontier, a movie you can decide after watching or reading this review whether you like it or not. This is not a review that will talk about the merits and faults of Netflix (by one sentence, the 2019 stand is that Netflix is unique with its shows, but I wish it would stay away from movies). Still, Triple Frontier deserved its viewing on a big screen theater, where it could have flourished. I’ve seen over 1500 movies in a movie theatre at the time of this post. I’ve seen 1500 other movies for the first time on my television screen as well. For each movie I’ve seen and loved on my television, I can’t help but wonder what the movie must have been like in the atmosphere in which it was designed to be viewed. I can’t make the same claim the other way around. Sure, I’ve said, “Man, I wish I would have saved my cash and watched this at home…or not watched this at all” when I see a terrible movie in the theatre, but that is a different conversation and, hopefully, one I don’t have to have on a different day.
Category Archives: J.C. Chandor
A Most Violent Year (2014)
The best movie of 2014 that has flown under the radar is, without a doubt, J.C. Chandor’s (All Is Lost, Margin Call) A Most Violent Year. As I will mention in the paragraphs below, this movie is subtly fantastic. But before I get into the film, I want to talk about Chandor. This guy is quietly establishing himself as a master of two crafts. A Most Violent Year is just his third movie, but it is the third for which he has directed and written the screenplay. And all three films have earned at least 88% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes even though none made more than $8 million at the box office. All three movies are unique from one another, and Chandor has already had the opportunity to work with some of the biggest names in Hollywood (Robert Redford, Kevin Spacey, Jeremy Irons, Demi Moore, Stanley Tucci, Oscar Isaac, David Oyelowo, Jessica Chastain, and Albert Brooks). He has already signed on Mark Wahlberg to star in his next project. And while All Is Lost and Margin Call were both unique movie experiences, A Most Violent Year is Chandor’s crowning achievement to date.
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All Is Lost (2013)
The trailer for J.C. Chandor’s (Margin Call, A Most Violent Year) All Is Lost was incredible. It shows a man Robert Redford (The Sting, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid), sailing his yacht in the middle of the sea. He has a smile on his face. The sun is shining brightly. The wind is blowing lightly through his hair. The shots of him are broken up by black frame credits that say “Alone at Sea,” “A Man Has Only Himself,” and “His Will To Survive.” And then we go to a shot of him sleeping in his cabin. Seconds later, water comes gushing in, and it’s obvious he has crashed into something. Then we see all hell breaking loose, including high waves, heavy rain, his belongings hitting off the walls as a result of the yacht rocking back and forth, his yacht capsizing, him saying goodbye to his craft from a raft, unsuccessful attempts at making S.O.S. calls, and flare guns shot into the night sky. Critical praise is flashed on the screen, making it seem like this movie might be the most suspenseful movie ever made. Of course, it’s not, but the trailer makes it look that way.
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