Knowing little about it, I went into my local theater to watch Michael Sarnoski’s directorial debut, Pig. I saw it playing at my local theater, checked out its score on Rotten Tomatoes (97% and 95%), and then looked at the scores assigned by Richard Roeper (4/4 stars) and also the score on Roger Ebert’s website (also 4/4 stars). The movie poster made it look like a backwoods thriller. It was enough for me. I had no idea what the movie was even about. I recall when I saw David Fincher’s Se7en back in 1995. I knew nothing about that film, which is one reason I am still so mesmerized and starstruck by that film. Had I learned more about it, it still would have been a forever classic with me. But there was something about that journey of not knowing anything about it but being completely engrossed by it. The comparison between Se7en and Pig ends there but is a notable mention nonetheless.
Category Archives: Drama
The World to Come (2020)
Hope. Love. Tragedy. Despair. We desire the first pair of words. We dread the second pair. When we experience all five of these emotions in the order presented here, what comes after experiencing despair? Death? Rebirth? Complacency. If the suffering is deep enough, is any coming out of it? Do we even want to? Do we believe that we can find joy again? If we do, will we recognize it? Will we embrace it? In Mona Fastvold’s (The Sleepwalker) The World To Come, we spend 98 minutes with Abigail (Katherine Waterston – Mid90s, Alien: Covenant), a grieving mother who has spent the year before unsuccessfully trying to process her young daughter’s death.
Breakdown (1997)
Back in his heyday as a leading man, Kurt Russell (The Thing, Escape from New York) had many movies that were massive box-office successes. From 1989 through 1996, he received top billing in five films (Backdraft, Unlawful Entry, Tombstone, Stargate, Executive Decision), earning more than $50 million in revenue. He continued that streak in the highly promoted Breakdown, which garnered $50.2 million while earning critical (81%) and audience (67%) acclaim. Breakdown was a movie I saw opening weekend in the movie theater and one that I hadn’t revisited until 2021. I remember loving it in the theaters. Unfortunately, because there have been so many ripoffs of this movie since that have done this premise better, its rewatch left something to be desired. Unlike his other films mentioned above, Breakdown fails to hold, though it is through no fault of Russell who carries it throughout, just like he does with most of his films.
Taking Chance (2009)
Taking Chance is a tender little movie that most people have probably never heard of, let alone given the inclination to give it a watch. Quietly released by HBO in early 2009, first-time director Ross Katz debuts a gem of a based on actual events movie about a high-ranking marine officer escorting the slain body of a soldier home to his final resting place after the young man was killed in action during Operation: Iraqi Freedom.
Those Who Wish Me Dead (2021)
Perhaps a perfect popcorn flick for moviegoers who can close off their brains and enjoy a decent action story with some pretty good cinematography that also stars one of the most marketable movie actors of the last 25 years, Those Who Wish Me Dead is a movie that fails to capitalize on its potential. Outside of Maleficent, Angelina Jolie (Girl, Interrupted, A Mighty Heart) hasn’t had the best decade in front of the camera. However, her fanbase is still tremendous. Her opportunity to return to the action-adventure drama helped solidify her career (Salt, Wanted, Lara Croft Tomb Raider, Mr. and Mrs. Smith). She may have done enough to secure future starring roles with her physically impressive performance as a Montana smokejumper named Hannah. She was the highlight of Taylor Sheridan’s (Sicario, Wind River) movie that otherwise failed to deliver.