“Inspired by true events” versus “this is a true story” are two very different things. The first could mean anything. It’s harder to get upset when you find out fact and fiction don’t always meet eye to eye. However, when told that what you are about to see is a true story, only to find out later that facts (both minor and major) have changed along the way, you have the right to get a bit more upset. Actual events inspire The Good Lie. And while they bring light to a critical issue, the character story was primarily fictional, as far as I can tell. Now, this brings up an interesting conversation. Would you rather see a strictly factual movie that doesn’t tell the most exciting story, or one based on an actual situation but with, for the most part, specific characters and conditions that are more fictionalized?
Category Archives: Drama
Southpaw (2015)
History will probably not remember this because he missed earning an Academy Award nomination for his first performance, and he may miss out on this one as well. Still, the physical transformation from Jake Gyllenhaal’s performance as sickly, twisted reporter Lou Bloom in 2014’s fantastically crafted Nightcrawler to the lean, mean, fighting machine Billy Hope in 2015’s Southpaw is remarkable. As people watch either or both of these movies in the future, they will likely forget that he filmed them back-to-back. But aside from how he changed the physical look of his body for each role, his acting in these films might be two of the best of his career, and they continue to hit all the right buttons, save for The Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. I’ll start with Southpaw: the less you know, the better off I think you will be. If you haven’t seen it, I will list my overall score here. I suggest not reading any further until after you’ve seen the movie, or if the surprise factor isn’t something you are interested in. I’ll let you know when I add spoilers to this review. I would give Southpaw an overall score of 87.5/100.
Angela’s Ashes (1999)
A couple of months ago, I found an article in Entertainment Weekly listing the most depressing books ever written. And near the top of this list was Frank McCourt’s Angela’s Ashes. So, along with a list of other books I wanted to read, I went to Barnes and Noble and searched for the book. I came up empty, which surprised me because I had long thought this book was a classic and one read in English classes in many high schools. And I could have downloaded it or read it on my Kindle, but I’m about 65% /% a hard-copy reader. I prefer reading my classics in hard copy. Fast-forward a month: I go to a different Barnes and Noble looking for the book, and again come up empty. I texted my friend Sarah, and she told me to check the biography section, not the fiction/classics section. Who knew? And there it was, along with about 20 other copies. So I read the book over two weeks and loved it. It’s my favorite book of 2015. And, yes, I do rank my books just like I do my movies. I don’t blog about it because I watch more movies than I read books.
Welcome to Me (2014)
Kristin Wiig (Bridesmaids, The Skeleton Twins) got off to a bit of a late start in her movie career. Still, the hilarious Saturday Night Live alum is making up for lost time and immersing herself in as many unique roles as possible. The funniest female cast member in SNL history isn’t letting herself become typecast, like so many of her predecessors (male and female), by starring in full-length versions of the skits she performed on television. In recent years, many alumni (especially women like Amy Poehler and Tina Fey) have established themselves as legit, in-it-for-the-long-run actors, writers, directors, and producers. Many of the three names mentioned in this paragraph will rank the talents as 1) Fey, 2) Poehler, and 3) Wiig. I may be in the minority, but I say Wiig is my favorite of the three, followed closely by Fey. For me, while super-talented, Poehler is a distant third.
Begin Again (2013)
Begin Again had all of the makings of a great movie. It had an all-star cast with Mark Ruffalo, Keira Knightley, Hailee Steinfeld, and Catherine Keener (in addition to Maroon 5’s Adam Levine). It had a fantastic soundtrack (with most of the songs sung by Knightley). But most importantly, it was tying itself to John Carney, the screenwriter/director’s 2007 gem Once, perhaps the most incredible “musical and performing arts” movie you’ve ever heard of. I started off really liking this movie. After 30 minutes, I felt confident it would be as good as, if not better than, Once. The problem was that, as believable as Once felt, this movie felt unbelievable by its third act. It was a movie that stretched so far past the idea of a feel-good story that you really couldn’t take it seriously at all. If I had to break down the three acts, I would give Act One an A, Act Two a C, and Act Three a D (based on the implausibility of not just the last act itself, but because it doesn’t effectively bring resolution to any of the issues the characters are dealing with in the first two acts of the film). This movie reminded me of August Rush, but I’ll need to watch it again to see if that’s a fair assessment. I do remember wanting to like August Rush much more than I did.