I recall seeing A History of Violence in theaters for the first time in 2005. It was not what I was expecting at all. The movie was decent, but it didn’t quite live up to my expectations. This was also when I started to get into the Oscars. I remember being flabbergasted when William Hurt (The Doctor, Children of a Lesser God) received a Best Supporting Actor nomination. At that time, my issue with his nomination was that he appeared in only one scene (basically the last scene in the movie). To warrant this acclaim, you needed to be on the screen for more than 15 minutes. As I watched it again (for just the second time ever) last night, I realized that he didn’t deserve the nomination, not because he was only on the screen for 15 minutes, but because his performance sucked. He was such a minor character that anyone could have played this role, and it wouldn’t have affected the movie. If anybody deserved a nomination for this movie, it would have been Viggo Mortensen (The Road, Eastern Promises), who, as he always seems to do, hit a home run as this movie’s lead.
Category Archives: Suspense
Bridge of Spies (2015)
Bridge of Spies. The ultimate cure for insomnia. Okay, okay, it wasn’t that bad. It actually started great. It was also based upon a true story, so it had that going for it. But Lincoln, War Horse, and Munich were all Steven Spielberg-directed movies, and I found all three of those to be incredibly dull. I’m a huge Spielberg fan, but after a quick scan of his filmography, I haven’t liked a movie he directed in a decade (2005’s War of the Worlds). And I want to branch off from the science-fiction/action-adventure genre that really defined him, but he seems to be missing something when it comes to these dramas. Of course, there are exceptions to the rule.
Saving Private Ryan was one of the greatest movies ever made. So, while I appreciate his desire to recapture the glory he achieved in movies like Amistad or films like Schindler’s List, I must wonder why he’s wasting his time on a film like Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Worse, based on how poor that movie was, why was he set to direct a fifth installment of the series? Long story short, this isn’t the same Steven Spielberg of the 1980s and 1990s. There will be fans of the style of films he seems to be mainly concentrating on now (heck, Munich, War Horse, and Lincoln were all nominated for best picture), but all three of these movies (as well as Bridge of Spies) just felt long and tedious to me.
99 Homes (2015)
99 Homes was a movie I was confident I would love. I was wrong. It was good, but not great. It had unavoidable flaws. Even with the most accomplished director, it couldn’t have avoided some of its pitfalls and still fit in a two-hour time frame. Just like an unusually high number of films that I’ve seen this year, I knew very little about this movie going in. My knowledge of the film was reduced to knowing that it starred Andrew Garfield (The Amazing Spider-Man, The Social Network) and Michael Shannon (Take Shelter, The Harvest), that it was a heavy R-rated drama based on home foreclosures, and that it was scoring a 90% on Rotten Tomatoes at its time of release. I hadn’t seen a single preview of the movie, but what I did know about it was enough for me to see it. There was a 100% chance I would see this movie in the theater. While this is a pretty good movie, it doesn’t require a theater viewing. It’s not going to win any awards. If you get a chance to see it on Netflix or cable, give it a shot. You may not love it, but it’ll grab your attention. While it is predictable and gets in its own way, it is a tense and engrossing film. Furthermore, it continues to showcase Shannon’s dominating screen presence. Love him or hate him, he creates memorable characters.
Sicario (2015)
With three months left to go in 2015, we have a new contender for the best movie of the year, and the name of that movie is Sicario. This movie is a fantastic ride that will keep you thoroughly engrossed and guessing throughout. Like many great movies over the last couple of years, the less you know about the movie going in, the more you will like this movie. For me, this has been the case recently with films like Ex-Machina, The Drop, The Gift, and Chef. All of these were surprises, and each is a movie that I plan on watching again in the future.
The same can be said about Sicario. Once you know how the movie ends, you’ll want to watch it again to try to see it through a new set of lenses. It’s intense. It’s filled with drama. It will leave you with your mouth hanging ajar. That is, if you let it. This is a movie that requires your attention. If you doze off for even a couple of minutes, you might miss something important. If you miss something important, you might feel lost. If you feel lost, you might get frustrated. But if you are willing to work as hard as the movie does, you’ll be rewarded with one of the most exciting, well-crafted, and original movies that you are likely to find this year (or any year, for that matter).
Everest (2015)
I know I am in a significant minority when I review this movie, and I know many will wonder what I’m talking about. Everest just wasn’t a very good movie. I realize that many have never seen a mountain climbing movie or, worse, have only the likes of Vertical Limit to compare it to. But before I get too far into my review of Everest, let me mention a few mountain climbing movies that I would watch a dozen times again before forcing myself to watch Everest. The most notable one to me is a recent one that most people have never heard of. Depending on who you ask, it’s the 2008 (or 2010) German release North Face (Nordwand). It takes a few minutes to get past the subtitles, but it’s worth it. This movie is horrifying in its detail of its climbers experiencing some of nature’s most brutal physical elements. There is also Touching the Void. There is also K2. Heck, I’d even put Cliffhanger up there as a more entertaining movie. And while it’s not about reaching any summit, the absolute best climbing-based film is the fantastic 127 Hours, one of the best 2 hours you can spend with a film (side note: watch the director’s cut). But as far as Everest goes, I had extraordinarily high hopes for this film. And it disappointed on just about every level.