Love or hate him, Terrence Malick has a unique style. Personally, he’s not for me. The New World was a decent enough film, but it left me wanting more. I had such high hopes for The Tree of Life, only for it to result in one of my most frustrating and tedious theater-going experiences ever, that I was ready to write him off. However, there is often an anomaly. For me, it was his devastatingly beautiful portrayal of World War II in 1998’s The Thin Red Line. Rightfully or not, The Thin Red Line will forever be associated and compared with Saving Private Ryan, another World War II-based Best Picture nominee of 1998. And, if I’m being 100% honest, I did not know that Malick directed the Thin Red Line until after I finished watching it.
Category Archives: John Cusack
Love & Mercy (2015)
Love & Mercy, the Brian Wilson biopic that shows two time periods of The Beach Boys’ life’s most recognizable face, is one of the most underrated movies of 2015. Forgot whatever you know or think you know about Brian Wilson. For me, that was absolutely nothing. I knew he was a member of The Beach Boys, but that was about it. I’m not really a fan of The Beach Boys, but I have a new appreciation for the band and especially for Brian Wilson after seeing this movie. While the band is known for its carefree car tunes like Surfin USA, I Get Around, and California Girls, not all was as peachy as I thought it to be. I’ve always considered The Beach Boys one of those bands that didn’t have a lot of substance in their songs. Not being a Mr. Happy Go Lucky type guy myself and having been to the beaches of California only a couple of times in my life, I couldn’t relate to their music like I could a Tom Petty or a Bruce Springsteen. Their songs, to me, were just that. Peachy. While I will not go out and buy their entire anthology, I will give some of their songs a listen, whereas I might not have in the past. Originally I had no intention of seeing this movie. I thought it was a documentary at first. But I’m glad I decided to see it. I think every fan of the band and everyone who enjoys a good biopic should go out and see this movie.
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Lee Daniels’ The Butler (2013)
Lee Daniels’ The Butler was a well-made movie that many thought would receive multiple Academy Award nominations. It was a good movie, but certainly not one of the ten best of the year. There were fine performances given by the leads Forest Whitaker – (The Last King of Scotland, The Crying Game) and Oprah Winfrey (The Color Purple, Beloved). Still, neither gave one of the top five performances of the year in their category. In addition, director Lee Daniels (Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire, The Paperboy) told a story that keeps you interested and involved, but this did not match the direction of Steve McQueen (12 Years A Slave) or Alfonso Cuarón (Gravity). In short, this was a good movie worth seeing, but one that most likely would not have been nominated for an Academy Awards, regardless of the year of release. Continue reading Lee Daniels’ The Butler (2013)