Too soon? Money grabber? These are two fair questions about the timing of Peter Berg’s (Deepwater Horizon, Lone Survivor) 2016 Patriots Day. The movie is based on the April 15, 2013, Boston City Marathon bombing, killing three people and wounding hundreds of others. It might seem too soon for a movie studio to be capitalizing on the tragic events of that day. For many, the event is still fresh in their minds. When I saw the trailer for this movie for the first time, I tended to agree. But after seeing this movie, I have changed my mind and instead will go with the mindset that if you’re going to make a movie out of a tragic event such as the Boston City Marathon bombing, you better get it right. And I’ll be the first to say that Berg and all those associated with this movie did get this right. It was a respectful movie that looked at the incident from various angles.
Category Archives: Based on a True Story
The Founder (2016)
As John Lee Hancock’s (Saving Mr. Banks, The Blind Side) progressed, I couldn’t help but compare his lead character, Ray Kroc (played by Michael Keaton – Spotlight, Birdman), to, perhaps, the most iconic television figure in the last 25 years. But, of course, I’m talking about Walter White from the AMC series Breaking Bad. Now, the founder of The McDonald’s Corporation certainly didn’t go to the extremes that Walter White did when he transferred himself from a quiet high school chemistry teacher to a ruthless, cutthroat drug Kingpin, intent on destroying everything in his path by any means necessary to get what he wants. Nevertheless, Hancock’s version of Kroc felt similar in that when we met him, he was a man of integrity, doing whatever he could within the confines of the law to make a living. But, by the film’s end, he is an entirely different man, caught up in his greed, power, and wealth. But, like White, he reaches a point where he feels virtually invincible to those around him and the laws of the land. And just like Breaking Bad, The Founder becomes a must-watch.
Lion (2016)
Prepare yourself. I’m unsure if I’ve had a movie theater experience with a more constant stream of tears since 1997’s Titanic. I know there have been movies that have scenes that have affected me more, and there have been home viewings where I don’t feel the same pressure to hold it together as I would in the theater. So, while I was having sort of a sentimental day before I engaged with this movie, for whatever reason, I was wiping away tears early and often in this movie. In some ways, it was eerily reminiscent of 2008’s Slumdog Millionaire. It starred Dev Patel (Chappie, HBO’s The Newsroom) and revolved around the story set, mostly in the present, with flashbacks to childhood memories in India. Much like the fantastic Slumdog Millionaire put Patel on the map for the first time, Lion will certainly launch him to leading man status for years. Though he didn’t appear on screen until the movie was about 40% over, he commanded every scene he was in from that point going forward to transform this movie from extraordinary to must-see. In a year where the top lead actors have portrayed characters riddled with guilt, doubt, regret, and self-loathing, Patel holds his own with the more accomplished Denzel Washington (Fences), Ryan Gosling (La La Land), and frontrunner Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea).
Jackie (2016)
Less than a month ago, I would have said Natalie Portman (Black Swan, Brothers) was the one lock for an Academy Award win. Her portrayal as the grieving Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in the wake of her husband’s assassination by Lee Harvey Oswald. Portman just looked the part, and it felt like this was the role she was born to play. Portman is a fantastic actress who did an above-average job in Jackie. But this movie was so flat and depressing that I wonder if it will be enough to take out Emma Stone in La La Land, which has been gaining lots of steam in recent weeks. I’m not overly impressed when I look at this list of contenders for Best Actress. This helps Portman. This film only had to be pretty good to convince me she should win. Unfortunately, the movie did not live up to my expectations at all. While I learned a lot about Jackie Kennedy, her relationship with her family, the media, and the people of America, and the events that occurred on November 22, 1963, and the week afterward, this movie overall was very dark and dull. Though only an hour and a half, it felt like a three-hour snoozefest. It’s hard to recommend a film that felt more like a history lesson that you should be required to watch in your 11th-grade U.S. History class.
Loving (2016)
Jeff Nichols’s (Take Shelter, Mud) Loving is an early contender for my most disappointing movie of the year. While there are plenty of other candidates, Loving is the only one likely to be considered for Oscar contention. It likely will get a nomination for Joel Edgerton (Warrior, The Gift), who I think is one of the best actors we currently have but whose performance was not one of the five best of the year (and probably wasn’t even one of the ten best). It likely will also get a nomination for Ruth Negga (Of Mind and Music, Warcraft), whose performance was equally uncompelling. And it could earn Oscars for Nichols (who I also love, but who should get nominated as well as Best Picture).