1980's, Comedy, Movie Reviews, Movies

REVIEW: “EVERYBODY WANTS SOME” (2016) Paramount Pictures

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“Everybody Wants Some” consists of little more than film of a bunch of overly-competitive jocks joking with each other, partying, and trying to get laid over the course of three days before school starts.

With the countdown on, the opening of the film doesn’t even attempt to describe what’s going to happen and the end of the film barely describes what happened beforehand.

The cast of the film (i.e., the 12 guys who make up the group of athletes) Nesbit (Austin Amelio), McReynolds (Tyler Hoechlin), Jake (Blake Jenner), Roper (Ryan Guzman), Willoughby (Wyatt Russell), Finnegan (Glen Powell), Plummer (Temple Baker), Dale (J. Quinton Johnson), Beuter (Will Brittain), Jay (Juston Street), Brumley (Tanner Kalina), and Coma (Forrest Vickery) are baseball players, yet there is no baseball played until the very end. They are basically just on one big continual lookout for stimulus in the largest and tiniest things…and really whatever kind of stimulus they can get their hands on whether it be getting stoned, constantly drunk or high.
everybody 1
Story-wise, it unfolds over almost every part of the 80’s era, which is, as far as I could tell, undefined yet each night takes us to a different flavor of the time: disco, punk, you name it…which makes the soundtrack very listenable..and the best part of this lackluster film.

Featuring bad frat-boy dialogue or a narrative that tries to hard with a cast of guys that look to be in their late 20’s & early 30’s vs. college age, this is Linklater’s new film and his signature style slightly suffering from the post-Boyhood effect with people noticeably walking out within 20-30 minutes. As the lives and summers of eternal youth unfold: partying, billiards, male competition, table tennis, loves, pinball machines, pranks, disco, dance music. And of course girls, all about the girls. For the boys “this is the best day of their lives – until tomorrow.”
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This is not even a close comparison to Dazed & Confused which is a classic and as with most Linklater movies..they tend to run an hour to long ~ this one is no exception.

Grade: D
@pegsatthemovies

Review Screening: Monday, March 28, 2016 ~ Courtesy LAFILM-TV
In limited release ~ Friday, March 30,2016 ~ Nationwide Release: Friday, April 8, 2016

1950's, 1960's, Biography, Drama, Movie Reviews, Movies, Music, Uncategorized

REVIEW PREMIERE OF: “I SAW THE LIGHT” (2016) Sony Pictures Classics

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I was happy with the choice of Tom Hiddleston as Hank Williams. He had the physical look to carry it off and I knew he had the talent. I just wish I could say the same with the script. From the shaking camera to the direction & edit of this film, it is literally all over the place. Cutting from one scene to another without really understanding where it is we are going.

This story seems to focus heavily on his first marriage to Audrey Williams (Elizabeth Olsen) and that relationship. But while his band produced hit after hit, there is more time given here to the conflict between Audrey and his controlling mother, Lillie Williams (Cherry Jones) who managed the early part of his music career, than Hank himself. Also Hank’s band has trouble with Audrey, who has musical ambitions and is criticized as a no-talent back-up singer. i saw the 2 It provides Hank with a dilemma of choosing – his wife or his band? It’s frustrating that out of everything Hank Williams did, this is what they focus on. Other than the music, they barely touched on anything that made him such a colorful character and a country music icon. It doesn’t help that there is little chemistry between two lead characters.

Tom Hiddleston did a nice job with his singing here, which are definitely the highlights of the film, but at one point he gets asked how old he is to which he replies ’23’ and sorry..as much as I adore Hiddleston there is just no way he is passing for 23. Even the 29 years of age that William’s is when he dies is a stretch.
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I can’t say I know a lot about Hank Williams besides the fact he came from less fortunate part of Monroe, Alabama and fought his way out with his music and was hoping to learn more. Sadly the only thing I came out knowing more about was his alcohol and marital problems than on his impact on the Country – & – Western scene, of which he was a huge part of.

Towards the end we see Wiliams getting interviewed by reporter James Dolan, (David Krumholaz) to find out what makes him tick…sadly the film leaves us never really knowing what did.

Grade: D+
@pegsatthemovies

Review Premiere Screening: Tuesday, March 22, 2016 ~ Courtesy of Film Independent
Nationwide release: Friday, March 25, 2016

Some photos of Tom Hiddleston at the premiere ~

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Hiddleston 2

Drama, Movie Reviews, Movies, Mystery, Sci Fi

REVIEW: “10 CLOVERFIELD LANE” (2016) Paramount Pictures

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Not a big surprise that a sequel seemed like a logical choice to 2008’s “Cloverfield” by JJ Abrams as it was a big hit comparatively with a 25 million budget, while grossing right around 170 million. The ‘found footage’ film about a group of young people surviving a monster attack in Manhattan was driven by a highly sophisticated and fun marketing campaign. Mysterious trailers of the film ‘Untitled’ left you guessing as to what was the content, was also really well received by critics & film-goers alike.
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While not quite the exact same thing here, JJ Abrams sees ’10 Cloverfield Lane’ as a kinsman of “Cloverfield.” And that’s a good description because although there could be a comparison of a few elements, 10 Cloverfield Lane is a very different kind of film and can stand on it’s own. Do not expect found footage film or a direct sequel or prequel. ’10 Cloverfield Lane’ is a pure psychological thriller, with a little taste of Sci-Fi thrown in for good measure.

It’s mainly undertaken all in one place, the bunker of the mysterious Howard (John Goodman). The bunker is a typical doomsday place: an underground space filled with food, drinks and all the comforts of home, including a cozy living room and fully functional kitchen, ya know, for those underground bunker dinner parties. Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) is excellent as the frightened but brave one, who basically MacGyver’s her way through this film. Even John Gallagher Jr. as the simple Emmett is well cast. The biggest surprise is John Goodman as Howard, a role that is seemly tailor-made for him, as he turns the effortlessly friendly man into a creepy psycho without ever giving away which of the two he is and in turn, giving us a whole other level of fear. cloverfield 2

’10 Cloverfield Lane’ will truly have the most impact if you have minimal knowledge of it before hand because it’s nail biting exciting. And any reviewer that gives away the spoilers or the full story of this one, I wish them years of paper cuts because this is one to be experienced, not told about. The only minus is the last act of the film, here and there, it flies off the rails, But you forgive debut director Dan Trachtenberg for this little whim, as I loved the fact that just when you think it won’t go there.. it does! It’s very clever and with fresh inspiration, gives just the right subtle nod to its successful predecessor. For those who love psychological mind-bending films like this, you won’t be disappointed.

Grade: B
@pegsatthemovies

Review Screening: Wednesday, March 9, 2016 ~ Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
Nationwide Release: Friday, March 11, 2016

awards, Movie Reviews, Movies, Oscar Awards

7 DAYS OF OSCARS: FINAL DAY 7 ~ “BEST PICTURE”

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Well here we are. The very last day of my “7 Days of Oscar” and I’ve saved the biggest and best for last. While this is a very good slate of films, and most of them deserve to be here, some clearly more than others. I have made my choice – hard as it was, and I very well know there can be an upset of epic proportions in this category above all of them.

Final note: **Reminder that I’m giving who I think the winner will be and what would be my pick – because they just might not be the same!! 😀

BEST PICTURE

The Big Short
This film is dark comedy at it’s best. You don’t know whether to laugh or cry and the acting is just spectacular all the way around.

Bridge of Spies
Not a strong enough film here for me. I almost felt had I not known it was based on a true story, I would have thought how contrived and predictable it was. While I liked it on a whole, save for Mark Rylance’s brilliant performance, it had some slow moments and at times, could be a dull ride.

Brooklyn
A sweet, yet altogether to sappy of a story for me. I liked it for sure, but it waned & dragged through parts to much so for me to give it a big vote here.

Mad Max: Fury Road– Possible Winner
Ohhh how I love this movie. It’s fast, entertaining, and just an all around thrill ride. Need I say more.. I think not. But I will say I think a secret part of me wants it to win in my heart of hearts because it was just so truly… EVERYTHING.

The Martian
Fun fun movie here.. is it Oscar winning? No, but it’s completely entertaining and definitely a good watch.

The Revenant – MY PICK/WINNER
When I saw this film I was completely and utterly blown away as I didn’t think Inarritu could outdo ‘Birdman’.. he did. It’s a mind-bending experience of a film which is what made me pick it, by just a hair mind you.

Room
Why this movie is even here on this list I’ve still to fathom, but it has so many fans..that I’m guessing have never watched Law & Order: SVU as I’ve seen this story better done on episode of that show. It just still boggles my mind.

Spotlight– Possible upset winner
Very good and VERY gutsy movie to bring this subject literally back into the spotlight. Just not a winner for me, but it could very well do so here and be the upset winner of the year.

#Oscars2016 #peggyatthemovies

awards, Movie Reviews, Movies, Oscar Awards, Uncategorized

Oscars 2016 – Addressing the controversy

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Taking a day out of my “7 Days of Oscars” to address the looming Oscars issue of Diversity. Now I’m not professing to be the know all of what’s right or wrong, but I’m tired of hearing a one-sided argument. So here is what I do know.

There are truly 2 questions that can be asked here. Question 1. Do you/should you nominatate someone soley based on race, creed, or colour Answer: No. Has it been a ‘white’ Oscars the past 2 years? Yes, it has which leads into – Question 2. But where does the fault lie in this?

Because while people can scream & shout & blame the Academy all they want, by the time it gets to that point it’s really too late. It’s not the Oscar themselves as it starts at the beginning of the film process. And this is not a black thing – this is a diversity thing, meaning diversity of all races, has been at a complete failure in film whereas in TV, it’s wide open. Speaking as someone who read the breakdowns and scripts for years while representing the actors, so many miss the fact that they need to start at the beginning, with great stories & great roles for all diversified characters. And the frustrating thing is they know this!!! I’m not telling anyone to watch or not to watch, but for the industry people to boycott is kinda slamming your peers for their work.. like saying they shouldn’t have been nominated, which I just don’t think is cool either.

Is it harder to cast something that you have to list as ‘ALL ETHINCITIES’ – sure maybe it is as you have to see a lot more people and work harder – but I’m not even sure that’s the problem as the casting agents I know work extremely hard – what I do know is it’s time to make it change from the ground up!!!! Support Indie Films and low budget films with diverse characters/actors and you will see things start to change. Might be slow, but if you don’t try, you can’t complain.  And Viola Davis states it all so well in this link below..

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/viola-davis-diversity-separate-opportunity-869171?facebook_20160224

#Oscars2016 #peggyatthemovies

awards, Movie Reviews, Movies, Oscar Awards

7 DAYS OF OSCARS: DAY 6 ~ “BEST ACTOR”

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Yes, the end of my “7 Days of Oscars” is nearing it’s close. For some this might be a hard category. For me, it is the simplest one as I knew from the minute the film was over, who was going to be my pick of the year. And yes, deservedly so.

BEST ACTOR

Bryan Cranston, Trumbo
Being a fan of Cranston, it’s a notable performance here, but the film went pretty unnoticed by most as it was about the infamous ‘blacklist’ and I think some just thought it had been done before.

Matt Damon, The Martian
This for me, was actually a really good dramady performance by Damon. He was funny, yet serious when he needed to be. But sorry Matt, it’s going to have to be another time. 🙂

Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant – MY PICK/WINNER
Please pick up your Golden Man.. FINALLY Mr. DiCaprio. 😀

Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs
Good, strong job by one of my favourite actors here. Lot’s of dialogue but just didn’t hit it on the mark for me.

Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl
Last year’s winner and another good performance by Redmayne, but not of the Oscar caliber of last years so no..I don’t think Eddie’s doing a repeat.

And with that we are approaching Day 7 – The Final Day of “7 Days of Oscars” which will be of course, Best Picture. With that being said, I’m going to the Independent Spirit Awards tomorrow, Sat. the 27th, and instead of posting my BP picks, I’m just going to briefly address the Oscar controversy and save my last for the BIG DAY!! Cheers to you all until then..
#Oscars2016 #peggyatthemovies

**Reminder that I’m giving who I think the winner will be and what would be my pick – because yes, they just might not be the same!! 😀

awards, Movie Reviews, Movies, Oscar Awards

7 DAYS OF OSCARS: DAY 5 ~ “BEST ACTRESS”

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We are on Day 5 of my “7 Days of Oscars” – and into the Best Actress category.

BEST ACTRESS

Cate Blanchett, Carol
I mean it’s Cate. It’s rare that you will catch her in a bad performance. I liked her in ‘Truth’ earlier in the year, and while I didn’t love this film, she was as always, very good. Enough said.

Brie Larson, Room – WINNER
There isn’t really anything to add here from what I noted on my Golden Globes review. Nothing’s changed. I like Brie a lot, but I can’t truthfully think this is anywhere close to being a performance or film that should be here..but hey..again, my hopes are still up that maybe she will share the award with Mariska Hargitay from Law & Order:SVU if she wins.

Jennifer Lawrence, Joy
No offense to Jennifer here, as I do like her a lot and I’m sure she has many more awards coming in her career. This isn’t going to be one of them, and truth be told, wasn’t really strong enough of a role to really be here.

Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years – MY PICK
While this wasn’t my favourite film of the year as it was rather slow-moving, Rampling’s performance was simply put, sublime. If there were true Oscar gods, she would win! 😀

Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn
While the story itself was rather sappy at points, Saoirse really was quite good here. It was what I would call a sweet-type performance and she would be my 2nd choice here.

Tomorrow, as we are coming close to the end of “7 Days of Oscar” and the Best Actor category.
Till then.. #Oscars2016 #peggyatthemovies

awards, Movie Reviews, Movies, Oscar Awards, Uncategorized

7 DAYS OF OSCARS: DAY 4 ~ “BEST DIRECTOR”

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Wait.. what day is it??!! Just kidding.. as it’s DAY FOUR of the ‘7 Days of Oscar’ and it’s getting tough as it’s BEST DIRECTOR time..
And yes, I will continue to add in my reminder that I’m giving who I think the winner will be and what would be my pick – because yes, they just might not be the same!! 😀

BEST DIRECTOR

Adam McKay, The Big Short
I really really enjoyed this film as it was dark comedy at it’s best. I didn’t know whether to laugh at the hilarious cameo explanations or cry at the subject matter. Truly a gem.

George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road
Just truly an incredible film. We were brought back to a Mad Max of old, the kind where you really didn’t even have time to breathe for the first 15 minutes of the film. This film was just epic. It’s such a close one here for me.

Alejandro G. Iñárritu, The Revenant
MY PICK/WINNER
What can I say here.. Did I think ‘Birdman’ could be outdone..no I didn’t think so. But yet here with The Revenant it was. Can Alejandro make it 2 in a row is yet to be seen. But it would be well deserved.

Lenny Abrahamson, Room
I’m sure Lenny is a great guy..having done a Q & A with him after Room screening I can say I found him to be engaging enough, and sometimes I wish I could understand what the people who love this film, see in it. Sorry, but he is not my winner.

Tom McCarthy, Spotlight
Good movie, though not a winner for me.

So there ya have it. Tomorrow we move on to the Best Actress category for Day 5 of the “7 Days of Oscar”
Till then.. #Oscars2016 #peggyatthemovies

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7 DAYS OF OSCARS: DAY THREE ~ “BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR”

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Here we are at Day 3 of my “7 Days of Oscar” ~ probably for me at least, the hardest category besides Best Picture to judge. The category is just filled to the brim of fantastic performances and I wish they could all win..well..minus one. ha!
Reminder: I’m giving who I think the winner will be and what would be my pick – because they aren’t always necessarily the same!! 😀

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Christian Bale, The Big Short
Absolutely Christian Bale in one of his best career performances. While it was a complete ensemble cast, he stood out head and shoulders above the rest.

Tom Hardy, The Revenant
How do you explain Tom Hardy – he’s been full of acting surprises for some years now and while I would’ve thought him to have a nomination before this one (think ‘Locke’ from 2014), he is deservedly here.

Mark Ruffalo, Spotlight
Ruffalo with his oddly thrown in facial & body tics/expressions that are reminiscent of a bad Jimmy Olsen caricature, annoyed the daylights out of me, to a point for me so I can’t even remotely vote for him here and was the only drawback to an otherwise really good film.

Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies
Lucky for me, I’ve known about Rylance’s talent for a bit now. For me, there was only one person that truly stood out for me performance-wise in this film and that person was Mark Rylance.

Sylvester Stallone, Creed MY PICK/WINNER
Yep I’m going ‘Old School’ on this one. because Sly, Sly, Sly – I’ve seen all your stuff, whether good or bad. But I remember how no one thought you could act.. I kept telling them you could, and then came ‘Copland’ where you proved them all wrong and me right. Has there been more misses than hits…sure there has, but damn you were so good here. He will pull at everyone’s heartstrings like he did mine and take this.

**Come back tomorrow for Day 4 of the “7 Days of Oscar” and see my picks/winners for Best Director.**

awards, Movie Reviews, Movies, Oscar Awards, Uncategorized

7 DAYS OF OSCARS: DAY TWO ~ BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

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Yep..here we are at Day 2 of my “7 Days of Oscar” just remember.. I’m giving who I think the winner will be and what would be my pick – because they don’t always necessarily coincide with each other!! 😀

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Hateful Eight
As I noted with the Golden Globes – there were times I just thought ‘wow, JJL is knocking it out of the park here’ then there were more times when I thought ‘oh, no no she’s not, she’s kinda annoying me’ so this is a give & take for me but definitely not a pick.

Rooney Mara, Carol
While I’m mostly not a fan of Rooney Mara’s, I will say, she impressed me in this film and was the most likable yet in a film role for me.

Rachel McAdams, Spotlight
Vanilla, Vanilla, Vanilla. That’s the only thing that truly comes to mind when I think of this performance. Sorry Rachel, you seem sweet, really you do, but you are ‘vanilla’ acting-wise, in your roles, this one included.

Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl ~ MY PICK
Alicia Vikander was fantastic in this role. Why everyone liked her in Ex-Machina I’m not sure, as she was a CGI character. And okay..not everyone..just males under 35 – but here she truly was wonderful and showed she can compete with the best of them.

Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs – WINNER
Another wonderful job by Kate, though I wasn’t particularly fond of her trying on the accent – you could almost overlook it as she was so spot on here.

Peggy at the Movies ~ Film Critic | Movie Maven | Reviews & More"