The Dressmaker

The Dressmaker (2015)

Directed by Jocelyn Moorhouse

Screenplay by Jocelyn Moorhouse & P.J. Hogan

Based on the novel by Rosalie Ham

Stars: Kate Winslet, Liam Hemsworth, Judy Davis, Hugo Weaving, Julia Blake, James Mackay, Sarah Snook, Rebecca Gibney, Sacha Horler, Shane Bourne, Alison Stewart, Kerry Fox, and Gyton Grantley

This movie has been talked about for years since its debut. The costumes and that famous gif from this movie. You know the one. How many ways can I that I adore this movie?

The aforementioned dressmaker, Tilly Dunnage (Winslet) comes back to her hometown of Dungatar after over twenty of exile. Tilly has a feeling that something sinister was happening in the town. Even though, she was accused of killing a schoolmate. She does everything is her power to find out the truth.

Can I say that I love the costumes of these movie? It takes place in 1951 Australia and I was gagging. The eye candy was all around. I am not talking about Liam Hemsworth being objectified. I felt like Hugo Weaving's character. The clothing was so good.

The townspeople worked as an ensemble. I knew that secrets were gonna come out.

Winslet was magnetic in this role. Judy Davis as her mother was the biggest transformation in the movie.

There were beats in the movie that tugged on my heart. I cannot praise this movie enough.

Rating: 10/10

V for Vendetta

V for Vendetta (2006)

Directed by James McTeigue

Screenplay by Andy Wachowski & Lana Wachowski

Based on the comic book series by Alan Moore and David Lloyd

Currently #166 of the Top 250 Films of All Time on IMDb (as of this posting)

Stars: Hugo Weaving, Natalie Portman, Stephen Rea, Stephen Fry, John Hurt, Tim Pigott-Smith, Rupert Graves, Ben Miles, Eddie Marsan and Roger Allam

I have no idea why it took me so long to watch V for Vendetta. It was a LAMB Movie of the Month as far as I know. It had to me take this blog-a-thon to make me finally see it. After the credits rolled, it made me feel I should be a martyr.

Set in a future Britain, where the government had taken over the daily lives of the citizens. Being more of a dictatorship than anything else. Chancellor Adam Sutler (Hurt) does not want subversiveness under his rule. There is one person that seeks to bring him down. It is shadowy figure with Guy Fawkes mask on known as V (Weaving). V rescues a woman, Evey (Portman) from being taken in by the secret police known as the Fingermen. After the rescue, V lets Evey watch as he bombs a building called the Old Bailey which set off a chain of events to shape the future of the colony.

I knew going into the movie that the film will obvious allegories to the Third Reich, concentration camps, Communism, etc. That's all fine and good. I didn't know that there was another aspect to V's plan that came into light. It sucked me into the story more. I wanted to standing beside V as the dictatorship crumbles from within.

I completely forgot to it was around the time that the group, Anonymous came into being as they declared war on Scientology. This movie has ignited a movement of protests and activism that made governments falls. They say that we are free, but we are not free. I don't want to spout off my opinions about society, because it might get me in trouble. I will stop it right there.

My Rating

Captain America: The First Avenger

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

Directed by Joe Johnston

Written by Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely

Based on comic book, "Captain America" by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby

Stars: Chris Evans, Hugo Weaving, Hayley Atwell, Sebastian Stan, Dominic Cooper, Stanley Tucci, Neal MacDonaugh, Derek Luke, Kenneth Choi, JJ Feild, Bruno Ricci, Toby Jones, and Tommy Lee Jones

As I previously stated in my Avengers review, I did not see The First Avenger to prepare myself for the movie. There were some things about the film that I had questions that were answered by watching this film. I know the general lore of Captain America and his journey. I can say for certainty that this movie is better than Thor.

There was some hesitation about letting lead actor Chris Evans take over the role of Steve Rodgers, because he previously played a Marvel superhero as The Human Torch in the Fantastic Four films.

The setting of the film follows almost exactly were the comics left off. Rodgers was a skinny kid that possibly weighed 110 pounds soaking wet when he is repeatedly rejected by the Army in the middle of WWII. His childhood friend, Bucky (Stan) tries to dissuade him from joining the army. A chance encounter from Dr. Abraham Erskine (Tucci) changes his life forever. Erskine recruits him to a top secret operation to create a new breed of super soldiers to fight the Nazis. Most importantly to help stop the tyrannical Red Skull (Weaving) and his HYDRA army from taking over the world.

For me, I wish that Marvel would have concentrated more on these "origin" movies as well as The Avengers. I think that Iron Man 2, Thor and this movie all suffer from having to tell the back story of the characters that are going to make up this superhero team. It seems the quality of film suffers, because it has to be filler to see how this component of the Avengers came from.

There were some aspects of this movie that I didn't like, but that would be spoilers for people who are not familiar with the lore of Captain America. Chris Evans was fine here. He was not bad or good. I thought that the character presented on screen was brave and stupid. When Steve becomes Captain America, he doesn't listen to reason that his actions has consequences. Steve is supposed to be this tragic hero, but comes across as being over-confident to a point where you want something to happen to him. The action scenes were okay. Nothing remarkable here.

I have to stay Tommy Lee Jones as Colonel Chester Phillips was great. He was chewing the scene with his one-liners. Weaving was solid as Red Skull. Steve's sidekick, Bucky was very charismatic on screen. The love interest for Steve, Peggy Carter, played by Hayley Atwell was strange. I wondered if she was interested in him before he got taller and buffer. What if he stayed the scrawny toothpick?

I had a couple of issues with the plot. How comes the shield is supposed to be indestructible, but the shield has wear and tear on it? Would you think that a massive faculty like HYDRA would have been trounced by  a lone man in a loud red, white and blue getup? I didn't understand how the hell the Terraset ended up in a lockbox in Norway? If Steve Rogers meets Iron Man's father who built the device that made him, did he acknowledge that in The Avengers? I could be nitpicking. Somebody help me out.

My Rating