Pride Month Movie - Day Thirteen: Atomic Blonde (2017)

Atomic Blonde (2017)

Directed by David Leitch

Screenplay by Kurt Johnstad

Based on the graphic novel series, "The Coldest City" written by Antony Johnston and illustrations by Sam Hart

Stars: Charlize Theron, James McAvoy, Sofia Boutella, Eddie Marsan, John Goodman, Toby Jones, James Faulkner, Roland Møller, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson, and Til Schweiger

I saw the trailer for this movie years ago. It wasn't on my radar to watch. Then, it was revealed that there were some sapphic scenes. Yes, there were.

The action takes place at the end of the Cold War in West Berlin. An undercover agent, Lorraine (Theron) is being interrogated by her superiors, Gray and Kurzfeld (Jones, Goodman) about a mission that went wrong. She was trying to secure a list of undercover agents from getting in the hands of the Soviets.

When I was watching this, I kept thinking about Wanted. A similar movie with James McAvoy in it, except this time it's agents, not assassins. The positives. The soundtrack was very good. Enjoyed the songs that were peppered throughout. The action sequences were visceral, brutal and well done. If you have seen this movie, do you notice the bi flag color scheme in Lorraine's room? 

The negatives. The plot of the movie was very generic. I knew the "twist" of the movie thirty minutes before it was revealed. I believe interrogation scenes are a hit and miss with me, especially in an action movie. There is no tension or stakes, because you know that this person survives at the end.

Rating: 6.5/10

O Brother, Where Art Thou?

O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)

Directed by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen

Screenplay by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen

Based on the epic poem, "The Odyssey" by Homer

Stars: George Clooney, John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson, Holly Hunter, Charles Durning, Michael Badalucco, Chris Thomas King and John Goodman

It has been a couple of years since I last saw O Brother, Where Art Thou? I never heard of the movie until I saw that soundtrack of the movie winning beaucoup amounts of Grammy that next year. Seeing the movie at the time, the music is the probably the best part of the movie. The movie was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay and Cinematography. That has to say something, right?

Picture it, Mississippi 1937. A chain gang. Running through a vast field. Ulysses Everett McGill (Clooney), Delmar O'Donnell (Nelson) and Pete Hogwallop (Turturro) embark on a grand journey to find hidden treasure that Everett hid for an epic robbery. On their journey, the trio meets a blind seer that tells them that they would find a different kind of treasure. Will it be national stardom as they record "A Man of Constant Sorrow" as the Soggy Bottom Boys? Changing the tide of a gubernatorial race? Being infamous for hanging with notorious gangster "Babyface" Nelson (Badalucco).

As I stated before, the music of the film is the best thing about the movie. I don't like listen to Southern bluesy country music. I was so into it. You know, my feelings about the Coens. Their filmography is sketchy. It seems like that they have no success with their dramas then their comedies. This is one of the comedies I liked more their other ones.

My Rating

Argo

Argo (2012)

Directed by Ben Affleck

Screenplay by Chris Terrio

Based on the article, "Escape from Tehran" by Joshuah Bearman

Stars: Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, John Goodman, Alan Arkin, Victor Garber, Scoot McNairy, Kerry Bishé, Tate Donovan, Clea DuVall, Christopher Denham, Rory Cochrane, Kyle Chandler, Chris Messina, Zeljko Ivanek and Richard Kind

Seeing a trailer for this movie, I was not looking forward to it. I was lukewarm with The Town and Gone Baby Gone was unwatchable. After I was disappointed with numerous movies that were supposed to be great, I was hearing a lot of buzz with the film. Having an 86 Metacritic drives me to the theater and I'm glad I did.

Taking place during Iranian Revolution in 1979, the U.S. Embassy was taken over by angry protesters. Just as the protesters burst in six people: Bob Anders, Lee Schatz, Mark and Cora Lijek, Joe and Kathy Stafford (Donovan, Cochrane, Denham, DuVall, McNairy, Bishé) escape the back way. The six seek refuge at the Canadian Ambassador Ken Taylor's (Garber) house.

CIA Director Jack O'Donnell (Cranston) asks Tony Mendez (Affleck) to find a way to extract the six from public execution. Tony comes up with the bad idea of having the six be part of a fake Canadian movie production team scouting locations for a film called "Argo." Tony employs the talents of Oscar winning make-up artist John Chambers (Goodman) and washed up producer Lester Siegel (Arkin) to make the fake movie into a sorta reality.

Even though the movie is based on true events, I was on the edge of my seat. I was happy with the juxtaposition of the compelling heart stopping moments with the comedy relief of Goodman and Siegel. Affleck has grown as director. He made the creative direction of shooting the movie on film and making the movie grainy. It was a very nice touch on his part.

People would probably nitpick certain aspects of the movie that was changed. They need to know that the movie has to take dramatic licenses to make it cinematic.

My Rating

The Artist

The Artist (2011)

Written and directed by Michel Hazanavicius

Currently #160 of the Top 250 Films of All Time on IMDb (as of this posting)

Stars: Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo, John Goodman, James Cromwell, Penelope Ann Miller and Missi Pyle

I never heard of this film until awards season came into full swing and took over everything. The movie was nomianted for ten Academy Awards and won five including Best Picture, Director and Actor. Everybody has been showering praise to this movie that doesn't deserve it that much.

Taking place during the early days of the Golden Age of movies, silent film star George Valentin (Dujardin) is riding high on his success. He is living the life or so you think. His marriage to his shrew of a wife, Doris (Miller) is crumbling down. The owner of Kinograph Studios, Al Zimmer (Goodman) wants to switch into uncharted waters. He wants to go into talkies. George thinks that people are not ready for talkies, especially him. His life goes into a tailspin when a young ingénue Peppy Miller (Bejo) is going from extra to leading lady i.e. his direct competition.

I have this unwritten rule that you should always watch silent films in the daytime, because there is a possibly of you dozing off. I 'm saying that I hate this film. I like the movie, but I think that the hype machine elevated this film into being greater than it actually is. I have seen actual silent movies that were better than this movie. The movie felt like a typical romantic comedy, but there are no words in it.

I didn't understand how when the actor are talking there were not that many dialogue cards to figure out what the hell was going on. It might the copy that I had, but the title cards were in French and the actors were talking in English. Quite baffling. I think it's because it was a silent film in 2011 that it's the greatest thing ever.

I liked the performances of Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo were nominated for their performance and Dujardin won. I understood the path the character was going, but I did not think it was worthy of an Oscar. I thought the little dog in the movie was quite delightful. I really enjoyed the score of the film which won an Oscar. It deserved it.

I think this one of those movies that is not going to remembered in ten years. It was a movie for the moment kind of film that will never be thought of again.

My Rating