Weekly Roundup: 47 Meters Down, Wakefield, Happy Christmas and The Hitman's Bodyguard
Here is another weekly roundup. A quick summary of some of the films I've seen over the past few days that didn't really feel worthy of a full review.
47 Meters Down (2017): Johannes Roberts: I don't have a hardcore love for shark movies like a lot of people do. The Shallows success probably means that shark movies could be a little bit more plentiful over the next few years. 47 Meters Down is fairly short at just under 90 minutes and doesn't take too much time to set up characters.
I'm a big fan of Mandy Moore from her role in This is Us and she's one of the highlights here too, but the characters are fairly dispensable. There isn't anything unique about them. The sharks should be the most important part of the movie, but its tough to say that they are. I almost felt like the film could've been simplified even further to strictly two women vs two sharks, but I think budgetary limits only allowed so much sharks.
Verdict: If you like sharks you can probably have fun with it. Its nothing special but its certainly passable.
Wakefield (2016): Robin Swicord: I checked this out on Netflix this week and I wasn't necessarily expect much of anything out of it because no one was talking about it at all. Bryan Cranston plays a middle aged man who lives what would seem like the perfect life to some people, but one day he wanders into his two story garage and decides he wants to stay there while he wife and children begin to fear for the worst.
Bryan Cranston's performance is basically the sole reason to watch this. The character isn't really the least bit likeable and all the other characters are built from Cranston's perception of them. Jennifer Garner plays his wife, but she never gets to display any thoughts of her own. The story was interesting enough that I wanted to see how the ending would play out, but I ended up disappointed because they took the easy way out.
Verdict: If you want to see a good Bryan Cranston performance watch Trumbo and skip this one.
Happy Christmas (2014): Joe Swanberg: I'm getting on board with Christmas films a little earlier this year than most. Office Christmas Party was in my roundup earlier on in the month. The holiday season doesn't necessarily play a big part of this story.
These "mumblecore" movies have grown more and more on me as I watch them. There is something charming about watching people have normal everyday conversations. Anna Kendrick takes the lead in this film with Melanie Lynskey playing an important role as well. I honestly feel like I could watch this two women talk for 3 hours and I'd be fine with it. Kendrick doesn't really play the character that we expect her to here, but she still remains likeable. Most of the dialogue is heavily improvised.
The best performance in the whole film might have be Jude Swanberg, the directors 2 year old son who is such a delight to watch whenever he's on screen.
Verdict: These films are certainly not for everyone, but if you've enjoyed Swanberg's other movies you'll likely find something enjoyable here.
The Hitman's Bodyguard (2017): Patrick Hughes: This is basically a throw back to some classic 80s and 90s action buddy movies. The fact that Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L Jackson are the leads are the only reason anyone saw it in the first place. Its not a good movie. I felt that most of the attempts at humor failed, but if you want to hear Jackson say motherfucker a hundred times then you'll probably have a little fun with the film.
Reynolds and Jackson are trying their best but it never really caught me because of how weak the script was. They spend way too much time talking about the love interests and not enough time kicking ass.
In true 90s fashion Gary Oldman gets to be the villain but they waste him on a one note character that honestly could've been played by anyone.
Verdict: Its definitely bad, but still watchable. If you like the thought of these two guys taking shots at each other it could be worth your time.
47 Meters Down (2017): Johannes Roberts: I don't have a hardcore love for shark movies like a lot of people do. The Shallows success probably means that shark movies could be a little bit more plentiful over the next few years. 47 Meters Down is fairly short at just under 90 minutes and doesn't take too much time to set up characters.
I'm a big fan of Mandy Moore from her role in This is Us and she's one of the highlights here too, but the characters are fairly dispensable. There isn't anything unique about them. The sharks should be the most important part of the movie, but its tough to say that they are. I almost felt like the film could've been simplified even further to strictly two women vs two sharks, but I think budgetary limits only allowed so much sharks.
Verdict: If you like sharks you can probably have fun with it. Its nothing special but its certainly passable.
Wakefield (2016): Robin Swicord: I checked this out on Netflix this week and I wasn't necessarily expect much of anything out of it because no one was talking about it at all. Bryan Cranston plays a middle aged man who lives what would seem like the perfect life to some people, but one day he wanders into his two story garage and decides he wants to stay there while he wife and children begin to fear for the worst.
Bryan Cranston's performance is basically the sole reason to watch this. The character isn't really the least bit likeable and all the other characters are built from Cranston's perception of them. Jennifer Garner plays his wife, but she never gets to display any thoughts of her own. The story was interesting enough that I wanted to see how the ending would play out, but I ended up disappointed because they took the easy way out.
Verdict: If you want to see a good Bryan Cranston performance watch Trumbo and skip this one.
Happy Christmas (2014): Joe Swanberg: I'm getting on board with Christmas films a little earlier this year than most. Office Christmas Party was in my roundup earlier on in the month. The holiday season doesn't necessarily play a big part of this story.
These "mumblecore" movies have grown more and more on me as I watch them. There is something charming about watching people have normal everyday conversations. Anna Kendrick takes the lead in this film with Melanie Lynskey playing an important role as well. I honestly feel like I could watch this two women talk for 3 hours and I'd be fine with it. Kendrick doesn't really play the character that we expect her to here, but she still remains likeable. Most of the dialogue is heavily improvised.
The best performance in the whole film might have be Jude Swanberg, the directors 2 year old son who is such a delight to watch whenever he's on screen.
Verdict: These films are certainly not for everyone, but if you've enjoyed Swanberg's other movies you'll likely find something enjoyable here.
The Hitman's Bodyguard (2017): Patrick Hughes: This is basically a throw back to some classic 80s and 90s action buddy movies. The fact that Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L Jackson are the leads are the only reason anyone saw it in the first place. Its not a good movie. I felt that most of the attempts at humor failed, but if you want to hear Jackson say motherfucker a hundred times then you'll probably have a little fun with the film.
Reynolds and Jackson are trying their best but it never really caught me because of how weak the script was. They spend way too much time talking about the love interests and not enough time kicking ass.
In true 90s fashion Gary Oldman gets to be the villain but they waste him on a one note character that honestly could've been played by anyone.
Verdict: Its definitely bad, but still watchable. If you like the thought of these two guys taking shots at each other it could be worth your time.
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