BradWesley123's Movie Journal- August 2017

Yet again, Unforgettable sees me watching a Lifetime-esque trashfest; maybe I'm growing to kitsch, or maybe I just don't want to use my brain sometimes. Either way, I watched it, and it wasn't very good. Sure, there are some off-the-wall moments, but most of them feel like they're going for something genuinely probing; it wants to pay into the strangeness, but also try looking at it soberly. It doesn't really work, and the only thing that really keeps this thing going is Katherine Heigl's work; she seems so in-sync with what the film is trying to do that you genuinely wish she had a better script to work with. This is all a long way of saying that Unforgettable is, forgive the pun, pretty forgettable.

The Face of an Angel wants to be a lot of things; a provocative look at artists, a cautionary tale about the dangers of sensationalism, a quasi-tribute to Meredith Kercher, and, possibly above all, a mystery/thriller. In doing this, the movie has no true clarity, and feels to spread thin; tones clash, characters come and go with little thought, and no one element gets the nurturing that it deserves. There are strong points though; the various stories above each have solid foundations attached to them, and that leads to some interesting moments, and Brühl is quite good, as is, more surprisingly, Cara Delevingne in a supporting role.

There are a lot of strong instances of wit and creativity, and the animation is quite strong, but The Boss Baby is just too frenzied and inconsistent to hit as many targets as it aims for. The plot just goes off-the-rails as it goes on and, despite some fun to be had, a relatable story gets lost in the shuffle. It does have some fun moments though, thanks to Baldwin's solid voice work and the snazzy score; it'll likely be enough to distract the kiddies, but not quite for adults.

Technophobia is a the driving force behind The Circle and, while the film does bring up some of the major drawbacks of advanced technology (loss of privacy, mass manipulation, etc.), it never is able inform the audience at a level beyond "kids today..." or "back in my day...". The cast is fine and its reasonably well-made, but its dull and the script is bland and unfocused.

Despite a third-act that nearly undoes a lot of the careful buildup the previous two have developed, The Lovers is a funny and, often, piercing look at marriage and love. While the last act isn't a particularly great payoff to the preceding one (it's not bad, but the tone shifts and the whole thing loses its tight focus), the first two are strong enough to forgive it (the ending is pretty fun though). The film largely works thanks to a delicate touch that never overdoes the marital strife or character emotions; it feels genuine and real, and the performances from Letts and Winger convey the film's ambitions beautifully. It's funny, tender, heartbreaking and, surprisingly, semi-heartwarming.

Monthly Wesley AwardBest Score- Mandy Hoffman

It tells a fairly standard story, but The Incredible Jessica James adds a fresh perspective, as well as ample doses of wit and sincerity. The script is smart; not quite original enough to break the mold, but good enough to a fun story. The success of the film rest mostly with Jessica Williams, who gives a charming performance that should act as a breakout turn. A little film, but not an unworthy one.

To the Bone is a mixed-bag of a film; the anorexia chronicled in the film is often sobering and terrifying, but the storytelling is often cliched and pedestrian. The cast does what they can to elevate the lesser moments; Lily Collins does some strong work, as does, somewhat surprisingly, Keanu Reeves, even though their characters aren't given the most shading. The film works on impact rather than narrative zest; more power than insight. Good, but could've been a lot more with a more perceptive script.

Monthly Wesley AwardBest Supporting Actor- Keanu Reeves

Opening Night boasts an impressive cast and a fun premise, but squanders both with a poor script and shoddy filmmaking. This is a film that goes down the path of least resistance in every single plot point; for characters to dialogue to plot, leading to a cheap and lazy film. With a decent script and enough energy, this could've been a fun little film. As is, don't waste you time.

The issues with The Killer Inside Me come down to restraint; what to show and/or how to show it. The story in and of itself lends to a dark, psychological character study, and the film goes deep into that, leading to a grimy feel that might make you want to take a shower afterwards. That's, for the most part, okay; it's just in the execution. In the lead's misdeeds, you get two things; understanding his darkness, but also an inability to forget it. Affleck's character's crimes are so brutal and thoroughly detailed that it makes the film, at times, extremely off-putting and hard to really care about; you're not wondering when he's gonna get caught, you're actively rooting for it to happen (not exactly what you what for you're lead character). It's well-made though, with some solid performances, especially from Affleck, though the characters aren't exactly well-developed. Watch at your own discretion.

Gifted is a cloying and saccharine film that can't help but tip it's hand at every major moment, but it's very well-made, has a great cast and is fairly charming. This charm doesn't forgive it's storytelling issues, it makes the same "intelligence is a disease" storytelling fumble that so many others have and it's emotional beats are quite obvious, but it's enough that you'll likely be able to overlook them in the moment.

Monthly Wesley AwardBest Supporting Actress- Lindsay Duncan

There's a pretty fun premise to All Nighter, one that could've reveled in the mismatched buddy-comedy genre and all of the fun that it entails, but it's let down by a poor script and two mismatched, and miscast, actors. Even with a bad script, the right set of actors could've added some decent energy but, Hirsch and Simmons are the wrong pair; they probably couldn't have done much with this thing, but it still holds that they're missing chemistry. Just a damp squib of a film that's only good for maybe one or two chuckles, and not big ones.

The Moment is a pretty messy film, one that borders on sloppy; it's certainly disjointed and incoherent, though (to the film's credit) the incoherence seems to be by design. There are some solid thoughts on memory and subjectivity to be found in the film, and Jennifer Jason Leigh gives a committed performance, but the story is too unfocused and doesn't ever really come together. While the emphasis on memory helps build-up intrigue and mystery, the film doesn't really pay this off, with a whimper of an ending.

The tonal shifts of Colossal may give you whiplash, and the story's shift in the second half may have you playing catch-up, but few films depict alcoholism so well, and so damn originally. The story is surprisingly twisty, as are some of the characters (and their motivations), and while it does make some abrupt tonal shifts, it never really feels wrong for the film; so much of the film is filtered through the lead's mental state that it's ingenious that the story's tone changes with it (starts out sort like a comedy, moves to more dramatic territory as it moves on). Writer-director Nacho Vigalondo deserves a lot of credit, and so to does Anne Hathaway, who gives her best performance in probably a decade. It's sure to be divisive, but it nevertheless deserves a look.

Monthly Wesley AwardsBest Picture
Best Director- Nacho Vigalondo
Best Actress- Anne Hathaway
Best Original Screenplay- Nacho Vigalondo
Best Visual Effects

The plot is too thin and convoluted to get much started, and the humor is pretty hit-or-miss, but Snatched is still a pretty funny, amiable picture. The leads are solid, though Hawn doesn't get a whole lot to do and Schumer leans a bit too hard into her usual shtick, but there are enough inspired comedic bits to make it a worthwhile view. Not great, but not unpleasant or humorless either.

The Scribbler is a, often, jumbled mess, with so much going on that some interesting ideas get left on the table, but it's just intriguing enough that it never lost my attention. The story strains too far as it goes one, too thin, and the characters outside the lead aren't very well characterized (the framing device, too, is unnecessary), but there's enough energy to the film, and a decent enough story to tie it to. Reasonably fun, if a bit undercooked.

Monthly Wesley AwardBest Makeup

A strong premise is underdeveloped in October Gale, which often mistakes dead-air for quiet and contemplative. There are enough strong performers here though, Patricia Clarkson is superb in the lead role, that the film often excels just through the acting alone. Okay-ish, but pretty forgettable.

A fun, exceptionally-made period mystery-thriller; The Scapegoat is quite entertaining. Benefitting greatly by a superb dual-performance by Matthew Rhys, as well as a solid script and immaculate period detail. The ending is a bit too under-cooked though, and could've used a bit of a punch-up. Still, a strong effort.

Monthly Wesley AwardsBest Actor- Matthew Rhys
Best Adapted Screenplay- Charles Sturridge
Best Costume Design- Charlotte Walter

It's a pretty stupid film, one that's exceedingly cliched and predictable, but How to Be a Latin Lover still contains enough comedy to make it a watchable. The jokes are nothing new, but the ones that work have enough energy and decent timing to wring a solid laugh or two. The plot is too closely-aligned with every non-R rated studio comedy; "family is everything". It's an okay sentiment, but if you're going to use it in a film for the thousandth time, find a new angle for it.

It's as obvious and predictable as any other geriatrics-on-the-move film, but the cast is solid and the film has a few okay jokes. There's nothing particularly great here, some isn't even all that good, but it's amiable enough for those not looking for too much. Not something that truly deserves recommendation, but you could do a lot worse.

Voices from the Stone starts off pretty alluring, only to slowly reveal that it doesn't really have much purpose. Plot threads are introduced but never actually followed-through on; it starts a story, but doesn't finish it. It looks great though, and the cast is fine. It is, ultimately, a pretty bore with not enough on it's mind.

Monthly Wesley AwardsBest Cinematography- Peter Simonite
Best Production Design- Davide De Stefano and Cynthia Sleiter

Everything, Everything is pretty cloying, and too damn twee for its own good, but it's also pretty damn likable, at least until the absurd ending. It certainly helps that its quite well-made, and Amandla Stenberg makes for a empathetic lead. It's predictable, but its watchable, at least until the "twist" ending that is both predictable and stunning; "predictable" in that it neatly wraps everything up for the last scene, and "stunning" in how poorly its handled. This major plot point, that shifts the way we see two prominent characters, is handled not with a sense of suspense or feeling of betrayal, but with a shrug and an "it'll be okay". Had it gotten to the same conclusion without the plot twist, then I think it could've been a much better film.

The Wall is slight, but it has some surprising power (at least until the last act). The first hour of the film is a tense, well-orchestrated minimalist thriller with great technical work from the crew and a strong performance from Aaron Taylor-Johnson; the last half-hour is, by comparison, pretty ludicrous, and lets so much of the tension down that had been expertly built. Even worse, the ending is a poor excuse for an ambiguous ending. A better film would've worked harder for this type of ending, and possibly clarified a few things; instead, it just feels like a "fuck you" to the audience. Despite this, the first hour is pretty strong, and your view of the ending will likely be colored by your reaction of it.

Monthly Wesley AwardBest Editing- Julia Bloch
Best Sound

As with most modern boxing movies, there's not much that separates Chuck from any other boxing movie; all it can really do is work to hit familiar beats with more energy and pathos than most. Unfortunately, it can't do it; there's some fun moments here and there, and the cast is very strong, but it's just sort of "fine". It's not really a boxing film though, more a film about a boxer; i.e. fame and success are major themes, and the expected downward spiral doesn't deviate too much from cliches. Overall, the film is just too content to go down roads that better films have paved.

The best, and most accurate, praise that I could give Grey Lady is that it's borderline competent; emphasis on the borderline. It honestly feels like a shitty TV pilot that didn't get picked up; it's lazily plotted, exceptionally convoluted, and has no real visual distinctiveness. Even worse, it's not laugh-out-loud bad (except for one scene that is stunning in how poorly-edited it is), so it's just a damp squib throughout its runtime. The only explanation that I can give for how this got made is that it was probably a money-laundering scheme.

Monthly Wesley AwardWorst Picture