Tag: Drama

Our Brand is Crisis review

Director:
David Gordon Green
Cast:
Sandra Bullock
Billy Bob Thornton
Anthony Mackie
Joaquim de Almeida
Ann Dowd
Rated: R

“Our Brand is Crisis” is based off a documentary of the same name and tells the story of an election in Bolivia in the early 2000s. Sandra Bullock plays Jane in the film, an experienced political strategist who has been tasked with helping a specific candidate win.

The film explores the different tactics that were used in the election and shows the game that is played for voters.

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Steve Jobs review

Director:
Danny Boyle
Cast:
Michael Fassbender
Kate Winslet
Seth Rogen
Jeff Daniels
Rated: R

“Steve Jobs” takes place over the course of three large scale unveilings of new computers. As these events take place, the film centers on Jobs’ (Fassbender) relationships with the important people in his life.

The film shows the tech mogul’s relationship with his associate Steve Wozniak (Rogen), former Apple CEO John Sculley (Daniels), his daughter Lisa and assistant Joanna Hoffman (Winslet).

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Bridge of Spies review

Director:
Steven Spielberg
Cast:
Tom Hanks
Mark Rylance
Domenick Lombardozzi
Rated: PG-13

Tom Hanks is insurance lawyer James B. Donovan in “Bridge of Spies,” a film which takes place in the late 1950s when the Cold War started to intensify. Donovan is a family person and is for most purposes, an every-man. This changes when U.S. agents arrest a suspected Soviet spy named Rudolf Abel (Rylance) and request Donovan to defend the operative in court to show that the country provides fair justice.

While a bit reluctant, Donovan decides to take up the case which subsequently presents challenges for his day to day life. For example he gets firsthand experience with the Red Scare and begins conversing with officials from agencies such as the CIA.

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The Walk review

Director:
Robert Zemeckis
Cast:
Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Ben Kingsley
Charlotte Le Bon
Cesar Domboy
James Badge Dale
Rated: PG

“The Walk” follows the true story of French high wire artist Philippe Petit (Gordon-Levitt) who attempted a crossing between the twin towers of the World Trade Center in the 1970s. The film begins with Petit’s childhood and explores how he discovered his passion for wire walking, when he realized his dream of walking across the iconic New York City buildings and what he needed to do in order to make it all happen.

Along the way, the movie introduces accomplices to Petit who assist in sneaking their way through the then under construction towers and setting up the high rise wires.

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Sicario review

Director:
Denis Villeneuve
Cast:
Emily Blunt
Benicio Del Toro
Josh Brolin
Victor Garber
Rated: R

“Sicario” is directed by Denis Villeneuve, who helmed my favorite picture of 2013 “Prisoners.” The director returns for another dark film with “Sicario,” which follows an FBI agent named Kate Macer (Blunt) who joins up with an elite government task force to fight the drug war on the southern U.S. border.

Kate quickly finds out that the team, led by agent Matt Graver (Brolin) and an expert hired by the government named Alejandro (Del Toro) don’t exactly operate within all the boundaries of the law.

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The Martian review

Director
Ridley Scott
Cast:
Matt Damon
Jessica Chastain
Jeff Daniels
Kristen Wiig
Sean Bean
Rated: PG-13

Matt Damon plays Mark Watney in “The Martian,” an astronaut who is part of an expedition on Mars which includes a couple of other researchers. The film opens with the exploration of the red planet going relatively smoothly, however, when a storm comes along, things go south.

During an escape to return to Earth, all of the astronauts make it to the ship to get back home, except for Mark, who gets stranded by himself on the deserted world. It’s now up to Mark to figure out a way to survive and up to NASA to find a way to get him back home.

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Black Mass review

Director:
Scott Cooper
Cast:
Johnny Depp
Joel Edgerton
Benedict Cumberbatch
Kevin Bacon
Peter Sarsgaard
Rated: R

Johnny Depp plays real life gangster James “Whitey” Bulger in “Black Mass,” the latest film from Director Scott Cooper. The film starts in the mid-1970s and focuses on Bulger as a powerful crime lord in Boston and an FBI informant.

The film is told through flashbacks from the perspective of multiple true-to-life characters who are being interrogated by law enforcement.

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No Escape review

Director:
John Erick Dowdle
Cast:
Owen Wilson
Pierce Brosnan
Lake Bell
Claire Geare
Sterling Jerins
Rated: R

“No Escape” stars Owen Wilson who plays a father relocating his family to an undisclosed county in Asia for a new career opportunity. Upon arrival, Wilson’s character Jack, his wife Annie (Bell) and their two daughters make their way to a hotel and, despite some reservations, settle in to their new home.

The peace of the first few moments with the family is quickly shattered, though, as a revolution begins and rebels with anti-western motives start attacking the hotel. The film then follows Jack and his family’s attempt to get away from the hostile city and find safety.

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Ricki and the Flash review

Director:
Jonathan Demme
Cast:
Meryl Streep
Kevin Kline
Mamie Gummer
Rick Springfield
Rated: PG-13

“Ricki and the Flash” tells the story of the title character, also known as Linda, played by Meryl Streep. Ricki is an aging musician who had dreams of hitting it big as a rock star but as the movie begins she is only able to get work doing covers of songs at a local bar in California. To help make ends meet, she also works at a local grocery store.

The story picks up when Ricki gets a call from her ex-husband Pete (Kline), who informs her that their daughter Julie, (Gummer) recently had a bad break-up with her husband and has fallen into depression. Ricki then flies out to Indianapolis to try and help her daughter, even though she has become distant with her family.

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Straight Outta Compton review

Director:
F. Gary Gray
Cast:
O’Shea Jackson Jr.
Corey Hawkins
Jason Mitchell
Neil Brown Jr.
Aldis Hodge
Paul Giamatti
Rated: R

“Straight Outta Compton” tells the story of the N.W.A., a west coast rap group that caused a monumental shift in the whole genre. Founding members of the group included Andre “Dr. Dre” Romelle Young (Hawkins), Eric “Eazy E” Wright (Mitchell), O’Shea “Ice Cube” Jackson (Jackson Jr.), Lorenzo “MC Ren” Patterson (Hodge) and Antoine “DJ Yella” Carraby (Brown Jr.).

The film follows their rise, from creating their first album to going on tour and the eventual group break-up that occurred in the early 1990s.

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