Drama – Page 41 – Matthew Liedke on Film

Begin Again review

Director:
John Carney
Cast:
Mark Ruffalo
Hailee Steinfeld
Keira Knightley
Adam Levine
Rated: R

Mark Ruffalo plays a music producer down on his luck in “Begin Again” while Keira Knightley plays a musician who is going through a bad breakup. One night the two meet by chance and decide to try working together to produce an album. Through the collaboration, the two begin to remember what they enjoy about music and it allows them to find out how to move forward in their personal lives.

I was a bit worried in the first few minutes of “Begin Again,” since it looked like Ruffalo was going to play a stereotypical down on his luck type of guy who drinks too much. While his character certainly falls into some tropes, though, Ruffalo really sells an honesty in the character and his supporting cast helps raise the bar.

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Dawn of the Planet of the Apes review

Director:
Matt Reeves
Cast:
Andy Serkis
Jason Clarke
Gary Oldman
Keri Russell
Toby Kebbell
Rated: PG-13

“Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” is the sequel to the 2011 reboot film which followed the birth and childhood of the character Ceasar (Serkis), and how he rose to be a revolutionary leader for his simian species. “Dawn” starts off 10 years after the first film ended. Since Caesar and the apes escaped, a virus produced at a lab has spread across the entire world and has wiped out most of the human race. Meanwhile, the apes, led by Caesar, have established their own thriving community where they live in peace.

Tensions rise, though, as a group of humans from a colony in the remains of San Francisco step upon the Ape civilization to find a power source and an accidental death occurs. Just as the situation reaches a near boiling point, though, Caesar is able to communicate with the humans to calm things down and eventually, the humans get to do their work. Old hatreds start to rise up, though, and peace may not be a long term solution.

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REVIEW: ‘Jersey Boys’

Director:
Clint Eastwood
Cast:
Vincent Piazza
John Lloyd Young
Christopher Walken
Erich Bergen
Rated: R

Clint Eastwood returns to the director’s chair for “Jersey Boys,” a film adaption of a stage play that follows the career of the band, the Four Seasons. The film explores the groups run ins with the law at earlier ages, how they got started, the drama that they went through and how they came up with their most famous hits.

Despite being a film about the whole band, though, the main focus is given to the lead vocalist, Frankie Valli, who was played by John Lloyd Young.

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Shailene Woodley plays a teen named Hazel,suffering from cancer and also a limited social life. This changes, though when she meets another teen named Gus who has to deal with cancer during a support group meeting.

The two start a friendship that eventually leads to a romance which takes both of them on an emotional journey.

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Transcendence review

A good science fiction idea can only go so far without a good story.

Will Caster is the main character of “Transcendence,” played by Johnny Depp.

Caster is a brilliant computer technician who has designed his own artificial intelligence programming. His life and much of the technology industry is shattered, though, when a terrorist attack occurs by a group who fears artificial intelligence.

Disaster strikes when Caster learns the attack has left him terminally ill and he only has a few weeks to live. In response, Caster’s wife, Evelyn, played by Rebecca Hall, and friend and colleague, Max, portrayed by Paul Bettany, use the artificial intelligence technology to place Caster’s consciousness into a computer program.

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Draft Day review

Director:
Ivan Reitman
Cast:
Kevin Costner
Jennifer Garner
Chadwick Boseman
Josh Pence
Denis Leary
Griffin Newman
Rated: PG-13

Why do good concepts in movies always have to be dragged down by useless subplots.

“Draft Day” takes place on the most important time for the National Football League offseason. Players from college are evaluated, ESPN and NFL Network have round the clock coverage of mock drafts and quarterback mechanics are analyzed. The film itself follows Sonny Weaver (Costner), a general manager for the Cleveland Browns, and any football fan knows that’s not the best job to have.

The movie picks up the morning of the first round of the draft with Sonny questioning what he will do. The team needs to be rebuilt but it will take some trading and dealing on Sonny’s part to get it done. On top of that, the main character is also dealing with a turbulent relationship with co-worker Ali (Garner) and is mourning the death of his father who was previously the coach of the Browns.

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Inside Llewyn Davis review

Director:
Ethan Coen
Joel Coen
Cast:
Oscar Isaac
Carey Mulligan
Justin Timberlake
John Goodman
Rated: R
Trailer

I can’t say that I’m the biggest folk music fan out there, but I wouldn’t mind having the soundtrack to this flick.

“Inside Llewyn Davis” is a film that explores the title character during a week of his life. Davis is a young folk singer living in New York City in the early 1960s and survives by playing at gigs and staying at the homes of his friends. At the same time, he continues to try and get his solo album produced and on shelves to make a living.

Throughout the film, Davis’ life is on full display. On top of his work in the music industry, the movie also examines his relationships, friendships, people he relies on and the overall circular life that he lives.

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August: Osage County review

Director:
John Wells
Cast:
Meryl Streep
Julia Roberts
Chris Cooper
Ewan McGregor
Juliette Lewis
Julianne Nicholson
Rated: R
Trailer

This movie had more family drama than five Jerry Springer episodes.

“August: Osage County” follows a family living in rural Oklahoma that isn’t on the best terms with each other. After a tragedy occurs, the family gathers at the home of now widow Violet Weston (Streep). Violet’s three daughters, which includes Barbara (Roberts), Ivy (Nicholson) and Karen (Lewis) all arrive bringing their own problems, as do other family members.

Over the next few days that pass by in the film’s runtime, multiple fights and arguments break out and light is shed on various secrets that all of the family members hold. In simple terms, chaos ensues.

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Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom review

“Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom” turns out to be a very long movie as it encompasses a huge portion of the political figure’s life.

The movie begins with Nelson Mandela, played by Idris Elba, as a young attorney and follows his path to becoming an idealist and eventually a revolutionary leader. The movie also chronicles his personal life, including his marriage to Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, who was played by Naomie Harris.

Eventually, the movie also goes into detail about the 27 years Mandela spent in prison which was followed by his election as president of South Africa.

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The Wolf of Wall Street review

Director:
Martin Scorsese
Cast:
Leonardo DiCaprio
Jonah Hill
Kyle Chandler
Margot Robbie
Rated:
Trailer

Wall Street execs throw crazier parties than the guys from “Old School” and “Animal House” combined according to Scorsese’s latest flick.

“The Wolf of Wall Street” is based on the true story of stockbroker Jordan Belfort (DiCaprio). Belfort, with the assistance of his eventual friend and business partner Donnie (Hill), open a firm called Stratton Oakmont. The firm becomes a billion-dollar company quickly and with that Belfort has easy access to drugs, alcohol and everything in between.

As the movie progresses, Belfort, Donnie and the firm gets richer and richer and the lifestyles become grander and more outrageous. The only problem is that what Belfort is doing at the firm isn’t considered legal and it doesn’t take long for the FBI to start an investigation.

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