Tag: Political Drama

Selma review

Director:
Ava DuVernay
Cast:
David Oyelowo
Carmen Ejogo
Tom Wilkinson
Dylan Baker
Tim Roth
Rated: PG-13

As the title suggests, “Selma” tells the story of Martin Luther King’s (Oyelowo) leadership during the Civil Rights Movement during the march from Selma, Alabama to Montgomery, Alabama. The film starts off by showing why the movement comes to Selma and chronicles all of the events leading to the march through the state.

While the movie is focused on King’s journey in leading the movement, it also gives time to show the reactions of prominent figures such as President Lyndon B. Johnson (Wilkinson) and Alabama Governor George Wallace (Roth), as well as how the entire civil rights movement weighs on King’s family life.

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Rosewater review

Director:
Jon Stewart
Cast:
Gael Garcia Bernal
Haluk Bilginer
Dimitri Leonidas
Rated: R

Based on true story, “Rosewater” follows the story of Newsweek magazine journalist Maziar Bahari (Garcia Bernal) as he goes on location in Iran to report on the 2009 election.

While covering the election, Bahari captures footage of riots after the reelection of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and is spotted doing so by security cameras. Because of this, Bahari is arrested and held in prison for over 100 days, having to endure constant interrogation and psychological torture.

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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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Dallas Buyers Club review

Director:
Jean-Marc Vallee
Cast:
Matthew McConaughey
Jared Leto
Jennifer Garner
Rated: R

Matthew McConaughey continues his great streak of movies lately with “Dallas Buyers Club.”

In the movie, McConaugey plays Ron Woodroof. An electrician living in Texas in the late 1980s. Woodroof lives a life full of doing drugs, having unprotected sex and not having much of a plan for the future. His world is flipped upside down, though, when he goes to the doctor and discovers he is HIV positive.

As Woodroof begins to come to terms that he does have the illness, he learns that the FDA and pharmaceutical companies don’t allow certain medications into the United States and that an unproven drug is being sold to the masses. Woodroof begins to travel out of the country to get new, better, medication at first to just make money, however, over time he learns it effects an entire community.

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The Butler review

Director:
Lee Daniels
Cast:
Forest Whitaker
David Oyelowo
Oprah Winfrey
Terrence Howard
Cuba Gooding Jr.
Rated: PG-13

This is one of those films where you have to know the difference between “based on” and “inspired by.”

“Lee Daniels’ The Butler,” follows the story of Cecil Gaines (Whitaker), who began his life working in a cotton field as a child. After seeing his father get killed, Cecil grows up learning how to be a server inside a house. Eventually, Cecil makes his way to the Washington D.C. and over time finds himself working as a butler in an upscale hotel.

His skills allow him to be noticed by a supervisor at the White House and he begins working there soon after. Cecil ends up working under multiple presidents while serving as a butler at the White House and is able to observe major moments of how the administrations dealt with civil rights issues. Meanwhile, the job puts a bit of a strain at times on his marriage with his wife Gloria (Winfrey), as well as his son, Louis (Oyelowo), who becomes involved with multiple civil rights movements through the film.

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Olympus Has Fallen review

Director:
Antoine Fuqua
Cast:
Gerard Butler
Aaron Eckhart
Dylan McDermott
Morgan Freeman
Rated: R

This movie is like a patriotic overload.

“Olympus Has Fallen” follows the story of a United States Secret Service named Mike Banning (Butler), who, after a terrible accident is demoted to a guard at the treasury department. Meanwhile, an attack is set in motion by a group of terrorists who capture the president, played by Eckhart, and take over the building creating a hostage situation.

Because the president and much of the cabinet is taken hostage, the speaker of the house, played by Morgan Freeman becomes acting president and the only one who manages to get inside to fight back is Banning.

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The Ides of March Review

Director:
George Clooney
Cast:
Ryan Gosling
George Clooney
Philip Symour Hoffman
Paul Giamatti
Marisa Tomei
Evan Rachel Wood
Rated: R

The candidate that Clooney plays in this film is very similar to another one that ran a few years back.

The Ides of March follows a young man named Stephen Myers (Gosling), working on the campaign trail for presidential hopeful Governor Morris (Clooney). The campaign season is right in the middle of a heated Democratic primary with both candidates setting their sites on Ohio to deliver the knockout.

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