Posts Tagged 'United 93'
Snowed In & Hibernating?
Posted by Anthony Peoples in Uncategorized.	Tagged: 22 July, 9/11, A Quiet Place, A Simple Favor, Academy Awards, Alfronso Cuaron, Anna Kendrick, Bad Times at the El Royale, Ben Whishaw, Bird Box, bitter cold, Blake Lively, Chicago, Chloe Sevigny, Chris Hemsworth, Crazy Rich Asians, Critics' Choice Award, Cynthia Erivo, dark comedy, Emily Blunt, Golden Globe Awards, Gravity, Hamilton, hate, Henry Golding, Kristen Stewart, Lewis Pullman, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Lizzie, Lizzie Borden, Mary Poppins Returns, Matthew Rhys, Minnesota, Moonlight, Netflix, Northland, Norway, Oscars, Oslo, Paul Greengrass, Quad Cities, racism, Richard Madden, Rob Marshall, Roma, Ryan Reynolds, Sandra Bullock, Snow, Suicide, The Age of Adaline, The Americans, The Bodyguard, Thor, Trevante Rhodes, United 93, white supremacist, Y Tu Mama Tambien, Yalitza Aparicio.	Leave a comment
I hope you enjoyed your weekend!
We shivered here in the Minnesota's Northland with temperatures around -15° to -40° and wind chills of -30° to -50°.
Meanwhile, my friends back in the Quad Cities are waking up to a new blanket of 4″-8″ of snow!
So, you might be wanting some movie suggestions!
While this retro thriller didn't exactly set the box office on fire last fall, it's incredible.
I was intrigued by the trailer and the movie exceeded my expectations.
It takes place in the late-1960s when a group of travelers and people with an agenda show up at the El Royale hotel, just outside of Lake Tahoe. Part of the hotel is in California and part of it is in Nevada, which is used as a sales gimmick.
From the title, you can tell it's not a vacation and bad things happen!
Cynthia Erivo is amazing, as is relative newcomer Lewis Pullman (son of Bill Pullman).
And, Chris Hemsworth ("Thor") is stunning as a scantily clad, oh well, I don't need to give much away. I'll just leave it as "scantily clad"! 🙂
From the trailer, this black comedy/thriller looked fun and it was!
The $20 million late summer movie starring Anna Kendrick, Blake Lively, and sexy Henry Golding ("Crazy Rich Asians") made an impressive $97.1 million in theaters.
It was much darker and funnier than I expected.
Blake Lively was great. While I knew of her from "Gossip Girl", I first took notice of her in the beautiful "The Age of Adeline" (2015).
Okay, that's a little bit of a lie. I really took notice when she married my future ex-boyfriend, Ryan Reynolds! 🙂
Oops, I digressed!
There's a running joke in the movie that if I had been drinking something, I'd spit it out in laughter! "BF"!
Yes, the movie is dark, but humorous! A perfect combination of the two.
This movie is based on the true story of a 2011 terrorist attack on Norway.
Two separate attacks, one by a bomb in Oslo's city government district to distract police and another at a camp in Utøya for teenagers, left 77 dead.
Of the 69 killed at the camp, most were kids!
The motive — white supremacy and the hate of Muslims coming into Scandinavia!
The Netflix movie was directed by Paul Greengrass ("Captain Phillips" and three of the "Jason Bourne" movies).
Greengrass also directed 2006's Oscar nominated, heartbreaking and heart-pumping "United 93", which is a far more superior movie.
As you know, "United 93" was one of the planes used in the 9/11 attacks.
Okay, this may come as a shocker, but I never saw the original "Mary Poppins"! I'm familiar with it and I did see a high school stage production of it! 🙂
But, my friend Katie convinced me to go see it with her after work earlier this week (she's already seen it four or five times). I was sold with Emily Blunt and my crush, Ben Whishaw, as stars!
Blunt was incredible as usual as Mary Poppins. What an incredible year for her after last winter's "A Quiet Place", which was one of my Top 10 movies of 2018.
Lin Manuel-Miranda ("Hamilton") was great as Jack, the lamplighter.
His "Trip a Little Light Fantastic", which reminded me of director Rob Marshall's "Cell Block Tango" from 2002's "Chicago", was probably my favorite number in the movie.
A must see for kids and adults!
This six-episode Netflix thriller is sexy and full of intrigue and twists.
A former Afghanistan war veteran, Sergeant David Budd (Richard Madden) is hired to protect a controversial high-ranking British cabinet member, the Home Secretary.
Well, there are snakes in the grass, so all doesn't go as planned.
Madden beat out Matthew Rhys of "The Americans" for this year's Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama. But, Rhys ended up winning the Critics' Choice Award for Best Actor.
That goes to show how great of a performance it was.
And, as much as I loved Rhys performance in the final season of "The Americans", I wouldn't have been shocked if Madden had won both awards!
This Netflix original is a great, creepy movie with an all-star cast. It's also being watched in record numbers on the streaming service after a limited theatrical run.
Sandra Bullock is fantastic as usual.
I loved seeing Trevante Rhodes in a major role after his career making part in the Oscar winner "Moonlight".
Some say the movie is tacky in the way it handles mental illness and suicide.
"Bird Box" would have gotten a higher grade if not for the unbelievable "rapids" scene outcome and the conclusion!
We've all heard the real life story about Lizzie Borden!
Yes, the one that "gave her mother 40 whacks; when she saw what she had done, she gave her father 41"!
This very compelling drama features incredible performances by actresses Chloe Sevigny as Lizzie and Kristin Stewart as her family's maid.
Critics are raving about this latest masterpiece and semi-autobiographical film from director Alfonso Cuarón ("Gravity" and "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban").
It's racking up all kinds of win leading up to the Oscar nominations. My prediction: while it'll be nominated for Best Picture — it won't (and shouldn't) win!
It follows the life of a live-in housekeeper, Cleo, to a middle-class family in Mexico City in the early-1970s.
Lead actress Yalitza Aparicio, who's not a trained actress, was spectacular and the main reason to see this film.
While the movie is beautifully shot and Cuarón lets the movie breathe, some scenes go on way too long!
Maybe it's just me because I wasn't blown away by his critically acclaimed movie "Gravity" either, but I loved Cuarón's 2001 film, "Y Tu Mama Tambien".
Ready for Popcorn & These Fall Movies
Posted by Anthony Peoples in Uncategorized.	Tagged: American Hustle, August: Osage County, C.O.G., Captain Phillips, Carrie, Chloe Grace Moretz, Dallas Buyers Club, Daniel Radcliffe, Jared Leto, Julia Roberts, Julianne Moore, Kill Your Darlings, Kimberly Peirce, Lady Gaga, Machete Kills, Matthew McConaughey, Meryl Streep, Michael C. Hall, Paul Greengrass, Sofia Vergara, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Tom Hanks, Twelve Years A Slave, United 93.	Leave a comment
Fall is here and I'm ready to spend the shorter and cooler days with a hot bucket of movie popcorn sitting in a dark theater or all comfy on my couch with home-popped popcorn.
Here are the motion pictures that have piqued my interest as we head into that season. No, not winter, but Oscar-bait season.
The movies that I want to see in the theater will have trailers and the ones that I'll likely see, but I'll wait for the DVD release will have just movie posters.
My first selection is already playing at select theaters across the country and I doubt that it'll play in the Quad Cities. So, I'll be waiting for the DVD release on November 19, 2013 and I'll buy it to add to my collection.
The comedy, "C.O.G.", is the first-ever screen adaptation of the work of writer David Sedaris. It stars Jonathan Groff ("Glee"), Denis O' Hare ("American Horror Story"), and Troian Bellisario ("Pretty Little Liars").
WAITING FOR THE DVD RELEASE
As much as I love Lady Gaga and "Modern Family" seductress Sofia Vergara, I'll wait to see "Machete Kills" (release date: 10/11) on DVD, just in case it's so bad I'm only out $1.20 at Redbox.
The latest thriller starring Academy Award winner Tom Hanks, "Captain Phillips" (release date: 10/11) is based on a true story of Somali Pirates taking over the "Maersk Alabama" in 2009. The film, which is already getting Oscar buzz, is directed by Paul Greengrass ("United 93").
And, as much as I love Julianne Moore and Chloe Grace Moretz, I'll be waiting to watch the remake of the Stephen King classic, "Carrie" (release date: 10/18) at home on DVD.
The new version is directed by Kimberly Peirce, who was behind the incredible "Boys Don't Cry" in 1999. That movie earned Hillary Swank her first Oscar, as Brandon Teena, a murdered transgender man.
Here are the movies that I'm marking my calendar to see in theaters.
"KILL YOUR DARLINGS"
Now that "Dexter" has ended its eight season run on Showtime, I have to get my Michael C. Hall fix somewhere.
I get that in "Kill Your Darlings" (limited release: 10/16), which also stars Daniel Radcliffe ("Harry Potter") and Dane DeHaan ("Chronicle").
It's based on the murder of David Kammerer (Hall) by Lucien Carr (DeHaan) in 1944. It also brings the great beat generation poets Allen Ginsberg (Radcliffe), Jack Kerouac, and William S. Burroughs (Ben Foster) together.
The star of "12 Years A Slave" (release date: 10/18) that is getting heavy Oscar buzz is Chiwetel Ejifor.
He plays a free black man who was sold into slavery after he was lured away from his home in Saratoga Springs, New York in 1841. He was forced to work on a Louisiana plantation for 12 years before his release.
The movie also stars sexy Michael Fassbender as an evil plantation owner, along with Brad Pitt, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Dano, Alfre Woodard, Sarah Paulson, Paul Giamatti, and Quvenzhane Wallis.
Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto are garnering the best reviews of their acting career for their upcoming drama, "Dallas Buyers Club" (release date: 11/1), which is based on a true story.
McConaughey plays Ron Woodroof, a drug using, womanizing, homophobic man who was diagnosed with HIV/AIDS in 1986 and given only thirty days to live. It tells the story of how he began smuggling non-toxic, alternative medicines from all over the world, thus forming the "Dallas Buyers Club".
For his part, McConaughey lost around 40-50 pounds and his co-star, Leto lost 30-40 pounds to play Rayon, an HIV-positive transgendered woman, who became business partners with Woodroof.
This isn't the first time that Leto has significantly altered his body for a part. Check out this photo of him playing Mark David Chapman, the man who murdered John Lennon in December 1980.
In that movie, "Chapter 27" from 2007, Leto gained 67 pounds! And, it's disgusting how he did it. He would drink microwaved ice cream by the pints that was mixed with olive oil and soy sauce every night!
I expect that both McConaughey and Leto will get several nominations in this upcoming awards season!
There isn't much I have to say about the second installment of Katniss Everdeen fighting for her life in "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" (release date: 11/22).
Gretel has read all three books and she's excited to see this one.
This movie (limited release 12/13; wide release 12/25) has the "Midas Touch".
It's directed by David O. Russell, who was nominated for a Best Director Oscar for "Silver Linings Playbook" last year. That movie earned "American Hustle" star Jennifer Lawrence an Academy Award and a nomination for her co-stars Bradley Cooper and Robert DeNiro, who are both back in this film.
It also stars Oscar winner Christian Bale ("The Fighter) and four-time Academy Award nominee Amy Adams, who was also in Russell's "The Fighter" in 2010, which earned him another directing Oscar nomination!
This black comedy-drama (release date: 12/25) has Oscar written all over it.
It stars Oscar's favorite Meryl Streep as a woman with oral cancer that develops an addiction to drugs and Oscar winner Julia Roberts as her daughter.
So, I have my movie rewards card ready to sit in the dark, stare up at the big screen, and stuff myself with popcorn and Coke Zero. Now, you know what movies excite me this fall and Oscar season.
And, the Oscar goes to….