Five Faves #2: “In Bruges” (2008)

Welcome to the second installment in my Five Faves series, in which I discuss the five movies that I consider my all-time favorites. Last time we dove deep into the screenplay of Pulp Fiction to determine what makes it so special. Today we explore the cinematic debut of former playwright Martin McDonagh, 2008’s In Bruges. While McDonagh later found mainstream success with awards darling Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, it was his first creation that resonates the strongest with me.

The film tells the story of two hitmen (Ray and Ken) hiding out in the titular Belgian town after a job goes bad. While waiting for further instructions from their boss (Harry), they take in the local culture, get into various misadventures, and reflect on their past lives. The film takes on a darkly comedic tone with outlandish scenarios and boorish behavior, but underpinning everything is a serious examination of guilt and redemption.

“Solo: A Star Wars Story” Film Review

Solo: A Star Wars Story is the latest installment in the Star Wars universe, following the origin story of Han Solo (Alden Ehrenreich). The film had an infamously difficult production, with the original directors (Lord & Miller) fired by the studio halfway through filming and Ron Howard stepping in to clean up their mess. Is the final product cohesive enough for an immersive experience, and does the entry into the SW lexicon hold up in its own right? *SPOILERS AHEAD!*

“13 Reasons Why” Season 2 Review

The second season of the hit Netflix drama continues the story of Liberty High School, as students deal with the fallout of Hannah Baker’s suicide and the implicating tapes she left behind. The first season was surprisingly strong, a gripping drama that managed to transcend the usual pitfalls of the high school drama genre. Can the second season, with its source material now exhausted after the first season ended, live up to expectations of the first and justify its continued existence with original content?

“Disobedience” Film Review

Disobedience is co-written and directed by Sebastián Lelio based on the novel of the same name by Naomi Alderman. It tells the story of Ronit (Rachel Weisz), who returns to her Orthodox Jewish community after her father passes away, only to find that her presence is not exactly welcome, causing tension with old flame Esti (Rachel McAdams) and her husband.

I was introduced to Lelio’s work earlier this year when he won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film for A Fantastic Woman. I thought that film was fine, though it lacked a cohesive third act and felt kinda incomplete as a story. Regardless, it was clear then that Lelio has a great visual eye and I was excited to see what he could accomplish with a strong story, and an adapted work seemed like a perfect place for him to break into the mainstream. And I’m happy to report that he has made one of the most fascinating films of 2018. *SPOILERS AHEAD!*

“Deadpool 2” Film Review

At what point does a joke get taken too far?

At what point can slapstick meta-humor mask inherent problems with your screenplay? Is the solution to lazy writing truly to just have your protagonist break the fourth wall and declare, “Now that’s just lazy writing”? Can one-liners and physical comedy paper over a thin plotline and poorly-conceived characters? What happens when a brand built on its irreverence towards the mainstream BECOMES the mainstream? As a wise man once said, “You either die an anti-hero, or you make fun of the hero long enough to become one.” Wait. That’s not right…

Deadpool 2 pushes the boundaries on all of the above questions and more. Has the merc with the mouth outstayed his welcome, or can his second installment live up to the hype generated by the first?

Five Faves #1: “Pulp Fiction” (1994)

Whenever I tell friends and family about my passion for film, the first question I invariably get back is, “What is your favorite movie of all time?” And as any cinephile (or scriptophile!) knows, it’s a hard question to answer. My tastes change from year to year…hell, from day to day! Sometimes my top film will change every time I re-watch something else high on my list. Regardless, I have put serious effort into answering this question for myself in recent months, and while I still can’t pinpoint a singular title, I have narrowed my list down to five. These are the five films that rotate in an out of my top spot on any given day, jockeying with one another for supremacy yet still a notch above any other film below them. This new series will explore each of the five titles and dissect their screenplays to examine what makes them so special, starting with Quentin Tarantino’s masterpiece, Pulp Fiction (1994).

“You Were Never Really Here” Film Review

You Were Never Really Here was written and directed by Lynne Ramsay based on a novel of the same name by Jonathan Ames, starring Joaquin Phoenix as Joe, a mentally-disturbed ex-military man turned contract killer suffering from PTSD. Our story finds Joe taking a job to track down the preteen daughter of a prominent politician, who has been sold into a child sex ring. Joe finds the girl but uncovers more than he bargained for as he must fight for his life and go into hiding.

“Tully” Film Analysis & Review

Tully, the latest offering from scribe Diablo Cody of Juno acclaim, is about Marlo, a stressed and overworked mother dealing with a plethora of problems: the impending birth of her third kid, an autistic problem child, and a largely uncooperative husband. Marlo’s brother recommends that she look into hiring a night nurse to help ease the load, which introduces us to Tully, a twenty-something free spirit here to help care for the baby (but more importantly for Marlo). Marlo finds that Tully’s presence helps her deal with the situation, but it also brings some less savory details of her life to the forefront as she attempts to confront all of her anxieties and repressions.