|
Hello fellow moviegoers! Black Mass stars Johnny Depp, Joel Egerton, Benedict Cumberbatch, Kevin Bacon, and Jesse Plemons. It is based on the true story of notorious Boston gangster James “Whitey” Bulger. This story mainly focuses on the part of Bulger’s life in which he had an “unholy” alliance with the FBI to take down other gangs in Boston. Depp has been receiving praise left-and-right from this movie, but is his performance really as good as everyone is saying it is? Here is what I thought.  This film is a great way to kick of this year’s Oscar race. If you are interested in this movie in any way, shape, or form, I think you should go see it. This movie is pretty great. Is it perfect? No. Is it an entertaining story about gangsters in Boston that happen to be led by one of the most dangerous kingpins in history? Definitely. The way that the story is told is pretty unique. It is told through a series of interrogations with characters you see throughout the story. But, it is done so that the people who are being interrogated turn more into narrators in a way. It was a very interesting way to go about it, I thought. Now it’s time to address the big elephant in the room, Johnny Depp. He was fantastic. Depp’s performance as “Whitey” was definitely one that should get some Oscar attention this February. There are several scenes throughout this film that had me literally on the edge of my seat, because of the way he was able to make the tension so much greater. There is one scene in particular that is maybe two thirds the way through the film, I was fidgeting around in my seat repetitively throughout that entire scene, which was like five minutes long! I can’t help but feel that Johnny Depp’s performance accounts for a majority of my reasons for liking this movie though. He was incredible in this movie! I would even go as far to say that we will get an Oscar nomination for it. He was that good! But, his performance was the main thing that was repeatedly on my mind throughout the whole movie, not really the story. Joel Egerton’s performance was excellent as well. I’ve noticed that Joel Egerton is one of those faces that is very recognizable. In this movie, I really didn’t see him much. I saw John Connoly, which is about the best compliment that I can give to an actor. So overall I would definitely recommend this movie. Be advised, there is some harsh language, and pretty disturbing violence. If you can get passed that, you may really enjoy this movie like I did. 8/10  So what did you think of Black Mass? Do you think Johnny Depp or Joel Egerton will get Oscar nominations for it? Let me know by commenting on this post!
Thanks for stopping by! Hello fellow moviegoers! It’s that time of the year again. One of the most wonderful times of the year; at least, when it comes to film that is. It’s Oscar season, and boy do we have some movies to talk about. At the beginning of this year, I thought this was going to be “The Year of the Blockbuster” or something like that. To an extent, it was. With movies like Avengers: Age of Ultron, Mad Max: Fury Road, and Jurassic World all gracing the screen this summer, it was definitely one to remember. But the year’s not done yet. Kind of unexpectedly, I am almost more excited for this year’s Oscar season than I was for the summer blockbusters. So what are the films coming out this fall and winter that have me so excited? I have comprised a list of my top ten most anticipated films for this year’s Oscar race. So without further ado, here it is.  10: In the Heart of the Sea In the Heart of the Sea is directed by Ron Howard, and it that isn’t reason enough to be excited then also take into account that it is the true story that inspired the story of Moby Dick. The trailers to this movie look intense, emotional, and basically everything you would want out of this story. Also the cast they have assembled is great! Chris Hemsworth stars and looks fantastic. It also stars Cillian Murphy, who is an extremely underrated actor in my opinion, and Pre-Spiderman Tom Holland appears as well.  9: Macbeth ALL HAIL MACBETH! This interpretation of the classic Shakespearian story looks as dark and realistic as you could hope for. The approach that director Justin Kurzel has taken is a very interesting one. Throw in Academy Award nominee Michael Fassbender, and Academy Award winner Marion Cotillard and you have a humongous formula for success.  8: The Hateful Eight Tarantino. Need I say more? The eighth film by Quinton Tarantino, appropriately titled The Hateful Eight, ironically (but not purposefully) takes the 8th place spot on this list. As can be expected with any of Tarantino’s films, Samuel L. Jackson stars. But he isn’t alone. Kurt Russel, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Bruce Dern, and Channing Tatum also star. That’s right, Channing Tatum is in a Quinton Tarantino film. If that isn’t reason enough to be intrigued, I don’t know what is.  7: The Danish Girl This past February, Eddie Redmayne won the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, deservedly so. You may recognize him as the guy that played Stephen Hawking in last year’s The Theory of Everything. Well, this year he took on another juicy role as he plays the world’s first person to surgically swap genders. Alicia Vikander also co-stars. Anyone who has seen this year’s Ex-Machina knows that means we can expect a great performance from her.  6: Bridge of Spies Steven Spielberg’s 2012 film Lincoln was a success, both with the critics and the box office. So it comes as no surprise that there is a lot of marketing being put into this film. Bridge of Spies is the newest film by Steven Spielberg, and it stars Academy Award Winner Tom Hanks. The film also sees the talents of Academy Award Nominees Alan Alda and Amy Ryan. James Donovan (Hanks) is hired by the CIA, during the Cold War, to bargain a deal with Russia in which both countries see the return of their hostages. What part of this film doesn’t scream “Oscar contender”?  5: Spotlight Spotlight is the true story of The Boston Globe uncovering the truth about the child molestation scandal by the Catholic Church in Boston. The trailers make it seem like this film is going all in on this subject. It’s going to be emotional, thrilling, and perhaps even scary at times. This year is going to be a tough year to get an acting nomination, because once again this film has a stellar cast. It stars Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Mark Ruffalo, Stanley Tucci, Liev Schreiber, and John Slattery. I have a feeling that there may be a couple nominations in this cast’s future.  4: Black Mass At the time I’m writing this I have yet to see this movie, although it did come out this weekend. Black Mass stars Johnny Depp as someone other than Jack Sparrow. He plays notorious Boston gangster Whitey Bulger. The movie mainly focuses on Bulger’s dirty alliance with the FBI. Surprise, Surprise, another great cast! Joining Depp in this film are Joel Egerton, Benedict Cumberbatch, Dakota Johnson, Kevin Bacon, Adam Scott, and Corey Stoll. From what I’ve heard, we can expect nominations for Johnny Depp, and Joel Egerton. (I have seen the film since the time this was written and my review will be up soon)  Now we get to the REALLY exciting ones. Depending on the day, any one of this top three could be first, second, or third. But, this is where my anticipation levels are at as of now. 3: Legend This movie looks awesome! There are three main reasons I am excited for this movie. The first; Tom Hardy. Tom Hardy is one of those actors that every moviegoer knows who he is. They may not know his name though. The critics definitely know his name, and this movie undeniably shows why. His performance in this movie looks jaw-dropping from what we’ve seen so far. The second; It’s been a while since we’ve had a really good gangster movie. But it looks like that could change after this year. Especially after Legend. The third reason; Tom Hardy again. That’s right this movie focuses on two British gangster twins, both played by Tom Hardy! If you are not excited by now, go watch the trailer and you will not be disappointed.  2: The Revenant Oh boy. The Revenant looks like it could be a movie that could literally change filmmaking. A majority of my excitement for this movie comes not from the story, but from what is going on behind the camera. Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu is a name you might recognize from last year, as he was the one behind the magnificent, and one of my personal favorite films, Birdman. But that’s not the only reason to be excited. Leonardo DiCaprio stars alongside with Tom Hardy. Like I stated before, Tom Hardy is awesome. We all know how great DiCaprio is, so it may finally be his turn to win an Oscar this year. Only time will tell. Also, in the same way Birdman was filmed to look like all one shot, this film has something unique about it. It was filmed using all natural light. That’s right, no big lights shining over them while they’re filming, just plain-old natural sunlight  1: The Martian The Martian is on quite a few people’s radars this Oscar season, but definitely not enough. In case you don’t know what this movie is, it’s basically Cast Away on Mars. It’s directed by Ridley Scott, and stars Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sean Bean, Michael Pena, and Kate Mara. Personally, I have read the book that it is based on. That may be part of the reason why I am so excited for this movie. That book was incredible! If the movie is anywhere near as good as the book was, I do think that this could potentially win Best Picture! The premise may sound like a very dark one that they would take very seriously, but surprisingly it’s really funny! The comedy (in the book at least) was so well timed that it had me laughing out loud and confusing the group of people around me! This is definitely a movie to be looking forward to!  Honorable Mentions: The Walk Steve Jobs Crimson Peak Beasts of No Nation Spectre Creed Star Wars: The Force Awakens So what do you think of my list? What films are you most excited for this Oscar season? Let me know by commenting on this post! Thanks for stopping by! |
Kyle Kruse
Follow Me for Updates!Twitter: @kruze_reviews
Categories
All
Archives
May 2018
|
RSS Feed