Search

Search only in certain items:

The Goldfinch (2019)
The Goldfinch (2019)
2019 | Drama
The life of Theodore Decker (Ansel Elgort and Oakes Fegley) is for every changed when his mother is killed in an explosion at an art museum. In the same tragic moments when his mother is killed he also makes a decision that will help shape the rest of his life, he takes a rare and valuable painting in the chaos of surrounding. This painting, The Goldfinch, wasn’t something he planned on taking, but having it will be the only thing that brings him comfort in the days ahead. After the tragedy he is temporarily placed with a family he really enjoys. He has a best friend, Andy Barbour (Ryan Foust), and a mother figure in Mrs. Barbour (Nicole Kidman). Theodore also makes a connection to a girl Pippa (Aimee Laurence and later by Ashleigh Cummings) and her caretaker Hobie (Jeffrey Wright). Pippa and her uncle Welty (Robert Joy) were standing right next to Theodore when the explosion that killed his mother happened. Welty also passes away during the explosion but not before he would influence Theodore to take the painting. Thus changing the trajectory of the rest of his life.
This film is based on the Pulitzer Prize winning book by Donna Tartt of the same name. I have not read the book so I cannot make a comparison between the two. The director, John Crowley (Brooklyn and Closed Circuit) makes a visually beautiful film. You can tell that care was taken to make the film have a certain feel and texture. The cast is very good, including those mentioned above and Finn Wolfhard, Sarah Paulson, Aneurin Barnard and more. I particularly thought the casting of Oakes Fegley as the Young Theodore and Ansel Elgort as the adult Theodore was particularly good. The story skipped in sequence and you could see the similarity in the two actors as on character. The overall story is original and fascinating. But the film jumped around and made it feel choppy. Also the run time of two hours and twenty nine minutes somehow felt longer than that. The story moved at a snail’s pace and really seemed like it had no direction. Then in the final 10 minutes it wrapped up in a flash.
I thought overall the performances were good and the story was interesting but how it was presented really lacked. It was slow and developed in a non-compelling way. I could definitely see potential but it fell a little short for me. It did make me want to read the book and see how the author meant for the story to be told. I would recommend seeing this in a theater for the cinematography because it was beautifully shot.
  
    Radio HQ (lite version)

    Radio HQ (lite version)

    Music and Entertainment

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    App

    "Radio HQ (lite version)" is a modern internet radio receiver that enables you to listen lots of...

The Adam Project (2022)
The Adam Project (2022)
2022 | Action, Adventure, Comedy
7
6.6 (13 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Family Friendly, fun, action/comedy
Ryan Reynolds is making a nice living, not only is he on the “A” list for such films as DEADPOOL and FREE GUY (a wonderful film that you have to check out if you haven’t seen it), He is also popping up in charming action/comedy films that go straight to Streaming on Netflix. Following the fun romp that was RED NOTICE (with Gal Gadot and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson), he is back in the Shawn Levy helmed THE ADAM PROJECT.

And while this film is not doing anything special, nor will it be nominated for any kind of awards, it is a fun, entertaining way to spend a couple of hours.

Family friendly, THE ADAM PROJECT, stars Reynolds as…you got it…Adam. A time traveling pilot who goes back in time to find his father - the inventor of time travel - and stop him. Along the way, her runs into his younger self, his mother and a very important person from Adam’s past…or rather…future…or…

You get the idea, it’s a time travel movie, so I wouldn’t get too caught up in “the rules” or dig too deeply into the plot.

Reynolds, of course, is charming as pilot Adam, ready with a laser gun and a quip. His quick wit and snappy banter is reminiscent of many, many other roles that Reynolds has played…and that is okay. He is joined by his younger self (dubbed Small Adam) who is played as a young Ryan Reynolds mimic very well by newcomer Walker Scobell. To be honest, Scobell is annoying early on in this film - and that is on purpose - for what is charming in the adult Reynolds is really annoying in a 12 year old.

Jennifer Garner (Mom), Mark Ruffalo (Dad) and Zoe Saldana (mysterious person from Adam’s past…I mean…future) are “professional” in their respective roles, bringing the right amount of whatever their character needs at the moment. Finally, surprisingly, indie film icon Catherine Keener is very good as the “bad buy” in this piece.

All of this is handled deftly by Shawn Levy (NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM). His track record shows that he knows how to do these family friendly, action/comedy/adventure films and he does not disappoint here. He moves things along at a brisk enough pace to keep all interested while throwing in comedy and snappy banter along the way.

All-in-All, a very fun way to spend a couple of hours - certainly a good way to spend a crisp Spring evening whilst waiting for the warmer weather to arrive.

Letter Grade: B+

7 1/2 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)