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Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated St. Vincent (2014) in Movies

Aug 6, 2019

St. Vincent (2014)

2014 | Comedy

7.8

(10 Ratings)

Movie Rating

“St. Vincent” is a comedy about the complexity of being human, and the need to make connections with one another. It mostly follows the daily life of Vincent (Bill Murray), a crotchety old man who likes to gamble, keeps the company of a “lady of the night,” and could care less what anybody thinks about him.

I think it’s safe to say Bill Murray is a comedy legend. So it should come as no surprise that yet again, Murray has delivered an impeccable performance.

The audience experience is not just one of watching a very famous actor play a role, but instead Murray steps outside of himself and truly becomes Vincent. Each detail, from his physical appearance, to his demeanor, are flawless.

He is a man stuck in his ways, though his life appears to be in disarray. His house is filled with dirt. He owes money to bad people. He lives alone with his cat, and doesn’t really like anyone.

When Maggie (Melissa McCarthy) and her son Oliver (Jaeden Lieberher) move in next door, Vincent is in no way kind to them.

In this film McCarthy is subtle in a good way. She is funny, but at the same time her role is heart wrenching. She is a single mom who is pushed to the limit of what one person can do, and has no choice but to roll with the punches.

She becomes swamped at her new job, and Vincent kind of just falls into the role of Oliver’s babysitter (paid babysitter of course). From that point on, Vincent takes Oliver along with him as he continues with his mostly seedy life.

The interplay between the young boy and the grouchy old man is where the element of humanness is communicated most. Despite differences in age or perspective, people need each other and can make profound connections.

The characters are developed well enough to illustrate that people are not one dimensional. Whether they have a hard or a soft exterior, there is always more than meets the eye.

It is filled with moments of outrageous hilarity, but also has a few emotional ones. Life isn’t always pleasant, and this comedy stays true to that reality.

Don’t be surprised if, at the end of the film, the audience gives a standing ovation.

I give “St. Vincent” 5 out of 5 stars.

Kudos

SunnyFunnies: Hide and Seek

Education and Games

(0 Ratings) Rate It

App

SunnyFunnies are interactive tales – educational games for children, ages 2-5. This app was...

You Might Be Smiling Now... by The Just Joans

(0 Ratings) Rate It

Album Watch

Cult Scottish miserabilists The Just Joans are delighted to be releasing their first new album in...

rock

The 15:17 To Paris (2018)

6.2 (18 Ratings) Rate It

Movie Watch

From Clint Eastwood comes “The 15:17 to Paris,” which tells the real-life story of three men...

Suggs recommended Clash by The Clash in Music (curated)

Clash by The Clash

1977 | Rock

8.6

(5 Ratings)

Album Favorite

"I wasn’t really a punk. I was about 16 when that album came out. But I was living above Maples, a carpet shop near Tottenham Court Road, and it was right by Capital Radio, and I remember suddenly these 14-foot letters appeared in spraypaint on Capital‘s windows, ‘THE CLASH’! And there was a thing in Melody Maker, where I heard about this club called The Roxy at Covent Garden, so I went down there. Me and my friends already looked a bit skinhead-y, suedehead-y, and I had this mohair suit, but the connection was that the punks had straight trousers in this world of flares and Kevin Keegan hairdos. Nobody was wearing Vivienne Westwood clothing: there was a guy in a dinner jacket painted pink, and someone else in a boiler suit they’d made themselves, and it was really DIY. The tribalism between mods and skinheads and punks hadn’t really started at that time, and it hadn‘t fractured into a million pieces yet. In 1977, if you had short hair, and you were prepared to have someone call you a fucking cunt in your ear for it, you were in. I saw a band called Eater at the Roxy, whose average age I later found out was 14. And I first heard The Clash’s ‘1977’ and ‘White Riot’ on record there. I felt like I was at the advent of something new. I liked punk, and I liked the attitude, but by 1978 we had our own thing going. But I always had a soft spot for The Clash, because they had the reggae thing, like us, and there was a bit of soul in their music, for want of a better word. Joe Strummer definitely had a bit of soul in his voice. Every fucking track on that album’s brilliant, but my favourite’s ‘London’s Burning’. And they were fucking brilliant live. And we [2 Tone bands] wouldn’t have had anywhere to play if it wasn’t for punk. You had pub rock informing punk, and punk informing us, and The Specials were a direct amalgam of punk and ska, and we realised that the faster we played, the more likely we could get the crowd jumping up and down, which was a legacy of punk. All these different movements, fracturing then coming back together. You’d need 60,000 sociologists to untangle those couple of years."

Source

Kudos

Darren (1599 KP) rated Forsaken (2016) in Movies

Sep 16, 2019

Forsaken (2016)

2016 | International, Drama, Western

6.0

(4 Ratings)

Movie Rating

Characters – John Henry Clayton left his town for war, he never returned until his mother died, he has become distant from his father not believing in God, the town does fear his actions in the past, which has made him the threat to the gang controlling the town and when things become personal, he becomes the man people need to fear. Reverend Samuel Clayton is respected in the town which he has made a place believing in God, he doesn’t like his son returning, but learns that he hasn’t for a good reason. James McCurdy is the man running the town, he lets his men kill to get the property he wants. Dave Turner is one of the men that works for James, one that does play by honour over many of the shot first men in the gang.

Performances – Kiefer Sutherland in the leading role is fine, though his mumbling doesn’t help us care enough his character, opposite his father Donald who isn’t the most entertaining either. Michael Wincott was the most interesting character because he seems to get some development and want to see more from him. Brian Cox feels completely wasted in his role that gives him nothing.

Story – The story follows a man returning home with a reputation while he needs to learn how to make a stand to protect his town which has become a problem overrun by a gang of outlaws. This does follow the generic idea of a returning man helping clean up his town without offer anything new, it keeps us seeing how the action are building up to the problems that will be facing before the final showdown. The pacing does become slow which does make things unfold at a snail’s pace which just doesn’t keep our attention for long enough.

Action/Western – The action does feel flat, we just don’t get enough of it to make us believe it is action heavy movie, though the mood makes us feel like the western we are entering.

Settings – The film does make us feel like we are the small town which has a community feeling about it.

Scene of the Movie – Dave doesn’t like his men not following orders.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – The mumbling from Kiefer.

Final Thoughts – This is a slow paced action western movie that just never gets going and ends up feeling the pace taking age to get through.

Overall: Slow and bland.