Mudbound (2017)
Movie Watch
Laura McAllan is trying to raise her children on her husband's Mississippi Delta farm, a place she...
drama
Verner Latskin (74 KP) rated Drive (2011) in Movies
Jul 21, 2017
Otherwise, it's a flimsy, but good little crime thriller that's generally overrated. Shouldn't stop anyone from seeing it though.
The Great Gatsby: Including an Interview with Director Baz Luhrmann
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Official Film Edition including an interview with Baz Luhrmann Jay Gatsby's parties are legendary....
Matthew Fox recommended Drive (2011) in Movies (curated)
Girls & Boys
Book
They met at an airport and fell for each other. But in time, they would meet their fate as it all...
An Education: The Screenplay
Book
The script for major new film An Education, the story of the bizarre relationship between 1960s...
Never Let Me Go Screenplay
Book
In his highly acclaimed novel "Never Let Me Go", Kazuo Ishiguro ("The Remains of the Day") created a...
BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated Promising Young Woman (2020) in Movies
Apr 10, 2021
The answer is - it is ALL of these and thanks to a wonderful script (by Fennell), strong Direction (again, by Ferrell) and a terrific, Oscar-worthy performance in the lead role (by Carey Mulligan) it is a very effective, very powerful film.
PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN tells the tale of Cassandra who we are introduced to at a bar, obviously drunk, getting picked up (and taken advantage of) by a “nice guy” at the bar. Once back at his place, it is clear that she is NOT drunk and she confronts the “nice guy”.
To say anything else would spoil this wonderful film.
At the center of this film is Carey Mulligan (deservedly) Oscar nominated turn as Cassandra. This is a tortured soul who is looking for some sort of catharsis from a previous trauma and seeks various ways to achieve this. You see an intelligence and sadness in Cassandra at every turn and Mulligan’s performance seemed rooted in reality and was, ultimately, an effective, chillingly and (yes) sad character brought to life. It is the type of performance that I will be rooting for in the Oscar race, it’s that good.
Most of the other characters in this film fleet in and out of Cassandra’s life but all are strong performances, seemingly willing to bring their “A” game to match Mulligan’s performance and the strong script. Kudos to Jennifer Coolidge, Alison Brie, Laverne Cox, Bo Burnham, Christopher Mintz-Plasse (yes, a McLovin’ sighting!), Alfred Molina, Moly Shannon, Connie Britton and, especially, the great Clancy Brown. They all enhanced the film with their performances, working off of Mulligan effectively.
But, credit to all of this must go to Writer/Director Emerald Fennell (probably best known for playing Camilla Parker Bowles in THE CROWN) who's script is smart and thought-provoking and who’s Direction is crisp and sure. She clearly had a certain type of film in her head - the type of film that does not easily lend itself to definition/classification and packs a powerful punch at it’s conclusion. Without spoiling anything, she “ups her game” at the end of this film and I sat in thoughtful silence as the end credits ran.
Fennell is up for the Oscar for both Best Director and Best Original Screenplay and I, for one, would vote for her Screenplay hands-down.
An intriguing film that is sticking with me a few days later…always a mark of quality.
Letter Grade: A
9 Stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
Awix (3310 KP) rated The Dig (2021) in Movies
Feb 6, 2021 (Updated Feb 6, 2021)
Really a film of two halves: the first part, which is very quiet and still and all about figures in a landscape with Vaughan Williams-esque music playing, I found was much engaging than the second, which is not particularly focused and turns into a bit of a soap opera (there's a forbidden romance, terminal illness, political squabbling over who gets to run the dig and keep the treasure, etc, etc). Decent performances from a strong cast and it looks good in a fairly cinematic way, but by the end it seemed to me that archaeology in general and Sutton Hoo in particular had rather been forgotten about, which seemed like a shame.
The Hourglass Factory
Book
1912 and London is in turmoil... The suffragette movement is reaching fever pitch but for broke...