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365Flicks (235 KP) rated Never Let Go (2017) in Movies
Nov 20, 2019
In truth, In my humble opinion this movie is actually way better than those Taken movies, I know I know I liked them when they first came out aswell, but this movie Never Let Go completely took me by surprise… In the best possible way. Ladies and Gents, Angela Bloody Dixon. This leading lady is fantastic, she grips the viewer by the balls and takes you on a Thrilling, Tour De Force leaving you wondering exactly how far would you go for your kids.
So I guess I should give the Pitch:
Lisa Brennan (Dixon) is a struggling single mother, her child is to a married man who is playing silly buggers with her. Lisa is having a pretty hard time of it all so decides to take a break to herself in Morroco (I know I could think of safer places too). From the outset in this country things seem a bit shady but this is due to some pretty fine camera work and we already know she is being medicated, so is this all just paranoia. It turns out not really because while relaxing on the beach Lisa is distracted for literally a minute by a looky looky man and **BOOM** her baby has been kidnapped. What follows is roughly 85 minutes of a mother who will do anything to get her daughter back in the harshest conditions. Add to this the local law enforcement are after her, The big bad is a massive sinister shit and the married man is a massive douche… However “she has a particular set of skills”.
Director Howard J Ford absolutely knocks this out of the park, by using the narrow streets and alleys of Morroco he really builds the tension with a deeper sense of paranoia and having this viewer feel a bit closed in. The camera work screams all the best action movements from the Bourne Saga. My only gripe about this is that it could at moments feel slightly disjointed in the way the Run Lola Run made me feel at times, you could say this was adding to the tension of the chase but it didnt always land with me.
Now there are 2 scenes in this movie that sold everything for me and I dont wanna do spoilers but I feel they deserve a quick mention. 1) Is the Kidnap of the child, my christ the erratic way this is shot (From the school of Tony Scott) and her instant reaction to chase them down and become a bad ass is visceral as hell. 2) There is a woman who try’s to help the child and pays the price for this, we get a 5 minute section of the movie where she is stumbling home and Lisa is stumbling through the desert and they end up meeting, this whole section is beautifully shot and the emotion of the two women hits you hard.
No surprises here, for me this is a solid recommend, you could do a hell of a lot worse for your money and for something that hasn’t had a lot of play this is most definitely a rare gem of a movie.
So I guess I should give the Pitch:
Lisa Brennan (Dixon) is a struggling single mother, her child is to a married man who is playing silly buggers with her. Lisa is having a pretty hard time of it all so decides to take a break to herself in Morroco (I know I could think of safer places too). From the outset in this country things seem a bit shady but this is due to some pretty fine camera work and we already know she is being medicated, so is this all just paranoia. It turns out not really because while relaxing on the beach Lisa is distracted for literally a minute by a looky looky man and **BOOM** her baby has been kidnapped. What follows is roughly 85 minutes of a mother who will do anything to get her daughter back in the harshest conditions. Add to this the local law enforcement are after her, The big bad is a massive sinister shit and the married man is a massive douche… However “she has a particular set of skills”.
Director Howard J Ford absolutely knocks this out of the park, by using the narrow streets and alleys of Morroco he really builds the tension with a deeper sense of paranoia and having this viewer feel a bit closed in. The camera work screams all the best action movements from the Bourne Saga. My only gripe about this is that it could at moments feel slightly disjointed in the way the Run Lola Run made me feel at times, you could say this was adding to the tension of the chase but it didnt always land with me.
Now there are 2 scenes in this movie that sold everything for me and I dont wanna do spoilers but I feel they deserve a quick mention. 1) Is the Kidnap of the child, my christ the erratic way this is shot (From the school of Tony Scott) and her instant reaction to chase them down and become a bad ass is visceral as hell. 2) There is a woman who try’s to help the child and pays the price for this, we get a 5 minute section of the movie where she is stumbling home and Lisa is stumbling through the desert and they end up meeting, this whole section is beautifully shot and the emotion of the two women hits you hard.
No surprises here, for me this is a solid recommend, you could do a hell of a lot worse for your money and for something that hasn’t had a lot of play this is most definitely a rare gem of a movie.
BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated The Sting (1973) in Movies
Mar 29, 2020
On my list of All Time Favorite Films
I'll come right out and say it - the 1973 Academy Award winning film for Best Picture, THE STING, is one of the greatest films of all time. It's well written, well acted, well directed with a memorable musical score and characters, situations, costumes and set design that become richer over time and through repeated viewings.
Set in Chicago in the gangster-ridden, depression era mid-1930's, THE STING tells the tale of two con man who join forces for the ultimate con of a vile N.Y. Gangster who is responsible for killing a friend of theirs.
From everything I have read about it, the script by David S. Ward (who won an Oscar for his work) arrived pretty much finished. He shaped the story of the con men - and the myriad pieces of misdirection - fully before shopping it around to the studios. Universal jumped all over it and tabbed veteran Director George Roy Hill (BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID) to helm the picture. Hill - being no dummy - saw this as a vehicle to re-team Newman and Redford (stars of Butch Cassidy) and the rest...as they say...is history.
Newman and Redford are perfectly cast as veteran grifter Henry Gondorff (Newman) and up and coming grifter Johnny Hooker (Redford). They have an ease of playing off of each other - each one complimenting the other one - both giving in their scenes with the other one which makes the scenes more rich and alive. They are joined by a veritable "who's who" of late '60's/early '70's character actors - Harold Gould, Eileen Brennan, Charles Durning, Ray Walston and Dana Elcar - all of them bring their "A" game and they are fun to watch. Special notice should be made to Robert Earl Jones (father of James Earl Jones) as Luther, the character who's fate propels the plot forward.
But...none of this would work if you didn't have a "bad guy" that was interesting to watch - and to root against - and bad guys don't get much better...and badder...than Robert Shaw's Doyle Lonnegan. Shaw plays Lonnegan as a physically tough boss who doesn't suffer failure, but is smart enough to avoid obvious traps. He is a worthy adversary of Gondorff and Hooker's and it is fun to watch Newman, Redford and Shaw play off each other. One other note - it was with this performance that Universal recommended Shaw to young Director Stephen Spielberg for his "shark flick" JAWS.
Edith Head won her 8th (and last) Oscar for the magnificent period costumes in this film and Marvin Hamlisch won for the Music - a surprising hit on the pop charts of re-channeled Scott Joplin tunes. The set design won an Oscar - as did the Director, George Roy Hill. All in all, the film won 7 out of the 11 Oscars it was nominated for (Redford was nominated for Best Actor, but did not win).
THE STING is a well crafted film. One that tells a timeless story and that stands the test of time as a testament of how great of an achievement in film this is. It is one of my All Time favorites.
Letter Grade: the rare A+
5 stars (out of 5) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
Set in Chicago in the gangster-ridden, depression era mid-1930's, THE STING tells the tale of two con man who join forces for the ultimate con of a vile N.Y. Gangster who is responsible for killing a friend of theirs.
From everything I have read about it, the script by David S. Ward (who won an Oscar for his work) arrived pretty much finished. He shaped the story of the con men - and the myriad pieces of misdirection - fully before shopping it around to the studios. Universal jumped all over it and tabbed veteran Director George Roy Hill (BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID) to helm the picture. Hill - being no dummy - saw this as a vehicle to re-team Newman and Redford (stars of Butch Cassidy) and the rest...as they say...is history.
Newman and Redford are perfectly cast as veteran grifter Henry Gondorff (Newman) and up and coming grifter Johnny Hooker (Redford). They have an ease of playing off of each other - each one complimenting the other one - both giving in their scenes with the other one which makes the scenes more rich and alive. They are joined by a veritable "who's who" of late '60's/early '70's character actors - Harold Gould, Eileen Brennan, Charles Durning, Ray Walston and Dana Elcar - all of them bring their "A" game and they are fun to watch. Special notice should be made to Robert Earl Jones (father of James Earl Jones) as Luther, the character who's fate propels the plot forward.
But...none of this would work if you didn't have a "bad guy" that was interesting to watch - and to root against - and bad guys don't get much better...and badder...than Robert Shaw's Doyle Lonnegan. Shaw plays Lonnegan as a physically tough boss who doesn't suffer failure, but is smart enough to avoid obvious traps. He is a worthy adversary of Gondorff and Hooker's and it is fun to watch Newman, Redford and Shaw play off each other. One other note - it was with this performance that Universal recommended Shaw to young Director Stephen Spielberg for his "shark flick" JAWS.
Edith Head won her 8th (and last) Oscar for the magnificent period costumes in this film and Marvin Hamlisch won for the Music - a surprising hit on the pop charts of re-channeled Scott Joplin tunes. The set design won an Oscar - as did the Director, George Roy Hill. All in all, the film won 7 out of the 11 Oscars it was nominated for (Redford was nominated for Best Actor, but did not win).
THE STING is a well crafted film. One that tells a timeless story and that stands the test of time as a testament of how great of an achievement in film this is. It is one of my All Time favorites.
Letter Grade: the rare A+
5 stars (out of 5) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)