Nerve is an iPhone game in which you are either a "player" and you complete dares for money or a "watcher" in which you watch, come up with the dare and pay the players.
Vee (Emma Roberts) is a shy high school senior who signs up for Nerve to prove the she can be a risk taker. The game lasts twenty-four hours and the top player at the end of the day gets to keep all the money collected. The app gathers information from ALL available online accounts from bank to social media. It is scarily accurate to the way many people manage their online presence and is a warning to all.
Of course things get scarier the more Vee plays the game. It starts off okay, the dares are mostly harmless. The watchers team her up with Ian (Dave Franco) and it is thrilling to be part of this game. The more dares she and Ian complete, the more watchers watch and the more the dares get dangerous. Nerve makes it all the more scary as the watchers are anonymous, and people who know they are anonymous tend to think they can get away with more. Soon the watchers quit wanting to see risky dares completed, they want to see blood.
Promo pic for Nerve
The ending did get a little too over the top, but the overall message is a good one. People do crazy things for brief internet fame, and people are all too willing to give it to them at a major price.
Nerve is a reminder that the internet is a scary thing. Sometimes we are all too willing to share private information with the world, forgetting it comes at a cost. We don't realize the implications until it is too late.
Denial is an engaging film. It is based on true events and it is mind boggling that something like this could possibly happen. Of course, considering the time we live in, it's not all that shocking.
Renowned Holocaust denier David Irving (Timothy Spall) sued Deborah Lipstadt (Rachel Weisz) in September 1996, saying she caused irreparable damage to his reputation after she called him bigot and other things in a book she wrote. She has the option to settle out of court, but decides to go to court to fight him instead. Since the suit was filed in England, she travels there and seeks the help of Anthony Julius (Andrew Scott) and Richard Rampton (Tom Wilkinson) to represent her. David Irving decides to represent himself.
Deborah fought to have her and Holocaust survivors, but Julius and Rampton won't allow it. They want to focus on Irving. They argue that having Deborah go on the stand will allow for too much argument to occur. They also don't want the survivors to testify as Irving would be too cruel to them.
The first half of the film is spent on Lipstadt and Irving's first meeting, the suit being filed, Lipstadt meeting her legal team and the preparation for the trial. The second half is of course the trial, and it is infuriating yet interesting all at the same time. Rampton is able deconstruct all of Irving's arguments and it is extremely satisfying to watch. Of course Irving is a horrible person, but to see him brought down is one of the most wonderful thing to see cinematically, especially when you remember that this actually happened.
Denial focuses solely on the events it is based on. The Holocaust occurred and it was a horrible event in human history, there is no need to exploit it. This film does not do that. There is a scene where Lpistadt and her team visit Auschwitz. It's cold and dreary highlighting the mood of the location. You end up finding out during the trial why this visit was so important.
Of course considering the cast, the acting is phenomenal. Rachel Weisz is strong and passionate, but is not without her flaws. Tom Wilkinson is calm and regal, but when he gets upset he is not someone you want to mess with. Then there's Timothy Spall. He is as unlikable as a human being who spews these lies can be and it is wonderful to watch. The cast and the story all come in to tell this compelling moment in history and you are engaged from the beginning.
Of course there are a lot of similarities between David Irving and his followers that mirror what is currently going on. Of course the events the film is based on happened in 1996, but it goes to show that sometimes history takes a while to change. Deborah Lipstadt won her trial, let's see if we can too.
Denial
Director: Mick Jackson
Cast: Rachel Weisz, Tom Wilkinson, Timothy Spall, Andrew Scott, Jack Lowden, Caren Pistorius
Screenplay: David Hare; based on the book by Deborah Lipstadt
Cinematography: Haris Zambarloukos
Music: Howard Shore
Distributor: Bleecker Street Media
Run Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
Release Date: October 10, 2016
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Drama
Autism is a disorder that is characterized by social interaction and restricted and repetitive behavior, and while films do portray this, they also make every autistic character adept at mathematics.
The Accountant is no different. Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) is an accountant, but also a deadly killing machine. He can calculate fifteen years' worth of business numbers overnight without the aid of anyone or anything. He can also take out an entire room of men with hardly a scratch.
Poster for The Accountant
As there is not much character development, Affleck is perfect for the role. Wolff hides his killer side job by having a small accounting office in a plain strip mall. We get glimpses into his past including the fact that his father never wanted any special treatment for his son. This has led him to grow up to be a tough assassin with a big, caring heart. He is autistic and kick-butt.
The Accountant doesn't make much sense if you think about it. J.K Simmons plays a CIA Agent and is highly underused, especially when there was no point to his role anyway. While it is a mindless action flick, it is entertaining.
Poster for The Accountant
Wolff's father is a horrible human being, but is somehow forgiven for the ultimate good he does for his son. Refusing treatment, Wolff's father makes his sons fight bullies and take an array of classes meant to toughen them up. Somehow this works and eventually Wolff grows up to be "normal". He loses everyone that matters to him and still he fights on.
Wolff is a lonely person, but then again aren't all action heroes? The story moves forward when Wolff is hired by the president of a company (John Lithgow) to figure out if someone has been stealing from their funds, but there are other subplots and most are unnecessary.
The Accountant is not original in any way, but if you want to be distracted for a couple of hours check it out.
Hidden Figures stars three powerful women and is not only inspiring, but of course culturally relevant even today.
The film is set in 1961 Virginia. The three women who made most of the contributions to the United States Space Race, work at NASA and of course are mainly segregated from their white peers.
Mathematician Katherine G. Johnson (Taraji P. Henson), budding engineer Mary Jackson (Janelle Monae) and computer supervisor Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer) have a lot to prove, but they handle the challenges they face with class and work harder than anyone else.
This film is incredibly inspiring. These women were underestimated at every turn. Yet they continue to fight as they know they can contribute much more than they are allowed.
Johnson is chosen from the "colored computers" to work in the all-white rocket center, where she checks the calculations of the engineers and scientists working on getting John Glenn (Glen Powell) into space. Her new supervisor is Al Harrison (Kevin Costner) who seems to be the only one on Katherine's side... once he realizes how she's being treated of course.
Yes this film takes place during the civil rights era, but the film focuses solely on the three leads, and honestly, that's all you need. You learn history, the struggles and triumphs that came with it, and you leave feeling a happier person.
Hidden Figures is a triumphant film, and there are many moments where you want to clap and cheer (and the audience in the theatre I was in, did just that). Henson is poised throughout the film, so when she finally cannot take it anymore, she is heart wrenching to watch. The film while truthful, never gets preachy, you cheer the triumph and mourn the challenges these women face. After all, in many ways it resonates with modern times though people may deny it.
The three main leads all give out stand out performances. Octavia Spencer seems to breathe acting as nothing is ever forced when she's on the screen. Henson and Monae are also strong and powerful, yet classy and elegant. The three of them have great chemistry and it is a pleasure to watch them perform.
Hidden Figures
4.5/5 Stars
Rated PG: Mature themes, language
2 hours 6 minutes
Premiered: In select theatres, December 25, 2016; Everywhere January 2017
This was unlike any other animated film I've seen recently. It was unique. It wasn't as charming as Sing. It was nowhere near as good as Moana. Storks is in a league all on its own.
This is not a bad thing by any means. It does have a nice message for any parents watching. It is funny, although not in a way you would expect. It's because of this I'm not sure I see kids being too entertained by this. There were kids in the audience, but if the adults were unsure of what to think of the film then I'm sure many things went over their heads.
Written and co-directed by Nicholas Stoller, Stocks is about family. It is a tongue in cheek reference to the age old question of where children come from. The animation is fun, but it is oddly paced and the story line frenetic.
The storks in the film used to deliver babies, but now they own cornerstore.com and deliver consumer products. Junior (Andy Samberg) is the company's best employee and is on his way to the promotion of boss. The company's CEO Hunter (Kelsey Grammar) has only one condition. Junior will be promoted as long as he fires the only human working at cornerstore.com, the orphan Tulip (Katie Crown), as she is 18 and able to leave the place legally.
Meanwhile, only child Nate has had enough of being ignored by his workaholic parents (Ty Burrell and Jennifer Aniston) and decides he wants a baby brother. He writes a letter to the Storks and as Junior did not have the heart to fire Tulip, she works in the mailroom where the letter arrives. She accidentally puts it into the old-baby making machine and ends up creating a now forbidden (at cornerstore.com at least) baby.
Now that the baby exists she must be delivered. Junior is determined to deliver the baby before anyone finds out allowing him to still get promoted. Tulip wants to deliver it as she's never had such responsibilities before. The two set out to deliver the baby.
That's where it gets truly strange. There are many "WTF?!" moments in the film. This somehow works (despite questioning why things are happening) due to the all-star cast: Keegan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele, Danny Trejo and Stephen Kramer Glickman. It is fun to watch. The odd moments are so odd you can't help but laugh.
This is definitely an animated film meant more for adults. There is a trippy moment involving the pigeon that comes out of nowhere. The wolves assemble themselves into a suspension bridge, boat, and submarine and it's as ridiculous as it sounds. Nate is aware that he's growing up and his parents will regret not spending time with him. Of course no kids no this, but it adds for good comedy.
Illumination Entertainment is back with its most fun film yet. Buster Moon (Matthew McConaughey) decides to have a singing competition to try and save his failing theatre. The competitors include Johnny (Taron Egerton) a gorilla who dreams of being a singer instead of a gangster like his father; Rosita (Reese Witherspoon) a pig mom who dreams of stardom; and Ash (Scarlett Johansson) a teenage porcupine who is trying to prove her worth after being in her boyfriend's shadow. Of course we can't forget Gunter (Nick Kroll), Meena (Tori Kelly) and Mike (Seth Macfarlane) who all add different traits to the already zany competition.
This isn't the most memorable animated film of the year, but it is fun and entertaining. The story isn't original, but there's so much heart and the ultimate message of the film is a good one. One of my pet peeves is when animated films don't compose their own original music, but this one was funny enough I almost forgive that flaw. While not original, there's enough heart in this film to hsve you cheering the characters on. 3.5/5
