The Laundromat

First Hit: Confusing in presentation and often meandering away from the point, this movie fails in presenting how shell companies work to launder money and how this wrongdoing is hidden from governments.

This film attempts to teach and engage the audience about the art of laundering money through a story of tragedy, charts and graphs, and humorous vignettes. It fails on all three fronts.

Jurgen Mossack (Gary Oldman) and Ramon Fonseca (Antonio Banderas) are two flamboyant law partners based in Panama City who run a set of bogus insurance and reinsurance companies. These insurance companies scam others by taking their money, hide it, change documentation, and then legally never payout against the claims. They also have set up schemes of shell companies where money is hidden and moved around so that taxes are never paid on the money.

The human life stories they use include Ellen and Joe Martin (Meryl Streep and James Cromwell, respectively) who are in retirement and decide to go on a lake tour boat. The boat capsizes because of a rogue wave, and Joe dies along with several others. Ellen, as one of the survivors, expects a class action financial settlement from the tour boat company’s insurance company.

However, Ellen’s lawyer (Larry Clarke) discovers that the insurance company used by the boat tour company had sold the policy to someone else and that the timing issue means the boat company wasn’t insured.

The film spends a little time with the boat owner, Captain Paris (Robert Patrick), as he discovers from his employee Matthew Quirk (David Schwimmer) that he’d gotten a deal on the insurance, and that’s why he selected this company. The payments were going to a shell company (postal box) on Nevis Island in the Caribbean that is run by Malchus Irvin Boncamper (Jeffrey Wright).

Ellen, who is mad as hell, traces the payment scheme and goes to Nevis, hoping to recover a settlement and discovers that the address is only a postal box.

The film stupidly adds in stuff about how Boncamper has two families, one on Nevis and one in Miami. And he gets caught in this charade while being arrested in Miami by the federal government.

The story also adds in other drama about a wealthy man, from Africa, living in the US having an affair with his daughter’s college friend. Getting caught by the daughter, he bribes her to not tell her mother by giving her a company that’s supposedly is worth $20M. Because of a previous indiscretion that his wife knew about, this man had also given his wife a company. Angry at the bribe and tired of his shenanigans, the wife and daughter head to Panama City to visit Mossack and Fonseca and cash in their stock.

Of course, they discover that their companies are fake shell organizations, and the stock is worth nothing because the husband has transferred all the funds to his own companies.

There are ill-timed and confusing graphics thrown into the mix, and there are additional maudlin scenes of Ellen with her daughter and grandchildren in Las Vegas where Ellen and Joe had met. The whole Las Vegas segue could have been left out as it added little to the story.

This film suffers significantly from the beginning moments with Mossack and Fonseca in contrived scenes with them talking to the camera and attempting to explain financial schemes in horrible accents that make it even more muddled.

Streep is wasted and horribly underused in this story. Oldman is horrible. I’ve no idea of what he was attempting to represent because one moment he’s sitting in a beach chair and the next he’s pretending to be a lawyer using a perverse accent. Banderas was slightly better than Oldman, but not much. Wright was okay as the elusive representative of a fake insurance company. Schwimmer was OK as the relative and employee of the tour boat company that had looked to save them money on insurance premiums. There are nearly forty other actors playing roles in this story, but because the story is confusingly contrived, no one character is developed. Scott Z. Burns wrote a disastrous screenplay. Steven directed this, and it would have been interesting to better understand what was in his head. I was thrown from one ill-conceived scene to another while being interrupted with graphic explanations with poorly articulated voiceovers.

Overall: I learned little to nothing about shell companies and tax avoidance because the stories thrown up on the screen were poorly conceived.

Hunter Killer

First Hit: As far as submarine-based films, it was OK, but the added ground team made it better.

My dad (who died 23 years ago today) loved submarine films. His favorite was the 1958 thriller Run Silent Run Deep. He’d sit there and watch it every time it came on television (after seeing it on the big screen) and recite the dialogue with the actors. Maybe it was because he loved the ocean, or that he was in the Navy, I don’t know, but when I see submarine films, I think of him.

In this movie, a U.S. submarine is, at close range, following a Russian sub under arctic ice in the Barents Sea. Then unknowingly, another Russian sub, hiding in a carve out slice of ice, torpedoes and sinks the U.S. Sub. Then there is an explosion and the Russian sub sinks.

Rear Admiral John Fisk (Common) with National Security Advisor Analyst Jayne Norquist (Linda Cardellini) advocates figuring out what to do and wants to send another submarine in to figure out what happened to the sub and if there are any survivors. Chief Joint Chief of Staff Charles Donnegan (Gary Oldman) is opposed to this and wants to gear up to start another world war against the Russians.

Meanwhile we get a short glimpse of SEAL Lieutenant Bill Beaman (Toby Stephens) and his team practicing maneuvers.

Then when Fisk sends the USS Arkansas sub commanded by newly inaugurated Captain Joe Glass (Gerard Butler) to find the previously sunk U.S. Sub, they also find the sunk Russian Sub.

They hear something on the Russian Sub and make a rescue of the captain and two other men. When Glass shows the Russian Captain, Sergei Andropov (Michael Nyqvist) that his Russian sub was sabotaged and sunk by someone on board, he realizes that something is going on with his country.

Sensing Russian problems, Beaman’s team parachutes into the Russian base to find the Russian President Zakarin (Alexander Diachenko) is being held hostage by Defence Minister Dmitri Durov (Mikhail Gorevoy) who is instigating a coup.

The plan is to have Beaman’s team kidnap the Russian President and escape by getting on board Glass’s sub which will be guided into the Russian base by Andropov. All this is to prevent an all-out war between the two countries.

I thought some of the scenes in the subs were well done. I loved when the men on the con were leaning as the sub dove. I thought the attitude of the SEALs was perfect. I enjoyed the sharpshooting by the youngest member of this team. I enjoyed the grit and determination shown by Captain Glass, especially when he was challenging Andropov to help him.

There is a far amount of suspense in the film, but it does have an obviousness that we know how it will end. Thought that Donnegan’s character was over the top and don’t know if that was direction or just Oldman being over the top.

Butler was excellent as the come up from the ranks Captain of the USS Arkansas. There was a certain amount of grittiness in his approach that worked for this role. Common seemed a little out of his element in this role. He didn’t quite exemplify a Rear Admiral. Oldman's character was unprofessional, for the position, in the ranting he showed. Nyqvist was excellent as the closed mouth long time professional sailor. Diachenko was OK as the Russian President. He didn’t quite come off as being strong. Gorevoy was a poor choice as someone to pull off a coup. His character felt fearful and weak most of the time. Stephens was great and exemplified a Navy SEAL leader, rough, demanding and with a heart underneath. Cardellini was good as a NSA Senior Analyst. Arne Schmidt and Jamie Moss wrote a good script. Donovan Marsh did a good job of directing this film. Some of the scenes in the sub were fantastic as were some of the on-land scenes. However, really thought that Oldman’s role was a big downfall as was the war room scene with the US President.

Overall: An OK thriller but it will not go down as an all-time great submarine-based film.

Academy Awards - The Oscars

Once again it is time to celebrate a year of film watching. Here are my choices for the following awards along with a few thoughts about some of the selections and non-selections The Academy made.

• Actor in a Leading Role – The nominees are: Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out), Timothee Chalamet (Call me by Your Name), Gary Oldman (Darkest Hour), Daniel Day-Lewis (Phantom Thread), and Denzel Washington (Roman J. Isreal, Esq.). Who else could be on this list? Tom Hanks (The Post), James Franco (The Disaster Artist), and Richard Gere (Norman). However, regardless of who wasn’t on the list, the runaway best performance is Gary Oldman for Darkest Hour. His Winston Churchill was simply sublime.
• Actress in a Leading Role – The nominees are: Meryl Streep (The Post), Sally Hawkins (The Shape of Water), Margot Robbie (I, Tonya), Francis McDormand (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri, and Saoirse Ronan (Lady Bird). Who didn’t get nominated? Rachel Weisz (My Cousin Rachel), Emma Stone (Battle of the Sexes) and Jessica Chastain (The Zookeepers Wife). If it were up to me, I’d select Saoirse Ronan in Lady Bird because of the variety and excellent delivery of teenage emotions she effectively brings to the screen. Margot Robbie was utterly fantastic as Tonya Harding. Francis McDormand was filled with angst and fire as the woman who lost her daughter to rape and murder. Sally Hawkins was ethereal as Elisa Esposito a deaf woman who communicates with the captured creature. Meryl Streep showed the subtle development of strength as her character Katharine Graham.
• Supporting Actress – The nominees are: Lesley Manville (Phantom Thread), Laurie Metcalf (Lady Bird), Allison Janney (I, Tonya), Mary J. Blige (Mudbound). Octavia Spencer (The Shape of Water). Who is missing from this list? Melissa Leo (Novitiate), who gave one of most outstanding performances of the year. The film wasn’t seen and that is a shame. This is a strong field but choosing from the nominees, I’d select Allison Janney. Her depiction of Tonya Harding’s mother was vividly cold.
• Supporting Actor – The nominees are: Christopher Plummer (All the Money in the World), Woody Harrelson (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri), Sam Rockwell (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri), Willem Defoe (The Florida Project), and Richard Jenkins (The Shape of Water). A great set of actors. Missing? Steve Carell (Battle of the Sexes) gave us an incredibly life like Bobby Riggs. I’d have to say that Sam Rockwell would get my vote although each of the above deserve the recognition.
• Best Cinematography – The nominees are: Bruno Delbonnel (Darkest Hour), Hoyte van Hoytema (Dunkirk), Rachel Morrison (Mudbound), Dan Laustsen (The Shape of Water), and Roger Deakins (Blade Runner 2049). Great list of people creating and delivering great pictures. My vote would go for Hoyte van Hoytema in Dunkirk. I admired the multitude and type of scenes that were shot and how they were made into a cohesive feeling of awe.
• Writing (Adapted Screenplay) – The nominees are: Dee Rees and Virgil Williams (Mudbound), Michael H. Weber and Scott Neustadter (The Disaster Artist), James Ivory (Call Me by Your Name), James Mangold, Michael Green and Scott Frank (Logan), and Aaron Sorkin (Molly’s Game). My vote would go to  Michael H. Weber and Scott Neustadter for The Disaster Artist.
• Writing (Original Screenplay) – The nominees are: Guillermo del Toro and Vanessa Taylor (The Shape of Water), Martin McDonagh (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri), Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani (The Big Sick), Jordan Peele (Get Out) and Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird). This is probably the tightest category to be contested. Each of these stories is amazingly original. Therefore, I don’t have a single selection, they all are deserving.
• Film Editing – The nominees are: Lee Smith (Dunkirk), Tatiana S. Riegel (I, Tonya), Jonathan Amos and Paul MacHliss (Baby Driver), Sidney Wolinsky (The Shape of Water), and Jon Gregory (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri). All very good, however the standout in editing goes to Lee Smith for Dunkirk. This is a story based film and not a character based film and because of this the editing makes this film engaging.
• Directing – The nominees are: Paul Thomas Anderson (Phantom Thread), Guillermo del Toro (The Shape of Water), Christopher Nolan (Dunkirk), Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird), and Jordan Peele (Get Out). What is missing. To me there are huge gaps here. Margaret Betts (Novitiate), Kathryn Bigelow (Detroit), Craig Gillespie (I, Tonya), and Joe Wright (Darkest Hour) all had a great firm hand on their story's and told them with excellence. Out of the nominees, I’d vote for Christopher Nolan and Dunkirk because he made this event come alive. However, Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird) got amazing performances from her cast.
• Picture – The nominees are: Darkest Hour, Dunkirk, Phantom Thread, Get Out, The Post, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, The Shape of Water, and Lady Bird. All these pictures, except Phantom Thread (review in process) are films I loved to watch for different reasons. What is missing? I think Novitiate, Detroit, and Battle of the Sexes were deserving as well. However, Novitiate would be my candidate for replacing Phantom Thread which I didn’t really find likable or engaging. Who will win? My wish would be Dunkirk, Lady Bird, and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri in that order. If Novitiate was in the mix, it would be a tie between it and Dunkirk.

Thank you for visiting my site. May you all Be Well...

Darkest Hour

First Hit:  Maybe the brightest and best two hours in the theater this year.

If my memory serves me correctly, my middle school history teachers painted Winston Churchill as a roundish, heavyset, and controversial bull-doggish sort of man who saved England from Nazi Germany. But what did that really mean? How did he do this? This film sorts out the enigmatic view I had of him.

What this movie does is shine a light on a controversial 3-week period in England’s history about whether to negotiate a peace agreement with Nazi Germany or to fight them to the end.

When the film begins Neville Chamberlain (Ronald Pickup) is losing the support of Parliament’s conservative party and Foreign Secretary, Lord Halifax (Stephen Dillane) doesn’t want to be elevated to Prime Minister while he’s pushing for a negotiated peace. Parliament is in an uproar and King George VI (Ben Mendelsohn) is deeply concerned about his country.

Chamberlain floats and gets traction for the idea to hand over conservative power to Winston Churchill (Gary Oldman). Being a controversial person, not well liked by anyone, the conservatives figure if Churchill fails then Halifax and his solution will step up to save England from what is happening in Europe, wide-spread destruction and surrender.

Churchill’s reputation as being difficult and having backed failed campaigns in Africa and Gallipoli proceeds his ascension to Prime Minister. But as he would state  in his defense, these campaigns weren’t all his doing. He also had backed England returning the Pound to a pre-WWI gold standard parity, which had caused its fair share of problems.

When summoned to accept the position of Prime Minister from King George, the clock starts and the film effectively marks the passage of the days and decisions by displaying the day and month prominently every so often.

What makes the situation so incredibly difficult is that most of England’s active army has been corralled onto the beach at Dunkirk with the German army closing in. England’s ships have been all but destroyed by the Germans, their airplanes have been mostly shot down by the superior German Luftwaffe and last but not least, the United States has vowed to stay out of the war to this point and cannot assist England. This last item is poignantly shared in a desperate phone call Churchill places to President Roosevelt.

To save as many of their troops as possible, Churchill sends out a command asking all private boat owners having boats from 30 – 100’ long, to set sail to Dunkirk to save the British troops. (Note: See one of the other best films to be released earlier this year Dunkirk to witness this amazing event.)

In a moment of desperation Churchill asks Halifax to begin exploring a negotiated peace with Nazi Germany. But as Winston was known to do, he deviated from the script and reached out to the people of England to ask what they wanted him to do. As we all know, he chose the path of “We will never, never, never surrender.”

The way this film is shot, we believe we’re in the early 1940’s. The darkness of the time is expressed though spending a lot of time in small underground rooms and darkened hallways moving with him as he finds a way through his own dark depressive drinking way of creating his answers through the inspirational speeches and talks he gives. The final speech he gives to Parliament is frightfully stirring. I also loved how he made England sound big and small by referring to it as an island instead of a country.

That Churchill drank all the time, smoked cigars, and was depression prone was duly present, but the strength, power, and encouragement he brought to his country shines through from beginning to end.

Oldman quite simply is the best actor in a lead role this year. His embodiment of Churchill is full, complete, and by every measure extraordinary. Lilly James as Elizabeth Layton, Churchill’s assistant, typist, and confidant was sublime. Her enthusiasm, struggle and devotion was the heart this film sits upon. Mendelsohn was perfect as the stuff-ish King George VI who learned to embrace and trust Churchill. When he shared with Winston that his family, the royals, wanted to know if they needed to exile to Canada, the bond was made. Kristen Scott Thomas (as Churchill's’ wife Clementine) was wonderful. She provided support when needed and was a perfect sounding board for Winston. Dillane was strong as Viscount Halifax, who didn’t think England stood a chance and believed that a negotiated peace was the best way to save the people, culture and country. Anthony McCarten wrote an amazingly rich script. The dialogue perfectly reflected the times. Joe Wright’s direction was sublime. The story was told with genuine care and creates power of the decisions made at the time. What made it even better was I wanted the film to go on and tell me more of the story.

Overall:  This is truly a contender for best film of the year.

The Hitman's Bodyguard

First Hit:  This movie was, at times, very funny and the action scenes were very well-choreographed.

Michael Bryce (Ryan Reynolds) is considered a “AAA” Bodyguard for high paying clients. He’s at the top of his game, making a lot of money and has his stuff together. He lives with his live-in girlfriend Amelia (Edolie Yung) who is an agent with Interpol security.

The film opens with him finishing a job for Mr. Kurosawa (Tsuwayuki Saotome), a wealthy client. While putting him on a plane, Mr. Kurosawa gets shot through the small window of his private jet. Bryce is dumbfounded, he did everything and now his client is dead. This completely changes his life, his attitude and he wrongfully thinks Amelia inadvertently leaked the news about his client's whereabouts thereby letting someone assassinate  Kurosawa.

Vladislav Dukhovich (Gary Oldman) is a ruthless dictator and is on trial in the International Court at The Hague. He's been accused of killing a village full of people in his country. There was a witness to all this and it was a professional hitman named Darius Kincaid (Samuel L. Jackson). However, he’s been jailed and must make a deal to get to the court to testify. The deal is that they will let his wife out of prison but he must stay incarcerated. He takes the deal.

As he’s being transferred from his English jail cell to The Hague, Russian operatives under the control of Dukhovich try to assassinate him. Because Amelia help set up the deal and is traveling with Kincaid, she almost dies in the assassination attempt as well. Kincaid gets free after the assassination attempt and Amelia desperately calls Michael to find and protect Darius from the Russians and get him to The Hague.

This is where the two, the hitman and the bodyguard, get together and the audience gets to go on a wild ride of adventure, protection, fun and extremely well-choreographed action scenes, gunfights and car chases.

Reynolds is fantastic as the bodyguard and his interaction with Jackson is wonderful. Jackson is outrageous, intense and exquisitely funny. Together these two are very entertaining and their back and forth dialogue was quite, laugh out-loud, amusing. Oldman is great as the evil Russian leader who despises that he's on trial. Yung is good as Reynolds love interest. Salma Hayek as Sonia Kincaid, Jackson’s wife, was over the top fun. With gusto she chewed up this role. Tom O’Connor wrote a funny and entertaining script. He conceived, and the director delivered on, each chase scene being interesting and wonderfully different. Patrick Hughes did an amazing job of making the scenes come alive.

Overall:  Although not Oscar worthy, this film was well worth the price of admission.