Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt and Matt Damon in the Christopher Nolan movie ‘Oppenheimer’

It’s not every day that a biographical thriller set against the backdrop of history can build excitement ahead of its release like the Christopher Nolan produced and directed movie Oppenheimer (2023) has. Detailing the role American scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer had in the development of the atomic bomb, Nolan wrote this movie based on the Pulitzer Prize winning book American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer written by Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin. The dynamic personality of Oppenheimer the man comes through with an energy equal to the explosive with which the Manhattan Project developed.

(From left, Emily Blunt as Katherine ‘Kitty’ Oppenheimer and Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer in the Christopher Nolan movie Oppenheimer).

The movie-making personality of Christopher Nolan shines through his telling of the story of J. Robert Oppenheimer, with the theoretical physicist’s portrayal being offered by Cillian Murphy. Alternating between black-and-white and color, using a non-linear model of accentuating the personal drama of a slowly growing explosion of the revealing the contradictions within the scientist’s personality, it strikes me as relevant that I find a parallel to the Nolan film Memento (2000), reviewed here, in the experience.

(From left, Robert Downey Jr. as Lewis Strauss and Matthew Modine as Vannevar Bush in the Christopher Nolan movie Oppenheimer).

The movie offers much based in fact surrounding the Oppenheimer biography from Cambridge, England to Los Alamos, New Mexico. We see Oppenheimer‘s security clearance hearing in 1954. Finally we Lewis Strauss‘ confirmation hearing for Secretary of Commerce from 1959. Then there are the relationships with Jean Tatlock, Katherine Oppenheimer, Frank Oppenheimer, Haakon Chevalier, Leslie Groves and scientists such as Patrick Blackett, Niels Bohr, Edward Teller, Isidor Isaac Rabi, David Hill and Albert Einstein.

(From left, Dylan Arnold as Frank Oppenheimer and Matt Damon as Leslie Groves in the Christopher Nolan movie Oppenheimer).

The epic quality of the J. Robert Oppenheimer‘s relevance stands shoulder to shoulder with the accomplishment in atomic energy, his philosophical positions on energy and political justice, and the tangled web these played on those levels alongside the notions of his public and private reputations explored with a force equal to a Christopher Nolan movie as well as the reality so strongly present in biography by Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin.

(From left, Florence Pugh as Jean Tatlock and Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer in the Christopher Nolan movie Oppenheimer).

The story of the Trinity test, or the first detonation of a nuclear weapon, is the story that makes the Oppenheimer movie. The many layers of complexity for Oppenheimer the man, both interpersonally for him with wife Katherine Oppenheimer and mistress Jean Tatlock, thunder home in the growing tension of the detonation of the nuclear device as presented in moments of quiet and explosive sound that lead to an enthusiastic aftermath of celebration following the success of the Trinity test. That Nolan‘s treatment of the Oppenheimer story bring us back to Lewis Strauss and Albert Einstein, narratively structuring the threat of Germany, the meaning of Hiroshima, Japan and Nagasaki, Japan, and the decision of Harry S. Truman to end the Pacific conflict, within the story of Strauss, interpersonal matters of the heart, and the nature of celebrity and power with Einstein all fascinate me.

(Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer at his moment of triumph in the Christopher Nolan movie Oppenheimer. Note the US flag in reverse profile; Is this a sign of the ‘attack forward’ honor on military uniforms or a subtle commentary on the conflicted feelings of Oppenheimer at the moment of his biggest success?).

There’s little doubt for me that the power of the movie Oppenheimer is high. Offering this review 3.5-days after watching the movie leaves me a bit transfixed by the question of whether I am undervaluing or overvaluing my admiration for the achievement of what I saw in the film. Regardless, I grant Oppenheimer as produced, directed and written for film by Christopher Nolan 4.5-stars a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Wednesday, July 26, 2023

Malcolm McDowell, Patrick Magee and Michael Bates in the Stanley Kubrick movie ‘A Clockwork Orange’

To say that we review a dystopian crime film feels like understatement. The Stanley Kubrick film adaptation of the 1962 Anthony Burgess book A Clockwork Orange shrinks not from the book; that the movie, titled A Clockwork Orange (1971), comments on an aversion experiment also understates the movie presented for your consideration.

(From left, James Marcus as Georgie, Michael Tarn as Pete, Malcolm McDowell as Alex DeLarge and Warren Clarke as Dim in the Stanley Kubrick movie A Clockwork Orange).

To ask if this movie as presented was necessary misses much. The film focuses extensively on Alex DeLarge, an antisocial yet charismatic delinquent with wildly inappropriate interests in committing outrageously excessive acts of violence, rape and theft. Malcolm McDowell portrayed DeLarge, curiously enjoys classical music with a fixation on the music of Ludwig van Beethoven.

(From left, Patrick Magee as Frank Alexander and Malcolm McDowell as Alex DeLarge in the Stanley Kubrick movie A Clockwork Orange).

The film uses disturbing, violent imagery to comment of psychiatry, juvenile delinquency, youth gangs as led by Alex DeLarge with mates Dim, Pete and Georgie at the forefront of it with DeLarge. Writer Frank Alexander and his wife, as portrayed by Patrick Magee and Adrienne Corri, were victims of crime by Alex’s gang. Warren Clarke, Michael Tarn and James Marcus portrayed Dim, Pete and Georgie, respectively. The vulgar and graphically depicted crime spree of this group, with narration before and after by Alex, is followed by Alex’s capture. The heinous and visceral emotions evoked by this make the film difficult to recommend.

(From left, Barrie Cookson as Dr. Alcott, Ludovico Center check-in, Michael Bates as Chief Guard Barnes and Malcolm McDowell as Alex DeLarge in the Stanley Kubrick movie A Clockwork Orange).

The period leading to Alex’s capture and subsequent processing into custody were as jarring and dehumanizing, eliciting conflicting feelings that contest those of crimes Alex committed. The motivation P.R. Deltoid, who was aware of the lewd and depraved behavior of Alex and his gang, makes him just as complicit. The permission to participate in DeLarge’s eventual intake into custody through the police inspector and a pair detectives was just as reprehensible. Aubrey Morris, Lindsay Campbell, John J. Carney and Steven Berkoff portrayed Deltoid, the police inspector, and the detectives, respectively.

(From left, John J. Carney as Detective Sergeant, Aubrey Morris as P.R. Deltoid, Lindsay Campbell as Police Inspector and Steven Berkoff as Detective Constable Tom in the Stanley Kubrick movie A Clockwork Orange).

With Alex in custody, British Minister of the Interior Frederick, as portrayed by Anthony Sharp, sets about experimental psychological conditioning on Alex. The experiment aims, in lieu of prolonged jail time, to rehabilitate Alex in a manner that redirects the offender in what will be declared a well-adjusted, healthy and safely functioning member of society. The dark psychological uses of Beethoven‘s Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125 (Ninth Symphony) and Gene Kelly‘s Singin’ in the Rain, with the systemic responses before and subsequent with these points, reflect trauma like the original crimes, including what follows with Georgie and Dim as police officers.

(From left, Anthony Sharp as Frederick, Minister of the Interior and Malcolm McDowell as Alex DeLarge in the Stanley Kubrick movie A Clockwork Orange).

The circular absurdity of the story with powerful cultural references to make distinct commentary into the distasteful law enforcement and criminal segments of society. Controversy surrounded and surrounds this movie to this day. While A Clockwork Orange by Stanley Kubrick remains a powerful film exemplifying the director’s skills as a storyteller, I give the movie 3.75-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Saturday, July 15, 2023

Sean Penn, Tim Robbins and Kevin Bacon in the Clint Eastwood movie ‘Mystic River’

Entering again into the Boston, Massachusetts world of Dennis Lehane with a movie inspired by his book Mystic River, Clint Eastwood produced and directed the movie adaptation named Mystic River (2003). The movie looks into the world of three men as family and crime mingle together in the present day when a new crime echoes back to a crime the three experienced as children.

(From left, Cameron Bowen as young Dave Boyle, Connor Paolo as young Sean Devine and Jason Kelly as young Jimmy Markum in the Clint Eastwood movie Mystic River).

The three friends relive the crime of childhood abduction and sexual misconduct by a pair of adults who come upon the three being kids in the urban streets of Boston. Jimmy Markum, Sean Devine and Dave Boyle, portrayed by Jason Kelly, Connor Paolo and Cameron Bowen, witness adults passing themselves off as members of the Boston Police Department abduct Boyle and drive off with him. Boyle would escape the abduction within a week, yet not until after being seriously wronged physically and emotionally.

(From left, Emmy Rossum as Katherine ‘Katie’ Markum and Sean Penn as James ‘Jimmy’ Markum in the Clint Eastwood movie Mystic River).

Fast forward to an adulthood where Markum and Boyle are parents and Devine has become a police detective; Kevin Bacon portrayed Sean Devine. We learn that Jimmy has grown to have children as a young man and subsequently from a marriage to Annabeth Markum; Laura Linney portrayed Annabeth Markum. Emmy Rossum portrayed Katherine ‘Katie’ Markum, the eldest to Jimmy Markum as portrayed by Sean Penn. The drama and mystery for the movie takes hold when the shoe drops with Katie not making it to work or home on the day of a familial first communion shortly after we are introduced to her.

(From left, Tim Robbins as David ‘Dave’ Boyle, Kevin Bacon as Det. Sean Devine and Laurence Fishburne as Det Sgt. Whitey Powers in the Clint Eastwood movie Mystic River).

The disappearance of Katie Markum becomes neighborhood news only after Dave Boyle, as portrayed by Tim Robbins, has come home to his wife both covered in blood and acknowledging that he had messed up. Boyle and his wife Celeste Samarco Boyle, as portrayed by Marcia Gay Harden, begin the initial aftermath of Katie’s disappearance supportive of the Markum family. The neighborhood relationship with the police is strained and running in parallel with the pressure applied by Jimmy Markum and his associates. Detective Sergeant Whitey Powers, as portrayed by Laurence Fishburne, pursue an increasingly complex storyline of responsibility for the disappearance and death in front of them today.

(From left, Laura Linney as Annabeth Markum and Marcia Gay Harden as Celeste Samarco Boyle in the Clint Eastwood movie Mystic River).

The compelling notion of these familial strands through the course of the movie become stronger as we see characters interacting with the pressure of the unknown in front of them. It’s not clear for much of the movie who was responsible for Katie Markum’s fate; the notion of familial loyalty and familial love, with the cost of the past introducing different choices on characters central and tangential to the primary narrative not coming into focus much later than I had been anticipating. That this leads to some unfortunate results, interconnecting past and present with the notions of fate and destiny, give Mystic River a tremendous punch that really resonates.

(From left, Tom Guiry as Brendan Harris, Spencer Treat Clark as Ray ‘Silent Ray’ Harris Jr. and Andrew Mackin as John O’Shea in the Clint Eastwood movie Mystic River).

This movie surpassed my expectations for storyline especially. The emotional tone of the performances were more on-point for Mystic River than I have experienced with other adaptations of Dennis Lehane movies, which is praise for the larger experience I had in engaging with the underlying story. I grant the Clint Eastwood directed and produced movie Mystic River 4.5-stars on a scale of one-to-five.

Matt – Wednesday, July 5, 2023

Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando and Robert Duvall in the Francis Ford Coppola movie ‘Apocalypse Now’

The Francis Ford Coppola homage to the Vietnam War captures our focus today. The conflict itself had the United States getting between two warring parties in Vietnam; the conflict extended into Laos and Cambodia. The story presented in Apocalypse Now (1979) uses these historic truths to craft a story reminiscent of the Joseph Conrad book Heart of Darkness, as reviewed here.

(From left, Martin Sheen as U.S. Army Captain Benjamin Willard, Jerry Ziesmer as CIA Agent Jerry Moore, G.D. Spradlin as Lieutenant General R. Corman and Harrison Ford as Colonel G. Lucas in the Francis Ford Coppola movie Apocalypse Now).

The fictional Nùng River supplies the path that the classified mission U.S. Army Captain Benjamin Willard, as portrayed by Martin Sheen, is ordered to take through Vietnam into Cambodia to find and end, with extreme prejudice, the continuing and unauthorized military leadership of one Colonel Walter E. Kurtz. Kurtz, bearing the same name surname as the pursued antagonist in Heart of Darkness, was portrayed by Marlon Brando.

(From left, Sam Bottoms as Gunner’s Mate 3rd Class Lance B. Johnson and Robert Duvall as Lieutenant Colonel William ‘Bill’ Kilgore in Francis Ford Coppola movie Apocalypse Now).

The journey proves itself a path into each man’s heart of darkness, with an escalating sense of naivete growing from one incident to another into insanity. An early example encountered by the river patrol boat included questionable support from a helicopter-based assault unit commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore. Kilgore, portrayed by Robert Duvall, demonstrates a shocking suspicion towards using his command ethically. Supporting Captain Willard’s mission only gains appeal once the surfing prowess of Gunner’s Mate 3rd Class Lance B. Johnson is revealed. A famous speech by Kilgore follows the raid, occurring with its own brand of whimsy, with Sam Bottoms having portrayed Johnson.

(From left, Albert Hall as Chief Petty Officer George Phillips and Laurence Fishburne as Gunner’s Mate 3rd Class Tyrone ‘Mr. Clean’ Miller in the Francis Ford Coppola movie Apocalypse Now).

Tensions rise into the continued journey owing to the increasing severity of the philosophical and moral tension Willard and the crew of the patrol boat are under. A scene with a local family trying to protect their dog echoes the rising insanity for the crew of the river boat, with the darkness taking over the spirit of the enterprise. Willard starts challenging Chief Petty Officer George Phillips, as portrayed by Albert Hall, for control of the ship. Sailing beyond the last American outpost on the Nùng River, with echoes of the identical mission of Richard Colby in his head after seeing the horrors of an outpost with leadership. Scott Glenn portrayed Colby.

(From left, Dennis Hopper as an American photojournalist and Frederic Forrest as Engineman 3rd Class Jay ‘Chef’ Hicks in the Francis Ford Coppola movie Apocalypse Now).

Arrival at the temple compound Kurtz has taken command of is fraught with peril. A photojournalist portrayed by Dennis Hopper serves as a reluctant go-between for Kurtz and Willard. Engineman 3rd Class Jay ‘Chef’ Hicks, as portrayed by Frederic Forrest, serves as a confidant for Willard in this moment, and pays owing to the tactically superior Kurtz. The questions surrounding where empathy, sympathy, duty, judgment, self-awareness and cultural conflicts borne of hearts turned dark are drafted in the human condition; the mask of military service, mandated or otherwise, is a mask many wear in Apocalypse Now.

(Marlon Brando as Colonel Walter E. Kurtz in the Francis Ford Coppola movie Apocalypse Now).

Friend of the Matt Lynn Digital blog, Airport Friend, ranks this film among his ten best. John Milius, Michael Herr and Coppola all shared writing credit for Apocalypse Now, a winner of two Academy Awards, two BAFTAs and a Palme d’Or from the Cannes Film Festival. High ratings among critics and general audiences on Rotten Tomatoes also exist. I grant the Francis Ford Coppola directed and produced movie Apocalypse Now 4.25-stars on a scale of one-to-five.

Matt – Wednesday, June 28, 2023

Dennis Quaid, Jim Caviezel and Shawn Doyle in the Gregory Hoblit movie ‘Frequency’

With the recent celebration of Father’s Day in the United States last Sunday, the link between father and son brought the Gregory Hoblit produced and directed movie Frequency (2000) to mind. Recommended to me by Engineered Tire Friend, the movie entertains a unique premise linking father and son across time in their Queens, New York home separated by 30 years.

(From left, Dennis Quaid as Frank Sullivan and Daniel Henson as 6-year-old Johnny Sullivan in the Gregory Hoblit movie Frequency).

The bond between firefighter Frank Sullivan and his son John Francis (Johnny) Sullivan, a policeman, was clear and strong from the moment we met the pair. The 6-year-old son and his father bonded over the New York Mets, who faced the Baltimore Orioles in the 1969 World Series. It was a particularly intense appearance of an aurora that connects Frank with his son, 30-years into the future over a single-sideband ham radio. Dennis Quiad, Jim Caviezel and Daniel Henson portrayed Frank Sullivan, John Sullivan as an adult, and 6-year-old Johnny Sullivan, respectively.

(From left, Noah Emmerich as Gordo Hersch, Michael Cera as Gordy Hersch and Jim Caviezel as John Francis Sullivan in the Gregory Hoblit movie Frequency).

John Sullivan and Frank Sullivan happen to have the unusual ability to speak over the ham radio, with the unusual effect of the son getting to save his father’s life. The realization that the pair is speaking of the 1969 World Series in the present tense of 1999, serves up the miracle of John saving his father’s life by relating advice for how to make a different decision in the fire that had killed Frank and truncated John’s emotional growth. A serious side effect is enabled, drawing in Julia Sullivan, Satch DeLeon and Gordo Hersch, John’s mother, John’s boss on the police force, and John’s neighbor and friend. Elizabeth Mitchell, Andre Braugher and Noah Emmerich portrayed Julia, Satch and Gordo, respectively. Michael Cera portrayed Gordy Hersch, Gordo’s son, while Stephen Joffe portrayed 6-year-old Gordo Hersch.

(From left, Elizabeth Mitchell as Julia Sullivan and Andre Braugher as Satch DeLeon in the Gregory Hoblit movie Frequency).

It is the ongoing ham radio link that enables the evolving memory of John, as a policeman in 1999, to realize how life has been changing as he is connected to his father. The connection leads to an evolving case of crime with multiple victims, without a clear understanding for why the simple fact of Frank’s life would have an impact on that crime. The drama commences, bringing into focus the experiences of policeman Jack Shepard, Satch DeLeon, and others closest to John in the two timelines. The underlying drama offers an engaging story of familial love, justice, and the lengths to go in pursuing justice. Jack Shepard was portrayed by Shawn Doyle.

(Shawn Doyle as Jack Shepard in the Gregory Hoblit movie Frequency).

Toby Emmerich had screenwriting and producer credit in bringing Frequency to the big screen. There’s a sweetness underpinning the mystery and dramatic underpinnings connecting the film. While there is an element of the film trying to be more things than it really needed to be, the core storylines pleasantly and surprisingly come together in offering a whole that exceeds the parts. I grant the Gregory Hoblit movie Frequency 3.75-stars on a scale of one-to-five.

Matt – Wednesday, June 21, 2023

Craig T. Nelson, Samuel L. Jackson and Holly Hunter in the Brad Bird movie ‘The Incredibles’

A computer animated super hero film as written and directed by Brad Bird was set in a futuristic set of the 1960s. Presented by Disney Pixar, The Incredibles (2004), the technical accomplishment for the film involved animating realistic impressions of people, skin, hair and clothing for the visual concept of the film. The story itself involves a family of undercover superheroes forced to save the world after having tried to lead a quiet suburban life.

(From left, Craig T. Nelson as Bob Parr / Mr. Incredible, Spencer Fox as Dashiell ‘Dash’ Parr, Sarah Vowell as Violet Parr, Eli Fucile and Maeve Andrews as Jack-Jack Parr and Holly Hunter as Helen Parr / Elastigirl in the Brad Bird movie The Incredibles).

The Incredibles began with an introduction to the Parr family, who we first meet years before the central storyline on the day that Bob Parr was set to marry Helen Parr (nee Truax). As the superheroes he was, Parr managed to prevent a suicide and thwart Bomb Voyage from a robbery in the process. The foil of that was the appearance of super fan Buddy Pine trying to help while causing more chaos than legitimate help. Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Dominique Louis, and Jason Lee portrayed the voices of Bob Parr, Helen Parr, Bomb Voyage, and Buddy Pine.

(Samuel L. Jackson as Lucius Best / Frozone in the Brad Bird movie The Incredibles).

An elaborate public change in the public perception of the helpfulness of superheroes followed that day, forcing the Parr family, good friend Lucius Best, and other super heroes into what passed for quiet suburban life. We meet Best and the Parrs, the Parrs now with kids named Sarah, Dashiell and Jack-Jack, all experiencing some degree of difficulty blending in with the world while holding the best parts of themselves back. The unfolding of this storyline proves immensely entertaining and funny. Samuel L. Jackson, Sarah Vowell, Spencer Fox and a combination of Eli Fucile and Maeve Andrews portrayed Lucius Best, Sarah Parr, Dashiell Parr and Jack-Jack Parr.

(Jason Lee as Buddy Pine / IncrediBoy / Syndrome and Elizabeth Peña as Mirage in the Brad Bird movie The Incredibles).

The restlessness felt by Lucius Best and Bob Parr eventually led to some modern day dabbling in the precise superhero behavior that they had agreed to give up. Bob faces personal requests of domestic tranquility over the dabbling, which is only made worse when a path to new familial costumes is broached with Edna ‘E’ Mode. Mode, portrayed in voice by director and screenwriter Brad Bird, leads to the legitimate escalation of best and the Parr family to a shared ability to face a grown up Buddy Pine with his right hand lady, Mirage. Jason Lee continues to voice Pine, with Elizabeth Peña voicing Mirage.

(Brad Bird as Edna ‘E’ Mode in the Brad Bird movie The Incredibles).

The Incredibles stands in nicely as an animated comedy and family drama, holding up to multiple viewings. The recommendation to watch The Incredibles as written and directed by Brad Bird leads to giving the movie 4.25-stars on a scale of one-to-five.

Matt – Saturday, June 10, 2023

Will Smith, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor and Jon Bernthal in the Reinaldo Marcus Green movie ‘King Richard’

Fierce determination for a just outcome in realizing talent against cultural obstacles brings us to the tennis world today. Dramatization of the role Richard Williams, Oracene ‘Brandy’ Price and their family experienced in aiding the rise of tennis players Venus Williams and Serena Williams as successful tennis players is the subject of the movie King Richard (2021).

(From left, Will Smith as Richard Williams and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor as Oracene ‘Brandy’ Price in the Reinaldo Marcus Green movie King Richard).

The Reinaldo Marcus Green directed movie King Richard focuses heavily on the role Richard Williams, as portrayed by Will Smith, had in parenting his two biological kids with Oracene ‘Brandy’ Price to elite levels in women’s tennis. Price, married to Richard through the period considered by the movie, was portrayed by Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor. Williams was single-minded in raising Venus and Serena to be tennis players with as many level-setting advantages as they could get, which included efforts to steer his two biological and at points his three step daughters away from unhelpful elements in their Compton, California neighborhood. Saniyya Sidney and Demi Singleton portrayed Venus and Serena Williams, respectively.

(From left, Saniyya Sidney as Venus Williams, Will Smith as Richard Williams, Demi Singleton as Serena Williams, Tony Goldwyn as Paul Cohen, Christopher Wallinger as John McEnroe and Chase Del Rey as Pete Sampras in the Reinaldo Marcus Green movie King Richard).

While Brandy and Richard were skilled tennis players in their own right, there were thoughts that coaching from professionals with influence in professional, or amateur leading to professional, coaching would be better. This led Williams to bring his young daughters Venus and Serena to a practice Paul Cohen was administering for a pair of professionals on the men’s tennis tour. Cohen, portrayed by Tony Goldwyn, would agree to coach only one of the sisters for free. Venus received the professional coaching as Serena would be coached by Brandy, her mother.

(Five daughters lived in the home of Richard Williams and Oracene ‘Brandy’ Price at the beginning of King Richard. From left, Mikayla Lashae Bartholomew as Yetunde Price, Layla Crawford as Lyndrea Price, Saniyya Sidney as Venus Williams, Daniele Lawson as Isha Price and Demi Singleton as Serena Williams were portrayed in the Reinaldo Marcus Green movie King Richard).

An eventual disagreement over the personal effect that participating in tournaments, as Cohen recommended as the eventual means of the Williams daughters becoming professional, that led to drama within the tennis playing and human upbringing of the Williams sisters. Connecting to Rick Macci, as portrayed by Jon Bernthal, led the family to Florida for training. The strong wills of Rick Macci and Richard Williams would conflict frequently, yet a significant beauty of the King Richard landed for me in how this and the eventual results for the Williams‘ girls were portrayed for the family and in actual life.

(From left, Will Smith as Richard Williams and Jon Bernthal as Rick Macci in the Reinaldo Marcus Green movie King Richard).

The underlying humanity and nuance in the King Richard story worked really well. Credit for this in part rests with the screenplay of Zach Baylin, along with the production of Will Smith and the direction of Reinaldo Marcus Green. Having enjoyed the biography, the sports content, the humanity and the performances of Will Smith and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, I give Reinaldo Marcus Green‘s King Richard 4.25-stars on a scale of one-to-five.

Matt – Saturday, June 3, 2023

Leonardo DiCaprio, Cate Blanchett and Kate Beckinsale in the Martin Scorsese movie ‘The Aviator’

An epic biographical drama of United States business magnate Howard Hughes as directed by Martin Scorsese captures our attention today. Starring an ensemble cast portraying the business, government and movie star classes throughout Hughes‘ life, The Aviator (2004) was written by John Logan for the movies to dramatize a view of Howard Hughes from the late 1920s through the middle 1940s.

(From left, John C. Reilly as Noah Dietrich and Leonardo DiCaprio as Howard Hughes in the Martin Scorsese movie The Aviator).

Starting with a foreshadowing for the path the Hughes story will take, The Aviator begins in 1913 Houston, Texas with 9-year-old Howard taught to fear the germs of of a cholera outbreak while bathed by his mother. Portrayed by Jacob Davich and Amy Sloan respectively, Howard‘s mother would have him spell quarantine. The stage was being set for the forming personality that would begin to be revealed to the audience with the 1927 film Hell’s Angels (1930) that Howard Hughes, now portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio, was directing.

(From left, Leonardo DiCaprio as Howard Hughes, Adam Scott as Johnny Meyer, Jude Law as Errol Flynn and Cate Blanchett as Katherine Hepburn in the Martin Scorsese movie The Aviator).

Noah Dietrich would begin managing the day-to-day business of the business empire that was growing for Hughes. It was upon seeing the movie The Jazz Singer (1927), a movie partially including sound, that Howard Hughes would begin reworking his movie to also include sound. Despite positive reviews without the sound, Hughes insisted upon bringing sound and realism to the movie in a manner that indicated an obsessive need to get there. Hughes became romantically involved with Katharine Hepburn during this period. Hepburn, as portrayed by Cate Blanchett, helped Hughes keep the symptoms of his obsessive-compulsive disorder in check.

(From left, Danny Huston as Jack Frye, Kelli Garner as Faith Domergue, Alec Baldwin as Juan Trippe, Emma Campbell as Helen Frye and Leonardo DiCaprio as Howard Hughes in the Martin Scorsese movie The Aviator).

It was in 1935 that we are introduced to the Hughes H-1 Racer. The introduction comes with Hughes setting a speed record and crash-landing the plane when it runs out of gas. On the heals of flying around the world in four days in 1938, we learn of Hughes purchasing the controlling interest of Transcontinental & Western Air (TWA), later renamed to Trans World Airlines. A rivalry develops from here with Pan Am (Pan American World Airways), Juan Trippe, and Maine Senator Ralph Owen Brewster. With Hepburn having moved on, Hughes would date Faith Domergue and Ava Gardner while maintaining feelings for Katharine Hepburn.

(From left, Ian Holm as Professor Fitz, Alan Alda as Senator Ralph Owen Brewster and Kate Beckinsale as Ava Gardner in the Martin Scorsese movie The Aviator).

With a series of new construction contracts for the American military in the works, with the Hughes XF-11 reconnaissance plane and the Hughes H-4 Hercules / Spruce Goose flying boat converging into false arguments against the Hughes companies. A crash in Beverly Hills, California and the expense of the other plane converge with the airline industry inquiries and fundamental issue in Howard Hughes‘ personal life that speak largely to the true partner Hughes had in Noah Dietrich.

(From left, director Martin Scorsese and actress Kate Beckinsale in the Martin Scorsese movie The Aviator).

Five Academy Award wins would be granted to The Aviator, which was filmed in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Received well by critics and moviegoers alike, the movie was based on the book Howard Hughes: The Secret Life by Charles Higham. The sets felt period appropriate with excellent flourishes of cinematography include. I grant The Aviator as directed by Martin Scorsese 4.25-stars on a scale of one-to-five.

Matt – Wednesday, May 31, 2023

Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Dano and Ciarán Hinds in the Paul Thomas Anderson movie ‘There Will Be Blood’

An epic period piece filled with drama set during the southern California oil boom of the late 19th and early 20th centuries captures our focus today. Based loosely on the 1927 Upton Sinclair novel Oil!, the Paul Thomas Anderson written and directed There Will Be Blood (2007) stars Daniel Day-Lewis and Paul Dano in the central roles.

(From left, Dillon Freasier as young H.W. Plainview and Daniel Day-Lewis as Daniel Plainview in the Paul Thomas Anderson movie There Will Be Blood).

This film is outstanding for its ability to portray a series of extended commentary on at least three distinct themes, depending on how closely you observe. One clear path sees the nature of capitalism and greed in the national character of the burgeoning industrial power of the United States. Another takes that notion to say that capitalism creates and destroys the future while focusing on the vanishing American frontier. A third theme notes the threads of faith, religion and family in the larger national conversation of how difficult it has been for America to reconcile the motivations of greed and religion.

(From left, Robert Hills as H.W. Plainview’s Interpreter, Dillon Freasier as young H.W. Plainview and Sydney McCallister as young Mary Sunday in the Paul Thomas Anderson movie There Will Be Blood).

The unfolding of these themes begins with the presentation of Daniel Plainview, as portrayed by Daniel Day-Lewis, breaking his leg while prospecting silver in 1898 New Mexico. Pulling himself from the pit to claim a stake in both silver and gold, it was four years later in Los Angeles, California that the circumstances of the story fully begins. It was upon discovering oil that an accident killed a worker at the drilling site, leaving that worker’s son orphaned. Plainview adopts H.W., seeing to his care while now presenting himself as a family man to the world in furtherance of his ambition. H.W. Planview was portrayed by Dillon Freasier and Russell Harvard.

(From left, Daniel Day-Lewis as Daniel Plainview, Ciarán Hinds as Fletcher Hamilton, Paul Dano as one of the identical twins Paul & Eli Sunday, and Dillon Freasier as young H.W. Plainview in the Paul Thomas Anderson movie There Will Be Blood).

It is in 1911 that H.W. Plainview first takes to the notion of a relationship with Mary Sunday, as portrayed by Sydney McCallister and Colleen Foy. The possibility arose when Paul Sunday, a young man who tells Daniel Plainview of an oil deposit under the Sunday property in fictional Little Boston, California. Daniel tries to purchase the property from Paul Sunday and his twin brother, Eli Sunday, for a low price under the auspices of wishing to hunt quail. Eli, the publicly religious brother, questions Daniel’s motives, yet allows Plainview access to the property for a sizable donation to Eli Sunday’s church. An accident at this property defeans H.W. Plainview, setting a trajectory that proves difficult and, in H.W.’s adulthood, severely deteriorates between father and adopted son. Paul Dano portrayed Eli and Paul Sunday.

(From left, Colleen Foy as Mary Sunday, Bob Bock as the Reverend Bob Bock and Russell Harvard as H.W. Plainview in the Paul Thomas Anderson movie There Will Be Blood).

The proselytizing of Eli Sunday, and the greed of both Sunday and Daniel Plainview, is a long burning storyline that lasts past the stock market crash of 1929 that ostensibly signaled the beginning of the Great Depression. An extended dispute over drilling rights around the Sunday property, including circumstances involving the William Bandy property, leading to complications while negotiating with Union Oil of California and Standard Oil. The light of day shone onto individuals and the stereotypes therein portrayed, were powerfully drawn. Hans Howes portrayed Bandy.

(From left, actor Daniel-Day Lewis and writer / director Paul Thomas Anderson on location for the Paul Thomas Anderson movie There Will Be Blood).

Well received critically and by audiences as noted here on Rotten Tomatoes, There Will Be Blood lands as a recommended movie from this corner. There Will Be Blood as written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, with an ending every bit true to the movie’s title, receives 4.5-stars on a scale of one-to-five.

Matt – Saturday, May 27, 2023

Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell and Jennifer Jason Leigh in the Quentin Tarantino movie ‘The Hateful Eight’

Crime, drama and mystery are leading elements in the Wyoming set Quentin Tarantino written and directed movie The Hateful Eight (2015). Set in 1877 on the plains of the frontier west, the introduces us to the snowy plains with a mission to get to Red Rock, Wyoming that we will never manifest due to a series of vengeful, selfish humanity rife in the hallmark style of the film’s director and screenwriter.

(From left, Samuel L. Jackson as Major Marquis Warren and Walton Goggins as Chris Mannix in the Quentin Tarantino movie The Hateful Eight).

It’s on the plains, with three corpses stacked one atop another, that a stagecoach driven by O.B. Jackson encounters bounty hunter and Union veteran from the American Civil War, Major Marquis Warren, stranded. Horseless and stranded with the corpses, Warren seeks a ride on the coach. With bounty hunter John ‘The Hangman’ Ruth to ‘Crazy’ Daisy Domergue already on board and facing the same incoming blizzard, we are introduced to the tension of whether Warren will get a ride. Jackson, Warren, Ruth and Domergue were portrayed by James Parks, Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell and Jennifer Jason Leigh, respectively.

(From left, Kurt Russell as John ‘The Hangman’ Ruth, Jennifer Jason Leigh as ‘Crazy’ Daisy Domergue and Bruce Dern as General Sanford ‘Sandy’ Smithers in the Quentin Tarantino movie The Hateful Eight).

Warren and his cargo get a ride, as he bonded with Ruth over a personal letter Warren carries as purportedly written by former United States president Abraham Lincoln. A bit up the road, Chris Mannix, claiming to be Red Rock‘s new sheriff, joins them. The tension baked into Mannix joining this party rests with Mannix’s father, Erskine, having led Mannix’s Marauders, a Lost Cause of the Confederacy militia that fought on the opposite side of the American Civil War to Warren. Clear animosity between Warren and Mannix over clear disagreements based in racial indignance, not to mention a bounty among sympathizers of the confederacy on Warren’s head. Walton Goggins portrayed Chris Mannix.

(From left, Michael Madsen as Joe Gage, Demián Bichir as Señor Bob, Tim Roth as Oswaldo Mobray and Channing Tatum as Jody Domergue in the Quentin Tarantino movie The Hateful Eight).

Seeking shelter from the blizzard at Minnie’s Haberdashery, the stagecoach party finds Minnie Mink, ‘Sweet’ Dave Mink, Six-Horse Judy and Gemma nowhere to be found. Señor Bob, a Mexican by heritage, is tending the haberdashery in their place. The lodge, meanwhile, is found to be sheltering cowboy Joe Gage, hangman Oswaldo Mobray, and Confederate general Sanford ‘Sandy’ Smithers. Dana Gourrier, Gene Jones, Zoë Bell, Belinda Owino, Demián Bichir, Michael Madsen, Tim Roth and Bruce Dern portrayed Minnie, Dave, Judy, Gemma, Bob, Joe, Oswaldo and Sanford, respectively.

(From left, Dana Gourrier as Minnie Mink, Zoë Bell as Six-Horse Judy and Belinda Owino as Gemma in the Quentin Tarantino movie The Hateful Eight).

Several tensions unfold at the haberdashery, with extends well beyond the introduction to the folks at the accommodations. The fact that the door needs to be nailed shut is a sure sign that unusual happenings are afoot, with the introduction of Jody Domergue, as portrayed by Channing Tatum, not coming until after the scene including references to past events having occurred in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The sequencing of revelation worked well in maintaining much of the larger mystery of the movie.

(Screenwriter and director Quentin Tarantino on set of the Quentin Tarantino movie The Hateful Eight).

The poking at larger cultural tensions through individuals, including a social commentary in the process of telling a contemporary portrait of stylized violence, provide many of the over-the-top elements fans of Quentin Tarantino seek in his movies. It is in the delivery of these points, with a moderated gratuity in language when compared to other Tarantino movies at their full throated, that standout to me. I grant The Hateful Eight as presented by Quentin Tarantino 4.0-stars on a scale of one-to-five.

Matt – Saturday, May 13, 2023