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Showing posts with label Mary Steenburgen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mary Steenburgen. Show all posts

Sunday, October 30, 2016

7 Days in Hell (2015) USA

It wasn't even a match. It was something else.






Genre:
Comedy, Sport, TV Movie.


Length:
Approximately 4-minute read.


Review:
     This is a 45 minute mockumentary made for the television that was aired on HBO last year. Directed by a some television director, who recently made his feature film comedy, 'Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates'. It is an American film, but the story takes place in England.

     This is the story of two top tennis players who class for a big match that lasts for the 7 days. You heard me right, the film reveals how the game was dragged for a week and in between that, some flashback clips and interviews were attached.

     The film sets in the 2001, but when you look at the settings, particularly the players' appearances that gives the impression of the 70s or maybe the 80s. Whatever, it was so good, miles ahead to those real comedies from the recent time. The jokes were amazing, sometime I laughed loudly out of the control.

     I think they designed this story and its characters so well. The actors, totally nailed it. I usually like Andy Samberg's films and his performances, but for the first time I liked him for real. If you ask me, I would say this is his best film so far I'd seen. Sadly, it was not a theatrical film.

     Looks like the director aimed it for a short film, as he has made plenty of them prior to this. But I appreciated him for making it as an independent television episode with a fine length where he developed the story and its character brilliantly.

 This is like nothing I've ever seen.
Spectacular! Absolutely spectacular! 

     Less than an hour, but the entire film was shot within the three days of time without compromising on the production quality. The actors too were not amateurs while displaying their sporting skills. Since it is a comedy, that could have been neglected, but really well done drafting those scenes accurately.

     Recently Andy Samberg did another mockumentary on the music theme called 'Popstar; Never Stop Never Stooping', but looking at this one and its success, there won't be any surprise it is going to be turned into a feature film-come-mockumentary.

     Of course the preference was given more to Andy's role, but Kit Harrington was equally amazing. He's in a very important role and I think between these two, it reminded me the Nadal and Federrer taking on each other.

     There are some guest appearances which were very crucial for this tale to narrate what it wanted to tell in the most comedic way as much as possible. So there's no way you end up unsatisfied, but you should be open minded for that.

     I was surprised by the overall film, Because I was not expecting it to be so smart, at a time funny as well. Definitely this film is for the grownups, because there are many adult jokes with unexpected nudities and sexes. But who cares, if you are old enough, just enjoy what it offers.

     From the great title to the wonderful performances to the beautiful writing, this is definitely a must see. I hope you won't miss, especially if you are a tennis fan, you would find it a lot funnier than the others. My final word is, recommended!



Suitable for:
Tween, Teen, Adult, All


Final verdict:
Ignore, Bad, Average, Good, Excellent


Similar movies:
Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, Forgotten Silver, What We Do in the Shadows, Borat.


External link(s):
      


WCA geolocation:
Right now we're in

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

A Walk in the Woods (2015) Hollywood

Rediscovering the old friendship in a long walk.






Genre:
Adventure, Biography, Comedy, Drama.


Length:
Approximately 5-minute read.


Review:
     I am very impressed for the recent films of Robert Redford, but the timing was really bad. His one man show, 'All is Lost' that overlapped with the popular flick 'Life of Pi', and now this with 'Tracks' and 'Wild'. People tend to choose the big one and forget the small one, or simply point the finger to the other one for having similarity. Anyway, I wanted to see it, and I did that.

     Like the Pacific Crest Trail from the movie 'Wild' which's from the western part of the Unites States, this one is from the east called Appalachian Trail and both these are the biographical films. The six month trail to cover approximately 2,000 kilometers. Even learning the odds are not in their favour, the two old men embark their journey with the fixed mind to achieve the goal.

     I did not know it was a screen adaptation of the real event when I was watching, but later came to know. I won't consider it a great movie, not even for the year 2015, but it was fun to watch. A sweet little movie that I expected something, but it delivered another thing, overall it satisfied me. Maybe the reason I'm showing concern for this is it is a comedy, so looked lot like an entertainment product than the inspiring theme. But you can't deny the seriousness apart from those fun bits that it was based on someone's memoir. Especially knowing those two men are in the twilight of their lives, the attempt was admirable.

 No, writers don't retire. We either drink ourselves
to death or blow our brains out. 


     I always love the children and elder people movies with quality narration. Children's films are fun to watch and elder's teaches us their experiences, sometimes sympathy wins for their struggles. There were a couple big female star characters who are the part of the story, but not in the main narration. This film centres only two characters that wonderfully played by the 80 year-old Robert Redford as a 60 year-old Bill Bryson and the other one was Nick Nolte as Katz who actually stole the show. Yep, I must agree Nick Nolte is the backbone of the movie, otherwise the people would have turned away without showing any interest in this including myself.

     This film was not all about the hiking or achieving something out of all the sudden in their old age. It let's us a few glimpses of the beautiful landscapes like those we saw in the 17th, 18th century paintings. Despite it being a comedy, mostly it dealt with the facts. Rediscovering the lost friendship and uncovering the old memories. Like the entire life was brought back for a few minutes in the words for us with their sweet recalls.

     It is an R rated flick, because the majority of the jokes were adult's. If you decide to watch it, I suggest to give a try with your best friend, because you both might be seeing the future of yourselves. My finishing statement is, it is definitely not a must see, but it won't disappoint either if you're not anticipating in a large scale adventure, that includes emotions and severeness. If it was from before the 90s, probably considered as a good film, but in this modern CGI world, movies about life and self-discovery is fading away from the young people's mind. All they want is superheroes, loud music, fancy costumes, and of course violence.



Suitable for:
Tween, Teen, Adult, All


Final verdict:
Ignore, Bad, Average, Good, Excellent


Similar movies:
Hector & the Search for Happiness, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Wendy & Lucy.


External link(s):
      


WCA geolocation::
Right now we're in