Collateral Beauty

It's interesting to watch this after seeing "Manchester by the Sea". Both films tackle the difficult subject of how a father grieves the loss of his child or children. I would argue that what we see from Will Smith in this film is the "typical" depiction of grief. Not that that's bad - Smith is excellent here. The way he allows grief to flow through his eyes without a word is tremendous and very heartbreaking. However, if one studies grief in men, one will find that, in fact, how Affleck portrayed grief is far closer to the truth for most fathers who have lost children. Knowing that, and having recently seen Affleck give that amazing performance, I had a hard time falling into this film. The plot was very banal - I saw nearly all the turns in it a mile away. The acting outside of Smith was only above average, and the dialogue forced. Maybe if Casey Affleck weren't still living in my head I would have reacted differently, but that's why Affleck won the Oscar and Smith wasn't even nominated I think. For me, this was just okay. 3/5

Collateral Beauty on Netflix

Suicide Squad (The Extended Cut)

Wow, where to start. I held out on seeing this until I could see this extended cut that restored several minutes of the cut Joker footage. However, I was still massively disappointed. I don't think there ever was a good movie here. I say that because the very words that came out of everyone's mouths were trite. The plot was barely existent, and the over stylization did nothing to serve the story. Most of the acting was average at best. I got really annoyed at Margot Robbie pretty quickly for her in-and-out bad Snooki impression of a Jersey accent. The only thing I found interesting was Leto's Joker, and even that was a mixed blessing. I've never seen the Joker done quite like this. It's far more faithful to what I just saw in the animated "Killing Joke" than anything I've seen in live action yet. There was no trace of Leto on screen - he wholly became the role, and it was thrilling. That is, when you could tell he was improving and not being forced to deliver banal lines that didn't make sense with the character. Add in that many of the restored scenes show his utter brutality and contradicted the added "love story" with Harley, and it became a mess. I long to see what Leto will do when given a meaty script - I think that will be something amazing to see. As is, this movie is sad to me. It could have been so much more. 2.5/5

Suicide Squad on Netflix

After Earth

Well, this wasn't good at all. However, it wasn't quite as bad as I was expecting. Let's start with the positives. The effects were decent. The plot wasn't overly complicated. And, for once, there was no big twist to screw up the end of a Shyamalan movie. I've certainly seen worse Shyamalan films before. However, that's where the praise has to end. The acting in this is awful, just awful. Jaden has a bizarre way of speaking that made him extremely difficult to understand. Many of his lines just seemed garbled, and I felt that the other actors in the film were almost trying to copy his "accent". Will Smith was bad, but Jaden was *really* bad. But perhaps the thing that bothered me the most was the central point of the film, that fear is a choice. Well, Mr. Smith, since you wrote this garbage, I would like to invite you to live in the body of anyone with an anxiety disorder and tell me fear is a choice. It's not, everything we know about biology and psychology says it's not, and I couldn't get past that to actually enjoy the film. It was just poor writing and there was no real way through it. Unless you're a Shyamalan completist, skip this one. 2/5

After Earth on Netflix

Concussion

Before I say anything, I want to make it clear that, taken simply as a movie, this film is quite good. The script was tight and explained dense medical knowledge well, and the direction was solid. Will Smith was quite excellent and certainly deserved an Oscar nomination for his work. My problem here is personal and beyond the movie. As a life-long professional wrestling fan, I have spent the last two decades watching great men and woman die tragically because of concussion trauma. I have met many who have lost their lives to CTE, including Chris Benoit, who tragically killed his whole family and then himself. Omitting the part pro wrestling played in this story is just strange and sad to me. In point of fact, Christopher Nowinski from the WWE was the person who sent the case of Andre Waters to Dr. Omalu, but that is omitted in the film. The fact that pro wrestling and the WWE were very active in the fight to get CTE recognized and were among the first to institute concussion protocols is something I would have loved to hear about that. This is not the fault of the film itself, but rather what was, I think, a poor decision on the part of who designed the film. So, despite my personal reaction, this is a very fine film. 4/5

Concussion on Netflix

Focus

I love a good heist/con film & this one has both good crime & a lot of great wit. Margot Robbie was excellent - bravo! 4/5

Focus on Netflix

Winter's Tale

I didn't expect to like this so much - a sweetly sentiment tale told with beautiful direction. Lovely. 4/5

Winter's Tale on Netflix

I Am Legend

Smith was excellent but the writer/director kept getting in of his way. Not bad, alternate ending was FAR better 3.5/5


I Am Legend on Netflix

Seven Pounds

Unbelievable movie. Just wow. To describe it is to give it away, so just trust me. Everyone should see this film. 5/5

Seven Pounds on Netflix