The Favourite (2018)

Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos

Written by Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara 

Starring Olivia Colman, Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz and Nicholas Hoult 

There are three reasons I watched this movie; it was free on a plane, I am a sucker for anything with Emma Stone and Olivia Colman gave one of the most endearing acceptance speeches ever at the Oscars. With those factors in mind, I went into it pretty optimistic. 

The film takes place in early 18th century as the country of England is at war with the French and an ill Queen Anne (Olivia Colman) occupies the throne. By her side is her friend, Lady Sarah (Rachel Weisz) who basically governs the country for the Queen while simultaneously tending to her poor health and bad temper. Then enters a new servant, Abigail (Emma Stone) who is charming and quickly becomes a new companion to the Queen as Lady Sarah is consumed by the politics of the ongoing war. 

I do not know much about the history behind Queen Anne or even 18th century England for that matter, however the story told by Lanthimos is quite interesting to watch. The movie is divided into eight different acts, and while the acts tended to drag on a little too long sometimes, I still remained attentive because of the three main women. The Favourite relies heavily on the characters and their intricate relationships with one another. You almost forget there is a war raging on outside of those royal hallways because these women's personalities are so bold you notice nothing else. 

Hats off to Olivia Colman for this performance. I'm not sure how accurate Lanthimos made this to Queen Anne's real personality but Colman made her such a fun character. Her random outbursts at the servants, her anger, her sadness, her giddy for playing with bunnies. She truly ran the gamut of emotions with this character and did it brilliantly. The supporting performances by Weisz and Stone were also very compelling and complemented Olivia Colman pleasantly. 

While the acting may get the gold, the costume and set design deservedly get the silver. I cant say with utter confidence what bedrooms looked like in the 18th century, or what Queens wore-- but if I had to make a guess this would be it! It was all beautiful, right down to the white wigs the men wore. I'm not always a big fan of period pieces from centuries ago, and that is not a diss at the wonderful aspects of this movie, it is just a personal preference. Perhaps that is why I wasn't always one hundred percent engaged, but the acting was fantastic nonetheless. Another great performance from Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz and lets hope the start of bigger and better things for Olivia Colman.

7/10

The Fundamentals of Caring (2016)

Directed by Rob Burnett 

Written by Rob Burnett (screenplay) and Jonathan Evison (novel)

Starring Paul Rudd, Craig Roberts, Selena Gomez and Jennifer Ehle 

          I was pleasantly surprised with The Fundamentals of Caring. This movie was limited to being released on just Netflix, but easily could have succeeded in theaters. This is one of those movies were you can't stop saying how "cute" of a movie it was after you have finished it. If asked to define why it was "cute," I am not sure what I would even say. It is a funny, feel-good, drama all in one.  Thats all I can say. Plus, you can never get enough of Paul Rudd's cheeky personality.
     Ben (Paul Rudd) is a man suffering from extreme loss (the loss of his son), and is in the middle of a divorce. In the midst of all this, he decides to take a course on becoming a caregiver. Immediately following the completion of the course, Ben takes a job interview with a family- a single mom (Jennifer Ehle) with her 18-year old son suffering from MS, Trevor (Craig Roberts). The mom very reluctantly hires him for this extremely difficult, important task, despite Ben's lack of experience. On top of having to keep track of Trevor's stretching, medication and meal schedule- Ben literally has to wipe his butt for him. Aside from the daunting daily tasks Ben does for Trevor, there isn't much else, considering Trevor is very introverted and spends his days watching TV and eating the same meal of waffles and sausage. Looking to make a difference in his life, Ben convinces his patient to go on a road trip with him to see the deepest pit in the world: a landmark that Trevor oddly has always wanted to see. Along the way they pick up a trash-talking, sarcastic young runaway, Dot (Selena Gomez). The three then embark on a journey where they all learn something about themselves.
     The road trip that the main characters go on, at first appears as a way just to get Trevor out of the house- but it ends up being so much more. Ben is recovering from a tremendous amount of despair after his young son died and this road trip is serving as a perspective change on life for him. Dot is discovering herself as she runs away from her old life, and Trevor is seeing the world beyond the four walls of his house. This movie was filled with heart-warming moments, but no singular cliche emotional scene at the end of the movie. Thats what I liked so much about this movie, based on the book written by Jonathan Evison.
     Aside from the emotion was a genuinely funny movie as well. Craig Roberts did a great job at bringing humor to his characters shitty situation. He could have been a depressing man wallowing in his emanate death from this crippling disease, but he was a sarcastic teenager that made a lot of jokes about his ass being wiped. Paul Rudd has always been a favorite of mine, and I always have appreciated the emotion and humor he brings to any of his characters. This role just adds to his wide array of strong characters. Selena Gomez was given a role of a snarky, rebel 20-something year old- and she played it well. She's not just a singer and a wizard of waverly place. This was a very heart-warming movie so bravo to Netflix for bringing this wonderful piece of work to us. 

   
I give The Fundamentals of Caring a...

7/10

The Fighter (2010)

Directed by David O. Russell

Written by Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy, Eric Johnson, and Keith Dorrington

Starring Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams and Melissa Leo

     From the elusive David O. Russell, comes yet another movie about boxing that majorly succeeds in the theaters and during awards season. These films either revolve around an underdog boxer, who is given one more chance in the ring, and succeeds greatly. These ones always have tremendous success among viewers as they sympathize with the underdog, and root for their success. Then there are the fighting movies that have deeper and darker back stories of the fighter- and have lots of hidden connotations. The Fighter is a rare gem that represents both these types of films. Based on the true story of Irish fighter Mickey Ward (played by Mark Wahlberg), this film is much different from other boxing films. 

     Set in Lowell, Massachusetts in the 1990's- The Fighter opens with an HBO documentary crew filming Mickey's older brother, Dicky Eklund (Christian Bale). The HBO documentary is a chronicle of how crack destroys lives- with Dicky being the prime example. Dicky believes the film crew is documenting his triumphant, eventual return to the boxing ring. When he's not spending his days in Lowell's notorious crack house, he is training with Mickey. With the incompetent management of his mother, Alice (Melissa Leo) and Dicky's unreliability in training- Mickey gets thrown into a fight against a guy who is 20 pounds heavier than he is, and gets pulverized. Mickey soon gains the confidence he needs to break away from his parasitical family when he meets bartender, Charlene (Amy Adams). Dicky's reckless actions land him up the river- which is when Mickey takes matters into his own hands to further his boxing career. With the help of his girlfriend Charlene; his father, George (Jack McGee); and his new trainer, O'Keefe (Mickey O'Keefe)- Mickey steps towards respectability in the sport of boxing. While he tries to make a name for himself with his new support crew- Mickey's family drama continues to threaten his career. 

     The family drama mixed with the sports, is what makes this film so enjoyable. Mickey's extremely dysfunctional family puts him in a lot of difficult situations. Mickey faces a lot of dismay over choosing a more professional manager and trainer, over his mother and brother. 

     In the end credits, there are some clips with the real life Mickey Ward and Dickey Eklund. I was astonished with the similarities between Christian Bale's portrayal and the actual Dickey. Bale perfectly nails the mannerisms and habits of Dickey. Him and Melissa Leo crawl into the skins of their characters and play unforgettable characters in this film. Leo and Bale both took home Oscars for their supporting roles in this film- however I think their performances were anything but supporting. Amy Adams plays a foul-mouthed bartender who is the girlfriend of Mickey, and was contender for the supporting role oscar that went to Leo. We're used to seeing Adams in more innocent roles, so seeing her play this confrontational bitch who beats up one of Mickey's seven sisters- was surprising. Her ability to take on any role given to her is amazing. Mark Wahlberg does well in the lead role- but is often overlooked because of the complexity of the supporting characters. 

     This film does not fit the status quo of boxing movies at all, which is why I enjoyed it so much. It mostly focused on how Mickey's deranged family effects his career. The boxing scenes were still thrilling though. The cast drives this film to success. One of my favorite roles of Bale's. 

I give The Fighter a...

7/10 

Fences (2016)

Directed by Denzel Washington 

Written by August Wilson 

Starring Denzel Washington and Viola Davis 

     Well, it looks like we won't have to worry about a "white wash" at the 2017 Academy Awards. Fences takes substantial steps towards making sure of that. Denzel Washington steps behind the screen again as director of this film- adapted by the late August Wilson's 1983 Tony and Pulitzer prize-winning play. Such a captivating story, you lose sight of the "play nature" of the film. 

     Set in 1950's Pittsburg, Troy (Denzel Washington) is working as a garbage collector trying to make ends meet. An ex-Negro League baseball player, Troy is always stuck on the fact that he was never able to play for more money. Now he lives in a small house with his wife of 18 years, Rose (Viola Davis), and their son, Cory (Jovan Adepo). Even in his career as a garbage collector with his best friend Bono (Stephen Henderson)- Troy has a thirst for more. He has aspirations of becoming the city's first black trash truck driver. We soon meet other members of Troy's sort of unconventional family. He has a son, Lyons (Russell Hornsby) from a previous marriage. His brother Gabe (Mykelti Williamson) suffered an intense head injury in the war and recently moved out of his house to live on his own. 

     After being introduced to the extended family, the film begins to follow a string of events and crises in Troy's life. It's clear that he does not take it easy on his son Cory, as he says at one point- "what law is there that says I got to like you." He is a hard headed father and Cory is a hard headed teenage son. Feeling trapped, Troy enters an affair and the events that transpire after that are as devastating as you can imagine. Once this infidelity is confessed to Rose, this leads to a heart wrenching scene of ferocity- which inevitably should guarantee that Davis is accepting the Oscar for best actress in a supporting role. 

     Viola Davis's role in this film is anything but supporting- but if thats what leads her to winning her first Oscar, then I rest my case. With an entirely black cast, the film does a great job capturing the dialect and mood from this time period. Washington and Davis are brilliance as the leads. It is no surprise that they are responsible for 3 of the 4 Academy Award nominations the film received. Davis gave me goosebumps in some of her scenes. Her raw emotion was impeccable as always. It was no surprise either how wonderful Washington was for this role- considering he was in the limited release 2010 adaptation of the play. 

     A film filled with a lot of emotion and amazing acting performances. I don't think Fences got the audience it deserved, as many honest, intense dramas like this don't. However, the film got the necessary attention from the Academy. 

I give Fences a... 

8/10