Tag Archives: Patrick Wilson

Morning Glory – A Review by Film Nerd

Posted on by
Reply

Director: Roger Michell

Cast: Rachel McAdams, Harrison Ford, Diane Keaton, Patrick Wilson, Jeff Goldblum, John Pankow, Ty Burrell

Synopsis: Becky (McAdams) is an executive producer on a morning variety program.   That is until she loses her position and in desperation accepts a job on the slowly dying show “Daybreak”.   She makes a flurry of changed, including firing the co-anchor.   To replace him, she manages to coerce former crack journalist Mike Pomeroy (Ford), whom has no desire to do “fluffy” journalism, much to the chagrin of remaining co-anchor Collen Beck (Keaton).

A review by Film Nerd.

This is an unassuming comedy, that while unable to make a large swell at the box office is a very satisfying and enjoyable film.   I purchased it on Blu-Ray on the strength of its cast, and of some solid reviews, and I am personally very glad idea.   It is by its nature light entertainment, far from ground-breaking, but has a good, clever gag rate to keep interest until the end credits.

It is a film very appropriate to modern sensibilities.   We live in a time when work demands are steep, where often it can be hard to switch off at the end of the day, particularly when a lot is at stake.   For Becky, the wrong choices could mean the cancellation of a national live television show that has been on air for forty-seven years.   McAdams is a personal favourite actress of mine, and here she does not do anything to make my faith in that statement waver.   She takes a difficult character, one who is work obsessed and determined, also soft enough to be likeable.   These characters often lack that quality in cinema, making it hard to garner the audiences support.   No such error here.

Becky has two major thorns in her side on her path to success.   The first is prickly existing co-anchor Colleen Beck.   Keaton is on fine form, and she shares good on-screen animosity than affection with McAdams, perhaps a by-product of their former work together on The Family Stone.   The other thorn is Ford’s Mike Pomeroy.   This is the performance that turns an okay movie into something a little more special.   Over the years he has made gruff with a (very) hidden soft core a speciality.    His performance here for me made me miss seeing him more often on the big screen, and in more than disappointing Indiana Jones sequels.

So in the end, this is a comedy with a good laugh rate mixed in with a good but not sickening dose of heart.   It features fine actors all in fine form.    In addition, it has a plot that is relevant to most people in the workforce today.   As such, this is a film I can highly recommend to a discerning audience.

4 stars out of 5

Morning Glory on IMDB

Morning Glory on Rotten Tomatoes

Trailer

Watchmen – A Review by Film Nerd

Posted on by
Reply

Director: Zack Snyder

Cast: Malin Akerman, Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode, Jackie Earle Haley, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Patrick Wilson, Carla Gugino

Synopsis: The year is 1985, but nowhere near how you remember it.   For years, costumed vigilantes have been fighting crime, and there is even a genuinely powered super being, who turned the tide of Vietnam. However, such masked crime fighting has now been outlawed, but a team known as the Watchmen come out of retirement after one of their own is murdered.

A review by Film Nerd.

The graphic novel on which this film is based is perhaps the most influential ever published.   Written by Alan Moore, illustrated by Dave Gibbons, and published by DC comics, it was released in 12 parts, but broke the mold on how graphic novels were presented.   At the end of each issue, there were distributed documents that cover the history of this alternate reality, in the process giving it great depth and background information on the lead characters.   In addition, there was a running story of a comic within the comic, being read by a child at the news stand.    This comic reflected events and themes presented within the story itself.   All this on top of what is in many respects the film noir version of a super hero story.   Basically, a whole lot more was there than “biff”, “whack” and “pow”!

So how do you bring a story like this to screen??   The great difficulty lies in the fact that on-screen, it is difficult to present all this extra information without detracting from the narrative.   The comic within the comic was excised, though it was filmed as an animation separately and released in addition to the film on DVD and Blu Ray.   What was clever though was presenting this history in one of the most creative and entertaining title sequences I have seen in a film in a very long time.

Does the film work?   Yes it does, and fans of the source material can watch this as a worthy representation of the story they love.   It can be a harder pill to swallow though for the uninitiated.   It is not a clear-cut story, there are hidden agendas, personal motives, and a resolution that may upset those familiar with your regular comic book film.   It is a film that makes you think, and if you are willing to re-watch it and think it over, you may get a whole lot more out of it.   With a running time of 2 hours and 42 minutes, though, if this sounds like too much work perhaps it is best not to start.   I hope Urban Fantasist will add her support to this review though, as someone who did walk out of the cinema disappointed (especially after I had built it up before she saw it), but whom has admitted she kept thinking about it afterwards and had a different appreciation of it after considering the various themes.

And it does make you think.   It is a film that the most noble characters make questionable decisions, and those with the outwardly despicable are perhaps more worthy of respect, given they have their own moral codes and they stick to them.   In fact, it is perhaps these characters, exemplified by Morgan’s “The Comedian” and Haley’s “Rorschach”, that carry the weight of the film, and perhaps have a better idea of the true face of society than any of the other characters.   To go into these external characters could take a lot of time, but each does have their own agenda, and their own purpose for crime fighting.   Quite realistically, seeing justice is not always the primary motive.   Other reasons for becoming a masked vigilante are explored, and many have their own psychoses, whether that been seeking pride from a parent, the fetishistic element of dressing up, seeking fame, or seeking a sense of power.   Even Crudup’s Dr. Manhattan gives a different spin on the super human, who can manipulate matter after a science experiment gone wrong, but as he becomes more powerful, he becomes increasingly distanced from his own humanity.

I could keep discussing themes and ideas for this film given enough space and a willing audience, but I will save that for another time.   If any interest were to be expressed, I would happily write essays on impressions and interpretations I have had of this film.   To avoid this review becoming perhaps a tad dry though, I will start to wrap up.   This is a violent film with adult themes, Bride of Film Nerd had some obvious distaste towards a number of scenes.   It has disappointed people who went to the cinema expecting a more traditional superhero narrative.   But it is a great film for those willing to investigate it and explore its ideas.   That said, Hollywood please hear my plea and not bastardise this brilliant tale with a sequel!!

4.5 stars (out of a possible 5)

Watchmen on IMDB

Watchmen on Rotten Tomatoes

Trailer

The A-Team – A review by Film Nerd

Posted on by
Reply

Director: Joe Carnahan

Cast: Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Jessica Biel, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Sharlto Copley, Patrick Wilson

Synopsis: One year ago, a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn’t commit. These men promptly escaped from a maximum facility. Today, still wanted by the government, they survive as soldiers for hire. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire… The A-Team.

A review by Film Nerd.

Okay, let’s make this simple.   It is clear from a quick glance at Rotten Tomatoes that this is a film that has a decidedly divided opinion, with a tomatometer value of 48% at the time of writing.   To decide which side of that line you as a viewer fall in, watch the trailer below.   If your first thought seeing a tank fall out of an exploding plane only to sprout parachutes and then fire at enemy aircraft  is “this is bloody ridiculous”, stay away.   And yes, there is no question it is bloody ridiculous.   If however at the same time you are thinking “that is f**king  awesome”, get off your butt and buy a ticket yesterday.

I am certainly in the latter camp.   I remember growing up with the ’80s TV series, but aside from the van and Mr. T, remember very little of the series.   So I was watching this film with a largely clean slate, but also with enough feeling of nostalgia to whet my appetite to the concept.   In the end this is an action film, and there is a lot of action!   Using the narrative technique of revealing the development of a plan then cutting to that part of the plan being performed works really well, as there is no reliance on memory for what was to happen next.   It may sound distracting and really dumbed down, but the fact they are really good plans keeps interest high.   There is not a lot of moral ambiguity, and there is not a healthy dose of plot, but sometimes, that is all you need for enjoyable cinema.

The cast is brilliant.   Liam Neeson is always a strong screen presence, which would always be required from a character like “Col. Hannibal” Smith.   Bradley Cooper builds on a strong CV as the hot likeable guy/con man as Lt. “Faceman” Peck.   Sharlto Copley moves on from District 9′s protagonist to the manic “Mad Dog” Murdock, and you can tell he is having a great time going all out.   Out of the main four, it was only Quinton “Rampage” Jackson I found disappointing.   He had a big job, stepping into Mr. T’s shoes, but the character as played here lacked some of the exuberance I would have expected from the role.   Rounding out the rest of the cast are Patrick Wilson’s CIA Agent Lynch, who is quite insane, and Wilson throws himself into the performance.   For me the surprise though was Jessica Biel.   Her character is the most conflicted in the cast, and she shows a talent at conveying emotion throughout the film that she has only hinted at being capable of showing before, perhaps because her previous directors have been more concerned to get her into a bikini than they have been concerned about her performance.

This is a film with loads of action, a sense of humour, and by no stretch does it take itself seriously.   If that sounds like the film for you, go ahead and see it.   It won’t change your life, but for 2 hours you will have a very good time.   Be sure to stick until the end of the credits for a fun little coda to the film too.

4 stars (out of a possible 5)

The A-Team on IMDB

The A-Team on Rotten Tomatoes

Trailer