Such a short weekend, and a decent amount of movies! No venturing to the theater this weekend, but there were plenty of new titles to catch from the comfort of my recliner, so I made it work.
Moffie – This was a Google Play recommendation that seemed really interesting. The film itself is based off of a biography of the same name, and the title itself is a homophobic South African slur. In the very early 80s, and at just sixteen, Nicholas gets drafted into the army to go to war with Angola. This military is harsh and unrelenting, but most terrifyingly, it torments those who are different. More specifically, it targets its hate towards gay soldiers who then get to spend an extended amount of time in “Ward 22.” While Nicholas never makes his way to that ward, he was definitely on the path to it, as he discovered he had feelings for fellow soldier, Dylan. I think this film really forced these boys to grow up in the face of horrific events, but it also made them terrified to live their lives as themselves. It was a little tough for me to figure out Nicholas’ train of thoughts by the end of the film, but I think war just made him more sure of himself. Definitely some beautiful moments in this film, as well as some heart-breaking ones.
Things Heard & Seen – Well this movie really through me for a loop! In a good way! When I watched the trailer a few weeks ago, I first thought it was going to be a psychological thriller, but then as it went on it was clear there were going to be supernatural elements to it. That’s just not my bag. So that means I really hesitantly started this movie Friday night, but walked away pretty impressed! For those that hate supernatural horror as much as me, fear not! I would say that part of the film was important, but only occupied about fifteen percent of what else was going on. Oh, and a happy spoiler is that the spirits were good! From about the halfway mark this film really shocked me and went the way of The Talented Mr. Ripley! So if you’ve ever seen that, then you’ve got a decent idea of what might go down. Perhaps the films only downfall in my eyes was the runtime, as it meandered a bit in places, but overall it was an exciting ride.
Stowaway – Snooze fest! I feel like I don’t need to say more than that, but I’ll let you all know why this two hour space saga was so dang boring. Firstly, it should be noted that space movies are really hit or miss for me, and Toni Collette was the primary reason I was giving this film some time. The whole premise is basically this. Three astronauts are on their way to Mars for two years when they discover another man onboard. He’s definitely not their maliciously, but his presence essentially forces them to decide which one of them dies. Resources are scarce, and things have broken. I truly felt all of these people were pretty selfless despite none of their abilities being less important than anyone else’s on the ship. The dilemma is very interesting, but this is story that could have been told in a much shorter timespan.
Without Remorse – I will preface this by saying I have never seen any of the previous Tom Clancy/Jack Ryan adaptations, including the Amazon Prime show. Thus, I felt I could go into this action film blindly without being lost. That is completely true, but I guess they just needed to do a better job? By way of action films, this one was pretty lame. It’s a pretty standard layout as far as action films go. John Kelly just got done with a semi-shady mission and then goes into “retirement.” Soon, his wife and unborn child a re gunned down by Russians who were really just there to kill Kelly. From there it is basically all retaliation. He’s good at what he does, but nothing that happens in the film, emotionally speaking, ever really seems to go deep enough. I had high hopes for Michael B Jordan, and since the film ended with the potential for a sequel, I hope they do a better job of it. Anything that includes Guy Pearce and Jamie Bell always get a leg up for me, so for that, this film wasn’t a total bomb.
About Time – Another surprising film this weekend was this romantic drama! I had never really given this film the time of day, but I decided that a film casting Domhnall Gleeson as a romantic lead actually does deserve some of my time! Gleeson plays Tim, a guy who’s just looking for love when his dad tells him that all the males in their family have the ability to time travel. For the most part, nothing they do really has a detrimental butterfly effect on the events that happen afterwards, so obviously Tim is going to use this gift to find the love of his life. This is very much what I thought this film was going to be about, which it was, don’t get me wrong, but it was really about the love Tim shares for his father. That familial bond is so string and that really brought a tear to my eye! I was happy that this movie had plenty of funny moments and didn’t fall into the very predictable story line of his wife, Mary, finding out about his time travel and then getting mad at him for potentially manipulating her. Overall, this was a cute, funny, but also endearing film.
Handsome Devil – Another Netflix staple to round out the weekend that also came pretty well critically acclaimed, was this drama/comedy about not being afraid to be yourself ultimately. Ned is the extreme definition of an outcast at his elite, rugby-obsessed, private school. His disdain for the sport put him at the bullied end of most of the students, but I applaud Ned for how he handles his attackers. Fresh into the new school year though, Ned gets a new roommate, Connor, who is a rugby star. The two live reluctantly together until they find a common bond in music. With the help of a new teacher, Mr. Sherry, the two become even better friends until Connor’s personal life starts to cause some issues. He is gay, which is basically the number one sin at the school, so Connor deflects this by fighting those who learn his secret. After some poor choices, Ned and Connor reconcile, and Connor proudly owns who he is. Turns out most of his teammates only perpetuated the homophobia because the coach and the school perpetuated it. Overall this was a nice film, but it didn’t totally land for me. I say skip.