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Money Monster starring George Clooney, Julia Roberts and Jack O’Connell

Posted on May 16, 2017 Written by Pinar Tarhan

Money Monster starring George Clooney, Julia Roberts and Jack O'Connell. — Money Monster starring George Clooney, Julia Roberts and Jack O’Connell. Image via Amazon.

Money Monster Plot Summary – No Spoilers

Lee Gates (George Clooney) is the cocky and popular host of the finance show Money Monster where he puts on extravagant stage performances and sheds out investment out like the ultimate authority. And while he knows what he is talking about, an unexpected “glitch” at the investment company IBUS has him

cause a lot of people to lose money: a total of 800 million, to be exact. The company CCO Diane Lester (Highlander’s Caitriona Balfe) is apologetic and sticks to the talking points while the CEO Walt Camby (The Affair’s Dominic West) is nowhere to be found.

This doesn’t really affect the rich Lee or his director Patty (Julia Roberts) – until a blue collar victim named Kyle (Jack O’Connell) takes them hostage on live television. He puts a gun to Lee’s head and makes him wear an explosive vest. Kyle holds a deadman’s trigger and demands answers. He wants to know how a “glitch” could happen, how Lee could give such shitty advice so confidently, and most importantly, he wants a word with Walt.

The police get quickly involved, but they don’t count on Lee’s humanity taking over and deciding to help Lee. And the more Lee and Patty listen to Kyle, the less they buy Walt’s glitch story. Can they find out what went wrong before it is too late?

Money Monster Movie Review

Money Monster is a modern movie in the vein of Mad City. While the plots differ, there are several similarities that got me nostalgic:

Mad City starring John Travolta and Dustin Hoffman. Image via moviepostershop.

An otherwise sane and decent man going mad when he loses his money. In Mad City, John Travolta gets fired from his job at a museum and takes the manager hostage, with the unexpected surprise of kids being there at the same time.
A not-so-empathetic reporter tries to control things (In Mad City, the reporter is played by Dustin Hoffman), but then he gets on the gunman’s side as he learns more about his situation.
We end up rooting for the wronged family man, but of course, ****spoilers**** they will tragically pay the price of taking justice into their own hands, even if we badly wanted them to win.
The police will make things worse.

The good things about Money Monster, apart from the stellar cast and director Jodie Foster, is that it feels like the emotional, humane drama/thrillers of the 90s. The not-so-great thing is it feels like we have seen this movie before.

And for some reason, while I was sad at the ending and enjoyed the time I spent on the movie, I didn’t feel as touched as I was when I watched Mad City.

And while Money Monster made more money at the box office and is a bit more highly rated at IMDB, I still prefer Mad City.

That said, as a 90s kid, I still feel Julia Roberts and George Clooney are more my generation than say Scarlett Johannson or Chris Hemsworth. I love seeing them on screen in lead roles. So for nostalgia and the love of cast and director, I still recommend giving Money Monster a shot. As familiar and predictable the story might feel, it still has more heart than a lot of stuff out there.

Money Monster is a 2016 movie written by Jamie Linden, Alan DiFiore, and Jim Kouf. The movie made over 93 million dollars worldwide. It’s budget is reported to be around 27 mil.

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The Space Between Us starring Gary Oldman, Asa Butterfield, Britt Robertson and Carla Cugino: An Uplifting Love Story with Space Elements

Posted on May 6, 2017 Written by Pinar Tarhan

the_space_between_us — The Space Between Us. Image via impawards.

East Texas is scientist/businessman Nathaniel Parker (Gary Oldman)’s brainchild: A group of astranouts will go to live on Mars for four years. He couldn’t be prouder. But when it turns out his lead astranout Sarah Elliot is pregnant on space, a difficult consensus is reached to save the baby: He should stay on Mars as a journey to Earth could be deadly.

Baby Gardner grows up to be a smart and resourceful teenager (Asa Butterfield).
His only connection to our planet – managed without the help, consent, or the knowledge of the astranauts who raised him – is a high school student named Tulsa (Britt Robertson). As far as world-wary and street-smart Tulsa knows (and doesn’t believe a word of), Gardner is stuck living in a NY penthouse due to a rare disease. Gardner is the one thing about Earth that doesn’t seem to piss Tulsa off.

But as much as astranout Kendra (Carla Cugino) loves him like a son, Gardner longs to go to planet earth. And while a trip to Earth can be physically detrimental, being here isn’t doing Gardner’s psychology any favors. Despite Parker’s protests, Gardner is treated for bone density, goes to physcial therapy and finally arrives on Earth…only to find out more tests await. A discouraged Gardner manages to escape, with only two goals in mind: to meet Tulsa and find his father.

Tulsa and Gardner get along swimmingly, minus some understandable disbelief on Tulsa’s part. But as the two teens grow closer, so do Kendra and Gardner to finding them. And as much as we want Gardner to have the time of his life, we also know the two adults are only concerned about saving Gardner’s life. Can Gardner find his father and collect enough memories before he has to go back? And will Kendra and Parker find him before it is too late?

The Space Between Us is the perfect drama romance adventure. But the focus of the movie is on the connection and love between human beings, and while the romance of Tulsa and Gardner takes focus, there is also a lot of paternal love going on.

Despite being a writer, I’m a lot like your average viewer. When I love a movie to bits, I don’t notice flaws. So if this one has any, you are going to have to let me know in the comments.

Yes, I’m a romantic. And I’m really sick of the same old sick kid love story. But Gardner isn’t originally sick. He is just literally raised on another planet. Whatever health problems arise, it arises due to different gravity and his heart responding negatively. It’s a pretty original (and logical) health problem right there.

Then, there is one or two minor twists that you might or not see coming, which serve as sweet additions to an already sweet story.

And it’s refreshing to see “antagonists” that are really just concerned about a kid’s well-being. It’s hard not to root for both sides, which makes it all the more fun and emotional to watch.

Yes, we want Gardner to find love and experience many, many firsts- including feeling the wind on his face and the rain on his body. But we also don’t want a 16-year-old to die. We want a loving, caring man (Parker) to fix his mistake. We want Kendra to save her surrogate son. We want Tulsa to finally be happy, and we definitely don’t want her to lose her favorite thing about Earth, which is understandably Gardner.

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I WILL SPOIL THE ENDING – Meaning, I’ll tell you if it is happy or sad.

Of course, I tend to have a sweet spot for Allan Loeb stories, he is one of the co-writers, and I’ve always had a bit of a crush on the awesomeness that is Gary Oldman. So I’m positively biased.

So I’m warning you. It’s a love story. It’s about different kinds of love. It’s a road trip film. It’s fighting for someone’s survival vs. someone’s happiness. And in the end, spoilers ahead, optimists and romantics win. So there. I told you. The ending is all warm and fuzzy. I loved it. It’s also embrassing, but I didn’t see the twist coming.

Loved the cast, visuals, and the soundtrack.

The film was directed by Peter Chelsom, and written by Allan Loeb, Steward Schill and Richard Barton Lewis. It is currently rated at 6.4 on IMDB.

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Allied Movie Review: Brad Pitt and Marion Cottilard in an Engaging Robert Zemeckis Spy Romance

Posted on April 12, 2017 Written by Pinar Tarhan

Allied starring Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard. Image via IMP awards.

I liked the film, and this will be a positive review. So if you want to hate on it, you can do so in the comments or just ignore this.

Still with me? Awesome!

Allied is a 2016 feature drama, war, romance movie written by Steven Knight (Locke, Burnt, Eastern Promises) and directed by Robert Zemeckis. (Back to the Future, Flight, Forrest Gump). It stars Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard (Inception, The Dark Night Rises, A Good Year) in the lead roles and features Matthew Goode in a tiny but key part.

It’s important to mention that Allied is an old-fashioned film shot in an old-fashioned way. There is nothing unique or disruptive about it, and this is one of the main reasons I loved it so much.

Now, I love uniqueness and disruption where it is needed. Sometimes, you need to break the rules. Go outside of what is expected. But a sexy, traditional romance story with a bit of action starring your favorite actors directed by one of your favorite directors is sometimes exactly what you need to escape the complexities of your own world.

This is not to say the characters don’t have to go through hell. They do. They must, as any compelling story will have their characters suffer. But before the suffering, there is a tremendous reward, (in the form of a romance), a fun storyline and just beauty.

So here is the Allied Plot: (No spoilers; this is all in the trailer)

Max Vatan (Brad Pitt), a capable Canadian intelligence officer, meets the equally capable and attractive, French operative Marianne (Marion Cotillard) for an assignment that requires them to play a married couple.

It’s easy to fall in love during wartime: They are both intelligent, passionate, successful, and well, beautiful to a fault. By the time their assignment is over, they are a couple in love. They get married soon and have an adorable daughter.

However the biggest challenge for Max won’t be the war, but the accusation from his government that Marianne is a German spy. In 72 hours, her innocence or guilt will be proven. If she is guilty, Max will execute her himself. If he refuses, he will be hanged.

Can the woman he loves really be a spy? And if she is a spy, does it change the fact that he truly loves her?

It’s a horrible situation to be in, and it provides us the suspense and action we need for the second half of the film as Max tries to prove her innocence by whatever means necessary, while the war is in full swing.

Throughout the film, our focus is on the passionate and loving relationship of our two protagonists. The war is in the background, however horrible it might be.

And Max is in the most horrendous situation of his life. Sure, he has lost friends. He has killed people, in both self-defense and doing his job. But the possibility of being betrayed by his wife, and the fact that he might have to kill her, almost breaks Max, and Brad Pitt does a good job making us feeling his pain.

Of course, when it comes to other things, the screenplay doesn’t bother. When you think about it, both Max and Marianne do horrible things. They had to kill a lot of people: to defend themselves, because it is their job, etc…One could argue wartime ethics and laws are different.

But Max also caused a lot of deaths, directly and indirectly, while he was trying to prove Marianne’s innocence. He didn’t blink an eye. He didn’t have time, was facing a life and death situation, his world was falling apart, etc. But his ability to compartmentalize was so scary and impressive at the same time.

Was there really little to no guilt? Did he have a superior coping mechanism? Or did he have sociopathic tendencies?

As I said, it wasn’t this movie’s goal or job to look into Max’s psychology outside of his feelings for his country/country’s allies or his wife. But if you want to dig deeper, there is a lot to think about.

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Hacksaw Ridge starring Andrew Garfield: Poetic, Brutal and Beautiful

Posted on December 5, 2016 Written by Pinar Tarhan

Hacksaw Ridge starring Andrew Garfield, Vince Vaughn, Sam Worthington and Teresa Palmer. Directed by Mel Gibson.

UPDATED: HACKSAW RIDGE Awards, Nominations and Box Office

Hacksaw Ridge is currently (as on January 1st, 2017) is rated at 8.5 on ?MDB voted by over 42,000 people. It’s Metascore is 71, and is currently at number 90 on IMDB’s Top 250 Films list.

The budget is about 40 million, and its current box office (domestic and international) has surpassed 136. The movie was nominated for 3 Golden Globes: Best Motion Picure (Drama), Best Actor (Drama, Andrew Garfield), and Best Director (Mel Gibson). It won AFI for Movie of the Year, and won several Australian Film Institute Awards including Best Actor, Best Direction and Best Screenplay.

Hacksaw Ridge starring Andrew Garfield, Vince Vaughn & Sam Worthington

Based on the incredible true story of Desmond Doss, Hacksaw Ridge is a movie about how a young combat medic didn’t bend his pacifist beliefs for anyone, and ended up being a war hero without having fired a gun or used a weapon (with the wonderful exception where he used a rifle to make a makeshift sliding stretcher for his wounded sergeant).

Plot Summary

Desmond Doss (Andrew Garfield) grows up in a violent home. Even though he has a loving mother (Rachel Griffiths), his father (Hugo Weaving) frequently uses violence on them, including his brother Hal (Nathaniel Buzolic; Kol from The Vampire Diaries and The Originals).

Their father is not necessarily evil; he is just a war veteran dealing with survivor’s guilt and PTSD horribly.

Doss boys seem to have a violent streak themselves. During one fight, Desmond almost injures Hal beyond repair, which triggers Desmond to embrace the peace-loving nature of his religion.

Desmond Doss grows up to be a loving, caring and determined man. He falls in love with beautiful nurse Dorothy (Teresa Palmer), which further ignites his love for medicine. Not having been educated well, being a paramedic seems to be his only option. Fuelled to serve his country and do something while others are also risking lives, he enlists. However, he objects to doing any weapon training and gets treated horribly by most of his fellow soldiers in training and superiors.

However, he eventually manages to get what he wants. And as horrifying violence and mayhem surround them, everyone who ridiculed him gets to see what he is truly made of – again and again and again.

rsz_hacksaw-ridge — Actual scene. Image via The Independent.

Hacksaw Ridge was directed by Mel Gibson. Unlike his other directed films, he is not a producer this time. He also doesn’t star in it either, unlike Braveheart, or The Man Without a Face.

I haven’t seen Apocalypto or The Passion of the Christ. However, I have seen Braveheart (and The Man Without a Face, which is not a war film.) – and while Hacksaw Ridge isn’t quite there, it is pretty damn impressive.

Hacksaw Ridge is also understandably more violent. Braveheart had swords and arrows. Hacksaw Ridge doesn’t shy away from any shot that might make you cringe or want to look away. It has more blood, more severed limbs, and people in more pain. It makes you uncomfortable, and not for the sake of show or art. War is hell, and Mel Gibson makes sure you feel that in your veins.

Many people, including the cast argue Hacksaw Ridge is both a love story and a war story; you might consider it one or the other. But I disagree. Hacksaw Ridge is an epic anti-war movie with beautiful romantic scenes and horrifying war scenes. But it is more a respectful, albeit glorious, biography of a humane man of faith than a war film or a romance.

Teresa Palmer and Andrew Garfield in Hacksaw Ridge.

I’m agnostic. I don’t like religious motives or messages much. But you see, Hacksaw Ridge might show a Bible, but anyone with a heart can’t disagree of how Doss has interpreted the message: “Don’t harm anyone. And absolutely, do not kill.”

And he does exactly that. He doesn’t fight back when people hit him, which might be considered extreme. But he is proving a point. He is proving his principles. And he ends up saving 75 people in the course of about 12 hours. He helps a lot more.

He gets shocked and wounded and tested. But he doesn’t give up. He prays to be able to save another man. And then prays to be able to save the next.

Comparisons to Saving Private Ryan

Comparisons are being made for better and worse, and it’s only natural.

– Like Saving Private Ryan (aff. link), Hacksaw Ridge asks some very hard questions about humanity.

“Is the life of 8 men more or less important than the life one 1, if the mother of that one kid has lost three of her four kids in the same war.”

vs.

“Is it ever okay to kill and go against your beliefs? Or is it okay to risk everything to make the world a better place?”

– Both films have disturbingly realistic battle scenes. Both films have great casts, though SPR’s might have been slightly more famous. Both are critically acclaimed; both have amazing directors.

– Both films have solid anti-war messages.

– Both films must be seen as movie lovers, and people.

– I liked them both. I just liked HR a bit better.

Mel Gibson is my favorite actor, and he is one of my favorite directors. So there is a positive bias. But HR assaults your emotions for a shorter time. It’s ultimately less depressing despite being equally terrifying at times.

It’s a matter of personal preference. I’m pretty sure I can’t sit through SPR again one more time, just like I’d have to fast-forward HR’s battle scenes. Once is enough.

– Both movies have achieved greatness at shockingly low budgets for movies this size: Saving Private Ryan at 70 mil and Hacksaw Ridge at 40 mil.

Some more reasons to see Hacksaw Ridge

– The training scenes have some good humor. I loved the sergeant’s (Vince Vaughn) reaction to the naked soldier “Hollywood.” Also, Vince Vaughn is in a dramatic role again.

I have loved Vince Vaughn as an actor since Return to Paradise, which is one of my favorite films. It provides one of the most humane, enthralling and impossible-to-make decisions ever, and Vaughn shines in a dramatic role. Sure, he almost always talks fast, but he is as good as drama as he is at comedy. HR takes him to deeper lengths than The Interns ever could or wanted to (which is really entertaining film). The point is, Vaughn has more substance than just being the king of R-rated comedies.

– The romance is very well-done. It’s not sappy or corny. It has a pureness to it we haven’t quite seen since the relationship between Wallace and Murron. It feels real (and well, it was real.) So if like me, you really didn’t enjoy The Choice, here’s Teresa Palmer’s second chance to win you over in a romantic story.

Hacksaw Ridge is a must-see war film. It’s, in my opinion, not the best movie or the best war movie ever made. It’s however a very exquisite one that deserves to be seen on the big screen. It’s not always easy to watch, but you will feel intensely. You will occasionally escape your reality and the depressing things going on around the world. However, you’ll also be faced with the uncensored ugliness of war. I’d say it is great entertainment, but that’d not be the best choice of words. I wasn’t entertained. I felt. A lot, and all the time.

Written by Robert Schenkkan and Andrew Knight. Also featuring Luke Bracey and Milo Gibson (one of Mel Gibson’s 8 kids). Directed by Mel Gibson.

How about you? Have you seen Hacksaw Ridge? What did you think?