Risen tells the story of Jesus’s death and resurrection from a different perspective. Clavius (played by Joseph Fiennes) is a Roman soldier appointed by Pontius Pilate to basically make sure Jesus stays dead, to see that his body isn’t stolen away to prove the rumors of his impending resurrection as true. When Jesus’s body does indeed go missing 3 days later, Clavius sets to interviewing his followers and trying to find who took the body where. He obviously doesn’t believe the rumors of an actual resurrection, and the film plays out almost like a police detective story, with Clavius searching for clues and hints to the body’s whereabouts. When Jesus decides to show himself, and what happens after, Clavius’s whole outlook on life is shaken. A nice, different take on the classic story.
Southbound is a horror movie anthology, loosely connected with an overarching theme. There are 5 or 6 short tales, taking place along the stretch of a lonely highway out in the middle of nowhere, where floating demons look down at the comings of goings of good and bad people. Not a bad scary film, though lighter on the scares than many may like. It has an old-school Creepshow kind of feel, and the ending that connects it all together is satisfying enough.
Finally saw the movie that finally got Leonardo DiCaprio his oscar. Revenant has him playing Glass, a frontiersman in the wild northwest in the early or mid 1800’s. The film starts with his fur-trapping group being attacked by Native Americans, and it only gets worse from there. On the way back to the settlement, Glass is attacked by a bear and practically left for dead by his group. He spends the rest of the film struggling to survive with Indians, the French, and the weather trying to kill him. The cinematography in this film is incredible, with some truly great long shots, but the movie itself was just OK for me. DiCaprio has had other, better roles, and honestly I thought Tom Hardy was better in this movie, but I can see why they finally awarded Leo for leading such an epic, grand-scale movie.
The Confirmation has the makings of a great movie, but it doesn’t quite reach the heights of which it is capable. It stars Clive Owen as a down-and-out semi-deadbeat dad who is forced to watch his son on a weekend when his ex-wife and newer husband are going on a couple’s retreat. A simple weekend turns into an adventure for the young boy when his dad’s tools are stolen and they go hunting for the man who took them. The movie is funny and at times charming, but it tries a little too hard to get you to fall for the father/son bonding moments. I usually don’t mind heavy handed scripts at times, but this one feels forced. It’s cute, but ultimately not memorable.
Joy is a rare misstep for writer/director David O Russell, who has been on a roll for awhile. Semi-biographical about inventor & television product seller Joy Mangano (played by Jennifer Lawrence), it is a little funny, a little quirky, and a little heartwarming, but ultimately fails to excel at any of these aspects. Lawrence’s skill barely holds it together, and is really the only reason to watch, and the film is more a showcase of her talent than anything else. It does however get a little old, well before the end, when the whole world, including her family, keeps pulling her down. The movie wants you to root for her, but I like to root for someone through my own feelings, and this film is instead trying to force it down your throat.
Jons Movie Takes 