The Dark Tower film, based on the sprawling Stephen King series (and one of my all-time favorites), got lambasted by critics and viewers alike. Die-hard fans hated it because it wasn’t a direct adaptation of the books, and newcomers thought it was disjointed and made little sense. This is one where I am definitely in the minority, because I loved this film. Had I gone in blind and thought it was more a page-to-screen adaptation, I may have been disappointed too, but knowing that it is more of a re-imagining, and almost a sequel (you’d know if you’ve read all the books), then I could just sit back and see the characters come to life. The basic premise is there is a Dark Tower at the center of all time and space, and it is a stronghold that keeps all universes and dimensions safe from the evil that lurks outside of our time. The Tower though is under attack by Walter o’ Dim, aka the Man in Black (played wonderfully by Matthew McConaughey), the arch villain that pops up in many of King’s novels. For thousands of years the gunslingers have kept the peace and protected the good, but they have all died off, leaving just Roland (played here by Idris Elba) as the last man standing. He has been chasing Walter and trying to save the Tower, and thus all humankind. This movie does rush a lot of things, as it tries to jam a whole lot of plot into just 90 minutes or so, but seeing the characters of my imagination brought to life was very enjoyable. It’s really too bad that this film did so poorly, as future sequels may now never get made. I for one, and maybe the only one, will miss them if that is so.
I couldn’t really get into One Week and a Day. It tells the story of a middle age man and wife who have been sitting shiva for the loss of their adult son. The film follows the day immediately after their week of mourning, and shows each parent as they try to move on, in very different ways. Vicky wants to go back to work to get back in a normal routine, whereas Eyal smokes pot (for the first time in his life) with a young neighbor and former friend to his son. The movie didn’t have so much of a plot as it was more of a glimpse on how people try to move on from an unconscionable event. Gut wrenching at times, but not necessarily a great movie.
My instant reaction to Blue is the Warmest Color is meh. At times this is a beautiful film, equally heart warming and heart wrenching depending on the moment, but it has problems. It is about a young French girl, Adele, coming in to womanhood and realizing she has feelings for women, one in particular for whom she had a love-at-first-sight kind of moment. This target, Emma, is much older and is unashamed of her lesbian life. Adele is drawn to her immediately, and the two start a loving, intimate life together. After a couple years though, Adele has an affair with a man, ruining the love of her life. Lea Seydoux is fantastic as Emma, but honestly I was left wanting by the main character Adele (Adele Exarchopoulos), who seemed to always walk around with sad dreamy eyes no matter the situation, and seemed to try to get off on her looks alone. The sex scenes in the film also went on way too long. The movie was 3 hours long, and could easily have bee 2 ½ if they’d shortened the lovemaking and gratuitous shower scenes which did nothing for the plot. I understand why the film had full sex scenes from beginning to end, to try to convey how much our two ladies really loved each other, and also to show Adele open up from the shy, closed-off girl she was in the beginning, but I didn’t find the long scenes necessary, and thought they detracted from an otherwise very well written and well filmed movie.
Certain Women feels more like a series of short stories instead of a whole movie. In fact, it has an almost Hemingway-like feel to its prose and characters. There are basically 3 distinctly different stories told in rural Montana. Laura (Laura Dern) is a lawyer representing a slightly off man trying to sue his former employer. Gina (Michelle Williams) is wanting to build a house and bickers with her husband and daughter. Jamie (Lily Gladstone) is a rancher, who is smitten by a law teacher, Beth (Kristen Stewart), she happens upon by chance. The three stories are rather simple in setting, but full of emotion and very richly entertaining. It is a quiet, soft film, but strongly engaging. A lot of people might find this one boring though, as there is no over-arching plot. It is more a glimpse at rather simple lives, showing that even “simple” lives have meaning.
Not much to say about The Beguiled. Really not a great movie, with a paper-thin plot and shallow characters without any depth. Nicole Kidman’s Miss Farnsworth is watching over a half a dozen girls and young women in her expansive home in Virginia near the last months of the Civil War. A wounded northern soldier stumbles into them, Corporal McBurney as played by Colin Farrell. Miss Farnsworth takes him in to mend his wounds, and he proceeds to invite tension in the house between all the girls who vie for his attention. The “shocking” ending is heralded from a mile away, and the acting seems rather lackluster, even from the powerhouse leads, including Kirsten Dunst. Not one to bother with.
Jons Movie Takes 