Never heard of It Ends With Us, but saw it recently with the wife, who read the (extremely popular) book by author Colleen Hoover. It stars Blake Lively as Lily Bloom, who, at the start of the film, is at her father’s funeral, unable to find anything good to say about him. We learn why as the film goes along. Lily meets Ryle, a suave doctor who is used to getting his way, as well as Ryle’s sister Allysa, who goes into business with Lily to open a flower shop. Ryle doesn’t date, opting for one-night-stands, but Lily is having none of that, and the two eventually do start a relationship. He is loving and kind, which is just what Lily needs, because we finally learn that her father physically abused her mom throughout her life. In flashbacks, we see the violence in the home, and also of Lily’s first love, Atlas. Atlas was a homeless young man from their town, who was kicked out for fighting back when his own mom’s new boyfriend got violent with her as well. Their tale ends up being a sad one too, as the viewer learns later, but in a twist of fate, Lily and Ryle have dinner in a hip new restaurant in town one evening, and there is Atlas. Seeing him brings back all kinds of memories for Lily, but if you think this will have a typical romantic-drama ending, you’ll be surprised. Going in blind, the surprise was indeed a shock to me, so if you can avoid spoilers, it creates a much better film. Blake Lively is (maybe surprisingly?) very good as Lily, and while the film can’t help but be a little too “middle aged woman romance novel” in its feel at times, it’s still better than I was expecting, and a decent date night flick. ★★★
The Forgotten Battle is based on a true story and takes a look at a key moment in World War II, a battle of which most people have most likely been unaware. In the late summer 1944, as Allied troops are pushing into France and heading towards Germany, they need a port where they can resupply troops. Antwerp, in northen Belgium, is an obvious choice, but the Germans have dug in there and along the waterways connecting it to the North Sea. The local Dutch resistance have been trying to get info on German troop locations and movements, in hopes of getting the data to the Brits, but spies have been caught, tortured, and forced to give up their cohorts. While all this is going on, a British plane has crashed nearby, and the survivors are doing what they can to aid the war movement from behind enemy lines. Even when the Germans do start to pull out, there’s still plenty of dangers for citizens and allied soldiers trying to beat the Nazis. It’s an “ok” movie, nothing really wrong with it, it’s just… fine. It doesn’t stir the blood, and while the whole thing is probably taught in Belgium as an important moment in their history, not every battle needs to have a movie made about it. ★★½
Fresh Kills presents a mob film from a new perspective, one often ignored in typical mafia films and shows, namely, that of the women attached to the mob. Joe is high up in the family, but the movie doesn’t follow him; instead, it is from the perspective of his daughters, Connie and Rose, and from a lesser view, their mother Francine (Jennifer Esposito, who also wrote and directed). Even from a young age, Connie buys in to the idea of “the family,” using her fists to do the talking when other students at school make jokes about crime bosses or things of that nature. Rose is more tight lipped and is haunted by a scene as a child when she overhears her dad talking about “taking care of someone.” But no matter how hard Rose tries to distance herself from her family’s path, which takes place over decades as the sisters grow into adults, she is always brought back into the fold. I really wanted to like this movie, because it puts a unique twist on the (often paint-by-numbers) mafia film, but the acting is very uneven in the lead role (Emily Bader as Rose), distracting from an otherwise well-done film with plenty of powerful moments. Rose is just alright, but Bader isn’t able to deliver the nuance than the role requires. Still, Esposito is fantastic as mother Francine. A longtime actor, she is definitely up to the task as a first-time writer/director. Put a better actress in the lead and this film would have been a knockout. ★★★
Sometimes I ignore the reviews and it bites me in the ass. Jeanne du Barry didn’t exactly light it up with the critics, but it is an historical drama, which I have a propensity to enjoy, so I gave it a whirl. It really isn’t very good. A biopic about the scandalous life of Madame du Barry, it begins with her as a girl. Jeanne Bécu was born out of wedlock and raised with nothing, but her good looks always help her out of situations. As a teenager, she catches the eye of the wealthy Count du Barry, who takes her as a mistress and whores her out to other wealthy nobles and elites. Jeanne doesn’t seem to mind, but she has her eyes on a greater prize, and eventually it comes to be when she is invited to court one evening. There, the king of France, Louis XV, becomes smitten, and Jeanne finds herself as his newest private mistress. To keep with French tradition, the king is not supposed to have a mistress who is unmarried (which might legitimize any children they have; if she’s married, offspring can at least have the guise of belonging to the husband), so Jeanne marries Count du Barry on paper and moves into the Palace of Versailles. It’s a good life, until Louis’s heir, the dauphin and future Louis XVI, finds a wife, Marie Antoinette. As the future queen, Marie exerts influence over the court, and begins pushing Jeanne out. If it sounds like a lot of intrigue, it should, but unfortunately it is better on paper than on screen. The movie treats itself like a history lesson, seemingly more interested in pointing out all of the old customs and court rituals than providing a compelling narrative. Maïwenn is passable as the lady du Barry, but Johnny Depp (in his film return after the whole Amanda Heard incident, and in a French movie no less! Who knew he could speak French?) seems like he is just going through the motions as the King of France. Pretty boring film, which should be anything but considering the woman at the center. ★½
The Bikeriders follows the rise of a motorcycle club in Chicago called the Vandals. At the start of the film, a young man is interviewing Kathy because he’s writing a book about the club, and Kathy is married to one of its members, Benny. She tells how the club started when its founder, Johnny, was watching Marlon Brando’s The Wild One, and got a whim to “go outlaw.” Johnny, and many of the club’s early members, weren’t your typical biker gang: they were married men with families, but they loved motorcycles, and formed the club to get together, work on their bikes, and hang out. Benny was an outlier, as he was younger than many of them, single at the time, and a definite rebel. While the group was fiercely loyal to each other and weren’t afraid to violently protect one another if others tried to mess with one of their own, for the most part the Vandals were just normal guys. The beginning of the end comes when they start allowing new chapters to form, separate satellite groups who would purportedly still follow Johnny as head, but would form their own charters under the Vandal name in other cities. The Vandals yearly get-togethers become much larger afterwards, and some of the newcomers are a lot more rough-and-tumble. Kathy becomes afraid of some of the former soldiers who have returned home from Vietnam addicted to drugs, and other younger men who are looking to join up just because they are full of anger. It’s a wonderfully gritty film, and while the story might not lead to any surprises, it is told very well and the actors are top-notch, including Norman Reedus, Austin Butler (Benny), Jodie Corner (Kathy), Michael Shannon (albeit in a small role), and at the head of the table, Tom Hardy as Johnny. And anything with Tom Hardy is worth the price of admission. I’m bordering between 3 1/2 and 4 on this one, but bumping up due to the incredible performances. ★★★★
- TV series recently watched: Battlestar Galactica (season 2), The Boys (season 4), Star Trek Next Generation (season 1), 3 Body Problem (season 1)
- Book currently reading: What This Comedian Said Will Shock You by Bill Maher
Jons Movie Takes 