10s Movie Review - Collateral Beauty

Director: David Frankel
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 97
Year: 2016
Starring: Will Smith, Edward Norton, Kate Winslet, Hellen Mirren, Keira Knightley, Naomi Harris, Michael Peña, Jacob Latimore, Ann Dowd

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2025 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 9: A FILM WITH EDWARD NORTON
 
Description: Retreating from life after a tragedy, a man questions the universe by writing to Love, Time and Death. Receiving unexpected answers, he begins to see how these things interlock and how even loss can reveal moments of meaning and beauty.

Review: For advertising man Howard, there are three main abstractions in life that he not only proclaims as a pep talk to his co-workers, but reveals themselves to himself after a tragic loss. He writes letters to each of them: love, time and death. And he gets answers.

It’s orchestrated by his best friends and co-workers, who can no longer watch how Howard is drowning in his grief. They hire three actors, to portray love, time and death. And talk to Howard about the letters he has written.

It’s a thoughtful act, but it feels like more of a way to save their company then to actually help their friend. There is so much misery to digest that cramming it into barely an hour and a half is impossible. Many scenes feel rushed and unfinished. And there is also this plot twist, that I kinda saw coming.

“Collateral Beauty” has an interesting premise and the film is filled with amazing, talented actors. Unfortunately, the film feels rushed and many characters are given background stories, but are left underdeveloped. Some of the actors are underused and didn’t really have much do to with their characters. Director David Frankel did so little with everything that he had and turned it into an over-sentimental forgettable drama.

Rating: 2,5/ 5

Movie Review - Rebecca

Director: Ben Wheatley
Genre: Drama/ Romance/ Mystery
Runtime: 121 minutes
Year: 2020
Starring: Lily James, Armie Hammer, Kristin Scott Thomas, Ann Dowd

Description: A young newlywed (Lily James) arrives at her husband’s (Armie Hammer) imposing family estate on a windswept English coast and finds himself battling the shadow of hos first wife, Rebecca, whose legacy lives on in the house long after her death.

Review: The gothic novel “Rebecca” by the British writer Daphne du Maurier was already brilliantly filmed in 1940 by none other than Alfred Hitchcock. At the time, the black and white classic won the Oscar for best film and best cinematography. In the year 2020 ‘the master of suspense’ is missed. This new version, made for Netflix, can’t be compared to the original, but fortunately it didn’t turn out to be a complete failure.
The story revolves around Maxim de Winder, a charming aristocrat who set his sight on a ‘companion lady’. Their romance is new, but that doesn’t stop the two lovebirds from exchanging the French coast for a large, chic and somewhat uncanny estate in England called Manderley. Here the woman of simple descent may finally count herself as Mrs. De Winter to the aristocracy.
Mrs. De Winter discovers some strange things once she arrives at Manderley. For example, her husband starts sleepwalking at night and stays in front of one room that is forbidden territory for her. Moreover, Maxim is very shady about his previous marriage to a lady named Rebecca, who died some time ago under rather mysterious circumstances. According to the caretaker and the servants, Rebecca’s ghost still roams the corridors of Manderley.
Visually this film is stunning. At the beginning, when the two character are starting to fall for each other, the shots are bathing in romantic sunlight and bright colors. But as the film takes a turn and gets darker, the color palette begins to fade. Scenes still fit with all kinds of wealth and opulence, such as porcelain figurines, satin bedding and paintings in gold frames, but the attention shifts more to sparsely lit rooms and corridors. And to the high cliffs on the coast, which consist of black, razor-sharp rocks.
Suddenly, unfortunately, the film is a bit weaker. As soon as Mixim and Mrs. De Winter move into their extravagant manor, the story begins to swell. Maybe this is due to the fact that Daphne du Maurier’s book has been adapted into a screenplay by no less than three different writers. Which way do they want to go with the story? Romance, drama and mystery are thrown together, but to be honest, it’s only the third act that they make some headway. Especially because the plot twists suddenly start to pile up like crazy.
Despite the messy story structure, “Rebecca” remains viewable. The protagonsts Armie Hammer and Lily James are both strong actors and have solid performances. And they work well together. But it’s Kristin Scott Thomas, as the icy caretaker Mrs. Danvers, that takes all the credit. Her role as a manipulator behind the scenes is much more interesting.
The film misses an edge. “Rebecca” is beautifully filmed, but lacks focus. Still a nice film to watch, but you can better watch the original from 1940.

Rating: 3 / 5

10s Movie Review - Hereditary

Director: Ari Aster
Genre: Horror/ Drama
Runtime: 126 minutes
Year: 2018
Starring: Toni Collette, Gabriel Byrne, Milly Shapiro, Alex Wolff, Ann Dowd

Description: A grieving family is a hunted by tragic and disturbing occurrences.

Review: The horror films that get under your skin are the once that provide you with a story where the drama is just as important as the shock effects, scares and gore. Look at “The Exorcist” or more recent “The Conjuring” “Get Out” or “It Follows’. The drama surrounding these stories make the characters more vulnerable and the story eventually more disturbing and scary.
“Hereditary” is the directorial debut by Ari Aster and is carried by the unprecedented Toni Collette. The film has the so-called slow burn, where Aster takes his time to build the story and its characters. And with that you can conclude that the first hour goes by, being gripping and filled with tension, without even one jump scare. Then you’re a great horror director.
You know something is wrong. Aster plays with the empathy and sentiment of the viewer and he also plays with their expectations of the horror genre. A dead grandmother, a big old house, an eccentric child. Lots of clichés, but Aster has other plans with them than you would expect. Mother of the family, Annie, decides to join a support group to deal with her dead mother. Or actually the fact that she feels relieved and she feels guilty about it. Because her mother wasn’t really someone she bonded with. Annie also has a daughter, Charlie, who seems to have autistic tendencies and had a special connection with her grandmother. Charlie starts seeing things after her death.
Aster changes paths when Charlie is taken to a party alongside her older brother Peter. That’s when you realize that every plot element and each character trade has been chosen carefully. Not only visually does Ari Aster proof he is one to watch, but his screenplay is extraordinary. Everything works, everything is right. Annie’s husband Steve is hard to communicate with, so she does it through her self-made miniatures. And this vague relationship Annie has with her husband, makes for her to go deeper into isolation. And her connection with son Peter is also not healthy. However, the most important trump of “Hereditary” is the ominous atmosphere. The film isn’t about effects or jump scares, but nestles in the human mind and gets under your skin.
Toni Collette is extremely good in “Hereditary”. It’s the best performance I have seen in a horror movie for quite some time. Her portrayal of a woman who is going through several stages of grief and eventually becomes entangles in a web of fear, disbelief and misunderstanding. The last twenty minutes of the film might not please everyone, but I think this film is perfect. “Hereditary” does what a good horror movie has to do: it scares, gets under your skin and will haunt you for a while. I think it’s an instant classic.

Rating: 5 / 5