Movie Review - Pain Hustlers

Director: David Yates
Genre: Crime/ Drama
Runtime: 122 minutes
Year: 2023
Starring: Emily Blunt, Chris Evans, Andy Garcia, Catherine O’Hara, Brian D’Arcy James
 
Description: Liza (Emily Blunt) dreams of a better life for herself and her daughter. Hired to work for a bankrupt pharmaceutical company, Liza skyrockets with sales and into the high life, putting her in the middle of a federal criminal conspiracy.

Review: In “Pain Hustlers”, we see the opioid crisis unfold through the eyes of stripper and sinle mother Liza Drake. Through a combination of perseverance and luck, she manages to bring a new cancer drug to market. Although the film is based on the (fiction) book of the same name, that was based on a New York Magazine article.

Director David Yates seems to be inspired by “The Big Short” (unpopular opinion, but a movie I really hated), a film about the financial crisis in which seriousness and satire are perfectly intertwined. This movie was very successful, but Yates fails to establish a similar or at all consistent tone. It’s fast paced, flashy and promising, but never fully delivers.

Most interesting is the dichotomy in Liza. After a tough existence as a single mother, she blossoms when she begins to understand the sleezy lobbying game of the pharmaceutical industry. Liza herself does virtually nothing illegal. Her mail companions (played by Chris Evans and Andy Garcia) are the cartoonish villains of profiteering capitalism. For some extra dollars, they easily look away from an overdose. Typically, though, the film pays regular attention to victims but avoids any kind of systemic criticism.

The film is an easy watch as a sensational drama, but its concluding message (greed is a mortal sin) turns out to be a bland one. It’s unfortunate that “Pain Hustlers’ did not make that underlying aspect a main issue. If you’re interested in this theme, a mini-series called “Dopesick” is definitely better at it.

Rating: 2,5/ 5

10s Movie Review - 1922

Director: Zak Hilditch
Genre: Drama/ Horror/ Crime
Runtime: 102 minutes
Year: 2017
Starring: Thomas Jane, Molly Parker, Dylan Schmidt, Brian D’Arcy James

Description: A simple yet proud farmer (Thomas Jane) in the year 1922 conspires to murder his wife (Molly Parker) for financial gain, convincing his teenage son (Dylan Schmidt) to assist. But their actions have unintended consequences.

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2023 MOVIE CHALLENGE
WEEK 42: A MOVIE BASED ON A STEPHEN KING NOVEL
 
Review: Stephen King is probably the author with the most book to movie adaptations on his name. “1922” is based on a novella King wrote in 2010, where we follow Wilfred James, an American farmer. His wife no longer wants to live in the country and is determined to sell her share of their land and move to the city. Wilfred sees no other way out bu to murder his wife and convince his son to help him. Soon after the murder, his life slowly falls apart.

A slow burn, which King is known for. The film looks stylish and has some really creepy moments. It’s not a very surprising movie, but grabs you enough to stay tuned.

Rating: 3/ 5

10s Movie Review - First Man

Director: Damien Chazelle
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 141 minutes
Year: 2018
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Claire Foy, Kyle Chandler, Jason Clarke, Corey Stoll, Patrick Fugit, Ciarán Hinds, Ethan Embry, Brian D’Arcy James

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2023 MOVIE CHALLENGE
WEEK 24: A MOVIE FROM A DIRECTOR YOU LOVE
 
Description: A look at the life of the astronaut, Neil Armstrong (Ryan Gosling), and the legendary space mission that led him to become the first man to walk on the Moon on July 20, 1969.

Review: The true story of Neil Armstrong, the astronaut who became the fist man to walk on the Moon.
Director Damien Chazelle mainly tries to show that Neil Armstrong was a man of heart and feeling. A man who has a trauma to deal with in the form of a child death. That the loss and the almost obsessive drive for ambition and accomplishment also took their toll is elaborated somewhat less accurately. Armstrong’s family had to put up with a lot by having to put up with a father who only looked after his family with one eye.

With that, “First Man” does stumble on two minds. Space fans, above all, want to know how Armstrong and his men pulled it off. In this respect Chazelle does not disappoint and the fans are amply served. The director shows us creaking cockpits, makeshift repairs, predicaments and roaring rocket engines.
At the same time, the personal drama surrounding this achievement is flat. There could have been a lot more interaction between Ryan Gosling’s Armstrong and his wife Janet, played by Claire Foy. What effect this all has on Janet and their children isn’t shown much.  

Visually this movie is amazing, it proofs why Damien Chazelle is one of the great of his generation. “First Man” is nothing like his previous films “Whiplash” and “La La Land”, completely different theme, based on a true story, no focus on music or Hollywood.

This movie was tough to get through because of the pace. It’s extremely slow and I felt that the entire time. So, overall, it looks good, has a great performance by Ryan Gosling and an interesting story. But the drama lacks and the pace was way too slow for my liking.

Rating: 3/ 5

20s Movie Review - West Side Story

Director: Steven Spielberg
Genre: Musical/ Romance/ Drama/ Crime
Runtime: 156 minutes
Year: 2021
Starring: Ansel Elgort, Rachel Zegler, Ariana DeBose, David Alvarez, Rita Moreno, Brian D’Arcy James, Corey Stoll, Mike Faist

Description: West Side Story explores forbidden love and the rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks, two street gangs of different ethnic backgrounds.

Review: It is important to note that Steven Spielberg’s version of “West Side Story” is not a remake of the original film. The filmmaker deliberately took the theatrical musical as his starting point. So those who know the classic film from 1961 well may wonder if musicals numbers were thrown out. The Latin American cast is also given a much larger role. Much Spanish is spoken and it was Spielberg’s explicit instruction not to subtitle it. However, the context is sufficient to understand it, even without knowing the language.
“West Side Story” is set in the New York of the late 1950s. the neighborhood is a victim of renewal or what we would qualify as gentrification. Only the store of the elderly Valentina (a newly written role played by Rita Moreno, who won an Oscar for best female supporting actress in the original film) bravely holds out. The neighborhood is weighed down by the battle between two gangs. The Puerto Rican Sharks are fighting for a place in society and are diametrically opposed to the leather-jacketed Jets. Former Jet member Tony has just been released from prison and want to make a quiet new start. Then the inevitable happens: during a dance party, he falls madly in love with Puerto Rican Maria.
Already from the opening shot, where the wrecking ball takes us into the experiential world of New Yorkers, it is clear, in combination with Bernstein’s matchless music: this is going to be something special. So the question of whether there is any need to record a new version of “West Side Story” quickly fades. Spielberg didn’t add many big new things, but went for rather small subtle addition that made a big impact. For example, a nonbinary side character who floats between scenes and clashes only momentarily with the rest of the characters. Forced or overly woke, this addition doesn’t feel like it; in fact, Spielberg stands for diversity and inclusiveness.   
The romance that develops between Maria and Tony is one of attraction and little repulsion, but it is the rivalry of circumstances that creates difficulties. “West Side Story” is still a modern adaptation of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. But the romance here is rarely wry, but mostly sweet and beautiful without ever becoming overly sentimental.
The original had a store owner Doc, but he is replaced by his wife Valentina. She provies shelter for Tony but also the greatest emotional charge. Her fragile sung “Somewhere (aka “There’s a Place for Us”) provides goosebumps and poignancy. Rita Moreno’s Valentina forms the conscience, the calm and the spectator of Spielberg’s film.
Leonard Bernstein’s famed music has been rearranged and reworked but forms the rhythmic heart of this new musical adaptation. This is complemented by dazzling choreography that really splashes of the screen. The inexperienced lead actress Rachel Zegler, who was assigned the rol of Maria our of thirty thousand applicants, also deserves a special mention. Her Maria is independent and self-confident, but cannot resist the beckoning of love. When the romance does eventually turn sour, it is the circumstances that make it so.
In other hands, a new “West Side Story” might have become a mediocre film production. But Steven Spielberg has turned it into something very special, without compromising the heart of the original production. The direction and beautiful camerawork made it look like we are in the 1950s and the way they work with color is extraordinary. For example, the Jets are styled in dark and blue tones, where the Sharks are in bright and red/ yellow colors. You can see it best in the dance party scene.
This new adaptation of “West Side Story” is amazing. A movie I didn’t think was necessary, but I’m so glad Spielberg made it. It’s beautiful and a treat for every musical fan. Now streaming on Disney +.

Rating: 5/ 5