10s Movie Review - Shimmer Lake

Director: Oren Uziel
Genre: Crime/ Drama/ Thriller
Runtime: 86 minutes
Year: 2017
Starring: Benjamin Walker, Rainn Wilson, Ron Livingston, Rob Corddry, Stephanie Sigman, Mark Rendall, Wyatt Russell, Matthew Evans Landry, John Michael Higgins

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2020 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 36: A CRIME MOVIE

Description: A crime thriller told backwards – reversing day by day through a week – following a local sheriff’s (Benjamin Walker) quest to unlock the mystery of three small town criminals and a bank heist gone wrong.

Review: The crime film “Shimmer Lake” tells us the reverse story of a bank robbery. The end of the film is the beginning and the beginning the end. Sheriff Zeke Sikes investigates the robbery, in which his brother Andy is involved. He gets help from his assistant and tow FBI-agents who prefer to do something else.
The plot isn’t original, but the way the story is told is. Otherwise it would be just another crime story. But sadly, it still is. Because the film isn’t all that special and very forgettable. Although it has a good cast, the acting isn’t that great and the dialogue feels like dialogue, instead of actual conversations that people would have in real life. It’s to scripted, if you understand why I mean.
I actually found the film rather boring an uneventful and I wouldn’t recommend it. The film could have been so much more.

Rating: 2/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 107: We Bought a Zoo

Director: Cameron Crowe
Genre: Drama/ Comedy/ Family
Runtime: 124 minutes
Year: 2011
Starring: Matt Damon, Scarlett Johansson, Thomas Haden Church, Colin Ford, Angus Macfadyen, Elle Fanning, Patrick Fugit, John Michael Higgins

Description: Set in Southern California, a father (Matt Damon) moves his young family to the countryside to renovate and re-open a struggling zoo.

Review: Director Cameron Crowe is mostly known for his film “Almost Famous”. “We Bought a Zoo” is his first family film, based on a true story where a widowed man and his two kids move and buy a struggling zoo.
Benjamin Mee doesn’t have a lot of experience as a parent, because for his job as a journalist he was on the road a lot. He quits his job writing and eventually finds a beautiful house that comes with a zoo. And he buys it.
Matt Damon plays the lead and I loved his character. It’s really easy to relate to him, a man just trying to deal with his wife’s death and his kids. Especially his son, who he just can’t seem to reach. Him buying a zoo is part of the process Benjamin is going through. Scarlett Johansson is also good in this film, I also sympathized her character a lot. And the little girl Rosie, so adorable!
“We Bought a Zoo” is such a great film, very underrated. Okay, it’s bittersweet, but who cares. I loved the film and I think everyone should see it sometime. It put a big smile on my face in the end.

Rating: 5/ 5