10s Movie Review - The Report

Director: Scott Z. Burns
Genre: Crime/ Drama
Runtime: 119 minutes
Year: 2019
Starring: Adam Driver, Annette Bening, John Hamm, Ted Levine, Tim Blake Nelson, Maura Tierney, Corey Stoll, Michael C. Hall, Jennifer Morrison

Description: Idealistic Senate staffer Daniel J. Jones (Adam Driver), tasked by his boss to lead an investigation into the CIA’s post 9/11 Detention and Interrogation Program, uncovers shocking secrets.

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2024 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 20: A FILM WITH A STRON POLITICAL OR SOCIAL MESSAGE
 
Review: In the years following the 9/ 11 attacks, it slowly but surely became clear that the US had little to fear in the war on terrorism. The CIA engaged in gross torture techniques on a large scale in order to extract information from often innocent suspects. “The Report” shows how one drive investigator brought the world’s most advanced intelligence agency to its knees.

Dan Jones is a young man with sky-high ambitions. When Senator Dianne Feinstein gives him the task of working with an independent team to investigate the CIA’s post-9/11 interrogation techniques, he bites the bullet. What he discovers bit by bit is unsettling and not for the faint of heart. The CIA saw little in the conventional interrogation techniques of Arabic-speaking agents who slowly tried to gain the trust of suspects. Two psychologists introduce new techniques, that they claim are scientific proof of more effective interrogating methods.

This is just the beginning. Whereas the CIA was initially cooperative, as Jones discovers more, of course, more and more doors are closing. Meanwhile, the investigative team he started with is thinning out. His colleagues no longer see any point in a mission doomed to failure. But Jones continues stoically.  

Adam Driver has already shown that he can play a wide range of roles. But he was made for this film. I think the film could have turned out a lot different with another lead actor. “The Report” may feel a bit ‘dry’ sometimes. It’s a lot of facts. Driver manages to create a character that you really want to succeed, even though he doesn’t show a lot of emotions. At least at first. Jones is a very stoic, pragmatic man, but when he gets deeper in the investigation, emotions do arise and that makes Driver’s performance even more impressive.

Unlike many American political films, for once it does not point exclusively at the Republicans. “The Report” is a very anti-America film if I may say so. But it’s still a political drama of integrity in the tradition of films like “All the President’s Men” and “Spotlight”.

The political drama is a sub-genre that might not speak to everyone. I happen to be drawn to it. Political intrigue keeps my attention and with “The Report” I was invested from start to finish. I can’t believe nobody talked about this film when it came out. At least, I didn’t hear a lot about it.

Rating: 4,5 / 5

90s Movie Review - The Silence of the Lambs

Director: Jonathan Demme
Genre: Crime/ Thriller/ Horror
Runtime: 118 minutes
Year: 1991
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Jodie Foster, Scott Glenn, Anthony Heald, Ted Levine, Brooke Smith, Paul Laxar, Frankie Faison, Kasi Lemmons, Dan Butler, Lawrence T. Wrents, Don Brockett, Frank Seals Jr., Stuart Rudin, Masha Skorobogatov

Description: A young F.B.I. cadet (Jodie Foster) must confide in an incarcerated and manipulative killer (Anthony Hopkins) to receive his help on catching another serial killer (Ted Levine) who skins his victims.

Review: One of the most terrifying serial killers in movie history is Dr. Hannibal Lecter (although Buffalo Bill always scared me more). According to Entertainment Weekly Hannibal the Cannibal is the most popular movie creep, even more then Freddy Krueger, Darth Vader, Norman Bates and Jaws. The performance by Anthony Hopkins is sublime. Besides being dangerous and scary, Hopkins manages to be charming and stylish which makes it somehow hard to hate him.
“The Silence of the Lambs” was a huge success and won five Academy Awards. Jodi Foster also does a fantastic job as the brave yet innocent Clarice. And the dialogues between Lecter and Clarice are so brilliant and memorable. It’s a cat and mouse game and both characters get so much depth because of it. And there is mutual fascination. Clarice does her best to get information from Lecter about serial killer Buffalo Bill, but at the same time she has to expose herself. Even though Lecter isn’t in the movie that much, for us viewers he is always there. Both Foster and Hopkins are magnificent, but it’s Hopkins that leaves an unforgettable impression.
“The Silence of the Lambs” is a fantastic film, a movie that gives me the chills every single time, a classic.

Rating: 5/ 5

90s Movie Review - Heat

Director: Michael Mann
Genre: Drama/ Crime
Runtime: 171 minutes
Year: 1995
Starring: Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Val Kilmer, Jon Voight, Tom Sizemore, Amy Brenneman, Ashley Judd, Mykelti Williamson, Ted Levine, Dennis Haysbert, William Fichtner, Natalie Portman

Description: A group of professional bank robbers start to feel the heat from police when they unknowingly leave a clue at their latest heist.

Review: “Heat” is directed by Michael Mann and stars Al Pacino and Robert De Niro. The film has a good mix of action, crime, tension, romance and drama.
The title “Heat” refers to the heat you feel when the cops are just around the corner. Neil McCauley’s (Robert De Niro) life motto is that you should live a life that you can leave behind in 30 seconds. The heat comes from Vincent Hanna (Al Pacino), a detective who spends his days tracking down thugs.
When you see a professional at work in a movie, you easily sympathize that character. Even if it’s an unscrupulous serial killer, if he’s good at what he does and you see it through his eyes. In “Heat” they use this. McCauley and his gang and Hanna are all very good at what they do. Add the natural charisma both actors have and it’s really hard to pick a side in this cat and mouse game.
Besides the well-known elements in a gangster movie, director Mann shows us a different side of the leading characters. Workaholic Vincent Hanna is in a relationship that won’t work, because he’s never home and he has a stepdaughter with psychological problems. Neil McCauley falls in love with a woman, but can’t tell her the truth about how he makes a living. Chris Shiherlis (Val Kilmer)  is a gambling addict and the woman he loves (Ashley Judd) is cheating on him.  
The original story and the fabulous performances make “Heat” a breathtaking action thriller, one of the best in the genre.

Rating: 5/ 5

 

Movie Reviews - Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

Director: J.A. Bayona
Genre: Action/ Adventure
Runtime: 128 minutes
Year: 2018
Starring: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Ted Levine, Jeff Goldblum, Toby Jones, Rafe Spall, BD Wong, James Cromwell

Description: When the island's dormant volcano begins roaring to life, Owen (Chris Pratt) and Claire (Bryce Dallas howard) mount a campaign to rescue the remaining dinosaurs from this extinction-level event.

Review: The dinosaurs that were left behind when the Jurassic World theme park went bad, need to be saved. The islands volcano is about to erupt and Owen and Claire decide to go back. But naïve business men also send an over ambitious hunter to the island.
“Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” is the sequel to “Jurassic World, the way “The Lost World: Jurassic Park” was a sequel to “Jurassic Park”. And you can see that a lot of it is the same. But director J.A. Bayona decided to have only a few scenes in the jungle and take the rest of the film to the city. Which is basically the last scenes from “The Lost World: Jurassic Park” stretched to film length. But from that point the film gets more original.
“Jurassic World” got mixed reviews. Especially the fans of “Jurassic Park” were really brutal. I’m also a huge fan, it’s THE movie that made me the movie geek I am now. But I watched “Jurassic World” as a separate film, not comparing it with the orinal master piece. And I really liked “Jurassic World”. And I also liked “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom”. But less, because it reused a lot of elements from the previous films and the characters don’t really have any development. I like Owen and Claire, apart and together, but there is no development whatsoever.
Seeing Jeff Goldblum was off course great and he might be the greatest character ever created for the franchise (no, he IS).
“Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” shines because of the great visuals and its high entertainment value. And Chris Pratt as an action hero with the right amount of humor. But the best moments and quotes were ‘borrowed’ from the earlier films.

Rating: 3,5 / 5