10s Movie Review - Brawl in Cell Block 99

Director: S. Craig Zahler
Genre: Crime/ Thriller/ Drama
Runtime: 132 minutes
Year: 2017
Starring: Vince Vaughn, Jennifer Carpenter, Don Johnson, Udo Kier, Marc Blucas

Description: A former boxer-turned-drug runner (Vince Vaughn) lands in a prison battleground after a deal gets deadly.

Review: Bradley Thomas gets fired from his job and finds out his wife is cheating on him. He still wants to give his wife a good life, so he starts working as a drug runner. They buy a beautiful house and his wife gets pregnant. When he ends up in jail, he thinks it’s going to be an easy 7 years. Until his wife gets kidnapped and some dangerous men in the business want something in return.
Over the years, Vince Vaughn has been in a lot of different roles. In the past years he has been in several silly comedies, where he is usually very loud. But I think I prefer Vaughn in more serious roles. And the role of Bradley Thomas is perfect for him. A loving husband, choosing the wrong path, but staying within the lines of his moral compass. He knows how to play it rough, but has a good heart. One of Vaughn’s best work to date.
The film has a pretty long runtime, over two hours. But despite this and the fact it builds up slow, the film never bores you. And there is also a good balance between drama and action.
To watch this film, you do have to be able to endure some graphic fight scenes. “Brawl in Cell Block 99” is very violent. Although that final shot is clearly a dummy.
“Brawl in Cell Block 99” is a surprisingly strong and entertaining prison/ revenge movie.

Rating: 4/ 5

Movie Reviews - Downsizing

Director: Alexander Payne
Genre: Drama/ Comedy
Runtime: 135 minutes
Year: 2017
Starring: Matt Damon, Kristen Wiig, Christoph Waltz, Hong Chau, Udo Kier, Jason Sudeikis, Neil Patrick Harris, Laura Dern

Description: A social satire in which a man (Matt Damon) realizes he would have a better life if he were to shrink himself to five inches tall, allowing him to live in wealth and splendor.

Review: What would you do if you had the option to shrink, which means your money is worth so much more.
In Alexander Payne’s new movie, this is the question at the start of the film. Paul and Audrey are your every day couple, with not a lot to spend. They want more space and nice things, but that’s simply not possible with their payments. Paul sees a Norwegian professor in the news, who managed to shrink people. A great invention, because you would waist less and everything you have is worth more.
A couple of years after the experiment, ‘downsizing’ is a popular procedure. More people choose to be downsized, like friends of Paul and Audrey. They tell them how amazing it is and how it changed their lives in a good way. And especially because their money is worth more. Paul and Audrey are also thinking about downsizing. If they sell everything, they can live as a king and queen. It’s the solution for all their problems.
After the downsizing process in the film, the movie goes downhill. New plots unfold, which makes to story go in so many different directions. Payne loses focus and towards the end the story goes into another direction, which makes it feel endless. “Downsizing” has such an interesting starting point, but this all gets a little lost.
“Downsizing” is a bit of a mess, but there is still a lot to enjoy. De first half is fast paced, filled with humor and has really nice scenes. Matt Damon is really good and most supporting roles are well performed. At the end, you’re left with mixed feelings. I really love Alexander Payne’s work, but “Downsizing” is not one of my favorites.

Rating: 2,5 / 5