Movie Review - One Battle After Another

Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Genre: Thriller/ Crime/ Action/ Drama
Runtime: 161 minutes
Year: 2025
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro, Chase Infinity, Regina Hall, Teyana Taylor
 
Description: When their evil enemy resurfaces after 16 years, a group of ex-revoltionaries reunite to rescue the daughter of one of their own.
 
Review: There are few director-screenwriters whose every film is a hit. Think of Denis Villeneuve and Christopher Nolan. Paul Thomas Anderson certainly belongs on that list. With the political satire “One Battle After Another”, he adds another gem to his oeuvre. The film is so compelling and layered that you hardly notice it last 160 minutes.

Left-wing revolutionary Bob Ferguson, also know as Ghetto Pat, joins the radical action group French 75 – named after the explosive cocktail – led by the wild, untamable Perfidia. He falls for her, and together they begin a passionate relationship. During a liberation action to free migrants from a detention camp, Perfidia humiliates Colonel Steven J. Lockjaw, who gets a sexual kick out of it. From that moment on, he tries to dominate her and believes he succeeds. Later, Bob and Perfidia have a daughter, Willa, but Perfidia refuses to take on the role of mother.

Sixteen years later, single father Bob takes care of teenage Willa. All this time, he was a dormant revolutionary who filled his days with alcohol, drugs and watching old classic films about revolutions such as Battle of Algiers. When Lockjaw reappears, the threat flares up again. He wants to join a club of white supremacists who worship Santa Claus. In order not to jeopardize his membership, Lockjaw must do everything he can to erase all evidence of sexual contact with a black woman. He organizes a raid and leads a militia to the place where Bob and Willa are hiding.

Paul Thomas Anderson is an intelligent filmmaker who refuses to be put into one genre, always trying something new and striving for originality and complexity. In that respect, “One Battle After Another” is no exception to his earlier masterpieces. Anderson was inspired by the book “Vineland”, the absurdist thriller by Thomas Pynchon.

Anderson’s film is set in the present and depicts recognizable situations from the current US, but visually and thematically refers to the 1970s. The whole thing feels both retro and modern at the same time: as if time has stood still and nothing has changed.

The film is so rich that you spend hours analyzing it. On one level, it’s a story about a child caught between two superegos: one radically left-wing, the other radically right-wing and extremely racist. On another lever, it is the quest of a disillusioned father who has lost his way but wants to regain his last shred of humanity – his daughter. And on yet another level, the films works as a metaphor for a weary left that must contend with stupid extreme right-wingers and racism.

Anderson provides the necessary perspective. As a satire, “One Battle After Another” is also rich in humor. Leonardo DiCaprio is the epitome of wit as Anderson’s version of the Dude (from “The Big Lebowski”) – bathrobe included. And Sean Penn deserves a medal for his portrayal of the most hideous and pathetic racist in years.

It is doubtful whether the whole of the US will embrace it. Despite the highly original car chase, this is clearly not a work that will appeal to fundamentalist, far-right viewers who have no sympathy for migrants and those who think differently. This will probably be my favorite film of the year.

Rating: 5/ 5

80s Movie Review - At Close Range

Director: James Foley
Genre: Drama/ Crime
Runtime: 111 minutes
Year: 1986
Starring: Sean Penn, Christopher Walken, Chris Penn, Mary Stuart Masterson, Kiefer Sutherland, Millie Perkins, Eileen Ryan, Tracey Walter, David Strathairn, Crispin Glover

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2022 MOVIE CHALLENGE
WEEK 37: A MOVIE RECOMMENDED BY YOUR BROTHER
 
Description: Reunited with his career criminal father (Christopher Walken), tough teen Brad (Sean Penn) thinks he’s found his ticker to an exciting life of crime, only to find out he’s wrong.

Review: Brad Whitewood is a boy from a simple background whose life is going nowhere. Occasionally he has a job but he never really keeps it up for long. Then suddenly his father returns. Brad Sr. turns out to be the leader of a local gang. Soon Brad Jr. starts working for his father. He experiences success with some simple jobs and Brad’s friends join. They too have an appetite for making quick money. However, Brad’s friends are not the most efficient thieves and soon things go wrong. The police are after them and Brad Sr. has no problem getting some witnesses out of the way. Brad wonders how far his father will go to stay out of jail and even begins to fear for his own life.

Sean Penn and Christopher Walken in one movie, that’s going to be great. This is what any movie lover would think when they see who is starring in this film. I can say it is true. Penn and Walken both have rock solid performances and carry the film. Walken in particular is stellar as the criminal and psychotic Brad Whitewood Sr. One moment you think you are dealing with a caring father while a moment later he turns into a cold-blooded killer who does everything in his power not to get caught.

Director James Foley manages to keep the tension well throughout the film, the story is loosely based on a true story. Highly recommended for people who like dramas with a touch of thriller.

Rating: 4/ 5

Movie Review - Licorice Pizza

Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Genre: Comedy/ Drama/ Romance
Runtime: 133 minutes
Year: 2022
Starring: Alana Haim, Cooper Hoffman, Maya Rudolph, Bradley Cooper, Sean Penn, Benny Safdie
 
Description: The story of Alana Kane (Alana Haim) and Gary Valentine (Cooper Hoffman) growing up, running around and going through the treacherous  navigation of first love in the San Fernando Valley, 1973.

Review: “Licorice Pizza”, the latest film by director Paul Thomas Anderson, is a nostalgic portrait of California in 1973, very loosely told through a story about a teenage boy and the twenty-something he fall in love with.

Anderson broke through with movies like “Boogie Nights” and “Magnolia”. He has a very recognizable editing style, camera work and the specific way he uses pop music.

“Licorice Pizza” consists largely of loose anecdotes and scenes surrounding the lives of Gary and Alana during one summer. For a long time, it’s not entirely clear which way the film is going or what to expect. Anderson takes the time for all sorts of sidetracks and side events, which don’t take the story from A to B, but do contribute to the development of the two main characters and to a nostalgic portrait of the San Fernando Valley in California in the 1970s., an area bordering Los Angeles and Hollywood where Anderson grew up.

The natural acting of lead actors Cooper Hoffman and Alana Haim is entirely appropriate to this approach. Hoffman is the son of the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, who often worked with Anderson. Alana Haim is one-third of the pop-rock trip HAIM. Her sisters (the other two-third of the band_ and their parents play her family. Alana and Cooper both make their film debut and immediately leave an open, natural impression.

“Licorice Pizza” is one of those films that you cannot really sum up in one sentence. It is fairly long, which bothered me a bit. It dragged at times. And although “Licorice Pizza” is a very strong film, I would most likely never watch it again.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

00s Movie Review - Mystic River

Director: Clint Eastwood
Genre: Drama/ Thriller
Runtime: 137 minutes
Year: 2003
Starring: Sean Penn, Kevin Bacon, Tim Robbins, Laurence Fishburne, Marcia Gay Harden, Laura Linney, Emmy Rossum

Description: With a childhood tragedy that overshadowed their lives, three men (Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon) are reunited by circumstance when one has a family tragedy.

Review: How do you recognize a good movie? A tough question if you ask me. But the people who watched “Mystic River” know that this is an example of a very good movie. The film, directed by Clint Eastwood, managed to win several Academy Awards. It might surprise you, because the story isn’t new and the cast isn’t filled with the biggest Hollywood names. “Mystic River” is a very strong movie that deserves every credit it gets.
The movie starts with three kids, Jimmy, Dave and Sean. They are inseparable and like to hang out together on the streets of Boston. Their bond changes when Dave is taken by a strange man, who pretends he’s a cop. When Dave returns he is traumatized. Years later the three friends reunite, when Jimmy’s daughter is found dead. Jimmy wants revenge and wants to find the person responsible.
Like I stated before, the story doesn’t sound that special. And the main characters don’t seem impressive at first either. Kevin Bacon, as Sean, is a cop trying to have a neutral view on the murder case. And Sean Penn, as Jimmy, plays a man with a temper and a criminal past who has bettered his life. Tim Robbins plays the mysterious looking Dave, who is still trying to deal with his childhood trauma. The way it was all executed is true craftsmanship. Clint Eastwood made this movie with lots of precision, love, intensity and integrity, which center the characters and not the story. The plot is done well, but aren’t the center of our attention. Eastwood focuses especially on the  irreparable friendship and what it once was. And with a cast of talented actors it gives us an anguishing movie experience. 
Eastwood gives his actor room to exploit and bring their characters to life. Sean Penn proofs why he is one of the best, what a great performance. Tim Robbins plays a remarkable role as well. His body language and facial expression sometimes tell us more than the actual words that come out of his mouth. His performance is very believable and even thinking about it gives me goose bumps.  Laura Linney and especially Marcia Gay Harden show us that they can stand tall in a movie filled with strong male actors.
“Mystic River” is a beautiful, sensitive character profile about friendship, pain and human shortcomings. Clint Eastwood deliverd one of his best movies and one of my all-time favorites.

Rating: 5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2014 - # 127: The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Director: Ben Stiller

Genre: Drama/ Comedy/ Fantasy/ Adventure

Runtime: 115 minutes

Year: 2014

Starring: Ben Stiller, Kristen Wiig, Adam Scott, Sean Penn, Patton Oswalt, Katherine Hahn, Shirley Maclaine

Description: When his job along with that of his co-worker are threatened, Walter Mitty (Ben Stiller) takes action in the real world embarking on a global journey that turns into an adventure more extraordinary than anything he could have ever imagined.

Review: It started as a short story in The New Yorker in 1939 and this is the second movie based on this story. The first adaptation dates from 1947, so it’s not strange to see “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” with a more modern touch.

Ben Stiller plays the leading role, but also directed the film. Walter Mitty leads an unremarkable life. He has been working for LIFE magazine as a photo developer. He is a daydreamer, where he sees himself as a mountain climber and a hero. Collegue Cheryl is often the leading lady in his day dreams. Walter’s secure life is about to collapse when the magazine decides to only publish digitally. With that he also has to find the negative of the photo that’s supposed to go on the last issue of LIFE. From that moment on Walter is determined to find its photographer Sean O’Connell.

“The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” has some good dry humor. Here you see that Ben Stiller has a comedic background, but not of the silly category. The film often has a melancholic feel to it. The desire for the seemingly unattainable, lamenting missed opportunities, craving the past; all feelings that many people recognize. The visuals are stunning and that in combination with the music make “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” a true cinematic adventure. The film has a clean style, seamless transitions and beautiful graphics.

Ben Stiller is really good in this film both as Walter and as a director. Kristen Wiig was the perfect choice to play the natural charming Cheryl. Sean Penn is cool as ever and Adam Scott is a very convincing douchebag.

Even the biggest cynic would have trouble to keep that smile of his face while watching “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”.

Rating: 4,5/ 5

In the Picture: The Characters from "21 Grams"

Although normally I focus on films with at least five leading character, I decided to go with a somewhat smaller cast. “21 Grams” is one of the best movies ever made and it has complicated, strong characters. Only three important characters. Here they are.

Paul Rivers
Played by: Sean Penn
Paul is a mathematics professor with a fatal heart condition. Unless he receives a new heart from an organ donor, he will not live longer than one month. Paul's wife wants him to donate his sperm so she can have his baby even if he dies. The two are civil to one another, yet distant. Paul finally receives a heart, from Christina Peck’s late husband. After he found out about the donor, he wants to find Christina. When he does, the two develop a relationship. Though Paul has a new heart, his body is rejecting the surgery and his outlook is grim.

Christina Peck
Played by: Naomi Watts
Christina is a recovering drug addict and now lives a normal suburban life with a supportive husband and two children. She is a loving mother and active swimmer who has left her days of drugs and booze behind. When her husband and daughters are hit by a car, she wants to move on with her life but soon falls back into her old habits. As Cristina begins to dwell more on her changed life and the death of her girls, she continually focuses on a desire to exact revenge on Jack. She goads Paul into agreeing to murder him.

Jack Jordan
Played by: Benicio Del Toro
Jack is a former convict who is trying to better his life. He is using his new-found religious faith to recover from drug addiction and alcoholism. One night Jack hits a man and two little children, who are killed due to the accident. It’s Christina’s family and Jack is stricken with guilt following the accident. Despite his wife's protests to keep quiet and conceal his guilt, Jack tells her that his "duty is to God" and turns himself in. While incarcerated, he claims that God had betrayed him, loses his will to live and tries unsuccessfully to commit suicide. He is released after Cristina declines to press charges, as she realizes that putting Jack in prison will not bring her family back. When Jack is released, he is unable to reincorporate himself into normal family life, and instead leaves home to live as a transient, working a job of manual labor.

Favorite Character: Christina Peck

Best of... Sean Penn

I recently saw "Milk" and that reminded me of how great Sean Penn actually is as an actor. He is one of my favorites and he has made some great movies. Here are my favorite Sean Penn films.

"Fast Times at Ridgemont High"
This movie would never be this funny if it didn't give us Jeff Spicoli, Sean Penn's memorable stoner character.

"Casualties of War"
This wasn't just another movie about the Vietnam. I had an even deeper meaning and it was pretty disturbing. It's about morals and ethics and how they are tossed aside.

"Carlito's Way"
Excellent performances by Al Pacino and Sean Penn and I think this movie is very underrated. It is a good gangster movie.

"Dead Man Walking"
A friendship between a man on deathrow and a nun. Although the convicted murderer did something bad, you do sympathize with him on some levels. That means Sean Penn did a great job portraying this character.

"U-Turn"
Although it has Jennifer Lopez in, who I absolutely dispise, this is a good movie. But we have to thank Penn for it. And we all know what happened to J-Lo in the end and that was very satisfying!

"The Game"
The story is kind of ridiculous, especially when you know how it ends. But this is so exciting and I actually do like the twist in the end.

"The Thin Red Line"
Another war movie with Penn and I prefer the other one, but this is also very good. Beautifully crafted and a great experience.

"I Am Sam"
I probably wouldn't have watched this movie if someone like Sean Penn wouldn't have played the lead. Very good acting, Penn is great in combination with Dakota Fanning.

"Mystic River"
My favorite on this list. The story blew me away when I first saw it. Perfect directed by Clint Eastwood, great performances by Sean Penn and Marcia Gay Harden, but especially Tim Robbins.

"21 Grams"
This story is not told in chronological order and that's the strength of the film. The pieces of the puzzle start falling together as the story goes along. Sean Penn, Naomi Watts an Benicio Del Toro are all amazing in this project.

"Assassination of Richard Nixon"
A very underrated movie and probably even overlooked. this is definitely one of Penn's best work.

"Milk"
His performance was awarded with an Oscar and I think his acting was even better than in "Mystic River". He showed us what a great man Harvey Milk was, a man who wanted to fight for his right and did everything to get through to everyone.

"Fair Game"
The third collaboration with Naomi Watts, who he has perfect chemistry with. Watts is the star of this film, but Penn doesn't need to be the leader to deliver us a solid performance.

I really want to see "The Tree of Life", it looks very good.

In the Picture: The Characters from "Mystic River"

Clint Eastwood is a fine actor, but in my opinion he's an even better director. "Mystic River" is such a great piece of work and an actual character study of the people involved in the story. Here are the most important characters in the film.

Jimmy Markum
Played by: Sean Penn
Jimmy is the beloved father of three daughters. Two of them he had with current wife Annabeth and he had his oldest daughter with his now deceased wife Marita. Jimmy does have a criminal history. He spend two years of his life in prison for a robbery. After they found Jimmy's daughter Katie dead, that old Jimmy turns up again. For him it doesn't matter how, but he's going to find the man who did this to her. And he will pay.

Dave Boyle
Played by: Tim Robbins
Dave is a loving father and a loyal husband to his wife Celeste. As a kid he experienced something horrible and now, twenty years later, he's still traumatized. Dave is very troubled and the image of that incident so many years ago is still haunting him every day. This is also a burden in his relationship with Celeste, his son Michael and his friend Jimmy.

Sean Devine
Played by: Kevin Bacon
Sean used to be friends with both Jimmy and Dave. Nowadays he doesn't have contact with them, although they run into each other from time to time. He is a cop and the one who has to solve the murder of Katie Markum. He tries to handle it as professional as possible. Sean's wife left him six months ago, while she was pregnant. She calls him, but never says anything when he picks up the phone. It looks like it doesn't affect him, but his future with her isn't secure and he just wants her back in his life.

Celeste Boyle
Played by: Marcia Gay Harden
Celeste is Dave's wife. She loves him more then anything, but she doesn't know what to do with her troubled husband. Celeste doesn't know about Dave's traumatic experience as a child. When Dave comes home covered in blood, she doesn't believe his story. After she finds out about Katie Markum's death, Celeste starts doubting her husband and feels really insecure about her life with him.

Annabeth Markum
Played by: Laura Linney
Annabeth is Jimmy's second wife. She accepted Jimmy's oldest daughter, but it's clear that they don't always get along. Unlike Celeste, Annabeth will always stand by her husband and she would never doubt his actions. Even if it's not the right thing to do, according to the law.

Favorite Character: Dave Boyle

Movie Tip #8 - 21 Grams

Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu

Starring: Sean Penn, Naomi Watts, Benicio Del Toro, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Melissa Leo, Clea Duvall

Description: This is the story of three gentle persons: Paul Rivers (Penn) an ailing mathematician lovelessly married to an English emigré, Christina Peck (Watts), an upper-middle-class suburban housewife, happily married and mother of two little girls, and Jack Jordan (Del Toro), an ex-convict who has found in his Christian faith the strength to raise a family. They will be brought together by a terrible accident that will change their lives.

Review: In the beginning the story seems a little complicated (this director also made "Amores Perros" and "Babel") but in the end all the pieces come together. The performances of the actors are incredible and believable. Watts and Del Toro even got nominated for an Academy award in 2003. What is the movie's message? That people shouldn't be so quick to judge others? That could be one interpretation, but what's nice about the film is that it doesn't hammer this lesson into us. It just tells a moving and stirring tale about complex characters, and viewers can take from it what they please. It's definitly worth watching.

Into the Wild

I recently saw the movie "Into the Wild". It's about Christopher McCandless, a top student who abandoned his possessions, donated his entire savings account to charity and hitchhiked to Alaska to live in the wilderness. Along the way Chris encounters a series of characters who shape his life.
The movie is based on a true story and the book by Jon Krakauer. Sean Penn is the director of this film and wanted to make this movie for a long time. Emile Hirsch has the honor to play the leading role and he does a great job. Until this movie Hirsch was just a vague name, but now I think we will hear from him more often. At least that's what I hope, 'cause he's a fantastic actor. It's a wonderfull movie, great characters, touching story and beautiful quotes by Chris. Hirsch practically gives away a perfect one man show, but I should credit Catherine Keener and Hal Holbrook as well, who have very strong supporting roles. I could recommened this movie to all of you.