Task 37 – “Hereafter” Movie Review

(37) Watch 26 Movies (11/26)

Movie: Hereafter

Rating: êêê

A drama centered on three people each on a path in search of the truth find their lives forever changed by what they believe might-or must-exist in the Hereafter. Each are touched by death in different ways

First a blue-collar American George Lonegan (Matt Damon) who has the ability to speak to the dead but wishes for a life of normalcy not shrouded by the death runs from his family and his gift.

Second a French journalist Marie Lelay(Cécile De France)in Thailand on assignment is on the top of her game before surviving a tsunami. It leaves her tormented by her near death experience and her life is consumed with unanswered questions about what comes next and what she may have seen. With no outlet other then to write she writes a book called Hereafter.

And Third a London school boy named Marcus(Bryce Dallas Howard) who searches for answers after his brother was killed by a car after running from the neighborhood bullies. With his brothers death he finds himself totally alone and having to learn to survive. No longer being able to help his heroin addicted mother without his brothers guidance he is put in foster care and is consumed with finding out what has happened to his twin.

All three end up at the London book fair and so the story of how they saved each other begins. Each find what they are looking for in each other.

Task 37 – “Next Three Days” Movie Review

(37) Watch 26 Movies (10/26)
Movie: Next Three Days
Rating: 4-Stars

The movie starts with John Brennan (Russell Crowe) driving aggressively with the sounds of an injured passenger moaning from the back seat. Suddenly we flash back to John and his wife Lara (Elizabeth Banks) sharing dinner with his brother and wife. Lara is on edge after an argument with her boss and takes it out on the less the friendly sister-in-law. The following morning a diabetic Lara injects herself with insulin and discovers blood on her jacket as she gets ready for work. Before leaving she is caught washing the blood away as police raid their house with an arrest warrant for murdering her boss.

It seems she was seen leaving the scene of the crime and her fingerprints were on the murder weapon. She suggests a mysterious woman she claimed to have bumped into while enter the parking garage is the real murderer and she lost a button in the scuffle. With no evidence of this woman and the mountain of physical evidence against her she is sent to prison. 

Failing to win an appeal and having no more chances her husband, John begins crafting a plan to break her out.  He meets with a known convict who escaped from prison to learn as much as he can. He carefully studies the prison nearly getting arrested for making a bump key and falsifies her blood work to show she has dangerously high glucose levels. A suddenly and unexpected prison reassignment threatens to derail his plan and he is left with only the Next Three Days to get her out.

Task 37 – “Atlas Shrugged Part I” Movie Review

(37) Watch 26 Movies (9/26)

Movie: Atlas Shrugged - Part I

Rating: 3-Stars

Unlike most Hollywood blockbusters, Atlas Shrugged - Part I was filmed on a shoe string budget of ~$10 Million. The producer, John Aglialoro, gambled his own money and time to bring this adaptation of Ayn Rand’s famous book to the silver screen.  Unlike most adaptations Atlas Shrugged stayed true to the author’s words and ideas.

By now the plot is so well known that it is no spoiler to share that Atlas Shrugged isa murder mystery. It isn’t a traditional murder mystery about the killing of a human body, but of the assassination of the human spirit. The mysterious killer is John Galt.

The movie is well acted and perfectly cast.  It contains a mix of new faces and those you will recognize as supporting actors from other movies and it will drive you nuts trying to place them. The audience is allowed to follow the narrative of the story and soak in the ideas of the author without being distracted by a big name actress such as Angelina Jolie or Charlize Theron who were purportedly vying for the role of heroine Dagny Taggert.

Character development suffers from the movies fast pace and leaves you wondering how all these people are bound together other then the obvious business relationships. The audience is given just enough to allow it to make sense without really explaining the background. This is an obvious restriction of a 90 minute movie and leaves you feeling a bit rushed.

The special effects were spectacular. The dramatic 250-mph run of Dagny's train on the new John Galt Line made of the blueish-green Rearden Metal was very exciting and believable. The score was fitting an epic story. The choice to set the film in 2016 instead of the 1950s allowed the writers to tie in current events related to the recession and bailouts.

The movie has an obvious cult following and is being well received by audiences around the country while receiving critical reviews from professional reviewers. I take my hat off to the producers for taking on a movie said to be un-makeable and creating the beginning of something the audience will certainly want to see parts 2 & 3.