1917

1917 is well renowned director, Sam Mendes’, tribute to his grandfather, who fought for the British during World War 1 vs the Germans in France.

Led by a couple of not very well know actors, Game of Thrones, Dean-Charles Chapman and George MacKay, the movie follows two young Lance Corporal's  Blake and Schofieldas, as they are sent on an impossible mission: cross through enemy territory to warn their fellow comrades of an impending German ambush.

The movie won best picture and director at the Golden Globes and will probably win at the Oscars, for good reason, the hair, makeup and costumes were accurate and appropriate for the time, the sets were realistic, the Dunkirk-like cinematography was well done and showed what war really looked like in the 1900s, along with the vastness of the land and the dangers surrounding it, the acting was great from the entire cast and there was a lingering intensity throughout.

Although the previews ended up bringing a level of suspense that the movie couldn’t live up to, the locations were not always clear and the character development was lacking, I still found the movie to be entertaining and just the right amount of time to tell the entire story. In the end, I do think that this is one that is worth checking out.

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil is the sequel to 2014’s Maleficent starring Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning and Michelle Pfeiffer. Picking up right after the original, Maleficent’s goddaughter Aurora announces her engagement to her handsome prince,  which causes a rift between them as they are pulled in different directions by a manipulating queen and unexpected allies. 

The plot was easy to follow, somewhat predictable but still quite enjoyable. The themes of family, love and sacrifice were all powerful and present throughout the film. The entire movie was full of beautiful cinematography and the costumes were ethereal with bright colors and fabrics

I thought that the acting was great from the entire cast. Three strong female leads, all with unique personalities and very different goals with great character development, made it easy to connect to the characters. The surprising addition of Chiwetel Ejiofor was also great. He took a role that was completely different than anything else I have even seen him in before which was refreshing.

Overall, I thought that the movie was great and worth the watch. It was family friendly and full of heart.

Black and Blue

Black and Blue is an action thriller set in New Orleans. It follows rookie cop, Alicia West, played by Naomie Harris, who witnesses the murder of a young drug dealer at the hands of corrupt cops. She then has to stay alive by evading them, with the help of a man from her neighborhood, until she is able to prove her innocence and present evidence. 

I thought that the pace moved well and that the story was realistic, which helped to keep me engaged . The themes around police brutality, doing what is right and being true to yourself were all timely and relevant. I liked the casting of Harris as the lead. Being one of the few females in the movie, she was able to bring a lot of confidence and power to her performance. Sometimes she was a bit over the top but for the most part she kept it right in the pocket. It was something a bit different from the things I’ve seen of her in the past, which I appreciated. Frank Grillo, on the other hand, who played, Officer Terry Malone, has definitely been typecast at this point. In Point Blank he played a similar type of role. I would have liked to see a bit more character diversity from him. Tyrese was also in this movie. He didn’t give me a lot of range in his performance but he was tolerable.

Where the movie missed the mark for me was in the predictability of the plot, the character development and the script. Because the entire story was foreseeable from early on, it lacked some of the anxiety that would come with a true thriller. The writers were vague with all of the characters back stories so that it made it hard for me to really connect with any of them. Additionally, some of the script was a bit corny and could have used more work.

Overall, I found the movie to be interesting in its idea but satisfactory in its delivery. It definitely isn’t a movie that I would have wanted to pay to watch in theatres. This is something that could have gone straight to Netflix and I would have been content.