10 Cloverfield Lane Review

4.0 Stars

10 Cloverfield Lane is exactly why I love doing these previews and reviews.  The movie begins, just as the preview suggests, with Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) getting into a pretty bad car accident.  When she awakens, she is handcuffed to a wall in a bunker.  Her captor, or savior, Howard (John Goodman) informs her that it's not safe outside of the bunker.  Emmett (John Gallagher Jr) is also in the bunker and appears to be Howard's friend, or co-captor.  It takes a little while to reveal this, but Emmett helped Howard build the bunker and begged to be let in when whatever happened outside the bunker happened.  Michelle attempts to escape despite Howard's fervent pleas that he is doing this for her own good. 

The movie was directed by Dan Trachtenberg who really hasn't done much before this release.  I love me some John Goodman.  Mary Elizabeth Winstead has been around, but isn't a big name actress.  She was in A Good Day to Die Hard as John McClane's daughter Lucy and was in a cute film Scott Pilgrim vs. The World as Romona Flowers, Scott's love interest.  There's actually a scene in the movie that Die Hard fans will be waiting for Michelle to say, "Come out to the coast, have a few laughs."  If you don't know what I mean, you aren't a true Die Hard fan.  Spoiler alert, she doesn't say it.

My point is, you know you're going to get something great from John Goodman and JJ Abrams, but the rest of the cast and crew, along with the preview, leave you wondering what exactly that something is.  It's wonderful.  It looks like a great thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat and also guessing as to the true motives of Howard and Emmett in the bunker.  I had no idea what I was about to get into, but I was excited to see 10 Cloverfield Lane.  Just like the ambiguous trailer, the movie itself keeps you guessing as to Howard's true intentions and what, if anything, really happened outside the bunker.  It has twists and turns and the last half hour had me saying, "Wait, what?"  "No way" and "What the what?" at least 5 times.  I anticipated 4.0 stars for a well-written, well-acted, twisting scary movie that I might just want to buy and watch again, and I'm sticking with that.  Well worth it and might just add this one to my collected, but definitely want to see again.   So, what movie will be on my mind next?  We shall see.

10 Cloverfield Lane Preview

10 Cloverfield Lane is exactly why I love doing these previews and reviews.  The brief and mysterious preview begins with Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) getting into a pretty bad car accident.  When she awakens, she is handcuffed to a wall in a bunker.  Her captor, or savior, Howard (John Goodman) informs her that it's not safe outside of the bunker.  Emmett (John Gallagher Jr) is also in the bunker and appears to be Howard's friend, or co-captor.  Michelle attempts to escape despite Howard's fervent pleas that he is doing this for her own good.  We do get a brief glimpse of Michelle outside of a large house that in emitting a bright white light with some terrifying music playing to imply that the light isn't a good sign.

10 Cloverfield Lane was produced by JJ Abrams who is responsible for the successful recent Star Wars installment, the last few Star Trek features, and several of the Mission: Impossible films; but this seems like a movie we wouldn't necessarily expect from Abrams.

The movie was directed by Dan Trachtenberg who really hasn't done much before this release.  I love me some John Goodman.  Mary Elizabeth Winstead has been around, but isn't a big name actress.  She was in A Good Day to Die Hard as John McClane's daughter Lucy and was in a cute film Scott Pilgrim vs. The World as Romona Flowers, Scott's love interest.

My point is, you know you're going to get something great from John Goodman and JJ Abrams, but the rest of the cast and crew, along with the preview, leave you wondering what exactly that something is.  It's wonderful.  It looks like a great thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat and also guessing as to the true motives of Howard and Emmett in the bunker.  I love it, I'm excited to watch 10 Cloverfield Lane, and I have no idea what I'm about to get into.  I'm anticipating 4.0 stars for a well-written, well-acted, twisting scary movie that I might just want to buy and watch again.  Am I right?  We shall see.

The Revenant Review

2.5 Stars

 

Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) was a frontiersman on a fur trading expedition in the 1820s.  It was a particularly dangerous and desperate time as the nearly 300 year old tradition of fur trading was in its waning years.  Europeans came to America hoping for gold and silver in the early 1500s.  They were disappointed, but found their riches in fur, particularly beavers.  By the 1800s, beavers were scarce as they were over-hunted, and they weren't fetching the prices they used to and many turned to logging and working in lumber mills.  This particular expedition proved especially treacherous for Glass as he was mauled by a bear and left for dead by his team.  Glass made his way home, fueled by anger and his thirst for revenge against John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy), the man who left him for dead. 

The Revenant was nominated for 12 Oscars and took home 3.  Alejandro G. Iñárritu took home the Best Director award while the film also won for Best Cinematography.  And, of course, DiCaprio finally got his Oscar for Best Actor that many felt was long overdue.  It was his fifth nomination for acting as he was previously recognized for his performances in What's Eating Gilbert Grape, The Aviator, Blood Diamond, and The Wolf of Wallstreet.

At first, John Fitzgerald is just a business man.  He wants to stay the course and get as many pelts to take home to get as much money as they can.  His decision to abandon Glass after the bear mauling was initially just a logical one taking into account Glass' chances of survival versus how much it would hinder their trek home trying to save him.  That logic quickly turned vicious as Fitzgerald's greed and desperation turned murderous.  

I thought there were some great cinematic scenes, but most of them were shown in the brief preview.  Of course the big scene is Glass being mauled by a bear which looked mostly realistic.  As for the Oscar for Best Actor, I feel this was done out of the same sentiment that kept Tom Hanks from being nominated for Saving Mr. Banks or Captain Philips.  Most speculated he was omitted because he's already won and he'll probably win again, so let someone else have a shot.  This was the opposite.  DiCaprio has been nominated and many feel he should have won already, so they gave it to him.  I don't doubt he would have won an Oscar some day, but I don't think this should have been the one that got him there.  Hardy was nominated for Best Supporting Actor and, had Mark Rylance not been nominated for his performance in Bridge of Spies (rightly nominated and won as I speculated immediately after seeing the movie), he surely would have won for his performance in The Revenant.

I gave The Revenant a hesitant 3.5 star prediction.  It dragged and didn't have much of a plot and the cinematography was played out in the preview.  I give the movie 2.0 stars but bump it up to 2.5 because of Hardy's performance.  It's a renter at best, but wait to catch it on cable and you'll be fine.  So, what movie will be on my mind next?  We shall see.