Tag: BradleyCooper

IF

Published on by DanielaLeave a comment

John Krasinki is back in the director’s seat with a completely different type of film. Bea (Cailey Fleming) is going through a tough time. When she moves in with her grandmother (Fiona Shaw), she ends up befriending one of the upstairs neighbors named Cal (Ryan Reynolds). Cal is on a mission to reunite IFs, or imaginary friends, with new children as their old ones have grown up and forgotten about them. He enlists the help of Bea and together they embark on a magical adventure.

Where the film exceeds is in its casting. Fleming is a great pick for our protagonist. I’ve never seen her before, but her performance was endearing and relatable. Reynolds seems to dial it back a bit from his usual song and dance to give Fleming more of the spotlight. He’s still a very important player though and the two worked well together. For me it was the different voices that brought the IFs to life that I had fun discovering: Steve Carell as Blue, Phoebe Waller-Bridge as Blossom, Louis Gossett Jr. as Lewis, Akwafina as Bubble, Emily Blunt as Unicorn, George Clooney as Spaceman, Bradley Cooper as Ice and many more.

Unfortunately there are some pacing issues that are evident throughout. Things take too long to get going in the beginning. There’s some groundwork that needs to be set up with the audience learning about Bea’s life which is fine, but I wanted more time with the IFs! I also felt like it wrapped up way too quickly in the end.

The moral of the story of getting back in touch with your inner child really spoke to me. I was one of those kids who had an imaginary friend and I could totally relate in that I don’t even remember who they are anymore. Just because you grow up doesn’t mean you don’t have to forget the parts of you that made you happy when you were younger. These sentiments really tugged at my heartstrings.

Overall IF was an enjoyable film that the whole family can enjoy. It will certainly resonate with children for the beloved friends they will meet along the way, but I think it is the adults who will get the most out of it. Though it may have gotten a bit muddled along the way, it is still worth checking out.

Rating: ♥️♥️♥️.5

Maestro

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Director, writer and actor Bradley Cooper’s new venture is Maestro, based on conductor Leonard Bernstein. The story starts in 1946 and follows Bernstein as a young man, when he meets his wife Felicia Montealegre (Carey Mulligan) at a party. We’re then brought into the ups and downs of their twenty five year marriage.

One thing to note before diving in is that it is not your average biopic. Usually the professional and personal life are explored and depicted for the audience to see. This take is different in that it focuses solely on Leonard and Felicia’s relationship. While said relationship was utterly romantic, I would have preferred there to be more of a balance.

Though we didn’t see much of Bernstein’s conductor side, the moments we did see were very well done. Cooper dedicated a lot of time to learning how to do the movements properly so that each scene was as authentic as possible. His hard work paid off as I found myself forgetting I was watching a movie during these sequences.

Where the film excels is in its performances. Cooper was outstanding as our protagonist and at times almost unrecognisable. I know the prosthetics got a lot of backlash in the beginning, but I think it added to making him so realistic. It was Mulligan, however, who stole the show. There was backlash against her casting as since she was not the correct ethnicity. That being said, she completely knocked it out of the park and is very deserving of her award nominations so far.

Unfortunately the rest of Maestro was not that interesting. I found the storyline to be quite drab in parts and not a lot happened. As a result, it was sometimes hard to pay attention and I lost interest somewhere in the middle. I still recommend giving it a go because the performances are incredible, but that was about it.

Rating: ♥️♥️♥️

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

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Our favorite underdog heroes are back in their final adventure as the Guardians of the Galaxy. Picking up where we left off, Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) is still reeling from the loss of Gamora (Zoe Saldana), but not for long. When the life of one of their own is threatened, Quill assembles the usual suspects in Drax (Dave Bautista), Groot (Vin Diesel), Rocket (Bradley Cooper), Nebula (Karen Gillan) and Mantis (Pom Klementieff) for one last time.

Wow! What a send off. From the very beginning, this film felt like a finale of sorts. Everything was put on the line and the trials and tribulations that were faced by the characters felt more hardcode than ever before. It didn’t let up for one second with some very cool special effects moments jumping from planet to planet and a few very cool and well done action sequences.

I think where it excelled the most was in its nostalgia factor. Not only were there several throwbacks to the first couple installments, but I loved how the focus was mainly on Rocket this time around. He’s always been one of my favorites of the bunch and learning about his origin story was so rewarding. I felt for him, but it was great seeing how he became the raccoon he is today.

Other standouts in the cast for me were Mantis and Nebula. The former grew on me a lot and I found myself falling for how utterly adorable she is, while the latter has come so far since the first movie and that was such a treat to see. Also, while he usually gets on my nerves, I have to say that Chris Pratt didn’t bother me as much.

To be completely honest, I wasn’t really looking forward to this. The first movie was such a pleasant surprise, but then I barely remember what happened in the second. This one blew them both out of the water. As it progressed, I became more invested and by the end I was sold. This clan of misfits will be missed. Definitely one of the better Marvels we’ve had in awhile.

Rating: ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️

Licorice Pizza

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Wannabe actress Alana Caine (Alana Haim) and successful childhood star Gary Valentine (Cooper Hoffman) live in the San Fernando Valley and meet by chance at school picture day. She’s 25 and he’s 15. As they grow up during the ’70s, their friendship grows into a partnership and later love, in spite of all they go through.

Licorice Pizza has been getting so much praise that I had to see what all the fuss was about. It didn’t seem like something I would like at first and I was very close to giving it a miss. Suffice to say, I am so glad that I didn’t. It wasn’t at all like I was expecting it to be – it was better.

If you are looking for a plot driven film, this is not it. What you will get instead is an exploration of various characters, what makes them tick and why they are the way they are. It was a different approach than what I was used to and sometimes the pacing seemed a bit clunky as a result. Sometime it was as if nothing was really happening which took some time for me to adjust to.

That being said, the acting was superb. Newcomers Alana Haim and Cooper Hoffman gave top notch performances; their award nominations are rightly deserved and I look forward to seeing them in future projects. Mixed in with bigger talent such as Sean Penn, Mary Elizabeth Ellis, Maya Rudolph and Bradley Cooper, it was a joy to witness.

Licorice Pizza is really as good as everybody says it is. It took me some time to wrap my head around what I had just seen but I mean that in the best way possible. It made me think and had me feeling nostalgic for a time that I have never even lived through.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥