Tag: MarkRuffalo

Crime 101

Published on by DanielaLeave a comment

Davis (Chris Hemsworth) has been pulling off high stakes heists along the 101 freeway for years now. When the opportunity to finally get out of the game arises with one final heist to end all heists, Davis hopes that insurance broker Sharon (Halle Berry) will work with him. Sharon has been at the same firm for over eleven years and she still isn’t getting her due diligence. Perhaps helping Davis will be the answer to her problems. Meanwhile there is Lou (Mark Ruffalo), a stubborn cop who refuses to give up on the case that has been plaguing him and LA for years. He knows he’s close to finding out who the thief is, he just has to wait a few more days.

I’ll admit it’s been a hot minute since I last settled in for an action movie. The cast was a huge selling point as I probably wouldn’t have been so interested otherwise. From the trailer I was expecting it to be your average run of the mill flick, but it ended up going in a different direction and that is not necessarily a bad thing.

As previously mentioned, the film boasts a cast with exceptional talent. Hemsworth was convincing enough as a thief who does what he does because he feels like he has no other choice. His performance was solid, however, for a main character, I thought he could have been a bit more prominent. There were some moments where I forgot that he was the lead. Berry and Ruffalo smashed it as the insurance broker and cop respectively. Their characters are both feeling underappreciated in their jobs and their lives that the decisions they make are believable. Barry Keoghan stars as Ormon, another robber who enters the mix and really stirs shit up. I was captivated every time he was on screen because he truly delivered an unhinged performance.

The cinematography is stylish and sleek which fits the overall tone. Right from the get go, the audience sees the upside down view of LA from the freeway while a female voice is leading us into mindfulness meditation. This is an interesting choice that instantly brought me into the story. Each frame felt expensive and the transition shots were well executed. It really made each arc feel connected to one another. The score tied it all together with pulse pounding beats that kept the tension locked in.

It did seem like it took a while for anything exciting to happen. The start was solid enough and then there was an unfortunate lull. Slow burns are sometimes necessary and I understand that this was done so that we could really get to know these individuals. I just wanted to know how they were all going to come together. This definitely made the film feel a tad too long. I also didn’t think it needed the romantic subplot with Monica Barbaro. Maya was a lovely character, but we didn’t get to know anything about her and she barely had any screen time. I had hoped she’d be more involved in the heist of it all, but alas…

Overall, Crime 101 isn’t trying to reinvent the genre by any means, but it does make for an entertaining enough ride. The cast do a great job, there are some great chase sequences that kept me on the edge of my seat and I do think it was executed well ad the end of the day. I do think if it had been just a little bit tighter then it would have been a slam dunk.

Rating: ♥️♥️♥️

Mickey 17

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Sometime in the not so distant future, Mickey Barnes (Robert Pattinson) signs up to be an expendable on a space mission. Whenever he dies, a new version of himself is automatically created. When something goes wrong one day, Mickey discovers that there are now two versions of himself alive at the same time.

I’m not usually a fan of science fiction. Most of the time that’s because the world building can be too complicated for me. I was worried that this would be the case here and I’m happy to report that it wasn’t. For the most part, I was able to follow along with the story and I actually enjoyed the film way more than I thought I would.

Pattinson was brilliant as the titular character. All the different versions of him were so interesting and unique. This wasn’t a typical role for the actor and I liked the lighter, more comedic tone that it required. The rest of the cast were stacked. Naomi Ackie smashed it as Mickey’s girlfriend Nasha. Though we never knew her backstory, she proved herself to be a bad ass character who could hold her own. Mark Ruffalo and Toni Collette starred as Kenneth and Yifa Marshall, the leaders of the mission. They were so over the top, I couldn’t help but be reminded of a certain someone who is currently in power right now…

Director Bong Joon Ho is well known for his outlandish and satirical ideas. While this is quite the opposite of former Oscar winner Parasite, it is still a film that will give the audience a lot to think about.

Overall, Mickey 17 was a pleasant surprise. With fabulous performances, a crazy storyline and the beautiful backdrop of Niflheim, it was hard not to become wrapped up in this world. I do think it could have been a little bit shorter timing wise and it would have been nice to see more of the characters fleshed out, but that is something I was able to overlook.

Rating: ♥️♥️♥️.5

Poor Things

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In this Frankenstein like tale, we follow Bella Baxter (Emma Stone), a young woman who has been brought back to life by scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe). Yearning to learn more about the world and her purpose in it, Bella sets off on an adventure with Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo).

I can honestly say that I have never seen anything like this before. Right from the very beginning, I knew I was about to be whisked away on the ride of my life. I just didn’t know how wild this ride was going to be. Let me tell you though, I loved every single second of it.

I am not familiar with Yargos Lanthimos’s previous works, but now I am curious to discover more. Everything was loud, bold and colorful. The sets were stunning to look at, from the psychedelic skies to the different title cards that separated each section of the film. The mixture of black and white with some fish lens scenes thrown in, I felt like I was watching a Dali or Picasso work of art.

The cast gave career best performances all around. The character of Bella was no easy feat to tackle, but Stone took it in stride. I’ve seen her in various roles in the past though nothing has come close to this. I really believe that she can snag her second Oscar as a result! This was one of Ruffalo’s best roles to date as well; I think I laughed the most whenever he was on screen. Dafoe helped hold it all together. I found his portrayal of the scientist to be somewhat poetic.

What I liked the most about Poor Things is the fact that while it was completely out there, there was a moral to the story. The evolution that Bella goes on is one that I really enjoyed watching unfold. She starts off, essentially, as a child who grows into a self assured and worldly woman. It was pretty empowering! It’s a peculiar film that may not be everyone’s cup of tea due to its extreme graphic scenes, but it is one that has certainly left an impression on me.

Rating: ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️

The Adam Project

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The Adam Project follows Adam Reed, (Ryan Reynolds) a fighter pilot from 2050 who accidentally crash lands in 2022 instead of 2018 while time traveling and stumbles upon his younger self (Walker Scobell). Together, they team up to find their father Louis (Mark Ruffalo), the creator of time travel and the only person who can stop his partner Maya Sorian (Catherine Keener) from furthering altering the timeline forever.

I was under the impression that Ryan Reynolds was taking a break from acting, yet here we are. While he once again played another version of himself, I have to say that I wasn’t bothered by it this time around. His jokes were all on point. I also really loved the camaraderie he had with Walker Scobell. That young man has such a future ahead of him. He embodied everything about Reynolds and had it down to a T.

Unfortunately some of the other cast were underused. It would have been nice to have more scenes with Adam’s mom Ellie (Jennifer Garner) and his wife Laura (Zoe Saldana). I would have loved to know more about them.

Boasting plenty of CGI, fight scenes and time travel, The Adam Project is a fun film for the whole family to enjoy. It is very much what you see is what you get. It’s not something I will run back to watch anytime soon, but I appreciated it for what it was. The family dynamics added a little something extra that made it worth while.

Rating: ♥♥♥