Week 24: it's Friday then Saturday Sunday What!!!?
Hello and happy Friday:
Today we’re going to tour through four feature film recommendations. They have very little in common outside of being entertaining films in their own right. Got a movie or tv show you’d recommend? Hit that reply button and let me know about it.
ReelTalk
Cruella (PG-13, 2021) featuring Emma Stone, Emma Thompson, Mark Strong. Crime/Comedy.
Estella is a young and clever grifter who's determined to make a name for herself in the fashion world. She soon meets a pair of thieves who appreciate her appetite for mischief, and together they build a life for themselves on the streets of London. However, when Estella befriends fashion legend Baroness von Hellman, she embraces her wicked side to become the raucous and revenge-bent Cruella.
Cruella is a good movie. It’s well crafted and the story is told in a way that has you learning backstory throughout. I thought Emma Stone was really good in it. As someone who watched 101 Dalmations growing up, I did not find this story to line up too much with the original movies but you do see where Cruella gets her henchmen and how she becomes an evil fashion designer. Nature vs nurture, I guess you could say, is a central theme throughout the movie. The cinematography is quality with lots of rich colors and attention to detail. Overall, a fun movie worth watching!
Office Space (R, 1999) featuring Jennifer Aniston, Ron Livingston, Mike Judge. Comedy/Dark comedy.
Corporate drone Peter Gibbons (Ron Livingston) hates his soul-killing job at software company Initech. While undergoing hypnotherapy, Peter is left in a blissful state when his therapist dies in the middle of their session. He refuses to work overtime, plays games at his desk and unintentionally charms two consultants into putting him on the management fast-track. When Peter's friends learn they're about to be downsized, they hatch a revenge plot against the company inspired by "Superman III."
What a classic! From the guy who brought you Silicon Valley, Beavis and Butthead, and King of the Hill… brings you a hilarious movie about 3 mid-level, in the middle-of-nowhere software programmers who are bored working at a terribly boring 9-5 and probably going to get laid off. Their company has just brought in “consultants” and it’s not looking good. I’ve lived through some “consultants” before so this one hit a little familiar. They got the vibe right. It’s super funny and it’s the only time I’ve seen hypnotherapy work and have me wanting to give it a try :) And of course, it’s also the origin of the red stapler!
A Quiet Place (R, 2018) featuring John Krasinski and Emily Blunt. Horror/SCi-Fi/Thriller.
If they hear you, they hunt you. A family must live in silence to avoid mysterious creatures that hunt by sound. Knowing that even the slightest whisper or footstep can bring death, Evelyn and Lee are determined to find a way to protect their children while desperately searching for a way to fight back.
Krasinski directed this film. He and his wife were the two main actors. Their chemistry helps paint a realistic picture of life when you have to be silent because blind creatures with superb hearing hunt anything making noise. I really like both of these actors and think I’d enjoy anything they do and this is not one you’ll want to miss. It’s not a horror/jumpy as one might think. It’s almost post-apocalyptic survival. The second movie in the series is coming out any day now and I am *excited* for it.
Italian Job (PG-13, 2013) featuring everyone in the copy-and-pasted synopsis below. Action/Crime/Thriller.
After a heist in Venice, Steve (Edward Norton) turns on his partners in crime, killing safecracker John Bridger (Donald Sutherland) and keeping all the gold for himself. The rest of the team, including leader Charlie Croker (Mark Wahlberg), driver Handsome Rob (Jason Statham), explosives man Left Ear (Mos Def) and tech geek Lyle (Seth Green), vows revenge. They enlist the help of Bridger's daughter, Stella (Charlize Theron), and plot to recover the gold from Steve's Los Angeles mansion.
A fun fact about this great movie is it was directed by F. Gary Gray. He’s the same person who brought you the movies Friday, The Negotiator, and Straight Outta Compton. That sets the tone for good action/story-telling. The Italian Job does not let down. Despite it being a remake of a 60s movie, it’s good on its own two feet. It’s a double-heist movie so there’s a heist in the opener and then the rest of the movie is the second, elaborate heist. So good. Highly recommend this one.