Ridley Scott delivers another epic, this time a medieval affair that showcases some of Hollywood’s biggest stars, where friends becomes enemies and relationships are pushed to the brink.
King Charles VI declares that Knight Jean de Carrouges settle his dispute with his squire by challenging him to a duel.
If you were to tell me a movie with Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and Adam Driver, a movie that was directed by Ridley Scott, would be a complete and utter box-office bomb, I would have called you crazy. The Last Duel suffers from only one thing, being a real film. We live in a world now, where every movie that average movie-goer sees, has to do with Superheroes or is already a large existing IP of some sorts. Even myself, I found it weird to sit down and watch a flick that didn’t have any larger stakes at hand, that wasn’t going to be apart of any larger than life expanded universe and I’ll tell you this, it was lovely.
This is an adult movie, it deals with trauma, rape and the consequences of such evil behaviour. How Ridley Scott dives into this material is through the perspective of our three main characters. Matt Damon plays Jean de Carrouges and he is a noble knight and one hell of a warrior, who just wants to be respected, all while trying to be remembered and have his name passed on throughout the generations. His chapter is first and it tells the events leading up to the tragedy that falls upon his wife. This is a slow burn, but we do get blips of action and when it happens it’s really great. It’s brutal and dirty and looks exhausting as I’m sure combat was back in the 1300’s. The longest of the three chapters of the story, it dives deep in to Carrouges awful luck, whether it’s money, his family or not getting the attention or respect that he rightfully deserved.
His friend, well at the beginning of this story, Jacques Le Gris (Adam Driver) is a fellow Squire, that is almost the polar opposite of Carrouges. He is considered handsome, he has it all, and most importantly he is well respected throughout France. Driver plays him well, the relationship between these two men is strong, but ultimately jealously and bitterness threatens their relationship and is the demise of their tenured friendship. Le Gris has it all, money, woman and respect, so when he sees something he wants, he goes after it and that’s exactly what he does and it becomes his downfall. The second chapter is strong, it showcases Ben Affleck’s Pierre d’Alecnon who is a powerful man and makes Le Gris essentially his right hand man. Affleck is brilliant here, playing a rambunctious, horned up man who loves woman and places his trust in all the wrong people. Driver and Affleck are having the time of their lives all while making Carrouges feel small and unimportant. Taking land that is rightfully his away from him, and not appreciating the amount of blood he is shedding for their rightful King. In the end the thing Le Gris wants most in his life, becomes is ultimate demise as he finds out with unlimited power does not mean life does not have consequences.
In the third and final chapter we get the point of view of Carrouges wife Marguerite de Carrouges (Jodie Comer). The tragic victim of it all. We relive her horror twice in the movie, and through her eyes and her perspective it’s even more disheartening and spine-numbing. She’s unlike most woman at this time, educated, loyal can speak multiple languages. She has a heart of gold, who is loyal to her husband and just wants to start a family before it is too late. She doesn’t gain the respect of Jean’s mother, who is almost at fault for what occurs to her, because like most woman of that era, things happen and you should just deal with it. She stands up for herself, without anyone thinking she is in the right. So when Jean comes to her aid and honour both of their lives are at stake when Carrouges and Le Gris fight to the death in the duel. If her husband loses that means she was lying and must be burned alive because that is “the will of god.” She and Jean want justice and to finally put their demons at rest, which culminates in one hell of a fight.
Performances across the board are fantastic, from heartbreaking to hilarious, again Affleck is all over the place in this movie and it’s great to see him spread his wings and fly again. Beautiful cinematography with a chilling score. Some of the scenes looked like they were exhausting to shoot, all of the battle stuff and it’s great to see a movie look like a real life movie, instead of the green screen treatment a lot of movies get these days. Shot on location, with big sets and tons of extra’s it was simply refreshing.
The movie can drag a little bit, but it’s enough meat on the bone to keep you engaged the entire time and it sucks a movie like this crashed and burned at the box-office, but i think it will still be an awards contender. Support movies like this please and thank you.
The best Spike Lee movie since Inside Man, which came out over a decade ago. To say Spike is back is an understatement.
Remember the name Ron Stallworth. So this is based off some historical reference, making the story seem even more bizarre. Spike makes sure to mention this in the beginning moments of his newest film, because well, this whole story is kind of bat shit crazy.
It’s 1972 and the world is a different place, well actually it’s not that much different, as Spike comments on numerous times throughout the film. Stallworth (David John Washington) wants to be the first African-American police officer in Colorado. From the very get-go you get the sense that even the police themselves don’t know how to handle this situation and they are unsure of how to use Ron properly. He’s literally the first of his kind, there has never been an African-American police officer in his town. So when a Black Power activist holds a rally, they send Ron in undercover. There he meets Patrica (Laura Harrier) head of the black student union at the local university. Just like in Spider-Man Homecoming, Laura proves to be a great and up and coming actress. She is the one responsible for putting this rally together. We meet Kwame Ture played by Corey Hawkins, who comes is so hot. He’s pitching 100 miles per hour, he’s only in one scene, but it could have been one of my favourite scenes of the movie. He’s electric, and I just thought he did an unbelievable job for the little screen time he gets. Local police are worried about the black community protesting and causing trouble and they even believe there could be a civil war on the horizon. Ron suggests otherwise and that Kwame was just trying to get a rise out of the crowd and that they are harmless.
After a successful undercover job, Ron gets promoted to the intelligence unit. That’s where this story takes a weird but altogether incredible journey. There he meets Flip Zimmerman (Adam Driver) his soon to be “white counterpart.” Ron feeling good about himself sees an ad in the local paper about joining the KKK. Inclined, he calls the phone number listed and talks to the director of the Colorado section Walter (Ryan Eggold). The two hit it off on the phone, so Ron obviously wants to peruse things further. That will prove to be difficult, because, well…..he’s black. So that’s where Flip comes into play. He goes undercover as Ron and together they infiltrate the KKK. Ron, as he describes is fluid in both “white man” and “jive” and that’s how he is able to talk to these white KKK members. Because as they love to mention, “they can always tell when they aren’t talking to a white man on the phone.” The back and forth on the phone is hysterical, and Washington has some tremendous comedic chops. This really is a star making performance by the man. Couldn’t be happier for him, he’s about to be on the rise.
Topher Grace pops up and plays David Duke, and it was really nice to see Topher back working on a great project. He delivers quite the performance here, and obviously a lot of his language used throughout the movie is just god awful. A few of the Klan members, sorry, “organization” members are interesting characters themselves. Some you just need to see for yourselves. I said organization because they didn’t want to go by the Klan I guess, and it’s funny to hear them correct people throughout the film about this little mistake. I bet making a movie like this can serve to be a little difficult. I mentioned the language, which a movie about the KKK, there is going to be extremely strong offensive language used by everyone. But I recently listened to a podcast with Washington, who said that on set, Spike is so great with the entire cast and crew and makes everyone feel comfortable and relaxed, that it makes the whole process that much easier. Those are the tall tale signs of a mature, veteran film-maker, and Spike happens to be all of that.
Spike is really on his game here, the film is shot beautifully, and there’s even a classic floating dolly sequence that Spike has become known for. This is a powerful movie. It feels powerful from the very opening moments of it. Yes there is a ton of comedic moments, but thats because the premise of it is so unbelievable. Spike wants to get a message across, and by the end of it, the message is pretty damn clear. Powerful message, powerful performances, and once the film is over, they bring it all back to present day America. This was the hardest hitting part of the movie, because this thing takes place in 1972, and in present day America, things don’t seem that much different. This should be nominated come awards season, well it better be. I’m ecstatic for everyone who was involved. Adam Driver once again proves he can do anything, Overall, one of 2018’s best films to date, with a strong message behind it, made by the right man. Again it’s a smaller film that scores big from me, not another sequel or generic summer blockbuster. Go see this movie! Support smaller movies!
Nate’s Movie Tour Reviews – BlacKKKlansMan = 95/100
Kingston was founded as a beaver-trapping town……Still is right boys!
(WARNER BROS.)Spider-Man, Wonder Woman, and even Dom Toretto himself were no match for Pennywise and the Losers Club. Can you believe that, IT, a movie without any mega A-List actors, a horror movie and most importantly a rated R movie. Walked away from the weekend with an opening of 123 million dollars. Making it third, only behind Beauty & The Beast and Guardians of The Galaxy: Vol 2.IT set records for the largest September opening and the best opening for a horror movie ever. Honestly I can’t believe it, I thought the movie would open to a modest 80 million dollars, which again is humongous for an R rated film, considering Logan, which came out back in March, only opened with 88 million dollars. That’s Wolverine we are talking about, and that couldn’t even crack a 100 million dollar opening weekend. I know what you’re thinking “who cares,” well one, I do, and secondly this is a massive success just not for the horror genre, but for movies in general. The 2017 summer box-office was one of the worst in a long time. With flop after flop, sequel or reboot after another. Or just movies that didn’t seem to have any steam leading up to their releases. I didn’t go to a single movie in the month of August. I can’t recall the last time I went an entire calender month without going to the movies. For instance, another Stephen King adaption came out earlier this summer, The Dark Tower, which starred Matthew McConaughey and Idris Elba, two of Hollywoods biggest stars, and it BOMBED. It bombed so bad, it took IT one day to make more money at the box-office than The Dark Tower did in its entire theatrical run. The only person people knew in IT, was “that kid from Stranger Things.” Not only did it have an incredible opening weekend, it’s sitting pretty at 86% on Rotten Tomatoes. There’s a reason why I brought up The Dark Tower, and it’s something that’s happening a lot in the film industry right now. Zero to little passion being put into these movies. They thought let’s get McConaughey and Elba together in a movie, it will make a killing! The studio was never behind the project and didn’t let the director behind it make the movie they wanted to make. That will never lead to success. Warner Brothers let Patty Jenkins take Wonder Woman by her gauntlets and make the movie she had invisioned and it showed, because it’s the most successful movie of 2017 thus far. They let Andy Muschietti make the version of IT he believed could do the fans justice. They didn’t interfere and again it shows. Studios need to start letting directors with creative visions make the movies they want to make and not muddle in the process. Incredible things can happen when they do, and IT just showed that.
That was just a little rant, but now I’m going to go over the movie, and will spoil a few things, so if you haven’t seen IT yet, I suggest you float away now, I’d hate to burst your balloon.
The more I think about IT, the more I am becoming aware of just much I loved this movie. I think I had such high expectations of what I wanted it to be, and what I wanted from my movie going experience, that when it was all said and done, it was really hard for me to digest what I had just witnessed. It wasn’t what I was expecting, it wasn’t even that scary, more creepy and disturbing. But its almost been a week now, and I have come to realize just how special this movie really was, and I can’t wait to watch it again this week. Just some things that I noticed throughout the movie, that maybe some people may have missed, or some just really awesome imagery. For instances the very beginning of the movie, Bill draws a smiley face on his bedroom window when it was raining, and right as Georgie walks out of the room, the rain washes away the face. Just the entire opening sequence is special, how Pennywise is almost sweet and innocent during his interaction with Georgie, and how he is trying to hold down a conversation with him, but he doesn’t really know how to. He isn’t human, so when the water and his drool are pouring down his face, human instinct would be to wipe that away but yet he doesn’t. And the quick shot of his arm reaching out to grab Georgie is actually one of the scariest moments of the movie, because you know his arm is extending in order to grab him, but they don’t show that. It’s just after this scene we get to see the real Pennywise, and he isn’t ever like that again, he’s demonic, scary as hell, and enjoys toying with the losers.
The house scene with Eddie, Richie and Bill was why favourite part of the whole movie. It simply encapsulated everything I wanted this movie to be. Tons of Pennywise, scares and most importantly the losers banding together to take him down. It has most of the kids dealing with their fears, which at its core, is what the movie is about, and my favourite moment of the entire movie, is when Pennywise crawls out of the fridge. Its honestly just so disturbing, and Jack Dylan Grazer does such an incredible job in this scene. This was the first time he had ever seen Bill Skarsgard in character, and it showed on his face. People are somewhat complaining about to much CGI with Pennywise, because in the 90s that wasn’t the case. But in the 90s version the little CGI they did use looked so bad, and laughable they couldn’t do stuff like that. And he’s a shape-shifter so they could do some weird stuff like that with him. But I think my favourite Pennywise moment was when Mike first sees him in the meat shop. Just hanging himself with the chains laughing like a fool. That’s why I think Skarsgard’s performance was just brilliant, he seemed to be enjoying himself to the fullest playing this role, and I don’t know this moment just really stuck with me. This will probably change after multiple viewings, but when I left the theatre this was something that was stuck in my head.
Casting The Losers
I have seen this already going around, so I wanted to share my thoughts on who I think should play the adult versions of the Losers Club. Now it’s difficult because they are 12 in the movie, and it comes back every 27 years, so technically we need actors near 40, but some of mine are a little bit younger. This is just hypothetical and I bet not a single one of these people will be casted in the movie, but I think they would do a really good job in their roles! Minor spoilers for Chapter 2. Nothing big, just what they go on to do for their jobs when they get older.
Bill Denbrough – Adam Driver
Fresh off his Star Wars success, Adam is a not quite a house hold name yet, but I think he could do adult Bill justice. Bill becomes a very respected and renowed writer. He writes horror stories to be exact, and when the losers get back together to battle Pennywise once more, once again Bill takes charge in the leading the group. I think Adam Driver could take the reins on being that leader, and I just think he’s a fantastic actor.
Ben Hanscom – Armie Hammer
I know what you’re thinking. The little fat kid, grows up to be Armie Hammer, yeah right. But Ben, who is actually referred to as “Haystack” in the book, well puberty hits him like a freight train, and he grows up to be a tall, slender, successful architect. Like one of the best in the world, he’s award winning, and sophisticated, and I think Armie could pull this off beautifully. He’s also just one of my favourite actors, and I would love to see a man his size be scared of Pennywise, and even better, if they made it seem like Pennywise still towered over him, that would make him seem even more terrifying! The one big chance that will happen with chapter 2, the novel takes place in the 50’s then in the 80s. The movie takes place in the late 80s, so that means chapter 2 will be taking place in almost modern time, so things will certainly change from within the book.
Beverly Marsh – Amber Heard
Everyone in the world wants either Jessica Chastain or Amy Adams for this role, but I don’t. Love them both and I actually do believe one of them will be casted in the role, but I’m going with Amber Heard. Beverly grows up to be a beautiful fashion designer and well that role screams Amber Heard to me, I know she’s a little on the younger age, but she’s involved with the WB studio, playing Mera in the upcoming Aquaman, so she’s already used to having red hair.
Eddie Kaspbrak – Johnny Galecki
Yes Leonard from The Big Bang Theory. When I see Eddie, I see Leonard. I think he could really get into Eddie’s character, and he’s already used to playing a nerd and outsider, so this could be easy for him. Eddie grows up to own a really successful limousine service, but seeing how this will take place in almost modern day, well I don’t think that will be the case. He will probably own some sort of driving app, or something along those lines.
Stan Uris – Neil Patrick Harris
That’s right, suit up! NPH baby, he’s got a background of playing a dramatic role in GoneGirl, and I think he could crush this role. Stan grows up to be a very successful accountant, and already, if you’re not thinking that’s not NPH, then shame on you. Also he’s awesome, and I would love to see him in more things.
Mike Hanlon – Anthony Mackie
I didn’t realize that he was older than he was. Anthony is almost pushing 40, so it’s perfect! He’s also a fantastic actor, who could really show his acting chops in this role. We are used to seeing him as Falcon in the MCU, but he’s done a ton of stuff. Mike has such a larger role in chapter 2 as well, serving as the librarian in Derry. He serves almost as the leader of the group early on in chapter 2, as he is the one contacting all the other Losers, when he realizes that IT is back. Would love to see Anthony in this role.
Richie Tozier – Bill Hader
I’m stealing this one from Finn Wolfhard himself. The cast was asked this question and Bill was his answer, and well I think it’s perfect. I know that Bill Hader is only known for his comedy, well Richie was the comedic relief in the first part, and Richie goes on to be a world class comedian, so yeah this makes perfect sense. Bill Hader is also phenomenal at using his face, and I think he could come up with some really wacky, funny stuff when it comes to him seeing Pennywise again. Really hope this one happens, I would love to see Bill Hader take on a role in a horror movie.
JJ Abrams is back in the directors chair, and I frankly do not care. Have you tried watching The Force Awakens again? It’s not very good.
So here’s the thing, this is nothing personal against JJ Abrams, I happen to like a lot of his movies, but overall The Force Awakens just wasn’t that great. The word “meh” can best describe that movie going experience. Yeah, I’m happy Star Wars is back in our lives, but at the same time, I’ve come to the realization that Star Wars is vastly overrated. Seriously take the Light Sabre out of it, and what is it exactly?. They make it cool, because let’s be honest here they are one of the coolest things ever invented in the film industry. So I’ll give it that and also Darth Vader, that guy is pretty, pretty, pretty neat.
I’m just not sold on this news, because I think they should have gotten someone different, with a different style to end the trilogy. We have the up coming Episode IIX which I guess I’m a little bit excited for, they haven’t shown to much, but Rian Johnson is behind the project and that guy made Looper, so I’ll watch anything he does.
I can’t figure out why I’m not pumped about Star Wars, maybe it’s the fatigue of all these franchises, or the fact that after the first viewing of The Force Awakens, I couldn’t get through it a second time. So I’m a little bit skeptical about this. Also Rogue One just wasn’t great, besides the wicked 30 seconds we got with Vader at the end. I don’t know, I don’t know why Disney went back to the same drinking well to end this trilogy, maybe they know JJ is a yes man and will make the movie they want. That’s probably it, only time will tell I guess.
Sadly, this isn’t a sequel to Logan, sorry to burst your bubble.
So this trailer just came out of the middle of nowhere. It’s funny, just last weekend I watched Oceans 11 and 13, and always forget just how much I enjoy those movies! So when Steven Soderbergh’s newest movie trailer dropped I was a little curious. What can I say, this was just a flat out home run!
The cast, the story, and just the overall trailer, Logan Lucky, might be the surprise of 2017! So it seems like Adam Driver and Channing Tatum are going to play brothers, who might not seem all that smart, but like any good Soderbergh story, an awesome heist is about to happen. The brothers plan on hitting a NASCAR event and they need the help from Lucky Logan, who will be played by none other than James Bond himself, Daniel Craig. Don’t get me wrong, Craig is a terrific actor, but to me, it seems like he’s finally going to do some real acting in this. He’s completely gone off the deep end for his character and I’m really excited to see him play this part. The rest of the cast is insanely packed, so packed, that it’s actually a burden to write everyone down. So take a look for yourself, you know how Soderbergh likes big assembles for his movies!
Coming at the end of August, this could end up being a really good way to end the summer movie season. There’s nothing I love more, than when a trailer drops and you just had no idea this movie was even coming. It’s just refreshing, it seems unique and it’s not a franchise or a sequel or a reboot. Really hoping this one pans out.
I really don’t think Luke is getting off that island.
Star Wars trailers are always the best trailers am I right?! Episode 8 is dropping this Christmas and everyones favourite lightsaber Jedi is back. Obviously this was a teaser so not much is shown and zero plot is explained. We know for a fact that we got some Yoda stuff going on here, with Luke training Rey, to make her become the most powerful Jedi perhaps? So strong that she could be the one to end all Jedi’s, I don’t know but the little dialogue we did get in this trailer indicates that Luke wants the Jedi to end for some reason.
Maybe he feels that he is turning to the dark side, and that no matter how powerful you are, you always end up taking a trip on the dark side, and he can’t have that happening anymore. This to me, will probably be the last movie with get to see our beloved Luke Skywalker in, just a vibe I got from watching the trailer, who knows though!
We get to see small tidbits of other characters here, Leia, Poe, Finn and everyones favourite brat Kylo Ren. I actually really like Kylo Ren, but does he bitch an awful lot, really hoping for a Luke vs. Kylo Ren showdown. The thing about these trailers is, they show such small little quick glances at things that it makes you wonder what it all means, and now I just want it to be December so we can all go see this movie! I’ll say one thing, those ships with the red mist coming out from them looked really cool. That was just so beautiful and was my favourite part of the trailer, curious to learn more about those things.
This trailer did what teasers should do, it will get people talking about Star Wars and make Youtube crash for a little bit. It was a great first trailer and honestly Disney you don’t need to show us anything else, we are all sold on it, just don’t do what most movies do nowadays and ruin the movie with 5 different trailers. But fun fact, Tom Hardy is going to be a Storm Trooper in this, and that is simply amazing.
