Reviews

‘The Mule’ Review

Say what you want about Clint Eastwood. The man is 88 years old and directs a movie every year, that’s so impressive. The Mule won’t be everyone’s cup of tea.

A 90-year-old horticulturist and Korean War veteran is caught transporting $3 million worth of cocaine through Illinois for a Mexican drug cartel


Regrets. I feel like Clint Eastwood has a lot of them. After watching his latest flick, The Mule, it felt pretty apparent that there are some underlying tones between his character in this movie and the real-life Clint Eastwood. It was almost like he wanted to use this project to tell the world that maybe he wasn’t always the greatest father or the worlds best husband during his life. When you start peeling back all of the layers of this film, when you get to its core, it’s about a man dealing with his family and all the regrets he feels about them. Yes, he still is an old-cranky white racist man, but after living on this planet for almost a century, what can you expect. Also remember that these are just characters he plays, and there’s a fine line between real life Clint Eastwood and the man we see on the big screen. Clint keeps on making movies, he was born to do so, and whether you agree with the person he is, the matter of the fact is, he is an 88-year-old man, who makes a film every year. What will you be doing when you’re 90? What are most 90-year-old people doing? Certainly not this.

So Earl Stone (Eastwood) isn’t a family man, in the first few minutes of the film he misses his daughter’s wedding in order to attend a flower convention. Earl loves flowers more than his family, he’s an incredible gardener and he’s well respected in that community. He enjoys putting the time into these flowers and watch them blossom into something beautiful. Something his wife points out, that he would rather watch his flowers bloom into something beautiful, while he stands by and watches his family die. He feels more comfortable among those people than he does around his own family. One of the themes of The Mule definitely is that “Millenials” ruin everything. That they don’t know how to do much, whether its how to change a tire, or deal with simple day-to-day tasks. It comes up so much throughout the movie, they really beat you over the head with it. In fact, Earl says at the beginning of the movie which takes place in 2005 that, “the internet, who needs it.” Well, the internet ran his flower business out of town, when we meet up with Earl 12 years later. All he wanted to do was provide for his family, “the most important thing is family.” Something Earl doesn’t realize until much later in life. So when his grand-daughter Ginny (Taissa Farmiga) is getting married, he meets one of her friends who said, if he ever needs some cash to give this number a call. You see Earl is 90 and he’s never had a parking ticket in his life, in fact, his entire record is squeaky clean. So Earl gets thrown into the life of a drug mule. He’s pretty much the perfect cover, and when he starts doing a great job, Earl very quickly becomes the cartels best and most reliable mule. Again, this is all about family, Earl is taking a serious risk, being tracked by DEA agents Bates (Bradley Cooper) and his partner (Michael Pena), and having to deal with well, the cartel.

You are going on a road trip with Clint, you spend a ton of time with him in his car, listening to him sing a various sort of songs, and I actually enjoyed this aspect of the film. As he keeps making these “runs” he soon figures out that he has bitten off way more than he can chew. But when he is able to help his community by re-opening his favorutie bar and pay for the open-bar at his grand-daughters wedding, Earl feels like this new gig is helping those most important to him. I wish we found out a little bit more about his past and why he is so distant with his family, missing one wedding couldn’t be all that he had done. That was one aspect I wish the film touched on because if the whole movie is going to circulate around this theme and this idea, it would have been more enjoyable if we knew just a tad more. Because when things between his family ultimately get better due to unfortunate circumstances that moment doesn’t feel as powerful as it could have. Clint is top-notch throughout, he played such a gentle, kind old man, but who also won’t take any shit from anyone, and toss in a pinch of racism. He has this charm, where Mexican cartel thugs learn to love him almost instantly and become his friend. Watching them teach Earl how to use a cell phone and text is quite funny.

Performances are great across the board, you can really tell how much Bradley Cooper admires Clint Eastwood, some even say he would love to be this generation, Clint. I’m pretty sure Bradley even let his Jackson Maine (A Star is Born) accent slip in a few scenes. Since Clint does make a movie every year, he can be really hit or miss, but I thought The Mule was another notch on his good belt. It surprised me in certain areas and I honestly thought I knew the whole movie before I even saw it. Tonally I don’t think it matched the great trailer, but that’s the job of a trailer, to sell you on a movie. I could have used more emotional beats, especially in those scenes that I felt could have been much more emotionally charged. With all that being said, I had fun with The Mule, and it’s one of Eastwood’s best films in recent memory. He has a great connection and chemistry with Cooper and I hope they continue to make movies together because I think Eastwood is going to outlive me.

Check ya later

Nate’s Movie Tour Review – The Mule = 73/100

Reviews

‘A Star Is Born’ Review

Bradley Cooper delivers the best performances of his career and lets the world know that he is a force to be reckoned with behind the director’s chair.

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A musician helps a young singer and actress find fame, even as age and alcoholism send his own career into a downward spiral


So Bradley Cooper can really sing. They let you know this from the very opening moments of this film. Not only can this man sing, but he can also direct and he can act. Is there anything that this man cannot do? Going into A Star Is Born, the directorial debut of Bradley Cooper expectations were high. Reviews had been pouring in and everyone was declaring this a sensation and one of the best films of 2018. When it appeared at TIFF word of mouth was spreading fast, and this instantly shot up the ranks of my most anticipated movies to see before the end of the year.

Imagine a chance meeting, that is almost like a fairy tale playing out in reality. One of the biggest rock stars in the world, drunk off his ass, stumbles into the drag bar where you are performing. Well, when Jackson Maine (Bradley Cooper) does just that and is mesmerized by Ally (Lady Gaga) the moment he hears her open her mouth and sings, you know these two are destined for greatness together. So when Jackson asks her to have a drink with her, he wants to get to know this mysterious singer/songwriter. See Jackson might be a bonafide rock star, but he is battling inner demons. He has massive alcohol and drug issues, and he is looking for motivation and a new spark in his life. Jack is also losing his hearing from an issue he’s been dealing with his entire life. When Ally agrees to go to one of his shows, he drags her on stage to perform one of her songs together, and the crowd goes wild. In just a matter of minutes, Ally’s life is completely turned upside down, and she is thrust into this lifestyle of the rich and famous. From there we go on this rollercoaster emotional journey, that is filled with heartfelt love songs, the ups, and downs of being famous and the battle with the bottle. A Star Is Born is really everything I wanted it to be and more.

First things first, the music is incredible. I knew that Bradley Cooper could sing, but I didn’t know I would be blown away like I was. The concert scenes feel so authentic and real, I thought I was just watching a live taping of a band performing in concert. You get emotionally invested in these people because of the performances they are giving. Lady Gaga is phenomenal here. She isn’t the first singer to crossover into acting and gives an outstanding performance. Madonna and Jennifer Hudson both come to mind, but Lady Gaga sheds her usual over the top fashion look and transforms into another person completely. Their chemistry is great, and in a movie like this, that is either going to carry the film into great heights, or it will inevitably be its downfall. I believed that they were in love and that they fell for one another, which means that they probably spent some time together before filming.

It was interesting to watch Ally’s rise to fame while watching Jack battle his demons, all while trying to show her ropes of the business. One is flying high, while the other is battling each and every day with something that he doesn’t always want to share with those closest. His older brother Bobby (Sam Elliot) is the last family he’s got, and they have an intense and personal relationship. All three of them should be nominated come Oscar season, I can see big nominations for this. Bradley will not only get nominated for acting, but he should get a nomination for directing and this will be nominated for best picture. It’s a spectacle, and Bradley Cooper deserves so much credit for everything he has accomplished. Even Lady Gaga shocked me. She became so real, at times, I forgot just how overzealous she is in real life, I almost like this version of her better.

When you’re in love, you will do whatever it takes to make that person feel special. This is quite the love story. It’s a story about taking a chance on someone, even if they are from a different world. Alcoholism is a scary disease and I thought Cooper did an excellent job depicting addiction and how it not only affects those around you but how it ultimately runs your entire life. Addiction can consume you, no matter how much love and support you have in your life. Jack deals with it his entire life until it catches up with him, and he needs to go to rehab. This is an emotional film, with powerful performances, and it leaves you wondering if this is what life is truly like for world-famous rock stars.

Overall I thought the soundtrack and performances carried this movie really well. Bradley kind of sucks you in straight away and his performance is almost hypnotic. When you haven’t seen a certain actor do something like sing, you can really become invested in their role. The ending is soul crushing and it kind of leaves you wanting a little bit more. I know I’ll be pumping the soundtrack for the next few weeks.

Check ya later

Nate’s Movie Tour Reviews – A Star Is Born = 91/100

News

‘A Star Is Born’ Trailer

Do not take your significant other to this movie, unless you want a baby.

Like seriously Bradley Cooper? You’re just adding incredible vocal skills to your resume. He sounds like the combination of Jesus and Fergie. Who knew this guy had chops like this? Mix in the fact that he’s going to be directing this, and my god. What a crazy week for movie trailers.

I heard about this, knew very little about the project, I was even skeptical about if in fact he was using his own vocals. Toss in Lady Gaga, who was born to play a role like this and I think we have a pretty big success coming out in October. The next Walk The Line if you ask me. Everything about this looks like Oscar bait, performances, directing and especially song. Dave Chapelle looks to be in rare form here, could snag himself a best supporting role. If this plays out as well as the trailer, Cooper and Gaga could see themselves with nominations as well. Looks emotional as hell, with great acting and I’m sure Cooper will deliver on the directing front.

Probably my favourite trailer of the week.

Reviews

‘Guardians of The Galaxy: Vol 2’ Review. 

I really have no idea how I feel about this movie.

(MARVEL STUDIOS)
Seriously, I just don’t know how I feel about Marvel’s latest outing. Considering how excited I was for this movie, and when early reviews started pouring in, and it was being met with mixed reactions, I thought to myself “how can these people not love this movie”. But after seeing it, I myself have fixed feelings about it…..Don’t get me wrong – Guardians was great, it just ended up being a completely different movie from what I was expecting. One of my most anticipated movies of 2017, I felt underwhelmed when I left the theatre. I’ll say this, for all the flack Man of Steel got, was I the only one who thought the ending of Guardians was similar to that. Yeah, they weren’t fighting in a populated city, but my god it felt like the exact same movie. Peter Quill literally turned into Superman. Or maybe that’s just opinion, but all of that stuff at the end just felt so out of place and not the movie I thought I was going to be watching. The whole movie was going so well and I was just so thrown off by the ending that it completely changed my outlook. When the movie opens up, from the very get go I knew this movie was going to be hilarious. Some people might not like all he jokes, but when they keep hitting, I don’t understand why people get upset with the amount of comedy.

You know the crew right? Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax (Dave Bautista), Groot (Vin Diesel), Rocket (Bradley Cooper), Yondu (Michael Rooker) and Nebula (Karen Gillian). Okay now you know if you didn’t before. Oh and who can forget the ugly new comer Mantis (Pom Klementieff). As usual the cast is great, it’s by far the best part of the entire movie. They all love these roles so much and give so much to them, that it just makes the whole thing work. Honestly, who knew Dave Bautista could be so funny and deliver so many quality one-liners. Bradley Cooper kills it at Rocket, it’s perfect voice casting. And of course, the star of the show Star Lord himself, Chris Pratt was born to play this role. And he says he wants to continue for 20 more years! That won’t happen but that’s commitment baby! And Zoe and Karen almost feel like real sisters at this point.

The whole movie is about family. Peter has his daddy issues; Gamora has her problems with her sister Neubla. Drax is still getting over the loss of his family, while welcoming a new member to the team Mantis. Rocket is trying to learn that it’s okay to love, and to want to be part of a family and Baby Groot is well kind of just doing his thing. Yondu is also trying to learn that he loves Peter Quill and trying to find his purpose and spot in life. Guardians is full of so many messages and trying to be more than just another superhero movie. I’m all for the messages, and during parts of this movie it can get emotional, James Gunn does a great job in making this movie pull on your heartstrings, but sometimes that gets drowned out by words, rather than just letting me feel what they are trying to make us feel. So his whole life, Peter has wanted to know who his father is and we get introduced to Ego (Kurt Russell) who has been searching for Peter for a long time. Ego is essentially a god, who has created an entire planet for himself. He isn’t all that he appears to be; he’s kind of a shady Dad. Knocked up Peter’s Mom while on Earth, and then left her for a strange reason. I’m going to go pretty light on any spoilers because I wouldn’t want anything being ruined for this movie. As usual Kurt Russell is dynamite and the chemistry between him and Pratt was fantastic. They meshed so well together, and it just made the whole father-son relationship seem a little more real. Another father-son relationship going on was between Yondu and Quill, as from birth, he has raised Peter and believes that he is his real father. Michael Rooker who plays the blue man himself, for me was the highlight of the movie. He was incredible, and he’s always been a fantastic actor, but in the first Guardians there simply just wasn’t enough Yondu. Now he’s part of the team, and him and Rocket had some of the best scenes together in the whole movie. Yondu understands Rocket, who feels isolated and alone and pushes away anyone who gets to close. Yondu feels that and they form a great friendship and actually a Yondu-Rocket spinoff would have been amazing!

Another reason why I have such mixed feelings about this movie, was the soundtrack. Remember how awesome the mix tape was in Guardians Vol 1. This time around, I can maybe remember one song from Vol 2. Great song, The Chain by Fleetwood Mac, but I wanted more from the soundtrack. Music was such a big part of the first one, in terms of making certain scenes click and feel more emotional and I just never got that this time around. Which was kind of a letdown, that was one thing I was really looking forward to.

I thought the story was great, James Gunn is an extremely gifted writer, and one of the strongest components of the film is its solid writing. But towards the end, once again, the galaxy is about to end, but why do I feel like nothing is at stake? Literally the galaxy is going to shit, and Rocket is asking for a piece of tape, yes I know that bit was hilarious but sometimes that’s the problem with the MCU. I just never feel like anything is at stake or anything truly awful will happen. And when it gets mixed in with humor at the wrong time, sometimes I just shake my head. It was just a massive CGI-fest towards the end, like I said, it felt very Man of Steel like, I couldn’t handle Peter and his Dad flying through the air punching one another. And once again, we need to be reminded a handful of times throughout the movie, that this is part of the MCU, so don’t forget that. It’s almost forced at this point; it’s been almost 10 years now, WE KNOW! I was angry that we didn’t see Thanos; they should have had him show up, because I feel like when he finally show up, it will be Whiplash all over again. I just wish sometimes they would hold back on the larger picture references and just let us enjoy the story for what it is, but maybe that’s just me.

At the end of the day, I went into this movie thinking I was going to love it. That didn’t end up happening, I certainly had a great time, because first of all I love Chris Pratt, and I was laughing my ass off the majority of the movie. I guess it just wasn’t the movie I thought it was going to be. I went in expecting one thing and was completely thrown off guard by the ending. It didn’t derail the movie for me, but it just felt so out of place. I guess that’s the best way to describe it. It looks beautiful, it’s funny, but it’s just not what I wanted from Guardians of The Galaxy Vol 2. I wonder if people are now going to send Dave Bautista pictures of their turds. Maybe I’ll tweet him and ask….

Check ya later.

Nate’s Movie Tour Reviews – Guardians of The Galaxy Vol 2 = 77/100