Tag: Jake Gyllenhaal

Reviews

‘Ambulance’ Review

Wannabe Movie Critic

Nobody sticks to their roots more than Michael Bay. Love him or hate him, you have to respect his craft and Ambulance is one of his best films from start to finish. A wild ride with energetic performances from Jake Gyllenhaal and YayahAbdul-Mateen elevate this movie to exciting heights.

Two robbers steal an ambulance after their heist goes awry.

Sometimes you just need certain directors in your life. Enter Michael Bay and all the stuff that comes with it. I knew going into Ambulance, it was at least going to be entertaining as hell, but what I didn’t expect was just how much I was going to enjoy this movie. I think from the very get-go, if the two leads are played by lesser actors, this movie is actually a complete and utter dumpster fire. That’s not the case and there is serious star power at play here and it truly propels the movie forward at all times. Gyllenhaal is outstanding here giving such a unique, fun and over the top performance that it could only belong in a Michael Bay movie.

In a world where we have come to appreciate the Bayhem, the Bayisms, and everything else that comes with a Michael Bay movie. Well he found a new toy to play with while filming, drones. The amount of drone shots in this is staggering. At first it comes across as a pretty inventive and awesome concept, then you are almost laughing at the amount of drone footage used here. It works for the most part, but it got washed up towards the end of the movie.

A little Heat, a little Fast and Furious. A great heist to kick off the madness of the movie, followed by a 90 min chase scene in an ambulance and that’s where another Michael Bay trope is introduced, the bombshell (Eiza Gonzalez). She plays Cam, one of the best paramedics in the city of LA, but she lacks heart. A stone cold worker, who doesn’t really appreciate the work she actually does. Once she drops her patients off, that’s it and her relationship with co-workers have made her an unappealing co-pilot in the ambulance. So when she’s tasked with trying to save a cop who has been fatally wounded while trying to stay alive, her character gets a chance to grow and develop. For once it felt like the Michael Bay hottie actually had a story arc and something to do. He’s learning!

The film flows really well, you’re hooked in immediately with everything. They don’t mess around, they just throw you into the thick of it and wasted no time to get the action going. From start to finish this is one of the strongest Bay films in recent memory. Almost returning to what made him successful to begin with. When he’s paired with a terrific cast, his films can be good! He’s just such a hit or miss director and has almost become a parody of himself at times. Ambulance could be the launching pad for a Bay run here and I’m here for it. This just felt like an old school movie, a smaller budget heist film is something we don’t get often.

In a world full of comic book movies, sequels, spin-offs, prequels, reboots. It’s just refreshing to get some original IP and a fun ride. Seeing this in IMAX was awesome and it really gripes you from the very get-go. We need more Bayhem in our lives and I can’t stress enough how much fun Gyllenhaal was. Go see it on a big screen, grab some snacks and just enjoy the wild ride. I just love movies like this so much.

Ambulance = 81/100

News

‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’ Trailer

Wannabe Movie Critic

You need a Venn diagram to explain this thing. It comes out after Endgame, but it could take place before Infinity War. Whatever, it’s got Jake Gyllenhaal.

Peter Parker and his friends go on summer vacation to Europe, where Peter finds himself trying to save his friends

Very confusing time. Marvel promoting a movie that might take place after the biggest event in comic book movie history. Bold move. We all know Peter Parker got crop dusted at the end of Infinity War, a causality of “the snap” by Thanos. People are debating whether or not this will be a prequel to Infinity War, or if this will take place after Endgame. Why would Marvel spoil something so big, even though we know it’s coming months before Endgame hits theatres. Part of me thinks this will end with them back on the bus in New York when we first see Peter in Infinity War. Now Peter and his friends are heading across the pond for a good old summer vacation. Well, what he doesn’t know is that being a full fledge superhero is a 24/7 job and soon into his holiday Nick Fury arrives and tells him he needs his help.

It’s nice to see Nick Fury making the rounds again in the MCU, he’s a great character and Sam Jackson kills the role. I think the last 30 seconds of this trailer was better than anything we saw in Spider-Man Homecoming. The stakes are certainly higher and it feels like a much larger movie. Not so grounded with the lonely Vulture as the villain, Spider-Man will be dealing with the elementals. Sandman, Hydro-Man and Molten-Man, pretty cool stuff if you ask me. It will be interesting to see how they translate Spider-Man swinging from skyscrapers in New York, to the streets of London.

For the main attraction. Jake Gyllenhaal, as Mysterio. This whole role is up in the air. What a cool character design and concept. Able to use magic? Maybe. We know that Mysterio is the master of illusion, so this whole thing could be created by him in order for it to look like he’s really the good guy. I kind of hope they use him as an ally. Who knows if anything he’s doing is actually real or not, I’m really curious to see how they will play this out. All I know is he looks dope and it’s Jake Gyllenhaal who simply doesn’t do bad movies.

I’m already more excited for Far From Home then I was ever for Homecoming. Good stuff again Marvel.

News

‘Velvet Buzzsaw’ Trailer

Wannabe Movie Critic

Now, this is what Ghostbusters 2 should have been all about. This could be the scariest movie of 2019

Velvet-Buzzsaw-Header-2_1050_591_81_s_c1.jpg

“After a series of paintings by an unknown artist are discovered, a supernatural force enacts revenge on those who have allowed their greed to get in the way of art.”

So Netflix decided to drop an atomic bomb of a movie trailer today. Talk about coming out of nowhere. From the writer and director of the illusive creepy thriller Nightcrawler, he’s back with his pal Jake Gyllenhaal. Jake is bringing a ton of other great talents with him though. John Malkovich, Billy Magnussen, Toni Colette, Renee Russo, and Daveed Diggs. This looks like a surreal hypnotic scare the pants off you horror film.

This doesn’t look like most horror films, it’s bright and colorful in most scenes, with a vibe that feels different. At the beginning of the trailer, I had no idea this was going to turn out to be a horror movie. Packed cast and a director that has shown promise in the past, this could be another hit for Netflix. Jake went full-on psycho the last time these two teamed up, and it appears he’s dipping back into the insane asylum.

Dropping in a mere few weeks, they must feel confident, but I also guess Netflix doesn’t need a whole lot of promotion to have a success on their hands. No one knew what Bird Box was until it came out, and before we knew it, the whole world was talking about it. Netflix is becoming more powerful as the days past it seems. They have massive hits dropping every month it feels like, and I can’t decide if it’s a good thing or not. People will flock towards this so quickly, and its word of mouth will spread like wildfire if it turns out to be great.

Reviews

‘Stronger’ Review 

Wannabe Movie Critic

That Jake Gyllenhaal, he making me cry

hero_Stronger-TIFF-2017.jpg
(LIONSGATE)

Stronger is a film directed by David Gordon Green and it’s about Jeff Bauman, a brave man who lost his legs in the Boston Marathon bombing, and this movie tells that heroic tale. It’s a movie about love, loss, compassion and most importantly family.

Imagine having your entire life change in a blink of an eye. This movie and this story are both very inspirational, and at certain moments throughout the movie you feel for these people. Jeff Bauman just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time, and in a heartbeat his whole entire world changed. Not only did he suffer a devastating loss, losing both of his legs, he became a figure of hope, and a hero to the city of Boston. He was just a normal guy who worked at Costco and had relationship issues, that no one knew about, now he is this national figure and is being called a hero and Jeff can’t really comprehend why. On top of all of that, he is trying to learn how to live this new life of his, and adjust to the difficulties that come with his tragic loss. Jeff is dealing with so much, and I couldn’t really stomach thinking about being in this position and how strong you must be to deal with all of this. On top of all of this comes the fact, that not only is your life change forever, but those around you too. He’s a Boston guy, that’s one thing I want to give tremendous credit to Gyllenhaal for, his Boston accent is top notch. That can make or break a performance and a movie for me, and if you can say “GO SOX!” in a perfect Boston accent, then you’re doing it right. I’ll get into his remarkable performance later. So Jeff’s family is a Boston blue collared family, they love to drink and aren’t all that well educated. So when this happens to Jeff, they don’t know how to process it. His mother Patty (Miranda Richardson) who is just fantastic in this role, is a drunk. She can barley even take care of herself, let alone her son when he needs her the most, and on top of that, her living arrangements are not suited for Jeff’s needs. There’s a scene when Jeff finally gets released from the hospital and when they are wheeling him out, the expression on Gyllenhaal’s face is just breathtaking. Jeff doesn’t want any of this attention, it’s making him so uncomfortable, and the way Jake expresses that just using his eyes and facial movements, is what acting is all about. You could really feel his performance in this. So when they go back to his mothers apartment, its up two flights of stairs and her place is a dump. Imagine having the worst day of your life, to only come home to a horrible living experience, that would dawn on me too.  He’s trying so hard to please his family, meanwhile he’s dealing with severe PTSD, and when he gets invited to wave the flag at a Boston Bruins game, he wants no part in that. When the crowd starts making a tremendous amount of noise, he retreats back to the day of the bombing and really has a meltdown in an elevator which is a very powerful scene with his girlfriend Erin. Erin played by Tatiana Maslany is fantastic in this movie. She doesn’t really follow the classic girlfriend cliches throughout the movie. Erin and Jeff were broken up when the bombing occurred, so when it happens, as she puts it “doesn’t know what she’s suppose to do.” You really feel for her, because she gets thrust into this uniquely incredible set of circumstances and she wants to be there for Jeff, but at the beginning it’s really difficult for her. Jeff was always not showing up to things, and being late, so Erin broke up with him. So on the day he does show up, something truly awful happens, and there’s a really gut punching scene where the two of them scream at each about that day. And it was probably the most emotional scene in the movie – for me at least.

The movie as a whole is really good, all the performances are just spot on and the surrounding cast members really feel like they were plucked from the streets of Boston. It just made it seem and feel more authentic and that’s such a great quality in a movie, especially when you’re dealing with a true story. But man, Jake Gyllenhaal once again proves he’s one of the best working actors today. Every year he delivers just a phenomenal performance. Go look at his IMDB, his track record is insane. The only way I can describe his performance in Stronger, is the fact that I really don’t think he was acting at all. I feel like Jake was just feeling every moment and every scene, and it just felt so real and authentic. He was living in the moment for this role, and I think that’s the only way you could go about doing it. It’s so raw, emotional and powerful and just something you would already expect from him at this point, but he really blew me away here. I will be shocked if he isn’t nominated for an Oscar this year. He really deserves it, because along with his performance, there comes the physical aspect of it as well. The effects and the way they make it seem like he doesn’t have legs throughout the movie was mind blowing. They did such a great job, and Jake himself did such a great job at making you believe that he didn’t have two legs. He does so much acting in his facial expressions and just his body language its remarkable and it’s reasons like this why I go see every Jake Gyllenhaal movie. Tatiana plays off Jake so well, she has the whole “angry Boston girlfriend” thing down pat. She has some really tense and emotional scenes with him and she is right there with him. I was really impressed with her performance as a whole and she deserves a lot of credit.

This was one of the more emotional and uplifting movies I have seen in the theatres in a long time. There are moments and scenes in this movie that can really hit home for some  people, and it’s just a really inspiring story of a really strong man. I was glad they didn’t have a cliche montage of him training in this movie, and this feels like a real life story, not a movie about something that happened in real life. It kind of shifts the narrative a little bit and I thought that worked really well. Life isn’t a fairy tale all the time, or like you see in the movies and they show that here. Jeff has is issues in recovery, especially when he skips rehab to get hammered, or just wants to be lazy, play video games and not take his medication. There’s one scene at the beginning of the movie that involves his manager from Costco, that was so sad, but happy at the same time. Where his family thinks Jeff is getting fired, and are yelling at this man because they think their son will never be able to work again. And the manager says something, that just gives you all the feels and says “Jeff will always work for us” and his family just goes silent and it’s just a really beautiful moment.

When Jeff finally overcomes his fears and learns to appreciate the fact that he gives people hope and that he is a symbol of what it means to be “Boston Strong” it was just awesome to watch. He understands that he can be a beacon of hope for people, and that he should let people, and more importantly strangers into his life. Jeff says something that kind of sums up a lot of stuff up, he says “I’m a hero for standing there and getting my legs blown off?” Because he’s not a hero for that happening to him, but for what came after that, for helping catch the bombers and for just being the definition of strong.

Check ya later

Nate’s Movie Tour Reviews – Stronger = 88/100

 

 

 

Reviews

Recap: Movies of March!

Wannabe Movie Critic

So March is officially the start of summer blockbuster season

March was some month huh? Seriously though, 5 top notch movies were released and that’s kind of uncharted territory for such an early month of a new year. Things are changing in terms of the landscape of how movies are being distributed, with so many franchises, sequels, reboots and comic book movies, it’s hard for them to all be released in the April to August timeframe. Not saying that’s a bad thing, I enjoyed this past month of movie going, and I think we are in for a little bit a snooze-fest in April. The Fate of The Furious looks okay, but that’s honestly the one major release scheduled for April, so the theatre might go a little ligher on my wallet this next month. So in order here are the movies of March, from least favourite to favourite!

5.) Life

Alien meets Gravity! I’ve always been a fan of space movies, so I was excited when I heard Jake Gyllenhaal and Ryan Reynolds were going to be trapped on the International Space Station with an unknown alien life form. This movie was overly enjoyable until the ending which I found to be a major let down. Full of same old cliches that come with a movie like this, I was waiting for a curveball in this movie, but it never happened. Life ultimately failed to take any real chances to maybe try and reinvent this genre, and that was its downfall. I still had a good time with it, as it had a few scary and tense moments.

My Grade – 70/100

4.) Kong: Skull Island 

Is that a monkey? Vietnam was a crazy time, now throw is a 100 foot ape into the mix, and now it’s a party! This movie kind of had it all, and I’ve actually come to like this movie the more I think about it. Maybe it was because I was like super hungry during it (I forgot to get popcorn!) and that just made me hangry and I took it out on poor Kong, but now when I think back on it, I actually really liked this movie! Kong was awesome, and that’s all you need in a movie called Kong: Skull Island. It’s by far the best Kong we’ve got on the big screen, and I’m excited to see where they take this character, and I’m awaiting the epic throw down between Godzilla and Kong. The only fault in the movie was that there were far too many human characters. Like too many to count, and at times that really took me out of the movie. But again whenever Kong was on screen I was hooked, and he was doing really cool shit, like punching stuff, punching more stuff and punching even more stuff. You get my point, I’ve renamed it, Kong: Skull Punch Island! John C. Reilly was a hero in this movie, and stole the show!

My Grade – 73/100

3.) Beauty & The Beast 

One thing I took away from this, 3D movies suck! You have to keep your head so straight and cannot move it or you will lose focus and the screen will go blurry. That happened a lot watching Beauty & The Beast! Any who, the movie itself was fun, I had a blast going back in time almost to my childhood while I watched this. It had everything you could have wanted in a live adaptation of this beloved fairy tale. Emma Watson and Luke Evans were so incredible as Belle and Gaston, and I couldn’t believe how good they were at singing. Some of the songs felt a little monotoned but that was not a big deal at all. This movie did its job, it got me excited for future live adaptations of Disney properties, and I think that if this is the bar that is set for their future films, the future is extremely bright. Josh Gad as LeFou was the standout in this, the moment I saw that casting I knew he would be, so kudos to him!

My Grade – 82/100

2.) Power Rangers 

Been waiting an awful long time for a motion picture Power Rangers movie, because I simply refuse to acknowledge the 90’s ones because they were just horrible. It’s been about a week now since I watched Power Rangers, and one thing that I took away was these kids actually did have attitude, and that they were kind of assholes? Well at least Trini, Jason and Kimberly, it was kind of weird, Jason is just a douche and I guess he is the most suitable leader of the bunch? Besides that, I really enjoyed this movie guys, I had a blast watching it, and again it was kind of everything I thought it would be. Perfect blend of new and old, and they did a bang up job casting the new rangers. Usually known to be super cheesy and campy, this time around we find ourselves dealing with a little darker tone, and touching on some serious issues teenagers are dealing with in today’s society. To best honest, my least favourite part of the movie was when they are in their Zords. I don’t know, it just didn’t really do it for me, and I wish we could have just got them being Power Rangers a little bit longer. Could have used another 5-7 minutes of them just kicking butt in their suits, instead of being in their Zords not doing a whole lot. Small problem, but I’m certainly excited to see where this franchise goes from here. Green Ranger time baby!

My Grade – 73/100

1.) Logan 

The movie that was so nice, I saw it twice, in three days…..Some days I just stare off into space and think about this movie. Logan was just such a special movie for myself, and I know for many others. It was the perfect send off for Hugh Jackman, he gave us 17 years of being this character. That’s such a long time, it’s actually lunacy to think about it. He never complained, never quit on us and kept coming back to try and make a better movie for us fans. It’s super sad to see him go, but hopefully FOX will take some time to decide what the best approach is when it comes to recasting Wolverine. I can’t say enough good things about Logan, it had the perfect blend of great story telling, brutal violence and all around great performances. I will miss Hugh Jackman as the Wolverine, but all good things must come to an end, and there was no better way for him to go out. Logan entered my top 3 all time comic book movies, and I’m looking forward to watching it for years to come.

My Grade -97/100

So there you have it, my favourite 5 films of March! It was the best all around movie month in a long time, and I think I’m going to do this at the end of every month from here on out! Did I miss anything? What were your favourite movies of this past month? Let me know!

Reviews

‘Life’ Movie Review 

Wannabe Movie Critic

Nobody and I mean nobody drops better angry F-Bombs than Ryan Reynolds

(Sony Pictures)

In space no one can hear you scream, and in Life there was a boatload of screaming to be had. Space movies always remind me of one thing; space is scary as hell! Especially when you are trapped on the International Space Station with a newly discovered alien life form.

So aboard the International Space Station is a multinational six-member crew that is comprised of some of the brightest minds on Earth. They intercept an incoming space probe that is returning from a successful trip from Mars. They collect a soil sample, where the crew is tasked to study it, which could ultimately end up being the first evidence of life outside of Earth. The crew quickly discover that not only is this the first sign of life, but that it is “all muscle, all brain and all eye,” which sounds scary as shit if you ask me. After the organism evolves, it is given a name, Calvin, after a school in America. Calvin quickly becomes more evolved and smarter as the day’s pass, and the crew slowly begins to realize, that they might have bitten off more than they can chew. As they find themselves in a fight for their lives, they must work together to stop Calvin from reaching Earth. As they’re picked off one by one, Calvin not only evolves, it gets smarter and smarter, and the crew realizes that maybe they should have left this creature back on Mars, where it belongs.

The crew itself is comprised of an American senior medical officer, David Jordan (Jake Gyllenhaal), who has been in space for the longest period of time in human history, with just over 430 days served in space. David mostly keeps to himself, remaining quite, but when push comes to shove we find him becoming a little more of a badass. Dr. Miranda North (Rebecca Ferguson), she serves as the British Quarantine Officer, and the captain of this mission. She is in charge of the “firewall protocols” which serve as the safety plans in case anything goes wrong onboard the space station. She knows more information than the crew does, and keeps a few secrets from them as well. Rory Adams (Ryan Reynolds) the American pilot of the space station is the crews class clown, and leader of the group. Ryan Reynolds was probably the standout of the movie for me, providing us with the best scene of the movie that’s for sure. As usual, he’s a wise cracking, know-it-all something we have become accustom too in his movies. Not saying that’s a bad thing, I actually really liked his performance in Life, it was nice to see him branch out a little bit. The Japanese systems engineer Sho Murakami (Hiroyuki Sanada), the strong but silent type. Who just wants to get home so he can see his newly born daughter. The Russian commander of the mission, Katerina Golovkina (Olga Dihovichnaya) willing to step up and take charge when need be, a strong woman who’s not afraid of a little perseverance. Finally we have the crew’s biologist, a British man Hugh Derry (Ariyon Bakare) who is the most excited about the specimen on board and wants nothing more than to study it and make the human population proud. Remember this is a movie that takes place in space with a alien, these people are going to be disposable, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t start to care for them, and root for them to win. People are going to die in a movie like this, it’s just the nature of films like this. Life borrows a lot of elements from the original Alien movie, the movie that redefined the genre of science-fiction. I’m a huge Gyllenhaal fan, and I thought that he didn’t really have a whole lot to do in this, I felt that he was very underused in the first 2/3 of Life which was kind of a let down. He’s a great actor and I wish the director would have given him more to do. It felt like they just didn’t know what to do with his character at times, and being the lead of the movie it felt out of place at times. Speaking of the director, it’s Daniel Espinosa (Safe House) and he was almost the star of the movie. This is on the edge of your seat kind of suspense, with great tense moments, along with some really scary situations. Daniel did a fantastic job bringing all this together and create one hell of a landscape for the movie.  This movie has some really intense moments where I was even almost looking away (I’m a baby) but when a movie can do that, it’s doing its job. Taking place only on the space station, Daniel does a great job shooting the movie  very confined and tight, which makes for an even more enjoyable movie watching experience.

Life is a slow-burn, which means it takes awhile to get going and it takes its time for things to come together, but in the end it usually pays off. My biggest gripe for the movie was I wasn’t a fan of the ending. As the movie was winding down, I knew it only had a few outcomes to showcase, and I just wasn’t a fan of how things wrapped up, and it was an ending that didn’t really answer all the questions. Leaving the audience with a lot of “what ifs” and seeing how I don’t think Life will be getting a sequel that can be very frustrating for the movie goer. I’m not saying I knew from the beginning how the movie was going to end, but you could see all the twists of the movie happening before they actually did. Nothing ever really shocked me in Life, so I just wish they maybe threw one more curve ball at us, or maybe just didn’t follow the exact cookie cutter formula that most of these space movies follow. That doesn’t mean this is a bad movie by any means, or that I liked it less, it just means that you know what’s going to happen next before it actually happens in the movie. You spend two hours investing your time into the movie and sometimes you just want to be rewarded at the end of it, and not left scratching your head about possible outcomes or what kind of message the filmmaker is trying to get across.

Life is not a game changer by any means for the genre, but it does some things really well. This a good science-fiction horror/thriller, that people should go out and see. If you’re a fan of these kinds of flicks, then you won’t be disappointed in the outcome. Like I said it has some good performances, enough scares, and tense moments to have you on the edge of your seat in certain moments, and I thought Calvin was a pretty cool alien. It was different to see something that wasn’t so terrifying looking, as say some other monster movies, but it didn’t need to look scary, to show the audience just how much damage it could possibly inflict on the human population. I just know if they keep making movies like this I will never find myself going on a space vacation in the year 2050.

Check ya later

Nate’s Movie Tour Reviews – Life = 70/100