Currently browsing the "Connie Britton" tag.

Review: Breaking

Watching this “based on a true story” drama, you can’t help but think back to several other films about decent men taking hostages because the system is horribly unfair to them — Dog Day Afternoon is the most obvious comparison. But Breaking had me thinking more of John Q with Denzel commandeering a hospital ER when his insurance company refuses coverage for his son’s heart transplant. Here John Boyega turns in a career topping performance as Brian Brown-Easley, a decorated Marine who brings a bomb to a bank because he wants the VA to give him the money they owe him so he can take care of his family. And it’s that performance and Michael K. Williams’s (“The Wire”) last turn before his death as the hostage negotiator that make this fairly predictable drama worth watching.

Review: Joe Bell

Mark Wahlberg (Lone Survivor, Deepwater Horizon, Patriots Day) is back at it as yet another flawed, working-class hero type based on a real guy. This time around, he’s Joe Bell, an Oregon dad who quit his job to walk across the country in search of redemption after his 15-year-old gay son Jadin killed himself in response to intense bullying at school. Joe decides to pay tribute to his son by walking to New York City where Jaden had hoped to live one day. Along the way, he speaks in schools, churches, bars–wherever he can get an audience– about the very real dangers and consequences of bullying. And he reflects on his own missed opportunities to connect and protect.

Review: Promising Young Woman

I finally have a solid front-runner for my ‘best of’ list for film and lead actress for 2020. It’s Promising Young Woman starring Carey Mulligan (Wildlife, Mudbound, An Education). The movie defies the boundaries of any particular genre. It’s got dark comedy, drama, crime, vengeance, timely relevance, a great soundtrack, and a twist. Oh, what a twist.