A Most Violent Year (2014)

I've been wanting to see A Most Violent Year for ages because of Jessica Chastain but I've been putting it off because, honestly, the film itself didn't really appeal me. It still didn't but I gave it a shot anyway because of Chastain and Oscar Isaac. 

The story is set in 1981 New York City and follows Abel Morales (Oscar Isaac), a successful and ambitious immigrant, owner of a heating oil company who is planning to grab a bigger piece of New York's gas industry while dealing with very dangerous competitor and a hungry district attorney (David Oyelowo) who starts investigating Adel's company's financial records,. In the meantime, his wife, Anna (Jessica Chastain), accuses him of not doing enough to protect his family.

The biggest, if not the only issue with A Most Violent Year is the story, it is simply too thin to fill a two hour film, it feels dragged, like a repetition of the same things over and over again, and there are subplots with the potential to be involving and complex but get lost in a glass of water. It's not compelling as a gangster story should be, and barely held my attention.

Just like the story, the characters too are never that compelling. They are quite stiff and one-dimensional, they don't have a backstory —because of this, in Abel's case, stoicism is often mistaken for naivety—, some of them are nothing but plot devices —at least they make things a bit more logical— and most of them are stereotypes. Because of this lazy writing, I found it very hard to care about any of them.

Somehow, the actors still manage to do a good job. Oscar Isaac gives a captivating performance as Abel Morales, a man who does not believe in violence and does not accept it as a mean and captures Abel's moral struggle very well. Jessica Chastain gives yet another magnetic performance as Anna, Abel's powerful wife and business partner —unfortunately, she doesn't get enough screen time to make a bigger impact. The chemistry between Isaac and Chastain is amazing and makes their relationship and its developments more interesting. David Oyelowo also does a good job as the district attorney who wants to bring Abel down.

A24

As for the direction, J.C. Chandor does a great job at delivering an eighties look. From the dark and gloomy cinematography to the make-up and costumes, it really feels like being back in the eighties. He doesn't, however, really build much tension, and because of this, A Most Violent Year is ultimately very dull. Not to mention the utter lack of grittiness and violence —contrary to what one would assume from the title, the film ditches action for dialogue but unfortunately, it's not very sharp.

Triple Frontier (2019)

I'm not even going to pretend that I was interested in seeing Triple Frontier for its plot. I didn't even know what it was about because I just didn't care. Four hot and talented men —and unfortunately Ben Affleck— were a strong enough motivation to sit through Netflix's latest film.

Just in case you are not as shallow as I am, the story follows five Special Forces friends, Santiago "Pope" Garcia (Oscar Isaac), Tom "Redfly" Davis (Ben Affleck), William "Ironhead" Miller (Charlie Hunnam), his brother Ben (Garrett Hedlund), and Francisco "Catfish" Morales as they reunite in South America to rob a drug lord (Reynaldo Gallegos).

There are parts of the plot that are a bit of a stretch of imagination and it's not always very realistic as the five friends make such stupid mistakes Special Forces veterans would never make, but, despite this, Triple Frontier grabs your attention right from the start with a compelling, tense heist, and keeps it until the very end as the characters are forced to face the consequences of their actions. In addition, it does a more than decent job at showing how hard it can be for Special Forces ops, or military in general, to adapt to a normal life.

Sadly, the characters aren't as compelling the reason being the poor writing. As pointed out by Geek Teller, the script focuses too much on the story and heist, and kind of forgets about its characters who, in return, are pretty thin, under-characterized and under-developed —Tom has some backstory and some visible change as he starts off as a calm, practical man who is at first reluctant about the mission only to reach levels of greediness I've rarely seen before.

Despite the poor material, the cast does a wonderful job and the chemistry between them is undeniable. Ben Affleck gives the standout performance —it sure does help that he has the best-written character, the only one whose journey we really care about—, and Oscar Isaac also gives a compelling performance as the head of the operation. Charlie Hunnam whose accent is quite distracting, Garrett Hedlund, and especially Pedro Pascal, unfortunately, don't have a lot to work with, and the only reason they leave an impression is because of their charismatic screen presence.

Netflix

Another good reason to give Triple Frontier a chance is the outstanding cinematography of Roman Vasyanov which really enhances the tension with some pretty intense war-like scenes. The production design is also incredible, and the soundtrack, while I found one song cheesy and not the right fit for the scene, is great.

Ultimately, this is an entertaining film, with an interesting story and good performances. Sure, it does have its flaws as the characters are weak and the action limited, but the positives definitely outweigh the negatives.

At Eternity's Gate (2018)

I've been a fan of Van Gogh for as long as I remember —I can't put into words how wonderful it was for me to see some of his painting in the National Gallery— so of course I wanted to see At Eternity's Gate. If you add Willem Dafoe's acclaimed performance, it turns into a movie impossible to pass for me. 

This biographical drama follows the final years in the life of Vincent Van Gogh (Willem Dafoe) during a self-imposed exile in Arles (South of France) and Auvers-Sur-Oise (near Paris, which is in the North) in which he developed his unique style and friendship with French artist Paul Gauguin (Oscar Isaac) while struggling with mental illness and people's rejection. 

Just like Vincente Minelli's Lust for Life, Julian Schnabel's At Eternity's Gate isn't entirely historically accurate, but that's not the problem here as, unlike Minelli's film, Schnabel's doesn't have an engaging and compelling story and the fractured storytelling, instead of adding to the movie, makes it only a tedious watch. It offers insights into his troubled mental state, but it doesn't do in a particularly interesting way. 

The other major problem with At Eternity's Gate is the cinematography. While at times the film is visually compelling and the colour palette is very reminiscent of Van Gogh's, the jumpy, shaky, blurring camera movements is beyond annoying. I get that Schnabel was trying to capture, portray Van Gogh's insanity with these shots but they don't last enough to leave a mark and basically do their job right. It doesn't provide any deeper understanding of his troubled mental state, it doesn't add anything to the thin plot, it only distracts from the story and it's beyond frustrating to watch. The ending isn't very good either, and the score is loud is overwhelming —I guess it fits with the cinematography pretty well.

CBS Films

The acting is the only redeeming aspect. Willem Dafoe gives yet another excellent performance in the role of Vincent Van Gogh. He truly delves deep into the soul of the tormented artist who was not understood by the people in his own time. Anxiety, anguish, depression, melancholy, you can read all that on Dafoe's face. Whether he's painting —he actually learnt how to paint for the role— or mumbling, or delivering the film's dreadful dialogue, he is incredibly fascinating to watch. Oscar Isaac does a nice job as Van Gogh's friend, Paul Gauguin, and so does Rupert Friend in the role of Van Gogh's brother Theo. The standout among the supporting cast easily is Mads Mikkelsen though —he doesn't get nearly the screen time he deserves, and yet he delivers a strong performance in the role of a priest.

Ultimately, if you are a fan of Willem Dafoe, definitely watch this. If you are not or you just love Van Gogh more than Dafoe, then watch Minelli's film or the stunning 2017 animated version, Loving Vincent.

Annihilation (2018)

Though I didn't really like Alex Garland's Ex Machina (but I'm planning on giving it another chance), I was really excited about his latest film, Annihilation, and really pissed off that everybody outside of the US got to see this on Netflix instead of cinemas. It has an upside though, no money wasted if the movie sucked, but that was not the case. 

A year after his disappearance, Kane (Oscar Isaac) goes back home to his biologist wife Lena (Natalie Portman) but he doesn't remember where he's been and how he got home. He suddenly gets sick and is rushed to a hospital. Once there, in order to help Kane, Lena joins a team made up of an anthropologist (Tuva Novotny), a physicist (Tessa Thompson), a psychologist (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and a paramedic (Gina Rodriguez) and embark on an expedition into the Shimmer, a mysterious electromagnetic field.

It's a pretty simple plot that unfolds at a quite slow pace, it does have a few twists here and there but nothing that mind-blowing to leave you speechless, the final twist included which I saw coming miles ahead. There are many plot holes, several unnecessary subplots and nothing makes sense basically since nobody really cared about answering the questions posed. And yet it's engaging and very enjoyable.

The characters too are flawed but they all have interesting backstories --revealed through flashbacks or a few lines of dialogue--, they are developed and we get to know each main character both emotionally and psychologically. Sure, most of the things they do don't make any sense (above-mentioned plot holes) but it's still fascinating watching them in the Shimmer, how they react to the weird and bizarre happenings and I was invested in the characters' fates.

Paramount Pictures, Netflix

Natalie Portman gives a very good performance as Lena. She is able to deliver, at every moment, complex emotions only through her facial expressions, she carries the whole film and gives it its emotional charge. The support provided by Jennifer Jason Leigh and Tessa Thompson is pretty solid too, and Oscar Isaac gives yet another great performance. I did find, however, Gina Rodriguez and her character utterly annoying. She is miles away from Jane Villanueva, the role she is most known for, and I give her credit for playing such a different role here, fact remains she was annoying.

As for Alex Garland, while his script hasn't won me completely, I liked his direction. He skillfully built tension and suspense and delivered an exciting science-fiction film enhanced by a magnetic score and even more magnetic visuals.