Private Life (2018)

I've been meaning to watch Private Life since it released as I love Kathryn Hahn and Paul Giamatti but I kept putting it off because of the plot. Now that I'm finally working on my best and worst of 2018 post, I figured it was time for me to check this out. 

The story follows Richard (Paul Giamatti) and Rachel (Kathryn Hahn), a couple in their forties who are desperately trying to have a kid by any means possible. Just when they think they are out of options, a new opportunity presents itself, to use an egg donor. While Richard is fine with it, Rachel struggles with the idea of using some stranger's eggs but when Sadie (Kayli Carter), the stepdaughter of Richard's brother, Charlie (John Carroll Lynch), drops out of college and stays with them in New York, they decide to ask her.

Private Life does a really good job at portraying the commitment, stress, energy and money involved in the IVF process. Director and writer Tamara Jenkins has clearly done her homework —she went through this herself, if I'm not wrong— and it shows as the film is very informative and eye-opening about the subject. The film also shows how far people are willing to go to have children of their "own" not matter the consequences, and I'm not talking about only the egg donor thing, but the ending as well —which, apparently, didn't resonate with many people.

Unfortunately, the story isn't as compelling and engaging as it should have been, it's not always consistent, it's often redundant and it doesn't always make a lot of sense. In addition, the pacing is so slow, the two hours feel like a lot more.

Despite this, the characters, Richard and Rachel, feel like real human beings and for this reason you feel for them and you end up hoping their dream will come true. They are unlikeable characters and yet they are likeable. The credits for this entirely go to the actors as Giamatti and Hahn share incredible chemistry, which makes them very believable in the role of the struggling couple, and they both delivers the characters' fears, doubts and sorrows very well. Kayli Carter does a nice job too as Sadie. John Carroll Lynch also provides good support; Molly Shannon, on the other hand, is so cringy in the role of Sadie's mother and the character changes all of a sudden.

Netflix

Another issue I had with Private Life is the humour. While occasionally it was kind of funny, overall the comedy was pretty bland. Ultimately, the film provides a realistic and natural insight into the life of fertility junks, and the central performances are great, but it just feels like a tedious miss.

Saving Mr. Banks (2013)

Genre

Biography | Comedy | Drama

Director

John Lee Hancock

Country

UK | Australia | USA

Cast

Emma Thompson, Tom Hanks, Colin Farrell, Ruth Wilson, Paul Giamatti, Bradley Whitford, B. J. Novak, Jason Schwartzman, Kathy Baker, Melanie Paxson, Rachel Griffiths, Ronan Vibert, Kristopher Kyer, Victoria Summer

Storyline

After 20 years, when she's financially strapped, author P.L. Travers (Emma Thompson) finally considers Walt Disney's (Tom Hanks) offer to make a film of her book, Mary Poppins, but won't approve unless Disney does it as she wants. So she goes to California, and while working on bringing the character of Mary Poppins to life, she starts reflecting on her childhood, upon which the book is based.

Opinion

Although this film has been on my watch-list for a while, I was reluctant because of some negative reviews I've heard and read. People complaining about Walt Disney being nothing like the man portrayed by Tom Hanks, others complaining about this being not a biopic worthy of such a man. Well, I'm not sure those people have quite understood what the film is really about.

Saving Mr. Banks actually tells the story of the making of the Mary Poppins film, and if it has to be considered a biography, it is surely not Walt Disney's but P.L. Travers's. Now, the fact that the story is more or less accurate, and that maybe there is a spoonful of sugar too much to make the film suitable for families is another thing.

Having said that, Saving Mr. Banks is a feel-good dramatic comedy, both witty and sentimental, that draws you in.

The film praises imagination and its power to help some grow, by lighting up childhood and its natural path towards adulthood. It also praises those people that, even though they have grown, are still capable of dreaming, like P.L. Travers or Walt Disney.

There are some outstanding performances too. Emma Thompson play P.L. Travers beautifully. Cold and definitely not likable in the first part (as required), she brings out all the emotions, and the serious aspects of her character. Tom Hanks does a nice job as Walt Disney and seems to be enjoying himself but this is not one of his best achievements. The supporting cast offers strong performances, especially Colin Farrell, who brings vitality and interest in the parallel story about Travers's childhood. 

Don’t you ever stop dreaming. You can be anyone you want to be. - Travers Goff

SAN ANDREAS Rocks A New Trailer !

Check the latest trailer for Dwayne Johnson's SAN ANDREAS! I'm liking what I'm seeing from an effects point of view and hopefully the story matches that standard. I want as much REALISM as is possible in a disaster movie. You know - fault lines are authentic, fissures form where they are most likely to form, intensity of the quake is portrayed correctly, etc. 

Here's the movie's storyline:
After the infamous San Andreas Fault finally gives, triggering a magnitude 9 earthquake in California, a search and rescue helicopter pilot (Dwayne Johnson) and his estranged wife make their way together from Los Angeles to San Francisco to save their only daughter. But their treacherous journey north is only the beginning. And when they think the worst may be over…it’s just getting started.

The action thriller “San Andreas,” from New Line Cinema and Village Roadshow Pictures, reunites Dwayne Johnson with director Brad Peyton and producer Beau Flynn, following their collaboration on the global hit “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island.”

The film also stars Carla Gugino (“Night at the Museum,” TV’s “Entourage”), Alexandra Daddario (“Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters,” TV’s “True Detective”), Ioan Gruffudd (“Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer”), Archie Panjabi (TV’s “The Good Wife”), Hugo Johnstone-Burt (Australian TV’s “Home and Away”), Art Parkinson (TV’s “Game of Thrones”) and Oscar nominee Paul Giamatti (“Cinderella Man”).

“San Andreas” is produced by Beau Flynn (“Hercules,” “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island”). Richard Brener, Samuel J. Brown, Michael Disco, Rob Cowan, Tripp Vinson and Bruce Berman serve as executive producers. The screenplay is by Carlton Cuse, story by Andre Fabrizio and Jeremy Passmore.

SAN ANDREAS rocks theaters on May 29. 

Paul Giamatti As The Rhino In THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2?

Looks that way! Paul Giamatti is apparently in talks to take on the role of The Rhino in Marc Webb's THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2. The Rhino would join Jamie Foxx's Electro for villain duties. Dean DeHaan is joining as Harry Osborne.

Here's Giamatti on the character: “I thought Rhino was the greatest thing when I was a little kid,” he told ShowbizSpy in March 2011. “It was a guy who was basically in this rhinoceros outfit, and I always thought, ‘Why don’t they have The Rhino in one of their movies.’ But maybe The Rhino wasn’t that big of a deal for anybody but me. … If they ever go with The Rhino, I would be ready and waiting.”

He also talked about the character on Conan: “The Rhino was fantastic," he said. "He was, like, a Russian guy. He was real fast, and he hit stuff real hard."

So apparently Giamatti has been anxious to play the role for some time now - that is ALWAYS a good sign. At first look I was a little hesitant but after hearing his exuberance to play the part - all the power to him. Shooting is slated to begin in February.


Source: Heat Vision