The 90 Years of Jean Simmons Blogathon has Arrived!!!

I can't believe the  90 Years of Jean Simmons Blogathon is already here! This is my first blogathon of the New Year, hosting and participating-wise. I can't wait to delve into all the wonderful posts on one of my all-time, but sadly often overlooked, favorite actresses (here's a short post I wrote about how I discovered her) and I'm so thankful that Virginie from The Wonderful World of Cinema invited me (She just announced a blogathon honoring another Jean -  Jean Harlow - so be sure to go sign up for that!)!

The Posts!

Screenshot by Maddy

Maddy Loves Her Classic Movies kicks things off with Footsteps in the Fog (1955).

Widescreen World follows Simmons to the final frontier where she appeared in Star Trek TNG: The Drumhead.

Screenshot by Brittaney

The Story Enthusiast chose one of Simmons' more obscure films, All the Way Home (1957).

Mikes Take on the Movies shares a lovely selection of Simmons' Movie Posters and Lobby Cards

MovieRob shares his take on the Gothic Drama Footsteps in the Fog (1955).

Caftan Woman writes about when Jean Simmons Visits Cabot Cove.

The Stop Button has to wait for Simmons smile in The Happy Ending (1969).

Taking Up Room gives us the fascinating back story to Elmer Gantry (1960).

Silver Screenings finds Simmons' performance a study in acting in Side-Stepping Burt Lancaster's Shadow.

Realweegiemidget Reviews discovers a twist or two in the thriller Dominique (1979).

Silver Scenes reviews Simmons' segment in the anthology film Trio (1950).

And their second post on a personal favorite The Egyptian (1954).

The Midnite Drive-In gives us the low-down on a less famous version of The Blue Lagoon (1949).

My lovely co-host The Wonderful World of Cinema shares her tribute to Jean Simmons.

Hamlette's Soliloquy covers a film that lives up to it's BIG name, The Big Country (1958).

Movie Rob shares his second post on The Happy Ending (1969).

Critica Retro explores the main themes in Hilda Crane (1956).

Poppity Talks Classic Film reminisces about Affair with a Stranger (1953).

18 Cinema Lane shares some of Simmons' voice work in the animated film Howl's Moving Castle (2004).

Pale Writer takes a look at the classic Guys and Dolls (1955).

A big thank you to everyone who participated!

The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (2018)

Terry Gilliam first read Don Quixote in 1989 and decided to turn it into a movie right away. It's only in 2000 that he had his first shot at making the film, but everything went wrong and the making of the movie became a documentary about the failure at making the movie, Lost in La Mancha. Last May, after 18 years the first attempt, and nearly 30 years after it was originally conceived, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote finally saw the light at Cannes.

The story follows Toby Grisoni (Adam Driver), a cynical advertising director who is struggling with the production of a commercial featuring Don Quixote. One night, he stumbles upon an old DVD of The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, an amateur film that Toby made as a student a decade earlier. He then discovers that the village where he made the film is just a short drive away and heads over there only to discover that the shoemaker (Jonathan Pryce) he cast in the leading role now believes he is the real Don Quixote and that Toby is Sancho Panza. Toby is soon pulled into the world of Don Quixote and embarks on a series of adventures that mixes dreams and reality.

Gilliam's film has a wonderful beginning, as the story immediately captures your attention and pulls you in the world that mixes fantasy, dreams and reality Gilliam has created. Unfortunately, as it unfolds, the story gets more and more confusing, chaotic, and it's difficult to understand what the hell is going on; there are too many subplots that intertwine in a forced manner which only makes the story more confusing, furthermore there are dismissed pretty soon, and it feels like Gilliam completely forgot about writing them in the first place. The ending is just as confusing —I watched the entire movie twice and I'm still not sure what I saw— and, as the ending credits roll, you are left with nothing but a sour taste in your mouth.

In addition to the messy plot, the script also features a lot of unnecessary, long and absurd dialogues and characters that keep transforming as the film moves forward.

Screen Media Films

The acting, on the other hand, is more than solid, which is as a huge surprise considering how poor the screenplay is. Adam Driver gives yet another charismatic performance as Toby, the cynical, arrogant American filmmaker; his Toby is a narcissist and skeptical but at the same time very likeable and sympathetic, and his attempts at humour always pay off. Jonathan Pryce does a wonderful job as the man who seemingly lost his mind as he believes to be the real Don Quixote. Joanna Ribeira gives an interesting performance as Angelica, a young woman whose life was ruined by being cast as a teenager in Toby's old film.

In addition, the settings Gilliam choose to shot the film are gorgeous, the production design and costumes are wonderful, the cinematography by Nicola Pecorini is great, and the score fits the film very well.

Ultimately though, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote is a huge disappointment. The performances are charming and the visuals are good but the script is all over the place, it's not even clear what genre the film is supposed to be —one moment it feels like it's supposed to be a serious movie, the next one as if it's a parody movie.

Creed II (2018)

I'm not going to lie, the only reason I was excited about Creed II was the perspective of seeing Michael B. Jordan and his muscles on the big screen. Thankfully, that was not the only good thing about the movie. 

Much like its predecessor, Creed II follows both the personal and professional life of Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan). Adonis has just become the Heavyweight Champion of the World and proposed to Bianca (Tessa Thompson) when Viktor Drago (Florian Munteanu), Ivan Drago's (Dolph Lundgren) son, arrives in Philadelphia and challenges Adonis. Against Rocky's (Sylvester Stallone) advice, Adonis accepts the challenge while trying to keep afloat his relationship as well as a new paternity. 

The film follows the same formula of the other Rocky movies and therefore the plot is predictable —the trailers completely gave it away anyways— and doesn't have anything new to offer —not to mention the several subplots that barely go somewhere. Despite this, the story is quite engaging and enjoyable. 

The characters too are better than expected. What I mean is that they shouldn't work and yet they do. They don't have much development and Adonis doesn't have any depth whatsoever —while he really grows as a person in Creed, he stays pretty much the same in here. Maybe he even takes a step back as he's the hothead he used to be—, but I still cared about them, even about Viktor Drago as him and his father have more development than Creed and Rocky put together. 

Michael B. Jordan gives another charismatic and energetic performance as Adonis Creed and truly carries the film on his (broad) shoulders. He is a bit overacting when it comes to the drama but, overall, he is believable. It also helps that his chemistry with Tessa Thompson is wonderful. As for the supporting cast, Russell Hornsby steals his scenes in the role of a boxing promoter and Phylicia Rashad gives another striking performance as Adonis' mother. 

Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer, Warner Bros. Pictures

At last but not least the fighting. These scenes are amazing as they look intense and realistic, and the final fight between Adonis and Viktor, although you already know how it will end, will keep you on the edge of your seat. It was also kind of emotional, just like when the Rocky theme came on.

The Nun Movie Review

The Nun (2018)

Rent The Nun on Amazon Video
Written by: Gary Dauberman (screenplay by), James Wan & Gary Dauberman (story by)
Directed by: Corin Hardy
Starring: Demián Bichir, Taissa Farmiga, Jonas Bloquet, Bonnie "Aarons, Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga, Lili Taylor
Rated: R
Watch the trailer

Plot
A priest with a haunted past and a novice on the threshold of her final vows are sent by the Vatican to investigate the death of a young nun in Romania and confront a malevolent force in the form of a demonic nun.

Verdict
While this provides great imagery, it doesn't develop the tension enough. This has a great setting with effective props, but The Nun relies too much on jump scares. The biggest issue is the plot grinding to a halt half way in just to scare us with various set pieces. The plot is lacking because these characters don't really have a reason to exist other than to fight evil. As good as the setup was, the last half wasn't.
It depends.

Review
This is a spin-off from The Conjuring 2 (read my review), and I really liked that movie.  It was a sequel on par with the first The Conjuring (read my review). This spin off is from only one scene in The Conjuring 2, which happens to be the best scene in the movie where one of the protagonists encounters a painting of a nun.

There were discussions of a Nun sequel that would tie back to The Conjuring, though as of yet that hasn't progressed.

This has a pretty standard teaser introduction. One nun enters a scary room to retrieve an unknown artifact, but I wondered why she left the door open if there were scary things in the room and why was there fog on the floor? Sure it looks cool, but is it realistic? Written above the door entered is "God ends here." How ominous.

We're then introduced to the protagonists, a priest and a nun who has yet to take her vows. The obvious question is why were they picked to investigate? The assumption is he must be some kind of demon hunter or exorcist and she must have a past related to demons. I was curious as to why the Vatican is so secretive about the operation.

I really like the setting of 1950's Romania. It has a cool vibe, but I'm always wary of horror movies. It's easy to resort to cheap scares. The trek to the isolated monastery by wagon could have been a great moment to develop these characters. It doesn't do that. We skip right to the monastery where our protagonists first realize everything isn't as it seems. Their reactions are rather subdued considering they're being attacked by demons. I get Father Burke has seen this stuff before, but the the nun and farmer haven't. I have to imagine the average person would run away screaming.

This movie never quite has a handle on being creepy. I want the tension to slowly build, but far too frequently the movie introduces set pieces, throws out some quick scares and moves on. The mood is never where it should be and that comes down to directing. The production design and cast are more than capable. Taissa Farmiga has some really good scenes.

Half way in the plot screeches to a halt and we get what is a scare montage with all three characters isolated. Scares are great, but it shouldn't stop the story. It's trying to show off, but we get jump scares. That's just too easy. Even the story of why an evil force is in the monastery is a bit far fetched even considering what this movie is. The last half can't hold up to the first half.

The movie has some really great imagery. There is a sequence with nuns that have black faces masks and black gloves. It's really unsettling, but the movie doesn't do enough with it. I don't know why the evil force dresses as a nun unless it's an attempt to blend in. That's a failed attempt.

How does this monastery recruit? I can't see too many people volunteering for this job.
The conclusion has a call back to the beginning where the villagers spit to ward off evil. Spitting definitely plays a factor in defeating evil.

Being a spin off based on one scene, I didn't expect much. This is alright, but without James Wan directing it really loses the creepy factor that he so deftly created in The Conjuring.

A Star Is Born (2018)

I am one of the few people who were not hyped at all about Bradley Cooper's A Star Is Born mainly because the trailer didn't appeal me at all —I found it to be very cheesy. Then I read the reviews, and they really made me want to see it. Unfortunately, my cinema only showed the dubbed version and since I don't find the dubbing to be as effective as the original, specifically when it comes to dramas, I had to wait for home release to watch it. 

The story follows Ally (Lady Gaga), a young waitress with a great voice who's been told she's never gonna make it because of her nose, and Jackson Maine (Bradley Cooper), a famous rock country singer battling an alcohol and drug addiction. After one of his concerts, Jackson is looking for a drink and ends up in a drag bar where sees Ally perform. He is amazed by her and soon becomes both her mentor and her boyfriend and brings her into the spotlight. As Ally's career takes off, Jackson's spirals out of control.

Cooper's A Star Is Born has the simple and predictable story dealing with fame, addiction and depression that has been done several times before. However, unlike the 1954 version, which is the only I've seen, it handles each one of its themes incredibly well, it's compelling from start to finish and, thanks to Cooper's superb storytelling, it has a devastating and powerful impact on the viewer as it makes you experience happiness, hilarity, sadness and anger. 

Of course, it's not just the storytelling that makes A Star Is Born as effective as it is. The characters indeed play a huge role in that as they are interesting, have a backstory —specifically Jackson who isn't the cynical and jealous man James Mason played, but a more fleshed-out and sympathetic character—, and convey a sense of authenticity that really makes you fall in love with them. The connection you develop with them is so intense, you don't feel sorry for Ally when Jack yet again hits the bottle despite the promises, but you feel her pain. It's Jack you feel sorry for because he's throwing away his life and taking away a huge piece of Ally with it.

Warner Bros. Pictures

The leading performances are nothing short of extraordinary and deserve to win every single award —I'm pretty sure it won't happen though. Bradley Cooper gives the performance of his career as Jackson Maine, the once-great musician on the decline due to alcohol and drugs. Lady Gaga is beyond incredible and exceeded my expectations, which were pretty high considering how praised her performance is. Her portrayal of Ally is so genuine, charming and believable, and it's because of her if Ally, who has always had to take care of the men in her life —first her pathetic father, then her alcoholic husband—, isn't defined by them. The chemistry between Cooper and Gaga is terrific right from the start, and it's one of the most if not the most authentic chemistry I've seen on screen. As for the supporting cast, Sam Elliot shines as Jack's older brother and manager.

The songs are spectacular. I listened to the soundtrack several times in the past months but I loved only two songs, The Shallow, a Cooper and Gaga duet, and Always Remember Us This Way, a Gaga solo. It's a completely different story in the movie. Each song gives you the chills and has an emotional impact on you. The cinematography, although it isn't always consistent as at times the shots are not well framed and doesn't feel like they belong, is gorgeous.

If you haven't seen this masterpiece already, I urge you to watch it. Just make sure you have tissues at hand because you will cry, during the film and especially at the end. The ending made me cry so much, I got a headache. And I'm usually not a crier.

THACKERAY Review

In this article , we will be giving our review of the latest bollywood movie 'Thackeray' , based on Bala Saheb Thackeray , starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui . 

THACKERAY  Review

Thackeray-review

OVERVIEW

• Thackeray is biopic on the life of Shiv Sena leader Bala Saheb Thackeray
• Thackeray will definitely make a Maharashtrian ,a Bala Saheb Thackeray's follower , his family really really proud . Its a good , honest ode to him .   
• Nawazuddin Siddiqui is heart and sole of the film . 
• Some sections of the society may feel offended after watching the film . 

RATING 

Overall Rating -  ★★★   

( This time you can calculate the average ... Thank you  )              

1.     Story - ★★★

2.     Performance - ★★★★

3.     Screenplay - ★★★ 

4.     Dialogues - ★★★★  

5.     Music -  ★

6.     Direction - ★★★

PERFORMANCES

Nawazuddin Siddiqui

Nawazuddin Siddiqui is heart and sole of the film . You cannot imagine another actor fitting into the shoes of Thackeray , better than him (There were news that Irfan Khan was first considered to play the character ) .  The way Nawaz has picked up Thackeray's mannerism , voice modulation is highly appreciable .  Rest you all know , how good an actor he is . This film is no exception . This is just like adding a feather to his already overfilled cap .

REST

Rest of the cast has done their job fairly with some exceptions (Dont know their names and neither I intend to learn ...) . Amrita rao deserved a better , a longer role .

Thackeray

Dialogues

No matter what the dialogues are , when Nawaz delivers , it’s a delight . But some dialogues are really good . Specially , the courtroom ones are really ‘seetimaar’ ones .  I am pretty sure theatres in Maharashtra will be under same pressure just like single screen theatre when SIMMBA released , ‘You wont get to hear some of the dialogues’ .

Music 

It is the weakest aspect of the movie .  Unnecessarily , songs have been infused . ‘Aaya sabka baap re , Thackeray’ – REALLY ??

The title track with cheap lyrics like these shows the laziness with respect to lyrics , composition . Pathetic .

Direction 

Abhijit Panse’s direction is very inconsistent . Movie looks convincing when Nawaz is on the screen . But it looks altogether different , unbearable , when he is not . I was like ‘Just like Manikarnika , whether this one also has been directed by two directors’ . 

"There is nothing bad in this world , there are just different perception ." 

What I may not like at all , might be loved by someone else ..... So.... .

My Opinion 

Thackeray has not been made to make a Godly Image of the Shiv Sena leader , in the eyes of the leader . 

The film is basically abut the ideology of Bala Saheb Thackeray. Even if he did something wrong , the movie still tries to convince you that he is right .

The film requires some knowledge of the political background to get full grip to the story

Do comment in the section below , whether you liked the review or not . Also tell us what you feel about the movie . If you want us to post about Thackeray's sateelite and digital rights , do write . 

WATCH Thackeray  TRAILER

To follow us on Instagram - CLICK HERE

To like us on Facebook - CLICK HERE

Searching Movie Review

Searching (2018)

Rent Searching on Amazon Video
Written by: Aneesh Chaganty, Sev Ohanian
Directed by: Aneesh Chaganty
Starring: John Cho, Debra Messing, Joseph Lee
Rated: PG-13
Watch the trailer

Plot
After his 16-year-old daughter goes missing, a desperate father breaks into her laptop to look for clues to find her.

Verdict
This movie may be a gimmick, but it's a very engrossing gimmick. The movie primarily unfolds on a laptop screen as a father searches for his daughter through social media, her contacts, and images. The camera isn't static, it zooms in and pans across the laptop screen. Editing is a game of inches, but editing could also have ruined this. Instead it aids the story.
So much information can be gleaned from the internet alone, and that's scary. This story has plenty of twists and turns. While this would probably feel too familiar in a traditional format, it completely pulls you in with the format of being presented through a computer screen.
Watch it.

Review
I'm always up for a gimmick movie, whether it's the first person shooter Hardcore Henry (read my review) or the single two hour shot Victoria (read my review). The gimmick in this movie is that the whole thing unfolds on a laptop screen. There are a couple of scenes that are seen through a video camera, but surprisingly the format doesn't hamper the movie. It provides a unique angle for what boils down to a mystery movie.

It's also a stark reminder of how much information we keep on a computer and how easy internet detective work can be. David is looking for his daughter, but this could easily be somebody using the internet to stalk someone. Our lives have become ingrained with computers as the introduction shows. This starts by showing the history of the family through the computer, from first setup, to the child being old enough for a login to family photos, videos, and wallpapers.

I appreciate that this is edited so that it isn't a static shot. Various windows and the camera zooming in on details makes this dynamic, within the confines. The mystery starts when David can't reach his daughter Margot. This starts his descent from worry to full blown panic. David analyzes his daughter's contacts, social media profiles, and pictures discovering important clues while realizing there was a lot he didn't know about his daughter.

The movie has a really good pace as we unravel the mystery. We get webcam type shots of David, and also see what's on his mind as he types into chat windows only to delete it and type something else. This even taps into internet outrage. When the case goes public David is ravaged online, blamed as a bad parent for his daughter running away, though he contests she wouldn't do that.

This gives us just enough clues to assume certain characters are guilty which seems completely in line with online bullying. It has a few twists and turns, though the biggest turn hinges on an incredible coincidence.

This easily could have been a train wreck. While the cinematography is lacking, and this won't ever feel like a typical movie, it's entertaining start to finish. It's really well written for what this is. This story is just alright, but how it unfolds in this format makes it so much more. The ending even takes this up a notch.