‘Movie Corner’ Archives
“La La Land”
By Howard McQuitter II ****1/2 out of five stars “La La Land” (2016) Liongate Drama/Musical/Romance Sebastian has that same passion for jazz as did Andrew (Miles Teller) did in “Whiplash”(2014), by director Damien Chazelle, who directed both “Whiplash” and “La La Land”. In both cases, Sebastian, the pianist, and Andrew, the drummer, have uphill battles, not to mention Chazelle”'s “subtle” love of jazz. (I”'m sure, Mr. Chazelle listens to some of the jazz greats Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Louis Armstrong, John Coltrane, Coleman Hawkins, and more.) The best dance number is at the beginning of the film when people stuck in Los Angeles traffic decide to leave their vehicles temporarily to either jump on tops of their vehicles or stay on the ground to dance and sing. And at first when Sebastian and Mia meet on that highway there is no love at first sight. In time the romance will grow, [...]
“The Accountant” & “Moonlight”
** out of 5 stars “Accountant,” “R” Rating Ben Affleck”'s character Christian Wolf in “The Accountant” lives in an Airstream trailer in the hinterland where he stocks weapons, money, paintings by Renoir and Jackson Pollack (bought on the black market). He”'s involved with some nefarious organizations and some of assignments are completed by his expertise as an assassin. Christian”'s activities draw Treasury Department Director Ray King (J.K. Simmons) to track him down using unethical means by forcing a department analyst, Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addal-Robinson) to find The Accountant in one month or be exposed for serious crimes in her past. A hit man from Chris”' past Brax (Jon Bernthal) appears to be a thorn in his side. But Christian goes to Living Robotics where he meets a kindly inventor Lamar Black (John Lithgow) and his sister Jean Smart (Rita Blackburn) before Mr. Wolf starts to investigate millions of dollars [...]
Snowden
*** out of 5 stars Oliver Stone is the ideal director for “Snowden”, the man I”'ve admired who back in the 1980s and the early 1990s would willingly step into controversial subject matter such as his films “Platoon” (1986), “Born on the Fourth of July” (1989) and “JFK” (1991). “Snowden” is one of those controversial men who for most Americans are shaped in a binary cup: either hero or traitor. Oliver Stone”'s entire cast give solid performances though I must say compared to Laura Poitras”' 2014 documentary “Citizenfour”, Stone”'s biography of Edward Snowden , roughly over a ten year period”“c2004-2013”“seizes on some of the same talking points with less gusto. The story starts (in some flashbacks) with Snowden in the Army Reserves and being rewarded by hired with the CIA as a brainy nerd sur-passing his colleagues in scores. While working for the CIA, Snowden (Joseph [...]
