ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD
I appreciated a couple of detailed articles written about the Getty family last month.
I was fascinated by the coldness and disconnect that ran through the family.
The aforementioned is one of the many things the film gets right.
Young J. P. "Paul" Getty III (Charlie Plummer), grandson of oil tycoon J. Paul Getty (Christopher Plummer), is kidnapped in Rome by an organized crime ring.
Refusing to pay the ransom J. Paul Getty calls for his ex CIA operative fixer Fletcher Chase (Mark Wahlberg) to find his grandson he links up with Getty III mother Gail Harris (Michelle Williams) and the search is on.
High praise to Christopher Plummer who only had 10 days to get the role down after Kevin Spacey was cut from the film due to sexual harrasment alegations,and he nails it!!
Plummer is a master of his craft displaying Getty's cheap,and cold personality to a T.
Williams is incredible as Harris the worried and on edge mother.
Charlie Plummer does well as Getty III displaying the right amounts of aloofness and fear.
Romain Duris does well as one of the kidnappers.Wahlberg has some good turns in a few strong scenes.
Ridley Scott shapes a well known story into something visually stunning and suspenseful.
Some changes to the true story are made here and there to make it a bit more exciting.As these changes played out on the big screen i kept saying to myself well all of this really isnt necessary.
I enjoyed this well acted and involving film,i encourage everyone to read the real story of the Getty family.
Scale of 1-10 an 8½
THE PHANTOM THREAD
This story of renowned dressmaker Daniel Day-Lewis (in what may be his final role)as Reynolds Woodcock and his muse Vicky Krieps as Alma Elson is quite engaging and beautifully shot.Directed by master director Paul Thomas Anderson he pushes the themes of being controlled by love,how far would a person go to control another,as to not be overwhelmed or completely under the finger of a lover or spouse.
It's well acted by all including Lesley Manville and Krieps
Everything is beautifully detailed with a meticulous eye from the food,cars and clothing
The film does feel a bit drawn out and i couldnt fully buy into some of the things happening in the film,but it was an enjoyable but not great possible send off for Lewis
Scale of 1-10 an 8
Molly's Game
When i wake up in the middle of the night and start to channel surf ,i stop when i see a high stakes poker game being played.
Especially when celebrities like Jenifer Tilly and Gabe Kaplan are sitting at the table.But oh to be a fly on the wall at one of Molly Bloom's underground poker games a few years ago.There have been rumors of who actually participated in these games,but i still wonder about who was actually there.
Bloom did well for herself but the two things she didnt see coming was the involvement of the russina mafia and being arrested by the FBI.
Jessica Chastain is great as Bloom her narration and onscreen performance are done to a T as we see Bloom as a competitive skier ,early family life and her rise as a high stakes poker game host.
Idris Elba turns in a strong performance as Charlie Jaffey, Molly's lawyer.Kevin Costner does well as Larry Bloom, Molly's father and a clinical psychologist.
Nice acting touches also from Michael Cera,Jeremy Strong,Chris O'Dowd and Bill Camp
Aaron Sorkin's script and direction are sharp.
Some dramatic moments felt a bit forced.It's funny how some details of Bloom's life are fully fleshed out and some other's that would have been very interesting to see are only lightly touched on.
Some of the dialogue seemed a bit to loaded and came off kind of phony.
The film is interesting with flaws here and there.
Scale of 1-10 a 7½