Category Archives: Bobby Cannavale

2024 Films, Bobby Cannavale, Elizabeth Debicki, Halsey, Horror, Kevin Bacon, Lily Collins, Mia Goth, Michelle Monaghan, Moses Sumney, Slasher, Sophie Thatcher, Ti West

MaXXXine-2024

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MaXXXine-2024

Director Ti West

Starring Mia Goth

Scott’s Review 1,463

Reviewed February 4, 2025

Grade: B+

MaXXXine (2024) is a slasher horror film lover’s dream. With its 1980s-style filming, peroxide hairdos, and video cassette recorders (remember them?), it’s a sheer delight for genre fans.

Adding tight-washed blue jeans, a 1985 musical soundtrack, and the sunny setting of Los Angeles, California, you’ve got a throwback 80’s film in the best ways.

It is the third installment in Ti West’s X film series and a direct sequel to X (2022). The first chapter was called Pearl (2022). Although seeing the others before seeing MaXXXine is unnecessary, it is also fun.

West writes, produces, directs, and edits the vehicle, so the project is his creation. His muse, Mia Goth, who has starred in all three films, makes a return appearance and is co-producing.

Rumor has it there may be a fourth.

In the film, Maxine sets out for fame and success in 1980s Hollywood and is targeted by a mysterious killer, who is assumed to be the aptly nicknamed real-life Night Stalker.

But is this a red herring? Maxine’s friends are systematically eliminated, leaving the poor girl and the detectives to wonder if she could be the next target.

Could it be someone from her past? Or is someone jealous of her impending film success?

The film gets off to an intriguing start when a videotape shows a young Maxine dancing for her father, who appears to be coaching her and determinedly telling her never to settle.

Adult Maxine brilliantly auditions for a new horror film called Puritan II despite her only credits being in adult films. She shows she has raw talent and emotion and is unafraid to prance around topless.

She speeds away in her sports car with vanity plates reading ‘MaXXXine’.

We quickly learn that Maxine is not to be messed with. When she is accosted at knifepoint, she channels her inner Aileen Wuornos and pulls a gun on her attacker, makes him strip, puts the gun in his mouth, and forces him to perform fellatio on it before stomping on and crushing his testicles with her boot.

She snickers and walks away.

West wants MaXXXine to be entertaining, and he largely succeeds. It’s a fun film not to be taken seriously, but the female-empowering message impressed me.

The Puritan II’s director, wonderfully played by Elizabeth Debicki (The Crown’s Princess Diana), warns Maxine of the sharks and predators in La La Land, and an early quote by legendary actress Bette Davis states, ‘You’re not a star until you’re viewed as a monster.’

In MaXXXine, one is allowed to be a badass bitch and take no prisoners.

The final act is uneven, with a hokey explanation for the killer’s motivations for wanting Maxine dead amid the palatial Hollywood hills. The showdown is a generic extravaganza where the killer’s circle of henchmen is taken down conveniently to let him and Maxine square off.

Earlier, there are real-life clips of Christian wackos accusing heavy metal artists of devil worship and protesters foolishly carrying around signs objecting to the Puritan II, which is a significant clue to the whodunit.

Bobby Cannavale and Michelle Monaghan play detectives who lack great dialogue and are the film’s comic relief, and Kevin Bacon goes over the top as a private investigator.

However, a delightful cameo by Lily Collins (TV’s Emily in Paris) is a big win.

I suppose one could approach MaXXXine (2024) as dissecting the artificiality of Hollywood or the overindulgence of the 1980s excess (cocaine use is prevalent in the film). Still, I took the film as celebrating 1980s horror magnificently.

And I was a happy participant.

2022 Films, Adrien Brody, Art, Biography, Bobby Cannavale, David Warshofsky, Drama, Julianne Nicholson, Scoot McNairy

Blonde-2022

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Blonde-2022

Director-Andrew Dominik

Starring-Ana de Armas, Adrien Brody, Bobby Cannavale

Scott’s Review #1,305

Reviewed October 7, 2022

Grade: A

Blonde (2022) is not the kind of film that I expected.

When I became aware there would be a new film vehicle showcasing the legendary film icon Marilyn Monroe I guessed that it would be a biography-style effort. After all, this is hardly the first time the star’s life would be explored.

Throw in bits about her struggles, her love life, her famous screen roles, and her rise to fame and there you’d have it.

My only real thought was who would be playing her?

Films about Marilyn have been done before including the most recent effort I can recollect, My Week With Marilyn (2011) starring Michelle Williams, a superior film but hardly groundbreaking or that well remembered ten years later.

Released via the Netflix streaming service, director Andrew Dominik kicks the shit out of any preconceived notions about glamorous, happy, and rich Marilyn.

He creates a story focused on the dark side of the star. Her failures, her insecurities, her forced abortions, and her humiliations. The result is a film that is tragic and profound and should be well remembered.

Blonde delves into facts and some of the deeper thoughts of the legend herself, creating a muddy and dreamlike quality that makes the viewer apprehensive about what’s going on.

Since it’s based on the 2000 fictional memoir written by Joyce Carol Oates which is her interpretation of events, it makes truth, and imagination all the muddier.

It’s not happy days watching Blonde, which left me wondering if Marilyn had a happy day in her life. From her abortions to sexual harassment, drug addiction, and physical abuse by her husband, she excitedly scampers off to a date with President Kennedy, only to be forced to give him oral service.

Ana de Armas, known for Knives Out (2019) and No Time to Die (2021) is brilliant as Marilyn. Her mannerisms, speech patterns, and facial expressions reveal a genuine, layered, portrayal rather than a carbon copy imitation of her.

Blonde boldly reimagines the life of one of Hollywood’s most enduring icons in two hours and forty-seven minutes of storytelling. Advisable is to not watch the film in one sitting but rather spread it over three nights to let things marinate.

Events begin with her volatile childhood as Norma Jeane, an abusive mother and absent father, and her rise to stardom and romantic entanglements. Blonde blurs the lines of fact and fiction to explore the widening split between her public and private selves.

In a way, Marilyn suffered from a split personality, longing to be Norma Jeane and despising Marilyn.

Enhancing the ambiguity Dominik elects to use cinematography that is sometimes blurry as if in a sleepy haze and sprinkles color with the mostly black and white filming. He even films one abortion scene from the perspective of Marilyn’s vagina.

These creative details cause me to classify Blonde as an art film and highly interpretive.

While not a crowd-pleaser Blonde is not all doom and gloom either.

Tidbits about her most famous films, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) and Some Like it Hot (1959) are featured as one or two neat camera tricks so it appears that de Armas is acting opposite Tony Curtis.

I worry that poor reviews for Blonde may hinder de Armas’s chances of receiving an Academy Award nomination. Positive reviews usually help secure Oscar recognition.

Thankfully, despite many critics and viewers having issues with the film, de Armas has received worldwide acclaim.

Bobby Cannavale and Adrien Brody are very good as Marilyn’s husbands, controlling Joe DiMaggio and insecure artist Arthur Miller. Both actors fuse good acting with distinguished portrayals so that the audience sees the appeal of both men.

Other interesting sub-plots involve Monroe’s ‘throuple’ romance with bisexual actors Cass and Eddy, and a haunting exposure of the abuse suffered by Marilyn at the hands of her mother Gladys, wonderfully played by Julianne Nicholson.

There is little doubt that Blonde (2022) is an odd film that is not for everyone. But, its down-and-dirty texture and tour de force portrayal of Monroe won me over.

It chilled me to the bone in the best possible way.

Oscar Nominations: Best Actress-Ana de Armas

2019 Films, Bobby Cannavale, Crime Drama, Dascha Polanco, Drama, Epic, Jesse Plemons, Marin Ireland, Martin Scorsese, Mob, Ray Romano, Robert De Niro

The Irishman-2019

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The Irishman-2019

Director- Martin Scorsese

Starring-Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci

Scott’s Review #960

Reviewed November 20, 2019

Grade: A

Any film created by legendary director, Martin Scorsese is sure to impress legions of adoring followers and most critics. Every project he touches on results in something fantastic, and easy to revel in good analysis and discussion about the movie moments after the closing credits have rolled.

The Irishman (2019) is a film that requires repeated viewings and thought to obtain the full flavor and relish in the savory and vast cast of characters.

The picture may not be on the same level as Goodfellas (1990) or The Godfather (1972), which it seems patterned after, but the work is highly impressive and should stand the test of time resulting in a fine wine analogy.

The years will likely be kind to the film and enrich the experience- it’s that kind of film. With stars like Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci, and Harvey Keitel on board, the viewer expects a plethora of riches and that is exactly what is delivered.

The film spans the period of the 1950s through the 1970s and follows the life of Frank Sheeran (De Niro), a truck driver who becomes a hitman and gets involved with mobster Russell Bufalino (Pesci) and his crime family, including his time working for the powerful Teamster Jimmy Hoffa (Pacino). Sheeran is dubbed “the Irishman”.

He narrates much of the story, now quite elderly and residing in a nursing home, of his time in the mafia and the mystery surrounding the death of Hoffa.

The only negatives to the film are the suspension of disbelief that De Niro is Irish- was there ever a more Italian New Yorker? But, alas, this film is Scorsese directed and De Niro produced, so they could tell me the sky is green and I would readily nod in agreement.

At three hours and twenty-nine minutes, the film is a long haul and towards the middle, the film meanders a bit. Perhaps twenty or thirty minutes could have been sliced to the cutting room floor.

The rest of the experience The Irishman serves up is brilliance, with rich characters and a wonderful atmosphere. Have I mentioned that Scorsese directed this film? The cast of characters is endless and drizzles with zest speaking volumes for what The Godfather did with casting.

Many recognizable actors appear in small roles like Ray Romano as attorney Bill Bufalino, Bobby Cannavale as “Skinny Razor”, and Anna Paquin as Frank’s estranged daughter, Peggy. An endless supply of character actors fleshes out the remaining cast.

Wonderful is the plethora of food references that would impress notable food director, Alfred Hitchcock, known for incorporating meals into many of his scenes. The delectable early scenes when Frank delivers meat to grocers and gets in with a gangster over a discussion about a good steak will leave viewers mouth-watering for a tender sirloin.

The conversations between characters are interesting, slowly building and adding robust grit to a packed film. They have good, careful dialogue exchanges and talk matter-of-factly about life and experiences.

Characters are given a chance to develop and grow and even small characters like a nurse or a wife add a good, comforting aura. It is evident what treasured films look like when a director can simply create and develop without outside interference.

The standouts in the acting department are Pacino and De Niro, the former crossing my fingers will receive an Oscar nomination.

The pairing is flawless and eagle-eyed fans will recall that both actors appeared together in The Godfather Part II (1974) yet never shared a scene.

In The Irishman, they appear together in pivotal scenes. Pacino infuses Hoffa with humor and poise as only Pacino can do with a character. He is my favorite character and is tough to look away from.

Both actors, along with Pesci, are treated to a recent marvel in cinema- that of the de-aging process. Each actor, well into his seventy’s, is transformed to mid-forties in many scenes and then aged to appear elderly later in life.

While each has a strange unnatural look to him as a younger man, the process is impressive and an innovative technique that assuredly will become more common in film, and subsequently offer limitless possibilities.

The Irishman (2019) is a cinematic gem by a storied director advancing in years, but still offering grandiose films. With stalwarts like De Niro, Pesci, and Pacino, the players are well cast, and nuanced touches add dimensions to the finished product.

Offering a gangster film with grace and style, the story is poignant and crisp and a thoughtful approach to one of the legendary mysteries- what happened to Jimmy Hoffa?

Oscar Nominations: Best Picture, Best Director-Martin Scorsese, Best Supporting Actor-Al Pacino, Joe Pesci, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Production Design, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Visual Effects

2017 Films, Allison Janney, Biography, Bobby Cannavale, Caitlin Carver, Comedy, Craig Gillespie, Dark Comedy, Independent, Independent Comedy, Julianne Nicholson, Margot Robbie, Sebastian Stan, Sports

I, Tonya-2017

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I, Tonya-2017

Director Craig Gillespie

Starring Margot Robbie, Allison Janney

Scott’s Review #712

Reviewed January 10, 2018

Grade: A-

I, Tonya is a 2017 biopic telling of the life and times of the infamous American Olympic figure skater, Tonya Harding, notorious, of course, for her alleged involvement, along with her husband and his friend, in the attack of fellow skater, Nancy Kerrigan during the 1994 Winter Olympics.

The event drew monumental media coverage after the attack, with the uncertainty of Harding’s knowledge or involvement, and her subsequent guilt or innocence continues to be debated.

The film itself is a dark and violent comedy, never taking itself too seriously. It immediately presents the disclaimer that the stated “facts” in the film are open to interpretation and depend on who you ask.

I, Tonya isn’t preachy or directive to the viewer but instead offers up the skater’s life and times in story form.

The film features tremendous performances by Margot Robbie and Allison Janney, as well as Tonya and her despicable mother, LaVona.

I, Tonya, is told chronologically, culminating with “the incident” in 1994.

However, the story begins in the mid-1970s, as Tonya, just a tot at the tender age of four, is as cute as a button and shrouded in innocence. One cannot help wonder if director Craig Gillespie, known for independent films, purposely made this wise casting choice.

We see Tonya, once an innocent child, journey into a life of violence, abuse, and tumultuous living. Harding grew up cold and hard and endured an abusive, complex relationship with her mother, the pressures to be the best skater never ended.

Even upon achieving success, Tonya never felt good enough or loved by her mother.

We then experience Tonya as a fifteen-year-old girl, fittingly first meeting her boyfriend and later, husband Jeff, Gillooly played well by actor Sebastian Stan. The early scenes between the two are sweet, tender, and fraught with the emotions of first love.

As explained by the actors, this was a short-lived time of bliss, and the relationship soon disintegrated into abuse, rage, and chaos.

The main point is to debate Harding’s guilt or innocence, which Gillespie peppers throughout, so it is unclear what to believe or how the audience should think.

“Interpretation” is the key here. Some may see Harding as a victim of life’s circumstances and the hardships she had to endure and may place sympathy upon her. Others may view Harding as off-putting, potty-mouthed, and even icy and violent herself, with a big chip on her shoulder.

In one scene, she publicly belittles the hoity-toity judges who never give her a break and give her less-than-perfect scores.

A clever technique that the film delivers is to have the actors frequently speak to the camera, thus the audience. This is achieved by either interview style or for the action in the film to cease and either Robbie, Janney, Stan, or whomever, turn to the camera and express their version of the events.

I, Tonya possesses a creative, edgy, indie feel.

How brilliant are the performances of both Robbie and Janney?

Robbie, a gorgeous woman, portrays a “red-neck” to the hilt. Through her bright blue eyes, her face is quite expressive—relaying pain, anger, and a seldom triumph. The film often slants the scales in a sympathetic way towards Harding, but it is Robbie’s talents that make us feel this sympathy.

Janney hits the jackpot with a delicious role she sinks her teeth into. A cold-hearted, vicious character, through facial expressions, we occasionally glimpse LaVona, perhaps softening, but as we do, the character does something even more despicable.

A good surprise for fans who remember the real-life events and the real-life players will be treated to a sequence of the honest Tonya, LaVona, Jeff, and Shawn Eckhardt, which play over the film ending credits.

How similar in looks are Robbie to Harding, with her feathered, frizzy, 1980s-style hairdo, and Janney, a dead-ringer for the boozy, chain-smoking LaVona, with her mousy brown bob haircut, complete with scruffy bangs?

Viewers will leave theaters confused, unsure, or perhaps perplexed by what they have just seen, but they will most certainly feel thoroughly entertained and may even depart chanting some upbeat 1980s rock tunes that the film uses throughout.

Thanks to fantastic acting and a strong story, I, Tonya is a success.

Oscar Nominations: 1 win-Best Actress-Margot Robbie, Best Supporting Actress-Allison Janney (won), Best Film Editing

Independent Spirit Award Nominations: 2 wins-Best Actress-Margot Robbie, Best Supporting Female-Allison Janney (won), Best Editing (won)

2006 Films, Action, Bobby Cannavale, David R. Ellis, Horror, Julianna Margulies, Kenan Thompson, Samuel L. Jackson, Taylor Kitsch

Snakes on a Plane-2006

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Snakes On A Plane-2006

Director David R. Ellis

Starring Samuel L. Jackson

Scott’s Review #607

Reviewed January 11, 2017

Grade: B

Snakes on a Plane, the surprise internet bruhaha sensation of 2006 has much to criticize.

The plot is inane, the acting way over the top, and the subject portrayed in such a dumb manner, I could see the results being horrific, but there is just something I enjoyed about the film too, as admittedly stupid as it is.

I simply could not help but sit back and enjoy it.

I enjoyed the setting of an airplane- trapped at 35, 000 feet, in peril, has always enamored me (think Airport disaster films of the 1970s).

The story involves a plot to release hundreds of deadly snakes on a passenger flight, to kill a witness to a murder trial.

Of course, innocent passengers are met with their dire fates as the cartoon-like characters are offed one by one, horror film style.

Sadly, the film did not live up to anticipated expectations, commercially or critically, and was considered somewhat of a dud after all of the hype, but I rather enjoyed it for what it was.

Hardly high art, it entertained me.

2015 Films, 50 Cent, Action, Allison Janney, Bobby Cannavale, Comedy, Jason Statham, Jude Law, Melissa McCarthy, Miranda Hart, Paul Feig, Rose Byrne

Spy-2015

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Spy-2015

Director Paul Feig

Starring Melissa McCarthy, Jason Statham

Scott’s Review #386

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Reviewed March 20, 2016

Grade: C+

Spy is a 2015 comedy spy spoof starring funny lady Melissa McCarthy as a loser desk CIA analyst suddenly thrown into the field and assigned to rescue a missing agent with whom she is also in love.

Carrying the film in every way, McCarthy is funny and adds to an otherwise formulaic, by-numbers, comedy.

As, admittedly, the “action-comedy” genre is not my favorite, I have seen much worse than Spy, and the premise is quite nice, but the second half of the film sinks into the ridiculous and is very loud and overly long.

McCarthy plays Susan Cooper, a frumpy forty-year-old woman with a decent job as a CIA analyst (she tracks the field agents’ cameras and warns them of impending peril), an important job, but is deemed dispensable and a loser by the higher-ups at her job, with more important duties.

She is single, overweight, and lonely, pining after her sophisticated partner Bradley Fine (Jude Law), a field agent and stylish James Bond-type.  After a mishap with Bradley thought dead, Susan goes undercover in France, Rome, and Budapest to solve the case since she will be unnoticed.

Spy is a film with a star that completely carries the film.  Being a big fan of McCarthy’s and enjoying her performance in whatever she appears in (comedy or drama), this film needs her charisma and comic timing.

Spy contains a few laugh-out-loud moments, especially when McCarthy is forced to take on the persona of one loser after another- a divorcee with multiple cats and a wardrobe to cringe over-throw in a 1980s perm and got a great SNL-type moment.

The film itself reminds me of a long SNL skit. When McCarthy delivers her one-liners they connect and amuse.

An apparent homage to spy films and James Bond films, Spy seems closer to an Austin Powers film as it goes for more silliness, but not quite as over the top.

Still, the European locales offered added elements of Bond films pleasantly. McCarthy as an apparent female James Bond is also cute.

A noticeable negative is the unnecessary two-hour running time. With a genre of this nature, a ninety to one-hundred-minute running time is all that is necessary, and any more than that the jokes wane, become redundant, and usually go into the ridiculous.

Another problem with Spy is the supporting characters. A well-known cast including Rose Byrne, Allison Janney, Jason Statham,  and Bobby Cannavale, each of these actors are cast in cartoon-like, one-note roles.

Cannavale and Byrne are the villains (Sergio and Rayna) in the plot and they play their roles in a one-dimensional way,  as evil as possible, but perhaps also over-acting the parts.

This could be the fault of the director or simply what is accepted in the genre that this is. Janney-  as the tough-as-nails CIA director and Statham as the dumb, temperamental, field agent also overplay their roles.

Why are all of these characters loud, unpleasant, insulting, or all of the above? The answer is it might allow better comedy to have caricatures instead of characters, but that is a debate for another time.

On the other hand, Miranda Hart as McCarthy’s sidekick Nancy, a very tall, awkward woman, and Susan’s best friend is great and shares equally in the comic success that McCarthy brings.

Their chemistry is evident and a recommended second pairing would be worth exploring. Unlike the other characters, I felt myself rooting for her and wished her a love interest, though the 50 Cent’s romantic introduction was strange.

The plot is more or less trivial and unimportant in a film like this. Rationally speaking, almost everything that transpires would never happen in real life, but alas, this is the movie, so one must suspend disbelief big time.

Spy is escapist fare to the max.

A hot mess if not for the wit and comic timing that McCarthy brings, Spy (2015) has an interesting premise but doesn’t deliver anything more than the silly formula that has existed for decades in the film comedy world.

I finished the film with mixed emotions.

2014 Films, Ashton Kutcher, Bobby Cannavale, Bobby Moynihan, Cameron Diaz, Children, Comedy, Jamie Foxx, Lowest Rated Films, Michael J. Fox, Mila Kunis, Musical, Musical Comedy, Patricia Clarkson, Quvenzhané Wallis, Rihanna, Rose Byrne, Will Gluck

Annie-2014

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Annie-2014

Director Will Gluck

Starring Quvenzhane Wallis, Jamie Foxx

Scott’s Review #231

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Reviewed March 25, 2015

Grade: D-

The latest remake of the film version of Annie, the last film production in 1982, though at least one variation in television exists, and all based on the Broadway hit of the same name, is a saccharin-laden mess of a film.

Annie stars Quvenzhane Wallis, Jamie Foxx, and Cameron Diaz as Annie, William Sparks (changed from Daddy Warbucks), and Miss Hannigan, respectively, and features Rose Byrne and Bobby Cannavale in supporting roles.

Let me begin with the one redeeming quality of the film, though admittedly a bit of a stretch. I found the musical numbers okay, not great, but far from the worst parts of the film.

The numbers are remixed into hip-hop-type songs with a trendy approach, presumably to add a modern element. While not great, some songs are catchy and not dreadful, especially “It’s A Hard Knock Life” over the closing credits.

Whether the actors sing their songs is another question, which I might not want to know the answer to.

The rest of Annie is terrible.

The casting is poor. Wallis, very believable in Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012), portrays Annie as an intelligent, social-climbing child and I sensed awkwardness to the part. Regardless it did not work.

I did not buy her in the role and how she was awarded a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Musical Comedy speaks volumes for the limited choices in 2014.

Jamie Foxx completely phones in his performance as Cell-phone technical mogul, running for mayor, William Sparks. Why the film changed the character from Daddy Warbucks is a mystery. He is unbelievable as a germaphobe, an aggressive yet sensitive, powerful man who amazingly develops a soft spot for Annie.

Cameron Diaz completely overacts and turns Miss Hannigan into an obnoxious, hysterical shrew, who towards the end of the movie somehow “turns good”, with no real motivation for doing so.

Rose Byrne and Bobby Cannavale give uninteresting, very one-note performances in their respective roles of Sparks’s assistant, love interest, and right-hand man.

The film chooses to change so many aspects of the original stage version of Annie, that it is barely recognizable.

It takes place in present times rather than the Depression-era 1930s, Annie is no longer an orphan but is in foster care. Miss Hannigan’s first name is changed to Colleen instead of Agatha and now a former pop performer whose career subsequently died.

Hannigan’s brother Rooster and his girlfriend Lily are not featured at all.

The story has zero interest and zero believability.

But the worst part of the film is the corniness of it. It is so overwrought with contrived scenes that it is tough to take seriously.

At a Mayoral function, Annie (an untrained singer) suddenly leaps onstage and belts out a perfectly sung, choreographed number melting the hearts of the wealthy powerhouses in attendance.

The film is pure fantasy with no realism to speak of.

Miss Hannigan fosters an apartment full of children that she hates, to collect $150 a week, but her apartment is pretty spacious and beautiful by Manhattan standards.

The film contains one inconsistency after another and is a horrendous modern take of a long-loved treasure, the 2014 version of Annie should be seen once, snarled at, and put back on the shelf, and forgotten for good.

2013 Films, Amanda Seyfried, Biography, Bobby Cannavale, Chloë Sevigny, Chris Noth, Drama, Eric Roberts, Hank Azaria, Independent, Independent Drama, James Franco, Jeffrey Friedman, Juno Temple, LisaGay Hamilton, Peter Sarsgaard, Rob Epstein, Robert Patrick, Sharon Stone, Wes Bentley

Lovelace-2013

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Lovelace-2013

Director Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman

Starring Amanda Seyfried, Peter Sarsgaard

Scott’s Review #133

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Reviewed July 24, 2014 

Grade: B

Lovelace (2013) is an account of famous 1970’s porn star, Linda Lovelace, and her rise to stardom and inevitable fall from the spotlight, difficult family life, abusive relationships, and her attempt to escape the porn world for good.

The film portrays the story from Lovelace’s point of view based on her tell-all autobiography and spins her in a very sympathetic way.

Whether all of her abuse and struggles that Lovelace claimed are to be believed is up to the viewer.

Lovelace, the film, comes across as similar to Boogie Nights (1997)- even the 1970s soundtrack is eerily alike, but inferior to that masterpiece.

The only character whose past is fully delved into is Linda Lovelace who is the sole focal point; the others are simply an extension of her character.

One major issue I found with the film is the casting of Amanda Seyfried as Linda Lovelace.

Seyfried does not have the plain Jane or girl next door characteristics that the actual Lovelace had. She comes across as soft and gentle, much too much for this particular role.

Conversely, the casting of Sharon Stone and Peter Sarsgaard is excellent as each is dynamic in their respective roles. Stone should have received much more acclaim than she did for her role.

As Lovelace’s mother, she is gritty, steely, and unsympathetic.

The film contains a whos who of Hollywood names involved in small roles.

Another issue is the film seems like a made-for-television movie and considering the subject matter is the porn industry, it seems awfully watered down and not harsh enough.

Lovelace (2013) is entertaining enough to keep one’s interest but is not riveting or in-depth enough to be a major success.

2013 Films, Alden Ehrenreich, Alec Baldwin, Andrew Dice Clay, Bobby Cannavale, Cate Blanchett, Comedy, Drama, Independent, Independent Comedy, Independent Drama, Louis C.K., Michael Stuhlbarg, Peter Sarsgaard, Sally Hawkins, Woody Allen

Blue Jasmine-2013

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Blue Jasmine-2013

Director Woody Allen

Starring Cate Blanchett, Sally Hawkins

Scott’s Review #92

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Reviewed July 3, 2014

Grade: A

Blue Jasmine (2013) is the latest offering by Woody Allen and one of his best since the 1970s. I have heard from several people that they are not typical Woody Allen fans but loved this film and I ponder why that is.

My theory is that Cate Blanchett, who stars as neurotic Jasmine, is the heart and soul of this movie.

Allen’s films usually center on neurotic characters and this film is no different.

Set primarily in San Francisco, it tells how Jasmine has lost all of her money thanks to bad investments by her ex-husband (played in flashbacks by Alec Baldwin).

She is a socialite and used to the best life in excess and extravagance.

Now Jasmine is reduced to making a clean start of it by rooming with her blue-collar sister, played by Sally Hawkins, and trying to scrape by.

Jasmine struggles to find success and the means to survive.

The film is hysterical, heartbreaking, and even a downer at moments. Through the assistance of pills and martinis, Jasmine is snobbish and ego-centric, yet the audience falls in love with and roots for her.

She is high-class yet broke. She keeps up appearances, and her wit, usually at the expense of others, never falters.

Blanchett is responsible for the love of this character and, thankfully, won the Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal.

The dialogue is sharp, witty, and filled with laugh-out-loud moments. Thanks to much of it taking place in flashbacks, the audience sees Jasmine’s life as it once was, having everything and then some, then back to her current reality and back and forth. This is a wise decision to show both of her lives.

Blue Jasmine (2013) is one of Woody Allen’s best.

Oscar Nominations: 1 win-Best Actress-Cate Blanchett (won), Best Supporting Actress-Sally Hawkins, Best Original Screenplay

Independent Spirit Award Nominations: 1 win-Best Female Lead-Cate Blanchett (won), Best Supporting Female-Sally Hawkins, Best Screenplay