Tag Archives: Dominic Cooper

2018 Films, Amanda Seyfried, Andy Garcia, Cher, Christine Baranski, Colin Firth, Dominic Cooper, Julie Walters, Lily James, Meryl Streep, Musical, Ol Parker, Pierce Brosnan, Richard Curtis, Stellan Skarsgård, Tom Hanks

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again-2018

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Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again- 2018

Director Ol Parker

Starring Lily James, Amanda Seyfried

Scott’s Review #797

Reviewed July 31, 2018

Grade: B+

My expectations for Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018) was not lofty, nor was I anticipating drivel. I expected (and was in the mood for) a summer popcorn musical flick with fun and dancing, and little in the way of analysis or requiring too much thought.

I can proudly say that this film fulfilled my expectations —it delivers its intent, and sometimes, that is exactly what the doctor ordered.

The film is enthusiastic and lively, with the musical numbers serving as the standouts.

In an immediate plot twist, it is revealed that the main character, Donna (Meryl Streep), died a year earlier, and her daughter Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) is planning a lavish reopening of her hotel on the beaches of Greece.

The film serves as both a sequel and a prequel, as events also go back to 1979 when a young Donna (Lily James) graduates from college and embarks on a journey to “find herself”.

She travels extensively and meets her three beaus (anyone who saw the 2008 original will be familiar with this plot), and the film is excellent at pleasingly connecting the events of both films.

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again is hardly high art and not intended to be. Truthfully, it is a bit sub-par to the original, as some of the musical numbers are “secondary” ABBA songs. The biggest hits were used in the 2008 film.

The overall plot feels a bit forced and not exactly compelling, especially since we know the eventual result of Donna’s relationships. The story seems geared towards a bombastic finish.

But the sheer fact that the song and dances are interspersed throughout the film makes it enjoyable enough.

The film plays more like someone’s fantasy than a real-life sequence, and liberties must certainly be taken.  Everything always seems to go Donna’s way, and events merely fall into place- if only real life were that way!

The introduction of Donna’s mother (Sophie’s grandmother)—explained to be a rich and famous singer residing in Las Vegas—is a way to add the legendary Cher to the story. Disappointingly, the star does not appear until the end of the film, more like a cameo appearance.

This leads me to the film’s best parts, which occur during the final thirty minutes. As Sophie’s grand hotel reopening party comes to fruition (a devastating storm thrown into the story is purely for dramatic effect), all details fall into place in magical form.

Hundreds of party guests show up, Donna’s beaus reunite, and the aforementioned absentee grandmother (Ruby) makes a grand entrance via helicopter (in stiletto heels naturally).

In this way, the grand finale is superior to the rest of the film.

Cher, still looking gorgeous at age seventy-two, is the pure highlight of the film, and it kicks into high gear when she appears. Considering all of the hype and press surrounding a film reunion between Cher and Meryl Streep- they starred together in 1983’s Silkwood- it should be no real surprise that Streep’s deceased Donna appears.

The two best scenes come at the end of Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again! As much as the lavish Cher demands the grand finale in terms of glamour and song, Streep’s touching duet with Sophie will bring tears to the viewer’s eyes and capture the emotional element of the film.

As Streep and Seyfried churn out a gorgeous rendition of “My Love, My Life,” the actresses’ mother-daughter relationship is lovely and will fondly remind audiences of the chemistry in the 2008 film.

Regarding Cher, the revelation that Ruby is a long-lost lover of the hotel manager, Fernando (Andy Garcia), is sweet and romantic. Despite limited screen time, the duo shares fantastic on-screen chemistry, so much so that I yearned to know the back story of their relationship.

Do we only know that they were madly in love in 1959? Why did it not work out?  Regardless, Cher’s version of the song “Fernando” is both appropriate and enchanting.

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018) is a summer film sure to please audiences eager for a fluffy musical.

With bright and cheerful Greek island locales, lavish oceans, and bombastic feel-good pop sensibilities, this film was marketed well and shares enough connection with 2008’s Mamma Mia! to enrapture and please audiences who enjoyed the first version.

2015 Films, Alex Jennings, Biography, Claire Foy, Dominic Cooper, Drama, Jim Broadbent, Maggie Smith, Nicholas Hytner

The Lady in the Van-2015

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The Lady In The Van-2015

Director Nicholas Hytner

Starring Maggie Smith

Scott’s Review #610

Reviewed January 19, 2017

Grade: B

Maggie Smith can do no wrong and I will happily enjoy watching her in anything- anytime. Around in film since the 1950s this lady deserves a starring film role.

Utterly distinctive she is, as legendary actress Bette Davis was,  Smith has a style purely her own. Her facial expressions and exasperated gasps make her one of the great film stars.

The Lady in the Van (2015) is specifically made for her, but besides her talents, the movie is a decent offering, but very safe.

It lacks the depth that it could have had.

Written by Alan Bennett, the film tells the true story of Mary Sheperd, an elderly woman living in a broken-down van, who befriends Bennett and eventually lives in his driveway for fifteen years before her inevitable death.

Set in northern London, a quaint and gorgeous part of the world, Mary harbors a deep secret involving her van and is revealed to have been a star piano pupil in her day.

Smith has no qualms about playing unflattering characters.

Shepherd is grizzled, abrupt, and rude, but Smith puts a lot of heart into her too, so the audience senses her vulnerability and falls in love with her. With her sad protruding blue eyes, wrinkles for miles, and chirpy voice, Smith is fantastic at giving her all to the role.

The rest of the cast adequately play their roles but are limited and out-shadowed at every turn. Most notable is the wasted talents of Jim Broadbent, appearing in a small and quite meaningless role.

Besides Smith’s brilliant performance, The Lady in the Van lacks layers. The story is good, but we never see many of Mary’s struggles. How does she afford food? How is she not sick? The film skims over the darker elements of homelessness in favor of a lighthearted tale.

Fine, but what about her inevitable issues?

Other less important stories are mentioned but not fully explored. Alex speaks to what looks like his twin brother, but is it his alter ego?

Young men come and go at night, so the presumption is that Alex is gay, and in the end, we do see Alex living with a man, but why is this so vaguely written? Why mention it at all?

This story would have been interesting to delve deeper into given that the real Alex Bennett wrote the film.

Other side stories are introduced but remain on the surface. Alex’s mother suffers from Alzheimer’s, but this is not explored much, and Mary’s brother, who institutionalized her at a young age, offers no explanation as to why this was done she had a mental illness- but the brother’s motivations are not clear.

I wanted more from the supporting characters than was offered.

Still, the bottom line is that The Lady in the Van (2015) is a Maggie Smith film, and any in which she has the lead role, is pretty damned good for that reason alone.

2009 Films, Alfred Molina, British, Carey Mulligan, Dominic Cooper, Drama, Emma Thompson, Lone Scherfig, Olivia Williams, Peter Sarsgaard, Romantic Drama, Rosamund Pike, Sally Hawkins

An Education-2009

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An Education-2009

Director Lone Scherfig

Starring Carey Mulligan, Peter Sarsgaard

Scott’s Review #584

Reviewed January 4, 2017

Grade: B+

An Education, a British film released in 2009, is a small, little gem of a film. The story-telling and the acting are very good.

Since it is a British film, the accents can be a little distracting for some, but I enjoyed it very much.

It tells the story of an intelligent, college-driven teenager, named Jenny (Mulligan), who falls in love with an older, charismatic man (Sarsgaard). She is faced with conflict from her family and teachers, most notably her father, played by Alfred Molina.

The individuals in her life have differing opinions on which path Jenny should choose in her life. This leads to the main conflict in the film.

The setting is rainy, cold, London in 1961. Headed for Oxford and a successful career (not common for a female in those days), Jenny is willing to risk it all for love, but is she being taken advantage of?

The film is romantic, comical, and serious all rolled into one. The story is nothing original, to be frank, but specifically, the excellent acting makes it worth seeing.

An Education (2009) proves filmmakers can take a good story, told before, and make it compelling to an audience.

Carey Mulligan deservedly received an Oscar nomination for this film and made her debut as a high-caliber young actress to watch.

Oscar Nominations: Best Picture, Best Actress-Carey Mulligan, Best Adapted Screenplay

Independent Spirit Award Nominations: 1 win-Best Foreign Film (won)