I have been a fan of Roahl Dahl for some time now. I especially have enjoyed his poetry such as The Pig, a charming and darkly comedic take on why a pig is alive. However, I will admit that I have either not been a huge fan of most of the movie adaptation of Dahl’s work or I have not seen them. Obviously, I love Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and The Fantastic Mr. Fox is extremely well done. Matilda is fun too. I have actually never seen James and the Giant Peach, did not love The BFG and actively disliked Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. When I came across the movie Roald Dahl’s The Witches on HBO Max, I must admit to being intrigued.

I had never heard of this story and I also was unaware that there was another version of this film from 1990 starring Anjelica Huston and featuring Jim Henson puppetry. I will have to check that out.

So I entered this film without any knowledge of The Witches at all outside of the fact that it was a Roald Dahl story.

I was unimpressed.

In The Witches, a boy (Jahzir Bruno) is orphaned in a car crash and goes to live with his grandma (Octavia Spencer). Little did he know, witches were real and they were all around. His grandma had encountered a specific witch when she was a child and that witch turned Grandma’s friend into a chicken. So when the boy encounters a witch at the store, Grnadma took him away to a seaside resort. Unfortunately, there was a witches convention going on there with the Grand High Witch (Anne Hathaway) unleashing her evil plan to change all the children of the world into mice.

There are some huge names connected with this project. It was directed by Robert Zemeckis. The score was composed by Alan Silvestri. The credits included names such as Guillermo del Toro and Alfonso Cuarón. That is a lot of talent to be connected to this film especially considering how disappointing this was.

Octavia Spencer is always awesome and she does her job here really well. Anne Hathaway is so over-the-top in The Witches as the Grand High Witch, it seems as if she is having a blast. Stanley Tucci is in the film too (not sure why).

The cast was not the issue. Roald Dahl’s work is wonderfully dark and funny. Even Willy Wonka has undertones in the film of the darkness that exists. Here, much of the darkness has been removed in favor of family friendly moments. The only really dark moment was the ending with the fate of the Grand High Witch, which was satisfying. I would have enjoyed that tone more.

There were several plot points that seemed to be important, but were totally dropped. For example, Grandma spent the whole film coughing badly, implying that she was sick. I guess not as it does not come into the story at all. There was several references to garlic in a soup scene that made you believe that garlic may play into the resolution of the arc. Nope. I guess it is just a one off joke.

Another issue I had that, for a film from 2020, the CGI was below average. There were many places in the film where the CGI was noticeable and that is a sin for a current movie, in particular for a film where three of its main characters are talking mice.

This might be an effective film to plop the children down in front of during this holiday season, but for the adults in the room, be prepared to engage elsewhere.

2.5 stars

Christmas break began with the first of several big movies coming out with Netflix’s The Midnight Sky directed by and starring George Clooney kicking things off.

The science fiction story was adapted from a novel called Good Morning, Midnight. George Clooney played scientist Augustine who was isolated in the Arctic on a planet that had suffered some kind of catastrophic event. Augustine discovered a little girl who did not talk named Iris (the debuting Caoilinn Springall).

Meanwhile, a crew of astronauts were attempting to return to earth after their trip to one of the moons of Jupiter. The captain, Adewole (David Oyelowo), and Sully (Felicity Jones) were together and trying to find their way home.

The astronauts did not understand why they were not able to contact anyone on earth.

The Midnight Sky was pretty slow, and I am not sure if anything really happened. The film looked beautiful and was filled with some wonderful shots, but it was pretty dull.

George Clooney does a good job as the lonely scientist performance-wise. The acting on the shuttle was strong as well with David Oyelowo, Felicity Jones, Kyle Chandler, Tiffany Boone and Demián Bichir were at the very least solid. Some of them did not get as much time as others, but they fit well into the narrative that was being told.

The film was also pretty depressing for 2/3s of the run time. There was a ton of melodrama in the movie and there were few points of brightness. There is one major exception with “Sweet Caroline.” There was just too much depression and, when it compares with the slow pace of the film, it became difficult to watch at times.

The Midnight Sky looked great but the rest of the film was a bit of a slosh to get through. Clooney’s performance was good, but it did not elevate the film enough.

2.75 stars

When I went to see the original The Croods animated movie a few years ago, I hated the experience. I have always wondered if I hated the movie as much as I hated the experience.

You see, the theater I saw The Croods in was cramped, filled with screaming children, and there was a child throwing up a few rows behind me. I was stuck in the furthest seat over and was hating the entire environment. There is no doubt that the movie viewing experience can affect the way you perceive the movie so I did not enjoy the first Croods movie.

Now, the public at large did not seem to love the film either and I am not sure who was exactly clamoring for a sequel seven years after. I avoided the film. There was no pull for me to head out to the theater and potentially expose myself to the Covid-19 virus to see the sequel to the Croods.

Heck, it came out on streaming and I still was not anxious to see it. Finally, I decided that I should watch it.

The first thing that I realized was that Ryan Reynolds voiced the character Guy, something I did not remember from the first one. I remembered Nicolas Cage doing the voice of Grug, the father, but Reynolds was a surprise.

Then, the first half of the movie was about what I expected. Harmless. Unremarkable. Predictable. In fact, it felt like I was watching a Bizarro version of Aladdin with Guy as Prince Ali and Dawn Betterman (Kelly Marie Tran) as Jasmine. Perhaps that made Eep (Emma Stone) Abu. Although later on I thought maybe Eep was Aladdin instead.

I guess I should give a plot synapsis. The Croods found “Tomorrow”, the land Guy was searching for and met up with Guy’s parents’ old friends, the Bettermans, Phil (Peter Dinklage) and Hope (Leslie Mann). The Bettermans wanted Guy to come back and hook up with their daughter Dawn, and they tried to manipulate Grug to give Guy back.

Grug was feeling scared about Eep leaving the tribe so he was easily manipulated by Phil.

This was about the first 45 minutes of the movie and it was fine. Nothing major. There were a few funny bits, but nothing that I cared about, as you could tell from the weird Aladdin analogy I was mentally working on.

Then….

The movie went completely bat shit crazy.

I mean… totally bat shit crazy. I have to say, I liked it. It was bizarre, wild, flipping insane.

You have to respect a movie that is willing to let itself go this bat shit crazy. I’m not even sure how to describe it. King Kong on acid? Land of the Lost meets Willy Wonka? The Partridge Family and the Flintstones have a baby? There was even a series of Jack Black songs from out of nowhere.

Thunder Sisters? Punch monkeys language lessons. Wolf Spiders. Flying hair named Wigasus.

All of this feels as if they needed to cram everything possible into the third act because they knew the remainder of the movie was average at best. And yet, that third act was so nuts that it might have won me over. I don’t think I need to see the original again and I don’t think another sequel is needed, but this can only be experienced.

3 stars

A disaster movie starring Gerard Butler? I’ve seen this before. Nothing special here….

Oh, wait.

I take it all back.

I loved this movie. I never expected to love it as much as I did. I mean, come on. All of these disaster movies are the same and there is little difference about them. At best, they provide a couple of hours of escapist fun and at worst they are big, dumb spectacles that make no sense.

However, Greenland showed that it was more than this. Not only was it big, dumb escapist fun, it was also filled with emotional beats and surprisingly tense situations that felt true to the moment. It was more than our indestructible hero wading through CGI destruction to save his loved ones. While there is some of that, it is not the center of the movie. The movie’s center is actually the flaws of the characters and the nature of the human species.

A comet, dubbed Clarke by the media, approached the earth and the expectations were that it was not going to cause an impact on the planet. However, construction worker John Garrity (Gerard Butler) received a presidential alert on his phone that he and his family had been selected to be taken to a bunker. Though currently estranged from his wife Allison (Morena Baccarin), John maintained a positive relationship with his son Nathan (Roger Dale Floyd). When the notification came through, it became apparent that Clarke was going to be more of a problem than what was being reported.

The Garritys packed quickly and headed for the location presented them. After they arrived, they were split and it was determined that, because of his diabetes, Nathan was no longer eligible for the program. The family struggled to reunite and to find a way to safety.

Yes, a lot of that synopsis sounds familiar to other such genre films, but you have to trust me. This film elevates above the others through some exceptional writing.

One of the things that really sold me on the film I was watching was how it pulled no punches in the execution of the plot. There seemed to be little special about John Garrity. He was not a major scientist (as Butler was in Geostorm) or a former government agent of some sort. He was just a normal guy who had his own problems. I immediately was able to accept Butler in the role. It fit him beatifully.

Another thing Greenland did was it showed how horrible the situation was as the Garritys had to face the fact that they were leaving their friends and family behind. There were some scenes of real anguish where they were faced with desperate parents begging them to take their child too, and John knowing that they were restricted from doing it. The audience knew the result of John’s rejection of the idea, and the film did not shy away from showing the anxiety built by these near-Sophie’s choice like moments.

But what this film does above all else that I loved was how it elevated the no name heroes to a huge status. It did not just show the dark side of the human condition (looting, violent reactions etc.), but it showed the men and women of the human race just trying to help where they could. The army major (Merrin Dungey) who there doing her job despite having to leave her own family behind. The nurse who is able to help Nathan with his diabetes during a time where he had been separated from his parents. The family willing to pick up Allison alongside of the road and take her with them. The kind hearted young man who told John about the flight to Greenland. These were characters who were, most likely, not going to survive the extinction level event that was coming, but who were simply trying to do what they could to make a difference where they could. It was a true portrait of the best of the human society and it was the message that stuck with me more than those who embraced the chaos.

Scott Glenn had a short, but powerful appearance as Allison’s father. In just a few scenes, Glenn was able to imbue Dale with a humanity and a forgiveness that was desperately required for his family.

Roger Dale Floyd does a great job as Nathan, and the character of Nathan is allowed to be smart. There is one scene in particular where Nathan is in deep trouble, but he does the smart thing instead of the typically stupid choice that is served to just extend the plot. When that happened, I actually fist pumped and I was so proud of Nathan. That’s weird I know, but I loved that he was given the opportunity to be a real person.

Sure the movie has its warts too. There are definitely coincidences that happen to allow the Garritys to make it to where they were going and the trip to Canada seemed fairly simple (with the exception of one firestorm). Still, those are things that can be ignored with suspension of disbelief. Truthfully, there is less suspension of disbelief needed here than most of this type of genre movie.

And the ending of the movie was not necessarily strong. There was a spot where I thought the movie was going to end which would have left me feeling differently than where it ultimately did end at. I kind of wish they would have gone with the more uncertain conclusion.

So while this is not a perfect movie and it does get weighed down at times with the conventions of the genre, Greenland elevates so much more beyond the typical clichés and expectations of a disaster film that it was a sweet surprise and a film that I truly enjoyed watching.

4.25 stars

The first movie that I will review from HBO Max is the new film starring Meryl Streep called Let Them All Talk.

Meryl Streep is a huge star. She is considered one of the best actors of the last couple of decades. Having her new movie on the streaming service is a big deal. Of course, HBO Max is heading toward huge releases starting with WW84 on Christmas. Let Them All Talk is a nice way to kick it off.

Meryl Streep played Alice, a famous author who was taking a cruise to England to accept a prestigious award and she invited her old college friends Roberta and Susan (Candice Bergen & Dianne Wiest) to travel with her. The three friends had fallen away from one another in the years since Alice’s success.

Alice also invited her nephew Tyler (Lucas Hedges) to come along. Tyler was the glue that keeps the trio together and managed to handle whatever came up. One of those details was the publishing house’s agent Karen (Gemma Chan) who was trying to find out what Alice was writing, with the hope that it was a sequel to her huge hit book, that incidentally revealed a ton of details on the life of Roberta.

The film is harmless and focuses on the three ladies, as well as a “relationship” between Tyler and the older Karen. There were some solid performances in the film and the characters were well developed. However, there was no doubt that the character that I enjoyed the most was Roberta and the main reason for that was the charming and exceptional Candice Bergen.

Bergen got the meatiest character to play, a woman whose difficult life came from the publishing of the original book and who looked to be out for herself. Among other things, she was on the prowl across the ship for a potential husband who may have plenty of money. Roberta’s back story was just as fascinating making you wonder exactly what kind of person she was.

Meryl Streep’s Alice was played snooty and overbearing, yet there was something relatable to her. That may be because of Streep’s overt charm. You warm to her as the film pressed on and you realized that there was more to the story than what you could see.

Steven Soderbergh directed this movie and it was a solid and enjoyable experience as three great legendary actresses chewed up the scenes. I will admit that the scenes with Lucas Hedges and Gemma Chen were less interesting for me, but they are harmless and help play into the overall narrative. Alice’s connection to Tyler is one of the things that helped to humanize her for the audience.

The ending took a turn that I did not expect and that is always welcomed.

3.3 stars

Based on a Tony Award winning play by August Wilson, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is the final performance of actor Chadwick Boseman, and what a performance it was.

Boseman passed away in August from a years-long battle with cancer. Best known as King T’Challa from Marvel’s Black Panther, Boseman has been impressive in his film roles, but there may not be anything more impressive than his turn as Levee, a temperamental trumpeter with plans of musical success.

As Chadwick Boseman’s performance was not enough, Viola Davis absolutely slays it as Ma Rainey, the real life black singer called the “Mother of the Blues,” a demanding singer unwilling to budge from what she wanted.

Viola Davis recently won an Oscar for her role in Fences, another movie based on a play, alongside Denzel Washington, who produced this film. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom feels much like a play on film, just like fences did. The sharp dialogue, the powerhouse monologues, and the claustrophobic sets give this film its tone. Davis and Boseman bring the fire.

The film told the story of a recording session in 1927 on a hot Chicago afternoon. Ma Rainey, late arriving, tried completing a recording session with her white manager and producer. Her backing band had their own troubles, led by the emotionally unstable Levee.

The dialogue of the film was equally parts brilliant and uncomfortable. The constant use of the n-word was difficult to hear even though I know that is the verbiage of the culture. However, the monologues, in particular those delivered by Boseman, were utterly spellbinding and revealed the deep seeded pain of the character and made us understand the choices that he made.

Viola Davis is practically unrecognizable as the Mother of the Blues. The costume design and the manner in which the film was shot were beautiful and transcendent. The music was alive and electric. The film was a look at race, prejudice and the power of music to overcome the boundaries placed upon some.

This is another amazing film from Netflix this year. You cannot help but feel the loss of Chadwick Boseman, the unanswerable question of just how high he could have taken his career. You need to make sure you see this raw and stirring performance.

5 stars

Amazon Prime has been releasing some solid work this year, maybe not quite up to the level of Netflix, but pretty close. The most recent release from the studio appeared this weekend and starred Rachel Brosnahan in a crime thriller with a different point of view.

I’m Your Woman takes the POV of a wife of a member of a crime family. Set in the 1970s, I’m Your Woman featured the story of Jean (Rachel Brosnahan), the wife of Eddie (Bill Heck). Jean knew that Eddie was a criminal, but she had no idea to what extent he had taken it, nor did she know much about Eddie’s background.

One night, Eddie brings home a baby. Jean was barren and had decided that she would never be a mother. The arrival of the baby, they named Harry, changed her perspective and her life. So when Cal (Arinzé Kane),a complete stranger, showed up and told her to run, it became a difficult situation.

The film spends more time with Jean, trying to figure out exactly what was happening, and trying to keep herself and Harry safe from the outside forces that seemingly want to get to Eddie.

Cal takes Jean to his family cabin where, eventually, Cal’s wife Teri (Marsha Stephanie Blake), his son (De’Mauri Parks) and father (Frankie Faison) joined her there. Teri brought more secrets with her as they awaited the return of Cal.

I really enjoyed this film. I loved the turning of the plot structure around so that it is not as much about what was happening with the crime underworld as much as it was about Jean and her reactions to the moments around her. Rachel Brosnahan was fantastic as Jean, totally gripping and uniquely engaging. Her confusion and apprehension caused the audience to feel the same way. As everything seemed to be collapsing within on Jean, the audience felt the same snesation.

I thought Marsha Stephanie Blake was remarkably entertaining and original as well. It was clear as soon as she arrived that there was more to her story than what we were getting, and she developed into one of the best characters on the screen. You were never quite sure exactly whom you could trust here.

I was also so very thankful that I could not guess what was going to happen next. These types of crime thrillers tend to be filled with clichés, but I’m Your Woman avoided most of those, mainly with the major shift in POV. I was not sure how things were going to play out and what the end would be, and that is a very good thing.

And there was a scene that I yelled out in excitement. It was an awesome shot and it reminded me of Pulp Fiction.

I enjoyed I’m Your Woman very much. I liked how the genre was bent around in a different perspective and how the film became more of a character story than one of the typical crime films.

4 stars

As I was starting to compile my Year End Review lists for the I Am Groot “voice over” award and the best animated movie of 2020, I realized that 2020 was an underwhelming year for animation. With a few exceptions, 2020 has not been a standout for animation. However, it is very possible that December is going to save this year’s animation. Pixar’s Soul is coming Christmas day on Disney + and then on Apple Plus was the release of Wolfwalkers, and Wolfwalkers may be the best animated movie we have gotten yet in 2020.

In the 17th century Irish town of Kilkenny, Robyn (Honor Kneafsey) was the daughter of Bill (Sean Bean), a great hunter that had been brought into the town to deal with the wolf problems, and she wanted to help her father. Her father, determined to keep her safe, wanted her to stay in the town so he would not lose her as he had lost his wife, her mother.

Robyn went into the woods to prove to her father that she could hunt by his side. Unfortunately for Robyn, she was caught in one of her father’s wolf snares. A pack of wolves showed up and the leader of the pack, Mebh (Eva Whittaker), tried to free Robyn from the trap. Robyn believed that the wolf was trying to attack her and fought back. In the end, Mebh bit Robyn.

Turned out that Mebh was a “wolfwalker,” which was, by sense, an Irish werewolf. Wolfwalkers would be human, but, when they went to sleep, tuned into a wolf, leaving the human body in a form of a coma, until the wolf returns and reunites with the body.

The bite to Robyn wound up making Robyn a wolfwalker and changed the way she would look at the world and the forest. She had to try to help her new wolf friend while dealing with the madness of the Lord Protector (Simon McBurney), whose word was law and who was determined to kill all wolves.

The animation here was beautifully drawn and was unlike most animation today. There was a rawness to the animation and it helped create the mood of the film. There is a simplistic feel to it, but I would argue that the animation was more than what it appeared. The character designs were wonderful and original, creating an amazing looking group.

The voice work is exceptional, especially from Sean Bean and Honor Kneafsey. It was filled with emotion and passion, as characters were forced into doing things that they did not really want to do. Sean Bean is fully tortured in what he had to do and what he felt he was inevitable.

There was a Studio Ghibli flair to this movie as well, as if Studio Ghibli told Irish tales. I have seen some criticism of the movie that the story is simplistic, but I do not necessarily agree with that. I will admit that I was never sure what was going to happen and I was uncertain about how events were going to play out, happily, tragic or some combination. That kept the stakes high.

Wolfwalkers on Apple + was a beautiful and exceptional animated film that can be enjoyed by the adults right alongside their children. It is most likely the best animated film of the year.

Now it’s your turn, Soul.

4.8 stars

Disney + has released a new family film on their streaming service this weekend starring Jillian Bell as a Fairy Godmother wannabe-in-training called Godmothered.

In the film directed by Sharon Maguire (Bridget Jones movies), Jillian Bell played Eleanor, the wide-eyed fairy who was in training to become a Fairy Godmother. She took the classes taught by Moira (Jane Curtin), who stuck to the old school philosophy of “happily ever after.” The demand for fairy godmothers were in short supply and their land was being threatened with closure.

Eleanor took it upon herself to find someone she could help in order to save the land. This led her into the life of Mackenzie (Isla Fisher) and her two daughters (Jillian Shea Spaeder & Willa Skye). Mackenzie was a widow having difficulty moving her life along and her feelings were affecting the lives of her children and her job prospects.

As is the wont of these films, this leads to shenanigans.

There is nothing special or original about Godmothered. Everything here has been seen before. Still, the film is sweet and sacchariney like a diabetic coma. You might get a tooth ache from all the sugary situations presented in this film.

Jillian Bell was good in her role. She fit nicely in the character and that commitment to the character of Eleanor helps with the weaknesses in the movie. June Squibb is here too (initially being the narrator, but giving that job up about 10 minutes into the film) and I always enjoy her. Jane Curtin is playing a depressed Professor Mcgonagall-type character that throws some roadblocks in Eleanor’s way (eventually)

The story did not stand out, but it was fine for what it was.

However, there are certainly worse movies that you could watch and Godmothered does have a decent message/theme. I could see this being a passable family film. While it does not transcend anything from this type of fairy tale genre, you could do worse. That may not be a rave review, but I did not hate watching it. For a Saturday night movie on Disney +, this is okay.

3 stars

Many independent movies are performance driven and there is no doubt that the new film on Amazon Prime this week, Sound of Metal, is one of those.

Heavy metal drummer Ruben (Riz Ahmed) is losing his hearing. He heads to a school for the deaf to try and salvage his life before he could schedule a surgery for an implant that might save his hearing.

It is a simple story with a unique and compelling performance from Riz Ahmed at its center. We experience each moment of his life as Ruben does, through his anger and frustration and then to his eventual acceptance and it is powerful. Riz Ahmed brings such a humanity to the story and you find him easy to root for, even if he is not sure exactly what he wanted.

There are some amazing scenes at the school for the deaf with Ruben and Joe (Paul Raci), the head of the school. Everything that happens here is understandable and provides Ruben with a support that he needed to truly understand what was happening to him.

The sound editing in this movie is next level genius. The audience is presented with the ways that Ruben is hearing and the use of sound is amazing, as is the lack of sound. The audience is placed in the same situation as Ruben and they find themselves as uncomfortable as he is as he progresses with the different levels of his deafness.

Olivia Cooke is good as Ruben’s girlfriend Lou and she does provide some important support for him in the first half of the movie. However, she disappears until the end and does become irrelevant to the story. That is because this story is Ruben’s story and Riz Ahmed is up to the task.

Directed by Darius Marder, who has spent most of his career working on documentaries, he brings a style to Sound of Metal that feels like a documentary. He provides a strong foundation for Ahmed’s sparkling performance.

4 stars

Here you go, Krista.

I had not planned on watching Hillbilly Elegy, but it is the new Ron Howard film and starred two legit star actors in Glenn Close and Amy Adams. Then, my colleague asked if there would be a review coming for it. Add that together and I decided to give it a try.

Based on a true story from a novel entitled Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis, a memoir by J.D. Vance, the Hillbilly Elegy Netflix film was not very good. I have not read the book, but my research indicated that the book dealt heavily with the hillbilly culture from Kentucky. There is very little to none of that in this film.

The Netflix movie lacks subtlety and spends more time with melodramatic claptrap, and amazing actors who are unable to do much more than scream. Amy Adams and Glenn Close are clearly trying for their Oscar nominations, but there is very minimal depth to either of their characters and their weird wigs are definitely a distraction.

The two actors are strong so there are a few scenes that work (such as one involving an Algebra test), but there are few quiet moments to give these women layers.

Owen Asztalos plays young J.D. and does an adequate job, but his character is all over the place. Older J.D. is played by Gabriel Basso, who is a law student waiting for an important interview when he gets a call from his sister Lindsay (Haley Bennett) with news that his mother had overdosed on heroin and was in the hospital. J.D. headed for home with a full load of baggage.

Flashbacks were disjointed and did not fit together well. It usually meant we got to see Adams screeching in anger or anguish or Close making faces in her bizarre wig. Adams’ character’s motivations are barely mentioned and goes so fast that you may miss it.

The movie poster calls this an inspiring true story, but the fact is, I was not inspired by anything. The idea of J.D. overcoming his past was just touched upon and it is hard to believe when it happens.

The acting is fine, as you would expect it to be. The story was lacking, filled with over-the-top, eye-rolling moments and the characters were stereotypes. There are plenty of better Ron Howard movies to watch than this one.

2 stars

I watched Citizen Kane for the first time during the pandemic. It was a masterpiece. It is one of those movies that is seen as one of the greatest movies ever made. Orson Welles directed, starred and produced the notorious film based on the life of newspaper man William Randolph Hurst. But how much did Welles contribute to the writing of the film? Welles is listed as a co-writer with alcoholic writer Herman J. Mankiewicz.

In the new biopic Mank, the story is told of the origin of the screenplay of Citizen Kane and follows the life of Mankiewicz, nicknamed Mank. Played by Oscar winner Gary Oldman, Mank rushed to finish writing the screenplay against plenty of opposition of 1930s Hollywood.

Mank was directed by David Fincher and written by his father Jack Fincher. Jack Fincher wrote the script originally in the 1990s but it never saw the light. Jack Fincher died in 2003. There is a distinct feel to the script, very dialogue heavy. The words were exceptional and helped carry the film. There was not a lot of actual plot development but the dialogue really made the film.

Another key to the special look of the film is that is was filmed in black and white. That gave the film a feel much like Citizen Kane itself and gorgeous to watch.

Gary Oldman led a fantastic cast that included Amanda Seyfried, Lily Collins, Tom Pelphry, Charles Dance, Tom Burke, and Arliss Howard. These actors all had to deal with the legendary Hollywood icons that they embodied. But Oldman was the standout here as he continuously blends into his roles. Oldman had to play two ages of Mankiewicz, as the film was told with flashbacks as well as the current day.

There are some slow moments, but the dialogue is always sparkling. The film is beautiful and tells a fascinating story, if not a completely accurate one.

4 stars