Posts Tagged ‘Meryl Streep’

Don’t Look Up

Director: Adam McKay

Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep, Cate Blanchett, Tyler Perry, Jonah Hill, Timothee Chalamet, Mark Rylance, Melanie Lynskey, Ron Perlman, Ariana Grande, Himesh Patel

Film Rating 5.5 out of 10

Running Time: 2 hours and 18 minutes

This film is only available to watch on the Netflix streaming service.

Similar to the absolutely disastrous 2019 film Cats in which The Danish Girl director Tom Hooper assembled an A list cast with high expectations, only for the film version of the musical Cats to absolutely flop at the box office and be completely ridiculed, director Adam McKay’s 2021 film Don’t Look Up is as big a disaster as the comet which threatens to obliterate earth and kill everyone including the vacuous media personalities, the egotistical politicians and the general American population encapsulated by a stoner performance by Oscar nominee Timothee Chalamet (Call Me By Your Name) as Jude.

Oscar winners Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant), Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook), Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine, The Aviator) and Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady, Kramer vs Kramer and Sophie’s Choice) unfortunately fail to lift this disastrous black comedy. Don’t Look Up just proves the theory that Netflix can attract A List stars to act in dreadful films. Next time all their agents should be shot at dawn.

Thankfully I never watched this film in a cinema.

With the exception of director Jane Campion’s excellent The Power of the Dog, Netflix films do not have that much to offer. Let’s face it the streaming service is facing a content crisis, now that everyone is back in cinemas watching Spiderman, Dune and No Time to Die.

Back to Don’t Look Up, while aspects of the script were rather funny, it really just shows how vacuous and gullible the American public are, believing everything they see in the media and on Television. That’s according to Adam McKay’s script and not my personal opinion.

Unlike Adam McKay’s brilliant take on the 2008 financial crisis in the critically acclaimed The Big Short and his even better take on politics in 2018’s Vice, Don’t Look Up falls way short of these two superior films. Even the satire and black comedy is not written with intelligence or an ounce of wit.

Don’t Look Up appears to be a spiralling pastiche of an impending extinction event in which everyone from the crazy politicians embodied by Meryl Streep’s American President Orlean and her ambitious son and chief of staff Jason wonderfully played by Oscar nominee Jonah Hill (Moneyball, The Wolf of Wall Street) to the incredibly vacuous cougar and TV presenter Brie Evantree in the Daily Rip brilliantly played by Oscar winner Cate Blanchett, all of whom seem blissfully unaware of a large meteor heading towards earth and wiping out humanity.

While Leonardo DiCaprio seems to just replicate his anxiety ridden performance in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood to a much lesser degree in Don’t Look Up and Jennifer Lawrence looks slightly confused at being in the presence of such big name stars in a film which is essentially going to be watched on an Iphone, unfortunately this deluxe extinct level event fizzles out despite the ensemble cast. Don’t Look Up is everything that genuine cinema shouldn’t be.

Don’t Look Up gets a film rating of 5.5 out of 10 and thankfully one doesn’t need to purchase a cinema ticket to watch this disaster. You can just pause the film and look away.

The Prom

Director: Ryan Murphy

Cast: Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, James Corden, Andrew Rannells, Kerry Washington, Tracey Ullman, Keegan-Michael Key, Ariana Debose, Jo Ellen Pellman

This Film is Only Available on Netflix

Eat, Pray, Love director Ryan Murphy and TV writer of such hit shows as American Horror Story, Glee, American Crime Story assembles an all-star cast for the Netflix film production of the Broadway hit show The Prom, about a group of failed Broadway stars who decide to take on a personal crusade to assist a teenage lesbian girl Emma Nolan played by Jo Ellen Pelman who is not allowed to take her in the closet girlfriend Alyssa Greene played by Ariana Debose to the James Madison High School prom in conservative Indiana, in the American mid-West.

Besides James Corden’s cringe worthy performance as gay theatre actor Barry Glickman, it’s really three time Oscar winner Meryl Streep’s beautiful and tantalizing turn as the Broadway Star Dee Dee Allen which makes The Prom worth watching.

Oscar winner Nicole Kidman (The Hours) reunites with Meryl Streep and stars as the leggy actress Angie Dickinson to give some back up support. The Boys in the Band and Black Monday star Andrew Rannells plays the dashing but slightly dim-witted Trent Oliver, also a wannabe Broadway actor.

Django Unchained star Kerry Washington plays Alyssa’s conservative mother Mrs Greene, which is an interesting casting choice and Washington pulls off the role as a stuffy PTA mother who is ruling her daughter’s life and spearheading a campaign to prevent the lesbian Emma from bring another girl to the prom.

The traditional nexus of liberal open-minded egotism which clashes with small town conservatism is explored and laboured upon multiple times with numerous bouncy song numbers, which is just sufficient to convert the conservatism into an acceptance of all LGBT teenagers in the Midwest. Idyllic but not realistic. After all Broadway is a far cry from Indiana.

Director Ryan Murphy’s obsession with Indiana comes from the fact that he was born and grew up there, so The Prom could be a story about the director’s own difficulties with coming out in a conservative environment.

Barry Glickman’s own coming out as a gay man is heightened by the arrival of his mother Vera wonderfully played by Tracey Ullman, James Corden’s co-star in Into the Woods.  

The Prom is a really light and fluffy musical, a dream inspired vision of a culturally accepting Midwest which is a far cry from reality. Meryl Streep channels her Oscar nominated performance from The Devil Wears Prada as the outrageously narcissistic Broadway star Dee Dee Allen, although the script leaves such talented stars as Streep and Kidman floundering to make a lasting impression.

If audiences are looking for something superfluous and unsubstantial, then watch The Prom, it’s fun  but not intellectually challenging. This film is a far cry from Gus van Sant’s Oscar winning film Milk but nor is it meant to make a significant statement about LGBT rights in American schools in the 21st century.

The Prom gets a film rating of 6.5 out of 10 and watch it for Meryl Streep and no one else. Streep plays a Ryan Murphy inspired version of herself, which is poignant since he had a fan club of her work when he was in high school in Indiana.

Little Women

Director: Greta Gerwig

Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Florence Pugh, Emma Watson, Laura Dern, Timothee Chalamet, Meryl Streep, Chris Cooper, Louis Garrel, James Norton, Bob Odenkirk

Ladybird director Greta Gerwig skilfully adapts Louisa May Alcott’s bestselling 19^th century American novel Little Women for 21^st century audiences although her non-linear approach to storytelling could confuse viewers that are not familiar with the original story of the trials and tribulations of the March sisters in Concord, Massachusetts during and after the American Civil War.

Fortunately for Gerwig she manages to assemble an exceptional cast in her gorgeous cinematic remake of Little Women including Oscar nominee Saoirse Ronan (Atonement, Ladybird) as the headstrong writer Jo, Emma Watson (The Bling Ring) as the more grounded older sister Meg and the dazzling Florence Pugh as the younger sister Amy.

Oscar winner Laura Dern (Marriage Story) plays the four sisters mother Mamie and Bob Odenkirk briefly appears as the girls’ wayward father. Eliza Scanlen plays the youngest sister Beth who is excellent at piano playing.  

What is most impressive about Little Women is the brilliant casting of the male parts in this version, particularly Oscar nominee Timothee Chalamet (Call Me By Your Name) as Theodore “Laurie” Laurence, Oscar winner Chris Cooper (Adaptation) as Laurie’s grandfather Mr Laurence and French actor Louis Garrel (The Dreamers, Saint Laurent) as Jo March’s love interest Professor Friedrich Bhaer.

There is also British actor James Norton who was dazzling as Stephen Ward in the BBC series The Trial of Christine Keeler who is cast as Meg’s love interest John Brooke, a penniless tutor.

Little Women is gorgeously shot and the costumes are beautifully designed by Jacqueline Durran who deservedly won her second Oscar for Costume Design for this film.

Equally invigorating is the absolutely brilliant performances of both Saoirse Ronan as the headstrong writer Jo March and that of Florence Pugh as the gorgeous but spoilt younger sister Amy, who received her first Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for Little Women.

Florence Pugh is really a young star to look out for as her performance is formidable especially opposite screen legend and multiple Oscar winner Meryl Streep (Kramer vs Kramer, Sophie’s Choice, The Iron Lady) as the wealthy and righteous Aunt March as she accompanies the affluent relative to Paris.

Little Women is a gorgeous film, beautifully directed and should be applauded for giving so many young actresses a chance to shine in an exceptionally well-cast and directed film.

Little Women gets a film rating of 8 out of 10 and is highly recommended viewing for everyone. A sparkling triumph set in 19^th century America where men had every opportunity and women had to fight for everything or marry a rich husband.

Mary Poppins Returns

Director: Rob Marshall

Cast: Emily Blunt, Ben Whishaw, Emily Mortimer, Meryl Streep, Colin Firth, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Pixie Davies, Nathanael Saleh, Joel Dawson, Dick van Dyke, Angela Lansbury

Chicago and Memoirs of a Geisha director Rob Marshall returns with another hit musical Mary Poppins Returns featuring Emily Blunt as Mary Poppins immortalized by Julie Andrews in the original 1964 hit film Mary Poppins.

Fortunately Emily Blunt is such an accomplished actress that she nails the part of Mary Poppins to absolute perfection ably assisted by Broadway star Lin-Manuel Miranda as Jack the lamplighter who between the two of them share most of the musical numbers.

Brideshead Revisited and Skyfall star Ben Whishaw plays Michael Banks and his sister Jane Banks is played by Emily Mortimer. The real stars of Mary Poppins Returns are the three Banks children John, Anabel and Georgie wonderfully played by Nathanael Saleh, Pixie Davies and Joel Dawson respectively.

Mary Poppins Returns is Disney in full swing for the 21^st century and the musical numbers are brilliant especially the lamp lighters dance sequence as well as some well-placed cameo’s by Oscar winner Meryl Streep (Sophie’s Choice, Kramer vs Kramer and The Iron Lady) as the garish and outrageous cousin Topsy along with Oscar nominee Angela Lansbury (Gaslight, The Manchurian Candidate, The Picture of Dorian Gray) as the Balloon Lady and Golden Globe nominee Dick van Dyke (Mary Poppins) as Mr Dawes.

Other notable stars are Oscar winner Colin Firth (The King’s Speech) as the evil bank manager Wilkins who is completely unsympathetic to the plight of Michael Banks whose Cherry Tree Lane house in Depression era London is about to be repossessed unless Mr Banks can find share certificates which can prove he has some form of collateral to retain his family home.

Oscar nominee Julie Walters (Billy Elliott, Educating Rita) stars as the housekeeper Ellen who manages to keep the chaotic Banks household in some form of domestic stability.

Cleverly Mary Poppins Returns captures the magic of a whimsical musical for a 21^st century audience while paying homage to the original 1964 film which made a star out of Julie Andrews who also won an Oscar for her iconic performance in 1965. Emily Blunt, with her pithy and clipped English accent, is superb as the no nonsense nanny who ignites imagination in the three young Banks children while handling all the brilliant musical numbers.

Highly recommended viewing for the entire family, director Rob Marshall does a brilliant job with Mary Poppins Returns and is definitely worth seeing.

Mary Poppins Returns gets a film rating of 8 out of 10 and is absolutely brilliant. If Disney is going to do a sequel so long after the original film you can bet that it’s going to be spit spot!

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again

Director: Ol Parker

Cast: Amanda Seyfried, Lily James, Dominic Cooper, Christine Baranski, Julie Walters, Celia Imrie, Pierce Brosnan, Stellan Skarsgard, Colin Firth, Cher, Meryl Streep, Jeremy Irvine, Josh Dylan, Hugh Skinner, Jessica Keenan Wynn

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel screenwriter Ol Parker does behind the camera as director for the much anticipated sequel / prequel Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again featuring the original cast from Mamma Mia! (2008) including some fabulous additions such as pop diva Cher and Cinderella’s Lily James as the young Donna.

Shot mostly on location in Croatia, doubling for the Greek Isles, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again is strictly for ABBA fans and those who loved the original 2008 film.

Thanks to a preview screening organized by United International Pictures at Suncoast Cinecentre, Durban, I was fortunate enough to see Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again whose highlights included Cher’s superb rendition of the song Fernando sung to her long lost love and some crisply orchestrated numbers featuring Lily James and a plethora of gorgeous young men played by Jeremy Irvine, Hugh Skinner and Josh Dylan respectively, who all represent the younger versions of Sophie’s three Dads played in the original film by Pierce Brosnan, Oscar winner Colin Firth (The King’s Speech) and Stellan Skarsgard.

While the storyline is as haphazard as a lost yacht in the Mediterranean, the singing and the music for Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again is what audiences should come and see this musical comedy for.

With a bigger cast and some daring lines uttered by the wine swigging Tanya played by Christine Baranski (The Bird Cage) including “Be Still my Beating Vagina”, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again is a sparkling musical comedy with the pure aim of reviving all those toe-tapping ABBA songs.

There is sufficient Man Candy both young and old to satisfy a diverse range of female audiences and in the immortal words of BBC Talk Show Host Graham Norton on interviewing pop diva Cher – “This is one of the gayest films being released in 2018!”

Leave your worries at the door and enjoy Mamma Mia, Here We Go Again which gets a film rating of 7.5 out of 10, held together by two sensational performances by Lily James and Cher.

The Post

Director: Steven Spielberg

Cast: Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Sarah Paulson, Jesse Plemons, Carrie Coon, Bob Odenkirk, Bruce Greenwood, Tracy Letts, Michael Stulbarg, Matthew Rhys, Bradley Whitford, Alison Brie

Before Julian Assange, before Edward Snowden, there was the Pentagon Papers.

A top level government study on how the Americans had been involved in Vietnam way before the infamous Vietnam War and how during that bloodletting fiasco, the Americans realized that they were losing the war in South East Asia, yet still continued to send troops in to fight the Viet Cong.

The leaking of the Pentagon Papers, firstly by the New York Times and then more pertinently by The Washington Post during the Nixon administration is the source of Oscar winning director Steven Spielberg’s fascinating film The Post starring two Oscar winners, Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady) as owner of the Post, Katherine Graham and Tom Hanks (Philadelphia) as Ben Bradlee, the executive editor of The Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/ who seizes on the story of a decade and pushes for his newspaper to release the classified documents despite the possible legal or financial consequences.

Streep as usual, is superb as the doubtful and affluent socialite Katherine Graham who inherits her father’s newspaper The Washington Post upon her husband’s death and then is forced into an invidious position when she is called upon to make the critical decision on whether to let the newspaper publish the Pentagon Papers at a time when New York investors are eagerly awaiting The Washington Post Company’s IPO (Initial Public Offering) on the American Stock Exchange, which could hugely benefit the fortunes of the struggling newspaper.

Spielberg packs a lot into The Post, and it would be advisable for viewers to read up thoroughly about that crucial historical period in 1971 which was so decisive and widely regarded as the turning point of American press freedom. All these events occurred prior to the Watergate scandal.

The publication of the Pentagon Papers ultimately changed the American public’s sentiment on the viability of troops in Vietnam and the legal outcome after the Supreme Court ruling elevated Katherine Graham to a media doyenne, a feminist and a massively influential woman who changed the business world’s view on how a single woman can influence and transform a media empire.

There is a solid supporting cast of actors in The Post to add gravitas to a riveting tale of journalistic bravery, including Sarah Poulson as Bradlee’s wife Toni who gives her own feminine perspective on why what Katherine Graham was doing was vitally important and brave. Other supporting actors include Bob Odenkirk, Matthew Phys, Carrie Coon, Jesse Plemons and Tracy Letts.

In the age of the Internet, Fake News and a 24 Hour news cycle, The Post is a critical film to watch and be discussed and is especially relevant in 2018 as back then in 1971, which basically implies that at every historical junction, the media must always hold the country’s government accountable. After all, the news is History’s First Draft.

My only criticism is that screenwriters Liz Hannah and Josh Singer should have contextualized the dramatic events more efficiently so that a 21^st century audience could appreciate the bravery of publishing critical information without fear or favour.

The Post is brilliant viewing and a highly recommended film about press freedom under a sinister government which makes the film’s ending all the more relevant. The Post receives a film rating of 8.5 out of 10.

Read more on Katherine Graham – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katharine_Graham

Read more on Ben Bradlee – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Bradlee

Florence Foster Jenkins

Director: Stephen Frears

Cast: Meryl Streep, Hugh Grant, Simon Helberg, Rebecca Ferguson, Nina Arianda, Stanley Townsend, Christian McKay, John Sessions

No actress plays a diva quite like Oscar winner Meryl Streep. First it was her brilliant portrayal of the Fashion Editor Miranda Priestley in The Devil Wears Prada. Now in the capable hands of The Queen director Stephen Frears, Streep plays the delusional American heiress Florence Foster Jenkins opposite British star Hugh Grant.

For once Grant holds his own opposite Streep and as a rather stylish couple in Florence Foster Jenkins set in lavish New York musical circles in 1944 as the Second World War is drawing to a close.

Jenkins who unfortunately had an awful singing voice but believed that she could sing beautifully, enlists the help of accompanying pianist Cosme McMoon wonderfully played by Simon Helberg from the hit TV series The Big Bang Theory. Helberg acts with his eyes and his expressive disapproval of Jenkin’s awful voice is soon transformed into a fondness for the eccentric heiress who genuinely thinks her voice is superb.

Naturally her singing ambition is encouraged by her husband St Clair Bayfield fabulously played by Hugh Grant (Notting Hill, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Sense and Sensibility). In a complicated arrangement Bayfield enjoys his conjugal activities with the gorgeous Kathleen, played by Swedish actress Rebecca Ferguson (Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation) who isn’t impressed with Jenkins rise in popularity.

Three time Oscar winner Meryl Streep (Kramer vs Kramer, Sophie’s Choice, The Iron Lady) nails her interpretation of Florence Foster Jenkins as a lonely American heiress who due to an unfortunate illness, namely syphilis, is never able to have children so she sets her sights on conquering the fickle and snobbish world of classical music and in turn believes she has the makings of a star.

Her crowning achievement came during the infamous concert at Carnegie Hall where to bolster audience numbers she gave free tickets to inebriated American soldiers about to embark on a foreign war. Remember this is the golden age of radio and Jenkins exploited this medium to its fullest, soon becoming a favourite for her willpower rather than any inherent lyrical traits.

Assisted with a witty script by Nicholas Martin, Frears approaches the tale of Florence Foster Jenkins in a high camp fashion, making the film a poignant and hilarious tale of the diva whose fabulous costumes and awful singing made her the heroic heiress of New York.

Florence Foster Jenkins is a delightful film and will sure to garner some recognition for the sumptuous production design and brilliant costumes in the approaching awards seasons.

Simon Helberg is particularly superb as McMoon who is mesmerized and scandalized by the life force that was the flamboyant Florence Foster Jenkins https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Foster_Jenkins.

This film is highly recommended viewing, a wonderfully acted tale of an heiress who certainly made the most of her fifteen minutes of fame despite popular opinion.

THE  65th BAFTA AWARDS /

THE BRITISH ACADEMY FILM AWARDS

Took place on Sunday 12th February 2012 in London

BAFTA WINNERS IN THE FILM CATEGORY:

Best Film: The Artist

Best Director: Michel Hazanavicius – The Artist

Best Actor: Jean Dujardin – The Artist

Best Actress: Meryl Streep – The Iron Lady

Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer – Beginners

Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer – The Help

Rising Star Award: Adam Deacon

Best British Film: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy directed by Tomas Alfredson

Best Original Screenplay: Michel Hazanavicius – The Artist

Best Adapted Screenplay: Bridget O’Connor, Peter Straughan – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Best Costume Design: Mark Bridges – The Artist

Best Foreign Language Film: The Skin I Live In directed by Pedro Almodovar

Source: 65th BAFTA Awards

69th Golden Globe Awards

Took place on Sunday 15th January 2012 hosted by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association

Golden Globe Winners in The Film Categories:

Best Film Drama: The Descendants

Best Film Musical or Comedy : The Artist

Best Actor Drama: George Clooney – The Descendants

Best Actress Drama: Meryl Streep – The Iron Lady

Best Actor Musical or Comedy: Jean Dujardin – The Artist

Best Actress Musical or Comedy: Michelle Williams – My Week with Marilyn

Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer – Beginners

Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer – The Help

Best Director: Martin Scorsese – Hugo

Best Foreign Language Film: A Separation (Iran)

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/69th_Golden_Globe_Awards

67th Golden Globe Awards

Took place on Sunday 17th January 2010 hosted by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association

Golden Globe Winners in The Film Categories:

Best Film Drama: Avatar

Best Director: James Cameron – Avatar

Best Film Musical or Comedy: The Hangover

Best Actor Drama: Jeff Bridges – Crazy Heart

Best Actress Drama: Sandra Bullock – The Blind Side

Best Actor Musical or Comedy: Robert Downey Jr. – Sherlock Holmes

Best Actress Musical or Comedy: Meryl Streep – Julie and Julia

Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz – Inglourious Basterds

Best Supporting Actress: Monique – Precious

Best Foreign Language Film: The White Ribbon (Germany)

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/67th_Golden_Globe_Awards