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This evening, we saw 2013's The Frozen Ground with Nicholas Cage, John Cusack & Vanessa Hudgens, a true crime story about Alaska's 1980s serial killer, Robert Hansen. Cage has the perfect hang-dog face to enhance his well played & oft-played role... weary, smart, sympathetic cop. Cusack, as Hansen, did an okay job, but wasn't as intense as I'd have anticipated. Hudgens, whom I've never heard of before, was truly wonderful as a young prostitute... brilliant, heart wrenching performance.
I do know Hansen's story, because I recently & coincidentally saw an older YTube vid on one of those 48 Hours/Dateline type shows & will say it was a bit rushed in the middle with details on the crimes & how they unfolded, forgiven as I realize they can only fit so much into 1-1/2 hrs. My only real annoyance with the film was that some of the action plot details were Hollywood fluff, which almost tipped the scales for me. I kept finding myself saying, 'That never happened!' out loud... the SO is still gazing at me askance, asking why I had to speak over dialogue to chastise characters on the screen. What can I say, it was a rather verbal day. This wouldn't be noticed by someone unfamiliar with these crimes or detract from the movie... but, since I'd just seen his life story, well, I noticed.
The good? The film moved along very quickly; characters were all played well; dialogue wasn't wasted; no overbearing, hokey music, which ruins a film for me every time; the desolate, dreary Alaskan climate & environs added to the bleak grimness of the story; Cage is brilliant & melancholy (isn't he in virtually everything), but his humanity almost always adds qualities to his roles making them believable & empathetic; & the story was interesting in how it unfolded.
The bad? A handful of characters were introduced, yet not much was done with them (like Cage's wife, played by the beautiful & wonderful actress, Rahda Mitchell), which left me wondering why bring them into the script at all; Cusack wasn't as rageful or menacing as I'd have expected him to be... I know he has it in him, I've seen him play that role before, but he held back here, for some reason; paradoxically, some of the kidnapping scenes were a bit too realistic & disturbing... this movie isn't overly violent, but certainly not for the squeamish; & the Hollywood fluff, like unnecessary chase scenes or poetic license (annoying in a true life story), distract from what should be good writing instead.
Still & all, well done, despite the difficult subject matter. The verdict? 4.5* out of 5.
I think the last movie I saw on the big screen was in February. We left it was just too boring to me. I can't even remember the title at the moment but it was the one that Jennifer Lawrence got the Academy award for. Wow the standards for that are certainly way lower than they used to be.
I think the last movie I saw on the big screen was in February. We left it was just too boring to me. I can't even remember the title at the moment but it was the one that Jennifer Lawrence got the Academy award for. Wow the standards for that are certainly way lower than they used to be.
I agree with all that you said, ND. Silver Linings Playbook was the film. Despised that movie & didn't like Lawrence any better... we left early, too. Still don't know the ending. Still don't care.
Pacific Rim in 3D. Long but enjoyable. I like most of what Del Toro directs. It's one of those cool movies I can take my 12 year old niece too and still enjoy myself.
a Nollywood (movies made in Nigeria) movie called Over the Limit. This one was good. It was about a woman whose entire family was killed by robbers. Later, one of them sees her in the graveyard crying over her family, and he falls in love with her. She doesn't suspect that he's responsible for the deaths, of course. She fell in love with him because he treated her so well, and he loved her.
There's more, but I won't spoil it in case anyone wants to see it.
The last movie I saw was a documentary, "Pressure Cooker" and I was teary eyed at the end. It follows high school seniors in Philadelphia, at Frankford High School's culinary arts program. The teacher, Wilma Stephenson at first was really hard to like. She's very outspoken and at times seems confrontation - but was able to portray that behind all of her criticism and harsh tones was a woman that wanted the best for her students. It was interesting to follow the lives of these kids.
Here's a short news story of Ms. Stephenson that I found on YouTube:
Loved-loved-loved that movie! I wonder how those kids are doing today?
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What can I say, it was a rather verbal day. 
This wouldn't be noticed by someone unfamiliar with these crimes or detract from the movie... but, since I'd just seen his life story, well, I noticed.
