Category: 2010s

Middle class virgin Adesua Etomi is set to marry rich, former playboy Banky Wellington, but not without many snafus from meddling parents and former girlfriends to a replaced best man and a party crashing robber. Since the wedding scenes were some of the most memorable in the last Nollywood film I’d seen, I figured I couldn’t go wrong with one completely centered on a Nigerian wedding. The wedding here is indeed lavish (so much color, dancing, and food), but the production values are otherwise a bit lacking. It’s still fun, fluffy entertainment with appealing, though one-dimensional, acting.   

When lobbyist Jessica Chastain begins working against the gun lobby, their entire power structure, including United States Senators, comes gunning for her. At its core, it feels a bit like a based on actual events film written by Aaron Sorkin, similar to his and Chastain’s pairing in Molly’s Game. She gives a truly powerhouse performance that controls the entire film and outshines everyone else. Sadly an unnecessary prostitution side plot and a seriously contrived ending ruined too much of my enjoyment of the film.

Overwhelmed with his workload, landscape architect to Alan Rickman’s King Louis XIV Matthias Schoenaerts hires Kate Winslet to design one section of the Versailles gardens, despite the fact that her chaotic designs are at odds with his orderly sensibilities. It’s a perfectly serviceable period piece with gorgeous costumes and sets. There’s something about Winslet’s character that doesn’t feel right for the time period neither her costumes nor actions. The chemistry between the leads is lacking and the modernized statements feel out of place.

After their pensions are cancelled, long-time friends Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, and Alan Arkin decide to rob a bank. I enjoy a good heist movie and with this cast, it seems like it’d have to be great. Unfortunately it’s not. The little characterization that is given is nothing but the worst of clichés. The guys look like they’re having fun, but they don’t put that energy into their roles. The reveal of their alibi setup is more interesting than the heist itself. It’s all mildly entertaining, but entirely forgettable. I plan to check out the original soon. I hope it’s better than this one. 

When news reporter Jeremy Renner investigates the CIA’s involvement in cocaine trafficking to fund the Contras in Nicaragua, it triggers a smear campaign against the author that ruins his life. The details of the story are infuriating and shout the necessities of a free press, an almost impossibility when editors and other journalists will bend to power. The performances are generally solid even while the story feels a bit tedious at times. This was apparently a passion project for Renner and it shows in the performance he personally gives.