The Irishman Review!

                       

                      The Irishman is a must see film this holiday season. The film follows Frank Sheeran (portrayed by Academy Award winning actor Robert DeNiro), an Irish truck driver that starts to climb the ranks in an Italian mob family, and forms a close bond with Teamster Union President, Jimmy Hoffa. The film is displayed in an array of different time periods, starting with an aging Frank retelling his tale of how he became involved in one of the biggest unsolved mysteries in American history.

'Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood’ Tarantino’s best film yet

           Director Quentin Tarantino’s latest film, Once upon a Time…in Hollywood is arguably the best film of his illustrious career. The film centers on actor Rick Dalton (portrayed by Academy Award winning actor Leonardo DiCaprio), and his best friend and stuntman, Cliff Booth (Portrayed by Academy Award nominee Brad Pitt) as they navigate their way through the last years of Hollywood’s Golden Age as aging performers, and dealing with rejections, and setbacks.

Avengers: Endgame: The End of an Era

                   

          The time has come for comic fans everywhere to say goodbye to their favorite superheroes as the Marvel Cinematic Universe puts an end to the legendary Avenger films. Directors Joe and Anthony Russo finish what they started from last year’s Avengers: Infinity War. The film begins with the few remaining characters struggling to survive with more than half the universe wiped out from Thanos’ deadly finger snap in Infinity War. The original six core Avengers (Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Hulk, Black Widow and Hawk Eye) need to band together and figure out a solution to bring life back into the world, or die trying.


WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW!!! DO NOT READ IF YOU DO NOT WANT SPOILERS!!!

Lady Gaga shines bright in Bradley Cooper’s A Star is Born

 

Bradley Cooper wrote, directed and starred in the 2018 Oscar worthy drama, A Star is Born. Cooper recreated the modern day reboot, with a vision of pop star turned actress Lady Gaga in the title role.  The film starts out with Ally, (Gaga) an aspiring singer, working in a restaurant during the day trying to make ends meet, and moonlighting as a singing “drag queen” at a drag night club. Jackson Mayne (Cooper) is a famous country music star, touring around the country that unfortunately suffers from alcoholism. When he finishes his performance one night he decides he needs a drink and doesn’t care where he gets his fix. His driver drops him off in front of the drag club where he just so happens to hear Ally perform her solo. Mayne is astounded by Ally’s remarkable voice and performance, and offers her the chance of a lifetime, to go on tour with him. Ally decides to drop everything and run away with Mayne, but doesn’t realize that stardom isn’t what it’s all cracked up to be. Can Jack teach Ally everything he knows about the business, can she survive the pressure and endure the limitations that fame and fortune come with or will she thrive as a brand new artist the world hasn’t met yet? 

Silly Old Bear comes to life in Walt Disney's Christopher Robin

A.A. Milne’s classic story about a young boy and his beloved bear come to life on screen in Walt Disney’s Christopher Robin. The film centers on Christopher Robin, portrayed by Ewan McGregor, as an adult and how he is managing life as a father, husband and budding businessman. Things start to take a turn for the worst when Christopher Robin’s boss threatens to downsize his company and force Robin to work instead of spend the weekend in his childhood cottage with his family. In the meantime, Winnie the Pooh lost all of his friends and is on a mission to find them, can Robin help Pooh without destroying his career and his strained relationship with his wife and daughter?

Travolta delivers ‘Killer’ performance in ‘Gotti’

Gotti opens with infamous mobster, John Gotti, portrayed by Academy Award nominee John Travolta, standing in front of the George Washington Bridge, breaking that fourth wall and speaking to the audience to begin his narrative on the life he lived as the crime boss of the Gambino family and his son that succeeded him. It is directed by Entourage actor Kevin Connolly, and also stars Spencer LoFranco as John Gotti Jr, and Kelly Preston as Gotti’s wife, Victoria Gotti.

There's new hope for Star Wars the Force Awakens

The time has finally come. Fans from all over the world have been anticipating this film since 1983. The continuation of an epic saga, the final pieces to a world wide phenomenon that have shattered box office records everywhere. Star Wars The Force Awakens is being hailed as the best film of the year. The story takes place decades after Star Wars Episode VI Return of the Jedi ends. It centers around BB-8 a droid that holds a piece of the map of Luke Skywalker’s journey. After the previous film ends, the audience discovers that Luke vanished and the dark side has been searching for his whereabouts to destroy the last remaining Jedi Master. The dark side is still obsessed with gaining power and control over the entire universe and attempting to rid the planets of any threats, i.e. Luke Skywalker. Somehow BB-8’s master, Poe, has possession of the map and inserts it into the droid, and the rest of the film takes flight from that point on. Now it's up to the droid, a few new characters and a handful of familiar faces to fight for what’s right, hold on to what’s theirs and to never falter to the dark side.

Johnny Depp makes an acting comeback in 'Black Mass'

Johnny Depp transforms into one of the most notorious criminals in US history, James “Whitey” Bulger in director Scott Cooper’s Black Mass. The film follows the story of the Irish American mob boss from Boston during the 1970s and how he made a dirty deal with the FBI to be an informant and trade secrets to take down the Italian mafia. John Connolly (portrayed by Joel Edgerton) grew up with Whitey on the streets of South Boston, and after Connolly became a big shot in the FBI he sought Whitey out and arranged deals to work together and trust each other on what is considered one of the biggest cases in Boston’s FBI history.

Ellar Coltrane stars in the coming of age tale 'Boyhood'

In the year 2002 actor Ellar Coltrane is a 7 year old boy with an opportunity to be a part of what some critics are calling, cinematic history. Coltrane portrays Mason, a boy who grows up on screen for the next 12 years of his life in Academy Award nominated director Richard Linklater’s Boyhood. The film showcases the ensemble cast for over a decade focusing on the effects of living in a broken home and what it can do to a young boy and his family. 

Interstellar: A Cinematic Disappointment

Director Christopher Nolan is back with another mind bending sci-fi flick focusing on a man whose been called upon by NASA to help a team of astronauts travel through a worm hole in a risky attempt to save Earth. Nolan co-wrote Interstellar with his brother Jonathan Nolan, as he does with most of his films. He is most famous for the most recent Batman trilogy, but notorious for creating these incredible thought-provking flicks such as Inception, The Prestige, and the lesser-known Memento.

Fury Review

David Ayer, the writer and director of the latest World War II action flick Fury takes his audience for a ride inside a Sherman tank led by an army sergeant nicknamed “Wardaddy” (Brad Pitt). The film starts off with a rookie soldier being thrust upon seasoned men to kick start a mission that may possibly be their last.

Gone Girl delivers stellar performances

Director David Fincher’s latest film Gone Girl is a breath of fresh air for movie theaters everywhere. This highly anticipated thriller is a film that will have audiences at their edge of their seat from start to finish. It stars Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Neil Patrick Harris and Tyler Perry. Gone Girl begins on the day Nick Dunne’s (Affleck) wife Amy (Pike) disappears. As days pass and there is no sign of Amy, her disappearance becomes a nationwide media storm, and has Nick looking like a guilty, foolish husband. No one knows where she is, what happened or if she is still alive, but as the story unfolds the beauty of Fincher’s directing and the remarkable performances by Affleck and Pike shine through and have audiences craving more.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes begins with the harrowing notion that the human race is being wiped out by a deadly epidemic and the genetically evolved apes are continuing to develop more and more human-like. While most of the world is struggling to survive, the apes are living on top of an energy source that can help the few survivors that are still alive. But, due to the abuse the apes endured in their past, none of them are willing to cooperate, except for their intelligent, courageous leader, Caesar who had mostly fond memories of being with humans. It’s an epic war between apes and humans. Who will win the fight?

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is a fast paced, thrilling film that is a must see this summer. Following the success of the previous film Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes grows much darker and more intense. The humans are desperate to survive, whereas the apes are living more comfortably than ever, since now they are the kings of the world. Caesar is trying to accommodate to the humans, but due to several mishaps, it’s difficult for him and his fellow apes to trust them. Caesar’s right hand “man”, Koba is scary and evil and will stop at nothing to end the human race.

The storyline of the film is great, the thought that apes could have that power is frightening to think about, although very far fetched, directorMatt Reeves and writers Mark Bomback, Rick Jaffa, and Amanda Silver create this setting to make audiences believe that anything could be possible. The film turns increasingly dark as time passes by and one ape, Koba who is beyond ruthless, is the culprit. In the first film, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, the audience roots for the apes. After all the torture they endure throughout the film, the audience hopes to see them fight back and “rise” to the top. In this film, it’s hard to decide which side to root for, especially watching Koba.

The acting in the film is perfect. No one outshines another and no one over acts. Jason Clarke, Gary Oldman and Keri Russell are great as the few survivors just trying to get by. Their constant desperation creates the eerie tone of the film, and sets up the chaos that everyone on Earth must endure. Andy Serkis portrays the emotions of Caesar the leader of the apes, and he does a fantastic job. It’s almost scary how human-like Caesar’s expressions and mannerisms are. The CGI created in the film is astonishing.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is highly recommended to anyone that enjoys action packed, sci-fi films, such as it's predecessor, Rise of the Planet of the Apes and movies with great graphics. Also, to anyone that enjoys films filled with hope, fear heart and the thought that an intelligent ape can be compared to one of William Shakespeare's most noble characters is utterly fascinating.

'Captain America: The Winter Soldier' surpasses expectations

Nearly three years ago, actor Chris Evans introduced the world into his now infamous role as Steve Rogers, aka Captain America. The first film for the comic book character and the first time audiences got a glimpse into the mysterious persona was based around how Steve Rogers the small, scrawny boy turned into Captain America the brawny, muscular man that saved the world and fought for America’s freedom during the darkest days of the Great Depression. The film ends with the Captain awaking into present day, nearly 70 years after his glory days and being asked to fight with some of S.H.I.E.L.D’s most elite superheroes in 2012’s blockbuster hit, The Avengers. Now the Captain is back in Captain America the Winter Soldier and is struggling to understand the modern world, and is incapable of grasping the idea that not everyone is to be trusted.

Sandra Bullock defies 'Gravity'

Ever wonder what it’s like to float in space and explore a place that few people have ever entered? Now imagine floating in space with a small crew and disaster strikes. No where to go, barely able to survive, and no one can save you. That, in a nutshell is director Alfonso Cuaron’sGravity starring Academy Award winners Sandra Bullock and George Clooney.

Scorsese and DiCaprio best collaboration yet in 'The Wolf of Wall Street'

Academy Award winning director Martin Scorsesecreates a lavish work of art with his latest film The Wolf of Wall Street. The film stars three-time Academy Award nominee Leonardo DiCaprio in the title role, as real life stock broker Jordan Belfort. The Wolf of Wall Street is Scorsese and DiCaprio’s fifth and arguably their best collaboration together (previous films Gangs of New York, The Aviator, The Departed, and Shutter Island). Their latest hit narrates the disturbing tale of stock swindler Jordan Belfort, on his rise and fall on Wall Street.

'Captain Phillips' is the year's best thriller

The pulse pounding biographical drama, Captain Phillips will have audiences everywhere at the edge of their seat. The film is based off a true story of the first American cargo ship to be hijacked in two hundred years.Captain Phillips is directed by Paul Greengrass and stars two-time Academy Award winner Tom Hanks in the title role. The film begins with Captain Richard Phillips setting sail on a trip he’ll never forget.

Judi Dench is riveting in 'Philomena'

Philomena is based off a true story directed by Stephen Frears and stars Dame Judi Dench and Steve Coogan. The film centers on a woman desperate to find her son that was taken from her nearly fifty years ago. Dench portrays Philomena Lee a witty Irish woman determined to locate her son’s whereabouts, and Coogan portrays Martin Sixsmith a recently unemployed journalist, desperate for a story. The unlikely duo set out together for an unforgettable journey that touches the soul and breaks the heart.

McConaughey shines in 'Dallas Buyers Club'

*Minor Spoilers Ahead

The year is 1985. The place is Dallas, Texas. The story is about life and the harsh reality of how short it can be.Matthew McConaughey stars in the biographical drama, Dallas Buyers Club a story loosely based on Ron Woodroof, an electrician by day, hustler by night straight man that learns he is HIV positive and only has thirty days to live. Woodroof, is a man that struggles to survive and dares to put his “life” on the line to help others dying from the incurable AIDS disease.

Thor: The Dark World- An action packed thrill

Chris Hemsworth is back as the mighty “God of Thunder” from Asgard in Marvel’s latest comic book film,Thor: The Dark World. The film is a sequel to the 2011 blockbuster hit, Thor and is directed by Alan Taylor.Thor The Dark World focuses on a race known as the dark elves that relish in the thought of misery, darkness and death. Thousands of years ago, the dark elves attempted to turn the universe dark by secreting a fatal weapon known as ether through the air. Luckily, warrioirs from Asgard (Thor’s homeland) were able to stop the dark elves’ leader, Malekith (Christopher Eccleston) and save the universe. Fast forward to present day, where all nine realms are aligning and Asgard is in the mist of falling to ruins due to Thor’s disruptive brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and his recent destructions both on Earth and with the nine realms; Malekith is awaiting the perfect opportunity to strike the ether once again into the universe. Meanwhile, Loki is banished to a prison cell in the dungeon of their castle, while Thor and his father, Odin, King of Asgard (Anthony Hopkins) struggle to keep peace and balance in their world. Can Thor and Odin save Asgard once again, or will the realms falter and seep into darkness?