Rapid Reviews: Free State of Jones and The Shallows

After a surprisingly aggressive marketing campaign that forked over massive bucks to debut its trailer during the Super Bowl, Free State of Jones finally arrives in theaters this weekend. The historical drama brings together recent Oscar winner, Matthew McConaughey, with Seabiscuit and The Hunger Games director, Gary Ross. But despite all of the film's talented cast and crew, Free State of Jones reveals itself as a forgettable attempt at an epic untold tale.

The Civil War divides a nation during the 1860s and Newton Knight (McConaughey) serves as a battlefield nurse for the Confederate Army. While Knight is forced to witness the personal sacrifices of war first-hand, he decides to desert his fellow soldiers and goes into hiding deep in the swamps of Mississippi. During this time Jones recruits countless other deserters who help stand up to the Confederate Army and put an end to the war.

Free State of Jones is a massively outstretched biopic that clouds the legacy of its central character with an overly ambitious screenplay. Matthew McConaughey provides a fully committed performance that easily reinforces his superior talents within the industry. However, film's most monumental moment occurs with almost an hour left to go and makes for a truly anticlimactic experience. As both the director and screenwriter for Free State of Jones, Ross tries to interweave two different stories set generations apart. Yet, neither story is told to the best of its ability and, as a result, the film suffers greatly from this glaring mistake.

Stars: 2 stars out of 4

Grade: C

Veteran action and horror filmmaker, Jaume Collet-Serra, returns this weekend with the survival thriller, The Shallows. It's really a simple script from the mind of budding scribe, Anthony Jaswinski, and starring the blonde beauty, Blake Lively. And although The Shallows clearly isn't anywhere near the quality of Spielberg's classic shark hunting tale, Jaws, the film manages to provide adequate thrills and worthwhile tension.

Following her mother's losing battle with cancer, a med student named Nancy (Lively) venture's to the same tropical paradise her mother visited before she was born. Nancy enjoys a majestic day of soaking in some sun on the beach and surfing until a monstrous shark chases her onto a rock 200 yards from shore. She must battle in a game of wits with this cunning predator in order to survive the fast approaching high-tide that will force Nancy back into the shallow waters.

The Shallows serves as a unique blend of survival and horror genres. Serra manages to provide some excellent suspense, but it occasionally feels wasted on a weak PG-13 MPAA rating. Lively certainly convinces in her leading role as a resourceful combatant to an enormous predator of the ocean. Yet, The Shallows suffers from typical thriller cliches such as nonsensical characters who are supposed to represent help, but fall victim to their own idiocy. Furthermore, the film's finale is riddled with question marks as it feels completely unbelievable in retrospect. Yet, I will admit that the execution of this ending is exhilarating in the moment. The Shallows is far from a must-watch film, but it manages to accomplishes its goals rather well.

Stars: 2 stars out of 4

Grade: C+

The Glass Castle

Destin Cretton is anything but a household name. Yet, the gifted filmmaker turned heads with his massively overlooked 2013 drama, Short Term 12 . The effort bridged together Cretton's singular story and vision with the remarkable acting talents of Brie Larson. Since then Larson has gone on to win an Academy Award ( Room ), but her career comes full circle in her latest collaboration with Destin Cretton in the adapted film The Glass Castle . Told non-chronologically through various flashbacks, The Glass Castle follows the unconventional childhood of gossip columnist and eventual Best-Selling author Jeannette Walls (Larson). Prior to her career as a writer, Walls grows up under the dysfunctional supervision of her alcoholic father (Woody Harrelson) and her amateur artist mother (Naomi Watts). But as Jeannette and her siblings begin to mature and fully comprehend their squatter-lifestyle and impoverished upbringing, they must work together to escape the clutches of their deadbeat par

FILOSOFI KOPI 2 : BEN & JODY (2017) REVIEW : Revisi Nilai Hidup Untuk Sebuah Kedai Kopi

Kisah pendek yang diambil dari Dewi Lestari ini telah dibudidayakan menjadi sebuah produk yang namanya sudah mahsyur. Selain film, produk dari Filosofi Kopi ini diabadikan menjadi sebuah kedai kopi yang nyata. Dengan adanya konsistensi itu, tak akan kaget apabila film yang diarahkan oleh Angga Dwimas Sasongko ini akan mendapatkan sekuel sebagai perlakuan selanjutnya. Tentu, kekhawatiran akan muncul karena cerita pendek dari Filosofi Kopi pun hanya berhenti di satu sub bab yang telah dibahas di film pertamanya. Sayembara muncul ditujukan kepada semua orang untuk membuat kisah lanjutan dari Ben dan Jody ini. Sayembara ini sekaligus memberikan bukti kepada semua orang bahwa Filosofi Kopi tetap menjadi film yang terkonsentrasi dari penonton seperti film pertamanya. Yang jelas, Angga Dwimas Sasongko tetap mengarahkan Chicco Jericho dan juga Rio Dewanto sebagai Ben dan Jody. Angga Dwimas Sasongko pun berkontribusi dalam pembuatan naskah dari cerita terpilih yang ditulis oleh Jenny Jusuf s

DVD Outlook: August 2017

It appears August is rather barren with new DVD and streaming options ( July's suggestions ). Thankfully, a hot slate of diverse theatrical offerings such as The Big Sick , Dunkirk , War for the Planet of the Apes , Spider-Man: Homecoming and so much more, you can find a worthwhile movie to enjoy no matter what your personal preference may be. Either way, here's a look at what's available on DVD and streaming services this month. Alien: Covenant - 3 stars out of 4 - ( Read my full review here ) Earlier this year Ridley Scott returned to his storied Alien universe once again with the follow-up to 2012's Prometheus . In the latest installment, Scott and company shift their efforts from cryptic to visceral and disturbing with a bloody and twisted affair that feels immensely more horror-based than its predecessor. While on a colonizing mission to jump-start the humanity on a distant planet, crew members of the Covenant are awoken from their hibernation state following

MOVIE SYNOPSIS

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