All the Money in the World will leave you dumbfounded

Movie Title:      All the Money in the World

Grade:   A

Rating: R, 2 hours 12 minutes

In a Nutshell:   If you have ever been to the famous Getty Museum in Los Angeles, you’ll get a new appreciation for what you saw there.  If you haven’t been, put it on your list of places to see next time you’re in California.  What’s ironic is that the entrance ticket is free.

Inspired by true events, Ridley Scott gives us another compelling movie that has already earned him and the lead actors nominations for Golden Globe awards.  As an added bonus, we learn that ransom money can be tax deductible if you do it right.  Ha ha

                                               

Uplifting theme: 

• “Money is never just money; it always stands for something.” – Mark Walhberg
• The value of life
• Family
• Money

Things I liked:

• Christopher Plummer was absolutely fantastic, well deserving of the Golden Globe nomination he just earned.  He did all of his scenes in only 2 weeks! You'll notice on the movie poster above that it lists Kevin Spacey.  He was replaced with Plummer as soon as sexual allegations made headline news against him at a cost of $10 million dollars to the picture. I'm sure Spacey would have been great in this, but Christopher Plummer was outstanding.  What Ridley Scott was able to do in such a short amount of time deserves an A grade alone. Another movie Plummer was magical in during this year's Christmas season was The Man Who Invented Christmas. I really enjoyed it, but it flew under the radar for most people.
• Good for Michelle Williams for having two great movies in theaters at the same time!  Her other film is “THE GREATEST SHOWMAN IN THE WORLD.” She does a great job in both and earned her 5th Golden Globe nomination for her role as Gail Harris Getty.  I wonder if Angelina Jolie regrets declining the role.
• Most of the movie is filmed in Rome, which I adore.  There are beautiful vistas and scenery.
• It was fascinating to see J. Paul Getty pay obscene amounts of money for artwork, yet he couldn’t see the value of human life.  Twice, he admires a painting of the Madonna and child, saying breathlessly, “There you are…beautiful child”, while his own grandson was being tortured as a captive.
• Oscar winner Timothy Hutton and Oscar nominee Mark Wahlberg also give excellent performances.  Because of the reshoots, Mark Wahlberg had to be refitted for his suits.  He had lost 30 pounds for another movie he was shooting.

Things I didn’t like:

• Have you ever noticed that people who arrogantly say, “I can take care of myself!” are usually the ones who need to be rescued?
• I thought it was interesting that J. Paul Getty thought he was a reincarnated Roman emperor.  He sure lived like one.  And yet, he was such a cheapskate that he had a phone booth installed in his house in case his guests needed to make a phone call.  Yikes.
• Sometimes I couldn’t understand what Cinquanta (Romain Duris) said, because he had such a thick accent and mumbled a lot.
• Other than being young, we're not given a lot of reasons to really care about Paul Geddy, the grandson who got kidnapped.  He seems like a spoiled wanderer, so I would have liked to know more about him.
• It is truly mind-boggling that a billionaire wouldn't be willing to pay money to save his own family.

                                                                     

Interesting lines:

• “If you can count your money, then you’re not a billionaire.” – J. Paul Getty
• “I don’t have any money.” – Gail Harris Getty (Michelle Williams)

“Get it from your father-in-law.  He has all the money in the world.” – Cinquanta

• “Everything has a price.  The challenge in life is to discover what that price is.” – Getty
• “There’s very little in life worth paying full price for.” – Getty
• “You never really know anyone until you get divorced.” – Getty
• “You’re not a person anymore; you’re a symbol.” – detective 
• “Guns are for people who don’t have money.” – Getty
• “Getting rich is easy.  Any fool can and many do, but BEING rich is different.” – Getty
• “There’s a purity in things that I’ve never been able to find in another human being.” – Getty
• “What would it take for you to feel secure?” – Fletcher Chase (Mark Wahlberg) 

“More.” – Getty

Tips for parents: 

• Some profanity and F-bombs.
• Some spoken Italian with no subtitles.  Otherwise, most of it has subtitles.
• Lots of smoking and drinking.
• Bloody, violent deaths.
• Burned, charred body.
• You watch bad guys slice the ear off of Paul.  It’s bloody and disgusting.
• Young children will be bored.  This is a long movie with lots of talking and not that much action.

                                            @trinaboice 

Manchester by the Sea will break your heart

Movie Title:    Manchester By The Sea

Grade:  B

Rating: R, 135 minutes

In a Nutshell: Casey Affleck delivers a powerful performance, mastering the art of subtlety. 

He recently won "Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama" by the Golden Globes and has been nominated to receive the Best Leading Actor award by the BAFTA Film Awards.  That does no means end the list of awards this film has garnered.

Was it my favorite movie of 2016?  Definitely not.  Does it deserve some awards.  Yup.  I still think Denzel Washington should have won Best Actor for Fences though...

Uplifting theme: 

• Family is everything.
• Guilt, sorrow, grief.
• I've learned in my life that when someone behaves VERY badly and irrationally, I try to give them the benefit of the doubt because I know they are hurting either physically or emotionally.

Things I liked:

• I loved the jazz version of “Oh What A Beautiful Morning” in the bar scene towards the beginning of the movie.
• There is some soft humor to break up the dreary, somber sadness.
• Kyle Chandler gives the best performance I have seen him give.  He usually seems like he's acting, but he felt "real" in this story.
• Michelle Williams was fantastic.  The scene where she runs  into Lee Chandler on the street was breathtaking.  I literally stopped breathing while I watched her.  
• Director and writer Kenneth Lonergan doesn’t talk down to the audience and trusts that you will be able to follow the emotional ride and timeline. 
• You definitely don’t feel like you’re watching a movie, but rather, real life.  It’s almost like you’re a fly on the wall, watching real people go through some pretty terrible trials. 
• I love Matthew Broderick in anything, so even though he has a very small role in this film, it was great to see him.

Things I didn’t like:

• I like movies that allow me to escape the mundane, sadness of the world, but this movie throws you right in the middle of it and assaults you with incredible difficult situations and rough-and-tumble people you wouldn't want to spend a day with.
• There is a lot of bouncing around from past to present.
• No family should have to experience such heartache.
• Some of the music choices seemed mismatched for the scenes.  Most of it sounded like old Catholic music, yet the characters never really embraced their religion to help them through their struggles.  Elise (Gretchen Mol) tried, but was unsuccessful.
• I hate watching “Playas”…slimy, scumbag guys who sleep with a bunch of different girls.  
• How naive can parents be to allow their kid to close and lock their bedroom door with someone of the opposite gender inside?  My dad NEVER allowed that. EVER.

Interesting lines:

• “I can’t beat it.” - Lee Chandler (Casey Affleck)

Funny lines:

• “I think if you’re going to freak out every time you see a frozen chicken, I think we should go to the hospital. I don’t know anything about this.” – Casey
• “What happened to your hand?” – Patrick (Lucas Hedges)

“I cut it.” – Casey

“Oh, for a minute there I didn’t know what happened.” – Patrick

Tips for parents: 

• About a thousand F-bombs and other profanity.
• Pre-marital relations among teenagers.  There is a lot of discussion about it and you see some teens start to take off their clothes.
• People getting drunk and behaving badly.
• This is not a family-friendly movie.  It is a mature character study and look at coping with loss and sorrow.

@trinaboice