30 Day Movie Challenge: Day 28- Ford v Ferrari (2019)

This years Academy Awards featured a lot of great films that were in contention for a lot of awards including that for Best Picture (the winner being Parasite). The task for today's 30 Day Movie Challenge was to watch a film that was nominated for Best Picture at this year's Academy Awards and with only three options left to choose from, I went with 2019's Ford v Ferrari which was directed by James Mangold (Walk The Line). The film stars Matt Damon (Good Will Hunting) as Carroll Shelby who at one time was considered one of the best racers ever, but after winning the 24 hour Le Mans, he was forced to retire from behind the wheel. After a failed deal with Ferrari, Ford Motor Company decides that it wants to get even by building a race car, but they need someone to do it and they hire Shelby. The only question is can Shelby actually do it despite the pressures from corporate and will they let his driver race? The film also stars Christian Bale (Vice) as Ken Miles, Jon Bernthal (The Wolf Of Wall Street) as Lee Iacocca, Caitriona Balfe (Escape Plan) as Mollie Miles, Josh Lucas (Sweet Home Alabama) as Leo Beebe, Noah Jupe (Honey Boy) as Peter Miles, Tracy Letts (The Big Short) as Henry Ford II, Remo Girone (Live By Night) as Enzo Ferrari, Ray McKinnon (Deadwood) as Phil Remington, and JJ Feild (Captain America: The First Avenger) as Roy Lunn.

One of the sad facts about the film is that Beebe did not like Ken Miles, but it wasn't for his racing style or anything having to do with racing. He disliked Ken Miles because Ken shit all over the Mustang right to Beebe's face so it was a constant d**k measuring contest between the two and obviously Beebe has the most pull being the corporate stooge that he was and let me say that Josh Lucas plays that role very well. I was thinking to myself that I do not remember watching a movie with Lucas where I actually liked his character. Nonetheless, he was a decent secondary villain in the film of course the Ferrari team being the main villains of the film as Ford strives to be number one. I honestly thought that Christian Bale was the main star of the film as he absolutely stole the show as the wild and what seems untameable Ken Miles, but we end up finding out just what his character really was. I loved the action that you get in this film which means that I loved the cinematography cause they did an amazing job capturing everything. I loved the cars, the look of the film, and all of the sets that they designed for this film. So, I definitely agreed with the Academy's choice to have this film nominated for Best Picture, but I definitely agree that it wasn't the best one on the list. The film won two Academy Awards for Best Film and Best Sound editing which I definitely agree with as they did an phenomenal job which is why I am going to give the film an A- for a final grade.

Professor Marston & the Wonder Women (2017)

Back in 2017, Wonder Woman was not only the first female led superhero film in the world, but she was also the film that changed the game for the DCEU forever as it saved the comic book company from obscurity. The question going in today is have you ever wondered the true origins of Wonder Woman as in who created her and why did they create her? All of those questions are answered in 2017's Professor Marston & The Wonder Women which was written and directed by Angela Robinson (Herbie Fully Loaded). The film stars Luke Evans (Beauty & The Beast) as William Moulton Marston, a psychology professor for Harvard, who along with his wife Elizabeth Marston (Rebecca Hall) conduct an experiment at the college that leads to them having a polyamorous relationship with one of the students which in turn creates the character of Wonder Woman. The film also stars Bella Heathcote (Pride And Prejudice And Zombies) as Olive Byrne, Connie Britton (Seeking a Friend for the End of the World) as Josette Frank, Monica Giordano (Help Me Dream) as Mary, Oliver Platt (Lake Placid) as M.C. Gaines, Chris Conroy (Mr. Robot) as Brant Gregory, JJ Feild (Captain America: The First Avenger) as Charles Guyette, and Maggie Castle (Todd and the Book of Pure Evil) as Dorothy Roubicek.

It's crazy to think that Wonder Woman was created out of something that was so Taboo back in the 1930's, but what they didn't realize is that Professor Marston was actually way ahead of his time. He believed that while there are noticeable differences between man and woman, he believed in the feminist movement and that women were more than just secretaries and housewives. That is why he created Wonder Woman because he saw so much in those two women that he combined them into one. Olive was sweet and kind and everything that humanity would want while Elizabeth was strong and aggressive as she fought for what was right. Is that starting to sound familiar to you? I however had no idea that Professor Marston was fighting for his life both physically and for the rights of Wonder Woman. That is what the basis of the film was as you saw the battle he went through as he told the story of how Wonder Woman was created. I admired the fact that he wasn't ashamed of what he had done or how Wonder Woman was portrayed in some peoples eyes because a dominant woman was a very scary thing for men in the early to mid 1900's. It's the very reason why I love the Wonder Woman character because I would want someone my daughter could look up to and find strength in. The film is very interesting and it keeps you intrigued despite all of the sexual content which can also keep you intrigued as well. The cinematography was excellent and the costumes were amazing as well. You can see in the film what inspired Wonder Woman's costume as well. I definitely think this is one film to check out, but I do not recommend it for kids under 17. I am going to go ahead and give the film an A- for a final grade.