Horse Girl (2020)

Netflix for a very long time had come out with material that was just phenomenal whether it be original documentary films/series, original series, stand up specials, or even their original films. Now with Disney Plus being around, the company has to step up their game. The film that I chose for today features a slew of actors that have all either been on Netflix shows or films as we watched 2020's Horse Girl which was co-written and directed by Jeff Baena (The Little Hours). The film stars Netflix veteran and co-writer of the film Alison Brie (The Little Hours) as the socially distant, but innocent Sarah who has a love for paranormal TV shows, horses, and arts and crafts. One day after a weird dream, Sarah begins to decline mentally as the things she dreams about start to trickle into her real life and start becoming a hindrance. The film also stars Debby Ryan (Netflix's Insatiable) as Nikki,  Jake Picking (Netflix's Hollywood) as Brian, Molly Shannon (The Little Hours) as Joan, John Ortiz (Silver Linings Playbook) as Roy, Lauren Weedman (Date Night) as Cheryl, John Reynolds (Stranger Things) as Darren, Meredith Hagner (Set It Up) as Heather, Paul Reiser (Aliens) as Gary, Robin Tunney (Empire Records) as Agatha Kaine, Matthew Gray Gubler (Alvin And The Chipmunks) as Darren, and Dylan Gelula (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt) as Jane Doe.

The film is actually very good and definitely one that I think is worth checking out if you are into the more psychological side of thrillers because this is a story of a girl falling into hysteria. I couldn't have thought of anyone better to play the role than the amazing Alison Brie who is yet to disappoint me with what she releases whether it be G.L.O.W., BoJack Horseman, The Little Hours, etc. The poor girl even has an awkward full frontal nude scene in the film that must have been interesting to film, but she does such a great job. She makes you believe that everything is OK with her in the beginning of the film, but the thing is you have to pay attention to the signs when given to you. I say that because she eventually descends into madness and the signs have been there all along with how some of the people act when they are around her. I should have known when I saw them, but I was like why are they acting like she's weird and then the film progresses and you begin to understand. She is definitely the main star of the film while everyone else is literally a supporting actor to just her and it definitely works. They did a great job with the acting and I loved when they went into the dream sequence towards the end because that was a trip. I definitely recommend this to anyone because a good story can take you anywhere and they accomplish that with good cinematography as well.  With that being said, I am giving the film an A- for a final grade.

Silver Linings Playbook (2012)

I am quickly growing to be a huge fan of Bradley Cooper (Guardians Of The Galaxy) after having already viewed A Star Is Born and Burnt. If you do not have the VUDU app then you have to download it because they off great movies to view for free every month and if you keep throwing Coopers films in there I am going to check it out like today’s film Silver Linings Playbook. The film was nominated for eight Academy Awards, but they only took home one, but it was released in 2012 and was directed by David O. Russell (American Hustle). The film stars Cooper as Pat Solitano, a former high school teacher who just served a stint in a mental hospital after finding his wife cheating with another teacher and he uncontrollably beat that said teacher. Now he is out and all he wants to do is prove to his estranged wife that he is a better man than before and he’ll need Tiffany’s (Jennifer Lawrence) help in order to do so. The film also stars Robert De Niro (Ronin) as Pat Sr., Jacki Weaver (Widows) as Dolores, Chris Tucker (Rush Hour) as Danny, John Ortiz (Steve Jobs) as Ronnie, Julia Stiles (The Omen) as Veronica, Shea Whigham (Boardwalk Empire) as Jake, Paul Herman (Heat) as Randy, Dash Mihok (Romeo + Juliet) as Officer Keogh, and Anupam Kher (Hotel Mumbai) as Dr. Patel.

One thing has to be said right from the get go and that is the film won the award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role for Jennifer Lawrence who rightfully deserved the award. Bradley Cooper did a great job playing someone who kept telling themselves that they were getting better, but Jennifer put out a great performance as the girl who takes what she wants by any means, but is also vulnerable at the same time. Traumatizing events in life can have a very negative effect and it hits people in different ways and the two of them were examples of that. Bradley Cooper acted out in anger and frustration when situations were not going his way while Lawrence acted out because she was depressed and felt alone. Those are two well known examples of mental health distress, but everyone solves it in their own way and it was the two of them that helped each other. One of the funniest things in the film had to be Chris Tucker who must have escaped Baltimore like three times, but was always escorted back because his technicality didn't work. Robert De Niro was awesome as well as the very superstitious, old school father in a film that featured some great acting. The story si great, the cinematography is great, and there is a great balance of comedy and drama in the film. This is definitely a great one to check out and as I said before, it's available right now on VUDU for free. So, I am going to give the film an A- for a final grade.

Steve Jobs (2015)

Some of my favorite types of films to watch are films that are based on true stories or as they are called in the industry as Biopics. While it is phrased as "Based" on a true story, they can offer you insight into the lives of important figures or events that took place. Earlier in the last decade, a film about the late famous Apple Computer CEO Steve Jobs was released with Ashton Kutcher in the lead role and I had no desire to see it and was confused that years later another film was released in 2015 called Steve Jobs with Michael Fassbender (X-Men: First Class) as the lead role. Instead of taking us through every moment of his life, this film takes us behind the scenes of three very important product launches and shows us an inside glimpse of just who was the man known as Steve Jobs. The film also stars Kate Winslet (Titanic) as Joanna Hoffman, Seth Rogen (Pineapple Express) as Steve Wozniak,  Jeff Daniels (Dumb And Dumber) as John Sculley, Michael Stuhlbarg (Boardwalk Empire) as Andy Hertzfeld, Katherine Waterston (Alien: Covenant) as Chrisann, Makenzie Moss, Ripley Sobo, and Perla Haney-Jardine as Lisa, John Ortiz (The Drop) as Joel Pforzheimer, Adam Shapiro (Now You See Me) as Avie Tevanian, and the film was directed by Danny Boyle (28 Days Later).

I found this to be an interesting take on such an iconic figure in the world of computers because it almost seemed like a character assassination attempt for a while. They definitely made Steve Jobs look like a condescending d-bag for most of the film like he was unable to really form relationships with people because he was incapable of it because he was never willing to admit that he was wrong. The film takes it like that attitude is what brings him to the show every single time and that was what made him successful in the long run, but the ending is what gets you because that is where the truth slaps him in the face and he sort of has an epiphany where he has to make things right with everyone. He definitely wasn't the perfect human being and essentially no one is at all, but that film wants to show you that even these iconic men have huge flaws. That is where you have to than his long time assistant Joanna played by Kate Winslet who has finally had enough and sets him straight. It's crazy to see the journey of where Apple had been at one time to where they went which is where they are today because who knew that they failed so badly. There is a lot of cool information in this film that is given out and it settles some arguments. Fassbender shows his brilliance as an actor in the film, but Kate Winslet is right up there with him as she flexes her acting muscles. The film is on Netlfix and you should definitely check it out which is why I am going to give the film an B+ for a final grade.