Good Time (2017)

Earlier in the year, we introduced you to the Safdie brothers (Benny and Josh) who directed the film Uncut Gems that starred Adam Sandler that was a surprise at the box office. That was a very unique film that they made to see if I enjoyed their style. So, I decided to go on Netflix and after seeing that they had a film on there I decided that I would check it out in 2017's Good Time. The film stars Robert Pattinson (The Lighthouse) as Connie Nikas, a guy on the wrong side of the law that decides to get his developmentally disabled brother Nick (Benny Safdie) in a bank robbery that goes terribly wrong. The only problem is that Connie manages to escape while his little brother gets caught and sent to jail. All Connie needs to do to get him out is to come up with $15,000, but he also has to avoid getting caught by the police and that is going to prove to be challenging. The film also stars Buddy Duress (Beware Of Dog) as Ray,  Taliah Webster (Hair Wolf) as Crystal, Jennifer Jason Leigh (Fast Times At Ridgemont High) as Corey Ellman, Barkhad Abdi (Captain Phillips) as security guard, Necro as Caliph, and Peter Verby as Peter The Psychiatrist.

After watching this film, I have come to the conclusion that while I may not be a huge fan of their directing style or even their writing skills, this was not a terrible film. They have this thing with just launching you into a story and you have to figure out what in the hell is going on and why are these people even important?  The style of the film is almost identical to that of Uncut Gems which means there is not a lot that is going into the main plot other than the fact that Robert Pattinson has to save his brother. In this film, we get introduced to characters and the one rule is that you better not get too attached to some of them because they are gone just as quick as they arrive like Jennifer Jason Leigh's character. One thing that I will say is that each film has amazing performances from their main star with Sandler being awesome in Gems and Robert Pattinson just killing it in this film. He just commands the screen every time he is on it and he has more than proven that he should not be judged by the fact that he was in The Twilight Series. You saw the masterful performance from him in The Lighthouse and you get just that in this one as he manages to slither his way through New York City. The cinematography and tones are very visceral and intense and can I just say that Peter the shrink just kind of weirds me out a little bit. The film is on Netflix as I said and it's worth the watch. That is why I am going to be giving the film an B for a final grade and only because of Pattinson's performance alone.

Uncut Gems (2019)

When you think of films hitting the theaters these days, Adam Sandler (Happy Gilmore) is not a name that comes to mind, but if we were talking mid to late 90's and on you couldn't have the conversation without him. He ruled the comedy world at one point before his career took an alternate route for a while, but he's back in the box office with a brand new film in Uncut Gems that has been getting quite the praise so I had to see it for myself. In the film, Sandler plays a jeweler named Howard Ratner, who seems to have it all, but underneath all of it lies a dark tale. The dark tale is the fact that Ratner has a little bit of a gambling problem that seems to get worse and bad people are after him. That is until one day, an uncut gem from Eithopia could be his ticket out of it all the problems. The film also stars former NBA legend Kevin Garnett as himself, The Weeknd as himself, Idina Menzel (Frozen) as Dina,  Jonathan Aranbayev as Eddie, Lakeith Stanfield (Knives Out) as Demany, Eric Bogosian (Boogie Nights) as Arnold, Judd Hirsch (Taxi) as Gooey, Pom Klementieff (Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2) as Lexus, Julia Fox as Julia, and the film was directed by Josh and Benny Safdie (Good Time).

This was definitely a good role for Sandler to take and while you can't help but have some funny moments in a film it was definitely something different for him. Unfortunately while he did a great job in the film, the definite break out star of the film was Julia Fox who in her first major role knocked it out of the park in my opinion. She plays Howard's side piece Julia who in one view may not be the most innocent character, but in the end like Fox said in an interview, "She's really ride or die... she's a trooper." It was a role that was apparently written for her which is no surprise to why she was so amazing in the film to begin with. Funny little stat for you guys out there, this film ranks seventh all time on the list of most F bombs in a film at 408 which is insane, but one film on the list has 935. The film at times is definitely a slow burn as things are developing over time, but they get real interesting when you realize that the threat is real and he is still an idiot that can't stop gambling. Believe it or not, the film is not based on a true story, but rather stories the Safdie brothers father would tell them of various guys in the diamond district. One thing is definitely for sure and that is I did not see the ending coming at all and it kind of delighted me because it was different than your typical endings that you always see. Check it out in theaters right now and I am going to give the film an B- for a final grade.