Vox Lux (2018)

I had remembered seeing the title of the film I chose for today somewhere before and I wanted to see it in theaters, but like a lot of independent films it was never released. The film that I am talking about is 2018's Vox Lux which was written and directed by Brady Corbet (The Childhood of a Leader). After surviving a violent tragedy, Celeste (Raffey Cassidy) gets catapulted into super stardom that turns her into a pop hero. We follow Celeste over the course of her career until we get to 2017 and older Celeste (Natalie Portman) is trying to get over a scandal that sort of put a halt to her career as she tries to make a comeback with her new album Vox Lux, but can she survive all the other stuff that comes with it like motherhood? The film also stars Jude Law (The Talented Mr. Ripley) as The Manager, Stacy Martin (All The Money In The World) as Eleanor, Jennifer Ehle (Beneath the Blue Suburban Skies) as Josie The Publicist, Christopher Abbott (It Comes At Night) as The Journalist, Logan Riley Bruner (Orange Is The New Black) as Cullen Active, Maria Dizzia (Martha Marcy May Marlene) as Ms. Dwyer, Meg Gibson (Sex And The City) as Celeste's Mother, and Allison Winn (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) as Therese.

Going into this film, I definitely wasn't sure what to expect out of it, but what we did receive was social commentary on the powers that pop stars possess over fanbases that gawk at them like they are Gods and Goddesses. They tried to do this thing where you take a train wreck like Britney Spears and you write a film about her comeback and hopes that she rises again, but what they did with this was look at the side of fame you don't see. Natalie Portman definitely puts on a performance in this film that is unforgettable and you see this childish side of her because she has never had anyone in her life tell her that things were not OK to do especially Jude Law's character. You also see her struggle with motherhood and how bad of an influence she is on her own daughter throughout the film as she struggles for normalcy among the Gods. The one thing about this film is that the individual performances in this film greatly outweighed the overall picture and what I mean by that is while the performances were great, the story was just OK in my book. There is really nothing they are providing in this film that people don't already know about pop stars, but the other saving grace is the amazing soundtrack provided by Sia who does a terrific job in the music department. The film is available on HULU as we speak and if you are a fan of Natalie Portman then this might be one you want to check out at least once for how great she was in the film. Other than that, I am going to give the film an B for a final grade.

The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)

There are a lot of films that have slipped through the cracks over the years that I have not seen that I am regretfully getting to now. Obviously, if you make the time to view those said films then you have the chance to catch up and the film I chose for today, The Talented Mr. Ripley is one of those films and it was released in 1999 and had the screenplay adapted from the book by Patricia Highsmith and was directed by Anthony Minghella (Cold Mountain). The film stars Matt Damon (Jay And Silent Bob Reboot) as Tom Ripley, a New York underachiever who has an unique talent that has carried him through life which is the art of imitation. He is so good at it that he is hired by the Greenleafs, a rich family in New York to track down their son in Italy and to return him home. The only problem is that when the mission fails, Tom has to resort to extreme measures. The film also stars Jude Law (Road To Perdition) as Dickie Greenleaf, Gwyneth Paltrow (Mortdecai) as Marge Sherwood, Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth) as Meredith Logue, the late Philip Seymour Hoffman (Before The Devil Knows You're Dead) as Freddie, Jack Davenport (Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest) as Peter, James Rebhorn (Scent Of A Woman) as Mr. Greenleaf, Philip Baker Hall (Boogie Nights) as Alvin MacCarron, Stefania Rocca (Nirvana) as Silvana, and Celia Weston (Dead Man Walking) as Aunt Joan.

The film was actually really good and that surprised me because I didn't know what to expect especially when it was almost an two and the half hour film and one of your main characters is killed halfway through the film. Some films might sink at that point as they try to figure out how to navigate through while also trying to keep your attention and they do a great job here. In fact, I would go as far as saying that is right where the film gets really good because that is when the thrill and suspense begin. Is he going to get caught and what happens if some of Dickie's friends end up in the same place as him? Those were some of the questions that were burning through my mind and it baffles me all the way to the end of the film how lucky Tom Ripley was, but it was an ugly downward spiral for him for sure. The film featured some great performances from the likes of Paltrow, Blanchett, Damon, and Law who were just dynamite all the way through. Davenport and Hoffman were great support for the previous four I mentioned, but they still had really good performance as well. The real star of the film is the cinematography and all of the shots of all the beautiful sights that are found in Italy were the true stars of the film. That was definitely my favorite part of the film and it makes me want to visit Italy for sure. So with all of that being said, I am going to go ahead and give the film an A- for a final grade.

Road To Perdition (2002)

The point of these challenges or what I am doing is to check out films that you never seen before. Unfortunately for me, there have been a lot of films that somehow have fallen through the cracks and I just have not had the chance to see them and the film I picked for today is one of them. The film I chose for today is called Road To Perdition and it was released in 2002 and it was directed by Sam Mendes (1917). The film stars Tom Hanks (Toy Story 4) as Michael Sullivan, a mob enforcer whose son happens to witness a murder that ends up getting Michael's wife and other son killed because of it. This forces Michael to take his son on the road with him as he plans his revenge. The film also stars Tyler Hoechlin (Everybody Wants Some!) as Michael Jr., Jennifer Jason Leigh (Good Time) as Annie Sullivan, Paul Newman (The Hustler) as John Rooney, Daniel Craig (Casino Royale) as Connor Rooney, Ciarán Hinds (Frozen) as Finn McGovern, Dylan Baker (Trick 'r Treat) as Rance,  Stanley Tucci (Captain America: The First Avenger) as Frank Nitti, Jude Law (Captain Marvel) as Maguire, and Liam Aiken (Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events) as Peter Sullivan.

The truth of the matter was that I had only seen the ending of the film so I ultimately knew what was going to happen, I just didn't know how they got there. Jude Law's role wasn't a huge one, but he makes such an impact with the screen time that was given to him. He is instantly a character that you are never going to forget because of how creepy the guy is. He likes to take photographs of the dead and not just the ones that he has killed either which should be enough information for you to know who you are dealing with. There is so much emotion in this film that it's divided and distributed very well throughout the story from the loss of his family to the loss of his other family which hurts just as much to a guy like Michael Sullivan. Tom Hanks was well... Tom Hanks and that means that he was masterful because I don't think that Tom Hanks makes a bad film and if he does its very rare. Tom does an amazing job of keep your attention as he struggles to navigate through the madness because he has to deal with his son and his issues plus deal with the fact that the "family" wants him dead. I love the costumes, the sets, the cars, and of course the Tommy Gun which we get to see in this prohibition era film. Sam Mendes does an unbelievable job with the film and we really shouldn't be surprised at this point. The film is currently available on Netflix as we speak and this is one that you are going to want to check out. So wit that being said, I am going to go ahead and give the film an A- for a final grade.