Day 201: Sneakers (1992)

There is nothing better in the world then seeing an all star cast in a film, but sometimes it doesn’t always pay off. Sometimes too many big names can be a hindrance for a film, but that isn’t the case with today’s film Sneakers. Robert Redford (All The Presidents Men) plays Marty Bishop, an expert computer hacker who leads a ragtag team that does missions for people. One day, Marty and his guys are tasked with retrieving an item that could be potentially dangerous if it is placed into the wrong hands. Unfortunately, Marty’s past comes back to haunt him and he is screwed out of a deal. In order to clear himself, he and his team will have to steal back the item in order to clear themselves. The film also stars Sidney Poitier (In The Heat Of The Night) as Donald Crease, River Phoenix (Stand By Me) as Carl Arbogast, David Strathairn (The Bourne Ultimatum) as Whistler, Dan Aykroyd (Ghostbusters) as Mother, Timothy Busfield (Revenge Of The Nerds) as Dick Gordon, Eddie Jones (A League Of Their Own) as Buddy Wallace, Mary McDonnell (Dances With Wolves) as Liz, Lee Garlington (Cobra) as Dr. Elena Rhyzkov, Donal Logue (Blade) as Dr. Gunter Janek, and the film was directed by Phil Alden Robinson (Field Of Dreams).

Give me a reason why I shouldn’t have checked out this film especially with the caliber cast they had to work with. The one thing that grabbed my attention and made me want to watch the film today when it aired was the fact that River Phoenix was in the film. He was one of my favorite actors and there will never be another like him. Not to mention, you have Dan Aykroyd playing a crazy conspiracy theorist type on a team that features a former CIA agent and some computer hackers. I am really starting to get into the government espionage kind of films cause that is sort of what this film is like You have a team of guys spying on others in order to gain an advantage to steal what they need. You also have the mystery of who can you trust in this film just like any other espionage/government conspiracy film. The difference with this one is that they add in some comedy to lighten up the mood. I will say that Strathairn, Aykroyd, Phoenix alone made an interesting pair that I would hang out with. It’s hard to pick a scene in the film that I loved more than any other, but there is a moment in the van when they are doing surveillance. It looks like Donal Logue’s character is about to get lucky and they continuously stop River from watching. The scene when the blind man whistler finally drives something is also very memorable to me as well. It’s not the best film in the world, but it’s really good and enjoyable to watch. I am going to give the film an B+ for a final grade.

Day 162: Now You See Me 2 (2016)

There are films that come out that when you see them, you are absolutely blown away by it. You like the movie so much that when you hear that there is a sequel coming out, you really don’t mind seeing it. That was definitely the case with today’s film in Now You See Me 2. Since the events of the first film the horseman J. Daniel Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg), Merritt McKinney (Woody Harrelson), and Jack Wilder (Dave Franco) have gone into hiding awaiting the chance that they can work again. When the horseman are pulled out of retirement with the addition of a new female magician in Lulu (Lizzy Caplan) by their and FBI agent Dylan Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo), they learn that they are part of a plan by an evil tech genius to pull off their most impossible heist ever. Can the team do it or with they finally correct the wrongs? The film also stars Morgan Freeman (The Shawshank Redemption) as Thaddeus Bradley, Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire) as Walter Mabry, Michael Caine (The Dark Knight) as Arthur Tressler, Jay Chou (The Green Hornet) as Li, Sanaa Lathan (Blade) as Deputy Director Natalie Austin, Henry Lloyd-Hughes (Anna Karenina) as Allen Scott-Frank, and the film was directed by Jon M. Chu (Jem And The Holograms).

One of the biggest reasons to see these films is because you want to see what kind of magic are they going to do and see how clever they really were. You also go to see these films for all the sleek stunts and the technology they incorporate with the tricks even though a big part of them is fighting technology and all the evil it can create. The film starts off by reminding us of who they are and what they’ve done in the past to build up these ragtag magicians up. The movie also really focuses on what happened to Mark Ruffalo’s character’s father and why he is on this revenge kick. We also see our crew evolve and become a solid team right before our very eyes as they battle the evil technology crazed world. I thought I was going to be disappointed that Isla Fisher wasn’t in the film, but I have to give credit to Lizzy Caplan for fitting right in with the crew. She added a certain wittiness to the tea by being there. The magic tricks of course are pretty cool, but my favorite thing is when they break down how they accomplished them in the first place. That is what I loved about the first film and that is what I loved in this film. Daniel Radcliffe is awesome as a really douchy guy with crap tons of money while Freeman and Caine were brilliant as always. Is it better than the first film, I don’t really think so, but that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have it’s moments. I enjoyed the film enough to give it a grade that is somewhere between the B+/A- range. It’s somewhere in there.

Day 137: Zodiac (2007)

I was searching for a film to watch and I was going through a whole entire list before the film I chose caught my eye. I have always been a sucker for films that are based on true stories because real life can be scarier than fiction. The film I chose for today is called Zodiac and it stars Jake Gyllenhaal (Prisoners) as San Francisco Newspaper cartoonist Robert Graysmith. In the late 1960’s into the 70′, a killer appeared in Northern California calling himself the Zodiac killer. He would murder his victims and he would send letters to local newspapers. Robert Graysmith became so intrigued with the case that he followed it. Unfortunately, a suspect was never found and no one was ever arrested. When everyone else stopped looking, Graysmith took the reigns and decided to investigate himself coming close to identifying the actual killer. The film stars Mark Ruffalo (Avengers: Age Of Ultron) as Inspector David Toschi, Anthony Edwards (Top Gun) as Inspector William Armstrong, Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man) as Paul Avery, Brian Cox (Troy) as Melvin Belli, John Caroll Lynch (Ted 2) as Arthur Leigh Allen, Chloë Sevigny (American Psycho) as Melanie, Elias Koteas (Shutter Island) as Sgt. Jack Mulanax, Donal Logue (Blade) as Captain Ken Narlow, Ione Skye (Say Anything…) as Kathleen Johns, and the film was directed by David Fincher (Fight Club). 

This is a long film, but it’s a film that is very intriguing especially when it’s a true crime story that has never been solved to this very day. I watched the film because it starred Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr., and Mark Ruffalo because all three men are some of personal favs. At first, I kept wondering how they would close a movie that has no ending in real life. The killer has never been caught so how do you write an ending to that especially when there is none? Do I like the way they ended the film? Essentially, I kind of do and I kind of don’t, but it’s something that I am willing to accept (of course, you’ll have to watch it for yourself). Jake Gyllenhaal is brilliant in the film as this kind of neurotic obsessed guy that kind of reminds me of his role a little in Nightcrawler. The case they are all investigating and researching is kind of destroying there lives because they are way to attached to the idea of breaking it open and catching the guy. You see the characters literally falling apart right in front of your fac while the killer stays free. There are several theories and several accusations that have been made as to who the killer was, but the characters in this film believe in the guy they are after. I have to admit that I was a little creeped out watching this film in the wee hours of the night so it definitely gets bonus points for that reason. I am going to give the film an A- for a final grade based on performances and just the pure creepiness of the film.