One of the most controversial filmmakers in Hollywood has always been Oliver Stone who has tackled topics like the assassination of John Kennedy (JFK), 911 (World Trade Center), and insider trading (Wall Street) to name a few. Now he returns with a new film about one of the most controversial figures today in the film Snowden. Snowden tells the tale of former CIA and NSA operative Edward Snowden (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a man who exposed the United States Government for spying on it’s own people without warrants as he distributed the proof to the press. The film follows Snowden from how he got his start in the intelligence field to the struggles he dealt with when he got too deep into what was happening. The film also stars Shailene Woodley (The Fault In Our Stars) as Lindsey Mills, Zachary Quinto (Star Trek) as Glenn Greenwald, Melissa Leo (Red State) as Laura Poitras, Rhys Ifans (The Amazing Spider-Man) as Corbin O’Brian, Robert Firth (Guardians Of The Galaxy) as Dr. Stillwell, Tom Wilkinson (Batman Begins) as Ewen MacAskill, Timothy Olyphant (Rock Star) as CIA Agent Geneva, Scott Eastwood (Fury) as Trevor James, Keith Lakeith (Straight Outta Compton) as Patrick Haynes, Ben Chaplin (Thin Red Line) as Robert Tibbo, Bhasker Patel (Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom) as Marwan Al-Kirmani, and Nicolas Cage (Drive Angry) as Hank Forrester.
I have to be honest in saying that I wasn’t really aware of what it was that Edward Snowden was being accused of, but what ever it was he was being called either a traitor or hero. The one thing that I can say about him after watching this film is that he should be considered a hero. The United States government shouldn’t be allowed to pry in your life unless they have a warrant. According to the film, they were bypassing all of it by claiming that there were secret warrants so that they wouldn’t tip off the “Threats”. Now as far as the films is concerned I thought the film was alright in my opinion. It just runs a little too slow for my liking at times and there is a lot of computer jargon that the average person will not understand in it. Joseph Gordon-Levitt does a terrific job in the film as Edward Snowden and he even changes his voice to sound more like him. Shailene Woodley actually does a great job too and she even shows off some of her assets in the film which was a change for her. She does a great job being the perfect balance between the nerdiness and what is real in life. Now the beginning of the film claims that this is a dramatization so how much of it is true, I am not completely sure. I am actually interested to see what is fact and/or fiction. There are some thrills and suspense in the film as you wonder if he’s going to get caught, but we all know how the story ends. The film even features a cameo from the real Edward Snowden so look for that if you choose to see this. I am going to give the film an A- and I am doing this because I thought it was a good film (which is the same as alright), but I am just not into the computer jargon.
Spoiler Alert: There may be information contained in this Article that could potentially spoil the plot of the film so continue with caution or do not read any further if you do not want to know. You have been warned!!!
You have no idea how bad I have been waiting for today’s film to be released. I have and still am a huge fan of Harley Quinn, The Joker, and the Suicide Squad that I have been salivating at the mouth for this. So, for today’s film, I am reviewing the latest DC Comics movie the Suicide Squad. After the death of Superman, Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) has been trying to sell the government on the idea of project X. The idea of project x is to take the worst of the worst, give them an incentive, and have them do the missions no one else will do to protect the world. After Enchantress (Cara Delevingne) betrays Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman) the government, the team now known as the Suicide Squad is commissioned and sent on a mission to save the world from the terror she brings. The Suicide Squad is made up of Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), Deadshot (Will Smith), Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney), Diablo (Jay Hernandez), and Katana (Karen Fukuhara). The film also stars Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club) as The Joker, Adam Beach (Flags Of Our Fathers) as Slipknot, Ben Affleck (The Town) as Batman, Scott Eastwood (Fury) as Lieutenant GQ Edwards, Alain Chanoine (Immortals) as Incubus, Ike Barinholtz (Neighbors) as Griggs, David Harbour (Black Mass) as Dexter Tolliver, and the film was directed by David Ayer (Fury).
I know what you’re thinking and you want to know how good the film was don’t you? As far as all the films in the current universe are concerned (which includes Man Of Steel and BVS) this is the best one of them all. This by far was the home run for DC Comics or at least the film that gets them back into the game and into the running with Marvel. Of course, there are a couple of spots that could have been better, but overall this film was very fun to watch and very enjoyable. Like all DC films so far, the casting is never the problem and this film’s cast was definitely solid. The way the film was being executed in the beginning with the flashback scenes with Deadshot and Harley Quinn looked a little questionable to me because of my fear of how it was going to turn out, but never fear. The film definitely gets back on track from that point and you never look back. Will Smith is amazing and witty, Margot Robbie is amazing and sexy, and Jared Leto is the new Joker. Jared Leto definitely took The Joker, made it his own, and needed more screen time then what was given to him because his performance blew me away. Every character in my opinion does an amazing job in the film and keeps you entertained for the most part.
I definitely didn’t leave the theater baffled at what I had just seen. I got it and understood what had just happened right from the get go. The thing that was great about this film is that it felt just like a Marvel movie with the character development and the comedy that is thrown in there with the drama. There are so many scenes I love in the film especially with Harley Quinn who just keeps you laughing the whole time, but there is a flashback with her and The Joker. She is still Harleen Quinzel in reality, but she basically turns into Harley in this particular sequence by diving into the vat of whatever it is that The Joker did as well. That was one of my favorites and the battle sequence was amazing as well because you just these very different individuals mold into a team right before your eyes. Another definitely has to be the scene between Will Smith’s Deadshot and Diablo where Will is trying to psych him up. When you see the full scene, it’s a lot better than what is in the trailer. Like I said before, I was definitely not disappointed in the film as it’s a serious contender for the Monster Entertainment Awards at the end of the year. I am going to give the film an A- for a final grade. DC needs to take notes from this film heading into the future.
For today’s film, I chose to watch a western because of the love my father has for the original American folklore that is Westerns. Not to mention that the film stars Scott Eastwood (Fury) who is the son of legendary Western actor Clint Eastwood. Eastwood plays Civil War vet Jackson, a man with a lot of skeletons in his closet. Nevertheless, he is sent on a crazy journey as his wife was kidnapped by Mexicans so it is up to him to try and save her before it’s too late. Although, the journey to save his wife is going to prove to be more dangerous than he expected. The film also stars Walton Goggins (House Of 1000 Corpses) as Ezra, Camilla Belle (The Lost World: Jurassic Park) as Alexsandra, Adam Beach (Joe Dirt 2: Beautiful Loser) as Nakoma, Samuel Marty (Fargo) as Ishani, 
I wanted to go into the film thinking that it was going to be one heck of a western only because of who Scott Eastwood’s father was. The sad fact is that no one will ever be Clint Eastwood again in the world of Westerns. Now by me saying that doesn’t necessarily mean that I hated the movie, it’s quite the contrary. I call it the tale of two different films and what I mean by that is that the first half of the film is actually quite boring and a little confusing. They go through scenes without really explaining much and characters all of sudden disappear and such. The second half of the film is when it gets really good because your perception of Scott Eastwood’s character drastically changes and he becomes more bad ass than before. Walter Goggins plays a very vital role in this film especially when it has to do with Eastwood’s character and all will be revealed when you watch the film for yourself. Goggins does a terrific job in the film playing what you believe to be the antagonist of the film until the film goes all Fight Club on us. And I don’t mean soap bars, fights, and Brad Pitt when I say that, but you’ll see what I mean. Like I said, if you’re expecting cool lines and action like a Clint Eastwood Spaghetti Western then turn around now, but you’ll have to want to watch the whole film to get to the good parts. I thought it was an OK film which is why I am going to give the film an B-/C+ for a final grade. It’s borderline between the two grades.
365moviesin365dayschallenge 