Some people say that when you become part of a franchise that is larger than life that it’s hard to escape the role you played in it. Some wondered if that would be Daniel Radcliffe’s (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets) fate, but I beg to differ. That is why I chose to watch his new film Imperium for today’s movie. Nate Foster (Radcliffe) is a young FBI Agent who is looking to make some sort of impact in the office which means that he’s willing to do anything to make a name for himself. That is when opportunity strikes thanks to fellow FBI Agent Angela Zamparo (Toni Collette) who tells him that a white supremacist group may be the problem. So Nate decides to go undercover and infiltrate the gang to figure out who has the chemical weapons. The film also stars Tracy Letts (The Big Short) as Dallas Wolf, Sam Trammell (The Fault In Our Stars) as Gerry Conway, Nestor Carbonell (The Dark Knight) as Agent Hernandez, Chris Sullivan (The Drop) as Andrew Blackwell, Seth Numrich (Macbeth Unhinged) as Roy, Pawel Szajda (Under The Tuscan Sun) as Vince, Burn Gorman (The Dark Knight Rises) as Morgan, Devin Druid (Disgrace) as Johnny, and the film was directed by Daniel Ragussis in his first feature length directorial debut.
One thing that this film reminds you of is how easy it is to be ignorant, but how circumstances in life can drive you that way. It just shows you how disillusioned the youth can be and how easy it is to be hateful. What the film also does is show you how awesome Daniel Radcliffe has been post Harry Potter. The guy is an incredible actor and I have enjoyed just about every film that he’s been in since then. The film is pretty intense and Radcliffe does an amazing job of carrying that momentum throughout the film even giving us some suspenseful moments. The film had some really intense moments that were nail biting and Radcliffe was absolutely amazing as he made them even more thrilling with his acting ability. Toni Collette did a pretty good job in the film, but was she perfect? No, but she wasn’t really the star of the film. Besides that last sequence in the film, my favorite moment of the film was when Radcliffe’s character goes out into the woods with Andrew Blackwell and he is kind of confronted about his real identity. Just like so many undercover FBI films before it, the biggest thing you are wondering about when watching a film is whether there cover will be blown or not. You obviously have to watch for yourself for that answer, but I would recommend this film. If you’re a fan of crime thrillers or a fan of Radcliffe then pick this one up. I am going to give the film an A- for a final grade.
The question of the day is do you want to be educated about something you probably didn’t know anything about? If that is the case and you have Netflix, then you need to check out today’s film The Big Short. The Big Short is a film that chronicles the crash of the mortgage industry on Wall Street back in 2008/2009. The film follows four different denizens in the industry Michael Burry (Christian Bale), Jared Vennett (Ryan Gosling), Mark Baum (Steve Carell), and the team of Charlie Geller (John Magaro), Jamey Shipley (Finn Wittrock), and Ben Rickert (Brad Pitt) as they decide to bet against the housing market and it’s loans which was simply unheard of at the time. They were betting against the economy which was considered ballsy. The film also stars Tracy Letts (Killer Joe) as Lawrence Fields, Marisa Tomei (My Cousin Vinny) as Cynthia Baum, Adepero Oduye (12 Years A Slave) as Kathy Tao, Rafe Spall (Life Of Pi) as Danny Moses, Hamish Linklater (Battleship) as Porter Collins, Jeremy Strong (Zero Dark Thirty) as Vinnie Daniel, Melissa Leo (Red State) as Georgia Hale, Karen Gillan (Guardians Of The Galaxy) as Evie, and the film features cameos from Anthony Bourdain, Margot Robbie, Selena Gomez, and the film was directed by Adam McKay (The Other Guys).
If you do not know anything about trading stocks, bonds, and the housing market then you better pay full attention to the film cause you could get absolutely lost. They have Margot Robbie, Anthony Bourdain, and Selena Gomez appear on screen to help break down some of the terms into dummy form. Even then, I would still advise people not to leave at any point or you will be confused. If you want to see how crooked and stupid the US Government and the banks were with the average working persons money then you need to watch this movie because it’s all about how they screwed you with no lube. It’s hard to choose an MVP for this film because they all really did a terrific job in the film, but some of my favorite moments belonged to Ryan Gosling and Steve Carell especially when they were together. One of my favorite scenes in the film is when Gosling is trying to explain why he is betting against the market to Steve Carell using the Jenga format to represent all the loans. The interactions between the two during this scene are just awesome and worth seeing. After you have seen the film, you are going to be astonished about how so many things just slipped through the cracks during this whole ordeal especially with the mortgage market in the early to mid-2000’s where so many people were defaulting and foreclosures were happening. This film sheds the best light on the reason for the collapse of the economy so be prepared. I am going to give the film an A for a final grade because it’s smart, thought provoking, and intuitive. Check it out on Netflix right now as we speak.
For today’s film, I was simply flipping through my guide when I saw that Patrick Wilson (The Conjuring) and Katherine Heigl (Knocked Up) were starring in a film that I had never heard of. So, I took the chance and for today’s film I watched Home Sweet Hell. Don Champagne (Wilson) seems to have it all from the perfect wife, family, home, and he even owns his own business selling furniture. Not everything is what it seems as his wife Mona (Heigl) pretty much runs his life by making decisions and even when they have sex. At his business, Don hires a sexy woman by the name of Dusty (Jordana Brewster) and the two begin to have an affair. When Don finds out that she is pregnant and wants money, Mona will stop at nothing to fix the issue and keep her perfect family together. The film also stars Kevin McKidd (Trainspotting) as Freeman, A.J. Buckley (Disturbing Behavior) as Murphy, Jim Belushi (Mr. Destiny) as Les, Heath Freeman (Skateland) as Benji, Chi McBride (Let’s Go To Prison) as Chief Malcolm Brown, Madison Wolfe (The Campaign) as Allison Champagne, Aiden Flowers (The Big Short) as Andrew Champagne, and the film was directed by Anthony Burns (Skateland).
I have to be honest and say that I was sold on this film the minute I saw the sweet behind of Jordana Brewster. She is so sexy in this film and she does an amazing job playing a seductress. I mean who would fall for her trap? You’ll have to see the film to know exactly what I am talking about there, but this film was pretty enjoyable to watch. Katherine Heigl did such an amazing job playing a really creepy housewife who is obsessed with the idea of perfection. She has everything mapped out in a scrap book that she calls goals. As soon as somebody tries to mess with it, she snaps. She definitely sold her part very well to the point where I believed that she was who she was playing. Patrick Wilson also did a terrific job playing a guy who thinks he’s confident, but when things get real, he’s a bubbling idiot who certainly can’t take confrontations. So, you can definitely tell who wears the pants in that family, but the end will certainly shock you a tiny bit. There are times however that certain events happen that are a little too predictable and you say to yourself that you saw that coming. Jim Belushi does a great job as sort of the alcoholic sidekick that works for Don at the furniture store. The film is pretty decent and it’s certainly worth checking out if you get a chance. It’s airing on Encore as we speak, but for how long I do not know. I am going to give the film an B for a final grade.
365moviesin365dayschallenge 