Day 192: Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (2016)

maxresdefaultWhen I first heard about the film Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, I was excited to see it because of the acronym WTF. So it’s safe to say that I thought this would be a laugh out loud comedy considering it stars Tina Fey (Sisters). Fey stars as Kim Baker, a desk jockey at a news station that takes a job in Afghanistan to try and see if she can change her life or the better. What she doesn’t account for is all the difficult choices she’ll have to make when she is over there from dealing with relationships, the culture differences, and other war time journalists. The film also stars Margot Robbie (The Wolf Of Wall Street) as Tanya Vanderpoel, Martin Freeman (Captain America: Civil War) as Iain MacKelpie, Alfred Molina (Raiders Of The Lost Arc) as Ali Massoud Sadiq, Christopher Abbott (A Most Violent Year) as Fahim Ahmadzai, Billy Bob Thornton (Bad Santa) as General Hollanek, Nicholas Braun (How To Be Single) as Tall Brian, Stephen Peacocke (Me Before You) as Nic, Evan Jonigkeit (X-Men: Days Of Future Past) as Specialist Coughlin, Josh Charles (Don’t Tell Mom The Babysitters Dead) as Chris, Sheila Vand (A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night) as Shakira Khar, and the film was directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa.

whiskey_tango_foxtrot-620x412As I said above, I originally thought that the film was going to be a laugh out loud comedy, but what I didn’t expect from it was all the drama. It’s kind of a very serious movie especially for Tina Fey’s character who is on a journey of discovery. She feels as though that she has wasted too much time in her life and she feels that she should be able to do so much more. That is essentially why she takes the job in Afghanistan because otherwise you’d have to be crazy to do so. Margot Robbie who’ll be playing Harley Quinn this summer in Suicide Squad looked fantastic in the film and she actually does a good job with the role she was given. Martin Freeman was a very good addition to the film as he made the film more interesting. The cinematography was great in the film even though the story could have been a little bit better in my opinion. I get that the film had some elements of feminism in the film in the form of empowering women considering it takes place in a country that does not allow women to do much. You can’t really watch the film for anything else other than that. It’s a decent film that you can afford to watch once and call it a day. I am going to give the film an B- for a final grade.

Day 155: Me Before You (2016)

tumblr_o4tq83YpqU1ulesryo1_1280I know exactly what you are thinking right now and I know that you know that I’ll watch just about anything. So, I know from the bottom of my heart that all of you will forgive me for today’s film which is Me Before You. Sam Claflin (Snow White And The Huntsman) plays Will Traynor, a man who has everything going for him until a fatal accident leaves him a paraplegic. Emilia Clarke (Game Of Thrones) plays Louisa Clark, a bubbly girl who always thinks of others before herself. Louisa needs a job and she finds one taking care of Will who seems determined to not care that she is there. With her willingness to never give up on people, they form an unlikely bond that will later be put to the test when she finds out about Will’s plans for his future. The film also stars Vanessa Kirby (About Time) as Alicia, Jenna Coleman (Doctor Who) as Treena Clark, Charles Dance (Last Action Hero) as Stephen Traynor, Janet McTeer (Maleficent) as Camilla Traynor, Matthew Lewis (Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone) as Patrick, Brendan Coyle (The Jacket) as Bernard Clark, Samantha Spiro (From Hell) as Josie Clark, Stephen Peacocke (Whiskey Tango Foxtrot) as Nathan, and the film was directed by Thea Sharrock in her directorial debut. 

emilia-clarke-sam-clafin-f541db65-8a26-43dd-ab9f-b19bbd90179cFirst of all I know that this is a chick flick, but don’t judge me because I am crushing on Emilia Clarke who is the dragon queen. I used to think it was a myth or just some silly wives tales when you hear about women crying at these kinds of movies, but it’s no myth. Literally in a theater filled from top to bottom with women, I heard so many of them crying towards the end of the film. Women seem to love these Nicolas Sparks type romance movies which is why these keep getting made. I will admit that some tears rolled down my face during the film because even though it’s a sad story there is definitely a positive message in the film overall. If there is anything of value from this film it’s the dynamic of the relationship between Clarke and Sam Claflin who just seemed so natural throughout the whole film. Emilia was the shiniest and brightest light of all in the film with her knack for being a quirky gal in the film. She was so enjoyable to watch on the screen even though the film was predictable. That shouldn’t comes as a surprise because all of these types of films are all the same and they follow the same formula. Take this for what it is or as I should say take or leave it because it makes no difference to me. I am going to give the film an B+ for a final grade only because these are not my cup of tea usually and for it’s predictability.