Movie Review: Sony Pictures Classics' TRUTH

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Truth

Release Date: October 30th 2015

Director: James Vanderbilt

Writers: James Vanderbilt (screenplay), Mary Mapes (book)

Cast: Cate Blanchett, Robert Redford, Dennis Quaid, Topher Grace

Rating: Rated R for language and a brief nude photo

Runtime: 125 min

On the morning of September 9, 2004, veteran CBS News producer MARY MAPES (Cate Blanchett) believed she had every reason to feel proud of a broadcast journalism job well done. By the end of the day, Mapes, CBS News, and the venerable CBS News anchor DAN RATHER (Robert Redford) would be under harsh scrutiny.

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I have to admit, I love being a part of the TV generation. As much as I enjoy books, it’s the stuff on-screen that really makes me giddy. Giddy enthusiasm is what I felt when I learned that I was going to get to review Truth this week. With busy parents and a big family, I spent a lot of time in front of the television growing-up. Tom Brokaw, Peter Jennings and Dan Rather were all heroes of mine. It was okay to mess around when entertainment television shows were on, but when the news shows came on, it was time to sit and listen. None of my three heroes anchor the nightly news anymore. Truth is an opportunity to watch the fictionalized events which lead to the non-fictionalized resignation of Dan Rather from the CBS Evening News.

Don’t misunderstand. The 60 Minutes scandal, or memo-gate as it came to be known, was very real. But, I’m not sure how much creative liberty was taken in the making of the film. And it doesn’t matter. Truth is a great movie. It’s a news caper of sorts. The audience gets to watch the blood and guts of the making of a news story, possibly the biggest news story of an election cycle. Everything is at stake. It’s both gory and fascinating. I couldn’t look away. The train was on the tracks, I could see the impending doom, and I had to watch.

As much as I enjoyed the film up to the train wreck, it is in the aftermath of the collision where the cast genuinely shines. I don’t know that I have ever seen Cate Blanchett (as Mary Mapes) better. I very much enjoyed her interactions with Robert Redford (as Dan Rather) and the rest of the stellar cast. I loved that Blanchett plays the role perfectly flawed, down to the smudged eye make-up. Robert Redford always shines. He plays Rather with a vulnerability that the audience wouldn’t expect from a tough newsman, and it works.

I appreciated the intended message of the film. Truth, justice, etc. All good things in which I believe. All things which tend to get lost in the internet era. The message gets somewhat muddled in clichés by the end of the film. Truth tries really hard to shift the blame for the train wreck, and that part only sometimes works. Anyone who watched Dan Rather’s reporting is going to have a hard time painting him as a victim. But, the message, in its simplest form, is a good one. Truth.

Make sure to catch this one in theaters. Don’t take my word on how great this movie is. See it for yourself whenTruth opens in theaters on October 30th.

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Movie Review: American Ultra

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American Ultra

Release Day:  August 21, 2015
Director:  Nima Nourizadeh
Writer: Max Landis
Main Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Connie Britton, Topher Grace, John Leguizamo, Walton Goggins, Tony Hale.
MPAA Rating: R (for strong bloody violence, language throughout, drug use and some sexual content)
Genres: Action | Comedy | Adventure
Running Time: 1 hr. 39 min.

Official Sites: Web | Facebook | Twitter

American Ultra is a fast-paced action comedy about Mike (Eisenberg), a seemingly hapless and unmotivated stoner whose small-town life with his live-in girlfriend, Phoebe (Stewart), is suddenly turned upside down. Unbeknownst to him, Mike is actually a highly trained, lethal sleeper agent. In the blink of an eye, as his secret past comes back to haunt him, Mike is thrust into the middle of a deadly government operation and is forced to summon his inner action-hero in order to survive.

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American Ultra revolves around pothead Mike (Eisenberg) and his live-in girlfriend, Phoebe. Things start off with Mike having some sort of a panic attack at the airport thus ending the start to what was supposed to be an incredible vacation in Hawaii. Turning around and heading back to Liman, West Virginia just means he’s more messed up than he thought. Working at the convince store Mike entertains himself with fixing things on the shelves, change the sign out front and his ever amazing “Apollo Ape” comic he invented to entertain himself.

 Imagine his surprise when he’s about to start eating his soup that he see’s two very suspicious guys trying to do something to his car. Next thing you know these insanely well-trained killers are coming after him. Much to his own surprise his mind kicks in and armed only with a spoon and a cup of noodles things get out of hand very quickly. You see, things aren’t always what they look like. Before Mike was a stoner cashier he was actually a grade A assassin! It turns out to be that he was actually part of an old CIA program that generates the perfect assassin. They shut down the program, left him in Liman, erased his memories and gave him an extra dosage of anxiety and paranoia. Trying to leave brought up some red flags. Yates (Topher Grace) see's this as a problem hence why trained killers are now after him.   

 American Ultra is a laugh out loud stupid funny kind of movie with an extra ounce of blood, violence and action. I expected the laughs, but was pleasantly surprise with the latter. With a fantastic screenplay by Max Landis (Chronicle), director Nima Nourizadeh (Project X) keeps things moving effortlessly. You know Eisenberg and Stewart already had chemistry, but it unfolds ten times over in American Ultra. They connected so well and bouncing off of one another during their first encounter after Mike calls Phoebe to tell her he killed two people had everyone in the theater dying laughing. American Ultra would not have been the same without the well rounded supporting cast. From Connie Britton to the holy freaking psycho that is Walton Goggins. If you’re looking for some laughs with a side of action make sure you head to theaters this weekend to catch American Ultra.

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