Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
It is a sad and unfortunate fact that all one has to do is turn on the news and see a parent(s) crying out for justice for a murdered child,no matter what the child's age,the loss is still felt deeply.
Sometimes through some type of protest,march or posting of reward money a parent may hope to get some kind of answers to who,when,where and why.
In Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Mildred (Frances McDormand) pays for 3 big billboards that point to the town's police chief Willoughby (Woody Harrelson) and his fellow officers and their inability after 7 months to find the murderer of her daughter.
My goodness this is one of the most unpredictable films i have seen in awhile!
Scenes crackle with humor,salty dialogue,sadness regret,love and heartbreak.
Sometimes you get all of the aforementioned at one time and it works.
McDormand is absolutely terrific.She portrays Mildred's frustration,anger and love to a perfect T.
The rest of the cast is also on point which includes: Sam Rockwell, Woody Harrelson, Abbie Cornish, Lucas Hedges, Caleb Landry Jones, and Peter Dinklage
I really think half of the cast will receive Oscar nominations.Terrific writing and Direction from Martin McDonagh
I loved that even though the characters are literally at each other's throats,care is still present,the pain they suffer is understood and relatable.
The honesty and true to life feel that wraps itself around this film was so overwhelmingly moving.
What a great,soul stirring ,seamless film.
One of the best of 2017
Scale of 1-10 a 10+
Murder on the Orient Express
I purposely didnt watch the 1974 version of Murder on the Orient Express partially because i wanted to be surprised and i didnt want to sit through the movie compairing the two films.
Based on Agatha Christie novel Murder on the Orient Express the film has a great opening as we are introduced to detective, Hercule Poirot(Kenneth Branagh) and the other characters that eventually become suspects in the murder
The twisty plot plays out in a slow way with moments here and there of excitement.It's beautifully shot and it was fun to watch the beyond observant Poirot put things together that may add up to the answers he seeks.
Branagh's camera work and direction are sharp
The rest of the cast including : Olivia Colman, Daisy Ridley, Leslie Odom Jr., Josh Gad, Willem Dafoe, Penelope Cruz, Johnny Depp, Derek Jacobi, Judi Dench, and Marwan Kenzari do well,with some over acting and mugging here and there.
The film reaches a point in which it starts going down a bland path with some predictability mixed in ,i started to lose interest and there was still at least 20 more minutes to go.
This would definitely make a nice rental but not something you must see in the theatre.
My interest is ignited in seeing the aforementioned 1974 film and the ITV Poirot series with David Suchet as Poirot.
Scale of 1-10 a 6½