Cyrano

Cyrano (2021) 

Starring Peter Dinklage, Haley Bennett, Kelvin Harrison, Jr., and Ben Mendelsohn

Directed by Joe Wright

Written by Erica Schmidt

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating: B-

I Care a Lot

 I Care a Lot (2021 -- Oscars 2020)

Starring Rosamund Pike, Peter Dinklage, Eiza González, Chris Messina, Macon Blair, Alicia Witt, and Dianne Weist

Directed by J Blakeson

Written by J Blakeson

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating:  B+

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)

Starring Frances McDormand, Sam Rockwell, Woody Harrelson, Caleb Landry Jones, Lucas Hedges, Abbie Cornish, Zeljko Ivanek, Peter Dinklage, and John Hawkes

Directed by Martin McDonagh

Written by Martin McDonagh

Summary (in 500 words or less):  Following her daughter's unsolved rape and murder, Mildred (Frances McDormand) buys advertising space on three billboards questioning the effectiveness of the local police force headed by the sure-fototed Sheriff Willoughby (Woody Harrelson) and the off-the-hinges officer Jason Dixon (Sam Rockwell). 

• Quite frankly, this is one of the worst movies I've seen in a while.  Very little of what happens in this film feels even remotely believable which, in a sci-fi film would be one thing, but in dramedy set in a realistic setting simply doesn't work.  
• I've seen a few plays and movies by Martin McDonagh and his blend of dark comedy and drama usually strikes a nice balance, but here the script's comedic moments feel ludicrous and its dramatic moments fail to resonate in the slightest.
• McDonagh throws the kitchen sink in to this one -- racist cops, foul-mouthed mothers, jokes about Catholic priests and midgets -- hoping something will stick, but nothing does.
• Frances McDormand is okay, but I feel like I've seen her do this before.  She could play this role in her sleep.  Sam Rockwell (who, like McDormand, seems poised to win an Oscar for this role) lacks nuance, with his character experiencing a change of heart that feels unwarranted.
• Characters do horrible things to others in this film with little repercussion which might've worked fine in In Bruges or Seven Psychopaths (other McDonagh films), but they weren't nearly as based in reality as this film is and when these characters fail to be punished for things, it irritated me immensely.
• In short form (as I'm writing all my "reviews" now), my reasons for my utter hatred of this movie aren't fully described, but rest assured this movie is completely undeserving of the praise bestowed upon it.

The RyMickey Rating:  D

Movie Review - The Boss

The Boss (2016)

Starring Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Bell, Peter Dinklage, Ella Anderson, and Kathy Bates

Directed by Ben Falcone

Oh, Melissa McCarthy...such promise after Bridesmaids has just been squashed by subsequently poor comedic film choices and The Boss is no exception.  McCarthy co-wrote the film with her husband Ben Falcone (who also directed the piece) and while her no-nonsense, brashness fits the character of self-made business tycoon Michelle Darnell, the character and the movie itself feel like a stretched-out sketch comedy routine as opposed to a fully realized piece.

Loved by millions for her eccentric approach to making money, Michelle is a self-help guru who seemingly has it all.  However, an insider trading deal gone awry sends Michelle to jail, causing her to lose her iconic status and the respect of her fans.  Upon release from prison, Michelle finds her previous earnings confiscated by the government, so with nowhere to go she lands on the doorstep of her former assistant Claire (Kristen Bell).  Claire is reluctant to help her former boss, but she eventually obliges after Michelle agrees to help watch Claire's tween daughter Rachel (Ella Anderson) which leads Michelle to her new business venture -- a cookie-selling industry set up as competition to a Girl Scout-esque group.

Writing the above summary took me over a month to type out not because of any confusion regarding what The Boss is about, but because it's so unexciting.  This is a short skit waiting to happen and stretching this out to a 100-minute length grows aggravatingly dull.  McCarthy herself is actually okay here.  Although her character is grating, the actress is able to tap in to the absurdity in a way that at least makes the film watchable.  Unfortunately, when the film attempts to highlight its other characters - a bland Kristen Bell, a laughably and ludicrously villainous Peter Dinklage - it fails miserably.  While there are worse comedies out there, The Boss simply isn't worth your time.

The RyMickey Rating:  D+

Movie Review - X-Men: Days of Future Past

X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)

Starring Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Halle Berry, Nicholas Hoult, Ellen Page, Peter Dinklage, Shawn Ashmore, Omar Sy, Evan Peters, Ian McKellan, and Patrick Stewart

Directed by Bryan Singer

While perhaps an unpopular opinion, I think that X-Men: First Class is one of the best superhero movies of all time.  Upon a second watch right before viewing its sequel, I once again was captivated by the flick's stories, direction, 1960s setting, and acting.  So, X-Men: Days of Future Past admittedly had a tough act to follow and while it doesn't quite live up to the high water mark of its predecessor, the film's attempt to bridge both the current generation of 2010's X-Men franchise with the 2000s X-Men franchise is solid.

Sometime in the future, robots known as Sentinels are killing all of the mutants and Professor X and Magneto (Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan) have devised a plan using Kitty Pryde's (Ellen Page) powers to send Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) back in time in order to try and change their present.  It's determined that post-Vietnam War, Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) was captured by the US government and her DNA was studied by military scientist Bolivar Trask (Peter Dinklage) in order to create the shape-shifting beings known as the Sentinals.  By sending Wolverine back to right before Mystique is caught, Professor X and Magneto are hoping that they can change the course of history and prevent the Sentinels from even existing.

Fortunately, the dank, dark, overly computerized world of the future takes a backseat to Wolverine's trip down the 1970s memory lane and the large majority of Days of Future Past takes place in the past with James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender reprising their roles as the younger versions of Charles Xavier and Eric Lehnsherr (Professor X and Magneto, respectively).  Once again, director Bryan Singer does a really great job creating a believable 1970s world for the X-Men to inhabit and it creates a landscape we don't often see in superhero movies that are so often told in the present day.  This retro feel continues to work to this X-Men iteration's advantage.

For the most part, the acting ensemble works well together, although I found the focus on Jennifer Lawrence's Mystique to leave a little to be desired.  Behind all that make-up and computer-generated blueness for her character, Lawrence's emoting stays a bit hidden which is a bit of a shame.  Additionally, the actors that make up the "future" segment of the film aren't given a whole lot to do and what they are tasked with gets repetitive pretty darn quickly.

While X-Men: Days of Future Past isn't as interesting or compelling as First Class, I give the film credit for refusing to back down from its conceit of pitting the X-Men against one another as they struggle to figure out whether the US government wants to help or hurt them.  This creates a constant feeling of uncertainty amongst the characters that gives them all much more depth than we have come to expect in superhero movies and it's one of the biggest reasons I think this X-Men series has been so successful.

The RyMickey Rating:  B

Movie Review - The Angriest Man in Brooklyn

The Angriest Man in Brooklyn (2014)

Starring Robin Williams, Mila Kunis, Peter Dinklage, Melissa Leo, and Hamish Linklater

Directed by Phil Alden Robinson

***This film is currently streaming on Netflix***

I think The Angriest Man in Brooklyn is supposed to be a comedy and despite the fact that I didn't laugh once (or really even smirk in the slightest), I found one of Robin Williams' final films to be oddly endearing.  Admittedly, however, the reason for the emotion stems from the fact that Williams finds himself playing lawyer Henry Altmann, a man who discovers that a brain aneurysm has allotted him only ninety minutes left to live and he must determine whether he wants to continue on his current path of anger and resentment or reconcile his differences with his estranged wife and son (Melissa Leo and Hamish Linklater).  Had Williams not recently passed away, I doubt very much that the film would've had much impact.  However, true life seeps into the cinematic world a bit here, creating something a little more rousing than the film itself merits.

Williams is adequate as Henry, although I feel like we've seen him play this angry, somewhat crazed role before.  Yes, he dials things back a bit here, but not quite far enough if I'm being honest.  Mila Kunis plays his temporary doctor who has troubles of her own -- it should come as no surprise that her foibles will change for the better by crossing paths with Henry.  Together, Williams and Kunis play off each other surprisingly well, however many of their scenes together are so poorly written or so abysmally staged -- this film has one of the worst uses of green screen I've seen in a while -- that they end up falling flat.

The Angriest Man in Brooklyn is not a great film, but it is unfortunately made better simply because of the passing of Mr. Robin Williams whose real life struggles somewhat mirror the difficulties his character faces in this film.

The RyMickey Rating:  C