Q’s Reviews – December 11, 2017

The Disaster Artist. The film claims to be the true story of the making of the notoriously bad cult film, The Room.  The Room starred and was written, produced and directed by Tommy Wiseau.  James Franco plays Wiseau. Dave Franco (James’ brother) plays Wiseau’s sidekick, Greg Sestero.  Having never seen The Room, this film was intriguing to see the backstory of the making of a terrible movie. There are many cameos appearances by Hollywood elite that adds to film’s odd charm. Basically the film is the story of an aspiring actor (Greg), meets the odd and secretive Tommy in an acting class. They form a unique partnership and travel to Hollywood to make their dreams a reality. The result is The Room, which was a spectacular flop but then gains transaction as a midnight cult feature. The experience was interesting but not enough to see The Room itself. Rated R for language throughout and some sexuality and unnecessary nudity.

Darkest Hours. On May 10, 1940 Winston Churchill becomes Prime Minster of the United Kingdom. This film follows the next three weeks as Winston (Gary Oldman) faces the most difficult and challenging time of WWII. The seemingly unstoppable Nazi forces have rolled across Western Europe and bottled up the Allied Forces at Dunkirk. France is about to Fall and Britain is bracing for an invasion. Parts of Winston’s party are calling for a negotiated peace treaty with the Nazis. But Churchill stands firm to fight for the ideals, liberty and freedom of a nation.  Churchill rallies public support, converts a skeptical King and digs in for a long road to victory. The film plays a little loose with some of the facts, but this film is about the brilliant performance of Oldman as Churchill. Churchill is alive on the big screen with his indomitable spirit, quirky ways, command of the English language and endless energy. Oldman will surely be in the Oscar race. Churchill’s darkest hour was his finest as he rallied a nation and changed the course of history. This is a must see and a Peggy’s Pick. Rated PG-13 for some thematic material.

The Shape of Water. This highly visual film is a mash-up of The Creature From the Black Lagoon, Beauty and the Beast with a dash of Pygmalion. Director and writer Guillermo del Toro brings his unique visual style and bizarre narrative to The Shape of Water. With the Cuban Missile Crisis in the background, Elisa (Sally Hawkins) works as a janitor in a secret government laboratory. She is mute and lives a solitary life. Elisa and her co-worker Zelda (Octavia Spencer) discover a secret creature that is a humanoid amphibian held in captivity and tortured. Russians spies are seeking the creature. The US scientists want to vivisect it. Elisa and the creature connect and with the help of Zelda and her one friend, Giles (Richard Jenkins) they free the creature from the lab and magic happens. The film’s visual style is amazing and worth a visit to your local cinema to see. Rated R for sexual content, graphic nudity, violence and language.