Tag Archives: Hugh Grant

Action/Thriller, All Movie Reviews, Comedy, Leave it, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

Operation Fortune: Ruse De Guerre (2023) Movie Review

March 1, 2023 Alex Brannan Leave a comment

Guy Ritchie has spent the most recent stretch of his career making passable yet somewhat anonymous and, frankly, lacking action pictures. Following the bungled Aladdin live action film for Disney, which I don’t think was necessarily Ritchie’s fault (he wasn’t the right choice for the material to begin with), he has been trying to get back to the brand of film that made him a name in the first place.

The Gentlemen was fine but not my bag. Wrath of Man has some nice sequences but is repetitive and drab. This time out, Ritchie goes for a sprawling, international espionage thriller — he’s trying for a James Bond or Mission: Impossible vibe.

The film opens with your standard issue “gathering up the usual suspects” routine. Two government bureaucrats (Cary Elwes and Eddie Marsan) discuss the crew for their next important job — something involving Continue reading Operation Fortune: Ruse De Guerre (2023) Movie Review →

Action/Thriller, All Movie Reviews, Comedy, Leave it, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

The Gentlemen (2020) Movie Review

January 25, 2020 Alex Brannan 1 Comment

In 2019, Guy Ritchie’s live action Disney adaptation of Aladdin was released. It is a film with no discernible trace of Ritchie’s authorial stamp. He follows Aladdin up with The Gentlemen, a film that is so readily a return to Ritchie’s crime film origins that it almost appears as a parody.

The film is framed by a somewhat fidgety, gift of gab private eye named Fletcher (Hugh Grant), who has Continue reading The Gentlemen (2020) Movie Review →

All Movie Reviews, Comedy, Like It, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

Paddington 2 (2018) Movie Review

January 15, 2018 Alex Brannan Leave a comment

Paddington 2 has a simple message, but one that is nevertheless easily forgotten. Be nice to people. Pay it forward. Yadda yadda. It sounds obvious, and it sounds like it would play saccharine in a children’s film about a naive little bear. But, for the second time, it doesn’t.

I would like to make the argument that this second film is Continue reading Paddington 2 (2018) Movie Review →

All Movie Reviews, Comedy, Like It

Florence Foster Jenkins (2016) Movie Review

January 7, 2017 Alex Brannan Leave a comment

In New York, 1944, a wealthy socialite named Florence Foster Jenkins (Meryl Streep) takes a fancy to opera singing. With her husband’s (Hugh Grant) aid, she reunites with an old vocal coach (David Haig) and hires a young pianist (Simon Helberg). To the pianist’s dismay, his first rehearsal with Florence yields the revelation of her sheer inability to carry a tune.

This initial rehearsal scene is a Continue reading Florence Foster Jenkins (2016) Movie Review →

2017 Academy Awards, Award Ceremonies

2017 Academy Awards Nomination Predictions – Best Supporting Actor

January 1, 2017 Alex Brannan Leave a comment

The Best Supporting Actor race is another open field, sort of. The five nominees I have selected are five great performances (more or less.), but there are other great supporting roles that deserve attention. While there is a clear frontrunner in the category, it is harder to choose among the other contenders.

Best Supporting Actor

Continue reading 2017 Academy Awards Nomination Predictions – Best Supporting Actor →

2017 Golden Globes, Award Ceremonies, Movie News

2017 Golden Globes Predictions – Best Actor

December 12, 2016 Alex Brannan Leave a comment

The two best actor races at this year’s Golden Globes will be, in all likelihood, unsurprising. Both categories—in Drama and Musical/Comedy—are stacked with talent. But trends show that two clear front runners have emerged.