THE INVISIBLE MAN (2020) – My rating 9/10

The Invisible Man is a science fiction horror film written and directed by Leigh Whannell. A contemporary adaptation and reimagining of the novel of the same name by H. G. Wells and a reboot of The Invisible Man film series of the 1930s-1950s, it follows a woman who deduces that her abusive and wealthy boyfriend has acquired the ability to become invisible and is stalking her. Critics praised the film and the star’s performance, its inventive modernization of the novel’s plot, and the combination of scares with “a smart narrative about how women can be manipulated and abused in harmful relationships.”

Cecilia “Cee” Kass (Elisabeth Moss) is trapped in a violent, controlling relationship with wealthy optics scientist, Adrian Griffin (Oliver Jackson-Cohen). It’s 3:41am, Cecilia quietly raises from her bed, leaving Adrian who is drugged with Diazepam. She sneaks through the house, grabs her already packed bags before finally making a clean escape.  Cecilia meets her sister, Emily Kass (Harriet Dyer) who has come to rescue her.  Adrian suddenly appears just as Emily tries to drive away and unsuccessfully makes an effort to stop her. Cecilia hides out with her childhood friend, James Lanier (Aldis Hodge), a police detective, and his teenage daughter Sydney Lanier (Storm Reid). Two weeks later, Cecilia and Emily are told by Adrian’s brother, Tom Griffin (Michael Dorman) that Adrian committed suicide and left Cecilia $5 million in his will.

Cecilia is suspicious of the entire suicide but tries to move forward. Mysterious events start to take place, mostly in James’ house, causing Cecilia to become stressed and produce irrational behavior.  There’s an unexplained fire, missing papers for her job interview, and high levels of Diazepam in her system.  Convinced she is right about Adrian not being dead, Cecilia proceeds to prove she is not hallucinating nor crazy.  She arranges a meeting with Tom and insists that Adrian, as a leader in optic science, has found a way to become invisible and fake his death in order to torment her.

The Invisible Man is one of the most brilliant remakes I’ve seen.  There is drama, suspense, horror, science fiction, fantasy and it can definitely be considered a thriller.  Elisabeth Moss is a phenomenal actress and plays every scene to a Tee. If you look closely and are old enough to remember, you’ll see many references to the original Invisible Man, especially the way it ends.  I highly recommend The Invisible Man to all.  As of March 4, 2020, The Invisible Man grossed $55.9 million, worldwide. Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported that 91% of 293 reviews of the film were positive, with an average rating of 7.66/10. The website’s critics consensus reads: “Smart, well-acted, and above all scary, The Invisible Man proves that sometimes, the classic source material for a fresh reboot can be hiding in plain sight.”  Check It Out!

 

GOING IN STYLE (2017) – My rating: 7/10

Going in Style is a 1979 remake of a totally unrealistic answer to a realistic problem in today’s society. Too bad we couldn’t all be clever enough to pull off a guilt free bank heist, (just kidding). Going in Style is also a delightful,  humorous story of three senior citizens who are lifelong best buddies who are getting the shaft every where they turn. Living off their less than modest pensions, in situations that afford them little to no extras in life, they are now faced with the company they worked for all their lives being bought out, causing their pensions to become a thing of the past.  Ironically, an unusual incident at the very bank that’s threatening to take what little they have, becomes the very solution to a peaceful, happy existence for these 3 old geysers and their families.

Joe Harding (Michael Caine) has a small house in which his divorced daughter, Rachael Harding (Maria Dizzia) and his granddaughter, Brooklyn, (Joey King) are living in with him.  Joe has been receiving pink foreclosure notices from the bank and will have 30 days from the forthcoming red foreclosure notice that will render them homeless. Despite Joe’s x son-in law’s, Murphy (Peter Serafinowicz), estrangement from his family, Joe attempts to get Murphy involved in his daughter’s life.  Willie (Morgan Freeman) and Albert (Alan Arkin) live together, directly across the street from Joe. All three belong to the usual community clubs for the elderly and do the usual senior citizen activities like food shopping, frequenting the park, eating at the senior citizen shelter and for Willie, Skyping with his daughter, Cary Sachs (Melanie Nicholls-King) and granddaughter, Kanika (Ashley Aufderheide) who he seldom gets to see because of the long distance between them and his financial situation. Willie also learns that he is in need of a Kidney and should confide in friends or family members to get one asap or prepare for his funeral. In the meanwhile, Albert is having a much easier time at life being pursued by Annie, (Ann-Margret) a beautiful senior worker at the super market where he shops.

As Joe tries to deal with his foreclosure notice at the bank, he becomes a victim and a witness to a robbery in progress, carried out by three individuals wearing black masks. When, the robbers manage to escape with over 1.5 million dollars, Joe decides this might be a way out for the three seniors.  Of course the bank was no help to Joe regarding his foreclosure notice and any chance of getting their pensions reinstated was never going to happen, as they later learned the bank intended to steal their retirement.  Did I mention this plot was unrealistic but still fun to watch.  Here are some other actors and actresses that are definitely an excellent reason to see Going in Style:  Matt Dillon as Special Agent Hamer, an FBI agent who investigates bank robberies,  Christopher Lloyd as Milton, the guys’ lodge buddy, Annabelle Chow as Lucy, the child witness, Kenan Thompson as Keith, a grocery store manager, Siobhan Fallon Hogan as Mitzi and John Ortiz as Jesus, a man of unspecified credentials who agrees to show the guys the ropes.  Well done — no need to pick this one apart — just enjoy it for what it is, entertaining and funny!

ANNIE (2014) – My rating: 9.5/10

I expected a good remake of Annie and I got one.  Jamie Foxx delivered a fantastic performance of Oliver “Daddy” Warbucks, renamed Will Stacks.  The real draw was Quvenzhané Wallis  who is absolutely adorable.  She plays Annie Bennett and is currently the youngest nominated Oscar candidate in the history of the Academy of Arts and Science.  She was nominated 2 years ago for “Beast of the Southern Wild”.  She was mesmerizing then and mesmerizing now.  She is talented and charismatic.  In Annie, Quvenzhané  sang and danced her way through scene after scene in search of her real parents, a slight twist from the original Annie.  Cameron Diaz also delivered a brilliant performance as the always drunken Miss Colleen Hannigan who is the foster parent responsible for a house filled with orphan children.  Foxx is a billionaire who is running for mayor of New York City.  Bobby Cannavale plays Guy, Stacks campaign adviser and Rose Byrne plays Grace, Stack’s love interest and personal assistant.  Original favorites like “It’s a Hard Knock Life” were performed to a tee.  I don’t think Quvenzhané Wallis is the best singer in the pack but I do believe she is the total package and will charm her way right into your hearts.  Nice job!

SEX TAPE (2014) – My rating: 7.5/10

A nice, funny summer comedy.  I expected Sex Tape to be stupid and unfunny. Despite my feelings, I laughed by tutus off.    Jason Segel and Cameron Diaz were hilariousness as a husband and wife team (Jay and Annie Hargrove) who had an extremely active sex life before, during and after marriage.  However, two kids later, their sex life was practically none existent.  So, to spice up their sex life again, they decided to make a personal sex tape that was accidentally sent to everyone who had an Ipad that was gifted to them by Annie or Jay.  The fun begins when they try to retrieve the Ipads that houses the sex video.  Cameron Diaz has a fantastic body for her age — she really stays in shape.  For an “R” rated movie, they showed as much as they could without having to be rated X.  Jason Segel also has a  fantastic physique for those who like male eye candy.  The movie really picks up when Anne’s potential boss (Rob Lowe) enters the picture.  Other couples like Robby (Rob Corddry) and Tess (Ellie Kemper) also helped to round out a great cast.  As funny as it is, wait for the DVD.