THE GENTLEMEN (2019) – My rating: 9/10

The Gentlemen is an action comedy film written and directed by Guy Ritchie, from a story by Ivan Atkinson, Marn Davies, and Ritchie. It follows an American marijuana kingpin in England who is looking to sell his business, setting off a chain of blackmail and schemes to undermine him. Having little knowledge about The Gentlemen, I was pleasantly surprised.

When Mickey Pearson (Matthew McConaughey), an infamous cannabis baron, who is a grower and dealer of marijuana decides he has had enough of the illegal drug profession, the word goes out that he wants to sell his lucrative business.  Several interested buyers compete for the sale. A private investigator Fletcher (Hugh Grant) is hired by Big Dave (Eddie Marsan) to investigate Pearson’s links to Lord Pressfield (Samuel West), a minor Royal with a heroin-addicted daughter. Fletcher offers to sell his findings (typed up as a screenplay entitled Bush) to Pearson’s right-hand man Raymond (Charlie Hunnam) for £20 million. Born in poverty in the US, Pearson won a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University, where he began selling marijuana to privileged fellow students before dropping out and building up his criminal enterprise by violence. Big Dave has decided to sell his business to American billionaire Matthew Berger (Jeremy Strong) for $400 million so he can retire peacefully with his wife Rosalind (Michelle Dockery).  Pearson is later approached by Dry Eye (Henry Golding), an underboss for Chinese gangster Lord George (Tom Wu) who offers to buy out Pearson’s business, but he refuses. When one of Mickey’s labs is raided by some unprofessional young adults, it is discovered that the crew belongs to Coach (Colin Farrell) who is very apologetic.  Good luck with trying to figure this one out, there’s much more to come.

As you can see, there are several players in The Gentlemen.  As Flecher spins his script to Raymond, you can see how complicated each player’s maneuvers make this an intriguing film.  I thought The Gentlemen was cleverly written and reminded me of several movies that were based on a similar premise, e.g. Knives Out, Parasite, and Uncut Gems.  This movie is fast-moving and will require your full attention in order to keep up. You will have to see The Gentlemen in its entirety as you won’t be able to solve this one on your own.   I was thoroughly entertained and highly recommend The Gentlemen as a refreshing and different tale of “who’s in charge”. As of February 9, 2020, The Gentlemen has grossed $26.9 million in the United States and Canada, and $33.5 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $60.4 million. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 73% based on 211 reviews, with an average rating of 6.35/10. Check It Out!

 

LAST CHRISTMAS (2019) – My rating: 7.5/10

Last Christmas is a romantic comedy directed by Paul Feig and written by Bryony Kimmings and Emma Thompson, who co-wrote the story with her husband, Greg Wise. Based on the song of the same name.  Because Last Christmas had so much hype as a must-see movie, one felt if they didn’t go to see it, they’d be missing a potential future classic. Not having any idea what to expect, I went to see Last Christmas and found the movie to be fun, romantic and a little sad.

During the Christmas season, a young lady who lives in London named Katarina “Kate” (Emilia Clarke), has been given a second chance at life, but abuses everyone she used to cherish. With the help of Tom Webster (Henry Golding), a mysterious gentleman who rides a bicycle and volunteers at a homeless shelter, she begins to slowly improve her attitude and heal her body. Working a dead-end job as an elf selling Christmas ornaments all year round, Kate goes out on singing auditions but is never hired. Her boss, who is referred to as “Santa” (Michelle Yeoh), bends over backward to keep Kate in her employment. On a more friendly side, Kate sets up Santa with a Danish man (Peter Mygind) who she befriends in front of the shop.  Kate is currently homeless after being thrown out by her flatmate. By choice, she remains homeless until she has no choice but to live back home at her mother Petra (Emma Thompson) and father’s Ivan (Boris Isakovic) house. The environment there is not the greatest, as her mother is a Yugoslavian immigrant who is suffering from depression and a father who was a successful lawyer back in Yugoslavia but is now driving an Uber cab because of money issues and is never home. Kate has a sister Marta (Lydia Leonard) who is a successful lawyer practicing in the UK.  Marta lives with her girlfriend Joyce (Patti LuPone) who is ignored by the family, as her mother doesn’t accept their relationship.

I thoroughly enjoyed Last Christmas, which was a far cry from the Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones: Mother of Dragons) I was used to.  Emilia is a brilliant actress, however, Last Christmas received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the performances and chemistry of Clarke and Golding but criticized the screenplay, clichés, and plot twist, and has grossed $67 million worldwide. I recommend this film to everyone.  Check It Out!

 

CRAZY RICH ASIANS (2018) – My rating: 8.8/10

Crazy Rich Asians is a romantic comedy/drama directed by Jon M. Chu from a screenplay by Peter Chiarelli and Adele Lim and is based on the 2013 novel of the same name by Kevin Kwan. It is the first film by a major Hollywood studio to feature an all-Asian cast since “The Joy Luck Club” in 1993.  I’ve seen Joy Luck Club and thought Crazy Rich Asians couldn’t possibly live up to the Brilliance of Joy Luck Club — well, I’m known to make a mistake or 2.  Crazy Rich Asians was fabulous!

After dating for over a year, Rachel Chu (Constance Wu), an economics professor at New York University (NYU), is invited to Singapore by her boyfriend Nick Young (Henry Golding), a history professor, also at NYU.  Nick is the best man at the wedding of Araminta (Sonoya Mizuno) and Colin (Chris Pang). Also, the trip will be the perfect opportunity for Nick to introduce Rachel to his family. Having said yes to Nick’s invitation, the couple arrive at JFK airport when a gossip personality (Stephanie Auyeung) takes a picture of them and launches it to all Nick’s family and friends,  exposing their relationship online where it eventually reaches Nick’s mother, Eleanor (Michelle Yeoh).  Just before boarding the plane, Rachel is shocked to learn that Nick has upgraded their tickets to first class. When she asks him how they could afford the upgrade, he casually tries to brush it off, but eventually reveals that he is part of a family of wealthy real estate developers.

In Singapore, rather than going to an intimate family dinner, Rachel is brought to a large party where everyone is already aware of her. She makes several awkward faux pas, including mistaking Nick’s nanny for his grandmother, Lisa Lu (Shang Su Yi) and spilling wine on Nick. She also briefly meets Nick’s mother, Eleanor, and quickly realizes that Eleanor dislikes her. Fortunately, Rachel makes a good impression on Nick’s grandmother who invites her back to the family home to make dumplings.

An ensemble cast portrayed so many interesting people in Crazy Rich Asians.  The Young family has every walk of life included in their lineage, from the most Flamboyant to a renown fashion aficionado.  The crazy in Crazy Rich Asians has to pertain to how rich they are, “crazy rich” as outlined by Rachel’s college best friend, Goh Peik Lin (Awkwafina) who also lives in Singapore with her rather crazy, wealthy family headed up by her father, Goh Wye Mung (Ken Jeong).  There is so much more to come in this movie, I couldn’t possibly write it all.  From the bachelorette party to the most beautiful wedding dress I’ve seen in some time to bullying and non-acceptance to true love and a tour of Singapore’s richest and best communities.  Some of the celebrations were so breath takingly elaborate, I was immediately ready to take a plane to this paradise city.  I figured the budget for this movie must have been in 7 figures but found it was only $30M.  Despite all the shenanigans and bad blood, the plot was pretty typical — the haves vs the have nots.  I was transported into another world while watching Crazy Rich Asians.  The ending was so good, the audience applauded.  I loved it — it received 97% rotten tomatoes, for those who don’t know, that’s a good thing.  Check it Out!