BOMBSHELL (2019) – My rating: 8.5/10

Bombshell is a biographical drama directed by Jay Roach and written by Charles Randolph. The film tells the story of Roger Ailes’ sexual harassment affairs during his reign at Fox News and the cover-up that eventually forced him to step down.

A tenacious Roger Ailes (John Lithgow) is the head of Fox News, the primary televised source of conservative politics. He runs the corporation with an iron fist that includes fear and determination. Roger is seen as an icon and only answers to Rupert Murdoch (Malcolm McDowell), who is CEO of the Fox network. The stories of Megyn Kelly (Charlize Theron), Gretchen Carlson (Nicole Kidman), and Kayla Pospisil (Margot Robbie), who are three political anchorwomen employed at Fox are revealed in Bombshell.

Megyn Kelly is one of the most popular anchors/commentators at Fox and is preparing to co-moderate the 2016 Republican debate. On the day of the debate, Megyn becomes sick and throws up, but nevertheless questions Donald Trump on negative comments he made about women. In retaliation, Trump sends out several tweets hurting her reputation.  As a result, Megyn is further ridiculed by reporters and others. One reporter sneaks into Meg and Doug’s home in order to take pictures of their daughter causing her husband, Douglas Brunt (Mark Duplass) to kick him out by force. When Megyn returns to work, Fox hires a security detail to protect her but refuses to go after Trump. Roger, who is a fan of Megyn, becomes paranoid with protecting her and thinks that someone poisoned her the day of the debate.

Meanwhile, Gretchen Carlson is the co-anchor of the popular program “Fox and Friends”, but is taken off and demoted to a less popular show and position. Often Gretchen faces sexist comments by others, on and off the air. Gretchen decides to escalate her situation by hiring legal representation. The lawyers mention that Gretchen should not engage with these newfound enemies then tells her the story of Rudi Bakhtiar who was fired for coming out against her employer who she accused of sexual harassment. The lawyers explain their plan to file a harassment suit against Roger Ailes personally and inform Gretchen that she will need to have other women come out and tell their story.

Kayla Pospisil is the newest hire at Fox, a young conservative from a religious background. She starts off working for Gretchen but is soon offered a position to work for “The O’Reilly Factor”. Gretchen asks Kayla to stay with her and warns her to be careful, but she refuses and questions why she shouldn’t take the job. On her first day, Bill O’Reilly (Kevin Dorff) yells at her and she is consoled by a coworker, Jess Carr (Kate McKinnon). Jess becomes a good friend while Kayla’s situation becomes pretty ugly at Fox.

I thought Bombshell was well laid out, conveying to the audience how one of the biggest sex preditors was caught with his pecker in the mouth of babes.  I think the movie was well-acted and the make-up was phenomenal.  It seems Trump got away with a lot more than just the Iranian crisis.  I’m glad women are coming out and stopping these preditors.  The film received generally favorable reviews, with critics praising the performances of the cast, particularly (Theron, Kidman, Robbie and Lithgow) however they criticized the screenplay and inaccuracies in the storytelling. The film received two nominations at the 77th Golden Globe Awards for Theron and Robbie, four at the 26th Screen Actors Guild Awards for Theron, Robbie and Kidman, as well as Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture and three at the 73rd British Academy Film Awards. I really liked Bombshell, Check It Out!

 

THE BALLAD OF BUSTER SCRUGGS (2018) – My rating: 8/10

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is a western anthology written, directed, and produced by the Coen brothers.  When you hear Coen Brothers, you know you’re in for a wild ride.  The Ballad of Buster Scruggs lives up to the legend of these brothers, as it tells the tale of six short stories that appear to have no rhyme or reason. I liked some of the stories, some were just too pointless and crazy for me.

“The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” – Buster Scruggs (Tim Blake Nelson), is a cheerful singing cowboy who arrives at an isolated cantina full of outlaws where he exchanges insults with another patron before effortlessly shooting everyone as they reach for their guns. This first story is as bizarre as they come. The series of events will have you laughing and may leave you somewhat confused, however, I like this title the best.

“Near Algodones” – A young cowboy (James Franco) robs an isolated bank on the prairie. As he is fleeing, the jabbering bank teller (Stephen Root) shoots at him, forcing him to take cover behind a well. He returns fire, but the teller charges at him while wearing a washboard and several pots and pans as armor, which deflect all the cowboy’s bullets as the teller repeatedly cackles “Pan shot!” The teller knocks the cowboy out with his rifle butt, and when the cowboy regains consciousness, he is sitting upon his horse under a tree with his hands tied and a noose around his neck.  This story is particularly confusing, as it ends badly after a series of simultaneous events that will surely have you scratching your head.

“Meal Ticket” – An aging impresario (Liam Neeson) and his artist Harrison (Harry Melling), a young man with no arms or legs, travel from town to town in a wagon that converts into a small stage where Harrison theatrically recites classics such as Shelley’s poem “Ozymandias”; the biblical story of Cain and Abel; works by Shakespeare, in particular Sonnet 29; and Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.  The impresario collects money from the audience at the end of each performance, with profits dwindling as they visit increasingly remote mountain towns with smaller and more indifferent audiences. This story is one of the most bazaar to me, as I have no suggestion for the moral of the story nor do I understand the point.  This doesn’t mean someone else cannot figure it out or enjoy it, it just means I didn’t care for Meal Ticket.

“All Gold Canyon” – A grizzled prospector (Tom Waits) arrives in a pristine mountain valley and decides to dig for gold in a grassy meadow beside a river. Over the course of several days, he pans through shovelfuls of dirt to count the gold specks, and then begins digging a deeper hole once he has identified their likely source. After his first night camping at the site, he spots a great horned owl tending its treetop nest at the edge of the valley. When he climbs up and reaches the nest, the mother owl’s watchful gaze from a nearby tree causes him to replace three of the four eggs he has taken for his meal.  On his third day, he digs out gold nuggets of increasing size before finally reaching “Mr. Pocket”, a large gold vein running through the quartz he has uncovered.  This story was quite entertaining with a moral I think everyone could understand.

“The Gal Who Got Rattled” – Alice Longabaugh (Zoe Kazan) and her older brother Gilbert (Jefferson Mays), an inept businessman, are journeying in a wagon train across the prairie towards Oregon, where Gilbert claims a new business partner will marry his sister. Gilbert dies of cholera shortly after they embark, and the wagon train’s leaders, Mr. Billy Knapp (Bill Heck) and Mr. Arthur (Grainger Hines), help Alice bury her brother. Though she has no definite prospects in Oregon, Alice decides to continue the trip rather than return east. This story was sad, bizarre and while it has a point, I’m not sure the message served a purpose.

“The Mortal Remains” – At sunset, five people, an Englishman (Thigpen – Jonjo O’Neill), an Irishman (Clarence – Brendan Gleeson), a Frenchman (René – Saul Rubinek), a lady (Mrs. Betjeman – Tyne Daly), and a fur trapper (Chelcie Ross) ride to Fort Morgan, Colorado in a stagecoach. Thigpen says that he and Clarence often travel this route “ferrying cargo”, alluding to a corpse on the roof, but he does not specify the nature of their business. The Trapper rambles about his past relationship with a Native woman in which neither knew the other’s language, but communicating through understanding each other’s emotions led him to conclude that people are all alike in their basic needs, just like the animals he traps. This story had the most bizarre ending of all despite much valuable information being exchanged. Maybe that’s all we were suppose to get out of The Mortal Remains since I don’t think the final scenes attributed anything more to the story. It definitely left you wanting more.

Overall, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs may have been the most bizarre of all the Coen Brothers movies I’ve seen.  I’m not sure why the title is Buster Scruggs when only one story included that character but I’m sure someone can explain it.  I tried to find good in all the stories.  Some are funny, most are bizarre and some delivered a strong message.  I enjoyed The Ballad of Buster Scruggs anyway, which can be seen on Netflix.  Check It Out!

[The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is Oscar nominated for Best:  Adapted Screenplay, Original Song and Costume Design]

 

LIFE OF THE PARTY (2018) – My rating: 7.5/10

Life of the Party is a comedy directed by Ben Falcone and written by Falcone and Melissa McCarthy. It is the third film directed by Falcone and co-written by the pair, following Tammy (2014) and The Boss (2016). While I love Melissa McCarthy, I don’t think her last couple of movies were that great — hence, I was reluctant to see this one. However, not one to abandon a great talent like Melissa, I ventured out and invested my time and money to see Life of the Party. At the end of this review, I will tell you if I made a wise decision or not.

Life of the Party opens with Deanna Miles (Melissa McCarthy) going with her husband Dan (Matt Walsh) to drop off their daughter Maddie (Molly Gordon), to her senior year at Decatur University in Atlanta, GA. Before they get started for home, Dan tells Deanna he wants a divorce and has fallen in love with someone else. To make things worse, he is selling their house since everything is under his name, causing Deanna to have to move out. Deanna goes to her parents home, Mike (Stephen Root) and Sandy (Jacki Weaver). Their opinion; Dan was always a jerk for making Deanna drop out of her last year of college when she got pregnant, as well as making her put up with his overbearing ways, during their marriage.

While playing Racquetball with her best friend Christine (Maya Rudolph),  Deanna reflects on her life, then decides that she won’t just sit around and let her X ruin it.   Deanna announces to Maddie while on a surprise visit to her dorm, that she and Dan are divorcing.  Additionally, Deanna has decided to attend Decatur for a year in order to graduate, earning a degree in archaeology.  Maddie introduces Deanna to her friends – Amanda (Adria Arjona), neurotic Debbie (Jessie Ennis), and Helen (Gillian Jacobs), who was in a coma for eight years and is now getting a chance to go to college as well. Deanna later meets her roommate Leonor (Heidi Gardner), who is agoraphobic and chronically depressed.  One of Deanna’s classes is in archaeology and her professor is a former classmate from back in the day. As in most schools, there are bullies, in this case a “mean girl” Jennifer (Debby Ryan) and her friend Trina (Yani Simone) fits the bill. Deanna later goes to sign divorce papers, taking Christine with her when Dan shows up with his new fiancée, Marcie (Julie Bowen). They exchange a lot of insults through the mediator.
Maddie takes Deanna to hang out with her and her friends. After being mocked by Jennifer again, Maddie gives her mom a makeover so that she can look more party-ready. Deanna meets Maddie’s boyfriend, Tyler (Jimmy O. Yang) and another boy named Jack (Luke Benward). After many shots and beers, Deanna and Maddie wake up the next morning mortified to see each other leaving a frat house doing the “walk of shame”, which leads Maddie to realize Deanna slept with Jack who starts to constantly text Deanna since he has basically fallen in love with her.

From this point, Life of the Party takes on an adventurous turn with both Deana and Maddie discovering who they are in this space and time.  Interaction with the “mean girl” & company, new boyfriends and Dan’s wedding prove to be pretty funny.  Out of the last 2 movies, Melissa McCarthy has starred in, Life of the Party is a vast improvement.  The jokes were very funny but the story didn’t make a lot of sense.  I’m not sure how you can be married to someone long enough to have a senior college aged child and not be entitled to half of all assets.  While I’m not a lawyer, I do know they were not rich and did not have a prenuptial, so I’m not sure how Dan got away with owning the house all to himself.  As far as boyfriends go, Deanna and Jack made absolutely no sense.  The movie, however was still funny and relaxing, which is a blessing now-a-days!  I would however, wait for the DVD/Blu-Ray.  Life of the Party was not a total waste of time, as I was entertained.