Movies
Fun and silly action film that doesn't take itself serious at all. Sadly Mangold's direction is a little iffy. If the action scenes could've had a bit more impact I'm sure this would've been a much better film. Cruise and Diaz have a lot of fun together, there are some mad ideas here, but the execution is just a little safe and expected.
Pretty standard post-Scream horror/thriller flick. The plot twists are hardly noteworthy and the familiar but decidedly second line cast does little to elevate the film. It's quite amusing and there are a handful of promising moments, but overall the film didn't age that well and it had a tough time keeping me engaged throughout.
For people hoping to see a film about the feud between Ford and Ferrari, know that Ford v Ferrari is 99% about Ford. In some countries it was rebranded as Le Mans '66, which is a much more appropriate title, though what you're really getting is simple, unfiltered and uncompromising USA propaganda. Ford v Ferrari is the poster child of Hollywood cheese. One-dimensional characters, the little guy fighting the big corporations and US technology beating out the rest of the world. There's pointless drama, some artificial tension here and there and a few races that need to cover the action portion of the film. Bale is the only one who tries to make something of his character, the rest of the cast is bland. So is the cinematography and the soundtrack, so unless you're a major race fan (or you really dig standard Hollywood drama), there's very little here. The film seems to be pretty popular though, so Mangold must be doing something right, only I couldn't find it at all.Read all
An oldskool blockbuster in just about every way. From the classic chases to the Nazi enemies, from an age-old Ford to the relic-hunting adventure, everything about this film oozes 80s blockbuster cinema. Basically, it was made four decades too late, and it was quite a slog to sit through. Jones is old and teaches at a university. When his goddaughter pays him a visit, his quiet life is about to take a turn for the worse. Helena has found clues to the whereabouts of the Antikythera, a mechanism that can predict time warps. She convinces Jones to join her on her quest. It's Mangold directing the film, but Spielberg is never far off. That means it's all very PG-13 and old-fashioned, including the classic theme song (that pops up whenever Jones is about to get serious), the silly villains, and the soft action. The budget was there, but the creative ideas weren't. I hope this is the last we'll see of this franchise.Read all
