James' World 2

Amsterdam is a period comedy thriller written, directed, and produced by David O. Russell. It was released in the United States by 20th Century Studios. The story is based on the Business Plot, a 1933 political conspiracy in the US, and follows three friends—a doctor, a nurse, and a lawyer—who are caught in the mysterious murder of a retired US general. The trailers for Amsterdam gave a compelling synopsis into seeing this movie. For me, I think the message and the film are great.

In 1918, Burt Berendsen (Christian Bale) is sent by his estranged wife’s parents to fight in World War I. While stationed in France, Burt meets and befriends an African-American soldier named Harold Woodsman (John David Washington). After they sustain injuries in battle, Burt and Harold are nursed back to health by Valerie Voze (Margot Robbi), an eccentric nurse who makes art out of…

Bros is a romantic comedy directed by Nicholas Stoller from a screenplay he co-wrote with Billy Eichner, who is also an executive producer on the film. Stoller, Judd Apatow, and Joshua Church also produce the film. I thought Bros was going to be very funny but the best jokes were given away in the trailers. Most folks I spoke with thought Bros was going to be a satire. I’m not sure what it was, as I didn’t like most of this film and almost walked out of the theater after about 30 minutes of play. I decided to give it some time and it got a little better.

Bobby Leiber (Billy Eichner) is creating another episode of his New York podcast and radio show called The Eleventh Brick at Stonewall. He talks with callers about his written works on gay history and gay icons. He claims to be fine with being single and not…

Don’t Worry Darling is a psychological thriller directed by Olivia Wilde from a screenplay by Katie Silberman, based on a story by Carey Van Dyke, Shane Van Dyke, and Silberman. A young wife living in a 1950s company town begins to believe there is a sinister secret being kept from her by the man who runs it. I thought the film closely resembled The Stepford Wives, which was originally released in 1975 with Joanna Eberhart and Katherine Ross and then remade and released in 2004 with Nicole Kidman and Christopher Walken. I was anxious to see this new movie, which was decent but not great but I did find it resembled The Stepford Wives when referring to the ultimate goal.

Don’t Worry Darling opens with Alice (Florence Pugh) and Jack Chambers (Harry Styles) living in an idyllic neighborhood in the 1950’s American company town of Victory, California. Every day, the…

See How They Run is a mystery comedy directed by Tom George, written by Mark Chappell, and produced by Damian Jones and Gina Carter. The trailers for this film really made this who-done-it very appealing however it was the worse who-done-it I’ve seen.

There are a few laughs but basically, See How They Run is a dry and slow production in comparison to other types of this style of film.

In 1953 London, Agatha Christie’s play The Mousetrap celebrates its 100th performance, and the sleazy American director Leo Köpernick (Adrien Broady) attempts to convince the producer, John Woolf  (Reece Shearsmith) to allow him to direct the film adaptation. After Köpernick’s drunken behavior towards the female lead Sheila Sim (Pearl Chanda) leads to a fistfight with her husband and co-star Richard Attenborough (Harris Dickinson), Köpernick is killed backstage by an unseen assailant. Inspector Stoppard (Sam Rockwell) investigates the murder, shadowed by…

The Woman King is a historical epic film inspired by true events, featuring the all-female Agojie warriors who protected the West African kingdom of Dahomey during the 17th to 19th centuries.  The film is directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood and written by Dana Stevens, based on a story she wrote with Maria Bello.  When I saw the trailer, my opinion was tainted by the surrounding criticisms about the accents of the none African actors but after seeing The Woman King, all criticisms have evaporated.  This is the most significant film I’ve ever seen about the plight of African Americans from the onset. The Woman King is a brilliant work of art!

The Woman King is set in the 1820s. The Agojie’s General Nanisca (Viola Davis) trains a new generation of warriors to fight against an enemy who wants to destroy their way of life. Issues that involve slave trading, women’s…