Amanda Seyfried

Mank

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Mank
  • IMDb: link

Mank movie reviewMank tackles one of cinema’s most legendary controversies about who should get credit for the script of what many believe to be the greatest film ever made. By the name of the film, the friendly nickname given to writer Herman J. Mankiewicz (Gary Oldman), you can guess which side director David Fincher takes. Using the screenplay from his father Jack Fincher, Mank delivers a story from the perspective of the writer hired by Orson Welles (Tom Burke) to anonymously write the screenplay for a thinly-veiled take on William Randolph Hearst (Charles Dance) which would become Citizen Kane.

The script glosses over early discussions between Wells and Mankiewicz, and ignores the numerous rewrites Wells made to the script while depositing the narrative that Welles was seemingly only nominally aware that a script was even being written. Despite some beautiful cinematography from Erik Messerschmidt, punchy dialogue from the elder Fincher, and solid performances from all involved, Mank is a bit uneven. The first hour, largely focused on introducing Mank’s over-the-top personality, is nearly flawless, but as the second-half of the film attempts to get more dramatic things get maudlin and melodramatic.

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Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again
  • IMDb: link

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again movie reviewBoth sequel and prequel to 2008’s Mamma Mia!, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again returns most of the core cast for another romcom plot set to the music of ABBA. Since we saw her last, Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) has managed to breathe new life in the dream of her recently departed mother (Meryl Streep) and is working towards the grand opening of the hotel. The return of her mother’s best friends (Christine Baranski and Julie Walters) helps lessen the pressure of her estranged relationship to Sky (Dominic Cooper) and the absences of two of her three fathers on the eve of the big day.

There are some improvements here as co-writer and director Ol Parker limits the singing roles for some actors who struggled in the first film while allowing other actors to carry the bulk of the musical numbers. The flashback plot to Donna’s original trip to Greece allows the casting of younger versions of all the characters in actors who are a bit more comfortable belting out the songs when called upon. Lily James is the stand-out as the younger Donna as the other actors look to have been primarily cast first for their physical likeness, second for their singing ability, and (unfortuantely) last for their ability to act.

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Anon

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Anon
  • IMDb: link

Anon movie reviewThere’s an interesting idea inside of writer/director Andrew Niccol‘s (Gattaca, In Time) Anon but the film, released straight to Netflix without a theatrical release, flounders. A sci-fi whodunit, Anon takes place in the future where every person has a camera inside their eyes which records every waking moment of their life. When a crime happens, police are able to view the events from the victim’s perspective. However, a hacker has learned how to hack the cameras not only giving them access to an incredible amount of sensitive data but also allowing them to kill without leaving a trace.

Clive Owen stars as Police Detective Sal Frieland who searches for a hacker (Amanda Seyfried) who can alter a person’s recorded history for a price. Going undercover, Sal hopes to find the hacker and murderer who the department believes is the same person (although Sal’s bosses are far more interested in plugging the leak into how the hacker is breaking into the network than solving the murder). Part post-noir mystery and part attempted indictment on social media and sharing your life online, Anon fails on both counts.

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