Lily Collins

Mank

  • 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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Mirror Mirror

  • Title: Mirror Mirror
  • IMDB: link

mirror-mirror-blu-rayDirected by Tarsem Singh (The Cell, The Fall) Mirror Mirror was the first of two movies this year adapting the fairy tale of Snow White for the big screen. Mirror Mirror, much like Snow White and the Huntsman, is a bit of a mixed bag. The film definitely targets a younger audience with its PG Rating, but Lily Collins‘ Snow White is a pretty drab leading lady (at least until she starts her bandit career), and, despite what we’re told in the film’s opening narration, this is certainly Snow White’s tale and not that of the Queen (Julia Roberts).

After a brief opening narration, the film opens on Snow White’s 18th birthday where she ventures out into the village for the first time since the death of her father, the King (Sean Bean), years before. On her journey she will learn just how ruthless the Queen has become, meet a charming young prince (Armie Hammer) and a motley crew of dwarf thieves pretending to be giants, and find a way to live happily ever after.

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Priest

  • Title: Priest
  • IMDB: link

priest-blurayIn the dystopian future ruled by the Church most of the world is a wasteland after centuries of battle between humans and vampires. The film opens with the last of these battles as the Church’s best warriors, known simply as Priests, set out to destroy the last hive of vampires. They are victorious, but only at the cost of losing one of their own (Karl Urban).

The film skips an undetermined amount of time into the future when the Priests have been disbanded and all vampires are believed dead. An attack on his brother’s home on the edge of the wasteland sends one Priest (Paul Bettany), against the Church’s orders on a hunt to rescue his niece (Lily Collins).

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