Director: Nate Parker
Writers: Nate Parker
Stars: Nate Parker, Armie Hammer, Penelope Ann Miller, Aja Naomi King, Esther Scott, Jackie Earle Haley

Synopsis: A story set on the offshore drilling rig Deepwater Horizon, which exploded during April 2010 and created the worst oil spill in U.S. history.

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In 1999, Nate Parker and Jean McGianni Celestin were accused of raping a fellow college student who was intoxicated and unconscious at the time. Did the victim give her consent to engage in thus activities? Parker was taken to court and ultimately was found not guilty. Celestin was convicted of sexual assault and received a six-month to a one-year sentence in 2001. The conviction was overturned in 2005. The victim committed suicide in 2012. A tragic ending to an ongoing problem we have in this country; sexual assault and the damaging effects it has on the victims. Everyone is entitled to their opinion on the situation, but ultimately Parker was found not guilty in our justice system. Our justice system certainly is flawed, but nevertheless, he was found not guilty. Why bring all this up?

The Birth of a Nation, for the first time, opens the curtain into the life of Nat Turner and the slave rebellion that to this day is probably the most influential acts of resistance against slavery. Nate Parker pulled the trifecta for this film and we should not diminish the movie based on the supposed actions of the director. Social media has been very critical of Parker with many people boycotting the film, based on how he is handling the rape charge. Fox has stood by Parker in all this, and I (James Shaw) also stand by this movie. The Birth of a Nation may not be as impactful as 12 years a Slave, but this is an important film to see during these troubling times as race relations are at its all-time lowest. The Birth of a Nation is not 100% accurate; most historical films are not and those that disagree with Parker are quick to point this out and belittle his film. Accurate or not, every moviegoer is going to be moved by this movie.

Parker should not have starred in the film since he wrote and directed it, but I can see why he would want to star in it as well given the name recognition he would receive for himself. Parker does an excellent job of portraying the complexity of Turner’s life. Turner stands out for his intelligence as a slave, which in turn renders mercy of the white man. This leads to sermons from Turner, which are both horrifying and emotionally very stirring. As a black man in America, a few of those moments viscerally hit close to home. The same fear these characters were experiencing in 1831; I can relate to in 2016.

One interesting omission from this film was a rape scene that, apparently, would have made the film more powerful. Perhaps that omission came before the news of Parker’s allegations, but I think it was cut because of the fear of a potential backlash. The Birth of a Nation is Nat Turner’s story, not Nate Parker’s, so I think omitting this scene was wrong. I am not promoting rape but this type of stuff happened, and it’s supposed to make us uncomfortable, just like the beatings and murders were.

The Birth of a Nation is flawed, but it is a film that everyone needs to see. I hope that you can leave Parker’s personal life out of this film. This experience is about the legacy of Nat Turner and the importance of his rebellion.

Overall Grade: B

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Hear our podcast review on Episode 190:

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Director: Peter Berg
Writers: Matthew Michael Carnahan, Matthew Sand
Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Kurt Russell, Gina Rodriguez, John Malkovich

Synopsis: A story set on the offshore drilling rig Deepwater Horizon, which exploded during April 2010 and created the worst oil spill in U.S. history.

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Disaster films always guarantee a jolly fun viewing. Whether they are poorly made because of the acting or because the set up just isn’t believable, disaster films are still enjoyable despite these flaws. However, we do get some disaster films that do happen to dazzle due to interesting film making styles and decent acting. And this summer’s Deepwater Horizon utilizes this plethora of tools to make for a thoroughly enjoyable disaster movie.

Mike Williams (Mark Wahlberg) is a lead technician on the oil rig Deepwater Horizon. A company that is in charge of oil rigs known simply as BP, arrives on the oil rig to run through some rudimentary tests on the rig. But, the company decides not to run any tests due to budgeting issues, the man in charge Jimmy Harrell (Kurt Russell) is hesitant to drill without any of the tests having being ran. After a bit of persuading from the heads of the company, the rig team decides to run some simple tests and then begin drilling. The tests pass and the crew begins drilling. During drilling pressure inside of the drill begins to build and build until an insanely terrifying explosion that emits the Deepwater Horizon in flames.

The film’s visual style and visual abrasiveness is incredibly enjoyable. When we as an audience watch a disaster film, the one thing we truly hope for is that the visual effects are not poorly done. Deepwater Horizon utilizes our technological advancements from the most recent years to explode, combust, and even dazzle the audience through it’s intensity. That being said the film is intense, insanely intense. We do begin slow, and the slowness burns through the first half an hour of the movie, but once the initial explosion of oil onto the rig occurs, it is not stop action and intensity right up until about the last ten minutes. The intensity however does not distract from the overall enjoyment of the movie.

Another highlight is the acting. Personally, anytime Kurt Russell is on screen I get thoroughly excited. He manages to bring so much excitement and charisma to the screen, especially in his older appearances like The Thing and Escape from New York. Russell has managed to keep this charisma frequent and applicable throughout his older years. The movie does not exactly bring any high caliber acting, nothing on a best actor level work. However, the acting does help bring the realism to the scenario of the film, it manages to add a whole other element of enjoyment and a sense of “being there” as I like to put it.

One thing we have started to look for more in films is how well special effects are put together. Whether it be practical effect extravaganza like in George Miller’s Mad Max, or insane over the top computer generated effects like in the Marvel movies, we as audiences have become more aware of this and begin to judge them like we do at the other aspects in film. And the special effects in Deepwater Horizon manage to pass for quite the excelling job. The film appears as if it mixes both practical effects and CGI. The actors also do an excellent job at selling their reaction on the ferocity of the explosions. Recently, we’ve been seeing a lot of poorly done CGI with a copious number of low budget films trying to increase their production value with CGI, but Deepwater Horizon masters their use of CGI to create an even larger impact.

Deepwater Horizon is a fun, thrill ride of a disaster film. With the action and thrills soaring the movie to new heights, carried miraculously by the well done performances and solid screenplay, Peter Berg and Mark Wahlberg deliver another box office hit once again.

Overall Grade: B-

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Hear our podcast review on Episode 189:

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Director: John Krasinski
Writers: James C. Strouse (as Jim Strouse)
Stars: Sharlto Copley, Charlie Day, Richard Jenkins, John Krasinski, Anna Kendrick, Margo Martindale

Synopsis: A man returns to his small hometown after learning that his mother has fallen ill and is about to undergo surgery.

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Ever since 2005, John Krasinski has filled our hearts with joy. Seeing him play Jim Halpert on The Office just made the world fall head over heels in love with the american actor. But, like most up and coming actors, Krasinski wants to achieve a bit more with his career, broadening his horizons and expanding his knowledge on film. Krasinski begins this process with his first feature film The Hollars.

The Hollars stars Krasinski in the lead role, and he shares the screen with several other all star actors and actresses. The Hollars revolves around John Hollar (John Krasinski) who returns to his hometown to visit his mother Sally Hollar (Margo Martingale) after it is discovered that she has a brain tumor the size of a softball. John returns home to take a glorified walk down memory lane with his ex-lovers, brother, father, and even some new enemies that emerge.

The Hollars is a wonderful statement on the life of suburban families. Despite that the meaning of the film is incredibly joyous, the film has several flaws. First of all, the screenplay is horrendous. A good majority of the lines that characters say are pure exposition. They speak their thoughts with no hesitation at all proving that bad screenwriting can ruin an otherwise perfect film. The Hollars has a lot of potential, and several things about the film create exquisite emotion with the audience. Just, the characters speak in one of the most fake ways I’ve seen in a film.

Another poor aspect to the film is the characters. Krasinski and his screenwriter Jim Strouse do an excellent job at making sure each character has an arch. Every character learns something, and has discovered a new aspect of themselves by the end of the film, which is
satisfying, but we as an audience have no reason to care about the characters’ growth. The characters do grow and morph into people with new perspectives on life but that means nothing if I can’t care or love the character. Events just sort of occur in The Hollars, without giving us any connotation as to why we should care about these characters. So when poor things happen to the characters, no emotion is shared with the audience. It’s all just pointless interactions with pointless results.

However, the film does manage to give quite the underlying message that does stick with you quite well. Even though the events that occur carry no substance, the events do bring a perspective about life to light. The message being “things happen, death, heartbreak, realization that you won’t be with someone again, you are going to let people down, and you are not always going to get what you want, but that’s okay.” And this is a magnificent way to bring an element of lightheartedness to the smorgishboard of depression that is splattered throughout the film. The Hollars does not deliver in a lot of areas, but as far delivering a message and making the audience understand something about human life, it does achieve this immaculately.

As far as directing for Krasinski, this is not something to be ashamed of. Krasinski clearly has a vision as a director, and knows what he is doing behind the camera. He manages to create emotion and get emotion in the performance of his actors, which is the most stressful part of directing, and he nails it. This is not a bad debut, Krasinski fires on all cylinders as a director, and I would be more than willing to be that the reason that this film lacks in many other ares is because of the screenplay.

The Hollars is an insanely average film. A film that tries to be serious at times, but cannot help but be comedic, while also managing to deliver a powerful stroke of emotion through it’s subtext. The Hollars cannot decide what it wants to be, so the film leaves it up to the audience for how they perceive what they just watched. And for me, the screenplay is horrendous, the acting is top notch with an all star cast, and Krasinski need to get another shot at directing more films because he clearly has a vision that needs to be seen and recognized.

Overall Grade: C

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Director: Tim Burton
Writers: Ransom Riggs (based upon the novel written by), Jane Goldman (screenplay)
Stars: Eva Green, Asa Butterfield, Samuel L. Jackson, Ella Purnell

Synopsis: When Jacob discovers clues to a mystery that stretches across time, he finds Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. But the danger deepens after he gets to know the residents and learns about their special powers.

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Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children is the latest young adult book to transition to the big screen. There have been many lucrative franchises and films that never should have been greenlit, if you ask me. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, however, is a visionary spectacle in all phases. Tim Burton is the only person that can bring author Ranson Riggs narrative to the big screen. I went into this movie with no knowledge of the source material, but I think regardless of whether you’re a fan of the book or Burton himself, there is much to appreciate here. It’s perhaps an open question regarding potential sequels to this film, but on it’s own, Miss Peregrine does deliver some warmth.

Jacob “Jake” Portman (Asa Butterfield) is misunderstood by his parents but is very close to his grandfather Abraham (Terence Stamp). Grandpa tells countless stories about the time he lived in a house with “the special children” before joining the British army. After tragedy strikes, Jacob travels to Wales, the location of Grandpa’s old school, with his father Franklin (Chris O’Dowd ) to see if Grandpa’s stories and photos are real or just hocus pocus. The pair finds the house as nothing more than a shell of its former self, as it was hit by German bombs on Sept. 3, 1943. Searching his own, Jacob enters a portal that lands him back to Sept. 3, 1943, and he soon discovers Tim Burton’s marvelous set pieces. The school beautifully sits isolated by itself in a sea of trees and a myriad of plants and trees. Every inch on the school is a thing of beauty but nothing as beautiful as Miss Peregrine (Eva Green) herself. Miss Peregrine is dressed in all black and easily stands out among the crowd. Miss Peregrine can on occasion transform into a Peregrine falcon, and when she does it’s like watching the Mona Lisa being painted.

Jacob learns about the “recessive” gene of peculiarity and is introduced to the other children. Emma (Ella Purnell) is Jake’s low-key love interest who lightness requires her to metal boots so she doesn’t get whisked away. Other peculiars include a pyrokinetic teenager, an invisible boy and a teenager who can resurrect those dead for a limited time.

For the first hour, this movie is well on its way to being one of the Tim Burton’s best works due to its strong and vivid narrative. The film started to lose its steam though when we learn about the wights (undead human creatures that hunt and kill peculiars). The wights are lead by Mr. Barron (Samuel L. Jackson) and I just didn’t feel like they posed a real threat. Maybe the film didn’t flush out their characters enough for the film, but either way, they didn’t quite work here.

If Burton would have focused more on the relationship between Jake and Emma, instead on opting for an extravagant special effect ending, this really could have been something special. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children is no Harry Potter but it has intrigued me enough to see a sequel if it does get greenlit. I would like to see how the relationship between Jake and Emma progresses and would also like to see more of Miss Peregrine.

Overall Grade: B

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