Darkest Hour (2017) - 9 stars out of 10

Darkest Hour (2017) - 9 stars out of 10

“Darkest Hour” was not one of my more anticipated films for this awards season but it completely blew me away.  Although I have never been a history buff, this film helped to bring the complex political climate of WWII to life.  It makes an amazing companion piece to Christopher Nolan's "Dunkirk" and the timing of their releases work in a perfectly complimentary way.  While Nolan’s film portrays the battlefield action of the Dunkirk situation, “Darkest Hour” captures the behind-the-scenes political actions that determined the fate of the soldiers.  The script makes these dry textbook events riveting through a long series of passionate speeches by Winston Churchill.  The film was clearly written for Gary Oldman to receive an Oscar nomination and I have no doubt that it will work.  In fact, he will win with this breathtaking performance.  Each jaw-dropping speech is better than the last until the film reaches Churchill's history-changing speech to Parliament.  With each speech also comes Oldman’s perfection of his character’s vocal tone, mannerisms, and occasional mumbling.  The realism is further enhanced by a talented crew that spent over 200 hours applying makeup to literally transform him into Churchill.  This film is 90% Gary Oldman but he receives strong support from Lily James.  She provides the eyes through which we experience the story and uses this role to prove that her acting chops extend beyond Disney fairytales.  Her performance in "Cinderella" was thoughtful and vivid but it was important for her to show her diversity as an actress with a role that takes on a completely different tone.  Some of my characters came out of the fictional scene on the London Underground where Churchill gets to hear the opinions of his people.  This scene is pure magic.  The wonderful performances are tied together by a simple, beautiful soundtrack by Dario Marianelli that sets the mood for each scene with serenity and impending doom.  Even though we see Churchill succeed, the film successfully maintains an overarching tone of the world events at play.  “Darkest Hour” may seem dry at first glance but you will quickly latch on to the film’s hero through the unforgettable, impassioned monologues by Gary Oldman.

[Pictured: This film is all about Gary Oldman, his impassioned monologues, and his literal transformation into Winston Churchill]

Lucky Number Slevin - 8 stars out of 10

Lucky Number Slevin - 8 stars out of 10

“Lucky Number Slevin” is an underrated crime drama with a mind-blowing twist that makes this a must-see!  In this story, Josh Hartnett is a victim of mistaken identity who is forced to repay debts to two rival crime lords when he can’t produce identification to defend himself.  The plot may sound a bit thin but it will all make sense in the end.  The crime lords are played by Morgan Freeman and Ben Kingsley, which is another great reason to watch this film.  Hartnett and Lucy Lui are okay in their love story but I’m more drawn to Bruce Willis’ mysterious character and Stanley Tucci’s performance as a hard-nosed detective.  The film has all of the grit that you’d expect from an R-rated crime movie so be prepared for a lot of blood and profanity.  The violence doesn’t go beyond what is appropriate for the genre, especially because the film’s oft-lighthearted tone keeps us from dwelling on what we’ve just seen.  Unlike the violence, the excessive f-words and sexual content are not always necessary to the story and make it too edgy for my taste.  “Lucky Number Slevin” is a unique film with one of the best twists that you will ever see, as long as you can stomach its extreme content.

P.S. Don’t worry if you feel like you don’t understand why the main character is named “Slevin,” it’ll make sense in the end!

[Pictured: “Lucky Number Slevin” has so much star power that its level of entertainment is inevitable]

Trading Places - 3 stars out of 10

Trading Places - 3 stars out of 10

“Trading Places” is a classic 1980’s comedy, though not one of my favorites.  Its clever financial storyline, hilarious bad guy tandem, and topical commentary on race/socioeconomic status is spoiled by shock-value profanity and a long party sequence that contains unnecessary nudity.  This film could have helped to better our society by reaching audience members of all ages with its themes but traded this opportunity for an R-rating.  Definitely not worth it.  I wouldn’t share this film with anybody solely because I’m not comfortable with the content.  The story is interesting with its modern take on The Prince and the Pauper.  The reason that Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd trade places is a little silly, but the resulting situations fit well with each of their comedic styles.  My favorite part of the film is Ralph Bellamy and Don Ameche as the Duke Brothers.  They play perfectly off of each other and provide more humor than the comedians.  Denholm Elliot is also excellent as the butler.  I didn’t feel that Murphy and Aykroyd were actually that funny until the train car scene, which was hilarious in spite of Aykroyd’s blackface character (!?!?!?).  Maybe the issue is that “Trading Places” hasn’t aged well, but it is more likely that I would’ve had just as much distaste for this one in 1983 as I have for Seth Rogen’s crass moves these days.  This was one of the highest grossing films of the year but give me Kevin Kline in “The Pirates of Penzance” any day.

[Pictured: The train car scene is the only one that managed to make me laugh out loud]