Willie's View Movie Reviews

THE IMITATION GAME, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley is the story of a brilliant mathematician who is hired by the British Government to crack an Enigma Code. The Enigma Code was a jumbled code used by the Germans in World War II to communicate vital information in their efforts to win the World War.   Talking about the plot of the movie beyond this gets very complicated for me because it involves heading into spoiler territory, something I do my very best to avoid when writing reviews. Instead, I will write about what I liked and disliked about THE IMITATION GAME without going into any spoilers.   Benedict Cumberbatch is brilliant as Alan Turing, the real life mathematician who can be quite a handful to work with. At first, I thought Cumberbatch was playing another Sherlock Holmes type character (he plays Sherlock Holmes in the British TV Series Sherlock, for those who didn't know), a know-it-all with smart mouthed comments. But the further you get into ...

AMERICAN SNIPER, directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Bradley Cooper is based on the life of Chris Kyle and the book of the same name.   Much has been written and said about Chris Kyle, especially since the release of the film this past December. Please keep in mind as you read this, that this is my opinion of the film itself and not of the man, Chris Kyle. I have not served in the US military, nor do I claim to have any insight into the depiction of military life. I have, however, seen a tons of movies and can critique a film. So, please keep that in mind. Most people I have talked to have a strong opinion about Chris Kyle in one way or the other.   Clint Eastwood is in my opinion, a master film maker and has an established body of work to prove that. I'm talking about Eastwood the director, not the actor. AMERICAN SNIPER is a superb addition to that body of work. From the start, we are thrown into the tense action as Kyle as to make a life or death decision of whethe...

After viewing BIRDMAN, the Oscar nominated film starring Michael Keaton, Edward Norton and Emma Stone, I am left speechless. This is a film unlike anything that I've seen before. It runs the gambit of emotions. At one point the movie is one of the worst films I've ever seen. Just when I'm about to give up, it gets interesting, then strange,then engrossing,weird,inspiring and shocking. Never have I seen a film that contains just about every thought that I've had about other movies I've seen in the past.   BIRDMAN is not a film for everyone. It is a film that cannot be described. It has to be seen to believe and then afterwards, I'm not quite sure what I've seen. IT's one of those films that people will love or hate with a passion. Out of 4 stars, I give BIRDMAN ****.

JOHN WICK is Keanu Reeves alleged return to form as far as action movies are concerned. Some are calling this his best movie since THE MATRIX(1999) and they may be right.   What do I think? It's basically a pornographic action movie. If you like that sort of thing, then this movie is for you. It's also considered a revenge movie. I don't believe in revenge. It's up to God to deal out the punishment. You could argue that God uses man to dish out revenge. That's not what this is particular blog piece is about. It's a movie review. We can discuss that somewhere else.   The question is do I think it's a good movie? I have mixed emotions with JOHN WICK. On one hand, it's a slick action movie with some good performances. On the other, like I mentioned earlier, it's a pornographic action movie. There's enough violence here for 10 movies, and at times, it's resembles a video game. With that said, what hinges on me giving it a thumbs up or down, ...

   If I grabbed ten people at random and asked them if they had heard of the movie AMERICAN SNIPER, I'm sure all ten people would say they have heard of the film. I f I asked the same ten people if they ever heard of the film BOYHOOD, I bet one out of ten would say they've heard of it.    Which brings me to my review of BOYHOOD, starring Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette as divorced parents raising two children separately.     The thing that stands out about BOYHOOD is that it was filmed over the course of twelve years. Everyone in the film ages naturally, no CGI or visual effects used. This is experimental film making, ladies and gentlemen.   The film seemd a bit boring in places and it had an improv feel to the acting. Not a bad thing. It gives the film a more realistic feel.   But here's the thing that bowled me over and had a tremendous affect on me-the overall movie. When you have watched the entire three hour film, it is then that I fel...