Willie's View Movie Reviews

                                   Ready Player One is the film adaptation of the best selling novel written by Ernest Cline. The film is directed by legendary filmmaker Steven Spielberg. I personally think it's his best film in 16 years (MINORITY REPORT). The screenplay is written by Zak Penn (THE INCREDIBLE HULK and X-MEN: THE LAST STAND) and the author himself, Ernest Cline. The book compared to the film or vice versa are almost two completely different things. That sometimes translates to a bad film but in this case what we get here is a visual masterpiece and a very compelling story well told despite the story being retooled for the big screen.                                      Why? I have read the book and loved it. That being said, much of the 80's pop references either don't ...

    Paul, Apostle of Christ is the latest Biblical adaptation that is based on the Apostle Paul (a.k.a Saul of Tarsus). It tells the story of Paul's friend and physician, Luke, who goes to Rome to visit Paul in prison. There is a group of Christians who are hiding out in Rome and are looking to Paul for inspiration and direction in regards to their predicament. On numerous visits, Luke gathers information about Paul's unbelievable story of his meeting Jesus on the Road to Damascus and his conversion from sinner to saint and his many adventures over the years, spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ. These series of interviews comprise the book of Acts, which this film is somewhat based on. There are at least three other subplots that are interwoven into the larger story being told and told quite well. This is the basic dumbed down synopsis of the film without giving too much of the film away.     What didn't work about Paul, Apostle of Christ ?  The...

                                   I CAN ONLY IMAGINE is inspired by the song of the same name written by Bart Millard and is based on his life and relationship with his father, Arthur Millard, portrayed by Dennis Quaid in an Oscar-caliber performance.  J.Michael Finely does a fine job portraying the MercyMe frontman, Bart Millard. This is the first film that I've seen this young man in and predict more good performances from him in the future.                                   Chances are that you may have heard the title song originally released some twenty years ago. Over the years, it has inspired many and is a Christian Anthem to many believers in Jesus Christ. The film version is a story that is just as moving and powerful as the song. If you are not familiar with the story t...

    MUDBOUND is a NETFLIX Original movie that you can obviously watch right now-on NETFLIX.    Based on the novel by Hillary Jordan and brought to the screen by talented Director Dee Rees, with a screenplay written by Rees and Virgil Williams, MUDBOUND tells the story of two families. One White (The McAllan family), the other Black (The Jackson Family). Henry McAllan (Jason Clarke)is the head of his family, who in the beginning, moves his family to a rural Mississipi farmland that has more mud than crops. Clarke is slowly winning me over with each film I see him in and does a fine job here. Carey Mulligan (The Great Gatsby) plays his wife, Laura, who is equally strong-willed as her husband and stands by Henry's dream of running a successful farm, no matter how bad things get for them or their two children. There is also Henry's younger brother, Jamie (Garrett Hedlund from TRON: LEGACY). He possesses a charm that wins over the ladies but also is a rec...

   Bruce Willis stars in this remake of the 1974 Charles Bronson classic. It is remade by director Eli (Hostel) and writer/director Joe Carnahan(The Grey.A-Team) and tells the story of a husband, father and E.R. Surgeon Paul Kersey, who turns into a vigilante after his wife is murdered and his daughter is left in a coma. With no help from the police and just barely enough support from his selfish debt owing brother (Vincent D'Onofrio), Paul find s more answers on his own and with a gun in his hand, which he is reluctant to use at first but soon learns carrying around a gun can produce the answers that he has desperately spent months looking for.    I remember the original Death Wish being a shocking and gruesome film. This updated version is neither of those two. It's not shocking when his wife (Elisabeth Shue) is murdered due to the simple fact that our society has become desensitized to the murder and mayhem that is portrayed here. E...

I don't see many period pieces or costume dramas for the simple fact that I find them to sometimes boring. I hea rd talk of THE BEGUILED, directed by Sofia Coppola, during the month of June. It played only in the art house theaters, so the opportunity for wanting to see this in a multiplex movie theater was very slim to downright impossible. Thank the Lord f or streaming services (a.k.a home video). Before getting into my reaction and thoughts of THE BEGUILED, I need to state that I am not a fan of the director at all. I was bored to tears at her beloved (to whom I do not know) film LOST IN TRANSLATION. That was a big strike against this film going into it. What attracted me to this film? Reading the description, I got the sense that this could be a thriller of some sort. I do love me a good thriller. THE BEGUILED tells the story of a girl who finds a wounded Yankee soldier(this is the Civil War era) in Virginia and takes him back to an all-girls boarding school where she is a s...

   A WRINKLE IN TIME is the film adaptation of Madelaine L'Engle's (supposedly) beloved children's book. It is directed by Ava DuVernay and stars Storm Reid, Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, Mind Kaling and Chris Pine, among others.   The story revolves around the disappearance of scientist Alex Murry(Chris Pine) and his daughter's (Meg, played by Storm Reid) search for him that takes her across the Universe. With the aid of three mystical and immortal beings named Mrs.Which (Oprah Winfrey), Mrs. Whatsit (Reese Witherspoon) and Mrs.Who (Mindy Kaling), Meg's adopted brother-Charles Wallace (Deric McCabe) and her school friend, Calvin (Levi Miller), they go on a fantastical journey across the Universe in search of the missing scientist and father, Mr.Murry.    I have read the book by Madeline L'Engle and was not a fan of it-AT ALL. I thought it was a mystic jumbled up sci-fi fantasy whose narrative was barely readable unless you had so...

      DARKEST HOUR is a film that transports the viewer to another time and place in extraordinary fashion, combining some very talented artists of filmmaking to create something unique and enthralling for today's moviegoer.    Gary Oldman gives the performance of his career as Winston  Churchill, a man who led his country out of one of it's darkest times with his wisdom and courage, never backing down from a difficult challenge. Oldman disappears into the role of Churchill, convincing the viewer that he or she is watching a historic figure come to life. Oldman's performance, Joe Wright's direction, the production design by Sarah Greenwood and the makeup by Kazuhino Tsuji, David Malinowski, and  Lucy Sibbick's combined talents transport the viewer to 1940's England to view history in the making. Its these and other talents not mentioned here all combined together that creates a captivating history lesson and tells the story of a unique man who w...

   Spending the last few months of consistently writing movie reviews, I have realized that there are some people who like a detailed synopsis of the film I'm writing about. I simply do not do this. I give the reader a very brief synopsis of the film while avoiding possible spoilers. Some might see it as lazy writing. My job as a film critic is to give the reader a brief idea of what the movie is about. Most critics give you a very detailed account of the film, which in my opinion runs the risk of ruining the viewing experience for the reader. I do not do this and simply refuse to do so. My reviews exist to tell my thoughts on the film, not a detailed account of the story. Once again, for a detailed account, see the movie. My job is to give you a small taste of what the film is about. And hopefully, I won't spoil anything about the movie in question while doing so.   Thank you for your time. Enjoy yourself at the movies.