Linbeymusol Wonderful character development!
Myron Clemons A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.
Ezmae Chang This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.
Married Baby Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?
alan-237-482956 Very disappointing film with mediocre performances from some well know names. The first few minutes set in Rome was shown in black & white ! Why? Did they not have any colour in Rome in 1973? The rest of the film was shown in a peculiar tinted effect which thoroughly spoilled my viewing. I never bothered to persevere to the very end. All the facts of the case are well known and documented - why go to the trouble of making this pathetic piece?
secondtake All the Money in the World (2017) What an extreme pathology, yet with a twist. J. Paul Getty was known to me mostly as the man who left a fortune when he died that became the Getty Art Museum. Which was famous (and still is) for having deep pockets. Very deep. So Getty, from 20th Century oil enterprises, was really rich. Hence the name of the movie. But they should have clued us in, I suppose (for better sales) that it's about Getty's grandson, who early in the movie (no spoiler) gets kidnapped. What follows is a two part story-the kidnappers and their prey, and the grandfather and other family . And it's the grandfather who matters most, played with conviction by a rather too-old Christopher Plummer (as a famous last minute substitute for someone who we won't mention). Plummer is ruthless and seemingly heartless. His daughter-in-law is the one sympathetic character here (besides the grandson, I suppose, but he isn't developed very far), and she suffers and struggles. It's her son out there in the hands of some thugs. The movie is good Very good in some ways, but routinely made. And that of course is very good. The story is great, so that holds it up, and the pacing is slow, which brings it back to earth. The kidnappers are made to seem interesting and one of them (played by the great French actor Romain Duris) is given some depth, but really this is the other half of a fascinating situation, and some nuance would have been great. Surprisingly, this is not only produced by also directed by Ridley Scott. And this lacks the originality and spark we'd expect from him. But Plummer is terrific and so is Michelle Williams as the daughter/mother. Mark Wahlberg is a drip and a mistake (he plays a kind of do-it-all man for Getty, and he's very average).
Jake Young When the grandson of billionaire John Paul Getty was kidnapped in 1973, you would imagine it might have been easier to get the ransom out of a man who had some two billion dollars to his name. Based on real-life events, it's hard not to be bewildered by the immeasurable greed of John Paul Getty, realized via the unquestionably excellent Christopher Plummer, which says something truly special about the actor. Famously he came to the project during reshoots after Kevin Spacey was edited out following the revelations about the actor's history of sexual abuse, and Plummer pulls it out of the bag without it seeming phoned in. While Plummer does save the movie from its potential fall from grace after the Spacey controversy, All The Money In The World proves one thing; Ridley Scott is still as much of a powerhouse director as he was when he was bringing us polarizing films like Alien and Blade Runner. In the six weeks before its release, Scott recast the role of John Paul Getty, organized the reshoots, had cast flown around reshooting and had it all edited and polished in time for its release.Why is it worth knowing this? Well much like how there's an additional fascination with films such as The Revenant, Apocalypse Now and even Star Wars: A New Hope knowing the tough and challenging shoots they persevered through, we can also stand dumbfounded at Scott's efficiency and skill as a director. Aside from some questionable editing choices at the start of the film resulting in a plodding pace, it plays out seamlessly. Whilst All The Money In The World is not groundbreaking or even amongst Scott's best work, the film does have raise significant questions (frankly unavoidable considering it's a film about John Paul Getty) about money, it's control over people's lives and how it can affect society. The film brings these questions to light through the characters of John Getty and his former daughter-in-law Gail Harris (Michelle Williams) reflected in the often cold and cynical cinematography, giving the film an almost artificial feel as if mirroring the values of capitalist society and John Getty himself.Despite this cynicism, there are some standout performances. Romain Duris, who plays one of the kidnappers and Plummer do fine work to humanize the more disagreeable characters, helping us as an audience empathize with their point of view. All The Money In The World treads lightly in the footsteps of films such as Wall Street and The Wolf of Wall Street but strips back the character studies and almost lavish allure for a slightly more reserved and theatrical approach. While it may fail in producing meaningful insight into John Paul Getty, it succeeds in being a captivating crime drama.
jhsimms I hated this film. Michelle Williams butchered it. She was awful. It was hard to get through for me. It was boring and doesn't keep your attention. The kid was also stupid. Just bad acting I thought.
