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Showing posts with the label Lakeith Stanfield

The Harder They Fall | Average Guy Movie Review

Nat Love (Jonathan Majors) reassembles his old gang when the man that murdered his parents; Rufus Buck (Idris Elba), gets out of jail. Jeymes Samuel makes his directorial debut with The Harder They Fall , a story of revenge in the American West. And as directorial debuts go, this is a pretty good one. Falling somewhere between the stark, gritty reality of life way back when and the cool depiction of it seen in many westerns, Samuel doesn't exactly do anything new with the genre, but he does do it with style. With a cast like this it would be difficult to do it any other way! Jonathan Majors, Idris Elba, Regina King, Zazie Beatz, Delroy Lindo, LaKeith Stanfield, Edi Gathegi, RJ Cyler, Danielle Deadwyler, all of whom exude cool as they battle their way across the plains. Needless to say, all of the performances are spectacular. Even the nasty characters are in some way likeable, most of them anyway. Stanfield's 'Cherokee Bill' is a particular scene stealer as the man who&

Judas and the Black Messiah | Average Guy Movie Review

In the 1960's a young car thief called William O'Neal (Lakeith Stanfield) was recruited by the FBI to infiltrate the Chicago chapter of the Black Panther party. His job was to report on the organisation's activities and to get close to their leader; Fred Hampton (Daniel Kaluuya). America's troubles with racism have been well documented over the years. It's something that continues to shock the world today. Having grown up in Britain I was aware of the Black Panthers and their struggle, but I hadn't heard of Fred Hampton. The same goes for William O'Neal and the work he did for the FBI. Director Shaka King has brought this frightful bit of history to life in gritty detail. Authenticity is definitely a word that springs to mind when watching  Judas and the Black Messiah , everything from the look of 1960's Chicago, to the animosity towards the Civil Rights movement and the African American community. But King also manages to keep things balanced, avoiding

Knives Out | Average Guy Movie Review

When the famous mystery writer Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) is found dead in his home, legendary detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) is brought in to investigate. But in order to do so, Blanc will have to deal with Harlan's extremely dysfunctional family, all of whom are potential suspects. And the only person who can help him sort through all the madness is Harlan's nurse, Marta (Ana de Armas). Rian Johnson's crack at a murder mystery is undoubtedly some of the best fun you'll have at the cinema in 2019. It takes the classic whodunnit and dials things up to eleven. Thanks to a superb script and some fantastic performances - even Christopher Plummer gets time to shine through flashbacks - Johnson's take on the world-class detective is introduced to what is possibly the world's most dysfunctional family, a myriad bundle of mysteries even without Harlan's death. They're the type of people that many would try to avoid, especially in publi

The Girl in the Spider's Web | Average Guy Movie Review

Lisbeth Salander (Claire Foy) - the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - is hired to acquire something from a certain government agency. But in doing so, she draws the attention of government agents from multiple countries and someone from her past, someone dangerous. And in order to put things right and clear her name, Lisbeth will have to face one of the darkest parts of her troubled past. Fede Alvarez takes control of the US variant of the Millennium series in this soft reboot/sequel to David Fincher's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. But where the first movie was a more than fucked up murder mystery, this is more a Bond/Bourne-esque espionage thriller. Alvarez does well stepping into Fincher's shoes, no doubt an unenviable task for many. He has put together a tense and engaging thriller. Despite adhering to the well-used storyline in which the main character begins to think/worry about someone just before they reappear to fuck up the main character's life, the movie do

Get Out | Average Guy Movie Review

Chris Washington (Daniel Kaluuya) is headed with his girlfriend Rose (Allison Williams) to meet her parents for the first time, at their country estate. Despite an uncomfortable first meeting, Dean (Bradley Whitford) and Missy (Catherine Keener) seem welcoming and Chris settles in for the weekend. But odd occurrences around the house and strange behaviour from the staff and guests lead Chris to believe that something terrible is happening and that he should...get out! Jordan Peele makes his directorial debut with Get Out, 2017's Best Rated Film on Rotten Tomatoes. As debuts go, this is by far one of the best. Peele has created a narrative that's more than just entertaining, it's deeply symbolic of the current racial climate in the US. It's also got to be one of the creepiest movies I've ever seen! I'm not usually a fan of horror movies, but this isn't a horror movie in the traditional sense. Personally, I would describe Get Out as a realistic interp