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Showing posts with the label Michael Keaton

The Trial of the Chicago 7 | Average Guy Movie Review

After the riots that took place at the 1968 Democratic Convention, a group of anti-war protestors were named as defendants in a show trial brought by the Nixon administration. They were charged with conspiracy and crossing state lines with the intention of inciting riots, and what followed was probably one of the most controversial trials in the history of the American Justice system. With 'The Trial of the Chicago 7' Aaron Sorkin delivers an enthralling courtroom drama - and not for the first time.  Fans of the writer/director have another opportunity to enjoy the man's unique storytelling style, not to mention his awesome approach to dialogue. No one writes dialogue quite like Aaron Sorkin! Events j ump seamlessly between the '68 Democratic convention, the trial, and Abbie Hoffman's (Sacha Baron Cohen) recollections of both during an amusing stand-up routine. Sorkin - with the help of some clever editing and good use of soundtrack - expertly drives the tension up

American Assassin | Average Guy Movie Review

When his girlfriend is killed in a terrorist attack, Mitch Rapp (Dylan O'Brien) goes in search of vengeance. His activities soon draw the attention of the CIA and Deputy Director Irene Kennedy (Sanaa Lathan) who decides to recruit Rapp. Kennedy sends him to the Orion Group - a black ops unit - where he'll be trained by Stan Hurley (Michael Keaton), a former Navy Seal and the team leader. On Rapp's first mission, Orion are tasked with finding missing plutonium and the American (Taylor Kitsch) who has it, a man Hurley trained. The movie is based on the 11th book in the series by Vince Flynn. I can't say how closely it follows the book, but this is  one of those spy movies where the spies do very little spying before shooting up the place, combined with a typical trainer/trainee story in which the trainer continues to doubt the trainee until he proves himself in the third act.  As a generic action movie it's fine, the fight scenes are well choreographed and O&

Spider-Man: Homecoming | Average Guy Movie Review

The MCU's version of the webslinger has landed back in New York for his first solo outing. After the events of Captain America: Civil War, Peter Parker (Tom Holland) is keen to prove himself as an Avenger. But his mentor of sorts - Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) - wants the 15 year old to go back to school and learn what it means to be a friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man first. Peter is definitely a kid with a lot on his plate, on top of the usual issues a modern day teenage nerd faces, he's still learning the extent of his abilities and trying to impress Stark. All while trying to bring down a gang selling salvaged alien technology, led by Adrian Toomes (Michael Keaton). Without giving us another origin story, Marvel have re-introduced us to the world of Spider-Man. Director Jon Watts has avoided the format of previous movies where the hero acquires his powers, goes through a quick montage to learn what he can do and from then on is unstoppable. What I really like abo

Spotlight: Average Guy Movie Review

In 2001 the Spotlight team of The Boston Globe was assigned by their new Editor - Marty Baron - to investigate the allegations that Catholic Priests in the Boston area had molested young children, and that senior members of the church not only knew about it but had gone to great lengths to cover it up. This is the story of that investigation, and the team's struggle to bring the truth to light The last thing I wanted to see with a movie like this was two hours of church bashing. Thankfully that this is far from the case with Spotlight. Instead, director Tom McCarthy - along with writer Josh Singer - delivers a shocking yet compassionate story that focuses on the victims, and the hard work put in by journalists at the Globe to expose this conspiracy. That's not to say that the church doesn't take any flack, because it does, a lot, and deservedly so. To think that the molestation of countless children was not only going on for decades, but was continuously covered up is outr