Gifted

WARNING: POLITICAL DISCUSSION/OPINIONS BELOW (also, mild spoilers)

The phrase "This won't win Oscars" is usually considered to be very bad. However, in this case I mean it in a good way. It won't win Oscars because it's the antithesis to liberal Hollywood. It's probably the most consevative, libertarain film I've ever seen. The message of the movie is one with which I agree: "Education should be the responsibility of the parent or legal guardian of the child, not the government." This also shows how public schools will victim blame. There is one part where one of the main characters is defending a boy who is being picked on. What does the school do? They blame her for stepping in and let the bully get away consequence free because the girl "shattered his ego." (I'm dead serious.) It also shows how sometimes public schools will shame and blame a child for being more intelligent than their peers because "You're not giving them a chance to catch up, you're making them feel inferior, you should hide your gifts, etc."   Essentially it shows how public schools are just nicer prisons for children. Chris Evans does a fantastic job. He deserves an Oscar, as does everyone involved. This will never win, let alone be nominated, because Hollywood is full of liberals, and this is the opposite of a message they're trying to shove down our throats. There's one part where Chris Evans' character has reached a breaking point. His deathstare alone deserves an Oscar. Octavia Spencer, as always, does a fantastic job. She says her lines with such passion, and at times I thought "I'd hate to be the person she's yelling at in this situation. She's not even yelling at me and I'm terrified." Child actors can be hit-or-miss and the young actress in this film does a great job. Hopefully she goes on to do other things in the industry, because she got this role down pat. She's incredibly talented. Marc Webb did an awesome job with this film, and needs a Best Director Oscar. It's still too early in the year to tell if this will be on my top 10 list come the end of 2017, but it's extremely likely. I very rarely have such strong, positive opinions about a film, but every once in a while a film comes along that moves me and makes me feel emotion. This is one of them.

Grade: A+     10/10    5/5 stars

The Dark Tower

I don't know what movie the critics saw, but it obviously wasn't this one, because there's no way this deserves an 18% on Rotten Tomatoes. This was awesome! At times the plot could be a little confusing, but the parts I understood, I loved! I don't know what the critics' problem with Matthew McConaughey is in this movie. He was really good. He managed to ham it up without hamming it up too much. He was a fun villain without becoming a charicature. Idris Elba as always, is fantastic! He manages to be serious and brooding, but also adds a bit of comedy to the role when appropriate. (Psst, DC, cast him as Jon Stewart in  the next Green Lantern movie. Hint hint) My one problem was that the editing was off continuity-wise sometimes. Specifically, for the actor Tom Taylor. I'm assuming he hit puberty part way through production, because for the first half of the film, his voice is high, and then all of a sudden out of nowehere his voice gets deep in the second half. They should have gone back and redubbed the first half. The action sequences are awesome! My jaw dropped! They're fast paced and don't have the "slow mo shot" cliche that so many films do nowadays. Without spoiling anything, I will say that if you read a lot of Stephen King's other books, you'll see some Easter Eggs. (Some are blink-and-you'll-miss-it). Ignore the critics and decide for yourself.

Grade: B.   8/10     4/5 stars