"Silence" was Long; "A Dog's Purpose" was Cute; "Underworld: Blood Wars" was Meh

   I went into Silence with high expectations. The movie was Martin Scorsese's passion project, and let's get real...it's Martin Scorsese we're talking about. It's bound to be amazing. In many ways, Silence is amazing. In many other ways, it isn't. Set in the 1600s, Silence tells the story of two priests played by Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver, who travel to Japan in an attempt to locate their mentor (played by Liam Neeson) and to propagate Catholicism. It's a story about standing for your faith, your morals, your beliefs, while staring the ultimate level of opposition in the face. The movie is extremely well-acted. Adam Driver and Liam Neeson give really powerful, but short performances. This was in every way a platform for Andrew Garfield to showcase what he can do, and he kills it. Both this film and Hacksaw Ridge hold powerful performances from Garfield that are stunning, remarkable, raw, and real. The acting across the board is by far the best aspect of the movie. The cinematography comes in at a close second. My gosh is this a beautifully shot film. Nominated for an Academy Award for cinematography, this movie well-deserves the nomination. The scope of the film is harrowing, while the moments on screen hold you close. If this was all it took to make a great film, Silence would be one of the best. However, the narrative is really, really, really, really long. Clocking in at just under three hours, Silence is an extremely slow burn with little to no action. It's three hours of a lot of people talking to each other. I feel like that's an unfair assessment, but it's true. The performances and cinematography aside, the movie tends to drag its message across 161 minutes, and you feel it. Silence isn't Scorsese's best film, but it's still an interesting story. Just brace yourself when you go see it.

   As January comes to an end, we have one of the year's first family features in A Dog's Purpose. The story follows a dog as it looks to discover his purpose in life over the course of several lifetimes and owners. Like a collection of small vignettes, the movie plays off of the adorable dogs on screen and the likable voice of Josh Gad, who plays the voice of the reincarnating canine. There's really not much I can say about this movie that you can't get from watching the trailer. The acting is okay, the story is fine, a bit predictable at times, and the dogs are cute and fun to watch. As the story circles around the concept of what a dog's purpose is as 'man's best friend', you can't help but feel good afterward. It's a warm, friendly tale suitable for the entire family...and for a matinee.


   In a world of bloated franchises, one that unfortunately started out great and has since declined in quality would be the Underworld franchise. The latest outing, Underworld: Blood Wars, finds vampire death dealer, Selene (Kate Beckinsale) fighting once again to end the eternal war between the Lycan clan and the Vampire faction that betrayed her. In this film, she's on the run from both sets of creature camps. The movie was crammed with uneventful action set pieces, a flawed storyline, and a completely rushed and nonsensical ending...but Kate Beckinsale was in tight leather the whole time, so it was alright I suppose. Underworld: Blood Wars is the perfect movie to watch if you want to just shut your brain off for an hour and a half. The acting is ridiculous at times, there are so many forced flashbacks that fill in events from the past four movies that you could just watch this one and get the gist of what's going on, and it's just action-y enough to come off as, well...action-y. The first two films were great, and I really liked Rise of the Lycans. These last two have been stinkers, but if you're a fan of the franchise, I think you'll still get a kick out it.













[images via   Teaser Trailer,  IMP Awards]