Vice (2018)

There is something quite underwhelming about Vice, and it's the music. Nicholas Britell composed the most beautiful soundtrack of the year for If Beale Street Could Talk. So I had some high expectations for Vice too. But the music is disappointingly bland, typically Washington DC invoking West Wing or House of Cards. Compare this to the really slick, snazzy trailer so sharply edited to the music. The movie really misses out on the style that made The Big Short and even the Vice trailer unique and fun. The movie does have a style, it's mockumentary without the talking head interviews. I really dislike the ending in which the Dick Cheney turns his head to break the fourth wall for the first time. It's unnecessarily jarring and so clearly copying House of Cards. I guess we're supposed to draw a parallel to Frank Underwood's iconic evil, but Cheney's real evil can stand on it's own. He's already sitting for an interview; he could have said the exact same monologue to the interviewer. Overall, the movie feels tonally awkward. The narration feels very out of place.

There are some things done well. Adam McKay draws an abundantly clear line from Dick Cheney to Donald Trump. He hears all the rank and file Republicans crying that this is not their GOP, and he demonstrates plainly how wrong they are. Trump naturally emerges from the traditions of Cheney-style conservatism. And McKay will not let them deny it. Call it a primary source on our contemporary times. The situation is so dire that you can only laugh to not cry.

The acting is superb all around. Steve Carrell has been acting in dramas lately, but you really see him shine in comedies. Amy Adams is stellar as usual. And Christian Bale is phenomenal, as is his make-up artist. He is absolutely unrecognizable and looks uncannily like Dick Cheney.

Nobody's Fool (2018)

I think Tyler Perry is underrated. His movies should have appeal with a much broader audience than just the African American community they're marketed to. He proves to be entertaining and accessible. Tiffany Haddish, especially, has universal appeal. Her personality is so electric and she appears to be having so much fun on screen you cannot look away. And I, for one, think Tika Sumpter is fantastic. Now there is a pretty major plot hole towards the end with the surprise twist that not only invalidates the previous hour of film we've just seen but also doesn't make sense. But if they could have patched up this hole somehow, I dare say, the plot is near Shakespearean. Catfishing is our modern equivalent of mistaken identity, the hallmark of a Shakespearean comedy. And by the end, I think it would have been more interesting if "they" didn't end up together but it then wouldn't be a Shakespearean romantic comedy.

Gone Girl (2014)

Gillian Flynn pens the screen adaptation of her own best-selling novel.  As the original author, she has an intimate knowledge of the characters' complex mindsets and emotions.  In a very unique manner of storytelling, the audience is given a first person account by Affleck's Nick in the present, and a first person account by Pike's Amy in the past through diary entries. The two separated by stylistic fades to black--both presenting biased narratives.  In this way, the story unravels at a very deliberate pace, with reveals around every corner.

Adding to the intense level of suspense is the soundtrack by frequent David Fincher collaborators Atticus Ross and Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails.  The electronic sounds are ominous; they creep up on you and the tension builds mirroring the film perfectly.  Even if not terribly musical in the traditional sense, the score is so fitting and integral to the foreboding ambiance of the movie.

On the acting front, Rosamund Pike stands out in an excellent cast.  Without giving too much away, her character's mental state is quite complicated but she does a very good job.  Ben Affleck, too, acts convincingly as the "concerned" husband who is under close scrutiny for his wife's disappearance. And of course, thanks to David Fincher's direction, this all comes together eerily well.