The Good Liar: Hitchcock Vibes

It's Gandalf and the Queen.

The Good Liar was released on February 4. Viewers can try Blu-ray, DVD and Digital. The Digital format appeared early on January 21.

LIAR

The Good Liar is the first time where Ian McKellen and Helen Mirren have appeared on screen together. (They did do a play.)

Not a lie.

The Good Liar, based on the 2015 novel of the same name by Nicholas Searle. The book appears to have been better received in the U.K. than North America as it was a 'Sunday Times Bestseller.'

The Good Liar wasn't quite appealing for moviegoers. The film received 64% on Rotten Tomatoes. It's enough for the 'Fresh' rating. The box office numbers settled around $33 million worldwide.

Bill Condon directed the movie from a screenplay by Jeffrey Hatcher. The main cast also includes Russell Tovey and Jim Carter.

TAKE

Would I buy this film? Yes…but wouldn't rush for it. 

The Good Liar isn't the best movie you will see this year. But I liked it much better than the previous film, Motherless Brooklyn. (Sorry, Edward Norton!)

The Good Liar gave me a bit of an Alfred Hitchcock vibe throughout. The kind of movie that he could get made in the 1950s or 60s. And perhaps a little mix of The Sting, which starred Robert Redford and Paul Newman.

(This is a lot darker story than those movies would be. Rated R for strong violence, language and very brief nudity.)

We learn quite quickly that Roy Courtnay - played by McKellen - is a schemer and a con man. He comes across widowed Betty McLeish (Helen Mirren) online, and they meet. Courtnay eventually discovers McLeish has quite a bit of money. He becomes determined to find a way to take it all from her.

Despite the protests and suspicions of Betty's only grandson, Stephen - played by Tovey - Betty's feelings for Courtnay grow. She soon decides to let Courtnay stay at her house.

With a title like The Good Liar, I think it's safe to say there are twists and turns. But to say much more than that would ruin the story.

Some viewers may be able to guess what comes, some may like how it unfolds, and some will not like any of it. I'm more on the 'like' side, obviously. Some turns caught me by surprise.

McKellen and Mirren carry this movie as one, or the other, or both are in basically in the majority of the 109 minutes - with credits. While it's not the most fast-paced movie, say like, Lord of the Rings, but the two of them acting against each other kept my interest. And there are some suspense thrills and tension that builds over the movie. I would see another film with the two of them.

Also, McKellen is 80 and Mirren is 74! Which is pretty cool.       

SPECIAL FEATURES OVERVIEW

The DVD only has the deleted scenes.

A Perfect Match: Inside the Good Liar (13 minutes, 1 second.)

-The behind-the-scenes reel. It's a talk about the novel - it's Nicholas Searle's first. The casting of Ian McKellan and Helen Mirren and their thoughts of the movie. The complications of filming in London, but the beauty of it as well.

Over 12 minutes of deleted scenes (12 minutes, 41 seconds.)

- A few are more alternate scenes, which involved Roy asking Stuart to pick up a package at Roy's home. Then what happens afterwards when Stuart returns.

- There's a slightly amusing sequence of Roy and Betty meeting others for terrible dates before they meet each other.

- A few scenes also make sense for cutting as they reveal too much, too soon.

Warner Brothers Home Entertainment

Motherless Brooklyn: A Mystery

It's the 1950s. There's a murder to solve.

Motherless Brooklyn was released on January 28. Viewers can try Blu-ray, DVD and Digital. The Digital format appeared early on January 14.

BROOKLYN

Motherless Brooklyn gets inspiration by the Jonathan Lethem 1999 novel of the same name. I have not read the book - but apparently in a twist - Edward Norton wanted to take those same characters from 1999 time into a different period and plot and to put the story in the 1950s.

The project was such a passion for Norton for quite some time, and he acquired the rights to the book back in 2001.

Moviegoers were not exactly so passionate. The film has a 62% on Rotten Tomatoes, which makes it enough for the 'Fresh' rating. But the box office was slightly over $18 million worldwide.

(It was also given an R-rating. It's not a movie for all ages.)

The film did manage to surprise with scoring one Golden Globe nomination. Daniel Pemberton made it with Best Original Score. While no nomination, there is an original song written and performed by Thom Yorke of Radiohead.

Oscar-nominated Edward Norton directed-wrote-produced-and starred in Motherless Brooklyn. The cast includes Bruce Willis, Guga Mbatha-Raw, Bobby Cannavale, Cherry Jones, Michael Kenneth Williams, Leslie Mann, Ethan Suplee, Dallas Roberts, Josh Pais, Robert Ray Wisdom, Oscar nominee Alec Baldwin and Oscar nominee Willem Dafoe.

Norton is Lionel Essrog, a private detective. Although not mentioned in the movie, Lionel has a combination of Tourette Syndrome and OCD. (At least that's how Norton describes it in the Special Features.)

TAKE

Would I buy this film? I would make it a snowy day selection.

Motherless Brooklyn is not a movie I would set out to see in theatre.

While the cast for the film is impressive, if you want to see this film because of Bruce Willis, you could be disappointed. He plays Frank Minna, mentor and friend to Lionel. Frank's murder happens within the first 10 minutes. This sets the rest of the mystery story in motion as the first 10 minutes has a lot of information and is a bit hard to follow. It comes into play later.

And no, it's not really a spoiler, if you've seen the trailer or read a synopsis. The movie promotion gives it away rather early.

With the many hats that Edward Norton wore, it's hard not to appreciate how much work and effort he put into the project. The character on the acting side is unlike anyone I've ever seen him play before.

But. If anything at 144 minutes - with credits - the film feels quite long. It might have been better to cut out about 20 minutes or even more. The mystery of what happened to Frank Minna is what kept my intrigue for the movie.

And yes, the movie touches on political corruption and racism which could very well be applied for today. It's when the story shifts away from the murder mystery, it slows down the pace a lot.

For example - a dance scene in a jazz club in Harlem, many can see it as artistic and beautiful, but to me, it just felt like it goes on much longer than it needed to be.

The cast and the mystery may make it watchable for others. If you don't have the patience, though, it may not be as enjoyable.

   

SPECIAL FEATURES OVERVIEW

Making of: Edward Norton's Methodical Process (9 minutes, 38 seconds.)

- Norton talks about his thought process, how he found the book and making the switch to the 1950s. With some comparisons to the old film noir style movies. The cast talks about being involved in the movie.  What was it like to work with an actor-director-writer like Norton.

Deleted Scenes (5 minutes, 19 seconds)

- As usual, they are the kind of scenes that you would never notice missing in the actual film. People may have a curiosity factor.

Commentary with Director Edward Norton.

Warner Brothers Entertainment 

Joker: Lots of Buzz

Smile.

Joker was released on January 7. Viewers can buy the Blu-ray, DVD and Digital. The Digital format appeared early on December 17.

JOKER

Joker has been on an impressive run. It made over a billion dollars at the worldwide box office and is one of the top movies of 2019. It also smashed expectations to become the biggest R-rated movie ever at the box office.

Joker’s run continues by doing surprisingly well during this awards season. Joaquin Phoenix won a Golden Globe and a Critics Choice award for Best Actor. Hildur Guðnadóttir won each for Original Score and Best Score.

Most notably, Joker picked up a cool 11 nominations for the upcoming Oscars. These include Best Picture and Best Actor for Joaquin Phoenix.

The past wins make Phoenix a good contender for an Academy Award. If it does happen, it would be a huge ‘acting win’ for comic-book movies since Heath Ledger won posthumously for Best Supporting Actor. (Which would be even more intriguing as Ledger was the Joker in 2008’s The Dark Knight.)

On the flip side, like plenty of movies - despite all the awards love and huge box office - a lot of people do not like Joker. The Rotten Tomatoes has a “Fresh’ rating of just 69%. Some critics called it awful, stupid, and dumb.

This new origin story of the Joker also brought controversy.

It’s 1981 in Gotham City. The city is fractured. The mentally-ill and troubled comedian, Arthur Fleck, has been taking care of his mother, Penny (Frances Conroy), while she is dreaming of Thomas Wayne to save them.

One shining light is the show Live! with Murray Franklin (Played by Robert De Niro.) Arthur imagines making an appearance.  

Arthur’s bleak world eventually reaches a breaking point, and he descends into more madness and murder. Some felt the story came across too much like real-world news that it might inspire real-life violence when the film was initially released. And some viewers were so put off by the story that they walked out of the theatre.

TAKE

Would I buy this film? Yes.

Todd Phillips directed the movie and co-wrote the screenplay with Scott Silver, based on characters from DC. The movie was produced by Phillips, Emma Tilliger Koskoff and Bradley Cooper. Yes, that Bradley Cooper.

The cast includes Phoenix, De Niro, Conroy, Zazie Beetz, Brett Cullen, Gleen Fleshler, Bill Camp, Shea Whigham, Marc Maron, Douglas Hodge, Josh Pais and Leigh Gill.

Batman was my superhero pick when I was a kid. He still is. I have The Dark Knight movies. I’ve probably even seen the George Clooney version a couple of times. I’m curious what Robert Pattinson will do with the role.

So, if there is anybody expecting something like a Batman movie, though, you will likely be disappointed in Joker. There are no big action sequences, and things are much smaller scale.

And yes, there is no dispute. The movie is dark and disturbing. When the violence comes it feels more shocking because it comes across more real. But somehow, the film is so well-done and looks so different from other comic-book movies that I found it hard not to like.

Phoenix is practically in every scene of the 122 minutes, and although I can’t debate the other acting nominees, I get the impression Phoenix is well-deserved of the awards. He’s sweet and awkward and caring to unsettling and murderous. I think I was tense, just watching him in certain scenes. Arthur Fleck’s laugh is uncontrollable at inappropriate times because of a medical condition - which is a real mental illness and not made up for the movie.  

While De Niro is in a much smaller role - and I have not watched The Irishman - this is probably the best acting I’ve seen from him in a long time.

If you are a Batman or comic-book fan, it is probably best to set your expectations accordingly. Director Todd Phillips even called the story an alternate universe in the special features.

But if anything, I say it’s Joaquin’s Phoenix’s performance is what makes the movie.   

SPECIAL FEATURES OVERVIEW

Joker: Vision and Fury (22 minutes, 25 seconds.)

- The most interesting of the special features because it is the most extensive. As Director Todd Phillips called the movie an alternate universe, he also calls the story as a character study. How does a person become a certain way? Gotham was inspired by New York in the 80s. There is also talk of Joaquin was the first person in mind for the role and how Arthur Fleck is an original character, with no history in the comics.

Becoming Joker (1 minute, 25 seconds.)

- Joaquin was going through various looks as Arthur and Joker. There is no talking whatsoever.

Please Welcome…Joker! (2 minutes, 44 seconds.)

- There was no such thing as a repeated take for Phoenix. They showed his entrance to the Murray Franklin Show. Every single take, he did something different.

Joker: A Chronicle of Chaos. (3 minutes, 4 seconds)

- A series of photographs from the movie.

Warner Brothers Home Entertainment