Review: All the Money in the World (2017)

* * *
Director: Ridley Scott
Starring: Michelle Williams, Mark Wahlberg, Christopher Plummer

In the long run All the Money in the World may never quite get out from under the shadow that looms over it, destined perhaps to be best remembered as the answer to a trivia question, even though it has a lot more going for it than the behind the scenes saga about how it managed to come to the screen. It has a fantastic performance from Michelle Williams, for one thing, and a great one from Christopher Plummer, and both are just as impressive as director Ridley Scott's ambitious/crazy plan to reshoot parts of the film in order to excise original star Kevin Spacey but keep the film's original release date (the film was released right on schedule December 18th, despite reshoots taking place during the week of American Thanksgiving). This isn't to suggest that the fact that Scott actually pulled this off doesn't make for a grand technical achievement (not to mention one hell of a story itself), I just want to make sure to emphasize that the end result is more than just an exercise in trying to achieve what should be impossible on such a tight deadline.

Review: The Martian (2015)

* * * 1/2
Director: Ridley Scott
Starring: Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Chiwetel Ejiofor

If you can say nothing else for it, you have to at least give Ridley Scott's The Martian props for not being afraid to go big. It's a movie that properly earns the distinction as a "spectacle," being an epic and visually stunning science fiction tale, but it's also a thematically big picture, one that seeks to portray and affirm the triumph of human ingenuity and determination, and of the human spirit. It's a feel good movie that's exhilarating rather than mushy, a science fiction story that's more about awe than terror, and a character piece that offers a wonderful showcase for the talents of Matt Damon. To my mind, this is the movie that last year's Interstellar wanted to be but wasn't.

Review: The Counselor (2013)

* * 1/2
Director: Ridley Scott
Starring: Michael Fassbender, Javier Bardem, Cameron Diaz, Brad Pitt, Penelope Cruz

It's easy to see why Ridley Scott's The Counselor landed with such a thud (both critical and commercial) when it arrived in theaters last fall. It's an aggressively inaccessible film, savagely violent in some places, thick with talk in most places. I admire the film for its confidence; mainstream films (and given its cast and its director, The Counselor qualifies as mainstream), even the good ones, usually seem like they've been put together by committee, designed to appeal to as many people as possible, but The Counselor has the courage to be its own animal and do its own thing. It's bold, it's fascinating, and it doesn't entirely work, but when it fails it does so on its own terms and there aren't a ton of movies you can say that about.

Friday's Top 5... Ridley Scott Films

#5: The Duellists (1977)
You've gotta give it up for the debut, particularly when the debut is as strong as this one. The story of two members of Napoleon's army who spend years (long stretches of which are broken up by their participation in war) engaging in a series of duels. It's a great historical drama, not to mention a psychological character study.

Review: Prometheus (2012)

* * * 1/2
Director: Ridley Scott
Starring: Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron

Prometheus was probably one of the most anticipated movies of the summer, perhaps only behind The Dark Knight Rises, Brave, and The Amazing Spider-Man, but judging from post-opening weekend responses, it may prove to have the greatest difference between expectation and actual reaction. It may not be on par with Alien (which, it might be noted, also opened to fairly mixed reviews before settling into its place as a classic of the genre), but considered on its own terms, it's a pretty good movie.

Review: Thelma and Louise (1991)

* * * *
Director: Ridley Scott
Starring: Susan Sarandon, Geena Davis, Harvey Keitel, Brad Pitt

It's weird, isn't it, the way that a movie can be released, make a big impact, fade away, and then come roaring back into the zeitgeist? 2011 marks the 20th anniversary of Thelma and Louise and during the past couple of months the film seems to keep coming up, in magazines (Vanity Fair had an article about it a couple months back), online, and lo and behold, it was on TV over the weekend. 20 years later it still holds up really well - though it's bizarre, from a 2011 standpoint, to see Brad Pitt get seventh billing and behind Stephen Tobolowsky to boot.