Archives for : Jake Gyllenhaal
SPIRIT UNTAMED is in theaters Friday, June 4. To celebrate, Universal Pictures and DreamWorks has created a downloadable virtual activity kit!
Link to virtual activity kit: https://wetransfer.com/downloads/55dccb7221236e99f2dade1bfbe0d59520210506203222/07ad23
An epic adventure about a headstrong girl longing for a place to belong who discovers a kindred spirit when her life intersects with a wild horse, Spirit Untamed is the next chapter in the beloved story from DreamWorks Animation.
Lucky Prescott (Isabela Merced, Dora and the Lost City of Gold) never really knew her late mother, Milagro Navarro (Eiza González, Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw), a fearless horse-riding stunt performer from Miradero, a small town on the edge of the wide-open frontier.
Like her mother, Lucky isn’t exactly a fan of rules and restrictions, which has caused her Aunt Cora (Academy Award® winner Julianne Moore) no small amount of worry. Lucky has grown up in an East Coast city under Cora’s watchful eye, but when Lucky presses her own luck with one too many risky escapades, Cora picks up stakes and moves them both back with Lucky’s father, Jim (Oscar® nominee Jake Gyllenhaal), in Miradero.
Lucky is decidedly unimpressed with the sleepy little town. She has a change of heart when she meets Spirit, a wild Mustang who shares her independent streak, and befriends two local horseback riders, Abigail Stone (Mckenna Grace, Captain Marvel) and Pru Granger (Marsai Martin, Little). Pru’s father, stable owner Al Granger (Emmy winner Andre Braugher, Fox’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine), is the best friend of Lucky’s father.
When a heartless horse wrangler (Emmy nominee Walton Goggins, FX’s Justified) and his team plan to capture Spirit and his herd and auction them off to a life of captivity and hard labor, Lucky enlists her new friends and bravely embarks on the adventure of a lifetime to rescue the horse who has given her freedom and a sense of purpose, and has helped Lucky discover a connection to her mother’s legacy and to her Mexican heritage that she never expected.
Spirit Untamed is the next chapter in DreamWorks Animation’s beloved franchise that began with the 2002 Oscar-nominated film Spirit: Stallion of Cimarron and includes an Emmy-winning TV series. The film is directed by Elaine Bogan (Netflix and DreamWorks Animation Television’s Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia) and is produced by Karen Foster (co-producer, How to Train Your Dragon). The film’s co-director is Ennio Torresan (head of story, The Boss Baby), and the film’s score is by composer Amie Doherty (Amazon’s Undone, DreamWorks Animation’s Marooned).
Genre: Animated Adventure
Cast: Isabela Merced, Julianne Moore, Jake Gyllenhaal, Marsai Martin, Mckenna Grace, Walton Goggins, Andre Braugher and Eiza González
Director: Elaine Bogan
Producer: Karen Foster
We’re all still recovering from the events of “Avengers: Endgame”. There were traumatic losses, epic battles, and a perfect ending to that chapter of the Marvel Universe. Luckily, we’ve been treated to another “Spider-Man” sequel, giving us something to help heal those emotional wounds. Now if you haven’t seen “Endgame” yet, shame on you! Also, stop reading any further. (Spoiler Alert!!)
After the devastating loss of Tony Stark (Robert Downy Jr.), the city questions who will be the new “Ironman”? As Peter Parker (Tom Holland) mourns the death of his mentor, the last thing he wants is to fill his shoes. No, instead he just wants to be a normal, love-struck teenager. That’s right, the first hour of “Spider-Man: Far from Home” is basically a romantic comedy. And I’m fine with it.
Peter is getting ready for his science club’s Europe trip, on which he plans on telling MJ (Zendya) how he really feels for her. He’s tired of the superhero gig, and wants to be a 16 year-old kid for once. Thus we follow Peter on many failed attempts to sit, talk, or flirt with MJ as he, also, has some competition for her heart. And it only gets worse when Peter discovers Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and a “mysterious” new superhero, Quentin Beck (Jake Gyllenhaal) need his help to take down destructive mythological creatures.
“Spider-Man: Far from Home” may not be as complex as the adventure we just closed on, but it’s just as fun. Coming off such a heavy film, it was nice to sit back and see these characters in a more comical setting. The movie still carries the essence of “Spider-Man: Homecoming”, but it’s much more lighthearted.
The visual effects are fine, and there are some thrilling action sequences. But as in all Marvel films, the characters are lovable. Tom Holland continues to charm every time he’s on screen. His classmates are the source of most of the laughs, and please give me more Happy (Jon Farvreau) and Aunt May (Marisa Tomei).
Though there are times “Spider-Man: Far from Home” gets a little messy and you might struggle to find out where it’s headed, it is still smart and does an excellent job of continuing Peter Parker’s story.
This is far from any other Marvel movie, and the filmmakers know that. Just go in with an open mind and trust that you’re in for a much needed, entertaining trip.
*Be sure to stay for the two end credit scenes.
Rating: 4/5
“Spider-Man: Far from Home” opens July 2.
Sometimes there’s only so much a strong cast can do to make up for a story that drags. Wildlife creates some smoke but hardly ignites any flames.
Wildlife is based on the Richard Ford novel and directed by actor Paul Dano. Set in 1960s’ Montana, a young boy, Joe Brinson (Ed Oxenbould), quietly observes the gradual dissolution of his parent’s marriage. His father, Jerry (Jake Gyllenhaal), is an uncompromising and principled man of meager means, but Joe has strong admiration for his dad. His mother, Jeanette (Carey Mulligan), is more practical and driven. She is a conventional stay at home wife and mother. When Jerry loses his job and sees no other option than to sign up to fight wild fires, the dangerous undertaking separates him from his family for weeks at a time. Jeanette stays home and cuts as many corners as possible until she feels she has no other choice but to embark on an affair with her boss (Bill Camp).
I’m not going to lie, I think I made this film sound more interesting than it was from that previous paragraph. With the exception of the very beginning and the very end, the rest of the film is a whole lot of nothing. So much so that it’s hard to stay interested. Once Gyllenhaal’s character leaves his family, we are stuck in a story that feels like it will never end.
Though Mulligan’s performance in Wildlife is fantastic, her character is insufferable. There are times when you truly feel for her as a lonely mother trying to provide for her child, but it’s tough to stand by her during her affair and what she allows her son to witness. Oxenbould does a fine job as the naive, yet wide-eyed son and Gyllenhaal might have stood out more, if he was actually in the film for longer than 10 minutes. However, he creates a spark toward the end of the movie that might give audiences the jolt they need to get back into this narrative.
Though it may not seem like this, I don’t think that Wildlife is a “bad movie”. It’s not. It’s just not anything special. The story-line feels deflated and it is extremely dragged out. All the performances are solid, but that’s not enough to bring life into this film.
Rating: 2.5/5
Wildlife is in theaters now.
5. Foxcatcher for Best Picture
The film is nominated for Best Director, Actor, and Supporting Actor. Somehow this movie couldn’t nab a nomination for Best Picture when there is still room for TWO more nominees??
4. The Lego Movie for Best Animated Feature
Everything is NOT awesome for The Lego Movie. However, director/writer, Phil Lord took to twitter yesterday to show that he can just build his own Lego Oscar. The film is still being represented at the Oscars by it’s Best Original song nomination.
3. Jake Gyllenhaal for Best Actor
Guess the Academy didn’t think it was much of a transformation? Jake Gyllenhaal’s performance in Nightcrawler became one of awards seasons strongest contenders throughout the last two months, yet he was snubbed on Thursday in the Best Actor category. Shocking, considering Gyllenhaal previously grabbed nominations from the Screen Actors Guild, Golden Globes and BAFTA Awards.
2. Gone Girl for Best Picture & Adapted Screenplay
Smart, twisted, and a hell of thrill ride. Gone Girl not only got snubbed for Best Picture, but for Adapted Screenplay as well! Not sure what happened here, still processing.
1. Ava DuVernay for Best Director
DuVernay would have been the first African American woman ever nominated for Best Director and the only woman to be nominated in the category this year. Her direction for Selma is more than worthy of a nomination, seeing as how she managed to give audiences a powerful and original perspective on a part of history we thought we’d already seen.
To see a full list of the nominees click here.
The North Texas Film Critics Association is proud to announce their Best of 2014 and winners in eleven categories…
The coming-of-age drama BOYHOOD was voted as the best film of 2014, according to the results of its annual critics’ poll which was released today.
The finalized list of the top 10 films of the year were WHIPLASH (2), THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL (3), BIRDMAN (4), THE IMITATION GAME (5), GONE GIRL (6), THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING (7), NIGHTCRAWLER (8), CHEF (9) and INTERSTELLAR (10).
Jake Gyllenhaal was voted Best Actor for NIGHTCRAWLER. Runners-up included Eddie Redmayne for THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING (2), Benedict Cumberbatch for THE IMITATION GAME (3), Michael Keaton for BIRDMAN (4) and David Oyelowo for SELMA (5).
For Best Actress, Rosamund Pike was the winner for GONE GIRL. Runners-up included Reese Witherspoon for WILD (2), Felicity Jones for THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING (3), Amy Adams for BIG EYES (4) and Julianne Moore for STILL ALICE (5).
In the Best Supporting Actor category, the winner was J.K. Simmons for WHIPLASH. He was followed by Edward Norton for BIRDMAN (2), Ethan Hawke for BOYHOOD (3), Mark Ruffalo for FOXCATCHER (4) and Tom Wilkinson for SELMA (5).
In the Best Supporting Actress category, the winner was Patricia Arquette for BOYHOOD. Runners-up were Emma Stone for BIRDMAN (2), Keira Knightley for THE IMITATION GAME (3), Jessica Chastain for A MOST VIOLENT YEAR (4) and Tilda Swinton for SNOWPIERCER (5).
Best Director went to Richard Linklater for BOYHOOD. Alejandro González Iñárritu was next for BIRDMAN (2), Wes Anderson for THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL (3), Damien Chazelle for WHIPLASH (4) and Joon-ho Bong for SNOWPIERCER (5).
The Best Foreign Language film of the year was awarded to IDA. Second place was a three way tie between (in alphabetical order) ACCUSED, FORCE MAJEURE and WINTER SLEEP (2) and rounding out the list, WILD TALES (5).
LIFE ITSELF won Best Documentary followed by CITIZENFOUR (2), SUPERMENSCH: THE LEGEND OF SHEP GORDON (3) JODOROWSKY’S DUNE (4) and THE CASE AGAINST 8 (5).
THE LEGO MOVIE was named the Best Animated film of 2014, with HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 (2), THE BOOK OF LIFE (3) and BIG HERO 6 (4).
The award for Best Cinematography went to Hoyte Van Hoytema for INTERSTELLAR. This was followed by Emmanuel Lubezki for BIRDMAN (2) and Roger Deakins for UNBROKEN (3).
This is the first year that the North Texas Film Critics Association has given an award for Best Ensemble Cast. It was awarded to BIRDMAN followed by THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL (2) and BOYHOOD (3).
The North Texas Film Critics Association (NTFCA) is an unincorporated, members-only organization of print, broadcast and internet film reviewers serving the North Texas area. The association was founded in 2005 and consists of a group of twelve film critics. For more information, visit www.northtexasfilmcritics.com.
When your child goes missing, how far would you go to find her?
After his six-year-old daughter and her best friend are kidnapped on Thanksgiving, Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman) butts heads with detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal) who is in charge of the investigation. Keller feels Loki and his department are not doing enough to find the girls. Keller’s son mentions an old RV, owned by Alex Jones (Paul Dano) and believes he is the culprit that has taken his daughter. When there is a lack of evidence to show any signs that Alex may have taken the girls, he is set free. Losing faith in the law, he captures Alex and holds him captive in a desperate attempt to find out what happened to the girls. But the further he goes to get the man to confess, the closer he comes to losing his soul.
If you have already seen the trailer for this film, then you should know that it screams Best Picture potential. But after watching the movie, it’s the performances that prove to be Oscar worthy. With an all star cast like this one, it’s not shocking that the acting would be exceptional. At this point for most of these Academy Award nominated actors, it is about competing with their own past performances. Hugh Jackman is fresh off his Best Actor nod for Les Miserable. Though I thought he did an incredible job as Jean Valjean, it’s his performance in Prisoners that has left me more satisfied than ever with the actor. Jackman takes the audience on a nail biting, dark journey to see how a desperate father handles every parent’s worst nightmare. It’s the little things that stand out in his performance, from every scowl to every deep breath he makes. I could go on for a while discussing him, but I think you see my point.
Jake Gyllenhaal raised the bar for himself as an actor. He plays detective Loki, a cop that has never lost a case. Loki has his own troubled past which is seen through all his subtle, twitching tendencies. It been since his 2005 nomination for Brokeback Mountain that we have seen him be in such a strong in a role. The movie is really seen through both the eyes of Jackman and Gyllenhaal’s characters. 
On one hand we have Loki, who follows the law and chooses to stick with his moral compass when trying to solve this case. On the other hand, we have Keller who has lost all morality and has taken the law into his own hands. As the story unfolds, it’s interesting to see which method proves to be most effective. Come Oscar time, I see a nomination for both of these actors.
Director, Denis Villeneuve (Incendies, Enemy), explained how this film is really about the characters; and showing how each of them handle this disheartening situation differently. Well Denis, mission accomplished! Each person affected by this kidnapping portray relatable ways of grieving. We are shown a non-stop crying mother who can’t get out of bed. The other mother has gone into shock and hasn’t touched a thing in the kitchen since that Thanksgiving Day. A father who has no idea what to do, and another father who continues to take any action he can. Every last detail, whether it’s a clue for the case or a specific characteristic, serves a purpose in this film.
It’s the details in Prisoners that make this film so exciting to watch. Besides being on the edge of your seat and dying to find out what happened to the little girls, you’re filled with important facts that will eventually all tie together in the end. Prisoners falls right there with films like Gone Baby Gone and Mystic River, a gloomy, exciting mystery with an original, satisfying ending. I will say that I’m still partial to Gone Baby Gone, but all three films do a great job of leaving you with the thought of “what would I do if I was in that position?”
The film is two hours and twenty minutes, but it never felt like that for me. You are too engaged in the case and characters to think about time. This is a very dark film. But given the topic, I wouldn’t see this movie played out any other way. These days with movies being predicable from just a trailer, I enjoyed the fact that two hours into this movie I was still thinking “How is this going to end!?”
Terrence Howard, Viola Davis, Maria Bello, Paul Dano, and Melissa Leo also star in the film.
Rated R for disturbing, violent content including torture, and language.
Prisoners opens everywhere today!
How far would you go to save your child?
Film Synopsis: After his six-year-old daughter and her best friend are kidnapped on Thanksgiving, Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman) butts heads with detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal) in charge of the investigation. After searching, Dover’s son mentions an old RV, owned by Alex Jones (Paul Dano). Feeling failed by the law, Dover captures Jones, the man he believes responsible, holding him captive in a desperate attempt to find out what he did with the girls, whom he is convinced are still alive. But the further he goes to get the man to confess, the closer he comes to losing his soul.
Directed by Denis Villeneuve and Written by Aaron Guzikowski
Stars: Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Terrence Howard, Maria Bello, Viola Davis, and Paul Dano
First Impressions: You had me at Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal, but when you throw in the rest of this strong, all star cast you have my full attention. Although, the storyline alone has enough of a hook to pull me in. With so many remakes and every possible superhero movie, it’s rare to watch a trailer and think, “Whoa! I have to know how this movie ends!” But that was the exact reaction I felt after seeing the trailer for Prisoners.
Kidnappings in films are always intriguing. It brings mystery and the classic “who dun it” feel for audiences, allowing us to solve the case alongside the characters. And when kids are involved, we tend to empathize, usually wanting the parents to go to the extreme and take the law into their own hands. Films like Gone Baby Gone and Ransom, are great examples. And even though there wasn’t a kidnapping in Mystic River, Sean Penn going insane trying to find out who killed his daughter is what came straight to mind when I first saw this trailer. All three are great films and hopefully Prisoners will follow in their footsteps by giving us a thrilling, original ending. Besides being excited to see this movie, I’ll be very interested to see the response it gets during this upcoming awards season. For now, I’d love to hear what you guys think after watching the trailer below!
Prisoners makes its release in theaters on September 20, 2013.
