James Williams

Characters: “Memento” follows Leonard as he tries to find his wife’s killer and the man responsible for his short term memory loss. The reason why Leonard is such a great character is because he is a very unreliable narrator. The audience can never trust him due to his condition and the people influencing him. These people are both Natalie and Teddy. Natalie is an excellently written character, as the story unfolds, we find out that her motives aren’t so innocent and she isn’t what she seems. Teddy is Leonard’s only friend really, throughout the film we see Teddy give Leonard constant advice but he never trusts him for some reason. Writing/Direction: Even in Christopher Nolan’s debut film he shows how talented he truly is. Nolan’s unique helm of this film truly makes it one of the most creative endeavors in film history. Nolan makes what should be a very confusing movie a very easy watch due to such creative liberties like using black in white to tell time difference, subtle appearance differences and even more subtler context clues. What makes this film as special and unique is it’s strange backwards narrative. The beginning of the film is the true chronological ending of the story and the events of the story occur in a reverse fashion. This could have only been pulled off by a genius and Nolan definitely pulled it off. Acting: Guy Pearce stars as Leonard and his supporting cast is Carrie-Ann Moss as Natalie and Joe Pantoliano. Pearce gives a career performance as the troubled Leonard and he shows how much of a great actor he can be with the right script. Moss gives an expectedly good performance as the twisted Natalie. But the true standout is Pantoliano as Teddy. He balances compassion with sometimes mystique in all of his lines and really makes you think about who his character truly is. Overall, Memento is easily one of the best debut films by any director ever due to its amazing performances from its leads, superb writing and a truly unique and groundbreaking premise. Rating: A Recommendation: Must Watch!!!!!

Characters: Magnolia sports some great characters and they each have their arcs and sympathetic traits. If it’s Tom Cruise’s egotistical but empathetic Frank or Phillip Hoffman’s kind hearted nurse, you can sympathize with most characters. All characters go through a transformative arc that is for bad or good. Writing/Direction: The absolute bread and butter of this film is the writing and direction. All dialogue is genius and brings out a lot of foreshadowing and irony. The characters are all written almost too perfection which was previously stated. PT Anderson shows again how great he is at almost everything! Acting: For an ensemble film full of colorful characters, the cast is incredible. Tom Cruise, Hoffman, John C. Reilly and Julian Moore all give mesmerizing performances. Oscar nominated William H. Macy is great as well and Phillip Baker Hall, Jason Robards and Melora Walters round out the cast with solid performances. Overall, Magnolia is a simply special ensemble film with great performances from its leads, impeccable writing and direction from PT Anderson and a great soundtrack to boost the mood. Rating: A+ Recommendation: Absolute Must Watch!!!

Characters: “The Master” follows a broken War vet Freddie Quell navigate his life with his new friend Lancaster Dodd. Quell is very good lead character to follow in a film like this. With characters like the bigger then life Dodd family, this film needed a grounded character to make it believable. The head of the Dodd family is a great character in himself as well, he is an incredibly complex man and another great religious character from PT Anderson. Writing/Direction: PT Anderson’s obvious inspiration for this film was the beginning of “Scientology”. The Cause is never called Scientology but it is clear what he tried to do. Nevertheless, I’ve seen many critics criticize this film due to its loose structure and no real narrative but I disagree and find this to be a very effective character drama. The point of the film is to see where these characters end up in the end and how they change, not an over arching story. A large negative I have with this film is it can drag for long periods of time and exhaust the viewer. Acting: The best part of this film is by far the acting. Joaquin Phoenix gives an amazing performance as Quell and shows how much a man can change over war and how PTSD can effect you. The best performance by far is Phillip Hoffman, he blurs the lines between controlled and radical so well in this film it makes his character feel very realistic. A great supporting cast built from Oscar veterans Amy Adams, Rami Malek and Laura Dern is also showcased in this film. Overall, The Master is a beautifully shot and a generally good addition to the impressive filmography of Writer/Director PT Anderson and shows great acting from its leads. Rating: B Recommendation: Worth a watch.

Characters: The main focus of “Punch-Drunk Love” is loner Barry finding love. This odd premise would not have worked if the characters were not as sympathetic and relatable as they are. The protagonist Barry is already having the audience root for him from the beginning due to it being clear that he is a great person at heart. Writing/Direction: The writing for the rom-com is admirable as well. The situations Barry finds himself in are hilariously sad and heart warming. PT Anderson also finds a way to make the film feel like only 45 minutes due to its brisk pace that keeps the story moving. A problem with this film is the runtime being as short as it is with the speed this film moves at can sometimes leave the audience confused. Acting: Adam Sandler stars in this film in which is arguably his best role ever. Sandler’s star power as a comedian makes his character even more likable then he already was. Phillip Hoffman and Emily Watson both give very good supporting and antagonistic performances as well. Overall, Punch-Drunk Love is a solid film from genius filmmaker PT Anderson that displays Adam Sandler’s potential to act as a dramatic or semi-dramatic character. Rating: B- Recommendation: Worth a free watch.

Characters: There Will be Blood’s lead characters, Daniel Plainview, his son and Preacher Eli Sunday are all exceptional characters. Each act executed by any of these three makes sense and can be rooted back to their understandable motives and ambitions. Writing/Direction: Paul Thomas Anderson’s aim and direction of this film is historic. The bold choice to have the opening sequence be completely silent aside from the hauntingly excellent score from Jonny Greenwood is a decision that paid off. The writing is exquisite in it self as well, the unpredictable but guided nature of Preacher Sunday and the arc that Daniel goes through is genius. Acting: Daniel Day Lewis... Nothing else to say. Day Lewis gives a mesmerizing performance as the Oil Tycoon Daniel Plainview which ranks as one of the greatest Characters/Performances Hollywood has ever seen. The only “negative” this film really has is Paul Dano’s tendency to over act in a small amount of scenes. Overall, There Will be Blood is a truly phenomenal film that gives viewers one of the greatest performances from the acting GOAT. Anderson also delivers unpredictable twists and turns that keep the film fresh and never boring. Rating: A+ Recommendation: One of the greats!!!

Characters: This film’s characters are truly excellent. As the main protagonist Jacob “Money” Harlon goes through a journey through the story, we notice each little change to him and the others around him. Each character is fleshed out and given a backstory that makes you empathize with them. My only complaint about this whole film was the decision to have basically two protagonists with one being a fully understandable character and the other feeling a little out of place (the cop). Direction/Writing: Writer/director Ric Roman Waugh does a great job of making the characters real and even though some of them are murders you still empathize with them. Acting: To get to the point, this is some of the best acting in the 2010’s. Nikolaj Coster-Waldau leads this great cast featuring Jon Bernthal, Lake Bell and Omari Hardwick to name a few. Coster-Waldau’s performance is one of the best performances in the past 5-10 years due to his great line delivery and understanding of the character. Overall, Shot Caller is one of the best films to come out in 3 years due to Ric Roman Waugh’s stellar Writing and Direction. Nikolaj Coster-Waldau’s excellent performance and a surreal story. Rating: A Recommendation: Must Watch!!