Mojave
Mojave is directed and written by William Monahan about a suicidal famous guy who goes to the desert to contemplate reality where he finds a psychopathic drifter with a bleak outlook on human life. I could see why the production company didn't want this movie to be pushed towards the lime-light. Hear me out though: the film is entertaining.
Each character feels fleshed out, interesting, some are more relate- able than others but you can still understand how and why they act that way. The direction was a bit too artsy even for me, but still held my attention and had good variability with the shots he took. The score in this movie was also great.
Tom, played by Garrett Hedlund, who you might recognize from Tron Legacy, or Unbroken, did a wonderful job portraying a bored artist with more money than you could count in a lifetime feeling like he should end it all. He's an unlikable character, and makes you root for the villain almost. I gotta say I liked the fact that I disliked the main character. It's not something I usually find myself doing.
Jack, played by Oscar Isaac was wonderful and weird at the same time. He wasn't charming and anti-social like he was in Ex Machina, or Nonchalant like he was in Star Wars VII. He was vindictive, methodical, and deeply flawed. All he wanted was a good friend to share a campfire with...kinda. The only negative things I could say about his performance was that I kept getting a Beetlejuice vibe from him.
William Monahan did a great job writing the characters and screenplay. That being said there are lots of long silent scenes that needed dialogue. If Kevin Smith and Quentin Tarantino are the kings of dialogue then William Monahan and Denis Villeneuve are kings of silence. Everyone knows Kevin Smith and Quentin Tarantino, but few will remember William and Denis, and that's a shame. I say that because there's some skill there to keep people entertained through silence.
This is the third time I've seen William Monahan and Mark Wahlberg work together. If I had to rank them from Best to Worst, it would be The Departed, Mojave, then The Gambler. Mark plays Norman the likable butt-puppet who complains that he's the only hard working person in Hollywood. Typical yet awesome type-casting for Mark Wahlberg. If it becomes too old a shtick like Vince Vaughn is in all of his movies I'll make sure to change my view.
Verdict: Worth a watch, can't be doing something else while you're watching the film or else you're gonna miss a ton of non-verbal cues. Free on Amazon Prime.
Mojave is directed and written by William Monahan about a suicidal famous guy who goes to the desert to contemplate reality where he finds a psychopathic drifter with a bleak outlook on human life. I could see why the production company didn't want this movie to be pushed towards the lime-light. Hear me out though: the film is entertaining.
Each character feels fleshed out, interesting, some are more relate- able than others but you can still understand how and why they act that way. The direction was a bit too artsy even for me, but still held my attention and had good variability with the shots he took. The score in this movie was also great.
Tom, played by Garrett Hedlund, who you might recognize from Tron Legacy, or Unbroken, did a wonderful job portraying a bored artist with more money than you could count in a lifetime feeling like he should end it all. He's an unlikable character, and makes you root for the villain almost. I gotta say I liked the fact that I disliked the main character. It's not something I usually find myself doing.
Jack, played by Oscar Isaac was wonderful and weird at the same time. He wasn't charming and anti-social like he was in Ex Machina, or Nonchalant like he was in Star Wars VII. He was vindictive, methodical, and deeply flawed. All he wanted was a good friend to share a campfire with...kinda. The only negative things I could say about his performance was that I kept getting a Beetlejuice vibe from him.
William Monahan did a great job writing the characters and screenplay. That being said there are lots of long silent scenes that needed dialogue. If Kevin Smith and Quentin Tarantino are the kings of dialogue then William Monahan and Denis Villeneuve are kings of silence. Everyone knows Kevin Smith and Quentin Tarantino, but few will remember William and Denis, and that's a shame. I say that because there's some skill there to keep people entertained through silence.
This is the third time I've seen William Monahan and Mark Wahlberg work together. If I had to rank them from Best to Worst, it would be The Departed, Mojave, then The Gambler. Mark plays Norman the likable butt-puppet who complains that he's the only hard working person in Hollywood. Typical yet awesome type-casting for Mark Wahlberg. If it becomes too old a shtick like Vince Vaughn is in all of his movies I'll make sure to change my view.
Verdict: Worth a watch, can't be doing something else while you're watching the film or else you're gonna miss a ton of non-verbal cues. Free on Amazon Prime.