john goodman | Joy Reviews Movies

If there’s one thing I’ve noticed about America, it’s that they love to make movies about America. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, I just see a pattern. Regarding Patriots Day, all I’d heard was rave reviews from all around, so naturally, I was more than excited to see it. I actually purchased it on Bluray before seeing it for the first time… because I like to take risks like that. To say that I’m unhappy I did would be a lie as I very much enjoyed it.

I actually really like Mark Wahlberg in this film, where I normally am not a huge fan. I don’t think I’ve seen a movie and been left thinking, “Wow, you go Mark Wahlberg!” since… Four Brothers in 2005. I wasn’t necessarily in awe of his performance this time around, but he played his role convincingly enough that I wasn’t taken out of the story by the fact that they used a big-name actor, and that’s something.

Patriots Day really managed to take a story that I, for one, was already pretty familiar with, including the ending, and make it something suspenseful and keep me on my toes. That’s a feat that I think is difficult to accomplish when you’re taking a true (and widely televised) event and making it into a dramatic film. Even though I knew the final outcome, I’m glad it kept the tension coming.

My boyfriend’s first thoughts upon starting the film were, “oh, I hope they don’t spend too much time leading up to the actual bombing,” and his wish was granted! They cut to the chase, but still managed to make it effectively jarring and uncomfortable. They didn’t go overboard with gore, they didn’t make it more or less than it actually was… it was done very well.

The only real complaint with this film, and it’s a semi-large one, was that I didn’t really feel any emotional ties to the characters. I wasn’t particularly attached to Wahlberg’s character, Sergeant Tommy Saunders, and, while obviously I had sympathy for them, I just wasn’t drawn to them the way I usually am. It’s not a difficult thing to get me to be attached to a fictional character either, so I’m not sure if it was maybe a writing flaw or a directorial flaw, or maybe even Wahlberg’s portrayal. I just didn’t feel it!

Patriots Day did, however, succeed in giving more context to a documentary I watched a while ago entitled, The Thread (it’s on Netflix) about the Reddit thread which was basically a mass gathering of vigilante manhunters trying to find out who bombed the Boston Marathon in 2013. While I’d give Patriots Day a solid 75%, I think I’d almost prefer The Thread.

I have anxiously awaited this film more than probably any of them in the last few months, horror-wise at least. I am a huge fan of John Goodman… he is the best thing that could have happened to Red State, he was great in Flight, and let’s be real, he is like a dad to all of us. I waited though to see what the critics thought (and until it was available to rent on Google Play Movies…) and was so ecstatic to see it was given 90% on Rottentomatoes!

To be fair, you have to kind of go into it NOT expecting it to be related to the 2008 film Cloverfield, because really… it doesn’t. It starts off innocuously enough, introducing us to our main character, Michelle, played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead who is fighting with her boyfriend and traveling away from him to… well, it’s never really explained where she was going or why she was leaving. She is playing with her phone while driving (tsk) and ends up getting into a car accident and being knocked unconscious. When she wakes up, she finds herself in a cell somewhere. We are pretty quickly introduced to John Goodman’s character, Howard, who we learn has built a bunker below his farmhouse for protection from fallout of any sort. Then we basically spend the film questioning where we are, what’s going on, and do we trust Howard?

John Goodman is fantastic – he is menacing when he needs to be and yet, he’s warm at times. He’s a very well-rounded character and that’s nice to see. While Michelle is our main character and she is who we are following through the plot, the centre of the film is John Goodman, 100%. In my opinion, Howard is up there with Kathy Bates’ “Annie Wilkes” in Misery (1990). One minute he is sweet and caring and nurturing, and when something triggers his temper, he flies off the handle in a fit of outrage.

This film is really difficult to talk about without spoiling the plot and the major plotpoints, but what I can say is that 10 Cloverfield Lane keeps you on your toes, it keeps you guessing, and it’s atmosphere is dreadful in the best way possible. But despite these amazing points – the first… 5/6ths of the film’s plot, the well-fleshed out characters, the atmosphere – the ending is really a sticking point for me. It is clearly there solely to link the film to the original Cloverfield and it just… doesn’t fit. It would have been a 10/10 had it stuck with it’s original path, had it left you guessing at the end rather than pulling a connection out of its own butt. That being said, I’m still going to buy it for my collection… I will still rewatch it, probably a few times, and it’s definitely in the running for this year’s October horror movie marathon!

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Patriots Day (2016)

10 Cloverfield Lane (2016)