1917 won the Golden Globe for Best Picture and Best Director for Sam Mend and it’s now playing in theaters in west Michigan. WGVU talks with Ron Van Timmeran from Studio C about that picture, and the new action-horror film Underwater, starring Kristen Stewart, Just Mercy, with Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Foxx, and Like A Boss, with Rose Byrne, Salma Hayek and Tiffany Haddish.
WGVU: 1917 the latest film from Sam Mendes and this has already won a bunch of awards, including the Golden Globe, best director, best picture, it's had the buzz for months, have you had an opportunity to see it?
VanTimmeran: I saw it last night and it's the rare a movie being released in January obviously qualified for these awards with a few theaters in December but 9 of the 10 movies that were nominated for Golden Globe are already gone out of theaters or on Netflix or whatever and so here we have that rare opportunity to actually open this weekend a movie that was a best picture Golden Globe winner and Oscar nominations come out Monday morning, It's going to get a boat load of those as well.
WGVU: And also winning best foreign film Parasite, which was one of my top movies of the year and that's probably going to do well with the Oscar noms as well.
VanTimmeran: Like Roma last year Parasite might get a best picture you know, and a best foreign film which uwhich is a very rare thing we could have that happen 2 weeks in a row in and by the way did you see HBO is going to develop Parasite as a series.
I saw 1917 and loved it for a lot of reasons you know was saving Private Ryan or a Dunkirk kind of movie. Sam Mendez put it together in real time the clock is ticking, they got to get a message to the front these 2 guys are on a mission to save hundreds of lives and how it was shot and edited makes it play out in real time, it's just fascinating and not only from a filmmaking standpoint, but interesting characters along the way
WGVU: When I saw the first the preview for it, it reminded me of Dunkirk which we just had a couple of years ago… is it is it similar to that?
VanTimmeran: Very similar to that yeah and R-rated for those reasons… I mean war… nothing pretty about these sort of battles but World War was very different than World War II, and that while there are similarities there is also that historical difference. and
WGVU: Some people may not realize that World Warwas a lot more brutal for the soldiers in the trenches on the front line.
VanTimmeran: You get a real taste of that in its it is the mud, the blood every you know the bodies, just awful.
WGVU: Another film that's opening up which I'm intrigued to hear what you've got in terms of Rotten Tomatoes score, Underwater with Kristen Stewart.
VanTimmeran: It's sitting at 49 right now so some people like it some people don't. But it's you know it's the alien under water, you know the science team. That's got these you know this under water rig…there’s an earthquake and then the creature and you know the suspense that goes with it, very much an alien-like movie.
WGVU: I have to say that I was intrigued because I have not heard about the movie and then I read a review yesterday on The Daily Beast by Kevin Fallon who said it's the year's first crazy fun movie. He says: outrageous, thrilling, it might be bad, but I loved it and it.
VanTimmeran: Or like uncut gems with Adam Sandler, terrific movie and he did with, it did it to me I couldn't hardly sit still in this movie, Adam Sandler was so good in it and made me so nervous, I was just shaking, but it affected me emotionally physically even so I understand the sentiment.
WGVU: Also opening Like A Boss with Rose Byrne and Selma Hayek…
VanTimmeran: And Tiffany Haddish, don't forget her… Rose and Tiffany have this fashion and cosmetic business. They’re roommates and old friends they're oil and water though, so that's part of the comedy … it's turning into a little bit of a Bridesmaid's meets Night School if you know what I'm saying, it's an R-rated raunchy comedy.
WGVU: And Jamie Foxx returning to the big screen as a prisoner in Just Mercy where he is a prisoner defended by world renowned civil rights attorney Bryan Stevenson played by Michael B. Jordan, also Brie Larson in the film.
VanTimmeran: I love these true stories and where there's race relation issues even in our lifetimes Scott this was the 80's, you know, a black man in Alabama wrongly accused of killing a white girl, lying witnesses, no legal recourse for the for the alibi that he had… I mean it just goes on, and this Bryan Stevenson guy you know, Harvard educated black lawyer went back to Alabama and started to work with Jayme Fox's character first but then had a 125 death row cases overturned for being falsely accused for free… he offered services for free… so it's just a really cool story with a terrific cast and certified fresh by the critics.
WGVU: I want to want to mention a movie that opened a couple of weeks ago when we were both gone here, A Hidden life directed by Terrence Mallick, it's based on a true story as well about a… Austrian… I believe Austrian but under German rule a farmer who decides that he is going to be a conscientious objector under the Nazis regime and what happens to him as a result and it's absolutely gorgeously shot beautiful movie. Terrence Mallick who is very famous for doing 2 movies in the 70's, notably Days of heaven which was Richard Gere is first film and then he didn't do anything for almost 20 years and then he did The Thin Red Line and then did The Tree of Life, The New World and this film. And I thought it was amazing it's a 2 and a half hour movie, almost a 3 hour movie.
VanTimmeran: Yeah, very long and we will hold it over this week… not a lot of people want to see it so I'm hoping people will find it’s a playing at Celebration North and at Rivertown, those 2 locations… would you say it's a tough picture to watch? Or did it have it’s uplifting moments as well?
WGVU: It's tough but it's it's very much in the style of Terrence Malick so it mostly takes place in this mountainous region of Austria, which is just gorgeous and it's pretty much rural people, doing the work of their lives, you know, with their families and with their neighbors helping out and that's primarily it's… it's removed from the actual war and yet they're under German law so if you're of a certain age and you’re male you're going to get drafted …
VanTimmeran: Right, and that sets up a conflict with his family obviously he’s got a wife and kids two…
WGVU: Yeah, very much young children
VanTimmeran: So I thought watching the trailer boy this is going to be a serious drama.
WGVU: Very great. So going back to the Golden Globes.
I'm sure you're not surprised Joaquin Phoenix for Joker Renee Zellweger for Judy, these are probably also going to be things that we're going to see again with the Oscar nominations.
VanTimmeran: Sure thing, Monday morning the Oscar nominations come out… Once Upon a Time in Hollywood was the other best picture they call it a comedy or musical.
And then Taron Egerton for Rocket Man and Awkwafina for The Farewell.