Movies: The Mustang, The Aftermath, The Hummingbird Project

The Mustang

Oddly enough this film is an American-French-Belgian production about a Nevada prison program to pair wild mustangs with hardened inmates, with the goal being everybody has something to learn and benefits (when the program works).

The acting is pretty good.  The cast includes the Belgian actor Matthias Schoenaerts in the leading roll as Roman.  Jason Mitchell plays a fellow inmate Henry.  Bruce Dern plays the tough program manager Myles.  Gideon Adlon plays the daughter Martha.  Connie Britton plays the prison psychologist.  Another 20 actors play various rolls as prison guards or inmates.

It’s interesting partly because it is based on true events but it also reveals the cold brutal reality surrounding the prison system, the way they operate and the human fallout that comes with incarceration.

Reviews have been generally favorable.  The film is listed as a drama.  It is rated R for language, some violence and drug content.  We do not recommend viewing for children.  The run time is 96 minutes.

Rating

The Aftermath

This film is set in 1946 Hamburg, Germany right after the end of World War II.  It’s an interesting story about a British Colonel who is assigned the task of rebuilding the City of Hamburg.  There is still a lot of tension between the German population and the British who try to jump start the recovery process.

The big twist in this story is the Colonel decides to “share the house” owned by the ranking German family in Hamburg.

It has a skilled cast.  Keira Knightly plays the Officer’s wife.  Jason Clarke plays the husband and Colonel.  Alexander Skarsgard plays the head of the German family and “other man”!  Seventeen year old Flora Thiemann plays the young German daughter.  Another 20+ actors round out the cast.

As you might imagine, there is quite a bit of angst and tension, more than a few twists and turns.  Overall it is an interesting time in history, with some unique characters.  The film is rated R for profanity, violence and gore, and sex & nudity.  As a result we do not recommend this film for children.  It’s listed as a Drama with a run time of 108 minutes.

Rating

The Hummingbird Project

This is an intelligent and well acted film about two cousins from New York who hatch an idea to run fiber optic lines underground from Kansas to New York City that would transmit trading orders in milliseconds ultimately worth millions of dollars in profits.

Anton, played by Alexander Skarsgard is the brains while his cousin Vincent, played by Jesse Eisenberg is the hustler.  Selma Hayek is their former boss.  Her character is intelligent, brutal and ultra competitive.  Michael Mando (who speaks several languages and has lived on four continents) plays a highly skilled contractor.  Also noteworthy is John Heldenbergh’s bit part as an Amish Elder.

It’s also a story about family, power and integrity.  It’s one part thriller, one part suspense, one part success at any cost personal or material.  All that said, it’s a bit far fetched…more than once.

It’s rated R for language throughout.  It is listed as a Comedy (not sure why), Drama, Mystery & Suspense.  We do not feel this is children appropriate.  The run time is 111 minutes.

Rating

 

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