Review: Hell or High Water

-
Blood always follows money. 

Toby (Chris Pine) and his brother Tanner (Ben Foster) have been robbing a small chain of banks in Texas in order to save their family's ranch. Tanner is fresh out of prison, Toby is a divorcee who just wants a better life for his sons. They eventually catch the eyes of ranger, Hamilton (Jeff Bridges) and his reluctant partner Parker. (Gil Birmingham)  Hamilton thinks he has them all figured out, and Toby just wants to get this all over with.

I hadn't planned on seeing this on the big screen, despite loving Ben Foster, but after hearing how unexpectedly great it was, I made it a point to see it before my theater loses it this week. It's a very simple story but performance by Foster and Pine completely enhance it. This was an interesting double matinee I saw with Don't Breathe (review will go up on Sunday) as both involved characters robbing others. There's a lot less grey with this one.

Foster is so underrated. This guy has been long over due for an Oscar. I'd love if he got some supporting love for this piece. This is also the best I've ever seen Pine.

The score is lovely and the film paced well. My only complaint was when a group of bystanders all whip out their guns and attempt to take justice into their own hands. (And no, they don't save everybody by shooting at people with guns, they kind of made it worse) It just made me cringe. I'm sure it wasn't meant to be any kind of political statement but that's all I could think about when watching it. 

Recommended: Yes

Grade: B

Memorable Quote: "Only assholes drink Mr. Pibb." - Tanner (Ben Foster)

Comments

  1. MyerlaSeptember 14, 2016 at 7:06 AM

    I'm keen to see this, planning on doing so next week.

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownSeptember 14, 2016 at 7:38 AM

    I was so underwhelmed by the trailer for this, but every review I've read has sang its praises. Hoping to watch this myself very soon now!
    - Allie

    ReplyDelete
  3. Kevin PowersSeptember 14, 2016 at 9:35 AM

    Yeah. The men with the guns. For me, this movie was making a statement against the men with the guns, not for them. The little guy (Pine) wins in this movie. He beats the rednecks with all the guns just as he beats the banking industry on a small scale, then the largest scale possible. I'm fine with those things as political statements.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamSeptember 14, 2016 at 9:40 AM

      That makes it sound better, but it just felt kind of gross while I was watching that scene.

      Delete
  4. DellSeptember 14, 2016 at 5:28 PM

    Somehow I haven't heard about this one, till now. I like Foster and Pine, so I'll check it out at some point.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamSeptember 15, 2016 at 6:40 AM

      It's a lot better than any trailer lets on, that's for sure.

      Delete
  5. Candice FrederickSeptember 14, 2016 at 9:15 PM

    I need to see this!

    ReplyDelete
  6. BirgitSeptember 15, 2016 at 11:59 AM

    I do want to see this film because I love Jeff Bridges. Sounds like a good film

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamSeptember 15, 2016 at 12:04 PM

      He's pretty good in it. Typical Bridges, but interesting enough.

      Delete
  7. s.September 16, 2016 at 5:34 PM

    I here there is Oscar Buzz for Bridges for this....must be weak year for supporting actor :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamSeptember 17, 2016 at 6:40 AM

      Bridges basically plays the same character over and over, Foster is the real stand out here. If anyone should be getting supporting chatter, it should be him.

      Delete
  8. KatySeptember 18, 2016 at 9:49 PM

    Nice review! My sister really wanted to see this for Pine, so I'll have to let her know. :D

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks for stopping by, let's talk movies!
(comments are moderated to reduce spam)

Popular posts from this blog

Random Ramblings: The Radio Flyer Conundrum

-
Image
Recently, I was talking to someone about who I thought were the best child actors when I was also a child.  Two that really stood out to me were Elijah Wood and Joseph Mazello, and one film those two were in together was called Radio Flyer.  Then I was reminded about the uniqueness of this film. Instead of reviewing the film, I wanted to have an open discussion about the ending. It deals with a tough issue; child abuse. What I’ve noticed is the way that the film ends is interpreted many different ways, and the filmmakers never came forward to say what was right and wrong. I’m interested in hearing everyone’s opinions on it. How did you interpret the ending? Obviously spoiler alerts will follow.. For those of you who haven’t seen the film, the basic premise is this: Two young boys, Mikey (Wood) and Bobby (Mazello) move in with their single mother and her boyfriend, who refers to himself as ‘The King’. It doesn’t take long for The King to start physically abusing ...
Read more

Indie Gems: Behind The Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon

-
Image
Passionate about your profession? I had never heard of this film until it ended up on one of Jason's favorite horror movie lists around Halloween. It immediately sounded interesting to me, so of course I threw it in my Netflix queue. (and if I'm just now watching it after adding it around Halloween, you know how ridiculous my queue is) Taylor (Angela Goethals) is a journalist who, along with a film crew decides to follow around a serial killer named Leslie Vernon. (Nathan Baesel) He plans on doing the typical slasher thing - getting a bunch of drunk teens in an abandoned house and knocking them off one by one. He gets advice from a retired serial killer, Eugene (Scott Wilson) and is threatened by a man who's on to him, Doc Holloran (Robert Englund) Taylor and crew are there capturing it all. Leslie Vernon is fucking hilarious to start with, and clearly very passionate about what he does. He tells Taylor all of his secrets and can barely contain his excitemen...
Read more

My Favorite Movie Youtube Channels

-
Image
Starting around 2018, I started watching Youtube for more than just movie trailers or music videos whenever a new one dropped. Now I'm in full blown subscription mode and don't bat an eyelash at watching a Youtube video that's over an hour long. I watch Youtube for a few different categories of content, but one of them that I love most is movie/TV essays and commentary, and that's what I'm going to talk about today. Below is a list of my favorite movie related Youtube channels. Let me know if you're familiar with them too, or if you have any you'd like to recommend to me.  Double Toasted - I'm honestly surprised this channel isn't bigger. I first came across Korey and Martin when they reviewed War for the Planet of the Apes a few months before it hit theaters and I thought they were hysterical. While their full length videos stream on Twitch, they often upload their movie reviews and commentary on youtube and they're always hilarious. They've...
Read more