'Overlord' Review

On the eve of D-Day, American paratroopers drop behind enemy lines to penetrate the walls of a fortified church and destroy a radio transmitter. As the soldiers approach their target, they soon begin to realize that there's more going on in the Nazi-occupied village than a simple military operation. Making their way to an underground lab, outnumbered men stumble upon a sinister experiment that forces them into a vicious battle against an army of the undead.

Overlord is directed by Julius Avery and written by Mark L. Smith and Billy Ray. Supposedly, it was originally intended to tie into Cloverfield and the corresponding anthology, but alas, Overlord is not another Cloverfield movie. It's actually a fairly grounded, gruesome war flick preceding the Normandy Invasion once the supernatural elements are removed. Though Overlord is set during World War II and features zombies created by Nazi experimentation, I feel I should inform you that it's not quite the cinematic equivalent of the Nazi Zombies game mode from Call of Duty. The zombies were more of a mysterious obstacle sprinkled into the story as opposed to being the primary plot focus. This is a war film first, and a grindhouse-styled B-movie second. Overlord happens to be at its best whenever the genres overlap. 

Easing audiences into the supernatural, Overlord takes its time to unleash its undead entities and instead first focuses on setting the stage for all the insanity to come. Viewers are dropped right into the action as planes full of paratroopers fly over Normandy. Things quickly go awry, but Overlord's seemingly no different than the war movies audiences have grown accustomed to. The characters are painted in broad strokes, but manage to be no less endearing. While their personalities were rather simple, the characters were likable enough for me to at least become invested in their survival. Beyond that, the cast is chocked full of cinematic soldier stereotypes, for better or for worse. 

Otherwise, Overlord proved itself to be more gory and suspenseful than I could have ever imagined, boasting creature effects so excellent that the make-up, prosthetics, and visual effects work was all indistinguishable. Other elements I appreciated included the cinematography from Laurie Rose and Fabian Wagner as well as Jed Kurzel's score.

The ensemble cast of up-and-coming acting talent also demonstrate substantial range in a plethora of physically and emotionally-exhaustive roles. Jovan Adepo, Wyatt Russell, John Magaro, Iain De Caestecker, Mathilde Ollivier, and Pilou Asbæk each elevate simplistic material to portray larger-than-life personalities befitting of an exploitation flick.

At the end of the day, Overlord wasn't exactly what I expected it to be, but I enjoyed it in all its grindhouse glory. If you're interested in World War II, zombies, or all of the above, you can't afford to Nazi Overlord in theaters.

Film Assessment: B+

'The Big Short' Review

Nominated For: Best Picture, Best Director; Adam McKay, Best Supporting Actor; Christian Bale, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Film Editing.
Won: Best Adapted Screenplay.

The Big Short was the last of the Best Picture nominees for me to see and review and I was pleasantly surprised by the film. I wasn't expecting too much given the subject matter is about crunching numbers and the collapse of the housing market prior to the Stock Market crash in the late 2000's.

Adam McKay directs the film and even cowrote the film along with Charles Randolph. The directorial style is quite unique and charming and I especially liked the use of "breaking the fourth wall," which is when a character is speaking directly to the audience halting the actual story. The writing was incredibly sophisticated and well thought out highlighting the severity of the situation. Adam McKay was quite clever by inserting celebrity cameos for dual purpose of both comedy as well as simplified explanations for the more complicated financial terminology.

In regards to the film's performances, The Big Short is certainly an ensemble performance piece. I was surprised to see that the A-list actors were primarily separated into individual pieces of the narrative thread and never all interacted with one another. It's interesting because there isn't quite one single protagonist since the story follows multiple characters individually. Christian Bale brings a level of humanity and a snarky disposition in his role that makes his character of Micheal Burry feel real. Burry could have easily been captured as the social awkward intellectual genius that has a disability, but Bale rose above that and made the role more than that.

Steve Carell gives what may be his best dramatic performance ever as the temperamental Michael Baum and has some fantastic grounded, emotional scenes that will strike a chord with the audience and connect them to Baum. Finn Whittrock and John Magaro both portray the other integral characters in the story, Jamie Shipley and Charlie Geller, who manage to stand out aside the more experienced cast members. Ryan Gosling's role is very limited but he's hilarious when onscreen and functions as a great guide for the viewer a little similar to Leonardo DiCaprio's character in The Wolf Of Wall Street. Brad Pitt also has a limited supporting role as an ex-Wall Street Investor determined to stay off the grid and is practically a germaphobe but fills the role quite nicely.

In short (no pun intended), The Big Short is a tremendous adaptation with some terrific writing and a star studded ensemble cast. I'd highly recommend it for anyone who would be interested in learning about the housing market crash and also to those looking to check out all the Best Picture nominees.

Film Assessment: A-