Greenland (2020) - Butler and Co.'s largely successful disaster thriller

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Star Gerard Butler stands close with his family during a rain of comets on this poster for Ric Roman Waugh's Greenland

John is a building constructor, who receives evacuation notices from the US government for him and his family just before a major comet and fragments of it are posed to enter the Earth's atmosphere in what turns into an extinction-level event.

Greenland is written by Chris Sparling (An Uzi at the Alamo (2005)) and directed by Ric Roman Waugh (In the Shadows (2001)).
SPOILER The story soon breaks up the little 3-person family, as the son's diabetic condition removes them from the militarily executed evacuation effort, and they encounter various lunatics in the face of the nightmarish situation of society breakdown and impending doom. The son's condition is far from a new invention in the history of disaster cinema, but the portrayal of chaos, anarchy and extreme egotism feels current and eerily realistic in the 2020 of racial unrest and widespread Corona-virus fear, death and financial ruin. The plot invariably reflects parts of the disaster situations we encounter in real life, as priorities become tough as nails, with some making it to the rafts of survival while others don't.
Gerard Butler (Timeline (2003)) is no Superman in the story but a pretty normal (still cool of course) guy, - or Scottish descent, (as Butler himself.) Some will miss seeing him as a more active agent, but Greenland sees him side-lined for a good while away from his family, more or less impotent action-wise.
The film isn't exactly an action movie; one of its few action sequences involves a fight on the back of a lorry on the freeway at night, and what happens is very hard to make out. Instead Greenland follows its stressful disaster with a dramatic family story core about a normal family that's dealt with adultery but is overcoming it. The performances are very decent, and Greenland manages to create some suspenseful and affectingly emotional moments.

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 34 mil. $
Box office: 4.6 mil. $ and counting
= Still uncertain
[Greenland premiered 29 July (Belgium) and runs 119 minutes. The film was initially packaged with director Neill Blomkamp and star Chris Evans in 2018, before Waugh and Butler instead took over. Shooting took place from June - August 2019 in Georgia, including Atlanta. The release has been severely damaged by the China-virus pandemic, but it is now among the first films getting released after global shutdowns closed the cinema business. It is set to open in North America Sep. 25. Waugh is set to return with Kandahar (pre-production), another Butler-starring vehicle. Butler has 6 slated upcoming features; it is uncertain which will come first. 758 IMDb users have given Greenland a 6.7/10 average rating.]

What do you think of Greenland?

A Star Is Born (2018) - Cooper and Gaga's spellbinding musical

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+ 2nd Best Movie of the Year
+ Best American Movie of the Year + Best Debut Movie of the Year: Bradley Cooper + Best Musical of the Year + Best Remake of the Year + Best Dog Performance of the Year: Charlie + Best Mega-hit Movie of the Year

Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga caught in an intimate musical moment on this classy B/W and gold poster for Bradley Cooper's A Star Is Born

Ally is a daytime waitress, night-time singer-songwriter, who performs in an LA drag bar one night, as major country rock star Jackson Maine coincidentally witnesses her talent, and the two connect, changing Ally's life changes radically.

A Star Is Born is the debut for co-writer/co-producer/director/star Bradley Cooper (Older than America (2008)), written with Eric Roth (Ali (2001)) and Will Fetters (The Lucky One (2012)), a remake of the classic A Star Is Born (1937), which was also remade with the same title in 1954 and 1976 as well as in Bollywood in 2013. The classic story is the stuff of myths, a basic engine that will likely prove as compelling today as in another 100 years: It is about the widespread human dream that one can be discovered at any moment in one's life and swept up into fame, fortune and creative breakthrough.
Lady Gaga (Machete Kills (2013)) has her first major dramatic part and lead in the film, a role that must have been easily relatable for her, and she knocks it out of the ballpark. From the dramatic title art, as she leaves her job, until her first vocal performance at the drag bar that night (of Edith Piaf's La Vie en Rose), she spellbinds the audience, and anyone going in with skepticism about her should feel put to shame this early on. She sings her lungs out and goes on to hold the film in her palm and carries it safely home in a soulful, invested performance. Cooper is also fantastic and wholly credible as the kind but scarred rock star, a struggling alcoholic and drug addict. SPOILER His unraveling is painful to observe, while Ally's ascent is inspiring, and in this way the film becomes an emotionally full-bodied, powerful ride.
There is a long list of enjoyable supporting actors in A Star Is Born is well: Sam Elliott (Rush (1991)) is great as Maine's older brother; Andrew Dice Clay (Night Patrol (1984)) is both funny and lovely as Ally's warm father, - with Barry Shabaka Henley (Lucky (2017)), Michael D. Roberts (Wishman (1992)) and Michael Harney (Ocean's Thirteen (2007)) as his endearing colleague chums, - Anthony Ramos (Patti Cake$ (2017)) is sweet as Ally's friend, and Dave Chappelle (Con Air (1997)) shows up with some pivotal wisdom in a couple of moving scenes as an old friend of Jackson. Cooper's private dog Charlie plays his lovely dog in the film.
The editing (by Jay Cassidy (Brothers (2009))) is on mark throughout, and the costumes (by Erin Benach (Drive (2011)) are often unassuming but very well curated.
A Star Is Born is a rare major star delight, an emotionally generous rollercoaster, which is also filled with great music, - Cooper and Gaga perform with skill and harmony, and Gaga helped write the songs as well, of which Shallow is the foremost hit wonder. 
SPOILER While the inspiring ending reminds us that we can overcome even the hardest blows, there are a few minor developments in the film's beginning that are less auspiciously written: Ally's quitting at work for just one hard comment by her boss; and her getting violent in a bar with Jackson by her side without much provocation, - both are scenes that should have been given a more natural narrative through-line. Still these are minor reservations to a rightly celebrated screen effort.

Related posts:

Bradley Cooper: 2018 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2018 in films - according to Film Excess
American Sniper (2014) - Eastwood conveys an American man and myth in electric masterpiece (actor)
The Place Beyond the Pines (2012) or, What Is Passed On? (actor)
Silver Linings Playbook (2012) - Tender moments, great De Niro in uneven romantic dramedy (actor)
The Hangover Part II (2011) - Phillips & Co. follow their sensational comedy hit with a disappointing sequel (actor)
The A-Team (2010) - Carnahan and stars present a poorly made noise factory (actor)
The Hangover (2009) - Phillips & Co. hit the mother lode with hilarious crowdpleaser (actor)

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 36 mil. $
Box office: 370.8 mil. $ and counting
= Mega-hit (returned 10.3 times its cost already)
[A Star Is Born premiered 31 August (Venice Film Festival, Italy) and runs 135 minutes. The film began development in 2011 with Clint Eastwood to direct and Beyoncé in the female lead. Her pregnancy derailed the project, until Cooper began putting the film together in his vision in 2015. Shooting took place in England and California, including Los Angeles, from April 2017 - ?. The film opened #2, behind Venom, to a 42.9 mil. $ first weekend in North America where it stayed in the top 5 for another 5 weeks (#2-#2-#2-#4-#5) and has grossed huge 197.3 mil. $ to date. The biggest foreign markets are at this time the UK and Australia. The film has one market left to open in: Japan on 21 December. It is nominated for 5 Golden Globes, won an AFI award, nominated for 4 Grammys, won 4 National Board of Review awards and many other honors. Cooper is announced to return as director-star of Bernstein, a biopic of American composer Leonard Bernstein. Gaga does not have her next acting job announced yet. A Star Is Born is certified fresh at 90 % with an 8.1/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of A Star Is Born?