Welcome to the latest episode of Movie Review Talk with Scott Mantz! On this episode, Scott, Nikki Novak, and John Rocha are discussing three new releases – First Man, Beautiful Boy, The Oath, and Bad Times at the El Royale. The critics also give their thoughts on the 2001: A Space Odyssey Blu-ray that is coming out at the end of October and Private Life which is now streaming on Netlfix.
First Man from director Damien Chazelle stars Ryan Gosling as Neil Armstrong and Claire Foy as Janet Armstrong. It's the riveting story of NASA’s mission to land a man on the moon, focusing on Neil Armstrong and the years 1961-1969. A visceral, first-person account, based on the book by James R. Hansen, the movie will explore the sacrifices and the cost—on Armstrong and on the nation—of one of the most dangerous missions in history.
Beautiful Boy comes from director Felix Van Groeningen and is based on David Sheff and Nic Sheff’s bestselling pair of memoirs about addiction. The film stars Steve Carell and Timothée Chalamet as father and son David and Nick Sheff. It chronicles the heartbreaking and inspiring experience of survival, relapse, and recovery in a family coping with addiction over many years. The film also stars Maura Tierney, Kaitlyn Dever and Amy Ryan.
The Oath comes from writer/director Ike Barinholtz. Barinholtz also stars in the film alongside Tiffany Haddish, Nora Dunn, John Cho, Carrie Brownstein, and Billy Magnussen. A controversial White House policy turns family member against family member in THE OATH, a savagely funny dark comedy about surviving life and Thanksgiving in the age of political tribalism. When Chris, a high-strung 24-hour progressive news junkie, and his more levelheaded wife Kai learn that citizens are being asked to sign a loyalty oath to the President, their reaction is disbelief, followed by idealistic refusal. But as the Thanksgiving deadline to sign approaches, the combination of sparring relatives, Chris’s own agitation and the unexpected arrival of two government agents sends an already tense holiday dinner gathering completely off the rails.
Bad Times at the El Royale, directed by Cabin In The Woods director Drew Goddard, features Jeff Bridges, Chris Hemsworth, Jon Hamm, Dakota Johnson, Cynthia Erivo and an all-star cast in this tense thriller. Seven strangers, each with a secret to bury, meet at Lake Tahoe’s El Royale, a rundown hotel with a dark past. Over the course of one fateful night, everyone will have a last shot at redemption… before everything goes to hell.
