Martin McDonagh Recent Films (Film Reviews)

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri (2017 ) (aka: 3 Billboards, Panels of Vengeance) Story written and directed by Michael McDonagh : A vengeful mother challenges authorities in small-town Missouri over the rape and murder of her daughter. Right now, I’m a bit on my arse! For so many reasons. I usually complain that films are long and go on too long. I have all kinds of theories about films that last an hour and a half, saying that, regularly, each half-hour becomes less and less interesting, that the film quickly runs out of steam. And yet, once the film is over, here I was expecting a good twenty minutes more! But as a result, the film comes to a screeching halt. I don’t think that’s a great subtlety. In any case, it cut me off and disappointed me.

This film is excellent, it’s just that it’s not finished and the scenes of violence could have been shortened. Well, they’re not unbearable either compared to everything we’ve been served up over the last 20 years… but I find it pretty pointless at times. Frances really is an incredible actress! And we really understand her character’s anger here. As for Woody & Sam, I get the impression that they’re both in the kind of roles in which they excel! Great actors… a great story… for a film that isn’t finished yet! In short, it’s not finished! It’s as if we were being served a slice of the life of a group of people. No before, no after.

That said, if we imagine or consider that the last two people we see are going to take the law into their own hands… then it’s a good ending. You can say what you like about this film: not dark enough, too light, too nice, too snippy, too much hype… especially for people who wanted it darker! But one thing’s for sure, it’s worth it. All these scenes add intensity.

My Rating

Seven Psychopaths (2012) Story: A struggling screenwriter inadvertently becomes entangled in the Los Angeles criminal underworld after his oddball friends kidnap a gangster’s beloved Shih Tzu.

A whole team of crazy morons complete demented. And scathing humor. A crazy film with very good actors.
Good ideas, but not everything is good. It gets a little lost. It could have been shorter and better put together.

It’s a fun film to watch, makes you laugh and smile, and leaves you with a feeling of lightness… as long as you’re prepared to see some gunplay. Because there are some surprisingly violent and bloody scenes. This is not a romantic comedy. It’s still a film with killers and bullets in the head or belly, as well as throat slitting and immolation. Too violent for those who want a really light comedy, not dark enough for those who want black humor of the highest degree. Film that reunites : Christopher Walken, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, Colin Farrell, Abbie Cornish and Olga Kurylenko.

I read this review, just in case : “Tarantino copy? nope Tarantino knock-off? No way… Anyone who knows the films of Martin McDonagh (Bruges, Six Shooter) will know that all his previous films have been brilliant.”

My Rating