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Fair Play Review

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The world of wealthy companies and favoritism is put to the test in Fair Play. Written and directed by Chloe Domont, this psychological drama is chilling. The tension and personality clashes make Fair Play sharp and edgy, yet also gut wrenching. Fair Play is one of the most daring films because of the harsh outcomes. The film makes viewers think about workplace boundaries. The most suspenseful aspect of Fair Play is the tension between a couple who are also colleagues.

The film takes place in New York. The couple who are also colleagues are named Emily and Luke (played by Phoebe Dynevor and Alden Ehreneich). They work at a hedge fund company that is cutthroat. They are madly in love with each other and have a good life outside of work. Their boss is Campbell (played by Eddie Marsen). Campbell is focused on being successful and making profits. Both Emily and Luke work hard at their jobs and try to keep their relationship a secret. However, once Emily receives a promotion, the tension begins to rise with Luke. Emily is in a position where she has power over Luke and their relationship begins to experience turmoil. With Emily always being on top of her game to please Campbell, Luke’s attitude begins to worsen. His envy of Emily’s success creates the boiling point in Fair Play.

The shifting attitudes between Emily and Luke is where the film takes off on a deadly ride of cat and mouse between the two. Their relationship is in a detrimental place. Luke keeps getting more jealous of the opportunities that come around for Emily. Luke is smart but keeps getting the raw end of the deal from Campbell. Fair Play kept me wondering how much more damaging the dynamics could become as the game gets increasingly harder for the hedge fund company. Emily always seems to have the upper hand which makes Luke feel like he is under-employed. Therefore, Luke begins to start making Emily feel like garbage. The close relationship they had outside their office becomes unhealthy and unstable. Attitudes shift when certain events lead to blindsiding. More opportunities for Emily equal less growth for Luke. The better things go for Emily, the more jealous and hateful Luke becomes.

The egotistical behaviors that are displayed between Emily and Luke is where Fair Playtakes off and becomes an unexpectedly brilliant ride. The conflicts feel real, which makes the film quite haunting. I was worried that Fair Play was going to run into detrimental errors, but fortunately it worked out to be an unexpected masterpiece. The film holds no bars at the hatred caused by the clashes between Emily and Luke.

The fierce competition is the key to the film’s brilliance. Fair Play is a film where fuel is added to the fire in the cut-throat world of a hedge fund company. The cinematography and lighting play into the dark moments between Emily and Luke. Emily is at the center of the story because she is Luke’s boss. She begins to pull back on her support for Luke due to his immaturity which keeps deteriorating. Who will be the success in the hedge fund company? Emily or Luke? Can they still find a way to be in a happy relationship as well as colleagues? Or do they need to cut ties or find an alternative? Find out in Fair Play. Three and a half out of four stars.

Film reviews

You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah Review

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“Being Jewish” is at the center of this film about a traditional family. The vibe Adam Sandler creates in You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah is full of relatable personalities in partbecause his daughters, Sadie and Sunny, are in the film with him. Adam Sandler plays the classy father who is faithful to his religion. The film does an average job of resembling a traditional family. However, in many ways the story is about revenge and adolescent life more than family. The traditions which are part of being Jewish play a prominent role in the movie.

The plot revolves around adolescence and the peer pressure which hits in early puberty. The film is centered on Stacey (Sunny Sandler), a middle school girl getting ready for her bat mitzvah. Her parents are Danny and Bree (played by Adam Sandler and Idina Menzel). Stacey also has an older sister, Ronnie (Sadie Sandler.). The family is loving and supportive and will do whatever it takes to make her bat mitzvah special. However, due to a conflict with a close friend, Lydia (played by Samantha Lorraine), the plan for a memorable bat mitzvah begins an ugly downward spiral. Stacey cares about being vindictive and having power over Lydia. From my perspective, the real problem is teenage nonsense which is where the film is relatable for young adults.

The age of peer pressure and popularity cross paths with the various aspects of religious practice in You Are So Not Invited to my Bat Mitzvah. Culture and tradition hit plateaus for the film’s characters and are demonstrated in the performances of Sandler and his daughters. Being Jewish as opposed to practicing thereligion always comes as a reminder for the harsh actions that sporadically occur in this bizarre comedy. The film itself is notterrible but the writing begins to fade easily, and only shines when there are twists like blindsiding and revenge. In all honesty, the story is a fairly accurate representation of adolescent life with typical frustrations to be navigated.

You Are So Not Invited to my Bat Mitzvah tries to be consistentlyfunny but only succeeds in an average way. Frankly, some of the comedic moments did not add up for me. I felt that the movie kept trying to jump between dark comedy and real comedy. Overall, it feels more like a real comedy that tries to have a heart. The premise focuses on a teenager experiencing jealousy but wanting to feel empowered. The movie does offer some moments of connection that provide meaning for adults as well as younger viewers.

The era of teen popularity keeps going awry in You Are So Not Invited to my Bat Mitzvah, although adolescence is depicted with some class. There is a quote in the movie comparing soccer and dancing, “Soccer’s a sport, dance is an art.” I feel the sport of the film is represented by the efforts to get revenge, and the art is in the reactions to those efforts. I’m having a hard time explaining the true experience of this film which is why I remain neutral. Two and a half out of four stars.

Film reviews

Heart of Stone Review

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Actress Gal Gadot is beautiful and she is always cute and adventurous in her roles. Of course, she played Wonder Woman, and she can tackle all kinds of suspenseful roles, whether they’re psychologically suspenseful, violently suspensefully, or mysteriously suspenseful. She also has an aptitude for spy thrillers. But I just wasn’t sold with her role in Heart of Stone, or the film as a whole. The title Heart of Stone and the film’s introduction are almost like a 007 experience—like Gal Gadot in Tom Cruise mode. That may seem like a good thing, but it just doesn’t work in Heart of Stone.

In Heart of Stone, Gadot is Rachel Stone, an intelligence operative for a peacekeeping agency that flies beneath the radar. A mission goes wrong, and there is hacker who is trying to steal a weapon that could threaten the world. Stone has a team of people ranging from Parker (played by Jamie Dornan), to Jack of Hearts (played by Matthias Schweighofer), and more. But choosing sides or figuring out who to trust in Heart of Stone is hard. The concept of the film is for the characters to trust no one, but the film just doesn’t pull it off.

Hacking and artificial intelligence are frequent topics in Heart of Stone. There are some invigorating plot points that revolve around those two elements, but the film doesn’t do justice to either topic. The importance of the hacking and AI is to remind audiences that the peacekeeping agency is discreet. But other than those two elements there is not much to say about the film’s technological components. And even those elements don’t really benefit the film or its plot. Frankly, the film is somewhat of a mess, with many elements that don’t seem to find meaning or connection to the plot.

To further elaborate on my boredom with this film, it is probably more because of how it keeps jumping to car chases, dangerous mountain scenarios, and all kinds of rollercoaster disasters. Those are fun in a blockbuster, but in a spy thriller I want more details and emphasis towards where the danger lies. Heart of Stone struggles to do that. The film just relies too much on explosions and anarchy.

I wish I could be more positive, but it’s not coming easy with this one. Although seeing Gadot in a film is always a positive, and her appearance and performance in Heart of Stone are what is most memorable about it. She didn’t come close to making up for the rest of the film.

This is simply one of the biggest disappointments of the summer for me. A poorly made thriller trying to seem like a 007 movie. More of a nuisance than a great experience. It had some brief, interesting moments in its plot, but the rest, to be blunt, is garbage. Just two out of four stars for Heart of Stone.