Movie: Vice (2018)

All the spoilers all the time.  You have been warned!

My Thoughts While Watching:

And they said a horror film could never be an Oscar contender!

If you are a political junkie, this movie might be for you.  If the government’s backroom deals stirs your curiosity, this might be for you. If you want to see how one person (not even a president) can alter U.S. history – yep, you should see it.

The satire in this film is just delightful. It is irreverent, witty and well timed.  Steve Carrel! I am mad he was not nominated for Supporting Actor.  He had more of a pivotal role than Rockwell!

This movie terrified me. Out right terrified.  I shake my head and continually wonder how this is allowed to happen and how can they sleep at night?

I would be ok with this winning best picture.  It is not my pick, but I would still beok with it.

Some Interviews and Extra Video:

IMDB Synopsis: The story of Dick Cheney, an unassuming bureaucratic Washington insider, who quietly wielded immense power as Vice President to George W. Bush, reshaping the country and the globe in ways that we still feel today.

Starring:

	Christian Bale	…	Dick Cheney
	Amy Adams	…	Lynne Cheney
	Steve Carell	…	Donald Rumsfeld
	Sam Rockwell	…	George W. Bush
	Alison Pill	…	Mary Cheney
	Eddie Marsan	…	Paul Wolfowitz
	Justin Kirk	…	Scooter Libby
	LisaGay Hamilton	…	Condoleezza Rice
	Jesse Plemons	…	Kurt
	Bill Camp	…	Gerald Ford
	Don McManus	…	David Addington
	Lily Rabe	…	Liz Cheney
	Shea Whigham	…	Wayne Vincent
	Stephen Adly Guirgis	…	George Tenet
	Tyler Perry	…	Colin Powell

Director: Adam McKay

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My ranking scores –

0-19 Levels of: Ugh

20-39 Levels of: Meh (aka I cannot reach the remote)

40-59 Levels of: I don’t hate it?

60-85 Levels of: That was solid.

86-100 Levels of: I Loved It!

I rank this movie a 96.42!

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Trailer:

Additional Movie Info:

It received a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 66% Fresh.  It received a Rotten Tomato audience rating of 57% liking it.  Average Rating: 3.2/5 with a number of User Ratings: 3,361.

Movie Reviews:

• Roger Ebert
• NY Times

Specs:  Release date: 25 December 2018 (USA) / Runtime: 132 minutes / Budget: $60M

IMDB Trivia:

• Christian Bale said that due to the improvisational directing style of Adam McKay, he had to do more research for this film than any other film he’s done. In order to ad-lib in character, Bale not only needed to have Dick Cheney’s mannerisms and vernacular down, but he also had to know which policies, their instances, and abbreviations the Vice President would be aware of at any given moment in his life.
• The cast filmed a musical sequence, but it was cut in editing after McKay decided to shift to a more serious tone.
• Upon accepting his Golden Globe award, Bale joked: “Thank you to Satan for giving (him) inspiration on how to play this role”.
• This is the first movie in which the focus is on a real life US Vice President who did not become President.
• The more Adam McKay plunged into Dick Cheney’s political career, the more he realized that he had a lasting and considerable influence on contemporary American politics. His mission, in his eyes, was to write a scenario that goes beyond political beliefs and addresses universal themes.
• According to Adam McKay, it was Christian BaleWhen Joseph C. Wilson’s op-ed criticizing the Bush administration is released in the New York Times, Cheney tells Scooter Libby to “out” Wilson’s wife Valerie Plame (an undercover CIA agent) in retaliation. Naomi Watts, who plays a news anchor in “Vice”, portrayed Valerie Plame in Fair Game (2010). ‘s idea for his character to break the fourth wall at the end of the film. McKay didn’t initially want to have Cheney addressing the camera but once Bale pointed out that if there ever was a time to do so it would be in that scene, McKay agreed to film it not knowing whether he would include it in the final cut or not. Bale and McKay wrote the monologue together just a day before filming. In the end McKay was so impressed by Bale’s performance in the scene and how it captured Cheney’s essence that he decided to include it in the film and was thankful for Bale to have suggested it.