Vice - BLU-RAY

Doing what is right is boring. Following the rules is boring. Doing what is wrong is entertaining. Bending and breaking the rules is amusing. Movies should not be made about politicians, but given most politicians don't do the right thing rather often and tend to break and bend the rules to fit their own needs and agenda as frequently as they need to it is no surprise there are plenty of television shows and movies based around and on political figures. There is a brief scene in Adam McKay's latest film, Vice, based around the life of Vice President Dick Cheney where he is teaching one of his daughter's how to fish and she asks if the trick of baiting the fish with a live worm is right or wrong-you know, morally. Cheney replies that, "It's not right or wrong, it's just fishing." His daughter admits to not wanting to hurt the worm, but her father summarizes his justification for the sport by stating, "You find out what they want and you use it to catch them. The family gets to eat." It is with this perspective that Cheney seemed to approach his political career as well-it also exemplifies how every single line and aspect of McKay's film is integral to the portrait the writer and filmmaker is painting. "It's not right or wrong, it's just what needs to be done." What McKay is really exploring through Vice though, is this idea of how does a man go on to become who he is? The film describes life as being a series of events that contain certain moments that are so delicate, that they are akin to a stack of teacups with a saucer in between each where-at any moment-one could fall in any direction and change the course of the future forever. Unfortunately, there's no way to know the future and which way things will fall, but while McKay is keen to note that Cheney more or less fell into the roles he would eventually allow to define the purpose of his life largely due to the involvement of his wife, what he seems particularly interested in dissecting is how Cheney came to view the job of serving the country and how he interpreted that responsibility as it becomes very clear that Cheney and his staff were experts at interpreting things strictly in the way they wanted and in what would benefit their cause best. What McKay is truly attempting to do is bring about a case concerning how Cheney had his hands in so many pies, either for reasons of his own agenda or for what he truly thought was best for the country (it's hard to tell from one issue to the next), and that the result of these meddling's effectively changed the course of history. McKay wants the viewer to not only read that tagline that could easily be misconstrued as a piece of hyperbole and understand it, but to grasp it and take to heart; to truly understand the ramifications of this single man's actions in determining the fate of millions upon millions of other people's lives.

Great movie. Highly Recommend. And it came in good quality. With safe and sturdy packaging.

Let’s get one thing out of the way, Bale’s transformation into the former Vice President, Dick Cheney is flawless and makes the film worth the price of admission alone. Watching the likes of Amy Adams, Steve Carell and Sam Rockwell in supporting roles is a blast as well. They’re all quite good. McKay’s direction zigs and zags here and there and tonally it doesn’t always work and frankly, it condescends some. Nevertheless “Vice” remains highly entertaining and offers substantial food for thought and that’s definitely no small feat. “Vice” and McKay are toying with the audience the whole way through. It plays as farce, scathing indictment, black comedy, dark-satire, and a painful reminder of what power can do. Despite McKay’s condescending tone, it’s not difficult to recognize “Vice” as the work of the man who wrote and directed “The Big Short”, one of 2015’s best films and frankly, “Vice” is one of 2018’s best.

This political bio-pic about former Vice President and conservative curmudgeon Dick Cheney takes no prisoners in skewering the man and the administration he helped lead. A cast led by Oscar nominees Christian Bale and Amy Adams as the Cheneys and Sam Rockwell as W. takes us through Dick's formative years in politics and big business. We get to see him both needy and weak and mean and vindictive in director Adam McKay's telling of his life story, and Bale delivers a brilliant impersonation that hints at the dark currents inside Cheney's troubled heart. Another standout is Steve Carell as Donald Rumsfeld, Cheney's conniving rival inside the Bush administration. This was one of 2018's best films and is a personal triumph for McKay, who proves that "The Big Short" was no fluke. If you have the time and stomach for it, pair "Vice" with Oliver Stone's "W." for a double dose of presidential pratfalls and political scheming.

Item shipped fast in condition as advertised and is a very informative movie.