AFTER DEATH
Directed by
Stephen Gray and Chris Radtke
"After
Death," a documentary film directed by
Stephen Gray and Chris Radtke, delves
into the unknowing and mysterious
subject of near-death experiences. This
thought-provoking documentary weaves
together stories of individuals who have
survived near-death experiences,
offering a collage of personal accounts
that range from the deeply spiritual to
the scientifically intriguing.
The film's
narrative is enriched by the
perspectives of authors and scientists,
who provide analysis and insights into
these experiences, attempting to unravel
the mystery of what happens after we
die. This combination of personal
testimonies and expert commentary
creates a multi-dimensional exploration
of a subject that has intrigued humanity
throughout time.
What sets
"After Death" apart is its ability to
engage viewers on different levels. It's
not just a film about the experiences
themselves, but also about the broader
implications these stories have on our
understanding of life, death, and what
might lie beyond. The film skillfully
balances the emotional weight of its
subject matter with intellectual
curiosity, making it accessible to a
wide audience.
The
documentary's approach to its subject
matter is respectful and thoughtful,
avoiding sensationalism. It provides a
platform for those who have had these
experiences to share their stories in
their own words, which adds a level of
believability to the film.
However,
"After Death" may not satisfy all
viewers. Those looking for definitive
answers or scientific proof may want to
look elsewhere. The documentary leans
more towards presenting experiences and
theories rather than concluding on any
specific truths about the afterlife.
In summary,
"After Death" is a respectful
exploration of near-death experiences.
It successfully navigates the delicate
balance between personal storytelling
and scientific inquiry, making it a good
starting point for conversation about
life, death, and what may come after.
BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER
DIRECTED BY
JOSEPH KOSINSKI
Provided by
Google: Queen Ramonda, Shuri,
M'Baku, Okoye and the Dora Milaje fight
to protect their nation from intervening
world powers in the wake of King
T'Challa's death. As the Wakandans
strive to embrace their next chapter,
the heroes must band together with Nakia
and Everett Ross to forge a new path for
their beloved kingdom.
The sequel
to black panther did not disappoint.
This film follows the real life death of
Chadwick Boseman the actor who played
Black Panther in the first installment.
Boseman unfortunatley passed away from
cancer in 2020 and left not only the
marvel franchise in shock but all of
cinema. The movie did a great job
of paying tribute to Chadwick in the
opening credits. It was a silent
montage of him from all the previous
movies that left the theater in chills.
As the movie begins, we see that a
hospital in wakanda is rushing to try
and save the black panther who seems to
have something wrong with his heart.
This is a dramatic sequence as it is
tying the real life death of Chadwick
Boseman to the death of the Black
Panther character. As the Black
Panther passes away and his character
arc comes to a conclusion, there is a
dramatic shift as we are introduced to
the villains of the movie. Tenoch
Huerta, who plays Namor an underwater
mutant who’s strength and intelligence
rivals that of Wakanda’s best leaders
delivers an excellent performance.
Compared to most super hero movies I
have seen lately the character
development of his character is well
thought out and has incredible depth.
Letita Wright, who plays Shuri the
sister of the Black Panther has her
coming out performance as she is given
the torch to lead the franchise going
forward. I won’t give to much away
but she is now in the saddle to become
Marvel’s next great woman super hero.
The film itself pushes the three hour
mark however, you are never bored as an
audience member. Through both
great writing and exciting special
effects this movie rivals my favorite
movie of the year (Top Gun Maverick) for
the top spot. I would suggest for
anyone who hasn’t seen the first Black
Panther in a while to rewatch so that
you are familiar with the core
characters. The movie moves fast
and I found myself forgetting the roles
of the characters from the first
edition. Enjoy the movie as this
is the best super hero film I have seen
in the last couple of years.
This movie was
awesome! Tom Cruise is at his best, and
I mean at his fricken best in the new
Top Gun Maverick. This might be one of
those rare perfect movies that we get
every once in awhile. It isn’t going to
win any oscars, but this movie knows
exactly what it is and what the people
want. It is your classic summer block
buster filled with predictable and
cheesy scenes but is done with class. I
found myself smiling the entire time and
when the movie was over I was ready to
become a fighter pilot. I almost wanted
to stand up and cheer at the end of it.
It had great writing, great actors and
was just a blast! I’m keeping this movie
review short because I want everyone to
go out and see this one!
Belfast is a 2021 coming of age
comedy-drama film written and directed
by Kenneth Branagh. The film stars
Caitríona Balfe, Judi Dench, Jamie
Dornan, Ciarán Hinds, Colin Morgan, and
newcomer Jude Hill. The film, is told
through the eyes of a child during the
tumult of Belfast, Northern Ireland, in
the 1960s.
I had no idea what this movie was about
before going to see it. It was something
that I decided to see on a whim, and
unfortunately I was disappointed.
Although the movie is filmed
beautifully, it lacked a certain spark
or intensity to the plot. The movie was
shot in a black and white format that
seemed futile. Interestingly enough,
there was certain scenes shot in color,
but only when the characters were
attending either a theater, watching a
movie or on television. It was an
artistic choice but I’m left wondering
what symbolic meaning it had, if any. I
was impressed with the child actor Jude
Hill. His acting skills were very
believable and on par with other top
child actors for his age. His demeanor
and personality in the film seemed
genuine and authentic to what was going
on. Perhaps I expected more than I
should have for this movie. Personally I
was hoping for something that would just
keep my attention for an hour and a half
and unfortunately my mind drifted
throughout the film. I would consider
this movie to a walk in the park. It was
very beautiful to look at, but don’t
expect anything too exciting. If you
have a couple of ours to burn this movie
might be worth it from a visual stand
point, however if your looking for
anything more you may want to pass.
“Onward” is Pixar’s
latest animated emotional rollercoaster
that tugs at the heart strings of its
viewers. It’s the story of a magical
world that overtime has succumb to the
convenience of technology. Magic no
longer has a role in Onward’s current
society and has been all but forgotten
by its citizens. However, when Ian (Tom
Holland), the films protagonist finds a
magical staff left by his deceased
father, we’re taken on a magical
quest. Ian and his brother Barley
(Chris Pratt) sought out to bring their
father back for a whole day by obtaining
a magical gem.
Like
99% of Pixar movies this film once again
did not dissapoint. It’s not the best
Pixar story, but it holds its own among
the many animated hits. Dan Scanlon who
previously directed hits like Monsters
University and The Incredibles, takes
personal experiences from his own
childhood and death of his father to
tell a sad but heart warming story. The
film is reflective to Scanlon’s own
experiences between him and his older
brother. In this film, the brothers we
follow are voiced by Marvel super
Heroes, Tom Holland and Chris Pratt. A
strong chemistry between the two carry
the movie along, and is good enough for
us to become emotionally invested
throughout. As the movie proceeds, the
brothers have a number of situations in
which they must learn to work together
which becomes a bit repetitive and
morally redundant. However, the films
energy and action sequences are enough
to hold your attention until the
climatic fight sequence just before the
end.
The movie has a very meaningful
message and excellent ending. You
really do feel emotional by the movies
end. This is a great family movie to
take your kids too.
3 out of 4 stars
AVENGERS:ENDGAME
DIRECTED BY
ANTHONY & JOE RUSSO
REVIEWED BY DOUG SOLEM "J.R."
CAPTAIN MARVEL
DIRECTED BY
ANNA BODEN & RYAN FLECK
REVIEWED BY DOUG SOLEM "J.R."
There has been a lot of talk that
captain marvel would be ruined because of it (Social
Justice Warrior) Agenda. Early reviews made the
statement that it was a forced film, throwing itself
into the face of the audience. While it may be rushed
in to the marvel cinematic universe, I never got the
feeling that the movie was trying to push me in a
certain direction. It did however have a powerful
superhero who happened to be female.
Overall it was a fun movie that could
have been better. What I mean is that the movie was
entertaining but lacked qualities that make
Marvel/Disney movies great. The story and pacing of
this movie is confusing. From the beginning of the
film, I was unaware of character names and backgrounds.
For example, I still do not know the name of Jude Laws
character. It was announced only briefly in the film.
Personally I’m worried about Brie Larson's take on
Captain Marvel. Going forward She Is supposed to be
the next leading woman of the Marvel Universe. Her
character had little personality and lacked depth. From
what I've heard, Brie Larson is a wonderful actress, but
I’m not sure she has the demeanor for this role.
On a positive note I thought the
acting performances of both Sam Jackson (Nick Fury) and
Ben Mendelson (antagonist) were great. I am once again
blown away be the evolution of CGI. It was unnoticeable
on Sam Jackson. The subtle moment that stole the show
was one of Stan Lee’s (Creator of Marvel comics) final
cameos. The scene is both heartwarming and validating
for audiences members.
Overall, the movie was enjoyable. Captain Marvel needs
better character development. It also seemed that when
it was all said and done, the stakes were never high.
Nothing truly challenged the main character. Hopefully
going forward we can see an evolution to this franchise.
3.5 out of 5 stars
JR'S FEATURED MOVIE REVIEW GLASS
Directed M. NIGHT SHYAMALAN
M. Night Shyamalan brings
together the narratives of two of his standout
originals—2000’s Unbreakable,
from Touchstone, and 2016’s
Split, from Universal—in one explosive, all-new
comic-book thriller: Glass. From Unbreakable,
Bruce Willis returns as David Dunn as does Samuel
L. Jackson as Elijah Price, known also by his
pseudonym Mr. Glass. Joining from Split are James
Mcavoy, reprising his role as Kevin Wendell Crumb
and the multiple identities who reside within, and
Anya Taylor-Joy as Casey Cooke, the only captive
to survive an encounter with The Beast. Following
the conclusion of Split, Glass finds Dunn pursuing
Crumb’s superhuman figure of The Beast in a series
of escalating encounters, while the shadowy
presence of Price emerges as an orchestrator who
holds secrets critical to both men.
Going in to this movie I was more excited than
anything else. I knew Shyamalan has a history of
great movies (Unbreakable, Split, Signs, Sixth
Sense). On the other hand I also knew he has a
history of making absolute duds (The Happening,
After Earth, The Last Airbender). However, his
movies are usually self-financed, original and
full of twists, which is something I can
appreciate.
It took almost two decades for this third
installment to premiere. Overall I was very happy
with the final film. This movie has a star studded
cast which includes, Bruce Willis, James Mcavoy
and of Course Samuel. L Jackson. Willis and
Jackson had solid acting performances, not amazing
but good. Mcavoy stole the show. His ability to
go in and out of personalities is stunning and
deserves more recognition. Overall, there are
plenty of holes in this movie which may irritate
people. However, I found a lot of the problems I
had throughout the movie, were resolved by the
end. My advice is to not set expectations too
high, and have an open mind when watching it. I
have to praise Shyamalan on his creative story
telling. Things don’t always make sense but it’s
always original and something you haven’t seen
before. Flaws, Twists, and shocks, expect the
unexpected.
3 out of 5 stars.
(As
provided from Google) Bitten by a radioactive
spider in the subway, Brooklyn teenager Miles
Morales suddenly develops mysterious powers that
transform him into the one and only Spider-Man.
When he meets Peter Parker, he soon realizes that
there are many others who share his special,
high-flying talents. Miles must now use his
newfound skills to battle the evil Kingpin, a
hulking madman who can open portals to other
universes and pull different versions of
Spider-Man into our world.
I absolutely loved this movie, one of my favorites
of the year so far. It was incredibly enjoyable
and a refreshing storyline from what we’ve seen in
prior versions of the super Hero. This is no
longer another repetitive origin story that we are
all too familiar with. This has depth and is
complex, introducing a multi-verse of
different versions of the hero. The character
development was solid and the change from Peter
Parker to Miles Morales is somewhat ground
breaking. With a back ground in graphic design
and video, I was blown away by the animation and
the sequences in the movie. It’s the closest
thing that we have seen to portraying an actual
comic book on the big screen, and it was executed
perfectly. Truly an original piece, and a great
foundation for future installments. For what this
movie is, you will not be disappointed…..They
nailed it, a home run for sure!
Doug
Jr.'s Featured Movie Review Crazy Rich Asians
Directed by Jon M.
Chu
Last
Friday I decided to try something different. I
went to the theatre at exactly 3pm with no movie
in mind. Whatever was playing is what I would
watch. It turned out to be Crazy Rich Asians. I
have heard mixed reviews from some of my friends,
so I figured I would give it a try.
The Story-
(as
provided by studio)
Rachel Chu is happy to accompany her longtime
boyfriend, Nick, to his best friend's wedding in
Singapore. She's also surprised to learn that
Nick's family is extremely wealthy and he's
considered one of the country's most eligible
bachelors. Thrust into the spotlight, Rachel must
now contend with jealous socialites, quirky
relatives and something far, far worse -- Nick's
disapproving mother.
My Take –
This is the same story that we have all seen a
million times before. Poor girl falls in love
with rich prince, family doesn’t approve….. As far
as originality goes, this movie is as cliché as it
gets. However the movie can still be enjoyable.
One thing that is unique about this movie is its
perspective. You get to see a modern Cinderella
told through Asian culture. That part of this
story is refreshing. The movie itself centers
around cultural differences between America and
Asia. The way people are raised and what is
expected from their families. The movie is also
heavily focused on status quo and materialism. In
other words wealth equals power and power equals
success. The characters are full of passive
aggressive quotes along with strong comedic relief
throughout the film. I think this is a good date
night movie, however I wasn’t totally sold on the
quality of acting or originality. Overall I give
this movie 2 ½ stars out of 5.
Zala's
Featured
Review Solo - A Star Wars Story
Directed by Ron Howard
If
you like back stories which show the early
relationships between Star Wars characters we met
in early episodes of the saga, you will appreciate
this film. We learn how Solo gets his name, meets
eventual co-pilot Chewbacca, falls in love with
the Millennium Falcon, and interacts with Lando
Cairrisian. Director, Ron Howard, pulled together
a movie in crises in the summer of 2017 to deliver
what two previous directors couldn’t as they were
let go after creative differences made it
difficult to finish the movie.
The Story -
Solo
and love interest, Qi’ra are trying to escape
their home on the shipbuilding world of Corellia
with a dream getting a ship and traveling the
universe. As they try to bribe their way off the
planet, Qi’ra is captured and Hans escapes to
learn to fly at the Imperial Flight Academy from
which he is expelled for insubordination. He
becomes part of the infantry where he meets
criminals pretending to be soldiers. Solo is
arrested for desertion where he is going to be fed
“The Beast”, a Wookiee named Chewbacca. Solo,
Chewbacca, and criminals form a union under the
direction of Tobias Beckett to steal a shipment of
coaxium. The action continues in a series of
interstellar adventures. Failure to steal the
coaxium successfully takes the group to the evil
syndicate boss Dryden Vos, where Solo runs into
Qi’ra who is in Vos’s service. The story continues
with plots, failures and successes and series of
betrayals.Throughout all of it is the
typical banter as characters grow closer to one
another.
The Cast -
Overall, I enjoyed this cast. It is difficult to
replicate some iconic characters we grew up with,
but it felt that some consideration was given in
hiring actors to play the younger versions of the
characters. Alden Ehrenreich (Han Solo) is well
cast as a younger version of Harrison Ford. You
see some of the unfounded confidence, perhaps
arrogance we see in Ford’s Solo. Emilia Clarke (Qi’ra)
carries the confidence you may recognize as the
Mother of Dragon’s in Game of Thrones. Woodie
Harrelson (Tobias Beckett) plays a great villain
who is playing every side possible in trying to
survive in a world of treachery. Donald Glover (Lando
Cairissian) plays a wonderful younger version
first performed by Billy Dee Williams.
Should You See
This Movie? Grade: B
The film is action
packed and carries some of the same play between
the characters that you see in first Star Wars
episodes. As previously stated, if you like to
learn more about the back stories then you may
enjoy this film. John Powell does a nice job of
composing music which uses original Star Wars
themes and music developed for this movie. I saw
the movie in 3D. You wouldn’t need to. I also
think you could enjoy this film even if you hadn’t
see all of the originals.
Zala's
Featured
Review Love Simon“Everyone deserves a great love story” Directed by Greg
Berlanti
Revealing
ourselves is something that is the most difficult
thing we ever do. The risk of showing who we are
to others opens us up to critique, analysis,
praise and what we fear most, criticism. Love,
Simon is a movie about a high school senior who
deals with his being gay and being accepted by his
family, friends, and community. Director, Greg
Berlanti, shares a story of love, of fear, of
being exposed for who you are in a celebration of
young man’s ability to “exhale”.
The Story -
Simon
Spier (Nick Robinson) is a high school senior
living the “normal life” with one “big-ass
secret”. In the film you learn what it is like to
be seen as the person you portray, rather than the
person you are. As a young man who is gay, he
hides his secret in a world of blogs and social
media until it is posted that another guy at
school, whose identity isn’t revealed, is gay. He
finds a way to communicate with him via email and
the two share their secrets about feelings and
fears in a world that doesn’t consider them part
of the mainstream. Simon communicates with the
student via emails on his phone until he doesn’t
have coverage at school and uses a computer in the
library. He is abruptly interrupted by the
assistant principal and minimizes the screen and
leaves before sending the email. Another student
uses this computer upon his departure and screen
shots all of the messages, which he uses as
blackmail, threatening to post them on the
widely-read student blog.
The Cast -
The
cast of the film has some recognizable actors whom
you soon see as characters instead of actors.
Simon’s mother (Jennifer Garner) and father (Josh
Duhamel) are the kind of parents you would like to
have if you had to reveal your secret. Simon’s
friends Leah (Katherine Langford), Abby (Alexandra
Shipp), Bram (Keiynan Lonsdale), and Nick (Jorge
Lendeborg Jr.) have all played in a variety of
roles, many in superhero movies. Many of you will
recognize Mr. Worth, the assistant principle (Tony
Hale) from his latest role in VEEP. Theater
director, Ms. Albright (Natasha Rothwell) spent a
couple of years on Saturday Night Live. The cast
is believable even though the school
administrators and teacher seem to try to hip with
the students and interact with some comments that
aren’t always appropriate. The actors are seasoned
and carry the story.
Should You See
This Movie? Grade: A
The film is
excellent. The story flows and the 1 hour and 49
minutes flies by. You can empathize with what
Simon goes through hiding being gay and his desire
to respond to blackmail so the entire school
doesn’t find out. You watch him feel love by this
mystery young man and walk through his experience
of coming out as he is forced to do so. As they
communicate he tries to figure out which classmate
this is. He imagines several guys whose eyes he
connects. As he interacts with Blue via email, we
see the newest possibility sitting at the computer
responding to Simon’s messages. One by one he
discovers each isn’t the person to whom he is
falling in love. You want him to succeed in his
desire to have nothing change with his
relationships as he comes out. If you can be in a
place of accepting gay people, then you will love
this movie. It gives a brief insight to the
experience they have in first dealing with the
feelings themselves and then sharing it with
others. Riding the Ferris wheel of life alone
isn’t nearly as fun as sharing the seat with
someone you love. You will understand when you see
this feel good movie of the Spring!
Zala's
Featured
Review A Wrinkle In Time -
Directed by
Ava DurVernay
A
flight of fantasy. Lessons about growing up to
face our fears. This 1963 Newberry Award winner in
children’s literature appears on the screen under
the direction of Ava DuVernay. Many of you may
have read or had A Wrinkle in Time read to you in
elementary school which may be one of the only
reasons you would want to attend this movie
The Story -
The story of a young daughter and son growing up
with their scientist mother as their father has
disappeared to “shake hands with the universe”
demonstrates the struggles of growing up with
school challenges and self-esteem issues. From the
movie, we don’t know how the younger brother makes
contact with three magical beings, Mrs. Whatsit,
Mrs. Who and Mrs. Which. They did hear a message
and travel across the universe to help the
siblings and a new-found friend find the scientist
father, Alex Murry, who disappeared while
investigating the couple calculations to travel (tesser)
through time and space. The three Mrs. Ws take the
children through the Wrinkle to find their father
in a fanciful journey which is about personal
growth to develop a positive esteem (the light)
and to fight the evil inhabitants of the Camazotz
“IT” (the dark).
The Cast -
The three Mrs. Ws are well-recognized which may
not help the movie much. Mrs. Which (Oprah
Winfrey), Mrs. Whatsit (Reese Withersppon), and
Mrs. Who (Mindy Kaling) have a difficult time
shedding the real actors persona throughout the
movie. Their costumes and make up are elaborate,
but I still saw each of them as themselves.
Father, Chris Pine, does a good job in his acting,
but comes across as Captain Kirk as a dad. This is
the first starring role for daughter Meg (Storm
Reid). At age 14, she does a fine job. She is
building a strong repertoire of movie and
television roles.
Should You See
This Movie? Grade: C
The film is
adequate. The story has possibilities on the
screen but it seems like more development is
needed. The younger brother, Charles Wallace,
could be developed more and the time when the IT
turns him evil seems to happen without our
knowledge. He is suddenly evil. There are many
ideas that aren’t fully developed on the Camazotz
as the children are searching for the father. At
109 minutes, I was ready for it to end. It seems
like this wasn’t created for adults and yet I
didn’t feel like it was for younger kids. Younger
teens might get some of the messaging here and
could learn from it, but many other movies do a
much better job with the same themes. The trailer
is much more captivating than the movie itself.
Although I was unable to see all of the Oscar contenders, I was
able to see the big winner. The Shape of Water
was an odd yet beautiful movie. The actors all
gave first class performances. Best of all, the
movie was visually stunning. No need for high
tech special effects, just a director that knew
how to weave a wonderful, romantic fairy tale.
Here's a list of all the winners.
Best
Picture:
“The Shape of Water” (WINNER)
“Call Me by Your Name”
“Darkest Hour”
“Dunkirk”
“Get Out”
“Lady Bird”
“Phantom Thread”
“The Post”
“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
Director:
“The
Shape of Water,” Guillermo del Toro (WINNER)
“Dunkirk,” Christopher Nolan
“Get Out,” Jordan Peele
“Lady Bird,” Greta Gerwig
“Phantom Thread,” Paul Thomas Anderson
Actress:
Frances McDormand, “Three Billboards
Outside Ebbing, Missouri” (WINNER)
Sally Hawkins, “The Shape of Water”
Margot Robbie, “I, Tonya”
Saoirse Ronan, “Lady Bird”
Meryl Streep, “The Post”
Actor:
Gary
Oldman, “Darkest Hour” (WINNER)
Timothée Chalamet, “Call Me by Your Name”
Daniel Day-Lewis, “Phantom Thread”
Daniel Kaluuya, “Get Out”
Denzel Washington, “Roman J. Israel, Esq.”
Supporting Actress:
Allison Janney, “I, Tonya” (WINNER)
Mary J. Blige, “Mudbound”
Lesley Manville, “Phantom Thread”
Laurie Metcalf, “Lady Bird”
Octavia Spencer, “The Shape of Water”
Supporting Actor:
Sam Rockwell, “Three Billboards Outside
Ebbing, Missouri” (WINNER)
Willem Dafoe, “The Florida Project”
Woody Harrelson, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing,
Missouri”
Richard Jenkins, “The Shape of Water”
Christopher Plummer, “All the Money in the World”
Original
Screenplay:
“Get Out,” Jordan Peele (WINNER)
“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,”
Martin McDonagh
“The Big Sick,” Emily V. Gordon & Kumail Nanjiani
“Lady Bird,” Greta Gerwig
“The Shape of Water,” Guillermo del Toro, Vanessa
Taylor
Animated Feature:
“Coco,” Lee Unkrich, Darla K.
Anderson (WINNER)
“The Boss Baby,” Tom McGrath, Ramsey Ann Naito
“The Breadwinner,” Nora Twomey, Anthony Leo
“Ferdinand,”
Carlos Saldanha
“Loving Vincent,” Dorota Kobiela, Hugh Welchman,
Sean Bobbitt, Ivan Mactaggart, Hugh Welchman
Original Song:
“Remember Me” from “Coco,” Kristen
Anderson-Lopez, Robert Lopez (WINNER)
“Mighty River” from “Mudbound,” Mary J. Blige
“Mystery of Love” from “Call Me by Your Name,”
Sufjan Stevens
“Stand Up for Something” from “Marshall,” Diane
Warren, Common
“This Is Me” from “The Greatest Showman,” Benj
Pasek, Justin Paul
Original Score:
“The Shape of Water,” Alexandre Desplat (WINNER)
“Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” John Williams
“Dunkirk,” Hans Zimmer
“Phantom Thread,” Jonny Greenwood
“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,”
Carter Burwell
Cinematography:
“Blade Runner 2049,” Roger Deakins (WINNER)
“Darkest Hour,” Bruno Delbonnel
“Dunkirk,” Hoyte van Hoytema
“Mudbound,” Rachel Morrison
“The Shape of Water,” Dan Laustsen
Adapted Screenplay:
“Call Me by Your Name,” James
Ivory (WINNER)
“The Disaster Artist,” Scott Neustadter & Michael
H. Weber
“Logan,” Scott Frank & James Mangold and Michael
Green
“Molly’s Game,” Aaron Sorkin
“Mudbound,” Virgil Williams and Dee Rees
Live Action Short Film:
“The Silent Child,” Chris Overton, Rachel
Shenton (WINNER)
“DeKalb Elementary,” Reed Van Dyk
“The Eleven O’Clock,” Derin Seale, Josh Lawson
“My Nephew Emmett,” Kevin Wilson, Jr.
“Watu Wote/All of Us,” Katja Benrath, Tobias Rosen
Documentary Short Subject:
“Heaven Is a Traffic Jam on the 405,”
Frank Stiefel (WINNER)
“Heroin(e),” Elaine McMillion Sheldon, Kerrin
Sheldon
“Edith+Eddie,” Laura Checkoway, Thomas Lee Wright
“Knife Skills,” Thomas Lennon
“Traffic Stop,” Kate Davis, David Heilbroner
Film Editing:
“Dunkirk,” Lee Smith (WINNER)
“Baby Driver,” Jonathan Amos, Paul Machliss
“I, Tonya,” Tatiana S. Riegel
“The Shape of Water,” Sidney Wolinsky
“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” Jon
Gregory
Visual Effects:
“Blade Runner 2049,” John Nelson, Paul
Lambert, Richard R. Hoover, Gerd Nefzer (WINNER)
“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,” Christopher
Townsend, Guy Williams, Jonathan Fawkner, Dan
Sudick
“Kong: Skull Island,” Stephen Rosenbaum, Jeff
White, Scott Benza, Mike Meinardus
“Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” Ben Morris, Mike
Mulholland, Chris Corbould, Neal Scanlan
“War for the Planet of the Apes,” Joe Letteri, Dan
Lemmon, Daniel Barrett, Joel Whist
Animated Short:
“Dear Basketball,” Glen Keane, Kobe
Bryant (WINNER)
“Garden Party,” Victor Caire, Gabriel Grapperon
“Lou,” Dave Mullins, Dana Murray
“Negative Space,” Max Porter, Ru Kuwahata
“Revolting Rhymes,” Jakob Schuh, Jan Lachauer
Foreign Language Film:
“A Fantastic Woman” (Chile) (WINNER)
“The Insult” (Lebanon)
“Loveless” (Russia)
“On Body and Soul (Hungary)
“The Square” (Sweden)
Production Design:
“The Shape of Water,” Paul D. Austerberry,
Jeffrey A. Melvin, Shane Vieau (WINNER)
“Beauty and the Beast,” Sarah Greenwood; Katie
Spencer
“Blade Runner 2049,” Dennis Gassner, Alessandra
Querzola
“Darkest Hour,” Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer
“Dunkirk,” Nathan Crowley, Gary Fettis
Sound Mixing:
“Dunkirk,” Mark Weingarten, Gregg Landaker,
Gary A. Rizzo (WINNER)
“Baby Driver,” Mary H. Ellis, Julian Slater, Tim
Cavagin
“Blade Runner 2049,” Mac Ruth, Ron Bartlett, Doug
Hephill
“The Shape of Water,” Glen Gauthier, Christian
Cooke, Brad Zoern
“Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” Stuart Wilson, Ren
Klyce, David Parker, Michael Semanick
Sound Editing:
“Dunkirk,” Alex Gibson, Richard
King (WINNER)
“Baby Driver,” Julian Slater
“Blade Runner 2049,” Mark Mangini, Theo Green
“The Shape of Water,” Nathan Robitaille, Nelson
Ferreira
“Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” Ren Klyce, Matthew
Wood
Documentary Feature:
“Icarus,” Bryan Fogel, Dan Cogan (WINNER)
“Abacus: Small Enough to Jail,” Steve James, Mark
Mitten, Julie Goldman
“Faces Places,” JR, Agnès Varda, Rosalie Varda
“Last Men in Aleppo,” Feras Fayyad, Kareem Abeed,
Soren Steen Jepersen
“Strong Island,” Yance Ford, Joslyn Barnes
Costume Design:
“Phantom Thread,” Mark Bridges (WINNER)
“Beauty and the Beast,” Jacqueline Durran
“Darkest Hour,” Jacqueline Durran
“The Shape of Water,” Luis Sequeira
“Victoria and Abdul,” Consolata Boyle
Makeup and Hairstyling:
“Darkest Hour,” Kazuhiro Tsuji, David
Malinowski, Lucy Sibbick (WINNER)
“Victoria and Abdul,” Daniel Phillips and Lou
Sheppard
“Wonder,” Arjen Tuiten
The
crisp opening will grab your attention and it sets
the tone that you will be on a musical journey
with high energy, excellent choreography and
camera angles and effects that blend beautifully
with music. Michael Gracey (Director) has
delivered a movie that can contend with sparkly
holiday season filled with inspiring music by
composers Benj Pasek and Justin Paul.
The Story -
This
film is the story of P. T. Barnum, the inventor of
the Greatest Show on Earth. That sounds
biographical, which this movie is not. The story
uses themes of class struggle, acceptance of
differences, conflict with those who have or
desire privilege, getting rid of the ghosts of
growing up, and discrimination toward those who
are different. All of this is set to music. You
have to get past the fact that the singing is
studio recorded as you can’t perform as they do
and properly sing. What I appreciated was a
weaving of the songs into the dialogue and story
line blending text to tunes. Barnum forms a troop
of “oddities”, characters society has shunned
because they don’t fit into the mainstream. He
meets a theatrical producer Phillip Carlyle and
convinces him to become a partner to gain some
influence with upper society. Carlyle gets
Barnum’s Circus an audience with Queen Victoria in
England where they meet Swedish singer Jenny Lind.
Barnum pursues Lind to conduct a US performance so
that NY society will see him as a legitimate
producer. All of this leads to his Circus troop to
feel he has abandoned them to take Lind on a US
tour.
The Cast -
You
will enjoy Hugh Jackman (P.T. Barnum) as he
struggles with growing up as a poor tailor’s son
desiring to become something great. Zac Efron
(Phillip Carlyle) a N.Y. socialite and producer
becomes Barnum’s partner. His acting is
believable, definitely a couple of steps higher
than Baywatch. Both of these guys can carry a
tune, but the real vocal talent is delivered by
Keala Settle (The Bearded Lady) and Rebecca
Ferguson (Swedish singer Jenny Lind). Barnum’s
wife (Michelle Williams – Brokeback Mountain) and
daughters (Austyn Johnson and Cameron Seely) are
delightful and provide much needed grounded for
the Showman.
Should You See
This Movie? Grade: A
It is difficult to
sit in your seat without tapping your foot. The
precision of the dancing and the Cirque du Soleil
show performance effects are highly entertaining.
It left me wanting to attend an actual
performance. The story ends in a quiet scene that
may bring a tear, or at least an “aww”. This
is a movie that makes you want to run away and
join the circus!
Zala's
Featured Review Darkest Hour
Directed by Joe Wright
“We
shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we
shall fight on the seas and oceans ...
We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be.
We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the
landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in
the streets, we shall fight in the hills. We shall
never surrender.”
The black and white
opening scenes of the German war machine are chilling
and immediately set the tone for the urgency of action
required as Hitler was conquering the European
continent. Joe Wright directs a powerful telling of the
story of Churchill’s selection as Prime Minister and his
leadership to rescue of over 300,000 troops at Dunkirk
as France and Belgium fall.
The Story - For
those of you who recently saw Dunkirk, this film will
fill in the pre-story to the valiant rescue of British
and French troops on the beaches facing certain death by
a superior German army and air force. The failed policy
of Neville Chamberlain in his “peach in our time”
agreement with Hitler has resulted in the need for
Parliament to choose a new prime minister. As Churchill
rises to the top, we witness his unpopularity within the
government and with the King. Churchill must pick up the
pieces with his army and navy in danger, a difficult
political climate, a country not ready for war, allies
that have been conquered and the United States not
willing to get involved. The stress that Churchill faces
during this story allows us to see inside of the man and
how he deals with the challenges. He is left to rely on
his wife and his assistant who, in the movie, he grows
to trust as both assistant and confidant.
The Cast - You
will not recognize many members of the cast. The gruff
Churchill is played by Gary Oldman who has usually
played evil characters in most of his film roles. His
assistant Elizabeth Layton is beautifully played by Lily
James who many of you may recognize as Rose, from Downton Abby. Stephen Dillane
is Churchill’s nemesis Viscount Halifax who is also in
contention for the prime minister
position and sides with
Chamberlain to negotiate for peace terms with Hitler.
Ronald Pickup, who
you may recognize from the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,
is a convincing Neville Chamberlain look alike. Kristin
Scott Thomas is solid as a confident Clementine
Churchill. Thomas made her film debut in Prince’s Under
the Cherry Moon.
Should You See This Movie? Grade: A
This film is stirring.
At the end of the 2 hours, I didn’t want it to end as I
wanted to know what happens next. It kept me engaged. I
will admit that I do have a strong interest in history.
I enjoyed the way Wright gave us insight to Churchill’s
viewpoints. He made the gruff man, soften as he worked
to get to know the people he trusted, while keeping a
strong exterior to his political colleagues. We see both
his colorful and vulnerable sides. The connection he
makes with his assistant is touching. We realize how
difficult his life was as he had to move in tunnels
between his home, 10 Downing Street, the War Rooms, and
Parliament. The story is compelling, the acting
excellent, and use of some cinematography effects (slow
motion and camera angles) to show great insight draws
the audience into the emotional side of this man.
Zala's Featured
Review Wonder
Directed by
Stephen Chbosky
If
you are looking for a movie that embraces all of
the meanings of the Christmas season and isn’t a
Christmas movie, Wonder is the movie you need to
see. Family, friendship, the interaction of
relationships and the lessons we learn about and
from each other are the major themes.
The Story -
Wonder
is the story of a boy (Auggie) who is born with a
disability and has lived an isolated life centered
within his family. Being home schooled all of his
life, his parents agree that it is time that he
begins to attend middle school as a fifth grader.
It is the classic story of all children reaching
out to build friendships. Where you might expect
that a child with facial deformities could
struggle, this movie shows us how all children
struggle and learn to try new things as they grow
up. Director Stephen Chbosky delivers a winner
based on this New York Times bestseller. This film
not only centers on the story of Auggie, but has
focus vignettes showing the point of view from his
sister and friends. This is an interesting
technique to broaden character development. The
story walks us through Auggie’s year of school.
The Cast -
The
star of this film is August (Auggie) Pullman
played by Jason Tremblay. As the son of Isabel
(Julia Roberts) and Nate (Owen Wilson), Jason
portrays a character demonstrating a breadth of
acting beyond an 11-year old. The ensemble cast
portrays the humanness of growing up in a school
and home setting blending school and family
activities. Mandy Patinkin plays the wise school
headmaster. The acting by the children in this
movie outshine the adults as they probably should.
Julia, Owen, and Mandy play solid roles that you
have seen in other films. Hopefully you will see
more of Noah Jupe who plays Auggie’s best friend,
Jack Will. I thought more should have been done
with the role of Mr. Browne (Daveed Diggs) who is
Auggie’s homeroom teacher who seeks to inspire the
children by teaching them life lessons through his
monthly precepts.
Should You See
This Movie? Grade: A
This is a
feel-good movie demonstrating life’s growing up
themes. It focuses on the way people should treat
each other and shows the results of how people
need to learn more about one another before
casting judgments about differences. The movie
makes you laugh and shed some tears. Yes, bring
some tissues! The story is what is key here. See
this movie!
On
a recent trip to London, I kept hearing about “The
Man Who Invented Christmas”. Upon my return, I
knew I needed to see it. Director Bharat Nalluri
takes you on a magical journey of Dickens’ writing
in mid-19th Century England. This is a
holiday movie that you easily substitute for a
performance of “A Christmas Carol” if you can’t
get to see it.
The Story -
After a
series of flops and a failed American tour, author
Charles Dickens is running low on funds to support
his fame and lifestyle. He pursues ways to gain
funding from his publisher and through a set of
life experiences he uses to get ideas, he decides
he needs to publish a story about Christmas in a
few short weeks. He works with a colleague to line
up the illustrator and the movie walks us through
him developing characters and plot based on events
in his life. As an author, he interacts with his
characters and blends his family and people on the
street into a clever way of bringing this story to
life!
The Cast -
You may
not recognize many members of the cast but as an
ensemble they blend well. The story revolves
around Charles Dickens (Dan Stevens from Downton
Abby fame), Ebenezer Scrooge (Christopher
Plummer), and father John Dickens (Jonathan Pryce
from Game of Thrones and Taboo). Dan Stevens
commands your attention in this film and his
acting is stretched far beyond in what you may
have seen in his other movies.
Should You See
This Movie? Grade: A-
The movie is
entertaining, I have it an A- due to it sharing a
plausible back story to the creation of this
Christmas classic, which goes far above the holiday
theme to portray a way to live a meaningful life.
Woven into the plot, are moments for audience to
make connections between Dickens and Scrooge and
how Dickens’ life played into the creation of A
Christmas Carol. You learn a little more about the
real Charles Dickens to appreciate his humble
beginnings to becoming a world revered author. A
sequel may be hinted toward the end, when Dickens
runs into Constable Copperfield as he speeds his
way to meeting the deadline to print the book by
Christmas. For those of you A Christmas Carol
fans, you will enjoy how the quotes from the book
are gathered from the people Dickens comes across
in his life.
There
are many versions of Agatha Christie’s story about
an eclectic group of passengers on one of the
world’s most famous trains. Director Kenneth
Branagh, has created arguably the finest version.
The Story -
In the
opening, we are introduced to world renowned
inspector Hercule Poirot who solves a case in
front of a tri-religious audience at the Wailing
Wall in Jerusalem. Needing to return to London,
Hercule catches a last-minute ride on the Orient
Express. What he thought would be a restful
journey of reading, turns into being another
mystery to solve. Poirot realizes that he must try
to solve the case if for no other reason but for
his own safety. One by one, he interviews the
passengers. The audience spends most of the movie
trying to figure out this classic who-done-it.
The Cast -
I have
to admit that the cast was the main reason I
wanted to see this movie. The main characters are
so strong and so different from one another that
they keep you glued to see them in their next
scene. However, what makes this movie strong, is
the use of talented supporting characters which
easily compliment the “stars”. Passengers and
suspects on the train include: Kenneth Branagh
plays a confident and clever Hercule Poirot, the
inspector with a most interesting mustache. Daisy
Ridley is a bright and intellectual nanny. Leslie
Odom, Jr. is Dr. Arbuthnot whose medical skills
are needed on the journey. Manual Garcia-Fulfo as
Biniamino Marquez, an auto dealer. Penelope Cruz
is religious nurse, Pilar Estravados. Josh Gad
play stumbling assistant Hector McQueen. Johnny
Depp is antiques dealer, Edward Ratchett. Sergei
Polunin plays former ballet star Count Rudolph
Andrenyi and Lucy Boynton is his drug-addicted
wife, the Countess Elena Andrenyi. Michelle
Pfeiffer plays American husband hunter Caroline
Hubbard. Judi Dench is Princess Dragomiroff and
her assistant Hildegarde Schmidt is played by
Oliva Colman. This group of perfect strangers is
neither perfect or necessarily strangers.
Should You See
This Movie? Grade: A-
The cinematography
is strong. Beveled glass adds a dimension to
personalities being interviewed to show that they
may have more than one side to who they are. The
motion of the train, the use of camera shots
outside the windows looking into the interior
gives you a broader picture of the scene. The
acting is solid, and mystery is revealed like the
peeling of an onion skin. The music is dramatic as
needed and the scenery of dangerously icy mountain
passes gives a constant edge to murder. The engine
is derailed during an avalanche and the train’s
cars sit vicariously on a wooden trestle as the
case is solved. The movie blends all of these
elements so that even if you have seen or read the
story before and know the solution, you can enjoy
the way the story is told with these actors.
Zala's Featured Review Blade Runner 2049
Directed by Dennis Villeneuve
For those of you
have been awaiting the sequel since the original
Blade Runner movie in 1982 which takes place in
November of 2019, you won’t be disappointed in
Blade Runner 2049. This plays out over 2 hours and
43 minutes so be prepared! Officer K maneuvers
throughout a plot that twists and turns to find
former Blade Runner Rick Deckard. Director Denis
Villeneuve delivers a glim vision of the future
generations of Blade Runners 30 years later.
The Story -
The
opening narrative describes the Blade Runner
history since the original. We are taken to 2049
Los Angeles which has a mix of inclement weather
and whose skyline has changed dramatically. LAPD
Officer K is on a mission to obey his command to
eliminate former replicants, android cleansing.
This process reveals a secret which is explored to
keep what bit of civilization exists from failing
completely. The discovery leads him on a quest to
discover the truth and himself while searching for
Rick Deckard to get the answers. By watching the
movie, you learn about Officer K’s childhood, the
implanted memories of his childhood that may or
may not be true. You will discover the answers at
the end of the movie. There is an enlightening
Vegas scenario that plays out when he finds
Deckard.
The Cast -
Ryan
Gosling (K) is strong in this film teetering on
edge of human and robot. I lost the vision of him
in La La Land after a few minutes. He struggles
within to find himself while living a futuristic
Spartan lifestyle with a Pinocchio scenario.
Reviewing actors playing robots is more
challenging. The movie cast improves when Harrison
Ford (Rick Deckard) enters the plot. This is time
where the pieces of the story go from development
to answering questions. Somalian born, Minneapolis
resident Barkhad Abdi appears in the film as a
trader helping K to find the origin and origin of
a childhood artifact. The rest of the cast is less
recognizable but are strong performers.
Should You See
This Movie? Grade: B+
If you enjoy
methodical movies that play a bit long this movie
is for you. During the movie, I decided to give it
the artsy acclaim so I would be more patient
watching some of the scenes I might have forwarded
with my remote at home. You need to be more
patient in the theater – perhaps the big bag of
popcorn and some other provisions to make it all
the way through. There are some slow places to
take an “intermission” if you need to. There are
some nice cinematic effects used in the film and
the twists and turns engage you with trying to
figure the story ending. There is nudity and
violence. The movie is rated “R”. One thing I
don’t understand about the future is why it is
always bleak and why are there are always naked
women robots in them? I can understand why
futurists warn us about a post nuclear or dirty
bomb scenario, but I can’t understand why there
are only women sexbots. It is a bit one-sided
and/or unnecessary. One of the biggest questions
from the original Blade Runner is whether Deckard
is human or a replicant. You will have to wait
until the next movie to learn that answer.
Zala's
Featured Review Kingsman: The Golden
Circle
Director Matthew Vaughn
In
The Golden Circle, the Kingman organization is
forced to go global when their headquarters and
operatives are taken out and the world is
blackmailed for an antidote for poisoned
recreational drugs. We discover that a cousin
organization exists in the United States, who’s
resources are needed to fight the villains.
Matthew Vaughn, who directed the first movie,
Kingsman: The Secret Service, delivers a proper
sequel.
The Story -
The
opening scenes are typically packed with the
introduction of a disqualified and disgruntled
Kingsman member who plays for dark team now. For
those of you who didn’t see the first movie, the
Kingsman organization is a bit James “Bondish”
fighting evil in Great Britain. The story reveals
the Statesman organization in America. The evil is
in the form of a recreational drug seller (Poppy)
who has a global network and is frustrated that
she needs to hide in the jungles of Cambodia where
nobody knows what a great business person she is.
She launches drugs with a poison in it and demands
payment by the world for the antidote. At team of
Kingsman and Statesman need to capture the
antidote to save the world, when the President of
the United States doesn’t want to save the world
citizens who do drugs – winning the War on Drugs.
The Cast -
For a
simple movie, the cast of characters is quite
deep. Main operative Taron Egerton (Eggsy)
carries the brunt of the movie in his world-saving
endeavor. Spoiler alert: Collin Firth returns as
Harry Hart from the first film as does staffer
Merlin (Mark Strong) takes on a stronger role in
this film with his inventive tools to help save
the mission. Julianne More (Poppy) plays the
ruthless drug lord in her Cambodian hideout which
resembles an American 1950s town deep in the
jungle. She has taken Elton John as a prisoner to
entertain her. Jeff Bridges (Champ/Champagne)
leads the Statesman team consisting of Channing
Tatum (Tequila) and Halle Berry (Ginger Ale).
Should You See
This Movie? Grade: B+
The movie is
entertaining. Does it get over the top at times?
Of course. The use of some great music (Prince,
John Denver, Elton John) during the action scenes
is well done. The story follows a typical 007
formula with a bit more corn, and the 2 hours and
21 minutes moves quickly. Big screen is fine, but
you could wait for this to hit the movie channels.
Zala's Featured Review Dunkirk
Directed by Christopher Nolan
“We
shall fight on the beaches….” Churchill
British and French soldiers
surrounded on three sides by German forces with
their backs to the English Channel are a mere 26
miles from England. Dunkirk is the historical
portrayal of the WWII battle where German troops
are preparing to wipe out 400,000 English troops
which would be devastating to the security of
England and the outcome of the Second World War.
The Story - Director and
Writer, Christopher Nolan tells the story of this
epic WWII battle which changed the direction of
the war. By interactively weaving the story
through the perspectives of soldiers, pilots,
sailors and civilians. The overlapping scenes are
repeated from the viewpoints of each of the groups
affected in a way that puts the movie together
like a jigsaw puzzle letting you see the
interaction as it unfolded for each of the groups
adding a deeper dimension to the film.
The Cast - The story
unveils through sets of characters who are bound
to destiny by the rescue mission. A set of pilots
who need to protect a fleet of naval ships and
civilian yachts by air, a group of soldiers who
attempt to get off the beach by a variety of
means, and civilians who launch yachts when called
upon by the British government to save the
soldiers. The experience of actor, Kenneth Branagh,
as Naval Commander Bolton, solidifies this set of
actors lesser known to American audiences. The
group of soldiers, (Fionn Whitehead, Harry Styles,
and Aneurin Barnard) and pilots (Jack Lowden and
Tom Hardy) deliver strong performances as their
characters unfold throughout the movie. The
interaction between father (Mark Rylance) and son
Peter (Tom Glynn-Carney) is deliverance-of-duty
and coming-of-age relationship. Peter’s friend,
George hops on the yacht at the last moment to
have the adventure of his life to hopefully
impress the townsfolk who see him as a teenager
who hasn’t accomplished much in school or the
community.
Should
You See This Movie? Grade: A-
For those of you who love
history won’t see this as the typical history
movie. The interweaving of the story between the
perspectives in the film and interaction between
the characters draws you into the suspense of this
rescue. The music pulls you into the drama of
human survival. The film focuses less on the
battle and destruction and more on the
relationships and dilemma taking place to save
over 300,000. Churchill had hoped for 30,000 to
continue to the war effort so the rally by the
civilian fleet is a feel-good story. The ending is
warming versus damning. The story moves fluently
through the hour and 46 minutes. The film will
appeal to both history lovers and those who like a
good story.
Zala's
Featured Review Spiderman - Homecoming
Directors Jon
Watts
When
I heard of yet ANOTHER Spider-Man movie
coming out this summer, I was reluctant to see it.
This version of Spider-Man, I will have to admit
is my favorite. The story goes deeper as it ties
into the last Avengers movie and shows the
struggle of high school senior Peter Parker
balancing school, a Tony Stark “Internship” and
his desire to be a member to be a superhero!
The Story -
Director, Jon Watts, portrays this Avenger in
Training as a high school student who spends more
time with his friends, being the typical student
growing into his role as a super hero. He
balances friendships and dates with school
activities, while trying to keep order in the
streets. His frustration is that he waits for a
call from Tony Stark for his chance to do
something “big” instead of menial tasks. His
secret is accidentally revealed as he sneaks back
into his room as his best friend is sitting on his
bed waiting for him. Throughout the movie, more
people exposed to his secret identity. There is a
bit of humor carefully woven into this story to
make the characters warmer.
The Cast -
If you
have seen the Spider-Man movies, you will
recognize the usual suspects: Tony (Robert Downey
Jr.), Happy, (Jon Favreaux), Pepper (Gwyneth
Paltrow). Tom Holland (Peter Parker) provides a
broader acting ability than previous “Spider Men”.
Marisa Tomei does a nice job in portraying Aunt
May. Michael Keaton is an excellent villain in the
story. We understand why he feels driven to be the
anti-hero playing both villain and family man.
High school sidekick to Peter Parker, Jacob
Balaton (Ned), is a surprise. He learns about
Peter’s secret and has a difficult time keeping
the news quiet. He dreams of being the “guy in the
chair” – the guy who is the tech geek who guides
Spider-Man to succeed. This is one of a couple of
supporting characters you want to see again in the
future. Another is Michelle (Zendaya) who plays a
high school loner who quietly observes others and
sketch their struggles. The obligatory cameo of
Stan Lee takes place early in the movie.
Should You See
This Movie? Grade: B+
This is a
superhero movie. The story is what it is, but with
some character development it has some warmer
hues. The characters are real and except for
special abilities, they feel real. The special
effects are well done with some cinematography
effects that capture your attention throughout the
movie. Moments of humor help to engage the
audience and the 2 hours and 13 minutes moves
well. If you like stories and dislike superhero
movies, you may like this one. If you like the
Avengers, you can’t miss it. Remember to stay
until after the credits to get the full
experience!
Zala's Featured Review Wonder Woman
Directed by Patty Jenkins
Wonder
Woman….Wonderful
For those of you
who watched the Wonder Woman television series in
the 1970s or saw the movie in 2011, you may wonder
why you would spend money to see Wonder Woman.
This movie is all grown up and the DC Comics
version is one of the best of the series of comic
book character movies produced in years.
The Story -
Director, Patty Jenkins, takes us to scenes of an
Amazon Island created to be protected from the
fall out of the Greek gods. We meet a young Diana
(Gal Gadot) and watch her grow up as she begins to
learn of her ancestry and become a warrior. When a
German WWI plane crashes into the sea off the
island we meet Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) working
for British Intelligence. Diana rescues him from
drowning. The spy is being chased by a German
ship whose sailors come on to the beach and a
battle of Amazons and humans ensues. Diana leaves
the island to join the war effort to stop the
suffering of humans who she thinks is being caused
by Ares, the god of War. Much is discovered about
Diana’s background. This story is more about the
mythology of the gods than previous versions of
Wonder Woman. There are a variety of twists within
the movie and there is a more athletic portrayal
of Wonder Woman and her powers as a super hero.
The Cast -
Most of the members of this diverse cast aren’t as
recognizable to most movie viewers. This adds to
the enjoyment of the movie. Chris Pine may be the
only actor you recognize, but the cast is strong.
Gal Gadot delivers a passionate performance as
Diana. Her action scenes are solid, while she
reaches deep to deliver compassion for humans as
she discovers more about herself that was veiled
by her queen mother and warrior aunt. Chris Pine
is good in his role of spy and Diana’s first “man”
experience. At times, he seems a bit stiff, but is
able to loosen up throughout the movie. Lucy Davis
plays a strong British secretary to Steve Trevor.
She is a character actor whom I would have enjoyed
seeing more in the movie. The variety of
characters provides an acting buffet that should
satisfy your tastes.
Should
You See This Movie? Grade: A
I will admit that
I wasn’t sure if I was going to enjoy this movie
based on the previous versions of Wonder Woman. I
am glad I did. Of all the comic book, super hero
character movies I have seen, I had to admit that
this is one of the best, if not THE best! The
action is strong. There are moments of compassion
and comedy. The story is what brings this movie
together. Of course, there are fantastic special
effects. I saw this on an IMAX screen in 3D and at
times even the seats vibrated, all adding to the
experience. You don’t need IMAX, but this is a
movie that plays well on a big screen and the 3D
does make the movie a treat. It is worth the extra
cost.
In what may be the
final movie in the Pirates of the Caribbean series
many of the plots from past stories come full
circle in Dead Men Tell No Tales. Directors
Joachim Ronning and Espen Sandberg pull out the
stops to bring this story to the screen. The sets
have that “Disney” look, the action holds your
attention and there is a bit of magic that brings
it all together.
The Story - The story opens
with a young boy searching the sea for his father
who is held in the spell with the undead crew of
the Flying Dutchman. The boy learns he must find
the trident of Poseidon to release the spell. The
boy grows up, enlists in the British navy and
after running into some trouble with superiors due
to his quest, he searches for Captain Jack Sparrow
whom he runs into in the brig on St. Martin.
Captain Jack has diminished from his previous
legend by lacking a real ship (the Pearl is still
trapped in a bottle), a crew who walks out on him,
and even the bounty on his head has dropped to 1
pound. In this adventure, we learn about how Jack
Sparrow got his name and became a captain. With
the help of an astronomer, accused of being a
witch, who has an old journal with drawings of the
stars which lead the way to the trident, the
search begins. If you like a bit of absurdity,
slapstick, and pirate tomfoolery, you will not
need this movie to make total sense. The ending is
reminiscent of Moses dividing the Red Sea and a
“lives happily ever” after conclusion prevails as
Captain Jack Sparrow sails off to new adventures.
The music sets the mood during the dark and
ominous portions as well as the recognizable
melody during the adventure scenes.
The Cast -
Most of
your pirate favorites appear in this movie.
Obviously, the story centers on Johnny Depp
(Captain Jack Sparrow). Javier Bardem (Captain
Salazar – Flying Dutchman) and Geoffrey Rush
(Captain Hector Barbossa) are both strong
characters in the film. Orlando Bloom (Will
Turner) and Keira Knightley (Elizabeth Swann)
return in this film to double the happily ever
after ending. There is also a special appearance
by Sir Paul McCartney as Uncle Jack.
Should You See
This Movie? Grade: B-
If you have seen
the previous movies you need to see this. If the
previous movies haven’t interested you, then you
can skip this one as well. The movie is action
packed and moves along well. You can’t take any
of this seriously. It isn’t outlandish, but you
can see outlandish on the horizon. The movie is
entertaining and a fun way to spend a couple of
hours during the summer.
I
am Groot! As
for space adventures, Guardians of the Galaxy,
Vol. 2, is another humorous look at these cosmic
vagabonds. The action starts immediately with
scenes in which you instantly fall in love with
Baby Groot who is oblivious to the dangers of the
battle as he rocks to Fleetwood Mac. This
MARVELous film begins shortly after the timeline
of the first movie, which you don’t have to see to
enjoy this one. Director, James Dunn, takes us on
a journey where Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) learns
more about the romance of his mother and father
(Kurt Russell).
The Story -
The music for this film is set to Awesome Mixtape
#2. We travel through the romance of Peter’s
parents and old foes and family who bond to form
new alliances. Peter’s father finds him and
invites him to live in an utopian world he
created. The team learns while on this planet that
not all is as it seems and there is greater evil
to follow. Throughout the film the Sovereign’s try
to rid the galaxy of evil. They continue to show
up as they are still upset because Rocket stole
some batteries while the team was contracted by
them. The story unfolds song-by-song until the
all-out battle of supremacy.
The Cast -
There is a star-studded on camera and voice over
set of actors in this film. The Guardians include
Zoe Saldana (Gamora), Dave Bautista (Drax) Vin
Diesel (Baby Groot-voice), and Bradley Cooper
(Rocket-voice). Sylvester Stallone (Stakar Ogord)
plays an antihero thug and Stan Lee (creator of
many of the Marvel characters) appears briefly in
many Marvel Comics movies.
Should You See This Movie? Grade: A
The action is
exciting, the music makes you want to sing along,
the dialogue will make you laugh, and the ending
is touching. You will want to see this on the big
screen AND in 3D! The 2 hours and 16 minutes
“fly” by. And do not leave when the credits roll.
There are 5 more scenes during the credits
(typical for Marvel movies). The scenes provide a
few more laughs and as always, will forecast the
next movie!
Zala's
Featured Review Going In Style - Directed
by Zach Braff
A
humorous look at life as seniors…This is a
classic movie showing the challenges that seniors
who aren’t ready for “the home” face daily. Add a
loss of pension and the tables are turned to a
point of desperation. Zach Braff directs a cast
of experienced actors including Alan Arkin,
Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Matt Dillon,
Christopher Lloyd and Ann-Margret.
The Story -
Reaching retirement age, I can realize what the
three pensioners are going through in the story.
Steel manufacturing closing American offices
decides to use the pension funds to cover the
company debt. Three septuagenarians are forced to
find funds to survive beyond social security.
Each has unique challenges with family, health,
and relationships. When the reach their deepest
struggles, they feel compelled to rob a bank
replacing the money their pensions would provide.
The hilarity ensues. What we see in this film are
the themes of the importance of family
relationships, friendship, love, and the
challenges seniors face.
The Cast -
For those of you have enjoyed the work the of
Freeman, Caine, and Arkin you realize that age
humor will come into play much like the movies of
Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau. None of the
actors are winning academy awards for their
performances which at times feel a bit subdued,
but they do play some feisty senior citizens who
aren’t about to give up on life. The love
interest of Ann-Margret offers the memory of her
role in Grumpy Old Men. If you enjoyed those
movies, you ought to enjoy this one. The character
that felt fresh is Joey King, Caine’s
granddaughter in the movie. Her bio includes a
lot of television and movies of the week type of
performances. She acts with a strong confidence
and we should be seeing a lot more of her in
movies to come.
Should You See This Movie? B-
You will laugh –
not rolling on the floor laughter, but there are
some funny scenes and will feel good after
watching this film. Not needing to view this movie
on the big screen, you can easily wait to see this
as a rental or on cable/dish. I would give this
movie a B minus because I enjoy these actors. The
story isn’t anything new, but it is plausible and
humorous.
The 2017 version
of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast is a great way to
spend a couple of hours on any day. Directed by
Bill Condon, the film makes the 1991 animated
version more of a contemporary family movie and
less of children’s story. Perhaps this was done
for so that the children of the 90s will return to
watch it with their families.
The Story -
Beauty and the Beast begins with a formal ball in
a lavish castle decorated as only Disney can
envision. As the Prince of the castle is cursed
and the scene turns winter, a darkness overtakes
the land. We travel to a nearby small French
Village as Belle sings about her life growing up
in a provincial village. You will get the feeling
that you are watching other Disney animated films
with human characters as they interact in the
street market. The interactions are well
choreographed and flow well as we get introduced
to the villagers.
A Classic Fairy
Tale - This fairy tale follows the formula for
great storytelling. There is the story of a girl
who is raised by her aging father. Belle is
searching for more in life than what her village
can provide for her life. The scenes from
venturing in the woods are full of danger with
packs of wolves hungry for humans, falling trees
which opens new pathways and the feeling of
mystery and evil in the dark of night. The castle
is devoid of life, with the exception, of the
fresh blooms in the rose garden surviving the
winter. The magic in this fairy tale comes from
the characters of the castle who, we meet in the
opening scene, surviving the curse as inanimate
objects – teapot, candelabra, mantel clock,
chipped cup, harpsichord, wardrobe. The most
classic part of the fairy tale is the girl falling
in love with the Prince who was turned into the
Beast. The two grow close to each other by
understanding one another with the help of the
characters. The spell can be broken when love
conquers all.
Why You Should
Go - The version I saw was a sing-along. The
words to the songs appeared on the screen with the
old “bouncing ball” to allow the audience to
engage even more. There is also a 3D version. In
the past, these movies seemed massed produced but
now, headline actors appear. Emma Watson, Dan
Stevens (Legion), Kevin Kline, Ewan McGregor, Ian
McKellen, Emma Thompson, Josh Gad and Stanley
Tucci star to make this a quality movie. The use
of CGI makes exciting chase and fight scenes and
fun-filled entertaining characters.
I hadn’t seen the
entire 1991 animated version so I can’t compare.
Many of you are in a better place to do so. I know
a lot of families wore out their video tape copy
as children watched it over and over. I wasn't
sure if I would enjoy this movie, but I was highly
entertained watching this film.
Zala's
Featured Review Lion -
Directed by Garth Davis
Imagine being 5
years old and needing to help your family eat and
survive near Calcutta, India. With his older
brother Guddu, young Saroo scavenges for anything
he can from trains to barter for goods to take
home to his mother and sister. From a one-room
shack in a small town, Saroo convinces Guddu that
he is strong enough to go out during the night to
the train station to see what they can find.
Saroo, however gets tired and Guddu has him stay
on a train station bench to sleep while he
ventures out alone. As Saroo wakes up in the
night, he calls out for Guddu, makes a mental
image of his surroundings noticing the water tower
in the train yard, and goes into one of the train
cars to sleep. He awakes to find himself on a
train with no passengers traveling thousands of
kilometers from his village. As a lost boy, he
does what he can to survive and experiences a new
language, other lost children, and a world of
questionable adults who require him to rely on his
intuition and inner strength. Eventually, he
lands in an orphanage and is adopted by an
Australian family.
Saroo grows up
“Australian”. As an adult, he decides to educate
himself in the hospitality industry where others
are interested in background begin to ask him
questions about where he grew up. This causes him
to start thinking about his family and a new
journey begins. His efforts turn to finding his
roots with only a handful of clues from his
memories as a 5-year old. With the help of Google
Earth, he tries to piece together his train
journey focusing on the water tower and village
landmarks he remembers as a child. We witness the
mental journey as he struggles to find home and
himself.
The movie is based
on a true story, adapted from the book “A Long Way
Home”. Director Garth Davis captures the
happiness of youth who grow up in a loving family
while scraping together an existence. These
memories are strong enough to bring Saroo back
home to find his birth family while remaining
connected to his adopted family. Saroo as an
adult, is played by Dev Patel and Nicole Kidman
plays Saroo’s adopted mother. The cast is
strong. Perhaps the strongest performance comes
from young Saroo, Sunny Pawar. The ability of
this young actor pulls you deep into the story
from the start. The relationship between him and
his brother Guddu, Abhisheck Bharate, is an
amazing story of brothers who love one another.
The cinematography is gripping. The use of
lighting, the motion of the cameras, and the angle
of the shots all add to scenes of intensity and
calm.
Saroo, does make
it back to find his family and the movie ends with
the reunion followed by actual footage of Saroo
and his adoptive parents meeting his family and
villagers. The movie is intense as it plays with
your emotions of happiness, fear, and sadness.
Lion is justifiably nominated for an Academy Award
for Best Picture as well as five others. I
wouldn’t miss seeing it and I suggest you bring
some tissues, even if they are to give to the
people seeing it with you!
Zala's Featured Review Hidden Figures
Directed by Theodore Melfi
For
those of you who didn’t grow up in the Sputnik
Generation, Hidden Figures, entertains you with a
“based on true events” version of the early NASA
space program during the space race which impacted
American society in the early 1960s. The part of
history we learn about is that this wasn’t all
about white males who were astronauts, engineers,
and administrative figures at NASA. Hidden Figures
focuses on the contributions by Katherine Johnson,
Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson who worked
tirelessly behind the scenes to turn a dismal set
of rocket failures into successful launches and
recoveries and concludes with the successful
orbiting of the Earth by John Glenn.
The story is about
these women who each contribute greatly as human
“computers” and how they use their mathematical
skills to the advance the space program. They were
needed to check the calculations of engineers,
join the ranks of the engineers and find ways not
to become obsolete as IBM delivered a mainframe
computer to NASA. These real women may or may not
have interacted with one another in the way the
movie portrays, but it makes for heartwarming
story as they try to serve their country. The main
characters need to hurdle two barriers – the
prevailing attitude of what women could do in the
work place and being given opportunities as
African Americans.
The themes in this
movie include the value of women in the work
place, single-working parents, race relations, and
the ability for women of color to advance in both
educational institutions and job promotions. The
film depicts the struggle of women of color with
the attitudes of the day and how they are
challenged in dealing with law enforcement,
segregation in society and at work, the ability to
take courses to advance in white schools.
Historically, this story takes place on the cusp
of the Civil Rights Movement. A group of “colored”
women work in part-time positions and the ability
to advance is made difficult even in a federally
funded agency. Slowly during the movie, their
talents convert the attitudes so they are
recognized for their contribution. You
experience the discrimination throughout the movie
and rejoice in the growth that is achieved.
This film combines
the talents of actors you haven’t seen in the same
cast including Kevin Costner, Jim Parsons, Octavia
Spencer, and Kirsten Dunst. They don’t overshadow
the other characters who deliver well to make this
ensemble cast more about this story and characters
than the individuals who portray them. Much of the
musical score was written and performed by Hans
Zimmer and Pharrell Williams (Happy). Perhaps the
most entertaining part of the score is used
effectively when Katherine is forced to leave her
work space to run a half mile to get to the
Colored Women’s rest room in another building. One
of the most dramatic moments is when Katherine is
asked why she isn’t always at her desk where her
boss (Kevin Costner) can find her. This leads to
making bathrooms available to whites and
“coloreds”
Director Theodore
Melfi, who co-wrote the screenplay based on the
book written by Margot Lee Shetterly, captures the
warmth of universal themes of families and heroes
and the portrayal of the struggles for African
Americans living in a society of prejudice. In
some ways, we see how far we have come as it
points to our own attitudes and in others, it
shows how far we need to grow. Perhaps the title
itself, Hidden Figures, provides a paradox. Are
the hidden figures the math equations that were
needed to developed a successful space program, or
are the hidden figures the people behind the
scenes who don’t receive the credit for their
contributions? Answer that for yourself as you see
this incredible story!
Zala's
Featured Review Fences -
Directed by Denzel Washington
Fences
is the story of the challenges a black family
faces in Pittsburgh during the 1950s. The film’s
screenplay by August Wilson is adapted from his
Broadway Pulitzer Prize-winning play 29 years ago.
Denzel Washington both directs and stars in the
lead role, Troy Maxson, a sanitation worker who
dreamed of playing major league baseball. Viola
Davis equals Denzel’s performance as his wife,
Rose Maxson. Troy’s life revolves around baseball
and his frustration of being too old by the time
baseball admitted black players on the teams. It
is the classic struggle of raising a family who
all want to realize their dreams and have find
themselves settling for what life gives them.
The story of the
Maxson family could be the story of many families
of the time-period and today. Sons growing up to
combat their aging father, a wife serving the
family first and their dreams last, the reality of
growing up and growing old and how the
relationships change over time provides an
interesting twist as each character wants more in
their lives and is trying to find the way to get
what they need. It is the story of dreams being
tempered by the reality of life. This is what
makes the movie riveting.
The experience was
more of watching a play more than a movie. I felt
like I was watching this dynamic story on a stage
rather than the screen. The audience was fully
engaged as we watched this drama wrap around us.
The dialogue
resembles Shakespeare at times, as the
conversation is woven masterfully between
characters in a fast-paced exchange. At the
beginning of the movie, Troy speaks the most as
friends and family listen to his stories of past
greatness. He is the person with the most
knowledge and experience. He dreams of more for
his life and challenges the status quo. We learn
of his struggles to succeed again the odds of age
and color. But as he ages during the movie, other
voices start to speak up and be heard, challenging
him at times with differing viewpoints. Those of
you who grew up in the 50s and 60s may recognize
this from your own family’s relationships. We
learn about his fears and flaws as his decisions
impact the family greatly. His sense of duty and
responsibility overpowers good judgment at times.
No matter how much the family is in conflict with
Troy, they all grow to realize that he is a part
of them. This was most evident in the singing of
the song “Old Blue” between the youngest son and
daughter at the end of the movie. The daughter
makes the Marine sing the song with her and he
realizes that it was much more than a song about
dog and more about his relationship with his
father.
This is a “don’t
miss” movie. You will see this movie nominated
for awards this spring as Washington and Davis are
both already nominated for Golden Globes. The 2
hours and 19 minutes will pass quickly as you
watch this family grow and change before you. You
witness love, respect, betrayal, and emotional
moments that are ready to tear the family apart.
The characters will stick with you long after you
leave the theater. The story is easily recognized
without being trite, the characters are complex
and the actors deliver an experience you that will
enrich your life.
Zala's
Featured Review Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find
Them
Directed by David Yates
This
new venture by J.K. Rowling, takes Harry Potter
fans to a grown-up story with more magic and
outstanding visual effects. Taking place in New
York City, 1926, the new world wizards are worried
that they will be detected by the “No-Maj”, the
American version of Muggles. The Magical Congress
of the United States of America (MACUSA) works to
keep the magic hidden. The Second Salemers, a
group driven to hunt wizards and witches, is led
by an abusive woman who has adopted children to
hand out pamphlets and watch for suspicious
behavior. Her son is working with the Director of
Magical Security for MACUSA (Colin Farrell) in
hopes of being accepted by the wizards.
Newt Scamander
(Eddie Redmayne), a magizoologist, once expelled
from Hogwarts despite support from then Professor
Dumbledore, brings a collection of magical
creatures to educate wizards and witches in North
America to build a case to preserve these unique
creatures.
In the opening of
the movie, Jacob Kowalski (a No-Maj) goes to a
large bank to get a loan for a bakery he wants to
open to change his life. He and Newt intersect in
what makes for an entertaining exchange of
suitcases – one filled with baked goods for the
banker to sample and the other with fanciful
creatures. Jacob is on for the adventure of his
life.
There is a
similarity between Harry Potter and Fantastic
Beasts as David Yates directed the last four Harry
Potter movies. There are themes of good and evil,
paired with a possible love story or two, and of
course, fantasy. This story centers more on the
interaction between real-world New York and the
beasts which cause havoc. There are times where
you feel you are watching Night at the Museum –
creatures roaming the streets of New York and many
other action films in which evils destroys the
city.
Where this film
sets itself apart is the setting of a worn
suitcase in need of repair. A broken latch
releases to foreshadow the creatures’ possible
escape into the city requires immediate attention
by the characters throughout the story. The
suitcase itself provides a whimsical world where
the creature collection lives in life-sized
magical spaces and serves as a place to hide and
escape into the world of the creatures.
The film is highly
engaging. If you enjoy the jazz from the 1920s
you will appreciate how it is used throughout the
movie. The effects are spectacular and create a
realistic viewing experience. There are brief
moments of tension, keeping the audience wondering
what will appear next through cracking walls. You
will see “Potteresque” effects that are done even
better with today’s technology.
The movie
introduces us to the Hogwarts equivalent in North
America, the Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and
Wizardry. At the end of the movie, we discover
that Scamander will write the Hogwarts’ textbook
“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” which
Harry studies in his first year a few decades
later. There are also a couple of story lines
that are left unanswered for a possible sequel.
Rated PG-13, this
film is not as child centered as the Harry Potter
series. This is more of an adult story which
Rawlings may have written for those children who
have now grown and the for rest of us who read the
Harry Potter books. You will be entertained for
the full 2 hours and 13 minutes.
Doug's
Featured Review A Stray - Written and Directed by Musa Syeed
By Guest Reviewer,
Jeff Gigler
Honest
Disclaimer - I went to see this movie just because
I had been used as an extra in the filming - I
played an old white guy in the waiting room of a
non-profit housing assistance agency. Two years
ago. I had almost forgotten all about it, until a
friend who went to go see the movie at St. Anthony
Main Theaters sent me an e-mail saying she saw my
face up on the "big screen" and in the credits.
I've played a lot of zombies in my career, bunker
border guards, enthusiastic fight fans, even
generals who want to use nukes on giant mutant
mosquitoes. But not someone in a "real" movie.
I
went to the movie not even knowing what the full
story was. Basically, it's a story about a young
Minnesotan originally from Somalia who tries to
fit in to a new culture, a new place, and make new
friends. The best friend he reluctantly
makes.....is one that he almost accidentally
kills. He becomes responsible for a stray dog he
names Laila, at a time in his life when he can
barely take care of himself and find a safe place
to sleep. Add to the mix the fact that he is
Muslim and dogs are "unclean" to him, makes his
journey even more fascinating.
There's a lot of humor in this movie. The clash
of cultures almost insures it, and people
struggling between the new and old almost require
humor to stay alive. There's a lot of tenderness
in this movie, not always between the dog and his
boy, or even between the boy and his mother. And
there is a LOT of tension in the movie, inserted
because of terrorism....but not from the direction
you would expect.
I
found the movie fascinating from the standpoint of
seeing people trying to live their life in a new
world and keep true to their faith. This was
longest window I have ever had into the life of
someone following Islam, and it really opened my
eyes. Not to the "threat", but to the struggle.
We have "communion shooters" and other changes to
our Christian religion that accommodate modern
life; the people in this movie don't have many
options if they want to be a "good person" in the
eyes of others.
This movie also makes Minneapolis look good.
Even if you are homeless and wet.
Some parts of the movie take place in heavily
accented English; others are related in
subtitles. As with any foray into a foreign
culture, it's worth the effort to do your best to
listen carefully and watch closely. I highly
recommend this movie if you came here from another
country - as your great grandfathers probably did.
Playing for a limited time (until Nov 3rd) at the
St. Anthony Main Theaters.
Doug's
Featured Review Sully
-
Directed by Clint Eastwood
By Guest Reviewer,
Jeff Gigler
Spoiler
Alert: everyone lives! Biggest surprise -
everyone is changed. Including the audience.
When I first heard
they were making a movie about Flight 1549 and the
heroic efforts of Captain Chelsley "Sully"
Sullenberger to land his airliner in the Hudson
river....I found it hard to believe it would be
interesting, or exciting - after all, the whole
flight was only 208 seconds long...and no one
died.
What the movie
really succeeds in doing is putting you in the
cockpit with Sully, and even into his head. It
also puts you into the passenger seats of an
airplane without power, at very low altitude, over
the most densely populated part of the United
States. When you are sitting in THOSE seats, in
THAT cockpit, inside Sully's head....things look
very different and at times, terrifying. Actor
Tom Hanks does an outstanding job portraying the
pilot, and you really never start thinking, "Oh,
there's Tom Hanks giving that 'Sleepless In
Seattle' smile or that 'You Have Mail' laugh.
Hanks really portrays the professional pilot so
well, in both appearance and mannerisms, that it's
very believable from the start.
And from the
start, we learn that Sully the Hero is also Sully
the Human, and there's no escaping from a plane
crash, even one where everyone survives, without
it affecting you deeply. We get a you-are-there
viewpoint of Sully's nightmares, when he makes a
different decision and things go horribly wrong.
And these nightmares don't only come out at night
time, or when he is asleep. Anything can trigger
them, and the audience starts to wonder when he
passes something ordinary or looks at something if
we are going to once again see his worst fears
come to life. Being this is New York City, there
are a lot of ways airliners can be turned into
nightmares.
The "enemy" in
this movie turns out to be facts - facts in the
hands of people trying to show human failure
instead of human triumph. Since this movie is
directed by Clint Eastwood, the enemy is rather
ham-handedly shown to be the National
Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which has all
the facts of the flight in front of them, plus
even more facts from aeronautical engineers, radar
tracks, and engine management data. Captain Sully
is basically accused of making the wrong decision
to land in the Hudson River when two airports
were, according to the facts and data, reachable
from the point of impact with the flight of geese
that destroyed both engines on a two-engine jet
airliner. Clint takes his anger for Big
Government out on the investigators of the NTSB,
which I thought was unfair - and makes them look
like a kangaroo court.
Not many of us
will ever sit in a cockpit of a jetliner, much
less operate the controls. But the movie does a
very good job of putting us in the passenger
seats, where many of us HAVE been, and can easily
empathize with the passengers on the flight. So
many normal, everyday tasks - the push to stow
luggage, fussing with the seat and the tray table,
the safety brief of the flight attendants. It all
helps, believe it or not, to build up the tension
to nearly unbearable levels - we KNOW the monster
is in the basement, don't open the door and go
down there! We can see ourselves in many of the
passengers...even though we don't really get to
know any of them in any detail. This is Sully's
story (for the most part).
The special
effects in this movie are excellent - from the
scenes where we see the flock of geese hit the
airliner engines and they burst in to flames and
flying parts, to the vivid enactment of Sully's
sleeping and waking nightmares come true, to the
water landing and rescue - which was actually
filmed on the Hudson using a full-sized airplane
for the passengers to exit. Seeing the airliner
barely clear bridges and be watched at eye-level
with the workers in the office buildings next to
the river gives you an idea how terrifying that
must have been for New Yorkers, after September
11, 2001.
In the end, it's
Sully's belief in his own skills and experience,
that help him win over the "enemy". All he
needed to do was to find a way to get all of these
investigators to be there with him in the cockpit,
and they would understand what an amazing thing he
was able to do - glide an airliner at just above
stall speed to a safe "landing" on a smooth
river. Make no mistake - he Sully been able to
set it down on another cleared piece of land
(there were none), the speed of impact would have
broken up the airliner and there would have been
deaths and injuries. After all the doubts raised
at the start of the movie, both generated by Sully
himself and by "experts", we get to keep and
better understand our "hero".
And the movie
emphasizes an important point - Sully was not the
only hero that day. Yes, his piloting skills were
excellent - but he was aided in the cockpit by a
cool-thinking co-pilot; experienced flight
attendants who were able to herd the passengers to
exits; by ferryboat captains that reacted
immediately to get to the ditching site and take
on passengers from a rapidly sinking airplane;
"Scuba cops" that rescued passengers in the
freezing water; and hundreds of first responders
who met the survivors on the pier to make sure no
one suffered from hypothermia.
There were times
in the movie when I cringed and shrunk back
because it was too intense to watch. There were
times when I teared up and stifled sobs,
especially when families were connected again in
person or by phone right after the crash, but had
feared the worst because they were missing (some
survivors were taken to the New York side, some to
the New Jersey side). Those actors did such a
great job at showing joy and relief their loved
ones were still alive, it became infectious -
again, something else that we, as passengers,
could imagine going through.
I am a
self-confessed aviation anorak (fanboy), and I
loved so many of the little details. I also love
a good story, which is one that I THOUGHT I knew
all about, and learned so many new details from
many different points of view that it was almost a
new story. I'm also a cinema buff, enjoying a
well-made, well-written movie. This one was
excellent. Make sure to stay through all the
credits - there's no sequel (God, I hope not, not
for Sully, at least), no outtakes - but there is a
little story worth waiting for.
Bring anyone you
want to this movie. Except people who are
terrified of flying. This will NOT help them. :)
Doug's Featured Review Star
Trek Beyond
Directed by Justin Lin Guest Reviewer: Doug Solem
Jr.
I would just like
to say I have always been a huge fan of Anton Yelchin, the Star Trek actor who was killed in a
freak car accident a few months ago. Starring in
movies such as Charlie Bartlett, Alpha Dog and
Fright Night, Anton was clearly a rare talent who
died to soon. If you’re not aware of who he was,
do yourself a favor and check out one of his
movies.
Long
Story Short: (as provided)A
surprise attack in outer space forces the
Enterprise to crash-land on a mysterious world.
The assault came from Krall (Idris Elba), a
lizard-like dictator who derives his energy by
sucking the life out of his victims. Krall needs
an ancient and valuable artifact that's aboard the
badly damaged starship. Left stranded in a rugged
wilderness, Kirk (Chris Pine), Spock (Zachary
Quinto) and the rest of the crew must now battle a
deadly alien race while trying to find a way off
their hostile planet.
My Take: So far I have
absolutely loved the rebooted star Trek
franchise. The movies are always action packed
and leave us with heroics that are second to
none. Once again the newest installment “Star
Trek Beyond” does not disappoint. In my opinion
this is the most entertaining of the three.
Justin Lin who is the director of the fast and the
furious franchise leaves his mark with some
incredible fighting sequences and special effects.
Chris Pine kills as Captain James T. Kirk. He’s a
true badass who does things his way. The entire
cast overall have great chemistry, and there is
more than enough humor in the movie. I also need
to mention that the climax (accompanied by a
beastie boys soundtrack) is one of the best I’ve
seen in a really long time. I literally got an
adrenaline rush from watching it. If you’re a
nostalgic person, you will also enjoy the homage
paid towards Leonard Nimoy and Anton Yelchin.
They celebrated these actors’ lives in a very
classy way. However as memorable as this movie
was, it has some flaws. I thought the plot seemed
weak compared to its predecessors. The main
villain had a pretty weak motive for wanting to
destroy an entire civilization. It basically had
to do with him being accidentally abandoned by
Starfleet (fictional space organization). There
were also some scenes that just didn’t make sense
and could have been cut from the final edit. In
the end, who really cares this movie was downright
awesome.
I
believe "The Secret Life Of Pets" is a must see
for any animal lover. Not just cat and dog
owners; there are parakeets, hamsters, hawks,
snakes, and alligators in this movie and they all
have an important and usually funny role to play.
The movie follows the adventures of a small
terrier named Max and a large shaggy dog named
Duke as they chase and escape there way across New
York City. Luckily for us all, the movie has a
very happy ending.
Like all "buddy"
movies, Max and Duke do not get along at the
start, and it's their own war between each other
that ends up putting both of them in great
danger. Caught by Animal Control, on their way
back to the Pound (which Duke had recently been
rescued from and is terrified of going back), they
wind up in the hands of "The Flushed Pets". They
trick the leader, Snowball, and escape through the
sewers again. These scenes are probably too
scary for most very young kids (I would say no
younger than 8), since they involve snakes,
alligators, spiders, and very mean looking
dogs....as well as near-drowning.
What I really
liked about the movie is that the humor is really
geared down to kids. This isn't just a animated
movie with adult humor that winks at the
grown-ups. This is belly-laugh funny in jokes,
slapstick humor, and surprize actions. While this
reviewer saw it in 2D, I would probably recommend
seeing it in 3D because many of the chase and
escape scenes are elaborate and very exciting.
The animals never break the fourth wall and talk
directly with humans; people only hear barking,
hissing, and screeching when they interact with
animals - and sometimes that lack of communication
is funny.
Everyone is
stereotyped - little dogs are smart and fast, big
dogs are dimwitted and slow, cats are sneaky and
aloof....but they all have big hearts and are
brave when they need to be. Only the big fluffy
poodle is not what he appears to be. There's
even a love story in the movie, at about the 2nd
grader-level. More chaste even than "The Lady and
the Tramp". The quality of animation is
excellent, and very realistic.....so much so that
kids might get anxious during the sewer scenes or
the truck-dangling-over-the-edge-of-the-bridge
scenes.
Everyone gets a
happy ending by the end of the movie; you get to
watch the joy on the faces of the pets and their
owners as they come home at the end of the day
(the whole movie takes place in almost real
time). There is no real villain that needs to be
vanquished and given his just deserts; the worst
character of them all gets cuddled by a little
girl at the end.
This would make a
great date movie, a great take-the-grandkids
movie, a great family movie, a great movie for a
solitary cat lady to go see. All you have to do
is like animals. Oh, and make sure to come a
little early; most theaters are showing three
upcoming animated family movies that also look
funny and good. And stay past the first few
credits. :)
Doug's Featured Review Swiss Army Man Directed by Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert
by guest reviewer: Doug Solem, Jr.
I’m
excited to be back for a second movie review. I
had a great 4th of July, spending time with family
and friends. This year we got to experience the
fireworks from the lake for the first time. It
was a great time and the show was spectacular. I
even found time to catch a movie with the old man.
Long Story Short:
Being stranded on a deserted island leaves young
Hank (Paul Dano) bored, lonely and without hope.
As a rope hangs around his neck, Hank prepares to
end it all, until he suddenly spots a man (Daniel
Radcliffe) laying by the shore. Unfortunately, he
is dead and quite flatulent. Using the gassy body
to his advantage, Hank miraculously makes it back
to the mainland. However, he now finds himself
lost in the wilderness, and dragging the talking
corpse named Manny along for the adventure.
I
really was not sure what to expect from this
movie. After watching the trailers, it looked
bizarre, gross, and confusing. Turns out that’s
exactly what it was. However it was also
beautiful and mind provoking. I find myself
sitting here wondering how that is possible, but
it is. Paul Dano and Daniel Radcliffe I thought
we’re great together. Their journey together was
full of highs and lows. The movie was true to its
title; Dano used Radcliffes body in a number of
ways to get back to salvation. The oddest was
using his body as a jet boat fueled by his gas.
This movie shows us that everyone is a little
weird in some way or another, and that’s all
right. There were a lot of laughs along the way,
and the ending is worth the wait. I don’t think
this movie is for everyone, but is definitely
something to see if you’re in the mood for
something original.
Doug's Featured Review The Nice Guys
Directed by Shane Black
Believe
it or not, I am still not done unpacking boxes at
our new home on Brigg’s Lake. It has been the
most labor intensive thing I have ever done next
to trying to find the golf balls I lose every week
in the woods. It is with mixed emotions that I
also report that we sold our little cabin on Elk
Lake. For almost 20 years, it served as our
weekend summer getaway for fishing, golfing,
grilling and family fun. What makes it even
tougher, our good friends, Jim and Linda, live
right next door to our old place…so every time we
go to see them, we are reminded that someone else
has taken over. With that said, we are looking
forward to all the great times ahead at our new
place.
My son and I heard
some good things about the new flick The Nice
Guys starring Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling.
We went to the early show at the incredible St.
Michael Cinema…grabbed a large popcorn and pop…and
settled in for what I thought would be a sure
thing.
Long Story
Short: (As
provided) The Nice Guys takes place in
1970s Los Angeles, when down-on-his-luck private
eye Holland March (Gosling) and hired enforcer
Jackson Healy (Crowe) must work together to solve
the case of a missing girl and the seemingly
unrelated death of a porn star. During their
investigation, they uncover a shocking conspiracy
that reaches up to the highest circles of power.
My Take:
As much
as I wanted to like this movie…I just couldn’t get
behind it. All the other reviews I read were
giving it the big thumbs up. So, I had high
expectations that this would be a real winner. I
like Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling but I honestly
thought they were just going through the motions.
I thought their performance was stale and almost
like they were just there to collect a pay check.
In all fairness, my son and I were the only ones
in the theater. I think sometimes, laughter is
contagious and maybe we just needed a few more
people to help us feel the vibe. The little gal
that played Gosling’s daughter (Rice) was cute and
was a breath of fresh air compared to her
sleepwalking costars. The other problem I had was
the plot was so weak and boring that it didn’t
really give the guys much to sink their teeth
into. They were hog tied from the start because,
although it is suppose to be a farce, it was just
stupid and not stupid good like Dumb and
Dumber….at least to me. I must admit though that
Cinematographer (Rousselot) and Production
designer (Bridgland) did a great job of capturing
that 70’s feel. As another critic pointed out,
the use of a filter that made everything snap with
beige and orange tint worked perfectly for that
period. Along with the crazy attire, that somehow
we thought looked cool back in the day, and a good
mix of all the muscle cars that were so popular
back then…the movie was still great fun to watch.
Doug's Featured Review The Jungle Book
Directed
by Jon Favreau
As
many of you are aware, I recently moved to my new
digs in Clear Lake. I was looking around for
another movie theater that was near by, to visit
when it was time to do a movie review. I saw that
the
St. Michael Cinema wasn’t too far away…so
my son and I decided to go see The Jungle
Book. Normally, I would stop here and have
you get right into the movie review below but I
think the whole world needs to know that the St.
Michael Cinema is amazing. As soon as you walk
in, you can tell that some major dollars were
invested in this theater. It is seriously a
jaw-dropping venue for a guaranteed great night
out. The complex offers great seating and screens
for watching the latest movies. They have a full
bar upstairs and an entertainment room. The night
we went they were running a Texas Hold’em
tournament. They even hold live concerts in a
special wing of this sprawling entertainment
center. Whether you live in the neighborhood or
are looking for a “must see” destination…you have
to check out the St. Michael Cinema located at
4300 O’Day Avenue NE, St. Michael, Mn
763-400-8006.
Long Story
Short:
(provided by studio) Directed by Jon Favreau (Iron
Man), based on Rudyard Kipling’s timeless
stories and inspired by Disney’s classic animated
film, The Jungle Book is an all-new
live-action epic adventure about Mowgli (newcomer
Neel Sethi), a man-cub who’s been raised by a
family of wolves. But Mowgli finds he is no longer
welcome in the jungle when fearsome tiger Shere
Khan (voice of Idris Elba), who bears the scars of
Man, promises to eliminate what he sees as a
threat. Urged to abandon the only home he’s ever
known, Mowgli embarks on a captivating journey of
self-discovery, guided by panther-turned-stern
mentor Bagheera (voice of Ben Kingsley), and the
free-spirited bear Baloo (voice of Bill Murray).
My Take:
Best picture of the year, so far. Neel Sethi was
a great choice to play Mowgli. The kid is
awesome. He will charm the socks right off you.
Sethi had never been on the big screen before.
Director Jon Favreau noted Sethi was chosen after
thousands of auditions. He added “Casting is the
most important element of any film and finding the
right kid to play Mowgli was imperative. Neel has
tremendous talent and charisma. There is a lot
riding on his little shoulders and I’m confident
he can handle it.” Obviously Favreau has some
great instincts of his own because I can’t imagine
a better choice for such a major role.
Just when you
think there is no way they can get any better with
CGI or what I like to refer to as “movie
magic”…along comes this movie. Favreau has made
the best movie to date that seamlessly blends live
action with this CGI movie magic. Whether Mowgli
is walking with a bear, riding an elephant or
running from a tiger…you would absolutely believe
this is the real deal. Add in the star power
voices of people like Bill Murray and Christopher
Walken and you have a cinematic masterpiece.
This
is a psychological horror film. Without blood and
guts; the story and filming and even the
soundtrack claw and tear at your mind, like a
caged animal just out of reach. The suspenseful
ending comes like a relief, and you are glad to
get back to a world where the monsters are easily
seen and understood and can be fought directly.
The previews of this movie make it seem like
it’s some kind of apocalyptic Fort Apache;
desperate survivors trying to stay alive against
the monsters attacking from outside. But with
some very slight and subtle plot twists and
reveals, you soon realize that the worst monsters
are inside RIGHT NEXT TO YOU. It’s very much a
parable for today’s world, where we can get so
afraid of the Unknown that are beyond our sight
and contact…..and miss out on the evil just up the
street and the overblown fear that betrayal and
“they seemed so nice” can create.
The story revolves around Michelle, who is
leaving town via a dark and lonely rural road.
The car radio starts to report some strange and
interesting things – then disaster strikes. She
wakes up in Howard’s underground survivalist
bunker, and everything starts out creepy. And
stays creepy for two hours. Normally, I’m not a
fan of big-name actors in roles – it always seems
like “Oh, that’s Leo DiCaprio playing the role –
but in this case, John Goodman’s previous role as
the nice guy helps to build the severe creepiness
of it all. A third occupant, Emmett, who Howard
hired to help build the bunker, doesn’t really
help to alieve the tension and suspense.
At first you don’t believe anything Howard
says, and share Michelle’s fear and doubt. Then
Michelle has an encounter with someone from the
outside that makes everything Howard said to be
true, and they are a happy family again. Then
another dive into suspense (I haven’t closed my
eyes in a “crawl through the airducts” scene
before, but this time I did), and suddenly
everything Howard says is false again. Maybe.
There’s a big internal fight where being a hero
did nothing to help…..and our heroine Michelle is
free from the fear and the horror in the
bunker…..to find herself under attack from even
MORE monsters and fear. But these are obvious.
These will always be monsters, and you don’t have
to guess.
As has been mentioned in other reviews, this
movie really isn’t a sequel to the previous sci-fi
horror movie “Cloverfield”. But it still tells a
story filled with suspense and mystery, reminding
us that even if we think we are safe behind walls
and doors…..there is always evil lurking right
next to us, in the same room.
My
first piece of advice is – do NOT read anything
about this movie or the TRUE STORY that it is
based upon! Aside from seeing the
previews in the movie theater, I did not know the
story of this Coast Guard rescue effort back in
1952…and it made the movie a real “cliffhanger”!
The heroes of the story…both the sailors trying to
save them and the sailors hoping to be saved…have
to overcome gigantic obstacles thrown in the way.
Some of the obstacles are created by Nature –
thundering, pounding waves bigger than the ships
that try to sail through them; hurricane
force winds – and some problems are created by the
man standing next to you. It’s hard to
say which is more dangerous, in this movie.
I’m glad we live in the era of
computer generated special effects – I would hate
to think how many great actors we would lose if we
really had to film 60ft waves crashing into ships,
tearing them in half. The fierce storm looks
frighteningly real, as you see the sailors on the
tanker Pendleton trying simply to stay alive to
make port. The engine room on the tanker is
where some of the best dramatic parts of the movie
take place, and there is enough sound and fury to
make it seem like a war movie battlefield. Steel
explodes, men are thrown through the air, other
men grimly hold their “ground” trying to keep on
station, fighting against the sea.
The Coast Guard sailors are
portrayed as just normal guys….but normal guys
(boys, most of them) who joined for a sense of
adventure and to save people. Discipline has
brought them so far; to go out in conditions
where all of the local fishermen and even some of
the senior enlisted Coast Guard sailors tell them
NOT to go to sea and attempt a rescue requires a
personal strength and heroism that is not
“normal”. As Chris Pine says (playing the rescue
boat captain), “The Coast Guard says you have to
go out…it doesn’t say you have to come back.”
Not everyone survives. That’s
evident when the tanker crew learns how much
trouble they are in, and one-half of their ship is
gone in an instant, taking members of the crew
with it. After an initial panic and hopelessness
(the dynamics of leadership are very real in this
story), they rally around the man who has
expertise, calmness, and a plan. The tanker crew
get to work trying to save themselves, and what
they do and how they do it is fascinating. And,
speaking as a former Navy officer, completely
realistic and true. For the movie, Disney built
an engine room and other real ship sets taken from
a T2 tanker about to be cut apart for salvage.
There’s no foam rubber in this movie magic.
Just when you think the boat
sent out to rescue the crew is completely
inadequate for the extreme weather it is sent out
in…..the weather proceeds to worsen the odds even
more by damaging nearly every important component
on the boat. The audience is pleading with the
rescue boat captain to turn around and save
themselves…just like the crew.
And the end of the movie? It
makes you feel good, and warm, even though icicles
are forming on the sailors. Making a movie about
a TRUE story that has a happy ending is one of the
best formulas for a great movie – but it doesn’t
guarantee the story will be easy to endure. The
storm will make you flinch, the waves will make
you gasp for air, the failing pumps will make you
beat on the cinema seat arms in frustration. Go
see this movie to be immersed in drama, tension,
and suspense.
The
quickest way to explain to you why you should not
waste time going to see this movie is to tell
you: all of the best parts were in the movie
trailer. Since most movie trailers are 2 minutes
long, another hour and 58 minutes is a long time
to be either bored or not amused by bad acting and
bad writing.
The movie is based
on the book “The 5th Wave” by Rick
Yancey, a ‘young adult’ novel written about an
alien invasion that progresses through five
‘waves’ of events, killing off the human
population of Earth. First it starts with an
ElectroMagnetic Pulse (EMP), which fries all
electronics and communications (and causes 747
airliners to fall out of the sky, a dramatic scene
in the trailer). Next come massive earthquakes,
even in formerly stable locations, which also
cause massive flooding on the coasts and inland
waterways (the next impressive special effects
display). Then widespread disease, which
explains why many of these teenagers no longer
have parents to help them survive. The aliens
land on Earth, but we never see the aliens
themselves, only the flying bicycle helmets their
drones seem to resemble.
The only
explanation given for the waves of attacks is that
the aliens want to preserve as much of the planet
as they can, for their own use. EMP is
a good start, so that we can’t fightback too well.
But earthquakes and floods? Wouldn’t aliens
who could cause events like that have more than
enough power to crush any resistance? And
wouldn’t aliens who could create a flu strain that
can wipe out all but 1% of the human race…..come
up with airborne Ebola and take out the rest with
little effort? I mean…are there, like, only
15 aliens up in their spaceship?
There are so many
holes in the plot that it almost hides the bad
acting. The main character, a teenaged girl, has
only two expressions –shocked, and scared. Even
before the attack, when she was attending high
school. Even angry would have been nice to see.
The most convincing part for this actress was
greasy hair, after days on the run through the
woods from aliens in human bodies. Perhaps the
series “Walking Dead” has spoiled the apocalypse
for me; everything in that alternate reality of a
collapsed society is dirty, dusty, damaged, and
broken. In The 5th Wave, it’s mostly a
lot of trash left lying around, as if we had come
in the morning after a big rock concert.
This movie
obviously wants to be another “Hunger Games”
series of movies. It falls far short of that,
because the plot and story are so unbelievable.
Which should say a lot, since the Hunger Games
takes place in a dystopian future where greedy
leaders want to oppress the masses to exploit them
– which is not too unbelievable. Incompetent
aliens who have to rely on brainwashed teenagers
to do the final clean-up in aisle Earth are not.
Don’t see this
movie. Don’t encourage them to make another one.
Jeff's Featured Review 13 HOURS- The
Secret Soldiers of Benghazi
Directed
by
Michael Bay
13
Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi is an
action-adventure-war movie right from the first
three minutes - that's probably due to the
direction of Michael Bey. However, the story is
so well crafted and manages to make you care about
the characters (or loathe them) so quickly that it
doesn't need to rely on Bey's signature EXPLOSIONS
to move the story along.
Minutes into the
movie you quickly understand that Libya is a very
dangerous place, and only the realization that you
have another two hours of film to go make you
believe the characters we first meet will survive
past the first ten minutes. The Americans manage
to bluff their way it of a very bad situation,
which is prescient of the fact the Americans there
in Benghazi are on their own and without help for
the entire incident.
It really helps
that the actors in the movie are not well known,
and there no distraction in seeing a favorite
actor or actress "playing" the role of a special
operator security contractor. These actors are
very believable as hard and tough men. The
excellent screenplay comes into play again,
telling their stories and creating their
characters in a very minimal amount of screen
time.
Another completely
believable aspect of the movie is how reluctant
the CIA station chief in Benghazi and US military
officers outside of Libya were to be courageous
and do the Right Thing. Other people
have said that the CIA station chief who refused
to give permission for a timely rescue has been
treated harshly; the truth is many times
government officials are reluctant to jeopardize
their careers without higher orders.
It happened in Benghazi, it happened again during
the Mayaguez rescue operation, again during the
attack on the USS Liberty.....and it will happen
again in the future, when mistakes are made and no
one wants to take responsibility or do the Right
Thing.
The combat scenes
are very intense and bloody - not appropriate for
pre-teens or sensitive people. We get to see in
very close detail how tactical military decisions
are made to fight off overwhelming odds and save
the rest of the people in the CIA annex. The
tension builds and builds, and doesn't let up
until either the good guys or the bad guys are
dead. We never really learn anything a out the
bad guys, either who they are or why they
attacked, only they died in great numbers.
That's okay, because the story is really about the
heroism of the GRS contractors who fought against
hordes of Libyans.
The location
looks extremely authentic – it was filmed on the
island of Malta, just off the coast of Libya
itself. The narrow streets, the stone buildings,
all lend to the atmosphere of people being trapped
with no escape.
The movie should
be used as a teaching tool in the years to come.
From the very beginning of the movie, we are
forced to wonder why these Americans are here.
It's not even a real country, just angry mobs with
guns. A nation is needed before you can start
nation-building. Before we send more Americans
into harms way, we should ask a question that is
raised halfway through the movie - why are we in a
place we didn't need to be, in a battle we don't
understand.
I
have been off the grid for the last month or two.
My wife and I got it in our heads that we should
move. So…in about a two month span, we sold
our home in Coon Rapids, packed everything up and
moved to a log home in Clear Lake Minnesota.
It’s on the Brigg’s chain of lakes and is just 45
minutes from my office here in the Northern
Suburbs. We have all of our possessions
boxed up in the garage as we work on some
rehabbing projects that need to be completed
before we settle in for good. We have been
breathing drywall dust and listening to the sounds
of hammers pounding day and night…but we can
finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.
With that said…Jr. and I decided it was time to
take a break and go see The Revenant.
Long
Story Short:(As provided by studio)
While
exploring the uncharted wilderness in 1823,
legendary frontiersman Hugh Glass (Leonardo
DiCaprio) sustains injuries from a brutal bear
attack. When his hunting team leaves him for dead,
Glass must utilize his survival skills to find a
way back home to his beloved family.
Grief-stricken and fueled by vengeance, Glass
treks through the wintry terrain to track down
John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy), the former confidant
who betrayed and abandoned him.
My
Take: I
will jump right in by saying, and I might be in
the minority here, that I felt that DiCaprio was
miscast. He just didn’t seem right for the part
of mountain man. Sure he had a beard and talked
with a growl…but just not buying it. That’s not
to say, I haven’t enjoyed his acting in tons of
other stuff…just not so much here. On the other
hand, Tom Hardy was incredible as his nemesis and
was totally believable. An earlier scalping by
Native Americans and a face so leathered it looked
like it was taken off an old catcher’s glove left
nothing to remind you that this guy is normally a
Hollywood pretty boy. In my opinion, it was also
the best acting performance I have seen to date
for him. He, not DiCaprio, deserves award
consideration. The movie also felt extremely
long. I can think of several scenes that just
seemed to go on forever! If a guy is crawling
through the snow to try and survive…do we really
need to watch him crawling for 20 minutes to get
the point? On the other hand, the cinematography
was stunning. The fantastic framing of the
landscape was jaw dropping. The epic scenery
shots were filmed in Canada, Montana and parts of
Argentina and were worth the price of admission.
I enjoyed the movie…just wish
a few things had been done a little different…but
what do I know?
Refresh
your memories and hold onto your hats, because
Hunger Games: Mockingjay 2 starts off fast and
right where it left off...a year ago. Make sure
you know who is who and what just happened because
things start to happen fast and not everything is
to the character's liking. The first conflict is
very close and personal, and psychologically
hurtful. It throws Katniss into such a deep
despair that even death seems a better choice to
her.
The books may have
been written for youth, but early in the movie the
characters are forced to make some real grown up
decisions about war and morals. Trying to win
against superior odds forces the Alliance to
choose actions which differ little from Snow in
the Capitol. Art imitates life as surrendering
refugees are given commands to "Get down on the
ground! Show your hands!" with such force and
fear that tension builds, and the viewer almost
expects someone to be unjustly shot dead.
This movie is less
about adventurous combat and more about the
effects of war on people. It's also how the
justification for doing evil in the name of good
seems reasonable and expedient....until the
perpetrators are finally held accountable.
Including holding yourself accountable.
There is enough
combat and action in the movie to make fans happy.
The level of violence and gore is manageable,
even for pre-teens. However, the battle in the
flooded tunnels is so intense that it might be
prudent to watch it through a screen of fingers
before the eyes. I doesn't help that a beloved
character and hero dies a gruesome death.
Katniss is not
motivated by strategic goals, or support for the
revolution....early on the movie, she is driven by
pure revenge and hate. And nearly everyone
around her suffers. At the climax of the movie,
she reclaims her pure, good intentions.....and
causes Snow to die a far more horrible death than
she had hoped to inflict on him by her own hand.
The end of the
movie treats us to a beautiful sunset and idyllic
countryside. Katniss' final words could easily
be said by any veteran that survived a protracted,
painful conflict. We should listen to all of
what they tell us.