Flash Movie Review: The Odyssey
IT WAS NOT ALWAYS AT THE front of my mind, but it certainly had a permanent place somewhere in the back. Ever since the COVID pandemic, I have wondered how the movie theaters will survive. The first few months, after we were able to go back safely, I was usually the only one in the theater. Granted, I avoided the weekends, always going early in the week and picking a seat in the last row on the side. My logic was believing most people gravitate to the center section and prefer being halfway from the screen. As time went on, my logic proved to be true, except for the occasional high school or college couple who wanted to sit in the back row and make out. Since time has gone on and COVID is no longer in the front of most people’s thoughts, there has been an uptick of theater patrons. Every week I have done a mental count of how many patrons are seated and the numbers vary between me alone, up to two dozen at the most. I would sit during the ending credits and wonder how long could the movie theaters remain open with such dismal numbers. There have been several great films, but in my opinion there seems to be more average to below quality movies being shown these days. FOR TODAY’S MOVIE REVIEW FILM, I attended, for the first time, a Saturday night opening weekend showing, which I have not done for over a decade. Because there was so much hype and advertising, I went to the movie complex the day before and bought our tickets. At that time, when I was picking out our seats, I saw there was twenty to thirty seats already sold. When we came back the next day for our showing and sat down in the theater, I was stunned to see almost all the seats were filled. It had been so long that it came to me as a shock to see so many people. I wondered if it was like this every weekend, that I have simply not been a part of it; but keeping track of the box office opening weekend results, I do not think theaters are consistently full every weekend. However, seeing the results for this past weekend, I was pleasantly surprised to see the amount of sales for this film; it is very encouraging and I hope it is a bellwether of what is in store for movie theaters. BASED ON THE EPIC POEM BY Homer, written in the 8th century BCE, this adventure, dramatic fantasy movie tells the story of a husband and father’s long, perilous trek home after a decisive battle. With Matt Damon (Oppenheimer, The Last Dual) as Odysseus, Tom Holland (Spider-Man franchise, Uncharted) as Telemachus, Anne Hathaway (The Devil Wears Prada franchise, The Idea of You) as Penelope, Corey Hawkins (The Color Purple, Straight Outta Compton) as Polybus, and Robert Pattinson (The Drama, The Batman) as Antinous; this latest film from Christopher Nolan (Dunkirk, Tenet) was truly special. The directing and filming of this ancient story was mesmerizing; the cast was brilliant and the scenes were near breathtaking, massive in scope. I have racked my brain, but I could not find a memory of me ever reading or hearing this story. The closest I could come to was a childhood memory of a favorite film of mine called “Jason and the Argonauts,” which I had to look up as soon as I returned home to see if they were both based on the same poem; though similar in nature, they are not. The movie was nearly three hours long, which in the first half seemed to me to be too long. I looked at my watch a couple of times. However, the creativity in presenting the scenes and the action scenes were captivating. The more I have thought about this picture, the more I have grown to love it. And to coin a cliche, the icing on the cake was being in a full movie theater and seeing everyone applauding as the ending credits began to roll.
3 1/2 stars
Flash Movie Review: Supergirl
ONE OF THE TOUGHEST FEELINGS TO experience is the one where you feel you are alone, the only one like you on the planet. The feeling can be all consuming, coloring your other emotions and feelings. In my case, it made me withdraw further from interactions to the point I wished I was simply wallpaper on the wall that no one would notice. A friend of mine went in the opposite direction; they tried to fit in by joining different groups in elementary and high school. I used to keep my distance when they were undertaking a new experience, preferring to be an observer. Maybe there was a part of me hoping I could learn something that would break this hold on me of being different; but in truth, I became a witness to the same results happening to my friend over and over. Since they were just joining things to become part of a group, they did not realize that to others it would soon become apparent that they were not interested in the activity and not having a good time. It has challenging to pretend you enjoy something when you really did not, and my friend did not have the acting skills to put on a “good” front. HAVING ENDURED THOSE PAINFUL TIMES SEEING my friend experience hope and rejection, let alone my own experiences, set me on a course to try and figure out why I felt like I was on a different planet from everyone else. Gratefully, during those times where I would get more depressed about my situation, I never had the desire to numb myself with drugs or alcohol; food became my addiction. Yes, I ballooned up in weight for a time, before I realized I was only adding (no pun intended) another negative layer for feeling alone. My first inklings of possibly not being the only one who felt this way was seeing a classmate chewing their nails down until their fingers bled and seeing someone with cuts down their arm. At the time, I had no idea why the person had multiple cuts on their arms. It wasn’t until I saw a television show where one of the characters had the same marks I had seen on that student’s arms, that I began to understand the thought process behind the cutting. In my case, there wasn’t a TV show that could explain my circumstances; it was my feelings I had for a graduate student who lived on my floor during freshman year. I did not realize I had fallen in love with them until they mentioned they went out on a date. It seemed as everything in my life came crashing down around me hearing they had feelings for someone else, despite not even knowing I was in love with them. That is when I sought out professional help and put myself into therapy. It was the best decision of my life. I wish the main character in this superhero action movie would have done the same thing. ONLY WHEN SOMEBODY CLOSE TO HER took ill, did a reluctant superhero find herself traveling the galaxy to find a remedy and ultimately bring justice to those who were wronged. With Milly Alcock (House of the Dragon-TV, Upright-TV) as Supergirl, Eve Ridley (The Witcher-TV, 3 Body Problem-TV) as Ruthye, Matthias Schoenaerts (Amsterdam, Rust and Bone) as Krem, David Corenswet (Superman, Twisters) as Superman, and Jason Momoa (A Minecraft Movie, Aquaman franchise) as Lobo; this adventure science fiction drama had a lot riding on it. The second film out of a revamped movie studio, there were high hopes for it being successful. There were some good elements in the movie, but they were overpowered with the poor choices by the writers and director. I found this film to be a messy bore. Storylines were underdeveloped, acting was dull except for Jason Momoa, and the action scenes had poor lighting and CGI effects. For over half the film, I felt I was seeing the same scenario being played repeatedly. It annoyed me to see a good idea in the script get trounced on by lackluster actions and absence of details. I think it would have been beneficial if all concerned in the production of this picture had a few sessions with a licensed therapist to get everyone on the same page.
2 stars
Flash Movie Review: The Devil Wears Prada 2
I GREW UP IN A HOUSE that accepted both of our city’s daily newspapers. For some people, this was unusual. Though there was never anything stated or shown in the papers that would clue the reader into the publishers’ viewpoint, it was well known that one newspaper had a conservative bent, while the other was considered more liberal. At the time, when I started to read them, I had no idea; there simply were certain things about each paper that I enjoyed reading. Because of their different physical sizes, I gravitated to one of them more often, especially if I was going to take it with me to read on the train or bus. Its format was like an oversized magazine shape as opposed to the other one which was delivered folded in half. Once unfolded, it could take up a good sized portion of a dining room table, if one wanted to read it while eating a meal; plus the Sunday version of it was humongous, filled with advertisements and its entertainment/travel magazines. One of the most important things about both dailies was their yearly feature article on the Oscar nominations. Both of them listed all the nominations, plus provided an entire page listing the categories, perfectly laid out in order, which I would tear out and use to make my predictions, circling the films that I thought would win in each category. WHEN I MOVED OUT ON MY own, I only subscribed to one of the newspapers for delivery; the other I would only buy on certain days, when I knew the paper would have an extra section for its weekly featured topic. No matter where I moved or when I traveled out of state, I would always have this same arrangement. My current residence is a multi-family building. When I first moved in, every morning the residents’ newspapers were stacked and bound together, wrapped in plastic and left in the foyer of the building’s entryway. There was close to two dozen newspapers that would get delivered to each subscriber. Over the years, I have noticed this amount has slowly decreased. Taking in account, the departure of some of the residents, the majority of readers still live in the building; however, they no longer have their newspaper delivered. I can only assume they either read it online or have stopped reading it all together. For all I know maybe they only buy an edition when a big story has broken, or go to the library and read it there. At present only six apartments in the building receive a daly newspaper, which is around ten percent of the total occupancy. It is a drastic change which is why I understood the pressure the editor-in-chief was having in this comedic drama. IN THE CHAOTIC WORLD OF PRINTED media, a former employee returns to a previous employer to help save it from further decline. A completely different scenario compared to her past dealings with the organization and its ruthless leader. With Meryl Streep (Let Them All Talk, Only Murders in the Building-TV) as Miranda, Anne Hathaway (Mother Mary, She Came to Me) as Andy, Emily Blunt (The Smashing Machine, The Fall Guy) as Emily, Stanley Tucci (Conclave, Spotlight) as Nigel, and Kenneth Branagh (A Haunting in Venice, Oppenheimer) as Stuart; this satirical sequel was a fun watch for me. The cast was outstanding; I felt like I was visiting friends I had not seen in a long time. Also, I enjoyed the various cameos sprinkled through the movie. Granted there were some farfetched scenes, but I believe they go with the territory. With even-handed direction and a witty script, not to mention some of the outrageous fashion choices, this was a breezy, entertaining viewing experience. Honestly, if the powers to be decided to write another script for a further installment, that kept all the same characters and actors who played them, I would not hesitate to go see it.
3 stars
Flash Movie Review: The Drama
SEVERAL TIMES THROUGHOUT THE PAST, I HAVE mentioned that my dealbreakers for not dating someone were dirty fingernails and bad teeth; unless of course there was a reason for it. In the throughs of the dating world, if a potential partner had ever cheated and broke trust in their past relationships, that was a red flag for me as well and I soon ended our relationship. This dealbreaker did not rise up until after I had been cheated on with a couple of people I was dating. I always thought these three non negotiable items were not out of the ordinary; they simply revealed information to me about the person’s hygiene and morals. My friends never challenged my dealbreakers; in fact, they began to incorporate them into their scorecard for potential dating partners. Now on the other hand, I had a hard time with some of my friends’ dealbreakers. There was one friend who would not date anyone but hairy men, essentially hairy chests, arms and legs. I never understood it and always asked them what they would do if their hairy man, in their committed relationship, got cancer and had to go through chemotherapy, causing their hair to fall out. Some friends had to think about it before answering me. Even when I mentioned there might be a chance that person could go bald as they aged, my friends had to actually stop and think about it. THERE ARE A COUPLE OF OTHER friends who had height restrictions when it came to potential partners. One friend only wanted to date people who were much taller than themselves. Another friend preferred dates to be close to their height with a variance of only a couple of inches. Even with their answers to my queries, I still did not quite understand what was so important about different heights that would stop them from dating someone they truly liked. Let me add, that there is a strong difference between me and what I have discovered are many other people regarding perspective dates. Except for teeth and fingernails, I never paid attention to a person’s physical features. This could be due because for most of my life, I always wanted to change mine, or because I saw how the human body was constantly changing its appearance, both intentionally and medically. I tried to never judge any of my friends who had firm limitations on the types of people they would date, despite me not understanding; however, I always thought they were restricting themselves unnecessarily. After seeing this romantic, dark comedy I wondered how they would react, let alone myself, if I had been in such a situation. WHILE OUT WITH ANOTHER COUPLE, AN engaged couple was asked a question that could alter everything about their relationship. With Zendaya (Challengers, Dune franchise) as Emma, Robert Pattinson (Mikey 17, The Batman) as Charlie, Alana Haim (One Battle After Another, Licorice Pizza) as Rachel, Mamoudou Athie (The Circle, Jurassic World: Dominion) as Mike, and Sydney Lemmon (Tar, Love Story-TV) as Pauline; this dramatic comedy scored with casting Zendaya and Robert Pattinson. Their acting and chemistry were perfect in the roles, which made them so believable. I would have appreciated if more time was given to each’s back story; but, in the scheme of things I was too intrigued with the questions being asked and the reactions they caused. At times some things seemed far-fetched, but again I have to stress with the acting and the idea of the story kept my attention throughout the film. The supporting cast was a nice compliment to the engaged couple. Overall, I did not let my minor issues/complaints about the story/script affect my attention and curiosity.
3 stars
Flash Movie Review: Project Hail Mary
THOUGH THERE WERE SEVERAL CHALLENGES FOR me, the month-long trip overseas went beyond all expectations and hopes. My latest thrill is visiting UNESCO World Heritage sites, which we were able to see several on this trip. There was so much history we delved into, that I am having a hard time keeping all the facts straight for each place. One of the biggest highlights for me was visiting the city where my Dad was stationed during the war. Hearing about the importance of the city’s place in history and walking the streets, I had this surreal feeling of connection. The issues I encountered the weeks I was away from home, gratefully, diminished due to amazing things we saw and did. One of my challenges was regarding foods. Since I do not eat red meat or pork, our home base country did not have a lot to offer me for meals since they are known for their beef. Chicken takes a far backseat on their diet. There were times I would wind up having two shrimp cocktails and a small side salad for dinner. The fact that I lost three pounds on the trip should tell you something. If that was not rough enough, I wound up catching a bug that caused digestive issues; so, there were a couple of days where I did not eat or drink anything throughout the day. I did not want to be caught in an embarrassing situation while on an excursion. ONCE WE WERE BACK HOME AND re-adjusted to our “normal” schedule, I wanted to see a movie that I could escape into, without much thought. This is why I chose this film; I wanted to watch something that had a visual, sci-fi vibe to it. I had no idea this picture would remind me of an encounter we had while on our ship. There was a married couple who were on a few of our excursions. We normally do not start up a conversation with strangers since we do not know if their beliefs are similar to ours; or, if they are not, they will not act on them, making it uncomfortable for us. The wife always had this sour look on her face; in my opinion, she looked mean. She never smiled or acknowledged us when we would see them repeatedly on other excursions. Granted, I do not think she acknowledged anyone as far as I could tell. One night as we were walking out of a restaurant, they were about to walk in. Before I could stop myself, I said the food was good and we ate a lot due to all the walking we did on that day’s excursion. To my surprise, they both laughed and shared their experiences on the trip. We come to find out they live in a town where I have a substantial amount of relatives; one of them was a friend of hers while in college. From that point on, we would see one another almost every day and stop to share our events of the day and became quite friendly. I had an extra reason to feel good after leaving this sci-fi, adventure, comedy, drama. AT FIRST DISORIENTED AFTER WAKING UP from suspended animation, a science teacher begins to remember why he found himself on a spacecraft, headed towards the sun. With Ryan Gosling (The Fall Guy, Barbie) as Ryland Grace, Sandra Huller (Anatomy of a Fall, The Zone of Interest) as Eva Stratt, James Ortiz (The Woodsman, Girls Against Boys) as Rocky, Lionel Boyce (The Bear-TV, Loiter Squad-TV) as Carl, and Ken Leung (Old, Lost-TV) as Yao, this movie surprised me. Based on the premise, I was not expecting the humor that was sprinkled into the script. I thought Ryan and Sandra did a wonderful job of acting and I was quickly drawn into the story. The visuals did not disappoint me, only adding to my enjoyment. In addition, I was touched on how the story took a turn by providing some touching moments. And kudos to the director for keeping things on track, consistently moving the story forward, while blending the emotional aspects. The extra treat for me, after seeing this film, was recalling how that couple we saw on the ship, that we were at first leery of, turned out being a pleasure to talk with and share our mutual experiences.
3 1/2 stars
Oscar Telecast
THROUGHOUT THE YEARS OF WRITING MOVIE reviews, I have mentioned numerous times how I struggle with change. I am never the one running out to buy the latest “must have,” or being the quickest one to update or convert to the latest/newest software or apps. You could say I come from the old school philosophy, “Don’t fix it if it isn’t broke.” Recently, I made the leap to paying my bills online; something that a majority of the population is already doing. It was a struggle for me, including my first week attempting to pay bills yet all being flagged as fraudulent activity. The lunacy reached a high point when, after multiple calls to the bank’s customer service and fraud departments, a manager suggested I write checks for my bills. I asked if they realized how ridiculous their answer was to me, thanked them for their time, and hung up. It took a face to face meeting with a personal banker at the bank, to clear up my issues. It is things like this that increase my hesitation when it comes to doing something different from the usual way I do things. So, you can imagine how I felt when it was announced the Academy Awards telecast would be moving to Youtube in 2029. Except for the occasional times I watch a video clip on Youtube, I do not want to be forced to pay and/or sign up for another streaming service to see the telecast, or to watch it on a computer. What was wrong with having it air on network TV? I AM ALREADY DISTRAUGHT OVER THIS upcoming change and am even experiencing anxiety for one of the biggest changes in my life: for the first time that I can remember, I will not be able to watch the Oscar telecast this year when it airs. I will be out of the country. In the past, I have been conscious of not making any travel plans around the Oscars show, going as far as cutting my travel plans short to book an early morning flight, so I would be home in time to watch the show. But this year, I will be on a cruise ship. I cannot begin to tell you how upsetting this is for me; I can recall as a little kid sitting on the floor while watching the Oscars program on a black and white console television. And if this is not enough to push me over the edge, there is something more troubling I am still processing in my mind. EVERY YEAR I TAKE THE TIME to list what I think should win and what I think the academy will choose as the winner. I would spend the time trying to see all the nominated movies in as many categories as I could to make an informed prediction. Since COVID, it has been harder to achieve this with the movie theater business in flux. The most recent change I discovered this year is the movie theater I frequent, has stopped all their afternoon showings of films. As a result there are fewer options for me to catch a movie, besides the agony of discovering a nominated film is on a streaming service I do not have in my package. And just think my biggest irritation in the past was hearing about a new film opening on the east and west coast but nowhere else, just to qualify for that year’s Oscar picks. As a result of being on vacation for nearly two months earlier this year, and the less frequent opportunity to even watch a movie, for the first time in my life, I cannot in good conscious write down my predictions. I have barely seen any of the nominated movies. All I can tell you is my favorite films this past year were Hamnet and Sinners. I wish things were different and it will take time for me to get over the grief this change has caused me. Despite all of this, I do hope you enjoy watching the telecast and that your favorites from the past year turn out being winners. Take care.
Flash Movie Review: Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die
WITHOUT ANY JUDGEMENT REGARDING A PERSON’S features, it is easy to group people by generation. At a party where the guests’ ages span from the mid 80s down to those in their 30s, I can tell roughly how old a person would be. The oldest guests at the party would have no evidence of having in their possession a cellphone. More than likely, their phone would be in their coat pocket, purse, or possibly still in their car. The next generation down would have their phones with them, but they would not be entirely visible because they might have their phone in a shirt/sweater pocket, a purse/should bag, or in a pants pocket. The younger generations after this group usually carry their cellphones in their hands, place them on a lap or on the cushion or armrest of the piece of furniture they are sitting on, or even place right besides them on the dining room table. As for myself, I either have my phone in my pants pocket or in my jacket. The only time I would have it sitting out in the open is if I was showing someone a photo, or if I needed to look up some information. Personally, I find it rude when you are sitting around a dining table, having conversations and there are a few people who are staring at their phones instead of joining in on the conversation. IN A WAY, I FIND IT an intrusion when a person’s attention is directed more towards their phone than the person or people around them. I totally understand when parents setup their young child/toddler with a tablet at a restaurant or dinner party. The parents want their child occupied, so as not to disturb the guests or patrons around them. However, I do wonder if this will become the start of a child becoming addicted to their electronic devices. I was out to dinner with a friend, and at the next table it looked like a mother and father were seated with their two teenage children. The siblings had their heads bowed, watching something on their phones. There was no communication between the children and their parents. Now granted, I did not see the parents make any effort to have a conversation with their children, but maybe they are resigned to the fact their teenage children prefer looking at their cellphones instead of talking to their parents. On the other hand, maybe the parents did not care to have a conversation. Personally, I find this all troubling, and after seeing this action, adventure, science fiction, comedy; I am more concerned what electronic devices have been doing to all of us. AT A LOCAL DINER, A MAN rushes in claiming he is from the future and is trying to save the planet. The patrons are not so sure how to act, until the man announces he has a bomb. Now everyone is paying attention to him. With Sam Rockwell (Argylle, See How They Run) as the man from the future, Juno Temple (Killer Joe, Atonement) as Susan, Haley Lu Richardson (Five Feet Apart, The White Lotus-TV) as Ingrid, Michael Pena (Unstoppable, A Million Miles Away) as Mark, and Zazie Beetz (Joker franchise, The Harder They Fall) as Janet; I immediately understood the message in this film. The cast was all in synch with their roles and played off of each other well. This was certainly a script made for Sam Rockwell’s acting abilities; he was the main attraction throughout the story. The issue I had with the script was the several scenes that repeated the same scenario. My interest was waning through the first half of the movie. It was not until the latter half where it felt like the story was coming together and had more excitement. Regardless, I thought the message was timely and important. There were several scenes of violence and blood.
2 1/2 stars
Flash Movie Review: Song Sung Blue
“IF THERE IS A WILL, THERE is a way,” is a saying a truly believe. I have always felt this from as far back as I can remember. As a little boy, I used to play with jigsaw puzzles. No matter how hard or long it took me, I was determined to complete them. The same held true in my desire to learn and play the piano. It took approximately two years of dogged perseverance before my family agreed to start out first with renting me a piano. In that two years, whenever we were at a relative’s house that had a piano, I would sit down and figure out how to create something that sounded like a melody. If a cousin was taking piano lessons and had any study books, I would pour over them, trying to memorize different details and facts. I even went as far as drawing a full size keyboard using sheets of construction paper taped at the edges. Teaching myself the notes on my paper piano, I learned how to read sheet music and began pretending I was playing a song, while in my brain I was replaying the music I had heard either on a record or from someone playing the piece on the piano. I actually thought I was real good at it; but of course, I never heard a wrong note in my head. THE SAME HOLDS TRUE WITH MY determination to make physical fitness a part of my life. Though I had flunked gym classes in school, I was determined to become a fitness instructor. It took a little time for me to build up the confidence and to get comfortable wearing T-shirts and shorts in public, but I succeeded. Being in a setting where the majority of people were all there to exercise in some form, I really got to see firsthand that there were many people like me who had a strong belief/desire to accomplish something with their body. In my decades of teaching I have been amazed to see so many examples of people’s determination. There was the member who had MS and was confined to a wheelchair, taking yoga classes. They came to every class, worked on as many poses as they could from a seated position, and after one year felt strong enough to get out of their wheelchair and stand up. It was only for a few seconds but they did it. At the fitness center where I presently work out, I have seen several individuals confined to a wheelchair; yet, they wheel right up to a weight machine, lock the wheels of their chair, and pull themselves up and out onto a machine to work the parts of their body that still respond. It is unbelievably inspiring and re-enforces my belief about having the will to do something. While watching this music drama, I found myself rooting for the main characters and their determination. THEIR LOVE OF MUSIC BROUGHT THEM together, but would it be strong enough as they began a journey filled with new highs and devastating lows. With Hugh Jackman (Deadpool & Wolverine, Bad Education) as Mike, Kate Hudson (Glass Onion, A Little White Lie) as Claire, Ella Anderson (The Glass Castle, Suncoast) as Rachel, Hudson Hensley (The Wildman of Shaggy Creek) as Dana, and Michael Imperioli (The Lovely Bones, The Sopranos-TV) as Mark Shurilla; this biographical Oscar nominated film, was based on the Milwaukee couple who did covers of Neil Diamond songs. Not being a solid listener of Neil’s songs, I was surprised how well they fit into the story. Hugh and Kate really sold the story with the strong chemistry between them, and I thought their acting was terrific; Kate was nominated for an Oscar. Though the script was predictable, I still enjoyed watching this picture, even tapping my foot to some of the songs.
3 stars
Flash Movie Review: Hamnet
SUCH A UNIVERSAL EXPERIENCE, DEATH, YET everyone internalizes and processes it in their own way. I may have mentioned this before, but when a close relative of mine died, I would play a favorite song of theirs on the piano every day for a month. The months that followed, I would still play it quite often; sometimes when i just happened to be thinking about them, or on a holiday that meant something to them. Some years ago a former partner of mine passed away in such a way that health and government officials had to be involved. Both the deceased’s relatives and friends had to wait a long six to eight weeks before the results and cause of his death were announced, with the body being released to the parents afterwards. Though we had broken up in a bad way several years prior, I decided I wanted to give a eulogy, so I began to work on one for a week, up until the funeral. At the memorial service, a few of their friends were surprised to see me, since our breakup was rather dramatic. A couple of their relatives came up to tell me how glad they were to see me. When the time came for me to get up and eulogize them, I was taken aback how I and many of the guests were tearing up. Gratefully, I got through the whole thing, sat down, and felt an unusual comfort come over me. I NEVER CONSIDERED ANY OF MY actions extreme or out of the ordinary, unlike some of the things I witnessed from others. There was a daughter I knew who after her mother’s funeral arrived at her mother’s grave every day with a thermos of hot coffee, two cups and two lawn chairs. She would set up the chairs, one on each side of the plot, fill the two cups with coffee, place one cup on the empty lawn chair, keeping the other cup for herself, and sit there the entire morning having a one-sided conversation with her mom. The only time she would cut her visit short was during the winter months when the weather was bitterly cold; otherwise, she was there whether there were flurries, sun, or rain. It came to the point where relatives would gently broach the subject about maybe she could find a way to heal herself, talking to a professional in the medical field. She had no interest. This was the way she wanted to spend time with her mother. As I said, everyone handles death in their own way. What I witnessed in this period piece drama, took me by total surprise. THOUGH SHE IS A HEALER, A mother experiences unbearable grief within her own family, during the plague in England. She will have to find the strength to heal herself and provide for her family while trying to keep them safe. With Jessie Buckley (Wild Rose, Beast) as Agnes, Paul Mescal (Gladiator II, All of Us Strangers) as Will, Joe Alwyn (The Brutalist, Harriet) as Bartholomew, Emily Watson (The Happy Prince, Midas Man) as Mary, and Justine Mitchell (Smother-TV, Maryland-TV movie) as Joan; I was taken completely taken by surprise with this film. Not knowing or hearing anything about it, I went in thinking the story was going to be a comedy or farce, assuming that Hamnet was maybe a long lost brother or relative of Hamlet; I could not have been further from the truth. The story, based on the novel, was simply beautiful, and the acting was brilliant. In the very beginning, I did wonder where the story was going, but as things unfolded and the chemistry between Jessie and Paul crystalized, I was swept away. I thought the filming and directing were outstanding, lush scenery with a steady unfurling of the story. By the end of the movie, I felt it was a privilege to have been a witness to this family, with their joy and sorrow. This is definitely an Oscar contender in my opinion.
3 3/4 stars
Flash Movie Review: Marty Supreme
WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT, HOW far removed is determination from obsession? They may not be siblings, but I feel they are certainly cousins. I do not believe you can have one without the other. As a kid, I played ping pong several times; usually, on vacation where the hotel would have a ping pong table in their game room, or at someone’s house. It was not until freshman year of college where I began to take the game seriously. For one thing, the friend I made who lived across the hall from me was an avid player. He even had his own ping pong paddle. Every week, at least once or twice, we would walk over to the student center to play the game. In the beginning, I was awful. The main reason was because he pretty much played as if he were in a tournament. He would put different spins on the ball that drove me crazy because the ball seemed to never bounce the same way twice. Also, he enjoyed spiking the ball, where I would then have to chase it down before anyone stepped on it. Sure I got frustrated and angry at times, but I was determined to figure out how I could get better to at least have longer rallies between points. Every time we played I studied how he held the paddle, how he moved his arm during the serve, and how he shifted from side to side. It was not until two months into my sophomore year, that I finally beat him for the first time. He then quit playing the game, saying he had too much studying to do for the semester. I AM SURE SOME PEOPLE WOULD have given up playing with him a long time ago, but I have always had tendencies to be obsessive. As a little boy, I would work on a jigsaw puzzle all day, because I wanted it to be done before i went to bed. There was a little tile game I had where there was only one open space and you would have to shift all the tiles around until you could get a particular tile to the very top. Even today, after having recently discovered that one should remove the skins from garbanzo beans, I can stand by the sink for hours making sure i removed the skin from each bean that came out of the can. Like many things, this obsessiveness ebbs and flows through me; some days I can stop focusing on something in a reasonable time, but other days I become laser focused to the point I tune out everything else around me. This is probably why I thoroughly enjoyed this sports drama. PEOPLE MAY DISRESPECT HIM, THE GAME he played was not getting much respect, but it did not stop this young man’s determination to keep pushing forward until he could finally play in the world championship tournament. As far as he was concerned he was the best in the world. With Timothee Chalamet (A Complete Unknown, Dune franchise) as Marty Mauser, Gwyneth Paltrow (Iron Man franchise, Mortdecai) as Kay Stone, Odessa A’zion (Hellraiser, Sitting in Bars with Cake) as Rachel Mizler, Larry ‘Ratso’ Sloman (Uncut Gems, Satan’s Little Helper) as Murray Norkin, and Fran Drescher (The Nanny-TV, After Class) as Rebecca Mauser; I thought the cast’s acting was outstanding. The pace through most of the film was fast paced, it took a little time for me to fall into its rhythm, but once I was in synch the time flew by. As a period piece, I thought the sets, costumes, and dialog were spot on. I think if the duration of this picture was a little shorter, it would have been perfect. By the last quarter of the film, I was getting a bit antsy. Still, with such powerful acting and a wild story line, I believe it would be hard for someone not to get invested in Marty’s life; even if you have never played the game of ping pong.
3 1/2 stars
moviejoltz 