Monthly Archives: August 2012
Flash Movie Review: Jodhaa Akbar
A monumental love story with a rich historical pedigree, this extravagant movie covered a lot of ground–literally. As I was watching this film, my mind flashed with images of past conflicts that have taken place around the world. A common factor I found present was the clashing of two distinct religions. Each side tried imposing their culture on the opposing force. I do not understand the reasoning behind some religions sending out members in an attempt to convert individuals. Where does this mentality of “my religion is better than yours” come from? Set in the 16th century, the Mughal ruler Jalaluddin Mohammad Akbar, played by Hrithik Roshan (Luck by Chance, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara) formed an alliance with an opposing kingdom by agreeing to marry that ruler’s daughter. This was a radical idea due to the fact Akbar was Muslim and the princess was HIndu. Besides family members having their doubts, ministers of each court were leery of such an arrangement. How could Akbar make this marriage work with the strong willed Princess Jodhaa Bai, played by Aishwarya Rai Bachchan (Bride & Prejudice, Endhiran)? The first 30 minutes of this saga was hard for me to get into; I could not figure out what was going on. But trust me, it will be worth your wait as the story came alive when the focus turned to Akbar. I discovered if I watched this movie with my western sensibilities, it came across as this over the top, melodramatic soap opera. With soaring music that would sweep into the scene, people breaking out into song and a cast of thousands filmed for maximum exposure; this was a big Bollywood production. Granted the fight scenes were a bit hokey, especially with the one to one combatants, where one could see punches missing their intended targets. In spite of the technical deficiencies; the movie bloomed with beautifully colored scenes and told a story about respectfulness, tolerance and one of the greatest loves in history. Brief scene with blood. Hindi/Urdu with English subtitles.
3 stars — DVD
Flash Movie Review: Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry
Whenever we want to complain or bitch about something, we have various options to express ourselves. There are social media sites, company websites and even physical protests available to us. When I was going through months of hell trying to refinance my mortgage, I kept my office and classes updated on my bank’s incompetencies. It never occurred to me that our freedom of speech really is a luxury…until I saw this startling movie. What added to this amazing, viewing experience was how I had no prior knowledge of the artist/activist Ai Weiwei. Have any of you heard of him? He was the artistic consultant for the Beijing National Stadium a/k/a Bird’s Nest for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. An acclaimed Chinese artist who took to the internet to protest the government’s policies; Ai Weiwei was an outspoken critic in a country that frowned upon such activity. This documentary played like a movie thriller at times. When the government shut down his internet, Ai Weiwei took to Twitter in getting out his messages. I was appalled with the tactics that were used against him. Besides showing the political aspects of this vocal activist, I felt like I scored with a two for one coupon as there was also a focus on his artistic side. His exhibits were fascinating to me, though seeing the photos of him dropping a 2000 year old urn to the ground took me by surprise. I can only imagine the horror on the faces of antique dealers. There are people who hear the word documentary and think the movie will be dull and unexciting; however, they would be wrong with this captivating film. Part mystery, part action with a creative flair; this one man has been living his life in defiance of the probing eyes from Big Brother. English and Mandarin spoken.
3 1/3 stars
Flash Movie Review: Invictus
Awestruck is what I have been while watching the Olympics. The athletes’ feats have been truly impressive. Not only did similar feelings get stirred in me from watching this uplifting movie; but after recently telling you I was not a fan of team sports, I have to say I became a supporter of the Springboks rugby team of South Africa. And that was in spite of not having a clue about the rules of the game. This was one of Clint Eastwood’s better directed movies in my opinion. It told the inspirational story about Nelson Mandela becoming the country’s first black president. There was already a built in base of dramatic events which Clint shot in a straight forward manner. The casting was brilliant as Morgan Freeman (Driving Miss Daisy, Evan Almighty) played Nelson Mandela and Matt Damon (We Bought a Zoo, The Bourne franchise) played rugby team captain, Francois Pienaar. After his long imprisonment, Nelson presided over a racially divided country. While attending a rugby game, he noticed the white fans were cheering their own country’s team, but the black fans were supporting the opposing team. He formed an idea: What if he could get both sides cheering for the Springboks? Mandela decided to reach out to Pienaar to discuss ways on improving the team’s mediocre performance and get the entire country behind their rugby team. Morgan was tremendous in his role, garnering an Oscar nomination, as well as Matt for his performance. A wonderful film about an incredible man; I understand why they named this film Invictus. It is the name of a poem that ends with the lines: I am the master of my fate. I am the captain of my soul.
3 1/3 stars — DVD
Flash Movie Review: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
I am guessing most of you never heard of a restaurant chain called Wimpy’s. They were one of my first introductions to a hamburger chain, when I was a little kid. Their serving plates had a border of international flags. I much preferred my definition of wimpy than how it was used here. This was my first encounter with this movie franchise, nor was I familiar with any of the books. Since I was called a variety of names growing up, I am uncomfortable with the use of any negative descriptive words towards children. For those of you who know these movies please forgive me; I wasn’t getting it. I did not understand why the main character Greg Heffley, played by Zachary Gordon (Diary of a Wimpy Kid franchise, The Brothers Bloom) was considered a wimpy kid. The story was about what Greg would do during his summer vacation. Where he wanted to sit at home and play video games; his father Frank, played by Steve Zahn (Sunshine Cleaning, Employee of the Month), felt his son needed to be outside and have some fun. This led Greg into several exploits. I thought the use of lying and revenge for a base to build comedic antics was a poor idea. For me the jokes were lame and the different situations Greg got himself into were barely worth a chuckle. I guess this movie was meant for a narrow age group of children. Maybe the books were better, but on film it was boring for me. I have been called a kid at heart; I just hope they were not referring to these type of kids.
1 3/4 stars
Flash Movie Review: The Final Season
What is it about Iowa that conjures up images of decent, non-judgemental, honest people in me? Any encounters I have had with people or businesses in Iowa have always been positive. This is why I enjoyed the simple story based on true events, in this heartwarming film. The story took place in Norway, Iowa; the year was 1991. Though I could never see myself living in a small town, the depiction of a simpler time and place was soothing to me. Ken Stock, played by Sean Astin (The Lord of the Rings franchise, Forever Strong) came on board to be the assistant baseball coach to Coach Jim Van Scoyoc, played by Powers Boothe (The Avengers, Sin City). All the townspeople were behind the high school’s baseball team as Coach Van Scoyoc had led the team to 19 consecutive state championships. I am not a big fan of team sports, but I was won over by this baseball team. Prior to the new season, the high school was informed they were to be closed down and merged into a bigger high school. What would happen to the baseball team? In a straightforward style, this movie had a pureness to it; if you will a down home spirit that I enjoyed watching. Granted, it had predictable elements such as a father/son conflict and an adversary/love interest; but, it was okay due to this being a true story. I am sure some scenes were embellished for dramatic effect. All that was missing for me was a bag of peanuts and a Pepsi.
2 2/3 stars — DVD
Flash Movie Review: The Queen of Versailles
If this is an example of the type of people who are in the top 1% tax bracket, then I do not want to be that wealthy. What a shallow group of gross people. Come on now, why would anyone need 22 bedrooms or 10 kitchens unless they were the Duggar family? I have always said I do not need to be super rich; I would just like to buy something without having to think about how I was going to pay for it. Flashy cars or clothes are not my thing. Granted, my biggest purchases would probably be an indoor movie theater and fitness room. Watching this documentary about Jackie and David Siegel was like watching a train wreck: horrifying and tragic, yet I could not stop looking in disbelief. David created Westgate Resorts which became the largest privately held time share company in the world. Already living in spectacular fashion with a mansion by the ocean, the Siegels decided to build a bigger house based on Versailles, for themselves and their 8 children. It was going to be the largest house in the country with 22 bedrooms, 13 baths, a bowling alley, roller skating rink and indoor pool; it was mind blowing to see a house this size. When asked why such a large house, David simply replied, “Because i can.” I found the whole thing obscenely decadent. My boss always said “timing is everything” and such words could be no truer here. The Siegels’ palatial mansion began construction just before the economy tanked in 2008. In a bad economy people were not thinking about buying into a time share when they could barely pay their rent. As the money quickly dried up, life drastically changed for David and the family. This was an incredible riches to rags story about people you have to see to believe. Maybe a history lesson about the French revolution would open their minds to a clearer reality.
3 stars
Flash Movie Review: Water for Elephants
When I read Reese Witherspoon (This Means War, Legally Blonde) reached out and offered her friend Robert Pattinson (Twilight franchise, Remember Me) use of a remote home of hers, to keep the paparazzi away during the rough time he was having with his cheating girlfriend; I wanted to check out this movie where the two actors worked together. Based on the popular novel by Sara Gruen, Robert portrayed Jacob Jankowski the former veterinarian student that dropped out of Cornell when his parents were killed, leaving him penniless and homeless. With no family or attachments to hold him back, Jacob one night snuck onto a passing train while he was walking the rails. No ordinary freight train, this was the train of a traveling circus owned by the unpredictable August, played by Christoph Waltz (Carnage, The Three Musketeers). The circus’ star attraction was August’s wife Marlena, played by Reese Witherspoon (This Means War, Legally Blonde). For me, the star of this movie besides Rosie the elephant was Christoph; perfect playing a maniacal, jealous, ruthless character. Robert did a good job with his role; gratefully I did not see any of his Twilight’s Edward acting in this role. Though Reese looked the part, I found her acting was sadly lacking. This may explain why there was little chemistry between her and Robert, something that was needed to carry this beautiful story along. I thought the film looked wonderful, giving a true sense to the period of time the story took place. It was nice that Reese and Robert maintained a friendship after this movie was made; I just wish they could have had more sparks between them, to keep up with Christoph.
2 2/3 stars — DVD
Flash Movie Review: Total Recall
Find me a Rekall center, I’m signing up! Think of the possibilities one could have, being able to have the memories of a dream vacation or having been a race car driver. I gave this some thought after seeing this action movie and decided the first thing I would do would be to save my good memories, so I would never forget them. Speaking of forgetting, those of you who saw the original movie with Arnold Schwarzenegger, this had little in common with it. There were a couple of reminders, but don’t pack a bag for Mars; this slick looking movie was a wild ride. Douglas Quaid/Hauser, played by Colin Farrell (The New World, Horrible Bosses), was a factory worker who discovered fragments of another life inside of his mind, after trying out an establishment that provided fake memories for its customers. Buffed up Colin may not have had the size of Arnold, but I liked his acting a whole lot better. Kate Beckinsale (The Aviator, Underworld franchise) as Dennis’ wife Lori was wickedly fun. She had great lines of dialog and was a strong physical presence, way beyond her small frame. I wished they had used Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad-TV, Red Tails) and Bill Nighy (The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Notes on a Scandal) to better advantage. Though the story was lacking, making one chase scene blend into another and another; the movie was so cool looking in that Blade Runner/Fifth Element kind of way, that I did not really care. I had such a great time watching this intense science fiction movie, by the end I knew I would have a fond memory.
3 stars
Flash Movie Review: Repo Men
These guys could easily be foot soldiers in Hannibal Lecter’s army. At the very least I wish I could hire them for my credit department; it would be one way to get my customers to pay on time. Set in the future, best friends Remy and Jake, played by Jude Law (Hugo, Sherlock Holmes franchise) and Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland, The Experiment), were bad ass repo men. Their employer was in the business of selling body organs. If you had a bad heart or liver, they could easily provide a brand new one, along with a finance plan to make payments. But be careful because if you are late on your payments, the company will send out their collectors to repossess the organ. Remy and Jake were two of the top collectors. Having heard every excuse and promise for making payments; they stayed emotionally detached, doing their job with complete disregard to the health of the poor debtor. I totally understood this considering my position as my company’s credit manager. When one of Remy’s retrievals went wrong, the tables were turned on him as he became the recipient of a top of the line, new heart. This futuristic story touched on topics that are currently being discussed on this country’s health system. There was plenty of action in this film, with Jude and Forest doing an admirable job of acting. I found parts of the movie interesting; that made me think, for example, about the impact of large corporations’ policies on our society. The ending of this violent movie felt like a cop out for me; leaving the parts I did not understand incomplete. There were bloody and graphic scenes throughout this film and are in the movie trailer.
2 1/2 stars — DVD
Flash Movie Review: Step Up Revolution
I figured out the purpose for these Step Up movies. They are the assisted living homes for the former dancers of the television show, So You Think You Can Dance. After the dancers end their run on the TV show, they participate in these movies. Maybe some will progress to other acting roles; but the majority, I believe, will remain long term residents. In this latest version, former SYTYCD contestant Kathryn McCormack played Emily, the daughter of a wealthy property developer. Accompanying her dad to Miami where he had business dealings; Emily met Sean, played by former Calvin Klein underwear model Ryan Guzman, down by the beach. It just so happened everyone around was dancing; imagine that. Besides working at the hotel where Emily and her Dad were staying, Sean was a leader of a dance flash mob called The Mob. When her father’s development plan jeopardized Sean’s neighborhood, Emily had to choose sides. We have seen this story a thousand times, there was nothing original here. Viewing this film, I had to wonder what came first: the dance numbers or the script. Gratefully I did not have to see this movie in the 3D version, which was being heavily rotated at my theater. Why would anyone want to have a leg kick appear like it was smacking them in the face? If you just want to see an extended music video, then this is the movie for you. The wild choreographed dance scenes were lively and enjoyable, some were rather creative. But with the lack of acting skills and a tired script, my interest level was low. I think the residents of this movie franchise are in need of some desperate rehabbing.
2 stars
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