Monthly Archives: October 2014
Flash Movie Review: The Song
As I sat in the large banquet room, my confusion quickly melted away from the hot anger welling up inside of me. You see a couple of friends asked me to join them for an evening of dinner and entertainment. They said it was being funded by one of their business groups; free food and I would be there. After we walked in and were given name tags, I followed them into a room that was filled with rows of chairs, no tables. I thought maybe we were having entertainment first then moving to another room where we would be served dinner. It had better be a served meal because I avoid all buffets and salad bars. A speaker walked up to the podium where he introduced himself and thanked all of us for being there. He started talking about the past year’s accomplishments before venturing into the exciting products that would be coming out later in the year. From that point on I became suspicious that something was not right about the whole scene. With the surrounding audience eager to applaud at the speaker’s every word; his speech smoothly evolved into a sales pitch on how everyone in the audience could make more money by recruiting new associates. It was only a matter of seconds before I realized this whole event was a sales meeting for what people call a pyramid or ponzi scheme. For every new person you bring into the group you get a commission on their sales. To say I was livid would be an understatement as I glared towards my friends who were just realizing I was the wrong person to bring to this kind of event. DECEPTION would only lead one down a wrong path in life. Trying to come out from under his famous father’s shadow; singer/songwriter Jed King, played by Alan Powell (Charlie & Boots, Produce: Where Hope Grows), worked hard to show people he was not like his father. However, the more famous he became the more challenging it was to maintain his values. This movie was the last straw for me; I no longer can give money for this faith based films. If I wanted to be preached to I would have gone to a house of worship. This dramatic romance hammered its message at the viewers without any thought to making a decent film. Utterly predictable and ridiculous, I do not need to be told I have to have faith. Maybe it is me but I find faith and religion to be a private matter for each individual. With no original thought, no decent acting, only a couple of good songs; I felt just as deceived by this preachy propaganda pretending to be a movie as I had about that sales meeting. There was an extra scene at the end of the credits.
1 1/2 stars
Flash Movie Review: My Old Lady
It is funny how one person may think a tidbit of information is important to know, while another feels it is insignificant. As the years pass the bond between friends and family solidifies, where shared experiences provide more knowledge about each other. There may even be a point in time where you could anticipate what the other person would do in a situation. Having this type of awareness can help prevent some types of conflict or disagreements. After being part of each other’s life for some years imagine what kind of surprise it would be to discover something you never knew about your friend or family member. I had a relative who remarried later in life. The entire family had heard his new bride was a singer in Europe, but the way we were told made it sound like she sang at weddings and open mic nights at several local establishments. Since I never heard her sing, I did not give much thought to her past life of being an entertainer. Recently I had a member who came up to me after class to ask about a yoga pose. We started talking and she mentioned she had just returned from a European trip. When she brought up she visited the country of her birth, which happened to be the same place where my relative’s wife grew up, I was curious to see if she had ever heard of her. I was stunned when she not only knew about my relative’s wife, but had been to several of her concerts. She continued heaping praise on her to the point I was upset I never got the chance to hear more about my relative’s life story. SURPRISE was in store for Mathais Gold, played by Kevin Kline (A Fish Called Wanda, The Last of Robin Hood), when he inherited an apartment in Paris. Upon arriving to inspect the apartment Mathais was shocked to find Mathilde Girard, played by Maggie Smith (Harry Potter franchise, Quartet), living in the place. It would be the first of many surprises. I wished I had enjoyed this comedic drama more because I thought Maggie and Kevin did a wonderful job of acting, along with Kristin Scott Thomas (Gosford Park, The English Patient) as Chloe. They did everything to try and make their characters come to life. However, the script was poorly done; there were gaps where the story dragged and felt uneven. On the plus side I found the idea behind the story interesting and enjoyed watching Maggie’s performance. It came as a surprise to me when I realized at the end of the movie I could only give an average star rating to this dramatic comedy with its exceptional cast.
2 1/4 stars
moviejoltz 