Monthly Archives: November 2019
Flash Movie Review: Knives Out
I HEARD THE MOST OUTRAGEOUS STORY recently. It was told during a dinner party. In one of the departments of a mid-sized company there were approximately a dozen co-workers. Besides the usual annoyances and bickering that can take place at work, most of the employees got along with each other. However, there was one employee who strongly disliked one of her co-workers; though, no one in the office could tell. This person felt she was slighted by her co-worker, but those facts were not available. Let me call this person Carol, though that is not her real name. One day Carol’s co-worker came into the office and found a small gift-wrapped package on her desk. There was a note attached that only said, “To someone who makes me happy.” The co-worker, who I will call Deb, was stunned. When she opened the box there was a small scented candle. Deb asked her co-workers if they saw who put the gift on her desk, but no one saw anything. A week went by and another gift with another message signed, “Your secret admirer” showed up. It was a mystery because no one came forward to claim they were the one leaving gifts and cards for Deb. That is because Carol was doing it just to drive Deb crazy and make her think there was someone in the company who liked her. After several weeks of doing this Carol stopped, but never told Deb she was the one leaving gifts as a joke. WHEN I HEARD THIS STORY, I could not believe someone would take the time to do such a thing to annoy one of their fellow workers. If that had been done to me, I would have driven myself crazy trying to find out the mystery and who was behind it. Gratefully, I do not work with such an employee and have to wonder what would motivate someone to do such a thing. The more I thought about that story, it suddenly occurred to me that entire scenario could have easily been a scene out of that old board game where players receive clues to try and figure out the mystery. I remember relatives trying to teach me the game, but I was not catching on to it. The reason being was those family members were experienced in playing the game, so just gave me quick directions before we started playing it. They had to tell me what to do as we were playing it and it only frustrated me more. However, if the scenario had been like the story in this film festival winning movie, I would have quickly gotten into playing it. WHEN THE FAMOUS MYSTERY WRITER HARLAN Thrombey, played by Christopher Plummer (All the Money in the World, Beginners), was found dead in his mansion; the only people who had been around him were his family members. It would take a super sleuth to try and figure out this mystery. With Daniel Craig (Logan Lucky, Cowboys & Aliens) as Benoit Blanc, Chris Evans (Gifted, Captain America franchise) as Ransom Drysdale, Ana de Armas (Blade Runner 2049, Overdrive) as Marta Cabrera and Jamie Lee Curtis (A Fish Called Wanda, True Lies) as Linda Drysdale; this comedic, crime drama was exciting to view. The script was twisted and funny which allowed the actors to have fun with their characters. I enjoyed the twists and turns as the writer took delight in testing the viewers’ ability to figure out the mystery. Keep in mind, I am not one to try and figure out what will happen; I live in the moment and let the story unfold in front of me. This picture provided great entertainment for me as I tried to look at every detail so I could guess the reason behind the mysterious death.
3 2/3 stars
Flash Movie Review: A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
THE HIGH NOISE LEVEL IN THE ROOM came from people either uncreating merchandise, setting up displays or cleaning; yet, in the middle of this din was one quiet individual intently working on display signs. She was sitting on the floor with her legs spread far enough apart to accommodate the poster boards and markers she had in front of her on the floor. Being a yoga instructor, I was impressed by her flexibility and ability to bend forward from the waist until she could rest her torso flat on the floor. Despite the activity in the room my focus was drawn to her. The way she colored in her letters on the board and the designs she created along the outer edges attracted by eye. I did not know her since I was a new employee, but I could see she was well liked and respected. As the weeks progressed, I began to get more insight into her role at the company. She had a gentle presence and spoke softly; but when she talked to anyone her eye contact was direct and sincere as if that person was the only individual that mattered to her. Through the weeks I got to know her and became quite impressed with the way she could handle both shoppers’ and employees’ issues; she made each person feel important. That ability was a skill/gift that I hoped I could master from her example. SOME PEOPLE BELIEVE THEIR WORDS ARE the most important, while others feel it is their actions. I lean more towards action just because of the things that happened to me based on somebody’s words. When a person expresses their love for you but then has an affair a/k/a cheats behind your back, what is more important their words or their actions? Or, when a friend expresses how happy they are for you calling them but abruptly ends your call every time they get a 2ndcall; what do you believe is more truthful, the words or actions? With both these examples I would say the actions are more telling of the truth. However, I have experienced situations where unbeknownst to me my words had an impact on a person. There was a couple of members in my class who listened to my story about how I came to terms with my weight and was able to finally shed it, who then started changing their lifestyle to get healthier. In my experiences, a person whose words and actions weigh equally in importance is a rare breed. One of the main characters in this biographical drama based on a true story possesses such a gift. FEELING THE ASSIGNMENT TO GO INTERVIEW Fred Rogers, played by Tom Hanks (Bridge of Spies, The Circle), in Pittsburgh was beneath his skills; journalist Lloyd Vogel, played by Matthew Rhys (The Post, The Americans-TV), was not only forced to meet the man who played Mr. Rogers on television; but he would have to face someone even more important. With Chris Cooper (The Company Men, Adaptation) as Jerry Vogel, Susan Kelechi Watson (Blackout, This is Us-TV) as Andrea Vogel and Maryann Plunkett (True Story, Blue Valentine) as Joanne Rogers; this film surprised me in the way the focus of the story was more on Lloyd Vogel. Though Mr. Rogers almost felt secondary to me, I appreciated the way the writers showed how Fred Rogers’ words affected those around him. The script unfolded in a quiet methodical way with only the occasional flare-up of intense drama. The entire cast was excellent which may be attributed to Tom’s amazing performance. Not only was I enamored by Fred Rogers’ actions in this picture, I was equally amazed with his choice of words. For the times we presently live in, this movie was a beautiful reminder of how people can act towards one another.
3 ¼ stars
Flash Movie Review: Frozen II
WE WERE WALKING AROUND THE TOWN looking for buildings that were still standing from the turn of the century. On a road trip with a friend, he asked if we could make a stop at this small town where a relative of his had lived. He had never met the relative but wanted to find his grave. The town came as a total surprise to me because it had this mixture of old and new buildings that complimented each other, giving off an old-world vibe. As we walked down the main street, we found buildings that had been built and standing at the time my friend’s deceased relative had migrated to the area. My friend took photos of the buildings we had found; he wanted to form some type of bond to this man he never knew, but who yet was connected to him. All my friend had was an old photograph of his great uncle when he was a teenager. Whenever he looked at the photo of the man, he would see a strong resemblance to his Dad, who coincidentally happened to be named after this departed relative. As we walked around, I thought how lucky my friend was to be able to visit his relative’s town and travel the same streets his great uncle might have used when he was alive. HOW I WOULD HAVE LOVED TO BE able to visit the town of an ancestor. Since I was a little boy, I was always fascinated with looking at old, family photographs; both mine and other families. There is something about me having a similar genetic makeup to a long line of individuals that comforts me. Maybe because I really was never part of any type of group growing up that now I find myself comforted knowing I have an immediate connection to a group of people. I am always amazed when I run into someone who is a distant relative that shares similar features to myself or to an immediate family member of mine. Only recently I was at a restaurant where I bumped into a group of distant relatives. One of the relatives looked strikingly similar to one of my immediate family members that it startled me for a moment, especially because this person was a cousin twice removed from me. As we briefly talked about our family connection, I could not help thinking how important it is to me to look back at those who came before me to find out where I was going now. The main character in this animated, adventure comedy would know what I am talking about. A DISTANT VOICE THAT ONLY ELSA, voiced by Idina Menzel (Rent, The Tollbooth), could hear was calling out to her. Something about it sounded familiar enough to make Elsa leave her kingdom and put herself in terrible peril. With Kristen Bell (Bad Moms franchise, The Boss) voicing Anna, Josh Gad (Beauty and the Beast, Marshall) voicing Olaf, Jonathan Groff (Glee-TV, Looking-TV) voicing Kristoff and Sterling K. Brown (Hotel Artemis, This is Us-TV) voicing Mattias; this sequel was a visual masterpiece. The amount of detail and creativity put into every scene was breathtaking at times. As for the script it was good but not as good as the original movie. Since there was no main villain, I felt the drama waned at times. It seemed as if the studio’s marketing department was working overtime; for example, the script had a new cute character that would be perfect in toy version and there were places where songs were sung (though I could not remember one song when I left the theater) in the hopes that one of them would be a chart topper. All of this does not mean much since the theaters were packed with small children and their parents dressed up as one of the characters. There was such a high bar to reach due to the success of the first movie that it would have taken super powers to try and top it. I give the studio credit for its valiant effort. There was an extra scene at the end of the movie credits.
3 stars
Flash Movie Review: Charlie’s Angels
IF YOU WERE TO SEE THEM all sitting at their desks you would not notice anything unusual about them. Everyone would be working and helping each other, conversing about work issues and/or personal things, coming together to celebrate a fellow employee’s birthday even; typical for any business office I would imagine. However, there was a difference with this group. I used to be a part of them, and it did not take me long to realize certain employees were being treated differently. There was someone in management who would walk through our office occasionally and drop off a store-bought cup of coffee at one particular employee’s desk. The rumor going around the 2 of them were having an affair. I never saw proof of it, but I did find it odd that the manager would single out one employee over the others. Within the same office there were several employees who would get together after work hours. Employees meeting after work was not an issue for me; however, this group started covering for each other. If one member of the group had to leave early, another in the group would take their timecard and go punch them out at the expected ending time. That used to bug me. I THOUGHT AFTER HIGH SCHOOL I would have been done dealing with cliques; it turned out that was not the case. In both elementary and high school, I was never part of a particular group, though heaven knows at one point I wished I could have been. Whether it was my appearance, my interests or my demeanor; I never understood how cliques formed then fought their way up in the status rankings. As a group became popular, they usually became rude and/or offensive. Whenever I had to interact in school with one of the popular kids, it was made quite clear they were talking down to me as if they were gracing me the privilege of being in their presence. Not every one of them, but there was a good portion of students who acted better than the rest of us. Somewhere I started feeling good that I was not part of a clique. One could argue this was my defense; but I honestly do not believe it because I was slowly growing comfortable in my own skin. I was not comfortable associating with students who came across as arrogant, rude or self-centered. It is funny, I haven’t thought about those cliques for some time until I sat through this action, adventure comedy film. THOUGH SHE CREATED THE DEVICE TO HELP mankind Elena Houghton, played by Naomi Scott (Aladdin, The 33), realized in the wrong hands the device could become a lethal weapon. For that reason, she concluded she would need help in protecting her creation, but she had no idea it would come from a band of women. With Kristen Stewart (The Twilight Saga franchise, Personal Shopper) as Sabina Wilson, Ella Balinska (The Athena-TV) as Jane Kano, Elizabeth Banks (The Hunger Games franchise, Love & Mercy) as Bosley and Patrick Stewart (Star Trek franchise, Christmas Eve) as John Bosley; the reboot of this franchise was given a fresh look by Elizabeth who wrote and directed it. I thought the action scenes were fun in a campy way and some of the humor worked; however, I felt the script had a difficult time deciding what type of story to tell. Part camp and homage to the TV series and part strong feminism message; I felt torn between the two as the movie played out. There was not much to get excited about overall; but, I did enjoy the different locations used to shoot this picture. It was obvious to me the studio is hoping this will ignite a new film franchise; but if they want to create a group of Charlie’s Angels films, they will need to figure out the right balance of elements to make this a worthwhile view. There were several short extra scenes during the credits.
2 stars
Flash Movie Review: The Good Liar
SEVERAL YEARS AGO, IN MY HOMETOWN there was a trial where the children of the deceased were suing their stepmother. She was the beneficiary of her husband’s estate according to the will; the children would only receive a nominal amount of money. They were quite upset as you can imagine; especially, because they felt their stepmother only married their father for his money. I should mention the stepmother was 30 years younger than her husband. Now before you question whether I might be subtly being judgmental, I have known both married and dating couples who have had a wide difference between their ages. They were happy together and I was happy for them. What made this trial curious to me was the fact the couple had been married only a couple of years after a brief dating period. It is funny, the only time I might become aware of such cases is when money plays a factor. To be honest I do wonder at times what a couple has in common when they are generations apart. Wasn’t there a celebrity case where the age difference was 40+ years? I would be interested to see, if money was not part of the package would the younger person still be interested in the individual? WITHIN THE CIRCLES OF PEOPLE I have encountered I have met those who were aggressive in finding a mate. There was a woman who researched the men she dated. When I say research, she would try to get her hands on their credit report, use a friend at the Department of Motor Vehicles to see if the potential mate had a driving record, along with looking for any type of criminal activity. It was startling to see what lengths she would go to filter out those she felt were not suitable love interests. I found it offensive when someone would tell me they did not see themselves with the person they were dating but continued to stick around because they liked the attention and gifts they were getting from the person. To me, people like this are just being mercenary, taking advantage of the individual’s kindness. Maybe these people know they are being taken advantage of; then in that case, I have nothing to say about it. There are all kinds of people out there and what works for one may not work for the other. You might not believe what some people will do for love; for example, the couple in this dramatic thriller may surprise you. THERE WAS SOMETHING ROY COURTNEY AND Betty McLeish, played by Ian McKellen (The Lord of the Rings franchise, Mr. Holmes) and Helen Mirren (The Queen, Anna), saw that attracted them to each other. The question however, what exactly was it? With Russell Tovey (The History Boys, Looking-TV) as Stephen, Jim Carter (Downton Abbey, The Oxford Murders) as Vincent and Mark Lewis Jones (Little White Lies, Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi) as Bryn; this film shined because of Helen and Ian. They were wonderful to watch and truly did an amazing job with their characters. At times the story played like an Agatha Christie or Dan Brown novel with its twists and turns. The script kept me engaged until it got closer to the end where I was left disappointed; I did not care for the way the story ended. It came across to me as if it was done for a quick way to get out of the tale the story had woven. Too bad because with a little more tweaking and building up more depth to the characters this film could have been an attention grabber. I did not feel used buying a ticket to see this movie; however, I would have appreciated getting more for my money.
2 ½ stars
Flash Movie Review: Midway
OUT OF THE CLASSROOM WINDOW I SAW two boys fighting. I was working on homework in study hall, but I kept looking up at the two fighters. They appeared to be from an upper grade because I never saw either of them in any of my classes. As was typical, at least at the schools I attended, there were several other students hovering near the two boys to watch them fight. As far as I could tell it seemed like the two were evenly matched. They were exchanging punches and kicks equally. At some point as I was watching them one of the boys tripped on something and fell backwards. As he hit the ground the other boy pounced on top of him and showered him with body and face blows. The poor boy did not have a chance to regain himself and fend off his assailant. It wasn’t until the fallen boy’s face started bleeding that the other boy got up off him and started to walk away, but only after giving the defeated boy one last kick in the stomach. The boy on the ground curled up into a fetal position and laid there as an instructor was running up to him. I TRIED GOING BACK TO MY STUDIES, but the images of the two boys fighting would not fade from my memory. As they replayed in my mind, I remembered the one boy tripping and it occurred to me if he had not fallen the outcome might have turned out differently. It might have been a pebble, stick or some litter that caused him to trip. I thought of all the lucky breaks he could have gotten, he wound up getting one case of bad luck that sealed his fate. Up until that point, I never thought about how luck plays a part in a fight. Maybe because of the video games I used to play, where everything was in a more controlled environment, it made me think skill was the only important factor in a battle. I started looking at the fights I had been in and wondered how big of a factor did luck play in my losses. Since I was mostly on the receiving end, I cannot remember all the details. However, I remember one fight where 3 boys were chasing and throwing stones at me. They had been chasing me for three blocks when suddenly we were all getting drenched in a downpour. For some reason they broke off their pursuit and I made my way home through back alleys. I can see that was a lucky break for me just as I can now see how luck played in the historical battle in this dramatic action film. AFTER THE SURPRISE ATTACK ON PEARL HARBOR, the United States Navy was left exposed to an ultimate defeat. So many things needed to be in place if the US government wanted any chance of pushing back Japan’s Imperial Navy. With Ed Skrein (If Beale Street Could Talk, Alita: Battle Angel) as Dick Best, Patrick Wilson (The Conjuring franchise, The Phantom of the Opera) as Edwin Layton, Woody Harrelson (Shock and Awe, Natural Born Killers) as Chester W. Nimitz, Luke Evans (Beauty and the Beast, Dracula Untold) as Wade McClusky and Mandy Moore (A Walk to Remember, This is Us-TV) as Ann Best; this movie had a lot to live up to because of the well-known true events this story was based on. I thought the CGI effects were excellent, providing an extra thrill to the aerial fight scenes. The story itself is incredible; but sadly, the script was a big letdown for me. I found the dialog cheesy, filled with rah-rah moments by characters trying to build up morale. The acting did not register with me as anything great, but that might have more to do with the script lacking any depth or emotion for the actors to play on. What bad luck for this picture to get a deficient script for such a world changing battle.
2 stars
Flash Movie Review: Ford v Ferrari
IT WAS NOT THE RIDES THAT interested me at carnivals and local amusement parts; it was the games of chance. When I was younger, I would save up my allowance for these games. I was convinced I could win prizes and boy did I love looking at all the prizes. There was a game where I would have to throw rubber rings at a table full of empty bottles and try to get the ring to land on the bottle’s neck. Each toss I would see my ring bounce from one bottle to the next while I secretly wished for it to land on a bottle instead of dropping down between them. The prizes, big fluffy stuffed animals, were on a shelf that went around the top of the entire booth. There was another game that was or like a game called Skeeball, where one had to roll a ball down a lane that curved up at the end to propel the ball hopefully into one of the holes on the backboard. Each hole was labelled with a number; the higher the number the bigger the prize. With every roll of the ball I would make adjustments, hoping I would get the ball into the center hole to receive the biggest prize. OUT OF ALL THE GAMES AT A carnival, one of my favorites was the slot car racing one. It was because I had my very own race car model. There was a model store in the neighborhood where me and a cousin would race our cars on the elaborate race track that was set up in the middle of the store. Unfortunately, I could not use my race car at the carnival games (imagine that); however, it did not matter because I loved racing cars. I cannot tell you how much money I spent at those games and rarely did I ever win a race. Seeing the winner of the race receive a cool prize from off the shelf would only make me more determined to play the race again. My cousin was the same way because we felt with all of our experience there was no reason why we could not crush the competition. Thinking back on it I would hate to think how much money I spent on those games; little did I know they were designed to thwart the participant from winning. However, once I saw what I could win I did not think about how much I was spending to get that prize. The same was true for the head of the Ford Motor company in this biographical, dramatic action film. AFTER HEARING THE DISPARAGING COMMENTS THE chairman of Ferrari made about his company Henry Ford II, played by Tracy Letts (Lady Bird, The Post), was determined to build a car that would beat Ferrari’s car at France’s Le Mans race. It did not matter how much it would cost him. With Matt Damon (The Martian, The Departed) as Carroll Shelby, Christian Bale (Vice, The Big Shot) as Ken Miles, Jon Bernthal (The Accountant, The Wolf of Wall Street) as Lee Iacocca and Caitriona Balfe (Escape Plan, Outlander-TV) as Mollie Miles; this was an exciting film to watch. I am not fond of watching car races, but I would see this picture again. The acting was outstanding, matching the well-done script that captured the 1960s perfectly. I found the racing scenes thrilling and felt at times I was sitting in the race cars. For being such a long movie, I rarely noticed the time going by because the script and action kept me engaged with the story. Whether the story was accurate in this movie, it did not matter because I found it to be a logical progression of events and feelings. Compared to the money I used to spend at those carnival games, buying a ticket to see this film made me feel like a winner.
4 stars
Flash Movie Review: Last Christmas
ALL I KNEW ABOUT HIM WAS he had not been feeling well for some time. He was more of an acquaintance to me than a friend; however, we had friends in common. I had seen him enough times to form an impression about him; he was a jokester/comedian type of guy. It appeared to me he enjoyed shocking people by making shocking comments and telling outrageous stories about himself. Whenever we were at a gathering together, I always knew exactly where he was located by the amount of laughter I would hear. Up until hearing about him not feeling well, he worked on being the center of attention at every party. I, nor anyone else I knew, never heard what news he received about his health; but I had to assume it was not good news because of the change in his behavior. From being a talker and comedian, he shied away from the limelight suddenly. When I would see him at a party, he was nothing like he used to be. Instead of telling jokes and stories, he could be found sitting somewhere having a quiet conversation with one or two people. The other thing I noticed was the way he started taking things to the extreme. In other words, if he had the opportunity to drink, he would drink to excess. If drugs were available, he would be the one who did not care how much of it he ingested. I HAVE KNOWN SEVERAL PEOPLE WHO upon receiving bad news about their health acted in a similar way; but I also have seen others who acted in an opposite way. There was a woman I knew who did nothing different than what she did before hearing about her illness. She went on with her life as if the information was non-essential as commenting on the weather. I have wondered at times what would I do if I suddenly received bad news about my health. A couple of years ago when I contracted E Coli, the doctors were doing tests and zeroing on an internal organ that had a suspicious look to it on X-ray. I remember telling everyone in my inner circle the news along with explicit instructions never to ask me about it. When I got updated, I would notify them; but up until that point I did not want to discuss or think about it. Gratefully, everything worked out fine; but I must tell you, there was one point where I thought I was going to give up and not care about anything. Something like what happened to the main character in this romantic, dramatic comedy. NO MATTER WHAT SHE DID IT seemed as if every decision went wrong for Kate, played by Emilia Clarke (Me Before You, Game of Thrones-TV). She did not care because she really should not have been alive. With Henry Golding (Crazy Rich Asians, A Simple Favor) as Tom, Emma Thompson (Late Night, Saving Mr. Banks) as Petra, Boris Isakovic (White White World, Absolute Hundred) as Ivan and Michelle Yeoh (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; Crazy Rich Asians) as Santa; the cast helped elevate the formulaic story. I thought Emilia did a wonderful job because I did not see her once as her character from Game of Thrones. Also, I felt she and Henry worked well together. If you have seen an ad for this movie you probably are aware the soundtrack is filled with George Michael songs. Some of them worked in the story, but others felt out of place for me. The story, for the most part, was predictable; but I did not mind. This was an easy film to watch and whether the execution of it was a bit stale, it still was touching and enjoyable.
2 ½ stars
Flash Movie Review: Playing with Fire
I COULD ONLY LISTEN TO THE two women arguing with each other. They worked in other departments; so, I had no authority to voice my opinion. From what I had heard, it seemed as if one woman tried going around the other one to get something changed in the other woman’s department. The 2nd woman found out and was confronting the first one. I could see each of them was straining to remain civil towards the other. The 2nd woman was trying to make the 1st one understand what she did was unacceptable; she should have put in a request instead of taking matters into her own hands. She also pointed out because she (1st woman) engaged with her staff instead of coming directly to her, she essentially was telling the staff that she did not trust their boss. The two women continued going back and forth, trying to make the other one understand their point of view, but it was not working as far as I could see. I believed because the two women’s departments were so different from each other the women could not comprehend the thought process used to make their case. Surprisingly, I could relate a little to this because I am in a position where I know the workings of my department, but do not have a clear understanding of several others within the company. THE REASON I SAY THIS IS BECAUSE I am a “routine” person; in other words, I am most comfortable and efficient when I have a routine to follow. At this moment for example, I have procedures set up where every Thursday I do the same specific task that then gets forwarded to a different department. There is another one that takes place on the 15thof every month; as you can see, I have set up my work day as a series of tasks like a road map I can follow without devoting time and energy in trying to figure out what I should do next. On the downside, I know my routines do not take into account spontaneity. If something unexpected happens, I will need time to process it and find a way where it will fit into my day. Don’t get me wrong, there is no way I can control every minute of every day to avoid being spontaneous, though I do give it my best shot. However, after working for many years it is easier for me to handle something unexpected; my processing of it has had to increase in speed to get to a faster conclusion. I think I am faster at this than the main character in this family comedy. AFTER SAVING THREE CHILDREN FROM A BURNING building firefighter/smoke jumper Jake Carson, played by John Cena (Bumblebee, The Marine), and his crew will face an even tougher task when they must take care of the kids until the parents could be found. With Keegan-Michael Key (Let’s Be Cops, The Predator) as Mark, John Leguizamo (Romeo + Juliet, Moulin Rouge!) as Rodrigo, Brianna Hildebrand (Deadpool franchise, Tragedy Girls) as Brynn and Judy Greer (Ant-Man franchise, Wilson) as Dr. Amy Hicks; this movie will only appeal to the youngest of children. The script came off as a part Saturday morning cartoon show and part Three Stooges episode, except I did not find anything funny. A good portion of the movie was devoted to the kids’ antics followed by the adults’ exaggerated expressions. This left me bored early into the story. I also thought the pacing was erratic; going from a slapstick scene to a dramatic one and back. There was very little I found authentic in this film except for the outtakes that were shown during the credits. It is a picture like this where I wish I wasn’t so much into a routine of trying to see as many films as I can in a week.
1 ½ stars
Flash Movie Review: Doctor Sleep
I COULD SEE THE GUEST AT MY table was getting annoyed with the server. When the server came to our table, after we had sat down, to find out who had ordered the vegetarian meal, this guest acknowledged it was for him. When the soup came out and was placed on each of our plates, the vegetarian guest asked the server what was in the soup. When she said it was a beef-based broth, I could tell the man was not happy. He asked the server why she would bring a meat-based soup to a vegetarian; the server was noticeably flustered. She apologized, saying it was the only soup offered for the dinner, before removing it from his plate. When the rest of us were done with the soup, the main meal was brought out to be served. I received my plate before the vegetarian man and immediately noticed bacon bits on the baked potato. Not knowing what was on a vegetarian meal, I waited and watched the server as she made her way to the gentleman. Sure enough, his special meal included the same baked potato with bacon bits. As soon as he saw it, he glared at the server before reprimanding her. She was visibly shaking as she apologized again and took his plate of food back to the kitchen. The man turned to the rest of us as he continued complaining about the service. ONE OF THE OTHER GUESTS SITTING at our table told the vegetarian he understood his aggravation. It turned out he had several dietary restrictions that required extra diligence at wedding receptions, holiday parties and other such special events. I watched as the annoyed diner quickly calmed down while commiserating with the other diner. A connection/bond was established between the two gentlemen because they had something specific in common; I became curious about this and started wondering if I had a similar reaction to meeting someone who shared a common trait of mine. It occurred to me that I indeed have had the same responses with people I have met who experience similar reactions like mine. When I have met someone, who has the same type of sensitivity that I do to the cold, it has formed an immediate connection between us. Others cannot relate to what the two of us experience when we feel cold. For most of the evening, I wind up spending time with that person who gets me, just as I get them. There is a perfect example of this to see in this dramatic, fantasy horror sequel. AFTER HAVING FOUND A COMFORTABLE PLACE to settle down Dan Torrance, played by Ewan McGregor (Christopher Robin, August: Osage County), gets contacted by a young girl named Abra Stone, played by Kyliegh Curran (I Can I Will I Did), who shares a common trait with him; a trait he has been trying to run away from for many years. With Rebecca Ferguson (Life, Despite the Falling Snow) as Rose the Hat, Cliff Curtis (Whale Rider, The Dark Horse) as Billy Freeman and Zahn McClarnon (Strike One, Mekko) as Crow Daddy; the story in this picture was slowly brewed. I enjoyed the buildup at first because of the acting and film editing. However, as the story continued, I found myself losing interest. It was not until Kyliegh’s scenes increased that I reconnected with the story. The buildup went on too long for me; I only found myself fully invested during the last half of the movie. The suspense was decent thanks to the acting and set designs. I feel the viewer would benefit if they watch first The Shining before seeing this film; but it is not a requirement. After so many years between stories, I just could not find a solid connection to this picture.
2 ¾ stars
moviejoltz 