Monthly Archives: October 2024
Flash Movie Review: Rebel Ridge
HE WAS A SHORT, SLIGHT MAN with a close-cropped beard and straight brown hair that always looked feathery. This was my first impression of my yoga instructor, who would remain mine through the first year of my training to become an instructor. There was gentleness and kindness about him; he always took the time to work one on one with each of us in class. Whenever he would demonstrate a pose, he moved into it like a cat, slow and determined. Because I was so focused on taking notes and looking at the poses he did, I did not notice him as much if that makes sense. I was looking to see where hands and feet needed to be rather than focusing on the way his body would move into the pose. Around halfway through the year we had a celebratory event where multiple classes would come together. It was part doing yoga and part mingling. I met some of the upper-class students and watched them during our yoga session. They were so smooth as they moved into the various poses. During the break, I went up and talked with them, asking about their experience at the school. At some point, one of them asked me who was my instructor. When I told him, he said I had the best teacher in the school. I was thrilled to hear it. WHAT HE SAID NEXT THREW ME for a loop. He asked if I knew about my instructor’s background. I said no. He told me something that stunned me. My instructor was involved with the military until a tragic event shattered his leg. The story this upper-class student told me was after the event my teacher was sent home for multiple surgeries and a lengthy rehabilitation. This student told me to look at the instructor’s body when he moves into a pose. Since he was ahead of me in school, I thought I would see what he was talking about and look at my instructor’s body when he was doing poses. It turned out I had to look more than once because what I saw was fascinating. The fact his leg was shattered, I would never have known. Each time his body moved into a pose I would see his smooth, pliable limbs turn into sculpted, solid muscle. Not like a heavy weightlifter’s muscles, more like a Michelangelo statue. They would rise from his skin and form this rock-solid landscape across his body. I would have been most curious to hear what he used to do in the military because he was nothing what I pictured a military person to be. I was reminded of him because of the main character in this action, crime thriller. MAKING HIS WAY TO POST BAIL for his cousin, a former Marine finds himself in a town that could make better use of his bail money. With Aaron Pierre (Brother, Old) as Terry Richmond, Don Johnson (Knives Out, Book Club: The Next Chapter) as Chief Sandy Burnne, AnnaSophia Robb (Soul Surfer, Bridge to Terabithia) as Summer McBride, David Denman (The Equalizer 3, The Office-TV) as Officer Evan Marston, and Emory Cohen (Brooklyn, Lords of Chaos) as Officer Steve Lann; this drama was slick and to the point, taking me by surprise. I thought the cast, especially Aaron, was excellent. The story is a no-frills good against evil type of story and I fell right into it. The action was intense, and the fight scenes were well done. In a way, it was refreshing to watch an action film without the special effects or wild camera work or a multitude of dead bodies; I felt I was following a simple, story that could have been based in truth. On some level, this movie reminded me of an old-fashioned western film besides reminding me of my past yoga instructor.
3 stars
Flash Movie Review: The Wild Robot
THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO ARE LUCKY to have one mother; I had three of them. There was first my birth mother. Along with her there was her best friend that she grew up with who was a mother to me. The third one was a neighbor who lived in the apartment building where I was born. These three women were my mothers, and I know I was extremely fortunate to have them in my life. My mother’s childhood friend had a son who was several years older than me, but I never gave it any thought growing up. I remember all of us going bowling; the only one who did not know how to bowl was my mother’s friend. She was always the scorekeeper and when I would sit on her lap between turns, she would explain what she was doing and ask me to add up the numbers she had written for each frame. No matter how many pins I was able to knock down, she always gave me words of encouragement. I did not realize at an early age how talented she was, from telling funny stories to always sending birthday cards with a poem she had specifically written for the person celebrating. From time to time, I would be dropped off at her house to watch me while my mother had an errand. We usually would bake cookies which meant I would sit and watch then lick the spoon after she was done mixing the ingredients. I have such fond memories of her. MY THIRD MOTHER WAS OUR DOWNSTAIRS neighbor, who lived on the first floor; we lived on the third floor. I can still remember how I used to get down to her. Because I was still somewhat new with walking, I would walk over to our first step and sit down on it with my feet on the next step below. I would then slide off the step and move to the next one as my feet reached out to the next step and so on. I would make my way down to her floor then stand up and walk over to their front door. I do not know how she was able to hear my light knocking on the door, but she did, and every time she opened the door, she had a huge smile on her face. She would welcome me in and no matter what she was in the middle of she would always find ways to entertain me. It could be putting a record on the record player or helping her cook or listening to her read a book; I enjoyed spending time with her. She had two sons who were much older than me, so it was not often they would be home when I came down. These two women were my introduction into my definition of “family.” Now my definition as expanded with this beautiful animated, adventure science fiction film. AFTER CRASH LANDING, A SELF-SUSTAINING ROBOT tries to bond with the native animals. One of them sees the robot as its mother. With Lupita Nyong’o (Black Panther franchise, A Quiet Place: Day One) voicing Roz, Pedro Pascal (The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, The Mandalorian-TV) voicing Fink, Kit Connor (Rocketman, Heartstopper-TV) voicing Brightbill, Bill Nighy (The First Omen, Living) voicing Longneck, and Stephanie Hsu (The Fall Guy, Joy Ride) voicing Vontra; this movie, based on the bestselling book, was one of the best films I have seen all year. The animation, story, directing, and script were all brought together to tell a touching story that both children and adults could appreciate. I was totally connected to this film, from beginning to end. It offered drama, comedy, excitement, tension and much more; I even teared up at a couple of scenes. An interesting side note: at the viewing I attended there were all adults except for one child. This was a well-done picture that portrayed how love creates a family. Also, there was an extra scene at the end of the closing credits.
4 stars
Flash Movie Review: Challengers
I WANTED TO LEARN HOW TO play tennis. Neither of my schools offered it as a sport. So, during a summer break, I signed up for tennis lessons through The Learning Annex. Classes were to meet at a tennis facility not too far from the downtown area. I was excited because the facility was home to a couple of tennis tournaments; I was hoping I would see someone “famous.” On the first day of class, there was a total of twelve students; we were split into two groups. It turned out I was the only left-handed person in my group. The first thing the instructor taught us was how to hold the tennis racket. He went up to each of us to check on our grip and make any needed adjustments. I thought things were going well, but when it came time to teach us how to serve, I could not get the hang of it as quickly as the others. It should not have been so difficult because all I had to do was switch his usage of right and left; but for some reason, I could not make it work. He tried working with me, but I could see he was not a patient person. The same thing happened when he was teaching us the ground strokes. While everyone’s ball was going to one side of the court, mine was going to the other side. I was getting self-conscious, uncomfortable, and started to feel like I was being left out. Gratefully, there were only two classes left. FROM THAT EXPERIENCE, I DECIDED I would practice on my own and pay closer attention to televised matches. I used the side of my elementary school’s building to hit the ball against. When I got to college, I had a friend who taught me how to put spin on the ball. Up until that point, I was hitting flat straight balls. On the weekends, we would go down to the sports facility and get a court for us to hit the ball back and forth. Pretty soon I was able to add a little spin to my hits. We eventually started to play games and keep score. I never won but that was okay with me because I was not the type of person who was competitive. He was, however. I just wanted to have fun hitting the ball and trying to make the shots. This was something I never understood: if one was not having fun doing whatever sport then why do it. My friend never looked like he was having fun; it was all about the winning. Except in the earlier scenes of this film festival winner, I felt the same way about the main characters in this dramatic, sport romance. They did not look like they were having fun. TWO FRIENDS VIE FOR THE ATTENTION of a tennis prodigy. There could only be one winner, so what would it take. With Mike Faist (West Side Story, The Bikeriders) as Art Donaldson, Josh O’Connor (God’s Own Country, The Crown-TV) as Patrick Zweig, Zendaya (Dune franchise, Spider-Man franchise) as Tashi Donaldson, newcomer Bryan Doo, and A.J. Lister (Birth/Rebirth) as Lily; this film was fortunate to have this cast in the roles. They were all good, helping to keep the intensity and drama up in this film. What I did not care for was the jumping back and forth in time; I quickly found it annoying. The action and editing cuts were so fast that I soon got tired watching them. It was a shame because I thought the story had merit, but I wonder how I would have felt if they stuck closer to a linear timeline. There were some scenes that did not seem believable to me, which may have added to my losing interest in the characters. With that being said, I still enjoyed the tennis matches and the few extremely dramatic scenes; but at the end, this was not a love match for me.
2 ½ stars
Flash Movie Review: The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat
THE RESTAURANT WAS OUR SANCTUARY. IF memory serves me correctly, it was one of the first places, that was not serving fast food, where I went without my parents. The time was my high school years, and my friends and I started going to it because it was in the middle between our elementary school district boundaries. The restaurant was a decent sized place, with parking lots on both sides of the building. The front door and waiting area were in the middle; on one side there were all booths and on the other it was booths along the walls, but the rest of the floor space was filled with tables. I did not realize it then, but I guess the tabled room was used more for lunches, dinners, and larger sized parties. Most of the time my friends and I were taken to a booth. Another reason we liked hanging out at this restaurant, besides the friendly staff and tasty food, was their abundant breadbasket filled with a variety of bread slices, rolls, breadsticks, and crackers. If someone did not have a lot of money to spend on food, they could easily order a soft drink and chow down on the bread items. It was always the first thing the wait staff would put down when people were seated. What I especially liked was the fact the wait staff never tried to talk down to us or try to rush us out after we had eaten. It was in these booths where we could talk about anything and share whatever was on our minds. I AM STILL FRIENDS WITH SOME of the people who sat with me at the restaurant. Not only did we spend time together there through high school, but we also did during our college years. If one of us was attending an out of state university, they were especially eager to meet up at the restaurant anytime they were back home for a visit. I remember how no one would bring their girl or boyfriend around until they were well established in the relationship. It was always overwhelming for the new person to join into our tight knit group, but we did our best to make them comfortable. Some time after college one of the parents of a friend passed away; after the funeral, a group of us met up at the restaurant to have a meal before going back to their house. This restaurant was a vital part of our lives when growing up; it was our therapy, our social life, and our introduction to becoming independent human beings with a strong bond between each of us. Due to these memories, I suddenly felt connected to this comedic drama. THROUGH A LIFETIME, THE BONDS BETWEEN an intimate group of friends gets tested by relationships, prejudices, and love. With Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor (Ray, Origin) as Odette, Sanaa Lathan (The Perfect Guy, Something New) as Barbara Jean, Uzo Aduba (Really Love, Orange is the New Black-TV) as Clarice, Mekhi Phifer (Lights Out, ER-TV) as James, and Julian McMahon (Fantastic Four franchise, FBI: Most Wanted-TV) as Ray; this movie based on the best selling novel, won me over by the strong acting of the main characters. They came across real and had emotional depth. I will say though, it seemed as if some scenes were cut short or appeared to be because of the switching from present to past. I thought the sets and costumes were perfect and appreciated the way the writers did not shy away from events that were prevalent during those times. I can only imagine the book must be even better than this picture. There was a level of predictability to the story, but it did not distract me from being so entertained by the cast. The connections the friends had to each other reminded me of the ones I had/have with my friends; I was left with a feeling of comfort after this movie was over.
3 stars
moviejoltz 