Author Archives: moviejoltz
Flash Movie Review: Chinese Puzzle
The word separation is an interesting word because it has two polar opposite emotions associated with it. A person would be relieved and happy to be separated from someone who was toxic to them. I can understand the feeling that would come over someone after being in an abusive relationship; in this case separating oneself would be a healthy thing. After being harnessed to a yoke, dragging fear and despair with them everywhere, the feelings of leaving has to be monumental. When there are people you love such as family, friends, or soul mates; a separation from them can feel as if your breath never quite fills your lungs, taxing your heart’s beat. Being apart from them can be sad and painful, where you worry each memory filled tear running down your face will feel like loved ones slipping away from you. It seems to me the act of separation can have a powerful affect on an individual. In this film festival winning movie being separated from his 2 children was more than 40 year old Xavier Rousseau, played by Romain Duris (Heartbreaker, The Beat That My Heart Skipped), could bear. When Wendy, played by Kelly Reilly (Flight, Sherlock Holmes franchise), the mother of his 2 kids decided to leave France and move to New York City, Xavier decided to follow and settle down near them in the foreign land. He would soon discover it was not an easy thing to do. This dramatic comedy had a lot going for it. I did not know this film was the third in a series, the two previous being L’Auberge Espagnole and Russian Dolls. After viewing this romantic movie I wished I had seen the previous ones because I felt I was missing out on something. The cast had an easy flow going between each other and were all believable. Part of the cast also included Audrey Tautou (Coco Before Chanel, The Da Vinci Code) as Martine and Cecile De France (Hereafter, High Tension) as Isabelle. The story essentially had no major potholes in it, things were pretty much kept at an even keel and that would be my major complaint. I did not find much contrast between any of the scenes; there was a chuckle here, a touching moment there. As I said before maybe my reaction would have been different if I had more history with the characters, watching them in their previous films. Granted I had very little negative things to say about the movie; I just felt a little left out. There was English, French, Spanish and Chinese languages spoken with English subtitles when needed.
2 2/3 stars
Flash Movie Review: A Million Ways to Die in the West
There are so many times I hear people say life is easier now, but I am not 100% convinced of it. I remember reading Generation Zs do not know how to fold up a map since they only grew up with GPS devices; some only know how to tell time from a digital display. Does this make life easier? When you expand the length of time, sure I can see where some things are easier now then decades or centuries ago. When the United States still had frontiers, there was a reason why people referred to the areas as the Wild West. Back then you would have to protect yourself from wild animals; now it is more likely it will be from humans. There was more farmland back then; people would work the land and grow their own food, eating healthier. Now you can simply take your pre-wrapped meal from the freezer to the microwave oven and have hot food in 6 minutes. The differences between the two time periods were ripe for creating a comedy which Seth MacFarlane (Tooth Fairy, Ted) tried to do in this humorous western. Besides being the writer and director of this film, Seth took on his first starring role playing Albert the sheep farmer. After being threatened to a dual with pistols and getting dumped by his girlfriend Louise, played by Amanda Seyfried (Mama Mia, Red Riding Hood), Albert was willing to take advice from the mysterious Anna, played by Charlize Theron (Prometheus, The Italian Job). The only problem was Louise already started seeing Foy, played by Neil Patrick Harris (The Smurfs franchise, How I Met Your Mother-TV). I wish I could have figured out how Seth went from writing the comedy Ted to creating this farce. Where I found Ted to be wickedly funny, this movie was a bust. I only found a few sporadic scenes humorous since the majority of the jokes were either lame or cheap shots. It would be easy to compare this film to Mel Brooks’ Blazing Saddles but there is a big difference. Mel’s comedy was a trendsetting funny spoof that understood its purpose. Seth’s picture was just a series of gags that had a certain predictability to them. The chosen cast certainly had the talent to make this a fun time but I found things were dull and lifeless. However, it was a kick to see the actors who made cameo roles. I had no idea it would be so hard to write a funny story about a period of time from our past. There was an extra scene after the credits.
1 3/4 stars
Flash Movie Review: Maleficent
With one aggressive act can a deep buried anger breakout from its vault inside the body. Flowing like white hot lava, it courses through and scorches the veins within a matter of seconds. The whole body becomes a pulsating furnace, emitting a constant heat fueled by the bellowing breath of hatred. If one does not have the tools to dismantle and disperse this generator of hatred, one will always see life through the smoke of anger. I remember acting this out when I had a toy that was not working properly; beating it against the floor or with any nearby heavy object to teach it a lesson. A majority of my earlier life was spent living with a burning anger. As a result I was able to quickly see it in others. My friends and I were riding in a car driven by the brother of one of the friends. A car driving in the opposite direction sideswiped us, knocking off the side view mirror. My friend’s brother spewed out a stream of obscenities as he violently turned the steering wheel, driving the car into the oncoming traffic. I was stunned by his hot blind anger heating the air around us, incinerating any and all of his common sense. That day I learned anger can be an all consuming emotion that manipulates every intention if left unchecked. The proof can be seen in this action adventure fantasy. Angelina Jolie (Salt, Changeling) was made to play this role, the evil Maleficent character from Walt Disney’s classic movie Sleeping Beauty. Though the story began when Maleficent was an innocent youth, it would show the events that led her to become a spiteful, hatred-filled adult. Despite Angelina’s strong presence, she had to share the screen with the amazing special effects. One of the reasons I liked Sam Riley (On the Road, Control) as Diaval was because he took the brunt of fanciful visuals. Elle Fanning (Super 8, Ginger & Rosa) was lovely as Princess Aurora and blended perfectly with Angelina. My major complaint about this film was the inadequate script. With the ability to take the character of Maleficent to great heights, the script failed Angelina. The lack of dialog created very little drama for her, along with the other actors. At one point the film went from embellishing the Sleeping Beauty story to a poor version of the musical Wicked. In addition the story veered into a dry disconnect that made very little sense. I was disappointed by this movie. Maybe it was because I have seen some truly angry and evil people in my life; the only difference was there was nothing magical about them.
2 1/2 stars
Flash Movie Review: The Immigrant
I wish it was not the case but I cast a cynical eye towards a kind gesture from a stranger these days. Where I first noticed a change had taken place over me was when I used to travel to Georgia. People were saying thank you for the simplest things, besides opening doors for each other. I realized I had not seen such actions for a long time. Then there were incidents I witnessed that began altering my perceptions. I used to know someone who was always eager to share their recipes with anyone who asked for them, but would leave out one small item from the list of ingredients. During my daily commute I cannot remember the last time someone slowed down to let me pull into traffic or merge into another lane due to construction. It seems as if people are becoming more isolated and protective of their surroundings. I partially understand it because of all the news that gets reported on Ponzi schemes, fake charities and internet scams. Last summer I answered the knock at my front door and there was a high schooler who was selling discounted subscriptions for the local newspapers. Yep, you are right; I gave him $20.00 but never saw a single newspaper. Life is hard and I would say it is partially due to the modern world we live in; however, one only has to look at history to see it is not a modern phenomenon. You could also see a horrifying example in this Cannes Film Festival nominated drama. Set in the early 1920s Ewa Cybulska and her sister Magda, played by Marion Cotillard (Contagion, The Dark Knight Rises) and Angela Sarafyan (Paranoia, Love Hurts), traveled from Poland to America to start a new life. During processing at Ellis Island Magda was quarantined, leaving Ewa to fend for herself on the streets of New York City. She had to rely on the kindness of strangers and Bruno Weiss, played by Joaquin Phoenix (Her, Walk the Line), was eager to welcome and help her. Marion Cotillard was made to do this romantic mystery movie. Her eyes alone could have done all the talking for her, she was mesmerizing. The story was filled with many opportunities to create a powerful piece; however, it never gelled for me. I did not believe Joaquin’s character, finding his performance odd. It really was a shame because the sets and scenes were beautifully appointed. Jeremy Renner (American Hustle, The Town) was a welcomed addition to the story playing the magician Emil. I wish I could offer a kind gesture to this film by giving it a higher rating but truthfully it does not warrant it.
2 2/3 stars
Flash Movie Review: Ida
Some of us wear the identity we were given as a young child, while others wear the one they grew into and became when older. A child who was always told they were bad could grow up to be living proof of that statement. Labeled with a derogatory nickname like Chunky or Four Eyes can remain as part of a person’s identity throughout their lifetime; coloring many of their future decisions. Imagine an only child discovering years later their parent had children from a previous marriage; I wonder what that does to someone’s mindset? Last Oscar awards season after I saw the movie Saving Mr. Banks, I read a startling story about the author of Mary Poppins. If I remember correctly she adopted one child from a set of twin boys and never told her son he had a twin brother. Trust me I still cannot believe someone would do such a thing. You know though, they say there is this thing called karma and here is where it played out with the author. When her adopted son was a young adult his twin brother, after years of searching, walked up to him at a bar. As you may have guessed, the adopted son was stunned to discover he had a twin brother. Where I found this scenario to be tragically triumphant, the story in this alluring film festival winning movie was sadly startling. Set in Poland during the 1960s, newcomer Agata Trzebuchowska played Anna who was an orphan who grew up in a convent. The week before she was to take her vows to become a nun, Anna was told she had a living relative and would need to go visit her before her vows. When Anna met her Aunt Wanda, played by Agata Kulesza (Suicide Room, Rose), Anna found out she was not who she believed she was all these years. This black and white drama was beautiful to watch on the big screen. I found the camera angles told the story as well as the dialog; but the fact that the film made a square frame on the rectangular movie screen, creating an extra closeness with the audience, allowed us an intimate glimpse into the life of these 2 women. The acting was outstanding. The producers must have known these actresses were able to take a somewhat sparsely worded script and provide such richness to the scenes and story. What an amazing film and testament to the ability of humans to choose their identity. The dialog was in Polish with English subtitles.
3 1/2 stars
Flash Movie Review: X-Men: Days of Future Past
The words had just passed my lips when I realized these were not the correct ones to utter at the moment. I inhaled with the same force I use with a straw in a chocolate peanut butter milkshake, but it was to no avail; the words were out in the open for everyone to hear. If only I had the opportunity to do it all over; but then again, there are so many times I wish for that chance. Almost every checkout line I choose winds up with a customer ahead of me who has some type of issue that will require a price check or swapping out a product. Recently I was running late for work. I had just missed the green light at an intersection that has an unusually long wait period between signals. It was a split second decision and I veered off into a restaurant’s parking lot to avoid the wait. As I was about to exit on the opposite side a police car was sitting there waiting for me to leave the lot. If only I could have turned time back, I would have saved myself from a moving violation ticket. I would have a better understanding of time travel if it personally affected me. In movies I get lost by the explanations or logistics of it. However, in this action adventure film I had no problem. Due to a particular event in history, both humans and mutants (individuals with special abilities) were being targeted for elimination. A plan was developed to send Logan/Wolverine, played by Hugh Jackman (Prisoners, Australia), back in time in an attempt to alter the outcome of the specific incident, change the course of history and hopefully save mutants in the future. What drove this fantasy film to excellence was the well thought out script and amazing special effects. I especially liked the way humor was injected into scenes without taking away from the building tension. The other main force that made this movie special was the cast. I thought Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook, The Hunger Games franchise) as Raven/Mystique, Michael Fassbender (The Counselor, Shame) as Erik Lehnsherr and James McAvoy (Trance, The Last Station) as Charles Xavier were outstanding. One of my few and minor complaints was not seeing enough of Patrick Stewart (Safe House, Star Trek franchise) as Professor X and Ian McKellen (The Hobbit franchise, Emile) as Magneto. Though there were a couple of things where I did not understand the logic, it really did not matter; this fantasy film delivered a high dose of exciting entertainment and suspense. In fact, I would not need the ability to turn back time because I would willingly go see this movie again. There was an extra scene at the end of the credits.
3 1/2 stars
Flash Movie Review: Chef
The earth’s population is divided into 2 groups, those who eat to live and those who live to eat. I walk a fragile line between the two camps and frequently fall off depending on how the day is going for me. For a majority of situations food is the end result. Speaking from personal experience food can provide unbridled comfort, soothing calmness, vigorous energy, emotional support and a cavalcade of other options. Now since I teach in the health field I have to state this disclaimer: food should only be ingested in moderation. Think about when you go on a date; what is one of the first ideas you think of to do on a date? Usually it is going out to eat at a restaurant. There is something about sharing a meal with someone that builds a sense of camaraderie, budding connections between people. I bet if all negotiations whether in the business place, world stage or personal relationships were done over a meal we would see better results. When you have good food, a great story and a wonderful cast; do you know what you get? You get this sweet and salty fun comedy film. All the burners were working when the movie studio made this film. Jon Favreau (The Wolf of Wall Street, Iron Man franchise) wrote, directed and starred as chef Carl Casper in this enjoyable picture. Not happy with his current position at work and in life, Carl heads back to Miami to rediscover the things he loved about cooking. I found this film to be more than the average comedy; there was a dose of sharpness to the script that made the characters come alive. With a cast that included John Leguizamo (Ride Along, Moulin Rouge) as Martin, Sofia Vergara (Fading Gigolo, Machete Kills) as Inez, Bobby Cannavale (Blue Jasmine, Win Win) as Tony and Scarlett Johansson (Don Jon, The Other Boleyn Girl) as Molly; everyone convinced me they were who they portrayed. It was a real treat to watch them. I want to make special mention about the scenes that involved the cooking and creation of the meals. No way do I consider myself a food guru; heck, I can barely cook a meal. However, watching the food in this film was like watching a whole other movie about the art of food preparation. To me there was such detail given to these scenes without boiling over to a long dissertation, that I was fascinated and inspired to run home and attempt to make a grand meal. Luckily rational thought took over and after the movie ended I went to a grocery story to indulge myself in the produce aisle. Extra scene inserted in the ending credits.
3 1/4 stars
Flash Movie Review: The Edge of Heaven
There was no other option because we were hungry. A line of people standing outside the front door was how we determined the restaurant had to have good food. The problem was the way it served the food to the customers. Besides buffets, foraging in a trough or potluck meals; sitting at a table with strangers for family style feeding is not one of my approved methods of eating. I do not like passing a bowl around where people serve themselves. It is creepy when I see someone helping themselves to the food with their own silverware that was just in their mouth. Since there was nothing else around we had no other choice if we wanted to eat. Seated at a large round table with a dozen strangers, the opening conversation focused on where each of us came from then progressed to our reasons for being there. I was not comfortable at the table through the food was good; however, during the chitchat I heard about a part of the city that sounded like a real cool place to visit. No where did I see any mention of this area when I was searching for points of interest. We altered our travel plans to include this place and were quite surprised by it. I felt I had been rewarded for my uncomfortableness during lunch.The story in this dramatic movie had a similar swing of feelings for the main character. Nejat Aksu, played by Baki Davrak (Lola and Billy the Kid, Our Grand Despair), was displeased by his father Ali’s, played by Tuncel Kurtiz (Pains of Autumn, The Wall), choice for a live-in girlfriend; a prostitute named Yeter Ozturk, played by Nursel Kose (When We Leave, My Mother). Due to unexpected circumstances Nejat would have to travel to Turkey to search for Yeter’s daughter Ayten, played by Nurgul Yesilcay (Vicdan, 7 Husbands for Hurmuz). The journey would only be part of the change that began to affect different lives. This film festival winning movie started out with a strong script. I found the story similar to a jigsaw puzzle, where each scene was laid out like a puzzle piece. With chance and circumstance playing a large part in telling this story, the excellent acting only added deeper feelings in my interest to see how things would pan out. This gifted film transcended any language limitations or concerns with subtitles, for it told a complete story. I have to say this film was a great surprise because I had not heard any approving or disapproving remarks prior to receiving it. It now has my approval. There was German, Turkish and English languages used with subtitles.
3 1/4 stars — DVD
Flash Movie Review: Palo Alto
It was only 4 years, except for the 2 who started that riot, but that time in high school was a prelude to adult life. In those years i began to understand there was this invisible ranking system, more like a hierarchy, where each of us were being assigned a place. I had no say in the matter and assumed there were others like me. One of the toughest parts was when students would get stuck with a label. Among teachers I always figured they had their own list of labels they assigned to students; such as difficult, trouble or quiet. However, the words that were used and got stuck to the students had more bite to them. There were girls who had to live with derogatory words like skank, whore or bitch. For some reason the labels given to boys were not as harsh or maybe it was just my opinion. There were those who were called nerds, druggies, queers or jocks. These words were not always based on any factual information; many times it was just an eyeball observation. High school already had its challenges without the added pressure from one’s peers and this dramatic film unapologetically depicted that life during those years. Based on the book of the same name by James Franco, the film focused on several students as each one was working through a personal struggle. Part of the cast included Emma Roberts (We’re the Millers, Hotel for Dogs) as April, newcomer Jack Kilmer as Teddy, Nat Wolff (Stuck in Love, New Year’s Eve) as Fred and James Franco (This is the End, The Iceman) as Mister B. All did an adequate job of acting, coming across in an honest way. I did not have an issue with the directing, but jumping from one story line to another became tiresome. There were a couple of scenes that made me uncomfortable which was the reaction I felt the director was trying to achieve. However, there was not enough story to engage me. After a short time I became bored with the characters, not caring what happened to them. I did not read the book, but I have to assume the stories read better than being depicted here on the big screen. Some of you already know my high school years were filled more with nightmares than pleasant dreams, so I wanted to make sure I was not reacting to this film on a deeper, personal level before beginning my review. The answer is I am far removed from that chapter in my life and this movie did not offer anything new from what has been done before.
2 stars
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