Category Archives: Drama
Drama
Flash Movie Review: Indignation
Every decision opens up a new path of travel; though it may not always be the best choice, every new road laid is fraught with actions and reactions. If you choose a sugary cereal over a low sugar one for breakfast you may experience a letdown from your “sugar high” during the morning hours. You discover while driving to work the shortcut you took delayed you further because of the freight train that stopped you at the railroad tracks you now had to cross. Each of these decisions affected you solely, or did they? What if an important phone call was missed because of your delay and the new customer calling with their large order decided not to leave a message and called your competitor, who was willing to match prices? I have said this before but every action causes a reaction; it is just that simple. The ones I have a hard time with are those that cannot be easily explained or do not come with a reason. It is like a friend of mine who was dating someone new for 4 or 5 dates, thinking everything was going well. All of sudden their date stopped communicating. No reply texts, no returned phone calls; there was no reason given for the total silence. This has happened to me and I have to tell you it can throw one for a loop depending on how much was invested into growing the relationship. I always have to wonder, when things happen between two people, if the one individual knows what kind of affect their actions cause to the other person. Even when reasons are laid out, we do not always know what reactions may take place later on. ESTHER Messner, played by Linda Emond (Julie & Julia, Stop-Loss), was so proud of her only son Marcus, played by Logan Lerman (The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Percy Jackson franchise). He was going on a scholarship to college to become a lawyer. Everything would go as planned as long as Marcus stayed focused and studied hard. Set in the 1950s this drama had a competent cast to handle the story based on Philip Roth’s (Portnoy’s Complaint, The Human Stain) novel. With Tracy Letts (The Big Short, Homeland-TV) as Dean Caudwell, Sarah Gadon (Dracula Untold, A Dangerous Method) as Olivia Hutton and Ben Rosenfield (A Most Violent Year, 6 Years) as Bertram Flusser; I thought all were quite good. I only wished there were more scenes with Linda’s character as the mother. The sets and costumes were perfect for the era; this film had a distinct look to it. I especially enjoyed the acting out of Logan and Linda but I found the script becoming top heavy as the story played out. The scenes between Logan and Tracy intrigued me at first but then it felt more like a therapy session than a student and administrator. I was surprised by the turn of events in the story but I almost wished they had taken place earlier. Besides these few quibbles I enjoyed watching the actions and reactions taking place in this movie.
3 stars
Flash Movie Review: Nerve
They said they did not like playing with me because I was no fun whenever we would play this game. The reason I was no fun to them is because I never took the dare, always picking truth. I never thought about it but I can now look back and see one of the reasons why I would never have chosen dare; I never liked giving up control. It seems as if my control issues started way back. The first time I recall playing this game called Truth or Dare was in high school. It wasn’t something you could buy off a store shelf; there was not an instruction book or a restriction on the number of players. A group of us were sitting around in the basement’s den at one of our houses. As soon as the game was explained I immediately knew I would be choosing truth all the time. You see I did not have a problem telling the truth. Not in a goody-goody type of way; I always just had this blunt way of speaking my mind, even if it would cause embarrassment. As far as I could tell, based on some of the dares that were taken, my words were no embarrassing than the actions of some of my friends. If memory serves me correctly by the time we neared senior year the game did not provide the same entertainment and fell to the wayside. I guess you could say we were growing up. It appears the game has evolved into something more based on what I saw in this adventure mystery. HIGH school student Vee, played by Emma Roberts (We’re the Millers, American Horror Story-TV), thought she could stop playing a popular online game anytime she wanted to, but the game did not work that way. This dramatic crime film had a believable cast of actors. Besides Emma there was Dave Franco (Now You See Me franchise, Warm Bodies) as Ian, Emily Meade (That Awkward Moment, Trespass) as Syndey, Miles Heizer (Rudderless, Parenthood-TV) as Tommy and Kimiko Glenn (HairBrained, Orange is the New Black-TV) as Liv. The acting from Emma and Dave however stood out the most for me. Sitting in the theater, I have to tell you I not only felt old while watching this updated version of the game Truth or Dare, I believe I was the oldest person in the audience. The variety of dares piqued my interest at first; but as time went on, I was getting a little bored. What prevented me from totally not caring was the fast pace the director kept up. The scenes in the beginning were fine as they moved the story along and were actually entertaining. By the time the film was reaching its conclusion it seemed as if the writers were trying to give a morality lesson; it shifted the focus away from everything that happened earlier in the movie. There is a good chance younger viewers would enjoy this movie more than I did. All I can say is at my age I really did not care to play this game again.
2 ¼ stars
Flash Movie Review: The Infiltrator
I tried throwing out several different topics but they would always steer the conversation back to their job. If I made reference to something that happened to me they would match the experience with someone in their office. Have you ever met a person who brings their work home with them? Maybe because from my day job I go and teach evening fitness and yoga classes, I have an easier time of letting go of the workaday world. I am a big believer in employees finding a way to let go of their job stress and not carry it through their daily life. From my yoga classes I have seen what stress can do to a person’s body and mind. There have been some participants walking into class for the first time who are so tightly wound up they look like they could break on their very first yoga pose. It is funny but I actually offered a free yoga class to the individual I was referring to earlier but they declined. The reason I suggested it was because I could see their shoulders rise up towards their ears as soon as they started talking about their work. It was obvious to me they could not let go of their stress. Sadly this was not the only person I knew who brought their work home with them; I have been exposed to quite a few individuals who live to work as opposed to work to live. Feel free to take a look at the guy in this crime drama and tell me if he is bringing his work home with him. DISCOVERING an opportunity to make a huge drug bust against a major drug lord meant Robert Mazur, played by Bryan Cranston (Trumbo, Argo), would have to go undercover and put off retirement. Too bad Robert did not know if it would be worth the trade-off. Based on a true story this biographical film started out slow for me; but just like undertaking a building project, it kept getting bigger and deeper. The acting was first class by everyone including John Leguizamo (Chef, Vanishing on 7th Street) as Emir Abreu, Diane Kruger (Unknown, National Treasure) as Kathy Ertz and Benjamin Bratt (Miss Congeniality, The Lesser Blessed) as Roberto Alcaino. One may expect Bryan to be terrific but I was impressed even more by Diane and Benjamin. Their performances were the most believable for me. I thought the directing not only gave depth to the characters but it also added intensity to various scenes. Besides the beginning of the film there were a few slow parts, along with a couple of things that seemed out of place compared to the major story; however, the acting was so good I did not feel these few things took too much away from my experience watching this picture. The other thing I want to mention is the actual story. It was so out of the realm of my world that I had moments of disbelief, but it was not a distraction. I may be intense at times but I have to tell you after seeing this film I am just thankful I can leave my work behind at the end of the day.
3 stars
Flash Movie Review: Free State of Jones
One of the bonuses for being in my career positions is being able to communicate with people from every continent except Antarctica. My fascination with other countries and cultures dates back many years. What I have learned is everyone shares the same basic concerns and joys of life, albeit in varying degrees. For me the physical differences associated with one’s race just tell me where their ancestors were born; otherwise, they mean nothing to me just like the color of one’s eyes. Walking through my local grocery store is like taking a free global trip without the jet lag. Down one aisle I will find products from Asia, followed by items from the southern part of North America down to South America. I enjoy watching the shoppers peruse the shelves and sometimes I even ask them about a product I am curious to try. Here is a little known fact about me; very few people in my circles know I go up to help people who appear to be lost or attempting to figure out where something is located. In the old days it was obvious when they were holding a map. Doing this is a great way to learn something new in my opinion. All of this makes up my world; the differences and commonalities between all of us. As generations move up the age ladder my concern is our history gets less important or even forgotten. An example would be a generation several times removed from the generation that experienced an event of genocide. I believe we need to know our history if we are going to grow as civilized humans. To me a major asset is hearing about an event from a person who experienced it. After that person is gone we are left with visual history such as actual places, video/film and historical documents. This is why I feel movies like this one have a place in our knowledge of our past. CONFEDERATE soldier Newton Knight, played by Matthew McConaughey (The Wolf of Wall Street, Dallas Buyers Club), came to the realization he could no longer be a part of the corrupt things he saw taking place. Based on a true story this biographical dramatic film kept my attention due to its story; in fact, I felt the story was the best part of the movie. With Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Beyond the Lights, Concussion) as Rachel, Keri Russell (August Rush, The Americans-TV) as Serena and Mahershala Ali (The Hunger Games franchise, The Place Beyond the Pines) as Moses; the acting was solid though oddly I was not as impressed with Matthew as I have been in the past. Parts of the script were well focused and intense; however, the story line that involved a time in the future was a distraction for me. I think if the writers stayed in the one time period this picture would have had more impact. It was obvious what they were trying to convey but I would have preferred if the writers waited and made a sequel that dealt with that particular subject. Despite the tough and bloody scenes in this movie the story is a lesson about our history.
2 ¾ stars
Flash Movie Review: The Neon Demon
For something so subjective it amazes me how much influence beauty has over many of us. I saw at an early age how people paid more attention to individuals who were considered beautiful—at least on the outside. If you put 2 people together, one thought of as attractive and the other not as pretty, a majority of the general public would believe the attractive one more no matter what they claimed. Look at the fashion industry; can someone tell me why a person is considered less presentable if they are not dressed in something that is currently fashionable? Many years ago the fashion industry came out with bell bottomed pants; maybe some of you remember them. Those in school who did not own a pair of these pants may not have necessary been considered less of a student, but it would not be a surprise if they were looked at as being poor or less intelligent. When I see some of the celebrities that are idolized these days, I am dumbfounded; what in the world is the attraction to these people? Especially those from reality shows that do not focus on talent, strength or creative arts; why do people trust the things these types of celebrities come out with in statements or texts? I find the whole idea of one’s looks such an odd concept. For example when someone wants to fix me up with one of their friends and they say the person is pretty or good looking; that aspect of a person is not important to me like kindness or empathy. So this is why I feel beauty yields an undue amount of power in our world. What I did not know is how dangerous it can be based on the things I saw in this dramatic horror thriller. JESSE, played by Elle Fanning (Super 8, Maleficent), was just starting out in the modeling world but she already had something wanted by other models. Directed and written by Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive, Only God Knows), this movie went for what I call an “artsy” look. With stark vivid images held in extra long camera shots, I could understand the use of them considering the story line. With Christina Hendricks (Mad Men-TV, Life as We Know it) as Roberta Hoffmann, Keanu Reeves (John Wick, The Matrix franchise) as Hank and Jena Malone (Contact, Sucker Punch) as Ruby; the acting was okay but nothing that really stood out for me. Elle who I have been impressed with in the past still has a certain screen presence but I do not think the script helped her in this film. I believe I understand the message the writers wanted to convey but I did not enjoy the way it was presented to me. There were many scenes where I sat and wished the picture would have ended; I was bored and found the “artsy” scenes a distraction. Maybe the creative team was going for shock value with some of the scenes but a few of them grossed me out. So be it if I am not considered hip, fashionable or with it because I did not find the beauty in this film. There were a couple of scenes with blood.
1 ¾ stars
Flash Movie Review: Genius
I sit and wait, searching their face for any clue on which direction their reaction will go. It is a gamble; I know that going in, but I am willing to take the risk. Of course, I make sure I have plenty other choices in case any one of them goes bad. You see I love trying new products, especially in the food category. Anytime I have people over to the house I try offering something new to them and myself. It could be from any food group, I would take a chance on it. And here is the little dietary secret; if a guest enjoys the new product I make them take it home because I do not want it to stay alone with me. It would be too much temptation. This way I get to taste something new without overindulging myself. The other secret about having new food items for company is seeing the look on people’s faces at that first bite; I do not know if I can explain it but I truly love seeing someone putting on a happy face due to some new discovery I found. When I am at the grocery store I feel like a treasure hunter when shopping for an upcoming party. Now before you tell me I need to find a new life, let me tell you I feel the same way outside of my home. When I was a kid I wanted to be a tour guide for the city. I wanted to take people I knew or people they knew and show them something they had never seen before. It could be art, architecture, nature or a restaurant; it did not matter as long as the person would have a positive experience from my tours. My desire to be a discoverer played right into this biographical drama. MAX Perkins, played by Colin Firth (The Railway Man, Before I Go to Sleep) had a special place in the literary world. He was the book editor for Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Thomas Wolfe. This film festival nominee had a top notch cast of actors. Besides Colin there was Nicole Kidman (Secret in Their Eyes, Paddington) as Aline Bernstein, Jude Law (Spy, Sherlock Holmes franchise) as Thomas Wolfe and Laura Linney (Mr. Holmes, Primal Fear) as Louise Perkins. I was excited not only for the cast but the story itself, seeing these authors I was familiar with coming to life was a treat. You will understand now why my disappointment in this film was significant because the script did not live up to the characters. For such dynamic well known authors this story needed more levels of emotion, besides offering more of the artists’ motivations and feelings. Sure there were drunken and screaming scenes but I wanted to hear more about the “why.” The look of this picture was appropriate and the acting was the best the actors could do with the script; I just wished the script would have been at a higher level to match the story. Considering this film was only playing at 2 theaters in the city, I still felt like I was discovering a little piece of history.
2 1/3 stars
Flash Movie Review: Me Before You
A wise person holds back from taking action on their first impressions. I wish I could say I am quoting from a well known scholar, but I cannot; it is from me. Not to say I am wise because in the past all I did for the most part was react immediately upon my first impression of a person or place. I believe I have said this before but I now consider first impressions to be a photograph to be stashed in one’s pocket, to let it sit as you let time pass to see if your first impression matches the current one you have of that individual. Maybe because I believe a person’s true colors find a way to seep out of them that I hold myself back from acting, but I have been rewarded with some positive relationships that at first looked like I was dealing with a not nice person. I had a relationship with someone who at first glance appeared to be vain and conceited. This was my first impression of them from a party I had attended where they were a guest also. It was not until a couple of more encounters where I saw their true disposition and I have to tell you it surprised me. They were actually kind and good natured, that first impression I had was their default image or persona whenever they felt uncomfortable in a new environment. I guess we all have some form of defense we turn to when we are dealing with our emotions. DESPERATE to find work Lou Clark, played by Emilia Clarke (Terminator Genisys, Game of Thrones-TV), was relieved when she was offered the job to be a caregiver for Will Traynor, played by Sam Claflin (The Hunger Games franchise, The Quiet Ones). Her relief turned to dread upon meeting the caustic man. Based on the bestselling novel, this film festival winner got the right chemistry when they cast Emilia and Sam for the leads. I found them believable and felt they made a solid connection together with their characters. Also starring Charles Dance (The Imitation Game, Game of Thrones-TV) and Janet McTeer (Malefiecent, Tideland) as Stephen and Camilla Traynor, the acting worked in this dramatic romance. I would be curious to hear how the book compares to this film because I found the script to be manipulative, steering the viewers to tearful checkpoints. However, what surprised me was one of the topics that came up in the story that is controversial these days. It was interesting to see where it would wind up going in the script. From the showing I attended that was close to sold-out, the responses I heard afterwards were all positive. I would agree because of the acting being so good and the intriguing idea behind the story. So what if a couple of tears welled up in my eyes; not enough to warrant wiping them away with a tissue unlike others seated around me, it did not alter my first impression of the movie. This was a love story with a twist.
2 ½ stars
Flash Movie Review: Frankie & Alice
The television was on for background noise. I am not interested in hearing any of the creaks and moans an old house expresses periodically. My ear caught an announcer on TV saying something about a man with an amputated leg who had climbed Mt. Everest. I looked up to see this guy bundled up in a thick jacket, standing with his one prosthetic leg gleaming in the bright sunlight. It would be an impressive achievement for anyone, let alone someone with only one leg. I sat pondering the possible advantages or disadvantages a prosthetic leg could offer someone. One thing that came to mind is a person would not have to worry about the leg getting frostbite, but I was not sure if there were any other advantages. It is funny, earlier in the evening I had watched a competition show where people were running through an obstacle course. One of the contestants was an amputee and though they did not complete the course, they gave it their best shot. My interest was piqued enough to make me watch the other contestants run the course and I have to say I was fascinated with the variety of people who signed up for this contest. From such different backgrounds I would not have initially imagined this course would be something people wanted to try and complete. It was like a Superman scenario: accountant by day and superhero by night. It brought to mind how most of us wear “different hats” throughout the day. A person can be a daughter, a sister, a librarian, a mother, a steelworker; all these different components make up who we are as individuals. For myself I am a brother, an uncle, a credit manager, a yoga instructor, a cycle instructor and each aspect comes with different criteria; I enjoy the mash-up of it, with its similarities and differences. Imagine if I did not know the different personas in me; my demeanor as a yoga instructor would not necessarily work in my job as a credit manager. What do you think would happen if a person did not even know they had different roles inside of them? FRANKIE, played by Halle Berry (X-Men franchise, The Call), had no idea how the unfamiliar clothing wound up in her closet. Based on a true story this film festival winning drama gave Halle a good character to portray. She did the best she could with the role and I appreciated how she made it easy to follow her story. With Stellan Skarsgard (The Avengers franchise, Thor franchise) as Oz and Phylicia Rashad (Creed, Good Deeds) as Edna, I thought the acting was fine. The subject was something that has been covered in other films, so I was not totally surprised by this story. I felt the script was too generic, being quite predictable; yet because of what was happening to Frankie, I stayed engaged with this biographical story. I do not know how much interest this film would generate with viewers; but I have to say, I did not feel like I wasted part of my day by sitting down and watching it.
2 1/4 stars – DVD
Flash Movie Review: Pele: Birth of a Legend
I wonder if the playground half covered with gravel had anything to do with it. Growing up not only did I never think about soccer, it was never part of anyone’s conversation. Now granted I attended a small elementary and high school, but even if someone wanted to play soccer it would have been challenging. The public schools I attended were in the city; they were plopped down in the middle of a city block with houses all around. There were no grassy fields, no baseball diamonds; heck, we were lucky if had a few bushes pushed up to the side of the building. As I mentioned before my elementary school’s playground was part blacktop and part gravel. There were no team sports and the majority of our physical activity was done in the gymnasium with its over excessive, varnished wood floor. The floor would creak so much when we were playing any type of game that it sounded like a backyard of chirping crickets. I think we may have played some kind of indoor version of soccer that we called Dodgeball, but the rules were different and I tried to avoid playing it because of the bullies in class. They used the opportunity to pretend they were kicking at the ball but really were going for someone’s leg, causing usually a bruise to form later in the day. So you see I never thought or cared about soccer all the way through into my adult life. If the games in this dramatic biography are typical of the average soccer game then sign me up for season tickets. FROM an earlier review this week where I talked about not needing money to being a success, if ever an example was needed to show this was true then this film about soccer legend Pele, played by newcomer Kevin de Paula, would have been the perfect choice. His story totally surprised me as this film covered his years growing up in the poor slums of Sao Paulo, Brazil; where he did not even play with a real soccer ball. I had never heard of the style of soccer associated with Pele. It was amazing to see; I felt like I was watching a performance artist up on the screen. Also starring Vincent D’Onofrio (Jurassic World, Full Metal Jacket) as Feola, Diego Boneta (Scream Queens-TV, Summer Camp) as Jose and Colm Meaney (Law Abiding Citizen, Stand Off) as George Raynor; the acting was almost secondary in my opinion. I do not think this sport film covered anything new; so if one is already familiar with Pele they may become bored with this story. Since I had no knowledge of the man or his sport, I was fascinated watching everything. I will say there were scenes that I thought were poorly filmed making the action look cartoonish and the dramatic ones seemed typical and predictable. So here is my bottom line: I do not think this was a well-made film; but here is the thing, the story kept me engrossed and provided entertainment for me. Isn’t that what a soccer match is supposed to do?
2 ¾ stars
Flash Movie Review: A Bigger Splash
The landscape of one’s life may be properly maintained, with a meticulous eye to detail to make everything look ideal. Each component made to fit together so no one would see a gap or break across the land. It pretty much has everyone fooled. The reason I say this is because if someone from your past, who parted not being in synch with your feelings, suddenly showed up in your life the blurred lines around you both could cause a ripple effect that tills the soil around your present life. I have seen this for myself and to be honest have experienced it too. There was a couple I knew where I was originally friends with one of them before they were in the relationship; so I knew much of their history. The two of them lived together and anyone who met them thought they made the perfect couple. However when a person my friend had lived with previously came back into their life, the foundation for the present relationship started to crumble. Maybe there had not been much communication or the expression of feelings before but it was obvious there still was a connection with their former lover. I remember being at a small dinner party where the past and present relationships were together and it was obvious there was a murky tension between all of them. It was a tough situation and in fact I may experience something similar in the near future because I have heard talk about someone from my past is planning a visit to come here and meet up with friends. And this trip would include the new person in their life. I know I do not want to experience any of the drama that I saw playing out in this dramatic movie. ENJOYING a peaceful, quiet time off the coast of Italy rock star Marianne Lane and her boyfriend Paul De Smedt, played by Tilda Swinton (Trainwreck, Only Lovers Left Alive) and Matthias Schoenaerts (The Drop, Rust and Bone), suddenly had their trip disrupted by the appearance of record producer Harry Hawkes and his daughter Penelope Lannier, played by Ralph Fiennes (Harry Potter franchise, Spectre) and Dakota Johnson (How to be Single, Fifty Shades of Grey). Their visit would stir up things that were better left alone. This film festival winner had some beautiful outdoor film shots; besides the acting it was a highlight for me. As for the cast I thought they all were wonderful and because of them I was able to still stay somewhat interested in what was otherwise a dysfunctional story. I thought the script was a mess; the story morphed from a drama to a mystery and changed the entire tone. A shame because I could not stay engaged with the characters despite the good acting. If the script had stuck with one story line I think it would have made for a better movie experience. The idea behind this story was something I could follow; I just wished it had been cleaner in its execution. Several scenes were spoken in Italian with English subtitles.
2 1/4 stars
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