Category Archives: Drama
Drama
Flash Movie Review: The Longest Ride
That moment when a person first feels love for another person takes place at different times for each of us. A mixture of intuition, common sense and infatuation play a part on the timing when the switch gets flipped and we fall in love. There are some people who need time; they have a long distance racecourse type of method for falling in love, where the person has to pass checkpoints to earn further passage. Now other individuals can fall in love with another person right at the beginning, first sight. No matter which way it happens, if that kernel of love is not nourished it will never survive. As for myself, not only do I believe love has to be nurtured and fed, I feel when it is strong it can overcome many obstacles. Having had my share of long distance relationships, the only way I was able to maintain them was due to the strength of my love. The same could be said for the past relationships that were local too. With my hectic schedule of working and teaching, it can be a challenge to find free time to maintain and further grow a relationship. I used to date a stage manager who had a schedule opposite of mine; where I had free time on the weekends, they had weekdays open. It took some creative thinking to try and find times we could get together. The relationship did not last long, due to both of us not feeling a deeper connection to make those compromises one needs to make if they want to make the relationship thrive. DRAGGED to a bull riding competition college student Sophia Danko, played by Britt Robertson (Dan in Real Life, Delivery Man), was not enjoying it until contestant Luke Collins, played by Scott Eastwood (Fury, Gran Torino), gave her his cowboy hat. With Sophia about to move back to New York to pursue her love of art with an internship at an art gallery, she could not see how dating Luke would fit into her plans. Based on Nicholas Sparks’ (The Notebook, The Lucky One) novel, this romantic drama was dead on arrival. The main issue was the poorly done acting; Scott was stiff and wooden. In fact, the only one that came close to being believable was Alan Alda (Tower Heist, The Aviator) as Ira Levinson. It was a shame because I did not mind the story within the story aspect to this film, though both story lines were predictable. Also, the script needed a rewrite to get rid of the manipulative scenes that clearly were done to pull at the viewers’ hearts. Sitting in the theater being bored was no way to try and get me to fall in love with this movie.
1 3/4 stars
Flash Movie Review: Woman in Gold
As I came through the front door I immediately noticed the dead cigarette butt dangling on the edge of the cedar chest. No one smoked in the house. At one time the cigarette was lit because there now was a deep ashen scar exposing the unfinished wood beneath the polished surface. My eyes were drawn from the cigarette butt to the hall closet with its mirrored door gaping open. Inside the clothes were disheveled and piled up on the floor; there were several wire and wooden hangers dangling naked from the clothes rod. These two things did not connect together in my brain right away; however, as I walked into the bedroom it all made sense. A burglar had broken into the house and stole some clothing, jewelry and a small television. I was in shock as all of this sunk in and I realized how fortunate I was that the cigarette did not start a fire, destroying not only the apartment but the others in the building. As I moved from room to room an awful feeling came over me; I felt so violated and vulnerable. There was such a sense of dread, feeling unsafe in my own home; it weighed heavily as I imagined this stranger walking through the house not realizing the sentimental significance to items, let alone the things I needed like clothing. At least I had no idea who it was; can you imagine if I was home when the burglar broke in and took what they wanted for themselves? MARIA Altmann, played by Helen Mirren (The Queen, The Debt), had only her memories when she fled Nazi occupied Austria. Making a life for herself in the United States, it was not until her sister’s death that Maria thought about the things that were taken away from her and her family so many years ago. One of the objects dear to her was a portrait of her aunt, painted by Gustav Klimt. Though it was hanging in an Austrian museum, she felt it belonged with her. Based on a true story, I enjoyed the way this drama portrayed the present and past together. The key in making it all work fell upon Helen and Tatiana Maslany (The Vow, Eastern Promises) who played the young Maria. I thought Max Irons (The Host, Red Riding Hood) who played Fritz, young Maria’s husband, was a strong asset too. Ryan Reynolds (The Voices, Green Lantern) as lawyer Randol Schoenberg was better than I have previously seen him but not on the same level as Helen. The script may have been predictable but I did not mind because I was fascinated with the “story behind the story” aspect to this drama. Granted my theft cannot compare to Maria’s but I felt a solid connection to this movie.
3 stars
Flash Movie Review: Tyrannosaur
Some people assume I am good at detecting the anger inside of individuals because of my yoga background. While that certainly has helped me in recognizing the tension and anger someone may carry, the larger reason I can spot anger is because I have had an intimate relationship with it. I am not talking about spats, conflicts or disagreements; I am referring to that deep anger that boils inside, always on the verge of flaring up with any little spark. It is the type that is so out of proportion to the situation that bystanders stare in disbelief as you look like a cross between a paper shredder and volcano. I can remember how my anger would invade my brain, pushing everything aside into a single room as if it were being held prisoner. The anger and frustration would tense my body into stiffness. Luckily the release valve to my anger used a verbal route instead of a physical one. Though when I was younger, if something did not work the way I wanted it to, I would beat it apart to teach it a lesson. Yes I know it was stupid, but I did not know better at the time. I do not think anger ever leaves a person; at least I know it is still inside of me. The difference being it shares a space with my other emotions, willing now to work together with them. What worked for me may not work for someone else; each person has to find their own path in dealing with their anger. JOSEPH, played by Peter Mullan (War Horse, Trainspotting), was unemployed, frustrated and angry all the time; he was a time bomb without a fuse. Hannah, played by Olivia Collman (The Iron Lady, Hot Fuzz), was a Christian woman who felt she could save him through prayer. But who would save Hannah? This film festival winning drama was an incredibly intense viewing experience. There was some strong language, though I had a hard time understanding Joseph’s accent. Their acting was beautiful which may seem like an odd choice of adjective to use; but I loved their dynamics along with Eddie Marson (Sherlock Holmes franchise, God’s Pocket), who played Hannah’s husband James. I thought the story and script were dynamite, both figuratively and literally. There was never a moment where I was not either washed over by various emotions or feeling on edge with the intensity of the scene. This DVD was a total surprise to me; in fact, afterwards when I looked online to see if this picture had received any recognition, I could not get over the long list of accolades. It is funny how this movie that dealt with anger could make me glad I saw it. A few scenes had blood and violence in them.
3 1/2 stars — DVD
Flash Movie Review: Do You Believe?
As I walk through the glass doors I am immediately aware my movements throughout the store are being tracked. It is okay, I really do not mind. I have my list and know where I can find each item. Though I am quick to get through the store, I do pause whenever I see a new product on the shelves or displayed at the end caps. You see I am a marketer’s dream consumer; I enjoy trying out new products. Sometimes when I am navigating through the store I feel like I am on a treasure hunt, searching for new discoveries in the food kingdom. I like trying new items if they fit into my food requirements. If I find something that I think is delicious, I immediately want to share it with other people; that is if I do not devour all of it on a weekend. Naw, I will go buy another package to share. However, I understand that things I think taste good someone else may think are horrible. I do not have a problem with that because it is nothing I take personally; we each like and dislike different things. Regarding my movie reviews you may notice I rarely will tell you what you should or should not do. I only let you know what affect the film had on me. There is no ulterior motive on my part and I take offense when a movie is made with an agenda like this one. FROM different backgrounds and places in their lives, a group of strangers each discover the same revelation on their own. Before reviewing this faith based picture I want to reiterate I am not commenting nor want to get into a discussion about religion; I consider that subject to be personal. As a story this dramatic film was completely predictable. It felt as if the writers took snippets from various television shows and pieced them together to make their story. I do not know if it was all the script’s fault or the actors were not on their “A” game but I found nothing good to say about any of them. Part of the cast included Mira Sorvino (The Replacement Killers, Mimic) as Samantha, Cybil Shepherd (The Last Picture Show, Moonlighting-TV) with no name, Lee Majors (The Six Million Dollar Man-TV, The Big Valley-TV) with no name and Sean Astin (The Lord of the Rings franchise, The Goonies) as Dr. Farell. The story was hokey to me and it was obvious this film was made for a select audience. I was offended on some levels, especially due to the stereotyping of thugs being Black and the single pregnant female being ethnic, possibly Hispanic. This was a waste of my time, not for my tastes.
1 1/2 stars
Flash Movie Review: ’71
It is amazing how quickly they know who to cull from the group. As their eyes narrow to focus on the fidgeting, meandering members of the group; their minds are already in “attack” mode. There are 2 ways they usually strike; one is to take off at full power, the other has them slowly creeping towards the pack. No matter which way they choose, they are confident most of the individual ones will back away from them to avoid getting involved and possibly attacked themselves. The sad thing about this story is it applies to both the animal kingdom and the human world. When I take public transportation I do not focus on my Ipod or phone; I remain aware of my surroundings. There have been times when an individual or small group of people enter the train car with the intentions of harassing a passenger. Whether they are drawing on experience or not, they know the other passengers usually ignore what they are doing or simply get up and change rail cars. It is a sad statement on society but even I know from experience there is strength in numbers. How many of you have witnessed a school fight? As the victim was getting beaten up, how many people tried to stop the fight? From what I remember there were more times than not when the bystanders were cheering the fight. BELFAST, Ireland during the 1970s was a center of conflict. When Gary Hook’s, played by Jack O’Connell (Unwanted, Starred Up), unit was attacked during a riot, he wound up being left behind. Hunted and shot at, this British soldier had very little time left if he wanted to escape with his life. This award winning action movie had an incredible chase scene that was utterly intense. The cast which included Richard Dormer (Mrs Henderson Presents, Good Vibrations) as Eamon, Sean Harris (Prometheus, Harry Brown) as Sandy Browning and Sam Reid (Belle, The Railway Man) as Lt. Armitage really captured the essence of the era. I will tell you I had a challenging time understanding some of the actors’ heavy accents. There was such a dark rawness to this dramatic thriller that it kept me attracted to the story even during the bloody violence. One of the things I appreciated most about this compelling picture was the fact it did not take sides of a well known hatred. It was a story about one man during one night which I found powerful. There certainly were aspects of that group mentality type of thinking about them vs us; but the script showed more layers to it. I still felt that similar type of dread like the kind I experienced in my past. There were scenes with blood and violence.
3 1/4 stars
Flash Movie Review: Run All Night
I have learned never agree or add my opinion to someone who is in the middle of a rant about someone close to them. Let them carry on with their derogatory remarks, their name calling and variety of colorful adjectives; unless you know the history those two share, it will be better to be the thoughtful supportive friend. Time after time I have seen where the individual says whatever they want about the person; but when someone else utters a disparaging word they will scold them, telling them not to talk that way about their friend or relative. In a way it is sort of comical to me. Though I have to tell you, the thing that really gets me is when newscasters are reporting on a suspected criminal and they interview a relative of the suspect. More times than not the relative will say something positive about the suspect, like he was a good boy or she always got good grades in school. First of all what does that have to do with the crime? I hope this does not sound judgmental but I cannot imagine what it must feel like for a parent who has a child that brings them heartbreak or trouble. Even when that is the situation, there still is some truth to that saying, “Blood is thicker than water.” Liam Neeson (The Grey, Taken franchise) played Jimmy Conlon, an infamous mob hit-man. When his estranged son Mike, played by Joel Kinnaman (Safe House, RoboCop), was targeted by childhood friend and mob boss Shawn Maguire’s, played by Ed Harris (The Abyss, Snowpiercer); son Danny, played by Boyd Holbrook (A Walk Among the Tombstones, Gone Girl); Jimmy had no choice but to protect his son. This action, crime drama had some well done chases and fight scenes. There was one particular chase scene that was intense and well orchestrated with excitement and thrills. Liam was not too different from his past tough guy with killer skill roles, though he was a little more broken with this character. To be honest I felt it has really run its course; it is time for Liam to do something different. Besides Liam the other heavyweight in this film was Ed’s character. I so wished the writers would have given the two more screen time together because it would have made this a better film. After a while I started to get bored with the same things happening over and over again. If the script had been stronger this could have helped Liam avoid what has now become another of his movies that had a disappointing opening box office weekend. There were scenes with violence and blood in them.
2 stars
Flash Movie Review: Kidnapping Mr. Heineken
She hung in the air without any wires or cables attached to her for an unimaginable long time. I stopped what I was doing to stare in amazement as she twisted and flipped her body around like an aerialist in a circus. When she finally landed on the ground, her two feet smacking the forgiving floor like suction cups, she raised her arms up in the air to a roar of applause. The newscasters were agitated with excitement as they repeated the words, “She did it! She did it!” They used her name to describe the move she had just performed because it was a brand new feat that no one had ever performed before. I happened to be channel surfing on the television and came upon her performance during a gymnastics competition. It was pretty spectacular I have to say and now anyone who uses that move in their gymnastics routine will always have it referred to as her move. It brought back a memory I had of the ice skater Dorothy Hamill when she first performed her signature move that is now and forever called the Hamill Camel. When I first got into aerobics I had dreams of branding my style because I used to choreograph every single move to the music I played in class. I thought it would be so cool to be known for something I was the first to do. BASED on a true story Cor Van Hout, Willem Holleeder and Jan “Cat” Boellard; played by Jim Sturgess (Cloud Atlas, One Day), Sam Worthington (Cake, Sabotage) and Ryan Kwanten (True Blood-TV, Mystery Road); decided they were going to do something that would change their lives forever. They were going to kidnap and hold for ransom Alfred “Freddy” Heineken, played by Anthony Hopkins (Hitchcock, The Wolfman), the head of the Heineken beer empire. No kidnapers had ever asked for such an astronomical amount of money before. This action, crime drama depicted the inside doings of this unbelievable plan. The best thing about this movie was Anthony Hopkins, though the writers did not give him much to do. I thought the rest of the cast was okay but on a whole the story lacked intensity, so I never felt connected to the characters. Another reason I may have not been drawn totally into this film was seeing Anthony’s character, this incredibly wealthy individual, not having any security measures in place. Maybe I am paranoid, but someone with that type of wealth cannot just live like an average person on the street I would think. As for the action scenes they had some excitement but I found the editing to be choppy. Maybe one was supposed to have a couple of beers before seeing this film.
2 stars
Flash Movie Review: Maps to the Stars
With their arms stretched to their maximum length, they are yelling out the names of the celebrities walking past them. Though they are not close enough to touch; just a turn of the head, a slight nod, a smile or the ultimate acknowledgement–a wave of the hand, will make the bond between them complete. However, that connection is only in the spectator’s mind. Now you would think with my love of movies i would be right in the middle of that crowd, jostling my way to the front to catch the eye of a movie star, but you would be wrong. I absolutely want to be at the event, but do not see celebrities as demigods walking the planet. They are humans with bodies that function the same and are similar to anyone else. The rise in people’s fascination with celebrity/reality stars is something I find very odd. I do not understand why anyone would care about the mundane occurrences of essentially a stranger’s life. The thing that I find the most offensive are these “stars” who feel they need to bestow upon us their advice on what or how we should live our lives. Sorry but in my book just because someone has money doesn’t give them the right to tell me what I should or should not be doing. You cannot equate wealth with intelligence. In fact, there are many celebrities or wannabes who are filled with ugliness inside. FROM all appearances Dr. Stafford and Christina Weiss, played by John Cusak (The Raven, High Fidelity) and Olivia Williams (An Education, Seventh Son), looked like a successful couple. With him being a best selling author and her managing the acting career of their son Benje, played by Evan Bird (Chained, The Killing-TV), it would be hard to imagine they had any problems. This film festival wining drama directed by David Cronenberg (Cosmopolis, A History of Violence) had an incredible cast that also included Mia Wasikowska (Jane Eyre, Alice in Wonderland) as Agatha and Julianne Moore (Still Alice, Non-Stop) playing Havana Segrand which she won at Cannes for best actress. The story showed how deep ugliness grows even in some of the most recognizable celebrities. I enjoyed the way the scenes moved from one character’s plight to another. Though the acting was wonderful there were parts of the film that did not gel for me. It almost felt as if there was not enough drive with the characters, becoming similar to caricatures. The writers seemed to have worked harder to show the ugliness in the characters than their history. I felt disconnected at times, similar to when I see celebrities in the news doing dumb things. There were a couple of brief scenes with blood in them.
2 1/2 stars
