Category Archives: Thriller
Thriller
Flash Movie Review: Silent Night
I MAY HAVE MENTIONED A LONG time ago one among the many things that motivated me to lose weight was a pair of bell-bottomed pants. Seems strange when I see that statement down on print, but it was true. Bell bottoms became a fashion trend when I was in elementary school; everyone, both girls and boys, wore them. I was not able to because they did not come in my waist size. It was one of those life events that influenced me because it was then I realized my excess weight made me different from the other kids. It did not matter there were other kids bigger than me; I took it personally as if the pants manufacturing companies were picking on me. Because I desperately wanted a pair, I started dieting. Granted there were many other reasons such as being called a variety of names by the bullies of the school and the humiliation of the yearly weigh-in at the first gym class of the new school year that could have been used for motivation. All of this deeply affected me to the point I decided to do something about it and began to diet. I still remember how I would eat cottage cheese for breakfast and chicken bouillon soup with oyster crackers for lunch. I cut out desserts and after a few months maintaining this way of eating, I was rewarded by receiving a pair of blue bell-bottomed pants. OUTSIDE INFLUENCES CERTAINLY CAN BE STRONG motivators as you can see. For me it was a sense of peer pressure and peer abuse that made me change my eating habits. However, I must say I have found motivation in my dreams and vision of what kind of life I wished to live. Teaching aerobics came about because of my love of music. I took that love and choreographed a variety of moves into a routine to each song I played in class. A friend of mine could not stand to be alone with herself so she quickly found someone and married them in a matter of a couple of months. This may not have been the healthiest choice to rectify the situation. The point being, she was determined to take matters into her own hands and force her way to a marriage. One never knows what is in store for them that triggers such a strong response; outside factors mixed in with one’s emotions can truly become a powerful event. Though it might be tough for some viewers to watch, this action thriller directed by John Woo (Red Cliff franchise, Face/Off) shows what a person can do when they experience a strong outside factor. WHEN HIS SON WAS KILLED IN the crossfire between two rival gangs, the little boy’s father begins a path that will avenge his son’s needless death. With Joel Kinnaman (RoboCop, The Suicide Squad) as Brian Godlock, Catalina Sandino Moreno (A Most Violet Year, Marie Full of Grace) as Saya, Kid Cudi (Need for Speed, House Party) as Vassell, Harold Torres (Memory, Run Coyote Run-TV) as Playa and Vinny O’Brien (Stoker Hills, Jexi) as Anthony Barello Esq.; this violent and bloody film took me by surprise because there was no dialog in the movie. I appreciated the premise of the story, but I thought the execution of it was too slow paced. For the first half of the picture, I noticed I was getting bored. If one does not use dialog, then the actors must be able to communicate with their faces and that was the issue I had with the movie. Joel, I felt, did not effectively communicate with his facial expressions. The action when it finally came, was intense and as I said earlier, violent and bloody. There also was a sense of non-believability in several scenes. By the time the film ended, I was left with a sense of emptiness, no feelings either way which I bet I could convey without saying a word out loud.
2 stars
Flash Movie Review: Meg 2: The Trench
TO ME, ENTREES ARE SIMPLY THE vehicles that get me to desserts. I always like to say I want to have something sweet as the last thing I taste at a meal. I have always been like this, even when I was a small boy. In fact, there were many times I would avoid eating everything on my plate so I would have room to eat dessert. Gratefully for me, I made changes to my eating habits so I would not stuff myself with sweets after lunch or dinner and gain hundreds of pounds. It is funny, if it is homemade desserts, I can chow down on them. If they are store bought, I have better self-control. However, as I have gotten older that idiom, “too much of a good thing” has come into play. These days if I overeat too much sugar, I feel lethargic and heavy, not to mention feeling guilty. I do not know what it is about homemade sweets, but if I love them on first bite you can rest assured, I will go for more of it. There is a way that works for me on how to control my urge to overeat on desserts. If possible, I will freeze dessert items, then slowly dole them out to myself throughout the weeks. This way I won’t find myself getting ill from eating so much of a good thing. MY PHILOSOPHY OF TOO MUCH OF a good thing, is not good for you covers more than eating desserts. I recently discovered a supplement I was taking twice a day was the reason for my stomach issues. In my brain, I thought if I took more of the product, I would feel better faster; it turns out that was not the case. Since I stopped doubling the dose, I have been feeling much better. Another area I noticed where moderation could come in handy is the application of people’s makeup. I have seen individuals with so much makeup on their face that you can see where it cracks from their expressions. I know this is my personal taste, but I am also not a fan of houses that are decorated with an overabundance of holiday items. Do not get me wrong, I am on board when the decorations are within a theme; however, when there appears to be no rhyme or reason to how the decorations are placed on the lawn, the house, the surrounding trees/bushes and garages, it looks like a mess to me, and things just get loss in the mass of a glowing aura around the property. To sum up, all that I am saying is it is not necessarily a good thing to have so much more of something that it loses its distinctiveness. It certainly was the case in this action, adventure horror film. WHILE ON AN EXPEDITION AT THE bottom of the ocean, a research team discovers an unknown mining operation wreaking havoc with nature’s boundaries. What ensues could tip the balance of power in nature’s pecking order. With Jason Statham (Wrath of Man, Wild Card) as Jonas Taylor, Jing Wu (Wolf Warrior franchise, The Wandering Earth) as Jiuming Zhang, Shuya Sophia Cai (Somewhere Only We Know, The Meg) as Meiying, Cliff Curtis (Doctor Sleep, Risen) as Mac and Page Kennedy (Bad Roomies, The Upshaws-TV) as OJ; this film took what was in the original movie and supersized everything. I will say there were some exciting action sequences and a few thrills; but overall, I found the script a clumsy mess. The dialog was stunted, and it had a formulaic plot. For Jason, this picture was geared to him; it was loaded with a bunch of action scenes. For me, I would have preferred more depth and variation in the story and scenes. This is one fish fry that you might want to miss.
1 ¾ stars
Flash Movie Review: The Covenant
WHEN WE WERE KIDS, WE WERE always changing the rules while playing a game. Of course, they were changed only if everyone agreed. I remember one game we played, a trivia based one, where the answer had to be the famous person’s last name. We decided to make it easier by allowing the use of the person’s first name, if we could not remember their last name. Think about the made-up games many of us did when we were children; the rules were never set in stone, going through revision after revision until we were pleased with the outcome. As I got older, I noticed how important it became for some individuals to be the winner of the game. I was never competitive in a game, except with myself. It was more important to me to improve my game than trying to beat someone else who was playing it. Being my own worse critic, I had plenty of drive inside of me to get better. Nowadays, I am bit more relaxed about it; however, there are certain people I refuse to play with because they are so extreme. They yell at teammates if they do not make the right move/play and they are always trying to stretch the rules to their advantage. I am a rule follower and to play a game with someone involves a certain level of trust. One cannot suddenly change the rules to suit their needs. THERE IS ANOTHER REASON WHY I am selective when it comes to who I will play with for a game. I have been at some game night events where it becomes too cliquish for me. Certain players secretly make alliances with other players; others make promises but then renege on them. I am not comfortable getting involved with people who do this; I do not find them trustworthy which leads to me not having a good time with them. I have said this many times; the one thing that every human being can offer to another is their word. Giving your word is sacred. I cannot tell you how annoying and disappointing it is for me when someone tells me they are going to do something but then does not do it. I would rather they just never said a word about it and kept it to themselves. I sort of feel like some people feel if they just talk about doing something it is enough to make the people, they are telling it to, to feel good; trust me, it does not. You can see for yourself in this dramatic, action thriller. DURING THE WAR IN AFGHANISTAN, A soldier and his local interpreter find themselves struggling to escape the clutches of the encroaching Taliban fighters. If ever there was a need for trust, this would be the time. With Jake Gyllenhaal (Ambulance, The Guilty) as Master Sergeant John Kinley, Dar Salim (The Devil’s Double, Loving Adults) as Ahmed, Sean Sagar (Blue Story, Our Girl-TV) as Charlie “Jizzy” Crow, Jason Wong (The Gentlemen, Panic) as Joshua “JJ” Jung and Rhys Yates (Bloodyminded, Unforgotten-TV) as Tom “Tom Cat” Hancock; this film directed by Guy Ritchie was extremely intense with heart stopping fight scenes. I thought everyone in the cast was exceptional, especially Jake and Dar. Jake’s specialty in my opinion is his ability to display such intensity in his characters and in here he does not disappoint. The action was steady throughout and the script kept things tightly moving forward. I do not know if the story was based/inspired by true events, but I could easily see how it could be possible. From beginning to end I was engaged with the story and was even a little exhausted when it was over.
3 ½ stars
Flash Movie Review: The Equalizer 3
LAST WEEK WE WENT TO ONE of our favorite restaurants for dinner. Anyone we have taken there has agreed with us on how good everything is from food to service. After we were settled at our table, a family with two small children came in and were seated next to us. One child was in a highchair and the other one in a regular seat, though the table’s edge almost came up to his chest. I did not pay much attention to them except when the little boy was fussing and whining. Our waitress also handled their table and took their order right after ours. As a result, both of us received our dinner close together. I point this out because once the food arrived, I did not pay any mind to what was going on at their table, except to notice for two adults and two children they seemed to have ordered a lot of food. Views of the two kids were blocked by the people at our table and it was a good thing. They had finished and left before we did; I noticed the waitress was standing near their table and looking down at the floor. I leaned over just enough to see the unbelievable mess that the family left on the table and floor. It was disgusting and more so because I did not recall them moving over to try cleaning up the scraps of food strewn everywhere. It was disrespectful in my opinion; I get annoyed when people do not pick up after themselves in a public place. I ENCOUNTERED SOMETHING SIMILAR ON my recent vacation. Here I was at a significant, iconic religious building and on the side of it someone had spraypainted graffiti. If that was not bad enough, after climbing up inside to the top of the building’s dome and walking out into the open, there was graffiti and people’s initials written along the walls. It was beyond disrespectful, simply appalling. Sadly, many places I visited in this international city had some type of markings and/or graffiti on its buildings. It felt like the city was being hijacked by these perpetrators. I was there to soak in the beauty and history of the place, and it seemed everywhere I was looking, I would find some type of markings or tags sprawled somewhere around a structure. I found all of it nearly incomprehensible; if I lived there and was in a position of authority, I would want to arrest the offenders and make them clean up their work. Because of this experience, I absolutely understood where the main character was coming from when he saw what was happening to the lovely town, he was residing in. AFTER RECEIVING THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS and settling into the idyllic town he found himself in, a former government assassin decided he must do something about the changes that were being forced on the townspeople. With Denzel Washington (The Book of Eli, The Tragedy of Macbeth) as Robert McCall, Dakota Fanning (The Secret Life of Bees, Man on Fire) as Emma Collins, Eugenio Mastrandrea (From Scratch-TV, La fuggitiva-TV) as Gio Bonucci, David Denman (13 Hours, Brightburn) as Frank Conroy and Gaia Scodellaro (Watch Them Fall; You, Me and the Apocalypse-TV) as Aminah; this latest installment in the action, crime thriller franchise had the perfect mix of drama and action. It did start out a little slow, but as the story unfolded it drew me in. I also have to say because I was just recently in the same areas on vacation; I absolutely loved the outdoor scenes of Italy. It seemed as if the action in this latest installment was boosted because there were many scenes of blood and violence. It was in a similar vein to the John Wick franchises’ type of violence. But because I loved the scenery and thought both Denzel and Dakota did such a good job, the violence did not distract from the competent and engaging script.
3 stars
Flash Movie Review: Hypnotic
I TEND TO BE SKEPTICAL BY nature. This may have come about from having experienced trust issues in the past. The bottom line though, is I do not always accept what has been presented before me. Case in point, on my recent trip we visited a palace from the Ottoman empire. Because the area had been the sight of several conflicts where they were victorious for part of them, they wound up as the protectors of a collection of ancient artifacts. We entered the building and all around us were glass cases filled with an array of different items. In one case on display was Moses’ staff. Of course, I took a photo of it as soon as it was possible; however, as I stood there looking at it, I had to question if this was real. I would have expected the staff, after all these centuries, to be in some form of decay. Let us face it, it was made of wood and to the naked eye it looked too new to have come from Moses’ time. With a reddish-brown color, there was a dull shine bouncing off it, as if it had been waxed or polished. It just did not look real to me, yet there it was propped up in its glass case with a multi-language label affixed to the front of the case. There were other items in this room where I had to question their authenticity. AS WE MADE OUR WAY THROUGH the displays, we encountered several individuals who stood quietly in front of cases and prayed. I absolutely accepted their belief that the item was real, but when I came up to see the item they were praying at, I could not believe that this strand of hair from an ancient religious leader’s head survived all these centuries; let alone, that someone back then had the fortitude to take and keep the strand of hair, then have it passed down from generation to generation. It was too hard to process such a concept. Maybe my feelings are tied in with how I establish trust. It is something I just do not hand out; it must be earned. For example, I met the sibling of a friend of mine. On the surface they were sweet but there was something about them that sent up a red flag in my mind. As it turned out this sibling had promised to give my friend their portion of an estate that was in probate due to the death of the owner. It did not happen; the sibling kept saying there was little cash, yet they suddenly were planning elaborate vacation destinations. It goes to show you, do not always trust what you see and/or hear. This was an issue that was plaguing the main character in this action, mystery thriller. WHILE INVESTIGATING A SERIES OF BANK heists, a detective discovers a clue about his young daughter who went missing a few years prior. His investigation would lead him to a plot that included a government agency. With Ben Affleck (Air, The Tender Bar) as Detective Danny Rourke, Alice Braga (Repo Man, The New Mutants) as Diana Cruz, JD Pardo (A Cinderella Story, Mayans M.C.-TV) as Randy Nicks, William Fichtner (The Space Between, Black Hawk Down) as Lev Dellrayne and Dayo Okeniyi (Rise, Shades of Blue-TV) as River; this movie had a familiar vibe to me for some reason. It reminded me of a poor man’s version of the film Inception. I had a hard time following the story, though I was intrigued with it. More so because the locations where the story takes place were areas where I had visited recently. The scenery was incredible. I enjoyed Ben’s and Alice’s characters individually; it was a shame they did not have any chemistry between them. There were some scenes that did not make any sense to me and after a while, I stopped trying to figure things out and just let the action play out. Sadly, this film did not hypnotize me. There were extra scenes during the ending credits.
2 stars
Flash Movie Review: The Pope’s Exorcist
WHEN I ENCOUNTERED A BULLY DURING my school years, I would always wonder how their parents could allow such behavior in their child. I did not understand those individuals who abused others until I got older and discovered many abusers were abused themselves. Maybe I was naïve; but any act of meanness I saw on display, I attributed it to poor parenting. Or to be more exact, having mean parents. In some cases, I was correct; however, there were some instances where the level of meanness was so intense that I could not comprehend parents being at such a level. There was a student in one of my classes in elementary school who took pleasure in torturing animals. I still remember when he set fire to a cat’s tail and watched the cat scamper around before it was consumed completely by the flames. It was after school hours, and I only came upon him when I was cutting through the alley to get to a food market. Having seen how much pleasure he took in watching the cat suffer, I never went near him throughout the rest of the school year. Because I was so young, I could not comprehend how two adults could create such an evil child. It was because of that act that I started believing some people were just born evil. IT WAS NOT UNTIL HIGH SCHOOL, when I came to the belief that everyone was born with good and evil in them; they had the free will to decide which they wanted to become. Some students maintained an optimistic attitude about certain individuals, giving them the benefit of the doubt. High school killed that process for me; the things I saw were nothing more than pure meanness. There were a couple of boys who had gym class with me, and they were just awful. They took such pleasure in picking on a mentally challenged classmate, it was horrific to see. One of the things they liked to do was throw a basketball at the boy to try and knock him down or at least into a wall. The students who witnessed this would always laugh along with these two boys. I always wondered if they found such a horrible act funny or were afraid not to laugh because it could have set them up to be the next target. There were many days I dreaded having to go to gym class. From my past experiences and the knowledge, I have acquired, I am open to other suggestions on the origin of a person’s evilness. This horror thriller film does present a possible reason. UNDER THE DIRECT AUTHORITY OF THE pope, Father Gabriel Amorth’s, played by Russell Crowe (A Beautiful Mind, Boy Erased), position is to investigate incidents of demonic possession. His latest case would unearth a deep dark secret that he might never come back from. With Daniel Zovatta (Don’t Breathe, Station Eleven-TV) as Father Esquibel, Alex Essoe (Doctor Sleep, The Edge of Sleep-TV) as Julia, Franco Nero (Django Unchained, John Wick: Chapter 2) as The Pope and newcomer Peter DeSouza-Feighoney as Henry; this story inspired by the files of Father Amorth earned a passing grade because of Russell Crowe. He was excellent in the role, trying to keep the story from falling into a generic typical exorcist plot. The pacing was a bit uneven; I felt there could have been a tighter focus on creating a more terrifying scene. At one point, it felt like the writers and director went on automatic because scenes seemed to be like previous ones. If it was not for Russell’s performance, I would have gotten bored, despite me enjoying the wonderful sets and props. Having no knowledge about Father Amorth and having now seen this film, I am curious to hear about some of his other cases.
2 1/2 stars
Flash Movie Review: Heart of Stone
EVER SINCE I SAW DICK TRACY talk into his watch, I have always been attracted to new technologies. That does not mean I immediately jump on the latest bandwagon of some new high-tech device or application; I just marvel at its creation and the thought process behind it. Another aspect that I find so curious is how imaginary objects in movies, television shows, comic strips, and books turn into real items that all of us benefit from or at least use in our lives. Did you ever imagine the communicators and earpieces from Star Trek would become the flip phone/iPhone and Air pods of today? Even Dick Tracy’s wristwatch became a viable device many of us use daily. I have asked my wristwatch for the weather and to remind me of an appointment; the technology simply amazes me. Just recently, I was able to witness an unmanned automobile turn on and back out of a parking space. Besides the shock of seeing it, I also immediately thought of KITT, the talking car that did a whole lot more, from the old television show Knight Rider. It makes me wonder if the people involved with creating these new devices found their inspiration in these fictional items from various mediums. I BELIEVE IT HAS ONLY BEEN a short time where we now are hearing about A.I., artificial intelligence. From what I have seen or read about it, there are opposing views on whether it can or cannot benefit mankind. I may have just experienced interacting with it when I notified my charge card issuer that I would be traveling out of the country. The voice that communicated with me was artificial but quick to respond to my queries. I was leery while talking back and forth with the voice. For me, I think it is a trust issue; when I ended the call I was wondering if the company would follow through on updating my account. When I think about it, I feel my trust issues formed after I saw the Matrix movies. Memories of the evil version of the robot from Lost in Space and HAL from 2001: A Space Odyessy, influenced me to have a negative or better yet, cautious attitude about artificial intelligence. Could there ever be a time where humans are no longer needed except to maintain the computers involved with these artificial “beings?” I admit, I am wary about the advances that are taking place for A.I. or any new technology, though I can see the benefits of it sometimes. This action, crime thriller, does not offer me any comfort in these regards. PRETENDING SHE IS STRICTLY A TECHIE, a secret operative from a top-secret agency finds herself in a position to save her co-workers’ lives. To do so, would mean she would have to reveal her true identity, if the evil hacker does not do it first. With Gal Gadot (Death on the Nile, Wonder Woman franchise) as Rachel Stone, Jamie Dornan (A Private War, Belfast) as Parker, Alia Bhatt (Gully Boy, Highway) as Keya Dhawan, Jing Lusi (Crazy Rich Asians, Lucky Man-TV) as Yang and Paul Ready (The Dig, Motherland-TV) as Bailey; this film began with an intense opening scene that put me in the mood to be excited. However, from that point on the story became quite predictable to the point the excitement wore off. Fight scenes were well orchestrated, and Gal did a great job; however, there were multiple scenes that did not make any sense. This picture really wanted to be a kick-off to a new franchise, but the whole viewing experience felt like an “also ran.” Many other films took the same type of story line and did a better job with it. At least the scenery from the various locales was pretty to look at and hopefully they were real.
1 ¾ stars
Flash Movie Review: Talk to Me
I HAVE ALWAYS SAID IT IS easier to say goodbye to a loved one who had been suffering for a long duration than to one who suddenly expires. Seeing a healthy, vibrant person waste away from illness is heartbreaking. On top of it, the person witnessing it feels so helpless. Burned into my memories is the image of a loved one lying in a hospital bed. What used to be thick wavy hair that surrounded their head like a halo, was thin and short as if it were the remains of an electrical flashfire. Their eyes had sunken deeper into their head to the point where they looked like two plastic button eyes from an old, worn stuffed animal toy. I could not get over how their face looked, like all the blood had been drained from it and now it was just a thin veil over the skull of their head. All I could offer them was the ice chips in a cup that were sitting on the portable table pressed up to the side of their hospital bed. I will be honest with you; while looking at them and they were suffering, I thought to myself it would be better to be done with living this life than going through the obvious pain. From that experience, my beliefs became firm that no one should have to endure such suffering. There was a sense of relief when their life had ended. I CANNOT SAY THE SAME FOR a friend of mine. Some years ago, they had a friend who ended their life. My friend did not find out until a relative of the deceased contacted them to let them know. You can imagine the shock of getting such news. They were stunned and this was before they found out the death was self-inflicted. Here their friend was living a good life, with a good job, traveling, going to dinners and concerts; and the next minute, they were gone. The whole thing was tragic, and I felt sad for both. My friend’s sadness and shock soon turned into anger. There was no inkling and as far as they knew, there was no reason they could see that would warrant the ending of life. I accompanied them to the funeral, and it was extremely sad; everyone had this blank look on their faces with a veneer of sadness. What does one say in such a situation except to say sorry for your loss. And even to this day, my friend can get a twinge of anger and hurt when they think of their deceased friend ending their life. Having been a witness to both of these death events, helped me understand the main character’s desire in this mystery, horror thriller. WHEN A GROUP OF FRIENDS BEGIN dabbling with contacting the dead, one friend wants to delve longer into it to find her mother. With Ari McCarthy (Heartbreak High-TV, Deadlock-TV) as Cole, Sophie Wilde (The Portable Door, Eden-TV) as Mia, Sarah Brokensha (Angela’s Decision, Rabbit) as Fiona, Joe Bird (First Day-TV, Rabbit) as Riley and Hamish Phillips (The Pack) as Tyson; this movie surprised me because I enjoyed it. As some of you know horror is not my favorite genre; however, the script and direction in this film captivated me. There was not the usual scary music to let the viewer know something horrible was about to happen; instead, the story unfolded in a way to show the friends living their daily lives. A few scenes did have blood in them, but it was not done in such a way to make me squirm. I thought the twists and turns embedded into the script were smart moves; though I thought the first half of the film was stronger than the last. The writers, I have to say, did a good job of making the story stay more in a reality base than turning it into an extreme horror fantasy. Plus, I loved the ending of the movie.
3 stars
Flash Movie Review: Hidden Strike
A COUPLE OF MY FAVORITE INGREDIENTS for a dessert are chocolate and butter. Rarely have I come across a dessert with these two items included that was not delicious. The chocolate can be in the form of cocoa powder, chips, syrup, pudding or even crushed chocolate sandwich cookies. Those who know me know the dessert is the most important part of dinner. I do not want to say the entrée is just a formality to get to the dessert, but it comes close. Since I was a small boy, I always enjoyed having something sweet to eat after dinner. Chocolate has always been my “go to” food after a meal, but that does not mean I do not like other flavors. Being a texture and visual eater, I love the combination of flavors and texture. For example, I prefer brownies with nuts in them because I like having a bit of crunch when I am chewing. The same goes with chocolate chips. A good chocolate ice cream with chocolate chips is heavenly. There just are certain pairings that make perfect sense, whether they are familiar or something brand new; it just tastes damn good is all I can say. THE IDEA OF PAIRING IS NOT solely something for desserts. The first thing that comes to mind are the Bob Hope and Bing Crosby road movies, like Road to Bali and Road to Rio. With one being the comedian and the other the straight man, they made a great pair. Another pairing that worked was Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis; they did several movies together besides doing stand-up comedy. One of my earliest memories was seeing an old black and white film with Katherine Hepburn and Cary Grant called Bringing Up Baby. There was something about that film that grabbed my attention. Maybe it was the interaction between the two movie stars or the antics that took place; but the memory of it has stayed with my all these years. When you get two celebrities together and it is obvious there is a connection between them that works, it usually has been encouraged by their management teams and/or film studios. One can see it is a winning formula all the way around because studios still try to pair up different actors for a movie project. Just look at the film franchise, The Expendables. Getting a group of Type A personality types in one room can always provide hours of entertainment. This is one of the reasons why I was intrigued to see this action, adventure comedy because of its pairing of two action stars from different genres. WHEN A GROUP OF EMPLOYEES HE was escorting safely out of the country gets ambushed, a special forces soldier finds himself in the unusual position of working with someone who had similar training to himself but uses it for a different purpose. Can the two ever find a way to work together to get the kidnapped crew back? With John Cena (Vacation Friends, 12 Rounds) as Chris Van Horne, Jackie Chan (Rush Hour franchise, Iron Mask) as Luo Fang, Pilou Asbaek (Game of Thrones-TV, A Hijacking) as Owen Paddock, Rachel Holoway (Momentum, Ransom’s Law-TV) as Raider and Amadeus Serafini (Smiley Face Killers, Scream: The TV Series) as Henry Van Horne; my other curiosity was seeing if Jackie Chan’s character would be up to Jackie’s past fighting mode. The answer is yes, but it doesn’t look like Jackie did much if any of his physical demanding stunts. This was only one of many disappointments, I am afraid to say. I found the story to be a generic blueprint for these types of films where the hero must try to get someone/something out of a hostile territory while the villain tries to stop them. With a predictable script and poor special effects, this is a throwaway film. In other words, if you have nothing else to do then go ahead and watch it before you toss it away physically and/or mentally. Sadly, this was a forgettable pairing. There were outtakes during the ending credits.
1 ½ stars
Flash Movie Review: Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
THERE WERE SEVERAL TIMES DURING THE wedding where I was struck by nostalgic waves of a time from years ago. The wedding was beautiful, and my first sense of nostalgia was when I entered the venue. A man was seated by a baby grand piano, playing a variety of classic songs. Sitting on top were several framed photos of the wedding couple’s deceased parents. Seeing how the parents were dressed reminded me of a celebratory time when my family and I were attending a relative’s wedding and we were all dressed up. I was wearing a new suit and it was the first time I got to wear a tie with it; granted, it was one of those ready-made ties that clip onto the shirt. In attendance at the wedding, were many relatives of mine. Being together was a comforting feeling. For the ones that were close in age to me, there was a long history of us sticking together and sitting at the same table during meals. We talked about when we were kids and had to sit at the “kid’s table” away from the main dining table. Usually, one aunt or uncle would keep tabs on us to make sure we were behaving and eating the food on our plates. AFTER DINNER AT THE WEDDING RECEPTION, there were several events planned by the wedded couple. One of them was a family photo. I cannot describe the feelings I got when the DJ called up all the family members to the dance floor for a group photo. With the photographer and his assistant getting everyone arranged to be visible, showing off their best side, I was teleported back in time at an earlier staging for a family photo. Looking around at the relatives standing next to me, I could see and remember how they looked when we were all much younger. The feeling was incredible. I even remember one of the family photos we all sat in, I was seated on the floor, and I was the only one who was not smiling. In fact, I looked miserable as if I had been crying. Right after the photographer took the picture, I was taken home and a doctor was called to the house. It turned out I had strep throat and to this day, I remember how awful it felt. That photo that was taken hangs on the wall in the hallway of our home. Though I was sick, the memories and nostalgic feelings I had being around a familiar family outweighed any negative feelings about being ill. This same type of nostalgic feeling was strong through me as I was experiencing it multiple times throughout this action-adventure movie. DESPITE BEING OF RETIREMENT AGE, ARCHAEOLOGIST Indiana Jones, played by Harrison Ford (The Call of the Wild, Ender’s Game), must travel the world to reach a legendary artifact before it falls into the wrong hands and changes the course of history. With Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Goodbye Christopher Robin, Fleabag-TV) as Helena, Antonio Banderas (The Skin I Live in, The Laundromat) as Renaldo, Karen Allen (Year by the Sea, Starman) as Marion and Mads Mikkelsen (Another Round, Doctor Strange) as Dr. Voller; this latest installment of the film franchise did not have the sharp humor and directorial prowess of Steven Spielberg; however, it did provide a ton of thrills and action sequences. The first 20 minutes were exhilarating and after that the story went from one chase scene to another to another to another. It got to be too repetitive for me; gratefully they were well choreographed and several of them had sly references to the earlier films. Ultimately, if you are a fan of this franchise then you will enjoy this one. Besides Harrison and Mads being perfect, the nostalgic factor was too big for me not to like it.
3 stars
moviejoltz 