Flash Movie Review: Cemetery Junction
It must be some type of precise formula where everything has to be exact down to the tiniest millimeter. I have always wondered if there was one factor that outweighed all the others but I never could find an answer. How does one overcome the norm when there is not an example to show them the way? And when I say factors I am talking about things like support, encouragement and self-confidence. One example that comes to mind is the transformation in the work force. Years ago when a person found a job they stayed with it forever. It was almost like a badge of honor to say, “I’ve been with the company for 30 years.” Currently it is surprising for an employee to stay longer than 3-5 years at one company. I know people who think nothing of living in a place for a while then picking up and moving across country; I am not wired to do such a thing. Granted I admire individuals who blaze a new path, so to speak; however, my mind is not wired to handle dramatic changes in my life, at least well. I know it is easier when someone has an example they can use as a blueprint; but it occurs to me, the examples I had in my life were of the negative type. I have learned things by witnessing how not to do them. How crazy is that? At a company I worked at years ago I had to open up the mail every day. The owner used the business address for his personal mail. I remember one day opening up an envelope that contained a $25,000.00 dividend check for stock he owned in a public company. I was stunned since I had no knowledge about stocks and bonds back then. All I could think about was how cool it must have been to get that size check quarterly; it was enough to retire on. That one example pushed me to learn more about stocks and make a difference in my savings plan. Though I was not confident or encouraged to move into stocks, there was something inside of me that pushed me to take a leap of faith. Not even a leap of faith would have helped me in this movie. GROWING up in the small town of Century Junction Freddie Taylor, played by Christian Cooke (Romeo & Juliet, Where the Heart Is-TV), did not want to wind up like everyone else. He wanted something more. This film festival nominated comedic drama had a competent cast that included Ralph Fiennes (Harry Potter franchise, A Bigger Splash) as Mr. Kendrick, Ricky Gervais (The Invention of Lying, Ghost Town) as Mr. Taylor and Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything, Like Crazy) as Julie. Set during the 1970s in England, I thought this film depicted the era perfectly. With this being a coming of age story I did not find anything different to surprise me. There were some scenes that went well and one could tell Ricky Gervais was one of the writers. What kept my interest actually were the actors and their characters. All I can say is I took a risk with getting this DVD and it did not completely pan out.
2 1/3 stars — DVD
Flash Movie Review: Older Than Ireland
If I need proof to substantiate my belief that age is only a state of mind, I only need to look around me. I truly believe a person who thinks they are old will become old. The saying “act your age” is a double edged sword as far as I am concerned. No one should have influence over another person, telling them how to act; at least that is my way of thinking. The obvious place where I see multiple examples of age only being a state of mind is at the fitness centers where I teach. There is a member who participates in one of my cycle classes that is in their 80s; you would never know just by looking at them. Someone who used to take one of my aerobic classes I still see at the club; they are currently 90 years old and still work out in the swimming pool. Can you believe it? I admire so many people at the club and it re-enforces another of my beliefs: use it or lose it. Even if I did not have the examples from the fitness centers, I had a neighbor who was in her 90s that would still climb up a ladder every year to clean out the gutters of her house. The physical marvel alone would be enough for me but to hear these people’s history is such a treat. Presently I have a neighbor who has been involved with a city organization for over 60 years. Hearing her stories about the place with its evolutions has provided me with insight on how the city has grown. It is like having a live history book living next to me. Though I have heard second hand stories that originated from century old individuals, I have never actually been around centenarians. This documentary is the next best thing. WRITER and director Alex Tegan (The Irish Pub, Mad Made Men) developed this film around a group of elderly individuals from Ireland who all were at least 100 years old. Their history could fill a book. I had not heard or seen anything about this sweet, charming movie; it was an email from a friend who told me I had to go down into the city to see it playing at only one theater. It was worth the trip for I was fascinated by the amount of people interviewed who were over 100 years old and especially the ones who appeared to still be living independently. Take a moment and just imagine the amount of history all of these seniors have seen. There may be some viewers who may lose a bit of interest since the film essentially is a series of interviews. I found it amusing that subtitles were included with the conversations but I was glad; some of the individuals were hard for me to understand. It was fascinating listening to the variety of topics the people chose to talk about. After sitting through this picture one of the things I wanted to know was what factors contributed to the long lives of these incredible people. Where can I find their fountain of youth?
3 ½ stars
Flash Movie Review: Central Intelligence
From acts of kindness heroes are born. Some heroes may reach mythical proportions in the minds of the recipients. For me it was that classmate in kindergarten who taught me, the only left-handed student in class, how to properly cut paper with a pair of scissors. For the rest of my elementary school years that student could do no wrong in my eyes. In turn, it was not until years after high school I discovered a kindness I showed a fellow student had an effect on them. I know from personal experience when the act of kindness fights its way through the terror of the moment it can be monumental. It was during a P.E. class and the boys were changing in the locker room. There was this one boy who was a target for a group of bullies. I do not know if it was because he was short, quiet or did poorly in sports; but he got picked on a lot. One day one of the bullies decided to wait for the exact moment when this student was undressed before pouncing on him. The bully and his sidekicks came up from behind, pinning the boy’s arms back as they started dragging him away from his clothes hanging in the locker. One of the sidekicks ran ahead and opened a window as wide as it would go. The three hoisted the boy who was screaming and kicking up onto the window sill then pushed him out, only holding him by the arms. Hanging out the window without any clothes on, the frantic boy did not know some students had run to get the coach to come down into the locker room. Those students were not thinking about becoming heroes. YEARS after high school Calvin Joyner, played by Kevin Hart (The Wedding Ringer, Get Hard), received a Facebook friend request. It came from someone who had fond memories of Calvin when he was a student in high school. Calvin on the other hand had only one memory about this individual. This comedic crime film threw me for a loop due to one of its scenes; you will understand what I mean after seeing the film. I had to quickly regroup myself to focus on the movie. As some of you know I am sensitive whenever a bully is part of the story. The casting of Dwayne Johnson (San Andreas, Pain & Gain) as Bob Stone in this picture was a perfect choice. Besides his affable nature I have to tell you I was impressed with his comedic skills. Kevin was yet again the same type of character he has played in his past movies; but here I felt Dwayne outshined him. Rounding out the main cast was Danielle Nicolet (All-Stars, Third Rock from the Sun-TV) as Maggie and Amy Ryan (Escape Plan, Gone Baby Gone) as Pamela Harris. There were times where I laughed out loud; I enjoyed the make-up of the story more than its execution. I thought the script was simple and tailored for Kevin and Dwayne to the point that the writers expected the two actors would create the funny moments. The easy to follow story did not keep me interested; it was Bob Stone’s transformation from high school to adult life. Heroes certainly come in all sizes.
2 2/3 stars
Flash Movie Review: Finding Dory
The older I get the harder it is for me to remember the last time we were together. I at least remember where we met, it was in the city of Denver, I just cannot come up with the year. He met me at the airport; as I walked outside to the loading area, I saw them standing off to the side of the entrance. If I had not known he was coming to get me I might have overlooked him. He was an older version of the image I had of him in my mind. Perched now on his face were aviator style glasses, looking large on his oval shaped face. There was not a lot of hair on his head, but there never was to tell you the truth. However, what hair he still had now was all gray with wisps of white. Despite these changes as soon as we got in his car for the ride back to his house, it felt like very little time had passed since we last met. We picked up right where we left off as we talked about our families, jobs, health and everything else that was on our mind. This was the norm for our relationship presently since he moved to a different city. I felt fortunate that we were able to feel this continuation in our friendship despite the lack of time spent hanging out together. The funny thing about this is when we do finally meet up we are reminded how good it feels to share some time with each other. I felt the same way about this animated, adventure comedy. THIRTEEN years have passed and though afflicted with short term memory loss Dory, voiced by Ellen DeGeneres (The Love Letter, The Ellen Show), suddenly remembered she had a family. She had to find them. As I said just before I did not realize how much I missed Dory with Ellen’s incredible comedic timing. Along with Albert Brooks (Drive, Defending Your Life) as Marlin, Ed O’Neill (The Bone Collector, Married with Children-TV) as Hank and Kaitlin Olson (The Heat, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia-TV) as Destiny; many of the characters were memorable, aided by the magnificent visuals all around them. The weak link to this sequel was the script. I found the humor and drama did not have a lot of variance; there were only chuckles instead of laughs, with very few attention grabbing dramatic scenes. But what made this movie stand out was the way the writers addressed the characters with special needs. I thought this was a brilliant way to introduce children to the topic and showed it was not a scary or bad thing. Kudos to the writers for making this issue a part of the story. In spite of the few issues I had with the script, overall the film was well worth seeing on the big screen. Before the picture started there was a sweet, charming short film that I totally enjoyed. Then make sure you stay through the fun credits for the extra scene at the very end. After seeing Dory again I hope it will not be another 13 years before I see her again.
3 1/4 stars
Flash Movie Review: The Disappearance of Alice Creed
We had no choice we had to go up. I was not happy with the rented van; the sides of it had peeling paint and the tires looked too small to bear the weight of all the furniture we were going to pack up. My friend said he got a good deal on it so I kept quiet. It was still light out when we started our route up into the mountains but I have to tell you it was a slow ride. Whenever the road would be on the decline he would have to ride the brakes because the weight of the van plus gravity would push the truck down faster. A burning smell would appear in the cab; it came from the brakes that my friend said they felt like they were slipping. It was scary enough but adding in the lack of guardrails along the side of the roads only made me freak out more. All of this was a surprise to me since my friend had not given me much detail on how I was going to help him move. Because of our slow passage through the mountains my biggest fear was doing this route in the dark and that is exactly what we had to do. Gratefully a full moon added a little depth to the blackness all around us. At one point while we were just coming out of a long curve in the road, the headlamps spotlighted several mountain goats crossing the road right in front of us. The sudden shock made my friend slam on the brakes which caused the furniture to groan as we could feel it pushing into our cab, trying to propel the truck further forward. By sheer luck we did not hit any of the goats or careen off the road. When we finally realized we made it through the mountain range, when we caught a glimpse of the highway below us, it was the first time I was able to relax. I had a similar reaction as I watched this crime thriller. DANNY and Vic, played by Martin Compston (Filthy, Red Road) and Eddie Marsan (The Illusionist, Sherlock Holmes franchise), had everything planned down to the smallest detail. All they needed to do was kidnap Alice Creed, played by Gemma Arterton (Quantum of Solace, Unfinished Song). Written and directed by J Blakeson (Pitch Perfect, The 5th Wave), this film festival nominated movie presented a straight forward story. Right from the start it grabbed me with its tight focused scenes. I thought the acting was good and enjoyed the way the characters expanded as the story moved forward. What especially sold me on this DVD were the surprise twists and the way the director built up the tension in several scenes. Now I will say there were a few scenes that did not ring as true as the others, where I just sat there and said to myself, C’mon.” Despite that I still enjoyed watching this film. If nothing else, it was easier getting shocked and surprised knowing I personally could not get hurt. There were a couple of scenes where blood was shown.
2 ¾ stars — DVD
Flash Movie Review: Weiner
The word personal is defined as relating or affecting a particular individual without the intervention of another. I may have mentioned this before but there are 2 things I avoid discussing: religion and politics. It is not because I am not interested in say one’s religious customs or beliefs, but I resist getting into a conversation with someone who feels their religion or political viewpoint is the “right” one. For me my political and religious thoughts are personal; I have no desire to foster my opinions onto other people. I would not say I am a well informed voter when it comes to political elections, but I do read the news and pay attention to the media coverage of candidates. That is the extent of my research, though I never realized how much social media sites can play a part in elections. On the downside I find out more than I wish to sometimes about people’s beliefs and opinions on my various web sites. It is such a curious thing when it is a known person who has leanings that are opposite of what I imagined they would be. In fact there are some friends in my circles who I never talk politics with because we ride different trains of thought. The reason I am telling you all of this is to convey to you I have no political ambitions, activism (except for voting in every election) or pastimes; no one would consider me a political news junkie at all. So imagine how stunned I was watching this documentary about a political figure. FORMER New York congressman Anthony Weiner decided to pin his political comeback on the mayor’s race for New York City. This documentary would cover the entire campaign from beginning to end. The first thing that amazed me about this film festival winning movie, co-written by Eli B. Despres (Blackfish, Wilderness Survival for Girls), was what appeared to be the unlimited access the filmmakers were granted by Anthony and his wife Huma Abedin. With the amount of election coverage all of us are exposed to these days, I know I am only seeing only the façade of a campaign. Nearly every word and gesture has probably been planned unless the candidate trips up. I normally do not pay much attention to the marketing paraphernalia from any political candidate; so being able to go behind the scenes of the campaign in this picture was fascinating to me. And I have to tell you getting backroom access to Anthony’s journey during the 2013 mayoral race was mind blowing. On one side there were scenes with Huma that were just heartbreaking; on the other side watching Anthony was part circus, part train wreck and part stubbornness all rolled up into one. I was glued to this documentary; I felt I was watching a live theater production. How ironic, I initially was not too excited to see this film at first; but I was immediately won over. Let me mention I absolutely loved writer Eli B. Despres’ Blackfish documentary, so it now makes sense that I would love this political story.
3 ½ stars
Flash Movie Review: Now You See Me 2
Unlimited possibilities wait for many rousing from their nightly sleep. For them their day begins with a blank canvas; they let the day lead in what activities and events will be chosen. It is a random process that involves some level of spontaneity. Imagine the freedom one experiences when they are not tethered to a schedule or list of chores for the day. It has been so long that I actually cannot remember if I have ever experienced that type of freedom, to wake up with the attitude that whatever the day brings would be fine. If I do not have a list of things I need to handle for the day, I at least have a mental plan of what I want to accomplish. I have mentioned before that people can set their watches by me; I am most comfortable when I am on my internal schedule. It frees me up from taking time out to make decisions since all of them were made when the schedule was created in my mind, so I can go on automatic. I know when I wake up the first thing I do is eat breakfast; aware no matter the time, when the clock reaches the noon hour it is time for me to prepare for my 2nd meal. Now the downfall to being this way is when something unexpected happens. An example would be my daily ride to the office. I take the same route every day, knowing when I have to get into the right lane to avoid being stopped by cars trying to turn left or aware where I have to swerve slightly to avoid a pothole. If something like a stalled car or broken railroad crossing backs up traffic and causes a detour, I am thrown off my schedule. Honestly, it is rough for me when things don’t go as planned which is why I can relate to the magicians in this action thriller. AFTER lying low for a year the magicians called “The Four Horsemen” reappear for a spectacular magic trick. They were not expecting their trick to take them halfway around the world. The returning cast such as Jesse Eisenberg (American Ultra, The End of the Tour) as J. Daniel and Mark Ruffalo (The Avengers franchise, Infinitely Polar Bear) as Dylan Rhodes were joined by new characters Lula, played by Lizzy Caplan (Cloverfield, The Interview) and Walter Mabry, played by Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter franchise, Kill Your Darlings). There were the same spectacular magic tricks in this comedy but I missed the way they were explained as in the previous movie. The scenes were flashy but I did not like the camera work; some scenes were too frenetic for me. I could have handled all of this but because the script was such a mess I soon became bored with the story. There wasn’t the same sense of tense danger or excitement as the first film. In my opinion the writers tried to do too much to make this sequel “bigger” and it just did not work. I recently saw last weekend’s box office results and have to assume the movie studio was not expecting the results they got with the final figures.
1 ¾ stars
Flash Movie Review: Warcraft
Before I tell you my vivid memory about tasting chocolate for the first time, keep in mind I remember standing up in my crib and figuring out how I could climb out of it. That is as far back as some of my memories go. The chocolate was in the form of a baked cake in a 9X9 metal pan. From my very first bite I was hooked; with a spongy texture and no frosting on top, this first tasting started an avalanche of chocolate items coming into the house. Because I could not reach anything but the lowest shelf in the pantry, I could not reach any of the products like chocolate chip cookies or chocolate syrup that were kept on the higher shelves, without asking someone to get them for me. At the time I was around 1 ½ to 2 years old. Some may call it an obsession, I call it personal preference; but from that time whenever I am given the option I will always choose the one that has chocolate in it. I do not think I am unusual in this regards; don’t most of us gravitate towards things that give us pleasure or make us feel good? Example, one of my favorite musicals is Les Miserables. After seeing it for the first time, I had to own the soundtrack; then when the movie came out I had to own a copy of the DVD. Though different venues may not always work I enjoy when one of my favorite pastimes expands into another format; this is one of the reasons I want to travel to the Harry Potter theme park one day. So you see I can totally understand those who are into video games flocking to see this movie version of the popular game. DESPERATE to leave their dying planet and find a new place to colonize, the Orc invade the peaceful realm of Azeroth. Losing the conflict meant one side’s total destruction or the other’s extinction. Starring Travis Fimmel (The Experiment, Vikings-TV) as Anduin Lothar, Paula Patton (Deja Vu, 2 Guns) as Garona, Ben Foster (Lone Survivor, 3:10 to Yuma) as Medivh and Toby Kebbell (Wrath of the Titans, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) as Durotan/Antonidas; I cannot really say the acting was good or bad because the script presented all of them as 2 dimensional characters. This action adventure’s forte was the special effects. I think everything was CGI; my favorite look was the flying bird like creature. For a fantasy I thought the story was good; it made for perfect escapism. However, after the continuation of similar scenes I felt this film went on for far too long. From the trailer this movie looks like it would be fun and I guess on some level it was, but not enough to keep me thoroughly engaged with the story. And sadly it is obvious by the ending the movie studio is hoping to do a sequel. If that is the case may I suggest they bring in some drama, surprise and better dialog to bring in more than just gamers.
1 2/3 stars
Flash Movie Review: The Conjuring 2
The reason I enjoy a good suspenseful horror film is to experience the visceral emotions they produce inside of me. It is an adrenaline rush that gives me more energy; I find it comparable to the testing of the security alert system they do periodically on the radio. I feel a good fright from time to time keeps the body tuned up for life’s daily challenges. In the comfort of my theater seat I know what I am watching on screen has no actual bearing on my daily life. What I am seeing is not real to me so I know the feelings I experience during the movie are fleeting. I have been fortunate and hope I never have to personally experience actual horrors in my lifetime. I do not see how I could not mention the horrific tragedy that took place in Orlando, Florida this past weekend. It seems trivial for me to sit here and talk about a horror movie when I know many lives have been affected by the nightclub shootings. I am uncomfortable writing my review today when I know whatever things I mention about this film seem almost ridiculous to the realities of life presently. No matter the event, I am sure each of us has encountered some form of horror. Let us face it, life can be challenging. I thought I was done seeing the ugliness humans can inflict once I settled into middle age. Sadly it is not the case and in my opinion it appears to have increased in size. May love, kindness and acceptance for each other make us strong during this time. Thank you for listening to me; I felt I had to acknowledge the reality before delving into my escape into this picture. STRUGGLING as a single parent raising her children Peggy Hodgson, played by Frances O’Connor (A.I. Artificial Intelligence, Bedazzled), did not know what was happening to her daughter Janet, played by Madison Wolfe (The Campaign, Joy). Her daughter’s actions would affect the entire family. This sequel grabbed the viewer immediately thanks to director James Wan (Saw franchise, Furious 7). Multiple scenes were ideally set-up to produce suspenseful results. Another reason why I was drawn into this movie was due to Vera Farmiga (Source Code, Up in the Air) and Patrick Wilson (Hard Candy, Watchmen) as Lorraine and Ed Warren. They really pulled as much as they could from the script which at times got bogged down in a repetitive mode. I felt the story went on too long; they could have cut out a couple of scenes that were just there to show another example for a similar event. From the first film I knew this story was based on a true story, but I had a hard time believing it because of the things I saw in this sequel. Yet when at the end of the film they showed the actual people the actors portrayed, it made for an eerie feeling inside of me. It is not often a sequel is better than the first film but overall this movie provided a good escape from the horrors of reality.
2 ¾ stars
Flash Movie Review: Mermaid
The group of friends had a set monthly date to get together for dinner. They had originally first met when they were team players in a sports league. At the end of the meal when it was time to figure out the check they all agreed to split the bill; it was easier, making more sense instead of trying to figure out who ordered what and how much they needed to pay. There was one friend who usually had 2 alcoholic drinks with his meal, which also tended to be more expensive than everyone else’s food. Another friend from the group never had enough cash on hand; they always collected everyone’s money so they could then pay the entire bill on their charge card. No one minded nor knew their charge card rebated a percentage of the total monthly charges back to the cardholder. As an outside observer I would have gotten annoyed after awhile if a friend kept ordering the most expensive meals with drinks without ever offering to throw in a few more bucks to make up the difference. I at least know I have options: ask for separate checks, break the check down to each person’s share or just not order anything. Things like this can be irritating. They are not a life or death situation and I can have an effect on the situation. Compare it to the greed I see in the news, it is on a whole different scale. From a drug executive raising the price of a drug 5000% to a political figure disregarding public safety for monetary gain to a business financier setting up a Ponzi scheme to swindle workers’ retirement funds; I find the level of greed in people astounding. This comedic, dramatic fantasy had one solution for a greedy corporation. BUSINESS tycoon Liu Xuan, played by Chao Deng (American Dreams in China, Assembly), knew his reclamation sea project was killing the sea life, but he did not care. The project was worth billions. This film directed by Stephen Chow (Shaolin Soccer, Kung Fu Hustle) recently became the largest grossing film in Chinese history. With newcomer Yun Lin as Shan and Show Luo (Journey to the West, Hi My Sweetheart-TV) as Octopus, I have to tell you this “extravaganza” was trippy. Part Bollywood, part slapstick, part romance, part social commentary; this picture pretty much had everything in it. From a technical standpoint the special effects were cheesy, the acting was over the top and the script had some lame passages; but I have to tell you, this picture had a way of drawing the viewer in. I felt the message was an important one so I could appreciate all the effort it must have taken to create this movie. Bear in mind there were a few actual film clips of animals used that were hard to watch due to the content. All in all, this movie kept my interest while entertaining me. I am sure the film studio made a profit on this and I do not know, maybe they made a donation to a charity with some of the proceeds. Ultimately it is the studio’s job to make films and I commend them on tackling an important subject in a creative way. Mandarin was spoken with English subtitles.
2 2/3 stars
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