Flash Movie Review: Anora
DIVORCED ONE DAY AND WAS MARRIED three months later. I already knew it would never work out. You see, my friend had been in a non-working marriage. The two of them had such polar opposite views that it was hard for them to find common ground. The one thing they had in common was they were both stubborn, which was not helpful in their situation. She was sociable; he was not. I do not necessarily think that would be a big stumbling block, but for them it was because neither one would compromise. Part of being in a relationship is sometimes we do things we do not like to please our partner; in their case, neither one was willing to help the other. Seeing them get a divorce was a good thing, in my opinion. But before the ink was dried on the court papers, she met a man, and they started dating. I would have thought she would have had a period of mourning, or alone time to reflect on her choices and actions that were made before immediately jumping back into the dating pool, but she did not waste a moment. When she introduced me to her, by then, fiancée, I was flabbergasted. I did not get a good feeling about him; he had a negative energy that rubbed me the wrong way. Nonetheless, I kept my thoughts to myself and congratulated them on their engagement. MY SUSPICIONS WERE CONFIRMED SIX MONTHS into their marriage. After they had their honeymoon phase they bought a house. They took me to see it as it was being built. During our time together they were all ‘lovey-dovey” and seemed perfectly happy together. Knowing my friend as well as I do, I sensed something was off, because she was so aggressive in her public displays of affection towards him. Things like having to hold hands all the time and little pet names for each other; I call this the teen school years period. Her actions did not come across as genuine; they were more for show. And sure enough six months into the marriage she started complaining about him. It started off as little complaints but several weeks later they were becoming major ones. She admitted to me she made a mistake by getting married so fast. I finally was able to have a deep conversation with her, mentioning he nor anyone else could fill the void in her heart. She had to love herself first before anyone else could love her. I shared my philosophy which is no one can make a person feel complete or make them happy; the individual must feel they are whole (or work at feeling whole) and accept who they are so they could love themselves before letting someone else love them. It is okay to be broken, but one must take responsibility to put in the work to become whole again. Six months later the two of them got divorced. I think my talk with her helped and if that is the case, I wished I had the opportunity to talk to the main character in this romantic comedic drama. AFTER MEETING AND MARRYING THE SON of a Russian oligarch, a young escort thought she could leave her former life behind. But when her husband’s parents hear about the marriage, they immediately plan to come to New York. With Mikey Madison (Scream, Better Things-TV) as Ani, Paul Weissman (The Final Equation, The Killing of Jacob Marr) as Nick, Yura Borisov (Guest from the Future, Centaur) as Igor, Lindsey Normington (Snuff Queen, Off Book) as Diamond, and Emily Weider (Art of Diversion, First Shift) as Nikki; this multiple Oscar winner surprised me. If I had published my Oscar picks, this film would not have been on my list. I thought the concept and script were good, but I must tell you the movie did not capture me like it evidently did with the Oscar voters. The acting was well done and felt authentic, but I still saw the characters as one dimensional. There also was a Cinderella touch to the story that I found charming, and I did feel Ani’s emotions by the end of the movie. Maybe if there had been less yelling and more depth to the script, I would have enjoyed it more, to the point where I felt it deserved its Oscar wins.
2 ¾ stars
Flash Movie Review: Arthur the King
I BELIEVE IF I DO THE SAME thing every day then I will be able to do it for a long time. I must believe it will work. This is how I am wired; if I exercise every day, I will never not be able to when I am older. Just this week on the local news, they reported an eighty-year-old woman entered a half marathon for the first time in her life and completed it. That is what I am talking about. I never want my age to define me. Having taught in fitness centers for over thirty years, I have seen every variety of people’s exercise regiments. It has been inspirational to see seniors consistently show up on a regular basis to lift weights, cycle, jog, or take some type of fitness class. I have witnessed individuals in wheelchairs or on crutches maneuver themselves into a weight machine to lift weights. In one of my yoga classes, I had a member who was in her eighties and still flexible enough to easily do various poses. What motivates me is fear; the fear of having to depend on someone to help me get out of a chair or lift a grocery bag into my car. The fear of not being able to get up from sitting on the floor or climbing a stepstool to reach something high in a kitchen cabinet. These fears play in the back of my mind like constant companions. WITH MY BRAIN WIRED THIS WAY, I am aware that I must be realistic. There will be things I cannot maintain the same way as I did in my thirties or forties. When I was in my twenties, I could jog outside for over an hour. These days I jog on a treadmill, and I must alternate between jogging and power walking. With my years of teaching, I have always stressed smart exercising. I instinctively knew I could not continue to jump on concrete or hard floors without my legs getting damaged in some way. In class, I would demonstrate a high impact move then change to the low impact version for the duration of the routine. In my mind, I think I can get back to the form I had when I was teaching twenty classes a week, plus doing my own workout routine. I do not question myself because I need that image as fuel to motivate me on those days when I do not feel like going to the health club or cycling for an hour. I have always encouraged my members not to set a weight loss goal or maximum lifting weight; just continue moving and slowly improving your performances. Not knowing at first this film was based on a true story, I quickly fell in line wishing for the team’s success in this dramatic adventure sport film. HAVING NEVER WON AN ADVENTURE RACING COMPETITION, a competitor assembles a team one last time to make a go of it. And along the way they wind up with a fifth member. With Mark Wahlberg (The Family Plan, Joe Bell) as Michael, Simu Liu (Last Breath, Atlas) as Leo, Juliet Rylance (A Dog’s Purpose, Perry Mason-TV) as Helen, Nathalie Emmanuel (The Killer, Game of Thrones-TV) as Olivia, and Ali Suliman (Lone Survivor, The Swimmers) as Chik; the story in this film was written to draw the viewer in. I had never heard of this 425-mile race that takes place over ten days. That alone was enough for me to become attracted to this picture. The script was written to pull at the heartstrings and there was an element of predictability; however, this did not take away from the extraordinary experience the racers endured. The outdoor shots were beautiful, and the dog was something special. Personally, I cannot imagine participating in such a race, and I cannot understand why people would sign up for it. However, I am glad they did so this story could make it out into the general public and allow me to experience it vicariously. It was a wild ride that I still find hard to believe.
2 ¾ stars
Flash Movie Review: In the Lost Lands
WHEN SOMEONE THINKS THEY ARE ALWAYS right, it is a good bet that person would absolutely enjoy having total power. I used to work at a fitness center where I had a boss who always thought she was right. Most of the time, I would not let it bother me; but when she decided that the schedule of classes would start changing every six weeks, I respectfully expressed my opinion. I could tell she was perturbed, but I did not care. To me, we instructors were there to serve the members’ needs, not my boss’s ego. I expressed how some of our members only have a particular time they can come to the center to workout. Members already expressed when they find an instructor they like, they want to stay with them. The proof of that was the fact I had the largest number of members attending my classes. My boss said it was important for the members to experience assorted styles of workouts and instructors. I countered each instructor makes sure to change up the exercise routines that are done in their classes, so the member’s body never gets used to a class and loses the shock value on their muscles. We went back and forth, point and counterpoint, until my boss said she did not care what a few members think, she is changing the number of times we will be changing formats and classes. And just like I predicted the members loudly complained and as a result attendance in general dropped until my boss bitterly gave in and returned the schedule back to the old format. THE STORY I JUST SHARED WAS recently expressed to a friend of mine who was telling me about the changes taking place at her office. She worked for a private company where the long-term president was recently replaced. What she told me was both frightening and sad. This new president was not discreet in showing his disdain for the way the past president ran the company. He was also determined to cut costs, no matter the ramifications. I sat and listened to my friend list things this new person already did and how his actions were affecting the employees. For example, the new president never listened to advice from anyone. Upon one meeting, he would already have formed an opinion of the person; most of the time he thought the person was inferior and would begin to treat them with disdain. After my friend was done sharing all her horror stories, I told her the new person sounded like a power-hungry dictator. I questioned why someone would want to lead by instilling fear in the employees who helped make the company so successful. It was a perfect example of absolute power being corruptive and destructive. I saw the same thing taking place in this fantasy action adventure. DESPITE ON A MISSION GIVEN FROM the queen to acquire a special power for her, a hunter and her guide were being hunted by someone in the queen’s realm who wanted her dead. With Milla Jovovich (Resident Evil franchise, Monster Hunter) as Gray Alys, Dave Bautista (The Killer’s Game, My Spy franchise) as Boyce, Arly Jover (Blade, A Prominent Patient) as The Enforcer, Amara Okereke (Red Rise-TV, The Morning After-TV) as The Queen, and Fraser James (Yardie, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter) as The Patriarch; this movie based on a George R.R. Martin (Game of Thrones) short story was cheaply done. I thought the special effects and sets were paltry and unimpressive. Even if the entire movie was shot in one room and everything shown was CGI, it was poorly done and unrealistic looking. The script bounced around, never providing a cohesive plan of logic. As for the acting, it was nothing but average at best. I honestly was not sure why Milla and Dave agreed to star in it until I saw they were producers. What were they thinking? This film was a disappointment, and I wonder if there was only one person in charge who greenlighted everything needed to create this waste of time.
1 ½ stars
Flash Movie Review: Nosferatu
THERE IS A FINE LINE THAT separates love and obsessiveness/possessiveness. I have experienced both. Over a summer some time ago, I was dating someone who on our first date made a point to tell me they were not into relationship drama. It worked for me because I felt the same way. If one cannot sit down and have an adult conversation, expressing one’s feelings, then I know the relationship will be doomed. On our first date, I found out they had a PhD, the youngest in their class to do so, taught at a prestigious university in the city, their favorite countries for vacation, and the author of two books. Not that I had an issue hearing about all the accomplishments, but I wanted to hear more about their background, thoughts about the world, and their dreams. I know this may be a lot to ask someone on a first date, but listing accomplishments without asking me any questions is something I consider as a red flag for me to file away as we decide on a second date. And so that you know, I have always agreed on a second date unless there was a significant issue with the person where I was not feeling comfortable around them. FAST FORWARD, AND WE HAD BEEN dating for a few months. Within that amount of time, I unexpectedly found myself talking to their mother, when a cellphone was pushed into my hand, and I was told to say hi. Our talks veered towards me, being told what we were going to be doing for the holidays and other special occasions in their life; nothing was asked about what I did for the holidays or what special events did I have coming up like birthday or graduation parties. Granted, I have always been deliberately slow on introducing my friends into our relationship, preferring to wait and make sure the two of us have built a solid and healthy foundation before including friends and family into the mix. But this pattern of me always having to be available for their functions and them not for mine was becoming a problem for me. Add another development where I would get multiple texts asking where I was if I did not pick up their phone call right away. I was no longer an equal participant in this relationship, and it was time to end it. As you might imagine, it did not go well when I sat down and tried talking to them. Whatever I said would get twisted for them to talk about themselves and what they needed from me, so that I could not leave them. I did not waver and eventually said my goodbyes. For the next two to three weeks, I was still getting texts from them; I finally had to block them. You will understand now, why my heart went out to one of the main characters in this fantasy, horror mystery. THE SUFFERING FROM MENTAL AND PHYSICAL episodes a recent bride was experiencing took on a more intense and darker nature when a new resident moved into the area. With Lily-Rose Depp (Wolf, Silent Night) as Ellen Hunter, Nicholas Hoult (Juror #2, The Order) as Thomas Hunter, Bill Skarsgard (The Crow, The Devil All the Time) as Count Orlok, Aaron Taylor-Johnson (The Fall Guy, Kraven the Hunter) as Friedrich Harding, and William Dafoe (Kinds of Kindness, Poor Things) as Professor Albin Eberhart von Franz; this gothic supernatural tale was stunning to watch. The sets, costumes, and makeup were perfect, which added more intensity into the scenes. The acting was wonderful; I never recognized Bill Skarsgard. As for the script, if you are looking to be scared out of your seat, I do not think it will necessarily happen with this movie. The story is filled more with uncomfortable ickiness and dread than your typical action vampire stories. I felt the beginning part was slow, but methodical. Once I became accustomed to the pacing, in a way it felt like it was contributing to the buildup of suspense. The best way to view this film is to forget your memories of past vampire films and walk in with an open mind. There were scenes of blood and violence.
3 1/3 stars
Flash Movie Review: The Crow
ACTS OF LOVE CAN BE EXPRESSED in many ways, from diamonds to kidneys. Yes, I said kidneys. A friend’s father had issues with his kidneys and needed a transplant. My friend immediately offered one of his if it would be a match. Gratefully, they were, and the operation was done soon after. My friend never hesitated; he and his dad were always close and now this act made them even closer. It was a selfless, loving act, and I am happy to report that the two of them are perfectly fine and healthy today. Another act of love I witnessed was our friend’s girlfriend nurse him back from the brink of death. He contracted a virus that brought on a cornucopia of issues where his body was shutting down. For weeks he was in intensive care and his girlfriend never left his side. Since she had a medical background, she checked everything the nurses and doctors were doing for him, from tests to administering drugs. One doctor was supposed to perform a vital test on a certain day that would lead the medical staff in the right direction toward treatment. This doctor came to see my friend when the girlfriend was in the hospital cafeteria eating lunch. When she returned and asked her boyfriend if the doctor showed up and performed the procedure, my friend told her he showed up but did not do the test. She immediately hunted him down in the hospital and let me just say, “read him the riot act.” The doctor returned that afternoon and performed the test on my friend. BESIDES WITNESSING ACTS OF LOVE BETWEEN humans, I have seen acts between humans and animals. To me, they are just as valid. I was on vacation, staying at an inn where the owners made a breakfast buffet each morning for the guests. While I was seated at a table sampling the baked goods, an obvious senior dog slowly came into the dining room. The dog had a limp as it walked, which was a good thing because it bumped into the leg of a chair that a recently departed guest had not pushed all the way back into the table. Keeping a watch on the dog, I quickly realized it must be blind by the way it was brushing into things around the buffet table. When the owners appeared and made their round of greetings to each occupied table of guests, when they came up to me, I asked the age of their dog. He was thirteen years old, and they confirmed he was blind and arthritic. We started talking about pets and they shared they had to carry him on stairs and serve him soft food because he was missing some teeth. It was obvious to me how much they loved him; when they were describing the things they did for him, I did not detect any negative feelings from them. They simply loved their pet and would take care of him all the way to the end of his life. What loving dog owners. These acts of love and witnessing them are part of the reason I felt I would bond with the story in this fantasy, action horror romance. AFTER BEING BRUTALLY MURDERED ALONGSIDE HIS girlfriend in a home invasion Eric, played by Bill Skarsgard (It franchise, Nosferatru), finds himself being alive in another world. The love he had for his girlfriend prevented him from completely dying, giving him the chance to get revenge on all those who murdered the two of them. With FKA twigs (Honey Boy, Brighton Beach) as Shelly, Danny Huston (The Dead Don’t Hurt, Ride Above) as Vincent Roeg, Josette Simon (The Witches, Tell that to the Winter Sea) as Sophia, and Laura Birn (Void, A Walk Among the Tombstones) as Marion; this supernatural crime film had potential. The chemistry between Bill and FKA twigs seemed authentic and though it took a while to pick up, their love story was interesting despite being quick in nature. Sadly, the script and directing did not create a solid story. The pacing was odd, going from fast action to soft loving reminiscences to supernatural scenes. I found parts of the movie went slowly and never felt deep emotions except for Bill’s character. Also, maybe it was a false expectation on my part, but I thought there would be more back story to Bill’s character, both the inmate and superhero sides. It made me question how he suddenly became this tough fighter, for example. Ultimately, I was bored through most of the time and wished I could have at least liked it. There were several scenes filled with blood and violence.
1 ¾ stars
Flash Movie Review: Last Breath
THE FIRST TIME I EVER STEPPED on a boat was when I was five or six years old. Well, not actually stepped on but carried on because I was kicking and crying. It was a ferry that went between two populated islands and the ride, though I did not know at the time, was only twenty-five minutes long. I had it in mind if I stepped on the boat, it would cause it to sink; I was a chunky kid at the time. My relatives kept telling me I would love the boat ride, and I kept saying to them I did not want to go. Finally, after I tried getting out of line for the second time, a relative lifted me up and held me until we were seated by a set of large picture windows in the covered area of the ship. Once the ropes were untied from the dock, the ferry’s engines gunned louder, churning the water up behind and we started moving towards open waters. I was still teary eyed and sniffling. When the ferry arrived in open waters, it picked up speed. The shore and skyline grabbed my attention. Seeing tall skyscrapers from a unique perspective sliding away from me grabbed my attention to the point where I stopped thinking about the boat sinking. Soon the shoreline curved away from us and we began to go even faster across the water. I did not realize this whole time a relative had stepped away to buy snacks at the concession stand set up at the back of the boat. With a cookie and carton of milk in hand, I started enjoying the ride. And by the time we arrived at our destination, I started crying again because I did not want to get off the boat. IT WAS NOT UNTIL YEARS LATER that I found myself stepping on board an ocean seafaring ship again. My childhood fears had been left behind many years ago. We were taking a cruise on a ship that held nearly three thousand passengers. Maybe because I was a decent swimmer my fears were negligible. Granted, I was a little agitated during the ship’s safety meeting we were required to attend, but nothing dramatic. Since we had a few hours before we were to set sail, we explored the ship. I quickly acclimated to the surroundings, learning where the fitness center, theater, restaurants, and snack shops were located. By the time we were ready to leave port, we went back to our room to get ready for dinner. I did not pay attention to the view out our balcony window, so I did not realize the water was choppy. As we left the cabin and started walking down the long hallway to the elevators, I realized I was not able to walk in a straight line; I had to place a hand on the walls to steady myself a couple of times. My stomach started to gurgle and moan. I made it to the restaurant but was not feeling good. We were seated and as each of us was looking over the menu, I realized I was getting seasick. Just seeing the printed descriptions of the entrees made my stomach churn. For the next 24 hours, I remained in bed until medication calmed my stomach and I was able to once again navigate around the ship. Even knowing the waters we had traveled were nowhere near as rough as the ones depicted in this dramatic adventure thriller, I still do not know how no one in this film appeared, even queasy for a moment. DESPITE HAVING ONE OF THE HARDEST jobs on the planet, a group of deep-sea divers encountered an even more challenging assignment when they had to dive in the middle of a violent storm to repair an underwater pipeline. With Woody Harrelson (Champions, Fly Me to the Moon) as Duncan Allock, Simu Liu (Arthur the King, Jackpot!) as Dave Yuasa, Finn Cole (Locked In, Animal Kingdom-TV) as Chris Lemons, Cliff Curtis (Risen, The Meg franchise) as Capt. Andre Jenson, and Mark Bonnar (The Kid Who Would be King, Catastrophe-TV) as Craig; this film based on a true story surprised me. Though the script was kept direct and simple, the story was still riveting. Even after a couple of days viewing this picture, I still could not stop thinking about this amazing story. With a steady hand directing, the tension was consistent throughout the picture. I would have appreciated more depth for the characters, and for the script to have taken more risks so as not to have been predictable, but I still was entertained throughout the story. I will say having seen this movie has given me a whole new appreciation of the sea and the people who work in and on it.
3 stars
Flash Movie Review: The Fish Thief: A Great Lakes Mystery
DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS I WAS at the beach five times a week on average. It was a couple of blocks away from where we lived. My favorite thing to do at the beach was to build sandcastles. I had a small collection of various sized buckets I would bring with me to create castles, forts, mazes, walled cities, and swimming pools. I had an active imagination. One of my earliest memories is standing with a relative in the water, close to shore. I was holding onto her bathing suit to steady myself. A large wave suddenly came up and knocked me over which caused me to rip her bathing suit because I would not let go. During the summer, the neighborhood parents would always make a point of taking their children to the beach, so I rarely had to play by myself; there were a lot of kids in my neighborhood. Another reason I liked going to the beach was because from that vantage point, I could see the entire outline of our city’s downtown skyline. The tall skyscrapers fascinated me and though I tried reproducing them in sand, I never got past the second floor before the sand would cascade down into a heap. IT WAS NOT UNTIL WE STARTED studying geography in elementary school, where I discovered the lake I played in was an important part of a whole ecosystem in the Midwest. Up until that point, though I knew oceans were bigger than lakes, the only difference I could see between my lake and the Atlantic Ocean was my lake did not have saltwater in it. Otherwise, our lake had big waves, seaweed and when I looked out to the horizon, all I saw was water no land mass. In class, I discovered my lake was part of a group of five lakes that were known as the Great Lakes. The combination of lakes contained one fifth of the earth’s freshwater supply. All this time I had no idea how important my lake was; but, once I found out about all these facts, I certainly felt a sense of pride that I was lucky enough to have it walking distance from my house. As I got older, I started exploring more of the lakefront, even doing a road trip that went around the lake into other states. There was only one period of time when I avoided going to the beach and I totally forgot all about it until I saw it being discussed in this fascinating documentary. HAVING BEEN THE LIFEBLOOD AND ECONOMIC engine to so many people and businesses, a mystery began to unfold that would be a threat to every single living thing associated with the Great Lakes. Written and directed by Lindsey Haskin (Freshwater Seas: The Great Lakes) and narrated by J.K. Simmons (Red One, Saturday Night), I found this film more than just entertaining, it was informative and literally a walk back through time. Growing up and hearing only about the sensational news around the lakes, like one newspaper headline that read Lake Erie is dead and another one about the amount of dead Alewife fish coming onto shore, I enjoyed hearing about the history and impact of these and other events in this picture. I wondered if it mattered if viewers without any history to the Great Lakes would care about watching this movie and I think it would still be interesting to non-lake viewers. A lot of information was given in this film, but it was done in such a way that it was not tedious or overwhelming. Plus, the use of archival films and photographs made the information entertaining. For those who have a curiosity about such things, I feel they will appreciate watching the unfolding of a century of history in the middle of our country.
3 stars
Flash Movie Review: Oscar Telecast
THIS WAS NEW TERRITORY FOR ME. Having not been in this situation before, I must tell you it was disconcerting for me. All day this past Sunday, I did not think about the telecast, except that it was starting at 6pm CST. For some reason, I assumed it would begin at 7pm, so I had to speed up to get all my tasks that needed to be done for the day. The one thing I did not want to happen was to rush to finish something just a minute before the Oscar Ceremony started. I have my rituals; my clothes for the workday are laid out, I am dressed in my lounging clothes, and I go to the bathroom a few minutes before the start time. If I had any concerns or worries, the first 10 minutes of the show obliterated them. I could not think of a better way to open the show with a message of love to Los Angeles than having the powerhouse singers Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande performing. Right after the first note was sung, I was transported into the lights and glamour of Hollywood and movies. My concerns about not seeing, for the first time, all the nominated films went from boiling over in my head to a quiet slow simmer. I was settled into a state of comfort and peace, able and willing to sit however long it would be until the end of the show. IT WOULD BE NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE FOR anyone to follow that opening, but whoever came up with the idea of host Conan O’Brien doing a comedy bit based on the film The Substance, I tip my hat to them. It was a wonderful way to move the audience along to the next segment of the show. I thought he did an excellent job of hosting, though there were a few things that were a bust for me. His singing about wasting time and being late could have been deleted, in my opinion. His humor has a sly edge to it where it gives one a moment’s pause at time, but I appreciated that he did not take the easy way of cracking jokes about the latest winner. What I thought was a nice touch was the way they introduced some of the nominees by having individuals connected to their movie introduce them or just have the presenter talk about each one; it made it more personal and interesting to me. Also, Conan kept things moving along between segments. THE MAJOR DISAPPOINTMENT I HAD WAS the tribute to Quincy Jones. Of all the music and songs, he was involved with, I do not understand why they chose a song from the film The Wiz. He produced the song for the film version of the Broadway production. The wrong choice to sing this song was Queen Latifah. I absolutely enjoy her singing voice, but she has a jazzier lower registered voice that was not suited for this song. Along with her outfit, she could have easily done the song “Don’t Bring Me No Bad News” from The Wiz and would have presented it better. The tribute I found touching came from Morgan Freeman talking about his friend Gene Hackman. And with that in memoriam segment I am glad they simply did a musical accompaniment. Outside of that the telecast had few surprises. There was Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal teaming up which was cute, but for me the bigger surprise was having Mick Jagger as a presenter. He truly seemed touched by the crowd welcoming him. By the end of the telecast, I was aware there was a little regret for not being able to have seen all the nominated films, but I felt this might be the wave of the future. Of course, I hope the writer and director of Anora is right when he pleaded for filmmakers to make more films for the theater and asked the public to support movie theaters. I hope this will be the case and I know I will be doing my part to see more films at the theater this year. Because when push comes to shove, I enjoy watching the Oscar telecast having seen all the nominated films beforehand. Wish me luck for next year’s telecast.
Flash Movie Review: Paddington in Peru
I HAD HEARD STORIES ABOUT HER ever since I could retain memories; that is how long it had been. Stories about the incredible meals she would cook, the sweet personality, and the kindness she offered everyone; these stories contributed to the images I had of her in my mind. She was my grandmother, but I had never met her through most of my elementary school years. I honestly never knew what the reasons were, except that she lived out of town with a relative that took care of her. Nonetheless, she was part of our family’s conversations from time to time. I would have loved to have eaten some of her meals and especially desserts. Relatives who knew her always mentioned her cooking skills and how she loved being in the kitchen whipping up meals that, as they say, could feed an army. I was told she was never phased or put out by people unexpectedly dropping in to see her. She always had either homemade cookies or cakes in the house, ready to be served to company with a warm cup of coffee or big glass of cold milk. To me, she just sounded amazing and accepting and someone I wanted to sit down and visit with over one of her delicious sounding desserts. Though we were never together physically, she still was part of my life. IT WAS DURING MY LAST YEAR of elementary school when I was told this elusive grandmother was coming for a visit. One of her sons (a great uncle of mine) was going to accompany her. I was excited to finally be able to meet her and see what she was like compared to everything I had heard about her. She was going to stay at a relative’s house in the city, and it was decided all of us were to come there over the weekend to see her. I did not know any other details, like how long she would be staying here, all I was interested in was just seeing her. We drove over on a Sunday afternoon. As we pulled up to my uncle’s house, I could see a small group of people standing out on the front lawn. Once parked and out of the car, we walked up to greet our relatives. As they parted to the sides, I saw standing in the middle of all of them this tiny, white-haired woman. I do not think she was even five feet tall. With oval shaped glasses perched low on the bridge of her nose, I got to her first and introduced myself. She studied me for a moment before putting her arms out for a hug as she told me I looked like my father. I cannot describe the feeling except to say I felt an immediate kinship, a connection to this side of my family that previously had a missing piece, suddenly now becoming whole. Because of these feelings, I understood what Paddington, voiced by Ben Whishaw (Bad Behaviour, No Time to Die) felt when he received the news about a relative in this adventure, comedy mystery. UPON GETTING THE NEWS ABOUT A close relative had gone missing, Paddington and the family decided to go find her in the jungles of Peru. The trail they would take might involve clues about a hidden treasure. With Hugh Bonneville (Downton Abbey franchise, To Olivia) as Henry Brown, Emily Mortimer (Mary Poppins Returns, Lars and the Real Girl) as Mary Brown, Imelda Staunton (The Crown-TV, Downton Abbey franchise) voicing Aunt Lucy, and Antonio Banderas (The Enforcer, Babygirl) as Hunter Cabot; this latest installment in the franchise had similar elements to the previous films, except I did not find this one as entertaining. There is a certain charm and kind humor in the previous films that were lacking here. I felt the humor was more slapstick and some other scenes were unoriginal because they had a strong similarity to ones in the Indiana Jones movies. The cast did a wonderful job with the script, which did have a touching message in it. I feel this family film will be more amusing to younger kids than older ones. I believe the writers gave it a good try for thinking out of the box with this story, but it might be best if they stick closer to home next time. There were two extra scenes during the ending credits.
2 ½ stars
Flash Movie Review: Oscars 2025
IT IS HARD TO BELIEVE I have been posting movie reviews for nearly fourteen years. I remember the first year I set out a goal to post one movie review each day for the entire year. Back then my reviews were shorter in length, but I did it, an entire year of movie reviews. Along with the reviews each year I made my predictions of who and what would win the Oscar award. Though, I was making predictions much earlier than 2011. I believe I mentioned in one of my earliest reviews how making Oscar predictions was a tradition in my family. We would all gather around the television set with our list of predictions and begin to check off the ones we got correctly. At the end of the telecast, each of us would count our wins to see who was the winner amongst us. It is such a fond memory; there was no competition between any of us and we just enjoyed being together to watch the show, with our assortment of snacks and drinks. The only thing the winner would get was bragging rights; but it never lasted long since our movie loving family would be immediately back in the hunt to see the next great picture. WHEN THE COVID PANDEMIC HIT AT the end of 2019, things began to change. I remember looking out the bedroom window and seeing no sign of human life. There were no cars on the road, the grocery store parking lot was completely empty, and no one was walking down the sidewalks. It was eerie to the point where I felt we were in an apocalyptic movie; it felt so unreal to me. No one was going to the movies; several around me were closed, and movie studios started focusing on streaming services. Our cable bill soared with all the services even though we do not have all of them. When the time came when it was relatively safe to go back to movie theaters, I would wear a safety mask and sit in the last row off to the side away from everybody. That everybody at first was sometimes only me or a few others brave enough to venture out. With my work schedule and the theaters reduced times, I had a tough time trying to find a movie that would fit in with my schedule. Add in the writers’ strike and it got even more challenging to try and find a decent film to watch. I tried my best but the roadblocks that were set up made it nearly impossible for me to see my usual number of movies. Things came to a head this year when the Oscar nominations came out. Some films only played for one week in 2024 to be considered by the academy and never came back to the theaters, others went to a streaming service we do not have in our package, or the films did not last long for me to try and find a place to see them that was agreeable with my workload. As of today, when I look at all the nominations, for most of them I have only seen two out of five nominees for each category. It is heartbreaking and upsetting to me. The most I have seen for one category is for best picture; I have seen five out of ten of the nominated movies. Because of this situation, for the first time in my life, I cannot make my predictions. I am not alone in this within the family. Hopefully, this is not a prelude for what is in store for the future. I hope things change where there will be more opportunities throughout the year to see movies. SPEAKING OF CHANGE, ISN’T THAT WHAT life is about, it is always changing. At the end of this month, I will be retiring from my day job, after having been with the company for over thirty years. Part of me is anxious, nervous, and excited. You see, I have been working since I was thirteen years old, and the idea of waking up without a schedule is frightening to me. I am a structured person, having always lived with schedules for everything. However, with my upcoming retirement, I am hoping to break that “habit” and try to experience more living in the moment. With that being said, I want you to know my reviews may not always be on a consistent schedule as they have been. There is going to be a lot of traveling coming up, so there may be a few weeks out of the year when I will not be able to post a review. Or, where I normally post reviews Monday through Wednesday, they may now come on different days and times. Until I settle into the next chapter of my life, I do not know how everything will fall into place, and I am okay with it. I just want to experience waking up without an alarm clock blaring in my ear and see how the day moves me. Of course, I am hoping I will have more opportunities to see movies at the theater, but I cannot put anything down yet as a must do schedule. So please bear with me as I navigate this unfamiliar environment in store for me. As I have said before, I appreciate each one of you taking the time to read my reviews and communicating with me. Enjoy the Oscars telecast; I hope it will be an exciting and fun show this year. All the best to you.
moviejoltz 