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Flash Movie Review: The Drama
SEVERAL TIMES THROUGHOUT THE PAST, I HAVE mentioned that my dealbreakers for not dating someone were dirty fingernails and bad teeth; unless of course there was a reason for it. In the throughs of the dating world, if a potential partner had ever cheated and broke trust in their past relationships, that was a red flag for me as well and I soon ended our relationship. This dealbreaker did not rise up until after I had been cheated on with a couple of people I was dating. I always thought these three non negotiable items were not out of the ordinary; they simply revealed information to me about the person’s hygiene and morals. My friends never challenged my dealbreakers; in fact, they began to incorporate them into their scorecard for potential dating partners. Now on the other hand, I had a hard time with some of my friends’ dealbreakers. There was one friend who would not date anyone but hairy men, essentially hairy chests, arms and legs. I never understood it and always asked them what they would do if their hairy man, in their committed relationship, got cancer and had to go through chemotherapy, causing their hair to fall out. Some friends had to think about it before answering me. Even when I mentioned there might be a chance that person could go bald as they aged, my friends had to actually stop and think about it. THERE ARE A COUPLE OF OTHER friends who had height restrictions when it came to potential partners. One friend only wanted to date people who were much taller than themselves. Another friend preferred dates to be close to their height with a variance of only a couple of inches. Even with their answers to my queries, I still did not quite understand what was so important about different heights that would stop them from dating someone they truly liked. Let me add, that there is a strong difference between me and what I have discovered are many other people regarding perspective dates. Except for teeth and fingernails, I never paid attention to a person’s physical features. This could be due because for most of my life, I always wanted to change mine, or because I saw how the human body was constantly changing its appearance, both intentionally and medically. I tried to never judge any of my friends who had firm limitations on the types of people they would date, despite me not understanding; however, I always thought they were restricting themselves unnecessarily. After seeing this romantic, dark comedy I wondered how they would react, let alone myself, if I had been in such a situation. WHILE OUT WITH ANOTHER COUPLE, AN engaged couple was asked a question that could alter everything about their relationship. With Zendaya (Challengers, Dune franchise) as Emma, Robert Pattinson (Mikey 17, The Batman) as Charlie, Alana Haim (One Battle After Another, Licorice Pizza) as Rachel, Mamoudou Athie (The Circle, Jurassic World: Dominion) as Mike, and Sydney Lemmon (Tar, Love Story-TV) as Pauline; this dramatic comedy scored with casting Zendaya and Robert Pattinson. Their acting and chemistry were perfect in the roles, which made them so believable. I would have appreciated if more time was given to each’s back story; but, in the scheme of things I was too intrigued with the questions being asked and the reactions they caused. At times some things seemed far-fetched, but again I have to stress with the acting and the idea of the story kept my attention throughout the film. The supporting cast was a nice compliment to the engaged couple. Overall, I did not let my minor issues/complaints about the story/script affect my attention and curiosity.
3 stars
Flash Movie Review: Licorice Pizza
I WAS SURE I WAS ON my way to becoming a tycoon or at least thought of as being cool. There was no one I knew in my elementary school who was starting a business, but I was doing it. I do not remember how the idea came to me unless I considered the time spent selling candy and lemonade on the street corner, in front of my apartment building. My stand was a success; candy being the number one seller. What I used to do was set up the stand, a folding card table, early in the afternoon. I had two pitchers of lemonade and an assortment of candy pieces and bars. I would buy a bag of hard, fruit flavored candy that was individually wrapped, pour them into a bowl and sell each piece for a nickel. Right there, I was making a nice profit. When I was close to running out, I would have a friend of mine go to the store to buy another bag of hard candy and candy bars, which I priced a little more than the regular price. We would only buy the bars that were on sale; that is how I was able to make a profit on them. HAVING GOTTEN A TASTE OF SUCCESS from my lemonade stand, gave me the confidence to start selling school supplies to my fellow classmates. I had a relative who was a manufacturer’s representative to a variety of companies that made school supplies. Their garage was completely shelved and fully stocked with all kinds of school items. Every new school year my cousins and I would go over and go “shopping” through the garage to get our school supplies. I must have asked my relative if I could take extra items, but I do not remember. There was no way I would have just taken them without permission; so, maybe I told him I wanted extra for friends? With my schoolbag loaded, I started asking classmates if they wanted to buy colored markers, erasers, pencil sharpeners and other assorted things. When students saw the variety of different colored markers and crayons, I sold out of everything in two days. I thought for sure I was on my way to becoming a great businessman. The added benefit to me was the fact students were now seeking me out to see what I had available. In my brain, I took this to mean I was now “popular.” Due to my history, I felt a connection at first with the main character in this dramatic, comedy romance. HE WAS THE ULTIMATE PROMOTER OF himself. So, when student Gary Valentine, played by newcomer Cooper Hoffman, saw the school’s photographer’s helper he was convinced she would fall in love with him. With newcomer Alana Haim as Alana Kane, Sean Penn (Flag Day, Milk) as Jack Holden, Tom Waits (Seven Psychopaths, Short Cuts) as Rex Blau and newcomer Will Angarola as Kirk; this film festival winner and Oscar nominee was a disappointment. I thought Alana did a decent job for a newcomer and the established actors were good; but it did not matter because I thought the script was littered with distractions. The only actor that stood out for me was Bradley Cooper. There were scenes that fell flat for me because they were hard to believe in. Despite this movie being tagged as a comedy, I did not find anything funny. Sure, there were a couple of precarious predicament scenes, but what it came down to for me was the actors seemed too young for their roles outside of the school scenes. I periodically lost interest, though I enjoyed the soundtrack. I also appreciated the story line of first love and of the would-be actor trying to get ahead; but things did not comfortably fit well for me in the end. With its Oscar nominations, I almost felt as if I was being hustled as I watched this picture.
2 ½ stars
moviejoltz 