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Flash Movie Review: Home
It is tough when the joke you tell is met with blank or confused stares from the audience. Though it may be a bit deflating to the ego, it is not the worst thing in the world. What would be harder is if the crowd never really understood you. Having seen my share of rolled eyes, I tend to be hyper-sensitive when someone is being treated like an outsider. Now granted if there is a legitimate concern where folks are not comfortable with an individual, I do not force the issue of acceptance. I recall a gathering where one person stood out for their inappropriate comments; it was making people uncomfortable. You could see every person who came in contact with the offender would make an excuse to get away as quickly as possible. There is, however, a flip side to this scenario and that is the person who gets shunned just because they are different. I take offense when someone rejects another person simply because they do not fit into what that person considers the norm. With the recent talk in the news due to the Oscar speech where the writer told viewers to embrace being different and with talk shows discussing it; I totally agree we all need to be exposed more often to things and people who are different from us. I would prefer having the option to see a situation through an extra set of eyes because I may find something more than what I saw on my own. MISUNDERSTOOD and on his own the alien name Oh, voiced by Jim Parsons (Garden State, The Big Bang Theory-TV), found refuge on the planet Earth. What a surprise to travel all the way to another planet to find someone who understood him and that person was the young girl Gratuity “Tip” Tucci, voiced by Rihanna (Battleship, This is the End). This animated adventure was very colorful to watch; I enjoyed how Oh’s species changed color. The cast which also included Steve Martin (The Jerk, It’s Complicated) as Captain Smek and Jennifer Lopez (The Boy Next Door, Maid in Manhattan) as Lucy were well paired to their characters. I thought the animation was fine; in fact, I felt the creators had young children in mind because there seemed to always be something happening in the scenes. There was nothing out of the ordinary with this comedy and maybe that was the issue. The movie was cute but nothing special or different to me. I did not feel as invested as I have been with other animated films. Even with some clever writing I was never taken away with what was on screen, though young kids seemed to be enjoying themselves. I just did not get it.
2 1/2 stars
Flash Movie Review: PK
A majority of the residents from the neighborhood I grew up in practiced the same religion. In some ways it was easier because we all celebrated the same holidays and knew what foods to expect for the meals. Notice even at a young age it was all about the food. As I grew up the neighborhood was transformed and became more diversified. Except for one particular gang of kids from the neighborhood, I cannot recall a time where religion was used as an excuse for a particular action. Everyone was treated the same no matter what religion they practiced at home. It was not until I was an adult and out on my own where I saw how some people used religion as a means to manipulate other people. Where I consider religion to be a personal and private matter, I have a hard time understanding someone who uses their religion to explain their actions; but to me some of their actions are questionable. There have been enough examples made public where I do not feel the need to mention them here. In fact, I am a little uncomfortable even talking about this now. However, it is worth it so I can review today’s movie. STRANDED on our planet P.K., played by Aamir Khan (Like Stars on Earth, Rang De Basanti), asked the most innocent of questions that produced some profound results. It took me a short time to get my bearings with the story in this satirical fantasy about organized religion. There were multiple story lines that eventually began to merge together. I am familiar with Aamir’s work and this role was different for him. Despite not being a fan of slapstick humor, I did appreciate the character he was portraying. Included in the cast was Anushka Sharma (Wedding Planners, Ladies vs. Ricky Bahl) as Jagat Janani a/k/a/ Jaggu, Sanjay Dutt (Mission Kashmir, Lage Raho Munna) as Bhairon Singh and Saurabh Shukla (Slumdog Millionaire, Barfi!) as Tapasvi Maharaj. If one is not familiar with Bollywood films, it is important to pay attention to the songs being sung because they play a part in moving the story forward. An interesting side note, this film’s running time was 2 1/2 hours; halfway through the movie the screen went dark and up popped the word “intermission.” It lasted a few seconds then the picture continued on. Back to the slapstick comedy, I think it colored my feelings towards everyone’s acting abilities. However the strength of the story, with its proposals and variables, carried me through the entire movie. Add in a couple of twists and I felt this film did a wonderful job in taking the subject of religion and presenting a non-offensive, thought provoking, solid piece of work. Hindi and Bhojpuri language was spoken with English subtitles.
3 stars
Flash Movie Review: Under the Skin
The words coming out of his mouth never quite settled down in my head. I understood each word, but strung together they were like sheets flapping in the wind. All the individuals in my tour group sat attentively with their heads moving from side to side, as if they were watching a tennis match. We were in a museum and our tour guide was giving a lecture about the large, abstract art piece that was squatting in front of us. The people around me kept looking back and forth between the guide and the art piece, as if they were witnessing the creation of a new species. I sat there perplexed because I was evidently not seeing the things that everyone else were focusing on when gazing at this large, colorful mass of steel and paper. To me the object looked like a massive teepee that was starting to lift up its skirt as a front porch wrapped partially around it, with odd shaped geometrical flags sticking out that had been starched to stiffness. I guess I am not an art connoisseur like the others because I was not getting the whole thing. Everyone reacts to art in different ways; I understood it having grown up in an artistic family. But as I looked around it appeared I was the odd man out. Gratefully that was not the case with this science fiction thriller. From director Jonathan Glazer (Sexy Beast, Birth) the visual aspects of this film festival nominated drama was both curious and enticing. It was this component of the movie that kept my interest. Some of the scenes were fascinating due to the camera angles and the effects. Filmed in Scotland, Scarlett Johansson (Hitchcock, We Bought a Zoo) played an alien who preyed on lone single men. There was very little dialog and I gave Scarlett credit in her ability to convey the emotions of her character. I am willing to bet there will be people who sit through this unusual movie and afterwards spend hours debating the symbolism they felt was there. I, on the other hand, do not want to work that hard when I go see a film. So I must tell you I had no idea what the movie was about and when I typed the word “gratefully” earlier it was because the viewers around me said the same thing at the end of the picture. I could come up with things I assumed but they would only be my take on the film and everyone will have their own opinion; so what is the point?
2 1/2 stars
Flash Movie Review: Paul
Expectations can lead one down a road filled with disappointment. I try my best to avoid the pitfall of expectations, especially when it comes to movies. Now it is a different story if we are talking about chocolate–I always expect chocolate to taste good. I will admit when I received this movie, I expected nothing. Maybe I even had a slightly negative attitude about it, based on what I had heard from several people. This is a perfect example of having no expectations and discovering a total surprise. This funny film was an easy one to watch. The story was about two British friends who traveled to America, starting their vacation at a comic book convention. From this starting point the best friends Graeme Willy and Clive Gollings, played by Simon Pegg (Burke and Hare, Star Trek) and Nick Frost (Snow White and the Huntsman, Pirate Radio) set out on a road trip to visit infamous locations of an alien nature. Early on in their tour they had a surprise alien encounter with Paul, voiced by Seth Rogan (Funny People, Knocked Up), a fugitive from a government secret base. I was amused with Seth’s performance, liking him more that I usually do in a movie. Also, one of the reasons I got this DVD was because Kristen Wiig (Bridesmaids, Friends With Kids) was in it. She did not disappoint me in the least with her wild character Ruth Buggs. Vulgar language throughout the movie; the story was brilliantly scripted by the lead actors, Simon and Nick. With a foul mouthed, smoking alien as the star; this fun comedy was much better than yesterday’s movie I reviewed, The Watch.
2 3/4 stars — DVD
Flash Movie Review: The Watch
If there’s somethin’ strange in your neighborhood, who ya gonna call? Oh, excuse me; I just had a flashback after watching this movie about a neighborhood watch group. Though this comedy vaguely reminded me of the movie Ghostbusters, there were some big differences. And they were not good. In this movie we had Evan, played by Ben Stiller (Tower Heist, Greenberg), a husband who was the manager of the local Costco store. Keeping active in his suburban town; Evan started a community watch with fellow neighbors Bob, Franklin and Jamarcus, played by Vince Vaughn (Couples Retreat, The Dilemma), Jonah Hill (Moneyball, 21 Jump Street) and Richard Ayoade (Bunny and the Bull, The IT Crowd-TV). During a nightly drive, the patrol hit a large foreign object in the road. Did you like the way I wrote that last line? Yes, the neighborhood boys struck down an alien, discovering the earth was soon to be invaded. What a group of heroic, brave neighborhood watchmen! Now if they could have only found a better script, this would have been a better movie. If you like jokes about male and female anatomy, this film has a plethora of them. Not only was I bored silly with the old, stereotypical humor; I could not believe the mundane acting from Stiller and Vaughn. Could these two actors have put in a little more effort in their roles? It may have helped; but honestly, the script did not provide anything worthwhile. If I were you I would not stop by for a visit to this neighborhood.
1 3 /4 stars
Flash Movie Review: Prometheus
Let me first state the obvious: This science fiction thriller is a prequel to the movie Alien, which starred Sigourney Weaver. The steady tension in this movie was similar to the previous one; it kept me captivated. Believing they found clues to the origin of mankind, a group of explorers traveled to a distant planet. Michael Fassbender (Shame, A Dangerous Method) was excellent as the android David, who had specific reasons for being part of the crew. Charlize Theron (Snow White and the Huntsman, The Italian Job) was steely good as Meredith Vickers, the crew’s captain. I was quite pleased Noomi Rapale (The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo Swedish franchise, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows) did an excellent job as Elizabeth Shaw, the scientist who discovered the map that lead the explorers to their destination. Not only were the special effects excellent throughout this film; but I felt the visuals were works of art, they were beautiful. I only had wished the story was as good; parts of it made no sense to me. For example, the idea that one could get up and walk around right after having abdominal surgery with only staples closing the incision was ridiculous. To me it felt as if the special effects were thought of first, then the writers came up with the scenes to accompany them. Honestly, I left the movie theater a bit disappointed. It was like getting a beautifully wrapped birthday gift that you were excited to open, only to discover that you already had something just like it.
2 3/4 stars
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