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Flash Movie Review: Novocaine
THOSE IN MY SPHERE OF FRIENDS and relatives would not use the word “risky” to describe me. Yet, though it would not be the first, third, or tenth thing down the list; I would say I am a calculated risk type of individual. This is especially true when it comes to relationships. I remember this person I had only gone out with twice before they invited me to their New Year’s Eve party, no less. I was hesitant with my reply because I had to go over all the information I had acquired from our two dates. To my advantage, they were an afternoon coffee date and dinner date; so, there was a lot of talking done in those two events. When I replied I mentioned I had another party to go to but I would stop by. This was true, though the other party was a yearly get together at a friend’s house for whoever wanted to stop by. The reason I mentioned the other party was in case I was not comfortable being at a party filled with strangers, except for the host who I had only known for a couple of weeks. It was a risk for me and at the party I was quite aware I was the topic of conversation amongst their closer friends. Gratefully, I had a pleasant time despite feeling like I was on display; I did catch the host telling a friend that I was the one who they had been “dating” the past couple of weeks. I AM NOT MAKING ANY JUDGEMENTS regarding that New Year’s Eve party because I have taken the same type of risk myself. When I first meet a potential date, I tend to steer the conversation into deeper waters because I have never been good at small talk. If I find my mind is engaged with theirs, I can quickly find myself being attracted to them; I want to learn and explore more with them. And for some reason, if a situation comes up where it appears they are taking a risk, that can be quite informative. The last time when I was available and dating, I had met someone for coffee one evening after work. The conversation went well and I felt we had a variety of things in common. It was towards the end of our third date when I decided to take a risk and see if they would accept it. I mentioned I was going to an outdoor music festival in a couple of weeks and asked if they cared to join me. A good part of me thought they would decline because I was pretty sure the artists were not the type of musicians they were interested in. Imagine going on a date and spending the entire time not enjoying the venue; it certainly could be a test. To my surprise, they accepted my offer; I was actually stunned but pleased. The reason being is that this showed me the interest was mutual, which allowed my defenses to recede and let my heart expand. We had a wonderful time and from that moment on, the relationship got stronger and stronger. So, I absolutely understood what the main character had to do in this action, crime, comedy, thriller. WHEN ONE OF HIS EMPLOYEES IS taken as a hostage, who he believes might be the girl of his dreams, the assistant bank manager sets out to rescue her, using his unique physical trait to assist him. With Jack Quaid (Companion, The Boys-TV) as Nate, Amber Midthunder (Prey, The Ice Road) as Sherry, Ray Nicholson (Smile 2, Borderline) as Simon, Jacob Batalon (Spider-Man franchise, Tarot) as Roscoe, and Betty Gabriel (Get Out, It Lives Inside) as Mincy; this movie had a novel story line that I found attractive. Granted, there were scenes filled with blood and violence; but I enjoyed the acting, especially coming from Jack and Amber. Some of the scenes were creative but at some point they started reaching to the level of far-fetched. A layer of disbelief formed in my head that lasted through the last half of the film. Also, the same type of gag repeating itself made the last half of the story a bit tiresome. However, with the novel approach, good acting, and creativity involved; I still enjoyed watching this picture, though I had to turn my head away a couple of times. There were scenes of blood and violence.
3 stars
Flash Movie Review: The Old Man and the Gun
THOUGH SHE APPEARED TO BE AN OLDER woman, I would never ask her age. She had been taking my yoga class for several weeks, bringing her own yoga mat and a bottle of water. Maybe I am stereotyping; but she had long gray hair pulled back into a ponytail that trailed halfway down her back, looking like a former hippie. Every week while I lead the class into warming up poses I provide a little distraction by listing celebrity birthdays for the week. One of the reasons I do this is to break the ice with any new participants who have that “new kid on the block” mentality, coming to class for the 1st time. I will ask the class if they know so-and-so, wait if anyone guesses what the celebrity did to make he/she famous, then reveal their age. So, this one week after I went through my list of celebrity birthdays, the older woman piped up it was also her birthday. I and the rest of the class wished her well. She then said she was happy to say she was 82 years old. I knew she was an older individual but honestly, I would never have guessed that was her age. She told us she loves yoga and has been doing it for decades; what an inspiration. I WAS JUST AS FORTUNATE IN the work world to have met people like that woman in my yoga class. They loved their job, so they stayed employed way past their retirement age. At one of the companies I worked at, the owner came to work every day. He was always busy and kept this up way into his 90’s. There certainly is some truth in finding something you love or are passionate about to feel successful. I had a relative who would always say they were not going to work, they were going to play because they enjoyed what they did at their job. You know how some people are married to their work; where all they think and talk about is their job? Well they do not necessarily love what they do; they have formed an identity for themselves based on their occupation. The individuals I have referred to each have their identity in tack; they just want to continue what they do because they love it. I feel this way about doing my movie reviews and hope I can continue doing them for a long time because they bring me such joy. The same thing can be said about the main character in today’s comedic, crime drama. FORREST TUCKER, PLAYED BY ROBERT REDFORD (The Natural, Truth); was good at what he did, besides getting immense joy out of it. The only downside was the consequences would be steep if he had a misstep. With Casey Affleck (A Ghost Story, The Finest Hours) as John Hurt, Sissy Spacek (The Help, Coal Miner’s Daughter) as Jewel, Danny Glover (Proud Mary, Back in the Day) as Teddy and Tom Waits (Seven Psychopaths, Down by Law) as Waller; this film festival nominee was based on a true story and what a story! Rumor has it this will be Robert’s last acting role. If it is he at least can end his chapter on a high note with this role. It was such a treat to watch him and Sissy, two seasoned actors, play off each other. The story started out slow for me but continued building itself up to a point where I was enjoying watching the mixture of emotions that took place on screen. It was obvious Robert was having a good time doing this character since it came across fully. I must give everyone who worked on this film credit; this will sound cheesy but if there was any labor involved in the making of this picture it was a labor of love.
3 stars
moviejoltz 