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Flash Movie Review: Unfrosted
I DO NOT REMEMBER WHAT AGE I became where I no longer found kids’ jokes funny. There was the constant “knock, knock” jokes, along with jokes like “Why did the chocolate chip cookie go to see the doctor?” He felt crummy. Or “What’s a pirate’s favorite class to take in school?” Arrrrrt. At some point, I had heard them so much they were no longer funny to me. Even today, I have a couple of friends who constantly tell the same type of jokes multiple times. At some point I can no longer pretend they are funny; the jokes lose their surprise element. Changing a word here and there does not change the joke. I feel the same way about food companies that introduce different variations of their best-selling items. A sandwich filled cookie where the filling changes and gets weirder does not appeal to me. I am here to say, I am not on the pumpkin spice bandwagon. When I walk through the aisles of the grocery store and see so many products with this flavor, I cannot make sense of it. Why would I want my pasta, butter, or salmon to taste like pumpkin spice? NOW THERE IS ONE FOOD ITEM I do not care what they do to it because I was never a fan of it. I was never attracted to food items that had fruit filled centers. When Pop Tarts were introduced, I was curious about them but did not want to eat one. The only time I tried them was when I was at a friend’s house. If their mother offered me one, I did not want to be rude by saying no, so would take one and try to eat it. Many times, I would eat around the edges because there was so little fruit filling there. It would be times like that where I wished my friend’s mom would have chocolate chip cookies, which were my favorite. I believe the other reason I was not a fan of Pop Tarts was because they could be toasted. In my mind, if something is going into the toaster then it is meant to be eaten for breakfast or it is bread. I could not tell if this fruit filled item was a dessert or snack item. Now that you know I get tired of the same jokes told repeatedly and am not a fan of Pop Tarts, what do you think I thought about this biographical comedy? LOCKED IN A BITTER RIVALRY FOR store shelves, it was a race to see which food company could come out with a completely new food item that would change everyone’s minds about breakfast and dessert. With Jerry Seinfeld (Seinfeld-TV, Curb Your Enthusiasm-TV) as Bob Cabana, Jim Gaffigan (Collide, Peter Pan & Wendy) as Edsel Kellogg III, Hugh Grant (Wonka, Love Actually) as Thurl Ravenscroft, Amy Schumer (I Feel Pretty, The Humans) as Marjorie Post and Melissa McCarthy (Genie, The Little Mermaid) as Donna Stankowski; I honestly thought with this cast, along with the variety of celebrity cameo roles, there would be no way this film, written and directed by Jerry Seinfeld, would not be funny. I was completely wrong. Not only was it not funny, but it was lame. I do not know if I can honestly say if there was any acting taking place. The script was so boring and ridiculous that I only kept watching because I thought it would have to get better at some point. Instead of appearing like a movie, this felt like a series of comedy bits that kept falling flat. The only time where I showed interest in humor was one exchange between Melissa and Hugh; that was it. I would have enjoyed seeing how Pop Tarts came into existence, but I believe there was only a speck of truth the script was based on, and the rest was slapstick nonsense. For viewers who grew up during that time, the retro references could be fun, but so many of the shown ones were attached to some nonsensical scene that instead it could become irritating. There was nothing fun or entertaining about this picture. Even if I loved Pop Tarts, I still would not have subjected myself to watching this if I had known what the script was going to be. This film had no shelf life and was stale from the start.
1 star
Flash Movie Review: Shirley
I WAS AWARE SHE WAS THE only girl in the class, but I thought nothing else about it. However, the boys in the class had a problem with it. I was signed up for day camp because I refused to go to an “away” camp during my elementary school’s summer vacation. There was a list of different activities I could sign up for that would then be spread across the weeks I was attending. The camp was at our community center; I could either ride my bicycle on good days or get a ride from a group of neighborhood parents that volunteered for carpooling duty. Some of the activities I attended, like swimming, only had boys in the class; others, like archery, had both boys and girls. I never thought anything about it. Any swimming lessons I attended always had boys participating, and campfire skills class always had a mix of boys and girls. This woodworking class was different because there was only one girl in it. Either the classes were filled with one gender or a mix; there never was only one or two in class that were of the opposite gender. I wondered if woodworking was supposed to be a boy’s activity. The boys in the class did not interact with her or help her out like they did with each other. I was stationed too far away, so had little contact with her myself; but I felt sad for her. LATER IN LIFE WHEN I STARTED working in the fitness industry, I discovered men were a minority. At one private club, they did not even have a locker for me to change outfits; I had to do it in the bathroom. I cannot honestly say if I experienced any prejudices because I was a man. If a female member did not want to be taught by a man, she simply would not come to class. After I went back to school for yoga, I was the only male instructor, sometimes the only instructor who was teaching yoga classes in the fitness centers where I worked. I did feel not only a sense of responsibility but a pressure because I was laying down the foundation for what members would be expecting out of a yoga class. It was an exciting and thrilling time for me as I saw how yoga was affecting the participants. Though the classes started out with females being the majority, as word spread, I started seeing more and more men trying it out. I do not want to say I was a trailblazer, but I can honestly say I changed many people’s perceptions of yoga. There is something about being the first and seeing how one’s actions can change the minds of many people, just like the main character did in this biographical historical drama. SHE WAS ALREADY THE FIRST BLACK woman to be elected to congress; and with her record and the things she had seen, why couldn’t she run for the 1972 Democratic presidential nomination? With Regina King (The Harder They Fall, Flag Day) as Shirley Chisholm, Lance Reddick (John Wick franchise, White House Down) as Wesley McDonald, Terrance Howard (Cardboard Boxer, Hustle & Flow) as Arthur Hardwick Jr., Lucas Hedges (Manchester by the Sea, Boy Erased) as Robert Gottlieb and Michael Cherrie (She Paradise, Limbo) as Conrad Chisholm; Regina King gave it her all in creating a powerful character based on a true person. Soon into this film, I lost track of Regina and thought I was following Shirley. I understood the story focused on her presidential run, but I never really got a sense of the characters and what their relationships were to each other. A better script could have helped because several scenes felt like short video clips of Shirley’s life, instead of digging deeper into what was taking place inside of her and the people around. Because the story is so remarkable, I maintained interest all through the picture. In a case like this, I would enjoy seeing a prequel and sequel to what I had just seen.
3 stars
Flash Movie Review: Scoop
I DO NOT THINK I AM different from most people, wanting to stay current or in the know. Ever since I learned how to read, I have had a thing about periodicals and newspapers. Growing up we had the city newspaper delivered to us every single day, besides a few magazines coming weekly and monthly. When I was old enough to move out of the house into my own apartment, the first thing I did was subscribe to a handful of magazines. Part of my enjoyment is being able to share a new bit of information with friends and family, plus when someone asks me if I knew about something, I could say yes and tell them where I heard or read about it. Do not ask me why this brings me pleasure; maybe it is because I hated being called on in classes, having never been confident in having the right answers. Even when I travel to a new city, one of the things I always do is buy a copy of their local newspaper. I feel I learn a little more about the area I am visiting by reading their local news. There have been times when I return from vacation with little news articles or tidbits I had torn out of local newspapers or magazines. AS I HAVE MENTIONED IN THE past, I believe there are no accidents. So, it turned out my enjoyment with staying current helped me in my fitness classes. Sharing some of the news bits I learned became a fun distraction in my classes. Besides my enjoyment in mentioning both important and whimsical news items, I felt it was a good distraction for the members while they were being pushed by me with their fitness routines. Sometimes we would start a dialog of shared thoughts on a topic I mentioned while we worked out. And if there happened to be a newsworthy news event that contained interviews, most of us would share the same opinions. I always wanted to know more than what was spoken in the news. For example, why did one news source get their news out on a specific recent headlining event first before any of their competitors, or what had to take place to snag an interview with a famous or infamous player involved with the breaking story; these are things I am naturally curious about. Since I am inquisitive, it made perfect sense that I would want to see this dramatic biography based on true events. IT WOULD BE THE INTERVIEW OF a lifetime, but could the BBC really sway the thinking over at Buckingham Palace. The stakes were high for both sides; it was only a matter of convincing them it was the right thing to do. With Billie Piper (Catherine Called Birdy, Doctor Who-TV) as Sam McAlister, Gillian Anderson (White Bird, The Last King of Scotland) as Emily Maitlis, Rufus Sewell (Judy, A Knight’s Tale) as Prince Andrew, Connor Swindells (Barbie, Sex Education-TV) as Jae Donnelly and Kate Fleetwood (London Road, Beirut) as Annette Witheridge; I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. The acting by Gillian and Rufus was wonderful, to the point I believed their characters. Of course, nothing could replace seeing the actual interview of Prince Andrew discussing his interactions with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein; however, whether it was true or not, seeing the behind-the-scenes dealings to get the interview were fascinating to me. At times, scenes played out like a thriller, with tension and excitement. I thought the pacing was spot on, staying steady and focused on capturing the “truth” that viewers wanted to see for themselves. Due to the way the story was packaged, I could easily believe all of this took place to get Prince Andrew to open up about what part he played in Jeffrey’s world.
3 stars
Flash Movie Review: Bob Marley: One Love
THERE HAVE BEEN MANY EVENTS I have attended that had speakers/leaders I wanted to hear. I have been fortunate to have met state senators, mayors, authors, world champion athletes, musical artists, activists, and a variety of others. I have found each of them gives off a certain intensity unlike the levels of intensity I encounter in my daily life. When I shook the hand of the mayor, they felt like a tightly wound spring that was ready to explode; it was incredibly intense. On a previous trip, I was at an event where political speakers were giving talks. Not all of them were common household names, but one was a senior adviser to a president. Listening to them, I was struck by their compassion and commitment; it just came out of them like a steady breeze. What equally impressed me were some of the less familiar politicians because I could tell they had that same drive of compassion and care for what they were trying to do in government. I believe I became more sensitive to experiencing leaders/figureheads who were, for lack of a better adjective, false prophets. You might know the kind that only tells you what you want to hear, instead of telling you what is the better or right or effective way to do something. SADLY, IN THE FITNESS WORLD, I encountered many individuals who let their ego lead the way. At a fitness convention, the guest speaker at a workshop talked about themselves. They told us how they changed the culture at their fitness club and had the largest classes and how they flew cross-country giving talks and so on and so on. Their talk was all about me, me, me; I was bored out of my mind. The same thing happened, of all places, at a charity event where I was volunteering. The celebrity speaker was there to draw people into the event by purchasing tickets, besides buying tickets for the silent auction. The charity was for a worthy cause, and one would have thought the speaker would have acknowledged this during their speech. But no, they spoke about their new project in the works and how they got into the business; none of which helped sell the charity to get new donors. I found their behavior disgusting. Do not get me wrong; I am not trying to stop people from making a living. However, if a person is willing to be a speaker at an event, they should show the audience why there are people in the world who follow them. Offer advice, offer truth, offer your vision; just do not offer your ego. Not being familiar with the subject in this dramatic, music biography, I was hoping to find out who they were as a person and how did they achieve such a status in the world. GROWING UP IN A COUNTRY FILLED with conflict, a musician finds his way through the world using his revolutionary music. With Kingsley Ben-Adir (One Night in Miami, Noelle) as Bob Marley, Lashana Lynch (No Time to Die, Captain Marvel) as Rita Marley, James Norton (Little Women, Mr. Jones) as Chris Blackwell, Tosin Cole (House Party, Doctor Who-TV) as Tyrone Downie and relative newcomer Umi Myers; I thought the acting was solid from Kingsley and Lashana, especially her. The musical soundtrack, as you would expect, was the main driver of this picture. Having little knowledge of his catalog of songs, I enjoyed the musical numbers. I thought the script did not do the subject justice because I really did not learn much about Bob Marley. At times, I felt I was watching a series of musical vignettes instead of getting an understanding of why and how Bob achieved his status in the musical world. The other thought I had running through my mind was the possibility I was watching a sanitized version of Bob and his family. Since his family was involved with this film, it certainly seemed feasible. By the end of the movie, I was glad I saw it, but not sure if indeed he was a man who led with his heart instead of his ego.
2 stars
Flash Movie Review: Priscilla
I LOOKED AROUND AND EVERYONE WAS laughing at everything he was saying. I had to admit, he was funny and knew how to work a crowd; however, I knew what he really was like when he did not have an audience. You see, he was married to a friend of mine. I was not too keen on the idea of her marrying him, mostly because they had only been dating for a short while. There was something about him that rubbed me the wrong way, though that is not exactly what I said when my friend asked me what I thought of him. All I said was I did not feel a connection with him, as if he always had his guard up around me. I would never do anything to upset my friend and if she felt that strong about wanting to marry this man, it was not up to me to voice my negative opinion. They had a small wedding since both had been married previously. After the ceremony we had appetizers and desserts at a hall they rented out for the occasion. In the beginning of their marriage, she would mention from time to time a thing or two about how angry he would get over things he had no control of. As the months passed, she would mention he would wake her at 5 am on a Saturday because he decided that was the time they needed to clean their house. When she said she was not ready, he would yell at her, and I knew for certainty something was off with him and she needed to get out of the relationship. Though I came to this conclusion first, she came around to it within a matter of months. HER EXPERIENCE HAPPENED A YEAR AFTER I had a similar revelation in my relationship. We had been dating for one year, having met at a party. I was taken by surprise when we started talking because I felt I was so out of their league. They were charming, beautiful, star salesperson in the medical field and had this worldly cosmopolitan air about them; I simply felt I was not their type. Because of this mindset, I felt I did myself an injustice and ignored what I needed in a relationship. We would eat out at fancier restaurants because that is what they wanted to do. If I mentioned I wanted to go to a casual dinner place I was fond of, they would tell me they would not be caught dead at such a place. And I would give in; what the heck was I doing? As time passed, I started to become resentful and felt I was not an equal in the relationship. Funny, before I decided to end it, they beat me to the punch. They had met a surgeon, and I was glad for them. With my friend’s marriage and my relationship, it showed me that one never knows what life is like beneath the surface of a person or behind closed doors. FROM HANGING OUT AT THE COFFEE shop on a U.S. army base in Germany, a young teenage girl found herself as a guest at a party where a well-known, young musical celebrity was holding court. Then suddenly, he started to talk to her. With Cailee Spaeny (On the Basis of Sex, Pacific Rim: Uprising) as Prisciilla, Jacob Elordi (Saltburn, The Kissing Booth) as Elvis, Ari Cohen (It franchise, Spiral) as Captain Beaulieu, Dagmara Dominczyk (The Lost Daughter, Succession-TV) as Ann Beaulieu and Tim Post (Mambo Italiano, My Salinger Year) as Vernon Presley; this film festival winning dramatic biography was directed by Sofia Coppola, who shot the film through the eyes of Priscilla. It was an interesting take on Elvis’ story, besides not making his songs the feature star. This film started out slowly and I was not getting into the acting from the cast. It was later into the story when I began to appreciate Cailee’s and Jacob’s skills. As for the story, even if what was depicted was exactly what happened in real life, I felt I was still missing something. I could not understand what each of them saw in the other except maybe their looks. I am glad I saw this movie, but I had an empty feeling by the time it was over.
2 ½ stars
Flash Movie Review: The Boys in the Boat
IT WAS MY FIRST FITNESS TEACHING job and I had only been working at the health club for a few months. They were going to hold a charity event by doing a four-hour aerobics marathon. It was expected that all the fitness instructors would both teach a portion of the time and remain to support each other’s time segment. I was highly anxious about participating in the marathon because I had no idea if I could hold up moving for such a lengthy period of time. Plus, I had no idea how much it would tax my body’s limits. I had seen marathon runners lose control over their body functions or nearly pass out and I certainly did not want to be that person. At the club, I started out teaching three classes a week which were Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The classes lasted one hour each, but there were my introductory remarks, demonstrating and lastly the last five minutes after the cooldown, were meant for everyone to put any of their equipment away and get out of the aerobic studio before the next class was to start on the hour. After one hour of teaching, I had worked up a good sweat and could feel my muscles tingling. But after four hours, I had no idea what to expect. THE MARATHON WAS STARTING AT EIGHT in the morning and the instructors had to be there an hour earlier for sound checks, set up and go over the order we would be teaching. Being the newest member of the group, I had to wait until everyone else had picked their time slots; we started with the longest employed and worked our way down to me. I was grateful that the time slot left for me was for sixth place; in other words, I would be teaching at the 90-minute mark. Better than the 180- or 195-minute mark, I felt. I did not have to go full out with the moves like I did in my own class, but I had to make sure I still had good form and look like I was exerting myself. At the top of the hour, we began the marathon. The first instructor welcomed everyone and started up the music. Everyone was in a good mood and excited for the event. Though I was nervous about my segment of teaching, I was surprised how good of a time I was having as a participant. All the instructors were close to each other and were feeding off each other’s enthusiasm. By the time it was my turn, I was buzzing inside and simply ran up to the front, cued in my music and off I went leading the group. The time flew by for me as it did for the rest of the morning and by the end exhaustion had settled into me. However, all the instructors came together and congratulated each other on pulling off a major event. From that experience, I felt I knew what the teammates were feeling in this dramatic, sports biography. STUDENTS FROM A SMALL UNIVERSITY HAD limited resources to excel in a sport that was dominated by well endowed universities from across the country. To succeed, these students would need something else if they wanted not only to compete but win. With Joel Edgerton (Thirteen Lives, The Green Knight) as Coach Al Ulbrickson, Callum Turner (Fantastic Beasts franchise, Green Room) as Joe Rantz, Peter Guinness (The Last Boy, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan) as George Pocock, Sam Strike (Leatherface, Monster Party) as Roger Morris and Thomas Elms (I Still See You, The Order-TV) as Chuck Day; this George Clooney directed movie based on a true story was a feel good film. Set in the 1930s, this film festival winner had the trappings for a good old-fashioned feel-good picture. The sets and costumes were wonderful, and the cast did a solid job with their acting. The story was predictable and despite the no frills direction, I wished more time were devoted to fleshing out more substance for each character. Despite these misgivings, I still cheered on these students as they made their way on what was to become an historical trip. An historical trip that was never mentioned throughout any of my schooling, I might add.
2 ½ stars
Flash Movie Review: American Symphony
CREATIVE PEOPLE GET THEIR CREATIVITY FROM the right side of their brain. I should know because I consider myself to be a creative person. Any decisions I make first utilize the right side of my brain before filtering over to the left side to add logic into the decision. For example, when I walked into the attic of my house and saw a hole in it, which explained the wet spot on my dining room ceiling, I did not immediately think I needed to patch the hole up. I first thought about hiring someone to fill the hole with glass bricks to bring natural light into the attic. Next, I wondered if I could install an attic fan into the hole to draw out the stifling air from summer. Those were my two thoughts before the left side of the brain kicked in and I ran to call the insurance company. Some people have a challenging time using both parts of the brain; hang around a group of actors and you will understand. I am not saying either way is good or bad, I just mean challenges can develop from the situation. For me, when I am baking a dessert, the instructions must be exact. If they are not, I will stop and wonder what the author is trying to say and usually come up with a variety of ways that may not necessarily work for the recipe. My example is, a “pinch.” How much is a pinch? Do you see what I mean? THERE HAVE BEEN INCIDENTS WHERE I have had to force myself to use both sides of my brain at the same time. I was hospitalized with a case of E Coli some time ago. While I was on the road to recovery, I had to work on my new class sessions. Trying to create physically challenging formats for the members to follow while not feeling well was rough for me. My mind wanted to work on the exercise routines, but my body was not in shape to undertake such a thing. I wound up drawing out the movements to match the beats of several different songs, then would do the leg and arm movements while seated in a chair. I had to watch and monitor my fatigue level and many times just imagine the movements in my head. It was hard to stay on the beat, so I had to count them out as well. With my limited experiences, I am in total awe of what the main characters tried to achieve in this heartfelt, Oscar nominated biographical music documentary. AS MUSICIAN JON BATISTE SETS OUT to create a symphony that will be debuted at Carnegie Hall, his life partner, writer Suleika Jaouad, begins her journey with cancer treatments. How will each be there to support the other? Directed by Matthew Heineman (A Private War, City of Ghosts), this film had scenes filled with a variety of celebrities such as James Taylor, Stevie Wonder, Questlove, Lenny Kravitz and Jonathan Dinklage. Having had very little exposure to Jon Batiste, I was enthralled with Jon’s creativity. The story is such an intimate one and the director did a beautiful job of never having the camera work come off as an intrusion. The story itself is incredible; to see such opposing forces as cancer and musicmaking vying to be in the forefront added a level of tension as the story unfolded. Creating and presenting a new symphony in the way Jon wanted to do it was already a huge undertaking; then add in Suleika’s medical issues and I cannot see how someone could not be drawn into the story. I also feel one does not have to be a fan of Jon’s style of music to appreciate what transpires in this lovely documentary.
3 ½ stars
Flash Movie Review: Rustin
THROUGH THE YEARS, I HAVE HAD the good fortune and just plain good old luck to have met activists for various causes I believed in. One man was only a couple of years older than me, but his wisdom and foresight were way beyond his chronological age. I was an intense individual, but I was nothing close to the intensity that streamed out of him. There was something about the way he looked at you while talking that would be unnerving for many people. He would lock eyes with you, and they would stay on you without ever blinking while he was talking. The first time I experienced this, I did not know how to handle it; I thought it would be disrespectful if I broke my gaze with him. His words were measured but they flowed out, sometimes with a slight melonic tone, at other times in a rapid staccato. There was a newsclip I happened to see while watching the evening news, where he debated a politician who was trying to justify his argument with bible passages. This activist did not miss a beat, correcting the politician’s misuse of the passage, quoting the passage back to him and then explaining what it meant. The politician did not know the activist’s previous ‘life” was studying for the priesthood at a seminary. ANOTHER ACTIVIST I MET SEVERAL TIMES over the years, who came out of a seriously dysfunctional environment, took her energy, and focused it on creating safe environments for people to discover how to find healthy ways to express their feelings. Listening to her having a conversation, I was so impressed how she would call a person out for their ”BS.” Not in an antagonistic way, but in a calm way by asking the person to further explain the statement they made. I must tell you it was a revelation to experience that because seeing that event stuck with me and put me on the road to becoming a better communicator. With her and the other activists I have encountered in my life, one of the things that they all had in common was the ability to corral and focus all types of personalities into a unified force. The only way I can describe it would be to say they were like musical conductors. They could immediately tell upon talking to an individual what they were best suited for in helping the cause. Looking at the end goal and being able to navigate a monumental number of roadblocks, these activists never gave up. It was so inspirational to witness it and the feeling I had around them was like the feeling I had watching this biographical, historical drama. BELIEVING IN MARTIN LUTHER KING’S NONVIOLENT resistance philosophy, an activist and friend of his came up with an idea to show the country how it could work. However, to succeed he needed to get everything in place in a short amount of time while being met with resistance. With Colman Domingo (The Color Purple, Selma) as Bayard Rustin, Chris Rock (Amsterdam, Nobody’s Fool) as Roy Wilkins, Glynn Turman (Super 8, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom) as A. Philip Randolph, Aml Ameen (The Maze Runner, Til Death) as Martin Luther King Jr and Gus Halper (Cold Pursuit, Holler) as Tom; this Oscar nominated film was a fascinating piece of history that I was never taught in school. Having recently seen Colman in The Color Purple and seeing him now in this picture made his acting ability stand out even more for me because of the huge contrast between the two roles. He was incredible, to the point I felt he was channeling Bayard. The story and script were overall wonderful, but I felt the story being rushed towards the end and some of the scenes seemed like a setup. Because of the historical value, I still loved watching this movie and am amazed at what Bayard, who might be unknown to many viewers, set out to do under tough complications.
3 ¼ stars
Flash Movie Review: NYAD
I WAS FORTUNATE THAT I NEVER injured myself while teaching one of my fitness classes. My good fortune came about from a discussion I had with one of my earliest directors at the fitness center. When I first arrived there, many of the members thought I was the director’s brother because we were so similar in our coloring and temperament, though she was over a decade older than me. When she hired me, she explained her philosophy on teaching classes, which included how she not only paid attention to the members’ form and movement, but to own as well. Back when I started, high impact aerobics was still a thing and she told me to begin the exercise demonstrating the high impact moves, but to drop down to low impact to protect my body. It was great advice because, through the decades, I was able to maintain teaching 15 to 20 classes a week without any soreness in my joints or muscles. Though that early director retired from her position, she still maintained her training license the entire time I was working at the fitness center. She may have been the oldest trainer on the fitness floor, but she was still getting results out of each of her clients; she was and still is an inspiration to me. WHILE I WAS TEACHING FITNESS CLASSES, I decided to go back to school to become a yoga instructor. Once I completed my courses, I introduced yoga classes into the fitness center. One of the instructors that was hired was an older person. Nothing was said about it, this was just an observation. She and I struck up a friendship since we had similar styles in our yoga practices. Looking at her, I had to say she looked like she was in her 50’s. The yoga program was an enormous success for the center, and we were able to offer several classes throughout the week. At some point, in one of my conversations with this older instructor, she told me her age. I was shocked when she said she was about to turn seventy years old. I was only shocked because she did not look it, and no one could imagine she was that age based on the yoga poses she taught in her classes. During her time at the fitness center, I grew to admire her accomplishments based on the personal stories she shared with me. It is because of her and my earliest fitness director that I felt I could have a lengthy career in fitness/yoga. They taught me age was only a number; it did not need to represent me. THOUGH SHE DID NOT COMPLETE HER swim between Cuba and Florida decades earlier, a marathon swimmer never forgot her dream. She was determined to be the first person to complete the course, even when others said she was too old. With Annette Bening (Jerry and Marge Go Large, Death on the Nile) as Diana Nyad, Jodie Foster (Hotel Artemis, Flightplan) as Bonnie Stoll, newcomer Anne Marie Kemf as Candace, Rhys Ifans (The Amazing Spider-Man, Anonymous) as John Bartlett and Eric T. Miller (Separation, Redemption in Cherry Springs) as Coach Jack Nelson; this true story was a showcase for the acting skills of Annette and Jodie. They were wonderful in their roles, staying strong and solid throughout the film. The story is incredible; but more than that, I never found myself bored while watching the scenes unfold. I would have appreciated a little more background story to the characters because at times I did not understand why people were putting up with Diana’s behavior. Regardless, this was an entertaining and inspirational movie. Even if one does not find this biographical, sport drama appealing, one cannot fault the message, to never give up on one’s dream.
3 ¼ stars
Flash Movie Review: Sound of Freedom
IT EVEN PUZZLES ME AT TIMES, but for some reason I tend to walk in the back when there are several individuals in my group. This is especially true when there are children amongst the adults. At first, I was not conscious of doing it but as time went on, and I was at my fittest, I felt like I was protecting the group from harm. Not that I have any unique skills like Liam Neeson, I simply felt I was adding an extra layer of protection around my friends and family. Looking ahead at crosswalks, observing what type of person was walking towards us, assessing traffic patterns and driveways; I tried to make sure every step forward was a safe one for everyone. This thinking came about because I grew up in a large city and traveled by various means to all areas of it; I do not know. I have a memory thinking whenever I was walking with a person who was carrying a purse or bag, I wanted to be walking on the outside, closer to the curb so a purse snatcher would not be able to grab their bag and take off with it. When little kids were involved, I instinctually wanted to walk behind them so I could keep an eye out, scanning for any potential trouble areas that could put them in harm’s way. FOR ALL THE YEARS I HAVE been walking in the back, we never encountered any type of trouble. I honestly, do not think I had something to do with it, but I can say times were safer back then as compared to the present. There are so many distractions I see when walking outside, I cannot imagine herding a small group of people through it. I saw a tween or young teenager looking at their phone while walking down the sidewalk and they bumped into a streetlamp. Just last week, the car ahead of me nearly went through a traffic light that turned red because they were on their phone. The worse news is hearing and reading about little children who got shot by accident because they were in the line of fire between members of two rival street gangs or a robber. I know in some circumstances there would have been nothing I could do to prevent such tragedy. Innocent children should not have to suffer for adults’ choices/mistakes/wayward ways. Growing up, I do not recall hearing stories about the criminal activities that took place in this biographical, crime drama. Even knowing about them as an adult, I cannot even process the horror of it. A GOVERNMENT AGENT RESCUES A LITTLE boy who was abducted away from his family. When the agent discovers his sister was also taken, he decides he must find her as well, no matter where his search might take him. With Jim Caviezel (The Thin Red Line, Person of Interest-TV) as Tim Ballard, Mira Sorvino (The Replacement Killers, Butter) as Katherine, Bill Camp (Passing, 12 Years a Slave) as Vampiro, Javier Godino (The Secret in Their Eyes, Operation Mincemeat) as Jorge and Manny Perez (Pride and Glory, A Killer Romance) as Fuego; this film based on a true story was a disturbing watch. I had no idea it was based on a true story, which made the story more gripping for me. As I sat and watched it, I thought some scenes may have been watered down from reality because they seemed a bit farfetched. Also, I think a little more character development would have been in order. But here is the thing; from an entertainment standpoint, this movie was thrilling, creepy, gut wrenching to watch for me. Regardless of its flaws, I still felt it was a powerful picture. I honestly wonder how a parent could watch this film and not want to ever let their children out of the house by themselves.
3 stars
moviejoltz 