Blog Archives
Flash Movie Review: The People We Hate at the Wedding
I HAVE ATTENDED ENOUGH WEDDINGS TO know what I do not want at mine. There was the wedding where the bride had a partial meltdown because the main dish was horrible; I mean it was barely edible and at least at my table, all the meals were lukewarm or cold. One wedding that is still vivid in my mind is the one where the bride and her mother-in-law got into a huge fight during the reception and the bride ran off to the bathroom, where she cried for several minutes. When she finally came out, she refused to acknowledge her mother-in-law’s presence for the rest of the evening. Talk about an awkward situation, it was surreal. The poor groom was so torn between his mother and the love of his life, he felt totally hopeless and wound up sitting at the foot of the head table, with his face in his hands. The entire evening felt like a theater produced farce because all the guests were so taken aback by the drama. Oh, I almost forgot about my friend, who was getting married, telling me how angry he was at his “crazy” relatives because they were calling his mother to tell her who they did not want to sit with at the reception. I was surprised the mother told him and did not put the relatives in their place. I guess weddings can bring the worst out of some people. A WEDDING IS A TIME TO put aside any issues one has with another wedding guest; whether it is a family member or friend, the nuptials should be a drama free zone. I was at a wedding where I was stuck at a table with an obnoxious drunk, who I had a previous run-in with at the groom’s house. I found him to be rude and inconsiderate. Despite my previous altercation with him, I remained neutral and polite during the wedding reception. I could see his negativity was negatively affecting the other guests at the table, but I chose not to share my opinion and past experiences of him. This was not the place to feed into his drama. Let the guests make up their own minds about him. Another point I want to make; if the food is not good, do not tell the wedding couple. in my opinion, it would be rude and immature. No matter how much planning goes into a wedding event, things happen and the happy couple should not be burdened with any of the guests’ issues. Apparently, the family members in this comedy think differently. DESPITE THE PROBLEMS BEING EXPERIENCED AT home, a family comes together for a half-sister’s wedding in England. It would have been easier if they had left some of their emotional baggage behind. With Allison Janney (Hairspray, Bad Education) as Donna, Ben Platt (Pitch Perfect franchise, Dear Evan Hansen) as Paul, Kristen Bell (Bad Moms franchise, The Boss) as Alice, Cynthia Addai-Robinson (The Accountant, Colombiana) as Eloise and Isaach De Bankole (Black Panther franchise, Shaft) as Henrique; this film needed to focus on rewriting the script instead of filling it with cliched jokes and humor. I did not find much to laugh or chuckle about. The cast was certainly capable, but the dialog was so basic, besides bordering on the ridiculous, that I felt myself cringing when the actors were acting out in some of the scenes. I honestly am not sure what the writers were trying to do with this piece. There was one story line that had a ring of truth to it, but it was being buried by the craziness of the other lines. I felt the worst for Allison and Kristen; they had to have known what they were getting into when they signed on to this picture. So, if you get an invitation to see this film, you might want to decline it.
1 ½ stars
Flash Movie Review: Babylon
MY ONLY HOPE WAS NOT GETTING a headache from staring at all the pieces strewn out across the table. I had gotten a 2000 piece jigsaw puzzle that was of a national park setting with a 3D look to it. Being a huge fan of the national parks, I thought I might have a slight advantage in completing the puzzle in a lesser time. No such luck, the puzzle was challenging, and I swear sometimes I thought I was going cross eyed. It took me longer than usual to get the outline of the puzzle connected; this was not a good sign. With large patches being the same color with little variation in texture, I was struggling to get portions assembled correctly. Weeks went by because I still had a job to go to, besides finding time to shop for food and prepare it for meals. Maybe I took on more than I could handle; however, I was not one to give up so easily. I kept at it, doing a little each night after work and the majority being done on the weekends; I was determined to finish this puzzle. It was as if I was on a mission, and I was making progress. At some point, things took a turn and I was able to consistently connect pieces. The end was nearing which spurred me on. The last day I worked on it was special, but not for the right reasons. Three pieces were missing! Everything in the box was dumped onto the table; I never moved anything off it. ALL THAT TIME WASTED AND FOR what? I did not have a complete puzzle. The hours, the weeks and weeks of work I put into doing this jigsaw puzzle and the thing did not have all its pieces. To say I was ticked off would be an understatement. I would never get all those hours back from working on the stupid puzzle. I believe I was more angry about this than that time I was baking this elaborate cake that took three days to make. It had to be made in stages, where I would assemble ingredients together then form a layer of the batter in a 9 X 13 pan, refrigerate it overnight, then mix-up another group of ingredients to form another layer and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight until the third day was the final layer. The recipe sounded wonderful; but, after two bites I threw the whole thing away because it tasted awful. I not only wasted all that time but all that money on the ingredients. I cannot imagine anyone not getting upset from devoting time to something that turns out to be completely unsatisfactory. After watching this dramatic, historical comedy I felt the same as when I assembled that jigsaw puzzle and that horrible cake. I would never get back the three hours and nine minutes this movie took from me. HOLLYWOOD IN THE 1920s WAS A time of excess and glamour, where everyone wanted to be in the movies. It was also the time when movies were learning to include sound which meant when one opened their mouth to speak, they could lose their job. With Brad Pitt (The Lost City, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) as Jack Conrad, Margot Robbie (Amsterdam, Bombshell) as Nellie LaRoy, Jean Smart (The Accountant, Senior Moment) as Elinor St. John, Olivia Wilde (Don’t Worry Darling, Richard Jewel) as Ina Conrad and Diego Calva (Beautiful Losers, The Inmate-TV) as Manny Torres; this Oscar nominee directed by Damien Chazelle (La La Land, Whiplash) was the worst film I have seen the past year. I was stunned by the amount of money they poured into this production, because it showed. The script was overblown with many unnecessary scenes. I could not fault the actors, some who I briefly enjoyed watching, because I found it hard to believe they were not embarrassed at some point during the filming of this disaster. Now keep in mind I have never walked out on a film, no matter how bad it was, but this one certainly tested my patience. And ultimately it was a damn shame, because the idea for the story interested me; the change in Hollywood when silent pictures became “talkies.” I know it killed the career of some actors and created new sought out actors. Regardless, there was nothing I enjoyed about this movie. The scenes with sex, drugs and violence were way over the top and ridiculous at times. Do yourself a favor and use your time for something you would feel satisfied by and enjoy.
1 star
Flash Movie Review: Spoiler Alert
I THINK IT MUST BE AN age thing. In my younger days, the dating scene never involved discussions about future health scenarios. What I mean by that is the only thing ever discussed was whether one had an autoimmune syndrome, a positive status, diabetes or something else along those lines. We never talked about home health care or medical powers of attorney or long-term disabilities; and truthfully, why would we? When I was young, dating involved mostly fun and excitement. Even if we became a couple, our schedule involved going to movies, concerts, plays, restaurants and clubs. One weekend we would hang out with friends; the next weekend we would stay at home and make dinner. It was a good time. My first big test of a relationship was planning a weekend getaway trip for the two of us. I always felt if we could get along over an extended weekend in a different environment, then the relationship was on track to succeed. Any talk about the future would be focused on living arrangements and/or our individual family dynamics and how to please each of our families. For example, which family’s house to go to for the holidays. WHEN ONE IS OLDER IN THE dating world, the priorities shift in my opinion. Sure, there is still the element of fun and excitement; but, as things progress and we get to the living together level, the conversation drifts toward those later in life possibilities. It is weird how falling takes on a whole different demeanor when one is older. I have noticed in myself how I walk differently now when the pavement outside is icy. The term, I believe, is walking like a penguin, to avoid slipping on the ice. Now, I have known a couple of individuals who had, what I refer to as, the Peter Pan syndrome. They did not want to grow up a/k/a old. One was in a committed relationship for some time. I thought things were going well until their significant other had a medical issue that required a hospital stay. Everything turned out fine; however, I noticed a change in my friend. Not at first, but sometimes they would come alone to events and talked less about their relationship. At some point, I did ask them how things were going but all they voiced involved the second thoughts they were having for the long-term. It seemed odd to me, but I never found out the real reason they broke off their relationship. I would hate to hear it was due to the medical issue. Some people are made for the long-term and others are not, I guess. See what I mean in this comedic drama. AFTER SPENDING SEVERAL YEARS TOGETHER AS a couple, the relationship suddenly ended when one of them decided to move out. Adding to the confusion soon after was finding out the person who left was diagnosed with an illness. What to do? With Jim Parsons (The Boys in the Band, Hidden Figures) as Michael Ausiello, Ben Aldridge (Knock at the Cabin, Pennyworth-TV) as Kit Cowan, Josh Pais (Joker, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) as Scott, Sally Field (80 for Brady, Lincoln) as Marilyn and Jeffery Self (You’re Killing Me, Search Party-TV) as Nick; this film based on the bestselling memoir was a touching story that showed the highs and lows of a love relationship. I thought the acting was above par and was impressed more than usual with Jim’s performance. There were a few scenes that bordered on being a cliché and predictable; but there were enough powerful scenes to make up for them. If planning to watch this film about love, I suggest having some tissue readily available.
3 stars
Flash Movie Review: Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
AMONG MY FAVORITE CARTOON CHARACTERS WHEN I was a little boy was Bugs Bunny, the Roadrunner and Daffy Duck. Saturday morning was the day I could see all three of them on television. If by some chance I would wake up late, I had a snack tray I could set up to eat my breakfast while watching them. It would be a very rare occasion for me to miss my cartoon shows. I enjoyed the circumstances they would get into, along with the visuals and antics; but what grabbed me the most was the humor. Based on the situations they would find themselves in, I loved the crazy and unpredictable solutions each character came up with to get out of trouble or some such scenario. I still can remember how Elmer Fudd and Marvin the Martian would try to “get” Bugs Bunny and each time they would be outsmarted by the “wascawwy” (rascally) wabbit, quoting Elmer Fudd. The same situation would play out between the Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote; anything Wile would attempt would back or misfire on him, letting Roadrunner escape without injury. Thinking back, I believe part of the reason I enjoyed these characters so much was because they always escaped harm; something I wish I could have done. THE OTHER ASPECT OF THOSE CARTOON characters that fascinated me was the fact they never died. Not that I actually thought about that, but I just knew they would always be there. I was perceiving them as being invincible and everlasting. It is funny, when I think about those cartoons and the others I used to watch back then, there were many scenarios set up with the intention of killing off the main character. However, none of them ever died. Obviously, death was not something the TV and movie studios wanted to portray; I totally understand it. I am not saying there is a wrong or right way to interpret, but I am aware there could have been the possibility I was envisioning myself being just as invincible as the cartoon characters I was watching on television. There were no examples of anyone dying except for the fanciful episodes where a ghostly image would come out of a character after they were knocked unconscious or a scene showing an animal’s spirit materializing after a crash of some type. When I think about it, some of the cartoons back when I was a little kid were quite violent. None of them thought about their own mortality. Well, that is about to change I believe due to this Oscar nominated, animated movie. ALL THE ADVENTURE AND EXCITEMENT PUSS in Boots, voiced by Antonio Banderas (The Skin I Live In, Pain and Glory), experienced in his life took a toll on his allotment of lives. With only one life left, he would have to stay ahead of everyone else who was looking for the legendary Wishing Star in the hopes of having his wish granted. With Salma Hayek (House of Gucci, Eternals) voicing Kitty Softpaws, Harvey Guillen (The Internship, I’m Totally Fine) voicing Perrito, Florence Pugh (Don’t Worry Darling, Lady MacBeth) voicing Goldilocks and Olivia Coleman (Empire of Light, The Lost Daughter) voicing Mama Bear; this animated adventure comedy was a beautiful, creative piece of film. I thought the story and the script were perfectly in synch, creating a thrilling, fun and thoughtful movie watching experience. The actors were wonderful with the execution of their characters. I particularly enjoyed the mix of high drama with the quiet reflective scenes that established a well rounded balance. The message was clear to me, and I felt it was written in a way where younger viewers would understand what was being said. Honestly, I was taken by surprise on how well everything was handled in this wonderful picture.
3 ½ stars
Flash Movie Review: Cocaine Bear
IT TOOK A FEW MONTHS OF convincing before I started eating tomatoes again ever since I saw them kill a human. Luckily, I only saw it happen on a theater screen on a Saturday afternoon. There was a small movie theater in my neighborhood; it was in the middle of the block with a discount store on one side and a liquor store on the other. Every Saturday they would have a kid’s matinee show for a discounted price and I was there at least two out of every four Saturdays of the month. I cannot remember ever seeing a film there I did not like during my childhood. Besides seeing those tomatoes that were attacking humans, I saw aliens from a different planet who all looked like they were clowns, evil clowns bent on destroying us. One week I saw the incredible shrinking man, the following one had an Amazon woman who was close to fifty feet tall. On the way home from the theater, my friends and I would act out a few of the scenes we especially liked from the movie. One of my all time favorite films from that time was a horror film with Vincent Price and Peter Lorre. One of them was a sorcerer and there was magician who I found out years later was a young Jack Nicholson. I was enthralled with the magic effects and curses; objects flying in the air and electric bolts coming out of extended fingertips. THERE WAS SUCH A HIGH LEVEL of comfort for me those Saturdays. I could always count on being taken to a different world or see my world from an alien’s perceptions. Yet, I felt safe with my box of popcorn and box of chocolate candy. It was years later when I came across the term “B” movie and understood most of those films I was watching back then were “B” films. None of them would ever be considered for an Academy Award; they had low production values and cheesy special effects. I did not know it back then, but the acting and the script were at a bare bones level, sometimes teetering on the absurd. But here is the thing, they were fun to watch. They usually could illicit an emotion out of the viewers; it might have been shock, fear or laughter, but there was always a reaction to what was coming across the screen. Presently, making a “B” film is being kitschy/retro. They can be over-the-top and fun as long as you do not give a lot of thought to the plot. If you are interested in watching a “B” film, this one certainly would fit the bill. WHEN A DRUG CARTEL LOSES A shipment of cocaine over a Georgia forest, the first to discover the drugs was a black bear. Anyone else coming near the drugs would have to deal with the bear who took a liking, some say addiction, to the cocaine. With Keri Russell (Waitress, The Americans-TV) as Sari, Alden Ehrenreich (Beautiful Creatures, Solo: A Star Wars Story) as Eddie, O’Shea Jackson Jr (Ingrid Goes West, Straight Outta Compton) as Daveed, Ray Liotta (Something Wild, Shades of Blue-TV) as Syd, and Isiah Whitlock Jr (Da 5 Bloods, BlacKkKlansman) as Bob; this comedy horror was based on a true event which I have to say sounded crazy from the start. Directed by Elizabeth Banks (The Hunger Games franchise, Love & Mercy), this film does not take itself too seriously and that was fine by me. One must put reason to the side and just go with it, because it was a wild and entertaining viewing experience despite the scenes of blood, violence and gore. There were laugh out loud scenes mixed in with the great CGI display of the bear. I thought the kids were especially good in their roles. This was a steady to fast paced freaky, fun film with a stranger than truth story line. There were two extra scenes during the ending credits.
3 stars
Flash Movie Review: Triangle of Sadness
I THOUGHT THEY WERE “WELL OFF” based on what their house looked like. It was not a mansion by any means, but I think the term is “well appointed.” They always had the latest kitchen appliances and electronic gizmos. The front and back of their house had a variety of flowers and greenery, though I never saw anyone from their household working or maintaining it. I only became aware of their financial status when they threw a huge celebration party for one of their children. The event was held in a grand ballroom in a luxurious hotel in the heart of the city. The room had been decorated to look like a forest/jungle, with bushes in various sizes lining the walls along with intricate, lush green vines coming down the walls. Every dinner table had a different centerpiece, each looking like a piece of art. Some of them looked like statuaries in various materials such as metal, glass and ceramic; other tables had floral arrangements with ice, water or candles as part of the display. I did not know where to look first. Scattered through the ballroom were various food carts with servants at attention ready to assist the guests. My table was just off to the side of the dance floor that was created with colored glass blocks. I could only imagine what else would be in store for the evening. WITH SO MUCH ACTIVITY TAKING PLACE at the start of the meal, I excused myself so I could go to the bar and get a soft drink. While standing there, I saw my friend’s mother was at the head of the line, intently talking to the bartender. I could not hear every word she was saying, but I could tell she was not happy about something. After I finally got my drink, I was walking back and crossed paths with the mother again; she was talking to a waiter and from what I was hearing, she was unhappy. To me it sounded like she was talking down to the waiter, who by the way had a look of fear on his face. I kept walking and bumped into the father of my friend, who was demanding something from what I figured was a manager of the establishment. Again, I overheard the conversation and wound up feeling bad for the worker because of the way the father was speaking to him. Granted, I was not privy to the details; but, I could not imagine something so egregious took place that warranted speaking in such a tone. It made me wonder if having money made a person talk in that type of fashion; I thought I might get an answer while watching this Oscar nominated comedic drama. WHEN A COUPLE OF FASHION MODELS find themselves on an intimate boat cruise with a group of wealthy individuals, they expected to have a peaceful luxurious ride. Instead, they found themselves fighting for survival. With Harris Dickinson (Beach Rats, Where the Crawdads Sing) as Carl, Charlbi Dean (Don’t Sleep, Spud franchise) as Yaya, Dolly de Leon (Verdict, Cuddle Weather) as Abigail, Zlatko Buric (Pusher franchise, 2012) as Dimitey and Iris Berben (Eddie the Eagle, Crossroads) as Therese; this movie had a good point to make. However, it took so long to make it that I lost interest halfway through the film. There were some funny scenes that made me laugh out loud, however, there also was a predictability to several scenes. Things started to get better in the last half of this picture; but by that time, I did not care. Also, I still am perplexed on how this picture was nominated for the best picture category. Sure, there was a good dose of satire and humor; but it felt safe to me. I thought a thorough rewrite would have created a tighter script and more focused deep dive to mine a fuller story with more outrageous characters.
2 ½ stars
Flash Movie Review: 80 For Brady
THE ONLY REASON I AM MENTIONING it is to accentuate my point. An acquaintance of mine suffered a tragic loss when their best friend was found dead in their home. They said natural causes, which I have always wondered what exactly that means. I assumed it was a stroke or a heart attack since they were middle aged with no known health issues. My purpose for even bringing this up is to be a reminder how life truly is fleeting. When I was younger, I felt I had all the time in the world and now that I have gotten older, I feel like there never is enough time for the things I want to accomplish. One never knows when their life will be over; so I feel it is important to enjoy each and every day. I used to be the type to wish some days away and I still do it from time to time, such as those times that seem more like a chore or annoyance. However, I have been working on trying to stay focused and positive about the things I enjoy in life and living. My consistent catchphrase is, “Life is uncertain, so eat dessert first.” I think it is time to add a second one, “Life is uncertain, so experience something joyful each day.” ONE OF THE DREAMS THAT I give constant airtime in my mind is taking a trip with a group of friends. I have done trips with one and two friends, but never a group of six or more. Sure, I know the more people that are involved means the more opinions; however, I think if the trip involved taking a cruise there would be less conflict. I do not know if this would be true since I have only done a cruise once in my life, to Alaska. But the idea of a group of us traveling by boat would give us the opportunity to do things as a group and/or individually depending on how each of us were feeling at that moment. This idea intrigues me and I feel it could turn into a memorable, positive experience. The only issue I could see would be the choosing of excursions; however, I do not think it would matter if some did not want to do them or wanted to do a different one. We could meet at night to talk about the day we had, and I feel it would be enjoyable to hear about it. Whether this will come to fruition or not, I do not know at present; but I certainly can see it being a good time. It could even be as similar, for all I know, as the friends in this comedic, sports drama. A GROUP OF FRIENDS WHO HAVE been following the career of star quarterback, Tom Brady, decide they just must go see him play when his team wins a spot to compete in the Super Bowl. It would be a once in a lifetime experience. With Lily Tomlin (Grandma, Grace and Frankie-TV) as Lou, Jane Fonda (Book Club, Moving On) as Trish, Rita Moreno (West Side Story, One Day at a Time-TV) as Maura, Sally Field (Spoiler Alert; Hello, My Name is Doris) as Betty and Billy Porter (Like a Boss, Pose-TV) as Gugu; the fun factor for this film inspired by a true story was watching the main characters having such a good time. The script was silly and threadbare; there was not much I found funny or believable. On one level I felt embarrassed for the actors, who collectively have received numerous awards, having to try and make sense of the story. Having said this, I found enjoyment watching the senior actors do both physical and verbal comedy. If it was not for them, this would have been a memorable experience all for the wrong reasons. There was an extra scene during the ending credits.
2 stars
Flash Movie Review: Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania
LIKE MANY, THERE ARE CERTAIN THINGS I wish I had more of. I would like more closet space, more hair on my head, more freezer space, more money and more time, just to name a few. None of these seem outrageous to me. Being a bargain shopper, I would love to have a larger sized freezer to store extra frozen food items when they go on sale. I miss my full head of thick curly hair, but I do not miss the work it took to keep it neat and tidy. As for money, I am not looking to become a millionaire per se; I just want to get to a comfortable place where I no longer need to worry whether I can afford to spend the money to buy a certain item. Out of the things I listed above, the most important one to me is time. You can take that to mean anything you want, from more time in a day to get things done to more time on this earth to discover and experience new things. There just does not seem to be enough time for me to get all the things I want to get done. So, you see there are some advantages to getting more of something. ON THE FLIPSIDE OF THAT, THERE are some things I would not want to have more of. More body weight, more debt, more bad teeth; I can go on. It is funny, I have been thinking about how it appears to me society is striving to acquire more stuff. One of my newspaper subscriptions has a weekly supplement section that shows several private listings of super mansions. I am talking about places that have 5-6 bathrooms, 2 kitchens, several bedrooms. I just look at all the photos and ask myself why a person would need so many rooms?!?! Or recently, I was at a restaurant and at the table next to us, a man had ordered one of the restaurant’s known specialty burgers. It came to the table on a platter; I could not help staring at it because it had two hamburger patties, grilled onions, a fried egg, a layer of macaroni and cheese, lettuce, tomato and a layer of some kind of funky spicy sauce. It looked obscene! How I wanted to ask the guy, why would he want to eat that much food; besides asking him how he was planning to eat it. What is this fascination or desire to have more stuff? Even a beloved chocolate sandwich cookie, I see being advertised, now comes in a most stuffed version where the white crème center is huge. It is too much for me and I am sad to say this action, superhero movie suffers from the same syndrome. WHEN AN EXPERIMENT GOES AWRY, THE Lang and Van Dyne families get pulled into the Quantum Realm, where they discover a new reality, and it is a dangerous one. With Paul Rudd (Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Ideal Home) as Scott Lang/Ant-Man, Evangeline Lilly (The Hobbit franchise, South of Heaven) as Hope Van Dyne/The Wasp, Michael Douglas (Animal World, The Kominsky Method-TV) as Dr. Hank Van Dyne, Michelle Pfeiffer (Murder on the Orient Express, The First Lady-TV) as Janet Van Dyne and Jonathan Majors (Devotion, The Harder They Fall) as Kang the Conqueror; this science fiction, adventure comedy was a good example of overindulgence. It was all too much for me; the CGI, the different issues facing the characters and the overabundance of different characters. With a poorly thought out script with a weak story, I was periodically bored. This film lacked the smart humor and tight action drama that many of the previous Marvel Studio movies incorporated into their scripts. Gratefully, Paul Rudd and Michelle Pfeiffer took the brunt of the action/drama in the scenes, and they did a wonderful job. As for Jonathan Majors, who I think is a stellar actor, he was cheated out of showing his full potential until the end. This sequel was a letdown for me. There were two extra scenes in the middle and end of the final credits.
2 stars
Flash Movie Review: Your Place or Mine
THERE WAS ALWAYS THAT AWKWARD MOMENT when I would introduce one of my best friends to my date. You see, a couple of my closest friends are female; one of them was my girlfriend in elementary school. Because I have had such a long history with my closest friends, they mince no words in voicing an opinion and for that, I am grateful. Some of the people I have dated never made it to the “meeting the best friend” stage; but others had, and a few did so with trepidation. I understood their concerns because it was rare for me not to talk about my best friends early in the relationship. It was never difficult for them to figure out what an important part these friends play in my life, and I could understand their concerns because if I was in their place, I would probably feel the same way. I never considered meeting my friends as a test; it was more about me having strong enough feelings towards this person that I wanted my best friends to see for themselves. Some dates, I found out later, felt threatened on some level. If I was able to perceive it, I would try to start a conversation with them to understand why. What became apparent to me among those that felt threatened was they all seemed to lack a certain level of confidence. At some point soon after meeting these dates they would drift away from maintaining their relationship with me. WHENEVER I MET FOR THE FIRST time my date’s friends, I always kept a mindset that I knew I was going to be judged but I never gave it a thought. I could only be myself; if my date needed reassurances or criticisms from their friends I was okay with it. However, if they acted on their friends’ comments then I knew the two of us were not meant to be together. There were never any hard feelings. The thing I found interesting was the fact that I was in a minority, because not many of the people I dated had close friends of the opposite sex. My way of thinking was, why wouldn’t they want to have that opportunity to see things through the eyes of someone different. Not that I ever made a big deal about it; it was just a curiosity I have always had inside of me. Because of my close friends, I feel I have a better appreciation or understanding of the things that make a relationship stronger. Of course, the fundamental action in any relationship is the ability to communicate; one must be able to express their feelings. This is good advice even for the characters in this romantic comedy. WHEN LONG TERM FRIENDS SWAP THEIR homes for a short period of time to help one of them in a pinch, they discover things they never knew about each other, even after all the years they have been friends. With Reese Witherspoon (Walk the Line, Home Again) as Debbie Dunn, Ashton Kutcher (No Strings Attached, That ‘70s Show-TV) as Peter Coleman, Zoe Chao (Downhill, Strangers-TV) as Minka, Jesse Williams (The Cabin in the Woods, Grey’s Anatomy-TV) as Theo Martin and Wesley Kimmel (The Hater, Jimmy Kimmel Live!-TV) as Jack; this film’s strength was having Reese and Ashton in it. However, for a rom com, they had little chemistry between them. The script was quite generic and predictable, unfortunately. I thought the idea behind the story was different, but there really was no emotional connections, let alone the odd roles left for the supporting cast. This was such a weird mix of scenarios, that I fell into a mindless state. Each of the main actors alone could have been better if they had the right script, though Ashton has not lost his ability to say something with just a look of his face or actions. When left with the choice of one of their places, you would be better off booking a room somewhere else.
1 ¾ stars
Flash Movie Review: Magic Mike’s Last Dance
DESPITE BEING FRIENDS FOR A LONG time, there was nothing I could say or do to stop my friend from what she was doing. She had been in a long term relationship for four or five years before it turned sour and ended. I helped her through her sorrow and tried to convince her to stop stalking him on his social media sites. Speaking from experience, I knew there was nothing good to gain from watching the person you had fallen in love with go on with their life without you. Unfortunately, she would not give up on following him. I just knew this did not bode well for the healing process; I knew her so well. As I expected, she started focusing on her appearance. First, she worked towards getting rock solid by exercising and dieting; we are talking hardcore dieting. Her sporadic bouts of exercise became a daily constant in her life, from jogging to fitness classes to weight training. I am all for people exercising but for the right reasons. The advice I would give her about not training the same muscles two days in a row was heard but not always acted upon. If she was going to keep up this pace, she would be a candidate for a pulled muscle or stress fracture sometime in the near future. ONCE SHE STARTED SEEING RESULTS FROM her efforts, she started to alter her fashion style, going for a “younger look,” whatever that means. I liked some of the new clothing, but there were other choices that made me cringe inside. Of course, I did not say it like that to her when she asked my opinion; I just told her I did not think it was very attractive on her. I thought that was a pretty diplomatic answer. The next part of her evolution was the one that really made me cringe to the point I told her it would not be a good idea; he was not worth all of her time and effort. She planned on going with friends to the places he would be hanging out, like bars and restaurants. If she could not pin down the exact locations off of his social media sites, she planned on taking chances at several of his favorites spots. I thought it was such an awful idea that caused my stomach to twist into knots. No one was worth going through all of the work and then the embarrassment of trying to flaunt one’s self in front of their former love. I felt I was going to witness a trainwreck just like the one I watched in this comedy drama. BEING A BARTENDER AT CHARITY EVENTS was not what Mike Lane, played by Channing Tatum (Dog, Logan Lucky), envisioned for himself; that is why he agreed to accept the hostess’ offer despite it sounding crazy. With Salma Hayek (Eternals, Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard) as Maxandra Mendoza, Ayub Khan-Din (London Bridge-TV, Coronation Street-TV) as Victor, Vicki Pepperdine (Johnny English Strikes Again, My Cousin Rachel) as Edna Eaglebauer and Alan Cox (Young Sherlock Holmes, The Dictator) as Roger Rattigan; this film directed by Steven Soderbergh (Erin Brockovich, Ocean’s Eleven franchise) was a shock for me. I rarely ever say this, but it was cringe worthy. The script was looney and most of the time I sat in my seat feeling embarrassed for Salma. If I need to say something was worthwhile seeing then I would say the dance scenes. It did not seem as if age had any affect on Channing, he still had the moves. I also enjoyed the scene with his old buddies. Outside of those things, I thought this film was such a mess. There did not seem to be any connections between anyone and zero back story. Maybe Channing was under contract to participate in this production. I suggest one not pay the cover charge and go to a different establishment instead to dance.
1 ½ stars
moviejoltz 