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Flash Movie Review: The Diary of a Teenage Girl
I feverishly was trying to keep up with my notes while the speaker was discussing the kinesiology behind their choreographic routines. The workshop was packed with fitness participants; I had no idea this would have been such a popular course. However, I soon realized why when I glanced at the person’s notebook next to me; she was drawing a portrait of the presenter. I was stunned; not because it was actually a good likeness, but because she appeared to be in her middle 20s. Didn’t this kind of thing go on back during our school years I wondered to myself? I could still remember back in school how easy it was to spot someone who had a crush on someone else. If they could not engage their intended target in conversation, they would always be close by to watch the movements of their heart’s attraction. When there was an age difference or more exactly a grade difference I always found it odd that it was okay if the male was in a higher grade, but not the female. I had a friend who had dated an older girl but he never talked about it, only if he was asked questions directly. Now keep in mind back then dating meant going out to eat, see a movie, sitting together during lunch period, hanging out in groups; all depending on what grade one was in. I do not recall hearing about such events like what I saw in this dramatic romance. ARTISTICALLY inclined teenager Minnie, played by Bel Powley (Side by Side, M.I. High-TV), had a crush on Monroe, played by Alexander Skarsgard (The East, What Maisie Knew). He was already dating her mother Charlotte, played by Kristen Wiig (Welcome to Me, The Skeleton Twins). Set in the 1970s in San Francisco, this film festival winning movie used animation in a creative way to bring some of Minnie’s thoughts to life. I thought the cast was exceptionally good; however, if I go by my standards regarding the entertainment value of a film, then I did not find this picture very entertaining. For me it came down to the subject matter, I was not comfortable with it. I do believe the story portrayed certain realness and I know I do not have the right to place my values on other people; but I just felt scenes were being regurgitated to drive a point home. There were parts of the picture that were nicely done and actually the script was well written, even if some of it was predictable to me. What I have always said about a movie is if it moves you, whether in a positive or negative way, then it has done its job. I was moved but I did not experience a lot of entertainment value with this film.
2 1/2 stars
Flash Movie Review: The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
She could be so vindictive even while serving you buttered toast. I do not want to say she was untouchable, but she was essentially the only one who knew how to operate the outdated billing system at the company. By today’s standards she would have been written up by her manager multiple times; I was one of her victims having been on the receiving end of a spiteful attack. I had done nothing wrong in my dealings with this one customer; however, while she was on the switchboard she added some extra lines to the message the customer left for their salesperson. She made it look like I had been verbally abusive with the customer. Luckily I kept detailed notes about all my accounts, so her plan did not hit me full force. I will tell you I was furious and spent a long week dealing with my anger at her, devising imaginative plots of revenge. Each plan I came up with became more outrageous as my anger increased, even though I knew I would not act on any of them. But do you know what I did instead? I took my anger and started working harder at my job, soliciting more conversations from my contacts, to strike up a sense of familiarity between us. As time passed my efforts paid off and I was promoted to a bigger position. I became that employee’s boss. You are probably thinking I made her life a living hell, but I did not. Though I remained wary of her, I kept close tabs on her since we had to work together. Sort of the same thing the 2 agents had to do in this action adventure film. DURING the cold war a new threat emerged that could become more powerful than the United States or Soviet Union. CIA agent Napoleon Solo, played by Henry Cavill (Immortals, Man of Steel), and KGB operative Illya Kuryakin, played by Armie Hammer (Mirror Mirror, The Lone Ranger), would have to work together if they were to succeed in their mission. Based on the 1960s television series there were parts of this film that were fun and entertaining. With a slick stylized look to the movie I enjoyed some of the banter that took place between the two agents. However, I did not care for the story much; it seemed choppy and uneven to me. The fight scenes only seemed to enhance this point; I did not like the way they were filmed for the most part. Throughout the picture it appeared to me everything was being laid out as an overture to what would become the main movie, the possible sequel. This felt like a trial run of a story so I will try to keep an open mind if the film studio decided to do another one.
2 1/2 stars
Flash Movie Review: Ricki and the Flash
Ever since it was told to me in a time of need, I have repeated it to many other people. To this day I still use the phrase, “Do what you love and the rest will follow,” as a guide before taking on a new undertaking. Now for the most part I do believe it to be true, however I have come to the realization not everyone will agree to follow along with me. Like me I am sure some of you have known someone who was in a relationship where their significant other refused to follow them when they got a job promotion that involved moving out of state or country. The first time I encountered a difference of opinion that caused a split in the relationship was at the beginning of my career as a fitness/yoga instructor. I was trying to get established at a few fitness centers so I was going to different workshops and conventions, besides teaching my regular schedule and periodically subbing for other instructors’ classes. It was a hectic time for me; there were times where I could not join in on social functions, they would have to go alone. As you may have guessed already it finally came down to where I was given a choice; either give up some classes and spend more time with them or they were going to end the relationship. It was a rough time for me because I was looking for support in my new venture, but yet I understood their needs as well. This dramatic comedy reminded me of that time. HAVING followed her passion all these years to be a musician Ricki, played by Meryl Streep (The Giver, Into the Woods), had to learn to be a mother again when her daughter Julie, played by real life daughter Mamie Gummer (Side Effects, Cake), was in crisis from a broken marriage. It was not going to be easy to just come back home. The draw to this musical movie was the cast; besides Meryl there was musician/actor Rick Springfield (General Hospital-TV, Loyal Opposition) as Greg and Kevin Kline (Wild Wild West, My Old Lady) as Pete. With a script written by Diablo Cody (Young Adult, Juno), there were times the actors were able to fly with the dialog. Unfortunately, there were other times where they fell flat because the scene was disconnected or predictable. I tried staying away from the buildup by the press about the electric tension Meryl and Mamie had to create between each other; but I have to tell you, I did not find the drama that intense for the situation. It was somewhat bland at times for me. I certainly understand following one’s heart but I needed to see some valid reasons with this film.
2 1/4 stars
Flash Movie Review: Shaun the Sheep
A friend of mine has been making fun of me because of my new refrigerator. After many years the old fridge died and I had to buy a new one which was the easy part. The hard part has been arranging the food with the different configuration of shelves and drawers inside the new refrigerator. I am a creature of habit and find comfort in keeping a steady routine. So now when I open the refrigerator door I have to search for items because I was so used to knowing where everything was inside the previous fridge. This throws me for a loop and has been fodder for my friend’s teasing. Just for a reference point when you open her refrigerator plan on participating in a scavenger hunt. I know there are many people who constantly must have change in their lives; it can be anywhere from moving every couple of years to making sure they never have the same meal twice during the week. I on the other hand can and have eaten the same lunch at work for years; I know exactly what I need at the grocery store each week to maintain these lunches. Now there is another aspect to all of this and it is those individuals who imagine the grass is greener on the other side, to use a cliche here. All I have to say to that is be careful because you never know how things will turn out in reality compared to your dreams. If you do not believe me just watch what happens when Shaun the Sheep decides to take a break. WRITTEN and directed by Mark Burton (Chicken Run, The Curse of the Were-Rabbit) and Richard Starzak (Wallace & Gromit, Rex the Run-TV), this film festival nominated adventure comedy was a visual triumph. Using the stop-motion claymation style alone would have been fun enough; however, the witty and clever story had generational appeal. The way the writers included classic movie scenes with physical humor was utterly brilliant or let me say, baa-rilliant. There was very little dialog used throughout this film and I did not mind one bit because of the seamless movements of all the characters. It must have taken years to create this visual feast of a film. The thing I especially liked about the story was at its core there was a real heart to it. Some of the other movie studios that produce animated films could learn a lesson or two from this picture. For those of you (like myself) who prefer keeping a routine, I hope you can make an exception and go see this film. To those of you who need change then this film is a real change to what has been out recently at the movie theaters. There were 2 very brief scenes at the end of the credits.
3 1/2 stars
Flash Movie Review: Unexpected
That story about the stork delivering new born babies was something I never believed to be true. Even before I was taught the facts of life, I thought the idea of birds flying over houses and dropping babies down was weird. There were other stories I heard that seemed more plausible; for example, when the baby is ready it will come out of the belly button or the one about the soon to be parents choosing the day they want to go to the doctor’s office to have their child extracted from the woman’s body just like one would get their tooth pulled. Once I understood the real way babies were born there still was nothing mentioned about possible pain or discomfort being experienced during the pregnancy. Everything told to me was kept on a sweet and rosy level. As I got older I started to become better aware about the reality of the birthing process. The biggest shock for me was discovering not every woman had a storybook pregnancy. I remember hearing about a woman who was confined to her bed for over half of her pregnancy due to her body wanting to reject the fetus. In fact the first time I became aware of the term stillborn was when a friend’s aunt had one. It was an awful time where she was depressed for several months. When you think about all the scary things that could go wrong with having a baby, the process of bringing a healthy child into the world is an amazing feat. FINDING out they were both pregnant close to the same time; inner city high school teacher Samantha Abbott and her student Jasmine, played by Cobie Smulders (The Avengers franchise, How I Met Your Mother-TV) and Gail Bean (At Mamu’s Feet), formed a special bond as they started their journey through unfamiliar territory. This film festival nominated comedic drama had in my opinion a real and honest dialog about the fears and joys of having a baby. Though the script did not delve down very deep, the acting by Cobie and Gail was totally believable to me. Along with Anders Holm (The Interview, Neighbors) as John and Elizabeth McGovern (Once Upon a Time in America, Ordinary People) as Carolyn, I thoroughly enjoyed the cast and felt they really pushed this script to full advantage. Even though I thought there was a part of the story that could have used more exposure, I found myself experiencing a similar reaction to the one the characters were sharing in the scene. This was only another sign of how good the performance was from the actors. In a way one could say creating a movie shares some similarities to having a baby; the people behind this film should feel proud of what they created here.
2 3/4 stars
Flash Movie Review: Vacation
When I used to hear the word vacation I knew that meant we were taking a road trip. My preparation consisted of getting the latest comic books, magazines, along with plenty of snacks; what clothes to bring was less important to me. With the entire back seat of the car as my living space throughout the trip, I could stretch out and nap when there was nothing interesting to see out the car windows. I not only have hundreds of fond memories from those road trips, but I can recall all the not so nice things that I experienced going across the country. For example there was the trip we took to Florida where the driver was the son of family friends. He wanted to take the shortest amount of time to get to our destination so bathroom breaks were scheduled based on time not need. There was one long stretch where I started to cry because I had to use the bathroom so badly. There was another trip where we planned to stop overnight so we could rest up and arrive for lunch the next day at our destination. Unfortunately the motel we had reservations at had mice and cockroaches leading us down the hallway towards our room. We did not even bother making it to our room before turning around and leaving that place. Oh and I cannot forget the motel room that had a bathroom that looked like a crime scene. Vacations should not have to be hard; someone needed to tell the family in this adventure comedy. HOPING to give his family the same fond memories he experienced when he was a kid Rusty Griswold, played by Ed Helms (The Hangover franchise, Cedar Rapids), decided he was going to take the family on a vacation to Walley World. There certainly was going to be a lot of memories made from this road trip. This story was not a sequel or reboot; what it did was take the character of Rusty from the original film and have him be an adult with a family of his own. Christina Applegate (Hall Pass, Anchorman franchise) played Rusty’s wife Debbie. Five minutes into the picture and I was immediately turned off by the story. Essentially the writers tried to make jokes out of the younger son bullying his older brother and I found it offensive. This went on for over half of the film and I did not find it funny at all. The rest of the jokes consisted of crude bathroom humor and dull sight gags. The only plus in this movie was Leslie Mann (The Other Woman, This is 40) and Chris Hemsworth (The Avengers franchise, Rush) as Audrey and Stone Crandall. If I had known I would have put in a 60 hour work week instead of taking time to go see this boring film.
1 1/2 stars
Flash Movie Review: Pixels
Immediately I was struck by their fearlessness. I watched while their fingers without hesitation popped and dropped over the keyboard like convulsing spider legs. Just by pressing two keys at the same time they were able to get the computer to function in a way that took me a few more keystrokes. I knew they must have started at a young age playing video games. There is a certain attitude a gamer has when they are interacting with their computer or some other kind of electronic device; they appear more adventuresome to me. Where they have no problem trying out different commands, a non-gamer may get stuck at their computer afraid the next key they press will cause their machine to explode. I understand totally because I have a love/hate relationship with computers; I expect them to know how to fix themselves without asking me if something is okay to do. It is interesting to think about the recent generations that grew up with video games; I recall an article I read that talked about the positive effect the games had on a person’s eye/hand coordination. There was this one kid in school who would spend hours in the student union playing this one arcade game. His initials for the most points earned remained on the machine the entire time I was at that school. I would be quite curious to see what he is doing now in the world. Maybe he would be doing what the gamers were called to do in this comedic action film. BACK in 1982 a time capsule with examples of mankind’s life including video games was launched into space. Discovered by an alien race, they took the games to be earth’s declaration of war on them; so they reproduced the video games to attack earth first. This science fiction film had a great idea behind it, for it would attract an older audience for nostalgic reasons and a younger crowd who would appreciate the retro vibe of these “ancient” games. Not only did this comedy fail with its attempts to entertain, it made me a bit angry because of the blatant laziness associated with the script. Adam Sandler (Blended, Grown Ups franchise) as Brenner was the exact same character he has been in his last several films. I am tired of seeing the same thing and hearing the same type of jokes over and over. Adding in Kevin James (Here Comes the Boom, Paul Blart franchise) as President Cooper and Michelle Monaghan (Gone Baby Gone, Source Code) as Violet only increased the ridiculousness of this picture. Out of the entire script I chuckled 3 times as the expected excitement never materialized. If I would have known, my money would have been better spent at a video arcade then sit through this video void.
1 2/3 stars
Flash Movie Review: Trainwreck
It was not until after the movie had ended that I saw this family of four walking down the steps of the theater. The parents with their 2 children, who looked approximately six to nine years old, must have been sitting somewhere behind me. Normally I do not pay much attention to the people around me at the movies but in this case there was a reason. This happened last week when I saw that horror film about a high school’s theater department putting on a play that caused a death the last time it was played at the school. As I watched the family exiting the theater I wondered why they chose to bring their kids to this movie; were they preparing those children for the horrors of high school or did they want them to grow up and be accountants by showing them what will happen if they go into the arts. It never ceases to amaze me what people do these days. I just wanted to go up and ask the parents what they were thinking. Did they not realize their young children may by learning by example? I know when I was that age I would follow along with what people were doing; though I will say, there were times I saw someone doing something and I would do the exact opposite thing. At the time I did not realize what determined my choice on whether I copied a person’s actions or repelled from them. I believe the main character in this movie had issues and did not have the best of role models to choose from. AMY, played by Amy Schumer (Inside Amy Schumer-TV), learned quite early that monogamy was a falacy; it was easier not to be committed to any one individual. However, not everyone thought the same way as Amy. This was my first exposure to this comedic force known as Amy Schumer. Besides starring in this comedy she was also credited for the writing of it and I have to tell you right away the language was pretty strong throughout this movie. With that being said, there were times I was laughing out loud in the theater besides tearing up a bit at other moments. Her timing was impeccable and along with fellow actors Bill Hader (The Skeleton Twins, Saturday Night Live-TV) as Aaron Conners, Colin Quinn (Grown Ups franchise, Girls-TV) as Gordon and Tilda Swinton (Only Lovers Left Alive, Snowpiercer) as Dianna; they all were strong with their characters. This was by no means a perfect film; there were some scenes that felt like a mini sitcom episode and a couple of easy to figure out parts. But with its combination of shock value, humor and LeBron James; I was fully committed to this wild story.
3 stars
Flash Movie Review: Minions
It is not as fun, fun being a relative term, when there is not an audience or one’s followers around to witness the act. More times than not the person picking on another person has a posse of buddies in tow to be their audience and witnesses when they go on the attack. I have seen it time and time again besides being on the receiving end; watching the bully walk away with their admiring subordinates following up the rear, sometimes punctuating the event with their own punch or kick. Now I know there are some followers who may not agree with their leader’s actions, but they choose to go along as a preventative measure to avoid being in a position where they could be the one that is on the receiving end. This logic can be applied on a global scale. How many times has the news shown a horrific act of violence? I have wondered what would happen if there was a moratorium on reporting such activities; would it have a dampening effect on those individuals or groups who seek out an audience for their actions. Speaking of audiences this recently happened here; a local news station reported on an attempted robbery that took place on public transportation. There was video from a security camera that was shown and the thing that struck me was how there were other passengers around who did nothing as the victim fought back against their attacker. Would they be considered human versions of the Minions? DESPONDENT over their lack of having an evil leader to follow; Kevin, Bob and Stuart head out in search of someone bad enough for them and the rest of their fellow Minions to follow. This animated comedy was geared towards the younger viewer; however, the soundtrack was done with the adult in mind. I thought the song choices were a great accompaniment to the terrific animation. Additionally the choice of actors such as Sandra Bullock (Gravity, The Blind Side) as Scarlett Overkill and Jon Hamm (The Town, Mad Men-TV) as her husband Herb were well equipped to handle their characters. After seeing for months the hilarious trailers, this film was a bit disappointing. The script did not provide enough punch to make this animated movie succeed. For example I thought Scarlett was not evil enough; she lacked the drama that someone in that position could have been yielding. I found myself getting bored halfway through the story since it seemed as if it was one stunt or comedy bit being repeated over and over. Maybe it was due too all the exposure the Minions have been getting the past several months, but this full length feature did not provide any excitement until closer to the end. There was an extra fun musical scene at the end of the credits.
2 1/2 stars
Flash Movie Review: Magic Mike XXL
I get mixed emotions when I see advertisements for upcoming shows or concerts headlined by artists who are in the twilight of their careers. There are some artists who are still vibrant and continue to make contributions to their art; just take a look at Tony Bennett who is traveling with Lady Gaga in sold out concerts. However, there are some artists I have seen where I wonder what is the motivation that keeps them plugging along; is it due to financial reasons, the need for people’s continued adulation or maybe the fear of retirement. I hope this is not coming across as judgmental but I do have an issue when someone says they are retiring but then a few years later decide to come out of it for a world tour. I tend to see it as a money grab. Maybe because I take people for their word I react this way; however, if they would have said they are retiring from touring but may do a concert once in a while it would sit better with me. Looking at my fitness level as I age I wonder how I will be in my cycle class when I get older. If I could not keep up with my classes I would want to step down from teaching and become instead a participant. Of course when the time comes for me to retire I hope to end on a hight note with a packed class as we go on one last intense fun ride. This is why I was able to understand what the male entertainers wanted to accomplish in this musical sequel. THREE years has passed and Mike, played by Channing Tatum (Foxcatcher, Dear John), has finally seen his dream come true with the start of his custom furniture business. But when his old dance troupe buddies wanted to get together one last time for a contest, would Mike be willing to don his thong one last time? The difference between this sequel and the first film was like night and day. Where the original was fun with solid dancing routines and acting ability from Matthew McConaughey; this movie came off as a crass knockoff. The cast of men such as Joe Manganiello (Sabotage, True Blood-TV) as Big Dick Richie and Matt Bomer (The Normal Heart-TV, In Time) as Ken were joined by Jada Pinkett Smith (Reign Over Me, Matrix franchise) as Rome who was ridiculous because of the script. What surprised me the most was how bad the dancing was this time; it was uninspired with tired stripper pole moves. I will say this did not stop some of the people in the audience from hooting and hollering during several scenes. As for me this group should have quit while they were ahead.
1 3/4 stars
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