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Flash Movie Review: Danny Collins
When one does not have the opportunity to form memories of someone, made-up ones have to suffice. The make-believe memories can be a kinder, gentler, more loving version of the real person. I have heard individuals carry on about someone they barely knew, painting the person in sweet coats of affection; whereas, my memories recall that person being somewhat mean and angry. Growing up there were some relatives I never got the chance to meet; I only had old photographs and other people’s stories to form any connection to the unknown family members. Whenever the mood struck, I would pull out these old photos and study the features and outfits of my relatives. There was one photograph where a bespectacled man dressed in a suit was standing with one foot up on what I thought was a big wooden block. He was holding up a violin as if he was giving it the once over before placing it on his shoulder to play. I would imagine he was practicing for a recital. He would perform in a garden, where the relatives would be seated all around as they listened to the rich deep notes of a concerto. Besides my imagination, any hearsay or tidbits about a relative I would incorporate into elaborate stories; turning some of them into heroes, gangsters, spies, or some other fanciful characters. Where my fake memories were about deceased people, there is a world of difference when the memories are based on someone who is still alive. INSPIRED by a true story, a letter written by John Lennon arrived 40 years late to singer/songwriter Danny Collins, played by Al Pacino (Righteous Kill, Scarface). Seeing the letter sparked Danny into seeking out Tom Donnelly, played by Bobby Cannavale (Blue Jasmine, Chef), the son he never knew. This comedic drama was driven by its outstanding cast. Al was perfect for this role; he not only looked the part but I was convinced he was this aging singer who was well past his glory days. Besides him and Bobby there was Christopher Plummer (The Sound of Music, A Beautiful Mind) as Frank Grubman and Annette Bening (Ruby Sparks, American Beauty) as Mary Sinclair. I thoroughly enjoyed the acting in this movie; it was believable and filled with great depth. Now I admit the script was somewhat predictable, besides being manipulative; but I did not care because I liked the way the story carried me throughout the film. There were even a couple of surprises along my journey. The dynamics between the characters were engaging; I was intrigued with their perceptions and memories. And after you see this picture I hope you too will have developed fond memories.
3 stars
Flash Movie Review: Get Hard
I am one of those people who wants to know the lay of the land before I get to it. That is why I go to the same grocery stores; so I can go from item to item and get out quick, instead of wandering in search of the things on my shopping list. When I visit a new city for vacation I do the same thing, learn beforehand about the sights I want to see on my trip. My main purpose is to save time. It really came in handy when I visited the amusement parks in Florida. Having studied up on them I discovered when arriving at opening time, one should start at the back of the park and work their way forward. The other timesaver was to always go to the left when you had a choice; trust me it really worked. Of course, there are other reasons to become familiar with a place before entering it. Some people like to know the layout of a nightclub before going in, so they look like they have been there before. Others may want to know what would be the safest route through a neighborhood. As you can see there are a variety of reasons in knowing about a place prior to visiting it and someone in this comedy is hoping it will keep them alive. WEALTHY financier James, played by Will Ferrell (The Other Guys, The Land of the Lost), was convicted of fraud. Afraid he would not survive in prison James hired Darnell, played by Kevin Hart (Ride Along, The Wedding Ringer), the owner of his work place’s car washing service, to toughen him up before serving his sentence. If you have seen the movie trailers for this picture then you pretty much have seen the film. The language was not only strong but a good portion of it was focused on the male genitalia. Out of the cast I did not mind Craig T. Nelson (The Proposal, Poltergeist) as Martin and Alison Brie (The Five-Year Engagement, Scream 4) as Alissa. As for Will and Kevin they did nothing for me. What they did here was basically no different from what they have done in their past several movies. To this day I still cannot understand producers who seek out Kevin Hart; he is not an actor as far as I am concerned. There were a couple of lines in the script where I chuckled, but overall I found the humor was cheap and basic; just an easy cop-out as far as I was concerned. I pretty much knew beforehand how this film would play out because I had already seen previous movies that starred Kevin and Will.
1 2/3 stars
Flash Movie Review: Home
It is tough when the joke you tell is met with blank or confused stares from the audience. Though it may be a bit deflating to the ego, it is not the worst thing in the world. What would be harder is if the crowd never really understood you. Having seen my share of rolled eyes, I tend to be hyper-sensitive when someone is being treated like an outsider. Now granted if there is a legitimate concern where folks are not comfortable with an individual, I do not force the issue of acceptance. I recall a gathering where one person stood out for their inappropriate comments; it was making people uncomfortable. You could see every person who came in contact with the offender would make an excuse to get away as quickly as possible. There is, however, a flip side to this scenario and that is the person who gets shunned just because they are different. I take offense when someone rejects another person simply because they do not fit into what that person considers the norm. With the recent talk in the news due to the Oscar speech where the writer told viewers to embrace being different and with talk shows discussing it; I totally agree we all need to be exposed more often to things and people who are different from us. I would prefer having the option to see a situation through an extra set of eyes because I may find something more than what I saw on my own. MISUNDERSTOOD and on his own the alien name Oh, voiced by Jim Parsons (Garden State, The Big Bang Theory-TV), found refuge on the planet Earth. What a surprise to travel all the way to another planet to find someone who understood him and that person was the young girl Gratuity “Tip” Tucci, voiced by Rihanna (Battleship, This is the End). This animated adventure was very colorful to watch; I enjoyed how Oh’s species changed color. The cast which also included Steve Martin (The Jerk, It’s Complicated) as Captain Smek and Jennifer Lopez (The Boy Next Door, Maid in Manhattan) as Lucy were well paired to their characters. I thought the animation was fine; in fact, I felt the creators had young children in mind because there seemed to always be something happening in the scenes. There was nothing out of the ordinary with this comedy and maybe that was the issue. The movie was cute but nothing special or different to me. I did not feel as invested as I have been with other animated films. Even with some clever writing I was never taken away with what was on screen, though young kids seemed to be enjoying themselves. I just did not get it.
2 1/2 stars
Flash Movie Review: Unfinished Business
From my various job experiences I have witnessed some pretty cutthroat dealings. Unless the company you work for has a unique, one of a kind type of product; there will always be someone else who will try to outdo your company. The majority of salespeople I have encountered really are the company’s foot soldiers. One can also say they are the circus performers who do acrobatic twists and turns in order to please their customers as they try to “seal the deal.” I know I could never do sales because I do not have the temperament for it. From all my business dealings I could work with any customer until I discovered they were dishonest. Once that happens I lose all respect for them. There are certain products or stores I will not go near because of the way I was treated either as a customer or vendor. Even if a company’s salesperson meets with me and during our conversation speaks negatively about their competitor, it leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth. Some people say just by definition the word job has no place for fun; I disagree with that type of thinking. Sure it can be hard work, but I feel there needs to be something fun about the workday to keep people motivated. On the other hand I have seen where some individuals have had way too much fun. DESPERATE to land a big business deal and save his fledgling company Dan Trunkman, played by Vince Vaughn (Couples Retreat, Delivery Man), flew to Europe with his employees Mike Pancake and Timothy McWinters, played by Dave Franco (Warm Bodies, 21 Jump Street) and Tom Wilkinson (Selma, The Lone Ranger). With stiff competition going against them the three workers were willing to do anything to win the business. Let me say right at the beginning; consider the movie trailer for this comedy to be its highlights reel. I understood what the story was trying to do, but I thought it lacked imagination and originality. There were several times where I was simply bored. One of the main issues for me had to do with Vince’s performance. It was no different from the past several roles he has performed; they were all the same and it drove me crazy. He really could use a fresh team around him that pushes him to stretch his acting ability. I will keep my fingers crossed for him since he will be starring in next season’s drama series, True Detective. Tom Wilkinson was his usual good self and I believe this was the first time I really thought Dave took ownership of his role. As a movie reviewer I am forced to see many “bad” films; I could have used combat pay for my time with this one.
1 3/4 stars
Flash Movie Review: The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
I felt I was interrupting a prayer service as I stepped into the train car. The majority of the passengers had their heads bowed. They were all looking at their cell phones, though there were some with earbuds dripping out of their ears who stared off into space as if they were witnessing a vision. For whatever reason as I sat amongst them I wondered what the future would be like; would there be mobile apps to take care of all our needs? I have already witnessed the deterioration in our ability to communicate, I just wonder as we grow old will we be tucked away in our own tiny spaces having little contact with the outside world? Though I like my alone time, I find comfort in being part of a community. I may not see some of my neighbors for weeks, but we are well aware of each other’s routines and activities. It may be their car is in a different spot or their dog is out in the backyard; there is an invisible bond that connects all of us. Just this past weekend I was chipping away the melting ice from my walkway and my neighbor came over with an ax. Granted until I recognized him due to the sunlight shining in my eyes, I had a moment of fear spring up. WITH only one room left to rent in his hotel Sonny Kapoor, played by Dev Patel (Chappie, The Newsroom-TV), had his eye on a second property. It would already be a challenge; but with the added stress from the approval process and his upcoming wedding, Sonny would need a lot of things to go right if he was going to realize his dreams. This sequel saw the original cast like Maggie Smith (Quartet, Harry Potter franchise) as Muriel Donnelly and Judi Dench (Philomena, Skyfall) as Evelyn Greenslade mingling with new cast members such as Richard Gere (Brooklyn’s Finest, Amelia) playing Guy Chambers. I enjoyed seeing the cast again but there were parts of the script that I found unattractive. What I mean is I felt some of the writing came across as cheap and easy, not giving the actors enough to fully develop their characters. Sure there was the same mix of comedy and drama, but I did not find this film as entertaining as the first one. It was as if the writers did not know whether to make the story more like a madcap ensemble comedy piece or go in a more serious vein. I really hoped this would have been a better film because I was fond of the idea to have a group of people coming together as a family of choice, a real sense of community.
2 1/4 stars
Flash Movie Review: The Last Five Years
As far as I can tell there is no price one can put on love. It is not something to barter or negotiate; I consider it an all or nothing proposition when it involves being in a relationship. True love is unconditional, where you accept everything about your significant other. In other words one cannot go into the relationship hoping to change something about their loved one. I remember this one guy a good friend of mine was dating who would make comments anytime we would go out to dinner and order dessert. After she would order something he would look at her for a silent moment then say, “Do you really think you should get that?” I do not know how she put up with it because I found it offensive. There was another couple I knew where one of them was the major wage earner while the other had a long string of bad luck in trying to keep a job. The breadwinner was always making not so passive aggressive comments like, “I’ll have to put in more overtime for us to afford it” or “I’m not spending my money on that.” To me this was simply another form of abuse. Relationships cannot survive without communication, respect and acceptance; trust me, I am well versed in this type of situation. DIFFERENCES in religion, backgrounds and job status had little importance as Cathy Hiatt and Jamie Wellerstein, played by Anna Kendrick (The Voices, What to Expect When You’re Expecting) and Jeremy Jordan (Joyful Noise, Smash-TV), fell in love. While Jamie’s dream of becoming a successful novelist started to take hold, Cathy was still trying to land that one big role that would change her life. No matter, they were in love and they were going to get married; everything would work out in the end…or would it? This film festival nominated dramedy based on the musical from Tony award winning composer and lyricist Jason Robert Brown (Parade) was lucky having Anna and Jeremy. The two were so well suited for each other, though I will say Anna was the stronger of the two. The entire story was done in song which I did not mind; however, except for a couple of the numbers the majority of songs sounded similar to each other. Also, there was not one song I could recall once the movie was over. The hardest part of this film for me was the order of the scenes. It took me forever before I realized the scenes with Cathy were going from the present to the past while Jamie was going from the past to the present. I found this totally confusing, diminishing the enjoyment in watching this picture. I previously mentioned the importance of communication in a love relationship; it also is for telling a movie’s story.
2 1/2 stars
Flash Movie Review: A la mala
From time to time I enjoy reading the advice columns in the newspapers. I am not really sure why; maybe to get a reality or non-reality check on my life. The questions that fascinate me the most are the relationship ones where I think the answers are obvious. For example, a woman wrote that her husband sends text messages to a neighbor who has repeatedly said she wished she had a husband like that. When she asks her husband what he is texting he always says, “Nothing, why should you care?” The wife says it makes her uncomfortable and somewhat insecure. I know when it come to relationships I can be naive in some aspects of it because once I give my trust to the person they have 100% of it. I never question or imagine their actions have ulterior motives. Since I could never cheat on or lie to them, I cannot imagine they would ever do it to me. I certainly do not consider this a character flaw, but from experience when it happened it shocked me beyond belief. Friends have told me I need to get my head out of the clouds and pay better attention. Though I do not think I could do it, I have seen where some of them have set up a plan to try and catch their significant other cheating on them. Because I have seen it with my own eyes, this comedy seemed perfectly plausible. STRUGGLING actress Maria Laura “Mala” Medina, played by Aislinn Derbez (The Vineyard, Los Heroes del Norte-TV), accidentally fell into a second career when friends started hiring her to hit on their boyfriends to see if they were cheaters. Everything appeared to be going smoothly until Mala showed up at an audition for a TV show, where the producer knew about Mala’s side business and had an unusual request of her. The premise to this story seemed absolutely plausible to me since I have seen this type of thing being done within my circle of friends. The cast seemed well suited to the story; besides Aislinn there was Mauricio Ochmann (Message in a Bottle, El Senor de los Cielos-TV) as Santiago and Papile Aurora (The Air I Breathe, Pulling Strings) as Kika. I really do not have any major negatives to say about this film; it was pretty straight forward and easy to figure out. If anything I would consider this movie light fare. Some of the scenes were predictable but with an engaging cast I did not mind sitting through the picture. I suggest you consider this film simple fluff. You do not have to commit to it for the long term; you can visit it at a later date. The movie was spoken in Spanish with English subtitles.
2 1/3 stars
Flash Movie Review: Wild Tales
Anger is not something that leaves by its own free will. It does not get swept out of us like grains of sand with the evening tide. One needs to acknowledge it and devise a plan where it can safely leave the body. There are some people who are able to devote only a small amount of energy to their anger. They are able to sidestep the land mines that anger places before them. Then there are other individuals who store their anger in what they believe to be a reinforced tough vault deep inside of them, thinking they will come back to deal with the brooding anger at a later date. However, what tends to happen here is at some point a new flare-up of anger will spark the vault of stored anger into such a fireball that it will burst out of the individual like a volcano blasting through its cap, covering anyone close by. I am more familiar with this type of anger having experienced it in both my work and personal life. As a passenger in the backseat of a car I witnessed the driver exploding into anger when another car coming from the opposite direction knocked off their side mirror. In the middle of traffic our driver did a U-turn that forced the back end of the car to clip the retaining wall as oncoming traffic tried to veer out of the way. If you cannot relate to the anger I just described then there may be a possibility you will not get as much out of this hilarious comedy. EMOTIONS that got out of control fueled the characters to do irrational acts in the separate short stories of this Oscar nominated and film festival winning film from Argentina. With part of the cast including Dario Grandinetti (The Dark Side of the Heart, Talk to Her) as Salgado, Maria Marull (The Bottom of the Sea, Antes del estreno) as Isabel and Monica Villa (The Holy Girl, I Don’t Want to Talk About it) as Profesora Leguizamon; I was enthralled by each character in the multiple stories. There were so many scenes that were charged with outrageous behaviors that it would be hard to say if I enjoyed one story more than another. Each of them took an everyday occurrence and because of circumstances blew it out of proportion. I was thoroughly entertained by this Oscar nominated film for best foreign language with its wicked sense of humor. If by chance you are dealing with any anger issues presently, then this picture may be the perfect antidote for you. And if you are not, you still will get a kick out of this crazy movie. Spanish was spoken with English subtitles.
3 1/2 stars
Flash Movie Review: Focus
I became more aware of my wallet’s whereabouts after my aunt yelled an expletive at a man who had his hand in her purse. She had taken the subway to go downtown. When she got off at her stop and was waiting to step onto the escalator to take her up to street level, she felt a tug on her purse that she had slung on her shoulder. Turning to look down at her purse she saw a man who had his hand in it, looking for her wallet. With no time for thinking, she immediately yelled out in her sternest voice, “What the #%&@ do you think you are doing?” The man was so stunned he withdrew his hand and took off down the station to the exit on the opposite side of the platform. Once I heard what happened to her I started becoming more aware of my surroundings. No matter where I went I would periodically check to make sure my wallet was still in my back pocket. Now granted all I had in my wallet was a couple of pictures and my week’s allowance; but the idea that someone would stick their hand in my pocket to steal my wallet made me angry. After seeing this comedic drama I now am more paranoid. WILL Smith (After Earth, I Am Legend) played lifelong con artist Nicky. Admiring the gutsy moves Jess, played by Margot Robbie (The Wolf of Wall Street, About Time), tried to pull on him; Nicky agreed to teach her some of his tricks. However, just as one of his biggest jobs was about to play out, could Nicky really trust her. This crime story had a variety of twists in it; some were predictable, others were surprises. I will say the story did not seem that much different from others I had seen before. The clear standouts for me were Margot Robbie and Gerald McRaney (The A-Team, Major Dad-TV) as Owens. Also, Adrian Martinez (American Hustle, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty) as Farhad and Rodrigo Santoro (The Last Stand, 300 Franchise) as Garriga gave good performances. I understood this was supposed to be Will’s vehicle back to box office gold after his flop After Earth; but I have to tell you I did not think his performance was anything new. He seemed to be playing himself more than his character to tell you the truth. There were a couple of times where I thought the story dragged. To be fair one of my favorite movies was The Sting, so for me this film did not have any sophisticated nuances in the script. The worst part of this is I now have a bigger fear of getting my pockets picked than I had before.
2 1/4 stars
