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Flash Movie Review: A Working Man
DO NOT TAKE MY WORD FOR it, just ask anyone who knows me. When it comes to determination, where I have my mind set, I do not give up. A perfect example just happened last week. I had to call a government agency since I was not getting the answers I needed online. After going through multiple automated prompts on my telephone call, I was given the option to wait for customer service. I agreed to wait by pressing “one” on the keypad and the auto attendant said the wait would be one hundred ten minutes. I was prepared for such an outrageous number since I tried the week before and the message said since the wait time was over one hundred twenty minutes, no more calls were being accepted, to try back later in the week. So, with the clock counting down, I turned on the speakerphone option on my phone and exercised for an hour. Through the hour I heard repeats of various recorded messages that did not require me to do anything except wait. After I finished exercising, I showered while keeping the phone on the floor next to the shower stall in case I heard a human voice; but, I was not expecting to hear it. When I finished showering, drying off, and dressing; I decided to have lunch. And after I finished eating and washing the dishes, I sat and read for a bit. At three hours and five minutes, I finally heard from a live human voice. I ask you, how many of you would have waited that long? I was not going to give up until I spoke to someone. THIS TYPE OF DETERMINATION IS SOMETHING I believe I was born with. I can remember when I was a little kid playing with building blocks; I could sit for hours until I used every block to build a castle or some type of large building or fortress. Depending on what I was doing, my determination would remain strong even if I had to step away from what I was doing for a couple of hours or days; however, my mind remained active in trying to solve whatever I wanted to accomplish, and come back to the task refreshed and just as determined as when I first started. Though aging and maturity showed me not everyone had my level of determination, it did not stop me from pushing the members in my class to keep going and not give up. I would break down my movements into parts, allowing the members to choose the level of intensity that was best for them. Next, I would encourage them to try to go an extra thirty or sixty seconds the closer we got to the end of a song. I felt I was fortunate, because the members who attended my classes always gave 100% of themselves to their exercising. That type of determination, which I greatly appreciated, was similar to the determination I saw from the main character in this dramatic, action thriller. A CONSTRUCTION WORKER’S QUIET LIFE IS shattered when his boss’ daughter goes missing. With the training he received from his previous career, the worker makes a promise to his boss that he will get his daughter back. By making that promise, he knows he can never give up and he will not until the daughter is returned safely home. With Jason Statham (The Meg franchise, The Beekeeper) as Levon Cade, Jason Flemyng (Black Dog, Touchdown) as Wolo Kolisnyk, Merab Ninidze (Conclave, Without Remorse) as Yuri, Michael Pena (Unstoppable, A Million Miles Away) as Joe Garcia, and David Harbour (Black Widow, Violent Night) as Gunny Lefferty; this script with one of the writers being Sylvester Stallone, was a bare bones, no nonsense fight fest. There were no surprises as everything followed a typical Jason Statham movie model. The fight scenes were well orchestrated and I felt the main story line helped greatly to keep audience members engaged as long as they were in the mood to witness such battles. There was no humor, fun, or deep drama within any of the scenes; it was strictly a bloody violent film that was made for Jason’s well known persona—a tough guy who can beat the crap out of anyone.
2 1/4 stars
Flash Movie Review: Herself
SHE CAME FROM A BROKEN HOME and she was related to me. I never knew her father because her mother divorced him before I was born. The only thing I heard as the reason for the divorce was the father was abusive. As far as I knew the mother made a new comforting home for her and her daughter. I remember when the daughter got remarried; though, I never knew she was married before. It turns out she had married a man who was abusive to her, locking her in a closet at times. All I knew was the relatives were all excited when she remarried a gentleman who they all liked. The fact he was devoted to his mother, the relatives took as a good sign of what type of husband he would be. I remember meeting him and being struck how odd it was that his face showed little emotion. Maybe it was nerves or fear on his part for meeting a room full of relatives, yet it was so strange to me that I could not get it out of my mind. Everything appeared to be fine; I heard relatives say the couple had a lovely house. Whenever I would see my relative and her husband, there was something he did that bugged me. Not all the time, but enough times for me to notice he would make his wife the brunt for one of his jokes. I did not find it funny, but she would simply chuckle and tell him to stop it. It never did. SOME YEARS LATER I HEARD MY relative was going to the same beauty shop as another relative. I do not have any proof but was told my relative was wearing heavy makeup to hide bruises on her face. This other relative would see her once or twice a month and noticed the amount of makeup she used on her face would change periodically. A couple of times during the wash and set of her hair, her makeup would get messed up and that is when my other relative would see the bruises. Of course, the question that came to everyone’s mind was whether the bruises were due to a medical reason or from physical abuse. I could not believe they were from abuse; only because I would have thought after what she went through as a child supposedly, she would recognize the behavior of an abuser and steer clear of such an individual. Granted I had no proof only secondhand information. I only wished she had the strength to take care of herself and seek out help if she needed it, like what the mother in this film festival winner had to do. THE ONLY THING THAT MATTERED TO Sandra, played by Clare Dunne (Spider-Man: Far from Home, Monged), was the safety of her daughters. After figuring out a way to provide for her daughters, she had to find a way to make it become reality. With Molly McCann (Sweetness in the Belly, Rosie) as Molly, newcomer Ruby Rose O’Hara as Emma, Ian Lloyd Anderson (Dublin Oldschool, Love/Hate-TV) as Gary and Harriet Walter (The Young Victoria, Sense and Sensibility) as Peggy; this Irish drama was filled with wide ranging emotional scenes. Sandra was such a believable character thanks to Clare’s stunning acting skills, that the daughters only accentuated the family unit where I totally believed everything I was seeing. The story was easy to follow but hard to watch at times. Despite the toughness there was a delicateness that came across thanks to the director’s skills. I never felt manipulated or tricked; there was a certain rawness that came across that really made this film stand out for me. As a side note, due to the Irish dialect there were a few times I had a hard time understanding what was being said. However, this was a minor distraction for me.
3 ½ stars
moviejoltz 