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Flash Movie Review: The Covenant
WHEN WE WERE KIDS, WE WERE always changing the rules while playing a game. Of course, they were changed only if everyone agreed. I remember one game we played, a trivia based one, where the answer had to be the famous person’s last name. We decided to make it easier by allowing the use of the person’s first name, if we could not remember their last name. Think about the made-up games many of us did when we were children; the rules were never set in stone, going through revision after revision until we were pleased with the outcome. As I got older, I noticed how important it became for some individuals to be the winner of the game. I was never competitive in a game, except with myself. It was more important to me to improve my game than trying to beat someone else who was playing it. Being my own worse critic, I had plenty of drive inside of me to get better. Nowadays, I am bit more relaxed about it; however, there are certain people I refuse to play with because they are so extreme. They yell at teammates if they do not make the right move/play and they are always trying to stretch the rules to their advantage. I am a rule follower and to play a game with someone involves a certain level of trust. One cannot suddenly change the rules to suit their needs. THERE IS ANOTHER REASON WHY I am selective when it comes to who I will play with for a game. I have been at some game night events where it becomes too cliquish for me. Certain players secretly make alliances with other players; others make promises but then renege on them. I am not comfortable getting involved with people who do this; I do not find them trustworthy which leads to me not having a good time with them. I have said this many times; the one thing that every human being can offer to another is their word. Giving your word is sacred. I cannot tell you how annoying and disappointing it is for me when someone tells me they are going to do something but then does not do it. I would rather they just never said a word about it and kept it to themselves. I sort of feel like some people feel if they just talk about doing something it is enough to make the people, they are telling it to, to feel good; trust me, it does not. You can see for yourself in this dramatic, action thriller. DURING THE WAR IN AFGHANISTAN, A soldier and his local interpreter find themselves struggling to escape the clutches of the encroaching Taliban fighters. If ever there was a need for trust, this would be the time. With Jake Gyllenhaal (Ambulance, The Guilty) as Master Sergeant John Kinley, Dar Salim (The Devil’s Double, Loving Adults) as Ahmed, Sean Sagar (Blue Story, Our Girl-TV) as Charlie “Jizzy” Crow, Jason Wong (The Gentlemen, Panic) as Joshua “JJ” Jung and Rhys Yates (Bloodyminded, Unforgotten-TV) as Tom “Tom Cat” Hancock; this film directed by Guy Ritchie was extremely intense with heart stopping fight scenes. I thought everyone in the cast was exceptional, especially Jake and Dar. Jake’s specialty in my opinion is his ability to display such intensity in his characters and in here he does not disappoint. The action was steady throughout and the script kept things tightly moving forward. I do not know if the story was based/inspired by true events, but I could easily see how it could be possible. From beginning to end I was engaged with the story and was even a little exhausted when it was over.
3 ½ stars
Flash Movie Review: Black Crab
IT WAS A TERRIBLE STORM WITH high winds and snow piling up quickly. I remember I stayed home because there was no way I wanted to venture out into the cold, let alone with a blizzard taking place. A friend of mine who I had talked with earlier in the day was driving out to visit his son who was in college, out of state. I mentioned how the weather was not going to let up according to the latest news reports, but he insisted he had to see his son who was performing in the school’s play. Asking if there were multiple performances, my friend said this was the only performance and he had to be there for it. I asked him why; what would be the harm if he missed this one performance; his son would surely understand based on the horrible weather, I added. My friend said he had never missed one of his son’s performances and he was not going to let that happen now, especially since his son was getting close to graduating. He told me how important it was to him, to be there and support his son who was working on attaining his dream. I could not fault him on being such a loving and supportive parent; that he was willing to take such a risk in this awful storm just to be there for his child. It was quite admirable. A SHORT TIME LATER, AN ACQUAITANCE of mine was telling me what she was planning for her son’s high school graduation. Because the school wanted to maintain their safety precautions, it decided it would hold the big celebratory senior dance at the school. According to her, many of the students were disappointed they were not going to a “fancy” location. The mother felt sad for her son so decided to get herself on the decorations committee. I was stunned when she told me about her ideas for the dance; she was going to decorate/build a setting that would look like the courtyard of a Spanish or Mexican house. She wanted some type of fountain in the center, even if it turned out to be the punchbowl, with Spanish moss and twinkling lights hanging from the ceiling and walls. Using large picture frames, she thought about inserting class photos or scenic ones depicting exotic locations. Listening to her descriptions, I could see it in my head. When I asked her if she had enough free time, she said because of her job she would have to do the bulk of the work at night and weekends. I found it touching that she was willing to sacrifice most of her free time to provide a special setting for her son and his graduating class. Here are two parents who would do anything for their child and now I find the mother in this action, adventure drama doing everything she can for her child. HOPING TO SEE HER MISSING DAUGHTER, a soldier agreed to participate in a life-threatening mission. All she would need to do is skate across a frozen lake. With Noomi Rapace (The Secrets We Keep, Angel of Mine) as Caroline Edh, Jakob Oftebro (Kon-Tiki, Agent Hamilton-TV) as Nylund, Dar Salim (The Devil’s Double, Game of Thrones-TV) as Malik and Aliette Opheim (The Deposit, Alone in Space) as Forsberg; I found the story curiously intriguing. Noomi was excellent and I think that was a large part why I stayed engaged with this movie. The idea behind the story was new and different, which grabbed me quickly. On the other hand, the execution of it was typical. There was a bit unevenness in the directing, along with some predictability; however, I stayed interested in the story because of the acting and variety of tense scenes. If nothing else, this movie is watchable just to see what a mother would do for her child.
2 ¼ stars
moviejoltz 