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Flash Movie Review: Rebel Ridge
HE WAS A SHORT, SLIGHT MAN with a close-cropped beard and straight brown hair that always looked feathery. This was my first impression of my yoga instructor, who would remain mine through the first year of my training to become an instructor. There was gentleness and kindness about him; he always took the time to work one on one with each of us in class. Whenever he would demonstrate a pose, he moved into it like a cat, slow and determined. Because I was so focused on taking notes and looking at the poses he did, I did not notice him as much if that makes sense. I was looking to see where hands and feet needed to be rather than focusing on the way his body would move into the pose. Around halfway through the year we had a celebratory event where multiple classes would come together. It was part doing yoga and part mingling. I met some of the upper-class students and watched them during our yoga session. They were so smooth as they moved into the various poses. During the break, I went up and talked with them, asking about their experience at the school. At some point, one of them asked me who was my instructor. When I told him, he said I had the best teacher in the school. I was thrilled to hear it. WHAT HE SAID NEXT THREW ME for a loop. He asked if I knew about my instructor’s background. I said no. He told me something that stunned me. My instructor was involved with the military until a tragic event shattered his leg. The story this upper-class student told me was after the event my teacher was sent home for multiple surgeries and a lengthy rehabilitation. This student told me to look at the instructor’s body when he moves into a pose. Since he was ahead of me in school, I thought I would see what he was talking about and look at my instructor’s body when he was doing poses. It turned out I had to look more than once because what I saw was fascinating. The fact his leg was shattered, I would never have known. Each time his body moved into a pose I would see his smooth, pliable limbs turn into sculpted, solid muscle. Not like a heavy weightlifter’s muscles, more like a Michelangelo statue. They would rise from his skin and form this rock-solid landscape across his body. I would have been most curious to hear what he used to do in the military because he was nothing what I pictured a military person to be. I was reminded of him because of the main character in this action, crime thriller. MAKING HIS WAY TO POST BAIL for his cousin, a former Marine finds himself in a town that could make better use of his bail money. With Aaron Pierre (Brother, Old) as Terry Richmond, Don Johnson (Knives Out, Book Club: The Next Chapter) as Chief Sandy Burnne, AnnaSophia Robb (Soul Surfer, Bridge to Terabithia) as Summer McBride, David Denman (The Equalizer 3, The Office-TV) as Officer Evan Marston, and Emory Cohen (Brooklyn, Lords of Chaos) as Officer Steve Lann; this drama was slick and to the point, taking me by surprise. I thought the cast, especially Aaron, was excellent. The story is a no-frills good against evil type of story and I fell right into it. The action was intense, and the fight scenes were well done. In a way, it was refreshing to watch an action film without the special effects or wild camera work or a multitude of dead bodies; I felt I was following a simple, story that could have been based in truth. On some level, this movie reminded me of an old-fashioned western film besides reminding me of my past yoga instructor.
3 stars
Flash Movie Review: The Equalizer 3
LAST WEEK WE WENT TO ONE of our favorite restaurants for dinner. Anyone we have taken there has agreed with us on how good everything is from food to service. After we were settled at our table, a family with two small children came in and were seated next to us. One child was in a highchair and the other one in a regular seat, though the table’s edge almost came up to his chest. I did not pay much attention to them except when the little boy was fussing and whining. Our waitress also handled their table and took their order right after ours. As a result, both of us received our dinner close together. I point this out because once the food arrived, I did not pay any mind to what was going on at their table, except to notice for two adults and two children they seemed to have ordered a lot of food. Views of the two kids were blocked by the people at our table and it was a good thing. They had finished and left before we did; I noticed the waitress was standing near their table and looking down at the floor. I leaned over just enough to see the unbelievable mess that the family left on the table and floor. It was disgusting and more so because I did not recall them moving over to try cleaning up the scraps of food strewn everywhere. It was disrespectful in my opinion; I get annoyed when people do not pick up after themselves in a public place. I ENCOUNTERED SOMETHING SIMILAR ON my recent vacation. Here I was at a significant, iconic religious building and on the side of it someone had spraypainted graffiti. If that was not bad enough, after climbing up inside to the top of the building’s dome and walking out into the open, there was graffiti and people’s initials written along the walls. It was beyond disrespectful, simply appalling. Sadly, many places I visited in this international city had some type of markings and/or graffiti on its buildings. It felt like the city was being hijacked by these perpetrators. I was there to soak in the beauty and history of the place, and it seemed everywhere I was looking, I would find some type of markings or tags sprawled somewhere around a structure. I found all of it nearly incomprehensible; if I lived there and was in a position of authority, I would want to arrest the offenders and make them clean up their work. Because of this experience, I absolutely understood where the main character was coming from when he saw what was happening to the lovely town, he was residing in. AFTER RECEIVING THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS and settling into the idyllic town he found himself in, a former government assassin decided he must do something about the changes that were being forced on the townspeople. With Denzel Washington (The Book of Eli, The Tragedy of Macbeth) as Robert McCall, Dakota Fanning (The Secret Life of Bees, Man on Fire) as Emma Collins, Eugenio Mastrandrea (From Scratch-TV, La fuggitiva-TV) as Gio Bonucci, David Denman (13 Hours, Brightburn) as Frank Conroy and Gaia Scodellaro (Watch Them Fall; You, Me and the Apocalypse-TV) as Aminah; this latest installment in the action, crime thriller franchise had the perfect mix of drama and action. It did start out a little slow, but as the story unfolded it drew me in. I also have to say because I was just recently in the same areas on vacation; I absolutely loved the outdoor scenes of Italy. It seemed as if the action in this latest installment was boosted because there were many scenes of blood and violence. It was in a similar vein to the John Wick franchises’ type of violence. But because I loved the scenery and thought both Denzel and Dakota did such a good job, the violence did not distract from the competent and engaging script.
3 stars
Flash Movie Review: Brightburn
DESIRE, THAT STRONG FEELING OF WANTING or wishing for something can turn lethal if it goes unchecked. Every one of us experiences this feeling and it is okay; but just like all things, one needs to use moderation when delving into the experience. Left unrestrained, desire can go down a dark tunnel that will suck the life out of even the strongest of individuals. The following example may be too harsh for some of you, so you may want to skip to the next paragraph. I have been reading in the news about a horrific crime that recently took place. A woman desired to have a baby. Her desire kept getting stronger until she came up with a plan, enlisting the aid of her daughter and her daughter’s boyfriend. The woman befriended a pregnant woman on a website, claiming she had free baby clothes to give away. Arrangements were made to meet up and when the pregnant woman arrived she was attacked. The trio killed the woman and cut the unborn baby out of her. I do not need to go any further with this story; I am sure my point came across clearly. The idea this woman came to a point where she felt it was okay to steal a baby, and especially in such a barbaric way, is mind blowing to me. I HAVE BEEN DANCING WITH DESIRE my entire life. It took years for me to assert my will over my desire to eat any and everything within my reach. Eating from a bag of pretzels to a box of cookies was a daily occurrence between many meals. Pizza was my go to food during my college years; at one point I was eating pizza 3 times a day: lunch, dinner and evening snack. What I had to do to overcome this pattern was to switch the focus of my desire. I was tired of never finding clothes that fit me, so my desire to buy “regular” clothing overpowered my desire to eat. These days I can let my desire to eat come out on the weekends; but when Monday comes along, I must lock up that desire and return to my clothing desire. Now granted, my desires are more of a singular nature; they do not involve other individuals. However, there are people in the world who do not live with a checks and balance structure to their lives; their desire muddles the line between right and wrong. It can be seen in this horror, science fiction film. A YOUNG COUPLE’S DESIRE FOR A CHILD of their own drives them to accept a baby in an unconventional way. With Elizabeth Banks (Pitch Perfect franchise, Love & Mercy) as Tori Breyer, David Denman (Puzzle, 13 Hours) as Kyle Breyer, Jackson A. Dunn (Avengers: Endgame, Shameless-TV) as Brandon Breyer, Gregory Alan Williams (Remember the Titans, Freshman Year) as Sheriff Deever and Emmie Hunter (Forever My Girl) as Caitlyn; this story started out the same way as a famous comic book character. In fact, I am surprised the comic book company has not started legal action against the movie studio who allowed this movie to happen; though, one might be able to make the case that the studio committed a crime by taking the viewers’ money for this picture. The script was so generic and poorly written that I knew what would happen before the scenes unfolded. Why Elizabeth took this role is beyond me. I did not care for the directing and found Jackson’s performance dull. There could have been so many ways to tell this story; why the writers chose this way was puzzling to me. And the kicker to all of this; it was obvious the studio desperately desires to make a sequel. Please don’t let that happen.
1 ½ stars
Flash Movie Review: Puzzle
THIS WEEK I WAS LOOKING AT a recipe for a cherry tomato tart. It was in the newspaper and it sounded interesting to me. As I was reading the list of ingredients and directions I visualized how I would prepare it. I need exact measurements listed when it comes to cooking and baking; I am not one of those people who can eyeball a recipe and put a dash of this or a pinch of that into the mix of ingredients. With this tart recipe there was one direction that caused me to have second thoughts. After I was supposed to cook the onions, butter, parmesan cheese and spices in a pan on the stove; I was to pour the mixture into a pie crust. Here is where I got tripped up; the recipe then said to place the cherry tomatoes on top of the mixture and overfill it because the mixture will settle down as it is baking. How much is overfill is my question. For me taste is not the only thing that is important in a food dish, it also is the look of it; it must be visually appealing to me. The way foods fit together on a plate means something to me. In fact, it is more; the way things fit together in everyday life mean something to me. THERE ARE SOME INDIVIDUALS WHO use their closet as a repository. Their clothes hang haphazardly with no continuity; work and play items mingle together, so they must search all through their closet when seeking one particular item. Maybe I am showing my OCD tendencies, but calmness comes when wardrobes are grouped for specific functions. Even with relationships, isn’t the goal when dating to see how each of you fit together as a couple? There are some people who meet and easily fit their lives together as if they had been together for years. Others find themselves in different spots yet have the awareness of how things could be. I would like to say being in a relationship is like starting a garden. One needs patience first of all and an idea of what they want their life to look like as they grow older. Then they need to choose the foliage and the placement of it to fully maximize its growth. A person would have to have commitment to their garden, tending to its needs and requirements. It is the same way for a relationship; working to see how each piece fits together to continue its growth. This dramatic film festival winner does a beautiful job in showing the viewer how things can fit together. AGNES, PLAYED BY KELLY MACDONALD (No Country for Old Men, Goodbye Christopher Robin), had no idea what she needed to spark her into living life. She would find it in a simple birthday gift. With David Denman (Logan Lucky, The Gift) as Louie, Irrfan Khan (The Lunchbox, Jurassic World) as Robert and Austin Abrams (Brad’s Status, Paper Towns) as Gabe; watching this movie was like taking a leisurely walk through a garden. I thought Kelly and Irrfan were completely devoted to their characters and did a wonderful job of acting. The story quietly unfolded in a way that matched the game that was being played; at least that is how I interpreted it. There were a few passages where I felt a lull taking place, but then the script would move out of it. I especially was fascinated with the dynamics that played out between the characters. The director really spent the time needed on each character to allow them to develop before our eyes. Though I was left with a couple of unanswered questions; for the most part, I enjoyed the way the pieces of the story were put together in this lovely film.
3 stars
moviejoltz 