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Flash Movie Review: Thunderbolts
ONE OF THE MOST HUMILIATING EXPERIENCES during my elementary and high school years was when we would have to pick teams in physical ed classes. Usually the teacher would pick two of his favorites in the class to be team captains, and let them choose the students they wanted for their teams. This meant I would have to stand in line with the rest of the students and watch each one get picked before me; if I was not the last one picked, I was always close to last. I knew and everyone else knew right then and there the captain really did not want me on their team because I would not be an asset to the team. Heck, I knew I would not be because I did not like playing team sports. The best I could hope for was not to make a mistake that would cost the team not to win. Depending on the game, I would always stay in the back and just run from side to side with the other students around me, hoping the ball never came close to me. The most amazing thing that ever came out of those experiences was finding myself the last member standing for my team and having to try and make the winning play. The game, I can distinctly remember to this day, was bombardment. Each side would throw the ball to the other side and try to hit a member from the opposing team. If hit, they were then out of the game; the last person standing was the winner for the team. It was during this game that I discovered I could throw the ball fast and really hard. It was a revelation to me. FROM THAT MOMENT ON, THIS WAS the only game I ever wanted to play. And trust me, the other students noticed my “talent” quickly. Added to my new ability, I had a high accuracy rate; I could quickly knock off boy after boy on the opposing team. Sadly, once we graduated to high school, where I thought I could start with a clean slate and not have all the other boys think I was a loser except in this one game, none of the PE classes offered bombardment as a sport. So, I found myself back to being part of a small group of boys who were always picked last in any of the sporting events. If you were never in such a situation, it would be hard to tell you how truly awful the feeling was to stand while everyone around you was getting picked before you. It does a real number on one’s confidence and for many of us, the feelings leaked out into our other school activities. Imagine having to get up in front of the class to give an oral report and see your fellow students not paying attention to anything you were saying, or teaming up on a science project and your lab partner telling you he wants to do the experiment alone because he is in your PE class and knows about your poor performances. Due to these life experiences I have endured, my heart always quickly goes out to the underdog, no matter the venue or activity. This is way I found myself early on, rooting on the castoffs in this action, adventure, science fiction drama. FINDING THEMSELVES CALLED TO THE SAME place, only to discover it was a trap, a group of unconventional beings must form a tight knit group if they want to save themselves and save the world. With Florence Pugh (We Live in Time, Dune: Part Two) as Yelena Belva, Sebastian Stan (A Different Man, Dumb Money) as Bucky Barnes, Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Tuesday, You Hurt my Feelings) as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, Lewis Pullman (Water Rises, Bad Times at the El Royale) as Robert Reynolds, and David Harbour (A Working Man, Violent Night) as Alexei Shostakov; this superhero political drama was a refreshing twist to the superhero genre. The cast was perfectly suited to the script, especially Florence with her character. She has such a strong screen presence that demands one’s attention. Another surprise for me was seeing Julia do such a wonderful job with her character who was so unlike any of her other characters. I appreciated the lack, or at least the soft marketing influences to the script. There were humorous moments throughout the story as well as touching moments that were unexpected but helped balance out the script. Even though the story may not be a total original, I enjoyed watching this film and felt sympathy for this group of characters. I would not mind seeing them come together in a sequel. There were two extra scenes during the ending credits.
3 stars
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: Gran Turismo
MY FIRST EXPERIENCE WITH A FAST vehicle took place at a local amusement park. In front of the park entrance there was a go kart track. I always assumed it was separate from the park because we had to pay for each ride, unlike paying admission to the park and getting the rides for free. I stood and watched the karts roll by for a minute before I decided to join my relatives in line. Unlike some of the car rides I had been on at other amusement parks, where the vehicle was attached to a groove that went down the middle of the track, this ride let the driver have free rein to safely drive wherever they pleased on the track. When it was our turn to get into the karts, there were attendants who helped buckling in the drivers. I noticed the cars had extra big bumpers, like the bumper cars that were an attraction in the amusement park. The older relatives in front of me took off as soon as they were cleared by their attendants. I wanted to catch up to them, so as soon as I was given the okay, I pressed hard on the gas pedal and went out in pursuit. I loved the way the wind hit my face as I drove down the track, staying close to the left side. By the time we were flagged to stop, I had passed just a few of the younger relatives; but it did not matter, I was hooked on the speed. I CONTINUED TO GO ON THE ride until I was no longer able to fit into the kart. By that time, I had collected an array of race car toys, including a racetrack that I put together in our living room, so I was getting my thrills from racing toy cars. In fact, there was a toy shop I went to weekly that had a huge racetrack; customers could rent a race car or bring one of their own to play on the track against other customers. One of my relatives and I saved up and bought our own toy race cars to use at the store. It took me a while to get used to adjusting the speed when my car was taking a turn; I had a few wipeouts, but I was determined to make it through the whole track without an incident and win the race. I believe, all the times I played at the shop led the adult me to always go for the sportiest car whenever I was car shopping at dealerships. Who knows what would have happened if the racing video game in this film had come out when I was a little boy; I might have had a whole different career. EVER SINCE HE WAS A LITTLE boy, all Jann Mardenborough, played by Archie Madekwe (Saltburn, Midsommar), could think about was racing cars. When an advertisement came out announcing a racing contest, Jann felt with all his video playing he might have a chance at becoming a race car driver for Nissan. With David Harbour (Black Widow, Revolutionary Road) as Jack Salter, Orlando Bloom (The Lord of the Rings franchise, Pirates of the Caribbean franchise) as Danny Moore, Takehiro Hira (Snake Eyes, Killing for the Prosecution) as Kazunori Yamauchi and Darren Barnet (Never Have I Ever-TV, Turnt-TV) as Matty Davis; this action adventure film based on a true story had some great racing scenes in it. I was not familiar with the story nor the video game, so for me everything seemed fresh and new. I do feel the script was conventional because it never felt like we were getting the full story on the characters. The drama was kept to a certain level, so that it never dripped over into the action scenes. Nonetheless, this movie was still fun to watch, though if one is not interested at all in races and racing cars then you might want to pass this one on the right.
2 ½ stars
Flash Movie Review; We Have a Ghost
I TRIED TO FEIGN INTEREST AS I listened to my friend’s father describe his latest venture. The reason I was not interested is because I had heard about his other ventures; none of them came to fruition, not earning him a solid living. My friend’s mother was the one who supported everyone on her salary, and I have to say, they were lucky she had a good job. I would not say the father was lazy, because he really dove into these ventures he thought up; but all that came of it was losing money. There were times when my friend told me his mom was getting fed up with all his ideas. I felt sad for my friend and his parents. They were such fun people, for parents; it was hard seeing them struggle at times. The father was such a storyteller, always having something funny to say. I could see where he would make a great salesperson; he had a knack for conversation. My friend always said his dad could make friends with anyone. Whether standing in the checkout line at the grocery store or buying candy at a theater concession stand, he would make a funny comment about something and befriend anyone who was close enough near him. The only other positive thing I could say about him was the fact they never had to move because of something ignorant he had done, unlike another friend’s father. WHEN WE BECAME FRIENDS IN ELEMENTARY school, she had already moved eight times. She had arrived at our school to start 7th grade; that is a lot of moving. Her father was like my other friend’s father, but his objective was to get something for nothing. I did not know at the time, but several of his ideas involved cheating people out of their money. He too had the gift of gab, which he used to build trust between him and his “clients.” The problem with him was the fact he was not the smartest person in the room. Some of his clients could see something was not right and demand their money back. This is the worst part; he would write them bad checks then tell his family to pack a suitcase and they would disappear. The thing that stunned me was the lack of concern for his wife and children. My friend never got to make solid friendships at school because they were always moving. And the trauma of being told they can only take one suitcase, leaving everything else behind, had to be brutal to do over and over. Having been a bystander to these friends’ family situations, I could understand how the son felt in this family, adventure comedy. AFTER MOVING INTO A FIXER-UPPER HOUSE, a family of four soon find out there is someone else living in their home and that gives the dad an idea. With Jahi Di’Allo Winston (Queen & Slim, The Upside) as Kevin Presley, David Harbour (Violent Night, Black Widow) as Ernest, Anthony Mackie (The Woman in the Window, Captain America franchise) as Frank Presley, Erica Ash (Skin in the Game, Uncle Drew) as Melanie Presley and Niles Fitch (The Fallout, This is Us-TV) as Fulton Presley; this film suffered from too many story lines. If the writers had stuck with one or two of them, I think the movie would have been more entertaining. Thankfully, most of the cast was very good, especially David as Ernest. But with different things going on throughout the script, I was getting bored. It did not help that I did not care for Jahi’s performance; there was very little chemistry between him and the other characters. At least there were a couple of fun scenes in the picture; but overall, this production was transparent and ran thin.
2 stars
Flash Movie Review: Violent Night
LATELY, I HAVE BEEN GOING THROUGH several resumes, looking to fill a position at the office. The first thing that will make me discard a candidate is when there are words misspelled. I figure if they cannot take the time to proofread their work, what quality of work will they provide for the department, in turn the company. There was one resume where according to the candidate, they started at their first job before they started high school; they did not catch the error in the start dates they listed. For those that pass the first step in the interview process, I look for stability; would the candidate be a good fit into the department and would they enjoy the position/work. I firmly believe if a person doesn’t like what they are doing at work, then they need to look for a new position either at the company or at a different one. I cannot tell you how many times I am at a store and see at least one employee who looks disengaged or bored. Worse is when you have to deal with an employee who is not happy a/k/a rude. Asking a worker where an item is in the store and they just motion with a head nod and say, “over there,” is rude and shows poor customer service. They obviously do not care about the company that employs them. I DO REALIZE THE PERSON WHO is employed could actually be a great worker; but they were not the right person for the right job. When I do a face to face interview, I want to learn if the candidate is a visual or audio learner, is a self-starter or prefers being told what to do, along with their ideal work environment. If a person is not capable of multitasking and the job requires it, they would not be a good fit. In turn, they could become frustrated or annoyed and that is not a path to becoming successful. The employees I hire I want to be the best they can be and to be happy. For many of us who work in an office or plant, we sometimes spend more time with our co-workers than with our own families. And speaking of families, I have worked at a couple of family owned businesses and in my experiences they have their own set of unique challenges. Sometimes you get next generation personnel who love their family business and want it to be the best. Other times you get individuals who feel entitled and rest on their family’s name. I think the main character in this film, Santa Claus, is at a crossroads regarding his position in this comedic, action crime movie. A GROUP OF HIGHLY SKILLED ROBBERS descend on the estate of a wealthy family just when Santa is there to leave presents. With the thieves on Santa’s naughty list, this Santa is going to leave them something more than just a lump of coal. With David Harbour (Black Widow, No Sudden Move) as Santa, John Leguizamo (Summer of Sam, Moulin Rouge!) as Scrooge, Beverly D’Angelo (National Lampoon’s Vacation franchise, American History X) as Gertrude, Alex Hassell (Suburbicon, The Tragedy of Macbeth) as Jason and Alexis Louder (Copshop, The Tomorrow War) as Linda; this was a fun, twisted spin on the Santa Claus character. David was the standout of the cast, with John Leguizamo close behind him. The story is a mix of Bad Santa, Home Alone, and Krampus in a way, but had some differences too. Several characters were close to cartoonish, with some delivering cheesy lines. I liked the sweetness factor in the script and appreciated how the writers mixed those scenes into the violent ones. Make no mistake, there is a lot of blood and violence on display in this picture; however, the craziness factor acts like a salve to smooth out the contrasts. And to tell you the truth, I think this Santa would be fun to host someday.
3 stars
Flash Movie Review: No Sudden Move
I TRIED MY HARDEST, BUT I could not figure out what the couple next to me was seeing. The man was telling the woman to look at the paint strokes in the painting and notice how they are pointing up to the god figure. I did not want them to know I was listening in to their conversation; but I honestly was trying to figure out what the guy was seeing because I could not find any type of god figure in the artwork. I had to wonder if the woman was able to make out what the man was talking about because most of the time, she simply nodded her head and said, “uh-huh” or “ah.” The painting was an abstract with bold sweeps of color all over the canvas. The man continued with his explanation of the painting, saying the artist was making some type of statement against the elitists. I had no idea what he was talking about and got bored with listening to him carry on about the art. I happened to be roaming through the art museum after seeing their new exhibit and stopped at this painting because I liked the way the colors blended into each other. WHEN I AM LOOKING AT AN art piece, I am not trying to figure out what the artist was trying to do or say with it. I am simply enjoying the feelings that the piece evokes in me. It may be the landscape in a painting or a chiseled arm in a sculpture or the subject’s face in a photograph; I stop to look at the art piece that moves me in some way. Maybe it is due to my brain’s wiring, but I have never been one to try and figure out creative things. Mechanical things are a different story; I like to know how a device or machine works. But books and art are a whole different thing for me. They are more personal. I feel everyone can have a different reaction to a piece of art or a book. It goes along with what I have always said; no one has the right to tell another person how to feel. I may be fond of a particular symphony, but my friend may hate it and that is perfectly fine. The reason I like science fiction films is because they are pure escapism for me; yet, I have a friend who asks me (in his words) why I watch that crap. He doesn’t like it, I am okay with it; but, when I try to tell him why I like them, he cannot understand it. I felt like him after I watched this well received motion picture. WHEN AN EASY JOB GOES WRONG, a group of criminals must figure out what happened and who caused the situation they were in. With Don Cheadle (Miles Ahead, Hotel Rwanda) as Curt Goynes, Benicio Del Toro (A Perfect Day, The Usual Suspects) as Ronald Russo, David Harbour (Black Widow, Hellboy) as Matt Wertz, Jon Hamm (Richard Jewel, Lucy in the Sky) as Joe Finney and Brendan Fraser (The Mummy franchise, Gimme Shelter) as Doug Jones; this dramatic crime mystery was great to look at. The sets and costumes were spot on while the cast did an amazing job with their roles. Directed by Steven Soderbergh (Traffic, Ocean’s Eleven), the story was interesting, but I thought the script was poorly written. I became confused several times and by the last part of the movie, I felt like I was missing, or something was missing in the movie for me. An uneven feeling was what remained for me after watching this picture. There were times I enjoyed watching it, but other times I was sort of blah about it. I am just telling you how I felt about it; maybe there is something more in it for you.
2 ½ stars
Flash Movie Review: Black Widow
I SHOULD HAVE READ THE FINE print before agreeing to participate. We were on vacation, staying at a hotel. When we checked in, we were handed an invitation to a presentation that was going to be held in one of the hotel’s conference rooms. The topic was about a new property the hotel was going to open. Refreshments would be served, and each guest would receive a gift bag worth $300.00. We agreed to participate, hoping the gift bag would at least contain food and drink coupons. On the day of the presentation, we walked into the conference room where a hotel employee greeted us with the gift bag. Finding seats, I went through the bag. There was an assortment of travel sized items like toothpaste, bagged peanuts and body lotion. Along with the stuff there was a gold cardboard envelope. I opened it and found a coupon towards a one night’s stay at their new property being built in the Bahamas; that was where the $300.00 value came in. Though I understood the whole marketing aspect of it, I was still annoyed that I agreed to sit through a 2 hour presentation; where at the end of it, the employee tried to sell us a time share unit at their new property. The way I saw this was I received a few travel sized things and a coupon, which I found out did not include air fare and was not enough for a one night stay, for using up 2 hours of my time. I REALIZE I HAVE A CHOICE; I do not have to agree to these types of sale pitches. For me it is about my time and effort, and what I am getting in return. Here is an example; remember those old TV dinners in the metal trays with the compartments for each food group? I used to get the turkey and gravy one, despite not really liking it. The reason was I loved the dessert that came with it, a baked apple crisp type of thing. The turkey was not horrible; but I was not a gravy person and did not care for the wetness with pieces of mushy stuffing floating in it. I powered through despite it, just so I could enjoy the dessert. As a little boy, I used to go through a box of cereal I disliked just to pull out the sweetened raisins and add them to a different box of cereal that I really enjoyed. Even today, my friends and family know I rarely order something straight off the restaurant menu without making small adjustments for the things I like and dislike. I wish I could have done that for this action, adventure film I saw at the movie theaters. NATASHA ROMANOFF, PLAYED BY SCARLETT JOHNSON (Jojo Rabbit, Marriage Story), must confront her past if she wants to overcome the sinister forces that are circling around her. With Florence Pugh (Lady Macbeth, Fighting with my Family) as Yelena Belova, David Harbour (No Sudden Move, Suicide Squad) as Alexei, Rachel Weisz (The Favourite, My Cousin Rachel) as Melina and Ray Winstone (The Departed, Cold Mountain) as Dreykov; this science fiction origin story was a mixed bag for me. There were times where the scenes were brilliant, both in content and visually; but other times I was not as impressed. I think the basic issue had to do with the script. In a Marvel film, we get overloaded with excitement, peril, humor and incredible CGI effects. This film came close at times but did not quite make it. The women were incredible together, especially Scarlett and Florence, who I think has a future in the Marvel universe based on her performance here. For the story, the evil aspect just wasn’t as diabolical as it could have been. I enjoyed watching the movie, but I did not love it. Sort of like that TV dinner I used to eat. There was an extra scene after the credits.
3 stars
Flash Movie Review: Hellboy
THE SOUNDS FROM CONVERSATIONS AROUND ME blurred into a curtain of white noise. I was not focused on any of them, only aware of the background noise they created. Instead, I was pulling travel brochures out of my knapsack, that I had picked up at the hotel before taking myself out to lunch. The restaurant was a local establishment I had read about and was curious to check out. Whenever I travel out of state, I always try to eat at least one meal at a restaurant that is not part of a national chain. When I walked into this place I could smell the smokiness of barbeque in the air. The hostess had placed me in a booth by a window; I not only had a view to their outdoor patio, but I also had a wide view of the dining area inside. There was a constant flow of activity, from patrons walking in and out to the wait staff keeping up with the flow of meals coming out of the kitchen. I liked looking at the different food dishes being ordered; it was a way for me to see what was popular on the menu. After I decided and gave my order to the waitress, I delved into my reading material. IT WAS DURING THE TAIL END of my meal when I realized that curtain of white noise had dissipated. Looking up from my brochures I noticed a good portion of the restaurant patrons were looking at the front entrance. Standing at the door was a couple with a child. It did not hit me immediately, but pretty darn close that the patrons had stopped talking to stare at this couple. There was nothing I could see that was unusual about the couple. I was hoping they were not staring for this reason, but I knew deep inside it had to be the only reason the diners would have looked up and stopped talking to each other. The couple was biracial. Their child had a mix of features from both parents; dark cocoa skin, soft tightly curled brown hair and light-colored eyes. I was stunned that a biracial couple would draw so much attention. Why would anyone care? I do not have the answer, but it was not until the couple was being led to a table that the other patrons resumed their conversations. What in the world would they have done I wonder, if the main character from this action, adventure fantasy came into the restaurant? AN ANCIENT SORCERESS KNOWN AS THE Blood Queen, played by Milla Jovovich (The Fifth Element, Resident Evil franchise), was plotting her revenge on mankind. Her plan included an unusual offer. With David Harbour (Revolutionary Road, The Green Hornet) as Hellboy, Ian McShane (Hercules, John Wick franchise) as Professor Broom, Brian Gleeson (Logan Lucky, Phantom Thread) as Merlin and Sasha Lane (American Honey, After Everything) as Alice Monaghan; this reboot was filled with blood and violence. In fact, that pretty much says it all about this picture. I found the script lifeless. What I assume was supposed to be humorous remarks bordered on vitriol. There was nothing fun or exciting in this film except Milla’s character. She was the only character that I cared about. I have never read the graphic novels but compared to the original movie, this one was a waste as far as I could tell. In all honesty, watching this film was like seeing a high school production that had not gone through its technical week. I felt different scenarios were shown but never carried all the way through to conclusion. All I can say is it was hell sitting through this film.
1 ½ stars
moviejoltz 