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Flash Movie Review: Spider-Man: Brand New Day
OVER THE PAST SEVERAL WEEKS, HAVING conversations with various friends, I felt I was on an extended walk down memory lane. With one friend, we reminisced about the time when we were kids and went to a traveling carnival that arranged to setup in a park next to the beach. There were five of us friends who went together as a group on a sunny windy day. We had a blast trying the different games of chance, along with going on most of the rides multiple times. My friend and I remembered one ride in particular at the same time. It was like a ferris wheel except it rotated at an angle; imagine a clock dial, the top of the wheel was positioned at 11 o’clock and the bottom at 5 o’clock. Attached around the wheel were these metal parachute shapes that had a padded seat suspended underneath with a small back for support. They were rigid; however, the parachute was attached around a metal cylinder, giving the seated parachute freedom to swing. My friend and I sat together and after a couple of slow rotations around the wheel, the speed picked up. She was wearing a long pleated, printed skirt that I think was called a peasant or granny skirt. With the ride going fast, the wind swirling all around us, her skirt kept catching her skirt and blowing it up towards her face. She had to use one hand to try and keep it down but there was little success. When the ride ended and we rejoined our friends, she declared she would not go on any other rides; she was so embarrassed. TALKING WITH A COUPLE OF OTHER friends, they were trying to remember where we went on a road trip years ago. All they could retrieve about the trip was climbing up a wooden observation tower. The memory was triggered after they came across a couple of photos that was of them when they were much younger. I never forgot that trip because I wound up getting sick. We had driven across the state to the border that was separated by a large river from our western neighbor. The observation deck looked over rolling green hills to the west; and back to the east one could faintly see a few of our city’s tallest skyscrapers. Our destination was a quaint, little town that did not allow vehicles within the city limits. The only method of transportation was either on foot or bicycle. Fudge was the most popular item sold in this town. We had a pleasant time exploring and trying different flavored fudges. However, on our return trip home, I got hit with a migraine headache. We had to pull off to the side of the road at some point because I was getting nauseous. I got out of the car and ran into a patch of tall grass; my friends could hear me puking up everything I had eaten. The rest of the ride home I was in a deep sleep. Revisiting these different memories with my friends was thoroughly enjoyable; it is part of our history together. With a focus on friendship in this action, adventure, superhero drama; I felt a strong emotional connection to the story. LONG FORGOTTEN, PETER PARKER, PLAYED BY Tom Holland (The Odyssey, Uncharted), was living a solitary, lonesome life. Despite always returning to thoughts about the past, he had to stay in action mode when a new unseen threat began to wreak havoc in the city. With Zendaya (Challengers, The Drama) as MJ, Mark Ruffalo (Crime 101, Poor Things) as Bruce Banner, Jon Bernthal (The Odyssey, The Amateur) as Frank Castle, and Jacob Batalon (The Wrecking Crew, Novocaine) as Ned Leeds; this was for me a different type of superhero movie. It was more personal which is why I was drawn in emotionally. I thought the acting and chemistry between the actors was fully charged, which made the story more intense and human. The action scenes were wonderful as was the directing. What I found especially surprising was how the writers slipped in characters from other film franchises: I can only imagine where this franchise is headed next. After the showing, I heard some people saying they are not fans of superhero movies, but they absolutely loved this picture. And that reminds me, after the story ended and the credits began to roll, everyone in the theater started clapping. I have not experienced that in some time. There was one brief scene at the end of the credits that essentially said Spider-man will return.
3 3/4 stars
Flash Movie Review: The Odyssey
IT WAS NOT ALWAYS AT THE front of my mind, but it certainly had a permanent place somewhere in the back. Ever since the COVID pandemic, I have wondered how the movie theaters will survive. The first few months, after we were able to go back safely, I was usually the only one in the theater. Granted, I avoided the weekends, always going early in the week and picking a seat in the last row on the side. My logic was believing most people gravitate to the center section and prefer being halfway from the screen. As time went on, my logic proved to be true, except for the occasional high school or college couple who wanted to sit in the back row and make out. Since time has gone on and COVID is no longer in the front of most people’s thoughts, there has been an uptick of theater patrons. Every week I have done a mental count of how many patrons are seated and the numbers vary between me alone, up to two dozen at the most. I would sit during the ending credits and wonder how long could the movie theaters remain open with such dismal numbers. There have been several great films, but in my opinion there seems to be more average to below quality movies being shown these days. FOR TODAY’S MOVIE REVIEW FILM, I attended, for the first time, a Saturday night opening weekend showing, which I have not done for over a decade. Because there was so much hype and advertising, I went to the movie complex the day before and bought our tickets. At that time, when I was picking out our seats, I saw there was twenty to thirty seats already sold. When we came back the next day for our showing and sat down in the theater, I was stunned to see almost all the seats were filled. It had been so long that it came to me as a shock to see so many people. I wondered if it was like this every weekend, that I have simply not been a part of it; but keeping track of the box office opening weekend results, I do not think theaters are consistently full every weekend. However, seeing the results for this past weekend, I was pleasantly surprised to see the amount of sales for this film; it is very encouraging and I hope it is a bellwether of what is in store for movie theaters. BASED ON THE EPIC POEM BY Homer, written in the 8th century BCE, this adventure, dramatic fantasy movie tells the story of a husband and father’s long, perilous trek home after a decisive battle. With Matt Damon (Oppenheimer, The Last Dual) as Odysseus, Tom Holland (Spider-Man franchise, Uncharted) as Telemachus, Anne Hathaway (The Devil Wears Prada franchise, The Idea of You) as Penelope, Corey Hawkins (The Color Purple, Straight Outta Compton) as Polybus, and Robert Pattinson (The Drama, The Batman) as Antinous; this latest film from Christopher Nolan (Dunkirk, Tenet) was truly special. The directing and filming of this ancient story was mesmerizing; the cast was brilliant and the scenes were near breathtaking, massive in scope. I have racked my brain, but I could not find a memory of me ever reading or hearing this story. The closest I could come to was a childhood memory of a favorite film of mine called “Jason and the Argonauts,” which I had to look up as soon as I returned home to see if they were both based on the same poem; though similar in nature, they are not. The movie was nearly three hours long, which in the first half seemed to me to be too long. I looked at my watch a couple of times. However, the creativity in presenting the scenes and the action scenes were captivating. The more I have thought about this picture, the more I have grown to love it. And to coin a cliche, the icing on the cake was being in a full movie theater and seeing everyone applauding as the ending credits began to roll.
3 1/2 stars
Flash Movie Review: Supergirl
ONE OF THE TOUGHEST FEELINGS TO experience is the one where you feel you are alone, the only one like you on the planet. The feeling can be all consuming, coloring your other emotions and feelings. In my case, it made me withdraw further from interactions to the point I wished I was simply wallpaper on the wall that no one would notice. A friend of mine went in the opposite direction; they tried to fit in by joining different groups in elementary and high school. I used to keep my distance when they were undertaking a new experience, preferring to be an observer. Maybe there was a part of me hoping I could learn something that would break this hold on me of being different; but in truth, I became a witness to the same results happening to my friend over and over. Since they were just joining things to become part of a group, they did not realize that to others it would soon become apparent that they were not interested in the activity and not having a good time. It has challenging to pretend you enjoy something when you really did not, and my friend did not have the acting skills to put on a “good” front. HAVING ENDURED THOSE PAINFUL TIMES SEEING my friend experience hope and rejection, let alone my own experiences, set me on a course to try and figure out why I felt like I was on a different planet from everyone else. Gratefully, during those times where I would get more depressed about my situation, I never had the desire to numb myself with drugs or alcohol; food became my addiction. Yes, I ballooned up in weight for a time, before I realized I was only adding (no pun intended) another negative layer for feeling alone. My first inklings of possibly not being the only one who felt this way was seeing a classmate chewing their nails down until their fingers bled and seeing someone with cuts down their arm. At the time, I had no idea why the person had multiple cuts on their arms. It wasn’t until I saw a television show where one of the characters had the same marks I had seen on that student’s arms, that I began to understand the thought process behind the cutting. In my case, there wasn’t a TV show that could explain my circumstances; it was my feelings I had for a graduate student who lived on my floor during freshman year. I did not realize I had fallen in love with them until they mentioned they went out on a date. It seemed as everything in my life came crashing down around me hearing they had feelings for someone else, despite not even knowing I was in love with them. That is when I sought out professional help and put myself into therapy. It was the best decision of my life. I wish the main character in this superhero action movie would have done the same thing. ONLY WHEN SOMEBODY CLOSE TO HER took ill, did a reluctant superhero find herself traveling the galaxy to find a remedy and ultimately bring justice to those who were wronged. With Milly Alcock (House of the Dragon-TV, Upright-TV) as Supergirl, Eve Ridley (The Witcher-TV, 3 Body Problem-TV) as Ruthye, Matthias Schoenaerts (Amsterdam, Rust and Bone) as Krem, David Corenswet (Superman, Twisters) as Superman, and Jason Momoa (A Minecraft Movie, Aquaman franchise) as Lobo; this adventure science fiction drama had a lot riding on it. The second film out of a revamped movie studio, there were high hopes for it being successful. There were some good elements in the movie, but they were overpowered with the poor choices by the writers and director. I found this film to be a messy bore. Storylines were underdeveloped, acting was dull except for Jason Momoa, and the action scenes had poor lighting and CGI effects. For over half the film, I felt I was seeing the same scenario being played repeatedly. It annoyed me to see a good idea in the script get trounced on by lackluster actions and absence of details. I think it would have been beneficial if all concerned in the production of this picture had a few sessions with a licensed therapist to get everyone on the same page.
2 stars
Flash Movie Review: The Devil Wears Prada 2
I GREW UP IN A HOUSE that accepted both of our city’s daily newspapers. For some people, this was unusual. Though there was never anything stated or shown in the papers that would clue the reader into the publishers’ viewpoint, it was well known that one newspaper had a conservative bent, while the other was considered more liberal. At the time, when I started to read them, I had no idea; there simply were certain things about each paper that I enjoyed reading. Because of their different physical sizes, I gravitated to one of them more often, especially if I was going to take it with me to read on the train or bus. Its format was like an oversized magazine shape as opposed to the other one which was delivered folded in half. Once unfolded, it could take up a good sized portion of a dining room table, if one wanted to read it while eating a meal; plus the Sunday version of it was humongous, filled with advertisements and its entertainment/travel magazines. One of the most important things about both dailies was their yearly feature article on the Oscar nominations. Both of them listed all the nominations, plus provided an entire page listing the categories, perfectly laid out in order, which I would tear out and use to make my predictions, circling the films that I thought would win in each category. WHEN I MOVED OUT ON MY own, I only subscribed to one of the newspapers for delivery; the other I would only buy on certain days, when I knew the paper would have an extra section for its weekly featured topic. No matter where I moved or when I traveled out of state, I would always have this same arrangement. My current residence is a multi-family building. When I first moved in, every morning the residents’ newspapers were stacked and bound together, wrapped in plastic and left in the foyer of the building’s entryway. There was close to two dozen newspapers that would get delivered to each subscriber. Over the years, I have noticed this amount has slowly decreased. Taking in account, the departure of some of the residents, the majority of readers still live in the building; however, they no longer have their newspaper delivered. I can only assume they either read it online or have stopped reading it all together. For all I know maybe they only buy an edition when a big story has broken, or go to the library and read it there. At present only six apartments in the building receive a daly newspaper, which is around ten percent of the total occupancy. It is a drastic change which is why I understood the pressure the editor-in-chief was having in this comedic drama. IN THE CHAOTIC WORLD OF PRINTED media, a former employee returns to a previous employer to help save it from further decline. A completely different scenario compared to her past dealings with the organization and its ruthless leader. With Meryl Streep (Let Them All Talk, Only Murders in the Building-TV) as Miranda, Anne Hathaway (Mother Mary, She Came to Me) as Andy, Emily Blunt (The Smashing Machine, The Fall Guy) as Emily, Stanley Tucci (Conclave, Spotlight) as Nigel, and Kenneth Branagh (A Haunting in Venice, Oppenheimer) as Stuart; this satirical sequel was a fun watch for me. The cast was outstanding; I felt like I was visiting friends I had not seen in a long time. Also, I enjoyed the various cameos sprinkled through the movie. Granted there were some farfetched scenes, but I believe they go with the territory. With even-handed direction and a witty script, not to mention some of the outrageous fashion choices, this was a breezy, entertaining viewing experience. Honestly, if the powers to be decided to write another script for a further installment, that kept all the same characters and actors who played them, I would not hesitate to go see it.
3 stars
Flash Movie Review: The Drama
SEVERAL TIMES THROUGHOUT THE PAST, I HAVE mentioned that my dealbreakers for not dating someone were dirty fingernails and bad teeth; unless of course there was a reason for it. In the throughs of the dating world, if a potential partner had ever cheated and broke trust in their past relationships, that was a red flag for me as well and I soon ended our relationship. This dealbreaker did not rise up until after I had been cheated on with a couple of people I was dating. I always thought these three non negotiable items were not out of the ordinary; they simply revealed information to me about the person’s hygiene and morals. My friends never challenged my dealbreakers; in fact, they began to incorporate them into their scorecard for potential dating partners. Now on the other hand, I had a hard time with some of my friends’ dealbreakers. There was one friend who would not date anyone but hairy men, essentially hairy chests, arms and legs. I never understood it and always asked them what they would do if their hairy man, in their committed relationship, got cancer and had to go through chemotherapy, causing their hair to fall out. Some friends had to think about it before answering me. Even when I mentioned there might be a chance that person could go bald as they aged, my friends had to actually stop and think about it. THERE ARE A COUPLE OF OTHER friends who had height restrictions when it came to potential partners. One friend only wanted to date people who were much taller than themselves. Another friend preferred dates to be close to their height with a variance of only a couple of inches. Even with their answers to my queries, I still did not quite understand what was so important about different heights that would stop them from dating someone they truly liked. Let me add, that there is a strong difference between me and what I have discovered are many other people regarding perspective dates. Except for teeth and fingernails, I never paid attention to a person’s physical features. This could be due because for most of my life, I always wanted to change mine, or because I saw how the human body was constantly changing its appearance, both intentionally and medically. I tried to never judge any of my friends who had firm limitations on the types of people they would date, despite me not understanding; however, I always thought they were restricting themselves unnecessarily. After seeing this romantic, dark comedy I wondered how they would react, let alone myself, if I had been in such a situation. WHILE OUT WITH ANOTHER COUPLE, AN engaged couple was asked a question that could alter everything about their relationship. With Zendaya (Challengers, Dune franchise) as Emma, Robert Pattinson (Mikey 17, The Batman) as Charlie, Alana Haim (One Battle After Another, Licorice Pizza) as Rachel, Mamoudou Athie (The Circle, Jurassic World: Dominion) as Mike, and Sydney Lemmon (Tar, Love Story-TV) as Pauline; this dramatic comedy scored with casting Zendaya and Robert Pattinson. Their acting and chemistry were perfect in the roles, which made them so believable. I would have appreciated if more time was given to each’s back story; but, in the scheme of things I was too intrigued with the questions being asked and the reactions they caused. At times some things seemed far-fetched, but again I have to stress with the acting and the idea of the story kept my attention throughout the film. The supporting cast was a nice compliment to the engaged couple. Overall, I did not let my minor issues/complaints about the story/script affect my attention and curiosity.
3 stars
Flash Movie Review: Project Hail Mary
THOUGH THERE WERE SEVERAL CHALLENGES FOR me, the month-long trip overseas went beyond all expectations and hopes. My latest thrill is visiting UNESCO World Heritage sites, which we were able to see several on this trip. There was so much history we delved into, that I am having a hard time keeping all the facts straight for each place. One of the biggest highlights for me was visiting the city where my Dad was stationed during the war. Hearing about the importance of the city’s place in history and walking the streets, I had this surreal feeling of connection. The issues I encountered the weeks I was away from home, gratefully, diminished due to amazing things we saw and did. One of my challenges was regarding foods. Since I do not eat red meat or pork, our home base country did not have a lot to offer me for meals since they are known for their beef. Chicken takes a far backseat on their diet. There were times I would wind up having two shrimp cocktails and a small side salad for dinner. The fact that I lost three pounds on the trip should tell you something. If that was not rough enough, I wound up catching a bug that caused digestive issues; so, there were a couple of days where I did not eat or drink anything throughout the day. I did not want to be caught in an embarrassing situation while on an excursion. ONCE WE WERE BACK HOME AND re-adjusted to our “normal” schedule, I wanted to see a movie that I could escape into, without much thought. This is why I chose this film; I wanted to watch something that had a visual, sci-fi vibe to it. I had no idea this picture would remind me of an encounter we had while on our ship. There was a married couple who were on a few of our excursions. We normally do not start up a conversation with strangers since we do not know if their beliefs are similar to ours; or, if they are not, they will not act on them, making it uncomfortable for us. The wife always had this sour look on her face; in my opinion, she looked mean. She never smiled or acknowledged us when we would see them repeatedly on other excursions. Granted, I do not think she acknowledged anyone as far as I could tell. One night as we were walking out of a restaurant, they were about to walk in. Before I could stop myself, I said the food was good and we ate a lot due to all the walking we did on that day’s excursion. To my surprise, they both laughed and shared their experiences on the trip. We come to find out they live in a town where I have a substantial amount of relatives; one of them was a friend of hers while in college. From that point on, we would see one another almost every day and stop to share our events of the day and became quite friendly. I had an extra reason to feel good after leaving this sci-fi, adventure, comedy, drama. AT FIRST DISORIENTED AFTER WAKING UP from suspended animation, a science teacher begins to remember why he found himself on a spacecraft, headed towards the sun. With Ryan Gosling (The Fall Guy, Barbie) as Ryland Grace, Sandra Huller (Anatomy of a Fall, The Zone of Interest) as Eva Stratt, James Ortiz (The Woodsman, Girls Against Boys) as Rocky, Lionel Boyce (The Bear-TV, Loiter Squad-TV) as Carl, and Ken Leung (Old, Lost-TV) as Yao, this movie surprised me. Based on the premise, I was not expecting the humor that was sprinkled into the script. I thought Ryan and Sandra did a wonderful job of acting and I was quickly drawn into the story. The visuals did not disappoint me, only adding to my enjoyment. In addition, I was touched on how the story took a turn by providing some touching moments. And kudos to the director for keeping things on track, consistently moving the story forward, while blending the emotional aspects. The extra treat for me, after seeing this film, was recalling how that couple we saw on the ship, that we were at first leery of, turned out being a pleasure to talk with and share our mutual experiences.
3 1/2 stars
Flash Movie Review: Song Sung Blue
“IF THERE IS A WILL, THERE is a way,” is a saying a truly believe. I have always felt this from as far back as I can remember. As a little boy, I used to play with jigsaw puzzles. No matter how hard or long it took me, I was determined to complete them. The same held true in my desire to learn and play the piano. It took approximately two years of dogged perseverance before my family agreed to start out first with renting me a piano. In that two years, whenever we were at a relative’s house that had a piano, I would sit down and figure out how to create something that sounded like a melody. If a cousin was taking piano lessons and had any study books, I would pour over them, trying to memorize different details and facts. I even went as far as drawing a full size keyboard using sheets of construction paper taped at the edges. Teaching myself the notes on my paper piano, I learned how to read sheet music and began pretending I was playing a song, while in my brain I was replaying the music I had heard either on a record or from someone playing the piece on the piano. I actually thought I was real good at it; but of course, I never heard a wrong note in my head. THE SAME HOLDS TRUE WITH MY determination to make physical fitness a part of my life. Though I had flunked gym classes in school, I was determined to become a fitness instructor. It took a little time for me to build up the confidence and to get comfortable wearing T-shirts and shorts in public, but I succeeded. Being in a setting where the majority of people were all there to exercise in some form, I really got to see firsthand that there were many people like me who had a strong belief/desire to accomplish something with their body. In my decades of teaching I have been amazed to see so many examples of people’s determination. There was the member who had MS and was confined to a wheelchair, taking yoga classes. They came to every class, worked on as many poses as they could from a seated position, and after one year felt strong enough to get out of their wheelchair and stand up. It was only for a few seconds but they did it. At the fitness center where I presently work out, I have seen several individuals confined to a wheelchair; yet, they wheel right up to a weight machine, lock the wheels of their chair, and pull themselves up and out onto a machine to work the parts of their body that still respond. It is unbelievably inspiring and re-enforces my belief about having the will to do something. While watching this music drama, I found myself rooting for the main characters and their determination. THEIR LOVE OF MUSIC BROUGHT THEM together, but would it be strong enough as they began a journey filled with new highs and devastating lows. With Hugh Jackman (Deadpool & Wolverine, Bad Education) as Mike, Kate Hudson (Glass Onion, A Little White Lie) as Claire, Ella Anderson (The Glass Castle, Suncoast) as Rachel, Hudson Hensley (The Wildman of Shaggy Creek) as Dana, and Michael Imperioli (The Lovely Bones, The Sopranos-TV) as Mark Shurilla; this biographical Oscar nominated film, was based on the Milwaukee couple who did covers of Neil Diamond songs. Not being a solid listener of Neil’s songs, I was surprised how well they fit into the story. Hugh and Kate really sold the story with the strong chemistry between them, and I thought their acting was terrific; Kate was nominated for an Oscar. Though the script was predictable, I still enjoyed watching this picture, even tapping my foot to some of the songs.
3 stars
Flash Movie Review: Hamnet
SUCH A UNIVERSAL EXPERIENCE, DEATH, YET everyone internalizes and processes it in their own way. I may have mentioned this before, but when a close relative of mine died, I would play a favorite song of theirs on the piano every day for a month. The months that followed, I would still play it quite often; sometimes when i just happened to be thinking about them, or on a holiday that meant something to them. Some years ago a former partner of mine passed away in such a way that health and government officials had to be involved. Both the deceased’s relatives and friends had to wait a long six to eight weeks before the results and cause of his death were announced, with the body being released to the parents afterwards. Though we had broken up in a bad way several years prior, I decided I wanted to give a eulogy, so I began to work on one for a week, up until the funeral. At the memorial service, a few of their friends were surprised to see me, since our breakup was rather dramatic. A couple of their relatives came up to tell me how glad they were to see me. When the time came for me to get up and eulogize them, I was taken aback how I and many of the guests were tearing up. Gratefully, I got through the whole thing, sat down, and felt an unusual comfort come over me. I NEVER CONSIDERED ANY OF MY actions extreme or out of the ordinary, unlike some of the things I witnessed from others. There was a daughter I knew who after her mother’s funeral arrived at her mother’s grave every day with a thermos of hot coffee, two cups and two lawn chairs. She would set up the chairs, one on each side of the plot, fill the two cups with coffee, place one cup on the empty lawn chair, keeping the other cup for herself, and sit there the entire morning having a one-sided conversation with her mom. The only time she would cut her visit short was during the winter months when the weather was bitterly cold; otherwise, she was there whether there were flurries, sun, or rain. It came to the point where relatives would gently broach the subject about maybe she could find a way to heal herself, talking to a professional in the medical field. She had no interest. This was the way she wanted to spend time with her mother. As I said, everyone handles death in their own way. What I witnessed in this period piece drama, took me by total surprise. THOUGH SHE IS A HEALER, A mother experiences unbearable grief within her own family, during the plague in England. She will have to find the strength to heal herself and provide for her family while trying to keep them safe. With Jessie Buckley (Wild Rose, Beast) as Agnes, Paul Mescal (Gladiator II, All of Us Strangers) as Will, Joe Alwyn (The Brutalist, Harriet) as Bartholomew, Emily Watson (The Happy Prince, Midas Man) as Mary, and Justine Mitchell (Smother-TV, Maryland-TV movie) as Joan; I was taken completely taken by surprise with this film. Not knowing or hearing anything about it, I went in thinking the story was going to be a comedy or farce, assuming that Hamnet was maybe a long lost brother or relative of Hamlet; I could not have been further from the truth. The story, based on the novel, was simply beautiful, and the acting was brilliant. In the very beginning, I did wonder where the story was going, but as things unfolded and the chemistry between Jessie and Paul crystalized, I was swept away. I thought the filming and directing were outstanding, lush scenery with a steady unfurling of the story. By the end of the movie, I felt it was a privilege to have been a witness to this family, with their joy and sorrow. This is definitely an Oscar contender in my opinion.
3 3/4 stars
Flash Movie Review: Marty Supreme
WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT, HOW far removed is determination from obsession? They may not be siblings, but I feel they are certainly cousins. I do not believe you can have one without the other. As a kid, I played ping pong several times; usually, on vacation where the hotel would have a ping pong table in their game room, or at someone’s house. It was not until freshman year of college where I began to take the game seriously. For one thing, the friend I made who lived across the hall from me was an avid player. He even had his own ping pong paddle. Every week, at least once or twice, we would walk over to the student center to play the game. In the beginning, I was awful. The main reason was because he pretty much played as if he were in a tournament. He would put different spins on the ball that drove me crazy because the ball seemed to never bounce the same way twice. Also, he enjoyed spiking the ball, where I would then have to chase it down before anyone stepped on it. Sure I got frustrated and angry at times, but I was determined to figure out how I could get better to at least have longer rallies between points. Every time we played I studied how he held the paddle, how he moved his arm during the serve, and how he shifted from side to side. It was not until two months into my sophomore year, that I finally beat him for the first time. He then quit playing the game, saying he had too much studying to do for the semester. I AM SURE SOME PEOPLE WOULD have given up playing with him a long time ago, but I have always had tendencies to be obsessive. As a little boy, I would work on a jigsaw puzzle all day, because I wanted it to be done before i went to bed. There was a little tile game I had where there was only one open space and you would have to shift all the tiles around until you could get a particular tile to the very top. Even today, after having recently discovered that one should remove the skins from garbanzo beans, I can stand by the sink for hours making sure i removed the skin from each bean that came out of the can. Like many things, this obsessiveness ebbs and flows through me; some days I can stop focusing on something in a reasonable time, but other days I become laser focused to the point I tune out everything else around me. This is probably why I thoroughly enjoyed this sports drama. PEOPLE MAY DISRESPECT HIM, THE GAME he played was not getting much respect, but it did not stop this young man’s determination to keep pushing forward until he could finally play in the world championship tournament. As far as he was concerned he was the best in the world. With Timothee Chalamet (A Complete Unknown, Dune franchise) as Marty Mauser, Gwyneth Paltrow (Iron Man franchise, Mortdecai) as Kay Stone, Odessa A’zion (Hellraiser, Sitting in Bars with Cake) as Rachel Mizler, Larry ‘Ratso’ Sloman (Uncut Gems, Satan’s Little Helper) as Murray Norkin, and Fran Drescher (The Nanny-TV, After Class) as Rebecca Mauser; I thought the cast’s acting was outstanding. The pace through most of the film was fast paced, it took a little time for me to fall into its rhythm, but once I was in synch the time flew by. As a period piece, I thought the sets, costumes, and dialog were spot on. I think if the duration of this picture was a little shorter, it would have been perfect. By the last quarter of the film, I was getting a bit antsy. Still, with such powerful acting and a wild story line, I believe it would be hard for someone not to get invested in Marty’s life; even if you have never played the game of ping pong.
3 1/2 stars
Flash Movie Review: One Battle After Another
NEVER DID I HEAR THE SENTENCE, “You can’t eat that because of all the sugar in it,” during my childhood years. However, there was a loose limit on the amount I could eat. My favorite breakfast cereals were the ones that were covered in sugar; flakes, puffed, or rice based, it did not matter to me. My favorite cookies were chocolate chip, and though I knew a few friends and relatives who could finish an entire box of them in one sitting, I understood that was not a “good” thing to do. So, I usually would stop a third of the way down unless someone made a comment about my weight. I remember whenever there was a discussion among adults about any food that was not good for you, an elderly relative or friends’s grandparent would comment on how they ate that kind of food when they were young, and they are just fine. None of my friends had any type of restrictions placed on them for what kinds of food they could not eat. In fact, it was not until sixth or seventh grade when a transfer student took out of their lunch bag a piece of fruit for their dessert. All of us sitting around her just stared at her eating it, while we were chewing our cookies or cupcakes. IT WAS NOT UNTIL FRIENDS AND relatives of my generation started having children, that food items were being scrutinized more to determine if the item was good for their child. As the years progressed, I noticed certain games and activities I used to play as a kid were now considered unsafe. Playing outside after the sun set, was frowned upon. I am not judging any of this, simply observing the changes that have evolved when it comes to protecting one’s child. Another example is Halloween. When I was a kid, I would come home after trick or treating and pour the candy I got into a pile on the dining room table, to pick out the stuff I did not like to give to family members. The remaining candy I kept in a bag and would eat it. Children today can no longer do such a thing without their parents checking to make sure none of the items had been tampered with before allowing their child to eat it. Another thing I have seen are parents keeping track of their children via their cell phones. There have been a few parents I have met who have been extreme with their protection, but none have come close to the parent in this action crime thriller. AFTER MORE THAN A DECADE, A group of ex-revolutionaries have to go on the run when their old enemy resurfaces. With Leonardo DiCaprio (The Departed, Killers of the Flower Moon) as Bob, Sean Penn (Licorice Pizza, Mystic River) as Col. Steven J. Lockjaw, Benicio Del Toro (The Usual Suspects, No Sudden Move) as Sensei Sergio St. Carlos, Teyana Taylor (A Thousand and One, The Book of Clarence) as Perfidia, and Regina Hall (Girls Trip, Scary Movie franchise) as Deandra; this comedic drama had an outstanding cast of actors who made the story come alive. Each one was at the top of their game which made watching this film a total treat. The story was part satire, part political, part family and the other things I mentioned before; I found it relevant and entertaining. Over 2 1/2 hours, I did find it a bit long, but this was a minor issue for me. It has been some time since I felt comfortable to say I can see this film getting a couple of Oscar nominations.
3 1/2 stars
PS: I will be on holiday for the next several weeks, returning just before the Thanksgiving holiday. Be safe and be well.
moviejoltz 