Blog Archives
Flash Movie Review: The Missing Person
All of my training in tailing a suspect came from The Hardy Boys. Besides having read all of the books in the series when I was young, I read their special handbook on how to become a detective. Early on a Saturday morning I would leave the house to start following my first suspect. There was an elderly woman who every week would walk to the grocery store, wheeling her massive shopping cart behind her. I would tail her to the store and note what items she took off the shelves. With my vivid imagination I pretended I was the store detective looking for shoplifters. At the time, I believed the detective handbook was my most valuable possession. The training I received back then has helped me today find actors that are creating a sound, diverse body of work. This is one of the reasons I wanted to see this DVD. Michael Shannon (Premium Rush, The Runaways) is one such actor. I have been impressed each time I have seen him in a movie or television show. Playing alcoholic private investigator John Rosow in this neo-noir film, Michael delivered a solid performance in this drama. His character was hired to follow a man from Chicago to Los Angeles. Without any information on the individual, John only had the instructions relayed by the mysterious Miss Charley, played beautifully by Amy Ryan (Win Win, Gone Baby Gone). During his assignment, John began to discover perplexing aspects to this strange man, played by Frank Wood (Changeling, Michael Clayton). Little did John know his job would take him to a connection to the 9/11 attack in New York City. The director created a slow paced, artful film that may not appeal to those who need action and excitement in their movies. I found the story took every day trappings and added a slight twist to them. The jazz infused soundtrack was a perfect accompaniment to this freshly mined mystery story.
2 3/4 stars — DVD
Flash Movie Review: Hachi: A Dog’s Tail
There is a special love between a pet and its owner. Crossing the threshold of one’s home with a bundle of unconditional love anxiously waiting to greet you, easily makes all of the previous hours melt at your feet. What has always fascinated me was the innate ability pets have in reading human emotions. Sadness would quickly leave me as I would look down to see these two unflinching eyes looking up at me. When feeling excited, I can remember gleefully dancing around the room holding this bundle of fur, my extended hand holding up their little paw. If you are not a pet person, particularly a dog lover, you may not be interested in seeing this movie. But I am afraid you would be missing out on the telling of a remarkable true story. Richard Gere (Arbitrage, Brooklyn’s Finest) played Professor Parker Wilson, who some say was found by an abandoned dog at the train station. When station agent Carl, played by Jason Alexander (Seinfeld-TV, Ira & Abby), refused to hold the puppy at the station overnight; Parker agreed to take the dog home for one night. Despite his wife Cate’s, played by Joan Allen (The Contender, The Notebook), resistance to keep the Akita more than one night, the bond between the professor and the dog was already forming to last beyond a lifetime. This movie went at a slow, even pace. There was a pure simpleness to the way the story was told. I thought Joan and Richard made a perfect couple and I liked the way the director made their differences apparent but not distracting. As for the dog named Hachi, I fell in love from the very beginning. I might as well tell you now, make sure you have some facial tissues handy because I cannot imagine anyone sitting through this dramatic film and not shedding a pail of tears.
3 stars — DVD
Flash Movie Review: The Bad Seed
Every single person born has the capacity to do good or evil inside of them. I came to this conclusion from personal experience, not from a religious belief. There was a family I knew that had two daughters. The oldest girl was the perfect child; a combination of Miss America and a Barbie doll. Her younger sister was the exact opposite; she was unruly and mean. I remember seeing the girls playing with their cousins when the younger sister grabbed an umbrella and purposely poked a cousin in the eye. The girls’ father jumped up to discipline his youngest child. She simply laughed at him. From that moment I always kept a wary eye on that girl, whenever I was around her. How does one explain two girls who grew up in the same environment, but were so completely different? From the bullying I received to the neighbor boy who tried setting his pet on fire, I have seen many evil beings. One of the most lethal types of bad seeds was the little girl in this movie. Rhoda Penmark, played by Patty McCormack (The Master, Frost/Nixon), could be the most perfect child when she wanted to be. After the son of Hortense Daigle, played by Eileen Heckart (Bus Stop, Heartbreak Ridge), was found drowned; suspicions began to surface. Did Rhonda’s parents Christine and Colonel Kenneth Penmark, played by Nancy Kelly (One Night in the Tropics, Jesse James) and William Hopper (Rebel Without a Cause, 20 Million MIles to Earth), harbor a secret about their young daughter? The original cast from the Broadway play reprised their roles for this suspenseful film. Needless to say the acting was outstanding. It was scary the way Patty McCormack would alter her demeanor with a simple look. Some of you may find this black and white film a bit campy; however, it will not take away from the dramatic story. Ironically, when I worked at the same company as my father did many years ago, he used to introduce me as his bad seed son. I now understand why some customers were hesitant to shake hands with me.
3 1/4 stars — DVD
Flash Movie Review: Enter the Void
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the word avant-garde means: an intelligentsia that develops new or experimental concepts especially in the arts. For me, when I hear someone is avant-garde I know I will either appreciate the artist’s work or I will not. The French director Jean Cocteau was considered avant-garde and I thought his version of Beauty and the Beast was extraordinary. For this movie that was nominated for the Palma d’Or award at the Cannes Film Festival, it was considered to be director Gasper Noe’s striking avant-garde piece of work. The story was about brother and sister Oscar and Linda, played by newcomer Nathaniel Brown and Paz de la Hueria (A Walk to Remember, The Cider House Rules). Transplanted to Tokyo, Linda was a stripper and Oscar was a drug dealer. When Oscar was shot dead by the police, his spirit stayed on with the ability to visit past, present and future events. This film was shot as if the camera lens were the eyes of Oscar’s spirit, as we witnessed a gambit of events from the sister’s mourning to childhood, all the way back to conception at the molecular level. I did not mind the use of the camera lens as a set of eyes. It was the extended use of strobe lights and extra long held shots of psychedelic light patterns that I found annoying. The film itself lasted much too long at 161 minutes; it was sorely in need of some strong editing. The idea of the story was intriguing but the execution of it made the film boring for me. Besides the few brief scenes of blood, there were several sexually graphic scenes. Maybe the concept for this hallucinating movie went completely over my head. I just did not get it and found myself being drawn to reading the magazine sitting on my coffee table.
2 stars — DVD
Flash Movie Review: Peter and Vandy
I learned the hard way how important communication is in a relationship. Actions speak louder than words had always been the major way I would convey my feelings. When a friend or relative would tell me they loved me; my reciprocation would stumble out of my mouth, landing in a nervous thud. In one of my most meaningful relationships, a day did not go by without me being told that I was loved. After a short time the importance of the word “love” diminished for me, due to hearing it every day like one would hear the word hello. When my friends carried on how I did not flinch when my significant other stuck their finger in my lip balm, in my brain I was simply showing my love. Watching this movie reinforced my belief in the power of communication. The story looked at the relationship between Peter and Vandy, showing different stages of their growth. Jason Ritter (Parenthood-TV, Freddy vs. Jason) and Jess Weixler (Teeth, The Big Bad Swim) were perfectly cast as Peter and Vandy. Their expressive faces beautifully conveyed the emotions they were feeling without the need of dialog. This Sundance nominated movie told the story in short scenes that jumped back and forth in time. At the start I had a hard time connecting to the out of order segments. But as more was revealed about the couple, the easier it was for me to understand the story. I thought this film was spot on in showing how communication or the lack of molds the relationship between two people. It was a truthful depiction in my opinion. Having gone through the love and loss of someone special, this romantic drama resonated deep inside of me.
3 stars — DVD
Flash Movie Review: Cyrus
My college sociology professor used the term “Holy Deadlock” to describe a couple who stayed together for the wrong reasons. An example would be staying together for the children’s sake. This instructor claimed using children as an excuse to stay together did more harm than good. I have seen fighting couples use their kids as a way to attack or manipulate their significant other and it was awful to see. At that point the adult was no longer the parent, they were simply a conspirator. On the other hand, there are divorcing parents who act out in a different direction. They give in to the child’s every whim, hoping to make up for the failed relationship. Here, too, the adult is less of a parent as the child quickly learns the art of manipulation. In this comedy Cyrus, played by Jonah Hill (21 Jump Street, The Watch), was a master of manipulation. When his mother Molly, played by Marisa Tomei (The Lincoln Lawyer, The Wrestler), began to date John, played by John C. Reilly (Carnage, We Need to Talk About Kevin), Cyrus thought it would be easy to eliminate John from his mother’s life. He would discover the task at hand was easier said than done. What helped this story was the strong acting from the cast. I have enjoyed most of Marisa’s roles in the past and found her rock solid in playing Molly. In addition, playing John’s ex wife Jamie, Catherine Keener (Into the Wild, A Late Quartet) beautifully played off of John C. Reilly’s character. The fundamental elements of this story were sound; I only wished the writers would have added some punch. There was an easy predictability to several scenes. It takes effort to make a marriage work; it takes extra work to make a divorce successful for all involved parties.
2 2/3 stars — DVD
Flash Movie Review: Quartet
Growing old is like watching a balloon expand with each breath, never knowing when that one breath will cause the balloon to pop. As my friends and I age, the subject of how we may need assistance in our old age comes up more often. It is particularly important to those of us who are single; we wonder what will happen to us. An idea we have kicked around is buying an apartment building, where we can all live. It would allow us privacy but we would always have someone close by if help was needed. In a similar situation this sweet movie was about a home for retired musicians. Idyllic days filled with music and singing, building up to the annual charity concert celebration, received a surprise interruption. It was the arrival of new resident opera diva Jean Horton, played by Maggie Smith (Harry Potter franchise, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel). Her appearance was even a bigger surprise to her former husband and resident Reginald Paget, played by Tom Courtenay (The Golden Compass, Billy Liar). With the heavy weight of clashing egos, could the show survive and still be a success? For his directorial debut, Dustin Hoffman (Last Chance Harvey, Finding Neverland) did an admirable job in telling this safe, predictable story. I think Dustin’s job was made much easier by his impressive cast. Besides Maggie and Tom, there was Billy Connelly (Mrs. Brown, The Debt Collector) playing the flirtatious Wilf Bond, Pauline Collins (Albert Nobbs, Shirley Valentine) as the forgetful Cissy Robson and MIchael Gambon (Harry Potter franchise, The King’s Speech) as concert director Cedric Livingston. From the film’s entire cast there was a true sense of history behind the characters, that was proven at the start of the ending credits. An easy and enjoyable movie to watch. A thought came to me as I left the movie theater: When I take my last breath, I only hope it comes at the end of a movie’s credits.
3 stars
Flash Movie Review: Mother and Child
Before I was born my mother was pregnant with a baby girl. I found out when I asked her why my two brothers were so much older than me. She told me about the miscarriage she had before me. I spent my youth imagining what life would have been like if I had a sister. There was a small part of me that always wondered if I would have even been conceived if that baby girl had been born. My mother would tell me numerous times that I was the only one planned. She talked about the nervousness she had all through her pregnancy with me up until I was delivered. Except for that one time, my mother never talked about that lost baby girl. There is such a special bond between a mother and her child; I cannot imagine how the loss changed my mother’s life. The relationship between a mother and child was explored in this stirring drama. Annette Bening (Ruby Sparks, Being Julia) played Karen, a single woman who had given up her baby for adoption over 30 years earlier. Naomi Watts (The Impossible, Eastern Promises) played Elizabeth, the grown up version of that baby. Kerry Washington (Django Unchained, Ray) was a married woman who could not conceive a baby. Each woman’s life was drastically altered by their circumstances. Not only was the acting outstanding from these three women, but everyone else was just as good. There was Samuel L. Jackson (Django Unchained, The Avengers) as grieving lawyer Paul and Jimmy Smits (The Jane Austen Book Club, Star Wars franchise) as Karen’s co-worker Paco. Each of the three stories was carefully crafted and directed, allowing for a continuous flow of feelings to permeate each scene. This movie provided a touching study on the effects a child can have on one’s life. If I had a sister, I wonder what she would have thought about this wonderful film.
3 1/4 stars — DVD
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