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Flash Movie Review: Escape Room
THE FIRST TIME I WENT TO A large scale amusement park, I wound up crying. I was used to the neighborhood amusement park that had rides that were geared to kids; but at this larger park I was not tall enough to ride the roller coasters. The fact that there was more than one roller coaster had at first surprised and thrilled me. Sadly, it only added more disappointment to my sadness. While my relatives waited in line for the coasters, one adult relative had to sit with me on a park bench that was designated as the destination spot for everyone to meet up again after the ride. If there was an easy ride close by without a long line, then I was able to ride it and get back before my relatives arrived. This was not the best consolation prize, but at least it was something to entertain and distract me. It only satisfied me for the moment until we all met up and I had to hear about the thrills the roller coasters provided for my relatives. And to add salt to the wound; by the time I was old enough to ride the roller coasters, the closest amusement park we used to visit the most closed down for good. FAST FORWARD TO RECENT TIMES WHERE it has been many years since I had ridden any roller coasters. I was at an event out of state next to a national amusement park. There were plenty of opportunities during the week to go to the park; which by the way had several famous roller coaster rides. Times sure changed for me as I discovered the waiting lines could take over an hour before getting on the ride. Nonetheless, I was successful on my first attempt at one of the large roller coasters. I was only riding it for several seconds before I realized I was getting queasy. My head started hurting as I was hurled through tunnels, turned upside down and spun around hairpin turns. I had to close my eyes and do everything I could not to get sick during what turned into a torturous ride. First, I was too young to ride roller coasters and now I was too old; here I thought I would have had so many years of riding and enjoying roller coasters. Truthfully, though, I do not feel like I am missing anything; once you ride a few they all seem to be similar and that is how I felt about this dramatic, mystery science fiction film. WITH AN OPPORTUNITY TO WIN $10,000.00, a group of strangers find themselves in a game that did not advertise it would end in life or death. With Deborah Ann Woll (Mother’s Day, True Blood-TV) as Amanda, Taylor Russell (Before I Fall, Dead of Night) as Zoey, Tyler Labine (Flyboys, The X-Files-TV) as Mike, Logan Miller (Before I Fall; Love, Simon) as Ben and Adam Robitel (2001 Maniacs, Cut/Print) as Gabe; the opening scenes held my interest. I could see where the premise of the story had potential; however, as the group of strangers went from one escape room to another it became the same to me with little difference. It felt like I was watching a cross between the Saw movies and the film A Cabin in the Woods. There just did not seem to be much surprise that held my interest. I also did not care for the way the story ended but understood what the writers and movie studio were hoping to accomplish—a film sequel. Maybe if I had not seen other pictures that did this type of genre better, I would have enjoyed this film more. As it stands, I won’t be disappointed or feel like I will miss something if they never do a sequel.
1 ¾ stars
Flash Movie Review: Welcome to Marwen
THE POOR THING HAD ONE EYE that did not close. Despite it and the lost finger on her left hand, she was a constant companion to the little girl. It was the little girl’s 2nd birthday when she received this doll that has never left her side since then. At meal time the doll had a place at the dining room table with her own little plate and glass, that the child would lift to the doll’s face to eat the imaginary food and drink. As far as I could remember the doll was always a part of our gatherings. After many years, the last time I heard about the doll she was residing on a shelf in the attic. It is amusing to me, but I never considered my toy soldiers as being dolls. In my mind they were soldiers and I was their commander. With the elaborate battle plans I would create, my soldiers were vital in keeping an open pathway to the pantry in our kitchen—go figure! From time to time I received superhero dolls as presents; but in my mind they were superheroes, not dolls. Isn’t it funny that back then we were taught dolls were only for girls? SINCE THAT TIME DOLLS HAVE BEEN marketed to both girls and boys. I remember a friend’s son used to play with a male doll that wore a railroad conductor’s hat and overalls. Besides that “revolutionary” evolution, dolls are now used in several fields of thought. They can be found in therapy sessions, criminal investigations, as well as physiology classes. There was a psychologist I used to know who regularly used dolls in her sessions with younger children. When a child was not yet at an age to articulate the actions and feelings they experienced, dolls were useful tools to find out what happened to the child. Dolls also had a role with the psychologist’s couple counseling sessions. Some kind of role playing exercises if I am remembering correctly. So, you can certainly see how things have changed in our perceptions of dolls; they are no longer simply toys for kids. And I am just now recalling, wasn’t there a recent winner of a television reality, talent show who did ventriloquism, making a doll talk and sing? I understand she has a blossoming career, with appearances and TV specials. With today’s movie you can see another way how dolls play a vital function in some people’s lives. AFTER A VISCIOUS ATTACK THAT DESTROYED his memory Mark Hogancamp, played by Steve Carell (Vice, Beautiful Boy), found a unique way to rebuild the life taken away from him. It was a particular set of female dolls that would lead him onto the road to recovery. This comedic drama based on a true story also starred Falk Hentschel (White House Down, Transcendence) as Captain Topf/Louis, Matt O’Leary (Frailty, Live Free or Die Hard) as Lieutenant Benz/Carl, Leslie Mann (The Other Woman, How to Be Single) as Nicol and Nikolai Witschl (Deadpool 2, The Magicians-TV) as Rudolph/Ruby. The story behind this movie seems incredible and amazing to me. My favorite part of this picture was the dolls; visually they were fun to watch. As for the script, I found it scattered all over the place. Steve did a decent job with his acting; but for such a story, the writers needed to dig deep down and bring out way more emotions than what I saw on the screen. For the dolls having played an important part in Mark’s life, they needed to have substance here; they came off as whimsical characters, in my opinion. Also, I was not sure the writers did justice to the topic of traumatic brain injuries. This biographical film was easily forgettable.
1 ½ stars
Flash Movie Review: Vice
A PERFECT WORLD TO ME WOULD be one where everyone takes responsibilities for their actions. Maybe it is my imagination, but it seems people used to be this way some time ago. Now, it appears to me people are quick to place the blame on someone else. It reminds me of a little child who is standing next to a broken vase that they knocked onto the floor and when the child’s parent asks if they did it, the child immediately says no it wasn’t him or her. In a similar vein, one example I have seen many times is a shopper who accidentally brushes up to a store’s product and it falls to the floor. It might be a loaf of bread or an article of clothing, for example. The person sees what they have done; but just keeps on walking, pretending I guess the item magically levitated and floated to the floor. Would it have been so hard to pick up the item and put it back? In my opinion, a world filled with irresponsible people will only lead to a world of chaos. THERE IS SOMEONE I KNOW WHO for all the time I have known them has never taken responsibility for their actions. They are involved with high finances that directly affect the company where they are employed. I listen to their work stories; which by the way, seem to always paint this person as the victim. What they do not know is I have a friend who works at the same company and when they tell me about something that involves this other employee, their version is totally different. It is baffling, but the only thing I can think of is maybe it is all about power for this employee. I am not privy to their work environment but possibly this person is afraid of their peers or maybe they all act the same way, who knows? Power can be quite addictive for some individuals. One taste of it can put a person on a path where responsibilities get steamrolled and left crushed on the side of the road. I can handle a person who is assertive with their actions; however, a person who is aggressive is a different story for me. In my experiences those who aggressively seek power will do anything to reach their goal and as far as I can tell have a lower moral consciousness. The only time I have an issue with individuals in this category is when their actions have a direct effect on my life. For some of us, when you watch the scenes in this comedic drama you may find yourself stunned. CIRCUMSTANCES FELL INTO PLACE FOR ONE individual to rise above all others and make choices that would affect a country and the world. This film festival winning biography starred Christian Bale (The Big Short, Hostiles) as Dick Cheney, Amy Adams (Nocturnal Animals, Big Eyes) as Lynne Cheney, Steve Carell (Beautiful Boy, Battle of the Sexes) as Donald Rumsfeld, Sam Rockwell (A Single Shot, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind) as George W. Bush and Alison Pill (Milk, Dan in Real Life) as Mary Cheney. If Christian does not get nominated for best actor this award season, then something is wrong. I never once watched him and thought that was Christian; he was 100% the character he portrayed and enough of a reason to see this film. The acting was fine overall, but the script was scattered; I did not know if it wanted to be a satire, drama, comedy or documentary. Some of the scenes were startling to me, but I could not tell if it was totally made up or not. If not, then I am more scared than I thought. What a feat to accomplish, driven by power.
2 ½ stars
Flash Movie Review: Mary Queen of Scots
THE TWO DID NOT KNOW EACH OTHER. They grew up in different cities and on the surface did not seem to have any similarities. I only knew of them because they were in one of my writing classes in college. The class was rather intense, where we were expected to turn in writing assignments on a weekly basis. Every Wednesday the professor would randomly choose a few students to read their papers out loud, so the class could have a discussion and critique session on the students’ works. After several weeks it became apparent to me and most of the class that these 2 students were focused on writing horror stories. As some of you might know, I am not a fan of movies that show a lot of bloody gore. As you might expect the same holds true for fiction stories. As the semester continued these two fans of horror started competing with each other; nothing overt, but each week their stories got gorier and gorier. It was as if they were in a battle to see who would be the “king of horror” as far as I could tell. I had a hard time listening to them when either one was chosen to read their stories to the class. I NEVER FOUND OUT WHAT WAS the impetus that drove those two students to compete against each other. Honestly, I have always had a hard time trying to figure out why people want to compete. This may be one of the reasons why I was never very good in several sport activities. I do not have that driving force inside of me to dominate and beat another person, just so I can be considered the best. The only person I am in competition with is myself. Overcoming one set of circumstances to get to where I am at today has been a fight every day. The way I look at it is this: my old self battles the new me, trying to push me back down to what I used to be. Hopefully I am making sense to you; but let me tell you, this struggle between the old and new me has been a major force that has pushed me to heights I thought I would never achieve in this lifetime. With my thinking I wonder if humans in general are predisposed to competing. I think the term is, “Survival of the fitness.” Another phrase I have heard is, “Only the strong will survive.” Is this a genetic thing? I do not know, but this historical drama will show you how fierce competition can be. RETURNING TO HER HOME IN SCOTLAND after her husband had died; Mary Stuart, played by Saoirse Ronan (Lady Bird, The Lovely Bones), believed she could lead her people as their queen. The main issue concerning her belief was the fact there was already a queen on the throne from the House of Tudor and her name was Elizabeth I, played by Margot Robbie (I, Tonya; Suicide Squad). This biographical film also starred Jack Lowden (Dunkirk, Tommy’s Honour) as Henry Darnley, James McArdle (The Chamber, Star Wars: The Force Awakens) as James, Earl of Moray and David Tennant (Bad Samaritan, Doctor Who-TV) as John Knox. This picture was all about the acting and I thought both Saoirse and Margot were wonderful. Because of them I stayed engaged with this story that I believe took a lot of liberty with actual history. Those who enjoy history might like this picture more than non-history lovers. There were some scenes that were farfetched and almost a distraction. It was a shame because I think the writers might have been competing with the Game of Thrones series when they were writing this script.
2 ½ stars
Flash Movie Review: Vox Lux
IN THE SCHEME OF THINGS, THEY may seem insignificant on your life’s journey; but they can have a lasting impact that changes your course. Looking at my evolution for loving animals, there was one breed of dog I did not like. I remember what happened that day, recalling the exact streets I was bicycling on. On a side street, I was riding my bike in a relative’s neighborhood. Suddenly a dog bolted out of a yard; I heard the barking first before seeing where it was coming from. This dog was heading straight to me and from my first glance the dog did not look friendly. I pedaled that bicycle faster than I had ever before as I raced down the street towards the intersection. Because I was afraid of what the dog could do to me, I did not stop as I swerved into the cross street which was a main thoroughfare. A car nearly hit me as the driver laid on his horn while dodging around me. I did not stop pedaling for blocks until I no longer heard the dog barking. That one incident stayed with me for years; I stayed away from that particular dog breed. It was not until college before I became comfortable around that breed, due to some of the classes I was enrolled in. THERE ARE SO MANY EXAMPLES OF little occurrences having a profound effect on one’s self; just off the top of my head I can recall several. From the name calling I endured when I was a kid, I believe I have an extra sensitivity towards the underdog. A person I knew would never eat fried food because when they were a child they accidentally were splattered with hot cooking oil. There was a friend of a friend I knew who would not wear any clothing that had a turtleneck or simply tight collar; she had a choking episode when she was a child and that constricted feeling was something she never forgot. I am sure you have come across this when you hear about a celebrity’s childhood; where they experienced something that planted the seed to create, let us say, the musical artist or inventor that they had become. This is one of the reasons I am always saying, there are no accidents; there is a reason for everything.” Everything I just told you here came about from my viewing of this dramatic, musical, film festival nominated movie. SUFFERING A HORRIFIC TRAGEDY IN SCHOOL put Celeste on a different life path, with the help of her sister. Starring Natalie Portman (Annihilation, Black Swan) as Celeste, Jude Law (Black Sea, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald) as the Manager, Raffey Cassidy (Dark Shadows, The Killing of a Sacred Deer) as young Celeste/Albertine, Jennifer Ehle (Zero Dark Thirty, A Quiet Passion) as Josie the publicist and Christopher Abbot (It Comes at Night, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot) as the journalist; this picture started out with a powerful impact. Because of it I was expecting a different type of movie from what appeared on screen. Natalie gave an excellent performance, but it was not enough to hold my interest due to the confusing script. It seemed as if there were several story lines that could have easily taken charge; but none did, resulting in boredom for me. I did find the music interesting which helped me get through this picture. Honestly, I found this film overly self-indulgent. I could see some of the points the writers/director were trying to make but I did not find my viewing experience entertaining. Maybe somewhere down the road it will hit me that I have discovered or have been acting a certain way because I saw this film. For now, I could have waited a while before paying to see this picture.
1 ¾ stars
Flash Movie Review: The Mule
TO ALL THAT KNEW HER SHE was a successful businesswoman. She had owned through her life a few businesses; there was never an exact number because she was modest. With a good heart and kindness, she believed these two attributes would always set her apart from other business owners. Her companies were never staffed with many people; honestly, maybe a handful at the most. There was one company that operated over state lines, but for the most part her businesses were kept locally. I agree kindness and a good heart are wonderful attributes to have; however, I feel one also must have a head for business. All businesses involve making tough decisions that might not appear to be kind. The question is if you can remain honest and true then you can accentuate your success. In her case, she was too kind. Some of her employees took advantage of it. Oh, who am I kidding; they stole from her. As time went on, though sales remained steady, there was less money coming in then going out for bills. There was a problem here, especially when most of the company’s transactions were done in cash. You see, her employees would write up fake invoices that were lower in prices; so, they could pocket the extra money they officially charged the customer. A BUSINESS CAN ONLY LAST SO long with losses before it must close its doors. In her case, this pattern of thievery would follow her from business to business. I am sad to say she never learned from her mistakes until it was too late. The method she would use time and time again to try and keep her various companies open would be to tap into her personal savings. This would also include funds that were set aside for retirement purposes. By the time she was close to reaching retirement age she had no funds left. All those years of trying to be successful at her different companies through the years left her penniless in the end. It was a horrible situation and what made matters worse was the fact she did not have the skill to keep accurate records. The result of this was the reason she never won a court case, for those times she even brought an employee to court. Do you want to know what she is doing now? In her advanced years she is cleaning an apartment building to get a discount on her rent, while living on a small government subsidy. The main character in this crime drama chose a different route when he had to close his business. WITH HIS HOUSE IN FORECLOSURE AND his once thriving horticultural business decimated; the opportunity to make some easy cash was the reason Earl Stone, played by Clint Eastwood (Trouble with the Curve, Million Dollar Baby), decided to be a driver for an unknown company. All he had to do was not ask questions. With Bradley Cooper (A Star is Born, Joy) as Colin Bates, Michael Pena (12 Strong, Ant-Man franchise) as DEA Agent, Taissa Farmiga (The Bling Ring, The Nun) as Ginny and Dianne Wiest (The Birdcage, Rabbit Hole) as Mary; I liked this film more than I had expected. The pacing was steady and Clint, who also directed, created a character that one could easily see him being in real life. The story inspired by a true event was interesting, but I found the script was heavy-handed with its messages. It seemed as if the writers wanted to make sure we knew what we were supposed to be feeling for the scenes. Also, a bit more mystery and tension would have livened up this picture. Though predictable at times, I did not mind watching this film; I just hope I am never put into such a predicament in my “golden” years.
2 ½ stars
Flash Movie Review: The Favourite
BEING CHOSEN AS THE FAVORITE ONE does not necessarily make one’s life easier; the title can come with some pitfalls. At a previous job where I worked, there was an employee who was the favorite of the owner. Everyone at the company knew it. In fact, even if it was your first day you would soon realize this employee had a special relationship with the owner. Here is just one example of how the owner treated this employee differently than the others. During the holidays we used to receive a variety of gifts for the owner. He would always open these packages in his office, bringing out the shipping boxes for us to break down and recycle. I would say on the average he kept 75% of the gifts sent to him; the ones he did not, he would give to this employee right in front of the rest of us. Depending on what the item was, this employee would either leave it sitting on her desk (which used to annoy all of us) or take it out to her car to bring home. Not once did the owner offer a rejected gift to one of us. Now, I did not care whether I got a gift or not; but I, like everyone else around me, felt it was not fair and was certainly not a morale booster. AS TIME PASSED SOME OF THE EMPLOYEES grew resentful of the “favorite” employee. When anyone would bring in a taste treat of food; if they were going around and offering pieces of it as opposed to putting it out in the kitchen, they would bypass this one employee. Actually, they would wait until the person was away from her desk then go around passing out their food items, so as to avoid the favorite one altogether. I could not say for certainty if this type of treatment was proper because as far as I knew it was not this employee’s fault. Now if there was something going on between the two of them, I had no knowledge. Let me say this though, it seemed from time to time she used her favorite role status to her advantage. For example, there was never a problem for her to leave early from work; but for the rest of us, the owner would always resist our requests while trying to make us change the day or the time, so we would not have to leave early. It came to a point where I just stopped thinking about it; it wasn’t worth the energy. And when I say energy this biographical, comedic drama will give you an idea of how much energy it takes to deal with such things. USING HER POSITION AS THE QUEEN’S CONFIDANTE Lady Sarah, played by Rachel Weisz (My Cousin Rachel, Disobedience), enjoyed exerting her power over others. But that show of power could be quite enticing for anyone who wanted some of the same. This film festival winning movie starred Olivia Coleman (The Lobster, Hot Fuzz) as Queen Anne, Emma Stone (Battle of the Sexes, Magic in the Moonlight) as Abigail, and James Smith (In the Loop, The Iron Lady) as Godolphin. I was so intrigued with this story that I had to do some research about Queen Anne. It quickly became apparent to me that the writers took a basis of facts and elaborated on it to funny extremes. The three actresses were dynamite with the conniving, the wickedness and humor of the script. As much as I enjoyed this aspect of the movie and its super acting, I felt some scenes were unnecessary. There were several that felt like they were added to give this picture an artistic flair; it only slowed the story down for me. All in all, I cannot say this will be a favorite of mine this Oscar season, but I still had a good time watching it.
3 stars
Flash Movie Review: The Front Runner
NO MATTER WHERE ONE PLACES THE “BAR” there is always someone or something to cause it to be raised. Just look at the evolution of television. We started out with the Riccardo’s from I Love Lucy; they were not allowed to sleep in the same bed, despite being married to each other on the show and in real life. The censors would not approve them being filmed in the same bed. From that point in time there were a few television shows that had partial nudity if it was in the context of a documentary or historical event. The show that comes to mind is the mini-series Roots. Things took a bigger change in the 1990s when the TV shows “NYPD Blues” and “Once and Again” had episodes that contained nudity. For some viewers this was a big shock. Let me also add while this evolution was taking place there was another one going on that pertained to language. Scripts started showing up with slang and curse words in the dialog. I can still remember my shock hearing a TV character uttering a curse word; it took me by surprise even though I was a user of the word. Little did any of us know the explosion of nudity and swear words would be amplified upon the arrival of cable television. HONESTLY, I HAVE NOT GIVEN IT A lot of thought, but I wonder if there might be a connection between this viewing evolution, which by the way has led to reality shows, to blurring the lines between personal and professional lives. The reason why I am bringing it up is from my observations on how people focus their attention on other people’s personal lives. Look at some of the reality shows where people are being filmed 24 hours a day or the dating and swapping partner shows; I have no interest in such things. Two things I learned growing up; first, curse words were just adjectives. Derogatory words about race, gender, ethnicity and sexuality were the “bad” words. Secondly, if no one is being hurt, held against their will or abused; I do not care what they do in their private life. This fascination with people’s personal lives is weird to me. With the aggressiveness of photographers and reporters, there evidently is a market to sell intimate stories about celebrities and such. People judging and making decisions essentially about strangers is a waste of time and money, in my opinion. The reason I have been pondering this is due to today’s biographical drama. As I was watching it, it occurred to me that the events in this film were the beginning of people’s obsession with other people’s personal lives. APPEARING TO BE RIDING A WAVE OF popularity Senator Gary Hart, played by Hugh Jackman (The Greatest Showman, Eddie the Eagle), had his eyes set on the White House. A simple photograph would cause a detour in his campaign. This film festival winning movie also starred Vera Farmiga (Boundaries, The Commuter) as Lee Hart, J.K. Simmons (I’m Not Here, The Bachelors) as Bill Dixon, Mark O’Brien (Arrival, Bad Times at the El Royale) as Billy Shore and Molly Ephraim (Cricket, Last Man Standing-TV) as Irene Kelly. Set in the 1980s, what I found the most curious was the idea that Gary’s election campaign was the beginning of tabloid journalism. In fact, it was this aspect of the script I found the most interesting. I did not think the script otherwise was well written; it seemed as if events were broken down into cause and effect without much time spent on learning about the characters. I think a political junkie would enjoy this picture more than the average moviegoer. Maybe it is due to my disinterest in a person’s personal life, but I did not find this film very exciting, sordid details and all.
2 stars
Flash Movie Review: A Private War
THE WAY MY FRIEND TOLD THE STORY, she was sitting on the sofa watching television when she suddenly heard a loud bang. She muted the TV as she tried to figure out the origin of the sound. Getting up, she walked over to her living room window and saw a couple of neighbors standing by her car. A feeling of dread settled upon her as she walked out the front door to join the small group. As she walked towards her car one of the neighbors told her not to worry; she had caught the whole thing on her phone. My friend told me one of the neighbors was outside when she heard a car driving faster than it should down their street. The car was swerving, nearly going up on the curb a couple of times. The neighbor took out her phone as she moved towards the street and started recording the speeding car in hopes of getting the license plate’s number. As the driver approached they seemed to momentarily lose control and bounced into my friend’s car. The whole thing was caught on video as the driver kept going as if sideswiping a car was a natural thing to do. My friend was stunned; not only by the accident, but by the neighbor going out into the street to capture everything on her phone. BESIDES FEELING SAD FOR MY FRIEND, I had to admire the neighbor who willing went into the street to capture the erratic driver on her phone. With the way the car was going side to side, she was lucky she did not get hurt. That instinct to run towards an incident is admirable. As a matter of fact, in my city the news recently reported on an off-duty police officer who heard gun shots and immediately ran towards them. The same can be said for firemen who race towards danger to put out a fire. I don’t know if that feeling to go towards danger is something that is taught or is instinctive. And let me make the distinction between danger from outside forces as compared to danger that a person encounters due to their passion, examples would be mountain climbing or auto racing. I always knew reporters assigned to areas of conflict would be put into dangerous positions; but I, maybe mistakenly, assumed it wasn’t their choice. My thinking on this has changed now because of this biographical war drama. Never have I encountered a person with such a large capacity for danger; it has totally changed my views on war correspondents. BECAUSE OF HER PASSION TO GIVE A voice to the voiceless, American journalist Marie Colvin, played by Rosamund Pike (Hostiles, Gone Girl), would willingly go to some of the most dangerous places in the world just to get the true story. With Jamie Dornan (Robin Hood, Fifty Shades of Grey franchise) as Paul Conroy, Tom Hollander (In the Loop, Pride & Prejudice) as Sean Ryan, Stanley Tucci (Patient Zero, Spotlight) as Tony Shaw and Faye Marsay (Pride, Darkest Hour) as Kate Richardson; this movie allowed Rosamund to give her best performance. Her acting was incredible throughout the story. As for the story I was stunned by several of the dangerous scenes that Marie placed herself in. Regarding the script, I would have appreciated it more if the writers spent extra time on Marie’s backstory. There came a point where I felt the areas of conflict were included at times for Rosamund to shine; instead of delving deeper into the things that made up Marie. Jamie, by the way, did an excellent job of acting as her photographer. When I left the theater I still did not know all the reasons why Marie did what she did, but I was totally in awe of her.
3 stars
Flash Movie Review: Green Book
IF THE CLICHÉ “OPPOSITES ATTRACT” IS TRUE then why do I see less of it happening? With so much arguing taking place between people and countries around the world, it disproves this statement. I know this cliché’s origins started in science, but mankind has used it regarding personal relationships. It might be more complicated than that; I prefer to think two people are better suited and satisfied in a relationship when they have a good understanding of their differences. There was a couple I knew who displayed opposite emotions. The wife was quick to get angry and upset about things, while her husband was laid back and went with the flow. They rarely argued because they understood how each other reacted to things, avoiding the pitfall of trying to change one another. When his wife would get into one of her fits over something, he would let her blow off steam before he would place his hand on her and say something soothing such as, “Don’t worry, it will be okay.” or “What can I do to help?” The fact that they understood each other created a stronger bond between them, in my opinion. FROM WHAT I HAVE EXPERIENCED IN my life there is something I never understood. It seems to me many people shy away from those that are different from themselves. They may interact, but it is strictly on a surface level. The thing I do not understand is where was it decided that different equals something wrong or bad? As a person who used to not express himself fully, I may be at the other end of the spectrum now; most people who know me well can tell how I am feeling at any given time. The reason for this is because I believe communication is the key; as far as I know mind readers are a rarity, so if you want someone to know something you need to express it to them. I had a friend who, unbeknownst to me, had a hard time keeping up with me whenever we were out walking somewhere. I never knew it was an issue because he never said anything about it. Not until one day he finally yelled at me, telling me I walked too fast for him. I asked him why he just did not say something in the beginning instead of holding it in all this time until he wound up shouting at me. You know, people would learn so much about each other if they would simply talk to one another. This comedic drama based on a true story can show you how it is done. OUT OF WORK FOR TWO MONTHS nightclub bouncer Tony Lip, played by Viggo Mortensen (Captain Fantastic, Eastern Promises), was recommended for a position to be a driver for a doctor. Tony was shocked when he discovered the doctor was a black man who was not even a medical doctor. There was no doubt in his mind that there would be problems. With Mahershala Ali (Moonlight, Free State of Jones) as Dr. Don Shirley, Linda Cardellini (Brokeback Mountain, Scooby-Doo) as Dolores, Dimiter D. Marinov (Act of Valor, The Americans-TV) as Oleg and Mike Hatton (Vigilante Diaries, Shot the Hero) as George; this movie was one of the best road trips I have taken this year. Set in the 1960s, the sets and costumes perfectly matched each other as they set up the space for Viggo and Mahershala to really dig deep into their roles. The script with its mixture of humor and drama made this trip pleasurable for me, even during the tougher scenes. If the script’s intentions were to manipulate the viewer I was not paying any attention to it because the message here was beautifully told. I left the theater feeling good, filled with excitement to express my feelings to you.
4 stars
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