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Flash Movie Review: The End of the Tour
Even if someone created a non-caloric doughnut I would not eat it if the person was not respectful and nice to other people. I would rather cycle an extra 30 minutes to burn off a calorie rich doughnut before eating one of their calorie free ones. Recently I saw a posting on the internet that said, “It does not cost you anything to be nice.” How true that is for all of us. For those people who have obtained some level of celebrity status I think these words should be heeded even more. It seems easier or maybe I should say more prevalent these days to put celebrities up on a pedestal. Now there are some that may deserve a little extra praise, but all in all they are just human beings like the rest of us. I remember the time when I was an extra on a movie set; a couple of the actors from the cast were throwing major attitude at all the extras. I thought how rude it was of them, some of these extras are idolizing you and you are standing there acting like a jerk. There was a part of me that wanted to go up to them, tap them on the shoulder and say, “Excuse me you are only an actor, you did not find a cure for cancer where you should be acting like you are something special to the world.” On the other hand, there were a few actors on the set who were so kind and generous to the extras that they won me over since I had only known them from the way the media was portraying them. Funny how a public image can be so different from the actual person, just see what happens in this dramatic film. AUTHOR David Foster Wallace, played by Jason Segel (The Five-Year Engagement, Forgetting Sarah Marshall), burst onto the scene with his incredible book, “Infinite Jest.” Rolling Stone reporter David Lipsky, played by Jesse Eisenberg (Now You See Me, The Social Network), wanting to make his own splash by getting the ultimate interview, arranged a 5 day trip with David during the end of his book tour. The two could not have been more different or were they? From a true story this was one of the more cerebral films I have seen in a long time. Gratefully the actors had such good chemistry that I really felt I was in on their little road trip. I have not read the book nor was familiar with David until this movie but my curiosity has been piqued now. This drama may not be for everyone because the action was kept to a bare minimum; however, for a character study on celebrity fame this film offered a unique take on it.
3 stars
Flash Movie Review: Ricki and the Flash
Ever since it was told to me in a time of need, I have repeated it to many other people. To this day I still use the phrase, “Do what you love and the rest will follow,” as a guide before taking on a new undertaking. Now for the most part I do believe it to be true, however I have come to the realization not everyone will agree to follow along with me. Like me I am sure some of you have known someone who was in a relationship where their significant other refused to follow them when they got a job promotion that involved moving out of state or country. The first time I encountered a difference of opinion that caused a split in the relationship was at the beginning of my career as a fitness/yoga instructor. I was trying to get established at a few fitness centers so I was going to different workshops and conventions, besides teaching my regular schedule and periodically subbing for other instructors’ classes. It was a hectic time for me; there were times where I could not join in on social functions, they would have to go alone. As you may have guessed already it finally came down to where I was given a choice; either give up some classes and spend more time with them or they were going to end the relationship. It was a rough time for me because I was looking for support in my new venture, but yet I understood their needs as well. This dramatic comedy reminded me of that time. HAVING followed her passion all these years to be a musician Ricki, played by Meryl Streep (The Giver, Into the Woods), had to learn to be a mother again when her daughter Julie, played by real life daughter Mamie Gummer (Side Effects, Cake), was in crisis from a broken marriage. It was not going to be easy to just come back home. The draw to this musical movie was the cast; besides Meryl there was musician/actor Rick Springfield (General Hospital-TV, Loyal Opposition) as Greg and Kevin Kline (Wild Wild West, My Old Lady) as Pete. With a script written by Diablo Cody (Young Adult, Juno), there were times the actors were able to fly with the dialog. Unfortunately, there were other times where they fell flat because the scene was disconnected or predictable. I tried staying away from the buildup by the press about the electric tension Meryl and Mamie had to create between each other; but I have to tell you, I did not find the drama that intense for the situation. It was somewhat bland at times for me. I certainly understand following one’s heart but I needed to see some valid reasons with this film.
2 1/4 stars
Flash Movie Review: The Wolfpack
When I want to take a break and check out of reality I allow myself a little time to dream about what my retirement (if I ever can) life might look like. I imagine I would still be involved in some type of physical activity such as yoga, cycling or running. The thing I like to focus on is the idea I would be able to spread out my movie watching time throughout the week, instead of doing multiple movies on the same day. The other item that plays a part in my retirement fantasy is the ability to travel more, without being limited by time constraints. I am convinced I would never be bored in retirement. Now the reason I am talking about this today has to do with turning dreams into reality. Now granted I do not know what the future holds for me, but it is important for me to maintain my dreams because they get me out of bed each day. I am a creature of habit so it is easy for me to sustain a daily routine. However, I know there will be times where I lose sight and feel I am stuck in my life. Fantasizing about the future is a stress reliever for me; it presents a world to me that looks familiar but has not opened its doors yet to me. I honestly do not know how someone can function being in the same place, doing the same thing every single day. After watching this picture, I am still having a hard time processing what I saw about this family from the lower east side of Manhattan. FROM their apartment the Anguro children could look out their window and see a world they were not part of because they were not allowed to go outside. Their days were spent watching then acting out scenes from the movies they watched on their small television. This film festival winning documentary was one of the more surreal movie watching experiences I have had in quite some time. As I said earlier I am still processing what essentially was a dramatic biography. With a mixture of the family’s home movies, on camera interviews and what I assumed was current filming; I sat in my seat in disbelief. I will say the brothers did an amazing job in recreating scenes from some classic films. This movie really made me think about dreams and hopes; because here I am able to talk about my conceived future, yet I sat and wondered what dreams or fantasies did these boys have growing up in their apartment or should I say prison cell. Though this was one of the most unusual stories I have ever seen, I had to admire the resiliency in these siblings.
3 1/2 stars
Flash Movie Review: The Secret of Roan Inish
When it happens the mind has a hard time believing it is true. Knowing the difference between fantasy and reality, when one of them crosses to the other side the brain forms a hiccup. It could be something as trivial as checking one’s wallet or purse several times for a missing credit card and then on the 8th try the card is there. For me it was when I was at Yellowstone National Park and saw what actually looked like purple colored mountains, just like the lyric in the song that goes, “For purple mountain majesties.” I was standing on the peak of one mountain looking out and seeing a range of purple mountains as a low hanging, orange sun was piercing holes thru large billowing clouds like they were white pin cushions. The precise rays of sunlight formed little stars across the landscape. At first it did not look real to me; I just stood there and stared in disbelief. But there are other events that happen where a person has to take a step back to make sure what they are experiencing is actually real. Think about it, did you ever dream about something that later came true? Maybe what your ideal mate would look like or what your dream house would be? It can be a bit unsettling at first; however, I will say when it happens it brings a magical quality to it. The way this DVD showed up at my front door with no prior knowledge and its timing really made me experience an enchanting movie watching experience. WHEN Fiona, played by Jeni Courtney (Nothing Personal), went to live with her grandparents she discovered there was something extraordinary about her family members. This film festival winning dramatic fantasy was a special treat to watch because it was based on the same Irish folklore as the animated movie, “Song of the Sea.” I recently had reviewed it here. Having seen the animated picture first, when I started watching this one I could not believe I was viewing the live version of that fantasy tale. With a cast that included Eileen Coogan (My Left Foot, I Sell the Dead) as Tess and John Lynch (The Secret Garden, In the Name of the Father) as Tadhg, I thought everyone did a wonderful job in creating a mysterious and magical atmospheric story about life in a small fishing village in Ireland. The beautiful landscapes and camera shots only added more charm to the story. Speaking of the story, there were differences between the two movies; I found this story was gentler and sweeter in a way, still just as family friendly as the other one. Whether the timing was right or I was in the right frame of mind, I found this DVD drew me completely into its world where I felt I was experiencing a fantasy coming to life.
3 1/2 stars — DVD
Flash Movie Review: Unexpected
That story about the stork delivering new born babies was something I never believed to be true. Even before I was taught the facts of life, I thought the idea of birds flying over houses and dropping babies down was weird. There were other stories I heard that seemed more plausible; for example, when the baby is ready it will come out of the belly button or the one about the soon to be parents choosing the day they want to go to the doctor’s office to have their child extracted from the woman’s body just like one would get their tooth pulled. Once I understood the real way babies were born there still was nothing mentioned about possible pain or discomfort being experienced during the pregnancy. Everything told to me was kept on a sweet and rosy level. As I got older I started to become better aware about the reality of the birthing process. The biggest shock for me was discovering not every woman had a storybook pregnancy. I remember hearing about a woman who was confined to her bed for over half of her pregnancy due to her body wanting to reject the fetus. In fact the first time I became aware of the term stillborn was when a friend’s aunt had one. It was an awful time where she was depressed for several months. When you think about all the scary things that could go wrong with having a baby, the process of bringing a healthy child into the world is an amazing feat. FINDING out they were both pregnant close to the same time; inner city high school teacher Samantha Abbott and her student Jasmine, played by Cobie Smulders (The Avengers franchise, How I Met Your Mother-TV) and Gail Bean (At Mamu’s Feet), formed a special bond as they started their journey through unfamiliar territory. This film festival nominated comedic drama had in my opinion a real and honest dialog about the fears and joys of having a baby. Though the script did not delve down very deep, the acting by Cobie and Gail was totally believable to me. Along with Anders Holm (The Interview, Neighbors) as John and Elizabeth McGovern (Once Upon a Time in America, Ordinary People) as Carolyn, I thoroughly enjoyed the cast and felt they really pushed this script to full advantage. Even though I thought there was a part of the story that could have used more exposure, I found myself experiencing a similar reaction to the one the characters were sharing in the scene. This was only another sign of how good the performance was from the actors. In a way one could say creating a movie shares some similarities to having a baby; the people behind this film should feel proud of what they created here.
2 3/4 stars
Flash Movie Review: Irrational Man
There are just some days I want to do something crazy and out of character for me. Do you ever have one of those days where you would like to be someone else? I have mentioned to friends from time to time that it is hard being me some days. Usually I have been overwhelmed with a variety of things just before I get to the point of saying this to my friends. Maybe that is one of the reasons I like to take quick weekend trips by myself to different places; I get to be someone else for a brief moment. When I am strained for time and feel like I am going to go crazy, retail therapy has always been a good backup for me; though it is not always a good use of funds. I have been known to buy some small appliance or electronic device and leave it unopened on the floor for weeks or months before getting around to using it. Recently I have tried to modify my behavior and when I feel I am going to go on a shopping spree, I go to the grocery store instead to buy boxes of breakfast cereal. It is a cheaper and more useful purchase. Now I know on the scheme of things these actions may not be very rational but they make sense to me, for there are plenty examples around us of a whole lot of people acting quite irrationally. Some individuals can be down right scary in what they do, just watch what happens in this dramatic mystery. EXCITEMENT was going through the small college on news of the hiring of philosophy professor Abe, played by Joaquin Phoenix (Walk the Line, The Master). The school got more than they bargained for once Abe was on staff. Written and directed by Woody Allen (Midnight in Paris, Sweet and Lowdown), I thought the cast which also included Emma Stone (Aloha, The Help) as Jill and Parker Posey (Party Girl, The House of Yes) as Rita was excellent. Sadly I found the script did not benefit these actors. At times there would be a scene that was intelligent and witty; but then it would be followed with a bland one where I felt the dialog was a series of blah, blah, blahs. If this makes any sense, the scenes were too wordy and only bogged down the story from moving forward. Woody has an interesting way of turning a sentence into a breath of fresh air; there have been previous films of his I have enjoyed. But with this picture I found myself becoming bored at times. If I were looking to find something irrational about this whole movie viewing experience I would have to say it was me paying full price to see this dull film.
1 3/4 stars
Flash Movie Review: Paper Towns
In our adult life the romantic relationships we form are based on trust, empathy and honesty among other attributes. I hesitate to quickly say love since I have seen examples where some people are in love with the relationship but not necessarily the person. However how many of us even thought of these things when we were younger? Can you remember what attracted you to your first crush or first love? I know I wasn’t wondering if we had similar attributes; I just remember how much fun we would have together. Where some kids were attracted to the star athletes or the smartest ones, I remember my attraction would accelerate if they could make me laugh. Writing this now sounds silly at firs to me; but the more I think about it I see humor has always held a strong position within my relationships. There were friends I had back then who even after their relationship ended with their first love continued to hold onto the memory of it, using it as a measure of judgement for all their future relationships. Not only can I still remember mine, but I can even tell you what events we attended together and what we wore; how crazy is that? There really is some type of exotic, strong power those first loves or crushes have on the majority of us, isn’t there? Just take a look at the main character in this dramatic mystery to find out how much. SINCE he was a young kid Quentin, played by Nat Wolff (The Fault in our Stars, Palo Alto), always had a special place in his heart for his next door neighbor Margo, played by Cara Delevingne (Anna Karenina, The Face of an Angel). The problem was she never knew it; so the day she mysteriously disappeared, Quentin could do only one thing and that was to find her. Based on John Green’s (The Fault in our Stars, Looking for Alaska) novel of the same name, this romantic movie had a capable cast. With relative newcomer Justice Smith as Radar and Austin Abrams (The Kings of Summer, Gangster Squad) as Ben, I thought they all captured the essence of high school life. However as I was watching this film I kept getting the feeling that the writers and director were trying real hard to make this picture as powerful as John’s previous work on The Fault in our Stars movie. This caused the film to come across in uneven patches. There were parts I enjoyed and others that were dull. This may have all started from the premise of the story, for it was a little far-fetched to me. Not that I want to make comparisons but I still remember The Fault in our Stars film; I just do not think I will remember this one as much.
2 1/4 stars
Flash Movie Review: Southpaw
For those of you fortunate enough never to have experienced a broken heart let me describe how it feels. The area around where the heart is located reacts just as if a physical punch was administered to the body; it hurts like a bad bruise, echoing dull pain over and over. Your center of gravity weighs more where it takes added effort to lift your feet off the ground to even walk across a room. With water making up a majority of the body’s composition, it gets redirected to spill out of your tear ducts at a moment’s notice. Hearing the beginning notes of a song could trigger this outpouring as easily as seeing a newly ownerless toothbrush sitting in your medicine cabinet. Some individuals experience the sense of losing control. I know for myself when I am feeling out of control I tend to focus on one single aspect of my life and hold onto it with a near death grip. My default option is usually my diet. Since no one has a say in what I can or cannot eat, my daily food intake is totally under my domain. In the past when I felt I was out of control my eating would take off as I tried filling the void that formed when control became unharnessed, free to do what it wanted to do. Now it is opposite, the more out of control I feel the more I control what I eat. The main character in this dramatic sports film had a different method. BOXING champion Billy Hope, played by Jake Gyllenhaal (Nightcrawler, End of Watch), had the money, the fame and the big house; however, it did not matter when he lost the one thing money could not buy. I need to start with Jake for this review because he deserved extra credit for the grueling workout he put himself through to give extra meat to this role, so to speak. He did 2,000 sit-ups a day and was told by the director, Atoine Fuqua (Training Day, The Equalizer), they would continue filming even if his nose got broken in the fight scenes. Now the fight scenes, they were so intense at times I almost had to look away. The cast, which included Rachel McAdams (Aloha, About Time) as Maureen Hope and Oona Laurence (A Little Game, Lamb) as Leila Hope, was especially strong in their own right. Though Jake could snag a nomination for this role, the script was filled with cliches that kept the story from matching his acting abilities. I thought the scenes he had with Forest Whitaker (Taken 3, Lee Daniels’ The Butler) as Tick Wills could have been even more powerful if the script was better. In spite of this big flaw I was so drawn to the character that it carried me through the entire film. Several scenes had blood in them.
3 stars
Flash Movie Review: Ardor
Stories that get handed down from generation to generation sometimes take on a life of their own. I grew up in an area where the land was as flat as a piece of paper except for one hill. Growing up I heard a story about how the hill was formed from a glacier during the ice ages. Evidently a glacier was creeping down from the north and by the time it got to my area it was already on its last ice cubes of life before the ice age ended, leaving this mound of pushed up dirt in the middle of my neighborhood. By the way when I say hill I have to be honest with you; the height for it was the distance between 2 floors of an apartment building. So we are not talking very tall here. There is a story about a gold coin I have in my possession that was given to me by a relative. This coin was some great, great relative of mine who always kept it in a little secret pocket that was sewed inside of their clothing. I was fascinated with this unknown relative, spending hours daydreaming about the reasons why this particular coin had to remain hidden. Knowing my ancestors were not wealthy people, it seemed odd that the coin was not used as currency back then. I took the coin, wrapped it up and sealed it in a plastic bag to protect it. The fact that it was handled by my long deceased relatives provides me some type of connection to them. This is one of the reasons I enjoy hearing different types of folklore no matter where it comes from. PASSED down amongst the inhabitants in a remote area of the Argentinean rainforest was a story about a being who would emerge from the Amazon river to do battle against any evil forces. Vania, played by Alice Braga (Elysium, I am Legend), needed someone like that to help her and her father defend their land. This film festival nominated drama had the feel of a spaghetti western. Low budget, simple story, minimal conversations and action; I really got into this movie. Starring Gael Garcia Bernal (Rosewater, Bad Education) as Kai, I thought he was excellent in the role. Essentially the story was about good vs evil; it had the right elements in place to maintain one’s interest in the action. Now there were some parts that were easy to predict besides one side story line that seemed unnecessary. Visually I was fascinated with the landscape and thought the cinematography did a wonderful job of playing up the mystery of the forest. I am used to getting folklore verbally; this folk tale was a visual treat. Spanish was spoken with English subtitles. Several scenes had blood and violence in them.
2 2/3 stars
Flash Movie Review: Mr. Holmes
Presently when I look towards what my future may be, I cannot make out any distinct elements to it. As if just beginning to wake from a slow long slumber in the middle of a morning fog, retirement has never been something that has made its presence known in my awarenesses. Only recently do I wonder what my life will be like in the years to come. I imagine there will be an older version of myself with deeper lines etched into my face like small creeks that have run dry. The mirror in my house may appear to have a layer of permanent dust on it because my outline always appears fuzzy. Will I still be teaching fitness and yoga classes; I would like to think so, though maybe my energy level may not be able to reach its former high. Maybe I will be leading a walking class instead of a cycling class. Age is such a contradiction. On the one hand it is assumed we acquire more knowledge the older we get; however, we may not be able to do as much with it as we age. What sense does that make? I am known for telling my yoga classes, when we are in the middle of a challenging pose, that we are doing this now so we can get out of a chair by ourselves when we are 90 years old. I really do believe this to be true. For me I need this as a fundamental pillar of my retirement years. RETIRED to the country to tend to his bees the famous Sherlock Holmes, played by Ian McKellen (The Hobbit franchise, X-Men franchise), has one old unsolved case that still troubles him. His failing mind cannot bring back all the clues he needs to solve it. I mean this as a compliment; everything about this film festival winning crime drama was window dressing for Ian’s amazing performance. The idea of the story was brilliant, based on the novel of the same name. In addition the cinematography was exquisite for both story lines and the acting from Laura Linney (Hyde Park on Hudson, The Savages) as Mrs. Munro and relative newcomer Milo Parker as Roger fit in perfectly with Ian and his character. Even the small humorous throwaways about the real Sherlock Holmes compared to Dr. Watson’s version were a nice balance as we learn more about the unsolved case. Since I grew up watching the old Sherlock Holmes movies with Basil Rathbone, it took me a few minutes to readjust my mind and let Ian fill in the elements for this version of Sherlock. It was an easy adjustment. By the end of this film I felt I had seen the real Sherlock Holmes honestly dealing with life in his older years.
3 1/4 stars
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