Blog Archives
Flash Movie Review: Two Days, One Night
Where some departments are inviting and welcoming to fellow employees, there are others that are structured like secured fortresses to keep away all outsiders. Working in an office means you acquire a pseudo family, quirks and all. I have worked for a few companies and I have found the larger ones mirror the globe. Depending on the department managers, it can feel like you are traveling to a different country when entering their fiefdoms, where employees never mingle with those from a different department. I worked for an individual who treated all the employees as if they were his personal assistants, from washing his car to picking up his laundry; I could not wait to get out of there. Luckily I have worked at places where all the employees in the department felt like family. We would always celebrate each other’s birthdays and be there for each other during the sad occasions. Like any family there would be disagreements and spats; but when you think about it, most employees are together 8 hours a day. For some that can be more time together than with one’s own blood relatives. I will say one of the negatives to having a family environment at the workplace is when one employee’s work is dependent on another employee. It can be hard to separate the lines between employee and pseudo family member. SANDRA, played by Marion Cotillard (Inception, The Immigrant), discovered her boss offered her fellow employees a choice to either keep her as an employee or receive a cash bonus upon her termination. With her husband Manu, played by Fabrizio Rongione (The Kid with a Bike, Rosetta), pushing her to fight for her job, Sandra would have to confront each of her fellow workers to ask them to vote for her to stay on the job. This Oscar nominated and film festival winning drama was an interesting viewing experience. The movie started out slow; at first I was not sure what was going on since it seemed as if the story had started in the middle. Gratefully Marion was outstanding in the role so I was able to stay interested. With her acting I could easily feel her pain and discomfort as she went from employee to employee. Written and directed by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne (The Kid with the Bike, L’Enfant), I found the story’s idea compelling. There was however a few slow parts in the film and one scene in particular did not ring true for me. If this makes sense, this picture was more of a cerebral experience since there was not much action. The thing that rang true about the script was the way the employees interacted with each other. French was spoken with English subtitles.
3 stars
Flash Movie Review: Fifty Shades of Grey
The only reason I started listening to their conversation was because I thought they were talking about Russian royalty. As I stood in line to check out my groceries, two women in front of me were talking about someone named Anastasia. Since it was the title to one of my favorite Ingrid Bergman films, my ears perked up upon hearing that name. I quickly realized they were not talking about the movie so I lost interest in their conversation. Some time shortly after I was in a store and while in the shoe department I heard some people nearby talking about Anastasia and Christian. What were the chances I would hear the name Anastasia twice in one week? It was not long before I kept hearing about these two individuals everywhere I went, from the office to the health club to any retail establishment; it was unreal how many people were talking about them. Feeling like I hadn’t been invited to the party I asked a couple of coworkers to explain to me who were these two people, Christian and Anastasia. After getting acquainted with these characters from author E.L. James’ 2011 book, 50 Shades of Grey, I became even more fascinated by their ability to draw so many people into their world. AFTER all this time I have finally been introduced to the infamous couple in this dramatic romance film based on the book. Dakota Johnson (Need for Speed, Beastly) and Jamie Dornan (Marie Antoinette, Shadows in the Sun) played Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey; she, a college student and he, a young successful business entrepreneur. If there is anyone left besides me who has not read the book, the story is about these two characters’ attraction to each other, though for different reasons. Starting with the screenplay written by Kelly Marcel (Saving Mr. Banks, Terra Nova-TV), I really wished E.L. James would have written it because I thought the script was poorly done, with some real awful lines. I do not know if it was due to the lack of chemistry between the two main stars (there was none), but I still do not understand what the attraction was for Christian. From her 1st entrance into his office to him suddenly flying out to see her at the hardware store where she worked, I just did not get it. Scenes seemed disjointed or maybe I should say they lacked the emotion one would expect for such a scene. Again I want to stress I did not read the book; but as for this movie, I found sitting through it to be a painful experience. However, maybe you should check with the majority of women at my viewing who were hooting and hollering whenever Christian took off any of his clothing.
1 2/3 stars
Flash Movie Review: Song One
Some people learn about someone from looking through their medicine cabinet. Who knows, you may discover they suffer from acid reflux, wear contact lenses or have sensitive teeth. Now I will admit if the door to the medicine cabinet is ajar, I will peek at what is visible without touching anything; so there will not be any fingerprints. So yes, I may know what type of hair shampoo a person likes or they are on an antibiotic; however, this does not reveal a true picture about the individual. If you really want to get to know someone, take a look at their music library. Based on the type of music they listen to can tell you a variety of things, such as they are an old-fashioned romantic or they must have had a relationship that had a bad breakup. I know if someone were to go through my music they would figure out I like to move because of the abundance of dance music in my library. Another aspect of music is its healing properties. How many of us have played a particular song over and over to heal a sad, heavy heart? Music has a way of providing us many gifts. AFTER a horrific accident Franny, played by Anne Hathaway (The Dark Knight Rises, Bride Wars), flew home after being away for several years, to be there for her brother Henry, played by Ben Rosenfield (A Most Violent Year, Boardwalk Empire-TV), and her estranged mother Karen, played by Mary Steenburgen (Last Vegas, The Help). Listening to her brother’s music, Franny sought out her brother’s favorite places to listen to his favorite artists so she could get to know him. This film festival nominee had a gentle story despite its tragic event. Anne was well suited for the role and I enjoyed her performance as I did Mary and Johnny Flynn (Something in the Air, Lotus Eaters) as James Forester. The music score was full of indie folk songs; at least that is how I would describe them. They were sweet but nothing memorable. The idea for this drama was admirable; I thought it was an interesting take on a familiar theme. The issue I had with this movie was it did not go far enough to be unique. There were times I felt I had already seen parts of it before. In addition, it was pretty easy to figure out how the story would play out. Despite these shortcomings I did not mind sitting through this drama; granted the main attraction for me was the music. On a final note, this film may have hit a few sour notes but it did prove again the power of music.
1 3/4 stars
Flash Movie Review: Wild Card
One possibility may be the amount of bright lights that never turn off. When you look at them then close your eyes, you can still see their shadows on the inside of your eyelids. I do not know, but is it possible the fact the lights stay on all the time represent never giving up hope to some individuals? There is something about the city of Las Vegas that takes a person’s dreams and inflates them to gigantic proportions. I tell everyone they need to see the city once because it is so over the top, not of earth. You see every form of humanity, some of them sitting at the slot machines and gaming tables with a hungry look on their faces and in their eyes. They are committed to the belief they will win. Their dreams will not let them stop until they have exhausted all available avenues. Though I do not gamble I can understand that momentary intoxication from taking a chance. It is like buying a lottery ticket; until they draw the winning numbers, you get to fantasize about what you would do with all that money. I am all for keeping dreams alive; but they have to be weighed against the cost, since money is not the only factor used in determining if a dream is a success. NICK Wild, played by Jason Statham (Killer Elite, Homefront), had a dream he was in Corsica quietly sailing across the sea. After an incident involving a mob boss’ son named Danny DeMarco, played by Milo Ventimiglia (Heroes-TV, Rocky Balboa), there was a good chance NIck would never see his dream or any other one come true. The fact this action drama starred Jason meant there was going to be some fight scenes in the story and there certainly were a few. I have to say they had a fun quality due to the way they were filmed. They were almost like a cartoon with their use of a variety of props and filming parts in slow motion for crisper detail. Directed by Simon West (The Expendables 2, Con Air) this crime story got off to a fine start with a good lead in. The cast choices were interesting with Michael Angarano (Red State, The Forbidden Kingdom) as Cyrus Kinnick, Hope Davis (Disconnect, About Schmidt) as Cassandra and Stanley Tucci (The Terminal, The Hunger Games franchise) as Baby. However, their characters were all odd to me. I never understood their motivation or why they were even there. The script had nothing going for it which only made it generic and a poor cousin to better films I have seen in this genre. I am afraid the movie studio took a gamble on this picture and lost. There were a few scenes with blood and violence in them.
1 3/4 stars
Flash Movie Review: The Loft
No matter what age, it is safe to say everyone wants to have some space they can call their own. A place important to them; where one could be surrounded by things that meant something only to them. As children some were lucky to have a treehouse, fort or maybe a swing set. Do you remember going from a crib to a bed? I actually remember how excited I was when the time came when I was finally getting a bed like everyone else. If in college you had to share a dorm room with another student, it was important for the roomies to stake out and acknowledge each other’s space. I lived in off campus housing where I had my own room but shared a kitchen with 6 other students. We were all respectful of each others’ food except for one guy who would “borrow” things and never replace them. It is funny when people co-habitate due to marriage or wanting to live in an expensive apartment they cannot afford by themselves, they still need a spot they can call their own. I am sure you have heard the term “man’s cave” referring to a place where a guy can do as they please; it may be something like a spare bedroom or a garage. It is a place where one can do what they want without infringing on someone else’s sensibilities. I have seen a variety of such places but nothing ever happened in them like what took place in this movie. KEEPING a high-rise penthouse secret from everyone else was paramount if this group of friends wanted to be able to use their place for whatever they so desired. That all changed however when one of the friends entered the loft and found a dead woman handcuffed to the bed. This dramatic thriller had as part of its cast Karl Urban (Star Trek franchise, Dredd) as Vincent Stevens, James Marsden (Enchanted, The Best of Me) as Chris Vanowen, Wentworth Miller (The Human Stain, Prison Break-TV) as Luke Seacord and Eric Stonestreet (Identity Thief, Modern Family-TV) as Marty Landry. Gratefully the acting was good overall by the cast. I liked the look of the film and thought the film’s beginning was a good start for this mystery. By the way it would be perfectly understandable if viewers were offended with the premise to this story; I had a bit of a challenge accepting it. Unfortunately the story quickly spiraled out of control with too many twists and turns, trying to keep everyone guessing on why there was a dead woman in the loft. I found parts of the story to be ridiculous, growing to dislike the characters. Maybe the movie studio should have kept this film a secret from us.
1 3/4 stars
Flash Movie Review: Black or White
Those who had the larger sized box of crayons were the cool kids. If I remember correctly the largest size was the 128 count box; I mostly had the 32 count, though one year I did get as a gift the 64 size. With double the number of crayons the possibilities to me seemed endless. Since I had so many crayons I felt I had to use every single one, so my drawings took on a more colorful palette. I started making trees different colors, sometimes making their leaves multi-colored. There were times they looked like large chocolate ice cream cones topped with candy sprinkles. When I started giving extra colors to people I remember a couple of students telling me I could not do it. We would argue back and forth with them saying they were not human and me telling them they were still humans. The people I drew had two arms, two legs, two eyes, two ears, a nose and a mouth. Now these arguments had nothing to do with racial prejudices; those students were following the norm and expecting everyone to do the same. I just did not care what the skin color was nor give it any importance. It is something I have and continue to carry into my adult life which is why I thought this film had an important message. AFTER his wife was killed in a car accident Elliot Anderson, played by Kevin Costner (Draft Day, Man of Steel), was left alone to raise his granddaughter Eloise, played by Jillian Estell (So This is Christmas). That was until Eloise’s paternal grandmother Rowena Jeffers, played by Octavia Spencer (Get on Up, Snowpiercer), decided she should get full custody of her granddaughter. This film festival winning drama had two good things going for it, Kevin and Octavia. The two were not only good in their individual scenes, they really were fired up for their mutual scenes. That is not to say the other actors in this movie, like Anthony Mackie (Runner Runner, Captain America: The Winter Soldier), were bad; they were all decent. Acting aside, the story was the most important part to this picture. Its message was something that needs to be repeated over and over. I felt the 1st half of the movie did a good job to tell the story, but then the writers started to complicate the message. It seemed as if scenes were being designed to manipulate the viewer just to add emotional value. I found it to be predictable, with a layer of syrupy sentiments that made me almost groan. With that being said I do believe most viewers would still appreciate the story/message of this film more than the execution of it.
2 3/4 stars
Flash Movie Review: Still Alice
The change is so minuscule you would not even be aware of its importance. Years later you may look back and remember it, realizing it was a warning for the oncoming seismic shift about to take place. For some the process is slow and drawn out; the occasional forgetfulness does not seem to be a big deal. Who has not forgotten where they put their house keys or forgotten a word now and then? But later on it becomes more frequent; think of it as a change from autumn to winter. Picture a majestic wide tree with a multitude of branches that curl and twist outward, filled with a thick abundance of leaves. Slowly the rich dark green of the leaves starts to fade, becoming less vibrant. The leaves that had been stretching wide like the palms of many hands were all beginning to close into gnarled fists. Memory drips out of the mind, falling away on a current of air like shriveled leaves; until the tree is laid bare. You may think the person is trapped inside their body but that is not the case; they are no longer there. You only have a living picture of who they were and even that begins to shut down due to the lack of electrical pulses from the expired brain. This is what can happen when someone has Alzheimer’s disease. JULIANNE Moore (Non-Stop, What Maisie Knew) played linguistics Professor Alice Howland. As an author and expert in her field, how was it possible that she was beginning to forget her words? This film festival winning drama’s success was all due to Julianne Moore. She was remarkable in this role, playing a middle-aged woman with early onset Alzheimer’s disease. There was one scene in particular where she was looking at her younger self and it amazed me how different she made the two images look on screen. I can understand now why she won the Golden Globe award. Some of the other actors in this film were Alec Baldwin (Beetlejuice, 30 Rock-TV) as John Howland, Kate Bosworth (Superman Returns, Blue Crush) as Anna Howland-Jones and Kristen Stewart (Twilight franchise, On the Road) as Lydia Howland. Everyone did a good job of acting; however I really did not get Kristen. It seems like she is doing the same thing in every movie; I have not seen her display any emotional variety with any of the characters she has played. Due to Julianne’s dominant performance, this drama has an effect on the viewer. Not to be funny here, but it seems as if I am paying more attention now when I forget something.
3 1/3 stars
Flash Movie Review: A Most Violent Year
I am used to friends and family picking up and moving out of state for either a job opportunity or retirement. As for me I would be willing to do it only on a part-time basis, specifically during wintertime. I never had the courage to even think about this until the past several years as the winter months have been harder on me; but who knows if I will ever get to a point where I could afford to do such a thing. What I find to be more courageous are those individuals and families who emigrate to a different country, especially the ones who hope to become business owners one day. I have known people who were willing to work seven days a week, doing whatever needed to be done, to try and make a go of their new business. Depending on where it is located can add an extra level of difficulty when it involves local or federal government agencies. In fact, I just heard a story from a member from one of my classes who is trying to build a new building. The restrictions and requirements to get and keep a building permit is truly a nightmare. ON the verge of expanding his business Abel Morales, played by Oscar Isaac (Inside Lleywn Davis, Body of Lies), was desperately trying to keep things afloat while trying to find out who was stealing from his company. With all of his finances tied up in the business he was taking these acts of crime personally. This film festival winning crime drama had everything going for it. Written and directed by J.C. Chandor (Margin Call, All is Lost), the movie perfectly balanced the emotional scenes with brilliant film work. One of the main reasons why this worked so well was due to the cast and what a group of actors were chosen. Besides Oscar’s performance which was wonderful, there was Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty, The Help) who played his wife Anna, David Oyelowo (Selma, Interstellar) as Lawrence and Albert Brooks (Defending Your Life, Drive) as Andrew Walsh. All of them were amazing to watch; but let me add, Jessica was electric in this role. She was so good that I have to say I think this was her best performance to date. Set in New York during the early 1980s, the whole look of the picture was right on. This action movie was the complete package that was beautifully done with the right amount of emotional investment; I thoroughly enjoyed it from beginning to end. There were a couple of scenes where blood and violence was shown.
3 1/2 stars
Flash Movie Review: Spare Parts
It would be easy for me to say the word “no” is a restrictive word. Instead, I will say it can be constrictive. I am not referring to times where the word “no” is used for safety concerns, like telling the driver not to go down a particular road because the bridge is out or telling a child they cannot play on the outdoor jungle gym because of its rotting wood. When it comes to telling a child or an adult they cannot do something because of someone else’s preconceived notions, I then have an issue with it. I learn by making mistakes; in addition, I feel failing a task provides a blueprint on how to deal with consequences. Let us face it; part of living is dealing with consequences. Why shouldn’t we get practice in dealing with failures and successes? If I piled up all the noes I have been told in my life, like bricks at a construction site, I could build a rather large addition onto my house. In my opinion as long as the possibilities are spelled out, let the individual discover for themselves what their true potential can be. WITH no money, no training, nor legal documentation; four Hispanic high school students formed a robotics club to enter a nationwide NASA sponsored contest. Even though the previous winners came from some of the best Ivy League schools in the country, the 4 students would wind up building something better than just a robot. This movie was based on a true story and had all the markings to be a real inspirational story. I found the casting to be an interesting mix with George Lopez (Valentine’s Day, Balls of Fury) as Fredi Cameron, Marisa Tomei (The Lincoln Lawyer, Parental Guidance) as Gwen and Jamie Lee Curtis (A Fish Called Wanda, True Lies) as the Principal. Including the actors cast as the students, everyone did a decent job of acting. The weak link of this film was the script. I figured there was going to be some humor interjected into the story since George was in it. However, the humor for the most part fell flat. There were times where it was easy to figure out what was going to happen to some of the characters. I even wondered if some of the things really did happen or were they written into the story for dramatic effect. It was a real shame because the true story appeared to be so good; I just wished the writers would have given the characters more levels to delve into and develop. As photos of the real individuals flashed onto the screen I have to tell you I was a bit awestruck. Here were people who despite hearing the word “no” so often in life, did not let it stop them from dreaming.
2 stars
moviejoltz 