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Flash Movie Review: Killer Heat
MY FIRST EXPOSURE TO TWIN SIBLINGS was a movie where teenage twin sisters swap places and scheme to reunite their divorced parents. Seeing the two sisters together looking identical fascinated me. I was too young to realize that it was one actress playing both sisters. The next time I encountered twins was watching a television show called Family Affair. The twins were Buffy and Jody, a brother and sister, but they were not identical. Except for these two experiences, I had no contact with any sets of twins until I was in high school. And then, it was like an explosion because there were several sets during my four years in school. A couple of them were identical twins; one in particular was always difficult to figure out who was who, until you talked to them for a little while. One brother was into sports, and I thought was mean; the other one was more into the social clubs like film and debate team which suited his friendlier personality. I remember one time when they swapped their classes for one period. I had the nicer brother in my classroom, and I knew within a matter of minutes that the other brother was sitting next to me instead; he did not say hello, which the nicer one always did when coming in and sitting down at his desk. Surprisingly, the teacher did not know the difference. THERE WAS ANOTHER SET OF TWIN brothers in the school that were both bullies, one was worse, however. They would pick on students all the time; in the classroom, lunchroom and outside on the school grounds. I learned quickly to stay away from them as best as I could. It was not until the end of our sophomore year that some of us found out the two brothers were not twins. The meaner one was held back a year; in other words, he flunked a grade. The two brothers decided to tell everyone they were twins so the older one would not be embarrassed. The thing I found interesting about the sets of twins in school was when there were two girls or a girl and a boy set, they were never competitive with each other. Sure, they may have had some form of sibling rivalry, but I never saw one trying to beat out the other. It was only the sets that had two boys that were competitive at our school. Even if the personalities were different, they still had a strong streak of competitiveness. Granted, none of them could match the competitiveness of the twins in this romantic, crime mystery drama, and I am grateful for it. AFTER A YOUNG ROCK CLIMBER FALLS from a cliff to his death, one of the family members secretly hires a detective to investigate all the clues to see if things match up. As the detective delves deeper into the case, his own issues begin to come out. With Joseph Gordon-Levitt (The Trial of the Chicago 7, Flora and Son) as Nick Bali, Shailene Woodley (Dumb Money, To Catch a Killer) as Penelope Vardakis, Richard Madden (Eternals, Game of Thrones-TV) as Elias ‘Leonidas,’ Clare Holman (Let Him Have It, Inspector Lewis-TV) as Audrey, and Babou Ceesay (Eye in the Sky, We Hunt Together-TV) as Georges Mensah; this film was shot in the beautiful island of Crete. The outdoor scenes were stunning. I enjoyed the performances from the cast, but the script did not offer them much to work their craft. The characters were one-dimensional, which turned many scenes into standard fare. I liked the idea of the story, and I thought Joseph and Shailene could have turned into characters with depth and emotion; though no fault of their own, I was disappointed. Well, at least I enjoyed the scenery.
2 stars
Flash Movie Review: Find Me Falling
I STUDIED THE ASSIGNMENTS AND WORKBOOKS over and over. The written portion of the testing did not concern me all that much; however, the practical portion, where we each would be leading portions of the workshop, is what scared me the most. The test was being held an hour away from me, which only added to my anxiousness because it would give me more time to think, which is not what I wanted to do. Upon reaching the location and parking, I found the registration desk to get signed in. Once I was registered, I was handed a small duffle bag filled with a variety of items, from power snack bars to wristbands to lip balm. I am a sucker for this kind of stuff even if I do not use all the items. From the registration desk, I was directed down a long hallway to a large conference room. Inside there were rows of chairs and desks lined up in half of the room. I took an empty place off to the side, halfway down the middle. Right at the start of 8am the doors were closed and two instructors stood in front of us and explained the activities for the day. They next went over some of the important parts of the test, like a quick refresher course. As they were speaking there were volunteers handing out the test books and telling us when we were told to open the book, the test would begin. I MADE MY WAY THROUGH THE multiple-choice questions; if I were not sure of one, I would skip it then come back later. I wanted to get as many as I could answer, since we were under time restraint. By the time I completed the written portion, I had 20 minutes to spare before the time limit; so, I sat and tried to mentally go over the movements I would need to teach to an aerobics class. The test period ended, and we broke for lunch. The afternoon was the practical part of the test and all of us were directed to the other half of the room. The same two instructors warmed us up after starting the music. Throughout the afternoon, we would be broken into groups and within the group we would take turns leading the group. I was miserable; I was not wired to be spontaneous, plus the music did nothing for me. I did not pass, nor get my teaching certificate. From that experience, I spent the summer working on creating my own style of teaching, reinventing myself if you will and retested in the fall and passed. Because of not making it through the first time, I found the strength to create what I genuinely wanted to do and became successful at it. It is all about finding one’s inner strength and peace that makes it happen. And because of that, I appreciated watching the main character’s journey in this music, romantic comedy. AFTER HIS LATEST ALBUM TANKED, A music celebrity decided to move to Cyprus to get away from everything. Unfortunately, the house he bought was at a site where desperate people would come to visit. With Harry Connick Jr. (Hope Floats, Will & Grace-TV) as John, Agni Scott (Persuasion, Bridget Jones’s Baby) as Sia, Ali Fumiko Whitney (Cabin Girl, The Road Dance) as Melina, Lea Maleni (Kalabush, Didyma Feggaria-TV) as Koula, and Clarence Smith (Leave, Emmerdale Farm-TV) as Jimmy; this film had beautiful outdoor scenes. I thought the acting was decent, but the script was generic and predictable for the most part. It seemed as if I was watching a mashup of other films that fall into this genre. It was pleasant to hear the music, and as I said, I thought the scenes of Cyprus were wonderful. In my opinion, the writers needed to do a rewrite of the script and add deeper drama and humor for this story to stand out.
2 stars
Flash Movie Review: My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3
THE FOOD WAS GOOD BUT THE conversation took a slight detour while we were eating. I had been invited over to a friend’s house for dinner. Of course, I brought a dessert with me, and it was a good thing since their kids had come over to join us. During the meal, I commented on one of the platters that had been placed on the dining room table. It looked like a platter my family used when company came over. I asked about its origins and was told it was part of a dinner set that was handed down from my friend’s great grandmother. I was immediately impressed that something so “old” had been carefully taken care of for all these years, since it looked so good. Plus, I loved that my friend had an appreciation for family heirlooms. I have in my possession a silver wine cup that came from my great, great grandfather who only used it on holidays. During the conversation, my friend turned to their two children and asked if either of them would like it. Both did not even pause to think about it before saying no. I did not say a word but thought it would be sad if the platter wound up in the trash heap or found its way to a garage sale or resale shop. I could see the disappointment on my friend’s face, so much for family history. I DO NOT REMEMBER WHEN MY interest in family history, heirlooms and such took on a level of importance; I enjoy learning about my ancestors and appreciate whatever small things they may have left behind for future generations to house and protect. For example, I have a framed photo hanging on a wall of my great, great, great grandmother who was alive when Napoleon invaded Russia. When guests are over and I explain the image to them, they each cannot get over the idea that this old frail woman dressed in a dark, floor length drab dress with a plain scarf tied around her head witnessed such history as a small child and that I am related to her. I ask you; how many people know what their great, great, great grandmother looks like? I feel if we can get some understanding about those who came before us, it will help us on our life’s path forward. Presently, I am debating how best I can distribute old photos I have of my relatives when they and their families were quite young. It is this idea of passing down a person’s history that I found so charming in this dramatic, comedy romance. WANTING TO FULFILL THEIR DECEASED FATHER’S wish to pass down his personal journal to his childhood friends, his children plan a trip to their father’s homeland, that will correspond with a family reunion. The problem will be how to track down these friends from a long, long time ago. With Nia Vardalos (I Hate Valentine’s Day, The Curse of Bridge Hollow) as Toula, John Corbett (The Messengers, The Silence) as Ian, Louis Mandylor (The Debt Collector, As Good as Dead) as Nick, Elena Kampouris (Before I Fall, Summer Night) as Paris and Andrea Martin (Black Christmas, The Good Fight-TV) as Aunt Voula; this sequel did not offer much to maintain my interest. The only two highlights were Andrea Martin’s performance and the beautiful scenery filmed in Greece. I did not find anything funny and thought there was zero-character development for most of the cast. The direction was poor because it felt like I was watching a series of vignettes. For the most part everything being done was predictable to the point where I was bored. I am afraid this movie would be something one does not want to hand down to a younger generation.
1 ¾ stars
Flash Movie Review: 300: Rise of an Empire
When I began posting my movie reviews I made a commitment to write one a day for an entire year. It was not always easy; I had to decline social engagements, besides dealing with the electronic gremlins that would mess up my postings from time to time. There were days where my fingers had to do double time to get the review done before the strike of midnight; not that I would turn into a pumpkin, just wouldn’t be able to keep my word. However, I carried out my promise to myself and did it. Some of my friends thought I was crazy with my rigid dedication but I have always had that trait. It is similar to my not eating 5 hours before I go to bed as a means of maintaining my weight. Right from the beginning of this action drama, I could identify with the actors’ dedication in achieving their impressive chiseled physiques besides the characters’ determination in fighting to the death to save their land. I cannot call this a sequel since the writers were clever to create a story that paralleled the story from the previous movie, 300. Sullivan Stapleton (Animal Kingdom, Gangster Squad) played Greek General Themistokles. With the Persian King Xerxes, played by Rodrigo Santoro (What to Expect When You’re Expecting, I Love You Phillip Morris), moving forward in his conquest for all of Greece; Themistokles would have to take his battle to the sea against the king’s massive navy led by skilled commander Artemisia, played by Eva Green (Dark Shadows, Casino Royale). It would take cunning, strategy and most of all courage to try and defeat the Persian forces that outnumbered Themistokles’ fighters. This movie played out like a dramatic opera; there were a multitude of heroic speeches, gruesome fights and passionate pleas. When I said gruesome I meant it because there was so much blood being spilled throughout the entire film that the characters even mentioned they would turn the ocean into a sea of red. It would be hard to talk about the acting since the whole movie had a graphic novel, computer game look to it; the characters were more cartoonish to me. I thought Eva was impressive with her fighting skills, finding it a nice twist to have a female badass. Playing the Spartan Queen Gorgo, I wished Lena Headey (The Purge, Game of Thrones-TV) had more screen time since her character had more dimension to me. This bloody war film started to become repetitive with its cycle of speeches and battles. Do not consider this movie as a history lesson; it was just fun to watch on the big screen. Also, no one could fault the actors for their dedication in contributing to this movie’s sharp look. There were multiple scenes with blood and violence throughout the film.
2 1/3 stars
Flash Movie Review: Before Midnight
Saying I am angry does not mean I do not love you. For years I was not the best person to have an intelligent discussion with over a disagreement. The only examples of verbal fights I saw were ones where people threw derogatory words at each other. Not only did it take a lot of growing up on my part; but it took seeing the sad face of someone I loved being hurt, before I fully understood how to have an adult conversation about my feelings. Replacing the word “you” with “I’ made a huge difference right from the start. I learned how to talk about my feelings, along with clarifying things being said to me by saying, “What I heard you say…”. One of the most important lessons I learned was to address any issues as soon as possible. Since my pet peeve was to have someone bring up something that happened in the past that caused them distress, I did not want to do the same to them. I guess this is what they call acting like an adult. For all you adults out there, I can honestly say the art of conversation lived in this beautiful, touching film. I barely recall the previous two movies in this series, so my review will be solely on the merits of this film. Ethan Hawke (Training Day, Daybreakers) and Julie Delpy (Broke Flowers, 2 Days in Paris) played settled couple Jesse and Celine. Away from their daily routine, vacationing in Greece with their young twin girls, the couple began to examine their life together and question what they wanted for their future. I cannot tell you how long it has been since I have seen characters having real, convincing mature conversations in a film. Part of the brilliance in watching this had to go to the director/writer Richard Linklater (Bernie, Me and Orson Welles). In a world where everything has to be quick and fast, the long takes in this movie allowed an authentic progression of thoughts and feelings to be on display. Ethan and Julie deserve accolades for their amazing acting and the sharing of the writing credits with Richard. This was a genuine story about a couple looking at choices made and figuring out what was important to each of them. An absolute joy to watch, this romantic film deserves an Oscar nomination or two.
3 3/4 stars
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