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Flash Movie Review: The Killer’s Game
I KNEW TWO INDIVIDUALS, A FRIEND and an acquaintance, who chose to ignore their mortality. It was some time after they had received the news about their medical test results that I met them; so, if they acted differently prior to the news, I had no knowledge. My friend and I met at a party we were both attending. We had a similar sense of humor which made our conversation easy, which led us to hang out together. The acquaintance was a friend of a friend despite my friend wishing she could have more than just a platonic relationship with this guy. Both guys were extreme extroverts. My friend told me about his health status early in our relationship; the other guy never divulged his health status until it became obvious something was seriously wrong with him based on the physical changes taking place with his body. Over several months, my friend was acting more extreme and outrageous. If everyone was having a couple of cocktails at a party, he was having several until he was numb in the throes of drunkenness. I noticed the same behavior with the acquaintance. If there were drugs at a party, he was taking the most until he was either bouncing off the walls or falling asleep in mid-sentence. Both became heavy risk-takers. The friend’s friend got sicker and sicker until they died while walking down the street one night. My friend took a job offer out of state and no one ever heard from him again. So, I do not know if they are dead or alive. A DIFFERENT EXAMPLE OF A PERSON dealing with their own mortality was a relative of mine. After receiving their dire medical results, they chose not to do any treatments because they were known to have bad side effects. Instead, my relative chose to have a decent quality of life for as long as they could last. Being around them, one would never know something was wrong; they chose to enjoy every second of living, from meeting friends for dinner, to going to concerts, to hosting family events. Instead of ignoring their condition, they would acknowledge it whenever anyone asked how they were doing. I was in awe of her strength and commitment to enjoy everything they could while they were alive. A common phrase they would say is. “Don’t leave with any regrets.” If I were in a similar situation, where I was to receive negative health results, I would like to think that I would be strong and fight it. However, until one is in that situation, I honestly do not know if I have that inner strength to fight it to the best of my abilities. I for sure know I would not choose the option the main character did in this action, comedy, thriller. AFTER RECEIVING THE RESULTS OF HIS medical tests, a hired assassin decides to hire a hit on himself. When the assassins started going after his girlfriend, he had only one option, to protect her. With Dave Bautista (My Spy franchise, Glass Onion) as Joe Flood, Raffaello Degruttola (Rush, Unlocked) as Dr. Kagen, Sofia Boutella (Star Trek Beyond, Kingsman: The Secret Service) as Maize Arnaud, Ben Kingsley (Night Hunter, Sexy Beast) as Zvi Rabinowitz, and Antonia Desplat (Witchboard, Shantaram-TV) as Aimee; this film based on the book felt like a John Wick wannabe. However, I was pleasantly surprised that Dave’s character had a love interest because his imposing presence normally would not lead him to such roles. The action scenes were intense and there were multiple scenes with blood and violence. There really was nothing new about the story/script, but I still enjoyed watching it. There were a couple of times where I chuckled and other times where I cringed from the violence. The main draw for me was watching Dave and I was entertained by his and Sofia’s acting. There were multiple scenes of blood and violence throughout this film.
2 ½ stars
Flash Movie Review: Spoiler Alert
I THINK IT MUST BE AN age thing. In my younger days, the dating scene never involved discussions about future health scenarios. What I mean by that is the only thing ever discussed was whether one had an autoimmune syndrome, a positive status, diabetes or something else along those lines. We never talked about home health care or medical powers of attorney or long-term disabilities; and truthfully, why would we? When I was young, dating involved mostly fun and excitement. Even if we became a couple, our schedule involved going to movies, concerts, plays, restaurants and clubs. One weekend we would hang out with friends; the next weekend we would stay at home and make dinner. It was a good time. My first big test of a relationship was planning a weekend getaway trip for the two of us. I always felt if we could get along over an extended weekend in a different environment, then the relationship was on track to succeed. Any talk about the future would be focused on living arrangements and/or our individual family dynamics and how to please each of our families. For example, which family’s house to go to for the holidays. WHEN ONE IS OLDER IN THE dating world, the priorities shift in my opinion. Sure, there is still the element of fun and excitement; but, as things progress and we get to the living together level, the conversation drifts toward those later in life possibilities. It is weird how falling takes on a whole different demeanor when one is older. I have noticed in myself how I walk differently now when the pavement outside is icy. The term, I believe, is walking like a penguin, to avoid slipping on the ice. Now, I have known a couple of individuals who had, what I refer to as, the Peter Pan syndrome. They did not want to grow up a/k/a old. One was in a committed relationship for some time. I thought things were going well until their significant other had a medical issue that required a hospital stay. Everything turned out fine; however, I noticed a change in my friend. Not at first, but sometimes they would come alone to events and talked less about their relationship. At some point, I did ask them how things were going but all they voiced involved the second thoughts they were having for the long-term. It seemed odd to me, but I never found out the real reason they broke off their relationship. I would hate to hear it was due to the medical issue. Some people are made for the long-term and others are not, I guess. See what I mean in this comedic drama. AFTER SPENDING SEVERAL YEARS TOGETHER AS a couple, the relationship suddenly ended when one of them decided to move out. Adding to the confusion soon after was finding out the person who left was diagnosed with an illness. What to do? With Jim Parsons (The Boys in the Band, Hidden Figures) as Michael Ausiello, Ben Aldridge (Knock at the Cabin, Pennyworth-TV) as Kit Cowan, Josh Pais (Joker, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) as Scott, Sally Field (80 for Brady, Lincoln) as Marilyn and Jeffery Self (You’re Killing Me, Search Party-TV) as Nick; this film based on the bestselling memoir was a touching story that showed the highs and lows of a love relationship. I thought the acting was above par and was impressed more than usual with Jim’s performance. There were a few scenes that bordered on being a cliché and predictable; but there were enough powerful scenes to make up for them. If planning to watch this film about love, I suggest having some tissue readily available.
3 stars
moviejoltz 