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Flash Movie Review: The Fish Thief: A Great Lakes Mystery
DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS I WAS at the beach five times a week on average. It was a couple of blocks away from where we lived. My favorite thing to do at the beach was to build sandcastles. I had a small collection of various sized buckets I would bring with me to create castles, forts, mazes, walled cities, and swimming pools. I had an active imagination. One of my earliest memories is standing with a relative in the water, close to shore. I was holding onto her bathing suit to steady myself. A large wave suddenly came up and knocked me over which caused me to rip her bathing suit because I would not let go. During the summer, the neighborhood parents would always make a point of taking their children to the beach, so I rarely had to play by myself; there were a lot of kids in my neighborhood. Another reason I liked going to the beach was because from that vantage point, I could see the entire outline of our city’s downtown skyline. The tall skyscrapers fascinated me and though I tried reproducing them in sand, I never got past the second floor before the sand would cascade down into a heap. IT WAS NOT UNTIL WE STARTED studying geography in elementary school, where I discovered the lake I played in was an important part of a whole ecosystem in the Midwest. Up until that point, though I knew oceans were bigger than lakes, the only difference I could see between my lake and the Atlantic Ocean was my lake did not have saltwater in it. Otherwise, our lake had big waves, seaweed and when I looked out to the horizon, all I saw was water no land mass. In class, I discovered my lake was part of a group of five lakes that were known as the Great Lakes. The combination of lakes contained one fifth of the earth’s freshwater supply. All this time I had no idea how important my lake was; but, once I found out about all these facts, I certainly felt a sense of pride that I was lucky enough to have it walking distance from my house. As I got older, I started exploring more of the lakefront, even doing a road trip that went around the lake into other states. There was only one period of time when I avoided going to the beach and I totally forgot all about it until I saw it being discussed in this fascinating documentary. HAVING BEEN THE LIFEBLOOD AND ECONOMIC engine to so many people and businesses, a mystery began to unfold that would be a threat to every single living thing associated with the Great Lakes. Written and directed by Lindsey Haskin (Freshwater Seas: The Great Lakes) and narrated by J.K. Simmons (Red One, Saturday Night), I found this film more than just entertaining, it was informative and literally a walk back through time. Growing up and hearing only about the sensational news around the lakes, like one newspaper headline that read Lake Erie is dead and another one about the amount of dead Alewife fish coming onto shore, I enjoyed hearing about the history and impact of these and other events in this picture. I wondered if it mattered if viewers without any history to the Great Lakes would care about watching this movie and I think it would still be interesting to non-lake viewers. A lot of information was given in this film, but it was done in such a way that it was not tedious or overwhelming. Plus, the use of archival films and photographs made the information entertaining. For those who have a curiosity about such things, I feel they will appreciate watching the unfolding of a century of history in the middle of our country.
3 stars
Flash Movie Review: Red One
IT NEVER OCCURRED TO ME BEFORE, but I believe everything you want to learn about humanity can be found in a store and its parking lot. Before you decide I must have gone off the deep end, please hear me out. I will start with the parking lot or any large busy parking lot. Humans can be competitive when looking for a parking spot. There have been so many times I have seen people waiting for a spot when suddenly another driver swings around them and grabs the space that was being vacated. Sadly, humans are selfish, and you can see it when an able-bodied person parks in a handicapped parking spot. I have seen people getting out of their cars to physically fight over a parking place. Now one of the two worst things I have experienced in a parking lot happened on New Year’s Eve Day. I pulled into a parking spot, shut my car off and sat there looking at my grocery list. Suddenly, my car took a lurch forward. I looked in the rearview mirror and saw the back end of a car up against me. Getting out of the car, I quickly glanced at the car’s license plate as I walked up to the driver. She offered her insurance information; I took it and got back into my car to call my insurance company. Long story short, I filed a claim and her insurance company, I assumed with her prompting, accused me of backing up into her. After explaining my car was turned off and providing the photo I snapped as I was walking away from her at the time of the accident, they finally agreed to pay for the damage done to my car. THE OTHER WORST EVENT I WITNESSED in a parking lot was at a grocery store’s parking lot. I was walking down the row of parked cars towards the store’s entrance when a driver ahead backed out of their space and hit the back of a parked car across the lane, breaking its rear lights. The driver did not even get out to look at the damage they caused when I saw their car’s reverse lights go off. I got up to their driver’s door as they started to pull away. Rapping on the window, they stopped and looked up at me as their window rolled down. I told them about the damage they caused, and they needed to go inside the store to find the owner of the car. Their response stunned me; they said they should not have to because there have been times it has happened to them. I told them that it does not make them right and they need to park and inform the owner. Reluctantly they pulled back into their spot, got out of the car and walked into the store. As I said before, one can see all aspects of humanity in a crowded parking lot. And none of the events I wrote about except for New Year’s Eve took place during a holiday. So, imagine what people might do when they are under stress during their holiday shopping. It would not surprise me if someone tried to act like the villain in this action fantasy, adventure holiday comedy. WHEN SANTA CLAUS IS KIDNAPPED JUST before the start of Christmas, it is up to the North Pole’s Chief of Security to track him down and save the holiday. The first thing he will have to do is work with an infamous computer hacker. With Dwayne Johnson (Black Adam, Red Notice) as Callum Drift, Chris Evans (Pain Hustlers, The Gray Man) as Jack O’Malley, Lucy Liu (Carlie’s Angels franchise, Kill Bill: Vol. 1) as Zoe, J.K. Simmons (Saturday Night, Whiplash) as Nick, and Bonnie Hunt (Jumanji, The Green Mile) as Mrs. Claus; this film had a story that did not know what it wanted to be. It was part superhero, part drama, part satire, part fantasy, and part comedy. Truthfully because I like superhero movies, I did not mind this as much as others in this genre. For me, it has to do with Dwayne Johson. He is such a bankable screen presence, though this role was one of his typical ones. It was obvious the cast was having fun with the silly script, playing off each other well. As for the special effects, they were a hit and miss; some were good, and others were not. Overall, this film was like watching a beautiful Christmas tree that had several strands of its lights out. If one focuses on the good parts and ignores the others, then this can be an agreeable viewing experience for the holidays.
2 ¼ stars
Flash Movie Review: The Tomorrow War
IT TOOK ME A MOMENT TO comprehend what had just happened in front of me. I looked at the receptacle to see if there were any markings on it that would justify what my friend had done. Since there weren’t, I had to ask my friend if his building recycles. He told me they did not; I was shocked. Maybe I was naïve, but I thought all apartment and condominium buildings collected the inhabitants’ recyclables. I told him my thoughts and he said there was a proposal presented to the condo association a couple of years ago, to set up a recycling program; but it was turned down in the voting process. Turned down in the voting?!? I could not believe it. The act of recycling seems like such a no brainer to me; why wouldn’t someone want to do it to help the planet. It is not like I am an extreme recycler who goes around cleaning up highways and beaches; however, if I can recycle plastic items that will go through a process to be repurposed as a park bench or deck, what is the problem? We can save some trees. I could not resist, so I asked my friend if there were any nearby recycling stations, he could bring his stuff. Sadly, there was nothing close by. All I could think about was what type of people lived in his condo building, who voted not to recycle. I HAVE LIVED LONG ENOUGH TO notice the changes that have taken place in our world. When I was a small boy, I used to constantly go swimming in a nearby lake. Now, I would not even wade into it. In elementary school back then I think there was only one student who had asthma; today I know many students and young adults who have it. Could it be something is in the air now that was not years ago? I look at the younger generation and wonder what challenges they will face due to what we as a society have or have not been doing to the planet. Especially because of the heatwave that has been scorching the western states, I wonder if the next generation will still see icebergs or the polar cap. Years from now, I cannot help wondering what the food chain will be. Will there still be corn or wheat? For those who eat red meat, will it all be artificial, pumped with gene altering hormones? I think people, especially those with children, would want to do their part to keep the planet alive and well. Here in this action, adventure drama is an example of what one father was willing to do to save the planet. WHEN THE MILITARY CAME, SCIENCE TEACHER Dan Forester, played by Chris Pratt (The Kid, Guardians of the Galaxy franchise), had no choice but to join the fight to save Earth, despite what his wife and daughter wanted him to do. With Yvonne Strahovski (The Handmaid’s Tale-TV, All I See is You) as Colonel Muri Forester, J.K. Simmons (Palm Springs, 21 Bridges) as James Forester, Betty Gilpin (Isn’t it Romantic, The Hunt) as Emmy Forester and Sam Richardson (We’re the Millers, Veep-TV) as Charlie, this science fiction film had potential to become a big attention grabber. However, I think it needed help from a big theater screen. The story was interesting but as I was watching this picture, I felt I had seen some of the story before. At least the action scenes were good; however, I found the pacing uneven and there were times where the script was not believable. In fact, I found a couple of scenes were just ridiculous. Too bad, because I was intrigued with the family connection story line. As I mentioned earlier, maybe this movie would have benefitted by being shown in the theater because as it stands now, I was left with wanting to experience something more.
2 ¼ stars
Flash Movie Review: Klaus
EVERY YEAR AT THIS TIME ME and a variety of family members would make our pilgrimage to the wealthy suburb where all the fancy holiday decorations lived. We were a caravan of cars that traveled close to each other as we made our way along the city streets, always staying in the right lane. Nothing I saw compared to the decorations that were on display in this neighborhood. There was one house we drove by, where we would roll down our windows, because they had a full mechanical chorus singing on the front lawn. The house next door had life sized wooden soldiers that reminded me of the Laurel and Hardy movie, “March of the Wooden Soldiers.” The soldiers were lined up all along the walkway leading up to the house’s double front doors, besides protecting the edges of the front lawn. One of my favorite houses had a group of elf puppets dancing and twirling across the front porch while a waving Santa and his reindeer were parked on top of the roof. As a little kid it seemed as if we were riding up and down the neighborhood’s streets for hours because of so many decorated houses. Some houses displayed the same decorations year after year; but others always had something new each holiday season. Though there were not many, I always felt bad for the houses that only had a couple of decorations or a single string of lights. AT SOME POINT AS I WAS getting older, I began to question the purpose for someone to have so many elaborate decorations; what did these items represent to the owners? Did having more decorations mean that one was more religious? I wondered if all the displays were due to that “keeping up with the Joneses” syndrome. For someone to celebrate the holiday, they had to have decorations? I took it a step further; how did it come to pass that putting up decorations was part of the holiday. And what about having a tree in the house; what was the reason for getting ornaments and hanging them on the tree? I started looking at everything and wanted to know where and how did all these customs come into being. Even Santa Claus, what took place centuries ago that people began to talk about a man with flying reindeer, who was able to leave a present in every single decorated house around the world? There are times when I hear someone talk about the amount of presents they have to buy and how much stress this places on them, where I wonder why do they have to buy so much stuff; what does all this stuff have to do with celebrating the holiday? Well, I finally can get some answers because of this Oscar nominated animated movie. SENT TO A REMOTE TOWN TO open a post office, the postmaster’s son Jesper, voiced by Jason Schwartzman (Moonrise Kingdom, Listen Up Philip), finds a place where all the citizens are fighting each other. The last thing they want to do is mail a letter. If he wants to get back home, he will need to find a way to get people to use the mail. With J.K. Simmons (21 Bridges, Whiplash) voicing Klaus, Rashida Jones (The Social Network, Celeste & Jesse Forever) voicing Alva, Will Sasso (The Three Stooges, Southland Tales) voicing Mr. Ellingboe and Joan Cusack (In & Out, Working Girl) voicing Mrs. Krum; this film festival winning adventure comedy was a pure treat to watch. The story was laid out beautifully, which goes the same for the old-fashioned animation. It may be possible that younger viewers may not get the wonderful message embedded into the script, but it would be okay because there were so many entertaining scenes throughout the picture. I could absolutely see this film becoming a holiday classic; it was so well done on every level.
3 ½ stars
Flash Movie Review: 21 Bridges
IT DOESN’T TAKE MUCH FOR SOMEONE these days to get a reputation. I am guilty in being quick to judge someone based on their actions. There was an employee I used to work with who I determined was addicted to her phone or more specifically, watching videos on her cell phone. The reason why I quickly came to this conclusion was because the first few times I had to consult with her about business, she did not hear me walking up to her. She was peering down at her phone, ear buds stuck in her ears, while her computer screen showed it was in sleep mode. I had to repeat myself to get her attention before she would look up at me and remove her ear buds. The first couple of times I thought she was listening to music; but I soon discovered she was watching a television show. Maybe I am old school, but I was stunned by her audacity to sit at her desk and watch a TV series while the rest of us were working. Did she think she was being paid to watch television? From my first few encounters with her I determined she was not an ideal worker. One could say she was lazy, distracted, clueless, unmotivated or several other adjectives if they chose; I decided she was unreliable because of all the TV she was watching instead of doing her job. NOW MAYBE THAT EMPLOYEE WAS GOOD at her job and able to keep up with her workload while watching television. I think most people make snap judgements about others based on what they see—on the surface. There was a time when friends of mine would not include me when they went out to the clubs, because I did not drink alcohol. I did not know that was the reason at the time. I found out when I asked a friend about it and he said the group thought I would not be a fun addition because I did not drink. I asked him what one had to do with the other; he could not come up with any proof. After that, I was included in the group’s activities and in my own way, showed them one should not make assumptions or judgements without seeing things for themselves. As I am getting older, I discovered I do not have control over people’s perceptions about me. As long as I am doing what I am supposed to be doing then that is all that matters to me. The main character in this dramatic, crime film could certainly relate to this. WHEN SEVERAL POLICE OFFICERS WERE KILLED one night detective Andre Davis, played by Chadwick Boseman (Black Panther, Marshall), was put on the case specifically because of his reputation. One never wanted to be facing him when he had a gun in his hands. With Sienna Miller (American Sniper, The Lost City of Z) as Frankie Burns, J.K. Simmons (The Front Runner, Patriots Day) as Captain McKenna, Stephan James (Race, If Beale Street Could Talk) as Michael and Taylor Kitsch (Battleship, Only the Brave) as Ray; this action movie benefited with Chadwick in the lead role. I thought he did the best he could with the script. Unfortunately, the story was predictable, and the script did not help disguise it. Nonetheless, I enjoyed watching this film due to the acting and chase scenes. There were several scenes with blood, but gratefully nothing I found gory. As some of you may know, I do not sit and try to figure out where the story will go when I watch a movie. With this picture, I quickly figured out who were the “bad” people. It did not ruin the viewing experience for me, but I was glad I did not pay full price for my ticket.
2 ½ 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: Father Figures
I WAS SYMPATHITIC TO the sisters’ plight. Each from the same mother had been adopted at birth; raised by their adoptive parents in the same home and yet they were nothing alike, except in appearance. Where daylight is different to nighttime, so were the sisters in temperament, personality and mannerisms among other traits. As the two girls grew older they found something in common; this was a rarity in itself. They each became curious about who were their birth parents. Having matured with more self-awareness, the sisters felt this need to seek out their birth parents; if not in person, at least hopefully to get medical and health backgrounds on both. You see one sister had health issues besides having an addictive personality; the other one had a different type of health issue regarding a disease. I could only imagine what was going through their minds having to deal with adult issues without having any family history about them. I know when I go to the dermatologist he always asks me about my parents’ health history when looking at something on my skin. I am sure if I were to tell him my parents had the same thing, he would act more cautiously in his assessment. If the sisters’ were in the same position I am sure it would be upsetting if they had to tell the doctor they did not know. PULLING OUT THE GENES from the family gene pool is at best a crapshoot. Just like the two sisters I mentioned, I find the whole genetic aspect to humans fascinating. One thing that intrigues me is how one family’s children all look like one of their parents, while another family has children that look like they were conceived by completely different parents. Now what do you think about a family who has both birth and adopted children, where they all share common characteristics? There is a current popular television show that has this very same scenario and I find myself getting drawn more and more into their stories. I have said this before: babies come into this world with a blank slate; they do not know about hate or prejudice, they learn it. With that in mind I can understand why many children are curious or not interested to know the individuals responsible for bringing them into this world. That feeling was quite evident in this comedic movie. TWIN BROTHERS KYLE AND PETER Reynolds, played by Owen Wilson (Wedding Crashers, No Escape) and Ed Helms (Vacation, The Office-TV), were stunned that their mother Helen, played by Glenn Close (Air Force One, 101 Dalmatians franchise), kept a secret from them about their father for all these years. The only thing the brothers wanted to do was find their birth father. Among the celebrity cast, this film had J.K. Simmons (The Bachelors, Whiplash) as Roland Hunt and Katt Williams (Norbit, Scary Movie 5) as the hitchhiker. I was surprised with such a prominent group of actors that the movie studio approved such a dismal script. The story may have sounded fun but I am here to tell you there was little fun in this picture. Between slapstick humor to touching brotherly love I could not tell what the writers wanted to create, a heartwarming story or a funny road trip one. It was embarrassing to see some of the actors in this mess; though I enjoyed J.K. Simmons’ part. As for Owen he was a generic version of himself; it was the same thing I have seen before. Sadly I had no sympathy for the brothers or the story in this movie.
1 ½ stars
Flash Movie Review: Patriots Day
DURING my daily commute to work I pass 3 makeshift memorials that were set up by the side of the road. What they have in common are floral arrangements, ribbons and sadness. My guess is each person from the memorials perished from an auto accident. How tragic it must be for the family; based on past news articles, I can only imagine the circumstances of the accident. I remember one involved a boy riding his bicycle who was struck by a car that swerved out of the way of a tarp that fell off of a truck in front of them, momentarily blinding the driver. Can you imagine if this took place in front of the boy’s house and the family sees the memorial every day? I do not know how I would handle it, seeing a reminder outside my door every day, even without a memorial. RECENTLY I was driving through my old neighborhood with a friend who was curious to see my old stomping grounds. Driving through several blocks, I shared memories and tidbits while pointing out various places. As I drove by one particular building I started to tear up from the flood of awful memories associated with the place. My friend saw the change in me and asked what was going on inside of me. Taking a breath I started to tell them about some of the horrible things that were done to me when I was much younger. It felt like I was reliving them as I spoke them out loud. Though I believe each of us learns something from every experience, thinking about that time after all these years still made me feel sad and angry. I do not think I am alone in saying recalling tough, challenging events in the past is a hard thing to do; this is why it was not easy for me to watch this dramatic historical thriller. FROM an act of terror during the Boston marathon the citizens of Boston united in a powerful way. This film festival winning movie written and directed by Peter Berg (Deepwater Horizon, Lone Survivor) starred Mark Wahlberg (Deepwater Horizon, Daddy’s Home) as Police Sergeant Tommy Saunders, Michelle Monaghan (Sleepless, Source Code) as Carol Saunders, John Goodman (10 Cloverfield Lane, Love the Coopers) as Commissioner Ed Davis and Kevin Bacon (Black Mass, Elephant White) as Special Agent Richard DesLauriers. I felt Peter presented a thoughtful, reflective story that did not sink into dramatic hyperbole. Because the script was sensitively written I thought the actors did fine in their roles and in regards to Mark he was in his element. Since I was quite familiar with this story, knowing people who were affected by it, I thought I would not have been as engaged in the movie. It turned out I was very much into the film as there were multiple scenes that showed the things taking place away from the public; it was fascinating to watch. I will say it was not easy to sit and watch this movie due to seeing the violence and injuries again. The images I remembered all came up as the story unfolded on the big screen. Let me just say if you have the stomach to revisit this event then it is worth watching this well done film.
3 stars
Flash Movie Review: La La Land
GREAT results can happen when one’s dream remains in a somewhat fluid state, like a soap bubble that grows with the input of more air. A young person grew up with the dream of living in the country, where her art studio would inhabit the abandoned barn on her property. Her skills as an artist were refined over the years to the point she was able to earn a living selling her works. From each sale she took a portion of the profit and squirreled it away to eventually become the down payment for her dream. But something happened when she fell in love with a man who had his own dreams. Ever since he was a young boy he wanted to live in a high rise apartment building that had a doorman. All of his schooling was laid out towards making his dream come true; he finally had his dream job that took him to all parts of the world. The only thing left was to save up and find that special apartment that would be his home base, a secure beacon high above the city. DREAMS have always been a part of my internal motivations. The story I wrote to start out this review is similar to something I experienced when I met someone who had their own dreams. Trust me it was not the easiest thing to do, to let someone else’s dream form a bond with my own; however, once I realized our dreams could blend together without losing our goals it got easier. A relationship is partially a negotiation, a compromise; the key is paring down to the important aspects of one’s dreams then finding a way where they can remain intact within the new dream being formed between two people. Let the couple in this musical movie show you. SPARKS formed right from the start when aspiring actress Mia and jazz musician Sebastian, played by Emma Stone (The Amazing Spider-Man franchise, The Help) and Ryan Gosling (The Big Short, The Place Beyond the Pines), first met. Each came into the relationship with a dream; the question was how to achieve it. This comedic drama started out with a bang by having a big, opening musical number. If you are not a fan of musicals and their history there is a good chance this film will not have a strong impact on you. I knew Ryan had a musical background but did not know Emma could sing; both of them had a wonderful chemistry together. With J.K. Simmons (Whiplash, The Closer-TV) as Bill and musical artist John Legend (Soul Men) as Keith for part of the cast, the story was partially an homage to those old fashioned musicals from the 1930s and 40s. The dance numbers were fun but I found the music only okay, nothing very memorable. The allure of this film I believe is due to its novelty; there hasn’t been a good film in this genre recently. I will tell you I enjoyed this movie, especially the story line; however, I was a bit confused to the point I felt I must have missed something, wondering if I needed to see the movie again. Maybe from the unavoidable buzz I was hearing I dreamt this was going to be one of my 4 star movies.
3 stars
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