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Flash Movie Review: The Tale

Oct 1

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FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE never experienced, and I hope you never do, such a thing; I will try to give you a glimpse of what can take place in a person’s mind when their personal space has been violated. The sense of fear and dread cover you completely with a heaviness as if you had just fallen into a huge dunk tank of water. Your hearing becomes distorted because the brain can no longer decipher the difference between a rapidly beating heart and the sounds coming from the outside of your body as it is trying to repel the onslaught of foreign forces. The muscles of your body try to stay unified as one complete repellent; but it is like holding your breath—at some point you have no choice but to let go. And then, muscle after muscle retreats and hides back inside of your body. Though the eyes may be open, what they are seeing is a colorless slow-motion slice of life. It is as if everyone around is oblivious to you; they are going through the motions but at a much slower pace. Joining the list of senses offline is the sense of taste. One’s mouth gets so dry it hampers the ability to utter any sounds. There is nothing to taste anyway when one’s teeth are clenched. The only sense that appears to be working during the time is smell. You might not be able to smell anything more than one scent; however, that one odor is intensely strong so you will never forget it.      PEOPLE WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED SUCH horror gain the ability to spot another like victim. There are certain mannerisms and traits that will not register with the general population; only those with a shared experience can sense the hurt and pain inside a person. I will never forget the time when two new people came into one of my classes. They were a teenaged girl and her parent. Whenever a new person comes into class, I try to talk to them before we start, to get an idea of their physical capabilities. After introducing myself, I sensed something was not right when I saw the girl was looking down at the ground when she was talking to me. Her posture and arms placement were a tipoff for me. As I began to teach class, I watched her movements. By the end of class I felt for sure the teenager was going through emotional turmoil. I did not say anything at the time as I wanted to see if there would be any changes in the following weeks. After a month of them coming to class the opportunity presented itself for me to share my feelings with the parent. I wish there would have been someone there to help the main character when she was young in this dramatic, mystery thriller.      WHEN HER MOTHER FINDS AND READS a story she wrote when she was 13 years old, the questions her mother was asking made Jennifer, played by Laura Dern (Marriage Story, Cold Pursuit), think twice about that special time in her life. With Jason Ritter (Raise Your Voice, W.) as Bill, Common (Suicide Squad, The Informer) as Martin, Elizabeth Debicki (Tenet, Widows) as Mrs. G and Ellen Burstyn (The Exorcist, Requiem for a Dream) as Nettie; this film festival winner’s story was powerful. I thought the script was well written, even though I was uncomfortable watching this movie at times. Laura was outstanding in the role and the rest of the cast did their part to present a solid piece of work that was believable and real. My understanding about the story is that it is partially or completely autobiographical; if so, there were a couple of scenes that did not ring as true as the others. I did not find it to be such a distraction that took me away from my enjoyment of the picture. The story is intense and may make some viewers uncomfortable; but it will give you some insight into the horrors some people experience in life.                                

 3 ¼ stars   

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Flash Movie Review: The East

Jun 12

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I treat companies the same way I treat actors and musical artists. In my cycle classes I do everything I can to avoid playing music from artists associated with racist, sexist or prejudiced lyrics or actions. This applies to actors as well; I will boycott their movies, not even watching them on DVD or cable. I do the same thing with companies. When I travel, one of my guilty pleasures is to eat at fast food restaurants. Recently I discovered one of my favorite out of state places has discriminated against a group of people. Since I do not have a tolerance for people who are prejudiced, I no longer can visit that restaurant chain. Will it hurt their quarterly sales? Not at all, but I do not care. Morally I cannot purchase anything from them. A group of anarchists in this thrilling movie take things beyond what I have done. Brit Marling (Another Earth, Sound of My Voice) played Sarah, a skilled investigator working for a corporate security firm headed by Sharon, played by Patricia Clarkson (Married Life, Easy A). A radical group called the East has been targeting individuals from large corporations. Sarah’s assignment was to infiltrate the group and expose them. Led by the mysterious Benji, played by Alexander Skarsgard (What Maisie Knew, Battleship), the group was cautious around her before revealing their true purpose. This mystery was well thought out, building up the tension as Sarah delved deeper into the group’s activities. Brit worked on the script with the director, creating an intelligent, thought provoking story; I enjoyed watching this film. Ellen Page (Inception, Juno) as Izzy and Toby Kebbell (RocknRolla, Wrath of the Titans) as Doc were exceptional in the roles they played. Having seen Brit’s previous movies and now this one, I am impressed with her writing and acting abilities. She is certainly creating a smart body of work for herself. This action drama only reinforced the beliefs I have regarding certain public individuals and corporations. There were a couple of scenes where blood was shown.

 

3 stars

Posted in Drama

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Flash Movie Review: Peter and Vandy

Feb 2

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I learned the hard way how important communication is in a relationship. Actions speak louder than words had always been the major way I would convey my feelings. When a friend or relative would tell me they loved me; my reciprocation would stumble out of my mouth, landing in a nervous thud. In one of my most meaningful relationships, a day did not go by without me being told that I was loved. After a short time the importance of the word “love” diminished for me, due to hearing it every day like one would hear the word hello. When my friends carried on how I did not flinch when my significant other stuck their finger in my lip balm, in my brain I was simply showing my love. Watching this movie reinforced my belief in the power of communication. The story looked at the relationship between Peter and Vandy, showing different stages of their growth. Jason Ritter (Parenthood-TV, Freddy vs. Jason) and Jess Weixler (Teeth, The Big Bad Swim) were perfectly cast as Peter and Vandy. Their expressive faces beautifully conveyed the emotions they were feeling without the need of dialog. This Sundance nominated movie told the story in short scenes that jumped back and forth in time. At the start I had a hard time connecting to the out of order segments. But as more was revealed about the couple, the easier it was for me to understand the story. I thought this film was spot on in showing how communication or the lack of molds the relationship between two people. It was a truthful depiction in my opinion. Having gone through the love and loss of someone special, this romantic drama resonated deep inside of me.

 

3 stars — DVD

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