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Flash Movie Review: Your Place or Mine
THERE WAS ALWAYS THAT AWKWARD MOMENT when I would introduce one of my best friends to my date. You see, a couple of my closest friends are female; one of them was my girlfriend in elementary school. Because I have had such a long history with my closest friends, they mince no words in voicing an opinion and for that, I am grateful. Some of the people I have dated never made it to the “meeting the best friend” stage; but others had, and a few did so with trepidation. I understood their concerns because it was rare for me not to talk about my best friends early in the relationship. It was never difficult for them to figure out what an important part these friends play in my life, and I could understand their concerns because if I was in their place, I would probably feel the same way. I never considered meeting my friends as a test; it was more about me having strong enough feelings towards this person that I wanted my best friends to see for themselves. Some dates, I found out later, felt threatened on some level. If I was able to perceive it, I would try to start a conversation with them to understand why. What became apparent to me among those that felt threatened was they all seemed to lack a certain level of confidence. At some point soon after meeting these dates they would drift away from maintaining their relationship with me. WHENEVER I MET FOR THE FIRST time my date’s friends, I always kept a mindset that I knew I was going to be judged but I never gave it a thought. I could only be myself; if my date needed reassurances or criticisms from their friends I was okay with it. However, if they acted on their friends’ comments then I knew the two of us were not meant to be together. There were never any hard feelings. The thing I found interesting was the fact that I was in a minority, because not many of the people I dated had close friends of the opposite sex. My way of thinking was, why wouldn’t they want to have that opportunity to see things through the eyes of someone different. Not that I ever made a big deal about it; it was just a curiosity I have always had inside of me. Because of my close friends, I feel I have a better appreciation or understanding of the things that make a relationship stronger. Of course, the fundamental action in any relationship is the ability to communicate; one must be able to express their feelings. This is good advice even for the characters in this romantic comedy. WHEN LONG TERM FRIENDS SWAP THEIR homes for a short period of time to help one of them in a pinch, they discover things they never knew about each other, even after all the years they have been friends. With Reese Witherspoon (Walk the Line, Home Again) as Debbie Dunn, Ashton Kutcher (No Strings Attached, That ‘70s Show-TV) as Peter Coleman, Zoe Chao (Downhill, Strangers-TV) as Minka, Jesse Williams (The Cabin in the Woods, Grey’s Anatomy-TV) as Theo Martin and Wesley Kimmel (The Hater, Jimmy Kimmel Live!-TV) as Jack; this film’s strength was having Reese and Ashton in it. However, for a rom com, they had little chemistry between them. The script was quite generic and predictable, unfortunately. I thought the idea behind the story was different, but there really was no emotional connections, let alone the odd roles left for the supporting cast. This was such a weird mix of scenarios, that I fell into a mindless state. Each of the main actors alone could have been better if they had the right script, though Ashton has not lost his ability to say something with just a look of his face or actions. When left with the choice of one of their places, you would be better off booking a room somewhere else.
1 ¾ stars
Flash Movie Review: Secret Headquarters
THROUGHOUT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, I ONLY SAW my best friend’s father twice. I never knew what he did for a living, I just remembered he was wearing a tie and hat the two times I saw him. I do not know why I remember that fact; maybe because I do not recall seeing any other father wearing a hat, not including the hats one only wore in winter. Though come to think of it, I did not see that many fathers of schoolmates; the majority were the ones that lived on our block. There was one father that said he was a college professor, but my friends and I never believed him. He was quite different; his reactions to things like his son hitting a baseball or his daughter performing ballet were odd in my opinion. I did not know the word back then; but thinking about him now, I can say he always had this pensive look on his face, as he studied his children’s playing. It was as if he were studying every movement his child did, looking for a flaw or a better way they could have done something. He had these thick round glasses that made him look like some type of inspector; at least that is what some of us thought. AS FOR MY FRIEND, HE DID not seem to mind his father’s absence from the various school functions where parents were invited to participate. It was not uncommon for a student to have only one parent show up to school events. I always found it curious that the school would plan events during the school day, asking for our parents to attend when I knew many of them were working. It seemed odd to me, like the school was just being polite in inviting parents, knowing full well they would not be able to attend because of their job. The parents that intrigued me the most were the ones who had to travel for business. This was a foreign concept in my awareness. Where were these parents flying and why couldn’t they just make contact by phone, were a couple of things I wondered. There was one dad whose daughter could not tell us what he did for a living. He happened to be built like an athlete with defined muscles across his tall frame. I used to imagine him being in the CIA or FBI; he just had the look of an agent with his dark sunglasses. If I had seen this movie back when I was a kid, I could see me wondering about that father. AFTER SCHOOL, A GROUP OF FRIENDS met up with their friend, who was at his dad’s house. While hanging out, they discover a hidden location underneath the house, just before a group of villains arrive. With Owen Wilson (Marry Me, No Escape) as Jack, Michael Pena (Fantasy Island, 12 Strong) as Argon, Walker Scobell (The Adam Project) as Charlie, Jesse Williams (The Cabin in the Woods, Grey’s Anatomy-TV) as Irons and Keith L. Williams (Good Boys, The Last Man on Earth-TV) as Berger; this action, adventure comedy had the cast to elevate the story. However, the script was too generic and pedestrian. I think part of the issue was the writers did not know what group to market for, kids or tweens. The humor was lacking to the point I was able to see what the punchline would be before it happened. Too bad because I thought Walker did an admirable job in his role. Now I have said this before, but if there is going to be a villain, they really need to be a “bad” person. The villain in this movie was too much like a cartoon character. I have a feeling this film will have many absent viewers. There was an extra scene early in the ending credits.
1 ¾ stars
moviejoltz 