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Flash Movie Review: Road House
MY COMPASSION AND SUPPORT FOR THE underdog was rooted in me since I realized I was lower down on the pecking order. Having stood by myself many times as the lone student left to be picked for a team, and with the years of being abused and made the butt of jokes, my immediate tendencies are to root for the unappreciated underdog. A story I completely forgot about was retold to me at a recent school reunion by a friend of mine from elementary school. There was going to be a school dance and though he wanted to go, he did not know how to dance. Without hesitation, I said I would teach him and started showing him a couple of dance steps. He soon gained confidence after a brief time and excitedly attended the dance. Something similar took place at my after-school job, where I worked in a warehouse filling and shipping orders. A new employee started a few weeks after me. After the training period was over, he was expected to keep up with the rest of the team. Unfortunately, he was slower than the rest and the manager would signal him out in front of all of us. I felt bad for him; he was a nice guy who was struggling. When the manager would go out for lunch, I started helping by showing him a faster way to pack up orders. It was not too long before the manager no longer picked on him which was a relief for all of us. I THOUGHT THINGS WOULD CHANGE AFTER college when I entered the business world, but it turned out not to be the case. Every job I had always had a scenario where the “bad” person came out on top. By bad, I mean sneaky, selfish, envious, devious, to name a few. There was one salesperson who treated the lower-level employees with disrespect. Always dressed in the finest suits, driving expensive cars, he would shove part of his work onto others to do for him. One got the sense he felt it was beneath him to pack his sample run for shipment to his customers. He was paid on commission and had some large accounts which inflated his paycheck. Every other salesperson did their own sample shipments except for him. And he was one of the highest paid salespeople in the company. I found him annoying, so never helped him. Instead, I would help the other sales staff. I just felt he was taking advantage of less fortunate people and I wanted to do my part to help the others. This mentality I have is what made me root for the main character in this remake of an action thriller. AN EX-UFC FIGHTER, NEEDING FUNDS, RELUNCTANTLY takes a job as a bouncer at a long-standing establishment in the Florida Keys. Figuring it would be a simple gig, the ex-fighter soon realizes something is not right about the area. With Jake Gyllenhaal (Ambulance, The Guilty) as Dalton, Daniela Melchior (The Suicide Club, Fast X) as Ellie, relative newcomer and fighter Conor McGregor as Knox, Billy Magnussen (Into the Woods, Game Night) as Ben Brandt and Jessica Williams (Booksmart, Fantastic Beasts franchise) as Frankie; this updated version had a few changes in it, which were fine by me. I thought the fight scenes were insane and am impressed with Jake’s transformation. The script had some holes in it since the story at times made no sense. But I did not care, realizing this is more of a popcorn movie, where you just sit back, do not think, and watch what unfolds. As mentioned earlier, I loved the underdog aspect and found Jake’s character endearing. There is not much more to say about it; it is a straightforward good vs evil plot, which has fine execution of its story. There were scenes of blood and violence and an extra scene during the ending credits.
2 ½ stars
Flash Movie Review: Entergalactic
ONE OF THE BEST PIECES OF advice given to me was I need to love myself before someone can love me. Never having a great self-image of myself, it took a long time to find my way to accepting and loving myself. Prior to getting to that place, I went through a period where I had a series of multiple dates that each one did not last more than two or three months. Looking back, I can see one factor that did not work in my favor. By not feeling good about myself and/or where I was in life, I was not able to connect with others on a deeper level. I stayed very guarded, not willing or to be more precise, not able to express a sense of joy and wonder about life. Most of my first dates were more like an interview, with me as the interviewer. It was easier for me to hear about someone else’s issues and try to fix them than me working on myself. I especially enjoyed the challenge when a first-time date talked about their ex, which many people say is a red flag. It never bothered me unless it sounded like they missed and wanted to get back with them, which has happened to me. On some level, hearing about someone else’s troubles with a previous partner made me feel like I was not the only one suffering from a bad relationship. FROM MY EXPERIENCES, WHEN ASKED I have offered advice to my friends who are dealing with dating issues. I have one friend who has avoided looking at their recent past relationships that ended with sadness. It is as if they take all their feelings and emotions and put them in a box to be stored somewhere in the back of their brain. I remember when their previous relationship ended and one week later, they were out on a date. When they finally asked me for advice, I asked them if they saw a pattern taking place from each breakup. Maintaining a safe environment for them to finally open up about it, they discovered certain things they do in each relationship. Once that connection was made, they got into exploring more about themselves and I could not be happier that today they are in a loving relationship that turned into marriage. When things fall into places where one feels good about themselves, their career, their life, then they can really make connections with other human beings. And I am not only talking about connecting on a love relationship, but with friends and family, the world opens for them to spread and share that love. I saw it in this animated, musical romantic comedy. AFTER GETTING HIRED BY A POPULAR publishing company and moving into a dream apartment, a graffiti artist finds himself balancing the aspects of his new life. He can also forget about the girlfriend who dumped him…or could he? With Kid Cudi (Need for Speed, X) voicing Jabari, Jessica Williams (Fantastic Beasts franchise, Booksmart) voicing Meadow, Laura Harrier (Spider-Man: Homecoming, White Men Can’t Jump) voicing Carmen, musical artist Ty Dolla Sign voicing Ky and Timothee Chalamet (Dune, Call Me by Your Name) voicing Jimmy; I found this film exciting. The reason is because it took a generic rom-com scenario and injected it with a new, creative flair that made viewing and listening to it so enjoyable. I thought the animation was excellent, to the point where one could almost see the characters as living, breathing human beings. The musical soundtrack fit the story perfectly and I liked the way the songs were introduced during it. Even when scenes were predictable, it did not matter to me because of the way the movie told the story. This was a confident and well-done production all around.
3 ½ stars
Flash Movie Review: The Incredible Jessica James
UNTIL I STARTED BELIEVING THERE WAS a reason for everything, I found myself getting stuck in place many times over. Imagine being in a relationship, thinking all is good, then suddenly you get blindsided and you are alone. At that point you have a choice; either feel sorry for yourself and wallow in self-pity or reflect on your actions that led up to the moment, to see if you are following some kind of unconscious pattern or fear. There was a time where I had the same experience being repeated in my relationships. At first, I would only focus on my feelings of hurt and anger. Until I started looking at common traits between the relationships and believing there was a reason this was happening to me, did I start to understand what had happened. A change took place and I found myself reacting differently to dates and relationships. With this new awareness, I found myself being able to also see the patterns my friends were getting into in their relationships. There were many times when friends would tell me about something their date said or did where I would tell them not to take it personally; their date was playing out some pattern of their own making that had nothing to do with them. ONE FRIEND IN PARTICULAR KEPT REPEATING the same pattern of behavior that caused her not to succeed in her places of employment. She wanted to do something specific that she felt she was best qualified to do. The issue was with each job, she did not take full ownership of her responsibilities. The result was she never got promoted. She would become resentful, letting it build up until she quit and looked for a new place of employment. This pattern was repeated several times and with each job she became more hardened and inflexible. I understood she wanted to do something different, but it did not make sense to me to be miserable in the meantime. It is like when I walk up to a store’s customer service counter and am met by a surly employee who is not helpful. I just want to say to the employee if they are so unhappy then quit. Being miserable and feeling bad will not get one to the place where they want to be; at least that is my way of thinking. Sure, it is easy to become cynical and disillusioned, but this is why I feel there are no accidents. Be present, be available and believe in purpose because once you do, you will have an easier go in achieving your dreams. I firmly believer this and think the main character in this comedy comes to understand this concept. DESPITE THE CONTINUAL REJECTION NOTICES JESSICA James, played by Jessica Williams (Booksmart, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald), still believed she could be a playwright. She just needed to convince people of it. With Chris O’Dowd (The Sapphires, Love After Love) as Boone, LaKeith Stanfield (Knives Out, The Photograph) as Damon, Noel Wells (Mr. Roosevelt, Master of None-TV) as Tasha and Zabryna Guevara (Marley & Me, X-Men: Days of Future Past) as Mrs. Phillips; this film festival nominee at first glance appeared to be a typical rom-com movie. However, the casting of Jessica and Chris turned this story into something new and fresh; I thoroughly enjoyed these 2 actors’ performances. The interactions between them was fun to watch, which made this viewing easier to sit through for me. The script had its predictable parts at times, but again due to the writing and delivery of the dialog, I did not mind how the story was playing out. The added benefit in seeing this picture was seeing a little of my old self make an appearance; gratefully only a short appearance.
2 ½ stars
Flash Movie Review: Booksmart
THERE SHE SAT AS IF WAITING for her prime minister to enter and update her on world events. I would only see her in the communal dining area of the facility. Her hair perfectly coiffed was never out of place, though it did look like there was a thin layer of shellac coating it. Many of the residents would be dressed in a variety of clothing; it could be sleepwear or casual, one never knew what they would be wearing when they came down to the dining room. However, she was always immaculately dressed. Every blouse was tucked in, every button closed and everything always looking like it was just pressed at the cleaners. I asked one of the attendants about her, since I never saw anyone interacting with her. They told me she had been well off financially, but presently she was getting assistance from the state. I was curious why no one talked to her and was told when she became a resident of the nursing home she treated everyone as if they were her servant; except for pointing to things she wanted, she never acknowledged any of the other residents. I guess in her former life she only traveled in circles with other wealthy individuals. SOME PEOPLE FIND THEIR CLIQUE AND refuse to ever stray from it; for others, it is decided for them whether they want it or not. I never understood the power of a clique until I was in school. Each clique had a certain level of importance which brought them specific benefits. The jocks, as one clique was known by, were on the top of the food chain. Because they had the ability to bring massive glory to the school based on their team record, they pretty much had free reign across all school lines. Sure, there would be one teacher who would assert their authority over a jock; but it would rarely take hold for long. Theater students had their own language in a way. They were not afraid to show their emotions, which did not always work to their advantage. Though I wanted to be part of a group simply for survival purposes, I never quite fit into one category. It is the same in my adult life. Being part of a clique for me feels like I must stifle other aspects of my life. I dislike being typecast or pigeon-holed simply because I participate in a particular activity. Because of this I felt I understood what the two leads in this comedy were facing. WITH THEIR TIME ABOUT TO END on their high school years, best friends Amy and Molly, played by Kaitlyn Dever (Short Term 12, Last Man Standing-TV) and Beanie Feldstein (The Female Brain, Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising), realize they have one day to experience the fun side of high school life and not be the book nerds that everyone believes them to be. With Jessica Williams (Delivery Man, Hot Tub Time Machine 2) as Miss Fine, Jason Sudeikis (Colossal, We’re the Millers) as Principal Brown and Lisa Kudrow (The Opposite of Sex, Friends-TV) as Charmaine; this coming of age, friendship genre story had some fine moments. It was a story that we’ve seen before; however, I found the two female leads endearing. The humor was raunchy at times, but I still enjoyed it and the way the humor could be both verbal and/or physical. Kaitlyn and Beanie worked well together, coming across as two best high school friends. After a point I did feel as if the story was becoming monotonous; at least the soundtrack kept me entertained. With this being the director’s first time out, I appreciated the pacing and telling of the story. The only other thing I have to say is this picture did bring back memories of cliques from my school years.
2 ½ stars
moviejoltz 