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Flash Movie Review: Juror #2
THEY WERE NEW TO MY YOGA class, but for some reason which I could not explain at first the younger one stood out for me. Before class started, I walked up and introduced myself to them, asking if this was their first time doing yoga. The older one said yes; the younger one kept her eyes directed below my face, more towards my chest. Throughout the class the younger one stood out from everyone else, though I was sure that was not her intention. She would begin to do a pose but then stop herself to push her hair behind her ears or pull down the hem of her T-shirt. There was always something she felt she needed to do before doing the pose. The ones that challenged her more, she would sit down on her mat and watch everyone else. After class I made a point to go and talk to them, to see if they had any questions and to see if I could get a better understanding of the younger one. Unfortunately, she was not very communitive; the older one would answer for her. I was surprised when they kept coming to class; the older one said she had been feeling better since she started. However, something was nagging at the back of my brain regarding the younger one. THROUGH THOSE BEGINNING WEEKS WITH THEM, I kept getting a familiar feeling as I watched the younger one. Her actions and mannerisms reminded me of things I used to do. I did not want to admit it but the way she acted reminded me that her actions I used to do during the time I was being abused/bullied in school. It was such a strong reaction, that everything in me clicked and I was convinced she was a victim of the same thing. The big question was what do I do? I am a yoga/fitness instructor not a psychiatrist, though ironically that is what I was studying in college. Having gotten to know them better as the weeks went by, an opportunity appeared when the younger one did not show up one day for class, so I decided to broach the subject. The way I presented it was to tell my story to the older one, who was her mother. I talked about my weight issues which I could tell struck a chord in the mother because her daughter was overweight. Never did I say I thought her daughter was being abused; I only pointed out the actions I had observed during class. That was all I had to say, and the conversation ended with the mother thanking me for sharing my story. It was a couple of weeks later, when the daughter did not come to class again and her mother came up afterwards to thank me for saying something to her. It turned out her daughter was getting picked on at school and now the mother was aware and getting school officials involved. I was glad I said something and that it had a positive outcome. It is hard to say the same for the main character in this dramatic mystery crime thriller. SELECTED TO BE A JUROR, A soon to be father finds himself listening to a murder trial that has some familiar elements. What he knows could change the outcome. With Nicholas Hoult (The Order, Renfield) as Justin Kemp, Toni Collette (Mafia Mamma, The Estate) as Faith Killebrew, J.K. Simmons (Red One, The Union) as Harold, Kiefer Sutherland (They Cloned Tyrone, Flatliners) as Larry Lasker, and Zoey Deutch (Not Okay, Something From Tiffany’s) as Allison Crewson; this film was a crisp, no frills story that grabbed my attention from the start. Though the script had a few predictable moments in it, the cast was excellent, especially Nicholas and J.K., and the tension continued to build throughout the story. This was a conversational driven plot that posed interesting questions that made me think. Directed by Clint Eastwood, the pacing was consistent throughout the movie, while sticking to the main story line. Everything felt both right and scary about the jurors on this trial. If this becomes Clint’s last movie, he at least is ending on a high note.
3 ½ stars
Flash Movie Review: They Cloned Tyrone
FOR ME, IT ALL STARTED WITH bell bottom pants. They were the latest fashion trend when I was young, and it seemed as if everyone in school was getting a pair. I desperately wanted a pair, but no manufacturer had come out with pants in my size. It troubled me deeply because everywhere I looked kids were wearing these bell bottom pants in all kinds of styles. There were some that were huge at the bottom, so they were called elephant bells. Several girls in school had accents going down the sides of their pants, like rhinestones or metal studs. Boys stuck to basic styles on their pants like patterns that included stripes and plaids. I was stuck wearing my wide waisted pants and felt like an outsider. This was my first encounter where I was aware of peer pressure. Everyone wanted to “fit in” with the new style. Though no one said anything to me about it, I could tell something was different. I could not be part of the conversation about bell bottom pants and fashions. In the scheme of things, this was not a huge deal; however, it did mess my mind up where I felt like a large loser and put the focus on my weight which was the last thing I wanted to happen. Months went by and I quietly yearned to have a pair of those pants. Then one day while browsing in the neighborhood department store, I came across a display table filled with men’s pants. Rifling through all of them, I discovered a blue pair of bell bottom pants with white pinstripes, in my size. I finally arrived and could be part of the majority. DURING AND AFTER MY COLLEGE YEARS, I became keenly aware of the importance of looking and acting like everyone around you. This was particularly so at the bars and dance clubs. Walking into the club and not dressed for the part immediately left one being the only resident of an island in the middle of a sea of dancing, drinking, and laughing patrons. I did not have the physique to wear clingy, tight-fitting clothes with shirts unbuttoned enough to display one’s wares so to speak. I found myself staying on the fringes and to be honest, I soon found it preferable because I discovered, or it was self-preservation, I had an aversion to looking like a clone, like everyone else. As I looked around the bar, everyone was the same person. If one individual was wearing one of those Qiana silky shirts, they all were wearing the same kind. There was no room for individuality; I was feeling like a minority within a minority. Looking back now, it reminds me of those gated communities where everyone’s house and lawn must look the same. It also reminds me, in a way, of that movie, “The Stepford Wives;” where all the women live in the same way. If you are not familiar with it, you might see a similar vibe taking place in this action, comedy mystery. AFTER BEING TOLD HE WAS SHOT dead the night before, a drug dealer and two associates delve into the previous night’s events and discover something forbidding taking place right in their own neighborhood. With John Boyega (Star Wars franchise, The Woman King) as Fontaine, Jamie Foxx (Dreamgirls, Day Shift) as Slick Charles, Teyonah Parris (Dear White People, If Beale Street Could Talk) as Yo-Yo, Kiefer Sutherland (Flatliners, Forsaken) as Nixon and David Alan Grier (Native Son, Clifford the Big Red Dog) as The Preacher; this satire was slicker than Slick Charles. The throwback vibe of the script touched on the blaxploitation films of the 1970s, making this a wicked fun viewing experience. There was craziness, humor and science fiction blended in a smart, cool way. My only issue was part of the dialog was spoken too fast for me to understand it very well. I could make out some of the one liners being spoken, but not all the time. The pacing and direction were both on point and kept the story engaging and interesting. This was a smart, fun film with a unique style of its own.
3 ¼ stars
Flash Movie Review: Forsaken
It is a strange creature that can stick with you for years. For some people it is a positive thing; but not so much for others. The sneaky part is that you may not have done anything for it to latch on and become part of you. What I am talking about is a person’s reputation. I have the reputation of being a lover of chocolate; oh wait, that is not a good example. There was a girl in my elementary school who was the first female I ever heard use a curse word. Not that I am making a judgment or saying it is okay for males to swear but not females; it was just an observation I made at that time. Well from that quick utterance this girl got the reputation for being a “bad” girl, if you know what I mean. Among my friends I am known for being direct; I tend not to sugarcoat things. Now this is part of my reputation and I own it. There are some people who get a reputation due to a rumor being started about them or one time they did something out of character. If someone observes the uncharacteristic action and makes a snap judgment about the person, the seeds of a reputation are immediately planted and will flourish. It surprises me how these false reputations can spread like a flash fire. I will say there are times where having a false reputation can work to a person’s advantage. AFTER being away from home for so many years there were some townsfolk who did not believe, based on his reputation, that John Henry Clayton, played by Kiefer Sutherland (Phone Booth, Mirrors), came back just to settle down at home. This film festival nominated western had some beautiful landscapes in many scenes. With actors Donald Sutherland (The Hunger Games franchise, The Italian Job) as Reverend William Clayton, Brian Cox (Troy, Believe) as James McCurdy and Demi Moore (Ghost, Mr. Brooks) as Mary-Alice Watson; I thought the acting worked well in this drama. The story was not very original; it pretty much followed step by step instructions in creating a western. Just in case there are some of you who do not know what I mean, I will refrain from explaining it. But here is the thing, though I could see where the story was going I enjoyed watching the cast acting it out. The scenes between Kiefer and his father were interesting to me since they are father and son in real life that were now playing the same with their roles. It was good to see Demi getting back to acting; I thought she was fine in the role. For those of you who have the reputation of being a western movie lover, this would be a worthy watch. To those who may not be a fan of westerns, the acting and scenery is something worth seeing in this old fashioned film. There were scenes with blood and violence in them.
2 ½ stars
Flash Movie Review: Pompeii
There are some things in life worth fighting for, metaphorically speaking. If I believe something is the right thing to do, I will argue the point without any time limit. I am willing to fight traffic if it means I get to spend quality time with a friend. (I bet you thought I was going to say a movie.) Love is certainly worth fighting for, wouldn’t you agree? There was someone I dated where I was wiling to make sacrifices or more accurately compromises because I felt it would help the relationship continue to grow. You may think it is silly, but one of my strongest self-imposed rules is my last meal cannot start later than 6pm, for dietary reasons. They liked eating at 8pm, feeling my time was too early. Luckily we both wanted to keep investing in our relationship so we negotiated times and made adjustments to help each other. In this situation it was worth it to me, to fight myself in the name of love. This fighting for love was one of the things I admired about this dramatic action film. Kit Harington (Games of Thrones-TV, Silent Hill: Revelation 3D) played Milo, who witnessed his parents’ death at a young age. Orphaned and alone he grew up a slave until he was old enough to become a gladiator. None of his fights meant anything to him until one day he saw Princess Cassia of Pompeii, played by Emily Browning (Sucker Punch, The Uninvited). I enjoy watching a movie that includes a historic setting or reenactment. It allows me to add a visual to what I have learned in school and books. Unfortunately the story for this film was pretty much a cheap knockoff of the movie Titanic, except there was fire instead of water. Kiefer Sutherland (Phone Booth, 24-TV) was forgettable as Corvus. I actually felt bad for Kit; with all the work he did to sculpt his body, he should have devoted some time to polishing his acting abilities for the big screen. He was one dimensional throughout the film. The only actor who did decent acting was Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, Oz-TV) as fellow gladiator Atticus. I saw this film in 3D and it did nothing for me except cost me more money and made the picture look darker. The concept for this movie was silly to start with, add in the weak script and there really is no reason to fight your way to the movie theater to see this film. There were brief scenes that included blood.
1 2/3 stars
Flash Movie Review: Twelve
Wisdom comes with age and if that is the case then I am still a teenager. Well at least it does when it comes to my driving since I visited South and North Dakota, where they have no posted speed limits. If no one is in the car with me, I am an assertive driver. I cannot understand why cars want to keep getting in my way. Now before you think I am some reckless maniac, I at least do not text or brush my teeth in the car. Except for the driving thing, I was never one for acting out in public. Who knew how true it was when my folks, along with my aunts and uncles, told me I would understand when I got older. If I only had the sense back then that I think I have now. After seeing this dramatic thriller, I wondered if the characters could say the same thing. I do not know if it had to do with not being a party animal or part of the popular group, but I felt old watching this movie. The parties I attended in high school and college were nothing like the ones shown here. Chace Crawford (The Covenant, Gossip Girl-TV) was drug dealer White Mike. Ever since his mother died of cancer, White MIke had stayed on the fringe with his peers. He purposely kept his childhood friend Molly, played by Emma Roberts (Nancy Drew, Wild Child), in the dark about his drug dealing, telling her he worked at his father’s restaurant. When his cousin was murdered, White Mike’s life began to unravel, the effects being felt all around him. I found individual scenes interesting; but when pieced together with Kiefer Sutherland’s (24-TV, The Reluctant Fundamentalist) narration, the drama waned. The acting was decent from Chace and Emma, along with Rory Culkin (Signs, You Can Count on Me) as Chris, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson (Real Steel, Morning Glory) as Lionel and Esti Ginzburg (Movie 43) as Sara Ludlow. Part of the problem was director Joel Schumacher’s (The Phantom of the Opera, Phone Booth) reliance on the story being told to us instead of showing it. If teenagers really act like they did in this film, then I am glad I am old. A couple of brief scenes with blood.
2 stars — DVD
Flash Movie Review: The Reluctant Fundamentalist
It is one thing to have a first impression of a person; it is another to act on it. When I first meet someone and form a first impression, I consider it a photograph that I stash in an imaginary photo album. After I really get to know the person, it is fun to go back and see how close my first impression was to the real individual. I am reminded of a man who used to be in one of my yoga classes. When he first walked into class I sensed a sudden shift of energy in the room. Several participants quieted down as they warily gazed at the thick, 6+ foot tall imposing figure with shaved head and piercing dark eyes. They were reacting to his looks, assuming he was a certain type of person. In actuality he was a fun, gentle addition to the class. This movie posed a powerful question that involved impressions; it is one of the reasons I went to see it. Riz Ahmed (Four Lions, Shifty) played Changez, a U.S. educated, rising Wall Street star from Pakistan. During one of his business trips abroad, the World Trade Center in New York City was attacked. His return flight back home would bring him to a changed country. Riz was excellent in this role, as was Kiefer Sutherland (Phone Booth, 24-TV) playing Riz’ boss Jim Cross. I thought Liev Schreiber’s (Defiance, Repo Men) role as Bobby Lincoln was an excellent character for him. In what was a total miscast, Kate Hudson (Almost Famous, Bride Wars) was absolutely wrong for the role of Changez’ girlfriend Erica. Not only was her acting poor, I found her character’s story arc ridiculous. With the exception of her, I was able to appreciate what the director and writers were trying to do with this film based on the best selling book. What could have been a thought provoking, powerful movie instead was a film that was too long, filled with melodramatic moments and a sprinkling of intense thrilling scenes. Lesson learned: Do not always believe your first impressions from the movie trailer. Brief scenes with blood in them.
2 1/2 stars
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