Blog Archives
Flash Movie Review: Blink Twice
ON OUR RECENT VACATION, WE HAD several casual encounters with one particular couple, a man and woman. The first time we met them was in the ship’s main dining room; they were seated next to us. The man looked older than the woman but if I had to guess, I would say she was in her 50’s and he was in his late 60’s or early 70’s. While looking at their menus, she saw my entrée and asked how I liked it. It was an item on the daily special menu, and it was quite good. Expressing this to her, she turned to the man and asked him what he thought about it. He agreed with her but said he wanted to see what else was being offered for dinner. Having the opportunity to look at them directly, I believed they were not married because neither was wearing a wedding ring. The woman’s clothes, in my opinion, were tight on her; I did not know if it was intentional or not. Her blouse, which was cut low to expose and amplify her ample chest also revealed a couple of rolls from her stomach. I am not judging by any means, just describing what I saw. She wore a flashy necklace and a few sparkling bracelets and rings on her hands. I noticed her hair was dyed blonde because of the beginning of darker roots emerging from her scalp. The four of us had a further short verbal exchange before they went back to studying their menus. WHEN THE WAITER CAME TO THEIR table, I could not help but hear what was being said. What caught my ear was something that I could never understand; one person ordering for the other. The waiter had asked the woman if she was ready to order and the man answered, telling the waiter what she would have for dinner. Because our tables were close to each other, I had not heard any discussion between the two on what they wanted to eat. For the duration we were sitting there, I had to wonder how well they knew each other. As it turned out, we happened to bump into them at a couple of other meals and on one of our excursions. What struck me odd about the excursion was the fact we were told how to dress, due to the strenuous trek we would be following, and yet this woman was wearing shoes with high heels. For some reason, I started wondering what kind of relationship they had because it just seemed off to me. Having now seen this mystery thriller has only made me even more curious about those two. AT A FUNDRAISING GALA, A TECH billionaire invites one of the servers to join him and his friends on his private island for a fun and exciting vacation. Once arriving and partaking in the daily antics, the waitress begins noticing some strange things that make her question what she is experiencing. With Naomi Ackie (Lady Macbeth, The Score) as Frida, Channing Tatum (Fly Me to the Moon, The Lost City) as Slater, Alia Shawkat (The To Do List, Whip It) as Jess, Christian Slater (Freelance, Chupa) as Vic and Simon Rex (Scary Movie franchise, Red Rocket) as Cody; this film written and directed by Zoe Kravitz started out well. I thought Zoe did a decent job with directing the movie, building up tension, with her shots and pacing. However, after a while the story started to drag on me. I thought the cast did a respectable job with the script, despite it being somewhat predictable and confusing at times. For example, I thought Geena Davis’s character was distracting and odd. It appeared to me Zoe was trying to get a message across; however, I felt it got bogged down due to her dealing with various aspects of bringing her story to the big screen. There were several scenes with blood and violence.
2 ½ stars
Flash Movie Review: I Wanna Dance with Somebody
I WAS ATTENDING A DINNER EVENT where I knew everyone, for some years. Essentially, we had all grown up together. The dining room table was a long oval due to the 2 extra leaves that were added to it. On one end, pushed up to the edge of the table, was an aluminum folding table. Not that one would notice the metal; it was just because I usually was the one to bring it up from the basement and unfold it before the host would put a tablecloth over it. With both tables there was just enough room for all the guests to sit together for dinner. I was always grateful for it since I detested sitting on the sofa while balancing a dinner plate on my lap. The conversation at these dinner parties was always lively and fun. Everyone had an opinion and all of us respected each one’s opinion, even if there was a bit of ribbing and teasing involved with it. There was one guest, I have to say, who would get on my nerves. Maybe a better way to say it would be to say I found them exasperating. Everything was a joke to them, and they said the same jokes over and over. Literally, I have heard those same jokes for several years and can no longer try to laugh at them; there is nothing left that is funny to me. I find them more irritating to tell you the truth. IT IS DIFFICULT TO REACT TO repetitive jokes and stories. I used to be better about it because I did not want to appear rude or indifferent. However, for example when a news story gets repeated over and over it begins to lose its impact on me. The same holds true when a person shares their same opinions constantly. I believe everything in moderation. It is not easy being around someone who is always telling you what they hate, or on the flip side, who constantly talks about something they love. I find it hard to carry on a conversation under these terms. Now, there are things I go overboard with myself, where I want to hear and see everything available about the subject. Loving our national parks, I will watch or listen to various stories about them. There is a legendary actor I am fond of who I have seen various telecasts about them; recently a documentary that surprised me because it shared things that I had never known about the movie star. It was a pleasant surprise for me. When I saw the movie poster for this musical drama, I wondered if I was going to find out something that had not been mentioned before about the famous musical artist. FROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGS ROSE A YOUNG girl who would become a musical superstar. All within a short time. With Naomi Ackie (The Score, Star Wars: Episode IX-The Rise of Skywalker) as Whitney Houston, Stanley Tucci (Spotlight, Julie & Julia) as Clive Davis, Ashton Sanders (Moonlight, The Equalizer 2) as Bobby Brown, Tamara Tunie (Flight, A Journal for Jordan) as Cissy Houston and Nafessa Williams (Black and Blue, A Holiday Chance) as Robyn Crawford; this biographical picture was perplexing. Naomi did an admirable job of acting and lip synching as well as Stanley Tucci did with his acting; however, I did not learn anything new about Whitney. The movie for the most part was a highlights reel, showing both high and low lights from Whitney’s life. There was little character development or for that matter, emotional depth. I sat in my seat wondering what was the point of making this movie. This story was just a repeat of things the general public had been told before. If you are a fan of Whitney, then you might enjoy this film, if for nothing else the musical numbers. For me, I was bored part of the time, wishing I was home seeing actual video clips of Whitney doing some of her monumental moments
2 stars
Flash Movie Review: Lady Macbeth
EACH OF US HAS EMOTIONAL NEEDS such as love, growth and significance. If one begins to feel empty, there is usually a negative feeling ready to fill the void. During those times where I was feeling alone, as if I was the only one of my kind, I filled my emptiness with food. Coming into the house with grocery bags filled with some of my favorite foods would provide me with a short-lived euphoria of comfort. At one point I was eating frozen pizza 2 to 3 times a day; that is how intense I was reacting to the emptiness. My attempts at love kept failing because of my lack of love for myself. It took a lot of hard work and discipline to recognize what I was doing with food and deciding to make some changes. All considering, based on what I have seen regarding what people use to fill a void, I am grateful I only used food to fill the emptiness inside of me. During my period of change it always fascinated or maybe I should say troubled me that this void inside constantly needed to be filled. When I experimented with things I thought might fill it, I never found myself reaching a level of comfort. I certainly got an understanding of what it meant to be “comfortable in one’s own skin.” WHILE I WAS ON MY JOURNEY of self-discovery, a friend of mine was being forced into one. She had been married for 20-25 years when I first met her. She had a great sense of humor and a personality to match. Yet, there was something I saw in her eyes that troubled me. It was a look that was familiar to me. During the life of our friendship I watched as her personality, humor and self-worth faded away. She would never talk about it; but I could see when she said anything about her husband, the life in her would die down like a campfire at the end of an evening. It was painful to see the life being sucked out of her and no matter what I said to her, nothing worked. It was not until a couple of years later when the door opened a crack and she revealed the pain she was in from her loveless marriage. Her outlet was to delve into the world of crafts. It was shocking to know the pain she was going through was producing some incredible pieces of art. Using arts and craft as a springboard, she found her way back to herself and became strong enough to leave her husband. It turned out her husband was abusive to her. Not feeling loved by him opened a gateway where her self-worth spilled out. Gratefully she filled her void in a healthy way, unlike the main character in this film festival winning, romantic drama. STUCK IN A LOVELESS MARRIAGE KATHERINE, played by Florence Pugh (Little Women, Fighting with my Family), realized what she was missing when she felt an attraction to a hired hand. That discovery started Katherine on a path of filling the void inside of her with darkness. With Cosmo Jones (Hunter Killer, The Marker) as Sebastian, Paul Hilton (Doctor Faustus, Eternal Beauty) as Alexander, Naomi Ackie (The Corrupted, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker) as Anna and Christopher Fairbank (The Fifth Element, Guardians of the Galaxy) as Boris; this film grabbed my interest from the beginning. The reason for it was Florence Pugh. She was such a presence in the story; I could not stop watching her in the role. Set in rural England during the 19th century, the story started out slow and deliberate. The scenes appeared authentic and only added to the shifting moods that took place through the script. I will say at times the script drifted off track, but for me this was not a glaring issue because of Florence’s acting. With the present situation regarding the ability to see films, this one filled a void in me for well-done movies.
3 ¼ stars
moviejoltz 