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Flash Movie Review: The Fantastic Four: First Steps
WHEN MY FRIEND SHOWED ME THE package of crackers he was buying to try at home, he had no idea what memories billowed inside of my brain. I took one look at the package and felt myself hurdling back past decades of living to when I was in elementary school, at the time when I was in 4th or 5th grade. Living one block away from the school, I would walk home for lunch, having been entrusted with my very own set of house keys for some time. Being aware that I was overweight compared to most students in my class, I came up with a plan to lose weight. For lunch, I would have a cup of chicken bouillon. You may not be familiar on how this was made. We had a jar in the pantry that had foiled wrapped cubes in it. If you did not know better, you might think they were sugar cubes; they were about the same size and they pretty much were handled the same way as sugar cubes. I would unwrap one cube and drop the brownish colored cube into a cup. Running the hot water faucet until it was as hot as possible, I would decrease the flow and fill up the cup. By stirring the contents with a spoon, the cube would dissolve, turning the water into a chicken flavored broth. With it, I would have a couple of these same crackers with a piece of cheese folded on top. For the whole semester, this was my standard lunch. I was surprised how vivid this memory remained in my mind all these years. WITHIN A WEEK AFTER EXPERIENCING THAT flashback, I was sitting on the train, going down into the city. Across from me sat a young professionally dressed woman. What caught my eye about her was the purse that was lying on her lap. It appeared to be made of leather, but the front flap that was the same size dimensions of the purse had plastic, or some similar material, dots lined up in perfect horizontal rows down the whole flap. Seeing those dots immediately reminded me of one of my favorite candies I would always eat—candy dots; at least that is what my friends and I would call it. The dots were somehow attached to strips of white paper that was then folded or rolled up. One would purchase them by the strip. I loved this candy; sometimes peeling each candy with my fingers one at a time to eat, or I would bring the strip of paper up to my mouth and use my lips to pluck the candy off. Sometimes I would eat them by color; the purple ones first then the yellow and so on, other times in rows. Depending on which way I chose to eat them determined how long they would last; it was like a little game for me to play. Such two vivid memories stayed and carried me into the viewing of this action science fiction adventure. WARNED ABOUT A CATASTROPHIC DANGER APPROACHING Earth, the Fantastic Four decide to take the fight to “them.” They did not know the fight was going to be personal. With Pedro Pascal (Eddington, The Uninvited) as Reed Richards, Vanessa Kirby (Pieces of a Woman, The Crown-TV) as Sue Storm, Ebon Moss-Bachrach (Hold Your Breath, The Bear-TV) as Ben Grimm, Joseph Quinn (Gladiator II, A Quiet Place: Day One) as Johnny Storm, and Julia Garner (The Assistant, The Royal Hotel) as Shalla-Bal; this superhero reboot was a fresh take from the original film. What sold me on it was the retro vibe and cast; I felt as if I was a kid again watching The Jetsons cartoon series. The sets were something out of the original Tomorrowland theme park. As for the script, it was decent with some humor, a couple of thrills, some drama, and a touch of excitement. Nothing too extreme on either end of good or bad. In other words, it was a good film, not a great one. I did have a fun time watching it, even if a portion of that fun was for nostalgic reasons. Also, I think it would be a better viewing experience if one could see this picture on the big screen. I am hopeful that with the two extra post credit scenes, this movie was the starting point for making deeper, fuller, and more complete installments.
3 stars
Flash Movie Review: Gladiator II
ANGER IS A TOOL THAT IF used carefully can fuel one in their endeavors. I firmly believe this since I am a product and result of it. Going through what I went through in school, my anger was nourished by the abuse and bullying I endured. Every time I was punched, kicked, and called a name, it only made my anger grow larger. Of course, no one saw it because I forced it to stay inside of me. Instead, I would excessively eat to stuff and keep my feelings down inside of me. I know this behavior is both typical and non-typical for others; but for me it worked, though ironically the more I ate to keep my feelings down, the more I was providing ammunition for the abusers and bullies to get meaner towards me. It was a vicious cycle. In the middle of this taking place, I had no idea my anger was plotting and nurturing my dreams, my dreams to just fit in with the rest of the school population. Sure, in my fantasy world I could hit a baseball farther than anyone else at school or be the fastest running back on the football team, but in the real world I felt I stood out because of my size, my hair, and my complexion dotted with acne. I just wanted to be invisible. Unbeknownst to me, anger had a plan. DURING THE EIGHTH GRADE SOMETHING HAPPENED inside of my brain. I wanted to wear clothes like everyone else, since many current fashions did not come in my size. So, I started exercising at home. A book I found at the library had photos with step-by-step instructions of different exercises like jumping jacks and sit-ups. Every day after school I would spend between 30-60 minutes doing various calisthenics. I never wavered or put off my exercising because my anger would not allow me. I wanted to show everyone I was not the things I was being called. My diet drastically changed where I got on this kick to drink hot bouillon for lunch with oyster crackers every day. I had read somewhere about not eating late, so I made a rule to finish eating at least five hours before I had to go to sleep. My other rule which again I had read in some magazine was not to put anything on top of things; in other words, eat a hamburger or hot dog plain with no catsup, mustard, pickles, etc. It took the entire school year and summer to lose weight; so, when it was time to start high school, I felt like I was a different person. This is what anger did for me and if you think that is something, please feel free to see what anger does for the main character in this epic action-adventure film. AFTER HIS HOME AND CITY WERE captured by the Romans, a man was forced to fight for his life in Rome’s colosseum. No one knew this man’s pedigree. With Paul Mescal (All of Us Strangers, Aftersun) as Lucius, Denzel Washington (The Equalizer franchise, The Magnificent Seven) as Macrinus, Pedro Pascal (The Uninvited, The Mandalorian-TV) as General Acacius, Connie Nielsen (Wonder Woman franchise, Role Play) as Lucilla, and Joseph Quinn (Overlord, A Quiet Place: Day One) as Emperor Geta; this drama was meant to be big and bold and seen on the big screen. I enjoyed the way the script wove in the original film’s story into this one where it made perfect sense. The acting was good by all, however, Denzel turned out to be the big eyecatcher of the group. He ate up his scenes. On the downside, the script dragged out the story way too long and had some ridiculous scenes, like the one with the shark(s). There was an overabundance of blood and gore which got tiresome. That with the script being predictable in places, made for a mixed viewing bag for me. This film did not catch all the pomp and glory of the original one.
2 ¾ stars
Flash Movie Review: The Wild Robot
THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO ARE LUCKY to have one mother; I had three of them. There was first my birth mother. Along with her there was her best friend that she grew up with who was a mother to me. The third one was a neighbor who lived in the apartment building where I was born. These three women were my mothers, and I know I was extremely fortunate to have them in my life. My mother’s childhood friend had a son who was several years older than me, but I never gave it any thought growing up. I remember all of us going bowling; the only one who did not know how to bowl was my mother’s friend. She was always the scorekeeper and when I would sit on her lap between turns, she would explain what she was doing and ask me to add up the numbers she had written for each frame. No matter how many pins I was able to knock down, she always gave me words of encouragement. I did not realize at an early age how talented she was, from telling funny stories to always sending birthday cards with a poem she had specifically written for the person celebrating. From time to time, I would be dropped off at her house to watch me while my mother had an errand. We usually would bake cookies which meant I would sit and watch then lick the spoon after she was done mixing the ingredients. I have such fond memories of her. MY THIRD MOTHER WAS OUR DOWNSTAIRS neighbor, who lived on the first floor; we lived on the third floor. I can still remember how I used to get down to her. Because I was still somewhat new with walking, I would walk over to our first step and sit down on it with my feet on the next step below. I would then slide off the step and move to the next one as my feet reached out to the next step and so on. I would make my way down to her floor then stand up and walk over to their front door. I do not know how she was able to hear my light knocking on the door, but she did, and every time she opened the door, she had a huge smile on her face. She would welcome me in and no matter what she was in the middle of she would always find ways to entertain me. It could be putting a record on the record player or helping her cook or listening to her read a book; I enjoyed spending time with her. She had two sons who were much older than me, so it was not often they would be home when I came down. These two women were my introduction into my definition of “family.” Now my definition as expanded with this beautiful animated, adventure science fiction film. AFTER CRASH LANDING, A SELF-SUSTAINING ROBOT tries to bond with the native animals. One of them sees the robot as its mother. With Lupita Nyong’o (Black Panther franchise, A Quiet Place: Day One) voicing Roz, Pedro Pascal (The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, The Mandalorian-TV) voicing Fink, Kit Connor (Rocketman, Heartstopper-TV) voicing Brightbill, Bill Nighy (The First Omen, Living) voicing Longneck, and Stephanie Hsu (The Fall Guy, Joy Ride) voicing Vontra; this movie, based on the bestselling book, was one of the best films I have seen all year. The animation, story, directing, and script were all brought together to tell a touching story that both children and adults could appreciate. I was totally connected to this film, from beginning to end. It offered drama, comedy, excitement, tension and much more; I even teared up at a couple of scenes. An interesting side note: at the viewing I attended there were all adults except for one child. This was a well-done picture that portrayed how love creates a family. Also, there was an extra scene at the end of the closing credits.
4 stars
Flash Movie Review: The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent
ONE OF THE HARDEST THINGS ABOUT teaching fitness/yoga classes is filling in for an absent instructor. Though I never refused unless logistically I could not make the class, there always was apprehension on what I would encounter from the participants. Like going to doctors or hair stylists, people find an instructor they like and stick with them. Walking into a class to find out a substitute is filling in for your favorite instructor usually leads to some level of disappointment. I remember filling in for a fellow yoga instructor and as I was introducing myself, three participants rolled up their mats and walked out. Ten minutes later as we were doing our warmup poses, a member asked me why I was not turning the lights off; evidently the assigned instructor teaches in subdued light. When I told the member I needed light to observe how each person was doing the poses; she made a sour face, uttered what sounded like a “harumph” before gathering her things and stormed out of the room. I totally get how individuals have expectations before they walk into the fitness room; but I must ask what options do they think are available? Either the substitute instructor teaches class, or the class would have to be cancelled; under these circumstances, wouldn’t it be better to deal with a different instructor’s style of yoga instead of no yoga at all? WHEN IT COMES TO INSTRUCTORS OR really anyone who is in a visible position, people are funny about those they like. Where I experienced more of the negative aspects when filling in for another instructor, I have heard from those instructors who have subbed for me. They have experienced the same negative reactions to their presence in my classes. I understand disappointment; when I go to a live theater event and the leading star’s character has a stand-in, I am disappointed, but I am not going to deny myself the experience of seeing the production. Just like those stories one hears about a rabid fan doing things to catch a glimpse of their favorite celebrity, people want what they want as they say. I have read about millionaires who pay exorbitant prices to get a singer to perform at one of their parties. Or what about the individuals who do an outrageous act in the hopes of getting their celebrity crush to notice. I had a member who turned into a stalker, who would pop up at the oddest times to talk and ask me out until I had to file a complaint. As I sat down to watch this action crime comedy, I wondered which way would one of the main characters act, upon meeting their celebrity crush. DOWN ON HIS LUCK AND NEEDING the money was enough incentive for Nick Cage, played by Nicolas Cage (Pig, Between Worlds), to accept the offer to show up at a wealthy man’s estate. If nothing else, it would be a new role for him. With Pedro Pascal (Wonder Woman 1984, The Mandalorian-TV) as Javi Gutierrez, Tiffany Haddish (Like a Boss, Bad Trip) as Vivian, Sharon Horgan (Game Night, Dating Amber) as Olivia and Neil Patrick Harris (The Matrix Resurrections, Gone Girl) as Richard Fink; this movie was a lighthearted, fun experience. What made it so was the pairing of Nicolas with Pedro; they were great together as they played off each other. The idea for the story was novel, where I could appreciate the tongue in cheek flavor of the script. The writers were creative in setting things up for Nic to spoof Nicolas’ old films. Honestly, there is not anything that is a surprise here per se; however, it was just fun to see Nicholas doing such an excellent job parodying himself. As the film ended, I wondered if the movie studio would do another film with the two main leads; I think it would be a hoot.
3 stars
Flash Movie Review: We Can Be Heroes
NOT ONCE DID I EVER SEE his father show up for a school function. Parent/teacher conferences, sports games or concerts; it was only his mother who would be present. The father was the president of a local company; I used to see one of their products on the grocery store’s shelf. I wasn’t sure what a president actually did, but I thought there had to be at least one time his father could have been in attendance. It made me wonder if there we something going on between the father and son; or maybe the father was embarrassed, I really did not know. The son was a “B” student, who was on the staff of the school’s newspaper. He was average looking though he gave off the appearance of being ungainly because of his long body torso and arms. There were a couple of times I saw him getting picked on from a couple of bullies; they would push him in the hallway and call him names. I want to say he did not have a lot of friends because I never saw him walking with anyone through the school grounds. At lunchtime he went home to eat; at least that is what I heard. WHERE THAT PARENT NEVER PARTICIPATED IN any of the school functions, there was another student whose parents were well known, not always in a good way. These parents came to every concert; you always knew they were there because they were the loudest when it came to cheering and applauding the performers. One or both them always volunteered for all of the school’s fund drives. They were always available to decorate rooms or sell candy bars; they never refused anything. During the parent/teacher conferences, they were one of the more assertive parents. They took an active role in their child’s education, wanting to know the order of subject matter the teacher was planning to teach the class. Their intensity was something I found puzzling; I could not tell if they were trying to mold their son into something they wanted for him or simply wanted to be completely aware of all facets of their son’s education. Some of the other parents found them “pushy.” There was such a wide range of parental engagement within the school body that I wondered how much did a parent’s enthusiasm, or lack of, play a part in the student’s development. I can only imagine what it must have been like growing up for the children in this action, comedy fantasy film. WITH THE EARTH ON THE VERGE of an alien invasion after the planet’s superheroes were captured, it was up to the superheroes’ children to figure out how to work together to save the planet and their parents. With YaYa Gosselin (13 Reasons Why-TV, FBI-TV) as Missy Moreno, newcomer Lyon Daniels as Noodles, Andy Walken (The Most Hated Woman in America, The Kids are Alright-TV) as Wheels, Hala Finley (Back Roads, Man with a Plan) as Ojo and newcomer Lotus Blossom as A Capella; this film was geared more towards children. The sets had a cheesy, cheap look that I believe was intentional. The reason I say this is because I felt the script had a tongue in cheek vibe to it. There was nothing in this film that one would say was awful; yet, there was also nothing that stood out in a positive way, except for the theme of working together and equality. To tell you the truth, this movie reminded me of one of those Saturday afternoon matinee films that were created to entertain younger audiences. Also, it came across to me like a Saturday morning cartoon series. Nothing earth shattering here unless you consider the peril confronting Earth.
2 stars
Flash Movie Review: Wonder Woman 1984
I WOULD HAVE TO PACE MYSELF for the day if I wanted to keep my holiday tradition alive. The first item on my list was to walk/jog the parking garage before breakfast. Since it was too cold for me to go outside, I discovered I could get a decent workout by walking/jogging the 2-floor parking garage. In an hour, I can cover nearly 5 miles and that is including the parking ramps which provide me the experience of going up and down a hill. Once my workout was completed, I showered then ate breakfast. With dinner being a big meal, I went light on my breakfast cereal. Once I was done eating, I had to set up my laptop computer on a snack tray in the living room. Later after lunch I was going to be on a video present opening for Christmas. If anywhere in my schedule there could be a delay, it would be during this activity. There were going to be 10 people on the video call, each taking turns with opening their gifts. Now don’t get me wrong, I was looking forward to the event; however, there was my holiday tradition I was focused on that I scheduled to take place after dinner was done. AS I FEARED THE VIDEO PRESENT opening went on for nearly three hours. I was besides myself because my dinner was now delayed, which meant the one thing I wanted to happen was going to have to start later in the evening. With movie theaters closed in my area; it has been months since I was last in a theater. In fact, the last time for me was back in March just as the COVID-19 pandemic was rolling out across the country. After all this time, one of the film studios decided to offer first run movies on their streaming service the same day the film opens at the theaters. I cannot tell you how filled I was with excited anticipation to see a new, blockbuster film. Not to take anything away from the different streaming services’ original films, but there is something about a big budgeted picture that is to be released on the big screen. Due to the virus, I was getting the 2ndbest thing by watching the film at home on a large screened television. Since I loved the first Wonder Woman movie, I was expecting everything to be bigger and better with this sequel. Little did I know that my fear of watching this film later in the evening, where I could easily fall asleep, would be a valid issue for me. LIVING A QUIET COMFORTABLE LIFE UNDETECTED was fine for Diana Prince, played by Gal Gadot (Keeping Up with the Joneses, Triple 9), except for the one person she was missing in her life. Years of wishing he was with her was about to change when a mysterious artifact was delivered to her place of work. With Chris Pine (Star Trek franchise, The Finest Hours) as Steve Trevor, Kristen Wiig (Downsizing, The Skeleton Twins) as Barbara Minerva, Pedro Pascal (The Great Wall, Kingsman: The Golden Circle) as Maxwell Lord and Robin Wright (Blade Runner 2049, Moneyball) as Antiope; this action, adventure fantasy was a major disappointment for me. How the script received approval is beyond me because there were so many poor choices made in its story line. In a superhero movie, the villain needs to be as dynamic and powerful as the superhero character; this was not the case in this picture. The villain was downright boring and uninteresting to me. And I have little patience for a script that tries to force feed a message to the viewer and this film nearly choked me on its syrupy monologue. The only highlight for me was the opening scene, Kristen Wiig with her character and the extra scene in the middle of the ending credits. My experience with this movie was like one of the gifts I received on my video presents event; a fancy gift-wrapped box that had an ugly sweater in a wrong size.
2 1/4 stars
Flash Movie Review: Equalizer 2
SIR ISAAC NEWTON’S THIRD LAW states: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. I would add: And some of the reactions come with consequences. As I thought about the next sentence I was going to write, I want to preface it by saying I am embarrassed. However, upon further consideration I decided I am not going to be embarrassed; I am simply stating how I feel about certain things. So here goes; I take pleasure in seeing someone getting their just dues. For example, a driver who cuts me off and speeds away, getting stopped by a police officer who gives the driver a speeding ticket. Or I love at the supermarket when a shopper starts walking faster to get ahead of me in line to check out and winds up getting stuck by the shopper in front of them who needs a price check on an item. Because they ran ahead of me I went to a different line and wound up getting checked out before them. It is little things like this that makes me believe in karma. My only hope is that those selfish individuals learn from their actions; but from how many times I still witness such behavior, I do not think the lesson gets taught. ONE OF MY ALL TIME FAVORITE stories is about a friend of mine who took such rude behavior to the next level. He was a big, brawny guy who could appear imposing to people. In a parking lot if a driver sneaked into a parking spot he was waiting for, he would pull right up behind the driver and park his car to block them into the spot. The driver would jump out to yell until they got a look at him. He on the other hand would calmly stare and tell them because they took the spot he was obviously waiting for, they could now sit and wait for him to finish his shopping. Or they could apologize, get back into their car, and he would move to let them out to go find a different parking place. Every person my friend did this to always chose the apology option. I wish I had the guts to do such a thing; but since I do not come across as a “tough” guy, I must take satisfaction in believing a rude person will get their “just desserts.” In the meantime, I at least can take pleasure in seeing justice being done in this action, crime thriller. WHEN A TRAGEDY STRIKES CLOSE to home Robert McCall, played by Denzel Washington (Fences, The Magnificent Seven), comes out of his quiet existence to contact his old partner Dave York, played by Pedro Pascal (The Great Wall, The Adjustment Bureau). Problem is, Dave thought Robert was dead. This film festival nominee also starred Ashton Sanders (Moonlight, Straight Outta Compton) as Miles Whittaker, Bill Pullman (Lake Placid, Independence Day franchise) as Brian Plummer and Orson Bean (Being John Malkovich, Innerspace) as Sam Rubinstein. As far as I was concerned this movie did exactly what I expected it to do; it was a good people vs bad people story. Denzel was excellent as Robert which was the first time he ever reprised a character. If you have not seen the previous film or television show this picture is based on, it is okay. The story was simple and to the point. I thought the action scenes were terrific, especially one that took place in a car sharing ride. Though the script was predictable, I was surprised by the twist in it. If you are so inclined in watching justice being served, this is the film to watch as Denzel delivers it.
2 ½ stars
Flash Movie Review: The Great Wall
WALKING among the ancient relics in the midst of reproductions was exciting. The museum had opened an exhibit devoted to the achievements of ancient man. As I started to walk around the displays I came up to glass cases that had several items in each one. According to the printed cards next to each item these objects were all tools that must have been used eons ago. To tell you the truth except for the obvious hammer and chisel devices I would not know these things were tools. I wondered how the archeologists and scientists figured it out. Among the cases there were blueprints displayed on large easels that stood alongside each case. The plans were modern but they depicted the schematics to ancient structures that historians believed would have been built using some of these same tools that were in the cases. I may be a pessimist but how did they really know? At least I could see the blueprints and corresponding tools would make a good story for the visitors. IN another part of the exhibit there were computer monitors set up to provide visual mini tours of some famous structures. I gravitated towards these monitors and stopped at the first one which was focused on a famous temple in Cambodia. I knew about the temple only because a friend of mine had traveled to it and shared his photographs with me. Listening to the film’s narrator I heard a variety of statements being made about the uses or purposes to several portions of the temple’s structure. How could one really know that a platform jutting out from a side entryway was used for sacrifices I wondered? Maybe it was used as a balcony or it was a portion of a bridge that had fallen apart; who could really say with certainty what something was from so long ago? Call me a skeptic but I tend to need more proof before I will accept someone’s version of an ancient item’s purpose. Maybe this is why I had a hard time believing this action adventure film. MERCENARIES William and Tovar, played by Matt Damon (The Martian, Promised Land) and Pedro Pascal (The Adjustment Bureau, Game of Thrones-TV), were traveling through China in search of a black powder that was rumored to be a powerful weapon. Their search would lead them to something scarier than the powder. Directed by Yimou Zhang (House of Flying Daggers, Hero), this was the largest production to be filmed entirely in China. I will say this expansive fantasy picture had some wonderful visual scenes. Women warriors swinging off of the Great Wall of China looked like a cross between a ballet company and Cirque du Soleil; it was beautiful to watch. Also starring Tian Jing (Special ID, The Warring States) as Commander Lin Mae and William Dafoe (The Grand Budapest Hotel, Platoon) as Ballard, I found the story to be silly and the script to be even sillier. The idea of fending off “alien” creatures was an odd concept, but if that is the idea I would have reluctantly been okay with it if the script was written better. I was periodically bored and the CGI effects did not help the situation. Except for a couple of well choreographed fight scenes I actually enjoyed the craziness of the Great Wall’s defenses. Who knows, maybe there is actual proof somewhere that the wall used to do these things.
1 ¾ stars
moviejoltz 