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Flash Movie Review: Spider-Man: Brand New Day
OVER THE PAST SEVERAL WEEKS, HAVING conversations with various friends, I felt I was on an extended walk down memory lane. With one friend, we reminisced about the time when we were kids and went to a traveling carnival that arranged to setup in a park next to the beach. There were five of us friends who went together as a group on a sunny windy day. We had a blast trying the different games of chance, along with going on most of the rides multiple times. My friend and I remembered one ride in particular at the same time. It was like a ferris wheel except it rotated at an angle; imagine a clock dial, the top of the wheel was positioned at 11 o’clock and the bottom at 5 o’clock. Attached around the wheel were these metal parachute shapes that had a padded seat suspended underneath with a small back for support. They were rigid; however, the parachute was attached around a metal cylinder, giving the seated parachute freedom to swing. My friend and I sat together and after a couple of slow rotations around the wheel, the speed picked up. She was wearing a long pleated, printed skirt that I think was called a peasant or granny skirt. With the ride going fast, the wind swirling all around us, her skirt kept catching her skirt and blowing it up towards her face. She had to use one hand to try and keep it down but there was little success. When the ride ended and we rejoined our friends, she declared she would not go on any other rides; she was so embarrassed. TALKING WITH A COUPLE OF OTHER friends, they were trying to remember where we went on a road trip years ago. All they could retrieve about the trip was climbing up a wooden observation tower. The memory was triggered after they came across a couple of photos that was of them when they were much younger. I never forgot that trip because I wound up getting sick. We had driven across the state to the border that was separated by a large river from our western neighbor. The observation deck looked over rolling green hills to the west; and back to the east one could faintly see a few of our city’s tallest skyscrapers. Our destination was a quaint, little town that did not allow vehicles within the city limits. The only method of transportation was either on foot or bicycle. Fudge was the most popular item sold in this town. We had a pleasant time exploring and trying different flavored fudges. However, on our return trip home, I got hit with a migraine headache. We had to pull off to the side of the road at some point because I was getting nauseous. I got out of the car and ran into a patch of tall grass; my friends could hear me puking up everything I had eaten. The rest of the ride home I was in a deep sleep. Revisiting these different memories with my friends was thoroughly enjoyable; it is part of our history together. With a focus on friendship in this action, adventure, superhero drama; I felt a strong emotional connection to the story. LONG FORGOTTEN, PETER PARKER, PLAYED BY Tom Holland (The Odyssey, Uncharted), was living a solitary, lonesome life. Despite always returning to thoughts about the past, he had to stay in action mode when a new unseen threat began to wreak havoc in the city. With Zendaya (Challengers, The Drama) as MJ, Mark Ruffalo (Crime 101, Poor Things) as Bruce Banner, Jon Bernthal (The Odyssey, The Amateur) as Frank Castle, and Jacob Batalon (The Wrecking Crew, Novocaine) as Ned Leeds; this was for me a different type of superhero movie. It was more personal which is why I was drawn in emotionally. I thought the acting and chemistry between the actors was fully charged, which made the story more intense and human. The action scenes were wonderful as was the directing. What I found especially surprising was how the writers slipped in characters from other film franchises: I can only imagine where this franchise is headed next. After the showing, I heard some people saying they are not fans of superhero movies, but they absolutely loved this picture. And that reminds me, after the story ended and the credits began to roll, everyone in the theater started clapping. I have not experienced that in some time. There was one brief scene at the end of the credits that essentially said Spider-man will return.
3 3/4 stars
Flash Movie Review: Project Hail Mary
THOUGH THERE WERE SEVERAL CHALLENGES FOR me, the month-long trip overseas went beyond all expectations and hopes. My latest thrill is visiting UNESCO World Heritage sites, which we were able to see several on this trip. There was so much history we delved into, that I am having a hard time keeping all the facts straight for each place. One of the biggest highlights for me was visiting the city where my Dad was stationed during the war. Hearing about the importance of the city’s place in history and walking the streets, I had this surreal feeling of connection. The issues I encountered the weeks I was away from home, gratefully, diminished due to amazing things we saw and did. One of my challenges was regarding foods. Since I do not eat red meat or pork, our home base country did not have a lot to offer me for meals since they are known for their beef. Chicken takes a far backseat on their diet. There were times I would wind up having two shrimp cocktails and a small side salad for dinner. The fact that I lost three pounds on the trip should tell you something. If that was not rough enough, I wound up catching a bug that caused digestive issues; so, there were a couple of days where I did not eat or drink anything throughout the day. I did not want to be caught in an embarrassing situation while on an excursion. ONCE WE WERE BACK HOME AND re-adjusted to our “normal” schedule, I wanted to see a movie that I could escape into, without much thought. This is why I chose this film; I wanted to watch something that had a visual, sci-fi vibe to it. I had no idea this picture would remind me of an encounter we had while on our ship. There was a married couple who were on a few of our excursions. We normally do not start up a conversation with strangers since we do not know if their beliefs are similar to ours; or, if they are not, they will not act on them, making it uncomfortable for us. The wife always had this sour look on her face; in my opinion, she looked mean. She never smiled or acknowledged us when we would see them repeatedly on other excursions. Granted, I do not think she acknowledged anyone as far as I could tell. One night as we were walking out of a restaurant, they were about to walk in. Before I could stop myself, I said the food was good and we ate a lot due to all the walking we did on that day’s excursion. To my surprise, they both laughed and shared their experiences on the trip. We come to find out they live in a town where I have a substantial amount of relatives; one of them was a friend of hers while in college. From that point on, we would see one another almost every day and stop to share our events of the day and became quite friendly. I had an extra reason to feel good after leaving this sci-fi, adventure, comedy, drama. AT FIRST DISORIENTED AFTER WAKING UP from suspended animation, a science teacher begins to remember why he found himself on a spacecraft, headed towards the sun. With Ryan Gosling (The Fall Guy, Barbie) as Ryland Grace, Sandra Huller (Anatomy of a Fall, The Zone of Interest) as Eva Stratt, James Ortiz (The Woodsman, Girls Against Boys) as Rocky, Lionel Boyce (The Bear-TV, Loiter Squad-TV) as Carl, and Ken Leung (Old, Lost-TV) as Yao, this movie surprised me. Based on the premise, I was not expecting the humor that was sprinkled into the script. I thought Ryan and Sandra did a wonderful job of acting and I was quickly drawn into the story. The visuals did not disappoint me, only adding to my enjoyment. In addition, I was touched on how the story took a turn by providing some touching moments. And kudos to the director for keeping things on track, consistently moving the story forward, while blending the emotional aspects. The extra treat for me, after seeing this film, was recalling how that couple we saw on the ship, that we were at first leery of, turned out being a pleasure to talk with and share our mutual experiences.
3 1/2 stars
Flash Movie Review: Transformers One
WHEN I WAS INVITED OVER, I thought there was going to be only a few people visiting. There were a little more than that. My friend’s sister was visiting from out of town; we had all grown up together, so I was treated like a family member. When I arrived at their mother’s house, I quickly realized other relatives must have come over based on the number of cars that were parked in the driveway and on the street. After finding a parking spot, I walked up to the opened front door and let myself in. There were some relatives I recognized from past family functions as I navigated my way through trying to find my friend. I finally found him in the kitchen pouring some drinks for guests. I walked up and we embraced hello. The first thing he mentioned was that his mother had invited a lot of family over to see her new grandbaby. That reminded me to congratulate him again on becoming an uncle. This was the reason I was invited over, to see his sister’s new baby. The two of us made our way back into the living room to find her. Of course, she was planted where most of the guests were congregated, sitting in a chair with the baby cradled in her arms. When she saw me walking towards her, she got up to hug me and introduced me to her daughter. It was a special moment. IT WAS NOT LONG BEFORE OTHER guests wanted their chance to talk to the new mother; I excused myself and made my way to an open spot on the sofa. There were a couple of bowls of snacks on the coffee table in front of me that I wanted to try. I looked to the end table I was sitting next to, to find a coaster to set my drink upon. The only thing sitting on the table was a small truck. I folded a napkin to set my drink on and picked up the truck. It must have been from one of the kids I spotted playing outside when I first arrived. The truck was brightly colored and heavier than I expected when I picked it up. I turned it around in my hand to admire the detailing on it; I was big into trucks and cars when I was a little kid. As I was turning it over, the cab unfolded; it was hinged. This was unexpected, so I began to gently press on the various edges of the toy. To my amazement everything was hinged and before you knew it, I had the figure of a robot cradled in the palm of my hand. It was amazing to me, besides being very cool. I had never seen such a toy and marveled at its complexity. Of course, it was not long before I started seeing and hearing about these robot toys everywhere. The amazement I felt those years ago filtered back to me as I watched with delight this animated, action, adventure film. FOR THE FIRST TIME, SINCE WE were introduced to the Transformers’ world, we find out how friends could become enemies. With Chris Hemsworth (Extraction, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga) voicing Orion Pax, Brian Tyree-Henry (Bullet Train, The Woman in the Window) voicing D-16, Scarlett Johansson (Fly Me to the Moon, Jojo Rabbit) voicing Elita, Keegan-Michael Key (Wonka, The Predator) voicing B-127, and Steve Buscemi (The Death of Stalin, Ghost World) voicing Starscream; this science fiction fantasy story surprised me. Though I was intrigued by the toys when they first came out, I did not have much invested into the films. This prequel had wonderful animation, action, and an easy-to-follow story that I thoroughly enjoyed. The script was solid with a mix of humor and drama. I would not be surprised if the movie studio works to turn this film into a multiple franchise. Also, I saw this picture in 3D but do not feel it is a necessity; it did not add anything new for me. Of course, it would help if the viewer had even a small inkling of the background to the Transformers story, but I do not think it would rob anyone of the enjoyment in seeing this film. There were two extra scenes during the ending credits.
3 ¼ stars
moviejoltz 