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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: Dune
I KEPT THINKING I WAS SEEING something different compared to my friend. The way she talked, you would have thought her daughter was going to be a superstar. Now I am not an expert, but I thought her daughter was a good dancer. My friend had been a dancer and as soon as her daughter was old enough, she enrolled her into dance classes. As the daughter progressed in her training she eventually moved up into the competitive world of dance. Her mother was overjoyed and agreed to take her wherever the competitions were located. Since I had been part of this progressive journey, I came to realize my friend was reliving her dance years through her daughter. What tipped me off that the young dancer was not as enthusiastic as her mother was her facial expressions. I did not see joy or happiness when she danced; it was as if she was more like a robot who had been programmed to go through the steps in precise order. There was no passion coming out of her as far as I could tell. I could not imagine how much money my friend invested in her daughter’s training and costumes over the years. The way my friend talked about her daughter, I could tell she was placing her feelings on top of her daughter’s. It was hard when the daughter told her mother she would no longer participate in competitions and give up dancing. My friend was shattered. MY FRIEND AND HER DAUGHTER WERE not the first parent/child relationship I have seen where the two were not in synch about the child’s future. I worked for a man who brought his son into the business to eventually take over from him when he retired. The son was not interested in running a business; however, he certainly liked tapping into the company’s finances for his own personal use. There was nothing I could do about it; I was just an employee, but I could see the son’s way of doing business was not a sustainable business solution for growth. Eventually there would not be enough funds for the company to operate based on how much money was going into the son’s pocket. Sadly, my thinking was accurate because the company eventually closed after I had left it, just in time. When it comes to choosing a hobby or career path, I believe the child should be allowed to investigate their desires. If they succeed, then it was meant to be and if they fail, they will learn from it. It is one thing to encourage a child down a certain path, but I would never predetermine what they should become. It causes a conflict which I detected taking place in this action, adventure drama. WITH HIS FATHER BEING GIVEN THE role of ruler over a distant planet, the visions Paul Atreides, played by Timothee Chalamet (Beautiful Boy, Lady Bird), was seeing became increasingly disturbing. With Rebecca Ferguson (Doctor Sleep, Men in Black: International) as Lady Jessica Atreides, Zendaya (The Greatest Showman, Spider-Man franchise) as Chani, Oscar Isaac (Star Wars franchise, At Eternity’s Gate) as Duke Leto Atreides and Jason Momoa (Aquaman, Sweet Girl) as Duncan Idaho; this science fiction picture was visually and musically alluring. I found the sets and film shots enticing; not to be a cliché but the style had an otherworldly effect on the presentation. Having said that, I found the script to be weak compared to these stand-out features. The story was slow moving and as the movie progressed, I began to lose interest. I did not realize this film was Part One which I am not always a fan of experiencing. Because of that I did not care much for the ending. My experience of watching this film was like a comet passing across the sky; it surprises and ignites the imagination, but it is short lived.
2 ½ stars
moviejoltz 