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Flash Movie Review: Marty Supreme
WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT, HOW far removed is determination from obsession? They may not be siblings, but I feel they are certainly cousins. I do not believe you can have one without the other. As a kid, I played ping pong several times; usually, on vacation where the hotel would have a ping pong table in their game room, or at someone’s house. It was not until freshman year of college where I began to take the game seriously. For one thing, the friend I made who lived across the hall from me was an avid player. He even had his own ping pong paddle. Every week, at least once or twice, we would walk over to the student center to play the game. In the beginning, I was awful. The main reason was because he pretty much played as if he were in a tournament. He would put different spins on the ball that drove me crazy because the ball seemed to never bounce the same way twice. Also, he enjoyed spiking the ball, where I would then have to chase it down before anyone stepped on it. Sure I got frustrated and angry at times, but I was determined to figure out how I could get better to at least have longer rallies between points. Every time we played I studied how he held the paddle, how he moved his arm during the serve, and how he shifted from side to side. It was not until two months into my sophomore year, that I finally beat him for the first time. He then quit playing the game, saying he had too much studying to do for the semester. I AM SURE SOME PEOPLE WOULD have given up playing with him a long time ago, but I have always had tendencies to be obsessive. As a little boy, I would work on a jigsaw puzzle all day, because I wanted it to be done before i went to bed. There was a little tile game I had where there was only one open space and you would have to shift all the tiles around until you could get a particular tile to the very top. Even today, after having recently discovered that one should remove the skins from garbanzo beans, I can stand by the sink for hours making sure i removed the skin from each bean that came out of the can. Like many things, this obsessiveness ebbs and flows through me; some days I can stop focusing on something in a reasonable time, but other days I become laser focused to the point I tune out everything else around me. This is probably why I thoroughly enjoyed this sports drama. PEOPLE MAY DISRESPECT HIM, THE GAME he played was not getting much respect, but it did not stop this young man’s determination to keep pushing forward until he could finally play in the world championship tournament. As far as he was concerned he was the best in the world. With Timothee Chalamet (A Complete Unknown, Dune franchise) as Marty Mauser, Gwyneth Paltrow (Iron Man franchise, Mortdecai) as Kay Stone, Odessa A’zion (Hellraiser, Sitting in Bars with Cake) as Rachel Mizler, Larry ‘Ratso’ Sloman (Uncut Gems, Satan’s Little Helper) as Murray Norkin, and Fran Drescher (The Nanny-TV, After Class) as Rebecca Mauser; I thought the cast’s acting was outstanding. The pace through most of the film was fast paced, it took a little time for me to fall into its rhythm, but once I was in synch the time flew by. As a period piece, I thought the sets, costumes, and dialog were spot on. I think if the duration of this picture was a little shorter, it would have been perfect. By the last quarter of the film, I was getting a bit antsy. Still, with such powerful acting and a wild story line, I believe it would be hard for someone not to get invested in Marty’s life; even if you have never played the game of ping pong.
3 1/2 stars
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
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