Category Archives: Uncategorized

Twisters

Is it okay for a movie about something as terrible as tornadoes to be… fun?

Twisters has its share of perilous moments and amazing depictions of the devastation a tornado can cause. But it also has a Hallmark-like rom-com element and a Dukes of Hazzard quality as well. 

One Hallmark Channel boilerplate plot has a young woman leaving her small town for the big city, coming back for a visit, meeting a man who initially rubs her the wrong way. But as they keep encountering each other, attraction ensues.

In Twisters, Kate Cooper (Daisy Edgar-Jones), now working for the National Weather Service in New York, had a frightening tornado experience years ago but is lured back into the plains of Oklahoma to test a new tornado tracking system. She soon partners with Tyler Owens (Glen Powell) a reckless storm chaser who posts his storm videos on social media channels. And off they go!

Will they find tornadoes? Um, if they don’t, there’s no movie here. Will they become a romantic item? Um, if they don’t, there are gonna be lots of disappointed folks when the movie’s over. 

How hot is Glen Powell? Well, he’s hot in that he’s a good looking guy with a great smile and good hair but he’s also hot in that he’s had significant success in movies in the last couple of years. And his work in this film will only add to his appeal to casting directors, not to mention it will add to his future paydays.

How hot is Daisy Edgar-Jones? She’s gorgeous. Cute in a wholesome, Hallmark babe kind of way. (She starred as Kya in the 2022 film Where The Crawdads Sing.)

How good are the effects? While this new movie doesn’t have the money shot of flying cows that made the 1996 Twister buzzworthy, there are numerous scenes that are frightful AND make you wonder… how did they make it look so real? Objects and people do go flying through the air. Minor spoiler: a gigantic blade from a wind turbine plummets to the ground. Yikes.

Just like your computers and cell phones have made gigantic advances in the past 28 years, so have CGI and other movie making magic tools. You may not gasp in amazement at everything but you will enjoy the ride.

When Tyler is introduced, the film’s cool country music soundtrack kicks in. When he drives his pickup truck off road through rough terrain, you may be reminded of the Duke boys and their reckless driving in the General Lee. A rodeo scene lets Tyler inform Kate that he was once a bull rider. And Kate’s down home roots are confirmed when she goes home to the farm to see her mother (Maura Tierney).

Unlike many of the potential perils presented to audiences in movies, tornadoes are real and often catastrophic. I recall videos of the monster that hit Tuscaloosa AL in spring 2011 and then driving through the area of impact a few weeks later. Wow! Just a month after Tuscaloosa was hit, Joplin MO was pounded by an enormous twister that cut a huge swath through that town.

Why do people chase tornadoes? Is it for the adrenaline rush? The urge to tempt fate? Why do any of us do risky things? Twisters director Lee Isaac Chang says, “There’s a contradictory element to tornadoes. They’re so destructive, yet we all want to see them.” Twisters provides all the vicarious tingle I need without exposing me to danger. 

Plus the film has two lead characters who have great charisma and chemistry. It’s rated PG-13 so you can take most all of your family members. It clocks in right at two hours with nary a wasted frame. And, yes, it is a fun movie.

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Fly Me To The Moon

First, the good news: ScarJo looks terrific in the new film Fly Me To The Moon. She rocks a sort of Jill St. John vibe in snug-fitting fashions with a cool late 60s coiffure and, at times in the film, red lipstick. Not to mention her million dollar smile which she flashes frequently.

Now, the bad news: Fly Me To The Moon misfires on many levels. As a romcom, the romance is tepid and the comedy is not that funny. Its dramatic elements are out of sync with the rest of the movie, which is mainly light-hearted. But don’t blame Scarlett Johansson or her co-star Channing Tatum who does a good job in an odd, badly written, role.

Kelly Jones (Johansson) is recruited by Moe Berkus (Woody Harrelson) to promote NASA and the moon mission. Berkus claims he’s a liaison to the president. On arriving at Cape Kennedy, Kelly encounters Cole Davis (Tatum) who is in charge of the launch. After a “meet cute,” he and she are soon at odds about her methods of getting coverage for the event.

The film’s gimmick is a top-secret fake moon landing on a sound stage. To be shot as a backup. That shoot is directed in the movie by Lance Vespertine (Jim Rash), a flamboyant gay man who has no charm whatsoever. Not sure if the blame for this role goes to the actor, the writer or the casting director. Or all of them. The fake landing offers many opportunities for laughs and amusement but that segment fails miserably.

In a nifty bit of scheduling, Fly Me To The Moon’s release comes as America notes the 55th anniversary of the launch of Apollo 11, the mission that put our first men on the moon. In what is usually a slow month for news, the story of the moon landing always gets repeated by media because it is one of the high points of recent American history. So, a fictional movie centered around that event might seem to be a good idea.

In addition to the tension in Mission Control as the Apollo 11 launch occurs, the film references Apollo 1’s fire which resulted in the deaths of three astronauts. Davis not only visits the memorial to the crew daily, he loses his cool when an interviewer presses him about his role in the tragedy. This effort to insert a bit of gravitas in what is otherwise a generally unserious story seems gratuitous. 

The efforts of the film’s production crew to present references to 1969 are admirable. A huge collection of vintage cars shows up in multiple locations. Kelly’s assistant Ruby (Anna Garcia) has a wardrobe of colorful outfits like those often seen in photos of young women from the late 60s and early 70s. Eastern Airlines and TWA have signage in the airport. And it was great to hear the forgotten soul classic Slip Away by Clarence Carter in the soundtrack. 

Is Fly Me To The Moon a horrible film? No, that’s not the right word. But it could’ve and should’ve been better. It runs a bit too long—2:12. It wastes the talents of Ray Romano whose impact is negligible. And it inaccurately posits that the country was not that excited about the moon mission. 

According to Wikipedia, “the film was initially slated to be released direct-to-streaming but was redirected to theatrical following strong test screenings.” Hmmm. 

Directed by Greg Berlati. Script by Rose Gilroy from a story by Bill Kirstein and Keenan Flynn. Rated PG-13. 

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The Fall Guy

Like one of Stefon’s hottest clubs, The Fall Guy has EVERYTHING: Action, comedy, romance and drama. And, of course, awesome stunts. And some cool dogs. And a unicorn.

Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt are excellent, as you would expect. But it’s their characters and the story that make The Fall Guy a movie you will want to see. As is often the case with films full of explosions, chases, fights, etc., you will want to see it at a movie house rather than wait a few weeks for streaming.

Colt Seavers (Gosling) is a stunt man who injures his back when a fall goes wrong. After which he goes into a shell and ghosts his girlfriend Jody Moreno (Blunt) who is camera operator on the film. Eighteen months later, when Jody is directing her first film, producer Gail Meyer (Hannah Waddingham) recruits Colt to jump on a plane to Sydney to do stunt work.

Their relationship ramps up again slowly as an insecure Jody tries to tie her film-within-a-film together. Her film Metalstorm involves aliens and cowboys,BTW. Meanwhile Gail asks Colt to track down missing star Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), setting in motion much of The Fall Guy’s action sequences which occur away from the Metalstorm filming locations.

Director David Leitch and screenwriters Drew Pearce and Glen A. Larson have stitched together a tale whose plot takes a few clever turns but doesn’t get too weird. The tale’s resolution and the film’s coda are both hugely satisfying. 

Also enjoyable are some of the “inside baseball” elements of movie making. Along with “real” views of some of Metalstorm’s action, we see the onscreen versions in brief clips. The stars talk about movies like Pretty Woman and Love, Actually. At one point, after Colt says something sweet to Jody, he wonders to himself if his remark was an ad-lib or a line from a movie.

The Fall Guy feels just a smidge too long but that qualm is extinguished when one considers all the stuff that’s in the movie. Including a few clever director’s tricks like split screens and quick cuts between static scenes and action scenes. To avoid the risk of this review also running too long, a quick mention that the film is rated PG-13 so you can take your parents and even most kids. No sex, just violence.

Bottom line: The Fall Guy is a winner.

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Monkey Man

Revenge! It’s a strong motivator. For Dev Patel’s character Kid AKA Bobby AKA Monkey Man, the thoughts of revenge fuel his very being. In this ultra violent new movie, directed and co-written by Patel, getting even is a slow and painful process.

Patel, best known for his role in the 2008 film Slumdog Millionaire, is in almost every scene in Monkey Man. The title comes from the Hindu monkey-god Hanuman who is referenced throughout the film AND from the persona Patel’s character Kid adopts in bare-knuckle fist fights. In the ring his head is covered by a monkey mask which hides his identity.

Kid manages to finagle his way into a job at an upscale Mumbai club, starting in the kitchen, moving up to become a server in the dining room and eventually in the VIP room. A strongman Rana (Sikandar Kher) who was responsible for Kid’s mother’s torture and death provides security for the establishment. 

After a scuffle leads to a classic chase with Kid getting shot and landing in the drink, he is rescued and rehabbed by a religious group led by a trans woman named Alpha (Vipin Sharman). This respite sets him up for his final confrontation. 

Monkey Man is already being compared to the John Wick films for its level of physical violence. But the violence in Monkey Man is more visceral and realistic. Whereas the Wick face-offs feel more like choreographed dance. A couple of scenes recalled the violent climax of Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. (Though no flame-throwers like the one Leo used in that QT film were noticed.)

Patel’s facial expressions throughout the film communicate the gritty nature of these fights. There are a handful of light moments in Monkey Man. And the flashbacks to Kid’s childhood are sweet.

The cast includes Sharlto Copley who starred in the 2009 South African sci-fi film District 9. He is Tiger, the promoter and ring announcer for those underground bare-knuckle boxing matches.

Can a film that is imbued with the culture of India and its religions succeed in Western markets? Well, Slumdog Millionaire won eight Academy Awards (though none in acting categories) and was a financial success. Jordan Peele thought enough of Monkey Man to acquire the movie from Netflix and bring it to theaters via Universal. It’s rated R.

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The Boys in the Boat

The book was better. I’ve never read the book but I know it was better than the movie version of The Boys in the Boat. 

If you enjoy cliché-ridden sports stories about individuals and/or teams who overcome steep odds to claim victory in their field of competition, then this movie is for you. I myself was bored with this film.

Okay, a few positives: The depiction of Seattle’s Depression-era shantytown was impressive, no matter whether it was real or partly computer generated. The moving grandstand, on a rail car I guess, which allowed spectators to move parallel to the crew teams as they moved down the Hudson River is cool. And the overhead shots of the sculls racing along provide a pleasing images.

A big negative: Director George Clooney chose Joel Edgerton to play Al Ulbrickson, coach of the University of Washington crew team. The team goes on—spoiler alert—to represent the U.S. at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. Sorry, but to me it just seems wrong to cast as the leader of Team USA… an Aussie! No disrespect to Edgerton, a fine actor, but were there no Americans available for this role? 

That’s not as bad as Ava DuVarney’s casting of Brits to play MLK, LBJ and George Wallace in her movie Selma. That still stinks!

Another positive: The Boys in the Boat is rated PG-13. So you can take the whole family. There’s romance that’s sweet and innocent and only one veiled reference to sex (but it’s married couple sex, so that’s okay.) Little kids might be amused if they’ve never seen any of these kinds of stories. And even 90-somethings might dig a movie set within their lifespans. But overall, this is ground that has be trod by makers of sports movies time and time again. Although… there are not many films about rowing. (Unless you count the rowing in the recent Lessons in Chemistry.)

If Nana loved Emma Stone in La La Land and thinks that the movie Poor Things looks interesting, steer her instead to The Boys in the Boat. She may nod off during TBITB, but she is also less likely to walk out ashen-faced.

The Boys in the Boat is the kind of movie that Nick Saban might take his Bama team to see the night before they face Michigan. It emphasizes teamwork, stick-to-it-ivness, conditioning and all that. Or, maybe not, since it’s a lily-white cast of characters. As mentioned before, and merits mentioning again, the film is rated PG-13.

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2023 Movies… Favorites and others

It was great to get back into theaters this year and see movies on the big screen!

I’ve put the movies I saw this year into three groups:

MOVIES I LIKED A LOT…

John Wick Chapter 4. Not just an orgy of violence, it is ballet. The cast, the stunts, the locations, the story… wow! Keanu Reeves and company deliver one of the best action movies I’ve ever seen.

The Holdovers. Clever story and script, strong performances, some good laughs and a big dose of humanity make this a perfect movie for grown-ups. Paul Giamatti is excellent as usual.

American Fiction. A comedy about white guilt and those people who exploit it—both black and white. It’s also a family story with Jeffrey Wright, Tracee Ellis Ross and Sterling K. Brown as siblings and Leslie Uggams as their mom. Opens in St. Louis in January.

Oppenheimer. Big movie. Loud. The physicist’s life is divided into two parts: pre-bomb and post-bomb. Director/writer Christopher Nolan crams a lot of narrative into three hours. Robert Downey Jr.’s explosive performance likely to be among this film’s award winners. Not only was this film a critical success, it did huge box office numbers too.

Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3. More fun with this odd cast of characters, each of whom is developed more fully here. Loved the art direction and the song choices. 

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. With references to previous Indy movies and lots of entertaining chase scenes. The use of time travel as a plot device is weak but the movie checks most of the boxes we’ve known and loved in the Indiana Jones series. Welcome back, Dr. Jones!

The Burial. Jamie Foxx is excellent as a personal injury lawyer who takes funeral home owner Tommy Lee Jones as a client. 

MOVIES I LIKED SOMEWHAT…

Dumb Money. Better job of telling its story than expected. Paul Dano is great, as usual. 

Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret. Weird time of life for all kids, especially girls. Classic teen book finally gets the screen treatment it deserves.

Champions. Woody Harrelson in a movie with heart. He coaches a basketball team of developmentally challenged kids. 

Cocaine Bear. Silly, goofy, fun. And Ray Liotta!

The Last Voyage of the Demeter. A slow build horror film. Nicely executed.

Book Club: The Next Chapter. Basically a raunchier version of a Hallmark movie with bigger stars. Candace Bergen is the standout among the four senior actresses.

Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One. Effects and stunts triumph over story and characters. I was more impressed by the Rome chase than the dangling train bit.

Napoleon. Has its moments. Spectacular battle scenes. 

Priscilla. Her side of the story. The woman in the title role (Cailee Spaeny) did a nice job but that whole relationship was creepy. 

The Exorcist: Believer. Some good scary moments. And Ellyn Burstyn’s return.

No Hard Feelings. Jennifer Lawrence has charisma and range. Several good laughs.

The Flash. Highlight of the film is Michael Keaton’s return as Batman.

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. Chris Pine is good but what the heck is Hugh Grant doing in this movie?

MOVIES I DID NOT LIKE…

Asteroid City. Wes Anderson overload. Pointless.

Five Nights at Freddy’s. Not scary. Josh Hutcherson’s overacting gets tedious.

Strays. Cute idea, dumb execution.

The Boys in the Boat. Sports movie clichés aplenty. I was bored.

Renfield. Nic Cage is fun but this horror flick had little charm for me.

Can’t wait to see what 2024 has to offer!

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Napoleon

Ridley Scott’s new film Napoleon is the kind of movie that’s not often made anymore. It’s a historical drama with epic battles, gorgeous costumes, spectacular palaces, luxurious coaches, romance and a beheading. (Spoiler alert: the film opens with Marie Antoinette getting the neat neck slice.) This is a big movie with big ambitions.

Napoleon (Joaquin Phoenix) is a successful military leader (well, up until overplaying his hand in the battle of Waterloo). He combines his bravery, his military skills with his political acumen to become Emperor of France during this period of French turmoil. 

He spots, woos and weds Josephine (Vanessa Kirby) and goes to work trying to sire an offspring but she is unable to bear him a child. (Their lovemaking is depicted in a less than erotic and seemingly functional manner.)

Napoleon appears to have, as they used to say, “a cast of thousands,” in some of its battle scenes. Or, in these days of clever effects and AI trickery, maybe a bunch of soldiers and horses copied and pasted over and over. In any case, the war scenes are violent and bloody. Some of the distant shots of camps and hordes of advancing troops are obviously manipulated, but the closeup warfare looks good and many sequences are memorable.

Despite all his accomplishments, Napoleon was responsible for a great number of lives lost on battlefields. The film’s end notes offer up a scorecard of sorts listing casualty totals, a number that led to his being sent to live out the last few years of his life in exile on the island of St. Helena.

A question that arises is… Is Joaquin Phoenix the right guy to play Napoleon? Napoleon is a complex character; so is Joaquin. He’s a big star, yes, and a recent Oscar winner. He’s had box office and critical success. And having him cast in the role was likely a major reason the movie was able to get made. But as I watched the movie, I kept wondering if Ridley Scott had considered others for the role or was he locked in on Phoenix from the get-go? 

Maybe that thought occurred because of the handful of laugh-out-loud moments in the movie that  would not have been included in an epic, spectacle movie like this just a few decades ago. 

Because of the grand scale of the battles in Napoleon, this film should be seen on a movie theater screen. The same has been said of several films that have been released this year but in this case the suggestion is one to seriously consider. Of course Napoleon will be on streaming platforms shortly but if you can catch it on a big screen, do so.

Napoleon is not a “must-see” film but… if you enjoy those big, epic films and if you are a Joaquin Phoenix fan, go for it. Rated R.

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Book Club: The Next Chapter

Book Club: The Next Chapter has all the hallmarks of a Hallmark movie, with a few differences: the cast is older and better known, the budget is bigger and the script is more risqué. It’s rated PG-13 so you can take your mom but not your church group.

“White women drinking wine in gorgeous locations while talking about men” could be the slug line for several Hallmark Channel movies. It also describes Book Club: The Next Chapter.

The white women are Vivian (Jane Fonda), Sharon (Candice Bergen), Diane (Diane Keaton) and Carol (Mary Steenburgen). The gorgeous locations are Rome, Venice and Tuscany. The wine keeps being poured and consumed throughout the film. 

The men they talk about are Don Johnson (Viv’s fiancé) , Andy Garcia (Diane’s boyfriend) and Craig T. Nelson (Carol’s husband). Sharon, whose personality is similar to that of Murphy Brown, does not have a regular guy but that fact lets her cast her net toward a handsome gent she meets in a bar. And one of the gals runs into an old boyfriend from back in the day and spends part of the evening with him in his van.

Would you believe that the movie’s climax features a wedding? And that there are a few last minute surprises just before the “I do’s”? Well, that’s another Hallmark hallmark. 

As mentioned, Italy is gorgeous. And the women, despite their advanced ages (70, 77, 77 and 85), look pretty good, too. Well, the current version of Jane Fonda looks more like the latter day Mary Tyler Moore than the beautiful Jane we remember but, hey, give her credit for hanging in there. 

The wardrobes are fun, too. Despite luggage issues, the cool outfits just keep on coming. On a visit to a bridal designer, all four try on wedding gowns. And where does Diane keep getting all those hats?

Oh, the book the group refers to on several occasions is The Alchemist, a novel by Paulo Coelho. The author is from Brazil. The English translation was first published in 1993, per Wikipedia.

Book Club: The Next Chapter is a big dollop of gooey fluff with a few laughs along the way. If you’ve been to Italy or fantasized about traveling there, add BC:TNC to your Italy movie list. This one will stream in a few weeks but looks better on the big screen.

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Champions

Champions is a Woody Harrelson movie. But the more important characters in this film are the folks with “intellectual disabilities” on his basketball team.

Marcus (Harrelson) gets bounced from his gig as an assistant coach on a minor league hoops squad for insubordination. He drives drunk… right into a police car. He is given community service: coach this untalented team of apparent misfits.

If you’ve seen one sports redemption movie, you’ve seen ‘em all. You can guess what’s going to happen here. But… the journey to the unsurprising outcome has its fun moments.

Quick warning: Champions is not a movie for little kids. It’s PG-13 with sexual references and language but no nudity. Champions is directed by Bobby Farrelly who, with his brother, directed Woody in the funny and downright weird 1996 bowling movie Kingpin (which also had some crude humor).

As Champions begins Marcus is sending off his one-night stand Alex (Kaitlin Olson) only to have her reappear as the sister of one of the intellectually challenged players. She and Marcus ramp up their relationship. (Olson is best-known for her work on It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia.)

Alex is a Shakespearian actress who plies her trade for school groups. Her van that takes her act on the road also serves as a transport for her brother and his teammates.

Marcus has one truly talented player. But Darius (Joshua Felder), a brain damaged young man, refuses to play for him until Marcus learns why.

In these ultra sensitive times, it may be borderline courageous to focus on young adults with learning disabilities. Ben Stiller was recently roasted again for his film Tropic Thunder and that film’s ridiculous suggestion that an actor portraying a person with learning disabilities never go “full (R-word)” if he wants to win an Oscar. 

There could be criticism for the portrayals of these individuals in the movie from friends and family of persons existing in similar circumstances. But thumbs up to Farrelly and Woody for presenting this crew with good humor and appropriate respect.

Also in the cast are Ernie “Ghostbusters” Hudson as the coach who fires Marcus but later befriends him. And Cheech Marin as the director of the team’s community center.

Champions clocks in at just over two hours. Which seems about 15 minutes too long. But the soundtrack is fun. Tubthumping by Chumbawamba! Among other cool tunes.

Not a “must see.” But an upbeat underdog movie can bring a bit of joy and who doesn’t need some of that these days?

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Cocaine Bear

Fun, comic horror/gore with a goofy bear. And Ray Liotta, too! 

Cocaine Bear lives up to the promise of its viral trailer with a story that’s inspired by true events. But that story comes with a whole lot of embellishment. 

The film’s opening scene signals the light-hearted tone of the movie. The ill-fated pilot dances wildly inside his soon-to-crash plane as he ejects the parcels of nose candy just before he ejects himself.

Yes, a bear discovers the coke in the north Georgia woods and appears to like it. Much to the dismay of the St. Louis-based (!) drug kingpin (Liotta) who sends his son (Alden Ehrenreich) and the son’s chum to fetch it. 

The cast also includes Keri Russell as a single mom whose daughter is lost in the woods where the bear is romping, high on flake. And Margo Martindale as a park ranger. They, like everyone else in the cast, are all looking for the bear, the coke or both. But the real star of the movie is the bear.

And the bear looks good! Okay, it’s mostly a CGI bear plus some scenes with a guy in a bear suit. But it looks real. And it is huge. (The bears I’ve seen in the wild in the Smokies are smaller and almost cuddly looking.)

The film, directed by Elizabeth Banks, has sufficient blood and gore to satisfy fans of that kind of thing. (In addition to dismemberment and contusions suffered by humans, the bear slobbers. Gross!) And Cocaine Bear has enough chuckles to tickle audience funny bones.

Considering that Ray Lotta died last May, you might presume this would be his last on-screen appearance. You would be wrong. According to IMDB, there are still three more Liotta roles yet to come.

One more thing: the St. Louis advance screening of Cocaine Bear was held at the city’s new Alamo Drafthouse theater multiplex at City Foundry. The seats, the sight lines, the sound were terrific. Let’s hope this place is a success.

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