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Crazy Rich Asians (2018)
Social Class Squabbles Within Asian Culture
This is essentially Romeo & Juliet within an upper class setting in Asia cultures. A bright and youthful couple are on the path toward marriage. However, the girlfriend has never met the guy's parents as he has kept it on the downlow since his family is hyper wealthy. They head back to his homeland for his best friend's wedding and will ultimately meet his parents. Once this happens and they realize she has her own personal ambitions and doesn't meet their historical and cultural expectations of a wife, thus strife ensues between his family and her. This drama unfolds around very ritzy events, so the film has glamorous scenes and the editing does compliment the that nicely. Fun movie with good acting, solid story and ultimately a predictable outcome.
Airport (1970)
The Serious Film that "Airplane" Turned Into a Slapstick
I never knew "Airplane" used any movie as a basis for their hilarious comedy. It really doesn't kick in until they get into the air but it really follows the story almost scene for scene. "Airport" is a no-nonsense film that handles a web of airline related storylines that culminate as danger strikes in the sky. Characters from pilots, to ground control, stewardesses to ticket agents show how much work they do beyond the expected. There is more drama in this film than an entire season of "Wings". This was a quickly paced and serious film that had a slew of characters with their own specific life issues. An interesting viewing know what comedy is spawned.
American Psycho (2000)
An Uncomfortable Viewing
I rewatched this after 20+ years having a hankering to hear Bale's character over-analyze 80s pop artists in an amusing manner. This film gets more complex the deeper the story unravels. As to no surprise, Bale plays a serial killer who lives the high life while completely pampering himself, drinking with buddies in his sphere, sleeping with escorts and oh yah, murdering random people at random times. What compels him to do this? That is the underlying question. He sort of seeks help for his mental state but no one will truly hear him. Will he ever stop? The dialog in this film was strange and intriguing and the scenes were striking as well as uncomfortable. This is one character you may never forget.
Fatal Attraction (1987)
I Didn't Expect It To Be That Intense!
Another film in the pantheon of stories highlighting reasons not to cheat on your significant other. Dan (Douglas) encounters a woman at a company party, Alex (Close), with pure 80s tall and blond hair later meet at work. Both with confident personalities decide to let their lust take over when Dan's wife and kid go away for the weekend. Dan assuming Alex knew the 'rules' since she knew about his family would just enjoy the weekend together while Alex later has other intentions and doesn't want the fling to end after the weekend. So much so that she'll go to some extremes when he tries to halt her now unwanted advances. How far will she take her emotions and will Dan be able to keep her out of the loop? This was a tense and thrilling screenplay acted by two of the all-time greats. I now see why it is so famous.
Trolls World Tour (2020)
Nice Focus On Diverse Cultures
This sequel has a nice message of being accepting of other cultures and their tradition, styles and of course music......just as long as it isn't smooth jazz. Ha. In this movie, the mean looking Queen of Rock is determined to take other cultures' special music string so Rock music will be what everyone must listen to. Will she succeed or will Poppy teach her a lesson? The movie is full of short popular music samples for each genre and jokes poking fun at them. It of course is full of bright colors and dazzling visual moments and overall was a solid follow up movie with a clear message for kids.
Moscow on the Hudson (1984)
Robin in a Role as a Russian
Robin Williams plays immigrant seeking to defect from Russia as part of a circus group on a US trip. He stages his defection in Bloomingdales and meets several friendly people who are either immigrants or lower-class. Some take him in and one he strikes up a relationship with. How will he adapt to living in the US? Much of this story is about how America is a melting pot that can mix lower-class people as well as immigrants who strive to help each other out despite their limited means. Williams does blend into his unique character as you'd imagine. The movie has nice heart but overall isn't cinematically memorable. Yet it does have a nice pro immigrant and pro America sentiment.
Places in the Heart (1984)
Hard Realities of Living through the 1930s Depression Era
Ignore the title, this is not a fluff romance film. People today complain or worry about not having the latest phone or it not being charged or not getting enough social media attention. Turning to real life stresses, living in that period provided unwelcomed lessons in getting by with very little and working to exhaustion. This story highlights that type of life, while mixing in challenging race relations and a wife trying to make mortgage payments after her husband with accidentally shot dead, which triggers (pun intended) huge hurdles for her to overcome. She enlists the help of a warm spirited black man to help make them prosperous from what is available on her land. Sally Field and Danny Glover drive the story with solid side roles from Ed Harris and John Malkovich. Overall, compelling and honest storytelling, with several side stories, complimented by great acting and an impactful final panning shot.
Titanic (1943)
Far From The Romantic Tale of Kate & Leanardo
From what I read, this is a Russian propaganda film in or order to twist the story into showing how Western capitalist greed was the root cause of the Titanic's accident. The story's running theme focused on the cost of building the ship and how the people in charge ordered and pressured the Captain to go as fast as possible to beat time estimates to prove and hype up how great the ship was. I was not aware of this until after my viewing but the film was rather interesting with bold characters, quality sets and costumes, peppy pacing and the ultimate sinking scene was well-done for a 1940s film of this nature. I also later learned the director Herbert Selpin was arrested by the Gestapo during this film's production. He was found hanged in his cell the following day!! Heavy!
A Simple Favor (2018)
Solid Opening Then Fell Off the Cliff
If you find yourself eating a whole pack of gummy bears, you typically really enjoy the first few and as you fail to stop and polish off the bag, your gut usually is frowning. That was the enjoyment arc of this movie. The movie opens with a goodie-two-shoes mother, Stephanie, who offers a playdate with another mother, Emily, as she seemed stressed so they can hang out as well. Emily is brash, crass and is far from a warm wholesome parent. Emily then asks Stephanie if she can watch her child a few more times until she, herself, vanishes. What's going on? Later Emily's husband gets more involved in more than one way. Not to spoil anything, this movie has lots of twists and turns, which could have been fun, but those moments were delivered without any sophistication. Each twist was 'statically talked through' rather than smartly revealed without allowing the viewer to reflect back to any earlier clues thus, the viewer is mindlessly along for the ride without engagement. So this ends up being a lost opportunity that was a poorly written and weak thriller.
Morning Glory (2010)
Light-hearted Hokey RomCom
I spotted a Harrison Ford, Jeff Goldblum, Rachel McAdams and Diane Keaton and thought it was worth a shot. It's a simple story of an overly eager local morning show producer trying to make a name for herself. She gets abruptly laid off and takes a job at a struggling and mismanaged national morning show. Will she be able to turn it around and manage that job and the challenging personalities, namely Harrison Ford. This is a fine movie with a chuckle here and a smirk there as McAdams carries the movie and the secondary character are amusing. Checked another random Ford movie off his filmography I suppose.
Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F (2024)
Generic Smash and Bash + Historical Reminiscing
Well....it was lightly entertaining with throwback moments to the 80s movies. Objectively, this was a mindless, generic and brought nothing new to the table, which is sort of sad for how influential the original 80s movies were. Laced with decent comedic zingers and action it forgot to include genuine tension and some characters made eye rolling decisions. The plot revolves around Foley and his daughter, who have relationship issues working together on a case. The case is forgettable, so the character interactions drive the story, which include a couple from the originals. Because of its heritage it is worth a watch but I'd say it underperformed.
Against All Odds (1984)
This Film is Pure 1984
Early on It uses a car chase and a vile of cocaine as a means to help develop some characters. Bridges plays a football player who gets removed from his team. In need of cash, he winds up connecting with a brash dude to help locate his old girlfriend who moved out of the country. During his overseas time, he uncovered more than the location of the lady. He finds a deeper truth to his pal, the ex-girlfriend as well as the shady underbelly to some high-powered people. This story was mildly entertaining, felt 80s and had some decent plot shifts and curves. Fun to see Bridges and James Woods really young.
Starman (1984)
Jeff Bridges as Alien; Solid Portrayal
Well, that was a really gross way for an alien to arrive on Earth vs the exciting and electric arrival on The Terminator. Jeff Bridges plays an alien who arrives to Earth and starts out as a newborn baby and rapidly grows into a young man. He has a mission to great earthlings and in three days gets picked up or rescued. The alien happens to take the form of a wife's dead husband and she ends up along for his journey. Lots of amusing alien not knowing anything about Earth jokes and other people's reactions to his uniqueness. Bridges does a respectable job portraying an alien and figuring out human nature. Moderately entertaining with a scoop of 80s corniness.
The Killing Fields (1984)
The Reality of Harsh Brutality and One of Friendship
As the title suggests, this is a film you don't just lightly watch on a whim. This film takes the viewer into a world that does not value life, the civil war in Cambodia in the 1970s. This is the true story of New York Times journalist, Sydney Schanberg, covering the civil war in Cambodia along with his interpreter and guide Dith Pran as they attempt to shine light into this conflict and its atrocities. As tensions and violence rise with various local group vying for power, the American embassy orders everyone to withdraw the country. Schanberg encouraged Pran to stay and help, thereby missing his chance to flee earlier. Now when Schanberg leaves, Pran is stuck....in the Killing Fields....and sees first-hand how brutal the factions can be while also brainwashing the orphaned children to not value family and much more. This film does not hold back so be ready, but it did a nice job of developing the friendship, while the second half is Schanberg attempting to get Pran freed. Will he succeed or will Pran end up being one of the STAGGERING two million killed?
Gojira -1.0 (2023)
Pleasantly Surprised by the Approach
Thankfully, this was not just another Michael Bay style, over the top, CGI-centered fluff movie. Taking place as WWII was winding down, this one dug deep into Japanese heritage, social effects of losing the war as well as soldier honor. The protagonist fighter pilot returns home having shame for not kamikazeing his plane during the war. Soon Godzilla appears, with an abrupt entrance and the pilot once again fails in the courage arena. Returning to his physical home, the town is decimated, and he and another woman help to care for a lost baby. With Godzilla still looming the film turn into scientists and soldiers working to bring him to his ultimate death. Will this pilot have the courage to finally help his country while juggling a side romance and a baby needing a father figure? Overall, this had sweet moments of Godzilla's power, while also taking the time to develop characters and an actual story!!
Devil in a Blue Dress (1995)
Denzel in a Modern Noir
This is one of those films that has a detective feel, with the plot unravelling as the audience learns facts along with the protagonist, while it also has a multitude of characters that come and go. The story was well-told and edited, which was based on a WWII veteran (Denzel), in the 1940s, looking for work and winds up take a non-standard job from a bloke with an unknown background. It starts simple enough as he is tasked with locating a specific female and report back on her whereabouts. Which leads to certain people noticing his interest in the lady which slowly gets influential people involved in larger scoped activities. Who is this lady and who really wants her found? What obstacles will be thrown in his way? This was an entertaining viewing and fun to watch the situations unfold.
She Came to Me (2023)
An Unexpected Romance Full of Dissonance
This was certainly a convoluted and quirky romance story. Peter Dinkledge plays an opera composer who uses real life experiences to drive his storytelling. This time while trying to work through a creative block, he mixes the real world with home life. While married, which is a rather unconvincing marriage, his life crosses the path of a female tugboat captain and she entices him onto the boat. Will she cure his creative block or just send his life into disarray? Meanwhile Dinkledge and his wife juggle a growing fiasco with their son and his girlfriend and her family. Needless to say, there is ample drama to go around from multiple distinctive characters. Solid acting, interesting storytelling and average cinematography.
The Novice (2021)
Mental and Physical Pains of OCD
This is a psychological look into the mind of someone with severe OCD. A female freshman joins her college rowing team. Never having rowed before she sets out to dig super deep to push AND punish her body and go above and beyond with her training to make the varsity boat and become a good as she can as fast as she can. This is a fairly compelling storyline, yet the film felt misguided with questionable character decisions, strange setting for the training room and the protagonist was not likable. Additionally, the teammates became very argumentative; maybe this can be real but I wasn't sold. The atmosphere of the film was very raw, rough and unglamorous. The main actress gave an emotional performance but the side characters felt stiff.
Two Lovers (2008)
Not The Typical Romantic Turmoil Film
This slow burn drama doesn't go where many movies would have, thankfully. Thus, it left me unsettled yet I was happy it played out not as I was anticipating. Joaquin Phoenix, Gwyneth Paltrow and Vinessa Shaw all play out their characters with emotional depth. At a high-level Phoenix's character meets a nice and pretty woman, Shaw, through connections with his parents. Yet unexpectedly, he meets Paltrow in his apartment building. She is quirky, go with the flow and has issues. This resonates with Phoenix, which sets up a personal decision between a very nice safe option vs the quirky option. I expected the typical scenes with arguments, yelling and apologies. This was not the case in this story, yet it did take you on an emotional ride with subtle and rich acting and good script angles. A solid drama with A-List actors and actresses.
Universal Soldier (1992)
Muscular Man Action At Its Peak...aside from Arnold
If you chose to watch this knowing this movie is carried by not just Van Damme but also Dolph Lundgren then know what is heading your way. Pure action, explosions, cheesy one-liners and light entertainment...oh and.... Dolph's neckless of severed and still bloody ears. The crux to the story is alright as a under the radar program has been created to develope a sort of cyborg soldier from 'officially' dead US Army men; the best of breed. Malfunctions occur as the soldier's old human memories begin to surface. How will this team of universal solders pan out during a critical mission? There are many comedic action scenes to offset the scenes where Dolph punches through a scientist's glass helmet and snaps his neck in one motion.
The truck is still one of the coolest trucks I've seen come out of Hollywood.
My Little Chickadee (1940)
Mae West At Her Peak
A classic well-dressed damsel meets, what she thinks is an older wealth gent who is clutching literally a bag full of money. She is quick to marry him for financial security and soon learns the money is nicely designed coupons. Less upbeat she crosses paths with two younger handsome gents and a manly masked bandit and you can guess where the story heads from here. How will she juggle their advances and keep her new husband at bay. Throw in some mistaken identity, typical Mae West quick whit and you have another lightly amusing 30s-40s picture. One where Mae West fires out a barrage of witty zingers.
Falling in Love (1984)
More Like How to Slowly Kill Your Marriage
I had never heard of this film which happens to star two hall of fame actors, so I had to give it a viewing. De Niro and Streep are both in mediocre marriages, one has kids, and this story follows their slow path from a chance meeting into a wanting to spend more time together, while they slowly find ways to be away from their marriage and family. This film does a nice job of portraying how even small events and choices can lead certain people down the wrong path. It even highlights each character's internal questioning of 'why am I doing this' type of pondering. De Niro has a nice early career role with a subtle and quiet performance vs his most boisterous famous characters. So, will the two sever their marriages and families for what they perceive as true love?
Atlas (2024)
I Bet We'll See More Stories Like These
This movie reminded of a mash-up between "Pacific Rim" as well as "Jexi" with Adam Devine. LOL. As A. I. is getting more integrated into people's lives, the pros/cons/concerns of that will be discussed and argued more and more. J. Lo plays a scientific data analyst with severe mistrust of A. I. She joins a group of Rangers, who operate inside a large fighting A. I. robot of which they are mentally linked, in order to stop a different rogue A. I. robot. J. Lo gets thrust into action and into one of these Ranger robots she mistrusts. Much of the film is built around the relationship of her A. I. robot and her attitude toward it in tense situations. Will she resort to trusting A. I. in order to stop another A. I.? The movie does hit on some of those societal points while mixing in a slew of solid CGI action.
The Crush (1993)
This is a bit more than a simple crush
This felt inspired by "Lolita" yet lacking all the finesse of the original. Yet this was the film that launched Alicia Silverstone into those Aerosmith music videos and into more movies as this was her debut. She did a solid job acting and displayed a range of believable emotions. The movie is about a journalist who rents an over the garage room from a family who has a 14-year-old daughter. The poor guy just wants to write but this girl keeps grabbing his attention. He tries to avoid an underage entanglement but he's ensnared by a kiss which she uses as leverage to torment him until he succumbs to her romantic desires. Who will have the upper hand and how intense will her tormenting go? This is a decent movie yet left room for cinematic improvement.
Bardo, falsa crónica de unas cuantas verdades (2022)
Life Reflection as Visual Dreamscape
This was impressive on many fronts but I must highlight the set design complimented by the cinematography. They were imaginative, creative, surreal at times and punctuated the more philosophical scenes of this meandering story. A story of a man contemplating his life choices and the downstream effects on his children as you weave in and out of some significant moments of his life. There are many discussion scenes between him and his children discussing their Mexican heritage and the choice to live in the US and perhaps even to move back to their homeland. The scenes revolving around his own life are more surreal and dreamlike as in the start of the film a baby his wife has just delivered let the doctors know it wanted to return....and....it does. So that was rather traumatic. Overall, the film is visually stunning and contemplative and feels a bit like Terrence Malick's style.