What I've Seen
Mile 22
This is the level of movie that blockbuster heavyweight Mark Wahlberg doesn't need to make anymore. It's a level of movie its director Peter Berg still makes because Berg doesn't have the box office clout of Michael Bay to justify doing big budget action flicks. Instead we have the sleek "22 Miles", made for $35 million (and I bet Wahlberg did his collaborator Berg a solid and didn't take his quote) and clocks in at 95 minutes. Whatever Wahlberg did make, it was the easiest money he's ever made because while Wahlberg gets top billing, I can't really call this a Mark Wahlberg film.
Opening up with a zippy audio dossier on Wahlberg's James Silva's background to lay the foundation on why he is the way he is (unnecessarily so) you're led to believe that he is our focus. But soon the audience clues in that the real focus, aka star is "The Raid" and "The Raid 2" stuntman/martial artist/actor Iko Uwais as Li Noor.
Silva's team (MMA star Ronda Rousey, former NY Ranger Sean Avery and former "The Walking Dead" star Lauren Cohan) are seeking intel about a deadly toxin that is in circulation that could wipe out thousands. Their informant is former police officer, Li Noor (Iko Uwais). When Noor's intel pans out, he requests amnesty and sanctuary to the U.S. His way of securing it is by offering more intel but only when he is at the tarmac to the US.
When Noor's government sends assassins after him, Silva and his team must get Noor safely through the 22 miles it will take to get to Noor's extraction point.
The movie is fast: between the rapid fight scenes by Uwais who is the successor of Jet Li and Jackie Chan's action crown, and the mile-a-minute delivery of Aaron Sorkin length line exposition that Wahlberg exhibited so well in "I Heart Huckabees", you're being propelled to the finish line. It's as if the writers (novelist Lea Carpenter and Graham Roland (Prison Break, Lost) know that there is little to this film outside of the action sequences so why waste anyone's time?
I don't know if Berg did a rewrite of the script (he also appears briefly as Conrad's ex husband) but it certainly feels similar to his other political films where he shines a much needed mirror back on the U.S and their policies and how the US government historically traffics in misdeeds and passes them off as patriotism or its God's given right and these actions have led to retribution.
BlacKkKlansmn
I had to sit and stew on this film overnight. By the trailers I expected a comedy - that's on me - but as the film director, Spike Lee, said in an interview "Humor is not the same as comedy". The film is humorous at times largely to the ignorance spouted by the group of klansmen in the film who are no one's ideal of "the superior race". But as the film goes on it's harder to laugh at the ignorance and let the hatred roll off your back. That's where the conflict for me came in: Does this film just amplify the hateful rhetoric of these people? Will audiences laugh at them or will they laugh at them? I saw at least one couple walk out because it does feel like a never ending onslaught of non-ironic venom versus satire.
But I decided this unvarnished look at the ever-changing facade of racism with a hint of humor was the right tone to take. It doesn't let audiences off the hook. It shows where we came from in America and where we are currently.
Based on the autobiography of Colorado Police Detective Ron Stallworth, "BlacKkKlansman" is a look at Stallworth's infiltration of a local Ku Klux Klan which led to his meeting of David Duke.
It's 1979 and Ron Stallworth (John David Washington, Ballers) is the newly hired detective in the Colorado Springs Police Department and its first black detective. Not satisfied with being relegated to the file room, he ask his Chief (Robert John Burke) for an assignment. He's given one: to go undercover at a Black Student Union where he meets its President Patrice (Laura Harrier, Spiderman: Homecoming). As attracted to her as intrigued by the Carmichael's talk of an uprising, Ron has to quell his boss' concern over a possible race war in their backyard. To that end when Ron sees an ad for the Ku Klux Klan in the paper, he calls it and unexpectedly begins a phone relationship with chapter leader Walter (Ryan Eggold, The Blacklist). Wanting to infiltrate their ranks, Ron asks for an assist in the form of fellow Detective Flip Zimmerman (Adam Driver) who will be the face of the operation.
As Flip as Ron gains the trust of Walter (but not his right hand man Felix, Jasper Pääkkönen); the duo try to determine if the Klan are up to any illegal activities.
The idea of a two Ron Stallworths is poetic as the film is about Ron's brewing internal conflict. As his relationship with Patrice grows his distress over her rightful distrust of police officers and how as a black man he belongs to an organization that has a history of violating black people. Something he sees play out in real time thanks to his own harassment at the hands of fellow officer Andy Landers (Frederick Weller, Stonewall).
The cast at Cannes where it won Grand Prix
Crazy Rich Asians
I have only been able to tolerate one rom-com, it's the seminal Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves starrer "The Lake House", but if I could find myself admitting to loving another rom-com it would be "Crazy Rich Asians". Adapted by Peter Chiarelli (The Proposal, Now You See Me 2) and Adele Lim (Dynasty (reboot) and Reign) from the 2013 novel of the same name by Kevin Kwan, "Crazy Rich Asians" takes the romantic aspirational sensibilities of "Pretty Woman" and matches it with a class drama a'la "Dynasty" and family drama of "Meet the Parents".
When Rachel (Constance Wu, Fresh Off the Boat) is invited by her very handsome boyfriend Nick (Henry Golding) to his best friend's wedding in his homeland of Singapore, she is excited, but nervous for the opportunity to meet his family.
But when she meets up with her former college pal Goh (Awkwafina, Oceans 8) Rachel learns that Nick comes from the most influential family in the country.
Rachel is suddenly thrust in the world of incredible affluence and has to wade her way through the perceptions that she, an economics professor, isn't good enough for the scion of Singapore's answer to royalty. Her biggest nemesis: Nick's mother Eleanor (Michelle Yeoh).
A big departure from Wu's character in "Fresh Off the Boat". With "Crazy Rich Asians" she gets to be more easygoing and vulnerable than the strident Jessica she plays on "Fresh Off the Boat". She and Nick Golding (former TV host, in his first film role) work well off each other and are certainly a darling pair.
Being adapted from the book there is many things that understandably couldn't be focused on so it's a bit muddled when they introduce a B plot centered around Nick's cousin Astrid (Gemma Chan, Humans) and her attempts at downplaying her wealth in order to not emasculate her blue collar (compared to them) husband Michael (Pierre Png, Rise). It's an interesting parallel to Nick and Rachel's relationship and thought it would great to show Rachel and Michael as fellow outsiders who befriend each other due to this shared experience but that's not the route they took.
The majority of the story is the malice Rachel gets from Nick's mother and extended family (people have complained that it is not as cruel as the novel). Rachel is Cinderella and Nick's mother and her cronies are her Wicked Stepsisters who do their passive aggressive best...and when that doesn't work aggressive-aggressive best to push Rachel from Nick's life.
Thankfully there are comedic moments to lighten the tone thanks to Awkwafina (who I can only take in small doses), and her nouveau-riche parents (Ken Jeong and Chieng Mun Koh (On the Rocks) and "Superstore"s Oliver Santos as Nick's cousin who is the concierge to the elder women in the family.
On the technical front the production design is outstanding. It truly showcases the beauty of Singapore. The film looks as if it was made for $300 million dollars --the sets, the COSTUMES are exquisite. I literally gasped aloud at one gown. And as soon as Rachel came out wearing the blue, floral gown with the dramatic neckline I knew it was a Giambasta Valli; and it was! I felt it in my bones!
It's great that a big budget film starring an all Asian cast is in cinemas (people keep repeating it's the first film with an all-Asian cast to be distributed by a major film studio since 1993's "The Joy Luck Club" but that's not true. Justin Lin's "Better Luck Tomorrow" which gave John Cho the much needed thrust into the limelight was distributed by Paramount in 2002 - it's about damn time. Outside of that it's a wonderful film on its own merits, being a film about Asians by Asians (even if the director is Jon Chu who directed dreck like G.I Joe Retaliation, Jem and the Holograms) is really special. The Asian women kept saying, "That's something my mom says" or "That's how it is." And it's that great to be able to see a reflection of one's culture.
The cast at the premiere
The film, however, hasn't been without criticism from within the Asian community due to the cast being populated by actors who are not Chinese (as the characters are) and/or who are Anglo-Asian (Golding, Chan, Sonoya Mizuno who plays the fiancée of Nick's best friend and who I walked away loving). Jamie Chung former "Real World: San Diego" castmate turned actor tweeted that she was turned down for a role because she wasn't Chinese. People in turned criticized her for complaining when Chung who is Korean-American, played Chinese character Mulan on "Once Upon a Time"
It's a conversation that permeates many casting and I don't think there's any good answer to it. Black actors have had this conversation as well with Alexandra Shipp being criticized for being cast as Aalyiah and Storm in "X-Men: Apocalypse" as she is biracial. Daniel Kaluuya was criticized by Samuel L. Jackson for being cast in "Get Out" as he's British and the idea is that British Black people don't have the same familiarity with racism that Black Americans have had. So I understand these conversations and the feeling that the bi-racial actors in "Crazy Rich Asians" were cast because their European heritage made them seem more palatable or attractive to the masses.
Dog Days
I will say that this film that would have been at home on Lifetime or Freeform is a breezy, enjoyable film that is much better than the original films that Netflix is releasing weekly. Directed by actor/writer Ken Marino (Burning Love, Wet Hot American Summer) and cowritten by his wife Erica Oyama (Burning Love) and Elissa Matsueda (Spare Parts), "Dog Days" squeaks by due to the charm of some of the actors.
The film follows the dog days (heh) of summer for a group of Los Angelenos: Morning chat show host Elizabeth (Nina Dobrev, The Vampire Diaries) who is reeling from the breakup of her boyfriend which sends she and her dog to therapist, the former athlete turned broadcaster Jimmy (Tone Bell, Disjointed) who is a thorn in Elizabeth's paw; Tara (Vanessa Hudgens) a barista who is panting over the handsome vet Dr. Mike (Michael "Grulian" Cassidy), Garrett (Jon Bass, Molly's Game) the owner of a pet shelter; the irresponsible Dax (Adam Pally, The Mindy Project) who has to dog sit his sister and brother-in-law's dog as they settle in with their newborn twins; Grace and Kurt (Eva Longoria and Rob Corddry) who are struggling to get their newly adopted daughter Amelia (the most darling lil one, Elizabeth Phoenix Caro) and do so only when she finds a stray dog which happens to be the runaway dog of lonely widower Walter (Ron Cephas-Jones, This is Us) who is assisted in the search for the dog by his pizza delivery boy Tyler (Finn Wolfhard, Stranger Things).
It's essentially "Must Love Dogs" but with quadruple the cast. On face value from the marketing I assumed it was a kids film and while there is nothing objectionable for little ones, I don't think the non-dog centered scenes will keep their interest for long.
With writers and castmembers from "Burning Love" and "Children's Hospital", two shows that had really absurd and often adult humor, it was frustrating to see the script not reach it's potential. There were moments where you can see the strains of that off-kilter brand of humor and those where the best scenes, but often it suffered from the restraint to keep it PG and family friendly. But the cast, along with supporting cast members like Thomas Lennon and Jessica St. Clair made it work.
The cast at the premiere
The biggest strike I have against the film is that the character of Dax is in a band and instead of being content with just telling us he's in a band, the film shows us so the audience has to suffer through contrived "Saved by the Bell" like performances. Which is a shame because the lead singer is played by Jasmine Cephas-Jones, daughter of Ron and former star of "Hamilton" so she has the chops, it's just that it was so cheesy that it was embarrassing. Also, the green screen effect in some scenes were distractingly bad. When a production knows they have a Walmart budget, I don't know why they don't adjust accordingly and move outdoor scenes indoors.
The Darkest Minds
With so many mutant films/shows out there that I honestly thought "The Darkest Minds" was a Marvel/Netflix series but it's not. It's yet another dystopian film adapted from a series of young adult books. It's "Divergent" meets "The Maze Runner" meets "Beautiful Creatures" (the terrible 2013 film with the great ending, not the 2000 acclaimed film with Rachel Weisz).
Set some time in the future a mysterious ailment has befallen kids killing 98% percent of the population under the age of twenty. Those who haven't died outright have developed powers of different levels and have been set in camps separated by the colors of their eyes which denotes their abilities. There are the greens who have heightened intelligence, blues who are have telekinetic abilities, and yellows who can harness electricity. Those who are orange and red --the ones who have the most lethal abilities - are killed outright. Except for Ruby (Amandla Stenberg) who has been able to mask that she is a orange and has lived in the camps for six years.
When her orange status is discovered, Ruby is rescued from certain death by camp doctor Cate Conner (Mandy Moore) who is part of an underground network that rescues kids from the camps. Wary of Cate and her organization, Ruby escapes and meets up with three kids : Liam (Harris Dickinson, Trust), Chubbs (Skylan Brooks, "The Get Down") and Suzume (Miya Chech) who are seeking refuge at the storied Utopia for runaways.
Seeing Stenberg come from poor little Rue, who was killed in the first "Hunger Game" to lead her own dystopic young adult film as a strong, character is wonderful to behold. Her Ruby is formidable yet displays vulnerability without ever losing sight of her goal which is to get back to her parents. All of the young actors are great even though Suzume is curiously a silent character (Is she mute? Is she just too traumatized to speak? We never find out).
And when it comes time for the inevitable love story of Ruby and Liam --because this is a young adult adaptation after all - it seems earned. And I'm a bit too jaded so I can't say I was as into it as the other members of the audience were, especially the woman two seats from me who kept cooing after every interaction between the pair. It got to the point where I started laughing, had to cover my mouth to keep from being too loud and she looked at me and gestured to the screen like, "Am I right?! Am I right?" She made the sign of the cross, she reached out to the screen like she wanted to take Liam into her arms. But I think back 23 years ago when I saw "Hackers" and the end scene between Crash Override (Jonny Lee Miller) and Acid Burn (Angelina Jolie)? And okay, I was that woman then.
The cast with their director
The film also stars Bradley Whitford as President Gray whose son has abilities and Patrick Gibson (The OA) as Clancy, the President's son and poster boy for cured mutants
-Of the 2017 gay themed films (Call Me By Your Name, God's Country and Beach Rats) Harris Dickens starred in the only one that was tragic. This is progress for Hollywood! Maybe CMBYN was viewed as tragic because Oliver didn't eat the cum filled peach but "Beach Rats" was *real* tragic. Since then this Brit has been on a tear: he played John Paul Getty in F/X's "Trust"
with the Peter Frampton hair and e'vrything
he will appear in the upcoming horror film "The Medium" and is currently filming "Maleficent 2" with my Queen Angelina Jolie; replacing Brenton Thwaites as Prince Phillip.
*Speaking of “Trust”, John Paul Gettys’ son Balthazar is doing the most. I thought the most embarrassing thing about him was him being photographed cheating on his wife with Sienna Miller, but no. Balt is a rapper and has released a track titled “Retail Therapy” and it’s as whack as you would think it would be.
He just name drops clothing brands and talk about shopping
Tying it all together - I saw Balthazar’s ex-girlfriend Milla Jovavich at the Century City mall with her daughter. We were walking near each other and I thought, “Is it…?” So I sped up a bit to get ahead of her so I can get a better look and once I heard her husky voice (she was telling her daughter, “You know we’re not going to be here next year, right?” and I thought, “Does Milla know that the world is ending in a year? Or is this just she and her family are leaving L.A? Likely the first one. Because she’s Milla.) I knew it was her.
-Amandla Stenberg will star in yet another young adult adaptation, but this one is topical: she will be next seen in "The Hate U Give" about a girl who witnesses the killing of her best friend by cops which spurs her into activism.
And on a personal front Amandla has come out as gay.
Amandla with girlfriend King Princess
- I had the option of seeing The English Beat in concert and I was all set to go but then I got an even better opportunity: seeing a shark movie marathon. But not just any shark movie marathon. No, not your prestige shark flicks like "Jaws" or "Jaws 2". NO. It was a showing of the upcoming film "The Meg" starring Jason Statham and Li Bingbing; "Deep Blue Sea" starring Samuel L. Jackson, Thomas Jane and Saffron Burrows and IMHO the main event "JAWS 3-D"!!!!!!!!!
It's not a unique take to say that the first time you experience something, that thing holds a sacred place in your heart even if it isn't especially great. I have never seen "Jaws", or "Jaws 2", so for me "Jaws 3D" - a once cable staple - is *my* definitive "Jaws" film. And since I didn't see "Jaws 4"after where the Brodys deal with a shark in Jamaica, it has to be my definitive "Jaws" film.
I don't get the criticism over it. Yes, the 3D -the lynchpin for the entire sequel- is an abomination, but everything else works. Matter of fact, outside of the 3D shots, the film drew less sneering laughter from the audience than "The Meg" and this was an audience that was there to sneer. That's the entire point of BeyondFest! You watch terrible B movies and throwback schlock. But everyone respected the power and weight of "Jaws 3D"!
The guys from BeyondFest - who put on the event - geared out in shark costumes
Lea Thompson was on hand to introduce "Jaws 3D".
She talked about -
-how Universal was so disappointed in the 3D when they tested it that they had more footage shot to insert which is why there are random shots of bubbles, a frog leaping, fluid from a needle being squirted at the camera.
-So happy to have booked the role she didn't flinch when told she would have to do her own stunts atop the shoulder of a waterskier. And she still knows the dance routine that her character does (she even demonstrated for the audience saying that she doesn't remember lines from plays she's been in but she still remembers that).
-Her husband, Howard Deutch was on hand because "he's never seen this. He directed me in "Some Kind of Wonderful" but if he had seen my performance in this he wouldn't have.
-She opened her coat that she held closed to reveal to use that she was wearing a Jaws 3 shirt, shouting "I was a star in "Jaws 3" and I have the shirt to prove it!
Another great thing about the night is that I saw my acquaintance who invited me to a SPN convention years ago where I helped him interview Kurt Fuller and the guys behind "Ghostfacers". After our hugs and introducing me to his friend who edited "Sharknado"
Acquaintance: This is Dawn. She said the editing in "Sharknado" was the worst she's ever seen.
He immediately jumps in with, "So are you shocked that Lana Lang was in a sex cult.
Me: We all knew they were in a cult, but not that it was a sex cult.
A: Fans knew she was in a sex cult.
Me: Yes, that she was in a cult. I don't think anyone knew it was sex cult.
("The Meg" begins and ends)
A: What did you think?
Me: It wasn't as cheesy as I thought it would be. I liked it.
A: So everyone knew Lana was in a sex cult!
The Meg
Based on the sci-fi horror novel "Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror", the film "The Meg" is much lighter than what that title suggests. I think that has more to do with the fact that is a co-production with the Chinese production company Gravity Pictures. China only gives a few release dates to international films and those films have to be approved by the government censors so anything that doesn't pass muster won't be allowed to screen there. So you have less of a "Jaws" and more of a "Sharknado".
After a failed deep sea rescue of his colleagues after an attack from a creature of the deep left people skeptical of his sanity, Jonas Taylor (Jason Statham) has given up his career and retired to Thailand. When Jonas' researcher ex-wife Celeste (Jessica McNamee) and her team are trapped underwater by a Megaladon - a prehistoric shark measuring 75 feet -. Left with no choice but to believe Jonas' earlier assertions about a undersea creature Celeste's boss, and former colleague of Jonas, Mac (Cliff Curtis looking really foine in smart scientist glasses), seeks out Jonas' help in saving Celeste and her team.
Jonas arrives at the underwater research facility owned by billionaire Jack Morris (Rainn Wilson as a proto Elon Musk type) and sees that he's not the only one with a rescue plan. Suyin (Li Bingbing, the bargain Fan Bingbing), hearing of Jonas' failed mission doesn't trust in him to execute the rescue successfully and strives to embark on her own dive.
It's essentially "Deep Blue Sea" and that is not a bad thing at all. It is a spry, summer film You don't have to think too hard, you will laugh a bit, you can see Jason Statham shirtless and perv over glimpses of his feet (okay, that was me). It does what it needs to do which is provide entertainment for nearly 2 hours.
I saw it in 3D and I can't say it added to the film. There is one shot of the shark jumping out of the water that gave a nice "VueFinder" moment but that's not worth the 3D upcharge at the theaters.
Before the film the coordinators asked the audience what was Jason Statham's best films and a bunch of dudebros shouted "Crank 3". Luckily, Statham has come quite far since the "Crank" and "Teleporter" films. One day he will give up being an action star and I would like to see his transition to standard leading man. The scenes with he and Bingbing with their will they/won't they arc was nice, but just like in "Fast and the Furious 9" Statham with a kid (in this instance, 8 year old Shuya Sophia Cai as Meiying, Suyin's daughter) is a delight.
Jason with his own little sprog, Jack
The film also stars Ruby Rose (who has been cast as the CW's Kate Kane aka Batwoman), Page Kennedy, and Masi Oka.
-Speaking of my fashionista Fan Bingbing she has been curiously absent from social media and hasn't been seen publically since July 1st after a story broke of her being investigated for tax evasion after a TV host in China reported that Bingbing is one of many actors who sign yin-yang contracts - essentially cooking the books by submitting a tax form for a lower amount to the government and having production companies pay her on the side a much higher amount that isn't reported. While the investigation is underway Bingbing has been barred from leaving the country as she is a flight risk.
Rumors abound that that is under house arrest; that she has been banned for working in movies and TV shows in China for 3 years and that she has been cut out of a upcoming movie.
They can't do my fashion plate like this!! I will not live in a world where Li Bingbing eclipses my Bingbing
*Battle of the Bingbings!
Christopher Robin
*I love the French poster for it.
Either I have a childhood block on Winnie the Pooh or I have never read his stories or watched the animated series (though I can recall the strains of the "Winnie the Pooh" theme song so I must have had it around in some capacity), either way I was ill prepared for how melancholy a vibe the character emits. Who knew that this summer movie geared towards kids could evoke the same level of quiet despair as last year's A.A. Milne biopic "Goodbye Christopher Robin"?
The film starts off with a brisk introduction to young Christopher Robin (Orten O'Brien), Pooh (voiced by Jim Cummings) and Pooh's friends Tigger (Cummings again), Piglet (Nick Mohammed, Eeyore (Brad Garrett), Kanga (Sophie Okenedo), Roo (Sara Sheen), Owl (Toby Jones) and Rabbit (Peter Capaldi)
who live in the Hundred Acre Wood and whom Christopher must bid farewell to as he is sent off to boarding school. We go deftly through his formative years up to the now adult Christopher (Ewan McGregor) and his life as a husband to Evelyn (Hayley Atwell) and father to Madeline (Bronte Carmichael). His days of play have been replaced by stressful days and late nights working at a luggage making company under the critical eye of the owner's son Giles (Mark Gatiss).
With his wife and daughter disappointed about his not being able to join them on a weekend getaway to Robin's family's cottage, Christopher Robin is met by a figure from his past - Pooh. Needing to break free from the mayhem that Pooh's presence brings, Christopher Robin ventures back to the Hundred Acre Wood in order to reunite Pooh with his friends who have gone missing.
Like Peter Pan or that segment about the old folks home in "Twilight Zone: The Movie", "Christopher Robin" equates growing up with losing joy and often that is true, but to me it this films come across as that stoner, loser friend who always wants you to hang with them while you're trying to make a living in order to not have to eat cat food. What I'm trying to say is Winnie the Pooh is a stoner who is always bumming about, eating your honey that you worked hard to buy while he had tea parties in the wood with his speed addicted friend Tigger.
Like "Toy Story 3" the melancholy permeates this piece, but then at the half-hour or so mark the film realizes this is supposed to be a fun film so it throws in the over-the-top comedy that little kids and "Monty Python" fans love.
Despite the lines on his face, when McGregor as Christopher Robin (and as Ewan McGregor) smiles it's as if a little boy has emerged. It's these scenes and the gently spoken bon mots that are infused with love by Pooh that makes this dreary little film worthwhile. Pooh is a silly old bear, but a silly old bear who is sweeter than the honey he mainlines.
The Spy Who Dumped Me
One day there will be a comedy starring Kate McKinnon that won't skate by on her sheer energy along and be actually funny on the strength of the script. "The Spy Who Dumped Me" surely came closer than "Ghostbusters.
Written by SNL and "United States of Tara" writer David Iserson and punched up by Susanna Fogel (Chasing Life) who also directed, "The Spy Who Dumped Me" is a spy caper that has more action than laughs and that's not a bad thing it turns out.
Just as Audrey (Mila Kunis) resigns herself to get over her ex who ghosted her,Drew (Justin Theroux), she's pulled in for questioning by MI6 and CIA agents Sebastian Henshaw (Sam Heughan, Outlander) and Duffer (Hasan Minhaj, The Daily Show) who informs her that Drew is a CIA agent who has disappeared with sensitive government information.
Drew's runner has put Audrey in danger so she and her best friend Morgan (McKinnon) ditch the agents and head to Europe in order to complete Drew's mission in order to save Audrey's life.
It reminded me a lot of one of my favorite spy films "American Dreamer" starring JoBeth Williams and Tom Conti so for that I thought it was worthwhile.
The film also stars Jane Curtin and Paul Reiser as McKinnon's parents Carol and Arnie Freeman, Ivanna Sakhno as Nadedja the model/gymnast assassin who is after the women and Gillian Anderson as Sebastian's unamused boss Wendy.
Justin being punny
Alpha
Surprising film from writer/director Albert Hughes (Dead Presidents, Menace II Society, From Hell) who provided the story which was turned into a screenplay by first time writer Daniele Sebastian Wiedenhaupt providing their take on how dogs became human's best friends.
Set in the Paleolithic era, Keba (Kodi Smit-McPhee, The Road, X-Men Days of Futures Past)
is preparing for his first hunting expedition with his tribe, led by the chief; his father Tau (Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson, Stella Blómkvist). When Keba is injured on the hunt and presumed dead, he must remember the lessons his father taught him in order to survive the trek back home. Along the way he encounters an alpha wolf, whom Keba injures in self defense. Feeling guilty, Keba brings Alpha on the journey in hopes that both will manage to return to their tribes.
It's completely subtitled with the actors speaking PaeloEuropean which I think is an amazing feat for Smit-McPhee who in essence is playing Tom Hanks in "Castaways" except taller and skinnier.
Smit-McPhee is the male Emily Ratakowski
There were a ton of kids at the screening which made perfect sense to me because it is a film about fortitude and finding strength within yourself and taking the lessons you are taught and implementing them; even those lessons where in the moment you didn't want to receive that message. Seeing that is is aimed towards kids things wrap up too neatly into a bow, as if you have come to an end of a Golden Children book, but there's a lovely bit right before the end that is so sweet and unexpected that it made me not mind any weakness the film has.
Blindspotting
Along with "Sorry to Bother You", it is the second movie to be set in Oakland. But while "Sorry to Bother You" merely uses Oakland as a backdrop, "Blindspotting" deals with the changing landscape of The Town.
Cowritten by leads Daveed Diggs (Hamilton) and his real life childhood best friend Rafael Casal (in his feature film debut), takes a look at best friends Collin (Diggs) and Miles (Casal). With three days left on his year-long probabtion, Collin is trying to keep out of trouble which is hard to do with a best friend like Miles.
Whereas Collins' biggest worry is keeping his nose clean and trying to find a way to rekindle a friendship with his ex-girlfriend/coworker Val (Janina Gavankar) Miles is chaffing against the gentrification of their neighborhood and the fear of being thought of as one of the "colonizers" who have now taken root in Oakland.
Loved the film but I do think Daveed and Casal tried to bite off more than they could chew. With this first shot at writing a film they decided to tackle many social issues: prison industrial complex, post prison rehabilitation, cop crimes against black people, gentrification, and self identity.
I find Daveed adorable and endearing and his Collin is a continuation of the character he played in S3 of “The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” but it’s Casal who steals the movie as that friend who is as much trouble as he is fun.
The grown and sexy cast
Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot
This film starts. Just that. It starts - no date card to show what year it is, just starts with John Callahan (Joaquin Phoenix) at an AA meeting sharing with his fellow rehabber's Corky (Kim Gordon), Reba (Beth Ditto), Mike (Mark Webber, Scott Pilgrim v. The World), Hans (Udo Kier) and Martingale (Ronnie Adrian, Comedy Bang Bang)
Then it quickly cuts to John speeding along in his wheelchair and careening into the streets to be aided by skateboarding kids (one of whom is Phoenix's nephew Leo). And this is how "Don't Worry He Won't Get Far on Foot" rolls -- veering wildly through timelines and scenarios, and sometimes crashing.
Based on the biography of cartoonist/humorist John Callahan, "Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot" is a look at his life as a functional alcoholic who doesn't even find his bottom after getting into a drunk driving accident that leaves him a quadriplegic.
With help from a put-upon aide Tim (Tony Greenhand) who enables John's alcoholism, John's post-accident life continues on much in the same way with his head and heart filled with hurt and a sense of abandonment from being given up for adoption. Seeing that he needs to change John goes to an Alcoholic Anonymous fronted by the seemingly lacksidasical, proverb spouting Donnie Green (Jonah Hill). It's with Donnie's guidance that John "works the steps" and finds happiness in art despite the limited use of his hands.
I heard the raves about the film out of Sundance and I don't believe it deserves the hype. Or maybe I was taken aback by the film itself as I was expecting a wild comedy like "Inherent Vice" but instead I got a retro CBS TV movie in the vein of "My Name is Bill".
There are things to love about the film namely Hill's Donnie. With a long blond wig, draped in white looking like Maurice Gibb mixed with a cult leader, it's easy to think of Hill's performance as total comedic effect, which it is with Donnie's curmudgeonly kind of love of the group who he refers to as piglets.
Donnie's demeanor is that of unaffected, cool detachment, but you see that he is someone who has transcended his addiction and has garnered a third eye in seeing everyone and everything for what it is and with that insight it propels his immense love for the weakness in others. It's an oddly beautiful character and performance.
Phoenix, per usual, melts away into the performance. I most recently saw him in another Amazon Studios film "You Were Never Really Here" and there is so semblance to the performances in either way. Phoenix has no tells, no bit of "business" that links characters together, he just transforms.
Another aspect I loved is that while in recent years Gus Van Zant has stayed Indie but with more respectable fare than his earlier works, this film still had a raw feel to it thanks to his use of using non-actors in big roles like singers Kim Gordon and Beth Ditto or cannabis grower Tony Greenhand. Plus, it's cool seeing 'My Own Private Idaho’s Udo Kier acting alongside another Phoenix.
The film also stars Rooney Mara (the first thing I've seen her in where she had warmth and didn't come across as an automaton) and Jack Black in small roles.
Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again
A harmless bit of entertaining fluff to while away your summer days. I'm hardly one to actually fairly critique a musical because by and large with a few exceptions (Hairspray the Movie Musical, Grease 2, The Pirate Movie), I hate musicals.
This sequel to the 2010(!) film has the same airy vibes of the first one; a sense of every actor saying, "Let's put on a show despite our not being really competent at dancing or singing."
The film centers on the "everything bad that can happen will happen" eve of the opening of Sophie's (Amanda Seyfried) hotel located on the very isle where everyone came together for her wedding. Bolstered by Donna's (Meryl Streep) besties Rosie (Julie Walters) and Tanya (Christine Baranski) and one of her three dads, Sam (Pierce Brosnan) Sophie tries to withstand the literal storm that is brewing and the news that her husband Sky (Dominic Cooper) is considering staying in New York for his career.
opens with Donna's (Meryl Streep) daughter Sophie (Amanda Seyfried, who is even lovelier a decade later) fretting over the opening weekend of her hotel on the same isle everyone came together earlier for her wedding. But things quickly falter with news from her away-on-a-business-trip husband Sky (Dominic Cooper) that he is considering staying in New York, this adding to the absence of two of her three fathers Harry (Colin Firth) and Bill (Stellan Skarsgard).
It’s fun to see actors who aren’t skilled dancers dance. This time around the production didn’t force solos on obvious none singers (looking at you Brosnan and Firth), instead letting Seyfried and James’ lovely voices take lead.
It does what it’s supposed to do -be a fun, mindless (oh boy is it mindless) romp and an opportunity to get the gang back together.
Dom acting as the cast photag
Dom was paired with Brosnan on the press tour and they have a great father/son relationship
And Brosnan is as good looking as Dom’s actual dad
-Speaking of father and sons, Colin Firth once again supported his middle son Luca when Luca and his band played at Isle of Wright earlier this summer.
Colin and sons Will and Matteo
-Cher’s business with ABBA did not end with “Mamma Mia”. She has released a cd full of ABBA covers.
Homage
Billionaire Boys Club
In sometimes a bad thing happens for good. Before Kevin Spacey's disgraceful fall due to allegations of assault and statutory rape, the film adaptation of the true crime story "The Billionaire Boys Club", completed in 2016 starring Spacey, Taron Egerton, Ansel Elgort, Emma Roberts and Judd Nelson, struggled with getting distribution. By the time the film got distribution and a release date of August 15th, Spacey's downfall was complete. People felt that this release date signaled that Hollywood was welcoming back Spacey; others felt that Spacey should be cut from the film. Instead the release date stands and it had a silent bow on Video on Demand on July 17th. I know the studio wants some money from it, but the film is terrible. To even spend an iota of money on it by releasing it in theatres is sheer stupidity. Now I know why it was so hard for the film to find a distributor - the writing and direction by James Cox and Captain Mauzer (who did much better work with "Wonderland") is sheer amateur hour.
I love Taron Egerton and even though his American accent is a bit grating (a lot of British people, like Tom Hardy, has a go-to American accent and it sounds a lot like a Brooklyn/Bronx accent), but most egregious is the film's narration done by Egerton. Egerton's commercial voiceover work is fantastic --it's lilting, it's exuberant, it's what an ad is supposed to be. But keeping that same "gosh golly gee" gung ho attitude while narrating the cover up of a murder is a poor choice.
Egerton is now promoting "Robin Hood" despite the fact that the movie won't come out until November and he has begun filming the long gestating Elton John biopic "RocketMan".
Please let him be recreating this outfit!
And hanging with Sir Elton, husband David Furnish and Billie Jean King
In the studio with director Dexter Fletcher
It’s great that this movie will be there for John’s children
*The Furnish/Johns with the Burtka/Harris fam
Skyscraper
Comparisons to "Die Hard" and "The Towering Inferno" are easy to make, but inaccurate because "Skyscraper" is not as memorable or enjoyable as those two films.
I love action films and I forgive a lot of its shortcomings such as uninspired writing and lack of plot, as long as the action is great and it's great fun. "Skyscraper" has neither in one of the few misteps in a Dwayne Johnson film ("Rampage" was all kinds of terrible but it was fun).
Wanting to humanize himself a bit, Johnson is playing an (almost) everyman; former FBI Hostage Rescue Team leader Will Sawyer. After losing his leg in a hostage situation that went left injuring himself and his team, including friend Ben (the lesser Schreiber, Pablo, Den of Thieves), Sawyer is now runs a small security assessment business.
An opportunity for a big payday comes in the form of an invitation from Ben to visit China to interview for a consultant job for Ben's boss, Zhao Long Ji (Chin Han, The Dark Knight), a multi-billionaire who has created the largest building in the world. With wife Sarah (Neve Campbell) and their kids (McKenna Roberts,Timeless and Noah Cottrell) in tow Will hopes to impress Long Ji, but instead finds himself having to rely on his enforcement background when the building is taken over and set aflame by Kores Botha (Roland Møller, Atomic Blonde), as a way to get to Long Ji.
With his family inside the burning building, Will must find away inside and atop the 200 plus floor building to save them.
It's nice seeing Johnson play a man who has fear, who has suffered and is weighed down by it; and Campbell gets to be a tad bit more than dutiful wife, but there's not much to love about an outrageously CGI'd out film that shorts the audience of a real plot.
I did love seeing Adrian Holmes (Basqat, one of Lex's many henchmen in "Smallville") but other than that, unless you need to be in air conditioning, there's not much use in seeing this flimsy film.
Thankfully summer action films were better served by "Mission Impossible:Fallout" which is the best of the series, but not better than "The Dark Knight" as some crazies have been reporting, and "Equalizer 2" which is ultra-violent but satisfying.
-With the fall television season approaching, my summer shows are ending. I watched F/X’s “Pose” which was tremendous
HBO’s “Succession” which is filled with the most hateable characters outside of the White House and Audience Network’s “Condor” which is the adaptation of “Three Days of the Condor” and the book that inspired that film. It stars Max Irons and all I have to say is that Max got hit with the thiccness.
-Not all heroes wear capes. Witness this young, brave guy who attempted to deep throat a 10 inch dick and ending damaging this throat and needed to be hospitalized. I salute you, sir.
When his tweet went viral he was interviewed and left us with this gem.
Come sit with me, my guy.