Oh Ted, you talking teddy bear you, what wacky hijinx will you get into next?
OBLIGATORY SPOILER WARNING – though let’s face it, like its 2012 predecessor, it’s basically one big extended Family Guy episode.
Bookshelf Q. Battler here with a review of Seth MacFarlane and Mark Wahlberg’s latest dip into the sequel well.
It’s strangely poignant that this movie came out on the same day that the U.S. Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling that same-sex marriage is legal in all fifty states. While I don’t want to offend anyone by comparing the civil rights struggle of a whole group of Americans to that of a fictional teddy bear, the movie does in a big way and at times, it’s surprisingly poetic (well, as poetic as a movie about a bong hitting foul mouthed stuffed animal can get).
Ted and human girlfriend Tammy got married at the end of the last film. You remember the first film, right? It was a welcome, well-received smash hit, one that left you rolling in the aisles and busting at the seems with laughter?
This one, not so much, though there were still plenty of moments that left BQB slapping his knee. In McFarlane’s defense, sometimes it is hard to catch lightning in a bottle twice.
When Ted and Tammy’s marriage starts to hit the skids, they decide to try to revitalize things by having a baby (because that always helps, right?)
Ted can’t biologically father a child because he’s a teddy bear and I’ll avoid spoilers by just pointing out that after various comical attempts at obtaining a kid, Ted ends up being declared “property” by the government.
Turns out, he’s not legally recognized as a person.
It’s up to Wahlberg (Ted’s longtime friend John), and John’s new love interest, freshly graduated and green lawyer Sam (Amanda Seyfried) to save the day and convince the world that there’s more to Ted than fabric and cotton stuffing.
Morgan Freeman who plays a veteran attorney that comes to the group’s aid, puts it best when he informs Ted that his problem isn’t exactly a legal one but rather an emotional one. Society has a tendency to answer questions like this with its heart rather than with an eye toward the law or a consideration as to what’s fair.
In other words, Ted, who’s spent a lifetime hitting the bong, watching TV, and not doing much else, has to do something to stand out as a valued member of society in order to convince people to see things from his perspective.
Again, not to compare an actual civil rights movement to a teddy bear’s struggle, but when you think about it, Morgan’s on to something.
Massachusetts (Ted’s home state) was the first state whose judiciary declared same-sex marriage legal in 2004. At the time, people across the country, Democrats and Republicans alike, declared the sky was falling and there was some kind of conspiracy to turn everyone gay. Eleven years later when that didn’t happen, people softened up, a lot of minds were changed, and the U.S. Supreme Court was able to make a decision that probably would have gotten them tarred and feathered over a decade ago.
In other words, we like to think this is a “nation of laws, not men” (John Adams for the win), but at the end of the day, vexing questions are often decided through emotion rather than reason and sometimes those in a struggle have to wait for emotion to swing their way.
Oh, and also the teddy bear smokes pot.
STATUS: Shelf worthy, worth a watch for comedy lovers, though does not surpass the first film.
It’s original. It’s not a reboot of a remake of a sequel. It’s the breakout success of the summer. And it left BQB rolling in the aisles.
Bookshelf Q. Battler here with a review of the comedy/action film Spy.
OBLIGATORY SPOILER WARNING
Movie Trailer – Spy – 20th Century Fox
I have to admit going into this I wasn’t expecting much, so I love it when a movie leaves me pleasantly surprised and wanting more.
Melissa McCarthy’s great and all but for awhile I’ve felt her best performance was in Bridesmaids and everything else was just icing on the cake.
Until now.
McCarthy stars as Susan Cooper, a desk jockey CIA analyst who provides mission support for CIA agent Bradley Fine (Jude Law).
When the covers of the CIA’s top agents are blown, the situation calls for a real nobody to save the day, someone the enemy has never heard of before.
Or in other words, Susan Cooper.
Over the years, many films have tried to blend action with comedy with mixed results. Sometimes there’s a focus on the comedy and the action is watered down or vice versa. This film, on the other hand, provides the perfect mix of both. I was slapping my knee uncontrollably at all the funny bits but at the same time, was blown away with visual effects and fight scenes that rival any of the other action blockbusters out this summer.
McCarthy’s stock will no doubt rise after this picture. Not to give too much away, but she hilariously overcomes various lame cover identities to take control and bring down a scheme to sell a nuclear bomb.
What’s the key to a great comedy? For me, it’s uncontrollable laughter. Laughter is as real as it gets when it comes to emotional reaction. You either laugh or you don’t and I can’t remember a movie that left me guffawing like an idiot the way this one did.
Jason Statham shows a new side of himself as he provides a parody of every tough guy he’s ever played in the form of Agent Rick Ford. As a running joke in the film, Ford continuously regales Cooper with countless stories of dangers he’s encountered on the job. He’s been shot, stabbed, set on fire, and ingested one-hundred and seven varieties of poison, just to name a few.
Statham with a sense of humor. Who knew he had it in him?
As Rayna, the bad girl of the film, Rose Byrne proves that various dirty words said with a British accent become that much more hilarious.
British actress Miranda Hart plays Cooper’s sidekick Nancy, another CIA desk jockey who’s thrust into the thick of it without any prior field experience. I’d never heard of her before but her performance left me hoping to see more of her in the future.
Ultimately, this movie pokes fun at the James Bond films and yet, not only does it do that well, it becomes something special all of its own.
As you might be aware, Director Paul Feig and McCarthy are a comedic duo. Feig provides the film know how while McCarthy provides the laughs.
Up until now, the duo hadn’t provided a movie with intense action and special effects but if this film is an indication of what they are capable of, then this critic is resting a little easier knowing that the upcoming Ghostbusters reboot is in good hands.
That was me trying to type the Jurassic Park/World theme song.
Nevermind. OBLIGATORY SPOILER WARNING.
To paraphrase Jeff Goldblum’s line from the original film, this franchise, like life, keeps finding a way.
Bookshelf Q. Battler here with a review of this summer’s blockbuster dino-fest Jurassic World.
Movie Trailer – Jurassic World – Universal Pictures
Do you remember Jurassic Park? I do. As a kid, I spazzed out over the movie’s sheer awesomeness. In fact, that flick was the first to use CGI on a massive scale to bring dinosaurs to life, thus ushering in an era of computer generated monsters, beasts and assorted bad guys.
In short, it blew peoples’ minds, mine included. The best description I can give is for me, seeing Jurassic Park was probably a lot like how young people felt when they saw Star Wars in 1977.
The only downside? Are we at the peak of what special effects can do? Are we spoiled now? Are we used to CGI? Will someone ever figure out some other awesome thing to do in a movie that will knock our socks off, leaving a new generation of kids’ jaws to drop the way mine did when I saw the first film in this series?
Time will tell, but a movie growing public that’s grown used to the wonders of CGI reminds me of the line uttered by Chris Pratt’s character Owen Grady – “Aren’t dinosaurs enough?”
He asks that in response to Bryce Howard’s Claire, the administrator of the new Jurassic World theme park, who notes that every few years a new and even more fearsome dinosaur has to be created to keep the public’s attention.
Sorry Owen. In theory, you’re right. Dinosaurs should be enough and so should a steady diet of CGI effects dished out by Hollywood over the past twenty plus years.
But it never is. Once the “wow factor” dissipates, whatever wowed us becomes yesterday’s news and we’re left wanting something bigger and better.
Here, we find it in the form of the Indominus Rex, the super dinosaur engineered to bring tourists to the park but alas, and perhaps as can be expected in these movies, he escapes, thus giving Owen a Claire a run for their money.
Owen is a dinosaur handler on the island working on a project to train raptors to work with humans. The raptors were arguably scarier than the T-Rex in the first film. Sure, the T-Rex might stomp or chomp you but the highly intelligent raptors will haunt you in a pack and find you wherever you’re hiding.
Raptors as the good guys in this film? Say it ‘aint so!
There’s plenty of homages to the original film. There’s a nerd with a soda cup and a messy work station ala Dennis Nedry (Wayne Knight who went on to become Jerry Seinfeld’s arch enemy Newman). Claire’s nephews (the children in peril in this film) find a long discarded goggle hat similar to the one Tim wore when he and his sister Lex where the children in peril in the original. Mr. DNA makes a cameo. And of course, there’s a statue of John Hammond.
I don’t want to give much more away but suffice to say, it lives up to the hype and since the original, it is the first sequel to do Michael Crichton’s vision justice.
Sadly, we lost Crichton in 2008, but his books and the movies based on them live on. After watching Jurassic Park, I ran out and got a copy of the book and I remember being inspired by a man who didn’t make his way into the entertainment industry through the usual route (i.e. I’ll jaunt off to Hollywood and see what happens!) but rather as a doctor who took his scientific/medical knowledge and used it to churn out stories that kept us in suspense.
Chris Pratt continues to inspire nerds everywhere. Honestly, when you first started watching Parks and Recreation, did you think the guy playing Andy would ever find himself as a summer blockbuster leading man two years in a row? He’s not that cookie cutter, exceptionally handsome dude that looks like he got yanked off the Hollywood assembly line that we’ve grown used to. Rather, he kind of looks like a guy we’d want to have a beer with after the movie.
Bryce plays the bean counting administrator well, obsessed with work and dollars only to realize the gravity of the situation when the Indominus goes for a stroll.
Dr. Wu (B.D. Wong of Law and Order fame), was in the first film and he reprises his role here. SPOILER ALERT – he runs of with some dino DNA, thus leaving this reviewer to speculate that the door is opened for yet another sequel.
It’ll have to be awesome, because apparently, the average, run of the mill dinosaur just isn’t good enough anymore.
Sure. We click clack away on our keyboards whenever we find the time. We like to daydream about our name in lights, that our words will be embraced by the public, that maybe they’ll even be turned into a movie.
Well, Andy Weir, walking talking self publishing success story that he is, has done just that.
The Martian, a movie based on his bestselling book of the same name, is due out later this year. The trailer’s been released it it looks amazing:
Movie Trailer – The Martian – 20th Century Fox
“I’m going to have to science the shit out of this.”
– Astronaut Mark Watney
Matt Damon in the lead role. An ensemble cast that includes Jeff Bridges, Jessica Chastain, Kate Mara (Zoe from freaking House of Cards!), Donald (Troy from Community!) and Kristen Wiig in a role which, from the looks of it, might be her bridge from comedy to more serious fare.
Earlier this year, Andy spoke to three of my favorite self-publishers, Johnny B. Truant, Sean Platt and David Wright aka Johnny, Sean and Dave of the “Self Publishing Podcast.” He spoke how he wasn’t an overnight success story but rather his journey was one that involved years of pain staking hard work.
Rome wasn’t built in a day and your self publishing career won’t be either.
Andy, you’re an inspiration to every nerd with a laptop and a dream of becoming a self-published author. You did it. One man. One computer. One story. And now one major movie that has every indication of being box office gold.
I tip my hat to you sir, and shall raise a frosty beverage in your honor on opening night. Your achievement has made it possible for a new generation of self publishers to be taken seriously and we are forever in your debt.
Bookshelf Q. Battler here with a review of Entourage, the movie continuation of HBO’s comedy series that lampoons the Hollywood lifestyle and our obsession with it.
Movie Trailer – Entourage – Warner Brothers – 2015
I have to admit I never really watched the series during its 2004-2011 run. A toned down version was syndicated for awhile and I’d often leave it running in the background while I did other things, thus giving me a little exposure to the world of this group who left Brooklyn for California in search of fame and fortune. In general, I knew that Vinny (Adrian Grenier) was the movie star and he never went anywhere without his brother, Johnny/Drama (Kevin Dillion) and buddy/manager Eric (Kevin Connolly) and his other friend/driver Turtle (Jerry Ferrara).
The driving force behind the series was Vince’s agent, Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven) who comically threatened/swore/shouted at everyone to get his way, often stressing out to the point where it affected his marriage with his wife, who we’re only introduced to as Mrs. Ari (Perry Reeves). Meanwhile, Ari heaps untold amounts of abuse on his assistant, “Gaysian” (gay asian) Lloyd, so much so that one wonders how any of it got on the air as the early 2000’s, though not as politically correct as today, was still a fairly PC time. Of course, the whole point of the Ari/Lloyd interactions is to display Ari as a jerk, so maybe that’s why it flies.
As I took in the flick, I quickly realized that casually watching the syndicated version of Entourage did not give me the real experience of the show. After all, editing out Ari’s swears, not to mention the other characters’ depravity, clearly made the show pointless in retrospect. I enjoyed the movie to the point where I’ll have to check out the unedited series now.
Even so, people who know nothing about the show will ease into the film just fine. There’s a brief explanation of who all the characters are. At the start of the film, Vinny’s at the height of his career and wants to direct his next picture. Ari has moved from agent to head of a major studio. Kevin remains as Vinny’s trusted manager and the short jokes continue to come at him. Drama is the running joke of Hollywood, that loser who has a bit part in every movie but can’t catch a break that will bring him to the big time. Turtle has made a fortune in a tequila company but still drives Vinny anyway.
And Ari? He’s still yelling, swearing and driving Mrs. Ari up the wall.
The film is basically one extended series episode. Ari agrees to allow Vinny to direct the futuristic sci-fi flick, Hyde, a movie version of the classic Dr. Jeykll and Mr. Hyde tale. To everyone’s surprise, Vinny actually does a great job, though he does need an extra $5 million as he’s gone over budget. Alas, the hijinx ensue when the Texas tycoon financing the film (Billy Bob Thornton) sends his dimwitted son Travis (Haley Joel Osment) to check out the film and see if it’s worth dumping more cash into.
Ari and the gang steadfastly defend the movie but Travis, who knows nothing of filmmaking, has tons of ridiculous changes he wants to make, thus giving the audience an insider’s view into some of the behind the scenes nonsense that goes on behind the production of their favorite films.
A party on a yacht with scantily clad models. Another party at a mansion with scantily clad models. Fast cars. Beautiful scenery. Obscenely good looking people. Half the film makes you wonder what you did wrong to not find your way into this lifestyle yet the over half, with all the petty squabbling that goes on, leaves you thinking you might not be missing out on all that much.
Hollywood is a place where dreams come true and magic comes alive, but it’s also a place where good looking crybabies are spoiled rotten and insulated from the daily grind that normal people experience. The series and the movie poke fun at both sides well.
Cameos are abundant with a number of actors, musicians, and sports legends performing walk-ons. UFC fighter turned action star Ronda Rousey plays Turtle’s love interest, kicking his ass in the octagon in one of the funnier parts of the movie. (Admittedly, as Bookshelf Q. Battler, I’ve always been interested in finding a woman who is hot yet also large and strong enough to defend me from the Yeti and so Ms. Rousey has left me intrigued.)
Is it cinema gold? No. But that’s the point as the film makes fun of itself as well as the industry that pumps out the schlock that we’re glued to 24/7.
Will this film appeal to everyone? Well, let’s just say it’s an acquired taste. If you have an idolized view of Hollywood or have a tendency to put your favorite actors/actresses on a pedestal, you might want to skip it. After all, who wants to see how the sausages are made as long as they’re delicious at the end of the day?
Recently, one of my noble 3.5 readers accused this blogger of mincing words. I described San Andreas as “not the best film I’ve ever seen but not the best either.”
The aforementioned reader had a point. As a reviewer, I need to take a side.
Luckily, Cameron Crowe’s romcom Aloha makes it easy for me to be clear:
Bookshelf Q. Battler here with a review of one of the worst damn movies he’s ever seen in his entire life.
Aloha – Sony Pictures
Some movies are entrees – served up with expert precision, arranged on your plate in such a beautiful manner that you almost don’t want to eat them out of fear that once you do, the experience will be over.
Then, some movies are like a five dollar all you can eat buffet. You shove a little bit of everything in your cake hole and the only result is that you leave feeling bloated and gassy.
With several storylines that meander all over and never quite hit their mark, Aloha, I’m sad to say, is one of those buffet movies.
OBLIGATORY SPOILER WARNING
I’m sad to say it because it’s not the star studded cast’s fault. Bradley Cooper (Gilcrest) is charming, Emma Stone (Captain Ng) is adorable, and Bill Murray (Welch) is his usual zany self, though he’s more reserved these days as an elder statesman of comedy. Rachel McAdams (Tracy) aptly plays Gilcrest’s long lost love while John Krasinski provides one of the funnier (dare I say redeeming) scenes of the film as Woodside, Tracy’s husband who, despite his strong silent type demeanor is able to communicate all he needs to say to Gilcrest with a few looks and a shoulder grab.
Plot lines are tossed at the audience like they’re tennis balls stuffed into a serve-o-matic machine stuck on the automatic setting.
Gilcrest and Tracy have to deal with their baggage. Woodside has to learn how to communicate with his wife with actual words. Ng is all business and is a zealous defender of native Hawaiian culture, Gilcrest has to choose between his job or his new love interest. Welch is trying to launch his own space weapon in the guise of a communications satellite and those are just the highlights.
Character development isn’t the film’s strong suit. We’re shown a brief Afghanistan flashback scene where Gilcrest is so distraught over his life that he doesn’t care when he’s shot by (I guess they were terrorists? It wasn’t really explained). Welch lobs an accusation that Gilcrest took a hundred thousand dollar bribe during his time in Afghanistan and that enormous plot line is never fully resolved, thus putting me in the awkward position of being expected by Hollywood to hope that an alleged traitor to his country will overcome the obstacles standing between him and his new lady love in true sappily sweet romantic comedy fashion.
No thanks.
Sadly, the film has two important messages that get lost amidst all the tomfoolery:
1) All those vacation brochures you drool over that make you wish you could be in Hawaii right now are all well and good, but America isn’t in it for the macademia nuts and pretty scenery. Hawaii serves as the lynchpin of America’s sphere of influence in the Pacific. Seeing as how the islands play a vital role when it comes to U.S. global interests, we could probably do more to help the native people who call it home, many of whom aren’t exactly thrilled that we’re there.
2) Over the past several years, space exploration has moved from government to private business control, with the claim fed to the populace that this is somehow a great move, that the uber rich will be able to dump more money into space technology than governments can. That may be true, but as this film warns, people like Welch might use that power for unsavory purposes, though a billionaire trying to launch his own weaponized satellite seems like it’s more fitting in a James Bond film than a romcom.
Overall, the movie isn’t so much a cooked to perfection filet mignon so much as it is a bubbling over gumbo where Crowe, as chef, just tossed everything in his kitchen into the pot. Is this a story about one man’s attempt to find hope again after the world has put him through the ringer? Is it about love? Is it about the military industrial complex?
The best description I can give is that Crowe took his signature work, Jerry Maguire, mixed it up with one of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan novels, then went heavy on the romantic comedy angle, shortchanged the seedy, dirty military contractor angle and left the audience thinking that sadly, the no plot action film starring the ex-wrestler in the theater next door might have been the better choice this weekend…
And so many scantily clad dudes rolling around on the floor that I swear I caught Aunt Gertie staring at the screen just a little too longingly.
Bookshelf Q. Battler here after FINALLY having had the chance to catch last year’s Foxcatcher.
I’m loathe to use the word “SPOILERS” for a film about a horrific crime that’s nearly 20 years old but honestly, while I’d generally heard about the case, I didn’t know the specifics until I began reading about the film. If you’d like to find out on your own as you watch, you might want to rent it first and then read this review later.
Movieclips Trailers – Foxcatcher – Sony Pictures
Wealth. For some it’s a blessing. For others it’s a curse.
Throughout history, there have been people who have been born into great circumstances, their lives preordained before they even opened their eyes and took a look at the world for the first time.
Some individuals take the vast resources at their disposal and do their families proud, achieving new levels of greatness.
Others party hearty and are destined to become paparazzi fodder.
In the middle, there are folks who enjoy their riches, coast along and somehow manage to make jackasses of themselves.
Then there’s John du Pont. Heir to a massive chemical company fortune, he’s an odd duck to say the least. He’s socially awkward, almost painfully so. It’s like he knows what he wants to say but has a hard time expressing himself, assumably because he’s lived such a sheltered life.
The majority of the film takes place in the late 1980’s, when du Pont is in his late fifties. He lives on a sprawling estate which he dubs Foxcatcher Farm, fox hunting having been a popular activity for well-to-do visitors to the grounds.
The movie makes it clear – du Pont believes himself to be a great man and he wants the rest of the world to agree. He doesn’t really want to do anything to achieve that goal. He just wants to spend large sums of money and purchase the acclaim he believes he deserves.
At the heart of his need for glory? A rivalry with his mother Jean (played by one of the few remaining Old Hollywood stars Vanessa Redgrave) leaves him with a burning desire to prove his worth to her.
One gets the impression that the rivalry is one sided. Jean trains show horses on the estate and proudly displays her trophies in the family mansion. du Pont envies the horses and wants his mother’s attention. Despite being almost 60 years old, he’s like a little kid yearning for Mommy’s approval.
Meanwhile, brothers David (Mark Ruffalo) and Mark (Channing Tatum) Schultz have each won an Olympic gold medal for wrestling. Keep in mind we’re talking about real wrestling, the kind that involves knowledge of various moves and techniques, and not the scripted garbage on Monday night.
From the film, it’s clear the brothers have a deep love and admiration of one another, but while David has found happiness with a loving wife and family, Mark is alone, living on ramen noodles in a tiny house and at the start of the film, earning a twenty dollar gratuity for speaking at an elementary school (it’s made obvious that Mark needs that twenty bucks).
Mark feels that even though he’s earned his notoriety, anything he does is overshadowed by his brother. If he has success, the public attributes it to David’s mentorship of Mark and not Mark himself. Mark wants to accomplish something on his own, and to make matters worse, he needs money.
Enter du Pont with a miraculous offer for the Schultz brothers. du Pont wants them to come to his estate, select a wrestling team, train themselves to compete in the upcoming 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul and train their team mates while they’re at it. He’ll pay them and give them houses on his property to live in for free.
David, not wanting to uproot his family, isn’t interested. Mark, seeing a chance to break out of his brother’s shadow, takes the deal.
And for awhile he excels at Foxcatcher.
But alas, it is an understatement to say that du Pont is weird.
He insists that people refer to him as “America’s Golden Eagle.” He orchestrates a large awards ceremony for himself, and in a sad commentary about society, it’s well-attended by the rich and the powerful. He wants to be a wrestler too and organizes a senior citizen wrestling competition, only to pay off his geriatric competitor to take a dive.
That’s not all. du Pont purchases a tank with the ease that one might order a book from Amazon. When it arrives, he throws a fit that it doesn’t include a 50-caliber machine gun as promised and refuses to sign for the shipment.
He snorts cocaine with reckless abandon, takes his helicopter everywhere, and its not-so-subtly implied that his generosity towards the sport of wrestling might have been a front to allow him to roll around with young sweaty men.
Throughout his Pennsylvania community, du Pont is known as a gracious benefactor, a man who doles out the cash just so he can be a part of everything. The local police department practice on his shooting range and he shoots guns alongside them.
Poor and crazy? You’re crazy. Rich and crazy? You’re eccentric. Not to fault the movie, but if you perform a web search on du Pont, you’ll come up with an endless supply of allegations, many of which weren’t portrayed in the film. That’s not a knock on the film at all. It’s just that the man was so nuts that there just wasn’t enough time to capture it all on screen:
Some of the allegations I was able to find on the web that weren’t featured in the film:
That du Pont put razor wire in the walls of his house because he thought it was haunted by ghosts
He crashed multiple cars into a pond on his property
He bought a look-alike police car and pulled over people who drove near his property.
Believed that Nazis and Russian spies were frequenting the property, often demanding that his employees search for them.
Kicked black wrestlers off the team claiming “the KKK runs this place”
That du Pont, after his mother’s death, sets her horse barn on fire with the horses inside. The film only shows Carrell let the horses go. Perhaps horses being burnt up is too graphic for the screen.
Again, there wasn’t just enough time in the movie, but the film more than manages to portray the fact that the man just was not right in the head.
Steve Carrell is no stranger to playing characters who aren’t exactly grounded in reality. After all, he played the dimwitted bumbling boss Michael Scott on The Office for years. But while Scott’s antics were relatively harmless, du Pont’s instability is (and as we see later) a disaster waiting to happen.
Barely recognizable under gray hair and a large prosthetic nose, Carrell earns his Oscar nomination as he plays du Pont, capturing his overall style of a hopelessly depressed ego-maniac slash elderly man child.
If I keep going, I’ll give too much of the film away. It climaxes when du Pont, spurred on by his ongoing desire to achieve greatness (by letting others earn it for him) makes David an offer he can’t refuse to come be part of the Foxcatcher wrestling program. Mark, who’s been sucked into du Pont’s unhealthy drugging lifestyle, feels betrayed by du Pont (at one point du Pont tells Mark he understands and supports his desire to win on his own), that he’s lost his chance to win without his brother’s help, not to mention he’s under intense pressure from du Pont to succeed.
Later, Ruffalo as David makes a face as if he’s losing his soul when a documentary film maker du Pont has hired to produce a glowing film about himself asks David to say du Pont is his mentor. David is perhaps the most genuinely lovable character of the whole film, caring for his family, concerned for his brother’s well-being and at a crucial moment in the film, stands up to du Pont on Mark’s behalf.
SPOILER ALERT (Again, I hate using that term here but I have no idea what else to say.)
After losing in the 1988 Olympic games, Mark leaves the Foxcatcher program and the film ends with du Pont driving his car to David’s house.
Here’s the scary part. I’ve known for years that du Pont shot David Schultz just because it was a well-known, highly reported on crime. And I’ve been reading more about it since the movie came out.
Yet, even though I knew it was coming, I just wasn’t prepared for it and was startled anyway. While David is standing in his driveway, du Pont pulls up, asks, “Do you have a problem with me?” then shoots David.
An employee riding with du Pont who had no idea what his boss was up to tries to stop him. David’s wife comes out of the house and du Pont points his gun at her, sending her back in the house.
David struggles to crawl to safety but du Pont shoots him twice more in the back then drives back to his house to hole up.
The expressionless face, the clear lack of interest in the gravity of what he’s done…Carrell as du Pont arguably portrays a villain in that short moment that rivals Hannibal Lecter.
But while Lecter made it clear he wants to eat you, du Pont is one of those people who seems off, but no one realized just how off he was or what he was capable of until it was too late.
Accounts I’ve read online typically describe the situation in that du Pont was known throughout his community as being an oddball but his antics seemed harmless and people were happy to take advantage of the generous donations he offered, thus placating his bad behavior while failing to realize he was a ticking time bomb all along.
One can’t help but feel sorry for the Schultz brothers throughout the film. Olympic wrestlers are in a tough position. They’re paid no money to train and yet have to a) train all day in order to compete and b) still somehow find a source of income to pay their bills.
A benefactor swoops in and offers to pay them a salary and gives them houses on his estate to live in while they practice the sport they love?
Hell, be honest. You’d ignore the tank too.
If you’re interested in reading more about the case, here are two articles I found helpful:
Angry ghosts terrorize a family and I haven’t missed a little person actor this much since the last lull I had to go through between Game of Thrones seasons four and five.
Bookshelf Q. Battler here with a review of Poltergeist.
SPOOKY SPOILERS AHEAD
Let me lay it out for you, 3.5 readers.
Hollywood suits are, first and foremost, businessmen. They put big bucks into the films that entertain us and they want a surefire return on their investment. Therefore, remakes, reboots, and sequels of films that already hit it big are here to stay.
That’s not always a bad thing but let’s be honest with this one.
Zelda Rubinstein, the diminutive actress who played Tangina the Clairvoyant in the original Poltergeist in 1982, is what made this franchise. Who can forget her creepy pleas of “Carol Ann, come into the light?”
Well, the millennials can or never knew about her in the first place, so alas, this film is their introduction to a series that got its start through the legendary Steven Spielberg.
Maybe it’s because too much time has passed. Maybe because in 1982 people knew less about technology and getting sucked into your TV seemed more like something to be worried about back then.
Or maybe it’s just that movies like Saw upped the game. Maybe there are too many real world terrors to get spooked by a goofy movie.
Despite all these maybes, a sequel to a classic has the mission of living up to the original and this one didn’t.
Let me admit I’m biased. I’m not a huge fan of the horror genre in the first place. All of those movies are, more or less, the same thing. Something goes bump in the night. Everyone thinks the person who heard the bump first is crazy. The naughty ghosts finally make their presence clear. Usually, someone who’s been acting like a jerk buys the farm in an ironic manner to the audience’s delight (although that trope isn’t present in this film).
Zelda’s little feet left some big shoes to fill and although Jared Harris of Mad Men fame delivers a solid attempt as TV ghost investigator personality Carrigan Burke, older viewers are just left wishing our favorite clairvoyant was around to give us one last turn.
The setup? It’s been so long that it feels like a remake but it’s actually a sequel. Sam Rockwell leads the cast as father of the Bowen clan. The family moves to the neighborhood where the Freelings were attacked by a poltergeist in the early 1980’s.
NOTE: Before making a move, do some research to find out if your new neighborhood has a history of poltergeist activity.
A gaggle of fiendish ghosts trapped Freeling daughter Carol Ann in the TV in the original film and not to be outdone, they trap Madison, the baby of the Bowen family, in a flat screen this time around.
Oh those poltergeists. What a bunch of one trick ponies.
(This is the part where some nerd will explain to me that the kids weren’t really trapped in the TVs, so much as they were pulled into an alternate dimension and the TV signal carries their voice to our dimension. That’s true, Madison actually gets taken through a portal in the closet. Thank you for clarifying, nerds.)
My favorite part of the flick? Son Griffin’s drone toy is piloted into the great beyond.
I want a drone. I really do.
STATUS: It’s not the worst movie I’ve ever seen, but the time I wasted in the theater watching it will be the last time I see it. The people behind the film did their best and it’s not like they could have just hired another little person because Zelda’s performance can’t be recreated with any degree of success. It’s worth a rental but don’t rush out anytime soon.
Disney makes its own version of a Jason Bourne conspiracy thriller. (PG of course)
Bookshelf Q. Battler here with a review of a movie all dreamers will want to see.
SPOILERS AHEAD!
Movieclips Trailers – Tomorrowland – 2015
At the outset, this is a tough flick to review, 3.5 readers.
So much time is spent in the first half of the film building up the suspense (or “showing not telling” as we nerdy writer geeks might say, that I have to tread lightly lest I give the whole story away.
Tomorrowland is a magical place where artists, scientists, and assorted geniuses are allowed to brainstorm freely.
It’s also hidden from our reality, thus allowing freethinkers to do their thing without having their work abused by greedy business suits, corrupt politicians, or vengeful dictators.
In other words, it’s proof that the world could be a wonderful place if the best and the brightest were allowed to do their work for good instead of evil.
(So yeah, basically it really is a fantasy.)
As a boy in the 1960’s, Frank Walker (Thomas Robinson) is recruited by a girl named Athena (Raffey Cassidy) to visit this wonderful world. Everyone in the 1960’s version of Tomorrowland looks like an actual 1960’s person, thus leaving this reviewer to wonder if this wasn’t Disney’s attempt to poke fun at that old joke of, “Disney World gives us a glimpse of what the future will look like according to someone from the 1960’s.”
Flashforward to present day and Frank Walker, now played by George Clooney, is a grumpy recluse, displeased that he was ever offered a glimpse of a world he’s grown too jaded to believe could ever be possible.
Meanwhile, teenager Casey Newton (Britt Robertson) hasn’t given up hope for a better tomorrow yet. She lives in Florida with her father (played by country singer Tim McGraw), a NASA engineer and despite his objections, she gets in trouble whilst trying to prevent a NASA launch pad from being torn down.
(Or in other words, Disney’s not-so-subtle plea for the government to not abandon the space program, which this nerd agrees with, but that’s a whole other conversation.)
Grown-up Frank and kids Athena and Casey come together in a “surprisingly complicated plot for a Disney movie” to save Tomorrowland and our own world from obligatory villain Nix (the incomparable Hugh Laurie.)
To get into the how and why is to reveal too much info to the point that you probably wouldn’t bother seeing it if I did.
However, there are some great quotes along the way. Two that come to mind:
1) It’s hard to come up with an idea and easy to give up.
2) Casey tells a story about two wolves, one led by hope, the other despair. Who wins? “The one you feed.”
Honestly, my memory isn’t fresh and I might have mangled both of those quotes, but you get the gist.
This is a film made by dreamers for dreamers, discussing all the ups and downs of life as a person who thinks big.
It’s for older people like Frank, who once believed they could make a difference only to regret reaching for the proverbial stars in the first place.
It’s also for younger people, like Casey, who see nothing but opportunity on the horizon.
It’s for the young who are lucky enough to dream of a bold new world and for the old who tried to do their part to bring about that world only to experience one of those soul crushing setbacks that all too often force adults to give up on their dreams and settle for whatever means of providing a living they can find.
It tells the youngsters to keep dreaming and the old timers to pick themselves up, dust themselves off and get back in the game.
Is this movie one great big giant advertisement designed to lure kids into nagging their parents for a trip to Disney World, where they can visit Tomorrowland (a part of the Magic Kingdom)?
Of course.
But it’s also Disney’s attempt to convince dreamers of all ages to take big ideas and use them for good and not evil, to use inventions in ways that will cure the world’s problems, not cause more.
A grim apocalyptic future is coming our way if we don’t stop our petty squabbles and learn how to work together. That’s about as deep and meaningful a message as can be provided in a film produced by a company operated by a cartoon mouse.
From a movie buff’s perspective, it’s fun to watch two girls hold their own in scenes with Hollywood legend Clooney. (Between you and me, they even upstage him at times, but don’t tell George.)
Laurie delivers a fabulous performance as Nix and while I won’t give it away, feel free to generally post in the comments below if you think Nix’s viewpoint was wrong or right.
Are you a dreamer? Are you a nerd who dreams of a day when nerds will be allowed to work without seeing the fruits of their labor used for evil purposes?
If you’re a fan of this blog, then you probably are.
Violence! Mayhem! Action! A superflous monster truck type vehicle whose only purpose is to carry drummers and a guitar player!
Buckle your seat belts, 3.5 readers. It’s time for Bookshelf Q. Battler’s review of Mad Max: Fury Road.
WARNING: POST-APOCALYPTIC SPOILERS AHEAD!
At the outset, this movie was a bit of a gamble for Hollywood. These days, movies are all about beauty, beauty, beauty and anyone or anything ugly? Adios. Sayonara. Today’s average movie goer wants to see nothing but attractive people and sets and Hollywood is often too scared to take a risk for an “outside the box” type of film. (And yes, believe it or not, even though this movie is a sequel to a trilogy, it still qualifies as unique in this day in age).
Yet, Mad Max takes place in a world ravaged by a nuclear apocalypse. The once fertile world has become a desolate wasteland. Between the dirt and sand as far as the eye can see and the rusty cars driven throughout the film, movie goers who are used to dazzling colors will need a moment to adjust.
Then there’s the ugliness. Don’t get me wrong, Charlize Theron aka Impersonator Furiosa is an ultra hottie and Tom Hardy is a handsome enough fellow (I can note that a man is pleasant looking without being accused of being accused of gayness, can’t I? Come on, it’s 2015 people!) they’re “uglied up” with soot and dirt while the bevy of baddies chasing them are grotesque, maimed, deformed etc.
But the gamble paid off. The post-apocalyptic world will likely not be a pretty place and Director George Miller captures that aspect and then some. And despite the aforementioned drab colors, the movie features some of the best action, fight scenes, and special effects that I’ve seen in a long time.
I wish I could tell you more about that but I wouldn’t want to SPOIL it for you.
I discuss the craft of writing often on this blog and “show, don’t tell” is the one of the writer’s cardinal rules.
Holy Smokes, 3.5 readers. For most of the first half of the movie, there’s a ton of showing and very little telling. Even with few words being spoken, the action tells us everything we need to know. (Watch the scene where Max and Furiosa meet for the first time and get back to me.)
The set up? Mad Max is taken hostage by a group of wackos ruled by “Immortan Joe” (played by Hugh Keays-Byrne who, fun fact, played “Toecutter,” in the very first Mad Max film way back in 1979.
Joe has some health problems, has to use a breathing apparatus and well, let’s just say like most of his lackeys, he’s not going to win any beauty contests any time soon.
Furiosa hijacks Joe’s wives (it’s a step up for them, believe me) and heads for “greener” pastures, namely the long lost homeland she was kidnapped from as a girl. Max gets snagged into the mess and ends up as the unwilling hero who eventually becomes willing.
The best part? With the exception of a few scenes, this movie is essentially one gigantic chase epic! It’s Joe’s flunkies in their rusty bolt buckets vs. Furiosa’s war rig.
Is this movie for everyone? Probably not. It does earn its R rating. If you’re a teetotaler when it comes to movies, you might want to find another flick to take in. I hear Pitch Perfect 2 is good. Go see that instead.
But for the rest of you action lovers, you won’t be disappointed.
Some final thoughts:
1) It reminded me how sad Mel Gibson’s major meltdown was. Millennials, have you ever heard of Mel Gibson? He was the original Mad Max. In fact, the movie made his career. He went on to great movies like the Lethal Weapon franchise and Braveheart just to name a few. Then he sort of just went nutsy cuckoo, going off on all manner of inappropriate crazy rants and long story short, he’s far from his original Hollywood golden boy status.
2) I get the impression this film was the cumulation of everything Director George Miller wanted to do in this post-apocalyptic world but lacked the special effects technology in the late 1970’s and early 1980s.
3) Speaking of, how cool and rare is it that a director of a movie franchise gets to direct the modern day sequel? (It’s not really a remake or a reboot so I guess sequel is the best label).
George Lucas, for example, met the wrath of fickle fans. He gave us Star Wars but fans have been crying for a new director ever since they laid eyes on Jar Jar and now JJ Abrams is at the helm.
Miller directed the original Mad Max Trilogy (Mad Max, Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome) and thirty-six years later, he brought his vision back to the big screen. Artists are often separated from their art in the name of profit all the time, so a director being allowed to stand by his work is refreshing.
4) Where does Mad Max fit in when it comes to thescience fiction world? It’s not space opera. There’s no technology. In fact, the absence of technology is the entire point of the film. Ultimately, the franchise’s major credit is that it gave birth to the Sci-Fi sub-genre of Post-Apocalyptic fiction.
5) Speaking of, let’s try our best to make the world a better place, ok? I know I’m just a blogger with 3.5 readers but global nuclear annihilation is a threat that’s just as real today as it was when the original films were made long ago. (Maybe even more so if you consider the fact that North Korea, a country that just executed a dude with a friggin’ anti-aircraft gun, has them.)
If you think about it, a Mad Maxian world where people revert to being savages clinging to rusty broken down cars is probably the BEST CASE SCENARIO of a nuclear war. In actuality, few people, if any would be left, let alone enough to start small civilizations.
We only have one world people and believe it or not, despite the many differences we claim to have, we’re all pretty much the same. We want success, stability, happiness, something to look forward to.
We all really need to reach a point where we can share the same planet without the subtle threat of “Cross me and I’ll blow the crap out of you” lingering in the background.
Save the world from ending up in the clutches of Immortan Joe, folks.
In conclusion, two men enter. One man leaves. That is the way of thunderdome.
(Really wish they could have worked that line into this one somehow.)
Bookshelf Battle 