Happy Back to the Future Day! Yes, today is the day that Marty and Doc visited in Back to the Future Part II.
Much has been discussed about what the film got wrong and right when it comes to predictions of what life in 2015 would be like. Suffice to say, until pizza hydrators and flying cars are invented, the world will pale in comparison to what 1980’s folk envisioned for the future.
So I won’t get into that. Rather, let me ask you a question.
Have you ever wondered how Doc and Marty met?
I mean, seriously. A teenage boy and a crazy haired mad scientist. What a combo. The first film starts and they already know each other but we’re never told how they came to meet in the first place.
So intensely puzzled was I by this conundrum that I put Jake, my very own pop culture detective of Pop Culture Mysteries fame on the case.
CHECK IT OUT HERE for the answer as to how history’s greatest time traveling duo met.
Bookshelf Q. Battler here, still riding out the zombie apocalypse, but luckily I have Alien Jones’ space phone to stream stuff on, like the latest Star Wars: The Force Awakens Trailer:
My thoughts, in no particular order (and feel free to correct me if I’m wrong because many of these are predictions i.e. me just spitballing:
So we have two new heroes, a young male and a young female lead. The girl I believe is some kind of junk scavenger and I’m guessing the structure she is searching through is that big crashed Star Destroyer from the previous trailer. I’m assuming it is, in fact, the Star Destroyer where Luke had his final battle with the Emperor in Return of the Jedi. Could be wrong but I thought I read somewhere that the girl find’s Luke’s lightsaber or something. (Again, I’m just throwing stuff out there, I really have no idea.) Meanwhile, the male lead is a stormtrooper and apparently something happens that makes him renounce his stormtroopery ways.
We see/hear the female lead ask Han if the stories are true and he explains that yes, they are. Therefore, apparently much time has passed, the tales from the older films have become less real and more like legends to the people of the Star Wars universe, and assumably, Han, Luke, and Leia as old-timers will guide a new generation of heroes in taking on a new threat.
That threat comes in the form of some bad masked dude who’s checking out Darth Vader’s crushed mask, pledging to finish what Vader started. Didn’t he get the memo that Vader recanted his evil ways while he was dying and finally ended up being a nice ghost who chilled with Ghost Obi Wan and Ghost Yoda at the end of Return of the Jedi?
We see Leia – she looks sad, she appears to be hugging Han. I don’t know why she’s sad. Presumably because evil deeds or transpiring, or maybe she missed Han. Han said “Chewie, we’re home” in the other trailer, so assumably Han and Chewie went somewhere for a long time. Here’s hoping there will be some joke where Leia calls Han a scruffy nerf herder or something.
I’m sad to hear about all the “Boycott Star Wars” nonsense, i.e. claims that the movie is “anti-white” but on the other hand, if you check out the hashtag, it’s mostly people complaining that the hashtag was ever created. Food for thought – I get people are mad and want to vent but sometimes where the Internet is concerned, ignoring a dumb idea makes it go away faster whereas talking about it helps it gain steam, which, yeah, why am I talking about it then?
Ticket sales are breaking records as well as websites. People buying pre-sale tickets for a movie that’s 2 months away. I’ve never really cared about a movie before enough to buy tickets in advance but I might just for this one.
So we see Han, and Leia, where’s Luke? We only see his hand in the first trailer. I mean, Mark Hammil hasn’t had it easy when it comes to aging (but then again who does?) He was in a car wreck when he was younger and he wasn’t the best looking dude starting out (Kids there was once a time when Hollywood allowed people who didn’t look completely like Gods and Goddesses to be the leads in films, I know, amazing!) so I wonder if that’s it – but he was in the The Kingsman earlier this year and he looked fine. I hope they’re not going to do some Hollywood thing and cover him up with a cloak or something for half the film. I dunno. That’s all pure speculation.
OK. My two cents over. Again, don’t quote me because I’m just talking out of my butt. I look forward to seeing this movie. What do you nerds think?
No time to do an in-depth movie review because I’m busy fending off zombies but just wanted to say Bridge of Spies is pretty good. Not a real flashy movie, though there’s a cool special effects laden scene where Gary Powers’ spy plane gets shot down over Russia.
The movie has Tom Hanks as a U.S. lawyer on a mission to do a prisoner swap – Powers for a Russian spy held by the US in the 1950s.
Lots of interesting Cold War history.
Go see it. Or don’t. What do I care? I’m too busy with my new role as Deputy Mayor of East Randomtown.
Yes, I am trapped in the middle of a zombie apocalypse but I do have Alien Jones’ space phone to keep me updated on the latest pop culture news.
So this idea for a Die Hard prequel starring Bruce Willis about John McClane’s early days as a NYC cop.
RIDICULOUS!
Here’s the thing.
First. Let me say this. Big Die Hard fan here. It’s my favorite Christmas movie.
3.5 READERS – But BQB, it’s an action film!
So what? It takes place during an office Christmas party taken over by evil terrorists! Every year without fail, when you’re watching the Grinch or It’s a Wonderful Life or whatever I’m watching John McClane save Nakatomi.
Here’s why the original Die Hard was so great.
It starred an average guy in the lead role.
Originally, Arnold Schwarzenegger was going to be McClane. Would have been ok. Probably would have ended up being mildly memorable.
But Bruce Willis? Then a pretty average looking dude, hell he was balding and going with that “I’m fighting the good fight against hair loss” hairstyle at the time.
And it made all the difference.
Sure, McClane was a cop but in real life the average cop is not equipped to take down a team of highly trained terrorists all by himself.
That’s what made the movie awesome. It basically asked YOU to step into McClane’s shoes. You’re not Arnold. You don’t have muscles up the wazoo. You have average speed, strength, agility, intelligence…and now it’s up to YOU to save the day.
McClane was more or less one of the first average heroes in an action film.
Aside from the idea that a younger actor will play a young McClane – I mean, I get that – sure, Bruce Willis can’t play a young version of himself. But Willis is so McClane I don’t know how its possible to find anyone else to play this iconic role.
That’s crazy in and of itself but what’s really crazy about the idea is that if you create an adventure where McClane had some kind of amazing fight between himself and various bad dudes BEFORE the original, then how can I ever enjoy the original again?
Because again, that’s the beauty of the original – average guy fights against the odds. Give McClane an adventure that happened BEFORE Nakatomi and well, ok who gives a shit then, of course John can handle Hans Gruber and Co, he handed X bad guy in the damn prequel.
BOOO!!!! BOO!!! BOO! I say BOOO!!!! Don’t make it Hollywood. Don’t make it.
Thanks for taking my call, Devan. Bookshelf Q. Battler would have called but he’s too busy arguing with his ex-girlfriend, which leads me to my first question:
Q. Is it possible for a group of zombie apocalypse survivors to make it when they’re at each others’ throats? I think we’ll work it out so don’t worry about us, but generally speaking, if you had to give a pep talk to a bunch of survivors to convince them to drop their petty differences and focus on staying alive, what would you say?
A. I’m more of a loner than a leader these days, but if it the role were forced on me I’d probably remind them that no one makes it in this world on their own, that we all work better as a team, and that if we stick together we can not only survive this nightmare but also create a better future for all of us in the process.
Q. You wrote a screenplay for a zombie movie. What was that experience like? Can you describe it for BQB’s 3.5 readers?
A. The movie was based off of the live action role playing game Humans Vs. Zombies, or HVZ. I’d had an idea for a zombie movie in mind when I got the call from a director I’d worked with before and the timing was just right. There is a downside to working in Hollywood, which is ultimately the lack of creative control you get as a writer. That’s why I decided to make the jump to writing novels, so I could make all the decisions and know they wouldn’t get changed at the last minute without my knowledge or consent. After all, when your name is on something you want to be able to be proud of how it turned out and not feel like anything was compromised.
Q. In Undead L.A., one might argue that the City of Los Angeles is almost a character itself. From a pilot hijacking a plane from LAX in order to flee the insanity to a detective on the trail of a case that begins in West Hollywood, you provide a great deal of detail about the city. How were you able to make L.A. leap off the page?
A. I think the best answer is simply that I love this city with all of my heart. I was born and raised here in Los Angeles and at this point I don’t want to live anywhere else. Los Angeles will always be my home. I feel like sometimes the city gets a bad rap from all the people who come here looking to create a better life for themselves in the entertainment industry or make it in Hollywood. I wanted to show off just how amazing and diverse this sprawling metropolis really is. I think too that people who have visited L.A. or lived here for a while before returning to where they are from can enjoy reading about the characters moving through the same streets they remember, seeing all the landmarks, and eating at places they ate at while they were here. I know I always enjoy that when I read Michael Connelly’s books.
Q. In Book Two of the Zombie Attack! series, your protagonist, Xander, is put in charge of a survivor colony. With the help of his wife, Felicity Jane, the couple deals with reconstruction efforts, constant zombie attacks, and a bloodthirsty group of cannibals. That last part brings a question to my mind – who’s more dangerous in a zombie apocalypse? Zombies, or the humans who take advantage of the chaos that zombies create?
A. In the Zombie Attack series the zombies themselves mostly just move the action along as Xander does his best to deal with a host of perilous issues that now exist in the post Z-Day world. Zombies are absolutely dangerous, no question about it, but many humans are far worse than the biters because of the deliberate evil they act on in the absence of established law and order. I feel confident that this is how things would devolve in the event of any major crisis or apocalypse. One group of people would work to uphold the common good while the rest would fight over what they could get and set up their own territories like warlords. Let’s just hope we never have to find out!
Q. At least 2 of BQB’s 3.5 readers are wannabe writers. What advice do you have for someone getting started in the writing game?
A. First I’d recommend that they read ON WRITING by Stephen King. That book changed my life and got me writing novels. Then I’d suggest that they give themselves time to grow and don’t be impatient to get stuff out there before it is ready. Take your time to learn your craft and develop your own voice. Last but not least I would tell them not to sign any publishing deals until they know exactly what they are getting themselves into. These days there are a lot of small press publishers who will promise the sun, the moon, and the stars to get new talent but can’t offer much more than the writer could do on their own with a Facebook and Twitter account.
Q. Thanks for your help, Devan. Before I hang up, do you have any last words of wisdom to help my friends and I survive the East Randomtown Zombie Apocalypse?
A. Make sure you can lock down one area for you and your loved ones, that it is secure from the living and the dead, and then stock it up with as much clean water as you can get your hands on. That’s going to be a huge issue during the zombie apocalypse. Then go for the canned goods next and nonperishables. Then it’s all about medicine, fuel, and weapons after that. Aim for the head and don’t stop until they are dead! Good luck!
Emily Blunt in a “look at my acting chops!” role. Josh Brolin as a smug jerk, or in other words, a typical Josh Brolin role. Benicio Del Toro as creepy as always.
BQB here with a a review of the latest Fall movie season Oscar contender.
I know, 3.5. I know. I’m stuck in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. I should be doing something more productive than watching movies. But what can I do? The zombies are out there, I’m stuck in Price Town. Might as well make the best of it, especially when my alien buddy has an intergalactic communications device (aka a space phone) that allows me to watch top notch Emily Blunt films.
Aliens love Emily Blunt. And to be blunt, so do I.
Wow, I bet Emily’s never heard that joke before.
OK. So let’s dive in. As the opening sequence of this film explains to us, a “sicario” was once the term used in Jerusalem to describe the super devout who chased Romans from their homeland, but today it has become the Mexican word for “hit man.”
By the way, just now, Apple spellchecker really wanted me to write “pit man” for some reason. I hate it when I have to argue with my computer just to get it to say what I want it to. I swear to Christ this is how Skynet begins. Up your butt, Apple.
SPOILERS AHEAD!
No more distractions. The film begins with Emily as FBI agent Kate Macer, an FBI anti-kidnapping specialist leading a mission to take a house that is alleged to be holding a drug cartel’s kidnapping victims.
Only thing is, it turns out the house is actually a house of horrors, with dead cartel victims lining the walls.
Emily is then recruited to assist a special task force with the apprehension of Manuel Diaz, the big time drug kingpin behind the death house.
Do you ever get confused when you watch a hardcore crime movie? I know when I watched True Detective, Season 2 I felt like I needed a flowchart and a slide rule just to keep up with what was going on.
Well, with this movie, you’re in luck, because you’re not the only one who’s confused. Emily/Kate is too.
Josh Brolin (aka Matt Graver) is some type of G-man in charge of the task force. Is he a spy? Does he work for the CIA? Is he military? Is he someone else entirely?
Meanwhile, the task force’s biggest asset is Alejandro aka Benicio. The same questions apply. Is he a CIA agent? Is he some kind of Mexican spy, a Juan Bond, if you will? (Oh come on, PC police, that was funny and you know it.) Is he military? Someone else?
The point is, Kate ends up working with these people and a) she has no idea who they are and b) they won’t tell her. In fact, Matt/Josh seems to relish holding back details of what’s going on vis a vis their mission, only eeking out just enough details to keep Kate from walking away, but otherwise she’s kept in the dark.
Finally! A protagonist in a serious crime drama who’s as confused as I am. I felt for Emily in this one. The whole film she’s like “What’s going on?” and I was replying, “I don’t know Emily, but I hope you find out. Don’t trust these dudes, girl.”
All in all, great acting, a gripping plot that draws you in. It gets you on a roll with questions and if you hang in there, they are answered.
On top of all that, it does offer a stunning indictment of the whole inter-border drug war. Nasty business. Don’t do drugs, kids.
I hate to give too much away but there was one quote that caught me. I’ll paraphrase. Basically, twenty-percent of the population are hardcore drug users and if we could get them to quit the cartels would be out of work.
So quit today, all you dope fiends. Only you can stop Mexican mafia murder houses.
One thing that made me happy was seeing Jeffrey Donovan in a supporting role. You might remember he was Michael Westen in Burn Notice. I loved that show. He’s a good actor. Hope to see him in more stuff. I hear he’s in the next season of Fargo.
That’s all I have, 3.5. To discuss it any further would be to spoil the whole thing. Go see it.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go ride out the zombie apocalypse.
“You do the math. You solve one problem. And then you solve another. And then another. Solve enough and you stay alive.”
– Mark Watney, The Martian
An astronaut trapped on Mars. A daring rescue mission. Matt Damon. Jeff Daniels. Jessica Chastain. Kate Mara. Sean Bean. Kristen Wiig. The list of top actors on this movie is too long to keep rattling names off but the biggest star of all?
SCIENCE!
Yes, in an age where people want more explosions, sex, and what the hell, explosive sex, Alien director Ridley Scott made a movie that not only entertains but educates.
Put on your spacesuit, 3.5 readers, and let’s talk about what this movie does not only for science, but for the world of self-publishing.
The Martian – Twentieth Century Fox
OK, first of all, let’s address the proverbial elephant on the sofa, the gorilla in the barcalounger, if you will.
But BQB! Aren’t you trapped in the middle of the East Randomtown Zombie Apocalypse?
I sure am, 3.5 readers. Luckily, I’ve got Alien Jones’ plutonium powered space phone and the Esteemed Brainy One managed to stream it for my group of survivors last night. It really lifted our spirits, because as you may have heard, we’re currently riding out the zompoc in Price Town, one of the last three stores still open at the nearly abandoned East Randomtown Mall.
HOW BIG WAS THIS MOVIE?
A “friend” of mine sent me an e-mail to let me know that this movie was so big that he’d never seen a line so long at the theater he usually goes to before. The poor chump ended up stuck in that damn front row spot. You know, the one where you have to keep your neck craned skywards for two hours and you have to look to the left when a character on the left is talking and a character on the right is talking.
What a jackass. Guy probably should have taken into account how popular the movie would be and gotten there earlier.
Either that or he could have skipped the popcorn and soda. God knows that fatty doesn’t need it.
Oh sorry, I shouldn’t speak ill of my friend on my blog. Good thing only 3.5 people read this.
THE PLOT
A storm causes a team of astronauts to abandon their mission on Mars. One of their teammates, Mark Watney, is impaled, presumed dead, and abandoned.
Whoops! He’s still alive, but the the Red Planet is so far away that NASA won’t be able to get help to him any soon.
THE SCIENCE
One of the biggest challenges for a writer is to a) explain to the reader how a character is going to extricate himself from a sticky situation with enough detail so as to not leave the reader feeling cheated and yet b) not go overboard to the point where the reader feels like dozing off.
Enter Andy Weir. The Martian is based off of Weir’s novel of the same name.
A computer programmer, Weir made all sorts of calculations, estimates, and scientific conclusions on how, in theory, an astronaut trapped on Mars could live long enough to find a way back home.
“I’m going to have to science the shit out of this,” Damon, as Watney, says.
And science the shit out of it, he does. Literally. He uses his own shit as fertilizer for potato plants. Potatoes then become Mark’s only form of sustenance and I’m willing to bet he reached a point where he never wanted to see another french fry ever again.
Aside from the potato plants, I don’t want to go into too much detail on the science angle. A) To do so would be to provide you with too many SPOILERS and b) some of it my brain was too feeble to understand and other parts I did understand but am not sure I could explain it correctly.
Suffice to say, there’s a lot of brainy people involved. NASA scientists on the ground work on a rescue plan while Watney on Mars works on his own survival.
For any kid out there interested in science, this film provides role models to look up to, not just in the form of the astronauts, but the people – technicians, engineers, specialists, scientists, etc. working to bring their colleague home.
Science, kids. It’s the way of the future.
WHAT DOES THIS MOVIE MEAN FOR SELF-PUBLISHING?
The Martian started out as a free serial on Andy’s blog. He as just a guy who really loved math, science, and space. So he took his passions and funneled them into a project to entertain his blog readers. (I bet he had more than 3.5 of them.)
As he explained in an interview with Johnny, Sean and Dave of the Self-Publishing Podcast, he put the novel on Amazon at the request of some of his readers who preferred an e-reader format over reading it on a blog. Not out to make any money and not thinking it would go anywhere, Weir put his novel on Amazon, priced it at 99-cents, and let his blog readers know it was available.
The novel took off and the rest was history.
By the way, I recommend listening to Andy’s SPP interview as it is an inspiration to anyone interested in self-publishing. Success doesn’t happen overnight and it certainly didn’t for Andy. He started blogging way back in 1999. A sixteen year journey to the big screen!
Keep plugging away, 3.5 readers/writers. Success might seem so far away as to be pointless, but then again, you’re already ahead of those who gave up.
I’ve sought out opinions as to what this movie means for self-publishers. Andy’s novel was originally self-published before he was approached by a literary agent and sold it to a big publisher.
Does this mean the general public will look at self-publishers in a whole new light? That if one man was able to take a project on his blog and turn it into a blockbuster film starring Matt Damon and other stars, might that not cause people to pay more attention to self-published works?
One person I spoke with answered no. His reasoning was the majority of the movie going public doesn’t really care who wrote a book or how the book was made. They just want to be entertained and thus this won’t do a lot to bring attention to self-publishing.
Technically, I think he’s right, but therein lies the rub.
As self-publishers, our WHOLE GOAL is to provide a piece of entertainment crafted so well that no one notices it wasn’t made by a team of big shots.
Because at the end of the day, when you turn on the TV, do you pay that much attention if a show is on NBC, CBS, or Showtime or do you just pick and watch shows because they grab your attention?
Have you ever said, “Well, I’ll never watch THAT film because it was made by Fox and Goddamn it, this is a Sony household!”
Have you ever walked into a bookstore, strolled over to the clerk, and said, “Excuse me, will you point me to the Random House books because I’m ONLY a Random House reader and I’ll never allow a Penguin book to sully my eyes!”
No. No one cares who was behind a piece of entertainment so long as it is entertaining.
And that, my 3.5 readers, is what I believe this movie does for self-publishers.
It gives their collective souls a boost. Andy Weir becomes another Hugh Howey to look up to. “If that guy did it, then I can do it too!”
After all, when Andy got his start, his readers weren’t saying, “Ugh! This book was not put out by a traditional publishing house? No thank you!”
They were saying, “An astronaut who gets trapped on Mars and has to figure out how to survive?! That sounds so cool! Sign me up!”
When you’re in the clothing store, do you check the label on that shirt that caught your eye? Nope. You’ll just buy it because you like it.
Write cool stories, 3.5 readers and if they’re entertaining enough, people won’t bother to check the label.
Thanks 3.5. I have to go fight the zombie apocalypse now.
All is forgiven for Mortdecai, Johnny. All is forgiven.
I’d announce SPOILERS though all this stuff actually happened! BQB here with a review of Black Mass.
“If nobody sees it, then it didn’t happen.”
So goes the advice of infamous Irish mobster James “Whitey” Bulger to his young son after he got in trouble for punching another kid at school. It’s a line delivered so eerily that it sets the whole tone of the movie.
It gives the viewer insight into just the kind of guy Whitey is. Most parents would tell their kid not to punch anyone. Whitey tells his to just make sure no one’s looking before he punches someone the next time.
Step aside Tony Soprano, as this true crime gangster flick shows Whitey as one cold, calculating sociopathic serial killer, leaving a trail of bodies in his wake during his tenure as the boss of an organized crime family known as the Winter Hill Gang in South Boston from the 1970s to the 1990’s.
I was a fan of The Sopranos and the ongoing theme of that show was that Tony often felt bad about his crimes. Of course, that didn’t stop him from being a murderer, but after the dirty deed, he’d feel bad, overeat, not sleep and walk around in his bathrobe and get so depressed that he’d need to go spill his guts to his confidant/ shrink Dr. Melfi.
Whitey, on the other hand – SPOILER – is able to strangle a hooker then take a nap and have dinner afterwards.
In one of the saddest turn of events in modern law enforcement history, FBI agent John Connolly struck a deal to use Bulger as an informant, but as we see in the movie, John becomes less concerned about justice and more about helping Whitey, his childhood friend, not to mention getting some extra gifts on the side.
Meanwhile, Whitey plays the FBI like a fiddle. He gives them info needed to take down a rival Italian crime family moving in on his turf, but after that, pretty much feeds them bupkis.
If this sounds familiar, you might recall 2006’s The Departed, which was somewhat based on Whitey’s reign of terror.
I’ve always felt The Departed was one of the best gangster flicks I’ve ever seen and this one does meet it.
Johnny Depp solidifies his reputation as an actor who can become anyone. He plays the ruthless yet somewhat quiet Whitey to a T and is barely recognizable on screen.
To complicate matters, Whitey’s brother was William Bulger, President of the Massachusetts Senate.
Benedict Cumberbatch plays the South Boston politician well, delivering a powerful speech about how he’ll drive crime out of South Boston just as St. Patrick drove the Romans and British out of Ireland.
Ironic, given who his brother was.
What did William know about his brother, when, and what was his involvement? Those are questions left on the table, though the film takes the standpoint that Billy basically suffered from being tied to a degenerate brother.
Can’t pick your family I guess.
Joel Edgerton turns in an excellent performance as Connolly, the fast talking Fed who always has a comeback ready to explain to his boss (played by Kevin Bacon) as to why Whitey’s being allowed to jerk the FBI around for his own personal gain.
Jesse Plemons (aka Creepy Todd from Breaking Bad) plays another creep, Whitey’s associate Kevin Weeks. Poor Jesse’s stuck playing creeps I guess.
Adam Scott (known for comedic roles such as his part as Leslie Knope’s husband, Ben Wyatt on Parks and Rec) makes his first notable foray into drama as a Fed who’s suspicious of Connolly.
Overall, it’s a solid cast. I could go into more detail, but I’d end up giving the rest of the story away.
Did Whitey win? If you’re a news watcher, you know he went on the lam in the 1990’s after being tipped off by Connolly to an impending arrest, only to be caught in Santa Monica in 2011.
You might say justice was finally found. Then again, Whitey was in his 80’s when he was nabbed so, he did get to live out his retirement years.
This is one of the first major Oscar contenders of the year and cements Depp as one of the greatest actors of our time.
If he takes home a gold statue for this, he will have earned it.
I had such a lazy day yesterday. Still can’t believe the odds of it. Was looking forward to Labor Day and then I get sick.
Oh well.
In one day I watched:
GI Joe Retaliation – Oddly, it sucked less the second time.
Kingsman: The Secret Service – it was great
Unfinished Business – Silly Vince Vaughn comedy thought it was better/more touching than I thought it would be. All about the underdog starting his own company, worrying about keeping his family and his two employees happy, all the worries you have when you have people depending on you.
My posts have been definitely been lacking since September rolled around but I hope you’ll bare with me. I’m putting a lot of time into 31 Zombie Authors.
That’s right. 31 days in October. 31 zombie authors will be interviewed. In between the interviews, there will be a fun story about East Randomtown being invaded by zombies.
I, BQB, Video Game Rack Fighter, and Alien Jones band together to stop them. Occasionally, we take a break and call zombie authors for help.
Not a single dude in tights with a cape to be seen!
Hollywood surprises us with a winner with No Escape.
Be warned: there’s “no escaping” these spoilers.
Ha. See what I did there? That guy gets it. Yes. You sir. Right there. Thanks for reading.
The setup? After his company goes belly up, Jack Dwyer (Owen Wilson) moves his wife, Annie (Lake Bell) and two young daughters to an unnamed Southeastern Asia country. It borders Vietnam and I could probably figure it out if I felt like looking for a map but I really don’t. Since it wasn’t named, I assume the movie producers weren’t looking to criticize any particular country anyway.
Before I go on, am I the only one who thought Annie was played by Idina Menzel of “Let it Go, Let it Go” fame?
The whole summer I’ve been seeing previews for this film and I’ve been like, “Huh. Elsa’s flexing her acting chops. Good for her.”
And throughout the whole movie, I was like, “Wow. That ‘Let it Go’ chick is really letting an ass whooping go on these bad guys.”
But it wasn’t Idina Menzel. It was Lake Bell. But I swear they look alike, so much so that Idina Menzel will probably get an award for being in this movie that she wasn’t even in.
Plus, I have to be honest, I’ve never heard of Lake Bell before, so now I’m wondering how many times I’ve seen her in other stuff and assumed it was Idina Menzel.
Mind=blown.
Anyway, the Dwyers aren’t settled into their new digs for more than a few hours when rebels storm the city, overrun the police and military, and start rounding up and shooting Americans/Brits/Aussies, various others they’ve identified as foreign devils.
It’s up to Jack to save his family as the Dwyers manage to stay just a few steps away from being slaughtered throughout the entire film.
People who are used to Owen Wilson being that happy go lucky, laid back mellow dude will be surprised to see him in this role. He still is that “dude” but this movie asks us to consider all the terrible things we might do to save our families, from taking a drastic chance that they’ll survive being thrown across a large gap between rooftops (note in real life they won’t) to beating a man to death who refuses to keep quiet.
It’s like Dupree but with killing.
You, Me and Dupree. God that movie sucked. Don’t even get me started on Drillbit Taylor. All is forgiven though, Owen, you’ve really redeemed yourself with this one.
Pierce Brosnan rounds out the cast as Hammond, a British badass adventurer type who comes to the Dwyer’s aid. He’s a bit mysterious but we’re alerted to his badassery early on when he informs Jack’s kids that he extracted the tiger tooth he’s wearing on a necklace from an actual tiger.
Reviewers have referred to this movie as “stressful” and it is. The stakes are high. We’ve seen a lot of super hero movies this summer with cartoonish violence. I’m not knocking them. I love them. But when a movie focuses around whether a family with two little kids is going to make it or not, it becomes a lot more real than, say, whether or not Iron Man’s suit gets a dent in it.
Love the comic book movies, but it’s good to see that Hollywood hasn’t completely forgotten that action can happen to the non-caped as well.
Bookshelf Battle 