March 7, 2016

– Dead Pool in the theatre

– Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

– halfway through 99 Homes

– last episode of new season X Files

Of those that I watched I had the most fun with Dead Pool,  I am generally not a superhero kind of guy.   Well, beyond Batman (Christian Bale) and Superman and maybe Spiderman (Tobey McGuire).  But here is an anti-superhero.  Ryan Reynolds plays the poor sap who has the mutation done to him and he also has some of the best one liners in a long time (much like the mutterings of Popeye under his breath).   I had fun at this film and some good laughs and that is what it is all about at times; entertainment.   This is an edgy, crass, crude and violent film.  Good to see Toronto skyline in places.    Interesting too to see the wife from Homeland, who wasn’t afraid of nudity there, also show it here…and their calendar celebrations were quite clever (I liked Halloween myself in particular!)

On Netflix, I watched Take Shelter with Michael Shannon and felt that this was very good work for a simple story well told.  I am also a Jessica Chastain fan and felt that she brought a lot here too.  Support and love for he man, but also a concern over what has been happening to him, and that he won’t share.   She tries to understand his behaviour but he is having his dreams weigh on him more heavily every day.   He dreams of storms and catastrophic events in great detail.   Then he begins preparing his family but cleaning up an existing old tornado shelter (and even expanding on it).   It speaks to mental illness and impending doom situations.

Michael Shannon again stars in 99 Homes and his role was praised far and wide (except at Oscar time).  I am not finished this film but am enjoying where it is going.  It is a very good compliment to The Big Short and a view on what happens on the ground as people are evicted and banks take over possession.  There is a great speech here about “winners and losers”.   This should be mandatory viewing for all of the boys on Wall Street and Rating Companies involved in the whole mess.

X Files (tv) was building more of a case and working towards Season 2 with a cliff hanger ending.   It is about alien DNA and how the planet is going to be cleansed.  Interesting stuff and Scully is the focal point which is a very good thing as she is now the much better actor.

Saturday night was Me and Earl and the Dying Girl which I had read good things coming out of Sundance.  The Rottentomatoes buzz was not as good as there was a feeling of manipulation there, and that is very true.   I liked the performances and you care for, and feel for the guy who is a Senior, living on the edges of his high school world, but then is forced to engage with a fellow female student who has been diagnosed with leukemia.   Many heart strings are pulled and multiple opportunities to solicit a tear, but it didn’t go too far into cliche.   For the most part anyway.   I liked her, and I liked how Earl and the main guy interact.   Was I entertained?  Yes.  And did I talk back to the TV screen as things were unfolding?  Yes.   And I liked Prom Night, and then I didn’t.   But for different reasons.   All this to say that it was worth staying up a little later than I wanted to finish this film.