Apologies but I had some laptop issues this week. But I am providing a recent review.
No Sudden Move
Steven Soderberg brings us a new film with a quality cast. Among this cast is Don Cheadle, Ray Liotta, Matt Damon among others. Set in the 1950s in Detroit, it is a caper where various factions are outdoing and outsmarting one another to obtain some secret. The secret is unknown, initially, but many people seem to be clamoring for it and offering decent sums of money to acquire it. Don Cheadle is a recently released con who is asked to “babysit” for a few hours in return for a few thousand dollars. The audience thinks that there has got to be more to it than that. Cheadle thinks the same. The man who makes the request is played by no other than George of the Jungle Brendan Fraser, who looks to have eaten the cast of former movies. As expected, things happen and people are surprised to learn about how a certain person, or another person has gotten involved. Those interested get more and more powerful, and seem to be offering more and more money for the secret. It continues to twist and turn and writhe on the ground like an alligator trying to succumb some prey.
For me some stories twist and turn back on themselves too much for their own good. The audience is left thinking to itself “who is double-crossing whom at this moment?” This is just such a situation. Liotta is cast likely more for his reputation than for the role. In the end, despite what appears to be a main storyline based upon history, it is all blurred by an overlay too thick for the audience to really keep track of it. or perhaps I am just not smart enough, or didn’t pay good enough attention to figure it out. However many people you cut down that lay before your chosen path, you end up heading in a direction you don’t seem to want to go. In the end, the trailing credits provide an explanation of what happened in real life for the secret. In the end it was not all that surprising nor earth shattering. The lower level rungs on this ladder, as usual, always seem to get the short end of the stick. I cannot recommend this.
Trigger
This is a Canadian film from 2010 which is on Crave. It stars Molly Parker and Tracy Wright. They are two musicians that were in a band ten years earlier that broke up under an acrimonious situation. Parker to me, incidentally looks so much like British actress Olivia Williams it is scary. But I digress. Being Canadian this is shot in Toronto and there are scenes from downtown and even the Etobicoke School of the Arts. These two old friends meet at a restaurant and then proceed to wander through town. Their issues are explored but not at any real depth. Certainly the issue of addiction is glossed over. They were once a well known local band that after disbanding had somewhat of a cult following in the younger crowd. Parker is trying to reconnect with Wright. It moves slowly and doesn’t seem to resolve very much. We get some insight into their lives but not as much as you would expect. In the end I watched and when finished shrugged my shoulders with a “is that it?” You gain very little by deciding to fill time with it.
Mondays With Robbie 