June 24, 2024

Land of Bad: Netflix has just released a new film starring Russell Crowe (looking more and more well fed), Liam Hemsworth and Luke Hemsworth. The title though says it all – this is bad, make no mistake about it. It begins with a discussion about an area of the world near the Philippines, where there is active combat and a war going on that no one is aware. It is an Australian film, but about Americans. Funny that.

There is an operation that is required in this combative area and a young Liam Hemsworth is ordered by happenstance to join a veteran group of Special Ops soldiers who are going to look to find and return an intelligence CIA asset. Naturally there is chirping among the more experienced soldiers and the young inexperienced Hemsworth who is nervous about a high parachute drop and the nature of the unknown task ahead of them. This small group of soldiers is supported half a world away in a base in Las Vegas which has Air Force personnel using drones with accompanying weapons. The drones have the ability to watch over the operation and communicate the on-ground situation to the soldiers. Russell Crowe is an aging operator, who cannot even do up the uniform which he tries to wear and hides the fact with a bright yellow Hawaiian shirt.

The operation, naturally, runs into unexpected issues with the team suffering significant losses. Crowe is doing his best to explain why he sits in his chair at this age, while at the same time communicating to that strike team. I am not really clear as to why Crowe is given this role. Perhaps they wanted another Australian, like Hemsorth, to play a guy from Ohio, as Hemsworth does. My greater issue with the movie is that this makes it seem as though it is present day but rather than finding familiar real wars like Ukraine or Isreal and Palestine, there is this unknown “war”. When you look at the American resources that are used here, helicopters, F-18s, B-1 bombers, drones and personnel all over the armed forces, one wonders about this war. It creates no sympathy really for the young soldier as he stands, with all these well provisioned rebels in this massive bunker structure. Battles are undertaken, with plenty of bullets and hand to hand combat. There are clear enemies, but really? There is torture, there are other challenges for a singular solider with plenty of inexplicable actions by the rebels (like the whole issue of whether you don’t simply shoot an enemy you find in your territory). I would have expected the soldier to shoot first and and ask questions later. There are also way-too-convenient strikes being made which happen to coincide very neatly with an unpleasant consequence which seems to befall the lead character. Do I like this? Absolutely not. It is not compelling or interesting on any level. Within the first thirty minutes almost nothing takes place. The ending of course is not really in doubt, even when the ending of Platoon is virtually stolen frame for frame. This movie is a hard pass, and it is unfortunate that Russell Crowe who will associate himself with it.

June 17, 2024

House of the Dragon – Season 2: I will readily admit that I am a huge Game of Thrones fan. Despite getting to the party relatively late in the original series, I think it was around Season 5 or 6, I was able to binge the earlier series and then be all caught up for the last two series. I have read the Game of Thrones books, and eagerly await the next volume which has been delayed time and again by author and super busy guy George R. R. Martin. Then it was announced that a prequel series would be made in the Westeros world. I was intrigued, but wouldn’t allow myself to get too excited about it. House of the Dragon was begins about 100 years after the Seven Kingdoms are united by the Targaryen conquest, nearly 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones, and 172 years before the birth of Daenerys Targaryen.

For me the season was slow to get going, which was very different from Game of Thrones which started fast and just picked up speed. I think that this 13 minute refresh for Season 1 is helpful, especially given that we are almost two years since the first season was released.

I found it dealing with English-style intrigue for the Tutors and the Henry VIII questions with whether a woman could be the Queen. A similar story unfolds with this series. Starting with a clean slate, the clash becomes one of battling friends and siblings for the Iron Throne. Upon the death of the King, who had a living daughter (Rhaenyra Targaryen) and a brother (Daemon Targaryen) there is also the new Queen (Alicent Hightower) who bore sons for the King (Aegon II, Heleana and Aemond). The names can be confuing the the years pass quickly with younger Rhaenyra then engaging with the same brother Daemon. At the conclusion of the first season, the entire succession is turned upside down with words uttered by the dying King and creating Elizabeth I type of intrigue.

Enter Season 2, which aired last night. This series looks fabulous. They have smartly and generously sprinkled dragons in this series because, after all, they are cool. But still I can’t help but thinking that the world of Westeros that we were shown was so vast, and the political intrigue amongst this family of Targaryens seems small. Many of the names sound the same and so many have the long blond hair which can add to the confusion.

Ultimately the sides are being drawn, and War is Coming, in the same way that Winter is Coming in the original. It was inevitable. Game of Thrones was effective because it had great performances, terrific writing which generally followed the books pretty closely, and spent the money it needed on CGI and scenes (filmed in Northern Ireland, Croatia and other locations). There was a blend of sex and violence, characters you love to hate and plenty of surprises. So far this isn’t happening with House of the Dragon. Maybe it is a slow build. Another difference for me is that none of the characters are overly likeable, and we aren’t cheering for them like we did for Jon Snow, the Starks (some of them anyway) and Danny Targaryen (the Mother of Dragons). It is a vital piece for the audience. I will continue to watch. Episode 1 was fairly straightforward with re-engaging the characters and building on the end of Season 1. We are briefly introduced to the Starks in this first episode and The Wall, defending Westeros from death from the north. I will continue to watch and hope for more.

Hitler and the Nazis: Evil on Trial: On Netflix, this is a new 6 part series that talks about the Nuremburg trials set after WWII was finished and the surviving leaders of the Third Reich are put on trial. All the countries involved in the defeat of the Nazis were part of the prosecution and the judges.

There is some colourization of previous black and white films, with various historians speaking to events as they occurred and unfolded. Much of it is done through the eyes of reporter and writer William L. Shirer. He started in the late 1930s and carried on in various locations as a US reporter and writer as war broke out.

There are enactments of the stories along with actual archival footage with actual voices of those involved in the trials, as well as speeches and events themselves with subtitles.

I am a WWII buff, and this was interesting to watch. I liked to hear the actual voices from those who testified at the trials. My generation and later recoil from black and white footage, so the colourization helps to make it more real for me anyway. I find the actor who plays Hitler as one of the weaker links in the production. Somehow I suspect that Hitler wasn’t always yelling and screaming and appearing on the edge of sanity. But he is shown as this constantly. But despite this it is effective to have this combination of real filming and the older actual footage. For those who are interested in WWII and history, this for me is worth watching and as good as any recent documentaries on the subject.

June 10th, 2024

Civil War: Alex Garland is a writer, screenwriter, director of some very interesting, cutting edge recent sci fi and technology related films. The titles include Ex Machina (2014) and Annihilation (2018), both of which I thoroughly enjoyed. His one Oscar nomination came from his writing in Ex Machina. He wrote the novel The Beach which became the the Leo DiCaprio film. His latest release is an apocalyptic take on the political situation in the United States. The Americans as we all know, have already fought a Civil War back in the 1860s (1861-1865). This movie addresses what the next civil war could look like.

The movie takes a few perspectives, but mainly focuses on the efforts of Kirsten Dunst as a veteran war correspondent photographer and her team. As part of the team, she has added, to her distaste, a young photographer who regards Dunst as her personal hero. The story is a road trip movie with the team looking to get to Washington DC. Seems the rebel countries from Florida and Texas are looking to overtake the President and his command by force. The movie opens with the President announcing publicly that there have been mistakes made by the rebel forces.

Ultimately there are number of situations which reflect this new reality, including an area where they are ignoring the war surrounding them and acting like it is back to the 1950s Leave It To Beaver. In another area, they run across Jesse Plemons as a military officer leading some rebels in a fashion that channels Robert Duvall in Apocalypse Now, as a leader who seems to relish the battle and the blood, and seems to exact his own form of justice in a lawless society. It is a sad commentary on the current situation that we can see a world where this could happen. There are images of battles taking place in Washington DC, for example an active shooting on the Lincoln Memorial, in which the irony isn’t lost on the viewer. Maybe that was one of my problems with this movie and how it didn’t really impact me. I think the idea was “let’s explore various situations in a modern civil war” all with a The Killing Fields or A Private War (type of vehicle to get us there; the war correspondent documenting the conflict). The team gets directly impacted by the conflict in ways that are predictable. It is all so very depressing that one can hope that the people come to their senses. However, as a movie it isn’t as good as the message that Garland hopes to resonate with his audience.

Challengers: Zendaya seems to be everywhere these days. From Dune and Euphoria she has taken on this almost mythical power with young women, and this movie comes at a time where I have heard from a number of people that daughters are seeing this movie multiple times in the theatre. As a result, I was interested to see what all the fuss could be about. Zendaya incidentally is also the producer for this movie. The principal actors are her, Josh O’Connor (best known to me as the teenage Prince Charles in The Crown, and Mike Faist who I don’t ever recall seeing before. The three make up competitive tennis players working their way through the ranks. The story jumps around in a timeline from early days as teens, through more formative years of playing and then to the present day where the two men are playing each other in a secondary level game outside New York City, nearing the end of their careers.

Tennis is the method by which to show how the relationships came about, but this is a movie, in some ways not so dissimilar to the 2003 film The Dreamers starring Eva Green with two male suitors. Similar in that they seek to explore themselves and each other. They are just understanding their own bodies and the connections with others. None of the tennis scenes made me believe that the actors were playing tennis at a high level. It was obvious that the ball returns with the players were not real but CGI. It didn’t matter, but it was noted.

In this instance, the two male players have played for years in tournaments and grew close. They meet Zendaya who was already a highly ranked teenager. They both take a liking to her, and she decides to take matters into her own hands, deciding which of these young men that she wishes to entertain. In truth, she decides to entertain herself really. Fate steps in, and guides some future moves for Zendaya’s character. In the current date, we see her already with Faist’s character and watching this match against the former friend. The rest is a playback as to why this individual tennis match holds more meaning than just a $7,200 prize for the winner.

In any film, or in any relationship I think you know that there is troubled waters ahead when one person says: “I love you” and the other person responds: “I know”. Same holds true in this movie. I have a hard time understanding the motivations of the Zendaya character. She has set the stage for what was to take place – in a planned fashion, although I am certain that it didn’t entirely transpire as expected at least in the middle stage. Ultimately much is made over the one game played as Zendaya watches over the proceedings. I will admit that I don’t see what all the fuss is about. I certainly would not see the reason to watch this on mutliple viewings, but then again I am absolutely not the target audience.

June 3, 2024

Apologies for last week but I was travelling on holiday and did not have a chance to write. Now I am back.

All of Us Strangers: Andrew Scott stars along with Paul Mescal in this 2023 release.  Claire Foy co-stars along with Jamie Bell.

Andrew Scott is one of the most versatile actors these days.  He seems to be able to pivot from various roles and be effective in each of them. From Bond, to Sherlock, recently released Ripley then also Fleabag.

He plays a screenwriter named Adam living in London.  He lives alone in a condo that is sparsely populated and has a neighbour who makes an unusual proposition for him.   He declines.

He begins a stroll down memory lane.   The audience isn’t quite clear as to how much of his journey is real or imagined.  He had dredged up some photographs in his possessions safely stored away under his bed. This is a movie about Adam’s relationships and not about his career.

He reconsiders the neighbour and they have a tryst.  Turns out that he is gay but they discuss “queer” being a more elegant description. 

From there Adam continues his stroll down memory lane.   We learn more as he revisits this past, wwith a short train ride used to transport him into to memories. But are they just memories?  There is no explanation as to these travels.  Without disclosing too much, the travels allow for a discussion of attitudes of the past and then present day about various ideas but mainly about being gay (back in the 1980s until present day).  Perception and memories are very interesting and they are explored.  Imagine speaking to someone and having a conversation with them in real time and seeing them, and hearing them with their full selves.  How different might the reality be from how you had imagined it? 

Then this story goes deeper.  The present and the past collide.  Discussions are held that are heartfelt and real.  Scott shows a range of emotion to bring this story to life for Adam. So much is revealed in his face and moments when he says very little.

I really enjoyed this. This movie asks, fundamentally, how much do we really know one another?  Even those who raised us and were there for us from the day we started our journey on this planet.  How much can we anticipate for our actions today that we think are seemingly meant to help us and heal us?   In the end none of us is promised another day. 

May 20th, 2024

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes: I am not having a great deal of luck these days with movies I am seeing in the theatre. After the debaucle that was The Fall Guy, I was anticipating seeing this movie. It had been well hyped, with plenty of commercials and trailers that I have done my best to try and avoid. I wanted to see this latest installment with fresh eyes and an open mind. I was a really big fan of the original from 1968 with Charleton Heston and Roddy McDowell. The last trilogy with Andy Serkis as the focal point with Caesar I quite liked as well. The world was decimated from a man made illness that basically resulted with apes, lead by Caesar, revolting and overtaking the humans. This movie starts with the burial of Casear through cremation by open fire. Then it fast forwards through a number of generations, and the teachings of Casear are being fractionalized. We begin in this new time with three young chimpanees underdoing a tribe ritual where they are to seek an eagle’s egg, obtained from an eagles nest nearby. One of the young apes, Noa (played by Owen Teague) is the son of the tribe’s leader in charge of the eagles and rookery.

In short order, Noa is tasked with seeking revenge for a series of events for which he feels responsible. It is debateable about whether this is the case. There is a competing tribe of apes that was causing havoc. There was also the emergence of a mysterious human who has been seen nearby Noa on occassion. Things happen. There is a situation involving the aggressive apes, seemingly lead by a gorilla, but in fact there is another leader who has taken on the name of Caesar but has twisted the words to be something that seems to reinforce his own position as leader. There is a task which I won’t dive into further, along with the appearance of another human who is helping this leader ape.

For me, despite the references cinematically in scenes that are set, like an attack on the mute human colony in a field of high vegetation by the apes, the efforts to channel the story and feelings of the original fall flat. There is no real connection to the latest Caesar movie trolgy as well. Instead, it is a weak story with very good technical capabilties with the look and feel of the faces of the apes. There is this new human aspect which builds upon the Taylor “if there’s one talking human, then there would be another and another” from back in 1968. But again, it doesn’t translate as well in this instance. Human structures are more front and centre here with the ape population, or at least the leaders, thinking that they need to obtain it to have power or retain it. In short, I didn’t like this very much. The tie in back to the eagle tribe was weak, and it became evident pretty early on that this was the beginning of a new series of films. In other words there wasn’t much resolved in this episode. But sadly the opening volley has to be stronger to make us want to see more. Instead I don’t look ahead towards this future conflict with the humans who would appear to hold a military advantage along with a (possible) intellectual one. This movie made $237M this weekend globally, but I feel that it unfairly leveraged the goodwill from the latest trilogy while not having much new to offer. This is a pass for me.

The Miracle Club: This was a movie recommendation from a colleague. I wanted to check it out when it was mentioned that it was set in Ireland. I had hoped that there would be some quality Irish scenery. Starring Maggie Smith, Kathy Bates, Laura Linney and others it tells the tale of a small group of older people in a part of Dublin with a history and unresolved conflict.

We have different generations involved, and the death of one of the older women in the community, the mother of the Linney character brings them all together to rehash the stories from the past.

Billed as a comedy, this isn’t very funny. Instead it is filled with more drama as the women’s stories unfold and are retold. Maggie Smith is in mourning for years. Her son passed away years ago. It seems he was very much in love with the Linney character. She decided to leave many years ago to America and not return. Linney had vowed not to see her Mother again. Kathy Bates was her friend at the time. So the community has decided to try and visit a town in France (Lourdes) where in the church there is a statue of Mary which from time to time allegedly performs miracles. Within the group there is a young woman with a son who doesn’t speak. That is one of the issues that they hope to resolve.

For me, movies that try too hard to pull heart strings feel more like manipulation. There are good actresses here from which to gain a quality performance. But it is lacking in strength of plot. It all seems so very artificial. Linney has unresolved issues with her Mom, and also with the other women, principally the Smith character but also with Bates of course who is more direct in her conflict with Linney and what she has done. In the end there are tears and resolution and some apologies. I wish I could say that I enjoyed it but it didn’t really work. I cannot recommend.

May 13th, 2024

Baby Reindeer: This is a new series on Netflix and is based on a true life story of the writer, star and creator Richard Gadd. Told in seven short episodes which are generally around 30 minutes, it tells the story of an aspiring comic, who is paying the bills with being a bartender. At the bar, by happenstance he assists a weeping woman who is seemingly distressed. This becomes a turning point in the direction of his life. The story becomes one of a stalker and her pray, as he tries to extricate himself from what becomes very uncomfortable and awkward situation.

Martha claims to be a lawyer. The story explores the connection between the parties and their own foibles and challenges. The audience will be surprised at various stages on the actions of these two people. They are both very flawed and make decisions that are surprising and shocking in places. Gadd plays Donny Dunn but he goes by other names as well. He makes very little and lives with the mother of a former girlfriend. He is also interested in trans-women on top of that. He is currently dating a trans-woman but he is not really sure about his own sexuality. The series is in many ways a self-exploration for Donny. After a series of odd events and a gradual intensification of stalking, choices are made which would seemingly be the opposite of what you would intend, for example after you have chosen to try and get the police involved. But then you look to take things into your own hands, running at cross purposes. Things happen. The turning point is in Episode 6. The strain of the stalking has taken its toll, and his career is stalling, as one would expect. Apparently Gadd claims that his stalker sent more than 41,071 emails, 350 hours of voicemails, 744 tweets, 46 Facebook messages and 106 pages of letters. This goes to show that the stalking was off-the-charts intense. Of course I imagine that some of this was exaggerated for dramatic effect. Even if only half of this story and events are true then it’s quite surprsing. This has been a sleeper hit for Netflix. I had been forewarned that there would be a turn in this which was surpising, and I had been waited for it, and it didn’t really come. However, I had wondered where this would go and how it would resolve itself. In the end, the resolution was unexpected. It was okay. I feel as though none of the characters were likeable. They make poor choices. But it can be a case study for those who live very different lives. Richard has created a series for himself. He isn’t overly funny and this very much reveals a great deal about himself and his demons.

Bullet Train: This 2022 movie was released on Netlfix. Riddle me this, Batman, how a movie with Brad Pitt, Sandra Bullock and Michael Shannon can be a complete failure? This is utterly a mess from beginning to end. Pitt has been put on a bullet train in Japan to obtain a suitcase. Seems simple enough. He while entering the train he is glued to his phone and having an ongoing dialog with a mystery female voice on the other side.

Of course the story isn’t so simple. There are others on the train who have different motivations even after Pitt has managed to find the suitcase quicker than one would expect. There is a bad guy (played by Shannon), he has a son, among his offspring and the suitcase is filled with his money. All the time I am sensing that someone watched Snakes on a Plane, and wants to channel a smart ass Samuel L Jackson and then also be the hitman on his “last job”. It is difficult to best describe the plot as it twists and turns onto itself as characters betray each other as circumstances change. Of course there are big fights, none of which are on a level with a John Wick or Atomic Blonde or Jason Bourne. The CGI for the more intense train related scenes especially in the last act are just over the top ridiculous. Much like this movie. I cannot over-emphasize how thankful I was when it was over. I had plenty of eye rolls. The snappy smarmy Pitt quips fall flat and the humour didn’t hit the mark. At least I was saved the theatre cost, which I sadly didn’t avoid for The Fall Guy last weekend! Next…!

May 6, 2024

The Fall Guy: Imagine that I didn’t know that this 2024 release with Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt would be based on the characters from the 1980s TV show starring Lee Majors in his post-$6 Million Dollar Man phase. I saw the trailer and thought that I like both leads, and it looks like it is a stunt man based film.

In arriving at the theatre and the beginning of the movie starts, Ryan Gosling refers to himself as Colt Seavers and I immediately rolled my eyes. Then the pick up truck from the show is there too a beige high wheeled truck. As the movie carries on, I am surprised why Blunt and Gosling would be involved in it. The plot was so contrived with a love story between Gosling and Blunt’s characters where he was a stunt man, and she was a camera operator on a set. Colt is the stunt double for a pompous Tom Cruise-like character making various action-filled movies. He has his own preferred producer, played by Ted Lasso‘s Hannah Waddingham. Waddingham isn’t one of the talented actors whose talents are wasted here. She is over the top and obnoxious. She is looking to get this new space movie completed, but the star has disappeared. Colt eighteen months earlier suffered a bad accident but is encouraged to come back to the business.

There is tension as Colt returns to the set where Blunt’s character is now a director. Things happen. There is even a scene with Colt in a truck and he’s listening to a Taylor Swift song. This is along with the Kiss “I Was Made for Loving You” song blasted out from the beginning. There are various attempts to bring forward images and ideas from the 80s (like a reference to Miami Vice) and other homages to the time, but it literally falls flat. The underlying premise falls flat because we don’t really have much of a connection with the actors except the goodwill that they have brought from other, better roles. Gosling does have comedic talent in roles like Nice Guys from 2016, but I don’t chuckle once here. It was a rolling of the eyes, and then looking to the ceiling as more cheesey lines and silly plot lines are delivered. I am ashamed and sad that I was brought into the theatre to see this. Maybe Gosling and Blunt wanted an excuse to have a paid vacation in Australia. As a movie goer I am surprised that all those involved in this don’t open their cheque books and refund those who spend money to watch it.

Note that if you choose to go, you will get a major easter egg at the end of the credits much like a Ferris Bueller type end. You have been warned as it answers a question that no one ever even wanted to ask…you’ll know when you see it. But this is a hard pass for me. One can be hopeful that more in-theatre releases coming soon like Kingdon of the Planet of the Apes is better than this clunker. Has there been a decent stunt guy related movie? Yes, check out The Stunt Man with Peter O’Toole from 1980.

April 29, 2024

Spaceman: Netflix has just released this new film starring Adam Sandler, Carey Mulligan and Pano Dano. An imporessive cast really. In truth, I am not really an Adam Sandler fan, at least not the silly comedy films that he was known for principally. This is NOT that, as this is far more serious. In summary, this was a movie that was weird, then it got really weird. Assuming you were able to get over that weirdness, then it grounded itself in a bit of a strange way. That likely doesn’t help a reader too much, but ultimately it became a more simple relationship movie, but let’s rewind a little on the initial premise.

The Czech Republic has sent Jakub Prochaka (Sandler) into deep space to explore this phenomenon that has entered the solar system. It is a long mission, and Jakub has been in space about 6 months on his own. He leaves behind a wife, played by Mulligan, and she isn’t very happy about her their relationship. She tries to initiate the longest Dear John in the history of mankind by satellite telephone, but the Space Agency powers that be have not permitted it to be sent. So the silence created between the husband and wife begins to weigh on Jakub. Enter in the weirdness, which I won’t fully describe for fear of spoiling it. Suffice it to say that something unusual happens within the spacecraft, and the audience is left to wonder how it can possibly be. A dialogue begins which one wonders is a symptom of isolation, and the worry of one man being projected into something more tangible. It also may be a necessary movie/plot device to avoid having the solitary astronaut pondering his thoughts alone.

I see aspects of many movies in this, like The Martian, Interstellar, Gravity and 2001: A Space Odyssey. There is even some Cast Away involved here too. All of them are better movies. In many ways, the story of a self-absorbed narcissist with an important job (or with very fixed goals) and a troubled marriage could be told without space at all. He could be a trucker from Green Bay with a wife in Albuquerque on a long haul when all of this goes down. Of course the Interstellar moments wouldn’t necessarily work in that instance (they will be evident when they happen in the last act) but by then it doesn’t matter. The final act does make this more about human connection, but the path to get it there was muddled. Sandler didn’t convince me ultimately in the role since I don’t see him as an astronaut-worthy person in terms of the science and math knowledge that would be required. Mulligan was alright, in a bland sort of way since she didn’t really have a lot to do. The flashbacks were dreamy and all, but much of whether you like this will be in those philosophical discussions with the voice of Paul Dano (who also played in similar voice the Riddler from Robert Pattinson’s The Batman). He has done many quality roles. In any event, I can’t recommend this, as one needs to be really patient and set aside the weird logic that goes in behind it. It is after all NHL playoff season, and there is plenty of hockey to be seen each night.

April 22, 2024

October Sky: This is an oldie but a goodie. A movie from 1999 presently on Netflix, but with a really good cast including Chris Cooper, Laura Dern and a young Jake Gyllenhaal. This was Jake’s fifth movie at the time and his first in a lead role. The story is based on a true story of a group of high school aged young men in West Virginia living in a small coal mining town in the mid 1950s. The movie starts with the news announcement of the Soviet sputnik being launched above the earth. It was a captivating time post WWII, and the perception that the Soviets were looking to begin the Cold War with domination of space, and drop downs and use surveillance above the US with no opposition. Homer Hickam, played by Gyllenahaal, is energized by the story and thoughts of space. He lives with his older, football playing brother, and his Mom and Dad, head of the union at the local coal mine (Chris Cooper). The mine is struggling financially to extract more coal from the ground, but still incurring the costs of labour and equipment.

Young Homer decides that he wants to make rockets, and sets upon himself to learn as much as he can about rockets and building them. Dad doesn’t improve, Mom cares only that he doesn’t “blow himself up”. Most encouragement comes from his young teacher, Miss Riley who wants at least some of her students to have a future that doesn’t involve being a miner, wants these boys to enter a local Science Fair and have the possibility of a college education and a life outside this little town.

The performances are all good. Cooper can play a tough Old Man as well as anyone, and has his heart set on his older boy getting a football scholarship and younger son following in his footsteps in the mine and leading the men below. Mining is a dangerous pursuit, and Dad takes the protection of his men seriously. Father and son butt heads with respect to his career ambitions, with harsh words and tension. Still there is an underlying respect and love between them. Mom chips in as well, lending some support when it is needed. It is a feel good story as the boys learn from their mistakes, which are many, and have some guidance from locals who know a thing or two about metalurgy among other things. The town, once there is some notoriety, rally around the boys as they find materials and forge cylinders to make the body of their rockets as well as try new fuels. I enjoyed watching this again after many years, but it still has some emotional impact. I like the characters. Sadly the town and Dad don’t see what is plain to teacher and young Homer that the days of the mine are numbered. It’s good to see young people get inspired, work hard to learn and advance. Enjoy.

Rebel Moon: Part 2 – The Scargiver: This is part 2 of the series on Netflix, which was not memorable for me in the first episode. This continues in the story. The Scargiver refers to the character Kora played by Sofia Boutella.

Much of this story I had forgotten, but basically in a Star Wars theme, there was an evil empire who comes upon a farming planet and the resident Grand Moff Tarkin character, decides he wants to extract a lot of supplies from the people to replenish his large spacecraft. There is a rebellion among the farming community using some local people with a beef against the Empire people.

What I can say is that the second half of this part two is really just one big battle, with plenty of characters fighting and dying for their respective causes. The principal rebel character, Kora is a former member of the Empire and has decided to leave to be on her own. She has been brought into the farmer’s battle and will work to lead them as an insider. But does it all really matter? I cannot really answer that. I find the visuals here to be competent, but the story along the leaders and rebels is weak. There is a Part III, which is not something I look forward to, to be honest. Ed Skrein plays Atticus Noble as the bad Empire guy with the Hitler-like haircut and outfits. He tends to play these bad chanracters, as he did in Deadpool, but for me he was better in Midway as a hero. I just find that he is a little over-the-top on the bad side and it takes away from the story. Boutella as the heroine, is adequate but that is how I feel about the whole exercise. It is adequate, and I think that money could be spent on a project that has more to offer the viewer. It is quite a commitment for the viewer to watch all of this, but with no real underlying message. I cannot recommend.

Jimmy Carr – Natural Born Killer: This 2024 Netflix special has just been released. I saw in May 2023 Jimmy in Toronto for his Terribly Funny tour. Much of the material in this latest special was covered in what I saw. I like Jimmy Carr, the British comedian but he can be an acquired taste. He expects his audience to pick up on his quite deadpan delivery and doesn’t pause for those to catch up.

He covers off plenty of taboo subjects including rape, and pedophiles, step-fathers, dating, relationships etc with the same vigour. He engages with the audience from time to time and it can lead to some good improv laughs. He has other specials on netflix and each of them is worth checking out if you like his brand of humour and delivery. I highly recommend for me and those with that same sense of humour. For others, your mileage may vary!!

April 15th, 2024

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire: When I was a kid, after primary school was done, they would have on Channel 29 Buffalo “Creature Feature Week” where they would show back to back monster movies. They were Godzilla, Kong, and other creatures with titles that seemed more like a wrestling match (like Mothra vs Godzilla from 1964). King Kong vs Godzilla (1962) was very poorly dressed (literally a man in an ape suit, as this was still pre-Planet of the Apes). It was two men in costumes wrestling on a train set with hydro lines and small homes and dinky toys. It was campy fun after a day at school.

Fast forward from TV movies from 1978ish 40+ years to the present day and we have a lot more technology to assist with bringing forth the images of these two gigantic creatures and the world that they inhabit. This is the next installment in a series, where the human characters were all interested earlier. There was Rececca Hall (scientist), her adopted doaughter and Dan Stevens (as a biologist). As a team they were aware of Kong and studied him, but the first clash with Godzilla brought about new set of issues. The adopted daughter, seemed to have a connection with Kong and they communicated through sign language. Yes Kong knows how to sign.

In this latest movie, Kong and Godzilla have gone their separate ways, Kong to his world, which if you haven’t seen the first one won’t be disclosed here. Godzilla has been dealing a variety of creatures. He seems to like sleeping in a Coliseum in Rome, but seems to have a tendancy to cause havoc in other well known cities. It seems monsters don’t have fights in Des Moines or Saskatoon. The damage of course to historical buildings, bridges and sights is substantial. But nevermind. Things happen. Monsters fight monsters. An improbable journey takes places for the humans and puts them into areas that are foreign. We are introduced to another monster, which brings back memories from many years back.

In the end, is this compelling movie making? I saw this in IMAX, and there are some impressive visuals. The story is quite complex and you have to overlook some logical challenges. But generally not a great deal has changed since the Creature Feature Week. It seems that despite technological advances that it is still men in suits prancing around on model railway sets. One key difference is that Kong is the more natural or human of the two, and is injured, sustains injuries unlike the others. It is convenient that the biologist is able of helping Kong with his injuries as they are sustained. In the end it is campy fun, with some good visuals. Sometimes entertainment for entertainment’s sake is okay. The humans are here for window dressing and little else.

Scoop: Recently released on Netflix, this new movie tells the story of the BBC interview with Prince Andrew over the allegations of his relationship with disgraced female teenage sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein. But going back in time before the interview, we get the context of why Prince Andrew would ever entertain such an interview. Starring Gillian Anderson as BBC interviewer Emily Maitlis, Billie Piper plays Sam McAlister (both from the BBC) and Rufus Sewell plays Prince Andrew.

As part of the interview, it is Sam McAlister who is looking to obtain the story and get the interview with the Prince. The Prince has been dogged by his relationship with Epstein persistently, and hw has chosen to ignore it beyond flat out denials. But with Epstein’s sudden apparenent suicide in a New York holding cell, all the questions arise again in this story. Andrew wants it just to go away so he can continue with his Royal duties and the entrepreneur work that he is doing. Here was a chance to once and for all clear his name. As we both know this interview was the downfall of the Prince who after it aired was quickly stripped of his titles and Royal duties. However much this show looked to try and create suspense, it didn’t really work well. Since we know the ending in real life, there is little drama in wondering whether the Palace will be stepping in and preventing the interview from being aired. The remarkable thing really is how delusional the Prince was for his performance within the interview and post. He truly had no idea just how poorly he came off, and how ridiculous his answers and explanations were. He was so dreadly out of touch. His reaction when the interview concluded with Anderson’s character shows how out of touch that he was. Overall this movie was a Meh for me. I do think that Gillian Anderson has developed and grown tremendously in her craft, especially since her early days of X-Files. Her range and projects have outshone David Duchovny considerably. Still this was not overly compelling and Sewell for me didn’t really capture the Prince.