Hell or High Water - A Modern Western Masterpiece

by John Zenoni

One of the best modern Western films (and best films period) to be released in 2016 is the movie Hell or High Water. This movie is great on so many levels.

First, the storyline is so original from anything that has been released in recent times. Without giving anything away, what at first appears to be just a "bank robber" film ends up being more than that. You have to understand the reason for what has transpired and, while you personally might not agree with it, you do feel for the main characters and why things develop as they do. Also, the directing is wonderful and the pace just enough to keep you intrigued and makes you want to see what happens to the characters. Next is the cinematography/scenery. The setting of this film is among the ranches in Texas and the visual imagery is just amazing. It is like each scene, particularly when viewing the countryside and ranches, is a work of art. There is one scene in particular where the two brothers, played excellently by Chris Pine and Ben Foster, are enjoying some time with each other on their ranch and no talking is even needed. You can sense the connection between them as family and the view/backdrop adds so much to that scene. Amazing work.

Finally, the acting. Each person in this film is unbelievable, especially Chris Pines and Jeff Bridges. Yes, Jeff B. once again, I believe, outdoes himself. It is like he IS his character and the emotions he exudes just make you feel like he is a real person. I was pleasantly surprised by Chris Pine and he should be nominated this year, in my opinion, for his performance. This is a wonderful, wonderful film and one I will remember for a long time!

Originally Posted 9/11/16


 

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The Best Films of 2016 








Hacksaw Ridge Movie Review








Almost Christmas - A New Holiday Classic








New Jack City

"The Flapper" Movie Review

 

by Daniel White

Screenwriter Frances Marion certainly didn't invent the term "flapper" but she probably did more to popularize it than anyone else. The 1920 film, The Flapper, which she wrote, marks the first time Hollywood embraced the word so publicly. Making it fair to say, that its star, Olive Thomas, is Tinseltown's earliest unofficial free spirited "It" girl.

In it, she plays Genevieve King, a small town Florida teen who yearns to kick up her heels. Sent to an all girls boarding school in upstate New York to curb her interest in boys, she soon finds herself getting into all sorts of mischief (most of it involving the opposite sex!).

Directed by Alan Crosland and produced by Myron Selznick (David's older brother), what's so notable about this flick is that everyone involved is so damned young! All the talent is under thirty, with producer Selznick, at twenty-one, barely out of rompers! The Jazz Age belonged to the brats, and The Flapper stands as a testament to that tenet. The on-location shooting also commands attention. Though it starts off set in the Sunshine State, much of it unspools in wintry Lake Placid. Wunderkind Selznick doled out a lot of cabbage it appears, seemingly confident in the movie's success.

Thomas is a fun, frisky filly in the film. She had a remarkable, if brief career. An ambitious lass, she arrived in New York City from Pennsylvania around 1913, having already separated from her first husband. Starting off as an artist's model, she was a favorite of Alberto Vargas. It seems Miss Thomas had few reservations about disrobing for her "art". Drawings exist of the nubile maiden, posing in various stages of undress. Christened the "Most Beautiful Girl in New York City," she soon became a Ziegfeld girl, as well as mistress to the famed impresario.

Unfortunately, Olive Thomas was not only ambitious, she was a tad reckless. Married in 1916 to Jack Pickford (Mary's kid brother), the two were intent on burning their candles at both ends. The couple liked to party, and pursued a life of extreme merriment. While in Paris in 1920 on a second honeymoon, they returned to their hotel after a night of revelry. Inebriated, and in need of a sedative, poor Olive inadvertently swallowed Jack's topical syphilis medicine, mortally poisoning herself. It was the "Baby Vamp's" final, inglorious curtain call. She would die several days later in acute agony.

About twenty-four minutes into The Flapper there is a scene that is both poignant and charming. "Ginger," as she has renamed herself, is alone in her room at the school. Picking up a ukulele, she does a brief, silly shimmy. For several seconds we see the girlish, childlike innocence of Olive Thomas. For that, the film is priceless.

Distributed by Select Pictures, The Flapper provides us with a glimpse of the youthful allure of Olive Thomas as well as proof of Frances Marion's uncanny pulse on society's mores. Available on YouTube.

"Wind River" Movie Review

by John Zenoni

Saw an excellent film today directed by Taylor Sheridan. Mr. Sheridan is probably best known for writing the screenplays for two other excellent movies, 'Sicario' and 'Hell or High Water'. His latest credit as screenwriter is 'Wind River', for which he is also making his directorial debut. I can assure you he does not disappoint. This is an excellent film in so many ways. I will start off up front by saying while not as strong of a movie as the other two I mentioned, this is still a film you must see.

The story is about a US Fish & Wildlife Tracker (played by Jeremy Renner, excellent as always) and an FBI agent (played by Elizabeth Olsen, who has definitely established herself as a real actor and cannot nor should be compared to her older twin Olsen sisters from the "Full House" series) who have teamed up to try and solve a murder on the Wind River Native American reservation. Each has their own issues they are struggling with - Jeremy Renner's character is still struggling with the death of his 16 year old daughter three years ago and Olsen's character is trying to prove herself as an agent. The storyline itself is 'inspired' by a true story according to the opening credits and at the end my mouth was left hanging open by the statistics rolling at the end credits. 

All the actors in the film are excellent and I have to also give a shout out to one of my other all time favorite actors, Jon Bernthal, for making a guest appearance (a small role but critical to the plot) and killing it as usual. 

As the film goes on, it starts slow but definitely picks up speed, it gets hard to watch what happens (3 people actual left and did not return) but the ending is a satisfying one and yet also makes you think about real life as, again, I go back to the reference to the statistics at the end. 

This is a film that should definitely be recognized come awards season. Great film!!!



Originally Posted 8/28/17


Related:



"Hell or High Water" is a Modern Western Masterpiece

The 10 Best TV Shows of 2016

2016 was a good year for the big screen but there was plenty of competition for movie theaters on television. Netflix had a better Marvel story than Doctor Strange and Deadpool; and a better gangster drama than Live By Night. HBO had better battles than in Civil War and more laughs than pretty much any movies that premiered in the last 12 months.





10. Luke Cage

Luke Cage's titular hero has a job cleaning up a barbershop by day and spends his nights as a dishwasher (a considerable step down from his role as a bar owner on Jessica Jones), which is fitting, because the series is a superhero show moonlighting as a police procedural.

Unfortunately, Cage's incredible introduction in Jessica Jones is squandered here by an altered characterization and campy sensibility that lacks the maturity and gravity displayed in that series. Maybe less is more. It's a good thing that The Punisher didn't get his own show.

Cage's dopey catchphrase from the comics, "Sweet Christmas!", somehow made its way onto the show -- several times. And once is one time too many. Also, the Avengers references serve to clash with the realism the series strives to maintain.

The Wire's Frankie Faison and Sonja Sohn (that show's Deputy Police Commissioner Ervin Burrell  and Detective Kima Greggs, respectively) make appearances. So does Wire alumnus Cheese -- the Method Man himself. That actually counts as a superhero cameo (remember Johnny Blaze?). But Cage unfortunately lacks The Wire's cold blood sensibilities.

The latter half of the season becomes increasingly more campy as the episodes progress. It nearly morphs into a whole other show -- from Power to Batman. Don't worry, that's an exaggeration. But the season does undergo a drastic transformation.
More disappointing is that a series with such a heavy emphasis on African-American culture features a black villain who's disrespected by bad guys of other ethnicities at nearly every turn and doesn't retaliate -- despite the fact that he has no qualms about personally murdering an NYPD detective in broad daylight. It's difficult to fathom why the show-runners decided that placing the African-American heavy at the bottom of the racial totem pole was a good idea.

While show-business Renaissance man Donald Glover's new series Atlanta showcases the number one contender for the capital of African-America, Cage celebrates, and is set in, the original titleholder -- Harlem. This historic section of northern Manhattan's importance in the show can't be overstated. Harlem is at least as vital to Cage as Gotham City is to any Batman adaptation -- and much more worthy of a superhero's protection.

Two of the villains, Cottonmouth and Shades, and one of the heroes, Misty Knight, have been given grounded iterations for the show, sans costumes and superpowers. All three have been upgraded to real people. Cottonmouth is now Cornell "Cottonmouth" Stokes and Shades is Hernan "Shades" Alvarez. Misty is Mercedes "Misty" Knight. It's revealed that she hates her first name.

Besides Tony Stark, Cage is the only real ladies' man of the MCU. And he does it without using an 11-figure bank account as an aphrodisiac.









9. The Day Will Come When You Won't Be

Season 6 of The Walking Dead went out with a bang. And season 7 started with an even bigger bang. After the show's greatest villain finally made an appearance, he showed what he can do and why he has absolute control over his legions of followers, known as the Saviors. Negan, the grinning dictator, got his own hands dirty and beat two of the series' heroes to death with his barbed baseball bat -- and he did it in front of their friends and the women who loved them. TWD's violence has always been graphic and people die regularly but Abraham's, and especially, Glenn's deaths were something else. The bad news is that the show has never been as good since. By the way, I wonder how Shane would've done against the Saviors. 









8. Battle of the Bastards

Game of Thrones ain't what it used to be. The last few seasons have been pretty overrated in general but the season six episode "Battle of the Bastards" lived up to all of the hype and then some. It's better than most of the year's big-budget movies. The second half of the episode is sort of like a medieval Saving Private Ryan -- with a giant. As a matter fact, I'm calling it -- this television episode has the second-best land battle ever put on screen. SPR is still #1. 









7. Divorce

Thomas Haden Church is hilarious. But if you've seen Sideways you already know that. Who knew the end of a marriage could be so funny?









6. Silicon Valley

Nerds haven't been this funny since Lambda Lambda Lambda. Forget "The Big Bang Theory" and "Stranger Things". These are the most entertaining geeks anywhere on television.









5. Narcos

  

In 2015, Narcos showed us billionaire drug kingpin Pablo Escobar's rise to power. The second season was all about his fall. And it was just as good.









4. Ballers

 

Season 3 of Ballers was just as good as the first two and its exploration of the issues faced by current and former NFL players is just as timely and insightful. You know, if The Rock's acting was this good in his movies he might have an Oscar by now.









3. Hip-Hop Evolution

 

This hip-hop history lesson should be required viewing for both rappers and fans. The sad thing is that by the time Hip-Hop Evolution was available for streaming, the music itself had devolved quite a bit. Smh.









2. Survivor's Remorse

 

The third season of Survivor's Remorse was a little less funny without Uncle Julius (Mike Epps) but it was still damn good and the best show Starz ever had. Watch your backs HBO and Netflix.











1. Daredevil

Marvel sucks at producing television. But Netflix is great at producing Marvel television.

The Daredevil television series is likely what the Daredevil film adaptation would've been like had Ben Affleck directed, as opposed to merely starring in it. The show doesn't take its cues from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but instead seemingly patterns itself after the best entrants in rival DC's filmography -- especially, the Dark Knight trilogy and Batman v. Superman. The difference is that while many people died in those films, they were rather bloodless affairs. Daredevil, on the other hand, has no qualms about showing graphic violence and the gore that results from it.

Daredevil's not the only beneficiary of Marvel's decision to follow The Dark Knight's realistic hero blueprint. After several failed big-screen attempts, this television series has managed to produce the absolute best live-action depiction of The Punisher. In fact, he stole the show. Hell, he stole the entire second season. And the Kingpin's portrayal has got to be the best instance of a comic book villain making the transition to the small-screen. 

Perhaps sensing his own limitations, attorney Matthew Murdock (Daredevil's real name) restricts his heroism to his own little part of New York City -- as opposed to his do-gooder peers, the globe-trotting Avengers. 

One very minor criticism is the presence of Joss Whedon-Scooby Gang-style interactions between the three youngest do-gooders on the series. Thankfully, this dynamic is short-lived. The only real flaw is the cringe-worthy costume that's introduced in the first season finale.

For 12 entire episodes Murdock prowled the Manhattan streets in a simple black shirt with matching pants, boots and make-shift mask. That understated ensemble was perfect for the purposes of rendering a believable human being who chooses to administer vigilante justice throughout Alicia Keys' home neighborhood, Hell's Kitchen. Then somewhere along the line, the show's creators apparently decided that loyalty to the source material was more important than artistic integrity and foisted a red-and-black clown suit on us. To their credit, there are plenty of in-show criticisms of the thing. The problem is, we still have to see it.

The Most Overrated TV of 2016




The Abominable Bride (Sherlock Holmes Special)

House of Cards


The Get Down

Supergirl

The Flash

Ray Donovan

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Quantico

Shameless

Gotham

Arrow

Originally Posted 3/20/17

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Does the 'La La Land' Backlash Have Any Merit?

by John Zenoni

 

With all of the hullabaloo going on this awards season about 'La La Land', I decided I had to check it out. Well let me say that it is is nothing short of terrific! 

I had my concerns and doubts going into it but then again I love the director's previous, excellent film 'Whiplash', so I figured it would be interesting to see what he had done. Now I can see why there is so much acclaim for the movie. It is unlike anything seen or done in the last decade, at least. It truly is a throwback to the old style films but done with a modern twist. The opening scene alone captures you right away. For those who are not fans of musicals, they might say not in a good way, but you cannot argue that it does, which speaks for the director's skill. 

The main characters played by Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone both give outstanding performances and the music is amazing. In its tribute to jazz there are scenes that just blow you away by the musicians and songs that are played. John Legend even had a part that I was unaware of going into the film and he was also very impressive in his role. 

While there are websites and articles now devoted to a backlash of this film, I cannot imagine why when it is about art, ambition, hard work, dedication to your art or craft you love, and tough decisions you have to make about the passion you have for something. 

I have seen many great films this past year and this one really is in a category all by itself. Is it worthy of being declared best picture of the year? It is very close in comparison to others but even if it does not win, everyone should take 2 hours of their week to enjoy a pleasurable and entertaining film like this one. A+

Originally Posted 1/29/17


Related:

 

 The Best Films of 2016







Hell or High Water - A Modern Western Masterpiece 








13th

The Most Disappointing Movies of 2018

Lots of great movies were released in 2018. But lots of dishwater hit theaters too. Here are the highlights lowlights:





Solo

Both Lucasfilm and Disney would love to explain away Solo's box office failure with excuses about an ill-advised release date, an abundance of competition and skimpy marketing. But the truth is, like The Last Jedi, Solo just wasn't very good. I'm not saying it wasn't a good Star Wars movie. I'm saying it wasn't very good -- regardless of its franchise.

Unlike the prequel trilogy and The Last Jedi, Solo's not offensively bad -- but it is a waste of time. It's not divisive or anger-inducing it's just a big pile of nothing. But there are two damn good scenes -- either of which would have made for damn good movies if they'd been stretched into two hours. The first gives a brief glimpse into Han's military service. After being busted down to a grunt following charges of insubordination, everybody's favorite Corellian is stuck in the muddy trenches and fighting for survival during the Battle of Mimban. It's basically the Star Wars version of Saving Private Ryan (Why couldn't we have seen that??). The other great scene is more or less what I'd hoped for when this flick was announced: spaceships in space. Han, Lando, Chewie, Han's shady ex, Lando's droid and Han's smuggling mentor run for their lives after heading straight into an Imperial blockade comprised of a Star Destroyer and a squadron of TIE-fighters. It's pretty dope -- until the giant space octopus shows up. Smh.

Solo reminds me of the 2011 Conan the Barbarian remake that had virtually no connection (different director, writers, studio and star) to the original two films. Despite Solo being written (partially) by Star Wars veteran scribe Lawrence Kasdan under the auspices of Lucasfilm, it comes across as being a knock-off -- almost a mockbuster. 

It's a sincere piece of filmmaking, as opposed to the unintentional parody that is The Last Jedi, but somehow Solo still doesn't seem...authentic. It's not Spaceballs -- it's more like Atlantic Rim (the low-budget rip-off of 2013's Pacific Rim).

Ant-Man and the Wasp

2015's Ant-Man was an actual superhero movie that fit nicely into the MCU. The follow-up, Ant-Man and the Wasp, seems more like a Honey, I Shrunk the Kids sequel. The story mostly centers on a father and daughter with miniaturizing technology at their disposal on a desperate hunt for a way to restore ma dukes to normal size. They might as well have named this shit Honey, Mom Shrunk Herself. The only thing missing was an end-credits scene featuring Rick Moranis. You're better off watching an old episode of "The Littles".









Pacific Rim: Uprising

For everyone who was disappointed by Finn's characterization in The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi, Pacific Rim: Uprising is the movie for you -- almost. John Boyega is the absolute best thing about the movie. And it starts off pretty great: there's nice-looking sci-fi and a guy who looks exactly like Finn showing backbone and displaying competence. But then all of his myriad co-stars show up and the whole thing turns into eyebrow dandruff.

2013's excellent Pacific Rim was practically begging for a sequel and laid the groundwork for a follow-up nicely. Unfortunately, the folks behind Uprising failed to resist the temptation to go much, much bigger -- literally, in the case of the final monster -- repeating the exact same mistake made in Independence Day: Resurgence. Maybe writer/director Steven S. DeKnight followed Resurgence's playbook (like a dummy). Both movies take place years after its predecessor; and each movie's star is the son of the previous film's dead military pilot hero. When will they learn?  You'd think the head writer of  the Starz network's "Spartacus" series could do better than this.










Proud Mary

Venom

Venom made an extraordinary amount of money -- especially considering that it's a movie about a comic book supervillain. But it's just as wack as it is profitable. So I guess it all evens out.









A Wrinkle in Time

Based on the award-winning 1962 novel of the same name, A Wrinkle in Time is the story of kid-genius Charles Wallace Murry and his big sister Meg's intergalactic quest to locate their missing physicist father. The siblings, along with Meg's classmate, Calvin O'Keefe, are aided on their journey by three supernatural beings, Mrs Which, Mrs Who and Mrs Whatsit. After the magical trio abandons the kids on a distant planet, Charles Wallace's body becomes possessed by a source of pure evil referred to as "The It".

Pessimistic and close-minded Meg comes of age as a result of the trio's adventures on alien worlds and battles against The It.

While Disney has enjoyed staggering success this year (courtesy of movies such as Black Panther and Infinity War), the studio has had its share of failures as well (most notably in the form of Solo). A Wrinkle in Time falls into the second category. Vivid colors and discussions about self-confidence abound but staying awake through this snooze-fest long enough to catch it all is a challenge. Despite the fact that the source material was published more than half a century ago, Wrinkle comes off as a much less-entertaining rip-off of the 1984 film The Neverending Story. The only thing missing was a furry white dragon.

Annihilation

Super-pretentious sci-fi (or of any other genre) doesn't really do it for me. The best thing about Annihilation is the bear -- one of the best in cinematic history next to the flaming grizzly in Only the Brave, the quintessential mama bear in The Revenant -- and Baloo.









Tomb Raider

Tomb Raider is one of the movies whose commercial failings were attributed to the cinematic juggernaut which was Black Panther. The truth is TR's just not a good movie.  It is, however, an example of literal man-bashing. Though the main character, Lara Croft, taps out after getting her ass handed to her by a female opponent during a mixed martial arts training bout, she never again strikes another woman in the film. But she does manage to beat up and even kill a few dudes. She uses her MMA skills to merc an actual mercenary -- despite having been exhausted from a jungle chase; a near-fatal escape from a planewreck on a waterfall; and a puncture wound to the midsection. Among other things, Tomb Raider is guilty of "fridging" -- the heroine's belief that the man in her life (her father) is dead is the catalyst for her leaving her low-paying bike messenger job behind and embarking on a global adventure.





Originally Posted 12/6/18

"The Lady Makers" Review

 

by John Zenoni

What an emotionally moving film in ‘The Lady Makers’, by director-writer-producer Tony Tite. Starring Jasmine Guy (of ‘A Different World’, ‘School Daze’ fame), the film is about a housekeeper named Emma (played by Guy), who cares for three elderly Jewish sisters who are the remaining members of a group who have a secret vow. The sisters also employ the care of a gardener, who goes by the name Potato (portrayed by Eric W. Davis).

The sisters are given the responsibility of taking in three young women who have committed crimes and are given a chance to prove themselves in the home and care of the sisters instead of being incarcerated. As expected, it is a very bumpy start for all to begin with but as the young women begin to know and learn from the sisters (and Emma and Potato), they all learn to respect each other from a racial, cultural, and gender perspective.

What I love about the film is that we learn about the hardships of each young lady but then see how they are touched and comforted by the sisters, who are initially seen as privileged, Jewish women who have it all, only to learn that they are not really that much different and have faced difficult lives as well. The message is a great one that comes out of everything they all go through together! The ending - man, definitely got to me.

All of the actors in this film do a great job, although I have to confess to being particularly fond of Guy’s Emma and Davis’ Potato. However, kudos to all for a warm, wonderful, well-made film.

#cinemafiends

#fullycinematic

#theladymakers

#jasmineguy

#ladymakersmovie

"6 Underground" Delivers Good Old-Fashioned Bullets, Explosions and Car Chase Action

While movie theaters are set to unveil Jedis and cats in a week's time, Netflix has delivered its Christmas gift early. Ryan Reynolds stars in what's probably the streaming giant's most expensive original movie yet: 6 Underground. 

Underground's $150 million dollar budget is on full display in this Mission: Impossible meets Fast and Furious actionstravaganda about a team of vigilantes on a mission to administer lethal justice to powerful scumbags. Like the John Wick flicks, 6 focuses on action without the participation of magic or superheroes. You won't see any capes but you will see plenty of shootouts, car crashes, blood splatters and detonations.

** SPOILERS AHEAD **

When an unnamed billionaire (played by Reynolds) sees firsthand how difficult it can be to help the people who need it most, he comes up with a radical plan. After faking his death, he recruits specialist in various disciplines (an assasin, a surgeon, a spy, an acrobatic jewel thief) to do the same in order to make them impossible to identify and to adopt numerical codenames. The group then goes after various targets who they believe do their countries -- and the world -- more harm than good. After the inaugural mission ends with the professional getaway driver's (called "Six") death, the billionaire ("One") signs up a Delta Force sniper (renamed "Seven") to take his spot.

6 Underground does a lot of globe-trotting to what seem like the places that the James Bond, Mission: Impossible and Jason Bourne movies forgot about (Florence, Italy; Vegas; New York) and does its best to match the body-counts of those films. If you're in the mood for slick, high-octane action combined with Ryan Reynolds brand of smart-ass humor and you have a Netflix account then you're in luck.

It's a pretty simple formula: Deadpool + The Fast and the Furious + Mission: Impossible = 6 Underground. 

Originally Posted 12/13/19

"My Salinger Year" Movie Review

 

by John Zenoni

Wow! What a breath of fresh air. I've already heard it compared to ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ but instead of it being set in the fashion world it's set in the literary world. I can't speak to how closely they resemble each other, not having seen ‘Prada’ but regardless, I love this specific film. To me, it falls under the old cliche, ‘They don’t make-’em like that anymore.’

The film I'm referring to is ‘My Salinger Year’ and it's an absolutely joy to watch. The story centers on young, eager, aspiring writer, Joanna (portrayed by Margaret Qualley), who decides she needs to leave her boyfriend and school behind at Berkeley and move to New York City to begin her writing. Once she arrives, she's able to stay with a good friend and look for a job to pay her bills while she focuses on her writing. Well, this is easier said than done as many things get in her way of doing what she set out to do. The job she happens to land is basically a secretary type job for the literary agent of J. D. Salinger, Margaret (portrayed by Sigourney Weaver). This is a thrill for her, knowing that she's so close to a literary legend such as Salinger in addition to other literary heroes she admires such as Judy Blume.

First let met start with the storyline. I thought it was original and well-executed. There's one side story where Joanna becomes involved and lives with another aspiring writer, Don (portrayed by Douglas Booth), and the only reason I see it being included is because something that he does makes her realize some things about the direction her life needs to take. But everything else I thoroughly enjoyed. Particularly the scenes where Joanna actually talks to ‘Jerry’ or J.D. Salinger as he ends up being the true inspiration for her to continue with her writing.

As far as the cast, everyone was excellent, particularly Sigourney Weaver. Her character is hard-nosed, old-fashioned and blunt. Is there anything she's not good at? I especially loved the interaction between Joanna and Margaret. While they appear to be totally opposite people and Joanna gets frustrated with her job duties, she eventually proves herself to Margaret and they realize they have more in common than realized. It does not end perfectly, which I also liked.

This is a great film that just lets you focus on the appreciation of art and the importance of literature. It's definitely what some might call a ‘thinking person’s’ film.

Originally Posted 3/6/21

#cinemafiends

#fullycinematic

#mysalingeryear

#salingeryearmovie

"Nope" is a Big Yes!

 

by John Zenoni

When I tell you ‘Nope’ is a big yes, I mean yes! All I can say is wow and if you want a real creep-factor then this is the movie for you. Initially, it took a little bit to get going but once it got to the point where the realization of what was happening kicked in, it really freaked me out. The reason I say that is because Jordan Peele touches on, not plagiarizes or copies or anything like that, something similar in an old television series that scared me to death when I was younger.

I made the mistake of reading two early reviews about Peele’s latest film and I should have known better as I didn't want to know anything about it going in. Well, after the fact, I can see both sides, as each reviewer made good points. One review was glowing, whereas the other was confused about the plot, dissatisfied with the ending, etc. Needless to say, I myself am a fan of it and hope many others will be.

I definitely won’t give away any spoilers but will say that the storyline is good, although one segment could be questionable but the viewer will see how it does tie into the plot. Grossly so, I might add! I love the cast as well - Keke Palmer does a great job of playing Emerald Haywood, the daughter of Otis Haywood, Sr., also played very well by Keith David. I was also glad to see Steven Yeun, of ’The Walking Dead’ fame, in the film as well. He does a great job with the time he is in the film. But the definite star of this one is Daniel Kaluuya, who plays OJ Haywood. He is the main force behind the action and does a great job in the film. He has a presence that you definitely cannot deny. Great sci-fi thriller!

#cinemafiends

#fullycinematic

#NOPEMOVIE

#jordanpeelenope

#alienmovie

#scifithriller

I Don't Get All the Hoopla About "Where the Crawdads Sing"

 

by John Zenoni

I had the chance to see the highly anticipated film, ’Where the Crawdads Sing’, based on the novel of the same name by Delia Owens, and will say the director/screenwriter did a good job of staying true to the book. It has become a much loved, highly-praised novel and I honestly can say, and this is when I will most likely get raked over the coals, that I just don't get all the fuss or hoopla about it. Yes, it was a good read and I enjoyed specific things about it but people have taken it to another level that I just don’t get. As for the movie, as stated earlier, it's definitely on track with everything in the source material and it's enjoyable enough to watch but for me it had a ‘Lifetime’ movie feel to it. Not that there is anything necessarily wrong with that but I was hoping the film would be more suspenseful and focus on the trial, more so than the love story.

As far as the film goes, the cast does a great job - especially David Straithairn, who plays the small town attorney Tom Milton, and Michael Hyatt and Sterling Macer, Jr, who play probably two of my favorite characters in the film, Mabel and Jumpin, who are kind and care for the lead character, Kya.

For those not familiar with the story, Kya is a young girl who is abandoned by all of her family members due to the abusive father in the house. Her mom leaves her first and the siblings then go one-by-one, leaving her with him until she is alone and has to raise herself in the backwoods, marshy area of North Carolina. Thus, she became known by the locals as the ‘marsh girl.’ She's devoted to her life in the marsh and the nature that surrounds her.

Daisy Edgar-Jones plays Kya and she does a good job as well. This was a tough role to take on, considering how many people love the novel, and I can only imagine she felt a lot of pressure to ‘get it right.’ I will say the ending did get to me, as I had forgotten about it in the novel and it hit somewhat close to home.

#cinemafiends

#fullycinematic

#wherethecrawdadssing

#crawdadsmovie