Whatever Wednesday - The Odyssey

 Better late than never to review  The Odyssey.    WOW - fantastic movie. 

I was hesitant due to the running time of 3 hours.  Sounded like a slog. Nowadays, I find some editing needs to be done. Whatever made me think I should question the director, Christopher Nolan? He knew what he was doing. 

So, on a steamy hot Sunday - 9/6/26 - I decided to spend my hours in an airconditioned movie theater. Time well spent.  The cinematography is gorgeous. The acting is tremendous. The story moves along well. Each travel chapter brought back memories from my honors English class in high school.  I was never big into Greek mythology, but retained enough to appreciate this film effort. 

Matt Damon is our hero, Odysseus. He is perfect in this role.  Tom Holland as his son, Telemachus, is very good. Anne Hathaway is Penelope, wife and mother. It's a quieter but important role.  She has faith that her husband will come home and staves off the suitors circling for power.  John Leguiziamo as Eumaeus, the blind seer, is tremendous (very worthy, I think, of a supporting actor nomination).  There is a much deeper cast who play Athena (Zendaya), Calypso (Charlize Theron), and more - all integral to Odysseus fights, and travels to return home. 

Big thumbs up and highly recommended.  

December Movie Review Madness - Ford v Ferrari

Strap in. Put your helmet on and gird your loins. Ford v Ferrari is an A-rated movie with a  lot of zoom.

Henry Ford II (the incomparable Tracy Letts) has been insulted by Enzo Ferrari and he’s opened his check book. He wants a Ford race car to win the Le Mans 24 hour race. Who’s the man to do this? Carroll Shelby (perfect performance by a spot on Matt Damon) is a racing genius. He won the Le Mans. He designs cars. He has a vision. Who can drive a winning car? Shelby vouches for the “difficult” Limey  -Ken Miles (another genius role done by Christian Bale). Miles breathes the air of racing. He can sense one tic, one engine miss, one esoteric nuance that embodies a vehicle.

But within Ford you have the suits and Josh Lucas plays the biggest jerk of all. He wants the marketing power,  he wants the limelight. Shelby says this can’t be done by committee and he takes Henry Ford II for the ride of his life. The man is crying and gives carte blanche. Miles wins races and proves he’s worthy of being on the team. Shelby keeps him reigned in just enough.  The movie keeps us on edge with lots of oomph as we enter Le Mans.

Ford v Ferrari is really good and you don’t have to know or care about racing. It’s about art vs. commerce, devotion vs. cynicism, inspiration vs. deadness, and it involves some crazy. Men who can’t help but be outside the box with a passion. And wow – the acting chemistry works. The cinematography works. Your heart will accelerate as Miles shifts through some nutso driving. And you’ll root for Ford Motor Company (America!) to win the darn race.

It’s holiday movie season and this one is a winner. Zoom Zoom

Movie Review Madness - Jason Bourne

Bottom line – Jason Bourne, the new film), is a boring retread. I had high expectations and they were crushed by a yawn inducing tale of a network of terror and technology with unchecked power.  

Once again Jason (the always decent Matt Damon) is having flashbacks and remembering stuff. It’s been ten years since he went off the grid, but he’s back in sight thanks to Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles), his former contact. Well, the agency is tracking her hacking and it’s a vicious circle of exposure. A weary director Dewey (Tommy Lee Jones) wants Bourne erased. A newby agent Lee (Alicia Vikander) sees her chance for a power grab and she tries to lure him in. Oh so innocent, she’s not aware of Dewey’s orders and the evil Vincent Cassel who wants revenge on Bourne for past problems.  Plus, now there’s a super internet mogul who’s partnered with the devil Dewey and has no idea of the ramifications of getting in bed with the government.

Chase after chase after chase after chase. Been there, done that.  It’s a shame that nothing new is brought to the excellent Bourne series.  With furrowed brow and curled fists, Damon does his best to fight evil and he’s always one step ahead.  That’s the good part. Unfortunately I needed Dramamine for the film’s shaky camera – have you feel like you are in the middle of things – perspective. Whew. My head was spinning by the end, and not in a good way.

Save your money and stream Jason Bourne someday.  I regret saying this is not worth popcorn and a soda. 

Movie Review Madness - The Martian

The Martian gets a huge thumbs up from me, and Matt Damon is excellent. We first meet our NASA team on Mars as they do their research jobs and live. Concern arises when ground control announces the arrival of a wicked dust storm. The crew is told to get situated and leave the mission a tad early. Jessica Chastain is the leader and it’s her call to lift-off after seeing Matt Damon (Mark) get hit by debris and knocked out. They assume he is dead, based on the situation. She did what she could and the team agrees, saddened by his passing.

Back on Earth, Jeff Daniels is the NASA head who has to announce the death of an astronaut. Meanwhile, back on Mars, the dust storm leaves and we hear a gasp and see movement as Mark regains consciousness. He’s injured, but alive. He manages to get back to their base, sew himself up, and assess his situation. He counts food bags, works on communications, and as a botanist he proclaims he needs to “Science the crap out of everything.” He’s rather matter of fact about the chance for death, but he plans to live as best he can for as long as he can. He has rover transportation, and figures out how to plant and grow potatoes to extend his nutrition.

Will he make contact with Earth? What happens then with NASA? Can he be rescued? What about his team who are flying home from Mars? Can they turn around? What about the Jet Propulsion Lab and math geniuses? Does the math work in regards to fuel and time calculations? And really….what could go wrong? (other than the only music Mark has is disco music left from Jessica)

The Martian does a great job with depicting the astronaut challenges for living.  Matt Damon brings such a nice manner to his role – he’s smart, funny, and very believable. He’s human and gives us the full range of emotions. The movie was a tad long – they could have tightened up some of the earth segments. But when Matt Damon is on screen, he holds our attention. 

 The Red Planet never looked so good.

Movie Review Madness: The Monuments Men

The Monuments Men is a fabulous story brought to life on screen with an okay movie. Basically near the end of World War II, a motley collection of American art specialists were given the task of finding and saving tens of thousands of art pieces.  These were priceless items the Nazis had stolen from Jewish families, museums, churches, etc throughout France, Belgium, and Italy. Thanks to a lucky break, this group of men made a connection with a woman (played by Cate Blanchett) who worked for the Nazis (not happily) and kept meticulous records of the art work acquired. All in all, the Monuments Men’s goal was to save and preserve history and a part of humanity. Sadly it took the loss of some lives to do it, and yet the men sacrificed themselves for the sake of art.  

So, that is an incredible and inspiring story. The film is a Hollywood version that glosses over the difficulties. We get a smattering of war and danger, but it’s more about the chase. The movie itself has an all-star cast – George Clooney, Bill Murray, Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon, John Goodman, Hugh Bonneville, and more. It’s fun and glib, with snappy dialogue, jokes about Damon’s character and his horrible French, and the group putting together pieces of the puzzle to find the art. They do discover that the Nazis hid huge amounts in salt mines. They seek the famous Ghent altarpiece and basically rush to save it before the Russians hit the town at the end of the war.

 

The Monuments Men is entertaining, but my guess it’s better to read the book written by Robert Edsel to gain a full appreciation of what transpired. George Clooney looks great in uniform and he gives some inspiring speeches. The pictures at the end of the film of the actual art finds gives one chills.

Movie Review: Contagion

Don't catch this disease. Contagion is like watching a documentary from the Center for Disease Control, only the cast is all famous actors. There's Laurence Fishburne, as a concerned director. There's Gwyneth Paltrow, traveling back from Asia, coughing, and then dropping in a seizure on the kitchen floor while her husband, Matt Damon urges her to stop seizing. There's Gwyneth, all frothing at the mouth in the hospital, and then dead. Uh-oh. (No surprising spoiler alerts ahead - we're talking fatal disease here)

Slowly we see people all over the world, feverish and then dead - China, Japan, London, and then little Gwyneth in Minnesota. That's the puzzlement. But she was in Hong Kong and Chicago, and alas while cheating on her hubby, spreading fatal germs. Marion Cottillard is with the World Health Org. She's off to Hong Kong to connect the dots. Kate Winslet, lucky girl, is assigned to MN. Pale and wan, she dies a slightly prettier death than Gwyneth.

Lots of scientists peer into microscopes and discuss cell growth and linkages. Lots of folks with clipboards, and plenty of teleconferencing. No one in this movie gets to smile. Don't touch anyone or anything, or shake a hand.

Contagion is boring. You don't really get to meet and know these people enough to care. We all know how disease spreads - human contact. And yes, with planes, trains, and grocery shopping, we all know how fast disease spreads. Nothing new in this film. Lots of people talking, looking worried, and then worried with face masks.

Fortunately no one in our theater coughed, and I have to say I was conscious of touching the handrails on the way out. But the only infection we caught was ennui.

Yawn.