Wednesday Whatever: Minions - Rise of Gru

 I have been back to Texas for a week or so now. As promised I've been whining  about the heat. So, how best to escape? Pay to sit in air-conditioned big screen splendor. Ray and I are catching up on our movie list. 

Minions: Rise of Gru is silly, stupid fun. That's really all the description needed. Steve Carell voices Gru and his pitch, intonation, etc adds to the ridiculousness of this character. Gru is eleven in this movie and wants to join the Supervillain  6. His favorite villain has been kicked  out, Gru has stolen the magic power  stone, and now everyone is battling for the top spot. 

There are chases, evil plots, and of course silly minions trying to help  their boss, Gru.  Oh Kevin,  Otto, et  al - with their weird yellow bodies and crazy language skills.  Ray and I couldn't help but laugh. 

We were amused, and got our money's worth of movie and cool  air. Aaahh - Summer matinee!

Movie Review Madness - Vice

Vice is snarky good fun.  If you liked The Big Short written and directed by Adam McKay, then this film is for you. It’s sharp, clever dialogue and structure cracked me up. Who knew that a film about Dick Cheney could be so amusing?  It’s about an average guy in Wyoming who got a wake-up call from his fiancée – Lynn.  Stop drinking, get your act together, or I’m leaving you. Sure enough, Dick truly got straightened out, went  to school, made connections, and was in the right place at the right time.

Christian Bale gives a genius performance. It’s uncanny. Amy Adams as Lynn is spot on – she’s the Lady Macbeth behind the scenes control. Steve Carell as Rumsfield is a power tool.  And Sam Rockwell as George W. is a bit cliché as the bumbling dude. The movie, from the beginning, is full  of fact and fiction….just roll with it. No matter what, we know what did occur under the Bush presidency, and a whole lot of it was thanks to Vice President Cheney.  This is a movie about power, power grabs, control, and it’s a tad scary as to what did occur – even if it was only fifty percent true.  Crazy times that affect us even today.

But scenes with focus groups manipulating vocabulary. Scenes in regards to the military. Scenes about consolidation of powers.  OMG. It’s sad. It’s a hoot.  I admit I lean left and have despised Cheney. But I had to say “Kudos” to what the man accomplished. And yes, it’s taken with a grain of salt. I like a good chuckle and I laughed out loud a bunch.  I’d say that Christian Bale should start preparing his Oscar speech. Vice is a film. This is NOT a documentary.  It is well done and I’ll use the snarky word again. I like a smart sharp film – this totally entertained.

Monday Movie Review Madness

Intense, haunting, and rather chilling – Beautiful Boy is based on a true story from both the father (David Sheff) and the son (Nic Sheff).  It’s a seemingly idyllic home and family outside of San Francisco. Nic (played by the excellent Timothee Chalamet) is eighteen. In flashback scenes we see this sweet boy. Now he’s surly at times, unpredictable, and absolutely breaking his dad’s heart. David (played well by Steve Carell) is concerned and caring and frustrated. He can see that Nic is high. Nic’s killing time and spacing out. This young man, so sensitive and artistic and smart, is hurting himself with drugs.

This story, sadly, is being played out all across America. This is an upper middle class family that looks, on the outside, to be close to perfect. You’ve got the dad and stepmom (Maura Tierney – wonderful) with Nic and two younger siblings who adore their big brother. Again  - flashback scenes show Nic caring about his siblings and stepmom, and dad. It’s all a good support system. And long distance, his mom (Amy Adams) has a role. But drugs – first pot, then so much more, and finally crystal meth and heroin – tear everyone apart.  We see David take Nic to rehab. We hear Nic’s promises – turning over that new leaf, and then relapsing. The drugs are relentless, and Nic keeps seeking them as a solution to some hole, some need he can’t explain.

Beautiful Boy can tear you apart. You really care for and root  for the whole family. I thought this was a really well done movie with great acting. Chalamet plays sensitive and sympathetic so well – he’s tall and skinny and artsy looking with his shock of brown curly locks and big dark expressive eyes. You want to believe him when he’s lying. I feel so sorry for families who can’t save their beautiful boys or girls.

(RIP - Michael - my cousin's boy.   i.e. the movie strikes close to home)

Movie Review - The Big Short

The Big Short is an excellent movie. Who knew a movie about the housing bubble could be hysterical? This movie is frenetic, serious, comical, fast paced, irreverent, and brilliant in its scathing wit. Michael Lewis wrote the book – it is calm and clearly incisive in explaining how making bets against the housing industry seemed insane, and that banks were too big to fail. The movie throws calm out the window and with a wide range of characters played by Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, and Brad Pitt, and more – we see math and economics come to life as certain individual investors calculated the folly of the subprime mortgage industry.

This movie explores the folly of humans and the trust they put into the financial system. The hubris of Wall Street and the billion dollar money flow proved explosive. The movie explains some of the more esoteric terms (collateralized debt obligations or synthetic CDOs) with examples by chef Anthony Bourdain creating a new stew from three day old halibut, or Selena Gomez at a Vegas gaming table. The movie is splashy and scary as we hear Melissa Leo (an official at Standard & Poor’s) explain away ratings because she can’t have the customer go down the street to Moody’s. As the Wall Street Journal movie review says, “high dudgeon gives way to heightening disbelief, followed by horrified belief, about rampant deception, self-deception, and the system’s frailty.”

Great acting all around. Clever film making about a darn tricky subject. The Big Short is smart and sharp, and as a movie will not sell you short.  Expect to see a lot of Oscar buzz on this one. And unfortunately do we learn from our mistakes? Alas, money makes the world go round, and up and down, and bubbles burst. 

Movie Review Madness: Foxcatcher

Foxcatcher tells the true story of the Schultz brothers – Mark and David – Olympic wrestlers and their life changing involvement with John du Pont (of DuPont fortune). We meet Mark (a superb Channing Tatum) and older brother David (Oscar nominated Mark Ruffalo) as they train in a rundown dimly lit wrestling arena. Mark’s life is training, training, training – then go home to watch tv, eat, and sleep in a barren apartment. It looks like a meager bleak existence. David is married with two kids and a sunnier outlook. One phone call changes the whole dynamic.  

Mark is helicoptered to the John du Pont estate outside of Valley Forge, PA. There he meets the eccentric man who fancies himself a philanthropist, sports enthusiast, and benefactor. He’s created a state-of-the-art wrestle training center and wants to help Mark and others train for  the Seoul Olympics under his “Foxcatcher” team name. He offers a guest house for living, food, drink, and a glimpse into the world of the rich. There’s also a dark side of drugs and partying.  

John du Pont is played by Steve Carell. You would not recognize him and he’s very worthy of his Oscar nomination. He’s eerie in his eccentricity, temper, possessiveness, jealousy, and bizarre sense of entitlement. He acts as if he owns Mark, and he wants David too. David resists but sees that Mark’s in trouble. David ultimately comes to help Mark, and he gets drawn into the payroll and du Pont circle. But he does not completely drink the Kool-aid, and this drives John nuts. Let’s just say – John with a gun in hand signals the end of the ride.  

Foxcatcher is a very good movie. It’s a tad long and I would have edited it down. However, the acting is fantastic and this insight into a murder story is chilling. Money does not bring happiness, and we see not only physical wrestling, but wrestling with demons brought to the big screen.

 

Movie Review Madness: The Way Way Back

The Way Way Back takes place in current times, but it has an old fashioned feel to it and that's a good thing. Nothing blows up except a concerned passionate teenager. Newcomer, Liam James, is superb as Duncan. He's a fourteen year old kid stuck in the way way back of his mom's boyfriend's restored station wagon. They are headed to a beach house to play "family". The mom, Toni Collette, is trying to blend in but can tell there are issues lurking in her relationship. The boyfriend, played by Steve Carell, appears to be trying to get along with Duncan, but the man's a jerk. Carell is the perfect mix of decent looking, upstanding, ass. His daughter is equally as condescending.

At the beach, Duncan squirms at the adult behavior and ultimately flees on an old girls bike he finds in the shed. His pedaling brings him to Water Whizz park, and there he finds some happiness as an employee. Sam Rockwell is excellent as the park manager and he brings out the true Duncan - smart, sweet kid. Duncan also bonds with the neighbor girl next door who is tired of the fake shallowness of the other girls. She recognizes Duncan's humor and depth.

All in all, The Way Way Back is a coming of age story and you will root for Duncan the whole way. You will remember the awkwardness of fourteen. The directors capture it perfectly, as well as the feel of small town beach vacation. Sam Rockwell has finally been cast well and his underutilized acting skills are on full power in this film. Toni Collette always brings her game. Allison Janney is cringeworthy as the drunk neighbor with low esteem. Carell is chilling. But it's Liam James who carries this film and he's a joy. From a mumbling, bumbling nerd to a new found confident nerd, the kid can sit up straight in the way way back.

Smart acting, smart writing, and just a smart little film for the summer - a fresh ocean breeze at the theater.