Old Man @ The Movies

Given poor choices at my local theater, I opted to see FREELANCE instead of AFTER DEATH, which chronicled experiences of people who reported near death happenings. Somehow I didn’t need that.  The movie I saw happily was only an hour and a half long, and while it wasn’t awful, it was a silly adventure/thriller/shoot-em-up story.  The star, ex-wrestler John Cena, is an unhappy man in his career choice (law school) and quits to join the Army and ends up in Special Forces where he spends his happiest days until a mission to kill the dictator of a Latin American country goes awry and most of his buddies are killed.  He becomes a lawyer, marries, has a young precocious daughter and is recruited by his friend, the other survivor of the ill-fated mission who runs s highly successful security firm, to do one assignment — be bodyguard to a celebrity journalist, played by Alison Brie, who is going to get a prized interview with the dictator he failed to kill earlier.  Bet you can guess the rest.

I entered the theater yesterday with trepidation because I was faced with the prospect of a THREE AND A HALF HOUR movie, which is borderline extreme punishment!  Surprise!!  It was not any form of punishment; it was an excellent experience and never once felt too long or too boring.  In his introduction to KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON, director et al Martin Scorcese explains he had wanted to do this film every since he read the book.  He did it with glorious cinematography, excellent scripting and first class performances by all the cast.  This, as many of you (but not me) know, is the story of the serial murder of indigenous people,  the Osage, in Oklahoma in the 1920s.  They are the wealthiest people in the world thanks to  oil found on their land, and certain people, lead by a sycophantic and duplicitous King Hale, a superb performance by Robert De Nero,  resent them.  Aided by his needy nephew, Ernest, played by Leonardo DiCaprio in his best ever acting role, King surreptitiously lau

I was desperate and the only films playing that I hadn’t seen were those from Bollywood and the re-releases of anniversary films from Hollywood.  So I took a chance and went to see one I had never heard of — HOCUS POCUS: THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY.  I had assumed that if they re-released a film 30 years later, it had been wonderfully accepted and was a hit the first time out.  I was wrong and why they re-released it is a mystery to me.  It was trite and silly and just like a hundred other Halloween-type films.  300 year old witches, portrayed by Better Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and someone else, come back to a little town to wreak havoc and mayhem.  The teens warn townspeople but no one listens to teens.  Right?  It was a total waster of time but at least it was over more quickly than most.  Only 40% of critics and 72 % of audiences liked it.

Well, I did it! — because I didn’t  want to disappoint some of my grandchildren who would have been disappointed if I hadn’t gone since they chide me endlessly for my liking Taylor Swift.  So, despite misgivings — possible crowds and long lines, it wasn’t included with my unlimited subscription so I ha to pay and i would miss some football — I went to the 11:30 a.m. showing of TAYLOR SWIFT; THE ERAS TOUR, which was scheduled to be shown every half hour (and sometimes only 15 minutes) from 10:00 am to 10:00 pm.  I was more than mildly surprised; I liked it.  A lot!  Even though it was endless, lasting just short of three hours, it was spectacular.  The settings were incredibly creative, the band, dancers and singers were excellent, the choreography flawless, and Ms. Swift was remarkable, in energy, voice, enthusiasm and everything else.  The music, she explained, was from the five albums she released which were not associated with a tour, among them Reds and 1989.  And about Ms. Swift: 

I saw my third movie this week, and I am glad I went even though I had no idea what the movie was about, and the title didn’t give a big clue.  Well plotted, well directed and well acted by people I had never seen before, SHELTER IN SOLITUDE is a surprising and unusual film that many might not like because it is sad and depressing through most of the film, and the ending is something no viewer wanted to see.  This is the story of an unhappy and unsuccessful country music singer whose brother is the warden of a small prison which is currently housing a man who is scheduled to be electrocuted in 11 days.  I was surprised that a prison that small would have an electric chair.  Valerie, the singer, owns a bar which is closing because of covid and an unpaid mortgage.  If that weren’t enough, someone breaks in and steals all the money in the cash register.  Her brother, short-staffed because of covid and a retirement, hires her to be the sole guard taking care of the black convict awaiting e

I saw another based-on-a-true story movie yesterday, and the dialogue was so filled with WTFs and MFs and other foul language, it was difficult to follow the plot.  And the foul language was complicated by the complex financial language and happenings in the film.  Without revealing much more (because I really had no idea what was going on), an ordinary blogger starts touting s stock, Game Stop (the mall video game store), and it takes off into the stratosphere, and he and all of his followers make a fortune and lose it in this complex and crazy event.  It held my attention despite the fact that I was at sea in the happenings, and frankly, I was happy when it ended after an endless one hour and 45 minutes.  Everyone else liked it s lot with 84% of critics and 84% of audiences giving it a thumbs.  The only other person in the audience left shaking his head. 

There was a scene in the Broadway musical 1776, when John Adams laments in song, “Is anybody there?  Does anybody care?”  That was my reaction after sending my last review and asking whether, at age 94, it was time for me to stop writing snd sending reviews.  Less than 20% responded and I thank those of you who did.  It makes me wonder if my reviews are going unread or relegated to the trash.  So I ask once more, and a simple “continue” or ”quit” is enough — should I continue to write and send movie reviews? I saw what was purported to be, what I guess, was a sequel to a hit  horror and award winning film from 50 yeas ago.  THE EXORCIST: BELIEVER was not to be believed.  Starting with an African American couple vacationing in Haiti, there is a tragic earthquake and the husband is forced to choose whether his wife or infant is to be saved.  And it goes downhill from there.  I was so distracted half an hour into the film that I went to the lobby and asked there manager if I was in the wr

I gave myself a present today to celebrate my 94th birthday.  Yes, I’m really 94 and I know you won’t be surprised that I treated myself to a movie, which I suspected I wouldn’t like because it was another one of those sequels where I haven’t seen any of the others and frankly had no idea what to expect.  I don’t think SAWX had 9 previous lives but obviously a couple.  The film started as a reasonably normal one.  A man, John Kramer, is told he is fatally ill with cancer.  He has a seemingly chance meeting with another cancer patient, who announces he is free of cancer and-who tells him about some radical treatment (including the one he received) is available in other parts of the world but the medical profession and Big Pharma won’t approve them here.  Kramer finds one such clinic in Mexico, goes there and, very impressed by the CEO, the daughter of a very famous Swedish doctor, agrees to undergo their operation and medications.  There are interesting operating room sequences, and he

Believe it or not, I saw a movie yesterday that I actually liked, despite the fact that the two leads were actors I am not fond of.  It was whimsical, kookie, funny, interesting and unusual.  THE KILL ROOM, starring Uma Thurman and Samuel L. Jackson, is essentially the story of a bialy baker (Jackson), who has a number of other businesses, who visits an art gallery, featuring abstract art operated by Uma Thurman, and proposes a unique partnership which involves laundering money through the sale of art.  Initially unwilling and skeptical, Uma agrees, and it works, particularly after Jackson's protege, played by Joe Manganiello, begins to produce art as The Bagman and as ugly as it is, becomes the new sensation of the art world.  There are a bunch of oddball characters including a fantastically rich couple who MUST HAVE one of The Bagman’s works and will pay anything to get one. There are a number of funny twists regarding The Bagman’s “sculpture”, and Uma gets high on more than one

I used to read a lot of science fiction when I was younger, and I thought I had a grasp of what was going on.  What passes for science fiction today is way over my head which is why I was mostly in the dark trying to follow the story of THE CREATOR.  I was aware that the lead character, whose pregnant wife disappears, is forcefully recruited to find snd kill a mysterious adversary who takes AI (artificial intelligence) to a new level and threatens mankind with an secret weapon that can wipe the human race out of existence.  And then they lost me.  I did understand that the secret AI weapon is in the guise of a beautiful little girl, whom the lead character befriends and bonds with.  There are battles and incredibly loud noises and music and lots of action.  I was very impressed with the cinematography and special effects but the plot overwhelmed me because it reached a point where I couldn’t tell the difference between the good guys snd the bad guys (I think they were all bad except th