The Fall Guy (#552)


Before the movie starts, Ryan Gosling (star) and David Leitch (director) have a filmed face-to-face with the audience.  They explain that in the movie, Gosling is a stunt man, and Leitch claims that he was a stunt man at one point in his career. Believe it or not, according to Wikipedia, he was indeed, including 5 times as one for Brad Pitt. And THE FALL GUY is s love story about stunt men because there are more fights, falls, shootings, explosions, fiery people and falls from heights than you have ever seen in any other movie.  While in some respects, it's a romantic comedy (an on-off romance between Gosling and a director, Emily Blunt), this movie is action filled from start to finish. And it's one of those films in which you sense everyone had fun making it. It's funny and silly and the principals work very well together.  There are some unexpected scenes, like one in which Emily Blunt sings a love song in a karaoke setting.  The plot is complex. Gosling, who is recovering from a serious stunt injury, is coerced into going back to work on a film in Australia. When he is asked by a producer to search for the star of the film because he is missing, to Gosling's question, "why me?" she responds, "you're only a stunt man.  No one will notice you!"  The search for the missing actor gets him involved with very unsavory characters and an unexpected conspirator.  Fall Guy appears to have been universally liked.  83% of critics and 87% of audiences gave it a thumbs up

Comments

Post a Comment

Most Popular

The Fabulous Four (#580)

Image
I avoided the crowds yesterday by opting not to see the latest Marvel Comics release Deadpool & Wolverine (which I plan to see on Wednesday) and instead went to see a movie I really didn't want to see.  I am always apprehensive about the movies starring women embarked on a quest to do something different.  THE FABULOUS FOUR starred, among others, Susan Sarandon and Bette Midler.  I must report that, in my opinion, neither the stars nor the movie were fabulous.  This was a stinker with a capital S.  It's about 4 girls who bond in New York City way back when and are the closest of friends.  One of them, Midler, now lives in Key West and invites two of them to be bridesmaids at her upcoming wedding.  She is estranged from the fourth one, a surgeon named Lou (? spelling), estranged because years before she married a man that Lou was in love with.  He subsequently died.  Are you following this?  They dupe Lou into coming with them, explaining that she won a cat in a contest.  Sh
Read more

Civil War (#541)

Image
Because I have been expounding my theory about the upcoming presidential election to anyone crazy enough to listen to me, (my theory being that no matter who wins the election, there is going to be a civil war in this country), I was profoundly interested in the movie I saw today.  Its premise and point of view are cloudy because there is no explanation for the "war," what it's about, why it started and who are the players.  Initially, the president speaking to the nation talks about the resurrectionists (is that a valid word?) in Texas and California, and the ones in Florida trying to persuade the Carolinas to join the rebellion, but later a newscaster reports on the Russians invading Washington, DC, and demanding total surrender at the White House. That is, if I was hearing things correctly.  Perhaps it was the rebels in the White House.  The movie, well directed and remarkably well and realistically filmed, does not appear to have any political bent or motivation.  CIV
Read more

Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (#473)

Image
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: 
Read more

Oddity (#579)

Image
I goofed again, as one of you kindly pointed out.  In my Twisters (plural) review, I identified the leading players as Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton.  But they starred in Twister (singular) almost 30 years ago, snd I am reasonable certain one or more of them are dead or too old to stand up to a tornado. Sorry about that.  Despite my lukewarm review of Twisters, it was 30 times better than ODDITY, which I saw yesterday.  A young married woman is brutally murdered in a remote country house being renovated by the woman and her husband, a psychiatrist in local mental hospital.  The suspected murderer is a patient from that hospital but he ends up dead, too.  Along comes the woman's twin sister, who is not only a self-styled psychic but a collector of weird things.  And to add a twist, she is also blind which is why she can easily move freely though dark interiors.  She is suspicious of her sister's death and, in trying to get revenge for the murder, pays an uninvited visit to her sist
Read more

Monkey Man (#539)

Image
I saw MONKEY MAN today under unusual circumstances which I may or may not reveal at a future date.  It stars and is directed by Dev Patel, an actor of Indian descent whom I have seen before in Slumdog Millionaire and other films.  I think he is a first class actor, but he has really changed his image in this one from a charmer to a overly aggressive purveyor of mayhem. This film is about revenge and retribution and skillfully mixes such disparate elements as politics, religion, mysticism, fables and intense violence in surreal, psychedelic, symbolic and allegorical surroundings.  If this sounds like something more than you can handle, I hasten to add, it’s not.  But it is unique, and I came away wondering if I admired it or liked it and at this writing, I’m still not sure.  Patel plays an impoverished young man with a traumatic childhood who is a competitor in what appears to be an illegal, underground arena for no-holds-barred fights, wears a gorilla mask and is beaten to a pulp night
Read more