Weekend Movie Reviews: The Upside, What They Had, All About Nina

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Unfortunately, weather got in the way of my movie plans this weekend, so I only managed to sneak in one new one. Although I think it was a pretty solid choice! A few friends and I went to go see The Upside, a remake of the 2011 French film The Intouchables (based on a true story), starring Kevin Hart and Bryan Cranston. Cranston plays quadriplegic Phillip who is in need of a new caretaker, although he is sort of fed up with life. Cue the hiring of ex-con Dell, played by Kevin Hart. At first the two are at odds with each other, but then essentially become the best of friends. I mean that is a very general overview, but what else would you expect to happen here? With both Hart and Cranston, the laughs were consistent throughout, and Nicole Kidman as Phillip’s executive, Yvonne, she was a light and nice touch to the ensemble. Definitely would recommend!

Since Saturday was a bust, I headed over to my local video store and rented two newer releases. The first I watched was What They Had, about a mother with Alzheimer’s and a father whose love is too strong to let her go to a facility. The film starts with a frantic call to siblings, played by Hilary Swank and Michael Shannon, that their mother has run out in the middle of the night during a blizzard on Christmas Eve. Two things I took away from this film: 1 – this family is messed up and 2 – this movie was freaking sad! Hilary Swank has a terrible relationship with, well, everyone, and Michael Shannon is a jerk because he’s around dealing with all of their parents’ health issues but isn’t the executor. She finally learns she has to make her life not to please people, so she separates from her husband and reconciles with her daughter. Michael Shannon finally gets his father’s approval for his livelihood. And then the saddest part – the father dies of a heart attack! Although Blythe Danner put it best, “I think now was the perfect time. Any sooner and I would have been too sad, and any later I wouldn’t have remembered him.” Tears. All the tears.

Next I popped in All About Nina. Which was just okay. Aside from the decent stand-up, I’d say this was definitely more of a drama. Nina, played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead, is only about sex and sabotages anything even remotely close to relationship. She moves to LA in order to get away from an abusive married man she was having an affair with, and also to get on Comedy Prime. In the midst of all her efforts she runs into smooth talker and general nice guy Rafe, played by Common. Nina is willing to go all in with this relationship, but something from her past keeps butting its ugly head into it, until she finally blows during a set. By the end you are pretty sure things are good with her relationship, but not so sure about her stand-up.

TV Show Recap: Splitting Up Together, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Gotham

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It was an awfully busy week for me this past one, so I got caught up this morning on what little shows have returned from their winter hiatus.

First on the docket was ABC’s half hour comedy, Splitting Up Together, starring Jenna Fischer and Oliver Hudson. Sometimes I love this show, and other times it’s just blah. I’m a little unsure if there’s enough meat and potatoes for this show to go on for too long, but perhaps I’ll be surprised in the future. This show last left off with Lena getting over her brief fling with foreign contractor, Vlad, and Martin getting cozy with a delightfully bitchy Ali Larter (Heroes R.I.P.). It only makes sense that this return episode would start off with a wet dream where Martin unsnaps Lena’s body suit. Lena is so moved by this dream that in an attempt to cover for starring she slams her face straight into the refrigerator. At the dentist to get her tooth fixed, she accepts an unknown pill (Mary Jane) from an unassuming old lady in the waiting room. The rest of the episode focuses on Martin trying to get his high ex-wife safely to parent night at the school. On a lame side story, Lena’s annoying sister Maya asks the most unfortunate waiter out for a date. The supporting cast for this show does absolutely nothing in terms of story line or plot, but maybe that’s intentional. Right now, both Jenna Fischer and Oliver Hudson are funny enough to keep me watching. Although I have a feeling this could be the next The Good Place for me.

Next up was the return of Brooklyn Nine-Nine! Praise the television gods that NBC picked this up. One of my favorite comedies on TV right now, this episode left off right where FOX ended it – on a cliffhanger! After Jake and Amy’s wedding at the bar, Captain Holt received word if he was going to be the new commissioner. He was!…until he read it back with the word “not” in there. Jake and Amy headed off for a very intimate and tropical honeymoon with some wedding insurance money. When they get there though, they run into the deeply depressed Captain Holt! In order to get him out of their hair they decide to include him in all of their activities so he’d cheer up and head home early. It worked in the only way this show would make it work – Captain Holt was going to quit the police department! Cue Santiago getting real PG angry at him, in which he then had a change of heart. Jake and Amy were then able to enjoy the rest of their honeymoon role playing at Melvil Dewey (creator of the Dewey Decimal System) and Holly Genero from Die Hard, respectively. Meanwhile in the office, Gina’s mom left Boyle’s dad, so naturally Boyle badgers Gina into getting to the bottom of it – her mom was cheating! Elsewhere, Sargent Jeffords was having difficulty helping Rosa with a dilemma. In searching for Holt’s handbook for if he became commissioner, he found out that there were no specific instructions since he trusts Jeffords completely. Chock full of jokes, this was a great premiere episode on a new network!

Like I promised, here is my review of Gotham’s second episode of the final season, “Trespassers”. Picking up almost essentially where last week left off, the orphan reveals there are other children being worked to the bone for a group called the Soothsayers who are powered by smoke (?). Jim and Harvey are off to find their whereabouts after bargaining with Barbara into borrowing a large truck. With a little scuffle, they find the kids and get them all loaded to head off to a safe location except for three of them. The kids along with Jim and Harvey find a sketchy house and head in for protection. They got more than they bargained for when they run into “the mother.” She was certainly creepy – and a cannibal! While trying to escape, Jim gets in the middle of the Soothsayers and another painted-up gang both bickering over who gets the kill shot for Penguin’s ransom on Jim’s head. Barbara steps in to end it, with Jim’s help, too, and all is fine in the world of the children and most of the remaining citizens of Gotham. Meanwhile, we revisit the Riddler who wakes up to find himself chained to a bed. Satisfied that he’s stopped Ed from taking over while he sleeps, he heads into the bathroom only to find a gang member tied up! That Street Demon gang member leads him back to his boss, who also happens to be killed. On the wall in spray paint says “Penguin was here,” which means Ed framed Penguin to start a gang war. The biggest revelation of this episode was Bruce finding “the witch” mentioned in last week’s episode. That witch ended up being Ivy, who gave Bruce a seed that would help cure Selina of her paralysis. Although Ivy warned that it will change her. After taking the seed, Selina is able to walk again, but we see her eyes shift to the legendary cat eyes. What happens next week remains to be seen, but I’m excited!

1985/Gotham Review (Sort Of)

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I’m sorry to say that I missed Gotham last night, so I don’t have a review for you all yet. But I missed out for a great reason! This past Tuesday while scrolling through Twitter, I see none other than the Riddler himself, Cory Michael Smith, tweet about heading back to his alma mater to screen 1985 followed by a brief Q&A. Well don’t you know that his alma mater is just two hours from my house! Yes, it was on a work night, and yes, I was going to go – and I did! And it was totally worth it.

In a very small theater on campus, I got to see one of my favorite films from 2018 again; it was very nice being able to see it in a theater this time around rather than in my living room. Then, THE Cory Michael Smith walked right past me and up to the stage for a moderated Q&A. I was pleasantly surprised that no Gotham questions were asked, and he spoke very eloquently about the film and the impact it’s had on him.

After the Q&A session, he was super generous and met with any fan who wanted to chat or get a photo (myself included). While I was waiting for my opportunity to meet Cory, I heard him catch up with old professors and laugh with fans – it was very endearing. And then it was my turn. From my perspective I didn’t feel like I talked too smooth, but in hindsight it actually was a very nice conversation. I let him know how much I loved the film, and also what a huge fan of Gotham I was. Coincidentally, I had just finished a duel drawing of him and fellow Gotham actor, Robin Lord Taylor, so I brought that along and was able to give it to him! That got me a hug people! I am in Heaven.

So yes, overall, it was a magnificent experience despite the long drive and holding my eyelids up at work today. I promise I’ll get a review post up of the latest Gotham episode tomorrow!

TV Review: The Little Drummer Girl

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A few months before Thanksgiving, I read about a little mini-series coming to AMC starring one of my favorite actors, Michael Shannon. And I also found out that it was an adaptation of a John Le Carre novel, The Little Drummer Girl. That drummer girl was played by a relative newcomer, although she’s about to show up everywhere (Outlaw King and Fighting With My Family), Florence Pugh. The cast was rounded out nicely with Alexander Skarsgard as an Israeli intelligence officer. Florence played Charlie, an actress, and is recruited by Michael Shannon’s Mark Kurtz for an extremely dangerous undercover mission to bring down Khalil, a Palestinian terrorist who is bombing Jewish targets in Europe. Overall, this was a spy series, but there were other nice elements, as well.

A six-part mini-series that aired two episodes a piece in the days leading up to Thanksgiving, I think this series could have benefited from dragging it out a bit. Now, did I have to watch it the way they aired it? No, I could have recorded it and taken my time, but I digress. I have not read the novel, so I can’t fully judge here. Overall, it was a fine adaptation, although I think The Night Manager (starring Tom Hiddleston and Elizabeth Dibicki) did it better. With all that fine talent it is definitely worth the watch!

Movie Review: White Boy Rick

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The first movie of 2019! Having said that, it was a bit of a letdown. I applaud the fact that they filmed in Lakewood, OH and Vegas, and the soundtrack was on point, but the story line itself was rather slow and dragged out.

Super-scum from Detroit shows Richard (Matthew McConaughey) and son White Boy Rick himself (newcomer Richie Merritt) dealing firearms to the other scum of Detroit. Rick gets caught up in the wrong crowd, drug dealers, and lives the high life for a while while also being an informant to the FBI. All that comes to an end when Rick ends up getting shot, and then the FBI eventually drop him and arrest his entire crew, including friend Boo. Rick and his dad try to strike a deal with the FBI in the end, but they don’t keep their word and Rick ends up in jail with a life sentence.

When I initially heard about this movie based on real-life Rick Wershe Jr. who was the youngest FBI informant ever at the age of 14, I thought this was going to be entertaining as hell, but it just wasn’t paced properly. Not a great way to start off my 2019 movie list, but there will always be misses with the hits.

Gotham Season 5 Premiere, “Year Zero”

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This past Thursday marks the final season premiere of FOX’s Gotham with the episode “Year Zero.” Having not fully watched the show in the past, but having a pretty strong understanding of its premise, this episode was a little tame, but packed with all of your favorites. I have to hand it to them with that opening scene though! Gordon, Bullock, the Riddler, and the Penguin all teaming up to shoot down an unknown enemy?! I suppose twelve episodes later we will see??

After that flash-forward we see the immediate aftermath of Jerome’s blowing up of all of Gotham’s bridges which has essentially made Gotham the most undesirable island ever. There are five “factions” ruling different parts of the city, all are running low on grub. That’s where rich kid Bruce Wayne steps up to get a helicopter with food over for all of the people currently being protected by the GCPD. Of course that was foiled when someone shot it down. Bane? Jerome? That remains to be seen. Then there was a food battle between the Penguin and his crew, GCPD, and then suddenly Tabitha shows up to exact her revenge for Penguin killing Butch in the season 4 finale. All that rage only for Tabitha meet her maker at the hands of Penguin. Barbara plotting revenge all season? Probably.

There wasn’t nearly enough Ed Nygma/Riddler in my opinion, but I imagine his story line will get better. In his Riddler state, Ed is controlling where he is going when he sleeps (which I assume is to Penguin). Meanwhile, Selina, having been paralyzed at the end of last season, has a semi-successful surgery but still can’t walk. That’s enough for her to want to kill herself, but some hospital staff and Bruce get to her in time. A seriously creepy looking nurse keeps hinting at “The Witch” to help Selina, but Bruce is (stupidly) ignoring her. Having not seen Lee Thompkins in the premiere, maybe it’s her? Who knows what Hugo Strange did to her?! And there is also the fact that Jerome did not surface either, but a potential Harley Quinn did, leaving his signature on a map of Gotham for Gordon to find.

I’m excited for what’s to come, but also insanely sad that this show is going to see its end. Given that the original order of ten episodes got bumped to twelve, I’m not holding my breath for any other network or streaming service to pick it up when all is said and done. We can only look forward to what the cast will do next in there careers.

2018 Rewind: Top Albums, Concerts, Books

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Since we’re only one day into 2019 I figured it wouldn’t be too bad to take a look back at my favorite albums, concerts and books of 2018.

ALBUMS:

  1. Underoath, Erase Me – This was quite the comeback! The first album from the band with original drummer Aaron Gillespie in a decade and it was a banger (a head banger that is!). All 10 tracks are a hit with standouts being “It Has to Start Somewhere” and “I Gave Up.” I was also a big fan of all the added clean vocals from lead singer/screamer Spencer Chamberlain.
  2. MGMT, Little Dark Age – I have loved this band since the beginning, but I will say that the duos last two outings were less than. Give them four years and they come out with a wickedly awesome record! It was rocking some serious disco/70s vibes and I was digging it. Standouts for me on this record included “One Thing Left to Try” and “When You Die.”
  3. The 1975, A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships – While that album title might not be as long as their 2017 release, it still has just as many jams. I keep finding that they are reinventing themselves with every release, and the band has become a little less elusive since appealing to the masses. They have not sold out despite their ever-growing teeny-bopper fan base (makes me sad) by being themselves and creating some great work. Tracks you should check out would be “Give Yourself a Try” and “Love It If We Made It.”
  4. Avatar, Avatar Country – This Swedish heavy metal band really took concept album to the next level with this release. Singing all about hailing to the king with some serious shredding, this album managed to make me a real fan. My sister introduced (forced) me to them and I’ve seen them in concert countless times. This is a very enjoyable record. Go jam to “Avatar Country” and “The King Wants You.”
  5. Fall Out Boy, Mania – Aside from Folie a Duex, this is probably my least favorite record from them. With that said I liked most of the songs, just not the particular vibe. They still put on a great show and they’ve got an extremely large catalog of work, so I can’t fault them for experimenting. My favorites from this include “Young & Menace” and “Wilson (Expensive Mistakes).”

CONCERTS:

2018 was an ambitious year for me – I managed to attend 28 concerts/festivals! That’s a lot of live music! Below are my three standout shows from the year.

  1. Arcade Fire’s Everything Now Continued Tour was by far my favorite show this year. Even though I wasn’t crazy about the opener, the venue was an hour and a half away on a work night, and it was humid as hell I still had a crazy awesome time! The set list was a whopping 25 songs and they played all of the good ones. I caught myself dancing, which I literally never do at shows – that’s how immersing this show was! The last time I saw them was back in 2014 in a much larger venue, so if you get the chance to see them somewhere a bit smaller – DO IT!
  2. Foo Fighter’s Concrete & Gold tour was also quite magical. My sister and I had got my dad tickets for Christmas 2017 for a show happening in the middle of July! We also splurged on some closer seats and it was well worth it. The Struts opened things up with the small library of songs they have, but they have such strong Queen vibes that they totally killed it. Then the Foo Fighters played for three hours!!! It was amazing.
  3. Warped Tour’s final cross-country tour was also a gem to be at. While I’ve experienced better line-ups and it was ungodly hot, it was still a blast. My sister also took part in one of the TEI workshops with Chris Motionless of Motionless in White (an exceptionally nice guy!). The food was on par, and the performances were all solid. I may not have cared too much about the line-up, but you could tell that the bands there were really grateful to be included on this last hoorah. Best performances were Underoath, Motionless in White, 3OH!3, and Silverstein. R.I.P. Warped Tour.

BOOKS:

Really brief reviews here – I don’t want to ruin anything!

  1. Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage – As far as first novels go, this one was trippy. Told in alternating perspectives by mother and 7 year-old daughter, it’s hard for me to ever want kids after reading this. Like ever. It gave me very strong We Need to Talk About Kevin and The Omen vibes.
  2. You by Caroline Kepnes – Yes, I was influenced by the fact that this was getting made into a TV show starring Penn Badgley, but this book was gripping. A story about a stalker, told by the stalker, who wouldn’t really consider what he was doing as stalking. Doesn’t get more unsettling than that.
  3. The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware – I am a big fan of all novels that Ruth Ware has written in her short career, so it was no surprise that I was going to like this outing. Set in present day, there is a case of mistaken identity, some serious inheritance, and a very intense plot twist. While it gets a bit wordy and repetitive, you’ll definitely be itching to know how it ends.

Best & Worst of 2018 – Movies

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With it being the last day of 2018, I am sad to say that I won’t be able to squeeze in any more movies, new or old. It was a wild ride for me – 146 films! Quick math, that means I would have watched one movie per day this year, but let’s be real, sometimes I crammed five or six into one weekend 🙂 Below are my top 10 for best and worst films I watched this year along with some worthy runner-ups.

WORST

  1. Acrimony – Starring Taraji P Henson, and just so, so terrible. She’s a woman with rage, and is hell-bent on her life being the worst. Oh, and she’s crazy.
  2. Brad’s Status – Super lame, and I’m not even sure I could tell you the plot at this point. Either way, just don’t waste your time on this Ben Stiller flick.
  3. Phantom Thread – Obscenely boring. So boring that I fell asleep through the middle of it, and that almost never happens! I know this got a ton of Oscar nominations and some wins this year, but it was not my cup of tea. Way to NOT go out with a bang Daniel Day Lewis.
  4. All I See is You – I already don’t care for Blake Lively, so this sure didn’t help. It had a great premise, just a really poor execution. Basically, a blind woman is suddenly made to see, but she got to physically see a side of her marriage she didn’t want to.
  5. Flower – Super freaking weird! Zoey Deutch and Adam Scott should have meant this would be good, but it was just not.
  6. Sorry to Bother You – Hands down the strangest movie I saw this year. I love Armie Hammer, but some parts of this movie are better left to be unseen. I can’t get those half horse people out of my head!
  7. Assassination Nation – The second strangest movie I saw this year! It was a mix of The Purge and Spring Breakers…so you do the math there.
  8. Outlaw King – Even the promise of full-frontal Chris Pine could not make finish watching this almost two and a half hour movie about Robert the Bruce of Scotland. I’m not a history buff either, so that probably didn’t help.
  9. Cam – So, so weird, and really graphic for a Netflix film!
  10. Hot Summer Nights – The comment I have in my brief review file sums it up “weak Timmy T, weak.”

BEST

  1. Call Me By Your Name – I know technically this came out in November of 2017, but my home state didn’t get it until January! So there! This film is so beautiful and wonderfully acted. Deserved all the awards it won and got nominated for.
  2. Upgrade – I freaking loved this movie! It was a very close call on making this my #1 of 2018. This film was so cathartic and very original. It had love, sadness, violence (lots of violence), and futuristic science and technology. Oh yeah, did I mention it only had a budget $3 million?! – visually stunning.
  3. Tully – Holy plot twists Batman! My sister and I were the only ones in the theater to watch this, but let’s just say it rocked my world. Honestly never saw the plot twist coming!
  4. Molly’s Game – The dialogue alone was enough to sell me on this movie, but add in underground celebrity high-stakes poker to the mix and I’m all in (no pun intended). I know she’s paying for it now, but am extremely jealous of her former job.
  5. American Animals – Not a story I would have normally been interested in, but Evan Peters caught my attention, and then the execution solidified it for me. Very unique filming technique – I don’t want to spoil it!
  6. Eighth Grade – So awkwardly hilarious. My sister was literally squirming in her seat. That’s how well it was done.
  7. To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before – I never knew how much I needed a new cushy rom-com in my life (since 13 Going on 30, of course) until I watched this Netflix original. It is so cute. That is all.
  8. Searching – Also holy plot twists! Shot all through Face Time and other social media outlets, I really thought I wasn’t going to be a fan of how this movie played out, but it very much drew you into the story!
  9. Bohemian Rhapsody – Like I said in my Golden Globes post, Rami Malek totally nails it as Freddie Mercury, and you get a bunch of Queen songs! What else could a person ask for?!
  10. 1985 – I know I just reviewed this the other day, but what an impact it had. It was shot beautifully in black and white, and just lovely.

WORST: RUNNER-UPS
Wanted to provide the brief commentary I made here. These would be my honest, gut reactions to these films.

  1. Damsel – Went on forever, not enough Robert Pattinson with a southern accent.
  2. All Summers End – Just like I wished this movie would.
  3. The Legacy of a Whitetail Deer Hunter – Only funny thing was Josh Brolin’s deer call.
  4. The First Purge – 3rd best (out of 4).
  5. Blockers – Gary. Cole.
  6. Crash Pad – Domhnall Gleeson is just so great that I can overlook this.
  7. How It Ends – As long as it ends with Theo James, I don’t care!
  8. Little Italy – So cheesey, and I’m not just talking about the pizza.
  9. Izzy Gets the F*** Across Town – Izzy is an emotionally unstable person.
  10. Don’t Worry He Won’t Get Far on Foot – Jonah Hill disco dancing. That is all.

BEST: RUNNER-UPS
Once again, this is my initial commentary right after watching these. Enjoy 🙂

  1. I, Tonya – Very strong performances (even Keith!).
  2. The Shape of Water – Strange, fairy tale-esque.
  3. The Commuter – Crazy pants! But not on the level of Split.
  4. Unsane – Paranoia at its finest (and filmed on a iPhone!).
  5. Borg vs. McEnroe – Best tennis movie I’ve ever seen – A+ for Shia LeBeouf as McEnroe!
  6. BlacKkKlansman – Ending gave me goosebumps.
  7. A Star is Born – So good, so sad.
  8. Boy Erased – I want Nicole Kidman to be my mom!
  9. Mary, Queen of Scots – Mary, Queen of Thots
  10. Instant Family – Adorable and funny!

“Vice” Movie Review

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Alright, for quite some time I was looking forward to December 25th, and it was not because it was Christmas. I was excited because Adam McKay’s newest film “Vice” was going to be released. Well, Christmas has come and gone, and I finally saw “Vice” yesterday. And I’ve got to say that I was mildly disappointed. For it being a comedy-drama, and an unfortunately long running time, I didn’t really find myself laughing or that engaged in the drama. Sure, this movie made me realize how shady and crazy Dick Cheney and his wife were, but it just lacked the pizzazz that 2015’s “The Big Short” had.

I was seriously impressed with all of the individual performances: Christian Bale (Holy pounds, Batman!), Amy Adams and Sam Rockwell nailed their impersonations. Steve Carrell was just okay in my book, and I was pleasantly surprised with some of the smaller supporting roles, but all together the film was just forgettable and not that interesting. I don’t regret seeing it, but I also don’t know that I’d recommend it either. Definitely don’t expect to see it on my top 10 list next week.

TV Review: This is Us

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I’ve been sticking with “This is Us” since it premiered a few years back mainly because I am a huge fan of Milo Ventimiglia (“Heroes” R.I.P.); however, when season 3 started up in the fall I found myself dreading watching it. I’m sure there are plenty of other people out there who cry at least once during every single episode. And crying is not fun! I know that I end up loving every episode, but I was just really not looking forward to the tears this fall.

With that, I decided to binge watch them all. I know, I know. VERY STUPID IDEA. So about a week ago I started going through the first nine episodes of season 3, and I’m proud to say there were only tears two times! There was a lot of back and forth within episodes between Jack in Vietnam and all of the rest of the Pearson clans problems. Such problems include: IVF, depression, losing a job, running for city council, coming out, and really awkward dinners (like, lots of them). I was pretty excited to see Jack’s brother Nicky this season, although he turned out to be a big jerk and SPOILER ALERT – alive! Overall, the episodes were pretty good, and where episode nine left off has me excited for it to come back on January 15th.

I say all that, but this show is almost too much, so I can’t say I’m sad there’s only one season left. Hate me 🙂