29 Palms

Back in 2002, an absolutely brilliant film came out about a chase in the desert between a corrupt cop, a hit-man, an undercover FBI agent, a scheming young lady, and several other notable members of the underbelly of society.

The movie is currently playing on the movie channels and I had a chance to catch it.  So glad I did.  Wow!

See Chris O'Donnell in the picture above?  Well, he's the hit-man, and he's got his weapons pointed at two different guys.  Why?  Because he's not sure which one to shoot!  Got your attention?  Yeah, it's that kind of movie.  Quite tongue in cheek.  Cynically whimsical and yet so serious that you can't turn away from the screen.

Point is, all the folks in the desert are after a bag of money, and what a bag it is!  With wads of hundreds stacked thick, everyone wants the path to the big easy.  Funny thing is that the bag just goes from one greedy fool to the next, as each strives to figure out how to keep it.

With big name stars like Bill Pullman and Rachel Leigh Cook, the movie abounds in fine acting.  But the guy who steals the show is Jeremy Davies.  Lest you forgot who he is, he's the one who played the translator peacenik in Saving Private Ryan.  Remember him running between soldiers to supply the ammo?  Remember how conflicted he was about killing the German who fired on his buddies?  Davies plays the FBI agent on the run here, and he is fantastic!

What else is worth noting?  The amazing effects.  Recall the original, dazzling effects in Natural Born Killers?  If you think those effects were cool, wait until you watch this film.

Overall, it's a real gem.  A diamond in the rough.  Or, I should say, a diamond in the desert.

Grade:  A+

Blue Jasmine

I have not seen a Woody Allen movie in a long time (I don't count Midnight in Paris.  He may have done it, but it wasn't a Woody Allen film, as I categorize them.  I think he just wanted to get paid to be in Paris.  But I digress...).  I usually give a film my litmus test of waiting 2-3 days to see if I'm still thinking about this, but I saw this film a few hours ago and just have to post on it.

THIS is Woody Allen!  At age 77, he's still got it.

Excellent movie.  Great casting.  Had Woody's elements of a real story with authentic characters and dialogue, comic wit mixed with drama, urban jazz scoring (probably by Woody's own New York quartet, he on clarinet).  Lots of layers to this.

This film is more drama than comedy, with Cate Blanchett in a TOUR DE FORCE performance.  My god - is she good!

Strong supporting cast including Alec Baldwin, Andrew Dice Clay (yes!), Louis C.K., Peter Sarsgaard and Sally Hawkins.

I want to talk more about this film, especially the ending, but you should see it first.  Let me know when you have!

Lee Daniels' The Butler

See this movie.  See it because it tells a compelling story.  See it for some dang good performances.  See it because it will give you a unique perspective on a turbulent era in American history (then again, isn't every era?).  

The Butler (I'm not into indulging directors' egos) is based on a magazine article (can you believe it?) about an actual African-American butler who served through about 6 presidents' administrations, starting with Eisenhower.  As the civil rights era gets hammered out the hard way, and the butler's own son takes the activist route toward equality, Cecil Gaines goes about changing the consciousness of America in his own quiet, humble, dignified way.  

I'm adhering to my vow to keep posts short, but you'll get a kick out of the fascinating casting here.  One of my favorites was Jane Fonda as Nancy Regan!  And a remarkably unglamorous Mariah Carey is powerful without uttering a word.

Very clever release date on this film, timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King's I Have a Dream speech.  Let us never forget.

Red Dawn (2012)

Back in the mid 80s, Hollywood wowed audiences with Red Dawn.  It is now considered a cult classic.  Patrick Swayze starred in that wildly original film, which required just a bit of suspension of disbelief!

Disbelief?

Well, if you consider a movie about Russians invading America, taking over a small town, and setting up shop a bit unbelievable, so do I!  Do you remember that movie?  In it, a group of tough, rebellious teens flees to the woods and fights the commie invaders with guts and grit, just to save their homes...and the U.S. of A.!

Seems some producers thought they could duplicate the offbeat film in a more current version.  In the 2012 remake, the invaders are North Koreans and the kids are armed with heavy duty weapons!  Chris Hemsworth is the only known actor, just as Swayze was in the original.  Hemsworth is the handsome hunk who faced off against evil in the horror flick Cabin in the Woods.

Does the remake succeed?  Yes indeed!

No spoiler, so I can provide no details, but you'll really get into the action when you watch this flick.  The North Koreans are extremely rotten dudes, and so the kids in the woods have every right to get revenge.  And get revenge they do!

If you decide to view Red Dawn, be in a light-hearted frame of mind.  Don't ask too many questions about the plot.  Don't think too much about reality.  In fact, don't think!

A mindless but engaging action film for viewers seeking a mental escape!

Time of Death (LMN movie)

Hi readers!  Sometimes we have stereotypes that need fixin'!

Stereotype 1:  Blondes are dumb!  Stereotype 2:  LMN movies are soppy and stupid!

I've often reviewed LMN mysteries and lauded them in this blog.  I came across one the other day that absolutely knocked by socks off!  Sure, a lot of LMN offerings are not so great.  Mostly, the made-for-women network offers tales of men who are rats and women who are abused by those rats.

But lest ye be mistaken, don't put the mysteries in that category.

Time of Death is a fantastically crafted piece.  It stars Kathleen Robertson, the pretty blonde above, as the brilliant detective who must solve the puzzle.

And just what is the puzzle?

As the title suggests, folks get killed at exactly the same time...with way too much frequency!  Is there a link between the murders?  Is the culprit someone in the corporate world?  Why is there no modus operandi?  Some die by getting pushed out of windows, others by getting shot.  What in the world is the pattern?  And why do the victims all die on different days at the same minute on the clock?

No spoiler, dear readers, so you must find out for yourself!

Of course, that beautiful detective works with a handsome young fellow, her new partner, and you can imagine what those two do when they're not sleuthing!  Yes, the love motif is fun too.

I guarantee that this mystery will grab you and not let go.  Great filmmaking on the channel that often gets maligned yet offers diamonds in the rough.

Grade:   A+    Find this film on your TV listings and go for it!  You won't be sorry!

Bait

BAIT is outlandish!

Here's the scenario:  A bunch of folks in a supermarket are in the basement of a grocery store when, of all things, a massive tidal wave comes ashore.

No spoiler, but just imagine a basement that is flooded with exits blocked by debris.  The only place for the survivors to hang out is on top of the shelves that are not under water.

Sound exciting?  Wait!  There's more!  A huge shark is trapped in the basement with the humans.  And he just happens to be hungry!

Think of Jaws meets, well, tsunami wave.  Think of your favorite disaster-survival film.  The people trapped below must get out alive without becoming... BAIT!

Haha!

And there's more!  Sitting atop those shelves are folks falling in love, criminals being criminals, and old and young trying to figure out the generation gap!

It's a hoot.  Leave your brains at the door.  Leave all your disbelief at the door.  Leave your good sense at the door.

Then turn on the film and enjoy!

Oh, by the way, one fellow suspended above the water loses the lower half of his body to the shark in a wonderful scene that will stay more than a while in your mind...what's left of it after viewing this mindless wonder of a flick.

Highly entertaining for folks seeking some low-brow fun!

The East

The EAST is a very unusual film about a rarely discussed topic: how rational people join cults and somehow become part of the movements.

First, check out Patty Hearst on the right.  Remember her story? She was the daughter of a wealthy newspaper magnate attending Berkeley back in 1974.  One day, the SLA, a group of leftist terrorists, kidnapped her for ransom to increase their coffers.  Next thing, the straight-laced, never-in-trouble Patty, was seen robbing a bank with the radicals.  Shocker!

Now check out the picture in the upper left.  That pretty blonde is Brit Marling.  Who?  Go back and check her out playing opposite Richard Gere in Arbitrage.  Yes, that's her.  She was great in that film, and almost stole the spotlight from the very talented Mr. Gere.

No spoiler, but Brit plays an agent who infiltrates a group of radicals called The East, who hide out and live communally in a cult-like manner.  When Brit joins up, she is not too fond of the group.  Soon their strange love for each other, and their mission to take down corporations who abuse the environment, capture her imagination.

Enough said.  What happens then?  Gotta go see the film to find out!

Don't expect Hollywood-style action or even a lively pace.  Sometimes the film drags a bit trying to get its message across.  Not an A+ film by any means. But with Ellen Page, who dazzled in Juno, also in the mix, the film sort of grabs and holds on.

I'm back to thinking about Patty Hearst, so the film must have touched me at some level.

Curious about Patty?  She was captured, found guilty of bank robbery when her "brainwashing" defense did not hold up, and served two years in prison before Jimmy Carter pardoned her.

Strange behavior indeed.