Directed by Zackary Adler, The Rise of the Krays, is not a well-known subject in America because these twins became notorious in London. As amateur boxers, they used their brute strength to domineer the city in the 1960s.
The movie comes across as a thought-provoking historical piece. Because knowing they were amateur boxers made sense that they could punch their way to power on the streets. Their method was to attack first and attack hard. They succeeded without remorse.
The story is told by a close friend of the twins. One of the twins, Ronnie, played by Simon Cotton, was known as a volatile and complex young man. He was institutionalized, which proved to make him worse as psychiatric institutions do. Keeping him in check by his brother Reggie, played by Kevin Leslie, proved to be difficult. Still, they gained power and controlled the East end and spread out on the West side when gambling was no longer illegal.
The movie shows their violence, gang wars, and power over politicians. The acting seemed a little staged, but for the most part, the characters were believable. Cotton and Leslie brought substance to the movie and strength to the true story.
If you can stomach raunchy, bitter, and violent movies that are a blood bath, then this movie is for you and not for the soft heart.
Directed and co-written by Jared Hess, known for the sleeper hit Napoleon Dynamite, Don Verdean is an example of when the timing and hilarity of a movie fail to make the mark. Hess uses jokes that are there, but the subject matter doesn’t work in this storyline.
Verdean is hired by a determined small-town pastor to find sacred artifacts in the Holy Land. Verdean presents himself as an archeologist but doesn’t deliver the goods and attempts to cover up his fiasco. The hilarity enters the story when he tries to cover up his serious mistake.
Jared movies are pretty clean when it comes to harsh language, but Don Verdean changes that style. We hear the more common expletive words in the English language, and it is not funny. Besides that, Sam Rockwell provides a performance worth watching. He offers some serious hilarity to the idiosyncrasies of a well-intended archeologist. His accent holds its own quite well with his quirky slang. I would like to see more of an arch in his decent to misbehaving. Amy Ryan is great as Carol Jensen. Her mannerisms and timing work well with the material Hess offers.
The crux of the storyline is forced and not simply told because the movie is off-beat, slap stick, and then serious. The ending comes quickly but is worth watching because there is a surprise. Here the story comes to form, and it is easy to see what Hess is trying to get across to the audience. I should mention the co-writer is Hess’ wife, Jerusha. I am not sure what aspect she contributed to the movie, but she does collaborate with her husband on each of his movies.
I am sure some will find the humor both eccentric and indirectly nonsense. The cast is fantastic, but the comedy is not mainstream. You will probably have a good time watching the movie if you are familiar with the Bible.
Directed by Catherine Hardwicke, known for directing the first Twilight movie, Miss You Already starts with Jess, played by Drew Barrymore, as a young child moving to the UK from America. She meets Milly, played by Toni Collette, and they become what is known today as BFFs. Their friendship is long-lasting with its extreme ups and terrible downs. Morwenna Banks, best known by the UK as the voice for Peppa Pig, wrote the non-linear screenplay that keeps these two best friends together.
Jess and Milly have personalities that are totally opposite of each other, which creates a great story. Jess is more conservative and holds back while Milly is over-the-top and willing to do anything, and she does anything. Milly’s mother, Miranda, played by Jacqueline Bisset, stands by her daughter’s penchant for the dramatic aspect of life.
Barrymore and Collette are true to form and work very well together, creating a very endearing story that reminds of the movie Beaches. Yes. It is that kind of movie, pull out the tissue ladies.
The story is about women being friends. Throughout the movie their friendship keeps building because they share everything together. I must confess that I didn’t want to see this movie because the ending is not happy. It’s tragic but holds a strong message we all want to share. Friendships are very important. We can never take friends for granted. So, hold them near and dear to your heart.
Directed by Declan Dale, Exposed is not an easy film to watch because nothing is explained in the movie until the very end. We meet Isabel, played pleasantly by Ana de Armas. She is a young Dominican woman, whose husband is in Iraq, and she lives with his engaging and happy family.
Her brother-in-law is connected to the mob in some way, but they are very close since his brother is deployed. For some reason, late at night, he lets her go home by herself on the subway, which is the first mistake in the movie. No one in their right might would let that happen. While Isabel is on the subway platform, she has strange visions, and they are not explained.
The visions consist of male albino in a black suit and a completely white-styled woman to look like she is a Capital from The Hunger Games. I want to stop here for a moment to point out Isabel continues to have visions of the Capital woman through the movie. She reappears as all black and finally as all red. I am not sure of the purpose behind these visions, and a 2-minute scene with Isabel and her brother-in-law or another family member about the visions would have been great.
After we see Isabel in the subway, the story cuts to a detective Scott Galban, underplayed by Keanu Reeves, who is investigating his morally suspicious partner’s murder. The movie continues to cut from Isabel and the detective throughout the movie, indicating a relationship between his dead partner and her. Much later in the movie we find out the connection.
Isabel’s life seems strange and inconsistent. One scene she is working at a child-care center, and then she is waiting on tables at a local restaurant. She befriends a little girl at the child-care center. The girl is quite like Isabel and shows signs of having problems at home with her father. Again, the movie doesn’t explain why this relationship is in the movie until the end.
Galban is widowed, grieving for his partner, and has a young son staying with his sister because he can’t cope with his life. His partner’s wife, played by Mira Sorvino, flirts with Galban while making demands her husband’s murderer is brought to justice as long as they don’t expose any of her husband’s transgressions.
The story continues with more stuff being added to the plot without explanations, making the movie even more confusing. Eventually, the end arrives and everything comes together, but it wasn’t worth the time to find out.
It is rumored there is a director’s version of the movie, but the studio intervention made the movie worse, hacking it to confusion. The director’s version is much better and casts more light on the characters, central themes titled Daughter of God. Let’s hope the director’s version is release in the near future.
Directed and written by talented and Oscar-winning screenwriter William Monahan, Mojave indicates that Monahan is better at writing movies than directing them. On his next try, he should take a course in Directing 101. He has a talented cast with moments that are enthralling, but these factors barely compensate for moments of inauthenticity and emotional contradiction.
Thomas, played well by Garrett Hedlund, is a well-known filmmaker who is filthy rich but troubled. He goes on a journey into the Mojave Desert to set himself apart from his life of prosperity, coked-up producers, and seedy agents. He hopes to find comfort and peace. All the same and one of the inconsistencies of the story, Thomas demonstrates the opposite. He screams at the coyotes, drinks, and drives crazily. He even crashes his jeep. Stranded with less than a gallon of water and some smokes, he heads off to nowhere. It obvious he is heading for a death wish. Then, he sees a figure over the horizon.
The figure is Jack, played well by Oscar Isaac, who appears at Thomas’ campfire. Jack has a screw loose with backwoods intelligence. He talks non-sequitur about Shakespeare, Jesus, and government corruption. All in all, he is downright evil. Thomas and Jack start fighting with Thomas leaving him unconscious by the fire.
From this point on, the story gets mighty crazy, convoluted, and just plain wild, depicting the worse of Hollywood. The movie is really about men confronting their demons. The cinematography by Don Davis is magical with wide shots of moonlit landscapes and dark, foreboding interiors.
Mark Wahlberg shows up as the over-the-top, coked-up producer, and Thomas’ producing partner. He offers comic relief to the high-tension testosterone movie. I am not sure that was Monahan’s intention.
Which brings me to the conclusion that I would have liked to have known the characters better, so I could understand their motives and actions. Otherwise, it is just too confusing.
I am sure Monahan will direct another movie. But, his dance card is a bit full with 10 screenwriting gigs, so it will be some time before we see him take another jab.
Directed by Lenny Abrahamson, Room is a hard film to watch, but worth watching because the story is told so well. Brie Larson won an Oscar for her portrayal of a kidnapped survivor. Since she is from my home time, I am very excited for her achievement.
The story arrives where Joy Newsome, played by Larson, is 7 years into her disappearance when she was a teenager in Ohio. She and her son, Jack, played brilliantly by Jacob Tremblay, celebrate his 5th birthday imprisoned in a 15′ by 15′ shed. “Old Nick,” played by Sean Bridgers, captured Joy, who is Ma to Jack, and regularly rapes her. Thus, they produce Jack. Abrahamson keeps the rape scenes off camera, which helped me get through the movie.
Because she cooperates with Nick, he feeds and provides shelter for her and Jack. Yet, they are still prisoners and never leave the shed with a skylight as their only view of the outside world.
Now that Jack is a big boy, Ma teaches him about the outside world. One scene, which I really like, is where Ma teaches Jack about walls. That there are two sides to a wall. Each side had different things. This builds to the point where Jack escapes, and they both become free.
Once freed, Jack is shy and limited on how to survive in the real world. Still, he is a kid and learns how to adapt quickly. Nancy, played wonderfully by Joan Allen, is Joy’s mother. Nancy and new husband, Doug, played by Tom McCamus, try to help them both as best as they can.
Jack starts to do better, and we see Joy’s mental condition worsen. Larson is brilliant as Joy changes from a loving, protective mother to a woman struggling with mental anguish. Anguish she has tamped down for 7 years while in captivity with Jack. Larson is so believable and remarkable in these moments that I can see why she won the Oscar.
The movie is based on Emma Donoghue’s novel, which she adapted for the screen. Like I said, I usually shy from topics like this because it is so sad, but in the end, I smiled. I recommend this movie.
Directed by talented Louie Psihoyos, who also directed The Cove, Racing Extinction focuses on Psihoyos as he reveals all the dark secrets of the illegal black market trade of animal parts. The footage is captivating with vast underwater splendor at one end of the story and vast human corruption of ocean life on the other end of the story. He also brings a message to the populace of the grandeur and beauty of animals.
The movie follows Psihoyos as he treks to small villages where we see local fishermen hunting and killing manta ray gills for soup. With the help of his crew and other activists, they educate the locals on how their fishing is influencing the entire ecosystems. Another topic taken on is the hunt for sharks. Their fins are a delicacy for shark fin soup. The hunting has caused dwindling numbers in sharks. Clearly and right so, the movie seizes the moment to stand against the destruction that humanity has headed toward for many environments.
Elon Musk, the founder of the Tesla car, joins the crusade and attaches a projector to the Tesla car Psihoyos drives around town, so he can project beautiful animals on various buildings. The citizens see the images on the buildings and are amazed by the beautiful animals, instilling the importance of saving them from extinction.
The grand visual highpoint is when New York architectural representations of ocean life stop crowds walking through the city. They are even recording beautiful images on their devices while we see children’s faces mesmerized. Psihoyos clearly states in the movie, a vital message for everyone, when people truly view the life of the sea, we can choose to “Do one thing” protect species balance.
I recommend this movie for everyone to see, and teachers play it in your classrooms because it is truly an education.
Something new has arrived for home theater connoisseurs. The newest format in watching movies called 4K UHD Blu-rays. The public introduction is calling it “ultra-high definition”.
Because I am interested in this new phase of viewing movies at home, I was sent both Sicario and Ender’s Game in 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray. Before I commence with my opinion of the new format, the two different genres are the best way to review this system. Movies like Ender’s Game prove more enjoyable with the screening quality while Sicario special effects were minimal.
The new format is totally about the technical enhancements that make the viewing of the movies far better. Is it important enough to purchase the 4K TV screen, player, and movie?
For some, I am sure it is a status thing while others thrive on a better viewing pleasure. “Hey, come on over to my house. I have the new 4K player and TV Screen. Ender’s Game looks awesome on the new format!”
With that, here is my take on the new format. Sicario‘s HEVC / H.265 encoded 2160p transfer in 2.40:1 clearly shows upgrades in detail, contrast and particularly when it comes to color gradation levels. Like I said earlier, Sicario does not have eye-popping grandeur like Ender’s Game, there are some really vivid differences, though, in the 4K version.
I noticed at the beginning of the movie where facial features in the first SWAT scene are far better in texture. Surprisingly so, after Kate, played by Emily Blunt, is almost shot. Her face is bathed in red, but the fine detail comes through. I could almost feel the textures on each element such as curtains in Kate’s apartment. Before, I wouldn’t even have thought of noticing her curtains, but is that an important part of the movie?
The difference really shines with the dark scenes. The long scene with Kate in the bar where the contrast and tones are so much more improved. Everything looks so much more vibrant and alive. However, I had to mention this but it has come up with other sources. The 4K has recurring rapid shaking in some of the scenes. I noticed it particularly with the pan shots. It is quite noticeable in the tracking across the landscape as the SWAT team drops in on the cartel house.
For Ender’s Game, the new format shows more splendor and richness of the colors. Literally, each color stands out. Particularly, the different shades of blues of spaceship and uniforms. They pop out at you from the screen. The spherical zero-gravity battle room scenes are more fun to watch now with the ultra-high-definition.
I sound like I am repeating myself, but it is true. The new format is all about the colors. Looking at the plants in the background is extraordinary with deep light blues, greens, and browns. Every element is so detailed with textures that I didn’t even notice in the other formats. I have to mention the tattoos on Ben Kingsley’s face. They are so rich and alive, like 3D.
I didn’t notice any shaking on the pan shots compared to Sicario, which is interesting. The panning shots of the rocky terrain are gorgeous. I could go on and on, but you need to see and experience 4K for yourself. All in all, the 4K UHD Blu-ray is an exciting presentation. You just have to spend more money in order to experience.
Directed by Chris C. Miller, Extraction opens with CIA field operative Leonard Turner played by Bruce Willis. The scene is an important part of the story because his wife is killed by the bad guys, and he prevents his son from being killed as well.
Next, we see his son Harry, played by Kellan Lutz, and it is ten years later. He followed his father’s footsteps and is a CIA agent. He is training under the keen guidance of Leonard’s best friend Ken played by D.B. Sweeney. Harry wants to be a field agent like his father but keeps getting turned down. He is assigned to a project involving a top secret piece of electronic equipment called CONDOR. It is pretty powerful and can control anything electric.
Leonard is sent on a mission to purchase CONDOR and gets captured. Harry finds out and wants to save his father, but is told to stand down. Harry figures out who captured his father, but the CIA says he isn’t strong enough to help save his father and send him home with an armed escort. Harry breaks away and sets his sights on saving his father.
Victoria Phipps, played by Gina Carano, is assigned to the case. She is one of the best field agents, and to make the story more interesting, a former lover of Harry. She lets him join her and help track down CONDOR, find his father, and take down the bad guys. Time is the key to pulling this all off, and they have to work fasts. The story has some twists and turns and confusion occurs on trying to figure out who are the bad guys and who are the good guys.
Seems like a pretty good action movie, but in all honest it isn’t that great. Technical glitches with the overall sound and vocals are disconcerting. The odd edit cuts and jumps prevent the flow of the story. On top of that, I enjoy watching Carano do her action stuff, which I have seen in her other movies. She’s great, but in this movie, she doesn’t do all that much. I mean, she is a former MMA fighter. Let her show her stuff.
All in all, I really wanted to like this movie, but it started off great and went downhill from there.
Many of us have spent our younger years watching Little House On the Prairie. It debuted in 1974 when a majority of families still watched television together. Today, most networks, streaming websites, and cable companies compartmentalized programs for age groups. Thus, getting the family to watch one show together is a bona fide miracle.
Today, we have DVDs, so television shows like Little House On the Prairie can be watched by the whole family. This series is about decency and wholeness, celebrating the concept of right and wrong.
Now, you can get the series in full broadcast length and completely digitally remastered. The entire eighth season is on 6 discs, with the very last disc having two Little House On the Prairie movies. The movies are from season 9: Look Back to Yesterday and The Last Farewell. Now, that is a treat and something worth enjoying.
You can select episodes from the menu, so if you have a favorite you want to see, it’s easy to maneuver around and select the episode. You can even select individual scenes from episodes. Subtitles are available as well in different languages.
Instead of listing all the episodes like a catalog, I am going to highlight some favorite episodes of mine from the DVD package. A Christmas They Never Forgot is where the family gets snowed in on Christmas Eve, The Ingalls family and Esther Sue exchange family stories when they were younger. I just love flashbacks. No Beast So Fierce follows Charles and James as they go on a business trip together. James becomes friends with a wild dog that follows him everywhere after he feeds it. Stone Soup is kind of a silly title but is about three town kids coming together after a drought comes to Walnut Grove. Laura is pregnant and can’t keep up with the newly planted orchard while Almanzo is away.
All in all, this is a great package and a must for any family’s library. If you are not sure you want to purchase the DVDs yet, search Amazon Prime and watch a couple of episodes and see if your family likes the programming.
Directed by Zackary Adler, The Rise of the Krays, is not a well-known subject in America because these twins became notorious in London. As amateur boxers, they used their brute strength to domineer the city in the 1960s.
