All posts by Kenna

True Story, “Flag Day” Unsettles Father and Daughter

based on a book, biography, drama, true stories, , , , , , , ,

Directed by Sean Penn, Flag Day follows Jennifer Vogel, played by Dylan Penn, who comes to terms with her larger-than-life father. As a child, Jennifer marveled at his magnetizing energy and ability to make life feel like a grand adventure.

Yes. Dylan is Sean’s real-life daughter, which makes the production intriguing. She is a celebrity model whose international talent is huge.

Sean Penn stars as John Vogel and Dylan Penn as Jennifer Vogel in FLAG DAY A Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures film Credit: Courtesy of Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures Inc. © 2021 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Jennifer’s father taught her much about love and joy, but he also was the most notorious counterfeiter in US history. Based on a true story, Flag Day is an intimate family portrait of a young woman who struggles to rise above the wreckage of her past. At the same time, she reconciles the inescapable bond between a daughter and her father.

At the heart of the movie is a love story between a father and daughter. Sean Penn describes it, “a complicated one.” It is a story of one woman’s pursuit to find truth in her life after growing up in the shadow of her father’s criminality. We see the bonds of family ebb and flow with each truthful revelation and each destructive lie. This father-daughter story serves as a metaphor for a country that often cannot live up to its highest ideals.

A country that doesn’t follow through on its promises. Stoic imagery of flags waving and fireworks give way to darkened windows, disguises and eventually handcuffs and jail cells. Ultimately, it is a story of perseverance, of truth, and learning who you are in the shadow of someone else. It is a story of uncovering memories and examining those memories from a raw and vulnerable place.

The movie includes an impressive cast Josh Brolin, Norbert Leo Butz, Dale Dickey, Eddie Marsan, Bailey Noble, Hopper Jack Penn and Katheryn Winnick.

Remarkable High-Stakes in “The Card Counter”

drama, , ,

Written and directed by Paul Schrader, The Card Counter follows William Tell, played by Oscar Isaac. He’s a gambler and former serviceman who sets out to reform a young man seeking revenge on a mutual enemy from their past.

00781_FP_CARDCOUNTER Oscar Isaac stars as William Tell and Tiffany Haddish as La Linda in THE CARD COUNTER, a Focus Features release. Credit: Courtesy of Focus Features

Tell just wants to play cards, and his spartan existence on the casino trail shatters when he is Cirk, played by Tye Sheridan, approaches him. Cirk is a vulnerable and angry young man seeking help to execute his plan for revenge on a military colonel.

05856_FP_CARDCOUNTER Oscar Isaac stars as William Tell in THE CARD COUNTER, a Focus Features release. Credit: Courtesy of Focus Features

Tell sees a chance at redemption through his relationship with Cirk. He tries to gain backing from mysterious gambling financier La Linda, played by Tiffany Haddish.

“La Linda’s game is like pimping without the sex; she has a lot of personality and her job is to make money for her investors,” says Haddish. “I felt as a comedian — since my job is to tickle people’s souls and convince them to go on a journey with me as I tell them a story — that I could bring the necessary charisma and personality to get audiences aboard for this ride.”

“La Linda is vibrant, she has vitality, and she has a life of purpose. William sees all this and finds himself drawn to this strange little trio, including Cirk,” says Isaac. “They become a lifeline or surrogate family for him.”

Tell takes Cirk with him on the road, going from casino to casino until the unlikely trio set their sights on winning the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. But keeping Cirk on the straight-and-narrow proves impossible, dragging Tell back into the darkness of his past.

“My aim is to create a crack in the viewer’s skull, opening up a rift between what they desire and expect of my characters and what they feel after spending time with them,” says Schrader. “How they make that adjustment is up to them, but to get the viewer engaged in this kind of conflict is what every artist seeks. It’s not so important what my viewers think, but that they do think.”

Source: Variety/IMDB/Production Notes

“QUEENSPIN” True Story of Scamming Coupons for Millions

comedy, true stories, , , , ,

Co-directed by Aron Gaudet and Gita Pullapilly and inspired by a true story, QUEENPINS is an outrageous comedy. The story is about a bored and frustrated suburban homemaker, Connie, played by Kristen Bell, and her best pal JoJo, played by Kirby Howell-Baptiste—a vlogger with dreams who turn a hobby into a multi-million dollar counterfeit coupon caper. 

Paul Walter Hauser as Ken Miller and Vince Vaughn as Simon Kilmurry in QUEENPINS. Credit: Courtesy STX Films

After firing off a letter to the conglomerate behind a box of cereal gone stale and receiving an apology along with dozens of freebies, the duo hatches an illegal coupon club scheme that scams millions from mega-corporations and delivers deals to legions of fellow coupon clippers. 

This poster is like the first one, but the release dates are new.
A common occurrence with the pandemic.

On the trail to total coupon dominance, a hapless Loss Prevention Officer, played Paul Walter Hauser, from the local supermarket chain joins forces with a determined U.S. Postal Inspector, played by Vince Vaughn, in hot pursuit of these newly-minted “Queenpins” of pink collar crime.

“The House Next Door: Meet the Blacks 2” Crazy, Once Again

comedy, , , , , , , , , , ,

Directed by Deon Taylor, The House Next Door: Meet The Blacks 2 follows Carl Black, played by Mike Epps, who is about to face off with the neighbor from hell, played by Katt Williams.

Michael Blackson as Mr. Wooky, Mike Epps as Carl Black, Danny Trejo as Hugo, and Lil Duval as Cronut in The House Next Door: Meet the Blacks 2. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Lionsgate.

Carl has only ever wanted the best for his family. Still, after surviving the events that led to his (not-so-) bestselling book, he’s moving everyone to his childhood home, where he’ll contend not only with his wife Lorene, played by Zulay Henao, and kids Allie, played by Bresha Webb, and Carl Jr., played by Alex Henderson, but everyone who drives him crazy: Cronut, played by Lil Duval, Freezee, played by Andrew Bachelor, Rico, played by Tyrin Turner, and an entire neighborhood of characters who seem to attract strange activity after dark. And nothing could be freakier than his new neighbor, Dr. Mamuwalde, who may or may not be a vampire.

You can buy the DVD or stream the movie anytime on Amazon.

“The Many Saints of Newark” a Prequel Hews the “Soprano” Storyline

crime, drama, episodic, ,

Directed by veteran Soprano’s director, Alan Taylor, The Many Saints of Newark is not about saints. The meaning centers on Dickie Moltisanti, Christopher Moltisanti’s father. In English, Molti Santi translates as “many saints,” according to IMDB trivia.

The trailer pretty much says it all. Rumors it’s a look at the formative years of New Jersey gangster Tony Soprano. Written by Lawrence Konner and David Chase, Chase created the storyline and characters for the famous series.

Also, according to IMDB, Michael Gandolfini will play a young Tony Soprano. His late father, James Gandolfini, played the original Tony Soprano. Another tidbit from the same source, Ray Liotta appears in the movie. He was the first actor approached to play Tony Soprano before they cast James Gandolfini for the popular series that change how we view cable TV.

“Clifford the Big Red Dog” Mammoth Tale Filled with Adventures

adventure, based on a book, children movies, classic, family movies, kid movies, , , , , ,

Based on the beloved Scholastic book character and directed by Walt Becker, Clifford the Big Red Dog follows middle-schooler Emily Elizabeth, played by Darby Camp, who meets a magical animal rescuer, played by John Cleese. He gifts her a little red puppy.

She never expected to wake up to find a giant ten-foot hound in her tiny New York City apartment. While her single mom, played by Sienna Guillory, is a way for a business, Emily and her fun but impulsive uncle Casey, played by Jack Whitehall, set out on an adventure.

Darby Camp stars in CLIFFORD THE BIG RED DOG from Paramount Pictures. Photo Credit: Courtesy Paramount Pictures.

Their experiences will keep kids of all ages on the edge of their seats. These three make one heck of an incident in New York City.

The rest of the cast includes David Alan Grier and Russell Wong.

Unparalleled Comedy “First Date” Feels Mainstream

comedy, teenagers, , , , , , , , , ,

Co-directed by Manuel Crosby and Darren Knapp, shy high schooler Mike, played by Tyson Brown, finally summons the courage to ask out his badass neighbor Kelsey, played by Shelby Duclos. Only to realize he’s missing an essential element for a successful date – the car. Panicked and low on cash, someone cons him into buying a beat-up ’65 Chrysler.

Mike’s plan to win over Kelsey soon turns into a surreal misadventure when they encounter some mishaps: a pair of cops inexplicably targeted them, a criminal gang, and a vengeful cat lady. A night fueled by desire, bullets, and burning rubber makes any other first date seem like a walk in the park.

The story weaves together elements of dark comedy, teen romance, shoot-’em-up action and classic coming-of-age tale. The rhythm of the trailer is so funny, great timing.

The movie clip below is so funny.

“Halloween Kills” Absolutely Lowest Horror Never Ends

horror

Co-written by David Gordon Green, Danny McBride and Scott Teems and directed by Green, Halloween Kills is again on the silver screen. 

Based on characters created by John Carpenter and Debra Hill, the film brings back Jamie Lee Curtis and Judy Greer with Anthony Michael Hall. Curtis is now the executive producer and, of course, still stars in the horror movie. 

Fed up with Michael Myers hunting them, the citizens of Haddonfield decide to hunt Myers down. It begins where we left off on Halloween night. Minutes after Laurie Strode, played by Curtis, her daughter Karen, played by Greer, and a granddaughter, played by Matichak, left the masked monster Myers caged and burning in Laurie’s basement.

They rush Laurie to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, believing she finally killed her lifelong tormentor. However, Myers frees himself from Laurie’s trap. His ritual bloodbath resumes. Laurie overcomes her pain and prepares to define herself against him. She inspires all of Haddonfield to rise up and stop this monster.

The strode women join a group of Myer survivors from his first rampage. They decide to take matters into their own hands and form a vigilante. Like a mob with pitchforks and torches, they set out to hunt Myers down, once and for all — evil dies tonight.

Remarkable “Sing 2” Breakthrough Musical Performances

animation, children movies, family movies, fantasy, kid movies, sequels, , , ,

Written and directed by Garth Jennings, Buster, Meena, Rosita, Gunter, Johnny and Ash prepare for a bigger stage and a brighter spotlight as they leave the Moon Theater for the big city in SING 2.

This animation feature is on the dovetails of the creators of Despicable Me, Minions and The Secret Life of Pets.

The next chapter welcomes Matthew McConaughey and Reese Witherspoon back, alongside Scarlett Johansson, Taron Egerton, Nick Kroll and Tori Kelly.

Hilarious Look at Discovering “How It Ends”

comedy, drama, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Co-written and co-directed by Zoe Lister-Jones and Daryl Wein, How It Ends follows freewheeling Liza, played by Zoe Lister-Jones. She scores an invitation to one last wild party before the world ends.

The catch is she takes her younger self, played by Cailee Spaeny, with her. This is a feel-good apocalyptic comedy, and making it to the party won’t be easy after her car gets stolen, and the clock is ticking on her plan to tie up loose ends with friends and family. Liza embarks on a hilarious journey across Los Angeles, running into an eclectic cast of characters.

The sizeable stellar cast includes Whitney Cummings, Tawny Newsome, Finn Wolfard, Nick Kroll, Logan Marshall Green, Bobby Lee, Fred Armisen, Glenn Howerton, Bradley Whitford, Ayo Edebiri, Sharon Van Etten, Olivia Wilde, Paul W. Downs, Raymond Cham Jr., Lamorne Morris, Angelique Cabral, Rob Huebel, Paul Scheer, Helen Hunt, Colin Hanks, Charlie Day, Mary Elizabeth Ellis, Pauly Shore.