Monday, August 24, 2015

Mission Impossible- Rogue Nation

Let's get the most pressing questions out of the way- Tom Cruise looks younger than he did in what was my favorite movie of his (Collateral-2004). So what is the difference? I'll tell you- he looks positively baby faced- a little rounder with no wrinkles. So either he has secret Thetan stem cell cream, or he has had some incredibly good fillers. My dentist uses fillers on herself, and she looks like Madam the puppet. But he just looks smooth. I am a little sorry because he is playing a manly manly role and yet he looks weirdly baby faced. (Go find Collateral and you'll see that is a much better look for him). Ok- I'm done on that. If you've seen any of the Mission Impossible movies or tv shows from back when, you do know that, basically, the missions really are impossible. So you get to see a lot of fancy impossible stunts that make everything come out as you predicted from the time you bought your ticket. It has a minimum of car chase stuff- which is a blessing and deserves an extra $1 right there. I liked it a lot because I like stuff that isn't so real that it can bother me. It was a nice addition to put a female spy in there- also doing some very fanciful things that most women could never do. The director does a good job of making the short Tom and short Jeremy Renner look bigger. (Tom's bio says he is 5'7" so that means he is 5'6 and Renner is 5'10 but I've seen him and he is about 5'8").  I'll go see a Tom Cruise movie no matter what the reviews are but this one lives up to the reviews.

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Ant Man

Heh- I know- if you aren't familiar with Ant Man- then you'd think, hey, it's an ant- why can't anyone just squash it? I have to say that I loved this movie. The whole concept of a man who is dressed in an ant logo suit being able to have super powers just has to grab you some kind of way. I had to see it for that very reason. There is a story, and it is kind of fun, and the premise is really sort of silly and impossible. (Unlike a man who turns into a green monster).  Paul Rudd is always SO likeable- you want him to win. There is the usual bam-pow stuff from the genre, and there is romance, etc. But if you want to just spend a couple of hours in the air-conditioning having a little fun, then go see Ant Man. Remember- critics aren't always right. But audiences are- and audiences have loved it.

Apology from Flickerchick

I'm sorry- some of my most loyal visitors got a shock when I stopped reviewing movies in April. Why did I do that? Sad to say, I was still going to the movies, but they were just awful. So awful that even giving them a review was a problem. I am going to review some of them anyway- and I won't just walk off in the future. I'll either close the site or actually write up what I've seen.
I'd give myself 1 star for being irresponsible. I normally review bad movies, but there were soooo many. So I'm back. Thanks for checking back in.

Trainwreck

I like Amy Shumer, and I really, really like Bill Hader. But for the life of me, I don't know why Amy Shumer has to be gross. It isn't necessary. She can tell the story without the sort of off-putting "I'm a slut and you'd better like it" act. There are a million ways to be funny without having to degrade yourself. I saw Shumer in Vegas- she was funny, until it got sort of boring. This movie is the reverse. The beginning is as boring as watching golf- except it is watching boring sex. But then it grows to be a real story that has real feeling. Bill Hader's physician character is, of course, far nicer man than Shumer's character would seem to need. The ending feels contrived because it IS contrived. I know that Shumer is everyone's favorite female shock comedian, but I think she really is better than that. And in fact, she is much funnier when you can relate to her.  So get past the first 25 minutes, and you'll see a decent film that stops being a comedy act and starts being a fun and sort of nice movie.

Inside/Out

There is a reason why this movie got 4 stars- it is worth it. Despite my husband saying that I'm a lot like the Lewis Black character (I'm pretty sure I'm not), it pretty much does sum up what it is like as a human being emotionally. The entire film is on two levels- one is for the children, and one is for the adults who will recognize all of it.  It is from the viewpoint of a girl who is uprooted and moved to another town, and all of the emotions that live inside of her head. It is inventive and creative. I loved it. So here are some more stars.