Bill Murray is making the best movies of his long career, and his latest is one of his best.
Rock the Kasbah will join last years off beat comedy, St.Vincent as among his best roles ever. This is also a story you have never even come close to seeing before and for me, when done properly, I always dish out major kudos for. This small indy movie is worth the ticket and really fun to watch. This is one of those drama-comedies that straddles the line nicely between both sides.
Murray plays this down and out music promoter, who never really made it big over his 40 plus year career. He somehow managed to hang on and make just enough to get by. He is a fast talker, and half truth teller to the extreme. He finds a young female act in Los Angeles and in a drunken conversation with some clown in the bar where she is singing, and is convinced to take this girl to Afghanistan to perform for the USO. Being promised big money he does. Then she dumps him while there, and she leaves him without money or passport.
While marooned, he discovers by accident a young women from Afghanistan who loves to sing. Problem is, she is prohibited by religious law to do so at any time, anywhere. But somehow he works it out where she sings on their version of American Idol in Afghanistan. Needless to say, this causes a HUGE public outcry and controversy. How will this be resolved?
This is absolutely terrific in every regard. The performances by Murray and his supporting cast of Kate Husdon, Zooey Dashanel, Bruce Willis, and other are simply fantastic. The writing is sensational and incredibly original and as this goes along, it simply gets better and better. The music is also wonderful. Plus, this is filmed so skillfully, you feel you are in the middle of one of the most dangerous places on earth.
This movie showcases very well the turmoil that is in Afghanistan. The struggle between the extremely traditional, and those who are open minded to a possibly more modern and updated country socially and economically. This is an easy movie to watch, and wraps up nicely when you are ready for it to. It says what it has to say and moves on, all the while carefully developing characters you have not met before, telling a story you have not seen previous.
Rock The Kasbah. Terrific.
Tuesday, October 27, 2015
Wednesday, October 21, 2015
MOVIE REVIEW - Bridge Of Spies
Here comes Fall, and some of the best movies of the year, and Bridge Of Spies is certainly one of them.
Tom Hanks, stars in this incredible true Cold War Story that showcases a remarkable story that you may know the basics of, but this movie spells out the whole amazing story. This takes place over a few year period from 1957, into the early 1960's when the Cold War with the Soviet Union was in full force. It's the story of a "spy swap" that tested both sides, the United States and Russia on their resolve in their belief systems. Democracy versus Communism, plain and simple.
Hanks plays Jim Donovan, who was a simple insurance lawyer in Brooklyn when the firm where he works is assigned to defend a recently captured Soviet spy in America. He defends the spy with vigor and diligence, making sure that he gets a fair trial, even when the system is asking he not. Donovan foresees that the death penalty may not be the right thing, and asks reminds the judge that there may be a day when the Russians have one of our guys, and a swap may be prudent.
And that becomes reality when the Soviets shoot down an American U2 pilot and capture him. Now we each have one. The government then contracts Donovan again, this time asking him to broker the swap as a private citizen and not as an official representative of our government. Donovan takes the job and begins a fascinating journey that takes him to the other side of the world to make the deal, all the while trying not to fire up even more tensions between the Superpowers.
This is just a very well done drama that is really back to basics movie making. You take a great story that most don't know. Write a great script, and cast the right guy in it. You find the right director (Steven Spielberg) create amazing sets, and costuming and you have a great flick. This is a wonderful period piece that takes us right back to an era gone by. This is intense, and suspenseful and reminds us just how good movies really can be if we do them right. This is amazingly refreshing, and just flat out good.
Some knowledge of the era is helpful before you go, but this is careful not to shoot over your head, and takes its time to explain carefully and set the stage so all can hang on. This is not an action flick with tons of effects, this is just straight forward movie making that is ushering in the strong movie season which is now upon us.
Bridge Of Spies. One of the years best movies.
Tom Hanks, stars in this incredible true Cold War Story that showcases a remarkable story that you may know the basics of, but this movie spells out the whole amazing story. This takes place over a few year period from 1957, into the early 1960's when the Cold War with the Soviet Union was in full force. It's the story of a "spy swap" that tested both sides, the United States and Russia on their resolve in their belief systems. Democracy versus Communism, plain and simple.
Hanks plays Jim Donovan, who was a simple insurance lawyer in Brooklyn when the firm where he works is assigned to defend a recently captured Soviet spy in America. He defends the spy with vigor and diligence, making sure that he gets a fair trial, even when the system is asking he not. Donovan foresees that the death penalty may not be the right thing, and asks reminds the judge that there may be a day when the Russians have one of our guys, and a swap may be prudent.
And that becomes reality when the Soviets shoot down an American U2 pilot and capture him. Now we each have one. The government then contracts Donovan again, this time asking him to broker the swap as a private citizen and not as an official representative of our government. Donovan takes the job and begins a fascinating journey that takes him to the other side of the world to make the deal, all the while trying not to fire up even more tensions between the Superpowers.
This is just a very well done drama that is really back to basics movie making. You take a great story that most don't know. Write a great script, and cast the right guy in it. You find the right director (Steven Spielberg) create amazing sets, and costuming and you have a great flick. This is a wonderful period piece that takes us right back to an era gone by. This is intense, and suspenseful and reminds us just how good movies really can be if we do them right. This is amazingly refreshing, and just flat out good.
Some knowledge of the era is helpful before you go, but this is careful not to shoot over your head, and takes its time to explain carefully and set the stage so all can hang on. This is not an action flick with tons of effects, this is just straight forward movie making that is ushering in the strong movie season which is now upon us.
Bridge Of Spies. One of the years best movies.
Tuesday, October 13, 2015
MOVIE REVIEW - Sicario
Here comes a real powerful and intense movie for the fall with an all-star cast, Sicario.
Sicario stars Josh Brolin, Emily Blunt, Benecio del Toro, and a great supporting cast in one of the years best movies. But in fairness, this movie is certainly not for everyone. This is graphic, violent and very intense. It is a movie essentially about the cooperation, or lack of, between various crime fighting agencies of the U.S. Government and how they are attempting to deal with brutal drug cartels from Mexico.
This movie focuses mostly on the city of Juarez, Mexico which is just over the El Paso, Texas border. In real life is about the worst place on earth, resembling more of a third world country war zone than a city in North America. This actual story is far too complicated to go into in this short review, but these agencies are trying to keep a lid as best they can on the various cartels that are battling for power and supplying this country with tons of illegal drugs. Plus, this makes you wonder who really are he good guys, and who are not.
This is quite good, but you have to be willing to go to the mat with this one. It moves fast, and explains much along the way quickly. This takes you on various missions these crime fighters go on deep inside the worst places on the planet. This move does a great job of putting you right in the action with terrific photography, slick editing and an incredibly intense music soundtrack that makes your heart pound even on the chopper ride into Juarez.
This develops characters extremely well for a movie of this ilk. Oscar winner del Toro is again incredible, and should receive Oscar mentions again for this role. Blunt is great with her American accent as she plays an FBI agent well over her head in an incredibly dangerous part of the world. Brolin is almost always great in any movie including here, and the supporting cast is wonderful.
This is brutal at times, and is rated a hard R. This movie pulls very few punches and shows the horrendous conditions, and situations these people go to and live in. This is not for the squeamish. But if you love a good drug cartel, crime fighting flick that strives for authenticity, this is your movie.
Sicario. Really great, well done.
Sicario stars Josh Brolin, Emily Blunt, Benecio del Toro, and a great supporting cast in one of the years best movies. But in fairness, this movie is certainly not for everyone. This is graphic, violent and very intense. It is a movie essentially about the cooperation, or lack of, between various crime fighting agencies of the U.S. Government and how they are attempting to deal with brutal drug cartels from Mexico.
This movie focuses mostly on the city of Juarez, Mexico which is just over the El Paso, Texas border. In real life is about the worst place on earth, resembling more of a third world country war zone than a city in North America. This actual story is far too complicated to go into in this short review, but these agencies are trying to keep a lid as best they can on the various cartels that are battling for power and supplying this country with tons of illegal drugs. Plus, this makes you wonder who really are he good guys, and who are not.
This is quite good, but you have to be willing to go to the mat with this one. It moves fast, and explains much along the way quickly. This takes you on various missions these crime fighters go on deep inside the worst places on the planet. This move does a great job of putting you right in the action with terrific photography, slick editing and an incredibly intense music soundtrack that makes your heart pound even on the chopper ride into Juarez.
This develops characters extremely well for a movie of this ilk. Oscar winner del Toro is again incredible, and should receive Oscar mentions again for this role. Blunt is great with her American accent as she plays an FBI agent well over her head in an incredibly dangerous part of the world. Brolin is almost always great in any movie including here, and the supporting cast is wonderful.
This is brutal at times, and is rated a hard R. This movie pulls very few punches and shows the horrendous conditions, and situations these people go to and live in. This is not for the squeamish. But if you love a good drug cartel, crime fighting flick that strives for authenticity, this is your movie.
Sicario. Really great, well done.
Monday, October 12, 2015
MOVIE REVIEW - The Walk
The new movie, The Walk is out with Joseph Gordon- Levitt, and is totally worth seeing.
This is based on a true story from 1974 about a French tight-rope, or wire-walker, Philippe who sets out to walk a line between the twin towers of the World Trade Center. This movie in itself is a balancing act between a really interesting story, and one bogged down in the slow build-up. But in the end, the movie saves itself.
The World Trade Center was not quite finished when Philippe decided to attempt this incredibly illegal, and questionable stunt. So much of this movie, is the planning, and calculating on how to get the wire stretched across the 140 foot span between the towers, at a height of around 1,400 feet above the street. And being honest, that is pretty interesting stuff on how they did it. There's just way too much of it. Yes, this movie bogs itself down in its own intelligence for a while, and you may be on the verge of yelling, "C'mon! Let's go here!" Then it pays you off like you never see coming.
The actual walk is so wonderfully done that the slow burn to get there is a distant memory. It is spine tingling, and very intense. The photography and the way it is done, you are out there on the wire with Philippe, and you are nervous with sweaty palmed stuff. Plus, I saw this in splendid -D, and that was done wonderfully too. This is also available to you in IMAX in some areas and that would be terrific. There have been reports of patrons getting sick from the dizziness, the angles and the heights, which I guess is a possibility. But for me, it was simply thrilling. I walked across a wire between the World Trade Center towers, and I couldn't fall.
Among the things this movie does very well, is pay tribute to the now vanished towers. It is good to see them in all their glory again, proud and majestic. Philippe honors them in his dialogue, as does the movie by painting them as to what they really were. Structures so incredible, they became living, breathing things till the end. That is a really nice surprise in this movie. When it could have been easy just to use them as props.
The Walk. Thrilling, wonderful and worth the watch. Go get a thrill!
This is based on a true story from 1974 about a French tight-rope, or wire-walker, Philippe who sets out to walk a line between the twin towers of the World Trade Center. This movie in itself is a balancing act between a really interesting story, and one bogged down in the slow build-up. But in the end, the movie saves itself.
The World Trade Center was not quite finished when Philippe decided to attempt this incredibly illegal, and questionable stunt. So much of this movie, is the planning, and calculating on how to get the wire stretched across the 140 foot span between the towers, at a height of around 1,400 feet above the street. And being honest, that is pretty interesting stuff on how they did it. There's just way too much of it. Yes, this movie bogs itself down in its own intelligence for a while, and you may be on the verge of yelling, "C'mon! Let's go here!" Then it pays you off like you never see coming.
The actual walk is so wonderfully done that the slow burn to get there is a distant memory. It is spine tingling, and very intense. The photography and the way it is done, you are out there on the wire with Philippe, and you are nervous with sweaty palmed stuff. Plus, I saw this in splendid -D, and that was done wonderfully too. This is also available to you in IMAX in some areas and that would be terrific. There have been reports of patrons getting sick from the dizziness, the angles and the heights, which I guess is a possibility. But for me, it was simply thrilling. I walked across a wire between the World Trade Center towers, and I couldn't fall.
Among the things this movie does very well, is pay tribute to the now vanished towers. It is good to see them in all their glory again, proud and majestic. Philippe honors them in his dialogue, as does the movie by painting them as to what they really were. Structures so incredible, they became living, breathing things till the end. That is a really nice surprise in this movie. When it could have been easy just to use them as props.
The Walk. Thrilling, wonderful and worth the watch. Go get a thrill!
Tuesday, October 6, 2015
MOVIE REVIEW - The Green Inferno
In all honesty, this may be the worst movie I have ever seen.
The Green Inferno is a new flick that is supposed to be scary - I think. It's that time of the year where scare is in. And sadly no one really makes scary anymore, they just make raunchy and horrible. And then there is this, which could be as objectionable as any movie in recent memory. This is nasty, distasteful, and about as offensive as a movie can get. Even in a genre where it seems all bets are off.
This is the story of a bunch of college kids who decide to become activists and travel to the Amazon in Peru, South America to protest a natural gas company. The company is on the verge of running an ancient tribe out of existence in order to drill for natural gas. They are bent on stopping them, armed with their cell phones, and social media. And they seem successful when the operation goes world wide on video, and the company backs down.
As our kids are returning, they are in a small craft plane crash and are trapped deep in the Amazon, where they are captured by this tribe. They soon find out that this tribe is bunch of ravenous cannibals, literally. This then becomes the story of how these kids can possible escape before they are literally, butchered, smoked, carved up and eaten by this tribe. Sound fun?
After the first friend is dismembered while he is still alive, and then prepared, seasoned, cooked, smoked and eaten for all to see, they then try to escape. This is loaded with extreme gore, blood, and flat out nastiness that is simply brutal to watch. They show adults and young children eating humans and enjoying every bit of it. This is so over the top, and sick, it loses all allure of the absolute minimal it had. They also decide to explore and show, at length, the ancient and horrible practice of female circumcision. This entire enterprise is simply flabbergasting, and insanely horrendous to watch.
This is brutal, ghastly, and appalling movie making. Nothing wrong with slasher flicks or the like, but this is line crossing in every regard. First off, the story is dumb, the acting is atrocious, and this paints everyone in an horrible light. The affluent students are the dumbest people on earth. And the tribe is painted as the worst people in the history of the world. This is simply a waste of time, money and effort. This is so horrible, I can't fathom anyone coming out out of this and feeling the slightest bit entertained.
If they set out to make this as brutal, and as totally disturbing as possible, they did it. This for some reason deals with every imaginable nastiness you can even think of for one hour and forty-five agonizing minutes.
The Green Inferno. As bad as movies can get.
The Green Inferno is a new flick that is supposed to be scary - I think. It's that time of the year where scare is in. And sadly no one really makes scary anymore, they just make raunchy and horrible. And then there is this, which could be as objectionable as any movie in recent memory. This is nasty, distasteful, and about as offensive as a movie can get. Even in a genre where it seems all bets are off.
This is the story of a bunch of college kids who decide to become activists and travel to the Amazon in Peru, South America to protest a natural gas company. The company is on the verge of running an ancient tribe out of existence in order to drill for natural gas. They are bent on stopping them, armed with their cell phones, and social media. And they seem successful when the operation goes world wide on video, and the company backs down.
As our kids are returning, they are in a small craft plane crash and are trapped deep in the Amazon, where they are captured by this tribe. They soon find out that this tribe is bunch of ravenous cannibals, literally. This then becomes the story of how these kids can possible escape before they are literally, butchered, smoked, carved up and eaten by this tribe. Sound fun?
After the first friend is dismembered while he is still alive, and then prepared, seasoned, cooked, smoked and eaten for all to see, they then try to escape. This is loaded with extreme gore, blood, and flat out nastiness that is simply brutal to watch. They show adults and young children eating humans and enjoying every bit of it. This is so over the top, and sick, it loses all allure of the absolute minimal it had. They also decide to explore and show, at length, the ancient and horrible practice of female circumcision. This entire enterprise is simply flabbergasting, and insanely horrendous to watch.
This is brutal, ghastly, and appalling movie making. Nothing wrong with slasher flicks or the like, but this is line crossing in every regard. First off, the story is dumb, the acting is atrocious, and this paints everyone in an horrible light. The affluent students are the dumbest people on earth. And the tribe is painted as the worst people in the history of the world. This is simply a waste of time, money and effort. This is so horrible, I can't fathom anyone coming out out of this and feeling the slightest bit entertained.
If they set out to make this as brutal, and as totally disturbing as possible, they did it. This for some reason deals with every imaginable nastiness you can even think of for one hour and forty-five agonizing minutes.
The Green Inferno. As bad as movies can get.
Monday, October 5, 2015
MOVIE REVIEW - The Martian
An all-star cast leads the way in the new space adventure drama, The Martian.
Matt Damon leads a big cast in a movie that is being hailed by critics and fans alike. The Martian is also directed by Ridley Scott, and based on a huge novel from a few years ago, so it seems everything is in place for a really good flick. And overall, it is good. But I am not going to be quite as glowing as some of the national critics. I would call his great movie making, more than a great movie.
This is the story of a series of NASA manned missions to Mars in the future, although they do not make that overly clear when that is. NASA has a base on Mars for an extended missions, when a horrible storm hits, forcing the crew to abandon the base and escape the planet. During the storm, they lose one of their own crew, and assume him dead and are forced to leave him behind. Trouble is, he is not dead. This then becomes the story of trying to rescue him and bring him back alive, knowing it will take years for a mission to be a reality.
This is kind of a mix of a few movies. A bit Gravity, and bit Apollo 13, and a bit Castaway in it's story line. This movie looks great. The sets are magnificent no matter how they did them, either a combination of computers and real building, they look incredible. The special effects are so good, they are hardly special, they just look like part of the landscape. The props, and costuming are terrific, and the performances are strong for the most part.
Trouble here, this is a bit far-fetched and really tough to believe even for science fiction, being it's a movie that isn't a total fantasy. It's a bit too convenient and predictable at times. In fact, the big plot twist you''ll see coming from light years away. And some, not all of this at times looks a bit silly. What made Apollo 13 so great, was that it was truth, and based on real people. This goes for that feeling, but falls short of A13's amazing emotional impact.
But there is much to like here. This is good movie making, with a story that is really imaginative at times, and very formula at times. Like Gravity, this is escapism, and that's fine too sometimes. Is this a great movie? No. But it's pretty darn good.
The Martian. A much needed jump start to the fall movie season.
Matt Damon leads a big cast in a movie that is being hailed by critics and fans alike. The Martian is also directed by Ridley Scott, and based on a huge novel from a few years ago, so it seems everything is in place for a really good flick. And overall, it is good. But I am not going to be quite as glowing as some of the national critics. I would call his great movie making, more than a great movie.
This is the story of a series of NASA manned missions to Mars in the future, although they do not make that overly clear when that is. NASA has a base on Mars for an extended missions, when a horrible storm hits, forcing the crew to abandon the base and escape the planet. During the storm, they lose one of their own crew, and assume him dead and are forced to leave him behind. Trouble is, he is not dead. This then becomes the story of trying to rescue him and bring him back alive, knowing it will take years for a mission to be a reality.
This is kind of a mix of a few movies. A bit Gravity, and bit Apollo 13, and a bit Castaway in it's story line. This movie looks great. The sets are magnificent no matter how they did them, either a combination of computers and real building, they look incredible. The special effects are so good, they are hardly special, they just look like part of the landscape. The props, and costuming are terrific, and the performances are strong for the most part.
Trouble here, this is a bit far-fetched and really tough to believe even for science fiction, being it's a movie that isn't a total fantasy. It's a bit too convenient and predictable at times. In fact, the big plot twist you''ll see coming from light years away. And some, not all of this at times looks a bit silly. What made Apollo 13 so great, was that it was truth, and based on real people. This goes for that feeling, but falls short of A13's amazing emotional impact.
But there is much to like here. This is good movie making, with a story that is really imaginative at times, and very formula at times. Like Gravity, this is escapism, and that's fine too sometimes. Is this a great movie? No. But it's pretty darn good.
The Martian. A much needed jump start to the fall movie season.
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