PAINT

Playing a mock copy of Bob Ross, Owen Wilson stars as Carl Nargle, PBS's #1 show in the Burlington, Vermont area. Carl is the talk of the town until one day, a competitor Ambrosia (Ciara Renée) is hired on to assist with the slumping ratings outside of Carl's 1-hour show, Paint. The 2 couldn't be anymore different as Carl is stuck in the past with his rotary telephones, Bob Ross fro, and paints only naturistic pictures; while Ambrosia is an openly gay painter, unapologetically still living with her parents, and has more of a variety with her work. The film is somewhat funny but is more in the tone of a NAPOLEON DYNAMITE/NACHO LIBRE type of humor (awkward at times humor). I could see this having the makings of a cult classic one day but outside of a few jokes and a touching story of how Carl never got over the love of his life Katherine (Michaela Watkins), who works at the station with him, there isn't a lot here and probably not worth many people's time. 6/10

All The President's Men was on the Movies! TV Network tonight.

TO CATCH A KILLER

Baltimore police officer Eleanor Falco (Shailene Woodley) is hired on as a liaison between the BPD and the FBI after a very brief introduction to the head of the FBI task force in charge of the case, Geoffrey Lammark (Ben Mendelsohn). The case follows a lone sniper who kills 29 random individuals on New Year's Eve, using the fireworks as cover to shield his gunfire. The trailer for this looked decent enough and with Woodley & Mendelsohn onboard, it also gives the film some cred. However, the execution left me wanting more. While the story is very intriguing as the killer leaves no evidence of any kind behind, it never broke past the barrier from good to great and I can't quite put my finger on it. The film is most certainly watchable and does keep the audience guessing from time to time. I guess anytime any momentum was built up, it was quickly dissipated but another scene that didn't capitalize on the previous one. Woodley does a fine job here but was surprised at how stereotypical they made Eleanor to be from time-to-time as she's made to carry a crying baby out of an interview so Mendelsohn could finish it and another time she's coming around a coffee tray around the office for everyone. 6/10

THE COVENANT

Jake Gyllenhaal stars as Master Sergeant John Kinley. He's a hard-nosed Sergeant, who while trying to keep his men alive in Afghanistan, can at times come off as a prick as well. In need of a new interpreter after his previous one is killed, John enlists Ahmed (Dar Salim) a mechanic and translator, who hates the Taliban because they killed his son. Ahmed is as strong willed as John and as such, they butt heads from time-to-time (however, Ahmed's instincts are always right, even when smoking out another interpreter's instructions to take a certain road that's prepped for an ambush of the team). However, when one of their routine missions 3 hours away from base goes awry, John is momentarily taken hostage by the Taliban: that is until Ahmed intervenes and kills all of the hostiles. He then drags John back to the base, again, a 3 hour drive by car. At this point, the film should have been renamed DON'T F*CK WITH THE INTERPRETER as Ahmed is nothing short of a bad ass! There's an intense and gripping chase scene that precludes this when John and Ahmed are attempting to flee the area after John's squad has been killed. This is one of Guy Ritchie's best films and his cinematography is a bit more formal due to the subject matter but he still experiments with a few shots that are nicely executed. Gyllenhaal is masterful as the Master Sergeant who, after being rescued and sent back home, must return to Afghanistan in order to rescue Ahmed from the Taliban, who's now on their most wanted list for saving John's life. 7.5/10

I really enjoyed The Covenant, Irish. Good review. Did you see Lone Survivor? That's one of my favorite movies

Thanks Gia and no, I have not seen LOVE SURVIVOR. I think it was recommended to me a few years ago but I never got around to seeing it.

Oh man if you enjoyed The Covenant and you enjoy movies of that nature then PLEASE see Lone Survivor!! I would be quite surprised if you didn't like that one. I still think about it from time to time. It's based on the United States Navy SEALs counter-insurgent mission Operation Red Wings

Based on true events or no?

Based on absolutely true events. I'm sure Hollywood took some dramatic license while making this movie, but the main story is true.

Let me know if you see it. I'd love to see your review about that one.

Thanks Gia. Will have to add it to the list. Will post my review when I'm able to catch it.

Jacir….. very good movie. Gives great insight to what incredible difficulties good immigrants with good intentions face in their lives.

3/12 stars

Watched LONE SURVIVOR today Gia. Check out my review in the other thread.

"A MAN CALLED OTTO" (2020)

In ths latest entry into the Grumpy Olld Man franchise, Tom Hanks plays Otto Anderson, ageing widower, suicidal, who spends his days patrolling the one street of his development, shouting at people who don't display their parking passes, pointing fingers and generally being a pain in the ass. A pregnant Hispanic woman and her inept husband move in across thou ystreet and keep asking for Otto's help, which he gives, grudgingly, but they gradually awaken his better alngels, finally leading to his rejoining the human race. This movie is broad, to say the least, but the wince-y scenes don't drag the movie down because Hanks is just so damned good at what he does. Just when you expect the worst, he gives you a reason to want to like him, and stick with the film. Very good.

Yes , very good flick T.

BLOOD & GOLD

Germany, Spring 1945: the war is nearing it's conclusion and private Heinrich (Robert Maaser) abandons his post in order to be reunited with his daughter, whom he's never met as he's been fighting since the war began 6 years prior. Captured by his peers, he's left hanging from a branch for treason until local farmer Elsa (Marie Hacke) finds and cuts him down before it's too late. Heinrich's former company proceeds to the next town in order to steal 31 gold bars that are believed to have been left behind by a Jewish family before being sent away to a concentration camp. However, when his company goes back to Elsa's farm in order to obtain supplies, they realize Henrich is not dead as he wages a war upon them. The film feels very much like Quentin Tarantino's INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS, without the overly stylized violence and deaths. The film tells a serious story yet losses a lot of momentum towards its conclusion. From the trailer I was expecting something along the lines of QT or an exploitation film from yester years but this is neither of those. Still a decent film but just know what you're getting into before hand. 6/10

SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE

Miles Morales follows up his hit 2018 debut with a story that's being played out across all comic film storylines nowadays (DR. STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS, this film, and right on it's heels just 2 short weeks away, THE FLASH). The premise is simple enough, Spider-man exists across other dimensions but when Miles attempts to save someone who is meant to die, he puts all other universes in peril. The animation is still top notch and at times it looks like a living, breathing, comic book. New Spider-men are, at times, exhaustively introduced (whereas the first film only had 5 others to keep up with). And while many of them are only cameo's who serve as Easter eggs for the diehards, or have a one-liner, it became a little much. In addition, the story at times starts and stops too much, like a teenager getting behind the wheel of a car for the first time, too heavy on the gas immediately followed up with too heavy on the brake. The story leaves with a cliffhanger, nicely setting up SPIDER-MAN: BEYOND THE SPIDER-VERSE to be released in March 2024. Despite these flaws, this is still a film worth checking out, especially if you enjoyed the previous installment. I just preferred that to this sequel. 6.5/10

I watched Once Upon A Time In The West last night, so you get to hear this....

TRANSFORMERS: RISE OF THE BEASTS

Set in 1994 New York, the Transformers join forces with the Maximals to take on a planet eating entity known as Unicron to both save Earth, as well as their home planet. Attempting to reboot the franchise, this film isn't as bloated as some of the previous Michael Bay entries from earlier in the franchise. Anthony Ramos stars as Noah Diaz, a former service member who was dishonorably discharged when he left the service to tend to his ailing younger brother. Unable to find steady employment as a result, Noah turns to car jacking until his first attempt is a Porsche that just so happens to be Mirage. From there, he's entrenched with the robots on their quest to stop Unicron's most trusted henchman Scourge and Unicron himself. With the exception of the very first Transformers movie, these have all unfortunately been the same to me: fantastic CGI but a thin story that barely keeps me engaged throughout the runtime and this film is no exception. Unless you're here strictly for the eye candy, you're going to be disappointed. The story attempts to pull at the audiences heartstrings with the sick younger brother of our star Noah, but he's teamed up with Elena (Dominique Fishback), who's an archeological intern at a museum who knows more than her boss yet receives none of the credit for her knowledge. The pair of her and Noah don't work and honestly, Fishback appears to be a fish out of water here as she brings very little to the table during her screen time. A nice cliffhanger at the end that will definitely pique the audiences interest. Let's just hope they can execute (if we even get that far and this movie is positively received both critically and financially). 6/10

MASTER GARDENER

From writer/director Paul Schrader, Joel Edgerton stars as Narvel Roth, a gardener who works at Gracewood Gardens which is owned by Norma Haverhill (Sigourney Weaver). However, when Norma's sister dies, her grandniece Myra (Quintessa Swindell) comes to live with her and become an apprentice under Narvel. But, Narvel has a dark past that catches up with him as he grows further away from Norma and closer to young Myra. At times, this film gave me vibes of Nicolas Winding Refn's DRIVE, where Narvel looks to protect a young and vulnerable woman by taking the law into his own hands without fear of repercussions (although without as good of a soundtrack). Norma and Narvel have a complicated and at times, fraught relationship. There scenes together are a pleasure to watch as they seem to want to outdo the other. I was also impressed with Swindell who plays the troubled young woman, allowing herself to be vulnerable and for a moment, a victim yet finding her strength before all's said and done. The film is tight and watchable, although like so many others, tries to be more than what it is. 6/10

Wife is looking forward to this , I’m sure i will catch it with her and post back on it.

Be curious what you and the Mrs. think of it DP.

I just watched Sisu and that was a fun ride, if you through out some of the logical principles you can enjoy the movie. The actors do a good job, not to just get a paycheck, you know as in flat like so many movies that have come out. You are pretty much engage throughout the whole movie.

THE FLASH

This film finally sees the light of day to the general public! Ezra Miller stars as Barry Allen, the speedster who lost both his mother and father due to the same tragic accident (his mother was murdered and his father was framed for it). In an attempt to save his parents, Barry stumbles upon his ability to travel into other universes; however, as we have always been warned, changing events of the past will always necessitate with future events being altered as well (aka The Butterfly Effect). I'll begin by saying I'm glad Warner Bros. decided to release this film and didn't can it as it was an enjoyable ride. Some of the jokes fell flat but there's plenty of Easter eggs and geek moments that make up for it. In addition, the film brings Michael Keaton back as Batman who has a very sizeable role here which was refreshing. Not just the 1 or 2 scene cameos. It also introduces a new Supergirl (Sasha Calle) and the return of Michael Shannon as General Zod. Both Supergirl and Zod are relegated to the third act and don't have much screen time but this film has a lot of heart and pulls at the audiences heartstrings a few times throughout. However, some of the build up in the story seemed to be going in circles and was quite repetitive. Not withstanding, the film is a solid entry for DC, one of their best offerings and if the powers that be green light a sequel, I'd very much be interested. Just go in with tempered expectations. A good movie? Yes. A great movie? Somewhat debatable. One of the best superhero movies of all-time? Hype. 7/10

NO HARD FEELINGS

Maddie Barker (Jennifer Lawrence) agrees to date 19-year-old Percy Becker (Andrew Barth Feldman) before he heads off to college. Maddie, in need of a car after hers was impounded, takes Percy's parents up on their Craigslist ad which promised a car in exchange for dating their son and getting him out of his shell before he heads off to Princeton. What insures for the rest of the film is plenty of Maddie throwing herself at Percy, who's too sheltered to notice and at other times, too shy to respond. Lawrence and Feldman play well together with Maddie being the older, more mature, and experienced, trying to get Percy into bed. I give a tip of the hat to Feldman as he plays the socially awkward teenage quite well. Fortunately, there's laughs to go around as this isn't a movie where all of the funny parts are in the trailer and there's nothing left once your inside of the theater. Not worth venturing out to the theaters to see but you could find worse ways to spend 103 minutes once it's available to stream. 6/10

THE BLACKENING

8 friends who haven't been all together in 10 years, rent a house in the woods to reconnect over the Juneteenth holiday. However, before their bags are even unpacked, there's a killer on the loose looking to make them his next victims. The film sadly relies (lazily I might add) to white people jokes, which accounts for about three-quarters of jokes told throughout the film. However, these are front loaded into the film so once you get past them, it's most easily digestible. In addition to playing on the trope of black people never survive horror movies, this looks to rewrite that narrative. The film does a nice job of being both horror and comedy, never being too campy or too much of a spoof; but rather seemed to take the subject matter more seriously. Unfortunately, the reveal of who the killer(s) wasn't much of a surprise as it's quite predictable yet they still do manage to thrown in a twist before all's said and done. The only stand out I can take the time to credit is Jermaine Fowler as Clifton: a smart, yet unsterotypical character who has some of the best jokes. Overall though, the film is very average and nothing to write home about. 5/10

We saw it today, i scored this a bit higher, I’m a 7.5 wife agrees with your score.

We both love the performance of every actor..
We both thought the scene shots were very good and writing really well done.

This makes the story line easy to follow and believable, people like this do exist and may sometimes come together.

Good flick.

FLAMIN' HOT

The true life story of Richard Montañez (Jesse Garcia), who works as a janitor at Frito Lays and whose entrepreneurial spirit inspires the inclusion (and explosion) of the Latino market.The story is inspirational but yet can't help itself to exclude the racist environment Richard was living in at the time. So while all white men are bad, they still gave him his shot and transformed his entire life. Average performances from all involved, this is a straight forward (and somewhat wanna-be gangster) film. Although at the end of the day, as the old saying goes, it's good to see the cream rise to the top. 5.5/10

SANCTUARY

Christopher Abbott (Hal) engages in and attempts to end a dominatrix/submissive relationship with Rebecca (Margaret Qualley). Hal's father, who was the head of a $185 million dollar hotel empire, recently dies and leaves the business in Hal's hands. However, after a final session with his mistress, Hal can't break free from Rebecca's string of lies. A decent enough film that allows both characters to express their own individual desires, even if at times, they are completely making them up in order to serve their own purposes. Nothing out of the ordinary here but keep your eyes on Rebecca as she has more to lose than Hal. 6/10

I think I am going to watch this again, I rarely rewatch movies I saw so recent but I think the movie has a very intriguing lure to it and think I know the exact scenes that could have been done better. Will follow up on which of those scenes I am thinking of.

We scored this a bit higher, a real feel good flick amd yes, it is refreshing to see the cream rise to the top.