Tag: Good

Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw is a Punctuated Film Title

The review:

Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw* is ably directed by David Leitch and a worthy addition into the Fast & Furious enterprise.** Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham are a great anti-buddy pair while Idris Elba makes a scene chomping (in a good way) villain. The movie does thing thing where the characters travel all over the globe*** in order to boost its international box office draw, and they end up in “Samoa”**** where a bunch of Samoan men somewhat alleviate the lack of Vin Diesel.*****

The verdict: Good

Cost: $8.35
Where watched: Regal City Center Stadium 12, when I should have been doing other things

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*The double ampersand in the title might be some sort of shark jumping indication for this franchise
**Good lord, is there anything in this world so ridiculously entertaining as a Fast & Furious movie (that is not 2 Fast 2 Furious or The Fast and the Furious Tokyo Drift)?
***They seem to appear in these new locations as if by magic or Star Trek transponder; even air travel is too slow for the Fast & Furious bunch.
****Hawaii gets the role of Samoa in this film.
*****Though I like many things about this installment of the franchise, Mr. Diesel is, and has always been, my reason for watching.

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

Helen Mirren reprises her role from The Fate of the Furious (2017) as Shaw’s mother. She originally landed the role after she had indicated her desire to be part of the franchise one day, and the producers were happy to accommodate her.

A Serious Man is Full of Serious Expressions

The review:

Ethan and Joel Coen are not in any hurry to tell Larry Gopnik’s story in A Serious Man which makes for a meditative viewing experience. The gradual decay Mr. Gopnik’s life is expertly captured by Michael Stuhlbarg* and his misfortune lays the foundation for our entertainment. It’s a slow-moving movie in nearly every way, but constantly amusing and the period details are great.**

The verdict: Good

Cost: Netflix monthly fee ($8.99)
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching these Coen favorites:

Further sentences:

*He has such good facial expressions!
**Also well captured: the amount of profanity spoken in early adolescence. I suspect the ages of 12—15 are peak profanity for most youth.

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

The Coen Brothers stated that the opening scene was nothing more than a little short that they made up to get the audience in the proper mood, and that there is no meaning behind it.

Veronica Mars: The Best Movie for Marshmallows

The review:

The inception of Rob Thomas’ Veronica Mars* ranks as one of the few great movie-related surprises of my adult life.** It’s a movie with a lot of fan service, but it also has a credible plot and we get to check in on our favorite characters from the TV show, now firmly in their adult lives. A 100-minute movie can’t be as satisfying as the 64 episodes that came before it, but when you think something’s over and it comes back to life, that’s some kind of magic.

The verdict: Recommended

Cost: We have a DVD that may have come from the Kickstarter campaign?
Where watched: at home, with Matt***

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*The movie, not to be confused with the series of the same name.
**The other two: Before Sunset, Before Midnight
***Matt was around as I watched the three seasons this month. He remembered a lot more about each episode than I did. This was the only thing he sat through with me this time around.

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

Funded in large part by a campaign on Kickstarter.com, breaking all of the site’s records up to April, 2013. Some of the accomplishments were: Fastest project to reach one million dollars. Fastest project to reach two million dollars. All-time highest-funded project in the film category. Third highest-funded project in Kickstarter history. Most project backers of any project in Kickstarter history.

When in Rome: Is It a Good Movie?

The review:

Mark Steven Johnson’s When in Rome* is a perfectly competent entry into the second-tier rom-com cannon. It leans heavily on the comedy part of the equation—Dax Shepard, Jon Heder, Will Arnett and Danny DeVito all play enchanted suitors—and the comedy would perhaps be enhanced by having drunk a few adult beverages before watching. This is a movie that isn’t bad, but also is barely holding on to its Good rating.**

The verdict: Good

Cost: $3.99 via Google Play
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*True story: I was jonesing for some Kristen Bell—I had just read a Vanity Fair article with interviews with the cast of Veronica Mars—and remembered that this movie was the genesis of the Kristen Bell/Dax Shepard relationship. Then, I mistakenly assumed that he was the lead and was initially confused as to why Josh Duhamel was taking up so much screen time.
**Perhaps due to the above confusion, I wasn’t fully rooting for the couple. But Kristen Bell’s friends are fun, it’s an interesting premise, and Rome looks good.

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

After her return from Rome, Beth receives a phone call from Joan informing her that she is front page news due to her climbing into the Fountain of Love. A cutaway shows a newspaper with the headline “Stupidissima.” This translates not simply as “stupid,” but rather as “the pinnacle of stupidity.”

I no longer remember the context of this line, but I think it’s good advice, no?

The Last Summer is a breezy viewing experience

The review:

William Bindley captures the Last Summer (the one after high school and before college) in this pleasant ensemble movie that is as breezy as the wind off Lake Michigan.* Maia Mitchell and K.J. Apa** are the main twosome, playing an aspiring filmmaker and musician, but there’s also Sosie Bacon*** as a girl hoping to get into her fourth-choice college, and Halston Sage**** who has a meet-cute with a baseball player during a Cubs game.***** It’s not an earth shattering movie, but that summer after high school is, in some ways, the last gasp before real life starts and I appreciate having a 2019-era chronicle of it.

The verdict: Good

Cost: Netflix monthly fee ($8.99)
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*I’ve not actually been to Chicago and so I have no idea if there is wind off of Lake Michigan in the summer, but that sentence needed an ending, so there it is.
**His face is so symmetrical that I have trouble looking away from it.
***I also enjoy Sosie Bacon. I think it has to do partially with her genetic material (mother is Kyra Sedgwick who imprinted on me in Singles, father is Kevin Bacon, of well, every movie, to at least the sixth degree) and partially because she’s got a laid-back frowny vibe which I enjoy.
****So very good in Before I Fall and Paper Towns
*****There are a few other plots involving boys—most memorably two nerdy guys who accidentally pass themselves off as stock traders so they can drink in a bar—but I only have three sentences and we’re already at fifth-level asterisks.

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

Both K.J. Apa and Maia Mitchell are not orginally from the United States. Apa is from New Zealand and Mitchell from Australia.

Perfect Bid: Place a bet on this one

The review:

C.J. Wallis’ Perfect Bid: The Contestant Who Knew Too Much is gripping, and exists at the intersection of Quirky Fellow Avenue and Super Nice Guy Way. For anyone with more than a few hours of the game show the Price is Right under their belt,* this will be a nostalgic walk back to “Come on down! You’re the next contestant on the Price is Right,” and the showcase showdown, and all those models pointing at things.** Ultimately, Theodore Slauson is a good guy*** and his fascination with, and attempts to get on, the game show make for a surprisingly engaging documentary.****

The verdict: Good

Cost: Netflix monthly fee ($8.99)
Where watched: at home

Further sentences:

*Guilty! I watched this show a lot during my pre-teen and early teenage years, especially during the summer.
**Not to mention the inherent sexism intertwined with Barkers Beauties, but this documentary is not about that. (That sounds like it would be an also interesting, yet much less cheery, documentary.)
***The show also interviews Roger Dobkowitz, the longtime producer of the show, and Bob Barker. All interviews look on the bright side of things.
****I found the ending to be slipshod. Is the current situation with the show as Drew Carey has outlined, that there are now just too many prizes to memorize?

Toy Story 2 Is Okay

(Sorry, I couldn’t help myself. It was years between me finding the “Toy Story 2 was okay” graffiti and me finding that it was a thing. I actually think this movie is quite good.)

3SMReviews: Toy Story 2

The review:

John Lasseter and Ash Brannon’s Toy Story 2 continues the Toy Story story, mostly for better.* There are callbacks to the first movie** and many other movies (especially Star Wars movies) are quoted. There are plenty of laughs and the quality storytelling that Pixar is known for.

Verdict: Good

Cost: free from Multnomah County Library
Where watched: at home with the boyfriend in preparation for another installment of Filmspotting’s 9 from ’99.

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*My first twinge of annoyance was when all the guys went on a mission (the main plot of the film), with the lady toys seeing them off. What year is this? 1861? Maybe throw in some gender equity, you know because this was made right before the 21st century. My second twinge of annoyance was that an obese, hairy man (the only large person in the movie) was a bad guy. Fat and hairy doesn’t equal bad. Be a little inventive, Toy Story people.
**There’s a great Buzz Lightyear sequence in a toy store.

3SMReviews: Toy Story 2

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

John Ratzenberger, who does the voice of Hamm, has voiced a character in every film made by Pixar.

Charade is Fun to Look at

3SMReviews: Charade

The review:

I’ve seen bits of Stanley Donen’s Charade here and there,* but hadn’t watched the entire movie until now. What I found was the usual falling-in-love-for-no-reason** and a very low-key thriller.*** I find the doe-eyed enthusiasm of Hepburn trying at times (and especially in this film) but when I ignored the romance aspect, it was fun to try and figure out what was going on, plus there’s a great wardrobe to look at.

The verdict: Good

Cost: $3.99 via Google Play
Where watched: at home to catch up with Filmspotting’s Stanley Donen marathon.

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*I suspect that the bits I remember were part of commercials advertising this movie’s run on television in the 80s. I know I watched the first few minutes when I was 12 or so, but found the pacing not great, plus the commercials had told me there were some disturbing parts that my younger self wasn’t quite ready for.
**I mean seriously, I have no idea what caused Hepburn to go gaga over Grant and get all kissy with him. He was super sketchy to me. I suspect this can be blamed on male writers and directors. (“Oh those ladies will fall for any good looking man, no matter how much older or how much his story changes.)
***The things that scared me as a pre-teen barely raised my 40+-year-old heartbeat.

3SMReviews: Charade

Favorite IMDB Trivia Item:

Seven studios rejected the original screenplay. Screenwriter Peter Stone turned it into a novel which was serialized in Redbook, which in turn sparked interest from all seven studios.

On the Town: Good Dancing, Great Costumes

On the Town movie review 3SMReviews

The review:

Since they don’t make movies like Stanley Donen/Gene Kelly’s On the Town anymore, this movie gets a pass on a lot of things.* But it does have great musical numbers*** and that great color saturation that comes with movies from the (almost) 1950s. There are musicals where the story, song and dance meld together into a cohesive wholes and then there is this type where the story is something to pass the time while waiting for the next musical number.

The verdict:

Good, though only because I gave it a pass on a lot of things

Cost: free from library
Where watched: at home as part of Filmspotting’s Stanley Donen marathon.

Consider also watching:

  • Singing in the Rain
  • Seven Brides for Seven Brothers****
  • Chicago
  • The Sound of Music

Further sentences:

*Outmoded social norms,** a bit too long, a lack of even one very good song.
**Although the character of Brunhilde Esterhazy reminded me a lot of Melissa McCarthy’s character in Bridesmaids.
***I cringed through “Primitive Man” but did enjoy Ann Miller’s awesome green dress with the plaid lining.
****Also a cringe-y plot, but with amazing dancing, great songs and a cohesive story.

Favorite IMDB Trivia Item:

There was a real-life version of the “Miss Turnstiles” contest in New York City. “Miss Subways” was a beauty contest run by the New York Subways Advertising Company from 1941 to 1976. Subway cars featured posters of pretty young women who lived and worked in New York. Link is here.

On the Town movie review 3SMReviews

Blockers: Still funny the second time around.

Blockers 3SMReviews.com

I did a re-watch of Blockers so Matt could see an appreciate it’s comic stylings. He did. Original review here.

Cost: $1.50 from Redbox (it went away from Redbox, and was in $14.99 streaming rental purgatory for a while, but then it reappeared.)
Where watched: at home, with the aforementioned Matt.