Creed

Full disclosure, I haven't seen any of the Rocky films and went to see this one because my cousin is an extra, though you can't find her at all in the crowd scene so it basically doesn't even matter.
Adonis Johnson (Michael B. Jordan) has had a troubled past, with his mother dying young and then being shuffled around foster care and juvenile hall before finally being rescued by his father's widow, Maryann (Phylicia Rascad) who takes pity on her late husband's illegitimate child and takes him into her home and finishes raising him. He has a good office job and just got a promotion but he gives that all up and moves to Philadelphia so he can box full-time and even urges Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) out of retirement to be his mentor and trainer. Adonis tries and ultimately fails to keep his famous father's name out of everything and he struggles to get out of his father's epic legacy. Yes, he has other battles than just the ones in the ring.
Adonis has his relationship with Bianca (Tessa Thompson) who is a rising singer with hearing loss and then just when Adonis is finally starting to get out of his father's shadow, Rocky is diagnosed with cancer and refuses to undergo treatment because his wife died from cancer and he knows that that will also be his fate. Adonis gets into a huge fight and ends up in jail, albeit briefly. I mean, Rocky didn't call him his son or anything and then another singer refers to Adonis as baby Creed which just rubs him the wrong way.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, he decides that if he will continue to fight, then Rocky must fight also so Rocky decides to get chemo while Adonis trains for the fight of his life, against an Irishman who has never lost, is taller and far more experienced than Adonis.
That fight is epic, complete with blood and gore and Adonis has an eye that becomes swollen shut, which is most tragic, but he refuses to be knocked down and the fight, after twelve rounds, the fight is a draw, though the Irishman is given the victory but Creed has proven that he is a force to be reckoned with.
Now, though I didn't have any problems with the plot, I did have a few problems with the film, namely the relationship between Bianca and Adonis. Though I liked Bianca as a character, and like Thompson as an actress, I wish that they would have given Adonis a girlfriend with a normal job, maybe a teacher or something and the hearing loss is interesting. She gives him some advice, she wants to do what she wants as long as she can before her hearing is shot. I also hated that when she becomes angry with him and doesn't want to hear his pleading any longer, she merely takes out her hearing aids, though she can still probably hear him. I also hated the scene where Adonis is running through the streets and people form a ring of motorcycles around him. Yikes.
There were also plenty of realistic scenes, including the ones in the hospital, without making it look overly glamorous. I also especially enjoyed the scene where Rocky pulls up a chair and newspaper and talks to his dead wife at her tombstone. It was just so sweet.
The acting was also great and the camera work was incredible, mostly during the fight scenes. Michael B. Jordan is always great, though I thought he was much better in his previous collaboration with director Ryan Coolger, Fruitvale Station.
I also hope that history doesn't repeat itself. In 1976, Rocky beat a film about investigative reporting and now Creed threatens to do the same thing. Well, I hope that Spotlight wins. It is a much better film. Still, this film bears worth watching. Grade: B+

Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens

No, I will not be posting major spoilers like I normally do. So you can continue reading.
This is a very good film, easily just as good as the original trilogy. And the acting is even better.
There is something for everyone in this film, though most of the humor in the beginning is lost as the film progresses.
Finn (John Boyega, with a great American accent), Rey (the amazing Daisy Ridley) and Poe (Oscar Isaac) are the good guys while General Hux (Domnhall Geeson) and Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) are the bad guys. Each are good though the good guys are more developed than the evil characters but Ren has an interesting backstory. Pay attention to that.
Yes, all of the old characters we know and love are back: Han Solo (Harrison Ford), Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill, who gets second billing for his puny role), Leia (Carrie Fisher) and Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew). Sadly, all of the characters I just mentioned may not be alive by the time the film is finished.
Sure, a lot of the film seems old but new again, with different twists to the original film, some of which are refreshing such as having Rey being the main character and fighting for herself. My favorite line of hers is when she scolds Finn for constantly holding her hand. But she's also very lonely, having been abandoned by her family, left to scavenge for her food. Now, unfortunately, she is also the subject of the film's biggest plot hole, how in the world can she fly a spaceship so well? I would like to know, but it is necessary for the role and the film.
There are surprises both good and bad throughout this film and yes, it is exciting. The special effects are great, without making the first films look dreadful. There are also internal character struggles, something the first series largely lacked, which is great. My favorite scene was when Rey poured a mixture into water and stirred it, within seconds it puffed up and turned into fully cooked bread. I loved how this film paid attention to all the little details. Tragically, the film already did have a good ending in place, but then they tacked on another one, just for good measure. I understand why they added a second ending but I felt that it was unnecessary. Too bad, it was one of the only false notes in this film.
I could tell you more, but I can't. Please go see this film, you won't be disappointed. Grade: B+

The Middle: Not so Silent Night

The Hecks always have the craziest holidays and this Christmas is no exception.
It starts out fine, with food that Frankie (Patricia Heaton) might have even made for Christmas Eve dinner, actually looking normal but that feeling doesn't last. Frankie is determined to make it to church on time, only her watch fell in the toilet and all the clocks in the house say a different time. Frankie doesn't want to sit in the overflow room again so she decides to bag church. Mike (Neil Flynn) is thrilled. He doesn't need a present anymore because his back won't hurt from those church pews. Things don't go to plan, though. They never do in the Heck house. Sue (Eden Sher) takes a great family photo but when she goes to upload it to the computer, somehow, in a way that is never explained, all the pictures from the last seven years are gone, just like that, poof. Frankie has her rant about all the lost photos, like a trip down memory lane, two high school graduations, plenty of holidays including Thanksgiving with the marines, but things get worse when she can't find the pictures actually printed before the family went digital. She cries and cries and Mike just remains in front of the TV, not watching the service but football instead. He is sick of Frankie carrying on. Each of the kids take turns trying to pull Frankie out of her funk, but each fail, even random Christmas carollers don't help. Frankie merely slams the door in their face. In the end, Frankie drags the family to church, where they end up in the third overflow room, in the church's nursery.
At least everything looks better in the morning, when they are opening presents. Mike even stayed up late and found where Frankie put the old photos. She is thrilled as are Axl (Charlie McDermott) and Sue to see their old baby pictures while Brick (Atticus Shaffer) is forced to look at the pictures of the Ferguson baby, yet another reminder of how they took home the wrong baby from the hospital.
They is barely a subplot in this episode as everything is mainly central to the main plot but Brick and Axl do have their moments over the present for Frankie. For the past twelve years, they have bought her some cat purrfume and this years is no exception. Only Axl won't pay up and Brick isn't having it so they argue about money. It ends with Frankie saying that she is glad about getting something else, only to open the giant box and find the little perfume bottle. And the stuff smells awful. The glass breaks later when Sue is trying to force Mike to get off the couch and comfort Frankie. It reeks so bad that the door remains open the next morning.
This was another great episode, one that didn't require any guest stars and each of the family members got equal screen time and got to show off their skills. McDermott is a physical actor so he got to try to do a back flip and failed. Sue got to persuade the family to do something that plenty of families do and Brick got to read out loud, which he loves while Mike remained sitting in front of the television, which is what he loves.The actors are all specialists in their respective roles, as this is the seventh season of the show.
Now, this show won't be new for a whole four weeks, so this one will have to last me until then, and fortunately, it was one of the better episodes this season. Grade: A
Side Notes:
-The special potato of the month at Spudsys, nutmeg and chive. Brick believes it works while the public wasn't a fan.
-Frankie has no clean bras so she spreads them across her bed and sprays them with fabreeze to freshen them up.
-Frankie set the kitchen clock an hour ahead of time so she would never be late but Sue reset it because then they were always very early. Of course the microwave's time is barely legible as the numbers don't work.
-To persuade her uncooperative brothers to take the photo, Sue promises that she will drive Brick to the library sixty-eight times and do Axl's laundry, including using fabric softener on anything that touches his junk. Gross.
-Brick can't/isn't allowed to cut paper so he wraps Frankie's small bottle of perfume in a huge box to match the giant piece of wrapping paper he used.
-Frankie hasn't updated the computer in sixty-seven weeks, she just kept hitting remind me later.
-Mike just wants to hold the remote even though he won't change channels.
-I can't believe that church of TV would have commercials, because church doesn't have breaks like that.
-Doris gets a mention. Sue wants to grab her for the photo on the bed but Frankie says no. Doris will pee on anything that gives and she, herself, is not far behind.

Brooklyn

The Catholic priests in this film played a very different role than in the last film I had seen. Fortunately, I prefer them in this role.
Eilis Lacey (Saoirse Ronan) is an Irish girl but her life in rural Ireland is going nowhere. She works for a shrew of a woman in a deli and has no romantic interests or better job prospects. Fortunately, her sister, Rose (Fiona Glasgott, playing someone much nicer than her character in Indian Summers) writes to a priest in America who sponsors Eilis to immigrate. So she leaves, joining to Brooklyn where she has a job lined up, plus a place to live. Eilis is someone plain and boring compared to the other girls who have been in the county longer and are more worldly. She suffers from extreme homesickness. Even her job is in danger. She does love her night course that Father Flood (Jim Broadbent) signed her up for and then, at an Irish dance she meets the Italian Tony Fiorello (Emory Cohen) whom she likes a lot. Once she has a guy in her life, she becomes a whole new person, friendlier to her patrons and finally, happy. While I take offense that a woman needs a man in her life to be happy, if you are thousands of miles away from home, you do need someone who is nice  and kind and loves you. And Tony does. Also radical for a man in the 1950s, he doesn't care that she's much smarter than him. Tony is a plumber while Eilis aspires to be a bookkeeper or accountant. She does very well in her college course, Mrs. Kehoe (Julie Walters, also playing someone very different and nicer from her role in Indian Summers) is thrilled as Eilis was the first girl who aced college exams.
Then, Rose dies and Eilis travels home to comfort her mother who wants nothing more, though she doesn't say so, to have Eilis home permanently. Too bad Eilis and Tony secretly married to ensure her return to him.
Eilis is there for her mother and her friend, who is getting married but things start falling into place back in Ireland. She gets the job her sister's death left open and even has a good fellow, Jim Farrell (Domnhall Gleeson) in her life. And his parents are retiring to another town so he will have the house to himself. Eilis does like him and surely would have stayed in Ireland if this is how things had been in the beginning, she would have never had to leave. Things are going well in Ireland, she leaves Tony's letters unopened and can't figure out what she wants to write him but things change at Nancy's (Eileen O'Higgins) wedding. Jim asks her to marry him but even though she is flattered, disinterest is also written on her face. She does make the decision to return home, which I figured she would as the title of the film would suggest because her former boss has a connection to the U.S. who heard word of Eilis's marriage to the Italian. Eilis had forgotten how gossipy and old-fashioned Ireland was. She almost immediately returns to Brooklyn where she rushes to Tony's arms. Now, also of note, before Eilis returned to Ireland, she and Tony consummated their relationship so I am also glad she decided to return on her own, not because a pregnancy forced her to. Her return also gave her the opportunity to be a mentor to another girl leaving home for the first time.
While this film was a little predictable, it was still a sight to behold. The sets truly looked like they were in the 1950s and the actors behaved exactly as they would in the 1950s, with the guys actually being gentlemen, proving now that chivalry is dead. Ronan in a revelation and fully deserves every award and nomination bestowed on her. She just won the New York Film Critic Award, and she is great, as the main focus of the film is on her. Eilis is a fully developed character and drives the film, something that you don't see too often in films currently. The supporting actors were also great, and Cohen should have a big career after this film. I got vibes of a young Marlon Brando from his performance. He is also great, but the film doesn't belong to him, it belongs to her, and he truly makes her shine. Grade: A-

The Middle: The Convention

Well, Frankie (Patricia Heaton) is forced to go to a dental convention in Des Moines. She doesn't want to do, dreads it and only attends, not because it is mandatory, but because it is all expenses paid (or so she misunderstands) and will get her out of the house. She thinks it is lame but finally, the enthusiastic host, Dr. Samuelson (the always great Cheryl Hines) wonders if they ever feel left out and forgotten. Frankie buys right into this hooey, grateful that she could get rewarded for referring someone to their dental offices even in other states. Mike (Neil Flynn) may not be thrilled with this Ponzi scheme, but for the first time in the history of this show, he's getting laid on a regular basis because Frankie is so hyped from the sessions which are basically super inspiring and then a dance party breaks out. Only then they get the bill for all those mini bar snacks and room service they ordered. Frankie believed that all expenses were paid, and the room was but not all the extras. Now, they must pay nearly seven hundred dollars in fees. Frankie even tries to ask Dr. Samuelson to pay the bill. Though she refuses to pay, she is thrilled that Frankie had the guts and spirit to ask. It is that attitude that they want. In the end, they work it out that they will deduct the bill out of her payments for the next six months. Yikes. Still, Frankie is glad they went into the trip blind, because then they wouldn't have had as much fun.
Sue (Eden Sher) has her own battles. She foolishly mentions that she has a free bed (so I guess her horrible roommate was given the heave hoe) in front of her parents and Axl (Charlie McDermott) and he promptly announces that he's moving in. Sue hates it, at first, he's distracting with all of his guitar playing but the people love him and Sue meets tons of people through him. She's thrilled and having the time of her life until she misses a test. She is livid and who can blame her? I'm just shocked that she doesn't throw up. Yet. Axl tries to teach her how to lie and that she must make a lie her own. Sue decides that instead of making someone in her family dangerously ill, she rushed to aid of a man who collapsed because that is the kind of person she is. As she goes to that lie to her professor, she throws up, which only helps her case. She is allowed to have a make-up test which is wonderful. Grateful that Axl is her roommate, she is upset when he announces that he is leaving. Two hot girls offered him their bean bag chair to sleep for a week but he will return once there is more fudge. But at least some of the other girls in Sue's hall return to see her so she did gain some friends in the process.
Now, because Brick (Atticus Shaffer) is left alone at home, which is easily one of the worst ideas ever. Fortunately, they find a free babysitter for him, Grandpa Big (John Cullen) but as it turns out, Grandpa needs even more watching over than Brick. In fact, he even blows off a date with Cindy to take care of Grandpa, because they are so much work at that age. Grandpa is more of a child than Brick even though he did have big plans on fixing a vacuum cleaner Frankie threw out. Unfortunately, that is all for naught because Brick is the one sleeping when Frankie and Mike return home. Big Mike starts to say that he is upset at how fast the kids are growing up because in only a few years, Brick won't need him to babysit anymore.
Though not much process was made in the character's development, it was still a delightful episode, with the characters doing stuff they haven't done before, something that is always refreshing. There were also some great guest performances, again always welcome and fantastic. Grade: A-
Side Notes:
-Sue hid Grandma's fudge in her room and warned Axl not to look around for it, but he found it and ate the whole thing anyway.
-Sue has also never stayed up past midnight before in college. She broke that barrier.
-I wish Frankie would shut the door before pouncing on Mike.
-Mike doesn't like the ribs so he just goes ahead and orders the steak, only adding to the bill.
-Dr. Goodwin (Jack MacBrayer) is always welcome, though he doesn't have much to do except explain how the new office will work.
-Frankie won't have a desk anymore, she will move from chair to chair with a smile tablet.
-Naturally, she is upset that she will no longer have a desk to surf the web, plus it contained a bunch of cookies stuffed inside.
-Grandpa beats Brick in checkers plenty of times. Brick decides to go forth with other stuff and putting on an old war movie to entertain Grandpa.
-How in the world did Brick get to the grocery store and back and not get lost?
-Grandpa won't eat yellow foods but Brick bribes him with the threat of taking away dessert if he won't eat his eggs. No water, juice please.
-Sue has so much stuff while Axl has so little. She even ruins his inflatable palm tree.

Spotlight

You are a young boy who comes from a poor, broken home. Of course you would be thrilled that a priest took a special interest in you. But soon, the attention becomes unwelcome. Despite going to the police, the church gives you a bit of money and promises that the accused priest will be moved. That's it, nothing else happens.
It isn't until the Boston Globe gets a new editor, a single Jewish import from Miami, Marty Baron (Liev Schrieber) who wants a special team on the paper, Spotlight, to look into some minor stories about sexual abuse from priests. This is July 2001. Cuts are being made because the internet is already taking over, and though Spotlight didn't pick this story to research, they must investigate nevertheless. The team is formidable: Walter Robinson (Michael Keaton), Michael Rezendes (Mark Ruffalo), Sacha Pfeiffer (Rachel McAdams) and Matt Carroll (Brian James D'Arcy). Each are former Catholics but push their personal feelings aside and start digging up information on how long and how far-reaching the abuse went. The results are disturbing. Even the Cardinal, Law (that's his actual name portrayed in this film by Len Cariou) knew. Baron has petitioned the court to have these documents unsealed. So has a lawyer, the character Mitch Garabedian (Stanley Tucci) who represents many of the abuse victims.
Some victims are more willing to talk than others and then September 11th happens which almost derails their whole story. It is pushed to the side, as something more important has come along, probably not the first time that has been the case. And then, when they finally get back to everything, they must wait until the story is perfect though the records of the Cardinal knowing and covering up the scandal are public, Robby (Keaton) wants to wait. Shouldn't the people know right away? They have a right to know, that's why the documents were unsealed. When the story is finally published, Sacha and Matt arrive at work Sunday morning to answer calls, they are bombarded with more victims of abuse. It is devastating to see how far-reaching the abuse went, covering many countries. The archbishop of Boston would resign, only to get a promotion to Rome. Not cool, guys, not cool.
This film is incredible with real characters, though Ruffalo has a weird sympathy face, and a realistic setting. You feel like you are back in 2001, with the flip cell phones. Certainly, there should be many Oscar nominations coming to this film, with McAdams being a stand-out, having great empathy with the victims. The look on her face when a priest admits that he did molest the boys but got no pleasure from it, justifying his actions is utterly priceless. The passion each of them have for the project is intense.
The abuse effects the victims years after it is over. They drink, turn to drugs and it effects their own relationships. And it hits close to home. For Matt, a priest lives just doors away from him and his family and for Robby, one of his classmates, several years younger than him is a victim. No one is left unscathed.
The paper should have done more to uncover the story years before especially when a lawyer (Billy Crudup), paid hush money by the church, did try to go public. The church shouldn't have covered this up, they should have investigation, fixed the problem by removing the priests and punishing them as though they were the average citizen. That is why you should see this film. You need to know what happened and keep it from ever happening again. Grade: A

The Middle: Thanksgiving VII

Well, it's Thanksgiving time and this could be the worst one yet for the Hecks.
Frankie's (Patricia Heaton's) dentist office is getting remodel so she's out of a job for two months. Fortunately, she finds one quickly, at Heritage Village, great callback to season two, only this time, she plays the barren sister-in-law with a clubfoot though she didn't read her packet to prepare her to the role. She also has to work on Thanksgiving and the family could care less. They don't even seem to want to float it. But she gets into a fight without the main reactor (Faith Ford) because Frankie tries to cut corners, preparing mashed potatoes with an electric mixer over a smasher. However, when she hears the speech that Rachel (Ford) gives on how hard the founders of Orson had it, journeying though snow to get to their sick family. Frankie, demoted to ash scraper, is moved by that speech. She believes that the family should be grateful for what they have, only to have her car break down in the middle of the snow, forcing her to walk home.
Sue (Eden Sher) goes back to work at Spudsys, not truly for the money but to see if she can catch a glimpse of Logan (David Hull) though she is completely swamped on Black Friday Eve and works for like, twelve straight hours without a break and then finally takes one, only to have the crowd move away from Abercrombie. Turns out that Logan isn't even there, he's in Chicago celebrating the holiday with his family. She devices a plan which involves driving all the way to Chicago and figuring out where his grandmother lives. Brad (J. Brock Ciarlelli) forces her to stop living like she needs a man in her life and buck up. After working three shifts without much break, Sue finally returns home.
Axl (Charlie McDermott) goes out drinking with Sean (Beau Wirick) who is at odds with his parents, calling them by their first names and refusing to eat meat. He doesn't think he wants to be a doctor anymore. But Axl can't stand where his life is headed. Everyone is thinking about jobs or grad school whereas he isn't sure if he'll even graduate. He barely gets any playing time in football and is unsure of his relationship status. Though Sean is more or less in the boat as Axl, he doesn't defend Axl when he starts to cry. Axl is more emotional than I thought. I wish his friends were understanding of his difficult plight. He is almost grateful to return home.
Meanwhile, back at home, Mike (Neil Flynn) is perfectly content to watch football to the whole day, but the power has other plans. It goes out. Mike is upset and is forced to spend time with his youngest son, Brick (Atticus Shaffer). Brick doesn't mind having no power as he is reading and has his book light but he gives in to his father's boredom. Mike finally teaches Brick how to play poker and once they get rid of his tell, whispering when he is bluffing, Brick isn't half bad.
The show ends with the whole family playing poker and Axl believing that everything is fine. Then, in an odd epilogue of sorts, June 12th comes along, the day when the Hecks decided to celebrate Thanksgiving, Frankie refuses to stop flipping through her magazine because she's not doing that. Sue certainly looks hurt.
After two lackluster episodes, this one was without a doubt better. The Hecks always do the holidays right, realistically but often horribly. with nothing working out like you had planned. But they realize what is truly important in the end. Once again, this episode was filled with good performances, including Sher being Sue's typical over the top self and McDermott showing that Axl does have real emotions and is capable of having others show sympathy for him. And we saw some familiar faces, some more welcome than others. Grade: A-
Side Notes:
-Because of all the crying Axl does at the bar, he casually informs Mike that there could be a rumor going around that he and Frankie are dead and they should go with it. Mike merely shrugs it off.
-For Sue's meal during break, she dips her finger into a small container of ketchup.
-Frankie is not playing her character with a clubfoot but is perfectly fine with the barren part.
-It is weird and oddly fascinating to see what they are doing with Sean's character. He is truly a sight to behold.
-I wish we could have some closure of the status of Axl and Devin's (Gina Mantenga's) relationship.
-Rachel is working her way up in the status of the characters at Heritage Village.
-I wonder if Spudsys would get in trouble for not giving Sue a break, no wonder she almost loses it at the end.
-Axl had seventy-two seconds of playing time in his latest game.
-My favorite gag is at the stroke of midnight when Brad changes his hat to a Christmas hat.
-As much as I want Sue and Logan to get together, she does need to move on though Brad says she is just like Meg Ryan from a 90s movie.

The Middle: Homecoming II: The Tailgate

Well, homecoming is getting off to a typical horrible Heck start. Axl (Charlie McDermott) arrives home but only to throw up which could very easily ruin Mike's (Neil Flynn's) plans to win the giant spatula by winning the corn hole toss. Mike is upset that Ron Donohue (Sean O'Bryan) who has won it for the last four years.
Frankie (Patricia Heaton) innocently calls up her mother for recipe for the homecoming and ends up inviting her parents for the event. She's not pleased because even though she is so lucky to have them but she feels that they will only drag her down. And she comes so close to convincing her mother, Pat (Marsha Mason) to go to Costco instead but Sue (Eden Sher) begs her grandmother to come because it will be her last chance to be the high school mascot. So Pat goes and it is pretty awkward. She motions for Frankie to do something and Frankie tries, in vain, to ignore that but when she doesn't, Pat just has to come over and do the typical mom move, lick a smug off her face, only to find that it is just Frankie's skin. And when she serves them (Frankie and her friends) a cake, she charges them two dollars a person. Frankie has had it. Pat insists that she is on a fixed income and that cake wasn't cheap. Frankie pulls her aside and tells her that she is embarrassing her. Pat walks off in a huff.
The event comes full circle when Sue is reminiscing with some unnamed classmates that probably paid her no attention in high school. Frankie comes over to find Grandma (her mom) only to embarrass Sue. Fortunately, Sue handles it slightly better than Frankie, she ushers her friends away while Frankie feels horrible and realizes that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
Meanwhile, Brick (Atticus Shaffer) almost has his moment to shine. While Axl is too sick to throw beanie bags into a hole, despite constant prodding from Mike, Brick gives it a try. So Mike picks him. Only then Axl recovers just enough to insist that he should participate. Mike has never been forced to pick between his two sons before and fortunately, he doesn't. They participate in his stead. And lose horribly. Ron gets the giant spatula again and promises meat for all, medium rare.
But Axl's sickness isn't over just yet, he has past it on to Sue. She insisted that she couldn't get sick and it happens at the most awkward moment, when she's dressed as the chicken with the giant chicken head so it looks like she's pecking at the ground. Axl cannot wait to get that on YouTube. Both Frankie and Pat come to her rescue and Frankie apologizes, Pat understands.
This was a better episode than the Halloween one, but it still wasn't especially great. Also, when did Axl and Devin (the unseen Gina Mantenga) break up? That was a plot point that should have had more time. And the ending felt very rushed though Frankie did have some good narration but that didn't save the episode. But it was nice to see Brick and Axl argue over who's life sucked more, though it should have more humanizing to see Axl tear himself down. Normally, he thinks he's the best thing since sliced bread and was on top in high school, but college has torn him down. I wonder what will happen to him in the future. Sue is her typical over enthusiastic self which is always a relief as the rest of the Heck family is depressed and she isn't, she is just the opposite. That being said, I hope next week's episode which is the Thanksgiving one is better, often that is the best episode of the season. Grade: B
Side Notes:
-Doris can't fetch anymore, her jaw is having problems.
-Sean Donohue (Beau Wirick) is going through something. He wants a veggie burger and has gown out his hair and has a beard. He no longer believes in competition. It was a interesting motif throughout the episode.
-Pat is big on these new, super strong paper towels. Frankie is so sick of it. She brought them because she knows Frankie isn't big on stocking her house with supplies. Pat is even shocked at how dirty the floor is. She shouldn't be.
-Axl rarely plays football and doesn't know what he will do with the rest of his life. Yikes.
-When Sue visits her old high school, she gets picked up in the tardy sweep.
-At the end of the episode, Frankie also gets sick and Pat does hold her hair back while she throws up and says that Frankie's dad is picking up saltines and ginger ale. They will settle up later.
-Also, Pat thinks that Frankie is spending like crazy.
-For the tailgate party, Frankie is in charge of drinks because her cooking is horrible.
-Brick is an athlete now, he totally has to protect his area.
-Axl tries to spread his germs on his parents' bed. Frankie washes the sheets and they don't have an extra pair so they put whatever they can find on the bed. Mike takes his chances with a towel that has a mystery stain as opposed to a sheet with a giant hole it in.

Supergirl: Pilot

This show could have really good. Instead, it was only mediocre.
The premise is complicated as most comic books ultimately are. Kara (pronounced Kar-A, not Kare-A) is sent to take care of her baby cousin, Kal-El, except her ship is blown off course and this stunts her age for twenty-four years. She is still thirteen and her cousin doesn't need her help, becoming a national hero by saving the day. Kara tries to fit in like normal with a normal family, even gaining a sister.
Time goes by. Kara (Melissa Benoist) isn't living up to her potential despite her vulcan hearing. She's a lowly assistant for Kat Grant (a great Calista Flockhart), and even wears glasses. Her sister, Alex (Chyler Leigh) works for an organization that tracks the aliens on Earth, a job she got because of her close relationship with her adopted alien sister.
After a disastrous blind date (he asked that the waitress write her number on the bill), Kara sees the news report that her sister's flight is having engine troubles. She is not going to just let her sister die and finally uses her powers to save the flight.
Kara enlists the help of her good friend, co worker and potential love interest, Winn (Jeremy Jordan) to help her create a costume and find crimes or accidents to solve. Another ally is the new photographer at the paper, James Olson (Mehcad Brooks), someone who knew Superman personally. He could also be a potential love interest.
But things get crazy. Turns out that when Kara's spaceship got knocked off course and then got back on course, it took a huge spaceship of international criminals with it and that also crashed onto Earth. For whatever reason, these criminals aren't after Superman, only Kara so things get sticky especially when the government agency, led by David Hare-Wood, don't even want her to pursue her talents of saving others. She disobeys their orders even Alex's.
In this episode, she doesn't save the day, but rather she saves herself even though she will undoubtedly have to do that time and time again before this show is over.
Now, I do have some problems with the series including the casting of Laura Benanti as both Kara's kind mother and evil aunt. That is just weird. Also, the time line Kara narrated in the beginning of the episode. She said that everything started just twenty-four years ago, but she was lost in the time warp for twenty-four years and at least ten have past since she finally arrived on Earth.
Though the cast is good, and the acting is there, the show lacks vital character interaction and development which will hopefully come in time. This is a disappointment especially when a show is filled with good actors. Jordan was completely wasted in the pilot with only one really good scene when Kara finally reveals her powers to him. At least Benoist is great, though she shined better in the few episodes of Glee that I saw her in. She needs more and deeper material to work with here.
I also thought they tried to make the pilot too epic too quickly. It wasn't just enough for Kara to finally decide to use her powers but she also must battle the worst villains in the galaxy, something that will continue throughout the course of the series, however long it lasts.
I will probably continue watching the series, but it didn't pull in as much as Scream Queens, which is currently the craziest show on TV right now. Still, this one could and should ultimately be the better show. Grade: B

The Middle: Halloween VI: Tick, Tock, Death

Now, we have known that Frankie (Patricia Heaton) is crazy, and this episode confirms it. Sure, she's had problems with the Glossners before and now she's not going to take it any longer. It is Halloween and none of the cute trick-or-treaters come to their neighborhood because of the Glossners so Frankie decides to take action with a little help from Sue (Eden Sher). They egg the house, which is mean but sort of harmless, just giving the Glossners a taste of their own medicine only then Rita (Brooke Shields) arrives, catching them in the act. Instead of apologizing and running for their lives, Frankie turns the table and starts chasing Rita into the woods. Rita apologizes for stealing a Heck pumpkin and saying that her manners are poor because she is the only woman in the house. This forces Frankie to realize that with Axl (Charlie McDermott) and his two roommates, Hutch and Kenny (Alphonso McAuley and Tommy Bechtold) living there, she gets it and does apologize. Rita doesn't accept and instead, starts running again, calling Frankie a monster. Which she is, in that moment at least.
In the meantime, Axl is at home, chilling with his friends, watching three football games all at once and then the grim reaper shows up. Literally. Axl tries to tell him that the candy is at the end of the driveway though Frankie and Sue are no longer there. But then the grim reaper sort of stalks the house which secretly frightens both Axl and Hutch who hide out in the basement with Kenny. They believe that the grim reaper will kill them, but then a miracle happens, Kenny speaks. He just says that the grim reaper will steal their souls instead. Axl and Hutch, not to mention my dad, are shocked to hear Kenny actually speak with words. Still, this inspires them to finally leave the house. They load up Axl's car and immediately leave though who knows where they will live.
Mike (Neil Flynn) is stuck taking Brick trick-or-treating because he doesn't really care if the guys leave the house or not, so Frankie is punishing him. Mike is thoroughly miserable and then this night gets super odd. First of all, he is some guy from Night Watchers, not The Twilight Zone but no one gets it. Brick always picks the weirdest costumes. And his last house, things are weird. There is an odd painting of the woman's husband when he was a child who looks suspiciously like Brick. It gets odder, the woman's name is Cynthia and the house contains two libraries and the missing, but not dead husband is giving a lecture on fonts and they have 'done' it. They have four children. Brick is delighted as that is one more time than his parents. Mike says sardonically that Brick is a real chick magnet.
It ends just as weird as the episode began, with Brick giving Cindy (Casey Burke) all the candy he collected for her, name brand stuff because she has expensive tastes. Cindy is the grim reaper, which makes sense, she is super tall and different. However, why did she spend her whole evening at the Heck house instead of collecting the candy herself. She used Brick and that is not something I like.
Yeah, this episode wasn't great. Normally, The Middle is realistic, with plausible situations and reactions from the characters and this episode, everything was over the top and the fourth wall was completely shattered by Brick himself, declaring that his narration really ties the story together. It wasn't necessarily bad, just unrealistic, with Frankie becoming nothing more than a stereotypical crazy mom. All of that boxed wine really got to her head.
It was a little funny, but the tone was all off from the other episodes. This is easily one of the worst episodes of The Middle in the entire series run. Grade: C+
Side Notes:
-Not much to say, but Kenny was able to set it up that the Hecks were able to watch three football games at the same time.
-Brick wondered why he would ever leave the house if he had three unread books waiting for him at home. Mike compared football games to books so Brick could understand his pain.
-Axl believes that it is Frankie's purpose to nurture because she is a mother and it is easier to have someone else take care of them than to take care of themselves.
-Sue arrives home because she tried to plan a non-drinking party but get no response to that.
-It is a good thing that the guys left because Kenny had been using Sue's bed, that's just gross.
-Frankie never bought name brand candy, only now she believes that she finally has an excuse.
-I don't know what the writers were trying to go for in this episode but it was lost on me, so if you guys have any insight, please let me know in the comment section.

The Middle: Land of the Lost

When Sue (Eden Sher) falls for a guy, she falls hard, sometimes literally.
You remember that guy with the washboard abs with whom she had an amazing prom with. Well, he's back. His name is Logan (David Hull) and she is super nervous. To make matters worse, Brick (Atticus Shaffer) is visiting. Sue was totally looking forward to this weekend and Brick almost had a panic attack when she told him that the library at East Indiana State had 52,000 books and even had a special elevator just for books. It is called a dumb waiter people and Brick should know that given his extreme love of libraries.
And then, she sees Logan, on a road trip from Purdue and all those great plans with Brick get tossed out the window. Fortunately, Logan makes the first move. He was upset that he hadn't heard from her all summer. This was after Sue was upset that he never texted her back. Turns out, she was off by a number. It would have been wise, too easy, but wise for Logan to have just given Sue his actual correct number. They make plans to meet later and grab dinner later. He walks away to hang with his friends and she promptly falls over.
However, when she goes to meet Brick and he doesn't show, things get ugly real fast. I should have seen it coming about Brick getting lost. After all, last week he got lost walking home from the library in an area he should have been familiar with. Now in an area he has never been before, of course he is bound to get lost.
This almost ruins Sue's plans but she dashes back to the gazebo just in time. Before getting lost in Logan's eyes, he agrees to help her find Brick. She finds Brick who wandered around campus all day, never even going into the library because he didn't have a proper student ID. Though Sue is grateful she found Brick, she managed to lose Logan now, and she doesn't find him again. Sadness.
In the meantime, back at home, Mike (Neil Flynn) is being even more glum than his normal lackluster self. He assures his wife, Frankie (Patricia Heaton), that this will pass but she's unsure especially after he isn't even watching the Colts game, during a good season for them. She calls in reinforcements, in the form of Reverend Tim Tom (Paul Hipp). He tries to worm the real issue out of Mike, even strumming away on a ukulele but Mike doesn't budge. It isn't until Reverend Tim Tom leaves that Mike finally spills his guts. When he turned fifty, it didn't bother him, but now that Frankie is turning fifty. He can't believe that he is married to an old woman. He can't believe that he is closer to death. He was used to going to the next step but now he is a little worried about the next step. He doesn't like the empty house, as two of the kids are gone. That doesn't last long.
Axl (Charlie McDermott), Hutch (Alphonso McAuley) and Kenny (Tommy Bechtold) arrive at the Heck house. They were evicted. Yeah, they tried to be grown ups and get their crappy house and file a complaint with the city. Turns out their landlords weren't supposed to sublet their house and now it is deemed unfit to live in so  they will be staying at the Hecks for a little while. I guess Axl's family lives closest to campus. Well, that makes sense as Hutch is from Chicago.
Frankie is glad that life is a pretty good distraction from death, as Brick is furious about not seeing a single book and Sue is livid about ruining another chance with Logan and Axl is pissed about the house. You have known that something was up when you put your rent underneath a rock.
This was a great episode though there was the minor problem of how Logan got into the library. Probably because he was with Sue. Still, stuff like that bothers me. Despite this minor problem, it was a great episode with some fantastic dialogue. This show continues to be an underrated gem. Grade: A-
Side Notes:
-Frankie is starting to spend money like crazy now that the diapers are doing pretty well. She bought name brand peas and supersized the fries.
-Hutch thought writing a letter to the landlords on his dad's dermatologist stationary would have been a good move. But Axl wanted immediate action.
-They have hammocks now so they don't need to touch the ant infested floor.
-In the house, they also have a dripping faucet that doesn't even drip in a steady pattern, upsetting Hutch's REM cycle.
-Brick is able to visit Sue because Cindy has volleyball try-outs that weekend. He also borrowed one of Sue's books on being a girl so he could do some research.
-Reverend Tim Tom attended a Lord's Luau for Leprosy.
-He had many great lyrics in his song to perk up Mike as Jesus never got to have a mid-life crisis.
-When Sue describes Logan's looks, Brick, despite having never seen him before, is able to confirm his presence.
-She really does get lost in his eyes, instantly forgetting that he agreed to help her fin Brick.
-Of course, the romantic in me wants things to work out between Logan and Sue, but I wonder how that will happen.

Bridge of Spies

This is a complicated film coming from a complicated time in American history. In 1957, Rudolf Abel (Mark Rylance) is caught spying for the Russians. He needs a lawyer so the US government passes it off to a law firm out of New York, where it falls into the lap of insurance lawyer, Jim Donovan (Tom Hanks) who takes his job way more seriously than anyone ever anticipated. He tries to get the evidence thrown out because it was illegally obtained. Americans on the train hate him, tossing him dirty looks. People shoot at his house, scaring the crap out of his wife and children (Amy Ryan, Eve Hewson, Noah Schnapp and Jillian Lebling) but everyone is entitled to a defense. He even successfully gets the harsh judge to spare Abel's life so they can have some insurance later, for, perhaps, a prisoner exchange. Then we get to the meat of the film.
Donovan dangerously travels to East Berlin in 1960, just as the wall is being built, where it is dangerous to cross the borders. Okay, it is dangerous to get from the East Side (where the Soviets rule) to the West Side (where the American, British, and French rule). Here, Donovan is set to negotiate a trade where the US gets a pilot, Gary Powers (Austin Stowell), also a spy, taking pictures of Russia and will hand over Abel. But there is a twist and Donovan gets greedy. Just before he lands, an American student studying economics is captured and Donovan wants this guy, Frederic Pryor (Will Rogers) out also.
It isn't easy, as the Abel family lawyer is dreadful, not caring much about his clients. An East German street gang steals Donovan's fancy, warm coat and he spends a night in prison. He is flying by the seat of his pants, but ultimately, he gets the job done, on a bridge, making the title of the film fit. The exchange is made. Sure, the CIA isn't really talking to Powers because he was never supposed to be captured, he was intended to kill himself instead, but alas, though it wasn't for lack of effort and the Soviets barely make eye contact with Abel, but each are home. The Americans made out better, in my opinion, two young men in return for an older man. Still, I doubt their families care about the semantics of the whole thing. They are just thrilled to get their loved ones home. Both Powers and Pryor would go on to great things. Pryor is still living. Donovan may have lied to his family originally, as he had to, but they are shocked that his little business trip turned into something so great. President Kennedy would later use him for more negotiations with Cuba, rescuing more than nine thousand people after the Bay of Pigs, when he was only sent down to bring one thousand home.
I also liked the family dinner scene toward the beginning of the film and the little interactions between Donovan and his young associate, Doug (Billy Magnussen) who was forced to work despite saying he had a dinner date and then eldest daughter Carol furious that she had been stood up. Yet, though Donovan may have been upset at first, he lets Doug get in the clear by having him over for dinner and showing his daughter that Doug had a good reason for missing the date.
This film captures the stark, depressing East German by sucking the colors out of the film, with the sun never shining, cold steeping from the characters' skin, compared to the warmth of the America, homes filled with knick knacks proving that America is richer, in more ways than one.
The performances are also great, with Hanks and Rylance, mainly a stage actor before this film, as the stand outs. Sure, Ryan and Alan Alda are also great, but their roles are barely more than cameos. Hanks and Rylance, with their steady performances, should both be in award consideration for later this year.
I am glad that the Cold War is behind us, with the pointless duck and cover drills. But the world is still a dangerous place. Sure, duck and cover drills might be behind us but intruder or shooter alerts exist, bringing the danger even closer to home. And we know how hopeless the duck and cover drills were, when if a bomb was dropped, you would have no time to duck and cover; you would die instantly. Still, Donovan was just happy that in America, boys could climb over a fence while you couldn't have done that in East Berlin.
This film captures a troubling time, but one that should never be forgotten. Grade: A-

The Middle: Risky Business

Well, Rusty (Norm MacDonald) is back. And he comes baring new business news. This guy has had the worst luck with his cockamamie ideas, such as a pancake cup and the uniboob, two boobs squeezed into one but this idea isn't actually half bad. Okay, it is pure stupid, but compared to his other ideas, it's brilliant. It is a diaper that has the enemy team on the inside so you can teach them to hate early. To Frankie's (Patricia Heaton's) dismay, Mike (Neil Flynn) is actually on board with the whole thing. However, while Mike is business focused, Rusty gets hung up on even more stupid opposites. But despite this almost fatal flaw, Rusty is the one who manages to get them a big interview to pitch their idea at the Baby Barn. Mike is painfully nervous and can't even get a word out and the guys hate Rusty but they love the idea so much that they place a small order to see how it will sell. Frankie is utterly thrilled and pulls out the expensive booze from her late Aunt Edie. The best part? Mike is finally happy again. And Frankie is glad. He just needed something to look forward to, something different in his life because he has been doing the same thing for the last twenty five years and needed to finally mix things up.
Still, this problem is small compared to Sue's big roommate fiasco. She is thrilled to return home and see Brad (J. Brock Ciarlelli) but she doesn't want to take her car when they hang out. First of all, since when did Sue get a car? I thought she was saving up all of the Spudsy money for college, yet, it is a good thing she has a car because that is where she is living. Yeah, life with Holly (Lyndon Smith) is that unbearable. Brad can't stand for that and so, if Holly has her boyfriend over all the time, then so will Sue. Only poor Sue doesn't have a boyfriend but Brad is more than willing to practice his acting chops and will gladly be her fake boyfriend. They return to Sue's dorm room where Holly is making out with a guy who isn't even her boyfriend. Brad informs them that they are going to do stuff that only married people do. They hide under her duvet but Holly gets even dirtier so they hide behind the duvet and leave the room, terrified.
Sue feels like she has failed but she's in an impossible situation. At first, Brad blames his acting because he hasn't been in a play in months. Sue assures him that that is not the case, he was a great fake boyfriend and an even better friend. And then comes the moment we have been waiting for for six years. Brad comes out of the closet more or less, and Sue already knows. Wait, she does? Since when? Oh well, his big revelation forces her to grow up. She tattles on her roommate to the indifferent, lackluster RA. This is a big move for Sue. Sure, it would have been better and more grown up to confront Holly first, but Sue normally tries to deal with everything, making the best of a bad situation. Still, I am glad she told. No one should have to put up with sleeping in a car because your roommate has wild sex all the time. We will have to wait until the next episode to see what happens. I doubt Sue will get a new roommate, though, maybe Holly will just get better.
I did have a few problems with the episode. I can figure out why Sue understood the truth behind Brad's sexuality, but I can't understand when she bought a car. Used, but still. I feel that she would have come home every weekend especially since she is less than an hour away and she missed them all so much. Whatever.
This was still a solid episode, certainly better than last week's as it had more emotion but still managed to have those genuinely funny moments. And Rusty is always welcome. Grade: B+
Side Notes:
-Axl (Charlie McDermott) is so desperate to ride Mike's new motorcycle, he risks him life in some stupid ways. He jumps off the roof onto a trampoline. He has Brick hit him where the sun don't shine, after he stuffed packing peanuts into his sweatpants because he must protect his germ pool.
-Mike finally throws him a bone and lets him ride the motorcycle, while hanging onto Mike.
-Brick (Atticus Shaffer) also wishes his parents would take more risks with him. He just wants to walk home from the library by himself, though they have reason not to trust him as he did get lost that one time.
-She is hopeful that Holly will get pregnant soon and then have to live in married housing. She also feels that Holly shouldn't be a nurse. She is dead wrong about the first thing, but the reason one, she's right. But that isn't for me to decide.
-Also, Holly, wearing someone else's shower shoes is just disgusting.
-When Sue returns home, she is surprised to see the toaster moved. Frankie remodeled the kitchen, after all. Also, a reference to Doris. She is currently sleeping in Sue's closet.
-Brick informs his siblings of the chores they need to do now that they are home
-Rusty knows the diapers are reliable because the dye doesn't run. He tested them himself.
-Frankie does get involved by saying that this would be a good way to get dads to change more diapers.
-And Rusty, the opposite of Hitler is not Big Bird.

The Middle: The Shirt

Changes are a-comin'.
Sue (Eden Sher) and Mike (Neil Flynn) don't realize that the slightest action could have such a ripple effect. All Mike had to do was put on a new, completely different shirt, a Hawaiian one in this case, something that finally wasn't plaid. Frankie (Patricia Heaton) is shocked and it is the punch line for the dinner with the Norwoods and he is super pissed that that was the only thing really discussed at dinner. Later, Mrs. Donahue (Jen Ray) comes over, terrified that she upset Frankie because Frankie threw a party without her. Of course not, why in the world would Frankie throw a party without Nancy Donahue? Simple answer, she wouldn't especially since Nancy brings all the good food. Mike is just going through something. Nancy gives her the sympathy look and informs her that her own husband, Ron, did the same thing by picking up karate. Just when you think that Mike is over with all the changes, because he hates changes, you thought wrong. He buys a cheap motorcycle from his co-worker who is moving. Frankie is completely shocked.
Sue's error could have more severe consequences: she naively tells Devin (Gina Mantegna) that Axl (Charlie McDermott) loves her and it would be, like, the coolest thing ever if they would eventually get married. Devin almost immediately breaks things off with Axl, again. She doesn't want the relationship to move that fast. Sue just can't keep her big nose out of it and goes to the complete opposite end of the spectrum. She says, or sings rather, that Axl won't ever say anything of the sort. I wasn't paying the most attention to that because it was so horribly bad. Whatever, Devin fortunately decides to give Axl another chance and they talk it over. Because Devin has the typical thoughts of a guy, she and Axl both just want to live in the moment and enjoy their time together yet, they will never be around this many hot people of the opposite genders, they should also see someone else, if they want and still gather on Sundays to watch football. I don't think that will work, but at least they are finally in agreement so at least they are getting off on the right foot.
Poor Brick (Atticus Shaffer). He hates being the last kid at home as the chore wheel is useless. He's the only one around to do chores. Frankie doesn't care about his arguments; he is the only one there to use the bathroom, thus, it falls to him to clean it. Frankie, the most helpful mother of the year, tells him where the cleaning supplies are but not how to use them, so when Brick finally goes to the clean the bathroom, it turns disastrous quickly. Brick, being the reader that he is, tries to follow what the cleaning products say, and when that doesn't work, he turns to YouTube and chooses the worst video ever. Something simple, such as scrubbing mildew from the walls turns into something much bigger and before you know it, the tiles on the wall have fallen off. Frankie isn't pleased and tells him, in no small terms, that in the Heck household, you can't get to the root of the problem, the mildew is the glue that holds the family together.
While Brick has his typical Brick plot line, and Sue got some good interactions with Devin, most of the episode just didn't work. I liked what they tried to do with Mike finally breaking out of his comfort zone, but it didn't seem real; it was just something that the writers could eke a plot out of, but it was nice to see him in a shirt that was not plaid. I really don't think that they stayed true to his character which is most unfortunate. At least everyone else remained the same. I wish Axl would grow up and maybe he will, hopefully before it is too late. And though there were some funny moments and great, snappy lines, this is the weakest episode of the season so far. Grade: B
Side Notes:
-Sue's idea of heaven is the ability to sign up for all the clubs she wants without danger of being cut later on. Unfortunately, she spreads herself far too thin.
-She later tells Brick that she understands, at long last, why clubs in high school cut people. She just can't keep up with everything. For the record, her a Capella club was the worst I have ever heard and Sue is not a good songwriter. I can't believe the club went along with her cockamamie scheme.
-Brick informs his mother that the only reason she had children was to have slaves to do all the work around the house. Mike tells him no, the reason they had children was because of the beer.
-Bill Norwood (Pat Finn) ruins the chance for the Hecks to use two coupons at their meal out. He really is the worst liar ever.
-For the second episode this season, Frankie calls back her brilliant acting career in the community production of The Wizard of Oz. Not everyone has her talent but she could have pulled off using two coupons at a combined table.
-Normally Mike's tallness is intimidating to waiters but with his Hawaiian shirt on, that power was lost.
-Axl tries to lure the ants out of his apartment by tossing pizza into the yard.
-I love when Brick holds the two phones together so Sue can talk to Axl and he can overhear everything.
-Sue thought that only two kinds of cheese existed: regular and squeezy. Hopefully that club will change her understanding of cheese.
-For the record, I don't think Axl  will be able to handle having two girlfriends at once, and I doubt that all girls are as understanding as Devin so it will be interesting to see what happens next.

The Martian

Mark Watley (Matt Damon) is all alone. You understand why the rest of the crew leaves him behind. There is a horrible dust storm on Mars and he is separated from the group as he is hit by a piece of one of the rovers. He nearly does die, several of times in this film, the first of which is when a piece of the rover has struck him. Mark has to fix himself and then figure out how to survive on a planet with unstable conditions where he is dependent upon machines. If something happens to the oxygen compressor or water converter goes wrong, he dies. Luckily, Mark was the botanist on the voyager so he figures out how to grow potatoes (smothered in ketchup, of course) with his own human waste. He succeeds and it is a true miracle.
In the meantime, down on Earth, NASA president Teddy Sanders (Jeff Daniels) has already announced his death and thrown him an elaborate funeral. It isn't until a fresh, young analyst notices something so simple and trivial that if she hadn't been told to look there, it would have gone completely unnoticed. Mindy (Mackenzie Davis) notices the position of the rover has been moved since the mission left Mars. Everyone is shocked to learn that he has survived, but they know that it is almost impossible that he will be able to return home. They know he doesn't have much food and that it will take roughly a year to get more supplies to him and four years, at least, for a mission to come and rescue him. They also keep his survival a secret from his fellow crew members so they can focus on their return mission. One of the mission controllers (Sean Bean) doesn't agree with that, and finally does tell the crew via video message.
Now, challenges continue to arise. Though Mark has one good crop of potatoes, the hatch is blow completely destroying his second crop and ruining the chance of further good crops. He must severely ration his food, but to his dismay, he runs out of ketchup and dosses his potatoes with Vicodin instead because no one is around to stop him. The first capsule carrying supplies blows up just after lift off because Sanders hurried through the routine tests so it would get to Mark sooner.
Fortunately, a young mathematian from California, Rich (Donald Glover) comes up with a better solution: the mission (Hermes) flies around the Earth, picking up more supplies and returning to get Mark before returning home. This means that they will be away from their families for five hundred more days than anticipated and two of the members have young children at home. Sanders instantly vetoes that idea, knowing that instead of having one dead person, the chances of having six increased vastly. Henderson (Bean) doesn't agree and in an attached photo to one of the crew members, Vogel (Aksel Hennie), with the coordinates and they gather together to discuss what going rogue would mean. Melissa Lewis (Jessica Chastain), the leader, is all for rescuing Mark but all of the crew members must be in agreement. Now, here is one of my problems with the film, the crew agrees rather quickly that they will rescue Mark, screw the consequences. This could have and should have been a longer, more intense discussion, dealing with the ethics of both ways. Sure, Martinez (Michael Pena) insists that Mark would have done the same for him. He's probably right.
Now, Sanders gets behind what they are trying to do though with the strict warning that Henderson will be fired once this dangerous mission is complete.
And the dangers continue, with Mark figuring out how to get to the rescue spot, taking with him with water converter and oxygen filter and then getting into the other launch pad, already in place for the next mission. Lewis risks her own life to get but she manages to rescue him as the whole world on Earth watches.
Yes, this film has a happy ending, Watley returns to Earth, mentally unscathed from his time alone on the entire planet, spreading his wings and teaching the future of the space program.
Henderson was correct, sometimes one life does matter. Watley will make his life matter. Damon's performance is the glue that holds the film together. He is brilliant and even loses weight to show how the limited rations would affect Watley's body weight. He breaks down after losing his potato crops and is upset when he informs Lewis that if he doesn't make it, she will have to go and tell his parents that he died doing what he loved. But he doesn't die. It is also nice seeing Damon as a guy you can root for, unlike his character in the far weaker film, Interstellar.
His supporting cast, which also includes solid performances from Chiwetel Ejiofor as another NASA director and Kristin Wiig as a funny NASA spokeswoman, is also great though there is a lot of them, but realistically so, though none of them really have any sort of major personality. Still, there isn't a false note from any of them and  they do the zero gravity scenes superbly.
The set is fantastic, with all the details taken care of. The space shuttle is great, the costumes are real and even the scene where Mark staples his wound is so realistic you would think he was truly injured. Mars really looks like what Mars would look like. Everything is wonderful.
I did have some problems with film. Like the constant editing of the f-word blatantly out of the film so it could keep its PG 13 rating. They aren't fooling anyone and it would have been more realistic to just have the word in there. My other problem is the mild romance between the two minor characters, the remaining crew members: Beth Johannsen (Kate Mara) and Chris Beck (Sebastian Stan). I would have liked to see a little more of that, but it ends happily for them, though they can't focus on their new baby as the next mission is launching, but I won't hold it against them.
That being said, I wish events in this film could happen in real life, like the cooperation between the US and China just to save one person. I wish everyone would get together for something bigger than themselves.
Even if you aren't the biggest fan of space movies, this film is worth your time. It makes science look fascinating as you can do so much and solve so many problems with science and how your life depends on solving the problem before moving on to the next one. Grade: A-

The Middle: Cutting the Cord

Meet Bernie the Bookmark! Frankie (Patricia Heaton) and Mike (Neil Flynn) are sick of parenting. They have done that already with two children and just don't have it in them to parent a third. Frankie threatens to bathe with the toaster if she has to listen to that speech on how this year will be the best ever! Brick (Atticus Shaffer) doesn't bother to tell her about the pep rally where he introduces his library mascot: Bernie the Bookmark, the teachers are shocked at how embarrassing the whole thing is and wished his parents would have stopped it. Naturally, this leads to some teasing though Brick just might have a new ally. This kid might be big but he's called Tiny in his family. Brick can't believe that someone is finally being nice to him. They get together at the Heck house to dance oddly after school and Brick says that they can do this all the time because his parents don't care about him anymore.
In the meantime, Sue's (Eden Sher's) roommate hasn't shown up yet and she is lonely. Everyone else does stuff with their roommate and she is horribly left out. She's alone in her picture on the bulletin board. Her RA (Stephanie Merlo) isn't enthuasic about anything. And when she does finally get together, it goes badly. She is shocked that people don't love America and that policemen can be bad. She just leaves and they inform her that she's part of the problem. And then, her roommate finally shows up. Holly (Lyndon Smith) has a nose ring and immediately wonders why there is no beer in the fridge. She isn't upset that she missed all of freshman week because she's actually a junior. And she lost out in the housing lottery, she wanted a single. Holly tells Sue that freshman and sophomore year sucked and she's pretty sure that junior year will be more of the same. And then she leaves.
Sue texts her parents in abundance. They get so sick of it. They try to cut the cord.
Things go from bad to worse. Holly puts an inappropriate sign on the wall. It is so bad that The Middle goes somewhere it has never gone before: the blurred out word. Yes, the sign says blurred out word Life. Sue is appalled. Holly lays down the law: they will never be friends because she hates people. She just wants to get her nursing degree and get the hell out of dodge. And her boyfriend is coming over tonight so Sue better get out of there. She does but is written up for sleeping in the common room and then throws up because of that act, not because she is drunk. She calls her parents in tears and Frankie and Mike drive up there upset over their little girl's pain. Fortunately, Axl (Charlie McDermott) takes pity on her and they go out for pizza. The parents are so touched only to realize that they didn't tell Brick they were leaving.
This was still a pretty good episode and I liked that Axl wasn't a complete jerk to his sister. She really needs his support and I'm glad that he realizes that and finally throws her a bone. I believe, though, that Frankie and Mike are truly dreadful parents. They want to coast through Brick's remaining years at home. Usually, the youngest child is spoiled but that is not the case in the Heck household; he's ignored instead.
Still, this is still a good episode, I just hope Sue can find a real friend and stat. Grade: B+
Side Notes:
-Axl has a fairly good plot line. His apartment is infected with ants. They try to lure them with syrup but that makes things worse. He gets a ferret to kill the ants but it runs away because Hutch (Alphonso McAuley) keeps the backroom open so girls can get in. Sue is thrilled about the ferret.
-Sue tells her parents that she has only eaten ice cream sandwiches for days and hasn't pooped in three days because someone is always in the bathroom. She thought pooping at three in the morning would be possible but that is when all the barfers come in. Yikes. Yet, it was the funniest moment in this episode. Axl later admits he has the same problem.
-Frankie is okay watching football with her husband.
-They don't feed Brick dinner because Mike's co-worker had a birthday at work and Frankie picked up a burrito on her way home and you must eat that food before it hardens. Again, they are horrible, neglectful parents.
-Holly doesn't even put sheets on her bed. She just sleeps on her coat.
-If Holly hates people, why does she want to be a nurse? That's the worst idea ever.
-I hope things get better for Sue. She doesn't deserve this.
-Frankie doesn't have heartburn but that doesn't mean she and Mike can have sex.

Scream Queens: Pilot

Thank goodness stuff like this can't happen in real life. This show is completely ridiculous,  but it's great and addictive, for now, at least.
The main setting is the house of the Kappa Kappa Tau and it begins in 1995 with the first murder mystery of the show. During a huge house party, a girl gives birth in a bathtub without realizing she was pregnant. Instead of getting her help right away, they continue to enjoy the party but when they come back, she is dead, having bled out. What happens to the baby? Does anyone actually know?
Fast forward to the present. Grace Gardner (Skyler Samuels) is starting college much to the chagrin of her overprotective father (Oliver Hudson, much nicer and more attractive than he ever was in Nashville). He doesn't want her to join the sorority but she feels that she must, in honor of her late mother.
Unfortunately, Chanel (Emma Roberts) is in charge and she is just plain nasty. She is rich and spoiled but also deeply lonely. she doesn't even name her posse, simply calling them Chanel #2 (Ariana Grande), Chanel #3 (Billie Lourd, daughter of none other than Carrie Fisher) and Chanel #5 (Abigail Breslin). She doesn't like non-pretty or non-white people.
The Dean of the college, Kathy (Jamie Lee Curtis) hates sororities but she probably has a horrible secret and the security on that campus is just plain awful, especially after the murders keep happening. Chanel #2 is not long for this world and then a deaf recruit's head is run over. This is only after Chanel murders the overweight cleaning lady whom she is beyond cruel to. The sisters hide the body only to have it disappear. Grace is horrified and even teams with the suspicious Pete (Diego Boneto) to expose the group for what they truly are. Pete's secret is that he is also the school mascot, which happens to be the red devil, so Grace doesn't trust him at the moment, fearing he is behind the killings and with those creepy looks on his face, he just might be.
The characters in this show are utterly ridiculous. Lea Michele is just plain odd, but effective as Hester who is obsessed with death and wears a neck brace. When Chanel calls her a sociopath, she takes it as a compliment. Keke Palmer steals scenes as Zayday, who always has something great to say, including how crazy her grandmother is. Glen Powell is Chanel's on again, off again boyfriend, Chad who is a necrophiliac and a useless idiot. Also, he must have some messed up mommy issues because he sleeps with Kathy, which is just gross and she hates herself for it.
Nick Jonas guest stars as Boone who is sort of secretly gay but he is killed by the devil only as it turns out, he isn't. He is in the morgue, grateful that the red devil rescues him and he peels off the scar on his neck.
Now, some of the twists I saw coming, like when Kathy hit on Grace's father but he proved to be far more interested in Kappa's former member and now lawyer, Gigi (Nasim Pedrad) while others I could have never seen coming, like Boone turning out to be gay and then faking his own death. Why would he do that? What does he have to prove?
And that college campus is horrible. After the one girl is beheaded, they don't search the house which is a good thing because Chanel #2's body is still in the house, soaking in her own blood. Thank goodness this is only a TV show. Fortunately, the set is great, with Chanel's huge closet and stylized clothes and the acting is brilliant. The show has creepy camera angles and you don't know where it is going to head. I can't believe the pilot 'killed' off four characters. But yes, it is funny. It probably shouldn't be as death isn't funny. Yet, I laughed several times. It just happened. You should check it out. Grade: B+

The Intern

Robert De Niro is a great actor. He has been doing great work for decades and earned both of his Oscars and each of his seven nominations and probably should have won more than he did. Here, however, despite his top billing, the film belongs to Anne Hathaway.
Anne Hathaway is not Miranda Preistley. She is Jules Ostin. She started a company, About the Fit, just eighteen months before this film began and business is booming, they have already hit their five year goal. But her investors want a more seasoned CEO but Jules isn't hot about the idea. Robert De Niro stays appropriately mum on the issue. He is, after all, just the intern, Ben Whitaker. Sick of retirement, he wants to get back out there and though Jules was rather reluctant, he won her over. He's organized, helpful and loves staying busy and learning new stuff. Plus, he has experience that should not be taken for granted. He urges a younger co-worker, Jason (Adam Devine) to actually apologize in person, rather than just send a million texts or emails to the girl he likes but ruined things with before they even began.
Ben saves Jules from getting into her car just after her driver drank from his flask and is willing to fly to San Francisco so she can meet a potential CEO.
There is more to this film than can a woman have it all? Jules's husband, Matt (Anders Holm) gave up his own promising career to become a stay-at-home dad to their young daughter. Jules is a great mom, though the other moms inform her that she can just buy something for a school event because they know she won't have time to make it from scratch because she's just too busy. Unfortunately, Matt feels left out as her business takes up so much of her time, so he steps out on her. Ben catches him and struggles with this knowledge. Fortunately, before he has to break Jules's heart, she admits it to him. She caught some naughty texts on Matt's phone. But she wants to work the whole thing out though she is devastated. Ben doesn't think that things are fixable.
Jules hires the CEO that said all the right things but Ben urges her not to do that just so her marriage can be saved because it isn't right. No one knows the company like she does and no one else will have her attention to details. Even her husband admits that he messed up big time and promises that he will be better. Hopefully he will be.
Should have Ben have confined in Jules about her husband? Anne Hathaway's Andi had done that in The Devil Wears Prada despite Miranda already knowing, here the tables are turned. Jules already knew and came out with the information. Unfortunately, there is no easy answer for that. Your friend could potentially become furious regardless of when you reveal the information.
Jules is also fortunately nothing like Miranda. She is laid back, barely has time to eat, rides her bike throughout the office so she can get some exercise, but she always put together. Her clothes are to die for. She works hard, and tries to appreciate her employees though her personal assistant, Becky (Christina Scherer) sometimes feels left out. I just don't get why everyone was warning Ben that Jules was so hard to work with.
There are the over the top moments, like when Ben and some of other interns break into Jules's parent's house to retrieve her mom's laptop because Jules accidentally sent a nasty email to her mother, and one of the sad reasons why Jules wants to stay with Matt is so she isn't buried alone. Yikes. Robert De Niro can't believe he's the feminist in the film. You won't believe it either, but he is.
Thank goodness this film contains solid performances all around, not just from Hathaway and De Niro but the supporting players are also great, Rene Russo and Linda Lavin as De Niro's love interests and Andrew Rannells, playing someone different from his usual, as Jules's right hand man at the company. The film is also great to look at. However, Jules's home and Ben's home could be on the same street, they look so similar. Whatever.
Most of this film won't stay with you long, but it was enjoyable. Grade: B

The Middle: Not Your Brother's Drop Off

Well, Sue (Eden Sher) is finally going off to college and Frankie (Patricia Heaton) has to feign the tears. She feels nothing about her only daughter leaving for college. Fortunately, she at least feels bad that she isn't sad. Frankie wonders if it is because Sue is the second kid or if all the emotions will hit her at once, later.
Sue, on the other hand, is overly prepared for college and even started packing in June. Mike (Neil Flynn) also spent the whole summer teaching her life lessons, including balancing the checkbook, tying all sorts of knots, and the changing the car tire.
Sue, of course, wants her drop off to be perfect, and even has a scrapbook that declares it to be an iconic moment so then it must be so. Axl (Charlie McDermott) is being his usual jerk self and doesn't even want to go but he is going, that is Mike's final word.
Sue has so much stuff that two cars must be taken which means Axl has no choice but to drive. Sue has walkie talkies so the two cars can communicate with the other which drives Axl beyond crazy and he decides to pass the main car but he drives so fast that some of Sue's crap falls off the car which means that the lead car gets a flat tire and Mike forces Sue to change it all by herself and she doesn't perform well under pressure. It takes forever as both cars have to be unpacked because the spare tire happens to be in Axl's car and then it nearly rolls away from Sue in one of the show's funniest bits. While Sue is busy attempting to fix the car, Frankie begs Mike to just help his daughter and how her life turned out just fine even though she never learned how to change a tire and Mike calls her bluff on all her emotions, or lack thereof. The new tire doesn't work which means that they need to call a mechanic and Sue gets to practice her other new skill of balancing the checkbook before continuing the journey. This time, she is in Axl's car with Brick (Atticus Shaffer) while Mike and Frankie are in the lead car by themselves. Frankie finally gets emotional when she says that of course she will miss Sue because Sue was such a huge part of her life for the last eighteen years but how exciting everything is when Sue is totally looking forward to college and how she will Sue up the world and how glad she is that she gets a front row seat to the whole thing. After this, Sue gets super emotional and asks that Frankie give the walkie talkie to Mike. She informs him that even though it is difficult for him to tell her that he loves her, it isn't hard for her so she tells Mike she loves him and Mike just says yep and returns the device to Frankie.
Fortunately, they arrive at Sue's dorm room and it takes them three whole hours to unpack everything because Sue brought a lot of crap before the good byes. Unfortunately, the show ends badly with Sue sitting alone in her extremely cute dorm room waiting for her roommate to arrive. It was a great episode and I was disappointed that it didn't end better. It should have ended with Mike and Frankie still on the couch thrilled that they are empty nesters before Brick declares that he is still here.
This show was mostly great, with some great performances all around, I just wish it had ended on a better note, but it was funny and typical of the Hecks for something simple to spiral out of control.
Grade: A-
Side Notes:
-Brick doesn't have much of a plot line but he has started the eighth grade and loves that he no longer needs a pass to go to the bathroom which means that he is reading tons there. His girlfriend, Cindy (Casey Burke) also wants to take that relationship to the next level and he agrees but he has no idea where the relationship currently is so how can he move it up?
-He even foolishly asks Axl for advice which doesn't go well because, according to Axl, relationships have forty levels in American and sixty plus in Europe. So who knows where that will go, but Brick is determined to make this the year of him.
-Sue's week before college is horrible. Frankie purchased a cheap garage sale curling iron which burns off some of Sue's hair forcing her to eventually cut the rest of it off giving her compliments all around, even Axl says that she looks less bad than before. High praise from him.
-I really wish Axl would wear pants sometimes.
-Mike really hammers in the life lessons. Two funny bits including Sue balancing the checkbook but believing she had done it wrong because it equaled minus eleven dollars but Mike assured her that that was right. He also taught her how to defend herself if someone tried to steal her purse. She did well because he limped to bed. Yeah, that was great. Unfortunately, Mike will never admit how much he truly does love Sue.
-The best callback was when Frankie admits that she must be a great actress or else she would have never gotten cast in the local production of The Wizard of Oz.

Life in Pieces: Pilot

Matt Short (Thomas Sadowski) is having a very bad first date. Colleen (Angelique Cabral, better in Enlisted) actually wants to have sex with him but they can't find a proper location. At her place, there is her ex-fiance, Chad (Jordan Peele) who can't afford to leave and she can't afford to buy him out; at his, there are his parents, overly kind and sweet but awkward. They try to have sex in his car, but a police officer stops them, believing Colleen to be a stripper. Yeah, horribly awkward.
Younger brother Greg (Colin Hanks) is having issues of his own. Sure, his wife, Jen (Zoe Lister-Jones) just had a beautiful, healthy baby girl but having this baby means they can't have sex for six weeks, something neither anticipated. Yeah, that plot line is stupid and horrible with two good actors wasted.
Then we get to oldest sister, Heather (Betsy Brandt from the good but short-lived The Michael J. Fox Show) and her husband, Tim (Dan Bakkedahl) getting ready for their son to go off to college. All of their children are growing up, the middle daughter just matured and their youngest, overly smart daughter learns the truth about Santa Claus. And yet, they still want another one though Tim isn't sure if everything will still work so that moment is lost.
John (James Brolin) has the stupidest idea ever, instead of the traditional birthday party, he throws himself a funeral complete with eulogies. Horrible idea. The only laughs, for me at least, came from when John got locked inside the casket to the dismay of his wife, Joan (Dianne Wiest).
This show should be good, but it isn't. The plot lines are pretty stupid and the cast, though great, is far too large for a simple half an hour sitcom. Though I am far from a fan of Modern Family, the show at least flows better while this just seems chunky and choppy. The characters need to interact more and each plot line needs to blend with the others. Grade: B-

The Sapphires (2013)

This film is about a group rarely shown, cast or even discussed in films: the Aboriginals of Australia. Now, the film has several plot holes, some of which are gaping, but they are only a problem if you worry about them.
In 1968, three sisters and their stolen cousin reunite and journey to Vietnam to entertain the troops fighting there. Dave Lovelace (Chris O'Dowd) is the one who 'discovers' them. In reality, sure he is the one who believes that they have great talent but Julie (Jessica Mauboy) is the one who wants to became famous and urges him to manager them so they can go to Vietnam. Gail (Deborah Mailman), the oldest and mother hen of the group, believes that she is too young, plus, she also has a young son to consider. Despite this, her father and grandmother allow her to run away and join the group in Melbourne, much to the dismay of the mother. Kay (Shari Stebbens) also joins them, probably because she is bored more than anything else. Gail isn't exactly thrilled to see her because for the past ten years, she has been raised to believe that she (Kay) is white, as the Australian government did back them. They later get into a pretty bad fight because Gail feels that it is her fault Kay was taken in the first place. She can't forgive herself for the event and Kay for how she treated the family at her mother's funeral. The remaining sister, Cynthia (Miranda Tapsell) has some minor plots including the fact that her fiance dumped her at the alter and she has a minor drinking problem.
Of course, despite the extreme prickliness of the relationship, we know that Dave and Gail are going to get together and they do, but Dave is also married, unhappily, for the record and Gail does give him a hard time about it, though not as long as you would have thought. She is truly a great character and without a doubt the best, most developed character of the film.
There are also the elements of war to consider and Dave does nearly die as the camp is ambushed. Gail and the rest of the group (named The Sapphires on the spur of the moment because their actual name is not pronounceable by any non-Aboriginals) believe him to be dead but fortunately, that proves not the be the case.
Now, to the problems, after nearly dying, the girls return home but it isn't until the film ends when you find out what happened. Despite the film implying that Julie was on the brink of truly becoming famous, that doesn't happen. The credits say that each of the real life counterparts helped fight to get more rights for the Aboriginals, certainly a good cause. That is the biggest problem, but also, why does Cynthia develop a drinking problem and how does she recover from it, does Kay end up with Robby (Tory Kittles), the American soldier she had been dating, and how does the friendship truly heal between Gail and Kay? None of these get answered, but somehow Gail and Kay are on great terms by the end of the film, while the other two do not. We never know if the girls return to Vietnam where they are a big hit to entertain some more.
Despite these holes, the film is still largely enjoyable; it is a war film but almost a family friendly, tidied up version of the nasty war. The girls are extremely talented both as singers and actresses, even the minor roles are well done. The scenery is pretty good though the ambush scene is slightly hokey. Nevertheless, the film is still solid and a film that should have had a wider release in America and one that you surely should check out, you won't be disappointed. Grade: B+

Beyond the Lights (2014)

This was a pretty good film, even if no new ground was broken.
Noni Jean (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) is going to be a huge R&B star, if her mother, Macy (Minnie Driver) has anything to say about it.
Noni has other plans which include letting herself off her hotel room balcony just after winning her first Billboard Award, fortunately, kind-hearted cop Kaz Nicol (Nate Parker) is there to rescue her. Noni recovers well from her suicide attempt, though, of course, her momanger (mom/manager) tries to spin it as her getting involved in politics, as if his job isn't stressful enough. Which it is.
In the meantime, Noni has struggles of her own. Her label wants to push back the release of her album, despite her already having three hits with her public boyfriend, the jerkface known as Kid Culprit (Colson Brown). Noni isn't that happy about the whole thing, though she wishes to write her own songs, while her mother is furious, livid in fact.
Macy controls every aspect of her daughter's career. After an interview, Noni goes to eat and despite Macy being on the phone, she reaches over and pulls a piece of food off her daughter's plate so she won't eat it, as it isn't Macy approved. During a photo shoot, the photographer tells Noni to take off her jacket, so she would be topless, Noni looks to Macy for approval and Macy doesn't hesitate so the jacket comes off.
Fortunately, Noni develops feelings for Kaz and gets him to be her bodyguard, even though he already has two jobs: Police Officer and working on his campaign. But he is exactly what Noni needs, something real and someone who will give her unconditional love, though he can't deal when she won't be true to herself.
She gets him to take his first plane flight, something she can't believe he hasn't done before and he is pretty darn scared, not that I blame him. And then, the two escape after her disastrous performance after the BET awards. By this point, she had broken things off with Kid and he didn't take it well and basically assaults her on the stage, thank goodness she didn't let the dancers rip off her jacket like they were supposed to. They go down to Mexico where Noni sleeps for a whole day and pulls out her weave. Then, after singing a haunting rendition of Nina Simone's Blackbird is posted on YouTube, the cameras and her mother are back. Noni returns to Los Angeles and Kaz continues on his path to the election but they are no longer together even though Noni trusted him enough to show him her secret box of lyrics.
Noni believes that Macy is finally on her side. To be fair, Macy hasn't had it easy. She was very young when she had Noni and her parents disowned her because of it. Noni's father was long gone and though Macy did care, everything was only half-hearted. She never even learned to care for Noni's hair properly and first runner up at a talent competition wasn't good enough. She was furious, not at Noni, though Noni probably took it that way as she forces Noni to chuck the trophy.
The label is thrilled with Noni's YouTube hit and wants to release Noni's record, it is ready to go after all, but Noni wants to add her own song to it but that would take too much time. Macy forces her hand, which includes the drafted termination that was supposedly accidentally sent, firing the guy she didn't like and buying them some time. Noni is thrilled and even decides who she wants to produce her song (Ryan Tedder) but Macy says that would take too long. The album must be released now while it has momentum. Noni can't believe that after everything, her mother still isn't on her side. Claws come out on both sides and finally, Noni fires her mother. She starts rebuilding her career on her own, and she will finally be calling the shots.
Kaz has his own battles, including trying to get a woman to leave her horribly abusive husband and after the guy shoots at Kaz, it will happen, though not the way he intended. He decides that politics are not his future as his father needs to be satisfied in his own life. His father takes it alright, much better than Macy.
Noni comes clean and admits that the paparazzi actually got the story right. Her leap was a cry for help and that is help that she is finally getting. She also returns to London for the first time in years where she gives a performance without Macy hissing in her ear constantly.
To her surprise, Kaz boards a plane and is there for her performance and admits that he loves her and this time he's not taking it back. Noni doesn't have time to disgust that as she must perform and she sings the song her wrote and brings Kaz on the stage and makes out with him to the crowd's delight. And, for the record, she loves him back.
This film mostly works because of the solid performances from Mgatha-Raw and Parker with Driver giving good support. If they weren't as good as they are, the film wouldn't work. The set is also great as the far too sexy costumes Noni must wear. The songs are also great. The film is the the perfect vehicle for Mgatha-Raw. It is as though the part was written specifically for her, which isn't a problem, though it is impossible for me to imagine anyone else in the role.
Now, as I am the nitpick queen, I have a few: When Noni is performing in London, and Kaz shows up, how is he allowed backstage to see her? And after his unexplained trip, he doesn't get in trouble at work, that must be nice. But props to Kaz for bringing his dog when he and Noni escape to Mexico.
Ultimately, this film was good but I would have liked the end to have an epilogue to show that despite the odds, Kaz and Noni stayed together and Macy and Noni worked out their troubled relationship, and would finally act like mother and daughter. Oh well, things can't be perfect. Grade: B+

Ricki and the Flash

First of all, Ricki (Meryl Streep) is not a famous rock star. She gave up her family's respect for a job as a cashier and gets gigs playing in a bar after hours. Yeah, she's definitely not famous. She's only released one record of her own and the band sustains themselves on covers of songs made famous by others.
Then she gets a call from her ex, Peter Brumble (Kevin Kline) who still calls Ricki by her birth name, Linda. Their daughter, Julie (Mamie Gummer), is going through a rough patch. Her new husband just left her. So Ricki flies home to the daughter she abandoned and Julie isn't that happy to see her. But Pete kept a huge secret from Ricki, Julie tried to kill herself when her husband, Max (Gabriel Ebert) left her for another woman. This truly shocks Ricki. She tries to help her daughter but her biggest accomplishment is finally getting Julie to clean up and put on real clothes. And though Pete is stiff, stuffy and snobby, he still keeps pot in his freezer and has no problem telling Max off, even in front of his new woman. Max declares that he got married too young but this new woman has kids and a dog. Now, you have two dogs, Ricki savagely informs her.
The family dinner doesn't go well. It is a fancy restaurant but Julie doesn't bother changing out of her pajama bottoms and fluffy slippers which is just great and hilarious for the viewer but painfully sad for the character. Josh (Sebastian Stan), the older son, doesn't even bother to inform his mother that he's engaged to his girlfriend of two years, Emily (Hailey Gates) while the youngest, Adam (Nick Westrate) flinches away from his mother's embrace.
And then Peter's new wife, Maureen (Audra MacDonald) turns up, looking far too perky for having just survived a red eye flight and she and Ricki get into an old fashioned pissing match over everything, including how Ricki has handled Julie, which included letting her miss a therapy session. So Ricki leaves and gets back to her life, though she's bitter and calls out Mick Jagger during one of her shows, saying that society has a double standard, a man can leave his kids and be fine but a mother cannot. Though she might be right away society, she's not right according to me. I don't like people of either gender who leave their families.
Fortunately, Ricki gets some wise words from her band mate and almost boyfriend, Greg (Rick Springfield), telling her that it is not their (her children) job to love her, it's her job to love them. And she does, from a distance.
At least Maureen finally throws her a bone and sends Ricki a super fancy invitation to Josh's wedding and Greg sells his guitar so they can go to the wedding.
Yeah, that's the movie. My problems with it are numerous and that is unfortunate. I really thought Ricki would have finally reconnected with her kids but she really didn't. For that one moment, when she gives Josh the gift of her music, they did, but the holes are still there. And the children are underdeveloped though they each get some good lines now and then, but the boys could have played by cardboard cutouts. I know that's mean, but they don't have much personality, and we don't even find out what they do in terms of careers. And I can't figure out how Pete was ever attracted to Ricki in the first place much less how they had sex three times. Pete also had the worst line in the film when he said that he felt like Thomas Jefferson in Monticello. The reason this is inappropriate to me, Jefferson slept with his one female slave and in this film, Pete's second wife is also African American. That line should be offensive.
Nothing much happens in the film but Ricki finally gets some joy and passion back in her life and all she had to do was have sex with Greg and voila, everything gets and seems better when it really isn't. We have no idea how Julie recovers and moves on from her heartbreak and why Maureen decided that it was important for Ricki to be at Josh's wedding. Thank goodness Meryl is great, of course she is, she's the greatest actress alive right now, but this movie shouldn't have been made. Diablo Cody, who wrote the screenplay, also wrote Juno which was much better than this. Ricki's character shouldn't have been sent away so early, Instead she should have stayed and formed a solid relationship with Julie, never mind if her sagging career suffered. Alas, the movie has already been made. At least Ricki is happy, I don't know if anyone else is, I'm not. Grade: B