This film wasn't bad; it just wasn't all that good.
Marnie (Susan Sarandon) is a recent, wealthy widow who moves to Los Angeles to be closer to her only child, Lori (Rose Bryne) who is a depressed screenwriter, having recently broken up with her movie star boyfriend, Jacob (Jason Ritter). Apparently, he was pretty mean to Lori but she's still hung up on him nevertheless. I wish we knew why. Also, Jacob had such little screen time, there was nothing spectacular about him whatsoever.
Marnie slowly stops hanging on her daughter's every word, volunteering at the hospital, driving one of the Apple geniuses to his night classes, falling for someone new throughout the course of the film.
This film belongs to Susan Sarandon and she is great. However, there are some problems. The supporting cast is great but they have so little screen time and that's such a shame. She's grieving her husband, struggling to find a purpose in life, but she is doing good and helping others. She might not have her own grandchildren (only granddogs) but she semi-adopts one of her daughter's friend's daughter and is kindly known as Grandma Marnie. And she finally opens herself up to the possibility of a new relationship with the always delightful J.K. Simmons.
That being said, this film broke no new ground and dropped a character abruptly out of the plot, but Marnie realized that he didn't need her anymore and she didn't need him as much as she thought she did. Grade: B
Friday, September 29, 2017
Saturday, September 9, 2017
Baywatch (2017)
Though this film is bad, it was at least mostly good fun until the end, when the ending kind of fizzled out.
Mitch Buchannon (Dwayne Johnson) is the big man on campus. He has saved many lives and is loved by all and he doesn't appreciate being forced to hire Matt Brody (Zac Efron) who is cocky beyond reason and a total jerk. Despite Brody being a good swimmer, and winning two medals in the Olympics, he only thinks of himself.
Then, Mitch discovers drugs on the beach and links them back to businesswoman Victoria Leeds (Priyanka Chopra) and starts to investigate her, breaking laws and doing gross stuff to get answers.
Which they do. Matt grows up, finally. He sticks up for Mitch, gets the team to find answers and they work together because teams are the best, each needing each other to get the best results. But the cameos of David Hasselhoff and Pamela Anderson were pretty stupid and unnecessary, distracting from the main plot.
All-in-all, I won't watch this film again, but at least it was fun the first time around, and it did go quickly. The acting was only average and some jokes and gags were just wrong, such as having Matt touch the balls of a dead guy and having dead fat drip on him, that was just nasty. The romantic plot lines were thin and predictable but I'm glad the couples ended up together nevertheless. At least the film looked good, with excellent editing and camera angles. Despite everything, this was not a bad way to spend the evening. Grade: C+
Mitch Buchannon (Dwayne Johnson) is the big man on campus. He has saved many lives and is loved by all and he doesn't appreciate being forced to hire Matt Brody (Zac Efron) who is cocky beyond reason and a total jerk. Despite Brody being a good swimmer, and winning two medals in the Olympics, he only thinks of himself.
Then, Mitch discovers drugs on the beach and links them back to businesswoman Victoria Leeds (Priyanka Chopra) and starts to investigate her, breaking laws and doing gross stuff to get answers.
Which they do. Matt grows up, finally. He sticks up for Mitch, gets the team to find answers and they work together because teams are the best, each needing each other to get the best results. But the cameos of David Hasselhoff and Pamela Anderson were pretty stupid and unnecessary, distracting from the main plot.
All-in-all, I won't watch this film again, but at least it was fun the first time around, and it did go quickly. The acting was only average and some jokes and gags were just wrong, such as having Matt touch the balls of a dead guy and having dead fat drip on him, that was just nasty. The romantic plot lines were thin and predictable but I'm glad the couples ended up together nevertheless. At least the film looked good, with excellent editing and camera angles. Despite everything, this was not a bad way to spend the evening. Grade: C+
Monday, September 4, 2017
The Natural (1984)
This film was not good.
Roy Hobbs (Robert Redford) is a small-town kid with an amazing talent in baseball. He has a magic arm and just when you think he's going to be a big star, he meets the first of two femme fatales: Harriet Byrd (Barbara Hershey). Though she's supposed to be an older, wiser, more worldly woman, it's hard to tell because Redford is too old for the role. Despite having a fiance back home on the home in some unnamed mid-western state, he nevertheless goes to her hotel room for whatever reason, as no desire burns in his eyes. In a scene that I didn't think about, assuming that she was going to seduce him, something unexpected happens, she shoots him for whatever reason. He doesn't die, but he's in the hospital for a huge amount of time and doesn't get back to the majors for sixteen years.
The coach of the New York Knights, Pop Fisher (Wilford Brimley) isn't happy that he has a middle-aged rookie on the team and only allows him to warm the bench while the assistant coach, Red (Richard Farnsworth) thinks that Roy has potential. Roy finally gets his chance after the current right fielder dies after crashing through the wall to catch a ball. I found that pretty ridiculous, though probably not impossible. At first, Ray is brilliant, in his first at bat, he literally crushes the cover off the ball. Roy is an instant sensation, until he meets Pop's niece, Memo (Kim Basinger). Side Note: What the hell kind of name is Memo? She is femme fatale number two, in with the manager of the Knights, who wants to kick Pop out of the game once and for all, and gain money in the process. So Roy's bad streak begins though it ends when his first love, Iris (Glenn Close), whose name isn't mentioned in the film returns to see one of his games. It is also revealed that she has a son. Call me crazy, it would have been a bigger twist if Roy hadn't have been the father.
Then, just as the Knights are almost in the playoffs, Gus (the unbilled Darrin McGarvin, aka The Old Man from A Christmas Story) and the owner's right-hand man uses Memo to drug Roy which means his old injury flares up and he's taken to a maternity hospital because it's the 'closest'. He is bribed not to play another game, and the doctor would agree because the silver bullet is slowly tearing away the lining in his stomach. But he doesn't listen and against doctor's orders, plays, and hits the winning home run as he starts to bleed out. And Iris tells him about their son, finally which leads me to Side Note #2: There is this lovely little invention called a condom. I've heard that they are very effective.
Though the ending is happy, I knew it had to happen, the bad guys, especially stereotypical bad guys, can't win.
I felt like I was watching a film on the outside, the characters didn't invite me in and the acting was lackluster with not much change in facial expressions and actions that seemed to come out of nowhere, at times. I found the plot unbelievable and though Redford did have a good scene every now and then, he was far too old for the role, even after the character aged sixteen years. And though I have against Glenn Close, I can't believe that she was nominated for an Oscar for this role. Basinger was better, despite for the money Roy would get to not play in the game so she could escape from underneath the owner's thumb. Also, Roy when someone's uncle says that she is not to be trusted, you really should listen to him. Grade: C+
Roy Hobbs (Robert Redford) is a small-town kid with an amazing talent in baseball. He has a magic arm and just when you think he's going to be a big star, he meets the first of two femme fatales: Harriet Byrd (Barbara Hershey). Though she's supposed to be an older, wiser, more worldly woman, it's hard to tell because Redford is too old for the role. Despite having a fiance back home on the home in some unnamed mid-western state, he nevertheless goes to her hotel room for whatever reason, as no desire burns in his eyes. In a scene that I didn't think about, assuming that she was going to seduce him, something unexpected happens, she shoots him for whatever reason. He doesn't die, but he's in the hospital for a huge amount of time and doesn't get back to the majors for sixteen years.
The coach of the New York Knights, Pop Fisher (Wilford Brimley) isn't happy that he has a middle-aged rookie on the team and only allows him to warm the bench while the assistant coach, Red (Richard Farnsworth) thinks that Roy has potential. Roy finally gets his chance after the current right fielder dies after crashing through the wall to catch a ball. I found that pretty ridiculous, though probably not impossible. At first, Ray is brilliant, in his first at bat, he literally crushes the cover off the ball. Roy is an instant sensation, until he meets Pop's niece, Memo (Kim Basinger). Side Note: What the hell kind of name is Memo? She is femme fatale number two, in with the manager of the Knights, who wants to kick Pop out of the game once and for all, and gain money in the process. So Roy's bad streak begins though it ends when his first love, Iris (Glenn Close), whose name isn't mentioned in the film returns to see one of his games. It is also revealed that she has a son. Call me crazy, it would have been a bigger twist if Roy hadn't have been the father.
Then, just as the Knights are almost in the playoffs, Gus (the unbilled Darrin McGarvin, aka The Old Man from A Christmas Story) and the owner's right-hand man uses Memo to drug Roy which means his old injury flares up and he's taken to a maternity hospital because it's the 'closest'. He is bribed not to play another game, and the doctor would agree because the silver bullet is slowly tearing away the lining in his stomach. But he doesn't listen and against doctor's orders, plays, and hits the winning home run as he starts to bleed out. And Iris tells him about their son, finally which leads me to Side Note #2: There is this lovely little invention called a condom. I've heard that they are very effective.
Though the ending is happy, I knew it had to happen, the bad guys, especially stereotypical bad guys, can't win.
I felt like I was watching a film on the outside, the characters didn't invite me in and the acting was lackluster with not much change in facial expressions and actions that seemed to come out of nowhere, at times. I found the plot unbelievable and though Redford did have a good scene every now and then, he was far too old for the role, even after the character aged sixteen years. And though I have against Glenn Close, I can't believe that she was nominated for an Oscar for this role. Basinger was better, despite for the money Roy would get to not play in the game so she could escape from underneath the owner's thumb. Also, Roy when someone's uncle says that she is not to be trusted, you really should listen to him. Grade: C+
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