Flix!
My wife got into a thing this last weekend and decided she wanted to see Wonder Woman. I am really burnt out on super-hero movies. But even though I had to give up a rerun of Jeopardy!, I went because she was interested. And I'm glad I did.
Wonder Woman began in DC comics back in the 40's and I was not introduced to her until the 60's when I was reading every comic book I could get my hands on: westerns like Kid Colt, war comics like Sgt Rock, and Sgt. Fury and the Howling Commandos, Superman, Batman, The Fantastic Four, Spiderman, The Atom, Antman, Green Lantern, Flash, Aquaman, Ironman, The X-Men, and yes even goofy comics like Casper the Friendly Ghost, and Wendy the Good Little Witch, Baby Huey, Ritchie Rich the poor little rich boy, Hot Stuff, and all the Disney comics.
I say this because I want you to know of comic books I have vast knowledge. And yes I read every Wonder Woman I could get my hands on. So I knew the back story. And it's a great back story. And the movie does it justice. The golden rope. The arm shields. The Shield. And in future movies, an invisible jet.
The movie does a clever job of slickly telling the back story of Wonder Woman and not taking a lot of time doing it. Even though there is a lot of action along the way, when she gets into the thrust of the action she is ready and willing to do the right thing.
Wonder Woman is played wonderfully by Gab Gadot, a Israeli actress. Even though through most of the movie I thought it was Olivia Munn - Sloan Sabbath from The Newsroom. Chris Pine plays the male counterpoint to this wonderful, tough, and great woman.
The story takes place during WWI and Wonder Woman takes charge, kicks ass, and takes names. But it's done in great way.
This was directed by Patty Jenkins, and the media is making a horrible mistake. They are making a big deal about the fact that this is a woman. And that the superhero is a woman. The media tonight made a big deal about the fact that half of the audience this record breaking weekend were women, 52%. Hey, that's only half. Stop trying to make it sound like this is a woman's movie. It is not. It's just a very good movie.
The story is good, the cast is great, and it is edited masterfully. It's two hours, but that's not unusual. And it's fun. And the character, coming from an island of strong, independent women, just knows right is right and wrong is wrong.
Even though I don't understand how in the middle of a flip to deliver a kick she can suddenly go into slow motion, I think this a solid movie worthy of your visit.
Grade: a high B+
Monday, June 5, 2017
Wednesday, May 3, 2017
Bosch (again)
Bosch
Tube!
amazon prime
I did a review on this a couple years ago after a year of this series. I just got through the third season. And as usual it was fantastic.
Back then I wondered if TV would be smart enough to keep this series. But thankfully, when things are this good, it gets attention. So we have been treated to a couple more seasons with more coming I hope.
This season started slow, and in my opinion stayed slow just a little too long and then got to a point where it quickly had to tie up loose ends in the last couple episodes. But I am going to have to be able to live with that, because Bosch is way too cool.
I'm not going to describe the newest season, but I will say that there are two or three storylines going on all the time. But I will say this is a great show. And I recommend it highly.
And I'm sure there is more to come. And in a couple years watch for me to be writing about it again.
Tube!
amazon prime
I did a review on this a couple years ago after a year of this series. I just got through the third season. And as usual it was fantastic.
Back then I wondered if TV would be smart enough to keep this series. But thankfully, when things are this good, it gets attention. So we have been treated to a couple more seasons with more coming I hope.
This season started slow, and in my opinion stayed slow just a little too long and then got to a point where it quickly had to tie up loose ends in the last couple episodes. But I am going to have to be able to live with that, because Bosch is way too cool.
I'm not going to describe the newest season, but I will say that there are two or three storylines going on all the time. But I will say this is a great show. And I recommend it highly.
And I'm sure there is more to come. And in a couple years watch for me to be writing about it again.
Wednesday, March 1, 2017
The Americans
Tube!
FX
Let's go back to the Reagan era. Imagine The Soviet Union starts training young people from an early age to only speak English, so that it becomes flawless. They are trained in technology, fighting skills, weapons, and other clandestine skills. Then they are put together as a couple and placed in America with new perfect identities. This is the premise of The Americans. Phillip and Elizabeth Jennings (Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell) are travel agents in the Ronald Reagan America. They have a nice home in suburban Washington D.C. and even have two children, Paige and Henry (Holly Taylor and Keidrich Sellati). But they have a dark secret. They are Russian spies.
To add to the interesting storyline, an FBI agent in Counter-Intelligence moves in across the street. He has a wife and a son that Paige seems to sometimes be interested in. Henry definitely likes hanging out in Stan Beeman's home. Stan, played by Noah Emerich, is the said FBI agent. After Stan's wife leaves him, he allows Henry to sort of fill in as a surrogate son until Stan's son comes back to stay. Also in the storyline Stan gets romantically involved with a Russian KGB woman Nina (Annet Mahendru). This leads to them both compromising themselves.
Also they are asked to recruit Paige, so that she can someday be hired by the FBI or CIA. That is turning into an interesting process.
Stan Beeman's boss at the FBI is played fabulously by Richard Thomas. I feel for the position he, Agent Frank Gaad, was always put in by the inept Agent Stan Beeman.
There are many great additions to the cast here. The Russians: Claudia (Margo Martindale), Gabriel (Frank Langella), Arkady Zotov (Lev Gorn), and Oleg Burou (Costa Ronin).
This is a fascinating story and a great show. When President Reagan was shot and Alexander Haig announced "I'm in charge here" to the Russians it meant this had turned into a military coup. Along the way Phillip turns an FBI secretary (Allison Wright) and under his false identity, of Clark Westerfield, married her. That is the extent to which they will go to gain surveillance and information.
I have seen four seasons. A fifth will premier very soon. I am very much looking forward to it. If you have amazon prime you can review the whole show. I am not certain about Hulu. But see this. Even if you have to rent it season by season from you local video store. It's worth it.
Grade: A
FX
Let's go back to the Reagan era. Imagine The Soviet Union starts training young people from an early age to only speak English, so that it becomes flawless. They are trained in technology, fighting skills, weapons, and other clandestine skills. Then they are put together as a couple and placed in America with new perfect identities. This is the premise of The Americans. Phillip and Elizabeth Jennings (Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell) are travel agents in the Ronald Reagan America. They have a nice home in suburban Washington D.C. and even have two children, Paige and Henry (Holly Taylor and Keidrich Sellati). But they have a dark secret. They are Russian spies.
To add to the interesting storyline, an FBI agent in Counter-Intelligence moves in across the street. He has a wife and a son that Paige seems to sometimes be interested in. Henry definitely likes hanging out in Stan Beeman's home. Stan, played by Noah Emerich, is the said FBI agent. After Stan's wife leaves him, he allows Henry to sort of fill in as a surrogate son until Stan's son comes back to stay. Also in the storyline Stan gets romantically involved with a Russian KGB woman Nina (Annet Mahendru). This leads to them both compromising themselves.
Also they are asked to recruit Paige, so that she can someday be hired by the FBI or CIA. That is turning into an interesting process.
Stan Beeman's boss at the FBI is played fabulously by Richard Thomas. I feel for the position he, Agent Frank Gaad, was always put in by the inept Agent Stan Beeman.
There are many great additions to the cast here. The Russians: Claudia (Margo Martindale), Gabriel (Frank Langella), Arkady Zotov (Lev Gorn), and Oleg Burou (Costa Ronin).
This is a fascinating story and a great show. When President Reagan was shot and Alexander Haig announced "I'm in charge here" to the Russians it meant this had turned into a military coup. Along the way Phillip turns an FBI secretary (Allison Wright) and under his false identity, of Clark Westerfield, married her. That is the extent to which they will go to gain surveillance and information.
I have seen four seasons. A fifth will premier very soon. I am very much looking forward to it. If you have amazon prime you can review the whole show. I am not certain about Hulu. But see this. Even if you have to rent it season by season from you local video store. It's worth it.
Grade: A
Thursday, February 16, 2017
Trombone Shorty at 20 Monroe
Music!
A New Venue opened tonight in Grand Rapids. It’s called 20 Monroe and it’s right next to the BOB. It’s attached as a matter of fact. It has been done in some collaboration with The House of Blues. It is a really fun place and because we found out an artist the wife and I are both incredibly curious about was the premier opening night act, we just had to go. But we found out about it a bit late, so the best we could do for seats were the back row. But understand this place holds roughly 2400 so even though we were a way off, we still had a pretty good view. Almost a Fountain Street Church, but when you get way up there, not so much. Some shows will have chairs on the main floor. This one did not. The Stage can move forward or back etc. Interesting. There are bars on both sides of the stage, and waitresses work the seated areas in the balcony.
A New Venue opened tonight in Grand Rapids. It’s called 20 Monroe and it’s right next to the BOB. It’s attached as a matter of fact. It has been done in some collaboration with The House of Blues. It is a really fun place and because we found out an artist the wife and I are both incredibly curious about was the premier opening night act, we just had to go. But we found out about it a bit late, so the best we could do for seats were the back row. But understand this place holds roughly 2400 so even though we were a way off, we still had a pretty good view. Almost a Fountain Street Church, but when you get way up there, not so much. Some shows will have chairs on the main floor. This one did not. The Stage can move forward or back etc. Interesting. There are bars on both sides of the stage, and waitresses work the seated areas in the balcony.
All things considered I’m a fairly passive concert viewer. I don’t clap along, sing along, and I never give a standing O unless the performance moved my soul. I’ve given 3 in my life and many times have sat amidst an ocean of standing people. But when this show started I began moving. I couldn’t help it. It’s somewhere in my DNA. Soul/Jazz/Funk is somehow in my white bread suburban ass. I don’t know why. But maybe it’s when my folks bought somewhat of a stereo when I was around 13, it came with Ray Charles. His Greatest Hits. The LP. And I wore the grooves off. This was great stuff to me just as I was being hard-wired. So maybe that had something to do with it. It might also explain why the CD The Best of James Brown is a permanent fixture in my Corvette. And the latest permanent out there is my last purchase. TuPac. Me Against the World. So I had to see this guy.
My sister happened to see him as an opening act at Red Rocks outside of Denver and she brought him to our attention. And we were definitely interested. Now we are definitely hooked.
Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue opened the 20 Monroe Venue. In honor there is a Trombone Chandelier that will hang in that lobby until the end of time because of it. Trombone Shorty is one little ball of talent. He plays trombone the best I’ve ever heard, and he makes it cool. How can one make the trombone cool? But he does. He plays the best trumpet I’ve ever heard. Davis, Gillespie, Bodie, Armstrong, any. He even plays the drums. And his singing is impeccable. And he dances like James Brown. This guy is just one body of pure talent. And his band are excellent as well. A kid that looks like he’s a senior in high school on guitar and he’s great. A bass player, Baritone Sax and Bass Sax that are awesome, and a drummer, that even thought I have never seen a better drummer than the one with Chris Bodie, he was incredible. When Trombone Shorty did this song that sort of morphed into a James Brown thing and he was doing all the moves and dancing, with the moonwalk tossed in, and the band is so tight, was simply inspiring. I told my wife later that if I could play in any kind of band and play any kind of music that was it. Jazz/Blues/Funk/Soul in no particular order.
I have never seen a better band. Ever. I’ve seen some great bands. The Eagles, Dylan, Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, Crosby, Stills, and Nash, and Lyle Lovett’s Large Band and many more. Excellent for sure. But these guys set the bar. Wow. Number after number I kept thinking, “Certainly they are closing with this.” But no they kept charging on.
I have seen some great shows folks. The Eagles front row. Frank Sinatra. Bruce Springsteen - 13 times, Lyle Lovett - twice, Tom Waits, The Ramones, Paul McCartney, Prince, The MC5, and even Elvis Costello. But none were better than these guys. None. This show will easily make my list of best shows ever. Probably in the top 5.
Watch for this guy. He’s a comer. Penny commented on the way home that she thought we saw him at a good time. It’s not always going to be this easy to see him this close. It’s like when I saw Diana Krall up close and personal. A few weeks later, she was a big deal. I walked right back stage at St. Cecelia’s and got an autograph.
Anyhow, this was one of the best shows I’ve ever seen. And in the future, you’re going to like this venue. And if you ever get a chance to see this guy, do it.
Grade: A
Monday, January 30, 2017
Sully
Sully
Flix!
Everybody has something that to them is comfort food. Chips, or nachos, or in my case spaghetti. We just saw the film Sully, and this was not a cinematic masterpiece, but is was a good film and great comfort cinema.
As in Captain Phillips, Tom Hanks once again takes on the portrayal of an American hero. And he does a great job helping to tell a great story. Directorial choices did not do the story in chronological order, but this was better because we got to see the incident three times. Not great film making but who cares? This was good.
We get to see the aftermath of the the forced water landing. Not a crash. A forced water landing. Sully is crucified by the powers that be. Because a zillionaire airline and a zillionaire insurance company might have to cough up a few bucks. It's sickening and ridiculous. But it happened. He saved the lives of 155 people.
What a fascinating story. A story that demonstrates humans are still smarter than computers, and that 42 years experience is better than a computer simulation. Especially a simulation that was rehearsed 17 times first.
But that's what holds this movie together; the great and fascinating actual event. The movie here however tries too hard to put together a movie storyline that it ends up showing us the event three times and therefore loses much of the tension of the actual event.
We are subjected to some convoluted problem with the wife, and the exploration of his relationship with his first officer.
This film did a wonderful job of documenting this actual event and Sully for sure should be admired by us all. But as for the film maker, he's done better. And I mean Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven, Mystic River, and Million Dollar Baby. He mis-stepped here. He was close but no cigar.
Grade: B
Flix!
Everybody has something that to them is comfort food. Chips, or nachos, or in my case spaghetti. We just saw the film Sully, and this was not a cinematic masterpiece, but is was a good film and great comfort cinema.
As in Captain Phillips, Tom Hanks once again takes on the portrayal of an American hero. And he does a great job helping to tell a great story. Directorial choices did not do the story in chronological order, but this was better because we got to see the incident three times. Not great film making but who cares? This was good.
We get to see the aftermath of the the forced water landing. Not a crash. A forced water landing. Sully is crucified by the powers that be. Because a zillionaire airline and a zillionaire insurance company might have to cough up a few bucks. It's sickening and ridiculous. But it happened. He saved the lives of 155 people.
What a fascinating story. A story that demonstrates humans are still smarter than computers, and that 42 years experience is better than a computer simulation. Especially a simulation that was rehearsed 17 times first.
But that's what holds this movie together; the great and fascinating actual event. The movie here however tries too hard to put together a movie storyline that it ends up showing us the event three times and therefore loses much of the tension of the actual event.
We are subjected to some convoluted problem with the wife, and the exploration of his relationship with his first officer.
This film did a wonderful job of documenting this actual event and Sully for sure should be admired by us all. But as for the film maker, he's done better. And I mean Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven, Mystic River, and Million Dollar Baby. He mis-stepped here. He was close but no cigar.
Grade: B
Patriot Day
Flix!
This film is based on the real life Boston Marathon bombings. The film stars John Goodman, Mark Wallberg, Kevin Bacon, and JK Simmons and a host of many great people who played a host of actual real life people. This is pretty much just a factual recount of exactly what happened and how it happened, and that was simply dramatic enough.
My son had seen it before and he said it would tear my heart out. It did. But on the upside were the depiction of all the wonderful people and technology and staff that were able to find and apprehend the perpetrators so quickly.
And even in all of the horror there were scenes of citizens stepping up, people assisting each other and generally being inspiring. We meet some people who were runners and each lost legs in the blast. and yet remain optimistic. One even eventually runs the marathon on an artificial limb.
In the end we get to meet the actual people portrayed. I am not a rah-rah flag waver by nature. Never have been, never will be. I don't want my patriotism to be judged by anyone, let alone anything obnoxious. But a flag flies in front of my house statement-less all summer, and all I can say about these folks are God bless them.
And all us will be remorseful about our fellow great citizens we lost. So sad.
This is a film everyone should strive to see. It doesn't just recall what happened that day, it recalls what being an American means. We are all one family. Christian, Jew, Fat, Short, Muslim, Ethnic, Buddhist, Gay, Democrat, Immigrant, Black, White, Republican, Brown, Trans, Yellow, and Native. We might have our problems, but we are all one family. And don't mess with our family.
Grade: A
This film is based on the real life Boston Marathon bombings. The film stars John Goodman, Mark Wallberg, Kevin Bacon, and JK Simmons and a host of many great people who played a host of actual real life people. This is pretty much just a factual recount of exactly what happened and how it happened, and that was simply dramatic enough.
My son had seen it before and he said it would tear my heart out. It did. But on the upside were the depiction of all the wonderful people and technology and staff that were able to find and apprehend the perpetrators so quickly.
And even in all of the horror there were scenes of citizens stepping up, people assisting each other and generally being inspiring. We meet some people who were runners and each lost legs in the blast. and yet remain optimistic. One even eventually runs the marathon on an artificial limb.
In the end we get to meet the actual people portrayed. I am not a rah-rah flag waver by nature. Never have been, never will be. I don't want my patriotism to be judged by anyone, let alone anything obnoxious. But a flag flies in front of my house statement-less all summer, and all I can say about these folks are God bless them.
And all us will be remorseful about our fellow great citizens we lost. So sad.
This is a film everyone should strive to see. It doesn't just recall what happened that day, it recalls what being an American means. We are all one family. Christian, Jew, Fat, Short, Muslim, Ethnic, Buddhist, Gay, Democrat, Immigrant, Black, White, Republican, Brown, Trans, Yellow, and Native. We might have our problems, but we are all one family. And don't mess with our family.
Grade: A
Monday, January 23, 2017
The Newsroom
The Newsroom
Tube! HBO
The Newsroom is the latest brainchild of Aaron Sorkin who brought us A Few Good Men, An American President, and the giant The West Wing. He uses real life news stories and the backdrop of an network news show to create fascinating situations and interesting characters all with their own baggage and situations.
The cast is headed up by Jeff Daniels as Will MacAvoy, a news anchor who can sometimes be a maverick. But he is somewhat encouraged to be by the head of the News Division. That person, Charlie, is played perfectly by Sam Waterson. But ultimately they all answer to the owner of the network, Leona Lansing, played ironically by Jane Fonda, ironic since she was once married to CNN owner Ted Turner. But she brings real life to Leona. And her son is the President of ACN, her network. The pain in the butt Reese Lansing is played deftly by Chris Messina.
The pilot kicks off with a doozy. Most of these characters are introduced behind the backdrop of the Gulf Oil explosion and spill. That's just the pilot. Later we get to touch on the Gabby Gifford shooting, the Boston marathon bombing and more. Including Osama Bin Laden.
These all become real people and we grow to love them all even with their own personal quirks and issues and unrequited loves.
Will is a bit of a jerk, calling out to "Punjab" when wanting the Indian guy. This is by the way the one who runs his blog, played amusingly by Dev Patel who is now becoming a big Hollywood deal. He also calls his assistant Maggie, Ellen, because he has not kept up with the fact Ellen left and Maggie replaced. But soon Maggie is promoted to associate producer by the major thorn in Will's side, Executive Producer McKenzie, played by Emily Mortimer. She and Will once had a relationship and it ended bitterly. And on and on it goes.
I have always touted Breaking Bad as the greatest thing I've ever seen on TV. Sticking with that, this is a very, very, very thinly sliced number two. This is fantastic stuff.
We also get a brief look at reporters following candidates on the campaign trail, and reporters in harm's way in remote places.
I streamed this all the way through. A few weeks later I missed these characters and watched it all again. And now I am actually thinking about doing it again. On top of all that, I own it all on DVD. I'm gonna watch this as long as I like. It's only two and a half seasons after all.
Grade: A
Tube! HBO
The Newsroom is the latest brainchild of Aaron Sorkin who brought us A Few Good Men, An American President, and the giant The West Wing. He uses real life news stories and the backdrop of an network news show to create fascinating situations and interesting characters all with their own baggage and situations.
The cast is headed up by Jeff Daniels as Will MacAvoy, a news anchor who can sometimes be a maverick. But he is somewhat encouraged to be by the head of the News Division. That person, Charlie, is played perfectly by Sam Waterson. But ultimately they all answer to the owner of the network, Leona Lansing, played ironically by Jane Fonda, ironic since she was once married to CNN owner Ted Turner. But she brings real life to Leona. And her son is the President of ACN, her network. The pain in the butt Reese Lansing is played deftly by Chris Messina.
The pilot kicks off with a doozy. Most of these characters are introduced behind the backdrop of the Gulf Oil explosion and spill. That's just the pilot. Later we get to touch on the Gabby Gifford shooting, the Boston marathon bombing and more. Including Osama Bin Laden.
These all become real people and we grow to love them all even with their own personal quirks and issues and unrequited loves.
Will is a bit of a jerk, calling out to "Punjab" when wanting the Indian guy. This is by the way the one who runs his blog, played amusingly by Dev Patel who is now becoming a big Hollywood deal. He also calls his assistant Maggie, Ellen, because he has not kept up with the fact Ellen left and Maggie replaced. But soon Maggie is promoted to associate producer by the major thorn in Will's side, Executive Producer McKenzie, played by Emily Mortimer. She and Will once had a relationship and it ended bitterly. And on and on it goes.
I have always touted Breaking Bad as the greatest thing I've ever seen on TV. Sticking with that, this is a very, very, very thinly sliced number two. This is fantastic stuff.
We also get a brief look at reporters following candidates on the campaign trail, and reporters in harm's way in remote places.
I streamed this all the way through. A few weeks later I missed these characters and watched it all again. And now I am actually thinking about doing it again. On top of all that, I own it all on DVD. I'm gonna watch this as long as I like. It's only two and a half seasons after all.
Grade: A
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