Author Archives: Ron

About Ron

I like to watch movies and share my thoughts on them. I have been writing reviews and distributing them since 2013.

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil          2 ½ stars

Five years after Sleeping Beauty got the Disney treatment in Maleficent comes the sequel, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil. You may recall that in the 2014 movie, Maleficent, the horned winged fairy in the Moors turned out to be a sympathetic character who loved and cared for Aurora, the human princess who had been cursed to eternal sleep. The new movie continues the story a few years later with Aurora (Elle Fanning) still living in the wooded Moors where she regards Maleficent (Angelina Jolie) as her mother. Things are still tense with the humans in the kingdom of Ulstead though where Maleficent is viewed with suspicion by King John and Queen Ingrith (a wonderfully scheming Michelle Pfeiffer). When Prince Phillip, son of the king and queen proposes marriage to Aurora, the upcoming wedding becomes an opportunity for the two kingdoms to unite in an alliance. This leads to a very tense scene that might be called Meet the Parents, Disney style. The tensions boil over and King John ends up with a sleeping curse which Queen Ingrith uses as an excuse to start a war with the fairies. But it turns out that it was the Queen who put the curse on her husband King John which would make her President Trump’s favorite character in the movie. Then Maleficent discovers that there is an entire kingdom of fairies led by Borra (Ed Skrein) that have been hiding out from the humans and are looking for a way to wage war against them. One tragic character is Conall (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a fairy who is opposed to war and is a protector of Maleficent. After this the movie turns into something out of the Marvel movies with a long fight sequence between the humans and fairies with the humans producing a secret weapon to ensure their success. The movie goes back and forth between fight and warlike scenes to cute comical scenes involving cute small creatures of the forest including Thistlewit, Flittle and Knotgrass from the original film. There is also a female henchman, Gerda (Jenn Murray who some might remember as the emotional Lady Lucy Manwaring from Love & Friendship) who is something of a secret assassin of the Queen’s. The special effects are topnotch in true Disney fashion but the story tends to be formulaic and predictable. It’s a good one for true Disney fans to see, but is probably not for everyone.

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood      4 ½ stars

What better movie to follow Won’t You Be My Neighbor? than the drama A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood? Tom Hanks takes the role of TV icon Fred Rogers in this dramatization based on the real life friendship between Rogers and a magazine writer played by Matthew Rhys. The writer, Lloyd, is a cynical man who has many personal problems in his life and is suffering from a broken relationship with his father played by Chris Cooper. The magazine, Esquire, is doing an issue on heroes and Mister Rogers is the only one who would agree to an interview with Lloyd. The movie actually focuses more on Lloyd and his anger issues more than it does Rogers, but it makes an effective story. The miniature sets, puppets and fantasy sequences are used to get him to focus on his family and his relationship with his father (who left his family when Lloyd was young). Fans of This is Us will recognize Susan Kelechi Watson who plays Lloyd’s wife. Hanks captures the personality of Fred Rogers well with his personal style of interacting with children and adults. Dealing with Rogers’ direct and personal approach could be very challenging for many adults as well as his teenage sons which is mentioned. He really shows that Mister Rogers was very much the same man as the character he portrayed on TV for over thirty years. The movie takes place in 1998, only two years before the show ended. I find it preferable for a movie to focus on a short period or event in the life of an entertainer or famous personality instead of the traditional life story we see so often. This film delivers the message of dealing with our feelings and life’s challenges that Fred Rogers was all about.

Won’t You Be My Neighbor

Won’t You Be My Neighbor?       5 stars

The documentary by filmmaker Morgan Neville explores the work of Fred Rogers and his long running children’s TV show “Mister Rogers Neighborhood”. It tells us what a radical departure the show was to what passed for Children’s television back in 1968. By using footage from the show and interviews with his wife, the show’s staff and others that knew him, it gives us a close look at Fred Rogers’ philosophy of life and his way of communicating with young children through his use of puppets and discussing frank issues in a caring way. I confess that I never watched the show when I was young preferring those loud and silly shows referred to in the documentary. The film shows how Fred Rogers was determined to help children make sense of some very troubling issues of the times including violence, death and divorce. The movie is only one and a half hours long and is well worth the time spent.

Ford v. Ferrari

Ford v Ferrari     5 stars

Ford v Ferrari tells the story of two individuals who joined forces with Ford Motor Company to build a race car that could challenge the dominating Ferrari in the 24 hours of Lemans in 1966. The superb cast is led by Matt Damon as Carroll Shelby, American car designer and Christian Bale as Ken Miles, British born fearless race car driver. Both display a passion for the craft of racing in convincing fashion. The two have to battle the corporate meddling of the executives at Ford Motor Company who are more concerned with appearances and marketing than understanding what it takes to win a race. Of course the real show are the racing scenes with cars reaching speeds of 240 miles per hour and performing daring maneuvers that could end in disaster or blow a piston at a critical moment. This is all done with the amazing stunts and effective film editing and some great sound effects. It is apparent that CGI has come a long way as the entire movie looks like the real thing. I am not a gear head so I am sure some things got past me, but it looks like the best auto racing movie I have seen. The disadvantage is that since it is a true story, you have a pretty good idea how it is going to turn out in the end. The story does get a little ironic when you stop to consider that Ford is the Goliath here as they take on the much smaller auto company, Ferrari using virtually unlimited financial resources. The film is worthy of its Best Picture Academy Award nomination and its wins in both Film Editing and Sound Editing.

Bad Education

Bad Education                   4 ½ stars

I heard some good things about the HBO TV movie Bad Education so decided to give it a try. I was not disappointed by the Hugh Jackman starring vehicle about a huge school embezzlement case in Long Island, New York based on actual events. The movie follows Frank Tassone (Jackman), superintendent of one of the nation’s wealthiest school systems and Pam Gluckin (Allison Janney), his second in command as they raise the Roslyn school system’s profile getting a record number of student acceptances to top colleges and ever increasing local property values. Unfortunately, things start to come apart when one enterprising student on the high school student newspaper starts looking at the spending of the school system at local businesses and non-existent companies at the same time that Gluckin’s idiot son gets caught charging home improvement supplies on a school credit card. What follows are coverups and the shifting of blame until the source of the lavish lifestyles of the two school administrators eventually becomes apparent. (Imagine an administrator with a collection of suits, a BMW who takes first class airline seats on trips to Europe!) The story is told as a comedy/drama with some funny moments that is aided by outstanding performances from Jackman and Janney as well as the young actors portraying the students. This TV movie has received widespread praise and a couple of Emmy nominations that is well deserved. I am glad that I took the time to see it and you should look for it too.

Tell It Like a Woman

Tell It Like a Woman       2 stars

Tell It Like Woman is an anthology series, one of those movies that is a collection of short films that have a common theme or characteristic. In this case, all seven of the films are by different women directors and have women as their primary subject. It is notable for its Academy Award nominated song that plays over the closing credits: Applause by Diane Warren. I do have to say that it is a memorable song. The movie that it’s attached to, not so much. A couple of the stories are interesting like A Week in My Life by Japanese director Mipo O about a single mother who is struggling to go through her daily routine of raising two young children by herself. We see over the course of one week just how challenging this job can be. In Pepcy & Kim directed by Taraji P. Henson, Jennifer Hudson plays a drug addicted prisoner who is trying to keep her act together so that she can be released and see her young son again. Hudson also plays the part of the prisoner’s inner voice that tries to steer her in the wrong direction. The other films were less interesting and incomplete. Unless you are really into seeing some of the directors’ work or the actresses, I recommend that you skip it.

Honey Don’t

Honey Don’t                       3 ½ stars

Honey O’Donoghue is a female private detective solving cases in and around Bakersfield California where she mainly sees clients who need to know if their spouse or partner is cheating on them. The movie poster says “She only has two desires and one of them is justice”. It doesn’t take long before you figure out what the other one is. Margaret Qualley is Honey in Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke’s new film Honey Don’t. She is a rock-solid detective almost like that of a Raymond Chandler private eye who talks like one of those B movie film noir detectives out of the forties. Her one weakness is that she can’t turn down flirtatious women and often ends up in the sack with them. As the movie begins O’Donoghue becomes involved in a case of a fatal car accident in the desert where one of her potential clients has been found dead. A local police officer, Marty Metakawitch (Charlie Day) on the scene believes it to be a simple car accident, but O’Donoghue thinks there is more to it. A running gag in the film is Marty asking Honey to join him in a drink, but she says “I Like Girls” to which the clueless Marty says “You always say that.” It doesn’t take long until more murders are discovered, and O’Donoghue finds leads that indicate that a local church called the Four-Way Temple may be somehow involved. The church is led by the Reverend Drew Devlin (Chris Evans) who is a real douchebag who likes to engage his female parishioners in sex and has some side businesses going on too that sometimes require the elimination of certain problems. During her investigations Honey encounters MG Falcone (Aubrey Plaza), a female police officer who also happens to be gay and Honey does not miss the opportunity. (But don’t worry. The sex scenes are pretty tame.) Honey also has a sister who has a large brood of children which Honey is very protective of. All of the female characters seem to have one thing in common and that is having bad relationships with their fathers, especially true for Honey and her sister. When one of the sister’s girls (who was beaten by her idiot boyfriend) goes missing, O’Donoghue pays the boyfriend a visit in his trailer asking where she is. Not getting a good answer, Honey gives him what he deserves and let’s just say you had better not mess around with Honey. Like other Coen movies there is plenty of ironic violence and moronic villains to go around. The movie falls apart somewhat due to a plot that isn’t quite coherent. I felt there were some things being left out leaving it less than satisfying. But I will say that Margaret Qualley’s performance makes up for the film’s shortcomings. I would love to see her in a sequel. She has been in some great roles including those in Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood, Poor Things and The Substance. This movie by Coen and Cooke (who is Ethan Coen’s wife) is the second in a planned B-movie trilogy that are centered around lesbian characters. The first was last year’s Drive-Away Dolls that also starred Qualley as a girl on a road trip with her very uptight friend. (Along the way they encounter some very inept crooks and an all-lesbian soccer team.) It is one that I recommend. The third installment is still in the works. I have no idea what Coen and company have in mind yet, but I will certainly watch for it. Also, I am convinced that I have no need to visit Bakersfield, California.

The Rental

The Rental                          4 stars

With The Rental, actor Dave Franco shows that he can direct an effective thriller/horror film that will keep you on the edge of your seat. It’s hard to describe this movie without giving away spoilers so I can’t go into great detail. In the movie, a group of four friends decide to celebrate Dan’s successful business venture by renting an oceanside house for the weekend. Dan, his wife Michelle, his brother Josh and his business partner Mina travel to the house they found online planning a drug fueled fun weekend. Josh and Mina also happen to be starting their own relationship with each other. Tensions start to mount when they meet the caretaker who has racist tendencies toward Mina who has a foreign name. As in a good thriller, things get progressively more tense as we see that some of the characters are less than honest with each other. Suspicions arise when Josh’s dog, Reggie suddenly disappears. When one pair of our friends discovers evidence that someone has been watching them, the fear of revealing secrets set in and accusations are made. It is here that what starts as a character driven thriller suddenly transforms into something more sinister and the violence finds its way into the story. The movie is aided by effective cinematography, some well placed foggy night scenes and four good performances by the actors portraying some rather narcissistic and not so nice people. As in most horror movies, the characters make some very questionable choices that only make their situation worse. The Rental is good entertainment that takes its time to develop and does not rely on sudden scare scenes, but it will only work for true horror fans.
 

Tigertail

Tigertail                4 stars

The Netflix movie Tigertail is a drama about one man’s journey through life as an immigrant from Taiwan to America and the questioning of one’s choices through life. It’s a well-constructed story done in non-linear fashion going from Pin-Jui’s childhood on a Taiwanese farm until his old age in America. We see him as a carefree young man in the sixties who loves to dance with his girlfriend, but lives in poverty with his mother and works in a factory. Pin-Jui decides to give up this life for the promise of something better in America but does so by accepting and arranged marriage to the daughter of a wealthy businessman. In scenes flashing forward we see him as an older man in his seventies who lives alone and is questioning the choices he has made. Through his unwillingness to open-up and show any emotion with his family, he has pushed them all out of his life. The question becomes can he make amends before it is too late. The movie is both about how we treat loved ones and about what an immigrant can give up in their quest for a seemingly better life in America. It’s a worthwhile film, but the sequence of scenes the director uses will require the viewer to pay close attention to the screen. Tigertail is mostly in Chinese with subtitles and it appears to be Alan Yang’s first directorial effort.

Loaded

Loaded                 1 star

The 1994 British made indie thriller Loaded can be described as an exercise in navel gazing involving a bad LSD trip. The movie has a group of London teenagers traveling to a remote old mansion where they aim to make a bad horror movie. Along the way there is lots of philosophizing about life and what they hope to get out of it. One character, Neil, theorizes that thoughts toward a person can make one responsible for what befalls them and this may be a premonition. Two of the characters have real ambitions of becoming filmmakers with one of them having an obsession with real psychopaths. Eventually, when the group takes LSD the consequences are severe as one of their members ends up dead. Then the group must decide together what actions to take. The movie is only notable for early roles for two of the actors, Catherine McCormack and Thandie Newton. This film is a collection of clichés, self-pity and nineties hair styles. It should be avoided.