Good People, based on the novel by Marcus Sakey - 7 out of 10

Good People, based on the novel by Marcus Sakey
7 out of 10


Good People does not qualify as a memorable, outstanding motion picture, but we could classify it as...

Good Movie

The trio of artists involved in this production is wonderful:

James Franco as Tom Wright
Kate Hudson in the role of Anna Wright, the wife of the protagonist and last but not least, one of the best actors in the world:

Tom Wilkinson as detective John Halden

Anna and Tom have departed from America, where aft the crisis, the landscape architect found himself out of a job.
This they would explain to the investigating detective, perhaps half way through the film.

But in the early stages, they live in the same house with a tenant that dies at the lower floor.
The young couple find a bag with over two hundred thousand pounds...was it 220 k?

They talk about doing the proper thing, reporting it.
But they face tremendous financial pressure.

Indeed, they have just received a warning, an eviction notice and if they do not pay in days, they would loose the house, which seems to have been inherited from a late relative.
Therefore, Tom pays the money to keep the house.

Anna would also spend on a fertility treatment so that she would be able to have a baby.
Detective John Halden arrives on the premises, interested to find out what happened to the dead tenant.

The autopsy indicated an overdose and the man has indeed some ghastly connections.
The investigator asks the young man and his wife about what they do in England, what they know about the late man in their basement.

The couple say nothing about the money, explain that he works in construction and have not noticed anything particular about the dead tenant.
Meanwhile, a gangster is torturing the individual who had recommended the late criminal on his pool table.

The abused victim has to say where this connection has disappeared and where the money is.
After putting a ball into his mouth and tormenting the helpless prisoner, he writes the address and then is killed anyway, with the pool stick pushed down his thought and body.

These vicious thugs would now confront Anna and Tom.
Furthermore, there are two competing mobsters that claim the right to have the bag with cash.

The detective has supervised the transactions made by Tom and he tells the two Good People that they need to cooperate of face prosecution and then jail.
He wants them to work as bait for the criminals, guaranteeing protection.

Evidently, it will not be a cakewalk.
The boss of the detective and presumably others in the reputedly spotless Scotland Yard are in cahoots with the drug dealers and crime lords.

The is an attempt to give the money back to the gangsters and walk free, with the police arresting them.
This first try fails.

Then the criminals resort to kidnapping and a final confrontation would oppose all forces:

Good versus Evil

It is alas implausible that ordinary, Good People would be able to accomplish what we see them do in this action feature.
But, if you assume that these are extreme situations and when pushed to the edge people find incredible resources, maybe you can buy the storyline.

Get Hard, written by Jay Martel, Ian Roberts, Etan Cohen - Seven out of 10

Get Hard, written by Jay Martel, Ian Roberts, Etan Cohen

Seven out of 10

Silly?

Definitely, but this comedy can be amusing at times, especially given the charisma, reputation that precedes the two stars:

Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart

Will Ferrell plays James, a rich stock trader, selfish, arrogant, bigoted, without empathy, superficial, somewhat ignorant, with a rather low emotional intelligence, possessing a huge mansion.

In one of the first scenes, the hero is in the bedroom with his wife to be, Alissa aka he very good Alison Brie, who is very provocative, wears some sexy underwear and talks about the house and her…breasts.

Whose are they?

They are mine…

Alas, the woman is interested in wealth – we should add excessive – and when the protagonist is in trouble she would not support him, furthermore, she wants to have nothing more to do with him.

The stockbroker washes his expensive limousine – most likely an Audi – at the firm of Darnell aka the flamboyant, talented Kevin Hart.

One day, the car wash owner has a special offer for the man who wants his expensive automobile clean – a lifetime service for only thirty thousand dollars, which would be such an exceptional saving.

Alas, the haughty, self-important, somewhat Trump-like narcissistic rich man responds with a calculation pretending that if he invested the 30 k, with his acumen he would make in excess of three million dollars:

-          “I could thus change and buy a new car whenever it gets dirty without having to clean it!”

Darnell is upset, for he plans to buy a house for his family and before this discussion, James had been terrified when an African American knocked at the window of his car, sure that this is going to be a robbery.

In fact, this one theme adds some gravitas to the movie, for it plays on preconceived ideas, hidden racism, snobbishness, and the impression that this white man and so many others have that black people are bad.

The stockbroker has a birthday party where a celebrity singer is invited, an expensive party is organized, a lavish guitar is offered as a present and when the celebrated man is singing along the music star…the police walk in.

The hero is arrested and he faces multiple charges of fraud, embezzlement and other crimes.

He claims he is innocent and rejects the argument of the lawyer that he should seek a guilty plea.

Without that, he is sentenced to ten years in prison!

With his racial prejudice, he is sure that Durrell had served time in prison and he even makes a silly argument:

-          “Look, I deal with statistics…that is what I do and one in three black men are serving time…

-          How do you know I went to jail?

-          Imagine a pizza with three slices…one slice is the black man who went to jail”

Darnell is hired, for thirty thousand dollars, to coach the scared, terrified white man who is going to Saint Quentin.

He will have to learn to…Get Hard.

Not all of the story is amusing.

Indeed, there are only a few scenes that would make audiences laugh – the public has rated this at 6 out of 10 and the critics have been even harsher, with an average of 34 out of 100.

In fact, you better watch the movie trailer, because this is as Hard as it gets, the humor you see there is relevant for the whole motion picture.

Confessions of a Shopaholic, based on the novel by Sophie Kinsella - Seven out of 10

Confessions of a Shopaholic, based on the novel by Sophie Kinsella

Seven out of 10

For those living in less developed lands, the main theme of this motion picture would seem preposterous, for their problem would be to get enough money to buy food, pay the rent and medical expenses and not the latest Prada, Louboutin or other high fashion labels.

Nevertheless, this is an old theme, best described and solved by Charles Dickens in one of his masterpieces, David Copperfield:

"Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen [pounds] nineteen [shillings] and six [pence], result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery." Mr. Micawber

The protagonist of this light comedy is Rebecca Bloomwood aka the very good, likeable Isla Fisher, a woman who is addicted to shopping, hence The Confessions of a Shopaholic.

There are many amusing scenes, one of the first has the heroine suggest the sex orgasm, only in her case it seems a state of equal – no, superior – bliss is obtained when shopping for her favorite clothes, handbags, etc.

Alas, there are so many bargains and discounts – she has to fight over a pair of boots that were marked at a fifty per cent discount with another mad shopper – which she ends up unable to pay the accumulated debts, which stand at over sixteen thousand dollars at one point.

Together with her friend Suze -, portrayed by Krysten Ritter – seen by this viewer in Breaking Bad – she has developed a technique to avoid calls from those who want to recuperate money from her.

They answer the phone and go through a pre-established list of false excuses running from accidents, to relatives in hospital and including a bizarre and often reference to…Finland.

When challenged about this frequent use of lies connected to the Scandinavian country, the shopaholic retorts:

“Nobody wants to check upon Finland”

Nevertheless, she would be in awkward situation with a Finnish man, because she would have claimed to speak the language, only she does not know a word.

When she is panicked that one green scarf she wants may be out of her reach, Rebecca meets a crucial character, at a hotdog stand.

She has seen this essential piece of attire, but her credit cards are rejected continuously at the cashier and she needs desperately to get the cash so she jumps at the first counter, selling hotdogs and she wants to offer a deal, to buy all the dogs – perhaps forty – just to get the missing twenty.

Luke Brandon aka Hugh Dancy is next in line and he gives the woman the twenty dollars together with an important economic lesson.

The two meet again, when the young woman is interviewing for a new position, for her previous job has been lost.

To her surprise, the man who is about to listen to her is the stranger who paid for her scarf, which she had claimed would be a gift for her aunt.

Rebecca throws the compromising item on a desk, because her pretense would be exposed for the lie it was.

She then proceeds with a funny, false series of statements:

She speaks Finnish, she is very qualified, the woman who was supposed to get the gift has died…

However, she does get the job and there is a good chemistry between the editor of the magazine and the woman who has to google for basic information on her first article, for she is completely unqualified.

Eventually, the heroine would join a therapy group, much like Alcoholic Anonymous and there are other amusing scenes.

On her first meeting, Rebecca talks with effusion, ecstasy and exhilaration about the pleasure of shopping – so much so that she seems to turn around the poor people who have just boasted about their dry periods.

At one point, she would be forced to take all her recent, valuable acquisitions, including a bridesmaid dress, to donate for the poor and this is a tremendous blow for the helpless woman.

This is an entertaining comedy, if not one of the best ever made

Warning Shot, by Breanne Mattson - 7 out of 10

Warning Shot, by Breanne Mattson
7 out of 10


There are some heavyweights present in this motion picture:

David Spade, James Earl Jones and Bruce Dern.

Alas, the movie is not up to the standard of these great actors...
Well, there are some meritorious aspects.

David Spade plays Bobby, while Bruce Dern is Calvin, his very old grandfather.
They want the water rights which a rival family has.

Bobby sends two thugs, Rainy and Jawari to pressure the old man who has the rights to sign and transfer the property.
Rainy wants to know what would happen if the man does not agree and resists.

He is over ninety for God's sake, comes the reply.

Audrey is a single mother, living with her daughter, Cheyenne and working as a waitress.
They are both kidnapped by Rainy and Jawari, but the former is the vicious assailant and the latter would actually try to temper his lunatic partner in crime.

Very soon, Rainy takes a detour from his assignment.
He is interested in Audrey but terrorizes the woman and her daughter into thinking he would abuse the child, who is probably about eight years old.

The film becomes a horror movie.
The mother shouts and cries in desperation, abhorred and scared to death by the prospect of having her child molested.

She keeps crying:

Take me! Take me! Take me!

When he saw what his colleague intends to do, Jawari had tried to stop him.
But the monster kicked him in the head with the rifle.

Characters in the feature keep talking about the gun that the beats has.
And he repeats with exasperating tenacity:

This is a rifle, not a gun!

Frank Whaley portrays a Protestant who knocks on doors, spreading the word of the bible.
His name is David and when he knocks at the door answered by Rainy, his fate is sealed.

The monstrous creature would insult, tie and beat the innocent man.
Then he would make David choose who would die, in a sick, mad game.

Unfortunately, the actor playing Rainy is going over the top.
His part could be argued to be the most important.

And yet, the performance feels artificial, exaggerated and unconvincing.

Keanu, by Jordan Peele and Alex Rubens 8 out of 10

Keanu, by Jordan Peele and Alex Rubens
8 out of 10


Keanu is a good, entertaining comedy.
The writer-actor Jordan Peele is very good and so is his partner, Keegan-Michael Key.

In the opening scenes, we have a vicious attack on a drug gang and the audience may think this is going to be thriller.
And it is to some extent.

The personage that gives the name to the motion picture escapes the carnage and arrives at the door of the grieving Rell Williams aka Jordan Peele.
His girlfriend has just ended the relationship and the cat comes at the right moment.

The lovable pet would offer consolation, even if cats are not known for their affection, but more for their indifference.
Rell is devastated when a few days later, his apartment is robbed and his new friend is missing.

He would embark on a quest, with his best friend, Clarence Goobril.
They would have to go undercover.

In the sense that they are educated men, belonging to the higher class in a manner of speaking, but they would have to pretend to be thugs, killers and talk accordingly.

This is where the main amusement of the comedy is.
That and the fact that the two law abiding men would find themselves breaking the rules and in cahoots with dangerous criminals.
Keanu is now in the possession a gang leader, Cheddar.

The two protagonists pretend to be the infamous, monstrous Oil and Smoke Dresden.
To get the kitten, the crime lord wants them to participate with his gang in some drug deals.
Oil is on a mission with Hi-C, the woman who acts as the deputy, right hand player of the mobster.

They have to sell drugs to...Anna Faris, who plays a crazy, addicted version of herself.
The actress starts acting weird and refusing to pay for the drugs.

Then she offers in a climactic moment $ 10,000 if Hi-C kills her partner...Oil, as he is known at that moment.
The gangster turns towards Anna Faris and...

Kills her!

Apparently...

Young Adult by Diablo Cody 8 out of 10

Young Adult by Diablo Cody
8 out of 10



Although not majestic or phenomenal, Young Adult is entertaining.

And Charlize Theron is very good.
Her role is complex and challenging, for the heroine combines intelligence, drive, perseverance, determination with goals that are loathsome.

Mavis Gary returns to her home town to reunite with her high school boyfriend, Buddy Wilson aka Patrick Wilson.
The fact that he is married and his wife has just given birth to a girl does not seem to matter for the protagonist.

It is also true that she has become a writer of YA books aka Destined for Young Adults and she seems to have adopted the thinking of the characters that populate her fiction.
When she comes back, she meets in the local bar with Matt Freehauf aka Patton Oswalt.

Matt has suffered a vicious attack that has left him with a disability- he walks with a cane now - when some monsters thought he was gay and tortured him for that.
Alas, Matt does not seem to be able to get over the traumatic experience and is negative and depressed.

He could and should be more optimistic, like another man, a cousin of the heroine, who is climbing rocks, instead of just sitting around, in spite of being forced to use a wheel chair.

Matt is cynical and when he hears a fellow disabled man talk about climbing, he says:

You mean rock crawling...

This character does play a good role in that he tries to prevent Mavis from attempting to wreck a marriage.
The woman gets drunk so often that the conclusion is she has a drinking problem, aside from other issues.

When she meets with Buddy, he wants to invite Matt to join them.
However, he is in love with his wife and daughter.

When he drinks for the occasion, he gives the impression that he may want to get close to his former girlfriend.
But it is her imagination and wishful thinking that cause her to misrepresent the standing of the man she had loved.

A climax is reached when the Slade family has a party for the daughter and Mavis is invited.
The writer wants to tel the proud father and host something in private.

In a bedroom, she tries to embrace and kiss the one she thinks is willing to run away with her.
But the man is appalled at the prospect.

He even pushes her away:

What is wrong with you?!

Mavis gets drunk afterwards.
She ruins an expensive silk dress and makes a scene.

Her monologue is interesting, sad, absurd and somewhat amusing.
In front of perhaps forty people, she talks about her desire to take the man she has loved away.

She says:

I could have had all this.
Buddy was my lover.
I was pregnant and could have raised that child and others.
But the child died.

After she laments and says more along the same lines, Buddy opens the garage doors.
He starts beating on a new set of drums!

His wife, Beth, is a drummer in a local amateur band, with other young mothers.
The drums are the surprise gift , but the effect is embarrassing and funny.

Unwittingly, the husband opened the doors just as Mavis was finishing her speech.

Why did you ask me here?
She asks her former lover.

I did not.
My wife did.

Mavis has sex with Matt, but I am not sure what the effect is on either of them.

Young Adult is a good film, if not overwhelming.

Taxi for Tobruk, based on story by Rene Havard 8 out of 10

Taxi for Tobruk, based on story by Rene Havard
8 out of 10


Lino Ventura, Charles Aznavour and Hardy Kruger contribute to making this film remarkable.

A French unit is fighting against the Nazis, in the North of Africa, while their vicious Vichy regime is siding with the Germans in World War II.
The vehicle they use breaks down and the morale of half of the group is compromised as a consequence.

Lino Ventura has the role of le brigadier Theo Dumas, who is pushing for his men to continue through the desert, even if they have no means of transportation.
Charles Aznavour aka Samuel Goldman feels walking through the sands is pointless and so does Francois Gensac who states that dying without effort seems much better than taking pains to achieve the same thing...

He will just rest...

However, even the desolate two change their minds and luckily, they appear to find a way out.
After a short walk, they run into a German group that has a  vehicle with them.

They attack the enemy and they also stop Captain Ludwig Von Stegel as he is about to use a gun and send a message to his comrades.
It would be a long journey, during which the opponents get to know each other.

First, Jean Ramirez wants to kill the remaining Nazi and then Goldman tells him he is Jewish.
They have to drive through a mine field, where one of them dies.

Then they have to pretend to be Germans as they cross through their camp, where Just say ja, for they do not know the language.
After this, there are more perils.

During the difficult trip, the captain refused to do any work, saying that the Geneva convention protects him.
When their transporter is stuck in the sand, the French start digging.

This is the moment when they do not watch over their prisoner.
Therefore, they become prisoners in turn.

Von Stegel has taken the machine gun and he is now in command.
For a while, it looked like he may even drive away, leaving the enemy in the desert.

There are some amusing moments, for instance the refusal of the captors turned prisoners to cooperate...
Why should they do any work, when the former captive had rejected them a while back.

Then there is the story told by one of the commandos, about his father who is with the Petain regime
My father would become Chinese, if the Chinese occupied France, and would take the colors of anyone else who would get the power