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Reviews
The Sandlot (1993)
Film inspired writer of Golden Arm Gentleman to write his book
When one thinks back to their childhood, way back in the day, for many of us, the thoughts of those glorious days of old, spent on the hallowed grounds, those neighborhood diamonds and fields with our buddies, comes flashing back. As a writer of three successful books, I used that very experience during my own youth to write, "The Golden Arm Gentleman", about a generation growing up in a much different time than it is today. It was a time when playing ball was all that seemingly mattered. My neighborhood guys, although we would occasionally butt heads, we always seemed to have each other's backs when it really mattered. The movie Sandlot seemed to amazingly capture that very spirit; of that glorious time in the summer, when we were up early playing ball all day long, right up until our mothers called us in for dinner. But the real awesomeness of this film, I mean the real magic here, comes from the writers, and their insightful abilities to have assembled a cast of players, that we all knew very well, because, well, they played in our sandlot games too. Of course, we all had a Smalls on our team, you know, that one guy that initially couldn't hit his way out of a wet paper bag, but by summer's end, was hitting the ball like Pete Rose. And there was always a Benny Rodriquez, the best player on the field, but his modesty and caring nature always shined even brighter than his playing abilities. We all had that big catcher behind the plate, that next to eating, playing ball all day long, was all that really mattered to him. Yes, they were all there; the intellectual guy, the pitcher on the mound who emulated the various pitching styles of the day (Seaver, Gibson, Koufax, Jim Palmer), even the small nerdy guy with the glasses (who was tough as nails by the way). Bravo to the movie Sandlot, for giving many of us a chance to relive our childhood, that of playing the summer game that we loved more than life itself, with our guys from the neighborhood. It's a grand reflection from a much different time, when we were out on America's sandlots physically playing the game, not sitting behind a computer screen playing a video version of it. And atlas, it was a much different, easier time than it is today. But I'm so very glad that I was able to be a part of it.
Shooter (2007)
Hoorah! A win for the good guys.
Mark Wahlberg is incendiary, in this 2007 classic movie, which pits a special services hero versus the sleazy underbelly of a rogue Federal government.agency, who frames Wahlberg's character (Gunny Sargent, Bob Lee Swagger) for a political assassination. Wahlberg once again shows his pension for excelling in action movies, as he battles the viscous deep-operative Colonel Isaac Johnson (Danny Glover) and his gaggle of deep-state operatives, in an effort to clear his good name, as well as expose the truth. Daniel Pena (Special FBI Agent Nick Memphis) does a great job being Gunny's lone supporter, and in doing so, becomes a target himself. There's no denying that the body count in this film is extensive, and some of Gunny's antics are just down right MacGyverish, to say the least. But it all comes together nicely at the end, which will have you exalting a huge, "Awe Hell yeah"
Wahlberg probably should stick to doing these type of hero, action movies, as they are very successful at the Box office, and fans of his work such as myself, would rather see him portray more characters like Bob Lee Swagger, than say,
Dirk Diggler.
Say It with Songs (1929)
Great start for cinematic creativity on celluloid
A very simplistic story, carried by the raw emotions of Al Jolson. The movie is pretty much an easy-read, as most early talking films were.
Jolson would go on to make several other films, and be remembered as a talented singer and actor.
Movie 43 (2013)
Ingenious writing, sick and demented as it is, hits it out of the park!
I have to say this right off the bat, this film is perverted, demented, risqué, politically incorrect, really sick ........ and that's what really makes this such a great picture! All you need to do is look at all the A list stars that wanted to get aboard this Farrelly Brothers project! I understand there were many more actors that had their agents scour the Brothers for a part in this film, but were turned away. If you liked Blazing Saddles, Airplane and Police Squad, you'll love this!
Too Hot to Handle (2020)
Big Brother on steroids
Usually Netflix original stuff is pretty well rounded, where usually, a great message rolls out after the final show of the season. But this one ....... ehh, not so much. The premise of putting ten or twelve horny young adults on a tropical island retreat, with alcohol and full bottles of lotion and libido is somewhat amusing. When putting them there and telling them that, there's to be absolutely no sex or no $100,000, well, that becomes whimsical. The de facto of all of this of course, is that these selfish, materialistic and sex hounding millennials will truly learn through the experiment, that there are much deeper connotations associated with relationships other than casual sexual romps
Ah, yeah ......... not a chance with this bunch, as in the end, the love they get, is equal to the love they give (apologies to McCartney and Lennon) Which really means nobody really gets anything in this hollow reality show.
Rated in 4/10 the cinematography was incredible!
The Hunt (2020)
THE HUNT FOR IDEOLOGIES
The first thing that immediately hits you in the first 8 to 10 minutes, of the Craig Zobel film, "The Hunt" is the fact that a dozen or so "deplorable's" are being hunted as fair game, in an open field. Wait, stop the presses, please, "deplorable's" as in the amous line uttered by then Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in the 2016 primary cycle? Ah, apparently yes.
(In full disclosure, the Clinton reference was neither said or implied)
So here it is, Twelve strangers wake up in an empty field, not having the vagus idea of where they are or how they got there. Actually, In the murky shadows of dark urban lore or an internet conspiracy theory, ruthless elitists have gathered at a remote location to hunt ...... well, ah ..... those with with politically conservative agendas, shall we say, for sport.
The hunters on the other hand, are portrayed as being polar opposites of their hunted game, liberally charged people, whose embrace of climate change, gendering and other pertinent issues of the day, actually have fueled their anger and hatred for those not like them. But their master plan to eliminate their right-wing prey gets a fly in the ointment, when one of the hunted, Crystal, played brilliantly by Betty Gilpin, turns the tables on the hunters. Gilpin provides some great action scenes, whose Chuck Norrisesque moves seemed to come in quite handy, as her character quickly emerges as the leader of the band of "deplorable's". Hillary Swank plays the villain, Athena, an angry liberal who is hell bent on revenge against anything Conservative. But it was actually veteran actress Amy Madigan (Field of Dreams) who this author thought turned in a brilliant performance as Ma, the owner of a supposedly redneck country store, flat out in the middle of rural Arkansas (Wait, isn't all of Arkansas rural? 😎) Madigan played the part brilliantly and surprisingly covertly, and we'll leave it at that.
Sadly, the film used epitaphs and coined phrases, to aptly highlight our current socioeconomic and political differences, as we sit smack dab in the middle of an actual 2010 Presidential race. The use of the terms rednecks, snowballs, illegals, etc. put sort of a shameless spotlight on social issues of the day, and reminded me just how wide the divide is in our country. But the entire premise of the film I guess was exactly that, and what the film was supposed to portray.
I give this a rating of 7, with heavy on the violence and gore, almost Tarantino like at times. As for the ending, it is prolific and leaves us all with a great message, regardless of what side of the aisle you sit on.
Orange Is the New Black: Here's Where We Get Off (2019)
Emmy's abound for Netflix 2019 ground breaking season of OITNB
Bravo, to this year and final season of Orange is the new Black! The actors performances were once again incendiary, with the usual suspects
Uzo Aduba (Suzanne) Taylor Schilling (Piper) and Laura Prepon (Alex) once again, leading the way, on the fast track for another Emmy nomination. But hold the press, this season there were other notable performances that were certainly Emmy worthy as well. Among the gifted performances this season included Daniele Brooks, for her role as Tasty. Yael Stone, with her gritty performance as the psychotic Lorna, was simply over the top. And as a dark horse candidate, one of my favorites, the tried and true Joe Caputo, played by veteran actor Nick Sandrow, who very well could garner his first Emmy nomination, after ending a brilliant run this year. No doubt about it, this well rounded cast contributed to the monumental success of a show that will be remembered as, one for the ages, and destined to be enjoyed over and over again, by it's steadfast fan base.