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danielgray1975
Reviews
Anyone But You (2023)
A few funny moments, but otherwise instantly forgettable
This was the first movie my wife and I have seen at the theater in years. While we've both enjoyed Sidney Sweeney in Euphoria and The White Lotus, this is not her best project to date. The writing was cheesy and predictable as could be, and the funny parts of the movie were few and far between with most of them basically spoiled in the trailer. My wife actually fell asleep for a little bit, but at least the theater seats were comfortable and the loaded fries were tasty, but damn what an expensive nap. My advice would be to see something else at the theater and just wait for this one at home, cause it just wasn't very good. It has an excellent cast so this was a real disappointment. There's nothing wrong with a little lighthearted romantic comedy escapism, but if the writing isn't there, there's only so much the cast can do. The movie mainly takes place in Australia, and it does show off the scenic beauty of the country very well, so at least the Aussies out there can be proud of how lovely their nation looks on the screen.
Slumberland (2022)
Beautiful Family Movie!
I really enjoyed this movie! I went in with zero expectations, only knowing that Jason Momoa was in it and that it had something to do with dreams. What I got was a fun film, with a heartfelt story, and extremely well made. The cast was excellent and the visual effects were very well done, always a challenge when the story is literally the stuff of dreams. Jason Momoa was his usual charming and funny self playing the dream outlaw, Flip. It's nice seeing him in a family movie outside of his superhero work, and he was a lot of fun in this. The real surprise for me was Marlow Barkley, the young lady that plays Nemo, the main character of the story. She was so great, and I expect we'll be seeing her a lot more in the years to come. Asking a child to be the anchor of a film isn't always easy, but she does, and does it extremely well.
Bottom line, this is a great movie that everyone in the family can enjoy. I was pleasantly surprised and hope folks will give it a chance like I did and enjoy it as much, too.
'Twas the Fight Before Christmas (2021)
Well made documentary about a bully hiding behind religious freedom.
HEAVY SPOILERS: This is a very well made documentary about a family's legal battles with an HOA over a Christmas light show, complete with a camel, live nativity, choir, and thousands and thousands of lights (think Clark Griswold on cocaine) put on in their Idaho neighborhood. Now, generally I can't stand HOAs, and I wouldn't ever live in a neighborhood that has one, and I totally expected to be on the Christmas guy's side, but man was I wrong. I can't stand a bully, and I have never seen a bigger bully hiding behind the "Christian Persecution/War on Christmas" nonsense in my life. He was threatening lawsuits before he even moved into the neighborhood, and btw, he's a lawyer, "thousands of times smarter than these people", which he'll happily tell you before he threatens to sue you...which is constantly. As a side note I learned he was educated at Liberty University, so yeah....anyway, he's going to spread Christmas Cheer and if you don't let him he's gonna ruin you, damn it!
I feel for that neighborhood. They just wanted to keep their neighborhood the quiet, sleepy little bit of paradise that they moved there to have, and it was all ruined by one guy, not his family mind you, just the husband. His poor wife just wanted to have a nice relationship with her neighbors cause she never had that growing up, as she lived in an isolated area with lots of space between homes, and her husband ruined it. She tried to be supportive, but this guy has a my way or no way mentality, believing he's like an American General, surrounded by hostile forces, to the point of quoting an American General's one word reply to the German Army when they told them to surrender during the Battle of the Bulge in a reply to the HOA. He compared himself to Moses according to one couple in the neighborhood, an actual Christian minister and his wife, whom I'm positive he probably accused of being "anti-Christian atheists." He had the Three Percenters running around the neighborhood, armed of course, cause that's their whole thing, and surprise, surprise it upset some people, but it's Idaho, so everyone is apparently armed. Nothing says Christmas Cheer like armed security from a militia! When things turn against him, Mr. Christmas says the Judge is corrupt and they live in a banana republic, cause of course they do. He says the HOA's lawyer is clearly a "commie." Jeez...the documentary crew must have the patience of saints to be around this ray of sunshine.
These are retirees and families with children for the most part, though the neighbors aren't exactly blameless in this whole thing either. This is a tight knit neighborhood, with everyone being close, and one guy tried his best to mess it all up with his righteous fury (and most likely political ambitions that a kerfuffle like this could jump start in the crazy right wing of our current times), though he actually made everyone else an even tighter group with his bull.
In short, he's a child that was bullied, so he became a bully himself as an adult, using lawsuits as his brass knuckles and conservative media as his bullhorn. Who knows how it will all end up cause he wants to take it to the Supreme Court should it be necessary. Keep in mind, nearly every single person in this neighborhood is a Christian of some denomination, they just don't want thousands of people in their neighborhood for several days each holiday season. They also didn't seem to appreciate being secretly recorded every single interaction that you have with a neighbor. I'm sure he's a real hit at parties. It's back and forth in the courts right now.
I can't believe it, but I hope the HOA wins.
The History of Future Folk (2012)
Took a chance and it paid off
I came across this movie while looking for something to watch on Netflix, and I'm glad I gave it a chance. It's a crazy premise, but it mixes a bunch of genres together that made for a very entertaining whole. The music was very good and was another nice surprise from this little gem of a movie. Give it a chance!
The Nice Guys (2016)
A Great Buddy/Detective Movie With Perfect Casting And Great Characters
The Nice Guys was a pleasant surprise for me. When it was originally released it flew under my radar and I didn't see it until it was available for home viewing. It has all the ingredients for an enjoyable flick: a great cast of actors, interesting characters for them to play, and a well written script (though folks may find some of the plot elements seedy, but that's why ratings exist) with great banter and dialogue. I've always enjoyed buddy-cop movies, though our two heroes aren't actually cops, but an ex-cop turned private investigator, and a tough guy you can hire to teach someone a lesson/deterrence by having him beat the hell out of the offending person. These two protagonists become unlikely partners to solve a great '70s era whodunnit.
Both Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling bring terrific humor, drama, and warmth to the pairing of these totally different characters. Their interactions, along with scene-stealing Angourie Rice (the current Betty Brant in the Marvel/Sony Spider-Man movies, and Siobhan Sheehan in HBO's excellent Mare of Easttown), who plays Gosling's spitfire tween daughter, were for me some of the best moments in this film. Gosling especially shows how funny he can be with a lot of great idiosyncratic dialogue mixed in with all the physical pratfalls, accidents, and beatings he takes.
I won't spoil the fun, so enjoy this movie. Along with 2005's Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, The Nice Guys is one of writer/director Shane Black's best films. It is well worth watching!
Without Remorse (2021)
Varies greatly from the source material, but still a good modern take
I love the book this movie is very, very loosely based on, so just let me get that out of the way. It's a great read if you ever want to see what might have been had this movie been made decades ago when the source material was still fresh and of the time. Having said that, a vengeance story is always timely, cause who can't see wanting to coldly punish those which kill one's beloved? Nearly the only thing that has stayed the same from the book is the character's name, his history as one of the very best SEALs to come out of the Navy, and that his significant other (he loses a pregnant wife to an accident and then his new girlfriend in the book, and his wife and unborn daughter in the film) is murdered. Of course, this book was written a long while ago, so things would definitely have to be rewritten for current times, and Tyler Sheridan, one of my favorite writer/directors of late does a good job updating the story to present days, admittedly not an easy task (though he did have the help of Will Staples), even if nearly everything else from the book is changed.
Michael B. Jordan shows once again why he is one of the best young action stars working today. He is totally believable as a Special Forces operator. On the flip side of the character, he is playful and loving with his wife and believably excited to become a father to a baby girl when his family is taken from him. The military side of his life is winding down to retirement and a new security contractor job on the horizon that will allow him to be close to home with his young family. The actor that plays his wife, Lauren London, was a great choice. She's very lovely and anyone would be believably ripped apart from her loss. When she and her unborn baby are gunned down in cold blood, a switch is turned and Kelly becomes vengeance itself, his only mission to punish those that not only killed his family by deed, but whoever the "king" is that ordered their deaths, because this was no ordinary home invasion, it was a professional hit. Tom Clancy quotes John Dryden at the start of his novel, "Beware the fury of a patient man", but we never get the slow burn of the book. Given this is a single movie to give Clancy's second most famous character, John Kelly (later known as the legendary Mr. Clark of the CIA and Rainbow Six), his backstory, we can't expect to see the lengths taken in the book to exact his revenge. Perhaps a limited series would have been better, but if the film is successful we will most definitely be seeing either a Rainbow Six TV series or possibly a series of films with these updated characters. The ground work is definitely laid for just that to happen and I believe it is the film's biggest flaw: it's just a setup for what's to come. Many of us have probably played the Rainbow Six games throughout the years, and Amazon is most likely looking to make the books and games based on them a major part of their streaming service's original programming. I can't blame them for that, because they are some of Clancy's best stories. I only wish they had done a series for this particular property so it could have been fleshed out more to the tone of the book. The changes in the characters themselves aren't an issue. They were lucky to get the excellent cast they did. Jodie Turner-Smith as Kelly's team leader, Karen Greer (yes, related to James Greer, his niece) was an excellent choice as she has a definite presence in her every scene. Jamie Bell plays CIA operative Robert Ritter as an extremely unlikable prick whose loyalty is never quite known till the end, and he does so extreme well. The rest of the cast is great as well. Again, I only wish they could have been fleshed out a little more. Clancy wasn't one to spare the details in his writing, and you expect to see that translate to the screen, but that's easier said than done.
All in all, most action film fans will enjoy the movie. If you're a fan of the books and this character specifically, the variation from his original backstory may be too much for you. I think the property just wasn't made soon enough to be tied to the book more accurately. They could have made this movie in the early 90s when it was first released, but I understand that was a whole other challenge. I believe they are planning to tie this film in with Amazon's already popular Jack Ryan series. I hope that's the case. That explains why the retcon has to be so severe. The addition of Mr. Clark will be a welcome one in the Jack Ryan universe. It's hard not to like such a great character.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Victory and Death (2020)
A Perfect Finale For A Groundbreaking Show
What an amazing finale for The Clone Wars! This final four episode arc has been like a movie itself, one that weaves in before, through, and after Revenge Of The Sith, itself the best of the Prequel Trilogy. Those of us that consume all the Star Wars we can know that the three main characters of this episode, Maul, Rex, and Ahsoka, will survive to fight another day, but it's a edge of the seat ride to see how it will happen! All the previous shows have led to this: the final episode of a show set between two films that fill in the mystery fans have guessed about since 1977 of what the Clone Wars were and why they happened. The show has consistently made the prequel era better than it would be with the movies alone. The animation, music, story, and voice acting reached its zenith in this final episode. The final scene with Darth Vader retrieving Ahsoka's abandoned lightsaber hits you right in the gut. We know from Rebels that he had assumed she was dead, leaving him utterly alone thanks to his fall to the Dark Side. I wish it wasn't the last one, but I'm glad they were able to finish the series properly. It was worth the wait!
The Death of Superman Lives: What Happened? (2015)
A interesting story about what might have been.
If you love comics and movies about comic book characters (especially Superman, naturally), then this is a documentary for you. This film pulls back the curtain on what goes into making a movie about the most recognized character on the planet in the strange, twisted, and ego-driven world that is Hollywood. Love him or hate him, a Tim Burton Superman movie would have been truly something to see. Would it have been bad, good, or legendary? We'll never know, but this documentary let's us see what might have been if Warner Bros hadn't pulled the plug at literally the last minute. There were a lot of very talented people that were doing some of the best work of their careers (up to that point) in every department of the film's preproduction. Now we finally get to see some of that amazing and unique art, set designs, props, creatures design, incredible (and some odd) costumes, and even the choices made in the casting of a blockbuster motion picture. I for one was glad that this work was finally being shown, even if only in a "what if" kind of scenario.
Full disclosure, I love Tim Burton's films. His signature style of design sets his work apart and makes his films instantly recognizable. I wish that I could take a trip into an alternate reality where this film was allowed to be made by Warner Bros, just to satisfy my own curiosity about how it would have turned out. It would definitely be different than anything that came before it!
All-Star Superman (2011)
A faithful adaptation of a great comic!
Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely's All-Star Superman is one of my absolute favorite takes on the Man Of Steel. Morrison's mind is a unique voice in comics and Frank Quitely has a pencil style that truly is beautiful to behold and instantly recognizable, so translating this duo's 12 issue All-Star run was a sizable challenge for Sam Liu and his crew at Warner Bros Animation. Luckily for the viewing audience, they were able to translate a majority of the story from the comic to the screen in another wonderful entry in the DC catalog of animated features.