True Story

True Story 

Rating 6 out of 10

This movie didn't get much press.  Most have not even heard of it.  True Story is actually based on a true story.  Back in 2001 Michael Finkel while writing for the New York Times was found guilty of plagiarism.  He embellished his story on some African children and lost his job and creditability.  Not long after he found out that accused murder Christian Longo was picked up in Mexico telling everyone he was the writer.  Guess he didn't hear about the plagiarism.  In real life the two looked a good bit alike.  In the movie not so much. Finkel is played by the chubby again Jonah Hill and Christian Longo is played by the creepy again James Franco.

Longo was accused of killing his wife and children, stuffing them into suitcases and throwing them into the Oregon ocean.  Finkel having no work reaches out to Longo only to find out he is a big fan.  He agrees to give Finkel the scoop on his story if he will in return help him with his creative writing.  The guy is clearly nuts.

The movie is interesting although it creeps along at a fairly slow pace.  Finkel's wife is not crazy about her husband hanging with a murder.  Finkel thinks of this as a way to get back on top. The movie tracks from their meet on through the murder trial. The acting is pretty good even though I'm not a fan of Jonah Hill or James Franco.

This would make a good rainy day rental.

So that Happened: A Memoir

So that Happened: A Memoir

Rating 8.5 out of 10

I have been trying to get back into listening to audio books again on my long drives rather than my XM radio or podcasts.  I like audio biographies.  Just about any audio biography will do.  I wouldn't call my self a big fan of Jon Cryer, but I knew a good bit of his work and consider myself a Two and Half Men fan.  I have seen Cryer on several talk shows pushing the book and thought I'd give it a try. I am very glad I did.  

Cryer is a funny guy and turns out knows how to write an entertaining book while making fun of himself more than anything else.  One thing about audio biographies tho is the people always tend to over explain their childhood.  Jon does this a bit although not enough that I was tempted to skip ahead.  

He does not leave anything out or sugar coat any lumps he may have taken.  One of his first movies was with Demi Moore called No Small Affair (which I actually saw in 1984).  During this film he and Demi had a romantic fling.  Which became a crazy topic when he later co-stared with her second husband Ashton Kutcher.  He talks about making Pretty in Pink and how he didn't really care for Molly Ringwald or Andrew McCarthy.  Talks about plenty of his failures.  About people thinking he was gay (he likes girls) roles he almost got (Chandler on Friends).  He goes into detail about landing the part of Alan Harper on Two and Half Men and goes into great detail of the meltdown Charlie Sheen had.  

I found the book highly entertaining and flowed quickly.  Laughed alot.  I consider myself more of a Cryer fan than when I started.  

Furious 7

Furious 7

Rating 7.5 out of 10

The blockbuster season has begun with the seventh edition of the Fast and Furious series that began with few expectations back in 2001.  Hard to believe that when the first one came out no one knew who Paul Walker or Vin Diesel was.  Jordan Brewster was considered the star name of the movie.  Fourteen years and billion$ later we roll into one of the biggest money making franchises in movie history.  The first movie was mainly based on fast cars and hot women.  The series has evolved into more of a super hero fantasy where cars fly and our stars can leap buildings with a single bound.  That makes for some loud exciting park your brain at the door/ don't think about the plot sort of way.

Seven begins where Furious 6 left off.  The brother of the bad guy the gang disposed of is mad and out for revenge.  That is a bad thing when that brother is Jason Statham.  He is out to kill the whole Furious gang and has the tools to do it.  The movie starts with an epic fight scene between Statham and The Rock inside the LA FBI office.  Testosterone flies as they crash thru glass walls.

Once the gang figures out Statham is out to kill them they fight back to avenge the death of their Asian friend by going on the attack.  They join forces with Kurt Russell who runs some unnamed CIA type of government special unit.  Russell wants a chip that a computer guru invented that can use   all existing cameras to locate anyone in the world.  Unfortunately the computer person has been kidnapped by bad guys. The Furious gang are the only ones that can save her by parachuting in cars from 10,000 feet that drop their fast cars on the winding road behind the caravan taking her to the torture room.

As I said park the brain at the door.  Maybe leave it at home.  It's been rumored that I can pick a movie apart from time to time and it took real effort here.  Of course you can drive a car off a 300 foot cliff and survive without a bruise if your car has a metal cage on the inside to protect you.  This movie has several laugh out loud crazy stunts that had me rolling and impressed.

If you liked the other Furious movie you will be entertained with this one.  Duane Johnson has taken the movie to a new level and Statham is on of the best bad guys around.  I was entertained even though all the absurdity.

The Gunman

The Gunman

Rating 5 out of 10

This has been the dead zone for dumping movies.  I haven't been motivated to see anything in some time.  I was out of town and looking for something to kill time.  I decided to give Sean Penn's new movie a chance.  If nothing else I'd get some action.  Sadly that's about all there is here and the action is not that great.

Sean plays James Terrier, an ex-special forces turned hired gun in the Congo where goons are trying to extend the fighting there to give them more time to plunder the natural resources (gold, silver, diamonds).  When he crosses a line he didn't want to cross he retires and leaves the country.  Fast forward eight years later and Terrier is doing good helping the poor in Africa when some goons show up looking for the "white man".  This of course means something has surfaced about the covert mission eight years ago and bad guys are out to kill him.  Then the fun begins.

Penn shows off his new Superman style abs as he chain smokes thru the movie.  They try to hide the paint by numbers plot by making it so complicated you can't really follow it.  Or maybe I just lost interest.

There are a couple good action scenes and Penn does everything he can.  This will make a decent rental on a slow rainy day or maybe watching on cable.  I would not pay full price for this movie.

Focus

Focus

Rating 6 out of 10

Will Smith raises the level of most every movie his is in.  Unfortunately he also raises expectations. When his is in a movie you expect it to be fantastic.  Anything short of that is a bit of a disappointment.  This movie is good.  It's flashy.  It's funny at times.  It's just not fantastic.

Smith plays a mid level con man making a decent living with his band of thieves showing up at big sporting events, Mardi Gras, or any place there are large crowds of potential victims.  They pick pocket and lift anything of value.  Once the event is over they get together and split the spoils until the next gathering.

All is going well until he comes across a rookie con woman who is a super hot blonde (Margot Robbie).  Amazingly he decides to take her under his wing and teach her the ropes.  Romance begins and makes things more complicated.  When the "big score" comes around everything gets real complicated.  Nothing is the way it seems.

For me it gets too complicated.  It's hard to understand exactly what the big score really is or how they plan to get away with it.  Too many twists and turns for their own good.  Smith keeps the movie moving along and entertaining.  Robbie is a looker and has some acting chops to go with that million dollar smile.  In the end I was mildly entertained yet felt like I was missing something.  Set expectations on low and you will enjoy a couple hours.  A year or two from now you won't remember if you saw it or not.

McFarland USA

McFarland USA

Rating 6 out of 10

You really can't go wrong going to see a feel good movie like this.  Kevin Costner is looking good at sixty and making some decent movies.  This one is based on a true story.

Costner plays a fiery football coach back in the late 1980s who's no nonsense take no prisoners old school approach does not go over well with papered players.  When he gets fired again the only job he can get is as an assistant coach in an one horse hispanic town.  Doesn't take him long to come at odds with the head coach and again he is looking for something to keep him busy.  When he notices how fast the poor kids are running from place to place.  He starts a cross country team even though he knows nothing about it or has enough boys to field a team.  With a little training they begin to do amazingly well.

You can pretty much guess the rest of the story as this is a paint by the number movie.  The reason it doesn't rate higher on my scale.  Wife and kids hate the town and in a matter of weeks love it like they have never lived anywhere else.  There is the build up to the California State Championship.  No way these overworked boys can compete with the rich white kids.

This is an enjoyable harmless feel good film.  Would make a good rental or rainy day movie.

The DUFF

The DUFF

Rating 7.5 out of 10

This movie is not really aimed at my age bracket yet I was able to sit thru it and laugh a plenty.  Out of town with daughter Stacy and our feet were aching from walking hills.  We looked for a movie theater with soft seats to rest our toes.  If the movie was good it would be a plus.

This movie is about Bianca (Mae Whitman from tv's Parenthood).  She is plodding through her senior year of high school.  She is very smart with two hot friends.  Her guy-friend neighbor tells her she is a DUFF.  Designated Ugly Fat Friend. Bianca is not ugly or fat but it seems the person does not actually have to be fat or ugly.  Just has to be the weak link in the friend chain.

The film follows the teen-movie guidelines.  Her hunky guy friend neighbor (Robbie Emell from tv's Flash) is having problems in Science class and may be kicked off the football team.  He teaches her how to be smooth and talk with the floppy haired boy she has a crush on and she will make sure he passes Science.  Yes, I know it's very complicated. Try to follow along. : >   Throw in the evil snobby red headed cheerleader that hates everyone.

The movie works because of Ms. Whitman.  She is really funny here and hits several home runs with her laugh out loud lines.  It's a cute and entertaining movie that's not going to cure cancer but a pretty decent way to take you off your feet for a couple hours. I was entertained.