THE NAKED GUN – Disappointing 2 out of 4 stars for this remake of the original film starring Leslie Nielsen. We were excited to watch this new version starring Liam Neeson and Pamela Anderson, and we weren’t expecting it to be as good as the first…and it wasn’t. In fact it was just plain bad. A few funny bits peppered amidst stupid running gags, unfunny attempts at humor and gross situations meant to make us laugh that instead were a huge yuck factor. John liked it slightly more than me, giving it 2.5 stars, but pretty much concurred with my opinion. We were both glad we didn’t pay money to see it in the theatre as we originally intended. Ram didn’t think it was any good at all. Skip it! Cheers! Boyfriends/Girlfriends – 0.
WAKE UP DEAD MAN – The third release in the Knives Out Mystery Movie series starring Daniel Craig, who by the way, is super hot in this one with his long blond hair and stubbly beard. Josh Brolin is also hot with his long silvery hair and stubbly beard, cast as a priest gone rogue. The film is two and a half hours long and doesn’t really get interesting until about halfway through. John and I were both bored and paused viewing so we could stretch it over two nights instead of one to keep from falling asleep. He figured out who-dunnit early on, which is never a good thing in a murder mystery, complaining this series always follows the same Agatha Christie format with few surprises. True enough. He did like the main storyline of a young priest seeking redemption and absolution. In addition to Craig and Brolin, the film stars lots of the usual suspects, I mean celebs….Kerry Washington, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner and Glenn Close (who looked very attractive despite her age and role). Overall, the movie is just ok. Probably only worth watching if you’re a fan of the series. Cheers! Boyfriends – 2; Girlfriends – 1.
SPINAL TAP II – Pretty much a rehash of the first Spinal Tap film with our favorite pretend band assembled by the great, and tragically late, Rob Reiner. I don’t remember much of the first one….just that it was very funny and I liked it a lot. Mike says this one is okay with some funny bits, but not as good as the first. In his opinion the guys are too old, the dialogue is tired and while it was fun to watch, it didn’t entertain him the same way. I concur it was okay with some funny bits without making a comparison to the first. My favorite parts were scenes with Paul McCartney and Elton John. But overall the film made me sad. Watching Rob Reiner, knowing his creative genius is lost to us forever, was tough. RIP Rob…and thanks. Cheers! Boyfriends/Girlfriends – 0.
THE BEAST IN ME – Compelling psychological thriller starring Claire Danes and Matthew Rhys. Rhys is outstanding as a menacing, deviant, predatory animal and his performance is appropriately unnerving. His character occasionally displays a sensitive, caring quality which adds dimension and realism, and makes him much more dangerous. Claire Danes always turns out good work, but she has mannerisms that have consistently annoyed me since Homeland. It gets in the way when I watch her. Still I enjoyed this piece. And, it is only an eight episode mini-series which has us wondering until the very end…..did he or didn’t he do it, and if so, will he get away with it and/or do it again? Cheers! Boyfriends/Girlfriends – 0.
THE LAST SHOWGIRL – I disliked this film and could barely sit through it. The main character, played by Pamela Anderson, is needy and desperate and always speaks in an annoying childish voice. Jamie Lee Curtis plays a character similar to her role in The Bear. She deserved the Emmy for that role. I wasn’t impressed with her performance in this film and I’m surprised she was even nominated for an Oscar…much less winning one. The movie is one long yawn of ageism in a Vegas show which is aging itself into closure amid a lack of creativity and audience attendance. Then, in the final scene, all of a sudden Pam’s showgirl goes out on top, her relationship is repaired with her daughter and she is going forward with an old flame. Or maybe not. It’s unclear and definitely too quick to resolve whatever was or wasn’t happening during the prior 90 minutes. I like both Pamela and Jamie Lee…just not in this picture. Skip it! Cheers! Boyfriends/Girlfriends – 0.
THE MORTICIAN – Macabre, true crime tale of repulsive acts committed on human remains by fiendish California mortician David Sconce. Operating out of a crematorium in Pasadena during the 1980s and 90s, it is despicable what he was able to do undetected for so long. Even more despicable is when he was finally arrested, he basically got off with a slap on the wrist, leaving countless families devastated twice. The number is in the multiple thousands. He offers commentary throughout this documentary and remains smug, arrogant, and above the law with a complete lack of remorse. He’d do it all again if he could. It’s likely he even murdered several people who were wise to the goings on at his facility and were going to blow the whistle. It’s a tough watch, but I couldn’t look away. It’s an engaging story of forewarning for the rest of us that we need to beware the funeral industry. Personally I want a Viking send off but I think that’s illegal. Cheers!! Boyfriends/Girlfriends – 0.
ONE SHOT WITH ED SHEERAN – this hour long music experience with Ed may have been filmed in one continuous take, but there was definitely staging going on. Plus I don’t see how some camera angles could have been shot in one take. Still, Ed Sheeran fans (which we are) will find his jaunt through Manhattan fun and different…and it’s only an hour long. He plays several of his most famous hits among many songs as he and his guitar bop around the city landing on a friend’s wedding proposal, another friend’s party and supposedly impromptu (wink, wink) jams with a tavern band and folks on the subway. Ed is lovable in this piece and we loved him accordingly. Cheers! Boyfriends – 1; Girlfriends – 0.
TITAN THE OCEANGATE SUBMERSIBLE DISASTER – Blinded by hubris, arrogance and ego, Oceangate owner Stockton Rush became Oceangate murderer Stockton Rush. Ignoring the sub’s failure of all endurance testing, firing employees who raised safety concerns, overlooking the exit of many others who departed the company due to the same safety concerns, refusing to allow the sub to be inspected and certified for deep sea diving per industry standards, justifying his use of carbon fiber when he was repeatedly warned of its weaknesses. Still he continued to dive even though tragedy was only a matter of time, or as one of his employees stated…”it was a mathematical certainty the sub would fail.” It doesn’t get any plainer than that. Just seeing the graphs and hearing the popping sounds of fibers breaking during this documentary gave me goosebumps. I can’t imagine being locked inside this death capsule. Sadly it ended up being just that when four unsuspecting people, plus Stockton, imploded along with the sub on June 18, 2023, after only ten dives. Mesmerizing documentary. Cheers! Boyfriends/Girlfriends – everyone who spoke up to avoid disaster.
ONE TO ONE JOHN & YOKO – The year is 1971. John & Yoko have fled London and begun life in New York City in their small Greenwich Village apartment which they will inhabit until moving to the Dakota in 1973. Produced by their son, Sean Ono Lennon, and Brad Pitt, it is an interesting snapshot of the US at that time. Political unrest is raging over the Vietnam war. Young people are rising up in defiance of the establishment. Nixon is president, and John & Yoko have become huge outspoken activists for peace. Snippets of current events in 1971 are peppered among commercials and tv shows popular at the time revealing a huge disconnect between the lives of everyday Americans and the violent chaos in the country and the world. Live footage from the Lennons’ One to One concert to raise funds for the retarded children of Willowbrook State School is included. For me, the most interesting segments were phone recordings of John & Yoko speaking to various folks involved with their peace movement. Quite the history lesson for those of us who lived through it and those of us born too late to experience it….although it is a vivid reminder that we are repeating much of the same behavior in our country now. Cheers! Boyfriends/Girlfriends – 0.
RETURN OF THE KING THE FALL AND RISE OF ELVIS PRESLEY – New documentary covering Elvis’s life up to the comeback concert in 1968. Not a lot new here, but comments from Priscilla Presley, old acquaintances and Elvis himself, plus snippets from the ’68 concert, make this an interesting piece. And let’s face it, Elvis rocked that black leather outfit! I remember it well. Cheers!! Boyfriends/Girlfriends – 0.
