Posts tagged local
The Wrestler – Movie Trailer
Jan 5th
His sense of identity fading into nothingness after the spotlights dim and he experiences a close brush with mortality, a retired wrestler begins to evaluate his life while considering the comeback that could very well kill him in director Darren Aronofsky’s poignant portrait of an introspective former superstar in the twilight of his career. Back in his heyday, wrestler Randy “The Ram” Robinson (Mickey Rourke) was an icon in the ring. His image immortalized in action figures and video games, he would headline arenas across the globe. Twenty years later, those glory days have passed, and Randy is forced to earn his keep by brawling before handfuls of fans in high school gyms and community centers around New Jersey. In the wake of a heart attack, the former icon attempts to earn a little extra cash while working in a deli and making an effort to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter, Stephanie (Evan Rachel Wood). Yet, despite Randy’s continued attempts at convincing local stripper Cassidy (Marisa Tomei) to settle down with him in his humble trailer, the ring still calls to him. Later, when the prospect of a high-profile rematch with his longtime nemesis presents itself, Randy is forced to weigh his mortality against his desire to hear the crowd roar one last time. The Wrestler snagged two Oscar nominations, one for Best Actor (Rourke) and one for Best Supporting Actress (Tomei).
“Four Christmases” Four Disappointments
Dec 12th
Four Disappointments
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
FOUR CHRISTMASES starts off bad, goes downhill from there with a lot of cheap laughs and easy shtick, and then it even also ends poorly, which all make it the perfect representation for Christmas.
Reese Witherspoon stars as Kate, Vince Vaughn is Brad, and they have been dating for three years with no intention of ever getting married or having children.
They live in San Francisco, and every year at Christmas they have lied to their parents in order to avoid spending Christmas with them.
As Brad tells his friends at one point, “You can’t really spell ‘families’ without ‘lies.'”
However, I am getting ahead of myself: The opening of the film is cheap and bogus, and it is designed to fool the audience more than to lend an insight into Kate and Brad.
So, rather than spend Christmas with either of their parents, they lie to them and tell them that they have to go off somewhere and do charity work, when in reality Kate and Brad are off to some exotic country for a vacation.
This year they plan to go to Fiji, but when they get to the airport, intense fog has caused all flights to be canceled, and they happen to be interviewed live by a local television crew about their canceled plans.
Of course, their parents see them on the news being interviewed, call them immediately, and guilt them into visiting on Christmas. Only problem is, both sets of parents are divorced, and thus Kate and Brad have to make four visits in one day, which adds up to “four Christmases.” Get it?
The four parents are played by Robert Duvall, Sissy Spacek, Jon Voight, and Mary Steenburgen, and so we are not dealing with lightweight actors here, just lightweight material.
They visit Brad’s father first, and Kate learns some secrets about Brad that he had never told her. Then they visit Kate’s mother, and Brad learns some secrets about Kate that she had never told him.
Do you see a pattern here?
Yes, in satisfying their parents at Christmastime and meeting each other’s siblings, Kate and Brad learn more about each other, which can either strengthen their relationship or end it altogether.
And the moral of the story is nothing really beats being honest.
FOUR CHRISTMASES is nothing more than four disappointments.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
“Changling” Disturbing to Think About
Nov 6th
Disturbing to Think About
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
CHANGELING is the latest film directed by Clint Eastwood, which stars Angtelina Jolie, and it should not be confused with the 1979 THE CHANGELING, which starred George C. Scott.
The earlier film was a ghost story, and this one is more of a horror story, but not in the way you might think. It is based on actual events.
The time is 1928, the place is Los Angeles, and Jolie plays Christine Collins, a single mother of a nine-year-old boy named Walter.
Christine is a supervisor of the massive switchboard operation at the local telephone company, which requires her to wear roller skates and glide back and forth behind the long line of operators.
One Saturday morning, Christine is called in to work, and she is forced to leave Walter alone in the house they live in.
Walter assures his mother that he will be all right by himself, saying, “I can take care of myself. I’m not afraid of the dark. I’m not afraid of anything.”
However, when Christine comes back home that evening, Walter is gone and she cannot find him anywhere. She calls the police and is told that they won’t even begin looking for him until he has been missing for 24 hours.
So, Christine keeps calling, the police keep investigating, and Walter remains missing.
Finally, five months later, the police inform Christine that Walter has been found in Illinois, and he is being brought home. However, after Christine, the police, and the local reporters all wait at the train station for Walter’s arrival, when he gets off the train, Christine says, “He’s not my son.”
The police find themselves in an awkward situation, they insist that he is, the boy agrees, and Christine is told to take him home on a “trial basis.”
She is told that she is the boy’s mother and therefore in no position to be objective.
Then John Malkovich shows up as the Reverend Gustav Briegleb, who has made it his mission in life to expose the Los Angeles Police Department and all its corruption. He tells Christine that the police don’t want public dissent, contradiction, or embarrassment.
Because Christine represents all three to them, Christine is forcibly admitted to the Psychopathic Ward of the General Hospital solely on the captain’s signature.
CHANGELING is gruesome to watch and disturbing to think about.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
