Posts tagged married
“The Iceman” about a Cold-Hearted Killer
May 25th
“Cold-Hearted Killer”
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
The Iceman is based on a true story about a man named Richard Kuklinski who worked for many years as a hit man for organized crime on the East Coast.
The movie begins in 1964 in New Jersey and we meet Richie, played by Michael Shannon, as he finally gets a girl named Deborah, played by Winona Ryder, to go out with him.
She works across the street from where he works, but right off the bat he is secretive about his personal life. When Deborah asks Richie what he does for a living, Richie tells her, “I dub cartoons.”
Actually, however, Richie makes duplicate copies of pornographic films for his mobster boss, Roy, played by Ray Liotta.
When Deborah asks about Richie’s family, he says that he has a brother who is around somewhere, but Richie doesn’t talk to him, and later we will find out why in a scene that foretells Richie’s own future.
Deborah thinks that Richie is funny, is glad that he asked her out, and tells him that she had a really good time.
Well, a year later, Richie and Deborah are married, they have a baby girl, Deborah likes the way that Richie takes care of her, but she wants them to move into a bigger apartment.
At the same time, Roy tells Richie that he is closing the pornography lab, but he gives Richie a chance to make money by working for him as a hired killer, and Richie takes it, after proving to Roy that he can do the job.
Then we skip ahead 10 years, and we see more of Richie’s work, as well as more of the men who work for Roy and how he makes sure that jobs will get done.
Richie and Deborah have two daughters now, and Richie is devoted to his family, but he tells everybody that he makes money in currency exchange.
Meanwhile, another of Roy’s workers, Josh, played by David Schwimmer, messes up, and Richie is given a job that Roy also hired another hit man to take care of at the same time.
The other hit man is Mr. Freezy, played by Chris Evans, and by a series of circumstances Richie and Mr. Freezy start working together.
The Iceman is about such a cold-hearted killer that he was called “The Iceman.”
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
“The Big Wedding” Lives Up to Its Name
May 13th
“Lives Up to Its Name”
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
The Big Wedding is like a French farce, only without the madcap pacing, which is halfway understandable, because it is adapted from a 2006 French comedy, Mon Frere Se Marie, which means “My Brother Is Getting Married.”
Those French sure have a way with words.
Anyway, speaking of the pacing, this adaptation starts off slow, but then really takes off, which might be explained by the fact that it was scheduled to be released in 2012, but came out in 2013.
The impressive cast includes Robert De Niro, Katherine Heigl, Diane Keaton, Amanda Seyfried, Topher Grace, Susan Sarandon, and Robin Williams, although Williams sticks out like a sore priest, which is what he plays.
Here is the plot: Don and Ellie were married for 20 years, but they have been divorced for the last 10 years. Their adopted son, Alejandro, who was born in Colombia, is getting married, and his birth mother is coming to the wedding.
However, the mother is very religious and conservative, and so Alejandro asks Don and Ellie to pretend that they are still married.
No problem, right? In fact, their own daughter tells them, “So, just pretend to be married for the weekend. What’s the big deal?”
Well, as the title says, it is going to be a big wedding on Don’s estate, Don’s girlfriend Bebe is living there with him, his own birth son Jared is 29 and still a virgin, and the groom’s mother is also bringing her pretty daughter to the wedding, who falls for Jared and keeps trying to seduce him.
Wow, this has all the makings of a French farce, doesn’t it? The French part we get, the farce coming up.
Now just add equal parts of Don’s being a successful sculptor of what could be called shockingly erotic subjects, as well as having a very healthy libido; the bride’s parents both having a previous history with Don and Ellie; Don’s daughter is estranged from him because of a previous indiscretion; and she has her own personal problems in her own relationship which result in two big surprises that are going to affect her.
As somebody always says, you couldn’t make this stuff up, but of course they did.
The Big Wedding lives up to its name with a big cast, a wedding, and even more, much more.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
“Quartet” More Than Just the “Big Game” Gala
Feb 17th
“More Than Just ‘The Big Game’ Gala”
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
Quartet is another in a string of recent movies about colorful, quirky oldtimers, the first film directed by actor Dustin Hoffman, and much more entertaining than you might have expected.
The credit for a large part of that has to go to the cast, which includes Maggie Smith, Tom Courtenay, Billy Connolly, and Michael Gambon.
The film is adapted from the 1999 play written by Oscar-winning screenwriter Donald Harwood, and it takes place in England at Beecham House, a home for retired musicians.
Consequently, the film contains plenty of delightful music, as we encounter many of the residents throughout Beecham House doing what they have done all their professional lives: performing music and singing.
One day a new resident arrives, Jean Horton, played by Maggie Smith, who is so well known that when she walks into the main hall, the residents recognize her and give her a standing ovation.
However, Jean is not as pleased to be there as the other residents are pleased to see her, and at one point she says, “This isn’t a retirement home; this is a madhouse.”
Now, a major plot point is a tired, old hackneyed one: The retirement home is in financial difficulty, and it needs to raise money to keep it going, which is achieved every year by a so-called Big Gala performance by the residents to which tickets are sold to the public.
However, this year tickets are down by 60 percent, and the musical director has to come up with a great idea in order to increase the ticket sales.
You see, the arrival of Jean means that all four performers of a famous quartet of opera singers who sang together in the Ritoletto opera by Guiseppe Verdi, the most important opera composer of the 19th century, are now staying at the retirement home.
Unfortunately, Jean exclaims that she doesn’t sing anymore, and that is final. But more important, bad blood exists between Jean and another member, Reginald, because they were once married to each other and the marriage ended very badly, so badly that when Reginald learns that Jean now lives there, he wants to move.
Well, you can see where this is going, can’t you?
Quartet is much more than just “The Big Game” gala at the end, and it is funny and also very entertaining.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”