New Release For Home Viewing This Week....Baywatch

Well...only one new release to mention this week for home viewing ...and well...

BAYWATCH

Directed by Seth Gordan
Screenplay by Damian Shannon and Mark Swift
Starring Dwayne Johnson; Zac Efron; Alexandra Daddario; Kelly Rohrbach; Ilfenesh Hadera;Jon Bass; and Priyanka Chopra



Well Baywatch is back. Settle down I know your excited
This is an odd film. There are action movies that have a lot of humor.....
Beverly Hills Cop
Lethal Weapon Films
And so on.

It is a challenge for a screenwriter...to add levity but still stay focused on the action and plot at hand.

Baywatch fails at this.
It cannot find its tone at all...
-It has ridiculous moments of scenes of Baywatch life guards being heroes and as a viewer I was not sure if I was suppose to be laughing at these moments. Sometimes the life saving moments were campy...at least I think
-Then there is humor but not much of it. And half of the so called funny moments just fall flat including one long joke (No pun intended) about a stuck penis. The trailer made us think it was a Zoolander film about Baywatch.  I cant honestly tell you if that is what they were aiming for...but if it was...it failed.
-So then we go to the story line. About Victoria Leeds (Chopra) running drugs through the Bay. This just did not make sense, I mean the crime sounded legit but the way she did this was just oddly more difficult then needed to be. Speaking of ridiculous. it ended with a ridiculous escape plan by helicopter. No spoilers here but........ahhhh your in a bay...take a boat...or a car???!!

Well there are positives:
-Everyone on the Baywatch team had great chemistry together. I found each character likable. To a point ...this film missed but I would like to see them again.
-Daddario who I have seen in many films and I always think that she is underrated...you cant help but like her in this part. I say that often about her. She seems to come into a film in a small part and always ends up as the one you remember...and cheer on.
-Chopra, even though she is dealing with a ridiculous story line, she is all in and she is really good as the bad awful criminal.

Well Baywatch 2017  get 2 out of 5 stars. I wish it found its tone and was funnier.

From the shadows as always thanks for your time

New Film Review: Logan Lucky

LOGAN LUCKY


Directed by Steven Soderbergh
Screenplay by Rebecca Blunt
Starring by Channing Tatum; Adam Driver; Daniel Craig; Riley Keugh; and Katie Holmes






Okay I have taken a couple weeks off from movie blogging. It is a combination of things: 1...I am busy as all get out. 2...There are just not that many films that are worth my time out there.
However more reviews are coming soon. But now I come to Logan Lucky...


This film does a lot right:


-Director Steven Soderbergh and  writer Rebecca Blunt. It pretty much is a southern/blue-collar version of Soderbergh's  Oceans 11.  Soderbergh and Blunt do not miss a step with this version of a heist. Sadness...desperation...humor...tension...all mixed up into a wonderful film. This time, instead of a casino, this heist takes place at a NASCAR race in North Carolina. It is a
just a fun film.
-Channing Tatum as Jimmy Logan, a divorced father of one child who has been kicked around and has been ....well...unlucky. Tatum plays Logan as a guy who has the weight of the world on his back. Overweight and walks with a slight slump. He is not the Magic Mike you remember. He becomes Logan...you feel for him...he is just perfect here.
-Adam Driver as Clyde Logan. He is the quiet thinker. Life has beaten him down. Oh and he has one arm but still bartends. He as usual is spot on here. At thirty four he is becoming one of Hollywood's most dependable actors.
He really does not give bad performances.
-Then you have Daniel Craig as Joe Bang. Playing so far against his Bond type...it makes just doing that funny. This may be a supporting actor nomination performance if the voters ever lighten up.
He grunts when he talks...and says so much with a look. He commands the screen and the good thing is that the other actors just let him ...take over.


Negatives? Yes....a few..


-Riley Keugh and Katie Holmes are wonderful but Sonderbergh does not give them enough to do.
-Like Oceans 11...there is  a............what we see and later we find out what we do not see ending. The part which we do not see, seems unnecessary and it seems it realize heavily on coincidences.


So 4 out of 5 stars for Soderbergh's return to the heist films with Logan Lucky. A tense, yet funny film.


From the shadows as usual thanks for your time.

New Release For Home Viewing This Week: Guardians 2

Only one new release to note this week for home viewing....and not a bad one..

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL 2
Directed by James Gunn
Screenplay by James Gunn
Starring Chris Pratt; Zoe Saldana; Dave Bautista; Karen Gillan; and Kurt Russell
Voice work by Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel





Well they are back. As you already know...they are now guns for hire...using their reputation as Guardians to cash in. However there are a bunch of story lines involving stolen batteries and a long lost father.

Positives:
-The chemistry between all the leads is spot on. This is the type of chemistry that DC is praying for as they finish up Justice League. They are so quick with each other here. So good you forget that Rocket is not really there. This chemistry really has us as viewers care about all of them.
-Saldana and Bautista as Gamora and Drax shine in this one as Pratt kind of takes a backseat and lets them shine often.
-This film may be funnier than the first one, and definitely is the funniest movie of the year so far. Highlighted by a Groot dance scene in the beginning.

Negatives:
-This film was riding high for the first hour and a half and then it crashed and burned. Fast. It was no longer funny. There were confusing plot lines. There was confusing scenes, due to the darkness of the screen. The last 45 minutes seemed to be on green screen and ...for some reason I never felt like it was real enough that I did not feel anyone was in jeopardy.
-After all the talk about Kurt Russell being the father of Peter Quill it was a big disappointment. Russell just stood and lectured. He really did not have much to do.
-Then there was ending after ending after ending. It needed an editor for the last fight/battle scenes. Then they tried to throw in a tear jerk of an emotional scene at the end that fell real flat.

How bad was the end of this film? I been to many prescreenings with a lot of excitement wrapped around it...every time the crowd at the prescreening will clap. Here it was silence.  Almost like they were exhausted from the confusing never ending last half hour. 3 1/2 stars out of 5 for the first wonderful hour and a half of Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 2. Stay through the credits. Also...this film really borderlines a PG13 rating. The language is questionable for little ones...for sure.

From the shadows as always thanks for your time.

A Shadow Revisit: 30 Years Ago Dirty Dancing

First............yes I am getting notes about my blog and why no recent reviews. I am taking a couple weeks, then getting right back at it after Labor Day. I may drop one review down this week if I have a little time.


Well thirty years ago somebody tried to put Baby in the corner!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It was an odd film that was booked as a coming of age story in the 60's, fun for the family..
Illegal abortions. Class system. Elderly thieves. Young girl going to bed with an older guy. Great Family Fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The odd thing it worked.
I think the story gets buried under the dancing, the music, the high energy, the satisfying ending.
Well lets do a revisit...30 years later...and see some fun and not so fun facts. However first lets look at the original trailer!!!





Let look at the stars:


Patrick Swayze (Johnny). I think people look back at the life of Swayze now and see he was gold at the box office. He reminds me of Keanu Reeves a bit. Underrated for some reason, but box office gold. Dirty Dancing...........Ghost............Point Break (With Keanu)......Road House. He delivered. Was he a great actor? No. However as years go by we...like his costar in Point Break... look back and find him to be pretty good.
-Jennifer Grey (Baby). As you re-watch Dirty Dancing you see she is rather ...stiff. However she is acting up against some big time stars here. I think she was really good in Ferris Bueller, a little looser. These days she pops in and out of TV shows. Working steady.
-Jerry Orbach (Dr Jake Houseman). He passed away in 2004. He is also widely known for Law And Order, however lets not forget Lumiere in Beauty And The Beast.
-Cynthia Rhodes (Penny). Once married to Richard Marx. She also appeared in the Saturday Night sequel Staying Alive and in Flashdance. She has not appeared in film since 1991. She reportedly lives in Chicago now as a fulltime mom.
-Kelly Bishop (Marjorie Houseman). She did not have much to do in this film but..........EMILY GILMORE!!!!!!! Enough said!!!
-Jane Brucker (Lisa Houseman). Oh poor Lisa!! As for Jane, she really did not do much acting after Dirty Dancing. She was in, what I think is an underrated film called Stealing Home...other than that she did small parts. She last appeared on TV in 2001. She now lives in in LA as a stay at home mom.


 NOW TIME FOR FUN AND NOT SO FUN FACTS!!!!! Settle Down!!!


-Swayze had to convince Grey to be in the film because she hated working with him in Red Dawn.


-Swayze was offered 6 million to do a sequel. He turned it down.


-Grey was 27 when this was filmed. She had 5 minutes to convince producers that she could play 17.


-Note Baby always wears light colored clothing...Johnny always wears black or something darker.


-They wanted to have Cynthia Rhodes wear no make up for her distressing scenes. However she was just as beautiful with no makeup...so they had to use makeup to dirty her up.


-Val Kilmer was offered the lead of Johnny but turned it down.


-Yes that was Wayne Knight (Newman!!!), you see in this film.


-During the log scene in the water...Swayze injured his leg so bad it had to be drained of fluid.


-Cynthia Rhodes was the first to be cast for the film


-Sharon Stone auditioned for Baby


-The famous scene where they are crawling on the dance floor messing around was not meant to be in the film. But the director, Emile Ardolino, liked it so much he started filming it and put it in the film.


-The scene where Baby keeps laughing as Johnny touches her side, and Johnny gets upset while they are practicing dance moves, was also not meant to be part of the film. She was actually laughing and he was really upset. Ardolino loved it and added it to the film.


Well...yes it is corny as all get out. And it borderlines bad. yet it may be so bad...it is great. You can judge. 30 years a go today DIRTY DANCING hit the theaters and surprised the critics.

New Film review: Landline

LANDLINE


Directed by Gillian Robespierre
Screenplay by Elisabeth Holm; Gillian Robespierre; and Tom Bean
Starring: Jenny Slate; Jay Duplass; Abby Quinn; John Turturro; and Edie Falco




The film takes place in 1995.Ali (Quinn) living with her sister Dana (Slate) and parents Turturro and Falco, discover her father is having an affair.


I was sucked into this film because the trailer looked fun. I had doubts, like this film, the last film by Robespierre and Slate got okay reviews ( Obvious Child), and I hated it. Well...I should have went with my instincts.


If you want to go to a film where a bunch of people just whine about life, this is for you. If you want to go to a film with really poor writing...some awful lines, this is for you.


There is just one good performance by Turturro.....that is it. Every one else seems like they are just reading their lines.


I hated this film...1 star out of 5....and that is for Turturro. Fooled me twice shame on me!!! I guess in Obvious Child an abortion I do not find funny. In Landline..a woman cheating on her boyfriend; and a husband cheating on a wife not funny (I guess if this was slapstick, but no).
It is funny...every time I see Jenny Slate in a Robespierre film she annoys me. However she was pretty good in Gifted earlier in the year. So she can act....if that says anything.


From the shadows as always thanks for your time.

New release For Home Viewing This Week...Snatched

Only one new release this week for home viewing to note.....

SNATCHED
Directed by Jonathan Levine
Screenplay by Kate Dippold
Starring Amy Schumer; Goldie Hawn; Wanda Sykes; Joan Cusack; and Ike Barinholtz





Emily (Schumer) and her mother (Linda) are complete opposites. Which makes for an interesting trip to South America.

This is getting ripped by critics. Plus the faction of people who do not like Amy Schumer's politics. I did not think the film was great. However I do not think it was bad.
Positives:
-The chemistry between Hawn and Schumer is wonderful and I think that pushes the film along.
-Wanda Sykes is really funny here but sadly not given enough to do.
-How great of a comedian is Joan Cusack? Every time she is he on the screen she steals the scene...AND SHE HAS NO LINES!!!!!!!!! Such an underrated actress and comedian. I was reminded of her part in Sixteen Candles while watching this, they are similar parts.
-Now I do not watch the Mindy Project, so I am not that familiar with Ike Barinholtz, but he is hilarious as Jeffery. Every time he says mama I just laughed, just the way he delivered the line is funny.
-I like that it is rated R. Studios are afraid of Rated R comedies these days. Everything does not have to be directed toward kids. There is a market for these type of comedies...I just wish this was smarter. Which leads me toward...........

Yes there is a big Negative:
-The story line and plot is just messy and the film really really asks of you to ignore a lot. Like bad edits (They get from a jail to crawling out a window with no explanation). Like a desk jockey going to South America to save the day....Really? Like time problems, as in getting from point A to B in an impossible same day. It just seemed lazy.

Why do you go see this? To laugh!! Period! You do not expect this to change the world. This film delivers with laughs and with that I give it 2 1/2 stars out of 5 it is funny. I just wish the plot was tighter and cleaner.

From the shadows as always thanks for your time.