New Releases For Home Viewing

Three movies to mention for home viewing this week.

ONLY THE BRAVE
Directed Joesph Kosinski
Screenplay Sean Flynn; Ken Nolan; and Eric Warren
Starring Josh Brolin; Miles Teller; Jeff Bridges; and Jennifer Connelly



No explanation needed. The trailer says it all. The heroes that are The Granite Mountain Hot Shots.
You know going in it will not end well. Still it is oddly uplifting.

It does a lot right:
- Kosinski takes his time with developing the characters. He makes sure it is not about the deaths...it is about celebrating their lives. The story is really hold your breath intense and at times oddly soft and it works.
-Casting helps...
.......Josh Brolin. he smiles in this film playing Eric Marsh. Yes he smiles!!!! I cannot think of many movies where he smiles. In fact for a character who is doing rough..harsh work, he is rather soft with moments of bad temper. I am not saying he is amazing here but I am saying he is believable.
.......Jennifer Connelly as Amanda Marsh. Now she is Amazing!!!!!!!!! She does not make as many films as she used to and you forget how great she is. I will let you see this film to see how good she is as the struggling wife of Eric Marsh.

There are a couple problems:
-With all the time used for character development, not much time was used to explain what they are doing as they fight the fires. I just did not know. Think of The Martian. Yes The Martian was not real, but remember they took a lot of time showing you why they are doing certain technical stuff. You were in it with them. Here I never felt I was all in because I was confused about what was going on and why they were doing certain stuff.
-Miles Teller as Brendan McDonough. There was not one minute I saw him as a Hot Shot. I think he was miscast. He seemed almost clumsy. Sometimes pushing so much that he seemed to be over acting.

Let me get off the negatives. Yes it has that sad ending but it really is a great story...and it has some funny moments also. See this film...as we run from fires, these brave souls run toward the fires. 4 out of 5 stars for Only The Brave.



BAD MOM'S CHRISTMAS
Directed And Screenplay by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore
Starring Mila Kunis; Kristen Bell; Kathryn Hahn; Susan Sarandon; Christine Baranski; and Cheryl Hines




I liked the first Bad Moms. It was very funny, and it covered a modern day subject of helicopter moms. I was bothered by the end of the first one where I thought it sold out to a lazy feel good ending.
Well here comes Bad Mom's Christmas which doubles the mom's. Is it better than the first? No. It is as funny as the first, but the writing is lazy and adding the additional mom's means having three different stories and that makes the film very choppy, sometimes boring.
Well lets break down the three stories:
Kiki (Kristen Bell) and her mother Sandy (Hines), Sandy is the mom who wants to  always be around her daughter even though she is married in her own house. This story line was boring and not once was it funny.
Amy ((Kunis) and her controlling mother Ruth (Baranski). This story was sightly ridiculous. In many ways. The timing was ..way off. Meaning Baranski would continuously set things up with a snap of her fingers, which in the real world it would take days. Be it a party or a holiday scene, it was just....lazy writing...to find ways to create friction. As we got to the end it settled things without really settling things. I mean Ruth was being a jerk...and was not owning it, so what was the point?
The best for last. Carla (Hann) and her mooching mother Isis (Sarandon). Like the first film Hann steals the movie. Now to be honest.....Sarandon was not needed, its Hann with her great comic timing....then throw in Justin Hartly as Ty, a stripper, who with Hann ...well I could see a whole film with just these two. They are that funny together (No spoilers here).

Too bad the script is a bit choppy because it is very funny, I did not even mention a quick Kenny G , yes that Kenny G, funny cameo. Plus a very funny music video at the end. Why do you pay money for this film? Too laugh. It worked. It tries to be emotional, and that would be nice but it failed in that aspect. So 3 out of 5 for Bad Mom's Christmas.

And one that was released last week............




Tyler Perry's Boo 2! A Madea Halloween.
Directed by Tyler Perry
Screenplay by Tyler Perry
Starring Tyler Perry; Cassi Davis; Patrice Lovely; and Diamond White




In part two of the last Madea Halloween film, Madea, Bam; and Hattie drive to a haunted campground to get Tiffany and bring her home.
If you follow my blogs you already know I am a sucker for a good Tyler Perry movie. I still think Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married, which was released 10 years ago this month, was embarrassingly overlooked by snotty critics that year. Jill Scott gave the best performance by a supporting actress that year, but was overlooked at Oscar time.
Now is Boo 2 good? No not really. It is just okay.

Let me get to the good:
-I think it is harmless. Meaning with movies like Jigsaw out and IT which has questionable scenes for certain age groups...this is just a fun and silly Halloween film. Yes, there are sexual innuendos  in this film that can make you cringe (Joe!), but it is light. Also there are messages here about the consequences about not telling the truth and respecting your parents.
- In these movies I do not think that Tyler Perry, who is playing three characters Joe; Madea; and Brian, gets enough credit. It must be a hard balance between which one of his characters he is...or voice I guess. He constantly pulls it off. Then he is directing...himself. It has to be complicated.
-Cassi Davis who plays Aunt Bam is only 52. I think people do not realize this. She is constantly good in these films and has wonderful comic timing. Also, Patrice Lovely, as the very active Hattie is only 49!! Yes I know!! They are both so funny, and must melt under all that makeup and padding.

Now for the bad:
- It is slightly lazy writing here, a slight cash grab. The plot is close to the same as the first one. I laughed but, not that much....however I have to note that many people in my screening were laughing loud..so maybe I was not picking up some of the jokes. It is pretty much more of the same of the last film.
-After complimenting Davie; Perry; and Lovely, I have to say the young actors and actresses are pretty bad, bordering on awful. Their comic delivery and timing is just off. They are not really good actors...any of them.

Well...maybe I spent too much time on this film...I give it 2 stars out of 5 . If you are looking for a fun and a little bit scary film Boo 2 will work for you, but he has done better.
From the shadows as always thanks for your time.