Tag: J. K. Simmons

21 Bridges

THIS IS A REPUBLISH FROM NOV 23, 2019

Chadwick Boseman temporarily sheds his “Black Panther” persona to play a tough well respected Manhattan, NY Detective by the name of Andre Davis.

Detective Davis is thrust into a citywide manhunt for a pair of cop killers. While on the hunt it appears that there may be a conspiracy in the neighborhood precinct that may be aiding the 2 killers as they try to make their escape, but Detective Davis uses extreme measures by having all 21 Bridges that lead out of the city closed down. The story unfolds from there…

While this appears to potentially be a “Been there done that” type of movie there are a few new spins and twists that are just enough to set “21 Bridges” apart from the pack. There is plenty of intrigue, action and suspense.
The paid critics were Luke-warm about “21 Bridges”, I happen to think it’s pretty good.

This is a 3 1/2 Star Movie!!

Front Runner

Do you remember the 1988 Presidential Candidate Senator Gary Hart? Gary Hart was the “Front Runner” in the candidacy until rumors and speculations arose that he had an extra marital affair.

This movie is about the 3 weeks that led up to the destruction of Senator Gary Hart’s Presidential Campaign.

In 1987 Colorado Senator Gary Hart was running for the presidency. Gary and his campaign staff were out on the campaign trail winning over citizens and participating in the daily job tasks of citizens in the cities and towns that were visited. Senator Hart was winning over citizens all over America. He was the “Front Runner” and everything looked rosy.

Several news reporters started sniffing around and discovered that Gary Hart and his wife Lee (Vera Farmiga) were separated and had been for a while. Then Gary was seen coming and going from his other residence with a couple of different woman. The story unfolds from there…

The movie is entertaining, but lacks depth and was too calm. The media was too tame during the explosion when the story leaked about Senator Gary Hart. Usually the press are vultures when there is a juicy story, but not in “The Front Runner”. During a rant Hugh Jackman’s Australian accent came to the surface a bit. To my knowledge Gary Hart is not Australian.

The “Front Runner” opened in limited-release on Nov 6th. It is now opened in wide-release.

This is a 2 ½ Star Movie!!

Justice League in Real 3D

Out of the gate this is NOT one of the DC Universe’s best outings.

There is a new rising threat to humanity. Batman (Bruce Wayne) works with Wonder Woman (Diana Prince) so that they can find and assemble a team of meta-humans to stand and protect against this new rising threat.
Unfortunately the task is not easy. Even though a league of superheroes (Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg and The Flash) has formed, it may not be enough to battle the new threat. The story unfolds from there…

Superhero Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) is the best element of the film. In this first outing I find the movie a bit lacking. The Justice League members are a bit disassembled in this first installment. The director (Patty Jenkins) for Wonder Woman was definitely missed. The story drags and is missing some foundation and there is too much CGI.

However I did find the cinematography and 3D aspects to be good. There was lots of action, but that too was sort of chaotic.

Hopefully the DC Universe will go back to the drawing board and clean this up before the next installment. I still prefer Christian Bale as Batman, but alas I found out that he does not want to play that role anymore. Earlier this year Wonder Woman set the bar high and it’s still the best film that came from the DC Universe in 2017.

This is a 2½ Star Movie!

Patriots Day

“Patriots Day” is a very well-orchestrated and very well executed account of the horrific Boston Marathon Terrorist Bombing that occurred in April 2013.

The movie shows the quick work of the Boston Police Dept, First Responders, the FBI, The Governor and other Boston and State Officials as they investigate and try to get to the bottom of this horrible incident as quickly as possible.

At the end of the movie the survivors speak about their challenges and triumphs. The movie reinforces to you that the human spirit is strong in the face of adversity.

While this movie is about a horrific incident that occurred in an American city, the movie is worth seeing because there are definite moments that are heart-warming.

This is a 4 Star Movie!

La La Land

“La La Land” is about an aspiring actress (Emma Stone) and a Jazz Man (Ryan Gosling) who are both trying to catch a break in the entertainment and movie business in modern day Hollywood. They both struggle to make ends meet while auditioning for various roles and gigs. They are both overwhelmed with disappointment, but finally they each catch a small break, the story unfolds from there…

The movie is a lively “Singing and Dancing” extravaganza. It will remind you of the days of Fred Astaire, Bing Crosby and Ginger Rogers, only this is modern day Hollywood and a modern day musical.

The movie is executed well, is very entertaining and enjoyable. The cinematography is fabulous. Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling have good on-screen chemistry. The Jazz music that is played through-out is awesome!

“La La Land” is worth the ticket.

This is a 4 ½ Star Movie!

The Accountant

If I have said this once, I’ve said it a thousand times…Ben Affleck is brilliant behind the camera, but not in front of it.

“The Accountant” is about a boy, Christian Wolff (Affleck) with autism who grows up to be a genius accountant, who also serves as an assassin for his clients. Wolff works as a free-lance accountant for some of the most dangerous people. As the Justice Department starts to close in, Wolff takes on a legitimate client, where there is an accounting discrepancy that has been uncovered by an in-house accounting clerk (Kendrick). Mysteriously as the accounting discrepancy comes to full light, the body count starts to rise. The story unfolds from there…

The movie has so many twists, turns and subplots that the main plot gets lost. This makes it difficult to tie all the pieces together, but at the end it’s all cleaned up.

There is so much going on in “The Accountant” that you will not be bored. This is truly a Drama, Suspense Thriller of epic proportion. The movie is better than Ben Affleck acting in it.

This is a 3 ½ Star Movie!

Terminator Genisys: The 3D IMAX Experience

I can sum up “Terminator Genisys” in a couple of sentences…

It’s better than the two previous installments, but unfortunately it’s not as good as the first two installments.

“Terminator Genisys” is the same story only it’s being told with a time travel twist. The one intriguing element is that the time travel is done in the nude.
There are lots of explosions, action and gun fire. The best thing about the movie is Arnold Schwarzenegger. If he were not in this installment, it definitely would not be worth watching. His grin is hilarious.

The trailers made this installment look really interesting and worth seeing. Unfortunately the story is disjointed and there are two many sub plots that are not completed. This is the first of a new series of installments of this franchise. I am not sure where they are going from here, but I guess we will find out in a couple of years.

“Terminator Genisys” is best viewed on DVD or Blue Ray.

This is a 1 1/2 Star Movie!

Whiplash

“Whiplash” is probably the best non-blockbuster movie you aren’t watching. You need to check this out, but you must be a friend of Jazz Music!!

“Whiplash” is one of the eight Best Picture Nominees for this year’s Oscars.

Andrew Neyman (Miles Teller) is a young drummer attending an east coast music conservatory. He is very talented and wants to go far. Andrew’s father’s (Reiser) failed writing career shadows him and he wants to get out from under that shadow.

Andrew desperately hungers to be among the great Jazz musicians such as Charlie Parker. Music Instructor Terrence Fletcher (J.K. Simmons) who is equally known for his talent as well as he terrifying teaching methods recognizes Andrew’s talent and tries in his own way to bring it out, but will dealing with Fletcher’s way of teaching cause Andrew to loose his mind first? The story unfolds from there…

The movie is awesome plain and simple. Maybe I am bias because I am a Jazz fan, but the movie is intense, brilliantly executed and well-acted. The music isn’t bad either.
J.K. Simmons’s role as Instructor Fletcher is a 360 degree difference from when he was Psychologist “Emil Skoda” in 46 episodes of the original Law & Order.

“Whiplash” is a must see!!

This is a 5 Star Movie!!