Tag: Javier Bardem

Being the Ricardos

Being the Ricardos

I am a HUGE Lucille Ball fan, so when I learned that there was a movie coming out about her and Desi Arnaz’s professional and personal life, I had to see it.

To me this adaptation is a bit boring and confusing. Lucille Ball was larger than Life! She was so funny and light-hearted. None of that really came through in the scenes of this movie. 

A lot of what was shown was about the struggles that occurred behind the scenes of producing the “I Love Lucy” show. The squabbles over the script and even some political drama. 

The movie takes you into the writer’s room and the sound stage where you get a glimpse of how a TV show was made back in the 50’s and 60’s and also what happens during a critical production week.

Nichole Kidman’s star shines brightly, as she does an excellent job of being Lucille Ball. 

Aside from Nichole Kidman’s performance, the movie lacked the magic I was expecting. I fully expected to laugh out loud at some of Lucille Ball’s crazy antics, but I never laughed once… and a lot of her funniness was not displayed.

With all of that being said, “Being the Ricardos” is worth a look especially if you are a fan of Lucille Ball.

“Being the Ricardos” is in the theater and streaming on Amazon Prime.

This is a 3 Star Movie!!

Dune

Dune

In this first of two installments of “Dune” we learn of a young man who is born into a destiny not of his choosing but is forced to do whatever is necessary to save the future of his family and his planet. In order to do this, he must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe and fight while overcoming his own fears to survive. The story unfolds from there…

 Wow! What a visual. The movie is a bit cumbersome in some areas, but that does not take away from the story. The execution of the saga is on point and the casting is AWESOME! Some of the desert scenes reminded me of the 2015 Blockbuster “Mad Max: Fury Road”, “Desert Dirt Flying…”. This is the first of 2 Dune movies and I am excited for the conclusion.

“Dune” is in Theaters and Streaming on HBO MAX until Nov 21st.

It’s best seen on the big screen!

This is a 4 Star Movie!!

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales

At Last…This is supposed to be the final installment in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. To be perfectly honest I believe the franchise died after “Dead Man’s Chest”.

In this installment the legendary Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) is down on his luck. Things get really dark when a band of deadly ghost sailors lead by the notorious Captain Salazar (Javier Bardem) escapes from the Devil’s Triangle. The ghostly band of sailors are out to kill every Pirate they can find especially Jack Sparrow.
Captain Jack however continues to get himself in predicaments. His only hope of survival is to locate the “Trident of Poseidon”. Jack will have to team up with an Astronomer known as Carina Smyth (Kaya Scodelario). On the other front though Captain Salazar gets a line on where Captain Jack is located. The story unfolds from there…

Javier Bardem as Captain Salazar breathes life into this installment. He is a breath of fresh air. Aside from the special effects, costumes and cinematography Captain Salazar is by far the best element in the movie.

The movie is entertaining, but the problem is that it drags at times and it’s way too long at 2 hours 15 minutes. The story just seems to drone on and on…

This franchise is old and tired and should sail off into the sunset.

This is a 2 ½ Star Movie!

The Gunman

I had high expectations for “The Gunman” unfortunately it does not deliver, not by a long shot.

Terrier (Sean Penn) is a member of a mercenary assassination team tasked with taking out the minister of mines of the Congo. When the mission is accomplished Terrier is forced into hiding. Eight years later Terrier returns to the Congo only to find out that he has become the target of a hit squad. The story unfolds from there…

From the very beginning the story is disjointed. The dialog and some of the exchanges do not make sense. There is no real story line or plot. The actions and events do not make sense. The stage is not set properly, so you will spend a lot of time scratching your head. You will see events and scenes that will remind you of other movies that were executed better of the same genre.

Needless to say I am disappointed. I expected better. This movie was directed by Pierre Morel who did “Taken”.

“The Gunman” is best viewed on cable.

The Counselor

Please do not waste your money! “The Counselor” is one of the worst movies of 2013!
What an utter disappointment. The movie is all over the map. There are long sex scenes that don’t make sense and have no real place in the movie. I am not sure what Ridley Scott was thinking when he was directing this.
The movie is supposed to be about an attorney who gets in too deep in the drug trafficking business. The story and plot are not obvious and everything is all over the place. The movie is brutally bloody. The previews are extremely miss-leading. I totally expected action, intrigue, drama and a bit of fun given the cast. There is none of that in “The Counselor”.
I have to say that I am not even sure that “The Counselor” warrants a look even when it comes out on DVD or Blueray. I can’t see spending any money on this film at all.

“The Counselor” should have been left on the cutting room floor.