JFK: John Fitzgerald Kennedy for the Layman

In light of all the awesome 50th anniversary Kennedy shows I stopped and watched JFK: In His Words on HBO. I think it's very important for my younger generation to learn about JFK and why he was such a polarizing figure. We're all too familiar with his horrible and untimely end and all that accompanies it, but we are often lost in why he was so important. It's debatable if a anyone has been more charismatic and charming to come along in the Presidency since JFK. I enjoy his speeches and video clips GREATLY. The HBO documentary is fantastic giving you insight into his rise to political power. He was loved by youth and minorities, which I don't think gets mentioned enough. I think that's a large part of why he's still talked about today. I loved watching how he took down Nixon in the first majorly televised Presidential campaigns. The first widely televised debate where his youth, vitality, and flat out good looks destroyed Nixon to the public. His charisma and charm (overused I know) took over and ran the race for him. He was American royalty, something that just doesn't exist today. I wish the focus wasn't on his death, but on his life and what he championed and stood for. You can only wonder about what could have been if he survived another term, or if his brother Robert could have made it into the highest office. He was born into great wealth, but it never defined him, or even seemed to matter. He was a WWII hero for the Navy. He was at home with the common man wherever he went. There were great videos of him shaking hands and politicking in the streets of MA for his Congressional seat. I just really enjoyed this documentary of all of the old footage and speeches. He was at home wherever he was and it was refreshing and enjoying. He was a great figure in our history, but I feel like my generation doesn't understand why. He stood for youth, change, and progress. The greatest disappointment is knowing him only for his gruesome end and not all that he accomplished in a very short time on earth and in office.

Cloud Atlas

Cloud Atlas finally got added to HBO's lineup and I was pretty excited to see it. Cloud Atlas follows several stories all intertwined in various ways, normally a mole shaped like a comet and love/ dangerous situations. Halle Barry and Tom Hanks headline a strong cast and each play multiple characters. It's an interesting stretch and story that does a decent job of keeping it together and continuous. It hits a few boring parts during the over 2.5 hours, but the various alternating stories keep things interesting. Some you'll like more than others, but they are all interesting and united, which is a part of the intrigue. Once again I'm slightly biased to people at least TRYING something new and unique in Hollywood. Bottom Line: 6.4 out of 10. I'm a sucker for uplifting, life lessony movies. I'd certainly watch it for free on HBOGO, or whenever it hits Netflix, etc.

Movie 43: An Attempt at Comedy

Movie 43 is a tribute to Kentucky Fried Movie and other movies that are a collection of comical shorts thrown together for a shot a comedy spread out over 10 chanches at greatness. There's a backstory of a crazed man trying to pitch a movie (Dennis Quaid) to movie exec (Greg Kinnear) and it's his crazy shorts that compose Movie 43. It's very weird, and just LOADED with stars from top to bottom. Hugh Jackman, Hallie Berry, Kate Winslet, Kinnear, Quiad, Common, Stephen Merchant, Johnny Knoxville, Anna Farris, Emma Stone, Liev Schrieber & longtime girlfriend Naomi Watts, Common, and really I could go on, but what's the point? Some of them are hits, some of them are misses, but I certainly, bucking the trend, had a decent time watching the film. It starts out pretty strong with a front-end loaded skit of Winslet and Jackman that doesn't push it far enough with their gag, but it's a lot of fun. I really think they go for a lot, so it's hit & miss the entire way. I think you have to try it on for yourself. It's pretty much pure sophomoric and grotesque humor, so if you really don't like that sort of thing, don't give it the time of day. I do laugh at poop, fart, and dick jokes, so I found a few of these to be funny. Bottom Line: 5.9 out of 10. I wish I could go higher, but this really defies description besides a mash up of shorts based on something probably gross or taboo. I think it's certainly worth a viewing, especially since it's on Netflix and requires nothing besides 80 minutes to find out if it's for you, or not. I'm just glad someone took a chance on something unique. I'm sure the actors/actresses involved had a blast.

42: Jackie Robinson's Hollywood Blockbuster

I picked up 42 at a Family Video clearance for $4 and I think that's about right. The movie follows Robinson, but also Branch Rickey, the man most responsible for Robinson being on the Dodger's. Rickey is portrayed by Harrison Ford, who I'm a fan of and I feel did a very good job. He's neither deified nor condemned as essentially a businessman who did not see any other color that mattered besides green. I think the historical aspect is lost, but there is a decent movie here. The baseball scenes are decent, but a little CGI heavy. Chadwick Boseman is very good as Robinson. The cast is largely unknown, but solid. I think it does a pretty vanilla job of telling the story of Robinson's first year in the bigs. It can't focus TOO much on the hardships, or his family life, or Rickey's behind the scenes struggles, so it touches on all three and satisfies you on none of them, but provides so facts and educates a little bit on all fronts. Bottom Line: 6.4 out of 10. Fairly bland, but not exactly a kid's film. Does a respectable job of telling parts of Robinson's story, though as I said before, with too many irons in the fire you really only get a glimpse into the struggles of the men involved.

12 Years as a Slave: Gamechanger

I will put as high praise as I can on 12 Years as a Slave. It's everything that's great about movies. It tells a powerful story and emotionally throws you to the wolves. The story follows Soloman, a free black man living in Saratoga, NY with his family playing the violin for a living. He's approached by two white men to travel with them and perform, making $3/performance & $1/day travel. They proceed to get him to drink too much and sell him into slavery. The next hour and a half is a brutal, honest tale of slavery and abuse. The acting is all top notch with great performances across the board from talented actors playing in minor roles that are much smaller than what they are used to: Paul Dano, Brad Pitt, Michael Fassbender, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Giamatti, and Michael Williams (AKA OMAR the Stick Up Boy). The result is an amazing and powerful film that I feel like can only be compared to such an epic as Schindler's List in how strong it is. I was crying in a movie theatre for the first time in I can't remember when. Chiwetel Ejiofor plays the role of a lifetime to perfection and an Oscar nomination and possible win is sure to follow. Fassbender will probably garner one for best supporting actor, I'd like to see Adepero Oduye get something for her portrayal as Eliza, a slave who has the grave misfortune of being her master's object of affection. There really isn't a weak link in the whole chain. It's just a phenomenal film that is one of the great ones. Bottom Line: 9.8 out of 10. It's just about a perfect movie, it's that simple. This is what I would refer to as a must-see movie for all adults.

Oldboy

I re-watched my favorite portions of the original Oldboy before the new one comes out. Oldboy is a pretty unique story where a (I think) Korean man is imprisoned by himself in essentially a one bedroom apartment without knowing why, or really anything about it, for 15 years. He's then dumped off in a suitcase in the middle of a field and his journey begins. He begins trying to figure out why he was imprisoned and who did it. THere's now some landmark moments, most notably the eating of raw squid that's still moving, and fighting through 20 dudes in a tiny hallway with nothing more than a hammer, and a few others I don't really want to print. The story twists and turns while you're largely kept in the dark as the main character attempts to piece together who did this to him. Just fantastic stuff, but truly twisted and bothersome. I'm mildly interested in the U.S. re-make, but I HIGHLY encourage seeing this one well before you stumple upon the U.S. remake. Bottom Line: 8.6 out of 10. It's strange reading subtitles the entire time as always, but I refuse to believe that this film will be improved upon when it's Americanized. The twists and turns and truly devious and awful. It's really a two hour struggle to get through this thing at times.

Promised Land

I took a flier on this film and I need to be honest that I biffed the first 15 minutes, so this isn't complete. I jumped in on Damon at a bar trying to befriend a small-town and I was engrossed from there. Damon plays essentially a salesman who is pushing "fracking", or the harvesting of natural gas, to a small, struggling town in... I'm not sure what state sadly. His campaign hits a snag when a retired engineer who teaches science at the local high school starts shining a light on some of the issues from fracking. Damon and Francis Mcdormond are forced into trying to sign up enough of the town-folk to win a vote. John Krasinski hops in as an environmentalist who is essentially the natural gas companies worst nightmare. He's the charming, charismatic, friendly, and passionate employee of Athena Environmental Group. He jumps into the fray and talks to everyone he can about his family farm in Nebraska that fracking ruined by killing off his families dairy cattle and ruining his families livelihood. They battle back & forth and exchange seeming victories and defeats to a building vote that everything depends on. There's a great twist and I feel it salvaged the movie since it was rather boring for most people. Bottom Line: 6.8 out of 10. I enjoyed the story and I think fracking is a VERY interesting issue for these small, poor towns. The question of mortgaging a shaky, struggling, toiling future for money and a possible, perhaps even probable environmental issue/issues stemming from the fracking that will ruin your land and way of life. HBO has some excellent documentaries on it that are worth watching if it's of interest to you. Watching people light their kitchen sinks and garden hoses on fire like Kennedy's Eternal flame is VERY fascinating and terrifying. Damon and Krasinski are both excellent and Mcdormond is rock solid as always. I'd rent/ watch this on HBO.

Mud

Matthew McConaughey is supposedly the star in this character-heavy drama focusing on the deep South and the struggles of poverty and love, but the much younger Tye Sheridan is in my opinion even more impressive. The film follows Sheridan's character Ellis and his best friend as they find a boat hanging in some trees after a flood. The boat is inhabited by McConaughey, who insists the boys call him Mud. The boys befriend him and fall into his story of love with a girl named Juniper, played by Reese Witherspoon, so you understand his desires. He tells a story of love spanning years, but eventually reveals that he's not just a swell guy trying to get his sweetheart back, but a wanted felon for a murder he admits to committing to the boys. They are undetoured in trying to assist Mud in getting the boat they found in a tree up and running because Mud needs it. The strength of the film lies in the acting, but the story is also fairly unique and interesting. There's some bumps and bruises along the way outside of the main plot that also add some spice, so I didn't find it to be boring, but I could understand if people complained. They drag you along and keep it interesting for a frenzied climax that twists and turns in ways I certainly didn't see coming. Bottom Line: 7.7 out of 10. I'm rating this perhaps a little harsher than I should, but it's really tough to put it ahead of Captain Phillips, so I feel like I'm unfairly punishing it. It's certainly worth a rental or a view on Netflix or some movie channel that it's almost certain to be on soon. I'm seeing Tye Sheridan as an up & comer if he keeps his nose clean and bulks up some in the upcoming years, because he can certainly act in my opinion. I bought the emotion, etc demanded from his character. Obviously Mconaughey is outstanding as well, but pretty much everyone shines. Losts of Boardwalk Empire alums for some reason, so that was interesting for me. Please let me know what you thought of this one because I feel like everything I put down someone could disagree with.

Captain Phillips

Tom Hanks is probably the best actor of "my generation", though he's probably too old for me to claim that one. I jumped on board to catch his latest work that was trending VERY well on Rotten Tomatoes at 95%. It's best to not know much about this story heading into it, since I thoroughly enjoyed not knowing what was going to happen during the pirate takeover. Hanks plays the ship captain of a freight ship transporting food stuffs and other boring items to war-torn African nations. Not sure if that's true at all, but it plays the sympathy cord. Hanks' ship is overtaken by 4 poorly clothed, but decently armed with AK-47's and a few pistols, Somali pirates. Hanks is shown as a hero who constantly tries to protect his crew and get the pirates off his ship. Though this may not be true in the real story (from the little I have heard since the crew is suing the studio who made this) it gives Hanks more screen time, which is all that matters. I don't want to tell too much, but there's some struggles and interesting moments along the way leading to a 30 minute slow-building climax. Keep yourself in the dark about the real story and enjoy this very well done film. Bottom Line; 7.9 out of 10. I really enjoyed the movie and it is very well done. From the Somali pirates, to the crew, to the equipment & military members, it's all just very well done. Rock solid throughout, so it's probably worth $10 bucks to see in the cinemas to enjoy it because it's rather impressive on the big screen. The ocean scenes are very well done.