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This review is a repost. When I saw this film I was just starting to sort of see poorly rated films without paying attention to the critics. Otherwise I probably never would have seen this one.

R | 99 min | Comedy
Director: Ben Falcone
Writers: Ben Falcone, Steve Mallory
Stars: Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Bell, Peter Dinklage

A titan of industry is sent to prison after she’s caught insider trading. When she emerges ready to rebrand herself as America’s latest sweetheart, not everyone she screwed over is so quick to forgive and forget. (IMDB)

I can’t say the last few movies of Melissa McCarthy have impressed me. I loved her in the 90’s dramedy series “Gilmore Girls.” She didn’t do any ft girl splits ar steal food off everyone’s plates as is common in her movies since. I usually chuckle at her films but rarely more than that. “The Boss” is a new low for her body of work and her body has changed too, probably from surgery but I don’t know for sure.

If she did lose weight quickly, it would explain the turtlenecks. My wife pointed this ot to me. She said when people have radical weight loss surgery, sometimes they have turkey neck with the extra skin still hanging. The scenes I liked the best were when she did a dance routine on stage. She’s like the Tony Robbins of real estate and she wants to “make you rich.” I hate those greedy motivational speakers so these on stage performances with the pyrotechnics and such were hilarious to watch. Please note: every other part of this movie is neither funny nor entertaining. I think this is one of the most boring films I have seen in decades. I’m amazed it got made.

The stuff with the girl scouts is really reaching for a laugh. It doesn’t fit with the movie it all even though I kept hoping it would. I have to shine a light of kindness as I wrap this up however: Melissa McCarthy is a hilarious comic. Her slapstick is right up there with Will Farrell and Molly Shannon. Unfortunately she’s accepting some really stupid scripts. Maybe it’s time we see her name on the writer’s credits line. In conclusion, I was bored all the way through this film, except for those stage scenes I mentioned. I suppose I’d recommend it but only if there is nothing else good playing.

My rating: 1

Have you seen this film? What’s your verdict?

Imperium (2016)
R | 1h 49min | Crime, Drama, Thriller | 19 August 2016 (USA)

A young FBI agent, eager to prove himself in the field, goes undercover as a white supremacist.
Director: Daniel Ragussis
Writers: Michael German (story), Daniel Ragussis (screenplay)
Stars: Daniel Radcliffe, Toni Collette, Tracy Letts

Director Daniel Ragussis gives us this film as his debut. He’s had experience with short films and he’s also a writer/producer of this and other films. This was an ambitious project for a first time director. Most people avoid controversial topics in general while a smaller group are attracted to them. The subject of white supremacy is one I find to be particularly taboo at the water cooler and also, when people are talking about what movie to see. For that reason, I suspect this film didn’t do as well as it could have with less controversy.

Daniel Radcliffe is the star and focus of this story. He is a police officer going undercover to expose and arrest a white supremacist cult. It gets ugly in there and a couple time you really fear for little Daniel and what they might do if they find out about him. He is an interesting choice. It might have been more realistic to get a big skinhead type. The whole time I was thinking he didn’t look like he fit in. Maybe the director was trying to show that all you need is hate to get in the door of those places.

There are older leaders in cults like this but usually I have seen these sort as being young men between 18-25. I think the film shows that men in that age range are angry sometimes, to the point of hatred for another race. When they aren’t successful, they want to blame and that is really the shame of it.

This is not a topic I usually enjoy in a film. I was very uncomfortable in American History X. I am respecter of Ghandi and any leader who accepts all races as being equal. This is a good film but too far out for into a subject I truly despise.

6/10

The lives of three young women and why they became punk revolutionaries is the main idea of “Pussy Riot: a Punk Prayer.”

It’s a real situation and a real “group” (instead of a band) that protests the Soviet Union through punk songs and performance art. They claim to be non-violent, which is good. In some of their protest situations they have been threatened and violence has been enacted against them. Three visionaries of the group: Mariya Alyokhina, Yekaterina Samutsevich, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova occupy the film’s content and their stories are inspiring or enraging depending on your political and moral point of view. I found these three women and their art hugely inspirational. I think we forget in America what freedom is and that at some point, it needs to be sacrificed for.

These three women feel that Russia needs to get more progressive. By that I mean, women should be allowed to have a life with or without men.

They also feel there should be a clear separation between church and state. More than anything, they detest the policies of Vladimir Putin, the current leader of the Soviet Union. Many of their songs decry his regime. I liked the open and forward thinking of the women but some of their techniques, such as the naming of their group and some past indiscretions on film, in my opinion are not as universally embraceable as they could be. I’m writing a review about their documentary but I cringe a little creating the title with the word “pussy” in it. Is there another way we could name this group without fanning the flames of the conservatives? I am no revolutionary but I might recommend to Pussy Riot a slightly more marketable and palatable approach to its persona.

These women spend at least 6 months in jail (I lost track after all the updates and frankly am too lazy to look up this significant particular). When they address the court or the press, it is breathtaking. They scribble tomes while behind bars and nearly every time they read their words, they are met with unguarded applause. These is something to these revolutionaries but the movie feels at times as if much of it is staged. If not staged, the movie sometimes feels like HBO camera crews are betting on a worldwide interest in a documentary. This to me is gauche. Not everything can be captured in a documentary. Would Johnny Rotten want to be followed by HBO? How about Ghandi? Hmmm, maybe? Having said that, this movie reminds me of the times I fought to be outside the “system.” So many people these days, especially our youth, accept their position playing video games and being bored. We don’t have to accept the role society gives us. We can break out and be original. It could start by protesting the things we dislike in society. I wonder if many American kids would risk going to jail to try and make the government change. Let’s hope more American kids get that message from Pussy Riot.

“I am working on a new style of animation that I know you will be interested in.” -Walt Disney

Directed by
Khoa Le

Writing Credits
Arthur L. Bernstein, Armando Gutierrez, Timothy Susanin, Frank Licari

Cast
Jodie Sweetin
as Charlotte Disney
Jon Heder
as Roy Disney
David Henrie
as Rudy Ising

Who doesn’t love Disneyland and Mickey Mouse? The mysterious background of the Disney empire is unveiled in the park itself in several exhibits, in books, and other media. Unfortunately it has never graced the silver screen, until now.

This film is a delight to watch but I can’t say the performances are Oscar worthy. It actually presented like the kid of movie you’d see inside the park about Walt. The lines are delivered in a rote fashion and the characters are not  very developed. All this just goes to show you how powerful Disney’s story is. I enjoyed every minute of it.

We see into Walt’s early family life. His father was not supportive. Still later on, he did provide a small financial contribution to Walt’s first company. At one point Walt says, “We don’t know anything about business, but we’ll learn.” He and his hired hands do learn things at the school of hard knocks. He is cheated in a scandalous move by none other than the Felix the Cat creator.

If you ever wondered how Walt Disney got started, this is a good one to go see. Don’t go in expecting an amazing biography but you will see a compelling beginning of a miraculous man’s creative life.