‘Gold’, stars Matthew McConaughey as Kenny Wells, a modern prospector on hard times. He inherits his dad’s mining concern, but times turn bad and Kenny and a few loyal employees are forced to give up their nice offices and conduct business in a bar after their company goes under. Then comes the turn of fortune that looks to put them back in the money! Matthew gives a solid performance. He had to gain a lot of weight to play Wells as a middle aged and dissolute man, but one still with hope. Bryce Dallas Howard is also featured, but she really doesn’t have much to do. Edgar Ramirez gives a great performance as the partner whose gold discovery in Indonesia turns the company around, or does it? After you see the movie, look up the real story of John Felderhof (fictionalized to Kenny Wells). It is every bit as bizarre and intriguing as the movie! This movie is not as good as Wolf of Wall Street, which I was reminded of as I watched, but it is still worth seeing.
Patriots Day
I found this to be a very well-done movie that recreates the Boston Marathon bombing of 2013. This movie reminded me of some of the events and taught me some things about the investigation that I didn’t know. Mark Wahlberg plays a composite of several police officers who were on site when the bombing took place and helped with the subsequent manhunt. J. K. Simmons adds a little well placed comedy relief to this story. The movie also features some of the survivors at the end, including Dun Meng (played by Jimmy O. Yang) whose carjacking and escape ultimately led to the capture of the Tsarnaev brothers. You will need to dab your eyes several time throughout the story but especially when retired baseball player David “Big Poppy” Ortiz gives a short, inspiring speech at the end. Also featured in minor roles are Kevin Bacon, John Goodman, Michelle Monaghan. This is definitely a movie worth watching!