Adnerb the Movie Nerd

Movie reviews from a middle school teacher's perspective

The Upside

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“The Upside” is based on the true story of a wealthy French aristocrat who was paralyzed in a paragliding accident, and the ex-con who becomes his caretaker.  This new American version  changes up some of the details, but the basic concept of a man and his assisstant remains.  Emmy winner Bryan Cranston plays Phillip, a quadrapelgc who is despondent and angry that he wasn’t allowed to die after the accident happened.  He is in the market for a new caretaker and this is where Kevin Hart makes his appearance.  He plays ex-con Dell, who has an exwife, a kid who he never sees, and a ton of back child support payments.  He is about to be sent back to jail unless he can prove he is seriously looking for work.  Dell stumbles upon the interview, thinking he is there for a janitorial position.  Phillip seizes this  opportunity to hire the worst prospect for the job and hopes that Dell won’t know how to take care of him properly and he can finally join his dead wife.  This is a very stale premise that has been overdone in movies and television, and yet in this movie it works.  I give a lot of credit to the chemistry between Bryan Cranson and Kevin Hart.  The are very good together.  Dell helps to mellow Phillip and give him many reasons to want to live and enjoy life.  In return, Phillip gives Dell a steady job and the seed money to venture out on his own.  I notice that many critics gave this movie a low rating, but don’t listen to them.  This is funny and heartwarming and I think you will enjoy it.  My favorite scene had to do with a painting that a pretentious rich guy thinks was painted by Banksy.  This movie doesn’t have a deep message like “Green Book” or a ground-breaking performance like “Bohemian Rapsody” but it is entertaining and satisfying.  I suggest you give it a try.

Bad Times at the El Royale

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What’s not to like about a movie where you can see Jeff Bridges and Chris Hemsworth acting together?  And throw in Jon Hamm, Dakota Johnson and a slew of others to round out the field and Bad Times at the El Royale will have you guessing from the get go as to what is going on and what’s going to happen to whom! Oh and did I mention that Hemsworth spends a lot of time without his shirt on?  This is one strange but interesting movie!  The El Royale is a fictional motel that straddles the state line between Nevada and California.  Which state do you want to stay in? If you opt for the California side, you will have sunshine but no alcohol, as that side of the hotel lost it’s liquour license.  If you stay on the Nevada side, it looks like rain but no gambling for a similar reason.  But it doesn’t really matter at all. Everyone who stays at the Royale on this particular night has something to hide, even the confused appearing desk clerk.  Jeff Bridges is Father Daniel Flynn.  Or is he?  What’s his interest in Darlene Sweet, the singer on her way to a gig in Reno?  What’s Dakota Johnson’s Emily Summerspring really after? One part Quentin Tarentino, one part film noir and one part Wes Anderson; this film will take you places you weren’t expecting.  I was especially impressed with Cynthia Ervio who plays the down-on-her-luck singer with integrity and plenty of grit. Chris Hemsworth is delicously creepy as Billy Lee, a cult leader a la Charles Manson at his most frightful. The action is fast paced and violence abounds. I found Bad Times at the El Royale, suspenseful, surprising and just a little bit proposterous… but never dull.

Peppermint

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If you enjoy movies like ‘Death Wish’ or ‘The Brave One,’ you will probably enjoy Jennifer Garner’s foray into the revenge movie genre.  She plays Riley North, a woman who survives a brutal attack by drug cartel gunmen while her husband and daughter die before her eyes.  Riley is infuriated when a corrupt system – the judge, district attorney AND defense attorney are almost cartoonishly bad – allows the murderers to go free.  She is remanded for psyciatric evaluation, but escapes and spends some years off the gird learning to fight and use weapons so that she can come back and get revenge on the drug cartel and judicial officials on the take who subverted justice through their greed.  John Ortiz  and John Gallagher, Jr. are the LA police officers on the case and Method Man makes a brief apperance as well.  I don’t feel this movie is as good as some of the others in this genre though, so you might want to consider the new ‘Death Wish’ with Bruce Willis instead.  Of course, as in all of these kinds of movies, there are some plot holes, the inevitable dirty insider in the police department and seemingly impossible events that occur.  I was a little disturbed to see several  people who brought their kids to see this one.  It is extremely violent and I heard two of them talking to each other as they left.  One child said, “I hated this movie” while the other replied, “I didn’t like it, it was boring.”  I wish people would read reviews (like Adnerb, for example) before taking kids to see something that has the potential to  affect their kids.  Anyway, if you want to see a female kicking butt, don’t mind a lot of violence, and can ignore some plot inconsistancies, this movie will pass the time on a rainy Sunday afternoon.  Just don’t bring the children!

BlacKkKlansman

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BlacKKKlansman is a highly entertaining and thought-provoking movie from director Spike Lee.  John David Washington (son of Denzel) stars as Ron Stallworth, the first African American detective to join the Colorado Springs Police Department.  (The story of his actual life is pretty amazing). He is largely sidelined in menial positions until the Chief decides to give him an opportunity as an actual detective.  He teams up with Flip (Adam Driver) and Jimmy (Michael Buscemi), and basically on a whim, calls the local KKK.  He has several phone conversations with the local leader Walter (Ryan Eggold of “The Blacklist”) that lead him to ask his Chief if he could run an undercover operation.  After he talks his partners and Sergeant (Ken Garito) into it; he comes up with a scheme to infiltrate the local KKK.  While he talks on the phone with Walter, Flip actually meets the group and gains their confidence (except for one overly suspicious and creepy Klansman).  He and Flip succeed, and Flip is taken in by the group, who become convinced he is a like-minded recruit. Ron even convinces none other than KKK Grandmaster David Duke (Topher Grace) that he is a white redneck who wants to join the organization.  He also becomes emotionally involved with a black student leader who hates cops.  Once he reveals his cover to her, things get complicated.  The resolution of all the issues is fast paced and tense.  Both Washington and Driver are fantastic, with good support from the entire cast (including Ashlie Atkinson as a disurbingly submissive and racist wife of the suspicious Klansmen).  The issues examined in this movie are scary and disturbing, and no less timely now then they were at the time of the movie’s events.  Spike Lee delivers a great movie; although if you are a fan of President Trump, you will not like the way that he not-so-subtly juxtaposes what is going on in today’s America with Stallworth’s story.

Equalizer 2

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First off, this must be said.  I love Denzel Washington and I am sure I could happily watch him whitewashing a fence or simply sitting on a bench.  So there was no way I was going to not like the Equalizer 2 just as much as I loved the first one.  Despite what a lot of other critics are saying – this sequel, the first ever for Denzel, meets and exceeds my expectations.  Denzel once again plays retired (and presumed dead) CIA agent Robert McCall, who uses his considerable skills to help every day people like you and me get justice.  If you harm, or even try to harm someone that McCall knows, you will be very sorry!  There is plenty of action, car chases, fights, double dealing agents, and a wild finale in the midst of a storm. There are a few  twists, and of course, Mr. McCall is always on top of his game. Supporting roles are expertly filled by Pedro Pascal, Melissa Leo and Orson Bean.  Yep, you heard me, I said Orson Bean – all 90 years of him!!  If  you like the first Equalizer, I guarantee that you will like this one too!