All the Right Moves
High school and football, a classic combo. The thing that sets this one apart is the gray area that each character winds up in. Tom Cruise (Legend) isn’t the star of the team but he’s first string and is devoted to putting in the hard work to win. When his squad suffers a particularly devastating loss the coach (Craig T. Nelson (Action Jackson)) brutally berates one of his players prompting Cruise to step in and defend his teammate while also hurling some insults. The coach immediately kicks Cruise off the team. Oh shit! Now he can’t get a football scholarship and go to college. He’s doomed to spend the rest of his life in a small western PA mill town.The movie doesn’t hold your hand (for the most part) in
telling you who’s right and who’s wrong or what degrees may exist in between. You can understand the justifications for each
character’s actions but at the same time you can also see how they might not be
totally right either. Cruise sticks up
for his teammate but maybe he takes it too far by calling the coach out on his
bullshit and dumping trash on his lawn. And
even though the coach may have been too hard on his players after such a crushing
defeat he can’t have his guys run roughshod over him. However, what the coach fails to realize is
he’s holding the future of some teenagers in his hands. They’re kids that he knows and works with
every day yet respect and honor are real things that can’t be ignored when shit
gets real emotional. I dunno, maybe I
took this thing deeper than the film intended.
Unfortunately in the end the film does pick a side instead
of leaving it up to you to decide where these folks land on your moral
compass. But for ninety five percent of
it there’s plenty to think about here and I appreciate that.
Attica
It was a heartbreaking incident that never should’ve
happened because the prisoners shouldn’t have been treated so horribly to begin
with. All freedoms have already been taken
away from them for whatever crime they committed so why subject them to further
torture through beatings, detestable food, overuse of solitary confinement, etc.
It’s an illuminating film that’s edited very well. They make sure to highlight that while the
inmates’ grievances were legitimate they were also hurting others to get their
point across so there’s some balance there.
It’s a heavy watch but I would definitely recommend this one.
Miracle Mile
While the characters are likeable enough it’s the fever
dream approach that makes the movie in my opinion. The whole time you don’t know if Tinseltown
will actually be obliterated momentarily or if it’s all mass hysteria and that
filters everything you see. Maybe the
madness is over nothing. But what if it
isn’t?
Once Harry receives the call the rest of the film takes
place in real time more of less with a greater number of folks thinking they
only have under an hour left to live. Crazy
situations ensue, special bonds are formed and felonies are definitely
committed. Harry’s sole mission is to
get out of the city with the woman he fell in love with the day before (Mare
Winningham (Tuner & Hooch)) and his devotion is touching (even
though it drives him to make questionable decisions).
Say Anything
But then the IRS come knocking creating a ridiculous
distraction that pops up every now and again.
It’s not that the girlfriend’s father (John Mahoney (Tin Men))
didn’t pay his taxes, it’s that they think he’s committing major fraud. This is serious man. He’s weathering a huge shitstorm while his
daughter and her goofy fuckin’ boyfriend figure out their lives and carry on an
adorable relationship post high school.
"You're under criminal investigation for the tax years 1982-1986" |
Weird fuckin’ film guys.
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