The Love Guru (2008)

It has been a very long time since I had last seen the Canadian comedy legend and former Saturday Night Live Alum Mike Myers (So I Married An Ax Murderer) in a film. Mike has wowed us with how great he has been in various film franchises like Wayne's World, Shrek, and Austin Powers, but for today I had to explore 2008's The Love Guru which written by Myers and directed by Marco Schnabel (Austin Powers In Goldmember). The film stars Myers as Pitka, an American that was raised by gurus outside of the country. Pitka decides that it's time to return to the states to cash in on the self help guru craze so he gets involved with a hockey team to try and give confidence back to it's star player. The film also stars Jessica Alba (The Fantastic Four) as Jane Bullard, Justin Timberlake (Alpha Dog) as Jacques Grande, Verne Troyer (Bubble Boy) as Coach Punch Cherkov, Manu Narayan (The Last Airbender) as Rajneesh, John Oliver (The Lion King) as Dick Pants, Stephen Colbert as Jay Kell, Jim Gaffigan (The Jim Gaffigan Show) as Trent Lueders, Ben Kingsley (Iron Man 3) as Guru Tugginmypudha, Rob Huebel (Seeking a Friend for the End of the World) as Frat Guy, Daniel Tosh (Tosh.O) as Cowboy Hat, Meagan Good (Think Like A Man) as Prudence Roanoke, and Romany Malco (Top 5) as Darren Roanoke.

One thing that I am going to say right off the bat is that Justin Timberlake was the best part of this whole entire film. Justin is a renaissance man who can literally do it all as he has entertained us on the small screen, big screen, and of course on stages all over the world. He was a solid choice to play the rival hockey player who steals the star players wife and he was so funny. It was almost as if Mike Myers gave him all the funny lines and left none for himself in this film. I am not saying that the whole entire film was terrible because there were some funny scenes throughout, but Myers definitely laid an egg with this one as a lot of the comedy just felt forced and some of it was too stupid. I think a character like Pitka would have been better reserved for the Austin Powers series if you toned him down a bit and actually made him funny, but to try and capitalize on the self help craze was what he tried to do and it failed. I don't really have much more to say about the film other than it had some cool cinematography, but not enough to save this one. The film is currently available to stream for free on Tubi so check it out if you dare. I am going to give this one an D+ for a final grade because Timberlake keeps it from being an F.

The Rum Diary (2011)

If you have been living under a rock then you obviously wouldn't know that there is some controversy in Hollywood surrounding the lives of Johnny Depp (Mortdecai) and Amber Heard (Pineapple Express) as both are engulfed in a nasty case. So, I have decided that I was going to check out a film that both former lovers starred in together as I watched The Rum Diary which was released in 2011 and was written and directed by Bruce Robinson (How to Get Ahead in Advertising) and is based off of the Hunter S. Thompson novel. Depp stars as freelance writer Kemp who decides to take a job as a writer for a newspaper in Puerto Rico. The only problem is that things are not what they seem as he tries to navigate himself between the culture of the island and certain characters that inhabit the island. The film also stars Aaron Eckhart (Thank You For Smoking) as Sanderson,  Michael Rispoli (While You Were Sleeping) as Sala, Richard Jenkins (The Witches Of Eastwick) as Lotterman, Giovanni Ribisi (Gone In 60 Seconds) as Moberg, Amaury Nolasco (A Good Day To Die Young) as Segurra, Marshall Bell (Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead) as Donovan, Bill Smitrovich (The November Man) as Mr. Zimburger, Julian Holloway (Carry On Up the Khyber) as Wolsley, and Bruno Irizarry (Looking for Maria Sanchez) as Lazar.

One thing is definitely for sure and that this film was not as good as Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas which was a classic Thompson novel turned into a film. Johnny Depp was well Johnny Depp and that is you can definitely enjoy his performance in the film, but Eckhart deserves some of that credit as well. This was definitely not my favorite Amber Heard performance as her sexuality was more of the tool used for this film as they had that forbidden affair in the film and most of the time I was like God do it already and get it over with. One thing that I definitely loved about the film was the cinematography which was excellently shot with beautiful tones and some amazing shots of the island and the beach life which was amazing in this film. I think that honestly the sets, the cinematography, and the editing of the film were probably my favorite parts of the film besides the obvious performances I talked about above. I didn't think the story was as interesting as Fear and Loathing, but it definitely keeps you somewhat near the edge of your seat for most of the film. I was curious and the film has a 51% on Rotten Tomatoes which is just about probably where I am overall with the film which means that it may seem a little harsh, but this is not I have to rush to see this kind of film. Which means that I am going to give the film an C for a final grade.

I, Tonya (2017)

I used to do this segment on my other blog called Based On A Truesday story where we explored films that were based on a true story. While it has been a long time since we did it and today is Tuesday after all I thought I would bring it back. The film I chose for today is one that was a huge topic in the 1990's because it was one of the most shocking events to happen in the world of figure skating and I am talking about I, Tonya which was released in 2017 and was directed by Craig Gillespie (Lars And The Real Girl). The film stars Margot Robbie (Once Upon A Time In Hollywood) as the controversial Tayna Harding. The film follows Tanya's life from it's humble backwards beginnings all the way to the events that occurred when Nancy Kerrigan was attacked. The film also stars Sebastian Stan (Captain America: Winter Soldier) as Jeff, Allison Janney (The Addams Family) as LaVona, Julianne Nicholson (August: Osage County) as Diane Rawlinson, Paul Walter Hauser (Richard Jewell) as Shawn, Bobby Cannavale (The Irishman) as Martin Maddox,  Bojana Novakovic (Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) as Dody Teachman, Caitlin Carver (Dear White People) as Nancy Kerrigan, and Jason Davis (Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby) as Al.

This was actually an interesting story about one of the most controversial figures who dealt with very stupid people right from the beginning. There was a lot of pressure on her right from the beginning because she was an unconventional skater put on by her mother. She gets married to basically a guy who was a moron that abused her, and an idiot who thought he was security guard hatched the plan to whack Nancy Kerrigan. The thing that I loved the most about the film is the fact that is says it based off of accounts given by Tanya and Jeff, but they are also telling you to take what they say with a degree of maybe you shouldn't believe everything that they say because how reliable can they really be? Margot Robbie does an amazing job in the film that you could almost take this as Harley Quinn's origin story, but she really does knock it out of the park as the polarizing Tonya Harding. Sebastian Stan also deserves some credit for the job well done that he did, but the real star of the film in my opinion was Allison Janney who played Tony'a unrelenting and unforgiving mother who was the definition of tough as nails. She dominated the screen every time that she appeared on it and she carried the film through in my opinion. I would be interested to know however how much of the story is true because one is always going to paint themselves as innocent bystanders, but the truth is that the deed was done. I am going to give the film an B+ for a final grade.

Vox Lux (2018)

I had remembered seeing the title of the film I chose for today somewhere before and I wanted to see it in theaters, but like a lot of independent films it was never released. The film that I am talking about is 2018's Vox Lux which was written and directed by Brady Corbet (The Childhood of a Leader). After surviving a violent tragedy, Celeste (Raffey Cassidy) gets catapulted into super stardom that turns her into a pop hero. We follow Celeste over the course of her career until we get to 2017 and older Celeste (Natalie Portman) is trying to get over a scandal that sort of put a halt to her career as she tries to make a comeback with her new album Vox Lux, but can she survive all the other stuff that comes with it like motherhood? The film also stars Jude Law (The Talented Mr. Ripley) as The Manager, Stacy Martin (All The Money In The World) as Eleanor, Jennifer Ehle (Beneath the Blue Suburban Skies) as Josie The Publicist, Christopher Abbott (It Comes At Night) as The Journalist, Logan Riley Bruner (Orange Is The New Black) as Cullen Active, Maria Dizzia (Martha Marcy May Marlene) as Ms. Dwyer, Meg Gibson (Sex And The City) as Celeste's Mother, and Allison Winn (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) as Therese.

Going into this film, I definitely wasn't sure what to expect out of it, but what we did receive was social commentary on the powers that pop stars possess over fanbases that gawk at them like they are Gods and Goddesses. They tried to do this thing where you take a train wreck like Britney Spears and you write a film about her comeback and hopes that she rises again, but what they did with this was look at the side of fame you don't see. Natalie Portman definitely puts on a performance in this film that is unforgettable and you see this childish side of her because she has never had anyone in her life tell her that things were not OK to do especially Jude Law's character. You also see her struggle with motherhood and how bad of an influence she is on her own daughter throughout the film as she struggles for normalcy among the Gods. The one thing about this film is that the individual performances in this film greatly outweighed the overall picture and what I mean by that is while the performances were great, the story was just OK in my book. There is really nothing they are providing in this film that people don't already know about pop stars, but the other saving grace is the amazing soundtrack provided by Sia who does a terrific job in the music department. The film is available on HULU as we speak and if you are a fan of Natalie Portman then this might be one you want to check out at least once for how great she was in the film. Other than that, I am going to give the film an B for a final grade.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)

We once again want to apologize because we are not doing Sunday At The Classics again this week, but we have something great for you all today. I am all about checking out film that have garnered some acclaim due to the fact that it's an original film in a world full of remakes and reboots. That is why I decided for today that we would check out the film Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri because it's originality is the factor that peaked my interest for it’s unique title and for the caliber of the cast contained within the film. Frances McDormand (Isle Of Dogs) plays Mildred, a mother who is not happy whatsoever with the local authorities for not solving her daughters murder case. So to get on their case and get them moving, she decides to take out ads on three billboards outside her town that will challenge the law to get off their behinds and solve case. The film also stars Woody Harrelson (Natural Born Killers) as Chief Willoughby, Sam Rockwell (Vice) as Dixon, Caleb Landry Jones (X-Men: First Class) as Red Wellby, Kerry Condon (Avengers: Age Of Ultron) as Pamela, Darrell Britt-Gibson (Toe To Toe) as Jerome, Abbie Cornish (Limitless) as Anne, Lucas Hedges (Honey Boy) as Robbie, Zeljko Ivanek (Live Free or Die Hard) as Cedric, Peter Dinklage (X-Men: Days of Future Past) as James, Brendan Sexton III (Empire Records) as Crop-Haired Guy, and the film was directed by Martin McDonagh (In Bruges).

This was an excellent film that just had so many emotions to it and just had so many talking points. First of all, the acting was absolutely superb from way too many people to list in this blog, but you already know that you get amazing performances from McDormand, Harrelson, Rockwell, and Dinklage to name a few. Frances McDormand had the uneasy task of balancing out a character who is tough and a bad ass, but she is also vulnerable because all she wants is for them to solve the case. Sam Rockwell does a terrific job playing your typical backwater cop from a small southern-esque town who doesn’t know any better until something (I can’t tell you what) shows him the way. The second thing that was amazing about the film was the writing because this story kicked ass. You think that it’s going the way you would want it to go until it throws you a curve ball that takes the story in a darker place. There were so many glimmers of hope in the film that were just taken to a completely different place that I was amazed that it worked. The third thing that I loved about the film were the dynamic of the characters and the overall themes because each one was so unique to the story in how it progressed into a moral of no matter how dark things get, sometimes the people you are going against can turn out to be the ones you need. That was the constant theme of the film was redemption because it’s a learning experience for sure. The last thing is the cinematography which was just masterful from shot to shot. This is definitely a film worth checking out if you are a fan of great stories, actors, etc. I am going to give the film an A- for a final grade.

Hands Of Stone (2016)

One sport that I have loved as a child besides wrestling was the sweet science of Boxing. It was a sport where two men met in the ring and they let it all out for 12 or more rounds at a time until one was winner. There have been countless boxers that I wish they would make biopics for and this week’s is one that I have been dying to see for a little while now. So, when you combine those two things (biopics and boxing) then I have to watch it which is the case with today's film Hands Of Stone. The film follows the journey of not just legendary lightweight and absolute bad ass boxer Roberto Durán (played by Edgar Ramírez) and his rise from poverty in Panama to world champion, but it also follows that of his legendary trainer Ray Arcel (played by Robert De Niro) who made his return to the sport he loved and had to let go of for a while all because he believed in the ability of Roberto Duran. Watch as their journey for respect goes through it’s trials and tribulations. The film also stars Usher Raymond (The Faculty) as Sugar Ray Leonard, Ana de Armas (War Dogs) as Felicidad Iglesias, Pedro Perez as Plomo, Rubén Blades (Predator 2) as Carlos Eleta, Óscar Jaenada (The Shallows) as Chaflan, and the film was directed by Jonathan Jakubowicz.

One of my favorite things about the film was definitely the acting from De Niro, Ramírez, and even Usher Raymond. They did an amazing job of painting who Sugar Ray Leonard was back in the day and they fear they had of his boxing style which by the way is not a fear of whether he’ll hurt you or not. However they do portray Roberto as this immature punk kid who has never been disciplined in his life because of how amazing of a boxer he was. They portray him at times to be the uneducated idiot with gloves who couldn’t see the bigger picture. What they do eventually show is his maturity and accent into manhood later in the film. They do a pretty good job with the fight choreography which you have to give kudos to as they try to cut an hour fight into mere minutes and that is difficult because you have to choose the best moments. One of the other things about the film that I loved was the beautiful Ana de Armas who plays Roberto’s wife the film because she was not only great, but she had some amazing scenes in the film (see pic below). Other than that, it was a pretty decent film and it had some amazing cinematography to boot especially the scenes in Panama. The film does at times show how easy it is for a child to grow to hate America just on what he went through and saw in his life. You’ll understand what I am talking about throughout the film. I am going to give the film an A- for a final grade.

The Lost City Of Z (2016)

The whole point of this challenge is to check out different films that we may not have explored before and today we have chosen The Lost City Of Z. I have always been a fan of films that are based off of true stories and this one definitely peaked my interest, but it didn’t last very long in my local theater. The film follows a British soldier by the name of Percy Fawcett (Charlie Hunnam) who is fighting every day to restore the family name that was put in limbo by his father. While on a mapping expedition in the Amazon, Percy makes a huge discovery that there may have been a civilization in the Amazon that predates everyone. The only problem is that the journey is not an easy one and he faces many obstacles on his journey to try and discover the lost city he calls Z. The film also stars Sienna Miller (21 Bridges) as Nina Fawcett, Tom Holland (Onward) as Jack Fawcett, Robert Pattinson (Good Time) as Henry Costin, Edward Ashley (Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome) as Arthur Manley, Angus Macfadyen (We Bought A Zoo) as James Murray, Ian McDiarmid (Star Wars: Episode VI-Return Of The Jedi) as Sir George Goldie, Clive Francis (A Clockwork Orange) as Sir John Scott Keltie, Franco Nero (Django Unchained) as Baron De Gondoriz, and the film was directed by James Gray (We Own The Night).

What was surprising about the film wasn’t necessarily the story itself or the way the presented it, but the acting in my opinion is the highlight. Robert Pattinson in particular was a highlight for me as the mysterious, drunk, but loyal Mr. Costin who had accompanied Fawcett on some of the journeys. The actors did such an amazing job of conveying the torture they had been going through on the journey with the sicknesses and the lack of provisions. They did an amazing job as portraying how difficult the Amazon itself was and how things were drastically different there then where they had been. The movie isn’t perfect in any way shape or form, but it’s kind of a cool adventure to be on for the two plus hours that you’re watching. I liked Charlie Hunnam’s performance, but I think too many people stole the show on him on too many occasions. Whether it be Pattinson or Angus Macfayden who plays someone who is not what they are expected to be. I thought the sets and costumes were amazing as it felt like you were really there in the Amazon in 1912 or so. The ending of the film definitely tries it’s best to not speculate on what exactly happened to Fawcett and his son despite all the different theories that there are out there. It’s sad to read online that his other son was never interested in the truth, but rather the revenue over the speculation of his death. Check out the film for yourself, I am going to give it an B+ for a final grade.