Movie review

Review of “Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri”

Mildred Hayes (Frances McDormand) is struggling with grief and anger after her teenage daughter Angela (Kathryn Newton) was raped and burned to death less than a mile from her home. Dissatisfied with the lack of progress in her daughter’s case after nearly a year, Mildred approaches the owner of the local outside advertising company Red Welby (Caleb Landry Jones) about buying three billboards on the road where her daughter’s body was found with the following message: “Raped while dying”, “And still no arrests”, and “How come, Chief Willoughby?” Naturally, the billboards create quite a stink around Ebbing, Missouri. Police chief Bill Willoughby (Woody Harrelson) visits Mildred and explains there are no witnesses and the DNA found at the scene doesn’t match anyone in the national database. Unsatisfied with that answer, Mildred intends on keeping the billboards up for a year despite Willoughby’s revealing he has terminal cancer. Officer Jason Dixon (Sam Rockwell) is also upset by the billboards but he plans on taking a more direct approach: Harassing anyone associated with Mildred including Red and Mildred’s employer. Undaunted, Mildred intends on continuing her advertising campaign despite the public pressure as well as the complaints of her son Robbie (Lucas Hedges) and ex-husband Charlie (John Hawkes).

“Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri” is a deceptively complex film. There are various layers of story that must be peeled back to reveal the core of the narrative. It is a movie that requires patience as it reveals itself to be something other than the status quo. It isn’t strictly a black comedy, a whodunit, a domestic drama or a thriller. It is a combination of all those genres with a little something extra thrown in that’s difficult to identify until you realize the obvious: “Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri” is life.

Director and writer Martin McDonagh has crafted a rare and beautiful thing: A script that plays with convention and turns the obvious into the enemy. There is nothing in the movie that makes you think, “Seen that before.” It takes no easy way out; the characters make painful and challenging decisions and still manage to seem real.

McDonagh has a history of making unique movies as he’s the writer and director of “Seven Psychopaths” and “In Bruges.” He is also a very successful playwright, referred to in a New York Times article as the most important living Irish playwright with some of his plays running on Broadway and receiving Tony nominations. It isn’t a surprise that someone so successful at bringing characters to life in live theatre would also be able to create stunningly unique and vibrant characters for the screen. The fact McDonagh also has a handle on the visual aspects of cinema is the real surprise; crafting shots that are simple yet cinematic and tell a story all on their own.

McDonagh also gets spectacular performances from a stellar cast. Frances McDormand is a force of nature as Mildred. Always ready to defend herself and her beliefs with a quick curse or a long story, Mildred is not to be trifled with. She doesn’t take well to physical attacks either as a dentist finds out. Mildred is pushed into carrying out these actions by feelings of grief and guilt that are always just under the surface. If her daughter hadn’t been so brutally murdered she might only be an angry ex-wife with two mouthy kids and a humdrum life; but with Angela’s death Mildred has an all-consuming cause to occupy her mind and as she proves that can be a dangerous thing. McDormand gives a fiery performance and never shows one moment of weakness. It is a riveting portrayal of a woman that feels as if there is nothing she can’t do and with nothing left to lose despite having a teenage son left at home. Mildred is a flawed and broken woman and McDormand gives a flawless performance. I wouldn’t be surprised to see her nominated for an Oscar.

Sam Rockwell also burns up the screen as racist drunk cop Jason Dixon. Rockwell is a chameleon, able to disappear into a role so completely you assume he is the character in life. Rockwell portrays a sad man that is realizing his dreams may be out of reach and that make him angry. He takes that anger out on the suspects brought in, especially those that are people of color. He makes no apologies for his beliefs that we later on learn are not as tightly held as we might think. Rockwell creates a despicable character that you still have some sympathy for. He’s broken but redeemable. This is also a performance that could get some award season attention.

Also on the list is Woody Harrelson as Police Chief Bill Willoughby. While not in the film as much as McDormand and Rockwell, Harrelson’s Willoughby is in a way the heart of the film. Both Mildred and Jason are on the opposite ends of the spectrum as far as their beliefs and action while Bill is firmly in the middle. As can be seen in his interactions with both of them, Willoughby is attempting to be a calming force on both of them. It takes an extreme action by the chief to get both their attentions. Harrelson is fantastic and in a way steals the movie every time he’s on screen. It is a measured and calm performance that belies the depth of the character’s impact. I don’t want to give too much away but there are moments in Harrelson’s performance that will break your heart. He too may need to rent a tuxedo for the Academy Awards.

The secondary characters are also expertly performed and written. Peter Dinklage has a small (no pun intended) role as a local car dealer with a crush on Mildred. Their one and only date proves to be disastrous. John Hawkes plays Mildred’s ex-husband Charlie like a coiled snake always ready to pounce. Robbie Hayes is the depressed son of Mildred and Charlie and shows the perfect amount of teen disdain for his parents while also backing off when he realizes he has crossed a line. Samara Weaving has only two scenes in the film as Charlie’s 19-year old girlfriend but makes the most of it with a couple of perfectly timed comedic performances. The entire cast is perfect and makes for a wonderful movie-going experience.

“Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri” is rated R for violence, language throughout, and some sexual references. We see a couple of characters violently beaten in two different scenes. One is thrown out a second-story window onto the street below. There is also a suicide shown where a character is shot in the head. The sexual references are mostly mild but the context of one reference is extremely disturbing. Foul language is common throughout the film.

It isn’t often that a film can take what could have been a simple and boring story and throw in enough twists and unusual choices to turn it into a fascinating movie that demands your attention. “Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri” is just that film. With a multi-layered story, three fascinating primary characters and a cast that combines to deliver several amazing performances, “Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri” is the perfect film. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

“Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri” gets five guitars.

Two new movies are opening this week. I’ll see and review at least one of the following:

Just Getting Started—

The Disaster Artist—

Listen to The Fractured Frame podcast available at WIMZ.com and wherever you download podcasts. Follow me on Twitter @moviemanstan and send emails to stanthemovieman123@gmail.com.

Review of “Coco”

Miguel (Anthony Gonzalez) is part of a family that has made shoes for four generations; however, becoming cobblers wasn’t a choice. Great-great grandmother Imelda (voiced by Alanna Ubach) was married to a musician that left her and young daughter Coco (Miguel’s great grandmother that lives with the family) to chase stardom. So angered by his leaving Imelda learned how to make shoes to support herself and Coco and forbid music to be anywhere in her life. Both the shoemaking and the banning of music had been carried on through Miguel’s family. His grandmother Elena (voiced by Renee Victor) continues to enforce the ban, sometimes with mild violence. Miguel has developed a love of music in secret, even making a shrine to his favorite musician Ernesto de la Cruz (voiced by Benjamin Bratt) who hails from the same village. Cruz was the most popular singer and actor in Mexico until his untimely death when a massive bell fell on him. Miguel wants to be just like Cruz but knows his family will do anything to stop him. Miguel tries to sneak off to perform in a talent show in the town square but Elena catches him and destroys his homemade guitar. Angered, Miguel runs off to the square anyway. Needing a guitar, Miguel remembers there is one in the tomb of Ernesto de la Cruz. He breaks in and takes the guitar off the wall, strumming a chord but something odd happens: Miguel can no longer interact with living people, only the spirits of the dead that are walking across a bridge made of flower petals from the land of the dead to receive offerings left by their relatives. It is the Day of the Dead where pictures of deceased relatives are displayed in shrines in the home and offerings of food and wine are left at their graves. Several relatives of Miguel’s have crossed over but his Mama Imelda cannot as Miguel has her picture in his pocket. Miguel can be sent back to the land of the living if he receives a blessing from a family member. Imelda offers to give a blessing but only on one condition: Miguel must give up music forever. Not wanting to give up his passion, Miguel runs away hoping to find another relative that might give him a blessing with fewer strings attached. That’s when he runs into Hector (Gael Garcia Bernal), something of a conman that claims to know Ernesto de la Cruz and can introduce Miguel to his deceased idol. Meanwhile, Miguel needs to get that family blessing by sunrise or he’ll be stuck in the land of the dead forever.

I was unfamiliar with the Day of the Dead as I’m sure most audiences will be. It is a day when families put up photos of their deceased relatives and set out offering of their relative’s favorite foods and drinks. It is done in the home as well as at the cemetery where families sometimes leave possessions of the deceased at the grave. They pray for and remember their dead relatives in an effort to help them on their spiritual journey. It draws families together and strengthens the memories of those that have passed on. “Coco” uses this Mexican holiday as a backdrop for a story of a young boy that wants to break out of his family’s restrictions and follow his own path. It sends him on a journey that no one to my knowledge has ever returned from and gives him the insight to realize that family is everything. It’s a lesson that is beautifully realized by the thousands of artists at Pixar with colors, songs, dances and a great, emotional story. All families should see “Coco.”

The imagery of “Coco” is at times stunning. The Land of the Dead is both familiar and otherworldly. The buildings are stacked on top of one another and seem to stretch on forever. It is connected by a suspended trolley system to move the riders from one level to another. The city, if you can call it that, has areas that appear to be run down as well as opulent. Even in death there are class divisions. I guess we can never fully shed the concept of the “haves” and the “have-nots” even in the afterlife. The people that populate the land of the dead are also cleverly and beautifully designed. Everyone, except for Miguel, is a skeleton. The eyes are sunken and surrounded by blackness. There are colorful but subtle designs in the skulls of all the dead characters. What these designs mean isn’t explained but they are so delicate it doesn’t cause you to lose focus on what they are saying. The skeleton characters can disassemble when necessary leading to some comedic moments. The other creatures in the Land of the Dead are the animals that act as spirit guides. They are not skeletons and they are covered in neon-bright colors and patterns. There are very few moments when your eye won’t be drawn or dazzled by the look of “Coco.” However, all that beauty would be wasted if it weren’t for a compelling story and excellent voice acting. Fortunately, “Coco” has both.

Being a movie aimed primarily at children, “Coco” has a fairly simple story; but there are elements that are complex and intriguing. For instance, a character’s true motivation and nature are revealed in a twist that is well-hidden and ultimately a huge surprise. This twist adds a level of complexity, as well as danger, to the story that amps up the appeal for adults. Pixar is great at creating stories that work for both children and their parents (with the “Cars” films being the possible exception) and “Coco” has that dual appeal.

The voice cast is a combination of well-known and unknown actors and they all do amazing work. Young Anthony Gonzalez gives Miguel a youthful energy without making him annoying. Even when Miguel argues with his family (both living and dead) he never comes across as a brat. Gael Garcia Bernal as Hector gives the character both the light comic touch and the deeply serious delivery the part calls for. He makes Hector both likable and unlikable depending on what the story calls for and he ultimately wins your heart. Alanna Ubach and Renee Victor as Imelda and Elena respectively provide the emotional base to the story with their anger at a long dead relative that drives the narrative along. Benjamin Bratt is a smooth operator as Ernesto de la Cruz. There are moments when you may swoon as Cruz (most of his singing is done by Antonio Sol) belts out one romantic tune after another then delivers a passionate speech about chasing your dreams. Bratt has a soothing baritone speaking voice that is put to good use in the film. There are numerous other voice actors in smaller roles but there isn’t one that sticks out as not working or being too obvious. Even John Ratzenberger, considered by Pixar to be their lucky charm and given small roles in all their movies, is able to fit in despite his distinctive voice.

“Coco” is rated PG for thematic elements. As a majority of the story concerns people that have died it may lead to difficult questions from younger viewers. There is also a murder shown but it is not graphic.

“Coco” is above all else a sweet story of family. It may get a bit bogged down in the rules of the dead including the dead dying a second time but this is a minor quibble. What most people will get from “Coco” is a warm feeling and a lump in the throat as the love of a family is strengthened and connections to the past are rediscovered. It is also gorgeous to look at with that Pixar eye for detail and some strong color choices. Don’t let the walking and talking skeletons lead you to believe this is more of a Halloween-themed film as once the main story gets going you’ll forget these characters are not fleshed out (see what I did there?).

“Coco” gets five stars.

There are no new films out in wide release this week but there are some arthouse films that have struck my interest. I’ll see and review at least one of the following:

Lady Bird—

Last Flag Flying—

The Man Who Invented Christmas—

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri—

Listen to The Fractured Frame podcast for the latest movie news, follow me on Twitter @moviemanstan and send emails to stanthemovieman123@gmail.com.

Review of “Justice League”

The world continues to mourn the death of Superman (Henry Cavill) along with those that knew and loved him: His mother Martha Kent (Diane Lane) has lost the family farm and has moved to an apartment in Metropolis. Lois Lane (Amy Adams) is only working on puff pieces for the Daily Planet newspaper. Batman (Ben Affleck) is troubled by his role in Superman’s death. He is also troubled by the appearance of winged creatures showing up in Gotham City. When he traps one against a wall it explodes leaving behind a pattern of three box shapes burned into the wall. Similar images show up in drawings made by convicted criminal and billionaire businessman Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) seized from him in prison. On Themyscira, the island home of the Amazons, a box that’s been dormant for thousands of years begins humming and shaking. A tube of energy appears above it and through that tube comes Steppenwolf (voiced by Ciaran Hinds), an alien destroyer of worlds. After a brief battle led by Queen Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen), Steppenwolf seizes the box and along with his army of flying parademons leaves by another tube of energy. When Diana Prince, aka Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), learns of the attack she seeks out Batman to tell him the history of Steppenwolf and how he tried to take over the Earth before but was beaten back by the Amazons, a sea-dwelling civilization called the Atlanteans, humans and the gods themselves. Diana and Bruce decide to look for other people with special abilities and form a team to defeat Steppenwolf and his parademons. They know of Barry Allen (Ezra Miller) who is endowed with incredible speed that has earned him the nickname The Flash. There’s the water-dweller that aides a coastal village with food when their harbor is iced closed named Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa) also called Aquaman. Finally, there’s the son of the head scientist at Star Labs that was thought to have been killed in an accident but has been merged with technology giving him the ability to hack into any computer system and more. He’s Victor Stone (Ray Fisher) but some call him Cyborg. Together this league of justice must overcome their differences and fears to work as a team to defeat Steppenwolf; but it may not be enough so a risky plan is put into place to add one final member.

If you haven’t heard about “Justice League” it must be because you’ve made an active effort to not hear any of the news this film generated. It wasn’t always good news: Director Zack Snyder left the film during post-production after the death of his daughter and Joss Whedon came in to do some sizable reshoots and the editing. While industry experts suggest Whedon’s reshoots account for about 20 percent of the film, the difference in style and tone make for a film that is inconsistent and could have used a bit more time spent with the newer characters to give them a better fleshed out reason to exist.

It’s ironic that “Justice League” could have been longer since one of the biggest criticisms of “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice” was that it was far too long. This time I think Snyder and Whedon could have improved the film by showing us more about Flash, Aquaman and Cyborg. While we get small nuggets about each it all feels like we are being pushed through an open house by a realtor that has somewhere else to be. We see bits and pieces but the rest goes by in a blur.

There are clear efforts to lighten the tone of “Justice League” over its DC predecessors. There are jokes approximately every three and a half minutes. While I don’t know that to be absolutely true, I get the feeling there were a great deal of focus groups and test audiences in the production of this film that guided the effort to put more laughs in the script. Ezra Miller’s Barry Allen is the source of a number of these laughs but even the usually dour Batman provides a bit of levity from time to time. The Caped Crusader even delivers one of the film’s biggest laughs while connecting a scene from “BvS” to “Justice League.” You can see there was an effort but I appreciated it.

With a cast this large and a story that moves almost as fast as the Flash, there isn’t much of an opportunity for any actor to really stick out and despite some brief moments, no one does in “Justice League.” Ezra Miller and Jason Momoa shine brightest in their fleeting time. Momoa has a very entertaining scene where he gives his true feelings about what they are facing when it is shown why he’s being so honest. Miller is quirky as the Flash. Barry Allen is insecure about his place on the team and in the world, unsure of what he adds. Batman gives him so good advice that guides him in the right direction but that uneasiness with being a hero persists. While Miller and Momoa don’t have a great deal of screen time they do the best with what they are given. Ray Fisher is given very little to do other than look sullen. His character is not dealing well with becoming part man and part machine and only begins to grow into something interesting once he takes on the mantle of hero. Fisher’s Cyborg is underutilized and is difficult to fit into these other superheroes since his is the least known of the group. Perhaps there’s a better storyline in the future for Cyborg but his appearance in “Justice League” is poorly thought out.

The leaders of the group are clearly Ben Affleck’s Batman and Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman. The pair takes turns being the grownup of the league. The fight against their foe together, bicker, nearly come to blows then realize they can never beat Steppenwolf if they don’t work together. There are no real surprises as it concerns the way the story flows or how Affleck’s and Gadot’s characters rise to the challenge of leading a team of strangers into a life and death battle. What is a surprise is how bored Affleck looks. Rumors have swirled for months that he wants out of playing Batman despite his protestations to the contrary. That talk has flared again just at the movie was released with Jake Gyllenhaal being the most mentioned name to replace Affleck. If Affleck’s performance in “Justice League” is any indication of his enthusiasm for the role then Gyllenhaal should show up for a bat suit fitting ASAP.

The story races through the fairly standard arc of the good guys being unable to defeat the bad guy on a couple of occasions, nearly coming apart due to some internal struggle then rallying to face the bad guy one more time. It is about as predictable as the return of Superman although how he’s brought back from the dead left me scratching my head. While I won’t give away any of the details, the scene at the end of “BvS” where the dirt on his casket is floating can be ignored. It’s like screenwriter Chris Terrio read the comic books where Superman returned after being killed by Doomsday and said, “You think that’s silly? Hold my beer.” The numerous moving parts of Superman’s revival are so Rube Goldberg-like in their complexity (not to mention dealing with alien technology and the physiology of an alien that’s been dead for quite some time) that even in the anything-goes world of super heroes it stretches credibility.

The weakest aspect of “Justice League” has to be the villain Steppenwolf. The issue isn’t just because he’s a CG character but that he isn’t terribly interesting. His mission is to destroy the world and we’ve seen that a million times and in better movies (*cough – The Avengers – cough*). Steppenwolf is nothing much more than a bully…granted he’s about nine feet tall, carries a glowing axe and commands an army of flying soldiers but still, he’s kind of dull as big bads go. Considering all the villains in the DC library of bad guys Steppenwolf is a dud.

“Justice League” is rated PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi violence and action. There are numerous battles with beings both human and non-human. There is no blood except for some green parademon blood. There is scattered mild foul language.

I really wanted to love “Justice League” as I was a DC Comics reader and subscriber in my youth. I was seriously invested in the lives of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and whoever else made up the rest of the league in the 1970’s. It was an escape from my humdrum life as a kid in school that desperately wanted to be a super powered hero. There’s still a little of that desire running through me despite my grown up knowledge that I’m not from Krypton, I’m not a billionaire, that getting struck by lightning won’t give me super speed, that I’m not the son of the Atlantean king, that cybernetic parts won’t let me hack into any computer system and that I’m not an Amazon princess (that last one really stings). Since I can’t be a superhero I want to be able to enjoy movies about them. “Justice League” isn’t awful but it isn’t the rapturous experience I wanted and that hurts me a little bit.

“Justice League” gets three stars out of five.

This holiday week sees two new movies arriving at theatres. I’ll see and review at least one of the following:

Coco—

Roman J. Israel, Esq.—

Listen to The Fractured Frame podcast on all the podcast platforms. Follow me on Twitter @moviemanstan and send emails to stanthemovieman123@gmail.com.

Review of “My Friend Dahmer”

Jeffrey Dahmer (Ross Lynch) is a quiet high school student. He’s considered odd by his classmates because of his interest in collecting road kill and dissolving the flesh with acid he gets from his chemical engineer father Lionel (Dallas Roberts) to collect the bones. His mother Joyce (Anne Heche) frequently argues with Lionel and she has a history of mental illness including a hospitalization. At school a boy nicknamed Derf (Alex Wolff) notices Dahmer makes a classroom full of students laugh by mocking a man with palsy. Derf and his friends decide to start the Dahmer Fan Club and encourage Dahmer to make a spectacle of himself by faking a seizure and making squawking noises in classes and hallways. Despite how humiliating his antics are Dahmer goes along with the requests to “pull a Dahmer” as the boys call it because he feels like this group is his friends. Things at home are only getting worse as Lionel and Joyce are arguing more and his mother’s mental state is deteriorating. Dahmer also is becoming more obsessed with a jogger that runs past his house that turns out to be Dr. Matthews (Vincent Kartheiser), the physician for one of his new friends. Soon Dahmer is showing up to class drunk and dissecting dead animals in the woods behind his house. A couple of his friends notice his odd behavior but keep their fears to themselves. Dahmer begins to spin completely out of control when his parents’ divorce, his father moves in with his girlfriend and his mother leaves with Dahmer’s younger brother to live with her mother. Jeffrey is all alone in the house with only his dark thoughts and desires.

Based on the graphic novel of the same name written by one of Jeffrey Dahmer’s high school classmates, “My Friend Dahmer” is a heartbreaking and fascinating look at the infamous serial killer before he took his first victim. While no one at the time could have had any idea of the future held, the audience knows just how far Dahmer would go and it makes everything in the film that much more devastating.

If you’re looking for a gore-filled orgy of violence you won’t find it in “My Friend Dahmer.” The film is like a musical prelude that introduces the themes of the symphony. We see the withdrawn and awkward Dahmer as the foundation of his psychosis is laid and the first inklings of the horrors he would inflict on his victims begin to peek out of the shadows of his damaged mind. It is the kind of movie that may disappoint some looking for Dahmer to be portrayed as a monster, gnashing his teeth and drooling in anticipation of his first kill. What we see is a character that isn’t that different than any other high school student: He lacks confidence. He seeks positive attention that he isn’t getting at home. His sexual identity is presenting itself but he isn’t sure how to act on it. It is a calm and thorough look at the making of a serial killer without being exploitive or pandering to the lowest common denominator.

“My Friend Dahmer” would be nothing without a great performance in the title role and Ross Lynch is amazing as Jeffrey Dahmer. Ross channels all of his emotional energy into playing a character that has no energy at all. Dahmer doesn’t even bother to swing his arms when he walks. It’s like Lynch is trying to be as small as possible in an effort to disappear from the world. Playing a low-energy character might seem like an easy thing to do; but to maintain that minimal level would be exhausting over long shooting days. Lynch is in nearly every shot of the movie and must have been wrung out by the end of filming.

If you don’t know who Ross Lynch is then you probably don’t have any tween girls at home as he is the star of a Disney Channel show called Austin & Ally. He’s had a few bit parts in other TV shows and a few movies but this is certainly his biggest role to date and judging by his performance he will likely be a very in demand actor in the near future.

Anne Heche is also fantastic as Joyce Dahmer. Where Jeffrey is low energy, Joyce is constantly manic and usually angry. Heche flies around the screen like a whirling dervish, bouncing from topic to topic and ready to spew venom in everyone’s direction. Joyce Dahmer lacks a filter likely due to her mental illness that’s briefly discussed in the film. Heche has had her own emotional struggles as she was hospitalized after exhibiting erratic behavior in August of 2000. This likely informed her portrayal and that experience makes Joyce Dahmer a puzzling and sometimes frightening character that Heche performs with zeal and honesty.

The story takes its time to build only giving us glimpses of the darkness in Dahmer’s mind: His interest in the bones of animals and the growing obsession with the jogging doctor. It is a story that’s hard to watch sometimes as Dahmer humiliates himself for the amusement of his friends. They aren’t as cruel as they sound, including Dahmer in their group and doing things with him; but his inclusion is dependent on performing at their command. There are brief flashes of Dahmer trying to break free from his role as freak. On a school trip to Washington D.C., Dahmer manages to get him and his friends in to meet the assistant to Vice President Walter Mondale then they actually get to meet him. He manages to get a prom date but that doesn’t go as well. The audience knows Dahmer is going to turn into a necrophilic and cannibalistic serial killer but there are brief moments when we hope things turn out differently because we kind of like Dahmer. Despite his weirdness there is something endearing about Dahmer and we wish something had intervened and allowed him to be “normal.” The script by director Marc Meyers and graphic novel writer John Backderf passes no judgements and offers no opinions. It merely presents the facts (most of what’s in the movie actually happened) and lets the audience form their own view. Most films aren’t brave enough to trust the audience to make a decision for themselves but “My Friend Dahmer” is confident those seeing the film will understand.

“My Friend Dahmer” is rated R for disturbing images, brief nudity, teen drug use, drinking, language and sexual content. We see Dahmer pick up road kill, handle bones from animals he’s dissected and cut up a fish in a frenzy after catching in from a pond. A character intentionally cuts himself with a knife then sucks on the wound. A game of Russian roulette is played. Pot is shown being smoked on a couple of occasions. Characters are shown drinking beer and hard liquor. A centerfold is briefly shown. There are typical crude teenage discussions of sex. Foul language is scattered.

Jeffrey Dahmer killed, dismembered, partially ate and had sex with 17 men and boys over a period of 13 years from 1978 to 1991. He was sentenced to multiple life terms and was beaten to death in prison by another inmate in 1994. Dahmer didn’t grow up abused. He wasn’t a creation of the foster care system. As far as we know he didn’t suffer any head trauma that is frequently reported with serial killers. It’s unclear what made Jeffrey Dahmer a predator that stalked his prey then tried to turn them into zombies that would never leave him. Thinking of him only as his crimes makes him something other than human; but looking before his first murder makes the audience question what separates the Dahmers of the world from the Average Joes. The difference between us is frighteningly thin.

“My Friend Dahmer” gets five stars.

Super powers, a holiday tale and family drama all are coming to a theatre near you. I’ll see and review at least one of the following:

Justice League—

The Star—

Wonder—

Listen to The Fractured Frame podcast where ever you download podcasts, follow me on Twitter @moviemanstan and send emails to stanthemovieman123@gmail.com.

Review of “Thor: Ragnarok”

Thor Odinson (Chris Hemsworth) finally returns to Asgard after his quest to make sense of his dreams of Ragnarok, or the destruction of everything. When he arrives he sees Odin (Anthony Hopkins) but knows instantly it is actually Loki (Tom Hiddleston). Loki takes Thor to Earth where he left him but the retirement home has been torn down. Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) guides Thor and Loki to Norway where Odin is standing on a cliff looking over the ocean. He tells the two he is weak and can no longer hold back Hela (Cate Blanchett), the Goddess of Death. When she returns to Asgard she will become more powerful than even Thor. Hela appears and Thor tries to defeat her with his hammer but she catches and destroys it. Loki calls for the Bifrost Bridge but Hela also hops on and is able to knock both Thor and Loki out of the transport beam. Thor lands on a planet called Sakaar, is captured by Scrapper 142 (Tessa Thompson) and is brought to meet the leader named the Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum). The Grandmaster runs gladiator fights to keep the masses entertained and the only way Thor can leave the planet is to fight and defeat the champion: It’s Hulk (Mark Ruffalo). His quinjet crashed on Sakaar two years earlier and he’s been in the Hulk form the whole time. When they meet in the arena the fight ends in a tie. Thor tries to convince Hulk to join him, find a way off Sakaar and return to Asgard to take on Hela. During his time on the planet, Thor learns that Scrapper 142 is the last surviving Valkyrie; a group of female warriors that fought for Odin in his war against Hela. Back on Asgard, Hela has made Skurge (Karl Urban) her executioner but he’s having second thoughts about working with the new queen. Heimdall (Idris Elba) has stolen the sword that opens the Bifrost Bridge and is trying to hide as many Asgardians as possible to keep them safe. Things are looking dark for the God of Thunder and the citizens of Asgard.

“Thor: Ragnarok” is a much more light-hearted and funny film than any other in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). It never takes itself terribly seriously even though the events within the comic book story universe are very life and death. It makes for a film that is both funny and exciting in equal measure. It’s a rare feat for a movie to have laughs and action with one or the other not getting shortchanged in the process.

According to an interview director Taika Waititi did with MTV at Comic Con, about 80 percent of the dialog in the movie was improvised on set. This usually makes for a film that is choppy and disjointed with lots of quick edits so the best lines, along with the ones that move the story in the proper direction, wind up in the final cut. “Thor: Ragnarok” doesn’t have that feel. The director and stars must have been very comfortable with the story and confident in their improvisation abilities to come up with a funny movie and coherent narrative.

With a cast this large it’s difficult for a secondary character to stand out; but Jeff Goldblum’s Grandmaster certainly makes an impression. Charming, quirky and evil, the Grandmaster is a hedonistic dictator looking to be entertained at all times. He enjoys the blood sport that brings crowds to his arena and loves being the larger-than-life holographic ringmaster projected in the center of the ring, towering over his subjects. Goldblum’s non sequiturs often go unresolved and those that do are preceded by a fair bit of yammering. Those familiar with Goldblum and have seen his recent interviews will notice a similarity between his speaking style and that of the Grandmaster. It appears to be the perfect actor in the perfect role.

Cate Blanchett seems to be having the most fun in her role of Hela. Blanchett is at times smoldering, sarcastic, pitiful and vengeful. All of it makes sense and all of it is played with just the right intensity. She never chews the scenery so much for it to become camp despite gnawing on a few sets from time to time. Blanchett is measured in her excess and it makes for a particularly delicious villain.

The most of the rest of the cast turns in energetic and entertaining performances. Tom Hiddleston’s Loki is finally given a chance to do more than just be a hissing, snotty bad guy. Idris Elba’s Heimdall is allowed to be a proper hero. Tessa Thompson is an entertaining and worthy addition to the under-staffed stable of Marvel female heroes. If I have to take points off for any performance it is Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner. Ruffalo’s Banner acts like a meth addict that needs a hit. While we only see the human version of the Hulk for a relatively brief amount of time, Banner is twitchy and frankly annoying. He complains about being freaked out and whines to Thor about being on an alien planet. It’s the one performance that feels like it was a decision made on set at the time of shooting and it was the wrong choice.

“Thor: Ragnarok” is rated PG-13 for brief suggestive material, action and intense sci-fi violence. The only thing suggestive I remember is a reference to an orgy on board one of the Grandmaster’s spaceships. There are numerous fights with scenes of soldiers and others stabbed and impaled by swords. There is very little blood. One character loses an eye. A giant wolf attacks and bites Hulk causing green blood to come out. Foul language is scattered and mild.

With films of this type the majority of the time everyone on screen is CGI. If you see a character thrown 100 feet through the air and crash into and through a brick wall you can be certain no actors or stunt people were harmed in the making of that scene. Much of “Thor: Ragnarok” has been created in the processors of computers. That makes the achievement of the film that much more impressive. Despite all the special effects, costumes, makeup and other worldly locales, “Thor: Ragnarok” still manages to be a superhero movie with a great deal of heart and humor that is dependent on the performances of very real and talented actors. Director Taika Waititi has pulled off a minor miracle and made a funny and entertaining film involving Thor. I wasn’t sure that could be done.

“Thor: Ragnarok” gets five stars.

This week there are a comedy sequel and a train of death coming to a movie screen near you. I’ll be seeing at least one of the following:

Daddy’s Home 2—

Murder on the Orient Express—

Listen to The Fractured Frame podcast for the latest movie news and more, follow me on Twitter @moviemanstan and send emails to stanthemovieman123@gmail.com.

Review of “Suburbicon”

Nicky Lodge (Noah Jupe) is an average kid living in an average house in the average neighborhood of Suburbicon. His father Gardner (Matt Damon) works in insurance. His mother Rose (Julianne Moore) is in a wheelchair after an automobile accident. His Aunt Margaret (also Julianne Moore) is visiting overnight when two men, Ira and Louis (Glenn Fleshler and Alex Hassell) enter the home, tie everyone up and kill Rose with an overdose of chloroform. It seems Gardner owes the men money and hasn’t paid it back yet so the murder of Rose was a warning. Aunt Margaret moves into the Lodge home to help Gardner raise Nicky. Officer Hightower (Jack Conley) tells Gardner to come down to the station and look at a lineup based on his description of the robbers. Margaret brings Nicky to the station because he doesn’t want to stay at the house alone. While Ira and Louis are in the lineup neither Gardner nor Margaret tells police who they are. Nicky is confused and wonders what his father and aunt are up to. Meanwhile, the Mayers family has moved into Suburbicon and caused quite a stir with the neighbors as they are black and this is 1959. The Mayers house backs up to the Lodge house and Nicky and Andy Mayers (Tony Espinosa), a boy about Nicky’s age, have become friends. Crowds gather at the Mayers house, making noise, banging drums and yelling at the family inside to move as they don’t want their kind in Suburbicon.

Whenever Joel and Ethan Coen are involved in the making of a movie I get excited. “Suburbicon” is a script the brothers wrote back in 1986 but it has only now been turned into a film by frequent Coen Brothers collaborator George Clooney. Clooney, along with writer Grant Heslov, added some story elements and Clooney directed. Perhaps George and Grant should have left the script alone because “Suburbicon” feels like a two different stories that have been forcefully fused together against their will.

The trailer for “Suburbicon” makes the movie look like a madcap crime caper and parts of the film have that tone; however, much of what is suggested in the trailer misrepresents what happens in the film with clever editing suggesting one thing is in reaction to another when the events are unrelated. Anyone walking into the movie expecting a somewhat more violent version of “Raising Arizona” is going to be disappointed. “Suburbicon” is far darker than the trailer suggests.

It is also uneven with a subplot about the community trying to force a black family to leave feeling very shoehorned into the film. It is a ham-fisted attempt by Clooney to make us see that what is the focus of public anger usually isn’t the real problem. While everyone in the neighborhood believes the black family is bringing in an unsavory element, the nice white family across the way is being terrorized by thugs because of the actions of the father. It screams hypocrisy and intolerance in a very clumsy way. Clooney has proven he is a very good movie director so it puzzles me why this effort is so uneven. I would like to know more about the creative process to put this film together because large parts of it are really good. That’s not to say the sections involving the black family isn’t good; but it just feels like it’s from a different movie.

It’s a shame the film is a bit of a mess since Matt Damon is so good as the morally corrupted Gardner Lodge. Lodge is a man that thinks he’s far smarter than he actually is; however, he quickly shows he’s quite dumb by not paying off the loan shark. Perhaps that is part of a larger plan; but even so, it spectacularly blows up in his face. Lodge is pushed further and further into bad decisions as the story progresses and is always trying to solve problems caused by other efforts to solve problems. Damon plays Lodge constantly seething with anger and on the verge of exploding. Like a good person of the period, he stuffs his rage down deep in his soul and tries to keep it bottled up. Should it be released well, people might talk and think poorly of him down at the lodge or church. Damon is infuriating as Lodge since most of his issues could be solved with one call to the police; but we know he’ll never make that call as he is a coward looking to avoid as much trouble as possible. Damon gives Lodge a boyish charm that gives him at least one redeeming quality, keeping the audience from hating him totally.

Julianne Moore is both Rose and Margaret but since the former is killed early in the film I’ll be talking mostly about her performance as the latter. Moore is stunningly creepy as the surrogate mother and wife. There is a streak of cruelty that runs through the character that turns what could have been a throwaway role into something meaningful and dangerous. Margaret is clearly mentally ill and is teetering on the edge of a breakdown throughout the film. Moore is masterful at portraying damaged characters and this one is clearly broken from almost the first time we see her.

The performances are somewhat hampered by a plot that moves at a leisurely pace. It takes too long to introduce the meat of the story after the misdirection of the black family’s arrival in town and the full story of what’s going on is never fully explained. We know Lodge owes money to the thugs but we don’t know what he got the money for. Are the thugs small time players or are they more heavily connected? Are Gardner and Margaret involved prior to the events in the film or only after? Gardner was driving the night of the car accident that put Rose in the wheelchair but did he do it on purpose to try and collect on her life insurance? There are a great many loose threads dangling by the end of the film with no satisfactory answers for any of them.

“Suburbicon” is rated R for some sexuality, language and violence. There is poisoning, strangling, stabbing and other violence shown with some of it being very bloody. There is a riot that breaks out at the Mayers’ home with windows shattered and fires set. The sexuality is limited to a scene where Nicky walks in on Gardner and Margaret having a mildly kinky scene. Foul language is scattered.

There’s a really good movie embedded in “Suburbicon” that could have been the dark and violent domestic drama that the Coen’s made famous in “Fargo” and “Blood Simple.” Sadly, the addition of a needless subplot about racism and a languid pace put “Suburbicon” on the lower end of “Best Coen Brothers’ Movies” scale. Great performances from Matt Damon and Julianne Moore almost are wasted. It isn’t the best movie but it does have its redeeming qualities. If you have the patience check it out.

“Suburbicon” gets three stars out of five.

This week, there’s a rare Wednesday opening for a sequel and the arrival of the next Marvel flick. I’ll see and review at least one of the following:

A Bad Mom’s Christmas—

Thor: Ragnarok—

Listen to The Fractured Frame podcast where ever you download your podcasts. Follow me on Twitter @moviemanstan and send emails to stanthemovieman123@gmail.com.

Review of “The Foreigner”

Quan (Jackie Chan) drives his daughter Fan (Katie Leung) to a dress shop in London to pick up an outfit for an upcoming school dance. Fan runs into the store while Quan waits for a parking space to open when a bomb planted in on a motorcycle explodes. Several people are killed including Fan. His daughter was the last living member of his immediate family and Quan wants to know who is responsible for her death. A group calling itself Authentic IRA claims responsibility. Deputy Minister Liam Hennessy (Pierce Brosnan) is a former IRA operative and calls together a committee of Irish leaders to demand to know who is responsible. They all claim ignorance. Quan visits Belfast and meets with Hennessy asking for the names of the bombers. Hennessy tells him he doesn’t know but Quan thinks he’s lying. Quan, a trained and experienced ex-special forces soldier in the US Army, then begins targeting Hennessy, planting a small bomb in the bathroom of his office and destroying a barn and some cars at his country estate. Hennessy, concerned for his safety, contacts his nephew Sean (Rory Fleck-Byrne), also a former British special forces soldier, to track down and kill Quan. Meanwhile, the bombers are planning another attack targeting British political leaders.

There may be too much going on in “The Foreigner” for its own good. Aside from Jackie Chan’s subtle and effective portrayal of a grieving father out for revenge, we have Pierce Brosnan’s Irish politician trying to play both his former IRA colleagues and the British government for his benefit, a couple of affairs and centuries of hostility between religions and nationalities. All of that plays into the story of “The Foreigner” and some of it feels unnecessary. Had it trimmed some of the more extraneous and fantastical aspects “The Foreigner” might have been one of the fall’s better movies. It doesn’t disappoint but it doesn’t thrill either.

The most impressive part of “The Foreigner” is the performance of Jackie Chan. Quan is a quiet man looking to live a quiet life of hard work and love of his family. That is taken from him by a bomb. He still remains quiet, closed off, stooped over as he shuffles along like a broken old man. But we learn this old dog has some old tricks he thought he had left behind long ago and must now dust them off to exact his revenge. Chan radiates pain as Quan. His face, scarred by his tough and at times dangerous life, never betrays the anger and rage that must lie beneath the surface and yet we still can see and feel it. Chan gives a masterful performance that doesn’t rely on histrionics. A simple single tear rolling down his cheek conveys more anger and pain than a 15-minute monolog about his loss ever could. If you’ve only seen Chan in the “Rush Hour” films or his other lighter work you owe it to yourself to see “The Foreigner” just so you can see what a fine actor he really is.

Chan can also still throw and take a punch. It’s impressive with his many years acting as his own stunt man for most of his career that he can still walk much less do an action scene at age 62. Chan is jumping off roofs, being kicked in the chest, falling down flights of stairs and more in “The Foreigner” and looking good doing it. Chan can still be an action star long after most actors are ready to slow down and play grandpas.

Pierce Brosnan is also good as Liam Hennessy. The Irish politician has to perform a delicate and dangerous balancing act keeping the more radical elements back home under control while also placating the British. Brosnan can lay on the charm when the character needs it (like when romancing his mistress) but doesn’t have any trouble laying down the law when he’s questioned or tested (like when his wife wonders where he’s been all night). Brosnan can play cold-hearted with the best of them and he is ruthless at times in “The Foreigner.” It is an entertaining if not always convincing performance. The few scenes he has with Chan, especially late in the movie, puts his character in the tough position of being out of control and Hennessy clearly isn’t used to that. The choices Brosnan and director Martin Campbell made for the character felt out of character based on what we’ve seen before. Perhaps the bully is really a coward when his buddies aren’t around but the character’s reactions felt almost cartoonish in their extreme.

The biggest weakness in “The Foreigner” is the story. It spends far too long setting up the issues of Northern Ireland and “The Troubles” before moving into the revenge aspect of the story. While the fear of more violence between the IRA and the British is certainly a good point of conflict for a movie, the script by David Marconi invests too much time in scenes of greying or elderly men arguing over the best course of action to deal with more radical elements and the response of the government. Clearly we are barely interested in the politics of Northern Ireland and just want to see Jackie Chan kick some ass. The movie takes far too long to get us to what we want to see.

“The Foreigner” is rated R for violence, language and some sexual material. There are numerous fights, some more bloody than others. We see a person’s foot impaled on some nails. A man is shot in both legs then the head. A woman is shot in a gun battle, tortured for information then killed. Another woman is shot in the head. We see the aftermath of a bombing with injured victims shown. The sexual material is very mild. Foul language is common but not overwhelming.

I enjoyed “The Foreigner” more than I thought I would. Seeing Jackie Chan back in action was a bit of a thrill but his performance is truly the most amazing thing about the movie. It is a subtle and measured performance that is effective and at times heartbreaking. I know it isn’t likely but it would be great if he got a best actor nomination for this part.

“The Foreigner” gets four stars out of five.

This week I’ll review “Only the Brave” for WIMZ.com.

I’ll also be reviewing one of the following here on my page:

Geostorm—

Same Kind of Different as Me—

The Snowman—

Tyler Perry’s Boo 2! A Madea Halloween—

Listen to The Fractured Frame each week, available on your podcast platform of choice. Follow me on Twitter @moviemanstan and send emails to stanthemovieman123@gmail.com.

Review of “Blade Runner 2049”

Officer K (Ryan Gosling) is a Blade Runner, “retiring” replicants that stop following orders from humans. After dispatching a replicant named Sapper Morton (Dave Bautista) at the protein farm where he worked and lived, Officer K finds a chest buried at the base of a long dead tree. What is discovered inside begins an investigation that could lead to war unless a secret that’s been buried over 30 years can be kept. Officer K’s investigation leads to him finding retired Blade Runner Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) holed up in an abandoned hotel in deserted Las Vegas. The owner of the company that makes replicants, Niander Wallace (Jared Leto), wants to find out where the contents of the chest leads and sends his personal assistant and assassin Luv (Sylvia Hoeks) to keep an eye on Officer K and kill anyone that gets in her way.

The plot synopsis of “Blade Runner 2049” is intentionally vague since there is spoiler material practically from the first scene. If staying uninformed about the 35-years-in-the-making sequel to “Blade Runner” is important to you then you should avoid pretty much everything on the internet with the possible exception of a trio of short films that fill in some of the backstory referenced in the film. My personal favorite is “2022,” an anime that is about the blackout that was a major event in this universe. It’s weird when a movie has a bunch of prequel material that’s nearly required viewing so the audience is up to speed. To be a truly entertaining film “Blade Runner 2049” could have used a feature-length prequel film so what happens actually causes some emotion and caring. As it is, this film is pretty to look at and has interesting things happen but I can’t say I care.

“Blade Runner 2049” is a master class in production design. Much like the original film, the look of the near future is as much a character as any actor. The flying cars, the massive holographic advertisements, the crowded apartment buildings and urban sprawl that suggests privacy is something that will die a quick death all make the world of “Blade Runner 2049” feel as real as any created landscape can. The world is probably even more grim than in the original thanks to a nearly constant rain and dark skies in most outdoor settings. We also see an abandoned Las Vegas that has a constantly hazy yellow/orange sky. We don’t know why the city is abandoned but clearly something very bad happened. Holographic representations of Elvis, Sinatra and showgirls are put to good use to make the empty showroom seem even more depressing. So much has gone into the look of the future that it seems the human element has been largely ignored.

There is an emotional pall over the film. Human and replicant life doesn’t count for much in the Los Angeles of 2049. Prostitutes work their trade in store fronts with smoked glass so you can see the girls with clients if they are right up against it. Food vendors are all over and there are kiosks with people selling trinkets of all types. Pets are still artificial and only available to the very wealthy. It is a world where people try to keep their heads down and avoid trouble. Since Ryan Gosling’s Officer K’s job is to charge into trouble he’s hated by pretty much everyone he contacts including his fellow officers. Gosling plays K almost as an automaton with very little emotional range. There’s a good reason for that but I won’t spoil it for you. Since he’s the lead character and practically in every frame of the film his cold and sullen demeanor rubs off on the audience. He’s so emotionally detached it has the effect of making everything in the film feel unimportant. Despite what we’re told about how this case could lead to or stop a war, there’s very little in what happens that creates much in the way of excitement or emotion.

Part of what adds to that lack of caring is a lack of knowledge. I saw all three prequel short films so I probably entered the movie with more information about the world of “Blade Runner 2049” than most; however, it wasn’t enough. For all the proclamations about how the events we watch are world-changing, none of it struck me as being that important. That, I believe, comes from a lack of understanding just what the use of replicants means to the world in the near future. There’s some brief talk about how using them provides the workforce necessary to take care of the basic needs of humanity and grow enough food for an ever expanding population but the film doesn’t help me grasp just how these events could bring about the end of civilization or humanity or whatever. The original “Blade Runner” suffered from a similar lack of importance in my understanding of what made events so reality-altering.

This lack of an emotional hook isn’t helped by a running time of over 150 minutes. There are numerous scenes that are stretched out for what feels like an interminable amount of time. Gosling’s Officer K walks so slowly it’s a surprise when he actually gets somewhere. There are long and loving shots of cityscapes and cars flying between massive skyscrapers and none of them do anything to move the story along. I could have done with fewer and shorter shots of the Los Angeles of the future and more explanation of why I should care.

“Blade Runner 2049” is rated R for nudity, language, some sexuality and violence. There are some fights and some shootings. Some of these are bloody but the violence is scattered throughout the film. We see a few naked women at various times. There are also statues that show a woman’s breasts. We see the beginning of an unconventional three way sexual encounter but there is no nudity of sexual activity shown. The outside of a brothel is shown and we can see the sex workers engaged in activity inside through smoked windows. We see what appear to be monochrome models of replicants that show their sex organs but this is brief. Foul language is scattered.

I’ve said this with other movies but perhaps I’m just not smart enough to fully understand and appreciate the story of “Blade Runner 2049.” I wanted to love the film as it has mostly glowing reviews; but I must admit, I don’t love the original film. It has many of what I perceive as the same problems of being about something in which I’m not emotionally invested. I don’t know how the events of either film are something that can be important to the characters, much less to me. I don’t hate the film. It is visually stunning and is interesting to watch but I just can’t invest myself in the story. Maybe it’s just me but “Blade Runner 2049” is lost on me.

“Blade Runner 2049” gets three stars out of five.

This week there’s an action film, horror movie and a couple of “based on a true story” pictures to choose from. I’ll see and review at least one of the following:

The Foreigner—

Happy Death Day—

Marshall—

Professor Marston and the Wonder Women—

Follow me on Twitter @moviemanstan. Listen to The Fractured Frame podcast available at WIMZ.com, Apple Podcasts, Google Play and everywhere you get podcasts. Send emails to stanthemovieman123@gmail.com.

Review of “American Made”

It’s the late 1970’s and Barry Seal (Tom Cruise) is a pilot for Trans World Airlines. He’s bored by the daily grind of flying from one city to the next so he likes to pull stunts that shake up the passengers and his co-pilot. One day while laid over in yet another city and another hotel, Barry is approached by Monty Schafer (Domhnall Gleeson) with an opportunity: Own your own business and fly reconnaissance missions in Central America for the CIA. Seal’s photos are appreciated by Schafer and his bosses and they decide to add runs to Nicaragua for Seal to give Manuel Noriega payoffs in exchange for his intelligence on communist rebels. Seal’s flights in and out of Central America attract the attention of a cocaine smuggling cartel that includes Pablo Escobar (Mauricio Mejia). The cartel wants Seal to fly their product into America on his return trips. In exchange they will pay him enormous sums of cash. The CIA turns a blind eye to Seal’s work for the cartel but the Drug Enforcement Agency tries to shut him down so Schafer moves Seal, his wife Lucy (Sarah Wright) and their kids to a small town in Arkansas. There they set Seal up with his own airport and thousands of acres of undeveloped land surrounding it. Soon the CIA wants Seal to ferry Contras into the US for training and transporting thousands of guns for their insurrection against the communist government of Nicaragua. Barry Seal is playing both sides in a dangerous, high stakes game that could lead to a great deal of death and destruction. If only he had listened to Nancy Reagan and just said “No!”

“American Made” follows the adventures of Barry Seal and his dealings with the CIA, a major drug cartel and the Contras of Nicaragua. It is a story of patriotism, capitalism and the fight against communism. It’s a story of hubris and well-informed stupidity. It is also a study in not learning from history and being doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past. In other words, “American Made” is about what’s going on right now. It is an entertaining movie that takes a true story and almost makes you hope Barry Seal somehow gets away with everything he’s doing and lives happily ever after with his wife and kids under a new identity in a small town staying under the radar. Sadly, real life rarely works out fairly.

I really enjoyed “American Made” and the performance of Tom Cruise as the devil-may-care Barry Seal. This is the kind of role Cruise can sink his teeth into; creating a nuanced and complicated character that is able to ride the line between hero and villain. Nothing Seal does after about the first five minutes of the movie is remotely legal, even if he is doing it for the US government; but Cruise makes Seal such a likable rogue you can’t help but hope he succeeds (check Wikipedia to find out how things turned out for Seal). Unlike the character he played in “The Mummy,” Cruise is able to find the right balance of caring husband/father and gun/drug-running scumbag. He’s the kind of guy you’d like to have a few beers with and be enthralled by his stories. You’d never know if he was lying to you but Seal (as played by Cruise) is so charming and entertaining you wouldn’t care. Barry Seal is probably Cruise’ best performance in the last 20 years.

Domhnall Gleeson is also terrific as CIA operative Monty Schafer. A brilliant combination of best friend, kindly mentor and threatening bureaucrat, Gleeson gives Schafer just the right mix to make him interesting to watch since you are never quite sure which side of his personality will show up. Gleeson is woefully underused in the role. While it would have never happened in real life it would have been great to see Schafer join Seal on a trip to Nicaragua and experience life in the field for once.

While “American Made” is extremely entertaining the story is also ultimately infuriating. Knowing how things turn out for the CIA operation and the eventual creation of the Iran/Contra plan that tainted President Reagan’s legacy and wound up exposing the extent of the intelligence agency’s involvement in drug running, money laundering and arms dealing, watching it all unfold onscreen and seeing how there were numerous opportunities to stop it makes you wonder just how smart the people running the darker corners of the government are. It reminds me of the new PBS documentary on the Vietnam War from Ken Burns. In the second episode there are at least two, possibly three, opportunities for America to pull out of Vietnam; but the fear of Communism and the desire of President Kennedy to get reelected proved to be more powerful than common sense. While I’m no student of history, there are probably more examples of obvious signs that should have been heeded to prevent catastrophe and failure that were ignored. Apparently tunnel vision is a very real and dangerous thing.

“American Made” is rated R for language throughout and some sexuality/nudity. The nudity consists mostly of women in lingerie and Tom Cruise’ bare backside he flashes at his family as a joke. We see a couple of sex scenes but they are very mild and brief. Foul language is common throughout the film.

On numerous occasions I have referred to Tom Cruise as a “tool” for his behavior on the Today Show towards Matt Lauer and his association with the Church of Scientology and I maintain that opinion; however, I am also of the opinion that, if given the right role, Cruise is one of the best actors in the world. In “American Made,” Cruise is in the right role. While Barry Seal may have been a dumpy man way in over his head, Cruise makes him a charismatic rebel that almost pulls off a masterful plan to get rich beyond anyone’s dreams. It may be a perversion of the American Dream but Seal, as played by Cruise, makes it look attainable and worth the risk.

“American Made” gets five stars.

A long-gestating sequel, a high-altitude adventure and animated juvenile equines debut on screens this week. I’ll see and review one of the following:

Blade Runner 2049—

The Mountain Between Us—

My Little Pony—

Follow me on Twitter @moviemanstan. Listen to The Fractured Frame podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play and anywhere you get podcasts. Send emails to stanthemovieman123@gmail.com.

Review of “Kingsman: The Golden Circle”

Since joining the secret intelligence agency the Kingsman, Eggsy (Taron Egerton) has found a purpose to his life, a beautiful girlfriend, Crown Princess Tilde of Sweden (Hanna Alstrom), and a close group of friends from his old days to keep him grounded. He still has strong feelings of sadness over the loss of his mentor Harry Hart (Colin Firth) but he focuses on the happy memories. While leaving the Kingsman tailor shop that is the front for spy agency he is approached by former recruit Charlie Hesketh (Edward Holcroft). Eggsy thought Charlie was dead from their last encounter but he survived and is back with a high-tech metal arm and a desire for vengeance. Eggsy and Charlie fight inside a moving car and Charlie’s metal arm comes off. Eggsy is able to escape Charlie and the other bad guys in three SUV’s following him and must use the underwater capabilities of his car to enter a Kingsman secret base. What Eggsy doesn’t know is once he has left the car Charlie’s metal arm comes to life and plugs into the computer terminal. It transmits the locations of all Kingsman offices and addresses of agents to Poppy Adams (Julianne Moore), a ruthless drug dealer with plans to expand her business. With the information, Poppy launches guided missiles, destroying all Kingsman facilities and killing most of their agents. The only ones that survive are Eggsy and tech wizard Merlin (Mark Strong). Merlin initiates the doomsday protocol and discovers a bottle of Statesman whiskey in a secret safe. The bottle guides them to the Statesman distillery in Kentucky where they run into Tequilla (Channing Tatum) while checking out an overly secure storage facility. It turns out the whiskey factory is a front for an independent investigative organization similar to the Kingsman. Led by Champagne, who prefers to be called Champ (Jeff Bridges), the remaining Kingsman agents are taken in and aided in their mission to stop Poppy Adams from forcing the legalization of all recreational drugs after she has spiked all the drugs she sells with a virus that will kill all users. Unless her demands for legalization are met she won’t release the antidote that will save everyone including Eggsy’s girlfriend. The existence of the Statesman is a surprise but that Harry is still alive and in Statesman custody is an even bigger shock for Eggsy and Merlin.

“Kingsman: The Golden Circle” doesn’t mess with the formula that worked with the first film ”Kingsman: The Secret Service.” If anything this sequel turns up everything to a proverbial “11” and while that may work in some films it proves to be a bit distracting and a detriment in this case.

The film is a bit all over the place, zipping from one locale and group of characters to another. Just as we get comfortable with one scene it is immediately replaced with another. From mountain vistas to a painfully obvious CGI Statesman headquarters, the movie is a bit like a jittery child that can’t stay in one place for too long before moving somewhere else.

This is the fault of a story that is scattered like a shotgun blast. The script by Jane Goldman and director Matthew Vaughn is chock full of plot points that send the characters all over the world on mostly meaningless side missions. Side missions are fun in video games but can feel like an utter waste of time in a movie. With a running time of two hours 20 minutes, “Kingsman: The Golden Circle” is over stuffed with asides that could easily have been cut out.

The action and gadgets in the movie have been upgraded and made more outlandish in the film. Attaché cases that double as machine guns and bazookas are fairly banal when compared to a car that can convert into submarine or a watch that can hack any device with a microchip. The mechanical arm used by one of the bad guys also seems over the top since it is merely strapped to him with belts and Velcro but can pull down stone columns and propel a bowling ball through a wall. Obeying the laws of physics is probably asking too much of a campy spy movie but giving some thought to how something might work and react in the real world would be nice.

It would be easy to dislike “Kingsman: The Golden Circle” if you give it too much thought; however there is plenty to find enjoyable in the film. First, it doesn’t ask too much of the audience. There is a crazy lady with a crazy plan that just might work unless the super spies can stop her. The story is fairly straight forward even if the script throws in a great deal of needless running around. Second, the characters are all fairly likable. Even Julianne Moore’s Poppy is sweet and charming until she’s not. I enjoyed the way Moore’s character is able to order one of her henchmen to kill another and do it with a smile. It’s a disarming trait that softens the edge of what could have been a shrieking monster. Third is the discovery of how Elton John may be the next elderly action hero. I know this is farfetched but John, playing himself as a captive entertainer in Poppy’s hideout, is very funny in the movie. He is given the opportunity to do both comedy and action and succeeds wildly at both. Of course, his action scenes are largely comprised of CGI (especially when he does a flying karate kick) but they work well within the loose structure of the story. Elton John appears to have been willing to do whatever director Matthew Vaughn asked and what shows up on screen is great.

“Kingsman: The Golden Circle” is rated R for language throughout, drug content, sequences of strong violence and some sexual material. A main part of the story is how everyone’s drugs are spiked with the virus so we are shown people using pot and one person using meth. Other people show up with symptoms of the virus that aren’t shown using drugs but that’s the only way they could get the virus. There are numerous shooting and stabbings throughout the film with some more bloody than others. There is one awkward sex scene that is a little troubling to watch. There is no graphic nudity but there is a suggestion of a sexual act that is done during a mission. It felt like a forced scene that could have been handled another way. Foul language is common throughout the film.

It’s doesn’t live up to its predecessor but “Kingsman: The Golden Circle” is a fairly enjoyable spy romp that continues the hyper-action and violence of the first film. There isn’t a jaw-dropping church scene like in “Kingsman: The Secret Service” but the discovery of the Statesman and the reveal of Harry still being alive and how that happened is almost as good.

“Kingsman: The Golden Circle” gets four stars out of five.

This week there are four new films hitting screens at your local multiplex. I’ll be seeing and reviewing one of the following:

American Made—

Flatliners—

A Question of Faith—

Til Death Do Us Part—

Follow me on Twitter @moviemanstan. Listen to, subscribe and review The Fractured Frame podcast available where ever you get podcasts. Follow The Fractured Frame on Twitter @fractured_pod. Send emails to stanthemovieman123@gmail.com.