A Review you can Use: Get Out

Good afternoon!

I've been meaning to write this review for some time, but I haven't...so there's that.

It isn't often I review a movie in the "horror" category. It's not my thing.  But there was some buzz about this little film from writer/director Jordan Peele at the Golden Globes and I ran across it at my local Family Video store so I picked it up and gave it a whirl.

I was blown away.

"Get Out" might be one of the most original, thought provoking, shocking films I've seen in eons.  In an age of prequels, sequels, remakes, and adaptations from TV shows, "Get Out" is a breath of fresh air that Hollywood's long needed.

What's it about?  Well here's what I can tell you without giving it away:  A young African American photographer goes to meet his white girlfriend's wealthy parents at their weekend home.

That's it. That's all I can tell you.

If I say one more thing, it'll give everything away.

So let me get down to the acting:  Leading man Daniel Kaluuya is not a household name...yet.  But he should be after this performance.

Long time actors Catherine Keener and Bradley Whitford will make your skin crawl.

Stephen Root, one of my personal favorites, is lovely and creepy and weird and fun all in the span of roughly seven minutes of screen time.

Lil Rel Howery as the TSA agent is hilarious and I want him to be my neighbor.

"Get Out" was nominated for the big four Oscars, as I call them:  Film, Director, Actor, Writing.  In a perfect world where talent and original thought is rewarded, this movie should win all four.  It won't.  (Neither will my other two faves, Dunkirk and Darkest Hour) BUT I do believe Jordan Peele will get the writing and/or directing Oscar and Daniel Kaluuya has a better than average shot at winning best Actor.

Oh, and Mr. Peele?  If you're looking for more original stuff to turn into movies, maybe give me a call?

Seriously, folks, "Get Out" is money well spent whether you can still find it in theaters or get it in video.  This is NOT for the kiddies, the language is really hard core and the violence gets gruesome, but fans of horror, thrillers, and good movies that entertain AND make you think are going to love it!

Six quick reviews you can use: Oscar nominated films

Okay, I haven't seen quite all of the movies nominated for Best Picture this past year, but I've seen several of them and I'm ready to give you all a thumbnail review of the ones I have seen.  I intended to see "Gravity,"  "Her,"  and "Philomena," but I wanted to give you my quick opinion on the movies I have seen.  Ready?  I'm reviewing them in the order in which I saw them.

1)  Captain Phillips:

 Tom Hanks is great as always, and the cast is made up of people who fit the bill in this modern day pirate movie based on a true story.  There were moments that lagged in the middle, but over all this is a winner of a movie for adults.  Some language, much violence and tension.  Keep the wee ones away, but teens will probably like it.  I give it 4 out of 5.


2)  Twelve Years a Slave

The Academy got it right as far as I'm concerned.  Based on a true story about a black free man taken from his home in the North and sold to a Southern plantation, this one is lyrical, enraging, beautiful, frightful, and ultimately satisfying.  Not for the faint of heart, and definitely not for those who have issues watching realistic history.  5 out of 5

3) Nebraska

Might be the best movie I've seen in years, but this is not for everyone.  Adult children of parents who are slowly losing their ability to take care of themselves will find this movie funny, sad, and all too truthful.  Bruce Dern at his very best and a surprising cast all around.  There are moments that are laugh out loud funny, but viewers under a certain age are just not going to get it.  And yes, it's in Black and White.  Deal.  5 out of 5


4)  Wolf of Wall Street

Who doesn't love Leo DiCaprio and Jonah Hill?  They're somewhat endearing in this otherwise foul, drug laced, just-this-side-of porn biopic about an up and comer on Wall Street in the 90's.  I found the profanity, drug use, and nudity to be so pervasive it actually numbed me.  Too much is too much.  And setting a record for f-bombs does not make a great picture. Very good performances keep you in the movie in spite of it all. This could have been brilliant if they hadn't been so focused on being awful.  3.5 out of 5.

5)  Dallas Buyers Club

Whatever your opinions about homosexuality or the AIDS epidemic might be, you cannot deny the performances in this movie are outstanding.  Matthew McConaughey is, in my opinion, a horrible actor, but somehow he is brilliant here and Jared Leto made me cry.  Not for the weak of heart, and definitely not for children.  Drug use and language are pervasive, and there is a smattering of nudity.  4.5 out of 5.

6)  American Hustle

Best cast of any of the nominated movies, but the worst picture of the bunch.  The plot is a mess and is very reliant on Amy Adams' wardrobe, which is very reliant on no bra and plunging necklines and sheer materials.  One wonders why they gave her a top at all.  Every does their best but honestly, half an hour in I asked, out loud, "Does this movie ever get better?"  My son, who is a GIANT Jennifer Lawrence fan said, "no."  (Jennifer Lawrence has the one really inspired scene, but check out the scene on Youtube...Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle, dish washing gloves.)  Half the time I don't know who is who.  So much time is spent on everyone congratulating each other for their hair styles.  And there's a dance scene...well, let's say I know who I'd pick between Amy Adams and Bradley Cooper for a partner in "Dancing with Stars" and it won't be the stilted, stiff Adams.  Frankly, I expect better of a cast that includes Christian Bale, and I expect better of a movie that's nominated for an Oscar.  2 out of 5.

So I've seen six of the nine and those are my quick reviews.  Hey, it's just one writer's opinion.

Oscars, Pulitzers, and Nobels oh my! What's your writing dream?

Good morning!

So the Oscars were held last week and as a movie lover I watched every minute.  I judged fashion, critiqued thank you speeches, and booed when my favorite didn't win.  In short, I had a great time.

One of my favorite moments, always, is when the writers get their Oscars.  Most of the Oscars go to pretty people:  Actors, directors, producers, musicians, people who find themselves in front of cameras a lot.  But when you get the make up people and the writers, especially the writers, you get people who typically do not see the front end of a camera ever.  In the case of writers, as we writers know, we spend our days in shadows, staring at computer screens, praying the words falling out of our fingers make sense to our brains.

This year was a good year for writers:  John Ridely and Spike Jonze, both pretty good looking guys, both pretty good with the speaking.  So yay, writers, you did us proud.

The quote of the night, however, went to Robert Di Nero:

He's not wrong.  We writers do battle every day on many fronts.  Whether we're battling with willful characters, our own mental blocks, or spell-check, writing is a battle, a war, something we dream about but really sort of hate doing.

One of my favorite quotable women, Dorothy Parker, gave me this:

And she's not wrong, either.  how many of us bang our heads against the desk, wishing we could stop the voices, stop the ideas, stop the stories because there's always a disconnect between our brains where everything is brilliant and our fingers, which often don't produce what we have in our heads and we simply do not know how to get the brilliance out of our heads!  

Watching the Oscars, my friend and fellow author, Linda Schmalz, and I always dream of the day we are nominated for an Oscar for best screenplay.  (And it would be a adapted screenplay because we would, OF COURSE, write the screenplay for our own novels.)  We think of what or whom we'd wear.  We'd talk about who our guest would be, and where we'd sit, (in the back of course) and what our thank you speech would be.  It's our dream to one day be at the Oscars, knowing that great actors said our words and people watched the actions in our books brought to life and they liked it.

Which makes me wonder:  What are your dreams as a writer?  In reality, my dream is to one day support my family with my writing.  But in my dream of dreams, I'm getting an Oscar.  

There are so many pinnacles for writers...what do you aspire to?  What's your biggest dream goal?  Best seller list?  Book signings with people wrapped around the block?  National Book Award?  

You don't really have to say it out loud.  Just admitting it to yourself, just having that dream, that's the point.  Having that dream goal, the goal that will probably never happen, that's what's going to keep you going when it's dark and the coffee's cold and your hands are cramping and all you want to do is lie down in front of the TV and melt into your couch.

But as long as you're dreaming big, it's a good idea to write a thank you speech...just in case...so you don't sound stupid when you win.