Making a Murderer

MakingaMurderer

Shock. Disgust. Anger. Disbelief. Rage. Those were the main feelings I had while watching Making a Murderer. My favorite documentary has been Cocaine Cowboys for many years, but MaM thunders on through 10 episodes of absolute injustice and evil of the Manitowoc, Wisconsin police and the completely bent Criminal Justice system. This is a tale you won’t soon forget and want to talk about with everyone you meet.

The story of Making a Murder is Steven Avery. While he’s far from an angel, racking up a rap sheet by the time he was 18, he didn’t try to hide from what he had done and served his time. Then, in  1985, he’s accused of raping a woman. Despite spotty at best detective work (I’m being polite) and a multiple eyewitness backed alibi that is ignored for some reason, he was declared guilty and locked up for 18 years. In 2003, he’s exonerated through new DNA evidence. He said he was innocent the whole time and that the Manitowoc PD had it out for him. Two years later while his lawsuit against the county is underway (looking for millions in restitution and punitive damages and would ultimately end many careers and start serious reform), a woman who was last reported to be at the Avery scrap yard for work goes missing. The police come after Steven again and it happens all over again.

It sounds like a movie but it’s not. I’ve given a basic outline of the setup, but the follow through to condemn Steven Avery (and his family) is mindboggling. There was no hesitation, they thought Steven had to have done it. The following weeks of investigation construct a case for the ages.

I’m not going to get into great detail because you have to see this to get and process each bat shit crazy bit and it would take me hours to write about just a fraction of it.

The first case of 1985 is shocking in itself, Avery was clearly railroaded and the actual criminal went on to commit more sexual offenses for 10 more years. The cops got away with what they did to Steven.  Steven wants justice and sues the county with corruption allegations. Law enforcement circles the wagons to protect themselves when a few of them go to court. As the film clearly shows, step by step, the MPD (the 2 higher ups and a specific deputy) went after Avery again with a shocking disregard for protocol, humanity and the law they were sworn to uphold.

Timelines that make no sense. Suspects that were completely ignored. Tampered with evidence. Exploiting a retarded child’s trust in authority with blatant and gross manipulation and rights dodging. Collusion between the prosecution and a shady defense lawyer. Written down instructions to get Avery associated with evidence that was improperly obtained. Admitted tainted DNA results. Blatant lies to the media and on the stand. Bizarre double talk. Bias that you would not believe (MPD says they will hand over the investigation to another district PD, but they remain are all over the scene, going back multiple times and magically finding “evidence”.)

I watched the 10 episodes in 4 days. I never do that. Clearly the filmmakers had a view of what was happening to Avery from the start (they filmed for 10 years) and push that narrative and it’s around 30 years condensed into 10 hours. Steve’s trial went for 6 weeks and was shown in about 2 episodes. His nephew Brendan’s trial went for 2 weeks and was shown in 1 episode. Sinister music is played during the bad guys talking to drive the point home. But it doesn’t take background music to make the likes of former (haha) District Attorney Ken Kratz into a villain. You just need to see how he conducts himself and smirks when talking about a murder investigation. The number of suspicious events (at the very least I think the MPD is incompetent) stokes a lot of reasonable doubt. It’s hard to understand how this all happened. But, again, this idea is fostered from getting all of the information in Avery’s favor in a neatly organized package instead of a lengthy trial). In order for a jury to convict, there has to be a lot of information that the prosecution gave that the filmmakers left out (which could be circumstantial evidence, but with how shady the MPD and Lawyer Len were, you’d imagine it would be pretty easy to flip in Avery’s favor. It’s suspicious though).

I was obsessed with watching this to the end. I have never been so shocked and disgusted from a documentary of what’s wrong with our justice system. There’s no one person to blame, the whole thing needs to be re-evaluated and remade. Hopefully Making a Murderer stirs the pot again and puts pressure on the right place. Every bit of this trial needs to be made public so we can get all of the information and not a heavily edited film.

A must watch.

Inside Out

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I didn’t think I’d like it as much as I did, but Inside Out captures that animated magic that few studios outside of Pixar can. They’ve made some good to okay movies recently, but Inside Out hit all the marks for me.

Things are going really well for 11-year-old Riley. She’s happy living in Minnesota with her parents. She loves her school, friends, and ice hockey. But when her father gets a new job in San Francisco and uproots the family, her life is turned upside down.

We’re guided through this trying time of Riley’s life with an inside look at her emotions: Fear, Anger, Joy, Sadness and Disgust. A combination of fantastic characters, voice casting, animation and creative storytelling makes this one of the top movies Pixar has made.

I loved all of it, partly because it’s reminiscent of the creative Monsters Inc. In that movie, the world of the monsters let Pixar come up with a wild world and show off their imaginative flair in realizing that world. In Inside Out, they get to go nuts again, but within the human mind. How thoughts go through the mind and are stored. How decisions are made. What makes your personality. The visual look of the real world and Riley’s mind are distinct and beautiful. The designs of the emotions and their animation are brilliant. I first thought that they were mimicking the felt look of the Muppets, but on closer shots you can see that they are made of some kind of bubbling energy (the “hair” looks really awesome too). Their shapes and colors work perfectly with their emotion, the juxtaposition is really subtle, but really striking when they talk together.

For example, Joy and Sadness are the stars of the movie and pulled me in every direction. My favorite scene is with the two talking while they’re riding on the Train of Thought. Sadness is blue and is in the shape of a teardrop (brilliant voice casting with Phyllis Smith) and Joy is yellow and in the shape of a star (the perfect role for Amy Poehler). Joy is constantly trying to prop Sadness up and they have a heart to heart sitting on boxes of facts and opinions. Joy is literally a light source and sitting together, both characters glow. It’s this little visual cue of what’s going on. They co-exist and need each other despite being on opposite sides of the mood chart. They’ve been separated from the other emotions in HQ and while they work together, Joy often dismisses Sadness and tries to do everything. It can’t work that way and that’s what the movie is about.

Inside Out tells a very mature story in a way that everyone can understand. Growing up is hard. Living is hard. It’s impossible to be happy all of the time and that’s OK. Understanding and working through life with every emotion bubbling inside of you is normal. You can’t have the good without the bad and the bad without the good.

Impressed from the start to the end. It’s funny and sad and poignant and amazing to look at. Even the two shorts “Lava” and “Riley’s First Date?” are fantastic. Highly recommended.

Bing Bong forever!

Into the Badlands <> Season 1

With just six episodes, the first season of Into the Badlands is more of an appetizer than a meal. I liked what I saw, I’m a big fan of this genre and I’m left wanting more. I’m sure that was the show runners intent, so I’m calling this a success.

The season ends wide open for a season 2. The basic framework for the clippers (Sunny), the barons, M.K, and the Abbots and what’s outside of the Badlands is given but I think about just about every question we have hasn’t been answered. They didn’t try to cram too much into these episodes and left behind breadcrumbs in every episode to keep the trail fresh and interesting.

I like just about every character and the more boring aspects of the story arc (the Ryder, Quinn, Lydia and Jade entanglement) ultimately worked out well. That angle is rather played out and obvious, but major stuff went down in the finale to break it up and move it on. I’m interested in seeing where it goes from here.

Speaking further of the characters, I love the barons and the surrounding players. Everything from their clothing to their names is unique and stylish (except for Tilde’s hair). The Widow, Jacobee, Quinn, Penrith, Zypher and The River King, all really memorable.

The fight choregarphy is really outstanding. Action technicality, execution and direction that no other show airing right now can touch. The final fight might be the best of the season and there have been more than few standout moments.

Really dug the ending, I hope we get a season 2. I want to know what happens to Sunny and M.K. and get a lot more mythology down. Season 1 was just the tip.

F is for Family

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I had no idea Bill Burr had a show coming out until it was just a few days out from hitting Netflix. I’m a fan of Burr and I’m stoked for him that this turned out so well.

F is for Family is about the Murphy family, boys Kevin and Will, mother Sue, father Frank and daughter Maureen (plus Major the dog) in the 1970’s.  Frank is more or less the main character, working in the baggage department at the airport.

I wasn’t sold after the first episode, but once the family dynamic takes root (especially with Kevin and Will), it really comes together. Every episode is simply better than the last, they really found the heart of the show by the end. The parents struggling to keep afloat and happy and the kids who range from screw up to princess tomboy who are all getting old enough to see the cracks in the world. I think the best material is with the kids, as it’s the most well thought out and given the most time (Will is my favorite). I wasn’t too sure of Frank at the beginning, but the last episode really got to me. I found him to be more of a loud cartoon character before then, but the culmination of his trials at work came together in a smart and beautiful end.

While this show looks like it could be for The Simpsons and King of the Hill audience, it’s not for kids. A ton of swearing (weird hearing Burr in interviews saying they were careful about F-bomb usage when it’s all over the place), some seriously dark humor and a heavy dose of sex jokes have this show pegged at the older crowd.

Fun surprise and bonus points for casting Laura Dern as Sue!

Ant-Man

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The smartest move they made was casting Paul Rudd in the lead of Ant-Man. He also had a hand in re-writing the script so his fingerprints are all over this great movie.

Ant-Man is one of the most enjoyable movies in the current Marvel stable. Rudd is a really likeable guy and he brings that charm and comedic lightness as cat burglar Scott Lang. With such a strong guy in the lead, everyone else around him has to perform well alongside him. Michael Douglas as the genius Dr. Hank Pym is a great father figure and mentor. Evangeline Lilly as his daughter Hope makes for a great driving force and teammate. The trio od Michael Pena, T.I. and David Dastmalchian are funny sidekicks. Really like Corey Stoll as the main villain Darren Cross. Many of these movies have crap antagonists that are largely forgettable, but Cross’ motivations work and he looks awesome as Yellowjacket.

I can’t think of anything to complain about. Ant-Man is really well paced and light hearted enough to be fun, but not stupid. It gets the drama and serious parts correct right when it’s necessary. A solid and smartly told origin story for both Scott and Dr. Pym. The shrinking powers make for creative and well-executed action scenes that can’t be done elsewhere (in terms of speed and momentum, closest to Spiderman’s locomotion capabilities). Each set piece gets more and more elaborate right to the finale so there’s always something to look forward to and admire (top notch special effects bring Ant-Man to life).

Really impressed with how this movie turned out. Terrific introduction to a character many don’t know, smart tie-in to The Avengers with Sam Wilson/Falcon and a satisfying ending to boot! I put this at number 2 on my Marvel cinematic list behind Captain America: Winter Soldier.

Jessica Jones

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Thankfully the show is much better than the promotional image you see above! I knew nothing about Jessica Jones coming into it. She’s a character that sits in the shadows of many Marvel super heroes and I think that works for her benefit. A lot of people know about her and The Defenders now. Following behind the charge of DareDevil, Krysten Ritter headlines the cast of

Following behind the charge of Dare Devil, Krysten Ritter headlines the cast. Jessica prefers to stay out of the limelight. She uses her powers (super strength) for good in her job as a private detective for hire. She’s a survivor. First of a car crash that killed her family when she was a child and then from the terror known as Kilgrave.

Kilgrave makes this show as good as it is. More precisely, David Tennant as Kilgrave is the reason to watch. He’s a sociopath with mind control and that puts him head and shoulders above many villains in the Marvel stable. While The Avengers run around punching through another alien invasion, Jessica has to deal with a man who has no empathy and does whatever he wants to anyone with no fear of consequence. The only one he does fear is Jessica, so she has to stand up and stop him.

Ritter and Tennant’s scenes together are easily the best, but the supporting cast is very good. Mike Colter as Luke Cage is the main highlight and he’s got us all pumped up for his solo show coming up in 2016.

Jessica Jones is a rather atypical super hero show which is refreshing. Special effects are subtle and used only when necessary. Action scenes are intimate and well done, even if they are infrequent. Smart and interesting storytelling to fill out backstories. As a big Batman fan, I appreciate the detective angle (she’s really good at her job).

My biggest complaint is with the pacing. I think the season is around one episode too long, maybe a little more. A good hour of the show could be cut to make things move faster. The first few episodes plod along a bit and the action scenes take awhile to show up (the best being in episode 11) and add the needed kick in the pants.

Jessica Jones is a really well-made show that respects the character and its viewers. It’s a grown-up show that doesn’t condescend or pander to the lowest denominator. I don’t think it’s as good as Dare Devil, but a worthy follow up that keeps the Marvel Netflix collaboration strong and promising.

Mid season and stuff

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The Walking Dead is half way through the season and is now off for two months or so. I’m kind of indifferent about the mid season finale. Overall it’s been a rather strange season as most of it has been pulling taffy. They stretched out Glenn’s fate for a month. Daryl has barely been used. Morgan has been bringing in an irritating angle of drama that I think everyone wants to go. The kid playing Sam is really good because he plays a basketcase really well. The problem is everyone wants the basketcase to go. I call him Dogfood because that’s what anyone next to him is going to be turned into he’s such a liability. The cast could use some trimming.

I’ve been liking Gotham this season so far a lot. I’m not a big fan of Michael Chiklis as Captain Nathaniel Barnes because the character is just a walking cliche. I’m digging just about everything else. Satisfying half season arc that seems to have come to a conclusion that was well played out. Bruce Wayne is being used just enough I think and he learned some serious lessons in the last few episodes that will shape his adult self. Selina Kyle is great, the growth of Riddler is cool, Penguin is always great. I’m still surprised they air the show at 8pm, it can get really violent.

I look forward to Into The Badlands every week because there’s nothing else like it on TV. Good companion show to TWD and it’s going to remain on during said show’s break so I still have something great on Sundays to check out. Really like the way the show looks, the fighting remains on point and I hope they can keep up the quality.

Ash vs The Evil Dead is so much fun to watch. I’ll take all the Ash I can get and a horror comedy show is such a good idea.  A lot of cool ideas, it doesn’t take itself too seriously and we even get some quality lore building (now that we know who Lucy Lawless is playing). The bookstore demon design is totally metal, that thing looks crazy. I hope they keep that kind of stuff coming. 4 more episodes after tonight!

 

Terminator Genisys

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Here’s the last sentence I wrote in my Jurrasic World review in July:

P.S.- Holywood. You might want to give up on Terminator while we’re having this discussion.

Now having seen Terminator Genisys, I have to say that I liked it a lot more than Jurassic World! I thought JW stuck too close to the formula and didn’t do enough new to give it its own identity. Genisys does run around in a familiar and favorite playground but takes bold steps to change the formula and bring us something new.

In a controversial move, Genisys changes the established timeline of Terminator (thus keeping any of the other movies from happening). John Connor gets jumped just as he sends Kyle Reese back to 1984 to protect his mother. When Kyle gets there, he quickly sees that things haven’t gone as John told them they happened.

I like a lot of what the writers did, they made bold choices while keeping the tone and hallmarks of the series together. They took the relationship that John and the Terminator had in 2 and established it for Sarah and the Terminator (“You named it?!”) wisely. We get to see a big Future War battle and a bunch of different Terminators on the hunt. A few scenes from T1 are revisited at the start but are completely changed so they seem new. Arnold is back and terrific. Nods to the history of the series (like the Dyson family still being evolved despite the timeline alteration). Lots of action and the SFX are top notch, there’s some crazy visuals from start to finish. Really smart pacing that keeps delivering the goods.

Many pieces of the Terminator mythos are shown and used a bit differently. Sara and Kyle have to handle a T-800 and T-1000 at the same time. Both look fantastic, are real threats and used well. While the Terminators are the same, they don’t rely on the exact same beats (like Jurrasic World does) and are dispatched in smart ways (really liked Sarah’s trap for the 1000). With those two pillars in the movie, they also introduce two more advanced Terminators (and a combat “spider” that James Cameron came up with but never got to use) to keep up the pressure and add to the tech advancement that Skynet is so keen on.

Really liked the direction and cinematography of the movie as it’s often beautiful. Smart and clear direction during action scenes without using slow motion and shaky cam as a crutch. The action set pieces are a mix of car chases, gun and robot fights and overall destruction together that kept me entertained and engaged. I like the casting choices, I think everyone delivered aside from a goofy hype speech from John Connor at the beginning (this is really hard to do right, it usually brings everyone back to Independence Day).

I’m really surprised by how much I enjoyed Terminator Genisys. Sure, time travel is really messy to work with and can get you into dumb logic loops, but nothing here ruined it for me. I think this got more hate than it deserves and it is without a doubt better than Salvation. T1 and T2 are classics so it doesn’t touch those. While it’s been a long time since I’ve seen 3, I’m going to put Genisys  in third place. It didn’t do well domestically but made nearly half a billion dollars worldwide and I’m curious to see where they go with it from here.

Spectre

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In 2012, Skyfall lit audiences up. It’s easily in the top five James Bond movies ever made and set an incredibly high bar. Spectre has a lot to live up to and while I think it’s a great movie, it falls flat in a few areas.

Spectre is not only a direct sequel to Skyfall, but the threats from Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace are also a part of this story. Right out of the gate, Bond is the case to hunt down a man and the result is one crazy action set piece during The Day of the Dead in Mexico. A voice from James’ past put him on this mission which sends him down the road to uncover a massive sinister organisation. While Bond goes rogue to handle this issue, M is left to keep MI6 and the Double 0 program up and running as pressure from C and his high-tech surveillance program seeks to replace it.

There’s a lot to cover in this 140 minute adventure so I’ll break it down in my three major mindsets.

Things I liked: It’s a great looking movie with a fantastic soundtrack. I like the entire cast, especially Lea Seydoux as Madeleine Swann. Everyone is amazingly well dressed. Love Daniel Craig as Bond. He’s got some great lines, he looks like a well dressed bad ass and a stone cold assassin. I heard some early complaints about Spectre bringing back some of the goofier Bond qualities (like landing safely on a couch from a fall, looking surprised but pleased), but I didn’t mind it at all. If I go to a Bond movie I expect to see some series hallmarks to be checked off. Q and Money Penny are better used. Spectre is a globe-trotting mission, there’s a lot of amazing stuff to look at. Many great action scenes, the aforementioned opening scene, a neat snow chase with a plane and some Land Rovers and the train fight with Hinx is the best. Speaking of Mr. Hinx, he’s a long overdue henchman. It’s been awhile since we’ve seen a Jaws and Oddjob caliber character and Dave Bautista is perfect casting for him. Great introduction, awesome physical and dangerous presence. I’m a fan of Christoph Waltz and I enjoyed seeing him here. Really liked the end. It feels like a bookend to the four Craig Bond films while remaining open for him to continue for one more.

On The Fense: The pacing and tone is weird. There are many percalating scenes that feel long, but I also think are necessary. It felt much like the Bond movies of the 60’s where there is no rush to get to the next scene. Christoph Waltz introduction is very delibrate and methotical. He takes him time from the shadows and tips his hand when he’s good and ready (which leads into a chase scene). Waltz wasn’t given much to do as the main villain. He is (and has been) the puppet master and Mr. Hinx is the muscle, so I think it works in the end, but it does feel disappointing. He may not be the one threating you with a gun, but he does wield tremendous power. At two hours and 20 minutes, it feels a bit too long. While there are many action scenes, some of them fall flat. Mainly the car chase in Rome is surprisingly boring. Two beautiful exotic cars buzzing around an amazing city, but nothing really happens. His DB 10 isn’t as kitted out too well, so a lot doesn’t work and is played for laughs. Some power slides and a rear flamethrower are the only standouts. Few close calls and the streets are basically empty. The cars never touch each other so it’s more like watching two rich people driving home from a fund raiser at a modest speed. It never feels like any of the proaganists are in danger. There are few gadgets. Q only gives him a watch with a bomb in it. Standard fare that pales to what Mission: Impossible has been doing (the whole lone wolf angle has now been beaten to death by both franchises). They rely on Bond’s experience and never say die attitude to get him through everything (which I like, but I also like gadgets. Hense putting this “on the fense”). As good as the movie does look, Skyfall is way more striking. Spectre looks more muted in the color palette, right down to the clothing. Skyfall is a sumptious and vibrant in compairison. Adele’s title song (and the opening credits) for Skyfall is way better than what Sam Smith did for this.

Didn’t Like: So much just works out and the movie wants you to accept it with no questions asked. Know and be okay with all the important people walking away from brutal crashes and fights. No one reacts appropriately to intense experiences. There is this bizarre mentality in just about everyone to not sell the action on screen. No one yells in surprise about crazy dangerous stuff flying by their head. I understand Bond being able to keep it together, but Swann and the rest barely react to anything. Bond and Swann at one point stand right in front of a massive explosion and they treat it like they are watching someone walking across the street. And that complex destroying explosion was triggered by a few bullets hitting a valve. Who designed that Evil Doer HQ? It’s so weird. The torture scene is another head scratcher. Specific things are done to Bond to disable him and none of it worked. Sure, it was painful, but that wasn’t even the point. When he gets away from it, he’s blasting baddies like nothing happened for the rest of the movie when he should be drooling on himself. There was no consequence to that entire segment. A lot happens off screen (a kidnapping) and you just have to go along with things progressing in the spy genre mold (the kidnapped person is being held somewhere in the building for the finale!). As much as the movie wants to be new and cool, it relies on a ton of cliches that come off as lazy more than anything else.

Coming out of Skyfall, I was in love. From the first frame to the last I was all in. Spectre doesn’t hit all the right marks like Skyfall does. It feels like it’s not too sure what it wants to be and pulls punches because of it. While there’s a lot to like, my main concern is that Spectre won’t be nearly as good in repeat viewings. That said, with this whole story arc over and with an ending I truly love, I hope Daniel Craig comes back for another. End his James Bond legacy with one MI6 backed, stunning, stand-alone spy bonanza.

I’ve watched some shows

Zoo– Never knew that this aired on CBS over the summer and I’m not even sure why I decided to watch it. It’s based on a James Patterson, Zoo is about the animal kingdom raising up and taking the world back. A small, international team (the father of one of them saw this coming, but everyone thought he was a nutter of course) travels the globe to try and stop it. It’s a very pulpy idea, you can totally see someone reading this story in paperback while on vacation sitting on a beach chair. There’s some terrible dialog in the first few episodes, but it did manage to win me over in the end. Season 2 is coming next year and I’m going to keep an eye out for that.

Master of None– The Big Thing on Netflix since it came out about 2 weeks ago. Aziz Ansari’s own show (also co-written and co-produced by Alan Yang from Parks and Recreation) is all the buzz. If you’ve seen him on Parks and Rec, the tone of the show is similar and Aziz plays Dev pretty closely to how he did Tom Haverford. Dev is a working 30-year-old actor in NYC so the show is all about that transformative age. Careers (should be) are taking off, everyone you know is getting married and/or having kids. The pressure of the ticking biological clock becomes apparent to yourself and all of your friends. It’s the age when Stuff Should Be Going Down and if it’s not, You Are Behind, So You Should Be Worried.

Aziz’s life makes up most of the plot lines (you’ll recognize some of his material from his stand up if you’ve seen them). What the dating scene is like, how tech has changed us, social pressures, overt and casual sexism and racism, being the first generation American to immigrant parents and the obsession with food.

A creative show and one that’s perfect for the times, my only knock against it is the terrible acting. A lot of amateurs just waiting for their lines to come up so they can say them on cue. It’s pretty painful at the start, but everyone gets more comfortable with each episode. The plots for each episode are great and the occasional real actor steps in to really lay it down (H. Jon Benjamin, Claire Danes, Lynn Cohen, Noah Emmerich). Aziz owes a lot of the success to Noel Wells as Rachel. Without her acting ability and on-screen charm, he would have had nothing to work with for more than half of the season. A mediocre actor in her place would have crashed and burned that entire season arc. Wells crushed it though and helped make a series that will be talked about and watched for years. Great set up for season 2, looking forward to it!

Fargo: Everyone should be watching this. There’s too much good to even explain.

Grimm: Season started in late October and it’s shaping up well. There’s a big cult(?) movement brewing that’s about to raise up and our Grimm is just finding out about it. Last season had a great finale and the fallout from that is still being sorted. It looks like they’re going to reintroduce a character whose been worked on soon so the threats coming at Nick and Co. are going to come from all angles. I hope they get Trouble back into the fold soon, I miss her.

Into the Badlands: AMC brings up some wire-fu! I liked the premiere, it had a good balance of lore and character building and a breed of action that really isn’t on US television. Impressive fight scenes, it looks really good (great costumes) and I dig the world they’ve shown us so far. Could turn rather comic booky, which could go either way. I’d like them learn more on the kung fu foot. The last action scene in the rain was really impressive.

The Rover

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This was an interesting little movie. I saw the trailer some time ago and it did its job, it got me to add it to my list to watch. Apocalypse/social collapse movies are a dime a dozen these days and are tough to do right. It’s easy to use every cliche in the book. The Rover keeps it simple. It’s set in Australia, 10 years after a massive global economic collapse. After a botched encounter, a group of men steal Eric’s car. It’s the only thing he owns aside from the clothes on his back. He follows the men to get it back and runs into Rey, the younger brother of one of the thieves. Rey got shot in the botched encounter and was left for dead.

When you have little of your own, you cherish what you do have. Eric’s car is a part of him and holds signficants that’s revealed at the end. The Rover is very much a man on a mission movie and it’s done very well.

At just over an hour and a half, the movie sets up it’s pieces and moves along with very little waiting. Each stop on the road is interesting and well thought out. The bits of this world and how it works are revealed slowly, but wisely. Guy Pierce as Eric holds it down, but the real star and the most impressive work is done by Robert Pattinson as Rey. A real tranformative role, he manages to visually and tonaly get into another persons skin. It’s not Pattinson up there, it’s Rey.

A surpsing movie as I’ve never heard of it until recently, I liked The Rover quite a bit. I enjoy “what if…” scenarios alot and when they are done right, they are a joy to watch. A man’s (or woman’s) purpose in life is always ripe for exploration and discussion.

Furious 7

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Paul Walker’s death two years ago put a major spotlight on this movie. Losing a major star and loved person mid-production was a huge loss. A year delay to rewrite the ending and finish filming, Furious 7 turned out to be one of the series stronger entries.

In Fast and Furious 6, Owen Shaw was the big bad of the film. He didn’t fare too well by the end of it. That brings to light his brother, Deckard, who vows to wipe out Dom’s entire team as revenge in Furious 7.

With that setup, they hit all the marks for this franchise. A ton of cars, racing, destruction, fights, shoot-outs, explosions and corny dialog for good measure. Everything about this series is over the top and the movie keeps things fun until the end.

With Walker’s death, they set up his departure as his retirement from the team, going full time family man with Dom’s sister, Mia. It’s sprinkled in a few times in the movie until the good guys win and it’s like this huge cloud moves over everything as all the actors (you can tell it’s not the characters) get super bummed. Various techniques were used to get Paul into the end, the most obvious being body doubles on the beach where they never show his face. But they do manage to send him off in a touching and dare I say, artistic way.

As a whole, I think 7 is better than the last movie (5 being my favorite). It’s still an absurd summer blockbuster movie, but it feels a bit more grounded than 6 (and I do mean a bit, they went all out to make new and interesting carnage). The ending does feel weird to me because real life stuck its ugly mug into an onscreen reality. Knowing why the ending is the way it is, I’m curious to hear what a person who has no idea what happened thinks about it. I’m not sure how much it skews my perspective, but it feels to me like the Furious 7 ends when Dom is taken out of the rubble of the last action set piece. Saying goodbye to Brian O’Conner is this surreal “don’t break the 4th wall” moment because it’s everyone saying goodbye to Paul Walker. Feels like getting to the end of a book, but the last chapter is from a different one. I’m not sure if there was any way around it though, it couldn’t be ignored as Walker practically was the Fast and the Furious.

I hope they take their time moving on from this bookend to creating the next one.