Movies: Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot, Mission: Impossible Fallout, Blindspotting

Hi Everyone!!

Lots to share today.  We safely returned to the lake from our road trip this last Sunday.  1349 miles in six nights, 7 days.

It was a great trip with good weather, relatively mild temps, lots of discoveries, incredible land and water scapes.  Above average food and lots of friendly people.

Since we are current on the movie front, there wasn’t much out there to see while on the road.  That said, we did pick up a few movies this week.  All three are good and worthy of an audience.

Enjoy,  J&J

Don’t Worry, He Wont Get Far on Foot

This is an unusual film about unusual people with some serious issues, mostly alcohol.  It hosts a great cast including Joaquin Phoenix, Jonah Hill, Rooney Mara and Jack Black.  There is not a lot to like about these characters but oddly enough there is compelling material here to give one pause for contemplation.

That said, there is not a lot to like about this film.  It is an unpleasant topic with unpleasant characters.  Yes, life sometimes delivers horrible circumstances to some people.  That shouldn’t be a license to be mean, cynical or abusive.

It’s rated R for language throughout, sexual content, some nudity and alcohol abuse.  It is listed as a drama/comedy (but we did not find much to laugh about).  It is absolutely NOT appropriate for younger viewers.  The run time is 113 minutes.

Rating 

Mission: Impossible Fallout

The Mission: Impossible movies have been a long time popular series, beyond popular with the public for good reason.  The title alone speaks volumes to audiences.  Now after listening for more, Fallout, the sixth film of the franchise delivers its biggest, boldest, intensity from beginning to end.

The 12 leading characters are played by a who’s who of films.  Tom Cruise of course is the leader of the pack.  Rebecca Ferguson, Henry Cavill, Vanessa Kirby, Sean Harris, Michele Monaghan, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, Angela Basset, Wes Bentley, Alec Baldwin, Alix Benezech, Frederick Schmidt and Joey Ansah fill the leading characters, good, bad and otherwise.

The good news is it’s a great story at a great time played by a great cast with a talented production team.  There is just enough new, mostly action sequences, to rally audiences.

We cannot imagine how this film was rated PG-13 given the level of violence, extensive sequences of intense violence and its strong language.  Most critics liked/loved this film more than we did, so we will leave it to audiences to make their own conclusions.

It’s listed as an Action & Adventure, Drama, Mystery & Suspense.  It runs a hefty 147 minutes.

Rating

Blindspotting

Rarely does a film speak with such integrity, raw truth, insight and honesty about cultural reality.  It’s not perfect but it is laser focused on the impact of modern gentrification and its fallout on racial dynamics.

Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal are terrific as the leading characters.  Oh, by the way, they also produced the film and wrote the screenplay!  The next dozen actors are equally effective in their roles.

Make no mistake, this film is provocative by design.  It’s set in Oakland, CA.  It is also about friendship, trust, identity, and family.

It is Rated R for language, some brutal violence, sexual references and drug use.  It is listed as a Comedy, Drama running 95 minutes.  We were surprised to be only two people in an audience of five.    We will predict now there will be Oscar nominations for this film.  Stay tuned.

Rating