the Fate of the Furious

First Hit:  With improbable situations, circumstances and action, it was funny enough to make me stay till the end. There is very little about this film that is remotely believable. I won’t mention them here but when you watch it, you’ll know what I mean.

Somehow in the saga of these Furious films, Dom (Vin Diesel) grew close to someone which created a situation where the result has him go against his "family." Anyone who’s seen these series of films, Dom makes “family” the main thing that no one goes against. So, for Dom to go against his family, the situation must be a big deal.

Introducing him to this situation is Cipher (Charlize Theron) whose role is to be the smartest person on the planet, wants to control the world by living on a plane using high tech tools and have the ability to take control of any computer on the planet. By doing so she plans to use Dom to carry out some of her physical missions and she has just the motivation to make him turn away from family.

The government intelligence agency headed by Mr. Nobody (Kurt Russell) and his new underling Little Nobody (Scott Eastwood) want to find out why Dom stole a concussion device. To do this they pull the rest of the family together and add Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) and Deckard (Jason Statham) to the mix and spare no expense in wrecking expensive cars, tanks, and guns to find Dom, and why he betrayed “family”.

One of the funniest themes through the film was why Tej (Chris “Ludicris” Bridges) was only ranked 11^th on the most wanted list. He throws a fit about this throughout the film.

With no expense held back on making a film that blows up a whole bunch of stuff, wrecking a fleet full of cars, has a submarine chasing cars, and kills a pile of people, F. Gary Gray took Chris Morgan’s script and made it fun.

Diesel was good. I’m not much of a fan of his character because it is always the same one no matter the film. Theron makes a very good bad girl. She pulled this off and was believable (or as believable as one could make this part) enough to not have me cringe. Russell is great. I loved his popping in and out of the film bringing lightheartedness and smarts. Eastwood is fun as the new agent learning the ropes. Johnson is, well, Johnson. His brutishness and size, especially when he’s walking through the prison in the orange jumpsuit, says it all. He can be intimidating. Statham, although not the size of either Diesel or Johnson, has a look and swagger that makes him an equal of the other two in perceived strength. Bridges is really fun and whether he’s unhappy at being 11^th or in the cold weather, he makes everyone smile. Michelle Rodriguez as Letty is carrying on the role she created in the earlier films. She does tough/soft well. Tyrese Gibson as Roman does a great job of being the guy who thinks things through for the team. Nathalie Emmanuel as Ramsey is a perfect complement to Gibson’s "Roman" as part of the team’s brain trust. Morgan’s script was haphazard, had holes in it, and didn’t tie together well but it was fun. Gray must have had fun directing this crew given the script he had.

Overall:  Do not expect this film to make much sense, but it is funny enough, and has enough fun chases to keep you in your seat.

Tommy's Honour

First Hit:  I liked the historical and romantic aspects of this film. Tom Morris (Peter Mullan) is thought of as the father of golf and golf courses. Although he owns St. Andrews land, is the green’s keeper of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, he and the club is controlled by the Captain of the club, Alexander Boothby (Sam Neill). The Captain heads a consortium of men who run the club and the betting on golf games at the club.

Tom has accepted his station in life, green’s keeper, caddie, golf club maker, golfer, and golf course land owner. His son Tommy (Jack Lowden), however, doesn’t believe he needs to be relegated to this lower station in life, and his resentment shows in many scenes.

He and his father often played golf together representing the wealthy who bet on them, resulting in huge cash winnings to the bettors. They, in turn, gave Tom and Tommy a small cut of the winnings. Tommy thought this whole arrangement was wrong and demeaning and struck out to change the relationship between the bettors and the players. He wanted to be in control of the winnings and give the bettors their due after the tournament.

Along with wanting to change those social norms, Tommy also met Meg Drinnen (Ophelia Lovibond) a slightly older woman who was a waitress in a restaurant. He falls in love with her despite his family’s reticence to accept her. As their relationship grows and his golfing prowess becomes well known throughout Great Britain, Tommy’s mother Nancy (Therese Bradley) searches for and finds out about Meg’s past. Social convention of the time stated that Tommy should not marry Meg, but Meg’s kindness and strength win the family over.

I loved the scenes they use to attempt to show what golfing was like in the late 1800's; teeing up with sand, the clubs they used, greens that were not manicured, and playing in all types of weather (rain and snow). I liked seeing the old balls and clubs used but wondered about and wanted to know more about the slots in the club face when it was brought up by a competitor.

Mullan was wonderful as the father. His pride for his son just barely showed through which would have been perfectly appropriate for the time. Lowden was OK as the son. My issues with this role was that the film didn’t show any of the hard work that must have gone into him being the best golfer of the time. It takes more than just swagger. I did think that he did a great job as Meg’s lover and husband. Neill was strong as the Captain. His arrogance with his position was appropriate. Lovibond was divine. Her kindness, humbleness, and strength was perfect for the role. Bradley was wonderful in an antagonistic role. Her softening towards Meg was perfectly done. Pamela Marin and Kevin Cook did an OK job of creating an interesting script. I would have preferred more information about St. Andrews and the work that Tommy had to put in to become the winner of The Open tournament so many times in a row. However, in covering the love, dedication, and support of family was well conceived. Director Jason Connery did a good job of creating and showing characters from this script. However I couldn’t get over how little practice Tommy did to be so good at golf. I played golf in my younger years and know how difficult the game is to learn.

Overall:  This film and story is about love, the history of golf, social classes, and family, not a bad story to tell.

Gifted

First Hit:  Well-acted story about love and doing the best for the ones you love. This film is about how one raises a child that is not your own, a genius,  while having a conflict with the biological family. It is also about ego and family.

Frank Adler (Chris Evans) is raising his sister’s daughter Mary (McKenna Grace). His sister committed suicide and as we learn later in the film, she may have run out of a purpose for living. Her purpose was solving a specific math theorem. How Frank ends up with Mary is slightly shrouded in mystery and begs the question; where's the biological father in all this?

Their mother Evelyn (Lindsay Duncan) is wealthy, smart on her own accord, and suddenly becomes interested in Mary, when it’s discovered that the young girl is also a genius.

Frank has help raising his niece. Roberta (Octavia Spencer) is a neighbor and loves Mary as her own. Mary spends Saturday nights with Roberta allowing Frank some space and relaxation from being a sudden father figure. Roberta also gives Frank child rearing guidance as well as an undying trusted friendship.

Frank’s history with his family comes to play when his mother attempts to take Mary away from him because she wants Mary to be schooled privately and then pushed into doing theoretical mathematics at MIT. However, Frank wants to fight to keep Mary because that is what his sister wanted. She wanted Mary to have a more normal life, not the kind of life she had and he agrees.

Helping both Frank and Mary is Mary’s school teacher Bonnie (Jenny Slate). Bonnie identified Mary’s potential and also saw the kindness in her heart. She helps Frank find a way to do what he needs to do.

Evans was excellent. To see him in this type of serious role showed me (and the audience) he’s more than Captain America. Grace was sublime. I loved watching her be both a fun-loving kid, as expressed when she lipped synced with Roberta, and as a smart kid who knows how compute complex mathematical formulas. Duncan was perfect as the wealthy overbearing controlling mother. Spencer was divine as Frank's close friend and part time baby sitter. Slate was very good and I really liked how she took it upon herself to help Frank find a way to make Mary’s transition work. Tom Flynn wrote a very strong script that reflected the different sides and issues well. Marc Webb did a nice job of staging the scenes and story.

Overall:  This was an engaging picture and I ended up liking the story.

Kedi

Overall:  I was very engaged for the first 45 minutes, but more of the same until the end made it less interesting. Cats rule the roost in Istanbul. This film documents these felines and how they do not belong to anyone. They choose their life and who they allow in it. We’ve got the loner who doesn’t like to be petted or go inside any place. To get food he scratches the window of the restaurant where he hangs out. Funny though the restaurant is one of the nicer, upper level restaurants; smart cat. There is the cat that is extremely tough and pounces on any cat that does something in its territory that it doesn’t like. We also follow the film's first cat who makes his way around town, getting food and attention and then ends up visiting a young woman's home.

Then there are the people of Istanbul who care about the cats. We’ve got the guy who had a debilitating stroke and medication wasn’t helping, but his attention to a group of cats has healed him from his blood pressure and finding his life is much more relaxed now that he’s taking care of a group of cats.

There is the woman and her mother who make twenty pounds of cut chicken every day to feed a group of cats that gather inside and outside her home. There is also the young woman who begins the film talking about the cat who makes her a semi-home way station. The cat comes into her home, gets a scratch or two, some loving, food and then heads back out into the streets.

No one really knows how the cats started ruling Istanbul, but it seems to touch men more profoundly than women but that could have just been the filmmakers point of view. I really liked the downlow cat height shots as the cats made their way through the city streets, alleys, rooftops, and the docks near the water. The shots of Istanbul were interesting and I would have liked a better orientation of this exotic ancient city.

Ceyda Torun did a very good job on many of the cinemograph shots of these cats and how they roam the city. However, after the first forty-five minutes, it felt like it was more of the same and the point seemed to be getting lost.

Overall:  It was interesting but more context would have helped.

Going in Style

Overall:  This film was enjoyable and its nice to see acting veterans ply their trade. Willie (Morgan Freeman), Joe (Michael Caine) and Albert (Alan Arkin) are three buddies who spent a lifetime working together in a manufacturing factory and live across the street from each other in Queens. They’ve all retired and are collecting their pensions.

However, the money flow has stopped and the bank wants to foreclose on Joe’s home. At the time, Joe’s daughter and granddaughter Brooklyn (Joey King) are living with him and he’s afraid to let them down as well as himself.

Albert and Willie are living together and have an interesting and supportive relationship. However Willie has a kidney problem that he’s not told his buddies’ about and he finds out that if he doesn’t get a transplant soon, he’s going to die soon.

They are all going broke so they decide to rob the very bank that has Joe’s mortgage and is managing the refinancing the sale and closure of the factory. They practice by robbing a local grocery store and it is hilarious. The stuffing of food in their jackets and pants followed by the getaway Joe and Willie make in an electric scooter and Al trying to out run a younger man lasting about 100 feet and gives up is very funny.

Donning Rat Pack masks they rob the bank of enough money to cover their pensions. Pursing them is FBI Special Agent Hammer (Matt Dillon) who suspects the three men and builds up a solid case. However, the guys have done their homework and have their stories and alibies down pat. The clincher comes during a line up when a little girl, who recognizes Willie, decides to protect him.

This film is about loyalty, connection, and family. To this end, it is very good as it has small side stories that make it work. There’s the story about how Willie gets his kidney, how the grumpy Albert gets involved with an admirer named Annie (Ann Margaret). The lodge buddy’s, Milton (Christopher Lloyd), odd view of the world. And finally, Jesus (John Ortiz) who shows these old guys the ropes to rob the bank.

Caine was wonderful, and my favorite scene was when he got angry and gave Jesus a piece of his mind. I could see the how Caine’s real and documented difficult scrappy upbringing was used to make this scene effective. I wouldn't want to mess with him. Freeman was gracefully effective as the selfless friend. He supports and takes care of Albert and doesn’t bother anyone with his critical kidney issue. He effectively portrayed his longing to see more of his daughter and granddaughter. Arkin is perfectly cast as the grumpy curmudgeon of the three. He’s the downer guy and doesn’t want his world mussed up much, however, when he’s in, he’s a force and gives it his all. Loved his interactions with Annie his admirer. King was fantastic as Joe’s granddaughter by being interesting, loving, and engaged making her grandfather proud. Margret was amazing as the woman who sees past Albert’s gruff exterior and wants to create something more. Ortiz was strong as the guy who teaches the “rat pack” how to rob the bank. Dillon was very good as the agent who knows who the robbers were and tries to build a case against them. Siobhan Fallon Hogan as Mitzi their favorite waitress was superb. She embodied the part perfectly. Theodore Melfi wrote a really good script and screenplay. Zach Braff had a great handle on the actors and screenplay. I think he knew exactly what he wanted and got everyone engaged to his vision.

Overall:  Although I think there could have been more laughs, this film was lighthearted and very enjoyable.