A Murder Most 'Meh'... "A Kind Of Murder"

A Kind of Murder (2016)

Rated R

Starring Patrick Wilson, Jessica Biel, Hayley Bennett, Eddie Marsan, Vincent Kartheiser

Directed by Andy Goddard

The Story:

Walter (Wilson) is a successful architect by day and budding detective novelist by night. His wife Clara (Biel) is unsupportive at best, and things just aren't right between them. Walter longs to be with Ellie (Bennett) instead. However Walter's obsession with a seemingly perfect unsolved murder may prove to be his very undoing.

Welcome to a throwback noir thriller set in 1960s New York.

The production values are stellar as it looks and feels as if the film and everything in it is straight from a bygone era.

The problem comes about from the story itself.

The perfect murder in question is pretty much just that, perfect.

You have the weaselly suspect (Marsan) and the overeager detective (Kartheiser) and these characters will go about making Walter's life unbearable.

But that's just it, it almost is unbearable.

His fascination with what could have happened makes him the suspect when his own wife is murdered, and naturally he lies and then lies some more.

The book upon which this is based is titled The Blunderer.

You'll feel like that is a very apt title the longer you watch the film.

Watchable, but in the end, rather unsatisfying.

Final Grade: C-

And Now The Musical Stylings Of "The Wrecking Crew!"

The Wrecking Crew! (2008)

Rated PG

Starring Tommy Tedesco, Brian Wilson, Glen Campbell, Carol Kaye, Dick Clark, Herb Alpert, Hal Blaine

Directed by Denny Tedesco

The Story:

In the late 50s, Rock and Roll music was born. While we are familiar with the names of the singers and bands that gave us this amazing music from that moment all the way through the 60s, many of them had a deep, dark secret: They all employed The Wrecking Crew as their session musicians to make their music sound so good.  You know the songs by heart, and now it's time to learn the story of those musicians who put their soul into the recordings with rarely any credit given to them outside of the industry.

Until now.

Denny Tedesco started a documentary about his dad, guitar master Tommy Tedesco.

Yet the more he filmed, the bigger the story got.

So he expanded it, and archive footage and interviews with industry legends and members of the Wrecking Crew are spliced together in near chronological order to give not only a behind the scenes peek at the recording industry, but a history of rock from its birth to the end of the 60s and beginnings of the 70s.

Basically, if you think The Monkees were the only band to not really play their instruments on records, you're about to have a wake up call as to who was really responsible for the music.

In some cases, the Wrecking Crew even played the music better than the artists themselves.

It's informative.

It's eye-opening.

It's worth your time.

The movie is currently streaming on Netflix as of this writing.

Final Grade: A

Not The Michael Jackson or NASA Experience I Was Hoping For..."Moonwalkers"

Moonwalkers (2015)

Rated R

Starring Rupert Grint, Ron Perlman, Robert Sheehan

Directed by Antoine Bardou-Jacquet

The Story:

Just in case the upcoming Apollo moon landing doesn't work, the government wants to have a backup plan. They send CIA Agent Kidman (Perlman) to offer a ton of money to director Stanley Kubrick to stage the whole thing. However Kidman runs into Jonny (Grint) who pretends to be Kubrick's manager, and then convinces his friend (Sheehan) to pretend to be Kubrick so they can get their hands on the cash.

What should have been a ripe satire or even a gripping joy ride to one of the oldest, and greatest conspiracy theories of all times is dead on arrival.

I gave it the full 20 minutes.

I was pressed to eject it out much sooner.

It's a shame because they nailed the opening credits to be some cross between Monty Python and Yellow Submarine.

After that though, Perlman's delusions of being in Vietnam and seeing the enemy everywhere he looked added nothing to the proceedings.

The quick sequence in Diamonds Are Forever poking fun at the moon landing is a much better alternative to watch than this.

Then again, so is just about anything.

Final Grade: D

Not The Worst Television Remake Of All Time..."Bewitched"

Bewitched (2005)

Rated PG-13 for language

Starring Nicole Kidman, Will Ferrell, Shirley MacLaine, Michael Caine,

Directed by Nora Ephron

The Story:

Jack Wyatt (Ferrell) is on the ropes with his movie career.  He's had a few bombs, so he is hoping that a trip to the small screen in a remake of the beloved 60s sitcom Bewitched will be just the ticket.  But Jack wants to make sure he's the star, so the plan is to find an unknown to play Samantha and that way Darrin can be the focus of the show.  When he meets Isabel (Kidman), Jack realizes that she is perfect.  He's smitten, and she's cast.  However, what Jack doesn't know is that Isabel really is a witch, and she's got some ideas of her own.

So where did this one go off the rails?

Nearing the 10th anniversary of this film, and I gave it a spin again recently.

It was still cute.

No, it's nothing to set the world on fire or change cinema forever...

But come on, it wasn't that bad.

Perhaps it had a built-in hatred from audiences even before it was released?

After all, people complain about the bankruptcy of Hollywood ideas and the constant recycling and remaking of old properties.

Then you advertise that you are remaking Bewitched, and audiences hated it on principle alone.

Of course, it arrives with a twist, it's a remake within a movie, so it's very clever in NOT being a remake.

Add to that the clever notion that Isabel and her family are witches, and it should have been enough to appease the haters, but it failed.

Why?  Hard to say.

Ephron gave it her best as writer and director, and the cast is first-rate.

Kidman gives a spunky, humorous performance as Isabel/Samantha.  Even down to the nose twitch, she plays the part well.

Ferrell plays the ego-centric but mostly harmless Jack with his usual goofy, everyman charm.

MacLaine vamps it up as an aging Hollywood diva and Michael Caine plays pretty much himself.

Don't forget the delightful cameo by Steve Carell channeling his best Paul Lynde as Uncle Arthur, and this was a movie that should've been better than it was.

It should've been better received and remembered.

Final Grade: C+/B- Range

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: It's cute..it's sweet..it's harmless.  Perfect movie to watch on a slow night.

You Know Their Music...Now Learn Their Names. "20 Feet From Stardom"

20 Feet From Stardom (2013)
Rated PG-13 for language

Starring Darlene Love, Merry Clayton, Bruce Springsteen, Sting

The Story:

As the title states, 20 feet from the lead singer, these backup singers are what provided much of the hook for the music of the 60s and 70s.  Odds are, you already know the songs, and like Rock and Roll Hall of Fame singer Darlene Love, you know the voices.  You just don't know the names to the ladies in question.  Or, as we'll learn, many times their vocals were sent out under different names entirely.

It's a fascinating  look at the ladies who became stars in their own right, even if the public never knew who they were.

Darlene Love, whose biggest solo hit, Christmas(Baby Please Come Home) is revisited every year on The Late Show with David Letterman is indeed the most famous of all the singers, but by no means is she the only talented backup singer profiled in this documentary.

Again, while the majority of this documentary looks back at the powerful vocalists who helped define the sounds of the 60s and 70s, there are still background singers today, backing some of the biggest acts.

They just aren't as prolific as they once were.

Mick Jagger, Bruce Springsteen and Sting, among others, extol the virtues of these ladies and how important to the work and sound they truly are.

Sheryl Crow, herself a former backup singer offers some insight as well, as possibly one of the most famous backups to make the long 20 foot walk to the center of the stage.

An amazing soundtrack to a really good movie.

Now streaming on Netflix if you're interested.

Final Grade: Solid B

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I don't think I would need to own it, but would have no problem watching this very well made documentary again.