You'll Have It His Way...Or Else! "The Founder"

The Founder (2016)

Rated PG-13

Starring Michael Keaton, Nick Offerman, John Carroll Lynch, Laura Dern, Linda Cardellini,

Directed by John Lee Hancock

The Story:

Ray Kroc (Keaton) was a salesman on the road trying to make a fortune. When a restaurant out in California ordered multiple milkshake makers, Kroc assumes it's a mistake and heads west. When he meets the McDonald brothers (Offerman & Lynch) he is struck by how efficient, and delicious, their restaurant is. He wants to franchise their restaurant. The boys are reluctant at first, but eventually relent.

The rest, as they say, is history.

Keaton is on fire with his acting career over the last few years. The Founder is no exception. He plays Kroc with a drive and ambition to get his franchises off the ground and turn them into a household name.

Stymied at nearly every turn by the McDonald brothers, he can't seem to figure out how to turn a profit on the restaurants.

Then, as Lucy Van Pelt once lamented that all she wanted was real estate...

Kroc is told to buy the land, and rent the property to the new franchises.

Not only does this turn the tables for Kroc, it also establishes McDonalds as one of the largest property owners on the planet.

Highly recommended.

Final Grade: B+

"My All-American" Uncovers Another Sports Tear-Jerker

My All-American (2015)

Rated PG

Starring Aaron Eckhart, Finn Wittrock, Rett Terrell, Juston Street, 

Directed by Angelo Pizzo

The Story:

Freddie Steinmark (Wittrock) wants to play football, badly. He makes it to the Texas Longhorns  under Coach Royal (Eckhart). His work ethic and camaraderie with his friends Bobby Mitchell (Terrell) and James Street (Street) impress the coaches, and soon Freddie is a rising star on the team. 

Ah, but this isn't just an underdog sports story.

No, this is one of those true, bring a tissue because something bad is going to happen sports stories.

Here is the story of Steinmark, a college football legend, at least as far as the Texas Longhorns are concerned. 

It has a very sweet introduction as an elderly Royal answers in an interview who his favorite from a long list of All-American athletes he ever had the joy of coaching, which one was his favorite. 

His answer, which unfolds after that, is the All-American in name only, as he never had a chance to earn the the actual accolade. 

These stories are almost always a by-the-numbers production, but again, I don't mean that to sound negative.

Those numbers work for a reason. 

You've got an idea of what's going to happen, and you won't be disappointed. 

The great thing about my delay between watching movies and posting the reviews, the streaming services often get a chance to catch up to me. This one is now streaming on Netflix as of this writing. :)

Final Grade: Solid B

Time To Get With "The Program"

The Program (2015)

Rated R

Starring Ben Foster, Chris O'Dowd, Dustin Hoffman, Lee Pace, Jesse Plemons,

Directed by Stephen Frears

The Story:

David Walsh (O'Dowd) is a reporter for an Irish newspaper who has been covering the Tour de France for years. When he sees his colleagues become enamored with previously not-that-great cyclist Lance Armstrong (Foster), he expresses his doubts. The more Armstrong begins winning, the more sure Walsh is that he's cheating.

This is based on the book that Walsh wrote on Lance Armstrong doping, and duping, the entire world.

And it's a good movie, but it's not great.

It unfolds in a straightforward fashion with Lance not being very great on the hills of France and then slowly, methodically, he works his way to the top of the mountain, both figuratively and literally.

Foster is an amazing Lance Armstrong, the guy that everyone loved once upon a time.

The American that beat The Tour!
The American that beat Cancer!

Then he got greedy and had to come back for more.

And that's when things began to unravel.

Had he simply stayed away from the limelight, it's quite possible that his legacy would have endured.

But the ego, the need for the spotlight shines through in his performance, and you can see it as his true undoing.

O'Dowd makes for a great reporter, going after the story that nobody else wants to believe.

The weird thing, for a story that involves his work to uncover the story, the reporter is absent for most of the proceedings, which is a shame.

It seemed like the story was missing the dramatic cues that allow Armstrong to stay one step ahead for so long, or perhaps it's just knowing what happens, there's never a sense of real drama or tension to elevate this film from a "should see" to a "must see".

Now streaming on Amazon Prime as of this writing.

Final Grade:  B-