A Truly Bad Day At The Office..."Deepwater Horizon"

Deepwater Horizon (2016)

Rated PG-13

Starring Mark Wahlberg, Kurt Russell, John Malkovich, Dylan O'Brien, Gina Rodriguez, Ethan Suplee, Kate Hudson,

Directed by Peter Berg

The Story:

In April 2010, operational supervisor Jimmy Harrell (Russell) and his chief engineer, Mike Williams (Wahlberg) are trying to explain to BP executives why the Deepwater Horizon oil rig is overbudget and behind schedule. BP of course wants no more excuses so they order shortcuts to get caught up and back on schedule. Naturally, bad things are about to happen and the worst oil spill in history is about to occur.

Naturally, this film is based on a true story.

While it's not a documentary, and parts of it are dramatized, what is true is that corporate greed cost men their lives and spilled millions of gallons of oil into the ocean.

When it went to trial, naturally, BP executives got off with no charges.

Go figure.

Peter Berg continues to be one of those efficient directors that seemingly flies under the radar.  He makes a big budget film on a low budget, and makes the most of his cast, crew and editing. They are usually crisp movies that move along at a perfect pace and keep your interest from start to finish.

He re-teams with Walhberg, and set off on the quest to be an action drama that thrills and also leaves you holding your breath wondering how it's going to turn out, and who isn't going to make it.

Those people are honored as the end credits roll.

And that's part of what makes movies like this so difficult to watch.

You're both entertained, but at the end of the day, these weren't just actors getting killed to further the story, these were people who paid the ultimate price trying to do their jobs.

It also makes watching movies like this more than once a rare thing to do.

While they are technically sound and very well crafted, the subject matter doesn't cry out to be watched multiple times as an entertaining experience.

Your mileage may vary.

Final Grade: Solid B

I Really Didn't Like It... "Rock The Kasbah"

Rock the Kasbah (2015)

Rated R

Starring Bill Murray, Bruce Willis, Zooey Deschanel, Kate Hudson, Leem Lubany

Directed by Barry Levinson

The Story:

Richie (Murray) is a music manager who hasn't found the next-big-thing in a few decades. So he takes his only client on a USO tour in Afghanistan, she freaks out and bolts. Richie is all alone until he hears a magical voice singing from a cave and discovers Samir (Lubany). He thinks she could be the next Afghan Star, except for the whole how Afghanistan treats women thing.

And yes, it's based on a true story.

The bad thing...

I was sooooo bored within the first 20 minutes, I wanted to turn it off.

I don't even remember if I did.

I think I fast forwarded to the end of the film to see the happy ending.

I was just happy it was over.

Talented cast.

Sloppy execution.

Now available to stream on Netflix as of this writing.

Final Grade:  D-

She'll Raise the Kids and They are "Raising Helen"

The life you need is not always the life you have...

The Story:

Helen (Kate Hudson) is a young star on the rise, working as an agent in the modeling world of New York.  Her work is a dream, and her life is a party.  Then one night, she gets a phone call that her sister, Lindsay (Felicity Huffman) and her husband were both killed in a car accident.  Stranger still, Helen has been granted custody of Lindsay's three children (Hayden Panettiere, Spencer Breslin and Abigail Breslin) instead of oldest sister Jenny (Joan Cusack) who is already a responsible mom.  As Helen has to completely reorganize her life, she begins to realize that she is not cut out for being a mom.  Plus, there's the local Pastor (John Corbett) who thinks Helen is pretty cute and would love to date her.  The deeper over her head she gets trying to care for the kids, the more she realizes that she wasn't cut out for this life, and Jenny would be the better caretaker.  Helen's going to have to make a choice, very soon, for the sake of the kids.

What a sad, yet sweet movie.

Another breezy film by Garry Marshall, they try and make the grief as painless as possible, this is supposed to be somewhat romantic comedy after all.

And yet...

The loss of the parents is never far from the surface, and the reasons why Lindsay selects Helen over Jenny are finally revealed in the final act, though it's fairly easy to piece it together as the movie goes along and the characters fully develop.

All of the actors do a great job, and it's a great time capsule in their careers almost a decade ago.

Kate Hudson looks great, very reminiscent of her mom.

This film provides cinematic proof that finding a good guardian to raise your children is the hardest decision any parents will ever have to make, and hopefully one they will never have to utilize.

Final Grade: B

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: This is the second time in 10 years I've seen it.  I keep meaning to add it to the collection but forget.  Maybe around its 15th anniversary? :)

There's Something Sleazy "About Adam"

 

 You naughty, naughty boy...

The Story:

Adam (Stuart Townsend) falls in love with a girl (Kate Hudson).  He's perfect for her, unlike anyone she's ever dated.  So she proposes to him, and he accepts.  This disappoints her sister (Frances O'Conner) as she has fallen for Adam as well.  But it's okay, they have their affair, and keep it from their sister.  Except their oldest sister knows of both of their love for Adam, and falls for him as well...

It's a romantic comedy!

An hour in, I'd had enough.

Basically the story keeps flashing back to show you when each of the affairs began, and as great as the actors are, I just realized I didn't care for this anymore.

That one sister, let alone two sisters! would still have an affair with a man that their baby sister was engaged to...

Nope, can't do it.

That it appears that the wedding would continue, as would the affairs...

Nope, not going to even bother wasting that last 30 minutes of my life.

 

Yes, even in the fictional world of movies, I have certain standards or lines that I won't cross.

 

Sure, it varies from movie to movie... ; )

 

But you get my point.

Available to stream instantly on Netflix as of this writing if you're up to the challenge.

Final Grade: D.  Great actors drug down by an implausibly deplorable situation.

Would I Own It:  You tell me. : )