At Least You Know There Will Be No Sequel... "Last Vegas"

Last Vegas (2013)
Rated PG-13 for language

Starring Michael Douglas, Robert DeNiro, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Kline, Mary Steenburgen
Directed by Jon Turtletaub

The Story:

Billy (Douglas), Paddy (DeNiro), Archie (Freeman) and Sam (Kline) are lifelong best friends.  When Billy calls Archie and Sam to let them know he is finally tying the knot and saying goodbye to nearly 60 years of bachelorhood, the guys plan a road trip to Vegas to celebrate.  However all four have to be there, and Paddy and Billy had a bit of a falling out.  Archie and Sam will work on getting Paddy to the party, but when all four friends are together, some differences between friends simply have to be resolved.

This is another one of those films that should have been much, much better than it was.

As it is, it's okay.

Nothing great.
But with these four actors on the screen, you're getting quality performances by them all.

It's just that many of the situations of dialogue that they are given don't live up to the moment.

Even the Morgan Freeman factor can't propel this one to greater heights.

That said, the final act helps bring the overall feeling of the movie up a bit.

Good, but not great.

Final Grade: C+

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I could watch it again, but have no need to buy it.

Everyone Can Always Use a Little Bit of "The Help"

You is kind. You is smart. You is important.

The Story:

In the mid 1960s in Jackson Mississippi, there's a change coming.  Skeeter (Emma Stone) wants to be a writer, and has an idea that she pitches to her editor in New York (Mary Steenburgen).  She wants a first-hand account of what the black maids in Jackson feel about their life, and about raising the children of the white folk in town.  At first, Aibileen (Viola Davis) and Minny (Octavia Spencer) are the only maids to come forward, but through the deplorable actions of Hilly Holbrook (Bryce Dallas Howard) and others, soon they all want to help Skeeter, and they tell their stories.  Then a book is published and the world as they all knew it will never be the same again.

Yes, I enjoyed this movie immensely.  It was one of my Ten Best from 2012, yet it never had a proper review last year, so I aim to rectify that today.  I have now seen it several times, and it gets better with each viewing.

It's thought-provoking but never insulting.  The relationships between the southern whites and their help ring true and not contrived.  Many felt love and affection for the extended members of their families, yet generations of that lifestyle ensured that the majority of people grew up...and grew apart from the very women who actually raised them.  In many cases, doing a better job than their own mothers.

The movie also doesn't sugar-coat the race relations of the south in the 60s.  Every action that any character takes in this film, regardless of color, has repercussions, both large and small.  They often affect many other characters, just by association.  I've heard complaints that the movie portrays the life of the help as not that bad, and should have been more turbulent and violent, like the 60s.  I counter that such a thing would have ruined the whole point of this movie, which was a quiet, gentle revolution.

In the end, what you do come to realize is that some people are simply ignorant and/or evil, regardless of color. 

Hilly Holbrook, I'm looking at you.

She is evil personified, and it is glorious to see her reaction as she is called out on it. Yet at the end of the day, she wins, and it is ultimately heartbreaking.

When Aibileen is forced to say goodbye to Mae at the end of the film, well, that one scene gets me every time.

I highly encourage you to give it a spin if you've never watched it before.

Final Grade: A

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Immeasurably rewatchable.  I have yet to purchase it, but due to a fairly steady rotation on cable, I haven't found a need to.  Yet.  : )

Your Future is Whatever You Make It..."Back to the Future Part 3"

What kind of stupid name is that?

The Story:

Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) heads back to 1885 to rescue Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) before he can be murdered by Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen (Thomas F. Wilson).  Doc was content to live out his days in the Old West, but murder has him rethinking those plans.  However, when he meets the new school marm (Mary Steenburgen), the decision to leave becomes much harder.  Time's ticking though, and if they don't get out of there, it's likely that neither one will ever make it back to 1985 in one piece.

That's how you end a trilogy.

Following on the heels of Part 2, the third installment brings the warmth and fun back to the series that the 2nd part seemed to lack.

It's bright...it's fun...

And they open up the cool paradox aspect of traveling even farther back into the past than they had ever gone before.

The changes that they will make are subtle, unlike the alternate future Biff created in Part 2.

Then they end on a bittersweet high note with the destruction of the DeLorean... but the ability to time travel still intact.

Will there ever be a part 4?  Doubtful.  Nor should there be.

There should also never be any remake attempt for this franchise.

That's the kind of blasphemy we just don't need.

Final Grade: A-

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Own it. Love it.  Seen it many times... not as many as the original...more than the 2nd.  Go figure. :)