A Good Career Choice..."The Intern"

The Intern  (2015)

Rated PG

Starring Robert DeNiro, Anne Hathaway, Rene Russo, Adam DeVine, Zack Pearlman

Written and Directed by Nancy Meyers

The Story:

Ben Whittaker (DeNiro) is a retired widower who misses his wife, and also misses working. When he sees an advertisement for a Senior Intern at a local online fashion company run by Jules Ostin (Hathaway) he decides to plunge back in with both feet. Initially resistant to the intern, can Ben prove to Jules that he still has what it takes to succeed in business.

This is a sweet movie with its heart firmly in the right place.

Nancy Meyers' latest hits all the right notes and clocks in at right about 2 hours, which is a little long for a comedy.

Thankfully, you don't really feel it drag anywhere, and that's a good thing.

While not a gut-busting, laugh a minute comedy, The Intern works as a slice of life with humor, heart, and a touch of sadness.

That said, there is a very funny scene concerning an email in the middle of the film that is hysterical.

The supporting cast is well developed and if anything, possibly underutilized in the film.

However, at the end of the day, the movie is about Ben and Jules, and that relationship shines through from start to finish.

It's a great standalone film, but if the cast were to reunite for a sequel, while unexpected, would definitely be worth a look.

Very glad to have seen this one, and would happily watch it again down the road.

Final Grade: Solid B / B+

This "Nightcrawler" Is A Tad Bit Creepy

Nightcrawler (2014)

Rated R

Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Bill Paxton, Riz Ahmed

Written and Directed by Dan Gilroy

The Story:

Louis (Gyllenhaal) is a man without a mission in life. He's trying to score a job, but nobody is interested. Fate leads him to encounter independent "news crews" catching the action that happens in L.A. after dark. Intrigued, he sets out to become a 'nightcrawler' himself, proving to be successful enough to need his own assistant (Ahmed) as he continues to sell story after story to a local news station. However, Louis keeps pushing himself to make the stories better than the last, to the point he begins to blur the lines between what really happened, and what he may have helped happen.

There's a lot to this movie, I will give it that, right out of the gate.

Gilroy has crafted a movie with some very unlikeable characters, and yet you remain fairly riveted to the proceedings as each new segment sucks you in deeper to the story.

Gyllenhaal is completely irritating in his role, in a good way, if that's possible. I would say that he was likely dealing with autism or another disorder that makes his personality traits that way...

Or he's a complete dick.

:)

His drive to find the ultimate "if it bleeds it leads" story pushes him every night he's on the town.

Russo plays the station manager who buys his work and then becomes the object of his affection, a role she never is completely comfortable with, and rightly so.  Remember, Louis is a jerk.

Ahmed brings a nice counter-balance to Louis and everything he stands for. A thankless part really, he brings the most joy and life to the screen, and suffers because of it.

It's well worth a viewing, but a film I'd rather not come back and watch again.

Ever.

;)

I watched it some time ago, but if you missed out, it is now streaming on Netflix as of this writing.

Final Grade: B

It's Chilly Outside...It's Chili Inside..."Get Shorty"

Get Shorty (1995)

Rated R

Starring John Travolta, Gene Hackman, Rene Russo, Danny DeVito, Dennis Farina, Delroy Lindo, James Gandolfini

Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld

The Story:

Chili Palmer (Travolta) may work for the mob, but his heart is for the movies. When he winds up in Hollywood looking for Harry Zimm (Hackman) who has welched on a debt, he begins to dabble in Hollywood movie production. However, local mobster Bo (Lindo) and Miami's own Ray Barboni (Farina) close in on Chili and Zimm, things are about to get a little crazy!

Happy 20th Anniversary to Get Shorty!

Based on the Elmore Leonard story, this is a perfect all-star cast that brings out life behind the camera, and life within the mob all in one comedic caper.

While I knew and enjoyed the work of just about everyone in this cast, for me, it made stars of Lindo and Gandolfini.

Unfamiliar with their work up to that point, they both turned in great performances and, especially in the case of Lindo, I have looked forward to seeing him in just about anything ever since.

Highly recommended if you've never seen it, or if it's been nearly 20 years since your last viewing.

Currently streaming on Netflix as of this writing.

Final Grade: A

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I love it. I own it. It gets watched roughly every year or two. It holds up very well every time!

Fore? I'd Give It A Five! "Tin Cup"

Tin Cup (1996)

Rated R for language

Starring  Kevin Costner, Rene Russo, Don Johnson, Cheech Marin

Directed by Ron Shelton

The Story:

Roy "Tin Cup" McAvoy (Costner) is a golf pro at a dusty old course in Texas.  He gets a new golfer, psychiatrist Molly Griswold (Russo) who Roy flips for.  The problem, she's dating his old friend, and PGA sensation David Simms (Johnson).  Simms dares McAvoy to try out for the US Open, and so begins Roy's road to redemption to qualify for the Open and try and win Molly away from Simms.  Will he win the Open and the girl, or flame out on both?

Kevin Costner makes excellent sports movies.

As golf is technically a sport, this is one of my three favorite golfing movies.

Yes, Caddyshack and Happy Gilmore are the other two.

:)

This one has the added bonus of being a romantic comedy, and a pretty good one, so both the guys and the ladies should have little problem compromising and enjoying this one together.

See, the perfect date film can sometimes be a sports movie too!

Written and directed by Ron Shelton, the man knows his way around a sports film.  Having delivered his first feature, Bull Durham (baseball) with Costner and also helming White Men Can't Jump (basketball) and Play It To The Bone (boxing).

I think that just means he owes us a football and hockey film, and he'll have hit all of the main sports.

Cheech Marin works as Roy's beleaguered best friend and caddy who tries to help Roy with his golf game, but gets exasperated when his advice falls on deaf, and often dumb, ears.

Johnson comes across just slimy enough as the bad guy.

It appears that he and Marin hit it off rather well as the two would star in Nash Bridges for the next 5 years after Tin Cup was made.

Costner and Russo make a fun on-screen couple.

The film ends perfectly with a nod to what makes sports, and sports moments great.

As the years pass, people forget who won and lost, but the 'moment', whether they are great or dubious plays, live forever.


Final Grade: A-

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: This is a fun one to break out every so often and watch again.  It's fun everytime.

Would You Get "In The Line Of Fire" Between A Bullet And A President?

In The Line Of Fire (1993)

Rated R for language and violence

Starring Clint Eastwood, John Malkovich, Rene Russo, Dylan McDermott, John Mahoney

Directed by Wolfgang Petersen

The Story:

Secret Service Agents Frank Horrigan (Eastwood) and D'Andrea (McDermott) are working the counterfeiting portion of the Secret Service.  Then one night, Horrigan answers a phone call from a stranger (Malkovich) who informs him that he is going to assassinate the President.  This doesn't sit well with Horrigan, as he has already lost a President once: Kennedy.  He vows he's not going to lose another one.  He lobbies to get back on the Presidential detail, but he's old, cranky, and with the President facing re-election, the Chief of Staff (Fred Thompson) wants Horrigan nowhere near the President.  Will Frank be able to take a bullet to save a President this time, or is he doomed to fail again?

I think this is my favorite Eastwood movie.

Doing a quick rundown of titles, yeah, this and Kelly's Heroes are my two favorite films by Eastwood of all time.

The movie is extremely well written, there are excellent actors in every role, and the tension continues to build as the movie rolls along.

Eastwood plays the aging Agent perfectly.  Still with a love and drive for the job, he plays Horrigan perfectly.  The scene in the break room after his return to the Presidential detail is hysterically funny.

The attempted romance between Russo and Eastwood is handled well and does not overly complicate nor bog down the action and tension that is building in the movie.  It works to give the audience a chance to catch our breath as we prepare for the next stage of the game of cat and mouse.

Naturally, if you're going to give Eastwood a competent adversary, you want one of the best.

Cue John Malkovich as the quietly explosive assassin.  He wants the challenge of beating Horrigan at the game.  Bitter adversaries, yet with equal amounts of respect for what each other does and each work to not underestimate the other, because it will be costly to do so.

I would say it's been over a decade since I watched this one, and that's a shame because it really is an excellent film.

Final Grade: A

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I do own it, and I'll have to put a sticky note to remind me not to wait over a decade to watch this one again.

The Number One Movie in All of the Nine Worlds? "Thor: The Dark World"

By the bristling beard of Odin!

The Story:

Thor (Chris Hemsworth) has been busy restoring order to the 9 Worlds since the events of New York (see: The Avengers.  No really, you should really see that movie!)  But dark forces are gathering to eliminate the 9 worlds from existence!

Can Thor stop them?

Not without a little help from...

Loki (Tom Hiddleston) !!

That's all you're going to get from me during the opening weekend.

: )

I will say that like most Phase One movies, Phase Two doesn't miss a beat by replacing directors.  Alan Taylor takes the helm, and brings the Norse Legends to life, all the while taking a "comic book" movie and embracing the science fiction aspects of it.

And it works!

I liked the first Thor.

I liked this Thor even more.

To quote VeggieTales in summing up this movie:

"I laughed. I cried. It moved me, Bob."

Just about all of the original cast returns, to varying degrees of use within the film.  Anthony Hopkins, Rene Russo, Natalie Portman, Idris Elba...

Good stuff.

If the ending is any indication, I am looking forward to seeing what Thor 3 has to offer.

Final Grade: A-... it will probably upgrade to a pure A when I review it again on DVD. :)

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: When does it come out on Blu-Ray already???!!!