Grief Counseling..."Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri"

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)

Rated R

Starring Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell

Written and Directed by Martin McDonagh

The Story:

As the title suggests, these three billboards are placed outside of the town by a grieving mother (McDormand) questioning the police chief (Harrelson) about why her daughter's murderer has not been caught. 

There's a lot to soak in with this movie.

It's probably the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful of Martin McDonagh's catalog of films. 

That's a good thing, but all of his previous work that I've seen, I've always enjoyed. 

The cast, which I'm limiting to just the three principal players, is simply outstanding. 

I'm happy for the film and all the awards it was nominated for, and rightfully won. 

The worst part was having Harrelson and Rockwell competing against each other for the same category.

Both are great, I would personally have given the edge to Harrelson, but that's me. 

My only real complaint with the film, it wanders a touch here and there, maybe 10 minutes or so too long, but still comes in shy of 2 hours. 

I won't go into much more than that, but if you were hesitant to see it, add it to your list and see what all the fuss was about. 

I think you'll be glad you did. 

Final Grade: A-

"Mr. Right", Or At Least Close Enough

Mr. Right (2015)

Rated R

Starring Sam Rockwell, Anna Kendrick, Tim Roth,

Directed by Paco Cabezas

The Story:

Martha (Kendrick) is unlucky in love, then quite by accident, she bumps into a man (Rockwell) who just may be...Mr. Right. She is smitten, and he seems to genuinely care for her as well. Hopefully the fact that he's an assassin won't damper things between the couple.

File this one under quirky, but utterly charming, thanks mostly to Rockwell and Kendrick who rarely disappoint and their chemistry helps make this one well worth a viewing.

A few minor changes here and there to the storyline, and I would have graded it higher and let it be a contender for best of the year.

But it's got a few issues.

Those issues aren't deal-breakers for me though.

It's a scoop of vanilla ice cream that needed a topping or two to put it over the top.

But still, it's quite the charmer.

There is of course, the reasoning behind what Rockwell does for a living. Yes, he's the living paradox of a killer with a conscience, and to say more would spoil some of the fun.

So go in with no expectations other than to see a movie with Rockwell and Kendrick, and you'll come out of the viewing with a smile on your face.

Mostly guaranteed.

:)

Final Grade: B-

The Name Sounds Familiar... "Poltergeist"

Poltergeist (2015)

Rated PG-13

Starring Sam Rockwell, Rosemarie DeWitt, Saxon Sharbino, Kyle Catlett, Kennedi Clements, Jared Harris, Jane Adams

Directed by Gil Kenan

The Story:

The Bowen family moves into a house. The house is haunted. The house eats the youngest child (Clements). The Bowen's bring in the one man (Harris) who might have a chance at saving their daughter.

They're back.

Okay, that's a short and to-the-point synopsis of the movie.

First, hands up everyone who saw and remembers and probably loves the 1982 original film.

Cool.

Me too.

That said, it's been about...30-ish years since I last saw the film.

I'm still haunted by the fried chicken leg scene.

:: shudder ::

And of course, everyone remembers "They're he-re"

So why remake the film?

Money.

Money talks, and like it or not, Poltergeist is a "franchise".

The funny thing, get rid of the "They're he-re" line and name this film something else entirely, more people would probably have enjoyed it and/or bashed it less for being a "horrible remake" of a beloved 80s movie.

At this point, every haunted house movie is derivative of Poltergeist, or the Amityville Horror or any of a number of films that have come before.

Much like the RoboCop remake, or Total Recall, when they keep referencing names or trying to recreate scenes instead of just taking the idea of the film and doing a "what can we do now?" approach to the film, it causes too many memory reflexes for many viewers to just sit back and enjoy the show.

Thankfully, I was able to enjoy this movie for what it was, and only had a few flashbacks to the original film.

Sam Rockwell, as always, makes a great anchor for the film as we not only suffer with his ordeal of trying to save his family after the ghosts make themselves known, we feel his pain as he tries desperately to take care of his family before that even happens.

Harris also makes a great ghost hunter and provides much needed humor and seriousness as the needs arise.

You know, when it's all said and done, this was still a rather well-made story and can stand on its own two feet next to the original.

Final Grade: B-

Potential...Wasted. "Laggies"

Laggies (2014)

Rated R

Starring Keira Knightly, Chloe Grace Moretz, Sam Rockwell

Directed by Lynn Shelton

The Story:

Megan (Knightly) is having a bit of a somewhere-in-life crisis. She's not ready to settle down when her boyfriend pops the question. Then she runs across a kid (Moretz) who wants her to buy her and her friends some beer. Why not?  Eventually she will move in with said kid and her dad (Rockwell) and you can guess where this one is going.

Although I can't tell you if it gets there, because at the 10 18 minute mark, I turned it off.

Utterly bored.

Which is a shame, because I am a fan of all three leads, especially Rockwell.

But there was nothing in this one to keep me interested.

Wasn't funny enough for a comedy.

Wasn't dramatic enough for a drama.

I saved myself an hour's worth of pain, and sent it back.

Your mileage may vary, but I remain unimpressed.

Final Grade: D

In A "GalaxyQuest" Not Far Away

GalaxyQuest (1999)

Rated PG-13

Starring Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, Tony Shalhoub, Sam Rockwell, Justin Long, Daryl Mitchell

Directed by Dean Parisot

The Story:

The old stars of a sci-fi television show called "Galaxy Quest" are now hitting the convention circuit. When actual aliens come to Earth, they ask Commander Taggart (Allen) to help them. He thinks they are the usual convention nerds, agrees, and then has his mind blown when he is actually sent into space. He returns to Earth to get the rest of the crew (Weaver, Rickman, Shalhoub, Mitchell) and a new recruit (Rockwell) to put on the performance of a lifetime.

Want a perfect sci-fi movie that is part homage, part parody and part aweseome?

Look no further than GalaxyQuest!

The most obvious inspiration is Star Trek and their rabid fanbase, but the movie plays perfectly as a love letter to the genre, those types of shows, and the fans.

Allen channels his inner Captain Kirk while Rickman gets to play the Spock counterpart.  The two bicker throughout the film, and it is hysterical.

Shalhoub plays the quirky straight man who steals many a scene just by reacting.

However, it's Rockwell who endears himself to the audience as the "token red shirt" who is simply waiting for the moment when he is going to get offed!

Great film, even if you're not a fan of science fiction films.

Even better if you are.

If it's been 15 years or more since you last saw the film, well there's no time like the present to rectify that!

Available to stream instantly on Netflix and Amazon Prime as of this writing.

Final Grade: A

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I own it. I love it. Great movie.

Someone End The Pain... "A Single Shot"

A Single Shot (2013)

Rated R for violence and language

Starring Sam Rockwell, William H. Macy, Jason Isaacs

Directed by David M. Rosenthal

The Story:

John (Rockwell) is out hunting for an elusive deer, takes a shot and a girl lies dead.  He drags the body to hide it, and runs across some cash from backwoods criminals (Isaacs).  Naturally, John takes the money, and so begins a game of high stakes tension building as the bad guys come to get their money back.

A single shot... if I drank, I would have used several of those to try and get through this movie.

Slow.
Quiet.
Rambling.

None of those words are meant in a good way.

I love Rockwell.
I love Macy.
I love Isaacs.

I put the movie on fast forward eventually to see if I would ever get anything out of it... but no.

A dreadful waste of talent.  The sound on the movie was so low, half of the conversations are muted or unintelligible.

Plus, the movie stretches out to nearly 2 hours... 

of boredom!

Save yourself.


Final Grade: D-

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Only as a cure for insomnia.

Be Yourself...Or At Least Someone Else..."A Case of You"

A Case of You (2013)
Rated R for language

Starring Justin Long, Evan Rachel Wood

Directed by Kat Coiro

The Story:

Sam (Long) is a writer who is looking for his muse to break out from the hack jobs he's been hired to write.  He meets Birdie (Wood) and is totally smitten.  Of course, she is fired from her job, and Sam takes to finding her by stalking her Facebook page.  Using her page to try and impress her, the two begin dating.  But the more in love he falls with her, the less of Sam is really being offered.  Will he continue to lie to impress the girl of his dreams, or come clean and risk losing her?

This is another one of those films that I wanted to like more than I did.

Nothing inherently wrong with it, and it passes 90 minutes fairly well.

However, when you're a romantic comedy, you have two very important hurdles to clear.

Be Funny.
Be Romantic.

How did this one fair?

It should have been funnier.

It should have been more romantic.

Again, one I'll chalk up to missed opportunities.

A great list of cameos that popped in to small, pivotal-ish roles to help the narrative along.

Vince Vaughn, Sam Rockwell and Brendan Fraser to name but a few.

Not terrible, not wonderful.

Give it a whirl if you're so inclined.

Final Grade: C

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Nah, I'm good, thanks.

Dysfunctional Coming of Age Tale... "The Way Way Back"

The Way Way Back (2013)
Rated PG-13 for language

Starring Liam James, Toni Collette, Steve Carell, Sam Rockwell

Directed & Written by Nat Faxon & Jim Rash

The Story:

Duncan (James) is a shy 14 year old coming to spend the summer at the beach house of his mom's (Collette) new boyfriend (Carell) and his daughter.  Next door is the beautiful Susanna (AnnaSophia Robb) and her crazy mother (Allison Janney) and the lazy-eyed brother, Peter.  Also spending a lot of time at the house are neighbors Kip and Joan (Rob Corddry and Amanda Peet).  Sam absolutely hates it there, and finds a bike and rides off into town.  He goes to Water Wizz, the local fun park and befriends Owen (Rockwell) and gets a job.  Finally starting to come out of his shell thanks to his co-workers, Duncan is about to have the best summer of his life.

As the poster proclaims, from the studio that brought you Little Miss Sunshine, and really, that should tell you everything you need to know.

However, unlike Ruby Sparks which was brought to us by the director of Little Miss Sunshine, and sits on my list as the most hated movie of 2014 so far...

The Eighth Dwarf: Mopey

This one is at least watchable.

I've been outspoken that Little Miss Sunshine was overrated, and this one lines up to receive the same accolades, but to me it is a dramedy that isn't nearly as funny as previews or critics would have you believe, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

The laughs are genuine and serve the story well when they come, and not overplayed antics to serve a storyline.

If anything, the story is slow and deliberate, almost too slow at times.  There is an awful lot of the same thing happening over and over again, but yet it is compelling enough to not turn it off, and that mostly comes off the strength of the actors.

If I had to choose to watch either of these movies again, this would be selected.

It's the Sam Rockwell Show!

The main reason is a simple tour de force by Sam Rockwell who delivers another great performance, but then, when doesn't he?

Had there been any other actor in the role, I likely would have downgraded this movie farther.  But he's entertaining and keeps me coming back, hoping more of the movie will be centered around his character and less about Duncan's troubles at home.

Final Grade: C

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: No, I'm good.  If I were to watch it again, I would simply fast forward to Rockwell's parts and call it a day.

Shouldn't "Iron Man 2" Have Been Called 'Iron Men' Instead?

Anything you can do, I can do better...

The Story:

Multi-bajillionaire Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) returns!  It's been six months since the big reveal to the world that he is Iron Man, and now the United States wants its grubby paws on the Iron Man armor.  Leading the charge is a smarmy Senator (Garry Schandling) and weapons manufacturer Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell).  Torn between the conflict between his government and his best friend, Rhodey (Don Cheadle) isn't sure what to do.  When Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke) shows up sporting technology similar to Stark's, all bets are off, and Tony is in the for the fight of his life.

The horrible thing about sequels is that they rarely live up to the status of the film that they are following.  On rare occasions the second film can overshadow the first, Toy Story and the Godfather spring to mind, but most are missing that special something. 

Or perhaps it is just the bar is so high from the audience going in, unlike the first film, that the sequel is doomed from the start.  Which is a shame.

On its own merits, Iron Man 2 is a wonderful superhero film, and really important in the overall development of Phase One of the Marvel cinematic universe.  Of course, this is also hindsight seeing in 20/20, what they were able to put into that movie that would come to fruition later.

Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) returns to Iron Man, this time not after the credits, but in the film itself.  He lays more of the groundwork of SHIELD and once again Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg) returns.  Joining the cast is The Black Widow (Scarlett Johannsen).

Yet even with all these characters vying for screen time, character development and action sequences, nothing really feels rushed or left out.

If anything, the biggest letdown of the film is the somewhat unoriginal thought of having Iron Man fight another Iron Man.  Very reminiscent of the first film, though Jon Favreau amps up the explosive power by adding War Machine to the mix and having the two friends battle against an army of Iron Man wannabes.

Again, judged on it's own, the movie is really quite good out of the shadow of its predecessor.

Plus, often times while the first sequel is often considered inferior, many times the third movie in a trilogy is often as good or just a little less awesome than the original.

We'll see!

Final Grade: Originally a B-, but the years have been kind, and so will I... B+

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Extremely high, and I have happily finally added the 2nd installment into the DVD Library.  Yay me!

"Seven Psychopaths" in Hollywood? I Demand a Recount!

There's a lot of crazies in California...

Here are 7 of them.


The Story:

Marty (Colin Farrell) is a struggling screenwriter who is mentally blocked on his latest screenplay, Seven Psychopaths.  He's been getting some ideas from his good friend Billy (Sam Rockwell) that is helping him to flesh out and create the psychopaths that the tale requires.  Meanwhile, Billy and his pal Hans (Christopher Walken) make some quick money by stealing pets and returning them to their owners for a big reward.  The problem?  They just stole the wrong guy's (Woody Harrelson) dog, and he's not going to rest until he makes them pay!


The film lives up to its name.  There are indeed seven, if not possibly more, psychopaths on the loose in this film.  While Harrelson, Walken and Rockwell are chewing up the scenery at every turn, Farrell tries to remain the sane center, grounding the flick in reality.

The movie is absurd, and delightful, often at the same time.

If you saw Martin McDonagh's first film, In Bruges, also starring Colin Farrell, you kind of get the idea of what to expect:  Clever dialogue, crazy characters, and bloodshed aplenty.




If you haven't, you should, it's a pretty good film.

Seven Psychopaths takes all of that, and ramps it up several notches.

Everyone does a great job, stellar acting from top to bottom.  Walken actually plays the more subdued character this go round, taking a backseat to the zany Rockwell and the angry Harrelson.  The dialogue has flashes of insane brilliance, but stays pretty consistent great throughout.

The film isn't for everyone, but if you like black comedies, you're probably going to enjoy this one.


Final Grade: B
Is It Worth Adding to My Film Collection: It could be, but probably will not.  Since I am the only one who would watch it at my house, I usually have to pass on movies like this.