It Was A Joy Watching "Raising Hope"

Raising Hope (2010)

TV PG

Starring Lucas Neff, Martha Plimpton, Garrett Dillahunt, Shannon Woodward, Cloris Leachman, Baylie & Rylie Cregut, Gregg Binkley, Todd Gibenhain, Kate Micucci, Bijou Phillips

Created by Gregory Thomas Garcia

The Story:

Jimmy Chance (Neff) lives at home with his parents Burt & Virginia (Dillahunt & Plimpton) who are living at home with Maw Maw (Leachman). He has a one-night stand with Lucy (Phillips) who turns out to be a serial killer. Thankfully, they turn her over to be executed. One minor wrinkle, she's pregnant with Jimmy's baby, and he gets custody of Hope (Cregut) after her execution.

This is their story about Raising Hope.

From the mind who brought you My Name Is Earl, and who takes any chance he gets to remind people what a crime it was that show was cancelled, Fox brought Raising Hope to airwaves in 2010.

It ran for 4 seasons, and is now streaming on Netflix.

My wife stumbled upon an episode by chance (no pun intended) and we gave it a shot.

Much like any show, the pilot is good, but not great.

However, they ironed out the kinks, and from the 2nd episode on, the show is comedy gold on a consistent basis.

Funny, touching, a tad crude and sometimes downright hysterical, this is a show about a working class family who may not be the brightest, or the richest, but they sure love each other and at the end of the day will do anything for family.

The cast is amazing from the leads to the bit players. Fully fleshed out and all kinds of eccentricities abound in the show.

In the history of child actors, there have been a lot of adorable kids, but Hope is such a cutie from baby through toddler, she's a total sweetheart and it's totally believable that a family would do whatever they could to take care of her.

There are too many good things about the show to possibly squeeze in, but I would be remiss to not mention the dynamic duo of Plimpton and Dillahunt. Their chemistry and timing is impeccable, and Burt quickly became my favorite character on the show.

There are a few moments where the show would seemingly jump the shark, but even they began to acknowledge those mistakes, and they quickly recovered and went full-steam ahead.

I would have loved to watch a few more seasons, but they probably wrapped it at the right time as Hope was getting older and would soon be heading for school.

Thankfully we can just loop back around and watch them again any time we want to.

Final Grade: A-

A Murder Most 'Meh'... "A Kind Of Murder"

A Kind of Murder (2016)

Rated R

Starring Patrick Wilson, Jessica Biel, Hayley Bennett, Eddie Marsan, Vincent Kartheiser

Directed by Andy Goddard

The Story:

Walter (Wilson) is a successful architect by day and budding detective novelist by night. His wife Clara (Biel) is unsupportive at best, and things just aren't right between them. Walter longs to be with Ellie (Bennett) instead. However Walter's obsession with a seemingly perfect unsolved murder may prove to be his very undoing.

Welcome to a throwback noir thriller set in 1960s New York.

The production values are stellar as it looks and feels as if the film and everything in it is straight from a bygone era.

The problem comes about from the story itself.

The perfect murder in question is pretty much just that, perfect.

You have the weaselly suspect (Marsan) and the overeager detective (Kartheiser) and these characters will go about making Walter's life unbearable.

But that's just it, it almost is unbearable.

His fascination with what could have happened makes him the suspect when his own wife is murdered, and naturally he lies and then lies some more.

The book upon which this is based is titled The Blunderer.

You'll feel like that is a very apt title the longer you watch the film.

Watchable, but in the end, rather unsatisfying.

Final Grade: C-

And Now The Musical Stylings Of "The Wrecking Crew!"

The Wrecking Crew! (2008)

Rated PG

Starring Tommy Tedesco, Brian Wilson, Glen Campbell, Carol Kaye, Dick Clark, Herb Alpert, Hal Blaine

Directed by Denny Tedesco

The Story:

In the late 50s, Rock and Roll music was born. While we are familiar with the names of the singers and bands that gave us this amazing music from that moment all the way through the 60s, many of them had a deep, dark secret: They all employed The Wrecking Crew as their session musicians to make their music sound so good.  You know the songs by heart, and now it's time to learn the story of those musicians who put their soul into the recordings with rarely any credit given to them outside of the industry.

Until now.

Denny Tedesco started a documentary about his dad, guitar master Tommy Tedesco.

Yet the more he filmed, the bigger the story got.

So he expanded it, and archive footage and interviews with industry legends and members of the Wrecking Crew are spliced together in near chronological order to give not only a behind the scenes peek at the recording industry, but a history of rock from its birth to the end of the 60s and beginnings of the 70s.

Basically, if you think The Monkees were the only band to not really play their instruments on records, you're about to have a wake up call as to who was really responsible for the music.

In some cases, the Wrecking Crew even played the music better than the artists themselves.

It's informative.

It's eye-opening.

It's worth your time.

The movie is currently streaming on Netflix as of this writing.

Final Grade: A

When Is A Superhero Movie Not A Superhero Movie..."The Fate of the Furious"

The Fate of the Furious (2017)

Rated PG-13

Starring Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, Charlize Theron, Kurt Russell,

Directed by F. Gary Gray

The Story:

You've seen the trailers.  Dom (Diesel) has turned his back on his team, his family. Now it's time to finally find out why.

If you've been there for the first 7 installments, you'll have no problem transitioning into the final trilogy of the Fast and Furious saga.

Yep, Vin's got plans to make 2 more, 10 total, to conclude a little street racing saga that has grown bigger and more popular with the passing of each year and each installment.

Especially once they infused the cast with new blood and new thrills starting with Fast Five and the reassembling of the largest cast pitted against Special Agent Luke Hobbs (Johnson) as the only guy who could take them down.

With each passing chapter, the stakes have gotten higher and the stunts more elaborate.

And yes, it's the 2nd greatest superhero universe, right behind Marvel.

Suck it DC.

: )

Now if you don't like these movies, and I can't even fathom that prospect in all sincerity, then this movie isn't for you.

The only thing missing is Paul Walker, but there's nothing that you can do about that. He shared his vision with Vin Diesel, and they're honoring that memory as best they can.

Enjoy the ride, it's a lot of fun.

Final Grade: B+

Spy vs. Spy "Allied"

Allied (2016)

Rated R

Starring Brad Pitt, Marion Cotillard,

Directed by Robert Zemeckis

The Story:

Max Vatan (Pitt), a Canadian spy parachutes into Casablanca to meet the lovely French resistance ally Marianne Beausejour (Cotillard). Their mission: to assassinate a German ambassador. While their cover as a married couple was very convincing, Max decided that he wanted it to be real. So after enduring months of vetting and background checks, Marianne finally comes to England, the two are wed, and happiness abounds. Until suspicions arise that Marianne may not be all that she seems.

Cue the ominous music!

In 2005, Brad Pitt makes a movie about being a spy, and having a wife who is also a spy.

He later divorces Jennifer Aniston and marries Angelina Jolie.

In 2016, Brad Pitt makes a movie about being a spy, and having a wife who is a spy.

He later divorces Angelina Jolie...

Clearly, Brad Pitt needs to stay away from this type of role, as he's obviously being typecast!!

:)

That said, this one is not the rip-roaring adrenaline thrill-ride that Mr. & Mrs. Smith was.

It's an action/thriller/drama that keeps you engaged in the is she/isn't she and what happens next as every bit of the story unfolds.

Zemeckis keeps the audience dazzled with action set pieces as well as dramatic tension-filled character moments.

It's not perfect, but it's a pretty solid viewing.

I won't say much more than that, because it's a spy film, you need surprises!

 Final Grade: B-

It's Hard To Describe "Hap and Leonard"

Hap and Leonard (2016)

TV-MA

Starring James Purefoy, Michael Kenneth Williams, Jimmi Simpson, Bill Sage, Christina Hendricks, Pollyana McIntosh,

Created by Nick Damici & Jim Mickle

The Story:

Hap (Purefoy) and Leonard (Williams) are best buddies with a long history together. When Hap's ex (Hendricks) brings them in to find some missing money from a bank heist years earlier, they're going to cross paths with some crazies in the hopes of finding a lost fortune.

This was a puzzler for me.

Based on a series of books, this show is on the Sundance Channel.

Season 1 is currently streaming on Netflix, and it popped up in my recommended list feed.

It's starring James Purefoy? Sure, why not? I'm a fan.

So I watched the first episode...

And it was very slow... deliberate maybe?

A black comedy/crime noir-ish escapade is a tough sell.

It starts off good enough with a great car chase that establishes the main story that will drive the next five episodes.

Then it cuts to the future, or in our case, the past as this takes place in the late 80s.

However the rest of the episode wanders all over the place, so this is a tough one to gauge.

With only 6 episodes, I figured it couldn't be that bad, and it wasn't.

It actually got a little better as each episode got a little more footing and backstory under their belt.

The show was wise in choosing Simpson as a whacked out criminal as the brains behind the scheme.

However without the chemistry between Purefoy and Williams, then this show would have been dead on arrival.

I won't be chomping at the bit to stream season 2, but if I've got the time, I'll be back.

Final Grade: C+   

Don't Mess With "The Accountant"

The Accountant (2016)

Rated R

Starring Ben Affleck, Anna Kendrick, J.K. Simmons, Jon Bernthal, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, John Lithgow,

Directed by Gavin O'Connor

The Story:

Christian Wolff (Affleck) is a savant with an amazing knack for numbers. His services are so well regarded, many illicit organizations have used him to fix their books, so to speak. However, with the criminal task force closing in, he accepts a more legitimate client to lay low for awhile, yet it may be his most duplicitous account yet.

And did I fail to mention that Wolff is also like a deadly assassin as well?

And there you have a premise to a movie that might sound silly on paper, but plays out really well on screen.

Surrounded by a great supporting cast, including Simmons as the lead agent on the task force who is one step away from retirement, and hoping he can catch Wolff, or at least train his replacement before it's too late.

Other than that, I'm not going to give anything else away at the risk of taking any twists and turns away from this action thriller.

Great cast. Interesting premise. Well done by all involved.

Final Grade:  B  / B+ range