1917

I am not a fan of war or war movies, but I absolutely loved this one. It’s all about a couple of British soldiers during World War I who are tasked with hand delivering a message from their General to the leader of a platoon ordering him to stand down. This after intelligence discovers the troops are about to move headlong into a trap, where they will be wiped out.

            The two soldiers are forced to move on foot through the battle field and across the front line directly into the enemy camp. They encounter booby traps, horrors of war and much more. One of the most heartbreaking scenes involves their attempt to save the life of an enemy pilot, whose bi-plane has been shot down.

            The director creates a beautiful film, made up of continuous long shots with no breaks. The effect is astounding, making us feel as if we are right there with the two soldiers, and creating an “edge of your seat” tension.

            1917 is up for at least ten Academy awards, and would more than deserve a win in both Best Picture and Best producer categories. Of course, there is no predicting the Oscars.  God knows, The Joker could beat it. Hollywood is often very confusing. But this is a great, important film based on a true story. Five Stars for sure!

-Michael Buffalo Smith

Doolittle

 

   

  Just when you thought they couldn’t botch up a movie worse than CATS, we get the reboot of Dr. Doolittle. My belief id, if you are going to reboot a movie, it should be BETTER than the original. Sorry, Charlie. The original was a fun film. This one single handedly sours the career of the Iron Man, Robert Downey, Jr, placing him in a film that is filled with just plain stupid jokes and a ton of CGI talking animals. I can truly not find a single redeeming quality here. Some folks will say, “Well, it was made for the children.” To that I say, most kids I know are far too intelligent to find this movie funny. Worst movie in years. Downey needs to stick with the Avengers. 

Zero Stars.

-Michael Buffalo Smith

The Mule

This one came out in 2018, and I had every intention of seeing it. As fate would have it, I didn’t get to see it until last night via the magic of Amazon Prime. Clint Eastwood has been one of my favorite actors for as long as I can remember. Like so many others, I was a huge fan of his “Spaghetti” westerns. portraying "The Man with No Name," as well as his other cowboys as in The Outlaw Josey Wales and The Unforgiven. Of course, I was equally drawn to his Dirty Harry cop movies, and  who didn’t enjoy the comedies like Every Which Way But Loose?

I have a special love for the movies Eastwood has done as a senior citizen. Gran Torino was an absolute classic and at the tender young age of 89, he turns in another classic performance as both actor and director in The Mule, playing an older, sort of, 90 – year- old professional horticulture expert.

As a man of plants, Earl Stone is an award winner, and a good provider for his family. That is until the economy tanks. His family has nothing to do with him, feeling that he always put his work before them, so he has no one to turn to for help. Broke, alone and facing foreclosure on his property, Stone takes a job as a drug courier for a Mexican cartel. His immediate success leads to easy money and larger shipments that soon puts him on the radar of DEA agent Colin Bates (Bradley Cooper). When Earl's past mistakes start to weigh heavily on his conscience, he must decide whether to right those wrongs before law enforcement and cartel thugs catch up to him.

Dianne Wiest is at her best as his understandably bitter ex-wife, Mary, who obviously still loves the man, regardless of his past actions. Taissa Farmiga, younger sister of actress Vera Farmiga (Bates Motel), plays Earl’s granddaughter, the only person who seems willing to give him an entry point back into the lives of the family.

The film is based on a true story. This is a good one, folks.

Four and One Half Stars

-Michael Buffalo Smith

CATS

      Okay. I Feel very fortunate to have seen the musical Cats on Broadway, just a year after it began its run. We were seated close to the front, and I never got a single hairball hacked up into my lap. 

       I was blown away by the music. I have always been a fan of Andrew Lloyd Webber, and his music for Cats is some of his finest. And the performances were top drawer. To me, Betty Buckley owned her role of Grizabella, and her version of “Memory” can never be topped. And while Jennifer Hudson is undeniably a great singer, to me, she did not “own” the role even half as well as Buckley. 

     Equally, Terrance Mann will always be Rum Tum Tugger in my book. Jason Derulo was missing the “Dr. Frank N. Furter” vibe that I so loved from Mann. 

    It was obvious from the get-go that this film was meant to capitalize in a big way on the massive success of the Broadway show. I mean, they rewrote the script, adding new characters just so they could parade some A-list actors around. Dame Judi Dench is a great actor, but Old Deuteronomy as a male cat. Why did they feel the need to castrate him? (or CATstrate?)  Jennyanydots was in the play, and casting pulled the sometimes funny, sometimes silly Rebel Wilson into the role.

      I love James Corden as both comedian and singer, but his Bustopher Jones left me cold. Sir Ian McKellen is great as Gus the Theatre Cat, but would have been better on stage, not screen. Making a movie version of a musical is always a gamble, and this one just tanks. Oh, by the way, here’s the plot. (Spoiler alert!)

"Jellicle" cats join for a Jellicle ball where they rejoice with their leader, Old Deuteronomy. One cat will be chosen to go to the "Heavyside Layer" and be reborn.

      The dancing and singing truly belong on the Broadway stage. Not unlike the movie version of Jesus Christ Superstar, it simply doesn’t work. Yes, the new song written by Tay-Tay (Taylor Swift) “Beautiful Ghosts” is a very good song, and her “acting” in the film is “okay.” Still, not even the biggest selling pop star since Michael Jackson could save this one from the litter box.

One Star. (For “Beautiful Ghosts.”)

-Michael Buffalo Smith