Avengers: Endgame - Review

Avengers: Endgame

In the final installment (supposedly) of the entire Marvel franchise of superheroes (supposedly again) we see them licking their wounds after the evil Thanos had captured the six all-powerful infinity stones to rid the entire universe of trillions upon trillions of people indiscriminately.

In the 2018 “Avengers: Infinity Wars” the cast of benevolent Avengers made a valiant effort to preventing this cataclysmic event from happening against humanity. But in their epic battle with the equal parts brutish and equal parts philosophical Thanos  many of the Avengers team were send to their decimating dusty deaths by Thanos's desire to create  “a new order in the universe”…………….with fewer beings in it. 

Now in the beginning of the 2019 “Avengers: Endgame” we see adrift in space with no food or water, a dying Tony Stark sending a final message to Pepper Potts as his oxygen supply starts to dwindle. Meanwhile, the remaining Avengers -- Thor, Black Widow, Captain America and Bruce Banner are trying to figure out a way to bring back their vanquished allies for an epic showdown with Thanos, the now demigod of the universe.

REVIEW: I have already heard some critic’s state that this is the best superhero movie of all time. NOPE. It is however in my opinion the most satisfying finale of a film franchise I have experienced.

Running 3:07 minutes, this effort is smartly directed with an emphasis on fully developing all of its characters with some measure of real humanity and depth while battling Thanos once again to restoring the universe and their friends to life. Actually I found this part of the film's effectiveness rather astonishing given how many of the seemingly 25+ characters that were woven into the singular story of collective redemption and revenge.

Now that doesn’t mean some of the notable characters were not short changed a bit. Some of them hardly had 20 words to say in the entire film. But in the end and overall the entire film still works quite well as the characters that we fundamentally truly care about dominate the screen in a way that was fro me the most effective approach in keeping this mega ensemble plot intertwined into something credible from beginning to its epic climatic ending.

But if I can offer one exceptional note to this film it was the performance of Robert Downey Jr, as the always smartest guy in the room Tony Stark aka “Iron Man”.  His effort here in my opinion genuinely deserves some real consideration for an Oscar nomination next January in either the Lead or Supporting Acting category. He stood out in the midst of all the endless riveting chaos and equal moments of deep reflective thought as the one special superhero who genuinely conveyed a real measure of depth of emotions, personal thoughts and sharp timely wit. Downey’s work as “Starke” while subtle was compelling and authentic that kept the entire film grounded into having a real life and death consequences to it.  

In the end this is not a dramatic film designed for those of you who have discriminating taste where every scene has to make absolute 100 percent sense every frame. No, “Endgame” has many plot holes to chew on and yet equally plot holes to quickly ignore.  But at its core this final story of the Avengers has the prevailing sentimental theme about humanity’s confrontation with its’s moral self.

Ever since man and woman stood upright to slowly begin achieving measures of intelligence, self-awareness and self-consciousness we have had each step throughout the annals of our time on earth to choose to being either good or being evil with one another. The battle between the Avengers and Thanos is reflective of this same conflict seemingly always buried deep in in all of our DNA strands.  As in both real human history and the fantasy world of the Avengers people always in the end chose to be good; to preserve that is good. And even though we may do the right thing with some reluctance or bravery or both, our nature has always in the end compel us to take up the sword in the manner Edmund Burke once stated and beckoned,…………..”The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing”.

“Avengers: End Game” is a testimony to Burke’s quote and man or man do they “do something” good to preventing evil from being triumphant in an exhilarating, thrilling, highly entertaining and old fashion fun filled way.

4.00 Stars

Lester’ Favorite Revenge Films

Lester’ Favorite Revenge Films

Ah, revenge. It’s one of the classic plots - subplots, where the protagonist believes he’s been wronged and seeks to retaliate against the antagonist.

13 Assassins A History of Violence A Time to Kill Amadeus Blade Runner Blue Ruin Braveheart Cape Fear (1962 - 1991 versions) Carrie City of God Conan The Barbarian Dangerous Liaisons Death Wish (1974 version) Desperado Django Unchained Edge of Darkness Elle Ex Machina Four Brothers Gangs of New York Gladiator Gran Torino Hang Em High Hardy Candy Harry Brown In the Bedroom Inglourious Basterds Irreversible John Wick (all three versions) Kill Bill Volume 1 Kill Bill Volume 2 Mad Max (1979 Version) Mad Max: Fury Road Man on Fire (2004 Version) Memento Blue Highlights = Timeless

Moby Dick (1956 version) Munich Mystic River Nocturnal Animals Old Boy (2003 Korean Version) Pale Rider Payback Revenge of the Nerds Road to Perdition Robo Cop Rocky IV (Rocky verses Ivan Drago) Sleepers Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan Straw Dogs Taken The Brave One The Count of Monte Cristo The Crow The Equalizer (2014 version) The Girl With The Drago Tatoo The Godfather The Italian Job The Last of the Mohicans The Limey The Outlaw Josey Wales The Patriot The Professional The Quick and the Dead The Revenant The Sting Tombstone True Grit (1969 version) Unforgiven V for Vendetta Walking Tall (1973 version) Zero Dark Thirty

Lester’s Favorite Sports Films of All Time

Lester’s Favorite Sports Films of All Time

Still enjoy*

1. Basketball Movies

Blue Chips

Coach Carter

Cornbread, Earl, and Me

Finding Forrester *

Glory Road

He Got Game

Hoop Dreams

Hoosiers

Space Jam

The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh

White Men Can't Jump *

2. Baseball Movies

42

A League of Their Own

Bang the Drum Slowly

Bull Durham

Field of Dream

Moneyball *

Sandlot

Sugar

The Bad News Bears

The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings

The Natural *

The Pride of the Yankees (1942 version)

3. Football Movies

All the Right Moves

Any Given Sunday

Brian’s Song

Concussion

Friday Night Lights *

Jerry McGuire

Little Giants

Necessary Roughness

North Dallas Forty

Paper Lion

Radio

Remember the Titans *

Rudy

Semi-Tough

The Blind Side

The Express

The Last Boy Scout

The Longest Yard (1974 version) *

The Replacements

The Waterboy

Undefeated
We Are Marshall

4. Other Sports Movies

Bend it Like Beckham

Breaking Away

Caddy Shack

Chariots of Fire
Rollerball (1975 version)

Creed

Foxcatcher

I, Tonya *

Million Dollar Baby *
Miracle

Raging Bull *

Rocky *

Rush

Seabiscuit
Secretariat *
Slap Shot

The Boxer

The Color of Money

The Fighter

The Karate Kid (1984 version)
The Wrestler

Tin Cup

When We Were Kings *

Hotel Mumbai - Review

Hotel Mumbai

A gripping true story of humanity and heroism, HOTEL MUMBAI vividly recounts the 2008 siege of the famed Taj Hotel by a group of terrorists in Mumbai, India. Among the dedicated hotel staff is the renowned chef Hemant Oberoi (Anupam Kher) and a waiter (Academy Award-Nominee Dev Patel, Slumdog Millionaire) who choose to risk their lives to protect their guests. As the world watches on, a desperate couple (Armie Hammer, Call Me By Your Name and Nazanin Boniadi, "Homeland") is forced to make unthinkable sacrifices to protect their newborn child.

REVIEW: First I highly recommend seeing this in the theater. The reimagining of being in real time the events leading up to, during and in the end makes for highly effective viewing. It keeps you thoroughly engaged minute by minute to this horrific event for all of its 2 hour running time. Secondly, if you are squeamish stay at home as the film for all of its 2 hours is essentially watching people being slaughtered with copious amounts of blood at every turn.

Overall, the film hauntingly and impactfully moves on two parallel track story lines. One of which chronicles the sinister evil perpetuated by naïve fanatical ideological young men executing - murdering randomly any and all victims in their path. The other track tells the heroism of ordinary hotel staff who put up a desperate fight for their survival. Especially, actor Dev Patel as the kitchen staffer “Arjun”. He turns in a solid performance as the empathetic Sikh who saved countless lives that day. In some measure he embodies the conscience of all good people regardless of their faith who abhor and renounced violence.

Now there are flaws in the film. One in which was the seemingly idiotic nonstop conversations and mindless actions that occurred in the early stages of the attack, largely between the hotel guess. Specifically, their insistence to carrying on loud argumentative conversations behind lock doors and rooms, either with one another or on their cell phones. 

Lester Note to Potential Victims. When terrorist show up with guns and they are trying to kill lots of people, the first thing they are looking for are people who are hiding, talking and making noise behind doors. It was very ironic that a retried Russian Special Forces Soldier who was there on his holiday finally said what I was thinking the whole time………………”If you people don’t shut the “F” up you going to get us all killed”.

The other matter I found annoying was the over use of people hiding with a crying baby. I mean I know it was meant to be portrayed as the ultimate tension dilemma moment of “what do you do”, but to keep doing it more than once in the film got to be a bit much.

In the end, “Hotel Mumbai” vividly reminds up madness is everywhere in the world and it exists in scary, intense, dramatic and violent ways. It also reminds us that heroism also exist and it can comes from the most unexpected places and unexpectant of people who when thrust into life and death situations rely on an innate bravery, humanity, decency, compassion and expressions of self-sacrifice as their only armor to preserve and survive.

3.50 Stars

The Highwaymen - Netflix Original - Review

The Highwaymen

Netflix Original

Academy Award Winner Kevin Costner and Academy Award Nominated Woody Harrelson star in the NETFLIX Original film called ‘The Highwaymen”; a crime film directed by John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side) and written by John Fusco. The film follows Frank Hamer and Maney Gault (Kevin Costner and Woody Harrelson), two Texas Rangers who attempt to track down and apprehend notorious criminals Bonnie and Clyde in the 1930s. When the full force of the FBI and their latest forensic technology aren't enough to capture the nation's most notorious criminals, these two Rangers rely on their gut instincts and old school skills to get the job done. Kathy Bates, John Carroll Lynch, Kim Dickens, Thomas Mann and William Sadler also star.

REVIEW: If you have seen the 1967 film “Bonnie and Clyde” starring Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway which received nine Oscar nominations including “Best Picture”, than the general story of ‘The Highwaymen” is pretty easy to follow including its eventual outcome for these two national most wanted criminals – celebrities - cult figures. The significant difference in this effort is we get to see the entire story of the Bonnie & Clyde exploits uniquely from the two Texas Rangers perspective. Singularly, you never actually see Bonnie Parker or Clyde Barrow until the very end of the 2 hour running time. Exclusively Director Hancock focuses on Rangers Frank Hamer and Maney Gault tireless and focus pursuit of the young outlaw couple.

Stylistically, this NETFLIX effort has the look and emotional feel of Tom Hanks “Road to Perdition”. Substantively it has the same chrarcter comradery of the two Rangers in “Hell or High Water” played by Jeff Bridges and Gil Birmingham. And while this story has some dialogue kinks in it and other moments of slow and seemingly needless long winded banter of this factual story, it does have some clever dabs of light humorous relief delivered mostly by Harrelson. But unmistakenly the reason to see this film is Costner and Harrelson dynamic as they re-create this story with loads of authentic in the moment seriousness that makes the entire effort a highly respectful classic tale of right verses wrong.

There is no real high octane moments as one might expect about a tale of gangsters. But I was fine with that as the opposite case held my attention quite well watching the two Rangers move meticulously in their investigation with sober focus without any use of technology all the while being candid and decent to people they interact with. At the same time they were quick to respond to having no tolerance for those who were disrespectful either.

There are three moments in the film that are memorable. One is early on when Hamer team up with Gault after years of the Texas Rangers being disbanded in front of a gun store. The second is Frank Hamer meeting with Clyde’s Barrow’s father where they have a heartfelt conversation about destiny in life. And finally the final 15 minutes as we watch the tension build as we see Hamer and Gault wait in the weeds to ambush the two gangsters loves on the side of the road.

There no mistaking this films overall strength in telling the many times uniquely told the American story book tale of how good men, with straightforward depiction, who work in law enforcement go about doing the right thing to bring criminals to justice. But it also subtly reminds us that being in a profession where taking someone’s life as a necessary component to doing that job can be for some of the most harden professionals the single hardest and devastating thing to deal with in the moment and even decades later. As was the case in the Clint Eastwood film “Unforgiven” we saw his “William Munny” say after a ferocious shootout ………….  “It's a hell of a thing, ain't it, killing' a man....you take everything' he's got... and' everything' he's ever going to have”............ Rangers Frank Hamer and Maney Gault knew that, respected that and lived with that.

“The Highwaymen”, is my kind of film. It’s a very well-acted old fashion entertaining narrative about justice.

3.25 Stars

Gloria Bell - Review

Gloria Bell

Academy Award Winner Julianne Moore plays a modern day free-spirited divorcee who spends her nights on the dance floor, singing in her car and letting loose at clubs around Los Angeles. She soon finds herself thrust into an unexpected new romance, filled with the joys of budding love and the complications of dating.

REVIEW: The principle reason to see this film is and only is Julianne Moore. She elevates material that ordinarily would be just ordinary. But even as we watch Moore put a great and positive face on her new single life, nothing really happens new that you could not already imagine to someone who is middle aged single after years of marriage.

Everything she does feels awkward no matter how valiant she’s tries to put a positive foot forward spin on her new single life. So early on we see Moore’s character “Gloria” project a person far more vulnerable to lies and deception. Far more sentimental about token expressions of love and tenderness. Far too forgiving to rude behavior. And far too compromising just to “keep her new man”.

Running 1:42 minutes I became a little frustrated with “Gloria’s” unwavering and undauntable desire to do just about anything to keep her man “Arnold” (John Turturro) happy and in her arms. But just as I expected “Gloria” does find that her struggles are not with her man being such a weak kneed jerk. Instead her obstacle in life is of her own making by her unwillingness just to except herself. To come to peace at knowing that her life was not wasted on her youth but rather wasted on her refusing to see and except the remarkable person staring in the mirror.

In the opening of the film we see “Gloria Bell” dancing in a club, but she appears to be joylessly going through the paces and motions of projecting happiness while she moves and struts about the floor to 70’s music. But it's her facade and it’s a facade that carriers her through her early stages of being in relationship with the equally middle aged “Arnold” where she  (metaphorically speaking) is still dancing, not for her own enrichment but singularly to appease “Arnold's” selfish needs.

“Gloria Bell” is a not a great film but it is a solid film. A story that shows a woman slowly evolving through emotional tests into something entirely new and where her dancing now is reflective of a fully realized self-love and self-acceptance all the while being fully immersed into her middle aged life and feeling great about.

3.00 Stars

Shoplifters - Review

Shoplifters

“Shoplifters” starts in Tokyo where a group of people lived together on the poverty margins. Osamu is a day laborer who is forced to leave his job after twisting his ankle; his wife Nobuyo, who works for an industrial laundry service; Aki, who works at a hostess club; Shota, is a young boy; and Hatsue, an elderly woman who owns the home and supports the group with her deceased husband's pension.

Osamu and Shota routinely shoplift goods, using a system of hand signals to communicate. Osamu tells Shota it is fine to steal things that have not been sold, as they do not belong to anyone. One especially cold night, they see Yuri, a neighborhood girl they regularly observe locked out on an apartment balcony. They bring her to their home, intending to only have her stay for dinner, but choose not to return her after finding evidence of abuse.

Yuri bonds with her new family and is taught to shoplift by Osamu and Shota. Osamu urges Shota to see him as his father and Yuri as his sister, but Shota is reluctant to do so. The family learns on television that police are investigating Yuri's disappearance; the family cuts her hair, burns her old clothes, and gives her a new name Lin.

REVIEW:  The film is slow but beautiful in look and character; filed with an abundance of deep charm, reverence and love. It moves with a sense of quiet light hearted confidence to showcase these people exactly for who they are. They are professional “Shoplifters”, grifters and cons who really don’t mean anyone any real harm. They are neither vile nor ruthless criminals. Rather they are just a loving family doing what they must just to keep a roof over their heads, food in their stomachs and a constant smile on their faces. They are a hopeful people who do hopeless things but never allow their actions to make them feel hopeless in life. They persevere, they survive, they are happy.

The core plot and subplot of this film are intertwined through a single meditative ethical quandary. What constitutes a loving family? When they take young Yuri in to their home you the viewer must reconcile as they did that she is in far better off being with these petty shoplifting vagabonds of society to being comfortable in a home without any material need but is still abused.

“Shoplifters is a slow melodramatic executed film. But when the layers are slowly peeled back the film bathes over you as something natural and emotionally touching with genuine family warmth.

3.00 Stars