Top Gun: Maverick

Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

Directed by Joseph Kosinski

Story by Peter Craig and Justin Marks

Screenplay by Ehren Kruger, Eric Warren Singer and Christopher McQuarrie

Based on characters created by Jim Cash & Jack Epps, Jr

Stars: Tom Cruise, Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Charles Parnell, Glen Powell, Lewis Pullman, Bashir Salahuddin, Monica Barbaro, Jay Ellis, Danny Ramirez, Jack Schumacher, Manny Jacinto, Kara Wang, Greg Tarzan Davis, Jake Picking, Raymond Lee, Ed Harris, and Val Kilmer

I was in a viewing slump as of late. There weren't many movies that felt like a movie. I waited a long time to see this movie, because I didn't want to be another disappointment. After my tepid response to Top Gun, I was pleasantly surprised by this movie.

Hard-headed, stubborn Maverick (Cruise) remains a captain for over thirty years, because he wants to continue to fly. A once in a lifetime opportunity comes when Maverick is summoned to come back to Top Gun to teach the best of the best pilots to run a covert mission to destroy a uranium plant from going online.

I expected this movie to be a rehash of the original movie. There were callbacks to the original. I was fine with it. I never expected to laugh, cry, hold my breath in the movie. It has done it. Thank you movie for making me care about these characters.

The action sequences were compelling. It was weird that I heard the theme of CSI peppered into the score of the movie. The performance from the cast were stellar. It was weird that some of the people coming to Top Gun had no lines. 

Did anyone notice that scene with Rooster (Teller) and Maverick where height difference was off?

Rating: 9/10

Glengarry Glen Ross

Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)

Directed by James Foley

Screenplay by David Mamet

Based on his play of the same name

Stars: Jack Lemmon, Al Pacino, Ed Harris, Alan Arkin, Kevin Spacey, Jonathan Pryce and Alec Baldwin

I have seen a couple of David Mamet penned movies and sometimes I feel like the movies are just his plays on the big screen. The translation does not go as smoothly as it should. I have only heard about Glengarry Glen Ross from watching the Tonys. The film got its sole Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for Al Pacino. The film is good, but it does suffer from David Mamet Translation Syndrome.

Set in the world a real estate brokers, the movie tells the story of the hardworking at a brokerage firm. Times have been tough on the men without selling much property. Their supervisor, John Williamson (Spacey) has a speaker come in to light the fire under their asses, Blake (Baldwin). Blake makes an ultimatum for everybody to sale, sale, sale. The incentive is first place: a brand new car, second place: a set of steak knives and third place: a pink slip. The lacking of quality leads, Shelley Levene (Lemmon), Gary Moss (Harris), George Aaronow (Arkin) and Ricky Roma (Pacino) are trying to save their jobs by any means necessary. Their world changes when the office was robbed. Who did it?

The movie is enjoyable to watch. The acting were fairly solid. I loved the monologues some of the actors gave that were really good. The problem I had with the movie is that Mamet's dialogue doesn't translate that well to the big screen. Who actually says these words? The exchanges between some of the characters felt stiff like the one with Ed Harris and Alan Arkin. Their exchanges felt like they didn't have enough rehearsal time, especially Arkin.

I can understand why Al Pacino was nominated for his role here. Ricky Roma is a character that is very driven and wants to get that great sale. He lives and breathes sales. He will do anything to get that sale, even if he has to lie to a client like James Lingk (Pryce).

My Rating

Game Change

Game Change (2012)

Directed by Jay Roach

Written by Danny Strong

Based on the book by Mark Halperin and John Heilemann

Stars: Julianne Moore, Ed Harris, Woody Harrelson, Ron Livingston, Sarah Paulson and Peter MacNichol

It has been a while since I have reviewed a movie. I heard that people really responded to HBO TV movie, Game Change that was loosely based on the book about the historic 2008 campaign season. I;m glad that I got back in the thick of things.

The movie focuses mainly on campaign strategist, Steve Schmidt (Harrelson) meeting with Arizona Senator John McCain (Harris) about who will be the pick for his running mate as Vice President. By pulling a candidate out of their ass aka YouTube to find the Governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin (Moore). She is a fish out of water when she is catapulted to the national stage. It seems that her lack of foreign policy knowledge made her a joke to political pundits and SNL.

I remember when I first heard about Sarah Palin, I knew that the McCain campaign was trying to bridge the gender gap that was left when Hilary Clinton dropped out of the race for her bid as President. People didn't know anything about this woman with the bouffant and the weird accent. Everyone thought that she was a joke. Watching the movie, she was a great speaker, but the media tries everything that they can to make a mockery of her.

I learned that she was not a punchline. She was plucked out of obscurity and put in front of microphone. I don't blame her for flying off the rails or "going rogue" toward the tail end of the campaign. Julianne Moore was a dead ringer for the former Alaska governor. It was scary. Harrelson was phenomenal in his role. He was perfectly frazzled and want to correct his mistake of picking  Sarah. Ed Harris was fine as John McCain, but it's nothing to write home about. The rest of the cast was fine, but they seem to be overshadowed by Moore and Harrelson.

My Rating: