MRwOS reviews "Thelma" and performs "Walk on my Hands"

 MRwOS Episode 7: Thelma (Walk on my Hands)

Welcome to Movie Reviews with Original Songs, aka MRwOS! I am your host, David Coile, and I’ll be reviewing a movie I’ve watched recently, then playing one of my original songs that has similar themes.

If you enjoy the program, I encourage you to like, follow, and share it with your friends, or to support the program by subscribing to patreon.com/davidcoile or by making a contribution through Paypal or Venmo @DaveCoile. 

In this episode, I’ll be reviewing the film “Thelma” followed by a performance of my original song “Walk on my Hands”

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“Thelma” is a charming caper comedy about a nonagenarian who falls victim to an over the phone scam. When the police and her family won’t help, Thelma decides to track down the scammers on her own and demand her money back. 

Thelma is played by June Squibb, who I know from scene stealing supporting roles in the films of Alexander Payne, such as “Nebraska” and “About Schmidt”, and she does a bang up job in her first starring role. She’s joined by Richard Roundtree as her friend Ben, who reluctantly gets drawn into the whole affair. In many ways, this film could be a geriatric sendup of the type of films Roundtree used to star in, specifically the blaxploitation classic “Shaft” from the 1970s. The two sneak around, search for clues and confront the bad guys in familiar ways while trying to overcome elderly obstacles.

At first I was concerned that it was being too hard on the older generation, but other generations get skewered just as much, including Thelma’s ineffectual grandson (played by Fred Heckinger) and his  overconfident parents (played by Parker Posey and Clark Gregg). 

Though the filmmaking isn’t especially innovative, the plotting is tight– pay attention to the details, because they pay off in the end. Writer-director Josh Margolin based Thelma on his own grandmother, who nearly fell victim to a similar scam. The love and affection he has for her is pervasive, and it makes for a very entertaining film. 

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I wrote my song “Walk on my Hands” back in the early 2000s, and it was written from the perspective of a young adult crying out for independence from his parents. But I think it shares some common sentiments with the elderly, who often get treated like children, even when they’re still fairly capable. 

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That’s it for this episode of MRwOS! If you enjoyed the program, I encourage you to like, follow and share it with your friends, or support the program by subscribing to patreon.com/davidcoile, or maybe just throw a tip my way via Paypal or Venmo @DaveCoile. I’ll see you next time with another movie review and original song. Until then, Fade Out, Everybody!

MRwOS is BACK!!!!

 I've been retooling my movie review show to be more of a succinct audio podcast. Check it out and let me know what you think!

MRwOS: Movie Reviews with Original Songs

Ep. 3: MRwOS - “Late Night with the Devil” and “Be Remembered”

 

I review a film about a Late Night Talk Show host willing to do anything to be famous, followed by a song about the sacrifices we consider in showbiz. Enjoy!

Short Reviews: Tarzan Infiltrates the Swiss Army Shallows!

They've been making Tarzan films forever. Way back in the 30s and 40s, Johnny Weissmuller's take on the character was hugely popular, spawning several sequels and giving us the definitive Tarzan call. But after that, there weren't any terribly memorable Tarzan films until the 80s, when you had the critically panned Tarzan, the Ape Man (with Bo Derek, no less) followed a few years later by the better received Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (I remember this fondly because I had a crush on Andie MacDowell at the time). But the most prominent Tarzan in recent years has been the Disney series, starting with the 1999 animated film and followed by several direct-to-video installments. Now comes a new live action version, The Legend of Tarzan, that attempts to resuscitate the franchise.


It's a diverting film, if not quite an inspired one. One of the things it does right is jump into the main story without dwelling much on the character's origin-- Tarzan's storied past is shown via periodic flashbacks; just enough to frame the larger tale. It certainly looks good, with adequate special effects; and I'm not sure how many effects it took to make the 67 year old Samuel L. Jackson look so spry and youthful-- he's clearly going to be a scene stealer into his 120s. Chistoph Waltz also does a typically exceptional job as a mustache twirling villain. The biggest problem with the film is its stars. Alexander Skarsgard is a capable actor (I really liked him in The Diary of a Teenage Girl), but here he gets cheesy-- his every movement is portentous as he stares deep into the soul of the world (do apes not blink? Is that what I'm supposed to get from this?). Margot Robbie (who I liked in Whiskey Tango Foxtrot) puts on this girlish American accent that I had a hard time taking seriously. The plot is somewhat confusing, but it's really just a set-up for its absurd-yet-entertaining climax. If you're looking for a summer adventure, this'll get the job done, but I'd rather watch The Jungle Book a few more times.

In Breaking Bad, Bryan Cranston played a chemistry teacher turned drug dealer savant (while starring in maybe the greatest TV show of all time). In The Infiltrator, Cranston gets to play the other side, this time as an undercover cop trying to bring down famed drug kingpin, Pablo Escobar. Cranston does an expert job in a role that requires several overlapping performances. The film itself is not quite so elegant, as it breezes through the plot points without giving us a chance to really get to know many of the important supporting characters. The film ultimately lacks some emotional weight, but it's worth seeing just for Cranston's performance.

Swiss Army Man is the strangest film I've seen in a long time, which shouldn't be surprising since it's about a suicidal man whose life is saved by a farting corpse. As the corpse, this continues Daniel Radcliffe's string of interesting post-Harry Potter roles-- some of them are so odd, it makes me wonder if he's trolling his fan-base. Paul Dano plays the suicidal man with his usual manic energy, which is 100% appropriate for this role. The two go on a journey from a deserted island back to civilization, with many lessons learned along the way. It is a truly odd film, but also quite thought-provoking. At this point, I'm not even sure it's a comedy. Where does reality begin and fantasy end? Is it a metaphor? Or just one man's fever-dream before dying? My first thought was that it was about accepting yourself for who you are no matter what society says-- but then I thought it might be a parody of those kinds of films. Whatever the case, take a friend with you because you'll have a lot to talk about afterwards.

I wasn't a big horror fan as a kid, but I've grown to appreciate how cinematic it can be. The Shallows is a solid entry into the killer shark genre. Blake Lively does an expert job as a medical school drop-out honoring her mom's memory by surfing an uncharted bay in Central America. The movie sets up the stakes visually in a clear and concise way, then unveils the horror of the situation with clockwork precision. It's the not the scariest film out there, but it doesn't throw cheap scares at you, either. Aside from a slightly confusing ending, I thought this was a great film. Genre-fare done extremely well.

Short Movie Reviews (In which I reluctantly admit that Ethan Hawke and Kate Beckinsale do some great work)

I've never been a big Ethan Hawke fan. Maybe it's his public persona, or maybe it's the roles he chooses, but I've always avoided seeing his films. But, like Tom Cruise with blockbusters, he's become an actor I reluctantly associate with high quality indie films. A short list of more-than-excellent films he's been in: Predestination, The Purge, Sinister, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, and, of course, Dead Poet's Society. I may have my reservations about him, but some great directors do not, most notably Richard Linklater. Linklater and Hawke have teamed up for seven films, by my count, and most of them have been amazing.

Probably their best collaboration has been the Before Sunrise series, which details the repeat encounters between Jesse and Celine (Hawke and Julie Delpy, respectively), each separated by nine years. I've seen these in completely the wrong order. I started with the most recent one Before Midnight (2013), which completely bowled me over-- despite the movie being just one long conversation, it was mesmerizing. So I decided to check out the original film, Before Sunrise (1995), which I was a little disappointed by. It's the same structure, but the discussion topics felt a lot more juvenile... but juvenile in exactly the way I was at that age. If I had watched that film when it first came out, I probably would've fallen in love with it. So, this week I finally finished the trilogy and watched the middle film, Before Sunset (2004), which I found to be nearly as brilliant as Before Midnight. I like dialogue, but I think a lot of films over do it, or try too hard to be clever, but this series manages to capture the charm and poetry of an inspired conversation-- the type you have with a new lover or a best friend, the kind that you never want to stop. I can't wait for the 2022 sequel, Before Noon/Dawn/Twilight/Tea Time/Whatever...

But Ethan Hawke's stamp of quality goes beyond Linklater films. He stars with Greta Gerwig and Julianne Moore in the lovably quirky Maggie's Plan (2015) about a young woman who poaches another woman's husband, then schemes to give him back. This is more your typical indie comedy, with quirky-rather-than-funny characters and plot contrivances, but Gerwig is always charming, Moore is very fun with a French accent, and Hawke is always best when he's playing a cad.

Gerwig is an indie film darling and has been associated with several great directors, too. One of them is Whit Stillman, who is one of the best writer-directors of dialogue in the business. His last film, Damsels in Distress (starring Gerwig) was a bit of a disappointment, but he's back in top form with Love & Friendship (2016), an adaptation of Jane Austen's novella, Lady Susan. Kate Beckinsale stars as Lady Susan and gives a riveting performance as a scheming society woman. Nothing I've seen her do before suggested she could be this nimble and convincing with dense dialogue (not even her previous collaboration with Stillman, The Last Days of Disco), but she whips out the words with gusto. The film is quick witted and cutting and I thoroughly enjoyed it-- probably the most fun I've ever had watching Jane Austen on screen.