Thursday Movie Picks: Movies Set in a Hotel

Thursday Movie Picks: Movies Set Locally (North Carolina)

Hey folks! Here we are, once again, on Thursday, that beautiful day before the day before the weekend officially starts. It is on this day every week I suggest some movies based on theme selected by Wanderer at Wandering Through the Shelves.

Let's pause for a second.

Join us. Swing over to Wanderer's site, check out the meme, and post your own Thursday Movie Picks. Do it.

Okay. Let's get back to it.

This week's theme is 'Movies Set Locally.' Here's the deal. It's up to the blogger to pick their own location.

Hmmm...

There were only three places I even thought of when I saw this topic. The first was Queens, New York, where I grew up. The second was Hawaii, where I lived for two years. Neither quite suited my fancy, so I went with my third choice: North Carolina, where I currently live. For those of you who don't do maps, yes, that is North Carolina in the pic at the top of the page. However, North Carolina has a tricky relationship with the movie making world. Tons of movies (and TV shows) come here to film, particularly to the city of Wilmington, but NC usually winds up as a stand-in for some other place. Wikipedia has a pretty good list of stuff that's filmed here. That means not a ton of movies are actually set here. Of course, there are some. These are my faves...

Kiss the Girls

(1997)

Here, Morgan Freeman plays detective Alex Cross, who usually does his work in Washington, D.C. This time he heads down to Durham, NC because his niece, a college student in the area, has been reported missing. Shortly, he joins forces with Kate (Ashley Judd), who managed to escape from being kidnapped, herself. The added bonus for me is that a number of scenes are set not far from where I live.

The Campaign

(2012)

Okay, so I'll admit this one isn't an all time great. Still, it's fun. The short story on it is that it covers the election for the congressional seat in North Carolina's (fictional) 14th district. The two candidates are Cam Brady (Will Ferrell), the incumbent and Marty Huggins (Zach Galifianakis), who has literally been plucked from obscurity to run for office. Does this have lots of sharp, biting, wit? No. It did make me laugh, though. (Full Review Here)

Bull Durham

(1988)

I mean, how could this not be here? The math is simple. I'm a huge baseball fan. I'm obviously a movie buff. This is one of the greatest baseball movies ever made. This one follows the Durham Bulls, and more closely the team's catcher, Crash Davis (Kevin Costner). He strikes up a romance with local baseball groupie Annie Savoy (Susan Sarandon) and tries to mentor hot, young pitching prospect Nuke Laloosh (Tim Robbins). It's a movie that just works wonders every step of the way. I live within minutes of where the actual Bulls play, which is a gorgeous minor league park that they often fill up, by the way. Watching games there is a blast. If you're ever in Durham during the summer, check 'em out.

Click here for my other Thursday Movie Picks.

Morgan Freeman Week: Olympus Has Fallen

Morgan Freeman Week continues...

Directed by Antoine Fuqua.

2013. Rated R, 120 minutes.

Cast:

Gerard Butler

Aaron Eckhart

Morgan Freeman

Rick Yune

Angela Bassett

Dylan McDermott

Finley Jacobsen

Robert Forster

Melissa Leo

Radha Mitchell

Cole Hauser

Ashley Judd

When the limousine carrying President Benjamin Asher (Eckhart) and his wife (Judd) is involved in an accident Secret Service Agent Mike Banning (Butler) reacts immediately and saves the Commander-in-Chief's life. Unfortunately, he cannot rescue the First Lady. Even though the two men are friends, the president has Banning transferred to a desk job so that he doesn't have to be reminded of what happened whenever he sees his face. Fast forward eighteen months and President Asher and his son Connor (Jacobsen) appear to have adjusted as well as possible. Still, as presidents must, he's dealing with another crisis. This one involves meeting with the South Korean president to discuss how to keep their neighbors to the north at bay. If you guessed that the North Koreans crash this little party with guns blazing, give yourself a cookie. No extra points for guessing they put a pretty good hurtin' on our nation's capital, White House included. The Prez is taken to his bunker, but yeah, there are bad guys there, too. Okay, you only get one shot at this one. Guess who is the only person who can save the day? So yeah, Agent Banning spots all the mayhem from his office window and springs into action.

Typical of just about every movie where a foreign entity invades the U.S., we get an exercise in flag waving. We also get an oversimplification of our place in the world, at least from our point of view. It's all America good, everyone else evil, or weak. With this comes hokey dialogue, faceless villains from whatever country we think is most dangerous to us when the film is made, and lots of hand-wringing over what our heroes' next move should be. Anyone expecting anything more is setting themselves up for disappointment.

Even with expectations properly set, there are some less than exemplary aspects to Olympus Has Fallen. For starters, Pres. Asher comes across as less brave than his subordinates and explicitly goes against the only policy the movie bothers to mention: The United States will not negotiate with terrorists. Part of the plot is the North Koreans trying to gain access to a system that will effectively shut down all of America's nukes. To do this they need three codes which three separate people, all in the bunker, including the president, have one each. When the others are pressed a bit, he immediately caves and implores them to give up the goods. What the movie wants us to think is that he's saving the lives of those with him and is even willing to sacrifice himself. This is why he says to both, when he tells them to spill the beans, "They'll never get mine!" In reality, he's giving up our nation's security without much of a fight even though it's painfully obvious the bad guys can't just kill these people and accomplish their objectives.

Another issue is that our villains willfully put themselves in position to be defeated. We're told, without qualification, that no one can get into the president's bunker. As I mentioned, every person the North Koreans need is already in there with them. Everything they want is at their fingertips. Why keep talking to those who have assumed power in the president's absence? By the way, that person is Morgan Freeman and Speaker-of-the-House Trumbull. More tactically important, why send anyone out, or open the door for any reason until the mission is complete? If I'm the bad guys, whatever Banning is doing outside is largely irrelevant. I've got whatever need in the bunker with me and he can't get to me. Of course, that would make this a far different movie, so I understand why it was done. It just makes them look stupid, and in turn, the movie looks this way, too.

Without some idiocy by the villains, the movie wouldn't have as much of what it does best: action. There is plenty of it. During it, star Gerard Butler kicks all sorts of ass. In other words, people looking for a shoot 'em up get what they came for. It's all well done with lots of casualties on both sides. This keeps the movie entertaining even if it is eye-roll worthy. Things speed by pretty quickly as they go boom left and right. Yup, Washington DC is torn up good. All in all, it's similar to the recent remake of Red Dawn. That doesn't even take into account the apparent similarities it has to a movie I haven't even seen yet, but will soon, White House Down. OHF has loads of chest thumping patriotism, explosions, gunfights, and problems with its plot.

MY SCORE: 5/10

Click here to see more Morgan Freeman related goodies!

Frida

Directed by Julie Taymor.

2002. Rated R, 123 minutes.

Cast:

Salma Hayek

Alfred Molina

Geoffrey Rush

Valeria Golino

Diego Luna

Antonio Banderas

Mía Maestro

Edward Norton

Saffron Burrows

Ashley Judd

The life and times of real life Mexican artist Frida Kahlo (Hayek). We meet her as a young woman spying on an extra-marital affair by Diego Rivera (Molina), her country’s most famous artist. A short while later, Frida is badly injured when the trolley she is riding in has an accident. Doctors tell her she may never walk again. Of course she does, and it indeed affects her the rest of her life, but this isn’t the story. The story actually begins with her discovering her passion and ability for painting while confined to her bed. Soon, she seeks the counsel of none other than Rivera whom, if you couldn’t tell, is as renowned for his womanizing as he is for his artwork. The two embark on a tumultuous lifelong love affair.

In the titular role, Salma Hayek is an unstoppable force of nature. She emanates an irresistible flame that torches the screen. Aided by a prominent unibrow, Hayek is simply impossible to look away from. It is a magnificent performance starting with the very first time we see her. Since one great turn deserves another, what Hayek accomplishes is certainly complemented, and might not be possible, without the work of Alfred Molina as Rivera. He is essentially the perfect trampoline for her to bounce off. Seemingly everything she does is in reaction to him, even when he is not in the scene. To his credit, Molina doesn’t wither in her storms. He plays Diego as a large man, both literally and figuratively, with enormous pride and appetites. This isn’t a guy who curls up fetally when his woman is on a tirade. He constantly reminds her, and us, that she knew who he was right from the start.

Along the way, director Julie Taymor adds some very nice touches that are nods to artists in general, and these two in particular. At times, characters themselves fade in or out of a painting. Other times, Frida’s work literally comes to life. On a few occasions, even less conventional things happen. It’s a wonderful way of adding layers to the film without endless exposition. Showing is more powerful than telling. The film does a great deal of showing this way and manages to do so without subtracting from the idea that we are watching a movie about real people.

One area where the movie doesn’t do enough showing or telling is in regards to how she came to be so important to the Mexican people. We’re told often how good her work is, but just piles up in a back room of her house. Diego often lets well connected people give it a look. Eventually, this lands her a gig in Paris. Next thing we know she’s suddenly an icon in her native land. We never see any growth in her status. We are just told it is.

Even if the movie could have done a better job at explaining the public side of her life, it so thoroughly and zestfully goes over the private side, we can’t help being enthralled. Here is a woman with so much passion it rubs off on everyone around her, including us in the audience. We lover her regardless of whether or not we are into art or agree with her politics. This is the towering achievement of Frida.

Bug

Directed by William Friedkin.
2007. Rated R, 102 minutes.
Cast:
Ashley Judd
Michael Shannon
Harry Connick, Jr.
Lynn Collins

Lonely lady Agnes (Judd) is a chain smokin’, hard drinkin’ coke-snortin’ woman who’s scared of her abusive ex-husband, who’s just got out of jail, lives alone and has apparently become a lesbian. Maybe. Her kinda-sorta girlfriend, RC (Collins) introduces her to Peter (Shannon) who’s a bit of a weirdo but seems harmless. Well, Agnes takes him in and falls for him and then they discover a bug infestation in the motel room she uses as an apartment. It wants to blur the line between sanity and insanity, like Michael Clayton does a nice job of, and maybe make a statement about that but it just comes across as bazaar and a hard movie to watch. Being bazaar isn’t necessarily a bad thing, if you use what you have for some sort of graspable metaphor or thoughtful satire. Being bazaar just to be that way is just annoying. Sadly, the excellent work turned in by stars Ashley Judd and Michael Shannon are wasted on horrible material. Having seen it, it’s shocking that this was directed by the same man who directed The French Connection, The Exorcist and Rules of Engagement. Well, he also did Deal of the Century and Jade so I guess it’s not that big a deal. Anyway, unless you just have to see what Ashley Judd looks like naked while carrying 10 or 15 pounds more than you’re used to seeing on her, don’t bother.

MY SCORE: 3/10

Tooth Fairy

Directed by Michael Lembeck.
2010. Rated PG, 101 minutes.
Cast:
Dwayne Johnson
Ashley Judd
Stephen Merchant
Julie Andrews
Chase Ellison
Destiny Whitlock
Billy Crystal
Barclay Hope
Ryan Sheckler

Derek Thompson (Johnson) is an aging, former NHL player with a large ego toiling in the minor leagues. On the ice, he’s the star of his team. His knack for dislodging teeth from the mouths of opponents has earned him the nickname “The Tooth Fairy.” Off the ice, he’s pretty much a jerk. He seems to delight in crushing the dreams of others. When, in a fit of anger he goes too far, Derek finds himself sentenced to be a real tooth fairy. The powers that be hope to rehabilitate his outlook on life.

Basically, this is The Gameplan all over, again. The difference is this movie uses hockey instead of football and our hero sports a pair of silk pajamas with Victoria’s Secret style wings. The Disney formula remains intact and everything works out just as you would expect. Of course, there’s cuteness all around.

That said, TF is still watchable. Mostly, that’s because of the star. Dwayne Johnson has both the larger than life personality and the willingness to poke fun at his own persona to make this type of movie work. His presence and charisma place this, and the aforementioned The Game Plan, a shade above similar movies starring other action heroes. His natural charisma and years as “The Rock” have made it easy for him to be “that guy.” He’s so good at it, we get it as soon as we see him. His presence is a commanding one. As a result, his scenes with Julie Andrews are interesting because she has the same sort of aura. Having them both on the screen simultaneously is to have two powerful magnets competing for attraction.

Sadly, the movie as a whole isn’t nearly as compelling. Johnson still carries it well. He also gets help from a couple fairies. Stephen Merchant, as his caseworker Tracy, plays nicely off the star. In what amounts to little more than a cameo, Billy Crystal plays the equivalent to James Bond’s Q and gives us perhaps the best scene of the movie.

Overall, this is simple, light-hearted family fare with the pre-requisite life lessons included. It’s nothing great, but it is cute.

The Opposite View: Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel

What the Internet Says: 4.8/10 on imdb.com (9/18/10), 17% on rottentomatoes.com, 36/100 on metacritic.com

MY SCORE: 6/10