Twisters, A Quiet Place: Day One, Paris Olympics & July Craziness

As it's a rainy afternoon now & the Olympics are on the TV, it was time for me to do one of these. Now, it's not been too eventful a July. Mainly, I've returned to various places to eat and for entertainment. For example, Mecum had their smaller-scale version of their auto auction in Kissimmee earlier on the month, so I went one day. The same goes for various restaurants; yesterday I ate at a Yard House for the first time since last year. Oh, and one afternoon I got a much-needed haircut; in fact, more needed than usual.Otherwise, I've watched various sports on TV (like the MLB All-Star Game) and marveled at all the wild events in July. This includes the attempted political assassination and general shocking moments in that world along w/ too many celebrity deaths of figures that were popular when I was a kid. You know, like Richard Simmons and Shelley Duvall.

The Olympics probably aren't seen as “cool” by some and I realize the exorbitant cost of hosting one. It's still entertaining to me, whether it be the popular sports or the niche ones like handball, archery and field hockey. I was amused by the opening ceremonies and how they were even more bombastic & weirder than typical—the parade of athletes in boats down the Seine, a Celine Dion musical number on the Eiffel Tower, French heavy metal bands doing a musical number about the French Revolution, a piano lighting on fire, etc. Anyhow, I know Mom would have loved watching this edition of the games; she always did. I still can't believe she passed away on the 25^th of this month 4 years ago already. Sigh...

To close this out, what I've seen theatrically since the 4^th of July:

First I'll mention Kill, a Hindi-language movie from India that not only is more interesting than its generic title, is not the wild 3 hour blend of many genres that includes musical numbers that many people assume all Indian cinema is. Rather, it's more along the lines of John Wick or the Indonesian Raid movies. The lead does battle with many villains on a train and wow does it being graphically violent. It was a blast as there was still the melodrama that you usually find in Indian cinema. It was neat seeing a serious, gruesome bloody martial arts picture from that country, and on the big screen no less.

A Quiet Place: Day One I realize is a film that some didn't like as it was more about a personal story between two characters (and a cat!) rather than an epic blockbuster about how those aliens first invaded Earth. If you're fine with that, you can be like me and enjoy a drama-thriller with many introspective moments alongside the scary alien bits. Thankfully, I've liked all the movies in that franchise so far.

Finally, last weekend was Twisters. The crowd experience wasn't the best but I won't dwell on that. Instead, it was dumb popcorn entertainment that I still had fun with, no matter how scientifically implausible it probably was. The original Twister I don't love yet does have a nice memory attached to it: the entire family saw the movie theatrically during the summer of '96.

Sometime in August I'll return. Nothing is on the agenda... yet.

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, Thelma, Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 & 4th of July

As I had the free time to do one of these (nothing is ever done on the 4^th of July... which is not a complaint as it's easier to relax at home & view fireworks on the TV rather than going out among the masses & trying to see some when the weather may not cooperate anyhow.), this was part of my afternoon entertainment. Aside from a haircut that was in fact much-needed, the only thing I've done of note was viewing some films.

The first one I'll mention is the Netflix special I experienced last night. For YEARS there were rumors of a Beverly Hills Cop 4, to the point I never thought there would ever be one. The first two are cool, while the third, rather bad. Finally, it happened, and... while not as terrible as 3, I otherwise wasn't a fan. The story was just lame & obvious, the presence of too much modern humor was a turn-off, Axel Foley wasn't the legacy character done the dirtiest by Axel F, and the character of Axel's daughter I could just never warm up to. When even the action wasn't shot in a thrilling way—disappointing. Still, many others like it more than me so your mileage may vary.

Last week I saw an independent movie theatrically called Thelma. It starred June Squibb, an actress in her 90's who has voiced some Pixar characters and I know her best for the 2014 independent movie Nebraska, starring Bruce Dern. Whether on stage or on screen, this was her first starring role, which is amazing. It's about a senior citizen who is ripped off in a phone scam & she wants her money back. It's a charming movie about the perils of aging which does not become condescending and it is great she teams up with Richard Roundtree-this was his last role before he died last fall.

Finally, several days ago I viewed Kevin Costner's Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1. I don't love everything he's ever done and have never seen his former show Yellowstone but I do respect how he used millions of dollars of his own money to bring an ambitious passion project to the screen—of course, this decision literally ruined his marriage and the box office performance was as mediocre as I figured for a movie that skewed towards audiences even older than me, but alas... a 12 hour epic saga Western in four different chapters in a theatrical setting is a tough sell. Me, I appreciated how it did NOT feel like a modern movie and instead I greatly enjoyed this 3 hour film (flaws & all) which juggled many different characters in several distinct settings; presumably everyone from all the settings will meet up in Chapter 4 but regardless, I saw enough where I am on board to see Chapter 2 and where they take the film. Thankfully, Chapter 2 is in early August although the rest won't be until next year.

When I return later in July, there will be more to discuss. Hopefully everyone has a nice 4^th.