Be Kind, Please Rewind

He’s a Dream Catcher and Releaser. He’s the…

Vidiot

Week of November 27, 2015

Don’t follow your dreams off a cliff. First up…

Ricki and the Flash

The upside to being an elderly female lead singer is that the crowd no longer chants ‘show us your tits’.

Mind you, the vocalist in this dramedy never had much of a fan base to begin with.

Mature party girl Ricki (Meryl Streep) has been singing in an LA dive bar ever since she left her husband Pete (Kevin Kline) to follow her rock-star dreams.

When she receives a call concerning her suicidal daughter (Mamie Gummer) she rushes back to Indianapolis to be with her.

However, her estranged family isn’t so receptive to having their deadbeat mother back.

While Streep nails the immature musician and Diablo Cody’s script occasionally discusses the double standards between female and male rock-stars, for the most part Ricki and the Flash is a predictable and forgettable film.

Besides, to stay relevant older singers need to align with younger artists and pretend to be their parents.  Yellow Light

American Ultra

The best thing about being a sleeper agent is you don’t have to attend your agency’s Christmas party.  

In fact, the unknowing agent in this action-comedy doesn’t even have to check-in.

Convenient store clerk Mike Howell (Jesse Eisenberg) divides his time up between working, drawing cartoons, and getting high with his girlfriend Phoebe (Kristen Stewart).

But when an eager operative (Topher Grace) orders the assassination of project Ultra’s last remaining sleeper, Ultra’s mastermind (Connie Britton) locates Mike and activates him moments before the cleanup crew arrives.

With access to his CIA training, Mike is now equipped to take on the elite killers invading his small town.

While the action is certainly rapid fire and somewhat inventive, the film’s simplistic plot-line fails to find its purpose. As for the acting, both leads are unable to emote any believable emotions.

Incidentally, it’s not until agents are activated that they start getting paid.  Yellow Light

***Off-key Boards***

 

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Satisfaction

The difference between male and female rock-stars is that women form meaningful relationships with their groupies.

However, the songstress in this drama has developed feelings for a nightclub owner.

The minute high school is over Jennie (Justine Bateman) and her band The Mystery (Julia Roberts, Britta Phillips, Trini Alvarado) head to Florida in a stolen van to audition for Martin Falcon (Liam Neeson), a bar owner in need of performers for the summer.

While they get the position, over the summer the band starts to drift apart as some members fall in love with locals and others overdose on drugs.

Everything calumniates when the owners of the stole van show up.

Produced by Aaron Spelling, Satisfaction has all of the earmarks of the successful television show creator but for some reason those elements do not elevate this mediocre musical misadventure.

Interestingly enough, all-girl house bands boast the lowest bar tabs.

He Plays a Reset List. He’s the…

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