A Simplistic Review: Booksmart (2019)
Man…so people are pissed! Apparently no one saw “Booksmart” over the Memorial Day holiday weekend. The unofficial kickoff to the Summer movie season! People instead saw a live action Disney remake, the story of an unstoppable assassin and they even saw superheroes punch super-villains in the face instead of a film about white people with white problems…what a shock.
Look, I know people are already taking SIDES on “Booksmart.” Excuses included;
It’s Annapurna’s fault for putting it out wide during the holiday. The audience is stupid and doesn’t appreciate indie comedies. People aren’t ready for female and/or queer leads in their coming-of-age comedies. The list goes on and on…
Honestly, “Booksmart” is fun. I laughed out loud a couple of times. But it’s also a derivative story that I’ve seen before.
Yes, having extensive LGBTQ representation is great, but it’s almost window dressing for the main story; friends at the end of their high school friendship. And the problem for so long is still using the LGBTQ community as the side gig to the problems of the straight community. Amy (played by Kaitlyn Dever) shows the struggle and anxiety of being gay, but it just seems to be…I don’t know…selling it short. But what do I know, I’m a straight, married, white male.
I digress, I liked “Booksmart” butI also like “Superbad.” I guess that shows where I’m at.
(Ep. 121): Fire Down Below – Movie Commentary: May 2019
We started this new year off with a film from 90’s action star and serial eater, Steven Seagal’s Hard to Kill! We continue the Seagal Saga with Fire Down Below, you know the EPA action film…no not that one…the other one…yeah there is another EPA action film.
Description
When an EPA representative is discovered dead in a small Midwestern town, government agent Jack Taggart (Steven Seagal) goes undercover to check things out. He finds that local coal mogul Orin Hanner Sr. (Kris Kristofferson) is cutting financial corners by disposing of hazardous waste wherever he pleases and that local kids are falling ill because of this recklessness. Taggart then works to stop the shady activity and save the town, but Hanner and his thugs soon grow suspicious of him.