"The Magnificent Seven) (movie critique)

THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN
movie poster

Well, the Friday Movie Mavens and The Travelling Toe went to see the new version of "The Magnificent Seven".  Most of us remember seeing the first version on this story in 1960.

The storyline is about the same - bad guys taking over a town and the sort of good guys who come help the citizens.

Corrupt mine and landowner, Bartholomew Bogue, starts seizing control of a small Western town called, Rose Creek. When Bogue's "rules" are not followed, he deals with the offenders harshly as he has his own Sheriff and lawmen on the payroll to keep everyone in line.  If Bogue is crossed, the citizen eats dirt. Bogue even burns down the church - what a meanie!

One citizen Matthew Cullen, tries to stand up for the townsfolk and he is slaughtered right in front of his wife, Emma.  She and another townsman, decide to go look for help and find a warrant officer by the name of Sam Chisholm.  At first when they ask him to come help them out, he refuses, but when he learns that Bogue is the bad guy he changes his mind. Chisholm starts recruiting his own team of outlaws and cutthroats.  The 7 are made of a gambler, sharp shooter, knife assian, tracker and Indian fighter, Mexican outlaw and Native American warrior.

The 7 arrive at Rose Creek and take on Bogue's men, sending a couple back to Bogue telling him that the town, the mine and the citizens are no longer his property.

So Bogue and his group take off for Rose Creek and the showdown.  The 7 and the citizens take on Bogue and his renegades. 

So, Dear Readers, who wins the showdown?  Well, The Travelling Toe will not reveal the outcome of the final fight but legends were made that day!

CAST:

Denzel Washington
Sam Chisolm

Chris Pratt
Joshua Faraday

Ethan Hawke
Goodnight Robicheaux

Lee Byung-hun
Billy Rocks

Vincent D'Onofrio
Jack Horne

Manuel Garcia-Rulfo
Vasquez

Martin Sensmeier
Red Harvest

Haley Bennett
Emma Cullen

Matt Bomer
Matthew Cullen

Peter Sarsgaard
Bartholomew Bogue

The Travelling Toe gives this movie 1 big to up as a good Western movie is hard to come by these days along with a six shooter just in case someone like Bogue shows up again!

"The Hollars" (movie critique)

THE HOLLARS
movie poster

A Dear Friend and The Travelling Toe hit the road to that big town to the east that starts with "D" driving through miles of construction and road rage drivers to see a movie at one of the art movie theaters that are located in Dallas. The movie we saw was "The Hollars'.

John Hollar is an aspiring graphic novelist working in a boring job in NYC.  His girlfriend, Rebecca, is very pregnant but he has commitment issues with making the relationship a permanent one.

His girlfriend shows up at his job with a packed bag and airline ticket.  His mother has been diagnosed with a brain tumor.  He is reluctant at first to go but Rebecca insists that he go check on his family.  So he leaves NYC and returns to his childhood home.  There he finds his father unable to cope with the possibility of losing his wife.  John also finds out that his father's business is on the verge of bankruptcy.  And his brother is living in the basement as he has lost his job...actually he worked for his father and his father fired him.The Mom, Sally, tries to hold the family together while she faces this major medical crisis.  

Well, Dear Readers The Travelling Toe will leave the narrative there.  Does Sally survive the brain surgery?  Does John finally grow-up to take care of his family?  Will Don be able to save the family business?  You will just have to find out for yourself.  One comment that The Travelling Toe must share is that the actors who play the parents, Margo Martindale and Richard Jenkins, are 2 of the best actors working today.  They make their relationship seem real. Also Josh Groban has a cameo role in the movie playing Rev Dan, yes a real minister.

Side Note:

When they were shaving Sally's hair, it really looked like Margo was really having her own hair shaved off! How did they do that?

CAST:

Ann Kendrick
Rebecca

John Krasinski
John

Margo Martindale
Sally

Richard Jenkins
Don

Sharlto Copley
Ron

Charlie Day
Jason

The Travelling Toe gives this movie 2 middle toes up with a bottle of hair restorer.

Disclaimer:  The Travelling Toe is not a professional critic and any opinions expressed are fro entertainment purposes only.

"Bridget's Baby" (movie critique)

BRIDGET JONES'S BABY
movie poster

With 2 Dear Friends, The Travelling Toe went to see ":Bridget Jones's Baby", It is the latest movie about the escapades of Bridget Jones. The 2nd movie of the series, left off with Bridget and the love of her life (or so she thought) Mark Darcy starting a life together. But in this movie we find Bridget at 43, still single and focusing on her career as a cable news producer. 

A girlfriend talks Bridget into going to a fringe music festival together.  After a few drinks, they become separated and Bridget meets a handsome American man.  They spend a very romantic night together. When he wakes up the next morning, he finds that Bridget has left and he does not even know her name.  Later Bridget finds out his name is Jack Qwant, a successful soft designer of a matchmaking dating site. 

A few days later at a party for the christening of a friend's baby, Bridget meets Mark again.t To make matters even more uncomfortable for them both, he is the Godfather and she is the Godmother for the baby.  They have to pose for pictures together trying to look happy.  And once again after a few drinks they rekindle their relationship in a night a heated passion.

Fast froward a few weeks and we see Bridget holding a pregnancy test with it showing positive! But which one of the men is the Baby Daddy - Mark or Jack?  So now she has the task of telling Jack and Mark one of them is going to be a father but she doesn't know which one. 

There is a very funny scene where her friend the newscaster of the cable program is going to interview Jack and the makeup lady, a friend of Bridget's, tries to get samples of his hair and fingernail clippings for DNA testing.

The 2 men try to outdo each other in taking care of the mom-to-be. In a small but essential role, Emma Thompson plays the non-nonsense gynecologist and is very funny in a droll sort of way.

If you have seen the 2 previous Bridget Jones's movies, you know it is filled with quirky friends and co-workers with one one funny scene after another.

So Dear Readers who is the Baby Daddy?  Well, The Travelling Toe never reveals  the ending so you will just have to see it for yourself.


CAST

Renee Zellweger
Bridget Jones

Patrick Dempsey
Jack Qwant

Colin Firth
Mark Darcy

Emma Thompson
Dr. Rawling

The Travelling Toe gives this movie1 big toe up (mainly since it has been a while since we last saw Bridget) with a glass of white wine to get one into the mood!

    

Disclaimer:  The Travelling Toe is not a professional critic and any opinions expressed are for entertainment purposes only.

"Sully" (movie critique)

SULLY
movie poster

Well, the Friday Movie Maven and the Travelling Toe are out an about again to see the latest flick which this past week featured Tom Hanks in "Sully".

Hopefully you will remember the dramatic scene of the passengers standing on the wings of the airplane and other flotation devices waiting to rescued. The movie does tell that part of the story but also tells of the following investigations that could threaten Sully's career and reputation. The NTSB is assured that Sully could have safely landed the plane at one of the nearby airports as indicated by all the flight simulation program runs.  However, Sully does not suffer fools gladly and insistes that is not the case. One factor that came out in the inquiry was that the simulation pilots had several practice runs before the formal flight simulation was recorded. The NTSB insisted that according to prodicals that the left engine was still in play but Sully insisted it was not. Eventually the left engine was recovered and was found to be completely destroyed by the bird strike. So of course Sully and his Co-Pilot, Jeff Skiles are complete exonerated of any charges. 

The movie switches around between the nightmares that Sully has, along with the stress of the hearings and his interaction with his wife and what she is having to deal with back home as well the ongoing media circus

The landing on the Hudson River, which took place January 15, 2009, was very well done and exciting and terrifying at the same time.  The Flight Attendants really helped save the lives of the passengers by getting them prepared for the landing as well as getting them out of the plane as quickly as possible. Also the movie featured the ferry boat captains and crew coming to the aid of the stranded passengers.  There were a lot of heroes that day that is for sure!  Off the 155 souls on board that day none perished which was indeed a Miracle! 


CAST:

Tom Hanks
Chesley "Sully"Sullenberger

Aaron Eckhart
Jeff Skiles

Just before the credits roll there is a video showing a reunion of Sully with some of the crew and passengers that survived that day.  Very heart warming moment.


The Travelling Toe gives this movie 1 big toe up with a flotation device.

  

Disclaimer:  The Travelling Toe is not a professional critic and any opinions expressed are for entertainment purposes only.

"Hell or High Water" (movie critique)

HELL OR HIGH WATER
movie poster

The Friday Movie Mavens and The Travelling Toe had to see the new flick with Jeff Bridges, "Hell or High Water".  It also stars Ben Foster and Chris Pine as brothers Tanner and Toby Howard.  All 3 leads were so good in their respective parts.

The movie starts with a bank robbery in a small West Texas town pulled off by the 2 brothers.  They make off with the cash and then hit another branch of the same bank.  The robberies are for the brothers to get enough money to pay off the mortgage and back taxes owned on the family ranch.  The bank is just about to file foreclosure papers on the ranch which is the same bank the brothers are targeting. Toby is a divorced father with 2 sons living a hard scrabble life and wants better for them. He would be able to do that with the oil rights on the property.  Tanner is an ex-convict who was in jail for killing their abusive father.  After the bank robberies, the brothers take off to an Oklahoma casino to exchange the stolen cash for chips and then back into a check to the bank so it can't be traced to them.  They then head back to Texas for more money.

Texas Ranger Marcus Hamilton who is just received his letter of forced retirement, and his partner Alberto Parker are sent to catch the robbers.  At first the lawmen are one step behind the brothers but then Marcus has a plan to wait for them in the small town of Coleman.  While they are waiting, they go to eat dinner at the "Famous T-Bone Cafe".  Their interaction with a "take no lip West Texas senior waitress" is priceless.  If you live in Texas you have been served by one of these ladies for sure!

But the brothers hit a different bank in a somewhat larger city and it is full of customers. Well, in rural West Texas everyone is carrying and the brothers barely get out of town with some townsfolk hot on their trail.  When Marcus and Alberto hear the news they take off and join in the chase.

The Travelling Toe will leave the narrative there so the ending will not be spoiled if you have not seen the movie yet.

This is one of the best movies of the year.  One major factor was the stark landscape, the small towns and the characters that are part of the story.  Don't miss this movie!


CAST:


                                                            The Texas Rangers

Jeff Bridges
Marcus Hamilton

Gil Birmingham
Alberto Parker

                                                        The Outlaws

Chris Pine
Toby Howard

Ben Foster
Tanner Howard

Side Note:

Being a Native Texan there were 2 things that irritated The Travelling Toe, Jeff mispronounced the name of the Brazos River and the movie was actually filmed in New Mexico and not in Texas sad to say.  What's up with that??????


The Travelling Toe gives this movie 2 big toes up with a West Texas oil rig pumping away.

Disclaimer:  The Travelling Toe is not a professional critic and any opinions expressed are for entertainment purposes only.   

THE TAMING
play program


Recently, The Travelling Toe and a Dear Friend attended the Saturday afternoon performance of "The Taming" presented by the Circle Theatre in downtown Fort Worth,  The play was written by Lauren Gunderson.

LAUREN GUNDERSON
playwright

Playscripts, whose tag line is "All The Stage Is Our World"  describes the play on their website as follows:

Tweetering, pandashrews, and undying giddiness for James Madison -- what else could you expect to find at a Miss America pageant? In this hilarious, raucous, all-female "power-play" inspired by Shakespeare's Shrew, contestant Katherine has political aspirations to match her beauty pageant ambitions. All she needs to revolutionize the American government is the help of one ultra-conservative senator's aide on the cusp of a career breakthrough, and one bleeding-heart liberal blogger who will do anything for her cause. Well, that and a semi-historically-accurate ether trip. Here's lookin' at you, America.

The play consists of 3 women actors and is told in 2 acts, with sort of a closing epilogue. We both found the play to be extremely funny and a close look at the political scene from both the conservative and liberal side with the Beauty Queen in the middle of the mix.  A funny tidbit was that the conservative wore a blue top and the liberal wore a red top just to mix it up a bit.  All three actresses were excellent in their respective roles.  The stage setting was so creative as the Circle Theatre has a small stage to work with and it was put to good use. The costumes were very creative especially for Miss Georgia...hey y'all!

CAST:

Lisa Fairchild                                 Patricia

Lauren Ferebee                            Bianca

Liz J millea                                   Katherine

If you have the opportunity to see this play wherever you live, then go see it.  It certainly was worth the price of the ticket for the two of us.

CIRCLE THEATRE
Fort Worth  TX

Circle Theatre

"Suicide Squad" (movie critique)

SUICIDE SQUAD
movie poster

Recently, The Travelling Toe and a Dear Friend went to the local Movie Tavern to see the hit movie, "Suicide Squad". 

The movie picks up where "Batman vs Superman" left off with Superman being no more. (gee, hope you knew that tidbit) Amanda Walker, an intelligence officer, decides to assemble a crack fighting team made up of dangerous incarcerated criminals.  They are in a notorious and secretive hell-hole of a prison.  Walker makes deals with each of the villains in order to get them join her in the secretive mission.  In charge of this rather rowdy bunch is Colonel Rick Flag. His bodyguard is Katan, a warrior with a mystical sword. But each of the squad members also has a nano bomb implanted in their neck which can be detonated should they try to cut and run or cause mayhem. Just another way to keep these criminals in line, staying focused and doing their job. Well, the thought of your head getting blown off just might do the trick!

What the supervillains are being sent out to do is destroy is a witch-goddess know as the Enchantress.  She has summoned the forces of evil, including her brother, Incubus, to help her annihilate all human kind. Midway City is the first target and is besieged with all types of monsters and chaos.  When Walker learns of the attack, she instructs Flag to get the Suicide Squad there post-haste. There are several underlying stories within the group dynamics, such as Deadshot and his daughter, Harley Quinn and her love interest, a young Joker, who works against the group so he can get his lover back, Killer Crock a genetic mutant, El Diablo a pyrokinetic and a thief, Captain Boomerang.  

So Dear Readers, does this group of misfits work together to help save human-kind or do they cut and run?  Will earth be saved from the Enchantress?  Will the supervillains live to fight another day?  Well, you will just have to find out for yourself as The Travelling Toe has zipped her lip on the ending!  If you go so see it, wait a bit for a nugget during the credits.

This movie did rather well at the box office and part of that was due to some very interesting casting of the supervillians.  


CAST

Will Smith
Deadshot

Margot Robbie
Harley Quinn

Viola Davis
Amanda Waller

Joel Kinnaman
Col Rick Flagg

   

 

Jared Leto
Joker

Karen Fukuhara
Katana

Cara Delevingne
Enchantress

Jai Courtney
Captain Boomerang

Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
Killer Croc

Jay Hernandez
El Diablo

The Travelling Toe gives this movie 2 second toes up with a bulletproof vest and a fireproof suit!

Disclaimer:  The Travelling Toe is not a professional critic and any opinions expressed are for entertainments purposes only.