Tim joined Paul Douglas to review the original streaming series “Falcon and the Winter Soldier” (Disney+) and the documentary “Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal” (Netflix) on the “Paul and Jordana” show on WCCO-AM. Click to listen below. The segment is brought to you by Michael Bryant and Bradshaw & Bryant.
Tim Lammers reviews movies weekly for “The KQ92 Morning Show” with Tom Barnard on KQRS-FM, “Paul and Jordana” with Paul Douglas and Jordana Green on WCCO Radio, “It Matters with Kelly Cordes” on WJON-AM, KLZZ-FM, “Let’s Talk Movies with Tim Lammers” with Tim Matthews on KRWC-AM, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere, and reviews streaming programming on WCCO Radio’s “Paul and Jordana” as well. On TV, Tim has made hundreds of guest appearances on NBC affiliate KARE on the news program “KARE 11 News at 11”.
Tim joined Paul Douglas and Jordana Green Tuesday to review the new streaming series “Little Fires Everywhere” (Hulu) and “The Banker” (Apple TV+) on the “Paul and Jordana” show on WCCO-AM. Click to listen below. The segment is brought to you by Michael Bryant and Bradshaw & Bryant.
Tim Lammers reviews movies weekly for “The KQ92 Morning Show” on KQRS-FM, “Paul and Jordana” on WCCO Radio, “It Matters with Kelly Cordes” on WJON-AM, KLZZ-FM, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere, and reviews streaming programming on WCCO Radio’s “Paul and Jordana” as well. On TV, Tim has made hundreds of guest appearances on “KARE 11 News at 11” (NBC).
“The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2” (PG-13) 3 stars (out of four)
The final arrow has been slung – but doesn’t have nearly as much zip – in “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2,” a solid yet underwhelming conclusion to the franchise based on Suzanne Collins’ best-selling book trilogy. Jennifer Lawrence is superior once again as Katniss Everdeen, but a lumbering start followed by uneven pacing makes the hotly anticipated final installment in the four movie saga the weakest in the series. It’s still a good movie, just not as accomplished as its three predecessors.
“Mockingjay, Part 2” picks up almost immediately where “Part 1” left off, with a rescued but emotionally damaged Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) still strapped to his hospital bed after he tries to choke Katniss to death. He’s clearly traumatized – maybe for life – by the treacherous President Snow (Donald Sutherland at his menacing best), who is laying a trap for the inevitable invasion of the Capitol by the District 13 rebellion. Despite his troubled mind, Peeta is sent along with a strike force including Katniss to execute the plan, and with any luck, give the symbolic Mockingjay her chance to assassinate Snow for all the pain and death he’s caused her and the oppressed districts of Panem.
“The Hunger Games” series has generally had three major things going for it the entire time: A story that became more textured and thought provoking as it progressed; exciting direction by Garry Ross for the first film and Francis Lawrence for the remainder, and an enormously talented ensemble cast led with ferocity by Lawrence. “The Hunger Games” of course were about adolescents dueling to the death, and “Catching Fire” upped the stakes by pitting former champions against each other. That, of course, led to the rebellion against the Capitol in “Mockingjay,” which in typical Hollywood money-grab fashion, was split into two movies to maximize profits.
Rarely has that formula worked. “Harry Potter” introduced it with “The Deathly Hallows” to great effect, but since then, it’s been employed by the dreadful “Twilight” series and much better but “Hunger Games”-like “Divergent” series.
As the 2 hour 20 minute “Mockingjay, Part 2” plays out, you begin to get the sense that the move was made solely to please the fans who want the detail and nuance of the books. That’s all well and good, so long as it translates to an exciting movie experience, and that’s exactly where this final chapter in “The Hunger Games” series is lacking. As a two-part film that nearly runs 4 1/2 hours, “Mockingjay, Part 2” simply feels stretched too thin.
For all its shortcomings, “Mockingjay, Part 2” still feels complete with this latest chapter, and doesn’t, well, leave you hungry for more. With most of his scenes opposite Julianne Moore as shifty District 13 President Alma Coin, you can’t help but be left with a bittersweet feeing watching the late Phillip Seymour Hoffman in his final role as gamemaker Plutarch Heavensbee, as the character seems far less involved than in the previous two films as “Mockingjay, Part 2” draws to a close.
One word of warning, like “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,” “Mockingjay, Part 2” can’t quite seem to settle on an ending. Book fans will know the ending when they see it, but for the rest of us, the conclusion seems filled with indecision until the credits roll.
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“The Night Before” (R) 2 stars (out of four)
Seth Rogen is haunted by the ghost of stoner movies past with “The Night Before,” a retread of the dopey film formula that has followed the actor throughout most of his career. The raunchy Christmas comedy isn’t a complete disaster – Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Anthony Mackie make up for Rogen’s lame presence – it just requires a lot of patience as you’re hoping for fresh laughs amid the same old tired jokes.
Gordon-Levitt stars as Ethan, an aspiring musician whose life was rocked by tragedy in his early 20s when his parents were both killed in a traffic accident on Christmas Eve. To help their friend Ethan cope, his two closest friends, Issac (Rogen) and Chris (Mackie), start a Christmas Eve tradition where they party their way across New York City – all in the hopes of getting passes into the ultimate bash called the Nutcracker Ball. Unfortunately, the annual event seems to be losing its luster as Isaac is preparing to start a family and Chris is enjoying success as an NFL star.
“The Night Before” is packed with everything you’d expect out of a Rogen movie: Lots of drugs, booze and jokes about a certain member of the male anatomy. It’s really only saved by the charm of Gordon-Levitt and Mackie, and a welcome, unexpected comedic turn by Michael Shannon as a small-time dope dealer who doubles as a “Christmas Carol”-type ghost of past, present and future.
If you’re looking to get into the Christmas spirit early you should at the very least like “Love the Coopers,” a dysfunctional family comedy that avoids the trappings of the genre as it winds down to a predictable yet very sweet conclusion.
Diane Keaton and John Goodman star as Charlotte and Sam Cooper, whose marriage has soured after 40 years together. Wanting to gather their family together for one last Christmas before they split, the Coopers struggle to hold it together as their children and extended family each make their respective treks to the family household.
“Love the Coopers” plays out in five individual stories before the family gathering, as we follow the complicated lives of Cooper children Hank (Ed Helms) and Eleanor (Olivia Wilde), grandpa Bucky (Alan Arkin), Charlotte’s sister, Emma (Marisa Tomei), and of course, Charlotte and Sam.
Hank is going through a divorce and is in search of a job, while Eleanor has a mess of a love life until she meets a soldier (Jake Lacy) on leave. Bucky, a lonesome widower, is distraught that his good friend, Ruby (Amanda Seyfried) is moving away; while Emma struggles to come to terms with her longtime sibling rivalry with Charlotte. Also involved wrapped up in the family trials are a taciturn police officer (Anthony Mackie), an eccentric aunt (June Squibb) and Hank’s estranged wife (Alex Borstein) and their lovelorn teenage son, Charlie (Timothee Chalamet).
“Love the Coopers” feels like a number of different films, from “Home for the Holidays” to “A Christmas Story,” because the story is aided with a wise, introspective narration. It also feels a lot like “Love, Actually,” because it starts out with separate stories that eventually intertwine.
Despite its shortcomings, “Love the Coopers” works because it could have easily gone the way of a screwball comedy, yet instead relies on its gifted cast’s talents as actors whom possess natural gifts for both drama and comedy. It has a surprising blend of humor and poignancy, all while telling us a story we all know too well: Families are complicated. But since the Coopers are loaded with family members you can relate to, don’t be surprised if you leave the film with a big smile on your face.
“Spotlight” (R) 3 1/2 stars (out of four)
Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo and Rachel McAdams head up an all-star cast in writer-director Thomas McCarthy’s “Spotlight,” a compelling film about the Boston Globe’s Spotlight team’s investigation into the Boston Archdiocese child sex abuse scandal – a report that led to a falling out in the Catholic Church and exposure of hundreds more scandals in parishes nationwide.
Set largely in 2001 – in the days before the Wild West journalism of the Internet (and a sad reminder of how investigative journalism is currently on life support) – “Spotlight” follows editor Walter “Robby” Robinson (Michael Keaton), reporters Michael Rezendes (Ruffalo), Sacha Pfeiffer (McAdams) and Matt Carroll (Brian d’Arcy James) as the team digs into allegations of child molestation against defrocked priest John Geoghan. As it turns out, Geoghan is only the tip of a very large iceberg, leading the reporters to groundbreaking investigation into the Catholic Church’s cover-ups of child sex abuse by defrocked, and in some cases, reassigned, priests.
“Spotlight” runs the gamut of emotions. You’ll feel sadness hearing the tragic revelations of abuse survivors in interviews conducted by reporters; and anger when you see the thinly-veiled threats by the church’s powerful supporters as Spotlight is urged to back off its investigation. There’s also frustration as journalists desperately try to get sensitive court documents unsealed, and disbelief as the reporters uncover a coded system in the church’s records to detect how priests accused of abuse were dealt with in a very large and convoluted system.
In the end, “Spotlight” is a very difficult film to watch, but an important film to watch nonetheless. It’s easily one of the best films of the year.
Original Interviews, Reviews & More By Tim Lammers
