Gerard Butler is back for a third and presumably final go-round as an Army ranger-turned-Secret Service superstar with a particular set of skills in “Angel Has Fallen.” It’s Butler’s third “Fallen” movie since 2013, beginning with “Olympus Has Fallen” where the president of the United States, played by Aaron Eckhart, came under attack by terrorists, followed by “London Has Fallen,” when the UK city came under siege by terrorists on a presidential visit.
AUDIO: Hear Tim’s review of “Angel Has Fallen” with Paul Douglas and Jordana Green on “Paul and Jordana” live from the Minnesota State Fair on WCCO-AM. Segment is brought to you by Michael Bryant and Bradshaw & Bryant.
“Angel Has Fallen” mixes up the formula a bit, where Bannon, code name “Angel” becomes the prime suspect in an assassination attempt on President Allan Trumbull (Morgan Freeman), who assumed the Oval Office after playing speaker of the House in the first film and vice president in the second. The target of a drone attack that killed all of Trumbull’s Secret Service agents with the exception of Bannon, Trumbull becomes incapacitated and unable to defend his loyal bodyguard, who has been framed by ruthless defense contractors who are hoping to land a big payday and change the way things are done with private companies in Washington.
Directed by stuntman-turned-filmmaker Rick Roman Waugh, “Angel Has Fallen” feels distinctly like three films. It’s a combination of the first two films in its brutal, unrelenting violence as Bannon takes out the bad guys with extreme prejudice; and has heavy overtones of the Harrison Ford blockbuster “The Fugitive,” where an innocent man framed with a deadly crime is faced with the insurmountable task of proving his innocence.
Like all three of the aforementioned films, “Angel Has Fallen” delivers on thrills with intense action and a solid cast and will easily please fans of the “Fallen” movies and “The Fugitive.” Upping the appeal of the film is strong performance by Jada Pinkett Smith as an FBI agent on Bannon’s tail, and the grizzled but always great Nick Nolte as Bannon’s estranged father.
At this juncture, the only thing working against “Angel Has Fallen” is the predictability of the story line and basic framework of films that we already know too well. Thankfully, a solid veteran like Nolte was added to juice the film up with some welcome laughs. In the end, “Angel Has Fallen” is a good film but not a great one and will leave its fan base more than satisfied.
Lammometer: 7 (out of 10)
Tim Lammers reviews movies weekly for “The KQ92 Morning Show,” WCCO Radio, WJON-AM, KLZZ-FM, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere. On TV, Tim has made hundreds of guest appearances on “KARE 11 News at 11” (NBC).
In a year blessed by the movies about Queen, Elton John and The Beatles, it’s turn for The Boss’ music to get its due on the big screen with “Blinded by the Light.” Far from a biopic like “Bohemian Rhapsody” or musical fantasy like “Rocketman,” the film is more like “Yesterday,” except it’s based on the remarkable true story of how the tunes of Bruce Springsteen inspired a Pakistani teen in the late 1980s to transcend the hatred around him and defying the conventions of his culture, all while pursuing his dream of being a writer.
“Blinded by the Light” is based on the formative teen years of Sarfraz Manzoor, who’s presented in the film as Javed (Viveik Kalra), who is fighting xenophobia as a Pakistani immigrant in Luten, Bedfordshire, in the southeast of England amidst his own identity crisis. Not only does struggle the taunts of Brits who hate him simply because of his lineage, he’s also rejecting his preordained path of following in the cultural footsteps of his hardworking father Malik (Kulvinder Ghir), and mother, Noor (Meer Ganatra).
AUDIO: Hear Tim’s review of “Blinded by the Light” with Tom Barnard on “The KQ Morning Show” on KQRS-FM. Segment is brought to you by Michael Bryant and Bradshaw & Bryant.
Instead, Javek wants to go his own way, and he’s not quite sure where that is until he finds his salvation and identifies with the lyrics by a troubadour born in the U.S.A. It happens like a flash of lighting, when Javed’s life instantly transforms when his schoolmate, Roops (Aaron Phagura) borrows him two Springsteen cassette tapes (it is the ‘80s, after all). Captivated by all things Springsteen (he even copies the rocker’s blue collar look), Javed most importantly realizes the parallels between his life and The Boss’ stories. In turn, the power of Springsteen’s music enables Javek to put his feelings down on paper, which catches the attention of his caring English teacher (the always great Hayley Atwell), who in turn urges him to write more.
While “Blinded by the Light” isn’t a note-for-note account of Manzoor’s life story, the heart and passion that drove him to become a successful journalist for such publications as the UK’s Guardian and a documentarian for the BBC is definitely present in the movie.
Directed by “Bend it Like Beckham” filmmaker Gurinder Chada, “Blinded by the Light” presents Springsteen’s music in a way you have never experienced it before, and to top it off, it blends in moments of light humor, serious heartbreak and a little romance that creates a unique and wonderfully entertaining story.
Anchored by passionate performances by Kalra, Ghir, Ganatra, Phagura and Nell Williams, who plays Javed’s first love, “Blinded by the Light” is easily one of the best films of the year, and it’s capped off by an ending that will make Springsteen fans love The Boss forever. The movie will no doubt make you tap your toes to the soundtrack, but laugh, cry and perhaps sob.
Perhaps the greatest revelation of “Blinded by the Light” is that you don’t have to necessarily know the music of Springsteen to be engaged by the film. Diehard fans will no doubt find deeper meaning in the rock icon’s music, while casual fans will look at the New Jersey native in a completely different way. As for those few who are completely unaware of The Boss, get ready to experience something akin to what Manzoor’s character Javed, did, when his buddy Roops borrowed him the cassettes of “Born in the U.S.A.” and “Darkness on the Edge of Town.”
It’s truly wonderful how Javed’s happens upon “The Boss’ music in the first place, as the writer’s serendipitous path begins with a mild collision between the conflicted teen and Roops in a high school hallway. Picking up his friend’s cassette off the floor, Javed asks Roops, “Who is The Boss?” to which Roops responded, “He’s The Boss of us all.”
AUDIO: Hear Tim’s review of “Blinded by the Light” with Paul Douglas and Jordana Green on “Paul and Jordana” on WCCO-AM. Segment is brought to you by Michael Bryant and Bradshaw & Bryant.
Of course, that’s a pretty bold claim to make, whether it refers to the music of the 1980s or the music of today, but this much is certain: At least for the 1 hour and 57 minutes Chada raises the curtain in the darkness to reveal “Blinded by the Light,” the music of Bruce Springsteen rules.
Prepare to be inspired and look at life in a whole new light, and not in a blinding sort of way. Springsteen’s message has never been so clear.
Lammometer: 9.5 (out of 10)
Tim Lammers reviews movies weekly for “The KQ92 Morning Show,” WCCO Radio, WJON-AM, KLZZ-FM, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere. On TV, Tim has made hundreds of guest appearances on “KARE 11 News at 11” (NBC).
While she’s no Francis Ford Coppola or Martin Scorsese, you still have to admire writer-director Andrea Berloff for her willingness to get her hands bloody with “The Kitchen,” a 1970s-era mob movie rooted in a DC graphic novel series that features the burgeoning dramatic talents of comedy star Melissa McCarthy. But while McCarthy takes another stroll out of her comfort zone, she’s chosen a film that, while it flips its script in a genre dominated by men, it ultimately doesn’t contain anything apart from its role-reversals that makes it rise above what we’ve seen before.
Following her Best Actress nomination for the underrated 2018 drama “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” McCarthy is one of a trio of mob wives who have no choice but to take over their husband’s crime racket in Hell’s Kitchen in New York City when the men are sent to prison for three years.
AUDIO: Hear Tim’s review of “The Kitchen” and more with Paul Douglas and Jordana Green on “Paul and Jordana” on WCCO-AM. Segment is brought to you by Michael Bryant and Bradshaw & Bryant.
McCarthy stars as Kathy, the wife of a small-time Irish mobster (Brian d’Arcy James), who along with his partners (James Badge Dale and Jeremy Bobb), get busted by the FBI during an armed robbery gone terribly awry. Struggling to make ends meet while their husbands are in jail, Kathy, Ruby (Tiffany Haddish) and Claire (Elizabeth Moss) decide to pick up where the mobsters left off and begin to provide protection to neighborhood businesses from thugs – and as a result of their success, begin building their own criminal empire. It doesn’t take long, though, before the new kids on the crime block out-step their boundaries and land in the crosshairs of other members in the Irish mob, as well as a local Italian crime head (Bill Camp).
While McCarthy and Haddish are particularly known for their comedic talents, they play their roles in “The Kitchen” with complete seriousness. That’s not to say there isn’t any comedy in the film, as Domhnall Gleeson provides darkly awkward laughs as a former member of the crew who returns to town just as the fearless female trio begins to take a foothold on their neighborhood and beyond. Margo Martindale is a standout, too, as the blunt, no-nonsense mother-in-law of Ruby who pushes her daughter-in-law to the limit as she tries to make do while her husband is locked away.
On the other hand, rapper-turned-actor Common is wasted in a role that doesn’t yield much until a surprise twist later in the film, and the bulk of the film’s large supporting cast end up being portrayed as nothing but stereotypical mobsters.
While Berloff’s gangster film is a far cry from “The Godfather” and “Goodfellas,” her work definitely matches up to the similarly themed 2018 crime drama “Widows,” starring Viola Davis. There’s no question the director captures the gritty look of Hell’s Kitchen and brutal thuggery of criminals in the 1970s, which shouldn’t come as a surprise given she’s penned the screenplays for such hard-hitting films as “Straight Outta Compton” (which earned her a shared Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay) and Oliver Stone’s “World Trade Center.”
AUDIO: Hear Tim’s review of “The Kitchen” with Tom Barnard on “The KQ Morning Show” on KQRS-FM. Segment is brought to you by Michael Bryant and Bradshaw & Bryant.
Berloff should also be commended for her resolve to stir the pot in “The Kitchen,” as her female power trio do much more than issue orders to their underlings. In fact, the filmmaker turns one of the main characters into an unforgiving executioner, and the other two into coldblooded crime bosses who call out ruthless hits on people in the same, matter-of-fact manner as their male counterparts. However, that’s where the quandary comes in. While it’s refreshing to see the women rising up and kicking ass for a change, their actions are truly reprehensible, making it almost impossible to root for them. No matter who is in charge, “The Kitchen,” if anything, proves that crime does not pay.
Lammometer: 6.5 (out of 10)
Tim Lammers reviews movies weekly for “The KQ92 Morning Show,” WCCO Radio, WJON-AM, KLZZ-FM, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere. On TV, Tim has made hundreds of guest appearances on “KARE 11 News at 11” (NBC).
A year after her classic role as Deadite-slayer Kelly Maxwell on “Ash vs. Evil Dead” came to an end, Dana DeLorenzo is once again living in a state of grace — and appropriately it’s in the critically acclaimed noir drama series “Perpetual Grace, LTD.”
Wrapping up its first season with its 10th episode on Sunday on EPIX, “Perpetual Grace, LTD” follows the twisty plight of James (Jimmi Simpson), a hopeless drifter who is lured into a seemingly simple plan to pilfer $4 million from pastor Byron Brown (Sir Ben Kingsley) and his wife, Lillian (Jacki Weaver). Unbeknownst to James, “Pa,” as the pastor is known, is far more dangerous than he could have imagined, and the unforeseen circumstances pull the deeply damaged soul into a labyrinth from which there appears to be no escape.
Damon Herriman plays Paul Allen Brown, the manipulative, estranged son of the Browns who concocts the plan with his scheming girlfriend, Valerie Spoontz (DeLorenzo) — a used car saleswoman who ropes an unsuspecting sheriff, Hector Contreras (Luis Guzmán), into the plot.
“The series is so gripping. I’m such a fangirl of this show,”DeLorenzo enthused in a recent phone conversation from Los Angeles. “And it has nothing to do with the fact that I’m a small part of it, which I am grateful for. But I love the show as a viewer as much as I loved filming it.”
One of the most refreshing shows to come down the television pike in quite some time, “Perpetual Grace,” created by Steven Conrad and Bruce Terris, is a wildly imaginative series that clearly tips its cap to Alfred Hitchcock. Still, the series doesn’t take 100 percent of its cues from The Master of Suspense, and in fact, it sometimes seems to employ the dark humor of the Coen brothers. Almost seeming to defy any sort label, one thing is for certain: With “Perpetual Grace,” Conrad and Terris elevate the mystery genre.
“People are trying to fit it in a box and this show does not fit in a box. I love its originality,”DeLorenzo said. “How I’ve been describing it is a ‘Hitchcock-inspired, dark comedy thriller with heart.’ If there’s any influence that Steven and Bruce have talked about, it is Hitchcock, even in the script, it would say, ‘Hitchcock close-up.’ They bring in that dark, suspenseful thriller aspect in a very specific way — the way that Hitchcock might — but then incorporate comedy by turning the situation on its head in a way that borders on the absurd. Because life can be pretty absurd during tumultuous times. And the absurdity makes it hilarious.”
By saying “absurd,” DeLorenzo doesn’t mean “Perpetual Grace” is a farce, but rather has moments where the scenes can be darkly comedic amid some very serious circumstances.
“In those really dark moments, you can have a character like New Leaf (Chris Conrad), carrying around a Chili’s buzzer that he rigged to his parents’ life support, which will light up when his parents die. He gets an identical buzzer while he’s waiting for a table at a Chili’s. He confuses which one is which,”DeLorenzo continued. “Suddenly one of them goes off. Is it the parents-are-dead buzzer, or your-table-is-ready-buzzer? The suspense creates tension and ultimately some painfully funny dialogue.”
DeLorenzo added that the moment isn’t “funny like a one-liner,” it’s funny because in life’s darkest moments, there can be things that are oddly amusing.
“What makes ‘Perpetual Grace, LTD.’ such a compelling story is the characters. They are completely original, nuanced and wonderfully specific. And yet, relatable. You root for these characters because they’re broken, struggling to relieve the guilt for something they caused. Each of them wants to right their wrong,”DeLorenzo explained. “But the harder they try, the worse everything gets, and eventually they all become intertwined in a spider-web-in-quicksand kind of way.”
“It’s morbid and tragic, yet optimistic. But it’s also wonderful, comedically. I really love how Steven and Bruce know how to swing that pendulum a certain amount,”DeLorenzo said. “It never gets too serious or too silly. Right when it’s about to go one way, the pendulum swings back to the other. I really commend them for how effortlessly they do that.”DeLorenzo said the opportunity to do “Perpetual Grace” came around when she least expected it, thanks to her previous connections to Conrad and Terris, who she worked with together and separately 10 years ago on some TV pilots in Chicago. And while the actress’ screen time is far less than the time she spent on “Ash vs. Evil Dead,”DeLorenzo didn’t spend her time off away from the set, but rather shadowing Conrad directing every chance she could get.
Perhaps DeLorenzo’s biggest coup on “Perpetual Grace” was having the opportunity to watch Kingsley in the fifth episode of the series, which features a stirring, four-page monologue that the Oscar-winning actor shot over the course over three days. She said the opportunity was “a masterclass on acting” and gave her and Kingsley the chance to bond, simply because both are such huge admirers of Conrad’s writing.
“When Steven introduced me to Sir Ben, of course, I fumbled, I couldn’t even say ‘honor to meet you’ in a complete sentence. But he was so gracious and kind, he took my hands and kissed both sides of my cheeks, so I finally stopped blabbering,”DeLorenzo recalled. “And then we started talking about the writing, and how he jumped at the chance to do this, which Steven said was thrilling because he was their dream choice for the role.”
What came next is a moment DeLorenzo said she will never forget, mainly out of potential embarrassment.
“I said to Sir Ben, ‘Yeah, Steven is such a brilliant writer that all you have to do as an actor is just say the lines, like David Mamet said.’ And his response was, ‘You’re absolutely right.’ I remember thinking after that, ‘I hope Ben Kingsley doesn’t think him I’m giving him notes on how to act!’” DeLorenzo said, laughing.
Luckily, DeLorenzo said, Kingsley is a “consummate professional with zero ego,” which made an already satisfying experience on “Perpetual Grace” all the more worthwhile. “Being part this show has been a tremendously exhilarating experience,” DeLorenzo said. “I’m just counting the days to when, hopefully, we go back to work. Because I miss it. I’m desperate to see where this story and characters go from here.”
And while DeLorenzo has already had a dream job as one of stars of “Ash vs. Evil Dead,” the opportunity to do a show like “Perpetual Grace” helped her scale even higher professional heights after a decade and a half of struggles trying to get a foothold as an actor in Hollywood.
“I’m passionate about ‘Perpetual Grace’ because after 15 years of the highs and lows and rejections and triumphs, it’s all worth it when I get to work on something I love with people I’ve admired for a while — especially when those people are all passionate about the work, and everyone’s there for the same reason you are: to bring a story to life,” DeLorenzo said, humbly. “I get to be part of a dream team and everyone is a team player. I don’t take a day of it for granted because that kind of camaraderie is what it’s about, man.”
Tim Lammers reviews movies weekly for “The KQ92 Morning Show,” WCCO Radio, WJON-AM, KLZZ-FM, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere. On TV, Tim has made hundreds of guest appearances on “KARE 11 News at 11” (NBC).
