Tim joined Tom Barnard on “The KQ Morning Show” Thursday to review the new Matthew McConaughey crime comedy “The Gentlemen” on KQRS-FM.
Also on Thursday, Tim talked with Paul Douglas and Jordana Green on the “Paul and Jordana” show on WCCO-AM about the film. Click to listen below. Both segments are 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 first movie misfire of 2019 is here with “Serenity,” an embarrassingly bad sci-fi tinged mystery that completely squanders the talents of a top-notch ensemble cast including Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jason Clarke, Djimon Hounsou and Diane Lane.
The set-up seems simple enough. McConaughey plays Baker Dill, an Iraq War veteran struggling to make ends meet as a tuna fisherman off the coastal waters of Florida. His fortunes appear to change, however, when his ex-wife, Karen (Hathaway) turns up on his boat one day with a proposal to kill her new husband, Frank (Jason Clarke), a sadistic drunkard with criminal connections. Even though he’s offered $10 million to do the deed, Baker is hesitant to carry out the task until he finds out the vicious contempt Frank holds for his son with Karen.
AUDIO: Listen to Tim’s review of “Serenity” with Tom Barnard on “The KQ Morning Show.” The segment begins at 3-minute mark.
The strange thing about “Serenity” is that it begins as a potboiler mystery tale, but then takes a hard-left turn into an alternate reality that includes wayward characters who make little sense, as well as revealing scene where McConaughey taking a skinny dip for apparently no other reason than show audiences to show off his bare backside.
Once it becomes clear the direction in which “Serenity” is headed, the film feels like no more than an inept attempt to capture the mysterious vibe of a “Black Mirror” episode – specifically the show’s acclaimed “U.S.S. Callister” tale – but the end result doesn’t even come remotely close. The tone is bizarre, the writing is bad and the acting by Hathaway and McConaughey is especially hideous (in sharp contrast to their polished performances opposite each other in Christopher Nolan’s“Interstellar”).
In the end, “Serenity” is the perfect example of how actors – even Oscar winners – can’t act their ways out of bad scripts. Instead, McConaughey and Hathaway have earned the distinction of being the first two “worst acting” front-runners vying for next year’s Razzies.
Lammometer: 2.5 (out of 10)
AUDIO: Tim reviews “Serenity” with Paul Douglas on “Paul & Jordana” on WCCO-AM. The segment begins at the 11-minute mark.
Tim Lammers reviews movies weekly for The KQ92 Morning Show,” “KARE 11 News at 11” (NBC), WCCO Radio, WJON-AM, KLZZ-FM, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere.
Listen to Tim’s review of “The Dark Tower” on “The KQ Morning Show” with Tom Barnard and Phillip “The Philly Dawg” Wise.
“The Dark Tower” (PG-13)
Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey help build a solid foundation for the long-awaited big screen adaptation of “The Dark Tower,” author Stephen King’s sprawling magnum opus that is spread over eight novels. Surprisingly short at just over 90 minutes long, the film benefits largely from keeping the plot relatively simple, considering that this is the first of several more films and/or television series to tell the story (presuming this first film is lucrative enough to warrant it).
The Dark Tower despite its name, isn’t evil: it’s a darkened, massive skyscraper located in the center of the universe that protects Earth and other planets within the realm from monsters hell-bent on destroying them. The tower can only be destroyed by the mind of a child, which is why a powerful sorcerer Walter O’Dim, aka “The Man in Black” (McConaughey), is pursuing Jake Chambers (Tom Taylor) – a gifted young teen who has extraordinary psychic abilities – to carry out his plans to bring it down and wreak havoc on the universe. Standing between them is Roland Deschain, aka “The Gunslinger” (Idris Elba), who in addition to protecting Jake has an old score to settle with his nemesis.
“The Dark Tower” operates with the assumption that fans have already read the books, which explains why the film comes prepackaged with lingo only readers would understand. Fortunately, the terms aren’t too complicated, and some, like “The Shine” (Jake’s said psychic ability) are obviously tied into King’s other works (a la “The Shining”). With its short runtime, fans of the book are bound to be disappointed with by the lack of detail, but on a basic level, the film – a sci-fit/Western mashup – “The Dark Tower” works.
It’s hard to tell how “The Dark Tower” will build out from here, but so long as the charismatic principal actors remain attached, the series should at least have enough momentum to push forward to the next chapter.
Tim Lammers has created a new YouTube channel to highlight his extensive interview archive. Please click in and subscribe to it today!
Tim has talked with about 2,000 major actors and filmmakers over the years for TV, radio, print and online. New on his YouTube channel are clips from those interviews, including Francis Ford Coppola, James Cameron, Tim Burton, Morgan Freeman, Hugh Jackman, Mark Hamill, Kathy Bates, Matthew McConaughey and Christopher Nolan, with new interview clips being added daily.
Here are some sample clips:
Original Interviews, Reviews & More By Tim Lammers
