My Friend Dahmer

MY FRIEND DAHMER

B 

This film felt like a school project. Like a film student's senior thesis. A film that served little purpose. Had no reason to be made other than the interests and desires of the person making it.  

Nevertheless, it was an entertaining film.  What I appreciated about it the most was Ross Lynch's performance. He completely embodied Jeffery Dahmer. The way he walked, the way he talked. The way he sat in a chair. The way he starred. The way he breathed.  The amount of devotion and dedication that Lynch put into practically reincarnating Dahmer to the point of seeming as if he were possessed by Dahmer was innately impressive.  I cannot give him enough praise.  Compared to the 2002 DAHMER film where Jeremy Renner simply played the role as if he would any other.  Treating Dahmer as if he were simply a character, made up on the page that he could interpret or do anything he wanted with.  You don't do that when the person you are playing was a real life human being. You do what Lynch did. You study, you fixate, you become.  

Did we need a film on who Dahmer was before he became the hideous killing sexual deviant that the world knows him as. Did we need a glimpse into his family and social life?  No, especially since some of it was inaccurate. Yet as to what was accurate. As to what was honest in its depiction, it was fascinating.  As a man who was studied serial killers, I can't help but be drawn to to a film like this. 

Lastly I'll say that the placement of Badfinger's DAY AFTER DAY was an usual juxtaposition that shouldn't have worked as well as it did, but it did.  

 

WAGONS EAST

WAGONS EAST 

 C

It took me over 25 years to finally sit down and watch this film. As much as I loved John Candy, I could never bring myself to accept that this was going to be the last time I'd ever get to see him in anything. I have to say that for as bad as a rap as this film receives, it wasn't nearly as bad as I anticipated.  

Yes it was corny.  The jokes were lame and predictable.  It didn't feel like a film you'd sit down and enjoy with your whole family. It felt more like the kind of film that you'd take your little boy or girl to and snooze through it while they laughed at the trivial humor.   

What I do have to give the film credit for, is its all star cast.  Not only John Candy and Richard Lewis, but Robert Picardo, Gailard Sartain, John C McGinley and others. The one thing this film did not lack was talent.   

I know that Candy's unexpected death caused for the film to have a lot of last minute rewrites. I wonder if it might have also taken the steam out of the cast and crew. I can't imagine what it'd be like to be working on a film when one of your costars passes away.  As well liked and loved as Candy was, I can only see that having a negative effect on everyone.  It would have been hard to continue.  Hard to carry on the work at a top level. I  think it can not only be seen but also felt that after Candy's sudden death, the energy was no longer there.  

This is often sold as Candy's worst film and while a fair criticism on the surface, I'm not sure if it remains fair within its depth.  What would this film have turned out to be had Candy not died? It's a fair question I think.  I highly doubt to the heights of UNCLE BUCK or THE GREAT OUTDOORS, but I imagine a better rating than what it got.     

If anything I wonder if other John Candy films watch this film with the same bit of resentment that I did. At no fault of its own, WAGONS EAST was the setting in which our beloved John Candy was taken from us. A reminder that it was here that he met his premature end.  A professional critic would certainly never admit that, but I'm not a professional.  I do. 

ROCKETMAN

 

ROCKETMAN 

B+

I felt somewhat ashamed as I watched this film.  I've been a huge fan of Elton John's music my entire life. I can remember going down the road listening to cassette tapes of Elton John back when my parents were still married. They've been divorced since 1991.  I don't know all of John's songs but I can name more songs by him than I can any other artist or band. 

I knew a little about him. I knew of  Bernie Taupin.  Of how the two friends had a working partnership throughout their song writing different than that of any I've ever read or heard of since.  I knew he was from England. I knew a few other little facts about him.

Yet a majority of the "facts" depicted about John throughout the film, I was unaware of. Hence the " " and why an otherwise A film is given a rating of B+.  In my opinion while it's ok to omit certain facts or embellish the truth, the one thing you don't do in a biopic is outright fabricate. I didn't take the time to do a side by side comparison of everything stated in this film, but I did enough to know that a few of the things they said about John in the film were inaccurate.  It makes me wonder what all was truth and what was fiction.  I feel that it serves as an injustice to the person as well as to the person who wants to learn about him, if false information is given. 

Moving on....

The performances in this film were very well done. Taron Egerton was an excellent cast for Elton John.  He captured him in his essence, demeanor and pose. I appreciated how he became him.   

What I appreciated most about the film was how the music and songs were interwoven into the scenes with expert timing and precision. They fit the narrative and came in at the exact right moments.  So many times in musicals, and I certainly felt this way in BOHEMIAN RAPSODY, songs are thrown in at random because "Hey, it's a musical!".  Yet in ROCKETMAN they all all fit.  It was done well.  Other musicals could stand to watch this film to see the proper way in which it should be done.   

RULON

 RULON - A-

This was a well put together documentary that looked at the life of Rulon Gardner from all aspects of who he is. There was no primary focus on one part of his life. The documentary looked at Rulon the wrestler, Rulon the celebrity, and Rulon the person.

What I appreciated most about the documentary was its brutal honesty from start to finish. The humanization of Rulon Gardner and displaying his lows as much as his highs.

I think sometimes as normal, regular folk who haven't achieved such heights as winning an Olympic Gold medal, we sometimes think that these individuals have the fortune of having attributes that we lack or that they lack some of the disadvantages that hinder us. It was inspiring to hear him talk about his struggle with his weight, how he was horrible with women and how he was often teased for his weight.

As a wrestling guy I think there was a missed opportunity from a wrestling standpoint to talk about dropped wrestling programs and the effect that has had on the sport. Few are aware of this, but Rulon originally competed for Ricks College, an NJCAA program that has since dropped its wrestling program. Here he is in the minds of many, the greatest Greco-Roman wrestler the United States has ever produced, and he wrestled for a college that doesn't even have a program any longer. I think a minute or two could have been spent on at least acknowledging that fact to the audience. Simply another struggle that our sport faces. Instead it wasn't even mentioned that Rulon spent two years at Ricks College and the documentary made it seem as if he went straight from high school to the University of Nebraska.

Wrestling is a sport that prides itself on mental toughness and grit and I appreciated how the documentary was honest about Matt Ghaffari breaking his leg and of Rulon getting a staff infection to intensify the battle of the wills it truly was when the two met in the Olympic trial finals for a spot on the 2000 team. I've always held a soft spot in my heart for Ghaffari as he was such a great wrestler who represented our country with such class within all of his accomplishments, yet he'll go on forgotten and overlooked within the shadow of Rulon.

It's depressing as it is revealing that within all of the attention and glory that Rulon received in defeating Aleksandr Karelin, that it proves how little attention the sport gets. Even within the wrestling community itself, the most unrewarding area to be a part of is Greco-Roman. Go to any wrestling message board or facebook group. From THE WRESTLING INSIDER to WRESTLERS ONLY, no one gives a hoot about Greco-Roman wrestling. We'll talk about the freestyle trials and the freestyle wrestling till we're blue in the face. Hell, we even speak more of the women than we do of the Greco-Roman wrestling. We as the wrestling community don't pay any attention to it. The rest of the world certainly isn't going to either.

It required beating the absolute best wrestler in the world for the media to even acknowledge the sports existence. Anything less than the greatest of all time being knocked out of his position wouldn't qualify. While we watch gymnast after gymnast, who get immediately eliminated from Olympic competition on NBC and ABC sports, the only time we ever see Greco-Roman wrestling coverage is if David defeats Goliath.

It was interesting to see how the glory and the fame changed Rulon's life but not his demeanor. Yes, he was suddenly able to have all the things in life that he had never had before, but that didn't change who he was as a person. I think that's why so many to this day are so fascinated by him. Why so many still look up to him and admire him. The boy from Afton, Wyoming, the nice kid who always showed tremendous sportsmanship in all his matches, win or lose was still the boy from Afton, Wyoming within all of the interviews, commercials, special guest appearances and other walks of fame.

What I found really interesting is the way in which Rulon admitted that he felt bad for Karelin in a way. That he feels that it isn't fair that his loss to him tarnishes his legacy the way that it does. Yet that is the unfairness of the sport of wrestling. No other sport demands perfection and absolute impeccability the way that our sport does. Karelin had nearly 900 wins, but it is the 2 losses that will forever be the height of his discussion. Why wrestling choses to be this insanely difficult on itself is something I will never understand or accept.

I think some might find it shocking that Rulon gave up nearly $1,000,000 by saying no to an MMA fight. It honestly doesn't surprise me at all and I'm happy the documentary took the time to focus on this. Not all wrestlers have this mentality of wanting to go out and hurt and injure their opponents. I think we've allowed those that want to and those that enjoy that type of approach to give us the false impression that that's who we are and what we're about. No, it's not. At least not all of us. Some of us look at wrestling as an art. A sport to where we want to go out and dominate through our skill, strength and technique. To use our abilities to outsmart, out condition and out maneuver. Rulon saying he had no desire to go out and hurt someone was a refreshing moment to me.

All of the struggles that Rulon went through and how he's been able to bounce back from all of them is a testimony to the intestinal fortitude of the man. He's currently struggling with his weight but within his own mind and those who still care a tremendous deal about him, I have no doubt that this is yet another demon that he will soon enough conquer.

I don't even know the guy. I never met him, yet I can tell just by listening to him and listening to those that know him, he's the type that I'd like to know.

I found myself sending him an email after I got done watching the documentary. I suggested him to reach out to Diamond Dallas Page. I think DDP would be interested in helping him. I think it might even lead to another documentary or at least some television press. DDP Yoga I think would help Rulon a tremendous deal. Help him shed the pounds and get himself back to a healthy state.

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COMING 2 AMERICA

 

COMING 2 AMERICA - B

I thought this was a fun little trip back to the past. It was fun and rewarding to see so many that I haven't seen in such a long time. How in the world Arsenio Hall can look younger today than he did 30 years ago is beyond me. Yet, he does. To see Eddie Murphy, Wesley Snipes, James Earl Jones and John Amos was really cool.

The thing I love so much about the fact that we now have other avenues other than just Hollywood to enjoy these films is that we get to see those who Hollywood has tried to shove to the side and those who we otherwise never would have known about. COMING 2 AMERICA was a nice blend of the two.

The drama in this film was ironically handled better than the comedy. While there were a few funny parts, nothing hit me as side splitting like it did in the original film.

SESSION 9

 

SESSION 9: C+

I wanted to give this film a better grade, but I cannot because of the weak ambiguous ending. On many levels it scores on a B or even an A level. The acting in particularly sticks out. David Caruso and Stephen Gevedon gave outstanding performances, along with solid performances from the rest of the cast.

The visuals in this film worked well, accompanied by music that fit the mood, enhanced the tone & gave substance to dialog.

The story was well constructed, keeping the audience in a cat and mouse game of continuous guessing. Unfortunately the big reveal that we all waited for only left us with more questions.

Was Gordon insane from the get go? Was Gordon possessed and taken over by the spirit of Mary? Was Phil even a real person? Was any of this real?

It's not that ambiguous endings cannot work, because they can. I don't feel it did here though.

This entire film felt like a great set up, but one that never executed into a polished finish. Major points off for that.

SUPERSIZE ME 2: HOLY CHICKEN

 

SUPERSIZE ME 2: HOLY CHICKEN - A

A courageous & dynamic documentary that takes a good, hard look at the ugliness & corrupt world of capitalism, with a centralized focus on chicken producers.

It's a secret that has been kept hidden behind a wholesome image of propaganda, skewed facts, misinformed stats & outright lies. Morgan Spurlock fearlessly exposes the wolf in sheep's clothing with a dedication to honesty that cannot be shaken by threats of consequence.

In a day in age where the sociopathic demeanor of money at all costs seems to be the mindset of even those we deem moral, it's nice to know at least some people such as Morgan Spurlock take a stand against the sickening idea of normalizing such behavior & mindset.