Airport Friend – Matt Lynn Digital

Jeff Bridges, John Goodman and Julianne Moore in the Coen Brothers movie ‘The Big Lebowski’

Joel Coen and Ethan Coen were inspired by the work of Raymond Chandler to write and direct the movie The Big Lebowski (1998). As older brother Joel Coen was quoted in an archived article of IndieWire referenced here, the Coen Brothers “wanted to do a Chandler kind of story – how it moves episodically, and deals with the characters trying to unravel a mystery, as well as having a hopelessly complex plot that’s ultimately unimportant.”

(From left, **Jeff Bridges** as Jeffrey ‘The Dude’ Lebowski, **Steve Buscemi** as Theodore Donald ‘Donny’ Kerabatsos and **John Goodman** as Walter Sobchak in the **Coen Brothers** movie **The Big Lebowski**).

Slacker and bowler Jeffrey ‘The Dude’ Lebowski, as portrayed by Jeff Bridges, opens The Big Lebowski as the victim of a crime in his own Los Angeles, California home. Pornography magnate Jackie Treehorn, as portrayed by Ben Gazzara, sends two enforcers after Lebowski to collect on the debts incurred by what the enforcers believe is the Dude’s wife. It’s only after harassing the Dude and damaging his property that the enforcers realize they’ve found the wrong Jeffrey Lebowski.

(From left, **Philip Seymour Hoffman** as Brandt and **David Huddleston** as Jeffrey ‘The Big’ Lebowski in the **Coen Brothers** movie **The Big Lebowski**).

The appropriate man is, of course, Jeffrey ‘The Big’ Lebowski as portrayed by David Huddleston. After discussing the matter with bowling buddies Walter Sobchak and Theodore Donald ‘Donny’ Kerabatsos, as portrayed by John Goodman and Steve Buscemi respectively, the Dude confronts the Big at the Big’s mansion. The affluent Jeffrey abusively dismisses his slacker namesake in response to a request for restitution. Before encountering Bunny Lebowski as portrayed by Tara Reid when departing the mansion, the Dude uses trickery to convince Brandt as portrayed by Philip Seymour Hoffman to allow him, that is Dude, to take property from the mansion as recompense for the Dude’s trouble.

(From left, **Julianne Moore** as Maude Lebowski and **Tara Reid** as Bunny Lebowski in the **Joel Coen** and **Ethan Coen** movie **The Big Lebowski**).

Extending the comedy of absurdity further, Bunny is soon considered kidnapped. The affluent Lebowski hires the Dude to rectify that situation with a briefcase reportedly full of money. Franz, Uli Kunkel and Kieffer, as portrayed by Torsten Voges, Peter Stormare and Flea retrieve the property taken by the Dude owing to the fond feelings that Maude Lebowski, as portrayed by Julianne Moore, has for that property.

(From left, **Torsten Voges** as Franz, **Peter Stormare** as Uli Kunkel & Karl Hungus and **Flea** as Kieffer in the **Joel Coen** and **Ethan Coen** movie **The Big Lebowski**).

In addressing the supposed kidnapping, absurd craziness ensues at the behest of Jeffrey ‘the Big’ Lebowski through the hands of Walter Sobchak. The exchange of money for the life goes horribly wrong, with the money getting stolen at the bowling alley later that night. As the comically absurd sequence extends further, we encounter Jesus Quintana as portrayed by John Turturro and The Stranger as portrayed by Sam Elliott for commentaries regarding different aspects of the story that unravels in front of us. The insinuation of Maude Lebowski at seemingly odd times and in bold ways through the unfolding of the mystery adds to the theatre of comedy that this movie presents.

(**Sam Elliott** as The Stranger in the **Joel Coen** and **Ethan Coen** movie **The Big Lebowski**).

Through the episodic and humorously explicit charm of the wild scenes of the movie, the expressively lighthearted way the Dude abides the comedy of what happens around him proves to be the charm that makes the movie work. Jeff Bridges really pulls off the feel good comedy of that part with skill. I grant The Big Lebowski as written and directed by the Coen Brothers 4.0-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Wednesday, November 29, 2023

Aaron Paul, Jonathan Banks and Matt Jones in the Vince Gilligan movie ‘El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie’

Some six-years following the end of the Breaking Bad (2008-2013) television series, series creator Vince Gilligan gave fans of the series something that had been missing from the end of the original show. That something was a clear telling of what happened to character Aaron Paul‘s Jesse Pinkman, the student criminal to aid Bryan Cranston‘s Walter White in the building of the Heisenberg drug syndicate. The Vince Gilligan written and directed movie El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (2019) puzzles out that story for us.

(From left, Aaron Paul as Jesse Pinkman and Jonathan Banks as Mike Ehrmantraut in the Vince Gilligan movie El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie).

The ability to leave his past, his captors and law enforcement behind is the goal placed in front of Jesse Pinkman from the outset of El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie. Beginning with a flashback to the immediate point that Mike Ehrmantraut and Jesse leave the crystal meth business of Walter White, we see the framing of this movie with the question for where Jesse should flea. Mike, portrayed by Jonathan Banks, advises against making amends for the past with the further suggestion to head for Alaska to make a new beginning.

(From left, Charles Baker as Skinny Pete and Matt Jones as Brandon ‘Badger’ Mayhew in the Vince Gilligan movie El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie).

In the present day, we see Jesse fleeing to the Albuquerque, New Mexico home of Brandon ‘Badger’ Mayhew and Skinny Pete, as respectively portrayed by Matt Jones and Charles Baker. Hiding the Chevrolet El Camino of Todd Alquist that Jesse fled his captors in, Jesse first is given the chance to sleep, shower and recover in the immediate aftermath of his captivity. Devising a plan to make it appear that Jesse would flea in Pete’s Ford Thunderbird while actually making an escape in Badger’s Pontiac Fiero, Badger heads south towards Mexico in the Thunderbird while Skinny Pete stays with the LoJacked El Camino. Meanwhile, Jesse makes his way in the Fiero. Jesse Plemons portrayed Todd Alquist.

(From left, Aaron Paul as Jesse Pinkman and Jesse Plemons as Todd Alquist in the Vince Gilligan movie El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie).

Told largely through flashback, we are at first presented to Todd Alquist’s apartment in an odd twist. Alquist actually springs Jesse from the duty of captivity and crystal meth production to address a uniquely personal situation that grew out of Alquist’s need to stash the money earned in the drug business. Addressing that distasteful business gives Jesse the knowledge that a large quantity of money will be stored at the apartment; knowledge of Alquist’s busybody neighbor Lou Schanzer becomes the secondary important knowledge piece that comes into play later when Jesse comes into contact with Neil Kandy and Casey. Tom Bower portrayed Lou Schanzer.

(From left, Scott MacArthur as Neil Kandy and Scott Shepherd as Casey in the Vince Gilligan movie El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie).

As the notion that nothing comes easy or with zero cost proved itself useful to the storytelling of Breaking Bad, the intersections of the Neil Kandy and Casey tales in Jesse’s desire to flea is perhaps the most clever and consistent to that style of any story within El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie. Neil and Casey, portrayed by Scott MacArthur and Scott Shepherd respectively, dovetail into the Ed Galbraith story quite nicely as necessary plot point in Jesse’s fleeing the greater Albuquerque area and Painted Desert, Arizona area. These storylines offer the creative tension and, ultimately, resolution to Jesse’s story that were arguably owed to the viewers of the original Breaking Bad series. Robert Forster portrayed Ed Galbraith.

(Robert Forster as Ed Galbraith in the Vince Gilligan movie El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie).

Shoutouts to individual characters from the original series, including asides, callouts, imaginings or subtle references to Walter White, Diane Pinkman as portrayed by Tess Harper, Adam Pinkman as portrayed by Michael Bofshever, Jane Margolis as portrayed by Krysten Ritter and Brock Cantillo as portrayed by Ian Posada, were all nice touches. I give Breaking Bad as written and directed by Vince Gilligan 3.75-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Saturday, November 18, 2023

Brian O’Halloran, Jeff Anderson and Rosario Dawson in the Kevin Smith movie ‘Clerks II’

The sequel to the Kevin Smith movie Clerks (1994) began on cinematic fire. A dozen years later, Clerks II (2006) brings back Brian O’Halloran as Dante Hicks, whose world makes a move to Mooby’s fast food after Randal Graves, as portrayed by Jeff Anderson, sends their collective slacker dreams up in smoke with a pot of coffee left on overnight.

(From left, **Jeff Anderson** as Randal Graves and **Brian O’Halloran** as Dante Hicks in the **Kevin Smith** movie **Clerks II**).

The move to Mooby’s, which takes place at what clearly is a former Burger King restaurant, comes moments after Dante discovers that the Quick Stop with adjacent RST Video of the original Clerks movie had burned Randal had caused a fire the night before. The discovery comes upon opening the notorious anti-theft doors of that original movie. The discovery is presented to Dante’s comic disbelief, followed by efforts to extinguish the total loss of a fire that introduces the search for what becomes the location for a movie set ten years after the original film.

(**Rosario Dawson** as Becky Scott in the **Kevin Smith** movie **Clerks II**).

A decent amount of time passes between that devastation and our seeing Randal working with Dante in fast food. We are quickly introduced to the pair’s new manager, Becky Scott as portrayed by Rosario Dawson. Dante continues with his plan to move on from his minimum wage lifestyle, still, with his overbearing fiancée Emma Bunting presented as a tonic to this ailment. Bunting, as portrayed by Jennifer Schwalbach Smith, brings with her a move to Florida plus a home and the operation of a carwash as furnished by her wealthy parents as a means for setting the couple up after marriage.

(From left, **Jennifer Schwalbach Smith** as Emma Bunting, **Zak Knutson** as Sexy Stud and **Kevin Weisman** as Lord of the Rings geek in the **Kevin Smith** movie **Clerks II**).

The tension for Randal that the pending move brings outweighs the better nature of his wishes for Dante’s longer term happiness. Randal does go about planning a proper sendoff for Dante, while an elaborate day in the life story at Mooby’s introduces the writing humor of screenplay writer Kevin Smith that we met with the original Clerks. Beyond the clear feelings that Dante has developed for his boss at the restaurant, Becky, we take notice of the lackadaisical approach Randal takes to his work. Not only is he leaving much of the work to devout Christian teenager Elias Grove, as portrayed by Trevor Fehrman, we see Randal planning a bachelor party for Dante that evening at Mooby’s that brings in Sexy Stud as portrayed by Zak Knutson.

(**Trevor Fehrman** as Elias Grover in the **Kevin Smith** movie **Clerks II**).

A string of cameos filled by customers fills out the restaurant operation as the core tension of the movie takes place. We are reacquanted with Jay and Silent Bob, as portrayed by Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith respectively, along with fleeting roles by Kevin Weisman in the role of Lord of the Rings geek. Jason Lee, Wanda Sykes, Earthquake (aka Nathaniel Martin Stroman), Ethan Suplee, Ben Affleck, Scott Mosier and Walter Flanagan. The delivery of Jay and Silent Bob to what presents itself later in the film, after the tension reaches its highest pressure point, lends itself to a second sequel that we know appeared in 2022.

(From left, **Jason Mewes** as Jay and director **Kevin Smith** as Silent Bob in the **Kevin Smith** movie **Clerks II**).

I largely found the second installment of Clerks offered the sensibility of the original while getting into the graphic style of humor that made the film a cult classic. The humor landed a bit more strongly than did the peace of mind in life that endeared many to the writing of Kevin Smith in the first place. I give Clerks II as written and directed by Kevin Smith 3.75-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Wednesday, November 15, 2023

Betsy Palmer, Adrienne King and Jeannine Taylor in the Sean S. Cunningham movie ‘Friday the 13th’

The independently released movie Friday the 13th (1980) experienced a distinctly successful commercial success in theatres upon its original release. A horror movie depicting graphic violence, a distinctive musical score and the building of a franchise with many sequels, the movie was written by Victor Miller and Ron Kurz. Sean S. Cunningham directed the original Friday the 13th movie.

(From left, **Rex Everhart** as Enos, the Truck Driver, and **Robbi Morgan** as Annie Phillips in the **Sean S. Cunningham** movie **Friday the 13th**).

The recently reopened Camp Crystal Lake, where a young boy drowned in 1957 and a pair of teenage camp counselors were killed in a cabin in 1958, has been reopened in the present day. Annie Phillips has signed on to be camp cook, yet is warned by truck driver Enos while hitchhiking that she is taking a risk in continuing onto camp. The history from the last half of the 1950’s served as a warning that frightening things happen. Phillips, who dies violently at the hands of an unknown assailant, never makes it to Camp Crystal Lake. Rex Everhart and Robbi Morgan portrayed Enos and Annie, respectively.

(From left, **Peter Brouwer** as Steve Christy and **Adrienne King** as Alice in the **Sean S. Cunningham** movie **Friday the 13th**).

Camp owner Steve Christy, along with a half dozen camp counselors, have set to restore the cabins and the grounds of the camp. With the suspense of the pending risk set in motion, the counselors are seemingly oblivious to the risk they run following our initial introduction to them enjoying the lake on the grounds. As a storm is on the way for the evening, the camp’s owner heads to town for supplies. Steve Christy was portrayed by Peter Brouwer.

(**Kevin Bacon** as Jack in the **Sean S. Cunningham** movie **Friday the 13th**).

With the owner away, the counselors would play. Ned, as portrayed by Mark Nelson, becomes the first to suspect something unusual. That suspicion isn’t aroused for Jack and Marcie, as portrayed by Kevin Bacon and Jeannine Taylor respectively, enjoy their intimacy unaware of a morbid experience involving Ned in the cabin that hosts their fun. An echo of 1958 accompanies a separate scene as Brenda, portrayed by Laurie Bartram, investigates.

(From left, **Harry Crosby** as Bill, **Jeannine Taylor** as Marcie, **Laurie Bartram** as Brenda and **Mark Nelson** as Ned in the **Sean S. Cunningham** movie **Friday the 13th**).

Alice and Bill, portrayed by Adrienne King and Harry Crosby, respectively, realize that they have not seen the other camp counselors for too long a period. The pair begins to investigate when Steve returns to an untimely demise. Circumstances worsen substantially for Brenda and Bill as well, with Mrs. Pamela Voorhees presenting herself as a friend of Steve. Voorhees, portrayed by Betsy Palmer, shares a sad tale of the death of son, Jason, all those years ago. Alice establishes the turn of all cliffhangers for the movie, offering an immensely impactful line that setups a franchise for subsequent installments to follow.

(**Betsy Palmer** as Mrs. Pamela Voorhees in the **Sean S. Cunningham** movie **Friday the 13th**).

The peak of the slasher film genre of movies had its biggest expression during the period of roughly six years when Friday the 13th was released. That the franchise that followed this movie would go on to function with a different central killer than did this movie, the homage paid to the Alfred Hitchcock movie Psycho (1960), as reviewed here, is worth noting; Psycho is noted as a slasher film wherein the relationship between mother and son carries weight. I grant Friday the 13th as directed and written by Sean S. Cunningham 4.25-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Wednesday, October 11, 2023

Warren Beatty, Diane Keaton and Edward Herrmann in the Warren Beatty movie ‘Reds’

A love triangle mixes with the epic historical drama of the life and career of socialist, journalist and activist John Reed today. Reed reported on the Russian Revolution in his book Ten Days That Shook the World, which held a large sway in the Warren Beatty directed and written movie Reds (1981). Trevor Griffiths also wrote Reds along with Beatty.

(From left, Edward Herrmann as Max Eastman, **Warren Beatty** as **John Reed** and **Diane Keaton** as **Louise Bryant** in the **Warren Beatty** movie **Reds**).

The movie Reds begins when suffragist and journalist Louise Bryant, married to another man at the 1915 encounter, meets radical John Reed for the first time at a lecture in Portland, Oregon. The intellectually engaging meeting convinces Bryant, portrayed by Diane Keaton, to join Reed, as portrayed by Warren Beatty, in Greenwich Village, New York City, New York. The womanizing ways of Reed is at odds with the idealism of his writing for Bryant.

(**Maureen Stapleton** as **Emma Goldman** in the **Warren Beatty** movie **Reds**).

The opportunity to meet Emma Goldman and Eugene O’Neill in the district folds into conversations on writing and the radical feelings of the group. O’Neill and Bryant develop intimate feelings for each other in this period, as the strikes of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) alongside the St. Louis, Missouri Democratic presidential convention stirs Reed‘s passions even further. The subsequent marriage of Reed and Bryant hits the difficulty of Reed‘s infidelity, prompting professional, interpersonal and political turmoil between the pair. Goldman and O’Neill were portrayed by Maureen Stapleton and Jack Nicholson.

(**Jack Nicholson** as **Eugene O’Neill** in the **Warren Beatty** movie **Reds**).

The story of John Reed‘s health, losing a kidney in the midst of this, leads to another instinct to head to Russia as the possibility of what became the Russian Revolution. Professionally reuniting for that trip, Bryant too experiences the ideals of that revolution. The love the pair once experienced reignites, at least until Reed and other communist sympathizers in America break ideologically. Practitioners of the Bolshevik ideology in the Petrograd (St. Petersburg), Russia put Reed to work as a propagandist. With help from O’Neill, Bryant aims to reconnect with Reed while the two are kept from having any legitimate communication. The parallel storylines of history and love were messy and difficult. The way both stories come to resolution reflect the successes of the story.

(From left, Paul Sorvino as Louis C. Fraina and Jerzy Kosinski as Grigory Zinoviev in the **Warren Beatty** movie **Reds**).

There is so much more to the tale of Reds than what this introduction to the story of the movie does in more than three hours of movie. Airport Friend rates the movie in the top ten movies he has ever seen. I grant the movie Reds and directed and partly written by Warren Beatty 4.25-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Wednesday, August 16, 2023

Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt and Matt Damon in the Christopher Nolan movie ‘Oppenheimer’

It’s not every day that a biographical thriller set against the backdrop of history can build excitement ahead of its release like the Christopher Nolan produced and directed movie Oppenheimer (2023) has. Detailing the role American scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer had in the development of the atomic bomb, Nolan wrote this movie based on the Pulitzer Prize winning book American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer written by Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin. The dynamic personality of Oppenheimer the man comes through with an energy equal to the explosive with which the Manhattan Project developed.

(From left, Emily Blunt as **Katherine ‘Kitty’ Oppenheimer** and **Cillian Murphy** as **J. Robert Oppenheimer** in the **Christopher Nolan** movie **Oppenheimer**).

The movie-making personality of Christopher Nolan shines through his telling of the story of J. Robert Oppenheimer, with the theoretical physicist’s portrayal being offered by Cillian Murphy. Alternating between black-and-white and color, using a non-linear model of accentuating the personal drama of a slowly growing explosion of the revealing the contradictions within the scientist’s personality, it strikes me as relevant that I find a parallel to the Nolan film Memento (2000), reviewed here, in the experience.

(From left, Robert Downey Jr. as **Lewis Strauss** and Matthew Modine as Vannevar Bush in the **Christopher Nolan** movie **Oppenheimer**).

The movie offers much based in fact surrounding the Oppenheimer biography from Cambridge, England to Los Alamos, New Mexico. We see Oppenheimer‘s security clearance hearing in 1954. Finally we Lewis Strauss‘ confirmation hearing for Secretary of Commerce from 1959. Then there are the relationships with Jean Tatlock, Katherine Oppenheimer, Frank Oppenheimer, Haakon Chevalier, Leslie Groves and scientists such as Patrick Blackett, Niels Bohr, Edward Teller, Isidor Isaac Rabi, David Hill and Albert Einstein.

(From left, Dylan Arnold as **Frank Oppenheimer** and Matt Damon as **Leslie Groves** in the **Christopher Nolan** movie **Oppenheimer**).

The epic quality of the J. Robert Oppenheimer‘s relevance stands shoulder to shoulder with the accomplishment in atomic energy, his philosophical positions on energy and political justice, and the tangled web these played on those levels alongside the notions of his public and private reputations explored with a force equal to a Christopher Nolan movie as well as the reality so strongly present in biography by Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin.

(From left, Florence Pugh as **Jean Tatlock** and **Cillian Murphy** as **J. Robert Oppenheimer** in the **Christopher Nolan** movie **Oppenheimer**).

The story of the Trinity test, or the first detonation of a nuclear weapon, is the story that makes the Oppenheimer movie. The many layers of complexity for Oppenheimer the man, both interpersonally for him with wife Katherine Oppenheimer and mistress Jean Tatlock, thunder home in the growing tension of the detonation of the nuclear device as presented in moments of quiet and explosive sound that lead to an enthusiastic aftermath of celebration following the success of the Trinity test. That Nolan‘s treatment of the Oppenheimer story bring us back to Lewis Strauss and Albert Einstein, narratively structuring the threat of Germany, the meaning of Hiroshima, Japan and Nagasaki, Japan, and the decision of Harry S. Truman to end the Pacific conflict, within the story of Strauss, interpersonal matters of the heart, and the nature of celebrity and power with Einstein all fascinate me.

(**Cillian Murphy** as **J. Robert Oppenheimer** at his moment of triumph in the **Christopher Nolan** movie **Oppenheimer**. Note the US flag in reverse profile; Is this a sign of the ‘attack forward’ honor on military uniforms or a subtle commentary on the conflicted feelings of **Oppenheimer** at the moment of his biggest success?).

There’s little doubt for me that the power of the movie Oppenheimer is high. Offering this review 3.5-days after watching the movie leaves me a bit transfixed by the question of whether I am undervaluing or overvaluing my admiration for the achievement of what I saw in the film. Regardless, I grant Oppenheimer as produced, directed and written for film by Christopher Nolan 4.5-stars a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Wednesday, July 26, 2023

Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando and Robert Duvall in the Francis Ford Coppola movie ‘Apocalypse Now’

The Francis Ford Coppola homage to the Vietnam War captures our focus today. The conflict itself had the United States getting between two warring parties in Vietnam; the conflict extended into Laos and Cambodia. The story presented in Apocalypse Now (1979) uses these historic truths to craft a story reminiscent of the Joseph Conrad book Heart of Darkness, as reviewed here.

(From left, **Martin Sheen** as U.S. Army Captain Benjamin Willard, Jerry Ziesmer as CIA Agent Jerry Moore, G.D. Spradlin as Lieutenant General R. Corman and Harrison Ford as Colonel G. Lucas in the **Francis Ford Coppola** movie **Apocalypse Now**).

The fictional Nùng River supplies the path that the classified mission U.S. Army Captain Benjamin Willard, as portrayed by Martin Sheen, is ordered to take through Vietnam into Cambodia to find and end, with extreme prejudice, the continuing and unauthorized military leadership of one Colonel Walter E. Kurtz. Kurtz, bearing the same name surname as the pursued antagonist in Heart of Darkness, was portrayed by Marlon Brando.

(From left, **Sam Bottoms** as Gunner’s Mate 3rd Class Lance B. Johnson and **Robert Duvall** as Lieutenant Colonel William ‘Bill’ Kilgore in **Francis Ford Coppola** movie **Apocalypse Now**).

The journey proves itself a path into each man’s heart of darkness, with an escalating sense of naivete growing from one incident to another into insanity. An early example encountered by the river patrol boat included questionable support from a helicopter-based assault unit commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore. Kilgore, portrayed by Robert Duvall, demonstrates a shocking suspicion towards using his command ethically. Supporting Captain Willard’s mission only gains appeal once the surfing prowess of Gunner’s Mate 3rd Class Lance B. Johnson is revealed. A famous speech by Kilgore follows the raid, occurring with its own brand of whimsy, with Sam Bottoms having portrayed Johnson.

(From left, **Albert Hall** as Chief Petty Officer George Phillips and Laurence Fishburne as Gunner’s Mate 3rd Class Tyrone ‘Mr. Clean’ Miller in the **Francis Ford Coppola** movie **Apocalypse Now**).

Tensions rise into the continued journey owing to the increasing severity of the philosophical and moral tension Willard and the crew of the patrol boat are under. A scene with a local family trying to protect their dog echoes the rising insanity for the crew of the river boat, with the darkness taking over the spirit of the enterprise. Willard starts challenging Chief Petty Officer George Phillips, as portrayed by Albert Hall, for control of the ship. Sailing beyond the last American outpost on the Nùng River, with echoes of the identical mission of Richard Colby in his head after seeing the horrors of an outpost with leadership. Scott Glenn portrayed Colby.

(From left, **Dennis Hopper** as an **American** photojournalist and **Frederic Forrest** as Engineman 3rd Class Jay ‘Chef’ Hicks in the **Francis Ford Coppola** movie **Apocalypse Now**).

Arrival at the temple compound Kurtz has taken command of is fraught with peril. A photojournalist portrayed by Dennis Hopper serves as a reluctant go-between for Kurtz and Willard. Engineman 3rd Class Jay ‘Chef’ Hicks, as portrayed by Frederic Forrest, serves as a confidant for Willard in this moment, and pays owing to the tactically superior Kurtz. The questions surrounding where empathy, sympathy, duty, judgment, self-awareness and cultural conflicts borne of hearts turned dark are drafted in the human condition; the mask of military service, mandated or otherwise, is a mask many wear in Apocalypse Now.

(**Marlon Brando** as Colonel Walter E. Kurtz in the **Francis Ford Coppola** movie **Apocalypse Now**).

Friend of the Matt Lynn Digital blog, Airport Friend, ranks this film among his ten best. John Milius, Michael Herr and Coppola all shared writing credit for Apocalypse Now, a winner of two Academy Awards, two BAFTAs and a Palme d’Or from the Cannes Film Festival. High ratings among critics and general audiences on Rotten Tomatoes also exist. I grant the Francis Ford Coppola directed and produced movie Apocalypse Now 4.25-stars on a scale of one-to-five.

Matt – Wednesday, June 28, 2023

Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell and Jennifer Jason Leigh in the Quentin Tarantino movie ‘The Hateful Eight’

Crime, drama and mystery are leading elements in the Wyoming set Quentin Tarantino written and directed movie The Hateful Eight (2015). Set in 1877 on the plains of the frontier west, the introduces us to the snowy plains with a mission to get to Red Rock, Wyoming that we will never manifest due to a series of vengeful, selfish humanity rife in the hallmark style of the film’s director and screenwriter.

(From left, **Samuel L. Jackson** as Major Marquis Warren and **Walton Goggins** as Chris Mannix in the **Quentin Tarantino** movie **The Hateful Eight**).

It’s on the plains, with three corpses stacked one atop another, that a stagecoach driven by O.B. Jackson encounters bounty hunter and Union veteran from the American Civil War, Major Marquis Warren, stranded. Horseless and stranded with the corpses, Warren seeks a ride on the coach. With bounty hunter John ‘The Hangman’ Ruth to ‘Crazy’ Daisy Domergue already on board and facing the same incoming blizzard, we are introduced to the tension of whether Warren will get a ride. Jackson, Warren, Ruth and Domergue were portrayed by James Parks, Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell and Jennifer Jason Leigh, respectively.

(From left, **Kurt Russell** as John ‘The Hangman’ Ruth, **Jennifer Jason Leigh** as ‘Crazy’ Daisy Domergue and **Bruce Dern** as General Sanford ‘Sandy’ Smithers in the **Quentin Tarantino** movie **The Hateful Eight**).

Warren and his cargo get a ride, as he bonded with Ruth over a personal letter Warren carries as purportedly written by former United States president Abraham Lincoln. A bit up the road, Chris Mannix, claiming to be Red Rock‘s new sheriff, joins them. The tension baked into Mannix joining this party rests with Mannix’s father, Erskine, having led Mannix’s Marauders, a Lost Cause of the Confederacy militia that fought on the opposite side of the American Civil War to Warren. Clear animosity between Warren and Mannix over clear disagreements based in racial indignance, not to mention a bounty among sympathizers of the confederacy on Warren’s head. Walton Goggins portrayed Chris Mannix.

(From left, **Michael Madsen** as Joe Gage, **Demián Bichir** as Señor Bob, **Tim Roth** as Oswaldo Mobray and **Channing Tatum** as Jody Domergue in the **Quentin Tarantino** movie **The Hateful Eight**).

Seeking shelter from the blizzard at Minnie’s Haberdashery, the stagecoach party finds Minnie Mink, ‘Sweet’ Dave Mink, Six-Horse Judy and Gemma nowhere to be found. Señor Bob, a Mexican by heritage, is tending the haberdashery in their place. The lodge, meanwhile, is found to be sheltering cowboy Joe Gage, hangman Oswaldo Mobray, and Confederate general Sanford ‘Sandy’ Smithers. Dana Gourrier, Gene Jones, Zoë Bell, Belinda Owino, Demián Bichir, Michael Madsen, Tim Roth and Bruce Dern portrayed Minnie, Dave, Judy, Gemma, Bob, Joe, Oswaldo and Sanford, respectively.

(From left, **Dana Gourrier** as Minnie Mink, **Zoë Bell** as Six-Horse Judy and **Belinda Owino** as Gemma in the **Quentin Tarantino** movie **The Hateful Eight**).

Several tensions unfold at the haberdashery, with extends well beyond the introduction to the folks at the accommodations. The fact that the door needs to be nailed shut is a sure sign that unusual happenings are afoot, with the introduction of Jody Domergue, as portrayed by Channing Tatum, not coming until after the scene including references to past events having occurred in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The sequencing of revelation worked well in maintaining much of the larger mystery of the movie.

(Screenwriter and director **Quentin Tarantino** on set of the **Quentin Tarantino** movie **The Hateful Eight**).

The poking at larger cultural tensions through individuals, including a social commentary in the process of telling a contemporary portrait of stylized violence, provide many of the over-the-top elements fans of Quentin Tarantino seek in his movies. It is in the delivery of these points, with a moderated gratuity in language when compared to other Tarantino movies at their full throated, that standout to me. I grant The Hateful Eight as presented by Quentin Tarantino 4.0-stars on a scale of one-to-five.

Matt – Saturday, May 13, 2023

Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike and Neil Patrick Harris in the David Fincher movie ‘Gone Girl’

A psychological thriller directed by David Fincher plants an intriguing movie premise. Add that Gillian Flynn wrote the screenplay for Gone Girl (2014) based on her own 2012 novel named Gone Girl adds another level of interest that brings us to this movie today. Add the really dark place this movie takes a marriage for the characters central to the story offers something dynamic.

(From left, **Ben Affleck** as Nick Dunne, **Lisa Banes** as Mary Elizabeth Elliott and **David Clennon** as Randall Elliott in the **David Fincher** movie **Gone Girl**).

The movie opens on the fifth anniversary of the marriage of Nick Dunne and Amy Elliott Dunne, portrayed respectively by Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike. Amy has disappeared. A series of children’s books by Mary Elizabeth and Randall Elliott, as portrayed by Lisa Banes and David Clennon, had been wildly popular, placing an immediate spotlight on what is quickly identified as a disappearance with significant media attention.

(From left, **Rosamund Pike** as Amy Elliott Dunne and **Neil Patrick Harris** as Desi Collings in the **David Fincher** movie **Gone Girl**).

Detective Rhonda Boney and her team, including officer James Gilpin are called in to investigate the Dunne’s Kansas City, Missouri residence in furtherance Amy’s disappearance. A string of incriminating evidence implicates Nick Dunne in the disappearance, with the suspicion that Amy’s disappearance may have escalated to death in a case of domestic violence. Besides the evidence at the family household, factors back to the family’s previous home in New York City, New York are revealed through flashbacks. Boney and Gilpin were portrayed by Kim Dickens and Patrick Fugit.

(From left, **Patrick Fugit** as Officer James Gilpin and **Kim Dickens** as Detective Rhonda Boney in the **David Fincher** movie **Gone Girl**).

With the slow play of revelations against Nick Dunne, Amy’s husband turns to Tanner Bolt, his attorney, and Margo Dunn, his twin sister, for support. The continuing revelations of evidence that make Nick look guilty includes, for example, that Nick had an affair with a former student of his named Andie Fitzgerald. Tyler Perry, Carrie Coon and Emily Ratajkowski portrayed Tanner, Margo and Andie, respectively.

(From left, **Tyler Perry** as Tanner Bolt and **Carrie Coon** as Margo Dunne in the **David Fincher** movie **Gone Girl**).

The mounting pressure of the evidence feeds into the pressure applied in the media, including that of legal opinion host Ellen Abbott, to have Nick Dunne arrested and evidence of Amy Elliott Dunne’s death confirmed. The psychological component of that offers compelling sympathy for the viewpoint, while circumstances brought about in response to some of that media attention brings Desi Collings, a wealthy ex-boyfriend of Amy’s, into the picture. The beauty of this tension, with the dark statements about the Dunne marriage in particular, connected with me in ways that I mean not to undersell. Neil Patrick Harris and Missi Pyle portrayed Collings and Abbott, respectively.

(From left, **Missi Pyle** as Ellen Abbott and **Emily Ratajkowski** as Andie Fitzgerald in the **David Fincher** movie **Gone Girl**).

The achievement that Gillian Flynn as writer and David Fincher as director brought to this movie makes this something that I recommend. The film holds up to additional viewings and reflections after the fact, including with the deliberate discomfort that the film both raises and delivers upon. I give Gone Girl as directed by David Fincher 4.5-stars on a scale of one-to-five stars.

Matt – Wednesday, April 26, 2023

Heather Langenkamp, Johnny Depp and Robert Englund in the Wes Craven movie ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’

A month of cinema reviews set to a darker, eerie mood brings us to the work of Wes Craven, originally from Cleveland, Ohio. We head back to four decades, to the celebrated youth horror film directed and written by Craven. The film’s premise of defining the boundary line between dreams and reality proves rather intriguing. Today we review A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), a favorite of blog supporter Airport Friend that would spawn numerous sequels and a remake 26-years later.

(From left, **Amanda Wyss** as Christina ‘Tina’ Gray, **Heather Langenkamp** as Nancy Thompson and **Johnny Depp** as Glen Lantz in the **Wes Craven** movie **A Nightmare on Elm Street**).

The movie itself introduces the audience and a handful of teenage students living on Elm Street to Tina Gray having experienced nightmares in her sleep one autumn night. Gray, as portrayed by Amanda Wyss, raises the occasion to a pair of her friends, Nancy Thompson and Glen Lantz as portrayed by Heather Langenkamp and Johnny Depp, respectively. Besides the fact that Tina Gray was not the only one with nightmares while sleeping, we in the audience come to learn that Thompson and Lantz have been dating.

(From left, **John Saxon** as Lieutenant Donald ‘Don’ Thompson and **Jsu Garcia** as Rod Lane in the **Wes Craven** movie **A Nightmare on Elm Street**).

Rod Lane, Tina Gray’s boyfriend as portrayed by Jsu Garcia, witnesses an inexplicable assault on Gray that he felt powerless to stop. Nancy Thompson’s father, police Lieutenant Donald ‘Don’ Thompson as portrayed by John Saxon, catches the case. When considering that Lane had been present when Gray had been assaulted, he delt the need to arrest Gray.

(From left, **Ronee Blakley** as Marge Thompson and **Heather Langenkamp** as Nancy Thompson in the **Wes Craven** movie **A Nightmare on Elm Street**).

Meanwhile, Nancy Thompson continues to suffer from the nightmares in her dreams, bringing physical manifestations of her dream into the physical world. We formally learn about the nature of who Freddy Kruger was, and what he represented, owing to these dreams.

(**Robert Englund** as Fred ‘Freddy’ Krueger in the **Wes Craven** movie **A Nightmare on Elm Street**).

Marge Thompson, the mother of Nancy and wife of police lieutenant Don, meanwhile was portrayed by Ronee Blakley. That Nancy felt closer to the reality of Freddy Krueger more clearly than her parents, at least more than her parents cared to admit. The tensions of needing to sleep coupled led to serious problems for Nancy. With the plans Marge and Don Thompson had for Nancy coupled with the plans Freddy had for the kids, a compelling tale of horrific serial killing becomes clear.

(From left, actor **Nick Corri**, actress **Amanda Wyss**, director **Wes Craven**, actress **Heather Langenkamp** and actor **Johnny Depp** on the set of the **Wes Craven** movie **A Nightmare on Elm Street**).

The means that Wes Craven brought us in spelling out the motivations and rationale behind Freddy Kruger proved entertaining, thrilling and ghastly of the variety of thriller that this film offers. As I feel the movie establishes the world it exists in so well, I grant A Nightmare on Elm Street as directed and written by Wes Craven 4.5-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Wednesday, October 19, 2022