(From left, James Van Der Beek as Jonathan Moxon and Jon Voight as Coach Bud Kilmer in the Brian Robbins movie Varsity Blues).
Jonathan Moxon, as portrayed by James Van Der Beek, serves as the early focus of the Varsity Blues as the backup quarterback of the West Canaan Coyotes. Moxon is shown as to be popular among his classmates and in a committed relationship with girlfriend Julie Harbor, the younger sister of starting quarterback of the Coyotes Lance Harbor. Moxon would rather focus on academics and getting into Brown University rather than play under verbally insulting and abusive coach Bud Kilmer or the expectations of a father trying to live vicariously through his father. Julie Harbor, Lance Harbor, Coach Bud Kilmer and Jonathan’s father, Sam Moxon, were portrayed by Amy Smart, Paul Walker, Jon Voight and Thomas F. Duffy, respectively.
(From left, Paul Walker as Lance Harbor and Ron Lester as Billy Bob in the Brian Robbins movie Varsity Blues).
Lance Harbor is shown to be pressured by the team’s coach to take painkilling shots to continue playing. Kilmer pressures offensive lineman Billy Bob, as portrayed by Ron Lester, to continue playing in the face of clear symptoms of concussion. When the effects of the concussion in Billy Bob led to a further knee injury for Lance Harbor, both adolescent and football realities would escalate for Jonathan Moxon as his team’s new starting quarterback and freshly minted team captain, both roles previously filled by Lance, were Jonathan’s for the taking.
(From left, Amy Smart as Julie Harbor, James Van Der Beek as Jonathan Moxon and Ali Larter as Darcy Sears in the Brian Robbins movie Varsity Blues).
A boon of unexpected social opportunity presents itself, first in the form of Darcy Sears as portrayed by Ali Larter. Sears, in aiming for the help of a husband with the wherewithal to leave West Canaan for bigger and better opportunities outside the town, attempts to seduce Jonathan Moxon sexually in a direct manner. Gently redirecting this while selectively rebelling against his father and coach on the football field, Coach Kilmer applies inappropriate threats against Johnathan to get him to cooperate with the on-field directives Kilmer appropriately expects of his second starting quarterback.
(Scott Caan as Charlie Tweeder in the Brian Robbins movie Varsity Blues).
Further disregard for the well-being of players continues, specifically with star running back Wendell Brown and previously concussed lineman Billy Bob suffering at the hands of this. A club mutiny led by Jonathan Moxon when Moxon refuses to play if Brown is compelled to take a painkilling shot in order to continue playing as the injured Lance Harbor has earlier. When star receiver Charlie Tweeder declines to take over as quarterback, or play, if Coach Bud Kilmer remains in charge for the game in question, the main drama of the movie reaches its full expression with this moment of choice. Eliel Swinton and Scott Caan portrayed Wendell Brown and Charlie Tweeder, respectively.
(Eliel Swinton as Wendell Brown in the Brian Robbins movie Varsity Blues).
It was through much of these and some other events, with football as the vehicle for the storytelling, that we see the dominant story of Jonathan Moxon having come-of-age in Varsity Blues. The storyline along with Moxon’s character remain internally consistent and true through the course of his story, with the internal strength for action in the face of a largely unsupportive system of family, coaches and on-field opponents set against him. One wish I had for the movie was that the defense of what’s right wasn’t so singularly focused on one character until that final moment of decision. I grant the movie Varsity Blues as directed by Brian Robbins 3.5-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.
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 ChevroletEl 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 FordThunderbird while actually making an escape in Badger’s PontiacFiero, 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.
(From left, Leonardo DiCaprio as Ernest Burkhart, Scott Shepherd as Byron Burkhart, Robert De Niro as William King Hale, Katherine Willis as Myrtle Hale and Delani Chambers as Willie Hale in the Martin Scorsese movie Killers of the Flower Moon).
With movie writing credits to Eric Roth and Martin Scorsese, the murdering of Osage people for oil rights on a one-by-one basis is the focus. Prior to the realization of this, the introduction of a modicum of Osage cultural tradition with the burial of the a ceremonial pipe, mourning their descendants’ assimilation into white American society. Sharing the yearly “flower moon” phenomenon of Oklahoma fields of bloom, we soon see several Osage dancing among oil gushing from the ground in their territory. Assuming the Osage “incompetent” to manage money in the American sense of it, Osage are assigned allotments of money in full and half-blood members headrights, which cannot be sold and transfer through inheritance to relatives upon death. In addition to graft that is addressed yet is not central to the movie, an incentive for untimely deaths had been created for unscrupulous whites.
(From left, Lily Gladstone as Mollie Kyle Burkhart and Leonardo DiCaprio as Ernest Burkhart in the Martin Scorsese movie Killers of the Flower Moon).
It is with this background that we meet Ernest Burkhart, as portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio. Having returned from World War One service unintelligent and greedy, Ernest moves in with his brother, Byron Burkhart as portrayed by Scott Shepherd, and his uncle William King Hale as portrayed by Robert De Niro. It’s on the family ranch that we learn of Hale‘s giving gifts to the Osage and speaking their language while serving in a neglectful law enforcement capacity. The depths of Hale‘s conniving against that proposed interest includes suggesting to Ernest Burhart‘s that his nephew strike up a romance with Mollie Kyle, who takes the Burkhart surname when Ernest and Molly marry in a ceremony with Osage and Roman Catholic elements. Lily Gladstone portrayed Mollie Kyle Burkhart, with Mollie’s relationship with Ernest Burkhart becoming a central focus of the movie.
(From left, Cara Jade Myers as Anna Brown, Tantoo Cardinal as Lizzie Q, Jillian Dion as Minnie Smith and Janae Collins as Reta Smith in the Martin Scorsese movie Killers of the Flower Moon).
The criminal enterprise elements of the movie grow from here into what we see to be patterns of attack on the wealth and people of the Osage nation in general and Mollie Kyle Burkhart‘s family specifically. The patterns of attack on Lizzie Q, Anna Brown, Minnie Smith and Reta Smith, as portrayed by Tantoo Cardinal, Cara Jade Myers, Jillian Dion and Janae Collins, respectively, being front and center in the murderous plots. It is the escalating plot geared at Bill Smith‘s two wives (Minnie and Reta) and Ernest‘s wife (Molly), in addition to the 1921 Tulsa Race Riot that occurred with an arguably equivalent impunity, led to the Osage tribe’s council seeking reprieve in Washington DC against the corrupt forces in play on the Osage reservation, including a direct appeal to United States presidentCalvin Coolidge. Jason Isbell portrayed Bill Smith.
(From left, Jesse Plemons as Thomas Bruce White Sr., Tatanka Means as John Wren, John Lithgow as Prosecutor Peter Leaward and Brendan Fraser as W.S. Hamilton in the Martin Scorsese movie Killers of the Flower Moon).
Despite of and in the face of these developments, William King Hale escalates his criminality further with the killing of Henry Roan, Mollie‘s first husband as portrayed by William Belleau, the ordering of the murdering of his own hired killers, and unsuccessfully attempting to murder Ernest after he testifies against his uncle. The Bureau of Investigation inquest by agents Thomas Bruce White Sr. and John Wren leads to a trial litigated by Prosecutor Peter Leaward. W.S. Hamilton defends William King Hale and Ernest Burkhart. Jesse Plemons, Tatanka Means, John Lithgow and Brendan Fraser portrayed White Sr., Wren, Leaward and Hamilton, respectively.
(From left, director Martin Scorsese and actor Robert De Niro on set for the Martin Scorsese movie Killers of the Flower Moon).
The means of bringing together the larger questions of the fates of William King Hale, Ernest Burkhart, Molly Kyle Burkhart and Anna Brown through a dramatized radio program intermixed with flashback provided an unexpected and dramatically cinematic flare to the movie’s resolution. The movie reels of the Tulsa Race Riots in addition to the opening storytelling tributes to the silent movie era of cinema were appreciated artful touches at earlier parts of the movie. These elevation points raised the bar for me on what quality filmmaking truly can be. It is with these points as backdrops to the story told that I grant Killers of the Flower Moon as directed by Martin Scorsese with a highly accomplished cast 4.25-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.
Just recently I watched the neo-Westerncrime drama television series Breaking Bad (2008-2013). The core story of the series is how underpaid and demoralized chemistry teacher Walter White, diagnosed with an advanced stage of cancer to begin the series, teams with former student Jesse Pinkman to sell crystal meth in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Vince Gilligan created and produced the series.
(From left, Bryan Cranston as Walter White, Anna Gunn as Skyler White and RJ Mitte as Walter White, Jr. in the Vince Gilligan television series Breaking Bad).
As the series begins, Walter White lives in the family’s one-story ranch house with Skyler White, his wife, and Walter White, Jr., his son. Bryan Cranston, Anna Gunn and RJ Mitte portrayed husband, wife and son, respectively, in the series. The initial impetus for entering the drug trade for Walter White was to financially provide for his family in the face of his cancer diagnosis. The process began as a small operation with small batches, made in combination and then distributed with the aid of former student Jesse Pinkman. Aaron Paul portrayed Jesse Pinkman.
(From left, Aaron Paul as Jesse Pinkman and Krysten Ritter as Jane Margolis in the Vince Gilligan television series Breaking Bad).
Comedic dysfunction ensued in the relationship for Pinkman and his former teacher in getting their business off the ground. Distribution is an initial consideration, with issues in manufacturing and distribution, with the engagement of Krazy-8, as portrayed by Max Arciniega, offering a dramatic sequence of events for the opening season. Jesse Pinkman’s strained relationship with his parents, as portrayed by Michael Bofshever and Tess Harper, added some depth to this storyline. Sharing Walt’s cancer diagnosis to Skyler’s sister Marie Schrader and DEA agent brother-in-law, Hank Schrader, introduced some of Walter’s extended family. Dean Norris and Betsy Brandt portrayed Hank and Marie, respectively.
(From left, Dean Norris as Hank Schrader and Betsy Brandt as Marie Schrader in the Vince Gilligan television series Breaking Bad).
The second season plants the fodder for the larger narrative for where the five seasons of Breaking Bad will go. Introducing Tuco Salamanca, as portrayed by Raymond Cruz, at first introduces an element of realism and risk for what the illegal meth business means. Keeping the notion separate from family, with the introductions of mortal risk alongside a love interest for Jesse with Jane Margolis, demonstrating complexity on the front that is only the tip of the iceberg. Krysten Ritter and John de Lancie portray Jane Margolis and her father, Donald Margolis, respectively. The recreational vehicle and meth lab for Walt and Jesse, in their own ways, bring problems between Jesse and his parents, Hank Schrader and the criminal enterprise, and familial ties that aren’t readily apparent at this of the story. The season really ends with a bang.
(From left, Matt Jones as Brandon ‘Badger’ Mayhew, Rodney Rush as Christian ‘Combo’ Ortega, Charles Baker as Skinny Pete and Bryan Cranston as Walter White in the Vince Gilligan television series Breaking Bad).
Season three introduces many elements of fallout from the second season, including introductions to relatives of Tuco Salamanca through Saul Goodman. Bob Odenkirk, Mark Margolis, Daniel Moncada and Luis Moncada portrayed Saul Goodman, Hector Salamanca, Marco Salamanca and Leonel Salamanca, respectively. Goodman also brings Mike Ehrmantraut into the relationship of Walter and Skyler White, with an aim to protect the criminal enterprise that Jesse and Walter. Walter White and Jesse Pinkman had brought Goodman into their enterprise in what was to become a growing crystal meth operation. It’s through Ehrmantraut, as portrayed by Jonathan Banks, that we are introduced to chicken manufacturer Gustavo ‘Gus’ Fring of Chile and his industrial strength crystal meth manufacturing plant. Giancarlo Esposito portrayed Fring.
(From left, Jonathan Banks as Mike Ehrmantraut and Bob Odenkirk as Saul Goodman in the Vince Gilligan television series Breaking Bad).
The backstory of the industrial plant takes the audience into the past crystal meth manufacturing ambitions of Gus Freng. This history shows a longstanding relationship between Fring and Hector Salamanca, culminating in the manufacturing storyline under the laundromat. Dynamic interpersonal dynamics become exceedingly more complex from this past, and with the cook who assembled the plant the parts for the plan in the first place, Gale Boetticher. David Costabile portrayed Boetticher, whose overall story leads to the fulfillment of many storylines for Breaking Bad.
(From left, Mark Margolis as Hector Salamanca and Giancarlo Esposito as Gustavo ‘Gus’ Fring in the Vince Gilligan television series Breaking Bad).
The Salamanca storyline around vengeance for Tuco runs contemporaneous to the laundromat, the introduction to Gus’ ambition, and explaining to outward appearances for the ability to afford Walter White’s cancer treatments. We meet the character Ted Beneke, a creep from Skyler’s past portrayed by Christopher Cousins. Meanwhile, we dynamics with Jesse’s distribution ring leads to troubles for Christian ‘Combo’ Ortega, as portrayed by Rodney Rush. The fallout of this leads to significant issues for Walter and Jesse with Mike Ehrmantraut and Gus Fring, with the relationship that Jesse has cultivated with Andrea Cantillo and her son, Brock Cantillo, on Jesse’s mind. Emily Rios and Ian Posada portrayed Andrea Cantillo and Brock Cantillo, respectively.
(From left, Christopher Cousins as Ted Beneke, David Costabile as Gale Boetticher and Emily Rios as Andrea Cantillo in the Vince Gilligan television series Breaking Bad).
The third and fourth seasons of Breaking Bad were among the best I’ve seen in a television series. The trajectory for so many relationships along with the development of the histories that informed so much of the motivation for characters were tremendous. That we truly began to see the true nature of who series long characters were during this timeframe. The stepping up of ways that DEA agent Hank Schrader continued not knowing that his brother-in-law was in drugs, as prolonged as could be possible with some ingenious interventions, were artfully done. This said, the sharing for how the stories of so many characters worked themselves out by the fourth season, and through some tying of loose ends with the fifth season, made the fifth season feel a bit anti-climactic at points for me. The introduction of Holly White was an interesting touch along the way, which served purposes for the relations between Walter and Skyler White, Hank and Marie Schrader, and between the Schraders and the Whites.
(From left, Jesse Plemons as Todd Alquist and Laura Fraser as Lydia Rodarte-Quayle in the Vince Gilligan television series Breaking Bad).
The storylines for the fifth and final season of Breaking Bad introduced needs to bring resolution to relationships with questions unresolved. Would members of the cast continue with the criminal enterprise? Would folks get caught? Would Hank catch the criminal that he’d been after since the beginning of the series. These questions are answered with clarity and depth, though the true emotional impact for some of these questions rested earlier in the series. The functions of Todd Alquist and Lydia Rodarte-Quayle became necessary, though these characters didn’t get the screen time to resonate as completely as others, including Brandon ‘Badger’ Mayhew and as Skinny Pete. The discrete closure for specific characters, and how things were left open for our imaginations for some characters, was an interesting choice. That this led the Better Call Saul (2015-2022) television series as well as the El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (2019) movie occurred, due to this, in my opinion. Matt Jones, Charles Baker, Jesse Plemons and Laura Fraser portrayed Mayhew, Skinny Pete, Alquist and Rodarte-Quayle, respectively.
(From left, director Vince Gilligan and actor Aaron Paul preparing for a scene for the Vince Gilligan television series Breaking Bad).
The overall experience of the Breaking Bad television series was entertaining. There are definitely parts of the movie that explored the motivations for who characters were, with the end result being a clear speaking to the full character that was Walter White. I give Breaking Bad as produced by Vince Gilligan 4.75-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.
Wishing goodbye to 2019 and hello to 2020, Lynn suggested the couples comedy adventure Game Night (2018) as our evening gift to ring in the new year. The premise for Game Night pitches a group of friends meeting for a regular evening of fun and entertainment, when things take comically wrong turns in a style that you’d guess from a couples’ night out.
(From left to right – Jason Bateman as Max, Rachel McAdams as Annie and Kyle Chandler as Brooks in the movie Game Night).
Max and Annie, portrayed by Jason Batemen and Rachel McAdams respectively, frequently host their friends for game night. Initial tension arises as Max and Annie seek to keep their neighbor, Gary, from their parties because he is no longer welcome following Gary’s divorce.
(Jesse Plemons as Gary and Olivia (the dog) as Bastian in the movie Game Night).
Gary, portrayed by Jesse Plemons and frequently seen with Bastian in the movie, catches onto the ruse when Max’s brother Brooks presents himself in unceremonious attention at a game night. Kyle Chandler portrays Brooks. The movie really gains its story from there.
Michelle and Kevin are one of the regular couples to attend the regular game nights at the home of Annie and Max. Sarah and Ryan participate in the game night that becomes a central portion of the movie, with comedy to ensue with these couples as well as with Annie and Max.
Game Night does a solid job of being a movie for couples to watch and enjoy together. The laughs, storytelling, and plot twists were light with an emphasis on the spontaneity and relationship questions one might expect from newly married or dating couples. For the aim and audience for this flick, the movie works. I give Game Night 4.00-stars on a scale of one-to-five.
The Steven Spielberg-directed movie The Post (2017) is showing in a theater near you. Starring for the first time with Spielberg is actress Meryl Streep as well as co-star Tom Hanks, who works with the visionary director of Jaws (1975) for the fourth time.
(Meryl Streep)
The film tells the story of a cover-up of the background for the involvement of the United States in what is known in America as the Vietnam War. In overcoming a cover-up of the background for being in that war, two leading newspapers battle over the political intrigue of U.S. Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Richard Nixon in publishing material that we see is documented from the opening scenes of the movie.
“The movie centers on the actions of The Washington Post publisher (Streep) and editor (Hanks) as they attempt to go public with the Pentagon Papers, a trove of government secrets, over the objections of President Richard Nixon‘s administration.”
Streep plays Katherine (Kay) Graham, who takes over publishing responsibilities for The Washington Post after the death’s of her father and former publisher Eugene Meyer and then her publisher husband Phil Graham. Much of the anxiety over gender roles for her generation were central in the story of The Post by design.
(Tom Hanks)
That the movie tackled the cover-up that seemingly ends under Richard Nixon’s presidency is due to Kay Graham‘s bravery in choosing to publish the editorial work of Ben Bradlee (played by Hanks) as well as the reporting work of Ben Bagdikian (played by Bob Odenkirk). It was Bagdikian that gets the classified Pentagon Papers after the Nixon Administration successfully sued The New York Times to stop publishing on this subject.
(Bob Odenkirk)
The subject of a press free from an over-stepping government concern is topical from a U.S. and world political history. The subject of fake news was a point-of-contention in the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election. Tension between the current administration and the press remain strong, and was a decisive trope raised within The Post. I again stress that the push and pull between the press and the presidents feels topical. That the figure of a strong female example (Streep as Kay Graham) was explored also bears repeating as relevant in today’s political and social American landscape. The presented example was thoughtfully raised.
I was pleased with the movie, and my feeling is that the movie will likely be recognized in the Academy Awards nomination season. This movie definitely examines political subjects, though I find the end product less overtly personal or politically intimate than Spielberg works such as Munich (2005), Saving Private Ryan (1998), or Schindler’s List (1993) felt.
(Steven Spielberg)
That there is a thing known as The Pentagon Papers as well as a presence for The Washington Post today, in a sense, tells you something that you should know about how the movie works out. There is a disclosed ruling about whether publishing The Pentagon Papers was legal. There is an outcome for whether Kay Graham and the newspaper survived and prospered under Graham family control. Overall, I found this movie pleasing while close to satisfying without rising to the level of must-see cinema.
(From left to right – Jason Bateman as Max, Rachel McAdams as Annie and Kyle Chandler as Brooks in the movie Game Night).
(Jesse Plemons as Gary and 
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(Meryl Streep)
(Tom Hanks)
(Bob Odenkirk)
(Steven Spielberg)
Matt Lynn Digital 