The Running Man is based on a Stephen King book, and the second film to be based on the material; the original 1987 Schwarzenegger film was a childhood favorite of mine. It follows recent Hollywood star Glen Powell as Ben Richards. Richards and his wife and baby are struggling to get by, as Richards’ quick-to-anger temper keeps getting him fired from job after job. The movie takes place in a near-future where society has broken down. Inflation has killed the dollar so the new currency is the “new dollar” which seems to be printed just for the wealthy. The poor live outside the urban centers and away from public eye, and many resort to deadly games, broadcast on television (with the network execs seeming to hold the most power in the country), in order to earn new dollars for their family. Running Man is the most popular of these shows. Contestants are tasked to survive 30 days without being caught and killed; every day they survive, their family gets money. They are hunted by cops, security, and “hunters,” with citizens being rewarded for reporting sightings of them too. So basically, everyone is out to get you, but if you can make it to 30 days, you get $1 billion. With a sick kid at home (only the flu, but only the rich can afford even simple meds), Richards signs up for Running Man. So begins his adventure, broadcast live on TV, as he tries to hide, run, fight back, or do anything he can to survive. If you are expecting a deep film, there’s little of that (though it is a pretty biting look at unchecked power by those with money and influence, and could be prescient enough if our society keeps caring more for reality stars than their fellow man), but it’s still a hell of a ride. Crazy, off-the-wall action, and completely unbelievable, but it’s a great time. Not as many memorable one-lines as the original film, but no less entertaining. ★★★½
The documentary Secret Mall Apartment has been on my radar for over a year, since my wife told me about it. I’m not often into docs, but the premise of this one, following a group of friends who lived in a hidden space in a mall in Rhode Island for four years, intrigued me. As a child of the 90s, I’ve always loved malls. Though quickly disappearing, for my generation it was the place to hang out. Whether it was to hang with friends, catch a movie, shop with a girlfriend, or just to blow your whole paycheck, it was the social place to be. I worked at a mall store (Waldenbooks) throughout college, and met my wife there. So this documentary grabbed my attention. Unfortunately the title and marketing is a bit misleading, as it is mostly about Michael Townsend, the young twenty-something artist whose idea it was to “retake” unused space in the mall, and that mall project isn’t the only story shown in the movie. The rest delves into Townsend’s other art projects, and while interesting, I was mostly wanting more of the mall story. What’s there though, is very good. Michael and a couple of his friends live in the area when the mall was being built in the late 90s, and immediately saw a space up in the second floor that was being walled off, sort of a tucked-away corner that wasn’t going to be retail space, storage, or anything else. Wandering around in 2003 after the mall has opened, they find the space, and sure enough, nothing is there. Over a few months, they would park a car at a stairwell exit, push the door open (sounding the alarm, which shut off after 2 minutes and which the mall security always seem to ignore), and move in furniture. In total, the space is about 800 square feet (bigger than my first apartment!) and 4 other friends are brought into the project as well. It becomes a place for the artists to hang out and talk. It’s a bit misleading that they all “lived” there, because while they did sleep from time to time, some for a few nights in a row, they always had homes somewhere else. Ultimately, 4 years later, they are found and charged with trespassing, with Townsend being banned from the mall for life. Those parts about the mall are the highlights for sure, and filled me with nostalgia. Kids these days will never get it, that era before cell phones when you would go to the mall just in hopes of running into friends, and you usually did. ★★½
Brides is a fantastic film out of of the UK. While not based on a specific person, it is inspired by true events, like the life of Shamima Begum, who was a teen who fled Britain to join ISIS. In this movie, two 15-year-olds, Doe and Muna, have made the decision to run away from home and flee to Syria. Best friends, they each have very different reasons for running away, but both are motivated. Doe was born in Somalia but came to England with her mother as a young child. Her mother adopted Western ideas and culture while Doe has stuck to her Islamic religion faithfully. Her mom’s new boyfriend has been eyeing Doe, making her very uncomfortable. Muna’s family is from Pakistan and while Muna is no longer a practicing Muslim, she has faced increasing violent racism in the predominantly white area they live, and her home life is rough too. Girls like this are prime targets for ISIS recruiters. The two girls grab a flight to Turkey, where they are supposed to meet a man who will guide them across the Syrian border to their new lives, except he never shows up. Abandoned in a country where they don’t speak the language, they decide to try to get to Syria by themselves, a harrowing adventure. There are moments where the two young women are still just kids being kids, but there’s always that feeling of being on the edge of a knife, and you know that if they do make it to Syria, it’s not peace, love, and harmony waiting for them. Two naive girls who are in way over their heads, and I always felt like disaster was just around the corner. ★★★★
The Smashing Machine, written and directed by Benny Safdie (half of the Safdie brothers), is a biopic of Mark Kerr, with Dwayne Johnson starring as Kerr. Kerr was a former wrestler who became a pioneer in mixed martial arts, and the movie follows his career from 1997-2000. In 97, he is a blooming star with championship bouts traveling the world, but his personal life is on the skids. His longtime girlfriend Dawn (Emily Blunt) knows how to twist Mark into getting what she wants and is manipulative enough to make him feel guilty for not giving her everything she asks. Before the biggest fight of his career, when Mark should be focused solely on his training, he is fighting with Dawn. The subsequent distractions cause him to lose the fight, for the first lose in his career. To deal with the pain, both physically and emotionally, Mark turns to opiates. It will be another year until Mark hits rock bottom and starts to try to make a comeback, but he’ll still need to deal with Dawn before he can really devote himself to his career. I think The Rock thought this was going to be his coming out party, showing the world that he could tackle a dramatic role, but honestly he (and the movie) are pretty average. Blunt steals every scene she’s in, but I wasn’t really emotionally invested in either of them. Despite all the hype the movie got before its release, it’s just OK. ★★½
Following with another biopic, and this one I enjoyed a lot more, mostly because it feels like a more personal story. Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere is about, of course, The Boss, but in particular it is the story of a small but important moment in his life. It takes place in 1981, when Bruce has just wrapped a long tour promoting his album The River, which has made him a star. He’s now recognizable wherever he goes, and is having a hard time with the success. Bruce rents a home near where he grew up in New Jersey, which dredges up memories of growing up in an abusive household. He begins playing with local bands at a venue where he once played, and meets a girl whom he starts to date. Restless and aimless, Bruce starts writing new songs, and gets the itch to record there in the rented house, just him and an acoustic guitar. His manager supports him, but the record company pushes back, especially when they hear the recordings, which are stripped down folk songs. With Springsteen on the cusp of global superstardom, they want another rock album to appeal to the masses, and this album isn’t that, but it is a personal album that Bruce needed to make at that moment in his life, helping him to move past emotional blocks. It, and the urging of his manager, help him with the depression he’s been facing. And of course, the next rock album would eventually follow, and it’s single Born in the USA would indeed make Bruce a worldwide icon. Great movie with strong performances from Jeremy Allen White in the lead and especially Jeremy Strong as his manager; it’s awesome seeing him make the most with this opportunity after his breakout in Succession. ★★★½
- TV series recently watched: Blossoms Shanghai (series), ST Voyager (season 4)
- Book currently reading: The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
Jons Movie Takes 