It is difficult to break out of a rut, especially if it has been a lifelong one. No matter what you do, you continue to get yourself back into the same situations every time and there is no way of breaking free. A fresh start is the way to go, but that is easier said than done these days. With your life already in progress, it is next to impossible to step away. Needing to find a way to get a clean slate is the best alternative, but short of going into the Witness Protection Program, the odds of pulling it off are a million to one.

While at his high school reunion, Charlie McMillian is forced to watch his wife dance with her ex-husband when a friendly face shows itself. Max Kessler is back in town and ready to see his friend for old times sake. Leaving the reunion, the two old friends sit and have a chat about how bad life has been for them both and how they really need a change. While Max has an idea that can help them both, he is holding something back from Charlie who needs this much worse than he does.

While considering a change in lifestyle, Charlie is pushed to the brink when his wife is more concerned about her best friend accompanying her on a spa weekend than him. Reaching out to Max, Charlie is ready for a weekend getaway that will take him back to his youth. While the two are out having the time of their lives on a yacht, Max has another plan for the old friends. Rowing Charlie and himself back to shore, Max blows up his boat and is ready to start his life over again.

When Charlie wakes up in a seedy hotel room, he hears out Max’s plan for the life the two men deserve. With fake ids created for them both, the friends get a do over and this time will have a shot at being who they should have been all along. Becoming Dr. Ronald P. Fishman and Butch Ryder, Charlie and Max find that their dead men alter egos have a wonderful secret hidden away and they travel down to Puerto Rico to claim their new spacious home, and at long last, the two are living on the top of the world. But all is not as it seems as the two men’s lives that Charlie and Max have taken over are not as care free as they expected. Being hunted down by a gymnast hitman, the two friends need to find out what other secrets these adopted identities have hidden from them before its too late.

I was hesitant to watch this movie, since the last Adam Sandler movie left me wanting so much more.  This one however was a huge step up and a little more adult for the most part, with not as many dick and fart jokes for example, but there were still plenty of those to be found. With the friendship theme playing throughout and finding out that everyone has their own secrets, good or bad, made it enjoyable. It seemed like it was more a story about Charlie and his downfalls and Max was just there to help him, but in the end Max is the one that needed the help. With the more adult feel to the story, I enjoyed this much more than I expected to, and a running gag on Bob that has a great payoff in the end, I found myself laughing more than cringing. As long as Sandler and Netflix continue to use this formula, I am sure that the movie making relationship between this team will continue to grow and prosper.  

Since I gave a 100% Spoiler Free review when this movie came out, I have decided that since The Force Awakens is now on DVD, I should be able to actually review the movie without ruining it for anyone. I am a huge Star Wars nut and that will never change since episodes 4-6 are some of the finest storytelling movies you can ever see, well maybe not episode 6, but it still worked.  With that being said, I think that the franchise is in good hands at this point, even though they may have some characters that might need some better development.  So without further ado, time for my Star Wars review.
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The Jedi have been lost to time and with Luke missing, there is nobody that can stand up against the First Order. Being led by Supreme Leader Snoke, only a few evil Jedi remain and Kylo Ren is on his dark side. Needing to ensure that the resistance is not able to find the directions to find Luke Skywalker, they are searching the planet of Jakku, Kylo Ren is able to capture the resistance’s best pilot Poe who has a map that may lead directly to Skywalker. While the First Order only wants complete control of the universe, they kill everyone in their way, but at least one solider does not agree with what is happening.

FN-2187 sees friends and innocents killed in front of his very eyes and knows that this fight is not for him.  Needing to escape the First Order, he breaks the pilot Poe free from their evil clutches and makes it back to Jakku in one piece. Seeing a woman in trouble, Finn tries to help, but finds out that she can take care of herself.  The First Order is not far behind the traitor and his new friend and open fire on the savage town.  Being able to escape off world with the droid that has the plans the resistance needs to find Skywalker, Poe and Rey are in for an adventure of a lifetime.

Being picked up by a space freighter in the Millennium Falcon, Finn and Rey lay eyes on the original crew of Han Solo and his first mate Chewbacca. Seeing that Rey knows her way about the ship, Solo thinks that he has located a new crew member for future missions. Knowing where to find someone that can help the fugitives get to the resistance, Han calls upon his old friend Maz who is usually more than willing to help.  But when entering the local watering hole, both the First Order and Resistance get word that their fugitives have arrived and are quickly on their way.  While Rey does not know anything about the Force that she has been hearing so much about, she is pulled into the basement of the bar and opens a box that houses the Skywalker lightsaber.  Seeing images of the past and present, Rey does not know what to make of it, but before she is able to make heads or tails of it, the city is under attack.

Being captured by Kylo Ren, Rey is now the prized possession of the First Order and with the knowledge in her head, she will help her foes locate Skywalker before the resistance can.  But when Kylo Ren tries to dive into her mind, he is shocked that she can defend against his powers.  Not dealing with anyone that could do this before, Kylo is forced to report to Snoke about his failure.  It may not matter however as the First Order’s master weapon is fully operational and unleashed on the galaxy taking out the Senate of the Republic before any actions could be taken to stop it.  The resistance sees this and saddles up to defeat the evil in the universe once again, but now they have Finn on their side, but his motives are not to win the fight, but to bring back the woman that has saved his life.  The fuse is lit and the battle between good and evil will come down to wire once again as the First Order is bigger, but the resistance has more heart.

Well there it is.  I was very happy with this movie for the reason why people did not like it, it felt too much like Episode 4.  I honestly believe that was the point, since it was the best movie of the franchise to date, get the old fans back that you lost with the prequels and gain the youth that were not even close to being born yet when the original came out.  I like the new lead characters, Rey has to be my favorite at this point, mainly because she has a case of the force, but she is also strong and self-sufficient, but will not turn away a helping hand.  I could not stand Kylo Ren, I really hate to say that, but with all of his little breakdowns, he is just a big baby with special powers and a lightsaber. I could have done without the father/son storyline between Kylo and Han, but you know, it made for a very dramatic part of the movie that shocked the world.   It was great having the original cast reprise their roles, but it is a new story and we need to fall in love with the new ones, but we have some good options now. This is a great movie to get yourself back into the franchise and I hope that when Episode 8 makes its way to the big screen, it is even better…and has more lens flairs.  May the Force be with you.

Perhaps one of my more despicable qualities is my tendency to revel in the disappointing careers of an actor after their extremely popular film series comes to an end. While I’m not usually a fan of celebrity-based Schadenfreude, I find it oddly amusing to find myself wading waist deep in the mediocre after-projects of actors like Hayden Christensen, or even those of Mark Hamill. Strange, how it is that this fate has never befallen Daniel Radcliffe, who has spent the post-Potter career he literally grew up within living up to the first three letters of his own last name. He’s a media darling, a staple of late-night talk shows thanks to his inimitable class and approachable personality.

Odder still is the fact that after they boarded up the doors to Hogwarts, Radcliffe has only participated in projects that could be described as “indy but not” semi-mainstream small studio films. Here is an actor who never fails to endear himself to audiences worldwide without letting his ankles wade too deep in the marsh of mainstream American filmmaking.

What’s the secret to this success? Well, mainly it seems to be the fact that every role he’s taken on since the Potter years has been a challenge. While perhaps his role in the West End revival of the Gonzo play Equus will always remain the oddest point of his career, it has certainly characterized the type of actor he has become, with roles in movies like The F Word, Horns, and even bit-roles like the one he had in Amy Schumer’s Trainwreck.

Swiss Army Man is certainly one of those films, a single film of 95 minutes and 5 small scale production companies, now released wide but still only available in 25% of theaters near you. The premise is enough to make you nod your head and say “Yep, that’s a Radcliffe movie.” Paul Dano plays “Hank,” a man who left civilization a long time ago because he just couldn’t hack it, only to find himself stranded on a beach, an even bigger failure at the Robinson Crusoe-esque alternative. From the opening of the film, he is seconds from hanging himself when he spots a dead body, played by Radcliffe, washed up on shore. He understandably, resumes attempting to hang himself until he spies the “miracle” of the corpse letting off a seemingly endless fart that propels him around the shallow waters of the beach. Seeing an opportunity to return to civilization, Hank immediately places a rein on the corpse and rides him to an opposite shore.

Before you can expect a two-man, low budget version of Weekend at Bernie's, or even a parody of Cast Away with a lifeless body in the role of Wilson the volleyball, Hank quickly bonds with the corpse, giving him the name “Manny,” and giving him personality cues based on his on feebly-lived life. It isn’t long before Radcliffe steps into the dead skin of this corpse and begins to talk back to Hank, essentially an even more naïve student to Hank’s life teachings.

As the film goes on, Manny gains even more useful abilities as Hank’s personal survival tool: he can be coiled back for a wood-splitting karate-chop, he can shoot rocks like bullets fired from his mouth, and he can carry water like a canteen, enough for Hank to shower under in one scene. Most poignantly, Manny seems to have an erection that always points towards civilization, but in order for Hank to utilize this properly, he has to school Manny in the principles of love, which is a thing Hank only knows of due to his pathetically brief and one-sided romance with a girl he knew of on a bus named Sarah, played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead.

It is with this premise that the concepts of survival, and buddy road film finally leave the stage to make room for an allegorical story about life itself, frequently detouring into discussions of farting, poop, and personal weirdness. All concepts of civilization fall away as this one misfit and his dead body philosophize about life in ways that seem simple and goofy, but actually have more philosophical weight than they let on. By the end of the film, you end up feeling for Hank and Manny more than you should for a sad, selfish loser and the dead body that he’s projecting on.

For all its good qualities, it’s sad to say that the way the plot unfolds is rather predictable for a film of this kind. It becomes obvious, for example, that everything we see in this movie is through Hank’s obviously exhausted and hallucinating mind. Everything in the film supports this notion, right down to the soundtrack, which is often made up of acapella hummed by Dano and Radcliffe.  Scenes that are supposed to be inspired in terms of set design and interplay between these two excellent actors are thus reduced by the realization that Hank himself is so damn tragic. We unfortunately can’t be as ideally out of our minds as we’re watching the film as Hank is while he’s participating in it. Otherwise the whole film might have had more of a point.

However, if you’re looking for a fun 90 minute indy flick, that dares to toss a little strangeness and grossness into a typical story of man’s redemption, there have been far worse attempts than Swiss Army Man.

These days, it is difficult to tell what is real and what is fake in our movies. With so many special effects and CGI becoming more realistic in every film, well, we might not even need actors in a couple years. It is hard to imagine that the line of reality and fiction could be crossed so quickly in our time, but with so much technology at our fingertips, how could it not. I am happy to say that I can still point out the differences quickly in movies, but only when I watch them on my outdated television.

Kidman has been given an assignment that is of vital importance to the United States; to find Stanley Kubrick before the attempted moon landing and make up a moon walking scene that can be televised to the world. Being fresh out of Vietnam, Kidman is hoping for some down time, but there is no rest for the veteran as he is sent to England. With an in to find the director of 2001: A Space Odyssey, he believes that his job will be easy, but it turns out that nothing is quite what it seems. After meeting with Kubrick and his manager, Kidman believes that everything is in the bag, but when he finds out that he has been swindled, all bets are off.

Jonny is trying his hardest to be a successful manager of a band, but things are not working out the way he wanted. With all kinds of complaints about the venues and pay, Jonny is on his last leg, especially without being able to pay off his loan shark. While in his cousin’s office, Jonny is approached by Kidman who is looking to meet with Stanley Kubrick and makes the arrangement on his own, but there is only one problem, he does not know the famed director. Cutting his best mates beard, Leon has taken on the role of Kubrick and agrees to the American contract. Thinking that they are in the clear, Jonny has a great night out with his new briefcase full of cash, but little does he know that his loan shark is on the hunt to be paid back.

Finding that he has been cheated out of his money, Kidman is able to track Jonny and Leon down, but now he is in a race against time to get the moon landing scene filmed. Talking to Renatus, Jonny’s director friend, Kidman sees that it may be possible to make the deadline. Needing to get the CIA’s cash back to shoot the short, Kidman is able to secure the funds from the loan shark and keeps Jonny and his mates in check.  But being in a different terrain, Kidman is not ready for what will be put in front of him and when he finds out the problems of producing, even when making a short film, he is in over his head. Making the deadline is Kidman’s priority, but there is more to filmmaking that is never seen on the big screen.

Moonwalkers has had me flashing back to every movie that was ever made in the 60’s. I can't say I ever quite understood what was happening behind the camera when it comes to the trippy effects from that era, and well, this movie may have finally answered my questions. With only a limited amount of time, Kidman is forced to go with the ‘B’ squad when making his film and even thought it does not seem possible, money talks in any language. The characters in this movie are just fantastic and even though it is Jonny and Kidman running the scenes, Leon is the diamond in the rough and just excellent. I was ecstatic when the moon landing took place and the filming was happening, just a pure piece of humor on the screen. You might not believe that man has ever been on the moon, but after watching this, you might change your mind.