THE MULE (2018) – My rating: 8.5/10

The Mule is a crime film produced and directed by Clint Eastwood, who also plays the lead role. The screenplay is by Nick Schenk and is based on The New York Times article “The Sinaloa Cartel’s 90-Year-Old Drug Mule” by Sam Dolnick, which recounts the true story of Leo Sharp, a World War II veteran in his 80s who became a drug courier for the Sinaloa Cartel.  It seems now-a-days, anything is possible and anything goes.  This is Eastwood’s first acting project since 2012’s Trouble with the Curve, and his first starring role in a film directed by him since 2008’s Gran Torino. The Mule has been made into a humorous yet serious movie.  I’m glad I invested time to seeing it.

The Mule opens with Earl Stone (Clint Eastwood) who is a 90-year-old horticulturist and Korean War veteran facing financial ruin. His estranged wife Mary (Dianne Wiest) is lambasting him for never showing up or contributing financially, as his family looks on helplessly. A friend of his granddaughter Ginny (Taissa Farmiga),  who felt sorry for Earl, gives him a card with a telephone number and address of a place where he can drive and get paid.  Desperate for money, Earl follows up on the tip and becomes a “mule” transporting cocaine through Illinois for a Mexican drug cartel. Facing little suspicion due to his age, race, spotless criminal history and strict adherence to driving laws, Earl is soon trusted with huge amounts of drugs and paid equally large amounts of cash. With the money he obtains from drug-running, he pays for renovations of the local VFW Post and his granddaughter’s wedding and education. He becomes friendly with the cartel members, who call him Tata (“grandfather”).

Meanwhile, a Drug Enforcement Administration task force consisting of Colin Bates (Bradley Cooper), a DEA agent and the Special DEA agent in charge (Laurence Fishburne) is narrowing in on the cartel, headed up by Laton (Andy Garcia). Something happens on the way to the biggest drug delivery  entrusted to Earl.  You’ll have to see the movie to find out what happens and to be entertained as I was by a well written script.  I’m sure The Mule doesn’t tell the story as it exactly happened but I’m sure you’ll get it.  I loved this movie.  Check it Out!

 

MAMMA MIA! HERE WE GO AGAIN (2018) – My rating: 8.3/10

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again is a musical romantic comedy written and directed by Ol Parker, from a story by Parker, Catherine Johnson, and Richard Curtis. It is a follow-up to the 2008 film Mamma Mia!, which in turn is based on the musical of the same name using the music of ABBA. Both a prequel and a sequel, the plot is set after the events of the first film, and also features flashbacks to 1979, telling the story of Donna Sheridan’s arrival on the island of Kalokairi and her first meetings with her daughter Sophie’s three possible fathers. I really wasn’t interested in seeing this movie, however I’m glad I did. Mamma Mia! Here we go again was a pretty descent sequel with loads of good music.  This is a feel good movie.

Sophie Sheridan (Amanda Seyfried) is preparing for the grand reopening of her mother’s Donna (Meryl Streep) hotel, following her death a year earlier. She is upset because two of her fathers, Harry Bright (Colin Firth) and Bill Anderson (Stellan Skarsgård), are unable to make it to the reopening. Additionally, she is fighting with Sky (Dominic Cooper), her husband, who is in New York.  He thinks Sophie should forget about memorializing her mother’s life and come back to New York to be with him.

In 1979, a young Donna (Lily James) has just graduated from university with young Rosie (Alexa Davies) and young Tanya (Jessica Keenan Wynn), and is getting ready to travel the world. While in Paris, she meets and parties with young Harry (Hugh Skinner). They spend the night together, but Donna leaves soon after. She later misses her boat to Kalokairi but is offered a ride by young Bill (Josh Dylan), and along the way, they are able to help a stranded fisherman, Alexio (Gerard Monaco).  Eventually, Donna arrives on an island and discovers a farmhouse. A sudden storm causes her to encounter a spooked horse in the basement. She goes in search of help only to find a young Sam (Jeremy Irvine) riding his motorcycle who helps her to save the horse.  She and Sam enjoy a whirlwind romance.

In the present, Tanya Chesham-Leigh (Christine Baranski) and Rosie Mulligan (Julie Walters) of Donna and the Dynamos, arrive to support Sophie with the reopening and to cheer up Sam Carmichael (Pierce Brosnan), who is still grieving over the death of Donna and the only one of the three fathers who is able to attend the reopening.  Also helping with the reopening is Fernando Cienfuegos (Andy Garcia), the manager of the Hotel Bella.

Mamma Mia! Here we go again turned out to be a good film full of song and dance, plus romance and happy times of an adventurous young lady who has sex with three guys around the same time and becomes pregnant.  While the story is believable, it’s also sad because these three gentlemen were all willing to spend their lives with Donna.  I liked the way the director combined the past and present, thereby allowing this sequel to be understood, even if you didn’t see the original.  I thoroughly enjoyed Mamma Mia! Here we go again, which has so many fabulous songs, sung by Amanda Seyfried, Christine Baranski and Jessica Keenan Wynn, as well as Meryl Streep, who I didn’t realize could sing so well, to name a few.  There is a surprise visit from Sophie’s grandmother who steals the show.  Mamma Mia! Here we go again was well received by critics and enjoyed better than average reviews.  I recommend this musical to everyone.  Check it out!

 

PASSENGERS (2016) – My rating: 8.5/10

There’s no doubt in my mind, Jennifer Lawrence will go down as one of the greatest actresses of all time.  She can make a crap script look good.  Not that Passengers is a bad script, it was actually quite good.  She made it look even better.  The story was different and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Over 5,000 people, they call colonists, signed up to journey to a new planet called Homestead II, which is 120 years away.  They are being transported by the Starship Avalon, to start a new life.  That means, new family, new friends, new planet, new rules, new beginning.  What a concept.  In my opinion, that would be nice if you were not bringing the same old you with the same old baggage.  You know the old but true saying, where ever you go, there you are.  Anyway, the technology on this fascinating, well constructed vessel is suppose to be flawless.  Everyone, including the crew, are programmed to stay asleep in hibernation pods for 118 years.  No one is suppose to wake up until the 118th year of the trip.  Of course that’s not what happened, or else there would be no movie.

1 passenger named Jim Preston, (Chris Pratt) due to a malfunction, was awakened after 30 years, which was 88 years too soon (The plan was to awaken everyone 2 years prior to reaching Homestead II).  There are no other active humans (awake) on the vessel to help and any messages you might want to send out will take something like 29 years or more to reach anyone.  Anything could happen under these circumstances, why would anyone want to box themselves into such a corner?  This is just my take on the whole idea.  I’m not sure I see the benefit in this but I’m sure someone might.  I guess if your life is scrap or the world, as you know it, is scrap, you might go for it.  In Passengers, the current world had become over crowded.   The real catch here is that once awakened, you could not be put back to sleep.  So now what?  There are a few things you might do but would these things be feasible, acceptable or even moral?  After a year of isolation, with no company except Arthur (Michael Sheen), an android bartender, Jim, despondent, contemplates suicide. One day he notices beautiful Aurora Lane (Jennifer Lawrence) in her pod. Her video profile reveals she is a writer with a humorous personality.  Again, what do you do?

Of course, I’m not going to tell — I will say that I really liked Passengers and I highly recommend that you see it if you haven’t already.  Laurence Fishburne also stars as Chief Gus Mancuso, the chief deck officer and Andy Garcia as Captain Norris but when did they make an appearance since no one else was awake?  Check it out! Passengers is worth seeing.

 

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