FIRST MAN (2018) – My rating: 8.5/10

First Man is a 2018 biographical drama directed by Damien Chazelle and written by Josh Singer. The film is based on the book First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong by James R. Hansen.  Steven Spielberg serves as an executive producer. First Man follows the years leading up to the Apollo 11 mission that was designated to go to the Moon in 1969.  I’ve learned a lot about the NASA program as well as the complex personal life of Neil Armstrong, which was brilliantly preformed.

 

**** SLIGHT SPOILERS BELOW ****

First Man starts out in 1961 with NASA test pilot Neil Armstrong (Ryan Gosling) flying the X-15 rocket plane when it inadvertently bounces off the stratosphere. Although he manages to land the plane in the Mojave Desert, his colleagues express concern that his recent record of mishaps is due to distraction and he is grounded. At this point it is evident that there is something wrong with Neil.  It is revealed shortly that his young daughter, Karen, is undergoing treatment for a brain tumor. It is obvious Karen is the apple of his eye and the love of his life.  Desperate to save her, Neil keeps a detailed log of her symptoms and feverishly tries to find possible treatments, but she soon passes on. Distraught, Neil applies for Project Gemini and is accepted to NASA Astronaut Group 2. Neil’s wife Janet (Claire Foy), and their son Rick move to Houston alongside other astronaut families. Neil and Elliot See (Patrick Fugit), another civilian test pilot become friends along with Ed White (Jason Clarke), the first American astronaut to walk in space. As Neil begins training, Deke Slayton (Kyle Chandler) impresses upon the new astronauts the importance of the Gemini program, as the Soviet Union had reached every milestone in the Space Race ahead of the United States. While still in training, Neil and Janet have a second son, Mark.

By 1965, the family has settled in Houston, and Neil awaits selection for a crew. After the Soviets complete the first extravehicular activity (EVA), Neil is informed that he will be the commander of Gemini 8, along with David Scott (Christopher Abbott) as the pilot. Prior to the mission, See and Charles Bassett are killed in a T-38 crash. Armstrong and Scott successfully launch Gemini 8, and dock with the Agena target vehicle, but soon afterward, the spacecraft begins to spin at a rapid rate. After nearly blacking out, Neil activates the RCS thrusters and safely aborts the mission. Armstrong initially faces criticism, but NASA determines the crew is not at fault. Later, Ed White reveals that he has been selected for the Apollo 1 mission along with Gus Grissom (Shea Whigham), one of the original Mercury Seven astronauts and Roger Chaffee (Cory Michael Smith), capsule communicator for the Gemini 3 and Gemini 4 missions, and the third crew member who was killed with Grissom and White in the Apollo 1 pre-launch test.  During a plugs-out test on January 27, 1967, a fire kills the Apollo 1 crew, and Armstrong hears the news while representing NASA at the White House.

I’ve introduced you to a small window of events as depicted by First Man.  Neil Armstrong appears to be a brilliant introverted man who never got over the death of his daughter, Karen, which caused him to become an astronaut in the first place.  Although the events of First Man is history, it’s worth seeing because of it’s 95% accurate accounts of what actually happened.  Many men were killed trying to make the moon walk take place and millions of dollars were spent in a race against time, trying to insure that the United States of American would be first on the moon.  This was an intense movie, brilliantly acted and brilliantly exhibited as the scenes were lifelike and captured the seriousness of the moment.  I liked First Man very much, as it is an epic lesson of historian proportion and I highly recommend it to all.  Kudos to Damien Chazelle for his brilliant direction on First Man.  Check it this one out!

 

SKYSCRAPER (2018) – My rating: 7/10

Skyscraper is an action film written and directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber. The story follows a former FBI agent who must rescue his family from a newly built skyscraper–the tallest in the world–after it is taken over by criminals and set on fire. The first non-comedy of Thurber’s career, it also marks his second collaboration with Johnson, following Central Intelligence released in 2016.

Standing at 3,500 feet (1,100 m) and 225 stories tall, a high level Asian financier, Zhao Long Ji  (Chin Han) financed the construction of the world’s tallest skyscraper in Hong Kong, which they call “The Pearl”. Halfway through the construction process, rival gangsters under the control of Kores Botha (Roland Møller), an international terrorist kingpin, decides to use his control of the construction crews to extort millions of dollars in shakedown payments.  To prevent a massive strike of workers, which would potentially halt production and cost millions of dollars, the financiers of the skyscraper agree to the shakedown amounts.   Botha learns the existence of a memory card, created by the financier group, that records as well as tracks his international money laundering scheme.  The financiers believe the memory card will provide them with insurance against any attempt by Botha to extort money from them a second time.

Meanwhile, a former FBI Hostage Rescue Team leader and U.S. war veteran, Will Sawyer (Dwayne Johnson), now assesses security for skyscrapers since having one leg amputated, from the knee down, while on a previous mission.  Will  has been fitted with a modern prosthetic leg and tasked with inspecting “The Pearl,” which houses several floors that function as their own society. Despite numerous risks highlighted by Sawyer, his bosses insist the skyscraper is impenetrable.

Skyscraper is action packed but totally unbelievable.  As usual, Dwayne Johnson gives a brilliant performance but some of the stunts are not humanly possible to obtain.  The organized gang was ruthless as most gangs are, stopping at nothing to achieve their goal, which includes igniting the 96th floor of the Skyscraper.  You can only imagine where the drama and adventure this action will take Will and his family. The film received mixed reviews from critics, who praised Johnson’s performance but criticized the script as clichéd and too similar to The Towering Inferno and Die Hard.  It’s filled with action and many tense moments — a nice way to pass the evening.  Check it out!