Monday Movie Mania - The Fall Guy

Ahhhh! The 1980's. The good ole' days. When men were men, and violence filled the airwaves!

The Fall Guy takes '80's male toxicity and twists it around so it's an delightful ode to the movie stunt profession. Loosely based on the series that was Lee Majors' follow-up to The Six Million Dollar Man, this flick doesn't take itself too seriously. Frankly, it's nice to see a movie with more practical effects than CGI while at the same time, acknowledging the massive changes in the movie industry.


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SPOILERS


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PROS
1) This is the first romantic action comedy movie since Romancing the Stone that had me laughing my ass off.

2) Ryan Gosling proved he has true comedic chops in Barbie (I don't count Crazy, Stupid, Love), but this movie with Ryan as Colt Seavers cements his talent in that arena.

3) Hannah Waddingham was delightful as the insane producer of the movie Metalstorm.

4) Ever since I saw Emily Blunt in The Devil Wears Prada, she can do no wrong in my book. This role also gives Jody more power than she had in the series.

5) Lee Majors and Heather Thomas, the stars of the original Fall Guy series, made pitch perfect cameos. I only wish Douglas Barr had also been included.

6) All the little Easter eggs relating to Lee Majors' career had me laughing my ass off.


CONS
1) We needed a little more of Winston Duke as Dan, Colt's best friend and the stunt coordinator of MetalStorm.

2) They should have used Lee Majors' version of "Unknown Stuntman" instead of Blake Shelton's remake. Nothing against Blake, but Lee's version, or his own remake, would have added to the treasure of Lee Majors' Easter eggs.


This is the first really unexpectedly fun movie I've been to at the theater since the pandemic started. Overall, I give The Fall Guy 10 out of 10 stars.

From the Beginning

The title song from Prince's fourth studio album.

Super Cells and Twisters

Last night's writing was lost to the tornado-producing super cell that passed through our area. At least, we didn't get any hail like Illinois and Indiana. We're fine. I just spent the day trying to get caught up on things.

Take it easy folks. You never know when Mather Nature is going to drop a house on you.

Mammogram Time

Yep, that's right. I had my annual mammogram this morning. It'll be an annual event until I die or have my right breast removed.

It's the crap a breast cancer survivor faces.

I was in and out in roughly a half hour. A nice young lady named Michelle took the pictures and ran back to speak with the radiologist. Part of that half hour is giving the radiologist a chance to check my pics and compare them to the last several sets. Make sure there's no hinky business that need a further exam by ultrasound, a needle biopsy, or a core.

With the ultrasound, I only get slimed. The other two hurt like a mother.

Even though the mammogram is an annual, expected event, the fear comes out. The night before, I lay awake in bed and wonder if this will be the time the medical team will find something again. No matter what I do, what techniques I try, what sleep aid I take, rest doesn't come.

I went to the diagnostic center on four hours of sleep this morning. Luckily, it's only a mile from our house. If I didn't have to cross a major highway, I could walk there.

A couple of hours after I got home, I was out cold in my recliner. The exhaustion from fear eventually catches up with me.

I just wish I could avoid the fear.

Prince in May

Then came the reclamatiion of his name.

Some Early Fake Holiday Wishes

First of all, every single holiday is made up. Yep, they are. So, I chose the holidays that are fun and/or have a spiritual meaning to me. In this case, May 4th and May 5th are on the weekend this year so here's my early holiday wishes for you!

AND

Puppy Healing

Princess Bella had a rough Saturday. Between the pain pills and the soft food, the poor girl had some digestive issues. However, she's doing much better now. Back to her old rascally self and wanting to play.

Yesterday, she seemed determined to catch up on all the play time she missing over the weekend. Unfortunately, both DH and I were trying to catch up on a multitude of work tasks, and she was rather put out by our lack of attention to our real needs.

Alas, there's never enough time to do everything one wants to do within the spare twenty-four hours per day. Including spending the entire day playing with one's adorable pet. 

Today I must plug in some words on the current wip and start cleaning the house before GK and Grandpuppy arrive in two months.

Oh, and finish making my last two Christmas gifts for friends who have been waiting patiently.

Monday Movie Mania - The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare

Mix Guy Ritchie and a plethora of hot actors, and you get a wild action comedy that's reminiscent of the crazy '80's action movies with Arnold and Sylvester.

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is VERY loosely based on Operation Postmaster, one of the SOE's first sabotage missions against Nazi Germany. The SOE was the precursor to today's MI6. According to some sources, Ian Fleming based James Bond on Gus March-Phillipps.


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SPOILERS


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PROS
1) The lovely cast is headed by Henry Cavill as March-Phillipps. The entire team has a range of actors who normally play the hero in movies. This time, they show their acting chops as a bunch of psychotic misfits, a la The Dirty Dozen.

2) Guy Ritchie can normally bring out the characterization necessary to sympathize with his protagonists. I think he didn't dig too deep here because these are men who should be incarcerated for murder and many other crimes. The only redeeming feature is these men hate Nazis as much as normal Brits do.

3) It's very obvious the entire cast enjoyed the hell out of playing a bunch of psychotics.

4) In a movie that manages to go over the top, Rory Kinnear does a lovely, delicate job of protraying Winston Churchill as a real human being.

5) Cary Elwes was perfect as the eye-rolling Brigidier trying to keep a lid on the illegal mission while dealing with backstabbing idiots who want to surrender to Hitler.


CONS
1) I really can't think of anything bad about this movie. This flick isn't Oscar material, nor does it pretend to be.


Overall, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare was a blast of weekend matinee movie. I give it 8 out of 10 stars for its explosive fun.

Prince in April

One of my favorite ballads.

Puppy Surgery

Princess Bella had to go in for dental surgery this morning. Somehow, she managed to break two of her upper molars, one on each side of her jaw. Even though she was the second surgery scheduled for the day, the animal hospital kept her until four p.m. to make sure she suffered no ill effects from the anesthesia or the anti-inflammatory meds. While she is a dog with a large personality, she does have a tiny body.

Everything went smoothly, and she's now cuddled with me on our recliner. However, she does have the glazed look in her eyes.

Tonight's dinner for her will be Little Cesar's Filet Mignon. Her favorite soft food for her poor abused mouth.

It will be a quiet night in the Harden household.