DAMIEN RILEY, world musician and performer

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  • Men in Black 3

    Fans of the Men in Black franchise recently became thrilled to know there is now a 3rd installment. Like its predecessors, the third movie has all the slime, goofy special effects, and laser guns you could ask for in a sci-fi action comedy. It also has some really good actors and that is what ultimately makes this movie franchise a winner.

    Men in Black 3 was directed by Barry Sonnenfield, known for Pushing Daisies and the Lemony Snicket … children’s movie (among others). He has created an exciting movie here that includes a powerfully written twist at the end. The film stars Will Smith as Agent J, Tommy Lee Jones as agent K, and Josh Brolin as a younger agent K. By way of trivia, IMDB reveals that Sacha Baron Cohen was considered but not chosen for the role of Boris. He would have been great no doubt but as it stands, the character they got to play Boris does an excellent job. Based on the acting, special effects, and clever twist at the end, I gave this movie a high rating. It was a fun roller coaster ride that provoked thinking about stuff like time travel. I love sci fi movies that make me think.

    By way of summary: Agent J is transported back in time to help save Agent K from Boris’ deadly actions. As he goes back, we see the slime and future devices in retrospect … “retro-furtristic” if you will. It could have been a film on Roswell or Area 51 as it presented the retro cars of the 40’s and 50’s. Horrible Boris the Animal is at his worst here. We witness him murder and commit crimes through time and up to the present. Nevertheless, through a series of events, Boris is defeated and Agent J returns to the present day victorious. He has saved K’s life by going back in time. I won’t reveal the twist here but fans of the franchise are going to love it. I think anyone, pre-existing fan or not, will find it both touching and exciting at the same time.

    In my final analysis, I found Men in Black 3 to be a wild and crazy ride that I might consider going on a second time. The actors and the writing deserve the most credit I think. And of course, let’s not underestimate the power of slime. For a fun night out at the movies (kids or adults) I recommend Men in Black 3.

  • Rock of Ages

    Rock of Ages is the film adaptation of a musical that has been going strong for years on the strip and across the country. It has both a mainstream and cult following. There has been much buzz about this movie and whether it will do justice to the musical that has taken the world by storm. Can the accoutrements of film achieve what musical theater has done? I just watched in XD and I’d say: sometimes, yes, and other times, not even close. One thing is the same in both however: the music of the ’80’s is amazing, without question. Rock of Ages features music from: Bon Jovi, Guns N’ Roses, Def Leppard, Foreigner, Journey, Poison, Whitesnake, Night Ranger, Twisted Sister, and REO Speedwagon.

    The film was directed and produced by Adam Shankman, known for Hairspray, A Walk to Remember, and others. The film was written, not surprisingly, by seasoned, successful Hollywood names the accolades of which include: Wall Street, Megamind, American Psycho, Just Go With it, and others. From powerful rich writers to actors in the same vein, this movie has a cast of verified stars: Tom Cruise (Stacee Jax), Diego Boneta (Drew Boley), Julianna Houge (Sherrie Christian), Alec Baldwin (Dennis Dupree) just to name a few. The casting is good and I discovered when researching for this review that Tom Cruise indeed sang all his own parts. I had my doubts since they sounded quite professional in the movie. Tom Cruise pulled it off! The movie plays a lot like the musical. I recently saw it AS a musical at the Pantages in Los Angeles so I was certainly extra critical in my analysis of the film’s musical performances. All the actors could sing and their performances rivaled the stage versions.

    By way of trivia, Def Leppard did not grant rights to use their songs in the stage musical. They surprisingly did however allow their music to be performed in the movie version. Tom Cruise sings an amazing cover of their “Pour Some Sugar on Me.”

    This movie is a lot of fun and has great music. I felt like dancing in my seat to it. It does lag at points however and the Stacee Jax character is given way more screen time than his character merits. This is a love story and that is the focus of the stage musical. Stacee Jax’s character makes the movie boring at times. It is better when he sings. It was almost as if they felt they needed to showcase their big star (for whom they no doubt paid dearly). Stacee Jax had a much smaller role in the stage musical as it should be.

    Here is a bare-bones synopsis: A guy and girl come to Los Angeles seeking fame and fortune in rock music. They pay their dues in bars, restaurants, and stripper bars until they finally achieve their dreams. Along the way they learn the pain of the city which includes an eccentric Stacee Jax as an unwitting teacher. He is the celebrity lead singer of a rock band that everybody in the movie virtually worships. There is a side plot here of religious people trying to get rock and roll off the strip. It smacks of Tipper Gore and her censorship crusade.

    That is the movie in a nutshell. All throughout, you get amazing and inspiring music from the 80’s. To be honest, I don’t think they needed to hire so many A-list actors and writers, the music it what sells this one. No-namers could have done the job just as well. If you go, just go for the music and you will be delighted.

    In my final analysis, Rock of Ages is a funny, touching, rocking film that most adult audiences will love. Overly religious types may be offended at suggestive scenes and material. There is a LOT of sexual content and imagery so if that turns you off, stay home. As for me, the free spirit of hair band music of the 80’s was refreshing and enjoyable. I like the spirit of the 80’s and what the bands represented and the pole dancers weren’t horrible either. As they sing so beautifully in the final scene: “Don’t Stop Believin’, hold on to that feeling!” I remember listening to that Journey song in the 80’s and I can say now all these years later that I am still holding on to that feeling.

    Trailer:

  • It Comes at Night (2017)

    If a film is a thriller, posing as a horror, and being undeniably a mystery, how would I rate it? I think I’d find the most dominant genre and start there. This film works as a thriller but fails completely as a mystery. It has 3 jump scares but to me that doesn’t a horror movie make. It was hard for me to understand what the director tried to do here. This is no feel good night out film, to be sure.

    It Comes at Night

    “Secure within a desolate home as an unnatural threat terrorizes the world, a man has established a tenuous domestic order with his wife and son, but this will soon be put to test when a desperate young family arrives seeking refuge.” -IMDB

    Cast

    Joel Edgerton Paul
    Christopher Abbott Will
    Carmen Ejogo Sarah
    Riley Keough Kim

    Directed by

    Trey Edward Shults

    Written by

    Trey Edward Shults

    Other Info

    Horror, Mystery
    R
    Fri 09 Jun 2017 UTC
    91min
    IMDB Rating: 7.3

    Trey Edward Shults directed this along with Krisha (2015). Krisha is also a heavily depressing and unsatisfying film. Perhaps this could be a trademark in the making. In his other film, we have a woman going to a family reunion with people she hasn’t seen for years because she has been an addict and locked up in rehab. It’s awkward comment after awkward comment and it appears to be filmed on an iphone at a family thanksgiving. We can see from both these film this director foster discomfort on screen. The big question then becomes: “Why?” If you have an answer, please leave it in the comments.

    Joel Edgerton is the patriarch male in the house in the woods. He plays the role well but I can’t imagine the purpose of the things he does, gun and/or axe in hand. I enjoyed him in The Gift, where he played a high school friend returning to torture a childhood bully. That was the biggest film I recall seeing him in.

    This a story about a family of 3 in the woods who wear gas masks and fear their own infection by unknown outsiders. They join with another couple, forcefully and hash out tense relationships in the house, never going out at night.

    We’ve seen the psychopath who demonizes innocent people in Frailty and so many other films of this theme. We’ve seen the “compound” doomsday prepper who is out to protect himself and/or his loved ones like 10 Cloverfield Lane. We’ve also seen much of what we see in this film as far as the woods and creepiness therein in the Walking Dead only this film has no zombies. This film adds nothing to the common theme. Moreover, the mystery in the film is never explained.

    Final Thoughts
    With so many dark issues facing us as a culture that sees films, why make such a negative, violent film? I’m confused as to the message of the director. I think it might be that if you kill one person, you’ll never be able to stop, but who knows. When the credits rolled, a watcher said, “What the fucking fuck?” I agree completely. As far as the ending of this marginal film goes. It lost points for posing as horror but most of all it lost for not concluding its own mystery. It does ok as a thriller. I don’t recommend this film.

    4/10

  • Marvel’s The Avengers

    Never have I seen more marketing precede a movie than I did for the Avengers. In fact, most the recent superhero movies of the last 2-3 years have included a cameo of an Avenger making reference to the upcoming film. For that reason, I expected something very exciting and well thought out. I didn’t get that but the box office shows unprecedented success for the mammoth marketing onslaught. The Avengers was directed by Josh Whedon, known for The Cabin in the Woods and Buffy the Vampire Slayer among other films. The movie has an all star cast of actors known for their Marvel comic movies such as Thor, Captain America, and the Hulk just to name a few. The most screen time is given to Robert Downey Junior as Iron Man. An interesting factoid to consider is that this movie is the Highest-grossing Disney film ever. That’s nothing to sneeze at. One refreshing cameo was seeing Agent Maria Hill, Cobie Smulder, from How I met your Mother. I had to do a double take since I’m not used to seeing her on the big screen. She did a great job I thought.

    I certainly enjoyed going on a date with my lovely wife to see the Avengers. Unfortunately, I am not a huge fan of comic book action movies and this one, in my opinion, catered 100% to that audience. Apparently though, according to ticket sales, Disney should have no regrets. The story begins with Nick Fury, Samuel Jackson, calling together the Avengers, a group of superheroes acting as a team to save the world from the evil force named Loki, Tom Hiddleston. The first half of the movie consists of the Avengers fighting with each other. Why they suddenly decide to work together is unclear and they do not work well together. I felt like it was catering to a “Comic-con” type audience so I didn’t judge it based on a normal action fantasy movie. There are many holes in this one and the special effects were not enough to invest my interest. My wife made a great point that the roots of a sequel were being planted throughout. In the end, instead of being a compelling adventure superhero film, it became simply a $220,000,000 ad for the inevitable sequel. There were great effects which I would tout as the only reason to go see this movie. From the hoots and hollers from the trekkies Comic-con types in the audience, I would say that was enough to deliver as planned. I know a lot of people are loving this so don’t flog me all at once. I’m choosing to be a black sheep on this one and go against the popular opinions.

    My final analysis is that this film has great effects and therefore will appeal to Transformers and Comic-con Marvel types. Having said that, I suspect it will come up short of “marvelous” to many due to bad acting, and mediocre writing .

  • A River Runs Through it (1992)

    Robert Redford’s film is a winning drama you can count me in for every time it plays. The story of a rural family in gorgeous Montana and two brothers is one I identify with. I think anyone who’s ever had thirsty aspiration and tasted bitter lament can enjoy the essence of.

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    “[imdblive:plot]” -IMDB

    Cast

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    Directed by

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    Written by

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    Other Info

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    IMDB Rating: [imdblive:rating]

    As a man who grew up in America and who has become a writer of things, specifically through the discipline of letters, this film captivated me in my 20’s and I have called it one of my favorite films ever made ever since. I still get goosebumps at certain places in the film. It is certain deserving of being on my list of Riley’s Great 100.

    Robert Redford is a household name as an actor. He’s been in films that moved millions such as The Way we Were and Brubaker. These are just two in a lifetime career that any film fan from the 70’s to now will know the emotive quality of. Who can forget his outdoor survival skills in Jeremiah Johnson. He will live in many people’s’ minds as the reclusive millionaire in the Great Gatsby. His face and voice have always been calming and reassuring as an American making American films. That’s why A River Runs Through it is a slice of true Americana in his catalog. It’s a film he directs and narrates only though Redford emanates out of every aspect from the forest cinematography to the fly fishing of actors Tom Skerritt, Craig Sheffer, and Brad Pitt. Redford is the perfect director the paint this portrait in a movie.

    The film is based on the autobiographical writings of Norman Maclean. Maclean was a writer and poet who also taught at University in Montana. It is simply his sublime personal account of life in Montana as the son of a Presbyterian minister. Whether it’s stealing beers and boats of finding out you can never change some people, the account is chock full of life aphorisms and good advice. You can smell the lumber and the oil lamps. The 1940’s Fords have that clackety clack sound that takes you back to the future to a time that has been all but forgotten were it not for Maclean’s account.

    Sheffer plays a young Maclean. He is the older of two brothers and Brad Pitt plays the younger. One brother is responsible and seems to make all the right choices while the other is reckless. Both are better than some in the town however. Watching the boys grow up and make their way in the world is interwoven with poetry and narration straight from the book.

    FINAL THOUGHTS
    The cinematography and acting in this powerful nature based film make it a glorious work of art. The sets and props are all made to look like the 1940’s. It’s as if you are transported there while watching. We hear the flaws of religion and other institutions. Then we see the beauty of 2 wiry and wily brothers growing up. They make many mistakes and the film impersonally and simply lets the consequences play out. It;s a film about finding ones way and reaching out to help others find theirs, even when they don’t accept your help. For many years I have called this my favorite film of all time.

    10/10

  • John Carter

    This movie was directed by Andrew Stanton, known for Wall*E and Finding Nemo. He took a giant step out into the adventure epic genre with this one. The question is: “should he have?” This is a Disney creation and as a result has state of the art graphics and cgi. It stars Taylor Kitsch as John Carter, a relatively new actor known for the TV series Friday Night Lights. Clearly he worked out with weights for the role. His character flexes muscles like the best action stars extant. Lynn Collins plays Dejah Thoris, the princess. She also “gives good flesh” onscreen. Let me just say, she looks really hot in her costumes. They cast her well. Make no mistake, it is a visually stunning piece in many ways. Unfortunately, the implausible plot and cheesy screenplay overshadow the visual triumphs of John Carter. I forgot it was 3D in about 15 minutes as its sorry plot just kept dragging on.

    The character John Carter is a captain set in the Civil War and he appears to be running from all forms of duty. We are never told why but we do find out at one point his wife and daughter have been burned inside his home. Perhaps that is why he runs? Again, we are not told why. The movie is based on a beloved turn-of-the-century novel so I can only assume the book explains these things. The movie moves quickly from Earth to Mars leaving no space for explanation. John Carter comes into the possession of a pendant that transports him to Mars. Once there, he discovers he has a new ability to jump ridiculously high over long distances. This makes him a sort of hero among a colony of 12 foot tall beings that each have 4 human like arms and tusks. They are uncomfortably similar to the tribes in James Cameron’s Avatar only they are flesh colored. The even have their own language like the creatures in Avatar. Things happen and there are all sorts of special effects that go on. There is a dog-like creature that runs blindingly fast, I found this creature quite cool. However stunning everything may look in this movie, make no mistake that none of it makes any sense. The story is preposterous, even from a fantasy standpoint. I hoped against hope it eventually would make sense and engage me but it decidedly never did.

    There is a princess and John becomes her savior. There is a gladiator scene where John is thrown to a set of giant white gorillas. John defeats the mammoth beasts. It then becomes a struggle for John to get back to his planet but he really has no motive to do so. He decides to become a Martian and marries the princess. The romance writing is terse and the characterization underdeveloped. The love between them is not believable nor is much of anything written in John Carter. I must say, I hardly even know how to be sarcastic about this movie, it’s like a poorly made scif-fi channel movie. Disney knows how to make hero/princess stories, shame on Disney for this one. Oh, and I must inform you that if you persist in your desire to see this movie after reading  … it is 2 1/2 hours long so be warned. For my wife and I out on a date, it was movie watching torture. This movie may appeal to some but for me, it was a real waste of 2.5 hours. Having said all that, I am sure Disney is already starting to plan the sequel. If they make John Carter 2, let’s hope it’s better than this.