Matewan [1987] review

Years ago, I mentioned to my former boss that I grew up in Scranton, PA and that my grandfather was a coal miner so he highly recommended that I should watch this movie.  His other selling point was that James Earl Jones was in it.

After years of waiting for it to be available on streaming to no avail, I realized that I could borrow movies from my local library.  I got the Criterion DVD version which was released in 2019.

Plot wise - the movie is based on a true story of the events of Matewan, West Viriginia in the 1920s where the town was essentially owned and run by the coal company.  Due to the harsh conditions, the workers decided to strike and form a union.  The coal company hired foreigners and African Americans to work as scabs.  Joe Kenehan, played by Chris Cooper (his first film), enters to help support the workers and form their union along with the foreigners and African Americans.  He wants to do it without violence.  As you can surmise, this does not go well and there is a lot of in-fighting and turmoil.  On top of that, the coal company sends violent people to break up the union.   The big build up is this western style shootout on the main street of town.

Is this movie worth your time?  It's hard to say.  It's definitely dated and you can tell there was a very small budget.  The main story is a little slow, but there is an interesting mini arc in the middle of the movie regarding Joe and a local woman working with a spy for the coal company.  James Earl Jones has a few lines, but he kills it.  The best thing about this movie is the acting.  The child acting is a little much, but you have to give them props for holding their own.  There are a lot of familiar faces like the Warden from Shawshank (Bob Gunton), the woman from Dances with Wolves (Mary McDonnell), and the weird teacher from Happy Gilmore (Josh Mostel).  Also if you're a fan of Newsies, Kevin Tighe plays an antagonists in both this movie and that one.  He definitely has a face of a villain.  And last, but not least was a young David Strathairn who's been in a whole bunch of stuff like A League of Their Own.

Overall, there's a powerful story here, with a few gut punches, but this movie didn't knock it out of the park for me.  I can see why it critically acclaimed and part of the Criterion collection, but I felt it could have used a little bit more to keep me engaged in the middle to last act.  It's funny though as I find myself typing this review and rethinking on it, I wouldn't mind watching it again.  

The Conners [2025] - Postmortem

After 7 seasons, The Conners had its series finale on Wednesday, April 25, 2025.

Postmortem

The finale episode was titled The Truck Stops Here which is fitting since the first episode was called Keep on Truckin'.

Regarding the 7th and final season, there was only 6 episodes and I guess they had a general condensed idea of what they wanted to tackle storyline wise to wrap things up. Sadly, those ideas weren't very interesting nor rewarding for the viewer. For example, Darlene's husband Ben was essentially absent the entire season as he was spending his time starting a new magazine with the insurance money from when his hardware store burned down. Darlene was essentially having an emotional affair with Seth Greene's character, and then it was resolved with a simple "I'm sorry" from both of them.

Unfortunately the downfall of this show, as seen by this thread not really having any activity since 2019, is when the show was trying to push a specific message or be too preachy. That didn't bother me as much as it bothered others; I simply wanted to be entertained. The comedy (and entertainment) of the show came from the characters interactions and their comedic timing. The family dynamic of ribbing on each other is very relatable. Sure, you need some emotion moments but time to time, but sometimes they felt too manufactured. So while the plotlines were lackluster, I thought the comedic writing was pretty good for the most part.

In the end, I was never a huge fan of "Roseanne" when it was on because they always felt stuck in a rut which I guess was the point. It was "Gillian's Island" in Chicago. This lower middle class family was never meant for greatness. You appreciate what you have, you deal with the hard times, and you celebrate your small wins. "The Conners" was more of the same so while I found the show mostly entertaining each week with some clever writing, this isn't something that I would revisit in syndication.

The Jack Ryan - verse

In 2021, I started a re-watch of the entire Jack Ryan universe of films and in 2025 I finally finished.  In the meantime, from 2018 to 2023, I also enjoyed the Jack Ryan Amazon series.  Below are my reviews and synopses of that journey.

Starting on April 16th through April 18th, 2021, I watched the first three films.  

The Hunter for Red October [1990]

Jack Ryan:  Alec Baldwin
Greer:  James Earl Jones
Cathy (Muller) Ryan:  Gates McFadden
Sally Ryan:  Louise Borras

I remember watching this movie with my dad when I was 9 and too young to appreciate and understand it. 31 years later, I find that this movie is very well done. The special effects are outdated and you have to suspend your belief, but the story and acting is solid and compelling.  Highly recommended.

Patriot Games [1992]

Jack Ryan:  Harrison Ford
Greer:  James Earl Jones
Cathy (Muller) Ryan:  Anne Archer

Sally Ryan:  Thora Birch

There is a huge tonal shift from the first to second movie.  (1) The focus changes from Russia to Irish Republican Army (IRA), (2) the main target of retribution is Ryan and his family while the threat to the US, as a whole, is present but minor, and (3) since the tension is mainly focused on the main character (and family) it doesn't feel as epic as its predecessor.  The movie ends on a cliffhanger regarding the sex of Jack and Cathy's baby which leaves you wanting more, but at the same time leaves you unsatisfied.

Clear and Present Danger [1994]

Jack Ryan:  Harrison Ford
Greer:  James Earl Jones
Cathy (Muller) Ryan:  Anne Archer

Sally Ryan:  Thora Birch

To keep things fresh, the antagonist is now the Columbian drug cartel...or is it?  More on that later.  Thankfully, the focus shifts from Jack's family (who are essentially in one shot in this movie where you get to see that they had a son) and now the focus is back on the US government, specifically the President and two cabinet members.  The main plot focuses on the war on drugs and what the US government is willing to do to win that war.  While the "Jack Ryan / analyst" storyline is played for suspense, we are treated to action in the form of a secret US operation in Columbia.  As the movie unfolds, you can see what the script was trying to do to keep the audience interested as the plot deepens to reveal the US government has been in bed with the Columbians the whole time.  The slow burn of Jack uncovering the enemies on both sides results in the movie kind of dragging and only slightly gets more interesting in the third act.  Unfortunately, we get another unsatisfying ending with Jack in court bringing to light the corruption within the US government with no resolution on what happens after the fact.

I will say that all three of these 90s films do a good job of sprinkling in the facts about Jack Ryan.  He's a former marine, whose helicopter went down, and because of his injuries he could no longer serve so he somehow ends up working in the CIA as an analyst.  He's super smart and he's able to see patterns that others miss.  He also has an innate ability to determine how a person is going to act before they act.  I definitely got a lot of vibes that Homeland's Carrie Mathison is essentially a female Jack Ryan.

Fast forward to 8 years later and we get...

The Sum of All Fears [2002]

Jack Ryan:  Ben Affleck
Greer:  N/A
Cathy Muller:  Bridget Moynahan

In this reboot, before the word reboot was part of the lexicon, we are treated to a movie that tries to be more epic and intriguing as its predecessors.  It's a little disjointed and messy, but mostly does an okay job.  I liked that we got a younger Jack and that we got to see his budding relationship with Cathy.  It would have been nice to see a young Greer but instead we get Morgan Freeman playing the character of DCI William Cabot who ends up passing away for dramatic effect.  While the movie's plot pits the US against Russia, the real enemy is a secret Neo-Nazi group that are only able to enact their plan once they get their hands on a nuclear weapon that was lost years ago and has only been recently uncovered.  Similar to "Clear and Present Danger" Jack gets to see some action, but most of it falls in the hands of Liev Schreiber's character of John Clark (played by Willem Dafoe previously and will be played by Michael B. Jordan in 2021's "Without Remorse").  Jack's innate ability to predict what the Russian president will do saves the day and we get a satisfying conclusion where a peace treaty is signed and all the Neo-Nazi's are taken out.  It's a little unrealistic and confusing at parts, but thankfully the movie doesn't leave any part of the plot open ended.  Jack proposes to Cathy and the movie ends.

Fast forward to 12 years later...

Jack Ryan:  Shadow Recruit [2014]

This movie was not available on Amazon Prime Video to watch as I journeyed through the other films so I skipped it. 

[April 19, 2025]  This movie is currently available on Paramount+ so here's my synopsis and review:

Jack Ryan:  Chris Pine
Greer:  N/A
Cathy Muller:  Keira Knightley

The movie begins with a jarring scene of the events of 9/11 happening as a young Jack Ryan views them on a television while at school in London.  This leads him to join the military and not finish his degree.  While in an active war zone, his helicopter is fired upon, he breaks his back but saves the two members of his team.  As he heals and learns to walk again, he meets Cathy, his physical therapist.  They begin to date after he is healed.  While he is healing, Jack is recruited by the CIA run by Thomas Harper (Kevin Costner).  Harper tells Ryan to get his degree and then he gets a job on Wall Street while secretly working for the CIA.  Neither Cathy nor his company knows.

After 45 minutes of this movie giving the audience this setup, I'm intrigued, but ready for some action to move the plot forward.  We're finally treated to some action when Jack is sent to Russia to speak with the president of one of the companies that does business with his Wall Street company.  Jack is attacked in his hotel by his handler who he ends up drowning in the bath tub.  Jack is an analyst and out of his depth so he's visibly shaken, but still has a job to do.  He meets with the president of the Russian company Viktor Cherevin (Kenneth Branagh) who has already sold off any of his suspicious assets so there's really nothing more that Jack can do so he invites Viktor to have dinner that night to buy some time and figure out his next move.  In the meantime, Cathy makes a grand gesture to surprise Jack in Russia and inadvertently gets wrapped up into his CIA affairs and has to go to dinner with him and Viktor or else risk his cover being blown.

As Jack balances dinner, Cathy, and the CIA, he pretends to be drunk, goes for a walk and then he's able to get the information he needs on Viktor's secret deals, but then has to save Cathy from being kidnapped.  After he saves her, and the CIA decodes the information, they figure out that Viktor's monetary doings are tied to a terrorist plot that will happen before he sells off more Russian assets which will devalue the American dollar.  So not only will American lives be lost, but damage to the economy is also at risk.  On the flight back to Russia, Jack and his team are able to figure out that Viktor's son, who supposedly died was he was a child, was actually sent to the U.S. as a sleeper agent.  Jack and the CIA track him down Viktor's son, who is now an adult, and stop him from blowing up a truck that could have potentially destroyed 6 NYC buildings.  Viktor is later killed by his own government.

This movie was actually pretty enjoyable.  I liked all the characters and villains.  It may have been a little slow to start, but it made up for it with a fast paced third act.  While this appears to be another attempt at a reboot to the franchise, it unfortunately failed to revitalize it.  I searched online to read that this movie didn't make enough money at the time to justify a sequel so it appears to have been shelved yet again until...

Fast forward to 4 years later...

Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan [2018]

Jack Ryan is back and now on Amazon Prime.

Jack Ryan:  John Krasinski
James Greer:  Wendell Pierce
Cathy Muller:  Abbie Cornish

April 20, 2021:

Regarding the first season on Prime -- I thought the first episode was just okay.  Most of the joy that I got out of it was making the connections to the movie characters and events.  I especially smiled at the intro of Cathy.  Thankfully each episode has improved on the one before it and I'm really beginning to care about all the characters, even the villains.

Again, I'm getting "Homeland" vibes, but Jack Ryan and Carrie Mathison are totally different characters.  I'm kind of expecting a twist with the villain, but at the same time, I'm not sure I want one.

April 26, 2021:

I'm just starting the 6th episode of Jack Ryan and the show has definitely improved with each episode. The third one was a little rough with the VERY weird introduction of the drone pilot and the whole casino bit but I liked where they took that story in the end and how he saved the woman from being raped.

I wasn't sure about Cathy at first but she is definitely starting to grow on me. It seems like her and Jack's worlds may collide very soon and I think that's a very clever way to bring it all together instead of her eventually just finding out what he does like how it was portrayed in Sum of All Fears.

July 18, 2023:

Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan [2018-2023] Seasons 1 - 4

Season 1's antagonist Suleiman is a well written villain as there is also some good in him. He's easy to hate one minute but sympathize another. Since he hails from the Middle East, there are a lot of "Homeland" vibes for better or worse. This season ultimately shines due to the partnership / buddy cop relationship between Jack and Greer (the character of James Greer is played by James Earl Jones in the 90s movies).

Season 2 shifts from the Middle East to Venezuela with the questionable antagonist of President Reyes. It's a decent enough season. The highlight is the inclusion of a new character named Mike November (Michael Kelly) adding some "House of Cards" vibes, but only the good kind.

Season 3 takes us back to Russia and by "back to" I mean in association to the first film. This time, instead of a nuclear sub, there is a project that began in the early years of the Cold War called "Sokol" that has just been reactivated. The good guys get some help from some Russians wanting to do the right thing, again invoking the same ideas from "The Hunt for the Red October". I recall the ending being a little unclear and not super satisfying, but I think this season was a little bit better than season 2. Both dragged at times but kept my interest for the most part.

The 4th and final season focuses primarily on Myanmar (formally Burma) located in Asia. Many of the villains in this season are both foreign and domestic so it keeps you guessing in this tight compact 6 episode season (where the 3 previous were 8 episodes). Again, Jack, Greer, and Mike are fun to watch and they have a great dynamic. Michael Pena's character of Chavez is a new and welcome edition to this season. I don't want to say any spoilers, but I like how it ended and I feel these series can connect nicely to the early 90s films.

If you liked Homeland, this series is worth your time. John Krasinski, Wendell Pierce, and Abbie Cornish are great. Also, like I said above, Michael Kelly was a great addition in season 2-4, and Betty Gabriel's character of Wright is a standout as well. Lastly, if you liked Derek Cecil from House of Cards, you'll love him in the final season.

[April 20, 2025]

Now with Shadow Recruit viewed and reviewed, is my journey complete?  There was an article back in 2022 that stated that Michael Pena's character from season 4 of the Prime series was eyed for spinoff, but I haven't heard anything.  I know "Without Remorse" was about a spinoff character but I guess maybe it didn't do well so maybe the other show didn't get green lit.  The latest news is a possible Jack Ryan movie staring Krasinski being in the works.  It will be something that I will definitely check out when it releases in the future.

A Complete Unknown [2024] review

I don't understand the point that "A Complete Unknown" is trying to make.  It feels like the movie wanted me to hate Bob Dylan.

For starters, I know nothing about Bob Dylan and the only things I really know are generic surface level stuff like (a) he wears sunglasses, (b) he's got a whiny twangy voice, and (c) his son was the lead singer of the "The Wallflowers" who didn't want people to know who his dad was.

So the movie kicks off introducing the audience to Bob as he visits a sick singer. The movie just gives us the sick singers name and shows us he's in hospice. I forget the singers name even though I just finished watching the movie yesterday.  I don't know this sick singer nor his music. Maybe the movie is expecting us to know which is a turn off and I'm already starting to get lost.

We're also introduced to Ed Norton's character Paul Seether or Seeker who is also a folk musician (had to google it - Pete Seeger). He seems like a nice guy, but again, we're not told much about him other than he has a family.  So far, the beginning of the movie is telling me two things - folk is super big right now in the 60s and this Bob kid writes all his own songs, has a good voice, and his talented in the eyes of his peers.

Bob dates Sylvie (Fanning) who is in the movie for 5 minutes. Bob is also seen with Joan Baez, another singer I know nothing about. The movie tells us that Bob has a meteoric rise in popularity after his first record.

Again, I don't know Bob and the movie isn't giving me much. I don't really know his songs. And at this point, even the character doesn't seem to care or show that he cares that he's popular. He seems annoyed. If he didn't want to be popular, why make records and tour? If he wanted to remain a complete unknown, then why not just do that? Why didn't Bob just write music for his friends Pete and Joan. The movie makes a point to show that these artists cover Bob's music which I guess just helps make Bob even more popular which, of course, is what the record execs want.

The big event of the film is some folk festival in Newport, RI. Bob causes a stir and then leaves. Then he gets on his motorcycle at the end of the film and leaves again.  That's it.

The movie ends by telling us how Joan Baez and Pete Seeger would continue their activist journey throughout their lives where Bob did not. Bob went on to write 55 albums and won a Noble Prize for literature and he didn't even attend the event. So again, I ask, what is the point of the movie? Here's Bob Dylan - he's an ass hole and he's why. Thanks and have a nice day?!

If the point of the movie was for me to dislike Bob Dylan as a person then I guess it succeeded.  It kind of feels weird if that's the case, but that was my takeaway.

In the end, the only thing I liked about the movie were the Johnny Cash scenes. I loved the movie "Walk the Line" which is example of a film which made me like, hate, then love Johnny Cash even though I'm not a fan of his voice nor music. To this day, I will still randomly listen to songs from that movie.  As I write this review I can hear Phoenix and Witherspoon singing "It Ain' Me Babe".  I didn't know this song was written by Bob Dylan until I googled it.

Star Wars Live-Action series review

Thoughts on each series thus far as of June 20, 2024.

 A) The Mandalorian, s1e3, when Mando gives Grogu to the Client and returns to his ship where he is about to take off and he looks at the ball of the shifter and we sit there for a moment in that moment -- we don't see Mando's face, I don't recall if any music plays, but we know exactly what he's feeling and he acts on that feeling, betraying the guild rules and putting his life in danger for someone he cares about. I was locked in at that point.

Are there some silly or not great episodes of the Mandalorian? Sure. Like "The Prisoner" or "Guns for Hire", but the through line is there from start to finish regarding Mando and Grogu. I will say that you can definitely debate the effectiveness or enjoyment of the side stories regarding The Marshal or Bo Katan or Pershing. Those can definitely either be hot or cold.

B) The Book of Boba Fett was a swing and a miss. The backstory stuff was decent but the present day stuff didn't make sense. The Mando episode was good but his inclusion in the show wasn't enough to save it.

C) The Obi-wan Kenobi show had an okay through line, but stumbled on the execution and the side stories making it only slightly better than BOBF in my opinion.

D) Andor was fantastic. Solid through line, acting, characters, side characters, etc.

E) Ahsoka had an intriguing story premise, continuing what fans have wondered since the end of Rebels, but the showrunners/writers assumed the audience had seen every episode of Rebels and/or The Clone Wars which did not do anyone any favors. Even if you were in "the know", wooden Ahsoka and sleepy Sabine Wren were not great to watch. Thrawn also left a lot to be desired. Also, if you didn't know space witches are a thing.

F) Lastly, there's The Acolyte, which I knew nothing about going in but I knew it was closely related to "The High Republic" novels and comics. I have read none of that material so I'm going in cold, learning as I go from what the show is offering. I thought the first two episodes were okay and three was not great but I'm still sort of interested. Then when episode four was 24 minutes of walking just to end on a cliffhanger was not very good storytelling. Overall, four episodes so far, I don't really care about any of the characters and I'm not seeing a great story here. Remember the space witches in Ahsoka (and Rebels and The Clone Wars and Tales of the Jedi), well, we have them too. And? So what? The only character I like is Yord as he's so sure of himself which represents the entire embodiment of the Jedi Order which will lead to the eventual fall.

History of the World, Part I [1981] review

• The Stone Age
• Quick 6 minute, rapid fire sequence with some funny bits
• Fire, Art Critic, and Marriage were the highlights for me
• The Old Testament
• Moses bit is classic and probably the most popular / recognizable sequence from this film, but sadly it's only the one bit
• The Roman Empire
• This goes on for 43 minutes and after the rapid fire and fast pace established by the first two sections, this one felt way too long
• The highlights were the Hugh Hefner cameo, the Eunuch test, the quick Senate bit, the Trojan Pharmacy joke, the Moses callback, and the Last Supper scene
• The Spanish Inquisition
• 10 minute musical number with a maybe a chuckle or two but it's just one joke stretched way too long; it's almost like when Family Guy puts a random musical sequence in their episode to fill time
• The French Revolution
• This sequence was the sole focus of the last 30 minutes of the movie
• Count de Monet joke was funny at first but then it started to lost its luster the more it was repeated
• "It's good to be the king" was maybe said one too many times
• Fun fact: The female lead in this sequence was Pamela Stephenson who was Lorelei in Superman 3. I don't know her from anything else
• We get a meta call back to the Roman Empire sequence and the movie ends; I did like the Mel Brooks and Gregory Hines kiss
• Coming Attractions
• All 3 were great; I didn't realize that Mel took the music from the Jews in Space sequence and used it for the Men in Tights song in the movie of the same name

I'd think I'd give the movie a 6/10 overall.  I'm really looking forward to the eights episodes of History of the World Part II coming to Hulu on March 6, 2023.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever [2022] review

God, I miss Chadwick Boseman. I obviously didn't know the man, but his work in the Marvel cinematic universe has been fantastic. He left a hole in everyone's heart when he passed and sadly he also left a hole in this movie that needed to be filled. So, the first step the movie takes is for the characters along with the audience to say goodbye. It's very emotional and powerful beginning that is very well done. As we dry our tears, the movie fast forwards to a year later.

Time doesn't heal all wounds and everyone is still grieving meanwhile the plot begins to unfold. The world wants Vibranium, yet in the wrong hands, it can be dangerous. We see the French government take a crack at stealing some and fail. The American government develops a machine to detect it and they find some in the ocean. Unbeknownst to everyone, the Americans and the Wakandans, the Vibranium is connected to another group, the Talokanil lead by Namor. The Talokanil take out the Americans so now the CIA gets involved. The CIA think it was the Wakandans and they don't know who it was until Namor reveals himself to Shuri and Ramonda. He tells them a scientist is responsible for creating the Vibranium detecting device and he's going to find and kill that person.

The scientist turns out to be a young female MIT student named Riri. The Wakandans find her first and try to bring her back to Wakanda to protect her, but the Talokanil capture Riri and Shuri. Because of her failure, Okoyo is stripped of her title and status. Ramonda turns to Nakia (Lupita Nyong'o) for help. Nakia has been out of the game for years now as she's doing good work in Haiti. She agrees to help, finds and rescues Riri and Shuri, and brings them back to Wakanda. Namor and the Talokanil attack and Ramonda is killed. This scene mirrors the beginning of the movie and it was another gut punch where the tears were definitely flowing.

It's now war between Wakanda and Talokan. Wakanda is given one week to prepare by Namor. Shuri is able to recreate the flower that gives her the powers of the Black Panther and becomes the new Black Panther. Riri makes an Iron Man suit and becomes Ironheart (I don't think this name is said in the movie, but I read it afterwards).

Shuri is able to defeat Namor, she spares his life, and they come to an agreement.

There's a whole side plot with the CIA involving Ross (from the first Black Panther film) and his ex wife who is the director of the CIA: Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus). That really doesn't go anywhere unfortunately.

The final emotional gut punch comes in the mid-credit scene. We find out that Nakia was with child during "the Blip" and she had a son with T'Challa. She wanted to raise him outside of Wakanda. His name is Toussaint but his Wakanada is T'Challa.

The movie was an emotional rollercoaster. It had to not only had the task of giving us an interesting story, but it also had to pass the baton from T'Challa to Shuri in a meaningful way. The latter was done fairly well, with a few minor missteps, but the former was a little bit of a miss. Assuming Namor and his people have been in hiding for countless centuries, you'd think they'd be a little more subtle in their approach when the Vibranium in the ocean was found. Also, you'd think that maybe they would have partnered with the Wakandas instead of almost immediately becoming their enemy. I didn't like the plot point that the scientist had to be killed. Killing the scientist was not going to suddenly stop the search for Vibranium and keep the Talokanil safe. And even though they hid in the ocean, the Talokanil seemed to be pretty smart and technologically evolved, especially to figure out a way to exist on land.

After learning that this movie was supposed to the a father/son adventure, it had to be shifted to a mother/daughter one. I wish we got more of that instead of the CIA things that really didn't go anywhere which were probably a setup for a future conflict.