Reviews With Mike Furches: Jeff Bridges

Friday, September 22, 2017

Kingsman: The Golden Circle

In 2015, the biggest surprise hit of the movie season was the movie, Kingsman: The Secret Service. It was an action packed movie that was over the top in action, violence and just a boat load of fun. I saw it late in its long run and after seeing it understood why the word of mouth was carrying the movie further along than anyone, I believe even the filmmakers ever imagined. With the largely unexpected success there was no doubt there would be a sequel or continuation of the series. The question was, would it come close to being as much fun as the original?

With the release of Kingsman: The Golden Circle, those questions as far as this reviewer is concerned has been answered. Imagine if you will, An all star cast, Fox News, robotic attack dog, world wide war on drugs, 24 karat gold tattoos Southern Fried CIA United States special forces who is masked under a Kentucky Bourbon making company, electric lassoing by cowboy agents, bullet proof umbrellas and comedic relief provided by a Kung Fu, ass kicking Elton John, yes a Kung Fu ass kicking Elton John, and you have begin to scratch the surface of Kingsman: The Golden Circle.

Technically, from the opening scenes there is more action in the first 10 minutes of this movie than the entirety of American Assassin. From the first 10 minuets, that action does nothing but pick up in this incredibly fun movie. The 2 hour 25 minute film flies by so fast it seems as if you have only spent an hour in the theater and it involves everything from excitement, fighting, and comedy all through the film, never ceasing to surprise and entertain.

MatthewVaughn provides some quality direction for this style of entertainment. It had to have some difficulties when considering this all star cast which includes, Targon Everton who revives his role from the earlier film as Eggsy but also a surprise reprised role of Harry Hart portrayed by Colin Firth. The great acting all works together, it doesn't stop there though, there are Academy Award winners including Julianne Moore, Halle Berry, and Jeff Bridges. The surprise though for many is the surprise role of screen stealing comedic relief from multi Grammy winner, Elton John, who by the way, did I tell you, is a Kung Fu, ass kicking performer who plays the role of, well, he portrays himself, Elton John.

Hopefully you can begin to see the craziness of Kingsman: The Golden Circle. There is a surprisingly good plot that flows and actually has some character development. There is a war on drugs that is taking place and led by the evil villain Poppy played by Julianne Moore. She works from her unique hideout, a tribute to 50's and 60's America and movies such as American Graffiti and she attempts to make a profit and take control from the attempt to force the passage of legalizing drugs around the globe. Her attempt to blackmail world governments involves the death of millions unless passage and control of the trade is given to her. Of course there is a nonsensical United States President who thinks that the deaths of millions would be a good thing and ultimately eliminate all of the issues related to drug usage. As a result of Poppy's attacks on The Kingsman out of England, The Kingsman end up joining forces with their United States counter parts, The Statesman. This Kentucky based, bourbon making group provides a cowboy American approaches that doesn't always get along with or is supportive with the more tailored, gentlemen's approach of the English but this conflict is a part of the fun of watching this movie and ultimately, they realize, they must work together.

I love some of the spiritual concepts involved in the movie. Chief among those is a being reborn or born again approach, complete with the involvement of cocooning caterpillars turning to butterflies in the case of a character we thought had died in the predecessor The Kingsman: Secret Service, Harry Hart played by Colin Firth. We see a character that in the rebirth process has to loose his life in order to regain it by a renewing of the mind and being reborn process. In his transformation we see though that sometimes those old characteristics prior to a born again experience are important for each individual. It is as if God can use the past to bring us to the place where we can have tremendous insight and abilities to do better for the world around us. This theme is critical to the story line of Kingsman: The Golden Circle, it is a theme that in a fun, very entertaining type of way can leave some impact on each of us as we think about our role and contribution in life if we take it seriously. It also shows the abilities of people who may be different when they come together to accomplish the purpose of saving lives and caring for others. This also involves allowing one to love who they love and care for, even when the rules may initially prevent that. It is through allowing others to love unconditionally, that we find our greatest strength.

I don't think I have had as much fun at a movie in a long time as I did Kingsman: The Golden Circle since the last time I saw Kingsman: The Secret Service. It should not be taken seriously in many regards, it is again a fun, action packed movie that will have you laughing out loud, holding your breath, having a good time all along the way. That said, there are still messages we can learn from, the concept of sacrifice and of giving up your life for your fellow man, remember, there is no greater love than to lay your life down for another. It is all played out and on screen in Kingsman: The Golden Circle.

I believe this movie is definitely as good as the original, and it may be a movie that comes across as better than the original because of the political climate and world news we face from day to day. In a time when so many want to argue, it is nice to come together with others, who are likely different than we are, finding a way to have fun together, finding things to laugh about, talk about, and enjoy. Kingsman: The Golden Circle does that and for me was a huge breath of fresh air. It delivered and I was entertained by many surprises including, did I tell you about a Kung Fu, ass kicking Elton John, playing himself, Elton John?

On a scale of 1 - 10 for the perfection given on screen by director Matt Vaughn and the letters in his name, I give a very rare 2 times so far this year a perfectly fun, entertaining, 10.

To see the trailer for the movie, click on the video, if the video doesn't work, try the following link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fvqnGmr9S8

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Friday, February 26, 2010

Crazy Heart

On a rare occasion one gets the opportunity to see a movie that takes us beyond the point of imagination to the point of reality. Crazy Heart was just the gem that recently accomplished this for me. It was on a Valentines Day date that I decided to be a little crazy and take my wife to a movie that I had wanted to see. It was a movie that stars an acting tour de force that we both appreciated, and a musical force I have appreciated for some time. Crazy Heart stars in his Academy Award nominated role for Best Actor Jeff Bridges for his portrayal of Bad Blake. It also features the wonderful talent of Maggie Gyllenhall as his love interest Jean Craddock, and in supporting roles two favorites, Robert Duvall as Wayne and Colin Farrell as Tommy Sweet.

Crazy Heart is the story of long time Country, Americana singer Bad Blake who has inspired many with his music. He has lived a life dedicated to music and in the process of that life has let his family, his life, and ultimately his music suffer and stagnate. He depends on the hits of his past to make it by, from bar to bar, experience to experience, and from bottle to bottle. His addiction to the bottle and alcohol has become his best and only friend until he meets up on a tour of dumps and dives the relative of a piano player who happens to be a reporter. She is looking for a story on the relationship of Bad Blake and the star he helped get started, Tommy Sweet. In the process, Bad develops a relationship with Maggie and her son, and begins a comeback journey where he not only discovers himself, but the reality of his experiences and the effects on his life.

Crazy Heart is a beautifully filmed, brilliantly acted, and mesmerizing story filled with some of the best music to come along in a very long time. The musical direction provided by T Bone Burnett is brilliant. I personally have some friends that have worked with T Bone in the past so I have been a long time fan, but to take away from the value of the music in this story would be to miss the entire story itself, for it is in the music that Bad begins to discover himself and the music drives the story from both a visual and thought perspective for the viewer, as we hear the songs, we can feel, and know what Blake has and is going through.

T Bone Burnett is a Christian who does not wear his faith on his sleeve, that spiritual component of the film is not lost in the morality lessons presented in this movie. Jeff Bridges, in what could be the role of his life plays brilliantly the conflict in the character of Bad Blake. We see the importance of relationships, and the danger that can occur from driving those individuals away. We see the real struggle of alcoholism presented on the screen as well as anything in the last few years. We see individuals trying to escape from their past and hide their sorrows in the bottom of a bottle. Bridges presents the most memorable character I have seen this last year. He lives and breathes the character. He also does a great job at actually performing and singing the songs of Bad Blake.

In Crazy Heart we also see the value of love and second chances. Maggie played absolutely beautifully by Maggie Gyllenhall is a character that has had her own heartbreak. She is reluctant to place herself in a relationship where she will be hurt. While she doesn’t fully understand her own actions and their impact on the life of her son, she does understand the importance of having a good role model for him. As a result of the relationship that develops between her and Bad Blake they begin to pull each other out of the bad experiences of their past.

In one sequence we see Wayne, (Robert Duvall) and Bad Blake (Jeff Bridges) out fishing. Wayne tells Bad, that we can’t always focus on the mistakes of our past, when we make the effort to do right; at that moment we have made the effort to improve our lives for the now and future. As we see in the development of the story, this doesn’t mean that everything one has done wrong is suddenly better, there is and always will be consequences for our actions. Those consequences don’t change, there is still the payment for our sins in some ways, because people, situations, circumstances are still impacted and we can’t always change those things. There is forgiveness, life and potential in taking that change and effort we make and moving forward. What we can have is a hope for the future which will help us either deal with, or forget the mistakes of the past. In this regard, there are not only lessons for Blake and Maggie; we as the viewer realize there is potential for change and hope for us. We have to realize though, it all starts with love, and ultimately dealing with the mistakes we have made. There is a powerful lesson here for people of faith. No matter what our faith, we have to be willing to admit, and change our mistakes and faults, we have to also be willing to seek forgiveness, yet in that process understand, while our lives will be better, there are no guarantees our situations will be better.

I have been asked, does Crazy Heart end good or bad, happy or sad? My response is two fold, first I never tell those kinds of things, I hate it for me, and I refuse to do it to others, no matter what they think. Then I say something else, it ends as it begins, as a thing of beauty that is real. That is the most impressive concept of the movie to me; it is simply real, from the music, to the effects of alcoholism, to the complexity of relationship. Crazy Heart is Crazy Beautiful.

While Crazy Heart could have been nominated for more awards in my opinion, it is a likely contender in the three areas it is nominated for, in fact, I have seen no movie that has as compelling nominees as the three for Crazy Heart, Best Actor, Jeff Bridges, Best Supporting Actress Maggie Gyllenhall, and Best Achievement in Music, Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett.

On a scale of 1 – 10, take those three award nominations, multiply them by 3; you have a very worthwhile and real 9.

To view the video, simply click on the video. If the video don't appear, click on the following link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0349E7kFEM