Chris Murphy

Fire Taming Business (Only The Brave review)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

Tragedy and comedy are supposed to be the two major themes in theatre. This movies takes the former route, but somewhere inside of it’s themes, it finds an honest story that doesn’t suffer from ill-gotten sentiment.

 

Only The Brave (2017)

Cast: Josh Brolin, Miles Teller, Jeff Bridges, Jennifer Connelly, Taylor Kitsch, Andie MacDowell
Director: Joseph Kosinski
released on blu-ray February 6, 2018
******** 8/10

IMDB: 7.8
Rotten Tomatoes: 88%, Audience Score 92%
The Guardian: ***/*****

Joseph Kosinski is American television and film director who is known for his work with computer technology. His directorial debut came from the critically panned Disney sequel Tron: Legacy, which believe-it-or-not, I actually enjoyed. He also worked on the less intelligent copy-cat of Moon – Oblivion, starring Tom Cruise.

Thankfully for the majority of audiences, Kosinski brought it back to reality with his third film Only The Brave.

Taken from IMDB (credit: Kenneth Chisholm) and modified…

In 2007 Prescott, Arizona, Eric Marsh (Josh Brolin) of the Prescott Fire Department is frustrated fighting forest fires when the Type 1 or “Hotshot” front line forest fire fighting crews from afar overrule his operational suggestions to his area’s sorrow. To change that, Marsh gets approval from the Mayor (Jeff Bridges) to attempt to organize an unprecedented certified municipal-based Hotshot crew for Prescott. To that end, Marsh needs new recruits, which includes the young wastrel, Brendan McDonough (Miles Teller), to undergo the rigorous training and qualification testing for the most dangerous of fire fighting duty. Along the way, the new team meets the challenge and the hailed Granite Mountain Hotshots are born. In doing so, all the men, especially McDonough, are changed as new experience and maturity is achieved in fire-forged camaraderie. All this is put to the test in 2013 with the notorious Yarnell Hill Fire that will demand efforts and sacrifices no one can ignore.

A movie that demands respect and candor from it’s audience, but also stands up to the challenge of telling an authentic story, with useful subplots and lots of agressive action from Mother Nature. Never have I ever felt more responsible to prevent forest fires then after watching this film, and that’s no dig against Smokey The Bear, but Josh Brolin has a commanding and grizzled appearance that no one dares mess with.

I also really enjoyed the evolution of the team as they worked towards Hot Shots certification, and best exemplified by the friendship arc between MacKenzie (Taylor Kitsch) and Brendan McDonough.

Pros: We get to see the bureaucracy of firefighting, how it’s employees personal lives are impacted, and emotional canvas of interactions. The bonds these men forged in those mountains are brought to life with sensibility and determination.

Cons: While the structure of the film is excellent, and the ending is just perfect, it gets to be tedious in the middle, and the supporting cast gets lost in the wilderness.

Runtime: 2 hours 14 minutes

Points of Interest: …

Miles Teller is starting to come into his own as an actor, and being surrounded by veterans Jeff Bridges, Jennifer Connelly, and Josh Brolin, you can really see how he is a much more convincing dramatic actor then say, Shia LaBeouf. Where the movie falls down is from a lack of real risk-taking with it’s characterizations, which is ironic, given the source material. This is a minor concern though, because of the amazing treatment of these real life heroes and their hometown.

theories Summarized

With all that said and done, I think Only The Brave is a worthy addition to any collection that wants and/or needs more biographies and natural disasters in the mix. Without spoiling the ending, it’s a powerful film and not one I will soon forget. And that’s no theory.

Speaking of unforgettable movies… Have you seen the original Oldboy from Park Chan-wook? This movies is seriously messed up, but it has such an original story, and is part of Chan-wooks vengeance trilogy. I’ll let Chris and Mike go over the details, because, whether you’ve seen it before and need a reminder, or it’s on your list, I’m thinking this recommendation will finally sway you to give it shot.

Yeah, the premise of being trapped in a hotel for fifteen years seems odd, but just wait for the twist – the violence will help you along the way. Check it out! And remember… Like! Comment! Subscribe!

Tim!

The Cure For Toxic Masculinity In Movies (Cross Talk EP 32)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

Let’s talk about toxic masculinity and how it is still a dominant force in our art, and in our lives dear readers.

Whether you choose to believe me or not, I know that even within the past twenty years, there has been a very minimal shift in how we deal with the masculine identity. Negative stereotypes abound, comedies fall into the same patterns of sexualizing women and simplifying men, and most dramas won’t touch certain topics, unless it means showing a complete breakdown of man out of touch with his inner strength.

It’s impossible for a man to be vulnerable, soft, passive and equal to a woman. At least, thats what the patriarchal model would expect us to believe.

It’s bad all around, because woman aren’t given equal footing, deal with a constant threat of rape, battery, and death, and to a much lesser extent men suffer from mental health issues, all stemming from millennia of oppression. And that’s an oversimplification. But we didn’t make this Cross Talk episode to do an after school special and wrap a nice bow on the issue – we wanted to open it up, and use specific films to identify how attitudes permeate, using film as case studies.

Which is why Chris, Mike, and I decided to do our part and talk about this issue, and how it has effected us personally. Full disclosure, we openly admit that we are imperfect, not experts, and guilty of ignorant behaviour. But by bringing up the issue of why toxic masculinity shows up in movies, and showing you specific instances of how it takes over, we’re hoping to become better advocates for obliterating objectification for women, for humanity and fostering a better sense of community.

Chasing Amy, (500) Days of Summer, Moonlight. These movies are prime examples of the dangers of continuing to assume gender roles, when more and more evidence that persistence (“it’s all in the chase”) is actually the worst. I sincerely hope you get riled up watching this episode, because I really want this generation to change our habits, and we need to stop glossing over major problems.

This is the thirty second episode of Cross Talk.

theories Summarized

In case you haven’t figured it out from that discussion, while I think the cure for toxic masculinity hasn’t been found yet, I’m confident that raising awareness about toxic behaviour is integral to solving the  global epidemic. We can’t progress in society if we aren’t challenging the status quo, and art is merely a tool to be used for the good or the bad. So let’s please promote good examples of masculine behaviour and make speak out against bad art.

One final theory – you should totally like the video if you enjoyed it, leave a comment if you have some thoughts, and subscribe if you want to see more from us! Your support let’s us know what we are doing right.

And tomorrow I’ll have an album review about sheep dogs.

Tim!

Film Franchises Are Great, But Can We Please Stop The Fanboy Fights? (Cross Talk Ep. 29)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

I just came back from a fantastic date at the theatre – Star Wars Episode VIII was on the menu today; it was an early Christmas gift from my fiancee. Sweet deal right?

As you may know by now, I love movies, and this was an ideal way for Mysticque and I to spend some time together, with one of my favourite activities, and then bask in some post-film analysis. She SO gets me on a personal level, and I’m super excited to share this passion with her and our family, especially as Miguel grows up, and as we add onto our little tribe – family time is important to me.

This is why of the many reasons why The Fast and the Furious franchise stands out in my mind as an excellent piece of film, worthy of your attention, admiration, and love. But this is not a post or a video about that love, rather it’s a plea to the general populous. Please stop hating on other peoples spirit movies.

Chris channels Star Trek and Friday The 13th on a regular basis, Mike loves him some John Wick (more than anyone I’ve ever met), and I can’t help but carry the torch for Star Wars, Marvel, and my BFF – The Fast and the Furious franchise. Chris also wanted to let me know that he loves Star Wars, much to the chagrin of Fanboys out there – contrarian to what pop culture and water cooler etiquette teaches us.

But didn’t Yoda teach us why fear is such a bad thing already? We fear what we don’t understand, but if we could have a little empathy for The Hunger Games, Fifty Shades of Grey and Harry Potter, maybe we’d all be a little bit more settled… Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering. Yeah I have Star Wars on the brain, and no, I’m not going to spoil The Last Jedi for you. We should have all learned that lesson from episode 28 of Cross Talk.

Franchise wars are a very real thing, but that doesn’t mean we can’t hold hands and try to love one another better. This episode of Cross Talk is a thorough discussion on the matter and all three of us gents have some excellent points to make on the topic.

And yeah… I totally flubbed on the title shown in the video, but I’ll correct it soon. I promise – I’m not at my house this evening, where all of the files are stored on my computer. Please just enjoy that small error, knowing I’m human too, and consider that I was so excited to get this video out to you, that I decided to bite the bullet and edit as soon as possible.

With all of that shared… tell us what your opinions are on the ongoing challenges of film franchise wars! We love comments. And shares! And subscribers! No more theories for today friends, but come back y’all and we’ll give you something in the way of an album review tomorrow.

Tim!

The Movies You Absolutely HAVE To Go Into Spoiler-free (Cross Talk Ep. 28)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

There are so many ways in which movies can be spoiled for us in this day in age – Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, YouTube, Tumblr, Reddit, and on, and on, and on… Not to mention humans. Humans still are incredibly good at ruining the best of cinema within a matter of sentences. It doesn’t matter if you are watching The Walking Dead or just saw Thor: Ragnarok, it’s a minefield out there creative cuties.

Some people think that etiquette for spoilers lasts within the first hours of a release, others think it is primarily subject to the timeline of digital download and home release, while others come up with deadlines of years and even more arbitrary considerations like when a franchise final closes up.

The truth is, there is no right or wrong here, but Shirley you cannot think that spoiling a movie for someone is going to work out and not expect some hurt feelings and consequences?

And dammit I will call you Shirley if you spoil The Last Jedi for me!

Threads and forums usually make it easy, the subject line will usually exclaim – SPOILERS AHEAD. And still others have rules about what can be said within hallowed digital halls. The challenge really comes from social media, because we can’t draw a policy down for an individual.

People are going to post and share whatever they feel like, as long as it isn’t immoral and illegal, that is.

But with any luck, your humble hosts on Cross Talk are going to give some examples of films that should never be spoiled, films that often are spoiled to this day, and the major repercussions of doing that to your brethren. Hint: it’s nothing good. Because the thing is, dear readers, there are schedules out there, and you can rest assured in the knowledge that you are beholden to the same social etiquette as others are.

If you spoil something, be prepared to have the same happen to you in kind. And I do not write this with malice in my heart, in fact, I wouldn’t wish a spoiler upon my worst enemy. Some movies deserve to be spoiler-free. And yes, I know I’ve mentioned that twice now…

You should just watch the video and see what I mean for yourself. Caution though, there aren’t any spoilers ahead!

All said-and-done, that was episode twenty-eight of Cross Talk! I can now admit that we will probably never be rid of spoilers on the internet. But thankfully, with some consideration, and an evolution of social intelligence, there will become a proper statue of limitations on information sharing – when it comes to pop culture, that is.

And the fact remains, while I haven’t explicitly pointed it out above, film criticism really is a dish best served as a dessert after a meal. You can’t expect to eat your dessert first, now can you? A teenager might defy the odds and have pumpkin pie for dinner, but we all know that they either come around or face dietary issues as they age. And that’s just dark.

Now we want to know what you think! And if you liked this video, please share, comment, and subscribe! I’m out of theories for the day, but this has been Cross Talk and timotheories will be back tomorrow with something melodic.

Tim!

Movies You Love To Hate (Cross Talk Ep. 27)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

We all struggle with things in life. Things that we hate and which everyone else seems to love. It can be summed up in word – inexplicable.

I don’t really know why this happens, but there are a few camps on the matter. The most common belief being that over-saturation of something can lead to hatred of that same thing. We see pictures, memes, and discussions of something that we don’t know much about, nor do we really care for it, and the repetition grows and grows over time. To the point where resentment begins to set in.

It is especially true of very popular characters like the Minions, Harry Potter or Batman. When this content shows up in your social media feed over and over again, but you have no love for it, you slowly grow to hate it because others glorify it and raise it on a pedestal which doesn’t agree with your sensibilities.

Now psychology might say something completely different about this matter, telling us that hatred is often tied with difference. Difference being things which are separate from our own identities, and that when we hate something because it is different it says a lot more about us then the thing.

But I’m going to urge you to ignore logic today and look at the facts; Chris, Mike, and I all have a huge hate-on for some select movies and we are going to make some excellent points to justify for ourselves we why love to hate popular movies. And of course, we each bring an example that burns close to the home fires.

Yes hating things is usually bad, but sometimes its fun to hate something too, and if you aren’t directly hurting anyone, then it might even be cathartic to let it all out, dear readers. So this one is for the haters, to all you haters reading this post, take a minute and watch this video. This one is for you. And me. And Mike. And Chris.

And it just might awaken something in Andre leading to a contribution or too! This is Cross Talk episode number 27.

That was probably one of my favourite episodes to record creative cuties. Andre implemented the sliding camera in the wideshot, AND we had a four person conversation going at a couple of different moments. But what did you think? Do you agree that Meet The Parents is the worst? Or Unbreakable? How about Pirates of the Caribbean? Maybe you hate all of them equally…

Please let us know what you think? And if you liked this video, please share, comment, and subscribe! I’m out of theories for the day, but this has been Cross Talk and timotheories has even more in store for July!

Tim!