Brigsby Bear reviewed

Do you remember last Saturday when I posted on Facebook about running down to the ArcLight theatre in Hollywood so I could watch Brigsby Bear because it was the only place playing?  You really only have a few choices for your answer:

 

• Yes, because I typically notice your few random posts you make on Facebook.
• Yes, because I have no problem cyber-stalking you.
• No, I didn't take the time to look.  I understand it is obviously my own loss.
• No, I am still not ready to take off my tinfoil hat and get a Facebook account.  You know who you all are.

You can't really choose--I just gave you some bullet points.

Image courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics

Here's the deal, I knew Brigsby Bear was in limited release.  I just didn't realize how limited when I threw out the suggestion to check it out.  Unless you are in SoCal, you can't--it is now up to four theaters here.  It isn't going nationwide for two more weeks (August 18th, it should pretty much be everywhere).  So, I figured I'd treat you all to a movie review.

 

Oh, also, I am doing awesome out in Pasadena!!  Anyhow, on to the review.

 

Brigsby Bear is the first feature-length movie directed by Dave McCary, whose background includes writing and directing for Saturday Night Live (SNL).  It stars Kyle Mooney, also an SNL alum, as James Pope.  You may be thinking this movie will follow in the footsteps of so many other SNL sketches turned movies--but you'd be wrong.  Brigsby Bear isn't an SNL character, and the humor and writing far surpass what you would expect out of an SNL feature (even though Andy Samberg (SNL, Brooklyn Nine-Nine) is a producer and has a small cameo).  Co-stars include Mark Hamill (General Hospital, Eight is Enough), Michaela Watkins (New Girl), Matt Walsh (without a mustache--you know who he is--he is in every comedy there is), Ryan Simpkins (Revolutionary Road), and a few other key members (Greg Kinnear, Claire Danes).

 

It is always hard to write a review without giving away spoilers, so I'll try my best here.  This movie was very original, and I doubt you will see anything else like it this year.  What I feel made it original was the endearment it contained, whimsy with which it was approached, and outrageousness with the premise--but in the end, perhaps there was very little to consider outrageous.  I'll touch quickly on each point.


The unlimited possibilities of creativity drive the endearing factor of the movie.  There is a delightful and persistent premise throughout that anything can be achieved.  Brigsby Bear goes on to show us what it means to chase your dreams.


It does this in a very whimsical manner through the character of James Pope.  James' attitude is a whole lot like Ellie Kemper's titular character in Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.  Resilient and goofy, James takes us on his journey through family and friendship, always chasing his elusive end goal.


How James goes about chasing that end goal can feel outrageous at times, but without putting yourself in his shoes, you could be mistaken at how outrageous his thoughts and actions really are.  Perhaps his choices seem completely on-the-level and he's in this world trying to do the best he can, which isn't so outrageous at all.


I thought the score was pretty great throughout, complementing the scenes incredibly well.  Although I thought things had a familiar sound to them, it was only after I got home and looked up the soundtrack, that I realized I knew the composer.  It was David Wingo, who also scored another indy favorite of mine (also reviewed on my blog), Midnight Special.


I'd suggest checking this movie out for the end result of feeling good about things.  Also, you don't usually see Luke Skywalker doing things like this.  So, there's that, too.  I'm giving this a solid:   8.5 out of 10

Remember, dear readers, you heard it hear first. Off the record, on the Q.T. and very Hush-Hush.

I'll do this in three parts.  It's not long:

Act I -- The Beginning

My contract position with Disney's Theme Park Merchandise Sourcing team came to an abrupt end and could not be renewed this past July.  This was disappointing for a few reasons:  1. I was getting pretty good at it   2. I really enjoyed it   3. My leaders and I thought there was long-term potential for me doing it.


Did I mention I got the news of this while I was on vacation out in Washington and Oregon?  I made use of the new time off.  I had a great August by taking an epic road trip throughout much of the western U.S. with Mom and Dad.  This worked out great time-wise, because in September I was given the opportunity to join Epcot's management team helping during the Food & Wine Festival.  Unfortunately, this was seasonal and the hours ended in mid-November.

Act II -- I'll call this *Now*

No work from mid-November gave me quite a few free weeks to enjoy going to Wisconsin football games, at least.  And holidays with the family.  And enjoying the Citrus Bowl back down in Orlando.  In fact, the plan after the Citrus Bowl was to haul all of my stuff back to our house in Roscoe, as I did not see much happening employment-wise at Disney anytime soon.  I had a couple of interviews with Universal Studios for a contract position doing Sourcing work that kept me in Orlando a bit longer than I had anticipated.


This resulted in a call that they could use me managing for six weeks at Epcot for the new International Festival of the Arts that was going on.  I told them sure.  In the meantime, another Disney Sourcing position opened up--which was right in line with what I had been doing already for them these past few years.  I applied and had some really good interviews with the Executive team. 


As January rolled into February, I patiently waited and performed my Manager role at Epcot for the Festival.  As February rolled along, everything came together this past week.


I accepted a full-time position to perform strategic sourcing for our Disney Store merchandise team as Associate Sourcing Manager.  For those of you who may not be sure what all my work entails, I found a great brief description from the University of Michigan.  Check it out here.


Disney's corporate headquarters for The Disney Stores is not in Orlando/ Walt Disney World.  It is in Pasadena, CA.  Which is where I will be relocating to over the course of the next month!

Act III -- The Future

It's probably going to be legendary!  Never one to pass on crazy opportunities, moving somewhere different, trying new things, and most importantly getting out West, I believe this will be a great fit for me.  Yes, the cost of living/ housing/ everything else is outrageous.  Yes, traffic is worse than terrible everywhere you go at all times of the day.  Yes, there is smog.  But, the pros simply outweigh any of that.  Time to get excited!

The Dude abides.

Midnight Special reviewed

Midnight Special saw limited release beginning March 18th.  I think it was mid-March when I began hearing things about this movie on the talk circuit, and by things, I mean almost nothing other than, "Don't learn about the movie.  Just go see it."  This message was also pervasive in the glimpses of advertising I saw as March 18th arrived.  So I looked up to see where I could enjoy Midnight Special in the comfy confines of a neighborhood movie theater.


It turns out, I couldn't.  At least not easily.  Limited release meant about 30 movie theaters around the country (tops), with the closest one being in Atlanta, Georgia.  This was pretty frustrating and I contemplated driving the six and a half hours (each way) to go see it.  I always figured I could visit my buddy, Jim, while I was up there, and maybe talk him into seeing it with me.  With the weekend of March 18th already upon me when I realized all of this, I felt it really couldn't work (if I decided to do it) until the following weekend.  When March 25th came, I struggled to really justify spending that much time and energy to see a movie I knew nothing about.  I checked local theaters and still found nothing available.  So, I passed on it again.


Apparently, it had a wide release on April 1st, but I'm not buying that.  I had looked and looked again, and there was still nothing in all of Orlando.  I resigned myself to the ever strengthening facts being placed before me: this movie was going to come and go, and I will miss it, and then I will need to further wait until it comes out for home release.

Having given up all hope on seeing Midnight Special, I set out Friday to check movie times for The Jungle Book (live-action, directed by Jon Favreau).  Are you ready for it... The Jungle Book does not come out until April 15th.  Yup.  I do not know where my head is at (I do, actually.  Busy at work).

But...wait for it...Midnight Special was in the theater!  So, I set my plans in motion to see it this past Sunday morning.

Image courtesy of Tri-State Pictures/ Warner Bros.

You're probably ready for the actual review by now.  Here it comes.  Finally.

Midnight Special, directed by Jeff Nichols (Mud, Take Shelter), is both easy and difficult to describe.  Mainly because I don't want to spoil anything.  I'll tell you about the easy part first.

All key events of the movie revolve around Alton (Jaeden Lieberher), Roy (Michael Shannon), Roy's friend, Lucas (Joel Edgerton), and Sarah (Kirsten Dunst).  There are people after Alton.  Weird things happen around Alton.  The US Government wants Alton, and especially FBI Agent Sevier (played by Kylo Ren--who, apparently, is really Adam Driver).  There are chases and cool sci-fi effects.  There is an ending.

That was the easy stuff.  Here is the difficult stuff.


This movie evoked feelings like Close Encounters of the Third Kind or E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial did.  Suspense, concern, fear, happiness, anger, confusion (at choices the characters made).  Not necessarily in that order.  I don't know what it will do for you, as I don't know what you have or have not seen.  The key characters in this movie all had stronger actors behind them.


Michael Shannon (as Roy) gave a gripping performance.  His role as General Zod (Man of Steel, 2013) is really all I know him for, sadly.  With that said, I didn't need to look any further than Man of Steel to see what sort of depth and character he can bring to a film.  His interactions on screen with Jaeden Lieberher's Alton always managed to show the concrete bond of their relationship.


I thought Jaeden Lieberher did a great job in St. Vincent (with Bill Murray, 2014) and he does another fine job here thrust into the role of Alton.  He takes us on a journey that when we first sit down in our seats, we don't know what we are in for, but we are enjoying it every step of the way.


Joel Edgerton, Adam Driver, and Kirsten Dunst round out the main cast nicely, each bringing their characters to life in a way that is always believable in the myriad of circumstances they find themselves in.


This was not the best movie I have ever seen.  But I am putting it up there in ranking.  I think Jeff Nichols did a good job on the narrative, even if 100% of the plot might not feel fully fleshed-out.  I also think that David Wingo did a strong job on the movie's soundtrack, complimenting our emotions as the scenes unfold on the screen.


If you cannot handle a character-driven movie and need huge effects and an over-arching musical score to tell you how you should be feeling, with stereotyped characters doing the same things, then I would suggest you skip this movie.  Midnight Special may not be for you.


If you think things and people can sometimes be weird or misunderstood, this could be a movie for you.  If you can suspend belief in what you know, and open your mind to what you might not know, this could be a movie for you.  If you want to see a simple story unfold into something you haven't seen before, this could be a movie for you.  I just know I enjoyed Midnight Special.


I'm giving it:     8.5 out of 10

So Long (Europe), and Thanks for All the Fish

Pretty sure I mentioned Anna (next to me) and Louise were awesome

Well, time flew, as did I.  I am back in the US after a great flight from London Heathrow.  I love being in the USA. What we have to offer the world in terms of culture, geography, atmosphere, and activities is often fantastic; however, we are such a small part of the world that it is important to never forget there is a whole lot more out there.  Trips like this one help remind me of that.  I gain a bit of insight into somewhere else, and come away better for it.  I did have a few more nuggets of wisdom to share, so I thought I would put out a wrap-up post:

• There is no escaping Hipsters.  They are unfortunately everywhere.  I'm sure this trend won't stick around too long, but for everyone I spoke with, we all decided it has gone on long enough.
• Pub-style/ meat pies in London were awesome.  I didn't get out of London, so I imagine they are equally good all over England.  I pretty much could eat them all of the time.  That would be a problem, since I did a lot of walking everywhere the past ten days and managed to lose absolutely no weight while I was gone.
• Mind the Gap
• There were some very pretty girls in London.  There were also some girls that looked like dudes.  They appeared to equal each other out and provide some balance of attractiveness in this town.  Without having done an in-depth study, I suspect this sort of balance exists in many large towns but largely goes unnoticed.
• When you travel and stay in a hostel, it helps to know a bit of etiquette.  Like don't do a full-blown packing job the morning you are leaving if you are departing early.  Don't use something like a plastic Walmart bag that crackles insanely loud.  Don't leave a huge mess just because you don't have to clean it up.
• Above all, don't pack early in the morning using a Walmart bag that crackles insanely loud and take 90 minutes to do it, and then leave a huge mess behind like a convenience store unloaded its trash all around your beds when you are finished.  Anna, Louise, and I did not need to be told these things, but we were in our room listening to the Argentinian guys early yesterday morning before we were up and out the door ourselves.  I imagine all three of us wanted to just grab them and toss them out the door to speed it along.

I'm sure there are things I've inadvertently left out.  There are things I advertently left out, too.  But I've provided the gist of the trip over the past two weeks.  At the dawn of the day, I went where I set out to go and by dusk I had always found more than I ever expected.  If you think that sounds like a pretty good thing, then go somewhere.


Start by walking around your block or your city.  Get in your car and drive around your state or the one next door.  Close your eyes, point to a spot on a globe, and board a plane to cross an international border.  Just go.


But remember to Mind the Gap and take your towel.

Hogwarts, Here I Come!

I wasn't sure if I mentioned this, but one of my (guaranteed) goals while I was in London was to go to Warner Bros. Studios in Leavesden.  Why may that be, you ask?  Uh, because that is where they filmed all eight Harry Potter movies over ten years!  Sweet!

Yes.  I went on the Harry Potter studio tour, and it was awesome.  Be jealous!  But hold on while I start my day for you.

First, the morning started with a visit to Kensington Palace.  To be perfectly honest, the plan in my head went something like this after I arrived there:

1. William and Kate were here for the week instead of out at their main place in the country.
2. Pippa comes to visit her niece and nephew.
3. Pippa looks out some random window and sees me in my dashing scarf and clearly American looking jacket and haircut looking very dapper.
4. Pippa comes rushing out to talk to me and we totally hit it off.
5. We end up married and I become some in-law of the Royal family as the Duke of Awesomeness

All of that played out in my head in about the two minutes it took to wander up through the gates to the entrance.  Seriously.



Best to do it at a bit of a run, if you are nervous.
 

None of it came true, unfortunately.  This is probably a good thing as it would have hindered my ability to get to Leavesden for the Harry Potter tour this afternoon.  I guess it was for the best, as I ended up there in perfect time for my tour start.

This place was a blast!  If you are a fan, it is totally worth it.  The authenticity of everything really sets it apart from the great job they've done at Universal in Orlando (although there are no rides).  They put a lot of effort into how they've organized everything and really pulled it off.  You could spend a solid four hours there, and probably longer if you had kids who wanted to do the green screen effects.

Wrapped up there (it was a bit out of town) and hopped a quick train back to London St Pancras.  Some rally/ strike/ assembly was going on across from the station.  As I do in every country when I travel, I try to quickly move past any mobs and not get involved in anything.  Really is a best practice.  In fact, I do that in the USA also.

Had a nice low key evening grabbing dinner with Louise and Anna at Generator (the hostel).  I may not have mentioned them by name before, but you know them as the Awesome Danish Girls I've Spent Time With This Week (that whole thing is a title, which is why it is in capital letters).  Tom (my Australian drinking buddy from Camden Pub Crawl) joined us, as did our other Oz roomie, Rory.  Tom is around another night and will head out in London for Australia Day, while Rory is stuck travelling home all through it.  Louise and Anna head back to Copenhagen about the same time I have to head out, too.

Alas, this time has been far too short.  Trips usually are, it seems like.  I won't make this the end, though.  Since I'll have some time to kill at the airport, you can all expect an end-of-trip recap.  And a picture of Louise, Anna, and me.  Because they do exist.

Something Old, Something New

Pub crawl was a blast.  Overall, it was a pretty good value, as we got five free shots (one at each bar) included in the 15 Pounds charge to attend.  That amount also provided for skipping any lines and no cover charges--which we found out the last club we ended at had a 15 Pound cover charge.  It was sort of controlled chaos, but frustrations at the time to get a drink were kept to a minimum.  There was a down side, as two of our group booked the Pub Crawl for the wrong location online.  They had booked St. George and we were booked Camden.  Because Camden was sold out, they couldn't be included.  That put a bit of a damper on the evening.

It ended up being a long night and I don't think we wrapped up back at the hostel until about 3am.  That meant morning would come early and it did.  Which I didn't care about.  My plan was to meet up with Richard at 2pm.  You remember him, right?  My roommate from College Program 20 years ago.  I hopped a train out to Rochester Kent to meet him and got to meet his wife and daughter, too.  They left us at the train station so we could head into the village for "guy time".  This consisted of getting a chance to see the castle in town, which was pretty cool.  It stemmed from Henry III era.  And also the cathedral, which was in remarkable shape considering it was constructed in about 600 AD.  Ultimately, we succeeded in pounding down four pints in a couple of hours and I hopped my train back to London.

We barely got me back to the train on time from our last pint.  I hopped aboard almost as it was pulling out of the station.  We had a brief moment where we looked into each other's eyes.  We knew we would be okay and see each other again soon.  Very touching, I must say.  Realistically although the time was short, I am excited at the thought of seeing Richard and the family soon, since they will be visiting Florida next April.  I am trying to talk him into a Disney Cruise.

Dinner back in London consisted of some delicious pie and mash with the Danish girls and our new Australian roommate (Melbourne).  He has just wrapped up working here for 10 months and heads back home after the weekend.

It was nice to get a chance to hop out of London for an afternoon and see a bit of the country and smaller village of Rochester with Richard.  Which is the photo I'm leaving you here with.

Rochester Castle, with Rochester Cathedral in the background

London Bridge is not actually falling down

London Bridge *was* actually falling apart, which is how it ended up getting sold, moved, and rebuilt in Lake Havasu City, AZ all around 45 years ago.  This new one did not have any severed heads on pikes to serve as a warning to would-be criminals and traitors.  It didn't seem to have a whole lot of anything, actually.  I walked across it yesterday and it kept me from falling into the Thames, so I guess it served its purpose.

So, here is a recap from the past 48 hours, since socializing last night was more important than writing:

• I have "Snow White" jotted down and I can't remember why.  Obviously it was from Disneyland Paris, but I'm drawing a blank what it was for.
• I have not yet seen Mary Poppins.  She would have quite a time getting into our room, since we don't have a window for her to fly in through.
• My train trip on Eurostar was pretty awesome.  It showed its record speed of about 207 mph.  We hit about 180 mph for most of the journey from Paris to London.  Nothing in the US comes even close to that.
• The bar here had an (aspiring) DJ a couple nights ago.  He was terrible.  I feel like he thought he was Afrojack, but I am pretty sure I could have done better mixing than he was.  Karaoke was worse, though.
• I remember about Snow White, now.  It was that they have what amounts to the original version of the black-light ride.  I can see how people always thought it was too scary for little kids.
• They have a newer liquor here called Jaegermeister Spice.  It was passingly okay.  I feel like it is meant for people that don't like Jaegermeister, as it wasn't quite as heavy on licorice flavor.

I just realized that I had already written about Snow White.  Now I don't know why I left it in my notes.  This is going to bug me.  Well, I'm not striking anything out, so I guess you've just read that stuff twice over the past few days.

I went to the Tower of London today, and that was pretty cool.  Crowds weren't too thick and weather stayed dry and about 50 degrees F.  I did the Yeoman Warder (Beefeater) tour.  Our Yeoman was John Donald and he was fantastic.  He has been doing it for just under two years.  I am sure they are all as good as he was, but since I don't know for sure, I would suggest checking to see if he is doing tours the day you go.  There is quite a bit of history surrounding the Tower and it was easy to spend hours out there.

There are a lot of free museums in town, but the Tower of London cost me $35.  I don't want to hear people complain about the prices Disney charges for admission.  I would pay this again though, as I think it was worth it.

I met up with Richard for lunch yesterday.  He was one of my old Vista Way (Disney College Program) roommates from 20 years ago.  He was nice and waited for me to find him as I visited every statue around the Houses of Parliament.  Because he told me to meet him by the statue.  In his defense, he actually was specific about which statue, and I just had forgot until I was running about 25 minutes late.  We went to a pretty good burrito place called Tortilla.  It pretty much appeared to be a Qdoba/ Chipotle ripoff, but was just as tasty.



View from atop The Monument

My day out in town wrapped up with a visit to The Monument to the Great Fire of London.  That is a mouthful, so it appears as The Monument everywhere.  You can actually trek to the top of the thing for some great city views and it was only 4 Pounds (London Eye is about 20 Pounds).  The down side is that it is steps.  I didn't know how many when I started up and there were no signs telling you how fare along you were, but I was beat when I got to the top.  I counted going down, which turned out to not be necessary.  They give you a little "Good Job" certificate informing you that you made it up 311 steps.  That is a lot of steps.

You already know how the rest of the evening went.  We got four new roommates yesterday, two German guys and two Danish girls.  The German guys went to eat at Shake Shack (crazy to think it is in London and they haven't even spread all over the US yet).  The Danish girls invited me with them to the bar here.  We shot some more pool, played foosball and somehow spent a good four hours in there.  Of the eight of us in our room, six of us have a pub crawl tonight.  The German guys are going to see 'Wicked'.  I applaud their thirst for culture.

Until tomorrow then, cheerio.