The View From Jackie’s Head #5 – 10/03/16
The surprise of the year for me is “Masterminds,” an unexpectedly delightful comedy. If you haven’t seen it you should. It ticks me off when a publication such as “Deadline Hollywood” calls it a bomb. Okay, it did open at #6 this weekend behind “Sully,” but ahead of “The Queen of Katwe,” and its total weekend gross was just six and a half million. Still its per screen average was over two thousand dollars.
I would really like to see it take a giant leap next week and move up in the ranks. If you all go out and see it that could happen. I really did laugh my head off and most of the people I have heard from have loved it. It is a silly comedy but silly in all the right ways. Zach Galifianakis, Kristen Wiig, Owen Wilson and especially Kate McKinnon have never been better. Plus the movie is funny because it is clever and not just an assorted group of profane words strung together.
I liked “Deepwater Horizon” a lot too, and can’t believe the only so so “Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children” opened at number one instead of “Deepwater.” “Peregrine” had some interesting moments but overall the movie was just average, if that. I have never been an Asa Butterfield admirer and he didn’t impress me in this movie. He has that movie where he plays a kid born on Mars coming out soon. It is titled “The Space Between Us.” I want to see it, but not for him. I want to see his co-star Brit Robertson who is really talented.
This coming weekend it will be all about “The Girl On the Train.” All those folks who rushed to see “Gone Girl” will turn out for this one. The movie is based on Paula Hawkins ultra-successful novel. I liked the book; didn’t love it. The more I thought about it the more contrived it seemed. Still I am looking forward to the movie.
As far as the new season of television is concerned, “Designated Survivor” and “This Is Us” are my two new favorites. “This Is Us” had me at hello. Even though I have only seen two episodes I am already crazy about everyone in the cast – especially Mandy Moore. And “Designated Survivor” has the one two punch of Kiefer Sutherland and Virginia Madsen. I was a big fan of “24” and “Parenthood” and these two shows remind me of them.
There is a show starting next week titled “American Housewife.” It stars Katy Mixon. Usually a sitcom such as this would not make a blip on my radar, but I will watch an episode or two purely because Mixon is the star. If that name is not familiar to you take a look at my comments on “Hell or High Water”, the Jeff Bridges/Chris Pine film. In that movie Mixon played a waitress. She only had a couple of scenes but she was a standout. I will watch “American Housewife” based on her performance in that movie.
For my last rant let me say I am about to swear off “Scandal” “How To Get Away With Murder” and “The Blacklist.” All three of these series have murderers as their leading characters. What happened to having heroes on shows to inspire us viewers! These characters do evil for evil’s sake, not in a cause for justice. C’mon Hollywood isn’t the world in enough of a mess without having killers as the people we are supposed to admire.
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