Popcorn Perspectives with Danny Minton
Week of May 13, 2019
Fighting with My Family
Rated PG-13 for crude and sexual material, language throughout, some violence and drug content
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 92%
Available on Disc and Streaming
Based on the real-life story of WWE female wrestling Superstar Paige, this tale follows a young girl in England whose family life revolves around professional wrestling, and when she is given a chance to join the WWE, she must leave her family behind to chase her dream. It is practically unimaginable that a film about pro wrestling could be this good, but due to a fantastic cast including Vince Vaughn, Lena Headey, Nick Frost and Dwayne Johnson, as well as a fantastic turn from the relatively unknown Florence Pugh in the starring role, the film is elevated to a different level of quality than would be expected. It also helps to have the brilliant Stephen Merchant writing and directing this script that is crammed with inspiration and heart rather than the expected mindless ring action. It didn’t do much to make me want to turn to wrestling for my regular enjoyment, but it did help me better appreciate their world and I finished the movie having been thoroughly entertained. B+
Apollo 11
Rated G
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 98%
Available on Disc and Streaming
Apollo 11 is a documentary recently released into IMAX theaters as an event film that follows the events of the Apollo 11 moon landing from the moments just before the astronauts left Earth to the moments after their return. Using never-before-seen color footage, the film floats along without narration, making you feel like you are a first-hand observer of the momentous events taking place. Unfortunately, the film isn’t nearly as good at home as it was on a giant screen. While the content is the same, the experience is night and day. But it still a film worth watching, if not for the remarkable documentary style, then for its historical value. A-
Cold Pursuit
Rated R for strong violence, drug material, and some language including sexual references
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 69%
Available on Disc and Streaming
In this remake of the much better Norwegian film In Order of Disappearance (both directed by Hans Petter Moland), Liam Neeson goes after a drug cartel after his son’s death leads him down a successive path of violence to find and kill the man ultimately responsible. While quirky and at times slightly humorous, the movie ends up being just a long string of creative revenge killings and ultimately lacks the heart to make you apply much empathy to Neeson’s character. Also, the cast of Lauren Dern as his wife and Emmy Rossum as an investigating cop are both subjected here to minor and unimpressive roles not worthy of their names and talents. I’m pretty sure that the filmmakers really thought they had a Fargo on their hands here, or at least a film as good as its Scandinavian predecessor, but the project doesn’t even come close and instead we get a mediocre, unnecessary and forgettable crime pic. C-