Thank You for Your Service

First Hit:  Powerful and, at times, very realistic about the struggles vets have getting support from the VA.

Adam Schuman (Miles Teller) is back from serving in Iraq as the person who leads a group finding  IEDs. He’s good at it because he senses where they are. After serving 15 months in Iraq, he comes home to Kansas to his wife Saskia (Haley Bennett), his daughter whom he knows and his son who was born while he was away.

The audience sees how he buries his angst towards what he’s been through and, in particular, certain events that he feels guilty about. Specifically, he’s pained over the loss of Sergeant First Class James Doster (Brad Beyer) who took his place in a Humvee outing that got him killed. It is especially painful because Saskia’s best friend is Amanda Doster (Amy Schumer) James’ wife.

He's also in pain because one of his men gets shot in the head and he tries to carry him downstairs to save him and drops him possibly causing more injury.

Adam is especially close with two others who served with him Specialist Tausolo Aieti (Beulah Koale) and Billy Waller (Joe Cole). Tausolo (aka - Solo) has a severe case of PTSD, and although he just wants to go back to Iraq where he feels comfortable, the Army medical team and his wife do not want him to go back. His memory is shot, he’s jumpy and he hallucinates. So what is he to do now?

Billy returns to find his apartment bare because fiancé has left him and didn’t tell him. He’s shocked and filled with sadness and dismay and commits suicide in-front of her at her place of employment as a bank teller.

This sets up the story about how our country takes care of our wounded. The physical wounds are one thing, but the inner wounds of PTSD are killing people everywhere all the time and the US Government doesn’t do enough to help them.

The lines of chairs filled with people holding a number to get served at the VA is shocking. Having tried to get VA service attention for my own Vietnam disabilities was horrible, yet here we see how much worse it has gotten. Vets stand in long lines, only to be told they don’t have the right form, or the right line to help them through the process.

The look of disbelief on Solo’s face when they tell him they have no record of the explosive incident of which he had to pull a burning Doster out of a blown-up Humvee, tells it all. Shock and sadness. What is worse is that they make him find someone to document the event.

The war scenes felt real and were well filmed. There wasn’t a lot of them, but enough to make the point solidly. The VA scenes were strong, yet I do feel that they could have been even more pointed. The guilt Adam wore for the responsibility to his men was embodied perfectly.

Teller was sublime. He’s become one of my favorite must see actors and if you want to see him in three great roles see; Whiplash, Only the Brave and this one Thank You for Your Service. Bennett was excellent as Adam’s wife who does everything she can to help Adam feel safe, have a place to open up while being supportive. Great job. Schumer was very good in her role as grieving wife while having the ability to not blame Adam for her husband’s death. Koale was amazing. He was excellent as the soldier that had felt the Army saved him from a unproductive life but was now abandoning him with his severe case of PTSD. Cole was very strong as the young man filled with bravado who couldn’t wait to see his fiancé again, only to have her not show up. Keisha Castle-Hughes was very good as Solo’s wife who tried to help and support her struggling husband. Jason Hall wrote and directed this film. He definitely had a good feel as to what he wanted to show. I wish more of the VA’s shortcomings were on display so that maybe we could do something about how we take young men and women, send them off to war, and discard them after all is said and done.

Overall:  This is a strong film that I liked.

Only the Brave

First Hit: Inspiring true story about the Granite Mountain Hot Shots.

With the recent fires in northern California, this true story about the brave men who fight these fires on the ground with hoes and back fires was poignant.

Eric Marsh (James Brolin) is the committed “Supe” of a team of municipal level 2 firefighters. They’ve been training for years to become certified “Hot Shots.” Hot Shots are federally funded and government developed, trained and paid for firefighters. However, with the number of fires, expertise of the team, and history of success, this municipally trained and developed group of firefighters want a chance to be evaluated and hopefully certified as Hot Shots.

Brendan McDonough (Miles Teller) is a screw up. He spends most of his time getting high, but when confronted with his old casual girlfriend Natalie Johnson (Natalie Hall) saying she’s pregnant with his child, a switch flips and he wants to be a responsible parent. He hears of a job opening at the firefighting center and he goes into an interview.

In a wonderful scene, Marsh comes right out and asks Brendan when was the last time he used. Then when Brendan also explains that he’s going to be a father and wants to be there for his child. Marsh takes a chance on him despite other members of the crew disliking Brendan having had some history with him.

The film’s story is about redemption; the hard work of Marsh and his firefighting team along with Brendan learning to become a father.

The fire scenes were intensely striking. It was interesting and engaging to learn more about how Hot Shots work. I really enjoyed the camaraderie shown by the men as they worked together for a common goal. One of the best scenes in the film had nothing to do with a fire. It was Eric arguing with his wife Amanda (Jennifer Connelly) in their truck while driving home one night. It felt real, deep and powerful.

There were two downsides to this film for me. One was the role and or performance of Fire Chief Duane Steinbrink (Jeff Bridges). He seemed to not take this role seriously or created more of a characterization than being a helpful friend and strong fire chief. The second downside was the role of the chief’s wife Marvel (Andie McDowell). Her role was very limited and was clearly a scripting and direction issue. It was almost if it would have been a better if Duane was single because there was only one scene that I recall she had where she states something like the men are more married to the fire than their wives. On a more minor note, the whole symbolism of the burning bear didn’t quite work for me.

Teller was fantastic. His portrayal of a druggie and then his transformation to being a sober father was sublime. He continues to be an actor that deserves recognition for doing solid strong work. Brolin was very strong as the intense man who made fighting fires his drug of choice. Connelly was brilliant as Brolin’s wife. Her clear strength as a woman wanting to chart her course was wonderful. Bridges was wasted in this role and I felt bad that his performance brought this film down. McDowell was wasted in another way, she wasn’t given enough of a role to improve the film. Hall was very good in this minor but very important role. Ken Nolan and Eric Warren Singer wrote a strong screenplay except for the role of the fire chief’s wife. Joseph Kosinski did an excellent job of portraying the fire and how firefighting teams fight them; I was entranced during those scenes.

Overall: A powerful reminder of the power of fire and the amazing abilities of firefighters.

Bleed for This

First Hit:  Although very well acted, it didn’t stay with me nor was I inspired.

The oddity for me about this film was seeing this amazing struggle that Vinny Pazienza (Miles Teller) went through to fight again, yet also being turned off by a number of the movie's characters. The pushiness and arrogance of his father Angelo (Ciaran Hinds), promoter and son Lou Duva (Ted Levine) and Dan Duva (Jordan Gelber), and the treatment of family members, just left me cold.

It is not that I have to like the characters in a movie, however for some reason, Angelo, Lou and Dan turned me off to other parts of the film. On the converse side Vinny’s relationship with his trainer Kevin Rooney (Aaron Eckhart) was priceless. This was the best part of the film. The push/pull and of their personalities was exquisite.

The film shined when it was about how Vinny found his inner strength to really live again. Up until that one point, Miles did a great job of moving Vinny to level of complacency while healing. But then it switches and he becomes the focused Vinny the film begins with, thus moving the film into another gear. When Kevin joins him in his quest, the movie started to sing again and the bonding between these two men in the basement was outstanding.

The fight scenes were OK. Some of the the ring choreography was puzzling but overall it was exciting and gave an air of the battles Vinny went through. The training scenes and the appropriately dark and grungy gyms used to train in, were perfect given the era and type of boxer Vinney portrayed.

Vinny’s mom Louise (Katey Sagal) not being able to watch any of his fights, spent that time in front of her alter of Jesus emblemed candles and other Jesus iconic stuff. It was difficult for me to relate to that kind of praying, yet it made sense for the film and Italian family. Additionally, the scenes of Vinny and entourage in strip joints also fit the film’s genera, and were insightful to the characters in their own way.

Teller was very strong as Vinny and made his battle believable. Each time he had to get into a car or duck under something I cringed and ducked in my seat as well. Eckhart was outstanding as Vinny’s trainer. I loved his drunk scenes as well as his sober focused scenes equally. Hinds was perfectly obnoxious, egotistic and arrogant as boss of his family and what he wanted. The scene of him chomping and smoking a cigar on the porch while telling off Kevin was perfect in all ways. Levine and Gelber was wonderful as the father and son promoters always looking out for their interests while feigning the interest of the fighters they promote. Sagal was good as the suppressed mom always worried about her son’s fighting. Ben Younger both wrote and directed this film. The writing in many of the scenes was outstanding and getting the actors to deliver on those lines was skillful.

Overall:  Engaging film to watch but forgetful by the next day.

War Dogs

First Hit:  I enjoyed this film because it showed the absurdity of how the US Government created a system allowing two young men in their 20's to bid for and win large contracts to provide arms to and for our government.

Based on a true story, I was both flabbergasted and amazed at the ingenuity of Efraim Diveroli and David Packouz (Jonah Hill and Miles Teller respectively) to find ways to bid for and win US Government arms contracts.

David is a massage therapist in Miami and his fiancé Iz (Ana de Armas) becomes pregnant. Efraim, his old junior high-school friend, comes back into town with a proposition to help him in his new business, arms dealer.

Together they start landing contracts, but the one that puts them on the map is one where they end up having to drive cases of Beretta handguns from Jordan to Baghdad. The complications to their story included, David lying to Iz about his whereabouts and what he was doing as well as Efraim’s deep seeded greed and how it plays out in their deals as well as his personal relationships.

Bradley Cooper as Henry Girard a US Citizen arms supplier (middle man) who is also on a watch list because of some previous nefarious dealings. Many of the scenes were made good because of the acting of both Teller and Hill.

Teller was strong as the somewhat gullible friend, who in the end, was not so gullible. Hill was a blast. His laugh and intensity was perfect for the kind of guy that uses people to benefit himself. Armas was very good as David’s fiancé and mother of their daughter. Cooper was well cast in that he brought the right kind of intensity and friendliness when it suited him. Stephen Chin, Todd Phillips, and  Jason Smilovic wrote a fun and intense script based on a Rolling Stone article. Phillips also seemed to have a strong hand in the direction as the various countries and scenes were well constructed.

Overall:  Although not a blockbuster, it was a fun film and enjoyable to watch.

The Divergent Series: Allegiant

First Hit:  As the second to last film in this series, it moves the storyline along and was watchable.

Series films have become prominent fare being produced by Hollywood. Originality appears to be too risky and studios are banking on a prior successful story-lines, many times with the same actors, to produce dollars.

There are series films that have done well and grow in their story-line and presentation. Some are sequential types of films where the story develops over time (e.g. Rocky). Other use the same actors and/or their characters in new situations (e.g. James Bond films). Two of the latest series sets are The Hunger Games series and the Divergent series.

Both of these film series have heroines, use young actors, but the major difference between film number 3 for both these, is that Divergent is watchable and has a plot, whereas The Hunger Games was barely more than a set-up for the fourth film and virtually unwatchable.

Acting wise there are stronger actors in The Hunger Games however the script and possibly the direction let them down.

In this Divergent film, we find Tris (Shailene Woodley) disliking the change in leadership of their community and with this wants to breakthrough the wall surrounding Chicago to find out what else exists. In a daring escape she and Four (Theo James), Christina (Zoe Kravitz), Caleb (Ansel Elgort), and Peter (Miles Teller), go over the wall and end up in the Bureau of Genetic Welfare where Tris meets and begins working with David (Jeff Daniels).

As the façade of David is exposed, Four heads back to Chicago to help his mother Evelyn (Naomi Watts) sort through the problems of governing a division free Chicago.

Woodley is good enough in this film and I don’t know if it was the script, direction or her abilities that lowered my interest and caring about her character. James was consistent in his role and was one of the better characters. Teller was also very consistent, not only in this film, but through all of them. Elgort seemed amateurish in his portrayal of Caleb. Daniels was sufficiently strong as the antagonist. Watts was OK in a role that seemed unrealistic in its portrayal. Noah Oppenheim and Adam Cooper wrote this mediocre script. Robert Schwentke did a fair job of keeping the film moving along despite the lack of solid substance.

Overall:  This film wasn’t completely lost and hopefully its conclusion in June of 2017 will work better.