Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion

Movie Name: Romy and Michele's High School Reunion
Year of Release: 1997
Director: David Mirkin 
Starring: Lisa Kudrow, Mira Sorvino, Alan Cumming, Janeane Garofalo, Julia Campbell, Elaine Hendrix, Jacob Vargas, Camryn Manheim, Justin Theroux, Kristin Bauer, Vincent Ventresca, Mia Cottet, Neil Dickson
Genre: Comedy
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 4
Watch it on Amazon

Synopsis and Review

David Mirkin has had a lengthy association with Matt Groening's "The Simpsons", but "Romy and Michele's High School Reunion" was his feature directorial debut, following some TV work he did in the late 1980s into the 1990s, which included "Newhart" and "Get a Life". The narrative of the film is very much on target with its title: Romy and Michele are two women in their late 20s who live in LA. Romy is a receptionist in a garage while Michele is currently unemployed. Romy crosses paths with one of their high school colleagues, Heather Mooney, who is now a successful business mogul. Heather asks if she's going to the high school reunion, one that is about to take place. The two friends who weren't even aware of the event, reminisce about their days in high school, with Romy in particular being pained since she thinks the both of them were somewhat outcasts, and were never part of the cool crowd. Michele on the other hand, thinks high school was fun, since they were always together, and had a blast by themselves. Romy thinks their current lives are a bit underwhelming and decides that upon arriving at the reunion they should lie about their accomplishments since leaving high school. Michele goes along for the scenario, but midway through the drive to Tucson they realize they haven't decided what lie to spin for everyone at the reunion. They decide to make up the story that Romy invented post-its, and that Michele's uncle had a printing business to build them. This lie causes a rift between the two of them, since Michele accuses Romy of deeming her insufficiently capable of inventing post its. As they further bicker about their attractiveness, they both decide to go their separate ways upon arriving at the reunion.

"Romy and Michele's High School Reunion" has become an audience favorite since its release in 1997. A somewhat campy and silly film that people love to watch even if its flaws and shortcomings are quite obvious (possibly the reasons why it has maintained its popularity). It joins other films such as "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert", "To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything Julie Newmar", "Muriel's Wedding", "Death Becomes Her", "The Devil Wears Prada", and "Clueless", to name but a few. The film is light in terms of its narrative, but also in terms of its pretension, which is also one of its stronger suits. It's unpretentious and it clearly aims to reinforce the message of self acceptance and self content, particularly as these two women who have been friends forever, and particularly the more insecure one of them, have to grow up and figure out how to move through life by being their authentic selves, without trying to appease everyone around them. It's a film that creates its humor from the obliviousness of these characters to the cruelty of those who surround them, but also by illustrating this microcosms of pop culture and over the top fashion statements in which the central characters exist. There isn't much to this film aside from what the cast brings to it, and in this case Lisa Kudrow and Janeane Garofalo really shine through, easily creating characters that are hilarious, but also possessed of a heart (and mind). The remaining cast hits some highs, such as Alan Cumming, Julia Campbell, and Camryn Manheim, while others such as Mira Sorvino feel miscast (and always trying to catch up to their more talented counterparts). The production team is solid, including Reynaldo Villalobos cinematography, Mona May's costumes, and Steve Bartek's score. It's a film that touches upon some recurring themes, and while not the most creative or original, it has enough cleverness and talent to withstand the test of time.

A House of Dynamite

Movie Name: A House of Dynamite
Year of Release: 2025
Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Starring: Rebecca Ferguson, Idris Elba, Jared Harris, Tracy Letts, Greta Lee, Gabriel Basso, Moses Ingram, Jason Clarke, Malachi Beasley, Anthony Ramos, Willa Fitzgerald, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Brittany O'Grady, Jonah Hauer-King, Brian Tee, Kaitlyn Dever, Kyle Allen
Genre: Thriller, Drama
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 7
Watch it on Netflix

Synopsis and Review

Director Kathryn Bigelow is back, her first film in 8 years, since the lastly released "Detroit". This time around she has partnered with Netflix and writer Noah Oppenheim who also wrote Pablo Larrain's "Jackie" and the script for Wes Ball's "The Maze Runner", to bring her particular type of perspective to a very current storyline. The narrative's premise is a singular one, but the story is showcased from three different perspectives, of characters impacted by the events taking place. The first perspective is that of Captain Olivia Walker, whom we witness getting to her work at the White House, only to be confronted with a situation unlike anything she has ever witnessed before. A missile appears out of nowhere destined for the United States, and she and her team have to deploy counter-measures. Her boss is removed to a special locale, in case of detonation, and she and her team frantically try to address the looming threat, that is going to occur in a less than 30 minutes. She decides to stay at her post, and quickly informs her husband to get their young child out of harm's way and escape. The second perspective witnessing the events taking place is that of Deputy National Security Advisor Jake Bearington, who is running late to work that morning with his pregnant wife. When the situation starts unfolding, he's making his way to the White House, while discussing on the phone the mounting pressures of the scenario with everyone involved, including the Secretary of Defense, and the President himself. He is trying to bring some calmness to the situation, though the pressure is immense, and the missile will possibly destroy one of the biggest American cities (though in all truth, they don't know if their equipment has been compromised, if that missile is indeed coming). The third perspective is that of the President of the US. He has a few appointments that day, while is wife is doing a safari in Africa. When he becomes aware of the situation, he is rapidly extracted, and taken to an official transport, while he gets as much information as possible, in the hopes he can make the best informed decision following what's about to happen. Bearington has conversed with the Russian ambassador, but he ultimately has no certainty to provide. It's all about to the President to make a decision, and he has with him a Lieutenant Commander showcasing the options available as means of retaliation.

Since winning an array of accolades for "The Hurt Locker", director Kathryn Bigelow hasn't been the most prolific of film makers. She directed the sensational "Zero Dark Thirty", "Detroit", and now "A House of Dynamite". To her credit, she has never been someone who released many films, but with her talent and point of view, the audiences are definitely missing out on a tremendous talent (one of my favorite films of the 1990s was her James Cameron collaboration, "Strange Days"). "A House of Dynamite" is in many ways, a film that has a very similar tone to the one Ms. Bigelow captured in "Zero Dark Thirty". That tone is one of mounting fear and pressure, illustrating how chains of command deal with the inevitability of dramatic decisions that need to be made/taken, and finally the toll these situations have on the individuals who are experiencing these challenges (and how those decisions have massive implications in the world). "A House of Dynamite" takes a different turn from "Zero Dark Thirty", since it doesn't focus on a central character like the latter did (embodied by Jessica Chastain, in one of her finest performances to date), it chooses instead to view the situation from three different characters perspectives, though I'd volunteer to say that the script could have aimed for a slightly different choice of perspective considering all the focal points of the narrative. The film has a solid pacing, and the director is able to quickly establish the characters who are populating the narrative, however the script is very narrowly focused on this microcosms, which makes it less successful and diverse in its reach. The script starts leering towards a version of the show "24", when it needed to have segments that counter balanced each other (or where the perspectives were slightly different). It's definitely a well mounted film featuring a solid cast, particularly the always fantastic Rebecca Ferguson, Idris Elba, Jason Clarke, Tracy Letts, and Jared Harris. The production team is solid, though the cinematography from Barry Ackroyd is a bit uneven, particularly the daylight shots which are ghastly, whereas the ones in the Alaska terrain are far more subtle and elegant. The score from Volker Bertelmann is impeccable, as is Kirk Baxter's editing. It's a very well crafted film, even if it doesn't reach the heights of prior releases from this talented director.