Monthly Archives: August 2021

Aftermath

This film seems a bit off the beaten path for Arnold. When I think of Arnold in recent years, I think of the California Governorship, and the scandal. But I double checked. That was all over in 2011 and he’s been up to a few things since then.

Aftermath is one of his most recent works and I was curious to see how he comes across in a dramatic role. But I was also intrigued to see Scoot McNairy as the number two, who has done some other work that I like very much.

Arnold Schwarzenegger as Roman

In this story, there is an air traffic control mishap that results in a devastating mid air collision between two passenger planes. Roman loses his family and is left wondering why no one will apologize. The airline lawyers offer meager payoffs, and respond to a request for an apology with poker gazes.

Eventually, Roman tracks down the unfortunate air traffic controller, played by Scoot McNairy, who happened to be on duty at the time of the accident. The circumstances arguably put the controller in an impossible situation. Nevertheless, Roman shows up at his door in search of an apology.

Arnold’s performance as Roman is convincing, and moving. Likewise, Scoot’s performance as the hapless air traffic controller was also moving. Overall, this movie was better than what I was expecting, and I recommend you check it.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4581576/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2

Val

I had seen a headline somewhere about Val Kilmer having throat cancer. I didn’t expect to see him doing new work this year. A retrospective on his career and life experiences seems apropos.

Val Kilmer as the Ice Man (behind the scenes)

Stop me on the street and ask me to summarize the career of Val Kilmer and I’d likely be stumped to think of anything beyond Top Gun. Give me a few minutes to think about it, maybe I’d remember his portrayal of Jim Morrison in The Doors movie. Okay, I guess that outs me as being not much of a fan, which is probably because I didn’t like the Ice Man character.

This film gives us a peek behind the curtain. Val gives us a very candid, insider, view of his life and career — warts and all. Here we meet Val as the person beyond the movie persona. This movie tells the story of a child who lost a brother, a man who loves his father, and an artist who wants to share with his son.

I recommend checking this out.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14731254/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1