The review of Ad Asta starts a little further down. First and foremost I need to tell you about the greatest piece of entertainment I have ever seen, hands down, or thumbs up whichever you prefer. I am talking about the PBS TV production of Country Music, an eight part series produced by Ken Burns. I’m not necessarily a country music fan, but this historical look at the beginning and evolution of that genre, absolutely mesmerized me. A close look at the various songwriters and entertainers, their lives and backgrounds, was as good as it gets. I don’t expect I will ever see anything approaching it, regardless of how long I may be around. There are two pieces of good news attached to this, first it is commercial free, and secondly, it is available On Demandfor free, (on Comcast for sure) although it may be for a limited time. (To emphasize my point, I skipped the Bears Monday night game to watch part five. Admittedly I kept an eye on the game via a sports website). I urge you to find a way to watch this, you’ll be glad you did.
Item two: The Oscar watch begins, as the studios release their best films, as usual saving them for last. There are already three on my radar, can’t wait to see each one of them. In no particular order; A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. This one stars Tom Hanks as Mr. Rogers. I talked to someone who saw an advance screening, and they said it was terrific. Ford vs. Ferrari, the true story of Ford Motor’s efforts to surpass Ferrari on the racetrack, starring Matt Damon and Christian Bale, I’ve seen the previews and it looks great. Finally Judy, starring Renee Zellweger as Judy Garland in her last few years. Sources I’ve checked said it is, at the very least, an Oscar performance by Renee, especially when she is on stage performing. I promise to report on all three of these as they reach the theaters.
Ad Astra
Entertainment Rating: ★
Rating: PG-13; no profanity, several stressful moments
Possible Oscar Nominations: None
Oh yes, the movie Ad Astra, which is Latin meaning “through hardships to the stars.” I confess that I walked out in the middle of this one, asking the guy in the front row to let me know how it turned out, haven’t heard from him yet. This is a science fiction movie, set sometime in the future, and the cast included Donald Sutherland and Tommy Lee Jones, that should tell you something. Starring Brad Pitt as astronaut Roy McBride, this is as boring and depressing a story
as you could ask for. On a mission to track down his father, who fell off the radar thirteen years ago on a mission to Neptune and beyond, the story moves like molasses, with one set back after another. There is not one cheerful or uplifting second in the story, at least up until the time I left. The color is muted, the dialogue almost senseless and the background music gloomy, a perfect combination for a dispiriting story. There were several brief moments of action, with the beginning, middle and end of those scenes totally unexplained, leaving the viewer wondering “what did I just see and why.” They contributed nothing to the story. If anyone reading this has seen the movie, please let me know how it ended, hopefully there were some uplifting moments somewhere along the way,
And finally a hearty thumbs down to the Chicago Tribune movie critic who gave Lion King 1 ½ stars, Downton Abbey 2 stars but gives Hustlers 3 stars. The latter two films are box office hits, and why not they are entertaining. The former is a story about strippers, filled with violence and all that goes with it, appealing no doubt to the prurient interests of some. Go figure!
