#jontenney

[adamwatchesmovies]

Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home (1995)

I only saw Free Willy because my big box of random VHS tapes contained Free Willy 2 The Adventure Home. I figured this sequel would suck but decided to give it a chance by viewing the first chapter and then viewing the follow-up the way it was intended. To my surprise, I liked it more than its predecessor.

Set two years after the events of “Free Willy”, Jesse (Jason James Richter) and his adoptive parents (Michael Madsen as Glen Greenwood and Jayne Atkinson as Annie) are preparing to leave on a vacation to see Willy and his whale family. Just in time to turn Jesse’s world upside down comes his half brother Elvis (Francis Capra), coming to live with the Greenwoods due to the sudden passing of their mother.

The relationships are much more interesting in this film than in the last. Jesse is the Greenwood’s son now, so he’s no longer complaining about them wanting to get close. Instead, he's got other issues to deal with. In Free Willy, Jesse was convinced it was only a matter of time before his mom would return for him. Now she’s dead. She never came to see him but clearly, it wasn’t because she didn’t want a family. Now Jesse must deal with this knowledge and his new brother, who isn't thrilled about gaining a sibling when the cost was a parent. Next we have a bit of a romance going on between Jesse and a girl. Mary Kate Schellhardt plays Nadine, Randolph’s niece (Randolph played once again by August Schellenberg). In most children's films, any romantic plot is unnecessary. Here, it works. The actors have chemistry and some good moments together but the film never lets the sparks take over the picture.

All that's nice and all, but you’re wondering where Willy comes in. Thanks to that familiar tune on the harmonica and some nice shots of orcas in the wild, you don’t get the unease of seeing the orca being “freed” while remembering that it's being held captive. You believe the friendship being explored further. Another surprise is Willy’s floppy dorsal fin. Thanks to this obvious physical trait, you’re able to distinguish him instantly among the other whales introduced. I guess I'm applauding the animal casting?

This is not a rehash; it’s a true sequel with tender moments that are well balanced with humor and a dash of wonderment at the beauty of nature for good measure. I would rate it higher if it wasn’t for two flaws. The first is the performances. They're not very good. Jason James Richter has improved a lot, but no one here is particularly great. Even if you forgive the young actors, the deliveries prevent you from being fully immersed in the emotions, and therefore, the story. More serious is the unnecessary villain. There’s probably only about 15 minutes’ worth of the running time dedicated to this sleazy businessman that doesn’t care about anything but money. Take him out and you’ve got a much better film. You wouldn’t even have to change more than a single line or two from the truly exciting sequences of peril right before the final act.

As I popped Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home into my VCR, I thought “There’s no way this movie is going to be good, this is just a cash cow getting ready to be milked dry”. I’m pleased to say I was wrong. I say Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home is better than the first! If you’re nostalgic for the sad orca, I say check out the sequel too. (On VHS, October 27, 2015)

[film-book]

WILD MOUNTAIN THYME (2020) Movie Trailer: Emily Blunt, Jamie Dornan, & Jon Hamm star in a Irish Love Triangle Film https://tinyurl.com/y29uxamf

[doomonfilm]

Thoughts : I See You (2019)

One of the silver linings about spending my days working at my warehouse position is the benefit of good conversation with my coworkers.  You learn a lot about the human condition, you find yourself open to different viewpoints you may not have considered previously, and on occasion, you receive good recommendations for music and movies.  My office neighbor and myself have been trading film recommendations and opinions recently, and he scored a direct hit when he told me to watch I See You.  

When a ten year old boy mysteriously vanishes after biking alone in a local park, Detective Greg Harper (Jon Tenney) is assigned lead on the case.  Spitzky (Gregory Alan Williams), his partner on the case, immediately sees connections to a previously unsolved kidnapping, which is unsettling to both detectives.  Harper is further troubled by the situation in his home : his wife Jackie (Helen Hunt) was recently involved in a tryst with former lover Todd (Sam Trammell), which she deeply regrets.  Her situation is worsened by the fact that she is not only being harshly judged by her husband, but by her son Connor (Judah Lewis) as well.  With so much turmoil in the family home teetering on the edge, it only becomes a matter of time before everyone’s sanity is pushed to the limit, and with the help of outside forces and old ghosts in the form of family secrets, the Harper family finds themselves crumbling in spectacular fashion.

When people talk about the thriller/suspense genre, it is films like this that exemplify the structure they speak of.  The tension in this film is seemingly infinite but extremely taut, with string after string of information introduced that furthers the symbolic pulling to an almost explosive point.  On top of this tension, there is a rich tapestry of broken character relationships and shifting dynamics of morally-based power dynamics that keeps the viewer unsure of whom to root for, with only varying degrees of bad presented to us rather than clear good and bad characters.  To further the collective madness of both the story participants and the viewer, seeds are planted through dialogue and actions that make you question the reality of the film initially, but no seed planted is left unattended.

As these seeds of information bud in front of our eyes, the story genre seems to shift... from a sort of murder mystery with touches of a horror film, to a psychological thriller, with a brief stint in a found footage film, to becoming a story of the collective exorcising of demons, both personal and social.  With so many spinning plates at hand, an amazing job is done of shifting the audiences’ emotional base from character to character, only to turn your emotional expectations on their head as you learn more about the situation presented.  Similar to the viewer experience, this narrative presentation provides the characters with trust and moral high ground that shifts like a hot potato between those involved.

The camerawork in this film is masterful, with the camera serving as a floating, invasive spirit at times, and as a fly on the wall at others, with moves and setups very reminiscent of properties like Breaking Bad or A Ghost Story.  In turn, as the lofty narrative begins to find itself presented by the factual information revealed in the progress of the story, the camera gets more intimate and grounded, while still keeping its invader-like presence.  As mentioned several times, the narrative keeps on giving right through the closing moments, with every character evolving and changing in regards to their base natures and the events laid out in front of them.

Helen Hunt wonderfully played all the proper victim/victimized character beats, only to find herself strangely validated in the most rewarding ways due to the previously mentioned strong writing.  Jon Tenney uses what feels like resentment to subtly ratchet up the suspense, only for it to be revealed as a much darker set of motivators.  Judah Lewis allows his youth to drive the emotion he displays to the point that the pulling of the narrative strings also serves as a huge moment of abrupt clarity for him.  Libe Barer performs as a fly jumping into various webs, with no idea that she is carrying the spider along in the form of Owen Teague.  Supporting performances by Gregory Alan Williams and Erika Alexander also stand out, with Sam Trammell getting the opportunity to play purposely ridiculous for a brief moment of dark levity.

Independent gems like these are always a pleasant discovery, and in my opinion, serve as the true lifeblood of the film industry.  Maybe one day, directors will rule like they did in the 1970s, and films like I See You will be box office successes in the same scope that they are wonderfully executed works of independent art.  I am only hoping that, in sharing my views on the film, I have not revealed too much, and that your experience with it during your first viewing will be as rewarding as mine was. 

[tv-is-my-love-life]

How's YOUR heart?😭😂 . Major Crimes Season 6 Episode 5 #majorcrimes #tnt #commanderraydor #marymcdonnell #sharonraydor #cheifhoward #jontenney #fritzhoward #leonardroberts #gwbailey #louieprovenza #tonydenison #andyflynn #shandy #michaelpaulchan #miketao #juliosanchez #raymondcruz #buzzwatson #phillippkeene #kearrangiovanni #amysykes #kathemazur #jessicameraz

[sidewalkstv]

#TheoJames and #JonTenney: happy birthday to our featured TV guests. Both #actors are celebrating their birthdays on #December16. #happybirthday #birthday #celebrate #hb2u #Divergent #Underworld #GoldenBoy #TheCloser #MajorCrimes #TheDivision #celebritybirthday #celebrity #SidewalksGuests https://www.instagram.com/p/B6J-SVuhh45/?igshid=75kicxm3rt48

[kacic1]

A todos, boa noite! Hoje convido vocês a visitarem o Portal do Andreoli, para conferir minha nova crítica sobre este inacreditável thriller protagonizado por Helen Hunt. Imperdível para os fãs do gênero! Crítica: I SEE YOU (2019) https://luizandreoli.com.br/critica-i-see-you-2019/ #ISeeYou #Crítica #Review #PortaldoAndreoli #Horror #HorrorMovie #Terror #Scary #Creepy #Gore #Thriller #Suspense #HelenHunt #JonTenney #OwenTeague #SXSW #Pop #PopCulture #Geek #Nerd #Movies #Filmes #Films #Cine #Cinema #Entertainment #OsFilmesdoKacic https://www.instagram.com/p/B5EbgSclo-V/?igshid=t0fv8kgs40o0

[burak0z]

#ThePhantom 10/5 #billyzane #kristyswanson #treatwilliams #jamesremar #catherinezetajones #jontenney #simonwincer #bluray #blurays #bluraycollection #bluraymovies #movie #movies #comicbook #comics #comic #superheroes #superhero https://www.instagram.com/p/B3munXslPZq/?igshid=1h51jsi31it5c

[cellmembrane416]

Slapping compilation of scandal slaps. 😂🙊😊 #scandal #tonygoldwyn #kerrywashington #darbystanchfield #scottfoley #katielowes #joshuamalina #georgenewbern #jontenney #bellamyyoung

[gspotla]

View this post on Instagram

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Night. This scene always cracks me up. Repost from @scaryflix • #Legion—Looks Like Grandma Forgot To Take Her Meds! 👵🏼💊😈 Cast: #JeanetteMiller #JonTenney #TyreseGibson #LucasBlack Director: #ScottStewart | #Grandma #SheLit #NoSleep #Scaryflix https://www.instagram.com/p/B-9HpS7p0zX/?igshid=1idxgthe42ws7

[temdriworld]

Yesterday was the red carpet World premiere of The Romanoffs on Prime Series, which was held in Mayfair London #temdri #temdriworld @theromanoffs #theromanoffs #primeseries #matthewweiner #marthekeller #aaroneckhart #louisebourgoin #coreystoll #kerrybishe #janetmontgomery #noahwyle #christinahendricks #isabellehuppert #jackhuston #mikedoyle #paulreiser #amandapeet #johnslattery #jontenney #marykayplace #michaeloneill #dianelane #ronlivingston #amazonprime #amazonprimeseries #primeseries #tvseries (at Mayfair) https://www.instagram.com/p/BoelCJ_gIMj/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1qlw3yeft4hk2

[fuckyeahmauratierney]

#Repost @jadelafive Maura Tierney at the reading of The Fit, Powerhouse Theater, July 22, 2017 ・・・ #5days #workshopreading #fullhouse #brilliantcast #mauratierney #jontenney #jollyabraham #jeffreyomura #jadewu (at Powerhouse Theater At Vassar College)

[tv-is-my-love-life]

This final season is gonna be so bittersweet😣 . Part 1 Major Crimes Season 5 Episode 21 #majorcrimes #tnt #commanderraydor #marymcdonnell #sharonraydor #cheifhoward #jontenney #fritzhoward #leonardroberts #gwbailey #louieprovenza #tonydenison #andyflynn #shandy #michaelpaulchan #miketao #juliosanchez #raymondcruz #buzzwatson #phillippkeene #kearrangiovanni #amysykes

[tramp963]

#ISeeYou, #2019s, #Trailer, #directedby #AdamRandall https://buff.ly/2Kzslvb #movieby #HelenHunt, #JonTenney, #JudahLewis

[danielditomass0]

Beautiful #MajorCrimes cast in Season 5 👍@phillipkeene @KearranGiovanni @danielditomasso #WesNolan @JonTenney https://t.co/vQ5PHc7SAf https://t.co/lMT0sn6jHK

[babaalexander]

Great Happy Birthday to Actors Born on December 16 Theo James Lance Lim Owen Vaccaro Benjamin Bratt Park Seo-joon Stephan James Xander Berkeley Christopher Biggins Alfredo Allende Bryce Robinson Pablo Sultani Sebastian Croft Harshvardhan Rane Mason Trueblood Ben Cross Kalidas Jayaram Scott Bailey Daniel Cosgrove Jonathan Scarfe Sam Robards Peter Dante Vin Rana Matthew Reese Andres Wiese Chris Newman Jon Tenney Max Calinescu Julito Mccullum Christopher Ellison Paul Vogt Boris Cabrera Justin Mentell (1982-2010) Nicholas Courtney (1929-2011) Péter Puskás Jack Krizmanich Eulalio Gonzalez (1921-2003) Terence Knox Raphael Vianna Paul Leyden Ronald Allen (1930-1991) Aleksandr Pal Shigeki Hosokawa #TheoJames #LanceLim #OwenVaccaro #BenjaminBratt #ParkSeojoon #StephanJames #XanderBerkeley #ChristopherBiggins #AlfredoAllende #BryceRobinson #PabloSultani #SebastianCroft #HarshvardhanRane #MasonTrueblood #BenCross #KalidasJayaram #ScottBailey #DanielCosgrove #JonathanScarfe #SamRobards #PeterDante #VinRana #MatthewReese #AndresWiese #ChrisNewman #JonTenney #MaxCalinescu #JulitoMccullum #ChristopherEllison #PaulVogt

[gspotla]

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A post shared by G-Spot (@gspotla)

Night. #Repost @horrorsnightmares with @get_repost ・・・ Looks Like Grandma Forgot To Take Her Meds! 👵🏼 #JeanetteMiller #JonTenney #TyreseGibson #LucasBlack https://www.instagram.com/p/Bxl9DwIhzSp/?igshid=llawjps9h9lg