Tag Archives: channing-tatum

Roofman

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Channing Tatum showed just how charming of an actor he is by taking the role of Jeffery Manchester, a criminal who would rob McDonalds and other stores by cutting a hole in the ceiling.

This is a true story of Manchester, and it is astounding. I can tell you how much I was rooting for Tatum, even though I knew it was a true story. At one point in the theater, I thought to myself that there was no way this was going to turn out well for these characters.

According to IMDB, “Based on an unbelievable true story, Roofman follows Jeffrey Manchester (Channing Tatum), an Army veteran and struggling father who turns to robbing McDonald’s restaurants by cutting holes in their roofs, earning him the nickname: Roofman. After escaping prison, he secretly lives inside a Toys “R” Us for six months, surviving undetected while planning his next move. But when he falls for Leigh (Kirsten Dunst), a divorced mom drawn to his undeniable charm, his double life begins to unravel, setting off a compelling and suspenseful game of cat and mouse as his past closes in.“

Of course, one could argue that Manchester was incredibly selfish, having insinuated himself into the lives of Leigh and her daughters, making himself a vital part of their lives despite knowing that one day he would have to break their hearts. If you stop and think about what was happening here, you can see Manchester as a rotten person. Still, Channing Tatum is such a charming and versatile actor that you can’t help but look past the bad behavior and hope for the best.

Peter Dinklage, LaKeith Stanfield, Juno Temple, Uzo Aduba, Ben Mendelsohn, and Molly Price all had roles in the film. Dinklage was excellent as always, playing a jerk of a boss at the Toys R Us that Manchester hid out at.

The story moved quickly as the relationship between Manchester and Leigh developed. He was very skilled at inter-personal workings and he eventually won over her daughters.

I found this to be a very engaging and thoroughly beguiling film. Channing Tatum was the standout star and he carried the film on his shoulders.

4 stars

Blink Twice

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This is the second film this weekend that I found on streaming that I had missed while it was in the theaters. Blink Twice is the directorial debut by Zoë Kravitz and it was another film that I wanted to go see in the theater but just could not find the time.

According to IMDB, “When tech billionaire Slater King (Channing Tatum) meets cocktail waitress Frida (Naomi Ackie) at his fundraising gala, sparks fly. He invites her to join him and his friends on a dream vacation on his private island. It’s paradise. Wild nights blend into sun-soaked days and everyone’s having a great time. Nobody wants this trip to end, but as strange things start to happen, Frida begins to question her reality. Something is wrong with this place. She’ll have to uncover the truth if she wants to make it out of this party alive.”

Naomi Ackie was excellent as the lead character in this film. She brought every bit of emotion and you believed her at every turn. She had great chemistry with Channing Tatum and, when it came time for her to be feral, you accepted it easily.

The mysterious nature of the story worked well as the audience were brought along the ride with Frida. Truthfully, when the reality is revealed, I was shocked at the situation. That is always a good sign when a movie can fool me.

Besides Ackie and Tatum, there is a strong cast of actors involved here including Christian Slater, Kyle MacLachlan, Haley Joel Osment, Geena Davis, Alia Shawkat, Adria Arjona, Simon Rex, Levon Hawke, Liz Caribel, and Trew Mullen.

I had no expectations for this film and it was so much more than I thought it would be. I went in without much knowledge of the story and it was worth my time.

3.75 stars

Fly Me to the Moon

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I was not excited to go see this movie. It did not resonate with me with the trailers and any sort of comments that I had heard of it. Then, with it being around two hours and fifteen minutes long, I just was not anxious to see it.

Boy, was I wrong.

I loved this movie. This film, starring Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum, featured a great story of these two characters mixed in with the story of the launch of Apollo 11 and the eventual moon landing.

Scarlett Johansson played Kelly Jones, a marketing master, is brought in by the government, particularly shadowy agent Moe Berkus (Woody Harrelson), to help sell the idea of the NASA program to the public. Kelly ran into a conflict at the beginning with Cole Davis, launch director, as she did several things that Cole did not want to happen. As they continued their story, the pair grew closer though a secret from Kelly’s past threatened to tear them apart.

The film included the conspiracy theory that the moon landing was faked, and it blended this in with the real situation that was going on. This use of this legend was really well done and provided some of the romantic comedy’s best comedic moments. (I do not think this was a spoiler since the trailers did included this detail).

I loved the performance of Johansson in this movie. Kelly was strong and intelligent, able to manipulate those around her to get what she was after, and yet had a softness that told you that something tragic had happened in her past. Johansson and Tatum had good chemistry, but there could have been a scene or two more that focused on their relationship. It did seem as if Tatum went from trying to get her fired to being all in with her too quickly.

Woody Harrelson’s character was great too. I enjoyed the sleaziness of his character and how he was able to use his power to convince people to do what he wanted. He was an antagonist that was not exactly an antagonist.

The film was very clever and charming and flew by, making my doubts about the runtime bleed away. Fly Me to the Moon was a lot of fun and I had a blast with it.

4.5 stars