9/27/17

American Made

Do you know how to boil a frog? First you put it in some water that is mildly warm. And then you gradually heat it up.

Keep that in mind, as you settle in to watch this fascinating, entertaining, and (sorta) TRUE story of an American TWA pilot who likes water that is mildly warm.

Working from Gary Spinelli's book, director Doug Liman ("The Bourne Identity" and "Edge of Tomorrow") demonstrates for all to see, that Tom Cruise is not only a movie star, he is an ACTOR. I have never seen him so real, so relaxed, or so convincing.

Part of Liman's wonderful cast:
  • Tom Cruise ("Mission Impossible") Barry Seal is an expert pilot, a devoted husband and an opportunist, eager to earn extra money for his growing family but blithely dismissive of any possibility of failure.
  • Domhnall Gleeson ("About Time") CIA operative Monty 'Schafer' is persuasive as he slowly heats the water. This Irish actor speaks American as well as our home-grown guys.
  • Sarah Wright ("Marry Me") Lucy Seal surprised me with her willingness to step into the water with her ebullient husband.
  • Caleb Landry Jones ("Twin Peaks") is Lucy's brother JB. Ah yes, JB....
In this reality-based government-directed comedy of errors, I don't want to mention names or places because part of the fun is your own discovery of what sort of water our hero has jumped into.

As this is rated "R" you can expect F-bombs happily scattered throughout, but no sweaty bodies, some gunfire, and just enough blowie uppie stuff to remind you what happened.  Our screening audience laughed out loud repeatedly and exited the theater in an upbeat mood. I will own this one.
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Check out this trailer:
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