"Hurry Up Tomorrow," Another Modern Moron Movie Review

 

Not my type of music, but it worked in "Hurry Up Tomorrow," and I applaud the artistic view of the camera close-ups and the odyssey of the odd.

Jenna Ortega displays her depths in the acting field in this bizarre film which journeys into the very core of the souls of the main characters. I'm certain if I saw this flick a second time, I'd still have questions for myself, yet I understood the human desire for affection and success this movie was trying to convey, or at least I think I did. 

"Hurry Up Tomorrow" showcases the calamity of broken spirits in the most original way I've ever seen in a movie. 

Right off the bat I was hooked because I had to know where the story was going, and while I still have questions, my answers were satisfied. 

Mark Izzy Schurr

"Final Destination Bloodlines, a Modern Moron Movie Review

"Final Destination Bloodlines" is the 6th instalment of this movie genre, and like the previous five, over the top accidental deaths claim several lives. 

Unlike the prior films, the main character has recurring dreams of her family members meeting untimely and violent deaths as opposed to priminitions of burly and violent deaths. Can the cycle of death be broken? Is there a way to cheat death? "Final Destination Bloodlines," like its predecessors begots these questions, and while searching for the answers, a large shard of glass might get lodged in your throat and a running lawn mower might dismantle your entire face, or perhaps a grand piano will push you through the window of a burning high rise.

The death scenes and the things leading up to them didn't disappoint, and "Final Destination Bloodlines," like the previous five has earned its way into my October watch again and again flicks. 

Mark Izzy Schurr  

   

"The Surfer," A Modern Moron Movie Review

You can't stop a wave, born in its storm way out to sea, it's pure energy, all building to a breaking point, and according to the villain in "The Surfer," one must suffer before you can surf. 

Almost for the life of me, I wish I could remember everything Nicolas Cage said about surfing in the opening of this flick, a fantastic poem reminiscent of the alluring wording only found in Silver Surfer comic books.

I've never surfed, but it's a way of life for many, a gateway to the ultimate understanding of nature and the origins of everything tangible and spiritual, or so its been said. 

"The Surfer's" previews project a certain predictability and those projections are non existence in the actual movie. 

Upon viewing the previews of "The Surfer," I thought it was going to be about local surfers bullying The Surfer, aka, Nicolas Cage and The Kid, Finn Little who protrays Cage's son. At a glance, I simply thought, Cage was going to stand up to the locals taking over a public beach and kick their gloutuous maxes, or get his booty beat. Yes, The Surfer and The Kid get bullied, but the story goes way beyond anything I could have ever imagined. 

The action is minimal and "The Surfer" releys on plot and dialogue rather then gratuitous action scenes. 

Three stars easy for "The Surfer."

Mark Izzy Schurr

"My Effin' Life," a Modern Moron Book Review

Bell bottoms, babes and the Beatles reigned strong in Geddy Lee's teenage years in the 1960s. "My Effin' Life" details his marriage to Nancy, his passion for music and a blissfully bizarre rock 'n' roll lifestyle.   

Imagine the steoreo spectrum as a blank canvas, absolute nothingness becomes music. Sounds fueling the imagination. 

Geddy Lee is the only member of the band that never worked amidst the ticking time traps of works gilded cage. As a high school drop out, he knew exactly what he wanted to do. He and his wife Nancy have been together since they were teenagers, and her parents were not happy with their daughter dating a high school drop out pursuing a career in music.   

Lee and his wife Nancy

Credit Ed jr, aka my brother for gifting me Geddy Lee's, "My Effin' Life," a fantastic Christmas gift incidentally. I've been an avid Rush fan since the Grace Under Pressure tour, read three of Neil's Peart's  books and I've watched R30 a geekish amount of times. 

Lee's book isn't just for Rush fans. It's laden with information, including raw details about his soul, his fascination for music and his relationship with his wife Nancy. "My Effin' Life" is a bevy of information, delving into the origins of Rush and Lee's life outside the band.    

Taking acid was a right of passage for a teenager in the 1960s, Lee said. He's very candid about his prior drug use and I liked his references to LSD. Lee dubbed one of his summers as the summer of acid. This related to me on a personal level for some unbeknownst reason. 

This 2023 book isn't a friouvous account of some rock star, although the book is riddled with foolish facts and trivial information. Despite that, the book contains harsh realities and compelling facts.    

No spoilers from me in this review. I'll simply tinge the edges of his aspirations and accomplishments he's revealed in the book. How much did Lee's first bass cost? Trivial knowledge, I know, but if anyone says his first base didn't cost $35.0 is wrong. 

Intense realities of the Holocaust were documented with extreme eloquence. Lee's mom spent much of her teenaged years not knowing if she was going to get an actual shower or be gassed to death with zyklon B gas. During her time in Holocaust hell, she did have her grandmother with her. She was my savior, she knew how to calm me and talk to me, his mom, Mary said. 

Lee's parents meant in a German concentration camp during WW II, they were both Jewish, and that's how their romance began. For breakfast they got water, one piece of paper thin bread, no lunch, and for dinner they got watered downed cabbage soup, fit to serve a horse. Every second day for a month they also had to give blood. The German soldiers wondered why a lot of Jews were fainting. "My Effin' Life" contains an entire chapter on this horrid subject.  

If your fascinated with music emitting dark and authoritative sounds while brandishing a melodic magnificent inspired by Paul McCarntney, My Effin' Life" is a must read. 

Lee's grandmother refered to Alex Lifeson and his friends as "little Hitlers," using her native tongue. 

Lee sounds like a guinea pig with an amphetamine habit...if his voice were any higher, only dogs and extraterrestrials could hear it, Dan Nooger and another writer said.  

Some lucky Rush fans who wrote actual fan mail, pen to paper, then a stamped envelope, received hand written letters from Neil Peart answering their mail to him. 

Rock 'n' roll's symbol of defiance involving drugs and the demands of the imagination are detailed wisely by Geddy. Lee liked what the Nazi's hated and its work out very well for him. 

Read the book and find out which member of Rush said the anthem of redemption, I posses the technique of music and the spirit of voice, and the ability to play my story, he said. 

"My Effin' Life" reveals all three alcohols used in the diabolical mix of Panther Piss, Alex Lifeson used to make in the infancy of Rush touring.  

How do we keep or sanity, ego's and dreams intact? Geddy Lee and his two other comrades in Rush knew how to. Five stars easy for "My Effin' Life."

The basic ingredients for success is stick-to-it-ness and when you've got everything together its ticky-boo, Lee said.  

Mark Izzy Schurr     

      

A Modern Moron Movie Review

An aging teacher gets caught in the political tyranny of Argentina in the 1970s, and the turmoil continues to this very day.    

To impress a beautiful woman in the hopes of doing the horizontal mumble with her, he rescues a penguin from the horrors of a massive oil spill. He doesn't get laid, but ends up with a pet penguin, and that's where "Penguin Lessons" begins.

This movie is laden with subtle humor throughout and pulls on the heart strings without being sappy. When to do nothing? When to fight back? When to relax? Sometimes you just gotta put the penguin in the pool and put your mind at rest. 

"Penguin Lessons" showcases compassion, exposes politics and displays the spirit of penguins and humans. I laughed out loud with tears in my eyes. Four stars easy for "Penguin Lessons," released on March 28. 

Mark Izzy Schurr    

Reefer Madness The Musical, A Modern Moron Review

The moral and mental depravity wrought by the leafy green assassin marijuana is a silly, stupid, campy and fun musical, Director Dorinda Toner said in the program notes. (Pictured above is Alex Youngblood as the innocent 16-year-old Jimmy and his righteous girlfriend Makena Barnane as Mary Lane.)

"Reefer Madness The Musical holds the key cords of the original storyline, based on the 1936 propaganda film, "Reefer Madness." Much bravo for Theatre in the Grove for its sensationally bizarre presentation of this iconic film. 

Teenagers who imbibe cannabis become hooligans and whores, engaging in weird orgies and wild parties with unleashed passions. Despair, sorrow, crime and shame follow. The Devil's harvest is the smoke of hell, leading to drug crazed abandon. Killing a cat with a chain saw and lusting after your mother are just some of the debaucherous debacles caused by cannabis. I didn't write the script, but the origins of the intended scare tactics have spawned into a laugh fest. 

Athena Leanard, Placard Girl / Ensemble

Director Dorinda Toner and choreographer Alicia Turvin sagaciously guided the entire cast in this musical written by Kevin Murphy and Dan Studney. 

Murphy and Studney added some very sly elements to the plot, and made it their own, and the singing and dancing was very solid. The chorus carried the leads and vice versa. 

I sensed a sincere happiness between the cast. Alex Youngblood portrayed Jimmy with melodrama magnificence, as did all the actors. A special shout out to Trevor Sanderson with his wonderfully raucous portrayal of Ralph who becomes clinically insane from his toils of toking. 

 

Annabelle Stern as Sally and Trevor Sanderson as Ralph

Nick Serrone was the blissfully baleful pimp Jack who peddles the Devil's lettuce to teenagers and dual roled as Jesus, portraying both with aplomp.   

Nick Serrone as Jesus and Jack

Leslie Inmon as Mae

The characters Jack, Mae and Sally leading Jimmy into a marijuana maze of mayhem and lascivious lunacy. 

Annebelle Stern was hilarious as Sally, the leading lady of prostitution addicted to the leafy green assassin. 

To be perfectly honest, I'm not a true fan of theatre. I prefer movies over plays, it's just a simple fact embedded into my senses of entertainment. This cast and crew proved those senses wrong. The only  disappointment about "Reefer Madness The Musical" was attending only one show. 

My sister's husband Ron gifted me a front row seat to this laugh out loud satire I didn't know existed. Thanks again Ron! 

Cruising the coastlines of California and Oregon on my extended weekend brought me to Forest Grove on a whim and bravo again for this magnificent matinee of mature mayhem.

Mark Izzy Schurr

 

A Modern Moron Movie Review

Mythical mayhem weaves its way into the emotions and tangible realities of Jenna Ortega and Paul Rudd who portray father and daughter in "Death of a Unicorn." 

Rudd is a widowed father engulfed in his career. There's a strong communication breakdown between the parent and child. Ortega is bright and distant, and she doesn't share her fathers views of success. 

The unicorn mends their tarnished relationship into a blizzard of bliss, and everybody is happy and lives forever. If you believe this, "Death of a Unicorn" may not suit your movie mojo. 

Rudd inadvertantly aides a notoriously wealthy family in their quest to kill and cage unicorns. The allure of curing cancer and awarding immortality with unicorn blood or remnants from its horn fuels an insane greed. 

The acting is great with a coherently bizarre story. The Dolby Atmos sound Airport Stadium 12 omitted on opening night fit this flick, especially when Ortega touched the unicorns horn. Three stars easy for "Death of a Unicorn."   

Mark Izzy Schurr