SKYWALKERS: A LOVE STORY-A Jawdropping Film of Rooftoppers Going Where No One Should Go

There are daredevils who dare to push the limits of human capabilities above and beyond. And, then there are those whose THRILL seeking seems more of a death wish. The handsome Russian couple at the apex of this visually stunning and viscerally alarming film are Angela and Vanya. The two share a passion for going where no person has ever perched before atop the tallest skyscrapers in the world and for one another. Both posted their consummate accomplishments abreast the peaks of buildings where most would never want to peek over for the sense fear of falling. Why do they do it? The same reason many young people do things - to post them and get likes. There's a financial windfall for the few who do this provided they don't die while pursuing the perfect SHOT. Angela and Vanya were aware of the other from their posts. Angela was an avid admirer of Vanya and envied his exceptional technical abilities and meticulous planning. Vanya was smitten by Angela's daring, artistry and beauty. It was Vanya who first reached out to Angela via the internet. When the two met it was instant kismet. If ever there was a couple made for each other, these two come as close as you can get. Working in tandem, the stakes rose as they both pushed for greater heights. The film's cinematography is breathtaking, stupefying and vertigo inducing. Many of the spectacular aerial photos are taken by drones. Others are captured through Vanya's lens. He also choreographs and directs Angela into elegant poses. The spectacular view of the two on rooftops are riveting, dazzlingly and deeply disturbing. The award winning film "Free-Solo" followed American climber, Alex Hunnold as he completed the most dangerous free-solo ascent to the top of Yosemite. These films share common ground while traversing thousands of feet above ground without a net. Alex prepares diligently for his ascension. The Russian couple also diligently execute plans for their climbs with stealth and cunning recognizance of the buildings' structures and security. What Vanya and Angela do is highly illegal. The cinematographer for "Free-Solo" said on camera he was never going to be part of filming Alex or anyone attempting such dangerous treks again. Jeff Zimbalist is the dir/screenwriter for SKYWALKERS. He wrote and directed the critically acclaimed Norman Mailer doc. Zimbalist's heavy handedness costs the  film its appeal and intensity when it shifts away from the HEIGHtS to the grounded love story. The couple's dialogue down below feels forced, false and trite and is totally convincing and compelling from above. The film sizzles as the two ascend upwards but crashes and burns down on earth. Do not attempt these stunts as they are insanely dangerous in addition to being certifiable. By watching, you become liable for encouraging and abetting those attempting these outlandish feats seeking extreme stimulation and recognition. Still, it's very hard to turn away. In some small way, one can safely say, they're going to do it anyway. Perhaps even justify the two as courageous and artistic rather than merely attention getting antics. And, while the film feels staged when the couple is quarreling, there's no doubt these stunts are the real deal. The jaw dropping film SKYWALKERS offers priceless views. It's a gobsmacking, gut wrenching rollercoaster ride. Hopefully, the appeal for imitation will simply die and no one else will think to try. 

Nicole Kidman/Zac Efron A FAMILY AFFAIR Their Dirty Laundry Should've Stayed Hidden

The newly released Netflix rom/com, A FAMILY AFFAIR starring Nicole Kidman and Zac Efron is so bad it's actually watchable bad. I don't recommend watching this lackluster love story. I'm giving you warning, if you start watching this atrocious affair, you're likely to be absconded by how ridiculous it is and waste your time in disbelief. There's no chemistry there between Efron and Kidman. Efron plays Cole, a superhero movie star. Kidman plays Brooke, a Pulitzer Prize winning author and mother to Zara (Joey King) who has been Cole's assistant for two years. Cole is an SOB to work for and runs Zara ragged running his errands and bullies her with the disingenuous promise of mentoring her filmmaking career. Cole is also notorious for breaking hearts left and right but mitigating the blow with a parting gift to his former partners of Cartier diamonds earrings. Zara who banters like the Energizer Bunny on speed is exhausting to listen to and not the sympathetic, hardworking intern who gets burned. It's a wonder Zara managed to remain Cole's overworked and under appreciated gal Friday for two years. But, when enough was enough she quit in a huff. Cole realizes how much he relies on her and goes to where she lives to win her back. Just 24, Zara lives at home with her mom but isn't home when Cole comes calling. Cole just lets himself and then tells Brooke brandishing a large candlestick, "the door was open and I'm a movie star." Cole asks if he can wait for Zara. Brooke being a good hostess gets bombed on booze with Cole. Their lips lock and their bodies collide inside the boudoir where Zara walks in without knocking. Zara freaks out, her mom sneaks out to be with Cole again and the mother/daughter/movie star love triangle should get lost in the Bermuda Triangle forever. Kidman looks old enough to be Efron's mother and neither looks credible or comely on screen. Efron looks like an orange skinned Hulk. Kidman needs to quit putting filler in her frozen looking face filmed using a soft-filter. King as Zara was too annoying, the "romantic" montage cloying and cringe worthy moments ongoing. Bad acting, dreadful script, A FAMILY AFFAIR aired dirty linen which needed to stay hidden. The rare, redeemable moments came from the incomparable Kathy Bates who played grandma to Zara and mother-in-law to Brooke until her son died. Anyone calling this movie anything but awful has lied.  

BEVERLY HILLS COP: Axel F-Gets a Failing Grade with Eddie Murphy and Its Gray Haired Cast

When "Beverly Hills Cop" premiered in 1984, it was a sensational hit, driven by its talented star, Eddie Murphy. It yielded two more sequels in 1984 and 1987 that were also slick and shiny comedy/crime thrillers that left audiences wanting more. However, that was then and now it's too little too late. The franchise should've hung up its cap instead of leaving Murphy two decades later taking the wrap for this crap. By now, the predictable shenanigans and hohum car chases are just dumb. Perhaps the idea of hijacking a police helicopter might've seemed like a novel idea, but it didn't deliver an adrenaline rush or comic relief. The luster on the rehashed pastiche plot of Cartel crime capers with fearsome villains as buffoons and non-conventional good guys who persevere. Most of the cast should've retired from the force by now and have reassembled. Murphy reprises his star-making role as Alex Foley. Judge Reinhold as Det. William now seems swishy. John Ashton as the curmudgeon Det. Sgt. is as cringeworthy to watch as Biden past his early bird dinner hour. And, Paul Reiser as Det. Jeffrey who knew it was time to hang up his badge. Reiser was the only one who showed some sense and credibility. Last but not least, Murphy is too over- the-hill making Foley appear fool-hardy. Not that Murphy doesn't possess charm and acting chops. But this time the role was too much to chew and the franchise would benefit using a much younger crew. New additions to the cast were  Taylor Paige as Foley's estranged daughter, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, a B.H. cop and Paige's former flame. Paige and Gordon-Levitt were likable in their do-gooder personas but the heat was off in their chemistry together. Keven Bacon is a crooked cop. Bacon is so sinister he seems to be playing for camp. Murphy has parlayed his prior success in movie sequels as in "Coming to America".  As an informant, stick with the original Murphy movies from the previous century and leave his remakes in the vault. Watching BEVERLY HILLS COP: Axel F feels like doing time. 

BABES-Gal Pal Humor Bursting with Birthing's Underbelly

The stretch marks of female friendships have their ups and downs. The true test of best friends is its elasticity, endurance over time, distance and life situation. BABES is a female buddy pic of two childhood friends, Eden (Ilana Glazer) and Dawn (Michelle Buteau) who grew up together in NYC. Both women are pushing 40. Dawn is about ready to deliver her second baby. She's a dentist, happily married, lives in a brown stone on the UWSand fully ensconced in family life. Eden is more of a free spirit, unattached and teaches yoga from her studio apartment in Astoria. Their logistics have broadened along with their differing stages in adulthood. Needless, the bond between these two bodacious babes seems unbreakable until Eden's unexpected pregnancy and her unlimited demands on Dawn's limited free time cause a rupture in the structure of their relationship. Will their friendship weather this labor? How will Eden manage pregnancy and parenthood? This is not your light and charming Nora Ephron comedy fare. It's a slick, dark comedy overflowing with bawdy female humor that is LOL.  The jokes keep coming in hard, fast waves along with sight gags on childbirth, breastfeeding and postpartum detritus. Stellar comic scenes include Dawn's labor pains in a NYC restaurant, a nanny freaking out and Eden's doula interviews. The non-stop garrulous banter is reminiscent of BOOK SMART and GILMORE GIRLS but with older, more mature women. Glazer and Butuea are pros in the entertainment world. Both are stand-up comedians and recipients of Tony and Critics' Choice Awards. They are pitch perfect in their comedic timing and affecting in their sensitive portrayals of devotion, hurt and acceptance. Oliver Platt has a small role as Eden's agoraphobic father that is touching beyond words. John Carrol Lynch is hysterical as Eden's gynecologist who is understanding and self-effacing. Hasan Minhaj is marvelous as Dawn's dazed husband. There are casting boons as with the comedy twins Keith and Kenny Lucas and Sandra Bernhard.  BABES is not for newbies. This is a racy, raunchy rom/com where the two leads are vivacious women trying to live their best lives. Their lives are enriched having chosen one other as sister I recommend renting this sisterhood flick. It's a raucous, clever comedy which is also poignant and tender. 

David Oyelowo in LAWMEN: BASS REEVES-A Must See Historic TV Series

The historic series LAWMEN: BASS REEVES stars David Oyelowo, as Bass Reeves, a former slave who becomes a US Marshall. Anything the actor Oyelowo is affiliated with is always worth watching. In addition to Oyelowo's portrayal, there's plenty to recommend this western drama based on the incredible life of Bass Reeves released on Prime. Reeves was born a slave in TX and forced to serve in the Civil War fighting alongside his master for the Confederacy. Reeves' skills as a marksman helped save his life and that of his owner while killing Union soldiers fighting for his freedom. Shortly before the end of the Civil War, Reeves' returned with his master's TX plantation. The dramatic depiction of events that make up this wild west/reconstruction era run as loose as a noose dragging in the dirt. These are the facts attributed to Reeves: he was a sharpshooter who made at least 3,000 arrests, killed 14 men in his job as a lawman, failed as a farmer, spoke several Native Indian languages and despite being illiterate he was able to  memorize the Bible from hearing it read. Reeves was a legend in the west whose story has been mostly dismissed from history. Reeves lived during a pivotal time in our nation's history. It was a time when the country was trying to heal from the devastation of the Civil War and expanding its frontiers into a lawless society. Native Indians were being slaughtered and their lands taken. The south was rebounding from emancipation towards the oppressive Jim Crow South. The most stirring scenes show blacks and whites being shackled by Reeves, only recently himself a slave in bondage. There are delightful scenes shown within his family' home. Ironic and disturbing was the mass Negro movement to usurp and settle Native American's lands and justified as their due and before the whites steal their land. It was gratifying but short-lived, noting the indignant rebellion of freed Negroes to white repression and violence. The acting from the cast is forthright, particularly by the judge played by Donald Sutherland in his final film role, Reeves' daughter Sally, played by a superb Demi Singleton, (the late John Singleton's daughter) and Lauren Banks as Reeves' wife. Dennis Quaid, a likable actor fares poorly in time pieces and is given a melodramatic role that feels forced. The scoring for the series was as a dissonant distraction. Still, LAWMAN does an outstanding job capturing the look and feel of Civil War battles, shootouts, the rugged frontier and harmonious domestic life. The cinematography is sumptuous making the epoch appear both breathtaking and extremely harsh. BASS REEVES is solid gold viewing not pyrite.  It bears historic relevance, epic storytelling, superior acting, excellent production and reprises a tale of a maverick; a slave who became a high ranking and highly respected lawman.