As far as guy comedies go, you could do a whole lot worse than “The Watch.” I know that doesn’t sound like strong praise and it is true that Akiva Schaffer’s new movie isn’t anything great. It doesn’t break any new ground with the guy comedy genre. But it’s not a train wreck either. And except for a little bit of shakiness in the third act the whole film surprisingly holds together fairly well. And it’s funny. Schaffer and crew have brought together a group of experienced comic actors who, at the very least, know how to bring about some laughs.
In “Step Up Revolution,” people dance. They dance in the streets, in high-class art museums, in fancy-pants restaurants. They dance on top of tables, on top of cars and on top of big crates by the docks. For the most part these people dance for performance art reasons, but later on when a hotel tycoon comes to their neck of the woods and threatens to develop in their home, it becomes protest dance, hence the “Revolution.” It’s mostly hip-hop dancing set to the tune of various artists, from M.I.A. to Flo Rida. But then there are also a few slower, ballet type numbers. In short, there’s a lot of dancing. Dance. Dance. Dance. All day dance.
Without warning, director Daniel Espinosa throws us into the twisted, complex crime saga that is “Easy Money.” The movie opens on Jorge (Matias Varela), who easily escapes from a prison somewhere in Sweden. Off in the woods surrounding the prison another person is waiting with a car to take him away. Who is Jorge? Why was he in prison? Why did he escape? And how does he fit in with the rest of the picture? Espinosa and screenwriter Maria Karlsson — based on a 2006 Swedish novel named Snabba Cash by Jens Lapidus — aren’t telling us (at least not yet, anyway).
In the end, maybe Mayor Mike McGinn got it right. If so, the passage was needlessly rough until the 11th hour.
Last issue, I looked at ballot initiatives and federal races for the primary election on Tuesday, Aug. 7. Here are my picks for the rest of the ballot.
Neither the Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. nor the Rev. Ralph Abernathy could have built a mega church like Creflo Dollar or Eddie Long did, and nor would it have even crossed their minds. They were the products of their time and a movement found them before they could even take a close look at their personal ambitions or goals.
Amen Clinics of Bellevue and Vitality Medical Clinic, 1501 Queen Anne Ave. N. have expanded to reach new and existing patients in each other’s markets.
The City of Seattle Office of Sustainability & Environment is strengthening equal access to local and healthy foods with the Fresh Bucks pilot program
The last full month of summer brings three varied artists to the Fountainhead Gallery on upper Queen Anne.
Georgiana Blomberg from Magnolia’s Bookstore reports on what Magnolians are buying this summer: Magnolia resident Mike Lawson’s new thriller leads the hardcover list.
KEXP and Seattle Center Present Concerts at the Mural this summer with a four-night live concert line-up featuring some of the region’s better indie music, along with some noted national artists, free-of-charge, starting at 5:30 p.m., Fridays, Aug. 3 – 24, at Mural Amphitheatre at Seattle Center.