Ty Watches "The Trial of the Chicago 7"

Continuing my quest to watch historical movies, last night I finished “The Trial of the Chicago 7”.

It was great. I really enjoyed this movie. I know it may be weird to use the word “enjoy”, but that’s what I felt. There was a difference from this movie as compared to “Judas and the Black Messiah”. “Judas and the Black Messiah” was a better movie in my opinion, but it was bleak. That’s because it is more realistic, and it ended tragically. I know both movies are based on true stories, but “Judas and the Black Messiah” felt more real. But “The Trial of the Chicago 7” starts fast, moves fast, intertwines the multiple storylines fast and ends fast. It was a very quick 2 hours and 10 minutes, and I appreciated that.

The cast is great in this film too. John Carroll Lynch was dynamite as the conscientious objector and soft spoken father and husband. Yahya Abdul Mateen II was perfectly cast as Bobby Seale. He was a force. The three main lawyers, played by Joseph Gordon Levitt, Ben Shenkman and Mark Rylance did wonderful. I appreciated that Gordon Levitt didn’t have a “white savior” moment either. He played a republican lawyer, and he didn’t really change his attitude too much throughout the movie. Frank Langella was a monster, a racist and mean. He nailed the judge, and this judge was truly a monster. Eddie Redmayne and Alex Sharp were very good, especially Redmayne, as the young and opportunistic student democrats leader. Michael Keaton was spectacular in his five minutes on screen. But for me the true stars were Jeremy Strong as Jerry Rubin, and especially Sacha Baron Cohen as Abbie Hoffman. They knocked their roles completely out of the park. Strong was a perfect hippy, who happened to be extremely smart. He had some of the best lines, he was funny at moments and he really sounded and looked and acted like a hippy. I totally bought it. Cohen, he was a revelation. I know he can act. I’ve seen both “Borat” movies. I’ve watched his shows. He is good in bit parts in other stuff. But here he got to show his dramatic side, and man was he great. His line, “I’ve never been on trial for my thoughts” was powerful. I was stunned at how great he was in this role. He brought Abbie Hoffman back to life. It helped that he got to be a bit comedic, but when drama was needed, he nailed it. Delroy Lindo or Daniel Kaluuya deserve the Oscar, but Cohen is a very close third. The movie was so well done too.

The actors were great, as mentioned, but so was the writing and directing and recreating of this pivotal moment in American history. They showed the good and bad. They put in real footage with their shot footage, and it worked. The recreation of interviews and meetings and court scenes was great. The stories jumping back and forth in time was a great way to keep the story moving. I have no bad things to say about this movie. It is worth the hype. It lives up to it. It is a very well made movie that hits all the criteria for an Oscar worthy movie.

As I said, I think “Judas and the Black Messiah” is a better movie about this time period. But, “The Trial of the Chicago 7” is no slouch, just a different perspective. Watch this movie too. It is also a very important one.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Better Late Than Never on the Great Movie "The Founder"

Yesterday I finally got a chance to see the movie "The Founder". I know that I am very late to this movie, but I have 2 young kids, and as I have said many times, it is hard to get out to the theaters. So, I have to wait to see most movies when they get released On Demand or via DVD/Blu Ray.

That being said, I had heard some pretty good things about the movie, and I am always interested in historical stories about how famous businesses came to be so famous. And, there is no business more famous, and I will debate anyone on this, than McDonald's Restaurants. They are literally everywhere. I can't drive down the main drag of my street without seeing, at the very least, 3 McDonald's within 15 miles of each other. So, when "The Founder" was released, my interest was piqued.

The story was great. How the McDonald brothers and Ray Kroc came to be friends, business partners and enemies, was very well told. Nick Offerman and John Carroll Lynch as Dick(Offerman) and Mac(Lynch) McDonald, were wonderful. Lynch played the soft spoken, big dreaming brother so well. He had grand ideas and he would do anything to keep them alive. He also suffered from diabetes and had other health issues that would become a major hindrance in his life. Offerman was exceptional as the more focused, business educated brother. He had a system, he kept it in place, and he'd be damned if anyone wanted to change what his vision for what a successful restaurant could be.

Michael Keaton though, as Ray Kroc, was the unquestioned star of this movie. He was so evil, so crass, so rude, so cutthroat, so singularly focused on his vision. He was amazing. When the movie started he was a lowly milk shake machine salesman, and, the more evil he got, the more successful he became. The movie was based on a true story, and I don't know much of anything about Ray Kroc, but if this movie was a proper representation of Kroc, he was a total asshole. Keaton pulled this off perfectly. I felt bad for him at first, got excited when he teamed up with the McDonald brothers, got even more amped when he started to franchise the business and then started to hate him, and I don't like that word but it is needed here, when he started to branch out and do things on his own, going against the contract that he signed at the beginning of his partnership. He became a ruthless businessman that started to take way too much credit than he deserved, and he became way, way too big for his britches. He even went as far as to claim that he had the first McDonald's in Des Plaines, Illinois, calling it McDonald's 1. What an asshole move to make. Prior to all that though, I enjoyed hearing Mac McDonald tell Kroc about how he and his brother finally landed on a good business after many failed attempts. I enjoyed watching Kroc struggle as a salesman trying to sell his milkshake making machine.

Outside of Keaton's performance, everything else in "The Founder" is equally awesome. I loved watching the scene where Dick McDonald explained how they managed to be the most efficient restaurant in the US at the time. I loved the time period. I like most movies that take place in the 50's. I enjoyed Laura Dern's performance as Kroc's wife. She was not loved and given the attention she deserved, but since it was the 50's, she stayed with him until he wanted to get divorced. I felt horrible for her. Linda Cardenllini was great as the wife of a restaurant owner, played by Patrick Wilson, who falls for Kroc, helps him with his acquisition of McDonald's and eventually marries him. Patrick Wilson was decent in his small role as the fancy restaurant owner who buys a McDonald's franchise. BJ Novak had a very good role as the guy that convinced Kroc to become a real estate agent as opposed to a franchise manager because that was where the money was to be made. Kroc was broke before he got into the real estate business. Real estate was also his way of getting out of his contract with the McDonald brothers. Of course Novak's character and Kroc stopped their partnership because Kroc is an ass.

This was a very well made movie with an excellent performance from Keaton. Michael Keaton is kind of having a "renaissance" of sorts. Ever since "Birdman", he has been in some good stuff. He has "The Founder", and coming out this week, he plays the villain in "Spiderman: Homecoming". I am a Keaton fan, so I'm glad he is showing up in some really good movies lately. I'm surprised he wasn't recognized by the Academy for this movie. That is how good I thought he was.

If you watch "The Founder" for anything, watch it for Keaton's performance. He is electric. But, I say watch the movie anyway because it is made very well. The story flows with ease and you really get to know the three main characters very well. I enjoyed "The Founder", and I think you will too. Check it out.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is ready for the biopic telling the story of how Whataburger was started. Get on it Hollywood.

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