Hasta La Gadget!

Movie Review Jackie K Cooper
“Wild” (Fox Searchlight)

Reese Witherspoon bares her heart, soul and body in the new film “Wild.” She tackles the role of Cheryl Strayed with gusto and determination and lets herself become totally absorbed. This is not the “sweet little Reese” we have known and loved in other movies. This time out she is a foul-mouthed, drug abusing, sleep around woman who decides to hike the Pacific Coast Trail (PCT) in order to find self discovery and redemption. The film is based on a true story and Reese brings it all to glorious life.

The film opens with Strayed in the middle of her 1,100 mile hike. She is bruised and battered and just about fed up with anything and everything that has happened to her in her life. At this particular point she loses her big toe nail and the boot that was encasing it. It seems to be too much and she yells out at the universe with all the venom she can muster.

In flashbacks we learn Cheryl has cheated on her husband Paul (Thomas Sadoski) many times and they are now in the process of getting a divorce. The one person she is closest to is her mother (Laura Dern) but she treats her with contempt at times. She is a woman who uses men and drugs to help her close out how hostile she feels towards the entire world.

When she impulsively decides to hike the grueling PCT she doesn’t prepare for her journey. She just throws things together and takes off. But as she passes mile after mile and day after day the journey begins to shape her and help her shed some of her inhibitions and fears.

You cannot imagine how good Witherspoon is in this role. Reading about Cheryl Strayed and getting a glimpse of her character, you would never put her and this actress together. So the movie is a testament to Reese’s talent, for at the end of the film you can’t imagine anyone else playing the part.

Dern also impresses in the role of the mother, the person Cheryl says is the love of her life. She conveys maturity and unquestioning love completely. Imaging a woman of Dern’s age being Witherspoon’s mother is a bit of a stretch but somehow she pulls it off.

The movie is rated R for violence, profanity and nudity.

So if you have any doubts about watching “Wild” put them aside. Reese Witherspoon takes a walk on the wild side in “Wild” and she is believable every step of the way.

I scored “Wild” a trekking 8 out of 10.

Jackie K Cooper
www.jackiekcooper.com 

Movie Review Jackie K Cooper
“Wild” (Fox Searchlight)

Reese Witherspoon bares her heart, soul and body in the new film “Wild.” She tackles the role of Cheryl Strayed with gusto and determination and lets herself become totally absorbed. This is not the “sweet little Reese” we have known and loved in other movies. This time out she is a foul-mouthed, drug abusing, sleep around woman who decides to hike the Pacific Coast Trail (PCT) in order to find self discovery and redemption. The film is based on a true story and Reese brings it all to glorious life.

The film opens with Strayed in the middle of her 1,100 mile hike. She is bruised and battered and just about fed up with anything and everything that has happened to her in her life. At this particular point she loses her big toe nail and the boot that was encasing it. It seems to be too much and she yells out at the universe with all the venom she can muster.

In flashbacks we learn Cheryl has cheated on her husband Paul (Thomas Sadoski) many times and they are now in the process of getting a divorce. The one person she is closest to is her mother (Laura Dern) but she treats her with contempt at times. She is a woman who uses men and drugs to help her close out how hostile she feels towards the entire world.

When she impulsively decides to hike the grueling PCT she doesn’t prepare for her journey. She just throws things together and takes off. But as she passes mile after mile and day after day the journey begins to shape her and help her shed some of her inhibitions and fears.

You cannot imagine how good Witherspoon is in this role. Reading about Cheryl Strayed and getting a glimpse of her character, you would never put her and this actress together. So the movie is a testament to Reese’s talent, for at the end of the film you can’t imagine anyone else playing the part.

Dern also impresses in the role of the mother, the person Cheryl says is the love of her life. She conveys maturity and unquestioning love completely. Imaging a woman of Dern’s age being Witherspoon’s mother is a bit of a stretch but somehow she pulls it off.

The movie is rated R for violence, profanity and nudity.

So if you have any doubts about watching “Wild” put them aside. Reese Witherspoon takes a walk on the wild side in “Wild” and she is believable every step of the way.

I scored “Wild” a trekking 8 out of 10.

Jackie K Cooper
www.jackiekcooper.com 

It’s the 35th anniversary of the release of The Clash’s seminal third album, London Calling. But honestly, you don’t need any excuse to re-listen to the entire thing, cover to cover.

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Hey guys, Will Durst here with your eagerly awaited Top Ten Comedic News Stories of 2014. Now, here’s the deal: please do not confuse these amusing accounts with the Top Ten Legitimate News Stories of 2014. No. No. No. They are as different as silky and spiky. Banjos and bullfrogs. Strawberry daiquiris and Chinese made assault rifles. Earrings and peas. Oh sure, we saw plenty examples of super serious humor- resistant stuff that went down over the previous twelve months, including but not limited to: Ebola infested ISIS members flying into Ferguson, Missouri on Malaysian Airlines, carrying pictures of Bill Cosby ogling Janay Rice’s butt. But fortunately, there were also quite a few events that lent themselves to massive humorosityness and for anyone looking for a column with the vision and courage to lampoon, satirize, mock, scoff, taunt, tease, rib, ridicule, josh, jibe and kid these episodes of entertaining elucidation, you’ve come to the right place. Because here they are: the Top Ten Comedic News Stories Of 2014 as determined by the executive council of the Comics, Clowns, Jesters & Satirists Union, which, as you probably are already aware, is… me. Read em and weep.

10. A new study by German scientists suggests that beer helps prevent prostate cancer. So let’s stop calling them bars, and start referring to them as what they really are: clinics. And we are self- administering patients.
9. Winter Olympics in Sochi. The entire world is relieved when Vladimir Putin doesn’t enter the triathlon by slapping on skis to shoot Ukrainian journalists. Shirtless.
8. Series of Ice Bucket Challenges sweep the country. Minor celebrities enjoy being seen as all wet. During the hazy days of summer. When the Polar Vortex comes calling, not so much.
7. Toronto Mayor Rob Ford runs for re- election, but due to ill health has to pull out and convinces his brother to run. Torontoans refuse to give the Fords another crack at it.
6. Pope Francis says his religious theology is not in opposition to evolution. This guy really does look determined to drag the Catholic Church kicking and screaming into the latter half of the 19th Century.
5. Alaska, Oregon and DC join Washington & Colorado in the legal marijuana club. Stock of Frito- Lay, the makers of Funyuns and Cheetos, skyrockets.
4. Donald Sterling’s racist statements result in a lifetime ban from the NBA. And many folks hope he lives to be 105. And is forced to bunk with Cliven Bundy.
3. The Midterm elections. Mitch McConnell says he wants to work with the President. Yeah, the same way a 5 year old with a magnifying glass wants to work with ants. Only a matter of time before GM is forced to recall McConnell as a faulty airbag.
2. Arizona debates SB 1062, which would legalize bigotry based on religious beliefs. The return of Jim Crow with a cactus beat. The postal abbreviation AZ apparently stands for Angry Xenophobes. And yes, xenophobe starts with an “x” but they don’t know that.
1. ObamaCare rollout. The President said it could have gone smoother. You think? An anvil studded with titanium spikes could have rolled smoother.

Copyright © 2014, Will Durst. Will Durst is an award- winning, nationally acclaimed political comic. Go to willdurst.com for more about the documentary film “3 Still Standing,” and a calendar guide to personal appearances such as the Big Fat Year End Kiss Off Comedy Show XXII from December 26- January 3.