Dave reviews the movie "Civil War" followed by a performance of his song "The Scales".

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Welcome to Movie Reviews with Original Songs, aka MRwOS! I am your host, David Coile, and I’ll be reviewing a movie I’ve watched recently, then pair it with one of my backlog of original songs.

If you enjoy the program, I encourage you to like, follow, and share, or to support the program by subscribing to patreon.com/davidcoile or by making a contribution on Venmo to @DaveCoile.

In this episode, I’ll be reviewing the film “Civil War” followed by a performance of my original song “The Scales”

Movie: Civil War

“Civil War” is the new film by auteur writer-director Alex Garland, previously known for the excellent sci-fi movies “Ex Machina” and “Annihilation”. In this film, a small band of journalists (played by Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, Cailee Spaeny, and Stephen McKinley Henderson) make their way through a war-torn America in hopes of interviewing the U.S. President (played by Nick Offerman) in a besieged Washington, D.C.

Those looking for an insightful extrapolation of our country’s current political divisions will be disappointed. Instead, this movie critiques the role of journalism when covering conflict. What is the value of war reporting? What does it mean to be impartial? When, if ever, should a journalist intervene? Should the press be protected in a war zone? The fact that the film takes place in extremely familiar locations should be jarring to American audiences, with an overall message that once things go this far, the line between the good guys and bad guys is quite blurry.

The acting is universally great, the cinematography excellent, and the story and themes will challenge you. Be sure to see it with friends so you can have a vibrant discussion afterwards.

Song: The Scales

I wrote “The Scales” back in 2020, before the COVID pandemic really hit the U.S., but while President Trump was facing impeachment. The song was a bit inspired by that, and so I thought it would be appropriate to pair it with this film and its embattled Trump-like President.

Dave reviews "Thelma" followed by his performance of an original song, "Walk on my Hands"

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Welcome to Movie Reviews with Original Songs, aka MRwOS! I am your host, David Coile, and I’ll be reviewing a movie I’ve watched recently, then playing one of my original songs that has similar themes.

If you enjoy the program, I encourage you to like, follow, and share it with your friends, or to support the program by subscribing to patreon.com/davidcoile or by making a contribution through Paypal or Venmo @DaveCoile.

In this episode, I’ll be reviewing the film “Thelma” followed by a performance of my original song “Walk on my Hands”

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“Thelma” is a charming caper comedy about a nonagenarian who falls victim to an over the phone scam. When the police and her family won’t help, Thelma decides to track down the scammers on her own and demand her money back.

Thelma is played by June Squibb, who I know from scene stealing supporting roles in the films of Alexander Payne, such as “Nebraska” and “About Schmidt”, and she does a bang up job in her first starring role. She’s joined by Richard Roundtree as her friend Ben, who reluctantly gets drawn into the whole affair. In many ways, this film could be a geriatric sendup of the type of films Roundtree used to star in, such as the blaxploitation classic “Shaft” from the 1970s. The two sneak around, search for clues and confront the bad guys in familiar ways while trying to overcome elderly obstacles.

At first I was concerned that it was being too hard on the older generation, but other generations get skewered just as much, including Thelma’s ineffectual grandson (played by Fred Heckinger) and his overconfident parents (played by Parker Posey and Clark Gregg).

Though the filmmaking isn’t especially innovative, the plotting is tight– pay attention to the details, because they pay off in the end. Writer-director Josh Margolin based Thelma on his own grandmother, who nearly fell victim to a similar scam. The love and affection he has for her is pervasive, and it makes for a very entertaining film.

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I wrote my song “Walk on my Hands” back in the early 2000s, and it was written from the perspective of a young adult crying out for independence from his parents. But I think it shares some common sentiments with the elderly, who often get treated like children, even when they’re still fairly capable.

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That’s it for this episode of MRwOS! If you enjoyed the program, I encourage you to like, follow and share it with your friends, or support the program by subscribing to patreon.com/davidcoile, or maybe just throw a tip my way via Paypal or Venmo @DaveCoile. I’ll see you next time with another movie review and original song. Until then, Fade Out, Everybody!

Dave reviews "Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga" the prequel to the Oscar winning "Mad Max: Fury Road". Then he performs a song he co-wrote with Cheyenne Dane, "If You Can See Me".

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Welcome to Movie Reviews with Original Songs, aka MRwOS! I am your host, David Coile, and I’ll be reviewing a movie I’ve watched recently, then pair it with one of my backlog of original songs.

If you enjoy the program, I encourage you to like, follow, and share it with your friends, or to support the program by subscribing to patreon.com/davidcoile or by making a contribution via Venmo @DaveCoile.

In this episode, I’ll be reviewing the film “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” followed by a performance of an original song, co-written with Cheyenne Dane,7i9oo “If You Can See Me”.

Film: Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

“Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” is a prequel to George Miller’s film “Mad Max: Fury Road”, which was nominated for 10 Oscars in 2016, including a nod for Best Picture. This film fleshes out the backstory of Furiosa (originally played by Charlize Theron, but now played by an excellent Anya Taylor-Joy). Early in the film, Furiosa gets kidnapped from an idyllic oasis, then spends her adolescence finding ways to survive amidst squabbling warlords (one of whom is played by a charismatic Chris Hemsworth in a not terribly convincing prosthetic nose).

I’ll admit, I’m not a huge fan of the Mad Max films or its post-apocalyptic mythology, but “Fury Road” was my pick to win Best Picture the year it came out. It was a supremely well-crafted, well-choreographed and beautifully filmed action movie. There was enough flavor added to the characters to hint at a much more complex world beyond the immediate storyline. But at its heart, it was just a chase film, albeit a near perfect one. “Furiosa” returns with the same gorgeous cinematography and has many wonderful chase scenes (though with perhaps more noticeable CGI), but I think it loses some of the simple pleasures of “Fury Road” by delving into the cultural details and political rivalries as much as it does.

If you’re a fan of the Mad Max series, that may be exactly what you’re looking for, in which case I highly recommend the film. But if you’re like me and enjoyed “Fury Road” in spite of its wasteland society, there’s still much to admire, but it’s not quite essential viewing.

Song: If You Can See Me

I wrote the song “If You Can See Me” with my friend Cheyenne Dane back in 2018. It’s mostly written from a woman’s perspective and includes references to roads, dust, breaking free and finding yourself in a world of men, all of which echo the themes of “Furiosa”.