KKFI 90.1 FM Kansas City Community Radio

Freeze Frame

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The "Take Two" short segment reviews independently made films and art-house movies currently showing in Kansas City. Take Two first went on the air in 2012 and is co-hosted by Russ Simmons, producer of the “Freeze Frame” short segment, and Susan Sanders. The segment airs at the following times: Wednesdays 9:30 am Fridays 12:58 pm Saturdays at 5:58 pm Sundays 3:00 am

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KKFI 90.1 FM Kansas City Community Radio

Episodes

Freeze Frame: “The Turning” (PG-13), “The Gentlemen” (R), “Clemency” (R), “John Henry” (R) 24.01.2020 2:00

“The Turning” is the latest in a long string of movies based on Henry James’ classic ghost story, “The Turn of the Screw.” Mackenzie Davis plays a nanny who attempts to protect two children from evil spirits. Ambiguity isn’t necessarily a fault, but “The Turning” is so vague and disjointed that it plays like a reel of film was accidentally edited out. Check out the classic 1961 Deborah Kerr versio...

Freeze Frame: “Bad Boys for Life” (R), “Troop Zero” (PG), “Disturbing the Peace” (R) 17.01.2020 2:00

After a 17-year hiatus, Will Smith and Martin Lawrence are reunited in the comic action thriller, “Bad Boys for Life,” the third entry in the franchise that began in 1995. These Miami based detectives are getting long in the tooth and it shows as they’re targeted for assassination by a Mexican drug cartel. Everything about this absurd and violent R-rated movie is over the top and beat-by-beat pred...

Freeze Frame: “1917” (R), “Just Mercy” (PG-13) 15.01.2020 2:00

"1917" is a stunning WWI drama that unfolds in a single shot. Two young British soldiers played by George MacKay and Dean-Charles Chapman are sent on a desperate mission with little hope of success. They’re to cross the dangerous terrain of no man’s land to warn a British regiment not to attack German forces because the enemy has set them up for a trap. Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes based his...

Freeze Frame: Russ’ Top 10 Movies of 2019!! 02.01.2020 1:59

As we begin a new year, it’s time to look back at the best movies of 2019. Here’s the cream of the year’s cinematic crop. 10) The Farewell Awkwafina stars in a sweetly sentimental comic drama about an American woman who travels to China to visit her terminally ill grandmother. 9) The Two Popes Jonathan Pryce and Anthony Hopkins give splendid performances as Pope Francis and Pope Benedict who c...

Freeze Frame: “Little Women” (PG), “Spies in Disguise” (PG), “Uncut Gems” (R), “APParation” (R) 26.12.2019 2:01

Writer/director Greta Gerwig has pulled off a minor miracle. She's given a modern feminist sensibility to Louisa May Alcott’s” old chestnut “Little Women,” while maintaining the appealingly traditional feel of her beloved writings. Saoirse Ronan is fine in the pivotal role of Jo March and Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Timothée Chalamet, Laura Dern and Meryl Streep round out a stellar cast. “Little W...

Freeze Frame: “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” (PG-13), “Cats” (PG), “Bombshell” (R), “A Hidden Life” (PG-13) 20.12.2019 2:01

“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” is not the final movie in the franchise. It’s supposedly the end of the line for the Skywalker clan, though. We’ll see. Daisy Ridley is back as Rey, who uses the force to battle evil Emperor Palpatine and the murderous son of Leia and Han Solo, Kylo Ren. It’s visually spectacular and fan boys should be satisfied by the action. But “The Rise of Skywalker” just war...

Freeze Frame: “Richard Jewell” (R) 17.12.2019 2:01

The bombing incident at Atlanta’s Centennial Park during the 1996 Olympics marked the beginning of a dark time in American society. The FBI and the press were convinced that the security guard who first noticed the pipe bomb and saved many lives had actually planted the device himself in a concerted effort to be hailed as a hero. Director Clint Eastwood’s film “Richard Jewell” takes a look at th...

Freeze Frame: “Dark Waters” (PG-13), “Waves” (R), “Knives and Skin” (Not rated), “The Aeronauts” (PG-13) 07.12.2019 2:01

Mark Ruffalo portrays a conflicted corporate lawyer in the sincere social drama, “Dark Waters.” This true story involves mysterious deaths and illnesses in a small community that may have been caused by the malfeasance of a major US corporation. Ruffalo plays Robert Bilott, who waged a 20-year war with DuPont. As a work of social activism, it’s fine. As a movie, “Dark Waters” is modest and somber....

Freeze Frame: “The Irishman” (R), “Frozen II” (PG), “21 Bridges” (R) 22.11.2019 2:00

Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci deliver the goods in Martin Scorsese's epic, violent gangster flick, "The Irishman." In a sweeping tale that takes place over a number of years, DeNiro plays a truck driver and hitman who serves as a go-between linking the Teamsters Union and the mob. Pacino plays the colorful union boss Jimmy Hoffa and Pesci is a soft-spoken Mafia boss. “The Irishman” is the...

Freeze Frame: “The Report” (R), “Ford v Ferrari” (PG-13), “Gift” (Not rated), “The Warrior Queen of Jhansi” (R) 15.11.2019 2:00

“The Report” is an intriguing and political drama that focuses on the investigation that uncovered the CIA torture program during the Gulf War. Adam Driver stars as lead investigator Daniel Jones who spent years fighting to find the truth and then battling forces that tried to keep that truth under wraps. While the drama is somewhat reserved, it’s smartly written and involving. You don’t have to...

Freeze Frame: “Midway” (PG-13), “Playing With Fire” (PG), “Tel Aviv on Fire” (Not rated), “Pain and Glory” (R) 08.11.2019 2:00

Hollywood's 'Master of Disaster,' director Roland Emmerich, is best known for big screen spectacles like “Independence Day” and “The Day After Tomorrow.” He gives the famous South Pacific WWII battle "Midway" that same splashy, special effects-heavy treatment. While the action sequences are impressive the human drama is soapy and superficial. Stars like Woody Harrelson and Dennis Quaid give it the...

Freeze Frame: “Motherless Brooklyn” (R), “Jojo Rabbit” (R) 04.11.2019 2:00

Actor Edward Norton wrote, produced, directed and stars in the moody film noir melodrama, "Motherless Brooklyn." Norton is excellent as a gumshoe with Tourette’s Syndrome who uncovers a web of fraud and racial exploitation in 50s New York City when he investigates the death of his employer, played by Bruce Willis. The solid supporting cast includes Willem Dafoe, Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Alec Baldwin, w...

Freeze Frame: “The Current War” (PG-13), “Black and Blue” (R), “Honeyland” (Not rated), “Paradise Hills” (Not rated) 28.10.2019 2:00

With a great cast and a riveting true story to work with, “The Current War” should have been an electrifying movie. It tells the tale of the bitter competition between Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla and George Westinghouse during the early days of electrical power. Benedict Cumberbatch, Michael Shannon and Nicholas Hoult are all fine, but their efforts can’t overcome the film’s awkward pacing. “The C...

Freeze Frame: “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” (PG), “Lucy in the Sky” (R), “Greener Grass” (R), “Villains” (R) 20.10.2019 1:59

Disney’s Halloween season offering is a sequel to a 2014 hit that flipped the script on “Sleeping Beauty,” turning the evil sorceress into a heroine. Angelina Jolie is back in the titular role of the gargantuan production, “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil.” Apparently, the filmmakers wanted to make a kiddie version of “Game of Thrones,” giving us a story that is more about war and palace intrigue tha...

FREEZE FRAME: “Mary” (Not rated) 15.10.2019 2:01

Gary Oldman has always been a busy actor, but since picking up his Oscar as Winston Churchill in 2017’s “Darkest Hour,” he’s made ten more movies. If the horror entry “Mary” is any indicator, perhaps Oldman should seriously consider slowing down the pace a bit. In what is essentially a haunted house movie set at sea, Oldman plays David, a struggling sailboat captain trying to keep his head above w...

Freeze Frame: “Joker” (R) 04.10.2019 2:00

Joaquin Phoenix gives a riveting performance in “Joker,” undoubtedly one of the more controversial and provocative movies of the year. Can the hard knocks of life rob a person of the gift of empathy? On one hand, that seems to be the story’s underlying theme, but, intentional or not, “Joker” is sending mixed messages. This character study attempts to explain why a seemingly nice guy turned to th...

Freeze Frame: “Judy” (R), “Abominable” (PG), “The Death of Dick Long” (R) 26.09.2019 1:59

If ever there were a role designed to attract gold statuettes, this is it. The last tragic months in the life of Hollywood legend Judy Garland provide Renée Zellweger the role of a lifetime in “Judy.” After 30 years of drugs, insomnia and loveless marriages, Garland attempts a comeback on the London stage. Zellweger captures the physical and emotional fragility of the offstage Judy even though she...

Freeze Frame: “Ad Astra” (PG-13) 19.09.2019 1:59

Brad Pitt takes an impassioned space odyssey in the earnest sci-fi epic, “Ad Astra.” Pitt plays an astronaut who is sent to the far reaches of our solar system to see if he can locate his long-lost scientist father, played by Tommy Lee Jones, who is believed to still be living on a remote research facility orbiting Neptune. Problem is, dear old dad’s pesky experiments appear to be bombarding Earth...

Freeze Frame: “Hustlers” (R), “Official Secrets” (R), “Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken” (PG-13), “Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice” (PG-13) 12.09.2019 2:00

Jennifer Lopez gives an assured and charismatic performance in “Hustlers,” the true story of some Manhattan strippers who, during the financial crisis of 2008, began drugging and ripping off their […] The post Freeze Frame: “Hustlers” (R), “Official Secrets” (R), “Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken” (PG-13), “Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice” (PG-13) appeared first on KKFI .

Freeze Frame: “Brittany Runs a Marathon” (R), “Tigers Are Not Afraid” (Not Rated), “Rapid Response” (PG-13), “David Crosby: Remember My Name” (R), “Satanic Panic” (R) 05.09.2019 2:00

Jillian Bell gives a star-making performance in the comic drama, “Brittany Runs a Marathon,” the story of an overweight Manhattan party girl who tries to break out of her personal rut through running. It’s smart and often funny. The only problem is that this story about a marathon is its pace. Still, "Brittany" finishes strong. “Tigers Are Not Afraid” is a Mexican horror fantasy for the arthouse c...

Freeze Frame: “After the Wedding” (PG-13), “This is Not Berlin” (Not rated) 29.08.2019 2:00

Two of America’s finest actresses attempt a gender flip remake of the acclaimed 2006 Danish drama, “After the Wedding.” Julianne Moore and Michelle Williams both do terrific wrok here, but their performances aren’t enough to help this soapy reboot make an effective emotional connection. Moore plays a zillionaire corporate executive who manipulates the charity-minded Williams into attending her dau...

“Ready or Not” (R), “The Peanut Butter Falcon” (PG-13), “Nightingale” (R), “One Child Nation” (R), “Hot Air” (Not rated) 22.08.2019 2:00

“Ready or Not” is a shamelessly violent and deranged horror comedy. Samara Weaving is sharp as a woman who marries into an eccentric, spectacularly wealthy family only to be forced to participate in a deadly game of hide and seek. It’s ugly gore played for laughs. If you’ve got the properly twisted sense of humor, you’re ready for “Ready or Not.” In the sweet-natured drama “The Peanut Butter Fal...

Freeze Frame: “Good Boys” (R), “Blinded by the Light” (PG-13), “The Angry Birds Movie 2” (PG) 16.08.2019 1:59

If your idea of cinematic hilarity is hearing three sixth grade boys cuss like sailors and chat on and on about sex and drugs, have I got the movie for you. “Good Boys” is like a pre-teen “Superbad,” a raunchy R-rated movie that’s stars are so young, they wouldn’t be allowed in to see it. Jacob Tremblay, Keith L. Williams and Brady Noon play close pals who make some bad decisions that set the farc...

Freeze Frame: “The Kitchen” (R), “Dora and the Lost City of Gold” (PG), “Brian Banks” (PG-13), “Maiden” (PG), “Them That Follow” (R) 15.08.2019 1:59

The mob drama “The Kitchen” is a bit undercooked. Melissa McCarthy, Tiffany Haddish and Elizabeth Moss star in this ethically dubious thriller based on a comic book series. They play the wives of Irish mobsters who take over their husbands’ protection racket when the men are sent to prison. In spite of its fine cast, it never rings true. Last year’s drama “Widows” handled these gender-flipped them...

Freeze Frame: “Fast & Furious Presents” Hobbs & Shaw” (PG-13), “The Farewell” (PG), “Sword of Trust” (R) 02.08.2019 1:59

The 2001 movie “The Fast and the Furious” was based on a true story about LA street racers. Over the years, the films in the franchise have evolved into action fantasies so preposterous that they make James Bond flicks look like documentaries by comparison. Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham star in the ninth film in the franchise, “Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw.” They play rival rog...