Rating: «« out of 4 stars

Running Time: 98 min.

There have been some pretty crooked events in the financial world over the past decade or two. Money Monster attempts to tap into the anger that we’re all feeling by telling a story of Wall Street corruption. And yet, while the inspiration for this tale may likely have been true, this overly polished effort comes across as preposterous despite the best efforts of cast and crew.

The title refers to a financial show hosted by fast-talking Lee Gates (George Clooney), a man who does as much over-the-top entertaining as provide financial advice. Unfortunately for Gates, his show is suddenly stopped by the arrival of angry viewer Kyle Budwell (Jack O’Connell). Kyle has lost everything on a failed investment endorsed by the celebrity. Forced to wear a bomb, Gates is coached by producer Patty (Julia Roberts) to buy time while the police attempt to work out a rescue. As the host speaks with his captor and attempts to contact the corporate head who not only lost Kyle’s money but an additional $600 million dollars due to a “technical glitch,” it becomes clear that a deeper conspiracy is afoot.

Viewers can always count on solid work from the actors and they do their best to sell the less-than-stellar material. There aren’t any bad performances here, but the screenplay really lets down the performers. The events depicted never feel believable or realistic in any respect. Right off the bat, it’s difficult to believe that Kyle could simply stroll into a Manhattan TV studio with a gun and bombs.

As the situation escalates and policemen as well as a bomb squad get involved, it all becomes even more preposterous. Hostages are escorted out of the studio and then proceed to follow events as they move outside the building - guess they didn’t need to be interviewed by authorities after their ordeal. One feels particularly bad for thinly written roles like that of a police chief (Giancarlo Esposito), who is given little to do but look confused for 90 minutes while the show host and producers appear to solve all of the issues raised.

Even the villain of the piece is inauthentic. While there are undoubtedly some horrible people manipulating the market for their personal benefit, this guy comes across as a Snidely Whiplash-type antagonist. For a man who has taken investors for millions of dollars through an elaborate scheme, he doesn’t come off as particularly sharp either. At the close, the film attempts to humiliate him on camera for the benefit of the audience, but it only adds to the phoniness of the situation.

Finally, there’s a strange sense of humor to the enterprise that doesn’t help matters. This includes a young producer who is constantly following the demands of his boss, getting himself into embarrassing situations in the process. It’s supposed to break the tension, but given the fact that this is happening in the middle of a bomb crisis, it appears completely out of place. One or two of the movie’s comments earn a laugh, but most fall flat.

You have to be in an incredibly forgiving mood to suspend disbelief and buy into all the events depicted in Money Monster. While the central idea may have had plenty of importance and value, the end product won’t provide much return on your investment.

By Glenn Kay
For the Sun

Rating: ««« out of 4

Running Time: 146 minutes

Well, we’re now 13 films into the “Marvel Cinematic Universe.” Under the circumstances, things appear to be going quite well. Not every film has exactly soared creatively, but most present just enough to keep viewers entrenched and wanting more. The latest is Captain America: Civil War and its offers one element that’s a bit different ... a confrontation between many of the heroes.

The story revolves around the character of The Winter Soldier aka James “Bucky” Barnes (Sebastian Stan). After several superhero interventions result in collateral damage, the United Nations demand The Avengers to register themselves and come under their control. More conflict arises when The Winter Soldier appears to have reverted back to his assassin ways and causes a disaster. Captain America (Chris Evans) refuses to submit to UN demands and wants no harm to come to his old friend Barnes, but Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) feels differently about the government intervention, leading to an inevitable confrontation.

Overall, the film is about as good as one can expect, given the increasingly busy nature of the plot lines and characters. It’s nearly 2 and 1/2 hours, which is a long, long time for any superhero movie. Even worse, the filmmakers are not only forced to examine the themes raised, introduce a new villain and play catch up with the established characters, but also debut a couple of brand new superheroes. It’s an awful lot of material to cover and one can feel the movie struggling to keep Captain America at its center.

Alas, the Winter Soldier thread isn’t really different enough from the previous movie. And as impressive as the action is, it does appear to use an excess of CGI - in fact, occasionally it seems as if the actor’s heads have simply been pasted onto their digital bodies. Additionally, villain Zemo (Daniel Brühl) doesn’t make as big an impression as hoped. The performance itself is quite good. In fact, it’s very low-key and grounded. Yet it almost feels like it’s a part of a different movie, which means he gets buried somewhat beneath the scenery-chewing heroes.

Still, the movie never quite buckles under its own weight. Indeed, opposing viewpoints on the consequences of The Avengers actions and the murky area between being a hero and a vigilante do provide some dramatic meat. They are explored more thoughtfully than in another recent caped and cowl effort, even if it all feels a bit at odds with some of the film’s lighter moments and the smart aleck interplay between the characters.

And of course, the incredible airport-set showdown featuring 12 heroes going toe to toe is so much fun that it alone is almost worth the price of admission. You’ll see some enormously entertaining stuff as each character shows their stuff in the most exaggerated and creative ways possible. Many have reported that Spider-Man steals the sequence. He does have plenty of amusing asides and the fracas provides a strong introduction to the character, although one hopes future features avoid his unending enthusiasm. Comments like, “Awesome!” and “That’s so cool!” are repeated so frequently that any continuation of this over a feature length running time may prove grating.

For all its minor issues, this is still an entertaining action flick with one knock-out sequence. Captain America: Civil War isn’t quite as impressive as its hero’s last adventure, but it will likely please both obsessive fans of Marvel comics and casual viewers.

Note: There were two post credits scenes at the screening, neither of which offered any major shocks about upcoming features. And on a personal note, the 3-D conversion doesn’t offer a whole lot of visual pop. You’re perfectly fine viewing the movie in two dimensions.

By Glenn Kay

For the Sun

The GPD currently has 10 vacancies they’re trying to fill.

This is not something that is unique to the Gallup Police Department. Police departments across the country have been experiencing staffing issues.

According to a Police Executive Research Forum done in June 2021, police agencies are only filling 93% of their authorized positions. Part of this is due to a 5% decrease in the amount of new officers being hired. Another factor is that there was a 45% increase in the retirement rate. Officers are retiring faster than departments can hire new recruits.

In an interview with the Sun, Gallup Police Captain Erin Toadlena-Pablo said that in the next three to five years, more than 10 officers will become eligible to retire from the GPD.

Retirement is not the only reason people are leaving law enforcement careers or not even wanting to start one.

Toadlena-Pablo listed multiple reasons why she believes the national police shortage is happening. She mentioned competitive pay and burnout as just a couple of reasons people may not want to become police officers.

She explained that at the GPD, officers often don’t get many breaks between calls.

“The Gallup Police Department is very busy. We run calls non-stop, and on our days off they’re in court or they’re in training,” Toadlena-Pablo said. “So there’s really not that time to recuperate or recover, and then you’re back out on the streets. So I think a lot of it has to do with having that idea of ‘Okay, I want to be a police officer to go out and help, but then I also want to maintain my personal life with my family.’”

She also explained how COVID-19 impacted staffing at the department.

“When COVID came along it was something that was unknown, and we’re on the frontlines with a lot of the medical personnel,” Toadlena-Pablo said. “So we lost a lot of people here at the Gallup Police Department who didn’t want to have contact with that. They were very afraid of that.”

Additionally, lack of housing and an unreliable healthcare system, she said, are a couple of more reasons that make Gallup a less attractive choice for potential recruits.

Similar to the GPD, McKinley County Sheriff’s Office is facing staffing shortages.

Undersheriff James Maiorano III told the Sun that the Sheriff’s Office currently has nine open positions. He said to be fully staffed the office would have 42 deputies, and right now they only have 31 on staff.

A BAD REPUTATION

Maiorano attributes the eradication of qualified immunity and civil liability as another reasons folks may shy away from a career in law enforcement.

Qualified immunity is used to protect police officers from seemingly frivolous lawsuits. But opponents argue it’s been used to protect bad cops.

In order for a person to sue a police officer, they have to prove  that the officer’s conduct was illegal and that the officer should have known they were violating clearly established law(s).

In April 2021, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed the New Mexico Civil Rights Act, which effectively banned qualified immunity. New Mexico was the second state to ban the law; Colorado did it in June 2020.

The national law enforcement reputation also saw a decline after protests broke out across the nation in response to the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.

According to a June 2020 survey done by Gallup, a global analytics and advice firm that helps leaders and organizers solve their most pressing problems, only 48% of the people surveyed had a “great deal of confidence” in the police.

“Law enforcement has kind of received a bad reputation nationwide, and we don’t see the interest in the profession like we used to,” Maiorano said. “People are worried that if they take the job to serve and protect that they might end up in jail or losing their personal property or be targeted for ridicule or harassment.”

FINDING THE RIGHT PEOPLE

Besides the bad reputation, Maiorano also noted that law enforcement agencies have been hit with the same problem as other employers across the country — a lack of qualified applicants.

“There used to be 50 to 60 people competing for just a few openings, and that wasn’t that long ago,” Maiorano said. “Now we’re only seeing a few applicants putting in for large shortages. So there seems to be a lack of people who are motivated to get into professions, and I think that’s affecting a lot of the trades, not just law enforcement specifically.”

Maiorano and Toadlena-Pablo both said their offices reach out to high schools and colleges for recruitment purposes, and they attend as many local job fairs as possible. Maiorano also noted that people who have just come out of the military make good potential hires for law enforcement positions.

Neither the GPD nor MCSO offer hiring bonuses. MCSO currently pays a certified deputy $21 an hour, and an uncertified deputy $18.50 an hour. GPD pays an uncertified police officer $17.43 an hour, and a certified officer at least $22.65, and more depending on how long the officer has been part of a law enforcement agency.

Maiorano said the MCSO has no plans to increasing their pay any time soon.

“We don’t want to hike our pay, and then have Gallup Police Department hike their pay, and end up in a wage war where we’re taking each other’s officers, because there’s still only the same amount of law enforcement officers in the community,” Maiorano explained.  “So that’s not actually helping the community.”

He said he would rather hire new recruits coming out of high school, college, or the military to “beef up” the law enforcement entities rather than having people jumping from one of the local law enforcement entities to the other. He said the jumping around could lead to exhaustion.

In addition, Toadlena-Pablo said that the GPD recently lost two officers to the Albuquerque Police Department because the bigger city can offer higher pay.

FINANCIAL HELP

But, the GPD is getting some financial help from the state.

On Sept. 9, Lujan Grisham announced that over $40 million from the Law Enforcement Recruitment Fund would be used to hire over 300 new officers at 29 departments across New Mexico.

According to a press release published by the governor’s office, the GPD will receive just over $1.3 million of that amount, which will be disbursed over the next three years.

During the Oct. 11 city council meeting, GPD Chief Franklin Boyd explained how the money would be disbursed.

$750,000 will be given to the department in the first year, which will help hire 10 new officers at $75,000 a year each. In 2023, the department will receive $375,000, and in 2024 they will receive $187,500.

Boyd said that the money has to be used by a specific date. The first round of funds has to be spent by June 30, 2023; the second will be dispersed in July 2023, and must be spent by June 30, 2024; and the final installment will be sent in July 2024 and must be spent by June 2025.

The first allocation would be distributed within five business days of when the city council approves the agreement.

Councilor Fran Palochak, Dist. 4, asked Boyd if GPD would be able to spend the full amounts in the allotted time, especially since they would only have eight months to spend the first allotment of $750,000.

Boyd responded, and said it’s unlikely that the department would be able to spend all of the money. Any leftover money that is not spent by each deadline will be returned to the New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration.

The council unanimously voted to sign the agreement.

As for the MCSO, Maiorano said he was unsure if they would be getting any financial help from the state but said he’s looking into it.

Recruiting new police officers can certainly be difficult. The amount of training alone may deter some hopefuls.

Toadlena-Pablo said that it takes a new hire about 10 months to officially be allowed out into the field.

The Police Academy, where new officers become certified, doesn’t hold classes every month, which contributes to the delay. Toadlena-Pablo said the next round of classes starts in January. New recruits spend about six months at the academy. If a new hire comes in when the academy isn’t holding classes, they are allowed to help around the department until they become certified, but they can’t run any calls.

After the police academy, the new hire has to complete three months of being a field training officer. They spend those three months shadowing a senior officer to get a handle on what it’s like working in the field.

Maiorano said that new hires also have to pass a physical exam, psychological standards, medical standards, and a written test to get hired.

Despite the long hours, demanding workload, and the mental and physical strain, Toadlena-Pablo said it’s all worth it.

“When I think about it, some people out there want to experience something challenging and something new. Every day that you get up and you come into work and you put on that uniform, you’re going to experience something different,” Toadlena-Pablo said.

She explained that one day an officer can be investigating a traffic crash, the next day they could be investigating a homicide case, or find a missing person.

“There’s never a dull moment, you’re always going to be busy, you’re going to learn a lot, you’re going to meet a lot of different people, and some of these people you make contact with, you could change their lives …. [and] at some point have some sort of inspiration on this individual to change or maybe to open their eyes to ‘hey there may be something better out there for me,’” Toadlena-Pablo said.

By Molly Ann Howell
Assignment Editor

Rating: « out of 4 stars

Running Time: 118 min.

No matter what you may read in the coming paragraphs, make no mistake, I appreciate the work of director Garry Marshall. Growing up, he was responsible for two of my favorite TV shows (Laverne & Shirley and Happy Days) and has had popular hits on the big screen with titles like Pretty Woman. However, over the past few years he’s delivered a pair of ensemble comedies (New Year’s Eve and Valentine’s Day) that I haven’t cared for. Clearly inspired by the excellent Christmas-set 2003 hit Love Actually, neither of them have come even close to attaining that sharp balance of humor and warmth.

Mother’s Day is the latest in his series of films based around holidays. And let me tell you, I really, really disliked it. To be blunt, it just doesn’t work... at all... on any level. The jokes are stale and the drama interspersed is pure schmaltz. I can’t believe I’m writing this, but it was so ineffective that it actually made me wish that I was watching New Year’s Eve again instead. This latest picture is the worst of a bad batch.

Set in Atlanta, the loosely interconnected stories follow several families going through turmoil. Sandy (Jennifer Aniston) is the mother of two boys who becomes incensed when her ex-husband Henry (Timothy Olyphant) remarries a much younger woman named Tina (Shay Mitchell). Bradley (Jason Sudekis) is a widower tasked with raising two teenage daughters and figuring out how to deal with the loss of his wife.

Sisters and moms Jesse (Kate Hudson) and Gabi (Sarah Chalke) are forced to deal with their bigoted parents, who arrive unexpectedly to meet the pair’s significant others. Kristin (Britt Robertson) is an adoptee who lives with her comedian boyfriend Zack (Jack Whitehall) and newborn, but can’t commit to marriage. And finally, Miranda (Julia Roberts) is a career-obsessed host on the Home Shopping Network who harbors her own issues about parenthood.

It’s a lengthy list of plotlines and it’s obvious where they’re all going from the start. Unfortunately, the screenplay doesn’t do much for its female characters, or the plight of mothers in general. As written, the lead characters are the sole creators of their own problems. For example, the jealous Sandy acts out harshly against Henry and Tina, while Jesse hides the fact that she even has functioning parents to her husband of many years. If any of them communicated properly with the people they supposedly cared about, there wouldn’t be any conflict... or a movie, for that matter. Frankly, it makes them difficult to identify with.

Adding to the inauthentic feel is the overly glossy photography. The leads complain about the difficulties and frustrations of their personal lives, but they all look like they just walked out of a high-end salon. They’ve been lit to look like movie stars instead of frazzled parents and not a hair on their head ever appears to be out of place.

Of course, some of these problems would be forgiven if any of the jokes worked. During this two hour exercise, I chuckled twice - one of Sandy’s meltdowns and an accident that befalls Bradley did earn a smile. The dialogue is never witty or sharp. This is no more evident than during a series of badly written stand-up performances from Zach. He’s supposed to be hilarious, yet his big show involves making off the cuff remarks with his infant to the crowd (who are laughing like this is the funniest thing they’ve ever witnessed) and earnestly declaring his love for his partner. It’s a surreal scene.

And naturally, as the tone shifts towards heartfelt admissions and dramatic resolutions, it only gets worse. We haven’t connected with the characters and none of it is believable in any way. The performances aren’t helped by the fact that many moments are scored by what sounds like Muzak you might hear in an elevator.

I’ll always like and admire Marshall and his great comedic work over the years. Just not on this title. Mother’s Day is a creaky mess that doesn’t provide laughs or even provoke an emotional response. One hopes he moves in a different direction with future projects. Or if he is going to continue in this vein, that he take a goofier tangent with more comedic potential. Might I suggest Talk Like a Pirate Day? At this point, he’s got nothing to lose.

Visit: www.cinemastance.com

By Glenn Kay 
For the Sun