My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a Clint Eastwood directed and produced movie based on an article that appeared in the New York Times. Eastwood also stars in the movie, along with Bradley Cooper, Laurence Fishburne, and Andy Garcia. It was released in December of 2018.
The film tells the story of 90-year-old Earl Stone, a horticulturist whose specialty is daylilies. He has won many awards for his hybrids of the lilies. His dedication to his plants has caused his marriage to fail and his daughter to barely acknowledge him. The only member of his family he is still on good terms with is his granddaughter. When internet sales of lilies cause his business to fail and the bank to foreclose his property, Stone takes a job as a drug courier for a Mexican cartel. He does so well that the cartel entrusts El Tata with bigger and bigger shipments, eventually drawing the attention of DEA agent Colin Bates (Cooper). As the DEA net draws closer, Stone has to decide whether to try to mend old fences before either the cartel or the DEA catch up with him.
This was a pretty decent movie. Eastwood can still act, and it is nice to see him taking on roles that fit his age rather than trying to be the hard-hitting, action star of his youth. The character of Stone is a more laid-back sort than Dirty Harry, but he still has that edgy sharpness, wit, and cleverness that Eastwood does so well. Bradley Cooper is good as Bates, the DEA agent trying to discover who this mysterious El Tata is. Andy Garcia is the leader of the cartel that hires Stone, and Laurence Fishburne is Bates’ supervisor. Eastwood’s daughter, Alison, plays Stone’s granddaughter. There isn’t a lot of hard action in the movie and very little violence, but the tension and interplay of the characters is what makes this one.
If you like a well-plotted, well-acted, somewhat quieter but no less intense movie, try this one. It’s one of Eastwood’s good ones.
========================================================
The Demon’s in the Details, the third story in my urban fantasy series the Yo-Yo Files will be available on January 20. Until then, the second story in the series, Snake’s Alive, will be free on Smashwords. Five and Daemon, the first in the series is also available.
Urban fantasy like the above not your thing? Well, I have science fiction and more traditional fantasy stories available, as well. Look here for all the deets on the above series and the rest of my published stories.
And So On... 