Based On Actual Events And Terrible Decisions

We all make choices and decisions everyday, whether we want to or not. We try to make the right decisions but sometimes they just don’t turn out that way. If you have a family and kids you make decisions based on trying to give them the best life you can. Including giving them everything that they want that makes them happy. Jeffrey Manchester (Channing Tatum) made some bad choices and decisions about how to get his family the things they wanted but he couldn’t afford. He figured out how to break through the roof of a McDonald’s, hiding out in the bathroom until the morning crew and manager arrived, then escorting the group politely into the freezer walk-in and robbing the store of all it’s cash.

He became very successful at robbing McDonald’s ultimately robbing an estimated 45-60 stores and making his family happy in the process, buying them everything that they wanted. He was dubbed “The Roofman” by the police and evaded capture until he got greedy and attempted to rob two stores in the same area on the same day. He was sentenced to prison losing everything including his family, but cleverly escaped, ending up hiding out in a nearby Toys-R-Us in Charlotte, North Carolina. Leigh Moore (Kirsten Dunst), a divorcee with two daughters, works at the store and catches Jeffrey’s attention. Jeffrey bravely stalks her to the Church where she attends under the guise of donating to their annual Christmas toy drive, donating a bagful of toys stolen from the Toys-R-Us store.

They start to date and Jeffrey tries hard to conceal his real identity, going by the alias John Zorn. As their relationship grows stronger, Jeffrey tries to be the family man he couldn’t be with his real family. Making sure Leigh and her daughters have everything they want and need, trying to connect emotionally with them. Leigh isn’t just a love interest; she’s the mirror that reflects the man Jeffrey wants to be versus the one he’s become. Their growing relationship gives the film its heart, grounding the chase in something far more personal, redemption. Tatum and Dunst have a chemistry that feels honest and unforced, pulling you into moments that almost make you forget the man’s a wanted fugitive. There is a final scene between the two of them that is absolutely heartbreaking, capturing the real emotion between Jeffrey and Leigh.

Director Derek Cianfrance brilliantly contrasts Jeffrey’s calm domestic moments with the encroaching reality of his past catching up. Each scene in the bright, colorful toy aisles feels like a countdown, playful on the surface, tense underneath. You know it can’t last, but you still want it to. Jeffrey learns that freedom comes with a price, and the film dives deep into the psychological unraveling that follows. It’s fascinating watching a man so careful, so cunning, begin to lose control of the very plan that once defined him. You are instantly drawn into the psyche of Jeffrey Manchester, rooting for him even though you know he is a criminal. And that is thanks to Channing Tatum’s brilliant performance as Jeffrey, might be one of his best yet.

LaKeith Stanfield plays Steve, the loyal, resourceful, and compassionate best friend to Jeff Manchester, helping him with fake documents and support while risking his own freedom. Peter Dinklage plays Mitch, the observant and perhaps quirky store manager at the Toys-R-Us where Jeffrey hides out, developing a unique dynamic with Tatum’s character and Kirsten Dunst’s employee, offering a blend of comedy and drama in a role that highlights his versatility as an actor.

Roofman isn’t just a great true-crime story, it’s a moral puzzle wrapped in an unexpectedly emotional thriller. It reminds us that even when our intentions are good, our choices can define us in ways we never see coming.

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Dog

Fly Me To The Moon

2016 The Weinstein Company

Rated: PG-13

Length: 1 hr 55min

Biography ~ Drama ~ History ~ True Story

Directed by: John Lee Hancock

Starring: Michael Keaton, Nick Offerman, John Carroll Lynch, Linda Cardellin, Laura Dern, and B. J. Novak .

“Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not, Genius will not, Education will not. Persistence and Determination alone will always solve the problems of the human race.”

Michael Keaton stars as Ray Kroc, a traveling salesman in the Midwest selling milkshake mixers to restaurants. Ray is 52 years old and has been struggling to make ends meet, not having much success with the items he has sold in the past. His office lets him know that a restaurant in California has placed an order for six Milkshake mixing machines. Confident that there must be a mistake, he calls the restaurant and is promptly told by the owner, Dick McDonald (Nick Offerman) that indeed it is not a mistake and that he should up the order to eight machines…..and hurry. Ray decides that he has to see for himself and drives to San Bernardino, California.

Upon arriving in the McDonald’s Brothers Restaurant he is amazed by what he sees. After purchasing a Burger, fries and a drink for 35 cents and receiving it immediately, he is astonished. Mac McDonald (John Carroll Lynch) offers him a tour of the kitchen where he shows Ray their “Speedee Service System”. Completely blown away by what they have invented and their restaurant, Ray takes them to dinner to pick their brains about their operation. Over the coming weeks Ray is so obsessed with the McDonald’s business he convinces them to franchise and to let him do all the work. They draw up a contract and from that day forward Ray Kroc does everything in his power to build a franchise empire of McDonald’s Restaurants as fast as he can.

In the process he goes from selling franchises to buying the land the restaurants sit on and then leasing that land to the franchisees. Eventually buying out the McDonald Brothers, and turning it into an 8 Billion dollar business with 7,500 stores in 32 countries around the world at the time of Ray’s Death in 1984. He is quoted as saying that that first day when he saw the San Bernardino store for the first time and saw the operation, the Golden Arches and the name McDonalds,” I knew I had to have it. It was a great business and the Speedee service was incredible, but the name and those arches were what I saw. That was the valuable thing. It was as American as Apple Pie and I envisioned one in every town. Every town has a courthouse with an American flag and a Church with a cross, and there should be a McDonalds in every town.”

It is a fascinating look at the True Story of McDonalds, The McDonald Brothers and Ray Kroc the visionary who saw much more than just a restaurant. The Screenplay was based on the 1977 Autobiography by Ray Kroc Grinding It Out: The Making Of McDonald’s. Of course it is a little sad how Ray basically stole the business out from underneath them. He was a very persistent determined man who saw a vision and pursued it no matter what. Michael Keaton did an awesome job in this as Ray Kroc, Nick Offerman and John Carroll Lynch also as The McDonald Brothers. I have seen this quite a few times and still enjoy it. I love Entrepreneurship and the process of starting with nothing and building something out of a single idea. It is truly a fascinating true story movie.