Tag: Peter Dinklage

Roofman

2025   Paramount Pictures

Rated:  R

Length:  2 hr  6min

Comedy ~ Crime ~ Drama ~ Romance ~ True Story

Directed by:  Derek Cianfrance

Starring:  Channing Tatum, Kirsten Dunst, LaKeith Stanfield, Juno Temple, Peter Dinklage,  Ben Mendelsohn, Melonie Diaz, Uzo Aduba, Lily Collias, and Jimmy O. Yang.

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.

Turn off the lights and devices,

Make some popcorn,

Grab a beverage,

and

Stream This Movie!

Dog

Fly Me To The Moon

Brothers

2024   Amazon MGM Studios

Rated:  R

Length:  1 hr  29min

Action ~ Crime ~ Comedy

Directed by:  Max Barbakow

Starring:  Josh Brolin, Peter Dinklage, Glenn Close, Marisa Tomei, and Brendan Fraser.

“Family is a life sentence.”

Josh Brolin stars as Mike “Moke” Munger who is recently married and has a baby on the way. His wife is throwing a housewarming party and has invited his in-laws to come. She instructs him to bring home a BBQ Party Platter from work. He works at SWEET ASS BBQ but upon arriving at work his boss informs him that he is fired. He tells Moke that he received a call from the Bureau of Labor and Employment. They informed him that Moke neglected to let them know about his prior criminal convictions and have to let him go. Upon arriving home he is surprised by the appearance of his Twin Brother……..

Jady Munger (Peter Dinklage) who has been serving time in prison for getting caught in a robbery. Jady and Moke had always been a criminal team but that night Jady got caught, Moke escaped and swore off the crime life and has been trying to live a straight life. He has come to convince Moke to do one last “Job”, he can’t do it without him and they both really need the money. Moke reluctantly agrees and they head out on the road.  Jady tells him they have to make a stop to a woman’s house he has been corresponding with for the last seven weeks from prison. Moke again reluctantly agrees and they stop, knock on the door, and……

Bethesda Waingro (Marisa Tomei) comes to the door, and Jady and Moke are invited in. Jady has an ulterior motive for meeting Bethesda that Moke doesn’t know about. She is unwittingly going to help them in their “Job”, Jady is going to steal her work badge. Jady and Bethesda go off into the bedroom to spend some time and Moke waits in the living room. And is suddenly surprised by an orangutan who sits next to him on the couch. They hightail it out of Bethesda’s house, Moke running from the monkey and Jady running from Bethesda. They go to the hotel where Moke is surprised by…….

His Mother Cath (Glenn Close), who has been gone for thirty years after running from the police following a jewelry heist. It’s the beginning of a dysfunctional crime family caper full of adventure  and laughs. M. Emmet Walsh plays the crooked Judge who is the father of Jail Corrections Officer Farful (Brendan Fraser). Officer Farful used his father to get Jady out of prison to track down Cath who has hidden the unrecovered Jewels and is blackmailing him into finding them. And Brendan as the whacked out very intense Corrections Officer was pretty funny. It was nice to see Marisa, beautiful as ever, as the freaky hippy lady. The Orangutan Monkey was surprisingly completely CGI, given the closeness of the scene with Josh Brolin, they didn’t want to take any chances with a live animal.

I purposely didn’t watch this right away when it came out thinking, “That’s just going to be too silly and stupid for me to handle.” Josh Brolin and Peter Dinklage as twin brothers? Look at them, they couldn’t be more different physically. But I was running late last night and really didn’t have two hours to watch a movie and this is a short one. And I thought, I could stand to watch some comedy, something light-hearted. It was everything I thought it would be and more. Yes, it was silly, a little stupid, but then again, that is the point. And it delivered that and much more. It was a familiar plot line and yet it was a little different.

I found myself rooting for Moke and eventually Jady. Trying to do good for themselves and constantly knocked down by life. I really started to believe that they were brothers in spite of their difference physically. Josh and Peter did a great job of convincing me they had known each other all their lives and had that kind of family bond. I enjoyed it, I found myself laughing quite a few times at their antics. And I felt for the two of them trying to be a better version of themselves. And in the end it was all about family, how you never give up on your family, no matter what. I thought that was a good message and a little heartwarming at the end as they gathered for Thanksgiving.

So yes, I would recommend it, just remember it is good clean silly fun.

Two thumbs up!