Christopher Nolan is once again doing his Christopher Nolan-thing: giving us an epic movie on a grand scale. Something he’s done time and again, with films like Interstellar, Inception, and Dunkirk. And what better story than one of the grandest: Homer’s Odyssey. So what can Nolan, a man obsessed with perfection and accuracy, do with such a subject? Gives us a movie that needs to be seen on the biggest screen available.
No spoilers here, and you either know the story of Odyssey (or, at least, bits and pieces of it) or you don’t. The movie is 3 hours long, detailing Odysseus’s years-long journey home after the Trojan War, where he was a hero for coming up with the idea for the Trojan Horse. Along the way he battles cyclops, giants, sirens, maelstroms, and even the gods themselves, but through it all, he is determined to return to his love, his wife Penelope, and their son Telemachus. Telemachus has grown up without a father, and is bitter over the suitors who come to his home daily to woo Penelope in hopes of marrying her for a shot at the throne, in Odysseus’s absence. No one really believes Odysseus will return, except for his family and one trusted servant.
Nolan spent gobs of money to develop new techniques to make this film, and did the majority of it “the old fashioned way.” You won’t find buildings-tall green screens and layers of CGI. There’s tons of natural action scenes with real (not computer-generated) armies fighting to the death. All of the actors have been very forthcoming with how hard this movie was to make, but to a person they agree that there comes satisfaction with having made something that will speak to people, because it has themes that are as meaningful today as they were 2800 years ago. This is a movie that you can watch again and again, and probably catch something you missed each time. Brilliantly done with an absolute all-star cast top to bottom (even some of the bit-part extras are recognizable faces!). I don’t know how Nolan is going to top this one. Maybe he’ll surprise us and make a small indie film next? ★★★★★
I’ll admit that I didn’t run out to see Project Hail Mary at the theater, despite being a sci-fi nerd, because it looked a bit too silly to me. The trailers leaned heavy on the comedy (and in my opinion, there was too much of it, especially in the first half of the movie) but it’s still an awesome science fiction flick. Based on a book by the same author who wrote The Martian (another fantastic space film), it has the same kind of “man out in space on his own” kind of idea, but with a twist. Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) wakes up alone in a space ship in deep space with total amnesia, no idea why he is out there; the two other spacefarers died in their induced hibernation during the long trek. Grace starts to get his memories piecemeal, which we see as flashbacks, that give us the story. Some kind of alien parasite has been sucking energy from our sun, and if humans can’t figure out how to stop it, our sun will grow too weak to keep the Earth warm, killing all the plants and animals and thus all the people too. Looking out into space, scientists have found the same problem with all stars except one: Tau Ceti, 11.9 million light years away. Using those same little parasites, which can emit tons of energy, they built a ship to get Grace (and his now-dead team) all the way out there to see why this one star is surviving, and to bring that knowledge back. Except Grace will not be bringing it back, because there’s only enough energy for a one-way trip, and he’ll have to send the cure back on tiny probes. Thankfully, Grace isn’t as alone as he thought he’d be. When he gets to Tau Ceti, he finds an alien, which he names “Rocky.” Once they learn how to communicate with each other, they learn they are there for the same reason, to save their home worlds from dying stars. The exciting parts in this movie are exhilarating, edge-of-your-seat affairs, and the movie has a surprising amount of heart as Rocky and Grace look out for each other as they face death time and again. Could have been a perfect sci-fi movie if they’d just cut back on some those silly laughs, but still a thrilling movie. ★★★★
She Dances is a great little indie flick with a strong cast. The (almost always) underrated Steve Zahn plays Jason, an absent father (been doing a lot of films like that lately) who is tasked with chaperoning his daughter Claire on her latest trip. Claire has always been into dance, and there’s a new competition for her to enter with her longtime friend and dance partner Kat. Much of the humor of the film is provided by these two Gen Z’ers and the out-of-touch Dad, but there’s some seriousness to the movie too: the hanging specter of Jack. Jack was Claire’s brother and Jason’s son, who died a few years ago (cause never mentioned; I suspected suicide), an event that ripped the family apart. It ended Jason’s marriage and sent him spiraling into alcoholism and withdrawing from Claire’s life. Jason has been sober for awhile now, but still hasn’t faced the hurt Jack’s passing has left him. Jason is uncomfortable around Claire because she reminds him of Jack, and Claire is hesitant to open up to Jason because of what it may dredge up. Jason is, after all, a recovering alcoholic and honestly doesn’t recall much of that dark time. Ethan Hawk costars as a longtime family friend and Jason’s business partner, and Claire is played by non other than Steve Zahn’s real-life daughter Audrey Zahn, in her first role. ★★★½
Jackie Chan will always be known for his martial arts films, but over the last few years, time has obviously diminished his action roles and he’s been taking more dramatic films. Such is the case for Unexpected Family, where he plays the elderly Ren. Ren is suffering from dementia, and while he lives alone, he is well-liked by his neighbors who take turns looking after him. A young tenant moves in named Zhong Bufan, and Ren mistakenly thinks it is his long-lost son returning home. Seeing Ren brighten up, the neighbors convince Bufan to play along. Initially, Bufan wants nothing to do with it, but when he thinks he may be able to manipulate Ren into giving him some money, he agrees. It isn’t long before Bufan grows to like Ren too, and gives up is nefarious plot. Ren, a former weightlifting coach, coached his son to a gold medal many years ago, so Bufan and the neighbors decide to reenact that championship meet in an attempt to bolster Ren’s memories and spirits. Things do not go as planned. Lots of Chan’s customary silly humor in the beginning of the film, but it really hits its stride in the second half, where it becomes more dramatic. Chan has acting chops, and I dare you to keep the emotions in check when he confronts his estranged “son” in the end. ★★★
Two Prosecutors shines a light on what life was like under the Stalin regime in the Soviet Union during the Great Purge, when Stalin was removing dissenters. It begins in a prison in Bryansk, where a prisoner is tasked with burning letters written by prisoners, letters which will never see the light of day. He is stricken by one though, written in blood, and somehow smuggles it out. The letter makes its way to a young prosecutor named Kornyev, a staunch communist but also a young idealist, and he comes to Bryansk to try to interview the prisoner who wrote the letter. He receives all kinds of run-around. The powers-at-be at the prison don’t want anyone to know how they are treating their prisoners. When Kornyev finally does meet the prisoner, an old man named Stepniak, we see why: Stepniak shows plenty of evidence of physical abuse and is coughing up blood, in obvious poor health. Turns out Kornyev has been so adamant because he once saw Stepniak give a speech about Bolshevism at his law school, and Kornyev knows that Stepniak is no dissenter. He’s a proper party man, and wants to know why Stepniak ended up here. He tries to take Stepniak’s case up the food chain, but everywhere he goes he is met with red tape and blockades. The red machine is in full force, and is not ready to admit any failure; with them there is either for or against, and if Kornyev isn’t careful, he may end up “against.” Excellent slow-burn drama. One of those movies where not much happens, but all the intrigue is told “in between” the dialogue. ★★★½
From one dark period in our world history to another, with the German film Amrum. Based on childhood of the film’s writer Hark Bohm, it takes place in the eponymous village, on a tiny German island off the coast, in 1945. The war is winding down, which is great news for most but unbelievable to others, namely Hille and her son Nanning (the main character). Hille is a staunch Nazi supporter, while her husband is off fighting in the war, but the rest of the village, far removed from Berlin and its worries, is ready for the war to be over. This includes Hille’s sister Ena. Ena and Hille are from this village and are staying in their childhood home; Hille’s house in Hamburg was bombed by the allies. Nanning finds himself at the center of this weird crossroads. When he repeats what a villager said about being thankful that the Russians are only 50 miles from Berlin, Hille wants the villager reported to the local magistrate, saying she is disloyal to her country. Even most family members in the village (aunts and uncles) are not sure what the war was supposed to be about, and are happy that they will stop losing friends and loved ones to “Hitler’s war.” After Hille gives birth to a new baby, she falls into postpartum depression, and refuses to eat. She makes an offhand comment that she’ll only eat white bread with butter and honey, all items that are extremely hard to come by these days. Nanning begins an adventure to find, trade for, or work for these items, in hopes of lifting his mom’s spirits, but it will be a tough job with society crumbing around him. Extremely well-depicted coming-of-age film, and a reminder that while our leaders will always try to divide us into “them” and “us,” most people are just living normal lives like everybody else. ★★★★
TV series recently watched: Star City (season 1), The Vampire Lestat (season 1)
Book currently reading: The Winds of Dune by Herbert & Anderson
Today, looking at some works of a couple Swedish directors who got their starts (behind the camera, at least) in the 1960s. Bo Widenberg had already been critical of the more traditional narrative films coming out of Sweden, particularly those of Ingmar Bergman (how dare he?!), so his pictures were tagged with the label of the Swedish New Wave after their French counterparts. His first film, 1963’s The Baby Carriage, isn’t completely “new wave,”, but it’s OK. Britt is a young woman without a lot of prospects, and seems uninterested with life. She sleeps with her boyfriend Robban and gets pregnant, and when she tells him about it, he flies away faster than a hawk. Her mother urges her to end the pregnancy, but Britt decides to keep the child, perhaps as the one thing in her life she has control over. As her pregnancy progresses, Britt starts hanging out with a guy named Bjõrn, who comes off as snobbish and pretentious. Britt overlooks these faults, as she so desperately wants him to be “the one” after her experience with Robban. She doesn’t see Bjõrn for what he is until nearly too late. In the end, Britt needs to discover who she is and who she wants to be. I think the film tries a little too hard to be new wave, with a jazz soundtrack that doesn’t always fit as well as it does in Elevator to the Gallows. ★★★
Widenberg went with a more traditional narrative film with his next, Raven’s End. Taking place in the 1930s against the backdrop of the rise of Hitler in Germany, Anders (same actor as Bjõrn above, Thommy Bergendahl) wants to be a writer but doesn’t know if he’ll ever get there. He’s from a very humble background; his father is an alcoholic and long unemployed, drinking or gambling away his family’s income, and his mother barely scrapes by as a laundress. When a publisher in Stockholm sends an invite to Anders to come talk about a submitted work, Anders is elated and thinks he’s finally done it, only to have his hopes dashed when his book is ultimately rejected. Anders laments that he has no experiences outside of his provincial life, nothing of interest to write about. What’s funny though is that there is history and life around him, if he were to just stop and pay more attention. In the end it may not be enough. Good story. ★★★½
A few years later, Widerberg made Elvira Madigan, based on the life of a young woman who lived in the late 19th century. At the beginning of the film, we meet Elvira and her boyfriend Sixten. The two are obviously madly in love, and the film paints this picture of an idyllic carefree life, the kind where you get lost in your love and nothing else matters. Only, some things should matter. We are told early on that Sixten has deserted from the military and faces harsh jail if caught. 20-ish minutes into the movie, we also learn that Elvira (real name Hedvig, as Elvira was her stage name) was a renowned circus tightrope performer who ran away from home and her career to be with Sixten. OK, lovers do crazy things, but when we later learn that Sixten left his wife and two young children too, things start to feel a little murky. The couple bounces from hotel to hotel while on the run, leaving whenever someone recognizes them (their story is all over the papers) or whenever the bill comes due, as their finances are dwindling. When they get so hungry that they start eating flowers and grass, they finally realize that their love alone cannot sustain them, and make a suicide pact. On the surface, you think that Widerberg has abandoned his ideals since this seems like a much more traditional film, especially since it is based on a true historical story, but it was shot on a minimalist script, mostly improvised by the actors and with no rehearsals, so the director was still sticking to his guns, more or less. The movie became the director’s first international hit. ★★★★
Three decent-to-good films and then a clunker. Ådalen 31 is based on a true story again, but gets far too political for my tastes, and comes off as preachy. It follows a moment in Sweden in 1969, an event that is still infamous to this day in that country. The primary business in the town of Ådalen is a sawmill, but the workers there have been on strike for months, and the owner is getting tired of it. He brings in new workers from out of town, which gets the townsfolk riled up, and they attack the scabs. To protect them and his industry, the owner calls in the military, and in a stroke of insanely back judgement, the military shoot at the protesting townspeople, killing 5 including a teenage girl who was just a bystander. Terrible day in Swedish history? Absolutely. Do I need to have it hammered down my throat how bad capitalism is and how good Sweden became under the socialism that followed? Naa, I’m OK. ★½
After that hack job, I moved on to a different director, Widerberg’s contemporary Mai Zetterling. She started as an actress (first role was actually Bergman’s first film as a writer, 1944’s Torment) but moved behind the camera by 1964’s Loving Couples. Kind of a misleading title, because the couples in this film are anything but traditional, and the setting is certainly not wholesome. It takes place in a maternity ward in 1914. Three women are there: Angela, Agda, and Adèle. Through flashbacks, we get the stories of these three women, whose lives are all interconnected, and what brought them to the ward. Angela comes from money though she feels her wealth as a burden at times. Her father died when she was a little girl, leaving her this fortune, and others tried to manipulate her over the years. She’s in the ward to give birth. Adèle once had money too, but when her father died, he left her and her mother destitute from gambling debts. As such, Adèle grew up bitter at the world and has become a hateful person. She’s in the ward waiting for her body to expel the stillborn child inside her. The last is Agda, who was born poor and later became a maid in Angela’s household, but she always found joy in life, though her marriage (and non-traditional pregnancy, as we learn) were more pragmatic. Very intriguing story with lots of tangents that all come together in the end for a complete picture. Relationships intertwine, to the benefit of some and detriment of others. It’s a film you have ride out to the end to see how it all fits together. ★★★½
Night Games was the director’s next film in 1966, and has a seriously messed up theme. Jan is engaged and has brought his fiancee Mariana to his childhood home, a sprawling estate. In flashbacks, we see Jan and the chaotic household he grew up in. His mother was Irene, a wealthy socialite always surrounded by sycophants, and with a revolving door for a boyfriend/sometimes husband. Irene cares only for physical pleasure and ignores her son Jan (unless he is bringing her joy at that moment in time). The only real attention Jan gets is from his grandmother, who unfortunately is losing her mind. As such, Jan grows an oedipus complex for his mother. In the current timeline, the longer he stays in that home, Jan begins to take on characteristics of his deceased mother, especially her hedonistic lifestyle. In the end, he must decide which path in life he wants to follow. Not sure I particularly liked the movie too much, but it is a fascinating story. A funny anecdote: when the film was to be shown at the San Francisco International Film Festival, an adult Shirley Temple (in her late 30s at that point in time) was to be on the jury, but resigned, calling the film “pornography for profit.” It is far from pornographic but definitely is stark in its portrayal of Jan’s and Irene’s unhealthy relationship. ★★★
The Girls was Zetterling’s first (and arguably only) hit, though it took decades to be recognized as such. It bombed when it came out in 1968, despite an all-star cast (Bibi Andersson, Harriet Andersson, Gunnel Lindblom, Gunnar Björnstrand, and Erland Josephson). A meta film before its time, it stars its trio of ladies as actors in a traveling performance of an ancient Greek play: Lysistrata by Aristophanes, about women who withhold sex from their husbands in an attempt to force them into a peace treaty during the current war. In a tale of life imitating art, we see that the actresses are continually subjected to sexism, even from other women, who think these ladies should be home “taking care of their babies and husbands.” If they have a family at home and good looks (heaven forbid when that starts to go with age), then they should have everything they need to be happy, and there’s something wrong with them if they want something more. The more times change, the more they stay the same. There’s some subtle surrealism too, like one scene where one of the girls is trying to get her point across, but the only time men start paying attention is when they are all transported to a lounge and she starts taking her clothes off in front of them. The movie does have some grandstanding (including one scene where a woman is literally grandstanding) but that all-star cast is all on top of their game, and it is as timely today as it was in the 60s. Loses a little steam in the final third of the picture, but overall still great. ★★★★
TV series recently watched: Dutton Ranch (season 1), The Agency (season 2), Enterprise (season 2)
Book currently reading: The Winds of Dune by Herbert & Anderson
I saw Jackass: Best and Last the best way to watch it: with a couple friends, having just downed a couple beers, and in a good mood. As I said in my review of the last Jackass film, don’t go into this expecting great cinema, but if you just want to turn the brain off and laugh (often and loud), you can’t do much better. The audience in the theater was all having a good time. This is billed as the last of them (the surviving members of the original Jackass franchise are all getting a bit long in the tooth to keep putting their bodies through this), so go see it, relive your childhood, and have a good time too. ★★★½
13 Days, 13 Nights is the newest from French director Martin Bourboulon, whose duology of the Three Musketeers films was quite good. This one is based-in-a-true story, during the US withdraw from Afghanistan in 2021. A soldier at the French embassy is worried about getting some of his informants out before the Taliban completely takes over Kabul, as well as other innocent women and children who fear the return of the regime and their ensuing loss of rights. There are some tense moments as the lead guy tries to get people out safely, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that I’ve seen movies like this that were done better. Whether that’s writing or just a constrictive budget is anyone’s guess, but I didn’t connect with their plight as much as the filmmaker certainly wanted me to. ★★½
Cactus Pears, out of India, is one of those leisurely paced films that will test many viewers, but for those with patience, there’s a rewarding ending. Anand works in Mumbai but has come home to his rural village after his father’s sudden passing. He’s obviously lived in the city for a long time, because he has to be reminded by his mother and many extended family members about what is expected over the next 10 days of mourning. Everything is steeped in ritual and tradition, from when, how, and where Anand can eat, to what he can wear, to when he can bathe. One looming question over it all is when Anand will get married, because, again due to tradition, after his father’s death he must marry within a year, or otherwise wait 3 more, at which point he’d be over 30 years old (on the humanity! According to his mother anyway). But it is very obvious to the viewer that Anand has no interest in marriage, and it isn’t until he reunites with an old (male) friend that we understand why. But can Anand and Bayla (whose parents are also demanding he finally find a wife) find happiness together in this society? A very slow paced film that allows the viewer to feel each passing moment with its actors, it’s a tender film that is all about the nuance. ★★★½
The Plague is a coming-of-age film with a darker undertone than you typically find in this genre. At a water polo summer camp of 12- and 13-year old boys, Ben is more socially awkward than most, but determined to make friends and fit in. Unfortunately the crowd that he wants to fit in with is not the good crowd. They are led by Jake, the worst kind of bully who bestows ignorant nicknames to his “friends.” Jake is loud and cruel, the kind of kid that others are drawn to to appear cool. The group’s favorite target is Eli, a misfit who marches to the beat of his own drum (a huge no-no in 2003 when the film takes place, and at an age when most kids are trying their hardest not to stand out). Eli is the kind of kid though that will probably grow up to be the most interesting of all of them, if he can survive adolescence. That’s a big if, because he is constantly teased and harassed by Jake and his cronies, including, eventually, Ben, who doesn’t want to go out on a limb for Eli. Eli has some kind of skin condition, which the boys call “the plague,” and they never let up. As an adult, it’s easy to scream at the screen that the kindly Ben should stick up for Eli, but if you think back to those terrible early teenage years, it’s understandable that he doesn’t. It’s also easy to hate Jake, but his story is complicated too, as we eventually learn that his mother died awhile back and we see a glimpse of a turbulent, possibly violent home life. Ultimately we have to remember these are all just kids, though their actions have very real and lasting consequences. Excellent, tense film that slowly builds until a devastating conclusion. Joel Edgerton is the sole recognizable face, as the swim instructor. ★★★★
I think I’ve said it before, but not all interesting real-life stories need to be made into movies. Tow, based on the life of a homeless woman named Amanda (played by Rose Byrne), is one such film. At the beginning of the movie, Rose is already homeless and living out of her car in Seattle. Just as she lands a new job, her car (with everything she owns in this world) is stolen, leaving her with nothing. Thankfully, the police find it just a day later, but rather than saving her, this only adds to Amanda’s problems. The tow yard that retrieved the car from the police wants $200 to give Amanda her car back, and in her position, that might as well be $20,000 (which the bill eventually becomes as fees continue to get added on). Amanda finds help in a pro-bono young idealistic lawyer, who sues the tow yard and its rich, entitled owner, but the dude’s got the money to draw this thing out in the courts, which he does for over a year. All that time, Amanda is stuck living in a shelter with other women down on their luck. With a cast filled out with familiar faces (Ariana DeBose, Simon Rex, Octavia Spencer, and Demi Lovato), I expected more, but this film is BORING. Its attempts at humor fall flat, and it expects you to feel sorry for Amanda just because she’s homeless. Well, she doesn’t try too hard to help her own situation, and is generally a pretty unlikeable person, so good luck with that? ★½
TV series recently watched: Lost (season 4), The Long Shadow (series), Dexter (season 2), This City is Ours (season 1)
Book currently reading: The Force Awakens by Alan Dean Foster
The DC Universe rebooted with last year’s Superman, where Kara (Supergirl) was given a cameo to introduce her. She gets her own flick in this year’s followup, fleshing out the character and giving her her own adventure. Unfortunately it does not reach the heights of her cousin Superman’s movie.
Enjoying her birthday week (turning 23), Kara has left Earth and is living on a planet orbiting a red sun. Red suns make Kryptonians “normal,” and without her superpowers, Kara is getting drunk and being a normal 20-something. Her party days are numbered though, when she gets drawn into a young girl’s plight. The girl, Ruthye, has just seen her entire family murdered, and is seeking revenge on the evil Krem, leader of an intergalactic gang of thugs. Kara lacks Superman’s sense of purpose to protect the weak, so initially she wants to stay out of Ruthye’s problems, but when Krem shoots Kara’s dog Krypto with a poisoned arrow, and only he carries the antidote, Kara signs up for the adventure. During the 3 day venture, we get Kara’s backstory.
Whereas Superman was sent away from Krypton as a baby, and thus has no memory of it, Kara was born amongst the destroyed planet’s few survivors, and lived with them for a decade as she saw them whither away and die, including her own parents. With no hope of survival, her dying father sent her to Earth to find her cousin Kal-El (Superman), knowing Earth’s yellow sun will make her strong. Kara’s been carrying that baggage around, which explains her cycle of self-destruction with booze. But if she’s going to help Ruthye, she’ll need to conquer her own demons.
The best part of the movie is when Kara goes all Supergirl on the bad guys, which happens 3 times. The rest of the movie is sort of a mess. It’s really hard to like Supergirl, as she’s often selfish and bratty and generally not a fun person to be around. There’s also a really poorly conceived idea of introducing the antihero Lobo into the universe, portrayed by Jason Momoa. With his gray skin and silly quips, he comes off as a superhero Beetlejuice. Even sounds like Beetlejuice at times. In the end, I didn’t care much for any of the characters. After I loved Superman so much, I hope this doesn’t mean bad things for a DC Universe that is supposed to just be getting started. ★★½
I said in my review of Toy Story 4 (7 years ago!) that the original Toy Story trilogy was perfect, but that the newest sequel was a good epilogue. I didn’t imagine a new story needed to be told, but the folks at Disney hit that money machine again with Toy Story 5. And it’s another hit, with a fantastic, timely story that stills tugs at the heartstrings as much as only this franchise can.
Bonnie is now 8 years old. Woody has moved on but the rest of the gang is still enjoying playing with Bonnie, with the centerpiece being Jessie the cowgirl (who is the focus of this new film) and Buzz Lightyear, who has grown feelings for Jessie but doesn’t know how to express them. Bonnie’s toys are thrown for a loop when her parents buy her a tablet, a Leapfrog, and she begins to play only with that. When Jessie reaches out to Woody out in the world, he confirms that he sees abandoned toys every day, left by the wayside when their boys and girls have left them to only play with tech. Jessie is devastated, convinced that just kids “playing” with their tablets in the same room but not interacting with each other isn’t really playing at all. Jessie, who’s the oldest of this particular group of toys and has seen three owners “age out” of her toys, can’t face that again and fears it is the end for her and others like her. If she is going to “save” Bonnie from a tech-dependent childhood, she must find a like-minded child who still loves to play with toys and get her to meet Bonnie.
The film touches on a lot of today’s subjects, such as screen time, online bullying, and the isolation that comes from not getting your kids out of the house to really play (and imagine) with others. And as always, lots of humor for all ages. I didn’t tear up at this one like I have for Toy Story movies in the past, but it still has lots of heart, and you can’t help but root for those plastic little beings as they love their little girl as much as she loves them. Once again, it will make Disney a boatload of money at the box office and in toys (we bought our granddaughter a Jessie when we took her to the theater to see it this weekend, and a Rex dinosaur for her little brother even though he is too young to go and stayed home with Dad). ★★★★★
I’ve been excited to see this film since its very first trailer, where star Emily Blunt, on camera, moves from spoken word to clicks and ticks, and no one knows why. And they kept the secret right up to when the movie was coming out. What was it about? A.I.? Aliens? Robots? Whatever it was going to be, I was down for Steven Spielberg’s triumphant return to science fiction. The movie did not disappoint.
At the start of the movie, the world is on the cusp of World War III, with saber-rattling by the US and North Korea. With tension in the air, a top secret agency is chasing after a former employee, Daniel (played by Josh O’Connor), who has stolen some proprietary tech from them. When confronted, Daniel pulls out the item, which looks like a sliver of metal of some kind, and immediately the agency’s goons back off, obviously afraid of what it can do. Daniel is able to get away with his girlfriend Jane in tow, but it isn’t long before the agency strikes back. Its head, Noah (Colin Firth), sits in a chair and pulls out a similar-looking metal device, and uses it to “dive” into Jane’s consciousness. He’s able to control her to look around and find out where she and Daniel are, and even control her movements and interrogate her within her mind. Noah wants Daniel back (or dead) and will go to any length to make that happen.
Meanwhile, weatherwoman Margaret (Emily Blunt) is getting ready to leave her apartment for work when a cardinal flies inside an open window. Margaret stares at the bird for a couple seconds, and when she turns to her boyfriend after, starts speaking fluently in Russian, without realizing she’s doing it. The boyfriend is confused, but before he can ask what’s going on, Margaret runs off to get to work. On her way, she is pulled over by a cop for speeding, but sees into his soul before he can write a ticket. Margaret has suddenly gained some kind of psychic ability and can now “read” people and provide comfort where needed, telling them how to deal with troubled moments in their lives. She can also instinctively speak whatever language is their first, in order to effectively communicate.
Separately, Daniel’s former boss at the super-secret government agency (Hugo, played by Colman Domingo) is trying to bring Daniel and Margaret together. He has a plan to out his former employers and bring what they’ve been hiding (Daniel’s device, as well as video footage he’s carrying) to share with the world on what he is calling Disclosure Day. But is the world ready for that. Knowledge? Absolutely tremendous film, I was hooked from its very opening moments. Some great action scenes, including an incredible train scene that will have you holding your breath, and while the ending is predictable, it is compelling enough to keep you hooked. ★★★★½
The Cranes Are Flying is a 1957 Soviet era anti war film, taking place during World War II. Boris and Veronika are deeply in love and planning marriage when war breaks out. Veronika worries Boris will be drafted, but he inexplicably freely enlists out of a sense of patriotism. He pledges to return home safe, but he’s only gone a short time before Veronika loses her family during a bombing. Boris’ family takes her in, but this turns out to be more of a curse. Boris’ cousin Mark, who somehow has avoided getting drafted, has long has his eye on Veronika, and he takes advantage of the opportunity and rapes her. In the next scene, we see that the family has relocated to Siberia, away from the dangers of war in Moscow. Veronika is working at a nurse at a hospital and has married Mark, though she despises him and longs for any word from Boris from the front. Letters never come. When we finally see what Mark has been doing in the war, we get the bad news long before Veronika will. A heart-wrenching film and searing message against the atrocities of war, and its affects both abroad and at home. It received universal acclaim, and won the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 1958. ★★★★★
After the success of Cranes, director Mikhail Kalatozov followed up with Letter Never Sent in 1959, and oh boy, another good one, again involving the indomitable human spirit. A quartet of Russians have come to Siberia in search of diamonds. Sergei and Konstantin have been there before, this is their fourth attempt in fact, but for young couple Andrei and Tanya, both geologists, this is their first time, and thus they are the most optimistic. They initially are dropped off by plane near a river in early spring, but panning it turns up nothing. They turn inland towards the mountains and start digging, and just as the dryness of summer sets in, they finally find a diamond. The team is elated, for the wealth it can bring their country just as the space race is heating up, but tragedy soon strikes. A wildfire breaks out, killing Sergei (the guide) and torching the area. Planes fly overheard regularly, trying to rescue the remaining trio, but the smoke keeps them from being spotted. As summer turns to fall, and eventually the cold, cold Siberian winter, hope is lost. It’s a thrilling picture that really gets the viewer into the bleak feeling of the team’s struggling, dwindling survivors. ★★★★
Wings is one of those movies which I’m not really sure what it’s about. Either nothing, or over my head. It follows a middle-aged woman in the 60s who is famous and respected by anyone her age and older, but gets no respect from the students at the school where she is now headmistress. She is definitely out of touch with the younger generation, who don’t know (and don’t care) who she is. We find out much later in the film that she was a fighter pilot for the USSR during World War II, and one of some renown (which explains her dream-like states of floating through clouds, which happen sporadically throughout). That’s really the film in a nutshell. Nothing much really happens. I just don’t get what it was trying to say. ★½
Despite not connecting with the above film, I gave the director (Larisa Shepitko) another shot with what is supposed to be her best, 1977’s The Ascent. What an about-face! This movie is spectacular, following two Soviet partisans in World War II, Sotnikov and Rybak, as they are tasked to search for food for the group with whom they’ve been traveling, which includes fighting partisans as well as women and children hiding from the Germans and their collaborating Belarusian locals. At the closest village, they end up at the house of a man named Sergei, who has been reluctantly working with the Germans in order to keep his family safe. Sotnikov is disgusted and wants to kill Sergei, but is convinced to let him live, and instead he and Rybak leave with with food. Before they can make it back to the group, they are found by Germans and shot at, wounding Sotnikov in the leg. The duo escape again, and hide out in another house, belonging to Demchikha. Demchikha is looking after her 3 young children while her husband is fighting at the front, and willingly hides her countrymen. However, they are all discovered by Germans before long, and the two partisans are arrested. Sotnikov is interrogated first, and he gives up no information despite terrible torture. Rybak goes next, and assuming Sotnikov already talked, he sings like a bird, without even the threat of torture. When he is reunited later with Sotnikov, he realizes his error, but by then his courage has already left him. It only gets worse when Sergei and Demchikha, along with a young Jewish girl found hiding in the village, are imprisoned with them, and the threat of death in the morning hangs over the group. A tremendous film about the lengths man will go to to save his own ass, and how different people face the end in very different ways. Some find courage, and some find cowardice. This triumph was to be Shepitko’s final film; she was killed in a car accident 2 years later at the age of 41. ★★★★½
The above films are all classics, but we get a lot newer with Khrustalyov, My Car!, released in 1998 (though taking place in the 50s and shown in black and white). All I can say with this one is don’t waste your time. I very nearly did. There’s a quick blurb in the beginning about how Jews were facing state-sponsored antisemitism under Stalin’s “Doctor’s Plot” program. So I’m think, good, here we go, a great Soviet historical drama. Well, after sitting through nearly an hour of a constant bombardment of silly visual gags based around a ragtag group of residents living in a tiny apartment building, with no real plot developing, I gave up. Does it ever get to the problems the Jewish community was facing in Soviet Russia in 1953? I’ll never know. ½
TV series recently watched: Stargate SG1 (season 4), Margo’s Got Money Troubles (season 1), Spider-Noir (series)
Book currently reading: Knife of Dreams by Robert Jordan
As a child of the 80s who played the shit out of my He-Man toys, you know I was down for the new Masters of the Universe, cheesy dialogue be damned. This film’s a reboot, telling the origin story of Prince Adam, and is great for people like myself, mid-40s-ish who fondly remember Castle Grayskull, as well as younger, new fans, which Mattel will need if they want to grow the franchise. I won’t go into the story much, because I know this isn’t for everyone, but basically young Prince Adam is very athletically challenged, even though he is supposed to succeed his father and continue a long lineage of powerful kings. Before he can grow into his role, the city is attacked by the evil Skeletor and his minions, overrunning the forces of good. The good Sorcerous sends young Adam through a portal to Earth, where he grows up with knowledge of home, though obviously no one believes him. To return home, he needs to find the Sword of Power, which will unlock his path home and bring him power to take out Skeletor and restore order. There’s plenty of dialogue that will make adults laugh (if you remember from the cartoons, Skeletor was an evil bad guy but also a bit of a bumbling buffoon at times), and some off-color jokes that will be over little kids heads. Is the dialogue silly? Yes. Does it sometimes come off as a high budget B movie? Sure. But it is still a thrilling ride and a wonderful piece of nostalgia that I’ll watch again. ★★★★
Starbright is a, at times, charming movie, even if it is a very bad film. And it is bad. It’s marketed as sort of a modern fable, and I guess it is that. A young woman named Aisling is living with her aging grandparents (Ted Levine spotting! Buffalo Bill from The Silence of the Lambs) when she spots a falling star that seems to crash nearby. Suddenly, a man claiming to be the archangel Raphael appears (played by John Rhys-Davies), and says the fallen star is there to grant Aisling one wish. But first she must protect it, as it (and by extension, she) is being hunted by some recent jail escapees who want the star for its ability to turn objects into gold. Aisling is aided by Raphael and a well-intentioned young Italian man named Joshua. There’s a near-perfect write-up on the reddit /badmovies that I urge you to go read, because the author does a great job of hashing out the plot in a way that is laugh-out-loud funny but also shows how ridiculous this movie is, from beginning to end. Still, even though you have to suspend belief at the near-constant absurd scenes (during a sword fight (*chuckle*) why does the bad guy keep backing off and waiting for Joshua to pick up his sword and resume the fight, rather than kill him outright?!? This happens at least 5 times), the actress who plays Aisling is cute as a button and Rhys-Davies is a scene-stealer throughout. ★★
Josh O’Connor is hot right now, and his latest role is that if a down-on-his-luck cowboy in Rebuilding. Dusty has just lost his home and livelihood, 200 acres of a cattle ranch, to a wildfire. FEMA sets him and others like him in temporary mobile homes, built cheaply by the lowest bidders, with leaking roofs and shoddy cabinets. Right now though, it’s all Dusty has left. With nothing else to do, Dusty takes the opportunity to reconnect with his daughter Callie. Dusty’s ex-wife and ex-mother-in-law (Amy Madigan sighting!) encourage Dusty to do so, and while Callie is hesitant at first, she eventually begins to warm up to her father. In doing so, she gets Dusty to open back up to life in general, befriending the others in the temporary homes. But when FEMA money runs out and they are each given days to pack up and leave, Dusty and his new friends must discover what their lives will look like moving forward. Very quiet drama, one of those indie films where not much really happens, but instead focuses on the little moments and the human interactions that make up everyday life. Excellent film. ★★★½
Dead Man’s Wire is one of those movies with an incredible cast (Bill Skarsgard, Cary Elwes, Colman Domingo, and even Al Pacino in a small role) with an established director (Gus Van Sant), but which the parts don’t come together for a satisfying whole. Based on a true story, it follows a man named Tony who has a bone to pick with the mortgage company who sold him some land. Tony had planned to develop the land, but that never came to fruition, and when the mortgage company raised his rates for missed payments, Tony lost it. His plan: kidnap the company’s CEO at gunpoint, to force the company to issue a public apology and make things right. Tony is obviously not in his right mind, and Skarsgard plays it to a tee, but honestly the movie is boring. For what is supposed to be a high-tense thriller, it is distinctly lacking in thrills. It has some style, taking place in the 70s, with editing to get you to feel like you are in the time period, but the movie’s just not very good. Sorry Gus, Good Will Hunting this ain’t. ★½
Also based on a true story, I Swear is a biopic about the life of John Davidson. The movie begins near the end: in 2019, John is getting a medal from Queen Elizabeth II, when he nervously blurts out “Fuck the Queen!” Yes, John has Tourette’s. We then flash back to when John was a young teen in 1983, when his symptoms first started. We see the teasing he receives, the dissolution of his family (his father leaves, and his mother, unable to deal with John’s tics, treats him poorly), and we, like John, don’t see how his once-promising life will ever rebound. A decade later, it is just John living with his mom alone when he finally finds hope. He runs into an old friend, who invites him home for dinner. The buddy’s mom turns out to be a former nurse in a mental ward, and she knows what Tourette’s is, even if not many others do at the time. For the first time in John’s life, she doesn’t try to get him to suppress his tics and profanity, but accepts him for who he is and encourages him to accept himself. Finally, John starts to grow. He moves out of his mom’s and in with his “new” family, and gets a job. As the movie progresses, John finds his calling: to educate the police, teachers, and society in general on what Tourette’s is, and to talk to others like him to tell them that they can still accomplish much in life. This life work is what leads to him receiving his medal from the queen. We’ve all heard about this disability, usually as a joke about the kid who blurts out vulgar language and makes weird movements/tics, but this is an eye-opening film about what it really means and how hard it can be for someone who just wants to fit in and lead a normal life. Robert Aramayo (John) is a star in the making, a truly brilliant performance. ★★★★★
TV series recently watched: ST Voyager (season 6), For All Mankind (season 5), Your Friends & Neighbors (season 2), Rivals (season 2.1)
Book currently reading: Knife of Dreams by Robert Jordan
Star Wars is back, with The Mandalorian and Grogu, the first Star Wars film in theaters in over 6 years. It’s a continuation of the popular (at least, the first 2 seasons) Disney+ show, but even if you go in completely cold, you can figure things out pretty quickly. In the aftermath of the destruction of the Death Star (Return of the Jedi) and start of the New Republic, bounty hunter Din Djarin, often called just “the Mandalorian” to those who know of his reputation in the galaxy, is chasing down vestiges of the Empire generals and higher-ups. He is joined by Grogu, his young friend and toddler-sized alien, who is the same species as Yoda and also highly gifted in the Force, though he’s young and still learning. Djarin’s new bounty is for an Empire commander named Coin, but finding him will force Djarin into an unsavory alliance. Coin’s whereabouts are known to the Hutt Twins, who’ve been running things since Luke Skywalker killed Jabba the Hutt. Before the Hutts give up what they know, they task Djarin with rescuing Rotta the Hutt, who is Jabba’s son and successor. Djarin hates the Hutts but agrees in order to get to Coin. So starts the newest adventure long ago in a galaxy far, far away. Star Wars needs movies like this to succeed if they want to grow the franchise outside of Skywalkers and Jedi. As popular as the Star Wars movies are, if you pigeon hole the franchise to only doing movies about Jedi, there’s only so many directions that can go. This is a straight up action/adventure film set in the Star Wars universe, with hardly a mention of Jedi or universe-shattering events going on at large. I loved the movie. The action and fight scenes are incredible; it doesn’t get more thrilling than when you see X-Wings come down from the sky to start shooting up the bad guys. Plenty of comedic moments too (usually involving tiny Grogu; don’t mess with a winning formula) that had the (full) audience laughing. It’s a great ol’ Star Wars tale. ★★★★½
The Love That Remains is the newest from Icelandic director Hlynur Pálmason, someone I have a checkered history with. I keep coming back though, because *everyone* always says his movies are so good. This one follows a family living in a rural area of Iceland over the course of a year, as they are moving on from a divorce. At the beginning of the movie, Anna and Magnus have already separated, but are trying to find out what that means, while they continue to raise their three kids. Magnus is gone for long stretches of time, as he’s a commercial fisherman, and Anna is close to a starving artist. When Magnus is in town, he still visits regularly and tries to proposition Anna for sex; she turns him down, and internally battles her lost feelings for him with her desire to see him dead. The kids, meanwhile, amuse themselves with shooting arrows on the huge stretch of their land, and asking each other questions about their parents’ love lives. With all this going on, the film comes off more as separate vignettes, intertwined with the over-arching story about the failed marriage. Lots of surrealism going on here, with scenes of Magnus floating in the ocean (as aimless as he feels after his marriage) and whatnot. I liked this one more than the previous Pálmason films, but still not sure I get everything it’s trying to say, and I didn’t think it was as funny as everyone else seems to think. ★★★
It’s rare that a coda to a beloved film or series is able to pull it off, but this one does. Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man is a proper conclusion to the (excellent) British series that catapulted the great Cillian Murphy to stardom. A few years after the conclusion of the series, Tommy Shelby has found a life of seclusion, away from the violence that pervaded his life as the head of the crime gang the Peaky Blinders. In his absence, his estranged son Duke (recast and now portrayed by Barry Keoghan) is the new head of the gang in Birmingham, and he’s made a deal with the devil. It’s 1940, and Nazis are looking to break England from within; they are wanting to import tons of counterfeit British currency into the country to devastate its economy, and Duke has agreed to help make it happen, with the goal to enrich himself and his gang. Tommy’s sister Ada, a member of parliament representing Birmingham, beseeches Tommy to return to his old stomping grounds and confront Duke to right his wrongs, but to do so, Tommy will need to reawaken his violent side. Not a deep movie, no big “ah-ha” moments, but it is supremely exciting, and Murphy and Keoghan play off each other to perfection. There’s lots to be gleaned if you’ve seen the series, but you can easily watch this as a standalone movie too. ★★★★
Sometimes its the movies that you don’t expect much from that really surprise you. Remarkably Bright Creatures, based off a popular novel, looked like it could be a little campy for my tastes, but I had nothing else going on this particular morning and popped it on Netflix. It stars Sally Field as Tova, an elderly woman who has worked long past the usual retirement age because she has a hard time being alone, a result of her husband and son preceding her in death. For her son in particular, there are whispers around town that he died under mysterious circumstances. Tova cleans an aquarium in the evenings, though she doesn’t seem to need the money, and enjoys “chatting” with the marine animals, particularly the octopus named Marcellus. Though Marcellus obviously doesn’t talk back to Tova, he acts as the narrator of the story for us viewers. Marcellus is constantly escaping his tank, and Tova always guides him back. This quiet little existence is thrown off course when Cameron (Lewis Pullman) comes to town. Cameron is seeking his father, a man who abandoned him as a child, someone he’s never met. But Cameron has a clue to who it is, and it isn’t long until Tova takes him under her wing, seeing something of her lost son in him, and helps him in his search. The mystery of Tova’s son’s death, and the legacy he left, is revealed in the end. Lots of heart-warming moments, but also lots of truly funny scenes, which I didn’t expect. It’s a great family film for all ages, though I think its message of redemption will hit harder for the older (my age and up) crowd. Keep the tissues close for the end! ★★★★½
Redux Redux has an interesting premise, and if you go in blind, you’ll have no idea what is going on for a little while. In quick scenes in the beginning, we see the main character, Irene, killing the same man over and over in various ways, whether it be burning him to death, shooting, or stabbing. Finally, she walks into a diner, sits at the counter, and spots him again. Before we can wonder what the heck is going on, Irene pulls out a gun and shoots him dead again. Unfortunately for Irene, this time there is a cop walking in at the moment, forcing her to flee. She evades them just long enough to get to a moving truck company, where she pulls a bag of keys out of her backpack, pressing key fobs until a truck horn beeps. She jumps in, drives like maniac back to her motel. As police descend on the motel room, she shimmies into a futuristic-looking metal box, presses a few buttons, and the box disappears. We soon learn the plot: Irene’s daughter Anna was killed by this man she’s been continuously murdering. Neville is a serious killer in every parallel universe, and in every one, Anna was victim number 12. Irene has made it her goal to kill him as many times as she can, until her luck runs out. If she ever dies, or gets arrested, then the game is up. This time is different though, because as she hunts down Neville once again, she finds that he has tied up soon-to-be victim # 13. Irene rescues the teenager, Mia. Mia wants in on the revenge tour, setting up some universe hopping hijinks The idea is good, but the execution is rough. The film is super low budget, which I normally don’t mind, but it is pretty hard to ignore. The cast is a bunch of people you’ve never heard of, and based on their acting chops, you probably never will. And there’s lots of weird side quests to increase the movie’s runtime, but serve no real purpose (like the universe-hopping machine losings its “flux capacitor” thingie, forcing Irene and Mia to sidetrack for some power). More than the minimum half star, just because it was interesting enough to get me to watch until the end. ★½
TV series recently watched: Enterprise (season 1), Conbody vs Everybody (series), Love on the Spectrum (season 4), Marshals (season 1), Beef (season 2), Legends (series), The Testaments (season 1)
Book currently reading: Knife of Dreams by Robert Jordan
Jons Movie Takes 