Quick takes on 5 films

I usually see newer movies, and Take Shelter isn’t a new film (2011), but I stumbled upon it accidentally, saw it had two fantastic actors (Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain), was directed by Jeff Nichols (before he did Mud and Midnight Special), and dove in. Curtis is a construction worker in a rural community who suddenly one day starts suffering from debilitating fear about impending disasters. He and his wife Samantha are already struggling to make ends meet, with big bills for the special school and needs for their deaf daughter Hannah. First Curtis has progressively worse nightmares, which are vivid and violent, but when it becomes hallucinations while awake, of storms killing his family, strangers kidnapping Hannah, etc., he starts to act on his fears. Accepting his nightmares as premonitions, he borrows a bunch of money from the bank and starts expanding a storm shelter on his land into a secure bunker. This leads to all sorts of problems in his relationship with his wife and other friends and family. As Curtis goes further down the rabbit hole, these chasms grow even wider. Michael Shannon puts in a tour-de-force performance, in an engrossing picture examining mental illness (or is it?) and its affect on the family. ★★★½

The Half of It is a very nice, new take on the classic coming-of-age tale. Ellie is a very smart and talented girl in high school, but she’s shy and ridiculed as the class nerd. She also happens to be the best writer in school, so everyone pays her to write their papers, and she uses the money to help support her single father, who hates his job in the small town where they seem to be stuck. Ellie is approached by a dumb (but nice) jock, Paul, to help him write a love letter to Aster, the prettiest girl in school. The problem is, Ellie has a huge crush on Aster herself. Aster hangs with the cool crowd because of her looks, but she’s smart and artsy and more akin to Ellie. As Ellie and Paul grow closer, this little love triangle grows very complicated. Ellie tells us in the beginning this isn’t a love story, but it is a story about finding yourself. The film is definitely more painful than warming, but it leaves you with a sense that life will be OK in the end. ★★★½

Extraction, starring Chris Hemsworth in his classic manly role, is no sweeping, thought-provoking cinematic experience, but it doesn’t try to be. It is a straight forward action flick, and for what it is, it hits on all cylinders. Tyler Rake is a mercenary with a team that goes to the highest bidder. They’ve been hired to rescue a boy who’s been kidnapped. The boy is the son of a drug lord in India, but he’s been nabbed by a drug lord from Bangladesh. In the mission to get the boy and get them to the people with the most money, all hell breaks loose. There’s no deep plot here, no surprises, just lots of pure action, with Rake killing dozens, if not hundreds of “bad guys” on the way. If you are in the mood to see hand-to-hand fights, lots of explosions, and plenty of gratuitous gore, this film will satisfy. I went in knowing what to expect, and was happy with the outcome. ★★★½

Little Women received a ton of accolades last year, but I just don’t get all the praise. A new telling of the classic Alcott book, director Greta Gerwig brought together an all-star cast of women, including Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Laura Dern, Meryl Streep, and Florence Pugh. The actors are charming, but the characters are a bit pretentious. A family of four girls living with their mother while their father is off with the Union army in the Civil War, they are raised to be sure of themselves, kind to the needy, and strong willed in a time when women were just supposed to get married and be an ornament. Jo wants to be a writer, Amy an artist, Meg an actor/playwright, and Beth a musician, and each pursues their goals in their own way, while remaining tightly connected to each other. The film is about these pursuits, as well as the relationships that come and go. Unfortunately it all comes off as too syrupy sweet, and as the film is told in flashbacks (and even a couple flash forwards), it feels choppy, and honestly this way of telling this classic story doesn’t do justice to the girls. Starting in the present and then going back, we don’t get to see them “become” the women they are over time, it just sort of happens. And (**SPOILER**) when Beth dies, because we didn’t get to know her so well earlier, her death has a much less affect on the watcher as it does on the reader in the book, and does Beth a severe disservice. And the film feels long. It is under 2 1/2 hours, but I’ve seen 3+ hour films that went by quicker. It isn’t bad, and the actors are great all around, but not deserving of the heaps of praise. I think sometimes we go too far to applaud a woman director when she makes a good film, because the industry is lacking in good female directors, and unfortunately that was the case here for me. ★★★

Pain and Glory is the latest from storied director Pedro Almodóvar, who I ashamedly admit I haven’t seen enough of (will rectify that before too long). It stars Antonio Banderas as Salvador Mallo, an aging, successful director who is at a bit of a crossroads. In 4 years he has lost his mother and had major back surgery which has left him in constant pain. On the 32nd anniversary of his breakout film, a local theater in Madrid is screening a restored version of the movie, bringing all kinds of emotion to Salvador. He reconnects to the star of that film, despite a falling out 30 years ago, and also begins to work through his thoughts and feelings regarding his mother. Interspersed throughout the picture are flashbacks to Salvador’s childhood, growing up in poverty. This is a film about healing, both for our main character and, I believe, for director Almodóvar. He’s on record for saying how personal the film was for him, and while it isn’t a true biography, it is also very evident that he is working things out for himself in this film. It’s a beautiful film, with a nuanced and touching performance by Banderas. ★★★★★