Quick takes on 5 films

7500 is the airline code for a hijacking in progress, and the newest film starring Joseph Gordon Levitt is about just such an event. Gordon Levitt plays the pilot, Tobias, on a short flight from Berlin to Paris. They’ve just taken off when a quartet of extremist Islamics attempt to take over the plane. One man is able to get into the cockpit and the captain is gravely injured, and Tobias deeply cut too, before they are able to subdue the attacker. The hijacker’s friends are locked out, but they begin threatening to kill passengers unless Tobias lets them in, something he obviously cannot do. Except for the opening scenes on the way to the plane, the entirety of the film takes place inside that claustrophobic space. It reminded me a bit of the film Locke, which starred another great actor, Tom Hardy, and took place exclusively in a car as he placed phone calls. That one was a one-man show, whereas there are other characters on screen here, but the same kind of small space brought back memories. That’s where the comparisons stop though. Locke is intense and mesmerizing throughout; 7500 has some tight moments, but also several lulls that were almost boring, which is hard to pull off when a plane full of people is getting hijacked. And outside of the lead, the acting is unremarkable at best, shoddy at worst. 4 stars for Gordon Levitt, 1 star for the picture, evens out to ★★½

I’m No Longer Here is fantastic. A Mexican film, it follows 17-year-old Ulises as he struggles to be himself in a world that doesn’t seem to want to allow this. Told in the present when he has been smuggled in the USA and is homeless on the streets of New York, as well as in flashbacks when he was living in Monterrey, Mexico, Ulises is a believer in the culture called Kolumbia; he dresses in baggy clothes, sports an outlandish haircut, listens to a slowed down version of cumbia music, and dances. In Mexico, he runs a non-violent gang of like-minded youths who go by the name The Terkos. However, they are increasingly being surrounded by more violent gangs who care more about guns than music. He ends up being smuggled to New York (we don’t know the reason until much later in the film) and there, has a hard time adjusting to the culture smash. His only “friend” is a girl of Japanese decent who doesn’t speak any Spanish (Ulises doesn’t speak anything but), however she’s really only interested in him as an oddity. Used to the corrupt police of Mexico, Ulises is wary of police when they approach him in NY, and without speaking any English, he can’t communicate his thoughts with anyone. Ulises is completely alone, and that permeates through the screen with a feeling of hopelessness, made more so by how much we grow to like him throughout the picture. The film is done very well, with enough mystery to keep you wondering how everything played out to get Ulises there, and a beautiful poetic atmosphere (the streets of Monterrey and NY are equally immersive) which kept me enthralled. The star of the show, unknown actor Juan Daniel Garcia Trevińo, is a talent to watch. ★★★★

Two in a row, with another tremendous film in Never Rarely Sometimes Always. This was always going to be a divisive picture, about a 17 year old girl who gets pregnant and makes the decision to get an abortion on her own, keeping the whole ordeal a secret from her parents. The film starts with Autumn performing at her high school talent show, during which, with her parents in attendance, someone in the audience calls out, “Slut.” Her parents choose to not approach her about it later, in fact, her step father takes the low road when he calls the dog a slut as a joke. Fearing she may be pregnant, Autumn goes to the local crisis center in the rural Pennsylvania area she lives in, where her fears are confirmed. This center focuses on adoption, trying to scare Autumn with a video of what abortion looks like, and since she can’t get one in Pennsylvania without parental consent anyway, Autumn and her cousin Skylar take a clandestine trip to New York. What is supposed to be an afternoon away from home turns into a 3 day ordeal, frightening in every way for our heroine and her staunch supporter, who seems to be all she has in the world. Whatever your stance on abortion, it is impossible to argue that Autumn, and real-life versions of her, have to be extremely brave to go through what they do. There is one powerful scene in the film, where a caring counselor is asking Autumn privately about her sexual history, and we see the violence she has already experienced in her 17 years, and the terrible experiences she’s been through, when she’s still in reality not much more than a kid. It’s a powerful film, from director Eliza Hittman, whose last film, Beach Rats, also stuck with me long after it ended. ★★★★½

Jumanji: the Next Level is the sequel to the successful reboot a couple years ago. Tired of the dreary life he’s living, Spencer willingly goes back into Jumanji to become the heroic Bravestone again, and is followed by his friends to save him from certain death. The group goes in confidently, since they’ve played and beat the game before, but, surprise!, they have a new scenario to play out, with a new nefarious bad guy to beat (Rory McCann, “the hound” from GoT). The film brings back all the principle cast from the first film with a few extras: Danny DeVito and Danny Glover, who play some older family/friends sucked into the game with the youngsters, and Awkwafina, who plays an in-game character. If you enjoyed the first, you’ll like this one, because it’s more of the same. Unfortunately that means some of the jokes are also recycled, but there’s enough new stuff to make it entertaining. Apparently another sequel is in the works though, and I’m afraid they’ll need to come up with some more shtick if they want to keep this train going. ★★½

What can be said about Hamilton that hasn’t already been said? After its Broadway premier in 2015, it was nominated for a record 16 Tony Awards, of which it won 11. Based on the life of Alexander Hamilton, arguably the “least known” founding father, it tells his story and those around him during the Revolutionary War and the ensuing early years of our country, until his death in a duel with some-time friend and long-time rival Aaron Burr. The musical does an amazing job of taking an important historical figure and telling his story in a way that is modern, and which reaches out to young people today. I’m a sucker for musicals, so of course I was going to like it. I’m sorry I haven’t yet seen it on stage, but having purchased the soundtrack a couple years ago, I was at least familiar with the tunes and was able to sing (or attempt to rap) along. If you have Disney+, go watch it and see for yourself what all the craze has been about. ★★★★★