God’s Country is touted as a slow burn thriller; definitely hits on the former, but only lightly touches on the latter. It stars Thandiwe Newton (Maeve of Westworld fame) as Sandra, a college professor from New Orleans who has transplanted to the back country of Montana. There, she butts heads with all of the good ol’ boys. For starters, a duo of men, who’ve been in trouble with the law before, go hunting on her land. When she asks them to leave, they continue to come around, leading to a confrontation. The local police don’t seem to be much help, only offering Sandra advice to leave them be and pick her battles. Sandra decides to make this her battle. What they don’t know is Sandra wasn’t a teacher in New Orleans, she was a cop, and she has the nerves of steel to get her way. There’s an explosive ending, but there’s some weird twists in the middle that threaten to derail the film before you get there. It basically tries to portray every stereotype of backwoods rural America, throwing every idea at the wall to see what sticks. Little does. Newton is solid, and it was fun spotting Jefferson White (Jimmy from Yellowstone, a very popular show right now) in a supporting role, but the movie is far too uneven to gather much praise. ★★½
Missing (lots of films with this title in the last 3 years; this one is the 2021 one from Japan) is also billed as a thriller, but if it developed into one, I didn’t stick around long enough to see it happen. The film starts out giving almost-comedy vibes. Kaede is a teen girl trying to care for her father Harada, who is depressed, unable to find his grip on life after the death of his wife and Kaede’s mom. One morning, Harada disappears, and after trying to hunt him down, Kaede discovers that her dad is hunting a serial killer he had previously stated he’d spotted in the area, hoping to nab him and get the reward money for the family. Now Kaede is looking for her dad and the killer at the same time. If it sounds weird, it is. For my tastes, it wasn’t exciting, it wasn’t gripping, it really wasn’t anything. I gave up about 45 minutes in. ½
When Utama starts, the viewer doesn’t know when it takes place. Filmed in the desolate Bolivian highlands, it is like watching the desert planet of Tatooine from Star Wars; this was never a fertile land, but the elderly couple of Virginio and Sisa have been able to get along there, until now. We soon learn that it is present day, and the couple, along with everyone else in the region, is facing a historic drought thanks to climate change. It hasn’t rained in a year, forcing people to travel further and further to fill buckets of water to transport back to their homes. Virginio goes out every day to graze his llamas, while Sisa tends the home. Virginio has a secret too: he’s very sick, with a terrible cough and a weakening body. He knows something is majorly wrong, but refuses to leave his way of life, even when some neighbors are considering a move to the city for a more comfortable life. The couple is visited one day by their grandson Clever, whose father has been estranged from Virginio for years. Clever helps out around the house, but when he hears Virginio’s cough, he urges his grandparents to finally leave the homestead. Virginio refuses; he will die first before leaving the only home he’s known. Unfortunately it may come to that. A forlorn movie about the passing of a lifestyle of an entire people, the story is aided by the wide open vistas of this beautifully barren land. ★★★½
Next Exit is a road movie, but it is a road movie with an interesting premise. A new scientific group is claiming proof of life after death, after a little boy is videotaped playing a card game in his bedroom with a shadowy figure, a game that purportedly only his recently dead father knew. While the group in San Francisco is asking for volunteers to come end their lives under supervision in order to record their passing and prove the science, the world has taken the news in the only way our world can: in extreme ways. Suicides are way up, with people no longer scared to die, while religious and political backlash butts heads with them. In this fraught environment comes Rose and Teddy, two New York City strangers who end up sharing a rental car to cross the country and “participate in the study.” Each has reasons for wanting to end their lives, and coming to terms with those past pains is what the movie obviously becomes. I’m sort of torn on this movie. It introduces a lot of food for thought (like the aimless pastor the pair come across, who is wandering along without a purpose now that the hope of religion is no longer needed or wanted by society), but I think the movie doesn’t quite reach the emotional heft that it seeks. It’s a decent enough picture, but not an overly memorable one. However, I would be interested in seeing future films from first time writer/director Mali Elfman, as there’s obviously promise there. ★★★
Ticket to Paradise is exactly what it looks like: lots of cheese, but a fun comedy for the older crowd (which, I guess, I’m turning into). Megastars Julia Roberts and George Clooney play Georgia and David, a long-divorced couple who have spent the last 20 years bickering, but they have always been there for their daughter Lily (Kaitlyn Dever). Lily is graduating college with her sights set on becoming a lawyer, but those plans are derailed when she and her friend go to Bali to celebrate their degrees. There, Lily meets a local, Gede, and falls head over heels for him, his homeland, and his family. 37 days after arriving, she emails her parents that she is getting married. David and Georgia set off immediately, under the guise of supporting her and seeing her wed, but actually with the intent to split up the new couple before they make the same mistake they themselves did. Hijinks ensue. You know how this is going to end, I knew how this was going to end, but I still enjoyed the ride. It’s completely predictable, but that’s not always a bad thing; it’s just the kind of throwback romantic comedy that thrived in the ‘80s and early ‘90s. If you are down for corny jokes and a little romance, you won’t be disappointed. ★★★½
- TV series recently watched: Dark Winds (season 1), Its Always Sunny (seasons 1-3), Hell on Wheels (season 2)
- Book currently reading: Tarkin by James Luceno
Jons Movie Takes 