I’ve seen a whole lot films from director James Ivory and his longtime producer and partner Ismail Merchant (here, here, here and here, for starters), so when I heard a documentary was coming out focusing on them, getting some behind-the-scenes on their long-running production company, I couldn’t wait to see it. Merchant Ivory details the long history of the team of people who made the films. Starting in the beginning with the super-low-budget films they made in India, it progresses to their breakout hits in the 80s and 90s with films made in England and based on classic novels (which is how I got into these films myself, having previously read Howards End and A Room With a View). It is jam packed with current and archival interviews from many of the stars involved in these films over the years, including Helena Bonham Carter, Hugh Grant, Anthony Hopkins, Vanessa Redgrave, Emma Thompson, and on and on. Also obviously talks about their personal lives as a gay couple, living, for the most part, when that was frowned upon. James talks about how it wasn’t really a secret in their professional circles (two men who lived together for 40 years sort of told you all you needed to know), but to Ismail’s family, James was just his “British friend.” It would not have been accepted in his conservative Muslim family, so they kept it private throughout Ismail’s life (he died in 2005) and James kept it quiet for several years after, until most of Ismail’s family had died too. I think, for most people, there’s not much to see here, but as a fan for many of these films, I absolutely loved it. ★★★★★
I thought Caddo Lake was going to be more of a straight-forward thriller, and that’s what it seems like in the beginning; as soon as I saw M Night Shyamalan’s name attached to it (as producer), I should have known better. The film begins with a drowning at the lake, where Paris (played by The Maze Runner’s Dylan O’Brien) survives but his mother does not. The police chalk it up to a seizure that caused her to run her car off the road into the lake, but Paris isn’t convinced. A couple years, later, he’s still looking for answers. Also at the lake, we meet the other main character, Ellie (Eliza Scanlen). She butts heads constantly with her mom and step-dad but looks out for her step-sister Anna, until one day when Anna goes missing on the lake. Ellie heads out to find her, but becomes disoriented when she starts hearing strange banging noises. When she returns home, she finds that she has gone back in time 3 days. She boats back out to the lake, this time finding Anna, but quickly realizes this Anna was from a month ago, before she lost a baby tooth. There’s some weird things going on in this lake, and just as I started to suspect that Paris and Ellie are from two different time periods, it is confirmed, and the big Shyamalan-style surprise comes when we realize the two of them share more than the ability to jump through time. I was hoping for a better film, but got a made-for-tv style thriller. There’s some decent acting and the “feel” of the movie is solid, but it tries way too hard to tie up all the loose ends into a neat package at the end. ★★½
I had high hopes for Rez Ball as I generally like a feel-good sports flick, but this one doesn’t reach the heights that many do. It is based on a true story about the Chuska Warriors, a high school team from a Native American reservation in New Mexico. They have a new coach, a former alum who had success in the professional WNBA league and is recently retired from playing. She dreams of a bigger job but has been unable to get a job at a premier university due to lack of experience, so is “stuck” at her old high school. The star player on the team missed his junior year after the death of his sister and mom (killed in a crash with a drunk driver) and is now returning to the team for his senior year. With his return, the team has high hopes of contending for the state championship, but he tragically takes his life early in the season. The team is crushed, because while he was sad obviously, his suicide is a shocking surprise to everyone. The team goes on a losing streak, and only starts to turn it around when they embrace their Native American heritage and work together as a team. The movie is as formulaic as they come, you can practically connect the dots and predict each scene before it comes. And for a sports film, it’s awfully boring. Never a good thing. ★½
I didn’t rush out to see Twisters because I figured (rightly so, as it turns out) that it was pretty much just like the original mid-90s film starring Bill Paxton, Helen Hunt, and Cary Elwes. Sure, the plot is different (sort of) but the feel is the same, and just as in the first film, the “tornado action” is really the only reason worth watching. In this movie, after a prologue in which storm chaser Kate sees most of her team killed when a tornado turns straight towards them, we pick up on her 5 years later. She’s doing her research on tornados behind a desk now, but is called back to the field by friend Javi, who is still chasing storms. Unlike the first film, when Jo and Bill were the chasers in it for the science and thrill while being up against well-funded Jonas, this time Javi has the rich backer. Instead, the thrill-seekers are centered around opposing team Tyler, a YouTube sensation who seems to only into storms for his social media accounts. Of course, all is not as it seems, especially after Kate learns that Javi’s rich investors are only in it to buy land from people who’ve lost everything in the storms, and Tyler is using his platform to help out those in need. A few subplots that are really only there to fill out the story, but obviously you are watching this film to see the tornado destruction, and there’s plenty of it. Straight out of a Michael Bay film, the tornado disasters keep getting worse as the movie goes along, until the big finale at the end when a massive tornado heads straight for a city. As a piece of art, not so good. As entertainment, it delivers what you are expecting. ★★★
Chicken for Linda! is a short French animated film that is just about the cutest film I’ve seen in a very long time. From the beginning, you see that it is not really a kid’s film (though children, I think, would be just as caught up in it as adults), because in the first scene, a young child (Linda) is sitting in her high chair waiting for her dad’s famous chicken and peppers dinner when, “off camera,” we hear her mom start to panic that dad isn’t answering her questions. Adult viewers know that something is very wrong, and we next catch up to the family several years later. Linda is in elementary school and has some great friends, but doesn’t remember much about her deceased father. Her mom Paulette is a busy single mom who makes microwave dinners every night. Linda is fascinated by her mom’s wedding ring and wants to take it to school to show off, but Paulette refuses. When the ring goes missing, she blames Linda for stealing it, which Linda denies. It turns out the cat ate it, and when the cat “gives it back,” Paulette realizes her mistake and tearfully begs for forgiveness, promising anything to make it up. Linda wants chicken with peppers, and Paulette, who hasn’t made a home-cooked meal in who-knows-how-long, agrees. Unfortunately, a general strike is going on, and a chicken isn’t to be found in any of the local stores. So begins a wild adventure involving stealing chickens, a police chase, smashing furniture, and a wild party by the kids in the street. The movie is utterly charming, beautifully animated in a seemingly simple but deceptively complex way that has the look and feel of an old timey children’s book. And it is FUNNY. I laughed like a child, which is the best kind. ★★★★★
- TV series recently watched: Sunny (season 1), Rivals (series), Star Trek Next Generation (season 3)
- Book currently reading: The Path of Daggers by Robert Jordan
Jons Movie Takes 