Terrestrial Verses is an incredible film out of Iran, made up of a series of short vignettes, unrelated except for that they all come together to tell the story of authorities (many tied to the government) who persecute rather than help their citizens. The camera never moves, it just sets up on an individual in each scene, while that person is being interviewed by someone off-camera. And it is amazing what a camera can show you, even in a set position. In the first tale, a man wants to name his newborn child David, but gets pushback at the hospital since David is not an Islamic name. In the second, a little girl wants to wear a red outfit to school, but the color is banned, and the parent gets into it with a store owner over what clothing is and is not allowed. A young lady turns the screws on her teacher when she is accused of being dropped off at school by a boy on a motorcycle. Another woman can’t believe it is a crime to drive in her car, or even walk around her own house, without having her hair covered, when she is in a private space (if others can see into her windows). The short stories go on from there, highlighting “what-ifs” and exposing gross hypocrisy with the ruling class. The final, short scene may seem out of place, but it too makes total sense when you consider how it could be interpreted. Tremendous, thought-provoking film, and I have no idea how the country’s powers-at-be let it get released. ★★★★★
Last Summer, a film out of France, starts out great. Anne’s husband Pierre tells her that his 17-year-old son Theo, from a previous marriage, is coming to live with them for awhile because he’s been in trouble, and his mother is tired of dealing with it. Pierre and Theo have a history of butting heads too, but Anne has always played mediator in the past. However, it has been a few years since Theo has been around. He arrives like a whirlwind, putting the household in chaos wherever he goes, and initially Anne tries to parent in a “good cop/buddy” kind of way. Theo’s reaction is out of left field: he starts flirting with her. At first, Anne rebuffs, but maybe because she likes feeling young again, she eventually reciprocates, and the two begin an affair. There’s even a little suspense in the final third of the film, when Anne tries to call off the relationship and Theo refuses to let her go, and the viewer doesn’t know what he is capable of. However, the film loses steam by the end, after Anne has built lie upon lie to try to save her own skin. Somewhere in the 3 to 3 1/2 range for the most part, but the ending did sour it a bit for me. ★★★
My blog followers know that I don’t do many documentaries, but Chasing Chasing Amy is about a movie from director Kevin Smith that I really like, despite the criticism thrown its way (some of it deserved). This movie was made by filmmaker Sav Rogers, a gay woman who begins the film by talking about how much Chasing Amy meant to her growing up. For those that don’t know, Chasing Amy is about a comic book writer (played by Ben Affleck in a break-out role for him; the movie was released 9 months before Good Will Hunting in 1997) who falls in love with a lesbian (Joey Lauren Adams), and what that means, in both of their lives as well as Affleck’s character’s best friend (Jason Lee). These days, the movie gets a lot of crap for being written by a straight white guy, and people take affront with the suggestion that a gay woman could go straight “if she just met the right guy.” Now, I don’t know anything about writing a movie, but people that think that really have no idea what the movie is really about, as this doc goes on to show. Anyway, Sav begins by saying how she was bullied and teased horrendously, and seeing a movie about a strong-willed, smart, funny, successful gay woman gave her (Sav) hope, helping her through those moments in her young life when suicide seemed the only way out of a painful experience. In the doc, we catch up on some of the actors and behind-the-sceners to see their perspectives on the film 20+ years later, as well as Sav’s decision to come out as a transgender man, and how that could affect HIS relationships. The movie doesn’t shy away from the criticisms of Chasing Amy, in fact it addresses them head on and admit’s the film’s shortcomings. Part of what makes this movie great is that it isn’t all happy-good feelings and vibes. After an hour of talking about all the good that came out of Chasing Amy, Sav sits down to interview Joey Lauren Adams, and her view of the movie, and what was going on behind the scenes to her personally. It is completely different than how everyone else described it, and changes Sav’s view too. While I couldn’t shake the feeling that this whole movie was just a vehicle for Sav’s coming out party (was already out as gay, but in being transgender), it is his film after all, so he can make it whatever he wants. I did really enjoy the in-depth look at a film I’ve long enjoyed, warts and all. ★★★½
Tis the season, so let’s end on a couple Christmas movies. Red One was, for me, a solidly entertaining holiday film, with elements for all ages. It’s one of those movies that critics hate (30% on Rotten) but it isn’t meant to be great cinema, just a whole lot of fun, as evidenced by its 90% fan score and A- on Cinemascore. In the film, Santa Claus (JK Simmons), or “Nick” as he is known to his friends, is kidnapped from his North Pole complex the day before Christmas Eve. His second-in-command, Callum Drift (Dwayne Johnson), head of the ELF organization, is determined to rescue the old man and make sure Christmas goes off without a hitch, and to do so, he enlists the help of Level 4 Naughy-lister Jack O’Malley (Chris Evans), who is the best tracker in the world and can find anyone. Along their adventure, they’ll face off against nefarious Snow Men, Krampus, and the evil Grýla, the terrible Christmas witch. It’s an action film with a Christmas theme, with plenty of holiday magic for the young and young-at-heart. There’s a few too many naughty words to be an all-time family film, though when I was a kid, I only heard those words from my parents (hi Mom!) and these days, you hear them everywhere anyway. Very fun film. ★★★★½
Carry-On is the latest thriller to draw comparisons to Die Hard, mostly because it takes place during Christmas (but is it a Christmas movie?). Taron Egerton plays Ethan Kopek, a TSA agent working at LAX on Christmas Eve. He’s just found out that his girlfriend, who also works at the airport, is pregnant. She’s been urging Ethan to pursue his dream of becoming a police officer, but he’s been reluctant to make that leap. On this particular day, he’ll wish he’s anywhere but at his post in the security line. Someone hands him an earpiece, just before his phone rings, and when he answers, he is told to put the earpiece in and follow all instructions, or his girlfriend will die. Turns out a really bad man (played against type by Jason Bateman) wants Ethan to let one particular bag go through the security screening without alerting anyone. Of course something bad is going to be in that bag, but if Ethan does anything, his girlfriend is dead, and the bad guy has others with him, watching security cams and monitoring police calls for anything that Ethan may try to avert disaster. Suspend all belief for 2 hours, and you’ll enjoy this movie. There’s lots of great action and plenty of tense moments, though none of it would ever happen in the real world. But that’s what’s great about these thrillers! ★★★
- TV series recently watched: Dune Prophecy (season 1), Lioness (season 2), The Day of the Jackal (season 1)
- Book currently reading: Memory’s Wake by Django Wexler
Jons Movie Takes 