After years of doing movies together, we got to see what writer/director Benny Safdie had to offer on his solo effort (The Smashing Machine), and now we see what brother Josh can do on his own, with Marty Supreme. Called by everyone “the ping pong movie,” there’s a lot more to it than that. Timothée Chalamet plays Marty Mauser, a star table tennis player in 1950s New York, with aspirations of growing the sport and making lots of money. The British Open is about to take place, and Marty thinks that if he can win, it can spur the imagination of his nation and lead to financial opportunities. Sounds like it would be easy to root for this go-getter, if only he were even the slightest bit likable. Marty is a despicable person, willing to do anything and hurt anyone (friends, family, the girl (someone else’s wife) he knocked up) to get to the top. Thus, it is impossible to root for him on his journey. That being said, it’s a very entertaining movie, with awesome performances by the talented Chalamet and a surprisingly strong showing from Shark Tank alum Kevin O’Leary (his own personal views notwithstanding) as a cutthroat businessman. ★★★★
Charliebird is about a woman, Al (short for Alyse I think?), who is a music therapist working in the children’s wing of a hospital. She uses her guitar to uplift hopes in the ward, and it seems to work for all of the kids except one: Charlie. Charlie is 17 years old, been in and out of hospitals most of her life, and strongly suspects she is worse off than her parents are admitting, and that she won’t be leaving the hospital this time. She has no patience for Al, but Al will not give up so easily. Al is carrying around a lot of baggage too, about a sister who died tragically many years ago when they were younger, and she sees something in Charlie that reminds her of her long-lost sibling. Despite the hospital’s warnings, Al gets too attached to Charlie and becomes more of a friend than just a caregiver. Very emotional ending, even if you do see it coming from damn near the beginning of the movie. Strong acting from a bunch of people I’ve never heard of. ★★★½
Readers of my blog know I am a musical junkie, so of course I was going to watch Merrily We Roll Along. It’s a recording from a live performance on Broadway with its Broadway cast, including Jonathan Groff, Daniel Radcliffe, and Lindsay Mendez in the leads; Groff and Radcliffe both won Tony’s for their performances. The musical/movie starts at the end, with a party celebrating the new hit movie of Frank (Groff). We quickly see, though, that Frank is surrounded by sycophants, and his wife Gussie (Krystal Joy Brown) craves the attention they bring. Frank’s old friend Mary (Mendez) is at the party, but she is working hard to get drunk as fast as she can, and once she’s had enough, she tells Frank and all those gathered around how awful they all are, including Frank, who is no longer the person she knew. Then we start going back, each successive scene retreating a couple years at a time, to see how we got here. It takes awhile to get all the details; as in real life, there’s rarely one moment that changed everything. Rather, it’s a culmination of things. Frank used to write songs with his parter and former best friend Charlie (Radcliffe), but the two had a serious falling out over Frank’s ambition, while Charlie was unwilling to give up his ideals and love of the art form for a chase of fortune. Mary has a big part to play in it all too, as does Frank’s first wife, before Gussie came along. The movie (and musical) is just ok for me. The music isn’t all that catchy, and honestly I’m not sure how this musical won so many awards. A minor nitpick too: if you are going to present a live performance, then let it look like a live performance. Too many close-ups try to make this show look like a movie instead of a stage performance. I’d rather have the cameras take a step back to show the whole stage. There’s another movie coming one (far away) day too. Richard Linklater is doing a movie adaptation, and since the show takes place over 20 years, that’s how he’s filming it, as only Linklater does. Maybe the next version of the film, in 2045, will be better. ★★½
Magellan is an artsy telling of the voyage of Ferdinand Magellan, portrayed by the always good Gael Garcia Bernal. It begins in 1511 in Malacca, where Magellan is fighting for Portugal against the local sultanate. He is gravely injured, which gives him a limp for the rest of his life, but survives. He returns to Portugal and begins planning his famous expedition around the world. There are lots of mutiny attempts and putting down insurrections along the way. After crossing past what later would be called the Straight of Magellan south of South America and heading out into the vastness of the Pacific Ocean, many of the sailors lose hope, as weeks become months with no sight of land. When they finally hear seagulls, cheers go up. The ship makes land at Cebu, where they are welcomed by the indigenous people as the first white people they’ve ever seen. However, Magellan is reminded of Malacca, where they were also initially welcomed with open arms. On Cebu, he tries to convert them all to Christianity, but the people just nod and repeat the Sinner’s Prayer, not knowing what it means. When they continue to worship their gods, Magellan’s men round up the idols and burn them, angering and saddening the people. They try to scare Magellan away with their tales of a gruesome phantom that eats babies and whatnot, but the learned Magellan recognizes a ghost story when he hears one, and is unafraid. This will be his downfall, because when the Cebu people rise up against his crew, they are vastly outnumbered, leading to Magellan’s death. The movie goes in fits and starts, showing little scenes here and there both before and during the voyage, which can be hard to follow until you get into the flow of it. Some parts of the movie are amazing and breathtaking, other just don’t come together quite right. ★★★½
Afterburn is the kind of shlocky action flick that usually sees a straight-to-streaming release (though it did hit theaters first, where it bombed). But its a dystopian film, and I can’t resist the genre. It’s set 10 years after a huge solar flare took out all technology on our planet, and society has crumbled. Warlords have taken reign across Europe. Jake (Dave Bautista) has been fixing up a boat for years, in hopes of getting out of London to the safer open seas. Jake is great at finding things, and has been locating relics of the pre-destroyed world for a man (August, played by Samuel L Jackson) calling himself the new King of England. His latest assignment is the Mona Lisa, but Jake initially refuses, knowing how dangerous mainland Europe has become. He can’t pass up on the promise to finish his boat though, so he reluctantly agrees. What he finds in France may break him, as there are waring factions, and he’s not entirely sure he can trust the people he’s working for either. Sometimes you’re in the mood for these over-the-top bloody action movies; today I was not. ★½
Jons Movie Takes 