After the first Sing film was a surprise box office hit in 2016, you had to figure a sequel was inevitable. Usually, this type of film would breed awful followups, but I was pleasantly surprised. Not only is it as fun as the first, but in many ways, I enjoyed it more.
The first film took a bunch of misfits and made them stars at the local theater, but theater manager Buster Moon sees bigger things for his cast. He is initially turned down for an audition at a Redshore City (aka Las Vegas) hotel/theater, but Moon isn’t going to let that stop him. He packs up his crew and they take the bus, eventually sneaking up to the audition stage. Just when they are about to be booted out, a member of his troop casually mentions Clay Calloway’s name. Calloway was a huge rock star once upon a time, but hasn’t been seen in public since his wife died 15 years ago. The hotel owner says he will finance their show in 3 weeks if they can keep their promise of producing Calloway on stage. You’d think that would their biggest hurdle, but as in all things showbiz, he may be the lease of Moon’s worries. Getting his crew trained up for the new show, finding a part for the hotel owner’s privileged daughter, and getting through the volatile owner himself are all road blocks to be passed.
This is a true all-family film. There’s jokes for kids and adults alike, and the story is fun and engaging from the opening moments. At the theater where my wife and I saw it, there were young kids laughing and clapping, which was infectious to us older folks too. The story shows good values of working hard to achieve your goals and caring for those around you along the way. Full of catchy songs, great performances, and a very entertaining movie. ★★★★
In our pop culture-influenced society, many think that the popular social influencers have it easy. Sweat shows that it may not always be so. Sylvia is a fitness trainer who has built her brand to a 600k+ following on the various social sites. She has the looks, and her bubbly personality and constant instagram posting keeps her fan base growing. But on the inside, she’s lonely. She sees her friends getting married while she can’t even keep a boyfriend, and she has to deal with stalkers and online trolls. Anything she does or anything she says is poured over. Case in point: she recently made a genuine post where she was upset that she is single, and got emotional, and people called her out, saying she should stick to workout videos. The film stars Polish actress Magdalena Koleśnik in her first leading role, and she is eye-arresting, and not just because she’s a pretty face. The viewer rides the ups and downs of her emotional roller coaster with her. Solid film. ★★★½
Azor is, I guess, a thriller, but it’s the most low-key thriller you’ll ever find. It takes place in the late 70s in Argentina, where the government has just been overthrown by the military, which is cracking down on dissidents while trying to keep everything running. People, and sometimes whole families, are disappearing, while everyone else is trying to go along like nothing has happened. Into this chaotic scene comes Ivan de Wiel, a Swiss banker who’s come to wine and dine Argentina’s wealthy. The bank had previously sent a man named Keys, who has also mysteriously disappeared, and de Wiel is there now to make sure money isn’t lost (not to see what happened to Keys, oddly enough). De Wiel is greeted by soldiers checking ID’s, and the view of a couple young men held at gunpoint just off the street; the viewer thinks they’ll be shot down at any moment. De Wiel starts meeting with various people, trying to gain their business for his bank. Everyone talks about Keys, with either reverence, friendship, or animosity. Keys was either the life of the party or the scum of the earth, depending on who you ask. De Wiel is able to work his way down Key’s left-behind schedule with one exception: a cryptic meeting labeled “Lazaro.” When he attempts to make inquiries as to who or what Lazaro is, de Wiel is met with blank stares, or abrupt changes of subject. Throughout the picture, there is a subtle but growing sense of trepidation. The people de Wiel talks to are rarely forthcoming, leading to a continued sense of mystery. A lot of dialogue (in French and Spanish), but it is a (quietly) wild ride. ★★★★
I did not get Ghost Tropic at all. The whole plot of the film is a 50-something woman, a cleaner, falls asleep on the subway ride home after getting off from the late shift, and sleeps past her stop, only waking at the end of the line. It being late at night, the subway won’t run anymore, and she has no cash to call a cab. She sets out for the long overnight walk back to her home. The film is her encounters along the way. She finds a homeless man freezing to death and calls emergency services. She gets a cup of hot tea from a kind convenience store clerk just before closing. She visits a home she used to clean years before. That’s it. Maybe the film is about being kind to your neighbors, but if so, it was a bit too obtuse to nail it down for me. I don’t mind a slow movie (see above), but this one brings crawling to a whole new level. ★½
Holy cow is Prayers for the Stolen a great film. It follows three girls in Mexico, best friends, as they navigate the terrors brought to their rural village. The men of the village work either work in the dangerous mines on the other side of the mountain, or in the USA, and while they are supposed to be sending money home, few do. This leaves the women and children to make do as well as they can, which often means working for the local drug cartel. The “safe” job is harvesting morphine in the poppy fields, because as a worker there, they have a level of protection from the cartel when they come to the village to do a different kind of harvesting: looking for young women to sell into human trafficking. As young girls, the film’s protagonists are unaware of the evils around them, and their questions to their parents go unanswered. When two of them have their hair cut short, they are told it is because they have lice, but we all know it is so they look like boys. The girls are jealous of the third friend who is allowed to keep her long hair; little do they know that it is because, with her cleft pallet, her parents aren’t worried about her getting carried off in a raid (when she later gets the defect corrected by visiting doctors, she gets her hair chopped off right away). After awhile, the film fasts forward a couple years, to when the girls are now young teens, and the short hair will no longer hide their developing bodies. A scary, harsh, and eye-opening film about the evil in our world, with really strong acting from the young cast, and beautifully shot and wonderfully told. ★★★★½
The Hand of God is another great one for those with patience. It takes place in Naples in the 1980s, and is a coming-of-age film about a teen named Fabietto. He’s shy and withdrawn, with no friends, so spends his days and nights with his family, who are plenty of fun actually. Fabietto’s big passion is soccer, and the talk of the town is whether Napoli can land big star Diego Maradona. The first half of the film features plenty of laughs from Fabietto’s large extended family, full of interesting characters. There’s the aunt who sits alone mouthing obscenities whenever someone checks on her, another aunt who suffers from mental illness and keeps taking her clothes off in front of everyone (much to the chagrin of Fabietto and his raging hormones), or Fabietto’s own sister, who is never seen on camera because of the running joke (to the audience) that she’s always in the bathroom. Fabietto’s mom delights in playing pranks on people, and no one is off limits; there’s no limit to what she’ll do for a laugh either. Into this joyous setting comes tragedy, which rocks Fabietto to the core. The viewer feels this blow just as deeply, because by the time it comes, I was was really invested in this characters and felt I knew them all well. Masterfully told and gorgeous shot along the Italian coast, this is a fantastic film-lovers kind of movie. ★★★★★
TV series currently watching: Hawkeye (miniseries)
Call it a reboot, call it a sequel, whatever you want to name it, The Matrix Resurrections is the newest film in the series, after an 18-year break. I don’t know why the filmmakers and actors were so coy about labeling it, but after seeing it, it is most definitely a sequel, and one that plays best to fans of the original films, and maybe playing to those fans a bit too hard.
As you’ve probably seen in the previews, Thomas Anderson is back inside the Matrix. We don’t know why, he doesn’t know why, and learning those answers is obviously one of the goals of the film. In typical Matrix-y fashion, the movie is most fun if you don’t try to second guess everything, ponder over every little plot hole or annoyance, and just go with it. There’s plenty of action, and while a lot of the stunts that made the first film so unique have now been used a million times, director Lana Wachowski and her team have cooked up a few new surprises that play well.
Unfortunately some of those surprises are about all you can expect. There’s no big “ah-ha!” moment in this movie like there was in the first, and in tone it feels more like the second and third movies, for better or worse. Much of the movie rehashes the prior three movies, which I don’t get, as no one who watches this will be going into it blind. The movie is really a love story between Neo and Trinity, wrapped up in an action film, but it never does a good job of explaining why. The first movie was just so groundbreaking, and had such a great feeling of “us vs them,” and this newest sequel is lacking that. Still, there were some amazing moments, some touching ones, and it wasn’t a total letdown. I just wanted to be blown away, and I wasn’t. ★★★½
Don’t worry, this’ll be spoiler free. If you haven’t seen it yet, and managed to avoid the major spoilers (as I was, thankfully), you’ll enjoy this ride a whole lot more.
No Way Home is the latest, and until (if?) a new deal is reached between Sony and Marvel Studios, final Spider-Man film in Marvel’s Cinematic Universe. If it is the last, at least they went out with a bang. Although seeing’s how it is raking in the dough, I can’t see how they would let this cash cow go.
Anyway, it picks up right where the last Spider-Man film ended. With his dying breath, Mysterio has just outed Peter Parker as Spider-Man to the world. If it was just the news helicopters outside Aunt May’s apartment and the constant looks at school, Peter could deal with it, but unfortunately the news is hurting his friends too, namely his best friend Ned and girlfriend MJ. Their lives are thrown in turmoil too, and even get denied to their college choices because of the controversy surrounding Peter, and what they knew or didn’t know beforehand. Peter can’t live with this, and he goes to Doctor Strange for help. Strange submits an idea: if the world forgets that Peter Parker is Spider-Man, then Peter’s friends will be OK. However, Peter interrupts the spell when he realizes that this would also mean that the friends themselves would forget. His meddling causes the spell to have some serious side effects.
If you’ve seen any trailer, none of this is new to you. And neither is the appearance of a couple villains from Spider-Man films of the past. The most-shown trailer focused on Otto Octavius, the bad guy in the second Tobey Maguire film. Others were hinted at, but I’m not spoiling anything here. All I will say is this movie shattered all my expectations. You can’t think big enough; whatever you think you can imagine, they up the ante from there. As such, it’s a fantastic point of entry for a lot of moviegoers. Saw the first trilogy of Spider-Man films from the early-mid 2000’s? Come on in! Missed those, but saw the “Amazing” duo of movies from the early 10’s? There’s something for you here too! Or even if you saw none of those, this movie stands on its own. Obviously if you’re a big nerd and seen them all, there’s Easter eggs a’plenty for you, but they aren’t necessary to enjoy this one.
And enjoy it I did. It hits on all cylinders: huge action, the extremes of all emotions (including plenty of laughs!), and lots of heart. If you regularly read my blog, you know I can geek out over these movies sometimes, but this one does not disappoint. I think you can go in completely blind, and while you won’t be in on all the inside jokes, you’ll still have a great time. Tomorrow night: Matrix 4. As far as sequels go, it has a high bar to meet. ★★★★★
My first experience with Japanese director Kon Ichikawa was The Burmese Harp, which is an incredibly moving film. Wanting to explore more of his oeuvre, I’m looking at five more of his pictures today, and he’s got plenty to choose from: his career spanned 70 years. First up is 1959’s Fires on the Plain. It focuses on a Japanese soldier, Tamura, in the waning days of Japan’s loss in World War II. In the Philippines, Japan has suffered huge losses, and Tamura and his fellows have pretty much stopped fighting, and are now just trying to survive. Cast out of his unit because he has tuberculosis, Tamura heads off across the countryside in search of a rumored port city where soldiers are being evacuated off the island, but his journey there is fraught with peril, and not just from American soldiers and local guerrilla fighters. Tamura faces off against starvation, insanity, and even his fellow countrymen in his trek across a war-blasted countryside. It’s about as bleak of a movie as you’ll see, and I was enraptured through all of it. ★★★★½
Ichikawa moved to the family drama genre with 1960’s Her Brother. The “her” in the title is Gen, a young woman who is forced to run the household due to an uninvolved father and a rheumatic (and not very pleasant) stepmother. Gen cooks and cleans, and looks after younger brother Hekiro, who is the family’s problem child. Hekiro is always getting into trouble, and his antics have progressed to the point of damaging others’ property, getting kicked out of school, etc. Their dad indulges him, throwing money at the problems as a solution, and the stepmom just throws her hands up at the whole thing; only Gen tries to really guide him. But you have to want to help yourself. When Hekiro gets really sick, Gen visits his sickbed daily, and tries to raise his spirits, putting off her own life, even while the stepmother urges her to find a husband while she’s still young. The movie gazes upon a lot of subjects of early 20th century Japan, such as a modernizing family unit, changing stereotypes, and other things, but seems to lack focus on any one theme. I felt little sympathy for Hekiro after the pain he caused, and Gen never did the one thing I wanted her to do: leave his ass behind. ★½
An Actor’s Revenge, from 1963, is a daring film much different than the two above pictures. Taking place in the 19th century, it is about a man, Yukitaro, who is a successful stage actor in kabuki theater, portraying a woman. As was the custom at the time, Yukitaro continues to dress and speak like a woman, even off stage. His androgynous look catches the eyes of women (and men too, though the director plays that a bit lightly due to sensors, I’m sure), and Yukitaro uses that to his advantage, because he has a secret and a life-long goal: he is out for revenge. When he was 7 years old, a trio of wealthy and powerful men did something to cause his parents to go mad and commit suicide. Now grown and under a stage name, Yukitaro seeks vengeance on those men, but he doesn’t just want to kill them. He wants them to suffer as he did. The film is put together like the plays Yukitaro performs, with obvious sets and Yukitaro himself often providing narration to the viewer, sometimes in mid-scene (further narration is provided by a local Robin Hood-type thief named Yamitaro, portrayed by the same actor). This blend of stage and outside-the-room discourse is very different than we’re used to seeing in a film, and is done so well that you just have to see it to enjoy it. The play-within-a-play style brought to me thoughts of another similarly done film, Keisuke Kinoshita’s The Ballad of Narayama, and I loved that one too. Yukitaro’s final revenge is classic cinema. ★★★★★
Jumping ahead a couple decades to 1983’s The Makioka Sisters, based on a famous Japanese novel. The quartet of sisters are from a wealthy family with a storied name. Eldest Tsuruko and second sister Sachiko are married, so up next is the third sister, Yukiko, and the youngest, Taeko, will marry last. But the family has been fighting a scandal for the last few years, making finding Yukiko a quality husband troublesome. The willful young Taeko tried to run away with a boy, and because of the Makioka name, it made the papers. However, the local paper inadvertently printed Yukiko’s name instead of Taeko at the time, and Tsuruko’s husband made it worse when he tried to get them to print a redaction. The whole ordeal, and its fallout, has left bitter feelings inside the family. Adding to this, Taeko hasn’t turned into a meek woman as she’s gotten older; she wants to get her hands on the dowry left for her marriage so as to build a business, for the freedom that her own funds will give her. As the film progresses, we see suitor after suitor fail Yukiko’s expectations, and a parade of men try to wrestle Taeko out of the household. There’s some inner family drama involving the elder sisters’ husbands as well, often hinted of their feelings for the younger girls, though never explicitly stated. The film moves along at a stately pace, and it reminded me of some of the classic Merchant Ivory films (I may need to visit some more of those soon). A decent enough film, though its pace tested my patience. ★★★
Princess from the Moon is a silly movie, which is exactly what the title says it is. I thought I’d be up for a little sci-fi/fantasy for a change of pace, but this movie is awful. An aging bamboo cutter (Toshiro Mofune) and his wife have just lost their 5 year old daughter Kaya to sickness when the man finds a baby in the woods. The child is housed inside a golden cocoon, and within minutes of finding it, the baby grows 5 years and looks the spitting image of his lost child. He brings her home to an ecstatic wife, and they decide to raise her as Kaya. Her growth spurt doesn’t end there: a few days later she looks like a grown woman, and is the most beautiful in the country. The man sells the golden carriage Kaya was found in, and with their new wealth, the family builds a lavish home, attracting the attention of nearby nobility. Whey they see Kaya, they stumble over themselves asking for her hand in marriage. To find the right person, Kaya presents three men with impossible quests, missions to hunt down mythical items to present to her as gifts. But as the full moon approaches, her real people are calling her home. Silly sci-fi film typical of the 80s fascination with the space drama (spoiler: the spaceship at the end of the film is awfully reminiscent of Close Encounters…). ★
As an admitted musical fan, I’ve been looking forward to the new film version for quite awhile. Unfortunately it let me down. I remember seeing a professional performance of West Side Story in high school and being enchanted; seeing it now 25 years later held none of the same magic. It’s a beautiful production, with an assured hand from director Steven Spielberg, but it feels dated and, outside of a handful of musical numbers, lifeless.
Based on the famous stage musical (itself based on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet), the story follows a couple of star-crossed lovers on opposite sides of a generational feud. The local white gang the Jets has seen their turf erode as Puerto Ricans have moved into the neighborhood, with their gang, the Sharks, pushing back against the Jets. Tony is a former leader of the Jets, but he spent a year in jail after nearly killing a person, and his time behind bars has changed his views; he wants to stay the straight and narrow. He’s only been out a short time when he goes to a dance and is instantly smitten by Maria.
Maria is not only Puerto Rican, but the sister of the Shark’s leader, Bernardo. Not a good situation for anyone. Maria and Tony fall for each other right away and plan to run away together, but their families come between them. A big fight between the gangs (the famous “rumble”) changes the path of their lives.
Despite fantastic sets, amazing production, solid acting (outside of Elgort, more on that soon), and everything you’d hope to see in a filmed musical, it just didn’t move me. It wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t great, and I was expecting great. Ansel Elgort is a good actor, but he was the wrong choice for this film. Everyone is full of emotion except him; Tony walks around with his too-cool-for-school look and blank face, which doesn’t mesh with what is going on around him. A big bummer. ★★
The Power of the Dog is a complicated film, as complicated as the characters in it. It takes place in 1925 Montana, centering on wealthy ranch owner brothers Phil and George (Benedict Cumberbatch and Jesse Plemons). Phil is a rough-and-tumble man’s man, and is popular among their hired hands. George on the other hand is quieter, and more prone to wear a suit than chaps. George falls for the local restaurant owner, widowed Rose (Kirsten Dunst), and marries her. Phil doesn’t like the arrangement from the get-go, thinking Rose is only marrying into the family for their money, and his suspicions are aroused when she immediately uses some money to send her son Peter (Kodi Smit-McPhee) off to a nice boarding school for the semester. Young Peter is everything that Phil is not: he’s skinny, awkward, can’t ride a horse, is into crafts, and is basically a momma’s body. As such, Phil takes every opportunity to belittle him, and he makes snide remarks to and about Rose, even in front of company. It’s easy to hate Phil, but as the movie goes along, we learn that maybe he is the most complex of all of them. His rough exterior is definitely hiding some inner turmoil, which doesn’t excuse his actions, but does give the viewer things to consider. A great movie worthy of examination afterwards, and the kind of film that you’d pull more from in multiple viewings. ★★★★
The Humans is based on a play by Stephen Karam, who also directed this film version. I’ve never seen the play, but as a movie, it works perfectly. Taking place entirely inside a rundown New York City apartment, it follows a family coming together for Thanksgiving dinner. The apartment belongs to youngest daughter Brigid and her boyfriend Richard, who’ve just moved in and haven’t even unpacked yet. Attending the dinner is Brigid’s sister Amy, their parents Erik and Deirdre, and grandmother “Momo.” Like most families, they have their dirty little secrets, some of which are out in the open, others are only known between certain family members. As the day and evening progresses, and things come out in the open both to the family and to the viewer, we see a family that struggles like everyone’s, but which stay together through their love. This movie has it all: wonderful drama, solid acting (Richard Jenkins, Jayne Houdyshell, Beanie Feldstein, Steven Yeun, a somber turn from Amy Schumer, and June Squibb), and even lots of tension, provided by not only the family, but by the apartment itself, as the building breaks down along with the family as the film progresses. The movie pulled me in to the point that I was moved with each character’s plights, and I shared all of their emotions with them by the end. What more could you ask? ★★★★★
I definitely wasn’t into Limbo in the beginning. A movie about the current refugee crisis, it focuses on Omar, a Syrian refugee. He was hoping to live in London, but as he awaits a decision on his asylum status, he and other refugees have been shipped off to the middle of nowhere in northern Scotland. There, they take classes on English (though most speak it pretty well already), how to act in a job interview, etc. The movie starts as an offbeat comedy, which was not doing it for me at all. But I stuck with it, and am glad I did. After awhile, as Omar makes calls home to his parents, and we learn that he has an older brother who decided to stay in Syria to fight in the war, the film shifts from a strange comedy to an endearing drama. Omar, who is a musician without a trade (he has a broken hand preventing him from playing his oud, though he carries it around with him everywhere), is left in limbo in more ways than one. As his parents’ and brother’s situations become more dire, he is helpless and nearly hopeless half a world away. If the first 45 minutes had matches the last, I’d rate it a lot higher, but still, it’s not bad. ★★★
Wild Indian, questionable name and all, begins with a couple teenage Native American boys named Makwa and Ted-O. Makwa is getting abused at home, and showing early signs of emotional detachment, bordering on psychosis. One day he takes his dad’s rifle out in neighboring fields, and shoots a classmate. Ted-O sees it happen and freaks out, but the detached Makwa explains they’ll just bury the body and know will ever know. Fast forward 30 years to the present day, and we see an adult in jail. The one surprise of the film is it’s not Makwa, but Ted-O, who has spent 10 years behind bars for various drug and assault related crimes. He is finally being released, and goes to stay with his sister and nephew. When we see Makwa, we find that he has built a career, with wife and child at home, but the successful veneer still hides a violent underbelly, urges that Makwa, who now goes by Michael, takes out on prostitutes. He doesn’t think about that day decades ago, but Ted-O still does, and he seeks out Makwa for resolution. This film has a solid scenario, but there’s just not enough here to really make it stand out. Makwa seems to be the primary focus of the film, but I’d much rather have seen more of Ted-O and his struggles to make his life right. ★★
Sweet Thing is sort of a throwback to the late 90s indie films, movies that, at least gave the impression of, a group of buddies coming together on a weekend and saying “Let’s make a movie.” It’s either super low budget, or it gives that feeling anyway. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t any good. Unknown actress Lana Rockwell gives a fantastic performance as Billie, a teenage girl looking after her younger brother Nico, as their father Adam (Will Patton) is a barely-functioning alcoholic. Adam’s a good father until his drinking makes him not so, and while he doesn’t get violent, he’s a bit too much of a happy drunk, which is just as bad in the wrong scenarios. When Adam is finally cornered by the cops and sent to rehab, Billie and Nico are shipped off to live with their mother and her new boyfriend. The boyfriend can’t blame alcohol for his bad deeds, and when he threatens the kids with unspeakable trauma, they run away. Teamed up with another outcast in search of his mythical father, the trio hit the road, but what awaits is no better than what they are running from. Shot mostly in black and white with just a few color sequences when the individuals find small slivers of joy in their lives, it’s a stark and well put-together movie, with Rockwell’s performance being the highlight. The filmmaker’s decision to have some scenes improvised is telling at moments with the younger, inexperienced cast, but on a whole, I really enjoyed it. ★★★½
TV series currently watching: Star Wars Rebels (season 1)
Passing is a great film looking at race in 1930’s New York, many themes of which still apply today. Its co-leads are two black women with lighter complexions, made to look even lighter by filming in black and white. Irene (Tessa Thompson) is an upper middle class woman married to a doctor, and while not purposefully trying to pass as white, she doesn’t dissuade shop owners, hotel doormen, or restaurant staff from thinking otherwise. In one such place, she runs into Clare (Ruth Negga), an old friend from school, who is indeed purposefully passing as white. Clare has married a wealthy white man, who hates African Americans to the point that he won’t even hire a black housekeeper. Irene is disgusted that Clare could not only pretend to be white, but live with a man who hates her people. Irene makes a quick getaway, but Clare soon reaches out to her, hoping to hang out. After so many years pretending to be white, Clare wants to hang out with her people, dance to jazz in clubs, and let loose without fear of her husband finding out. Irene sets aside her aversion to Clare’s acceptance of her husband, but never does completely warm up to her. She seems to have a right to worry, when she sees her own husband cozying up to Claire. Whether its all in her head or not, and what comes of Clare’s subterfuge with her husband, is what leads to the climax. Tremendous performances by both leading ladies, and lots of nuanced themes dealing with race relations, identity, etc. ★★★★
Son of Monarchs, a film about a Mexican man who comes to the USA to pursue a career, but who still has some family secrets to take care of in Mexico, sounds like the kind of indie sleeper that I’d be all about. Unfortunately it did not live up to expectations. A successful biologist in New York City, on the verge of some DNA breakthroughs on his research of butterflies, Mendel must return to his home town after his grandmother, the woman who raised him after his parents died, has passed. He hasn’t been home in five years, and has to face his brother. There’s a lot of animosity there, and the reason doesn’t come out until later. But don’t expect a big ah-ha moment. This film is full of build-up but light on payoff, and spends way too long on details about Mendel’s research, which stunts the progression of the film. Strong acting by Tenoch Huerta Mejía as Mendel, but that’s about the only saving grace. ★½
I usually do newer films in these sets, but I’ve got a couple older (but not quite “classic films”) that I’ve been wanting to see, based on friends’ recommendations. The first is True Romance. Written by Tarantino (of whom I am not a fan, sacrilegious I know), it has an all-star cast of actors from the early 90s. Clarence (Christian Slater) falls in love and marries a call girl, Alabama (Patricia Arquette). Wanting to free her from her pimp, Clarence goes and kills him (played by a wild and almost unrecognizable Gary Oldman), and steals a suitcase of coke before heading out. Unfortunately with that much drugs involved, the powers-that-be aren’t just going to let Clarence and Alabama walk away scott free. A mob boss follows him out to L.A., and in typical Tarantino fashion, there will be lots of blood shed. Supporting actors include Dennis Hopper, Christopher Walken, James Gandolfini, and Tom Sizemore, with cameos from Brad Pitt, Samuel L Jackson, Chris Penn, and many others. I liked it a lot better than most Tarantino films. Not quite as over-the-top, perhaps honed in by director Tony Scott. It’s a wild ride, sort of crime/drama/comedy all mixed up together. ★★★½
I’ve got to go up to my buddy who recommended The Rundown, and punch him in the nuts. The start of the movie is alright, with Dwayne Johnson walking into a club and throwing down with a bunch of football players, walking out nearly unscathed with a championship ring needed as collateral against some money one of the players had borrowed and is late on paying. But then the next scene showed the Rock’s next mission down to South America, to bring back a wayward son. The son in question is played by Seann William Scott. As soon as I saw this, I knew that was it for me. Has this guy ever been in a good film? I hear this movie is actually a decent buddy cop kind of flick, but man, Scott’s face just makes me want to punch him. He’s not funny, he can’t act in a serious role, and I checked out of this film after about 45 minutes. ½
I’ve seen bits and pieces of American Psycho over the years when it was on TV, but never sat down and watched it. I’m glad I finally did. Christian Bale is tremendous as the psychotic Patrick Bateman, a man who outwardly appears sophisticated and cultured, but on the inside is a cold blooded killer who can torture and murder without emotion. Bateman is a vice president at a financial institution, but he never seems to do any work. He and his fellow vice p’s try to one-up each other with better dinner reservations, better looking business cards, etc. The only time he ever shows emotion is when he feels like he isn’t top dog in the pecking order among his fellows. He has a socialite fiancee, but doesn’t have any feelings for her either, cheating on her with prostitutes, before ultimately killing them. As his spree ramps up, his mental hold starts to break down, until the viewer is as confused as Bateman is about what is going on around him. A fantastic black comedy, bordering on the silly at times, but managing to stay intense thanks to Bale’s performance. ★★★★½
TV series currently watching: Only Murders in the Building (season 1)
Red Notice is a fairly ho-hum action comedy film, with superstar power in its leads: Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds, and Gal Gadot. The plot revolves around the theft of 3 bejeweled eggs originally gifted to Cleopatra by Marcus Antonius. Thief Nolan Booth (Reynolds) is attempting to steal each of the three, knowing there is a big payout if they are all brought together to the right buyer. Booth is being hunted by FBI agent John Hartley (Johnson), who has teamed up with Interpol to follow Booth around the world. However, both are being played by a mysterious super thief known only as Bishop (Gadot), who wants the three eggs and the payout it will bring all to herself. If you are a fan of Reynolds style of humor (and I am), you will find plenty of laughs, but that is about the only saving grace is this chaotic mess. Too many twists to keep track of, and honestly not worth the effort for what is ultimately a pretty forgettable action film. Pre-pandemic, this is the kind of movie that would rely on its star power to pack the seats for a summer blockbuster, but watching it on Netflix doesn’t carry the same weight. ★★
Whereas the cast of Red Notice couldn’t hold that movie up, the excellent cast of The Harder They Fall is able to better. The introduction prepares you for the violence ahead: a preacher, his wife, and their child are sitting down to dinner when a group of outlaws interrupts. The leader of the gang, Rufus Buck, has obviously been hunting this preacher for a long time. The man begs for the lives of his family, but Buck shoots the wife and then the preacher. He spares the son, but carves a cross into his forehead. 20 years later, the boy has grown up to be Nat Love, and he has made it his life’s goal to hunt down and kill every man who ran with Rufus Buck. The only one left alive now is Buck himself, who’s been in jail. However, he is about to be released, thanks to a pardon from the governor for having his latest gang take care of some nefarious business for him. Love is ready to finish what he started. He puts together a team of fast draws and snipers, including the law man who who originally put Buck away, but doesn’t want to see him free after all the hurt he’s caused, and they set out to bring justice. Buck’s new crew is just as deadly as his old one though, so it will not be an easy adventure. This is a raw and grungy anti-western, with a top billed cast including Idris Elba, Regina King, Jonathan Majors, Zazie Beets, Delroy Lindo, and more. Western film fans should find plenty to like. ★★★½
After two (sometimes over-the-top) Hollywood films, I was ready for something a little quieter. Sophie Jones was the ticket. A little indie film from a first-time director and an unknown cast (including the director’s cousin in the lead), this film is about a teen trying to find herself in the year after her mother died. Sophie is an average high school junior, but she feels like the rug has been pulled out from under her. She defiantly insists to her therapist that she’s doing fine, that she hasn’t turned to drugs or other vices to help her cope, but in reality, she’s turned to sex. Previously a virgin, she finds control in her life over the one thing that she can control, and that’s her body. She sleeps with a couple guys, dumps her only boyfriend when he starts asking for more than casual sex, and even tries to make a move on her longtime friend, who has obviously had a crush on her for awhile. The film doesn’t present easy answers for Sophie, or a clear way out of her predicament, and lets her find her own way. It’s not a fast or easy path, and it shouldn’t be. Very realistic film, though the unprofessional actors were a bit off-putting for me. Or maybe teens really talk this way now and I’m just out of touch. Still, excellent film for indie lovers. ★★★½
I love a good musical, and am a big fan of Rent, so of course I’ve been looking forward to the film version of Jonathan Larson’s Tick, Tick…Boom! I went in fairly blind, only knowing Larson wrote this before Rent, and it was biographical about his worries regarding turning 30, and frustrations in breaking in to the Broadway scene as a writer and composer. Larson is portrayed by Andrew Garfield, who sets the scene by explaining this is the workshop (what musicals go through before hitting the stage, to pursue funding and “work out the kinks”) for Tick, Tick… Boom! In the show-within-a-show, we see Larson of two years ago, in his tiny New York apartment, and he’s been struggling on writing the a show, Superbia, for many years. What continues to drive him is some praise he received from the legendary Stephen Sondheim (R.I.P.) during a theater class awhile back. Larson is about to lose his roommate, who came to New York with him, but never made it as an actor, and is settling into his corporate advertising job, in fact, getting ready to move out and into a posh new place. If he’s not careful, Larson will lose his girlfriend too; a dancer, she was just about to get her break when she had a literal one, breaking her ankle and now seeming to have missed her chance. She’s considering taking a teaching job to pay the bills, but Larson cannot see himself doing anything but writing musicals. Fans of his know how this turns out: Larson dies at the age of 35 on the day of Rent’s first Off-Broadway performance, the musical that would go on to win multiple Tony’s and a Pulitzer, all awarded posthumously to Larson. This filmed version is chuck full of Broadway legends in roles and cameos (far too many to note) and was directed by Lin Manuel Miranda, in his film directorial debut. It features plenty of catchy rock tunes that will keep Rent fans happy, and is a great story about following your dreams. ★★★★
Musicals aren’t for everyone, but plenty will like Old Henry, a more grounded and traditional western than The Harder They Fall. Henry is an old farmer working the land with his son Wyatt. They live alone on a secluded farm, when a riderless horse trots up, with a splash of blood on his saddle. Henry follows its tracks and finds a man near death, shot, and with a gun and bundle of cash nearby. After a thought of leaving him, Henry pulls him over his horse and rides him, his gun, and money back to his farm. When he comes to, the man claims to be Curry, a lawman who was set upon by outlaws, and stole their already stolen money. Shortly after, three men do indeed come to Henry’s door, but they claim to be the law, and are seeking a thieving Curry. Henry plays dumb to get the men to leave, but he smells something is amiss. The three go and round up some more bad men, and come back. But this time, Henry is ready, and he’s not just a farmer. The big surprise is a bit over-the-top, but if you can accept it and go with it, this is an extremely fun and action packed film. The climactic gun fight is as good as it gets in this genre. Outstanding performance by Tim Blake Nelson in the lead, who seems he was born to play a gritty cowboy. ★★★★
TV series currently watching: Foundation (season 1)
The trailer for Ridley Scott’s House of Gucci promised drama and murder. There’s one of the latter, and unfortunately, very little of the former in this complete dud. Strong performances by a fantastic cast (Lady Gaga, Adam Driver, Al Pacino, and Jared Leto) can’t breathe any life into this long (2 1/2 hour+) boring film, which left me checking my watch every 15 minutes after the first hour.
This movie follows son Maurizio Gucci (Driver), starting in the early 70s. He seems to care little for the family business, but his last name catches the attention of Patrizia Reggiani (Gaga) when she meets him at a party. They hit it off immediately, but Maurizio’s father Rodolfo (Jeremy Irons) does not condone the relationship, sensing Patrizia is out for the money. The dad only comes around after the marriage is made and a baby is born, writing Maurizio back into his will, and, when he dies, leaving him half the company to share with his brother (Maurizio’s uncle) Aldo (Pacino) and Aldo’s eccentric son Paolo (Leto).
While Maurizio is not one for confrontations and is more than willing to accept the situation as it is, Patrizia is a shark with blood in the water, and turns the family against each other, wanting to put the entirety of the Gucci business under her husband’s (and her’s) control. Unfortunately the family drama is, while surprising at times, not all that exciting to watch. Her machinations to bring down Aldo and Paolo are shaky at best, and downright implausible at worst. What’s worse is, as the film progresses, plot points are introduced and soon after abandoned, and I couldn’t help but feel that they were just throwing ideas at a wall to see what stuck. I stopped caring about any of the characters long before the credits rolled, and had nothing invested as a viewer to feel one way or another about the outcome. ★
Jons Movie Takes 