Trolls World Tour is a sequel to the popular film from a couple years ago, starring Anna Kendrick and Justin Timberlake voicing the leads of Queen Poppy and Branch, a couple of, you guessed it, trolls (the cute kind, like the 80’s toys, not the ugly living-under-a-bridge kind). Having dealt with the bergens in the last film, their new nemesis is one of their own. Turns out Poppy and her village are pop trolls, since they love pop music and sugary-sweet lifestyles. Different trolls who are in to other musical styles inhabit other villages, and the queen of the rock and roll trolls, Queen Barb, is going to other villages stealing their magic string, the source of all their music. She wants to unit all the tribes into a love of one music, rock. Poppy and Branch set off to meet Barb and see what if they can talk her out of her quest. The film lacks some of the catchy songs that the first one had, and with a different director and story team, it has a very different feel. Namely, it suffers a bit from “quick take” syndrome, almost like a Michael Bay fast cutting-like feel. You can tell this picture was made for the Instagram generation, and at times, it was a bit much for me. But it does have a decent story, a good message of inclusion, and while it might not have the same level of charm as the first film, it is still enjoyable. And just like the first go-around, I’m sure they’ll make a killing on merchandise. You can’t go in any store without seeing a Trolls face on something. ★★★½
Little Joe is sort of a modern version of Little Shop of Horrors, unfortunately minus the entertainment. However, it’s not entirely bad. Alice is head scientist researching new plants. Specifically, she’s been trying to breed a plant with a pleasant, endorphin-raising scent which will make people happy. She thinks she’s found just the right blend with “Little Joe,” named after her son. Little Joe requires more care than any other plant, living only in the right environment and needing constant watering and care, but it does indeed some to make people pleasant. Unfortunately it seems to be doing more than that too. Made without the ability to pollinate (so as to not interfere with other indigenous flora), Little Joe starts using its spores to make people take care of it, and since doing so makes them happy, they are more than willing to comply. Anyone who seems to raise fears about what is going on is eventually brought into Little Joe’s posse, until only Alice is left fighting it. I feel the soundtrack really helps this film; it is disjointed and jarring in a way that would fit in a classic horror flick, and manages to ratchet up the tension here, even though we are only talking about a plant. But if you take that soundtrack away, the film is a bit of a bore. Does have solid performances from its co-leads, Emily Beecham and Ben Whishaw. ★★
I finally had a chance to see Parasite, the film that took all of the awards world-over last season. Like many film-goers, I was introduced to director Bong Joon-ho by Snowpiercer, and then later Okja, both of which I loved. Much like Snowpiercer, Parasite is a film about disparity in the social classes, between the haves and the have-nots. The Kim family is dirt poor but have plenty of street smarts. The Park family is wealthy, but Mrs Park is gullible and doesn’t know how to do a thing for herself. Bringing all their conniving and intuition to bear, the Kims are able to infiltrate the Parks, playing the roles of tutor, driver, housemaid, and art therapist. Events go drastically wrong when the Parks come home early one night, in the middle of a drunken party by the Kims, on the same night that the Kims find another hidden, secret guest in the house. This film has it all: darker-than-black comedy, thrills and chills, a lot of suspense, and most importantly, timely themes on the inequality between classes in today’s modern society. In the film, the poor like the Kims literally live in basements, trying to decide between paying the phone bill or buying food, while the Parks live on a hill looking down over everyone else, and throw money away on fake tutors and therapists with no credentials or skill. Brilliantly acted, brilliantly directed, and an engaging plot all come together for last year’s best film. As the director said when accepting his Golden Globe award, “Once you overcome the 1-inch barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films.” Parasite is an accessible film that everyone should see. ★★★★★
Sword of Trust is a cute comedy-drama about an adult couple, Cynthia and Mary. They are going through the effects of Cynthia’s recently dead grandfather when they find an old Civil War era sword, with paperwork claiming the sword was surrendered by Union General Sheridan in defeat to the grandfather at the Battle of Chicabauga, and in so doing, the grandfather is claiming the North actually lost to the South. The two women don’t believe it, but they understand it might have value, so they take it to the local pawn shop, run by Mel. Mel scoffs at the story, but later finds online come conspiracy theorists who are hunting for proof that the South won the war, and are offering big money too. Mel brings Cynthia and Mary back in, and the group go on a bizarre adventure to sell the sword to some crazies. Much of the dialogue is obviously improvised, and the film has a very mumblecore-like feel to it, albeit with people closer to their 40’s instead of 20s. I’m not a big fan of the mumblecore subgenre (with a few notable standout exceptions), but this film isn’t bad. It’s quirky and funny, and has enough going on that I could look past some of its faults. It’s a short, sub-90 minute excursion too, so easy to squeeze it in if you want some light comedy. ★★★
Tigertail is a really lovely film on Netflix, but it left me wanting more. It tells the tale of the full life of Pin-Jui. Born in Taiwan, his father died young and was then raised by his strong-willed single mother, who worked in a factory. His life-long love is a girl named Yuan, who he first met as a child living with his grandmother away from the city for a time, but who fate brought back to him as a young man years later. However, Pin-Jui has dreams of moving to America, and as a poor young person, the only way he sees to get there is by marrying the daughter of his mother’s factory boss, who will then fund their move to New York. Pin-Jui takes the chance with nary a goodbye to Yuan, but spends the rest of his life regretting that decision. His marriage to Zhenzhen is cold, and after their children grow and leave the house, she leaves him. Pin-Jui then needs to finally connect to someone again, after years of being closed off, and the person he needs to connect to is his estranged daughter. The film is told in 3 separate time lines, often moving back and forth between the younger Pin-Jui and him as an old man. It is a reflective, moving, contemplative picture, but it felt too short at 90 minutes long. I would love to see like a 2 ½ hour long director’s cut in the future, if one exists. The movie has some wonderful moments, and excellent cinematography, but it feels like a lot was left on the cutting room floor. I would have liked to see more of Pin-Jui’s growth, what made him into the man he became. It is hinted at, but for a touching film like this, I wanted more. Still, it’s a beautiful picture. ★★★½
Starting off with a great film. Portrait of a Lady on Fire is a French period film taking place in the late 18th century, with two all-star performances by Noemie Merlant and Adele Haenel. Excellent artist and painter Marianne arrives to an isolated estate to paint a portrait of Heloise, a portrait which will be gifted to Heloise’s husband-to-be. The rub is that Heloise doesn’t want to get married; it was her sister who was to be married, but she killed herself, letting the responsibility fall to Heloise to marry for the family. Consequently, Heloise refuses to pose for the portrait, so her mother has hired Marianne to pretend to be Heloise’s companion, to study her, and then to paint from memory at night. After a week, the portrait is finished, but Marianne isn’t happy with it. She comes clean to Heloise and destroys the painting, and promises the mother to start fresh. Heloise agrees to model this time. The mother leaves to attend to other business, and the two women spend a week together, with increasing emotions for each other. The simmering sexual tension between the two women in the first half is a wonderful slow burn, as they begin to read each other, and then finally, connect on a deep, intense, emotional couple days. Richly filmed, sparse but warm, the film pulls you in and doesn’t let you go until the very end. It’s odd how a film where all of the action is in the raise of an eye, the tilt of a head, the lingering touch, and yet it is as gripping as the most explosive action flick. 
The Decline, a French Canadian film produced by Netflix, follows a man named Antoine, who is convinced the world is going to hell in a handbasket. Between global warming, global powers, failing economies, and mass migrations, he is sure that it is only a matter of time before the only people surviving will be the survivalists. Though inexperienced, he’s been watching videos online of a survivalist named Alain, who teaches how to preserve food, build bunkers, etc. Antoine and a half dozen other like-minded people sign up for Alain’s “class” at his remote, self-sufficient getaway. There, they learn how to grow everything they need, live off the land, and defend it from invaders, including how to make bombs and booby traps. An accident one evening though separates the hard-cores from those not willing to do everything for this lifestyle, and the film becomes a suspense between the hunters and their prey. Nothing groundbreaking here, but it is a better-than-average action thriller, with a couple twists you won’t see coming, and passable performances from mostly unknown actors. 
I thought I would really dig Leviathan, a 2014 Russian film from director Andrey Zvyagintsev. Reviews I read made it sound like the kind of slow-moving, heavy-thinking film that I often enjoy (re: 
Danish film The Hunt stars Mads Mikkelsen, whom you may recognize from his roles as bad guys in films such as Bond’s Casino Royale or Marvel’s Doctor Strange, but he has a lot of versatility too (I LOVED him in 
Sometimes I watch a movie that the critics loved, and I can only scratch my head and wonder what people see in it. Timbuktu is hardly a movie; it is more a glimpse into the way of life in a harsh village in Africa which has been overrun by extremist Islamists. The new rulers have imposed strict religious rule about what people can wear, how they can act in public, etc. There seemed to be a very loose plot about a shepherd’s family living just outside the city, who runs afoul of a local fisherman when one of their cows stumbles into his nets in the river, but honestly I didn’t stick around long enough to see what developed there. The “film” really is mostly just scenes of jihadists walking through the city harassing its inhabitants and arresting women for not wearing gloves, young men for playing soccer, and other such things. On the news we see all the evil over there, and it is easy to forget the average people like you and me are just trying to go about their lives, but if you want to turn that into a movie, at least give me a plot to get behind. If there’s a good plot in this one, it didn’t start before the 45 minute mark when I peaced out. 
Somehow Pixar always hits it out of the park. Their latest is Onward, which has a different setting and thus may appeal to a smaller audience, but everyone should see it anyway. This one takes place in a world filled with mythical creatures (elves, sprites, centaurs, etc), but without magic. In a modern-day setting full of technology, all magic has disappeared, until teenager Ian Lightfoot is bequeathed a magic staff and directions to enact a spell which will bring his father back for one day. Ian’s and his brother Barley’s father died when they were kids (the older Barley has just a couple memories of him, Ian has none). Unfortunately the uninitiated Ian screws up the spell on the first attempt, and only brings back “half” of dad, namely, from the waist down. Ian and Barley thus go on a quest to find another magic gem to bring back the rest, before their 24 hours is up. Lots of laughs, but as you’d expect from Pixar, an equal number of tears, it is a wonderful, loving, heartfelt picture (featuring their tremendous animation as always) about family, love, and moving on. One for all ages, I adored it. 
Waves is great too. From director Trey Edward Shults (whose last film 
When I initially saw Zombieland awhile back, I thought it was good but not spectacular, and didn’t see what all the rave reviews were about. So I went into the new sequel, Zombieland: Double Tap, a bit skeptical. Maybe I need to go back and rewatch the first, because I thoroughly enjoyed this one. It brings back the quartet of stars for some new post-apocalyptic good times: Tallahassee (Woody Harelson), Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg), Wichita (Emma Stone), and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin). They’ve moved into the White House, but the group becomes splintered when Little Rock leaves to find people her own age, and Wichita freaks out when Columbus proposes to her. When Wichita returns, she finds Columbus already in bed with a new girl, a dumb blonde named Madison (a hilarious Zoey Deutch). The new group heads out to find Little Rock, and have to fight newer, smarter, less easy-to-kill zombies along the way. I’m more of a drama film lover myself, rarely do I re-watch comedies, but this is one that I’d see again and again. The original Zombieland propelled Eisenberg and Stone into superstardom, and now that they are established, I feel like they shine more than they did in the first. Thoroughly enjoying film. I’m on a roll with the good ones today! 
Queen & Slim has a startling premise, but I just couldn’t get into this one. It stars 
Uncut Gems is the latest from the Safdie brothers (
Blow the Man Down is very original-feeling film from a pair of new director-writers, Bridget Savage Cole and Danielle Krudy. Taking place in the tiny fishing village of Easter Cove, Maine, it has a cast of characters as varied and quirky as the plot. Sisters Priscilla and Mary Beth are mourning the death of their mother. Mary Beth goes out that night to get drunk, and ends up in the car of a local hoodlum, Gorski. After wrecking the car, she opens Gorski’s trunk and sees blood. She freaks out and runs, and when Gorski chases her down, she kills him. Mary Beth runs home to Priscilla, and the two try to cover up the murder by dismembering Gorski and throwing him in the ocean. Of course it doesn’t end there, and the next day a body washes up on shore. To the sisters’ surprise, it isn’t Gorksi, but is instead a girl from the local brothel, dead of a gunshot. The seedy underworld of this tiny part of the world comes out, and all are involved, even the town’s little old ladies. Morgan Saylor and Sophie Lowe received top billing, but really it features an ensemble cast, with quite a few recognizable faces from both the small and big screens, though no bonafide “stars.” And for once, I really liked Morgan Saylor. She was the snot-nosed brat in Homeland as a kid, and I didn’t care for her much in 
I’ve been wanting to see Harriet, a biopic based on the life of real hero Harriet Tubman, from as soon as I’d heard of it. I’m a nut for historical films. Portrayed by Tony and Grammy award winner Cynthia Erivo, it shows Harriet’s life as a slave, through her career rescuing others to freedom. Born Araminta “Minty” Ross, Tubman made the brave journey north by herself the first time, then made many more trips to Maryland and surrounding lands to rescue family, friends, and others. When new laws allowed hunters of fugitive slaves to go north and bring their “property” back south, Harriet continued to work to bring people all the way to Canada. Unfortunately a whole lot of the film feels forced. Don’t get me wrong, there are some good moments, but in an effort to make the good guys “good” and the bad guys “bad,” the majority of characters come off as caricatures rather than fleshed out people, and the soundtrack does nothing more than force emotion. I don’t like feeling like I’m being told what to feel, I prefer filmmakers let those emotions come naturally without being hit over the head with them. They also relied a little too heavily on Tubman’s intuition to get the out of tricky situations, so much so that when things got bad, I waited for the slow pan of her face as she took on a deep contemplative look, while she awaited divine intervention. 
The Lighthouse on the other hand, is incredible, and lives up to all the hype. This one features two indelible actors (Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson) who seem perfectly matched to their roles. Wake is an aging lighthouse keeper, who has hired the younger Winslow as a helper for their four week stay on the isolated lighthouse island. While alone there, Winslow or Wake (or both) start slipping. We learn Wake’s previous assistant went crazy on the island, and Winslow isn’t exactly who he claims to be. As Winslow starts hallucinating, and the pair start drinking more and more heavily (especially after they run out of food), things get weird and scary in equal measure. Shot in black and white, and an aspect ratio of just 1.19:1, it has the look and feel of an old-school horror picture, but it is twisted in a way that would never get made 60 or 70 years ago. It also, surprisingly, has a lot of humor, and though the idea of a horror/comedy might sound strange, it works. Young director Robert Eggers has really made a unique picture here. It isn’t going to be for everyone, but film lovers will eat this one up. 
Gemini Man could be an amazing film, with strong actors (Will Smith and Clive Owen, backed up by a solid Mary Elizabeth Winstead), often mind-blowingly good fight scenes, and (usually) amazing tech, but unfortunately the movie suffers from a poor story and shoddy writing. It’s an odd miss from historically good director Ang Lee. The film follows Henry (Smith), an aging assassin working for a secret government agency, and probably the best assassin they’ve ever had. However, he thinks he’s finally losing a step, and is ready to retire. Unfortunately they won’t let him go quietly, and when he asks the wrong question, he becomes a target himself. The government group, headed by Owen’s character, sends a new hotshot assassin, Junior, after Henry. The big twist is Junior is a young version of Henry, and is actually a clone, though Junior himself doesn’t know it. The car chases and hand-to-hand fights between these two are really impressive, and the CGI making Will Smith look young is mostly incredible, though there are moments where the facial expressions look false. However, the great moments can’t hide all the warts in the film, and it comes off as a poor man’s Mission Impossible, albeit if the poor man still had a huge budget for everything except the writing department. I’ll give it a couple stars just for the action sequences. 
Uncorked is about a young man named Elijah, who works at his family BBQ business in Memphis, a business started by his grandfather, and which will fall to him one day. However, his love isn’t in BBQ, but in wine. He holds a second job at a local wine seller, and has dreams of becoming a master sommelier (basically a wine professional, who would work at a fancy restaurant suggesting the right wines to patrons). The school that classifies sommeliers is very expensive though, and Elijah doesn’t have his dad’s support, who wants Elijah to carry on the family business. Elijah is backed by his mom, but when she grows sick, she is unable to continue to be the bridge between Elijah and his dad, forcing them to come to terms with each other. It’s a decent enough film; there isn’t anything groundbreaking here, but what it has, it does well. There’s a comedic character who provides most of the laughs, and for myself, he grated on me too much and I could have done without his character, but that’s a minor quibble. In the end, the film is about the love of a father and son, and the sacrifices both are willing to make for each other. 
Going to look at some of controversial director Roman Polanski’s films. In my mind, probably a piece of shit as a human being, but he can make some fine films. Up first is Chinatown, considered one of the 2 or 3 best films he ever made. Its a neo-noir featuring a younger Jack Nicholson as Gittes, a private investigator and a good one. After Mrs Mulwray hires him to follow her husband, Gittes becomes embroiled in a mystery when the husband turns up dead, and the real Mrs Mulwray shows up to sue Gittes for his involvement. The mystery goes deeper than just a shadowy death, involving big money and government contracts, and Gittes can’t help himself but to keep pulling at strings to see where they lead. Excellent writing and superb acting with Nicholson and Faye Dunaway in the leads, the film is a fantastic look at the time and collective mind of 1974, when the USA was growing increasingly cynical, what with the failing of the government, our involvement in Vietnam, and a bleaker outlook on life in general. I loved it. 
Knife in the Water was Polanski’s first feature film, released in 1962, in his native Poland. It follows a simple premise, but the director is able to do something with it. Andrzej is a middle-aged man with a much younger wife, Krystyna. They are on the way to their sailboat for a weekend on the lake when they pick up a hitchhiker, a young man who never gives his name. What follows is a tense weekend full of pissing contests between the two men, who vie for the attention of Krystyna. Andrzej uses his knowledge of boating to ridicule the younger man. Though inexperienced, the man has a youthful exuberance for life that is infectious to Krystyna. Overall I thought the film was very average. I appreciated some moments, creating psychological tension with very little to work with, but I just wasn’t enthralled. Solid, but unremarkable. 
Next up is Macbeth, obviously based on the famous Shakespeare play. I’m ashamed to admit I was unfamiliar with this one. Outside of its reputation as one of the top 3 of his plays, which is saying something of course, I honestly knew nothing about it. Maybe for that reason, going into it blind, I absolutely loved this film. How did I stay away from this story for so long?! The eponymous Macbeth is a Scottish lord and a legendary fighter. After (purportedly) fighting back a horde of enemies single-handedly, Macbeth and his longtime friend Banquo are returning home when they come across a trio of witches. The witches prophesies that Macbeth will become king, and it isn’t long until he is given that opportunity. King Duncan visits Macbeth’s house to celebrate his recent victory, and during the night Macbeth and his wife murder the king and pin it in some of the king’s entourage. The popular Macbeth is indeed named the new king, but almost immediately, he becomes paranoid that others want to take his power for their own. He has Banquo and other former friends and colleagues of his killed, and eventually he is surrounded by thieves and murderers, alone on the throne with no true friends. Things do not end well for old Macbeth. Grisly and sometimes disturbing, Polanski’s telling feels very real and modern (though it came out in 1971 and seems to use the text to the original play faithfully). It is easy to follow, lyrical to listen to, and entirely mesmerizing. A brilliant film. 
Overall, I generally enjoyed Tess (based on Thomas Hardy’s classic work Tess of the d’Urbervilles). I have to say I liked it more a couple days later than I did immediately after viewing. It does offer for a lot of reflection. Tess is a beautiful young woman from a very poor family, but her parents have hopes that she can raise herself and them up from their situation. Tess’s dad has recently learned that his family name Durbeyfield is actually a crude version of an old aristocrat family, the d’Ubervilles. He sends Tess off to the surviving members of that ancient family in hopes that she can make an impression, but it turns out that the current d’Ubervilles are nothing more than a rich family who bought the name for its prestige, and aren’t d’Ubervilles at all. Tess’s situation doesn’t get any better, in fact, the whole film is basically one wrong turn after another for our heroine. She is pursued by a man she loathes, and is in love with a man who won’t have her. From the opening scenes, the viewer is struck by absolutely gorgeous cinematography, but what I can’t stop thinking about, is the care Polanski took to making this film. There are movies where directors make things happen, and others where the director lets things happen naturally. Tess goes at a leisurely pace (at nearly 3 hours long), but it never feels slow. And after Tess’s trials throughout, the ending seems very fitting. 
Cul-de-sac was the first dud that I’d seen of Polanski’s. It was his third film, after the above mentioned Knife in the Water and 
Not quite sure what to make of The Death of Dick Long. The filmmakers themselves didn’t know if it should be a comedy or a dark drama, and so it sort of fails at being both. The eponymous Dick and his two buddies Zeke and Earl are a trio of redneck friends in a garage band. After a night of drinking, drugs, and debauchery, we see Zeke and Earl dumping their buddy, who is bleeding profusely, in front of the hospital and then making a run for it. Dick does (obviously) end up dying, but the answer to what brought them to that point isn’t immediately clear. The two surviving friends do a really lousy job of covering their tracks, even to the point that the inept local police officers are still able to put two and two together (finally). The funny moments aren’t funny enough, and the dramatic moments aren’t believable enough, for this film to ever get anywhere worth really enjoying. I rather liked director Daniel Scheinert’s previous film, Swiss Army Man, and this one has a bit of that same zany, off-beat comedy, but it’s just not very good. 
I expected to not enjoy Jay and Silent Bob Reboot. Don’t get me wrong, growing up in the 90’s I loved Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, and Dogma as much as anyone, but watching those films now, the humor doesn’t really hold up. But you know, the newest film isn’t half bad, if you are a fan that is. Watching it was like slipping on an old hat; worn, tired, but comfortable. Even the actors themselves joke that this movie is a reboot of Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back from nearly 20 years ago. The marijuana-loving duo are headed to California to stop a reboot of that film from 2001 being made again, and have adventures along the way, with all of Kevin Smith’s cast of regulars back for more shenanigans. The film is chuck full of familiar and new faces, all poking fun at themselves and the filmmakers, and the viewer really feels like they are in on the jokes too. Some of the best jokes are saved for some of Kevin’s failed movies, so it’s nice that he can be as self deprecating as he is. If you aren’t a Kevin Smith fan, you’ll hate this movie, but if you are, give it a chance, because you’ll probably laugh more than you’ll expect to. It’s no great “cinema,” but it doesn’t try to be, and sometimes that’s ok. 
I also enjoyed Terminator: Dark Fate a whole heck of a lot more than anticipated. Heralded as the return of director James Cameron, who did the first two films so many years ago, this one is a direct sequel to Terminator 2, and ignores the 3 movies that came after that one. Maybe those films lowered my expectations, but this one was great. After a short intro that shows a Terminator was indeed able to kill John Connor shortly after the events of T2, we fast forward to present day and the arrival of two newcomers to our time from the future. One is the newest killing machine, Rev-9 (Gabriel Luna), and the other is a cybernetically enhanced human named Grace (Mackenzie Davis in a badass role). Even though Sarah and John Connor halted the start of Skynet, the inevitable happened and robots (AI) still started a war with humans. In the new future, with John Connor dead, the new hero is the unborn child of a woman named Dani, so Rev-9, with some seriously cool new tricks, has been sent back to kill her and Grace has been sent back to protect. Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton, reprising her role) also shows up to do her part. The film sounds like a reboot of its own, but it isn’t. It has a similar premise but feels fresh, and it is a wild ride from the get-go. 
Big Time Adolescence is much better than anticipated too. It co-stars two guys who we’ve seen before, but I believe this may be their first leading roles. Mo (Griffin Gluck) is a 16-year-old boy who seems to have a good head on his shoulders, except for the fact he hangs out with much older guys, who aren’t exactly role models. The main one of this group is Zeke (SNL’s Pete Davidson), a stoner ex-boyfriend of Mo’s sister. Zeke is in his early 20’s and is just floating through life. Mo’s parents urge him to hang out with people his own age, but Mo really looks up to Zeke, and that influence begins to show. First Zeke starts getting alcohol and drugs for a few people in school, but eventually builds to being the dealer for the entire school. Zeke’s relationship advice doesn’t exactly pan out well for Mo either. I love me a good coming-of-age film, and this one mostly hits in all the right places, even if it is a bit predictable as most in this genre are. Gluck is really good as Mo, a young man who, like most 16 year olds, just wants to be accepted, and Davidson is passable as Zeke. Davidson has the kind of personality that makes him feel endearing to viewers, which helps in a role like this, even if his acting chops aren’t quite there yet. The comparisons to Adam Sandler are inevitable, and like in Sandler’s early films, Davidson’s charisma creates entertainment, allowing the viewer to look past some shortcomings. Sandler was able to grow and show some more nuanced performances later on, and we’ll see if Davidson can do the same. Still, I liked the movie. 
Motherless Brooklyn is an old-school film noir with a sterling cast who seem perfect for their roles. It has the right music and feel and even the deadpan voiceover narration; except for some curse words, if it were in black and white, it could have come out in the 50’s and you’d never know it. It is about a private investigator, Lionel, who has tourette’s (unnamed for this era, but that’s what it is), but his ticks are forgiven by his office’s head, Frank, because Lionel can remember anything and everything he sees and hears. What he hears one day is a contentious discussion between Frank and some unknown visitors, and it leads to Frank being shot and killed. Lionel immerses himself in finding the culprits, but the rabbit hole takes him to corrupt politicians, seedy Harlem jazz nightclubs, and a fight over redevelopment of lower-middle-class housing which the city wants to clear out for new highways. It is a very good film, maybe not great but close, with some remarkable acting jobs by Edward Norton in the lead, as well as Bruce Willis, Alec Baldwin, Willem Dafoe, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Cherry Jones, and Michael K Williams, as well as a host of other recognizable faces. The good moments are really good, spellbinding in fact, but there are slow stretches which, while important to the mystery Lionel is trying to unravel, do seem to drag. 
Krigen (A War) comes out of Denmark, from director Tobias Lindholm. It stars Pilou Asbaek (Euron Greyjoy of Game of Thrones fame) as Claus, a commander of a group of soldiers hunting Taliban in Afghanistan. His troop loses one man when he steps on an IED, and it has shaken unit’s core. Shortly after, they are pinned down in a compound while on a patrol, taking heavy fire, when another member is critically wounded. The medevac can’t come in, so Claus orders an airstrike of the vicinity where he believes the enemy fire is coming from. It works, and the wounded soldier is rescued out, saving his life. Unfortunately for Claus, there were woman and children in that compound, and he is brought up on charges that he called the attack without having confirmation of an enemy presence there. The final section of the film shifts from the war zone to the court room. The movie is critically acclaimed, but I wasn’t moved. For one, I don’t think Asbaek is that great of an actor (wasn’t in Game of Thrones, and this film hasn’t changed my mind). Secondly, while Claus was obviously in a no-win situation, it’s still awfully egotistical to think the life of one soldier is more important than a house full of innocents. Very average film for me. 
Theeb is much better. A joint production from a few countries including Jordan, UAE, and the UK, and from director Naji Abu Nowar, it takes place in the desert during World War I. Young Theeb (a name that means wolf) and his older brother Hussein are hired to guide an English soldier and his Arab companion Marji through the desert to a railway. The Englishmen’s orders are to get there fast, so they take a shortcut through the canyon, despite local warnings that the path has more bandits than pilgrims these days. The warnings prove prophetic, as they are waylaid at a well halfway through. Several bandits are killed and one badly injured before the soldier, Marji, and Hussein are all killed, leaving Theeb alone. After waiting at the well a couple days, the initially wounded bandit returns, having been abandoned by his thieving “friends.” Theeb is too small and not physically strong enough to get the bandit’s camel to follow orders, so he nurses the bandit well enough to take them out of there. This uneasy alliance is the focalpoint of the final third of the film. Fantastic, suspenseful film, and a bit of a coming-of-age in a world very different from the one we live here in the USA. The end will leave you thinking. 
Monos hails from Colombia, directed by Alejandro Landes. This is a powerful film about a group of teenagers, really not much more than boys and girls, who have been recruited into a guerrilla war. The commander looking over their regiment, a militant and abusive man known as “the messenger,” has charged them with watching over an American hostage whom they call the doctor. The kids all go by nicknames, or call-signs, themselves, including Dog, Rambo, Bigfoot, Wolf, Lady, Smurf, and others. They though are obviously “bad guys,” they really are just children playing at being grownups, and their play in the beginning of the film drives this home. However, as the film goes along, they become more violent, and the movie takes on an almost Lord of the Flies-esque feel, with one boy starting to call all the shots and punish those who go against him. The imagery and music in this film are incredible. It’s impossible to explain, but the jungle feels alive through the screen, and you feel like you are there with them. An incredibly touching and emotional film, with mostly an unknown cast, with only two recognizable faces if you watch a lot of films, and otherwise newcomers, all of whom are up to the task for the nuanced and difficult roles. 
Mustang is a powerful film, the debut of director Deniz Gamze Erguven, and a coproduction of France and Turkey. Drawing a lot of parallels to Sofia Coppola’s famous The Virgin Suicides, it is about five sisters growing up together in Turkey. Their parents are dead, and they’ve been raised by their grandmother and uncle. Seeing them as getting too wild in their strict conservative society, grandmother decides it is finally time to start marrying them off, though all are just teenagers, and still engage in childish games with each other. Worse yet, in their culture, they rarely get to pick the lucky husband. Not to mention, we see more is going on behind closed doors than we are aware of in the beginning, when we see that after the two oldest daughters are married out, the uncle secrets into the third daughter’s bedroom one night. Told from the perspective of the youngest sister, Lale, who sees and notices all, it is a compassionate film about the perseverance and bond of sisters’ love. Though the film received criticism in Turkey for not accurately depicting the culture towards women there, I’m sure there are still plenty of places in the world where they are treated as such, and it is an eye-opening film for the age we live in. 
First Love is a Japanese film, highly entertaining, which almost defies characterization. It is billed as a crime thriller, but I think it had more laugh-out-loud moments that suspenseful ones, and the fight scenes have so much gratuitous gore that it is beyond ridiculous. Many times in the film, you can’t help but chuckle and shake your head at the purposeful outlandishness of it all. Leo is a boxer who is told he has a huge inoperable brain tumor, on the same day that he crosses paths with Monica, a prostitute and drug addict who has been set up to take the fall in an inside drug deal that is supposed to go bad. Chased by the “good” bad guys, the “bad” bad guys, a corrupt cop, and a vengeful girl bent on getting revenge for her killed boyfriend, Leo and Monica spend a night just trying to survive. Thankfully for them, the pursuers are as inept as they come. I’m unfamiliar with director Takashi Miike’s work, but if they are all like this, they are probably all a wild ride. 
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. That’s the gist of Les Dames du Bois de Boulogne (The Ladies of the Park). Helene is a rich single woman who’s been in an open relationship with Jean for two years, but she loves him enough to finally get married. Unfortunately he doesn’t feel the same way, so when he calls it off to be “just friends,” Helene sets out to get her cold-hearted revenge. She knows of a single mother who has fallen on hard times. The adult daughter, Agnes, once dreamed of being a ballerina, but has resorted to being a cabaret dancer and prostitute to support herself and her mom. Helene rescues the family from their debts and puts them in a new apartment, and slyly introduces them to Jean, knowing that Agnes’ good looks will entice him. Helene is right, and Jean falls head over heals. Agnes rightly guesses that Helene has an ulterior motive, but her mom refuses to listen, feeling indebted to Helene. Agnes resists for awhile, shameful of her past, and even tries to tell Jean, but he dismisses her protestations, going on Helene’s word that Agnes’s is a fine upstanding family which has just been going through a difficult situation. Agnes and Jean get married without him knowing of her past, and only then is it revealed to him, with Helene having invited many of her former lovers to the wedding. It’s a delightful perverse film, but also has a message of redemption, and not just for Agnes. 
Diary of a Country Priest is a low-key film about a man who takes on his first parish in a rural community, and he’s probably unprepared for what he finds there. Our unnamed priest is a young man, just out of seminary, who is quiet and contemplative, pious yet unsure of himself. He is prone to arguing with his parishioners when they don’t see things the way he thinks they should, which doesn’t exactly make him any friends in the small community. To make matters worse, he is sickly for an unknown reason, able to only eat and drink break and diluted wine. The constant wine drinking spreads rumors that he is a drunk, and a lying young girl makes up more lies about him which makes matters worse. In the end, as his illness progresses, he finds solace not in any of his community, but in a fallen priest who attended school with him, who left the church and is now living unmarried with a woman. Though he struggles with his faith through most of the film, with his friend at his side, our priest seems to find himself at the end. I liked this film, and I think I would have really liked it more if I hadn’t been interrupted while watching it. I hate to start a movie if I don’t have time to get through it in one sitting, and unfortunately I was pulled away a few times, once for an extended time, and this is the kind of character film that you just can’t do that on. It pulls you in with all of the emotion of the priest, his fear of not living up to his calling. If I watch this one again, I’d make sure to do in one sitting, and would probably rate it higher. 
Pickpocket is widely heralded, but I just didn’t get the hype. It is about a man, Michel, who is forced to turn to thievery to survive. Already living in a rundown building (he leaves his apartment door wide open when he isn’t home, the lock is broken), and trying also to support his ailing mother, Michel has been out of work for a long time. His first stealing attempt, at the racetrack, ends up with him getting caught, but the police are unable to prove he is the thief, and he is let go. He is caught again a short time later, but the victim simply demands his money back without calling the cops. After these early run-ins, Michel is able to latch on to a group of professional thieves who take him under their wing, teaching him techniques and honing his “craft.” In the meantime, Michel begins to fall for the young neighbor of his mom’s. Bresson was famous for wanting his actors to display as little emotion as possible, preferring to let the story speak for itself, but that becomes the detriment in a film like Pickpocket. Even as Michel narrates to the viewer that he is under extreme stress from fear of getting caught, we certainly can’t tell by watching his face. Call me old fashioned, but I like to immerse myself in the film and get to a place where I am swept up in events the characters are going through, and it’s hard to do that when they are all stone-faced all the time. 
Unfortunately I didn’t really enjoy The Trial of Joan of Arc either. Bresson did a lot of research to make this film, a portrayal of Joan’s trial and eventual death by being burned at the stake, but to get that true story across, the whole picture is just spoken dialogue. In fact, it could take place in one long scene had Bresson not attempted to break up the monotony of it by showing the priests walking around. And by walking around, I mean out of the “room,” since it is was obviously filmed on a shoestring budget on tiny lots. It happens so often, it almost became comical to see the judges ask Joan a few questions, then get up and walk out the back. And unfortunately Bresson’s reliance on nonprofessional actors really shows in all the dialogue. It literally looks like they are reciting lines, unemotionally and with little rehearsing. The final scene of Joan’s death is powerful, but you’d expect that for such a climactic and historical scene. The rest of the movie bored me to sleep. 
We go from 2 movies with little emotion, to one that is full of it. Au Hasard Balthazar is a monumentous film; at its root, it is the life and death of Balthazar the donkey, but it is so much more. Balthazar is born into what appears to be a good life. He is loved as a young donkey by Marie, a little girl, and Marie’s playmate/early “boyfriend,” Jacques. However, when Jacques’s sister dies, the family moves away, and Marie isn’t so happy anymore, and Balthazar’s own life of joy ends, never to return. He spends the next 15 years floating from owner to owner, all within the same tiny town, and each seemingly more cruel than the previous one. None really care for Balthazar, other than his use as a pack animal, and he is beaten and mistreated continuously. Even an older Marie, who has fallen in with a bad crowd, shows mostly apathy towards Balthazar when she sees him. In the end, Balthazar dies alone, surrounded by sheep on a hillside. The obvious metaphor to Balthazar’s life is that of Jesus (Bresson was a Catholic and did not shy away from religious material in many of his films, as noted above). Balthazar is treated roughly during his time on this earth, used as a tool by the cruel and loved by few, yet he carries on as a noble animal without ever quitting. I think the selection of a donkey, besides its obvious biblical link, works perfectly: we associate it as a burden animal, and one that doesn’t fight back and which can’t escape its life. 
Jons Movie Takes 