At this point I’ve seen a whole lot of films by Agnès Varda. She made a bunch of documentaries in addition to her feature films, which I’ve put off because, while I’m generally a fan of her work, I’m not a big fan of docs. I decided to give these a go, starting with The Gleaners and I (and its sequel, The Gleaners and I: Two Years Later). In these films, Varda looks at the age-old tradition of gleaning, people who come in and pick through the leftovers after the majority of the crops have been harvested. Specifically, Varda is interested in the poorer people who look for the scraps left behind, for personal sustenance to get by. She also broadens the definition of gleaners, turning her camera on urban dumpster divers. I didn’t get into it; just not my cup of tea. ★½

The Beaches of Agnès, made in 2008 when Agnès was turning 80, was supposed to be her last film. It is an introspective film, revisiting many of the films and friends she made over her long career. She talks about some of the great film directors she’d had a chance to meet and work with, and obviously it’s an impressive list. If I had seen this movie 10 years ago, before I’d become acquainted with the French New Wave or art house films, or classic film in general, I probably would have hated this one too. But because I’d seen so many Varda pictures, and had at least a passing acquaintance with the names she was throwing out, I was pretty fascinated throughout the film. It’s a great look behind the camera for film lovers, as she points to inspirations. There’s also a lovely tribute to her husband, the late great Jacques Demy. ★★★½

Obviously Beaches was not her last film. She followed up a couple years later with a 5 part television miniseries: Agnès de ci de lá Varda (aka Agnès Varda: From Here to There). In it, Agnès is traveling the globe, visiting numerous cities. Many times, she’s there for a screening for her film Beaches, or as a guest artist at the local museum, or for an exhibit of her photography, but in each city, she takes the time to visit other museums and interview local filmmakers and artists. There’s a lot of local photos, scenes, and interesting tidbits about the places she visits, but again, the only part of this (rather long) documentary that I really enjoyed were those moments when she was talking film. I’m not a big art fan, and when I am in for some museum walking, I like classical art. Varda focuses much of her attention on modern art, and I can only take so much of a man combing paint with a metal brush to get “interesting swirls,” or sculptures made of glass, etc. Call me old school. There were enough interesting points to keep my attention, but also enough points that I was itching to press the fast forward button. Like the man who collects buttons he finds on the street, and writes notes about where he found each one. He has boxes full. Fascinating…. ★★½

Faces Places, Agnès Varda’s penultimate film, starred her and street artist/photographer JR, who also shared directorial duties. This is my kind of documentary, because it doesn’t feel like a documentary. Agnès and JR go on the road taking photos of normal, every-day people, and plastering the images onto the sides of houses, water silos, shipping containers, train cars, or anything else of significant size to warrant attention. Along the way, we get a deeply personal story, and a peak into the souls of two profound artists. In particular, we see Varda contemplating death (she was 88 by now), and JR, who oozes cool with every step (he refuses to take off his trademark hat and sunglasses, despite Agnès’ constant needling) showing great care and fondness for his subjects, and particularly for Varda herself. Ostensibly a doc about photography and art, it comes off more as a buddy road film, and that kind of movie is indeed right up my alley. A poignant scene at the end of the film is as touching as you will find. ★★★★½

Her last film was completed just before her death in March 2019 at the age of 90. Varda by Agnès is part review of her works, part an explanation of her techniques and inspirations. It is shown as if Varda is guest speaking at a college course. Filmed on stage of an elaborate, old school movie theater, with students filling the seats, Agnès takes us on a stroll through her oeuvre. I really enjoyed the first hour, hour+fifteen or so, when she talks about her old fictional films. She revisits all the greats: Cléo, Vagabond, Jacquot de Nantes, her films with Jane Birkin, and (one of my faves, though not especially popular otherwise), One Hundred and One Nights. She discusses tracking shots, why she filmed certain scenes certain ways, and why in some places, she went against conventional filming technique. Really interesting stuff, and since I’d seen all of these movies, I loved it. The last 45 minutes or so delves into her documentaries, so I was less enthralled, especially since I’d just seen the above ones. But still, it’s a fair sendoff for one of cinema’s most influential directors. The mother of the French New Wave had quite a story to tell. ★★★

• TV series currently watching: Star Trek Discovery (season 4)
• Book currently reading: Heretics of Dune by Frank Herbert

To be honest, I’d never heard of British director Basil Dearden until stumbling upon these films. I’m glad I did, as they are great, story-driven films, and I’m a sucker for a good story. First up is 1959’s Sapphire. Sapphire is a beautiful 20-something white woman who is found murdered in a London park, and police are quick to look for the killer. Her boyfriend/fiancé David is an obvious suspect, as Sapphire just found out that she was pregnant, which would put the brakes on David’s career goals. But the suspect field grows larger when Sapphire’s brother, Dr Robbins, comes to town, because he is black, and he says that so was Sapphire. Both are biracial, she just came out with skin light enough to pass as white. As the police dig deeper, they find that Sapphire used to hang out in black clubs, but stopped suddenly one day when she was mistaken for a white woman, as she saw a way to quickly climb the social ladder. There are whisperings that David’s parents are very racist, as was common in the 50’s, so could that be the motive? Who knew what, and when? The movie keeps the viewer guessing, even as the police continue their investigation. It’s a fun police procedural drama, with obvious racial implications that sadly still hold true to today in many parts of our country. ★★★★

The League of Gentlemen followed the next year, and is a more light hearted affair. Former military man Norman Hyde recruits a team of ex-military officers for a daring bank heist. Every one of his recruits is a crook in one way or another, but Hyde himself always played by the rules. Being a good soldier got him nothing in the end, as one day he was told he was redundant and kicked to the curb. Now he’s done playing by the book and wants what he thinks he deserves. First they need gear, so they put their military expertise to use and steal weapons and other needed items from a local military base. With everything in hand, they go after the bank. It’s not the best bank robbery movie around (Oceans 11 or Le cercle rouge come to mind), but it is entertaining and surprisingly funny at times, with a fantastic cast of who’s who from that era of British film. ★★★½

Victim is the one film in this set that let me down, I think mostly because it dealt with a very touchy subject for 1961 (even more so than Sapphire). In fact, I didn’t even know what it was about for 30 minutes. It starts with a man, Jack Barrett, who is on the run from the police. He tries to get help from friends to get out of dodge, most notably from an up-and-coming lawyer, Melville Farr, but isn’t able to get away clean before he is arrested. Tragically, he hangs himself in his cell. Why was Jack running, and what was he afraid of? We (finally) learn that Jack was gay. Not only was this illegal in Britain at the time, but it was obviously frowned upon by the public at large. Jack was being blackmailed by someone who knew he was gay, who had incriminating photos of he and Melville Farr. Farr, who has yet to receive a blackmail letter, starts going around to other gay men in his circle, to see if he can find out who the blackmailer is, before Farr himself gets into his sights. Farr has a lot to lose, as a public trial would obviously end his career. The story isn’t bad, but the film spends too much time tip-toeing around the men and their “urges,” probably in an attempt to skirt the censors. It comes at the detriment of the film. ★½

All Night Long righted the ship. Based on Shakespeare’s Othello, it takes that classic tale and transplants it to a modern setting. Rex is a musician, married to a celebrated singer named Delia. A friend of their’s, jazz promoter Rod Hamilton, is throwing a party in their honor. A lot of musicians and friends show up, and the film takes place over that one night. Drummer Johnny Cousin, who wants to start his own band, wants to get Delia out of retirement and use her name to draw a crowd, but soon sees that she has no desire to go on the road again without Rex, who is happily living the retired and newly-married life. Thus, Johnny decides to do his best this night to break up the couple. As the evening plays out, Johnny whispers to one guest, tapes (and edits) another, until he has enough “evidence” to get Rex to turn on his wife, thinking that she is having an affair with saxophonist, and longtime family friend, Cass. If you know the Othelllo story, you know how this one (mostly) plays out, though it does have a different, happier ending. Good acting, an engaging story, and a tremendous soundtrack, provided by some great musicians of the era, including Charles Mingus and Dave Brubeck, who play themselves at the party. ★★★½

• TV series currently watching: Star Wars Resistance (season 2)
• Book currently reading: Heretics of Dune by Frank Herbert

Since Robert Downey Jr bowed out of the Marvel Universe in Endgame, Marvel hasn’t had a central fan-favorite character to build around (Spider-Man notwithstanding, as he is still owned by Sony, and who knows his future inside the shared playground). (By the way, it could be argued that Marvel doesn’t need or want a centerpiece; it’s hard to argue against the dollars these films are pulling in without one.) Benedict Cumberbatch is obviously a big movie star, so could Dr Strange be the next central figure in Marvel’s plans?

Despite showing up in the last Spider-Man film, Dr Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is less a sequel to that film, and more a followup to Disney+’s series WandaVision, though it is not required viewing to know exactly what is going on. With the loss of her magic-produced family at the end of that show, Wanda Maximoff, now going by the Scarlett Witch, is determined to bring her kids back to life. To that end, she is hunting a teen girl named America Chavez, who is the only person in all of the multiverse who has the power to jump between universes. With this power, Wanda can go to a universe where her kids are real, and try to live happily ever after.

Dr Strange is there to stop her. Wanda has lost all reason and is willing to kill anyone who gets in her way. When Strange tries to protect Chavez at the sorcerer’s retreat of Kamar-Taj, Wanda attacks that place and kills many of its inhabitants. With nowhere else on Earth to run, Strange and Chavez jump to a new universe, in search of a powerful spell book, the Book of Visconti, which hopefully will give them the edge they need to defeat the nearly-all-powerful Scarlet Witch.

There are some great fan moments in this film, not the least of which is some fantastic cameos in the second universe Strange and Chavez find themselves in. Though the movie does bog down a bit with a lot of explanation, the action scenes are top notch, and the finale is supremely satisfying. Maybe not the best Marvel movie, but it’s a whole lot of fun. With the multiverse now firmly ensconced in the the MCU, it opens up lots of doors for future standalone films too. ★★★★½

Awhile back I revisited the Rambo films, today I opted for another set of action flicks. The first Die Hard is truly a classic, and it has been maybe a decade (maybe more) since I’d seen it. I’m happy to say that it has still held up. NY cop John McClane is in Los Angeles to visit his estranged wife Holly at her ritzy new job, during a Christmas Eve party on the 30th floor of her employer’s high rise. As luck would have it, terrorists have circled this night to attack the building too, in an attempt to steal a few hundred million out of the owner’s industrial safe. The building goes on lockdown and John is the only good guy inside, trying to keep the 30 hostages alive while slowly whittling down the bad guys, led by the late great Alan Rickman as Hans Gruber. If you can look past the obvious 80s problems (the supposed German Hans has Rickman’s distinct English accent), this is about as awesome an action flick as there is. Just the right amount of over-the-top explosions, gun fights, hand-to-hand combat, and even an exploding helicopter. It is a wild ride that turned Bruce Willis from comedic actor to action star. ★★★★½

It was about five minutes into Die Hard 2 that I realized I had never seen this one (I’m pretty sure I haven’t seen the 3rd one, coming up). John has made up with Holly and moved to LA to be with her, but in this film, they are spending Christmas in DC. At the airport where John is awaiting Holly’s arrival, police are expecting drug lord and deposed military leader Esperanza, who is being extradited to the USA. Esperanza isn’t going quietly though. He has a team on the ground, led by sinister ex-military Colonel Stuart (William Sadler), on hand to sabotage the airport’s systems in order to demand safe transport of Esperanza to a new flight off US soil. And these terrorists aren’t willing to negotiate, taking down a commercial plane to show they mean business. McClane has to step in, just as he did in the first film, and talk down the local cops who (once again) don’t believe him, and make sure things get done all by himself. It’s an OK movie, but it suffers from many of the problems that plague action movie sequels: higher body counts, more explosions, and (unnecessary) minor roles for returning characters from the first film. Not really one I’d watch again, but it has its moments. ★★★

The franchise takes a misstep with the third film, Die Hard with a Vengeance. McClane is tied up against the Gruber family again, this time against Hans’ brother, a terrorist/bomber going by the name of Simon. Simon has set off a few bombs around New York, and is leading McClane on a wild goose chase around the city to try to defuse more bombs before they go off. McClane is aided by a good samaritan, Zeus (Samuel L Jackson), who is in the wrong place at the wrong time. All of the bomb threats are a coverup though, Simon is really after the New York Federal Reserve and the billions of dollars in gold bullion in its basement. The action levels are still high in this movie, as you’d expect, but they ratchet up the comedy too, and it takes on an almost buddy-cop kind of feel. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. The film also suffers from having way too many coincidences (when Zeus and McClane get separated, they reunite, constantly, at the most opportune of times). Some really great tense moments can’t cover up all the inconsistencies. ★★½

I guess it’s a good thing I decided to watch these films: I hadn’t seen this one either! Live Free or Die Hard is the fourth in the set, released in 2007. In this one, they tone down the comedy (outside of McClane’s one-liners, those aren’t going anywhere), and return to its pure action roots. McClane’s devotion to his job has finally ended his marriage, and he’s become an alcoholic over it. He is pulled into service again when cyber-terrorists hack Washington DC’s systems. Traffic lights are staying green in all directions, causing accidents and log jams, effectively shutting down the city. McClane is teamed up with a hacker of his own, Matt Farrell, who tells the cop that the hackers are not going to stop with traffic lights: they are attempting to cripple all computer-controlled infrastructure, including utilities like power, phones, and television. The bad hackers, led by a wonderfully diabolical Timothy Olyphant, are in it for more than just greed, they want to prove a point about the weakness of the system after 9-11, and will stop at nothing to get it done, including kidnapping McClane’s adult daughter as ransom. The ending chase scene turns the ridiculous factor up to level 10, but outside of that miscue, this is a very entertaining film. ★★★½

A Good Day to Die Hard is one that I had seen, back in 2013 at the theaters, just before I started my blog. Unfortunately it hasn’t gotten better with time. Undoubtably the weakest of these films, it is about McClane trying to rescue his adult, estranged son Jack when Jack is arrested for attempted murder in Russia. It turns out Jack has been a spy for the CIA, undercover in Russia for three years, to get close to and rescue the dissident Yuri Komarov. But who’s side is Yuri really on? It’s the shortest film in the series, but even at 97 minutes, it feels longer, and the plot becomes too convoluted for its own good. It’s a bummer to end such a great series on a dud, but you can’t always go out on top. ★½

• TV series currently watching: Raised by Wolves (season 2)
• Book currently reading: Heretics of Dune by Frank Herbert

Jean Cocteau was an eclectic and prolific artist. According to his wiki page, “poet, playwright, novelist, designer, filmmaker, visual artist, and critic.” He didn’t make a lot of movies, but today I’ll be looking at 5 of them, including his so-called “Orphic Trilogy.” The first of these was The Blood of a Poet (French Le sang d’un poète), released in 1930. An avant-garde and visual art film, it follows an artist as he sees the lines blur between reality and his art. It begins when our unnamed artist is looking at a painting he is working on, that of a face, and the lips start moving. The artist wipes the lips off the canvas, but they are then moved from the page to his palm, and they continue to speak. When he is finally able to get them off of him, by putting them on a sculpture, the statue comes to life, and urges the artist to look deeply into the mirror in his room. When he does, the artist falls through the mirror to the other side. Here, he sees a hallway of doors, and he peers through the keyholes of each to see fantastic images and scenes. Now, normally, this is not my kind of movie. I prefer a more concrete story and am not one for experimental film (not a fan of Brakhage nor Frampton), but this movie had me, hook line and sinker. Perhaps partly because of how much Cocteau was able to do with what he was working with. Here’s a film from 1930, at a time when they barely had advanced to the sound movie era, and he is doing visual things that left me entranced. Walking through mirrors, watching people “fall” up the walls to crawl around on the ceiling, statues coming to life, etc. Just unbelievable for the era. I was spellbound, and left wanting more. ★★★★½

It would be 16 years until Cocteau made another film, 1946’s La Belle et la Bête (Beauty and the Beast), based on the classic French story. These days we all know the tale from the 90s Disney cartoon (or, if you are younger, maybe the film remake). I believe Cocteau’s film may be the first film adaptation, and he pours all of his magic into it. I won’t rehash the story because you probably know it, but some things I found worthy of note. Apparently the original book had no “Gaston” part; the main villain was an evil aunt of Belle’s. Disney’s Gaston is based on Cocteau’s Avenant, a part he created to give the movie a more defined bad guy to root against. Like in the above film, Cocteau uses all of his imagination and the special effects available to him in the day to create a castle full of magic. Doors open and close on their own, pieces of furniture whisper to Belle, there’s a magic mirror that will show her what she wants to see, and candelabras are held by human arms extending from the walls, which sway and point the way for guests. If there had never been a Disney cartoon, I probably would have enjoyed this one more, but I was a pre-teen in 1991 when the cartoon came out, and that one will always hold more magic for me. Still, this is a very well done film with more characters and, sometimes, a greater sense of both wonder and peril. ★★★

The Terrible Parents (French Les Parents terribles, also known as The Storm Within, its English title) was the first crash and burn Cocteau film for my tastes. Based on a play he had previously written, and staring the same cast as his 1946 stage production in Paris (including Jean Marais and Josette Day, Beast and Belle, respectively, from the above film), this movie has a fantastic idea for a story, but I’m afraid it is probably better as a play than a movie. Michele is a young 20-something man ready to leave the nest and have his own life, but it is hard for him to escape his overbearing mother Yvonne, and to be honest, he has too friendly a relationship with her. Also in the household is Michele’s father Georges and his “aunt” Léo, who once loved Georges, but he picked Yvonne over her. Unable to have his love, she opted to keep his company, and it’s been this odd trio in the house Michele grew up in. After Michele was born, Yvonne threw all of her attention at him and ignored Georges; Léo predicts that Georges has found love elsewhere by now. Into this setting, Michele has found a love of his own, the beautiful Madeleine. But first, Madeleine must dump her current boyfriend, a sugar daddy who has been pampering her for some time. You guessed it, her older boyfriend is Michele’s father Georges. As Léo quips, this is either going to be a comedy or a masterpiece. Well, it’s light on the former, and definitely not the latter. Maybe this played better in 1948, but there’s nothing scandalous about having an older man or multiple boyfriends now, and the dialogue doesn’t hold up with some of the other classics from the era. I spent much of the movie bored. ★½

Cocteau righted the ship with 1950’s Orpheus, based on the classic Greek story. After a brief narration about the original myth of Orpheus and Eurydice (which is good, because I am not a Greek legends kind of guy), we get into the story. Set in modern day Paris, Orpheus is a famous poet. He’s having lunch at a cafe when a younger, brash poet, Cégeste, comes up and starts a drunken fight with some people. Police arrive to break it up, and Cégeste is struck by a motorist while trying to run. He is ushered into the posh car of the lady who came to the cafe with him, a mysterious woman known only as the Princess. The Princess asks Orpheus to ride along with her and Cégeste. Orpheus is confused though when they don’t go to a hospital, and instead to a large estate where the Princess is waited on. It is then that Orpheus sees that Cégeste isn’t hurt; Cégeste is dead. Now we get into the fantastical, and the movie really gets going. The Princess is actually Death, and she “raises” Cégeste to be a new servant of hers. The next day, Orpheus is returned to his wife, Eurydice, and accompanied by Death’s “chauffeur,” Heurtebise. Heurtebise, already himself deceased and beholden to Death, falls in love with Eurydice, even while Death has set her sights on Orpheus. Wonderful film, completely engaging from opening scenes to closing credits, and full of the dreamlike state that made The Blood of a Poet so engrossing, while also adding a deeply rich plot. Outstanding movie. ★★★★★

Nearly a decade later, Cocteau made his last film, Testament of Orpheus. A quasi-sequel to Orpheus and a sendoff for himself, it follows a fictional version of himself (Cocteau) as he travels through time and visits actors and moments from the film. He answers questions about the life of a poet and artist, and basically shows off how brilliant his is for 80 minutes, culminating in his becoming a god-like figure in the end. The whole thing comes off as extremely pretentious. For my tastes, there wasn’t much to like. Cocteau again puts together some film editing tricks, relying heavily on recorded film shown in reverse (people falling “up” out of water), but by now, we’ve seen all his tricks, and what amazed in the 30’s and 40’s didn’t seem so slick by 1960. I have to hope that the film was done sort of tongue-in-cheek, otherwise Cocteau may have been one of the most egotistical people to have ever lived. ★

• TV series currently watching: Sherlock (series 1-2)
• Book currently reading: Dragons of the Highlord Skies by Weis & Hickman

Catch the Fair One is about a boxer, Kaylee (played by real-life boxer and world champion Kali Reis) who goes on a hunt for her younger sister, missing for two years. Kaylee suspects that her sister has been kidnapped and taken by a sex trafficking ring, and makes it her purpose in life to rescue her. With a (dubious, at best) tip in hand, Kaylee infiltrates the ring posing as a new worker, only to be double crossed by the people her gave her the tip. Kaylee is able to escape, but hides in one of her kidnapper’s trucks, riding along back to his house, where she can torture him and his family for clues. As she continues down the rabbit hole, it becomes quite apparent to the viewer, though not to Kaylee, that she is chasing a ghost. These people don’t care about nor remember some girl they picked up 2 years ago, so Kaylee may have to settle for revenge over redemption. Reis is strong in the lead role, surprising for a newcomer with no previous acting experience, but the film gets bogged down in its “war of attrition” as Kaylee finds more questions than answers, with each encounter inflicting a toll on her emotionally and physically. Super fans of action thrillers will find plenty to like. ★★★

Playground, a French film, follows little Nora, a child going to school for the first time, as she navigates an often-tumultuous life in the schoolyard. Like many, she doesn’t want to leave her dad on the first day, but at least has some familiarity as she shares a building with her one- or two-year older brother Abel. What she is most definitely not prepared for is school bullying. At recess on the first day, she tries to shadow Abel. He attempts to push her away, saying that the new kids are going to be bullied, but Nora doesn’t understand. What she comes to learn is her brother is one of the bullies, mostly because he is following the lead of the other, bigger boys. When Nora intervenes, she makes Abel a target, and his life at school becomes a living hell. Nora makes it worse when she tries to get parents and teachers involved, as the bullies just ramp up their ill treatment towards Abel. Her own association with him makes her a target as well, even amongst those friends she is able to make in her class. The film is hard to watch at times, and I certainly don’t remember bullying this bad when I was in school, but times have definitely changed. The whole movie is shot just over Nora’s shoulder or with the camera right in front of her, in a very Dardenne brothers kind of way (reminded me a lot of Rosetta). Nora is the sole focus of this movie, and too often child actors aren’t able to handle the scrutiny, but Maya Vanderbeque is up the challenge. She is fantastic as the naive Nora who has to learn some of the cruelties of life very quickly. ★★★★

Moving from France to The Czech Republic, Servants tells a story about the real-life time in Czechoslovakia in the late 70s/early 80s when the Communist government was clamping down on religious freedoms. The dominant Catholic religion in the country has publicly agreed to governments demands, moulding itself more in line with Communist ideology. Juraj and Michal, two theological students, are not on board, and join and underground movement to subvert the public teachings in favor of more traditional Catholic teachings. Unfortunately eyes and ears are everywhere, with some of the school’s own teachers and priests in the employ of the Communist party, whether by choice or, as is the case of one, by blackmail. Pulling the strings at this particular school is Ivan, a member of the secret police whose entire character oozes evil. And that’s really what this movie is about: good vs evil. Shot in black and white, director Ivan Ostrochovsky sets every scene up as a view of light and shadow. It’s a stark picture, with some quietly tense moments. Not much (any?) action, so many may check out before long, but I couldn’t help but get pulled into the delicately built story. ★★★

Moon Manor is a heart-wrenching film that will leave you in tears. Starring James “Jimmy” Carrozo as a fictionalized version of himself, it is about a man who has chosen to leave this world with dignity, on his own terms. Jimmy is suffering from Alzheimer’s, and has chosen to end his life. The film begins on the morning of his last day, as they prep for a “fun-eral,” which is going to be a lot more fun than a funeral. Accompanied by his longtime caregiver, a “death doula,” and a journalist charged by a newspaper to write a story about this unique day, Jimmy prepares for the party that night when many of his old friends will be there to see him off. Throughout the film, we hear stories of Jimmy’s life, and oh, what a life it was. A singer, performer, comedian, entrepreneur, and gay rights activist, Jimmy has done it all. He just wants to leave this world while he still remembers those stories and not be left as a shell of himself. The stories and video footage borrowed from the “real” Jimmy’s extraordinary life, but even as a movie on its own, it is one of the most touching films I’ve seen in awhile. Funny and poignant, and even better, memorable, this film will stick with me. ★★★★★

From the highest of highs to the lowest of lows. Man oh man, Last Survivors is a shitty movie. It’s about a man, Troy, who’s been raising his son, Jake, in a remote cabin for the last 20 years. Troy regales Jake with stories of World War III destroying society, and that the two of them need to watch out for each other, because all outsiders are dangerous. Whenever a wanderer sets off a booby trap on their land, Troy goes out to hunt the interloper down and kill him, while Jake guards the cabin. One time, a man gets a lucky shot on Troy, leaving him in need of meds to fight infection, so Jake needs to go outside their borders and find some. Jake heads out, and finds a farmhouse with a single inhabitant, a middle-aged woman named Henrietta. Jake is instantly distrustful of her, but she is kind, and, with the raging hormones of a young twenty-something, Jake finds himself returning to the farm on subsequent days. As Jake gets to know Henrietta, he begins to doubt some of the things his dad taught him. Completely predictable, awful dialogue, wooden acting: all the makings of a bad B movie. ★

• TV series currently watching: Yellowjackets (season 1)
• Book currently reading: Dragons of the Highlord Skies by Weis & Hickman

Claude Autant-Lara was a French director who had his share of controversies later in life, but he made quite a few good films earlier on. Today I’ll be looking at four of his films made during World War II, 3 of which were made during German occupation. The first, Le Mariage de Chiffon, came out in 1942. It’s a fairly straight forward love story revolving around Chiffon, a pretty 16-year-old who is rebelling against her aristocratic mother. Dear old mommy is very strict, but Chiffon finds friends with her step-dad, Philippe, and his brother Marc, Chiffon’s uncle (by marriage). Marc once had money, but has blown it all in his dream to become one of the first to achieve human flight. Chiffon has always had a girlhood crush on her uncle Marc, but it isn’t until she has attracted the attention of a new military colonel stationed to the area that she becomes aware of her feelings. The colonel, a Duke, is an old friend of Marc’s, and Chiffon has definitely caught his eye, and of course Chiffon’s mother would rather she marry the rich Duke, but Chiffon has always done what she wants. If you can look past the (very) dated story that a pushing-50 year old man can court a 16-year-old, it’s not a bad little story. Humor is perhaps a bit dated as well, but it is charming at times. ★★

Lettres d’amour (Love Letters) came out later the same year, and, for my tastes, had a better, more intriguing plot. Taking the same lead actress (Odette Joyeux), it is about a woman who is trying to help her friend keep up an unnoticed affair. Zélie is a recent widow helping out her aristocratic friend, Hortense, carry out said affair by having the guy’s love letters delivered to her (Zélie) and then passing them along to Hortense. Zêlie has never met the lover, but does love his words. But it seems to Hortense, it was just a dalliance, and she breaks it off with the man. The man turns out to be François, who is newly sent to their town as a judge. When one of the love letters is unearthed by the townsfolk, addressed to Zélie (though thankfully written under François’s nickname, keeping his identity a secret), the people turn on her as a harlot without honor. She keeps up the charade for her friend’s protection, and, feeling sorry for her, François starts hanging out with Zélie. They grow to have feelings for each other, even as she still doesn’t know that François was once Hortense’s lover. It sounds a lot more convoluted than it is. Autant-Lara had to play within the censors allowed him to disguise some political undertones (the working class vs the aristocrats in the film), but there’s a good story here and, again, a fun love story, as well as an early film about a woman unafraid to face the herds or defend her lifestyle when, after all, it is her life to live. ★★★

Douce (Love Story) is a cute little film with a simple premise. The eponymous Douce de Bonafé (Joyeux again) is a spoiled rich girl with a crush on her family’s steward, Fabien. Fabien however has had a long, secret affair with Douce’s governess, Irène. Irene and Fabien were once poor but connived their way together into the de Bonafé family, and now Fabien wants out. He is prepared to steal a large sum of money and run away to Canada with Irène. Now that their time is here though, Irène is having second thoughts; she’s really grown to like the family for the kindness they’ve shown her. Also, the family’s patriarch and longtime widower, Monsieur de Bonafé, has professed his love for Irène and wants to marry her. When Douce does get her way with Fabien, the result obviously isn’t the dream she had envisioned. The ending was a bit heavy-handed for my tastes, extolling the consequences of going against your family, while also painting poor people in a bad light for no other reason than being poor, but the story in the middle is engaging. ★★★½

Sylvie et le fantôme (Sylvie and the Ghost) brings in Joyeux (one more time!) as Sylvie, a (once-again) 16-year-old (though the actress was in her mid-30s by now) who is in love with the idea of her grandmother’s first love, “the one who got away.” Alain was a hunter who lived and loved around the castle Sylvie and her family live in, and she talks to a large painting of him, which conceals the secret passage the living Alain would use to enter in to meet his love. Sylvie loves the old love stories about the couple and makes jokes that she feels Alain’s presence. To give her a bit of joy, Sylvie’s father hires a couple actors to dress up as ghosts at her birthday party. Except the real ghost, Alain, decides to make an appearance too! When he stepped out of the painting, I thought he looked awfully familiar; sure enough, this movie was Jacques Tati’s first acting role. He would start making his own movies just a year later, but in this first picture, he puts his mime background to good use as the silent specter. There’s some cute moments, but much of the humor is very dated and the film moved at a snail’s pace for much of its length. ★★

• TV series currently watching: Moon Knight (miniseries)
• Book currently reading: Dragons of the Highlord Skies by Weis & Hickman 

My wife will sometimes say I watch too many high-brow movies, and while I do enjoy the classics and watch a lot of foreign flicks, occasionally I do like to turn my brain off and laugh at some dick and fart jokes. There are plenty of those (literally) in Jackass Forever. All of the originals are back except Ryan Dunn (who tragically died a few years ago) and Bam Margera (some politics behind the scenes cut nearly all of his footage). Since all these guys are now pushing 50, they brought in some “fresh meat” (so to say) for the first time ever, and there are a handful of younger daredevils, including the team’s first woman. There’s nothing to write about here to let you know what this movie is about; you already know what it’s about. A bunch of idiots doing stupid stunts, which sometimes gets them hurt. But damn, if it isn’t funny. I’m not a huge Jackass fan. There are some people that can sit and watch it all day, and while it does wear on me after awhile, a 90 minute film is just about perfect for a silly (stupid?) diversion. ★★★

The Cabin in the Woods isn’t a newer film, but I’m late to the party and just stumbled upon it. Directed by Drew Goddard and written by him and Joss Whedon, who knew each other from their Buffy and Angel days, it came out in 2012. Only three recognizable faces in front of the camera: Bradley Whitford, Richard Jenkins, and a pre-breakout Chris Hemsworth (Thor had just come out, but he certainly wasn’t yet a household name). The aforementioned acting vets play Gary and Steve, who are working in some sort of underground facility getting ready to look over a group of college kids arriving at a remote cabin for a weekend of fun. The men are overseeing some kind of weird, twisted project in which the teens will call forth an ancient evil, which will then try to kill them. Apparently these experiments are going on all around the world, in a ritual that goes back for time out of mind. Once the evil comes out, in the form of zombies this time, the film pokes fun at itself and all the other tropes you find in these kinds of hack-and-slash gorefests. It obviously doesn’t take itself too seriously, so maybe the viewer shouldn’t either, but it isn’t a bad way to spend 90 minutes. It is just entertaining enough to pass the time. ★★½

7 Days is a romantic comedy for the COVID era. Ravi and Rita are set up on blind date with each other just as COVID is hitting, a date arranged by the parents in typical Indian custom. Ravi wants a traditional Indian wife badly and already has his future planned out to most minute detail, but Rita is a more modern Americanized woman. The date does not go well, but before they can go their separate ways, COVID lockdowns hit and the couple is forced to quarantine at Rita’s nearby house. Stuck on the couch for a few days until he can get a rental car and get back home, the two are forced to reconcile and take a hard look at themselves, to see if their lives are going the way they want. The film stars Karan Soni as Ravi and Geraldine Viswanathan (who’s been in several films I liked and one I didn’t, though she was still good in that one too) as Rita, and while they do their best to entertain, it’s really just an average romcom. A few chuckles here and there, but nothing that sticks to you once the credits roll. ★★

Parallel Mothers is the latest from Pedro Almodóvar, a director who I’ve quickly grown to love (and love!). It stars Penélope Cruz and Milena Smit as Janis and Ana, two single women who meet in a maternity ward while giving birth. Neither have the baby’s respective fathers in their lives, and while Janis is excited (she’s pushing 40 and this may be her last chance to be a mother), the younger Ana is feeling the pressure from her parents. They have their babies on the same day and go their separate ways. Janis reaches out to the father to see if he wants to be involved, and when he sees the baby, he proclaims it isn’t his, that he knows in his heart that he is not the father. Over a couple months, as the baby develops and begins to look less like Janis, she too begins to suspect that her and Ana’s babies were swapped at the hospital. A DNA test confirms her suspicions that she is not the mother. When Janis runs into Ana one day and learns that Ana’s (in reality, Janis’s) baby has died of SIDS, Janis decides to bring Ana into the family as an au pair. Their lives get very much twisted up by the end of the film. Cruz is fantastic as Janis; Almodóvar always seems to get the best out of her. Unfortunately the movie doesn’t have the enveloping story of Pain and Glory or Volver, the lyricism of Talk to Her, nor the emotional whirlwind of Julieta. It’s just an average film with stellar acting. Maybe I’ve grown to expect homeruns from this director every time out. ★★½

Jockey follows a, ahem…, jockey, as the end of his racing days are quickly approaching. Jackson (Clifton Collins Jr, in a knock-out performance) has been doing this his whole life. As is the story of many jockeys, it is a family business and he is following in footsteps. He hears early in the film that some numbness in one arm is due to the hard life of a jockey (3 broken backs not the least of it), and he starts to see the writing on the wall. He keeps the news to himself, especially when trainer Ruth Wilkes (Molly Parker) brings out a new, promising young thoroughbred who could win it all. Ruth and Jackson are long-time friends and he has always ridden for her. Into this environment comes Gabriel (Moisés Arias), a young wanna-be jockey who claims Jackson is his father. At first, Jackson doesn’t want to believe it, but he sees similarities in how Gabriel handles himself around the horses, and takes him under his wing. As the big race approaches, can Jackson keep it together long enough to go out in a blaze of glory? I’m an admitted horse racing fan (I’m lucky enough to live near a track and hit it a few times a year), but even so, this is a great, emotional film on its own. Yes, there are peaks inside the business that I found fascinating, but the story too is top notch. I’m really surprised Collins Jr didn’t get some award circuit love this past season, it is that good. ★★★½

• TV series currently watching: Schmigadoon! (miniseries)
• Book currently reading: Dragons of Winter Night by Weis & Hickman

After taking a couple weekends off from my movie frenzy, I’m back at it, and going today with an eclectic set of films. First up is Cyrano, a film I’ve been looking forward to, both because I’m typically a nut for historical dramas, as well as musicals. Combine them, and I’m game! This is obviously a new take on the classic play Cyrano de Bergerac, with GoT star Peter Dinklage in the title role. Cyrano is a master of sword and word, talking circles around any challenger, but able to defeat them in battle too if it comes to that. However, his diminutive size keeps him from the one thing he wants: the love of Roxanne. The lovely Roxanne only sees Cyrano as a friend, and is smitten with a man named Christian. Christian however is not a learned man and doesn’t have the wit to impress the intelligent Roxanne. Cyrano suggests writing letters to Roxanne in Christian’s stead; it will be Cyrano’s words that move her, while she believes the letters are coming from Christian. All goes well until the Duke, who also has eyes on Roxanne, sends Cyrano and Christian off to the war front. Gorgeous sets and costumes and a stellar performance by Dinklage unfortunately does not come together quite well enough. The music is sometimes sweeping, but more often forgettable, and to make matters worse, Dinklage really can’t sing. That’s a bit of a deal breaker for a musical. The movie does have its moments, but whenever I started to get swept up in it, I felt it crash back down. ★★½

Next are a couple films out of Denmark. A Taste of Hunger tries to take a dull idea and make it interesting, and while it succeeds in the beginning, it doesn’t manage to keep it going. Carsten (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, another GoT alum) is owner and head chef at a new restaurant, with dreams of landing a Michelin star and the success it would bring. Unfortunately, on the night that the reviewer comes to dine, Carsten’s understudy serves a poor dish, and Carsten thinks his dreams are dashed. His wife, Maggie (Katrine Greis-Rosenthal), refuses to give up, and goes out into the night to find the Michelin reviewer and beg for a second chance. As she chases him around town, we learn that she has been having an affair, and we see in flashbacks how she and Carsten first fell in love and raised their kids, and where their lives diverged. The setup was pretty solid, but I stopped caring long before the credits rolled, and the big “twist” in the end was too little, too late. Solid acting is wasted in this one. ★½

Wildland is a thriller about a teen girl, Ida, who’s just lost her mother to a car accident. To finish up school, Ida goes to live with her mom’s sister, Ida’s aunt Bodil, though the sisters were estranged and Ida hasn’t seen her aunt since she was a little girl. Also in Bodil’s house is one adult son, with another who comes over on a daily basis, and a third who happens to stay whenever he runs out of drug money. It is a caring house full of affection for each other, but all is not perfect. Bodil employs her sons as debt collectors, and not the kind that work at a bank. It isn’t long before Ida witnesses the brothers intimidating people who are late on payments. Will she buy into the concept of family above all, or will she break with them to go her own way while she still can? Interesting concept, and decent enough performances, but I couldn’t help but feel like I’ve seen this story before, or something very much like it, and for its source material, a lot of it felt contrived, and not very real at all. ★★½

Despite its middling reviews, I was excited to catch Last Looks, mostly because I’ve been a big Charlie Hunnam fan since his SoA days, and he usually doesn’t disappoint. This film knocked it out of the park for me. A murder-mystery with plenty of thrills, it is about an ex-cop named Charlie Waldo (Hunnam) trying to live his life off the grid, but his former life won’t leave him alone. He is visited by his ex-girlfiend Lorena (Morena Baccarin) about a job in LA. A famous British actor named Alastair Pinch (Mel Gibson, in a role showing he still has it if a good part comes his way) has been accused of killing his wife. Waldo tries to turn it down, but still, he is visited by some thugs that night, beating him up and warning him to stay off the case. The next day Waldo goes into town to make it clear to all involved that he wasn’t taking the case, but his instincts get the better of him and he starts digging. This film has more twists and turns than a mountain road, but in a good way. It is a true mystery, keeping the viewer guessing as much as our hero. And best of all, this film is FUNNY. There’s Alastair, an alcoholic with a penchant for beating up the extras on the film set (who are actually stuntmen put in place by the producers, knowing Alastair’s temper). There’s a different set of thugs (“Don Q” and his muscle, with the “strong” name of “Nini”) who think Lorena left something with Waldo, even though she didn’t, and they want it back. There’s a first grade teacher who is straight laced during the day, but wild at night. The only normal person is Waldo, and it seems the world is crazy around him. The most fun I’ve had watching a movie in awhile. ★★★★★

As a film lover, I don’t always mind if a move is heavy on style and light on substance, but it’s still gotta be good. The Novice unfortunately is not. It’s about a college freshman named Alex Dall who has serious problems with obsessive tendencies. The opening scene shows her taking a test in class, and when she finishes quickly, she goes back over all of her answers continually until class ends. Certifiable compulsions. Seemingly on a whim, she joints the novice rowing team at school (film never says why), and she throws that same kind of devotion into her training. Alex becomes obsessed with not only improving her personal records, but with making the varsity team, which is unheard of from the novice team. It is implied she doesn’t come from an athletic background, yet she sets the bar of other long-time athletes on the squad as her own goals, and pushes herself to beat them. She was already spiraling out of control by the time I gave up on the film 45 minutes in, and I can only assume it got worse from there, but the movie just wasn’t interesting enough for me to stick around and find out. I know it is only a movie, but I wanted to know where this girl’s friends and family were, and how come they didn’t see these problems before it got so bad. She didn’t just go batshit crazy in college; who let her go away to school with such issues! My ranting aside, the movie attempts to create this psychological thriller environment and I wasn’t feeling it. ½

• TV series currently watching: Dopesick (miniseries)
• Book currently reading: Dragons of Winter Night by Weis & Hickman

When I saw Cage’s previous film, Pig, I made some snarky comments about his history, especially lately, of picking questionable roles. Well, after catching his newest, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, you can see the egg on my face. Two solid films in a row definitely makes me rethink those words.

Cage plays a fictionalized version of himself. Everyone he runs into talks about his big hits of the 90s and early 00’s, but that was a long time ago, and he can’t land a good role these days. To make matters worse, his longtime devotion to his career has been to the detriment of his family, and he’s facing divorce and an alienated teen daughter. After his latest attempt to land a promising role in an upcoming exciting film doesn’t pan out, Cage decides it is finally time to retire from acting. To make a little cash, he accepts an offer from a millionaire, superfan Javi Gutierrez, to attend his (Javi’s) birthday party on a private island for a million bucks.

Cage goes to the island and meets Javi (Pedro Pascal), and the two instantly hit it off. Javi has written a screenplay in which he wants Cage to act. That screenplay is shit, but Cage agrees to write a new one with Javi. The one they work on mimics the bromance they are forming on the island. But Cage has a secret: he has been recruited by the CIA to spy on Javi, who is apparently a big time arms dealer, who has recently abducted a politician’s daughter for leverage. The CIA wants Cage to locate the girl. If this convoluted plot sounds like something out of a Nicolas Cage movie….well, it is. But don’t let the superficial-sounding plot turn you away. This film is funny, but also smart, with plenty of references to film history, and not just Cage’s own filmography, as well as a peak into plot elements and devices that get tossed around by someone who knows what he’s talking about. I had a good time, and it looks like the actors had a good time making it too. Cage is fantastic, but it is Pascal who steals most of the scenes he is in, and the movie does a good job of keeping the viewer guessing. How could this goofy millionaire playboy with money to burn, with a private museum devoted to Nicolas Cage’s movies, be an international crime lord? Very entertaining. ★★★½