Category: Review

Reviews from all of the movies we have seen lately, including everything in theaters and on DVD.

I, DANIEL BLAKE – Review

 

Yes, we’re knee-deep in bombastic Summer blockbusters, but that doesn’t mean film goers can’t grab a breath and take in a thought-provoking, very relevant, drama that was honored with lots of awards and critical praise during the last months of 2016. It even stirred up some political debate across the pond. There have been lots of articles about the smooth-running government social services in England (particularly the health care system). Well, veteran film maker Ken Loach (THE WIND THAT SHAKES THE BARLEY) begs to differ. In his latest film to finally reach our shores, he takes dead aim at the public assistance bureaucracy by presenting the story of one determined, beleaguered “every man”, a bloke who’s tired of being just another case number. He makes a very strong declaration with I, DANIEL BLAKE.

 

We first hear Mr. Blake (Dave Johns) as he is pelted with the same familiar questions from a federal “pencil pusher”. Daniel, a 59 year-old childless widower, suffered a heart attack on a construction job months before (“tumbled off the scaffolding”). His doctors and therapists don’t believe he is ready to return to work, so Dan is applying for an employment and support allowance (funds and savings are drying up),  waiting to get the results of a work capability assessment. The government’s medical experts have to deem him fit or unfit. As he waits for the decision, Blake picks up spare bit of wood from the lumberyard (he’s quite a great carver), and chastises his neighbor China (Kema Sikazwe) for leaving his trash bags in the walkway of their modest apartment complex. Finally, Dan gets the letter saying he has been denied support. After being put on a long, loooong hold on the phone, he speaks with a clerk who says that the “decision maker” will review his appeal…eventually. But the “wolf’s at the door” (the utilities may be cut off), so Daniel applies for unemployment at the jobcare center (he’ll have to prove that he’s actively seeking work, and keep a CV style resume’). At the center he hears a “row” when a young single mother named Katie (Hayley Squires) is denied an interview because she’s late (a new transplant from London, she’s still learning the layout of Newcastle). Befriending her, Daniel walks with her and her children, hyper six year-old Dylan (Dylan McKiernan) and quiet ten year-old Daisy (Briana Shann) back to their run-down flat. Daniel becomes their “Dutch uncle”, repairing and fixing up, even babysitting as Katie tries to find cleaning work. While Daniel struggles to make use of the library’s computers (he’s so tech illiterate) in order to fill out more forms, Katie becomes more and more desperate. After being caught shoplifting, she’s recruited by an “adult escort” service. When Daniels learns of this, he is devastated. How will this affect their friendship? And when will he get his appeal? It’s a drawn-out waiting game that he may not survive.

 

 

What could have been merely a scathing political indictment is transformed into a moving character drama thanks to the remarkable lead performance by Johns as the man fighting the power (as the John Cougar Mellencamp ditty goes, “I fight authority, authority always wins”). His Blake is a simple, straightforward man who is finally pushed past the brink. He will jump through “their” hoops, but not without literally cursing the darkness. We’re rooting for this old “duffer” every step of the way, especially when we see his playful side. Learning the basics of computer, he dangles a mouse as if he were removing a dead rodent. And though he badgers China, we later see them joking, almost becoming “mates”. Johns really conveys his gentler, softer side as Blake bonds with Katie and her kids. And Squires is so terrific as the “kicked around by life’ mum, that the film could almost be called “We, Katie and Daniel”. While it appears that Blake will somehow survive, her life seems to be rushing to disaster. There’s a sadness in her eyes which lets us in her disappointment (the two kids are from different dads, and neither are in the picture), and her secret shame. She tries to put on a brave front for her little ones, but despair overtakes her as she scrubs away at a hovel that will never be clean. Katie’s collapse at the food bank is a haunting glimpse of someone whose life is circling the drain with Daniel perhaps her only lifeline ( she’s too proud to beg mum for help and we hear nothing of a papa). McKiernan is charming as the little “handful” of a lad (I think “spirited” is the term), while Shann is the thoughtful “old soul”. Her story of how her school mates teased her when her shoes fell apart will pummel the heart-strings. The rest of the acting troupe, which include several non professionals (the food bank lady really works there), offer excellent support.

 

 

Working from Paul Laverty’s sensitive, compelling screenplay, director Loach has crafted an intimate, emotional film that makes so many campaign “talking points’ painfully real. These aren’t numbers in a study or colors on a power point chart, rather real people in real danger of falling through the cracks of society. Loach shows us how hopeless the working class feel when trapped inside a vicious circle of endless forms and phone calls. And how personal dignity decays from desperation (starving to death in a city is a real possibility). Yes, this is a “call to arms”, but it’s also a tender love story as Daniel, amid all the misery, finds the family he needs, while Katie and her crew gets the sweet, nurturing “grandpa” they deserve. Though the last moments of the final act, seem a bit too contrived and manipulative (yes there’s a bit of “preaching to the choir”, I, DANIEL BLAKE is ultimately a tribute to the fighting, surviving spirit of those who society seems to often forget.

4.5 Out of 5

I, DANIEL BLAKE opens everywhere and screens exclusively in the St. Louis area at Landmark’s Tivoli Theatre

Listen for my reviews of this and other current movies over the next two Fridays (6/9 and 6/16) from 4 to 5 PM on the Paul Harris Show broadcast and streaming live through KTRS 550 AM

 

MY COUSIN RACHEL – Review

MY COUSIN RACHEL is a moody, well-acted gothic grounded by a terrific performance by Rachel Weisz in the title role. The actress keeps you guessing about her character’s intentions from beginning to end – and possibly afterwards. Set in the 19th century, MY COUSIN RACHEL is the story of Philip Ashley (Sam Claflin), a man who was orphaned at an early age, and raised by his older cousin Ambrose. When Ambrose sets off on a trip to Italy, he falls in love with and marries Rachel, a distant cousin. After writing letters to Philip with cryptic references to Rachel trying to do him harm, Ambrose dies. Soon Rachel (Rachel Weisz) turns up in England. At first Philip intends not only to question her about the suspicious circumstances of his beloved cousin’s death, but to exact some sort of revenge against her. But Philip soon finds himself smitten by Rachel’s beauty, sophistication, kindness, and alluring ways, which is heartbreaking for his friend Louise (Holliday Grainger) who’d believed she would one day be his wife. As the audience learns more about Rachel, we’re left to wonder whether she did have a hand in Ambrose’s demise and, even more dire, what is she doing with Philip? 

MY COUSIN RACHEL is from a novel by Daphne DuMaurier author of Jamaica Inn, Rebecca, and The Birds, all filmed by Alfred Hitchcock, but the Hitchcock film MY COUSIN RACHEL most recalls is SUSPICION, with its story that rests on the premise of “did they or didn’t they”. At various points throughout the film, we’re equally convinced that Rachel is a manipulative, homicidal gold-digger or an innocent woman coping with widowhood in her own way. Rachel’s actions are often a mystery. She appears to return Philip’s affections, yet turns down his marriage proposal. She nurses him when he becomes deathly ill, but rejects him again once he’s recovered. We’re never sure if she’s dealing with her emotions or is just devious. This works well thanks to the outstanding performance by Rachel Weisz. Convincing an audience that she’s evil in one scene, then second-guessing her in the next is a tough trick, and a less subtle performance would have been all wrong. Just when you think you have Rachel’s motives figured out, the story throws a curve-ball and you think you may have misinterpreted her… and that’s the way the film wants you to think.

Sam Claflin looks great and simmers, which is good enough in a less demanding role. His Philip is naïve and prone to rash decisions which lack common sense, ignoring financial advice from his solicitor (Iain Glen), and acting childish when he doesn’t get his way. The film may seem slow to those seeking conventional summer entertainment, but if you’re in the mood for for ripe period melodrama, you could do a lot worse than MY COUSIN RACHEL.

4 of 5 Stars

MY COUSIN RACHEL Opens in St. Louis June 9th at The Hi-Pointe Theater

 

 

A GRAIN OF TRUTH – St. Louis Jewish Film Festival Review

Wednesday, June 7, at 7 PM, Plaza Frontenac Cinema

Poland; in English and Polish with English subtitles; 112 minutes

In the chilling crime thriller A GRAIN OF TRUTH, a hard-nosed prosecutor investigates a murder with bizarre and mysterious trappings, and finds himself immersed in Poland’s antisemitic past, a past that keeps resurfacing despite the modern world.

Murder, mystery and myth combine in the masterful and gripping A GRAIN OF TRUTH, director Borys Lankosz’s twisty police procedural thriller, adapted from the second novel in Zygmunt Miloszewshi’s fiction trilogy of the same name. The director and author co-wrote the screenplay, which crackles with suspense and eerie terror.

When the naked body of Ela Budnick is found next to a building that was once a synagogue, along with the probable murder weapon – a knife used in Jewish ritual – alarm spreads in the tiny Polish village. The investigation is assigned to Teodor Szacki (Robert Więckiewicz), a newcomer from the big city of Warsaw, rather than the local lead investigator Basia Sobieraj (Magdalena Walach), who was a close friend of the deceased.

Szacki’s title is prosecutor but his role is that of a police detective in this taut thriller. Basia and Leon Wilczur (Jerzy Trela), a grizzled old investigator with a dry sense of humor, are both assigned to assist Szacki, to facilitate working with the villagers, who are leery of outsiders. People in the little village are alarmed by the strange circumstances of the murder and are soon gripped with superstition and fear.

Szacki goes about his work in a no-nonsense manner, not distracted by the bizarre details or old antisemitic myths. There is no shortage of potential suspects, including the dead woman’s husband Grzegorz Budnik (Krzysztof Pieczyński) and a wealth man despised by most of the town, Jerzy Szyller (Andrzej Zieliński). When a second body is discovered, also with signs of ritual killing, panic seems to fill the whole village.

Lankosz shows a masterful touch in crafting this gripping suspense film. On the surface, it appears to be a police procedural but what A GRAIN OF TRUTH is really about is the persistence of these evil myths in the memory of people in modern Poland.

The crime thriller sets its mood by the opening credits, shown over an animated sequence of a bloody, graphic action images, like something you expect for a Russian supernatural action thriller in the style of Timur Bekmambetov’s NIGHT WATCH. But instead of vampires and werewolves, what is depicted are the scary, antisemitic folk tales Poles used tell their children about the Jewish minority that lived among them. The sequence gives audiences a taste of how disturbing these myths are, and sets up the film’s exploration of the persistence of antisemitism in modern Poland.

Time and again, villagers bring up these antisemitic folks tales to the investigator, and Szacki coolly reminds them “those are just stories parents used to tell their children to frighten then into behaving.” The villagers each agree but then, repeatedly, they add “but there is always a grain of truth in old myths.” It is as chilling as the horrific murders.

Whether the trappings of ritual mean anything or are just a red herring the killer is using is among the puzzles Szacki must pull apart. One thing he discovers, thanks to a man people hire to research their family trees, is that there are plenty of secrets. “They all want to find out if they are related to nobility,” archivist says dryly. What no one wants to find, he tells Szacki, is what he often uncovers, a Jewish branch in the family.

Actor Robert Więckiewicz is excellent as the tough guy Szacki. Magdalena Walach as Basia Sobieraj adds a human side, mourning her friend while maintaining professionalism in the investigation. As Leon Wilczur, Jerzy Trela adds dry commentary and some background on the village’s many secrets and complex relationships. Zohar Strauss plays a modern rabbi who fills in some information on the folk tales and details of Jewish traditions and rituals for the non-Jewish Szacki and the audience. Other characters add their distinct touches to the complex mystery.

Along with the taut suspense, there is a little streak of dark humor in this crime thriller. When the first murder is connected with an antique knife used traditionally in Kosher butchering, some creepy types surface almost immediately. Szacki does some online research into the obscure murder weapon, which brings him in contact with a guy who hosts a website on exotic knives and swords. The obsessive collector, who considers himself an expert on blades, worms his way in and pesters Szacki for the knife found near the body. His creepy yet comic lust to obtain the murderer weapon is an example of the dark horror-movie humor sprinkled throughout the film.

Of course, there is nothing funny about the prejudice just below the surface nor the relentless Szacki as he tries to figure out the motive and identity of the killer. The story twists and turns, revealing secrets, buried resentments and some distasteful history of Poland before it wraps up the mystery in a satisfying end.

This thriller will grab the audience from the start, both with the chilling murder mystery and with the villagers chilling willingness to revert to horrifying old beliefs. Wrapped in its crime thriller cloak, the film is an intriguing and horrifying look at the persistence of sinister myths, and how they can lurk just beneath the surface.

 

FANNY’S JOURNEY – St. Louis Jewish Film Festival Review

Sunday, June 4, at 7 PM, Plaza Frontenac Cinema

Belgium; in French and German with English subtitles; 94 minutes

FANNY’S JOURNEY is a compelling true-story-inspired historical drama about a 13-year-old girl who leads a group of 11 children to safety as they flee the advancing Nazis in World War II France. Directed by Loila Doillon, it is a suspenseful tale based on the true story of Fanny Ben-Ami. This handsome, well-made and well-acted drama id one of this year’s St. Louis Jewish Film Festival’s best.

After the arrest of their father in German-occupied Paris, Fanny (Léonie Souchaud) and her younger sisters Erika (Fantine Harduin) and Georgette (Juliane Lepoureau) are sent by their mother to a children’s boarding school in rural southeast France. The younger girls, particularly clingy Erika, stay close to their older sister but Fanny is clearly very much still a child herself, with a penchant for climbing trees but a bit of a strong-willed streak. The school is in an area under the control of the Vichy French government rather than the Nazis, and for a while it seems they will avoid Nazi attention there. But when the headmistress gets word that the Nazis are extending their occupation, she sends the Jewish children to various safe havens in an Italian-occupied part of France. Fanny and her sisters are sent to stay with Madame Forman (Cecile de France), a stern woman who is very different from the kindly headmistress. But Fanny soon discovers Madame Forman has the resources and skills needed to help the children escape to Switzerland. As the Nazis close in, Fanny unexpectedly finds herself in charge of her sisters and nine other children on a harrowing journey to Switzerland.

Director Loila Doillon shows a firm grasp on clear storytelling and strong hand in directing this affecting drama, her third film. FANNY’S JOURNEY is told through the eyes of the children, in a convincing, involving way. When Madame Forman puts the children on the train and tells Fanny she is in charge, the girl is frightened but Forman encourages her. Despite her youth and doubts, Fanny adapts to the changing situation along the way. Fanny is not portrayed like some little adult, she is still a child. She sometimes makes the kind of choices a child would make but at other times, shows remarkable strength and judgment. The children grow close on this journey, which takes many unexpected twists. The director inserts a dose of realism by showing moments when the children play, not just relentless tense drama, which gives the story a human, heart-tugging appeal.

The film tries to stay true to the essence of the real Fanny’s experience, although the real Fanny led 28 children rather than the nine in addition to her sisters. However, the Madame Forman character is a composite.

Cecile de France is excellent as the flinty, surprising Forman, but the real standout is newcomer Leonie Souchaud as Fanny. The scenes with her younger sisters, played by Fantine Harduin and Juliane Lepoureau, are sweet, warm and convincing. Fanny’s combination of childishness, stubbornness and determination are inspiring as well as fully believable. All the children are wonderful in their roles, with the adults they encounter seen only through their childish eyes.

The film ends with a shot of the real Fanny, who lives in Israel, and an epilogue to her story. FANNY’S JOURNEY is a polished, inspiring true story drama well worth seeing, as a remarkable example of the bravery and resourcefulness of children.

 

 

CHURCHILL – Review

Brian Cox as “Winston Churchill” in CHURCHILL, directed by Jonathan Teplitzky. Photo courtesy of Cohen Media Group (c)

Brian Cox portrays Winston Churchill in a dramatization of the events just prior to the D-Day invasion of France by Allied forces during World War II in CHURCHILL. Directed Jonathan Teplitzky (THE RAILWAY MAN, BBC’s INDIAN SUMMERS television series) from a script by historian Alex Von Tunzelmann, CHURCHILL aims to get beneath the usual familiar image of Churchill as a gruff, cigar-chewing British bulldog to create a fuller human portrait of the man who grappled with deep depression and fears of failure while leading his country through its darkest hours.

It is an admirable aim but unfortunately the film falls far short of its goal. Led by an overheated performance by Cox, Churchill stages a last-minute attempt to stop the 1944 Normandy Invasion, gripped with fear that it would fail. Less than a week before D-Day, Britain’s prime minister confronts and tries to wrest control of Operation Overlord, as the invasion was code-named, from the leader of the Allied forces General Dwight Eisenhower (John Slattery), British General Montgomery (Julian Wadham), British Field Marshall Alan Brooke, known as Brookie (Danny Webb), and other military leaders. Meanwhile, his aide Jan Smuts (Richard Durden) tries to rein in his boss, while his smart, steady wife Clementine, called Clemmie (Miranda Richardson), attempts to calm a Churchill in crisis.

Drinking heavily, the prime minister becomes increasingly impulsive and explosive. The military leaders react with polite disbelief, and disregard his barked orders. At one point Eisenhower tells Churchill that he doesn’t have time for his “theatrics” and “there’s a war on.” Churchill is treated dismissively, like an elder statesman out of power rather than the current prime minister. It is an unsettling thing to watch.

This startling, seemingly far-fetched plot has some basis in fact but the history has been manipulated for dramatic effect. Churchill did have serious doubts about the invasion’s success some weeks before its launch but he was reconciled to the operation by the time it took place. By compressing time and moving it closer to the invasion’s date, the filmmakers hoped to add heightened drama while focusing on Churchill’s bouts with depression and highlighting his relationship with his remarkable wife. Instead, the departure from fact undermines the believability of the script and makes Churchill seem more unbalanced than credible, creating a distinctly unflattering portrait of the man the film itself calls “the greatest Briton.” Ironically, Von Tunzelmann writes a column critiquing historical movies for the Guardian newspaper, so one would expect she would know the pitfalls.

In this film, Churchill is less British bulldog, and more bulldog in a china shop. Rather than creating insight into the human flaws of a great man, the film offers an embarrassing view of him. This Churchill seems like an inconsequential madman, racing around barking orders no one follows, barging in on the generals, and bullying his young secretary (Ella Purnell). Drinking heavily and in physical decline, he re-lives his experiences as a military leader and is haunted by the bloody, disastrous Gallipoli landing, which he associates with the upcoming Normandy landing. Meanwhile, those around him whisper behind his back about how he used to be a great man. One would never know this was the person who continued to lead his country through the war and his party afterwards from this film.

The film also explores difficulties in the Churchills’ marriage, although again that crisis took place at another time. The filmmakers just seem so intent on cramming into this one week every aspect of Churchill’s life, that it simply becomes a confusing jumble.

Neither Cox nor the rest of the cast are able to overcome the shortcomings of this script. Miranda Richardson gives a valiant try in the thankless role as Churchill’s wife Clemmie, who was a stabilizing force and someone who willing to speak bluntly and truthfully to her blustering husband. Richard Durden as aide Jan Smuts, a veteran of the Boer War, and Julian Wadham as flinty Gen. Montgomery do well in their roles but John Slattery seems miscast as Eisenhower. James Purefoy plays King George VI well in a pivotal late scene, based on a letter the king actually wrote to his prime minister.

The film, shot in Scotland, looks nice, with careful period detail attention to costumes and sets. Scenes of a solitary Churchill on the beach frame the film’s story, providing moments of contemplation in an appealing natural setting. At the beginning of the film, the shoreline and lapping water provoke memories of the loss of life at Gallipoli but at the film’s end, it suggests only an escape to nature’s quiet. Ironically, these are among the more successful moments in the film.

The film finally returns to believability, and Cox’s Churchill seems to return to a rational state, by the time of the invasion takes place, but the bad taste of what went before lingers.

This is the first of two films about Winston Churchill due out this year. Let’s hope the next one is better than this well-meaning misfire.

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

 

WONDER WOMAN – Review

GAL GADOT as Diana in the action adventure “WONDER WOMAN,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo: Clay Enos © DC Comics

WONDER WOMAN is here to straighten things out, and put all those squabbling men in their place. A woman superhero movie was long overdue, and Wonder Woman is a terrific character. Many agree that Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman was the highlight of the ponderous BATMAN VS SUPERMAN. Having a woman director, Patty Jenkins, at the helm is just that much sweeter.

The good news is that WONDER WOMAN is a much better movie than BATMAN VS SUPERMAN and Gal Gadot is terrific in the role, particularly wonderful in the action sequences. While Gadot is perfect as Wonder Woman and the action sequences are spectacular, the bad news is that the film takes awhile to get rolling after a good start on the island of the Amazons, gets dull in the middle, and is overlong at 2 1/2 hours.

The two best things about WONDER WOMAN are Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman and Patty Jenkins as director, although the visual effects are a close third. As the director behind MONSTER, Jenkins certainly knows what she is doing it and it was past time that a superhero movie had a woman director as well as a woman superhero. That said, I wanted to love this movie but WONDER WOMAN is a good rather than great film. Still, it is certainly one of the best of the summer blockbuster season so far, coming in right behind GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2.

WONDER WOMAN is an origin story, told in flashback as a modern Diana Prince, Wonder Woman’s alter ego, remembers her beginnings as an Amazon princess while looking at a World War I era photo, the one audiences saw in BATMAN VS SUPERMAN. It takes us back to the island of the Amazons, Themyscira, where Diana (Lilly Aspell at age 8, Emily Carey at 12) grew up as daughter of Queen Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen). Diana is not only princess of the Amazons but is the only child on this island inhabited only by women.

Themyscira is hidden from view by a ring of mist created by the Amazon’s protector Zeus. The Greek god created this haven for the Amazons as a reward for their help defeating a rebellion led by the god of war, Ares. The Amazon’s mission is to defeat Ares, the god who causes men to fight wars, and put an end to war. The women warriors train for battle constantly in preparation to fight him. Diana’s mother Queen Hippolyta is extremely protective and forbids her daughter to train as a warrior. But her daughter is strong-willed and secretly trains with her aunt, General Antiope (Robin Wright), who knows her niece has hidden special powers.

When a World War I pilot in a damaged plane comes crashing through the barrier that keeps the island hidden, young Diana saves him. Steve Trevor (Chris Pine), an American working with British intelligence, tells her about World War I, the Great War, which he describes as “the war to end all wars,” and Diana becomes convinced that Ares is behind it. She must go to defeat Ares, despite her mother’s objections.

It sounds like a crazy plan to Steve Trevor but he goes along to get off the island, Diana’s focus falls on brutal German general Ludendorff (Danny Huston) and his facially-scarred chemical weapons genius, known as Dr. Poison (Elena Anaya).

Among the film’s strong points are the premise itself. Rather than being motivated by revenge or taking one country’s side, Wonder Woman is there to put an end to the fighting. She goes with the resourceful, war-weary spy Steve Trevor because he can lead her to the battlefield, where she expects to find Ares in the middle of it all. She is a peacemaker as well as a fierce warrior. War is the evil she is aiming to defeat. It is a refreshing return to a more old-fashioned superhero, more in the mold of the original Superman. Wonder Woman’s mission could be a re-written version of Superman’s, “truth, justice, – and an end to war.” There is also something particularly woman-centric in that.

Setting the story in 1918 and WWI rather than more usual WWII is also a refreshing change. It is particularly apt if you know something about that war, which was started for no real reason, and was a devastating conflict that quickly bogged down into the bloody stalemate of trench warfare. It is also the time of the suffragettes, fighting to get women the vote, so it adds a layer of the era’s gender role expectations, which is great fun to see Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman steamroll over.

Going into the battlefield of one of the most horrific wars, Diana maintains “the courage of her convictions.” Diana struggles to understand this war’s mechanical mass killing, so different from the hand-to-hand combat she knows. Steve Trevor sees the choices in war as morally gray but Diana only wants to see it in black and white – not one side over another but just stopping the killing. Her idealism is something that sets her apart from other movie superheroes, particularly in light of the previous Warner DC superhero movies, where morally gray is as light as the tone gets.

However, this is not a flawless film. After a nice start, the story bogs down after leaving the island, seeming to drag before finally gaining momentum in the final third. The script, and dialog in particular, has a certain heaviness and humorlessness. Three misfit sidekicks, played by Said Taghmaoui, Ewen Bremner, and Eugene Brave Rock, seems to be there for comic relief but really add little of that. Another sidekick, Trevor’s British secretary Etta Candy, played with a bit of punch by Lucy Davis, does a bit better in that respect.

But once they track down the villainous German general and Dr. Poison, things really kick into high gear. Gal Gadot is excellent in the lead role, and her action sequences are top-notch and electrifying. The pivotal battle scene near the film’s end is spectacular, taking the story to a new level as Diana discovers her true powers and destiny.

Chris Pine does a nice job as Steve Trevor, dismissing Diana as an innocent he will have to protect before gaining respect and affection for the amazing young woman. Although she was raised apart from the world, intelligent Diana had impressive education and intelligence, knowing more of that world than he expects and speaking not just English but ancient Sumerian. She is dismissive of him at first too, which slightly appalls tough guy Trevor, adding a nice edge to their interactions. Pine plays Trevor more as a practical type, the calm voice of reason speaking to Diana’s unthinking, even innocent idealism. Pine’s Trevor is one who tells Diane “you can’t do that” and then helps her do what he told her was impossible. They make a great team as much as anything, breaking the usual mold for romantic pairs.

Among the supporting cast, David Thewlis is a standout, in a head-twisting part as Lord and Robin Wright is excellent as the fierce warrior Antiope. Connie Nielsen is appropriately real as Hippolyta

Whatever its flaws, still it is wonderful to at last have a female superhero, and the film take on the character is true to what Wonder Woman represents in the best sense. Wonder Woman is a powerful character, a strong woman out to kick some butt and make those silly men behave. Wonder Woman is the one who rescues, not the one to be rescued but equality is the stronger theme than reversing the gender roles, She is independent, intelligent, strong-willed and brave – not afraid to be strong but also not afraid to show her feelings – or to stand up for what she knows is right. She advocates the triumph of love over war, and could there be a better message than that. That alone makes the film worth seeing, but Gal Gadot makes it great fun as well.

Hopefully this WONDER WOMAN blockbuster will be followed by sequels although there is no teaser at the end of the credits. And after that, now that we have a Wonder Woman movie, could we have a Black Widow superhero movie next?

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

 

PARIS CAN WAIT – Review

 

Can’t afford to pack your bags and embark on a vacation adventure in an exotic foreign land? No problem, just travel vicariously at the multiplex. Many different genre films have more than a bit of “travelogue” in them (one of the staples of “golden age” moviegoing was the double feature with several short subjects: cartoons, newsreels, comedy “two-reelers”, and the travelogue, sandwiched between the main films). One type of story often set in “faraway places’ is the “rom-com”. Oh, and a frequent star of such flicks is this film’s leading lady, Diane Lane (UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN, NIGHTS IN RODANTHE). Yes, we’re talking about Superman’s Earth mum (we’ll see her again in the role soon in JUSTICE LEAGUE). These stories and many other recent Lane films concern her character re-discovering love and desire, usually after a long-standing relationship has gone “phhfft”. Now she’s on the road to romance once more, this time directed by a member of a lauded cinema dynasty in her narrative film debut. Here, the “city of lights” is the final destination, but we must take our time, since PARIS CAN WAIT.

 

The story begins in another French destination, Cannes, at the height of the famed annual film festival. High profile American movie producer Michael Lockwood (Alec Baldwin) frantically tries to pack for a quick business flight to Budapest. Since he’s constantly barking into his cell phone, most of the work is done by his faithful wife Anne (Lane), despite a painful ear infection. Outside the hotel, past the buxom starlets, is Michael’s producing partner, native son Jacques Clement (Arnaud Viard). Jumping into his driver’s vehicle, the group heads to the airport, but not without some detours for ear medicine (for Anne), along with fresh fruits and cheeses. When they reach the private jet hangar, the pilot advises Anne that the pressure could be quite painful for her condition. Anne says that she’ll beg off the work flight to Budapest and take the train to Paris, where Michael will join her in a couple of days. Nonsense, Jacques interjects. He has business in Paris, so she can join him as he motors there in his vintage (barely functioning) Peugeot. She hesitantly agrees as Michael flies away. But this “free spirit” is in no hurry as the usual seven hour ride turns into a multi-day adventure/ tour of the French countryside, complete with gourmet meals and expensive local wines. As they drive, eat, drink, and chat the two very different personalities (she’s pragmatic, he’s impulsive) begin to form a bond. Is it friendship or something deeper?

 

 

So who wouldn’t want to take a leisurely drive with the radiant Ms. Lane? Now in her fifth (!) decade as a film actress, she exudes a relaxed charm with a “down to Earth” attitude. There’s no movie star gloss about her. When the camera goes in tight for a reaction shot, there’s no fuzzy distortion or hazing. She’s comfortable with her maturity, flashing a smile that seems “earned’ by time. She shows us that Anne doesn’t quite know what to think of her “travel buddy”, but we see her slowly warm to him. Anne may be at a crossroads, but Lane’s confident performance is the film’s greatest strength. But talk about charm, Viard has tons (or barrels like wine) to spare. This Gaillec”smoothie” has an infectious appreciation of everything. Jacques denies himself no pleasure, even munching on plants pulled right from the forest (“A little salt, pepper, and a dash of oil…”). Though he frustrates Anne with his delays (“Ah, but it is truffle season!”), he really listens to her, and by the last miles (thanks to her detour) they form an emotional connection. It’s no wonder Michael is a touch worried (he’s only half-joking). Baldwin’s quite believable as the driven movie “big wig”, still smitten with Anne, but more than a bit distracted (almost neglectful). While Jacques is his “work partner”, she’s his “home partner”, their ardor now a tad cooled. It’s hoped he slows down and takes a lesson or two from Jacques.

 
Oh, that cinema dynasty I referred to? This is written and directed by Eleanor Coppola (wife of Francis Ford), making her narrative debut at age 80 (guess it’s never too late to try something new, another one of the story’s themes). Like her male lead, Coppola lets the film glide along with an unhurried pace. She allows us to drink in the gorgeous setting (expertly shot by cinematographer Crystel Fournier) from ancient architecture to opulent museums, the green flowing hills to the swankiest hotel rooms and restaurants. The meals are presented so lushly we almost expect the camera to pan over to another table occupied by Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon, the stars of the cinematic cuisine “crawls”, THE TRIP, THE TRIP TO ITALY, and the upcoming (hooray!) THE TRIP TO SPAIN. This breezy flick takes a turn into some dark dramatic territory in its final act, but its last moments are full of whimsy (the “fourth wall” is chipped, but not really broken). Everything’s not quite wrapped up with a dainty bow which may frustrate some, while giving some hope for a follow-up (where could they go next?). Sure it’s somewhat slight, but for those wanting a charming road trip without hitting the highway (or dealing with the airport), relax for a neat 90 minutes because PARIS CAN WAIT.

3 Out of 5

 

CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS THE FIRST EPIC MOVIE – Review

How hysterical do you find the name Professor Poopypants? Not very? Then you are likely a grown adult (and probably female). If you don’t find gags about farts, poop, tinkle, wedgies, and giant toilets endlessly hilarious – if you are not, in body or spirit, a 9-year-old boy, then Dreamworks new animated film CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS  – THE FIRST EPIC MOVIE is not for you. And that is precisely the point.

Few things command disrespect like the sight of a grown man wearing his tighty-whities, however the bald and barefoot Captain Underpants happens to be a superhero. As one character in CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS THE FIRST EPIC MOVIE notes: “Most superheroes look like they’re flying around in their underwear…. Well, this guy actually is flying around in his underwear!” The Captain is the comic-book invention of a pair of 9-year old troublemakers, George and Harold (voiced by Thomas Middleditch and Kevin Hart). When they’re not staging elaborate pranks at Jerome Horwitz Elementary, they’re drawing comics.  The boys use a ring from a cereal box to hypnotize their nemesis – the vengeful and humorless school principal Mr. Krupp (Ed Helms), who’s threatened to separate them into different classes. Krupp then sheds his outergarments, cries out “Tra-La-Laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!” and enthusiastically battles crime clad in only a red cape and Y-fronts. While his creators occasionally try to snap him out of the trance, Captain Underpants battles the villainous Professor Poopypants by slingshotting underwear at him. Poopypants (voiced by Nick Kroll) wants to rid the world of laughter because the chip on his shoulder from his foul surname got heavier when it’s discovered his middle name is Diarrhea!

CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS THE FIRST EPIC MOVIE is fast-paced, subversive fun. I like that it doesn’t pander to the adults in the audience, or really anyone else besides its 9-year old boy target audience. It’s they who will find kindred spirits in George and Harold. The animation style here is simple, much like The Simpsons with more depth and shading, and it works. George even has a flat top like Bart. In one scene, the boys look into a future where they are no longer friends.  This scene is actually performed using sock puppets and it works nicely. CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS THE FIRST EPIC MOVIE may not raise the bar for kids movies, but it manages to pack a lot of anarchic fun and spectacle into its 85-minute running time and is recommended.

4 of 5 Stars

 

THE PICKLE RECIPE – St. Louis Jewish Film Festival Review

Review by Mark Longden

THE PICKLE RECIPE Screens Wednesday, June 7, at 1 PM, Plaza Frontenac Cinema

The St Louis Jewish Film Festival is now in its 22nd year, and it’s to be commended for bringing so many interesting and stimulating movies to us here in the Midwest. This year has documentaries, dramas, and plenty of comedy too, of which THE PICKLE RECIPE is perhaps the standout.

First up, in case you’re wondering about bias, I love Jon Dore. His Canadian show, a forerunner to “Inside Amy Schumer” (which he guested on), a mix of sketches, standup and interviews with interesting people, was brilliant, and since then he’s appeared in lots of movies and shows and is always hilarious. Here, he’s Joey, a musician / party organiser, who specialises in mitzvahs (both bar and bat), who seems to genuinely love his work.

But, a happy chap doing his job competently makes for a dull comedy, so a wrench is thrown into the works in the shape of a chain of disasters that burns down the hall and destroys all his equipment. He doesn’t have any insurance! And neither does the venue, apparently! With his ex-wife now married to a rich man who wants to buy their daughter’s love, no money and no prospects, things aren’t looking good for Joey, until his shady sad-sack of an Uncle, Morty (David Paymer) suggests a money-making scheme. Joey’s grandmother Rose (St Louis native Lynn Cohen) has a famous recipe for kosher dill pickle which has kept Irv’s Deli in Detroit in business for decades. Morty and Rose don’t get along, so if Joey can steal it, Morty can sell it and both their financial troubles will be over.

It’s the gentlest heist movie of all time. Joey gets a job at the deli, and is slowly accepted as one of the gang by the other staff, learns about his grandmother, her life and (eventually) her recipe. He gets his friend Ted (standup Eric Edelstein) to pretend to be a Rabbi – he isn’t even Jewish – so Rose will trust him enough to give him the recipe. And so on, as he realises his initial plan was perhaps not the best thing. There’s a wonderfully obvious love interest.

There aren’t going to be too many surprises while watching this movie. And that’s part of its charm – much like the pickles at the centre of things, it’s comfort food. Dore makes a fine everyman, and even though he’s doing a bad thing you’re on his side throughout. Edelstein’s performance is absolutely wonderful, completely stealing every scene he’s in, and everyone else does a fine job with what they have too. Although your reviewer is not Jewish, he has the great fortune to be married to one, and there were plenty of nods of recognition throughout. There’s a real warmth to the movie, to the friendships.

Kudos to director Michael Manasseri (who also, trivia fans, acted in 80s classic “Licence To Drive”) and writers Sheldon Cohn and Gary Wolfson, both of whom getting their first writing credit. One assumes it’s a labour of love for everyone involved. It even manages to make Detroit look something other than miserable, so even more kudos.

If you’re going to the St Louis Jewish Film Festival, which I highly recommend, then this one ought to be on your viewing list. Take your family, maybe get any squeamish people to turn away during the scene which is just a close-up of a mouth eating dozens of pickles (it’s really quite gross), and have a splendid evening.

PAST LIFE – St. Louis Jewish Film Festival Review

Tuesday, June 6, at 1 PM, Plaza Frontenac Cinema

Israel; in Hebrew, English, German, and Polish with English subtitles; 110 minutes

Two sisters uncover their father’s secret past in the true story-based Israeli mystery PAST LIFE, one of the films playing as part of the annual St. Louis Jewish Film Festival. The film is also set to return to the Plaza Frontenac Cinema on June 9 for a longer theatrical run.

The film is an intriguing look into Israel in the late 1970s, before the fall of the Berlin Wall and crumbling of European communism, when many survivors of the Holocaust did not speak about their wartime experiences as they focused on building their young nation.

In 1977, young Sephi Milch (Joy Rieger), an Israeli music student with a lovely soprano voice but ambitions to be a composer, travels to West Berlin for a concert with her school choir. After the concert, an elderly woman (Katarzyna Gniewkowska) runs up to her and, speaking in Polish, loudly accuses Sephi’s father of murder. Sephi is both rattled and mystified by the incident, despite an apology from the woman’s son, a renowned German composer (Rafael Stachowiak) who had attended the concert.

Back in Israel, Sephi wants to put the unsettling event behind her but her older sister Nana (Nelly Tagar) senses something is wrong. Shy Sephi reluctantly tells her about the incident but makes her bolder, older sister promise to say nothing to their stern, demanding father or emotional, sensitive mother (Evgenia Dodina). Dr. Baruch Milch (Doron Tavory) is a successful gynecologist but, like many Holocaust survivors in Israel, he had never talked to his daughters about his past. Nana is a rebellious young woman, a budding journalist who resents her father for his harsh treatment of her as a child. She tackles the mystery, bent on uncovering the truth about their father’s wartime experiences. But what the sisters uncover is a mystery that just keeps getting deeper and more complex the further they dig.

Atmospheric, tense and moving, PAST LIFE is directed by award-winning Israeli writer/director Avi Nesher, who has indicated that the film is the first of three films in a series. The son of Holocaust survivors himself, Nesher based his script on the wartime diaries of Dr. Baruch Milch, “Can Heaven Be Void?”

The twisty mystery is indeed intriguing, taking the sisters and the audience down a rabbit hole of secrets. The younger sister wants to dismiss what was said to her but the older sister embraces the idea of their father’s violent past. What they uncover if far different from what either expect.

In the film, the sisters could not be more different. Quiet, shy, obedient Sephi focuses her entire life on her music, struggling with her dreams to be a composer while her teachers dismiss that idea and tell her to focus on singing. Nana is loud, defiant, at times outrageous, and frustrated in her ambition to do real journalism, while stuck in a job at a tawdry, low-rent newspaper. Sephi still lives at home with her parents but Nana is married, although she does not always get along with her less-ambitious husband. Yet the sister grow  closer as the mystery unfolds. Family dynamics are part of this story, as well as women’s career ambitions, and the lingering post-war human trauma, in this historic tale.

Nesher brilliantly builds suspense, and the fine cast bring out layers of character, that deepening the moving story. That cast also includes Evgenia Dodina, a well-known Israeli star, as the sisters’ nervous mother, but the strong performances by Rieger and Tagar as the two sisters are the center around which this winding-path story is wrapped.

The film is shot in a visually rich style, that adds to the dramatic effect. Music plays a central role in this film, and the moving music choices, a mix of classical and pop, frame the edge-of-your-seat story brilliantly. The soundtrack features original music by classical composer Ella Milch-Sheriff, the real daughter of Dr. Milch on whom the Sephi character is based. Films described as “based on true events” can diverge widely from facts but Nesher makes an effort to stick closely to the real events.

PAST LIFE is a polished and haunting drama that keeps the audience hooked with its suspenseful plot, affecting performances led by two strong female leads, and a heart-wrenching true story.