From Darren Aronofsky comes The Whale, the story of a reclusive English teacher who attempts to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter. Starring Brendan Fraser and based on the acclaimed play by Samuel D. Hunter.
According to DEADLINE, “Fraser is now seen as a frontrunner in the best actor category of the Academy Awards.”
Sitting at 72% on Rotten Tomatoes, Fraser’s career has taken many turns, from blockbuster epics, beloved comedies, and a highly acclaimed role opposite Ian McKellen in the Oscar®-winning Gods and Monsters. But The Whale was something else entirely, with a set of demands that would make for a particularly courageous return to a major dramatic role. Fraser is open about the fact that he wrestled with doubts before production. “I admit I was intimidated. I had real fear going into this, but that just underlined for me the importance of digging even deeper than I knew I could. Maybe it was an antithetical choice, but I had never before been asked to do something like this: to combine everything I’ve learned in my professional life, to fit all the elements of character-building together into a unified whole, but also to put everything inside me on the line in this way,” he says. “And I was grateful for the chance.”
In Marvel Studios’ “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett), Shuri (Letitia Wright), M’Baku (Winston Duke), Okoye (Danai Gurira) and the Dora Milaje (including Florence Kasumba) fight to protect their nation from intervening world powers in the wake of King T’Challa’s death. As the Wakandans strive to embrace their next chapter, the heroes must band together with the help of War Dog Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o) and Everett Ross (Martin Freeman) and forge a new path for the kingdom of Wakanda.Introducing Tenoch Huerta Mejía as Namor, ruler of a hidden undersea nation, the film also stars Dominique Thorne, Michaela Coel, Mabel Cadena and Alex Livinalli.
“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” directed by Ryan Coogler and produced by Kevin Feige and Nate Moore, opens in U.S. theaters Nov. 11, 2022.
Enter to win passes for you and a guest to attend the Advance Screening of Marvel Studios’ “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” on Wednesday, November 9th, 7pm at the AMC Town Center 20.
Ryan Coogler (“Black Panther,” “Creed,” “Fruitvale Station”) directs from a screenplay he wrote with Joe Robert Cole (“Black Panther,” “All Day and a Night,” “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story”). Kevin Feige, p.g.a., and Nate Moore, p.g.a., are the producers; Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso and Barry Waldman are executive producers. David J. Grant is co-producer.
The creative team behind “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” includes director of photography Autumn Durald Arkapaw, ASC (“Loki,” “The Sun Is Also a Star”) and many of “Black Panther’s” original team—including Academy Award®-winning production designer Hannah Beachler (“Black Is King,” “Moonlight”), editor Michael P. Shawver (“A Quiet Place Part II,” “Creed”), Academy Award®-winning costume designer Ruth Carter (“Coming 2 America,” Selma), visual effects supervisor Geoffrey Baumann (“Doctor Strange,” “Avengers: Age of Ultron”), Emmy®, Oscar® and Grammy Award®-winning composer/score and song producer Ludwig Göransson (“Venom,” “Fruitvale Station”), music supervisor Dave Jordan (“Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” “Thor: Love and Thunder”) and Academy Award®-winning special makeup designer Joel Harlow (“Black Adam,” “Jungle Cruise”) returned for the sequel. Nicole Rowley (“Black Widow,” “Aquaman”) is visual effects producer, and Kelley Dixon, ACE, and Jennifer Lame, ACE, (“Tenet,” “Marriage Story”) are editors.
Jennifer Lawrence in CAUSEWAY. Courtesy of AppleTV+
Jennifer Lawrence gives a heart-rending performance as a wounded Afghan war veteran healing from injuries, obvious and not, in Lila Neugebauer’s drama CAUSEWAY. CAUSEWAY, about a friendship that grows between two people still healing from injuries, has a contemplative pace but it is a fine showcase for Jennifer Lawrence, too long absent from this kind of in-depth role, and reminding us how very talented she is. The film played at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival and now is opening in theaters as well as streaming.
Lynsey (Lawrence) was an Army engineer serving in Afghanistan when an IED blew up her truck and sent her home to recover from extensive neurological trauma, but we meet her while she is still very disabled and slowly recovering. In tender, touching scenes, we see her character’s helplessness and frustration at the need, as she receives treatment at an rehab center, then in the home of a caring older woman. Lynsey’s injuries effected her brain as well as her body but both are making progress. When she is deemed well enough to be discharged to her mother’s home, where Lynsey grew up, in New Orleans, she clearly has doubts. But she is reassured arrangements have been made for her mother to meet her bus when it arrives in NOLA. She doesn’t.
Nonetheless, Lynsey finds her way there, where she is greeted affectionately by her mother Gloria (an excellent Linda Emond), who has been busy drinking and dancing at home with a boyfriend that she doesn’t bother to introduce to her daughter. With a sigh, Lynsey settles in to her childhood home, keeping her unreliable mother at arm’s length.
The mother is played splendidly by Linda Emond, who portrays her as a woman who seems to want to have a warmer relationship with her daughter but can’t quite follow-through. As Lynsey regains more strength and mobility, she sets up regular doctor’s appoints with Dr. Lucas (Stephen McKinley Henderson, in another of the fine smaller performances that dot this heart-felt drama). She used a borrowed truck, to get about but when the truck breaks down, a kindly mechanic named James (Brian Tyree Henry) offers her a lift and encourages her to get the truck fixed, even if it is not hers. The two strike up a tentative friendship, which grows slowly over time and picks up when Lynsey notices his prosthetic leg.
It is not romance but shared trauma that draws these two broken people together, but the feeling is deep. Plot-wise, there is not much to CAUSEWAY but as a showcase for Jennifer Lawrence, it is outstanding, and the same can be said for co-star Brian Tyree Henry.
Jennifer Lawrence does an outstanding job drawing us into Lynsey’s inner life. Lynsey is adrift, staying in a home to which she never expected to return and missing the camaraderie of the service, to which she still hopes to return. Her awkward relationship with her less-than-reliable mother does not help and while there is talk about a brother, he is notably absent. To pass the time, Lynsey takes a job cleaning pools, something she did as a teen, saying to her new employer that she just “likes water.” Cleaning pools on her own seems to settle her, going about it in an almost meditative way, and enjoying the occasional solitary swim. Periodically she encounters the mechanic, and they share a drink in a bar or an ice cream at a street-side stand, and just hang out. Sometimes she needles him to swim in one of the pools she is maintaining for out-of-town owners. He is happy to hang out at the pools with her, but is wary of the water.
Visually, this New Orleans has a quiet, languid beauty, with people living a simple life far removed from the French Quarter party. Nothing much happens for long stretches but the effect is more relaxing, even hypnotic, than one expects. We see a lot of graceful, greenery-encircled pools that invite a swim, something Lawrence does from time to time.
That same quietness marks the scenes between Jennifer Lawrence and Brian Tyree Henry too, scenes that are touching and warm, as the two share secrets and experiences. Both actors are at the top of their game, and work superbly together. There is a sense of loss that is often palpable in the air, and heartrendingly so when James recounts how he lost his leg.
As a showcase for the actors, CAUSEWAY shines. It is a treat to see Lawrence put through her acting paces her, and hopefully this will spark a return to bigger serious roles. Brian Tyree Henry is a revelation in his role, and it is hoped this signals bigger things for him as well.
CAUSEWAY opens Friday, Nov. 4, in select theaters and streaming on Apple TV+.
Morgan Freeman in director Michael Mailer’s suspense tale THE MINUTE YOU WAKE UP DEAD. Courtesy of Saban Films.
THE MINUTE YOU WAKE UP DEAD is a title that looms as ominously as it plays for a concept that aptly grows in levels of menace as this quiet, twisty suspense tale unfolds.
The setting is a small, less-than-wealthy Southern town. An investment broker (Cole Hauser) has done well by his fellow citizens in the past, but has just cost a whole lotta folks a whole lotta money when a huge deal he’d touted fell apart, making their extremely non-discretionary funds evaporate.
We meet him as he enters the local diner to icy stares from all, and threats from a few, as he’s just become the redneck version of Bernie Madoff. The hot waitress (Jaime Alexander) he’d had a crush on since their school days is the only one who is still kind to him. He’s also renting the house next door from her and her father.
Hauser keeps getting whispered anonymous phone calls using the film’s title as a threat to life and limb. He tells the sheriff (Morgan Freeman, who also provides his special brand of voice-over, but the law is mostly helpless when the perp can’t be identified. Romance surprisingly blossoms with Alexander until her sickly father is gunned down one night. The theory is that the shooter was going for Hauser but missed HIS home by one door.
That’s when a surprising number of layers begin to unfold. We learn why the old man was shot but so do others, making a simple plan spin out of control, causing more bodies to pile up. One of my favorite Alfred Hitchcock films, THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY, is a wry little comedy about having to keep moving a corpse found in the woods, as everyone in a little neighborhood thinks they’re protecting someone else. This one vaguely evokes the memory of that, albeit with a higher body count and none of its whimsical humor. Or any other type of humor, for that matter.
The small-town setting provides a perfect backdrop for the tone of the tale, enhanced by the expected reality of everyone knowing everyone else’s business, or learning about it with little effort. Performances are solid, and Michael Mailer’s (Norman’s oldest son) direction is admirably efficient, as the script he co-wrote with Timothy Holland piles more and more problems upon the principal players. It’s an understated little film, with the essential sex and violence elements occurring either off-camera, or visually minimized. Nothing great, but most should find this tangled web they weave a satisfactory diversion.
It’s got Morgan Freeman, folks. That’s pretty much a guarantee of at least some merit on its own.
THE MINUTE YOU WAKE UP DEAD opens Friday, Nov. 4, in select theaters, and is available on-demand and via digital platforms starting the same day.
D.Y. Sao in SHADOW MASTER. Courtesy of Saban Films
When you’re making an urban post-apocalyptic, supernatural martial arts movie a lot can go wrong, and most of it does in SHADOW MASTER. The plot is mostly drivel about The Four Horsemen (without horses) of the Apocalypse snatching children from a rundown multi-story warehouse that is shelter for a bedraggled group of survivors of whatever the unspecified disaster was that left the world all gray and smoky, inside and out. The evil quartet is doing this for a world-conquering ritual, opposed by some sort of Death God, who recruits our hero (D.Y. Sao) to take on his powers at the cost of his soul to protect the folks he’s only just met when the thing starts.
Actually, the opening scene has Sao, face obscured by long hair like the creepy gal from THE RING, killing a bunch of cops, then surrendering to the rest and explaining to their boss how he got to that point for the rest of the movie.
Writer/director Pearry Reginald Teo serves up a set of characters whose powers defy logic with their ebbs and flows. Sao is killed once, or more than once – hard to keep track – only to come back stronger… except when he’s weaker. He has to kill all four Horsemen to save the day, since killing a few of them several times has no lasting effect. Visually, almost every shot occurs in the dark labyrinthian building that also houses some radioactive waste for reasons never made clear. Or relevant. The sound track does no favors to Teo’s dialog, with much almost unintelligible for a variety of reasons, including the fact that several important characters speak in gravelly voices through full-face masks. Even worse, the ending dangles prospects for a friggin’ sequel!
So why bother? If you don’t already know who D.Y. Sao is (I didn’t), tune in for his fight scenes. The Cambodian-born, U.S.-raised dude has all the real martial skills and dazzling acrobatic gifts of Tony Jaa, without his resting angry face. Sao has almost as many stunt credits (16) as acting (21), with many of the former, including this one, as coordinator or choreographer. English being his primary language gives him a leg up for acting gigs over Jaa and the bevy of budding action stars from Korea, Malaysia, Thailand and other countries who are cranking out first-rate martial arts flicks for international markets. He’s also got the looks and presence for leading roles in better films. Sao is a solid candidate for becoming Hollywood’s next Jet Li.
For those who find the plot as confusing as I did, the film can still be worth watching by fast-forwarding through everything between the fights. Great moves abound. Without wires. Cool.
SHADOW MASTER opens in select theaters on Friday, Nov. 4 and available on-demand and on digital platforms from Saban Films starting Nov. 8.
The brilliant THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN reunites IN BRUGES co-stars Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson with Martin McDonagh for the writer/playwright/director’s dark comedy about a long friendship coming apart on a tiny Irish island in shocking fashion. But in this film, the comedy is darker and with a looming threat of violence, putting it more in the vein of one of playwright McDonagh’s plays like “The Hangmen” or “The Pillowman.” If you have been lucky enough to see any of his plays on stage, you know his signature combination of dark humor with undercurrents of violence, packed with biting witty dialog and thought-provoking subject matter, usually with a distinctly Irish accent.
Like a lot of the writer/playwright/director’s work, THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN is both darkly funny, tragic, a bit violent and more than a bit mad, yet with a deep humanity beneath it all. The film is suffused with stunning photography of the natural world and set in 1923 with the Irish Civil War in the background on the distant mainland. It also is a film bursting with remarkable acting performances, particularly from Colin Farrell. THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN is a reminder of just how very good an actor Colin Farrell truly is.
On the fictional Irish island of Inisherin, a place filled with natural beauty off the western coast of Ireland, a pair of long-time friends – Padraic Suilleabhain (Colin Farrell), a young farmer everyone calls “nice” and Colm Doherty, an older fiddle player, composer and artistic soul – have the habit of going to the island’s only pub every day at 2 p.m., for pints and conversation. One day, Padraic calls on Colm promptly at 2 p.m. as usual for their walk to the pub but Colm refuses to answer the door, or even respond when Padraic speaks to him through the window. Puzzled, Padraic tells his friend he’ll meet him at the pub and heads over. At the pub, Padraic shares his friend’s strange behavior with the pub owner Jonjo (Pat Shortt). “Are you rowing?” the publican asks. “I didn’t think we were rowing,” Padraic replies. Padraic leaves the pub briefly, and returns to find Colm there. But Colm avoids him, even telling him not to sit by him.
“Are we rowing? I didn’t think we were rowing,” the confused Padraic says repeatedly, wondering if they had quarreled in some argument he had forgotten, turning the question over in his head, over and over. Everyone seems to ask the same thing, and Padraic always replies “I didn’t think we were rowing.” It sets up a comic riff but while the effect is humorous, Padraic is becoming increasingly upset by his friend’s mysterious behavior. Finally confronting Colm, Colm tells him that he no longer wants to be friends and forbids the younger man to speak to him. Eventually, it comes out that the older Colm, pondering that his life is running out and contemplating his legacy, decided he needs to spend more of it on his music, composition and teaching younger musicians, and not wasting time with Padraic.
Stunned, Padraic can’t quite wrap his head around this and keeps thinking there is something he can do to restore their friendship, until Colm makes a shocking threat of violence if Padraic doesn’t leave him alone, The threat is so absurd that all the other characters wonder aloud if it is real. However, those who familiar with McDonagh’s stage work know that such mentions of violence are rarely idle.
This is a story of a break-up, of a friendship rather than a romance, but a break-up nonetheless. These two are not “frenemies” but true friends – or were until one day when one of them decides they are not. That leaves the other one having a hard time as he struggles to accept, even comprehend, a decision he played no role in, and deciding what he, the friend left behind, must do.
McDonagh doesn’t take sides here, and individuals might sympathize more with one man or the other, but the film spends more time with Colin Farrell’s Padraic, as he is the one who had to come to grips with what to do next. On the surface, Colm and Padraic don’t seem to have much in common, although they have been friends a long time.
Padraic is a young farmer, raising cows and selling the milk, and someone known for his easy-going, likable manner and for being “nice.” The older Colm is a fiddle player and composer, a more complicated man with other artistic interests, someone given to deep thought and reading with an interest in history and literature. Colm lives alone, Padraic with his sister Siobhan (Kerry Condon), the other island’s devoted reader, who dotes on and cares for her younger brother. Colm has a border collie as a pet, Padraic has a miniature donkey. The animals play a role in the unexpected events that unfold.
It’s an island, and eventually it seems everyone is involved in the split in some way, or at least those who come in regular contact with either Colm or Padraic.
The sharply satiric dialog and story’s comedic beats always delight but the acting is so sparkling, so deep, that is a constant joy throughout. Each actor gets the very most out of every scene, whether alone or ensemble. Colin Farrell expresses volumes with the twitch of a bushy eyebrow or the shift of his posture, continually breaking our hearts with his pain and frustrating us with his mistakes. Brendan Gleeson is outstanding as always, conveying his different kind of pain, a man brooding over his legacy and finding time fleeting, embroiled in a distracting situation he somehow didn’t anticipate.
However praise must go to the actors in supporting roles as well. Barry Keoghan continues to turn in striking character performances, here playing a young man, Dominic Kearney, who is both an irritating pest and a heartbreaking portrait of loneliness. Kerry Condon is wonderful as Padraic’s sister Siobhan, often the voice of reason cutting through the island’s inward looking nonsense, as well as warm sympathetic ear for her confused, well-meaning brother. Other little, more comic roles break the tension, notably Pat Shortt as the publican Jonjo and David Pearse as the priest, who has a sidesplitting exchange with Brendan Gleeson in the confessional. Gary Lydon adds a chilling note as Peadar Kearney, the island’s brutal, cold-hearted local cop and Dominic’s abusive single father, as does Sheila Flitton as Mrs. McCormick, a creeping, creepy older woman in black whose smile and mysterious mutterings might evoke thoughts of Macbeth’s “weird sisters.”
The film opens with Director of Photography Ben Davis’ gorgeous shots of the natural world, showing the breath-taking beauty of the place and often featuring animals, wild and domesticated, in that peaceful-looking landscape. The film was shot on Inishmore and Achill Island on the west coast of Ireland, although the island where the story takes place is fictional. A spot-on perfect musical score by Carter Burwell completes the picture. We get a sense that these few people on the island are living in a place of beauty and magic, but gradually we realize that they are so consumed by their own petty personal troubles, they hardly see it.
The story is set in spring of 1923, and the Irish Civil War is raging. But the war is unfolding on the mainland, and on the island, they only hear the sounds of the guns and distant explosions. The islanders are aware of it but they are apart from it, although it might linger at the back of our minds.
There is something particularly resonant about setting this tale in Ireland in 1923, on an isolated island, during the Irish Civil Wars. The civil war creates its own madness, the closed community of the island (in pre-mass media 1923) creates its own pressure cooker, and whatever existential crisis is troubling Colm adds to the simmering pot.
As wars often do, the conflict between Colm and Padraic starts over something small but hurtful, that then escalates. Their “war” is a reminder that wars often start over something small but that absolutes, all-or-nothing decisions or ultimatums, have consequences. In this personal conflict, it is a reminder that putting ones’ work above people or doing something for selfishness reasons can have consequences too, or even lead to unintended results. The director seems to be questioning whether absolutes are the best human choice, if compromise or setting boundaries might work better, by illustrating how things get out of hand, even little things, until conflict, or even war, is inescapable.
And the banshees? We never see or hear supernatural spirits wailing in the night, although they do come up in conversation at one point. But it is hard to say there are not mad banshees howling here.
There is a lot of food for thought to mull over in this meaty film, although some viewers may be so shocked by the film’s end that those thoughts may have to wait a bit, as is often the case with McDonagh’s plays. But there are things here about humanity that are worth revisiting. THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN is a brilliantly acted and directed film that indirectly and subtly draws larger human lessons by following the break-up of a friendship. It is an impressive piece of cinema on all levels – visually, performance, acting, story-telling – with the addition of offering deeply-considered thoughts on other human conflicts, which is as worthwhile a topic as one can find at this moment in history.
THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN opens Friday, Nov. 4, in theaters.
So, who doesn’t love the story of a comeback, the rise from the ashes soaring into greater glories and triumphs? Well, this particular performer at the heart of this new feature-length documentary isn’t too keen on it. It actually annoys her a bit, as she prefers something closer to a “resurgence” or a “re-appreciation”. If anyone has truly earned the right to specify a “labeL’ then it’s this artist, who’s been part of the music charts for over fifty years now. She’s amassed lots of fans in that time, but happily one of the youngest fans is making quite a name for herself now, and she’s using her clout to forge a new collaboration with her longtime inspiration. Which explains the lengthy title, THE RETURN OF TANYA TUCKER: FEATURING BRANDI CARLILE.
The “making of” part of the doc really begins with that “featured” performer. Ms. Carlile is pacing the floors of the Fantasy Records studio in LA along with producer Shooter Jennings as they await the arrival of their beloved “diva”. Naturally, she’s fashionably late and strolls from her RV through the doors, just as they’d expect Tanya Tucker to do. It seems that “star on the rise” Carlile saw Tucker perform in a small club and convinced Jennings that an album of new songs was in order (he agreed if she’d co-produce). As she enjoys an early cocktail to “loosen the larynx”, Tucker’s gravelly laugh provides a glimpse of a life lived at full throttle. The film intercuts the studio mixing and discoveries with a look back at a career begun in the early 70s when Tucker hit the charts with “Delta Dawn” at the tender age of thirteen. She was soon the toast of the country music scene with wild nights on the road, and a disastrous foray into pop and disco, before igniting a tabloid inferno with her torrid romance with the much-older star Glen Campbell. But Tanya insists that she’s never gone away, as hard-core fans (the CW music ones are known for their loyalty) stuck with her through smaller venues and stints in rehab. Carlile is one that truly “kept the faith” and we see her gently push Tanya out of her “comfort zone” to pour more of herself into this new work. The film a great “overview” of the new music biz, as they host a “listening party”, play a couple of small clubs, do the “radio DJ interview circuit”, and await the album’s “feedback”. The capper is the preparations going into Tucker singing one of the tunes at a birthday concert for country queen Loretta Lynn (who passed recently). Then looming on the horizon is the announcement of the Grammy nominations. Will they embrace Carlile’s “dream project” and Tucker’s “re-evaluation”?
Writer/director Kathlyn Horan really gives us a “fly on the wall” inside peak of the whole creative process. There aren’t any “big blow-ups”, instead we sit in on artistic discussions in which creative folks who respect and cherish each other differ and often compromise on the length or tone of a single note or the inflection of a lyric. Carlile may know the vocal stylings of Tucker as well if not more than the artist herself with often startling intimacy. Oh, but it’s not all a “love letter” as Horan offers up a “warts and all” overview of Tucker’s “ups and downs” in her professional and private life, giving us a glimpse of country’s “outlaw party-girl” and her scandalous union with Campbell (himself the subject of a terrific recent feature doc). This adds to her surprising life of moderation rather than straight sobriety, Tucker knows when to “cut herself off” and knows that she’s got to stop smoking, mainly for the damage to her vocal “instrument”. But beyond the creative collaboration, we’re given a glimpse of how this union goes from mentor and pupil to a shared admiration of talents. Carlile sees Tucker as a true “trailblazer” pushing country music into the center of “mainstream pop entertainment” rather than the “benchwarmer” or rivaled “outsider”. This is given a visual “spin” by the magenta coif of the still rebellious sixty-something superstar. Okay, Ms. T, we won’t say comeback, but fans of movies and music will be riveted by THE RETURN OF TANYA TUCKER: FEATURING BRANDI CARLILE.
3 Out of 4
THE RETURN OF TANYA TUCKER: FEATURING BRANDI CARLILE opens in select theatres on Friday, November 4, 2022
(L to R) Michael Banks Repeta as “Paul Graff” and Anthony Hopkins as “Grandpa Aaron Rabinowitz” in director James Gray’s ARMAGEDDON TIME, a Focus Features release. Courtesy of Anne Joyce / Focus Features
Well, it’s been over two years now. I’m talking about the near-global pandemic “time-out”. So, do you recall what you did to pass the hours? Was “recall” part of it, as in revisiting old memories and childhood experiences? It appears that many “creatives”, including lots of filmmakers, took a “sentimental journey”. Of course, that’s not rare as many movie makers have opened up about their past, from Fellini to Scorsese (sure it’s the story of Henry Hill, but there’s a lot of young martin in GOODFELLAS). And now, with a few years put into making them, the nostalgic film “floodgates” are opening up. In the next few weeks, we’ll delve into the recollections of Sam Mendes and Steven Spielberg. This weekend another artist gives us his “take” on the “coming of age” saga. Ah, but things aren’t bathed in a “rosy haze” in this work. Which explains its title, ARMAGEDDON TIME.
The time in question is the Fall of 1980. Aspiring comic book artist Paul Graff (Banks Repeta) shares his artistic gifts with his eight grade classmates via a cartoon of their teacher Mr. Turkeltaub (that name just begs for a human/ poultry hybrid sketch). Of course, Paul is busted but luckily another student, Johnny (Jaylin Webb) defends him. Being the only black student there, due to recent “busing” rulings, Johnny “butts up” against the school faculty. But he and Paul forge a strong friendship, leading to lots of after-school adventures and mischief. Johnny’s ailing and addled grandma (his sole parent) lives far across town, so Paul lets him stay in the clubhouse shed behind his Queens, NY home. It’s the site of many Graff family dinners, prepared by mother Esther (Anne Hathway), who’s involved in the PTA, and hosted by electrician papa Irving (Jeremy Strong). Oh, Paul’s older brother who attends a swanky private school, Ted (Ryan Sell) is there. But the most revered guest is Esther’s father, beloved grandpa Aaron (Anthony Hopkins). He and Paul bond over their shared love of art and model rockets. And yet the lad continues to get into trouble both at school and at home, which is on edge due to the upcoming elections (“That movie actor will have his finger on the button”). When the antics of Paul and Johnny get more serious, the Graffs decide that public school is not working for their youngest. Can Paul fit in with the “swells” at that stuffy elitist place? And what will happen to his friendship with the “unsupervised” Johnny?
Despite the “heavy hitters” in the cast (at least two Oscar winners), the focus of the story is Repeta as the impulsive Paul. The young actor seems relaxed and very natural in the role. Oh, and very real as he can turn from endearing and sweet to annoying and cruel “on a dime”. Sure, he’s the “center” but he’s not truly the hero. Much of that also applies to Webb as Johnny who projects an aura of tough apathy, which deflects any further disappointments and frustrations. He has big dreams that would take him far from the “mean streets”, but he knows that the odds are against him, along with almost everyone in the inner city. Supporting Paul on the homefront is Hathaway as the nurturing Esther who wants to be a progressive, but fears for her lil’ guy as he pushes against her protective embrace. The most complex parent may be Strong as Irving who must temper his affection for “his guys” with the need to be the “final word”. Strong convey a nerdy warmth as he sings a song (aided by banging a pan) to wake his lads, then becomes a terrifying “rage monster’ while dealing with Paul’s latest escapade. He truly scares the boy, but we can see in Strong’s eyes that he’s also unnerved by his out-of-control anger. Then in the final act, Irving insists on staying in the car with the boys during a memorial service, though not for their benefit as he suppresses a sob. But Repeta truly shines in his scenes with Hopkins as the ultimate grandpop’, full of patience and grumbly good humor, eager to be Paul’s sidekick in mischief. Though he seems an unlikely choice to play a Jewish family patriarch, Hopkins commands the screen as he regales his precious children with old songs or rivets them with his horror stories of survival and escape. Plus you just might feel your heart melt as Paul addresses him as “my good man”.Oh, and another big talent provides a most compelling cameo as a real figure from the era (with a big connection to the present).
All of this flows from the mind and memories of writer/director James Gray, who has fashioned an engaging “memory piece” that expertly invokes an era with almost no sentimentality. Yes, these years are full of wonder, but they’re also infused with anxiety. that mood is best seen as the adults discuss the presidential elections which may surprise younger filmgoers. Reagan may seem like an affable uncle in archival footage, and too soft now for his old political party, but for many at that time he was seen as the fellow who could bring about…the movie’s title. But the tale’s real tragedy may be the “arc” of Johnny, who will not get the second and third “chances” afforded to Paul. He’s the sacrifice to make the “system work”. The pace of the piece is problematic as it seems to lurch from one “dire incident” to the next with little coherence. Perhaps some more interaction between the parents would give a better understanding of the family. Or at least it would explain their inconsistent disciplinary strategies, especially when Paul really goes “over the line” and rebels at the first big family meal. Kudos to the production team for re-creating the hairstyles and fashions of the era (being a middle-class family, they wouldn’t be sporting the big “disco duds”). It’s worth seeing for the superb cast, but a wobbly script that just seems to abruptly stop drains the drama out of ARMAGEDDON TIME.
3 Out of 4
ARMAGEDDON TIME opens in select theatres on Friday, November 4. 2022
Francis Perrin as Antoine Mongeville, in the French crime series “Mongeville.” Courtesy of MHzChoice
The title of the French procedural series, “Mongeville,” is not the name of its town. That’s Bordeaux. Rather, it refers to retired judge Antoine Mongeville (Francis Perrin), who for one reason or another winds up unofficially assisting the local homicide bureau in each week’s murder. In the first of two three-episode seasons being released together, he helps Detective Axelle Ferrano (Marie Moute), greatly to the consternation of her department’s head, Commissaire Briare (Pierre Aussedat), who deeply resents any input from that particular source. The gents have a history.
In the second three-episode season, Ferrano is replaced by Valentine Duteil (Gaelle Bona), who remains for the rest of the series’ 26 episodes. Briare’s resentment continues to seethe, despite Mongeville’s growing track record of consistently providing valuable help. The tenor of the series changes significantly with the arrival of the new co-star.
In Season One, the crimes share running time with the backstories and personal issues of the two leads. Mongeville is haunted by the disappearance of his adult daughter a few years earlier, continuing his search by whatever means he finds. Ferrano is emotionally wounded by a recent affair that ended badly, tainting her image within the department, and creating serious trust issues in all aspects of her life. But the two work well together in solving her assigned cases while working on their respective collateral problems.
The first trio of episodes begin with an apparent suicide the two find more suspicious than everyone else does, pitting them against The Brass, as well as the perp. The other crimes taking about 90 minutes to solve start with more obvious murders but require delving into a mare’s nests of old crimes and evil-doings. All three are well-written, providing complicated scenarios as we build relationships with the protagonists. And a considerable dislike for Briare, who takes the a**hole boss trope to new levels of a**hol-lery, and just might turn out to be as corrupt as he is a**hol-ish by nature.
While the first three are rather serious in tone, the arrival of Duteil, changes the series into something lighter. She’s as perky as Ferrano was troubled, but deceptively as tough, smart and intuitive as her predecessor. The scripts continue to contain interesting sets of facts and players to be unraveled, with the principals’ personal issues occupying less of the stage. Another useful levity addition comes from Mongeville’s enlisting the special skills of a charming old burglar, Sylvestre (Marc Depond), he’d befriended during his years on the bench, whenever investigative tactics are required and warrants are not obtainable.
Mongeville is a character to admire and get comfortable with. As is typical of European crime series, the cast is less glamorous and the stories unfold with less violence than our typical prime-time domestic fare. The first six end without major cliffhangers, but leave me eager for the next round of releases.
“Mongeville,” Seasons One and Two, mostly in French with English subtitles, streams on MHzChoice starting Nov. 1.
Sales agent and executive producer Protagonist Pictures today unveiled the first look at Academy Award-nominee Saoirse Ronan in director Nora Fingscheidt’s highly anticipated adaptation of Amy Liptrot’s best-selling memoir THE OUTRUN. Fingscheidt wrote the adaptation in collaboration with Liptrot. Protagonist Pictures is handling worldwide sales and is co-repping North American sales with CAA Media Finance.
Ronan stars as Rona, who fresh out of rehab, returns to the wild Orkney Islands after more than a decade away. As she reconnects with the dramatic landscape where she grew up, memories of her childhood merge with the more recent challenging events that have set her on the path to recovery.
The Outrun was optioned by Brock Media’s Sarah Brocklehurst, who is developing and producing alongside Ronan, Jack Lowden and Dominic Norris under their recently founded banner, Arcade Pictures. They are joined by co-producers Jonas Weydemann and Jakob D. Weydemann of Weydemann Bros and Shirin Hartmann.
Protagonist Pictures is executive producing with Luane Gauer, George Hamilton, James Pugh and Janina Vilsmaier serving as executive producers alongside Claudia Yusef for BBC Film, Kieran Hannigan for Screen Scotland and Maria Logan and Anne Sheehan for MBK.
BBC Film and Screen Scotland supported development of the project and are funding production alongside MBK Productions. Funding is also provided by FFA, Medienboard Berlin Brandenburg, MOIN Film Fund Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein, and Film and Medienstiftung NRW.
Studiocanal will release the film in their territories, UK, France and Germany & Austria. Cineart will release the film in Benelux, and Filmcoopi and Cineworx will handle the film in Switzerland. Sony Pictures’ Stage 6 Films has picked up all other international territories.
Liptrot’s memoir of the same name won the 2016 Wainwright Prize and the2017 PEN Ackerley Prize and was a Sunday Times Top Ten Bestseller. The book was translated into 15 languages, selling over 110,000 copies in the UK alone and was added by publisher Canongate to its modern classics list, The Canons. Rebecca Watson of VHA negotiated the film deal for the book on behalf of James Macdonald Lockhart of Antony Harwood Ltd.
