Tag: Fox Searchlight Pictures

A REAL PAIN -Review

This weekend sees the release of a film that is an interesting variation on the “road” movies, and I’m not speaking of the beloved series that sent Bob Hope and Bing Crosby clowning and singing across the globe for nearly 20 years. Although, this film does spotlight an engaging if somewhat mismatched duo. And it can be quite funny, meshing with moments of despair and heartache. Naturally the old “fish out of water” tropes arise since neither character speaks the locale’s language, nor are they versed in the customs. In that way, there’s also an element of the old travelogues as we take in the land’s quaint beauty and “old world” charms. But “the sights” never distract us from the emotions, and the complex family relationship at the heart of A REAL PAIN.


At the story’s start we meet the first half of that duo, David Kaplan (Jesse Eisenberg) as heads to the airport for a vacation away from his beloved wife and son back in NYC, where he works in media advertising (mainly those banner ads just a bit above this post). During the long cab ride he’s leaving lots of messages (“C’mon, pick up!”) for his cousin, the “in between gigs” thirtysomething (they were born mere weeks apart) Benji Kaplan (Kieran Culkin), who lives a couple of hours away from the city. The two reunite outside the gate of their flight to Poland, the birthplace of their beloved, recently deceased grandmother. The long trek gives them a chance to catch up as we observe that David is rather introverted and reflective while Benji’s in an unpredictable “wild card” going from outgoing and gregarious to dark and moody. And we find out that they’ve purchased two spots in a guided tour group of the country. After landing, they take the train to their hotel where they meet the rest of their “party” It’s headed by their British academic guide, James (Will Sharpe), who introduces them to the other tourists. There’s an older married couple, Diane (Liza Sadoovy) and Mark (Daniel Oreskes), a middle-aged recent divorcee Marcia (Jennifer Grey), and an emigree from Rhawnda, Eloge (Kurt Egyiawan). David and Benji will travel with them for most of the tour and “break away” to explore their grandmother’s birth home in a remote village. As the group sees the Polish architecture and historical sights (including several sculptures and a WWII concentration camp), the cousins explore their personal history as they attempt to repair a tight childhood bond that has been nearly severed by adulthood, forming new families, and deep internal turmoil. Will this trip bring David and Benji closer or is this a final reunion?

Though he’s being touted by the film’s marketing team as a supporting player, the story truly showcases the superb Culkin as, really, the title role. Benjy can be painful, either unintentionally cruel or just abrasive, yet somehow he draws us in rather than repels. Culkin’s expert comic timing meshes with Benjy’s often “no filter” verbal streaming, though he also conveys a real sweetness in the role’s vulnerability. He’s the puppy that shreds your favorite slippers in that it’s tough to unleash your anger at him. Perhaps this is part of the reason that Culkin’s been scooping up so many TV awards in the last few years. Providing the counterbalance, AKA the voice of reason and a classic comedy “straight man”, is the intense but also endearing Eisenberg, who eases up on the twitchy, rattled line delivery to make David a real caring brother to Benjy, while also taking the reigns as the parent trying to put him back on the right path, even providing a much-needed lifeline (as we learn of recent rifts in the relationship). Even though they don’t share the same parents, this is an “iron bond” and the two actors really make us believe in them as more than cousins. The quartet of fellow travelers is solid (nice to see you back in the movies, Ms. Grey), led by the terrific Sharpe who also becomes a great comic foil for Benjy as his pre-planned spiel is often disrupted, though we get the feeling that James really enjoys being rattled to the point of emotionally engaging with his background’s legacy.

Back to Mr. Eisenberg, big kudos on his sophomore feature directing effort. As with WHEN YOU FINISH SAVING THE WORLD, he also crafted the screenplay, though he’s tasked with acting in this one. And he really delivers, giving us a wonderful character study of the two men, while also sending us into the rich history of Poland and its people. Plus it’s the first time a narrative film has shot inside a concentration camp, providing a somber respectful view of Majdanek. Everything adds to the story arc of the Kaplans whether they’re frantically catching a train (lots of rail travel) or just strolling into their adored granny’s neighborhood. It’s also impressive that Eisenberg gets such great dramatic dynamics between himself and Culkin (there’s a focused filmmaker). As the holidays begin to dominate the final weeks of the year, moviegoers wanting to explore another look at family bonds (and engage in some virtual vacationing) should make a real effort to see A REAL PAIN.

3.5 Out of 4

A REAL PAIN is now playing in select theatres

THE SUPREMES AT EARL’S ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT – Review

Okay all you music biopic fans, just keep reading the title past the first two words. This should give you a hint that it’s not the “rags to riches” tale of the 60s talented titanic trio from Motown. Actually, this story is set quite a distance from Detroit. way down in North Carolina. And yes, much of the flashback sequences are set in the 1960s, but the title refers to a nickname given to three childhood friends. And if you’d guess that the ploy revolves around their “ups and downs”, romances and challenges, well you’re perhaps familiar with the novel this film is based upon…or you picked up the gist of it from the poster. So, get those tissues ready to wipe away the tears inspired by THE SUPREMES AT EARL’S ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT.

After a brief flash-forward, the film focused on three middle-aged women strolling toward the aforementioned eatery. Then it’s a whiplash-inducing flashback to the birth of the three. We then zoom ahead to 1968 as the free-spirited Odette (Kyanna Simone) cheers on best pal Clarice (Abigail Achiri) at her piano recital. Afterward, at Odette’s house, the duo discuss Clarice’s plans to become a big recording artist in NYC, post-high school graduation. But first, they’ll meet their beaus at the town gathering spot, Earl’s. Not so fast as Odette’s mama insists that they drop off a cooked chicken at the home of classmate Barbara Jean (Tati Gabrielle), whose mother has just passed away. The girls protest, but agree to a quick “side trip”. At Barbara Jean’s squalid shack, the girls are alarmed by her “handsy” stepdad and they whisk her away. Seeing the trio at his diner’s entrance, the owner, “Big Earl”, dubs them “The Supremes”. After telling him of BJ’s dire situation, Earl offers up his absent daughter’s (she’s in college) bedroom. All this occurs after Clarice meets up with her fella’ Richmond (Xavier Mills), who has a “roving eye”, and his pal, and prospective beau for Odette, the stoic, almost silent, James (Dijon Means). In the next few years, Odette and Clarice settle down with Richmond and James, while Barbara Jean is courted by the older Lester (Cleveland Berto) as she engages in a secret romance with the white busboy at Earl’s, Ray AKA “Chick” (Ryan Paynter). The film breaks up the flashbacks to the present day of 1998 as Clarise (Uzo Aduba) deals with the affairs of hubby Richmond (Russell Hornsby), Barbara Jean (Sanaa Lathan) drifts back into alcoholism due to the tragic loss of hubby Lester (Vondie Curtis-Hall), and the usually strong Odette (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor) tries to keep a major health crisis secret from her pals and policeman hubby James (Mekhi Phifer). Can this lifelong friendship survive this very difficult time or will they disband like their musical namesake?

The film benefits greatly from its strong ensemble cast. Or should I say dual casts, as we have strong performances from both teenage and middle-aged versions of the characters? It’s established early on, that the main focus of the story (she is the narrator) is Odette played by the compelling Ellis-Taylor (so amazing in KING RICHARD and the underseen ORIGIN). This matriarch is truly a force of nature, not to be crossed, as Ellis-Taylor owns the role, showing both her grit and compassion, and allowing her vulnerability in the final act as she deals with a scary diagnosis. And those traits are echoed by Simone, whether she’s ranting over potential BF James (and his silence) or standing up to BJ’s abusive stepdad (a very tense moment). Aduba also nails the most complex character “arc” as she goes from denial (over her hubby’s infidelity) to finding the strength to face her fears head-on. Much of that is set up very well by the buttoned-up Achirir. Lathan as Barbara Jean also must save herself from that Egyptian river as she plunges into the bottle, but fights to admit her addiction. She’s almost in a constant daze, more of a numb hangover until her pals deliver a much-needed “wake-up call”. Equally forceful is the work by Gabrielle who goes from a mousy “doormat” to a confident woman facing so many difficult choices and skirting danger in a romance that could prove fatal. It helps that she has sizzling chemistry with the smoldering Paynter as that “forbidden fruit”. And though they don’t get as much screen time the other men are also splendid though Curtis-Hall’s time is very brief, and Hornsby doesn’t get the chance to expose the inner motivations of his “serial cheating”. Plus it’s great to see Julian McMahon as another 1998 version of a pivotal character.


Director Tina Mabry keeps the pace rolling along despite the many “bumps in the road” via the screenplay adaption of the Edward Kelsey Moore book she co-wrote with Gina Prince-Bythewood. The different calamities and upheavals come so fast and furious that the film feels like a mini-series shoehorned into its close to two-hour runtime. It strives to be a mix of FRIED GREEN TOMATOES, WAITING TO EXHALE, and any number of senior girl group “sisterhood is power” features (just as THE FABULOUS FOUR is leaving the multiplex). The subplots need a bit of breathing room. There’s an attempt to “lighten the mood” by stopping the plot for clunky comedy bits involving snobby classmate Veronica (just like the one from Riverdale) and the self-absorbed cartoonish second wife (and widow) of Earl, Minnie, who even snares the mid-credits scene. The eras are well recreated in fashion and settings (furniture and autos), though racial tensions of 68’s are reduced to a cliche truck-drivin’ redneck who avoids any brutal epitaphs. This is a shame because, as I mentioned earlier, the cast is so good, but they can’t work miracles with several overwrought and mawkish sequences. Perhaps the streaming option works best for the sometimes soap-opera “basic cable TV” histrionics that permeate throughout THE SUPREMES AT EARL’S ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT.

2.5 Out of 4

THE SUPREMES AT EARL’S ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT streams exclusively on Hulu beginning on Friday, August 23, 2024

THE GREATEST HITS – Review

Here comes another time-traveling fantasy, but with a twist. As the kids on Bandstand used to say to Dick Clark, “It’s a gotta’ good beat. You can dance to it”. Maybe you could even do the twist. That’s because the force to send this story back through the decades isn’t a big machine, like the one H.G. Welles conjured or even the beloved DeLorean that Doc Brown modified. Nor is it hypnosis ala’ SOMEWHERE IN TIME, though the brain is involved along with…the ears. You see the gimmick here is music, specifically certain pop tunes that propel a twenty-something woman into the past. And just what is she doing six or seven years ago? Making “sure bet” investments perhaps? No, she’s trying to save a “lost love”, so this is really a romantic fantasy with a soundtrack that’s this couple’s take on those old “compilations” that were touted as THE GREATEST HITS.

Ths tale’s “traveler” is a lovely twenty-something woman named Harriet (Lucy Boynton) who is haunted by her departed love and spends her nights trying to change his fate. We meet her in her dark, but spacious LA apartment as she prepares for her nightly ritual. After a cocktail or three, she looks at her “mission board” that takes up most of the living room wall. It’s filled with index cards, photos, and bits of art denoting specific years (“2017”, “2020”, etc.). Across from it are stacks of boxes filled with vinyl AKA LP records, each box with a different designation (“safe”, “unused”, etc.). Harriet puts a record on her turntable, gets it spinning, sits on her big comfy chair, and passes out as the world spins about her. She awakens at a concert in the past where she met her love Max (David Corenswet). With different songs, we see flashes of their romance, culminating seconds before a fatal car crash that Harriet can’t prevent. She finally returns to the “now” just in time to put in her earplugs and headphones (so that some background music doesn’t “trigger a trip”) and go to her job at the nearby library (lots of quiet there). From work she drops in to see her BFF, aspiring DJ Morris (Austin Crute), who shares her secret without judgment, though he urges her to “move on” while providing her with access to vintage vinyl. Then it’s off to the grief support group run by the sympathetic Dr. Bartlett (Retta). Then one day, Harriet’s routine is broken by a new addition to the group, the friendly but somewhat sad (he just lost both parents) David (Justin H. Min). They two begin to connect, but will the possibility of a new romance stop Harriet’s “music mission”? And just what will he think of her when she has a “spell” and tries to explain her dives through the decades via timeless tunes?

The role of Harriet seems well suited to Boynton as perhaps part of her “pop music trilogy” with roles in SING STREET and BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY. Aside from her camera-ready looks, she conveys a real passion for the melodies, while also being fearful of being blindsided by a tune that will expose her “gift”. Boynton also expresses a yearning for the past and a need to put up a wall to ward off a new connection. That is her developing kinship with Min as the slightly melancholy David who is also clinging to the past, mainly his takeover of the failing antique shop of his parents. He too needs to step away from the legacy, but Min shows us David’s unease that saps the sparks with Harriet. Corenswet doesn’t really break a sweat (sorry) as the effortlessly cool charismatic “dream guy” forever frozen in happier times. It’s a nice supporting role for him before we see him zooming over Metropolis next year. Crute brings some energy and a bit of snark in the thankless now rom-com cliche gay cheerleader pal of the story’s heroine (though it’s hinted that Morris is probably bisexual). He deserves better. And that goes for the warm compelling Retta who does get a nice speech about grief before she tries to guide Harriet into a healing mode.

Writer/director Ned Benson evokes a bit of the spirit of David Boyle’s YESTERDAY mixed with a very generous amount of John Carney for this love letter to LPs and live music, complete with a nice acting cameo from a celebrated singer. And that word seems to sum up the whole enterprise…nice. Harriet, David, and Max are all very nice people, but aside from Harriet’s music mania, they’re all sort of bland, It’s a surprise after the risks Benson took with his Eleanor Rigby trilogy a few years ago. The LA locations are fairly familiar with opulent apartments that feel like the fantasy digs of a sitcom. Everybody seems to be just drifting along with any concern over “paying their dues”, though David is torn about the family biz. I was pleased that they found an engaging clever way to thwart fate and avoid all the timeline “hoo-hah” of flicks like FREQUENCY (doesn’t hold up to logic, though it’s lotsa’ fun). All the principals are ultra-cool to the point that they never come close to the boiling point of passion, aside from their zeal to grab a rare disc. In the cinema subgenre of time travel fantasies, this trifle wouldn’t have a spot in THE GREATEST HITS.

2 Out of 4

THE GREATEST HITS streams exclusively on Hulu beginning on Friday, April 12, 2024

SUNCOAST – Review

With 2024 only about six weeks old, filmgoers are getting a very interesting family comedy/drama that isn’t a “holdover” from the previous year’s limited Oscar-qualifying run. As with last weekend’s SCRAMBLED, this is the feature film directing debut of a writer/actress, though she’s not working in front of the camera. And this is almost an autobiography, with some name changes and a few names that were real people in the news. Actually, they were in the headlines, so it’s a fictionalized story with a true event as its backdrop, similar to the Jack and Rose romance of TITANIC. And it all figures into an engaging “coming of age” story that happened in the sunny, but often turbulent, vacation spot known as SUNCOAST.

And, as you might have guessed, that spot was down in Florida about twenty years ago. Teenager Doris (Nico Parker) is stressed out about beginning her junior year at a brand new school while juggling her homelife, which revolves around her disabled older brother Max. Their single mother Kristine (Laura Linney) must leave Doris in charge while she struggles to make ends meet in the food service industry. The big reason for the recent move is to get Max into the local hospice facility as his brain cancer is in its final stages. Unfortunately, that facility has a much more famous patient, Terri Schiavo, who is at the center of a passionate euthanasia debate in the US. So much so that the clinic is constantly surrounded by protesters. As Kristine is hyper-focused on Max, Doris can wander out and befriends one of the picketers, an amiable widower named Paul (Woody Harrelson), who becomes a surrogate papa to her. When Doris does get to her private Christian high school, she feels isolated until she eavesdrops on a group of popular young women who don’t have a location for their weekend party. Since mom is spending all her time with Max, Doris offers up their modest home “in the boonies”. Naturally the “kegger” gets out of control, but Doris is able to get things back in order before a parental “drop by”. Can Doris get accepted by the “in crowd” or is she being used? And what will happen if Kristine finds out? Could this betrayal and the impending passing of Max destroy their familial bond?

The story’s focus and its beating conflicted heart is Doris played with remarkable skill and savvy by the gifted Ms. Parker, perhaps best known for her work in the Tim Burton remake of DUMBO. Sure we’ve seen plenty of awkward lonely teens in the world of “indie” cinema, but Parker conveys the huge weight (not quite the world, but close) on Doris’ young shoulders. Yes, she’s worried about the impending loss of her big bro, but she feels guilty for yearning to experience the joys of teenage life during this dark time. Parker wisely doesn’t make her a victim, as we see her make some selfish, dangerous decisions while not destroying our empathy for Doris, even as she lashes out at those in our corner. The main supporter there is Paul played with low-key energy and strength by Harrelson. Sure, he gets on his soapbox or pulpit, but we get to see the man inside the “card-holder behind the police barricades. He’s not so strident and singled-focused that he can’t reach out to this young woman so desperate for a parental “lifeline”. And she does need one, as her only parent is almost smothered by the fear of future grief and tragedy. Kristine is truly the most compelling and most divisive character of the story and the superb Linney tackles the challenge with full gusto, giving a bravado performance. I’d describe her as Aurora Greenway of TERMS OF ENDEARMENT in the big hospital screed (“Give her a shot!!!”) turned up to eleven, but that would dismiss the nuance Linney brings. Even after Kristine uses guilt to prod Doris, there’s the feeling that she herself could drown in the wave of darkness washing over her. And she gives us a hint that Kristine knows that both of her kids may disappear from her life. This is a career highlight for the exceptional Linney.

The aforementioned writer/director is actress Laura Chinn, who makes this very personal “slice of life” a very compelling and expertly crafted “calling card” for her future film work. As I just stated she has guided the main acting trio to utilize their gifts in new ways, but she’s also turned several “teen movie” cliches on their heads. We’re programmed to view the popular cliques as sneering harpies (ala “The Plastiques”) who delight in delivering “burns” and verbal abuse. And certainly, these kids are taking advantage of Doris at first. Then we see how they connect and bring the wounded woman into their circle, even trying to “up” her dating skills, while urging one of the team to “move on” from a “player”. That’s just one of the ways that Chinn constantly surprises us. It’s easy to take satiric ‘swipes” at the uptight moralists of the school and the picket line, but we’re shown that they’re more than comic “targets”. “Dying with dignity” is discussed and debated, but Chinn never pushes one view over to the forefront, letting us ponder the choices. Best of all is the unique mother/daughter dynamic that is the driving force of the plot. Perhaps that’s what shines the brightest in the somehow life-affirming SUNCOAST.

3.5 Out of 4

SUNCOAST is now playing in select theatres and streams exclusively on Hulu beginning on Friday, February 9. 2024

ALL OF US STRANGERS – Review

Though January is notorious as a movie “dumping ground” with several forgettable big studio releases (often a mediocre horror flick), it’s also when many of the “indie” studios give a wide release to some of their “award hopefuls”, after getting a quickie end-of-the-year Oscar-qualifying “run’ on both of the coasts. And that’s surely the case with this thought-provoking and conversation-starting motion picture. ALL OF US STRANGERS (the title is appropriately vague) takes us into a dreamy “netherworld’ for 105 minutes, before sending us back into the jolting harsh reality. The focus of the film is an aspiring writer named Adam (Andrew Scott) who is nearly numb from the routine of “cocooning” in his comfy condo (or it may be an apartment) in a brand-new high-rise on the outskirts of London. Ah, but he’s been noticed by a neighbor, a friendly fellow named Harry (Paul Mescal) who knocks on Adam’s door, wondering if he’d like to share a cocktail. Adam realizes that Harry wants more than just a “drinking buddy” and rebuffs him. The next day Adam boards a train and his gaze zeros in on a rugged man with a mustache around his age. The men hop off the train, and Adam follows him to a familiar house. “Mr. ‘Stashe” invites him inside and then we learn that the place belongs to Adam’s Dad (Jamie Bell) and Mum (Claire Foy). Again, they’re all the same age. We learn later, when Adam finally gets together with Harry, that his folks were killed in a car crash over thirty years ago. Soon Adams makes a near-daily pilgrimage to visit the “ghosts”. Just how will this affect the budding intimacy between him and the charismatic Harry? Perhaps he can rescue Adam from the comfortable though unhealthy fantasy. Or will he join in?

After several high-profile supporting film roles (“C” in SPECTRE) and acclaimed TV work in “Fleabag” and “Sherlock”, Scott is given the chance to command the screen as the troubled Adam. The lonely (probably “self-imposed”) screenwriter has a real dual persona in the first act of the story. In meeting Harry, he is reticent, shy, and a bit aloof as it becomes clear that the tipsy guy at the door is trying to “chat him up”. And then there’s the inner child inside Adam when we realize that he’s been given a “second chance” with his “folks”. Scott shows us that conflict in his pleading eyes and hesitant delivery, barely able to contain his joy at this “reunion” while his intellect tells him that this isn’t right, that he may be drifting and perhaps drowning in “wish fulfillment”. Somehow this unlocks his inhibitions and leaves him open for a new relationship. As the man trying to get into Adam’s home and heart, Mescal adds another solid characterization to his growing recent resume. Sure, he’s fronting a hunky, smoldering bravado, but that evolves into a deep concern for his budding romantic partner, with Mescal trying to be Scott’s steady “tether” to reality. Bell is quite commanding as Adam’s gruff, but surprisingly understanding father, proud but not unyielding, and even regretting that he didn’t stand up for his boy when the bullies pounced on him. The true “scene-stealer” might be Foy as the loving, nurturing matriarch whose endearing ignorance of her son’s life is tempered by her deep devotion to him, with Foy perfectly capturing the confusion of this still-learning woman of the 1990s.

This modern-day mix of love and regret is deftly spun by director Andrew Haigh, who also wrote the screenplay adaptation of Taichi Yamada’s novel “Strangers”. Even before Adam returns to his childhood home, Haigh puts us into a kind of “dreamscape” with his images of the desolate tower (almost a fairy tale castle) where Adam lives above the teaming urban populace. Is it an afterlife, or a “waiting room” limbo, since the building seems nearly vacant? But then Adam ventures outside to drop into a “time vortex” by crossing the doorway of his old shuttered house, with his folks alive and still exiting in that era, down to the hairstyles, fashions, and furniture (a nifty record player). Later in the film, we see them attending to their holiday rituals (like the Dickens yuletime tale, the ghosts aid the living), which sends Adam to his last day with them. But then Haigh propels us back to the present with Adam and Harry “letting loose” in a club full of flashing lights, throbbing beats, and ample flesh. It all culminates with Adam being pushed by the past parents and new love to forge ahead instead of being sucked into the pit of “what ifs”. By the final moments, we are left to ponder what is real and what is coming out of Adam’s bruised battered psyche. But what is certain is the excellent performances led by Scott and the superb storytelling that Haigh displays in the wistful and passionate fable, ALL OF US STRANGERS.

3 Out of 4

ALL OF US STRANGERS is now playing in select theatres

NEXT GOAL WINS (2023) – Review

Seeing as how the football season is in full swing, filling up the TV over the next few weekends, how can the multiplex prey those sports fanatics away from the small screens? Easy. put a real-life underdog football story on the big screens. Ah, but there are a couple of twists. Unlike RUDY or ANY GIVEN SUNDAY, this new film actually focuses on what the USA sports fans call soccer, but called football globally. Oh, and it does take place way way across that globe, though it’s still technically part of this country. Plus it’s not the typical inspirational inspired-by-real-events drama, but a rollicking comedy helmed by one of the current kingpins of slapstick farce. This ragtag team of misfits just wants to score one point, perhaps in the hope that the NEXT GOAL WINS.

And just where is the setting for this story? Why, it takes place on the US territory of American Samoa. In the opening prologue, a zany local priest (Taika Watiti) relates the story of how the island’s official football was humiliated in the FIFA World Cup Finals, unable to score one goal as they lost by over thirty points at the start of the new century. Now, it’s 2014 and things have gotten worse. So bad, that the team’s manager Tavita (Oscar Kightly) pleads with FIFA to assign a new coach for them. On the other side of the world, that organization is “laying down the law” to a maverick Dutch-American coach Thomas Rongen (Michael Fassbender). He’s given one chance and is sent to American Samoa, much to his aggravation. Once he settled into the ramshackle digs provided for him, a boozy Rongen meets the bumbling, fumbling group of players. One of the few talents is Yaiyah (Kaimana), an energetic, but often tardy fa’afafine (local word for transgender). The duo clash immediately but eventually unite to recruit some promising natives (including a police officer) and eventually hatch a plan to sign up former members of the previous championship squad. Even with this “new blood” can the disgraced foreign coach bring glory to the little island by sending their team to “the big show”?

As the struggling island’s “last, best hope” Fassbender puts a snarky spin on the “second chance leader” role and elicits big laughs after a career of dark, brooding characters. Soon after his arrival, Rongen makes little effort to hide his annoyance at being “banished’ to this “off-the-grid purgatory”. Throughout the tale, Fassbender shows us how the coach begins to sober up after his long angry drunken stupor as he resolves to do “one good thing’ in bringing a sense of joy back to the team. There are the makings of a wacky comedy duo as Fassbender trades barbs and burns with the hapless Tavita played with loopy “sad sack’ delivery by the engaging Kightly. But the real sparks fly when the compelling Kaimana steps “up to the plate” (I know, wrong sport) as the force of nature Yaiyah. Through struggling with their decision (crippling pain from the transition medication), Yaiyah yearns for respect from Rongen after becoming a nurturing influence on the whole team. Aside from the terrific physical performers on the field, the film has a superb comic cast on the sidelines. Elizabeth Moss gets to display her comic “chops” as Rongen’s ex-wife turned boss (she’s on the FIFA board), who still encourages him to succeed while rebuffing his attempts to “rekindle the spark”. Her affections are courted by another co-worker played with smarmy arrogance by the great Will Arnett, always a hilarious comic jerk. As a sort of human “lapdog” is the great Rhys Darby who darts in and out of scenes to toss in off-kilter commentary. Oh, speaking of which, Waititi’s one-man Greek chorus, as the priest/narrator enhances every sequence as he simplifies things for us, the “non-natives”.

Oh, and Waititi does triple duty in that role while directing and co-writing the script with Iain Morris which is inspired by the 2014 documentary of the same name. Much as with his previous films outside the MCU, he populates the story with eccentric characters who are cluelessly confident in their pursuit of happiness, blithely unaware of their shortcomings. It’s evident before the games begin, as the team fails at intimidating opponents during pre-game tribal chants (a true cluster…). Waititi enjoys showcasing their foibles and failures, but still conveys an affection for these real underdogs, balancing the mockery with admiration. Though we feel we know the “uplifting” final moments, a few funny “curves” are thrown to keep the audience as off-balance as the goalie. The only real problem is that the film feels a bit “top-heavy”, with the biggest gags occurring in the opening half hour (the “boardroom intervention” is a riot) before the sports story tropes kick in before the dreaded midpoint lull of most modern movie comedies. But thanks to the terrific cast, there are more hits than misses, so for a different spin on athletes from an exotic culture, fans may want to leave those TV sports channels for the farce and fun of NEXT GOAL WINS.

2.5 Out of 4

NEXT GOAL WINS is now playing in theatres everywhere

NIGHTMARE ALLEY (2021) – Review

Step right up, folks. Even though the temps are dipping (in most states), the fine folks in “Tinsel-Town’ want you to take in the wonders of a traveling carnival. Oh, you’ll also have to take a long trip back in the past, when these operations drew in the rubes…er..crowds. Say around 85 years or so ago. So besides the usual oddities of nature and games of chance, there’s plenty of duplicities, fraud, and even a murder or two. And just who’s running this group of startling attractions? Why it’s none other than an Oscar-winning director. He’ll be making sure you get your ticket for a stroll down NIGHTMARE ALLEY. If you dare….

But first, we’re introduced to the story’s protagonist (I almost said “hero”). Stanton “Stan” Carlisle (Bradley Cooper) is “hoofing it” on the rural backroads of 1930’s Depression-era America. He stumbles upon a traveling carnival trying to pack up the tents before a big storm hits. The show’s ” big boss” Clem (Willam Dafoe) promises Stan a “hot meal’ if he’ll join the “rousters”. Later the duo teams up to track down and capture the escaped “geek”, an animal-like drunkard who bites the heads off of live chickens to earn a bottle of “hooch”. An impressed Clem decides to “take on” Stan. But he needs to get the “road grime” washed off. Luckily the next “set-up” is nearby the cabin of boozy Pete (David Strathairn) and his wife Zeena (Toni Collette) who offer their bathtub for a “dime a dip”. As Pete “sleeps one off”, Zeena makes sure that Stan is “thoroughly clean” (if ya get my drift). As he becomes a frequent houseguest, Stan learns that the couple once had a phony “psychic’ act, one that involves Zeena using “code words” to get the proper response from Pete. The ambitious Stan decides that he’ll help them “revive” the bit after ‘selling” it to Clem. But that’s not the end of Stan’s interests. He starts pursuing the lovely young Molly (Rooney Mara) who pretends to take on thousands of volts as the “Electric Girl”. Deciding the carnival’s not big enough, Stan swipes the prized psychic act “codebook” and takes the “grift” on the road with Molly as his aide. Eventually they’re the big deal at nightclubs, with Stan looking suave in spats and tails. So sharp that he attracts the attention of the psychiatrist to the “swells”, Dr. Lilith Ritter (Cate Blanchett). She knows he’s a “phony”, but still enlists him to “con” several of her wealthy “patients”. After he hooks a grieving couple, the duo set out to “hook a whale”, ultra-rich Ezra Grindle (Richard Jenkins). But Lilith warns him that this fish “bites back”. Can the former “carny'” bamboozle him? Or, is it possible that Stan can actually contact ‘the great beyond”?

Whew, talk about an “all-star” cast, as they’d tout in Hollywood’s “heyday”. Ah, but first and foremost, driving the tale is Cooper as the man with a dark past whose morality careens towards utter blackness rather than the light. And all in pursuit of the almighty “buck”. We see him almost literally stumbling along until the carnival gives him purpose. He becomes more confident, as Cooper clears up his “Oakie” mumblings in order to sell his new “skills”. He has a shot at redemption with the somewhat innocent Molly, but she’s just another way to get to the top. No amount of fancy tuxedos can hide his devious ambitious nature. But he almost meets his match in Blanchett’s Lilith, a classic film femme fatale, wrapped up in a scholarly guise. Her silky seductive line delivery spins a tempting web of high-style heresy. And she knows she can make Stan jump for her “bait”. Mara, as Molly, seems to be the only character capable of escaping “the life”, as her misplaced love for the smooth-talking Stan pushes her into repugnant duplicity. Mara shows us how that light in Molly’s eye slowly dims as they go for the “brass ring”. Zeena, played by a sultry Collette, has given up on that ring until the hunky young Stan flashes his eager smile making her take down her “guard”. Jenkins gives the “mark” Ezra an interesting duality. Grief has him obsessively clinging to a chance to correct his past, but his seething cruelty overrides any empathetic feeling toward the lonely tycoon. Dafoe is full of energetic bluster as the blowhard barker, scoring with a terrific monologue on how to “groom a geek”. Strathairn makes Pete a sad confused sotted cuckold, while Ron Perlman is an intimidating physical menace as the over-protective (of Molly) sideshow strongman.

Just for fun here’s the poster for the first version of the story…

Oh, the Oscar winner “pulling the strings” behind the camera is the modern master of movie macabre, Guillermo del Toro, in a quite different follow-up to that “swoony” fantasy love story/monster fable THE SHAPE OF WATER. There’s little romance in this stylized “fever-dream” full of lust and avarice. Ah, but what style is to be savored. The story’s almost slashed in half, with the opening carnival sequence showing the “low”, sleazy squalor, while the second half bathes in rich colors and textures as the actions shift to “high” gear in plush offices (Lillth’s “den of debauchery”), the flashy nightclubs, and the fortress-like mansion of Ezra, all accented by the swirling soundtrack by Nathan Johnson. And if the story sounds a touch familiar, then you’ve been a fan of the old “late, late film shows”, or more recently TCM or the Fox Movie Channel. While there’s an excellent black and white film from 1947 (worth seeking), del Toro insists that this isn’t a “remake”, but rather a different take on the celebrated novel by William Lindsay Gresham. (this version ends more honestly than the censors then would allow) The screenplay shifts the actions from the 1920s to the still economically desperate mid-1930s (rumbling of unrest in Germany), and del Toro (who co-wrote it with Kim Morgan) really plunges into the twisted nature of the main characters. All the while, exploring the fascinations of “seedy show biz”, especially in the traveling carnival. The attractions lure in the “rubes’ with promises of sex and, oddly, death (the Electric Girl could be “fried to a crisp’, but. wow, she’s almost in her “undies”). Though the pace bogs down a bit in the third act, the expert art direction, incredible costumes, and the superb cast makes this a truly wild, and wonderful, walk on the “wild side” via a jaunt through NIGHTMARE ALLEY. Now, move along folks…the exit is right this way…


3 Out of 4


NIGHTMARE ALLEY is now playing everywhere including the Hi-Pointe Theatre in St. Louis, MO

THE FRENCH DISPATCH – Review

(From L-R): Elisabeth Moss, Owen Wilson, Tilda Swinton, Fisher Stevens and Griffin Dunne in the film THE FRENCH DISPATCH. Photo Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2020 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation All Rights Reserved

After heading off to distant worlds in DUNE (transported via the “cinema starship”), how about a visit to another faraway world? Well, it feels and looks pretty similar to our own, but with some major differences. If only our Earth had as much wit, charm, and whimsy, though both have Bill Murray, one of a galaxy of stars. I’m talking about the wondrous world of Wes Anderson, who effortlessly mixes nostalgia, literate language, and modern film tech to create a place that evokes a magical past, but feels fresh and new. And, he’s gifted movie lovers with a pretty wrapped early holiday present. Oh, it’s a gift subscription to the supplement magazine to the Liberty Kansas Evening Sun, THE FRENCH DISPATCH.


The film begins, much like many periodicals, with a brief publishing history and a table of contents, introducing us to the various editors. Its office on the top floor of a small building in the French metropolis of Ennui-sur-Blase is run by longtime editor Arthur Howitzer, Jr. (Murray) until his sudden death in 1975. As his longtime staff gathers for a memorial in his private office, the narrator (Angelica Huston) presents several articles from the supplement’s long run. First is a bicycle tour of the streets of Ennui by writer Herbsaint Sazerac (Owen Wilson). The pages turn to the art section as J.K.L. Beensen (Tilda Swinton), tells the story of painter Moses Rosenthaler (Benicio Del Toro) to a rapt audience. Moses was producing abstract paintings of his muse/guard Simone (Lea Seydoux) while serving a lengthy sentence for multiple murders (though he’s clearly disturbed). This attracts the attention of art dealer/hustler Julian Cadazio (Adrian Brody) whose gallery promotes the work of Moses. Though unable to get the artist a pardon, Julian prods him into creating a masterpiece for the owner of the Evening Sun. From there we’re off to the “current events” section as writer Lucinda Krementz (Frances McDormand) examines the student uprisings of the late 60s as she focuses on the young leader of the movement, the charismatic Zefferelli (Timothee Chalamet). Rounding out this “best of” edition is a food article by Roebuck Wright (Jeffrey Wright). Guesting on an early 70s TV talk show he relates the story to its host (Liev Schrieber), one that begins as an examination of “police cuisine” by sharing a meal with the police commissioner (Mathieu Amalric). But the entrees are set aside when the commissioner’s son is kidnapped by ruthless criminals led by his chauffer (Edward Norton) and his showgirl/moll (Saoirse Ronan). This prompts a harrowing chase and a police dragnet of the city. At its conclusion, the story resumes back in Howitzer’s office as the staff prepares for an uncertain future.

As with many Anderson projects, there are no clear “lead roles’, but the cast, many in his unofficial “reparatory company” get ample time to ‘shine’ in several small roles. Murray is the perfect father figure/supervisor as the soft-spoken Howitzer. Wilson balances his laconic line delivery with some nifty slapstick as our cycling guide (look out for the subway entrance…). One of the movies’ most versatile “chameleons” adds another eccentric role to her repertoire as the awkward, toothy art expert who’s not as witty as she believes. Del Toro is funny and dangerous as the animal-like art savant and is matched by Tony Revolori as his younger self. He makes for a good counterpart in his scenes with Brody as the intense, motor-mouthed “artist exploiter” Julian. Seydoux is the ultimate deadpan seductress as the prison’s model/muscle. McDormand is “all business” as the investigating journalist who gets far too close with Chalamet, who’s his usual youthful charmer (and capable of cultivating a much better mustache, I’d think). As the new writer in town, Wright has a melancholy dignity as he conquers the challenges of the time (though many barriers he faced are still in place). Amalric is a most efficient “crimebuster”, always in control despite the danger to his youngster. His personal chef, Nescaffier juggles policework and epicurial accument is played with grace and subtlety by Stephen Park. And though they’re given few lines, it’s great to see Elizabeth Moss, Fisher Stevens, and Griffin Dunne huddled in the editor’s office. Oh, and who’s that next to Anderson stalwart Bob Balaban? Could it be our beloved Fonz, Henry Winkler? Exactamundo’!

As you’ve no doubt surmised, this is an anthology film, with segments clearly delineated by article headings and even page numbers (Pg. 14-53, etc.). And with that format, some stories are stronger than others. It was wise for Anderson to bookend the (to be kind) less riveting of the stories (the student protests) in the middle, between the delightful prison artist and police dinner sequences. The script from Anderson and co-writers Roman Coppola and Hugo Guinness is full of wit and acerbic commentary (“no crying” is written above Howitzer’s door). And then there are the exquisite visuals. Each moment is designed and framed like a classic illustration or photo essay from a bygone era. Happily, Anderson has the look of the film constantly changing, popping from black and white to color, from widescreen to standard “square” ratio, and going from rapid editing “chops” to superb “slo-mo”. Plus there’s a nod to “old school” effects with some delicate miniatures (love the “cross-section” airplanes) along with classic “hand-drawn” style “2D” animation (the a”artist renderings” are in the style of the FD covers created by the staff artist Hermes Jones played by Jason Schwartzman). It’s all engaging “eye candy’ for adults (though all ages should be fascinated). Here’s another qurky, endearing literary “love letter” from one of our most imaginative film “voices”. It’s a shame we can’t all subscribe to THE FRENCH DISPATCH, but this delight is the next best thing.

3.5 Out of 4

THE FRENCH DISPATCH is playing in select theatres

ANTLERS (2021) – Review

Jeremy T. Thomas, and Keri Russell in the film ANTLERS. Photo Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2021 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation All Rights Reserved

Before you begin to fill the candy bowls and light up the jack o’lantern, how about taking a terror trek to the “haunted” multiplex for a very modern take on the traditional “creature feature”? Yes, there’s a growling drooling mythical monster at the center of the story, though the town and its past are pretty scary without this “beastie”. Perhaps this is a result of the unique behind-the-scenes pairing of a producer known for his fantasy fright flicks and a director who’d helmed several films that deal with all-too-human horrors. Together this “mad move-scientist” duo have stitched together a shambling nightmare thing that threatens to impale several villagers on its razor-sharp ANTLERS.


This said nightmare actually begins during another overcast day, just outside a remote dying town in Oregon. Its life’s blood, the mining operation, has long-shuttered its doors. But, there’s a glimmer of hope as the news spreads of a re-opening. This sends two locals, who were using it as a meth lab, scrambling to get their stuff out of the mine entrance. Though Frank Weaver (Scott Haze) and his pal are hurriedly filling up cardboard boxes, a growling noise coming from the cave entrance commands their attention. And when their screams join the noise, Frank’s seven-year-old son Aiden (Sawyer Jones) strolls into the darkness. Several weeks later, new teacher and returning resident Julia Meadows (Keri Russell) struggles to hold the interest of her elementary school class as she talks about myths and fables. One student, sullen, quiet Lucas Weaver (Jeremy T. Thomas) grabs her interest. She’s especially unnerved when he reads from his assignment. It’s a tale about a family of sick ravenous bears. The accompanying drawings, filled with red-ink gore, sound off the alarms in Julia’s head. She mentions this to her brother Paul (Jesse Plemons), who’s the town sheriff, in the family home they share (he’s now the owner as Julia’s looking for her own place). He warns her not to get involved. Meanwhile, Lucas returns to his ramshackle house, locking his bedroom door as hideous shrieks and screams, along with violent pounding, fill the darkness. Julia forges ahead with her sleuthing as the remains of someone, torn apart by seemingly human teeth, is found in the woods. Could this have been caused by whatever’s in the Weaver home? And could the Meadows siblings be next on its menu?


Though perhaps best known for her TV work (“Felicity”), Russell expertly handles the many “layers” of the story’s main facilitator. Her Julia sets the story “in motion”, though she’s more than a “scholarly savior”. This heroine is battling her past demons as much as the menacing monster. Through Russell’s eyes, you can see Julia waver as she almosts opts for ‘self-medication” while trying to drown the ghosts that tormented her in every room of the home she somehow survived. Many of those spirits swirl about her brother Paul, played with stoic subtlety by Plemons. He loves his big sister, though he suppresses a “tinge’ of resentment over her escape from the Hell that their father created for them. He’s dealing with “it’ by putting his head down and doing his job, even as it consists mainly of evicting his neighbors. But perhaps the most “haunted” character might be young Lucas, brought to heartbreaking life by Thomas. Much as with old cartoon icons, a dark cloud seems to always hover over him as he deals with a merciless bully in between doing his disturbing red-drenched art. Yet, Thomas gives him stubborn dignity and even optimism as he is convinced that he can somehow repair his broken family. The story also benefits from several screen vets in supporting roles. Rory Cochrane is the loyal deputy, Amy Madigan is a stern but sympathetic school principal, and Graham Greene is the former town lawman who “fills in the blanks” on the source of the town’s scourge while trying to hide his belief that nothing can stop what’s been “put into motion” by ancient vengeful forces.


There’s a ‘gloom” that covers nearly every frame in this vision of small-town life helmed by director Scott Cooper and produced by (amongst others) Guillermo del Toro. The main street is filled with boarded-up storefronts, while the sidewalk is filled with an endless line of residents awaiting treatment at the overwhelmed drug rehab facilities (almost as big a line as the liquor store). This is a dying community, one that can be “snuffed out” with little notice by the media or the nation. The screenplay co-written by Cooper along with Henry Chaisson and Antosca (based on his original short story) balances that slow march to oblivion with the childhood fears of the outdoors (something is watching you in those woods…and waiting). And at the story’s heart is the power of often long-forgotten myth which can curse those too weak to fight back. Luckily the human drama is as powerful as the supernatural showdowns with sequences that should satisfy the “horror crowd”. And without “spoiling” the finale, it isn’t cut and dry as the effects of the beast will still menace , even if only in dreams. ANTLERS delivers on the scares, but its setting and characters (given life by a superb cast) will linger long after the lights go up.

3 Out of 4

ANTLERS is now playing in select theatres

THE EYES OF TAMMY FAYE (2021) – Review

Andrew Garfield as “Jim Bakker” and Jessica Chastain as “Tammy Faye Bakker” in the film THE EYES OF TAMMY FAYE. Photo Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2021 20th Century Studios All Rights Reserved

Though Summer’s in its last week or so, the studios have moved on to another season. Not Fall, but a bit closer to Winter as the “awards season” flicks begin to trickle in and nudge the big escapist blockbusters aside (though they’ll capture most of the screens at your multiplex). And what’s ‘catnip” to those academy voters (and many critics)? Why, the big screen biography genre has gotten more than its fair share of the gold. Now, this week’s flick almost slides into the “show biz-bio” heading, though its subject dominated the news headlines on the front page perhaps more than the features in the entertainment section. Ah, but she was certainly fodder for many comics and mimics. Yes, it’s hard to imagine, but at the end of the 20th century, you’d have a tough time trying not to stare into THE EYES OF TAMMY FAYE.

The film begins in a much-frequented spot for the title subject, namely a backstage makeup room (we’re not sure if it’s at a theatre or a TV studio). Tammy Faye Baker (Jessica Chastain) is getting “dolled-up” by a makeup artist, who sounds surprised by the different “cosmetic enhancements” that she’s done. Quick cut to several decades earlier in the 1950s, as then pre-teen Tammy LaVallery hears the “siren call” of a backwoods church in full “revival mode”.Mother Rachel (Cheery Jones) insists she not attend (since she’s the result of a previous marriage that ended in divorce), but the wide-eyed child is like a “moth to a flame”. Spring ahead to 1960, as Tammy meets and falls in love with another student, aspiring pastor Jim Baker (Andrew Garfield). They marry and move in with her mother. It’s there that Tammy fashions a set of puppets in order to spread the gospel to small children. The married duo travels the revival circuit with their Bible-based kids’ show, While in Virginia, Jim is transfixed by the dynamic Pat Robertson (Gabriel Olds) and his Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) on TV. A chance meeting leads to the Bakers getting their own kids’ show on CBN. But Jim has ideas for a religious late evening “Tonight Show” style program he dubs “The 700 Club”. When Pat later takes over that show, with the aid of the powerful Jerry Falwell (Vincent D’Onofrio), Pat decides to go out on his own with the Praise The Lord (PTL) satellite network, anchored by the “PTL Club” starring himself and Tammy Faye. Money from call-in donations and business connections (known as their “partners”) pours in leading the Bakers into an opulent lifestyle as they expand with a “theme park”, Heritage USA. But the wealth doesn’t bring happiness as the couple drifts apart and Tammy spirals into a prescription drug dependency. And then the press and the feds start looking into “the books”…

The enormously talented Ms. Chastain shows us her incredible range by diving deep into a personality so often mocked and reviled. TF was an easy target for the late-night TV spoofs, so the easy route might have been caricature. But Chastain actually restores her humanity by not going for the easy laughs and shows us the naive small-town gal swallowed up by the machinery of wealth and fame. Tammy, early on, declares her love for people and goes against much of her denomination by embracing the “other’ ( a scene of her interviewing a pastor with AIDS is quite powerful). Chastain shows us Tammy’s unflagging optimism, keeping her sunny outlook as others make her a punchline. She’s amazing. And happily, she’s got a great screen partner in Garfield who imbues Jim with an endearing, goofy, nerdy charm. Then he shows that slow slip into the dark side, as the spark dims in his squinty eyes, and his greed leads to casual cruelty towards his biggest booster. Another great asset to the film is the brutally honest line deliveries by Jones as mama Rachel, who sees beyond the glittery gifts and becomes a moral compass to her daughter, though it barely registers with Tammy. Greed is this fable’s main villain, along with the lust for power, which is given flesh by the fabulous D’Onofrio who channels some of his sinister bravado from his role as the Kingpin on the Netflix Marvel shows, as the strutting conniving Falwell. Sure the Bakers are far from angels, but they don’t come close to this calculating back-stabber. His superior sneer dominates nearly every scene.

Veteran comedy-craftsman Michael Showalter, perhaps best known for helming THE BIG SICK, does an admirable job in attempting to balance camp and real human conflict. The first act generates lots of amusement as the frisky young Bakers engage in clumsy awkward acts of passion. And we got lots of the 70s and 80s kitsch in the recreations of their gaudy TV shows and the melodramatic music (Tammy emulates “Physical” in a shiny disco workout suit). But the conflicts of the second act, the power grabs, and pill-popping, often delve too hard into soap opera melodramatics (though the right mix happens as Tammy lusts after her hunky music producer). Plus the whole final act downfall feels a bit rushed as the actors recreate famous photos and headlines quickly zip in and out (maybe a streaming or cable miniseries would better flesh things out). But as the fun memories of the opening scenes fade, we still have the great performances, enhanced by some impressive and subtle prosthetics that fill out Chastain’s face to emulate Tammy’s near “chipmunk cheeks”, yet the expert enhancement never inhibits Chastain’s facial expression and emoting (I’m reminded of Martin Landau as Bela in ED WOOD). Plus the fashion recreations are spot-on as the polyester pastels parade past in the PTL shows and studio audience. Yes, this story of rags to riches to rags is fairly familiar but Chastain injects a sympathetic spark into THE EYES OF TAMMY FAYE that makes it worth reliving.

3 out of 4

THE EYES OF TAMMY FAYE opens in selected theatres on Friday, September 17, 2021