Tag: Italy

JAY KELLY – Review

With all the manic activity, preparations, shopping, and general “hub-bub” that fills the holiday season, most of us have precious little “downtime” to reflect. If you do get a “breather” you might pause to mull over your relationships with family and friends. And perhaps not all those memories are seen through “rose colored glasses”. Yup, regret can be an unexpected source for the end-of-the-year blues. This new film proclaims that those “pangs” can even affect the very-rich and famous. That includes iconic Hollywood “A-listers”, like the title character of this movie. And the “m-word” certainly applies to him because there are few movie stars that have been at the top of the box office longer than that “leading man” with the “matinée idol looks”, Mr. JAY KELLY.

Naturally, when we first meet Jay Kelly (George Clooney) he’s on a movie set, wrapping up his final scene. Right at his side is his devoted longtime manager Ron Sukenick (Adam Sandler), as they hear “Cut!”. Back at his lush estate, Jay meets with his youngest daughter Daisy (Grace Edwards), who’s preparing to join some school friends on a train trip through Europe. Jay tries to convince her to cancel and hang out with him between acting gigs. She declines just as Ron delivers a big bombshell: the director that gave Jay his “big break”, Peter Schnieder (Jim Broadbent), has died. Jay then recalls their last get together when he passed on Peter’s last film project. After attending the funeral, Jay runs into his old acting-school buddy, Tim (Billy Crudup), who suggests that the two get a drink at their old dive bar hangout. Things turn sour when Tim recalls how Jay got a role he had wanted, Their reunion ends in a fistfight on the sidewalk. The next day, Ron does damage control as Jay hits him with a bombshell. Rather than work on a new project with a hot directing duo, he’ll go to a Tuscany film festival that wants to honor him with a career award. But Jay doesn’t want another piece for his mantel. He makes a few clandestine calls, and finds out Daisy’s travel itinerary by following her BFF’s credit card trail. With Ron in tow, along with his long-time publicist Liz (Laura Dern), the “Kelly crew” flies to France where they board Daisy’s train. Along the way, Jay reconnects with the “common folk” while drifting in and out of memories before the big event in Italy, where he’ll encounter more folks from his troubled past.


So Clooney as a long-time, decades-spanning screen icon…not much of a stretch, sure. The guy has enough charm to spare, or at least for a couple more years. But here he peels back the sparkle to show the melancholy at Jay’s core. We see the sadness edging out that boyish twinkle in his eye as Clooney projects an unexpected vulnerability when Kelly realizes that time may not heal all wounds. His pairing with Sandler as the put-upon “wrangler” Ron is most inspired. Yes, Ron’s devoted to Jay, but Sandler shows us how the countless frustrations are boiling to the surface, ready to dour some hot steam into that suave mug. And he shows how his own family is losing the “tug-of-war” with Kelly. Dern’s great as another senior member of the “crew” who has his own regrets concerning her past with Ron. As Liz, Dern channels the staccato line delivery of those classic movie workin’ gals.The supporting cast is very impressive, including Patrick Wilson as another star in Ron’s “stable” (their Dinner “confab” is a highlight), Stacy Keach as the “rough around the edges” reminder of Jay’s boyhood, and Riley Keough as the elder Kelly daughter who is immune to papa’s “too late” attempts to reconnect. But the big standout may be the superb early-in-the-story turn by Crudup as the affable at first, old method acting buddy who suddenly bares his fangs on the startled “old pal”.

This is the latest work of one of the medium’s most interesting filmmakers, Noah Baumbach, who crafted the script with actress Emily Mortimer, who also plays Jay’s hairstylist Candy. This is a more grounded story than many of his more fanciful flicks like his WHITE NOISE, but not nearly as emotionally raw as MARRIAGE STORY. He gives us an interesting “insider’s view” of the industry, with riffs on several current stars and their scandals (now, who might those directing brothers be). Plus, Noah does dip his toe into fantasy with his unique flashback “transitions”. Suddenly, Jay will work through a day and be plunged into a major mistake from his past (he’s on his first movie set, he’s at a therapy session with one of his kids). We get some nice comic bits with the cute train passengers who adjust to the big star quickly. Oh, and that location works, especially in Tuscany, is quite dazzling. Though this can get a bit too fluffy and “navel-gazing”, the story does make its point concerning the consequences of putting your career first since in the non-soundstage world, we don’t get a second “take” to make things right. That’s a good lesson for moviegoers and movie stars like JAY KELLY.

3 out of 4

JAY KELLY is now steaming exclusively on Netflix

ANOTHER SIMPLE FAVOR – Review

This week’s big streaming feature film release could be compared to the return of an unexpected Fall romance from several years ago, seven to be precise. This movie captured my heart, along with my critical sensibilities. when it seemed to appear seemingly out of nowhere, with little fanfare or hype. Yes, I was, and remain, a fan of the filmmaker and one of the lead actors, but this was a real step out of their “comfort zone” with an engaging murder mystery full of snark and satire, along with fabulous fashions. That movie, A SIMPLE FAVOR, nabbed a spot on my top ten list of 2018. And now, almost everyone is back for a sequel, but is that magical spark still there? Will I have that same frothy fun and romance with ANOTHER SIMPLE FAVOR? Or was the original “just one of those things, just one of those crazy flings…”?


In the opening sequence, much has changed in the sleepy California suburb. “Home lifestyle vlogger” Stephanie Smothers (Anna Kendrick) has expanded her “brand” and is the author of a true-life murder mystery novel based on her past experience there (y’know, the first flick). She’s doing a “reading” from that work at the town’s bookstore with her “mom pals” there along with a small audience, under the guidance of her aggressive manager Vicki (Alex Newell). All is pretty normal until someone arrives late, Sasshaying up the aisle (as if it were a fashion show runway) is none other than Emily Nelson (Blake Lively). Seems a pack of high-powered lawyers have gotten her released from prison, just in time for nuptials to her new wealthy fiancé (who paid for the legal team). Emily wants Stephanie to be her maid of honor at the big wedding ceremony…in Capri. Steph balks, but Emily insists, saying that her law squad could sue her for libel and slander unless she agrees to go. Luckily, Steph’s son Miles is off to Summer camp, so …bon voyage. Actually she boards (with Vicki in tow) the private jet of the wealthy, perhaps “connected” family of Emily’s beau, the hunky, handsome Dante Versano (Michele Morrone). Upon landing, they’re whisked away to a fancy hotel where Steph meets him and reunites with Emily’s ex (and her former “fling”), the boozing Sean Townsend (Henry Golding). He’s brought along his son with Emily, Nicky (Ian Ho). At the big pre-wedding reception, we meet the Versano matriarch Portia (Elena Sofia-Ricci), who detests Em and her pals. But she’s got a surprise for her future daughter-in-law. She’s flown in her dingy mother, Margaret (Elizabeth Perkins), and her pushy sister, who Em hasn’t seen in thirty years, Aunt Linda (Allison Janney). With the “players in place, the “game” soon begins with multiple murders that point to Stephanie. Has Emily set up the whole event as a way to exact revenge on her former friend who helped send her to the slammer years ago?

Well, the two leads haven’t missed a “beat”, effortessly going into that verbal ‘dance” they aced so well way back in 2018. Yes, Kendrick is still a delightful snarky “hot mess”, as she doles out the “burns” while trying to grasp all the chaos swirling about her. She gets us back on her “side” even as she has to go into the cliche drunk/stoned bits in the story’s troubled (more about that later) second half. Lively as Emily is still the epitome of swaggering super-confidence (I mean, look at those wild outfits that she “works” expertly), though there’s more than a hint of sadness in the veiled threats she utters casually to Kendrick, perhaps to always keep her off-balance. Her character is a supermodel who’s always ready to strike. As for the supporting players, the real standout may be Ricci, who is constantly “shooting daggers” at the “Americans” as she spews venom through her perfectly clenched teeth. Morrone is a prime “Euro-stud” with a smouldering but dangerous stare and primo product-filled hair and white linen tailored suits. He’s the opposite of Em’s “ex,” who Golding plays as an ever “open wound” in need of constant liquid medication in a thankless expendable role. Ditto for the rest of Emily’s “side” with the talented Perkins reduced to playing a dotty, daft unfiltered harridan (think of a really nasty Sofia of “The Golden Girls”) and the usually superb Oscar-winner Janney who has to bark out threats while doing a variation of the old villainous “mustache-twirling”. They’re both such gifted actresses, saddled with subpar material. And then there’s Newell, whose Vicky may be the standard “fish out of water American doofus”, but his stint as the comic relief reactor is marred by constant “mugging” and a delivery right out of a 70s sitcom, maybe due to some misguided direction. But happily, we do get some brief early scenes with Steph’s “Greek chorus” back home led by the terrific Andrew Rannells. Plus, we get a new comic character from an energetic screen newcomer, Taylor Ortega.

So, I’m reminded of that old phrase from WWII, “Was this trip really necessary?” when thinking about this flick. Well, I’m not so sure if it was needed. All the right elements are back, including comedy movie master Paul Feig and the original screenwriters. Mind you, the first act is lots of fun with the reunion of Steph and Em. fraught with fun and danger. Unfortunately, the film soon goes “off the rails” when the murder mystery kicks in. We’re given a “heads up” with a bizarre flashback to a recent mystery with Steph, that may be there to plant some doubt on her sleuthing skills, but just serves little function till a quick final act nod. Part of the problem may be the often conflicting acting styles, with Feig giving a bit too much “leeway” with some of the performance “choices”. And this is the director who guided Melissa McCarthy in her best movies, really. Maybe this is a way to “sell” the script. to make the muddled plot revelations, with each new “twist” trying to “upend” the previous one to the point of exhaustion (for us, the audience). Maybe this is meant to be a dark, satirical “soap opera”, with triple-crosses, and “ret-cons” of storylines in the first flick which induce migraines rather than laughs. Plus, we get some “travel cliches” including “mafia mirth” and even a chase on a Vespa, of course. Sure, the location work is spectacular, a great “tourism pitch” in those long shots, and those wild fashion styles are still fun (Em wears a hat that’s bigger than a stingray), but it’s not enough to smooth out the story glitches where we’re meant to see Emily as a naughty “scamp’ rather than the mudering mastermind “diva deviL’. So, to answer my earlier question, no, this isn’t the same delicious romp from 2018, so perhaps it’s best to leave that movie romance there, even though Kendrick and Lively are a different kind of dynamic duo of crime comedy, they just can’t deliver the charm and laughs with ANOTHER SIMPLE FAVOR.

2 Out of 4

ANOTHER SIMPLE FAVOR streams exclusively on Amazon Prime Video beginning on May 1, 2025

THE SHADOW OF THE DAY – St. Louis Jewish Film Festival Review

Riccardo Scamarcio as Luciano and Benedetta Porcaroli as Anna, in THE SHADOW OF THE DAY. Courtesy of Memensha Films and the St. Louis Jewish Film Festival

THE SHADOW OF THE DAY is a hauntingly beautiful tale of love and sacrifice in wartime, a story of two people unfolding against the backdrop of fast-shifting events in the run up to WWII. This is an excellent film, a well-crafted, powerfully-told tale that evokes classic films with it’s strong characters and riveting performances, and a mix of romance, heartache, suspense and tension. With strong storytelling, gorgeous production values and powerful, moving, layered performances, THE SHADOW OF THE DAY is one of the highlights of the St. Louis Jewish Film Festival.

Set in Italy in the 1930s in a small town, the story revolves around a middle-aged Italian man, Luciano (Riccardo Scamarcio) who manages an elegant restaurant, who notices a worried young woman (Benedetta Porcaroli) who has been hanging around the front of the restaurant all day. His head waiter asks if he should shoo her away but the manager tells him, no, he’ll do it. Instead, when he speaks to her, asking casually if he can help her, she begs for a job. She says her name is Anna and she’s from Rome. He doesn’t ask why she left although he may have an idea. The restaurant doesn’t have an opening, she doesn’t have restaurant experience, but something in her desperation touches him and he hires her anyway. Sending her to the kitchen to work, he pulls her aside first and gives her a plate of food.

Yet, this kind-hearted man, like most Italians before the war, is a supporter of the Fascists. Luciano just also happens to be a good man. Like most Italians, he admires the Fascists for getting the economy working and helping WWI veterans like himself, a wounded war hero who got no welcome home after the war.

Although some of his old friends are active in the party, he is more casual about it, and rather cool towards the adoring cult of personality that has developed around Mussolini. Unlike some Italians, he is not antisemitic and is not shocked when he eventually learns that the smart, hard-working woman he took pity on and hired is hiding a Jewish identity. He notes that Italy, unlike German, doesn’t have anti-Jewish laws, although his employee points out that may change with Italy’s new alliance with Hitler.

While Luciano is respectful of his new employee, we also see he is drawn to her, even if he’s a generation older. Although she is a bit stand-offish at first, the quiet charm and thoughtfulness of this good-looking middle-aged man begins to have an effect on her too.

But just as things seem set on a path to romance, surprising twists intervene, and the film suddenly shifts from a budding romance and drama about complicated relationships, to a taut thriller with even more complexities, and dangers, as war approaches. The tension rises and relationships between everyone at the restaurant grow far more complex.

This turn changes what has been a well-crafted romance into a gripping suspense tale, while losing none of that tension between these two. The acting is superb, and the film further develops all the characters, using them to bring out various issues of pre-war Italy. The storytelling is tight, the period settings and details all flawless and the photography excellent, but it is the performances, particularly Riccardo Scamarcio as Luciano and Benedetta Porcaroli as Anna that really win our hearts.

THE SHADOW OF THE DAY, in Italian with English subtitles, plays the St. Louis Jewish Film Festival on Thursday, Apr. 18 at 7pm at the B&B West Olive Cinema in Creve Coeur.

LA CHIMERA – Review

Josh O’Connor in LA CHIMERA. Photo credit: Simona Pampaollona. Courtesy of Neon

In Alice Rohrwacher’s Felliniesque tragicomic adventure tale LA CHIMERA, an English archaeologist-turned-tomb raider named Arthur (Josh O’Connor) leads a merry band of grave robbers who plunder ancient Etruscan tombs, eking out a meager living selling the stolen artifacts to collectors. Arthur is a haunted man, mourning his lost love, and caught up in recurring memories of their last moments together.

The tomb-raiding gives LA CHIMERA a bit of an Indiana Jones vibe, but while Arthur appears to be a trained archaeologist, he is not working for university nor is he a professor. Instead, he is what archaeologists call a “pot-hunter” plundering archaeological sites for grave goods he can sell for profit. And this grave-robbing is by no means lucrative, as he lives in a shack he built from cast off items, in the shadow of an aqueduct, and carousing with his hard-drinking band of petty thief pals, existing on the edge of Italian society. How he got there or why he stays isn’t clear but it seems to be wrapped up in his pining for the lost Beniamina and a love of Etruscan artifacts that he can’t otherwise satisfy.

Rohrwacher is happy to leave this a mystery, which draws us into this magical, dreamy story. LA CHIMERA has the feel of magical realism to it, and dream and fantasy often blend with reality so that it is sometime hard to tell what is real. The film is the third in a loosely-defined trilogy, with  “The Wonders” and “Happy as Lazzaro.” When this story takes place is also vague, perhaps some time after WWII, but certainly not the present.

Arthur uses a dowsing rod in finding the hidden tombs but really seems guided by an otherworldly sense that connects him to the graves and causes him to often collapse when he gets close. Arthur is a man of two worlds, a kind of chimera, searching for something he can never find. Images and memories of his lost love Beniamina (Yile Vianello) fill his dreams. In his sorrow, he visits her mother Flora (Isabella Rossellini), a former opera star living in a crumbling mansion. The imperious but nearly-wheelchair bound Flora who ekes out her living teaching singing to student she treats like servants. Flora is hoping for the return of her favorite daughter and Arthur tells Flora he is still searching for her Beniamina, even though it appears he knows she’s dead.

The tomb-raiders face a number of obstacles beyond just finding the ancient tombs. They have to avoid arrest by the authorities for their grave-robbing, but also evade fellow grave robbers. The main fence for their plundered treasures is a shady mobster who represents a threat in itself, and there is a villain who adds to the adventure tale excitement.

Director/writer Alice Rohrwacher weaves a magical, almost fable-like tale, in this magical film, as she takes us on a series of adventures. The film is filled with wonderful performances, particularly the lead Josh O’Connor, breaking out from his role in “The Crown” series as the young Prince Charles to movie leading man, and Isabella Rossellini brilliant and funny as a sharp-tongued former opera diva. While Rohrwacher takes us on adventures, her film returns to the sad, lost Arthur, in scenes sometimes moving us from this world to that of the dead, until finally delivering us to just the right ending.

LA CHIMERA opens Friday, Apr. 12, in theaters.

RATING: 4 out of 4 stars

IO CAPITANO – Review

The countdown is in its final days. No, we’re not talking about the arrival of Spring, but rather Hollywood’s biggest night, the Academy Awards ceremony this Sunday. So, it’s a big surprise, and a big aid to those vieing in several offices’ “Oscar pools”, that a nominee is getting a wider release this Friday. The category in question is Best International Feature Film, and this “pulls a hat trick’ as it’s co-production of Italy, France, and Belgium. Fitting, as the subject matter affects those and many countries, even ours, the US, even factoring into the big political campaigns. And somehow this film is a personal story at the center of the debate with its focus on a young man, still a teenager, who assumes the title IO CAPITANO.


That lad is a Senegalese sixteen-year-old Seydou (Seydou Sarr) who spends his days with BFF/cousin Moussa (Moustapha Fall), either playing football on the dusty streets of a Dakar ghetto or picking up the occasional “odd job”. And what do they do with their “salaries”? The duo makes a pact: they’ll “pool” their funds to escape the country and travel to Italy. land construction jobs, and send money back to their families. But they’ve got to be secretive, even to those families. Seydou even lies to his mother (Ndeye Khady Sy), who suspects that he plans to leave her and his many siblings. Then, in the hours before dawn, the duo gather their savings and embark on the long journey. It’s not long before their funds are drained by a series of “vultures” including a maker of phony IDs, corrupt soldiers, and a mule that sells space on a transport through the deserts of Niger. The trek across the dunes becomes a “death march” when the truck breaks down miles before the border of Libya, where the group is arrested and Seydou is separated from Moussa. In a desolate fortress, Seydou is tortured by his captors to get a contact phone number and demand a ransom. All seems hopeless until he is befriended by an older man, Martin (Issaka Sawagodo), who volunteers them to work at a wealthy estate. From there, they go to Tripoli to work on a new high-rise being built. Ther, Seydou hears of another Senegalese teen. Could it be Moussa? And will they resume the journey to the “promised land” of Italy? But how will they cross the sea to realize their dream?

We’re drawn into this harrowing modern fable mainly due to the remarkable lead performances of several screen newcomers. However, the film truly rises on the shoulders of the gifted Sarr who imbues Seydou with youthful bravado, humanity, and vulnerability. He’s the kid brother or headstrong son we want to embrace and protect. Sarr shows us that innocent enthusiasm as he shares his dreams of a bright future until the evils of the world begin to quickly demolish them. In the third act, Sarr shows us how the pressures (truly life and death) weigh him down, almost aging him in years rather than two or three months. And somehow he retains his compassion, especially with those in need during the desert slog. Fall is a terrific partner to him in the story’s first half, prodding his cousin into action and making impetuous choices. Later Fall shows us that Moussa yearns for adulthood, but still clings to his playground pal. Luckily, they have encounters with a few nurturing elders. Sy is the family rock, but we can see that dread across her face as she believes that her precious firstborn may be “lost to the world”. And the true “guardian angel” is Sawagodo’s world-weary Martin who may see a flash of his own “lost boy” in the hopeless, but not helpless Seydou.

Skillfully putting a human spin on the political “hot button” of migrants is director and co-writer Matteo Garrone. He uses the stark landscapes to illustrate the overwhelming odds against survival for all those seeking a better life. His real strength may be in depicting the banal cruelty of the many “mules” and mercenaries who don’t see these travelers as people, but as prey to be fleeced and tossed aside. The sequences of Seydou trying to survive the brutality of the prison in Libya are harrowing and heartwrenching. We feel the dread since his family cannot afford any extortion on top of the despair he’s already inflicted on them. This builds up to the gripping nautical climax as Seydour is nearly drowning in responsibility rather than the salty sea. But Garrone gifts us a bit of beauty as he shows us Seydou’s “escape’ via his imagination (the desert dream is hauntingly moving). And he delivers a much-needed perspective on a problem that’s more than just a “campaign point”. It’s the passionate plea for kindness that lifts the sails of IO CAPITANO.

3 Out of 4

IO CAPITANO is now in select theatres and it screens exclusively in the St. Louis area at Landmark’s Plaza Frontenac Cinemas beginning on Friday, March 8, 2024.

FERRARI – Review

And what’s that zooming toward the multiplex? Why, it’s yet another true-life sports film, and it’s comin’ in hot. Yes, it’s a whole lot faster than the rowing movie, as it is set in the world of auto racing. And unlike the other racing flick this year, GRAN TURISMO, there’s no video gaming involved as the bulk of it takes place over sixty-five years ago. Oh, and the director of this new film has been making some of the most interesting and stylish action epics over the last five decades. He’s focused on one year in a man’s life synonymous with the sport, so it could be considered a biography. Even after all this time that name resonates throughout the world in general. Sure it’s now a brand name, but behind all the iconic autos was the man named Enzo FERRARI.

This profile begins with newsreel-style footage of Enzo Ferrari (Adam Driver) churning up the dirt raceway in the 1920s. Flash forward to 1957, as he awakens and joins Lina (Shailene Woodley) for breakfast with their eight-year-old son Piero. He says goodbye but doesn’t go directly to his auto factory. Instead, he stops at the crypt of his late son Alfredo (‘Dino’) and the home he shares with his wife Laura (Penelope Cruz). Of course, she knows nothing of Enzo’s second family, perhaps owing to Italy’s ban on divorce in the day. Enzo’s arrival precedes a heated argument ending with her firing a pistol (later one would end with kitchen tabletop lovemaking). It’s a big day at Ferrari S.p.A, as a new racer, Alfonso De Portiago (Gabriel Leone) joins the company team before the next big road race. And much to Enzo’s chagrin, his movie starlet girlfriend Linda Christian (Sarah Gadon) steals some of the fanfare. He appears to have a complex relationship with the press. Enzo despises the “paparazzi” for trying to pry into his personal life, but uses them to plant rumors, like a possible merger with Ford Motors, in order to generate much-needed cash. Seems the company is teetering toward bankruptcy, which forces Enzo to make risky loans with banks and even barter with Laura over shares of the family company. Ah, but all will work out when his team wins the highly-touted race, Mille Miglia, which runs over several miles of public roads throughout Italy. But what would happen if disaster and death take the wheel?

In the title role, Driver (nice coincidence) is quite intimidating as the looming, passionate auto maven. he conveys a man completely focused on his profession, down to the smallest bit of machinery, while also juggling every penny of his company’s dwindling funds. But his best juggling is in his double life. With Lina and Piero he’s a warm nurturing patriarch, doting on his boy while frustrating his mother. But with Laura, he never quite knows what’s behind their home’s front entrance. Like the old fable, is it “the lady or the tiger”? As Laura, Cruz has a fierce bite along with her ultra-sharp claws, as she suspects that Enzo has “something on the side”, while she she to reign in his spending excesses. But Cruz also shows us that the wounds of losing a son have never healed as she lashed at him to unload her smothering grief. As the “other woman” Woodley shows us the defiant attitude that is tempered with a lingering affection for Enzo, paired with a sense of shame for having to exist “in the shadows”.As for team Ferrari, Leone oozes with machismo charm as the new “darling of the tabloids, while another charmer, Patrick Dempsey, conveys an easygoing demeanor as veteran “pedal man” Piero Taruffi.

Oh, the director mentioned above (who also serves as co-producer and “script doctor”) is the talented Michael Mann in his first sports biopic since ALI. He’s worked in many movie genres, but Mann may be best known for his action epic. That skill suits him well in this true tale, particularly in the “signature scene” that will leave audiences stunned. Some critics of auto racing believe it’s an excuse to witness a disaster, and since the film is based on real events, it happens here. Kudos to Mann for not “sugarcoating” the shocking horror of it all by “cutting away” or making it abstract or “dreamy”. The ‘blink of an eye” carnage and its aftermath will have viewers gasping and perhaps a bit shaken. Hopefully, the power of this sequence doesn’t detract from the strength of the quieter scenes like Enzo talking about racing skills with as son, or the haunting montage of the drivers preparing “goodbye letters’ for their loved ones on the night before the big race (and finding a spot for the envelopes to be discovered). The verbal sparring between Enzo and Laura verges on becoming a repetitive cycle, and we’re often not sure of Enzo’s intentions, especially in his relationship with Lina (despite the brawling there’s more heat with Laura). this is offset by the superb cinematography by Erik Messerschmidt, the expert period recreations (fashion, decor, and hairstyles), the gorgeous Italian locations, and some terrific insider info on the sport (I wasn’t aware of the two-man driving teams). Though it occasionally veers off the track, there is lots of super-charged power in the world of FERRARI.

3 out of 4

FERRARI opens in theatres everywhere on Christmas Day 2023

“The Bride” (“La Sposa”) – TV Series Review

Serena Rossi as Maria, the bride in the Italian TV mini-series drama “The Bride” (“La Sposa”). Courtesy of MHz Choice

Italian TV gives us “The Bride” (“La Sposa”), a dramatic miniseries about a woman enduring many types of hardship for an emotionally intense quartet of hour-long episodes. It could be marginalized as a “chick flick” or soap opera without much of a sexy side but it turns out to be a fairly compelling character study of the eponymous bride, Maria (Serena Rossi), and the culture surrounding her in 1960 rural Italy.

Maria’s family was dirt poor, about to lose their humble home in a village in the southern region. Desperate to save her mother and two younger siblings from being homeless, she agrees to marry grumpy old farmer Vittorio (Maurizio Donadoni) from far to the north in exchange for his promise to clear their debts and send a monthly stipend to them. Then she learns Vittorio was only there as a proxy for his nephew, Italo (Giorgio Marchesi), who would be her ACTUAL hubby.

After a long drive, they arrive at the rundown farm to meet a husband who had no desire to marry anyone. He was still grieving deeply (and mostly drunkenly) over the disappearance of his wife. He was so distraught that he even ignored their young son, Paolino (Antonio Nicolai) so badly that he became almost feral from neglect by the two men. She also lands in a role of oppressive submission, accepting an inhumane workload in the house, fields and with their few animals. She toils though all of it capably and without complaint despite not receiving a whiff of kindness or appreciation. Vittorio and Italo treat her like a lowly servant no matter what she accomplishes for them.

The first positive development is when Paolino eventually responds positively to her. But the women of the village shun her because she came from the (disparaged) South, and by assuming the marriage was HER idea, despite the uncertainty of whether the first wife had died. The men resented her simply because of her gender.

Other characters from Maria’s past and present become key players in her ordeal with fully developed story arcs of their own. The microcosm of her situation expands with larger plot-lines about the declining economy for small farmers, new industries displacing the locals and making their traditional way of life obsolete, clashes between labor and ownership, along with other challenges for Maria and everyone around her. I can’t write more about the plot without getting into spoiler territory.

This all adds up to a slow-moving character study that works largely because of Rossi’s outstanding performance. Maria has many dimensions and Rossi is credible (or beyond) in all of them, without overplaying any. Character arcs of others seem realistic throughout all their hardships, losses and positives that unfold. Regular readers may notice that this genre is well outside of my usual range. At many points it seemed to drag, with a number of scenes that chafed because of what happened or what *didn’t* happen when it could/should have. But I’m glad I was alone while screening this, since it also succeeded in eliciting both sad and joyful eye-moistening moments during which I preferred not being observed.

There. You have my confession.

“The Bride,” in Italian with English subtitles, is available streaming starting Sept 5 on MHzChoice.

RATING: 2.5 out of 4 stars

“The Bride” on MHz Choice

MAN FROM ROME – Review

Richard Armitage as Father Quart, in THE MAN FROM ROME. Courtesy of Screen Media

If you’re craving a DA VINCI CODE sort of movie but don’t want to concentrate quite that hard, THE MAN FROM ROME may be your answer. The plot, penned by Adrian Bol, Beth Bollinger and Gretchen Cowan, is very Dan Brownian but shorter and with fewer moving pieces and locations. Hunky Richard Armitage stars as a Vatican troubleshooting priest who we quickly understand to be the Church’s go-to guy for dangerous missions. Not so much for gruesome cleanups like Harvey Keitel’s memorable Mr. Wolf, in PULP FICTION but where there’s a problem, Armitage’s Father Quart is reliable for a solution. The film opens with his being bummed about someone he was unable to protect on a recent job. Not his fault but guilt lingers, regardless.

Switch to the Vatican’s computer center. The Pope’s (Franco Nero) computer is being hacked by an unknown tech whiz who can breeze through a lot of firewalls. The goal is to get his attention and ask him to prevent a beautiful old church in Seville, Spain, from being demolished to make room for a massive new real estate development. The driving force behind the construction is a sleazy banker (Rodolfo Sancho) who has compromised other interested parties with a panoply of dirty tactics. His almost ex-wife (the gorgeous Amaia Salamanca) is the hereditary owner of the land and his most ardent opponent, dedicated to maintaining their legacy.

Sancho’s methods of pushing the deal include blackmail, bribery and possibly a murder or two. Armitage is sent there to protect the image of the Church, which already has more than enough scandals, and to check out the deaths, and then advise on whether keeping the lovely old church is worth more than the whopping payday the sale would yield.

There’s considerable suspense in to what lengths the developers will go to, and how Armitage will handle them, including several physical exchanges. The bad guys have moles within the local police and Vatican inner circle, leaving our hero with few allies he can trust in the face of danger. The greed and corruption story plays out efficiently under the direction of Sergio Dow in a relatively low budget version of Tom Hanks’ similar sojourns based on Brown’s novels. The institution isn’t painted as evil but that’s not the same as finding some of its leaders more human than humane, and much less holy.

Though unrated at the time of this review, expect a film that would fall somewhere between a hard PG-13 and a soft R. A fair portion of the audience will be glad that Armitage has shirtless moments; a comparable number will be bummed that Salamanca doesn’t. There’s not nearly enough mayhem to call this a guy flick but there’s a sufficient amount of action to keep the adrenaline flowing as events unfold.

MAN FROM ROME, in English and Italian with English subtitles, opens in theaters and streaming on demand on Friday, June 30.

RATING: 3 out of 4 stars

BOOK CLUB: THE NEXT CHAPTER – Review

So this Summer movie season is fully upon us as we get yet another example of a staple of the warmer months, mainly the other “s” word, the sequel. Sure we expect it with the big “franchise” flicks like last weekend’s MCU blockbuster. However, this one expands on a rather modest “niche” comedy that found a very receptive audience five years ago. They are probably eager to revisit their old friends, but the story needs a “hook” to increase that fan base (and to get them back into the multiplex, rather than wait for the streaming date). For this, the producers harkened back to sequel ideas of the past in which the familiar face would be in new locations (think GIDGET GOES HAWAIIAN or TARZAN GOES TO INDIA). Hey, it works for the more recent series of THE TRIP flicks. And like that comic duo, this quartet is packing their bags in BOOK CLUB: THE NEXT CHAPTER.

After a brief “flash-forward” (just a hint of things to come), we’re in the US of A catching up with that “literary society”. And like many of us, they had to talk books online during the pandemic and struggle with “group chat” technology. And happily, they all survived that grim time. Vivian (Jane Fonda) is still heating things up with her old flame Arthur (Don Johnson). Diane (Diane Keaton) is happy in Scottsdale, AZ with airline pilot/beau Mitchell (Andy Garcia). Sharon (Candice Bergen) has pretty much retired from the bench, only donning her robes to officiate weddings before she’s back home surfing online dating sites and tending to her cat Ginsberger. The biggest changes have happened to Carol (Mary Steenburgen), whose restaurant did not survive the “lockdown”. But that gave her more time to tend to her now-retired hubby Bruce (Craig T. Nelson), who just had heart surgery. Finally, it’s time to meet in the flesh. After the hugs and before the wine, Vivian stuns them with her engagement ring. During the “big buzz”, Carol pulls out an old diary and reminds them of the “girls’ trip” that never was. Well, since the travel bans are lifted, why not take a big pre-wedding trek to Italy? When things begin to “line up”, the quartet boards a jet for Europe. They have a blast, sampling the cuisine, shopping, and meeting new friends (naturally Sharon “hooks up’ with a silver fox) and encountering old pals (Carol reconnects with her cooking school heartthrob), and getting into wacky and often naughty adventures. But nothing in their side trips to Rome and Venice can match the big stunner that awaits them in their final destination, Tuscany. This makes for a most unforgettable getaway for them all.

Though it may sound a bit cliched, it feels as though only a few months have passed since the first story that united these terrific veteran screen (small and big) actresses. Perhaps the busiest of the four, at least this year as it’s her third release, is Fonda who shows us more of Vivian’s (I prefer her nickname “Slim”) vulnerable, even girlish side. Then she was the brusk “go-go” businesswoman with no time for romance. Now she’s taking the time to enjoy a relationship beyond her “gal-pals”. Still, Fonda’s best in those “no-filter” moments as she revels in shocking and surprising folks with her candid commentary. Keaton as Diane is also “letting her hair down’ as she doesn’t have to deal with her “hovering” daughters this time and becomes the sometimes frazzled (those computer “filters”) voice of sanity for the group. And without her irksome ex to annoy her this time, Bergen’s Candice really becomes the most daring of them, “putting herself out there” in this “unknown territory” (the locale and her retired lifestyle). Stenburgen’s Carol almost bubbles over with the joy of discovery even as she tries to keep a long-distance “spy-eye” on her recovering longtime mate. Oh, and the fellas from the last outing are just as charming as they “hold down the homefront”. Johnson is the wistfully romantic and suave Arthur, while Garcia pours on the charisma as the grizzled laid-back and ever-supportive Mitchell. And Nelson is not the butt of the jokes this time, as he has an easier time moving past his health scare than his missus. Oh, and there are a couple of international “prospects’ for the judge in Hugh Quarshie as the dapper, sophisticated Ousmane and Giancarlo Giannini as the flustered “policia” captain who butts heads with Sharon while still hoping that she’ll save him a dance sometime.


Yes, the location photography is stunning making for a great travelogue (matched with peppy local variations of beloved pop tunes), but it’s the chemistry of the quartet that keeps us chugging through the familiar foreign missteps and zany bits of miscommunication and occasional slapstick. Bill Holderman returns as the director and co-screenwriter with Erin Simms, this time cutting back on the stunned reaction shots of bystanders reacting to the main characters’ intimate outbursts (luckily) and focusing more on their warm friendship since they’re away from their usual “turf” and male partners. Sure, it often feels like two or three sitcom half-hours stitched together (and you may think of the dynamic of TV’s “GG”), but these seasoned “pros” can sell just about anything, even the ludicrous reunion “climax’ of Carol and her college “crush”. This especially goes for the big final moments, which you can see coming over the rolling hills of Rome. My biggest problem with this bit of fluff was the often harsh makeup work. I know these aren’t “spring chickens” but the overuse of cheek rouge was distractingly harsh (and there was a touch of “soft focus” used on some of the leads, but it didn’t veer into “Lucy as MAME” extremes). There are a few “cringy” moments, but there are worse ways to top off a Mother’s Day brunch (or a pre-dinner) than a trek to check in with the women of the BOOK CLUB: THE NEXT CHAPTER.

2 Out of 4

BOOK CLUB: THE NEXT CHAPTER opens in theatres everywhere on Friday, May 12, 2023

MAFIA MAMMA – Review

Hmmm, now this is a strange bit of film release synergy. Now the big studio-wide release this weekend is RENFIELD which can be called a horror/comedy hybrid (though it’s also an action thriller satire). The other small studio (an “indy”, to be sure) flick also blends comedy with another very popular genre, crime. To be more specific it’s a crime-family comedy, hence the use of that “reviled” (to some) word. Oh, and there’s a “gender-switch” as a woman takes the seat at the head of the table for the “sit-down”. Hey, if there can be a godfather, then why not a MAFIA MAMMA?

The story kicks into high gear “across the pond” in the “old country”, Italy, soon after a gun battle that produces lots of casualties for both warring factions. This prompts a long-distance phone call from the Balbano family “advisor” Bianca (Monica Bellucci) to a relative in the States, harried working mom Kristin (Toni Collette). This contributes to her stress-filled week. The male execs are hostile to her marketing ideas, she’s sending her only son off to college, and she catches her “man-child” rock star wannabe hubby Paul (Tim Daish) with a really enthusiastic “fan”. Bianca is insistent that Kristin hops on a plane to attend her grandfather’s funeral. After a bit of nudging from her lawyer pal Jenny (Sophis Nomvete), Kristin is in Italy enjoying a “meet cute” with hunky Lorenzo (Giulio Corso). It’s cut short when her new “bodyguards” rush her to the church for the memorial. And then the coffin’s processional is attacked by a hit squad from the rival Romano family. Luckily Kristin’s crew makes it back to the family villa where Bianca insists that Kristin meet with the Romano “head”, since the late elder Balbano, via a DVD will, has given his title to his only granddaughter, much to the ire of hotheaded cousin Fabrizio (Eduardo Scarpetta), who wants to run the “family business”. Kristin wants none of this, but the sooner she can broker peace, the sooner she can get with Lorenzo. This leads to a couple of attempts on her life as this unexpected “getaway” turns into a gang war that may just spill over into the States and threaten her boy. Maybe with Bianca’s consul, Kristin can bring honor to her tarnished legacy.

Over the last few decades, Toni Collette has firmly established herself as one of the most accomplished character actors in film. She commands the screen in drama and horror, but she’s had little chance to headline a comedy. The role of Kristen provides that with a great deal of slapstick and screwball. Unfortunately, she can’t make the poorly written script’s heroine work as she flits about like a frenzied teen in much of the first hour, popping her eyes wildly and gesturing frantically and sounding like a manic “figgerygibbit”. Kristin is more of a comedy construct than a believable mature career woman as she spews out the wrong thing in every setting, funerals, gunbattles, dates, wherever. As a grounded counterpart, Bellucci exudes a sultry earthy sexiness recalling Sophia and Gina, though she only pops in to put Kristin on the right track. Nomvete is the sassy rom-com stereotype there to push Kristin to “Go, gurlfriend!!”, and brings some needed energy. Daish is the dim hubby dragging Kristin down making it easier for her to “hook up” with Corso amongst others. And Scarpetta struts and swaggers as the always aggressive Fabrizio, who just loves to scream in his enemy’s faces during the showdowns.

Wow, this is a long way from the “sparkly” teen vamps of TWILIGHT. Yes, it’s the same Catherine Hardwicke, who’s trying her hand at screwball saucy comedy. And due to the lackluster, meandering script, it’s a “swing and a miss”. Mind you, it’s not that the “genre mash-up” doesn’t work. Way back in 1935 Edward G Robinson had some fun with his gangster persona in A SLIGHT CASE OF MURDER. And in the post-GODFATHER (Kristin’s never watched it…hilarious) it’s worked with MARRIED TO THE MOB and the ANALYZE flicks, but this strained farce isn’t even up to the level of 1998’s MAFIA! (from part of the ZAZ team). The story never seems to follow through on anything, as it tosses out different motivations and agendas. It veers into the area of a “woman’s awakening” as the put-upon Kristin finds her “calling” in the vineyard (yes, she stomps grapes ala Lucy) and then funnels low-cost meds for seniors (really). And though much of the shootouts are bloodless (lots of grazing), there’s a very graphic set piece where Kristin is threatened with sexual assaults before a Tarantino-esque gorefest with lots of eye trauma (and do we need to see a barfed-on cell phone). Plus there is a suggested blossoming romance between the female leads that is tossed aside (perhaps that’s why all the men, aside from Kristin’s son, are dullards or braying bullies). Maybe it’s just a way to reveal Bianca’s silly secret to be exploited in the big last act face-off. Sure, the locations are gorgeous, and the food looks delicious, but it doesn’t soften the sound of the jokes falling flat on those ancient cobblestones. Collette and Bellucci are deserving of a much better screen pairing. With apologies to Abba, MAFIA MAMMA, oh mamma mia! Or as the characters respond to an enemy’s name in unison in a lousy running (literal) gag: ptewy!!

One Half Out of Four

MAFIA MAMMA is now playing in select theatres