Big Time Adolescence

We’re running out of movies that aren’t horrifying or disturbing, so we searched for lighter fare. Pete Davidson is funny, but we should have known that his own dark side would feature prominently in Big Time Adolescence. After viewing this occasionally humorous but deeper coming of age story about twenty-three year old Zeke and his high school buddy Mo we found ourselves wondering if there was more to this film than a casual viewing reveals.

You have to go back beyond Superbad to find a possible genre match for this movie. It is certainly a twenty-first century “smart kid/dumb parent” movie, the origins of which go back to Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. In fact, if a remake of that classic is ever made, 17 year old Griffin Gluck who plays Mo looks quite similar to Allan Ruck, Ferris’s friend Cameron back in 1986.

Zeke is a heavily tattooed, drug-using post-high school slacker who at age seventeen becomes friends with his girlfriend Kate’s adoring nine-year old brother. That’s sort of creepy but is generally overlooked. Zeke cannot keep a job, but exudes confidence and has tons of advice, all wrong, which he gives our freely. As a result, no boy gets the girl in this movie, it is continually proven that girls are smarter than boys and it becomes clear that Zeke is only a legend in his own mind. At one point the easily impressed Mo tells a classmate that Zeke invented the party they were attending. She wisely responds, “You mean he invented hanging out in basements?”

Writer Jason Orley freely admits that Big Time Adolescence is his life story. Teaming up with Executive Producer Pete Davidson brought street smarts to a character written as a Midwestern Jewish kid in tight jeans. The concept of “hotboxing” – getting stoned in a car filled with smoke with the windows rolled up, was a Davidson contribution. 

Zeke and Mo mirror each other, past and future selves the sum of which equal less than a whole. If this were simply a buddy film, the two characters would have complemented each other, each playing to the other’s strength. At the end of the day, Zeke has the kind of life that’s fun to visit but you wouldn’t want to live there. He lives in the house he inherited from his grandmother after his parents died and where he is failing to become an adult. He understands the high expectations and adult consequences society places on him but waves them off and uses Mo as a younger extension of himself.

Hip Hop fans will recognize Machine Gun Kelly (Colson Baker) as Zeke’s friend Nick, whose real life energy is tapped for the drug fueled circle of pals Mo has come to admire and hang out with. Here we have Davidson at age 26 and Kelly at age 30 playing much younger parts. This is probably symptomatic of their own delayed maturation, though both are no doubt quite rich. Peter Pan anyone?

Zekes’s claims are transparently false to Mo’s parents. As his Dad says, “You know how I know Zeke didn’t make a podcast? Because he didn’t.” Mo begins to see Zeke as the on ramp to his own road to ruin. On a break from his fast food job, Zeke claims to have written a movie script. Well, at least he wrote it in his mind because, “Writing it down is the easy part.”

As the film begins to take a turn into the plot for Risky Business, Mo is called out of class by the school principal and a police officer. They know he’s been selling drugs and want to know where he got them. He refuses to rat out Zeke, covering for him and accepting a stint of community service. The film leaves us wondering if Mo has outgrown Zeke, realizing it’s time to move on. 

Big Time Adolescence (2019) runs 1 hour 31 minutes and is rated R.

Should I see this movie?  

 

Vivarium

If ever there was a metaphor for the hopeless, isolated and trapped experience of pandemic confinement, Vivarium might be custom made. A vivarium is an enclosure prepared for keeping animals under semi-natural conditions for observation or as pets. But there’s a lot more going on here than meets the eye.

In brief, Vivarium is the story of Gemma and Tom, played by Imogen Poots and Jesse Eisenberg, who are exploring options for the purchase of a home. The showroom of a planned development called "Yonder" is their first and only stop. Following a brief and bizarre description of this “perfect” community, a robot-like salesman drives along with them to the model home at number nine.

The neighborhood is comprised of row upon row of identical homes, not unlike some gated communities here in Florida, or other more upscale versions we saw on the North Shore near Chicago. But these homes are utterly identical, all the same sickly shade of green inside and out, situated beneath subdued, somewhat artificial sunlight and motionless little clouds that look like something Bob Ross painted in the sky.

On the chance that you’re in the mood to see the most bizarre movie since 1982’s Liquid Sky, or 1979’s Phantasm, I won’t reveal the puzzle Gemma and Tom are forced to solve. Both of those older movies have cult followings, and this film might develop one as well. Those familiar with the RiverWorld science fiction series of stories might find this story intriguing. In that classic by Philip Jose Farmer set on a planet of endless rivers, people are reconstructed, naked and alone, mysteriously provided with food but with no clue where they are or for what purpose.

Written and Produced by Ireland’s Lorcan Finnegan, six production companies have their hands in this film. It is an international co-production of Belgium, Denmark and Ireland. Themes of materialism, happiness and purpose are explored by the writers in a full feature expression of their 2011 short called Foxes. Jesse Eisenberg plays his usual intense and serious persona.

One hint, pay close attention to an early scene in which a cuckoo takes over the nest of another bird. There are parallels. And you may find yourselves talking about this movie long after it ends.

Vivarium (2019) runs 1 hour, 37 minutes and is rated R.

The Lovebirds

 Meet Jibran and Lailani, smitten with each other and flashing that “I want to kiss you” face at every turn. Now fast-forward five years. The magic is gone, they are at each others’ throats, and just moments after they realize they have inadvertently broken up, the movie begins in earnest. A random event embroils them in a one-night attempt to clear their names of a crime they did not commit.

This brief synopsis serves as a metaphor for my experience viewing this film, having so looked forward to it based on a very funny trailer. And then the movie let me down somewhat. The best laugh lines and sight gags were compiled in the preview. A couple of our favorites were dropped from the final cut and were not replaced by other lines. We found ourselves saying, “What about when he says…?”

So, that’s disappointing, but the movie is still a fun ride mostly because of the onscreen chemistry between Kumail Nanjiani as Jibran and Issa Rae as Lailani. They are a comic odd couple, a wonderfully diverse pairing by two actors both of whom currently have boiling hot careers. Rae is fresh off of The Photograph earlier this year, and Nanjiani is capitalizing on his trademark subtle Pakistani accent with the hilariously understated teddy bear delivery we loved in Stuber and The Big Sick. Rae served as Executive Producer of this film.

If looking for a reason for this film’s shortfall it might be best to blame the writing. Or perhaps the role shifting of actors, writers and producers resulted in deficits. It certainly wasn’t the fault of the two stars that mostly carried the film. The idea is sort of a rehash of 1985’s After Hours but lacks the Directorial prowess of Martin Scorsese. Perhaps Nanjiani should have been tapped for the writing assist he has provided in previous projects.

If you haven’t seen the trailer, see the film. If you have, adjust your expectations accordingly.

The Lovebirds (2020) runs 1 hour, 28 minutes and is rated R.

Should I see this movie?  

The Half of It

We have a winner! Now if people would just start watching and recommending this Netflix gem we found hidden in a grid of choices clearly being influenced by factors beyond viewer control. It falls within the RomCom genre, a coming of age film with a rating of PG-13 that is watchable for families locked in with young teens.

Ellie Chu is a brilliant high school senior who rides her bike, seemingly always uphill and taunted by bullies, through fictional Squahamish, Washington, the kind of town that either traps you for life or provides the catalyst for escape. Actually filmed in upstate New York, Ellie is played by Leah Lewis, a multi-talented, adopted Chinese-American from Orlando, who has appeared in Disney films, on The Voice and even sang a solo at her own high school graduation. Her singing is put to use in a Napoleon Dynamite moment that serves as a bridge to her eventual acceptance at school. 

She is almost boyish, plain and hiding behind glasses and pulled back hair in The Half of It, but there’s power and talent lurking just beneath her nerdy surface. Ellie is making money by writing essays for half of a philosophy class to help support her financially struggling father. She and the teacher have an understanding; the teacher is grateful for the assistance with an otherwise languishing group of students. Dad emigrated with a PhD in Engineering only to literally work switching train traffic in Squahamish. He and teacher both want Ellie to launch toward Iowa at Grinnell in the fall.

Ellie’s marketable talent as a writer takes an unexpected turn when Paul Munsky, doltish but kindly local jock and son of a large family with a meat business, hires her to write a love letter to his crush. That crush is Aster Flores, played by Alexxis Lemire, who sings like an angel and floats through her Squahamish existence with a Zen-like acceptance of her lot in life. She is the object of affection by Paul and also by Trig Carson, a self-absorbed pseudo celebrity among school seniors who also seems to have been programmed by expectations within the community. Ultimately, Ellie’s management of Paul’s relationship with Aster through letters and texts results in a crush of her own and closeted lesbian feelings that may not be entirely unrequited. What would we do in modern movies without cell phones? Art imitates life.

The Half of It is written and directed by Alice Wu, a computer science major with degrees from MIT and Stanford. Wow, talk about a career change! This is her second film. Online references to the story of Cyrano de Bergerac find parallels between self-doubting Ellie in the roll of Cyrano and Aster as the Roxanne equivalent. It is unknown if this was intentional or not, but it’s a great modern adaptation either way. The door opens for a sequel when Aster tells Ellie, “See you in a couple years.” And we are left wondering about Aster. What’s her story going forward?

If you enjoy being thoroughly engaged by a sleeper of a film with a cast devoid of overpaid stars, violence, nudity and profanity, this one just might bring a tear to your eye and a smile to your face.

The Half of It  (2020) runs 1 hour, 44 minutes and is rated PG-13.

Should I see this movie?  

High Life

I also like good Science Fiction, but this strange 2018 Amazon Prime offering just gave me an excuse to make multiple trips to the kitchen for snacks.

Somewhere in the not too distant future, criminals are being sent on voyages of rehabilitation from a ravaged planet to a black hole approximately eight light years from Earth. Well, surprise, it’s a one-way ticket to the ending of 2001: A Space Odyssey. Everyone knows you can’t fly into a black hole and hope to come out intact. The premise for recruiting crews is the concept of circling the black hole to investigate the possibility of harnessing its energy to augment Earth’s own diminished resources.

This French produced film stars Robert Pattinson as the father of an infant daughter, apparently alone on a large vessel that recycles waste, grows plants and can approach light speed. But what happened to the crew? Hold on, you’ll find out. It feels at first very much like 1972’s Silent Running with Bruce Dern. But here we don’t have cute little repair-bots named Huey, Louis and Dewey. Instead, the criminal crew is being sexually manipulated by an erotically hypercharged female doctor who spends a lot of time in a machine reminiscent of Woody Allen’s Orgasmatron in 1973’s movie Sleeper.

Yeah, it’s a weird ride just short of two hours and rated R.

Bone Tomahawk

I love a good Western. This 2015 film popped up in our Netflix assortment recently and we gave it a chance. We’re now in treatment for PTSD.

The movie starts strong. Great sets and acting, some brutality early on, but nothing we couldn’t handle. The dialogue was punchy and had that formal-English dialect that wouldn’t be entirely out of the realm of possibility given the recent emigration during this period of most pioneers from the East Coast and beyond. Dark humor permeated early scenes, and then it just got deeply dark. Kurt Russell plays a no nonsense sheriff in ironically named Bright Hope near the border of Texas and New Mexico. He is known for his trademark shot-to-the-leg when confronting bad guys, resulting once again in the summoning of cattle rancher Arthur’s wife Samantha, who seems to have some medical expertise, or at least a bag of tools.

Samantha and two others are kidnapped by a rogue group of Native American cannibal Troglodytes early in the film. The subsequent rescue mission culminates with the most graphic, disturbing and horrific portrayal of Indian atrocities I’ve ever seen in a move.

At 2 hours, 12 minutes this unrated Western Horror (sparsely populated) genre entre will give you nightmares and should not be watched unless you can handle Saw or The Human Centipede.

Waves

If you liked 1979’s The Great Santini this film might be one you enjoy. It seems that Sterling K. Brown is in danger of being typecast as intense father figures, and for this role he is perfect. But unlike his character in This Is Us, the loving father of the second generation Pearson clan whose type A angst turns mostly inward, the Waves character Ronald (no last name) is laser-focused on improving teen son Tyler. His pep talks are abusive, manipulative guilt trips steeped in racial insecurity and the need to “do ten times more” to gain equal footing with privileged whites.

Set somewhere in southeast Florida, near the mega-wealthy South Beach excesses of glitz, drugs and Art Deco Hip Hop, colors and music form an immersive backdrop for what is essentially a teen coming of age movie. Once again, Smartphones are a key plot device, if not a character, that are an end-run around the need to convey much information that would traditionally need to be spoken or acted out. As writers know, show-don’t tell. Performances are convincing, the script is gutsy, real and the in-your-face cinematography plays well on a home TV display. In a time of streaming and confinement, this is important though accidental. Writer/Director Trey Edward Shults did not see Covid coming.

So, as the Black Santini, Brown trains with his son, challenges him to an arm wrestling contest over breakfast in a diner and trash-talks constantly, belittling and apparently thinking he’s motivating his wrestler son into being the man Dad has become. A small but effective wrestling sub-plot has appeal to sports enthusiasts, but the motivation leads to a career-ending shoulder injury, drug abuse, loss of scholarship and a pregnant girlfriend Alexis, played by Alexa Demie. Demie is a multi-talented singer and actress currently involved in HBO’s Euphoria. All of this comes down very quickly, as does the subsequent series of scenes in which Tyler (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) unravels minute-by-minute and text-by-text. The results are disastrous and tragic, leaving more than one family shattered.

Taylor Russell plays Tyler’s younger sister Emily. She’s filling in her spare time while staring as Judy Robinson in the reboot of Lost In Space, which is surprisingly good. During the second half of the film, which could benefit from an emotional intermission, she becomes the focal point of the crumbling family. She is the shoulder upon which Dad, her boyfriend and Tyler have learned to lean, the Caretaker who appears poised for her own journey of potential self-destruction. She holds herself responsible at a pivotal moment in the film’s plot for something she was unable to prevent. Like most survivor guilt, she rewinds a mental tape and simply asks, “Why didn’t I act?” And in a far too simple cathartic outpouring side-by-side with her suddenly sensitive and emotive father, the director takes the easy off-ramp to an act three that, if not happily ever after, at least heads the family in a better direction.

Watching Waves sits you, if not on the edge of your seat, at least holding onto your arm rests waiting for something bad to happen. At one point our little group of viewers wondered, “What kind of teen party is that?” when the location shifted to an unsupervised multi-level mansion up-lit with glowing, colored lights, fountains and filled to overflowing with drugs and alcohol. But it served as a stage for flowing blood on tile and the arrival of red and blue stroboscopic emergency vehicle lights, of course set to music.

This movie is somewhat depressing from beginning to end. As a cautionary tale, it dismantles a wealthy family striving to extend their hard-won privilege into the next generation. And there, but for an unforeseen cascade of events beyond our control, like a pandemic, go we all.

Waves (2019) runs 2 hours 15 minutes and is rated R.

Downhill

Comedians inevitably want to be taken seriously, if not in life then in dramatic film roles. And they are often quite capable. But I am quite happy queuing up a movie with comedic giants like Will Ferrell and Julia Louis-Dreyfus and expecting a light hour or so of quality laughter.

Warning: Downhill is not a funny movie. That is not to say the movie is devoid of humorous moments, but they are more of the uncomfortable, awkward situational variety than pratfalls and belly laughs you’d expect from man-child Ferrell or Seinfeld foil Dreyfus. After all, there’s skiing in this movie. You mean Ferrell doesn’t get tangled up in a lift or take an agony-of-defeat tumble down a black diamond run? Nope.

This is the story of Pete and Billie, a couple silently struggling in their relationship following the death of Pete’s father eight months earlier. Pete is in awe of his father’s memory, and uncomfortable assuming the mantle of family patriarch. A seemingly therapeutic family ski vacation to the Alps finds them welcomed by a sexually confrontational hotel concierge, a gigolo ski instructor and an avalanche from which Pete instinctively runs, leaving his family to be buried at their table during lunch. That sounds funny, but it isn’t played for laughs. From that event arise deeper doubts about the strength of the marriage, the father’s love of his two sons and both partners’ willingness to fully commit to each other.

This is a short movie that feels long, and $5.99 felt about right to view it at home. It is an American adaptation of the 2014 Swedish film Force Majeure currently streaming for free on Hulu. Julia Louis-Dreyfus produced the remake with directorial help from writers Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, whose 2011 The Descendants won them an Oscar for best adaptive screenplay. Zach Woods, who played Gabe in The Office, is at his awkward, unconfident best here, basically a redo of that character. Here he plays Zach, the submissive half of an adventurous young couple, traveling the world without a plan or a care, but with the aid of “shrooms.”

There’s a lot of talent involved in this production, but it feels somewhat amateurish. That said, the cast’s ability to make the audience squirm speaks to the effectiveness of the script and their delivery. Ultimately, this is a film about redemption and the ability to own a crippling shame. It is also about forgiveness.

If you’d like to save a few bucks, see the Swedish version. Or for a fun visit with your old comedy buddies, watch Elf or Seinfeld.

Downhill (2020) runs 1 hour 26 minutes and is rated R.

Should I see this movie?

The Hunt

The release of this film was delayed last September when it coincided with mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton. They thought the timing would be better now with six months of lesser shootings behind us. Doubly cursed, the second release coincided with the nationwide pandemic shutdown of movie theaters, so it has been released as a streaming option for home viewers at a cost of twenty dollars. Maybe we’re just not supposed to see or enjoy this movie.

This is the latest offering by BlumHouse, Jason Blum’s production company known for twisted tales with gobs of violence and gore. They most recently brought us The Invisible Man and Fantasy Island. The sleeper hit Get Out was also a BlumHouse feature.

The story line – liberals hunting conservative humans for sport – is far from that simple. As is the case in many films lately, a cell phone is the first character we meet, this time displaying a group text conversation that is either a joke in poor taste or commentary on a plot that the participants have agreed never to speak of. The text exchange, supposedly deleted, is exposed, resulting in career loss for the parties involved. It may also have become the launching pad for an actual plot that is of course denied. It’s just fake news.

Are you an elite liberal or a redneck conservative? A snowflake or an immigrant? It doesn’t matter. All labels are at play in full force during The Hunt. Political stereotypes, correctness, convincing but irrational arguments from both perspectives, the “deep state,” crisis actors, deplorables and “fake news” abound in every scene throughout the film. As with most conspiracy theories, there is overlap between truth and lies, reality and imagination, often projected by partisans onto themselves and explored in painful brush strokes evocative of the evening news. The truth is hard to determine for the film’s characters as well as the audience, but the absurdity of today’s politics are clearly exposed.

Betty Gilpin plays Crystal, one of twelve people kidnapped and released in a clearing to be hunted. They are gagged and provided with an arsenal of weaponry but the deck is overwhelmingly stacked against them. Yet Crystal has some skills and manages to take on the hunters.

Hillary Swank plays Athena, mastermind of the hunters, toppled from her lofty corporate position and seeking revenge against Crystal in particular. When debating the legitimacy of their respective positions with Athena, Cyrstal comments, “Depends on whether they’re smart pretending to be idiots or idiots pretending to be smart.”

You might want to brush up on George Orwell’s Animal Farm before seeing The Hunt, especially if you’re a redneck conservative because, well, liberal elites would never imagine you’ve read it.

By the end of this very dark but clever satire you may be surprised at who you’re cheering for because, as you know, all pigs are created equal, but some pigs are more equal than others.

The Hunt (2020) runs one hour 30 minutes and is rated R.

Should I see this movie?  

The Lighthouse

Our second film while sheltering in place cost $4.99 on Amazon Prime. This one made it into a list in our local paper of movies recommended while in isolation. What the article didn’t say is that, if you’re feeling down and despairing over your current plight, there’s nowhere to go but up after you see how much worse it could be, as depicted in The Lighthouse.

Filmed in black and white and set in the late 1800s somewhere in New England, this is a tour de force for both Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe. The choice of monochrome perfectly draws the viewer into the bleak and lifeless rocky setting, more often than not awash with either crashing waves or relentless rain. But the stormy human relations within the lighthouse chip away more consistently at the sanity of the two men and the viewer's tolerance.

Dafoe plays Thomas Wake, a crusty old salt so stereotypically embodying the image of New England fishermen he might have walked off the label of a Gorton’s Seafood label. He is the lighthouse master who arrives with young assistant Thomas Howard, played by Pattinson. The two have enlisted for a four-week stint in the dreary quarters at the base of the illuminated tower. This is all pre-electric, so the only energy on the rocky outcropping is that produced by a coal-fired motor that turns the overhead beacon. Drinking water is obtained from a cistern so befouled as to prevent decontamination of its contents. As a result, and due to boredom, alcohol becomes a favored beverage. As the supply of liquor runs out, it appears the men turn to a mixture of lamp fuel and honey, which erodes their remaining sanity.

Wake is a superstitious, abusive taskmaster. His heavy brogue (hard to understand at times) is almost pirate-like during frequent rambling soliloquies, poetic toasts and questionable tales of his seafaring past. Howard labors over repairs and maintenance of the weathered structure under threats of withheld wages if not performed to Wake’s increasingly demanding specifications. The truth of Howard’s own past is eventually revealed and weaponized by Wake in ensuing arguments that blow up into a full-fledged feud. When a NorEaster cancels arrival of a relief crew and supplies, things come completely unglued.

Throughout their month together, the seamen seek alone time for moments of sexual release. Howard seems obsessed with fantasies of mermaids, and there’s no telling what fuels Wakes daydreams. Eventually, the wall between the men softens somewhat, alcohol intervenes, close dancing ensues and the audience begins to wonder if the movie might be more appropriately titled Brokeback Lighthouse, or does it really take a houseful of semen to run a giant light bulb?

Robert Pattinson has come a long way since his youthful Twilight days. And Willem Dafoe, always intense and frequently sinister in his extremely busy career, never disappoints. Cinematography within the confines of this small set and in mostly harsh outdoor conditions is impressive, but lighting is so dark you want to turn up the brightness on your TV. Director Robert Eggers only other feature film is 2015’s The Witch, a low budget horror film set in 1630s New England. This film might earn him some recognition as a director, though not due to box office receipts. Released in October of 2019, the current pandemic is not to blame for its failure in the theaters.

The Lighthouse (2019) runs 1 hour, 49 minutes and is rated R.

 Should I see this movie?  

Just Mercy

A late 2019 entrant that became available early this year enjoyed only a brief stay in theaters before being relegated to streaming services. Since we are currently unable to visit our local theater, I am reviewing films that we pay to see at home.

This is a true story, another profile of American racism that makes you gasp at how recently African Americans suffered virtual lynching through rigged justice systems, in this case that of Alabama in the early 1990s.

Michael B. Jordan (Creed, Black Panther) stars as Bryan Stevenson, an idealistic recent Harvard law school grad and founder of the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Alabama. This film is adapted from Bryan’s book of the same name. It tells the story of his work to overturn the wrongful murder conviction of Walter McMillian (Jaime Foxx), waiting on death row and without hope even of an appeal.

This is the first film appearance by Jaime Foxx since 2018’s Robin Hood. While not inactive since his career best performance in 2004’s Ray in which he seemingly channeled Ray Charles, this is perhaps his most powerful role in a while. Django Unchained and The Amazing Spider Man 2 were decidedly less serious films.

Brie Larson joins the cast as Eva Ansley, cofounder and longtime Operations Director for the Equal Justice Initiative. Together, she and Stevenson begin to take on the defense of seemingly hopeless death row inmates, some of whom have been framed or otherwise railroaded in a corrupt and isolated county. They are threatened and harassed by residents of a town in which justice for the murder of a local woman requires that someone, anyone pay with their life. In this case, McMillian.

It is perhaps Stevenson’s efforts outside of courtrooms where he does his best work, getting into the heads of key people previously unwilling or frightened to tell the truth for fear of personal or professional reprisals. But even with crucial new testimonies, it takes appeals to the state Supreme Court to find willing listeners.

The success of the Equal Justice Initiative has resulted in 75 overturned convictions since its founding. There were disappointments along the way. Stevenson walks one inmate to the electric chair when his appeal is denied. This takes us into a scene that feels reminiscent of an execution gone wrong in The Green Mile, but without the graphic horror of a sadistic sabotage. The experience is life altering for witnesses.

Just Mercy is interesting in that it portrays a true story worth telling. It is somewhat predictable but encouraging nonetheless. Truth and real justice triumphing over corruption and evil are always satisfying.

This is Destin Daniel Cretton’s first directorial project since 2017’s The Glass Castle, also starring Brie Larson.

Just Mercy (2019) runs 2 hour 17 minutes and is rated PG-13.

Should I see this movie?  

The Way Back

So where have we seen this movie before? Oh yeah, in 1986 a little film called Hoosiers chronicled the true story of a team coached by a man with a checkered past, assisted by a town drunk who loves basketball. Combine both of those characters into Jack Cunningham, played by Ben Affleck, and the result could be The Way Back.

The number of similarities between the two films is noteworthy: a player who is ejected from the team for bad behavior but is later allowed to return, a team with only five players, one of whom is small in stature, a coach with anger issues who is ejected from a critical game, the need to keep alcoholic adults away from the players, and an unlikely come-from-behind championship win.

This movie is actually two films in one. The first is the above mentioned basketball story, an exciting sports movie that has you cheering for the awakening underdogs. The second is the overarching personal drama of Jack Cunningham, the best player from the best team ever to play at Bishop Hayes high school in California. Jack’s alcoholism is made abundantly clear in the opening scenes of the film. He drinks about a case and a half of beer while wrestling with his response to the request by Father Edward (John Aylward) to lead the school’s foundering team following the sudden heart attack suffered by the current coach.

Jack is a construction worker, separated from his wife for a year, daily drinking himself unconscious at a local bar where a friend of his father’s dutifully helps him home. Jack’s relationship with his father is one of the demons that has him medicating himself. But there are others, as we discover later in the film.

Ben Affleck is no stranger to drink. His own three tours through rehab and a divorce from actress Jennifer Garner provide more than adequate resources to draw upon for the role of Jack. Affleck’s acting here is powerful, convincing and heart wrenching. Jack is struggling with demons far greater than alcoholism and others revealed early in the film. And as is the case with many who suffer from the disease, Jack has to bottom out before he’ll get help. But just when you think he’s reached his low point, he’s taken down another level, and then another.

In yet another plot line, a dedicated but withdrawn player named Brandon reminds Jack of his younger self. They are both the best player on their respective teams, and they both suffer from low self-esteem fueled by their fathers.

There’s lot’s of profanity in The Way Back, to the chagrin of the team chaplain, played by Jeremy Radin. Try as he might, Father Mark can’t get Jack to stop swearing in front of the boys. And the boys seem to respect and respond to Jack’s verbal assaults.

Throughout the story, Jack’s family and friends “check up on him” in a sort of piecemeal intervention that fails to shake him out of his depressed and deeply angry state. It becomes clear that alcohol did not break up his marriage. The breakup was collateral damage to something far worse.

As exciting as the sports story in The Way Back eventually becomes, this is not a cheery movie. There’s no need to rush out and see it, but it’s definitely worth the price of admission.

The Way Back (2020) runs 1 hour 48 minutes and is rated R.

Should I see this movie?  

Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker

In one of the early scenes in the latest Star Wars movie, a lively and colorful festival is in progress. It is a festival that happens once only every 42 years. Well, that’s interesting, since 1977 is 42 years ago and that’s when the original entry into this space opera debuted.

I’m sure there are tons of hidden gems like this for hardcore fans. I’m one of the rare individuals who was disappointed by the original film, Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope. I found it to be less cerebral than I’d anticipated, with more of a Flash Gordon feel, which was actually writer and producer George Lucas’s intent. It was certainly not THX 1138 or Dune, but both of those bombed at the box office, so I am clearly in the minority. The Star Wars franchise began with a blockbuster movie and spun film, merchandising and theme park gold ever since.

In preparation for seeing this final chapter in Lucas’s planned trilogy of trilogies, I watched all eight of the previous episodes on Disney Plus. That’s a big investment of time, but I’m glad I did it. It gave me perspective and some necessary history going into the concluding two plus hours. Yes, you can see this as a stand-alone science fiction drama, but the continuing characters, settings and multi-generational familial histories inform the emotions and actions of the heroes who love and hate and battle across a galaxy far, far away.

I am not going to attempt a recounting of the entire nine-part saga here. But it’s important to know that the first film in 1977 was actually the fourth part, followed every few years by another until the middle of the story was complete. After a sixteen year break in 1999 came parts 1-3, a prequel that seemed much darker and less enjoyable. These continued the every-few-year schedule until there was another long pause. Finally, in 2015 the series began wrapping up on a faster two-year sequence with new characters that featured a female heroine and direction twice by science fiction film phenomenon J. J. Abrams. When Lucas spoke publically about his intent to serialize nine movies in this way, I thought it would never happen, and I’m sure others doubted it as well.

The look back I just completed might be experienced differently by a younger generation of fans. At the time, in the late 1970s, the special effects for Star Wars Episode IV were groundbreaking and breathtaking. But the scripting and acting are quite corny by modern standards. There are cringe-worthy scenes between Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia and Harrison Ford as Han Solo that the MeToo movement would find stomach-turning. By the ninth episode, a strong, unsexualized female hero (Daisy Ridley) initiates the only kiss in the film, and a space pirate (Oscar Isaac) who asks if he can kiss a girl from his past is turned down, twice. This, in contrast to Ford’s clumsy lust for the helpless, adoring and bikini clad Fisher from 1977. Things have changed.

I found that some of the most noteworthy and consistent stars of the series were the spaceship the Millenium Falcon and two androids, R2D2 and C3PO. Chewbacca, the “Wookie” also was a loyal and lovable beast for 42 years. Cameos and guest appearances by now aged veterans of the early films are a fun addition. Sets, special effects, crafts and creatures are incredibly imaginative and beautifully produced.

Carrie Fisher’s death after the filming of episode eight presented enormous challenges for the ninth film, which was not yet scripted. A combination of a search of her entire audio catalog from previous films, clever shots filmed from her back, outtakes from other films, digital editing and strategically scripted scenes allowed her to continue as Leia Organa in the final film.

Ultimately this film feels a lot like the others. There are spectacular chase scenes, shooting battles on the ground and in space, and of course frequent light saber duels. Good versus evil continues to be represented by the light side of The Force against the dark side, always bringing us to the edge of our seats when all seems lost and relief when a miraculously timed rescue or intervention saves the day. Each film introduces an adorable little character ripe for a plush toy or action figure. In this case it is Babu Frik, a twelve-inch tall android circuitry wizard that required four puppeteers and an animatronic head to operate.

This film brings closure to a chapter in movie and American history. It has been like family to adoring fans, and I’m sure brings a sense of sadness at being over. I felt a bit of this myself, thinking back on the young man who went to see the first film in 1977. That 23 year old had no cell phone, computer, Internet or streaming television. They would not be invented for years. And now, at 65, he can watch all of these movies in bed late at night on a little device that pulls images out of the air, gorgeous images with spectacular audio transmitted without wires to little devices in his ears. Star Wars may have taken place long ago and far away, but so did my twenties. I miss them both.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) runs 2 hours 22 minutes and is rated PG-13.

Should I see this movie?  

Fantasy Island

Ultimately, this is the “Tattoo” origin story. It just takes far too long to find that out. This is a low budget reimagining of the 1978 TV show by the same name that ran for an unbelievable six years. Launching off of the even more unbelievable success of The Love Boat’s eventual ten years at sea, this represents a dry period in the history of television, despite the vast waters that surrounded each show. Both ran concurrently with the long-running comedy game show Hollywood Squares. These were simpler times, and the shows all provided a home for minor celebrities of the day.

 Mister Roarke is back, but instead of the suave and sophisticated Ricardo Montalban, we now have the rather sleepy and thuggish looking Michael Peña who has played Ponch in the movie version of CHIPS and Enrique 'Kiki' Camarena in the Netflix series Narcos. He does an adequate job with the script but is unconvincing as the docent of a living island with magical powers. He is clearly bored and feeling trapped. 

Blumhouse Productions has fun along the way, imbuing this fun and harmless concept with enough creepy horror and effects to satisfy the bloodlust of their usual fans. In the opening credits a distorted sampling of the original Fantasy Island theme can be heard. The classic phrase, “The plane, the plane” is repeated several times in case you don’t immediately understand the filmmaker’s humorous new approach. 

Of course, a seaplane full of eager victims arrives at the island hoping to live out their deepest fantasy, as expressed in a single page letter to Mr. Roarke. He has been busily preparing the Island to receive the guests and programing each scenario to “play out to its full conclusion.” Well, that’s kinda sinister! And sure enough, the fantasies all turn into nightmares and begin to intertwine with each other in a completely confusing manner. No, it’s not pretend, and yes, you can die on Fantasy Island. 

But then, you may at some point just be dying to get into your car and go home. But wait, the big reveal is at the very end of the film. I won’t spoil it here, but unless you’ve been missing Herve Villechaize for almost two hours, it’s okay if you miss it. 

 I’ve recently been informed that Roger Ebert never told people NOT to see a film, out of respect for the significant effort it takes to get a movie produced and released. But seriously, if you need a few groceries or some gas for your car, your money would be better spent on either of those tangibles. And I’m not Roger Ebert, I'm your friend.

Fantasy Island (2020) runs too long and is rated PG-13

Should I see this movie?  

The Invisible Man

I have long been a fan of HG Wells, whose writing at the end of the nineteenth century including The Time Machine, The Island of Doctor Moreau and The Invisible Man established him as the father of science fiction. The latter of these novels chronicles the random and irresponsible violence of a scientist named Griffin, whose research into optics and the refraction of light allow him to become invisible. The classic 1933 film starring Claude Rains employed bandaging to reveal the location of the unseen main character. Special effects have advanced a bit. 

1933 - Claude Rains

So it was with delight in high school English class that I dove into my copy of Invisible Man only to find that it was the Ralph Ellison 1952 novel about individual identity among African Americans of the day. It is a great book, but not what I was expecting.

There have been several remakes of this film, but the current release of The Invisible Man is a great reboot of the Wells concept, starring Elisabeth Moss in a role so reminiscent of The Handmaid’s Tale you’ll wonder where her red dress and white bonnet have gone. She seems to be accepting very similar roles in which she is oppressed by tormenters and control freaks, reduced to a teary-eyed and hopeless state only to emerge with a can of whoop-ass and deliver herself from bondage with her now classic self-satisfied Mona Lisa smile.

Blumhouse Productions has firmly established its creep-factor reputation with a portfolio of such movies as Glass, Get Out, The Purge and the upcoming, controversial The Hunt. They have a talent for generating edge-of-your-seat tension through the use of human monsters, seen and unseen, that are relentless and ubiquitous.

If you’ve seen the trailer, you’re aware that Moss (Cecilia) has attempted to escape from an abusive marriage with a super-rich and ingenious inventor of a method to stalk her even after his alleged death. Cecilia doesn’t buy his suicide for a minute. “This is what he does,” she argues repeatedly. Her brother-in-law reluctantly serves as executor of the late inventor’s estate, granting five million dollars to Cecilia, unless she commits a crime or is judged mentally incompetent. And that’s where this sinister game begins.

Cecilia’s husband is Adrian Griffin (another connection to the Wells original) played by Oliver Jackson-Cohen. He’s done lots of TV work, including Emerald City and The Haunting of Hill House. His brother Tom is played by Michael Dorman, the soul-less assassin from the Amazon Original Patriot. Aldis Hodge stars as Cecilia’s police officer friend and protector. He’s most known as Noah from Underground, but also from What Men Want, Straight Outta Compton and an episode of Black Mirror among many other credits.

And that’s where I’ll stop spoiling the many highly calculated plot twists that lead to the film’s eventual climax. Let’s just say, there’s no red garment here, just a little black party dress.

The special effects are good, and the science believable. Of course, web cams and cell phones are important supporting cast members, similar to those we’ve come to embrace or revile in our culture.

Filmed primarily in Australia and written and directed by local boy Leigh Wahnnell, who has successfully made the jump from acting to directing, the use of tight camera shots and darkness heighten the fear factor throughout The Invisible Man. Cecilia spends a lot of time looking over her shoulder, and the audience gets caught up in the search for signs of an invisible predator, often without success. The experience verges on interactive.

One Easter Egg: the code Cecilia punches into a security system is 1933, the year the original film was released.

The Invisible Man (2020) runs 2 hours, 4 minutes and is rated R.

Should I see this movie?  

The Rhythm Section

It’s difficult to judge audience enthusiasm on a Monday night, especially when the audience is comprised of two people, including my wife and I.

If Blake Lively was hoping to jumpstart her lagging career, this won’t be the ticket. In The Rhythm Section she plays Stephanie Patrick, a top-of-her-class Oxford student whose family changes plans to include her on a vacation, with disastrous results. The plane crashes, killing all on board, including the father of two children who occupied her unused seat.

Wallowing in guilt and grief, she proceeds to self-medicate with drugs and prostitution. You know, the usual choices. A journalist who has dedicated himself to researching the accident discovers that the plane was bombed, and he is closing in on those responsible. He just needs Stephanie’s help, but it is never really revealed why. What he has uncovered is a sinister human cocktail of terrorists, information brokers and bomb-builders, some existing only as shadowy code names like U-17. Didn’t Olivia Newton John sing about that? Or was it B-17? It doesn’t matter. The journalist’s source is known only as “B.” Even he recognizes that Stephanie has become a human cliché.

If this doesn’t sound ludicrous and contrived yet, imagine a Rocky Balboa-like sequence in which Jude Law (B) bullies and manipulates Stephanie through a training program that fashions her into an Atomic Blonde who lacks any real skills. At one point she strips to her underwear and walks into an icy lake to prove how tough she can be. Shiver harder Blake, you don’t have any goose-bumps. But she’s smart, resilient and desperate for revenge. And “B” is an ex-MI6 agent whose wife was murdered by one of the bad guys involved with the plane incident, so he has ulterior motivation.

The movie begins with a relatively unimportant scene in Tangier, and then flashes back eight months earlier to the beginning of the tale. During a handful of transitional scenes we are treated to a rather bizarre series of tunes, like when Stephanie, who has now adopted the identity of a dead assassin named Petra, marches off to fulfill her latest contract hit to the song “It’s Now or Never” by Elvis Presley. If this was an attempt to do something artistic, it came off more like a junior high school film project.

Sterling K. Brown does a nice job as a villain in his role as “Serra,” very unlike his This Is Us character. Reed Morano directed this forgettable film. We’ll be satisfied with his work on The Handmaid’s Tale. And the producers of the James Bond series can now return to their previous assignments.

Despite a warning from B to Stephanie that success in this quest is “not worth it,” she and others who provide financing for her escapades seem pretty satisfied with the results. So, don’t go looking for messages of redemption or forgiveness here.

The Rhythm Section (2020) runs 1 hour, 49 minutes and is rated R.

Should you see this movie?  

The Gentlemen

Following a weekend that featured the Academy Awards’ annual look back, it’s refreshing to dive into films that represent the year ahead. And in the wake of the seeming mass hysteria over Parasite, a sleeper like The Gentlemen is especially enjoyable. I won’t compare the two films other than to say that I like the latter much better. But I doubt that it will be nominated for any awards next year.

It’s always nice to have no expectations walking into a theater. Our choices are so frequently made based on “what’s playing at 7pm” that we tend to see movies less hyped and of shorter shelf life. Seeing two or three movies per week, we get tired of trailers we view over and over again. Not so with The Gentlemen. It crept onto our local theater’s screen seemingly without warning, or maybe teased with a poster or two in the lobby.

Matthew McConaughey along with his legendary good looks, rumored body odor and smarmy, self-absorbed Lincoln auto commercials is not a draw for me. But he perfectly suits this film as Mickey Pearson, a charming American ex-pat who has built an undetectable marijuana production empire under the expansive grounds of a dozen British royal properties. While the royals sit sipping tea and parenting monstrously over-privileged heirs, they benefit from the proceeds of a business literally beneath their feet that Mickey is trying to unload for 400 million pounds. It’s a cozy, symbiotic relationship, one that attracts the attention of other “gentlemen” of business and their gangster support systems, but one from which he wishes to retire.

The story is intriguingly unfolded as a pitch for a movie script by Hugh Grant as “Fletcher,” a backstabbing dandy who flirts with his primary mark Ray, played by Charlie Hunnam. Throughout the film, Fletcher strings Ray along with irresistible tidbits, photos and back stories that culminate in a sophisticated blackmailing scheme. Fletcher has been doing his homework, less like a journalist than a desperate gentleman wannabe. But Ray is devoted to Mickey, and ultimately it is loyalty, not connections, that rules the day.

The plot is initially difficult to follow. All of the main characters have nicknames, and their relationships are revealed at points of intersecting evil deeds. Even Pearson’s wife Rosalind (Michelle Dockery) runs an all girl exotic auto emporium and machine shop. And she turns out to be the one thing in Pearson’s ice-for-blood world that causes him to come unglued. Until then, his antisocial ruminations remain his controlled inner fantasies, while frequent self-narration stills his darkest waters.

The cast is reminiscent of Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs, but with a smattering of panache. Familiar faces, like Henry Golding as “Dry Eye,” upstart of the Asian enterprise; Colin Farrell as “Coach,” trying hard to raise a gang of street fighters to do good, despite their occasional need to lapse into evil; and the utterly creepy Jeremy Strong as “Matthew” who thinks he has it all figured out.

Guy Ritchie, who has two sons with Madonna and never attended film school, wrote and directed this intellectually challenging whodunit, or perhaps better expressed, who-done-what? Coming on the heels of Disney’s Aladdin last year, he appears to have stored up a warehouse of violence and profanity, particularly the “C” word, so popular with British “gentlemen.”

The Gentlemen is categorized as action/comedy. The comedy is very, very dark, the kind that makes you feel somewhat ashamed for laughing, but also provides needed relief in a relentlessly sinister journey that loops back on itself in unexpected ways. It’s unlikely that anyone could effectively spoil this film for you with one or two revelations, but see it soon just in case.

The Gentlemen (2020) runs 1 hour, 53 minutes and is rated R.

Should I see this movie?  

Parasite

Honestly, are you at all reluctant to see movies with subtitles? I have to be in the right mood. They require a certain amount of mental work and you can’t look down at your popcorn for even a few seconds for fear of missing something.

Our viewing of Parasite was at noon on a Saturday, since our very un-art-house Regal 16 apparently felt that two hours of precious screen time early in the day was all that could be spared for a film that doesn’t have star power, explosions or talking animals. And if Parasite had not been nominated for Best Picture it’s unlikely we would have been given any chance to see it at all.

Metaphors abound, or are at least proclaimed to be in abundance by numerous characters in the opening scenes of Parasite. One particular “Scholar’s Rock” continues to make appearances like the monolith in 2001: A Space Odyssey. It is a gift to the Kim family from Min, a friend of son “Kevin” who asks for a favor that sets the entire plot of the movie in motion. Min is about to study abroad, but has a crush on the daughter of the wealthy, very westernized Park family. He needs Kevin to fake credentials in order to become her English tutor, essentially keeping an eye on her in Min’s absence. Sister “Jessica” has graphic design skills that allow her to pose as an art teacher and therapist for the Park’s spoiled and energetic young son.

We meet Kevin’s family in a tiny, squalid basement apartment in Seoul, stealing WiFi from nearby sources, dependent on their cell phones and attempting to eek out a living by assembling large quantities of pizza boxes for an area business. They live at the end of an alley where drunks urinate outside their window, a window they leave open to benefit from free fumigation for stinkbugs. If we feel pity for the family of four, that’s about to change. They have a plan.

What evolves is a web of deception involving each member of the family in a complicated scheme to prey on the gullible wealthy occupants of a former architect’s mansion. The home has a secret of its own, shielding another breed of parasites that eventually emerge to battle for survival. But the Kim’s apartment imbues them with a lingering stench that betrays their true status, a station in life that comes back to haunt them, and from which there is ultimately no escape, only another plan. But as it is stated in the film, “The only plan that cannot fail is no plan at all.”

In an IMDb interview writer/director Bong Joon-Ho reveals that the idea for Parasite was just “in my brain” kind of like a parasite. The interviewer struggles to extract answers to basic question from him and two main cast members. Is this a language problem, or does he rely entirely on a deep talent for stitching together visually engaging scenes with a script that pulls the best from his actors. It wouldn’t be the first time he’s accomplished this. In 2013’s Snowpiercer, based on the French science fiction graphic novel of the same name, the few survivors of a second ice age Earth travel around the globe in a train for seventeen years. Here too, class plays an important role, elevating or oppressing characters as they struggle within the confines of the vehicle, almost like a play.

Parasite is gathering almost universally high marks from critics and audiences. It has the feel of a Guillermo del Toro production, minus the monsters, unless monstrous human actions are tallied. Its improvisational approach takes you to the edge of your seat with anxiety as a house of cards begins to crumble and characters mount a frantic attempt to cover up their antics ala Risky Business. It is an unusual mix of light comedy, crime and drama that will leave you thinking about deeper meaning long after viewing. Greed, wealth, poverty and desperation form a toxic stew conducive to parasites in this South Korean film. See it before someone spoils it for you.

Parasite (2020) runs 2 hours, 12 minutes and is rated R.

Should I see this movie?

Dolittle

If Robert Downey Jr. was concerned about being typecast as Tony Stark following eleven appearances in various Ironman and Avengers roles for Marvel Studios, this film serves as a much needed break, putting a fresh new face on a role Eddie Murphy and Rex Harrison played in 1998 and 1967 respectively.

In fact, Downey was Executive Producer for this production, which may speak to his desire for a different creative challenge. It is the most un-Ironman acting imaginable. The star’s Team Downey production company produced this very expensive film.

Take equal parts of Willy Wonka, Captain Nemo and Captain Jack Sparrow, and you have the look and feel of Doctor John Dolittle as he is very reluctantly pried from his animal sanctuary in search of the “Eden Tree” to cure the ailing Victoria, queen of England. Heartbreak over the death of his beloved wife and partner in adventure has forced him into a life of solitude with only his animal associates to converse with, in true Doctor Dolittle style. No humans allowed, at least not until young Tommy Stubbins breaches the fortified barrier to his compound with the aid of a talking parrot, voiced by Emma Thompson.

There are lots of celebrity voices at work in Dolittle. Downey’s own gruff, half-whispering British accent is complimented by Rami Malek, John Cena, Octavia Spencer, Kumail Nanjiani, Ralph Fiennes and Selena Gomez, each as an animal ranging from Ostrich to Elephant.

At first, Downey’s hooting and barking was somewhat embarrassing. Here we have the great Sherlock Holmes (2009) rolling on the floor and beating his chest in a chess game with a timid gorilla. But soon the animals acquire human voices and the audience is brought into the act.

There are quite a few funny scenes, pratfalls and jokes, some of which will go over the kiddies’ heads the way they did in old Rocky & Bullwinkle episodes. There are also several fairly intense encounters with a fire breathing dragon, attacking bats and a caged tiger that could be a bit much for really young children. At least three villainous scoundrels work hard to prevent Dolittle from succeeding in his quest.

But overall, the fairytale feel to the film, with enough high quality computer generated action to do Disney proud, kept the row of small children in front of us engaged and excitedly laughing at all the right parts.

Make sure you stay for a minute beyond the closing credits for a brief extra scene.

Dolittle (2020) runs 1 hour, 41 minutes and is rated PG.

Should I see this movie?