Tag Archives: film

Blitz

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Steve McQueen, director of 12 Years a Slave, has a new film that is currently streaming on Apple + and has been in discussion for awards considerations.

It is 1940 and London is experiencing deadly bombing from the Nazi air force. Because of this, the people of London were sending their children away to try and protect them from the bombings. Rita (Saoirse Ronan) was a single parent sending her son George (Elliott Heffernan) away on a train. George was not happy about the situation, going as far as telling his mother that he hated her.

About an hour into the trip on the train, George jumps off with the intent of going back to his home in London.

George faced a ton of troubles along the way, including several of the seeder characters on the streets of London, as if it were right out of the stories of Charles Dickens.

Saoirse Ronan was excellent in this film, bringing the anguish of her situation and the absolute fear when she discovered that her son was missing. Elliott Heffernan does a very solid job with the mostly physical role, providing the right amount of grit and determination. George never gave up despite situations that clearly could have led many people to give in. The film certainly depended upon the skills of Heffernan.

The special effects and the war-torn areas of London were amazingly constructed and portrayed in the film. There was a sequence in an underground area with water flooding in that was seriously stunning and anxiety-driven. The first half of the film went a little slowly, but the film definitely picked up as the time went on.

Blitz is available on Apple + and is a very strong film.

3.8 stars

The Piano Lesson

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Netflix does release several Oscar-worthy films this time of the year as they give out films that they have agreed to back on their platform. While many of the films that are made expressly for Netflix come up short, these releases are usually fairly high quality.

That is the case for the new film The Piano Lesson, which came out this past Friday on the streamer. It had appeared at TIFF this year to soundly positive reviews and now can be seen by the nation as a whole.

According to IMDB, “[The Piano Lesson] Follows the lives of the Charles family as they deal with themes of family legacy and more, in deciding what to do with an heirloom, the family piano.”

There is much more than that simplistic summary gives, including an air of supernatural in the house where the piano is being stored. There were some really creepy moments in this movie that were weirdly out of place, or at least felt that way. However, these moments do work for the film, you just do not expect them to arrive in this type of movie.

The conflict between Boy Willie (John David Washington) and Berniece (Danielle Deadwyler) is remarkable. They have an amazing chemistry with each other as brother and sister, but they were both determined that they knew what was best with this piano and it was clear that this conflict was not about to be resolved through discussion. Both Washington and Deadwyler brought their best work and presented powerful characters that each had an understandable argument.

Samuel L. Jackson is great in the film as well are Ray Fisher, Michael Potts, Corey Hawkins, and Malik J. Ali.

The film definitely felt like a stage play turned into a movie, and, after watching it, I did find out that it was based on a stage play by August Wilson and that Jackson, Washington, Potts and Fisher all starred in it. You could see how they all felt very comfortable in their roles.

Danielle Deadwyler was the standout. Coming off her amazing Oscar snubbed performance in Till, she is once again exceptional. Her emotions are on the edge through the whole film and her dogged determination that the piano with the faces of her family carved upon it was going nowhere.

This is available to stream on Netflix.

4 stars

A Real Pain

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A Real Pain is a perfect example of an independent movie.

For me, an independent movie does not have a plot, or at least one that drives most of the story. It is a film where we take some characters and drop them into situations and let them see what happens. You could define it as character based films. I don’t want to imply that I do not like that style of movie, but it is distinct.

In A Real Pain, two cousins take a trip to Poland after their beloved grandma passed away to go on a Holocaust tour and visit her childhood home.

The movie was written and directed by Jesse Eisenberg, who starred as David Kaplan. Kieran Culkin played his cousin Benji Kaplan. They both brought Oscar-worthy performances in these roles. Their performances were very important since the characters were so important to the story.

The tour of Poland and a nearby concentration camp was very powerful and the actors did a great job responding to it.

The film was only 90 minutes long, but it did feel longer than that. That is probably because of the dense material that the film featured. However, there were some really funny moments too, which you do not find too often with Holocaust films. A Real Pain is an ambitious film with great performances that had some challenging moments to watch it.

4 stars

Bates Motel S5 E9, E10

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Spoilers

“Visiting Hours”

“The Cord”

The rewatch of Bates Motel came to an end tonight as I watched episode nine and ten of season five. I did not remember any details of this finale so I had no idea of what was going to happen.

I was afraid that I would not feel that the end of this show would have a satisfying end. I was wrong.

It has been fairly clear the last season that this is not a prequel to the movie Psycho. It just had the character of Norman Bates and the setting in place, but they did not feel the need to keep things so they would line up with the movie.

I mean, Norman died at the end. That would make it difficult to have the movie come after this.

The scene between brothers with Dylan killing Norman in self defense, because Norman wanted him to. Dylan was shocked by the corpse of Norma at the dinner table. Freddie Highmore and Max Thieriot brought some amazing emotion and energy to this final confrontation.

What did feel like a letdown was the end of Alex Romero. The ending was always going to be about the Bates brothers and not Romero, but I loved Romero and Norma as a couple as I have mentioned several times so I wanted Alex to have some kind of retribution. Of course that was not going to happen. Alex’s emotions over the Norma body is what cost him his life. He should have killed Norman first, but he was not thinking, he was still in total grief.

I was very happy that Dylan and Emma wound up together. I was a little worried that they would no longer be together because Emma was mad about her mother being murdered by Norman. However, the end of the episode showed Emma, her daughter and Dylan meeting up and they shared a kiss. This was a wonderful moment that made me very happy. At least one of the great couples from Bates Motel made it through the series.

I am glad that I have made it through this series. It was a quality show that flew under the radar while it was on TV.

Bates Motel S5 E2, E3, E4, E5, E6

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Spoilers

“The Convergence of Twain”

“Bad Blood”

“Hidden”

“Dreams Die First”

“Marion”

Got on a bit of a run during the final season of Bates Motel. A couple of things turned out clearer than I remembered when I first watched the series on A & E.

First, I always had an issue with the Marion Crane storyline, which began to happen this season because I had believed that this was a prequel series to the Psycho movie from Hitchcock. However, I realized that this was not the case… or at least, I think that is the case.

When Norman chained Caleb in the cellar, Chick discovered all of the secrets of Norman and his “Mother.” He saw the frozen corpse of Norma in the basement. Chick, being the opportunist he is, decided he would write this story. He got a typewriter and was taking notes on a tape recorder. He told Norman that he was writing a suspense/thriller novel that he thinks could be a good movie someday. So the show is now an inspiration for the novel/movie instead of a prequel. I like that switch, and I wonder why I did not see it last time.

Understand, it might all be for naught considering I do not remember if Chick met an end during the series. If that turns out to be the case, then perhaps I will have to adjust my thoughts.

Second was the way Dylan and Emma finally found out that Norma was dead. It was a small scene, but it was really well acted. Dylan not knowing about what was happening with Norma was one of the more frustrating parts of the season. I know why they did it, but it was tough. Of course, Dylan lost both his mother and father. The scene with Dylan and Norman on the phone was powerful considering they were just on the phone together.

Third, I was not expecting Romero to get shot, but I do now remember it happening. Buckshot from a kid’s gun. He shows how tough he continues to be. I’m not sure if the show intends for us to hope that Romero fails, but I find myself rooting for him way more than I ever root for Norman.

Five more episodes remain in the series.

Anora

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One of the early leaders in the race for the Oscars went wide this weekend as Anora his the theaters.

According the IMDB, “Anora, a young sex worker from Brooklyn, gets her chance at a Cinderella story when she meets and impulsively marries the son of an oligarch. Once the news reaches Russia, her fairytale is threatened as the parents set out for New York to get the marriage annulled.“

Mikey Madison played Anora, or Ani as she preferred to be called, and she is amazing as this tough as nails New York exotic dancer/escort, whose client, rich Russian Ivan (Mark Eydelshteyn), falls for Ani after a whirlwind of a week.

This movie sets things up in the first part of the film and you can see where this is going. Then the film takes a total swerve and changes paths completely. This is very well written and avoids the cliches that this movie very effectively seems as if it is heading toward.

Mark Eydelshteyn does a very good job with the character of Ivan, who is a character that really will change the audience’s opinions on as the film progresses. No spoilers, but he does a fine job of playing Ivan without flipping the character’s center.

The Russian handlers come in to the story midway through and bring a surprising amount of humor/comedy to the story. It played against expectations with these characters and they were hilarious.

Mikey Madison is a front runner for an Academy Award after this performance. She brought such a range of emotion in the film, from her brazen toughness to a deep seeded pain. This feels like a real breakthrough performance for Madison.

Anora had a lot of nakedness, and absolutely deserved its R rating. Truthfully, I could have seen a possible higher rating for the movie. The film does not shy away from anything and gives these characters the ability to do whatever they want. None of it felt gratuitous though.

This was a very good movie and some wonderful performances elevated it, as did some writing that took this in a direction that I did not see coming.

4.4 stars

Heretic

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If you had said that Hugh Grant would be horror/thriller movie villain and completely rule at it, I might not have believed you. However, he absolutely does and he is one of the major factors to the new A24 horror flick, Heretic, being as exceptional as it is.

However, I could see how this movie might be polarizing considering its main topic is religion and the discussion of how and if religion is relevant.

Hugh Grant is the standout of the movie, but the two female co-stars, Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East, who play Sister Barnes and Sister Paxton respectfully, carry their own against the powerhouse performance from Grant. Both Thatcher and East are given characters with their own quirks that work very well in the context of this movie.

There may not be as many scares in this movie, but the script gives the film an uncomfortable feeling throughout, especially with the uneasiness provided by Grant’s work. You can tell that everything is just not quite what is being shown and you are anxious waiting for that hammer to drop.

However, while they are waiting and building the unease, the writing is sensational, with the debate between the different religions of the world. I loved how this was basically three people talking for much of the first act (or two) and it is able to build the anxiety. The writing was top notch. I also do not believe that it took one side and argued that in a preachy way. I do believe that someone could find their own opinions of religion given voice in this film.

I loved the writing when Sister Barnes retorted against Mr. Reed’s (Hugh Grant) metaphor comparing religion to Monopoly. This whole diatribe was expertly written and delivered.

The ending might have been a little weaker than the first half/two-thirds of the film, but I do love how these characters are smart and are shown to be smart.

4.4 stars

Robot Dreams

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The eighth film today in the 4F binge was an animated film called Robot Dreams and it was a story of loneliness and friendship. Told without any dialogue, Robot Dreams used music and sounds to help portray the story, and it did it extremely well.

According to IMDB, “DOG lives in Manhattan and he’s tired of being alone. One day he decides to build himself a robot, a companion. Their friendship blossoms, until they become inseparable, to the rhythm of 80’s NYC. One summer night, DOG, with great sadness, is forced to abandon ROBOT at the beach. Will they ever meet again?“

There have been some amazing animated movies this year, and this is yet another. Nominated for an Academy Award this year, Robot Dreams was a sad and bittersweet story of Dog and Robot who each just seem to only have any real success in their dreams.

The film did seem a little too long, but the creativity is off the charts. The use of music is spectacular and I do love the use of “September” by Kool and the Gang throughout the film.

The ending was unexpected and a little sad. No spoilers here, but I am not sure how I feel about the end. I did not guess that it would turn out like this.

Oh, and that DUCK seems rotten. A postcard? Couldn’t she give DOG a phone call? Stop by on the way to the airport? What a quack.

Sweet and sad, Robot Dreams is a fabulous animated film.

4.3 stars

Crisis on Infinite Earths Part Three

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Next up is Crisis on Infinite Earths Part Three, the third in a series of animated movies from DC focusing on the iconic comic mini series. The previous two films leading up to this were weak. I do believe the finale is a little better, but it does not reach anywhere the levels of the previous DC films.

It was kind of fun watching the wave of Anti-Monitors killing all of the animated TV show earths.

It was also great to hear Kevin Conroy-Mark Hamill once again together. This was the final voice performance of Kevin Conroy, prior to his death. Conroy is the iconic Batman voice of a generation.

The story is paced poorly, and it does not feel the sense of grandness that it should. Part of that is probably the previous installments in this trilogy, but this final one is not a huge step up either.

The animation here is fine and the voice cast is vast and full of solid work.

Here’s hoping the next DC animated films are back to the storytelling of the past.

2.6 stars

Woman of the Hour

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I went to Netflix for the next Friday Fabulous Film Fest movie. It was a film that starred and was directed by Anna Kendrick called Woman of the Hour. It was based on a true story of a serial killer who appeared on the Dating Game in 1978.

Sheryl (Anna Kendrick) was a struggling actor whose agent booked her on the Dating Game. Little did Sheryl know that one of the bachelors she could choose from was a serial killer who had been involved in a killing spree.

It is an amazing true story. How brazen can you be as a serial killer to flaunt yourself on a national game show? He clearly felt untouchable at the time.

The film had plenty of moments of tension, especially with the scenes between Anna Kendrick and Daniel Zovatto, who played Rodney Alcala, the serial killer. It was unclear how it would turn out as the tense scene played out, and I really liked this.

Sad point was that Alcala was recognized by someone in the studio audience during the Dating Game taping and she was ignored by those in charge at the show and eventually the police. This character, Laura, played by Nicolette Robinson, added that feeling of helplessness that all of Alcala’s victims must have felt.

I enjoyed the direction by Kendrick, though my one complaint was the narrative structure was a little hard to follow. The timeline of the movie was not as clear as I would have liked it. Otherwise, this was a very engaging film.

4 stars

Piece By Piece

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The first official movie in the Friday Fantastic Film Fest is one of the strangest documentaries you are ever going to see. This movie, Piece By Piece, is the biography of music producer Pharrell Williams, but it is told as a Lego movie style.

Huh?

Honestly, this is weird.

I am not that familiar with Pharrell Williams, outside of “Happy,” but the Lego part of the film is what attracted me to see this movie. I probably would not have watched a straight up movie with interviews centered around Pharrell, but the gimmick of the Legos drew me in.

The Lego animation was original and, at times, beautifully transcendent in Piece By Piece. Even times when it did not feel like it worked for the moment, the color and the imagination shone through.

Unfortunately, the story did not match the originality of the format. The story was basically just interviews and lacked that special oomph that the visuals provided throughout. I know it was a biography, but something that was so creativity special in one aspect, was fairly mundane in the other.

I enjoyed the music, even if it wasn’t my normal type of music. It worked for me it the bits in the film.

I found the most fascinating part of the film was the post-“Happy” stuff, how the creation of one of the biggest songs in recent memory caused a challenge for the artist in ways you would never have expected.

Overall, Piece By Piece is an interesting animated film that gives some insight into an artist that I did not know much about, but I just wish the story was told in a more outside the box manner, to match the visuals.

3 stars

Music by John Williams

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John Williams is one of the masters of film music. He has had more classic scores that exist in your head than practically any composer. From the music of Star Wars to Jaws to Schindler’s List to Raiders of the Lost Ark, the themes fill you with emotions every time. And each score provides something extra to each film, something that makes the film more than it was before.

This is why John Williams has been in such demand over the last fifty years. His music brings that final oomph to a film, and it does not matter what the genre is. John Williams is capable of delivering something magical.

This weekend saw the drop of a documentary featuring the iconic composer in a film entitled, perfectly, Music by John Williams, on Disney +.

The doc does touch upon his life and family, but most of the runtime is focused on the music and the films that he scored. We hear about John Williams’s thoughts from John Williams himself, as well as from his dear friend Steven Spielberg, whom was one of his most ardent supporters.

We hear from tons of people expounding on the amazing talents that John Williams would bring to their films. We saw Ron Howard, George Lucas, J.J. Abrams, Chris Columbus, Seth MacFarlane, James mangold, Kathleen Kennedy, Chris Martin and Itzhak Perlman all provide insight into their times working with Williams in whatever capacity they could give.

One of the more powerful moments was Kate Capshaw, wife of Steven Spielberg, describing when she and Steven went to hear the score for Schindler’s List, played by Williams on the piano, and how she began crying immediately.

The amazing footage throughout was awesome, much of it coming from Spielberg’s own recordings over the year. Being able to hear the words and the thoughts of Williams about the work that he had done is truly special. I will admit that seeing the scene from E.T. where the bike flies in front of the moon brought a few tears to my eyes. It provided us with so many memories from years of amazing work.

The doc is fairly straightforward, but if anyone deserves it, John Williams is it.

4.5 stars

Here

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Robert Zemeckis, Tom Hanks and Robin Wright have reunited on screen once again for this new film called Here. Zemeckis, Hanks and Wright were all together for Forrest Gump, and now they are focusing on a specific house.

This film has a specific gimmick to it. The camera was stoic, steady and unmoving for the entire movie. There was one angle that the movie had and it told multiple stories through the life of the house (and the plot of land that it was built on) with that single shot.

The main story that was told was the life of Tom Hanks and Robin Wright. We saw Tom Hanks, who played the character Richard, grow up, fall in love, get married and become a father in this one room of this house that we see. Robin Wright played Richard’s wife Margaret and she was involved in much of the main story.

One of my favorite characters involved was Richard’s father, Al (Paul Bettany). His wife was Rose (Kelly Reilly) and they were shown throughout their lifespan inside this house.

Using these postcard like boxes, the movie transitioned between stories. Other stories included a Native American family, the man who created the La-Z Boy recliner, a recent black family, a early aviator whose wife hated the airplane, and the illegitimate son of Ben Franklin. None of these extra stories had much if any impact, outside of just continuing the life of the house. These were pauses from the Richard-Margaret family story meant to simply break from those characters.

I liked the format of this movie, but there were some issues with it. The main story had my attention every scene they had, but all of the other ones were so slight that they were a distraction. This movie did feel too long and a couple of these extra stories could have been dropped to shave off some time.

The CGI was decent in the movie, especially the de-aging of Tom Hanks and Robin Wright. Some of the background CGI was obvious, but it did not ruin anything. I did like the music of the film as it helped show us the advancement of time.

This is a interesting movie with a gimmick that I have not seen before, unless you are a fan of stage plays with the single location setting. The film was too long, but the main story was likeable because of the excellent actors.

3.5 stars

Mad God (2021)

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The October 13 of 13

What a trip.

I went searching for a film to wrap up the October 13, which to be fair has been a touch underwhelming so far. I was really hoping to find something epic to end out the thirteen.

Well, I found something original for sure.

On AMC + on Prime, I found a stop-motion film called Mad God and it looked interesting. That would be an understatement for this.

According to IMDB, “Equipped with a gas mask and a crumbling map, the Assassin, an iron-clad humanoid, descends into a rusty, peril-laden underworld of grime, blood, and unsettling monstrosities. As the stealthy invader meanders through the labyrinthine post-apocalyptic wasteland on a mysterious mission, going deeper and deeper in the nightmarish realm, the Assassin gradually reaches his final destination: the heart of this grotesque tower of torture. But what cruel, vindictive deity allows fear and suffering to take its most complete creation further and further into despair? Only a Mad God would revel in humankind’s ordeal.”

That synopsis from IMDB is well done, but to be honest, the story is not anywhere near as straightforward as that description. I would venture to say that this film has a very limited narrative structure. The story seems secondary to the goals of this film.

Mad God has amazing, masterful stop-motion animation that creates an atmosphere unlike few movies that I have ever seen. It is frightening at times, disturbing at others. It imbues this nightmare realm with such darkness and alarming imagery that you can help but be taken aback from the visual daze.

The sound effects and score are very effective keeping you uneasy as the images build a surreal experience of monstrous creatures and violent despair.

Written and directed by stop-motion guru Phil Tippett, this passion project takes you deep into the mind of the director. And what a bizarre and warped experience it was. I usually prefer more of a story, and that is just short here, but this is an experience that I would not have passed on. I am conflicted on how I feel after watching this, which, I suppose, is a desired result.

Conclave

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The process of electing a new Pope is full of secrecy. That means you can tell whatever story you want about it, as this new film starring Ralph Fiennes opens wide this weekend.

This movie is based on a 2016 novel by Robert Harris. It is directed by Edward Berger, who directed the Oscar nominated All Quiet on the Western Front.

According to IMDB, “Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) is tasked with running this covert process after the unexpected death of the beloved Pope. Once the Catholic Church’s most powerful leaders have gathered from around the world and are locked together in the Vatican halls, Lawrence uncovers a trail of deep secrets left in the dead Pope’s wake–secrets which could shake the foundations of the Church.“

Ralph Fiennes was sensational once again as Cardinal Lawrence. He has such an understated performance that he fits into this story beautifully. He anchors the film with his work.

There are other great performances including Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Isabella Rossellini, Lucian Msamati and Sergio Castellitto.

There is a twist at the end of the movie that came after it seemed as if the film was over and I am not sure if it was necessary. No spoilers, of course, but this feels as if this was done to create division among viewers. I have no issues with the ending outside that I am just not sure it was important to the story.

I enjoyed the mystery aspect of the script and the film looked beautiful. Great performances scattered throughout the film. I assume this will have a huge presence at the Oscars. This was very solid.

4 stars