Problemista – Movie Review

Directed and written by:  Julio Torres

Starring:  Julio Torres, Tilda Swinton, RZA, and Isabella Rossellini

Runtime:  104 minutes

‘Problemista’ is an inventive, eccentric comedy, but a couple of problems trip it up

Alejandro (Julio Torres) has a problem.  

The 20-something, wide-eyed New York City upstart – with a slight frame and a mop-top haircut with a sometimes-noticeable cow lick – just lost his job at FreezeCorp, a cryogenic stasis outfit that dresses its clients in a tube to sleep for – perhaps – hundreds of years.  

Alejandro didn’t calculate differential equations to pinpoint the math behind these science-fiction devices in the here and now.  He handled the Sleeping Beauties’ personal belongings, or for one client, an artist named Bobby (RZA).  

However, Alejandro was awakened with his walking papers after a critical faux pas. 

The more significant issue for our young hero is that he no longer has an employer to sponsor his work visa, and this El Salvador resident will be forced to leave the U.S. if he doesn’t find another stat! 

As “luck” would have it, he finds a new position with Elizabeth (Tilda Swinton) as her assistant, but she may be the most neurotic boss in recent movie history.  

Elizabeth’s disheveled appearance of vintage, layered textiles, gnarled locks of pink with blondish roots peaking from the top of her head, and Raggedy Ann rouge on her cheeks indicate that emotional stability isn’t her strong suit.  The woman probably has an undiagnosed case of borderline personality disorder, while she barks confusing orders, bathes in inefficiency, and regularly responds with “Don’t scream at me,” while Alejandro offers polite, soft-spoken suggestions to course correct.  

If there’s a silver lining, our pink-headed friend ultimately means well, but her methods march in madness.  The infamous “Office Space” (1999) boss, Bill Lumbergh (Gary Cole), may have his staff work on the weekends, but at least they’ll be filling out the TPS reports in peace.  

Still, Alejandro needs this job while he waits for Elizabeth to officially sign the paperwork to sponsor him and satisfy the whole work visa thing.  

This is the premise for “Problemista”; the comedy is Torres’ first feature-film directorial effort.  The 37-year-old also wrote the film as well. 

Although the premise is straightforward, stylistically, the film is wildly eccentric, like a cross between “Being John Malkovich” (1999) and “Everything Everywhere All at Once” (2022). 

Frequently, the audience must jump between two twisted worlds: modern-day New York City and the maze inside Alejandro’s head.  Torres pleads his case that The Big Apple (or the United States, in general) in 2023 is a miserable place and time for the immigrant experience or for anyone simply trying to establish secure roots in society.  

Indeed, Millennials have suffered through 9/11, the housing crash, insane tuition hikes, crowded job markets, and the housing boom that makes mortgages out of reach.  

Alejandro is simply attempting to find a job and stay in the country while multitasking to realize his dream position as a toy maker at Hasbro.  Still, the everything-seems-out-of-reach Millennial feeling rings true here.

Anyway, what is present in the real world?  

Clutter, individual pieces of trash, or piles of Hefty garbage bags seem ever-present in nearly every shot of the city, like a dystopian society where littering is an Olympic sport, and garbage men have been on strike for months.  

Alejandro’s reality isn’t pleasant.  Living with seemingly five roommates in a cramped apartment, desperately trying to keep his bank account above $0, and following Elizabeth’s twisty directions – where taking one step forward and three steps back is a productive day – can be exhausting.  

It’s also exhausting for the audience.  

Swinton’s Elizabeth is a tremendous force of confusion and dismay, like accidentally sending a fork down a garbage disposal while Slayer’s “Reign in Blood” blasts on 11, and the dog barks at the mailman.  

Which immediate clatter do you address first?  

Calgon, take me away! 

Well, cheers to Tilda because she delivers a searing, purposely over-the-top performance.  Elizabeth’s machine-gun banter, which tends to shoot down everybody within eyeshot throughout the movie, is impressive.  However, her nails-on-a-chalkboard/fork-swirling-in-a-garbage-disposal act is a chore to digest after the first act.  Since Elizabeth and Alejandro are the two principal players onscreen, there are few chances for refuge.   

(Think of “The Devil Wears Prada” (2006).  Even though Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) is an incredibly difficult boss to Andy (Anne Hathaway), audiences – including this critic - relish their moments of tense chemistry, but I often winced when Elizabeth and Alejandro were present in the same room.)

When the two aren’t combatting over FileMaker Pro or scouting out an art gallery to showcase 13 paintings of eggs, Alejandro struggles to find a job by talking to an oddball, unfunny genie encased in wires on the Internet.  He also anxiously crawls through an endless dollhouse designed by Steven Hawking on LSD or argues with a Bank of America employee while trapped in a constricting rock formation.  

No question, Torres has a wonderous imagination.  He seems to throw everything but the kitchen sink at the screen, including a slinky that doesn’t slink down a flight of stairs and Elizabeth dressing up in a dragon-like costume from the old Sid and Marty Krofft days.  

“Problemista” doesn’t have a creative idea problem in the slightest, and Swinton and Torres (with his Justin Long-like look and tone from “Dodgeball: True Underdog Story” (2004)) offer several amusing moments over 104 minutes.  Rooting for Alejandro is extremely easy, and his situation appears impossible.  These aspects are immensely desirable when building a screenplay, but Alejandro and Elizabeth’s working relationship dominates the film, and this critic needed more breaks from their caustic dynamic.  Still, his flaky roommates and her new smug intern weren’t enough.  Neither are the frequent jumps into kooky weirdness, and there just isn’t enough comedy or normalcy to balance out the rough edges. 

Still, “Problemista” follows through – with its eccentric, imaginative nature - to the end, and Isabella Rossellini wonderfully narrates the story for our lead.  How about that?  Hey, Torres has a bright future as a director.  He has a lot to say.  Just maybe, in this case, less innovation is more. 

That’s a relatively easy problem to fix.   

Jeff’s ranking

2/4 stars


Frida – Movie Review

Directed by:  Carla Gutierrez

Runtime:  84 minutes

‘Frida’:  Gutierrez’s documentary thoughtfully paints an intimate look at this influential icon

Director Carla Gutierrez’s documentary about one of the most memorable 20th-century artists - Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderon (a.k.a. Frida Kahlo), universally known for her self-portraits - should enlighten broad audiences, those who deeply know her work and Frida novices who may have seen “Self-Portrait with Monkey” once on a 2” by 2” magnet at a flea market. 

The film chronologically markets Ms. Kahlo’s life (1907 – 1954) from her days as a toddler in 1910 to her passing in 1954.  Gutierrez and her team’s conventional use of a (mostly) straightforward timeline offers a sturdy foundation to help support two imaginative facets – the narration and animation style - of this 84-minute presentation.    

Rather than include a slew of current historians who express Frida’s impact on her home country (Mexico) and the worldwide art-world community, Fernanda Echevarria narrates from Ms. Kahlo’s own words – from past writings and interviews - as an effective storytelling device to convey personal confessionals.  

Gutierrez and Echevarria intimately reveal the artist’s thoughts about her marriage, mental and physical struggles with near-crippling ailments (from a catastrophic accident), reasoning for painting portraits, underlying emotions about wealthy art clients, admiration for her father, and feelings over past lovers.    

“The handrail went through me like a sword through a bull.”

“I now inhabit a world of pain.”

“I paint because I need to.”

“Make love, take a bath, and make love again.”

Words from beyond the grave lead the movie.  Visually, Gutierrez finds and presents an incalculable number of photographs and videos, including clips from the 1920s, to support the distinctive, individual words uttered.  Some of the black-and-white still and moving photos –sometimes splashed with bits of color - are of Frida and her family, but there are heaps of records from her time with Diego.  We witness their everyday existence and travels to the United States and France, providing context for her personal and professional “faces.”  

Diego was a vast influence on Frida’s art, and at times, the movie could almost be called “Frida and Diego”, because he’s featured so prominently.  The film provides several examples of Mr. Rivera’s artwork, including massive murals, ones sought by the industry’s admirers and Corporate America, like the Ford family.  Diego was a heavy man at 6’ 1”, and Frida was thin with a height of 5’ 3”, so they were referred to as an “elephant and a dove,” but rather than belabor their physical differences, the doc dives into his grand successes (that sparked their travel) and his divisive infidelities which harmed their relationship. 

In addition to the emotional harm, the movie dedicates difficult but necessary screentime to the aforementioned accident, as the emotional and physical trauma had enormous impacts on Frida’s headspace and paintings, and Gutierrez and Echevarria undoubtedly illuminate the dark connections.  In addition to the verbal reflections and historical images, the film’s animation team splashes dozens of wonderous eccentric delights with stop-motion animation - like a less exaggerated “Monty Python’s Flying Circus” style - that showcases the woman’s most famous and lesser-known works.  

Glorious, moving examples of “The Two Fridas”, “Diego and I”, “The Wounded Deer”, “Henry Ford Hospital”, and many others thoughtfully parade on-screen, reflecting Frida’s marriage and the ongoing physical pain that plagued her for decades. 

The movie features a telling quote from our heroine: “In my life, I’ve only painted the honest expression of myself to say what I couldn’t in any other way.”  

However, in less than 90 minutes, Gutierrez remarkably paints Frida’s emotional expressions in multiple thoughtful ways. 

Jeff’s ranking

3.5/4 stars


Love Lies Bleeding - Movie Review

Directed by: Rose Glass

Written by: Rose Glass and Weronika Tofilska

Starring: Kristen Stewart, Katy O'Brian, and Ed Harris

Runtime:  104 minutes


Kristen Stewart becomes the queer icon of the internet’s dreams in ‘Love Lies Bleeding’

One shouldn’t need much prompting to buy a ticket to see a mulleted Kristen Stewart in a muscle shirt lay waste to bad men with her hot bodybuilder girlfriend in a dirtbag lesbian noir. If that alone doesn’t sell you on the potential of cinema as an artform, I don’t know that a review is going to move the needle in your soul. 

But just in case: “Love Lies Bleeding” rules and gives Stewart a worthy platform to be the queer icon of the internet’s dreams

The sophomore effort from British director Rose Glass (who helmed the God-haunted if undercooked 2019 horror film “Saint Maud”) is a geyser of female strength and rage. It’s a grime-slick riot, a confluence of pain and pleasure in which violence pulses under the neon-light surface like a bulging vein surging with steroids. 

Stewart is instantly winning as Lou, a louche, glassy-eyed muscle-gym manager in a dead-end desert town we first meet unclogging a toilet while sweaty, aggro men do reps underneath motivation signs like “Pain is weakness leaving the body” and “The body achieves what the mind believes.”

There’s not much for a girl like Lou in a place like this, and so it doesn’t take much prompting for her to fall hard for new arrival Jackie (Katy O’Brian), a mesmerizingly buff hitchhiker stopping for a spell on her way to a body-building competition in Las Vegas. Jackie’s only there to pump iron and stash tips from her new job waitressing at a gun range. But a hookup with Lou turns into a 24-hour-sleepover and – improbably, beautifully in Ronald Reagan’s America, when this is set – something that with the help of a few ravenous sex scenes starts to look like a serious relationship.

But there’s rot underneath the spangly unitards and jeweled glow of neon gym signs. Jackie’s hitched her way into a domestic drama that’s about to explode, leaving bodies in its wake. 

“Love Lies Bleeding” recalls nothing so much as Kathryn Bigelow’s neo-Western vampire classic “Near Dark.” There are no fangs here, but instead a She-Hulk waiting to be unleashed. Like Bigelow before her, Glass has filled her dusty dead-end Southwestern town with memorable characters and their violent delights. A gaunt, nefarious Ed Harris (whose skinny face, balding pate and long, pale tendrils of hair make him look like the Crypt Keeper) runs guns and keeps tabs on his estranged daughter, Lou. A porn-stached Dave Franco serves as his henchman, playing the abusive husband of Lou’s battered sister, Beth (Jena Malone). 

It's a powder keg waiting to go off, and Jackie is the match. 

Not all the film’s big swings clear the fence, but Glass’ ambition, matched by powerhouse performances from Stewart and O'Brian, marks a striking leap forward in the young director’s artistic vision. “Love Lies Bleeding” is a tonal tightrope-walk, a pas de deux of seriousness and silliness, tenderness and profanity, pleasure and pain, with a dash of the supernatural. It’s slicked in effluvia, packed with sweaty closeups of pained bodies. Sucking turns into biting, caresses into grips as Lou and Jackie fight – sometimes with each other – for liberation and self-determination that will take more than physical strength. 

“The body achieves what the mind believes” isn’t some cliché platitude after all. In “Love Lies Bleeding,” it’s a promise. 

Barbara’s ranking

3.5/4 stars


Dune: Part Two – Movie Review

Directed by:  Denis Villeneuve

Written by:  Denis Villeneuve and Jon Spaihts, based on Frank Herbert’s noveL

Starring:  Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Javier Bardem, Stellan Skarsgard, Austin Butler, Dave Bautista, Florence Pugh, and Christopher Walken

Runtime:  156 minutes

‘Dune’ is a spectacular, procedural exercise, but ‘Dune: Part Two’ burns more calories

“It’s been a while since you’ve had one of those nightmares,” Chani (Zendaya) says and asks, “Tell me, what was it about?”

“It’s only fragments.  Nothing’s clear,” Paul Atreides (Timothee Chalamet) replies.

This exchange opens Warner Bros. Pictures’ “Dune: Part Two, Official Trailer 3”, and director/co-writer Denis Villeneuve’s dream project - his science fiction cinematic vision adapted from Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel – continues in theatres on Feb. 29, 2024, more than a while since his first film’s release on Oct. 22, 2021.  

Well, it’s only been two years, four months, and seven days, but it’s been an eternity for diehard fans.  

“Dune: Part Two” – listed with a 166-minute runtime but ended after 156, according to this critic’s watch – offers a deliberately leisure pace for “Dune” fanatics, “Dune” novices, and everyone in between to absorb the grandeur and pageantry of a story between good and evil, oppressors and underdogs, and choice versus fate, all on a faraway desert planet called Arrakis in the year 10191.  

Villeneuve’s follow-up follows right after the events of his 2021 predecessor.  He leans into the regal formalities of Paul’s journey toward (possibly) transforming into a messiah for the Fremen, desert dwellers who spend their lives fighting the Harkonnen, a chalky-white race, hell-bent on military might and controlling spice production on the planet. 

Hence, the quote that opens the film: “Power over spice is power over all.” 

Paul copes with the fallout of slaying Jamis (Babs Olusanmokun) - at the end of the first film – and the Fremen are divided, between North and South, about spiritual beliefs and whether Mr. Atreides is the “chosen one,” a title that he doesn’t readily accept.  

He wishes to fight for his fallen house and late father, Duke Leto Atreides (Oscar Isaac), alongside the Fremen, honor and respect his mother, Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), and discover a hopeful romance with Chani.  

Meanwhile, the grotesque Baron Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgard) and the distant Emperor (Christopher Walken) push back against the Fremen (also referred to as “rats”) with force through the Harkonnen and Imperial troops, assemblies of war machines called ornithopters that look like a steampunk collaboration of helicopters and dragonflies, and the Baron’s sicko nephew, a creep with an utterly punchable face, Feyd-Rautha (Austin Butler).  

For those who loved “Dune” (2021), this film – in the words of Jerry Maguire - will most likely “complete (you),” as Denis bathes in the visual majesty of Arrakis, a place chock-full of dunes and moons.  According to IMDb, photography in Jordan and the United Arab Emirates help provide the former.  

If you didn’t care for the first film, the second falls into similar patterns of pacing and procedures.  “Dune” is a spectacular, procedural exercise, but “Dune: Part Two” burns more calories, just enough for me to recommend it.

Granted, it’s been over two years since this critic has watched the first picture, but “Part Two” seems to devote more screentime to action set pieces, including the curious floating abilities of Harkonnen soldiers’ suits.  The ornithopter assault looks straight out of the Vietnam War, and the film includes moments of sabotage of the massive spice drilling apparatuses, a few sandworm surfing escapades, and a third-act collision between imperial and Harkonnen forces versus Fremen battalions.  

However, the final battle feels truncated and ends too abruptly.

From a purely cinematic perspective, Villeneuve and cinematographer Greig Fraser transport us – with Oscar-caliber sweat - outside our comfortable theatre seats and into a foreign, remote, and mesmerizing abyss.  Machines and sporadic traces of life bid for survival in an excessively arid climate while a perpetual power struggle of wills, 400-meter sandworms, cannons, swords, and laser guns clash under a brutal sun.  

However, “Dune: Part Two” is not filled with physical matches throughout the two-and-a-half-hour-plus runtime.  These aggressive on-screen collisions appear as small mini-events of militaristic majesty between long spells of dry discourse.  

For the pomp and circumstance surrounding the immense scale and scope that both films stride about with pride, Villeneuve and co-writer Jon Spaihts dedicate countless moments of sequestered individual exchanges.    

“Dune: Part Two” is not excessively conversational, but this movie is not the thrill-a-minute “Mad Max: Fury Road” (2015) either, and the main players seem to repeat the same basic ideas while standing or sitting around and pondering what it all means on piles of sand and rocky buttes or inside antiseptic, metallic conference rooms.  

For instance, The Baron frequently complains about his spice production problems, and Beast Rabban (Dave Bautista) repeatedly takes the verbal brunt of the operation’s shortcomings.  Jessica has a raging battle with drinking worm urine, and Paul’s future is her favorite go-to topic, ad nauseam.  The narrative often cuts to Feyd-Rautha so that he can randomly act like a psychopath for a few minutes at a time.

Still, the leads and the seemingly limitless extras don elaborate, eye-catching textiles of opulent royal intricacies, menacing military armor, and purposely unflattering ragged wrapped rags.  

(For the record, “Dune: Part Two” seems destined for Oscar nominations in visual effects, costume design, and sound.)   

Regarding the actors who wear these decorative costumes, Javier Bardem (who plays Paul’s biggest supporter, Stilgar), Ferguson, and Butler stand out the most.  

Chalamet and Zendaya work fine together, but their initial chemistry during the first hour wanes during the last 90-plus minutes, primarily because the script deviates from Paul and Chani’s loving focus and into mechanical questions about their pragmatic fit with Mr. Atreides’ destiny and additional time in propping up Feyd-Rautha’s bullying tactics.  

Unfortunately, the film wastes Florence Pugh and Walken by barely offering them anything to do as Princess Irulan and the Emperor.  They deliver their lines on a nondescript sound stage for the most part, and audiences might desperately wish for some mass quantities of spicy cowbell that never clang true. 

As far as Chalamet playing a messiah, is his performance convincing?  Well, he seems fine enough, and Timothee isn’t accidentally dropping his sword during the most critical moments, so there’s that.  

Speaking of which, if the Emperor, the Harkonnen, and the Fremen have access to guns, why use swords in the first place?  

A few other questions come to mind.

Why didn’t the Baron immediately murder Beast Rabban when spice production initially fell on his watch, especially when the gluttonous leader is incredibly ruthless with everyone else?  Perhaps the Baron is a WWE fan.  Hey, it’s possible. 

When did Chani secure an ornithopter?  It must have occurred off-screen.

How does anyone find their way around Arrakis without a compass?

These are fair questions, but here’s one more:  How often do you see someone ride a 400-meter invertebrate like a surfboard?   

What?  Exactly. 

Bravo, Mr. Villeneuve.  Bravo. 

Jeff’s ranking

2.5/4 stars


Golden Years – Movie Review

Directed by:  Barbara Kulcsar

Written by:  Petra Biondina Volpe

Starring:  Esther Gemsch, Stefan Kurt, Ueli Jaggi, Martin Vischer, Isabelle Barth, and Gundi Ellert

Runtime:  88 minutes

‘Golden Years’ offers valuable insights, but during a recycled cinematic journey

“I’ll stick with you, Baby, for a thousand years.  Nothing’s gonna touch you in these golden years.” – “Golden Years” (1975) by David Bowie

“Growing old isn’t for the weak.” – Michi (Gundi Ellert)

Today is a milestone for Peter (Stefan Kurt).  He’s retiring from a suburban corporate job after 37 years of service, and our tall, youthful senior citizen and his equally spry wife, Alice (Esther Gemsch), will embark on their new journey: easing into their golden years.  For Peter, sleeping in rests on his agenda, but soon into his day-jobless existence, he awakens with a case of health kick-itis, complete with a vegan diet and obsessive bike riding, much to Alice’s chagrin.  She hoped Peter’s free schedule would bring them closer, as rekindling romance snuggles at the top of her wish list.  

Well, these two ships passing within the same household embark on a lavish cruise – courtesy of their grown kids, Susanne (Isabelle Barth) and Julian (Martin Vischer) - but will their marriage of 42 years be left in a wake of opposing expectations?

In director Barbara Kulcsar’s “Golden Years”, she answers this Peter-Alice question during an 88-minute runtime, and long-time couples everywhere might relate to our hero and heroine’s on-screen circumstances.  For certain, “Golden Years” offers a valuable trek of commiseration for movie audiences.  Unfortunately, the film relies too heavily on the leads to carry the picture’s emotional weight, as the joyless, unimaginative script treads water and eventually sinks into bland domestic quarrels over vacuuming, weekday overdrinking, and a lifeless road trip, despite cinematographer Tobias Dengler’s gorgeous captures of the Mediterranean Sea, Marseille, and Switzerland’s countryside.  

Traveling to IMDb, one will discover that “Golden Years” is labeled as a comedy.  Now, humor is in the funny bone of the beholder, but this critic didn’t laugh once during this nearly 90-minute feature.  Although Peter’s lazy attempt at a household chore and a campy intro scene did induce a couple of smiles from yours truly.  

Peter and Alice are coping with a late-life crisis, and they spend most of their screen time complaining to one another or contemplating their uncertain future in silence.  Kulcsar and screenwriter Petra Biondina Volpe could have balanced the gloomy tone with some well-placed comedic circumstances to deepen our engagement with these characters, but the film never does.  

For instance, Peter’s cycling hobby is a perfect way to explore his vulnerability through sight gags, like, say, a random 8-year-old passing him on a straightaway or our retiree chasing down a just-out-of-reach ice cream truck.  Instead, we witness Peter struggle on the bike, and at one point, he plops on a roadside bench while pondering his questionable fitness. Meanwhile, Alice is frustrated with the lack of intimacy in their relationship, and rather than parade a brawny group of local firemen to her immediate sightline via a conga line, she gloomily confides with a new friend, Michi (Gundi Ellert), about her troubles. 

Sometimes, the film explores this couple’s issues with nuance and care, including Gemsch and Kurt addressing a clumsy sexual encounter with grace.  However, the one-note story is built with a low ceiling, where we bump our heads on recycled melodrama and cliches despite open-doorway-distractions of an eccentric pair in an RV, a feminist commune, and a lovely stroll through warm, beautiful Marseille.  

We’re also treated to snappy, happy tunes like “Sara perche ti amo” and “Oye Como Va”, so some joy appears in the cinematic itinerary.  Still, the smooth ditties are muted by a sudden death, a grieving widower, Susanne whining about her miserable life, and a delightful cruise ship – the Costa Smeralda – but with absolutely no eccentric, oddball characters or experiences floating about. 

Well, at least Julian is happy, but we also discover the promiscuous 20 or 30-something has slept with about 200 women.  Are Kulcsar and Volpe stating that Julian’s dating lifestyle is the golden ticket to happiness?  No, but – in a way - Peter and Alice can learn from their son about living in the moment.  Happily ever after may still happen if they “stick with (each other) for a thousand years.”  Will it?  You’ll have to watch “Golden Years” to find out, or maybe stay home and dust off a David Bowie record instead.  

Jeff’s ranking

2/4 stars


Drive-Away Dolls - Movie Review

Directed by: Ethan Coen

Written by: Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke

Starring: Margaret Qualley, Geraldine Viswanathan, and Beanie Feldstein

Runtime:  84 minutes

Ethan Coen’s queer crime caper ‘Drive-Away Dolls’ can’t find even road

A locked briefcase is a kind of cinematic Chekhov's gun. When a tough guy comes looking for it, heads are going to roll, sometimes literally. 

In the hallowed tradition of “Pulp Fiction” and “Kiss Me Deadly,” director Ethan Coen – of the Coen brothers, flying solo – hides one such sinister plot device in the trunk of a car driven by a pair of oblivious young lesbians too concerned by sex and heartbreak to know they’re being hunted as they cruise down the East Coast, Florida-bound 

But instead of containing nuclear annihilation, a criminal’s soul, or even a million dollars, Coen’s briefcase contains something much, much dumber. Call to mind the dumbest thing you can conjure. However dumb you’re thinking, it’s even dumber. 

That’s both the charm and bafflement of “Drive-Away Dolls,” a raucous sex comedy neo-noir that’s as fun and unbalanced as that genre mashup sounds. 

Jamie (Margaret Qualley) and Marian (Geraldine Viswanathan) make for a road trip odd couple, the former a fast-talking, philandering louche kicked out by her girlfriend Sukie (Beanie Feldstein), the latter a buttoned-up, corporate, type-A worrywart still nursing the wounds of a long-ago breakup. Pure plot contrivance pairs the platonic buddies in a Dodge Aries mistakenly loaned for a one-way trip south. 

Their destination – Tallahassee, to visit Marian’s aunt – is the same as the briefcase’s drop-off point, where an interested party awaits its imminent arrival, then panics when the girls don’t make the delivery they don’t know they’re meant to make as they squabble over whether and how Marian needs to get laid. 

Hijinks naturally ensue. 

Coen wrote the script with his wife and longtime editing partner Tricia Cooke for his first solo feature film without brother Joel Coen after four decades, 18 films together and an armful of Oscars together. While Joel’s first solo film, 2021’s gorgeously bleak “The Tragedy of Macbeth,” was moody and formalistic, Ethan bends zany with Sam Raimi-esque camerawork, all zooms and tilted angles and goofball transitions between scenes (not to mention psychedelic interludes with a flower-child Miley Cyrus speaking from what looks like the inside of a lava lamp – the Dude wants a hit of whatever she’s smoking).

Little surprise, then, that in the riot of gags and camera angles, “Drive-Away Dolls” can’t find even keel in tone or structure, careening from one joke to the next, its main characters hanging on for dear life. 

A charismatic Qualley gets the closest to figuring it out, relishing her character’s classic Coen cadence, a loquacious bumpkin waxing philosophical about female anatomy in lilting Texas twang and a heavy-lidded swagger that recalls nothing so much as Nicolas Cage in the Coens’ screwball masterpiece “Raising Arizona.” The film’s rife, too, with classic Coen highbrow nods sprinkled in amongst the lowbrow buffoonery. Marian’s girlfriend is desperate to hand off an irascible little dog named Alice B. Toklas, while the literature of Henry James enjoys a shockingly large footprint in a film so full of sex toys. 

There are pleasures to be had, certainly. But like Jamie’s many one-night stands, the pleasures are fleeting. 

Barbara’s ranking

2.5/4 stars


Io Capitano - Movie Review

Directed by: Matteo Garrone

Written by: Matteo Garrone, Massimo Ceccherini, and Massimo Gaudioso

Starring:  Seydou Sarr, Moustapha Fall, and Issaka Sawadogo

Runtime:  121 minutes

‘Io Capitano’ humanizes refugee crisis and finds a star in first-time actor Seydou Sarr

Headlines inform, but often dehumanize. They’re all numbers, not names, statistics instead of faces.

“Migrant boat capsizes off Libya, 400 feared dead.”

“Massive loss of life reported in latest Mediterranean tragedy.”

“40 migrants 'killed by fumes' in hold of boat off Libya.”

Who were these people, so desperate they risked desks in the desert and on the high seas? What were their names? What were their dreams? If not us, who weeps for them now that they’re gone? Italian filmmaker Matteo Garrone puts heart behind the headlines in “Io Capitano,” a humanizing dramatization of the refugee crisis that’s resulted in thousands of unnamed deaths of Africans seeking refuge in Europe. 

Two such desperate people are Senegalese teenage cousins Seydou and Moussa, played with seeming ease by newcomers Seydou Sarr and Moustapha Fall. The enterprising, sweet and streetwise boys have a gift for song and a shared dream of something more than dilapidated shacks with caving roofs for their families. Together, the boys make music, fantasize about one day signing autographs for white people once they’re famous musicians, and squirrel away cash from odd jobs until they think they have enough to fund the perilous trek from Dakar to Sicily.

“Io Capitano” hints at the disillusionment that awaits Seydou and Moussa on the other side of the Mediterranean. “You think Europe is better than Africa. Europe is nothing like you imagine. What you see on TV is not real,” the boys are warned. They’re shocked to learn there are people in Europe, a land of plenty, who sleep on the streets. 

But the European-produced film, nominated for a Best International Feature Film Oscar for Italy and winner of the Venice Film Festival’s Silver Lion award, does not meaningfully grapple with Europe’s role in the refugee crisis – the boats turned back, the drowned and suffocated bodies, the closed borders that consign the desperate to death. In “Io Capitano,” both the perpetrators of suffering and the suffering themselves are all African. 

And there’s no limit to the suffering experienced on the trek between Senegal and the Libyan coast at the hands of smugglers, soldiers, and profiteers. The two boys, so full of song at home, bear mute witness to unspeakable horrors: dead bodies prostrate in the sand, rigid as fallen statues, men flung from rocking truck beds and tortured in secret prisons. Seydou’s face burns, scars, twists, and ages as it takes in humanity’s worst atrocities. But it also reveals a kind of enlightenment. 

Though “Io Capitano” lacks political mettle, it’s overflowing in humanity, especially in the grace of Sarr’s beatific face filling the screen with awe and terror. Garrone’s past work has fluctuated between the brutally grim (“Gomorrah,” “Dogman”) and the opulently fantastical (“Pinocchio,” “Tale of Tales”); here, Garrone marries the sensibilities. Like all heroes’ journeys, Seydou and Moussa’s is touched by the divine, a spiritual dimension glimpsed at the edges of terror as visions of angels and ancestors aid Seydou.

It’s possible they’re just the hallucinations of a boy near death. But when the beaten-but-not-broken boy proclaims, “God is with us!” one can’t help but believe. 

Ranking: 3 out of 4 stars


The Monk and the Gun – Movie Review

Directed and written by:  Pawo Choyning Dorji

Starring:  Tandin Wangchuk, Tandin Sonam, Harry Einhorn, and Deki Lhamo

Runtime:  107 minutes

‘The Monk and the Gun’:  Dorji’s thoughtful approach will fire up audience applause

“You don’t think he’s going to kill anyone.  He’s a monk, right?” – Ron (Harry Einhorn) 

“I don’t know, Man. We live in strange times.” – Benji (Tandin Sonam)

Director/writer Pawo Choyning Dorji’s film isn’t strange but beautifully eccentric. 

Over a deliberately casual pace of 107 minutes, “The Monk and the Gun” introduces the brawny themes of politics and Western influences on the genial, gentle community of Ura, a secluded town in Bhutan.  Through comedy, dramatic theatre, and – yes - some palatable tension, Dorji delivers powerful, persuasive messages through exceptionally thoughtful storytelling.  

The screenplay’s relaxed tones and cinematographer Jigme Tenzing’s sweeping, wide shots of the peaceful, rolling countryside entice us into warm pleasantries of a down-to-earth existence, one without the hubbub of noisy industry or distracting media memoranda that gleefully promotes conflict and engenders consternation.  Still, this unassuming Bhutanese community offers answers to some complex questions about the human condition. 

Bhutan, with a population of about 800,000, is the size of Massachusetts and Connecticut combined, and it’s sandwiched between two behemoth authorities, India and China.  

Set in 2006, Bhutan is on the brink of turning from monarchy rule toward democratic reforms, as well-intentioned officials descend on the unsuspecting village of Ura and attempt to hold – with the help of some eager townsfolk – a mock election as a trial run.  

A hey-let’s-see-how-this-goes exercise.  

However, a voter-driven election is as foreign to Ura residents as a paper route to a Manhattan debutante.   

Simultaneously, the Internet and television have also arrived, and combined with the upcoming vote, Dorji sprinkles in distinctly memorable moments of observational humor as the local populace reacts to this new stimuli. 

For instance, determining one’s date of birth during the registration process becomes problematic for one potential voter, and Tashi (Tandin Wangchuk) – the monk noted in the movie’s title – guesses at the definition of the never-heard-before word “election” in the most surprising of fashions.  Speaking of fashion, TV is now a coveted science-fiction staple, as 10 to 15 Bhutan citizens huddle around a coffee shop and stare at the square box’s magnificence as U.S. suburban families did during the 1950s.  

In fact, a particular British movie spy – born into cinema in 1962 – becomes the object of the group’s gaze.  

Meanwhile, a local lama observes the upcoming sweeping changes in Bhutan and asks Tashi, “Can you get me guns?”  

Why would a lama bear arms?  Do desperate times call for extreme measures?  

Well, our young disciple follows his wishes as Tashi treks to the house of an elderly man who possesses a rifle from the U.S. Civil War, one that an American collector (Einhorn) covets as well.  

The race to retrieve this gun commences, but not in a “The Cannonball Run” (1981) style.  

Tashi strides on foot while a local, Benji, chauffeurs Ron in his compact burgundy Suzuki Quick Silver, a Fiat-sized vehicle – with four doors, mind you – that calmly and coolly saunters along Ura’s one-lane, winding dirt roads, as the occasional wandering dog trots from the other direction.   

Throughout the film, Pawo volleys between the struggles of an election and possessing a specific gun as the semi-irresistible forces of Western culture knock on Bhutan’s door, step inside, reach into the refrigerator, and plunk down on the couch as potentially permanent guests.  

In the house of Bhutan, these macro collision points unfold with delicate but profound individual realizations, including a mother’s (Deki Lhamo) frank concern about the potential cultural losses on her elementary-school-aged daughter.  

Some may view the Bhutanese as a simple community whose lives can only be improved with democracy, the Internet, and television, but on “The Monk and the Gun” IMDb page, Dorji explains in an interview that the film is “a celebration of the quality of innocence.” 

He adds, “As we embraced (democracy), we are suddenly told by the modern world that being innocent is being ignorant.  With this film, I wanted to show there’s a difference between innocence and ignorance.”  

This movie critic votes “Yes.”  Dorji certainly accomplishes his wish, as moviegoers should be fired up with applause after experiencing “The Monk and the Gun”.  

Jeff’s ranking

3.5/4 stars


Suncoast – Movie Review

Directed and written by: Laura Chinn

Starring: Nico Parker, Laura Linney, Woody Harrelson, and Cree Kawa

Runtime: 101 minutes


Parker and Linney deliver glowing, memorable performances in ‘Suncoast’

“You all have, like, saved my life.” – Doris (Nico Parker)

Doris is a 17-year-old Clearwater, Fla. teen. She lives in a pink house in a town with constant sunshine and a nearby beach, and our lead attends the reputable (and expensive) Clearwater Christian High School. Our heroine - apparently - leads a life that most kids in freezing cold Duluth, Minn. or snowy Buffalo, N.Y. could only imagine in their wildest hopes and dreams.

Alas, Doris’ most recent six years have not been ideal, not by a long shot.

Quite the opposite.

Her brother, Max (Cree Kawa), has brain cancer. He can no longer speak, see, or walk, and Doris has been his part-time caretaker and full-time agonizing sister, along with her anxious, snappy, and single mother, Kristine (Laura Linney). Kristine’s husband and Doris’ dad sadly passed away 14 years prior.

Very early in the first act of director/writer Laura Chinn’s indie drama, “Suncoast”, Kristine drives Max and Doris – in their beat-up Ford pickup, with the “R” and “D” missing on its tailgate – to place their beloved son and brother in a hospice center called Suncoast.

Chinn’s feature film debut is semi-autobiographical, and she tells “Vulture” in a Jan. 2024 interview, “When I was a teenager, my brother was moved into a hospice with Terri Schiavo, and her story was on the national news. I knew I wanted to tell that story someday.”

Terri Schiavo’s plight gripped the nation in 2005 as her husband and parents debated in the courts about Ms. Schiavo’s right to life, and this saga serves as a noisy backdrop for Doris’ family quandary. However, there is no dispute in Max’s case. His time left on Earth will tragically end due to natural causes.

“Suncoast”, which opened at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, primarily champions Doris’ causes, ones of frustration, isolation, and her budding reach to thrive as a “normal” teenager.

The film shines with memorable performances from Parker and Linney. Woody Harrelson adds some nice touches. He plays Paul, Doris’ new friend who visits Suncoast to support Terri. Chinn also makes plentiful use of a southern small-town community. Even though filming occurred in South Carolina, just about everything on screen feels like Florida with warm tones, blue skies, and unkempt spaces dotted with unwanted – but accepted - crabgrass, including a wide-open spot where a 17-year-old kid learns how to drive.

Chinn uses conflicting tones and attempts to balance – although not perfectly - grief and loss with spurts of unexpected comedy and Doris’ trouble-free, coming-of-age journey. With Max’s death looming, Linney is flat-out fantastic in delivering frequent sarcastic, biting comments born from Kristine’s frustration and angst over the miserable cards that life dealt to Max. Our stressed-out mom casually refers to the hospice director as a sociopath and tells a concerned police officer that she “makes hospice bombs” in her spare time. No question, Kristine loves Doris, but our teen lead is never free from her mother’s criticism, demands, and scrutiny.

However, this also begs the question. Kristine unquestionably accepts that Paul, a 60-something man, is Doris’ new friend. On what planet would this 21st-century mother roll with Doris and Paul becoming pseudo-BFFs? Apparently, this one. Still, Harrelson’s Paul fills a purpose as a complementary adult for Doris to lean on for support, like Woody’s turn as Mr. Bruner in “The Edge of Seventeen” (2016).

Chinn plays with a couple of welcoming, noticeable contrasts in addition to Kristine and Paul.

For instance, Doris lives in a working-class neighborhood. She’s a poor girl growing up on the wrong side of the tracks, err…beach, and her wealthy classmates, who previously ignored this invisible introvert, suddenly accept her. It’s a classic – or recycled, depending on your point of view - case of income disparity via “Pretty in Pink” (1986) or “Some Kind of Wonderful” (1987). However, in this movie, Doris’ discoveries of friendship, games of truth or dare, and keg stands all become positive encounters with little or no resistance.

Yes, social breakthroughs of boyfriend discourse and gulps of alcohol present a reprieve from the cloudy overhang of her brother’s impending passing, but the constant camaraderie admittedly feels lightweight and without gravitas or consequences with her new friends, Brittany (Ella Anderson), Laci (Daniella Taylor), Nate (Amarr), and Megan (Ariel Martin).

Still, Brittany, Laci, Nate, and Megan are an escape, one free from consternation, and that’s by Chinn’s design. It’s a fair stance, even if one might nod off during affable and predictable shenanigans. Even though “Suncoast” tenders hints of “Valley Girl” (1983) and “Mean Girls” (2004), the writing and chemistry don’t match them.

However, the film’s intended chief disparity is that Doris finally finds a visible existence with her peers simultaneously as Max arrives at Suncoast, as an imminent loss furnishes new beginnings.

These two emotional movements cannot peacefully coexist, and Parker offers some powerful scenes that could shed tears from the driest of ducts.

Nico and we are wholly present in these moments.

Speaking of the present, “Suncoast” stays in the on-screen year of 2005 and doesn’t shuffle with constant flashbacks that could hurt the film’s deliberate, casual pacing, one that allows the audience to travel with Doris, Kristine, and Paul. This leaves Max as an unexplored individual, even though we see his motionless body throughout the picture. Additionally, the audience needs more time with Suncoast’s grief counselor, Sue (Pam Dougherty), and her informal sessions with Kristine. Chinn also explores religion, but more screentime on the pious topic is needed for the deliberation to stick.

Still, Parker’s and Linney’s glowing performances are enough to visit “Suncoast”.

Jeff’s ranking

2.5/4 stars


The Teachers' Lounge - Movie Review

Directed by: Ilker Catak

Written by: Ilker Catak and Johannes Duncker

Starring: Leonie Benesch, Eva Lobau, Michael Klammer, Anne-Kathrin Gummich, and Leonard Stettnisch

Runtime: 98 minutes

The Oscar-nominated ‘The Teachers’ Lounge’ is more than a textbook whodunit

A crime has been committed.

Actually, a series of them.

An unknown thief or thieves have recently struck an institution, and after the latest larceny, an improvised inquiry is instigated.

This establishment, however, is not a bank or widget manufacturer.

It’s a German middle school set in a middle-class or upper-middle-class neighborhood, and the principal, Dr. Bettina Bohm (Anne-Kathrin Gummich), begins a makeshift investigation, including searching the children’s wallets to find the most recent culprit who possibly stole a menial sum of cash.

A new, young, idealistic, and quite popular teacher, Carla (Leonie Benesch), isn’t pleased with this rights violation. Still, when suspicions later rise that the perpetrators have access to the teachers’ lounge, Carla – in an impulsive moment – sets up her laptop’s camera to secretly film inside the sacred schoolteacher sanctuary. However, she inadvertently triggers further turmoil that erupts into the established order of instructor-student harmony…or at least a perceived coherence.

Director/co-writer Ilker Catak’s masterful “The Teachers’ Lounge” – nominated for a 2024 International Feature Film Oscar – leans into and then topples the supposedly robust relationships between parents, students, and educators and then squares his notice on Carla as the chief target and scapegoat of a flawed system and her unfortunate action, one that escalates into an unstable predicament. Benesch (“The White Ribbon” (2009), “Persian Lessons” (2020)) is outstanding here, and her performance has been widely overlooked during award season.

Benesch’s Carla is resolute and resilient, but even this dedicated, strong-willed optimist isn’t immune to enormous pressure from seemingly all sides, including rage from a parent (Eva Lobau) and a child (Leonard Stettnisch), scrutiny from her peers, and collective judgment from the students. Our heroine is composed and professional, but Catak and cinematographer Judith Kaufmann grab their camera and relentlessly follow Carla in the hallways and in and out of classrooms that are filled with emotional minefields. Catak’s frequent close-ups zero in on the tension written all over Carla’s face, and during a September 2023 Toronto International Film Festival screening and Q&A, Ilker calls out that Benesch has a remarkable ability to turn red on command.

With good reason, Carla sees red with anger, embarrassment, and frustration as the movie sharply contrasts her universal admiration before the laptop instance and the ridicule afterward. Attitudes from fellow teachers transform in subtle and obvious fashions through one-on-one discourse, and a collective effort from the student school newspaper becomes downright frightening with an incremental descent into a disapproving frame.

No, “The Teachers’ Lounge” doesn’t resort to “Children of the Corn” (1984) physical tactics (mostly), but a schoolhouse brood shifting into a singularly focused, silent mob mentality will chill your soul, especially as Carla and we simultaneously realize the traps that have been set.

Catak’s film feels like a claustrophobic, tick-tock thriller that Alfred Hitchcock would endorse, one accompanied by Marvin Miller’s nerve-racking score. “Lounge” – which also triples as an ethical-debate narrative and whodunit – zips by with its thrifty 98-minute runtime, and before you know it, the last bell rings, and the end credits roll.

Set down your pens, pencils, or chalk and applaud.

Jeff’s ranking

3.5/4 stars


The Zone of Interest - Movie Review

Directed by: Jonathan Glazer

Written by: Jonathan Glazer, based on Martin Amis’ book

Starring: Christian Friedel and Sandra Huller

Runtime: 105 minutes

‘The Zone of Interest’ holds us captive to a haunting, surreal perspective of The Holocaust

“Bye, bye, Daddy.” – Hedwig (Sandra Huller)

The morning arrives, and Rudolf (Christian Friedel) prepares for his workday, possibly a Monday.

He climbs on his horse and will move through an open gate, as his workplace is adjacent to his home, separated by only a wall. While holding their infant, Hedwig casually throws out the affable goodbye, adieu, or tschüss, tschüss to Rudolf.

Rudolf and Hedwig Hoss are not an ordinary suburban couple living in Chandler, Ariz. or Orlando, Fla.

It’s 1943, and the pair and their children live in Poland. More specifically, they reside – literally - next to the Auschwitz concentration camp, and Rudolf s the commandant. The man runs the place, a horror show where 1.1 million people died (and nearly 1 million were Jewish) during WWII.

Writer/director Jonathan Glazer (“Sexy Beast” (2000), “Under the Skin” (2013)) brings this sinister history to the big screen in “The Zone of Interest”, adapted from Martin Amis’ 2014 book with the same title.

Glazer’s surreal creation is unlike any other Holocaust movie (at least that this critic has seen) because the picture takes a voyeur’s perspective of the Hoss family as they go about their day- to-day activities from behind the scenes, behind closed doors, as friends visit for tea, the family celebrates a birthday, housekeeping chores occupy the busy maid’s time, and Rudolf and Hedwig share pillow talk.

During a TIFF Sept. 10, 2023 screening, Glazer called his film – and he may have been quoting someone else – “’Big Brother’ in a Nazi house.” This critic calls “Zone” chilling, haunting, and a movie that deserves Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Director, Cinematography, and Sound.

Their lavish locale, a spacious domicile and bountiful grounds - complete with a pool and a garden with sunflowers and kale – occupies the vast majority of the film’s 105-minute runtime, where life flourishes. Meanwhile, well-documented atrocities occur just over the adjoining wall. Rather than visually display the murders, Glazer painstakingly films the camp from the Hoss’ perspective. The tops of the brick-and-mortar housing quarters and “offices” ominously tower over the aforementioned concrete divider while Hedwig proudly praises her garden to her visiting mother and where her kids randomly play.

For other select moments, Glazer will present the active chimney of the camp’s infamous furnace during the bright daylight hours and in the middle of black evenings, when it ferociously glows with a burning orange.

Our ears burn too, as we frequently hear screams and gunshots, but (almost) no one on the Hoss estate acknowledges the gruesome clatter because the house needs cleaning or dinner will shortly commence.

Due to the movie’s bizarre observation of this time and place in history, it becomes a challenging chore to grasp the on-screen events. What is Glazer presenting here?

Indeed, the face of evil is on display; however, during the Jan. 16, 2024 Q&A of “The Zone of Interest” Phoenix Film Society screening, one society member opined that we’re looking at indifference as well.

Indifference.

Indifference to the sounds of suffering and bullets, the smells of burning bodies, and the nature of Rudolf’s business. The latter reveals itself through Rudolf and Hedwig’s discourse of his career aspirations and a composed engineer describing Auschwitz’s efficiencies to an attentive Nazi audience, to name a couple.

No, indifference is not the emotion you will feel when held captive by “The Zone of Interest”.

Jeff’s ranking

4/4 stars


Driving Madeleine – Movie Review

Directed by: Christian Carion

Written by: Cyril Gely and Christian Carion

Starring: Line Renaud, Dany Boon, Alice Isaaz, Jeremie Laheurte, and Elie Kaempfen

Runtime: 91 minutes

‘Driving Madeleine’: Renaud and Boon empathetically chauffeur this worthwhile Parisian trip

“I haven’t smoked in 30 years, but today’s special” – Madeleine Keller (Line Renaud)

Madeleine is 92 years young, and she’s right about today. However, the word “special” has a double meaning. Our unassuming Parisian nonagenarian is moving into a nursing home, a momentous life event that she might dread more than her own passing, but she secures a taxi to chauffeur her toward an impending end to autonomy.

Her driver, Charles (Dany Boon), is having a bad morning. Financial stress the size of the 7th arrondissement wears on his mood, and this middle-aged husband and father lashes out his frustrations at traffic and life in general.

These two strangers, attempting to cope with their anxieties, connect through happenstance, or perhaps fate, as director Christian Carion captures a lovely, soulful, but also harrowing (which I’ll briefly explain in a moment) trip filled with rich conversation and profound messaging about celebrating and embracing life, no matter how imperfect one’s path may be.

Semantically, “Driving Madeleine” is an accurate title because Ms. Keller’s automobile journey lasts from the beginning to nearly the end of this colloquial-driven picture through a brisk 91-minute runtime. However, rather than always featuring a setting in the present day, Carion frequently sends us into the past, including 1944, when Madeleine reveals her first kiss, one with an American soldier, as she recounts her years to this newly found chaperone maneuvering on Paris’ streets. During these moments, 32-year-old actress Alice Isaaz plays 20th-century Madeleine and leads the audience through everyday happenings and the crossroads that eventually escort her to Charles’ car.

Carion surprisingly steers us into twisty, dark turns in “yester-century” with dramatic shifts in tones that sharply contrast the casual getting-to-know-one-another cab-ride chitchat. Quite frankly, the striking emotional swings – in (the aforementioned) harrowing territory - feel over the top and steeped in far-fetched melodrama, devices frequently employed in the 1980s or 1990s network television movies of the week.

On the other hand, Renaud presents so much flat-out charm and stirs an abundance of empathy while recounting Madeleine’s history (and a genuine hope that Charles will take heed), our lead could’ve uttered that she flew to the Moon and back on Apollo 11, and just about everyone in the movie theatre would genuinely wonder, “Yes, please tell us more about Neil Armstrong.”

The mother-son/aunt-nephew chemistry between Renaud and Boon gushes off the screen, and why not? French audiences know that the two appeared in a few films together, like “La maison du bonheur” (2006), “Welcome to the Sticks” (2008), and “Family is Family” (2018), but for American moviegoers, this pairing seems brand new.

The 95-year-old singer/AIDS activist/actress and 57-year-old comedian/director/screenwriter lean into their characters’ vulnerabilities and actively listen. Madeleine and Charles - as one would expect - build trust, and they both take opportunities in proving it during unplanned detours that also forge our admiration during their urban trek on pavement and cobblestones. Meanwhile, we’re counting down the minutes towards the eventual (or possible) stop at an unwanted adult care facility.

Until then, “Driving Madeleine” offers feelings of rainbows, lollipops, stormy clouds, and castor oil, otherwise known as the human experience. This worthwhile outing – that features a fabulous soundtrack, including Etta James’ “At Last” - also delivers a flourishing collection of The City of Light’s sites, including classic Haussmann architecture, The Arc de Triomphe, La Defense, street cafés, The Eiffel Tower, and more, and all for the price of one movie ticket, a bargain in my book.

Jeff’s ranking

3/4 stars


All of Us Strangers - Movie Review

Directed by: Andrew Haigh

Written by: Andrew Haigh, based on Taichi Yamada’s novel

Starring: Andrew Scott, Paul Mescal, Claire Foy, and Jaime Bell

Runtime: 105 minutes

‘All of Us Strangers’ effectively offers familiar, universal themes as delicate declarations of regrets, hopes, tenderness,
and forgiveness fill the screen.

Adam (Andrew Scott) lives alone.

He’s a successful screenwriter living in a London high-rise but doesn’t visibly engage with anyone except a neighbor, Harry (Paul Mescal). One day, Harry stops by Adam’s place, hoping to connect. Eventually, they begin a love affair while Adam reminisces about his late parents (Claire Foy and Jamie Bell), who died in a car accident – 30 years prior during the 1980s – “just before (he) was 12.”

Adam attempts to write about his late folks, and Harry asks, “How’s it going?”

He responds, “Strangely.”

You see, through his imagination or some unexplainable, mystical link, Adam reconnects with his mom (Foy) and dad (Bell), and – now – the three are adults.

In director/writer Andrew Haigh’s profoundly affecting cinematic tale – based on Taichi Yamada’s 1987 novel “Strangers”- he explores Adam’s feelings of comfortably belonging in today’s world while facing the wounds of emotional isolation from the past. “All of Us Strangers” tugs on the heartstrings as delicate declarations of hopes, regrets, tenderness, and forgiveness pour off the screen in the tearjerker of the year.

Emotionally, the movie resonates and thrives through personal, intimate discourse, but mechanically, Haigh and cinematographer Jamie Ramsay frequently travel between contrasting visuals of (recent) present-day and the 1980s. Now, the big-screen transitions between eras seem effortless, like gentle winds cradling us across time and space. Still, our director purposely highlights the stark differences, ones that established Adam’s foundation and shaped his current perspectives.

Adam resides in a state-of-the-art but admittedly antiseptic urban flat, but he visits his large, inviting suburban childhood home, complete with a detached pitched-roof garage. The differences are not limited to the physical surroundings. They also swim with personal outlooks. Mom and Dad carry their experiences through the Margaret Thatcher years, but their beloved son reaches his deceased parents as a 40-year-old man who lived through Britain’s communal changes over three decades.

Mom, Dad, and Adam profoundly love one another; however, mistakes, oversights, and miscommunications are as commonplace with any family as warm hugs, kind confessionals, and pure joy. This family is close, but they also are strangers, as parents can’t know all the mysteries, conflicts, feelings, and ideals within their children. In Adam’s case, an additional secret – his sexuality - alluded his guardians.

First and foremost, this new kinship reunion is a glorious, tangible gift for Adam (and for his mother and father), but it also presents an extraordinary opportunity to divulge all his confidences and for them to respond.

“All of Us Strangers” is a grounded film about healing and reconciliation through cinema’s spacious, transcendent magic. Its most moving scenes can be rightly compared to the final sequence between Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner) and John Kinsella (Dwier Brown) in “Field of Dreams” (1989), except in the 2023 movie’s case, Adam, Mom, and Dad share ample time together throughout 105 on-screen minutes.

“Always on My Mind” (1987) by Pet Shop Boys proudly rests on the film’s soundtrack, and the lyrics of the 80s new-wave remake wholly reflect the sentiment.

“Maybe I didn’t treat you quite as good as I should. Maybe I didn’t love you quite as often as I could. Little things I should have said and done; I never took the time. You were always on my mind. You were always on my mind.”

This is a story about second chances and embracing the moment. Adam acts both, and on the latter with Harry after our lead initially rebuffs his advance. Harry is assured of his position in the world but doesn’t possess Adam’s (initial) family footing. Still, Adam’s new partner offers a space of comfort and support while they share their vulnerabilities.

All four skillful leads – by welcoming Haigh’s script and extending warm chemistry – deliver soulful, touching performances through model, earnest exchanges.

In our off-screen, real world, let’s follow their lead in the here and now…before it’s too late.

Jeff’s ranking

3.5/4 stars


Monte’s Favorite Films 2023

Deeply moving love stories, artful social commentary critiques, sprawling historical epics, pop culture icons, and ingenious science fiction worlds…2023 was a fun year to be a movie fan. Here are my favorite films of 2023.


10. Barbie 

"Barbie" is a silly yet sincere effort that creatively brings a witty and subversive story of changing times and shifting cultures to life. Director Greta Gerwig demonstrates a keen command of style and satire throughout the film, crafting a movie that surprisingly honors the legacy of the toy doll while also providing heartfelt and humorous meta-commentary concerning the negative and positive representations found throughout shifting cultural times. "Barbie" is a journey of self-discovery at its core, one that, in the expert care of Greta Gerwig, proves to be a joyous display of female strength and solidarity.


9. 20 Days in Mariupol

Over three devastating weeks, Ukrainian reporter Mstyslav Chernov documents the destruction of a city and the death of its people during wartime. The tenacity of the journalist documenting the invasion of Russian forces on Mariupol, which consistently comes with deep personal danger, is a testament to the power and risk of frontline journalism. The atrocities of war, the chaos, fear, and disregard for humanity are on unflinching display through this pieced-together firsthand account. "20 Days in Mariupol" is a painful yet powerful film.


8. The Holdovers

"The Holdovers" takes place in the 1970s at a New England prep school during Christmas break and focuses on a curmudgeon instructor, a career highlight for Paul Giamatti, who forms an unlikely relationship with an intelligent yet troubled student, an endearing Dominic Sessa, and the school's grieving head cook, an outstanding Da'Vine Joy Randolph. Director Alexander Payne composes a simplistic story but utilizes the characters to peel back the familiar surface elements to reveal deeper layers that engage the motivations and influence the perceptions of each character. "The Holdovers" is one of Alexander Payne's best works.


7. Return to Seoul

The sense of being lost in a place that you have searched so desperately to find is the lingering narrative tone of director Davy Chou's film "Return to Seoul." The story centers on Freddie, an energetic performance for newcomer Park Ji-min, who, on an impulse, leaves France and returns to South Korea to find her birth parents. The journey of self-discovery for Freddie is delicately observed, with an understanding of cultural differences, sensitivities, and the impact that time and place hold on relationships. "Return to Seoul" is the story of one woman's exploration of the past, journey in the present, and look into the future while portraying universal themes about the human condition.  


6. Godzilla Minus One 

Who would have expected in 2023 that a Godzilla movie, historically known for its charming monster fights in rubber suits that progressed to spectacles of computer-generated effects, would offer all the extravagance of a monster movie but also compose an emotional, character-driven story about trauma and grief but also unification and redemption. At the center of this creature feature is a story about historical trauma and the togetherness of a group of people to fight for their culture and future. Godzilla has always been the draw to the theater, a reason to cheer for a giant monster to indulge in havoc and destruction. Still, the beauty of "Godzilla Minus One" is its ability to make Godzilla a beast to be scared of and the humans the reason to cheer.


5. Oppenheimer

A complicated story about an equally complex man, Christopher Nolan's "Oppenheimer" is an achievement of storytelling and filmmaking. The film is a proud biopic that builds a tension-building timeline that leads to a devastating decision that alters the world's state and the applications of science moving forward. Supported on the shoulders of three beautiful performances from Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr., and Emily Blunt, "Oppenheimer" masterfully dissects the internal dialog, memory, and brilliant mind of its title character but also the personal and professional politics throughout Oppenheimer's life. Nolan's achievement with this film is the ability to establish and maintain an underlying sense of dread while skillfully portraying the tenacity of science and the philosophical contemplations leading to the creation of a weapon.  


4. Killers of the Flower Moon

Director Martin Scorsese takes a sobering look at the tragic history of the Osage People, examining the malicious greed and inhumane treatment of life for an Indigenous Community in 1920s Oklahoma territory. "Killers of the Flower Moon," an adaptation of David Grann's 2017 nonfiction novel, establishes a story about relationships between humans, political motivations, cultural understandings, and, at its core, a marriage between a white man and a Native American woman. It's this relationship between Mollie Brown, a delicate and confident performance from Lily Gladstone, and Ernest Burkhart, a restrained yet devious Leonardo DiCaprio, that builds the epicenter of trust but also deceit that transpires throughout the film. Scorsese, throughout the film, reflects on the historical and still prevalent traumas inflicted on Native American communities.


3. The Zone of Interest 

The canvas of director Jonathan Glazer's "Zone of Interest" is a view into the mundaneness of a family's everyday life framed by acts of unspeakable evil. The film focuses on the family life of a Commandant stationed at Auschwitz who is trying to build a happy life in a beautiful home next to the camp. Glazer meticulously composes every single frame with director of photography Lukasz Zal, setting a story with a string of wide angle and tracking shots that display the inhumane environment behind the lush gardens, birthday celebrations, and conversations of everyday family life. The sound design, a haunting mix of faint voices and crashes of metal and stone, further saturates the film with hopelessness and despair. It's a masterfully constructed horror film without a single jump scare or masked monster, a look into the ordinary existence of people connected to unforgivable, brutal acts of violence.


2. Poor Things 

The most wildly imaginative film of 2023 belongs to director Yorgos Lanthimos' "Poor Things," a fantastical story of evolution and the power of individualism. Lead by an enrapturing performance from Emma Stone, playing a reanimated character named Bella Baxter, "Poor Things" is vividly constructed in a world influenced by a mix of science and art, an elegance of design that makes every frame burst with life through fisheye lenses and vintage cameras. While beautifully composed, the story of Bella's self-discovery is far from pretty. Lanthimos' Frankenstein-like tale displays unbridled sexual desire in its raw, unglamorous state, the awful manipulations of men, and the unbalanced societal structure that reveals both immense privilege and the depths of poverty. All these moments influence Bella's perception and understanding of the world. Emma Stone is exceptional in the lead, building a consistently perceptive and thoughtful character that gestures, dances, ponders, and speaks with authority. "Poor Things" is never easy to categorize, and that's the beauty of this impressive film.


1. Past Lives 

Celine Song's debut feature film, "Past Lives," portrays the deeply connected lives of two childhood friends who reunite after being apart for two decades. It is a modern romance detailing the simplicity and complexity of how people identify the emotions of love. It's a beautiful and meditative analysis of the journey of a relationship that invites the viewer to actively participate in phone and video calls from bedrooms, offices, and restaurants. It places the viewer in the middle of thoughtful conversations and memory-making walks with two friends, starting as children, then college students, and finally grown professionals. The way Celine Song composes the film, combining two decades of life into two hours, builds an achingly romantic yet thoughtfully nuanced story of falling in love in many different ways with another person. The film gracefully maneuvers the relationship, making dramatic moments with subdued expertise and leading to a final image that conveys every single emotion about that complicated word called "love."

 
 

Honorable Mentions

Talk to Me

Anatomy of a Fall

Beau is Afraid

Fancy Dance

Spider-Man Across the Spiderverse 

Asteroid City

Godland

How to Blowup a Pipeline

May December 

The Iron Claw

Showing Up

The Boy and Heron

American Fiction


Jeff Mitchell’s Top 20 Films of 2023

 
 

2023 is a banner year for cinema, and, once again, the annual best-movies selection becomes a challenging but rewarding responsibility.

I gladly experienced 220 new films in 2023 and proudly chronicled my 20 favorites.

Now, “20 Days in Mariupol”, “Air”, “Fancy Dance”, “Hey, Viktor!”, and “The Color Purple” just miss my list but don’t let these five impressive flicks pass you by, and I hope that you also explore the following motion pictures, my Top 20 Films of 2023.


20. “Upon Open Sky” – Writer Guillermo Arriaga turns the directing honors to his children, Mariana and Santiago, in this unsettling crime film, one immersed in an on-screen family affair. Teenage brothers Fernando (Maximo Hollander) and Salvador (Theo Goldin) seek to avenge their father’s death through an impulsive plan, but their new stepsister (Federica Garcia) unexpectedly joins the boys on their ill-conceived trek. The three young leads deliver absorbing performances through adolescent recklessness, especially during a stressful, unpredictable third act.

 
 

19. “American Fiction” – Thelonious ‘Monk’ Ellison (Jeffrey Wright) is an aggravated author and professor. He sees red when witnessing other novelists’ successes over Black literary works filled with stereotypes, so he writes his own as a parody. However, the laughs are on him when his new book becomes a wild success, much to his dismay and his agent’s (John Ortiz) outright joy. Director/writer Cord Jefferson confronts issues of race, the media, and present-day reactions to both in his funny and insightful first feature film. Jefferson compliments Monk’s wild new career trajectory with an inward look at the on-screen writer’s foundation through his family, new girlfriend, and everyday outlook.

 
 

18. “Priscilla” – Director/co-writer Sofia Coppola records a fascinating and uncomfortable Priscilla Presley biopic that presents the teenager’s/woman’s relationship and marriage to Elvis, a space filled with isolation, disregard, and a lopsided power dynamic. Elvis (Jacob Elordi) begins seeing Priscilla (Cailee Spaeny) when she is only 14, and Coppola makes an insightful casting choice by paring the 6’5” Elordi and the 5’1” Spaeny that visually reinforces their unsettling age difference. Armed with outstanding costume designs and stirring yesterdecade cinematography, Coppola, Elordi, and Spaeny convincingly convey Priscilla’s painful perspective.

 
 

17. “Dream Scenario” – College professor and family man Paul Matthews (Nicolas Cage) spends his days teaching lectures about evolutionary biology and supporting his wife, Janet (Julianne Nicholson), and their two daughters. However, nights suddenly become problematic because friends, colleagues, and strangers inexplicably begin dreaming about him. What? This mild-mannered, nondescript educator becomes an overnight sensation, and as Kristoffer Borgli’s wildly entertaining movie unfolds over 100 minutes, it becomes abundantly clear that Cage is a dream choice to play Paul.

 
 

16. “Talk to Me” – Brothers Danny and Michael Philippou turn teenage peer pressure on its head by – literally - introducing an ominous hand. You see, some Australian teens frequently caucus after school, and rather than goad their friends into drinking vast quantities of alcohol, they dare each other to grasp a severed, mummified hand for 90 seconds, as spirits from beyond the grave possess the said volunteers. Here’s a request: can we return to keg stands, please? Nope, and for 95 minutes, this frightening and vicious horror film doesn’t pull any punches.

 
 

15. “Toll” – Suellen (Maeve Jinkings) has a problem. Well, she thinks she does. Suellen discovers her teenage son, Antonio (Kauan Alvarenga), is gay and wants to set him “straight” at a conversion program, but she is a broke toll booth worker and doesn’t have the money. As luck would have it, her boyfriend includes her in a lucrative robbery ring, so her difficulties are now behind her, right? Carolina Markowicz’s (“Charcoal” (2022)) unconventional and frank second feature is constantly engaging, and her crackerjack script and Jinkings’ and Alvarenga’s million-dollar performances are infinitely more valuable than a pocketful of loose change or the price of a movie ticket.

 
 

14. “The Delinquents” – Moran (Daniel Elias) is a loyal, long-standing Buenos Aires bank employee, but this middle-aged rule follower has over two decades of shuffling papers left until his retirement. Well, Moran decides to break the rules and pocket a fortune by robbing his employer. He needs a partner and recruits his unsuspecting co-worker, Roman (Esteban Bigliardi), in director/writer Rodrigo Moreno’s 180-minute comedy-crime flick, one that – miraculously – is both utterly straightforward and unorthodox. Elias and Bigliardi are terrific as this unlikely pair, but Margarita Molfino will steal your attention.

 
 

13. “The Holdovers” – Alexander Payne (“Election” (1999), “Sideways” (2003)) is back to form in his hilarious - and sometimes heartfelt - story about an unlikable boarding school instructor (Paul Giamatti) who stays over Christmas break – against his will - to look after the kids who aren’t going home. Set in 1970, Payne leans into the period with a catchy soundtrack, rustic automobiles, and sobering dialogue about the Vietnam War. Speaking of dialogue, Mr. Hunham (Giamatti) teaches ancient civilizations and doesn’t hesitate to frequently apply his knowledge of the subject inside and outside the classroom. Giamatti is a legend.

 
 

12. “Godzilla Minus One” – After several tenuous recent entries in the Godzilla Universe, director/writer Takashi Yamazaki suddenly and completely changes the narrative with his spectacular, popcorn-munching, hand-clapping, and emotional-stirring movie. Set in post-WWII Japan - 1945 and the years following – Yamazaki creates a larger presence than the 164-foot monster: a vastly compelling human story, as Koichi (Ryunosuke Kamiki), a frustrated pilot, copes with his past failures and attempts to make amends in his personal life and against Godzilla. Yamazaki spent less than 15 million dollars on his film, but the impressive and dramatic set pieces look like 100 million bucks, an amount that you’ll also feel when leaving the theatre.

 
 

11. “Anatomy of a Fall” – Samuel (Samuel Theis), a husband and father, falls to his death from the top floor of his French countryside home, and an investigation dissects the anatomy of his fall. However, the inquiry soon reveals the complex layers of the relationship between Samuel and his wife, Sandra (Sandra Huller). Director Justine Triet’s absorbing and knotty courtroom drama keeps us guessing for 150 minutes, and this 2023 Palme d’Or winner deserves – at a minimum - Best Original Screenplay and Best Actress Oscar nominations. Huller is flat-out outstanding and gifts her character with deep nuance and striking bravado.

 
 

10. “Perfect Days” – 2023 Cannes Best Actor winner Koji Yakusho fills the screen with simple pleasures and wonder as Hirayama, a janitor who cleans public toilets all over Tokyo. Director/co-writer Wim Wenders (“The American Friend” (1977), “Wings of Desire” (1987)) offers a leisurely pace over a two-hour runtime, as evidenced by the movie’s first seven minutes that document Hirayama’s morning rituals. This modest custodian approaches his mundane tasks with gravitas and pride, and Wenders and Yakusho gradually reveal clues that there is more to this 60-something than meets the eye.

 
 

9. “The Teachers’ Lounge” – Leonie Benesch (“The White Ribbon” (2009), “Persian Lessons” (2020)) leads a talented ensemble of child and adult actors in a rapid-fire, restless tale of a teacher (Benesch) stepping over the line to investigate a wave of recent thefts at a German middle school. Ilker Catak’s movie triples as an ethical narrative, whodunnit, and claustrophobic thriller while examining the modern-day relationships between parents, students, and educators. The 98-minute runtime zips by, and before you know it, the last bell rings, and the end credits roll.

 
 

8. “Joy Ride” – Ashley Park, Stephanie Hsu, Sabrina Wu, and Sherry Cola star in a buddy road-trip comedy, and this critic hasn’t laughed out loud that much in a movie theatre since “Jackass Forever” (2022). Director/co-writer Adele Lim spins a sidesplitting story where the ladies fall into oodles of boisterous madness – including a run-in with a cocaine dealer and pretending to be a K-pop band – while traveling overseas to help support Audrey’s (Park) career and hopefully find her birth mother. The quartet shares lively chemistry and balances plenty of rated-R incidents with genuine emotional payoffs.

 
 

7. “All of Us Strangers” – Adam (Andrew Scott) lives alone. He’s a successful screenwriter living in a London high-rise but doesn’t visibly engage with anyone except a neighbor, Harry (Paul Mescal). They begin a love affair, and Adam reminisces about his late parents (Claire Foy and Jamie Bell), and then he reconnects with them, either in his mind or in some mystical way. Director/co-writer Andrew Haigh’s affecting, beautiful cinematic tale tugs at the heartstrings as the four characters offer delicate words of hope, regret, tenderness, and forgiveness in the tearjerker of the year.

 
 

6. “The Settlers” – In his stunning first feature, Felipe Galvez Haberle galvanizes a raw, brutal journey across the Chilean and Argentinian landscapes, where a pair of vicious mercenaries (Mark Stanley and Benjamin Westfall) and an unassuming hired hand (Camilo Arancibia) run a long-distance errand for a demanding, wealthy landowner. Set at the turn of the 20th century, the film’s deliberately grainy, muddy look and wide-open spaces stir feelings of Wes Craven’s “The Last House on the Left” (1972), a Werner Herzog production, and 1960s spaghetti westerns.

 
 

5. “Poor Things” – Bella Baxter (Emma Stone) is an unruly maniac. This 30-something, living in a posh abode in 19th-century London, routinely smashes dishes or spits out her food when instant gratification isn’t met. Who are you, Bella? What is going on? Twenty-three minutes into Yorgos Lanthimos’ most ambitious cinematic creation, the wildly imaginative director reveals the answer to both questions and then follows Bella on her fantastical, turbulent odyssey. Stone gives an Oscar-worthy performance, the best of her career, and Mark Ruffalo and Willem Dafoe deserve Academy Award nominations in a film filled with bizarre opulence.

 
 

4. “Fallen Leaves” – Match.com and other dating apps don’t appear in director/writer Aki Kaurismaki’s eccentric dramedy, so Ansa (Alma Poysti) and Holappa (Jussi Vatanen) must connect the old-fashioned way, by a chance meeting, perseverance, and some luck along the way. Initial sparks fly (internally, of course) for Ansa, a bashful grocery store clerk, and Holappa, an unpolished construction worker. However, they struggle to navigate their courtship via Kaurismaki’s droll, deadpan script, inventive framing, and art director Ville Gronroos’ visual delights, including countless hip posters hovering in the background. Love isn’t perfect, but this Finnish charmer gets pretty close.

 
 

3. “Godland” - Hlynur Palmason (“A White, White Day” (2019)) effectively presents a decisive clash between naivete and nature in a scenic drama about a Danish priest’s attempt to establish a church in 19th-century Iceland. Indeed, Palmason fashions the Icelandic topography as a mystical and intimating character for the audience and the aforementioned clergyman (Elliott Crosset Hove), but Lucas’ (Hove) lofty emotional make-up also collides with the locals’ earthy pragmatism. An instant classic. (Note: “Godland” is my #1 film of 2022, but Palmason’s movie is up for awards in 2023, so I’m including it again on my best-of list.)

 
 

2. “The Zone of Interest” – Director/writer Jonathan Glazer (“Sexy Beast” (2000), “Under the Skin” (2013)) recreates Rudolf Hoss’ (Christian Friedel) home that sits on the other side of a wall to the Auschwitz concentration camp. Hoss, his wife, Hedwig (Sandra Huller), and their children go about their lives like a suburban family while unspeakable atrocities occur just meters away. During a TIFF Sept. 10 screening, Glazer called his film – and he may have been quoting someone else – “’Big Brother’ in a Nazi house.” This critic calls “Zone” surreal, chilling, haunting, and a movie that deserves Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Director, Cinematography, and Sound.

 
 

1. “Past Lives” – Na Young and Hae Sung are pre-teen classmates and friends with feelings for one another. They live in South Korea, but when Na Young and her family move to Toronto, the pair loses touch until Hae Sung (Teo Yoo) reaches out to his long-lost childhood crush (Greta Lee) 12 years later through social media. After another 12 years, they reconnect in New York City in director/writer Celine Song’s soulful romantic drama. Song circumvents cliches and standard Hollywood formulas and replaces them with earnest, delicate wonder about fate, circumstances, destiny, and past choices while facing potential earth-trembling outcomes of the heart in the present.

 
 

The Boys in the Boat – Movie Review

Directed by: George Clooney

Written by: Mark L. Smith, based on Daniel James Brown’s novel

Starring: Callum Turner, Joel Edgerton, Luke Slattery, Hadley Robinson, and Peter Guinness

Runtime: 124 minutes

‘The Boys in the Boat’: This real-life sports story is an inspirational cinematic cruise

“The boys, that boat, it’s all I got.” – Joe Rantz (Callum Turner)

It’s the height of The Great Depression. Joe, a capable young man, cannot find work and frequently feels a bit useless, like the bottom of a shoe, and one of his soles suffers from a quarter-size hole.

If only he had two nickels to rub together.

Joe is a University of Washington student, but the billing department informs him that the latest tuition installment due date will arrive faster than you can say “impending doom.”

However, his fortunes, emotional and financial, change when he tries out for the University of Washington Huskies Rowing team under Coach Al Ulbrickson (Joel Edgerton), but Joe’s chances are slim when an army of dreamers turn up for the first meeting. Joe has zero experience, and only eight men make the team, the school’s junior squad.

Director George Clooney and screenwriter Mark L. Smith take a senior swing at delivering this big-screen story, not only Joe’s tale but the entire team’s inspirational voyage, based on Daniel James Brown’s 2013 non-fiction novel, “The Boys in the Boat”.

Clooney, Smith, Rantz, and the rest of the cast and crew are successful, as their 124-minute throwback sports movie feels like a 20th-century production, similar to “Hoosiers” (1986) or “Rudy” (1993), complete with fine attention on the specific athletic movements, a soaring musical score, and warm, pleasing, and dramatic cinematography of the grand events.

For some reason, the Motion Picture Association bestowed a PG-13 rating on Clooney’s film, but this is a satisfying, family-friendly PG-vibes cruise.

“The Boys in the Boat” chronicles Joe and the team’s remarkable travels towards worldwide acclaim, which includes a prestigious international 1936 event.

The movie harbors the Huskies’ exhaustive training, a few specific races, and impending stress and challenges. During a Dec. 11 Phoenix Film Society “The Boys in the Boat” screening, one of the society members mentioned – after the film - that Joe’s struggling relationship with his parents was a more prominent subject in the book.

In the film version, the strain with his father – who abandoned a teenage Joe years before – is explored, but in a limited fashion, just a few minutes on-screen. Still, it is addressed in an affecting scene when Joe confronts his father, Harry (Alec Newman). Credit Turner and Newman for churning up weighty audience empathy.

Now, Brown’s book runs 404 pages, and the challenge with most film adaptions from best-selling works is including enough of the needed source material into a two-hour celluloid presentation.

This critic did not read Brown’s page-turning effort, but Clooney and Smith are thrifty with their limited time and seem to hit most of the needed beats.

For example, in the first act, Joe falls asleep in class due to the extensive physical demands of practice, but an admiring co-ed, Joyce (Hadley Robinson), wakes the athlete just before the irritated professor gazes in his direction.

In only a 10-second sequence, Clooney establishes the team’s overly laborious practice schedule and Joyce’s attraction to Joe, which could blossom into romance later.

Nicely done.

In another example, cinematographer Martin Ruhe, costume designer Jenny Eagan, and supervising art director Simon Marsay effectively capture worlds where monetary strife bludgeons the masses while prosperity surrounds the UW Rowing team. No, Washington doesn’t overflow with an abundance of riches like the University of California, Berkeley or the Ivy League schools, but Joe, Bobby (Luke Slattery), Gordy (Joel Phillimore), and the rest of the crew are treated to the university’s beautiful surroundings, posh meals, and strolls through affluent dining halls and hotel lobbies, ones seemingly always covered with mahogany.

Meanwhile, marches in shanty towns are filtered with bleak grays and accompanied by drab textiles and long, tired faces, as the contrast between the two worlds highlights the blessing of this athletic squad, an absolute reprieve for Joe and company.

Clooney and Smith also squeeze in a lighthearted dance hall sequence, where the men build friendships, and Joe and Joyce strengthen their connection.

However, the one area that feels a little fuzzy is the reason for this junior squad’s vast success. Is it pure will that overcame their have-not beginnings? Is it Coach Ulbrickson’s ever-present guidance? Is the crew’s coxswain, Bobby, pushing them beyond their limits? Is it George Pocock’s (Peter Guinness) Ben Kenobi-like grandfatherly influence…and his handcrafted boat?

Probably all the above, but it isn’t easy to pinpoint one exact cause.

Still, it may not matter in the end, when Ruhe and Clooney convey complete thrills on the water, as three filmed regattas strike intense closeups when sweat, tears (but no blood), and strain pour off the men and broader, complex captures of racing theatre between Washington and their opponents. The film’s massive sound department pitches in, as swinging sculls frequently partner with sharp audio cracks and snaps. You’d swear the wooden oars split in two on a half-dozen occasions. Meanwhile, repeated drama ensues as various bows shove, strive, and dance with one another to the finish lines.

In fact, the first race offers tighter frames more often, but later regattas showcase wider ones, from above and at water level, as Clooney and company step up the nail-biting dramatics as the stakes grow.

Well, Joe may declare that the boys and the boat are all he has, but he and the entire UW crew reached millions, a priceless gift.

Jeff’s ranking

3/4 stars


Poor Things – Movie Review

Directed by: Yorgos Lanthimos

Written by: Tony McNamara, based on Alasdair Gray’s novel

Starring: Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, Willem Dafoe, Ramy Youssef, Suzy Bemba, and Jerrod Carmichael

Runtime: 141 minutes

‘Poor Things’, Lanthimos’ most ambitious creation, bursts with bizarre opulence

“Who are you? Who, who, who, who?” – “Who Are You” (1978) by “The Who”

“What’s going on? What’s going on? What’s going on? What’s going on?” – “What’s Going On” (1971) by Marvin Gaye

Meet Bella Baxter (Emma Stone), an attractive 30-something. She lives in a posh abode, about the size of a city block - in 19th-century London. Bella is unmarried but lives with Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe), presumably her father, but our heroine refers to him as “God,” an ironic moniker because the man’s face is an unholy mess.

God carries horrible scars, as if he regularly shaves with shards of broken glass, but he’s not a monster. He’s a surgeon and teaches various techniques with cadavers in front of crowded, intriguing audiences.

He cares for Bella but isn’t a trained psychologist. However, the woman needs one because she acts like an unruly maniac. Bella smashes dishes or spits out her food when instant gratification isn’t met.

God, who exudes Dr. Moreau or Dr. Frankenstein vibes, sports an odd, fatherly connection with Bella, and it’s impossible to ignore the nagging feeling that the good doctor brings his work home.

Who are you, Bella? What is going on?

Director Yorgos Lanthimos (“The Lobster” (2016), “The Favourite” (2018)) doesn’t keep us in suspense for too long. Twenty-three minutes into his latest mind-bender, the wildly imaginative director reveals both questions. Over the next 118 minutes, he grabs his camera and follows Bella on her journey.

“Poor Things”, Yorgos’ most ambitious movie, bursts with bizarre opulence.

It’s essentially a road-trip movie, a strange and hilarious one, and Emma is his muse in a film that should garner a barrel of Oscar nominations, including Best Actress, two Best Supporting Actor nods, Best Director, and Best Picture, in this critic’s opinion.

The picture’s primary hook is the aforementioned admission, 23 minutes in, and then following Bella’s external and internal trips of discovery, not only experiencing production designers Shona Heath and James Price’s visual smorgasbord for the senses but our heroine’s psychological travels.

Lanthimos and cinematographer Robbie Ryan shadow Bella to various European locales (which will not be named in this review), complete with sightseeing and fine dining in the wealthiest spaces. The wonderous sound stages offer an illustrative mashup of “Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” (1971) and Caesars Palace’s The Forum Shops with convex blue-sky ceilings, minus the Lululemon and Nike stores, naturally.

Bella chassés to one particular, beautiful city center but also wanders into the seediest corners, and she’s sans yoga leggings and Air Jordans in the 19th century.

Stone delivers a slam-dunk performance, as Yorgos asks her to stretch – emotionally and physically – into Bella’s elastic exploration – with frank observations and spot-on comedic delivery - that is infinitely more complex and intricate than her Oscar-winning turn in “La La Land” (2016). Stone has excelled in comedies before - like in “Superbad” (2007), “Easy A” (2010), and Lanthimos’ “The Favourite” (2018) - but we’ve never seen Stone this vulnerable and equally courageous on-screen (at least, I haven’t), including Bella’s sexual escapades, primarily with a debonair socialite, Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo). Ruffalo is an absolute riot, as Duncan frequently grapples with Bella’s inexplicable mindset beneath her gorgeous arm-candy wrapping.

Yes, “Poor Things” earns its R-rating in spades, and this is not a movie for easily-offended or family-oriented audiences. However, brave, enthusiastic moviegoers - who love challenges, a plethora of unpredictable sights, and a soaring, whimsical story arc with a disturbing foundation – will undoubtedly cash in.

Don’t ask questions before stepping into the theatre, including inquiries about Bella’s first-act disclosure. Discover who Bella is and what’s going on – for the first time – while this cinematic phenomenon of riches pours off the screen.

Jeff’s ranking

4/4 stars


The 2023 Phoenix Critics Circle Awards

On Dec. 14, the Phoenix Critics Circle, along with friends, family, and partners, enjoyed a festive evening at the Phoenix Film Festival home office and the Harkins Theatres Scottsdale 101 to proudly announce the PCC’s choices for 2023’s best films, performances, and efforts in technical categories.  

“Past Lives”, Celine Song’s stunning first feature film, seizes the day to win Best Picture, while Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” and Alexander Payne’s “The Holdovers” garner the most hardware with four and three awards, respectively.  

Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr. secure Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor for their atomic work in “Oppenheimer”, and Da’Vine Joy Randolph serves a stand-out Best Supporting Actress performance as an engaging but brokenhearted cafeteria worker in “The Holdovers”, which also won the PCC’s Best Comedy award. 

Valley native Emma Stone rounds out the acting honors with a Best Actress victory for her grand and whirlwind efforts in Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Poor Things”, and the wildly imaginative director cashes in with Best Director honors. 

Here is the complete list of winners and nominees. 

BEST PICTURE

  • THE HOLDOVERS

  • KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON

  • OPPENHEIMER

  • PAST LIVES - WINNER

  • POOR THINGS

  • THE ZONE OF INTEREST


BEST COMEDY FILM

  • AMERICAN FICTION

  • ASTEROID CITY

  • BARBIE

  • BOTTOMS

  • THE HOLDOVERS - wINNER


BEST SCIENCE FICTION FILM

  • ASTEROID CITY

  • THE CREATOR

  • GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3

  • INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY

  • INFINITY POOL

  • THEY CLONED TYRONE - wINNER


BEST HORROR FILM

  • EVIL DEAD RISE

  • NO ONE WILL SAVE YOU

  • TALK TO ME - WINNER

  • THANKSGIVING

  • WHEN EVIL LURKS


BEST ANIMATED FILM

  • THE BOY AND THE HERON

  • ELEMENTAL

  • SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE - WINNER

  • TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: MUTANT MAYHEM

  • WISH


BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

  • ANATOMY OF A FALL

  • FALLEN LEAVES

  • GODZILLA MINUS ONE

  • PERFECT DAYS

  • THE ZONE OF INTEREST - WINNER


BEST DOCUMENTARY

  • 20 DAYS IN MARIUPOL

  • AMERICAN SYMPHONY

  • BEYOND UTOPIA

  • THE MISSION

  • STILL: A MICHAEL J. FOX MOVIE - WINNER


BEST ACTOR

  • BRADLEY COOPER, MAESTRO

  • LEONARDO DICAPRIO, KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON

  • PAUL GIAMATTI, THE HOLDOVERS

  • BARRY KEOGHAN, SALTBURN

  • CILLIAN MURPHY, OPPENHEIMER - WINNER

  • JEFFREY WRIGHT, AMERICAN FICTION


BEST ACTRESS

  • LILY GLADSTONE, KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON

  • SANDRA HÜLLER, ANATOMY OF A FALL

  • GRETA LEE, PAST LIVES

  • NATALIE PORTMAN, MAY DECEMBER

  • MARGOT ROBBIE, BARBIE

  • EMMA STONE, POOR THINGS - WINNER


BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

  • WILLEM DAFOE, POOR THINGS

  • ROBERT DOWNEY JR., OPPENHEIMER - WINNER

  • RYAN GOSLING, BARBIE

  • MARK RUFFALO, POOR THINGS

  • DOMINIC SESSA, THE HOLDOVERS


BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

  • EMILY BLUNT, OPPENHEIMER

  • PENELOPE CRUZ, FERRARI

  • RACHEL MCADAMS, ARE YOU THERE GOD? IT’S ME, MARGARET.

  • JULIANNE MOORE, MAY DECEMBER

  • ROSAMUND PIKE, SALTBURN

  • DA’VINE JOY RANDOLPH, THE HOLDOVERS - WINNER


BEST DIRECTOR

  • GRETA GERWIG, BARBIE

  • JONATHAN GLAZER, THE ZONE OF INTEREST

  • YORGOS LANTHIMOS, POOR THINGS - WINNER

  • CHRISTOPHER NOLAN, OPPENHEIMER

  • MARTIN SCORSESE, KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON

  • CELINE SONG, PAST LIVES 


BEST SCREENPLAY

  • GRETA GERWIG AND NOAH BAUMBACH, BARBIE 

  • DAVID HEMINGSON, THE HOLDOVERS - WINNER

  • CORD JEFFERSON, AMERICAN FICTION

  • TONY MCNAMARA AND ALASDAIR GRAY, POOR THINGS

  • CELINE SONG, PAST LIVES 


BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

  • HOYTE VAN HOYTEMA, OPPENHEIMER - WINNER

  • MATTHEW LIBATIQUE, MAESTRO

  • RODRIGO PRIETO, BARBIE

  • RODRIGO PRIETO, KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON

  • ROBBIE RYAN, POOR THINGS

  • LUKASZ ZAL, THE ZONE OF INTEREST


BEST SCORE

  • JERSKIN FENDRIX, POOR THINGS

  • LUDWIG GÖRANSSON, OPPENHEIMER - WINNER

  • MICA LEVI, THE ZONE OF INTEREST

  • DANIEL PEMBERTON, SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE

  • ROBBIE ROBERTSON, KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON


The Oath – Movie Review

Directed by: Darin Scott

Written by: Darin Scott and Michelle Scott

Starring: Darin Scott, Nora Dale, Karina Lombard, and Billy Zane

Runtime: 104 minutes

Pledging to watch ‘The Oath’ might cause severe regrets

“You are so boring, all your thinking.” – Bathsheba (Nora Dale)

After a brief opening chase scene through a crowded forest in director/co-writer Darin Scott’s “The Oath”, the camera focuses on the lead, Moroni (also played by Scott), a muscular 40-something donning a warrior’s garb, complete with, perhaps, a cowhide vest.

He’s thinking.

Moroni stands, sits, and lies down in a vast patch of lush emerald pasture near an ocean coast, and the thoughts in his head – for some reason - are spoken aloud through narration in his native tongue while subtitles appear. He’s alone, the sole survivor of the Nephite Nation.

By sight alone, one might guess that Scott’s movie might be set during the fictional Hyborian Age, thousands of years before 0 A.D., but this story takes place during the 5th century in North America, as noted during the opening credits.

Scott and cinematographer Brian O’Carroll offer a grand entrance for Moroni, a stoic gentleman who might let his sword do most of the talking. The Nephites’ opposing nation, The Lamanites – “after a millennium of war” – killed all of Moroni’s people.

However, only scarce swathes of swashbuckling sprint to the screen, mostly late in the third act, as “The Oath” is primarily a slow, clumsy, colloquial-dominated narrative, where Moroni speaks in parables and formalities to himself and Bathsheba (Nora Dale) from the opposing nation, The Lamanites.

He will utter, “Their words will cry from the dust.”

“If they slay me, it matters not,” Moroni also says.

The central plot revolves around Moroni coping with the fact that the Nephites’ history could be wiped clean after his demise. King Aaron (Billy Zane) of The Lamanites – who apparently only rules over 10 on-screen citizens in his kingdom - wishes to rid the world of Moroni. Meanwhile, the ruler’s mistress, Bathsheba, leaves him and finds this lone Nephite. The rugged Moroni and beautiful Bathsheba might pledge some common ground and romance.

Bathsheba is running from an abusive relationship, but Moroni becomes possessive after just a couple of weeks and asks that she never leaves him.

Come on, Moroni. Give her some space.

Well, Scott’s production may be a passion project because “The Oath” is a religious chronicle about an important figure for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Admittedly, this critic didn’t realize it until the end, but most moviegoers – with or without some research beforehand – will grasp this obvious fact. My agnostic beliefs and frequent critic practice of “walking blindly into a movie” (without knowing anything about it) drove my naiveté for this 104-minute picture.

So, looking back, Scott’s constant gravitas towards Moroni’s everyday tasks – like handing a plate of food to Bathsheba or strolling through the woods – now draw clarity due to the widespread reverence given to this religious figure.

So, I respect Scott and his cast and crew’s intentions to bring Moroni to the big screen.

Still, as a movie, I must unfortunately vow – from my perspective - that “The Oath” is a clunky, awkward experience. It feels like it was filmed on a shoestring budget – without accompanying footwear - in one location out in the wilderness, like if you and your friends decided to shoot a movie over a three-day weekend.

It’s filled with wincing, wooden dialogue, but the performances – as a whole – aren’t second-rate. However, Scott often runs into problems, because he seemingly can’t quite find the balance between portraying Moroni’s respected sobriety and delivering needed emotion in critical spots. When in doubt, Scott seems to lean on the former, which is a safe bet, but his interpreted stoicism hampers the intended poignant moments.

The strained choreography with the supporting players doesn’t help the film’s cause. For example, the Lamanite combatants seem connected by an imaginary rope, so they don’t fall out of the camera frame during their repeated steps over the same woodsy acreage or path adjacent to a small rocky cliff throughout the movie.

During the eventual fight scenes between King Aaron’s entire militia of 10 combatants versus Moroni, Bathsheba’s sister Mahigana (Karina Lombard) fires off two arrows that land, but we don’t see her pull on the bow. Still, through the magic of editing and our imagination, she did.

Take the editing department’s word for it.

Speaking of words, “The Oath” is a movie where members of the warring factions sometimes speak their distinct languages or sometimes break into English. The rule of thumb is that the longer the movie runs, the more English you’ll hear. If Scott filmed “The Oath” linearly, maybe the cast and crew said, “Hey, let’s just drop the other languages, okay?”

Although Zane delivers a slight Irish accent throughout his performance, which comes out of nowhere, but hey, at least he’s not boring with all his talking.

Jeff’s ranking

1/4 stars


Dream Scenario – Movie Review

Directed and written by: Kristoffer Borgli

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Julianne Nicholson, Tim Meadows, and Dylan Gelula

Runtime: 102 minutes


‘Dream Scenario’: Cage is a dreamy choice for Borgli’s exceptional and eccentric dark comedy

“The Dream Police. They live inside my head.” – “Dream Police” (1979) by Cheap Trick

Paul Matthews (Nicolas Cage) isn’t a cop, but – for reasons that cannot (easily) be explained - he’s living inside people’s heads.

This college professor and family man spends his days giving lectures about evolutionary biology and supporting his wife, Janet (Julianne Nicholson), and their two daughters. However, nights suddenly become problematic because friends, students, colleagues, and strangers inexplicably begin dreaming about him.

What?

This mild-mannered, nondescript educator becomes an overnight sensation, and as director/writer Kristoffer Borgli’s inventive, satirical, and eccentric movie unfolds over 102 minutes, it becomes abundantly clear that Cage is a dream choice to play Paul.

Cage has been on a roll lately. Movie studios and filmmakers seem to have awakened with Nicolas in mind, and he’s accepted notable roles, led by “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent” (2022), where he plays a version of himself in an action comedy with Pedro Pascal.

But we can also look towards other recent flicks where the public has rediscovered Nicolas Kim Coppola, including “Pig” (2021), “Renfield” (2023), and an ever-so-brief cameo in “The Flash” (2023).

Cage fans may argue that he never separated from their lives. Just look at his lengthy IMDb resume with 116 credits as proof.

In a 2012 Werner Herzog Q&A (that’s available on YouTube at BAMorg), the famous director celebrates his collaboration with Nicolas on “Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans” (2009). Werner explains that Cage asked for insight into why his character – the bad lieutenant – was…bad.

Herzog responded, “’Nicolas, you know, there’s such a thing like the bliss of evil. Go for it!’ And he really went for it.”

Here, Nicolas’ Paul isn’t malevolent, but our lead thespian goes for it in “Dream Scenario”.

Professor Matthews – a follically-challenged 50-something suburbanite - is confident with his classroom material, but he’s insecure and awkward outside his teaching mode.

His ex-girlfriend, Claire (Marnie McPhail), remarks that he’s “always (waiting) for the insult.”

Janet states that he “scores high on assholeness.”

He doesn’t stand out in a crowd, and therefore, Paul is safe among the herd, not unlike an example in the animal kingdom that he calls out in class.

Cage is physically masterful here, with seemingly hundreds of moments where Paul’s internal churn of self-doubt rises to the surface with hesitations, graceless chit-chat, and clumsy exchanges.

With zero charisma, Matthews essentially goes unnoticed, but once colleagues, acquaintances, and unfamiliar individuals begin to recognize him (because he’s a frequent attendee during their slumber), this timid fellow gets a palatable taste of celebrity and far-and-wide curiosity.

Borgli and cinematographer Benjamin Loeb embrace the challenge of forging dream sequences, and they skillfully gather numerous five-second snippets of anxious, tangible images of snooze hallucinations. On most occasions, Borgli deliberately identifies which cinematic extractions originate from the on-screen characters’ headspaces, but he – sometimes - makes us guess.

Not only do Borgli and Loeb take meticulous care with the sporadic delusions’ visuals, but sound designer and Oscar winner Sylvain Bellemare and his team offer bold echoes, thuds, and reverberations to accompany these surprising fantasy morsels. Conversely, Bellemare and company hush the resonance during the story’s conscious minutes, reflecting Paul’s mundane existence.

Filmed in Toronto, the grey, overcast weather escorts our hero, not necessarily like a dark cloud but as a lingering malaise. It’s no accident that he roams through the ashen concrete walls of his university, where he takes pride in his life’s work, which contrasts with his luxurious brick home, one adorned with flowery, luxurious grounds.

Janet grew up in this domicile that Paul, she, and their two girls occupy, and it’s a refuge of opulence, comfort, and family. Outside fame should pale in comparison. Perhaps “Dream Scenario” shines a light on this searching-for-broad-acceptance dynamic, one magnified these days by social media’s ubiquitous force. It’s a movie filled with observational humor and prickly, frank looks at the human condition, one with odd surprises, including a 30-something well-known film comedian randomly popping up as a baseball-hat-wearing marketing executive.

Yes, it’s difficult to police the proceedings in this new Nicolas Cage vehicle. Hey, just dismiss any restraint and experience “Dream Scenario” with wide-open eyes.

Jeff’s ranking

3.5/4 stars