Category: Reviews Page 19 of 63

Two Shorts @ SXSW: “Everything Will Be All Right” & “Belle River”

On March 15, 2022

In France, Movies, News, Pop Culture, Reviews

Director Farhad Pakdel and star of “Everything Will Be All Right” Nahema Ricci behind the scenes in Montreal. (Photo credit Manon Assens).

Farhad Pakdel, the writer/director/producer of the short “Everything Will Be All Right” helms this 16 minute short tale of a young pregnant teacher, Leila, trying to reach home in Iran before her father dies of Covid. Pakdel underscores Leila’s situation with the underpinning of the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. It is playing at SXSW 2022, and I hope we see Pakdel’s first feature-length film here in the future.

Orpheus, you will recall, went to the Underworld to retrieve the love of his life, Eurydice, but he was told he could not look back while leading her from Hades. When he did look back, she was sentenced to live in Hades forever and he was killed. The students in Leila’s class (Leila is beautifully played by Nahema Ricci of “Antigone”) point out the unfairness of the fact that Eurydice did nothing to bring her fate down upon her; she was thrust into Hades forever by circumstances beyond her control, the actions of Orpheus in disobeying his instructions. So, too, is Leila being buffeted by the vagaries of fate.

Pakdel is commencing work on his first feature film (after 9 shorts) and has a Master’s in Cinema from the University of Tehran and a Master’s in film from the University of Montreal. He shows depth and competence that bodes well for future work.

The film is shot in Montreal during the height of the pre-vaccine Covid outbreak (March of 2020). Leila, shown in her classroom discussing the story of Orpheus and Eurydice with her students, has just received word that her father back home in Iran is seriously ill and hospitalized.

Nahema Ricci in “Everything Will Be All Right” from Writer/Director Farhad Pakdel.

As the short moves us forward, detailing Leila’s efforts to leave work and secure passage home, the prime minister of Montreal, Francois Legault, has just announced that all schools will be closing for two weeks due to the pandemic. However, there are complications well beyond simply securing air fare during a time of international chaos surrounding air travel. There is the doctor appointment that Leila must re-arrange, but how?

The backdrop to the story of Leila’s desperate attempts to get home in time to say good-bye to her terminally ill father is that she is pregnant and scheduled for an abortion, which will be complicated by the necessary quarantine restrictions should she leave the country, as she will move from 10 to 14 weeks pregnant. The romance—[if it was a romance and not assault]—with the baby’s father is long over; he has now become a stalker.

Leila had made up her mind to terminate the pregnancy, but the various time constraints associated with flying overseas during a pandemic cause all sorts of problems with that plan. At one point in the cab on her way to the airport, Leila has to step out of the cab. to say good bye to her father by phone via FaceTime as he lies mortally ill in an intensive care unit in a hospital thousands of miles away.

This scenario of having to say good bye to family members via Face time is gut-wrenching; I think of it every day. It played out in my own family with the loss of my 62-year-old sister-in-law to Covid on April 18, 2020. FaceTime is how she had to say good-bye to her husband and three adult children.

Nahema Ricci in “Everything Will Be All Right” at SXSW, 2022.

Facing a few health situations of my own currently, I am well aware of the conflicting emotions that must be sweeping over the pregnant young woman, buffeted by the vagaries of fate. She steps outside the cab at one point—no doubt to say good-bye forever to her beloved father— and, when she re-enters the vehicle, the cab driver says, “Spring is unpredictable. Everything will be all right.”

Will it? What will happen to Leila from this point forward? Does she continue driving towards the airport for a departure to her homeland anyway? I wanted to know more about Leila, and, while I understood the title and its mythical import (it helped that I taught a unit on Myths and Legends for 20 years to junior high school students), I still wanted to know if everything WAS going to be “all right” for Leila, so well played by Ms. Ricci.

This short is both poignant, timely and resonates with the world today. It was well constructed to drive tension, has excellent camera work from Alexandre Bussiere, is well-acted, and makes me want to see more from this talented filmmaker (and to learn more about the fictional Leila, caught in a trap not of her own making.) Bravo!

********

“Belle River,” a short at SXSW 2022:

“Belle River” was a journey to Pierre Part, Louisiana. The area is flooded and the Morgana Spillway is opened to protect Baton Rouge and Louisiana, just the third time that has occurred in over a century. It is unclear what effect, exactly, this has had on Pierre Part in terms of “before” and “after” the opening of the spillway.

“Belle River,” a short about Pierre Part, Louisiana at SXSW, 2022.

The entire 16 minute short from Guillaume Towner, Samuel Matteau, and Yannick Nolin simply shows us flooded homes and stores. There are unidentified residents (speaking in Cajun French with English subtitles) saying, “If we get a hurricane, that’ll really mess us up.” However, along with pointing out the obvious (flooded streets, homes and businesses), lines like “We’re ready. We’re prepared for this,” seem like whistling in the dark.

There was no real documentation of how far underwater the town has become due to the opening of the spillway or just the effects of nature and no “main character” or main characters for us to relate to, as were highlighted in 2019’s “Lowland Kids.”

In “Lowland Kids”, also shown at SXSW (3/12/2019) we learned that the area of Isle de Jean Charles, Louisiana was losing one football field-sized piece of land to the water every hour on the hour. There were 180 to 200 families in Isle de Jean Charles who were about to become the first casualties of global warming and flooding in Louisiana. We also got to hear from Juliette and Howard Brundt, a brother and sister living with their handicapped Uncle and about to be displaced from the only home they have ever known.

I was disappointed that “Belle River” had so little concrete information on Pierre Part’s situation and would recommend the slightly older (2019) short “Lowland Kids,” reviewed on this blog at that time. “Belle River” needed more information from the filmmakers, because it simply plays like an insert on the evening news in its current format.

Check out “Lowland Kids,” reviewed on this blog, for another short film that makes a great companion piece to “Belle River.”

http://www.weeklywilson.com/?s=Lowland+Kids

“Spin Me Round” at SXSW 2022 Falls Flat

By Connie Wilson

On March 14, 2022

In Humor and Weird Wilson-isms, Movies, Pop Culture, Reviews

“Spin Me Round” at SXSW, 2022 on March 12/13, with Allison Brie and Aubrey Plaza.

Mark and Jay Duplass executive produced a film at SXSW that seems to be a comedy that might have been a romance, that considers becoming a thriller (briefly) and also works in a plug for female empowerment. It Is pretty meandering and difficult to categorize. The script (Allison Brie and Director Jeff Baena) needed work and focus.

I met the Duplass Brothers at the Chicago International Film Festival many years ago (2011), when “Jeff, Who Lives At Home” was hitting the festival circuit, and, since then, have enjoyed their individual appearances in “The Morning Show” as Jennifer Aniston’s director Chip Black (Mark) or in “Tully” and Jay’s breakout role as Bill Dobson in “The Chair,” the loopy widowed professor. I also enjoyed “Jeff, Who Lives At Home.” but other Duplass outings seemed low-budget (“Creep”) and poorly crafted. But this one had some truly funny people in it, so I gambled and lost.

This effort seems not to know what it is going for. The cast tells us that it is going to be a comedy. Why do I say that? We have, as its lead, Allison Brie (of “G.L.O.W.”), Fred Armisen (“Portlandia”) and Molly Shannon, “SNL” alums; Zach Woods (“Veep”) as Dana and Aubrey Plaza (“Parks & Rec”) as Kat. All-in-all, it’s a cast that should scream comedy, but the difficult-to-determine-what-it-is screenplay, co-written by Allison Brie (who also produced) and Jeff Baena, the writer/director, doesn’t seem to make up its mind what it’s going for, even by film’s end. It was a film that started out being about Italian pasta. I honestly felt as though those in charge just threw everything against the wall and hoped something would stick.

The tag line for the film is: “A woman wins an all-expenses trip to a company’s gorgeous “institute” outside of Florence and also the chance to meet the restaurant chain’s wealthy and charismatic owner. She finds a different adventure than the one she imagined.”

Shooting began in Italy in June of 2021; the Italian countryside is beautiful.

Her co-star in what seems to be trying to become a romance instead of a comedy is Alessandro Nivola, who we saw in “The Many Saints of Newark,” the “Sopranos” prequel.

As mentioned in the tag line, a young girl (Allison Brie), who works in an Italian chain restaurant, the Tuscan Grove in Bakersfield, California, fashioned on The Olive Garden or Biaggi’s, is sent off to Tuscany in what is touted as the Tuscan Grove Exemplary Managers’ Institute. There, she joins a group of other such selected employees from around the United States, some of them wacky (Molly Shannon as Deb) and some of them other pretty young girls or random weird males. The founder of the chain, a handsome wealthy fellow (Alessandro Nivola) stops by and the plot takes off, more-or-less (mostly less).

From the outset, we get the impression that Aubrey Plaza as Kat is mainly employed by the chain’s founder (Alessandro Nivola as Nick) to pimp for him, separating the more desirable female attendees from the group and herding them out to Nick’s yacht, where he comes on strong as a romantic suitor. The character of Kat also allows the film to include today’s obligatory lesbian vibe, despite the fact that it seems totally unsuitable to moving this plot forward (which seems to be a heterosexual romance, at that point).

Alessandro Nivola looked too old for Allison Brie’s character, (and somewhat out-of-shape), but rich men always get a pass, so that I could deal with. (He is 10 years older than Ms. Brie, in real life.) Things seem to be heading in the direction of a romantic comedy (some of the other attendees, like Molly Shannon, are wacky, and her outfits are over-the-top) but then the plot take a darker turn, as visions of Epstein’s island activities crowd our consciousness and a murder is even suggested.

Fred Armison, portraying a wealthy artist with a villa who hosts large orgies where wild boars (there is an actual boar handler listed in the credits) ramble through is not “funny,” and the entire enterprise teetered on the brink of “Who killed Dana?” for a moment until—wonder of wonders—-Dana (Zach Woods of “Veep”) isn’t really dead after all.

In short, the script is a mess and the message of the script seems lost in the many mis-steps of tone.

At the very end of this Cinema-by-committee offering, the wealthy suitor (Alessandro Navolo, who has completely embarrassed himself with a crying scene that is more comic than dramatic, but never convincing) shows up in person to pitch Allison Brie’s character back in Bakersfield, California, at her franchise outlet, bringing with him a baby turtle ( turtle wrangler on set). She tells Nick to get lost, which, given the events that have occurred prior to his Grand Finale appearance, seems like too little, too late. So there’s our “Be gone, toxic masculinity!” moment.

I’ve been burned by some Duplass Brothers low-budget horror flicks before, but this potential comedy had people in it who can be genuinely funny. I was suckered in by that, alone.

Don’t bother.

You won’t make much sense out of the film, either, but I’m sure that Alessandro and Allison will have better roles in better films in the future.

“DMZ” Series Has World Premiere at SXSW on March 13, 2022

By Connie Wilson

On March 14, 2022

In Movies, Of Local (Quad Cities') Interest, Pop Culture, Reviews

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDsrZk9yxwk

The riveting drama “DMZ” was premiered at SXSW 2022 on Sunday, March 13^th, 2022, at the Paramount Theater in downtown Austin. Prior to the showing of this first of four episodes of the limited series (which will air on HBO Max beginning on March 17^th), Dawson and Bratt and others met the press on the rooftop of the Riley Building. The cast continued answering questions at a Q&A following the screening of the first of the four-part series.

Cast of “DMZ” (Warner Media) on Sunday, March 13, at the Paramount Theater in Austin at SXSW 2022.

Producer/Writer Roberto Patino (“Westworld”), taking the stage with the cast in Austin (far right), described how he had taken the Vertigo graphic novel (comic), which ran from 2005 to 2021, and selected Rosario Dawson’s character of Alma Ortega to develop more fully. Because of the pandemic, the series was pared down to only 4 episodes

Premise: A Civil War has decimated the United States. This is particularly relevant at a time when we are closer to Civil War than at any time since the 1861-1865 North/South conflagration. The story focuses on the DMZ (Demilitarized zone), a ravaged Manhattan Island with 300,000 souls trapped inside.The various parts of Manhattan have been taken over by various gangs. We are taken to the Village, the Upper East Side, Midtown, Central Park, Chinatown and all other parts of the city.

One power-broker within the warring factions is portrayed beautifully by Benjamin Bratt, as a whip-thin political gang leader radiating ruthless charisma. Onscreen, he explains, “People don’t want leaders. They want spectacle.” Imagine a good-looking, taller, younger, articulate Hispanic Putin. He’s a power-hungry leader who will stop at nothing to consolidate his reach and is running for Governor of the DMZ, telling the enthusiastic crowd that the DMZ will become its own state. Bratt is outstanding in the role, menacing and believable.

Rosario Dawson and Benjamin Bratt at the Premiere of “DMZ,” a 4-part episodic WarnerMedia presentation at the Paramount Theater in Austin on March 13, 2022, at SXSW Film Festival.

Alma (Rosario Dawson) portrays a medic, a single mother desperate to find her missing son, Christian They were separated while fleeing the city six years prior, in a scene straight out of the train stations in Ukraine occurring right now. In Episode #1, Rosario interacts with another medic, portrayed by Mamie Gummer, daughter of Meryl Streep and a look-alike for her talented mother. It’s an intense exchange as the medic trapped within the DMZ (Gummer) takes Dawson’s Alma under her wing in helping her search for her missing son. Show-runner/writer Patino paid tribute to Dawson’s work telling her, “You inhabited this woman so thoroughly and made her your own.” True that.

Everyone in Episode #1 was very credible, but another outstanding performance is turned in by Jordan Preston Carter, who portrays the young Odi Peerlis. The actor has eleven credits since 2016 and, while his exact age is not mentioned in his bio, he appears to be roughly ten years old and holds his own against a talented adult cast. He is a natural. The character of Odi conveys the trauma and pathos of children caught in the midst of war. The parallels with current real life are obvious.

One line from the film explains the film’s themes/conflict this way: “Even when we’re here, surrounded by two armies with guns firing on one another, people can’t see past killing each other to better themselves.” Later, the line is: “People won’t hesitate to kill you for whatever you’ve got.” A lot of truth in those scripted lines.

Dawson’s character represents hope and a better way of dealing with life than through never-ending violence. In her remarks to the audience, she mentioned her own hard-scrabble upbringing on New York’s lower East side and described the entire four-episode series as “real” and “poignant.” Dawson decried “patriarchal toxic masculinity”and said that she hopes her character is a catalyst to help eliminate it.

Benjamin Bratt at SXSW with “DMZ.”

Bratt, too, described a change of heart in portraying his character as he began work on the series based on a comic book. He said that, at first, he thought it would be fun to portray a kick-ass comic book character. As the series went on, he began to see Parco Delgado (his character) as “a real person suffering from habituation learned as a young man; might makes right. Clearly he is someone who recognized the opportunity to seize power.”

The Ava Duvernay directed series, judging from the showing today, is dynamite. Don’t miss it! (HBO Max on Thursday, March 17, 2022).

Stay Tuned Here for SXSW From March 11-20th!

By Connie Wilson

On March 10, 2022

In Movies, Reviews, Television, Texas

Rosario Dawson in new series “DMZ” at SXSW in Austin, Texas.

I’m here at SXSW 2022 and preparing to travel down to the Convention Center on Thursday to collect my badge, get my Nikon tagged, and prove I’ve been vaccinated—3 times.

This is not my first rodeo, but it is one of the most screwed-up, pandemic or no pandemic, mostly because of my own computer shortcomings. My computer was hacked, which ended up costing me close to $200 to fix AND an important announcement regarding things in general got lost in my SPAM folder, I had surgery on 1/27 and missed some important deadlines because we were driving to get here. Probably just as well that I won’t be standing in as many lines for as long as usual, since I’m not yet 6 weeks post-surgery until tomorrow.

Also, one year ago in Austin we had the infamous freeze and had to melt down Frosty the Snowman in order to flush our toilets. (Yikes!) Remember that? We went without water for about 5 days, but did not lose our power–although our son and wife, 3.3 miles away, lost both for about a week. Ah, the golden memories.

Armie Hammer. at SXSW in 2018 (my photo at the Stateside Theater.)

I’m just so pleased that SXSW seems to be emerging from the pandemic stronger than ever because, as you may remember, they were one of the first Big Events to cancel that year and go all online, (whereas Mardi Gras just went ahead and exposed a bunch of party-goers in the Big Easy.) Not all of the celebrities of past years will be there this year, as evidenced by THAT guy!

I’m going to be taking in a lot of the films on my home television set, because, due to recent surgery and being on the road when the deadlines occurred, I seem to have missed the deadline for signing up for Red Carpet photo ops. I’m still invited to chat with the stars of a variety of new streaming shows one-on-one, including the new “DMZ” (a fictional new Civil War with Rosario Dawson and Benjamin Bratt, where Rosario is searching for her missing son).

Another big new sci-fi offering that Steven Spielberg has a hand in will be “Halo,” which is being touted and the entire working group behind Ben Stiller’s “Severance” (minus Stiller, himself, or Adam Scott) will be meeting with registered press who wish to ask questions about that intriguing series (I’ve seen 3 episodes, so far).

All together, there are 99 features, 76 World Premieres, 4 International Premieres, 4 North American premieres, 2 U.S. premieres, 13 Texas premieres and 111 short films.

I’m torn between attending the up-close-and-personal meeting with the stars of the new “The Man Who Fell to Earth,” since I remember the original with David Bowie, or participating in a Lizzo promotional event that sounds really fun. I almost certainly will be the oldest person at any of these get-togethers, and I will often opt for the really interesting documentary over the so-so feature. (How many reviewers have been at this non-stop since 1970?)

Pick up a copy of my book on 70s movies, “It Came from the 79s: From The Godfather to Apocalypse Now” on Amazon to celebrate SXSW and prove that I’ve been at this a looong time.

Who can choose between “Linoleum,” a Jim Gaffigan-starring light comedy (also sci-fi-ish) and Ethan Hawke’s examination of Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward entitled “The Last Movie Stars?”

Stay tuned to this page as I share with you, my faithful readers, the upcoming SXSW offerings that I’ll be seeing from March 11 to March 20^th.

“Dog” Marks Channing Tatum’s Directorial Debut

By Connie Wilson

On February 21, 2022

In Movies, Of Local (Quad Cities') Interest, Pop Culture, Reviews

Channing Tatum stars in and co-directed the film “Dog,” out now in theaters. His co-director on the project was fellow first-time director Reid Carolin, who also co-wrote the screenplay in collaboration with Brett Rodriguez. The movie clocks in at an hour and 41 minutes and follows the adventures of a Belgian Malinois service dog named Lulu who is being transported to her handler’s funeral in Arizona by Channing Tatum.

Lulu’s previous handler in Afghanistan, Riley Rodriguez, committed suicide-by-car-accident back home in Arizona; the grieving family would like the dog transported to the cemetery, so Channing Tatum, as Jackson Briggs, is elected to drive the dog to the funeral. Briggs hopes to get a pass to deploy for battle once again, but his many tours of duty have left him with some heavy-duty head problems.

In other words, the owner of the dog obviously suffered from PTSD after serving in a combat zone and had a death wish. It would appear that Jackson Briggs (Tatum’s character) shares that death wish, as he is eager to return to a war that will probably kill him. The Ranger brass are reluctant to authorize another deployment. If Briggs will undertake this picaresque journey to Camposanto Cemetery, Briggs might get his wish, foolish though it seems.

Channing Tatum and Reid Carolin do a nice job of keeping the focus on Briggs and the dog (Lulu, as portrayed by three different dogs, named Zuza, Bula and Lana 5). Since his co-star has a non-speaking part, Channing Tatum must suck it up and handle the interaction with his non-human co-star; he has a nice and easy rapport with the animal.

While driving the Pacific highway to their destination, Briggs feels they should also try to have some fun. The clips we see where Briggs pretends he is blind to get a free suite at a posh hotel provide one such detour. Another happens when Lulu gets free and Briggs has to chase the dog through rugged mountain terrain. He stumbles upon an undercover pot operation run by someone even larger and more muscled than himself, which is something. That character (Gus) is played by the heavily tattooed Kevin Nash, and his hippie soul mate in the boonies is the recognizable character actress Jane Adams, portraying Tamara.

There is an attempt by Channing Tatum to find a willing sexual partner for the night in a bar, which fizzles. A decision is made to revisit Lulu’s litter mate brother, who is being trained to re-enter polite society by a former Ranger buddy. There is also a detour during a frightful storm, where Briggs and the dog take shelter in a barn to wait it out.

Finally, as it must, the film gets us to the church on time. Or, in this case, to the cemetery just in time.

Anyone who stays through five minutes of the movie can predict that the ex-Ranger who seemed to be nursing a death wish before meeting the dog now has a reason to live, and, if it isn’t spelled out clearly enough for you in scene after scene, we have the line, “Thanks for saving my life,” with beautiful cinematography by Newton Thomas Segel, coupled with great song selections from Season Kent (music supervisor), with old Kenny Rogers lyrics like “Know When to Hold ‘Em.” The original music by Thomas Newman is also quite good.

So, mission accomplished for both Channing Tatum, Reid Carolin and the audience.

The movie was enjoyable and heart-warming and the dog(s) do a great job of ingratiating themselves to the audience, (as cute canines will.) Since this dog is also a hero, we like Lulu very much. It was one of two new films released on February 18^th (the other was the Mark Wahlberg/Tom Holland opus “Uncharted”) and we selected it over the carefully scripted adventure yarn of buried treasure (Haven’t we had enough of buried treasure ?).

SPOILER REMARK:

One comment regarding a slight reservation about the film. We learn that Jackson Briggs has a three-year-old daughter. He visits her house and mother and is in and out of that house in under five minutes with no dialogue. He spends no time talking about his daughter, nor does he seem particularly intent on seeing her again. Yet, by the film’s end, we know that Jackson Briggs is such a caring individual that he will adopt the combat dog in order to save its life.

So, does this mean that our hero would choose mentoring and adopting a dog over taking care of his own flesh and blood? If so, it does diminish somewhat the likeability and appeal and charisma of our lead character. I’m wondering if this entire sub-plot of the almost non-existent and clearly forgotten daughter would have been better left on the cutting room floor? It did not make me like Briggs more, While applauding his dedication to the lead dog of the story (Lulu), totally ignoring his daughter for a period of years did not come off as admirable or understandable.

“Death on the Nile” is DOA

By Connie Wilson

On February 16, 2022

In Movies, Reviews

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZRqB0JLizw

There’s a scene near the end of “Death on the Nile” that shows Sir Kenneth Branagh walking onboard the luxury yacht/riverboat that is the setting for most of “Death on the Nile.” He is moving very slowly and deliberately. I couldn’t help but think of how that slow walk down the deck represented the entire film.

The beginning of “Death on the Nile,” however, opened in the exciting trenches of WWI, where we learn about Agatha Christie’s ace detective Hercule Poirot in his youth, and why he began wearing his signature facial hair. As another critic wrote, “I wanted to see THAT movie!”

I agree with the critic who wanted to have the vibrancy of the prologue to the “real” film. The 2 hour and 7 minute movie was a slow slog.

Armie Hammer.

The film has had its issues, ranging from Armie Hammer’s cannibalism scandal on down. Unlike some movies that were re-shot to remove a lead involved in a media mess, Armie Hammer stayed. Near the beginning of the film, he performs some salacious dancing with the two female leads. It’s kind of offputting, given what we now know of Armie’s texts to his paramours.. However, Armie is central to the plot, portraying a handsome big lug named Simon Doyle, who is the much-sought-after fiancé of the two female leads: Emma Mackey as Jacqueline de Bellefort and Gal Gadot as the heiress Linnet Ridgeway.

There was a role written into the plot expressly for Annette Bening, as Euphemia Bouc, a painter and the mother of Tom Bateman. The action moves to Egypt and we see her son flying a kite while perched on a pyramid. The plot, based on Agatha Christie’s novel, informs us that the younger Bouc is completely dependent on the good will of his mother. “Behind every kite-flying man there is a woman.” That line, scripted by screenwriter Michael Green, is fairly klunky but leads into the Bouc quote, “Money matters, and mine comes monthly from Eugenia Bouc.”

It’s a bit difficult decoding the various accents of the characters, ranging from Poirot, of course, but, also the French-influenced dialogue of Rose Leslie (“Game of Thrones,” “The Good Fight”) as maid Louise Bouegot.

Green’s script also contains the line, “When you have money, no one is ever really your friend,” which ultimately leads to the death of Linnet Ridgeway, the wealthy heiress in their midst, played by “Wonder Woman’s” Gal Gadot. She will definitely find this out firsthand, as the first (of five) murder victims.

On the plus side, the costumes that Gadot and Mackey wear are gorgeous. There are some sultry scenes in a blues bar where Salome Otterbourne, played by Sophie Okonedo, re-imagines a character for this revamp. In the 1978 film, the character was an erotic novelist.

Okonedo is magic whenever she’s onscreen. She and her niece manager, Letitia Wright as Rosalie Otterbourne, are definite eye candy, especially given two middle-aged characters who used to be a comedy duo who have pivotal roles that seem largely unnecessary. It was also interesting to see that Russell Brand cleaned up nicely to play a doctor named Windlesham, who was once involved romantically with Godot’s rich heiress.

After the opening in the WWI trenches and the night club dancing scenes, with Armie Hammer sexy dancing up a storm with the two female leads, which amps up the “sex scandal” vibe going on IRL, the action moves to Egypt because the newlyweds, Gadot and Hammer, are honeymooning there.

Kenneth Branaugh on the Red Carpet at the Music Box Theater on Thursday, October 21, 2021, at the 57th Chicago International Film Festival.

Hammer’s jilted ex Jacqueline (Mackey) keeps showing up wherever he and the new wife are, (sort of like Jennifer Lopez’s ex Alex Rodriguez, who has been trailing her around to various vacation hot spots now that she’s on Ben Affleck’s arm). [Otherwise, I’d be saying, “Who does that?”]

Jacqueline’s unwanted presence becomes so onerous that the handsome Hammer—who seems to have nothing going for him beyond good looks—takes the entire party down the Nile on a luxurious riverboat.

One question we had was how, exactly, Jacqueline (Mackey) managed to get on the riverboat, when the entire boat was chartered specifically to take the wedding party far away from her. That was weak plot point #1.

Weak plot point #2 was the Grand Finale key murder. In terms of trajectories of weapons, etc., it was mystifying. We watched this thing for over two hours—most of them gorgeously photographed, but boring—and, at the end, it was unclear how, exactly, the final murder could be pulled off. There were only four people in the entire theater; we missed our chance to ask the other couple if they found the resolution of the “key first murder” realistic, because we found it entirely implausible.

The entire plot was pretty implausible, as Poirot lays it out in the movie’s closing minutes in hard-to-decipher accented English. Some have suggested that Sir Kenneth would have been better off if he had simply directed this star-studded offering and not also starred in it.

Since the entire reason for inviting Hercule Poirot onto the boat was to protect the lovebirds from the unwanted attention of the jilted fiancé and make sure they were kept safe, let’s just put it out there that Poirot did an extremely poor job in that capacity. Five mummified bodies are carried off the boat, one by one, during his time on board. (Some detective!)

I wanted to see this movie at the IMAX theater, because the chances of me making it to Egypt are slim to none and the cinematography by Haris Zambarloukos was outstanding. I’ll never get to see the Temple of Abu Sembel up close and personal, so thank you to the expert cinematographer who allowed me to see it this way.

The film finally wound down, slowly and in a confusing and artificial manner. We compared notes on the (somewhat obvious) culprits and asked each other HOW the denouement could be brought about in the manner portrayed.

This movie is not going to keep you on the edge of your seat, although it is a nice travelogue. The plot seems dated and the movie is long. If you know all that going in when it streams, you might enjoy seeing Egypt this way.

Best Actress Nominees: Who Will Win?

By Connie Wilson

On February 10, 2022

In Movies, Reviews

Now that the nominees are ‘set’ for the March 27^th Oscars, let’s take a closer look at who is up for what, (and who should have been up for what):

In the Best Actress category, the nominees are Jessica Chastain (“The Eyes of Tammy Faye”); Olivia Colman (“The Lost Daughter”); Penelope Cruz (“Parallel Mothers”); Nicole Kidman (“Being the Ricardos”); and Kristen Stewart (“Spencer”).

I recently published an entire piece on this blog about Jessica Chastain having a banner year, and mentioned her appearance opposite Michael Shannon in “Take Shelter,” back in 2011. (Shannon told me it was his “favorite film” in Chicago at the premiere of “The Shape of Water.”) Jessica was also the guiding light behind the disappointing female action thriller “355,” one of 16 producing credits; she has not been previously nominated for her body of acting work. I met Ms. Chastain at the Press Red Carpet for Liv Ullman’s directorial debut, directing Jessica and Colin Farrell in “Miss Julie” in 2014.

Considering that her body of work includes such films as “The Tree of Life” (2011), “Zero Dark Thirty” (2012), “Molly’s Game” (2017) and this year’s “The Eyes of Tammy Faye,” she is certainly an accomplished actress who has gone somewhat unrecognized for her previous appearances. “Take Shelter,” where she played the unhinged Michael Shannon’s long-suffering wife, was eleven years ago, so we are talking about a body of good work that has existed for over 10 years, without previous nominations. She has 57 acting credits, but has moved into producing, with 16 credits, including this year’s “355” foray into the area of female empowerment action films, (which quickly has become a genre of its own with films like Charlize Theron’s “Atomic Blonde” and 2019’s “The Kitchen” with Melissa McCarthy and Tiffany Haddish). So, the relatively slight recognition given to Jessica Chastain over the years mitigates for her to win in this category, over the much-more heralded Nicole Kidman, who has been nominated 5 times in the past 20 years and won in 2003 for “The Hours.”

On the other hand, anticipating that the Academy will want to give it to the most-heralded film gives the nod to “Being the Ricardos,” which has more overall nominations, including Javier Bardem for Best Actor in a Leading Role and Best Supporting Actor for J.K. Simmons. If the Academy really wanted to reward the least-recognized of the lot after years of good work, probably Penelope Cruz for “Parallel Mothers” would merit that distinction, but it will be the least-seen of the films. Those that have seen “The Lost Daughter” with Olivia Colman are pretty well split about the film, itself, while recognizing that Olivia, as always, was good in it. And let’s not forget that Ms. Colman came out of nowhere to win the Best Actress award in 2018 for “The Favourite.”

So, if I were a betting woman, I’d put my money on Jessica Chastain or Nicole Kidman to win the Best Actress award this year. The “Spencer” film may have had an acceptable performance from Kristen Stewart, but, overall, it was a dreadfully dull film, and one without many facts on which to base the drama (such as it is). Kristen Stewart is the female equivalent of Keanu Reeves. She looked great in the Diana wear, and she held up her end of the action in a film where the Most Exciting Thing that Happens is Diana retrieving her sons from a fox hunt that they were about to participate in and getting weighed in a chair. (No explanation for that latter bit; you’ll have to suffer through the film if you want to know more.) MANY shots of food being prepared in the mansion kitchen (Yawn). I don’t think that Olivia Colman, Penelope Cruz or Kristen Stewart have a real shot this year, but, if I’m wrong, I’d point to Penelope Cruz in a year when ethnicity matters.

If you want to know who should have been nominated, you can check out the gripers on IMDB.com, but the list could start with Ana Taylor-Joy in “Last Night in Soho,” move on to Lady Gaga in “House of Gucci,” and continue through “Cruella’s” Emmas (Stone and Thompson).

2022 Oscar Nominations: Which Best Pic to See in Terms of Entertainment Value

By Connie Wilson

On February 9, 2022

In Editorial, Movies, Of Local (Quad Cities') Interest, Reviews

Sir Kenneth Branaugh on October 21, 2021, with his Lifetime Achievement Award from the Chicago International Film Festival.

The Best Picture nominations for this year are: “Belfast;” “CODA;” “Don’t Look Up;” “Drive My Car;” “Dune;” “King Richard;” “Licorice Pizza;” “Nightmare Alley;” “The Power of the Dog;” and “West Side Story.”

Of that number, I have seen all but “CODA” and “Drive My Car” (which is also nominated in the category of Best International Film).

The fact that I have not seen the latter two should not be taken as a sign of personal preference, but of the availability of the films to the general public. I live “off the beaten path” in what is considered rural Illinois.

When I am in my place in Chicago, I can usually find the lesser-known films at art houses, but I’ve been stuck in the Quad Cities with ill health and surgery. I will stream “CODA” and “Drive My Car,” [hopefully before the awards show on March 27^th], but it is unlikely that either of those little-seen films really has a shot at Best Picture honors, so let’s take a closer look at the remaining eight nominees.

Here they are in the order in which I enjoyed them, with commentary:

“West Side Story” – a superb re-imagining of the original 1960s film, with fantastic performances from the two leads, Ansel Elgort (who was much better than the original Tony in every way) and from new “find” in the Natalie Wood part, Rachel Zegler. The fact that only Ariana DeBose was nominated as Best Supporting Actress, for her role as Anita (made famous by Rita Moreno’s win in the part) seems almost criminal. Scuttle-butt from the social media suggests that a concerted campaign to discredit Ansel Elgort in a “Me/Too” fashion may have dampened some of the film’s early buzz. All I know is that I went to our IMAX screen early in the week before it opened, to secure tickets for a couple in from out-of-town, so that we could go to it late on the Saturday afternoon it opened (weekend of December 10^th). Imagine my shock when there were only 4 people in the entire theater for the late afternoon showing of this tremendous film on Opening Weekend. Then I read that Spielberg’s film was being “banned” in some countries because of its representation of the trans-gender world, and he was garnering praise for casting actors in their parts who were actually ethnic. Our friends humored me and agreed to watch the original film, back-to-back with this remake; we all agreed that the dancing and singing were superior in the remake. Also, the leads (Ansel Elgort and Rachel Zegler) should have been nominated for Best Actor and Best Actress. The film was one of the most enjoyable and best-updated films of the year, and I would happily see it carry off the honors for Best Picture.

“Nightmare Alley” – I’m always a fan of Guillermo del Toro’s films and loved “The Shape of Water.” While this film is not quite as appealing to me as that earlier Best Picture winner, it was a beautifully done and well-acted film, which has garnered nominations, as well, for Cinematography, Costume Design and Production Design. The film had the kind of cast that virtually guarantees a great end product, with Richard Jenkins, Bradley Cooper, Willem Dafoe, and Cate Blanchett. Most critics felt that it was 2 different movies, with the early circus-themed charlatan days of Bradley Cooper leading to the later con-man rise to power of Bradley Cooper’s character. It isn’t until the movie is half over that Cate Blanchett, for instance, enters. I felt like that was a specious objection, as we have the saga of Donald J. Trump in his early days as a real estate mogul leading to his later heady rise to power, which saw him consorting with a completely different cast of characters in later life than in his early days as a real estate baron. That’s the way life goes. As the film explores in a circular fashion, what goes up must often come down and it’s not “two different stories” but the tragic continuation of the original story.

“The Power of the Dog” – I thoroughly enjoyed this streaming service film, but, when it came to guessing which “movies” would make the cut for Best Picture, I dismissed this Netflix film that has garnered the most nominations (12) from my mind. Those were the “olden” days, when a film that was streamed was not considered the equal of those that also played in first-run theaters. Now, streaming is coming into its own and this may well be the first film made for a streaming service (Apple) that breaks through the barrier that previously existed in critics’ and audiences’ minds. All of the cast of this western were nominated for their portrayals, which means Benedict Cumberbatch. Newcomer Kodi Smit-McPhee as the scheming son of Kirsten Dunst, and the married IRL couple Kirsten Dunst and Jessie Plemens. The film was also nominated for Best Director for Jane Campion (“The Piano”). That would seem to be a plus for her in a decade that has seen objections to the scarcity of female directors be mentioned time and time again. Other nominated areas for “The Power of the Dog” include Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Film Editing, Best Original Score, Best Production Design and Best Sound. “The Power of the Dog” stands alone in seeing all of its leads nominated in their respective categories (Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Supporting Actress.) I would have liked to have seen “The Tender Bar” and Ben Affleck and George Clooney (Best Actor and Best Director) break the streaming barrier, too.

“Belfast” – I attended the Premiere of “Belfast” in Chicago at the Chicago International Film Festival with nominated Best Director Kenneth Branagh appearing in person. I liked the film, especially for the lead performances from the young boy portraying Branagh as a child (Jude Hill as Buddy) and the actors portraying his mother and father (Jamie Dornan of “Fifty Shades of Gray” and Caitriona Balfe of the “Outlander” TV series). I am not surprised that old-timers Dame Judi Dench and Ciarian Hinds emerged with the nominations for Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress, but their contribution was matched by the two young leads and it seems that public and/or critical sentiment is supportive of “The Power of the Dog” for recognizing the entire cast, but that thinking was cast aside for the really outstanding work that Jamie Dornan and Catriona Balfe also contributed. The film was split between black-and-white scenes and color scenes; I preferred the use of color. It was a good film, but it definitely comes down my list after the three above, to see immediately. It could have been shorter and had the earmarks of the sort of film that Old Hollywood always wanted to reward with Oscars.

“Licorice Pizza” – I enjoyed “Licorice Pizza,” primarily for the brief cameo appearance of Bradley Cooper as Jon Peters. It seems to be quite a snub that Bradley Cooper did not get a Best Actor nomination for “Nightmare Alley” in a year when he also turned in this extremely funny impersonation of Hollywood icon (and former Streisand squeeze) Jon Peters. Somebody up there DOESN’T like him? My husband did not stay awake throughout the entire run time of “Licorice Pizza,” but my daughter and I enjoyed it and I liked the introduction to Philip Seymour Hoffman’s young lookalike son. Still, not as good a film as the others above this, and not as good a film as “Last Night in Soho,” which was totally ignored. Anya Taylor-Joy deserved a nomination for her role in that last film, especially after “The Queen’s Gambit” on television.

“King Richard” – I saw this film and it failed to register, for me, as Best Picture of this (or any) year. Will Smith did a good job, but if I have to sit through one more commercial of Serena Williams hitting tennis balls in a mall, I think I am going to scream. I found the supporting stint of Jon Bernthal (“The Walking Dead”) as agent Rick Macci offputting. I also do not think that the role of Anjanue Ellis as “Brandy” Williams was worthy of a Best Supporting Actress nomination. She was good, yes, but she was not any better than Cate Blanchett in “Nightmare Alley” or Caitriona Balfe in “Belfast” or the leads in “Cruella” or Anya Taylor-Joy (“Last Night in Soho”). At least there won’t be the ”Oscars So White” outbursts this year that occurred the year that Will Smith didn’t get a nomination for “Concussion” in 2015. He has, however, received nominations, previously, for “Ali” (2002) and “The Pursuit of Happyness” (2006), so maybe this is the year for Will Smith. (It’s definitely not the year for Bradley Cooper, which seems indefensible.)

“Dune” – I took myself to see this on the IMAX screen. It was gorgeously done, but I’d have to go back and read the books to connect more with the plot, which was extremely involved and complicated. I loved the cast, especially seeing Oscar Isaac in anything and enjoyed the ambitious special effects. A film definitely deserving of nomination (every scene looked like Big Bucks had been spent) but not my Best Picture of the Year. Sci-fi afficionados will feel differently, and rightfully so.

“Don’t Look Up” – This should have been right up my alley. A star-studded cast, all of whom I truly enjoy. Adam McKay. A great allegorical story about how we ignore the dangers heading towards us, like global warming. I did think Jennifer Lawrence was good in her part, although the verdict is still out on Meryl Streep (who was over-the-top) and Leonardo DeCaprio. Again, very surprised that it wasn’t better, given all the talent that went into it.

So, as we enter the final weeks of February and look forward to March 27^th (the Oscar date), the order above represents my personal take on the nominated films. There are way too many performances that should have been nominated, but weren’t, and the two films I haven’t seen are likely to have little to no chance, given the fact that if I haven’t seen them—trying hard, as I am—probably nobody much has.

I feel that “Nightmare Alley” and “The Power of the Dog” are tied, in my mind, as to “which is best,” but it appears clear that the nod is being given to the latter, given the sheer number of nominations it garnered. If you want to see the nominated films in the order in which they are enjoyable, follow the list above, since I am always in search of entertainment as well as enlightenment.

The only thing that would make Jane Campion a better potential winner of the Best Director award in these P.C. times would be if she were a Black female director. As it is, she has checked one important box and, with “The Power of the Dog”, we may see the first “streaming” movie walk off with the top prize. I’d be okay with that, although, in my mind, there is still a distinction between an extravaganza like “Dune” or “West Side Story” and a well-told story like Campion’s previous award-winning film “The Piano.”

“Station Eleven:” Futuristic Series Set in Chicago

By Connie Wilson

On February 2, 2022

In Pop Culture, Reviews, Television

We’re watching “Station Eleven,” a 10-part mini series that Patrick Somerville adapted for the screen. Somerville was the show runner (and writer) for “The Bridge,” (2013-2014) followed by two years on “The Leftovers” (2015-2017) and “Maniac” in 2018.

When I first obtained my condo in Chicago in 2003, I took an evening class in Writing the Novel at the University of Chicago. Patrick Somerville was the instructor. He was, at that time, a noted “metrosexual” serious fiction writer.

The class had been meeting for some time, so I had to have permission to join the already-assembled group. When I entered, I was asked to tell the group something about myself. The group was largely female and consisted of very highly-educated women— doctors and lawyers who, apparently, wanted to write a novel. (I had already written a novel at that time, “Out of Time,” so I had a bit of an idea what I was in for.)

Looking around at the assembled group, I decided to hit them with my best shot. I told them that I was “an active, voting member of the HWA,” which stands for the Horror Writers’ Association. I figured that would get their attention, although not necessarily in a good way. It was true at that time, although I have moved on to ITW (International Thriller Writers) since then.

Patrick Somerville was very interested in hearing about HWA. I think that, even then, he was planning his escape to L.A. to write for Hollywood. He was never very chummy with me. He would hang out with the women who were always smoking and, sometimes, someone would bring a bottle of wine to class. I still remember there was a woman doctor in the class who was writing a novel set in a nudist colony in pre World War I. Odd. We would have to read parts of our writing to the class and there did not seem to be any “real” writers in the class—unless you count me, and I’ll leave that up to you. We read and discussed “The Plague” by Albert Camus and it was a totally worthless exercise in learning (or teaching) someone how to write a novel.

Now, Patrick Somerville is involved in a partnership with David Eisenberg called Tractor Beam productions for film and TV production.

Right now I’m watching actors act out a scene in a high rise that could well be the Hancock Building in Chicago. “We gotta make moves. Never, ever, ever can we fake moves.” Rapping. This sudden deterioration into rap music is but one of many signs that this series has jumped the shark for me. I think the vast array of writers responsible may be part of the issue, but the biggest crime is the jumping around in time that leaves you wondering if the dead character is supposed to be a “flashback” or “imaginary” (see the new “Dexter”) or what, exactly, is going on. (Where is Ridley Scott’s linear approach when you need him?)

It was going along swimmingly with this log line:“A post apocalyptic saga spanning multiple timelines, telling the stories of survivors of a devastating flu as they attempt to rebuild and reimagine the world anew, while holding onto the best of what’s been lost.”

Well, class, I think we can all relate to that theme, at this point, 3 years into Covid-19.

The early episodes of the series, sketching the arriving pandemic were good. “What would you have done, if you knew the flu was coming?” asks the small girl. The character says he would have come home earlier and spent time with his mother, who died from the flu. “I would have made the choice I wanted to make—you know?”

The little girl who asked the question said she would have said good bye to Arthur Leander, (portrayed by Gael Garcia Bernal, who appears in only 4 episodes) and notes, “I didn’t get to say good-bye to anyone.”

I had a passing ships-that-pass-in-the-night relationship with Gael Garcia Bernal, who showed up at the premiere of a film he had directed and starred in. I had never seen such a huge crowd for any celebrity in Chicago before or since! The largely Spanish-speaking audience packed the theater to the point that they were seated on the steps leading down to the stage. I finally got up and left so that the audience would have an extra “real” seat.

Himish Patel, who was so good in “Yesterday,” plays Jeevan Chaudry in “Station Eleven.” He and his brother Nabhaan Rizwan as Frank Chaudry, and a young woman (Mackenzie Davis as Kirsten Raymonde) and a small girl (Matilda Lawler as Young Kirsten) are fighting for the apartment in what may be the Hancock Building. The group was re-enacting a play written by Young Kirsten, before going out to see if there is anything left of Chicago. They are either going to starve to death in 90 days or freeze to death in what looks like a very cold Chicago winter.

I wonder if the Chicago location was chosen by Patrick Somerville because of his past association with the Windy City? I’m even more surprised to read in the credits that principal shooting was in New York City, but there definitely are some real Chicago exteriors, as well.

Like most of the things I’ve mentioned, there was a lot of jumping around in time, which made it very difficult to figure out what was going on. Still, the use of the Cubs stocking hat and the exterior Chicago locations is welcome to a Chicago quasi-native.

Frank has just been dispatched in the plot by an intruder. But young Kirsten is being told to go forth with Jeevan and that look like what is going to happen. They are leaving the high rise for the first time in a long time.The music is ponderous and moody, but the exterior shots of Chicago, with “The Present” typed on the screen, are what remains in my mind. The female lead has apparently stayed behind (Kim Steele wrote this episode based, as all episodes are, on the book by Emily St. John Mandeville).

The biggest thing about the future after the Apocalypse is preserving respect for the Bard, apparently. Odd that Shakespeare is so cherished when it is possible to graduate from a Big Ten university these days with an English degree, but without having taken a single Shakespeare class, I’m told.

“I stood looking over the damage, trying to remember the sweetness of life on Earth, but I couldn’t remember.” (oft repeated in several episodes)

“We don’t even know if it’s like it was before.”

“There is no before. Or after. The past is safe; everything else changes.”

And from that post-Apocalyptic scene, the dead character Arthur Leander (as King Lear) enters the dressing room to be with Clark (David Wilmot). This makes it really difficult to know where we are in time, since Arthur has been dead.

“You say I only hear what I want to” by Alanis Morrissette is playing in the background. This is part of a traveling troupe of actors who keep culture alive by traveling the countryside performing Shakespeare (and other plays).

Sarah, as portrayed by a truly ravaged-looking Lori Petty, is a composer.

Elizabeth Colton, as portrayed by Caitlin Fitzgerald, is one of the better-known actresses in the series, as she played Libby Masters in “Masters of Sex” (2013-2016).

“Ghostbusters: Afterlife:” First 3/4 = Enjoyable; Ending? Flawed

By Connie Wilson

On January 26, 2022

In Movies, Pop Culture, Reviews

We were looking for a movie we had not seen to take in at our local Cineplex. We discovered that most of the offerings that were good had come and gone right at Christmas time, but “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” was still playing, so we took it in.

The first thing I’d like to say about this Jason Reitman-directed film is that the appearances of the “old” Ghostbusters gang (Bill Murray, Dan Akroyd, Ernie Hudson), as seen on various late-night television shows, is quite misleading. The trio appears for less than 20 minutes onscreen and they do literally nothing. It was a nice tribute to have the holographic participation of the fouth “Ghostbuster,” Harold Ramis, but he did not speak.

The movie began at 4:10 p.m. Up until 5:45 p.m.—things were going quite well. Carrie Coons as the mother was good and People’s “sexiest man alive, “Paul Rudd was the love interest. It was far better than I had anticipated for the first (roughly) 100 minutes of the 120 minute film.

The young talent were quite good, especially Finn Wolfhard (“Stranger Things”) and McKenna Grace as Phoebe, a bespectacled science nerd. They were very effective in their lead roles. Able support was provided by Asian youth Logan Kim as Podcast and Celeste O’Connor as Lucky.

McKenna Grace was born in 2006, which means that, IRL, she was 15 when the film was shot, but was playing a 12-year-old. She has previously appeared in “The Handmaid’s Tale.”

The film had real promise until 20 minutes from the end, when it totally jumped the shark. CGI special effects took over any semblance of a plot at that point.

I cannot recommend the ultimate denouement, but I think that my 13-year-old granddaughters will like the movie.