Till

 

Till

Till is a movie of love and hate. Love is the absolute love a mother has for her child alive or dead. Hate is the intractable bigotry and violence of segregated 1950’s Mississippi. The Emmitt Till story is well known. Till was a fourteen-year-old boy who went to visit his cousins in Money Mississippi. He was falsely accused of cat calling a white woman and she claimed he tried to grab her. Because of these false accusations he was abducted by the women’s husband and brother and taken to a shed where he was tortured, shot in the head and tossed into the Tallahassee River. Three days later his bloated body was recovered.

The director did not want to glorify the brutality visited on Till. Only a distant shed was shown, and muffled cries were heard. His mother, Mamie Till-Mobley insisted on an open casket so the world could see the brutality of her son’s tortured body. This act spurred on the Civil Rights movement.

This basically is a two-actors movie with supporting performers. Danielle Deadwyler plays Mamie Till-Mobley, she inhabits the role. She gives a steely performance of a mother crushed by the murder of her son but not intimidated by fear. Deadwyler’s Mamie is controlled anger. Outwardly she was a smartly dressed colored woman in her pillbox hat, gloves and small bag but beneath the façade fury raged. Knowing there will be no justice in Mississippi she used the dead body of her son as indictment. Deadwyler should be an Oscar contender.

Jalyn Hall plays Emmitt Till. His nature is lighthearted and innocent. In his pork pie hat with an easy tooth gaped smile, he is out of his element in Mississippi. Raised in Chicago he does not clue into the mores of the south. His mother gave him the “talk” but like many children he is careless. Aside from his short appearance in the start of the movie he as seen as an apparition in later scenes.

Other characters have quick short appearances. Whoopie Goldberg play Mamie’s mother; Tosin Cole plays Medgar Evers and other actors as prominent civil rights leaders. Haley Bennett portrays Carolyn Bryant the shop keeper who falsely accused Till.

No one was convicted for the murder of Emmitt Till, they were acquitted. The Emmitt Till Anti Lynching Act was signed in March 2022, 67 years after his death. Carolyn Bryant is 88 years old and has never been charged with a crime.

Black Adam

 

Black Adam

Why did I see this movie? There is still part of a twelve-year-old boy rattling around in my brain. Sometimes he takes over and I give in.

This is probably one of the worst superhero movies I have seen. Eighty percent of the movie is just fights and battles. Black Adam does a lot of mayhem and killing. He is described as the superhero who kills people. Through out most of the movie Dwayne Johnson has a dower unsmiling face. The film lacks lighthearted banter which gives these types of films some comic relief. In part this is an origin story and starts in 2600 BC when he and his father were slaves toiling in the hills of the ancient kingdom of Kahndaq. The plot is convoluted, going back and forth from ancient times to the present.

Fighting Black Adam and then allying them selves with him are Justice League of America consisting of four superheroes. Pierce Bronson, sporting a distinguished grey goatee, is part of the JSA and he is the superhero Fate. Among other things Fate can see the future and he can see that he will not be part of the Black Adam sequel. Viola Davis is on screen for about one minute. The other actors do an adequate job but not anything remarkable. The film has a lot of CG but nothing outstanding. Mayhem is the signature of the movie, and it becomes boring and tedious.

Black Adam is critic proof. In four days, it has an international box office of $147 million and this does not include the lucrative Chinese market. With this revenue, the producers can tell Rotten Tomatoes, with a score of 38%, to go pound sand. DC will use this movie to launch a new franchise which guarantees sequels.

 

Tar

 

Tar

Lydia Tar is one of the greatest living composer/conductors, and the first-ever female chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic. Cate Blanchet, plays Tar, and delivers a brilliant performance.  She is intense and supremely confident which is another way of saying arrogant. She is a married lesbian with an adopted little girl, Petra. For her performance Blanchet learned phonic German, to play the piano and mastered the arduous task of conducting.

The film is a psychological drama. The first half hour is taken up by musicology peppered with French and German music terms. The movie then focusses on the turbulence of her career and private life. She is ruthless when dismissing staff and longtime colleagues. A dark side of Tar is revealed when she admonishes a girl who is bulling her daughter. Her rebuke is threatening and clearly shakes up the girl. The movie is a journey of the destruction of her career and marriage. The ending of the movie is brilliant and a counter point to her career.

There are some plot elements that do not easily connect. Who was crying in the forest? Who turned on the metronome? What does the death of an elderly neighbor signify? The movie needs to be watched carefully.

The cast is international and includes Mark Strong, as a competing composer, Nina Hoss as the wife, Noemie Merlant as the assistant and Mila Bogojevic as Petra.

Blanchet gives another brava performance which will be noticed during the awards season.

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The Woman King

 

The Woman King

In Doubt Viola Davis was a tearful distraught mother pleading for help from a stone hearted mother superior played by Merial Streep; Davis was nominated for an Oscar. In The Help Davis plays a maid in the segregated 1950’s south; she won an Oscar. So, playing a Ajojie virgin amazon general is no stretch for her. This is a very muscular role. She was fierce and did not smile once in the film. The film is a historical epic based on a story written by Maria Bello. The Ajojie were all-female warriors who protected the West African kingdom of Dahomey (present day Benin) during the 17th to 19th centuries. 

The movie is action packed. Most of the combat is hand to hand fighting with swords and spears. I am not certain, but I hope Davis used a body double for the grueling battles. The film is more complex than a simple action movie, it has layers. A main theme is the slave trade. Benin was an incubator for deporting slaves. That is where the infamous Gates of No Return were located. In the film warring tribes supplied war captives as slaves. One epic battle was to free the slaves. Against her strong military discipline Davis forms a bond with a young recruit, Nawi. Nevertheless, training is brutal (there are no tears on Dahomey boot camp). There is also palace intrigue. Davis is at odds with king’s harem and a power play with the queen ensues.

Another subplot was a budding romantic entanglement with a Brazilian slaver and young Nawi. The slaver himself was part Brazilian and part Dahomey. He is conflicted about slavery and helps Nawi escape.

The supporting cast were wonderful. Theuso Mbedu plays Nawi the young recruit. She is fearless but does not follow orders. Davis has loyal lieutenants, Lashana Lynch and Shelia Atim  were outstanding. John Boyega plays a regal King Ghezo.

If you like action movies this one is unique. It also gives an historical depiction of the slave trade.

 

 

Blonde

 

Blonde (Netflix)

This movie is not what I expected. Marilyn Monroe was a tragic figure, but this film is sad and in some parts disturbing. Ana de Amras’ performance was hampered by the script and overwrought direction. Physically de Amras struck a good resemble to Monroe with a pouty face, her distinctive beauty mark and Monroe’s trademark hushed voice. Monroe was tormented by the tragic events of Norma Jean’s life, from the orphanage home to her absent father. Some life events of Monroe are well known, her marriage to Joe DiMaggio and to Arthur Miller and her affair with Kennedy. This is not a biography, but some scenes are bizarre and muddle the character.

Under the circumstances de Armas did the best she could. She played Monroe with fragility and damaged from an unstable mother and an absent father. I think some of the scenes must have been uncomfortable for her. Any depiction of Monroe focuses on her sexuality; it could be subtle or crude. The Kennedy scene was just prurient and in bad taste. Her miscarriage and abortions were unnecessarily graphic.

Bobby Cannavale as Joe DiMaggio and Adrian Brodie as Arthur Miller gave good performances. The script is faulty. With DiMaggio her marriage ends in divorce but with Miller he just disappears (they did divorce). Not mentioning her last performance in The Misfits neglects her growth to a maturing actress.

This film gives a one-sided depiction of Monroe as just a sex object. There are some hints of her intelligence when she quotes Chekhov and Dostoevsky or insightfully interprets one on Miller’s characters, but these are dismissed as out of character. No mention is made of her befriending Ella Fitzgerald when it was not acceptable to do so or that she founded her own production company Pacific Standard. There is too much ugly added and too much good left out of this film. The one redeeming feature the film is free on Netflix.

 

Bullet Train

 

Bullet Train

The film is disheveled. It is one long stream of fights, stabbing, gun shots and an occasional snake bite. The story in convoluted and a Wikipedia cheat sheet is advised. Characters get killed or you think they get killed. There are divergent story lines of different periods. Revenge is an undercurrent of the film. Flashbacks strain to give the movie coherence. Mayhem is the main ingredient.

The film is packed with stars, some long lived other not. Brad Pitt is Ladybug an unlucky mercenary. Brad Pitt is his usual cool self but a bit neurotic. His character wants be easy going but he is also constantly attacked and has to brutally kill a few people. The supporting cast are innumerable. There are feature actors and actors with brief appearances. Bad Bunny (for the Medicare crowd that is his stage name) a Mexican assassin with a stained white suit. Lemon and Tangerine are brothers from a different mother (one black the other white) who are Brad Pitt’s main nemesis. There are other nemesis. One is a faux schoolgirl, the Prince, played by Joey King who has more longevity than the other killers and lasts to the end. Then there are the quickies. Ryan Reynolds shows up for five seconds. Channon Tatum is a train passenger with three short scenes. Sandra Bullock is Pitt’s handler and before her brief appearance was the voice on his phone. Michael Shannon is White Death and hard to recognize wearing a mop of hair.

Some of the scenes are incredulous . You can not hang on to the outside of a speeding bullet train unless you have a big S on your chest. With train cars packed like sardines in Japan it is difficult to believe they found two empty cars. There was some levity in the movie but not enough to validate the advertisements. The script tried to mesh various story lines but it tied itself in a knot.

Nope

 

Nope

Not sure if Nope is a yup. Flying saucer (UFOs) movies have been around for decades from War of the Worlds (the original) to Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Nope is more like the former, sinister. After an intriguing start the middle of the film loses steam and in later scenes the main action unfolds. The film is partitioned in different scenes. I though one scene involving a chimp was in left field and I didn’t get it. As opposed to Peele’s film, Get Out, Nope does not have brooding tension. The big reveal of seeing the flying saucer comes towards the end but getting there is a slow walk. Parts of the movie have to be inferred and their purpose is opaque. For example when the horses get spooked and run away what happens to them? The most original part of the movie is the flying saucer itself. It is like nothing before.

Danial Kaluuya gives a subdued performance as OJ a wrangler who provides horses for film and TV commercials. His hyperactive sister played by Keke Palmer is loud and funny. Angel ,played by Brandon Perea, is the electronic sales rep who is a UFO believer and sets up camera’s at OJ’s ranch. Steven Yuen is an entrepreneur who runs a side show. Yuen has an unfortunate close encounter.

UFO movies are either benevolent or malevolent; the either or takes away from the tension. The eventual encounter is the driving force. A clearer purpose of why a UFO would fly  billions of light years to earth would have sharpened the focus. Rotten Tomato gave the film an 82%. I am sure a bunch of you are younger than 70 so I encourage you to see the film and draw your own conclusion.

The Grey Man (Netflix)

 

The Grey Man (Netflix)

Electronic billboards in New York City displayed ads for the latest Netflix action/thriller movie, “The Grey Man.” After viewing the action movie, Netflix could be accused of false advertising. What an utter waste of talent. The cast includes Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans, Billy Bob Thornton, Ana de Armos, Rege-Jean Page, Alfe Woodard and others. To add insult to injury the film was directed and written by the Russo brothers who grossed more than $2.8b in worldwide box office from such films as “Captain America” and “Avengers: Endgame”. Their Midas touch fell short here.

The simple story is an excuse for mayhem including car crashes, a deluge of gun fire and uninspired dialogue. Chris Evans is a caricature of a bad guy with a thin mustache and snappy retorts. He tortures Billy Bob Thornton with a pair pliers ; how prosaic. He could have found more inspired instruments of torture on Amazon. The film is a dizzying travelogue jumping from on city to another. The film has flash backs and forward flashes. Flash backs should be used like salt in a stew, sparingly. The back story of Gosling’s character Sierra Six, a CIA black ops assassin, was shown towards the end of the film. It would have been better towards the beginning to humanize his character. The most eye catching element of the film is how buffed Gosling was. It almost looked fake, like using CG to put Gosling’s head on top of a body builder.

Making this film for $200m does not help Netflix’s current financial problems or subscription issues.

Everything Everywhere All at Once

 

Everything Everywhere All at Once (Amazon Prime)

If you have any drugs left over from the 70’s stashed in your sock draw this is the time to use them. The film is chaotic, the scenes are not sequential. It’s like a Chinese Matrix, but without the pretense. Characters shift  between different parallel universes, called the Alphaverse. In these realities there are alpha versions of themselves. This movie has a little bit of everything for everyone. There is a racoon sushi chef, people with hot dogs for fingers, kung fu, butt plugs (used offensively), google eyes, an everything bagel as a black hole and talking boulders.

The movie starts with Evelyn, played by Michelle Yeoh, and her husband Waymond, played by Ke Huy Quan (Quan played Short Round in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Data in The Goonies) at the IRS office audited by aggressive agent played by Jamie Lee Curtis. It is from here the characters start shifting between realities. Contributing to the turmoil, Evelyn’s demanding father, played by the prodigious James Hong (he has 650 film credits) arrived from Hong Kong and her daughter Joy, played by Stefanie Hsu, is trying to introduce her girlfriend to the family. Though out the movie these characters take on different personas. This film does not take itself seriously and some of the fight scenes are hilarious. Yeoh and Hsu give endearing performances and Jamie Lee Curtis in a fat suit and a platinum wig stolen from Andy Warhol’s closet is over the top.

Putting aside all the chaos this is a story about relationships and of what could have been. The alternate realities give expression to different paths. Relationships are with a mother accepting a daughter, dealing with an aging demanding father and a husband reluctantly serving divorce papers to his unsuspecting wife. This movie is different but worthwhile. At the reduced price of $5.99 how can you go wrong.

The Black Phone

 

The Black Phone

The Black Phone is described as a supernatural horror film. It is more like a gritty ghost story. The film  is about the Grabber abducting teenage boys. One boy, Finney, is trapped in the basement of the Grabber’s home. From the disconnected black phone on the wall he gets calls from other deceased missing boys.

The supernatural part is Finney’s interaction with ghosts, as for horror compared to other movies it was mild. Nothing  in the film makes you cover your eyes or jump out of your seat. As for tension it was more in the rubber band area. No matter how dire the situation you have a good notion of the outcome. The ending is muscular with Finney achieving new heights of bravery.

Mason Thames plays Finney. He delivers a convincing performance of a mild mannered kid transformed into a survivor. Ethan Hawke plays the Grabber. This is one of the most underutilized role of his talents. Aside for his sardonic voice, there only is a brief moment when you see his full face. For the entire film he wears a mask . He is creepy and malevolent; a great actor should be seen. It is never explained why he is grabbing these boys; we assume he is just a psychopathic killer (why not abduct girls). A back story would have made the character more interesting. An appealing character is Finney’s younger sister played by Madeline McGraw. She is clairvoyant and foul mouthed. She has a strained  relationship with Jesus.

The story was written by Joe Hill, son of Stephen King. Good to know the legacy continues. Rather than paying $16 for a movie ticket you may want to wait for a discounted streaming option.

 

Elvis

 

Elvis

This movie is unique not only for the electric performance of Austin Butler and manipulative Col. Tom Parker played by Tom Hanks but for the entire production. The film is not in chronical order, it jumps around depicting Presly’s milestones. Scenes of his impoverished childhood are brief but important showing the influence of gospel music and the frenetic gyrations of parishioners becoming a hallmark of his “wiggling”. Elvis is a bridge between gospel/ R&B and rock and roll. The film has a litany of black musicians  including BB King, Little Richard, Fats Domino and Sister Rosetta Tharpe who influenced Elvis. When a reporter called Elvis the King of Rock and Roll, he replied no Fats Domino is the King.

Austin Butler gives a dramatic and  brilliant physical performance. His Elvis is fragile and insecure. He was a mama’s boy and needed reassurance. But Butler gives a mean rendition of Elvis’s classic songs. He sings some of the early songs but later songs use Elvis’s voice. His dancing is kinetic and mimics the original. Elvis was known for his wicked hips which Butler performs superbly (when Elvis was on the Ed Sullivan show he was filmed from the waist up). Butler said the secret to the dancing is not so much the hips but the ankles. The movie covers the arch of Elvis’s life. The scenes of his demise are brief but powerful. Butler gives a masterful  performance of all his life’s chapters.

Tom Hanks plays Colonel Tom Parker as a cartoonish Svengali. In a fat suit with a floppy jowl, Hanks is in a constant state sweat affecting a nondescript European accent (the real Parker was Dutch). Elvis and Parker had a toxic symbiotic relationship. A critic said showing Mr. Rogers as a scoundrel would detract from the film. On the contrary, Hanks disdainful swindling portrayal defines their complicated relationship. Elvis needed someone, good or bad.

 Besides his mother the other important woman in his life was Pricilla Presley played by Olivia DeJong. She has good chemistry with Butler and depicts the downward spiral of their relationship. Even after their divorce they still loved each other.

Waring to senior citizens, the is a two bathroom movie with a run time of about two and a half hours.

Jurassic Park Dominion

 

Jurassic Park Dominion

Jurassic Park movies are like a slice of cherry pie, you had it before but it still tastes good. This is the AARP version of the franchise. All the veteran actors were in the cast: Sam Neil, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, BD Wong, Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard. I must admit the film was better than what I expected. Instead of  dinosaurs just stomping around there is an interesting story line. There were still some ludicrous pseudo-scientific theories but they worked into the plot. One aspect of the movie was a head scratcher. They had a dinosaur sanctuary in the Italian Dolomites. What I remember from Bio101 dinosaurs were cold blooded so the ice capped mountains would not be a natural habitat .

As with the other Jurassic Park movies there was a lot of running around and near death escapes. Big dinosaurs ate by bigger dinosaurs. They even gave a nod to evolution featuring a feathered dinosaur (Pyroraptor).  There were new characters. Mamoudou Athie as Ramsey Cole who helps the good guys escape and DeWanda Wise a “Bond” like woman who is beautiful, smart and tough. She is a cargo pilot with fluid allegiances. There is also an evil Steve Jobs type character who runs Biosyn which launches a nefarious  bio scheme.

Rotten Tomato gave the film a 30 rating. Sometimes movie critics cannot get out of their own way. This is not a drama; this is not an Academy nominated film. This is just a fun movie, even with its silliness. The production budget is $185m, the worldwide box office is $625m. As they say money talks and….But the real cool thing about this movie  part of it was filmed in Valletta the capital of Malta.

 

Top Gun Maverick

 

Top Gun Maverick

 Curse is getting long in the tooth, as we all are, but he is still Tom Terrific.  He is one of the most bankable movie stars in Hollywood. This film has surpassed the weekend opening record with a box office of $156m.

 This is not a great movie, but it is fun and watchable. The film is basically a two man story between Tom Curse and Miles Teller. Teller is the son of Curse’s wingman, Goose, who died in the 1986 film. There is history between them. Jennifer Connelly is sprinkled in as the love interest. Their romance is as steamy as lukewarm coffee. 

 Other actors include  Jon Ham as Vice Admiral Beau. He reprises his tight lipped Ad Men persona. Ed Harris has a brief appearance as a stern tight ass admiral; a real stretch for him. There are the other Top Gun pilots talking trash and jockeying for the top spot. In deference to  #metoo there is a female hot shot.

The only other actor from the original film is Val Kilmer. In real life Kilmer is suffering from throat cancer. He talks in a coarse whisper (his voice was created using AI). It is a touching moment when they embrace. Some elements of the 1986 film were recreated. Instead of a bare chested volleyball game, there was a bare chested touch football game (the lady wore a bra). Tom looked great for a 59 year old man child.

 The movie is predictable. There are some surprising twists and turns, but the outcome is  never in doubt. A hallmark of Curse's movies are the stunts. Curse has a reputation for insisting on doing his own stunts. The jet scenes are a major feature of the film. Spoiler alert Tom does not fly the jets himself. The actors are filmed in the jet fighters experiencing crushing G forces; no FX was used. Being crushed by G forces is not flattering and to Tom's credit he is willing to look like a quivering smashed tomato. The Navy charged $11,000 per hour for the jets.

 It is not necessary but you may benefit from seeing the 1986 Top Gun to get some perspective. In a way this is a nostalgic movie linking 1986 with 2022. Tom is not waiting another 36 years for his next sequel, Mission Impossible 8 comes out next year.

 

Cyrano (Amazon Prime)

 

Cyrano (Amazon Prime)

You know when you finally watch a film you intended to watch and your reaction is, ”What the hell”? I had no idea Cyrano was a musical; I am not a musical kind of guy. But in truth is this is a hybrid of a musical and a historical story. The long meaty nose of the original  Cyrano De Bergerac  is replaced by the diminutive height of Peter Dinklage. This is a clever, beautiful and tender movie. The songs are excellent and support the narrative. I have no ability to critique singing, but the songs sounded  damn good. Haley Bennett, who plays Roxanne, clearly is a trained singer. I think Peter Dinklage does speak singing in a singular octave.

Visually the film is beautiful. The period costumes and make up are wonderful. I think for men’s makeup they used Marilyn Mason as their inspiration. The sets are limited to a small town and a battlefield filmed in Sicily.

I enjoyed the film more than I expected. Dinklage gave a heartfelt performance and his unrequited love for Roxanne is palpable. Kevin Harrison Jr. , who plays Christian de Neuvillette, is Roxanne’s tongue tied love interest. Ben Mendelson plays Colonel De Guichi, is totally unrecognizable, another casualty of makeup. The entire cast were excellent.

Unfortunately Cyrano was a victim of Covid. The production cost was $30m with a box office of $6.4m but it has a Rotten Tomato score of 86%. The good news for us it costs only $5.99 to rent.

 

The Northman

 

The Northman

I did not realize Vikings had such bright and shiny teeth, but that underscores my lack of Nordic culture. This film is one of the most brutal and gory movies I have seen in some time. The movie has elements of Norse lore, Shakespearean and Greek tragedy. The plot is simple; Prince Amleth seeks revenge for the murder of his father by his uncle. The story is about the quest for this revenge. Fantasy is in the mix with dead Vikings coming to life with dead eyes and a magical sword that can only be drawn at night. Unless you are a Norse scholar you should brush up on your Viking history. An outstanding feature of the movie is the breathtaking scenery. The story is supposed to be in Iceland but most of the filming was shot in Northern Ireland.

A very buffed Alexander Skarsgard (a.k.a Tarzan) plays Prince Amleth. He is a brooding killing machine, which he does well. William Defoe is Heimer the Fool barely recognizable under his hair; his screen time is brief. Nicole Kidman is the queen and Amleth’s mother. Her character does provide a pivotable twist in the movie. Anya Taylor-Joy (a.k.a The Queen’s Gambit) is Olga the Slavic slave girl who becomes Amleth’s wife. Ethan Hawk is King Aurvandill War-Ravin Amleth’s father; again too much hair and hard to recognize.

The film received a Rotten Tomatoes score of 89. The production cost was about $90m but the worldwide box office was only  $53m; it needed to make $200m to breakeven. For the target male audience, Thor is easier to digest.

The Batman

 

The Batman

This is a dark movie in tone and atmosphere. Many scenes are shot in gloomy rainy nights. Robert Pattinson’s Batman is sullen. An overriding theme of the film is vengeance. At one point Salina, Cat Woman, calls him by that name. What Pattinson lacks in dialogue he makes up in action. Like other Batmen movies special effects plays a significant role and this film does not disappoint. Pattinson’s Batman ranks high in order of popularity. Without his cowl he is an introspective Bruce Wayne. In part this is an origin story of Bruce’s parents going beyond that faithful night when they were killed in front of his eyes.

The line up of villains is impressive. Colin Farrell plays the Penguin. Here the name Penguin is a moniker for Oz Cobblepot. His prothesis makes him unrecognizable. The Penguin is an underling  to Carmine Falcone, played by John Turturro. Turturro gives one of the best performances. His outer persona in mild and even tempered but he is a cold blooded killer. The arch villain is the Riddler. He causes mayhem and murder wrapped in his riddles. The Riddler is brilliantly played by Paul Dano. This psychotic murder fits perfectly in Dano’s wheelhouse. 

The good guys are Salina, James Gordon and Alfred Pennyworth. Salina is the Cat Women played by Zoe Kravitz. This imp gives an outsized performance. She kicks ass with aplomb. She and Pattinson have good chemistry, maybe too good. Jeffery Wright plays James Gordon. He is the police officer that is aligned with Batman. Andy Serkis is Alfred Pennyworth. The Alfred character is complicated. He is a father figure, mentor and collaborator to Bruce Wayne. Serkis is a bit gruff compared to Michael Cain’s deferential Alfred. I wish his character was broader. There will be a sequel. In the insane asylum the Riddler is talking to another inmate with uncontrollable laughter.

The plot is a complicated. You may benefit from reading it in Wikipedia. Either before or after viewing the film. The Batman has become an event, see the movie and judge for yourself.

 

Uncharted

 

Uncharted

Uncharted is based on a video game series by Sony Interactive Entertainment which means I had no idea about the movie before I saw it. Basically I was underwhelmed. The plot is simplistic, involving treasure hunters seeking the lost gold of a Spanish explorer. This is an action movie dominated by fight sequences and special effects. The special effects were eye catching especially the cargo plane scene. This movie is aimed at the male 18 to 35 focus group who have been starved by the pandemic for  mindless entertainment.

Tom Holland plays the lead Nathan Drake. Holland is fast becoming the new action hero de jour. He plays the role in his usual low keyed manner, effective for the character. His partner in played by Mark Wahlberg as Sully Sullivan. Wahlberg gives his trademark cardboard cutout performance. Spicing up the movie are Sophia Ali and Tati Gabrielle. Ali is a dark eyed adventures who sides with the good guys. Gabrielle is the dominant bad guy (gal). In the fight sequences the women give as good as they get. This is Hollywood courting the female 18-35 year old cohort. Antonio Banderas plays Santiago Moncada a ruthless treasure hunter and a descendant of the family claiming the lost treasure. His role was a walk on walk off. Mercifully for him, his screen time was short.

This film garnered a Rotten Tomato score of 40 but has a box office of $228 million, nearly double its production cost. There are teasers in the end credits for a sequel; but of course. This film has hints of the Goonies but without the fun and joy.

The Tragedy of Macbeth

 

The Tragedy of Macbeth (Apple +)

There have been several productions of Macbeth in theaters and films. Joel Coen’s Macbeth is unique. His black and white interpretation uses minimalist sets with long shadows forecasting a tragic drama. His sets are more like theater rather than film.

Denzel Washington is Macbeth; his performance is masterful. He transforms Macbeth from an ambitious traitor to a paranoid monarch who’s decent into madness is complete. Washington uses his decades of acting culminating into this bravo performance. Frances McDormand’s nonverbal performance is as forceful as her dialogue. She is the cunning wife who eggs on Macbeth to his murderous deeds. Brendan Gleeson is King Duncan with only a brief performance before death cuts him short. The entire cast is stellar.

An outstanding performance is given by Kathryn Hunter as the witch (she plays all three witches). She is described as a virtuoso physical performer. As the witch she transforms  herself from a knotted soothsayer into the three witches. She uses her deep guttural voice to make her prophecies. Her acting is enough reason to see this film.

For many of us reading Macbeth was a required part of the curriculum. This Macbeth is optional.

 

Luzzu

 

Luzzu (Amazon Prime)

A Luzzu is a traditional Maltese multicolored wooden fishing boat with a pair of eyes painted on the bow to guide the fishermen back to shore. It is a metaphor for the price of change. Jesmark Scicula is the hard scrabble fisherman trying to eke out a living from fishing made harder by overfishing in the Mediterranean Sea. He has a sick baby boy and is desperate for money. His wife Denise is  the classic Maltese beauty played by Michela Farrugia, anguished by her son’s condition. Malta has socialized medicine but specialized baby formula still costs forty euros and if you want the best medical care you must pay.

Luzzu tells many tales. As Jesmark searches for more opportunities to supplement his income he spirals into the local black fishing market. The Luzzu fishermen catch a modest number of fish which for generations sustained them but with overfishing their catch is depleted. Jesmark’s growing desperate financial condition pushes him into criminal activities.

The Luzzu is leaking and needs repair. This boat belonged to his grandfather’s grandfather and is a symbol of a bygone lifestyle. To raise money he goes to the office of the European Union who encourage fisherman to give up fishing for a bounty on their boats and be reeducated  for another profession. He gets 7,000 euros for the boat and takes it to the junk yard to be trashed. He uses the money to buy a used refrigerated truck so he can transport illegal fish. His descent is complete.

The financial situation and Jesmark’s increasing involvement in the black market strains his marriage. Denise’s family is more affluent and Jesmark  resents their assistance. His mother-in-law is not generous with her help and disdains Jesmark. Her sour face needs no words.

The movie presents other signs of change. The film is shot in one of Malta’s bays. Opposite the bay is a ship container port with hulking cranes silhouetting the horizon. The scene could be easily mistaken for Elizabeth New Jersey. There is a shot of a three lane highway choked with traffic. In 1969 there were only three traffic lights in Malta. In the past immigration was the norm now guest workers emigrate to the island for work. It is debatable if all change is good but undeniably it is inevitable.

Jesmark Scicula is an actual fisherman. For a novice actor he gives a compelling performance. He received the award for best actor at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. The film was selected as the Maltese entry for the best international feature film at the 94^th Academy Awards.

The Tender Bar

 

The Tender Bar (Amazon Prime)

The Tender Bar is a tender story. It is a coming of age story based on the memoir of J.R. Moehringer and directed by George Clooney. JR, the lead character, portrayed by Daniel Ranieri, as the young JR and Tye Sheridan as his older self. JR receives several life lessons from the local bar “The Dickens” which is owned by his Uncle Charlie played by Ben Affleck. Uncle Charlie bestows worldly advice to JR such as never hit a woman even if she stabs you with a pair of scissors.

Ben Affleck is laid back as Uncle Charlie who assumes the role as the father figure. This is not a stretch for Affleck but he is endearing with JR. Daniel Ranieri is another great child actor. He displays maturity and confidence in his acting and is adorable. Christopher Lloyd plays the grandfather as a curmudgeon with a deeply buried good heart. I just wish there were more scenes with Lloyd. Tye Sheridan carries most of the film. He journeys from a working class neighborhood in Manhasset to Yale and a as a copy boy at the New York Times. His father, The Voice (a radio disk jockey), comes in and out of his life but never stays. He is a nasty alcoholic and he does hit women. Briana Middleton is the beautiful Sydney his erstwhile girlfriend who entices him and then drops him several times. Another life lesson.

The Tender Bar is easy to digest and very satisfying.