The Bikeriders- Prime Video

 

The Bikeriders-Prime  Video

This is not a typical biker movie depicting Hell’s Angels or Marlon Brando’s classic The Wild Ones.  The film is based on a photo book of the same name portraying the lives of the Vandals Motorcycle Club, a fictional version of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club.

 The film centers around the relationship of the three protagonists. Tom Hardy as Tommy, the club's president, Austin Butler as Benny, and Jodi Comer, Benny’s wife. Hardy gives his usual low-key performance with his mumbling voice. Tommy could be ruthless but most times is level headed. Butler is a charismatic dedicated biker who would rather take a severe beating than give up his colors (his jacket). Butler shows devotion to the club which functions as a family.

Jodi Comer has a dual role. As Benny’s wife, she competes with the club for Benny’s attention. She is also a narrator who gives interviews to the photo documentarist.

This is not an action packed film. It is about the member’s interactions and how the club defines them. If you want to watch this movie I suggest you give it more time when the $20 fee goes down.

Bad Boys: Ride or Die

 

Bad Boys: Ride or Die

He’s back. This is not Will Smith's first film after the infamous slap but it is his most commercially successful. Reviews are fair to midline. It is a typical Jerry Bruckheimer film, with fast cars and action-packed.  It is what you expect from a film like this. If you enjoyed the other Bad Boys movies this one will fit like a glove.

Along with Smith, as Mike Lowrey,  is his Bad Boy partner Martin Lawerence, Marcus Burnett. Smith and Lawerence continue their well-honed repartee. Lawrence gives a more clowness performance making rubbery faces and foraging for forbidden sweets (he had a heart attack).  Their chemistry is well honed and still fresh.

The plot is paper thin and is used as a frame for the action sequences. The gunfights are relentless accompanied by a high body count. These are John Wick type shots with impossible deadly accuracy. This film is more potty mouth than the others.

 Another consequential character is Lowrey’s son, Armando. He plays a pivotal role but the father and son relationship is a work in progress (see the prior Bad Boys film to understand the paternity). There are many other characters rounding out the cast. Tiffany Haddish is a small time gang leader. To say she was vulgar is an understatement.

There are some genuine chuckles. At best this is a distraction from the summer heat. This movie did heat up the box office which before Bad Boys was anemic.

 

Civil War

 

This is a brutal movie and given the current political climate opportunistic. The political division is not clear. No manifesto is stated and secessionist states are not identified. Moreover, soldiers wearing the same uniforms make it difficult to identify sides. Killing and brutality are constant throughout the whole film.

This movie is a sleight of hand since the real story concerns photojournalists and the risks they take to get the money shot. Kristin Dunst is Lee, a veteran war photographer who takes great risks to capture the action. Cailee Spaeny is the novice war photojournalist who is terrified of the fighting but energized by it. She takes unnecessary risks. Wagner Moura is a journalist who is Lee’s colleague. Stephen McKinley Henderson is the veteran New York Times reporter. He is old and wise but does not move quickly. Jesse Plemons makes an uncredited appearance (whatever that means) and is a homicidal soldier who kills for no apparent reason.  

In the midst of this mayhem, there were some solid performances. Dunst is passionate about her art but weary of war. Her pain is etched on her face. With shooting and killing around her she still manages to take prize-winning shots. Dunst takes Spaeny under her wing. Even so, Spaeny is reckless and endangers herself and the others. The horrible acts of war transform her, she is hungry for the shot and is energized by the fighting improving her skills.

Moura is a journalist but in the film, he seems more like the driver. He looks after Spaeny like a big brother. He displays an adrenal rush from the proximity to the fighting. Henderson is the wise old journalist who cautions the group.

The relationships of the journalists are the core of the movie. The savagery of the movie misdirects its intent.   

Rustin

 

Rustin-Netflix

Rustin is a biographical drama about Bayard Rustin, the main organizer of the 1963 March on Washington. He was a close friend of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He was openly gay which caused friction with the other prominent civil rights leaders. He was a brilliant civil rights organizer who was not deterred by bigotry. His burden was greater because he was gay. In the ’50s and ’60s being black and gay was a perilous proposition.

Colman Domingo, as Rustin, gives a remarkable performance. He imbues his character with energy and passion. He is self-confident to the annoyance of the civil rights giants. He portrays Rustin as a fast talker and problem solver. Domingo, who is gay, handles the intimate scenes with passion and is hurt when a lover goes back to being husband and father.

Jeffrey Wright is Adam Clayton Powell Jr. He is way over the top and loves it. The man can strut in his chair. Wright is as slick as the real Powell and his arrogance is accurate. He is Rustin’s nemesis and Wright projects Powell as self-dealing and duplicitous.

Aml Ameen is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The resemblance is uncanny. He portrays King as a leader who has to manage conflicting opinions from the other leaders. He is a close friend of Rustin and their friendship is stressed by the anti-gay prejudice of the time.  

Chris Rock is Roy Williams. With a mop of grey hair, you almost feel he is going to burst out in his trademark jokes; he barely contains himself. He portrays Williams as a serious leader and not amicable to Rustin in the beginning. They say comics make good actors because of their timing and Rock does not disappoint.

The rest of the cast is fabulous. This is an important story and brings Rustin from behind the curtain of history. I am not sure if Rustin will be nominated for Best Picture but if Domingo is not nominated for Best Actor that would be a terrible snub.

 

 

 

The Holdovers

 

The Holdovers-Prime

There must be a special place in hell for people who make deceptive trailer ads. The trailer makes the film appear humorous and warm hearted. For the most part, it is not. The Holdovers is not humorous. There are sad stories and the road to redemption is bumpy and painful.

 Paul Giamatti is Paul Hunham a curmudgeon ancient history teacher whom his students and peers dislike.  He cycles through various levels of curmudgeonhood in the film. Sympathy for him is gained after tales of his misery. He is a sad and lonely person.

Dominic Sessa is Angus Tully the holdover student Giamatti has to babysit. He has a sad backstory that would make Tiny Tim cry. In this formula plot, they deeply dislike each other and over the course of the film they defrost. Eventually, Giamatti and Sessa form a friendship/ allegiance to fend off their adversaries. The bond they achieve traverses rocky terrain.

Da’ Vine Joy Randolph is the head cook Mary. She has a deeply sad story herself that has nothing to do with Hunham and Tully. Sadness is their bond. Her main role is to humanize Hunham.

The acting is well done and they portray their characters well. For all the sadness you would expect more happiness and joy. It is a Christmas movie after all.   

Saltburn-Prime Video

 

Saltburn-Prime Video

Saltburn is a psychological drama with so many twists and turns you need Dramamine. It has a wonderful cast but the story is strange and some parts disquieting. Saltburn is a country estate the hereditary house of a snobbish English family. Oliver Quick, played by Barry Keoghan, is invited for the summer by his Oxford classmate Felix Catton. Oliver comes from a working class family which is the basis of growing friction. Oliver is the artful dodger on steroids.

Barry Keogan delivers an outstanding performance. He is a chameleon who deceptively ingratiates himself with the family. He gives a low key performance which transforms during the movie. Some of his scenes are unsettling.

Jacob Elordri is Felix Catton, Oliver’s classmate at Oxford who invites him to Saltburn. He plays the stereotypical English upper class gentry. His performance is laid back and sexy. Cary Mulligan is wasted in this film. She is on screen for about two minutes and wears an awful red wig and is nearly unrecognizable. She mumbles a few lines and is gone. Archi Madekwe plays Fairleigh, Oliver’s nemesis. They play well off each other, with overt and subverted jabs.

Rosmond Pike is Lady Elspeth, Felix’s mother. I think she was delighted in her role. She is over the top as an upper class lady. For all her sophistication she is clueless about her son and Oliver. Richard E. Grant is Sir James, lord of the manor. His performance is wonderful nailing all the snobbery, a mainstay of British films.

This film is interesting, but not for everyone. Not to be prudish, there is Full Monty nudity, which seems to be the de reguer of recent films. The performances are well done, but the story is a bit whacky.  A weakness of the film, the skullduggery is summarized at the end of the movie to explain the plot. A better written script would make that unnecessary.

 

Maestro

 

Maestro- Netflix

Leonard Bernstein was gay, a husband for twenty-seven years, he had three children, and was a world-renowned conductor; Leonard Bernstein was complex. He was also selfish. In the 1950’s some gay men married to hide their alternate lifestyle, not Bernstein. His wife knew of his attraction to men and he knew she knew. It hurt her greatly. Yet they truly loved each other. She also loved his music and genius as a conductor. This may have contributed to her tolerance.

Bradley Cooper plays Bernstein and is the director. His performance is powerful. He displays Bernstein’s passion for conducting and music. With a prosthetic nose and affecting a cultivated accent, he channels Bernstein. The resemblance is uncanny. Cooper shows how Bernstein coexisted in the gay world and as a husband and father with minimal conflict for himself.

Carey Mulligan plays  Felicia Montealegre, Bernstein’s wife. Her performance is outstanding. She displays love for her husband but at the same time is tormented by his homosexual liaisons. She appears placid and supportive but she has an inner rage. She is brilliant in portraying this duality.

The tension of the movie is how they remained married.  This is a new twist for better or worse. Bernstein has his liaisons and is absorbed by his music but he is devoted to his wife. When tragedy befalls his wife he tenderly cares for her.

The movie is free on Netflix and absolutely worth seeing. I think there will be a few Academy nominations.