MASTER (SXSW 2022)

March 21, 2022

SXSW 2022

Greetings again from the darkness. With her first feature film, writer-director Mariama Diallo shows us that the terror of racism need not be blatant and obvious, and can be subtle and generational. Thanks to Jordan Peele, horror films have become de rigueur for exposing and exploring the many facets of racism. Ms. Diallo embraces the genre, while also mixing in the element of classism and entitlement.

Regina Hall is superb as Gail Bishop, the newly hired first black House Master at Ancaster College, a fictional, Ivy League-type school in the northeast that is as old as our country. Also excellent is Zoe Renee as Jasmine, a high-achieving black incoming freshman. A brilliant touch displays the symmetry of move-in day. Gail moves in to a creaky, dusty old home on campus, while Jasmine draws “the room” in dormitory. What is “the room”? Well, there is a legend tied to student deaths and long-ago witch trials … and 3:33am on the clock.

The supernatural forces attached to her room are only part of the challenges facing Jasmine. There is also her roommate played by Talia Ryder, the overall entitlement of other students, and another interesting character – her professor of Literature, Liv Beckman (Amber Gray). Ms. Beckman is friends with Gail, but Jasmine files an official complaint alleging she was targeted on her grade for a paper on racism in “The Scarlet Letter”. Complicating the matter, Ms. Beckman is also black and up for tenure, despite a shaky publishing record and a curious lack of background detail.

The multiple story lines become more intricate with the odd editing and threads as presented. Cinematographer Charlotte Hornsby works wonders with the creep factor, but the editing choices are often curious. Gail’s big career stepping stone introduces her to institutional racism at the institution where she’s employed. The three main characters each have their own story arcs, and the intersections are often quite advanced. However, the multiple stories do create some cinematic obstacles, and not all are handled smoothly, especially in the final act. Still, Ms. Diallo announces herself as a filmmaker to watch, and all three lead actors perform admirably.

In select theaters and on Prime Video beginning March 18, 2022

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Posted by David Ferguson

LINOLEUM (SXSW 2022)

March 21, 2022

SXSW 2022

Greetings again from the darkness. For those of us who spend entirely too many hours of our life watching movies, it’s always a welcome pleasure to stumble upon one that is creative and innovative and entertaining. The first feature film from writer-director Colin West is all that, plus it’s funny and touching and features some science. As an added bonus, it features the always great Jim Gaffigan in a dual starring role.

Mr. Gaffigan stars as Cameron, a middle-aged guy who writes, acts, and films an educational children’s science show for Public Access TV titled, “Above and Beyond”. Imagine a blend of Carl Sagan and Bill Nye the Science Guy. It’s a show he and his wife Erin (Rhea Seehorn, “Better Call Saul”) started together, but now she works at the local Air & Space Museum as the two await the finalization of their divorce.

Cameron has been waiting patiently for a preferred time slot, and one day his producer delivers news that’s both good and bad. The show is being picked up for distribution, but they have hired a new host. In what is anything but the oddest thing to happen so far in the story, Cameron can’t help but notice how much he and the new host look alike – although the personality differences are startling. It turns out the new guy bought the house right across the street from Cameron and Erin, and new guy has a teenage son, Marc (Gabriel Rush), who awkwardly befriends their daughter Nora (Katelyn Nacon).

When a satellite crashes in his yard, Cameron seizes the opportunity to become the astronaut he always dreamt of being by attempting to re-build the tangled mess into a custom rocket ship. Obviously I have left out many details in an effort to avoid spoilers for a story that is at times surreal, and can be best enjoyed going in cold. Other familiar faces appearing briefly in supporting roles include Tony Shalhoub, Amy Hargreaves, and Michael Ian Black. We have seen parallel universe films before, but filmmaker Colin West treats us to something a bit different. It may seem like a low-key affair, but “it’s not that simple.”

Narrative Feature Competition Category – SXSW

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Posted by David Ferguson

THE OUTFIT (2022)

March 17, 2022

Greetings again from the darkness. Graham Moore won an Oscar for his screenplay on Alan Turing’s life in THE IMITATION GAME (2014). Now he has directed his first feature film, one he co-wrote with Johnathan McClain. The final product is a bit unusual in that it takes place almost entirely in one spot … a tailor’s shop … and features only a handful of characters. It’s a film that would transition easily to the stage for live performances.

Mark Rylance (Oscar winner for BRIDGE OF SPIES, 2015) excels here as Leonard, a Savile Row-trained tailor now working his craft in his own shop in 1956 Chicago. His path from London to the windy city is a bit murky, but we immediately take note of Leonard’s calm and elegant presence accompanied by his soothing voice. Rylance uses that voice as narrator to explain the intricacies involved with creating a man’s suit, and the importance of reading the man prior to utilizing the 4 fabrics and 38 pieces that make-up the outfit. Leonard is also protective of Mable (Zoey Deutch, ZOMBIELAND: DOUBLE TAP, 2019), his assistant who dreams of traveling the globe.

An early montage shows us how the mob utilizes Leonard’s shop for drops, and trusts him due to his ‘see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil’ demeanor. Leonard is one cool dude, and it’s obvious we (and the mob) are underestimating him … but we can’t quite figure out why or by how much. One crazy night changes everything. Richie (Dylan O’Brien, THE MAZE RUNNER franchise) is brought into the tailor shop after being shot by a rival gang ambush. He’s accompanied by Francis (Johnny Flynn, EMMA., 2020), and the dynamics between these two is quite interesting. Richie is the son of the Boyle family patriarch and has been seeing Mable on the side, while Francis is the favored employee after saving Roy Boyle (Simon Russell Beale) by taking gun fire. Richie is a whiny, spoiled wannabe tough guy, while Francis is volatile and constantly sneering.

What follows is a bit Hitchcockian. We have plot twists, murder, backstabbing, danger, and surprises. When it’s discovered the Boyle family has a rat that is feeding details to the rival cross-town gang and the FBI, things get tense thanks partially to a MacGuffin audio tape. It all leads to confrontations in the shop, and some nice scene-chewing from Simon Russell Beale and Nikki Amuka-Bird as the leader of the rival gang. An elaborate plan by one of the characters is a pleasant surprise (to us, not the others). As Leonard points out on a couple of occasions, he’s a “cutter”, not a tailor – a distinction he takes as seriously as his skill with shears. The film’s title has double meaning: the suits Leonard crafts, and the national syndicate that involves the Boyle family. Most of this we’ve seen before, but it’s Rylance’s portrayal of Leonard that offers a different look and feel. Fans of deceptive thrillers will find some joy here.

Opens in theaters on March 18, 2022

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Posted by David Ferguson

DEEP WATER (2022)

March 17, 2022

Greetings again from the darkness. Based on his work, arguments can be made on both sides. Director Adrian Lyne is either a staunch believer in monogamous marriages, or he enjoys mocking the concept altogether. Surprisingly, this is his first film in 20 years since UNFAITHFUL (2002). To refresh your memory, he’s also the force behind 9 ½ WEEKS (1986), FATAL ATTRACTION (1987), and INDECENT PROPOSAL (1993). Co-writers Zach Helm and Sam Levinson have adapted the script from the 1957 novel by Patricia Highsmith, who also wrote “The Talented Mr. Ripley” and “Strangers on a Train”.

“Do you know I love you?” When one spouse feels the need to ask about love rather than declare it, you know it’s an unusual marriage. And in the category of unusual marriages, you’d be hard-pressed to find an arrangement more bizarre than the one between Vic (Ben Affleck) and Melinda (Ana de Armas). Thanks to real life public drama for Will Smith and Jada Pinkett, we all know that “open marriages” are a thing. But this with Vic and Melinda is neither fully “open” nor fully a marriage. Vic invented and sold a computer chip used in drones (mostly for warfare) and he’s so rich, that he’d rather watch his free-spirited wife drag home new boy-toys than give her an expensive divorce. But that’s as much explanation as we receive for what seems like a lose-lose-lose scenario. That third lose is for Melinda’s gentlemen friends who seem to mysteriously disappear once Vic becomes aware of them. One is gone before the movie even starts, and he’s followed by Jacob Elordi, Brandan Miller, and Finn Wittrock.

Perhaps the biggest mystery here is in deciding who displays more charisma, Affleck in this role or the snails that his character Vic breeds. We’ve joked about actors sleepwalking through roles before, but there are scenes here where that may actually be happening. Affleck mostly just dead-eyes Melinda and her men, though we are supposed to interpret his lack of expression as a combination of anger, jealousy, and lust. Fortunately, we have Ana de Armas to liven things up. She’s a full-grown party girl going through various stages of designer dress and un-dress. The supporting cast is comprised of Dash Mihok, Lil Rey Howery (who is in every movie these days), Kristen Connolly, Grace Jenkins as the smarter-than-parents kid to Vic and Melinda, and Tracy Letts as a curious novelist constantly side-eyeing Vic as research for a new book.

Is it cheesy? Yes. Is it sleazy? Yes. Despite twenty years of no movies, director Lyne delivers another high-gloss, play-pretend trashy erotic thriller that will fit perfectly in the streaming world. Affleck disappoints here after strong turns in THE TENDER BAR (2021) and THE WAY BACK (2020), and Ms. de Armas will next appear as Marilyn Monroe in BLONDE. Ben and Ana had their tabloid moment as a romantic couple after filming, but she is now the gone girl, and he has since reunited with JoLo. There are too many gaps in the story and characters for this to be considered a serious movie, but it’s sure to be entertaining enough for many.

Premiers on HULU beginning March 18, 2022

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Posted by David Ferguson

THE TORCH (2022, doc)

March 17, 2022

Greetings again from the darkness. When Buddy Guy pops up on my playlist, I can feel it. After watching Jim Farrell’s documentary, I now know why. Sure, Buddy Guy has won 8 Grammy Awards, been inducted into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame, been awarded a Kennedy Center Award, and the Presidential National Medal of Arts. He has also influenced most every known guitar player from Hendrix to Clapton to Beck to Page to Stevie Ray Vaughan to John Mayer, and so on. But it’s not until you watch him play that it all comes into focus. Buddy Guy finds joy in playing, and he also carries the burden of keeping the blues alive.

Howlin’ Wolf died in 1976. Muddy Waters died in 1983. When BB King died in 2015, the legacy of the blues fell to Buddy Guy, and now he’s doing what he can to ensure it lives on … he is 85 years old, after all. So part of Farrell’s documentary is about the legacy of the blues and Buddy Guy, and part of it focuses on Buddy’s mentoring of guitar phenom Quinn Sullivan. We get some background on both men. Buddy was born and raised on sharecropper farm in Louisiana. He was crafting his own instruments by age 7 using wire, string, nails, and rubber bands. After playing with Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters for Chess Records, he will forever be associated with Chicago blues. Sullivan, a natural guitarist, first played on stage with Buddy in April 2007, at the age of seven. Since then, the two have bonded, performed, and recorded together.

Sullivan is truly the heir apparent, and Farrell includes footage of Quinn and Buddy performing live on stage together … quite a musical experience for those in the room. We also see the two chatting it up – Buddy telling his stories and Quinn soaking it in. And as amazing as it is to watch them on stage, it’s a rare treat to be allowed in the studio to film them recording a song. Farrell includes some interviews (Carlos Santana and others), and Buddy’s reverence for Howlin Wolf and Muddy Waters is understandable. We are left with the hope that Buddy’s polka dot playing days continue for many years and that Quinn Sullivan appreciates the torch being passed to him.

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Posted by David Ferguson

JANE BY CHARLOTTE (2022, doc)

March 17, 2022

Greetings again from the darkness. Fearless, brave, and risk-taking. These are words often used to describe the acting choices of Charlotte Gainsbourg, who has been on screen regularly since she was a teenager. And it’s no wonder, given a resume that includes such films as NYMPHOMANIAC VOL I and II (2013), MELANCHOLIA (2011), and ANTICHRIST (2009). But it’s likely she’s never been more reticent than when directing her first film … a documentary on her mother, actor and singer Jane Birkin. This is anything but another profile of a famous person. No, this is something so intimate and personal that we often feel like we are eavesdropping and invading the privacy of mother and daughter.

We open with Jane singing on stage with the symphony at Bataclan Paris. It’s a reminder of how this icon from the ‘swinging 60’s’ remains a beloved figure today. But this is no career retrospective. In fact, there is very little structure … it’s kind of a meandering journey through the time Jane and daughter Charlotte spend together. Much of it is filmed at Jane’s beautiful riverfront home in France, and it seems Charlotte’s focus is on creating some special moments that she can recall once her 74-year-old mother is no longer around. Death, illness, and aging are all discussed.

Jane Birkin may be best known as the muse to Serge Gainsbourg, Charlotte’s father, and for singing his risqué song, “Je t’ame, moi non plus”. There is an initial awkwardness between mother and daughter, and that’s likely due to the uncertainty over the reason for this documentary. Charlotte, also a photographer, is frequently seen snapping pictures of her mother, even as the film crew does their thing. It’s obvious both mother and daughter are more comfortable with the camera than they are with each other, though they do warm up as things progress.

Jane discusses her propensity to hoard items, rarely discarding anything. She jokes that Charlotte will have to decide what’s to keep once she’s gone. One of the oddest sequences occurs when the two ladies visit Serge’s old home. He passed away in 1991 and it appears the home hasn’t changed much, other than to display items as if it were a museum. Even some of the canned food has exploded since it’s been more than 30 years. It’s kinda creepy and a bit surreal watching them fumble through the place, picking out items that bring back memories.

“The Birkin”, a handbag by Hermes, still sells for thousands of dollars, and Jane makes it clear she still cares about her looks … wrinkles and famously tousled hair. The insecurities and guilt are never really dealt with here, leaving it mostly a project of love and respect. Perhaps Charlotte wanted to ensure that the moments put on film were never about regret and instead about finding joy and comfort together. It seems this is much more a film for these two ladies, and less so for the rest of us. For a more interesting primer, see JANE B FOR AGNES V, a 1988 documentary on Jane Birkin by Agnes Varda. That’s not a home movie.

Opening March 18, 2022 in New York and March 25, 2022 in Los Angeles

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Posted by David Ferguson

TURNING RED (2022)

March 10, 2022

Greetings again from the darkness. If only the transformation brought on by puberty were half as soft and cuddly as the giant Red Panda in this latest from Pixar, imagine the reduction in slammed doors and the increase in dinner table conversations between parents and young teenagers. Writer-director Domee Shi won an Oscar for her excellent animated short film BAO (2018), and has collaborated with co-writer Julia Cho for the director’s first feature. It seems reasonable to assume that much of what we see on screen is taken from their own adolescent experiences, as well as those of countless others.

Meilin (voiced by Rosalie Chiang) is a 13-year-old 8th grader who fancies herself as a free-spirited teenager basking in her independence. However, the real story is that she’s a straight-A student obediently following the highly structured life constructed by her mother. Mei’s responsibilities include helping her mother clean the temple the family manages … the oldest temple in Toronto. It not only serves the local Chinese community by paying homage to the Gods, but it also holds a sacred place for Mei’s ancestors. Mei’s mother keeps her so duty-bound, that she’s unable to find time to karaoke with her friends.

One morning, after a particularly vivid and emotional dream, Mei is transformed into a giant Red Panda … well she pops in and out of Panda state. Her mother Ming (Sandra Oh) quickly reacts assuming her daughter’s “change” is the beginning of a menstrual cycle. But things change drastically when Ming finds out about the Red Panda. Her family has considered this a spell from the Gods, one that has followed the women for multiple generations. Mei discovers this when her grandmother and a slew of Aunts show up for the Red Moon ritual – the only way to rid Mei of the Red Panda.

Mei soon realizes her emotional outbursts are what cause the transformation. When she’s overly excited or agitated, the Red Panda appears. It’s mostly when she’s calm and at ease around her friends that she’s her ‘normal’ self. In fact, the friendships are the key to this story. Miriam (Ava Morse), Priya (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan), and Abby (Hyein Park) immediately rally to Mei’s defense and accept these startling changes. They even find a way to use it to their advantage, focusing on an upcoming concert by 4-Town, a 5 member (yep) boy band that the girls are gaga about. The music for 4-Town is co-written by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell, and is humorously in line with what we’d expect (and remember) from a 2002 boy band.

We watch as Mei struggles with the emotional rollercoaster that brings out the Red Panda. It’s refreshing to see such a portrait of friendship, and also acknowledge that overbearing parents can cause stress, no matter how caring they might be. Mei learns that by letting go of the perfect kid syndrome and wallowing in her messy self, she can truly discover who she is as a young person. It’s a Pixar movie, so we fully expect life lessons and psychology to play a role. And that’s also part of the problem here. Being a Pixar film means you get compared to other Pixar films, and that’s a crazy high standard. This one doesn’t come close to the best work from the studio, although we welcome the rare look at female adolescence and friendship, as well as the impact a mother-daughter relationship can have on multiple generations.

Available exclusively on Disney+ beginning March 11, 2022

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Posted by David Ferguson

THE ADAM PROJECT (2022)

March 10, 2022

Greetings again from the darkness. At a certain age, most of us have given some thought to what we might say to our younger self if we had the opportunity to go back in time. The familiar phrase goes, “Hindsight is 20/20”, but what if we had foresight? What if we knew the best choices to make, and the bad decisions to avoid? Director Shawn Levy (the “Night at the Museum” franchise) reunites with his FREE GUY (2021) actor, Ryan Reynolds, to bring us a crowd-pleasing time travel movie with a personal twist. The script was co-written by Jonathan Tropper (“Banshee” creator), TS Nowlin (“The Maze Runner” franchise), and Jennifer Flackett (“Big Mouth”).

Twelve-year-old Adam (Walker Scobell in his first film) is the kind of wisecracking kid that attracts bullies at school. He lives with his mother (Jennifer Garner), and they are both still mourning his dad who died in a car crash. Ms. Garner is saddled with the film’s most obvious line when she lectures young Adam, “… the future is coming sooner than you think.” When adolescent Adam stumbles on an injured astronaut in the garage, it takes a while before he figures out that it’s actually his own self from the future (2050 vs 2022). When you have a wisecracking 12-year-old, it’s only perfect casting to have wisecracking master Ryan Reynolds play the older version. Despite some early friction, or maybe because of it, the two enjoy playing off each other with snappy one-liners and comebacks.

As with most time travel stories, things get a bit complicated, and the only solution involves taking a bigger risk and adding more complications. Not to give anything away, but the two Adams are forced to make a joint time-jump to find dear old dad, Professor Louis Reed (Mark Ruffalo). The purpose is not to save dad’s life, but for other personal reasons that involve Zoe Saldana as Laura, and Catherine Keener (miscast as the villain) as Maya, Professor Reed’s not so ethical business partner. It’s this section that offers the most action and tension, although the film is best delivering for the audience when the wisecracks are flying between Reynolds, Ruffalo, and Scobell).

Director Levy has constructed a charming film that proves quite entertaining for mainstream audiences, and he adds little touches like a family dog named Hawking, and classic rock from Led Zeppelin, Spencer Davis Group, Boston, and Pete Townsend. He even avoids the temptation to add a line of dialogue, “Hey Dad, wanna have a catch?” Outside of one sequence, the special effects are minimal considering it’s a time travel movie, and at its heart, it’s a story about coming to grips with family and who you are as a person.

Available on Netflix beginning March 11, 2022

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Posted by David Ferguson

I AM HERE (2022, doc)

March 10, 2022

Greetings again from the darkness. This isn’t the first documentary profile of a Holocaust survivor, but given the timeframe involved, it’s likely to be one of the last. It’s the first feature length documentary from Jordy Sank, and he was a teenager when he first met his subject, Ella Blumenthal. Taking a different approach, Mr. Sank and a small crew filmed Ms. Blumenthal’s 98th birthday party over a weekend with her friends and extended family – kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids.

Born in Warsaw in 1921, Ella was 18 years old when the war started in 1939. 23 of her family members were taken by Germans, and only she and her niece, Roma, would survive. Director Sank wisely keeps Ella on camera as much as possible because she is a true force of nature. Her stories are riveting and shocking, yet she remains so energetic … filled with light and full of life. Some animation is utilized to complement Ella’s stories to ensure that we visualize what she recalls. Her stories include her time in Majdanek, Auschwitz, and Bergen-Belsen, three concentration camps where so many Jews were exterminated. By the time, Bergen-Belsen was liberated on April 15, 1945, Ella had spent most of 5 years in horrific captivity. She recalls how close she came to death before a nurse-friend stepped in to save her life.

Ella even tells her post-war stories, including meeting her husband, which resulted in a relocation to South Africa. The couple purchased and ran a department store, and now at age 100, Ella still lives in Cape Town, enjoying a life of friends, family, and swimming. The scar on her arm keeps the past terribly close, but this lady’s spirit is something special. We see clips of her visiting the sites of the concentration camps, and we hear a stunning story of her reaction to one particular case of antisemitism. Most of us know someone who has an admirable zest for life, but rest assured you’ll come away from Ella’s story touched and inspired … and hopefully share her approach of being thankful for every day.

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Posted by David Ferguson

THE GIRL ON THE MOUNTAIN (2022)

March 7, 2022

Greetings again from the darkness. Jack Ward first appears as the conductor of an orchestra during a live performance. It seems to be going well until he declines a call from his teenage daughter, Melody. See, it’s his day to pick her up from school. When he doesn’t show up, she walks home. After receiving congratulations for the musical performance, tragedy and guilt strike Jack on the same day. And then tragedy strikes again. It’s more than one man can take, and the next time we see Jack, he’s on a mountaintop contemplating suicide.

Writer-director Matt Sconce delivers a story from Christopher Mejia, and much of it takes place in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California. Actually, the mountains and the shots of nature (filmed by director Sconce) are the standouts here, as it’s terrain that we haven’t seen too often on screen. As a conductor, Jack (Daniel O’Reilly) was the ultimate clean-cut professional. After time on the mountain, he a haggard, worn-down man with little reason to live. He carries a bullet in his boot for the day when he’s strong enough to end things. One day, a mute girl steals food from his backpack. He tracks her down and since he (conveniently) knows sign-language, he learns the mute girl is running from a dangerous family situation. He calls her Aria (Makenzie Sconce, assuming her to be the director’s daughter), and the two bond over skimming stones, fishing, and paper airplanes.

The tension in the story is twofold: flashbacks and the pursuit. Jack and Aria both have their flashbacks to bad times. Jack recalls his mistakes with daughter Melody (Sarah Dorothy Little), while Aria’s dreams remind of her an unbearable life with her dad, Big Al. It’s Big Al’s pursuit of Aria that keeps her and Jack on the lookout. He’s hunting her down since she was witness to his horrible action. There are two distractions here that deserve mention. The eye makeup on Mr. O’Reilly is downright creepy at times, while the orthodontic braces on Aria’s teeth simply don’t belong, given the deep poverty of her home life.

Mr. O’Reilly, young Ms. Sconce, and Ms. Little are fine in their roles, but the other supporting characters, though not on screen for long, are detrimental to flow. The story of redemption and awakening is really nothing new, but the mountainous setting adds a level of differentiation that keeps us interested. A strange ending leaves us wondering, what now?

Available On Demand beginning March 8, 2022

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Posted by David Ferguson

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