BAD HOMBRES (2024)

January 25, 2024

Greetings again from the darkness. January releases are always a bit of a gamble – not just for filmmakers, but also for viewers. A few gems are often buried in the indie dump, so an open mind is especially beneficial and necessary this time of year. Landing somewhere in between the hidden gems and the muck is this B-movie crime thriller from writer-director John Stalberg Jr, and his co-writers Rex New and Nick Turner.

Like so many immigrants to the United States, Felix (Diego Tinoco) is a bright-eyed man, desperate to work and save enough money to relocate his family from Ecuador. At a local convenience store one morning, Donnie (Luke Hemsworth) offers a job (digging a hole in the desert) to Felix and another day-laborer named Alfonso (Hemky Madera, “Queen of the South”). While Felix seems eager and friendly, Alfonso is grumpy and hardened, but it’s Donnie and his cohort who turn out to be psychopaths and criminals. Things turn violent with a blast of gunfire and a pickax to the chest. Felix and Alfonso find themselves knee deep in a botched drug deal and are forced to become partners in order to survive.

Alfonso’s secret past as ‘God Killer’ works to their advantage, and soon enough he has called in a favor from a skittish scumbag (Thomas Jane) who runs a junk lot with a car crusher. He also has a contact for a local veterinarian (Nick Cassavetes) who is on-call for, um, non-pet medical emergencies. On their tail is a fixer (Tyrese Gibson) who works for the “gringos” on one side of the drug deal gone wrong. Working to the film’s advantage is that the actors are all fully engaged and never distract from a situation that most of us can’t exactly relate to (thank goodness).

Felix has a dream of bringing his family to the states and opening a restaurant that features his specialty: chicken with pumpkin. While I will likely never try his signature dish, I found this little movie surprisingly easy to watch – despite the violence and low budget (and inconsistencies with Hemsworth’s arm).

Opening in select theaters and VOD on January 26, 2024

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Posted by David Ferguson

NEXT GOAL WINS (2023)

November 16, 2023

Greetings again from the darkness. It might seem that a team goal of merely scoring a goal is setting the sights a bit low, but then again, we are talking about the American Samoa soccer team that lost to Australia by the incredible score of 31-0 (not a typo) in a World Cup qualifier. Brought to you by the comedic genius of writer-director Taika Waititi and his co-writer Iain Morris (“The Inbetweeners”), it was filmed in Hawaii a few years ago and easily slides into the category of feel-good entertainment, despite the near-certainty that some will accuse Waititi of cultural insensitivity. Much of it is based on a true story.

For those familiar with Waititi, you know that he’s a quirky and talented New Zealander filmmaker behind such gems as JOJO RABBIT (his Oscar winner from 2019), THOR: RAGNAROK (2017, still my favorite non-Batman superhero movie), HUNT FOR THE WILDERPEOPLE (2016, a hidden gem that I frequently recommend), and two terrific TV series, “What We Do in the Shadows” and “Flight of the Conchords”. So, it’s not surprising that this latest is a bit difficult to categorize. Is it a story of underdogs rising to discover their own self-worth? Or is it the story of a misguided, bitter coach rising to discover his own self-worth? Or is it the story of how culture bonds a community in the face of embarrassment? Or is it the touching story of the first non-binary trans person to play World Cup soccer? The film’s weakness is that it’s a bit of all without really being ‘about’ any. Instead, Waititi focuses on having a good time and making us smile.

Michael Fassbender stars as Thomas Rongen, a soccer coach whose anger issues tend to boil over at the wrong times, costing him a marriage (Elisabeth Moss) and a premier coach gig. The federation (led by smarmy Will Arnet) cast him off to coach the worst team in the sport, American Samoa. Of course, Rongen drinks too much and sees himself as too good to coach the team of misfits, despite the warm welcome from Tavita Taumua (Oscar Kightley), the head of the Football Federation of American Samoa. Tavita’s wife, Ruth, (the always humorous Rachel House), is a bit more direct as she sees Rongen for what he is.

The 2014 World Cup qualifiers are fast-approaching, and Rongen and the players go through ups and downs … and we do discover what is contributing to Rongen’s bitterness. Not surprisingly, the Samoan culture helps him every bit as much as he helps the team. Most poignant is the arc of Jaiyah (played by Kaimana), a member of the fa’afafine community as a trans person … again, based on a real-life person.

Supporting work is provided by Rhys Darby (so good in “Flight of the Conchords”), Luke Hemsworth, Angus Sampson, and Kaitlyn Dever. The best (and obvious) comparisons are THE BAD NEWS BEARS and THE MIGHTY DUCKS, only this time it’s grown-ups rather than kids. An argument can be made (and I would) that Fassbender is miscast, but he’s so talented, it doesn’t hurt the film much. Sure, the story structure is a bit weak, as is the character development, however the film is quitey entertaining, as Waititi finds the humor without being offensive or condescending.

Opens in theaters on November 17, 2023

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Posted by David Ferguson

THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER (2022)

July 5, 2022

Greetings again from the darkness. With a steady stream of Marvel movies and TV serials, maintaining coherent and connected storylines has become challenging. In fact, it’s probably best if fans take these at face value, rather struggling to connect the dots, only to end up frustrated. Perhaps no one understands this better than Taika Waititi, the director behind what many (including me) consider the best MCU film, THOR: RAGNAROK (2017). Waititi and co-writer Jennifer Kaytin Robinson once again embrace the blend of quick quip comedy and expected action sequences, supplemented this time a love story.

The pre-opening credits sequence provides the backstory for the film’s villain, Gorr the God Butcher, played by Oscar winner Christian Bale. Gorr has spent a lifetime worshipping the Sun God, only to realize his worshipping has occurred in an actual God-forsaken world that costs him dearly. Gorr ends up learning the lesson of ‘never meet your heroes’, and this confrontation gives him the power and curse of the Necrosword, and sets him on a revenge mission to kill all Gods. We have to respect a villain who has a legitimate claim to his mission – it’s not just a thirst for world domination. Gorr wants the Gods to pay for their ambivalence.

We then pick up Thor Odinson (Chris Hemsworth) as he has been fighting with the Guardians of the Galaxy since the end of AVENGERS: ENDGAME (2019). With no shortage of characters who excel in comedy, this sequence shifts us into laughter and light-hearted mode after the bleak Gorr opening. It’s this pacing that holds for most of the movie … Waititi never lets things stay too serious for very long. Soon, Thor splits off from the Guardians, as he returns to New Asgard, being run by King Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson). Now based on Earth, New Asgard is a theme park and tourist attraction. One of the features is the theater acting group we’ve seen previously, and this time Matt Damon, Luke Hemsworth, and Sam Neill are joined by Melissa McCarthy as Hela. While this is going on, we learn Thor’s old flame, astrophysicist Jane Foster (Oscar winner Natalie Portman) is now an author being treated for Stage 4 cancer. A trip to New Asgard provides her strength as the shattered Mjolnir hammer magically re-forms in her presence. Jane’s story boils down to whether she wants to try to extend her life through science or live every remaining day to it’s fullest.

Gorr kidnaps the Asgardian kids, forcing Thor, Valkyrie, Korg (voiced again by Waititi), and Mighty Thor/Jane Foster to track him to the Realm of Shadows. Their plan is to stop by Omnipotence City to request assistance from the almighty Zeus (Russell Crowe). They are shocked to discover that Zeus is little more than a colorful televangelist with a Borat accent performing a whiz-bang show so that he can get on to the next orgy. Zeus refuses to assist with an army, but he does manage to chain Thor and strip him nekkid centerstage. The good guys nab Zeus’ golden lightning bolt and head off to rescue the kids and confront Gorr.

In a reverse Wizard of Oz twist, the films turns to Black & White when they reach the Realm of Shadows. It’s an eerie environment befitting Gorr. Bale is certainly at his best when he is terrifying and menacing, although the writing is a bit inconsistent for the character, and sometimes it drifts into Pennywise mode, a definite drop in suspense. The action sequences are fine, but really nothing we haven’t seen before. And that’s probably the biggest issue with all superhero/comic book stories these days. Anything new must come from the story or the characters, and we know the characters far too well at this point.

Waititi’s version delivers many laughs throughout. Among the best is the odd relationship between Thor and his hammer Mjolnir and his axe Stormbreaker. Thor’s jealousy of his ex-hammer hooking up with his ex-girlfriend is almost as funny as Stormbreaker’s jealousy of Thor trying to steal back the hammer. Also cool is Thor’s homage to Jean-Claude Van Damme, and the look of the Altar of Eternity, where one last wish is granted. Maybe not as effective is the apparent Guns ‘n Roses fetish or Jane’s struggle to come up with a catchphrase. Sure to be a divisive element is the recurring gag of bleating goats … I found them hilarious, but many won’t. Another piece that simply didn’t work for me is Ms. Portman’s performance, especially in the scenes with Hemsworth. Her comic timing can’t match his, and it’s a match that just never clicks.

Obviously, the characters originated from the minds of Stan Lee and Jason Aaron in Marvel Comics, and it’s Taika Waititi who brings his unique touch to the project. Since he directed THOR: RAGNAROK, he won a screenplay Oscar for JOJO RABBIT (2019), and I’ve been a fan of his style dating back to EAGLE VS SHARK (2007), and on to the brilliant HUNT FOR THE WILDERPEOPLE (2016), and TV series “What We Do in the Shadows”. Waititi is scheduled to direct a Star Wars movie in the near future – one surely to be divisive among that fan base. As for this latest Thor movie, it may be tonally jagged and have a few too many zippy quips for some, but it manages to be silly and tender and emotional, while having the look and feel of a comic book come to life. Stay for the two end-credit scenes.

Opening in theaters on July 8, 2022 (Thorsday)

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Posted by David Ferguson