THE MAGIC FARAWAY TREE (2026)

August 21, 2026

Greetings again from the darkness. Director Ben Gregor may have delivered the rarest of films in this day and age … one filled with adventure, goodness, and life lessons … and one the entire family can watch and enjoy together. Simon Farnaby (PADDINGTON 2, 2017) adapted the screenplay from Enid Blyton’s series of four books published between 1939 and 1951. Ms. Blyton passed away in 1968, yet she remains one of the best-selling authors of children’s books.

Tim (Andrew Garfield) and Polly (Claire Foy, “The Crown”) are a married couple with three kids. Polly comes home in a stupor one evening, confessing to Tim that she quit her job due to a principle that meant a great deal to her. Since she’s the breadwinner of the family, and their car and apartment were tied to the job, they find themselves instantaneously broke and homeless. Their plan is tied to a ‘Dream Binder’ put together many years ago, and off they go to live in a rustic barn landlorded by marble-mouthed Brian (the film’s writer Simon Farnaby) and Bella (Farnaby’s real life wife Claire Keelan). Rustic is a bit of an understatement as the place is a mess and has no electricity.

Youngest daughter Fran (Billie Gadsdon, HERE, 2024) doesn’t speak much, while Joe (Phoenix Laroche) is having video game withdrawals. Beth (Delilah Bennett-Cardy) is the angry teen who wants nothing to do with a place lacking WIFI and friends. Daddy Tim is the dreamer, while Mama Polly is the practical one. Together they plan to grow tomatoes and market Tim’s delicious tomato sauce recipe. Meanwhile, Fran discovers the titular magic tree which leads to an enchanted land of colorful characters, including the charming and delightful Fairy Silky (Nicola Coughlan, “Bridgerton”) and the skeptical Moonface (Nonso Anozie, “Sweet Tooth”). Things escalate once Fran’s siblings join in the magic. Trips to Land of Goodies (“Don’t be greedy”) and Land of Birthdays (cold due to icing) also involve an angry Pixie, Saucepan Man, Mr. Wazisname, and Dame Washalot. The kids find out it’s not all rainbows and unicorns when they cross paths with the vicious Dame Snap (Rebecca Ferguson).

Polly’s ultra-wealthy and snobbish mother (screen veteran Jennifer Saunders) can’t comprehend this new lifestyle and looks forward to telling them, “I told you so.” Of course, this is a throwback fairy tale, so we are fairly certain she won’t get the chance. The closest comparisons to the film would be along the lines of THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA (2005), THE ADVENTURES OF BARON MUNCHAUSEN (1988), and most any Monty Python feature. This particular family adventure leads to some wonderful life lessons and yes, brings the family closer together. The books from Enid Blyton are from another era, but the film has a contemporary feel as it reminds us that somewhere along the line, we lose the magic we had as kids … well, all except Tim, who has held on tightly.

Opens nationwide in theaters on August 21, 2026

WATCH THE TRAILER

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Posted by David Ferguson

THE LAUNDROMAT (2019)

October 10, 2019

North Texas Film Festival (NTXFF) 2019

 Greetings again from the darkness. The meek may inherit the earth, but if this Steven Soderbergh movie based on Jake Bernstein’s book (screenplay by Scott Z Burns) is correct, they aren’t likely to get the money too. To put it more bluntly, the first of the film’s 5 rules of creating and protecting wealth is, “the meek are screwed.” In order to follow this film that is “based on true secrets”, it helps to have a basic knowledge of the Panama Papers … a 2016 anonymous leak of more than 11 million documents exposing how the rich skirt the laws when it comes to protecting their money. Offshore entities had previously been a mainstream punchline, but these documents from Mossack Fonseca, a law firm in Panama, clearly outlined just how widespread the practice had become.

Rather than traditional narrative form, the information is presented through multiple vignettes featuring an impressive roster of well-known actors: Meryl Streep, Jeffrey Wright, Sharon Stone, Melissa Rauch, David Schwimmer, James Cromwell, Matthias Schoenaerts, Robert Patrick, Nonso Anozie, and Rosalind Chao, plus a few others you’ll recognize. In the role of tongue-in-cheek emcees are Gary Oldman and Antonio Banderas, as Jurgen Mossack and Ramon Fonseca, respectively. Their coordinating flamboyant outfits correspond to these caricatures of the real men behind this web of fraudulent activity. They are meant to add humor to the situation, but also tell “their side of the story.”

We are caught off-guard when Meryl Streep’s story and her character are not the main focus. Her slow unraveling of insurance fraud after her husband’s death is but one segment of the lesson that will likely confuse most people. The easy comparison is Adam McKay’s THE BIG SHORT (2015), which used some of this style in explaining the mortgage backed securities market. Whereas Mr. McKay won an Oscar for his screenplay, that’s highly unlikely for this one. Scott Z Burns is a talented writer, but this was simply too complex of a subject to tackle in 95 minutes. Mr. Soderbergh, as is tendency, not only directs the film, but is also the cinematographer, editor and producer.

This is a Netflix production that I caught at the inaugural North Texas Film Festival, and thanks to the presence of Ms. Streep, will likely have at least a limited theatrical release. Unfortunately, neither big screen nor small will solve the inherent issues here. There are some nuggets such as Delaware, despite its population of less than one million, being king of corporation filings (thanks to its business-friendly tax laws). Understanding shell companies, tax evasion, and other illicit financial activities among the world’s ultra-rich requires more than a talented cast, but perhaps there is enough here to motivate some to dig a little deeper with their own research. That is, if the film’s finale – a lecture on reform – doesn’t turn you off completely. Many of us appreciate being informed, but rebel against the preaching.

watch the trailer:

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Posted by David Ferguson

7 DAYS IN ENTEBBE (2018)

March 15, 2018

 Greetings again from the darkness. Freedom fighters or terrorists? Which label gets applied is often dependent upon one’s point of view. In 1976 an Air France flight from Tel Aviv to Paris via Athens was hijacked. Director Jose Padilha (“Narcos”, ROBOCOP, 2014) brings us the big screen version of Gregory Burke’s (’71) screenplay.

The 7 day ordeal bounces between the captors and hostages at the abandoned terminal in Uganda and the political maneuverings of the Israeli government officials as they deliberate whether to break with policy and negotiate with terrorists. There are also flashbacks to the planning stages with the hijackers, in an attempt to help us understand their perspective.

Daniel Bruhl plays Wilifried Bose and Rosamund Pike plays Brigitte Kuhlmann. These are the two main hijackers who get most of our attention. Mr. Bruhl seems destined to always play the ultra-serious character, and Ms. Pike is once again miscast … something that happens whenever she is cast. Although she seems to throw down her best Patty Hearst look, we never really buy these two as committed to the cause, which prevents the necessary build-up of suspense.

The film’s biggest flaw is not capitalizing on the opportunity afforded by Nonso Anozie’s Idi Amin Dada, and even more disappointing is the abbreviated scenes between Shimon Peres (Eddie Marsan) and Yizhak Rabin (Lior Ashkenazi, FOXTROT). The two actors excel in their head-to-head confrontations, but we feel cheated every time it cuts away.

Once a strategy is formed, we are introduced to the Special Ops team (IDF). They only have a day or two to train and rehearse, and one of the key players is Ben Schnetzer (THE BOOK THIEF, 2013). He and his girlfriend quarrel over his duty, which keeps him away from her dancing performance with Batsheva Dance Company.  As Operation Thunderbolt proceeds, the crosscuts between Special Ops training and the dance rehearsals are setting the stage for the film’s climax.

So the hijackers never really generate the feeling of danger, the government deliberations are cut short, and the filmmaker takes a huge creative risk by synchronizing the final rescue mission with the opening night dance performance. The film is negatively impacted by poor pacing, an overall lack of tension for such a terrifying historical event, and questionable, albeit creative, story-telling structure. It does serve the purpose of educating those unfamiliar with the story, and it’s a reminder that even 4 decades later, the Israeli – Palestinian hostilities continue. As a special note of interest, the only Special Ops member killed in the raid was Yoni Netanyahu, the brother of the current Prime Minister of Israel.

watch the trailer:

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Posted by David Ferguson