“Alpha”– Movie Review

Recently, I attended an advanced screening of the new action-adventure, “Alpha”.

Synopsis

When an Ice Age hunting trip goes awry, a teenager gets separated from the group – but once he’s befriended by a stray wolf, can the two help save each other survive?

Story

Twenty thousand years ago, the planet Earth experienced what has come to be known as The Ice Age.  Somewhere on the European continent during that time, there was a small village whose inhabitants needed to go out to hunt for food for their family.  The leader of the tribe, Tau (Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson), chose his best weapon-makers to join him on this expedition – including his teenage son, Keda (Kodi Smit-McPhee).  There is some degree of trepidation around this choice not only due to the boy’s relative inexperience but also because Keda does not exactly have a reputation of being fierce.

During their journey, Keda suffers an accident and winds up being separated from the group; alone and injured, he must figure out a way to survive as he tries to find his way back to the village.  Since Keda’s hunting skills are underdeveloped, scrounging for food is a challenge and he has to settle for anything he can get. Keda also has to fend off various predatory beasts who wish to attack him either because they believe he’s a threat or because they want to use him as a food source.  One such experience is with a wolfpack; unable to fight them off, Keda climbs a tree to evade them.

Hours later when the pack has given up on their prey, Keda descends and upon returning to the ground finds one of the wolves has remained; discovering that it is badly injured and no longer a danger, he proceeds to nurse the animal back to health.  Over time, the two seem to develop something of a trust between each other and the natural animosity gradually dissipates. When the wolf has an opportunity to return to its pack, it instead stays with Keda and together, they overcome various life-threatening adventures as the wolf, who by now Keda has named Alpha, follows him back to the village.  But as a blizzard hits, will the two be able to survive long enough to return to civilization?

Review

Although “Alpha” is only an hour and a half in length, it feels much longer due to its slow pacing and the fact that it takes quite a while for the story to get started.  Additionally, Keda keeps facing one adversity after another so you just want to scream, “Enough already, we get it!”. At that point, it almost turns into a self-parody.  This also begs the question about what was the father doing – or perhaps more to the point, what was he not doing?  As far as we can tell from the film itself, the father never once tried to look for his boy, which makes scenes where he appears to get all emotional about the assumed loss of his son all the more suspect. 

The second act of any movie is typically its longest; structurally, this is handled by the screenwriter asking the question, “What are the other characters up to?”.  This is done to keep the main character from being forced to carry too much of the middle of the film, potentially causing the audience to zone out at best or get sick of him/her at worst.  What might’ve helped “Alpha” from feeling longer than its actual running time may have been including scenes of the villagers or what the hunters did after they were separated from the boy (as mentioned above, the father didn’t even seem to make any kind of an effort –it appears he quickly gave up and just went home). 

One minor point has to do with the dialog.  Since this takes place in Europe during the Ice Age, the characters appear to be speaking a long-extinct language – possibly Solutrean in its origin, which might make it a French/Spanish variation.  In any event, it will not be immediately recognizable to the audience – it’ll pretty much just sound like a bit of gibberish. This is why the dialog is translated to English in its subtitles. While this might not be considered a deal-breaker for the cineaste who’s seen many foreign films, it could turn out to be something of an impediment if the filmmakers are trying to reach a wider audience.   

IMDB

“Skyscraper”– Movie Review

This week, I attended an advanced screening of the new action thriller, “Skyscraper”, starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Neve Campbell.

Synopsis

When a Chinese tower is ablaze, can the American security expert hired to assess its safety rescue his family trapped inside?

Story

When it finally opens in Hong Kong, The Pearl will be the world’s tallest building – and that’s where Will Sawyer (Dwayne Johnson) comes in.  Sawyer is a security expert who has been hired by the building’s billionaire real estate developer Zhao Long Ji (Chin Han) to ensure that the structure is totally secure.  For Sawyer, this is something of a forced career change; having worked previously as a member of a SWAT team, he was severely injured on one case – his left leg had to be amputated below the knee, requiring him to wear a prosthetic device.  A decade later, he’s now happily married to Sarah (Neve Campbell) and they have two children.

Having completed a preliminary inspection of the various security and safety systems installed in the building, Sawyer reports to Zhao that The Pearl is in pretty good shape –but the inspection is not yet complete.  Sawyer will have to visit the remote location which is the central headquarters that manages the building’s security and safety systems. Unknown to either Sawyer or Zhao, the software that controls the building has been hacked by a nefarious crime syndicate out to seek revenge on Zhao.  But in order to totally fully take control of the building, they steal the tablet Zhao gave Sawyer – a device which allows him to biometrically authenticate into the system as an administrator to inspect the system in detail.

Putting their plan into motion, the criminals set fire to one of the floors in The Pearl; after disabling the anti-fire system, the edifice will likely burn to the ground.  But there’s one thing that they didn’t take into consideration: Sarah and her children would still be in the construction at the time the fire starts. Trapped inside with no way out of the building, Sarah must protect her family from the fire while simultaneously dealing with the criminals who caused the blaze in the first place.  Can Sawyer somehow manage to rescue his family while also bringing the criminals to justice?

Review

The Rock on only one leg can still kick butt – and for that matter, so can his wife (who is also a combat surgeon who fluently speaks Chinese … but perhaps that’s giving away a bit too much).  That said, maybe the real star of the movie is duct tape -- yes, duct tape. One of the lines Johnson has goes, “If you can’t fix it with duct tape, then you’re just not using enough duct tape!”.  In fact, the studio, Universal, believes in it so much that at this particular screening, they used as a marketing tool a roll of duct tape – that is to say, they were giving away rolls for free as a way of promoting the film.  No joke – the word “Skyscraper” was emblazoned across the roll of duct tape. (If you’re not getting it now, you will when you see “Skyscraper”)

But enough about duct tape.  While the movie might be reminiscent of “Die Hard” where Johnson would be the Bruce Willis character, the script of “Skyscraper” is nowhere near clever enough to compare it to “Die Hard”; there are no jokes – in fact, one complaint about the film may be that it seems to be taking itself way too seriously.  It might’ve benefited from more humor as a wink to the audience. The script, of course, isn’t always clear or logical in its story or motivations – but then again, you don’t see a motion picture like this expecting nuance and symbolism or allusions to Italian post-war neo-realism. The greatest applause by the audience came in the explosions. 

If an old style action movie is what would make you happy to while away a summer day or night, then purchase a big tub of popcorn and barrel of soda and check your brain with the theater’s ticket-taker and run straight to the next screening of “Skyscraper”.  There’s certainly nothing wrong with that, even if you did take that last sentence to be derisive in its tone. But having said that, the experience may instead leave you yearning for something a bit better – in which case, you may want to go home and stream all of the “Die Hard” movies as a reminder of how it’s done properly. 

IMDB

“Constructing Albert”– Movie Review

Recently, I attended a Film Society Of Lincoln Center screening of the new documentary “Constructing Albert”. 

Synopsis

When Albert Adria leaves his brother’s famous restaurant, will he be able to make it on his own?

Story

When Ferrin Adria began at a Spanish restaurant that was elBulli, it became famous because of the chef’s foray into what has become known as molecular gastronomy.  He brought his younger brother Albert along with him. Despite the fact that Albert lacked the vision and expertise of his older brother, over time he learned a great deal about what makes a restaurant work and why.  When Ferrin decided that he had long-term plans to eventually close the restaurant and convert it into a culinary school to train aspiring chefs, Albert saw this as an opportunity to strike out on his own; as a result, he wound up leaving elBulli before it closed.

Inspired in part by his brother Ferrin, Albert set out to open his own restaurant.  In fact, he wanted to open a few of them. As if that goal wasn’t daunting enough, he tried to open them all roughly simultaneously.  Each restaurant would have its own unique personality: not only in terms of decor and locale but also in terms of menu as well. But if Albert learned a lesson from elBulli, it was not just that “success” (however that would be defined) is the eventual goal, it was also that it could bring about its demise as well.  Sometimes, just as one restaurant would attain a degree of success, he would then close the space.

There were other cases where the concept of the restaurant simply never caught on and Albert was forced to close the space prematurely.  In other instances, a restaurant would achieve a Michelin star one year, only to lose it the next. Regardless, Albert would learn valuable lessons from these experiences and instead of letting it discourage him, he used this as a heuristic that would serve as more reasons to succeed with his next venture.  Albert would then go on to not only challenge himself but also to challenge potential customers and critics by continuing to open restaurants that would expand the concept of cooking.

Review

Viewers will definitely learn a considerable amount about Albert Adria when watching this documentary.  While his background and the context of the story -- opening new restaurants -- are interesting, the conclusion of the movie doesn’t necessarily leave the viewer with a definite feeling of closure.  This is definitely one of those cases where a brief epilog would have proven extremely useful. What happened with this restaurant in the ensuing weeks and months? Did he wind up closing the Mexican restaurant which he felt was under-performing?  Were any of his other restaurants closed -- either by design or due to bad business?

Aside from Albert, there are some familiar faces to be seen here.  In addition to his brother Ferren, there is also Jose Andres, who has been in the news lately for his heroic work feeding the hurricane victims in Puerto Rico.  While it is occasionally entertaining to observe their enthusiasm for both food and cooking, it may be a little confusing for those who don’t share a similar passion.  Nevertheless, this peek behind the kitchen door does attempt to either demystify or enlighten on the business of running a restaurant -- and particularly, a restaurant by a high- profile chef that has great expectations from critics and foodies alike.   

Perhaps that may be part of the problem -- the glamor is being removed from something that the public thinks should be glamorous.  In presenting the brutal reality behind this business -- as well as the driven nature of the key people behind it -- the whole thing becomes suddenly unappealing, even distasteful.  While things such as Bourdain’s “Kitchen Confidential” revealed truths in an entertaining way, this documentary remains somewhat dry. Ultimately, we are led to believe that Adria will forever be unhappy -- possibly miserable -- because he’s chasing some kind of dream of perfection which he has in his mind which is, realistically, unattainable.  

“Tag” – Movie Review

This week, I attended an advanced screening of the new comedy “Tag”, starring Ed Helms, Jon Hamm and Jeremy Renner.

Synopsis

When former classmates reunite to play their annual game of Tag, will they be able to finally make a member of their group lose after all these years?

Story

It’s May and that means one thing:  Hoagie (Helms) and a bunch of his childhood friends have to assemble for their annual game of Tag which they’ve been playing since childhood.  This year, however, it’s going to be a little different from years past:  their buddy Jerry (Renner) is getting married and as a result, will retire from the decades-long game with his friends once he takes a wife.  Therefore, this year’s game will be the last opportunity any of them  may ever have to tag Jeremy as “It” because he’s been the only one of his friends who has successfully evaded being tagged. 

Hoagie then sets out across the country for the purpose of not only continuing the game, but also to entreat his lifelong friends to join him in his quest to make Jerry “It” before it’s too late.  After a bit of convincing – which includes some rather strenuous games of Tag – Hoagie is ultimately able to get Randy (Jake Johnson), Sable (Hannibal Buress) and Callahan (Hamm) to join him in his quest.  Together, they travel back to their hometown to hunt down Jerry before he gets married.  Jerry introduces them to his betrothed, Susan (Leslie Bibb), and they are immediately smitten. 

Susan, while supportive of Jerry, doesn’t want her wedding to become a travesty by this game.  Therefore, Jerry requires the men to promise that while playing Tag, they won’t disrupt the wedding ceremony itself – and furthermore, they must agree to completing the game before the wedding.  If Jerry loses by the wedding day, then so be it – but if they haven’t managed to Tag him by then, then the game is officially over.  What the men soon come to realize is that both Jerry and Susan are in cahoots to plan various deceptions that will cause Jerry to avoid being tagged.  As the wedding day draws near, will the men be able to get their wish and tag Jerry or will he forever remain victorious? 

Review

“Tag” has a cast quite capable of comedy and decent jokes sprinkled throughout, but sometimes it feels like it doesn’t know if it wants to be a comedy or an action film.  It would be understandable if you assumed this was just another bro-fest buddy road movie – and in some ways, it is precisely that.  But the filmmakers do make an effort to try to be more inclusive of women as a key parts of the story.  That said, it does come across as a little bit forced; also, when you consider that this is inspired by a true story (from a Wall Street Journal newspaper article), it seems even more contrived.

Despite the fact that “Tag” is a short movie – it comes in at under two hours – it starts dragging during the second act, making it feel a little longer.  During that period, you start getting the reaction that you understand the premise and they need to get along with it – but there are certain plot points introduced that wind up taking you on some unnecessary and unwelcomed detours.  One example is the character of Cheryl, played by Rashida Jones.  Although Jones is fine, the character is not terribly crucial to the story.  One gets the impression that this character was added merely to have a romantic interest and pad out the film’s running time.

In some ways, this might have played better as a documentary; as a matter of fact, videos of the actual men playing the game are shown at the end of the movie and this seems much more fascinating.  Instead, they got a bunch of familiar names with a big Hollywood budget and trivialized the entire tale.  Among the few bright spots are portrayals by Buress and Isla Fisher as Anna, Hoagie’s wife.  That said, despite the performances and occasional verbal and sight gags, there isn’t enough to elevate the film above the mundane.   

 

“Hotel Artemis”– Movie Review

This week, I caught an advanced screening of the new action-thriller “Hotel Artemis”, starring Jodie Foster and Sterling K. Brown.

Synopsis

When a hospital that caters only to criminals is overwhelmed after a chaotic riot, will they be able to treat their patients?

Story

In 2028, the city of Los Angeles is in a state of anarchy; with its citizens unable to get easy access to water, riots ensue and the city becomes unsafe.  It is at this time that Waikiki (Brown) and his brother Honolulu (Brian Tyree Henry) decide to rob a bank; of course, this does not end well for either of them.  While making their getaway, Honolulu is shot and desperately needs immediate care.  Waikiki knows exactly what to do:  he’ll take his brother to the legendary Hotel Artemis where he’ll be well taken care of by The Nurse (Foster). 

The Hotel Artemis is actually something of a misnomer; although it was formerly a hotel in the downtown section of  Los Angeles, it closed long ago.  Eventually, it reopened, in a sense, being rebranded as something of a medical center that caters only to members of the underworld – but not just for any offender.  Instead, it is only available to those who have been previously vetted by the proprietor.  Since Waikiki is known to The Nurse, he and his brother gain admission easily.  Unfortunately, Honolulu is seriously injured and will require extensive care. 

Reaching maximum capacity, The Nurse severely restricts further patient admissions, no matter how severe.  She does have to make one exception, though:  Niagara (Jeff Goldblum) has been hurt and is brought in by his son Crosby (Zachary Quinto).  The Nurse has to make an exception for the wealthy Niagara since he’s the one who financed her operation after her alcoholism caused her to lose her nursing license.  But once it’s been discovered that certain patients have clandestinely entered for the sole purpose of destroying the facility, can The Nurse find a way to keep it open to care for her patients?

Review

Escapist entertainment can be good for the soul, not unlike comfort food.  But like comfort food, no one can exist on a steady diet because it’s unhealthy.  Having it every once in the while as a treat won’t hurt too much.  That’s pretty much how one might characterize “Hotel Artemis”, which often requires suspension of disbelief.  But the question becomes whether or not doing so is a challenge to enjoying the film. In this case, the answer is that while there are some questions that aren’t answered, it shouldn’t interfere with appreciating this motion picture on purely an entertainment level.  Just surrender yourself to the pure escapism and allow the picture to take you on its wild ride.

This ensemble cast contains many familiar names and faces; although a skeptic might understandably presume they’re in it for a payday (which can’t be ruled out entirely), the screenplay is likely what attracted them to the project.  It’s very well written and extremely funny; despite the movie being extremely dark (in both its mood and its lighting), there are a good number of very amusing jokes that take you by surprise at the most unexpected moments.  The humor is well utilized here; when plot points start feeling heavy, a gag is inserted to lighten the emotion in the scene.

The director is Drew Pearce, who also wrote the screenplay and was a co-producer.  As a director, this is his first feature; with previous writing credits that include “Iron Man 3” and “Mission Impossible - Rogue Nation”, the action-thriller genre certainly does seem to be his expertise; it’ll be interesting to see if Pearce continues to direct his own scripts in the future or if he will work on other projects.  As noted, “Hotel Artemis” doesn’t demand very much of its audience -- in fact, that’s almost a pre-requisite. Whether or not Pearce’s future films will be similar is hard to say, but parts of the screenplay suggest he might venture on to something more weighty someday.

IMDB

“The Fourth Estate”– Movie Review

This week, I attended an advanced screening of the new documentary, “The Fourth Estate”, about The New York Times’ coverage of Donald Trump’s first year as President.

Synopsis

When Donald Trump is inaugurated as the 45th president of the united states, will the media be able to keep up with its coverage of him?

Story

After President Donald Trump made his “American Carnage” speech as part of his inauguration, it seemed that the country was headed in a different direction -- and when the journalists at The New York Times reported this, they appeared to know it, too.  While on the one hand it could be an exciting time, it also became a time where demands would be made on them like never before. Much of the time is frequently spent fact checking because they have learned they can’t rely on anything that is told to them by this White House.  The rules as they knew them have all been thrown out the window and the game is being re-defined on-the-fly.

All was not unified, however.  Often, the Washington, D.C. Bureau would argue with the New York City office, especially when, at the last minute, the New York office would drastically change a story reported by the Washington Bureau.  There was plenty of internal squabbling, with resignation threats abounding. Additionally, the New York Times reporters were very competitive when it came to The Washington Post. Whenever the Post would get a scoop, the Times reporters were deflated.  “How did they get that information before us? Why didn’t we get it first?”, they would ask, after having developed relationships with their trusted sources.

There are many sacrifices these reporters make -- much of it having to do with their time.  Anything resembling a personal life is the first thing to go because of how frequently they have to work late into the evening.  If they have small children, they may be able to see them first thing in the morning, but it’s highly unlikely they’ll be home in time to tuck them into bed at night.  Furthermore, with the incumbent President publicly questioning the veracity of the media in general and hurling daily insults at The New York Times in particular, will the journalists be able to keep up -- or will they instead simply give up?  

Review

The Fourth Estate is a four-part mini-series that debuts on the Showtime network Memorial Day weekend; at this screening, we only viewed the first episode.  Watching how these intrepid reporters dutifully perform their job despite many internecine and external challenges certainly does give you a renewed respect for the profession of journalism.  However, given the fact that this will appear on Showtime (and not, say Fox or Sinclair networks), it pretty much amounts to preaching to the converted; the people who should see this never will.  Perhaps it’s just as well. The people who should see it would probably never believe it because of their innate distrust of the media, as inculcated by Fearless Leader.

Having said all of that, one problem occurred to me during this screening -- the title.  The term The Fourth Estate refers to the press in general, not The New York Times specifically.  Despite this, the story seems to focus primarily (if not solely) on The New York Times itself. Based on what we saw in the first episode, other news outlets are only given passing allusions.  If it turns out that the other journalists -- print, digital and broadcast -- are not given their fair share of screen time in the remaining three episodes, then it is a bit misleading for the filmmakers to suggest that “The Fourth Estate” is literally about The Fourth Estate. 

Following the screening, there was a question and answer session with the filmmakers and several of the New York Times journalists that appear in the mini-series (see the list of panel members above).  Haberman said that her coverage of Trump is adventurous but she’s not sure how it will end; because of this, she has been forced to get used to feelings of uncertainty and disorientation.  She believes that when reading his Tweets, you are getting a real-time look into what Trump is thinking, adding that it’s like having Nixon reading his infamous tapes out loud. 

For the full post-screening discussion, please refer to the video below; beneath that, the trailer for the documentary.

“Pope Francis: A Man Of His Word” – Movie Review

This week, I attended a sneak preview of the new documentary by Wim Wenders, “Pope Francis:  A Man Of His Word”

Synopsis

The Pope discusses his philosophy, including views on life, death and the ecology.

Story

In a series of speeches, news videos and statements made directly to the camera, Pope Francis shares his opinions on a wide variety of topics – not all of which are necessarily religious or directly about Catholicism.  For example, one of The Pope’s favorite topics is the environment, which is something the church had tended to avoid prior to Francis.  He believes that defiling the planet is a sin against God because humans are systematically destroying His greatest creation.  Therefore, it is the duty of all its inhabitants to take care of the planet as a way of honoring The Creator.

When it comes to the economy, The Pope believes that there is great financial inequality in the world and that 80% of the wealth goes to about 20% of the people.  He says that we can all do with a little bit less in life and if we do, then there will be a little bit more for those less fortunate than we are.  Speaking of inequality, there is also the issue of gender bias.  The pontiff feels that women should be given greater roles in society and that their voice should be heard more.  As things stand right now, the men in society control far more than their fair share. 

As far as life is concerned, Pope Francis is of the opinion that you can’t consider life without considering death.  He thinks that most people don’t want to think about their own demise because it is too unpleasant; we must reconcile ourselves with death because with each passing day, we are all dying a little bit.  But don’t be so obsessed with it that you can’t allow yourself to enjoy life.  You should have fun, be playful and most importantly, try to find reasons to smile.  If you don’t look for opportunities to laugh and smile, then you’re missing out on what life is all about.

Review

The more you pay attention to the content of what Pope Francis says, the more he sounds like the Catholic version of Bernie Sanders.  Does this mean we have a Socialist Pope on our hands?  Perhaps.  But nevertheless, his views – which some have felt controversial – are what have contributed to his extraordinary popularity with young people.  For those who may be looking for a biography of His Holiness, this is not that movie; if, on the other hand, you are looking for a film where The Pope endlessly pontificates (you caught that pun, right?), then “A Man Of His Word” is for your. 

Admirers of Pope Francis will no doubt enjoy this movie because the pontiff in offered up in all of his glory.  On the other hand, if you’re considerably less of a fanboy when it comes to His Holiness, then you’ll have plenty to gripe about.  This documentary comes across almost as if it were an infomercial – not for Catholicism in general, but for this Pope in particular.  Does the phrase “preaching to the converted” come to mind?  The basic problem here is that the Pope is essentially giving an hour and a half monolog where he’s never questioned or challenged – which arguably would’ve made this a considerably better film. 

Following the screening, there was an interview with the documentary’s director Wim Wenders.  Wenders explained that he initially got involved with the project when he received a letter from The Vatican which outlined the idea of the film and inquired as to his interest.  He wound up meeting with The Pope four times, each session lasting two hours, just to see if they could get along and also to make sure their idea of the movie was reasonably close.  The Vatican pretty much gave him a free hand to do whatever he wanted with the motion picture, never insisting on final cut or having a say in the content. 

“First Reformed”– Movie Review

This week, I attended a sneak preview of the new drama written and directed by Paul Schrader, “First Reformed”, starring Ethan Hawke and Amanda Seyfried.

Synopsis

When a member of a pastor’s congregation dies, will he take up the man’s cause or choose to end his own life?

Story

Rev. Toller (Hawke) is the pastor of The First Reformed Church in upstate New York.  Currently, he’s busy making plans and scheduling much-needed repairs prior to the celebration of the church’s 250th anniversary despite the fact that he’s having worsening health problems.  It is at this time when he’s approached by Mary (Seyfried), who is concerned about her husband, Michael – an environmentalist who was recently released from jail after a protest. He’s been depressed and wants Mary to abort their baby; Mary hopes that Toller can counsel him.

Unfortunately, Michael is too far gone and he ends up committing suicide.  Toller now sees his duty to see after Mary during this difficult time; in the course of doing so, he starts reading through Michael’s old research and begins to get involved in the ecological movement.  Over time, Toller’s health starts impacting his ability to serve his congregation so he finally decides to see a doctor and have some tests performed. The tests reveal that Toller may be seriously ill and the doctor recommends more specialized investigation to determine exactly whether or not he has some form of cancer.

As the anniversary draws near, Toller believes his job may be in jeopardy.  His town’s church is overseen by the pastor of a county mega-church, which is itself funded by a local corporation that is a known polluter of the environment.  When the company’s CEO is alarmed by what he sees as Toller’s ecological activism, his ability to lead the church comes into question. Since the anniversary is going to be a major event attended by the governor and the mayor, as well as the CEO, it will get significant press coverage.  With this in mind, Toller believes he can use this opportunity to speak out about how the corporation is defiling the area’s environment. But considering his health, Toller is forced to make a choice: should he make a public statement about the company’s pollution and possibly lose his job or should he simply kill himself rather than wait for the cancer to take him?     

Review

More than 40 years after the classic “Taxi Driver”, Paul Schrader is still obsessed with writing about Travis Bickle.  This time, however, the movie is “First Reformed”, Bickle is named Toller and instead of being a cabbie he’s a preacher.  But basically, he’s the same guy.  Both Bickle and Toller are, in their own peculiar but unique way, trying to seek some sort of redemption – and doing so in the most violent way imaginable.  Another similarity these characters share is the fact that neither one of them is exactly the most mentally stable individual you’ve ever met. 

While Toller as a protagonist starts out as a sympathetic character, he takes one dark turn after another as the story progresses and dares you to like him by the end.  Make no mistake, this is an odd movie that takes some weird twists – which can either be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on whether or not you’re enjoying the unusual and unnerving experience that is this film. Whether you are fascinated by the manner in which Toller is questioning his religious faith or are more attuned to the ecological aspects of  this motion picture, “First Reformed” will have something for you – but it defies you to find this story accessible.

Following the screening, there was an interview with Schrader, Hawke and Cedric The Entertainer, who plays the pastor at the mega-church.  Hawke said that he described “First Reformed” to a friend of his as an Ingmar Bergman-like movie. After the friend caught a screening of the film, he told Hawke, “It’s more like if Bergman listened to The Ramones”.  Schrader characterized his movie as “passive aggressive” and said that he loves stories that contain spirituality up against politics. Cedric said that some of his acquaintances are preachers at mega-churches, so he based his character on some of them.

    

“The Day After”– Movie Review

This weekend, I attended the opening night screening of the new Korean drama “The Day After”, directed by Hong Sang-soo. 

Synopsis

When a married man ends an affair with an employee, will he repeat his behavior with her replacement?

Story

Bongwan (Kwon Hae-hyo) runs a book publishing company and is frequently racing to the office unusually early in the morning.  Quite reasonably, his wife suspects something is up.  She confronts him about this and speculates that he is having an affair with another woman – possibly, someone at work.  Bongwan refuses to allay her concerns, but neither does he deny nor confirm her accusations.  Instead, Bongwan is more concerned with the office assistant who quit her job about a month ago.  Her replacement is scheduled to start that day. 

Areum (Kim Min-hee) is greeted by Bongwan on her first day at work.  She came highly recommended by a long-time acquaintance of Bongwan, so he hired her immediately.  Areum starts her new career at the publisher with an extended conversation with Bongwan over a cup of coffee.  Areum, as it turns out, aspires to be a writer someday and thinks that working for a publisher will help her toward that goal.  She looks up to Bongwan because he is renowned throughout the country as himself being a great writer and literary critic.

Bongwan’s wife finds a poem she suspects he wrote to his girlfriend and ventures to the publishing office to confront her husband’s lover – unfortunately, she finds Areum there and wrongly believes this young woman of being her husband’s girlfriend.  She begins beating up poor Areum, who is rightly confused by all of this; Bongwan’s wife doesn’t believe Areum when she denies the accusation.  Once Bongwan discovers this, he explains to his wife he’s not having an affair with her – but actually, he was cheating on his wife with his previous assistant.  Will Areum now be able to keep her new job or will Bongwan be forced to fire her in order to mollify his wife?

Review

“The Day After” is an intricate and complex movie that presents far too many challenges to viewers to make it accessible.  Also, its fluidity with time can present difficulties in terms of your ability to follow the story.  There are probably people who strongly believe that this is a clever way to tell a tale.  They’re not entirely wrong – in some ways it is.  The problem is that spending an hour and a half watching two people chatting incessantly over coffee or during a lunch or dinner at a restaurant can wear you down a bit.  It is a less interesting version of “My Dinner With Andre”.

Where the movie goes wrong is in its lack of dramatic tension and absence of a protagonist in whom the audience can invest its interest.  Without either one of those things, you really don’t have much of a story to tell.  Apparently, we are supposed to get behind the man here but he seems to be such a scoundrel you don’t want to bother.  As far as the wife is concerned, her character doesn’t have enough screen time to be a protagonist; likewise for the ex-girlfriend.  The new office employee, on the other hand, has plenty of screen time with her boss and given how unfairly she’s treated, you want to make her the heroine; the only problem is she allows herself to be a victim in this situation and never actually does anything remotely “heroic”. 

Lacking any way to connect to these characters – or a compelling story in which the audience can get involved – there’s precious little that makes this movie worthy of recommending.  It seems as though this is supposed to be an intense psychological drama, but it doesn’t come across that way at all; instead, it spends time appearing to chase its own tail in search of a plot.  Why was the film shot in black and white?  It’s hard to say.  Director Hong Sang-soo claims that it was his own idea and not that of his cinematographer.  Perhaps the choice was to make this story feel as though it could have taken place in an earlier time (the books he publishes are all in hard copies – if there are digitized versions, there is no mention made of them).       

“Book Club”– Movie Review

Recently, I attended an advanced screening of the new comedy “Book Club”, with Jane Fonda, Diane Keaton, Candice Bergen and Mary Steenburgen. 

Synopsis

When long-time friends read a sexually stimulating book, can it inspire them to improve their love life?

Story

Over the past 40 years, four friends have kept in touch by meeting regularly in their book club:  Diane (Keaton), Vivian (Fonda), Sharon (Bergen) and Carol (Steenburgen). They assign each other the same book to read and discuss it during their meetings.  One day, they decide to read the best seller “Fifty Shades of Grey”. When they meet to discuss their progress, they unanimously agree that they find this entire subject matter to be incredibly stimulating; given their enthusiasm, they decide to commit to reading the entire trilogy.  But their interest belies the fact that each woman is currently encountering her own challenges with respect to her love life.

Diane’s husband passed away about a year ago; her daughters are concerned about her being alone so they encourage her to move from her home in southern California to Arizona, where they’re located.  Vivian never married; a wealthy and successful businesswoman, she couldn’t find time for a serious relationship, so instead she just went from one affair to another. Sharon, a federal judge, was divorced 18 years ago and hasn’t been with a man since.  Carol has been married for 35 years, but since her husband’s retirement a couple of months ago, they haven’t been intimate.

Diane winds up meeting Mitchell (Andy Garcia), a pilot who also happens to live in Arizona.  Will she be able to start a new romance with him or will their initial sparks just result in a misfire?  Vivian runs into Arthur (Don Johnson) at one of her hotels; he’s an old flame from years ago. At this point in her life, is it possible for them to rekindle their relationship?  Sharon registers on a web site for a dating service designed for mature adults. When she meets a man with whom she feels comfortable, will she have the perseverance to see it through?  Once Carol tries a few ideas to reignite her husband’s libido, will her schemes work or will it only serve to drive him further away?

Review

As demographics in our country change, we may be finding a new genre of film emerging:  Geezer Love. Should that come to pass, let’s hope the quality of the movies improves because “Book Club” – which apparently aspires to be something of a romantic comedy – is not nearly as funny as it seems to think it is.  This is very much a paint-by-numbers type of motion picture which is just a little too familiar – the feeling of deja vu pervades the viewing experience giving you the feeling that you’ve seen this story before (which you have – many times, in fact).  This being the case, the resolution of each character’s situation is fairly predictable.

Part of the problem here is that the actresses in this cast are a particularly talented group of women with quite accomplished careers – unfortunately, because of their age, their career as such is mostly behind them because they no longer get offered any of the top screenplays.  Those scripts are going to much younger women. As a result, they are forced to take just about anything that comes along because the pickings are slim. If they are going to continue to see themselves as working actresses – or at the very least, score a nice payday – then they pretty much have to commit to whatever comes along. 

“Book Club” is certainly pleasant enough – inoffensive and enjoyable for anyone who’s not terribly demanding when it comes to their entertainment.  The humor, such as it is, isn’t edgy in any way. Whether or not it’s worth going out to the theaters to see is another matter entirely. The timing of its release is a bit unfortunate though; this would’ve been a good movie to see on Mother’s Day, but it’s not opening until the following weekend.  Perhaps if you miss the brunch Mother’s Day weekend, you can make up for it by taking Mom to this film next weekend. Just don’t set your expectations too high.

IMDB