Category: Review

Reviews from all of the movies we have seen lately, including everything in theaters and on DVD.

JOY – The Review

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So, you consider yourself a very talented film maker, a very creative director with major skills? Okay, are you up for a test of your talents? Well, can you make an entertaining film out of any subject? Hmm, no prob, you say? Alright, how about a feature-length movie about a household cleaning device? A mop, that floor maintenance essential. Not just any mop, but the “Miracle Mop”. The mop’s essential to the tale, but the real focus is its origin story (that superhero trope). And the person who came up with this special tool. This was the test one of our quirkiest directors has set up for himself. Only a couple of years after the 70’s set, “abscam”-inspired AMERICAN HUSTLE, David O Russell has gathered many of the same actors (he seems to be assembling a modern repertory company) to tell the true-life fable of the woman who transformed that sloppy pantry staple. It’s the story of a woman named JOY.

Mimi (Diane Ladd), the adoring grandmother of the film’s title character narrates. We see her with preteen Joy and her step sister Peggy immersed in late 70’s TV soap operas, watching quietly along with Joy’s mother Terry (Virginia Madsen). Away from the tube Joy constructs fantasy doll dioramas as Peggy looks on with dead-eyed annoyance. Then the girls are rocked when pappa Rudy (Robert DeNiro) divorces Terry. Cut to the late 1980’s as the now nearly thirty-something Joy Mangano (Jennifer Lawrence) must deal with a load of adult problems. And I mean a mountain-sized load. She’s holding down a grueling job, taking lots of verbal abuse behind an airline counter. The long hours are warranted as the divorced mother of three is trying to keep their modest, rented Long Island home. A home that she and the kids share with Mimi. And Terry, who never leaves her bedroom as she runs TV soaps on a myriad of VHS tapes. Oh, and living in the basement is Joy’s ex-husband, aspiring singer Tony (Edgar Ramirez).  And now Rudy’s latest marriage is kaput, so he must share the basement with his former son-in-law. But Rudy’s soon back on the dating scene with pre-internet dating services (classifieds and 900 numbers). Through them he begins seeing wealthy widow Trudy (Isabella Rossellini). An accident (wine spillage on the deck) on a family outing on Trudy’s boat gives Joy an idea. The still inventive lady draws up a design for a self-wringing mop. She works up a prototype, but can’t raise any interest from the retail chains or the local hardware shops. Joy then hears of the new TV fad, cable channels devoted solely to selling items directly to consumers. She travels to the headquarters of QVC (Quality Value Channel) and convinces an ambitious exec, Neil Walker (Bradley Cooper) to give her a shot. But when one of the on-camera hosts bungles the mop segment, Joy doesn’t quit. She insists Neil give her invention another try, but this time she will demonstrate it live on the air. She’s a sensation, and the phone lines are jammed with orders. Her success is not the happy ending she hoped to get as family infighting, patent lawyers, and sleazy parts suppliers scuttle the “Miracle Mop” rocket just as it leaves the launch pad. Has Joy gotten in over her head?

Showcasing her astounding versatility, Lawrence gives us a character quite different from her franchise roles in X-Men and the recently concluded Hunger Games series (in addition to her Oscar-winning part in SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK). She projects dogged determination, intelligence, and vulnerability as the single mom vowing not to back down and settle for scraps. Even as forces conspire and plot against her, Lawrence shows us, in her eyes and body language, a woman resisting the urge to fold, to give in and give up. The supporting cast is more than up to her formidable skills. DeNiro is both endearing and aggravating as the gruff and gregarious Rudy as he turns on the charm for Trudy and tosses up roadblocks to Joy’s plans. He’s not relying on familiar acting tricks, instead giving a fresh spin on an untraditional patriarch. The marketing may be a tad misleading by suggesting that this new film is another romance with Cooper, as with PLAYBOOK. Instead he’s really part mentor and wizard to Joy as he introduces her to a new world (that of TV commerce). As she gains her confidence, we do see a twinkle in his eyes, perhaps pride, maybe attraction, but those film goers hoping for a last act clinch will be left wanting. Madsen also goes against type as a timid, sheltered soul who finally begins to rejoin the world, even turning off her soaps and leaving her bedroom. Ladd is warm and nurturing as the grandmother of everyone’s dreams. The biggest surprise may be Rossellini who is ferocious as an exotic pit bull zealously guarding her fortune. She’s charmed by Rudy, but not enough to give her daughter the keys to her kingdom. Elizabeth Rohm is terrific as the grown-up Peggy, partner and sneaky, jealous saboteur. Plus, in a delightful cameo, Melissa Rivers pays tribute to her beloved mother with her performance as QVC’s most popular celebrity saleswoman.

As with Lawrence, this project is a change for the usual hard-edged Russell. His penchant for coarse language is severely toned down, which accounts for the more family friendly PG-13 rating. There’s only one “f-bomb” (tossed off by DeNiro, of course). I did have some concern for the film’s first act that seems to play to the “wacky” exploits of another dysfunctional family. But I don’t think Russell’s losing his edge, as this story is a great tale of empowerment, especially for young woman. Hopefully all audiences will be inspired as Joy knocks down all the walls formed by the chants of “no, you can’t”. You can say it’s “Russell lite”, but the script he co-wrote with Annie (BRIDESMAIDS) Mumolo still packs an emotional wallop (and some real suspense as Joy confronts those who would cheat her). The period sets, fashions, and hairstyles are right on the mark, particularly in the use of actual TV soap stars in fantasy sequences that have them speaking to the real Long Island folks. The film’s strongest asset may be the collaboration of star and director (this is their third film in a row), harkening back to Josef von Sternberg/ Marlene Dietrich and William Wyler/Bette Davis (the only other such team today may be Paul Feig and Melissa McCarthy, who just finished their fourth flick). When Russell and Lawrence join forces, the creative sparks really fly. These two talents really make this true story, a true JOY.

4 Out of 5

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CAROL – The Review

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In a landmark year for gays and gay-themed films CAROL, a period romance with a twist, stands out. As in his films FAR FROM HEAVEN, POISON, and VELVET GOLDMINE, director Todd Haynes revisits themes of taboo romance set against the backdrop of a more restrictive era. CAROL is a terrific film.

CAROL tells the story of Therese (Rooney Mara), an aspiring photographer with a devoted fiancé named Richard (Jake Lacy) who works in the toy department of a large Manhattan store in the early 1950s.  There she encounters Carol (Cate Blanchett), an elegant older woman looking for a Christmas present for her daughter. The two women seem to have an instant love connection. Carol, though still married, is recently out of a scandalous lesbian relationship, but she knows what she wants and what she wants is Therese. The younger woman is confused and slow to understand her feelings, but the pair begins an affair that is challenged by more than the societal pressures of that era. As the two embark on a road trip to get away, Carol’s angry husband, Harge (Kyle Chandler), has the lovers followed by a private eye and takes steps to gain full custody of their daughter. As the custody battle intensifies, Carol finds herself having to choose between her new-found love, her daughter, and her freedom.

This convincing evocation of 1950s tear-jerkers is gorgeously designed, stunningly photographed by Edward Lachman, ravishingly scored by Carter Burwell, and directed with great gay style by Haines. He gets awards-worthy work from his cast. Rooney Mara is appropriately naïve as Therese, a nice gal who at first keeps her opinions and feelings to herself. Her relationship with Carol changes everything from her looks to her attitude. Maybe her romance with this older woman is no healthier than her relationship with the somewhat possessive Richard but it definitely transforms her. It’s Cate Blanchett, however, who runs away with CAROL. The two-time Oscar winner has always carried herself like a classic movie star: assured, bold, and always ready for her close-up. Carol is wrung through the ringer emotionally. She must make the choice to give up something important to her, her sexuality or her daughter, and Blanchett is great in a challenging role. As good as these two actresses are, let’s not overlook a pair of outstanding performances from the actors playing the two men in these women’s lives. Jake Lacy makes up for his involvement in LOVE THE COOPERS portraying of a decent guy who may be a bit controlling, but only wants what he thinks is best for Therese. Even better is Kyle Chandler as Harge, frustrated and angrily lashing out at the wife he really wants back. These two characters are just as essential to the story as Ann Hathaway and Michelle Williams were to BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN and the actors deserve to be recognized.

CAROL combines so many timely topics and ideas into a film that feels like it could have been made in the period in which it takes place (except for the naked Rooney Mara) and manages to be thought-provoking and satisfying without feeling overstuffed or unfocused. Cate Blanchett’s performance alone guarantees that CAROL will be an award season contender and I highly recommend it.

5 of 5 Stars

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MUSTANG – The Review

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Review by Stephen Tronicek

You don’t just watch MUSTANG. You watch it slowly unfold in front of you as it pulls no punches. MUSTANG is an emotional juggernaut that through its simple story, and the best direction of the year makes for one of the most intense and heartbreaking experiences of the year.
MUSTANG begins with five sisters playing a game with some boys on a beach. They return to their home only to be viciously attacked by the adults in their lives, and threats are thrown at them. We soon realize that they are all part of arranged marriages. The smallest of the sisters, Lale, starts to question this, and sees the oppression of the tradition.
The girls almost seem to be “picked off” as they get married, and go live with men that they don’t want to live with, much less be married to. Near the beginning of the film as we see the girls bonding, there’s the impending doom feeling to the futures ahead of them. But there is also happiness to the weddings, and this combined with the more sinister aspects of the productions make for an almost creepy tone that keeps you right on the edge of your seat.

The nuances found between the direction and screenplay in the piece are the most interesting, though. The house that the girls live in physically becomes more and more like a prison to them everyday, but it is also a metaphor for the free spirit that they had as women being caged. That is only one example, but understanding these touches are paramount to understanding what makes MUSTANG a great movie. Each one of these simple nuances show up telling you “They have to get out. They have to get out,” creating a rush of dramatic tension.  The only way for the film to relieve that tension is to allow the girls to escape. Whether or not they do would make for a good film either way.

It is a triumph that the young actresses don’t let these nuances become too unsubtle. The naturalistic way they bond, and grow as women is conveyed beautifully. Güenes Sensoy is revolutionary as Lale, and the heart she brings to the film becomes one of its driving engines.

The cinematography is another driving engine. A more harsh filming style may have ruined the film, bringing everything that shouldn’t be to the surface, and burning out the audience. But director Deniz Gamze Erüven and cinematographers David Chizallet and Ersin Gok took their time to make every frame of the film as rich as the characters. This pays off allowing the softer aspects of the film to shine, and better encapsulates times when everything is more frightening boosting the film to even greater heights.

MUSTANG is a special film. It’s an almost perfect combination of compassion, intensity, and joy that blends into one of the most satisfying films of the year.

5 of 5 Stars

MUSTANG opens in St. Louis December 25th exclusively at Landmark’s The Tivoli Theater

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THE HATEFUL EIGHT – The Review

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For the last couple of decades film fans have been bemoaning the lack of flicks set in the old wild West. Many even remarked that the “horse opera” or “oater” was a dead genre, that its heydays were nearly twenty five years ago (Clint Eastwood’s UNFORGIVEN took Oscar gold in 1992). At the end of 2015, the corpse of the Western, seems to have been revived. And who are the “mad scientists”, well “mad movie makers” perhaps, shocking this corpse back to life via their electrifying talents? Well, Oscar winner Alejandro Inarritu, fresh off his BIRDMAN triumph, puts Leonardo DiCaprio through the wringer (emotional and physical) in THE REVENANT, which we’ll discuss in length when it gallops into theatres in a couple of weeks. The film that’s out on Christmas Day (in a very special limited release) comes from the ultimate movie fanatic turned film maker Quentin Tarantino. Now it was almost three years ago to the day that he first tried on his Stetson with DJANGO UNCHAINED, an ode to one of his beloved “grindhouse” staples, the “blackspoitation” action flick mixed with the old-fashioned “sagebrush” story. Now QT is hitting the trail once more, this time attempting to recreate the “road show” film releases of the 1950’s and 60’s with a “saddle saga” more epic in scope, eschewing digital projection and presenting it in select theatres in 70 mm (excuse me, Super Panavision 70 mm), even filming it with the same lenses that created many of those revered 60’s spectacles. And to give it the proper 60’s Western polish, he’s actually recruited the man responsible for the signature scores of that genre in that era, Ennio Morricone, to provide the music (including an overture prior to the opening titles). All this to accompany the thundering hoofbeats and exploding six guns of THE HATEFUL EIGHT. Giddyup!

As the strains of the “maestro’s” theme builds, the film opens up on the cold, snowy trails of Wyoming, not long after the end of the Civil War. A solitary figure waves down a lone stagecoach. Only two passengers are inside: bounty hunter John “the Hangman” Ruth (Kurt Russell) and his prisoner, the notorious Daisy Domergue (Jennifer Jason Leigh). After reminding Ruth of a previous meeting, the man who flagged them down, another bounty hunter, Major Marquis Warren (Samuel L Jackson), is allowed to join them (after lots of negotiations). Soon the coach is full when Chris Mannix (Walton Goggins) emerges from the woods and pleads for the last seat, telling the men that he is also headed to Red Rock to become the town’s new Sheriff (the men are very skeptical of this “wild card”). The coach’s driver soon realizes that they won’t outrun the approaching blizzard and must wait it out at the nearby “stage stop”, Minnie’s Haberdashery. Ruth and Warren are surprised to discover that owners Minnie and “Sweet Dave” are nowhere to be found. According to one of their new staff, Bob (Demian Bichir), the couple are visiting relatives, over the ridge. Once again, the bounty hunters are skeptical. But they’re not the only ones stranded. Trying to keep warm are the stoic cowboy Joe Gage (Michael Madsen), gregarious Englishman Oswaldo Mobray (Tim Roth), and former Confederate officer General Sandy Smithers (Bruce Dern). As the storm rages, Ruth and Warren soon believe that these men are not who they say they are. Could one of them, or all of them, be in “cahoots” with the dangerous, desperate Daisy?

Pretty impressive octet, eh? Actually there’s a few more cast members (including a very hot, young Hollywood hunk not seen ij the film’s ads) who are also very impressive. As you see, the majority of the eight are QT vets. The most frequent member, Jackson, really becomes the story’s main protagonist, deducing and dishing out justice. There’s more than a touch of Jules (his breakout role in PULP FICTION) in Warren, the man who must deftly manuever through the still wounded by war America. Jackson still projects that fierce determination and intelligence we’ve seen in his very best work, making him a most memorable Western hero. Closer to the usual “oater” lead “buckeroo” is Russell (nearly hidden beneath that walrus,Yosemite Sam ‘stache) as the swaggering man of action (said swagger almost channeling Western icon John Wayne), who and often succeeds at being the alpha male among this “wolf pack”. His boisterous performance at times turns Minnie’s into a private concert hall, entertaining and intimidating us with his outrageous bluster and behavior. Part of that behavior is his brutal treatment of Daisy, somewhat shifting our sympathies to her. That’s until her true, sinister nature kicks in. Leigh (making her astounding arrival into the “Tarantino-verse”) is a sullen, feral she-demon, spewing obscenities and racial epithets like a spitting cobra. With Leigh’s silent glare she tells us that she’s just as savage, if not more so, than any hombre.

Just as watchable is Goggins, who had a small role in DJANGO, as Mannix. His body language conveys a very malleable misfit, whose loyalties can switch in seconds, even as his somewhat think skull struggles to process each new curve thrown at him. After racking up a terrific TV career (from “The Shield” to “Justified”), he proves to be a great screen presence. Another vet from that earlier flick has been a screen star before the birth of Mr. Goggins.  Dern as Smithers seems to be the stereotyped, docile old “coot” in a rocking chair, but when he’s verbally poked, he shows us that seething stare, warning his tormentor like a rattlesnake, that his fury will be unleashed. It’s a great follow-up to Dern’s award-worthy work a couple of years ago in NEBRASKA. Roth has a unique spin on the old cliché of the smiling, refined English “dandy” whose effete manners hides his motives. Madsen is surly and sullen as the tight-lipped, close-to-the-vest cowpoke, who is all squint-eyed, laid-back menace. Bichir gives a toned-down performance as the deferential Bob, who suffers ethnic slurs without blinking while trying to keep his “customers’ comfortable.

Much as with his earlier “horse opera”, Tarantino’s new film is a bit of a hybrid. His original screenplay and story is almost equal parts Zane Grey and Agatha Christie, reminiscent of her oft-filmed “Ten Little Indians” (some have even called it a “cowboy CLUE”). It’s a drama of observed looks and gestures that can suddenly erupt in bloody violence (often as over-the-top as any of George Romero’s zombie classics). Since so much of the story is set in Minnie’s roomy general store, many have speculated that this may have been conceived as a stage play. That’s not to infer that Tarantino has treated it as such. His camera swoops in to capture the gunplay, while his edits and cuts direct us right to the most drama and conflict. He even makes the weather a character, as the blizzard, like a howling beast, presses in the cracked door. This is particularly true with the visuals used during a flashback tale. You can almost feel the frigid air cutting through you right to the bone. It may seem an odd choice to shoot a mostly indoor story with “old school” 70mm, but the results are never “stagey” or claustrophobic. The superb, sweeping score by Morricone certainly aides in opening things up. Best of all may be that Tarantino dialogue, though peppered with “f-bombs’ and “n-words”, is gloriously “un-PC”, and often close to poetic. We can see the delight in the cast’s eyes has they savor each syllable like a fine wine. He’s been threatening a retirement from films, but hopefully this true cinema lover (it truly oozes out of every frame) will continue to keep us entertained with work as enthralling, outrageous, and ambitious as THE HATEFUL EIGHT. Whoa!

4.5 Out of 5

THE HATEFUL EIGHT opens in Super Panavision 70mm in select theatres (including Wehrenberg’s Ronnies 20 Cine in St. Louis) on Christmas Day. It opens in wide release on New Year’s Eve

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DADDY’S HOME – The Review

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Every holiday, millions of people make their way to the local movie theater for some fun, cinematic action, comedy, romance, or adventure. Unfortunately for DADDY’S HOME, it offers none of the above.

Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg team up again for the all new broken family comedy. Brad Taggart is a mild-mannered executive at a jazz radio station who seems to have everything that he’s ever wanted… a great job, a loving wife, and two wonderful step-children. He’s living the daddy dream until the children’s biological father Dusty comes back into the picture. Now, Brad is in a battle for his family with a bad boy who seems to excel where he doesn’t. The result is chaos.

I get what they were trying to do here by bringing Ferrell and Wahlberg back together. They were trying to recreate the same comedic chemistry that THE OTHER GUYS had. True, Ferrell and Wahlberg are great together, but that isn’t enough to save this film. It all starts with the script. We’ve seen oddball pairings in film before. It gets boring unless there is some sort of direction or substance behind it. Unfortunately, none of that was offered in this script.

The whole film felt lost, and the comedy had no real direction. It felt like they couldn’t decide if they were making a family comedy, or going more gallows. That doesn’t really work for a movie like this. They needed to pick one or the other. Instead, it danced back and forth in a sad attempt to find middle ground. Forty-five minutes into this ninety-six minute snooze-fest I was completely bored and ready to leave. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Director and screenwriter Sean Anders doesn’t have a great track record with his films. His top two being WE’RE THE MILLERS and HOT TUB TIME MACHINE. I mean, DUMB AND DUMBER TO was embarrassingly bad.

My problem is not with the actors… especially the children. Owen Vaccaro and Scarlett Esteves were terrific. My problem is with the flow of the film and the script. Did none of the actors realize that the script had no direction? Were the actors not able to improvise? Something tells me that there are a ton of jokes that were left on the cutting room floor that could have greatly improved this film. I guess we’ll have to wait for the bonus features.

It’s a shame to have such a stink bomb in theaters for the holidays. This should have been a mid-January release.

Overall Rating: 1 out of 5 stars

DADDY’S HOME is in theaters December 25th

For more info: daddyshomemovie.tumblr.com

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THE BIG SHORT – The Review

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Making a comedy about a serious subject is a tricky thing. But it has been done – think DR. STRANGELOVE or THE GREAT DICTATOR.  THE BIG SHORT is a dark comedy with biting wit about the real estate bubble and meltdown that triggered the Great Recession. Or at least it is funny to start, until remembering all that greed and misbehavior begins to make you angry all over again.

Many will find THE BIG SHORT a brilliant, intelligent, pointedly funny film. Whether you like “The Big Short” or not might depend on how you feel about those events and the fact that no major figures went to jail. The right-leaning media seems determined to call the film terrible, despite its appearance on many critics’ top-ten lists.

Christian Bale heads up a terrific ensemble cast that includes Steve Carrell, Ryan Gosling, and Brad Pitt. Director Adam McKay adapted the Michael Lewis book of the same name. The film opens with voice-over by Gosling and Michael Burry (Bale), a physician turned investor, uncovering what he thinks is an anomaly in the market, one he can exploit by “shorting” investments that are considered some of the safest, ones backed by home mortgages, long considered rock-solid reliable. Pitt’s character Ben Rickert, a former investor who has dropped out of the rat-race to live out in the woods, is based on Ben Hockett, Gosling portrays Jared Vennett, a character based on the real Gregg Lippman, one of several investors looking into mortgaged-backed securities and discovering the problems that will eventually crash the economy.

Among these high-powered, often eccentric individuals mining financial information for overlooked investment gold are Mark Baum (Carell), somewhat based on the real Steve Eisman. All these guys are strikingly unique but Baum’s foul-mouthed, high-stress character is among the most eccentric, as well as funny. Baum engages in a running back-and-forth with his wife (Marisa Tomei), in which she tells him he should quit his job because he hates it while Baum insists he loves it.

This story requires the use of some technical financial talk, which director McKay handles in a clever way. Margot Robbie soaks in a bubble bath, sipping champagne while explaining sub-prime mortgages, one of several interludes where unlikely celebrities, such as Anthony Bourdain and Selena Gomez, to provide definitions and brief explanations of financial terms. The effect is both humorous and informative, a far better solution than the usual one of stopping the dialog for some exposition by the characters…

The film is fast and funny, switching from person to person. As befits the irrational exuberance that proceeded the crash, the film has a breathless pace and driving energy. Gosling’s voice-over helps us keep track in this rapid-paced, cleverly presented  story that sometimes plays a bit like an action thriller. But the comic tone starts to drop away as these clever people start to realize how far down the rabbit hole this problem goes, the chain of responsibility that runs all the way to the top, and its incendiary potential for the U.S and world economies and people’s individual lives. Coming at all that makes the revelations all the more chilling.

THE BIG SHORT is one of the year’s best films in a year that has seen some other great films about real-world subjects, such as SPOTLIGHT. Human folly and our capacity for short-sightedness as well as greed are major themes in this brilliant, worthy film. THE BIG SHORT starts out with comedy but ends with tragedy for those not in on the secret under the market.

THE BIG SHORT opens in St. Louis on Wednesday, December 23rd, 2015.

OVERALL RATING:  5 OUT OF 5 STARS

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CONCUSSION – The Review

© 2015 Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
© 2015 Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

CONCUSSION is the film that the NFL won’t want you to see. Not because it has new information about the link between football and a serious form of dementia called chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) but because it serves as a reminder, particularly to young players and their parents, of the risk in playing the nation’s most popular sport. The film dramatizes the NFL’s hostile response to the news and its rough handling of the doctor who discovered the problem. The NFL does not look good in this film, and that is bound to trouble some fans.

Will Smith plays that doctor, Dr. Bennet Omalu, a forensic pathologist originally from Nigeria who discovered CTE. A brilliant man with a string of degrees, Dr. Omalu was working for the Allegheny County Coroner’s office in Pittsburgh when he did an autopsy on former NFL star Mike Webster (David Morse), whose life had unraveled a decade after retirement amid erratic behavior. Omalu knew next to nothing about football but was unsatisfied with a pat explanation about cause of death of a man only in his 50s. The thorough Omalu decided to take a microscopic look at the ex-player’s brain. What he saw shocked him, and led to his discovery of a new disease.

CONCUSSION focuses on Omalu’s story and especially on how poorly the NFL treated him. The film’s title is a bit of a misnomer, as not just concussions but cumulative smaller shocks to the brain can cause CTE as well, although concussions are the most obvious indicator of brain trauma. However, the film is rather light on medical details and it leaves out the work of other researchers who took up the topic following Omalu’s discovery. Instead, the film focuses more on Omalu’s own story, his discovery, his immediate circle of supporters and their attempts to bring the risks to the attention of the NFL.

As Smith plays him, Omalu is a sweet, idealistic workaholic who does not allow himself much of a personal life in his pursuit of the classic immigrant’s American Dream. His boss, Dr. Cyril Wecht (Albert Brooks),  is both his mentor and role-model for how to be an American. The one social outlet he allows himself is attending church, where his pastor asks him to help another new immigrant, a beautiful former nurse from Kenya named Prema (Gugu Mbatha-Raw). Inevitably, romance blooms.

This is one of Smith’s best roles in years, and the actor does a nice job with Omalu’s accent. It is a rare chance for Smith to play a heroic character but in a more subdued, even slightly nerdy way, which he pulls off with a great deal of charm.

In his quest to bring CTE to the attention of NFL officials, Omalu is joined by former league physician, Dr. Julian Bailes, played well by Alec Baldwin apart from a Southern accent that tends to come and go. The cast also includes Eddie Marsan as Dr. Steven DeKosky, a top neurologist who co-authored Omalu’s paper on CTE, Paul Reiser as Dr. Elliot Pellman, an NFL doctor who was a central figure in the concussion crisis, and Luke Wilson as NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.

Not only is the NFL not interested in hearing that players are at risk of a serious brain syndrome, much less that potentially all or most players face that risk, the organization is actively hostile to that message. With a multimillion-dollar entertainment empire called into question, the NFL immediately seek to discredit and then silence Omalu. As it is presented in the film, this is done in an iron-fisted, chilling manner, more expected from organized crime than a respected sports organization. The film alludes to the fact that  NFL may have been aware of brain-injury issues, and parallels are drawn with the way the tobacco industry tried to deny the health effects of smoking.

The film’s major flaw is that it cannot quite make up its mind what kind of film it wants to be – a medical procedural, corporate misbehavior expose, or an inspirational immigrant tale. It is mostly Omalu’s story, leaving out researchers who built on his discovery and how the NFL treated him. It is light on medical details of CTE and also on what the NFL might have known about players’ brain injuries. Omalu’s personal story is a classic immigrant tale, with a sweet romance to add to that appeal, but the  immigrant love story doesn’t develop the emotional  pull it should.

CONCUSSION does not make the NFL look good, but it also raises questions about the safety of football at any level, which might give parents pause about letting their kids participate. The film does not present any new information, but serves as a reminder of the headline revelations in a dramatic way. While it is not a perfect film, it is worth seeing for its potential to spark curiosity to dig further into the facts of CTE.

CONCUSSION opens in St. Louis on December 25th, 2015.

OVERALL RATING:  3 1/2 OUT OF 5 STARS

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STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS – The Review

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A new hope has returned to theaters today. A hope for fans who have been clamoring for a new Star Wars film. A hope for the series to be in the right hands at Disney. A hope that fanboy director J.J. Abrams does not mess this up. And yet, there’s a literal meaning in me saying that “a new hope has returned” as well. STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS was bound to be compared to the original film from 1977 since that film started this universe in the first place. But Abrams made it a whole lot easier for those familiar with that film to compare the two – which may or may not be a good thing.

By this point, you most likely have seen the trailers more times than you can count. I won’t go into the plot, because for one: you can gather as much as you need from those trailer; but two: everyone seems extra sensitive this time around regarding spoilers. Just know that the film is centered around the search for something that has been missing in the galaxy. That something is immediately revealed in the opening crawl, but I will save it for you to experience.

What works so well with this seventh chapter in the series are the new characters. Finn (John Boyega), Rey (Daisy Ridley), Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), and BB-8 are all welcome additions to the galaxy far, far away. Boyega lends Finn a wide-eyed excitement with a dash of boyish charm. Driver is appropriately intimidating and handles the reason for his anger quite well. The other two steal the show, plain and simple. Rey and BB-8 are such a delight to watch. Ridley plays Rey as a quiet but natural warrior woman – a survivor who has lived on her own long enough that she can fend for herself. The true testament to the film for a fan like myself is if you can get as emotionally swept up in the stories of these new characters as you can for the returning characters that fans cherish. I can say, that there’s a moment towards the end of the film with Rey that gave me more chills and made me want to let out a high-pitched squeal than any other scene in the film.

It’s been 10 years since the last time fans saw the STAR WARS name on the big-screen, but it’s been three times as long since such popular characters as Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, and Princess Leia have graced the screen. Their return back is well welcomed, not to mention some of the highlights of THE FORCE AWAKENS. If your heart doesn’t swell to the size of a Death Star when Han and Leia see each other for the first time in the film, than you might be heartless… or just a Trekkie.

All kidding aside, the emotions are in the right place here. They are present but not manipulative of the audience. JJ Abrams and fellow scriptwriters Michael Arndt and Lawrence Kasdan all have their heart in the right place  – I may have gotten sand in my eyes a few times since they watered a bit – but the way they approach these new and exciting characters is anything but. In fact, it’s not hard to see the influences from the original trilogy. That being said, at least the trio are looking to the original trilogy for inspiration and not the prequels that followed.

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If Kasdan, Arndt, and Abrams borrowed/stole/re-interrupted ideas from a diverse group of films, I wouldn’t have as much of a problem. It’s the fact that so much of the plot points stem from the original film which in turn waters down the excitement factor. Data is hidden in a droid which is then found by an orphan in the desert. There is a masked villain who is strong in the ways of the dark side of the Force. A hologram of a supreme evil leader guides the enemy in the shadows. An aeial attack on an enemy base that resembles the Death Star transpires, complete with a trench assault. If it wasn’t for the aged characters from the original trilogy, a solid argument could be made that THE FORCE AWAKENS is a remake of A NEW HOPE.

The Star Wars universe has always mirrored itself: Anakin and Luke both grew up without their fathers; Vader cuts off Luke’s hand in EMPIRE and then Luke does the same in RETURN. Having THE FORCE AWAKENS mirror A NEW HOPE soooo much will either make you adore this new return to a galaxy that’s free of midichlorian mumbo-jumbo and political meetings, or it might have you scratching your head and asking, “Haven’t we seen this before?” It’s a double-edged lightsaber for me. Sure, I love that this entry feels like a Star Wars film. It has the spirit of adventure. More importantly though, it has the sense of wonder and awe that hasn’t been felt in awhile.

Creatures stomp across the screen. Large ships have a tangibility and a weight to them. The world looks lived in. It all feels real and there. It’s as if you could go there. J.J. Abrams brought that back to Star Wars. He may have stumbled over the exact same problem many fans had with STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS – relying on past ideas in a form of misplaced fanservice – but what he gets right is igniting the excitement in old fans while giving new fans something to cheer for. Star Wars has always been about the search for hope – a search for the light amid the darkness. THE FORCE AWAKENS gives me hope that the Star Wars franchise is going in the right direction. There is a bright future ahead. As the trailer asks, “There’s been an awakening. Have you felt it?” It’s the sound of a once troubled series that was shunned by fans and critics alike being reborn from the ashes. That’s the true awakening.

 

Overall rating: 4 out of 5

STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS is now playing in theaters everywhere

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YOUTH – The Review

Photo by Gianni Fiorito. © 2015 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation All Rights Reserved
Photo by Gianni Fiorito. © 2015 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation All Rights Reserved

YOUTH centers on two life-long friends, both successful and famous, a film director and composer/orchestra conductor, who are vacationing together in a posh Swiss resort. Michael Caine plays the retired composer/conductor Fred Balinger and Harvey Keitel plays director Mick Boyle, who isn’t retired but is working on what he thinks may be his last important film.

This lushly beautiful, intelligent, and moving English-language film is directed and written by Paolo Sorrentino, who won the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar for “The Great Beauty” last year. Besides that Oscar winner, Sorrentino also directed “Il Divo,” a chilling look inside Italian politics, and the comic and strange road movie “This Must Be The Place,” with Sean Penn as an aging rocker honoring his Jewish grandfather’s last request. Sorrentino’s skill as a director is widely acknowledged but his complex, beautiful, strangely dreamlike films are not for everyone. In any language, YOUTH is an intriguing film, a mix of comedy and drama that explores friendship, life, memory, and choices. The film has a European sensibility, with thoughtful, intelligent dialog, a slower pace and twists and revelations that come near the end. It is a film about transformations, which can come even late in life.

These two characters certainly are not young but YOUTH looks at how they think about their future as well as how they remember their youth. The odd title might be partly inspired by the old saying “youth is wasted on the young,” as these two accomplished men look back on their life choices and regrets, in light of what they know now.  Fred is determinedly retired, and even seems to have given up on life. At the film’s start, Fred is determinately resisting pressure to leave retirement for a special concert request by the Queen of England, and particularly her request to play his most famous piece, which he has vowed to never perform again since his soprano wife can no longer sing it. Mick, on the other hand, is firmly resisting any thought of retiring, although he feels his best work is behind him. Working on a film he hopes will be his masterpiece, he is struggling with the script despite the help of a team of young scriptwriters he has brought along to the Swiss resort. The film is set to feature his longtime star, Brenda Morel, a fading beauty whose career he helped launch.

Although these two old friends are the main characters, the film also explores the idea of youth from the viewpoint of some younger characters in the film, primarily the ones played by Rachel Weisz and Paul Dano.

Music figures heavily in this film – Fred is a composer after all – and the music is provided by renowned composer David Lang. Much of the film’s appeal rests with the interaction between Caine and Keitel as the longtime best friends. They play around, prank, kid, lie, tell stories, reminisce and generally talk, as only long-time friends can. Both are master storytellers and competitive, as they remember the past and  look back on choices of their youth. Caine, an acclaimed 82-year-old Englishman, plays another acclaimed 82-year-old Englishman which adds a curious twist to his scenes. As the actor notes, the film is less about the conventional anguish of growing old as being in the more-unexpected place of having grown old.

But YOUTH is not just about remembered youth but those who have lives ahead. The film weaves in the stories of younger people, reflecting on what they have done and trying to figure out where they are going. Accompanying Fred is his daughter/assistant Lena (Rachel Weisz), who is trying to recover from the collapse of her marriage, and a famous actor Jimmy Tree (Paul Dano) preparing for his latest role, which is a secret at this point. Jimmy is trying to establish himself  as a serious actor but a silly but iconic action movie role that first brought him fame continues to dog him. Also at this exclusive mountain resort are the recent winner of the Miss Universe beauty pageant, a once-legendary soccer star now overweight and barely able to move, numerous other wealthy and famous people, and a host of supporting characters. Jane Fonda plays Mick’s star and muse Brenda, once a movie star beauty who still holds onto her fame if not her legendary looks. In the course of the film, all these people work out their various fears and ambitions. Despite the difference in their age, Jimmy and Fred form a bond.

The gorgeous Swiss mountain views and historic hotel give a timelessness and sense of contemplation to these discussions. The dialog is intriguing as the two friends spare verbally, contemplative in their moments of solitude and touching when it focuses on the younger characters. The landscape sets the mood but also is the setting for solitary fantasy sequences where Fred and Mick recall their long careers.

Towards the end of this dreamy, languid, beautiful film in an insular world, it takes a sharp turn with the arrival of Jane Fonda as aging movie goddess Brenda Morel. Heavily made-up and dressed in a tight, over-the-top outfit, Fonda’s Brenda is a tiger, a tough survivor of Hollywood. Fonda and Keitel have a riveting scene that strips all the otherworldly dreaminess and delivers a lightning bolt. It is a part of a series of transformations and revelations that break the cocoon that has surrounded everyone at the resort.

Sorrentino’s attention to detail and skill as a filmmaker are unquestioned but YOUTH is not a film for every taste. Whether you like YOUTH might depend on how you feel about the director’s previous films, or this kind of visually lush, contemplative film where the characters seem trapped in their own purgatories. For some, it is a wonderful experience but for others, it will not suit.

YOUTH opens in St. Louis on Friday, December 18th, 2015.

OVERALL RATING:  5 OUT OF 5 STARS

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THE DANISH GIRL – The Review

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THE DANISH GIRL is a film about a transsexual pioneer, played by Eddie Redmayne and directed by Tom Hooper. Hooper has demonstrated his skill with lush period drama in THE KING’S SPEECH and Redmayne’s performance as Stephen Hawking in THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING impressed but THE DANISH GIRL is as much a story of the power of love, with Alicia Vikander delivering a strong performance as the wife facing a difficult change.

The story opens in the 1920s with a happily married couple, a pair of Danish artists, Einar (Redmayne) and Gerda (Vikander) Wegener, who seem like soul mates. Einar having some success with his landscape paintings, while Gerda is still struggling for recognition for her portraits. One day, Gerda’s model does not show up, and in order to complete the commissioned work by deadline, she asks her husband to dress up as a woman and take the model’s place. He resists at first, but then relents. The feel of women’s clothing awakens something in Einar. Their actress friend Ulla (Amber Heard) dubs Einar’s female alter ego “Lili.”  As Einar feels the pull of being Lili, everything changes for both artists.

The film is based on a novel that was inspired by the first transgender person to undergo sex-reassignment surgery. While a lot of attention will be focused on Redmayne, who does a fine job, the really impressive performance, the one that might grab audiences, is Vikander’s heartbreaking one as Gerda Wegener. Gerda truly loves the husband she is losing as she helps him through this transition. This may be Vikander’s year, following up her striking performance in EX MACHINA with this moving one.

THE DANISH GIRL is one of the season’s two Oscar-bait period dramas focused on persons with a sexual nature that were taboo in their era. The other, CAROL, an adaptation of a Patricia Highsmith novel, is set in the repressive 1950s and is a love story about lesbian couple. THE DANISH GIRL is set in the free-wheeling 1920s and is based on a novel inspired by real people and events, about a married pair of artists whose lives are transformed when the husband comes out as a transgender person. It too is a love story, as the wife’s devotion to her husband transcend the changes that are causing her heartbreak. Both films are gorgeous and filled with fine period details and costumes but CAROL is garnering higher critical praise. This is due in part to strong performances but also perhaps because it is set in the repressive 1950s, a time period once called the “little Victorian Age.” “The Mad Men” ’50s seems to speak more to current tastes than the Roaring Twenties, a period of rebellion, experimentation and artistic creativity that followed the actual Victorian Age and the devastation of World War I. Or maybe it is because THE DANISH GIRL is a different kind of tragic love story.

THE DANISH GIRL is lushly beautiful, of course. Hooper is known for the visual beauty and stylishness of his films. THE DANISH GIRL is no exception – quite the contrary. Set in the European art world of the ’20s and ’30s, when gorgeous fashions and decor abounded  – and at the film’s height, in Paris no less – gives Hooper an abundance of riches with which to work. But all that visual beauty might work against the very serious, tragic drama unfolding.

The assumption one might make is that the title “The Danish Girl” refers to Redmayne’s character but a line of dialog actually links it to Gerda Wegener, whose heartbreak is mixed with a tireless devotion to her husband as he pursues his dream of transitioning into a woman, the first to attempt sex reassignment surgery. Vikander’s performance is moving and strong, providing such a powerful presence that the film seems diminished when she is not on screen. Redmayne makes a valiant effort but his freckled, masculine face and lanky frame are never fully convincing as a woman, although that works in a way.

Redmayne and Vikander are wonderful together, and the film has nice supporting roles played by Ben Whishaw, Sebastian Koch, Amber Heard and Matthias Schoenaerts. While the look is entrancing and the acting moving, the film suffers a bit from lack of focus. Primarily, the story is about the marriage but occasionally it wants to be about transgender issues, and even hints at the possibility that Einar was intersex. The film deviates from the historical facts for dramatic purposes, which might displease some. Regardless, a clearer focus might have helped lift the film, particularly in its later scenes.

Still, THE DANISH GIRL is a visually beautiful film, with fine, moving performances and a little-known historical story, which will make it a winner for its story of transcendent love.

THE DANISH GIRL opens in St. Louis on Friday, December 18th, 2015.

OVERALL RATING:  4 OUT OF 5 STARS

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