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September 1, 2022

THE GOOD BOSS- Review

Filed under: Review — Tags: , , , — Jim Batts @ 11:00 pm

Just in time for the big labor day holiday weekend comes a highly praised film set in the world of…, well, work. A big hustling factory to be precise. Now, while other films have focused on the folks on the “line”, the “cogs’ if you will. the working “stiff” average “Janes and Joes” punching the time clocks in dramas like NORMA RAE and comedies like OFFICE SPACE, well, this one’s very different as it takes a long look inside the ‘executive suite” and its occupant. This “big cheese” wears many hats, owner, manager, supervisor, but the tag he hopes that most of the workers bestow on him is “papa”. Really, he thinks of the business staff as a family with himself as the surrogate father (who gives out an allowance in the form of a paycheck). He knows that his position has gotten a “bad rap”, so he wishes to be thought of as THE GOOD BOSS.


Now, this tale doesn’t start during the work day. On a dark night in a city park in Spain, a group of Arab immigrant teenage men, laughing, teasing “shooting the breeze” suddenly are viciously attacked by a local gang who quickly emerged out of the shadows. Luckily the police arrive and pick up a young man who is separated from his violent pals. Cut to the next day, as the sun rises over a town mainstay, Blanco Basculas, a factory that manufactures all manner of scales. If it needs to be weighed, they’ve got the right product. It’s a longstanding family business, now run by the “latest-in-line”, fifty-something Julio Blanco (Javier Bardem). This morning he’s delivering a “pep talk” a few feet above the “work floor”, In ten or so days a team of local judges made up of business moguls, will inspect the factory to see if it’s worthy of a prestigious award. Later in the board room, several execs share a celebratory bottle of wine, though Julio’s eyes are glued to the work floor as a group of young interns is getting the “shop tour”. Actually, he’s fixated on one, the alluring young beauty called Liliana (Almudena Amor). Then this lovely day is spoiled by the unexpected arrival of recently discharged worker Jose (Oscar de la Fuente), who has brought his young children to embarrass Julio. He’s quickly ushered out, but Jose insists that he’ll “have his day”. The next morning Julio and his wife Adela (Sona Almarcha) enjoy a quiet breakfast by the pool while long-time factory worker Fortuna (Celso Bugallo), who has given up his Saturday, toils away at the pool’s faulty heater. Julio notices sadness in the older man’s withered face. After some prodding, Fortuna tells him that his teenage son is in jail (that opening sequence). Julio says that he will get him released and arrange employment at his wife’s dress shop. But that decision doesn’t free the factory from a flood of other problems. Production manager Miralles (Manolo Solo) is distracted due to his worry that his wife is having an affair. Julio thinks he can fix this, but he also sees that Jose has set up a “protest camp” in a public vacant lot just across from the plant’s entrance. Can Julio get things running smoothly, and keep Liliana out of his brain, to impress the judges and snag that coveted major award?

As he’s in the title role, the power of the film rests on Bardem’s broad shoulders. And to say he doesn’t falter is a bit of an understatement. Though most of the accolades for BEING THE RICARDOS were directed at her co-star, Bardem reminded us of his versatility, that he can play a smiling singing TV star as well as any cold-blooded killer. His Julio is well in the middle (well, maybe closer to Desi) since he projects an image to the people, and especially his staff, of a caring, overseeing daddy, one that always has the time to nudge someone back on to the “straight and narrow”. Bardem brings us “in”, to show the manipulator under the “mask” of patriarchal warmth. His irritation at his “unbalanced” life compels his passive-aggressive remarks to ease into seething threats. When his “gentle pushes” don’t work, he’s quick to use the “hammer”. His desire to have it “all” extends to his interest in the much-younger Liliana, who’s given a naive allure by Amor until her mask drops to reveal a ‘climber” who’s eager to use her “power”. This is unlike Fuente’s Jose, whose moral outrage quickly veers into obsession, as he sees himself as an “avenger of the oppressed”. Much of that mania is shared by Solo as Miralles, who believes his quest to find his wife’s lover will not affect his work, a mission that leads to his downfall. Also worth noting is the great comic work of Fernando Albizu as the bumbling security guard at the front gate, Roman, who becomes an unwitting alley to Jose while adding to Julio’s escalating frustration.

Writer/director Fernando Leon de Aranoa has crafted a most compelling comedy/drama that explores the way that “work-life: collides with “real life”, or “off hours”. Julio believes he can “mold” his workers into loyalty and efficiency by getting personally involved and leading them down the “right path”. But he finds out that these “family members aren’t the calibrated machinery, and will “go off the track” despite his best efforts. In the end, it’s his lust for glory, that award that has a spot on his display wall already reserved, and his lust for younger conquests, like the newest intern (an early scene hints that this is a habit for him), destroys the affable father figure persona he wants to project. All the sweater ensembles and sports jackets can’t contain or restrain the ruthless beast inside him. His method to “even out the antique scale sculpture at the factory entrance reveals the bad, bad man inside THE GOOD BOSS. Some of the balance allegories can get a bit heavy-handed (sorry), but Bardem’s terrific performance truly “tips the scales”.

3.5 Out of 4


THE GOOD BOSS is now playing in select theatres including Landmark’s Plaza Frontenac Cinemas in St. Louis, MO

December 23, 2021

LICORICE PIZZA – Review

Filed under: Review — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , — Jim Batts @ 9:25 am

Even though many families exchange their presents on the night before the big day, the best Christmas present may just be unwrapped the afternoon of the 25th, at least for movie fans of a “certain age”. Yes see, that’s when this nostalgic gem will spread across the country’s theatres. It’s hard to fathom that its setting is almost fifty years ago, but its director/writer has made his mark by meticulously recreating the past. Plus he’s particularly adept at getting the presiding pop culture touches just right. And he’s not just “churning them out” as we haven’t seen a feature from him in the last four years. So, instead of munching down a slice of pie or cake after the big holiday meal, savor a sweet and salty ( and a bit tart) slice of LICORICE PIZZA.


Roll the cinema clock back to 1973 in the California burg of Sherman Oaks. Sometimes actor/full-time high schooler 15-year-old Gary Valentine (Cooper Hoffman) notices a pretty young woman offering a hand mirror to the line of students waiting to sit for their class picture. She’s the photographer’s assistant Alana Kane (Alana Haim). As he’s being seated for the shot, Gary makes his move, introducing himself to her and giving a brief rundown of his resume. She might have spotted the big multi-family (think the Bradys and the Bradfords from “Eight is Enough”) feature film “Under One Roof”. And though she dismisses him by revealing that she’s 25, Gary still invites her to meet him at a swanky “watering hole”, Tail o the Cock. That night she decides to get out of her house (she still lives with her parents and sisters) and shocks Gary by showing up. Thus begins several months of flirtations between the two, as they squabble, yet somehow stay connected, especially during Gary’s career ambitions. When his acting gigs start to dry up (thanks mainly to his behavior during a TV talk show appearance with a big-time star), he dives (sorry) into the waterbed business (where a famous ex-hairdresser turned film producer is a difficult client), then opening a pinball arcade (they were illegal in the state till then). Alana tries to go out on her own by auditioning for a movie starring a boozy former “matinee idol” and then working for a mayoral candidate, Joel Sachs (Benny Safdie). But though they go their separate ways after one of many big verbal “blow-outs’, the magnetic attraction between the two keeps them in each other’s orbit.

It’s surprising that the two stars of the film are really making their feature film debut. Hoffman (no relation to Dustin, rather the son of Phillip Seymour) actually has no TV or film credits at all, yet has authenticity as though he, like his character, has been “on the boards’, all his life. He’s got an endearingly goofy “cockiness’ as he continues his hustle, “selling himself” to backers of his “big money” schemes and to any “foxy lady” he encounters. And the “foxiest” of all may be the delightful Haim (who’s been in several music videos with her sisters as part of the alt. rock trio “Haim”) who projects a world-weary sullenness, although she’s still exploring her options. Alana’s eager to escape the ‘sanctuary” of her family, but is still unsure of her direction. Is it acting, retail, politics? She has a refreshing unpredictability, going from cool “party chick” to screeching harpy (the scene of her verbally pummeling her sister as they share some “herb” is a giddy riot). Happily the duo has an exceptional supporting cast popping in for many memorable scenes. Harriet Sansome Harris is ferocious and a bit sad as the extremely “tightly wound” Hollywood agent Mary Grady. John Michael Higgins give a fearless “non-PC” performance as exotic restaurant mogul Jerry Frick. As “past his prime” leading man Jack Holden, Sean Penn is a twinkling tipsy gasbag, a good match for bellowing blowhard director Rex Blau played with scratchy-voiced tenacity by Tom Waits. Ah, but the film’s true secret weapon, guilty of scene-stealing in the first degree, is Bradley Cooper as a true, but very real, outrageous character, “mega-producer” Jon Peters (rumored to be the inspiration for Beatty’s role in SHAMPOO). He’s pure ego-fueled 70s “blow-dried” machismo, all swagger in his tight white jumpsuit, and somehow threatening Gary while bragging about his “luck with the ladies”. He makes you wish for a solo biopic, though keeping that energy level might exhaust Cooper and the audience (I’d happily risk it).

The finished film feels so authentic, that’s it’s hard to believe that writer/director (also a producer and co/cinematographer) Paul Thomas Anderson wasn’t a teen in the swingin’ 70s (he would’ve been three at the time). This makes an excellent “prequel” to his own BOOGIE NIGHTS, while being a sequel “in spirit” to Tarantino’s ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD. Both expand on “Tinseltown” legends and myths, while having their fictional characters interact with real life stars (though nobody in this film is an prominent as Sharon tate in the 2019 flick). Plus Anderson’s homage characters are easier to pinpoint (Penn’s Jack is really Bill and Gary’s angry red-headed co-star is also in a recent film). The casting works so well, especially the decision to pair Haim with her real-life family (her pop has a way with “f-bombs”). The expert art direction, the costumes, and the hairstyles, work with the pop culture background bits (TV screens, a superb soundtrack playlist, along with an eye-popping segement at a “teen fair”) make us feel as though we’re joining the long gas lines of the era. But it’s not all “mood rings” and “pet rocks”. Gary’s run-in with “John Law” is terrifying and harrowing, while a couple in the “closet’ is truly heart-breaking. But for most of its “blink and they’re done” runtime, this is a true joyride of nostalgia set in a time we never thought we’d miss. Really, this romp is the perfect “chaser” to these brutal last couple of years. I know I had a “hankering” for another slice, heck I’d devour another whole pie, of the tasty LICORICE PIZZA.


4 Out of 4

LICORICE PIZZA opens in theatres everywhere on Christmas Eve, including St. Louis’ Hi-Pointe Theater

December 13, 2019

THE TWO POPES – Review

Filed under: Review — Tags: , , , , , , , , — Cate Marquis @ 7:48 am
(l-r) Anthony Hopkins as Pope Benedict and Jonathan Pryce as the future Pope Francis, in Fernando Meirelles’ drama/comedy THE TWO POPES. Photo courtesy of Netflix.

Jonathan Pryce as the future Pope Francis I and Anthony Hopkins as Pope Benedict XVI are pure delight in the amusing, engaging drama/comedy TWO POPES. Director Fernando Meirelles (CITY OF GOD) and screenwriter Anthony McCarten (DARKEST HOUR) craft delightful odd couple drama/comedy about a meeting Pope Benedict and his successor Pope Francis. Rather than a dry discussion of church policy, Meirelles gives us a charming, kind of buddy comedy, in which these two very different men meet and explore their personal differences and their views on life, to ultimately find common ground.

The story takes place not long before before Pope Benedict’s announcement that he would step down as pope. There hadn’t been two living popes for hundreds of years, and never a case of a pope just choosing to retire, which made Pope Benedict’s decision a pivotal historic moment. Popes are supposed to serve for life, as Pope Benedict’s predecessor Pope John Paul II had, done despite declining health. As Benedict noted his own mental decline, he may have wanted to spare the church a repeat of that. His likely successor was Argentine Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, the man who he had narrowly beat out when he was elected to the papacy.

The meeting is fictional but allows these two powerhouse actors to show off their skill as they verbally spar, maneuver and one-up each other in an intriguing, often amusing meeting of minds and contrasting personalities. We are treated to a study in contrasts played out by a pair of brilliant actors. The men could not be more different. German-born Benedict is conservative, loves the luxurious trappings and ceremony of the papacy, has very traditional tastes, and is disconnected from the modern world. The future Pope Francis is Argentinian, loves tango and soccer, is a done-to-earth man who is uncomfortable with luxury. His views on the direction of the Catholic Church are more liberal, particularly compared to Benedict’s.

Most of the film focuses on this meeting, but it also flashes back to the meeting of the cardinals that brought Benedict, the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, to the papacy. It also gives a little biography of the Argentine cardinal but not the German-born Pope Benedict, which makes the future Pope Francis more the major character

Jonathan Pryce’s arrives at the Vatican full of confidence that he will be able to get his retirement documentary signed and make a quick exit. Instead, Pope Benedict is unavailable, due to pressing business, and he is told they will meet instead at the Pope’s idyllic summer palace. Clearly the Argentine is imitated, he has no choice.

Moving the action to the summer palace, with its beautiful gardens and airy palace, gives the film a visually appealing setting for this battle of wills. The two actors are top of their game, as the men engage in a kind of cat-and -mouse that takes the confident cardinal down a notch and puts the quiet, other-worldly pope in charge. Once the men finally talk, there is a connection, a bond, that forms as they explore both their differences and common humanity and faith. The back-and-forth provides an entertaining, often amusing, exchange that is a complete delight. In a wonderful scene late in the film features the two men, the current pope and the future one, watching a soccer game, cheering on their respective teams.

They offer very different broad visions for the future of the Catholic Church without getting into specific topics like married priests or changing the church’s view on divorce. There is brief mention of the child abuse scandal but like other issues, it is not discussed in depth. Mostly, it is the contrast of personalities that is the focus and whether the church should adapt to the modern world or be a bastion of unchanging values.

The beautiful setting adds to the enjoyment of the film. One of the highlights of the film is a later scene in the Sistine Chapel. Because they were not allowed to film in the actual Sistine Chapel, Meirelles built a perfect replica, but larger to better accommodate filming. The effect is stunning, and warming as it is the setting for a pivot moment between the two characters.

More a study in character with a historic and faith background, THE TWO POPES has appeal for any audience, and as a vehicle to showcase two outstanding actors at the height of their powers, it is a delight and one of the year’s best.

TWO POPES opens Friday, Dec. July 13, at Landmark’s Tivoli Theater.

RATING: 4 out of 4 stars

October 4, 2019

BRITT-MARIE WAS HERE – Review

Filed under: Review — Tags: , , , , , — Cate Marquis @ 8:24 am

When Fredrik Backman’s bestselling novel A MAN CALLED OVE was turned into an international hit film, it seemed inevitable that another of the Swedish author’s bestsellers would adapted for the big screen. BRITT-MARIE WAS HERE (Britt-Marie Var Har) is a Swedish drama/comedy based on Backman’s bestseller of the same name, about a 63-year-old woman who takes a job as a youth soccer coach in a little town, even though she knows nothing about the sport. The success of A MAN CALLED OVE set a pretty high bar for this film. While BRITT-MARIE also focuses on a flinty older person, this is more modest stuff than that epic tale.

Britt-Marie (redoubtable Swedish star Pernilla August) is a 63-year-old housewife who likes everything tidy, organized and clean. She lives by the motto that a clean house says everything about you, and takes pride in keeping hers neat and polished. In voice-over, she tells us her sister Ingrid was always dreaming while Britt-Marie was always the practical one, with her feet firmly on the ground.

Armed with her to-do lists and cleaning products, the no-nonsense Britt-Marie has taken care of the house with military precision, while her husband Kent (Peter Haber) took care of making money. Kent travels a lot in his job but when at home, he spends his time obsessively watching soccer (or football, as it is called there). She thinks she and Kent have a system that has worked well for them for 40 years, until she discovers her husband is having an affair.

With no drama, practical Britt-Marie marches straight home, packs a bag and moves out. The next day, she goes to the local employment agency, to look for a job. There are very few open to a woman of her age, but one is temp work in a remote town named Borg, as a youth counselor. Oh yeah, she also has to serve as their soccer coach too. “Any experience in football?” the job counselor asks. “It feels like half my life has revolved around football,” Britt-Marie cryptically replies.

When Britt-Marie arrives by bus in tiny Borg, it is late at night. She lets herself into the graffiti-covered youth center and inside, the youth center is even worse, dingy and cluttered. “Chaos,” Britt-Marie mutters. Clearly she has quite a job ahead of her – and that is without the coaching part. Then she meets the kids who form the soccer team, when the ragtag bunch of racially-diverse preteens accidentally break a window as they practice in the field next to the youth center.

This fish-out-of-water tale is directed by actor-turned-director Tuva Novotny, her second feature film. Comparisons to A MAN CALLED OVE are inevitable, even though that film had a different director. A MAN CALLED OVE is a tale about a curmudgeonly man that begins in an unassuming manner but then takes off into unexpected directions, transforming it into a kind of epic adventure with a big heart, as it recapped this unassuming man’s astonishing, heartbreaking life. BRITT-MARIE WAS HERE has heart too but it is a more limited kind of story.

Part sports movie, part second-chance-at-life story, the film employs plenty of conventional elements from both genres, yet it manages to create warmth, thanks to its dry humor and some nice performances. Britt-Marie has no idea how to coach but the kids are so motivated that they almost drag her along, as they prepare for a big game against a neighboring town. She also does not care much for kids, or adults for that matter. However, after scoffing at the idea of this buttoned-down old lady as their new youth soccer coach, everyone pitches in to help Britt-Marie and she finds herself softening. This remote little Swedish town seems mostly populated by descendants of immigrants from Africa and the Middle East, but film never directly comments on this, letting the story’s undercurrent about the economically-marginalize makes the point. While the kids try to prepare for the big game, Britt-Marie goes on a journey of self-discovery, tied to forgotten, buried dreams linked to her youth.

The film has little flashbacks to Britt-Marie’s youth but nowhere as elaborate as the flashbacks in A MAN CALLE OVE. Like everything else in this story, it is more practical and down-to-earth, like the character herself. The film does offer a little flight of fancy in charming animated sequences the run under the opening and closing credits.

The film is well-acted, with Pernilla August in particular giving her seemingly-inflexible character an unexpected kind of inner strength as well as that dry sense of humor that is often a signature of Scandinavian films. Britt-Marie starts out as an independent, take-charge type who needs no one, but she ends up as a warmer if less certain person, who discovers the value of friends. She opens her heart to her own dreams, even as she helps the kids reach for theirs.

The rest of the cast are also good, and add to the mix of dry humor and warm appeal,as they embrace this stranger. Memo (Mahmut Suvakci) plays Memo, a joke-cracking Middle Easterner who is the town’s jack-of-all-trades. Memo turns out to be very helpful and Britt-Marie gets more help from Memo’s employee Sami (Lance Ncube), who takes care of his younger brother and sister (who are on the soccer team), since their mom died. Britt-Marie forms a special bond with Sami’s sister Vega (Stella Oyoko Bengtsson), a girl who lives for soccer. More help for the team comes from Bank (Malin Levanon), the legally-blind daughter of the former coach, and local policeman Sven (Anders Mossling), who has a crush on Britt-Marie, adding a touch of romance.

Nothing wild happens in BRITT-MARIE WAS HERE but the film does take some unexpected turns and ends up in a satisfying place that is a bit different than what we expect.

BRITT-MARIE WAS HERE is a modest little drama/comedy, much like it’s central character, but like that character, it also warms the heart with its tale of following one’s dreams. BRITT-MARIE WAS HERE, in Swedish with English subtitles, opens Friday, Oct. 4, at Landmark’s Plaza Frontenac.

RATING: 2 1/2 out of 4 stars

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