La Jaula/The Chalk Line

Movie Name: La Jaula/The Chalk Line
Year of Release: 2022
Director: Ignacio Tatay
Starring: Elena Anaya, Pablo Molinero, Eva Tennear, Eva Llorach, Carlos Santos, Esther Acebo, Eloy Azorin, Mona Martinez, Sonia Almarcha, Pau Roca
Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 3
Watch it on Netflix

Synopsis and Review

"La Jaula" is Ignacio Tatay's feature directorial debut, following a few shorts he directed since 2007. The film focuses it's narrative on a Spanish couple who while coming home at night discover a young girl (around 8 years old), seemingly lost walking around on a dark road. They take her to the hospital, and the police gets involved, trying to identify who the young girl is. Paula and Simon keep visiting the young girl in the hospital, while her parents are being traced by the police. While the young girl's medical condition improves, she still does not talk, and refuses to go anywhere by herself. Paula and Simon take on the role of foster parents while more information is retrieved about Clara's origins. However the fostering ends up not going as well as expected, instead highlighting additional tension to Paula and Simon's relationship, who had been trying to get pregnant without much success. After Clara disappears, Paula starts researching cases of missing children, and finds a thread which leads her to the conclusion that Clara may not be who she thinks she is, and that she may be closer than even she anticipated. 

"La Jaula/The Chalk Line" has an interesting premise, in the sense that while the film initially appears to be a narrative about a child who has been abducted, it turns out as the narrative develops itself, it goes in a far more sinister direction than that. Sadly and where Ignacio Tatay fails to capture much attention is on the characters themselves. Paula and Simon have a limited bandwidth and arc in terms of showcasing who they are and what their motivations seem to be: they're presented as all consumed by the attempt of getting a child, and how taking care of the lost Carla seems to be a "poisoned" answer to their prayers. As additional characters come into the narrative, they also don't get much in terms of scope, aside from playing their roles through a very narrow funnel (meaning, the best friend who is just that, the same even going for the villainous figure who emerges). While the last chapter of this narrative tries to be an unexpected reveal (something that M. Night Shyamalan has trademarked), it fails to elicit much surprise or even shock since by then it has become quite obvious that this is all these characters are ever going to amount to. And implausibilities aside, the film fails to be consistent with its intentions alongside with the scenario and characters that has built all along. Elena Anaya's presence is a wonderful balm, since she's always consistently good in all her performances (please check Pedro Almodovar's "La Piel que Habito" just as an example), and once again tries her best with an underwritten role, but the supporting cast doesn't have much to do, and they all ultimately aren't able to sufficiently elevate this material. It's an interesting premise, but it needed a stronger directorial point of view, and better drawn characters. It's ultimately forgettable. 

You People

Movie Name: You People
Year of Release: 2023
Director: Kenya Barris
Starring: Jonah Hill, Lauren London, Eddie Murphy, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Sam Jay, Nia Long, Travis Bennett, David Duchovny, Molly Gordon, Deon Cole, Andrea Savage, Elliott Gould, Rhea Perlman, Mike Epps, La La Anthony, Yung Miami
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 1
Watch it on Netflix

Synopsis and Review

Kenya Barris has made a name for himself as a writer of a series of TV shows and a few films, including "Black-ish" and also Tim Story's "Shaft", Robert Zemeckis' "The Witches" and Malcolm D. Lee's "Girl Trip". "You People" is his feature directorial debut, and it's a script of his own authorship, in partnership with Jonah Hill. The narrative focuses on the story of Ezra and Amira. They both live in Los Angeles. Ezra is a broker who also has a podcast that he does with his best friend Mo. Amira on the other hand is a Fashion/Costume Designer who has recently gone through a breakup and is looking to restart her life. They accidentally meet when Ezra mistakes her for an Uber driver, but they start a relationship nonetheless. Things go so well, that they eventually move in together. However, as Ezra meets Amira's parents, and Amira meets Ezra's parents, all sorts of friction start appearing, with religion and ethnic background playing a huge role in the cringeworthy situations that arise. Ezra decides to propose to Amira, who enthusiastically responds yes. However as they navigate the engagement period, which includes bachelor/bachelorette parties, the relationships with their families just keep getting worse and worse, causing the relationship between Ezra and Amira to also suffer considerably.

"You People" is a film that tries to elicit comedy both from awkward situations caused by someone's deep rooted prejudices, and also simultaneously tries to capture comedy from clichés associated with families and how "different", "quirky" and "weird" they all are. Sadly during the entire duration of this film, and save for the Uber bit that appears pretty early on, I was unable to find anything particularly funny or insightful about this film. The film tries very hard to find the comedy in pre-conceived ideas of race and religion, but sadly seems to forget that in order for comedy to occur, the characters have to be fairly represented and described as more than just one single aspect that they're categorized as. Case in point, David Duchovny who is always a solid performer in all the projects he's in, in this film has a slight role as Jonah Hills father, and he's essentially asked to play the somewhat lovable and ditzy older gentleman. On the opposite side of the spectrum is of course Eddie Murphy, who for all his versatility and undeniable superlative talent, gets to play the persistently  angry version of what a father is, without ever changing his tune. While playing with clichés is a quick way to get laughs, most of the characters in this feature are a much worse version of what Stanley Kramer did with "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" in the 1960s. It's a film that tries to make some epiphanies magically occur, in the spirit of the traditional rom-com, but it's difficult to care much for any of these realizations when all these characters are so poorly drawn. Jonah Hill sadly doesn't get to stretch much of his talent, the same going for the talented supporting cast (why is Rhea Perlman in this film if you don't give her anything to do?). It's a misconceived and unfunny film, and ultimately a waste of talent. 

Ideal Home

Movie Name: Ideal Home
Year of Release: 2018
Director: Andrew Fleming
Starring: Paul Rudd, Steve Coogan, Jack Gore, Alison Pill, Jake McDorman, Kate Walsh, Evan Bittencourt, Lora Martinez-Cunningham, Jesse Luken, Courtney Cunningham
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 6
Watch it on Amazon

Synopsis and Review

Director Andrew Fleming's "Ideal Home" was a comeback to features for him since his previous film "Barefoot" was met with a tepid response, and most of his career has since then flourished across a variety of TV shows where he has worked either as director or writer, or executive producer. "Ideal Home"'s narrative is focused on the lives of a gay couple currently living in New Mexico. The couple features Erasmus, a famous chef who has his own TV show, books and additional merchandise, and Paul, who is the supervising producer of his show. While Erasmus is a more high profile personality, Paul tends to be more authoritative and a bit quieter than his partner. Their lives are suddenly upended when a young boy by the name of Angel shows up at their door. He's in reality Erasmus's grandson. Erasmus has a son by the name of Beau who has had issues with drugs, and who finds himself once more behind bars. Angel, who wants to be named Bill, finds himself having to live with two strangers, with Paul in particular very reluctantly accepting the situation, since he suspects he will take on the brunt of the responsibility of caring for him. As the three of them get to learn to live with each other and eventually gel in their habits, the couple also starts discussing an opportunity to take Angel/Bill's care on a more permanent basis.

"Ideal Home" is a slight and filled with just the right dosage of sentiment comedy, which features two fantastically gifted performers, who truly manage to keep the focus on the characters, even if the narrative itself is somewhat barely there. It's a superficially observed narrative, but one that nonetheless focuses on the dynamics of a couple who has been together for a while, where one of the people in the relationship carries the emotional heft of it for the both parties. The strain the relationship between the charismatic and selfish Erasmus and the slightly dour and more emotional Paul is going through, is further amplified with the presence of Angel/Bill, but in the end, it forces both of them to come to grips with what is it they really want out of life and of each other. It's a film filled with humorous and sweet episodes, at times relying a bit too much on clichés, but entertaining nonetheless thanks to the performances of Paul Rudd and Steve Coogan, who perfectly embody those character with the right amount of flamboyance, humor and sentiment. The supporting cast sadly only gets a brief window to make themselves visible, but Jack Gore and Alison Pill manage to create interesting characters nonetheless. The production team features the solid cinematography from Alexander Gruszynski, and score from John Swihart. While not the most arresting narrative, it still makes for an enjoyable watching experience. 

American Gangster

Movie Name: American Gangster
Year of Release: 2007
Director: Ridley Scott
Starring: Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Josh Brolin, Ted Levine, John Hawkes, Joe Morton, Ruby Dee, Carla Gugino, Run Santiago-Hudson, John Ortiz, RZA, Cuba Gooding Jr., Armand Assante, Yul Vazquez, Lymari Nadal, Idris Elba, Common, T.I., Kevin Corrigan, Jon Polito, KaDee Strickland, Norman Reedus, Roger Bart, Roger Guenveur Smith
Genre: Drama, Crime
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 7
Watch it on Amazon Prime

Synopsis and Review

After a couple of commercial and critical misfires, which included "Kingdom of Heaven" and "A Good Year", director Ridley Scott reunited with Russell Crowe once more, to bring to the screen an adaptation of the article by Mark Jacobson, through the lens of screenwriter Steven Zaillian (who has made a name for himself as the author of high prestige scripts such as Steven Spielberg's "Schindler's List", Martin Scorsese's "Gangs of New York" and David Fincher's "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo", to name but a few). The film which takes place in 1968 focus its narrative on the life of Frank Lucas, whom we first encounter as the right-hand man of Harlem mob boss Bumpy Johnson. When Johnson dies, Frank quickly enters the drug trafficking business, but starts doing so by bringing the drugs directly from Thailand. He then mixes and sells the product himself, under the brand "Blue Magic". The popularity of his product quickly makes him very rich, and he soon brings his whole family to live with him. In the meantime, in Newark detective and aspiring lawyer Richie Roberts is put in charge of a special task force with the intent of targeting local drug suppliers. As Frank product distribution and wealth increases, the same goes for local rivalries with some other crime bosses, alongside the local authorities buyouts he has to enact. As Richie continues his investigation, he becomes aware of Frank's rising momentum in the crime scene, and gets a chance to learn more about him and his dealings when one of Frank's cousins gets caught in the fallout of a shooting scene. From then on, Richie is on the trail of the origins of the drug movement and how it's eventually making its way to the streets. 

Ridley Scott's features are typically that much more arresting and interesting when the scripts he works with manage to not only illustrate the context in which the narrative will take place, but also when it populates it with fairly interesting and well rounded characters, that are more than simple clichés. His best features, namely "Alien", "Blade Runner", "Thelma and Louise" and "The Martian" are good examples of solid scripts which compliment his visual style, whereas "Legend", "Black Rain", "GI Jane", "Prometheus" and "The Counselor" are just a few examples of features where there isn't a good marriage of his point of view with the material he's working with. In the case of "American Gangster" he benefits from having a solid script, which while not being the most original, in a way latches on to the style Sydney Lumet and William Friedkin illustrated so well in the 1970s ("The French Connection", "Dog Day Afternoon" and "Serpico" being excellent examples). This film in particular, benefits from having two solid actors embodying these central roles, even if what they're given to work with isn't the most riveting perspective. Frank Lucas as a character is given just enough dimension which prevents him from being a typical cliché of a violent criminal, while Richie sadly is reduced to the archetype of the womanizing police officer with some scruples going through a divorce. The supporting cast, while considerable and populated with solid actors, including Josh Brolin and Chiwetel Ejiofor for instance, don't get to stretch much of their abilities (even Ruby Dee who got some attention around Awards season, has a very small role an impact in the narrative). Ultimately, the film while managing to capture New York and New Jersey in the late 60s and early 70s, from a somewhat stylized perspective, lacks at times the brutal and riveting perspective that Sidney Lumet, William Friedkin, and even later on Brian De Palma placed in their films (the unbalanced "Scarface" can be included in this genre as well). In the end, the film is polished and well done, with a solid production crew which includes the brilliant late cinematographer Harris Savides, production design by Arthur Max and costumes by Janty Yates, which makes it an entertaining and compelling view. 

We Have a Ghost

Movie Name: We Have a Ghost
Year of Release: 2023
Director: Christopher Landon
Starring: David Harbour, Jahi Winston, Anthony Mackie, Erica Ash, Niles Fitch, Isabella Russo, Tig Notaro, Tom Bower, Steve Coulter, Jennifer Coolidge, Faith Ford, Sean Boyd, Scott A. Martin, Sherri Eakin, Kyler Porche
Genre: Comedy, Adventure
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 4
Watch it on Netflix

Synopsis and Review

Director Christopher Landon is back, following the well received "Freaky". This time around he has adapted the short story "Ernest" from Geoff Manaugh, and has built a ghost comedy type of narrative, with sprinkles of R.L. Stine thrown in for good measure. The narrative follows the adventures of the Presley family, who move to Chicago and buy a fixer-upper in the hopes of having a fresh start for the somewhat fractured family life they have had thus far. While the older son Fulton is up for the challenge, the younger and shier one, Kevin, has a lot more resistance to this new dalliance of his father. While exploring the house and in particular the attic, Kevin comes across a ghost. The ghost doesn't manage to scare him off, but they actually become friends. Kevin starts naming the ghost Ernest, since that's the name on his shirt. Since the ghost doesn't talk, Kevin wants to understand what's keeping him attached to that house in particular. However, Ernest's presence is captured on video by his dad, who uploads that clip to youtube. This soon spirals out of control, in terms of popularity, but also in terms of other figures who want to seize and capture Ernest for research, and other unsavory goals. Kevin and his newfound friend and neighbor Joy, decide to take Ernest and track his origins, in the hopes of understanding why he can't move on.

"We Have a Ghost" comes across as a juvenile adventure film, but also sprinkles some dramatic elements in the relationship of the younger son with his father, and how their relationship has been rife with issues. It's a film that doesn't spend much time defining the lead characters, quickly shifting in the direction of the supernatural, which comes across as a catalyst to bring the family together, even if at first Ernest and his existence seems to take them all down a dangerous journey of selfishness. The narrative itself doesn't hold much novelty in the way the characters and relationships are illustrated. Same thing going for whatever comedic elements that occur, that are few and not that effective. The film's tone is definitely not as comedic/sarcastic in the same vein as Ivan Reitman or even Jason Reitman's "Ghostbusters" films were. It's more of bittersweet tale for family members who want to reconnect, namely Kevin and his father, and "Ernest" and his daughter. The production values are somewhat underwhelming, but the cast does manage to keep things watchable, with Jennifer Coolidge and Tig Notaro making noteworthy appearances, while David Harbour manages to convey this whole aspect of a gentle giant, much like he has done in "Stranger Things". It's a harmless and forgettable endeavor, featuring a diverse cast, but there isn't much else to highlight here. 

Orphan: First Kill

Movie Name: Orphan: First Kill
Year of Release: 2022
Director: William Brent Bell
Starring: Isabelle Fuhrman, Julia Stiles, Rossif Sutherland, Hiro Kanagawa, Matthew Finlan, Samantha Walkes, David Lawrence Brown, Lauren Cochrane, Gwendolyn Collins, Jeff Strome
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 2
Watch it on Amazon Prime

Synopsis and Review

"Orphan" from Jaume Collet-Serra premiered in 2009 and while the reviews weren't particularly effusive, the film managed to have a solid box office showing, while at the same time launching the career of Isabelle Fuhrman. This prequel once again focuses on the character of Leena Klammer, who we first witness being held in a psychiatric facility in Russia. While she's 31 years old, she has a rate hormonal disorder that gives her the appearance of a 9 year old child. She manages to violently escape that institution, and furthermore hides in the car of an art therapist who was going to the institute. She looks up missing American girls, and discovers she bears a resemblance to Esther Albright who went missing in 2003. She poses as her and when she's located by the Russian police, she identifies herself as that girl. Esther's parents, which includes the father, Allen Albright a wealthy artist and his wife Tricia, spring to action, with Tricia coming to Russia to retrieve "Esther". Tricia starts suspecting that "Esther" is not who she claims to be, when she forgets important pieces of information on the family, and when she reveals talents she hadn't before (like painting). A detective who was helping the family locate the girl, also suspecting of the new Esther, retrieves an object from the Albright house, something she has touched, in order to see if the prints match. They obviously don't, but before he can do anything, "Esther" attacks him. However what she didn't anticipate was Tricia being there and witnessing it all.

"Orphan: First Kill" tosses aside much nuance in terms of progressively showcasing who Leena is, the same going for the family she finds herself with. The writers and the director, want to go straight for the sensationalistic aspect of the narrative, and showcase the monstrous and villainous aspect of Leena, who this time around, gets more than she bargained for when it comes to the family she ends up with. The whole metaphor of "not all monsters look like one", applies to more than one character here, sadly William Brent Bell removes any sense of progressive disclosure, or for that matter, suspense buildup or character development, going for a rather shlock type of approach. All the characters in this narrative adhere to rather clichéd archetypes, and sadly even when Julia Stiles amps up the tone of her performance, she still can't bring much impact (or life) to a film that is rather predictable and formulaic. In the end, this feels more like a "by the numbers" prequel, with the intent of scaring off some extra dollars from the audience (in reality there aren't many scares at all, if any), more so than the desire of telling a story of this particular character. It's ultimately a forgettable endeavor. 

Smile

Movie Name: Smile
Year of Release: 2022
Director: Parker Finn
Starring: Sosie Bacon, Kyle Gallner, Jessie T. Usher, Robin Weigert, Caitlin Stasey, Kal Penn, Rob Morgan, Gillian Zinser, Judy Reyes, Jack Sochet, Dora Kiss, Nick Arapoglou, Perry Strong
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 6
Watch it on Amazon Prime

Synopsis and Review

"Smile" is the feature directorial debut from writer/director Parker Finn, after a few prior shorts (including one by the title of "Laura Hasn't Slept", which was the inspiration for "Smile" itself). The film focuses its narrative on the story of Rose Cotter, who is a therapist working in a State Institution, much to the dismay of her sister. Rose herself has a traumatic past, as a result of the brutal death of her mother when she was a child, due to an overdose. Rose is confronted with a traumatized patient who is brought in, a woman by the name of Laura Weaver, who witnessed her art history professor die by suicide. Laura claims that an entity has been haunting her, forcing her to witness random people smiling at her all the time. Laura eventually commits suicide in front of Rose, who suddenly sees another one of her patients persistently smiling at her. Rose's hallucinations start becoming more persistent, making her seem dangerous to others around her. A traumatic event at her nephew's birthday party alienates her from her sister, and she soon is isolated from her fiancée as well. She eventually seeks out the help of her former boyfriend Joel, a policeman, in order to know more about Laura and her professor. They soon uncover what seems to be a long string of suicides, where the witness to the suicide soon becomes the next one to die. Rose quickly realizes she's the next victim, and desperately tries to understand how she can save herself.

Unlike "M3GAN", who had a rather straightforward approach to its villainous central character, "Smile" has some eerie similarities with Gore Verbinski's "The Ring", where one entity feeds off the chain of victims it collects, instigating that continuous chain. The film's director, Parker Finn, manages to create a progressively more suspenseful and uneasy environment, particularly as Rose's close relationships quickly deteriorate, leaving her isolated, and even more exposed to the haunting of the entity. Again, and similarly to Rachel Keller/Naomi Watts in "The Ring", Rose has to trace the source of the deathly chain, since she is indeed the next one on the line. The film manages to introduce the character of her ex-boyfriend to help with this discovery process, bringing this aspect of procedural storyline to the narrative. All these aspects, though not the freshest perspective on this genre, are effectively done. However, when it comes to understanding the characters, both the lead ones and the main supporting ones, they all could have benefited from having some additional nuance and information to better contextualize who they are, and how their relationships have been established. As it is, Rose's romantic relationship quickly dissipates, as does her relationship with her sister, both being quickly brushed aside, leaving her only with her ex-boyfriend, whom we only know is a policeman who still harbors feelings for her. All this to say: the characters are sketches, who are eventually vessels for this entity to wreak havoc. While the film does have some genuine scares, mostly courtesy of the strong performance from Sosie Bacon who goes all in, the supporting characters themselves are quickly tossed aside, and somewhat unresolved, which may be one of the biggest issues with the film (Robin Weigert and Kyle Gallner provide good support to Sosie Bacon in their roles). The production team is solid, featuring the cinematography from Charlie Sarroff and musical score from Cristobal Tapia de Veer. Worth watching.