Drive My Car

Movie Name: Drive My Car
Year of Release: 2021
Director: Ryusuke Hamaguchi
Starring: Hidetoshi Nishijima, Toko Miura, Reika Kirishima, Park Yu-rim, Jin Dae-yeon, Sonia Yuan, Ahn Hwitae, Perry Dizon, Satoko Abe
Genre: Drama
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 6
Watch it on HBO Max

Synopsis and Review:

"Drive My Car" had its debut at the Cannes Film Festival in May of 2021, where it eventually won the award for best screenplay. It was the beginning of the number of accolades the film has been collecting since. The narrative is focused on actor and theater director Yusuke Kafuku, who is married to Oto, a screenwriter. They've been married for quite some time, and experienced some personal tragedy in their lives with the death of their child. Even though Yusuke knows Oto has extra marital affairs, their relationship continues and is seemingly unaffected by it, that is until Yusuke returns from work one day to discover his wife dead, due to a brain hemorrhage. Two years later, Yusuke takes a residency in Hiroshima, where he's supposed to direct a multilingual adaptation of Chekhov's Uncle Vanya. The organizers who are supporting his residency warn him that one of the essential requirements for him to stay, is him being driven by an actual chauffeur, due to issues that have occurred in the past. While he objects at first, he eventually becomes accustomed to Misaki Watari, the young woman who is driving him around. As he goes through the casting and then rehearsals, Yusuke starts to progressively know more about his group of actors, and also about Misaki, his driver, who also bears within the pain of some events that took place in her hometown. As some additional events come into light, Yusuke is forced to make a decision about the show, but before doing so, he asks Misaki to drive him to her childhood home.

"Drive My Car", while being a film that touches upon the topics of harboring pain & trauma derived from decisions made in the past, still manages to showcase aspects of hope and beauty, which manifests itself not only in the process of staging the Uncle Vanya play, but also of how the central characters eventually get to share the pain and the burden they carry within. It's a film that while taking its time to showcase the relationships between its central characters, it's also somewhat slight in showcasing what they actually want from their own existence (or maybe their pain, is what justifies their existence). The detours that the director captures, for instance illustrating the staging of the play, including the read throughs, the rehearsals, while contextualizing the process and the complicity between the group, don't necessarily add much to the understanding of the characters themselves. And that's one of the most perplexing things about this film: in all its runtime, nearly 3 hours long, not much is ever understood of what drives some of the main characters, including why Misaki is just a driver (is she doing it part-time, does she do this job to compliment her income much like an Uber Driver), or even what is it that Oto does, besides narrating some stories (which by the way, is she writing them down, are they just open ended threads she concocts?). The journey of the central characters, particularly as they drive around and get to know each other, is indeed redeeming and affecting, but it's a film that while trying to depict the staging of a play as a rebirth of something, and ultimately the devices which people find in order to deal with grief, seems to forget that characters are more than just one single trait or aspect. The cast is uniformly solid, as is the cinematography from Hidetoshi Shinomiya. It's worth watching, but not entirely fulfilling. 

The Batman

Movie Name: The Batman
Year of Release: 2022
Director: Matt Reeves
Starring: Robert Pattinson, Zoe Kravitz, Paul Dano, Colin Farrell, Jeffrey Wright, John Turturro, Andy Serkis, Peter Sarsgaard, Barry Keoghan, Jayme Lawson, Gil Perez-Abraham, Peter MacDonald, Con O'Neill, Alex Ferns, Rupert Penry-Jones, Hana Hrzic, Stella Stocker, Sandra Dickinson, Joseph Balderrama
Genre: Action, Crime
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 7
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Synopsis and Review:

Writer, producer and director Matt Reeves is back, following his work on the "Planet of the Apes" franchise, where he tackled the last two films of that franchise, which was started by Rupert Wyatt. The film follows the story of Batman, who has become well known to Gotham City in the past two years. The city is in the middle of a mayor electoral race, and the crime is running rampant. One of the candidates and mayor elect gets murdered in a particularly grisly manner, and Batman is asked to come in and help the investigation, courtesy of Detective Jim Gordon, one of his greatest allies (most of the police force still thinks he is nothing but a vigilante). They soon find out the killer left a card for Batman, in the shape of a riddle, something he has to crack the code on, which he eventually does with the assistance of Alfred, his butler. Batman's investigation leads him to a club owned by Carmine Falcone, a mob boss in town, who has ties with everything taking place in the city. While there he gets information from one of Falcone's lieutenants, Oz/The Penguin, and also crosses paths with Selina Kyle, who is on a mission of her own. Soon Selina proves to be more than meets the eye, and in parallel, the amount of victims the killer goes after, keeps increasing, all of them characters of great prominence in Gotham. The more Batman investigates, the more he also realizes the ties and strands of corruption are everywhere in Gotham.

After the latest incarnations of Batman were met with somewhat of a tepid response, in all the films directed by Zack Snyder, Warner Brothers smartly decided to move in a different creative direction. Matt Reeves and Peter Craig have tackled the script for this latest iteration of the Batman, and craft this film as a thriller, one that has influences ranging from both Frank Miller's take on the character in graphic novels, but also from David Fincher's features, "Seven" and even "Zodiac". Matt Reeves, much like he did in his previous films, including the underrated remake of "Let The Right One In" which was titled "Let Me In", crafts a very thorough and meticulous context, this time around truly focusing on making Gotham feel like an additional character of the film itself. While in Christopher Nolan's films, Gotham took a progressively more muted backdrop to what was happening with the characters, Matt Reeves cleverly realizes that the terrain in which Batman moves, is one of the main propellors for what he does, not to mention, it also taints and influences who he is on a profound level. It's a film that plays itself as a procedural, with a somewhat inexperienced Batman trying to understand the motivations of this killer, and slowly realizing the extents of corruption and its role in the city he has been trying to save. It's a well written film, one that while epic and ambitious, fails to add some extra dimension to its central characters, something that could have helped ground the narrative a bit further. It's nonetheless an impeccably crafted film, with a strong cast led by Robert Pattinson, with strong support from the always terrific Colin Farrell, Paul Dano, John Turturro, Jeffrey Wright, and Peter Sarsgaard. The production team of the film is truly stellar, featuring the beautiful cinematography from Greig Fraser, score from Michael Giacchino, production design from James Chinlund and costumes from Jacqueline Durran, Glyn Dillon and David Crossman. While still playing in the comic book arena, there's much to be savored in this film. Very entertaining and worth watching.

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

Movie Name: What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
Year of Release: 1962
Director: Robert Aldrich
Starring: Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Victor Buono, Anna Lee, Maidie Norman, Wesley Addy, Julie Allred, Anne Barton, Bert Freed, Russ Conway
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 6
Watch it on Amazon

Synopsis and Review:

After making a name for himself in the 50s, particularly with "Apache" and "Vera Cruz", "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane" marked a huge success in his career, which also gave him the opportunity to go on to make such eclectic films as "Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte" and "The Dirty Dozen", to name but a few. "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane" follows the story of two sisters, both of whom have worked in show business. Baby Jane Hudson was a child star in the 1910s, but saw her popularity decline, whereas her sister's Blanche only increased as she got older. The relationship between both sisters got strained as a result of these different career paths, but now that they're somewhat retired, they're living with each other, since Blanche suffered an accident which has rendered her a paraplegic, whereas Jane now resentfully takes care of her. Jane still harbors resent towards her sister, and treats her rather viciously at every chance she gets, whereas Blanche wants to move on and away from her, though the secret of how she became a paraplegic somehow gives her little power over Jane, as does her financial means. As Jane ludicrously tries to stage a comeback, based on her numbers as a child star, the people who she interacts with start growing suspect she may be doing something to her sister, whom she mysteriously keeps quiet at all times.

Unlike Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho", which came out in 1960, "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane" while fairly entertaining, never really reaches the classic stature of Hitchcock's classic. The film has of course always been celebrated for its reunion of the classic Hollywood rivals which were Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. However for all its celebration and at times campiness, the film definitely belongs to Ms. Davis who embodies Jane Hudson with a savage bitterness and progressive detachment from reality, whereas Ms. Crawford has a more subdued and muted performance as the passive Blanche. It's a film that doesn't necessarily showcase much about who these characters actually are, broadly defining them as former stars, but never elaborating on how they lived their lives, or even how long they've actually been together. The film is almost staged as a play, with the sibling rivalry and tortuous relationship between these two women at its core, with the supporting characters barely registering. For all its psychological tension, it's a film that doesn't go the extra mile (if you want to actually see someone lose its mind, Kathy Bates in Rob Reiner's "Misery" may be a good example), neither from a narrative perspective, nor from a character development perspective. The cinematography from Ernest Haller is impeccable, as is the score from Frank De Vol. Worth watching.

Free Guy

Movie Name: Free Guy
Year of Release: 2021
Director: Shawn Levy
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Jodie Comer, Joe Keery, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Taika Waititi, Lil Rel Howery, Channing Tatum, Aaron W Reed, Britne Oldford, Camille Kostek, Mark Lainer, Mike Devine
Genre: Comedy, Adventure
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 6
View Trailer

Synopsis and Review:

Producer/Director Shawn Levy has kept himself quite busy since his previous directorial release "Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb" which came out in 2014. Since then he has directed (and produced) episodes of the successful "Stranger Things" for Netflix, and also other shows, which includes "Imaginary Mary". "Free Guy" which was originally slated to premiere in 2020, and got delayed due to the pandemic, is based on a screen story by Matt Lieberman and Zak Penn, and was actually part of the Black List, an annual list that is typically released of the best un-produced screenplays. The narrative focuses on Guy, an every day bank teller, who has a rather mundane and repetitive life, which suddenly changes when he crosses paths with Millie/Molotovgirl. His infatuation with her, forces him to change his habits, and he suddenly realizes his world is a lot more than it seems. Turns out he lives in a video game, he is an AI, whereas Millie/Molotovgirl is an actual person, more so, one of the authors of an application whose code is being used to sustain the world Guy lives in. In order to get Millie's attention Guy starts learning the mechanics of the game, and consistently winning points, until he is able to get to her, and understand why she keeps back to the game and what is it she so desperately wants to get from it.

"Free Guy" has the immediate benefit from having Ryan Reynolds headlining its narrative, in a role that combines his natural comedic abilities, with a certain level of innocence that his character Guy exhibits, only an innocence that reads more like obliviousness and not so much creepiness (something that "Forrest Gump" for instance always borderlines on). It's a film that doesn't take itself very seriously, treating most of its characters and narrative like a massive game, providing just enough of character dimension and motivation to keep the engagement going. While the human characters are scarcely defined, what happens in the game, particularly when Guy is involved, turns out to be quite entertaining since him, much like ourselves the viewers, are discovering the rules of the game and what he can actually do in that world. It's a film where there are some interesting side remarks/criticism on the lack of scruples that is somewhat associated with some Tech companies, the same going for the world of online gaming and social media, but it's so cleverly imbued into the narrative, that it never feels very heavy handed or out of place. Ultimately it's a breezy and well executed comedy, which could have benefited from some additional character work, but one that is nonetheless worth watching, with a solid leading performance from Ryan Reynolds. The production team is impeccable, with highlights going to the cinematography from George Richmond, the score from Christophe Beck and the visual effects teams. Worth watching. 

Sylvie's Love

Movie Name: Sylvie's Love
Year of Release: 2020
Director: Eugene Ashe
Starring: Tessa Thompson, Nmandi Asomugha , Eva Longoria, Aja Naomi King, Jemima Kirke, Tone Bell, Rege-Jean Page, Alano Miller, Erica Gimpel, Lance Reddick, Wendi McLendon-Covey, John Magaro, Ryan Michelle Bathe, Raquel Horsford, Tucker Smallwood
Genre: Drama
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 7
Watch it on Amazon

Synopsis and Review:

"Sylvie's Love" is writer/director Eugene Ashe's follow up to his directorial debut, "Homecoming", which premiered in 2012. The film follows the story of Sylvie Parker, who in the 1950s is engaged, but whose fiancee has been drafted to go to war (the Korean War). In the meantime she's been working in her father's record store in New York. Sylvie loves music and TV shows, and her world is suddenly upended when her father hires Robert, a Jazz musician to work in the store. He's equally smitten with her, and their relationship deepens when they go to a small party, where Sylvie's cousin Mona, also strikes a brief affair with one of Robert's band partner. Robert has a chance to go to Paris with the band, while Sylvie suddenly discovers she's pregnant. They go their separate ways, and 5 years later we discover Sylvie has married her fiancee, and Robert and the band are making some waves with their music. Sylvie in the meantime starts a new job in television, and by coincidence reunites with Robert. Their attraction is rekindled, which pushes Sylvie to question her life choices.

"Sylvie's Love" manages to be an ode to classic Hollywood love stories, but with a fresh point of view, one that is undaunted by the limitations of what could be captured on celluloid during those days. It's a film that talks openly about issues such as adult relationships, unexpected pregnancies, racism, sexism, all within this narrative which takes place precisely during the times where all these topics were being discussed head on. And it's also a love story at its very core, one that is about two people who are simply meant to be together. There's an easiness and rapport between the two leads, which makes the narrative all the more meaningful and engaging, though one of the underdeveloped aspects of this feature, is the lack of dimension that those two central characters actually have. Robert is a saxophone player, who apparently only lives for that, and has very little in terms of additional motivation in life, whereas Sylvie for all her initiative and pluck, seems like she falls into situations, without truly having an ambition of her own. The supporting characters also don't fare quite as well, most of them falling into the traps of certain cliches, namely the slightly boozy female agent, the cousin who is more liberal in her approach to sexuality, the conservative mother, and the list goes on. However, the feature itself, manages to focus on the relationship between the central characters, and that's where it excels, since Tessa Thompson in particular, is nothing short of fantastic. She makes Sylvie a truly memorable character, with longing, pain and reserves of strength to ultimately pursue what she wants. Much like her other performances in films such as Rebecca Hall's "Passing", she's truly magnetic, going from dazzled young woman, to more assured matriarch with great ease. The production team on this film is also impeccable, with the beautiful cinematography from Declan Quinn, score from Fabrice Lecomte and production design by Mayne Berke. Worth watching!

West Side Story

Movie Name: West Side Story
Year of Release: 2021
Director: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Ansel Elgort, Rachel Zegler, Ariana DeBose, David Alvarez, Rita Moreno, Brian d'Arcy James, Corey Stoll, Mike Faist, Josh Andres Rivera, Iris Menas, David Aviles Morales, Sebastian Serra, Ricardo Zayas
Genre: Musical, Drama
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 6
Watch it on Amazon

Synopsis and Review:

"West Side Story" premiered in 2021 after being delayed due to the pandemic. It follows Steven Spielberg's "Ready Player One" and it's also another remake to join his "Always" (which was a remake of Victor Fleming's "Pal Joey"). The film which takes place in 1957, follows the story of Tony and Maria, a couple of young star crossed lovers, who live in San Juan Hill, on Manhattan's West Side. Tony who is on parole (for nearly killing a man from a rival gang), wants to stay away from trouble, but his best friend Riff, the leader of the gang the Jets, is on a collision path with Bernardo, the leader of the Puerto Rican gang, the Sharks. Tony and Maria meet at a local ball, and fall in love, much to her brother's Bernardo discontent. As violence escalates between the two gangs, dramatic losses occur, all the while Maria and Tony just want to move past all that noise. 

"West Side Story" is of course a well known classic, which came out in 1961, and won 10 Academy Awards. It has since become one of the most iconic musicals, thanks to the lyrics from Stephen Sondheim and the score from Leonard Bernstein, not to mention of course the choreography from Jerome Robbins (and additional direction from Robert Wise). This version of the material, which the wonderful Tony Kushner adapted for the screen, stays closer to the original stage musical, but it still bears many resemblances to the original film incarnation. At this point in his career, Steven Spielberg can pretty much do whatever he wants, and do it impeccably. His mastery of the cinematic language is truly phenomenal, and this film is a perfect testimony to his ability to distill the language of a musical, through his point of view. It's a film that is visually stunning, with a top notch editing, where the production design, costumes, cinematography, all align to create a sumptuous spectacle. However while watching this film I couldn't help but think: why was this film remade? It's an interesting revisionist exercise, but one that feels unnecessary, since the original film is in itself so present and so iconic, and ultimately casts such a large domineering shadow. It's one of those films that is easier to admire than it is to love, since it is a great example of how fantastic of a storyteller Mr. Spielberg is, however this rendition of the Romeo and Juliet saga ultimately doesn't actually bring a new angle to this story, and it's definitely not a novel take on the musical, much like Damien Chazelle did with "La La Land". The cast does a fair job of bringing these characters to life, but the real highlight goes to the cinematography from Janusz Kaminski, the production design from Adam Stockhausen and the costumes from Paul Tazewell. It's a watchable feature, but not a memorable one. 

Inventing Anna

TV Show Name: Inventing Anna
Year of Release: 2022
Created by: Shonda Rhimes

Directors: David Frankel, Ellen Kuras, Nzingha Stewart, Tom Verica, Daisy von Scherler Mayer 

Stars: Anna Chlumsky, Julia Garner, Arian Moayed, Katie Lowes, Alexis Floyd, Anders Holm, Anna Deveare Smith, Jeff Perry, Terry Kinney, Laverne Cox, Tim Guinee, Anthony Edwards, Rebecca Henderson, Armand Schultz, Kyle Beltran, Chris Cafero, Caitlin Fitzgerald, Tracy Pollan, Christopher Lowell, Kate Burton, Donna Murphy, Joshua Malina, Bryan Terrell Clark, Debra Mooney

Genre: Drama

Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 5
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Synopsis:

Writer/Producer Shonda Rhimes who has made a name for herself with the very successful shows "Grey's Anatomy", "Scandal" and "Private Practice", has started her partnership with Netflix, with this limited series focused on a very publicized and recent, media case which centered around Anna Delvey/Sorokin, and how she nearly swindled some big institutions of millions of dollars. The narrative focuses on journalist Vivian Kent, who is very pregnant, and trying to re-establish herself, since one of her recent journalistic pieces exploded on her (the person she interviewed for that particular piece lied, painting her in the process as someone who forced the news article itself and basically portraying her as a poor journalist). She becomes aware of this young woman who is imprisoned, someone by the name of Anna Delvey, who was interacting with financiers, architects, technologists, all with the intent of starting a new type of prestige club in an iconic building in New York, and who has suddenly fallen from grace. Vivian wants to know who Anna is, how she managed to get that far in that procurement, and where everything started to crumble. For that matter, Vivian asks for help from Anna's lawyer, who initially refuses to interact and provide much help, the same going for some of Anna's supposed friends. But as Vivian visits Anna, and starts peeling away at the stories hailing from all these characters, her story becomes clearer and clearer. All this while Anna herself is going through a criminal trial, which may land her squarely in prison. 

"Inventing Anna" is an interesting show, and much like the recent documentary, "The Tinder Swindler" from Felicity Morris, once again demonstrates how social media at times creates and perpetuates illusions about individuals, illusions that can be leveraged to dazzle, extort and manipulate people. The show is constructed in a way, where each episode focuses on the point of view or insights of those closest to Anna, who can somehow help build the puzzle of who this character actually is. It's an interesting perspective, but one that is never truly well explored, since for the most part, the show illustrates the situations in which Anna was involved, but fails to go over the facade, over the glitz. For a mini-series this long, it's one that essentially illustrates in very broad strokes what happened with this person and her web of lies, but one that fails to also ask the questions of what prompted people to believe in her, and who Anna actually is (which is something that a fictional tale could take into a different level, by inserting a point of view, since this isn't after all a documentary). This lack of an actual storytelling with some actual depth, is where the show ultimately fails, since it goes for the sensational and most visible aspects of the story, while failing to mine or even build the journey of this person who comes from Germany with nothing, and who bamboozles so many of the high society in NY. In the end, the show is indeed watchable since it does have a very talented array of actors, and the production team is equally solid (the cinematographers include Maryse Alberti for instance), but it fails to be truly memorable, since for the most part these sketches of characters and situations are superficial, much like the social media devices that it uses to illustrate Anna's ascension.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre

Movie Name: Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Year of Release: 2022
Director: David Blue Garcia
Starring: Elsie Fisher, Sarah Yarkin, Moe Dunford, Jacob Latimore, Olwen Fouere, Jessica Allain, Nell Hudson, Alice Krige, William Hope, Mark Burnham, Jolyon Coy, Sam Douglas
Genre: Horror
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 1
Watch it on Netflix

Synopsis and Review:

Another successful audience feature release for Netflix, this new version of "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" is the second directorial endeavor from film maker David Blue Garcia. This new version of the "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" legacy, also comes courtesy of co-writer and producer Fede Alverez, who has in the meantime made somewhat of a name for himself with the remake of "Evil Dead" and the successful "Don't Breathe". The film takes place in our current times, and focuses on a small group of entrepeneurs who are on their way to the small town of Harlow, Texas. This small town is nearly abandoned, and has been bought by this group of individuals, all with the purpose of revitalizing it, bringing new businesses and hopefully more population to it. This small group is comprised of Dante and his girlfriend Ruth, and Melody and her sister Lila (a survivor of a high school shooting which took place not that long ago). They're all expecting a large bus filled with people to show up later in the day, to also visit the town. Upon arriving in the small town the group explores it a bit, and are surprised to notice an elderly woman still living in one of the houses. Dante is certain she is trespassing since all the properties were bought, something the lady denies, claiming she has the title for the property. Soon the lady and her adult and silent son are taken by the police, alongside Ruth who wants to make sure everything goes well, however while transporting her, the elderly woman has a heart issue and passes away. Her son becomes enraged, and goes on a lethal rampage, which leads him back to the small town and the remaining party there.

The original "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" hails from the late Tobe Hooper, and was released in 1974. Since that film was launched a plethora of sequels and remakes have been crafted, including one as recent  as 2017's "Leatherface", directed by Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo. This newest incarnation of the terrifying killer, uses the premise from the original film as a starting point, and assumes Leatherface was never caught, suddenly making his reappearance after the passing of his mom. It's a film that attempts a critical view of the gentrification that is occurring a bit everywhere, particularly how that movement translates into an overwhelming homogenization of habits and styles, which in turn can clash with contexts which are not entirely able to co-exist. It's also a faint criticism at how people and audiences these days respond to visceral and brutal violence that they're confronted with. However both of these observational stances, are fairly superficial, and they soon give way to the gore fest that is ultimately what the film seems to be more focused on. Largely all the characters in this film aren't given much to do in terms of arc or motivation, with some aspects of it feeling gratuitously manipulative (the survivor who comes back, and is oddly unable to do much), which ultimately makes this film feel unnecessary. Much like many of the films of this franchise, this director also fails to convey a more specific point of view, basically making this film just another slasher without much depth or resonance. Nothing much to see here.

The Protégé

Movie Name: The Protégé
Year of Release: 2021
Director: Martin Campbell
Starring: Maggie Q, Michael Keaton, Samuel L. Jackson, David Rintoul, Patrick Malahide, Ray Fearon, Ori Pfeffer, Robert Patrick, Florin Piersic Jr., Tudor Chirila
Genre: Action
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 4
Watch it on Amazon

Synopsis and Review:

After the costly debacle of "Green Lantern", director Martin Campbell was relegated to directing TV movies, and has slowly been coming out of that forced exile, with some lower budget films. After "The Foreigner" with Jackie Chan, he has followed that with "The Protégé", a collaboration with screenwriter Richard Wenk, who has also penned "The Expendables 2", "The Equalizer" and "The Mechanic" to name but a few. "The Protégé" follows the story of Anna, a hired assassin who always works with her mentor and savior, Moody. He rescued her from Vietnam when she was nothing but a child, and trained her to be lethal and ruthless in what she does. After Moody gets killed, she sets her sights on the person responsible for it, starting to go through evidence in order to get to the culprit. She soon finds out the person responsible goes by the name Edward Hayes, and has ties to Moody's past in Vietnam. As she investigates further, she's soon captured and tortured, which is how she meets Rembrandt, Hayes' personal security expert. After lethally evading her captors, Anna sets her plans in motion to reach Hayes, however her attraction to Rembrandt proves itself somewhat distracting, as does an unexpected turn of events. 

"The Protégé" is another film to join the roster which recently premiered and has included titles as Tanya Wexler's "Jolt", Navot Papushado's "Gunpowder Milkshake" and Cedric Nicolas-Troyan's "Kate", films that are modeled after Luc Besson's "Nikita" and even more recently, Philip Noyce's "Salt" and David Leitch's "Atomic Blonde" (and there's also other forgettable features such as Olivier Megaton's "Colombiana" for instance). These films all place at the center of their narrative, a woman who is a cold hearted killer, who was traumatized as a child, and therefore is now an extremely organized person and is completely devoid of feelings, until an unexpected revelation about her past shakes her beliefs and foundation to its core, forcing her to realize what life is all about. It's a re-heated formulaic plot, one that typically is more successful when the director manages to bring a distinctive point of view to the narrative. Whereas "Nikita" gave the central character a motivation and a life, in a way building a narrative arc for her final escape, the same going for "Salt" and the graphic novel adapted "Atomic Blonde", the other films previously mentioned and "The Protégé" included, fail to give much dimension to its central character. Giving the character some contextual flashbacks and a few scenes to interact with her charismatic "handler", isn't synonymous with giving an actual motivation, or for that matter, to make her humane, since while those brief interactions are supposed to be indicative of her love for her mentor or best friend, they're momentary and most of the times, artificially crafted. In the end these films live by how well staged their action scenes actually are, since they are after all B-movies, with more or less ambitions. In this particular case, the formula isn't particularly memorable (much like the plot itself), but Martin Campbell redeems himself with a solid cast, with the always wonderful Michael Keaton (wearing a bad hair piece) and a weary Samuel L. Jackson (sadly Maggie Q just doesn't seem entirely convincing in this film this time around). The cinematography from David Tattersall is solid, as is the score from Rupert Parkes. Watchable but forgettable. 

Napoleon Dynamite

Movie Name: Napoleon Dynamite
Year of Release: 2004
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jon Heder, Efren Ramirez, Jon Gries, Aaron Ruell, Tina Majorino, Diedrich Bader, Sandy Martin, Haylie Duff, Trevor Snarr, Shondrella Avery, Bracken Johnson, Carmen Brady, Ellen Dubin, Brian Petersen
Genre: Comedy
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 7
Watch it on Amazon

Synopsis and Review:

"Napoleon Dynamite" premiered at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival, and went on to become one of the year's success stories, both commercially and critically (the film which had a low budget of $400k, went on to make over $40million at the box office). The film, which takes place in Preston, Idaho, focuses its narrative on Napoleon, a 16 year old high school student. Napoleon lives with his grandmother and older brother Kip, and mostly stays to himself. When his grandmother suffers an accident, his uncle Rico shows up, in order to look after him and Kip, much to Napoleon's annoyance. Rico who always dreamed of NFL stardom, is constantly trying to make some money through some wild schemes, and currently lives in his campervan. Napoleon eventually makes two good friends in school, the shy but artistic Deb, who runs various small businesses, including a photography studio, and Pedro, a transfer student from Juarez, Mexico. After the debacle of the high school dance, where Napoleon ends up going with a girl who doesn't care for him at all, things take an interesting turn when Pedro decides to run for class president, pitting him against the popular cheerleader, Summer Wheatley. Napoleon decides to help his friend with all his ingenuity and artistry. 

Jared Hess and Jon Heder originally worked together on the short feature "Peluca", about a nerdy high school student named Seth, which in a way informed what "Napoleon Dynamite" eventually became. What has remained an indelible source of amazement and entertainment, is how cleverly the film juggles the characters that it depicts, even if they are very broadly defined. Jared Hess weaves and constructs a universe that is somewhat anachronistic, where one doesn't really know if the film is taking place in the 80s/90s or 2000s, though there are elements from all those time periods, combined with a retro style that also makes it very unique (and hard to place). What is also so refreshing about this film, is the way the director plays with the typical high school clichés and personas, subverting them in small details, while still maintaining some of the aspects which make them so recognizable (the jock, the popular cheerleader, the intellectual nerdy girl, and the list goes on). Also from a stylistic perspective it's a film that from its pacing (editing), production design and cinematography, really transports its audience to an almost different universe, very much one that is the vision of its director (a sort of low fi retro inducing aesthetic). The cast is uniformly solid, with the underrated Jon Heder creating an iconic central character, with wonderful support from Aaron Ruell, Efren Ramirez, Jon Gries and Tina Majorino. A film always worth revisiting. 

You Again

Movie Name: You Again
Year of Release: 2010
Director: Andy Fickman
Starring: Kristen Bell, Odette Yustman, Sigourney Weaver, Jamie Lee Curtis, Victor Garber, Kristin Chenoweth, Betty White, James Wolk, Sean Wing, Kyle Bornheimer, William Brent, Christine Lakin, Patrick Duffy
Genre: Comedy
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 3
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Synopsis and Review:

Director Andy Fickman made a name for himself with the comedies "She's the Man", "The Game Plan" and "Race to Witch Mountain", before tackling "You Again", which featured a very clever casting coup, bringing together both Sigourney Weaver and Jamie Lee Curtis (both leading ladies who did iconic work in James Cameron films, respectively "Aliens" and "True Lies"). "You Again" follows the story of Marni, a professional in Public Relations, who we find at the beginning of the film, getting a big promotion to become a VP in NY. Before she starts the new job, she actually has to go back to her hometown, since her older brother is getting married. And turns out, by a weird coincidence, his bride is the insufferable Joanna, her former high school nemesis who made Marni's life a complete hell, humiliating her at every chance she had (and she had plenty of opportunities). Much to Marni's surprise, Joanna acts as if though she has never met her, and much to Marni's chagrin, Joanna has seemingly changed her act, and is now a caring nurse. Joanna also introduces her closest family member, her aunt Ramona, to Marni's family. Much to everyone's surprise, she is Gail's (Marni's mom), high school best friend, and they also had a very public fall out. As the wedding is in 4 days, all this tension comes to a boiling point moment. 

"You Again" benefits from the fact that it manages to gather a terrific cast, some of whom have a terrific chemistry together (Sigourney Weaver and Jamie Lee Curtis for instance), however and unlike Michael Lehman's "Heathers" or Mark Waters' "Mean Girls", the script is afraid to really showcase the nastiness of some people, and how ultimately there isn't redemption for everyone. The script somehow sanitizes many of the nasty behaviors that early on in the narrative Andy Fickman illustrated, trying to envelop and wrap all the threads with happy endings, which ultimately renders this film almost like a Lifetime type of engagement (only with top notch caliber acting). Another big issue of the film itself, is the fact that none of the lead characters seem to have much dimension to themselves, aside from what the early flashbacks provide. Marni for the most part seems just like the same person she was in high school, with not much maturity, friends, or even ability to demonstrate why she became a VP at 30. The same going for her nemesis. Sigourney Weaver's Ramona and Jamie Lee Curtis' Gail, they both turn out to be far more interesting characters, since their falling out stems from a cracked friendship (less campy than Helen and Madeline's in Robert Zemeckis' "Death Becomes Her"), and not necessarily from a deliberate and persistent bullying. It's a film that has immense potential, but it squanders it by trying to neatly tie everything with a happy ending, failing to realize that in order for that happy statement to occur, the characters have to resonate and have some actual motivation. The cast is game, particularly Ms. Weaver and Ms. Curtis, with the wonderful Kristen Bell trying her best to give the film a jolt of energy, with apt support from Victor Garber, Kristin Chenoweth and Betty White. While the cast is indeed fantastic, this film is ultimately forgettable.  

Encanto

Movie Name: Encanto
Year of Release: 2021
Director: Jared Bush, Byron Howard, Charise Castro Smith
Starring: Stephanie Beatriz, Maria Cecilia Botero, John Leguizamo, Mauro Castillo, Jessica Darrow, Angie Cepeda, Carolina Gaitan, Diane Guerrero, Wilmer Valderrama, Rhenzy Feliz, Ravi Cabot-Conyers, Adassa, Maluma, Rose Portillo, Juan Castano
Genre: Animation, Comedy
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 5
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Synopsis and Review:

Titan producing and distributing studio Disney released two animated features in 2021, with the most recent one being "Encanto", which was preceded by "Raya and the Last Dragon". "Encanto" hails from directors Jared Bush, Byron Howard, with co-direction of Charise Castro Smith, the latter also one of the responsible writers for the story and screenplay. Jared Bush and Byron Howard had previously worked in the very successful "Zootopia", and this film once more dazzles with an impeccable aesthetic and animation, lacking more in terms of narrative or arc for its characters. The film follows the story of Maribel, a Colombian teenager who lives in the idyllic village of Encanto, one that has flourished throughout the years thanks to the magic that lives within her family. That magic has been trickling through the generations since her grandmother had to flee her own hometown due to an armed conflict with nothing but her triplets and her husband. When her grandmother also loses her husband, the candle she was carrying magically protects her and her family, also creating a magical house, and in the process granting her children magical abilities. Since then, every Madrigal child goes through a rite of passage, where they're granted a special ability, with the exception of Maribel. She seems to be only one with no special abilities. However Mirabel starts having visions of the family's magical abode cracking, and desperately wants to prevent this from happening. Only the more she tries, the worse things get. 

What made "Zootopia" so instantly endearing, aside from the great animation, was the fact that it toyed with known story archetypes, namely the innocent hero in a big city, and married them with all the flurry of animal characteristics that populated that particular detective narrative. "Encanto" goes in a slightly different direction, trying to bring some of Isabel Allende's magical aspects of her narratives into a story about a "different duckling" (somehow applying the term "ugly duckling" doesn't seem accurate for the story at play). The story of the under-appreciated and underrepresented Maribel could have fared far better, was it not for the fact that all the supporting characters, including the figurehead of the family, grandmother Alma have so very little to do and say, the same going even for the cultural identity of the family and where they actually live. Unlike what Pixar studios did so superbly with "Coco", where the cultural heritage of the young hero, and the family dynamics were cleverly illustrated, with both heart and joy, in the process also joyously tackling a rather somber topic such as death, "Encanto" makes the whole narrative almost very generic and devoid of identity (something that also transpires into the mediocre score that is heard throughout the film). In the end, when all is seen and done, what is left is some truly great animation, a fantastic explosion of colors, all of which make the film watchable, but not memorable. It's a cleverly put together, yet generic effort from Disney which could have benefited from some far better writing. 

300

Movie Name: 300
Year of Release: 2006
Director: Zack Snyder
Starring: Gerard Butler, Lena Headey, Dominic West, David Wenham, Vincent Regan, Michael Fassbender, Rodrigo Santoro, Tom Wisdom, Andrew Pleavin, Andrew Tiernan, Giovani Cimmino, Stephen McHattie, Greg Kramer, Alex Ivanovici, Kelly Craig, Eli Snyder, Tyler Neitzel, Tim Connolly
Genre: Action
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 5
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Synopsis and Review:

After making a first bold impression with his directorial debut, the remake of "Dawn of the Dead", writer/producer/director Zack Snyder, hopped on another adaptation of a graphic novel, hailing from Frank Miller & Lynn Varley, "300". At the time, Frank Miller's adaptations were coming off another successful run, particularly Robert Rodriguez & Frank Miller's co-directorial take on "Sin City". "300" focuses on the story of Leonidas, the King of the Greek city-state of Sparta, from his childhood, through adulthood and his leadership of an army of 300 men to stop an impending invasion from Persians. The impending battle starts precisely with a herald from the Persian nation, who demands submission from King Leonidas. When he refuses to do so, he seeks council and help to further substantiate a plan he has set up. However that help is denied, and as an alternative, Leonidas manages to gather three hundred of his best soldiers to put his plan in action. His plan includes funneling the Persian army into a narrow pass, between the rocks and the sea, allowing for the Greeks to have some superiority, since the Persians army numbers are far higher. As the waves of battles keep coming, the Greeks remain valiantly in place, until treachery occurs. While this is happening in the war front, Leonidas' partner, Queen Gorgo is trying to persuade the Spartan Council to send reinforcements, before all is lost.

"300" was a big commercial success and opened far more opportunities for Zack Snyder, which translated into his next feature, the flawed but nonetheless interesting, "Watchmen". "300" manages to be an entertaining endeavor, that somehow also demonstrates some of the issues that have plagued most of this director's films, namely, a stylistic and distinct approach that while interesting and virtuous, also minimizes the character development and storytelling that is needed to be anchored to the characters of the narrative. In this case, Leonidas alongside the supporting characters, are described in very broad strokes, essentially much like the graphic novel they hail from. He's a king who endured challenges, and managed to carve a path for himself by being strategic, brave and relentless. Not much more is provided in terms of his motivations, frictions, longings, as the film quickly shifts to the battle scenes. Visually the film contains some beautiful frames and shots, once again demonstrating Snyder's background in directing commercials, something that the editing also reinforces (at times there are some similarities to the style of the late Tony Scott). It's a film that has momentum, and a cast that is invested in the narrative being depicted, with Gerard Butler, Lena Headey, David Wenham, Michael Fassbender, Rodrigo Santoro and Vincent Regan, all trying their best to bring some grittiness, anguish and verisimilitude to the action taking place. The cinematography from Larry Fong is solid, as is the score from Tyler Bates and costumes from Michael Wilkinson. It's a film that has a distinct look and appreciation of its source material, but one that fails to make these characters more than just drawings. It's watchable, but ultimately not that memorable. 

Big Bug

Movie Name: Big Bug
Year of Release: 2022
Director: Jean Pierre Jeunet
Starring: Isabelle Nanty, Elsa Zylberstein, Claude Perron, Stephane de Groodt, Youssef Hajdi, Claire Chust, François Levantal, Alban Lenoir, Marysole Fertard, Helie Thonnat, Juliette Wiatr
Genre: Comedy, Sci-Fi
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 3
Watch it on Netflix

Synopsis and Review:

After his many issues with The Weinstein Company with the release of his feature "The Young and Prodigious T. S. Spivet", director Jean Pierre Jeunet has returned, courtesy of Netflix. The narrative, which takes place in 2045, focuses on the household of the family Barelli. As the narrative begins, Victor Barelli the father, is dropping off the daughter at her mother's place. He and Alice have divorced, and he shows up with his fiancee, whom he plans to marry soon. Alice in the meantime has a visitor at her place, a gentleman by the name of Max who came along with his son Leo, and who is desperately courting her. They are soon joined by one of their neighbors, Françoise, who is desperate about the fact that she can't receive signal in her home. The Barelli's smart house is run efficiently with the further assistance of a few androids, including the humanoid Monique, but also Einstein, Tom and Greg, all of whom serve a purpose. When the androids sense a threat enveloping the outside world, which is coming in the shape of the artificial intelligence by the name of Yonyx, one that now runs all of society, they decide to lock everyone inside the house, in order to protect them. As all these individuals try, unsuccessfully, to get out they suddenly have to figure out a way to work together in order to leave the house. That is, until one of the Yonyx androids shows up at their front door and starts wreaking havoc. 

Director Jean Pierre Jeunet has long created a name for himself as someone who creates distinct universes, where the whimsical and magical coexist with the macabre and grotesque. This film is no exception, with the narrative attempting to be a satire at how dependent of computers and machinery we're all becoming. And simultaneously asking the question, one that also haunted Steven Spielberg's "A.I": can artificial beings have a conscience and a soul. Unlike Spielberg's emotional film, Jeunet's illustrates situations where the cartoonish characters have somehow to deal with their primal instincts, until they realize the seriousness of the situation, and eventually have a reawakening to what is truly important in their lives (always at the sacrifice of those who are innocent and pure). It's not a particularly polished narrative, something that becomes quite obvious in the character development, which is barely existent (though Alice is one of the lead characters, it's never truly clarified why she loves books, and typography, or for that matter, what caused the dissolution of her marriage). As is typical of this director's films, the production design, cinematography and score are top notch, but this time around, the lack of substance to the film makes it look somewhat gratuitous, with the grotesqueness outweighing some of the more humane and sentimental aspects Jeunet always manages to pepper his films with. Elsa Zylberstein is however always a pleasure to watch, as is Isabelle Nanty (who was also in Jeunet's "Amélie"). While there are some interesting moments to it, it's a film that over extends itself, and lacks both momentum and dimension to its characters. 

Thunderbolt and Lightfoot

Movie Name: Thunderbolt and Lightfoot
Year of Release: 1974
Director: Michael Cimino
Starring: Clint Eastwood, Jeff Bridges, George Kennedy, Geoffrey Lewis, Catherine Bach, Gary Busey, Jack Dodson, Burton Gilliam, Roy Jenson, Claudia Lennear, Bill McKinney, Vic Tayback
Genre: Crime, Drama
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 7
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Synopsis and Review:

Writer, producer and director Michael Cimino, had a brief and both memorable and infamous career, one that was forever derailed by the well known "Heaven's Gate". However, he started his career as a screenwriter, with one os his early projects being Ted Post's "Magnum Force", where he had an opportunity to work with Clint Eastwood. His first directorial effort came shortly afterwards, an original script of his, starring and produced by Eastwood, the well received "Thunderbolt and Lightfoot". The film follows the story of Thunderbolt, whom we initially encounter preaching in a small church in the middle of nowhere. He soon as to make his exit, as a shooter appears and starts gunning him down. As he flees the scene, an unexpected help comes in the shape of a young man, himself escaping from his latest small time crookery. These two form a friendship, which is further solidified when two other men come chasing and shooting at them. Thunderbolt admits to having been involved in a big robbery a few years back, of which the spoils never got divided, with some of the remaining people involved in the caper thinking he is the one who has it all. As they eventually manage to clarify the story with their chasers, Lighfoot has the idea of performing another heist, and this time around dividing the proceeds. Lightfoot's demeanor and Leary's personality however clash most of the time, and as the date of the heist approaches everyone gets increasingly more on edge. 

"Thunderbolt and Lightfoot" is a film that smartly combines the more free flowing aspects of the culture of the 70s, with a style that resembles the 1950s, which is to a certain extent, perfectly embodied by George Kennedy's character. There's certain aspects that are reminiscent of Terrence Malick's "Badlands", particularly as the characters drive around on what seemingly seems to be an empty America, filled with nothing but some small towns, but this film goes in a different direction, allowing for the relationship between Clint Eastwood's Thunderbolt and Jeff Bridges' Lightfoot to take center stage, and develop progressively. And that's one of the most interesting aspects of the film, precisely the fact that Michael Cimino allows for these characters to slowly reveal themselves, even as they get involved in this heist scenario, one that adds an extra layer of thrill to their ongoing adventures. The whole caper/heist aspect of the film also feels very organically placed and never topples it or steals attention from the characters themselves. The film benefits tremendously from the chemistry between Clint Eastwood and Jeff Bridges, both of which are fantastic (and Bridges is truly phenomenal in his role), with more than apt support from George Kennedy and the always underrated Geoffrey Lewis. The cinematography from Frank Stanley is solid, as is the score from Dee Barton. A very entertaining film from a talented film maker.