Author Archives: Ron

About Ron

I like to watch movies and share my thoughts on them. I have been writing reviews and distributing them since 2013.

Another Round

Another Round                 4 stars

This year’s Academy Award winner for Best Foreign Film comes from Denmark in the form of Another Round by director Thomas Vinterberg and stars Mads Mikkelsen who is Denmark’s most recognized actor. Martin is a high school teacher in Copenhagen who seems to have everything, a wife and family and a good job teaching history to his students. But there is something missing so he joins in a plan with three of his fellow teachers at the school to start an experiment where the four agree to steadily drink on the job on the theory that maintaining a blood alcohol level of 0.05% will improve their performance in their daily life. The rules are no drinking after 8:00 pm or on the weekends. So you are probably thinking what could possibly go wrong with such a plan? Apparently nothing, that is until one of their group challenges them to take things up a level and increase the alcohol intake. What starts out as a comedy takes a dark turn into a serious drama when each one finds out the price of such behavior to their professional and social lives. Much of the success of the movie belongs to Mikkelsen’s Martin who can express a wide range of emotion. (See his earlier work in After the Wedding, A Royal Affair and At Eternity’s Gate) Many of his scenes must have been improvised to great success. This collaboration of writers, director and actors takes a silly premise and makes it into an emotional, dramatic story about what is important in life.

Cruella

Cruella                  4 ½ stars

Disney films make their return to the theaters with an origin story of that most iconic Disney villain, the evil and chic Cruella de Vil. The live action comedy crime movie stars Academy Award winner Emma Stone as young street urchin Estella who through tragedy must live on the streets of 1970’s London with her young thief friends Jasper (Joel Fry of Yesterday) and Horace (a funny as always Paul Walter Hauser). The incredibly smart and ambitious Estella’s greatest desire is to break into the world of high fashion. Somehow she snares a low level job working at the House of Baroness where she gains the attention of owner and CEO Baroness von Hellman (played by two time Academy Award winner Emma Thompson) and is promoted to dress designer to turn out very eye catching designs for the London elite. An additional star of the film is the amazing dresses that appear throughout. Is it too early to predict the winner of the Best Costumes Oscar? Of course, we finally arrive at the appearance of Cruella with her signature white and black hair and learn how she came to be with her evil intentions and especially her motivation for going after dalmatians for their skin. The best Disney movies feature some of the most evil villains imagined and that title must go to the Baroness who is a true psychopath as played by the brilliant Thompson. She delivers some great lines (“Gratitude is for losers.”) and is rarely taken off her game as she treats people with contempt including her own employees. Cruella is aided greatly by a sound track featuring classic rock songs of the sixties and seventies that are well placed throughout the movie (The Zombies’ Time of the Season). I had to do a second take on the dogs in the film to realize they are some of the best CGI creatures I have seen. With Cruella and the earlier release of the Disney Maleficent movies we seem to be having a new trend of classic villains getting their own star treatment and with it a more complete picture of their life stories.

The Boss Baby: Family Business

The Boss Baby: Family Business                 3 stars

The wild baby adventures continue in the sequel to the 2017 movie The Boss Baby. In The Boss Baby: Family Business, brothers Tim and Ted who are now full grown adults are recruited by Tim’s baby daughter, Tina and Baby Corp. to return to their child selves (with an advanced baby formula) and once again save the world from an evil corporate plot. The conspiracy and the motive for the crime aren’t particularly important, but serve as the background for a colorful, action packed story involving the two going undercover at Tim’s daughter, Tabitha’s school to investigate the plot and stop it from succeeding. The plot is certainly confusing, but it serves mainly as a way to bring the two estranged brothers together and to give Tim a way to boost the confidence of his second grade daughter who is attending the ultramodern school for gifted children. The movie does have some social commentary on parents’ expectations put on their children to perform academically and the modern addiction to technology. The movie is at least equal to its predecessor in entertainment value and is suitable for children who probably will miss some of what is going on. I didn’t detect any bathroom humor, though there are plenty of baby drool jokes to see.

The Father

The Father          4 ½ stars

In The Father, an aging man suffering from dementia is portrayed by Anthony Hopkins, in a role that is said to be especially written for him. Anthony is being watched after by his daughter Anne (Academy Award winner Olivia Colman) who has moved him into her flat in London, and is faced with the difficulty of finding a caregiver who can tolerate Anthony’s behavior and insistence that he doesn’t require help. There have been films about family caring for a person with dementia before, like Amour in 2012 and Still Alice starring Julianne Moore in 2014. (Another new movie, Supernova, deals with the subject but I haven’t seen it.) Those movies were mainly focused on the people doing the caregiving and not so much the person with the disorder; whereas Florian Zeller’s The Father strives to show us the pain and disorientation that Anthony is going through. Zeller does this by sequencing scenes such that time is an unknown quantity, by making subtle changes in the color and furnishings of the flat, and by using scenes that may be a hallucination to Anthony making things all the more confusing to him. His goal is to make the viewer share in the discomfort and fear one must face when they can no longer make sense of their surroundings. He goes so far as to have some actors change their roles within the film, causing a more disorienting feeling. Hopkins is masterful in the role as the intelligent man who can be charming one minute and then cut a person down in the next. I have no doubt that he deserved the Best Actor Academy Award he received. Even in his eighties he shows why he is considered one of the best. (Hopkins was asleep at home when the Best Actor award was announced and released a recorded acceptance speech the next day.) Colman, who may be Britain’s finest actress is also brilliant as the daughter who is trying to cope, but sometimes is about to break down at what she sees.  The other actors too are among England’s finest including Rufus Sewell, Mark Gatiss and Olivia Williams. The film gives us a realistic conclusion of Anthony’s decaying mind, thankfully without being sensational. It has a deep emotional impact in its short hour and 37 minute running time.

Zola

Zola                        4 stars

Back in 2015 there was a tweet thread that went viral on the internet written by a stripper named Zola giving a real time account of a wild ride of her and her “friend” through harrowing experiences in Florida. The thread created quite a sensation but for those of us not addicted to Twitter, the movie Zola by director Janicza Bravo is here to tell us of this ride through hell. The story follows the exploits of Zola (Taylor Paige), a young black stripper and Stefani (Riley Keough), the white girl she meets at a restaurant who insists they will be friends, and convinces Zola to take a trip to Tampa, Florida to make some money performing at a strip club. (If the premise turns you off, you should probably pass on this one.) The driver on this journey is X, Stefani’s “roommate” while Derrek, Stefani’s boyfriend is also along for the ride. The adventure is all fun and games for a while until things turn much more sinister for the two young women. Without going into detail it is up to Zola, the only sensible one in the bunch to protect Stefani from the chaos and major crimes. All the while, Zola is writing an account of the experience on her smart phone which of course goes viral. The movie is both a comedy and a cautionary drama/thriller about a situation getting out of control. If you liked Spring Breakers and Hustlers you will likely be entertained by Zola. Be forewarned that there are scenes involving strong language, sexual scenes and nudity, so the film is not for everyone. The performances by the two lead actresses are what really makes the movie entertaining.

Dream Horse

Dream Horse                     4 stars

Dream Horse is a very traditional British feel good comedy about a middle aged Welsh couple living in a poor village who take on the task of raising a thoroughbred race horse. Toni Collette stars as Jan who used to raise prize winning livestock, but now breaks out of her dull routine and buys a mare on a whim. Since she and her arthritic ridden husband Brian can’t afford this venture on their own, they form a syndicate with some of the townsfolk and the result is a promising young horse to be named Dream Alliance. What follows are all the cliches you would expect in an underdog horse racing movie: the struggle of the training, the exciting first race with the heart-pounding stretch run, the moments of doubt and tragedy and ultimate triumph. Of course it all works to perfection in the film based on a real life story from Wales. Collette can do no wrong in her role as Jan. (For a different kind of role for Toni Collette see the horror movie Hereditary.) Damian Lewis plays a sharp local accountant who joins the syndicate having previously put his family in peril with a gambling problem. The story was actually previously told in a documentary from a few years ago called Dark Horse. I missed that one, but this film was a pleasure to watch.

Werewolves Within

Werewolves Within                        3 ½ stars

For a smart blend of the comedy horror genre you won’t be disappointed by Werewolves Within from director Josh Ruben and writer Mishna Wolff. This is a whodunit much like Knives Out, except that the “who” might be an animal with razor sharp claws based on the condition of the victims. It all takes place in the tiny isolated town of Beaverfield in the Northeast that suffers a snowstorm, blocked roads and a power failure all at the same time. Add to that a mysterious murder of one of the residents and you have the terrifying situation the townsfolk are faced with. Among the trapped are two newcomers, Finn the forest ranger (played by Sam Richardson who many will remember as the nerdy but talkative Richard from Veep) and Cecily the postal employee (Milana Vayntrub, who everyone knows from the AT&T commercials). The other townsfolk are divided over the prospect of a gas pipeline being planned for the area that promises some economic development for the town. Much like the country they come down at opposite extremes over the plan. There is also a hermit living just outside the town who is suspicious of everyone and becomes a suspect after the murders start. The comedy really ensues when the locals all gather inside the town’s inn for safety and it becomes clear that one of them is the killer. Then the title really applies as the accusations start and they begin to kill off each other based on suspicion and conjecture. Much of the comedy is generated by the stereotypes that the characters embody. The final reveal and climatic ending almost doesn’t matter by the time we get to it. The real point has already been made. The last time I had more fun with a comedy horror movie was last year’s The Hunt followed by 2019’s The Dead Don’t Die.

Queen Bees

Queen Bees                       2 ½ stars

The newly released Queen Bees is a light likeable comedy for the older crowd staring Ellen Burstyn (of Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore) as Helen, an older widow who finds herself temporarily forced into an upscale retirement community called Pine Grove where there is plenty of company and activities for the aging residents. Among the widows there is a group of women who rule the community called the Queen Bees or as they say in the movie, they “are like mean girls with medical alert bracelets”. These “girls” are played by TV and movie legends Jane Curtin, Loretta Divine and Ann-Margret, quite a collection of talent. Helen is only here ”temporarily” and has to make the best of the situation, joining the ladies in the bridge club though things don’t go well at first. Any lightweight comedy has to have a love interest and this responsibility is filled by Dan, played by James Caan (of Godfather and Misery fame) an older gentleman who has recently moved into Pine Grove as well. Since Helen and Dan share an interest in flowers it becomes obvious where this is headed. The movie plays like many romantic comedies with friendships formed, tense moments, misunderstandings, the occasional tragedy and the expected happy resolutions. The movie is completely predictable, but with such a fine collection of older actors it is hard to see how things could go badly. There is even a young man who plays Helen’s perfect grandson who shares her interest in quotes by writers and is always looking out for her. Queen Bees is very appropriate for the grandmother crowd or a family outing to the movies.

Will & Harper

Will & Harper     4 ½ stars

Last year at Sundance a most unusual documentary premiered that was about two old friends reconnecting after losing touch after a few years. As I had heard about Will & Harper at the festival, I decided to go see this much talked about film in a theater. Here, one friends is “one of the greatest actors in the world” and the other is a comedy writer who has transitioned into the woman she had long thought she should be. The actor is Will Ferrell of SNL fame, (who is not one of my favorite comedians) and the writer is Harper Steele, who Ferrell met in 1995 during his first week on SNL and the two became close friends. Later, the two of them then worked together on multiple projects after leaving SNL. Upon being informed in an email of his friend’s decision and her new name, Ferrell suggested that the two of them take a road trip across America to some of her favorite spots and document it all by filming the whole trip, to which Steele agreed. They visit many dives and biker bars with Harper in women’s clothing and actually encounter many sympathetic people along the way. She does get misgendered a few times but that is corrected without incident. We meet some of Harper’s family and colleagues on the trip who are very supportive of her decision. They take in an Indiana Pacers game in Indianapolis and of course Ferrell is recognized. They even get the attention of Indiana Governor, Eric Holcomb, who asks them for a photo op after being introduced. We later see that he and many other politicians are behind anti-trans legislation enacted in many states throughout the country. Later, it is at a popular Texas steakhouse with Ferrell dressed up as Sherlock Holmes that they encounter real transphobia with many of those present posting insults about Steele on social media, making the scene uncomfortable for her. The real value of the film comes in the many quiet moments when this pair of friends engage in heartfelt conversation about what Harper went through in her life and how she came to the decision to transition. She shares how she knew something wasn’t quite right even as a child and on occasion had self-loathing thoughts. Sometimes, they even break down in tears in these scenes. You may wonder what the value is in making such a film. Is it just some publicity project for famous people? I think that it shows just what trans people go through in their lives and acknowledges them as real people defying how some deny their existence. I remember the movie being criticized in social media shortly after it appeared at Sundance. I can’t say that I understand the whole trans phenomenon, but certainly see the value in allowing their stories to be told. The movie is in theaters still and is available on Netflix.

I Carry You With Me

I Carry You with Me                        4 ½ stars

Established documentary film director Heidi Ewing (who I remember from her Oscar nominated documentary Jesus Camp) made her feature film debut with I Carry You with Me, a story that should not be missed. We get a unique treatment of two relevant issues in this movie about a young gay Mexican chef, Ivan (Armando Espitia) who meets and falls for Gerardo (Christian Vazquez), but faces a life of very limited opportunities in his home country; thus Ivan enters the U.S. illegally, finds his way to New York City where he finds life equally tough as an immigrant who speaks little English. The film is set in the nineties and shows the scorn gay men must endure in Mexico including from their own families. (Both Ivan and Gerardo are treated poorly as boys by their own fathers.) When Gerardo does finally join Ivan in New York, they must face the reality that their immigration status must prevent them from ever seeing their families again. The filming techniques used by Ewing with hand-held cameras gives us a very gritty feel of what life is like in these low income areas. The film is based on the real-life experiences of a renowned chef in New York, who is a restaurant owner, thus at about two-thirds of the way through, the movie transforms into documentary style as we follow Ivan (now about twenty years older) through his present day life that still includes Gerardo. It emphasizes how for these immigrants reaching the American dream includes a great deal of sacrifice that makes one question if it was all worth it. I Carry You with Me was featured at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival and received a Film Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best First Feature for Ewing earlier this year.