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.

Judas and the Black Messiah

Judas and the Black Messiah                       5 stars

For many years I have heard the name Fred Hampton and the story of the Black Panthers but never really understood the importance of his name and what he stood for in late sixties Chicago. In Judas and the Black Messiah, Shaka King gives us his version of the story of the Black Panther Chicago chapter chairman and the FBI informant, Bill O’Neal and the ultimate murder of Hampton at the hands of the FBI and the Chicago police. Daniel Kaluuya (of Queen & Slim and Get Out) gives a career high star (and Oscar nominated) performance of Hampton with his speeches showing the rhetorical skills of the Black Panther leader and his vision of purpose of saving the downtrodden with the founding of the Rainbow Coalition. The events of the film take place only months after the Martin Luther King assassination and show that unlike King, Fred Hampton was not above seeking violence against the police. LaKeith Stanfield (of The Photograph and Sorry to Bother You) plays Bill O’Neal, who was only a teenager when the FBI picked him up impersonating an FBI agent and coerced him into joining the Black Panthers and becoming an informant on Hampton’s movements and actions. Stanfield, who also received an Oscar nomination for the film, brilliantly portrays O’Neal as the conflicted man who believes in the Panther cause while at the same time continuing with the FBI plan as he is forced by his FBI handler, Roy Mitchell (Jesse Plemons). The title describes the situation well as the Judas is torn by admiration and guilt while being completely helpless in freeing himself from his situation. The film gives us additional context by showing actual footage of the real O’Neal in his final 1989 interview telling of his action before he finally committed suicide. It is very illuminating that this film came out in the year following the George Floyd murder at the hands of police and the unrest that followed. It shows that some things have not really changed in fifty years. The film running time exceeds two hours and may be slow in sections, but I am very glad that it was made and that it is being seen by wide audiences.

Stillwater

Stillwater                             2 stars

Many of us remember the case of Amanda Knox, the young American woman who was held in an Italian prison for several years for the murder of her Italian roommate and was ultimately exonerated of the crime by an appeals court.  The movie Stillwater, written and directed by Tom McCarthy borrows heavily from that case, so much so that for a while I thought it really was about the case. Unfortunately, the movie only uses some elements of the Knox case, building instead a slow moving drama turned thriller about an Oklahoma father who travels to Marseilles, France to pursue a lead in the case against his daughter who has been serving a sentence for murder. The movie has outstanding performances by Matt Damon as the fish out of water American who looks more like Josh Brolin, Camille Cottin, the French mother who takes an interest in his predicament and offers her assistance, and Abigail Breslin as the imprisoned daughter. Eventually, the story takes an unlikely turn that stretches the viewer’s ability to believe the events on screen. I enjoy well written films about real life people that offer new insights into their circumstances and actions. And I enjoy thrillers that have original and unpredictable plots. This movie tries to be a blend of those two types of films and ultimately fails. I would understand how the real Amanda Knox would be very offended and frustrated by the release of this movie. Let’s hope that Tom McCarthy can return to movies like his previous successes Spotlight and The Station Agent.

The Six Triple Eight

The Six Triple Eight          2 ½ stars

The Six Triple Eight tells the important true story of the 6888th battalion, the only Women’s Army Corps unit of color to serve overseas in World War II. This group of women were tasked with sorting through 17 million pieces of mail that needed to be delivered both to the American troops serving in Europe and to their families back home. Others before them had tried and failed at this enormous task, leaving millions without word from their loved ones. Besides having to find ways of accomplishing this monumental job with less than adequate facilities, they had to endure countless episodes of racism and sexism heaped on them by white men in the army and in the press. Tyler Perry, the writer/director, tells the story in his dramatic fashion, but all too often makes his characters appear as stereotypes without enough development. He certainly has a talented cast to work with that includes Kerry Washington, Susan Sarandon, Oprah Winfrey, Sam Waterston and Ebony Obsidian (Sistas). Except for Kerry Washington (Scandal) as Major Charity Adams, the characters seem two dimensional or just there as cameos in the cases of Sarandon, Waterston and Winfrey. Washington portrays the strength and determination of Adams well as she yells commands to her troops and deals with individuals on a personal level, all the while having to stand up to the racism exhibited by white American officers. Having seen so many examples of racist behavior in movies portraying the fifties and earlier, these seemed very stereotypical and comical, such as black soldiers being called lazy and stupid over minor matters. Of course, one cannot miss the degrading of people of color brought about by segregation of the period, something made clear in the movie. It took far too long I thought to get to the point of the movie as first we had to go through the love story of one of the women soldiers played by Ebony Obsidian as Lena Derriecott, whose Jewish boyfriend is sent to Europe and is killed in battle early in his service. (I didn’t need to see him talking to her from beyond the grave.) Too much time passes before the importance of an air force pilot being killed in an early scene is finally revealed. We also must go through Lena’s relationship with a black soldier serving in Europe. More interesting to me were the scenes where the soldiers endure the hardships of their treatment and despite this, manage to find inventive ways to track down the identities of thousands of US servicemen when many of the pieces of mail seem to be indecipherable. And even though they are well behind enemy lines they must endure the threat of air attacks from the enemy. I have only seen a handful of Tyler Perry’s numerous projects (that doesn’t include a single Madea movie) and this one is too highly melodramatic as is his style, based on what I have seen. At the end of the movie, we are rewarded with actual footage of the army unit and its commander, Major Adams. The movie was released just in time to be eligible for the Academy Award nominations. We will see what materializes from it. The Six Triple Eight is available on Netflix.

Moana 2

Moana 2               3 ½ stars

It’s hard to believe that it has been eight years. That was when a young Polynesian woman, Moana went on an oceanic adventure across the Pacific with her demi-god friend, Maui on a mission to save her people in the hit animated Disney movie Moana. That was so long ago that Donald Trump was about to become President. Well, some things tend to repeat themselves. Now we find Moana (Hawaiian actress Auli’i Cravalho), having become a wayfinder is once more on a quest, this time to find signs of other island dwelling people and end her people’s isolation on the South Pacific Island of Matanui. Only, before leaving, Moana experiences a troubling vision telling her that long ago, a god like being called Nalo hid a secret island that had served to bring the island people together and that if things are not restored, it will mean the end of her people. For this journey she recruits a crew with her consisting of an elderly farmer, a sort of canoe design engineer, Loto and her large friend Moni who has a crush on Moana and likes to create images on canvases. After some preliminary adventures involving the coconut pirates, the Kakamora, the crew finds Maui (Dwayne Johnson) who is being held prisoner by a female god called Matangi (Awhimai Fraser). Once freed by Moana and the crew, they team up to accomplish the true mission, to find the lost island and set foot on it which will end the curse of Nalo. Before any of this can happen, we are treated to all sorts of action set to upbeat songs in the usual Disney fashion. Cravalho who plays Moana and is a Broadway actress really can belt out the songs, only the songs themselves are not quite so memorable. This movie does not use the song writing talents of Lin Manuel Miranda, like the original Moana did. While the characters are fun and amusing, the main villain seems to be the storm created by the evil god, who we don’t see much of. Much of the action centers on the characters saving one another from magic tornadoes and various creatures of the sea. Maui does his usual act of transforming into other creatures suited to each situation they encounter. The message here is that we benefit most by working together as a team. And naturally, the animation is top notch in the usual Disney fashion. I would not call it the best animated movie of the year, but you can’t miss by taking a young audience to see it. Judging by the box office, it is one of the major hits of the year.

Mulan

Mulan                4 stars

Disney gives its live treatment to another of their classic animated films in Mulan, with director Niko Caro of Whale Rider and The Zookeeper’s Wife, bringing us the story of Mulan, the young Chinese girl (played by Yifei Liu) who feels called to join the emperor’s army as a man to help fight off an invader determined to kill the emperor (a royal looking Jet Li). The story, based on a Chinese legend, is much the same as the 1998 animated movie but there are no musical numbers nor is there the small comical dragon, Mushu to provide comic relief. But we do get very colorful scenes showing Mulan’s village, the emperor’s palace and the natural expanse of China. There are plenty of action sequences featuring Mulan, the soldiers and the battles with the enemy and Bori Khan, the rebel leader (Jason Scott Lee). Khan is aided by a shape shifting sorceress (Gong Li) who can transform into an animal or impersonate another human with dire consequences. Since the movie is done with live actors it asks a lot of the viewer to believe that Mulan looks like a boy to the other characters, unlike the animated version. The strength of the movie is the story and the action sequences that are almost but not quite at the level of a Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. Liu’s acting also aids the personal moments of her character, though that is not the main focus of the movie. The violent battle scenes may make it not so suitable for very young viewers, but it is mostly bloodless battles that do leave quite a few casualties. Some of the soldiers of Mulan’s unit provide the comedic moments of the movie. I definitely liked the movie better than most of the audience reviewers seemed to. Some people must have wanted the musical animated version again. Mulan earned Academy Award nominations in Visual Effects and Costume Design. It was released during the height of the pandemic so it never got a theatrical release and could only be seen on streaming services. I recommend it for action fans and for fans of artistic movies.

Babygirl

Babygirl                4 stars

The newly released Babygirl starring Nicole Kidman (one of my favorite actresses) has to be one of the most sexually charged movies of the year. Written and directed by Dutch filmmaker, Halina Reijns (who previously brought us Bodies Bodies Bodies (where we enjoyed seeing Pete Davidson die!)), it features a May December relationship between Kidman’s Romy, the CEO of a major tech company and new intern, Samuel (Harris Dickinson), and raises the question of who controls who. Romy appears to have a happy home life with theater director husband Jacob (Antonio Banderas) and two teenage daughters, but we sense that something is missing when we see her watching porn. One day she spots a young man outside who is instantly able to calm down an aggressive dog. Then later she meets him in her office with a group of newly hired interns. He makes some rather odd and inappropriate comments which get Romy’s attention. Later, in a bar, he sends her a glass of milk which she immediately downs, suggesting that she is interested. This is only the beginning as the two secretly meet at Samuel’s urging, where he literally has her lapping milk from a saucer on the floor. Although very young, Samuel is an expert at manipulation through seemingly innocent comments and looks. You get the feeling that he has done this before. Romy objects to this arrangement and the way he treats her, only something makes us think that she doesn’t really mean it. Perhaps this is meeting the sexual satisfaction she is missing at home. The movie tackles the subject of sexual repression and puts a different spin on harassment in the workplace with the subordinate being the one who is exercising control over the boss. Kidman has led the way in portraying characters who have a certain vulnerability but lean toward the kinky. Remember Eyes Wide Shut and The Killing of a Sacred Deer! She displays a wide range of emotions from reluctance to confusion to anger to shame. The movie has a reasonable outcome to the whole situation without delving into stalker mode and only using a little violence. I was impressed but some movie goers might prefer the stalker route. The movie is bound to get some conversations going about control and consent and when do things go too far. Of course, the movie is another example of the wide acting talent of a great actress, Nicole Kidman.

Queer

Queer                   4 stars

It’s hard to adequately describe Daniel Craig’s new starring role in Queer, the new film by Italian director, Luca Guadagnino. It’s a journey of searching and suffering as the main character, Bill Lee (Craig) wanders the bars in 1950’s Mexico City looking for sex with social outcasts like himself and ways to hide his pain with tequila and heroin. The role is about as far away from James Bond as you can get. The film is based on a book by William S. Burroughs that is said to be somewhat autobiographical. Lee, who is in his forties spends his days seeking the company of other “queers”, while denying that he is one, until one day he spots a young twenty something man who captures his imagination. The man, named Eugene Allerton (Drew Starkey) is attractive and self-assured and is comfortable with men and women alike. It doesn’t take long for Lee to get Eugene in the sack, where the two get more than a little intimate. If you have seen Guadagnino’s earlier works, Call Me by Your Name, Suspiria and this year’s Challengers, this will come as no surprise. They all feature very intense sex scenes. Despite all the sex though, Eugene is still very distant when it comes to an actual relationship, leading to desperate measures by Lee. If the film stopped there, it wouldn’t be exceptional, but it goes on from there when Lee convinces Allerton to travel with him to South America in search of a hallucinogenic drug that he believes has telepathic powers. He can’t stop talking about it. What follows I describe as Indiana Jones appearing in 2001: A Space Odessey, only like it was directed by David Lynch. Things get very weird for these two as they journey through the jungle to find a woman scientist who is studying this drug. This segment I found to be surrealistic. It has images that are disturbing yet fascinating at the same time. The movie will keep you thinking about it after leaving the theater and will at least change your view of Daniel Craig. Look for him to get an Oscar nomination for the performance; that is, if the Academy can tolerate homosexual roles like this. In addition, two actors appearing in the movie are completely unrecognizable. I was surprised to see they were Jason Schwartzman and Lesley Manville. Manville especially gives an outstanding performance.

Jungle Cruise

Jungle Cruise      2 ½ stars

It’s back to the world of Disney once again, this time with Disney’s latest movie based on a Disney theme park ride. Jungle Cruise takes us on an adventure in the Brazilian jungle with Dwayne Johnson as a wisecracking scallywag named Frank who operates a river boat ride on the Amazon for rich tourists. Johnson is his usual charming self that we have grown so accustomed to in his roles. Like many Disney adventure movies there is a lot of background involving old legends and villains that this time brings a wealthy adventurous woman, Lily Houghton (a very self-assured Emily Blunt) and her brother, MacGregor (Jack Whitehall) from 1916 England to the Amazon in search of the petals of a legendary Tree of Life that is reputed to have mysterious healing powers. She of course hires Frank to take the pair deep into the jungle in search of famed flowers, but they are pursued by a reanimated 400 year old Spanish Conquistador? as well as an evil German Saxon Prince (Jesse Plemons) and his U-boat who are all interested in the same tree for their own reasons. This is all we need for two hours plus of action and conflicts between the various factions interspersed with Frank’s corny one-liners that will have you begging him to stop! There is danger to be had from vicious animals and fish and a primitive jungle tribe just like in the Disney ride. Then there is the ongoing joke of Frank referring to Lily as “Pants” since she insists on wearing trousers, something unheard of in 1916. The movie is reminiscent of Pirates of the Caribbean with an equal amount of action and supernatural beings that are always returning for more. By the time the movie was over I thought I had seen multiple endings as the villains seemed to have been dispatched several times. I am sure that the kids will love this one, but at times it got a bit tiresome. Expect the ending to leave you feeling that a sequel is in the works just like the Pirates of the Caribbean series.

The Piano Lesson

The Piano Lesson             4 stars

Denzel Washington acting in the role of film producer has helped bring us the third film adaptation of an August Wilson stage play. Previously, he brought the plays Fences and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom to the screen. This year it is the dramatic family drama The Piano Lesson, a story of conflict involving a decades old family heirloom, retribution over a crime and a ghost story. The conflict is between siblings Boy Willie (son of Denzel Washington, John David Washington reprising his stage role) and Berniece (Danielle Deadwyler of Till and I Saw the TV Glow). He has travelled from his home in Mississippi to 1936 Pittsburgh to try to convince Berniece to let him sell the family piano so he can buy farmland back home. She treasures the musical instrument, seeing it as a connection to family members who have passed on and will never allow it to be sold. The land that Boy Willie is after was owned by a white man whose family employed Boy Willie’s family as sharecroppers for generations. The man recently died when he fell into his well, so the land is now available. His death is part of a legendary ghost story we often hear of in the movie, referred to as the Ghosts of the Yellow Dog. Most of the movie takes place in a couple of rooms in the small house owned by Uncle Doaker (Samuel L. Jackson) where other family members and friends gather and fill in the story. These include Lyman (Ray Fisher), Wining Boy (Michael Potts) and aspiring reverend Avery (Corey Hawkins) (who shows up to court Berniece). Berniece’s young daughter, Maretha also inhabits the house. The various characters engage in friendly conversation, intense arguments and one very lively musical performance that serves to slowly reveal a dark story of the past going back to slavery times that continues to haunt this family. The movie demonstrates that the past never dies, and the memory of long dead family members lives on as symbolized by the piano that has depictions of the family carved into it. First time director Malcolm Washington, and son of Denzel Washington, faithfully reproduces the play, but has probably gone overboard with his inventive shots and embellishing the movie with too much focus on the supernatural. John David Washington is a talented actor, but he overdoes the intensity of his character, I thought. The most praise should be given to Deadwyler as Berniece who expresses the emotions she goes through with her words and her face. As usual she is completely convincing in this role of a suffering woman determined to protect the piano and keep her daughter safe. The Piano Lesson isn’t the best of the August Wilson adaptations, but it deserves to be seen. I will be looking forward to the next one that Denzel Washington brings to film.

A Real Pain

A Real Pain                          5 stars

I caught up with a truly memorable movie that was first shown at Sundance this year. A Real Pain is Jesse Eisenberg’s second time directing and he does a remarkable job of it. This is a sort of travel movie with two cousins who were very close when they were growing up but have since grown apart. David (Eisenberg) is the serious one who has a family in Brooklyn and takes life very seriously but is full of anxiety, even taking meds. His cousin, Benji, (Kieren Culkin of Succession) on the other hand is the polar opposite. You probably know someone like him. He is the guy who never really grew up. He lives in his mother’s basement. He has to be the life of the party, always oversharing, inquiring into the life of strangers, but quick to take offense at remarks he disagrees with. People often feel the need to apologize after seeing his reactions. But he is good for sharing his prize weed at the opportune moment. David loves him, sometimes trying to get him to tone it down and apologizing to others for his antics. The movie takes the form of a travel movie when David reserves a tour for the two of them who are both Jewish in Poland to see locations associated with the Holocaust. Their grandmother, who grew up in Poland and escaped the Holocaust has recently passed away, so David wants to honor her by visiting what was her home. Benji, who was very close to his grandmother, is excited at the idea and meets David at the airport for their flight, only in a rather irresponsible manner, by not taking any of David’s phone calls. Once they join the tour, Benji engages well with the guide and other travelers sometimes. (In one scene he encourages the group to pose in front of the Warsaw Uprising Monument.) At other times he gets overly emotional and critical of the poor guide, saying whatever comes to mind. You could say that he is a lot. (I should also mention that one of the tour guests is played by Jennifer Grey of Dirty Dancing fame.) Culkin really goes all in for the role and is a perfect fit for the character Eisenberg created. Later, we find there is a family history that helps explain the actions of both cousins. The film’s title is very appropriate both for the cousins’ relationship and for the historical tragedy faced by the Jewish people. After going through the painful experience of the trip we get the feeling that some healing has begun for these two.