Category Archives: 2017

Mudbound

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Mudbound                         4 ½ stars

One of the most culturally relevant films of last year was Mudbound, written and directed by Dee Rees, takes of back to 1940’s Mississippi, where the Jim Crow laws are strictly enforced.  This story brings two families together, one white and one black as they each struggle against the odds to make a living farming in the Mississippi Delta, while dealing with the social norms of the time.  The McAllans (Jason Clarke and Carey Mulligan) just moved here after buying a farm they hope will fulfil their dreams.  The Jacksons are poor black tenants who work under them and are led by the father, strong and quiet Hap (Rob Morgan) and the mother, Florence (May J. Blige).  These families are of course very different, but must depend on each other to survive the realities of farm life.  At the same time the strong undercurrent of racism is always present and threatens to upend their world at any time.  Some of the most interesting moments are the scenes with younger brother Jamie McAllan and Hap’s son, Ronsel, both returned from World War II as war heroes as they share their stories of the war.  The title of the movie perfectly describes the conditions the families face as most of the farm scenes depict the dirty conditions these people face daily, there being no electricity or running water for these poor farmers.  Hollywood has seen plenty of movies portraying the deep roots of racism in the deep South, but Mudbound presents it in a dramatic fashion that keeps us interested throughout.  The movie is long at 2 hours and 15 minutes.  It was nominated for Academy Awards in Supporting Actress (Mary J. Blige), Cinematography and Adapted Screenplay.

First Reformed

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First Reformed                  4 stars

First Reformed has been described as a comeback for writer director Paul Schrader, who is known for writing Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and The Last Temptation of Christ.  He has not produced any real notable films of late until First Reformed showed up earlier this year.  The film tells a dark story of Rev. Ernst Toller (Ethan Hawke), an ill, alcoholic pastor of a small declining, but historic church who is facing a crisis of faith.  Toller is asked to counsel a troubled young man by the man’s wife (Amanda Seyfried) who happens to be pregnant with their first child.  The husband is an active environmentalist and is very troubled by the amount of pollution that the planet is seeing.  He may even be teetering on the edge of self destruction. Things take a dramatic turn for the worse and Toller sinks ever deeper into depression and his drinking.  This is all going on at the same time that a 250th anniversary of the church is being planned for the church which is subsidized by a nearby megachurch led by Rev. Jeffers (the comedian Cedric Kyles, aka Cedric the Entertainer).  These events serve as devices that drive the film to a very startling and intense conclusion.  The film has a very stark and slow moving style that is unlike most films from Hollywood.  One can see that the director’s religious background has a lot to do with the message being told.  Be forewarned.  Some parts of the film are disturbing, but it is certainly worth seeing if only as a means of discussing one’s own faith.  First Reformed is also greatly aided by the strong performances of all of its main stars, especially Ethan Hawke.  This is likely one of his best performances to date.

2018 Oscar Nominated Short Films Live Action

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2018 Oscar Nominated Short Films Live Action       4 ½ stars

The Oscar Nominated Shorts, Live Action mainly deal with very serious subjects and have only a single comedy among them.  My favorite was “The Silent Child”, a film written by a deaf advocate who also acts in it, about a young deaf five-year-old girl who is neglected by her family who are too concerned with their own lives to learn sign language and to communicate with their daughter.  The social worker succeeds in drawing her out of her shell in spite of the oblivious family.  Another that I really liked was “Watu Wote”, from Germany, which concerns an actual event near the Kenya/Somalia border where a busload of poor travelers were attacked by Muslim extremists.  At great risk to themselves, the Muslim passengers protected the Christian passengers from being killed by the terrorists.  The film was terrifying and uplifting in how events transpire.  The Oscar Nominated Shorts may still be in theaters so you have a chance to see them.

2018 Oscar Nominated Short Films Animated

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2018 Oscar Nominated Short Films Animated         4 stars

The Oscar Nominated Shorts in Animation this year while good, seem to have a departure from most years as there is not the level of humor that we usually get.  My personal favorite is the entry from the UK, “Revolting Rhymes”, based on Roald Dahl’s adaptation of classic fairy tales into a story of crime and vengeance.  We find Red Riding Hood teaming up with Snow White to take on the evil queen, the big bad wolves and the greedy financier pigs (of The Three Pigs).  It’s narrated by the Big Bad Wolf himself and really keeps us guessing about where the story is headed.  Also interesting is a French entry called “Garden Party” a dialogue free scene of a bullet riddled mansion that is being taken over by local frogs and toads.  This one may not be suitable for young viewers!

Anna and the Apocalypse

Anna and the Apocalypse             3 ½ stars

Just in time for Christmas comes the Christmas musical comedy from England, Anna and the Apocalypse.  The movie starts out with us meeting Anna, a high school senior in England who is dealing with life choices following graduation and her father after the loss of her mother.  She also has her friends at school including John, Steph and Chris.  There is also her former boyfriend, Nick who is something of a jerk.  Since it is a musical some of the story is told by the main characters doing some excellently choreographed musical numbers.  And since it is Christmas time, there is the night of the school musical put on by many of the students.  All seems very conventional until about a half hour into the movie when the zombies come.  It seems a worldwide viral outbreak has occurred and most of the population has transformed into flesh eating zombies.  So it is now up to our small band of high school heroes to do hand to hand combat with the zombies and get Anna back with her father who is a janitor at the school.  All this is done to song and dance while they find inventive ways to kill off the zombies and keep from getting bitten.  Will they make it through the day and find Anna’s father?  The film is strictly for laughs and is fun to watch for its short hour and a half length.  Don’t compare this to such master zombie movies like Night of the Living Dead, 28 Days Later or The Girl with all the Gifts, but for a pleasant change and a break from holiday stress, it hits the spot.

Ferdinand

Ferdinand                           4 stars

One of the more engaging animated films of 2017 was Ferdinand brought to us by Blue Sky Studio and director Carlos Saldanha.  It is based on the children’s book about a sweet bull who is not interested in fighting but just wants to enjoy life and the people/animals around him.  His adventures take him to a peaceful farm in Spain, to a ranch where he “trains” to fight with the other bulls and finally to the fighting ring.  Through it all he keeps his peaceful nature as he deals with trying to keep his fellow bulls safe from the humans who seek to exploit them.  There is plenty to enjoy with the comical characters and the colorful animation.  Especially good are John Cena as Ferdinand and Kate McKinnon as the female “calming” goat, Lupe.  Though not on a level of Lion King or even Rio, this is a fun movie to watch and very suitable for children.

Darkest Hour

Darkest Hour                      4 ½ stars

I finally got to see Darkest Hour, the 2017 release about Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of England during World War II.  This film starring Gary Oldman follows Churchill through the first four weeks of his service in the office.  It is the time of greatest peril to the country, when the Nazi war machine was raging across Europe conquering one country after another.  Not long after assuming office the Germans invade Belgium and France and threaten to destroy most of Britain’s army as they are caught facing the coast at the English Channel.  Besides this threat, Churchill has to deal with opposing Parliament members who are scheming to cause his downfall.  Gary Oldman puts on an inspiring performance as he captures Churchill’s mannerisms and his style of speaking under some very convincing makeup.  We only get some glimpses of what is happening in Europe as the bombing of the British forces continues.  Most of the action centers on Churchill’s interactions with the King (Ben Mendelsohn), his wife Clemmie (Kristin Scott Thomas), a secretary (Lily James) and a collection of common people he encounters in public.  The scene stealing moments come when he delivers his greatest speeches though, including the memorable We Shall Never Surrender speech before parliament.  I am just sorry I waited so long to see it and that I missed the effect it would have in the theater.  The picture won two Oscars last year including Best Makeup and Best Actor for Oldman.

The Insult

The Insult            2 ½ stars

Critics and audiences alike seemed to like this courtroom drama set in Lebanon about a Lebanese man taking a Palestinian refugee to court over an incident in which the Lebanese man provoked an insult from the Palestinian.  The courtroom battle spills over into a giant media circus as the case gets nationwide attention and the population takes sides according to their political beliefs.  It was well acted and directed but I had a tough time relating to the story as the premise seemed somewhat farfetched to me.  Most people would settle such an incident privately.  And of course not being from the Middle East it is hard to relate to the cultural differences that would exist among the ethnic groups in Lebanon.  The Insult received an Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language film.

Icarus

Icarus                                                                    5 stars

Icarus is the award winning documentary by sports enthusiast and film maker Bryan Fogel about the folly of anti-doping efforts in international sports.  Like some of the best documentaries the film set out to do one thing then ended up going in a very different direction.  In this case Fogel sets as his objective the discrediting of the anti-doping efforts of WADA by enlisting the help of Grigory Rodchenkov, the director of the anti-doping center for Russia.  But what follows is the revealing of the astounding efforts that the Russians have gone through for years to cheat at international sports.  It is Rodchenkov who plays a pivotal role in the story as he leaves his life and family behind in Russia to become a whistleblower on the scale of Russian cheating and so becomes the central figure in Fogel’s film.  The film goes into detail about how the Russians went about their scheme at the Sochi Olympics by swapping out urine samples for hundreds of athletes before they could be tested.  It is remarkable how they were able to get away with this.  Finally, the truth was revealed before the Rio Olympics in 2016 and many Russian athletes were banned from the games.  It is also clear from the movie that Vladimir Putin played a role in this fraud which he has of course always denied.  Anyone who has a keen interest in competitive sports should be sure to see Icarus.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri             5 stars

I finally got around to seeing Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri a full year and a half after it was released and now that I have I can say that it is the movie that should have won Best Picture for 2017.  The movie stars Francis McDormand as Mildred Hayes who has lost patience with the local law enforcement’s failure to find any suspects in her daughter’s murder, to the point that she puts up a message on three billboard near her home to bring attention to the case.  This move is not appreciated by the local sheriff (Woody Harrelson) and his second in command racist deputy (Sam Rockwell).  All three lead performances are superb in this complex story about loss, anger and reconciliation as the characters rage against one another and eventually come to see one another’s points of view.  Not only is the story interesting, but the filmmaker, Martin McDonagh seems to have gotten the perfect blend of drama and humor.  The most impressive aspect of the movie to me was how each of the actors were able to display the pain and anguish that each was going through.  I only wish I would have seen this gem much earlier when it was getting so much attention.