Category Archives: 2021

The Eyes of Tammy Faye

The Eyes of Tammy Faye               3 ½ stars

It’s back to the seventies and eighties to the time of big hair, polyester pants and expensive furs with The Eyes of Tammy Faye. To say that Jessica Chastain stars as the iconic fallen Tammy Faye doesn’t bring justice to her performance. The actress known for her strong woman roles in Zero Dark Thirty, Miss Sloane and Molly’s Game transforms herself into the cheery, high-pitched, almost comic wife of the high powered TV evangelist, Jim Bakker as we follow her life from the sixties where the pair meet in college, to their creation of the massive PTL Network and to their ultimate downfall. Andrew Garfield takes on the role of Bakker, matching the enthusiastic personality of the televangelist, bringing his message of God’s love and prosperity to the faithful. To those of us who remember that time it is fascinating to see their origin, their rise to power and their ultimate fall as the couple’s marriage crumbles under the weight of unfaithfulness and greed. The film was a personal project of Chastain’s who has been working to bring the story to the big screen for years. While much of the movie might seem like a cliché, Chastain’s performance may be one of the best of her career. It is such a departure from her earlier roles that I had to check if it was really her when she first appears on screen. The movie serves as a reminder of how success can lead people astray, causing them to forget their true mission and pursue fame and riches instead. The Eyes of Tammy Faye brought back memories of the headlines of the late eighties of the corruption and extravagance of the PTL Network that ultimately lead to bankruptcy and prison for Jim Bakker. And who could forget the excessive eye makeup and tears on Tammy Faye’s face?

Dear Evan Hansen

Dear Evan Hansen           3 ½ stars

Welcome to the world of teen anxiety, depression and suicide attempts. This is the theme of the film adaptation of the Broadway musical Dear Evan Hansen which won multiple Tony awards a few years ago. There is much to like here if you can accept the premise of characters breaking into song to express their dilemmas. All of the actors give convincing performances even if lead actor Ben Platt at 28 is far too old to reprise his role as the teen with social anxiety, Evan Hansen. They include Julianne Moore as Evan’s mother, Kaitlyn Dever of Booksmart as Zoe, the sister of suicide victim Connor, Amy Adams as Connor and Zoe’s mother, Danny Pino of Law and Order: Special Victims Unit as their step-father and Amandla Stenberg as the overachieving classmate Alana. The movie deals with the touchy subject of teen suicide with a story of Hansen pretending to be a friend of Connor after he is told of his suicide by Connor’s mother. It seems a letter that Hansen wrote to himself as a therapy assignment was found on Connor’s body, so it was assumed that Connor was the writer. It is then that Evan goes along with the misunderstanding and constructs a lie making him a friend of the troubled teen before his death. The spreading of the lie seems beneficial at first with a fundraiser being started as a way to remember Connor, but things ultimately get worse for all involved. I believe I liked it more than most critics, but it is certainly not one of my favorite musicals. Maybe making a musical about teen depression and suicide is asking too much.

Venom: Let There Be Carnage

Venom: Let There Be Carnage    4 stars

I went to see Venom: Let There Be Carnage without having seen the original Venom, thus not knowing what to expect. This movie out of the Marvel universe can be described as a buddy B-movie with plenty of humor about a codependent relationship between a man and his alien symbiote. The premise had been set up in the original with failed journalist, Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) having formed a bond with a bodyless alien intelligent being called Venom. Venom helps Eddie out with his writing, crime solving career and in return Venom, gets to eat the heads of bad guys. The charm of the movie comes with the comic banter between the two with Venom using an inner voice in conversations with Eddie. And there is a tremendous amount of energy involved in Venom’s antics with his tentacles in the small apartment they share with a pair of chickens. The relatively short movie (for a Marvel movie) does have something of a plot involving a serial killer on death row named Cletus (a fiendish Woody Harrelson) who grants an interview to Eddie with dire consequences. It takes about half the movie before the real villain appears in the form of another alien symbiote who calls himself Carnage and the inevitable battle ensues. (Just the name of this movie gives you a good clue about the level of violence you are about to see.) Director Andy Serkis uses Hardy’s acting skills well in the funny codependent conversations in which Hardy voices both Eddie and Venom. I occasionally like to try out a good B-movie and this one was just the ticket.

Mass

Mass                     4 ½ stars

I had the chance to see a 2021 Sundance release in the form of Mass which has just been released in theaters. This is a heavy drama written and directed by Fran Kranz in his debut effort. I remember Kranz from his character on Doll House, the TV series, but he has had several other more significant roles since. The film mostly takes place in a single room in a small town church where two middle aged couples are to meet here for a purpose to be revealed. Before the meeting we see some of the arrangements being coordinated by a pastor’s wife and a woman counsellor. After the four arrive some cordial comments and small talk are made between them. Jay and Gail are portrayed by Jason Isaacs of Star Trek: Discovery and The Death of Stalin and Martha Plimpton of Raising Hope, while Richard and Linda are portrayed by Reed Birney from House of Cards (but I know him from Strawberry Mansion) and Ann Dowd who I remember from many films, but she may be best known for The Handmaid’s Tale. Finally the purpose becomes clear when we find their common experience is losing their children in a horrific school shooting that happened several years before. What follows in an intense outpouring of raw emotion, sorrow and rage as the characters relive the tragedy and the aftermath and seek some kind of explanation for what happened to their children. Not many movies try to tackle this weighty subject, but the performances given here are top notch and completely believable. The film doesn’t try to present an opinion on the subject except to show the level of pain that the loved ones experience in such a tragic event that has become all too common in America. I understand that Kranz has been working on the film for many years and I am glad that he finally succeeded in completing this much needed project.

Last Night in Soho

Last Night in Soho            4 stars

In Edgar Wright’s latest thriller drama horror Last Night in Soho, we first meet Ellie (Thomasin McKenzie of Jojo Rabbit and Leave No Trace) in an old house where her bedroom is decorated in old movie posters of Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Sweet Charity and other relics of the sixties. She dances to sixties pop tunes played on a turntable in an elaborate dress made of newspapers. But Ellie really lives in the present in rural Cornwall, England and is fascinated by everything about the sixties and dreams of becoming an accomplished fashion designer. Then Ellie gets her big chance when she is accepted to a famous fashion school in London.  The young girl doesn’t exactly fit in with her streetwise classmates and soon moves off campus, renting a room above a bar where landlady, Miss Collins (the exquisite Diana Rigg in her final performance before passing away last year) says she needs to pay two months rent upfront and no male guests are allowed after 8:00. It is then that things take a mysterious turn when Ellie goes to sleep and the room becomes a sort of teleportal device sending Ellie to a hopping neon light covered 1965 London with all the flashy fashions and pop songs of the sixties. The mood of the movie shifts as the themes become darker and more sinister. Ellie becomes connected to a girl called Sandie (Anya Taylor-Joy of The Witch and Emma) who may or may not actually exist. Unlike Ellie, Sandie faces the world with total confidence and owns the room she enters. She perfectly nails a rendition of Petula Clark’s 1965 hit Downtown. The movie embodies the look and feel of the decadent time period of the sixties and has some fine performances including Matt Smith’s Jack, a sort of sixties pimp who operates the acts at a London gentlemen’s club.  Eventually, though the movie devolves into full blown horror thriller mayhem when it gets to an over the top ending. I admit that I did not see the ending coming, so I won’t say more about it. If you are in the mood for a good thriller horror film, Last Night in Soho hits the spot.

The French Dispatch

The French Dispatch       4 stars

Fans of Wes Anderson will instantly recognize the director’s style in this latest anthology and tribute to The New Yorker magazine in The French Dispatch. It’s a collection of stories that are presented as belonging to the final issue of a fictional magazine called The French Dispatch. Each of the writers present their stories, all set in a French village called Ennui, that all seem surreal yet plausible at the same time. The movie has the same style we remember from Isle of Dogs, The Grand Budapest Hotel and Moonrise Kingdom: the fascinating sets, the quick editing, the dry narration and a collection of well known actors. In fact this time we get a real overload of them including Bill Murray, Francis McDormand, Timothee Chalamet, Owen Wilson, Edward Norton, Benecio del Toro and Adrian Brody just to name a few. Anderson is said to have a fascination with The New Yorker so many of his characters are meant to be representations of various writers, art critics and the like, which means little to me. I just enjoyed the movie and the way that he tells the stories. I won’t go into any detail about the individual stories except to say that my favorite was the one about the man in prison for a double murder who attracts the attention of the art world with his abstract nude paintings of one of the prison’s guards. I have seen most but not all of Wes Anderson’s movies, so now I may have to look up the ones that I missed. His movies aren’t for everyone, but those who are fans of his previous movies will undoubtedly love The French Dispatch.

Spencer

Spencer               4 ½ stars

Pablo Larrain’s Spencer is a biopic of a different sort, one that sets the mood early with a view of a pristine kitchen with a sign that says “They Can Hear You”. The discordant jazz score tells us that this is a story filled with tension and distress. We are viewing the Christmas holiday with the British Royal Family, around 1991 and the primary focus is on Princess Diana (Kristen Stewart in her best role to date). She has been married to Prince Charles for ten years and it is clear this is not the picture of happiness. Throughout the movie the camera is always on Diana and we only get a periphery view of the rest of the royals. Diana interacts more with the staff of the palace including Major Alistar Gregory (Timothy Spall), Maggie, her dresser (the great Sally Hawkins) and the chief cook (Sean Harris) and the police assigned to guard the palace. The set schedule and assigned wardrobe for each occasion brings out how for Diana this is a prison where she has little freedom. Although it is never spoken we know that there is another woman in the picture. There is no character representing Camilla Parker Bowles and we never hear her name, but it is clear there is something unwelcome going on. In this fictionalized drama, Diana is haunted by ghosts of Britain’s and her family’s past. Her own family estate lies vacant and boarded up, but the memories still occupy her. The one bright spot in her life are her two sons, William and Harry. When we see her with them her entire mood and that of the film becomes bright and warm. The music and cinematography contribute to the feeling of the movie but it is really Stewart’s performance that make this a great movie. I don’t think it is too early to say that Kristen Stewart is the one to beat for the Best Actress Academy Award. (Of course, I am waiting to see Lady Gaga in The House of Gucci.)

Belfast

Belfast  5 stars

Kenneth Branagh’s much anticipated film about growing up on the streets of Belfast in the late sixties is quite the drama told through the eyes of a nine year old boy. Based in part on his own experiences, we meet Buddy, the younger son of a working class family who is mainly interested in getting chocolate from the local store and hanging out with his grandpa. But then reality sets in when the violence erupts with riots and Molotov cocktails on the street of his family’s home. It’s the time of the ethno-nationalist, religious struggles between the Protestants and the Catholic minority that claimed so many lives and forced many Irish to leave their homes that they have known for generations. The main cast is excellent including the parents and especially Ma (Judy Dench) and Pa (Ciaran Hinds) who are all Protestant. The father (Jamie Dornan) is targeted by a local hothead, also Protestant who believes he is not doing his part to rid the community of the Catholics, (even though they have also lived here for generations). The film does little to explain the reasons for the conflict. That has been the focus of other earlier movies. It’s purpose is to show us the pain inflicted on ordinary people and why families chose to leave friends and relatives for a land where nobody knows them. It is all done in black and white and has plenty of nostalgia in the form of the music, movies and TV of the times including clips of John Wayne westerns and Star Trek. There is plenty of Oscar buzz around Belfast and I would have to say it will be a strong contender for the Best Picture Oscar already. The man who brought us Cinderella and Thor has given us one fine movie this year. I am already looking forward to his next work, Death on the Nile.

Encanto

Encanto                4 stars

The newest animated Disney movie, Encanto takes us to the mountains in Columbia where an extended family all live in a magical house in an isolated village. The main character is Mirabel, a young woman who sings around town and generally brightens everyone’s day. In this family every member is granted a special magic gift as they grow up. Mirabel’s sisters and cousins all found their gifts but when it was Mirabel’s turn she was told by the house that she had none, a burden that is hard to accept. She then takes on the mission to find out the family secret involving a hidden vision, a lost uncle and impending signs of doom in the small town. With plenty of whimsical songs, colorful scenes and amusing characters, the movie provides the expected Disney magic that is well suited to children. Some of the original songs were composed by Lin-Manuel Miranda, but they may not be as memorable as his best works. The film brings an encouraging message that our families are not perfect, but we can be willing to accept them for who they are and celebrate what they bring to our lives.

House of Gucci

House of Gucci                  4 stars

The movie to see this week is the true crime drama House of Gucci, Ridley Scott’s take on the treachery and backstabbing that went on in the family handbag business of Gucci from the seventies to the nineties. Much of the movie is about the squabbles and double crosses over the differences of opinion on how to run the family business. But the thing that really makes the movie is Lady Gaga’s performance as Patrizia Reggiani, the daughter of a middle-class business owner who married Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver) and then forces her own ideas of running the business on others with dire consequences for everyone involved. The story develops slowly but gets progressively more interesting with each move turning one family member against another. Al Pacino is his usual convincing self as Aldo Gucci, one of the two brothers that are the primary owners of Gucci. Jared Leto is unrecognizable as Paolo Gucci, the clueless cousin of Maurizio who falls victim to Patrizia’s schemes. I was not familiar with the story of the Gucci empire and you will probably be better off not knowing the background before seeing the movie. With every scene she is in, Lady Gaga proves that she deserves the title of movie star as she determines the mood of the film throughout. She proves that her performance in A Star is Born from four years ago was no fluke.