Category Archives: Crime

After the Hunt

After the Hunt                   2 stars

What can I say about Luca Guadagnino’s new drama After the Hunt? It has some of the most pretentious, condescending, full of themselves characters I can remember, but played by some of the greatest stars working in Hollywood today. We have two university professors of philosophy Alma (Julia Roberts) and Hank (Andrew Garfield) at Yale who are heavily involved in campus politics, being among the most elite in higher education. The movie has a theme of questioning cancel culture and wokeness and does it in a very heavy-handed way. The story focuses on Maggie, a PhD student (Ayo Edebiri of The Bear, Opus and Bottoms) who is a close admirer of these two professors and unfortunately gets a little too close to Hank and must decide whether to report his assaulting her to the administration but first must seek Alma’s advice. So, the characters get into questions about the MeToo movement and the impact of these accusations on their futures. Questions also arise about Maggie’s integrity as she is accused of plagiarism so there is plenty of bad behavior to go around. Alma’s husband (Michael Stuhlbarg), a therapist, is included with those with annoying behavior without being detestable other than his questioning Maggie’s motives. Before it’s all over there will be suffering and destroyed careers as a result of bad behavior. All the actors give excellent performances, but of very flawed people that one has no empathy for. I did not enjoy this movie. Guadagnino has made some good movies lately that include Queer, Challengers and Bones and All. Unfortunately, After the Hunt won’t be among them. It generally has not been getting good reviews. (Incidentally, if you like horror movies check out Suspiria by Guadagnino.)

One Battle After Another

One Battle After Another                             5 stars

It’s only October and I feel I may have seen one of the Best Picture nominees or even the Best Picture with Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another. Anderson, the master storyteller (remember Licorice Pizza, Phantom Thread and There Will Be Blood) has created a film that is part social commentary and part family saga. It tackles matters that are relevant to today’s social situations and has some exceptional heart pounding action sequences. The main story follows an ex-revolutionary figure named Pat or Bob (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his sixteen-year-old daughter, Willa (Chase Infiniti in her first movie role) as they try to escape an enemy from their past, a certain army colonel named Lockjaw (Sean Penn) who is trying to hunt them both down. But first we must learn what led to this situation through the first part of the movie. Bob and Perfidia (Teyana Taylor) are part of an anti-establishment revolutionary group called the French 75, a loosely organized group of freedom fighters who try to free detained undocumented aliens and cause general chaos through destructive actions. Perfidia is one of leaders of the group while Bob has skills with explosives. Their actions could fit in almost any time period, but here it seems to be the early 2000’s. They run afoul of Colonel Lockjaw, a hardnosed tough as nails army officer with a really bad haircut who literally has a hard-on for black chicks. He is also part of a secret Neo-Nazi white supremacist society (called the Christmas Adventurers Club) which creates a conflict when he meets Perfidia during one of the 75’s missions. Pat and Perfidia have a baby daughter, who they are raising together that is, until most of the gang gets rolled up after a bank heist, including Perfidia. She is convinced to reveal names by Lockjaw and is placed into witness protection only to flee into the wind. Sixteen years go by during which time the gang goes dormant and Bob must live off the grid while raising the baby, now named Willa on his own. Bob is no criminal mastermind and by now has become a stoner regularly getting high and drunk. Other than his skills with explosives, he is not good for much. But DiCaprio is very convincing as a father who has a real attachment to his daughter. Bob has a real problem when he is alerted through his underground contacts that the authorities are on to them and he and Willa will need to disappear. Fortunately for Bob, there are still a few members of the group around that can help keep him and Willa out of the hands of the government. They include Sensai Sergio St. Carlos (Benicio del Toro also of Inherent Vice) and Deandra (Regina Hall of The Hate U Give) who finds Willa and gets her out of harm’s way (at least for a while). The latter part of the movie is very intense as Bob and Willa try to stay one step ahead of Lockjaw’s soldiers who are closing in. The scenes are aided by a fast-moving original score by Johnny Greenwood. The audience will really be glued to the screen during two car chase scenes, with an outcome that is not expected. (Also, look for Alana Haim in a small role. Anderson featured her in his film, Licorice Pizza.) I fully expect One Battle After Another to earn several Academy Award nominations. It could be Paul Thomas Anderson’s best to date. Do not miss it.

Lizzie

Lizzie     4 stars

The psychological thriller Lizzie from 2018 is a retelling of the Borden family murders in Falls River, Massachusetts in 1892.  It was a personal project of Chloe Sevigny who served as producer and star and is made more relevant by the recent MeToo movement for women’s rights to be heard in cases of sexual abuse.  Sevigny has the title role with Kristen Stewart starring as Bridget, the hired maid for the rich family.  Lizzie’s oppressive situation is clearly outlined with her life being controlled by her domineering father Andrew (a lecherous Jamey Sheridan). The family also includes her step mother (Fiona Shaw) and her sister Emma.  Even though she is 32 years old she is not allowed to leave the house at night.  Lizzie strikes up a close kinship with Bridget (who is called the diminutive “Maggie” by Andrew Borden) especially when it is discovered that her father has been molesting her regularly. In this version their close relationship develops into more than being just friends.  The movie focuses little on the investigation of the murders and the trial and concerns itself mainly with the oppressive situation of the female characters and how they are trapped in their world and can see no escape from it.  Lizzie can’t even count on an inheritance as Andrew takes steps to ensure her life would be controlled by men even in the event of his death.  The way Sevigny plays the role and the way the scenes are shot gives the movie a closed in feeling.  Of course the gruesome scene of the actual murders is included so the audience has no doubt what happened even though the jury could not find a guilty verdict.  Lizzie brings new life to this classic American tragedy.

Caught Stealing

Caught Stealing                 4 ½ stars

Caught Stealing is the latest movie directed by Darren Aronofsky and it is one wild ride. I have seen all but one of his movies and have to say they vary greatly in style. Some of them have a surrealistic tone like Pi, The Fountainhead, Black Swan and mother!. Others are more down-to-earth dealing with the fragile nature of a character like The Wrestler and The Whale. Caught Stealing is neither of those, it being a more conventional story about a single individual finding himself in a tough situation. The movie is set in 1998 lower east side of New York City and has a very gritty feel to it. Hank (the very versatile Austin Butler) at twenty something was a promising prospect for major league baseball until he got into a car wreck, destroying his knee and killing his best friend. Now he is a bar tender working in a dive bar, but he worships the San Francisco Giants from his home state of California where his mother still lives. He is still constantly haunted by the accident that destroyed his career. Now things are going ok for Hank, and he often hooks up with his girlfriend Yvonne (Zöe Kravitz) who is an EMT. That is until his next-door neighbor, Russ, an English punk rocker takes off to England and leaves his pet cat, Bud for Hank to care for. The movie takes a sharp turn in tone at this point, becoming more of an action thriller. When a gang of Russian thugs finds Russ is not around they find Hank and give him a brutal beating putting him in the hospital because they think he is connected to Russ. Suddenly, Hank finds that he is the target of every local gangster in the neighborhood including not only the Russians, but Puerto Ricans and Hasidic Jews. At one point he goes to the police for help, finding Detective Roman (Academy Award winner Regina King in a very different role), but that doesn’t bring any help. With seemingly everyone against him, Hank must take matters into his own hands and find a way out of this mess that he never asked for. There are some unexpected twists that poor Hank must deal with in creative ways including using a device he is well acquainted with, a baseball bat. I don’t want to give anything away but will tell you to watch for the star cast that includes Matt Smith, Vincent D’Onofrio and Liev Schreiber. They are virtually unrecognizable so pay attention. There is even a role for Carol Kane (Between the Temples) that is a real treat. But the movie really belongs to Austin Butler who has distinguished himself in Elvis, The Bikeriders, Dune: Part Two as well as a small role in Eddington. He has shown he has the charisma and acting skills needed to put him in the higher echelons of Hollywood actors. Watch for him in his next project: Enemies, a crime drama.
 

Bad Education

Bad Education                   4 ½ stars

I heard some good things about the HBO TV movie Bad Education so decided to give it a try. I was not disappointed by the Hugh Jackman starring vehicle about a huge school embezzlement case in Long Island, New York based on actual events. The movie follows Frank Tassone (Jackman), superintendent of one of the nation’s wealthiest school systems and Pam Gluckin (Allison Janney), his second in command as they raise the Roslyn school system’s profile getting a record number of student acceptances to top colleges and ever increasing local property values. Unfortunately, things start to come apart when one enterprising student on the high school student newspaper starts looking at the spending of the school system at local businesses and non-existent companies at the same time that Gluckin’s idiot son gets caught charging home improvement supplies on a school credit card. What follows are coverups and the shifting of blame until the source of the lavish lifestyles of the two school administrators eventually becomes apparent. (Imagine an administrator with a collection of suits, a BMW who takes first class airline seats on trips to Europe!) The story is told as a comedy/drama with some funny moments that is aided by outstanding performances from Jackman and Janney as well as the young actors portraying the students. This TV movie has received widespread praise and a couple of Emmy nominations that is well deserved. I am glad that I took the time to see it and you should look for it too.

Honey Don’t

Honey Don’t                       3 ½ stars

Honey O’Donoghue is a female private detective solving cases in and around Bakersfield California where she mainly sees clients who need to know if their spouse or partner is cheating on them. The movie poster says “She only has two desires and one of them is justice”. It doesn’t take long before you figure out what the other one is. Margaret Qualley is Honey in Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke’s new film Honey Don’t. She is a rock-solid detective almost like that of a Raymond Chandler private eye who talks like one of those B movie film noir detectives out of the forties. Her one weakness is that she can’t turn down flirtatious women and often ends up in the sack with them. As the movie begins O’Donoghue becomes involved in a case of a fatal car accident in the desert where one of her potential clients has been found dead. A local police officer, Marty Metakawitch (Charlie Day) on the scene believes it to be a simple car accident, but O’Donoghue thinks there is more to it. A running gag in the film is Marty asking Honey to join him in a drink, but she says “I Like Girls” to which the clueless Marty says “You always say that.” It doesn’t take long until more murders are discovered, and O’Donoghue finds leads that indicate that a local church called the Four-Way Temple may be somehow involved. The church is led by the Reverend Drew Devlin (Chris Evans) who is a real douchebag who likes to engage his female parishioners in sex and has some side businesses going on too that sometimes require the elimination of certain problems. During her investigations Honey encounters MG Falcone (Aubrey Plaza), a female police officer who also happens to be gay and Honey does not miss the opportunity. (But don’t worry. The sex scenes are pretty tame.) Honey also has a sister who has a large brood of children which Honey is very protective of. All of the female characters seem to have one thing in common and that is having bad relationships with their fathers, especially true for Honey and her sister. When one of the sister’s girls (who was beaten by her idiot boyfriend) goes missing, O’Donoghue pays the boyfriend a visit in his trailer asking where she is. Not getting a good answer, Honey gives him what he deserves and let’s just say you had better not mess around with Honey. Like other Coen movies there is plenty of ironic violence and moronic villains to go around. The movie falls apart somewhat due to a plot that isn’t quite coherent. I felt there were some things being left out leaving it less than satisfying. But I will say that Margaret Qualley’s performance makes up for the film’s shortcomings. I would love to see her in a sequel. She has been in some great roles including those in Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood, Poor Things and The Substance. This movie by Coen and Cooke (who is Ethan Coen’s wife) is the second in a planned B-movie trilogy that are centered around lesbian characters. The first was last year’s Drive-Away Dolls that also starred Qualley as a girl on a road trip with her very uptight friend. (Along the way they encounter some very inept crooks and an all-lesbian soccer team.) It is one that I recommend. The third installment is still in the works. I have no idea what Coen and company have in mind yet, but I will certainly watch for it. Also, I am convinced that I have no need to visit Bakersfield, California.

Richard Jewell

Richard Jewell                   4 stars

The based on a true story film, Richard Jewell is a very professional telling of the wrongful treatment of the security guard that discovered the bomb that exploded in Centennial Park at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Jewell, played by Paul Walter Hauser was hailed as a hero for saving many lives for a few days, but then was identified as a suspect by the FBI and was vilified by the news media, all with no real evidence linking him to the crime. Hauser, very convincing as the slowwitted wanna be cop, previously played the bodyguard of Tanya Harding in I, Tanya, a similar role. Excellent performances are also given by Sam Rockwell as the private attorney representing Jewell who never gives up on his client, Kathy Bates as Jewell’s suffering mother (for which she received an Academy Award nomination) and Jon Hamm, the sleazy lead FBI investigator who would never admit he was wrong. The story is a well told cautionary tale about how a rush to judgment can ruin a person’s life and reputation all in the quest of scoring big headlines. Even now many people remember the sensational nature of the story instead of the final result that Jewell really was the hero at Centennial Park. The events happened well before the arrival of social media, but the warnings of misleading stories are even more relevant today with Twitter and Facebook. Even with all that, it’s impossible not to notice the political nature of a story that attacks the reputation of the FBI and the news media. The movie arrives 23 years after the event and 12 years after Richard Jewell’s death. So, why release it now when the current administration constantly tries to discredit the FBI and the news media? The agenda is unmistakable. Even so, the movie is well done and serves to clear the reputation of a good man.

The Batman

The Batman        4 stars

In 2022 we got yet another incarnation of the most depicted, depressed superhero in movies, TV or comic books. This time it is Matt Reeves (two iterations of The Planet of the Apes movies) giving us his version of the caped crusader, otherwise known as Batman. What can he do that Tim Burton, Christopher Nolan or Joel Schumacher haven’t already done? Apparently, it is creating the darkest and moodiest Batman yet to hit the big screen. This Batman (Robert Pattinson) has seemingly been suffering from PTSD ever since his parents were murdered some twenty years before. He regularly goes skulking around Gotham City looking for criminal gangs to beat up on and shows them no mercy. Bruce Wayne, the millionaire, does appear in a few scenes, as well as his butler, Alfred (Andy Serkis), but he is not the playboy type that has been seen in other Batman movies. He typically shares in Batman’s moodiness. The entire movie takes place at night, with much of it in the rain to add to the gloomy feel of it. There isn’t even a hint of comedy throughout the movie. In Reeves’ movie Batman isn’t just a crime fighter. He must also take on the role of detective when a series of high-profile murders are taking the lives of the most prominent men in the city including the mayor and the DA. At each crime scene a letter is left addressed to Batman with a puzzling riddle that he, together with Commissioner Gordon (Jeffrey Wright (probably the finest actor in the movie)) must find the answer to. Slowly it is revealed that a web of corruption has infected every level of the local government, and this hidden psychopath has made it his mission to clean things up while also believing he can get Batman to help in the endeavor. Each victim seems to have ties to a crime boss named Carmine Falcone (John Turturro), a real slimeball who operates an exclusive club and hangout for criminals in Gotham City. One other character figures prominently in the story. Selina Kyle (Zoë Kravitz in her most athletic role yet) is a showgirl at Falcone’s club and wants answers as to what happened to her missing friend there. She can help Batman in finding the truth but tends to go off on her own with a vengeance. (She also provides a home for several cats.) There are hints of a love interest as well. When the murdering psychopath (Paul Dano) is finally unmasked, it seems that he and Batman are like two sides of the same coin, each having a deep need to root out the corruption in the city, only the murderer doesn’t care who gets hurt in the process. The Batman combines elements of what we’ve seen in the comics and the more recent movies as well as traditional detective noir stories. It has plenty of action and story packed into its almost three-hour running time. And there is word of another The Batman movie in the works!

Argentina, 1985

Argentina, 1985                 4 ½ stars

I went back a few years to watch Argentina, 1985 which is being shown on Amazon Prime Video. The film was released in 2022 and was directed by Santiago Mitre who also directed The Summit. This is a dramatic representation of the civil trial that took place in Argentina in 1985 when the leaders of the former dictatorial government were put on trial by the new government for their crimes against humanity. During this dark period of history thousands of Argentinians were “disappeared” for their opposition to the regime. Some had committed crimes, while others were innocent, but all were systematically executed without due process. The federal prosecutor, Julio Strassera (Ricardo Darin) is reluctant to take the case hoping that the new government won’t charge the former regime. He knows that it will be very challenging as there are many people who are still loyal to the old military government, and it will be tough to find witnesses willing to testify. He would have to not only prove the crimes but also show that the leaders knew they were happening. He is aided by the young deputy, Luis Ocampo (Peter Lanzani) whose own mother still believes in the innocence of the military leaders. Together, they must recruit a team of young lawyers and students to do the research since none of the older lawyers will take on the job. Together this team finds the evidence and witnesses needed to hold the trial. They do this despite the threats of violence leveled against them through telephone, the mail and mysterious men in cars. Most of the film focuses on the trial itself showing the dramatic testimony given by the survivors. We already know the outcome going in since this is a historical event, but it is a testament to the courage of these men and their team in standing up to powerful men. It is more inspiring than even the Nuremburg trials. I only hope that others facing evil authoritarian governments can learn from the examples of these events. My only complaint is that the movie was only available with English dubbing and not in the original Spanish, which I think would have made it more powerful.

Woman of the Hour

Woman of the Hour        4 stars

Last year’s Woman of the Hour is a true crime thriller that is based on the time that an actual serial killer appeared on a TV game show, The Dating Game as a contestant. In 1978 Rodney Alcala had been murdering women for years by luring them to remote locations while posing as a photographer. He appeared on the game show as Bachelor Number 3 where he answered questions from female contestant Cheryl Bradshaw and was chosen by her to go on a date. The movie, directed by and starring Anna Kendrick introduces us to Cheryl (Academy Award nominee Kendrick) and Alcala (Daniel Zovatto) separately before the fateful episode of the iconic TV show. We see how Alcala uses his charm to convince the victims to accompany him before he kills each one. As the killer, Zovatto is alternately likeable and menacing in the role. Cheryl is a struggling actress having a difficult time finding roles when her agent lands her an appearance on a TV show, which happens to be The Dating Game. She is not very thrilled about the idea but goes along with the idea as it will give her some exposure. So, she does the show where she is expected to look pretty and ask each of the three bachelors prearranged questions that will appeal to the audience. There is more to the movie though, as it is set in the 1970’s, a time defined by sexism. Cheryl must calmly endure sexist remarks from men about her appearance. She has to be overly polite with her male neighbor in conversations to make sure she doesn’t hurt his feelings. But when the big moment comes for her TV appearance, she decides she has had enough of pleasing men and asks her own challenging questions of the three bachelors that includes one dimwit and one sleazebag, causing them to squirm and upsetting the TV host (Tony Hale). Finally, when the two meet face to face, Cheryl has a conversation with Alcala and gets the sense that there is something not right about the guy which leads to the intense final confrontation between them. The way women are poorly treated is further exemplified by a scene when one woman recognizes Alcala as a suspect in a murder and is routinely dismissed by the police and other men. The movie is more than a true crime story as it paints a picture of the seventies showing how women are objectified in this man’s world. This was a challenging subject for Kendrick to choose for her first effort at directing. Let’s hope to see more projects from her.