Category Archives: Drama

The Creator

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The Creator        1 star

There has been a lot of talk in the news about AI lately including that it may be a threat to the very existence of humanity. So, it is appropriate that I saw the 2023 movie The Creator by director Gareth Edwards (Rogue One). I don’t recall there being much promotion of it before it came out. The movie stars John David Washington (BlacKKKlansman) as Joshua, a retired soldier of the war against AI. In the opening sequence we learn that AI served people well as robot servants, then as police and soldiers, until a war started against humans. The US then banned AI, but the country of New Asia embraced it, developing it further. The US has a super weapon called NOMAD, a sort of space station armed with missiles that can be easily seen in the sky but cannot be attacked and can destroy any target. US intelligence discovered that the New Asian AI creator, Nirmata has created a new AI weapon called Alpha One that will be able to destroy NOMAD and thus win the war against humans. Joshua is called back into service as he is the only one familiar with the New Asia base where Nirmata is believed to be located. Now, the AI robots or “simulants” look and behave exactly like humans except for the hardware around their necks and head. (That is except for the police who are just human shaped hardware.) The Creator follows a cinematic tradition of AI beings that threaten mankind from films like Terminator and 2001: A Space Odyssey. What makes this movie different, and problematic is that the AI robots think and act just like humans to the point that many humans see them as people. This point is exemplified by the robot that Joshua finds that turns out to be the weapon, Alpha One. The robot looks like a small female child, to the point that it seems adorable and has no idea that it is a super weapon. Instead of destroying the child, Joshua abandons his mission and protects the child, who he calls Alphie, hoping it can lead him to his wife, who was believed to have been killed in the war but now is reported to be alive. All this is the setup for the action that ensues, consisting of the many violent combat scenes of the war between the Army and the New Asian military and their AI robots, all in Asian settings giving the movie a Vietnam War feel. The portrayal of robots as so humanlike went too far in my opinion, with them being thought of as alive. Whatever they may look like, they are still machines designed by people. The depiction of the weapon, NOMAD, was another problem. If a nation had the technology to create such a destructive device, why wouldn’t they make more of them? The movie seems to have borrowed elements from other science fiction movies like the Death Star in Star Wars, the dark sets of Blade Runner and the tentacled robot in The Matrix. Finally, it makes the US the bad guys who are trying to kill off the AI beings who just want to live. (This is illustrated in a scene when Alphie is asked what she wants and she simply says, “to be free”.) One would think that a war with AI would involve hacking through the internet, but no. There is no mention of the internet or computer servers. AI seems to exist only in the form of robots. The Creator does not help in our dilemma of what to do about the ever-expanding AI in today’s world.

Bad Times at the El Royale

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Bad Times at the El Royale           4 ½ stars

From the man who wrote The Martian and World War Z comes one of the most fun movies I have seen in a while.  Bad Times at the El Royale brings seven strangers together at a rundown hotel on the border of California and Nevada for a fateful night when someone is bound to die.  This movie is full of surprises with several turns that makes you wonder what is coming next.  Plus it has one amazing cast bringing together the talents of Jeff Bridges, Jon Hamm, Chris Hemsworth, Dakota Johnson and a relative newcomer Cynthia Erivo.  It starts with the near simultaneous arrival of four guests at the previously mentioned El Royale hotel, a place that was once a great attraction for celebrities and stars but is now rundown and has lost its appeal.  But there is something very sinister about the place, something that our guests will discover very soon.  The story is told in a nonlinear fashion as it slowly reveals secrets of each of our unfortunate characters until the shocking scene that will determine everyone’s fate.  The best scenes have to be those shared by Bridges and Erivo as they go from acquaintances to enemies to trusted allies.  This is one movie lovers need to see and I am surprised to see it hasn’t gotten more attention.  I hope we will hear more from writer director Drew Goddard in the future.

The Old Man & the Gun

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The Old Man & the Gun                 4 ½ stars

There is yet another fine movie showing in the theaters now. That is The Old Man & the Gun featuring two long time legends of Hollywood, Robert Redford and Sissy Spacek.  It is a movie driven by the two main characters that really doesn’t have a lot going on.  It is based on the true story of Forrest Tucker, a convict who in the early eighties escaped from prison and carried out a string of bank robberies at age seventy that confounded the police.  What really drives the movie is Redford’s charm and his smile.  The most enjoyable parts are when he is talking with or charming Jewel (Spacek) while she thoroughly enjoys his company while believing little of what he tells her about himself.  Casey Affleck contributes to rounding out the film as he portrays the Texas lawman trying to track down Tucker and his Over the Hill gang as the crime spree spreads from one state after another.  Redford has said that this is his last picture as an actor.  I don’t know if that is true, but The Old Man & the Gun is a brilliant send off in any case.

Mid90s

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Mid90s                 3 ½ stars

Mid90s is the first writing and directing effort by actor Jonah Hill who is known for early comic roles like Superbad, and then later more serious movies like Moneyball.  Mid90s is about a young 13 year old boy, Stevie (played by Sunny Suljik) who lives with his single mother and older brother Ian (Lucas Hedges).  Stevie is often abused by brother Ian and doesn’t have any friends so he is naturally drawn to a group of older boys who hang out at a local sporting goods store and spend their time skate boarding at a popular skate board park.  These older boys (Ray, Rueben, Fuckshit and Fourth Grade) give little Stevie the attention he wants and introduce him to cigarettes, booze and girls.  Though they are not really great model influences, Stevie gets a real connection with them.  There is nothing particularly ground breaking or especially original about Hill’s film and it is very short at less than one and a half hours; however, most of it seems real as the characters appear like real people.  The ending felt a little predictable, but if this movie is any indication we can expect some interesting projects coming from Jonah Hill in the future.

Killers of the Flower Moon

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Killers of the Flower Moon           5 stars

In the year when the movie Oppenheimer was making headlines as an epic masterpiece telling an important piece of American history, there was another equally epic movie that told of a long forgotten, shameful part of our history. Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon tackles the subject of Davd Grann’s true crime book of the same name, bringing this tale of greed and genocide and the ensuing federal investigation to the big screen. The subject of the film is the mysterious deaths that plagued the Osage Indians in 1920’s Oklahoma after the tribe became wealthy following the discovery of oil on their land. Their good fortune attracted the attention of whites moving to the area and what followed can be described as a systematic murder of these beautiful people. Only, Scorsese tells this story on a personal level. Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio in what may be his best performance) returns from World War I and needs to find work. Ernest is none too bright and loves money and whiskey. He is prone to being manipulated, which is an attractive trait to Ernest’s uncle, William Hale (Robert De Niro). Hale sees himself as a friend to the Osage people, calling himself King. He sees an opportunity and encourages Ernest to become acquainted with a young Osage woman, Mollie (Lily Gladstone). If they get married, then Ernest will become heir to Molly’s oil money should something happen to her. The two do get married and have children. Similar schemes are carried out throughout the region that include many mysterious deaths of the Osage people. Some of the deaths involve Hale and Ernest revealing the strange thing about Ernest’s character. Simultaneously, he loves his wife but also helps to carry out the murders of her family. Somehow, he is able to justify this in his mind or maybe it is just the control that his uncle holds over him. Whatever it is DiCaprio portrays the character’s confusion brilliantly. But the film really belongs to Gladstone as she makes the audience feel the pain she is going through with each death in her family and her growing mistrust of her husband. Her subtle expressions convey her feelings with a simple look or glance at Ernest. She certainly deserved the Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. The latter part of the movie covers the investigation of the murders, also a subject of the book. After seeing the film, one wonders how this scheme could have gone on for so long. It is a real American tragedy that should not be forgotten. I should note that in Scorsese fashion this movie is nearly three and a half hours long, but I felt that I never lost interest in it.

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.

The Girl in the Spider’s Web

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The Girl in the Spider’s Web                        2 ½ stars

The Girl in the Spider’s Web is the new reboot of the “Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” series of movies that first came from Sweden , then remade in the US.  It is the first based on a novel not written by author Stieg Larsson nor was it directed by David Fincher.  This movie continues the story of Lisbeth Salander (Claire Foy), a brilliant cyber tech hacker and vigilante against men who hurt women.  The journalist she teamed up with before, Mikael Blomkvist is still here but has a much smaller role in this film, so the chemistry between the two has completely vanished this time around.  Also missing is the personal nature of the conflicts that are so unique to the earlier films.  Instead Salander has almost become a female James Bond who is seeking to protect the world from a nuclear threat posed by a sinister international terrorist organization called the Spiders.  There is plenty of action as Lisbeth makes many daring escapes and rescues the targets of these terrorists.  There is also a certain amount of intrigue as the intensions of many players are only slowly revealed, a trademark of any good international thriller.  The use of technological gadgetry leads to some amazing scenes that sometimes stretches the limits of believability.  I found that to be somewhat distracting at times.  Also, I found that there were a little too many references to the name Spider.  About the sixth time that a spider crawls out of a hole or crevice I wanted to scream “OK. I get it already. It’s about spiders!”  Hopefully, this will be the last of the Dragon Tattoo series.  This story has been pretty well spent.

Io Capitano

Io Capitano         5 stars

In Matteo Garrone’s Io Capitano we follow the journey of two teenage boys from their home in Dakar, Senegal across Africa to Tripoli and then across the Mediterranean Sea to Italy as they follow their dream for a better life. After earning what they think is a lot of money, Seydou and his cousin Moussa leave their mothers without telling them and despite all the warnings of how dangerous this journey is. Along the way through Africa they are taken advantage of by anyone who senses they have money, including a passport forger; they ride in the back of a pickup truck with up to twenty men across the Sahara Desert and when one man falls out the driver will not stop, leaving him to die in the desert, they are robbed by the police in Libya and sent to prison where they are tortured so that they will call home for more money. And they are finally put on a boat crammed full of refugees where Seydou is forced to be the one piloting the boat without any experience. Fortunately, along the way they do encounter some kind souls that help them out. Besides this being Seydou’s story, it is also the story of so many refugees who risk death and deplorable conditions to make it to Europe for the promise of a better life. The movie is remarkable in two ways. It shows the immensity of the landscape these people are facing making you wonder how bad things must be for them to attempt such a punishing trip. And it displays the acting skills of young Seydou Sarr as Seydou who genuinely displays the emotions of joy and terror and back again as his character endures unimaginable cruelty at the hands of those who only see these unfortunate people as a way of profit. The movie received an Academy Award Nomination for Best International Feature in 2024 and must have been in contention to win. After seeing this movie, you will not think of boat people the same way.

Defending Your Life

Defending Your Life         4 ½ stars

I recently took in Defending Your Life, the 1991 Albert Brooks movie about an advertising exec who is killed in an auto accident and ends up in an afterlife where the new arrivals must face a sort of trial and defend how they lived their life. Brooks is quite the master at writing material that is bitingly funny, taking aim at the selfish nature of people. Unfortunately, of the seven movies that Brooks has written and/or directed, I can’t recall seeing any of them before; (though I do remember seeing the shorts he created for Saturday Night Live in the seventies.) In Life, Daniel finds that instead of going to heaven he is in an existence between lives in Judgment City, a place he shares with many other recently departed souls. The place is nothing like how the afterlife is depicted in many other movies with clouds and angels with wings, but instead resembles corporate America with spotless hotels, restaurants and trams to carry the inhabitants to various destinations. The staff is polite and makes sure that the arrivals are comfortable. In Judgment City the subjects are assigned a defense attorney and a prosecutor and face a trial where their lives are reviewed and a judgment is rendered based on whether they have done enough to face their fear during their lives and thus either advance to the next level of existence or be returned to Earth where they will live another life. In the more advanced levels people learn to use an ever-increasing portion of their brain. Daniel is assigned to Bob Diamond (Rip Torn) for his defense and to Lena (Lee Grant) as his prosecutor and must view segments of his life showing what he did in certain stressful situations. Both sides argue their case in front of the judges. During his stay, Daniel meets a young, sweet woman, Julia (Meryl Streep) who is also facing trial and quickly forms a bond with her. (It does seem odd to Daniel that Julia has scored a much nicer hotel than he did.) Thus, besides being an imaginative take on the afterlife, the movie is a romantic comedy as well. Albert Brooks has created a movie that is low key, very funny and conveys a good message about how people live their lives and try to meet expectations. And even better, it has a happy ending that will make everyone feel good about it. Apparently, Defending Your Life is much less harsh than Brooks’ other movies, especially Lost in America. But I haven’t seen them so have to take the critics word for it. I do know that you can’t go wrong with this movie, so I highly recommend it.