Category Archives: Drama

Creed II

Creed II                 4 ½ stars

The sequel to 2015’s Creed continues the story of Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) after he has achieved his goal of heavy weight champion and has to defend the title against a challenging adversary.  Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) is back again at Creed’s side at the right time to help Creed through circumstances that have tied the two together.  Ivan Drago (Dolph Lungren) who Rocky defeated over thirty years earlier has returned to have his Russian boxing legend son, Victor challenge Creed to a fight.  Since it was Drago who killed Adonis father in the ring, Adonis cannot turn down the fight and it will be up to Rocky to get Creed to understand his desire to face this opponent and to get properly trained for this life changing event.  To further complicate things for Creed, he has married his girlfriend Bianca (Tessa Thompson returning in the role) and learned that he will soon be a father.  This movie brings much of the thrill of the earlier movie and combines it with the heartfelt moments when the fighter has to question what is really important in his life.  The choreography of the fight scenes combined with a sound track that combines the old Bill Conti songs with a modern rap style music will keep your attention on the action.  Much about the movie is meant to appeal to a black audience, but there is a solid about perseverance through life’s challenges that all viewers should love.  The director of the first Creed, Ryan Coogler stepped aside for this one in favor of new comer Steven Caple, Jr. whom I have not heard of before.  Judging by this effort he should have a long future ahead as a director.

The Teachers’ Lounge

The Teachers’ Lounge                    5 stars

Who would think that a middle school could be the setting of a top-rated mystery thriller? That is what we find in the Oscar nominated 2023 drama The Teachers’ Lounge by Turkish Director Ilker Çatak. Carla (Leonie Benesch of The Crown), a Polish immigrant is a new teacher in the German middle school and is full of ideals as she navigates instructing her sixth-grade students in math and physical education. She approaches the class with enthusiasm and is very encouraging toward the wide variety of students in her classroom. Then it is reported that a series of thefts have taken place including in the teachers’ lounge and it is suspected that one of Carla’s students is the thief. Carla finds it offensive when some teachers try to persuade the student leaders to rat out who they might suspect. When a Turkish immigrant student is accused, Carla is especially incensed being an immigrant herself. She takes matters into her own hands and in a lapse of judgment does something against school policy resulting in accusations against one of the school’s long-term staff members. Tempers flare and more people become involved pitting teachers against each other and bringing parents and students into the conflict. Carla’s own students turn against her, launching a smear campaign against her and staging a participatory strike in the classroom. Finally, one student decides to resort to violence. The pressure on Carla rises to such an extent that she and her class execute a primal scream together. The screeching violin score behind the film serves to further escalate the tension as things get more frenetic seemingly through the entire movie. You will be kept guessing about the outcome in this exciting thriller about institutional control and freedom of expression in a middle school. And you will never find it boring. The movie received numerous awards and nominations.

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.

Welcome to Marwen

Welcome to Marwen                     4 stars

Welcome to Marwen from director Robert Zemeckis employs some very imaginative techniques to tell the story of Mark Hogencamp (Steve Carell), an illustrator who lost his memory after being beaten by some local thugs.  Having lost his drawing talent Mark has created a fantasy world made up of miniatures dolls and models in an imaginary town in Brussels during World War II.  Mark has an alter ego named Hoagie represented by an American airman doll who frequently takes on Nazi soldiers aided by some very courageous women who make up the town’s population.  Each of the women figures represents a woman who plays a part in Mark’s life.  Mark lives alone outside of town and seems to be a broken man, but he manages to stay connected to people through his town called Marwen which he photographs creating intricate stories about his characters.  I found the movie quite engaging with the way it moves from the fantasy world to reality and how the events in Marwen are related to things going on in Mark’s real world.  The special effects are well done using stop action photography and animation to create some great action sequences.  The story is based on the actual true events of Mark Hogencamp who created this imaginary world and became famous through exhibitions of his photography.  I found the movie uplifting and entertaining which apparently most movie critics don’t see based on the mostly negative reviews it has been getting.  Robert Zemeckis has been making movies for ages and I am sure most viewers have seen some which includes Back to the Future, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Cast Away and Forrest Gump.  In my opinion he has another winner that more people should be seeing.

The Invite

The Invite            4 ½ stars

In The Invite, now in theaters we meet Joe (Seth Rogen of Dumb Money and Long Shot) and Angela (Olivia Wilde of Don’t Worry Darling and Meadowland), a married couple whose marriage is clearly headed for trouble. Joe has anger issues and is dissatisfied with his job as an associate professor at a music conservatory. Angela is a stay-at-home mom who takes care of their tween daughter and loves to decorate the house (apartment) tastefully. From the moment Joe arrives home one evening, the bickering starts and I was wondering what I am in for. Before long Angela reveals that she has invited the upstairs neighbors for an evening dinner and learns that Joe has forgotten to pick up some wine for the occasion. In fact, Joe can’t remember the evening plans at all and is in no mood to be entertaining guests, so the arguing continues. When the couple, Hawk (Edward Norton of A Complete Unknown and Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery) and Piña (Penélope Cruz (who is amazing in everything)) arrives it doesn’t take long before we see that Joe resents them over their noisy amorous activities at night while he and Angela are trying the sleep. We find out that Hawk used to be a firefighter while Piña is a “sexologist”. (The story also depends on the strategic placement of certain windows in the apartment that I find difficult to explain.) Also, it soon becomes apparent that this new couple has a certain agenda in mind for their hosts that will play out through the evening. The Invite, directed by Olivia Wilde (her third time out directing after Booksmart and Don’t Worry Darling), is actually a remake of the Spanish film, The People Upstairs, one of a few sex comedies that have appeared over the years. Her direction combined with the writing of Rashida Jones and Will McCormack have given us a smart sex comedy driven by the talents of these four great actors. This is a well written comedy that depends on the dialogue of the actors and the well-coordinated interaction between them. They easily go from what seems to be a friendly conversation to something that turns into a conflict revealing deep resentment. This is not at all the kind of comedy that usually typifies a Seth Rogen movie. You feel like you are watching a real dinner party with layers of deep feelings being slowly peeled away. If this type of smart comedy sounds appealing to you, then you should be sure to see it while you can.

Golda

Golda                    2 stars

If you are as old as me, you can remember the days in 1973 when there was a war raging when Israel was attacked by the armies of Syria and Egypt that was called the Yom Kippur War. This was the fourth of the Arab-Israeli wars and a very closely fought one that lasted for 19 days. The outcome was uncertain until Israel succeeded in trapping and isolating an Egyptian army forcing a cease fire. The movie Golda tells that story, but mainly from the perspective of Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir with an unrecognizable Hellen Mirren buried in makeup in the role of Meir. The movie focuses primarily on her interactions with the cabinet and the generals as they struggle to make the best decisions to save Israel and her conversations with US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger (Liev Schrieber of Asteroid City and Ray Donovan: The Movie). There are also frequent scenes of Meir, who is suffering from lymphoma, being cared for by her personal assistant (Camille Cottin of A Haunting in Venice and House of Gucci). What’s missing are any battle scenes showing what is going on in the field. Instead, we have the generals discussing the situation over battle maps and radio transmissions from commanders and soldiers yelling of how they are being swarmed and killed by the Egyptians. We get no background of what led to the war or even much about the general international situation. While Mirren’s acting talents are on full display here, showing Meir’s pain over the casualties suffered by the Israeli troops, we don’t get much in the way of her own background. Golda is mainly a history lesson about this war of long ago and not a very good one.

Imaginary Order

Imaginary Order.     4 1/2 stars

Imaginary Order by director Debra Eisenstaedt is likely the best comedy playing here at Sundance. Cathy played by comedic actor Wendy McLendon-Covie is a married suburban mom who encounters an unusual family while house sitting for her sister. She tries to connect with the mom, dad and their teenage son all individually and things go horribly wrong as she gets more involved with each member of this odd family. It also doesn’t help that Cathy suspects her husband of having an affair, her teenage daughter is having a tough time making friends at school and she lost her sister’s car that she is caring for. It all gets completely overwhelming for poor Cathy as she is forced to deal with each crisis that comes along. McClendon-Covie does a great job with the character and the director said originally she was cast as the sister in a small role, but she made the choice to make her the lead instead. The choice paid off nicely. Another great cast member was Max Burkholder as Xander, the teenage son. He was absolutely infuriating as he worked his into Cathy’s life as a character only interested in manipulating other people. The film was filled with funny moments and made the characters seem real which is often hard to do in a comedy. Eisenstadt’s previous works include Before the Sun Explodes and The Limbo Room. Mclendon- Covie is known for The Goldbergs and Bridemaids. I remember her mainly from Rules of Engagement and I saw her here at Sundance getting pictures taken with fans on Main Street. Hoping that the movie does well in the balloting.

Hala

Hala       4 stars

One very relevant movie for young first generation immigrants is Hala. And especially suitable for young Muslims experiencing the clash of cultures in America.  The main character,  Hala is a seventeen year old girl, the only child to immigrant parents from Pakistan.  She is experiencing the usual thrills and challenges of being a teenager in high school with the added pressure of dealing with very traditional parents who believe in the practices of the old country.  And that includes their attitudes toward boys and dating.  Hala has a friendship with a white American boy that she is hiding from her parents while they are thinking of matching her with a boy from a Pakistani family for marriage.   This all leads to much pain and drama pitting parents against child and husband against wife.  This is a very engaging story and has good acting from the main cast.  The filmmaker was present for Q&A and said while the movie wasn’t her own story she knew of plenty of experiences to draw from. It was one of my favorites that I saw after hearing others talking about it.

Them That Follow

Them That Follow.       4 1/2 stars

Them That Follow is a first time feature by two new directors that takes place in the Appalachians of Kentucky.  It is about a young woman who is part of the snakehandling Pentacostal Church. The church is under the control of the pastor played by Walter Goggins who sets all the rules of the small mountain community.  He is aided by Sister Hope played remarkably by the incredible Olivia Coleman who keeps a watchful eye over the flock.  The church is often persecuted by the outside world because of their practices with handling poisonous snakes as part of their rituals. The real story starts when we see that the pastor’s daughter has a secret she is hiding that could impact many lives of this small fellowship.  The story was well put together and was aided by some top notch acting. Also in the cast was Jim Gaffigan the comedian in a very uncharacteristic role.  I warn you there are some very intense and graphic scenes. Some of it was too much for some audience members.  I especially liked this one which I picked because of the casting of Coleman in a key role.

Society of the Snow

Society of the Snow        4 ½ stars

You have probably heard the story before. I know I have a few times. In 1972 a plane carrying a Uruguayan rugby team and friends and family crashed in the snow-covered Andes mountains while on their flight to Chile. The plane had 40 passengers. Several of the passengers survived the crash. Weeks later after the search was abandoned two members of the team crossed the Andes on foot and told the world that they were alive. 16 people were still alive having survived in part by resorting to cannibalism on the bodies of those who died. The incredible story was previously made into the English language movie Alive in 1993. Society of the Snow is a Spanish language telling, made by J. A. Bayona, who previously made The Impossible, the story of a family caught in the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004. The new film depicts the events of the tragedy including acts of heroism performed by several of the young victims who were mostly young men in their twenties. It shows the initial crash that most of the passengers somehow survived, the hope for a rescue that didn’t come, and an avalanche hitting the fuselage taking more lives. The movie shows how they were forced to choose to use the dead as nourishment and how a select few had the task of retrieving the food so that the rest would not know who it was they were consuming. The film also focuses on the emotional aspects of the ordeal and the members’ devotion to one another. Bayona and the actors have made the film one about survivalist adventure but also about spirituality. At times it is a tough one to watch but is certainly worth it. It was nominated for two Academy Awards in 2024. The film is available on Netflix. If you see it be sure to check out the How the movie was made, video. The roles were all filled with non-actors, and they had to do the scenes chronologically so they could lose weight progressively during the filming.