Category Archives: Drama

Fremont

Fremont              4 ½ stars

We return again to a movie that was first shown at Sundance in 2023 with Fremont by Iranian born filmmaker Babak Jalali. One wouldn’t think that a story about an Afghan immigrant escaping from her war-torn country to the United States would make for a good comedy, but that is exactly what Jalali has set out to do. Donya (Anaita Wali Zada, who herself escaped from Afghanistan) is a young Afghan woman who was a translator for the US Army and now resides in Fremont, California, having left her family behind. She has a job working in a Chinese cookie factory in San Francisco, where she seems to have a very bland life. She lives in an apartment building where many fellow Afghans reside, but has contact with many non-Afghans due to her job. There is her boss at the cookie factory who is always upbeat and seems to care about her, her coworker who is often looking for a date, and her psychiatrist who she seems to have conned into giving her free sessions with her complaints about not being able to sleep. Zada portrays Donya with a deadpan look, never cracking a smile or showing any emotion, yet she is someone that people have empathy for. At the factory she lands the job of writing the cookie fortunes when she convinces the owner that she has the intelligence to write the encouraging yet vague messages that the customers will find interesting. But then she takes the chance of writing a personal message with her phone number and putting it in the cookies in an attempt to reach out to someone. This could change her life but may lead to other unforeseen consequences. The style of the movie done in black and white and with straight ahead shots seems to be from an earlier period of filmmaking and something we haven’t seen in a while. The film is very low key and slow moving, but is guaranteed to get some laughs from the audience. Zada is right for the role of Donya and is very believable as the young Afghan who seems lost yet determined to change her life. Fans of the show The Bear will recognize Jeremy Allen White as the lonely mechanic that Donya meets on one of her adventures. Fremont is a moving story about a lost person who holds on to the possibility of being found. I recommend it.

Dumb Money

Dumb Money                    4 stars

The new based on real events movie Dumb Money by Craig Gillespie (I, Tonya) starts by introducing the players on screen showing us their estimated worth. That way it becomes clear who the good guys are and who the bad guys are in the stock trading world, or who are the billionaire hedge fund managers and the retail traders (who the billionaires refer to as Dumb Money). In the early days of 2021 while America wasn’t watching the news about Donald Trump’s second impeachment, they were following a story about a small publicly traded company called Gamestop that was being promoted by a single nerdy small investor named Keith Gill (Paul Dano of Little Miss Sunshine and There Will be Blood). He broadcast his message of belief in the stock on Youtube and Reddit under the name of Roaring Kitty, convincing thousands of small investors to buy it to show the big guys on Wall Street that the stock was undervalued, making the phrase “I like the stock” a rallying cry. The hedge fund managers are all betting against them, selling Gamestop short, allowing them to make a lot of money when and if the stock crashes in value. (I don’t really understand how this works but the movie helps to explain it.) The billionaires are portrayed by Seth Rogen, Vincent D’Onofrio and Nick Offerman who strut around in their luxury suites and tennis clubs. The little guys who buy into the stock and hold it with religious fervor are a nurse named Jenny (America Ferrera), a retail clerk (Anthony Ramos), and a couple of college students (Talie Ryder and Myha’la) who are all desperate for money. The movie provides some non-investing characters to ask questions about what is happening, allowing Gill to explain it in easy to understand terms. These include his wife, Caroline (Shailene Woodley) and his idiot brother Kevin (Pete Davidson in another well executed smart-ass role). All this eventually leads to the climax of a congressional inquiry when there is an apparent impropriety that protects the billionaires from further losses. The movie effectively tells the story of what happens when Wall Street greed collides with the power of social media combined with the isolation brought on by the pandemic. Dumb Money is not The Big Short by any means but dramatizes a story about stock trading done in a way that makes it relatable to the average viewer. Also, fans of hip-hop artist Cardi B should be pleased by the choice of music.

A Haunting in Venice

A Haunting in Venice      4 stars

For the third time in six years the world’s most famous detective, Hercule Poirot, as portrayed by Kenneth Branagh is on the case to solve another mysterious death. With Branagh again directing, it is after World War II and the world is getting back to normal, with Poirot having become a recluse, quietly retired in Venice. But he can’t stay hidden for long when the renowned American mystery writer Ariadne Oliver (a more subdued yet comical Tina Fey) tracks him down to recruit his services regarding the death of a young woman, Alicia Drake on behalf of her mother, Rowena Drake (Kelly Reilly). The catch is that Poirot must attend a children’s Halloween Party on All Hallowed Eve in a large, dark decaying house to be followed by a séance where the dead Alicia is to be contacted. In that respect the movie is a departure from the two earlier outings, Murder on the Orient Express and A Death on the Nile. The exotic locations are exchanged for the confined setting of a creaky, mysterious mansion on a stormy, rainy night and there is a distinct focus on the supernatural with odd camera angles and sudden noises happening periodically. The séance is conducted by the famous medium, Mrs. Reynolds (Academy Award winner Michelle Yeoh), attended by Poirot, Drake, and Oliver as well as Drake’s housekeeper Olga (Camille Cottin), the doctor who treated Alicia, Leslie Ferrier (Jamie Dornan of Belfast), his 12-year-old son, Leopold (Jude Hill also of Belfast), Poirot’s bodyguard and Mrs. Reynold’s assistant. As you would expect with Hercule Poirot being present, the suspicious séance is followed with one of the participants experiencing a fall which proves fatal. Unable to reach the police, Poirot follows his usual protocol, locking everyone in the mansion, interviewing all the potential suspects one by one until the mystery can be solved. The case is based on one of Agatha Christie’s novels, Halloween Party, but it definitely has a supernatural slant to it with apparitions and strange noises contributing to the mystery. Mystery writer Oliver has another motive it is clear as she wants to find a way to increase her book sales and challenge the great detective’s skepticism of all things spiritual. The film is greatly enhanced by actors Michelle Yeoh, Tina Fey and Camille Cotton, but there is a real treasure in the young Jude Hill who is so excellent as the doctor’s precocious son. Branagh previously cast him in Belfast where he was again the son to Jamie Dornan. It will interesting to see what else awaits this young man. I found A Haunting in Venice to be the best of the three Poirot movies and want to assure viewers that the movie belongs in the world of mystery thrillers and is not a true horror movie. See it while it is still in theaters!

Cat Person

Cat Person          3 stars

The movie Cat Person begins with a quote by Margaret Atwood: “Men are afraid that women will laugh at them. Women are afraid that men will kill them.” In one scene early in the movie 20-year-old college student, Margot (Emilia Jones of CODA and Fairyland) has a vision of a dog standing over the decapitated body of a fellow dormitory resident. These are early signs that things will not work out well for the movie’s characters. The movie is notable for being based on a New Yorker short story that created a sensation and for one of the most cringeworthy sex scenes ever to appear in cinema. Not having read the short story I can’t comment on it, and I won’t go into the history of the making of Cat Person. (But it did show at Sundance this year.) I can say the movie adaptation is a commentary on the perils of misinterpreted signals between men and women as well the dangers of basing a new relationship primarily on text messaging. The aforementioned sex scene takes place midway through the movie where it is clear that Margot is not into the first date awkward sex with Robert (Nicholas Braun of Succession), the 33-year-old man she met on her job at the local movie theater concession stand that shows revival films and monster movies. The scene is painful to watch as Margot has a conversation with her out of body self in a debate about whether to put a stop to it or just see it through out of pity to the insecure Robert. Prior to the scene we see how conflicted Margot is toward Robert as she alternately pictures Robert at a job, or in therapy sessions with a psychiatrist, but also as a serial killer who might try to murder her! We also see examples of women’s needs to please men such as a musical scene where Margot and her mom (Hope Davis) perform a dance routine to “My Heart Belongs to Daddy” for her stepdad. Fortunately for Margot she has a college roommate in Taylor (Geraldine Viswanathan) who provides the voice of reason telling her how she should handle her situation. Unfortunately I thought, is how the film eventually wanders into all out stalker movie mode in the stunning conclusion. I would have preferred that it stuck with the theme of differing expectations of men vs. women in a new relationship and stayed away from the more horror aspects. On the positive side, as we saw in the movie CODA (for which she received numerous awards), Emilia Jones looks like a major acting talent with a long future. Doctor Who fans can find her in a role on the show in Season seven. The film’s director, Susanna Fogel is also noted as having directed the 2019 hilarious female comedy, Booksmart. See Cat Person if you can tolerate the uncomfortable sex scene and some hateful text messaging.

Ginger Snaps

Ginger Snaps      3 ½ stars

It was Halloween night, October 31 so what better way to celebrate than to see an old-fashioned creature feature at a local theater nearly full of horror movie fans? I took in a viewing of director, John Fawcett’s Ginger Snaps, a horror movie set in a suburb in October, leading up to Halloween night. It is a revival of the feminist menstrual horror genre that got its start with Carrie back in 1976. Teenage sisters Brigette (Emily Perkins) and Ginger (Katherine Isabelle) are outcasts in their high school, but are close to each other and like to spend their time staging photos of teenage death scenes, a hobby that is useful when you want to cover up a murder. As the film opens, we learn that there is a vicious creature lurking outside that has been attacking and disemboweling the neighborhood dogs. Coincidently, 16-year-old Ginger is experiencing her first period, thus drawing the attention of the creature which claws her badly and bites her. Luckily, the creature, that seems to resemble a large dog is struck and killed by a van driven by Sam, a young greenhouse owner and local pothead. We then see how Ginger is slowly transformed into something foreign, as she starts to sprout hair, and grow claws and a short tail. Younger sister Brigitte is always there to keep Ginger’s secret from Mom and Dad and try to find a solution to the mess, even getting Sam’s help to formulate a cure using his knowledge of lycanthropic folklore and herbal cures. Unfortunately, things get out of control as Ginger must satisfy her appetite for human flesh at the expense of fellow classmates and unlucky school staff members! The film is quite bloody and violent as expected and a little weak on special effects as it was made back in 2000, making a measly $27,000 at the box office. But the writing is good enough to keep viewers in suspense as events spiral out of control but reminding us of the powerful connection between the two siblings. Ginger Snaps is a must for werewolf movie lovers everywhere and is best seen in the company of friends. If that isn’t enough for you, there was also Ginger Snaps II: Unleashed and Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning.

Anatomy of a Fall

Anatomy of a Fall              5 stars

Last summer when I was in France, I saw many ads for Justine Triet’s movie Anatomy of a Fall (or Anatomie d’une Chute as the French say) so I was naturally very curious about it. The movie was shown at Cannes and won the Palme d’Or award, so it deserves some attention. The movie starts with Sandra Voyter (Sandra Hüller), a famous writer being interviewed by a student in a secluded chalet in the French Alps. After a few minutes the interview is interrupted by loud music being played that Sandra explains is from her husband who needs the music when he is writing. When it becomes impossible to carry on a conversation the interviewer leaves and we are left with a feeling that something is not quite right in this home. Shortly after, the couple’s sight impaired son, 11-year-old Daniel, returns from a walk in the woods to find the body of his father, Samuel outside the home, where it is apparent that he suffered a fatal fall from the attic window. The police start an investigation and Sandra obtains the help of a defense attorney in Vincent Renzi (Swann Arlaud) who gets Sandra’s version of what happened that day. Sandra is soon indicted for murder and we have a courtroom drama on our hands. While the movie is a murder mystery/thriller, it is also an analysis of a good marriage that has been falling apart for years. In this respect it is like Marriage Story, only as a possible murder. During the trial we learn that Samuel blamed himself for the accident that took Daniel’s sight at 4 years old, and that Sandra had one or more affairs during their once happy marriage. The couple moved to Samuel’s French hometown so he could better focus on his work, leaving London where Sandra was happy. Being a native German, she struggles in the new setting as she is less than fluent in French. More facts are revealed in the trial leading to more doubt about her story, until it is revealed there is a recording Samuel made of a fight they had the day before the accident that is played in real time in court, showing just how damaged their marriage was as they both resent the accusations launched by the other. The scene is played as a flash back and is the only scene we see Samuel speaking. The writing of the scene and the superb acting by Hüller will have you wondering is Sandra sincere or is this all an act. Hüller can also be seen in two earlier excellent movies, Requiem and Tony Erdmann. Anatomy of a Fall is mainly in French with English subtitles, but most of Hüller’s dialogue is in English. The movie is currently playing in theaters.

Saltburn

Saltburn               4 ½ stars

It was in 2020 that I saw Promising Young Woman (at Sundance), the revenge movie written and directed by Emerald Fennell, who went on to win an Oscar for Best Screenplay, about a woman on a mission of revenge on behalf of women who are raped by men preying on them on the local bar scene. So, I had to see her new movie, Saltburn where she takes on the superrich and the war of class society in Britain. This is a movie about desire and deceit and the need to get whatever one wants no matter the cost. (And all set in the picturesque English countryside). We meet Oliver Quick (Irish actor Barry Keoghan who made quite an impression in The Banshees of Inisherin and The Killing of a Sacred Deer and has a face you will never forget), a working-class young man who is starting to attend Oxford in the early 2000’s. Oliver is smart but is a bit dorky and doesn’t make friends easily. Then one day he happens to let a fellow student, Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi of Priscilla as Elvis Presly) borrow his bike when Felix’s bike is broken. Felix is incredibly handsome and well-liked by guys and girls alike and most importantly is from a family of vast inherited wealth. Oliver is very fortunate to have this new rich friend who is so willing to help him out in situations at the college. But other students around them insist that this friendship is misguided and won’t work out. At the end of the school year, Oliver finds that he has no place to go due to an unfortunate family situation. But that is no problem when Felix insists that Oliver come and stay at Saltburn, the Catton family estate and mansion in the English countryside. At this grossly opulent and gargantuan property Oliver meets the family consisting of mother Elspeth (Rosamund Pike), father Sir James Catton (Richard E. Grant), and sister Venetia (Alison Oliver). Also, there is another one of Felix’s school friends Farleigh (Archie Madekwe) and a friend of Elspeth’s, “Poor Dear Pamela” (a fiery redheaded and tattooed Carey Mulligan like we have never seen). Saltburn is the kind of place where people lie naked in the grass but play tennis in tuxedos. There are also servants that are nameless to Felix and extravagant dinner parties. It is then that we see how things change as Oliver appears much smarter and manipulative than we had imagined and is driven by a desire to get what he can out of this family. He appears to be in love with the handsome Felix as we gather from certain homoerotic scenes but is also not above seducing the confused Venetia. And he can strike back at Farleigh in revenge when Farleigh embarrasses him at a party. But Oliver is not the only one controlling people as he learns when Felix is not fooled by Oliver’s act and tries to turn the tables on him. Like the thriller Promising Young Woman, events spiral further into the unexpected and we wonder how far it will go, and then yes, the movie delivers and goes even further. The film defines obsession showing us no limit as to what certain people will do to fulfil their wants. There are sex acts and total nudity abounding especially as the film reaches its climax. Perhaps Emerald Fennell will be earning more awards including Academy Awards with this one. It’s not one that will bore you.

Dream Scenario

Dream Scenario                 4 stars

One of the most prolific actors today is Nicolas Cage having appeared in some one hundred movies. He has also portrayed some of the oddest characters we’ve seen. Remember Adaptation and The Weather Man and of course Ghost Rider? He stars in Dream Scenario (directed by Kristoffer Borgli), a sort of fantasy horror about the price of fame in today’s society. Cage is Paul Matthews, a meek college professor of natural science who is bald, has a beard and wears glasses. There is really nothing special about him. He is whiney and still dreams of writing a book based on his graduate work from many years ago but has never done anything about it. One day strangers start to recognize him and then many of his students tell him that they remember seeing him in their dreams. They tell him that they see themselves in strange situations such as floating in the air or they see alligators crawling toward them, but Paul is there not doing anything, just walking by. Soon word spreads as hundreds of people report seeing him. Paul finds he has become famous, though his wife, Janet (Julianne Nicholson) does not experience the dreams and she feels left out. Paul hopes that the newly found fame will allow him to find a publisher for his book. But Paul finds the dark side of fame when a strange man invades their house and threatens the family. Things take an even worse turn for poor Paul as the dreams with him grow more violent and threatening to the point that people start to shun him, and his classes must be cancelled. When he is invited to a dinner party all of the other guests cancel because of him. He goes from being sought after for product advertising to possible appearances on Joe Rogan and Tucker Carlson. The movie sort of feels like a darker The Truman Show where fame is visited on those who did nothing to deserve it. The fact that it is Nicolas Cage in the role only makes it more memorable. Cage’s movies are especially notable for having scenes where his anger is unleashed. (There was even a montage video that was made to show this.) Of course, the movie blesses us with a couple of Cageworthy scenes where he verbally attacks those who insult him. The film is put together well as the tone of the movie gradually shifts from light comedy to something approaching horror, (though nobody ever gets killed). It’s fascinating to see how a life can be forever changed with a little fame. Some have said the movie is an indictment of this society’s cancel culture. Borgli, as someone relatively new to directing, gives us a keeper in Dream Scenario. Also making appearances in the cast are Tim Meadows and Dylan Baker, both as friends to Paul and a bearded Michael Cera as the man trying to promote Paul as a celebrity. Anyone who likes quirky dark comedies should check out Dream Scenario. I wanted to see it the moment I saw the trailer!

Dune

Dune     4 stars

I finally saw 2021’s Dune by Denis Villeneuve having missed it in the theaters. It has to be one of the greatest challenges in making movies to attempt to bring Frank Herbert’s epic science fiction novel to the silver screen and Villeneuve was feeling up to it. In the story we follow young Paul Atreites who is destined to lead his house and people through a great struggle across the galactic empire. Timothée Chalamet with his ability to convey a dark sullen mood is excellently cast as Paul who is plagued with frightening visions of the future because he was bred to be the one to guide mankind through this period by the witches of the Bene Gesserit. If you are not already familiar with the book, I certainly can’t explain this complex story to you here, but I can say that the movie does capture the grand scale of Dune with the huge set pieces of the cities, the flying ships, the immense temples and of course the giant sand worms of Arrakis. The importance of Arrakis lies in its abundance of mélange, the spice that makes galactic space travel practical. There are some well staged hand-to-hand combat scenes both between armies and individuals that even show the effects of the Holtzmann shields. We get a good taste of the vastness of the Arrakis desert and the devotion of the Fremen to the land and their way of life. Many of the cast do credit to their Dune characters including Oscar Isaac as Duke Leto Atreites, Rebecca Ferguson as Lady Jessica, Jason Momoa as the charismatic and loyal Duncan Idaho and Stellan Skarsgárd as the obese and beyond evil Baron Vladimir Harkonnen. There are many other cast members who played their limited parts well that I can’t name here. For the most part the characters seem faithful to the book. One change was to make the Fremen scientist Liet Kynes a woman as played by Sharon Duncan-Brewster. The character was even expanded compared to the book. Two characters missing from the movie are Feyd Rautha Harkonnen and Princess Irulan. The nature of the story requires a certain quality of mysticism, especially with the scenes dealing with Paul and the Bene Gesserit, so there is not always a completely human aspect to the story. The movie is necessarily the first part of a pair of movies so while it ends on a hopeful note, it does not feel quite complete. We are still waiting for part two which is promised to show up next year. I am to understand that the job of playing Feyd Rautha will fall to Austin Butler (from Elvis). I look forward to seeing what he does with that. There have been other versions of Dune in the past and this one is likely the most faithful to the book, but we will have to see what Part 2 has to offer. Also, I have read that there is a prequel in the works that focuses on the origins of the Bene Gesserit 10,000 years in the past.

The Holdovers

The Holdovers                   5 stars

Based on a list of several comedies I’ve seen over the years that includes Nebraska, The Descendants, Sideways, About Schmidt and Election, Alexander Payne must be one of my favorite directors. Now with The Holdovers, he has outdone himself. Payne is reunited with Paul Giamatti from Sideways to create a story about three lost souls that are forced to spend their Christmas break together at a New England boarding school for privileged young men in 1970. Giamatti is Paul Hunham, a professor of ancient civilizations who loves his profession, but despises the boys who have little appreciation for the insights Paul has to offer. Paul has been teaching at Barton Academy his whole adult life, but the staff and students all hate him. Since Paul previously found it necessary to fail one very politically connected student, the headmaster decided to punish him by selecting him to be the one to stay over Christmas break to supervise the holdovers, or those unfortunate students who have no place to go. Angus Tully (newcomer Dominic Sessa) is among the smartest yet most troubled of the students at Barton. He has been kicked out of three schools already and will have to go to military academy if it happens again. At the last moment he finds that he must be part of this small group instead of going to St. Kitts for break. Rounding out this trio is Mary Lamb (Da’Vine Joy Randolph), the African American head cook whose son graduated from the school, but then went on to serve in Vietnam and was killed earlier this year. She hasn’t gotten over the loss and you can just see the pain she experiences. The three combine to give us many humorous scenes, but also have a lot to share with each other about life and the struggles they are going through. Paul and Angus are both compelled to share critical moments from their past that shaped their lives. Oscar nominee Giamatti really gives a first-rate performance of the sad sack that is Paul who has an alcohol problem but keeps a positive outlook that hides the pain in his life. This may be Giamatti’s best performance to date or at least since Sideways. Sessa makes Angus a combative, smart aleck character who can also come to the defense of the unfortunate. I look forward to seeing more of him. (Also, fans of the series The Good Wife will recognize Carrie Preston in a small but important role.) The Holdovers will undoubtedly get several Academy Award nominations including Best Picture. Everyone should see this one.