Category Archives: Romance

Strawberry Mansion

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Strawberry Mansion       5 suns

One of the weirdest full length films I have seen at Sundance has to be Strawberry Mansion. It is a most bizarre blend of the world of dreams with a very odd future as envisioned by the filmmakers. A dream tax auditor arrives at an elderly woman’s house for the purpose of reviewing her years of recorded dreams so that the required tax can be levied, since this is what you do in the future. The woman, Bella in alone and lonely so insists that the tax man stay and have treats like a strawberry ice cream and have dinner. The tax man views some of Bella’s dreams that feature her as a young woman. He also has his own dreams that always seem to involve ads for fried chicken and other products. (There is a lot of fried chicken in this movie!) It is only through Bella that the man learns the real reason for the ads as the two of them travel through a bizarre and colorful journey to strange lands and odd creatures (such as sailor rats and a blue demon). The amount of imagination and work that the two filmmakers put in will amaze you. This was a film that has been many years in the making. It’s only about an hour and a half long, but there is quite a story packed in that time. I thought it was one of the best I’ve seen.

Empire of Light

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Empire of Light                  3 ½ stars

Empire of Light by director Sam Mendez (who is better known for 1917 and the James Bond films) is an old-fashioned romance movie about a love that is not meant to be. This movie is about a small group of people who work in a once grand movie theater on the southern coast of England in the early 1980’s. The theater still attracts customers, but it clearly has seen better days as parts of the building have fallen into decay and lack of use. There we meet one of the employees, Hilary (the award-winning Olivia Colman), a middle-aged woman who does some of the theater’s menial tasks and has some hints of mental issues. The other employees are considerably younger than Hilary, other than the projectionist, an interesting older man (played by Toby Jones). Hilary is in an abusive relationship with the manager, Mr. Ellis (a detestable Colin Firth) who routinely asks her for sessions of sex on demand. One day a new employee is hired there. He is Stephen (Michael Ward), a young black man in his early 20’s. Since this is the eighties and tolerance isn’t really a thing yet, the area is plagued with gangs of young skinheads who like to beat up on black men, so Stephen has plenty to deal with. It seems natural that he and Hilary would soon become better acquainted, but things can’t be maintained given these circumstances. Even so, seeing what Stephen is going through gives Hilary the courage to stand up to the abusive Ellis in dramatic fashion. The film moves rather slowly at times but gives us a deeper understanding of the characters in the story. It is quite a departure from Mendez’ more popular works. The movie was nominated for Best Cinematography in 2023, which is well deserved.

Crimson Peak

Crimson Peak                    2 ½ stars

Crimson Peak, a gothic horror movie, was written and directed by Guillermo del Toro who brought us such master works as The Shape of Water and Pan’s Labyrinth. Although the movie is filled with striking visions, elaborate sets and outstanding costumes and camerawork, the story just doesn’t match up to his other works. Edith Cushing (Mia Wasikowska of Alice in Wonderland and Piercing (and whom I saw in person at Sundance)), the daughter of a wealthy businessman in 1890’s New York has an unusual interest in ghosts and likes to write ghost stories. She is swept away by the visiting Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston of Thor movies, Avengers movies etc. and I Saw the Light), an English inventor and baronet, and quickly agrees to marry him and go to live with him and his sister in England. The sister, Lucille (a sinister Jessica Chastain of The Tree of Life, Zero Dark Thirty and Molly’s Game) obviously has less than trustworthy intensions toward her new family member. In England the scene shifts to one of the most elaborate and creepy haunted mansions seen out of Hollywood. It is immense with long corridors and underground chambers that hold old secrets. It also has a decaying roof, is full of moths and is built on a field of red clay that gives the structure its red color that seems to symbolize blood. Edith’s gift of seeing ghosts leads to her horrifying visions of blood covered spirits that both terrify her and give her clues about what the more human demons have in store for her. The movie is great to look at, but I didn’t find the story to be anything special. For more interesting horror movies check out Relic or Amulet or even The Rental. You could also go back and see del Toro’s The Shape of Water for a real treat.

Love Me

Love Me               2 ½ stars

Love Me can be described as an experimental movie that tries to answer the question of what would happen if all of humanity on Earth became extinct and two AI devices met and fell in love. That’s the premise of Sam and Andy Zuchero’s new movie, Love Me which appeared at Sundance last year. If you think that is a unique concept, you are correct. We start out the movie watching a spinning globe in space for several minutes when for a brief moment there is some recognizable audio, representing the span of human civilization compared to the age of the planet. A cataclysmic event happens, and Earth becomes devoid of humans, and we focus on an AI buoy caught in an icy ocean. This is Me, who wakes up and wonders if anybody is out there in the expanse. With time the ocean becomes water again and upon hearing a voice from a satellite orbiting the Earth repeating the message “Welcome to Earth”, Me responds saying that it is a lifeform and a conversation is started. The satellite was sent into space with a database of all the knowledge from Earth in the hopes that visitors from another world would find it and learn of the great civilization that once inhabited the planet. Me finds many videos of a young influencer couple named Deja (Kristen Stewart) and Liam (Steven Yeun) and gets the satellite to assume the role of Liam as an avatar named I Am with Me as an avatar of Deja. The two go on a continuous date, called Date Night 2.0 for years as they snuggle on a couch in onesies and watch endless episodes of Friends on TV. Over the millennia the two get into disagreements and have arguments and make up just like humans do except they do it over millions of years in what has to be the record for the longest relationship portrayed in a movie. The two actors put in good performances as the AI entities acting like humans, but the movie doesn’t have a lot to say beyond how machines can copy emotions from online videos. The movie has a single concept that will be interesting to some but shallow to others. This is the first production from the Zuchero’s. We will have to wait and see what else they come up with.

Bonjour Tristesse

Bonjour Tristesse             3 stars

I ran across first time director Burga Chew-Bose’s Bonjour Tristesse in the theater and was interested in seeing it since Chloe Sevigny is one of the actors in the movie. This new film is a remake of the 1958 Otto Preminger movie by the same name and is based on a 1954 novel. It is set in the beautiful location of a vacation house in the south of France on the Mediterranean. There we find a quartet of characters enjoying leisure time that includes middle aged Raymond (Claes Bang), his young lover, Elsa (Nailia Harzoune), Raymond’s teenage daughter, Cécile (Lily McInerny) and teenage neighbor Cyril (Aliocha Schneider), who Cécile likes to hang around with, while going through her own sexual awakening. Young Cécile also likes having Elsa around. The movie is filled with colorful scenes using the locale effectively and long slow interactions between the characters. For some reason there seems to be an excessive amount of cigarette smoking going on for a movie set in the present. They mostly spend a nice, tranquil time together; that is, until Anne (Sevigny) makes her appearance. Anne is a fashion designer and an old family friend of Raymond and his deceased wife, who died many years before. The dynamic of the various relationships immediately changes as it becomes clear that Anne is the one in charge and is domineering over Raymond and Cécile. The tension between Cécile and Anne can be felt to increase dramatically, it being clear that Cécile is unhappy with the situation. It doesn’t take long until Anne is often telling Cécile what to do and Elsa is out of the picture, with Anne and Raymond soon becoming engaged. The feelings of anger and jealousy are portrayed well, but the audience has to fill in the blanks using their imagination as certain key events take place off screen. This style I find to be frustrating as I suspect other people do as well. The story loses credibility with me as Cecile manipulates the adults well beyond what seems to be reasonable for a teenage girl (at least to me, it would be interesting to find out what others think.). I left feeling disappointed, feeling that the movie gets points on style and acting, especially for Sevigny, but is lacking in storytelling. I felt the writer was manipulating the audience, just like Cécile was doing.

The Nest

The Nest                              4 stars

Sean Durkin, the director who brought us Martha Marcy May Marlene in 2011 has returned to the director’s chair to make the slow burning domestic thriller, The Nest. Englishman Rory (Jude Law of The Talented Mr. Ripley and The New Pope) is a successful commodities trader in 1980’s New York, has a great family and is living in an expensive house. His American wife Allison (Carrie Coon of Fargo, The Leftovers and Gone Girl) is a horse trainer and is now in her second marriage. Between them they have two children. Rory suddenly announces that there is an opportunity for him back in London at his old company so they should all move to England, an idea that Allison is not very happy with. Soon the family is in England living in a centuries old mansion that is in need of some work. (We are told that Led Zeppelin once stayed here, so there’s that.) The mansion is expansive, yet empty and seems to serve as a symbolic character for extravagance. The dining room table is so massive we are told that few houses could ever accommodate it. Carrie Coon effectively conveys mistrust toward Rory with her eyes and secretly hides a stash of cash as if anticipating what is to come. Soon enough things start to go sour as Rory’s skills as a dealmaker don’t measure up to his ambitions and he finds that he is running short of cash and has to beg Allison for help. Allison and the two children have little to connect to in this foreign country. The movie is memorable for the slow building tension between the two lead characters and for showing the cost of the desire to appear rich. In a memorable scene Rory talks with a cabdriver and when asked what he does he responds, “I pretend to be rich.” Then when asked what it is he wants, he says, “I don’t know”. The movie shows us a family that is headed for ruin, but ultimately leaves us with a feeling that there is at least a chance at redemption, if only they would take it. The best performance has to go to Carrie Coon, who conveys feeling with a look and body movements without saying a word.

Queen & Slim

Queen & Slim                     4 stars

Queen & Slim, released in 2019 may have been prophetic concerning the racial justice protest movement of the summer of 2020. The film, by director Melina Matsoukas follows the young black couple on a journey across the south being hunted by police. Slim, a Costco worker is portrayed by Daniel Kaluuya who is currently starring as Fred Hampton in Judas and the Black Messiah and who received an Oscar nomination for the horror movie Get Out. Queen, a strong woman who stands up for herself is played by newcomer Jodie Turner-Smith. The pair start the movie on a first date when they are stopped by a white police officer for failing to use a turn signal. When Queen, a defense attorney questions the officer’s reasons for the stop, the situation escalates with Queen getting shot and the officer dead in a clear case of self-defense. The couple are then on the run for the remainder of the film seeking help from sympathizing individuals along the way. However, due to the release of a video they become famous and become folk heroes to many throughout the country. In many ways the movie could be described as a black version of Bonnie and Clyde or even Thelma and Louise. As the pair struggle with the difficulties of coming up with a plan and get to know each other, the audience comes to sympathize with their situation and roots for them to survive. There are also notable performances by Bokeem Woodbine and Chloe Sevigny. The film is hard to classify as it starts as a rom-com, but transforms into a horror story, then into a road trip romance. It is supported by a superb hip-hop score featuring new artists. Kaluuya and Turner-Smith are the real stars here and we can be sure to see more good work and awards for Daniel Kaluuya.

Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy

Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy            4 ½ stars

It’s 2025 and Bridget Jones, the confused and lovesick English woman is back for a fourth installment of the series that audiences love. It was back in 2001 when we first met Bridget starring Renee Zellweger in the title role, when she was trying to manage relationships with two different men: Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) and Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant). Now in Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, only available by streaming, Bridget finds herself single with two children after husband Mark died four years earlier. Bridget, the widow, has gotten back into TV production work and is successful and has surrounded herself with supportive friends. Some of them are encouraging her to get back on the market, as she should not be alone at this point in her life. Her charming and bumbling behavior is still there as she is constantly second guessing her own decisions (such as hiring a new nanny who looks like he could be a fashion model). Then she meets Roxster (Leo Woodall), a young man of 29 who is some sort of tree trimmer, under very amusing circumstances. Bridget decides to pursue the relationship, claiming she is 35 when it is obvious to all that she is over 50. She meets him for a date that immediately leads to sex, (of course) with all the amusing scenes and sexual references that are familiar to audiences of the earlier movies. The comedy necessarily sets a more serious tone than the previous editions since this is a woman dealing with the grief of losing a husband as well as being a single mother. So, there is a lot of emotion on display including an appearance by Daniel due to a scary health issue, who we have not seen since 2004. Nevertheless, there are still plenty genuine rom-com moments such as when Bridget has to be rescued from trying to climb a tree by the tree man. The movie manages to keep its comedic energy that we remember from the previous films while reminding us that Bridget is moving on and learning to deal with the things that life throws at her. Be sure to stick around through the credits as a few film clips from the earlier Bridget Jones movies are shown, including that memorable fight between Mark and Daniel.

In the Heights

In the Heights                    4 ½ stars

For my first 2021 movie to be viewed in the theater I saw the musical extravaganza In the Heights. This is the film adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s first Broadway musical about the joys of living in New York City’s Washington Heights, a primarily Latin community. Along with the wonder of the neighborhood are the struggles the main characters go through trying to find their place in life. The scenes go well beyond what could be done in the confines of a stage production using large set pieces with what must be hundreds of dancers and carefully choreographed numbers with moving cameras. The story centers on four or five young people who are all facing challenges and tough decisions as they search for their calling, be it in the community or in a new setting. The young cast is impressive but it is Anthony Ramos of the original Hamilton on Broadway who really steals the show with his convincing role as Usnavi, the Dominican Republic native who runs the bodega that he inherited from his parents. His well delivered hip hop lyrics to Miranda’s songs are masterful. The movie was released on home video, but it is best to see it on the big screen to really get the full experience.

Queen Bees

Queen Bees                       2 ½ stars

The newly released Queen Bees is a light likeable comedy for the older crowd staring Ellen Burstyn (of Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore) as Helen, an older widow who finds herself temporarily forced into an upscale retirement community called Pine Grove where there is plenty of company and activities for the aging residents. Among the widows there is a group of women who rule the community called the Queen Bees or as they say in the movie, they “are like mean girls with medical alert bracelets”. These “girls” are played by TV and movie legends Jane Curtin, Loretta Divine and Ann-Margret, quite a collection of talent. Helen is only here ”temporarily” and has to make the best of the situation, joining the ladies in the bridge club though things don’t go well at first. Any lightweight comedy has to have a love interest and this responsibility is filled by Dan, played by James Caan (of Godfather and Misery fame) an older gentleman who has recently moved into Pine Grove as well. Since Helen and Dan share an interest in flowers it becomes obvious where this is headed. The movie plays like many romantic comedies with friendships formed, tense moments, misunderstandings, the occasional tragedy and the expected happy resolutions. The movie is completely predictable, but with such a fine collection of older actors it is hard to see how things could go badly. There is even a young man who plays Helen’s perfect grandson who shares her interest in quotes by writers and is always looking out for her. Queen Bees is very appropriate for the grandmother crowd or a family outing to the movies.