Author: James Hathaway

Unsane

This is a unique film that bends the norm for mental/medical care facilities.  It is intense, creepy and more than a little unsettling.  Nightmare comes to mind!

The film’s Director and Cinematographer is Steven Soderbergh.  It is best described as a psychothriller.  The script is well written and helps tie the concept together.

Claire Foy plays the accidental victim in this story.  Juno Temple plays a scary threatening patient named Violet.  Joshua Leonard plays the stalker and crazy attending caregiver.

It is rated R for disturbing behavior, violence, language and sexual references.  It is listed as a Drama, Mystery & Suspense.  The run time is 97 minutes.

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Ramen Heads

Ramen noodles are one of Japan’s most popular comfort foods.  This film takes a deep dive into the history and cultural connection to the legions of customers in and outside of Japan.  The result is an interesting and entertaining documentary.

The story drifts a bit from chef to chef, slurping techniques, and a study on obsessive details. It ultimately succeeds in capturing the mania the perfect ramen noodle creates for its followers.

The cast includes leading chefs Osamu Tomita, Shota Iida, Kumiko Ishida, Katsuya Kobayashi, Yuki Ohnishi and Tom Takahashi.

This film is not rated with a run time of 93 minutes.  Japanese with English subtitles. (A yummy Vietnamese ramen lunch was on our agenda today as a matter of fact.)

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Ready Player One

It was just a matter of time before films start translating reality into science fiction, in this case video games.  Based on the novel by the same name, Steven Spielberg and Industrial Light & Magic bought the movie rights and created a film set in a very unappealing 2045 AD where the world as we know it is on the brink of collapse.  Technology has created a virtual reality alternate world called OASIS where gaming replaces almost every aspect of real life.  Overall, while visually fascinating, the constant special effects become a bit tedious.

The cast headlines Tye Sheridan as the gamer Parzival, Olivia Cooke as Samantha Cook, Ben Mendelsohn as the CEO of Innovative Online Industries seeking control of OASIS.  There are over 12 more actors rounding out the primary cast.

The film is rated PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi action violence, blood images, some suggestive material, partial nudity and language.  We do not feel this film is suitable for children.  The genre is listed as Thriller, Science Fiction & Fantasy.  It runs a long 2 hours, 40 minutes.

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This is a quirky movie about a middle aged Japanese woman and her sister, her sister’s daughter, and her daughter’s boyfriend and so on…

That said, it also has a universal quality about it.  It is more like real life than the movies.  Its twists and turns are often unexpected and poignant.

The cast includes Josh Harnett in the role of John, and is well suited for him.  Shinobu Terejima is great as Lucy.  Kaho Minami plays Lucy’s sister.  Shioli Kutsuna plays Lucy’s sister’s daughter.  There are more than a dozen other bit roles that make up the rest of the cast.  These strong performances are what makes this film compelling and enjoyable.

This film is not rated.  It is listed as a Comedy, Drama.  It is in limited release so do seek this one out sooner rather than later.  Run time is 96 minutes.  Japanese and English, with English subtitles.

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Love, Simon

Every once in a while a film is released that is well written, well acted, and well…on target to its topic.  Here Simon Spier is gay, 17 years old but hasn’t told anybody.  Not his parents or close friends.  At the same time Simon is openly communicating anonymously with a classmate who is gay but he doesn’t know who that person is.  One by one more people become involved but no one knows the whole truth.

A great cast and strong performances make this film believable.  Nick Robinson delivers a heartfelt performance as Simon.  Equally good performances by Jennifer Garner as the Mom, Josh Duhamel as the supportive Dad and Talitha Bateman as the sister.  And…I can’t tell you anymore lest I spoil the finale.  Let’s just say the movie is charming, inspiring and uplifting.

It is rated PG-13 for thematic elements, sexual references, language and teen partying.  It is listed as a Drama and runs 109 minutes.

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Isle of Dogs

Yet another good release.  This one is clever, intelligent with interesting characters.  It’s Wes Anderson’s ninth feature film, his second in stop-motion animation.

Japan is hit with an outbreak of canine flu and all dogs are quarantined on an island.  Meanwhile a government conspiracy leaks to the press and tensions swell to a breaking point.

The voice cast is a whose who of Hollywood including Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson, Tilda Swinton, Yoko Ono and more.

It is rated PG-13 for thematic elements and some violent images.  It is listed as Action & Adventure, Animation, Comedy.  It runs 101 minutes.  It can become tedious and a bit difficult to follow but well worth a watch.

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7 Days in Entebbe

This film reflects the true events of the 1976 hijacking of an Air France flight from Tel Aviv to Paris via Athens with 250 passengers on board.  It landed in Entebbe, Uganda.  The militant highjackers wanted to draw attention to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at the time.

The acting varies from fair to middling.  Rosamund Pike is inconsistent as a lead highjacker.  Daniel Bruhl is more convincing as her boy friend.  Eddie Marsan is convincing as Shimon Peres and Lior Ashkwnazi is excellent as Yitzhak Rabin.  Nonso Anozie has a bit part as Idi Amin.

Unfortunately many of the real facts are missing in this version of events.   For example, this film suggests the Jewish passengers were segregated from the other passengers.  Historical fact shows most of the French Jewish passengers were released.  That said, most of the connections to today’s Israeli politicians are correct.

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A Wrinkle in Time

This film has benefited from extensive marketing and the Disney production machine.  Much to our surprise both audiences and critics have been tepid with their enthusiasm.

We liked the film, a lot!  The acting was consistently good.  The story was true to its roots.  The messages were universal and uniquely appropriate.  The surprises were inventive, the flow was just about right.

The headline actors were all well cast.  Oprah Winfrey was amazing as Mrs. Which.  Reese Witherspoon was a hoot as Mrs. Whatsit.  Mindy Kaling was perfect as Mrs. Who.  Chris Pine is great as the missing Dad,  Gugu Mbatha-Raw is superb as the Mom.

The children played essential roles including Storm Reid (sister), Livi Miller (classmate) and Deric McCabe (little brother).  There were easily 2 dozen other roles rounding out the cast.

The film is rated PG for thematic elements and some peril.  That said, overall the story is uplifting with a couple of brief scenes less than ideal for young children.  That also said there was a good sized group of elementary school children in the theater (10 to 12 year old) that seemed riveted throughout.

The genre is listed as Action & Adventure, Drama, Kids & Family, Science Fiction & Fantasy.  It runs two hours.  It will be interesting to see if the next Oscars remember this film for special effects, costume, make up, and other technical categories.

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Annihilation

We finally had the chance to see this film.  Oh my!  What an innovative and intriguing concept.  Some form of alien entity creates a “settlement” of sorts on earth where their “evolution” slowly begins.

It is visually stunning, often quite confusing, psychologically intense and gorgeous at the same time.

The acting is impressive.  Natalie Portman takes the lead as the biologist.  Benedict Wong plays the scientist.  Gina Rodriguez plays one of the soldiers on a dangerous expedition investigating the scene.  Tessa Thompson also plays a soldier.  Oscar Isaac plays the husband and soldier.  Jennifer Jason Leigh plays Dr. Ventress.  Tuva Novotny plays another investigating soldier.  There are another two dozen actors contributing to the script.

On the down side, the plot is difficult to follow.  On the up side, it is new and unique film making.   It is rate R for violence, bloody images, language and some sexuality.  The genre is listed as Action & Adventure, Drama, Science Fiction & Fantasy.  It runs two hours.

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Red Sparrow

This film demands a lot from the viewer.  First, Russian ballerina has her leg broken by a fellow dancer with no explanation.  Next, after recovering from the injury, she enrolls in a secret intelligence school that makes weapons out of its students.

Even with this odd plot, the acting is impressive.  Jennifer Lawerence morphs from one personality to the next convincingly.  Joel Edgerton is a great match as the CIA operative.  Matthias Schoenaerts is the suave Uncle to Jennifer.  Jeremy Irons is a good bad guy and Charlotte Rampling is awesome as the Russian Headmistress.

Reviews have been mixed.  We found it gripping, intense, mostly believable and a new twist on an old plot.  It is rated R for strong violence, torture, sexual content, language and some graphic nudity.  It is NOT appropriate for children.  It runs a hefty 2 hours, 21 minutes.

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Lara Croft: Tomb Raider

Move over Angelina, make room for Alicia Vikander as the new Lara Croft.  In this episode of the Tomb Raider franchise, Lara embarks on a quest to follow in her father’s footsteps and find the missing links that will reveal the cause of her father’s death.

Lara finds a connection in her fathers death that leads to a journey to a remote island off the coast of Japan.  There are lots of twists and turns, most implausible, but necessary to the story line.

The acting follows suit.   Dan Wu plays an Asian boat captain who agrees to the journey.  Walton Goggins plays a pretty good bad guy.  Dominic West plays Lara’s Dad.  Hannah John-Kamen plays a bad girl while Kristin Scott Thomas plays the loving guardian (not) to Lara.

It’s rated PG-13 for violence, action and some strong language.  We discourage children from viewing this film.  The genre is noted as Action & Adventure, Drama, Science Fiction and Fantasy.  It runs a long 118 minutes.

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Loveless

This was nominated for Best Foreign Film but was not released until after we departed for Europe (and it was not released in Europe until March 8).   Needless to say, it was not the winner.

It was however, a nail biting, gut wrenching and angst filled look behind the veil of Russian life.  Specifically marriage, child rearing, family and work life.  Oh my!  American soap operas are child’s play compared to this story line.

The Russian cast of 18 is filled with great actors who tell a heart wrenching story.  It is rated R for strong sexuality, graphic nudity, language and a brief disturbing image.  The genre is listed as Art House & International, Drama. It runs a whopping 129 minutes.

BTW, while buying the tickets John ran into the English actor Terence Stamp for a brief but pleasant moment!

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