Author: James Hathaway

Detroit

This film is a recreation of the 1967 racial and civil unrest in Detroit.  It recounts the takeover of the Algiers Motel by Local, State and National Guard forces and the events that unfolded one night.

It is powerful and sometimes painful to watch.  It is often raw and unsettling. It is directed by Kathryn Bigelow and based on historical events.  It is not easy to watch but stands as required viewing for those who seek a better understanding of racial history and its aftermath.

There is a cast of almost two dozen actors who deliver powerful depictions of real life characters.  It is rated R for strong violence and language.  It is listed as a Drama, Mystery, Suspense.  Run time is 142 minutes.

There is lots of deserved Oscar chatter about this film.  We will follow this closely as the awards season draws nearer.

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The Little Hours

Well, you won’t see a film like this everyday!  Set in a medieval period convent, young nuns verbally and viciously attack the convent’s day laborer who flees.  The replacement, played by Dave Franco, poses as a deaf mute to avoid “temptation” by the nuns.

Alison Brie, Aubrey, Kate Micucci play the young nuns. Molly Shannon plays the Mother Superior, and John C. Reilly plays Father Tommasso.

While the theme is spoofy comedy and R rated, we were surprised with the blunt, contemporary language.  There is full frontal nudity, sexual encounters, and extensive profanity.

While a bit taken aback by the style, it was a fresh, inventive, relentless and irreverent, but without malice, film.  Be advised, this is not a movie for everyone.  Rated R with a run time of 1 hour, 30 minutes.

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An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power

This is an update to the first documentary ten years ago.  While there is some updated information in this rendition, the real focus shifts to global wrangling, the future of the Paris Agreement and, arguably the most compelling element, the current updated state of climate change to date.

Critics are many.  Animal Agriculture and its impact on climate change were never mentioned.  Carbon emission energy is still polluting the air with little slow down.  It is clear, there is a long way to go before climate change is in check.

That said, it is still encouraging to have an update and focus on the state of the environment.   There are moments that are funny and poignant at the same time.  This film is rated PG and runs 1 hour, 40 minutes.

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All,

So sorry for so few reviews lately.  We’ve been super busy with family, friends, last minute touring and gads about town…  The truth be told, access to films, especially independent and foreign, has been pretty lean.  We’ll have to fix that going forward.

In the meantime, we arrived in Salt Lake City this afternoon to temps in the mid/high 90’s.  So what better reason to seek refuge but in a comfortable movie theater.

Girls Trip

Despite the chemistry with this talented cast, this story is raunchy, crass and down right sleazy.  This is NOT what you would expect from a cast of Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett Smith, Regina Hall and Tiffany Haddish.

Let’s just say it was a painful two plus hours, although most audiences seemed to enjoy the movie.  We could only reflect on the countless women we have known and worked with and their years of struggle to gain respect and recognition.

Lest we forget it was a comedy.  OK, maybe not our genre.  But we were not expecting crude public behavior that pushed the comic envelope quite so far…

Rated R for crude sexual content, pervasive language, nudity and drug matter.

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Atomic Blonde

Oh my goodness.  Step aside 007.  Hello Lorriane Broughton!  She’s MI6’s elite spy with the best skills of any agent…ever!  She is strong, relentless, committed, unpredictable, and smart.

The cast is compact but effective.  Charlize Theron is the star agent.  James McAvoy plays the double agent, Sofia Boutella is a love interest, John Goodman is pulling strings behind the scenes.  Roland Moller, Johannes Haujur Johannesson take turns as counter agents.

Some reviewers are not liking the plot.  Too much “ass-kicking”, not enough spy drama.  We liked it because it bursts with energy, relentless action and a new breed of super spy.

The genre is a Mystery/Thriller.  It is rated R for violence and adult subject matter.  Run time is 1 hour, 55 minutes.

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Kidnap

Every parent’s nightmare!  You are out in a seemingly safe public place and in the blink of an eye, your child disappears.  You scramble into action and lose your mobile phone in the process…

This sets the stage for the next tense hour and a half as Mom (Halle Berry in an intense role), and her son (Sage Correa, whom we will surely see more in time) desperately struggle to find each other.

The acting is good to excellent.  The tension is off the charts.  The bad guys are really bad!  And the story…well you’ll just have to decide for yourself.  We thought it was pretty darn good.

It is rated R for violence and intensity and viewing by children is cautioned by these viewers.  Its genre is listed as a Thriller/Mystery with a run time of 1 hour, 35 minutes.

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Wish Upon

This PG-13 Fantasy/Thriller is clearly targeted to the preteen/teen audiences.  It is not a new story.  In fact, it is one of the oldest stories in the entertainment genre.

The acting is just OK, maybe a weak passing grade but otherwise uninspiring.  Joey King, Ryan Phillippe, Shannon Purser and Ki Hong Lee are the headliners.

We selected  “Cliche”, “Stereotypical” and “Predictable” from the “Top voted Tags” list to best describe this film.

Don’t feel too bad if this makes it to your miss list.  It might be worth a look if you are on a long flight and need some help passing the 1 hour, 30 minute run time.

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Dunkirk

Most folks of a certain age or knowledge of 20th century history will recognize the name Dunkirk from WWII when, in 1940, Germany invaded France. This invasion cut off  British, French, Belgian and Dutch troops, leaving more than 400,000 trapped on Dunkirk Beach.

This film is arguably the best movie ever made on the topic.  It is an intimate view from the soldiers point of view.  The audible and visual production of what it was like and how it sounded are the most noteworthy from our perspective.  It makes for a stunning auditory and visual experience.

The genre is listed as Action, Drama, History, War with a PG-13 rating.  (Not sure how that happened!  We would caution it is not suitable for young audiences.)  The run time is 2 hours.

The cast includes Harry Styles, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy and Kenneth Branagh, along with a dozen other young British actors.

We will make early predictions for Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Original Score, Cinematography, Special Effects, Costume Design, Sound and Sound Editing.

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Valerian & the City of a Thousand Planets

Oh my!  Where to begin?!  It is an epic size story by Director Luc Besson. (Remember The Fifth Element?!)  This time he has a $200 million dollar budget and special effects are front and center.

It is set in the 28th century in a city called Alpha, where thousands of life forms coexist when a dark force threatens to disrupt the peace.  The story gets muddled up quickly.  The script focuses on two main characters, played by Cara Delevingne and Dane DeHaan, who are determined to defend the city with an arsenal of superpowers.  The plot slips in and out of one implausible scene to another.

The super star here is the special effects.  They are stunning, constant and ground breaking.  These elements overshadow every other aspect of the film.

The rest of the cast is practically a who’s who of Hollywood but you hardly notice any of them.  (Except Rihanna, whose depiction of “Bubble” is quite provocative!)

It is rated PG-13 but much of the story is not really suited for children.  The genre is noted as Science Fiction and Action.  The run time is 2 hours, 17 minutes.

All said, this film will undoubtedly garner several Oscar nominations in technical categories.

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FINALLY, some movies worthy of attention, albeit, not neccessarily for everyone’s interests.  All very different.  All worthy of consideration depending on your tastes.  Enjoy!

Spider-Man: Homecoming

This was a most intriguing, although often confusing, rendition of the Spider-man by Marvel.  Intriguing because this Spider-man is funny, friendly and down to earth with a sense of himself.  Confusing because the mentor, Tony Stark, is an overbearing, butt-in-ski that seemed out of place and unnecessary for this film.

The story flows along with a fresh easy feel.  Natural, somewhat light hearted. Tom Holland is brilliant in the role of Spider-man.  Michael Keaton brings star power to the role of Vulture, although this viewer felt he was more of a distraction than evil doer.  There is a long list of actors that include notable roles by Donald Glover, Tyne Daly, Chris Evans, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Jennifer Connelly.

The genre is listed as Fantasy/Science Fiction.  It is rated PG-13 and runs 2 hours, 13 minutes.

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Maudie

This film is base on real people and events.  It is a story beginning in the 1930’s in Nova Scotia.  It is a recreation of a story seemingly from another world with different standards and values.  The strained relationship between two lead characters is often difficult to watch and yet compelling at the same time.

Leading actors, Sally Hawkins is the scullery maid and folk artist, Ethan Hawke is the damaged fishmonger.  Together they deliver powerful depictions of their characters.  Kari Matchett and Gabrielle Rose have the only other significant roles although there are a half dozen other actors rounding out the cast.

While this film is rated PG-13 there are a few intense scenes that may not be appropriate for youngsters.  The genre is listed as Drama/Romance and runs one hour, 55 minutes.

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War for the Planet of the Apes

This third in a series of “Apes” films is the best to date.  To be clear, it is also the darkest and most violent of the series.  These overtones make for realistic and sobering viewing.  We have no idea how they maintained the PG-13 rating.

That said, in this rendition, you will no doubt be cheering for the Apes instead of the horrific depiction of humans.  This film is action packed, heartbreaking and visually powerful, often all at the same time.

There is a huge cast.  Andy Serkis is Ceasar and prolific Woody Harrelson plays the Colonel.  Our favorite character, Cornelius, is played by actress Devyn Dalton.  Don’t ask us how they do it but they do it exceptionally well along with the 16 other lead characters.

It is listed as a Science Fiction/Drama and runs a riveting 2 hours, 22 minutes.

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