Missing

My View: Missing (2023) PG-13  When her mother (Nia Long) disappears while on vacation in Colombia with her new boyfriend (Ken Leung), June (Storm Reid), stuck thousands of miles away in Los Angeles, uses everything she can to search for answers. The further June digs, the more questions she gets, and June soon learns that she never really knew her mom at all. This film uses the same idea that a 2018 film that I liked a lot, Searching, did, where our protagonist stays at home and uses a computer to put the pieces together to find their loved ones. Both films had solid leads, and Storm Reid does a fantastic job as the young teen who uses her willpower and knowledge of the Internet to discover what happened to her mother. The film takes various twists and turns that keep you guessing until the end. I was pleasantly surprised by how well the film flowed and how the movie kept our interest in the chase to find June’s mom. It’s a nice touch to have Joaquim de Almeida as Javi, the guy June hires (at a very cheap rate) to be her eyes and ears on the ground in Columbia, where June’s mother went missing. Having that interaction gave us a chance to understand better June’s pain of losing her father and her terror of possibly now losing her mother. So please turn off your cell phone (because June will do enough web surfing for all of us) and see Missing.   My Rating: Full Price  Missing Website Now in theatres nationwide.

Indiefest: Living (2022) PG-13  Set in 1950s London, where Williams (Bill Nighy) has always prided himself on his work ethic, attention to detail, and not letting anything get personal. Williams finds out some shocking news, and he explores how to better his life and help people around him. Bill Nighy gives us another one of his brilliant performances as Mr. Williams, a stuffy, by the letter, civil servant who rules his little office like it’s a fiefdom. Some horrible news turns Williams’s life upside down, and he decides that maybe it’s time to take a chance and make a difference in this world. This is a film about redemption, about making choices to change and trying to connect with people, no matter how small the gesture is. Based on the classic Kurosawa film Ikiru, Bill Nighy gives us a performance for the ages, and he does more with just sitting in a park by himself than most actors speaking tons of lines. It’s a magical ride that Nighy takes us on, and that will make you feel you could do something nice for someone today which could make a difference in their lives. All it takes is taking an interest in someone.   My Rating: Full Price  Living Website  Now in select theatres.

Indiefest: Alice, Darling (2022) R  Alice, Darling is about a young woman (Anna Kendrick) who is in an abusive relationship that could become deadly, but doesn’t want to see the warning signs. Her friends stage an intervention at a weekend getaway to make her realize she is in trouble, but her boyfriend shows up unexpectedly, which could get ugly. I’m a big fan of Anna Kendrick and always love when a film challenges her to do more than just be cute. In Alice, Darling, Kendrick gives us a woman who is suffering not from physical abuse but the constant abuse of psychological means, where she has been conditioned to question every move she makes. The man she loves controls her whole life. However, Alice decides to go on a weekend getaway with her two best friends, Tess (Kaniehtiio Horn) and Sophie (Wunmi Mosaku), who have seen firsthand how controlling Alice’s boyfriend, Simon (Charlie Carrick), is. To do this, Alice lies about a business trip. A lie that she will soon regret. It’s a fine performance by Anna Kendrick, but I expected more from the film, as the final confrontation feels shallow and not the cathartic release I wanted. It’s an interesting performance that is let down by a script that didn’t know how to finish.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Alice, Darling Website  Now in select theatres.

Indiefest: When You Finish Saving the World (2022) R  Ziggy (Finn Wolfhard) is a teen who lives for making music for his online fans. Ziggy thinks he is successful because of how many fans follow him, but his idea of happiness is about to change when he meets a fellow student named Lila (Alisha Boe), who sees something more in Ziggy. This is all the while Ziggy’s mom (Julianne Moore) tries to help a young teen (Billy Bryk) while working at a domestic abuse shelter. This film is about a bunch of self-centered people who want to impress someone but can’t keep the spotlight off of themselves. There are some wonderful performances in this film, especially Julianne Moore, the mother of Ziggy, who can’t connect with her son on any level. Still, instead of trying to fix that relationship, she fixates on another teen, trying to make him into the son that she wants. The problem is that the script, written and directed by Jesse Eisenberg, can never figure out where it wants to go, and we can’t get a handle on what makes these characters think the way they do. All I know is that after an hour and a half, I didn’t want to spend any more time with them because I didn’t like them. I just didn’t care if they succeeded or changed, and regardless of the ending, I’m not sure they ever will.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee  When You Finish Saving the World Website   Now in select theatres.

Indiefest: After Love (2020)   Set in the port town of Dover, England, where Mary (Joanna Scanlan) is grieving the loss of the love of her life, her husband, Ahmed. Going through his wallet, Mary finds an ID card belonging to a French woman, a secret Ahmed kept just twenty-one miles across the English Channel in Calais. Joanna Scanlan gives us a heartbreakingly wonderful performance of a woman who learns that her husband had a secret that she decides she must explore herself. This film is about love, trust, and that everyone has secrets, but some are so devastating when they are found out. I don’t want to give too much out, but let’s just say that the film goes down a road where Mary finds herself in the position of whether to go along for the ride or reveal everything. It’s a decision Mary must make quickly, which will have far-reaching consequences. About Love is a film that moves slowly but with heart and substance, with Scanlan giving us an incredibly moving performance that gets better by the minute.   My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again  After Love Website  Now in select theatres.

Indiefest: The Son (2022) PG-13 Peter (Hugh Jackman) and his partner Beth (Vanessa Kirby) are struggling along with a new baby when Peter’s first wife, Kate (Laura Dern), tells Peter that he must take their teenage son, Nicholas (Zen McGrath). Kate has run out of ideas to help Nicholas, who suffers from depression, and the hope is that Peter can reach him. Peter hopes to be a better father than his dad and find a way to help Nicholas. I thought this would be a sequel of sorts to filmmaker Florian Zeller’s 2020 film The Father because of the title and the fact that Anthony Hopkins, the star of that film, plays a father in this film. This is not the case, and Hopkins, though a delight to watch in a very evil role, is only in one scene in The Son. Hugh Jackman puts everything he has into the role and gives one of his best dramatic performances. Jackman provides us with a performance that starts with empathy and a sureness that borders on cocky but ends with confusion and, yes, pain. I just wish it was in a better film. The film should have been The Father II, as the focus is not on the son, a deeply depressed teen, but on Peter, the father, and how he deals with someone he loves who is having trouble with life. As hard as Jackman and Laura Dern try, I never connected to the couple and didn’t get the emotional impact I wanted from the film. The film feels shallow and gives us an ending I felt cheated by. As good and spellbinding The Father was, The Son feels so much less. My Rating: Bargain Matinee  The Son Website  Now playing in select theatres. 

Forgotten Film: I Capture the Castle (2003) R  Set in 1930s England, 17-year-old Cassandra (Romola Garai) lives in a rundown castle with her very eccentric and growing poor by-the-day family. Her father (Bill Nighy) is a novelist who hasn’t written a word in 12 years. Her sister (Rose Byrne) has boys on the brain and is mad at the world, and Cassandra’s stepmother is a nudist. Into the madness come two Americans (Henry Thomas, Marc Blucas) who could change the family’s fortunes if the girls can get the boys to fall in love with them. I Capture the Castle is a fun romantic story based on the book by Dodie Smith, and Romola Garai is terrific as the fiery Cassandra who loves her family but wants to see the world and write about it. The dinner sequence where the two families get together is the highlight of the film and is hilarious. I Capture the Castle is a sweet look at first love and what we do to make our families happy. My Rating: Full Price   I Capture the Castle Info

Weird Credits: From the credits of Living: Home Economist

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You: The Amazing Maurice (2022) PG A talking tomcat named Maurice goes on an adventure with a kid who has a group of rats following him and a young woman who loves mysteries. Based on the beloved book by Terry Pratchett and with a voice cast that includes Hugh Laurie, Gemma Arterton, Emilia Clarke, Hugh Bonneville, and David Tennant, this should be a lot of fun. Coming to theatres in early February.  The Amazing Maurice Website

Until Next Time!

Magic Mike XXL

My View:   Magic Mike XXL (2015)   R   Mike (Channing Tatum) has been out of the stripper biz for three years. He has his own furniture company, and though he occasionally thinks about his past life, it’s pretty much over. That is until he gets a call from the guys, and they decide to go on one last road trip to glory.  I wasn’t a big fan of the first film as I feel it needed more of a storyline and less of a floor show. I also did not like the romantic interest for Tatum’s character, actress Cody Horn, as she wasn’t up to the part. My feeling for this sequel is about the same. While Tatum dances up a storm, and his final dance sequence with tWitch is fantastic, once again the film is let down by a weak storyline. The film’s Director of Photography is the first film’s director Steven Soderbergh, so I thought this one would follow the big, bright scenes the original film had but this sequel is very dim on the screen with some scenes barely visible. The initial meeting between Tatum and his love interest, Amber Heard, is so dark in appearance, I wasn’t sure who he was talking to. While I did like Jada Pinkett Smith in the role of the new MC for the boys, I just could help think how much I missed Matthew  McConaughey's character from the initial film. If you were a big fan of the first movie, you will enjoy this one. If you weren’t, like me, then stay away as it is just more of the same.   My Rating: Cable   Magic Mike XXL Website

My View:   Terminator Genisys (2015)  PG-13   John Connor (Jason Clarke) sends back Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney) to protect Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke), but when he arrives, nothing is as he expected.  So, what we have here is an attempt to reboot a franchise that seems as old as Arnold. Well, it just doesn’t work. Now if you are an action fan, then you may enjoy this film because it has plenty of action and some cool-looking fight sequences. Unfortunately, the plot, which includes multiple time travels, is a big mess where it looks like the writers and director added every conceivable plot point and hoped it would somehow all make sense. It doesn’t. My other problem with this film is the actress who plays Sarah Connor, Emilia Clarke. She is just too small and  young looking to play the tough as nails, Connor. I never believed that she could hold her own in a fight (unlike Linda Hamilton in T2 who could kick most guys’ butts). It also made it a little creepy that a very bulked up Jai Courtney’s character was meant to hook up with this very young-looking Sarah Connor. Arnold is fun and has some of the best lines, but it’s not enough to make up for such a convoluted storyline. And, it’s not worth the extra money for 3-D as the film was not shot in 3-D. Do stay through the first portion of ending credits though, as there’s a bonus scene.    My Rating: Bargain Matinee   Terminator Genisys Website

Indiefest:  Aloft (2015)  R  Nana (Jennifer Connelly) is an artist who recently became noticed for her work. A journalist (Melanie Laurent) finds out Nana abandoned a son (Cillian Murphy) over twenty years ago. The reporter sets up a meeting between the mother and son, and it will change their lives forever. I really enjoyed this film. It has a complex plot that, while complicated, makes the film flow throughout. All three leads are impressive, with Laurent giving a moving and intelligent performance. This is one of those films that is a pleasure to watch from the first frame, even though it deals with some pretty tough subjects, including a child with cancer. The cinematography in the film is extraordinary with the stark landscapes of the frozen north. If you want a film with notable performances and a well-thought-out plot, this movie is for you.   My Rating: Cable   Aloft Website

Indiefest:  A Little Chaos (2014)  R  Sabine (Kate Winslet) is a landscape designer who is commissioned by King Louis XIV (Alan Rickman) to build a garden at Versailles. She must deal with men who aren’t used to being bossed by a woman and work with Andre Le Notre (Matthias Schoenaerts), a landscaper to whom she becomes attracted. This is a fascinating film about a woman struggling to make it in not only in a man’s world but one that is also ruled by a class system. Winslet is perfect as the headstrong Sabine, who is willing to move mountains to create her garden. Besides playing the King, Rickman also directs this beautiful and intriguing film. Stanley Tucci stands out as the King’s snobbish brother, and there is subtle chemistry between Winslet and Schoenaerts. If you are a lover of costume dramas and court intrigue, this film is for you. It’s not your typical love story, but it is an enjoyable piece made better because of the performances of Tucci and Winslet.  My Rating: Full Price   A Little Chaos Website

Indiefest:   Eden (2014)  R   Paul (Felix de Givry) is a teenager who spends his nights in the underground scene of early nineties Paris. He forms a DJ collective with his friends, and they get involved with every aspect of the nightlife scene, including sex, drugs and dance music.  I am not a fan of club music, especially the house music that fills this very long and pointless film. The lead character of this story is extremely unlikable as he goes from girlfriend to girlfriend, mooching on his mother’s money and doing coke like it’s a daily vitamin. The story never really gets going and just seems to be one long reason to play some “Daft Punk” music. I think the writer/director, Mia Hansen-Love, spent a little too much time on the dance floor and not enough time working on her script.  My Rating: Cable   Eden Facebook page

Indiefest:   In Stereo (2015)    David (Micah Hauptman) and Brenda (Beau Garrett) are perfect for each other. Everyone knows that, with the exception of David and Brenda. They decide to break up, and both their lives start spiraling down. Will they ever realize the mistake they made?  I enjoyed this very unconventional love story about two people who are going to remain unhappy until they make the choice to get back together. I especially enjoyed the performance of Garrett, who, as the self-involved Brenda, makes her character likable even though she isn’t the nicest person in the world. The film is funny and, at times, touching, which makes it one of those films where you just want to slap the main characters and say “you are with the wrong person.” It’s a very inventive film full of rich and interesting characters and takes a few twists and turns to make you keep watching.  My Rating: Full Price

Forgotten Film:  Missing (1982)  R  A young couple (John Shea and Sissy Spacek) are traveling through Chile in the early 70s when a civil war breaks out. The young man is taken away by government forces with the suggestion that he is a spy. His wife and his father (Jack Lemmon) attempt to find the young man before he gets lost in the system. Lemmon and Spacek are brilliant in this film, worthy of their Academy Award nominations. The award-winning script is smart and bold, and the direction by Costa-Garvas is superb.   My Rating: Full Price   Missing Info

Weird Credits: From the credits of Magic Mike XXL: Graphic Designer Specialty Tattoo

Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You: Ricki and the Flash (2015)  PG-13  Hey, any film that has Meryl Streep as a rock-and-roll icon can’t be half bad.   Ricki and the Flash Info

Until Next Time