New Film Review: SOUL

 

SOUL

Directed by Peter Doctor and Kemp Powers

Screenplay by Peter Doctor and Mike Jones

After landing a gig of a lifetime, Joe (Jamie Fox) falls down an open manhole he finds himself stuck in a strange land between earth and the afterlife.

Positives: 

The first 5 minutes.

Tina Fey as 22 is kinda funny.

Jamie Fox is really good doing voice work 

That is it...

Negatives:

This is just strange movie with many plot holes. 

I know its for kids so maybe we can ignore plot holes, however death is involved so is it for kids???!!

I even question why they needed the death part why not just follow Joe as he chases his dream, and then maybe learn that he is already living his dream. This is just odd, with odd characters.

PIXAR has a problem and you can connect it with the loss of John Lasseter . Onward and now this. There is no feeling anymore in these PIXAR films. Death is...funny? PIXAR is in trouble.

2 stars out of 5 for Soul. Its not even good animation it seems lazy.

From the shadows as always thanks for your time.

New Film Review: Nomadland

NOMADLAND

Directed by Chloe Zhao

Screenplay by Chloe Zhao

This film follows Fern, who after losing everything in the recession, lives a modern day nomad life in the American West in her van.

It is a film I felt like I have not seen before. Zhao takes  a character Fern played wonderfully raw by Frances McDormand , and she is acting against real people being themselves in a nomad life.

It is an odd film because it feels like a documentary but it is scripted.

It shows real nomads which is upbeat. This is their life, they are not ashamed. They create their own communities. They have their own leaders. People come and go, they seem , well, not happy but maybe content in their lives. 

As for Frances she seems like the opposite of the rest of the nomads, she is in survival mode and always seems restless, and maybe a bit depressed.

McDormand is just great in this part, most the time observing like we are. We know she is running from life and we feel for her.

As for the film itself....Zhao uses handheld cameras most of the time which puts the viewers right along the side of Fern..following her and seeing what she sees. That all works. However, the film does not have much movement. It is almost stagnant. The film gets kinda boring in the back end. 

I have to give the film some credit. Zhao tries something different, and it works to a point. It just sadly lays there, under a great performance by McDormand.

If you want to see something different watch Nomadland, 3 stars out of 5.

As always from the shadows thanks for your time.

New Film Review: Mank

MANK

Directed by David Fincher

Screenplay by Jack Fincher

!930's Hollywood. We follow Herman Mankiewicz as he writes Citizen Kane, while also weaving his way through the politics of Hollywood at the time.

Lets get to it:

The good:

The look..a soft black and white. You feel like the Fincher brothers plops you into this time and place. It is just a wonderful looking film

Gary Oldman as Mank. Often funny. Often a mess. He keeps you watching as he weaves his way through Hollywood politics. Oldman...is he in the top 5 living actors right now? Could be.

Lily Collins as Rita Alexanader is so freaking good in this film. She almost plays a babysitter to Mank. Without her Mank is nothing. She is often maybe more than a babysitter...her facial expressions are priceless in this film.

Amanda Seyfried as Marion Davies. Its 1930's Hollywood, you need a starlet. Amanda is perfect. No spoilers here but...just perfect.

The bad:

The editing decisions. i got lost often in this film of where and what time and place we are at. This jumps and jumps time, and because of this it loses its momentum often. Then at the end the times collide. This kinda worked in the latest Little Women, the jumping back and forth in time. In Mank it makes the film often confusing. I think it was a bad decision by the Fincher brothers. I think they could have told the story straight up with no time jumps. It would have been cleaner

Do not let the "Bad" turn you off. There is a lot going on here. Hollywood prejudice; politics; sexism; and backstabbing. It is a good watch. 4 out of 5 stars for Mank. it is enjoyable.

From the shadows thanks for your time.

New Film Review: Minari

Minari

Written and Directed by Lee Isaac Chung

A Korean family tries to start up a farm in Arkansas in the 1980's

This is a small movie that really sticks with you.

The story is focused on this Korean family trying to make this farm work. You can tell right away this is not the family dream. This is the fathers dream, Jacob, played by Steven Yeum. The mother, Monica played by Yeri Han, is silent but we can tell she is not happy with this dream of her husband. She falls in line, and shows support but you can tell she wants out of this area.

The story is soft and interesting. I like that Chung did not lean hard on this Korean family facing prejudice in this town, for the most part, at work, or at church and such, they were accepted. Their struggles lie in the farm; the new home/trailer; and the new life. This could be any color or nationality, this is the struggle to achieve the American Dream.

I know there is a lot of love out there for Yuh-Jung Youn who plays Soonja. Me not so much.I found her character annoying and ...its just okay performance.

I do think Steven Yeun is fantastic along with his working buddy Paul played by Will Patton. They are just great.

Alan Kim who plays David is getting alot of love....aaaaa...he is good but watch it again, he is often looking at the camera when he is not suppose to.

Negatives?

I think it may be too soft. The story moves at a snails pace with an unsatisfying ending. Making me think, do I want to see this again? No not really. Which is a shame because there is a couple great performances, over ridden by an annoying character in Soonja and the ending.

4 out of 5 stars for Minari. Its a must see, stay with it, a couple good performances, and a story of hope.

From the shadows as always thanks for your time.

New Film Review: The Father

 

THE FATHER

Directed by Florian Zeller

Screenplay by Christopher Hampton

Anthony Hopkins plays Anthony a elderly man with dementia who refuses help from Anne his daughter played by Olivia Coleman.

It is based on a stage play and it is pretty interesting and sad, where Director Zeller, and you don't see it right away as a viewer, makes this film through the eyes of a person with Dementia. It is an interesting idea, and yet confusing. However maybe its suppose to be confusing because through the eyes of a dementia patient life is confusing. There is confusion with characters around Anthony. There is confusion with time and worry. There is confusion with place. Its real. It is real and it is sad.

Olivia Coleman as the just saint of a daughter Anne gives an Oscar worthy performance. the bewilderment and exasperation on her face is often heartbreaking. She wants to live her life but she cannot because of her love for her father who often does not know her. Its real.

The negatives here, are, as a movie it just falls flat. There is a reveal that is a bit shocking but that is even more flat and even sad. It is not an easy watch, when I saw in the theater some people walked out. It is just heavy.

3 out of 5 stars for The Father. It is a hard recommendation. Go see this film it is fun. Well no. Its good for people who have relatives with Dementia to see. Well no they are living it, and they know others are also.

So who is it for? Other than to see a couple good performances.

From the shadows as always thanks for your time.

New Film Review: The little Things

THE LITTLE THINGS

Written and Directed by John Lee Hancock

Denzel Washington plays Joe Deacon a Kern County Deputy Sheriff sent to LA to pick up some evidence for a case. Instead he gets caught up in a search for a serial killer.

Oh Boy!!

The positives:

Well Denzel plays a kind of quiet role here as Joe. He almost shuffles through life., with secrets. He is...as always very good.

Jaret Leto as Albert Sparne is fantastic in a small role as a ...is he crazy or is he not role. If he is not...what game is he playing.

The negatives:

Oh there is a lot. This movie is surprisingly boring and it goes no where. No spoilers here..but it has a twist at the end, and that twist, you just go...OK...so...they get away...so the movie is about bad people getting away with doing bad things. It falls flat. Almost pointless. It has all this talent and it just does not work. It seemed to take forever to get to the end and its whole lot of nothing.

Rami Malek is god awful and maybe miscast as an almost comical Jim Baxter. I did not believe his character for a moment...then him being an idiot at the end was stunning and out of character.

I have too wonder if this film was edited down to make this movie a bit off. I wonder if there is a better film on the cutting room floor out there.

Well 2 out of 5 stars for The Little Things. 2 stars for two good performances and the atmosphere and tension (which leads no where) keeps you watching.

From the shadows as always thanks for your time.

New Film Review: Sound Of Metal

THE SOUND OF METAL

Directed by Darius Marder

Screenplay by Abraham and Darius Marder

A heavy metal drummer world gets thrown upside down when he starts to use his hearing.

Sometimes, and it usually happens to me once or twice a year, I am surprised. This was a surprise. I go in thinking that this will be a artsy film where I will not care about anyone just by seeing the trailer. I leave loving every one.

Let me get to the positives:

The acting...

Riz Ahmed as Ruben playing a deaf person, learning sign language for the part. Learning drumming for the part. Saying so much with his eyes. This is really really a wonderful performance.

Paul Raci as Joe Ruben's mentor. Such a wonderful soft performance also often done in sign language.

Lets not forget the thankless role of Olivia Cooke as Lou. Her life changes drastically also as her boyfriend loses his hearing. It's also life altering. Her performance is so soft and delicate, its a shame it gets ignored when people talk about this film. She is very good.

The screenplay...

The story is so different, your heart hurts for all involved and you still have hope if they do the right thing.

The screenplay is also not afraid of silence. Which is an important part of telling this story and it works

I only have a couple of negatives:

I wish while Ruben was in this encampment, we would have cut back to Lou and find out about her path. We do get a hint of where she is in life toward the end but I would like to see her developments along the way.

I also don't like the open ending, no spoilers, I will leave it there.

4 out of 5 stars for the wonderful Sound Of Metal

From the shadows thanks for your time.