April Movies Part 4: Players & Upgraded

We can never watch enough romcoms and now we have two more available on streaming. So dive right in to get two very different flavors of romantic comedy that are both equally satisfying.

Players: Written by Whit Anderson and directed by Trish Sie, this movie stars Gina Rodriguez as Mack, a woman who loves to run "plays" to find casual hook-ups for herself and her friends. She routinely meets up in a bar with her best friend Adam (Damon Wayans, Jr.), co-worker Brannagan (Augustus Prew) and his younger brother Little (Joel Courtney). She has helped these men hook-up with dozens of people and they have watched her pick up many more after a long day at work. However, enter Nick (Tom Ellis), a sophisticated British journalist who has been nominated for a Pulitzer and is a proper "adult." After a one-night stand, Mack realizes that she actually wants more from this man, and now she needs to come up with a play to turn him into her actual boyfriend. With her friends' help, they embark on a complex plan (and intense stalking) to worm her way into this man's affections.

I won't tell you anything further. If you're any kind of romcom connoisseur, it should be fairly obvious to you from the jump how this whole thing is going to end. But the journey is as fun as the destination and this is a great cast of people getting up to a great series of shenanigans. This is a fun, zippy film that is perfectly charming. And as an added bonus, it takes place in NYC, so if you're a New Yorker, there will be plenty of fun "I've been there!" moments for you to indulge in.

Upgraded: Written by Christine Lenig, Justin Matthews, and Luke Spencer Roberts, and directed by Carlson Young, this film stars Camila Mendes as Ana Santos, an intern at an auction house who is desperately hoping to parlay this opportunity into a proper job and career that finally makes use of her art history degree. Her boss, Claire (played with a hilarious accent by Marisa Tomei) is a Miranda Priestly-type, a hard-ass who terrifies all her assistants. Anyway, via some machinations, Ana finds herself on a work trip to London. When an airport employee takes pity on her and upgrades her to First Class, she runs into Will (Archie Renaux), a charming young man who seems instantly taken with her. They have a very flirty flight across the ocean, during the course of which, Ana makes the mistake of pretending she is actually the Director of the auction house and not a lowly intern. 

As you can imagine, that one lie is gonna spiral out of control, not helped by the fact that, of course, Will's mother (played by the magnificent Lena Olin) is one of the clients that Claire and Ana will be holding an auction for in London. You can expect to watch Ana trying to get away with her lie without losing the man or her job, and everything will be spectacularly complicated until it all gets untangled. Again, this is nothing you haven't seen before, but these actors are delightful, London looks beautiful, and who doesn't love watching two people fall in love despite a lie and then have to navigate the fallout before they can reach their happily ever after? Get cozy on the couch and settle in for a heartwarming romance. You won't be disappointed.

April Movies Part 3: Monkey Man & Murder Mubarak

OK, did I choose to review both of these films because they are set in India and both have alliterative titles starting with M? Yes. But did I enjoy them both for very different reasons? Yup.

Monkey Man: Dev Patel directed this film, co-wrote it with Paul Angunawela, John Collee, and Jordan Peele, and then starred in it. If this is the direction this man wants to go with his career, I am wholly supportive, because this is one of the most fascinating and unique movies I've seen all year.

Patel stars as "Bobby" (not his real name, but that's what I'll use so I don't just have to keep referring to him as Monkey Man in the rest of this post). He is a poor young man in Mumbai who takes part in staged boxing fights, dressed in a monkey mask, to make some money. But we keep getting flashbacks to his past with his mother. It is clear she was very loving and doting, but then something horrific happened. As the movie progresses, we will piece together his traumatic story via many flashbacks and see how they all relate to his vengeful mission to destroy the people who ruined his life.

All of that sounds pretty standard, but where this film excels is in its execution. It does a brilliant job of capturing not only the claustrophobia of the slums, but also the exhilaration of navigating through those narrow alleys and byways and the thrumming pulse of the city where all these people magically manage to co-exist. The music choices are always excellent, with action sequences being set to rap, Bollywood, or occasionally, incredible instrumental music (renowned tabla player Zakir Hussain shows up in this film for a spectacular cameo that I can't stop raving about). The mythology of Hanuman, the Hindu monkey god, and the Ramayana runs throughout this film, setting up a righteous fight between good vs evil that very appropriately crescendos at Diwali. The cinematography by Sharone Meir is fluid and vibrant. Patel's direction is remarkably self-assured, with scenes that are shot with such an artistic and unusual point-of-view that you know this man storyboarded every frame to death. Moments of this film truly reminded me of The Green Knight, one of the best movies Patel ever starred in, as that too is a film that makes great use of mythology, imagery, and a lone man's quest.

Yes, this movie is a gory and violent action thriller, but I was so captivated by how it chose to depict that violence that I had a big smile on my face even during the bloodiest moments. There is also a significant plot involving a group of hijras (a transgender community unique to the Indian subcontinent) that is beautifully done. I am so used to Bollywood cinema always portraying hijras as villains, but here they get to save the day alongside our hero and also share some of the Hindu mythology that is so relevant to their history. This film has many remarkable themes that it weaves together effortlessly, speaking to the many minorities in India that don't always get a fair share, whether it be indigenous communities, LGBT folk, or women. Bobby's whole mission is driven by the violence done to his mother, and ultimately it is very satisfying to see him beat a man to death with a woman's shoe. I know an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind, but there is certainly something poetic about watching a misogynist get beaten to death with a glittery heel.

I don't know what it means that this movie has come out right before the Indian elections. To me, it's taking a pretty anti-Hindu nationalist stance, as all the villains in this piece are people who are trying to preserve the status quo and stomp out the rights of minorities. This is definitely the kind of movie Bollywood doesn't make, but Hollywood would never know to make it either. Instead, it takes someone like a Dev Patel, who can straddle both worlds, to come up with something that is so artful and thought-provoking but can also serve as his audition for James Bond. Because damn the man looks great in a tux while slaughtering a bunch of bad guys. 

Murder Mubarak:  Written by Gazal Dhaliwal, Tamojit Das, and Suprotim Sengupta (who adapted the novel Club You to Death by Anuja Chauhan), and directed by Homi Adjani, this movie is definitely the sweariest and sexiest Hindi movie I've seen. Which accounts for why it went straight to streaming on Netflix - this is not the kind of movie you release in theaters to the more conservative masses. Apart from that however, this is still a pretty typical Bollywood film, with some pretty typical performances. What that means is that it's light and frothy, occasionally a little gory, but overall, a pretty good time if you're looking to while away a few hours.

The action takes place at a swanky member's only club in Delhi where a Zumba instructor named Leo Mathews (Aashim Gulati) has been murdered. Though there's a fair amount of misdirection at the beginning of this film for you to even figure that out. Which sets the scene for the rest of this film and its complexities. There is a sprawling cast featuring people like Pankaj Tripathi, Sara Ali Khan, Dimple Kapadia, Karisma Kapoor, Sanjay Kapoor, etc., etc. Everyone is playing a rather heightened character, and as ACP Bhavani Singh (Tripathi) proceeds to investigate this case, it becomes increasingly clear that every single person had a motive.

The mystery is rather over-complicated and it makes sense that this story started out a novel - I might have to read the book now. Nonetheless, I never got bored while watching this film, even if at times I did feel a bit perplexed. Every actor looked like they were having a blast portraying these varied characters, and at the end of the film, the Poirot-esque denouement was quite enjoyable, as we not only solved the main murder mystery, but about a dozen other mysteries besides. Don't go into this movie expecting a polished script, but certainly expect to be entertained by a huge cast and a twisty plot that'll keep you guessing till the very end. 

April Movies Part 2: Problemista & Civil War

Do you want to watch a surreal comedy about what's wrong with America? Or do you want to watch a harrowing drama about what's wrong with America? Either way, dive in for reviews for two great movies about the perils of living in America!

Problemista: Written and directed by Julio Torres (who also stars, what a Renaissance man!), this movie tells the story of Alejandro (Torres), a young immigrant from El Salvador who dreams of being a toymaker of extremely whimsical (aka weird) toys. He wants a job at Hasbro, but in the interim, the man's gotta eat, so he has a job at a cryogenics company. When he is fired, the 30-day immigration clock starts ticking, where he needs to get a job with an employer who is willing to sponsor his work visa. Otherwise, he will be kicked out of the country.

As someone who works in a company with a lot of immigrants who routinely face this peril when they are made redundant, I immediately sensed his panic. But this movie takes a comically surreal look at the many ways in which the immigration system screws over hard-working people and makes them more vulnerable to exploitation. Alejandro thinks he has found a savior in Elizabeth (Tilda Swinton, in a role that should be considered in next year's Oscar race), a bizarre art critic who is the very definition of a Karen. She hires Alejandro to help her organize an art exhibition of her late husband's artwork, but she is a frenzied and frantic employer who is obsessed with FileMaker Pro. Since she has only taken him on part-time and hasn't signed any visa paperwork, to make ends meet, Alejandro is subletting his tiny bedroom in an already crowded apartment and taking up odd jobs on Craigslist that only get progressively worse as his desperation deepens.

I know I'm not describing a very funny movie, but it genuinely is hilarious while telling a very real tale of how people fall through the cracks all the time in our capitalist society. While riddled with jokes, Problemista manages to be a biting satire about how we treat people with dreams and thwart their ambitions. I suppose it's a comedy because of the way in which Alejandro's problems are resolved, but oh boy, the journey is fraught.

Civil War: Written and directed by Alex Garland, the one-word description of this film is: harrowing. I was on the edge of my seat for most of it, feeling sweaty and horrified. I know that doesn't sound like a fun time at the theater, but man, I haven't felt this emotionally invested in a film in a long while.

Set in the near future, the premise is that multiple states have gotten together to secede from the United States and a civil war has broken out. The country is now subject to violent attacks and bombings, and the President (played by Nick Offerman, in a spot of top-notch casting), keeps sending out messages about how the government is battling the insurrectionists and winning this war. But the reality is that things are going terribly, and the government will likely be overthrown. Kirsten Dunst stars as Lee, a weary war photographer who covered many horrific uprisings in other countries but now has to depict the war in her own homeland. She is accompanied by fellow journalist Joel (Wagner Moura), a man who really gets a thrill out of being embedded with military troops in the thick of action. The two of them decide to travel down to Washington D.C. from New York, a journey that is bound to be perilous as most of the major roadways have been bombed and rebel forces are dotted along the entire East Coast. But they want to go interview the President before the government collapses. Sammy (Stephen McKinley Henderson), a veteran journalist who was Lee's mentor wants to join them, and so does Jessie (Cailee Spaeny), a young photographer who idolizes Lee's work and aspires to become a photojournalist herself. Reluctantly, Lee and Joel agree to take them along.

Together, this motley crew embark on the world's most terrifying road trip. The film plays out as a series of increasingly disturbing vignettes, where these four people encounter different terrors along the way and see the many ways in which ordinary citizens have either been transformed by this war or blithely ignore it. Rather than being a political movie, this is a movie that is simply trying to remind us about the horrors of war. Humans are a god-awful species, capable of incredible destruction, and as we follow these journalists on their amoral journey to document all the atrocities they see without taking any action, it is really hard to endure the relentless onslaught.

This film is shot impeccably by cinematographer Rob Hardy. Every action scene is blended in with photo stills so we can see the photojournalism happening in real time and observe how the violence is translated into macabre black-and-white beauty via a camera. Every actor is sensational, depicting how their characters evolve over the course of the film to either become more or less world-weary, each one dealing with their individual existential crises as they make this arduous journey. And the soundtrack is phenomenal, oftentimes jarring, as we get upbeat tunes at the most downbeat of moments and have to remember that every time something horrible happens to one person, there's another side in this war that is celebrating. It's all incredibly sobering but brilliantly told and I dearly hope it remains in the genre of speculative fiction rather than serving as a prophecy.

Super Sitcoms: Kim's Convenience & New Girl

Over the past few months, I have been engaged in a steady binge of two sitcoms I never watched when they originally aired on TV. But now, here I am to tell you that if you need something to cheer you up at 22-minute intervals over the course of multiple seasons, you should be adding these shows to your streaming queues immediately.

Kim's Convenience: What an absolute revelation. Set in Toronto, this show follows the Kim family, led by Sang-Il "Appa" and Yong-mi "Umma" Kim (Paul Sun-Hyung Lee and Jean Yoon), Korean immigrants who run a neighborhood convenience store. At the start of the series, their daughter, Janet (Andrea Bang), is still living with them and helps out in the store when she isn't in college studying photography (an area of study that is naturally not beloved by her immigrant parents). They also have a son, Jung (Simu Liu, before he became an Avenger and a Ken doll), who is somewhat estranged from the family - while he still speaks to his sister and mother, he hasn't spoken to his father in a long while, because of a troubled childhood that led to him ultimately getting kicked out of the house and left to fend for himself. 

Developed by Ins Choi and Kevin White (from Choi's play of the same name), this show lasted for five seasons and is a sheer joy. I first started watching it with my mother when I was visiting her over a long weekend, and we found ourselves bingeing through the first season in glee, occasionally pausing to remark "wow, Koreans are just like South Indians!" Apparently Asian immigrants have much in common and it was astonishingly funny to watch this show and identify parts of my own life in this family that seemed like they should be so different from my own. (Also, it's wild that Koreans call their parents Appa and Umma, as I thought that was exclusive to South Indians.) Over the course of the five seasons, it's also wonderful to see how these characters grow and evolve, and the changing family dynamics as Janet strives to become more independent, Jung tries to reconcile with his father, and Appa and Umma strive to become less rigid. And of course, there's an insane number of supporting characters who are so fun and engaging in their own right.

The final season of this show is definitely rocky and I wouldn't say the show ended in the best way possible. But it doesn't matter - you will be plenty invested in these characters at that point and be devastated that there aren't ten more seasons for you to watch. The Kim family is the kind of sitcom family we need to see more of on TV, and if you haven't seen them already, drop everything you're doing and turn Netflix on right now.

New Girl: I watched about three episodes of this show when it first aired, decided I didn't care for it, wrote this scathing review, and then promptly forgot all about it. But my fiance is a big fan, and with his insistence that the show eventually evolved to be more about the supporting cast than the main character I found so annoying, I decided to give it another go. We subsequently spent some delightful months making our way through seven seasons, consisting of a total of 146 half-hour episodes. Phew. 

The show tells the story of Jess (Zooey Deschanel), an elementary school teacher in Los Angeles who finds her boyfriend cheating on her with another woman and has to quickly move out of their house. So she moves into a loft apartment with three other men: Nick (Jake Johnson), a surly law school dropout who is now an unambitious bartender and isn't convinced that this emotional woman should be moving in; Schmidt (Max Greenfield, an actor I have loved forever, and who is insanely wonderful on this show), a Jewish, corporate, commitment-phobic bro, who seems like he should be every woman's worst nightmare, but is actually just a fat kid who suddenly became hot and doesn't know how to handle it; and...Coach, but really Winston, because the actor playing Coach (Damon Wayans Jr.) left the show after the pilot, so they hired Lamorne Morris, aka another Black guy, to replace him. Yeah, the optics aren't great, but Winston ends up being the least chaotic member of this little gang of weirdos, even if he does have a penchant for pranks. Rounding out the cast, we have Hannah Simone as Cece, Jess's best friend, who also happens to be a model, so of course, the boys are intrigued by her. But while Cece has her fair share of romantic drama, she and Jess have a great, albeit unlikely friendship, that keeps everything grounded.

This show is very zany, and these characters get up to all manner of shenanigans over the course of seven seasons. I can't really say they evolve too much - these people are all ridiculous and chaotic, and oftentimes I would just be shaking my head at how hapless everyone was being. But the writing and joke density was what carried me through. I may not have cared much for certain characters, but boy did they deliver some great dialogue that made me chuckle. In particular, I could never get over Max Greenfield's line readings or facial expressions - the man has an ability to turn even the most innocuous sentence into an absolute meal. It was also exciting to see Hannah Simone, a half-Indian woman, as a main character on a sitcom, as there is ordinarily a dearth of South Asian representation on American TV. Was it annoying to see her culture and heritage continually stereotyped and no one ever making any effort to pronounce Indian names correctly? For sure. But it's an American network sitcom, and this aired well before the pandemic when folks got much more woke about cultural representation, so I guess we'll give it a pass. If you want jokes, this is the show for you. If you want culturally sensitive commentary, might I refer you back up to Kim's Convenience.

April Movies Part 1: Wicked Little Letters & The Beautiful Game

This week, I unwittingly found myself watching two movies that both turned out to be directed by Thea Sharrock. So let's consider this blog post a celebration of a British woman director who has turned out two quintessentially British movies that couldn't be more different.

The Beautiful Game: Written by Frank Cottrell-Boyce, this is a movie inspired by the Homeless World Cup, an actual football (that's soccer for the Americans) tournament that began in 2003. This film tells the fictional story of the English team, managed by Mal (the incredible Bill Nighy), a man who was a professional football scout and has now dedicated his time to assembling a team of homeless people across England to participate in the Homeless World Cup every year. He already has a team gathered when he runs into Vinny (Micheal Ward), who is an extremely adept football player. Vinny vehemently denies that he is homeless, but he is sleeping in his car and struggling to find steady employment. For reasons that become clear much later in the film, Mal is fixated on persuading Vinny to join the team, and eventually, he does end up joining them for that year's tournament in Rome.

This is the category of British film that is a feel-good, slightly saccharine, socially conscious message movie. It's squeaky clean and full of heart and earnestness. Vinny is a great protagonist because he represents all the people who think homeless people brought their troubles upon themselves, even though he himself is currently struggling and unhoused. There's a cognitive dissonance stemming from his inability to acknowledge his own plight and that he should seek help, and that is ultimately the message of this film - stop judging others and get down to actually lending a helping hand. The supporting cast do a great job representing a group of men who find themselves in this situation for reasons ranging from drug addiction and gambling to fleeing the Syrian civil war. And of course, in the center of it all, we have Mal, a thoughtful, kind, and patient man who just wants to give these men a shot at this very unusual opportunity.

This is a sweet movie that you should stream and enjoy on a slow afternoon. It doesn't just focus on the England team - over the course of the tournament we meet players from South Africa, Japan, and the United States, and it's delightful to see these people bond across geographic boundaries, even if they take this competition very seriously. This movie never feels preachy, but it's certainly very straightforward in its attempt to humanize folks on the margins of society who are too often dismissed, feared, or ridiculed. It isn't high art, but it tells a deeply unique and intriguing story that might make you think twice the next time you pass a homeless person on the street. 

Wicked Little Letters: If you've just watched The Beautiful Game, prepare for some extreme whiplash as you head into this movie. Because while being extremely British, this falls into the category of British comedy that is sweary, satirical, and deliciously filthy. Written by Jonny Sweet and shockingly based on a true story, this movie is set in the 1920s and tells the tale of what happens when a woman named Edith Swan (the incredible Olivia Colman) starts getting a series of very angry and sweary letters that call her terrible names and say she is an awful person. (Yes, there's much more colorful language I won't be getting into, but to be sure, you will be able to enjoy the best that Shakespeare and British slang have to offer.)

The police are called in and suspicion is immediately placed on Rose Gooding (the equally fabulous Jessie Buckley), a young Irishwoman who recently moved in next door. Her husband died in the war, so she is a single mother to a young daughter, and she also has a Black boyfriend staying with her. She likes to drink, she likes to swear, she is obviously a rabble-rouser who is destined to be blamed for these letters. And so, she is arrested. The police station has just hired a Woman Police Officer, Gladys Moss (the glorious Anjana Vasan), who immediately senses that this whole thing is very fishy, and Rose probably didn't write the letters. But her male superiors don't want her to do any sleuthing. Nonetheless, she teams up with some local women to investigate this crime.

This is ostensibly a mystery, but it's pretty obvious where this is all headed (in case it isn't obvious to you already from my description, I won't bother to spell it out in this review so you can enjoy a truly spoiler-free experience at the theater). The supporting cast features a staggering who's who of British actresses like Eileen Atkins, Joanna Scanlan, and Lolly Adefope, who are all unsurprisingly delightful and look like they had a lot of fun making this film. This is a very feminist movie, featuring a number of characters who have found themselves oppressed by the patriarchy in different ways, and it's great to see them fighting back and regaining some control of their circumstances. This movie is silly, fun, and engaging, and if you desperately need to watch something where you can stand up and cheer on a bunch of enterprising women, this is the film you seek this week. Go forth!

March Movies Part 3: All of Us Strangers & Love Lies Bleeding

To close out March, I watched two very different queer movies. One is a gory, funny, and surreal thriller, the other is an introspective, melancholy romance. But both are incredibly compelling and well worth a watch. 

Love Lies Bleeding: Directed by Rose Glass, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Weronika Tofilska, this movie is set in 1989 and stars Kristen Stewart as Lou, a loner who runs a gym in the middle of nowhere. When a ripped woman named Jackie (Katy O'Brian) shows up at her gym, sparks fly. Jackie is hitchhiking her way to Las Vegas for a bodybuilding competition that will take place in a month's time. Lou has access to steroids (managing a gym seems to have its perks) so she suggests Jackie take some to augment her already fantastically muscle-bound figure. This...will have consequences.

I won't go into too many specifics because this is a short movie and you need to let the thrills and action unfold for itself. Suffice to say, it starts out as a sexy romance, and then quickly turns into a murderous thriller as our two heroines get involved in a bit of righteous vengeance against abusive men and then have to cover up their tracks. Ed Harris and Dave Franco deliver some menacing turns and let's just say the wig department on this movie was having a grand ol' time with all the mullets required. 

This movie is bizarre and twisted and great. When emotions are extremely heightened and every surface is splattered in blood, it still takes the time to let each scene breathe and insert plenty of wry, hilarious dialogue. Stewart and O'Brien deliver insanely good performances and even when this movie takes some artistic license and gets a bit surreal, these two actors keep everything grounded yet magical. I've never seen a movie quite like this, and again, this is why we need more women writing and directing movies. Because this is the kind of weird and imaginative brilliance they come up with.

All of Us Strangers: Written and directed by Andrew Haigh, and based on the Japanese novel, Strangers, by Taichi Yamada, this is a devastatingly gorgeous movie about one lonely man who experienced a lot of grief early in life and is still dealing with the fallout. Andrew Scott stars as Adam, a man who lives in a newly-built apartment building. He's one of the first people to move in, so he lives a very solitary existence, until one day, a neighbor named Harry (Paul Mescal) shows up outside his door with a bottle of whiskey. Adam rebuffs that initial advance, but later decides that maybe he does need some companionship and reaches out. The two quickly strike up a sweet romance.

In the meantime, however, Adam is reconnecting with his dead parents. Yeah, I don't know quite how else to put it. Essentially, he keeps going back to his old childhood home, and then has a dream/hallucination that he is visiting with his parents, who tragically died in a car crash when he was twelve. In these visits, he can finally catch up with them, tell them about what he has been doing with his life, and even come out as gay, a fact that both parents react to in very different ways. Jamie Bell and Claire Foy play Adam's parents, and they are spectacular, but Scott is the star in these encounters, reverting to a little boy who misses his parents so much and is so desperate to seek their comfort and reassurance.

Of course, Adam's worlds must collide. The movie so beautifully captures this man's metamorphosis as he finds more love and acceptance in his life, but trying to introduce his boyfriend to his dead parents is naturally going to be a big ask, and things unfold in very dramatic fashion. This is a movie that hits you squarely in the feels - every scene is directed with such evocative grace and some of the transitions are stunning pieces of cinematography. It is beautifully acted and while the story is fantastical, it is so resonant and personal and universal. It may be the very specific story of one gay man in London, but it also feels like the story of all of our collective childhoods, out little heartaches and challenges with our parents, our struggles to grow up and find a partner, and the ultimate joy and pain of being alive. It is simply stunning.

March Movies Part 2: The Taste of Things & Irish Wish

Today I present you with both a high-brow option and a low-brow option. Watch one, watch them both, either way you will have a grand time!

The Taste of Things: Written and directed by Tran Anh Hung, and starring Juliette Binoche and Benoit Magimel, this film was France’s official entry to the Oscars. When you sit down to watch it, please ensure you have already eaten or have plenty of snacks on hand because you are going to be starving by the end of it.

Set in 1889 on a French country estate, this is a story of Dodin (Magimel) and his cook, Eugenie (Binoche), two people who are obsessed with preparing incredible meals. They are also lovers, but while Dodin wants to get married, Eugenie doesn't see the point. Her life is perfect as is, why ruin it with marriage? Over the course of two hours, you will be treated to sumptuous, languid scenes of these two people (assisted by a woman named Violette and her young niece, Pauline, who proves to be a culinary wunderkind) making delicious meals. These scenes were all shot using real food instead of cinematically staged items, and there is no soundtrack except for the sound of vegetables being chopped, meats sizzling on the stove, and wine being splashed into a pan. Sidenote, my fiance, who was a chef in a former life, would routinely call out the next step in the recipes they were preparing, and he would be right. So, the script is certainly brimming with culinary accuracy.

There is plenty of interpersonal drama afoot, but everything between the humans takes place in the background while the food is the delicious foreground. This is a contemplative, lush film and I can't imagine anyone would have any regrets when watching it. Well except that they are now very, very hungry.

Irish Wish: From the sublime to the ridiculous. Directed by Janeen Damian, with a script from Kirsten Hansen, this is Lindsay Lohan's latest Netflix romcom. And frankly, I am quite charmed that this is the direction she has chosen for her career. One can never get enough of silly romances that take place in spectacular settings, and this one certainly delivers.

Lohan plays Maddie, a book editor who is hopelessly in love with Paul Kennedy (Alexander Vlahos), an Irish author whose book she has helped write. Unfortunately, she doesn't tell him about her true feelings, and at the book launch, he is charmed by her best friend, Emma (Elizabeth Tan). After a whirlwind courtship, the two are headed to Ireland to get married, and Maddie is on her way as a bridesmaid. When she gets there, she goes on a tour of the scenic countryside, happens upon a magical "wishing chair," wishes that Paul was marrying her instead, and when she wakes up the next day...well, you see where we're going, right?

What follows is your standard set of tropes about getting what you wished for, which makes you understand what you should have actually wished for. There's a handsome Englishman, James Thomas (Ed Speelers), who is serving as the wedding photographer, but...you can see where that's going, right? This film is spectacularly dumb and spectacularly splendid, and if you're not sprawling on the couch and watching it this weekend, you really have not made good life choices. I watched it to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, and while I'm sure Irish people are mortally offended by this film, I had a swell time!

March Movies Part 1: Dune Part Two, The Eras Tour, Lift

Well the Oscars are over so it’s back to watching a hodgepodge of films for me. I managed to watch one in theatres and the rest on streaming so read on to find out what might float your boat this month.

Dune: Part Two: If you saw Dune, then you already know what you're getting into right? I don't really know what to tell you about this film. First off, it's nearly three hours long. So surely that is already a bridge too far. Did I think this movie needed to be three hours long? Absolutely not. Did I think it was filled with sci-fi jim jams, Game of Thrones tropes, and truly spectacular desert cinematography interspersed with lots of lingering shots of beautiful actors looking out onto the vista or at each other with ambiguous intent? Absolutely yes. 

Listen, this is a long fantasy epic that feels exactly like the first movie except now we spend way more time in the desert riding a bunch of phallic-seeming sandworms. This movie is...fine. I sat through it all, enjoyed all the cinematic sequences, and remembered exactly 5% of it after I left. It looked like a lot of effort went into putting it together, and I'm sure the fans of the novel are so spectacularly glad to have this cinematic ode to it, much like I was when the Lord of the Rings movies were coming out. So this is not my jam, but if you're a Dune person? Go ahead and run to the theaters.

The Eras Tour: Um, again, you already know what you're getting into right? It's a 3-hour concert film and Taylor Swift is going to go through all of her greatest hits. As someone who only got into her music when she released the Folklore album, I definitely spent the majority of this movie waiting for the Folklore section to come up. But there were plenty of good bops along the way that I recognized from their periodic resurgence on the UK Top 40 and other pop culture tidbits that have been popping up throughout the year as this record-setting tour took over the United States. I might not be a Swiftie, but I don't live under a rock people. 

This concert is an absolute extravaganza and is choreographed to perfection. Swift is the consummate entertainer, and between the production design, costumes, and yes, the music, this is definitely an incredible way to spend a long weekend afternoon. Obviously, having some knowledge of Swift's music is helpful, but as long as you know some of the songs, I highly recommend you give this film a watch. If nothing else, you can feel like you're part of the zeitgeist without having to bankrupt yourself for actual concert tickets. 

Lift: Do I remember 5% of this movie? Um, maybe less. But is it a perfectly serviceable action thriller when you're home and on the couch and need a new Netflix jam? You bet!

Kevin Hart plays Cyrus, a high-end thief who is enlisted by Abby (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), a former flame who now works for Interpol (of course), to help her catch an evil billionaire with a plot to take over the world (of course). The plot involves an NFT heist, so this is definitely a movie of our times, but otherwise the rest of it is a standard series of tropes and action set pieces throughout Europe, including some shenanigans in Venice, which is always a grand place to have some chase sequences. Will you be surprised by anything in this movie? No. But will you be entertained? Sort of!

And the 2024 Oscar Goes To...

Yup, another year has passed and I'm back with my Oscar hot takes. Barbenheimer was the cinematic event of 2023, but we still live in a patriarchy, so the wrong movie seems to be nabbing all the kudos during awards season. Le sigh. Follow along for more feminist ranting below!

Best Picture: Overall, this is a solid list of films, featuring powerful stories, tremendous performances, and a real range of genres. My personal pick for the Best Picture of 2023? Past Lives, hands down. That movie made me feel more feelings than I had felt in eons. It has zero chance of winning Best Picture this year, which is a real shame, but I'm glad it at least nabbed a nomination. My pick for runner-up is a tie between Barbie and The Holdovers, two movies that I absolutely loved, that both feature comical performances but oh so much soul. And who also owe a great deal to their wonderful production design - one is very pink and vibrant, the other is capturing New England in the middle of a blizzard, and it's all perfect for telling a story about humans and/or dolls and their everyday struggles. American Fiction and Anatomy of a Fall are tied for third place - one is an insane and incisive comedy, the other is a moody French courtroom drama. They couldn't be more different from each other, but they both were wildly unique and entertaining and had me glued to the screen. Then we have Poor Things and The Zone of Interest, again, two wildly different movies, but both of which tell extremely compelling stories. These are good movies, and they have been feted by critics, but while they certainly had interesting moments and featured some brilliant feats of storytelling, production design, and sound design, neither film was consistent throughout the entire runtime, and I would find my attention wavering at various points. And then finally we have Maestro, Oppenheimer, and Killers of the Flower Moon, a trio that I would categorize as "important" pictures directed by white male "auteurs." Maestro was probably the most entertaining of the three, but maybe that was because I could watch it leisurely at home on Netflix and revel in some of its funnier moments and flourishes. Oppenheimer held some interest for me as a former scientist, but lost me with its moral ambiguity and extreme maleness. Yet, somehow, it is the frontrunner to win this award, which I find tremendously annoying. And Killers of the Flower Moon? Sigh. I don't care how much you tell me that it is centering Native American stories. It is still mostly just about white men exploiting Native Americans and that's a hard pass from me. Especially if you're going to tell that story for an interminable three and a half hours. 

Best Director: So, in a year where three of the Best Picture nominees were directed by women, we still only nominated one woman for Best Director? Cool. Cool, cool, cool. As such, I am rooting for Justine Triet to win for Anatomy of a Fall, but the chance of that happening is 0%. I would have loved for Celine Song or Greta Gerwig to pick up the statuette for Past Lives or Barbie, but that is not to be. Instead, it seems like Christopher Nolan might have the edge for Oppenheimer, which...fine. Not because I liked this movie, but because I have loved his previous movies, and he has never won Best Director in the past. So this is more of a lifetime achievement award. I certainly don't think Martin Scorsese needs another Oscar for Killers of the Flowers Moon. Yorgos Lanthimos and Jonathan Glazer have both done creative and inspiring work in Poor Things and The Zone of Interest so I wouldn't be mad if they won, but again, I didn't particularly love those movies. As far as I'm concerned, none of these nominees are my pick for Best Director this year, so bah humbug.

Best Actress: Lily Gladstone seems to be a lock for Killers of the Flower Moon, and while I hated that movie, I can't fault her performance in it, so I am down to hand her the award. I do think Sandra Huller was masterful in Anatomy of a Fall, having to act in three languages and be insanely ambiguous throughout so you are always questioning her motives. Plus she was also in The Zone of Interest, delivering a chilling performance as a Nazi - what a year she has had. Emma Stone was incredible in Poor Things, delivering a full-body performance that relied on her speech and physicality to convey the evolution and growth of the protagonist. Annette Bening was great in Nyad, and Carey Mulligan was fine in Maestro. Overall, a wonderfully strong category, but Gladstone's going to win and make history, and that will be great.

Best Actor: Cillian Murphy has this locked for Oppenheimer, and much like Nolan, I'm willing to go along with this as more of a lifetime achievement award. He does fine work in this film, so even if I didn't like the movie, I can't fault the actor. Personally, I would love to see Jeffrey Wright win for American Fiction, but at least he finally got a nomination. Likewise with Colman Domingo, who has been popping up in everything lately and seems fated to win an Oscar in the very near future. He was wonderful in Rustin, but he will not be able to stop the Oppenheimer express. Paul Giamatti also delivers an absolutely brilliant performance in The Holdovers - again, this is a strong category, but the frontrunner is running away with it.

Best Supporting Actress: Da'Vine Joy Randolph is going to win for The Holdovers, and I am 100% on board. She is phenomenal in that movie - I keep thinking back to one wordless scene she has with her sister that manages to convey an entire relationship within a few seconds. I'm very glad America Ferrera was nominated for her epic monologue in Barbie, and both Danielle Brooks and Jodie Foster delivered searing performances in The Color Purple and Nyad respectively, so I was happy to see them get recognized. I love Emily Blunt, but her role in Oppenheimer certainly wasn't anything to write home about, so good for her, but also, *shrug.* Let's go Da'Vine!

Best Supporting Actor: Robert Downey Jr. appears to be the foregone conclusion here for Oppenheimer. For the life of me, I cannot tell you why. Every year, people rally around some film or performance that I find so perplexing, and this category is the one where I find myself most confused. Why would you award Downey or Robert De Niro for Killers of the Flower Moon, when you could be giving a statue to Sterling K. Brown for his engaging work in American Fiction, or Ryan Gosling for playing a freakin' Ken doll? Mark Ruffalo was decidedly weird in Poor Things and I wouldn't say he was "acting" so much as he was hamming it up, so I'll pass on that. This category is just a mystery to me. I will be scheduling my bathroom break for when they hand it out.

Best Original Screenplay: I dearly hope Celine Song wins for Past Lives. But Justine Triet and Arthur Harari seem more likely for Anatomy of a Fall. Which is fair, but still. Justice for Past Lives! I wouldn't be mad by a win for David Hemingson for The Holdovers, but I'll pass on Maestro and May December. That's all I have to say about that. 

Best Adapted Screenplay: This category is WILD. It is ridiculous that Barbie is nominated here when it's one of the most Original movies I've seen, but that's the wild and wacky Oscars for you. I would love for Greta Gerwig to take home a statue for this screenplay, but I have no idea who is going to win here - the current favorite appears to be Cord Jefferson for American Fiction, which I absolutely cannot quibble about. Obviously, I am not rooting for Oppenheimer, and I am lukewarm on Poor Things and The Zone of Interest. So I am certainly looking forward to seeing who gets this award on Sunday night, because it might be the only one where I'm genuinely surprised and delighted. 

That's all for the major categories. A Best Sound win for The Zone of Interest would be cool as that's the only movie where I actually paid attention to the Sound Design, and I would love for Barbie to at least get some love for Best Costume Design and Best Production Design. It has been a rather staid run-up to the event, with all the same people nabbing the awards over and over again, so this promises to be a rather boring ceremony. I'll be hoping for some lovely speeches from deserving winners, but I wouldn't say no to some spectacular upset where suddenly Barbie and Past Lives end up beating out Oppenheimer for everything. Hey, if there's one thing Barbie taught me, it's that a girl can dream.

February Films Part 2: Lisa Frankenstein, Drive-Away Dolls, Next Goal Wins, Bank of Dave, Nai Nai & Wai Po

This month has featured a real hodgepodge of films so here's an update on two films in theaters, and three you can catch on streaming if it's too cold to leave the house.

Lisa Frankenstein: I saw this film and I promptly forgot all about it until I sat down to write this review. So that is certainly not a ringing endorsement Directed by Zelda Williams and written by Diablo Cody, this film is a genre mash-up set in the 1980s, that tells the story of Lisa (Kathryn Newton), a teenage girl who suffered a personal trauma when her mother was murdered and now is having a hard time getting along with her father's new wife (played to catty perfection by Carla Gugino). Her new stepsister, Taffy (Liza Soberano), is very kind, but is also a very cheerful cheerleader, which doesn't quite gel with Lisa's whole silent gothic vibe. Of course, Lisa loves hanging out at the local cemetery, and one day, during a storm, a lightning strikes animates the corpse of a Victorian-era man who was buried there (played by Cole Sprouse). He shows up at Lisa's house and she must hide him away in her bedroom. What follows is a bit of a high school tale, a bit of a romcom, a bit of gothic horror, and a whole lot of 80's tropes. 

The story is quite the hodgepodge and is all a bit aimless and forgettable. Everything seems very comic until it all gets very murderous towards the end. The most notable thing about this film is the aesthetic - it's definitely an homage to Lisa Frank, and every frame is suffused in vibrant fun colors that make this film always a pleasure to look at, even if it isn't always a pleasure to watch. I wouldn't recommend watching it in theaters, but if you need a bit of a diversion, or if teen gothic comedy horror is your jam, your mileage may vary.

Drive-Away Dolls: Directed by Ethan Coen, who also co-wrote the screenplay with his wife Tricia Cooke, this movie is set in 1999 and stars the spectacular duo of Margaret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan as two lesbians who unwittingly steal a valuable briefcase and are now on the run from all the unsavory folk who are trying to retrieve it. Many hijinks ensue, including various delightful cameos from award-winning actors.

This movie is exactly what you would expect from a Coen brother. It's a little raunchy, a little bloody, and a whole lot silly. You are not going to be able to predict what is in that suitcase and why. Ultimately, that's not even very important, because the point of this film is to watch these two women on a road trip, learning to navigate their different approaches to getting laid at lesbian bars, and teaming up to defeat some incompetent gangsters. This is such a spectacularly queer movie, and all it cares about is exploring how women fall in love and/or lust, while the men are just a bunch of buffoons causing unnecessary violence. It's a diverting and fun two hours at the movies and certainly is the most unique experience you can hope to have this month. Down with the patriarchy!

Next Goal Wins: Directed by Taika Waititi who also co-wrote the screenplay with Iain Morris, this movie is everything you may have expected from the trailer. It's an underdog sports story, based on the true story of the American Samoa football team, who were the worst football team in the world. They had never scored a goal in international competition, so the President of the country's Football Association, Tavita (played here by the incredible Oscar Kightley), decided to advertise for a coach from the US. He got Thomas Rongen (Michael Fassbender), a man who had coached several US MLS teams but was currently being banished to American Samoa for increasingly volatile behavior. So now we have a mean coach with a chip on his shoulder, and a team of lovable misfits who have never scored a single goal. Can you see where this is all going?

You're going to get training montages, heartbreak, inspirational monologues, disappointments, triumphs, and a lot of personal growth. There's a whole journey in the coach's relationship with Jaiyah Saelua (Kaimana), a non-binary fa'afafine member of the team, who ended up being the first trans player in international soccer. There's a lot of cultural adjustment that needs to happen and plenty of mockery of this white man and his preconceived notions of Samoans. This is not a surprising or revolutionary movie by any means, but it is certainly a fun treat if you love this particular film genre and need a great team of underdogs to root for.

Bank of Dave: Speaking of rooting for the underdog, here's another wonderful tale of a man who went up against unscrupulous British bankers after the 2008 global financial crisis. This movie tells the true-ish story (and that "ish" is doing a LOT of work here, because this movie is heavily fictionalized) of Dave Fishwick (Rory Kinnear), a successful businessman from Burnley who started lending money to friends and members of the local community when they were getting turned down for bank loans. He loaned out nearly a million pounds and every single person returned his money back to him. So he comes up with the idea of setting up a local bank that would serve the community and give all profits back to local charities. However, in order to set up a bank, you need a banking license, so he hires a lawyer named Hugh (Joel Fry) to help with all the paperwork. Together, the two of them embark on a real David vs Goliath quest against the London regulators, who haven't approved a new banking license in over 150 years.

Written by Piers Ashworth and directed by Chris Foggin, this is a great story about taking down the establishment, tearing down the banking boy's club, and arguing for more socialism and less late-stage capitalism. It has a lot of "eat the rich" energy, and as someone who works for a British bank, you know I enjoyed all the sections talking about capital requirements and compliance. But overall, this is just a sweet, fun, typically British film about fighting for what's right, and having a small town in the North go up against greedy rich men in London. It's charming, there's a romance subplot with Phoebe Dynevor from Bridgerton, and Hugh Bonneville gets to swan about as an evil villain called Sir Charles. I ate it up with a big ol' spoon - how could you not?!

Nai Nai and Wai Po: Don't have hours to spare to watch a movie? How about 17 minutes to watch a thoroughly charming Oscar-nominated short film? Directed by Sean Wang, this is a movie about his two grandmothers, who live together in a house in California. They may have started out as in-laws, but over the years, these two women have developed a deep and abiding friendship, and now they regard each other as sisters, even sleeping in the same bed. They are 83 and 94 years old, and they look out for each other, ensuring that they still feel cared for and loved in their old age. With their grandson at home, making this film, their silliest and wisest selves are unleashed, and over the course of 17 minutes, you will be treated to two old ladies who have really cracked the code of aging with grace and humor. You simply must watch this film. It will make you laugh, help you embrace your mortality, and give you a whole new idea of how to plan out your retirement.

Australian Binges: Fisk & Ms. Fisher's Modern Murder Mysteries

The globalization of streaming means that I have suddenly found myself watching more TV from other countries than just my usual fare of British panel shows. Turns out Australians are making some pretty great TV, so it's time for you to indulge in some of their work.

Fisk: Created by Kitty Flanagan and Vincent Sheehan, this is a riotously funny show about a lawyer named Helen Tudor-Fisk (played by Flanagan) who needs to get a new job in Melbourne after both her love life and her work life fall apart in Sydney. She finds a temp gig at Gruber & Gruber, a firm run by the brother-and-sister team of Ray and Roz Gruber (Marty Sheargold and Julia Zemiro), who are in need of another pair of hands since Roz has just been struck off the register and can't practice law anymore. They specialize in probate law, so Helen suddenly finds herself inundated with clients who are contesting wills and getting into legacy disputes. All of which is bit hard on her as she is emphatically not a people person and is now having to deal with people when they are particularly emotional. 

The show is a hilarious workplace comedy that also has a giant beating heart. In just twelve episodes over two seasons, I fell hook, line, and sinker for the employees of this little law firm, as incompetent and zany as they may be, and the final scene truly brought a tear to my eye. These actors are absolute champions, and I desperately need to watch more seasons of this show ASAP because I am not ready to say goodbye to Melbourne. In the meantime, I'm going to be drafting up my will. If only I could get Fisk to help me.

Ms. Fisher's Modern Murder Mysteries: I waxed poetic eleven years (!) ago on this blog about Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries. Well, I only recently discovered that creators Deb Cox and Fiona Eagger developed a spin-off in 2019. We now have a new heroine, Peregrine Fisher (Geraldine Hakewell), who is the niece of the now-dead Phryne Fisher from the original series. Peregrine never knew her aunt, but Phryne left her whole estate to her, so she moves to Melbourne, meets her aunt's friends at The Adventuresses' Club, and suddenly discovers that she might have shared Phryne's knack for solving murder mysteries. And of course, there's the hot police detective, James Steed (Joel Jackson), that she teams up with, whether he likes it or not.

The time period for this show is the 1960s so the production design is superbly psychedelic and Peregrine's wardrobe is a ravishing delight. The first season consists of four episodes that are each almost 90 minutes long, so you're essentially watching four compelling films. In the second series, we get eight 45-minute episodes, and let me promise you, there is a great story arc. I was a little surprised at how quickly the love story progressed in the first episode of that second season, but rest assured, these writers are consummate professionals, and they know how to turn things around. Each episode deals with a very unique and interesting case, and they also try to feature diverse storylines featuring people from all walks of life who ended up in Australia during this particular period of history. It's a fun, preposterous, engaging, and delicious show, and I wish there was more I could watch. Sadly, they pulled the plug after those two seasons, but if you have missed Phryne Fisher, I can assure you, Peregrine is a wonderful substitute.

February Films Part 1: Nyad, Rustin, The Zone of Interest

Yes, this is where you get reviews of all the Oscar-nominated films that were pending on my to-do list. I had a busy week getting caught up, and now you can read my reviews to see if you want to get caught up too.

Nyad: Written by Julia Cox and directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, this film tells the real-life story of Diana Nyad, a woman who completed a marathon swim from Cuba to Florida at the age of 64, a feat that she had previously failed as a young woman, and which no other swimmer had been able to complete in the intervening years. It's a remarkable story of perseverance and passion, and while I vaguely remember hearing about this story in the news, it was informative to spend two hours watching a movie about this woman and everything that needed to happen before she was able to accomplish this astonishing feat.

Annette Bening does an incredible job portraying Nyad, both in terms of the physicality of the role, but also conveying her slightly abrasive personality. It makes sense that in order to even think about such a feat, you need to have a slightly unhealthy level of self-confidence, and Diana can certainly be off-putting with her self-centeredness. As a counterbalance, therefore, we have Jodie Foster as her best friend and subsequently, coach, Bonnie Stoll, the stalwart right-hand woman who keeps the whole operation going and ensure that all Diana has to do is swim. 

While this movie is a little clunky and the special effects can sometimes look pretty obvious, I was incredibly moved by Bening and Foster's performances, and can see why they have been nominated for Oscars. The friendship portrayed between these two women is so touching, and accompanied by Alexandre Desplat's score, there were definitely moments that moved me to tears. I don't know why I expected this to be a story of how Nyad accomplished the swim on her first try; there were several attempts, and watching the plan evolve, and the lessons learned as she undergoes horrors like jellyfish swarms, sharks, unpredictable currents, etc. was thrilling. This is a great movie about what humans can accomplish when they put their mind to it, but also how they cannot accomplish these things alone. 

Rustin: Colman Domingo stars as Bayard Rustin, the gay civil rights leader who orchestrated 1963's March on Washington, the largest peaceful protest ever conducted to date. The movie briefly touches on earlier events in the 1950s when Rustin was a close collaborator of Martin Luther King's but was then forced to resign from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference after Congressman Adam Clayton Powell Jr. threatened to leak rumors of a fake affair between Rustin and King. However, the movie then shifts to 1962 when Rustin gets the idea for this March and subsequently manages to use his powers of persuasion and organizational skills to accomplish this monumental feat of civil protest.

Written by Julian Breece and Dustin Lance Black and directed by George C. Wolfe, this film highlights a Civil Rights pioneer that I had never heard of before. His sexual orientation played a big part in why he was relegated to roles behind-the-scenes, but the movie also points out how he truly believed in the cause and didn't mind taking a back seat as long as the work got done. This is a man who fought for what was right, didn't think any task was beneath him, and now rightfully deserves to be lauded for his phenomenal work that was instrumental in leading to the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964. 

While the subject matter seems heavy, the film has a deft touch, with Domingo never portentously weighing down proceedings but ensuring we always see the energy and enthusiasm Rustin brought to this work. Are there horrific flashbacks to his past? Of course, the man is both Black and gay, his life was not easy. But this movie is a celebration of a man who did important, history-changing work, and you'll walk away from it with a sense of quiet wonder.

The Zone of Interest: Written and directed by Jonathan Glazer, who loosely based the story on the 2014 novel by Martin Amis, this is a movie about Rudolf Hoss and his family. What's interesting about this family? Hoss was a Nazi and the commandant of the Auschwitz concentration camp, and he and his family lived in an idyllic house right next door to the camp. So what follows is a film that occasionally seems to tell a tale of domestic peace and tranquility, and then will chillingly feature a line of dialogue or just a sound that makes it clear these people are absolute monsters.

The most notable aspect of this film is its sound design. You start to notice that while you might be able to hear some birds twittering in the background, you can also hear gunshots and screams and burning furnaces. It's the ultimate sign of human indifference - these people live next to a concentration camp and the sounds of genocide have merely become background noise to them. However, other aspects of this film were a little too artsy and incomprehensible for me and didn't work as well in keeping me engaged. And while I greatly appreciated the first half of the film that took place within the house and garden, the second half where Hoss is stationed in another location and is mostly dealing with other Nazi generals felt like a much less necessary film that had nothing new to say. 

Towards the end, there are some scenes where we see the modern-day Auschwitz Museum and the janitorial staff vacuuming the carpets and cleaning the windows of the exhibits. It is yet another chilling reminder of how the mundane business of living can be in such close proximity to such abject horror. This is a movie that has found a novel way to make you feel even more horrified by the Holocaust; while some of its ambitions far exceed its grasp, it still demands a viewing because it is so powerfully told.

2024 Plane Movies: Scrapper, Honor Society, Mafia Mamma

Anytime I take a vacation, I watch a bunch of movies on the plane. Sometimes they are not very good, but this time I got very lucky, with three rather surprisingly fun films that were filed under the category of "Movies Under Two Hours." I mean, what more could you want?

Scrapper: Written and directed by Charlotte Regan, this is a movie starring Lola Campbell as Georgie, a twelve-year-old girl who is living all by herself after her mother's death. Georgie has been lying to social services, claiming that she's living with her uncle, and no adults are aware of her current circumstances. Her best friend Ali (Alin Uzin) is well aware, but of course, hasn't told a soul, so the two of them have a grand time hanging out at her house and planning out their schemes to get rich by stealing bicycles and selling them for parts. Georgie is an extremely responsible child who is diligently paying the rent and cleaning the house, so there's no reason for anyone to suspect that anything's amiss, until her estranged father, Jason, comes home and discovers the current state of affairs.

Jason is played by the ubiquitous Harris Dickinson, who showed up in a bunch of films last year and is quickly becoming one of my favorite actors. Here he does a wonderful job as a bit of a wastrel who didn't stick around to take care of his partner or their daughter but must now find a way to reconcile with this young girl who is a stranger to him. The two of them have an uneasy truce, mostly because Georgie can't afford to have him rat her out to social services, but as the movie progresses, a fragile bond gradually develops between these two lonely people. It's a funny, sweet, and moving film, simply told, with heartfelt performances from its two lead actors. Lola Campbell is definitely a revelation and I look forward to seeing what she does next. Till then, just marvel at her work in this film.

Honor Society: Angourie Rice stars as Honor, a young woman who desperately wants to get out of her small town and decided early on that she could only achieve this goal by getting admitted to Harvard University. As such, her entire high school career has consisted of a series of careful calculations of academic excellence and extracurricular achievement. Now, in her senior year, she needs to get a coveted recommendation from her guidance counselor, who has a connection at Harvard. However, when she finds out that she is in competition with three other students to get this recommendation, she must come up with a plan to take down her competitors.

I know it all sounds a bit cutthroat, but trust me, this movie has a lot of heart. Honor's schemes initially exploit perceived weaknesses in her foes, but this woman isn't just some ruthless Tracy Flick, and there are some excellent twists and turns as her plans start to go awry. I saw some twists coming, but others were completely out of left field; this is a genuinely surprising and fun movie that I'm shocked I hadn't heard about until I got on a plane. Written by David A. Goodman and directed by Oran Zegman, this is a delightful high school comedy that is sure to brighten up your day.

Mafia Mamma: Written by Debbie Jhoon and Michael J. Feldman and directed by Catherine Hardwicke, this film kind of came and went at the theaters. But as I was watching it on the plane, my friend Laura kept leaning over and looking at my screen, finally going, "what are you watching, this movie looks really funny!" And yes, it is. Toni Colette stars as Kristin, a woman living in New Jersey who has just sent her only son off to college, discovered that her husband has been cheating on her, and is on thin ice with her bosses at her terrible job. Her life is a shambles, so when she gets a call from Italy informing her that her grandfather, who she never met, has died and appointed her executor of his will, she decides to fly off to Italy and have a grand vacation.

Unfortunately, her vacation plans don't quite come to fruition as she quickly discovers her grandfather was a mafia boss and she is now expected to take over the family business. What follows is a ridiculous comedy of a straight-laced American woman having to suddenly turn into an Italian mafia mamma. She is guided by her grandfather's consigliere, Bianca, played by the great and good Monica Bellucci, and is assisted by some henchmen, and each scene just keeps getting wilder, bloodier, and cruder as the movie progresses. This is a very R-rated comedy, and is well worth a viewing for its over-the-top histrionics. Is it the greatest movie ever made? Of course not. But is it shockingly entertaining? You bet.

January Jams Part 3: Mean Girls & The Brothers Sun

To close out January, I offer up two extremely different pieces of pop culture that will cater to absolutely every conceivable genre you are yearning for. A bold claim, you say? I stand by it!

Mean Girls: Twenty years following the original film, we now have the obligatory nostalgic remake. However, this one, while still written by Tina Fey, is based off the subsequent Broadway musical adaptation. So now we have a tale of high school drama that is further enhanced with music.

I will not re-hash the story of this movie; you’ve had years to revel in its glory. In this version, Angourie Rice takes over as our heroine, 16-year-old Cady Heron, the new girl who has to make her way through the scary wilds of an American high school, and will face off against Regina George (played here by the fabulous Renee Rapp), the mean but popular girl who rules the school. There are some fun cameos throughout the film of the random adult teachers (Jon Hamm has a particularly hilarious turn as the hapless and bro-y sex education/PE teacher). But overall, this movie mostly serves as an homage to the original, gleefully calling back the most iconic lines, and reminding us just how we love Glen Coco.

The music is peppy and fun but not particularly memorable. I do find myself periodically humming “my name is Regina George,” while my fiancé has not stopped bopping to “Revenge Party” since we got out of the theater, but overall, I could take or leave the music. The joy of Mean Girls has always been in the cast and that dialogue, and here we get a faithful recreation of the original that left me wondering if we really even needed this version. If you loved the movie in 2004, you should watch this adaptation. But I doubt anyone will be re-watching this adaptation in years to come. The original is still impossible to beat and I might just need to go back and watch it again on October 3rd.

The Brothers Sun: I will confess, I was a little skeptical about this show at first. The pace was a little slow and I wasn’t sure I cared enough to keep watching hour-long episodes. But oh dear God, I have now devoured all eight episodes and this show is a freakin’ masterpiece that deserves your eyeballs posthaste.

Created by Byron Wu and Brad Falchuk, this is the story of the Sun family, Taiwanese gangster who lead a major crime syndicate. However, when the father, "Big Sun" (Johnny Kou) is attacked by a rival, the eldest son, Charles (Justin Chien) travels to Los Angeles to find his mother, who left the family years ago with his little brother in tow. Who plays the mother? Michelle Yeoh. So you better believe you're in for an amazing ride. Sam Song Li plays Bruce, Charles' younger brother who had no idea his family was involved in anything criminal and must suddenly come up to speed with a lot of troubling information when his introduction to his long-lost elder brother involves watching him and his mother dismember the dead body of an assassin that was trying to kill them. Talk about a complicated family reunion.

This show has some of the most incredible and impeccable stunt choreography I have ever seen on any screen. Every episode has a new miraculous action set piece that finds fun and inventive ways for our heroes to destroy their enemies and display their sublime martial arts skills (Justin Chien in particular is a delight to watch as he plows through everyone in his path). Things can get a little bloody, but mostly these fight sequences feel like you're at the ballet, and I would find myself perched on the edge of my seat, gleefully glued to my screen. The story is polished and intriguing and the final resolution is blissfully satisfying, while still leaving open possibilities for a second season that I need to happen NOW. So enter this kung fu wonderland and get ready for a bloody good time. 

Comedy Binges: Still Up, Colin from Accounts, What We Do in the Shadows

Do you need some laughs in a variety of accents? Then I've got a slew of great sitcoms to recommend to you, from England, Australia, and...Staten Island.

Still Up: Created by Steve Burge and Natalie Walter, this is a supremely charming little series about two insomniac friends who call each other up late at night to have long chats and go over the day's events or anything else going on in their life. Antonio Thomas and Craig Roberts play Lisa and Danny, and over the course of eight episodes, you will see the two of them get into some funny scrapes and then some bittersweet drama as they have to grapple with some difficult and challenging decisions. It's perhaps a testament to the chemistry that these two actors have that it came as a complete shock to me that we even get an episode about how they first met and became friends; as far as I was concerned, these two had known each other their whole lives.

This show is a gentle little comedy, very sweet, but also funny, with plenty of character growth and development from start to finish. You will like these characters, but also hope they can eventually get out of their own way and get their life back on track. And, spoiler alert, in episode eight, you'll be cheering for them as they do just that.

Colin from Accounts: Harriet Dyer and Patrick Brammall (who also wrote the show, and are married in real life, a charming fact I just learned!) star in this delightful tale about Ashley and Gordon, two single people who meet when Gordon accidentally runs over a dog because Ashley distracted him on the street. The dog doesn't die, but after they take him to a vet, they have to pay for a significant surgery and now have to take care of this special-needs animal. Gordon is a middle-aged man who owns a brewery, while Ashley is a struggling medical student, and as they get increasingly entangled in each other's lives, much comedy, drama, and yes, even romance, results. 

The tone of this show can veer largely into drama in some episodes, and you're going to be made uncomfortable in the tradition of squirmy British sitcoms everywhere (makes sense that Australians would have a similar sitcom sensibility as their colonizers). But overall, this is a beautiful romantic comedy about two slightly weird people with a lot of baggage who come together in an unexpected fashion. And yes, you need to watch it to find out who Colin from Accounts is.

What We Do in the Shadows: I know I'm late to the party, OK? This show has already been on for five seasons but I only just binged it all last year and am now here to tell the rest of you stragglers to get caught up. If you never saw the original movie by Taika Waititi, this is the story of a bunch of ancient vampires who live together in a house, and have a human familiar who has to provide them with humans to feed on and generally deal with the admin of getting by in the 20th century without getting caught. 

In the TV show, the setting has been moved from New Zealand to the rather comic location of Staten Island, and we have Kayvan Novak, Matt Berry, Natasia Demetriou, and Mark Proksch as the vampires (Kristin Schaal joins in the fun in later seasons), along with Harvey Guillen as their hapless familiar, Guillermo, who keeps laboring under the delusion that he will be turned into a vampire any day now. Every single season of this show is incredible, with the stakes constantly getting raised and the vampire world-building always leading to increasing complications and the introduction of further threats to our merry band of selfish but somehow still lovable protagonists. They always manage to find a fresh take on this tale as old as time, and the shenanigans are always wild and wonderful, whether they're having to deal with other supernatural beings, a bunch of clueless humans, or the endless bureaucracy of the Vampiric Council. So sink your teeth into this show - you'll have a bloody good time.

January Jams Part 2: The Iron Claw & Maestro

Need to get more biopics into your cinematic viewing rotation? Well there are currently two powerful films you can watch. Warning though, you might have to bring a hanky.

The Iron Claw: Written and directed by Sean Durkin, this is the true story of the Von Erich family, a wrestling dynasty that was dogged by horrifying tragedy in the early 1980s. Zac Efron plays Kevin, the eldest son of the family, and boy is he ripped and almost unrecognizable in this role. He is a quiet but stoic man who loves his younger brothers deeply and is desperate to take care of the family. Unfortunately, he is up against the wild ambitions of his father, Fritz (Holt McCallany), a former wrestler who never garnered as much fame as he thought he deserved and is now hellbent on creating a family wrestling empire that will take the wrestling world by storm. 

The second oldest son, Kerry (Jeremy Allen White), is a discus thrower due to compete in the 1980 Summer Olympics, but the boycott sends him back home where he now joins Kevin and their other brother David (Harris Dickinson) in the ring to compete as a fierce trio of brothers. Meanwhile, their youngest brother, Mike (Stanley Simons), would much rather be a musician, but don't you worry, he'll end up in the ring too. 

The wrestling sequences are wonderfully choreographed but the meat of this story is about the string of tragedies that hits this family in rapid succession, leading Kevin to become convinced the family curse might not just be a superstition but actual fact. I won't give anything way - suffice to say, I was expecting one tragic death and then got way more than I had bargained for. It's a lot to take, but these actors are incredible, particularly Efron as the stalwart older brother who has to watch his beautiful family unravel in front of his eyes and has to reckon with the pressures of toxic masculinity and the unhealthy relationship he has with his father. It is beautifully written, powerfully acted, and even though it's heavy, it will certainly move your heart. Watch this movie and then go tell all the men in your life to have a nice little cry. They will thank you for it.

Maestro: Directed by Bradley Cooper, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Josh Singer and then stars in it, this is the story of Leonard Bernstein, the man who was America's first great renowned conductor. It chronicles his early beginnings when he got the call to make his conducting debut at the New York Philharmonic when a guest conductor fell sick and his subsequent meteoric rise. It is also a love story, a tale of his relationship with the actress Felicia Montealegre (Carey Mulligan, putting in a dazzling performance), who he would go on to marry. Their marriage was complicated by the fact that Bernstein continued to have affairs with men, so you know...that's a bit of a challenge.

If you are a Bernstein fan, this movie should be right up your alley. The score consists entirely of Bernstein's compositions, so you may notice familiar snippets throughout the film. As I am a Bernstein novice, I was less moved by that aspect of the film, but I did find the acting by Cooper and Mulligan to be quite stellar, with both affecting those strange pseudo-British accents of the 1940s that I associate with screwball comedies. They banter deliciously in the early parts of their courtship. and later on, when their marriage has started to sour, there is a surreal and bizarrely comic scene, where they are having a fight while the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade takes place outside their windows. 

This is a visually inventive movie, and it captures so much of the joy and passion that Bernstein put into his music. It isn't a standard, dull biopic, instead finding clever cinematographic ways to elevate the material and give us something that feels just a little bit out there. It's not a hagiography, but an honest portrait of a complicated and brilliant man, and it might compel you to spend some more time exploring the many sides of Leonard Bernstein.

January Jams Part 1: Poor Things & The Color Purple

All the movies seeking awards recognition are out in theatres, so it’s time to watch them and gear up for the Oscars. Here are two wildly different movies that feature wildly wonderful lead performances to kick off your New Year:

Poor Things: After giving us The Favourite, writer Tony McNamara and director Yorgos Lanthimos have teamed up again to give us this film adaptation of the 1992 novel by Alasdair Gray. They’re also working with Emma Stone again, who delivers a remarkable performance that is destined for a nomination. She plays Bella Baxter, a sort of Frankenstein’d woman who has the brain of an infant courtesy of the creepy surgeon, Godwin Baxter (Willem Defoe, in a piece of perfect casting). Godwin is your classic mad scientist, obsessed with interspecies crossovers and pushing the limits of what the human body can endure. He enlists the help of Max McCandles (Ramy Youssef), an eager young medical student who is fascinated by Godwin’s work and who agrees to track Bella’s progress to adulthood. 

Unfortunately, no one accounts for the arrival of Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo), a lusty lawyer who takes a fancy to the naive Bella. He convinces her to go away on an adventure with him and the two embark on a long journey where our heroine gets to explore her sexuality and discover the joys of female autonomy. This is a very funny but weird movie, one that is stylistically inventive and fascinating but terrifically odd in terms of content. 

Poor Things is enjoyable but I didn’t find it particularly profound. The most compelling things about it are the cinematography by Robbie Ryan, the dissonant score by Jerskin Fendrix, and the incredible way that Stone moves: she has this unsteady gait of a child who is just coming to terms with having limbs, and she truly delivers a remarkable performance, even if all the things she is being asked to do in this film are weird and raunchy as hell. If you are not into body horror, you might need to skip this film as aspects of it will make you squeamish. But if you are into funny and creepy vibes, this could be your next favourite film.

The Color Purple: Written by Marcus Gardley and directed by Blitz Bazawule, based on the 1982 novel by Alice Walker, as well as the subsequent film and musical adaptations that have taken place in the decades since, my views on this movie are very similar to my views on Poor Things. Namely, the movie is fine, but the real reason to watch is a standout performance from the lead actor, Fantasia Barrino, who plays Celie. 

I had never seen or read any version of The Color Purple prior to this movie so the story was completely new to me. Unfortunately, not new enough - I tend to have very little patience with narratives where women of color are exploited, abused, molested, etc. Which is immediately how this tale begins, in 1909 Georgia, with the teen Celie (played by Phylicia Pearl Mpasi) giving birth to her second child after her guardian impregnated her again, and then he takes the baby away from her. He then marries her off to Mister (Colman Domingo), a creepy man who already has three kids at home and needs a wife he can abuse and mostly treat as a maid. And oh yeah, Celie’s sister, Nettie, who is very intelligent and has big ambitions, is forced to run away when both their guardian and Mister separately try to assault her. Yeesh.

So that’s how we begin and what follows is a story of Celie facing a long life of abuse and neglect. But then she encounters some new women like Sofia and Shug (the magnificent Danielle Brooks and Taraji P. Henson) who have figured out how to live life on their own terms and not kowtow to the abusive men in their lives. Celie is initially bewildered by these women, and they are also bewildered by how Celie can be such a mouse who doesn’t hit back or demand more respect from Mister. It’s frustrating because while these women are good role models, they don’t really know how to help Celie, failing to recognize how a woman who has only known cruelty since she was a little girl might have no concept of her own self-worth and the right to seek better treatment. 

Nonetheless, I did find myself very moved at various stages of this film, and watching Celie gradually fight back and come into her own is an incredible thing to witness. I just didn’t want to watch her being treated so poorly to begin with. The ending is truly joyful and uplifting, and the movie does maintain a rousing tone throughout, thanks to it being a musical with some powerful songs that take place in some rather extraordinary and creative set pieces. It’s a novel visual spectacle, but I wish it didn’t tell such a tale as old as time.