2019 1h 24min I knew next to nothing about this film but it was a (un)pleasant surprise. I say that because it was way creepier than I anticipated. A perfect film for Halloween! Morfydd Clark plays Maude, a young hospice nurse who gets a new assignment caring for a dying Amanda (Jennifer Ehle) who lives in a mansion overlooking the coastal Irish town. After some unknown trauma, Maude not only finds God, she starts having ecstatic religious visions/seizures. When she discovers her new charge has led a racy life as a modern dancer, she's determined to save her soul. This is where the film starts to get weird. At a birthday party Amanda throws for herself, she ridicules Maude in from of her friends. After Maude slaps her, she's fired and descends even further into her religious fervor. The film ends with not one, but two plot twists. I did anticipate the first one, but the second took me by surprise. Great acting and storytelling make this a film work watching.
3 1/2 out of five stars.
Streaming on EPIX, Hulu, Paramount, and other services.
Ethan has proven he can play a wide range of roles. He’s done everything from the “Before Sunrise” series and “Boyhood” to “Training Day” and “Gattaca”. When you look at his Filmography, it shows a remarkably broad scope of characters. But nothing I’ve seen him in prepared me for his acting in “Adopt a Highway”. He was absolutely riveting. While he was on screen for about 90% of the time, his performance was so nuanced, it was a joy to witness. I feel this film can be interpreted as a play in four acts.
Act I takes place while and immediately after Russ Mullings (Hawke) is released from prison. He served 21 years for possession of a small amount of marijuana under California’s ridiculously harsh Three Strikes law. Mullings is now in his early 40s and is totally out of touch with the real world. He’s painfully shy and has difficulty relating and communicating with other people. It’s not clear whether being incarcerated for so long has made him this way, or if he’s been like this since childhood. After he’s released he gets a job as a dishwasher in a fast-food burger joint and lives in a dumpy motel room.
In Act 2 he finds a crying infant in a dumpster behind the restaurant. He names the baby Ella and takes her home where he goes through the usual routines of the clueless dad trying to figure out feeding and diaper changing rituals. He relates to Ella because the two of them have been abandoned by society and have difficulty fitting in. Through his one-way conversations, he reveals quite a bit about himself including his childhood and his relationship with his father. When Ella falls out of bed and is injured he takes her to child services and is forced to give her up.
Mullings leaves California in Act 3, when he discovers his father has passed away. He takes a bus to Casper, Wyoming to visit his father’s grave and find out about his dad’s will. Along the way, the ultra-introverted Mullins meets fellow passenger Diana Spring (Elaine Hendrix). She’s a lively character and takes great pleasure in teasing him. The two have wonderful chemistry together and, even though she gets off in Denver, in the back of our minds we think the two just may hook up again in the future.
The closing act sort of comes out of nowhere. I really can’t say much more than you’ll be in a good mood when it’s over--I sure didn’t see that ending coming! This is a perfect example of a perfect indie film. I really enjoy the fact that actors like Hawke make traditional Hollywood movies, but occasionally work outside the box on projects like this. It’s nice to see him take on something that’s really challenging.
2020 1h 51min Pablo Schreiber plays Wayland, a thirty something who just served 15 years in prison for a robbery. He took the fall for a bunch of guys who owe him big time. After his release he hooks up with his high school sweetheart, Delores (Jena Malone). The movie is almost painful to watch as we see him almost slipping into his old ways. He hangs out with his motorcycle gang buddies but his heart just isn't into it. He also has to deal with Delores's three children from three different flings. Wayland is quite rough around the edges, but deep down, he's a good person. In fact, he has more morals than Delores, who's never been behind bars. I almost gave up on the film several times, but I'm glad I stuck with it. No spoilers, but the last ten minutes of the film are so beautiful, well...you'll just have to see for yourself.
2012 1h 28min This is the most outrageous, over the top, teen party spirals out of control movie ever! I really don't know how you could top it! Thomas Kub is about to turn 17. When his parents go out of town for the weekend, his two buddies arrange to throw a birthday party for him. He's kind of a loser, and they figure this bas will put them all on the map. Well, they notify a local radio station about it and post it on Craig's List and things get way out of hand. Busloads of kids start showing up and things go rapidly downhill from there. It gets so crazy I simply don't know how you could top this movie. There's something here to offend just about everyone--sex, nudity, drinking, drugs filthy language. If any of these things bother you, you need to skip this movie. It was everything I thought it would be, to the third power!
31/2 out of 5 stars
Currently streaming on Netflix, HBO Max and other platforms
2019 1h 40min Julie Delpy wrote, directed, and stars in this subtle yet moving story of a mother's undying love for her daughter. She plays Isabelle, a brilliant researcher living in Germany. She's going through a difficult divorce while having an affair with another man. One day her daughter Zoe, who she dotes on, becomes ill and ends up in the hospital. There's no explanation for what happened to her, and she goes into a coma. Both she and her ex husband are devastated when their beloved daughter dies. While her husband thinks they need to move on, Isabelle saves a bit of Zoe's skin and is determined to have her cloned. This sounds futuristic, but the way the story is told, it could actually happen today. I got totally sucked into the story and found the acting brilliant. Although it's slow paced, there's an undercurrent of tension that kept me glued to the screen right until the end.
