***** 2021 * R * 2h 10m In Italian with English subtitles. What an absolutely gorgeous film, from opening scene till the end credits roll. If you enjoyed Fellini's Amarcord, (One of my favorite movies of all time), then you're certain to love The Hand of God. It's a coming of age film that takes place in the 1970s in Naples and focuses on the exploits of the Schisa family. Young Fabietto is a huge soccer fan and a budding filmmaker. His parents Maria (Teresa Saponangelo) and Severio (Toni Servillo, the dashing star of The Great Beauty) have a rocky relationship, to say the least. It's the backdrop of the whole town buzzing about with the prospect of luring Maradona, the Argentinian superstar to their professional soccer team, that the action takes place.
The film is filled with wonderful characters including the beautiful yet crazy aunt. And the scenery is absolutely gorgeous. It'll make you want to hop on the next plane to Italy. I though the soundtrack was also noteworthy. It had a quiet, melancholy feel to it, and contributed to the film's nostalgic atmosphere. The film clocks in at just over two hours, but I could easily have watched another hour of this marvelous movie! I must say, I'll be very disappointed if The Hand of God doesn't win the Best Foreign Film Award at this year's Oscars.
2022 * PG-13 * 1h 46m If you’re looking for a fun movie the whole family will enjoy, don’t miss this new release from Netflix. The film features a great cast that includes Ryan Reynolds, Mark Ruffalo, Jennifer Garner, Catherine Keener, and the young and talented Walker Scobell. It’s a time-travel, adventure movie with almost non-stop action, great special effects, and a steady volley of funny one-liners. I especially enjoyed Reynolds performance. He seems to be on a roll these days, as his recent film “Red Notice” will attest to. Reynolds knows he’s Mr. Studley, but he has no problem engaging in self-deprecating humor. His irreverent style of comedy makes his films a joy to watch.
The year is 2050 and a fighter pilot Adam (Reynolds), is being chased through Earth’s upper stratosphere. He creates a wormhole, which he enters and is transported back to 2022, where he crashes. It’s revealed that he was actually aiming for 2018, the destination his true love was heading to but never returned from. His miscalculation lands him in his childhood backyard, and he takes refuge in his dad’s shed. There his 12-year old self discovers him. The young Adam (Walker Scobell) is a smart, nerdy kid who’s constantly being bullied at school. He’s at home because he was suspended from school for fighting.
It’s revealed that Adam’s father Louis (Mark Ruffalo) is a professor who invented time travel. He died about a year before and young Adam is having a hard time dealing with this loss. As a result of Louis’s discovery, a former student of his Maya Sorien (Catherine Keener) has used time travel to enrich herself and built an empire to the detriment of the entire planet. This isn’t clearly explained, unless I missed something. Adam’s goal is twofold. He wants to find out what happened to Laura (Zoe Saldana), and to prevent his dad from revealing the formula for time travel. The evil Sorien is hot on his tail aiming to destroy him before he can accomplish this.
The two Adams embark on their adventure together. It’s amusing to see them interact. Young Adam is a geeky shrimp who’s game for just about anything. He’s in total awe of the fact that he grows up to be a muscle-bound hunk. And older Adam is constantly teasing him with smart-ass comments and asides. They make a fun couple as they carry out their mission.
The special effects are also quite entertaining. They owe quite a bit to George Lucas and the “Star Wars” franchise. Another factor I particularly enjoyed is the soundtrack. Normally I object to the use of pop tunes in a movie—I think it’s a cheap alternative to commissioning an original score. But this film is laced with catchy rock tunes from the late 60’s and early 70’s. They contribute to the overall fun spirit of “The Adam Project”.
Time travel is one of my favorite genres. I read the amazing book “Time and Again” by Jack Finney in my teens and from then on I’ve been hooked. I enjoy the romantic ones like “Somewhere in Time”, “The Lake House”, and “The Time Traveller’s Wife”. A ton of comical ones have been made including “Groundhog Day”, “Hot Tub Time Machine”, and “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure”. Then there are the serious ones like “The Terminator” and “Source Code”, and the hard-to-find “11 Minutes Ago”. One of my favorite ones is the thought provoking “Memento”. It’s so complicated there are several web sites devoted to explaining it. Just Google it and you’ll see what I mean. See you in the future!
2009 * R * 1h 39m Brian Cox plays Jacques, a crusty old bar owner who ends up in the hospital after another heart attack. There he meets Lucas (Paul Dano), a kindly street person who has survived a suicide attempt. After they're released Jaques tracks down Lucas and makes him a proposal. He offers to give him his bar after either he retires and moves to the Caribbean or passes away. And then the fun begins.
Jacques is an ornery old sod who is short on conversation when it comes to his customers. He tries to instill this in Lucas who's the total opposite. As time goes on, the two slowly switch roles. One day, a beautiful young French girl April (Isild Le Besco), enters the bar. She was recently kicked out of dance school and has no where to stay. Of course Lucas falls in love with her. and secretly lets her sleep in his room This causes a major disruption in the way things are done in the bar, as it's strictly a guy's hangout.
That's another factor that makes this film so much fun. The men who spend their hours in the bar are a bunch of quirky characters. It's quite amusing to see them interact. And it adds to the overall weirdness that makes this indie movie such a charming yet offbeat experience. If you're in the mood for something a bit different, give this one a chance.
Four out of five stars.
Currently streaming for free on Kanopy and Tubi. Also on Plex, Pluto TV, Amazon and Prime.
If you’re looking for an action-packed thriller, you’ll probably have to take a pass on this one. Viewing “Columbus”, the first full-length feature film from the talented Korean writer/director Kogonada, is an almost Zen-like experience. It has a gentle and graceful pace to it that I found quite soothing. The film features a beautifully nuanced performance from Haley Lu Richardson, known for “The Edge of Seventeen” and “Five Feet Apart”, which I reviewed in this column a few months ago. This young actress has truly arrived—look out for her to shine in the next few years.
The film is set in Columbus, a small town of some 50,000 souls in southern Indiana. Casey (Richardson) is a serious young woman and we first encounter her at her job in a library. She strikes up a friendship with her coworker Gabriel (Rory Culkin), and the two share many a smart repartee on a wide range of topics including reading, video games, and attention spans. He warns her not to get an MLS degree, as he feels it’s one of the most useless degrees one can have. I beg to differ—I feel librarians are just about the most knowledgeable and helpful people I know!
Casey has a deep love for architecture, which is fortunate because Columbus is home to some remarkable buildings by noteworthy architects including Deborah Berke, Eero Saarinen, and James Stewart Polshek. In a way, the Mid-Century Modern structures act as characters in this engaging story. One day she bumps into Jin (John Cho), a Korean man who’s stuck in town, looking after his father, a professor of architecture who is in a coma. I appreciated that while the two spent quite a bit of time together, they didn’t get romantically involved. It made for a much more interesting tale. The always-delightful Parker Posey plays a supporting role as Jin’s father’s assistant.
Jin has a marginal interest in architecture, but when Casey takes him around and introduces him to her favorite buildings, he becomes intrigued. She shares her love and passion with him, and at several points in the film, their paths cross with organized tour groups, and we hear interesting tidbits of the docent’s lecture. It’s almost a tease that makes you want to do some research of your own. In the course of the movie, both Gabriel and Jin encourage Casey to follow her dream and go back to school.
While Casey is passionate about architecture, and has been invited to go out east and further her studies, she’s torn. She feels obligated to stay home and take care of her mother Maria (Michelle Forbes), who is a recovering drug addict. Maria is a hard-working woman and the two have an easy friendship. Her drug problems are the result of terrible relationships with ill-suited partners. She also wants Casey to go out into the world and get a college degree.
As I mentioned earlier, the buildings act as supporting characters in this film. Much of the credit should be given to Kogonada. He treats each shot of the exteriors and interiors of the buildings with love and care and a true artist’s sense of composition. Almost every shot is perfectly balanced and could make a stunning painting. The cinematography adds to the sense of calm and tranquility of the movie. I look forward to seeing Mr. Kogonada’s next movies. If “Columbus” is any indication, they should be outstanding.
Streaming on Kanopy (for free with your library card), the Roku Channel, Youtube.Amazon Prime, and other services.
2014 * PG-13 * 2h 6m Wow, this film sure caught me off guard. The story, script, and acting were all superb. If you're looking for a well done teen flick, don't miss this one. It's the story of two teens who are cancer patients. Hazel, brilliantly played by Shailene Woodley, has been battling cancer for years. During a session in a support group she meets Gus (Ansel Elgort. He's a spirited young man who lost part of his leg due to cancer. He takes a shining to her and the two begin an uneasy relationship.
Hazel shares a book with him that she's found to be a comfort to her. The book ends with a sort of non-ending and her dream is to travel to Amsterdam to meet the reclusive author Peter van Houten (Wilem Dafoe) and get some answers from him. Through a "Make-A-Wish" type foundation, Gus gets to travel there with Hazel. Her mom (Laura Darn) accompanies them on their trip of a lifetime.
I won't give away any more of the story, but I thought it was one of the most moving teen films I've seen in quite a while. And the chemistry between the two young actors was incredible. To sum it up: You'll laugh, you'll cry, and you'll cry some more. What a marvelous movie!
Four out of five stars
Streaming for free on IMDB TV. Also available on Prime.
2018 * PG-13 * 1h 34m What a treat is is to see two distinguished and accomplished actors like John Lithgow and Blythe Danner in a movie together. And it's fun to see them in such a quirky little indie film like "The Tomorrow Man". It's another one that slipped under the radar--I'd never heard of this gem. Lithgow plays Ed, an eccentric old coot who is convinced the world is about to end. To that end, he's built a secret bomb shelter and has spent almost all his money stocking it with essential items. He spends his days conversing with fellow nuts on the internet and watching the news on tv. When the anchorwoman addresses him directly at the end of each broadcast, it's proof enough to the viewer that he's lost his marbles.
While shopping at the local grocery store, he runs into Ronnie (Danner) several times. He's intrigued enough to ask her out for a cup of coffee. Eventually the two start dating. She's a lonely spinster who works at gift shop/antique store in their small town. The two of them are awkward with each other at first, but eventually, they become quite smitten with each other. Ed harangues his adult son about being prepared for the end of times, and things really come to a head when they spend Thanksgiving together.
Overall, it's a fun, offbeat film and the two veteran actors have an easy chemistry together. I don't think they've appeared in a film together before, but I certainly hope they do again.
SPOILER ALERT: The only problem I have with the movie is the ending. Without giving anything away, let's just say it comes out of nowhere and I thought it would have been a far better movie if it had ended about five minutes earlier. But that's just me. I'm sure other folks will disagree with my view on this.
3 1/2 out of 5 stars
Streaming on Kanopy (for free with your library card,) Hulu, and Prime
2022 1h 46m When looking for a movie to watch, I'm often attracted to films that have unusual titles. Then, if they have a decent rating on IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes, I give them a shot. Nine times out of ten I'm in luck. That's certainly the case with "Donkeyhead". It's a little gem featured on Netflix. If you enjoy indie films with a lot of heart, give this one a shot.
The story revolves around a second generation Pakistani family who live in Regina Canada. Agam Darshi, wrote, directed, and stars in the film. Mona is a writer who's put her career on hold to care for her dying father. When he takes a turn for the worse and goes into a coma, her three siblings return home. This is were family dynamics come into play,. There's a great deal of finger pointing, accusations, and old resentments bubble to the surface. While they get along at first, they soon begin bickering.
It doesn't help when a group of people from their dad's temple camp out in their living room and start round the clock praying for his health. When they meet with their attorney and discover their father's estate all goes to her twin brother, things come to a head. And it doesn't help that Mona is having an affair with the married attorney.
"Donkeyhead" is a well written and acted family drama that I found very rewarding. It's one of those films that make you reflect on your own family and your relationship with your siblings.
