Category: 2017-2018

Blade Runner 2049 (2017) starring Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, Robin Wright, & Jared Leto

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SPOILERS: Don’t read this post if you haven’t seen, or don’t want to know, details from this movie (now playing widely in theaters).

“For me it’s very exciting… It’s just so inspiring, I’m so inspired. I’ve been dreaming to do sci-fi since I was 10 years old, and I said ‘no’ to a lot of sequels. I couldn’t say ‘no’ to Blade Runner 2049. I love it too much, so I said, ‘Alright, I will do it and give everything I have to make it great.'” -Denis Villenueve (director) on his love of the original film

Denis Villenueve (originally from a small town in French Canada) has already been hailed as one of the best directors working today; he helmed Sicario (need to check this out on Amazon), Prisoners, and the Oscar-nominated Arrival. Roger Deakins (an Englishman) is the Director of Photography; he is a veteran who has worked on some iconic films (incl. The Shawshank Redemption, Fargo, and No Country for Old Men). Deakins also collaborated w/ Villanueve on Prisoners and Sicario. 

[1] Whether or not you find yourself enjoying your experience, the visuals alone should have you applauding, due to their incredibly detailed nature. I personally found the overall film to be magnificent, but when certain scenes were dialogue-free and asking you to gasp at the imagery, that’s exactly what I was doing, as I feel many audiences members will. 

[2] There are certain scenes where the movie wants you to really drink in the environment, but they could have edited it a little tighter. 

[3] …over time, this too will get more and more appreciation with age (and wisdom) for those who truly appreciate the art of film-making. It’s not perfect, no movie ever will ever to everybody, will it? But it is an amazing achievement and I look forward to my next viewing with different eyes, taking in what I may have missed because there is so much to see and overlook.

-Excerpts from IMDB reviews 

I studied Blade Runner in a film appreciation class in college, BUT wasn’t that impressed. Two film majors  (one male, one female) who sat next to me were enthralled, esp. by Sean Young. She was then only 23, yet hers is a quite mature performance. I saw the film two times over the years; its themes are VERY interesting if you delve down into it. 

Ford (Deckard), Edward James Olmos (Gaff) and Young (Rachael) are the only actors to reprise their roles from the original Blade Runner. From the start, this film lets you know that main character K (Ryan Gosling) is indeed a replicant. He’s a blade runner for the LAPD (as Rick Deckard was in the original) who is growing dissatisfied w/ his job “retiring” (killing) the earlier generation of replicants. His human boss Lt. Joshi (Robin Wright) clearly depends on and trusts him; of course, he can’t say “no” to her orders. Most of the humans who can afford to have moved “off-world” (to live a better life), but we are confined mainly to the cityscape of a dystopian, futuristic version of LA. 

You’ve never seen a miracle. -Sapper Morton says to K

The World is built in a wall that separates kind. Tell either side there’s no wall… You bought a war. -Lt. Joshi

We eventually learn that a replicant female gave birth via C-section (WHOA)! Lt. Joshi explains to K that this news MUST be hidden ASAP. In The Bible (Genesis), Jacob’s wife Rachael gives birth to Joseph, who is sold into slavery, and later becomes a patriarch of Israel. “Joe” is the name that K’s virtual girlfriend, Joi (Cuban actress Ana de Armas), suggests for K. 

When K goes to gather info from Wallace’s corporation, he meets Luv (Dutch actress Silvia Hoeks), who becomes a formidable foe. Luv shows K info re: Rachael, the replicant who gave birth. We even hear voices of Deckard and Rachael from the earlier film. I really liked Hoeks’ acting (as did MANY critics); she stole many of scenes (creating a compelling villain). Luv, who is right-hand to Niander Wallace (Jared Leto), also shows emotion in certain scenes in the story. 

[1] K did NOT want that archetypal woman. SHE thought he did. He told her not to fuss. He wanted her to share his life with him, hence the emanator. 

[2] Though Gosling’s K appears robotic in his movements at times, in his relationships, especially that with virtual intelligence Joi (the lovely Ana De Armas), we witness how human he truly is, their romance being as inventive as it is beautiful. 

-Viewers’ thoughts on the relationship between Joi and K

Joi is one of the most interesting aspects of this film (as MANY critics noted); she is more than a mere computer, BUT less than a replicant. She wants to be more than she has been programmed to be. Perhaps Joi wants to get closer to humanity (like Data from ST: TNG)? To get closer to K, she invites streetwalker Mariette (Canadian actress Mackenzie Davis from Black Mirror S3) to join w/ her one night. 

K begins to think that he could be the child born to Rachael! K feels compelled to return to the place of his childhood (an orphanage inside an industrial plant). The best creator of memories, Dr. Ana Stelline (Swiss actress Carla Juri) tells K that his memory (of being beaten by a group of boys who wanted to steal his beloved wooden horse toy) really happened. I wanted to see more of her; she made an impact in her few scenes. 

“To be very honest with you, Harrison was part of the project before I arrived. He was attached to it right from the start with Ridley [Scott]. I met him and he’s honestly one of the nicest human beings I’ve met and is one of my favorite actors of all time, so for me it’s a lot of pleasure.” -Villenueve on actor Harrison Ford 

Sometimes to love someone, you got to be a stranger. -Deckard explains to K

Ford’s fans MAY be a BIT disappointed b/c Deckard doesn’t appear until half way through the movie. He is angry, bitter, disappointed, and living in an abandoned Vegas casino (complete w/ holograms of Elvis and Sinatra). Ford is in great shape here (note the fight scenes); he also does a terrific job w/ the dialogue! Wallace sends Luv, along w/ and a group of imposing men, to kidnap Deckard. Luv breaks the emanator, thus also destroying Joi. 

Mariette turns out to be a member of a resistance group headed by the mysterious Freysa (veteran Isreali-Palestinian actress Hiam Abbas). As one astute viewer noted. she  removed her right eye (w/ a serial number). Freysa reveals that Deckard and Rachael’s child was a girl (K is VERY disappointed). In order to protect that woman’s life, Freysa wants K to kill Deckard (before he reveals anything under torture).  

The big final fight of the movie MAY be tough to handle for more sensitive viewers. K and Luv have a rather long/brutal fight. As one critic said: “She wants to be the best replicant.” K’s purpose turns out to be rescuing Deckard, then taking him to reunite w/ his daughter, Ana. As the snow falls around him, K lies down on the steps outside the lab, his body relaxed and his face peaceful. 

 

Viceroy’s House (2017) starring Hugh Bonneville, Gillian Anderson, Michael Gambon, Simon Callow, Om Puri, Manish Dayal, & Huma Qureshi

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SPOILERS: Don’t read this post if you haven’t seen, or don’t want to know, details from this movie (now showing in wide release in the US).

[1] If you saw something similar in a high school world history class it would be interesting and effective. As a theatrical movie it misses the mark.

[2] ...as history, it is inevitably selective. Most glaring is the benign portrait of a compassionate departing colonial power.

[3] It’s interesting to see, but it’s by no means a cinematic masterclass.

[4] What could have been an epic, ends up being too pedestrian. It is this failure in character development which pulls the film down harder than all the other negative factors combined.

[5] A special mention needs to go to Gillian Anderson. Her performance as Lady Mountbatten is wonderful. The received pronunciation was perfect. Her character adds heart, she adds a moral core, to both Lord Mountbatten, and in my eyes, to the film in general.

-Excerpts from reviews on IMDB

I saw this movie (ONLY available in SD- ugh) last night on FIOS On Demand. I had been anticipating it for almost 3 mos, so was VERY excited. (American actor Manish Dayal was posting bits about it on his social media.) I was a big fan of Bend it Like Beckham, British director Gurinder Chadha’s breakout indie hit. I thought her Thanksgiving-themed film (What’s Cooking?) was pretty good. The posters didn’t appeal to me- TOO slick and stereotypical of a historical drama. I liked the trailers that I saw; the high production value was evident (which viewers expect from this caliber of film).

Sadly, Viceroy’s House was NOT what I expected. After it ended, I wondered: “There MUST have been MORE to this film!” It seems edited down (to a mere 1 hr 46 mins); however, it seems longer b/c of it’s plodding nature (at least in the first half). Maybe it needs to be seen on the big screen (for its sheer scope and spectacle)? Or maybe it would’ve been better as a miniseries or movie on HBO (where directors and writers have more creative control)? MANY critics/viewers felt that Hugh Bonneville was miscast as Lord Louis Mountbatten. Hmmm… maybe it’s TOO close to his role as head of Downton Abbey? Gillian Anderson (who plays Lady Edwina) is given some of the best lines in the movie; she does well w/ in her role. (You should check Anderson out in British work, incl. The Fall on Netflix.)

The veteran actors who play Nehru (Tanveer Ghani), Jinnah (Denzil Smith), and Gandhi (Neeraj Kabi) do what they can w/ what they are given. Basically, they sit around and debate w/ the Brits on if and how to divide India and the new Muslim majority nation- Pakistan. Some of you know that Gandhi didn’t want India divided; he imagined a land where ALL religions live together in peace (as before the Brits arrived and used their “divide and conquer” strategy to rule). Some Pakistanis were NOT pleased w/ the portrayal of Jinnah, who comes off as duplicitous.

Michael Gambon plays Gen. Ismay, a cold/intimidating man who doesn’t care what happens to the Indian people. He wants to get the boundaries created ASAP and get back to England. Simon Callow ‘s overwhelmed character, Radcliffe, says that it’s impossible to make these decisions in such a short time frame. Ismay finally shows him a plan from 1945 which already lays out exactly how India and Pakistan should be divided (NOT sure how accurate this is in reality)!

The recently deceased international Indian actor, Om Puri, has a small, yet effective/touching role. (He played Dayal’s father in The Hundred-Foot Journey). In this film, Puri plays Ali Rahim Noor, the blind/elderly father of Aalia (Pakistani actress Huma Qureshi), the Muslim woman who has captured the heart of Dayal’s character, Jeet Kumar. Ali Rahim was a political prisoner in the jail where Jeet worked for 2 yrs as a guard. Now, Jeet is a manservant (alongside his Sikh friend, Duleep Singh) for Mountbatten. As Dayal has said, Jeet represents the Hindu perspective in the film. He is an earnest/optimistic young man who feels that his destiny is to marry Aalia.

One of the servants (among 500+ in the viceroy’s household) who stirs up trouble is Mohsin (Samrat Chakraborti, an American actor/musician whose career I’ve been following since 2005). He also has a crucial role in Midnight’s Children (check Netflix to see if it’s still available). Another pleasant surprise is the original music by A.R. Rahman, an internationally recognized composer. I thought he did a esp. fine job in the last section of the film, when we see large crowds of refugees streaming into the palatial estate.

Related Videos

Two (differing) reviews of the film

BBC interview w/ Chadha (12:16)

BUILD Series interview w/ Chadha & Ghani (34:29)

The Promise (2017) starring Oscar Isaac, Christian Bale, & Charlotte Le Bon

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NOTE: This review contains MILD SPOILERS for the film.

The brutal and harrowing atrocities depicted are diluted by the affairs of the heart leaving the film unbalanced as it strives to be both an epic war drama and a tragic love story.  

Terry George [the director] has aspirations of “Doctor Zhivago” but the end result is akin to an attempt at turning “Schindler’s List” into a romance film. 

-Joseph Friar (FLIX!)

THE PROMISE
Mikael (Oscar Isaac) arrives in Constantinople, Turkey to begin his medical studies.

Mikael Boghosian (Oscar Isaac) is a small-town “apothecary” (like a modern-day pharmacist) w/ the dream of becoming a doctor. He becomes engaged to Maral (Angela Sarafyan)- a woman w/ wealth in his community. We see that he’s NOT in love with Maral, BUT he needs her dowry (400 gold coins) to finance med school. As their parents hope, maybe love will come later? 

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Ana (Charlotte Le Bon) and Chris (Christian Bale)

Once Mikael begins school in the big city (Constantinople) in 1914, he makes friends w/ Emre (Marwan Kenzari)- a jovial, world-traveling “party boy” who’d rather flirt than study. Emre’s father is a big shot (pasha), who’s NOT amused by his son’s behavior, which includes hanging w/ foreigners. Emre is a Turkish Muslim male who has privilege in this society.

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Ana (Le Bon) and Mikael (Isaac) at Emre’s birthday party.

In his uncle’s house, Mikael meets Ana Khesarian (Charlotte Le Bon), a beautiful dancer-turned-teacher to his cute young nieces. Ana is living w/ Chris Myers (Christian Bale), a famous/hard-drinking American reporter for the AP.  She met him after the sudden death of her musician father in Paris. Ana has a French accent (b/c she grew up mainly in Paris), BUT also a an affinity for her people- the Armenians. While Chris is busy covering the growing tension between the Turks and Armenians, Ana and Mikael begin falling in love. After all, they’re of similar ages, personalities, and have a shared heritage. And also b/c Hollywood MUST put a love story in the middle of (almost) every movie!

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Chris (Bale) takes photos of a nationalistic parade.

Isaac is one of my fave actors; NOT only does he have GREAT hair (hey, it’s true), he has the range to pull-off MANY different types of characters. With Mikael, he creates a wide-eyed, goodhearted, yet (quietly) passionate young man who yearns to know more and contribute to his corner of the world. Bale does a good job- he’s the privileged American (outsider) who is a witness to history. He sends the story out to the wider world. It was a nice surprise to see some strong (veteran) actors in the cast: Shohreh Agdashloo, James Cromwell, and Jean Reno. 

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Ana (Le Bon) and Chris (Bale) share a quiet moment.

The Promise looks and feels like a big budget film; there is some gorgeous cinematography.  There are moments of intense sadness and acts of bravery (incl. by characters who DO NOT use guns), which take the film to the epic scale. I recommend the film, BUT it wasn’t as GREAT as I’d expected. Yes, it was emotional, BUT I wanted more backstory (history/politics) and characterization.

 

The Zookeeper’s Wife (2017) starring Jessica Chastain & Daniel Bruhl

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NOTE: This review contains SPOILERS for the film (now playing widely in U.S. theaters).

Diane Ackerman’s non-fiction book was greatly inspired by the unpublished diary of Antonina Zabinska and Jan Zabinski, the director of the Warsaw Zoo in Poland. The book was published in 2007. While the real life events occurred in Warsaw, the movie was filmed entirely in Prague (w/ real baby lion cubs). This film also has a woman director (Niki Caro) and woman adapter (Angela Workman). 

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[1] It is still possible to find love and comfort in the darkest of times. Love is all around us. We must be the vessel through which hope and love spreads. Antonina believed this with her whole heart which is why she and Jan did what they did. There are brave people all around us: fighting for our rights, fighting for theirs, their family, their country – bravery comes in so many forms. This film reflects this: there is bravery in combat and ‘silent’ bravery. One is not greater than the other.

[2] One of the key messages seems to come from an early monologue delivered by Antonina where she compares the purity of animals (their eyes tell you everything) with the propensity to deceive and commonplace of ulterior motives in humans.

[3] Caro is able to reflect humanity, sincerity and earnestness in her films, which captivates and entangles the viewer. Caro’s directing prowess brings to mind the ideology of the male gaze vs. the female gaze in films… I feel as though I’m witnessing a life lived, purely, rather than someone’s perspective of that life. 

-Excerpts from IMDB reviews

We first see Antonina (Jessica Chastain) as a happy figure riding her bike through a zoo with a young camel trotting beside her. She helps rescue a newborn elephant, interrupting  a dinner party. But soon German bombs begin dropping on her city (Warsaw) and this zoo she runs w/ her zoologist husband, Jan (Belgian actor Johan Heldenbergh). 

TheZookeepersWife_painting

…she is undeniably captivating as the eponymous lead, channeling grit and vulnerability in equal measure as she fleshes out her character’s fears, anxieties and convictions. Among the supporting actors, Bruhl and Haas [the teenaged Israeli actress who plays a pivotal role] are the standouts, the former exercising admirable restraint in what could have been a traditionally villainous act, while the latter surprisingly nuanced in her portrayal…

-Excerpt from IMDB review

The scenes between Lutz Heck (Daniel Bruhl) and Antonina are tense; as he disarms her with his affinity/experience w/ of animals, BUT later scares her (and us) with his unwanted advances and desire to cross-breed animals in hopes of creating a new type of bison/bull (superior beast). 

A Few Thoughts on Kong: Skull Island, Gifted, & Get Out (SPOILER-FREE)

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Kong: Skull Island

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I was surprised by HOW MUCH I enjoyed this action/special effects movie! I saw it (in IMAX 3D) at a free pre-screening last WED. You will recognize some of the actors (Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, John Goodman, John C. Reilly and Toby Kebbell), BUT there are also newcomers. Unlike MOST action films, each minor character gets a moment (or two) to reveal their personality. As for Kong- he’s a BIG creature who is considered “king” of Skull Island (somewhere in the South Seas). However, there are MANY other creatures on the island, BUT I don’t want to give much away. Also, there are SOME twists that you wouldn’t necessarily expect (in this genre). If you want 2 hours of escapist fun, then definitely go check this out!   

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I saw this TERRIFIC drama starring Chris Evans (who I’d never seen before) and McKenna Grace (the child actor) last THURS (free screening). The acting is solid, the writing is smart (and sometimes funny), and the themes are universal. (You can see this film w/ the entire family!) The film centers on a single man, Frank (Evans) raising his 7 y.o. niece, Mary (Grace) in small-town Southern Florida. Their neighbor, Roberta (recent Oscar nominee Octavia Spencer), helps take care of Mary on the weekends; they all share a special bond. Frank has homeschooled Mary, BUT then decides that she needs to be w/ kids her own age. However, Mary is NO ordinary 1st grader- she’s a math prodigy (like her deceased mom). Frank wants Mary to have a normal life (friends, sports, extracurricular activities); his sister missed out on all that b/c she was mostly focused on solving one math problem.  In time, Grandmother Evelyn (British actress Lindsay Duncan), arrives from Boston to seek sole custody of Mary. There is also a nice subplot (romance) in the story which is natural and believable. I wanted to see a BIT more of Roberta’s character (b/c Spencer is such a fine actor).

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I never thought this movie would get made. Honestly! I have been on television for years and I still didn’t feel like this movie was possible.-Jordan Peele, director

I saw this film (directed by Jordan Peele) this afternoon w/ 3 of my gal pals; we ALL liked it!  The theater was packed, esp. w/ viewers in their teens and 20s. This is currently the top grossing movie at the box office. It REALLY makes you think, so be ready for some discussion after it ends. It’s NOT a typical horror genre movie- it’s more of a thriller. 

The film hits you with the scary at choice moments, which is truly some unsettling and blends it with the humor. A running joke that should’ve got more air time was the gaffe about Obama, where the father says, “I would’ve voted for a third term for Obama if I could.” Timely, if anything.  -Excerpt from okayplayer.com

The premise comes from Peele’s own life; he was once dating a young woman who didn’t tell her parents he was a black before introducing him to her (white) parents. (Peele is now married to comedian Chelsea Peretti, one of the ensemble cast on Brooklyn Nine-Nine). The film stars Daniel Kaluuya (a British actor on Season 1 of Black Mirror) and Allison Williams (Girls) as an interracial couple visiting the home (more of an estate) of the her parents (played by Catherine Keener and Bradley Whitford) together for the first time. Chris (Kaluuya) is a a photographer who has a reserved personality; Rose is more talkative and assertive.