REVIEW: “You Have No Idea” (2024)

April 3, 2024 by Keith Garlington

Evan Mitchell James was born on April 24, 1991 to Beth and Dennis James. It was a time of pure elation for the couple who had tried for years to have a child. After several heartbreaking miscarriages, Beth gave birth to Evan – a beautiful and joyous miracle that from every early indication was everything the Jameses were hoping for. All seemed well in Evan’s earliest years. But when he hit two-years-old Beth began worrying about her son’s development. By age three, Evan had been diagnosed with autism.

Beth, Evan, and their resilient mother-son relationship form the core of “You Have No Idea” – a new documentary that’s as much about information and awareness as it is a heartfelt personal story. Director Alexander Jeffery thoughtfully weaves all of those elements together in an evocative film that pulls at our heartstrings while enlightening us to a number of past and present-day truths.

Born in Canada, raised in El Dorado, Arkansas, and residing in Shreveport, Louisiana, filmmaker Alexander Jeffery’s empathy-rich and life-affirming project began as a video tribute to a loving and committed mother. Moved and inspired himself, Jeffery turned his tribute into a feature-length documentary that thoughtfully yet honestly tells the story of Evan James and his incredible support system anchored by his intensely devoted mother Beth.

Jefferey directed, produced, edited, and shot “You Have No Idea” which features a well-incorporated mix of interviews, live recordings, home movies, and family snapshots to tell Evan’s story. We learn that he was a sweet, pleasant, and happy baby. We hear how concerns surfaced during his toddler years when he wasn’t speaking or responding to the simplest commands. We see his enrollment into the public school system and the obstacles he had to navigate. Yet despite the many difficulties and challenges he faced, Evan remained big-hearted and fun-loving with some pointing out his “contagious energy”.

But the documentary is just as much (if not more) about Beth, a strong and determined mother driven by her unwavering love for her son. Beth’s story is an inspiration in itself, beginning with Evan’s autism diagnosis in the early 1990s. At that time autism wasn’t the topic of conversation that it would eventually become. Unlike today resources were scarce; there was no information at your fingertips. Doctors hadn’t grasped what they were dealing with meaning they didn’t know how to properly treat it.

So Beth took it upon herself to learn as much as she could in order to give her son his best life. Jeffery documents her exhaustive efforts which proved to be transformative, not just for Evan but for herself and many others who witnessed her works and the fruit they produced. This is perhaps best displayed in the incredible network of family members and close friends (affectionately known as Evan’s Village). Each take on essential roles in Evan’s life and in turn see their lives impacted as well.

Jeffery does a terrific job balancing Beth’s journey with its impact on Evan. By offering a more intimate examination he’s able to burrow behind common misconceptions, offering an unvarnished first-hand perspective. Whether its through emotional personal testimonies or his revealing yet unobtrusive camera, Jeffery offers his audience a clear-eyed look into Beth and Evan’s shared life – one marked by many uplifting highs but also some devastating lows.

On a side note, I’ve been married nearly 30 years to a wonderful woman who has devoted much of her life to Special Education. Understandably, she’s taken a special interest in Jeffery’s film. Yes, it tells an affecting true story and open eyes to the real-life family struggles that can be associated with raising a child on the autism spectrum. But in many ways it’s also a reassurance for those working in essential fields – teachers, therapists, and nurses (among others) who are having a tremendous impact in the lives of those with autism and their families. It’s yet another beautiful facet of this urgent and endearing documentary. “You Have No Idea” is now streaming on Prime Video.

VERDICT – 4 STARS

Promotion for “The Strangers: Chapter 1” Kicks into Gear with New Character Posters and Creepy Security Footage

April 2, 2024 by Keith Garlington

“The Strangers: Chapter 1” is set to hit theaters May 17th and Lionsgate has began their promotion with a bang. Three new character posters were released today along with some cool and creepy security camera footage highlighting the film’s titular terrors. Directed by Renny Harlin, the film is the first installment in a new horror trilogy based on the 2008 home invasion chiller “The Strangers”. The original (written and directed by Bryan Bertino) was an effectively unsettling movie and if Harlin can tap into that same sense of horror he may deliver something special.

The film’s official synopsis: After their car breaks down in an eerie small town, a young couple (Madelaine Petsch and Froy Gutierrez) are forced to spend the night in a remote cabin. Panic ensues as they are terrorized by three masked strangers who strike with no mercy and seemingly no motive in THE STRANGERS ― CHAPTER 1, the chilling first entry of this upcoming horror feature film series.

Check out the three character posters and security footage below…

First Glance: “The Dead Don’t Hurt”

April 1, 2024 by Keith Garlington

I get that this may be a bit premature, but could we be witnessing a revival of the Western genre? There have been several smaller independent Westerns that have popped up in recent years and Kevin Costner is set to release his massive two-part Western epic this summer. Now we have “The Dead Don’t Hurt” – a new film that’s directed, written, produced, and composed by Viggo Mortensen. If that wasn’t enough, Mortensen also stars in the film which just released its fantastic first trailer.

Set in the 1860s, Mortensen plays a Danish immigrant named Holger Olsen who falls in loved with a French Canadian woman named Vivienne Le Coudy (played by the always terrific Vicky Krieps). The two start a life together on Holger’s Nevada homestead. But when the headstrong Holger’s convictions drive him to enlist in the Union army, Vivienne is left alone on a frontier dominated by ruthless men. The film also stars Danny Huston, Solly McLeod, Garret Dillahunt, Ray McKinnon, Colin Morgan, W. Earl Brown, and Atlas Green. The trailer offers a tantalizing first look for what is a clear passion project for the 65-year-old Mortensen.

“The Dead Don’t Hurt” gallops into theaters on May 31st. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

REVIEW: “Sleeping Dogs” (2024)

March 29, 2024 by Keith Garlington

Based on Romanian author E.O. Chirovici’s 2017 crime novel “The Book of Mirrors”, the new film “Sleeping Dogs” hands Oscar winner Russell Crowe a meaty and surprisingly heartfelt role. He plays a retired homicide detective who is drawn back into a long unsolved murder case after undergoing a radical experimental procedure for Alzheimer’s disease. How does a cold case and an experimental treatment connect? Well, in a kinda silly yet surprisingly poignant way.

“Sleeping Dogs” marks the feature length directorial debut for Adam Cooper who works from a screenplay he co-wrote with Bill Collage. Their story takes on several different appearances. At times it resembles a somewhat gritty crime thriller. Other times it plays as a moving character drama. But at it’s core lies all the elements of a classic whodunit. Maybe not the most well-oiled whodunit you’ll watch. But a compelling one made all the better thanks to its veteran lead actor.

While perhaps no longer in the heyday of what has been a marvelous 35-year career, Russell Crowe is still finding an array of form-fitting roles. Such is the case with “Sleeping Dogs” where he plays Roy Freeman, a former detective suffering from severe dementia. Roy’s condition has progressed to the point where he can no longer remember anything about his career or family. His house is lined with strips of tape inked with information that covers everything from his name to how to heat up a TV dinner.

Roy recently underwent an experimental procedure focused on synaptic regeneration. The hope is that over time it will reverse his condition and reclaim his memories. As part of his mental exercises his doctor instructs him to stimulate his brain. And what better way than through books, jigsaw puzzles, and maybe even a real-life murder mystery.

One day Roy is visited by an advocate for Isaac Samuel (Pacharo Mzembe), a prison inmate who’s on death row for the brutal murder of a college professor named Joseph Wieder (Marton Csokas). With his execution date fast approaching, Isaac requests to speak to Roy who was one of the interrogating officers on the night of his arrest. We learn that Isaac was pressured into signing a confession but has since vehemently professed his innocence. He sees Roy as his last chance to prove it. The problem is Roy remembers nothing about the case.

From there Cooper takes an unexpected diversion. After a person of interest named Richard Finn (Harry Greenwood) winds up dead, we get a lengthy flashback revealing his connection to Professor Wieder. Through it we’re also introduced to Finn’s love interest and Wieder’s research partner, Laura Baines (Karen Gillan) as well as the professor’s ever observant handyman, Wayne Devereaux (Thomas M. Wright). Like every good whodunnit, all fit nicely onto the list of suspects, each with their own possible motives.

Meanwhile Roy begins digging deeper into the case which leads him to reconnect with his old partner Jimmy (Tommy Flanagan in a “Gladiator” reunion with Crowe). Jimmy clearly wants Roy to let sleeping dogs lie which immediately adds him to our growing pool of suspects. From there the mystery intensifies as Roy’s treatment shows signs of working and certain memories start rushing back.

The story takes Roy on quite the journey – one marked by uncertainty, sadness, and inevitably violence. The revelations that come throw us several curveballs, some of which are a little far-fetched and others that hit their mark. Perhaps most effective is the ending which you begin to suspect yet that still makes for a solid payoff. And driving it all is Crowe whose well-modulated performance brims with authenticity and nuance.

While it could be tempting to be skeptical after reading its synopsis, “Sleeping Dogs” has a surprisingly smart and layered story with enough of its own identity to get through its handful of flaws. Not everything clicks firmly into place. But it’s hard to push back too much when a filmmaker has you as invested as I was. “Sleeping Dogs” is out now in select theaters.

VERDICT – 3.5 STARS

REVIEW: “Road House” (2024)

March 28, 2024 by Keith Garlington

There is no shortage of trends within the current movie landscape. In recent years one of the most popular involves the many sequels, reboots, and remakes of 1980s movies. “Top Gun”, “Ghostbusters”, “Beverly Hills Cop”, Bill & Ted”, even “Beetlejuice” are just some of the films that have been given the treatment or are on the way. I can honestly say that out of all of the movies to remake, 1989’s “Road House” wasn’t one of the first to come to mind.

The original “Road House” wasn’t a great movie. It was silly, full of cheesy action, and it latched onto the immense popularity of its star Patrick Swayze. Yet the movie had its charms. It also had the infinitely watchable Sam Elliott. In several ways 2024’s “Road House” is much the same. It’s not a great movie and is hampered by shallow characters, stilted dialogue, and an outrageously bad debut performance that we’ll get into shortly. Yet it admittedly has its moments – maybe enough to make it a pretty good bad movie.

This reimagining from director Doug Liman and co-writers Anthony Bagarozzi and Chuck Mondry sets out to tell a story similar to the ‘89 film but with a “modern twist”. Minus a few surface-level changes, I’m not so sure about the “modern twist” part. In many ways their “Road House” is a pretty by-the-numbers action flick and its adherence to the old formula pretty much strips it of any suspense whatsoever.

On the flip side, “Road House” (smartly) doesn’t take itself too seriously. The movie is peppered with some genuinely funny lines and its efforts at being rowdy can lend to some pretty good laughs (though maybe not always intentionally). As for the fight sequences, they are fittingly brutal. And the larger action set pieces (despite the occasional shaky CGI enhancements) deliver some big jolts.

The movie is also helped by its star, Jake Gyllenhaal. His performance is a weird one in that it takes some time to get a feel for what he’s going for. At first he almost seems disconnected and uninterested. But over time what he’s doing begins to feel more in tune with his character. That isn’t the case for everyone we meet. Again, more on that in a moment.

Gyllenhaal plays Elwood Dalton, a down-on-his-luck former UFC fighter who now dukes it out in rigged underground fights to make ends meet. One evening he’s approached by a woman named Frankie (Jessica Williams) who owns a beachside Road House in the Florida Keys. Lately her establishment has been attracting the wrong clientele – a pack of rowdy bikers who come in every night and trash the place. Desperate for help, she convinces the equally desperate Elwood to take the job as her head bouncer.

Elwood hits it off with several of the locals including a young girl named Hannah (Hannah Lanier) who owns a small bookstore with her father (Kevin Carroll). He also connects with an attractive nurse named Ellie (Daniela Melchior) who becomes his semi-explored love interest. But he also discovers that the island is full of trouble, namely in the form of Ben Brandt (Billy Magnussen), the spoiled and obnoxious son of a local crime boss who’s running his family’s business while his father is in prison.

In a nutshell, the Brandt’s want Frankie’s place for a lucrative land development deal. She doesn’t want to sell. So they send their goons, under the protection of a crooked sheriff (Joaquim de Almeida) to make a mess of things. But they run head-first into Elwood who is no pushover. In fact, we learn he has a particularly violent past that makes him a nightmare for bullies like Brandt.

As you can guess lots of bloody knuckles, busted noses, and broken bones ensue. And the violence only ramps up with the arrival of one ridiculously over-the-top Conor McGregor. He plays a brutish mob enforcer named Knox who’s called in to take care of Elwood once and for all. Admittedly, Knox is meant to be unhinged and sociopathic. But McGregor’s wildly overly exaggerated performance turns the character into a cartoon rather than a menacing threat. He’s laughably bad and a huge distraction whenever he pops up on-screen.

So this new iteration of “Road House” ends up being a hard movie to figure out. For everything it offers that’s entertaining, there are just as many problems that leave you scratching your head. It’s as harmless as it is forgettable which may not be a ringing endorsement. But it’s a fitting description of this kinda fun yet glaringly flawed time-passer. “Road House” is now streaming on Prime Video.

VERDICT – 2.5 STARS

REVIEW: “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” (2024)

March 27, 2024 by Keith Garlington

Busting ghosts dates back to 1984 when Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, and Ernie Hudson saved New York City from a giant Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man and an assortment of other spirits. And wouldn’t you know it, they saved it again in 1989. Aside from a lackluster attempt at a remake in 2016, there was no more busting ghosts until 2021 and the long anticipated “Ghostbusters: Afterlife”, a film that introduced a new generation of busters while bringing back the originals (minus Harold Ramis who died in 2014).

“Afterlife” came out on the backend of COVID-19 and was a modest box office success. Enough so to earn itself a sequel, “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire”. Directed by Gil Kenan, “Frozen Empire” has a lot in common with its predecessor. For example, it’s chock full fan service from the opening titles to the ending credits. And while it has its nostalgic charms, it doesn’t offer much that will stick with anyone other than the Ghostbusters franchise die-hards.

**Image Courtesy of Sony Pictures Releasing**

The biggest issue with “Frozen Empire” revolves around its script. It’s a case of a movie having too much going on. Much of it feels recycled while anything resembling a new angle is undercooked. And despite several drawn-out stretches where not much happens, there are characters and subplots that never get the attention they need. It doesn’t help that the film is not especially exciting, not at all creepy, and not very funny. That’s a shame considering “Frozen Empire” brings back what is a terrific ensemble. But so many of its characters get lost in the crowd.

Written by Kenan and “Afterlife” director Jason Reitman, the overstuffed “Frozen Empire” goes down several different paths. First you have the ghostbusting family of Callie Spengler (Carrie Coon), her boyfriend Gary Grooberson (Paul Rudd), her 18-year-old son Trevor (Finn Wolfhard), and her 15-year-old daughter Phoebe (Mckenna Grace). They live and operate out of the old Manhattan firehouse from the original films, protecting New York City from all kinds of spectral threats. But rather than being lauded, they’re constantly hounded by their arch-nemesis and the city’s new mayor, Walter Peck (William Atherton reprising his role).

Meanwhile Ray Stantz (Aykroyd) runs an old antique and book shop built around ghostly artifacts. He purchases a mysterious orb from a customer named Nadeem (Kumail Nanjiani), a character who epitomizes what happens when comic relief goes bad. As Ray is testing its PKE levels, the orb emits an energy blast that shakes the city and damages the firehouse’s ecto-containment unit. That can’t be good.

Ray rushes the artifact to the underground Paranormal Research Center ran by Winston Zeddemore (Hudson). With the help of Peter Venkman (Murray) the old Ghostbusters learn that the orb holds a malevolent spirit named Garraka. Patton Oswald shows up, unloading ton of momentum-killing exposition about Garraka, his power-hungry past, his powers (he can freeze stuff), and some uninteresting stuff about a group of sorcerers called Fire Masters. It goes without saying that Garraka escapes, puts the Big Apple into a deep freeze and it will take the Ghostbusters young and old to stop him.

As the main story chugs along, there are a couple of well intended plot lines that fall flat. One tries to add a coming-of-age flavor and involves Phoebe trying to find herself and where she fits in the world. She hits it off with a ghost named Melody (Emily Alyn Lind) but the relationship that forms between them is rushed and poorly defined. Then there is the subplot of Callie, Gary, Trevor, and Phoebe discovering what it means to be a family. This is something that could have fit in nicely with the central story, but as with so much else, it never gets the attention it needs to matter.

There’s no doubt that some will be drawn to its heavy nostalgia; other to its playful spirit and fun visual effects. But those things alone can’t save “Frozen Empire” from its overstuffed story, too many characters, and its overall lack of anything original. Things often defy logic, some characters get completely lost (poor Wolfhard), and there’s no emotional resonance to speak of. I wouldn’t call this the death knell for the series. At the same time it wouldn’t surprise me if this is the final Ghostbusters adventure we get. But as usual, it’s up to the box office to determine that. “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” is in theaters now.