New on Home Video: “Early Short Films of the French New Wave” 2-Disc Box Set on Blu-ray and DVD

September 5, 2023 by Keith Garlington

Icarus Films is set to release an exciting new box set highlighting newly restored short films from some of the French New Wave’s most noteworthy names. This terrific collection includes the works of New Wave pioneers such as Truffaut, Godard, Resnais, Varda, Rivette, and more. The selections are eclectic and the restoration quality is top-notch making this a must for collectors and fans alike.

This fabulous 2-disc blu-ray box set of “Early Short Films of the French New Wave” will be available to purchase on September 19th. See below for a full synopsis and release information.

Official Synopsis

Year: 1956 – 1968

Runtime: 348 Minutes

Directors: Alain Resnais, Jacques Rivette, François Reichenbach, Jean-Luc Godard, Agnès Varda, Jacques Doniol-Valcroze, François Truffaut, Maurice Pialat, Melvin Van Peebles, Guy Gilles, Jean Rouch, Jeanne Barbillon, Gisèle Braunberger

From the Studio:

Icarus Films is proud to present Early Short Films of the French New Wave, available on Blu-ray and DVD on September 19th, 2023. The nineteen (19) short films in this box set represent the dawn of the French New Wave, as a group of talented young filmmakers, including Jean-Luc Godard, Francois Truffaut, Agnes Varda, & more, presented a radically new vision of French cinema.

These shorts are not just steppingstones on the way to the famed New Wave features, but classics that stand on their own, the first forays of a movement that would revolutionize the world of French film and influence cinema around the world for decades to come.

This box set includes 2 discs and a 12-page booklet with an essay by Eric Le Roy, Head of Collections at the Centre National de Cinema (CNC). The short films included in this box set have been restored and digitized with the support of the CNC.

Disc 1:

ALL THE WORLD’S MEMORY – Alain Resnais (1956)

FOOL’S MATE – Jacques Rivette (1956)
Starring Virginie Vitry and Jacques Doniol-Valcroze! Featuring cameos by Claude Chabrol, Jean-Luc Godard, and François Truffaut.

THE MARINES – François Reichenbach (1957)
Reichenbach’s original version with anti-militarist commentary.

ALL THE BOYS ARE CALLED PATRICK – Jean-Luc Godard (1957)
Written by Eric Rohmer! Starring Anne Colette and Nicole Berger

THE SONG OF STYRENE – Alain Resnais (1957)

Ô SAISONS, Ô CHÂTEUX – Agnès Varda (1958)

THE OVERWORKED – Jacques Doniol-Valcroze (1958)
Co-written by Francois Truffaut! Starring Yane Barry, Jean-Pierre Cassel, and Jean-Claude Brialy.

A STORY OF WATER – Jean-Luc Godard and François Truffaut (1958)
Starring Caroline Dim and Jean-Claude Brialy.

CHARLOTTE AND HER BOYFRIEND – Jean-Luc Godard (1958)
Starring Jean-Paul Belmondo (voiced by Jean-Luc Godard!) and Anne Colette.

LOVE EXISTS – Maurice Pialat (1960)

JANINE – Maurice Pialat (1961)

500 FRANCS – Melvin Van Peebles (1961)

PARIS, A WINTER’S DAY – Guy Gilles (1962)

Disc 2:

IN MEMORY OF ROCK – François Reichenbach (1963)
Featuring French rock stars Eddy Mitchell, Vince Taylor and Johnny Hallyday

THE LITTLE CAFE – François Reichenbach (1963)

THE GOUMBÉ OF THE YOUNG REVELERS – Jean Rouch (1965)

THE BOTANICAL AVATAR OF MADEMOISELLE FLORA – Jeanne Barbillon (1965)
Music by Michel Legrand and Jacques Loussier! Starring Bernadette Lafont and Louis Mesuret.

THE FIFTEEN YEAR OLD WIDOWS – Jean Rouch (1966)
Cameo by Maurice Pialat!

+ Bonus Film

DIRECTING ACTORS BY JEAN RENOIR – Gisèle Braunberger (1968)
Starring Jean Renoir and Gisele Braunberger

REVIEW: “The Equalizer 3” (2023)

September 1, 2023 by Keith Garlington

One thing about 2014’s “The Equalizer” and it’s 2018 sequel – you knew exactly what you were going to get. Both were action thrillers built upon a fairly simple and straightforward premise. But they had a secret ingredient that made them stand out from the countless other movies of their kind – Denzel Washington. The charismatic and infinity talented Oscar-winning actor brings a certain prestige and gravitas to every movie he appears in. The “Equalizer” films are no different.

That includes Washington’s latest, “The Equalizer 3”, the final film in director Antoine Fuqua’s hitman trilogy. To no surprise Washington is great in reprising his role of Robert McCall, an aged yet still quite lethal hitman looking to put his violent past behind him. Robert is a fascinating contradiction. On one hand he’s an efficient and effective killer who has plowed his trade with brutal precision. On the other hand there’s a nobility to Robert that you might think clashes with his profession. There’s a righteousness in the sympathy and compassion he has for the persecuted and downtrodden.

In both facets of his character Washington is as convincing as ever, showing a fierce (and often frightening) intensity in the action scenes and a genuine warmth and humanity in others. As a movie “The Equalizer 3” features that same kind of duality. It’s as much of a patient character study as it is a hardcore action movie which may throw some people off. But for me, that was one of its strengths.

But don’t worry, it still has the gritty, brutal violence fans of the previous film’s expect and it wastes no time tossing some our way. The film opens with Washington’s Robert McCall carrying out a job in Italy. He eliminates (in his own special way) a notorious mobster who has been distributing synthetic amphetamines out of his Sicilian vinyard. The drugs has been used to fund terrorist activities all across the globe. But Robert is seriously wounded and eventually passes out while driving away from the scene.

He’s found and rescued by a benevolent local doctor named Enzo (Remo Girone). Robert wakes up in the small coastal town of Altamonte where he begins his recovery under Enzo’s care. Over time Robert finds himself falling for the quiet village and the friendly locals who call it home. But when the people he’s grown to love are targeted by a powerful mob boss from Naples named Vincent Quaranta (Andrea Scarduzio), Robert is forced to dust off the skills from his past in order to stand up for the townsfolk and their home.

As Fuqua and screenwriter Richard Wenk patiently let things play out, there’s a side story of sorts involving a young and ambitious CIA agent Emma Collins (Dakota Fanning, reteaming with Washington for the first time since 2004’s “Man on Fire”). At first Robert’s interactions with her seem superfluous, but they end up leading to a satisfying conclusion.

Despite its predictable framework, “The Equalizer 3” works thanks to Washington’s commitment to his character and the journey he takes, both physical and emotional. Washington never overplays a scene and he makes you believe in every interesting layer he peels back. Meanwhile Fuqua’s direction is spot-on and he wisely leans on the talents of his lead actor. Yet he’s crafty in how he approaches the action, shooting Washington in a way that hides any limitations the 68-year-old actor may have. Fuqua also makes great use of the scenic Amalfi Coast, sprinkling in some gorgeous shots and giving the area (especially Altamonte) some real personality.

Everything combines to make for a entertaining final chapter in the Equalizer series. It can’t quite shake the feeling of predictability and much of the story plays out exactly as we expect it to. But the strength of Denzel Washington’s screen presence can’t be overstated. He offers his character a worthwhile send-off while giving fans of the previous films the satisfying farewell they’ll be looking for. “The Equalizer 3” opens today exclusively in theaters.

VERDICT – 3.5 STARS

REVIEW: “King of Killers” (2023)

August 31, 2023 by Keith Garlington

Actor, stuntman, martial artist, and fight coordinator Alain Moussi stars in “King of Killers”, a new action thriller based on the Darkstorm Comics Graphic Novel by Kevin Grevioux. The film marks the feature film directorial debut for Grevioux who is perhaps best known as the co-creator of the popular “Underworld” film series.

To his credit, Grevioux brings along some of the same stylish and violent action that helped energize the “Underworld” movies (both the good early ones and the not so good later ones). Unfortunately it’s the dressing around the action that brings “King of Killers” down. Some of it is due to the writing; some of it is due to the performances. Either way, Grevioux has a hard time selling us on anything other than the bloody headshots, brutal throat slashes, and nasty bone-breaks.

Moussi plays Marcus Garan, a Chicago-based hitman working for his good friend, mentor, and connected middle-man Xane (Stephen Dorff). Marcus has earned the reputation of being a reliable “company man” who carries out his jobs quickly and efficiently. But he also has a much different life away from his job. He’s happily married to his wife Karla (Amy Groening) and together they have a precious daughter named Kimberly (Zoe Worn).

The opening 15 minutes or so offers an excruciating introduction to Marcus’ secret double life. We watch him carry out a hit with deadly precision, but there’s a silliness to it (intentional or not, I’m still not sure) that lessens the impact. Then you have the family stuff which amounts to little more than hokey sentimental mush meant to show the storybook perfect home life. Mercifully we don’t have to wait long before one secret life inevitability meets the other.

I won’t give away how, but the oblivious Karla is killed after Marcus ludicrously botches a last-minute job. Devastated, he steps away from contract killing to focus on his daughter. But this is an action movie so you know something has to draw him back into the game. In this case it’s his daughter’s out-of-the-blue heart illness and a timely offer of $10 million – just enough for her medical procedure. All he has to do is travel to Tokyo where he’ll be offered an exclusive contract to eliminate “the world’s greatest assassin”, Jorg Drakos (Frank Grillo).

Upon arriving Marcus learns that the contract has been offered by Drakos himself. Dubbed the King of Killers, Drakos has brought Marcus and six other best-of-the-best assassins from around the world for his own personal vanity competition. The game is to see who among his peers can navigate his trap-rigged high-rise and kill him before he kills them. Whoever succeeds will win the $10 million prize. But as Marcus and his competitors soon learn, the game is rigged.

Grevioux’s competent direction gives the movie a fighting chance and it especially shines in the slick and often gruesome action sequences. It’s his screenplay that turns out to be the biggest liability. Cringy dialogue, shallow characters, gaping holes in logic. And it’s not helped by Moussi who gives it his all but simply can’t pull off what the movie needs from its lead. He especially struggles with selling the more emotional stuff, partly because of the material, but also because he tends to overact and often comes across as stiff and unconvincing.

The death knell comes in the ridiculous out-of-nowhere ending that offers a few cheap and unearned twists built for what looks like some kind of franchise ambition. You can see the movie grasping in the final 15 minutes and it leaves things in a ridiculously half-baked place. Again, it’s certainly ambitious, but it does nothing to earn our investment in what may or may not come next. “King of Killers” releases September 1st in select theaters and on VOD.

VERDICT – 2 STARS

First Glance: “The Killer”

August 30, 2023 by Keith Garlington

They had me at Michael Fassbender and David Fincher. That’s all I needed for “The Killer” to shoot up my ‘most anticipated’ list. Netflix has released the first teaser trailer for this upcoming action thriller which is based on Alexis Nolent’s French graphic novel series of the same name. This first glance looks scintillating and exactly what I was hoping for after first hearing of the film several years ago.

“The Killer” sees Fassbender in the titular role as an assassin who finds himself the centerpiece of a massive international manhunt. The teaser is very much that – a tease which is all I wanted. It relays the film’s dark and violent tone as well as Fincher’s penchant for creating tense and gritty atmosphere. And it’s great seeing Fassbender on screen. He’s hasn’t been as present as he was a few years ago. Hopefully this is the first of many new projects from the immensely talented actor.

“The Killer” releases in select theaters this October before premiering on Netflix on November 10th. Check out trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

REVIEW: “You Are So Not Invited To My Bat Mitzvah” (2023)

August 29, 2023 by Keith Garlington

Adam Sandler’s Happy Madison Productions doesn’t have the steadiest record when it comes to quality movies. Especially since starting his lucrative deal with Netflix. But he hits a home run with “You Are So Not Invited To My Bat Mitzvah”, a delightful and heartfelt coming-of-age film based on Fiona Rosenbloom’s 2005 young adult novel of the same name.

Directed by Sammi Cohen and adapted by screenwriter Alison Peck, “You Are So Not Invited To My Bat Mitzvah” is equal part family drama and teen comedy. But don’t let that scare you. The family dynamic is sweet but not at all saccharine. Better yet, it’s refreshingly organic. And as a teen comedy its such a nice departure from the lazier trends. It’s whip-smart and thoughtful humor that doesn’t rely on cheap raunch or annoying toilet gags.

But perhaps most notably is how the film offers a window into the world of the Jewish experience. And among the many things it explores is the Bat Mitzvah, a coming-of-age ritual centered around faith and family. The ceremony has long signified a young person’s membership into the Jewish community. But for many it marks the first step into adulthood, and the massive parties that come afterwards often overshadow the ceremony itself.

That’s certainly the case for 13-year-old Stacy Friedman (played by Adam Sandler’s youngest daughter, Sunny). She seems to have a great life that includes two loving parents, Danny and Bree (wonderfully played by her real-life dad and Idina Menzel) and a supportive older sister, Ronnie (played by her real-life sibling Sadie Sandler). Then there is her longtime best friend Lydia (a breakout Samantha Lorraine). Inseparable since childhood, Stacy and Lydia have been planning their bat mitzvah parties for years. Afterall, it “determines the rest of my life” Sunny states with an unwavering belief.

Among the film’s biggest strengths is the honesty and accuracy in its portrayal of family and friendship. The Friedman home is a breath of fresh air in that it feels like a real lived-in family space. Their scenes together are genuine, warm, and a lot of fun. But they aren’t the perfect family and we do see the kinks that come with any parent or sibling relationship. The elder Sandler gives its a wonderful supporting performance but its his two daughters who steal the show.

Meanwhile the movie does a superb job of capturing the layers of young friendship and a 7th grader’s social experience. Sunny Sandler and Samantha Lorraine have a sparkling BFF chemistry, but it’s when their characters find themselves at odds that the performances really shine. The movie does tease us with a couple of teen movie caricatures (namely the dreamy guy, and the cool rich girls), yet it looks at them through the undiscerning eyes of a 13-year-old girl. It’s an often funny yet thoroughly truthful perspective, conveying how kids that age see themselves, their friends, their parents, and their world in general.

The great supporting cast extends even further, playing classmates, parents, teachers, etc. They all fit nicely in this story of two lifelong best friends who see their relationship crumble on the eve of their bat mitzvahs. And all over a boy from their Hebrew school. There’s so much good humor woven into the very fabric of Peck’s lights-out script. But she also shows how cruel young people can be to each other. It all makes for a surprisingly effective in portrayal of adolescence.

It’ll be funny to see how many critics wedge the word “nepotism” into their reviews. Whatever. Adam Sandler’s two daughters, Sunny and Sadie, give cracking performances and are big reasons “You Are So Not Invited To My Bat Mitzvah” works so well. The movie is an all-around entertaining affair that may seem like your prototypical coming-of-age creation. But it’s full of its own flavor and packs its own sweet and sassy punch. It routinely caught me off guard in the best ways possible and quickly won me over with its big heart and indelible charm.

VERDICT – 4 STARS

REVIEW: “Assassin” (2023)

August 28, 2023 by Keith Garlington

As a long-time fan of Bruce Willis, it grew tough watching his movies go from box office gold to straight to video garb. But when news came out of his declining health (he’s since been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia), it became clear why he had moved away from big studio productions and to smaller and easier roles. As a result of his condition, last year Willis’ family announced his retirement from acting. Suddenly movies didn’t seem all that important.

Since 2019 he has appeared in 26 straight direct-to-video movies, many of which used him heavy in their promotions. Interestingly, he only had small supporting roles in most of them. The same is true with “Assassin”, a sci-fi thriller from first-time director Jesse Atlas that turns out to be the final film appearance of Willis’ impressive 43-year career.

Unfortunately “Assassin” is yet another VOD dud but it certainly can’t all be put on Willis. There are several significantly bigger problems that end up dragging the movie down. Based on the short film “Let Them Die Like Lovers”, the movie has a premise that is ripe with potential. But it doesn’t have the budget or (more importantly) the creative know-how to pull it off. And it definitely doesn’t do enough for us to look past the uninspired performances, cringy dialogue, and painfully dull action.

The story (written for the screen by Atlas and Aaron Wolfe) follows Alexa (Nomzamo Mbatha) who is shocked when her husband and fellow U.S. Army soldier Sebastian (Mustafa Shakir) comes back from his tour in a coma. Desperate to learn more about what happened to him, Alexa begins digging and discovers that Sebastian was actually on a super-secret mission working for a man named Valmora (Willis).

Valmora and his associates Olivia (Fernanda Andrade) and Marko (Barry Jay Minoff) makeup a poorly defined black ops team who possess a technology that enables them to digitally map an agent’s consciousness into another person’s body. They can then use that body to carry out all kinds of missions, most notably assassinations. How it all works is anyone’s guess. The movie certainly doesn’t seem to care. All they need to pull it off is a bathtub, a laptop, and something that looks like an old car part (that’s what the movie tries to pass off as state-of-the-art tech).

When Alexa finds Valmora he informs her that a dangerous fixer and smuggler named Adrian (Dominic Purcell) has stolen a tiny piece of their tech that must be recovered if Sebastian is to ever wake up from his coma (don’t ask). So Valmora recruits Alexa to take over the the minds of strangers and assassinate those close to Adrain leaving him vulnerable. Then she can take him out and steal back the tech that can bring back Sebastian.

As you might expect they hit a few snags that by design usually adds tension to a story. That’s not the case here mainly because the movie shows no sense of urgency. There’s no energy or excitement. It toys with thought-provoking ideas and poses some meaty questions especially when digging into the moral queasiness of entering and controlling another’s body. “We kill the bad guys. Someone else takes the fall.” That line alone should provoke some compelling considerations. Unfortunately “Assassin” doesn’t do anything with the boxes it opens up.

And that speaks to the movie’s biggest problem. Yes, “Assassin” is plagued with bad performances throughout and the action never (and I do mean never) gets to room temperature. But it’s the script that turns out to be the biggest liability. The wafer-thin characters fumble through equally shallow (and sometimes astonishingly lame) dialogue. There’s no worthwhile hero or villain. And the story has so many holes it quickly devolves into something impossible to latch onto.

It’s truly heartbreaking to see Willis’ career end on such a sour note. But that doesn’t take away from the years of great characters, great energy, and great personality he has given us. From “Moonlighting” to “Die Hard” to “Pulp Fiction” to “The Sixth Sense” to “Moonrise Kingdom”. What a terrific filmography. And because of that, we will always be grateful. “Assassin” is streaming on Hulu”.