RETRO REVIEW: “Thelma & Louise”

May 11, 2022 by Keith Garlington

Ridley Scott’s acclaimed road-trip crime movie “Thelma & Louise” came out 31 years ago this month. And after watching it again for the first time in well over a decade, I was blown away by how well it still holds up. With its strong female-driven story, “Thelma & Louise” still resonates today. And while it’s characterization of men can still be over-the-top to the point of cartoonish, that’s kinda the point in a movie about women taking charge of their own fate in such a male-dominated society.

“Thelma & Louise” came out on March 24, 1991 and was a hit both critically and commercially. It would go on to earn six Academy Award nominations including two Best Actress nods for its stars, Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis. Ridley Scott was also nominated for directing. The movie’s lone Oscar win was for its screenplay written by Callie Khouri. It was Khouri’s first feature film script. What a way to make a splash.

“Thelma & Louise” was followed by some controversy at the time. It faced several accusations from those calling the movie “anti-male” for its depictions of men. But again, the movie is a parable with a very important point to make. And focusing on the movie’s sometimes exaggerated portrayal of men instead of the message being conveyed is doing it a disservice. And it’s not like every single male presence in the film is decidedly negative. I like what Khouri said in response to the controversy, “If you think it’s anti-male, you’re identifying with the wrong character.”

The story centers around two best friends from Arkansas stuck in their dreary mundane lives. Louise (Susan Sarandon) is a waitress who’s tired waiting for her on-again, off-again boyfriend Jimmy (Michael Madsen) to commit. Thelma (Geena Davis) is a housewife married to a slimeball car salesman named Darryl (a hilariously despicable Christopher McDonald). Louise has planned a weekend fishing trip just for the two friends, but Thelma is scared to bring it up to her self-obsessed husband. After yet another Darryl tantrum, Thelma decides she doesn’t need his permission. She leaves him a note next to his TV dinner and calls Louise.

The two pack their bags and head out in Louise’s 1966 Thunderbird convertible for a road-trip that will change their lives. It begins when they stop to stretch their legs at a roadside honky-tonk where Thelma catches the eye of the overly flirty Harlan (Timothy Carhart). But what starts as a few drinks and some dancing ends up with Harlan beating and attempting to rape Thelma in the parking lot. Louise finds them and shoots Harlan dead with a pistol Thelma swiped from Darryl’s bedside drawer.

Thelma wants to go directly to the police, but the cynical Louise (for reasons that become clearer later in the movie) doesn’t think the cops will believe them, especially since the entire club saw Thelma and Harlan all over each other on the dance floor. So they go on the run, driving into Oklahoma and plotting a route to Mexico that doesn’t include Texas. Why not Texas you ask? That too becomes clearer as the story progresses.

A good on-the-lam movie needs a good pursuer and “Thelma & Louise” has one in Harvey Keitel. He plays Hal Slocumb, an Arkansas State Police detective with a heart. He’s genuinely concerned about Thelma and Louise and does his best to find them and bring them in before things get out of hand. Keitel has such a natural charisma and he’s such a nice fit here.

And of course there’s Brad Pitt in the supporting role that put him on the map. He plays a gentlemanly and good-looking young cowboy named J.D. who hitches a ride with Thelma and Louise as they’re crossing Oklahoma. It’s not a particularly great performance, but I don’t think it’s the performance that earned him the most attention (if you get what I mean).

Still, without question the stars are Sarandon and Davis. Flipping gender roles for a road-trip buddy movie was certainly significant. But this isn’t simply a case of two women simply mimicking what men have done in similar movies. Sarandon and Davis make for a spirited duo and they bring personality, grit, and humor their roles. And they really get to have fun once the second half kicks in. “We’re fugitives now. Let’s start behaving like that.”

While there is a real weight to the story itself, the two leads, Khouri’s straight-shooting script, and Ridley Scott’s stellar direction gives it room to be funny, warm, and even a little crazy. Some of the male caricatures are a little too goofy (see the chauvinistic truck driver who wears out his welcome after his second appearance). And the ending, though unquestionably iconic, has never fully felt right to me. I really like the choice and I even like the freeze-frame. But the quick fade to white ends things on such a hurried note. We’re seeing credits before the weight of what has happened can really set in. Still, it wraps things up in the most fitting way, and it gives the movie the kind of final punch that people are still talking about today.

VERDICT – 4 STARS

First Glance: “Hustle”

May 10, 2022 by Keith Garlington

I hate to say it, but I’ve reached the point where whenever I hear “Adam Sandler” and “new movie” together I brace myself for the worst. It’s a reaction I think the always likable actor has earned. I can’t remember his last movie that I really liked (yes, that includes “Uncut Gems”). But his lucrative deals with Netflix has ensured that we still get a new Sandler movie nearly every year. This year it’s “Hustle”, a sports drama that sees Sandler shedding his signature goofiness for a more serious story.

Directed by Jeremiah Zagar, “Hustle” has Sandler playing a washed-up basketball scout attempting to revive his career by bringing a talented overseas player with a sketchy past to play in the NBA. The movie also features Queen Latifah, Ben Foster, and Robert Duvall. But then you have the shameless list of basketball cameos that have become a staple in movies like this. It’s a lazy recipe and hopefully one the movie doesn’t milk too much. Either way, it’s hard for me to get excited for a movie that looks too similar to countless other sports movies of its kind.

“Hustle” premieres June 10th on Netflix. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

REVIEW: “Operation Mincemeat” (2022)

May 10, 2022 by Keith Garlington

The effects of the World War II reverberated across the globe and impacted people from all walks of life. As a result, there are countless movies sharing stories of heroism and horror, savagery and sacrifice, patriotism and oppression. True accounts stretching from the battlefront to the streets of occupied cities; from war rooms to concentration camps, are still waiting to be told.

In many ways, movies have been instrumental in informing generations on lesser known yet equally significant World War II stories. Some are bold and thrilling; others are somber and moving. And occasionally you get those that are so utterly implausible that you wouldn’t believe them if they weren’t true. Such is the case for the new Netflix Original “Operation Mincemeat”.

In 1943, with a quarter of a million dead in battle and no end of the war in sight, the Allies began preparations for a crucial invasion of Sicily. But Sicily was an obvious target, and Hitler was moving in troops to repel any possible advance. So in order to pull off a surprise attack, the Allies would need an elaborate deception – something to shift the Fuhrer’s attention away from the heavily reinforced Sicily.

Directed by John Madden and written by Michelle Ashford, “Operation Mincemeat” chronicles one of the most remarkable (and improbable) military deceptions of World War II. A small group from British intelligence concocted and orchestrated an intricate ruse aimed at fooling Hitler into thinking Greece was the next Allied target. Ashford’s script tells the story through a crafty blend of fact and fiction. It plays best as a wartime drama and spy thriller. But there’s also a romantic angle thrown in that never quite simmers the way it should.

Colin Firth plays Lieutenant Commander Ewen Montagu, a seasoned serviceman with the British Navy intelligence who teams with RAF Officer Charles Cholmondeley (Matthew Macfadyen) to plan, coordinate and execute their extraordinary (and on the surface absurd) ruse. It went something like this: take a real corpse, dress it up like a real British officer, attach to it a briefcase of fake secret documents pointing to Greece as the Allies next target, and then dump the body into the Gulf of Cadiz off the coast of neutral Spain. What could go wrong?

To get their plan in motion, Montagu and Cholmondeley put together a small but crack team to help. Among them is Montagu’s devoted and straight-shooting secretary Hester (the always terrific Penelope Wilton) and a young war widow named Jean (Kelly Macdonald) who agrees to fill a pivotal role in exchange for a seat at the table. Eventually Jean is the center of the rather lukewarm romantic tension as both Montagu and Cholmondeley are soon smitten with her. It’s an angle made up of some pretty good scenes that unfortunately never really go anywhere.

For their plan to work the team needs a corpse. They find it in the unclaimed body of a homeless man who died from ingesting rat poisoning. From there it’s about hammering out the details of their outlandish deception. The best scenes may be their planning sessions at the Gargoyle Club in Soho. There the team piece together an entire biography for their fake officer. They tag him with the generic name Major William Martin to make him hard to single out once German intelligence start snooping. They even create a love story between their Major and a young woman named Pam – a faux romance with an overly syrupy connection to the growing feelings between Montagu and Jean.

Playing the proverbial thorn in the side is Jason Isaacs as John Godfrey, a British Admiral who reports directly to the growling cantankerous Churchill (Simon Russell Beale). Godfrey doesn’t believe in Mincemeat but he is convinced Montagu and/or his brother is a Russian spy. He petitions to keep Mincemeat running in hopes of yielding intelligence on Montagu and his alleged connection to Moscow. Isaacs is no stranger to playing these types of characters and Godfrey is right on his wheelhouse.

Along the way, Madden and Ashford attempt to add depth to Montagu and Cholmondeley through a couple of personal side-stories – Montagu’s strained relationship with his wife Iris (Hattie Morahan) and Cholmondeley’s efforts to retrieve the body of his KIA younger brother. And while dramatic beats such as jealousy, deception and blackmail continue to play out, the second half mostly focuses on Mincemeat’s execution. It’s here that the tension really ratchets up.

Perhaps the filmmakers could have wrestled a bit more with the moral implications of the operation. And maybe the love triangle could have used some special sauce. But as a whole, “Operation Mincemeat” is a gripping stranger-the-fiction war drama brought to life by a craftier than expected script and an impressive ensemble. And when it comes to World War II history, I doubt you’ve heard many stories quite like this one. “Operation: Mincemeat” premieres tomorrow (May 11th) on Netflix.

VERDICT – 4 STARS

REVIEW: “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” (2022)

May 9, 2022 by Keith Garlington

DC Films and the superhero movies they make may lack the overall fanfare of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but I love how they give filmmakers with unique voices the creative freedom to fully realize their visions. Whether it’s Patty Jenkins with “Wonder Woman”, Todd Phillips with “Joker”, James Gunn with “The Suicide Squad”, and even “Zack Snyder’s Justice League” (although that one took a little doing). And just this year we’ve been treated to “The Batman” from Matt Reeves, an amazing film that certainly fits in the category of original works.

Marvel Studios has tried to do it themselves by handing key movies to individualistic directors. But the MCU’s head-honcho Kevin Feige holds a lot of influence, and Marvel’s model keeps every film beholden to some pretty strict guidelines. And in the few instances where directors have tried to balance originality with formula the results were pretty shaky. That is until the 28th film of the Marvel Cinematic Universe came along.

“Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” has (by far) been the most compelling of all the messy ‘Phase Four’ productions. A big reason is quite simple – director Sam Raimi. I’ve been an unapologetic Sam Raimi fan starting with his 1981 horror classic “The Evil Dead”. His affection for horror has stuck with him, but he’s no stranger to superhero movies. He was the man behind the Tobey Mcguire Spider-Man trilogy during the 2000s (“Spider-Man 2” is still one of the best superhero movies to this day).

Now Raimi and his indelibly distinct style enters the MCU and the big question for me was simple – how much space would Feige and company give Raimi to make the movie he truly wanted to make? While there are a few moments that feel like studio demands, as a whole this is very much a Sam Raimi movie. And while 2016’s “Doctor Strange” was a very compact and fairly by-the-book origin story, its sequel couldn’t be more different.

Now I don’t wanna mislead anybody, this is still a Marvel movie as well. But Raimi brings a fresh jolt of energy that gives the MCU a kick it desperately needs. Yes it’s a little messy. Yes it doesn’t all come together as seamlessly as intended. But it’s that Raimi led chaos and risk-taking that makes the movie pop. Ultimately (and thankfully) “Multiverse of Madness” doesn’t feel like any other MCU movie to date. And that’s one reason I loved it.

Parsing through all of the story threads and multiverse hopping would be too much for a simple review. Just know you’ll need to pay attention because the movie has numerous moving parts. And while Raimi and screenwriter Michael Waldron bounce us around from point and point and place to place, they do so with a remarkable amount of control. When thinking back, I can remember several times when this thing could have flown off the rails. But Raimi manages to connect most of the dots and holds the story together which turns out to be an impressive feat unto itself.

“Multiverse of Madness” may be a chore for the MCU uninitiated. That’s because it leans pretty heavy on past Marvel material, specifically the Disney+ limited series “WandaVision” and last year’s blockbuster “Spider-Man: No Way Home”. If you remember, in “Spidey”, a temporarily inept Dr. Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) botched a spell that essentially splits open the Multiverse, opening our universe up to the infinite others in existence. Now he fully comes face-to-face with the consequences.

Meanwhile, Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) has been consumed by her sorrow and gone into hiding following the events of “WandaVision”. She’s found by Strange who seeks her help after he rescues a young girl named America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez) from an octopus demon (yep, you read that right). We learn America has the ability to open doorways to other dimensions in the Multiverse – a power the demons want to harness for themselves. The problem is she can’t control her powers which is how she ended up in their world.

But Strange is shocked to learn that Wanda has been using a book of black magic known as the Darkhold and has fully embraced her Scarlet Witch alter-ego. She wants America’s dimension-bopping power for herself in order to travel to another universe and reunite with the children she willed into existence during “WandaVision”. Olsen steals the show as the emotionally damaged Wanda whose story is arguably the saddest in the MCU. Here her actions become undeniably sinister, yet they’re rooted in genuine humanity which makes her story all the more tragic.

Soon Strange is zipping across the Multiverse in an effort to keep America out of Wanda’s grasp. Along the way he encounters variants of himself, meets a few old faces, and is introduced to some new ones. I won’t spoil who all pops up, but several appearances earned pretty hearty applauses from the crowd I was a part of.

One of the biggest treats is how we finally get to see Wanda utilize her full power. There was a thrilling glimpse of it in “Avengers: Endgame” and “WandaVision” dabbled in it a bit. But here the character is let loose. Olsen embodies every ounce of Wanda, from her sheer look to her emotional complexities. Cumberbatch has made Doctor Strange his own and he’s much more in tune with the character here than in last year’s Spider-Man movie. Gomez doesn’t fare as well. Her performance is fine, but America feels more like a plot device. She’s there to give Wanda someone to pursue and Strange someone to protect. And of course she’s there to set up her upcoming Disney+ series.

My love for this movie ultimately comes back to Raimi who hits the ground running and never slows down. While it’s certainly a little messy in spots, “Multiverse of Madness” is such a welcomed departure from the canned formulaic feel of most of the ‘Phase Four’ MCU movies. This thing is absolutely and unapologetically bonkers and Raimi’s fingerprints are all over it. It has its challenges. I can’t imagine it resonating with those who haven’t soaked up previous MCU content, and it might be a jolt for those hooked on the normal Marvel Studios routine. But for me, the MCU needed a kick in the pants, and Sam Raimi was happy to gave it one.

VERDICT – 4.5 STARS

REVIEW: “The Twin” (2022)

May 6, 2022 by Keith Garlington

(CLICK HERE for my full review in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)

Creepy children have become a stalwart in horror movies. They’ve pretty much overtaken zombies, vampires, and the like as the genre’s go-to source of scares. The latest film to tap into this deep well is the Shudder Original “The Twin”. But there is more to this surprisingly rich and layered chiller than meets the eye. In fact, Finnish director Taneli Mustonen’s film may be a horror movie, but it pulls from a variety of influences.

Teresa Palmer plays Rachel, a mother in mourning after her young son Nathan is tragically killed in a car accident. Struggling to cope, Rachel and her husband Anthony (Steven Cree) move from the States to his family’s old home place in northern Finland. They bring along their son and Nathan’s twin brother Elliot (Tristan Ruggeri) who’s dealing with the loss in his own way.

Grief lies at the core of “The Twin”, and by making this a horror movie, Mustonen (who also co-wrote the script along with Aleksi Hyvärinen) is able to use the genre’s diversity to dig into the various facets of the theme. As a result we get a film that is equal part psychological and supernatural. There’s even a taste of old-fashioned folk horror that really comes into view during the third act.

Rachel’s hope is that she and her family can move past their devastation and make a fresh start in the tranquil Finnish countryside. But (of course) those hopes slowly unravel. It starts with Elliot who spends his time playing with Nathan’s old toys and even asks to have an extra bed put in his room for his deceased brother. Rachel feels sympathy and goes along with it, feeling Elliot needs the time and space to come to terms in his own way. Anthony feels it’s hindering Elliot’s ability to get past the tragedy. That husband-wife tension only intensifies throughout the film.

Adding to the growing sense of unease are the fittingly creepy locals who take a special interest in the young family. A ‘welcome to the neighborhood’ party introduces the folk horror element which festers into something unexpected (I’ll let you find out for yourself). A wild card in the story comes in the form of an eccentric village outcast named Helen (Barbara Marten). She’s considered a crackpot by the townsfolk and Anthony. But she issues a dire yet vague warning to Rachel – “Your son has made a wish, and it has been granted.”

Terrifying dreams, eerie visions, Elliot’s startling behavior – it all factors in as Mustonen patiently feeds us bits of his slow-boiling mystery. And while I eventually began to suspect where the story might be heading, the movie never fully tips its hand. Unfortunately not everything comes together in the end, and there were some holes in the story that I just couldn’t fill. But kudos to Mustonen. Even if it’s not entirely seamless, “The Twin” kept me interested and engaged. “The Twin” hits select theaters, VOD, and will be streaming exclusively on Shudder beginning today (May 6th).

VERDICT – 4 STARS

REVIEW: “Black Crab” (2022)

May 5, 2022 by Keith Garlington

The new Netflix film “Black Crab” opens with a harrowing jolt. In a flashback we see a mother named Edh (Noomi Rapace) and her daughter Vanja (Stella Marcimain Klintberg) are stuck in a traffic jam; voices on the radio tell of mass casualties, violence and unrest from a growing civil war. Suddenly people start running by as gunshots ring out. The two lay down in the back seat, but within seconds soldiers shatter the side window, grab Vanja , and take her away.

That opening sets up the film’s key emotional tension as director Adam Berg whisks us back to the war-torn present. Here a shattered Edh (a soldier in the barely defined civil war) still has hopes of finding her daughter. But she’s stopped at a train station by Lieutenant Nyland (Jakob Offebro) who informs her she is needed for a special mission. Edh is taken to Colonel Raad (David Dencik) and briefed on the severity of the situation. The enemy is bearing down, but he says there is one final option – a dangerous one that could potentially put an end to the war.

We learn that for the first time in 37 years the nearby archipelago is covered in ice, from the mainland to the open sea. But the ice is too thin to support a vehicle and too thick for a boat to push through it. “But it could support a soldier of ice skates.” And there you have Operation: Black Crab. The team’s job is to transport two mysterious capsules 100 nautical miles across the ice to a research facility behind enemy lines. “If you succeed, we win the war.”

Edh knows it’s a suicide mission. But when Raad shows her a picture of Vanja taken at a refugee camp near their target, she joins Nyland and fellow soldiers Malik (Dar Salim), Granvik (Erik Enge), Karimi (Ardalan Esmaili), and Forsberg (Aliette Opheim) as they head across the treacherous ice.

I admit, ice skating soldiers sounds pretty silly. But to my surprise Berg (who co-wrote the screenplay with Pelle Rådström) keep things moving at a fast enough pace that you never really have time to dwell on it. And the story plays out like an old-school ‘who will make it to the end’ kind of action thriller which I’ve always had a soft spot for. On top of that, “Black Crab” is a visual stunner with cinematographer Jonas Alarik delivering one eye-popping image after another.

While the world-building leaves too much to the imagination and some of the characters lack much needed depth, “Black Grab” still manages to get its hooks in you. It’s yet another entertaining international grab for Netflix, and it’s another interesting vehicle for the versatile and always reliable Noomi Rapace. If sci-fi dystopian action is your thing, give it a look. “Black Crab” is now streaming on Netflix.