Sports movie tend to be pretty hit or miss and the new sports drama “National Champions” looks to fall into that category. But to the film’s credit, the movie (directed by Ric Roman Waugh) appears to have a lot more on its mind than what happens on the field. An interesting cast leads the way in what could either be a smart and provocative story or yet another sports yarn overloaded with industry cameos.
The movie centers around a college football star (played by Stephan James) who leads his team all the way to the national championship game. But as the big game approaches, he causes a firestorm when he begins to speak out about player compensation and better treatment of college athletes. With the eyes of the country on him, the young man must decide whether to lead his teammates on the field or in a players strike for his cause. The film also stars J.K. Simmons, Lil Rel Howery, Tim Blake Nelson, Jeffrey Donovan, Alexander Ludwig, Andrew Bachelor, Kristin Chenoweth, Timothy Olyphant, and countless ESPN and NFL celebs. We’ll see how it turns out.
“National Champions” releases December 10th. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.
“Looks can be deceiving.” That wise old adage has been around forever and used to describe all sorts of things. It’s also a fitting way to describe Mickey Reece’s new film “Agnes”. This wobbly and disjointed movie teases itself as horror only to make a jarring turn midway through that sees it transform into something completely different. At first you think you’re seeing some audacious creative choice that will lead to a satisfying payoff. Instead it ends up feeling like something done just to taunt viewers with expectations. More on that later.
The story (written by Reece and John Selvidge) begins with a disaffected priest named Father Donaghue (Ben Hall) being called before his suspiciously cold superiors. He’s told about some strange occurrences happening at a convent named Santa Theresa in the far corner of their diocese. Reports say a young nun named Sister Agnes (Hayley McFarland) is showing all the movie signs of your standard demon possession: levitating, violent convulsions, superhuman strength, and a sudden potty-mouth.
Image Courtesy of Magnolia Pictures
A reluctant Father Donaghue is sent to the convent to investigate and promptly reminded that he is in no position to refuse. Why you ask? Well, apparently there are some accusations against him which he has denied but that have stained his reputation nonetheless. But don’t get too caught up in that stuff. The movie certainly doesn’t. It’s one of several things Reece teases only to drop without ever addressing it again.
The stuffy Bishop and his heads of the parish force Father Donaghue to take along priest-to-be Brother Benjamin (Jake Horowitz), Donaghue’s good-looking and by-the-books former pupil in the faith. The two don’t exactly see eye to eye especially after the unorthodox and occasionally crude Father Donovan expresses his skepticism of demonic possession and the holy rite of exorcism. He sees it as all psychological rather than supernatural. “I’ve seen this more than a few times,” he tells his young associate.
At the convent the two men of the cloth are greeted by the icy Mother Superior (Mary Buss) who doesn’t like the idea of two men hanging around her sisters. We’re also introduced to the troubled Sister Mary (Molly Quinn), a relatively new addition to the flock who’s trying to escape her own tragic past. She’s close friends with the bedeviled Sister Agnes. Things get even weirder with the introduction of the excommunicated Father Black (Chris Browning), with his pseudo-hip wardrobe and bronze spray tan. He and his creepy assistant (who looks plucked right out of a Terry Gilliam movie) come to the convent at the behest of Father Donaghue to confront the spirit. Or is there more going on than meets the eye?
Visually, the film’s first half resembles a low-budget knockoff of better supernatural possession flicks. But storywise Reece tosses in a few unexpected curveballs and turns what looks standard issue into something trickier and delightfully bizarre. But just as you’re getting into the weirdness and mystery of the story, the movie shifts in a wild and unexpected way. It lurches forward in time, leaving behind all of the wacky intrigue and never returning to it.
Image Courtesy of Magnolia Pictures
The movie suddenly turns into a character drama focusing on Mary. She has left the convent and struggles to get by, working double shifts and two jobs just to afford her $600 a month rent. We do get a couple of scenes that reference her past with the Carmelite sisterhood, but mostly its about her hard life and the few people she encounters along the way – her slimeball boss Curly (Chris Sullivan), and stand-up comic (Sean Gunn), etc.
There nothing inherently wrong with Mary’s story and Quinn gives a terrific performance. But Mary’s journey is remarkably undercooked. And while the movie tries to be clever with its dramatic shift in tone and completely new direction, it ends up feeling like two different films connected by the barest of threads. Even worse, neither story gets any kind of satisfying ending. Some may love the ambiguity. I was left thinking of all the ways this could have been a better movie. “Agnes” releases December 10th in select theaters and on VOD.
I know a lot of people are pretty jazzed for the return to the Matrix universe. Me, I’m having a hard time mustering up the excitement. To be honest, I’ve never been a huge fan of any of the Matrix movies, even the beloved first film. So for me it’s more about nostalgic curiosity than real anticipation. All that said, I do like the new poster just released by Warner Bros. Talk about a cool updated flash to the past. Tell me what you think.
DIRECTOR – Lana Wachowski
WRITER – Lana Wachowski, David Mitchell, Aleksander Hemon
STARRING – Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Ann Moss, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jessica Henwick, Jonathan Groff, Neil Patrick Harris, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Jada Pinkett Smith
Netflix’s star-studded comedy “Don’t Look Up” is just around the corner and today the streaming platform dropped a brand new trailer. It’s hard not to be excited with a cast like this, but my one hesitation remains Adam McKay. While not a huge fan of his many Will Ferrell collaborations, I did find some of them mildly funny. His films afterward went from tolerable (“The Big Short”) to absolutely insufferable (“Vice”). So I go into caution mode whenever a new McKay movie comes around.
The plot of this one sounds ludicrous, but in a good way. Two small-time astronomers (played by Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence) learn that a giant comet is on a path to destroy the world. They first try telling the government but no one, including the President (Meryl Streep), believes them. So they take their story to the media which thrusts the two awkward scientists into the world spotlight. Adding to the star power is Mark Rylance, Rob Morgan, Cate Blanchett, Jonah Hill, Timothee Chalamet, Ariana Grande, Chris Evans, Ron Perlman, Tyler Perry, and so on. Hopefully McKay can wrangle all of this together and not turn it into some toothless comedy full of celebrity cameos. If he can, this has a chance to be really good.
“Don’t Look Up” is scheduled for a limited theater release on December 10th and then streaming on Netflix December 24th. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.
One of my favorite things about each movie year is coming across something completely new and unexpected. Movies that I had never heard of and that were never on my radar, yet caught me completely by surprise. Netflix has done that very thing with their new foreign language flick “The Trip”, an impossible to label Norwegian film from director and co-writer Tommy Wirkola.
I call “The Trip” impossible to label because it can’t be put into any box or assigned to any one genre. It’s a movie that defies any and all expectations and is full of surprises both narratively and visually. It leaps back-and-forth between genres never staying in the same place for very long. To give you an idea, it sometimes plays like a serious marital drama and other times like a pitch-black comedy. One second it’s a crime thriller and then it hits you with gruesome body horror. There’s even a terrifying “Funny Games” sequence complete with the emotional and physical savagery of that Hanake film.
Image Courtesy of Netflix
Noomi Rapace and Aksel Hennie play Lisa and Lars, a dysfunctional couple on the outs who set out on a weekend trip to the mountains where they own a rustic lakeside cabin built by Lars’ father. Lars is a dissatisfied director who’s stuck making cheap television soap operas. “You’re no Hitchcock”, his cantankerous father (Nils Ole Oftebro) gruffly reminds him. Lisa is a struggling theater actress who loves performing but has recently been turned down for several big parts. Both are frustrated; both are unhappy. But at least they have each other, right?
Well…..
So they head to the mountains for a much needed getaway, yet they can’t even make it to the cabin without an argument breaking out. It quickly becomes clear that these two despise each other. But maybe this trip is exactly what they need. Could they end up where most couples do in movies like this? You know, rekindling an old flame and rediscovering that love that first brought them together? Well, they’ll first have to overcome a pretty significant obstacle. As it turns out, both have come to cabin with plans of killing their spouse. See what I mean? That’s a pretty big obstacle.
Image Courtesy of Netflix
I don’t want to say more because this truly is a case of ‘the less you know the better’. One of the film’s biggest strengths is its ability to broadside its audience with something they never see it coming. It begins practically as soon as they arrive at the cabin. “Home Sweet Home”, Lisa wryly says signaling that we’re in for a twisted ride. Both lead performances are strong especially from Rapace who has an often underrated ability to express emotion without uttering a single word.
Let me stress, “The Trip” isn’t for the faint of heart. Some scenes are extremely intense and the further it goes the gorier the movie gets. Yet it’s all fused with this wicked sense of humor that often pops up in the most unexpected moments. There were times where I was physically jolted by the violence and other times where I caught myself laughing out loud. What’s most amazing is how Wirkola keeps it all together. Not perfectly (the poop gag is certainly a low point), but more than enough to keep his audience entertained and always wondering what’s coming next. “The Trip” is now streaming on Netflix.
The first trailer and a wave of good reactions from the festival circuit catapulted “Belfast” high up my most anticipated movies list. Kenneth Branagh’s semi-autobiographical coming-of-age tale is full of ingredients that tend to grab my attention. But that doesn’t automatically equal a good movie. Thankfully, Branagh’s stroll down memory lane is an absolute delight. His film is an earnest and intensely personal reflection on his childhood growing up in Belfast during the tumultuous 1960s. And while it plays out to the backdrop of violence and unrest, Branagh maintains a heartfelt focus on family and community.
Similar to Fellini’s “Amarcord” and Cuarón’s “Roma”, “Belfast” sees a filmmaker honoring the memories of his past. In Branagh’s case it’s not just an instance of recalling but also reckoning. He sets out to both pay tribute to and get a firmer grasp of those complex times in his life. And as he sorts through those memories you can sense the sorrow and fear that he and so many others experienced. But Branagh also conveys the intimacy of his family, an imperfect bunch bound by their hardy and unwavering love for each other.
“Belfast” opens with a musical prelude reminiscent of Woody Allen’s “Midnight in Paris” where images of the city are put together in a way that captures its beauty and character. From there Branagh makes a stunning transition from color to monochrome; from present day to the past. An exquisite tracking shot takes us through a vibrant bustling Belfast neighborhood where everyone knows each other and the sounds of children playing fills the air. And just like that we find ourselves transported to the filmmaker’s youth.
Image Courtesy of Focus Features
The camera settles on a nine-year-old ball of energy named Buddy (newcomer Jude Hill) running through the street with a wooden sword and a trashcan lid for a shield. Carefree and happy, Buddy bounces towards home but suddenly freezes when something frightening catches his eye. At the end of the street protests erupt into violence between groups of Catholics and Protestants. Soon an explosion sends everyone in the street scurrying, the sound of children’s laughter now replaced by screams as chaos pours through the tight-knit neighborhood.
That jolt of an opening introduces us to the community where we’ll spend the rest of our time and also to the three-decade-long conflict known as The Troubles (I encourage anyone unfamiliar with the conflict to read up on it. Having even a basic knowledge of it is not only enlightening, but it adds more context to what happens in the film).
Buddy serves as our eyes and ears in his neighborhood as it tries to adjust to this new normal where everyone is uneasy and the threat of violence only seems to grow. The expressive young Hill makes for a wonderful guide, giving an incredible debut performance full of joy and heartbreak. Representing Branagh as a child, Buddy is full of childlike optimism that he struggles to hold onto the deeper we get into the movie. Hill embodies every facet of his character and there’s not a false note to be found in his performance.
Image Courtesy of Focus Features
We learn more about Buddy as we learn more about his working-class Irish family. His Pa (Jamie Dornan) is away for long stretches at a time, working construction jobs in England. The pained look on his face every time he has to leave let’s us know he hates to leave his family. But they need the money. That leaves Buddy with his Ma (played by a sublime Caitríona Balfe), a loving yet tough woman who manages the home the best she can. Buddy also has his salt of the earth grandparents, the easy-going Pop (Ciarán Hinds) and his straight-shooting Granny (Judi Dench). Hinds and Dench have a lovely chemistry and both bring warmth and emotional depth to every scene they’re in.
Things get harder for the family as extremists become more of a threat, aggressively pitting the once friendly Protestants and Catholics against each other. Soon Buddy’s family is faced with a decision too many were forced to make – stay in Belfast or leave the only place they have ever known. Through it all, a disciplined Branagh keeps things firmly in Buddy’s perspective. That may push away viewers looking for a harsher and more politically charged story. But Branagh speaks with such detailed clarity through his characters and his camera that we get all the information we need.
“Belfast” is filled with a number of terrific touches. I like how Branagh lets old television footage do most of the political heavy lifting. I love how cinema provides a much needed escape for Buddy and his family (“One Million Years B.C.”, “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”, “High Noon”, “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance” all make appearances). Even Van Morrison slips in a song every now and then. But it all comes back to this family, doing what they can for each other and finding humor and joy even in the most difficult times. That idea of family burns at the heart of “Belfast”, an earnest, sincere and utterly irresistible movie that had me in its grip from start to finish. “Belfast” is now playing in theaters.
Keith & the Movies 