Author Archives: Keith Garlington

REVIEW: “A Hero” (2021)

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

For my own personal money, there are only a handful of must-see filmmakers in the business today. I’m talking about consummate storytellers with a cinematic vision and/or voice so profound that I’m compelled to see every movie they put out. When talking about those uniquely gifted few, Iranian auteur Asghar Farhadi is unquestionably near the top of my list.

Farhadi’s filmmaking talents are explicit in every movie he makes and the more you watch him the more you see him returning to many of the same themes. His movies often feature layered stories that poke at both social and cultural norms of modern day Iran. They also tend to dig deep into human nature often through the prism of everyday family conflict. And Farhadi has never shied away from using his characters and their situations to pose thought-provoking moral questions. He wraps it all in a slow-simmering down-to-earth suspense.

“A Hero” is yet another mesmerizing Farhadi tale that highlights his strengths both as a screenwriter and a director. In terms of script, the story is dense and dialogue-heavy, resembling a modern day morality play with a touch of mystery. It has a fascinating cyclical structure that repeatedly brings us back to the story’s central conflict while adding more pieces to the puzzle with each visit. As for his direction, Farhadi maintains a tight control of his story, moving it along at an organic pace and often using his camera as much as his pen to capture both emotion and perspective.

Image Courtesy of Amazon Studios

The story revolves around a man named Rahim who’s serving jail time due to an unpaid debt. The film opens as Rahim is given a two-day furlough which he hopes to spend mustering up a plan to pay back the money rather than going back to prison. Rahim is played with a disarming gentleness by Amir Jadidi. It’s a shrewdly subtle lead performance that at times feels like it has a baked-in Bressonian influence.

As with most of Farhadi’s characters, there’s more to Rahim than meets the eye. His backstory is untangled through a number of conversations and revelations. We learn he borrowed money from a loan shark to start a business but was double-crossed when his thieving partner ran out on him. So Rahim sought the help of a family friend Bahram (Mohsen Tanabandeh) who bailed him out with the loan shark under agreement that Rahim would pay him back. When he couldn’t, the surly Bahram filed a complaint and had Rahim put in jail.

That all may sound pretty cut and dry and those unfamiliar with Farhadi’s storytelling cadence may be tempted to make quick judgments on who’s the hapless hero and who’s the unforgiving villain. But there’s much more to unpack as pieces of the story fall in and out of place. And as with everyday life, things are often more complicated than they first appear.

Image Courtesy of Amazon Studios

The tricky part comes in the form of a handbag containing 17 gold coins. Rahim’s secret fiancé Farkhondeh (Sahar Goldust) finds the purse at a bus stop and immediately believes she has found a solution to her beau’s problem. The two first try selling the coins hoping to get enough money to pay Bahram so that he’ll withdraw his complaint. But after learning gold prices have tanked, they’re forced to think of something else. They decide to put up fliers around the city hoping the owner will see them and respond. After all , a little good press certainty wouldn’t hurt his plight. And news of a good deed from a man in need just might earn the sympathies of people willing to help his cause.

To talk much more about the story would be doing a disservice because “A Hero” is all about methodically peeling back its layers one by one. I’ll just say things get complicated especially when the bag’s grateful owner answers one of his fliers. There’s also a poignant father/son dynamic between Rahim and his speech-impaired son Siavash (Saleh Karimai). Their relationship not only has a significant role to play, but it features the film’s most moving moments (one especially evocative scene instantly called to mind De Sica’s “Bicycle Thieves”).

Farhadi unwraps it all without ever passing judgement or looking down on his characters. His eye-level storytelling enables us to understand every key player and grasp their points-of-view. He then counts on his audience to be the final judge. Along the way, he has things to say about social media, class, and the justice system while plowing into deeper themes of honor, integrity, and self-respect. It may not pack as big of a punch as some of his past work, but “A Hero” embodies everything I love about an Asghar Farhadi film, from its visually arresting opening to its beautifully understated finish. “A Hero” is now streaming on Amazon Prime.

VERDICT – 4.5 STARS

REVIEW: “Jackass Forever” (2022)

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I wasn’t planning on seeing “Jackass Forever”, the fourth film based on the once weirdly popular MTV reality show. The proudly dimwitted franchise’s crude and over-the-top antics earned it a pretty vocal legion of fans. Though admittedly amusing at times, the “Jackass” schtick ran its course with me a long time ago. Yet here sits “Jackass Forever”, a revival of the series that hasn’t been on the big screen since 2010. And that it sits at almost 90% on Rotten Tomatoes is more bewildering than the movie’s existence after over a decade away. That’s why I decided to see it.

Created by Jeff Tremaine, Spike Jonze, and Johnny Knoxville, the “Jackass” television series ran on MTV from 2000 to 2003 before blossoming into its own film franchise. Routinely crossing the bounds of taste and decency became equally if not more important to the showrunners than good comedy. And you could argue that that trend continues in “Jackass Forever” which isn’t as much of a movie as it is a collection of stunts, gags, and pranks pulled between friends.

Some have tried assigning deeper themes to the film (masculinity, the rituals of male bonding, etc.). But “Jackass Forever” is really just more of the same – grown men doing stupid stuff for the camera to shock their audience and test the MPAA’s limits. The big difference here is the guys have gotten older and it seems they can now get away with pretty much anything.

Image Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Knoxville and company bring back some of the old stunts from their past shows and add a few new ones in that same vein. Stuff like getting bucked to the moon by a bull. Blowing up portable toilets. Or shooting themselves out of a cannon. The hidden camera pranks have always been my favorite bits. Unfortunately there aren’t many to be found in “Jackass Forever”. That’s because so much time is spent punching each other in the privates, shooting paintballs at each other in the privates, electrocuting their privates, putting honey bees all over their privates, putting costumes on their privates, luring a vulture to peck their privates, and so on.

Maybe I’m expecting a too much from a stunt-based reality television show brought to the big screen. Then again, maybe I’m not. Maybe it’s not a stretch to want a glorified sketch show to go for more than cheap lowbrow material. Yet it keeps going back to it, which will probably satisfy the hardcore fans, but it ultimately becomes an endurance tests for those of us lacking the nostalgic attachment to this nutty franchise.

“Jackass Forever” seems to operate under the banner “the trashier the better”. It seems more interested in pushing the envelope with full frontal male nudity, bodily fluids, and constant butt shots rather than pushing itself to be funnier, crazier, and more spontaneous. Shock and gross-outs take precedent over anything creative or original. It’s just exhausting. I suppose there is something to say for a bunch of long-time friends having fun doing their own thing. I just don’t remember their “thing” being this unbearable. “Jackass Forever” is now showing in theaters.

VERDICT – 1.5 STARS

First Glance: “Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness”

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While my excitement for the Marvel Cinematic Universe has somewhat lessened since “Avengers: Endgame”, one of the movies on the MCU roadmap that has always had my attention was “Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness”. One of the big reasons was the return of Director Sam Raimi to the superhero genre. But there’s also the sheer craziness of the idea behind it. And the ‘anything goes’ possibilities in the wake of what happened in “Spider-Man: No Way Hone” means this movie could have a major impact on the MCU’s future. The new trailer proves that to be true!

Just before the Super Bowl, Disney dropped a trailer that gives us a good idea of how far Raimi and company are going. As already known, Doctor Strange and Wanda Maximoff are going to have prominent roles and the trailer teases some pretty potent back-and-forths between them. We also see Strange facing punishment for his inadvertent actions in the Spider-Man flick. But perhaps the most buzzworthy thing sinners around a certain voice that we hear. I’ll let you watch and discover it for yourself. Needless to say, I’m excited.

“Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness” opens in theaters May 6th. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

REVIEW: “Death on the Nile” (2022)

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I’ve been hungry for a good old-fashioned whodunnit for a while now. So what better time for Kenneth Branagh to serve up his much-delayed Agatha Christie adaptation “Death on the Nile”. Branagh directs, produces and stars in this period mystery that’s based on Christie’s popular 1937 novel. And it’s the second installment in Branagh’s film series centered around renowned Belgian detective Hercule Poirot (the first being 2017’s “Murder on the Orient Express”). I love that this cinematic universe is a thing.

Branagh returns as super-sleuth extraordinaire Hercule Poirot and he brings along another star-studded cast. This one includes Gal Gadot, Annette Benning, Russell Brand, Armie Hammer, Ali Fazal, Letitia Wright, Emma Mackey, Tom Bateman, Sophie Okonedo, Rose Leslie, and more. The story is handled by returning screenwriter Michael Green and it takes us from war-torn Belgium to a buzzing London to ancient Egypt where the over 4,000 mile Nile River snakes through its vast desert sands.

Branagh opens his film up with a backstory we never knew we needed – the origin of Poirot’s extravagant signature mustache. OK, so I’m being a little facetious. There’s a little more to the exquisitely shot prologue than that. Set in 1917 on a war-scarred Belgian battlefield, young Poirot’s keen sense of deduction saves his company. But he can’t save his captain who is killed by an explosion that leaves the future detective’s face horribly scarred. Later in a medical hospital, a lovely young nurse named Katherine (Susannah Fielding) pays him a visit. The two clearly have a connection, but he fears she’ll leave after seeing his face. “You’ll grow a mustache,” she says with a tender, heartfelt smile.

Image Courtesy of 20th Century Studios

Bop ahead to 1937 London where the mustachioed Poirot sits in a night club soaking in the soulful tunes of jazz singer Salome Otterbourne (Okonedo). His bright blue eyes scope out the patrons, noticing every detail and logging them in his mind. Lighting up the dance floor is the dashing Simon Doyle (Armie Hammer) and his beautiful fiancé, Jacqueline de Bellefort (Emma Mackey). Minutes later, in walks Linnet Ridgeway (played with an ever-present sizzle by Gal Gadot), a wealthy heiress and Jacqueline’s close friend. Remember those names.

Six weeks later, Poirot is vacationing in Egypt, admiring the Great Sphinx of Giza from the shores of the River Nile. There he unexpectedly bumps into an old friend, Bouc (Tom Bateman) who’s in the area with his artist mother Euphemia (Annette Bening) to attend a wedding party at a posh 5-Star hotel. Poirot agrees to join them and several handpicked special guests at the obscenely lavish event where he meets the recently married couple of honor – Simon Doyle and ….. Linnet Ridgeway, NOT Jacqueline de Bellefort.

But as you might imagine, the embittered, scorned and slightly unhinged Jacqueline is not out of the picture. In fact, she’s been shadowing the newlyweds around the globe, popping up at every stop to stir up trouble. When she shows up at their shindig in Egypt, Simon and Linnet rent out a luxury riverboat, the SS Karnak, for them and their handful of guests. Linnet convinces Poirot to come as well, secretly sharing her distrust for her privileged party. “When you have money no one is ever really your friend,” she explains. “I don’t feel safe with any of them.”

The swanky vessel chugs up the Nile, eventually dropping anchor in front of the famed Abu Simbel shrine. The massive monument to King Ramesses II forms a picturesque background for the knotty story that unfolds. One that involves deception, betrayal, and course murder. With one dead body, Poirot sets out to find the killer before more meet the same fate. And you couldn’t ask for a better collection of suspects: the former classmate, the old flame, the accountant, the singer, the painter, the doctor, the maid, the godmother, and so on.

One of the trickiest parts of a movie like this is defining the suspects. You have to root out some kind of believable motive in each of them while also giving us reasons to believe them innocent. It also has to put us in a similar mindset as Poirot. We need to become detectives – watching, listening and soaking up the details. It then needs to bring it all to a satisfying conclusion. One that connects the pieces and makes sense. While I was left with a couple of minor questions, “Death on the Nile” mostly accomplishes all of the above. I was engaged throughout.

Image Courtesy of 20th Century Studios

The ensemble cast is in fine form with a few notable standouts. Branagh is terrific in the lead, capturing Poirot’s steely professional ego but also his more closely guarded sensitivity. There’s an unexpectedly warm subtext found in Poirot’s hidden fascination with love and its many textures. It’s born out of his own personal sense of loss and adds an extra layer to the character which Branagh handles in just the right key.

I mentioned Gadot’s sizzle. We also get a wonderfully understated and nearly unrecognizable Russell Brand playing (I love this name) Linus Windlesham, Linnet’s former beau. Rose Leslie is really good as Linnet’s maid/gopher. I also like the sultry confidence and style Sophie Okonedo brings to Salome. Of course the distracting ickiness associated with Hammer’s casting is hard to avoid, but it wore off over time as the character took the place of the disgraced actor. Still, it’s an obstacle.

In a way, “Death on the Nile” feels like a relic from a bygone era which I found to be one of its most alluring traits. Branagh whole-heartedly embraces the style of the classic whodunnits which I loved but will certainly impact some of the critical reaction. I also loved the look of the film from how Branagh and his DP Haris Zamabarloukos shoot the characters to the outstanding use of the Egyptian setting. It may not have the most seamless conclusion, but it’s a satisfying one. And watching Branagh’s Poirot once again crack another case left me with a grin on my face and hope for a third adventure. “Death on the Nile” is out now in theaters.

VERDICT – 4 STARS

First Glance: “Nope”

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To say Jordan Peele’s filmmaking career has started with a bang would be an understatement. His debut picture “Get Out” released to almost unheard of adoration and praise (I’m still trying to figure that one out. It’s a pretty good movie, but one with plenty of first-time writer/director missteps). His next film “Us” was a major step up for Peele and features one of the best performances in recent years from Lupita Nyong’o. And that brings us to his third feature, “Nope”.

The long-awaited first trailer dropped hours before this year‘s Super Bowl and to say it’s intriguing would also be an understatement. There’s not much revealed in terms of plot, but it definitely gives us a good sense of the vibe Peele is going for. It also sees Peele reteaming with Daniel Kaluuya, an actor with a lot of intensity but who generally only works at one temperature. But the rest of the cast excites me more, especially Keke Palmer and Steven Yeun. I like what this trailer teases and I’m excited to see where “Nope” goes.

“Nope” is scheduled to release in theaters July 22nd. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

REVIEW: “Blacklight” (2022)

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

It’s February which means it’s the time of the year for yet another Liam Neeson movie. February seems to be the month of choice for these cookie-cutter action thrillers starring the gruff Irish-born screen veteran. Since taking off as an unlikely action hero with 2008’s “Taken”, Neeson (who turns 70 this June) has carved out his own niche and these movies have almost become a genre all their own.

Most of these films follow a fairly familiar blueprint and it’s often hard to differentiate one from the other (their aggressively generic titles don’t help). The similarities between these movies often comes down to the ingredients. For example, Neeson’s characters almost always have some kind of military or special forces background. There’s often some kind of connective family tissue that’s intended to raise the stakes (although if you’ve watched enough of these you pretty much know how they turn out). And there is always a call for Neeson to unleash his “very particular set of skills”.

His latest venture “Blacklight” comes packaged with the hilariously bad tagline “They’re Gonna Need More Men” and it’s the first of two Neeson flicks set to release during the first half of 2022 (the other being the Martin Campbell directed “Memory” in April). His character, Travis Block fits the above archetype to a tee. He’s ex-military who now works “off the books” for the FBI. His strict dedication to his work made him a rotten husband and father, yet he’s determined to make up for it by being a better grandfather. But to no surprise, those dreams of domestic bliss are abruptly (and predictably) interrupted.

Travis is the long-time friend and right-hand man to FBI Director Gabriel Robinson (Aidan Quinn). The two served in Vietnam together and now Travis runs covert missions for Robinson, pulling compromised agents from deep cover assignments. Travis is loyal, dependable and never questions orders which makes him invaluable to Robinson. But it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that Robinson is a little shady. His fanboy affection for J. Edgar Hoover is concerning enough, but there are plenty of other red flags that pop up along the way.

When not secretly rescuing agents from white supremacist militias or underground terrorist groups, Travis works hard to make amends for his past failings as a father. But the OCD that makes him so good at his job has festered into paranoia which drives his daughter Amanda (Claire van der Boom) up the wall. From putting up security cameras at her house without her permission to teaching his granddaughter Natalie (Gabriella Sengos) to memorize all the exits in every building she enters. These scenes add a lighthearted touch, but it’s hard to tell if they’re meant to be played straight or as comedy.

Travis’ work and family inevitably collide after he’s tasked with bringing in a disillusioned young agent named Dusty Crane (Taylor John Smith). Dusty claims to possess damning information related to the recent murder of a fiery congressional candidate (who’s shamelessly modeled after AOC). Travis tries to get to Crane before he can turn his evidence over to a tenacious reporter named Mira Jones (Emmy Raver-Lampman). Robinson turns out to be involved and he’s determined to erase anyone connected, Travis and his family included.

Director Mark Williams keeps things going at a reasonably good pace, but he has a hard time generating much suspense. That’s because there are no big twists or surprises to be found anywhere. All of the story pieces are laid out early, and they eventually fit together exactly the way you expect them to. And while I like the idea of fearless journalists exposing government cover-ups and Travis reckoning with his government-sanctioned past, none of those angles take the story in any unexpected direction.

And the movie isn’t helped by its unsatisfying ending. Perhaps its another casualty of predictability, but it’s almost as if Williams wasn’t quite sure how to end his story. We end up with something overly tidy, remarkably shallow, and just generally hard to swallow. It more or less just wraps things up, filling the final five minutes with corny dialogue and one of the worst final confrontations you’ll find in a movie.

“Blacklight” may have enough to win over the most ardent fans of these Neeson thrillers. For everyone else, this is more of the same but with even less energy and grit. Also (and I hate to say this), this is a case where Neeson’s age really shows itself in the action scenes. It’s certainly not his fault, but in movies like this where buying into the action is crucial, it becomes a pretty big issue. “Blacklight” opens today in theaters.

VERDICT – 2 STARS