Author Archives: Keith Garlington

Best of 2021 – Supporting Actor

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Yesterday I began my look back on the best performances of 2021. We started with the Supporting Actress category and today we follow it up with Supporting Actor. Much like the ladies, this is a category rich with great performances from a wide variety of movies. So lets get to it starting with a few honorbale mentions who just missed the cut.

HONORABLE MENTIONS: Rob Morgan (“Don’t Look Up”), Ciarán Hinds (“Belfast”), Jon Bernthal (“King Richard”), Willem Dafoe (“Nightmare Alley”), David Strathairn (“Nightmare Alley”), Richard Jenkins (“The Humans”), Woody Norman (“C’mon C’mon”), Jamie Dornan (“Belfast”)

#5 – Troy Kotsur (“CODA”)

It has been great seeing my critic colleagues from across the nation sharing this pick. Troy Kotsur’s performance in the surprisingly wonderful “CODA” could have been an easy one to overlook. Thankfully people have taken notice and now Kotsur has a legitimate shot at an Oscar nomination. He gives a performance so sincere and full of life. And the way he represents the hearing impaired community is inspiring. If you haven’t seen “CODA”, you should.

#4 – Jason Isaacs – (“Mass”)

There were so many powerful performances this past year, but few moved me quite like Jason Isaacs work in the heart-rending drama “Mass”. While the film relies on its incredible ensemble, Isaacs’ performance spoke to me the most. He brings a raw and pained intensity to the film’s heavy subject matter and you feel the emotion in every word he shares. The entire cast blew me away, but it was Isaacs who I really connected with.

#3 – Ben Affleck (“The Tender Bar”)

I think the most scene-stealing actor out of this year’s batch may be none other than Ben Affleck. He could easily have made this list for his work in Ridley Scott’s “The Last Duel”. But I’m going with the George Clooney directed “The Tender Bar”. Affleck is a captivating presence, swiping every scene he’s in and bringing a relatable down-to-earth personality that Clooney wisely utilizes. He’s terrific.

#2 – J.K. Simmons (“Being the Ricardos”)

Aaron Sorkin’s “Being the Ricardos” was a nice surprise. Of course it had Sorkin’s signature snappy dialogue. But it was the performances that stole the show. One of the best of the group came from the always reliable J.K. Simmons who played the surly but secretly compassionate William Frawley. Simmons loses himself in the role (as he often does) and really captures his character. Easily one of my favorites of the year.

#1 – Mike Faist (“West Side Story”)

Hands down one of my favorite things about the fabulous “West Side Story” was Mike Faist. Full disclosure: I wasn’t familiar with Faist prior to this, but his eye-opening work in Steven Spielberg’s musical remake/adaptation blew my mind. Not only is he boiling over with charisma, but his performance has a modern day edge yet feels like something that could have been yanked from the 1961 film. There were several great performances in “West Side Story”, but Faist’s was tops on my list.

Come back tomorrow when I look at the Lead Actress Category

Best of 2021 – Supporting Actress

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Tis the season for us film critics to start looking back over the movie year that was and compiling lists (it’s what we do). Before I get into my Top 10 movies of the year, I want to hone in on some of the 2021’s very best performances. Over the next few days I’ll be focusing on the very best work from each of the four major acting categories. So as I normally do, let’s start by with the Supporting Actress category.

HONORABLE MENTIONS: Aunjanue Ellis (“King Richard”), Haley Bennett (“Cyrano”), Nina Arianda (“Being the Ricardos”), Marlee Matlin (“CODA”), Martha Plimpton (“Mass”), Rita Moreno (“West Side Story”), Alicia Vikander (“Blue Bayou”), Jayne Houdyshell (“The Humans”)

#5 – Emma Thompson (“Cruella”)

While I’m not seeing her name pop up on many (if any) ‘Best of’ lists, Emma Thompson’s hilariously venomous performance in “Cruella” has stuck with me all year. Sure, it’s not the kind of super-serious prestige role that grabs voters’ attention. But Thompson is an acid-spewing delight and she brings a villainous energy to the movie that I loved.

#4 – Jessie Buckley (“The Lost Daughter”)

In Maggie Gyllenhaal’s “The Lost Daughter” Jessie Buckley is given a tricky role to pull off. She’s asked to feed us fragments of a troubled woman’s past through a series of story-critical flashbacks. She’s up for the task in every respect. Buckley skillfully wrings out every layer of conflict in her rich but complicated character. It’s yet another great performance from an actress who never disappoints.

#3 – Ariana DeBose (“West Side Story”)

I was overjoyed to see critics groups from around the country recognizing Ariana DeBose’s vibrant and layered performance in “West Side Story”. Whether she dancing, singing or shouldering one of the movie’s heaviest scenes, DeBose leaps off the screen and brings an energy that’s impossible to match. I love this performance and I left the theater immediately wanting to know more about her.

#2 – Cate Blanchett (“Nightmare Alley”)

Leave it to the effortlessly great Cate Blanchett to give us one of the best movie femme fatale’s since film noir was in its heyday. In “Nightmare Alley” she absolutely simmers with mystery and panache, mixing wicked elegance with lethal cunning. By now nothing Blanchett does is surprising. She’s always in top form and this performance is no different.

#1 – Caitríona Balfe (“Belfast”)

“Belfast” is Kenneth Branagh’s warm, tender and earnest reflection back to his childhood growing up in the tumultuous late 1960’s. It’s focus is firmly on family and what made the film work was the terrific cast that brought them to life. Caitríona Balfe’s heartfelt and textured performance really captures the movie’s range of emotions. Funny, frustrated, compassionate and courageous – Balfe conveys it all through her stellar work.

Check back tomorrow as I look at the Supporting Actor category

First Glance: “The Northman”

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2022 is already shaping up to be good one for movie lovers. Case in point: the epic revenge thriller “The Northman”. Visionary filmmaker Robert Eggers (“The Witch”, “The Lighthouse”) brings his stark visual style to 10th Century Iceland, a place that feels right in his wheelhouse. To add to the appeal, the film sports an all-star cast that includes Alexander Skarsgård, Nicole Kidman, Anya Taylor-Joy, Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe, Björk, Claes Bang, and Ralph Ineson.

The film seems to have a pretty basic revenge story premise, but it’s the setting and Eggers’ furious style that really sells this. Skarsgård plays Amleth, a man driven by vengeance since he was a child. That’s when he watched his Viking King father (Hawke) murdered, his mother (Kidman) kidnapped, and their kingdom stolen by his uncle Fjölnir (Bang). This thing looks violent, ferocious, and absolutely absorbing. I can’t wait to see it.

“The Northman” opens exclusively in theaters April 22nd. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

REVIEW: “The Tragedy of MacBeth” (2021)

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Writer-director Joel Coen slips away from his filmmaking partner and close brother Ethan in his first solo effort, “The Tragedy of MacBeth”. Coen (who also produced the film alongside his wife Frances McDormand) takes on William Shakespeare’s classic Scottish play, stripping it down and putting just as much emphasis on the haunting visuals as the bard’s eloquent words.

Joel Coen’s captivating take on MacBeth is shot in high-contrast black-and-white and in 1.19:1 boxy aspect ratio which immediately hearkens back to the golden age of cinema. At the same time, some of the images he and DP Bruno Delbonnel capture could be pulled from the pages of a graphic novel. The movie was filmed entirely on soundstages allowing Coen, Delbonnel, and set designer Stefan Dechant to create a bleak and foreboding hellscape, perfectly fitting for the story’s psychological and bloody descent.

Image Courtesy of Apple TV+

Who better than Denzel Washington to play the titular Thane of Glamis, a valiant and renowned general in the Scottish army. We first see MacBeth on his way to report his war victories to the benevolent King Duncan (Brendan Gleeson). While journeying across the hot sands with his trusted friend Banquo (Bertie Carvel), MacBeth encounters three witches (played by a terrifying Kathryn Hunter) who prophesy of his rise to power.

The first part of the crones’ vision comes true, but MacBeth is quickly consumed with the rest. He wants more power – he wants Duncan’s throne. Urged by his wicked wife (McDormand), MacBeth hatches a plan to commit the damnable offense of regicide. But such wickedness comes with consequences, and soon guilt and paranoia drive the unrighteous new king to the brink of madness.

While watching Coen unfurl his dark vision of MacBeth, you’ll notice more than a hint of theatricality. There’s an undeniable stagy aspect to the film both visually and narratively. At the same time, it’s a stunningly cinematic movie with the seasoned filmmaker making terrific use of space, light and shadows. Surround the imagery with Carter Burwell’s stark and ominous score, and you have a grim and forbidding atmosphere that serves the material well.

Image Courtesy of Apple TV+

Back to the performances, Coen brings together a stellar supporting cast that includes McDormand, Gleeson, Hunter, a terrific Corey Hawkins as Lord Macduff, the Thane of Fife, Harry Melling as King Duncan’s son Malcolm, Alex Hassell as the vulturous Ross, and Ralph Ineson as The Captain. But it all comes back to Washington who delivers the dense period language with confidence and grace. His Macbeth is more calculated than brutish, although as his heart grows colder Washington shows us a more chilling side of madness.

With his version of “MacBeth” Joel Coen proves himself as a solo director, but is that surprising to anyone? He and his brother Ethan have cemented themselves as arguably the best filmmaking duo of our time. Here, the elder Coen brings his proven visual and screenwriting know-how to some well-traveled material, joining two Oscar winners to put a new spin on a timeless Shakespeare’s tragedy. The results are wickedly satisfying.

“The Tragedy of MacBeth” will have a limited theatrical release December 25th before streaming on Apple TV+ on January 14th.

VERDICT – 4.5 STARS

REVIEW: “Spider-Man: No Way Home” (2021)

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Another month, another new Marvel Cinematic Universe installment. But unlike the last two movies in the ever-growing MCU, this one actually feels important. The previous two films, “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” in September and “Eternals” last month, were more about introducing new players and hinting at things to come. But “Spider-Man: No Way Home” had the feel of something significant, not only because it features one of Marvel’s most popular properties, but because its story felt like a genuine game-changer.

This is the third Spider-Man movie since Disney’s unorthodox partnership with Sony Pictures. Their first collaboration, 2017’s “Homecoming”, spent too much time rewriting Peter’s history in order to fit in the MCU. Their next film, 2019’s “Far From Home” felt more like a Spider-Man story and set things up nicely for what might be coming next. “No Way Home” not only pulls from those two movies, but from other films and streaming shows in the MCU catalog. And it definitely sets the table for some interesting but also confusing things to come.

Image Courtesy of Sony

Tom Holland hops back into the red and blue spandex, but this time the stakes are more cosmic(ish). In fact, reality itself is in flux as Holland’s Peter Parker and a weirdly inept Doctor Strange (a returning Benedict Cumberbatch) botch a magic spell and inadvertently pull people from across the multiverse out of their worlds and into ours. How they do doesn’t make sense. Neither do the potential consequences. But returning director Jon Watts and screenwriters Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers are content with urging their audience to ‘just go with it’ and worrying about the explaining later.

The 25-year-old Holland effortlessly falls back into the role of Peter Parker, a character he has managed to make his own (And can we please get past the fruitless “Who’s the better Spider-Man” debate. Much like Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, Holland offers his own fun and unique spin on the character). As the movie begins Peter is feeling defeated. Now that the world knows he’s Spider-Man (see the end of “Far From Home”) he finds himself thrust into the spotlight. Some call him a hero, others consider him a villain.

To make matters worse, those closest to him are starting to suffer due to his notoriety, especially his girlfriend MJ (Zendaya) and his longtime best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon). Tired of seeing his loved ones suffer, Peter seeks out Dr. Stephen Strange and asks him to conjure up a spell that would cause the world to forget he was Spider-Man. In a comically bumbling scene of hocus-pocus, the two accidentally open up the multiverse. Strange stops the spell and contains it before any damage is done.

Or so he thinks.

Image Courtesy of Sony

Soon villains from other universes (namely Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man” trilogy from the 2000s and Marc Webb’s “Amazing Spider-Man” movies from the 2010s) begin popping up and terrorizing the city. Among them is Alfred Molina reprising his role as Dr. Otto Octavius, Willem Dafoe as Norman Osborn, Jamie Fox as Electro, and a few other unexpected surprises that’s better left unmentioned.

Watts is given a lot of story to cover and even more characters to manage. To his credit he mostly succeeds which is an impressive task in itself. There’s clearly broader franchise implications to what we see. But Spider-Man has always been best as a more intimate superhero story. Watts is able to balance both of those needs in a surprisingly satisfying way.

The movie is also helped by its terrific cast, most of whom know these characters like the back of their hands. I’ve talked about Holland, but the most pleasant surprise continues to be Zendaya and Batalon. I didn’t care for either of their characters in “Homecoming”. Both took a step up in “Far From Home”. Here they’re even better. Both Zendaya and Batalon have a good feel for who these characters are and they’re given material that really grounds them. Together with Holland, the three wonderfully convey one of the film’s most effective themes – friendship. Love, loyalty, sacrifice – it’s all captured in their relationships.

Image Courtesy of Sony

Also returning is Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan. And Marisa Tomei is back as the MCU’s unusual version of May (they drop the “Aunt” because it doesn’t carry as much sex appeal). Cumberbatch makes for a terrific Doctor Strange even if his role here is a pretty weird one. As for Dafoe and Molina, both veteran actors are terrific and you’d never guess it has been nearly 20 years since they last played these roles. There are some other performances I’d love to praise, but it’s best if you discover (and enjoy) them for yourselves.

“No Way Home” is a good looking movie with DP Mauro Fiore putting together some eye-popping action (there’s one sequence that takes place in a realm called the “mirror dimension” that is absolutely jaw-dropping). At the same time, the film has a lot of heart and it gives its characters more time to reckon with their emotions than the previous movies. It’s an emphasis on their humanity that I really responded to. There’s also some fantastic callbacks to previous Spidey films that not only excited me, but also the packed house of moviegoers I watched with.

Without question, there’s far more to like about “No Way Home” than to dislike. At the same time, parts of the story don’t really hold up once you start asking questions. Also, not every character decision works (sorry, I’m still not buying a Doctor Strange with so much ineptitude and such little foresight). And by the end, the direction of both the story and the MCU was murkier than before. But at some point all you can do is let the brains at the MCU hive-mind figure it out and then hope they’re able to bring it all together. It’s the best approach. Otherwise you risk missing out on all the enjoyment Spider-Man’s latest chapter has to offer. “Spider-Man: No Way Home” is now showing in theaters.

VERDICT – 3.5 STARS

REVIEW: “Nightmare Alley” (2021)

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

In the opening scene of Guillermo del Toro’s new film “Nightmare Alley” we watch a man dragging a dead body, tightly wrapped in a bed sheet, across the dusty floor of a remote ramshackle farm house. He strikes a match and sets the place ablaze. The man makes his way to a bus station where, once onboard, he lowers his floppy brimmed fedora over his tired heavy eyes and falls asleep, only waking up when the bus reaches the proverbial “end of the line”. In many ways that opening sequence encapsulates del Toro’s latest effort.

As you would expect from a del Toro film, “Nightmare Alley” is a visual feast, anchored by Tamara Deverell’s sparkling production design that transports you back to the late 1930s and early 40s. It also brings together a stellar cast that includes Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Willem Dafoe, Toni Collette, Rooney Mara, Richard Jenkins, Ron Perlman, David Strathairn, Mary Steenburgen, and Tim Blake Nelson. So automatically you have a movie filled to the brim with talent.

This pulpy neo-noir thriller (adapted from William Lindsay Gresham’s 1946 novel of the same name) tells the story of Stanley Carlisle, the man from the film’s cryptic opening. He’s played by Bradley Cooper who (aside from his come-and-go Southern drawl) is a nice fit playing a beguiling drifter packing a lot of mystery behind his disarming good looks. The moment he steps off the above mentioned bus, del Toro begins to unpack Stan’s story, and the first half of this overly long but mostly riveting two-parter kicks into gear.

Image Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures

It’s 1939, Hitler is set to invade Poland, and once again the world is about to be plunged into war. Different radio broadcasts and newspaper reports about the war are scattered throughout the movie. They provide the timeline for Stan’s story which begins in earnest when he happens upon a traveling carnival ran by a crusty barker named Clem (Dafoe). “Folks here don’t make no never mind to who you are or what you’ve done,” Clem declares as he offers the desperate Stan some steady work. It’s the perfect scenario for someone on the run from their skeleton-filled past.

As Stan works his way up the ragtag carnival’s ranks he grows closer to several of the chief acts including the “mind-reading” Zeena (an underused Collette) and her hard-drinking ex-mentalist husband Pete (the always terrific Straitharn). Sensing an opportunity, Stan begins picking their brains and learning the secrets behind their ruse. But it’s a quiet young performer named Molly (a tender and understated Mara) who really grabs his attention. She eventually takes a liking to Stan much to the chagrin of Bruno (Ron Perlman), the carnival’s strongman and Molly’s self-appointed guardian.

While the first half of the movie thrusts us into its roadshow milieu, the slow-burning second half pulls us in a much different direction. Del Toro leaves the muddy open fields and cheap lights and takes us to big city Buffalo, bathed in early 40s art deco and dripping with high society excess. This part of the story picks up two years after Stan and Molly ran away together. Now, instead of creaky makeshift carnival stages under the night sky, the couple work ballrooms, performing their own psychic bit in front of the city’s rich and privileged.

Image Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures

More con man than showman, Stan’s ambition is only outdone by his conceit. Soon he’s buying into his own press and this huckster who once hid in society’s shadows now basks in its limelight. But then he meets the story’s femme fatale, Dr. Lilith Ritter (a smoldering Cate Blanchett). She’s a psychologist who immediately sees through Stan’s act. Soon the two are using their own special brands of con artistry to swindle their wealthy targets. But who can trust who in this dubious partnership?

I’ve never seen Edmund Goulding’s generally well-regarding 1947 film adaptation, but the del Toro version highlights the filmmaker’s knack for immersive world-building. Every frame of his dark and sometimes twisted fable has something alluring to see and absorb. And every member of his superb ensemble are good fits and bring his seedy world texture and life. Even as the film stalls a bit in its second half, del Toro’s world remains a compelling place to be.

“Nightmare Alley” is a nice step up from del Toro’s last film, the pretty but hole-filled Best Picture winner “The Shape of Water”. And while it does see him step away from the supernatural, this is still a movie full of monsters. It’s essentially a cautionary tale that explores the dark side of human nature (which is nothing new for the 57-year-old filmmaker). It’s also top-notch cinema, bursting with style and grounded in the kind of grim and grimy atmosphere that should leave old-school noir fans giddy. “Nightmare Alley” opens today in theaters.

VERDICT – 4.5 STARS