I’m always up for a good old-school gangster flick. “Lansky” from writer-director Eytan Rockaway is a biographical drama about Meyer Lansky, a notorious Jewish mobster and close associate to Italian mob boss Charles “Lucky” Luciano. Vertical Entertainment has released the first trailer and it gives us a good look at Oscar-nominated screen veteran Harvey Keitel in the movie’s titular character.
“Lansky” is told from an interesting perspective. Down-on-his-luck writer David Stone (played by Sam Worthington) is contacted by none other than Meyer Lansky and given the opportunity to tell the gangster’s story. At the same time FBI agents, frustrated by their inability to put the gangster away, begin squeezing Stone to secretly get information from Lansky that they can use to build their case. The trailer has a very classic crime story vibe and there is certainly enough untapped material about Lansky’s fascinating criminal life to make for a good movie. It’ll all come down to Rockaway’s execution.
“Lansky” arrives in theaters and on VOD June 25th. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.
Last year as my first few batches of awards season screeners started arriving they included several movies that had slipped by me during the year. One was “Athlete A”, a Netflix documentary chronicling the the sex abuse scandal that rocked the United States Gymnastics national team. It turned out to be one of the better documentaries from a year full of really good ones.
“Athlete A” comes from the co-directing duo of Bonni Cohen and John Shenk. They not only detail the timeline of the abuse specifically from the once esteemed Dr. Larry Nassar, but they show the dedicated work of the Indianapolis Star’s investigative team in uncovering this appalling scandal. And in a day when the media is under such intense scrutiny, much of it justified, it’s a testament to the value of true investigative journalism in unearthing corruption and in this case sickening abuse.
The film allows plenty of time for the voices of Nassar’s victims, now adult women, who bravely bring the story’s sobering reality into focus. Nassar was the highly respected team doctor for the national team who shrouded his sexual abuse of young gymnasts under the guise of medical procedures. After allegations were made against him by Maggie Nichols the US Gymnastic officials remained silent attempting to minimize the damage. For 15 full months after the allegation, Nassar was allowed to continue treating and abusing young girls before action was finally taken against him.
Image Courtesy of Netflix
In addition to speaking with the victims and their families, Cohen and Shenk speak to the journalists who investigated and eventually rooted out the story. Not only did they uncover Nassar’s abuse but also the negligence of the USA Gymnastics officials in protecting their girls and taking their abuse claims to the authorities. We also hear from attorneys who prosecuted Nassar’s case and we get to see those powerful courtroom images of the victims bravely coming forward to face their abuser. I remember those clips from news broadcasts and they still pack the same emotional punch today.
“Athlete A” is a pretty standard documentary in terms of style and structure, but it makes up for it where it really counts. Cohen and Shenk get us close to the victims and their pain, follows the determined journalists, and pulls no punches when it comes to the perpetrators. Along the way they take much needed jabs at the ‘win at all costs’ mentality that permeates so many youth sports especially in America. “We love winners in this country.” They reveal how the lines between tough coaching and abuse are blurred and how easy we’ll turn a blind eye when our team is winning. Those are the harmful mindsets that can allow things like this to take place. “Athlete A” is streaming now on Netflix.
Hugh Jackman and Rebecca Ferguson? SOLD! That’s all I needed to be onboard with the new sci-fi thriller “Reminiscence”. The film is written and directed by Lisa Joy, the co-creator of television’s “Westworld”. It also stars Thandiwe Newton, Cliff Curtis, Daniel Wu, Natalie Martinez, and Angela Sarafyan. After a number of delays (for a wide variety of reasons) “Reminiscence” final gets a solid release date and its very first trailer. It’s looking really good.
While watching this first full look at the film you can’t help but notice its variety of genre flavors – action, romance, classic noir, science-fiction, mystery. It’s all here. In a flooded near-future Miami, Jackman runs a business where he takes people on “a journey through memory“. He falls for a mysterious yet alluring new client (Ferguson) who suddenly vanishes. Unwilling to accept her disappearance, Jackman ignores the warnings of his colleagues and begins digging into the woman’s complex and dangerous past. The film looks fascinating and the idea of retracing one’s memories is ripe with suspenseful potential. This definitely has my attention.
“Reminiscence” opens August 20th in theaters and on HBO Max. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.
Needless to say my expectations for the new Christian Petzold film were through the roof. The German filmmaker’s last two movies, 2014’s “Phoenix” and 2018’s “Transit”, are both snugly among my favorites from the last decade. His latest “Undine” has finally come to the States courtesy of IFC Films. And while it might not pack the punch of his meatier predecessors, there’s still a lot to like about this beguiling romantic fantasy.
“Undine” is as enigmatic as it’s titular character; a movie that moves to the rhythms of a love story but that has much more simmering under its surface. It’s a fairytale of sorts that keeps one foot firmly planted in the real world while routinely blurring the lines between reality and fantasy. What story we get is built around a captivating yet elusive mystery that hints at the mythological and supernatural. But Petzold is a crafty filmmaker who blends an assortment of ideas underneath his film’s rather simple facade.
Photo Courtesy of IFC Films
The movie opens on a woman named Undine (as played by new Petzold favorite Paula Beer), her very name hearkening back to an old European myth and offering us our first hint of what the movie may be going for. We see her sitting at a café getting the news from her boyfriend Johannes (Jacob Matschenz) that he has been unfaithful. He’s ready to end their relationship but she hits him with a inauspicious warning, “If you leave me, I’ll have to kill you. You know that.” It’s a startling caveat that could be born out of either heartbreak or obligation. Petzold takes his time revealing which.
Undine orders Johannes to wait at the café as she goes across the street to the city museum where she works as a historian and guide. There she gives talks to out-of-towners on the history of Berlin’s urban development, something that Petzold slyly sews into the fabric of his story. You can tell Undine has given her presentation countless times before, but this time her mind is clearly back at the café with Johannes. By the time she gets back Johannes is gone but she does meet Christoph (Franz Rogowski), an industrial diver and underwater welder who attended and was taken by Undine’s talk.
After what turns out to be a soggy first meeting, a spark is ignited that quickly puts thoughts of Johannes out of Undine’s mind. Beer and Rogowski have a sparkling chemistry and their warm and simple romance, though clouded with a tinge of doom, takes Petzold’s story in a unique direction. When we first meet Undine she can barely hold back tears. With Christoph she gets to re-experience something akin to happiness as their romance unfolds through a series sweet and tender meetings.
Image Courtesy of IFC Films
But this is a Christian Petzold film meaning there is an underside to the story waiting to be unearthed. Several other of the filmmaker’s interests can be found throughout the movie such as his affection for history and having the past and present rub shoulders in a number of compelling ways. All of it together defies any traditional reading of the film which all but ensures this won’t be a commercial success. But fans of Petzold’s distinctive oeuvre will find plenty to admire even if his latest doesn’t reach the heights of his previous films.
“Undine” challenges its audience to wonder while allowing us plenty of room to make our own conclusions. The film’s restraint is both remarkable and curious. In one sense you can’t help but appreciate the quiet subtleties of Petzold’s storytelling and the trust he places in his audience. In another sense you can’t help but wish he had went deeper and pushed us even more. The emotional closeups, the beautifully framed shots of the city, the haunting blue-green underwater scenes – they all immerse us into a world as romantic as it is mystifying. And with Beer and Rogowski so perfectly rooted at the movie’s core, it’s hard not to get lost in Petzold’s wonderfully murky fantasy. “Undine” opens June 4th in theaters and on VOD.
Netflix’s new film “Blue Miracle” is one those ‘based on a true story’ family dramas that never strays from its well-worn formula. Nothing catches you by surprise and from its earliest moments you know exactly how things are going to turn out. Yet, the movie works because it succeeds where it counts the most – it makes us care and from its opening scene we are given characters we can root for.
“Blue Miracle” is directed by Julio Quintana who also co-wrote the script with Chris Dowling. The story is set seven years ago in Cabo San Lucas. Jimmy Gonzales stars as Omar, a former street kid who now runs a orphanage with his wife Becca (Fernanda Urrejola). The affectionately named Casa Hogar houses a dozen or so boys rescued from the streets and is ran on private donations. But times are hard and Omar has recently lost several of his donors putting him behind on his payments to the bank. If he doesn’t come up with $117,000 in thirty days he’ll lose the building and the kids will end up back on the street.
Image Courtesy of Netflix
Down at the docks, Dennis Quaid plays a salty gringo fisherman named Wade Malloy. He’s a two-time winner of the renowned Black & Blue Fishing Tournament which kicks off in a few days. The problem is Wade has hit a rough patch of his own and he can’t afford the entry fee. The tourney’s promoter Wayne Bisbee (Bruce McGill) has a soft spot for Omar so he makes a deal with Wade – he’ll waive the entry fee if Wade partners with Omar and some of his boys. It’s a desperate move for Omar, but if they somehow manage to win their share of the prize money should be enough to pay off the bank.
So the crusty captain and his inexperienced crew head out on Wade’s beat-up tub for three days of fishing. Predictably the story plays out to a series of close-calls, conflicts, and the inevitable relationship building. The seasoned gravelly-voiced Quaid is a lot of fun playing a crusty curmudgeon with a lot of personal baggage. But it’s Gonzales who really owns the movie, portraying Omar with heart and integrity. And even with the occasional hokey pep talk his performance remains grounded and honest. The kids offer fresh and energetic young faces but unfortunately play more as types than fleshed out characters.
As you make your way through “Blue Miracle” you can’t help but notice its glaring predictability, the smattering of cheesy dialogue, and the clear-cut formula it borrows from countless other movies of its kind. Yet through it all the feel-good vibe is strong enough and the characters are likable enough to leave you rooting for this ragtag motley crew. It makes for a warm and wholesome underdog story that effectively tugs at your heartstrings even as you see it doing the yanking. “Blue Miracle” is now streaming on Netflix.
Keith & the Movies 