REVIEW: “Without Remorse” (2021)

April 28, 2021 by Keith Garlington

Over the last few years we’ve seen an emergence of new young action stars. And while many of them cut their teeth playing Marvel superheroes, they’ve also ventured out to make more grounded old-school action flicks. Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Mackie, and now Michael B. Jordan are (thankfully) too talented to be confined to one category. Yet they’ve shown themselves to have the physicality and steely presence to carry these kinds of movies and they are helping to breathe new life into the action genre.

Jordan’s latest film “Without Remorse” lands on Amazon Prime this weekend and it packs a formulaic old-school feel. It’s based on a 1993 Tom Clancy novel and is co-written for the screen by Taylor Sheridan and Will Staples. It’s helmed by Italian director Stefano Sollima who (along with Sheridan) also made the underrated “Sicario: Day of the Soldado”. Original slated for a theatrical release by Paramount, the distribution rights were sold to Amazon after multiple COVID-19 delays.

Image Courtesy of Amazon Studios

Jordan plays Senior Chief John Kelly, a member of an elite Navy SEAL team who we first meet in war-torn Aleppo, Syria. Their team is called in to carry out a cut-and-dry hostage rescue, but during the mission John’s unit are surprised by Russian military forces protecting a secret arms depot. An exchange of fire results in Russian casualties which sets in motion a series of events that will forever change John’s life.

Back home in Washington DC some three months later, John is contemplating leaving the military for a new job in private security. He and his pregnant wife Pam (Lauren London) are only a few weeks away from welcoming their first child and John is ready for life as a family man. Sadly that’s a pipe dream for lead characters in these types of movies. The past comes back to haunt John when armed Russian assassins, in retaliation for the Aleppo encounter, murder his wife and leave him for dead. John’s life is saved but all that he loved is gone.

After a lengthy and painful rehab, a tortured and revenge-thirsty John is determined to find the people responsible for the death of his wife and unborn child. “They crossed the line. They brought their war to my house” But he finds himself caught in the gears of bureaucracy as the CIA and Department of Defense hash out a ‘proper’ response. Guy Pearce plays a frustrated Secretary of Defense Thomas Clay who is willing to slightly step outside the lines to get answers. Jamie Bell plays the perpetual fly in the ointment Robert Ritter, a weaselly CIA agent who always knows more than he’s letting on and is constantly handcuffing any progress in the name of government protocol.

John’s quest for vengeance thrusts him head-first into a world of shady geopolitics, where heads of power secretly move their pawns around the global stage with impunity. At first John takes matters into his own hands, but that comes with consequences and proves to be too big for him to handle alone. So despite the concerns of his commander and close friend Karen Greer (Jodie Turner-Smith), Jack is put on her team to go behind Russian lines to extract an ex-Spetznaz agent linked to the killing of his wife and others on American soil. But for him it quickly becomes a battle of personal payback versus mission integrity.

Image Courtesy of Amazon Studios

“Without Remorse” has a broader and more sprawling story than you might expect. Not just in terms of global scale, but in its telling of John’s story. It covers a lot of ground with the character and Jordan’s gritty determined performance carries us through. The political side of the story can get a little muddy and at times is too thinly written for us to be invested. But the meat and potatoes of the story is Jordan embodying a character driven by anger and pain yet trapped within a dubious yet powerful system that calls the shots.

And of course there is the action, consisting of several fiercely kinetic gun fights and a couple of exhilarating set pieces (my favorite being a superbly shot plane crash in the Barents Sea). Jordan sells it all with intensity and ferocity to spare. He leaves us wanting more which is a good thing considering the mid-credits scene we get. It not only hints at a franchise but teases a specific something that will leave a certain segment of entertainment fandom chomping at the bit. “Without Remorse” premieres Friday (April 30th) on Amazon Prime.

VERDICT – 4 STARS

First Glance: “Oxygen”

April 27, 2021 by Keith Garlington

An exciting first trailer as dropped for the upcoming Netflix survival thriller “Oxygen”. It comes from director Alexandre Aja whose last movie was the surprisingly entertaining “Crawl”. You know, the one about a father and daughter trapped inside their flooded home by killer alligators during a Category 5 hurricane. On paper it sounded ludicrous. But Aja showed off a real knack for harrowing tight-quartered action and tension-building. I had a blast with it.

With “Oxygen” Aja is going in a much different direction but shows off the same tension-soaked style of filmmaking. Making it even more appealing is the wonderful French actress Mélanie Laurent. In the trailer we see her wake up in what appears to be a high-tech cryo chamber, no bigger than a casket but with all kinds of futuristic bells and whistles. She’s instantly distressed, not aware of who she is or how she got there. Even worse, the unit is slowly running out of oxygen meaning she’ll need to piece together her memories if she has any hope of getting out alive. I love the concept, I love the look of the film, and I’m a fan of Laurent. Sign me up.

“Oxygen” premieres May 12th on Netflix. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

REVIEW: “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier”

April 27, 2021 by Keith Garlington

Just so you know where I’m coming from, Captain America has always been my favorite Marvel superhero and not just during his run in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Long before Marvel Studios started raking in billions of dollars at the box office, I was enthusiastically following Captain America’s comic book adventures, both as the head of the Avengers and out on his own. So naturally a series set in his world and featuring characters inextricably linked to him is going to appeal to me and a number of other enthusiastic fans.

The recently wrapped Disney+ series “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” is another solid MCU entry but one (much like “WandaVision”) with its own unique set of issues. On the plus side, the series pulls both characters and storylines from Cap’s lengthy comics history and brings back some familiar faces from his three movies (among the best of the MCU). And with a hefty $150 million budget and the full backing of Marvel Studios, the series has a legitimate big screen look and feel to it. On the negative side, there are kinks in the storytelling due to its episodic constraints and some erratic pacing that showrunner Malcolm Spellman never quite irons out.

Image Courtesy of Marvel Studios

One of the biggest strengths of the six-episode series is that it finally brings some much-needed depth to two of Captain America’s most essential characters. James “Bucky” Barnes, aka the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan), did have a big part in the Cap films but wasn’t much of a factor in “Infinity War” of “Endgame”. Sam Wilson, aka the Falcon, (Anthony Mackie) got even less screen time and was a character in desperate need of some attention. This series not only opens Sam up, but (much like Wanda in “WandaVision”) moves him to a pretty prominent position within the greater MCU.

The series opens with an interesting mix of blockbuster quality action scenes and intimate character building. Both are welcomed features even if they don’t exactly gel together that well. The first episode dives into Sam’s backstory while highlighting his struggle with self-assurance. It ends with the introduction of John Walker (Wyatt Russell), the new government sanctioned Captain America and a character most Cap comic fans will recognize. Then we get the puzzling second episode, a messy blend of action, character introductions, some heavy-handed social commentary, and attempts at humor that seem out of place. It does end with a bang with Daniel Brühl’s return as Baron Helmut Zemo.

Image Courtesy of Marvel Studios

This launches the series into the type of show most of us were waiting for. Zemo forced to help Bucky and Sam; the reemergence (yea!!!) of Sharon Carter (Emily VanCamp); a mysterious crime lord known as the Power Broker; John Walker slowly losing his grip. There’s also a terrorist group called the Flag Smashers led by Karli Morgenthau (Erin Kellyman). You get the sense that we’re supposed to have some level of sympathy for them, but it’s hard when they’re willfully bombing buildings and killing civilians. There are several other unexpected surprises, but through it all the story stays focused on Sam and his journey towards believing in himself and accepting the path in front of him.

There are quieter moments where the series steps away from terrorist attacks, infighting, and globetrotting. Such as when we meet Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly). His introduction is botched in episode two, but we see him later in a complicated yet powerful scene. In it, the reasonably embittered Isaiah shares his dark past with Sam, lamenting that there will never be a black Captain America while also declaring that no self-respecting black man would ever want to carry the shield. Inspired by the 2003 seven-issue limited series “Truth: Red, White & Black”, it’s a heartbreaking picture of someone so pained by the wounds of injustice that he can’t see the possibility of a better tomorrow.

Despite its structural and tonal issues, there is still a myriad of cool and compelling moving parts. So many that you start to wonder if Spellman can bring it all to a fitting conclusion. Well yes and no. The final episode is best defined as serviceable, one with some genuine high points but also some head-scratching missteps which in a way epitomizes the series as a whole. This is clearly Sam’s episode and he is given plenty of moments to shine. It’s really nice to see. Mackie has reached the point where he is in-tune with every facet of his character, but even he can’t save every scene. A glaring example is Sam’s well-intended yet painfully contrived monologue that runs nearly five minutes. It’s so overwritten and woefully on-the-nose.

Image Courtesy of Marvel Studios

It’s also a bummer that Bucky eventually falls by the wayside and becomes much more of a supporting character by the last episode. I get this is ultimately Sam’s show, but with his name literally stamped in the title you would expect there to be a little more to Bucky’s story. Yet it’s almost as if Spellman either lost interest or lost ideas. In fact Sam and Bucky barely have any meaningful scenes together in the finale. Back on the positive side, the final episode does give key players like Sharon, John Walker, and even Zemo chances to leave some important marks on the MCU

“The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” may not have the most seamless story or the smoothest storytelling. It may be a tad too ambitious for its small six-episode frame. It may lack nuance with a lot of its messaging. At the same time it’s hard not to appreciate most of what it’s going for – the buddy movie vibe, the eye-popping action, the wonderful array of supporting characters, its deep social conscience, its darker edge, and a beguiling Daniel Brühl. I still don’t think Marvel Studios has fully figured out episodic television, but you wouldn’t know it by the numbers. All six episodes are now streaming on Disney+.

VERDICT – 3.5 STARS

REVIEW: “The Mitchells vs. the Machines” (2021)

April 26, 2021 by Keith Garlington

It seems I always feel the need to qualify any review I write for an animated feature. I’ve admitted countless times that I’m not an animated movie connoisseur. But when animated movies resonate with me they usually REALLY resonate. Such is the case with Netflix’s “The Mitchells vs. the Machines”, a wacky, high-energy, and at times surprisingly tender movie about an everyday family and the disconnect that sometimes takes place between parents and their children. What can I say…I loved it.

There is some really impressive talent behind “The Mitchells vs. the Machines”. It’s comes from Sony Pictures Animation (who sold the film to Netflix for around $100 million) and is produced by none other than Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, big names who had their hands in huge hits like “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” and “The LEGO Movie” (full disclosure – I wasn’t as smitten with “Spider-Verse” as most but I loved “LEGO”). It’s directed by Mike Rianda (who also co-writes with Jeff Rowe) and it’s topped off by a really good cast.

Image Courtesy of Netflix

The Mitchells are a fairly ordinary family of four who love each other but find themselves in a rut. Over the years a chasm has grown between oldest child Katie (voiced by Abbi Jacobson) and her father Rick (Danny McBride). The two have a relationship littered with great memories of a doting father and a daddy’s girl. But lately the two seem on opposite ends of a widening generation gap and they can’t seem to connect or communicate the way they once did. Katie’s mother Linda (Maya Rudolph) tries her best to be peacemaker, but both father and daughter seem to have forgotten the bond that once bound them.

You could say Katie is a bit of an outsider. Her dinosaur-loving kid brother Aaron (voiced by Rianda) gets her, but no one else does either in school or at home. She finds refuge in her creative spirit, namely in making short films for her YouTube channel. A movie geek at heart, Katie aspires to be a director and her acceptance into film school in Los Angeles brings her closer to her dream. It also gets her far away from home which has become a top priority.

Rick’s skepticism of Katie’s career choice leads to yet another daddy/daughter spat on the night before she departs for California. In a well-meaning effort to patch things up, Rick cancels Katie’s flight to LA (gulp!) and decides to take the family on a cross-country trip for some needed together-time before dropping Katie off at school. Much to Katie’s chagrin, the Mitchells and their wild-eyed pug Monchi load up their burnt orange 1993 family station wagon and head out for the West Coast. Little do they know their greatest family challenge awaits – the machine apocalypse!

Now tell me if you’ve ever heard a better sales pitch than this – distinguished Oscar-winner Olivia Coleman leads a “Terminator”-like machine uprising to take over the world. I mean that’s something that sells itself! Coleman plays a Siri-like artificial intelligence holding a grudge after her Silicon Valley creator (Eric André) dumps her for his company’s hot new robot tech. So she takes control of his robots and everything else electronic in the world from toasters to an army of Furbies.

Image Courtesy of Netflix

All of that is hilarious on the surface but it’s also a key part of the film’s playful critique of today’s tech-dependent society. Several well-placed subtle jabs land throughout the movie but there are also the hysterical not-so-subtle shots. Take when an astonished Linda states with absolute sincerity, “Who would have thought a tech company wouldn’t have our best interest at heart?” Yet this isn’t all about an anti-technology message. In fact the film highlights its invaluable contributions to our ability to create and communicate. At the same time it reminds us that nothing beats intimate, heartfelt, face-to-face connection.

The film frames the Mitchells as being dysfunctional (or from Katie’s hyperbolic point-of-view “the Worst Family of All Time“) and a spotlight is put on their “weirdness” and inner friction. However their actual normality is one of the story’s most endearing qualities. They are a family full of relatable personalities and the daddy-daughter dynamic hit me right in my soft spot. Add in loads of laugh-out-load humor and a gorgeous mix of 2D and 3D animation and you have a movie that had me from its bright and colorful opening to its warm and heartfelt finish. “The Mitchells vs. the Machines” premieres this Friday (April 30th) on Netflix. https://www.netflix.com/title/81399614

VERDICT – 4.5 STARS

RANDOM THOUGHTS: The 2021 Oscars

April 26, 2021 by Keith Garlington

After a crazy year impacted by a pandemic and following a long extended awards season, we finally get to put 2020 to rest with the Academy Awards. Much like the 2020 movie year, Oscar night was unusual – really weird actually. It was a hodgepodge of highs, lows, and downright bewilderment. There were some major surprises, a couple of expected bummers, and some of most baffling production decisions in Oscar broadcast history. As you can probability tell, Hollywood’s big show left us with plenty to talk about. So as I do every year, here are a few random thoughts on this year’s Academy Awards.

First off, I do appreciate the effort of everyone who made sure an Oscar ceremony happened. It wasn’t easy and it was never going to be “normal”. Still I gotta say, this entire show was unbelievably dry and lacked some much needed energy. I can’t imagine anyone sticking with it other than us die-hards.
This year’s Oscars was produced by Steven Soderbergh and let’s just say his ‘big’ ideas blew up in his face. The most baffling was the decision to move Best Picture from the final award of the night and stick it ahead of Lead Actor and Lead Actress. I get that there was a vague theme spotlighting individual achievement, but this isn’t a made-for-TV movie. Best Picture is last for a reason (aside from being BEST FREAKING PICTURE). It acknowledges the MANY people (many who don’t have an individual Oscar category) who come together to make a movie great. Moving it not only lessened the buzz around the winner, it also opened the door for a MUCH bigger fail (more on that later).
“Nomadland” continued its incredible awards season run by taking home Best Picture. It was the clear frontrunner and a deserving winner. Sadly it’s big moment was undercut by its nutty placement in the show which is a shame.
Speaking of weird placement, there was really no rhyme or reason to Soderbergh and company’s order of things. Was he just shaking things up for the heck of it? Take Best Director that just randomly came up early in the show. Chloé Zhao won for “Nomadland” which was great moment.

Zhao is only the second woman to win Best Director in 93 years. Let that sink in for a minute.
The night’s biggest and best surprise coincided with the show’s biggest flub up. The producers made the misguided choice to end the show with Best Actor, clearly anticipating a Chadwick Boseman win and shamelessly hoping to tap into the emotions of that moment. One problem with that – Anthony Hopkins won and the 83-year-old Welshman wasn’t able to be there. So it ended with Joaquin Phoenix accepting on his behalf and then show over! A major face-plant for the show and a disservice to everyone involved including the viewers.
As for the actual winner, I let out a jubilant scream when Hopkins’ name was announced. Not a knock on Boseman who was quite good in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”. But Hopkins gives one of the best performances of the last ten years. And when you look past the emotions, the greatness of that Hopkins performance becomes clearer. Boseman wasn’t “snubbed” as some outlets are already crying. This is the case of a worthy performance winning over a ‘moment’ the show runners were banking on.
Anthony Hopkins becomes the oldest person to ever win an Academy Award.
This show made me realize how much I missed those super weird YouTube destined Oscar moments. You know, like John Travolta introducing “Idell Dazeem” (whoever that is).
Best Actress gave us yet another surprise – Frances McDormand won for “Nomadland”. It’s such a well-deserved win and one of my favorite performances of the year. But I had written her off considering how little buzz she had been getting. This category could have went several ways – Carey Mulligan or Viola Davis. The Academy got it right.
I (and many others) were astonished by the lack of clips from nominated movies or individual performances. A couple of seemingly arbitrary categories had them, but overall they were rare and the show could have really used them.
Up until last night I had never heard of “Da Butt”. With all due respect to the great Glenn Close, after last night I really don’t care if I ever hear of it again.
Speaking of Glenn Close, she has now been nominated for an Academy Award eight times without a win. No, that doesn’t make her the Oscar’s Susan Lucci but eight is a lot.
Instead Youn Yuh-jung wins Best Supporting Actress for “Minari”. Not only did she deserve the win but she gave us the second best speech of the night. She was happy to win the award and even happier to have it presented by none other than Brad Pitt. It was both sweet and hilarious.

“Another Round” wins Best International Film which I LOVED seeing. It’s a tremendous movie that also deserved a Best Picture nomination. But at least it wins something.
Thomas Vinterberg, the director of “Another Round”, gave the speech of the night. He was happy, humble, and genuinely emotional, especially when talking about his late daughter who died just weeks into the film’s production. I’m not sure how many people knew about her connection to the movie, but Vinterberg’s words were from a thankful yet aching heart. And as a dad with a 16-year-old daughter, they really struck a chord.
Daniel Kaluuya wins Best Supporting Actor for “Judas and the Black Messiah” which is no surprise considering he’s won everywhere. That doesn’t make this a particularly great performance. Kaluuya nails the moments of powerful intensity but is carried by Dominique Fishback in the quieter and more intimate scenes (where was her nomination?).
The annual In Memoriam tribute is a pretty easy thing to get right. You honor those lost over the last year by showing a montage playing to soft heartfelt music. But my gosh the producers even botched it. They literally sped through segments so fast that it felt as if the video were randomly kicking into another speed. To make matters worse it was accompanied by an upbeat Stevie Wonder tune that only made matters worse.
Maybe they thought if they sped through it people would miss the yearly omissions they’ve become notorious for. Still, names like Connery, Boseman, de Havilland, Von Sydow, Tyson, Morricone, and Plummer deserved better.
In perhaps the most predictable win of the night, “Soul” takes home Best Animated Feature. Lots of online buzz for “Wolfwalkers” but Pixar had this one in the bag.
“Mank” entered as the most nominated film of the night. I loved the movie but it’s chances of winning big never felt very high. It didn’t go home empty-handed, winning well-deserved awards for both Production Design and Cinematography.

About cinematography, how on earth was “Tenet” not nominated? It did win for Best Visual Effects, but DP Hoyte van Hoytema at least deserved a mention.
Ok, the odds of “Husavik” winning Best Original Song were slim but I still believe it to be the best of the nominated bunch.
“My Octopus Teacher” wins the Best Documentary Oscar! Here’s a film with little buzz that I had heard practically nothing about until it was nominated. And then it surprises everyone with a big win. I’m actually ok with this. It’s a beautiful, weird, and moving story.
In yet another of the night’s out-of-left-field choices, the show kicked off with the two Screenplay awards. Best adapted went to “The Father”, Best Original to “Promising Young Woman”. No problem with either, but to start off the show?
The Academy really spread the wealth around with almost all of the major players winning something. The lone exception was “The Trial of the Chicago 7” which won nothing and didn’t really deserve most of the nominations it received.
Netflix entered the evening with 36 total nominations and managed to take home 7 statues. Not bad for a studio once shunned by some of Hollywood’s biggest and most powerful names. I think everyone realizes now that the streaming giant is set to be a force in the industry (and on Oscar night) for years to come.

So with that comes the end of the 2020 movie year. What did you think of the show? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below!

First Glance: “The Water Man”

April 23, 2021 by Keith Garlington

David Oyelowo stars and makes his directorial debut in the upcoming family adventure drama “The Water Man”. Oyelowo’s personal love for these kinds of movies and a desire to share the types of films her grew up on with his own children inspired him to jump into screenwriter Emma Needell fantastical world. The first trailer shows a movie that has some cool fantasy elements but also a visible human pulse which could lead to a potentially fun and emotionally rich experience.

While “The Water Man” features a terrific adult cast including Oyelowo, Rosario Dawson, Alfred Molina, and Maria Bello, the movie is about a young boy named Gunner (Lonnie Chavis) who with the help of local girl named Jo (Amiah Miller) ventures into the mysterious forest in search of the Water Man. Gunner’s mother is sick and local legend says the Water Man knows the secret to immortality. So it becomes a heart-filled story of a son doing whatever he can to save his ailing mom. I like our first look at the movie which comes across as warm and thoughtful and as something that could resonate with all ages.

“The Water Man” opens in theaters May 7th. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.