First Glance: “Zack Snyder’s Justice League”

February 16, 2021 by Keith Garlington

I think it goes without saying that 2017’s “Justice League” was not the Avengers type blockbuster the DCEU was hoping for. In fact the post-production was filled with turmoil and controversy. The architect behind the DCEU Zack Snyder stepped down from his directing duties following the tragic death of his daughter. Joss Whedon stepped in and the tales of his “abusive” treatment of both cast and crew have since been made public. There is also the subject of Whedon’s additions to the film which dramatically changed the story and tone. The film’s producers claim Whedon used as much as 80% of Snyder’s material. Snyder says it’s more like one-forth and cinematographer Fabian Wagner goes even lower, claiming roughly 10% of what he shot was used by Whedon.

Which leads us to “Zack Snyder’s Justice League”, a four-hour epic coming to HBO Max. The version constitutes Snyder’s full version of what “Justice League” was meant to be with numerous new scenes, important world-building, new characters, and backstory. It’s still built around the same basic story premise, but with much more meat on its bones. It’s also considered by other members of the DCEU (including directors Patty Jenkins and James Wan) to be the true canonical “Justice League” movie. Is all of that enough to get people to give the film another shot? I don’t know, but I’m excited for it. And hopefully this will give us the “Justice League” many of us hoped for originally.

“Zack Snyder’s Justice League” premieres March 18th on HBO Max. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

REVIEW: “Young Ahmed” (2020)

February 16, 2021 by Keith Garlington

Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne remain among my favorite contemporary filmmakers and every new movie immediately finds itself high on my must-see list. The brothers are known for telling stories through an intensely realistic lens, often honing in on the disenfranchised working class and their everyday circumstances. The Dardennes have a restrained and observant style, reminiscent of the great French auteur Robert Bresson, but with slightly busier compositions and a considerably more fluid camera.

The Dardennes again bring their subdued, clear-eyed approach to their latest film “Young Ahmed”. A Cannes Film Festival winner for Best Director, “Young Ahmed” shares many of the same traits of their previous films, but they’ve never tackled subject matter quite like this. Their story centers on a 13-year-old Belgian boy named Ahmed (Idir Ben Addi), a young Muslim who has been radicalized by a local imam (Othmane Moumen). Right out of the gate you realize this a tricky and sensitive material. But it’s also a case where the Dardennes’ distinctly grounded style makes them more capable to tackle it than many of their filmmaking contemporaries.

Image Courtesy of Kino Lorber

By the time we meet Ahmed he has already committed himself to the imam’s teaching and is deeply devout when it comes to prayer and study. His strict interpretations can be seen in nearly every part of his daily life. From his refusal to shake the hand of his teacher Inès (Myriem Akheddiou) down to the precise way in which he washes his hands. It doesn’t take long to notice other concerning things about Ahmed, most notably that he’s a somber and serious boy who never cracks smile. He’s obviously impressionable and a dramatically different person than he once was. We also notice the wedge his religious zeal has put between him and his family, particularly his heartbroken single mother (Claire Bodson).

It all culminates in an ill-advised and utterly botched violent act that sees Ahmed arrested and sent to a youth detention and rehabilitation center. It’s here that the film takes an unexpected turn and begins to examine Ahmed from a different perspective. While in the facility his caseworker and staff engage in a strategically subtle form of intervention, allowing Ahmed to pray but involving him in activities that may help him reconnect with the kid he once was.

Image Courtesy of Kino Lorber

Storywise it sounds rudimentary, but throughout the film’s second half the Dardennes keep us wondering how far Ahmed has fallen down the rabbit hole. How deeply rooted are his convictions? Are the activities at the rehab center having any effect? We don’t know because Ahmed is such a hard book to read – never emotional and rarely interested in anything other than his prayer time. But we see cracks, especially when he meets a flirtatious young girl named Louise (Victoria Bluck). Still the Dardennes and their lead actor never tip their hand. It’s an especially impressive feat for Idir Ben Addi considering he’s in practically every scene.

“Young Ahmed” is yet another Dardenne brothers film that highlights their unique harmony of story and style. It’s a quietly affecting drama stripped of artifice and that fully embraces their naturalistic point-of-view. Interestingly it doesn’t always have the same intimacy as some of the brothers’ best films, but it still examines humanity through their uniquely personal lens. That makes “Young Ahmed” another great addition to their already fascinating catalog of movies.

VERDICT – 4 STARS

REVIEW: “Hunter Hunter” (2020)

February 15, 2021 by Keith Garlington

Shawn Linden’s “Hunter Hunter” wasn’t at all what I expected. Its crafty advertising sells a deep woods thriller about a wolf terrorizing a wilderness family. To be fair that is a big part of the movie. But as the film sets your eyes in one direction it then broadsides you with a story full of deeper human themes. Oh, and it caps it all off with an unforgettable ending that will leave your jaw on the floor. And that’s no exaggeration.

“Hunter Hunter” is about a a family living off the grid deep in an unspecified forest. They live off the land, mostly hunting and trading furs for supplies. It’s a life that suits the father Joe (Devon Sawa) and is accepted by the mother Anne (Camille Sullivan). But their daughter Renee (Summer H. Howell) is born into it and given no choice but to learn how to survive. That weighs on a guilt-ridden Anne who begins to think they would be better off giving up their life of isolation and moving into town. “We don’t run from our problems,” Joe growls.

While out checking traps Joe and Renee find evidence that a ravenous wolf has returned to their area. Joe not only sees it as a threat to his family but to the secluded life he has chosen. He becomes obsessed with the wolf and sets out to hunt it down, leaving Anne and Renee to fend for themselves until he returns. A few grisly discoveries later makes it clear that this is more than a simple ‘man versus beast’ story. And when Anne loses radio contact with Joe, she becomes the one who must protect what matters the most – her daughter.

Image Courtesy of IFC Films

Linden, who serves as both writer and director, carves a surprisingly layered story out of a premise that seems pretty simple on its surface. I won’t dare spoil anything, but let’s just say he introduces some terrifying elements into the story that ups the intensity and adds this unnerving sense of dread that hangs over the final act. Camille Sullivan really emerges in the second half, putting the film on her back and giving a forceful and committed performance. And that ending. Linden goes all-in with an unsettling finish that feels exactly right for what he’s going for.

“Hunter Hunter” is a movie that quietly lures you in by building an interesting family dynamic worth investing in. The characters feel authentic which makes their tense and eventually frightening story resonate. Shawn Linden uses the setting’s beauty to hide something sinister while delving into some unsettling human themes that gives his movie a surprising kick. “Hunter Hunter” is now streaming on VOD.

VERDICT – 4 STARS

REVIEW: “Spontaneous” (2020)

February 12, 2021 by Keith Garlington

A part of me would have loved to have been a fly on the wall when the crazy idea for “Spontaneous” was pitched to the studio heads. “It’s an adaptation of a book about high school students who inexplicably begin exploding in class. And I mean literally blowing up, spraying blood all over their classmates and sending the community into one big panic. Oh, and it’s also a teen love story”.

As nutty as it sounds, nothing in the above paragraph is untrue. “Spontaneous” is based on Aaron Starmer’s 2016 young adult novel about two high school seniors and their unexpected romance during the most unexpected of events. A terrific Katherine Langford plays Mara who is sitting in Calculus class bored out of her mind when suddenly her classmate Caitlyn “pops like a zit“. Not my words, that’s Mara vivid eyewitness description.

After the initial shock the kids from the classroom are quarantined as officials try to figure out the cause and more importantly if it will happen again. When it inevitably does the students must face the reality that any moment could be their last. During this time Mara hits it off with fellow classmate and outcast Dylan. He’s played by Charlie Plummer, so good in 2017’s “Lean on Pete”, solid but fairly ordinary here. Soon an unexpected romance blossoms as the two teens come to realize they must (of course) live for the moment.

Image Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Before anything else you have to get in sync with the movie’s tonal gymnastics. It’s literally all over the map: a brash teen comedy, a sudsy romance, blood-soaked horror, a coming-of-age story, a family drama, etc. Frankly its attempts at being so many things gets a little exhausting. At its core you can’t help but notice all the ingredients for a really fun and original dark comedy, but then it begins checking off far too many of the usual teen comedy boxes. And rather than coming natural, you can see the movie actively working to come across as rebellious and cool. This is most visible in Mara. Langford gives an eye-opening performance, but her character has so much swagger and attitude that it’s a breath of fresh air whenever she’s allowed to dial it back and be an actual person.

“Spontaneous” is the kind of movie that is sure to find an audience, but it’s skittish genre hopping could just as easily turn some people off. And for everything the movie does that’s fresh and original there is just as much that feels like well-worn ground. The saving grace is Katherine Langford who ably holds together a character who erratically bounces between grounded in the real world and made for the screen. Still, without question she’s a young actress to keep your eye on. “Spontaneous” is now available on VOD.

VERDICT – 2.5 STARS

First Glance: “Yes Day”

February 11, 2021 by Keith Garlington

Sometimes a likable cast can make an otherwise iffy sounding movie more appealing. Such is the case with the upcoming family comedy from Netflix. The film stars the ever-pleasant Jennifer Garner who makes credit card commercials charming and the talented, often underappreciated Édgar Ramirez. Both will need to use all of their allure in “Yes Day”, a movie that’s built on a pretty shaky premise. But maybe that’s unfair. As the first trailer shows us, all it wants to be is a fun family romp with a little bit of heart. Is that so bad?

Garner and Ramirez play parents in a rut. Tired of always telling their three children “NO”, the couple agree to have a Yes Day. For 24-hours the kids get to make the rules and the parents have to say “YES”. Those of us who are parents know how terribly this would go in the real world. But in “Yes Day” the hijinks-filled adventure brings the family closer together in ways they never thought possible. Now I admit this isn’t my kind of movie meaning I may not be the best judge of such high-energy family chaos. But sometimes happy, fun-loving, all-age-appropriate movies are just what people need.

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

REVIEW: “Penguin Bloom” (2021)

February 11, 2021 by Keith Garlington

A seemingly perfect family life is upended follow a harrowing accident in “Penguin Bloom”, the new Netflix family drama from Australian director Glendyn Ivin. The film is based on the acclaimed book from photographer Cameron Bloom and New York Times bestselling author Bradley Trevor Greive. It tells a story so sweet and uplifting you’d swear it was fiction. But it’s actually based on a moving true story and brought to life through the sincere and resonant performances from Naomi Watts and Andrew Lincoln.

Sam Bloom (Watts) lives a fun and adventurous life. She loves to surf, loves nature, and loves to travel. She and her husband Cameron (Lincoln) have passed on their love for life to their three rambunctious but goodhearted young sons. But everything changed during a family vacation in Thailand. While taking in some local scenery from the roof of their hotel, an old wooden guardrail breaks sending Sam plunging 20 feet to the hard ground below. As a result of the fall Sam broke her back and was left paralyzed from her chest down.

Image Courtesy of Netflix

Back home following a long rehabilitation, Sam struggles to adjust to life in a wheelchair. Ivin along with screenwriters Shaun Grant and Harry Cripps make sure their film doesn’t sugarcoat Sam’s physical and emotional challenges. Watts, an Academy Award nominated actress, makes every aspect of it real for us, whether its something like her inability to roll over in bed or in visualizing the tortuous psychological toll which leads to a deep depression. Watts is too good of an actress to let her character sink into sentiment. Even as the movie hits us with its non-intrusive yet very familiar emotional cues Watts keeps her character grounded, never losing sight of the human element.

Hope comes in the most unlikeliest of places when their oldest son Noah (Griffin Murray-Johnston) finds a baby magpie alone on the beach. He brings it home and names it Penguin. The family instantly warms up to Penguin except for Sam. But over time an unexpected attachment forms between the two. Soon Sam is caring for the young bird which in a thoughtful way represents her longing to be a mother for her own children the way she once did. And as Penguin overcomes her own adversity and learns to fly, Sam begins to realize that maybe she can too.

Image Courtesy of Netflix

While subtlety isn’t the movie’s strength it gets the family dynamic just right. Lincoln’s low-key performance makes for a nice fit. His character fills in the cracks of the story by offering a look at Sam’s struggle from the family’s complicated point-of-view. And young Murray-Johnston has a lot of appeal playing a boy trying to adapt but missing his mother terribly. “It’s like mom was stolen from us,” he says in narration. He also battles guilt, blaming himself for his mother’s fall since he’s the one who wanted to go up to the roof. Jacki Weaver is great but underutilized playing Sam’s overbearing but well-meaning mother Jan who often speaks without a filter.

“Penguin Bloom” is a life-affirming story about overcoming adversity and rediscovering the love for life. It’s biggest problem is that everything is pretty much by-the-book. Don’t expect any original ideas or big surprises. It follows a tried-and-true feel-good formula that hits the normal beats and ends right where you expect. Yet it still makes for good viewing because of the heart-warming true story and the wonderful performances that bring it to the screen. They make us care, feel empathy, and root for this family to not only cherish their old adventures but find new ones as well.”Penguin Bloom” is now streaming on Netflix.