REVIEW: “End of Sentence” (2020)

June 3, 2020 by Keith Garlington

The Icelandic drama “End of Sentence” is another movie entry which sets out to show that a good road trip can cure all woes, heal all wounds, mend all fences, and so on. Pretty scenery is a balm and the journey’s inevitable speed bumps are sure-fire ways to remedy almost any personal ailment. We’ve seen this before. Yet despite the air of familiarity, “End of Sentence” works because of smart filmmaking choices and two stand-out lead performances.

The movie comes from first-time director Elfar Adalsteins. It works from a screenplay by Michael Armbruster that centers around a father and son at a critical stage in their relationship. The film opens with Frank Fogle (John Hawkes) carrying his wife Anne (Andrea Irvine) to visit their son Sean (Logan Lerman) who’s in an Alabama state prison serving out his sentence for auto theft. Anne, suffering from late-stage cancer, uses the visit to tell her son a final goodbye while Frank, left off the visitors list, waits outside. The father/son tension is obvious from the start.

Photo Courtesy of Berserk Films

A short time later Anne passes away and her dying wish is for Frank and Sean to scatter her ashes near a lake in Northwestern Ireland. But she wants them to do it together. The problem is Sean detests his father (for reasons that come into focus a little later) and he’s quick to turn Frank down once he gets out of prison. Sean has a job waiting for him in California if he can get there in time, but getting there proves tough with no money and no ride. Frank offers to pay for his flight to the west coast if he will help carry out his mother’s last wish. Sean begrudgingly agrees and the two head overseas.

Adalsteins takes the two from Dublin to Belfast and even further north along winding country roads and through small towns. As they travel both characters open up more leading to the inevitable boiling point where secrets are revealed and true feelings are finally laid bare. While the outcome remains predictable, the characters make it worthwhile. Frank is meek, timid, and tightly-wound. He’s cut from the old-fashioned gentleman mold and tends to let people walk all over him. Sean is embittered and full of pent-up anger, harboring deep-seated resentment towards his father.

It makes for a combustible pairing but Adalsteins doesn’t let his story get away from him. “End of Sentence” could have easily spiraled into conventional family drama territory. But it’s kept grounded by good direction that seems keenly aware of the genre trappings and works hard not to fall into them. Even when Sarah Bolger’s Jewel pops up (a character ripe for the third-wheel treatment) the story maintains its humanity and uses her in a smart way. Bolger’s really good and she brings an energy to the movie it really needs.

Photo Courtesy of Berserk Films

It’s Hawkes who is the real standout, delivering yet another performance you can’t look away from. The 60-year-old screen veteran has a career filled with a wide variety of great roles. He’s been a terrifying Ozark mountain meth addict, a frustrated quadriplegic, even a charismatic cult leader. Here he brings a graceful tenderness to a character weighted down by insecurity and grief. Lerman is a solid foil, simmering with acrimony and rage that he often conveys without a word of dialogue. It’s an impressive eye-catching turn.

“End of Sentence” doesn’t veer too far off the formulaic ‘road trip to reconciliation’ path. There’s also a semi-action scene on a ferry boat that feels weirdly out of place. Otherwise there is a lot to like about Elfar Adalsteins’ debut effort, a movie about two hurting souls, past family trauma, and the importance of communication. Along with Armbruster’s intelligent script and a well-tuned cast, Adalsteins never loses sight of the human element either in his characters or his storytelling. It’s a key ingredient the movie embraces to great effect.

VERDICT – 4 STARS

REVIEW: “All Day and a Night” (2020)

June 2, 2020 by Keith Garlington

While watching the new Netflix Original “All Day and a Night” I kept thinking about John Singleton’s “Boyz n the Hood”. That film immersed its audience in the poverty, drug trade, and gang violence of South Central Los Angeles. But those things were never its focus. Instead “Boyz” worked so well because it was all about the people trapped within that hard, violent world. Singleton never lost sight of them for a second.

“All Day and a Night” seems to take inspiration from that 1991 Singleton picture. But I wouldn’t call it a “Boyz” for a new generation. “All Day” (written and directed by Joe Robert Cole) has good intentions and its message is a noble one. Yet despite its propulsive story, I couldn’t get the ring of familiarity out of my ear. From its depiction of urban gangland to the entire narrative path. Even the characters mirror others we’ve seen before. Remember the three friends at the center of “Boyz”: the good kid, the bad egg, and the lead character in between? They’re all here.

Photo Courtesy of Netflix

The movie opens with a double-murder and the rest of the film spends its time bouncing back-and-forth between the lead-up to the homicide and the consequences. Jahkor (Ashton Sanders) guns down a husband and wife in front of their young daughter. In court he sits coldly, defiant and showing no remorse as his guilty conviction is read. Once in prison he begins to reflect on what got him there and what the future may hold.

The flashbacks go as far as 13 years earlier in Oakland, California where young Jahkor (Jalyn Hall) gets picked on in school and then beaten at home by his drug addict father (Jeffery Wright) for not taking up for himself. So instantly we see the seeds of violence and revenge being planted at a young age.

Jump ahead to a few weeks before the murder. Jahkor (Sanders), an aspiring rapper, finds himself at a crossroads. With his music career going nowhere he feels the pull to follow his childhood friend TQ (Isaiah John) working for a local gang leader Big Stunna (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II). On the other hand he and his girlfriend Shantaye (Shakira Ja’nai Paye) are expecting a baby which inspires him to go straight and get a job. But the film goes to great lengths to show that the deck is stacked against Jahkor, and the opening scene leaves little suspense to how things turn out.

Photo Courtesy of Netflix

The father-son dynamic and the cyclical nature of street violence is what drives the movie. This is best realized in the prison scenes where Jahkor and his father are both incarcerated. It’s where Wright (thankfully) dials back his performance from an almost cartoonish gangsta caricature to a man reckoning with the life choices he has made. Compare Wright’s portrayal to Isaiah John’s gangbanging TQ who is far more reserved and even more convincing.

Aside from its familiarity the movie is also hampered by a handful of ham-fisted scenes including a heavy-handed exchange in the shoe store where Jahkor works and a weird police interrogation that weirdly and inadvertently makes a case for racial profiling. The opening scene is powerful and starts things off with a jolt, and there are several other good bits scattered throughout the picture. But the connecting narrative tissue just isn’t that strong and it leaves the movie feeling like a lesser version of others that came before it.

VERDICT – 2.5 STARS

REVIEW: “Mr. Jones” (2020)

June 1, 2020 by Keith Garlington

The story of ambitious truth-seeker Gareth Jones is one of inspired vigor and rich with modern-day relevance. Jones was a journalist working as a foreign affairs advisor to Prime Minister David Lloyd George. He’s best known for exposing the horrors of the Holodomor, Stalin’s state sponsored man-made famine responsible for the deaths of millions in Soviet Ukraine. Jones was discredited by many of the world’s Soviet sympathizing media but never quit fighting for truth. He was shot to death one day before his 30th birthday.

“Mr. Jones”, a period bio-thriller from Polish director Agnieszka Holland, tells Jones’ story through a ‘cold-hard-facts’ lens. The film takes its time framing its story, spending most of its first half exploring Stalin’s propaganda apparatus and underlining the deception of Soviet stability. But then the movie makes a rather profound shift into gritty, unvarnished survivalism with barely any dialogue but full of haunting, visceral images.

Photo: Samuel Goldwyn Films

We first meet Gareth Jones (played by a firmly committed James Norton) in 1933 shortly after his attention-grabbing interview with Adolf Hitler. He stands before a group of British cabinet ministers telling them of Hitler’s ambition and warning that the next Great War is already taking form. The stuffy old men blow off Jones’ claims, hardly ready to plunge their country into another world conflict. Discouraged but not defeated, Jones sticks to his belief that a tectonic shift is underway and the truth is being ignored.

Jones takes notice of some unexplainable changes happening in the Soviet Union. While the rest of the world struggles under a global economic crisis, the USSR is experiencing a surge in growth and modernization. Hungry for an interview with Stalin, Jones is able to get a press visa and heads to Russia. Once there he’s set to meet with his friend and embedded journalist Paul Kleb who has information that could validate Jones’ suspicions.

But first he crosses paths with Walter Duranty (Peter Sarsgaard), a hedonistic Pulitzer Prize winning correspondent for the New York Times with deep connections to the Kremlin. Duranty lives a lavish life in Moscow and is paid handsomely by the Soviet government to persuade the world’s perception of Stalin. Sarsgaard is a perfect fit, slithering from scene to scene, putting off the scent of respectability but every bit of a loathsome snake. A steadily intense Vanessa Kirby plays Ada, a writer for Duranty who doesn’t approve of her boss’ propaganda but is fearful of the power he wields.

From there the movie takes on a much different look, feel, and tone. Jones secures a supervised trip to the Ukraine investigating claims that Stalin had been funneling grain and other resources out of the country leaving the Ukrainian people to starve. He shakes his Soviet chaperone and ventures into the country discovering horrific truths – barren villages, dead bodies in the snow, packs of starving children, and Soviet soldiers with a chokehold on the food supply. It’s a story the world needs to hear, but getting the truth out of the USSR proves to be no easy task.

Photo: Samuel Goldwyn Films

“Mr. Jones” feels like a neglected slice of history that’s finally being exposed. It’s story digs into a horrifying period that has been terribly underserved on our screens. And considering our current age of misinformation and biased “news”, this film packs a stinging modern-day applicability. I only wish it had plowed deeper into the Holodomor, specifically Stalin’s twisted motivations and unthinkable justifications. You could make a good argument that it would change this into a different movie altogether. But considering how big a part it plays in the story, it needed a more informative framing.

Still, this British-Polish-Ukrainian co-production does a good job immersing you in its setting and leaves you wanting to learn more. Holland and her screenwriter Andrea Chalupa deserve a ton of credit for the glance they give into Stalin’s propaganda machine and their vivid portrayal of the Soviet atrocities in the Ukraine. The latter is the movie at its most potent, avoiding big screen trappings and allowing the camera and Norton’s well-tuned performance to do the work.

VERDICT – 4 STARS

5 Phenomenal Movie Foot Chases

May 29, 2020 by Keith Garlington

As an action movie fan I love a good chase regardless of the kind – motorcycle, car or even on foot. It may surprise you just how many great foot chases there have been in movie history. So I decided to give some love to five great movie foot chases. I left out a few that certainly deserve mention, but these five were musts. Now as usual, I wouldn’t dare call this the definitive list. But there’s no denying that these 5 movie foot chases are absolutely phenomenal.

#5 – “Fast Five”

The “Fast and Furious” series has made it’s reputation on fast rides and some ridiculously wild car chases. Who would have thought that one of the coolest scenes in 2011’s “Fast Five” would have been a foot chase? After meeting up at a safe house in Rio de Janeiro, Dom, Brian, and Mia find themselves boxed in by a crime lord’s armed thugs on one side and Special Agent Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and his team on the other. The three groups take off on a foot chase through the cramped, densely populated, hillside streets, running through tight alleys and jumping from rooftop to rooftop. It’s a high-octane edge-of-your-seat sequence.

#4 – “Point Break”

In what was one part free-spirited surfer movie and one part gritty heist film, “Point Break” was a popular action romp from director Kathryn Bigelow. As Keanu Reeves’ undercover FBI agent gets close to arresting Patrick Swayze’s surfer bank robber the latter takes off on foot. Utah chases him into a neighborhood, over fences, through backyards and living rooms, and finally down a ravine where Reeves hurts his knee and Swayze gets away. It a furious chase with tight, close quarter camera work and even a touch of subtle humor.

#3 – “The Bourne Ultimatum”

The third film of the Jason Bourne series featured the same intense, spy thriller action and around the world globetrotting that the series is known for. One of my favorite sequences is in Morocco. Bourne (Matt Damon) and his contact Nicky (Julia Stiles) is targeted by an asset sent to take them out. Nicky runs away, the assassin follows her, Bourne follows assassin. The three run through the crowded streets of Tangier and through a series of close, cramped houses before ending with the best fight scene of the entire series. It all comes together to make for one spectacular scene.

#2 – “Raising Arizona”

Leave it to Joel and Ethen Coen to give us not only one of the best foot chases in movie history but by far the funniest. In 1987’s “Raising Arizona” Nicholas Cage’s H.I. McDunnough gives in to his addiction and holds up a convenient store while his wife and kid are in the car outside. Once she realizes what he’s doing, she drives off leaving him behind. With the police arriving and the store clerk pulling out a .44 magnum that would make Dirty Harry proud, H.I. takes off on foot, lunatic cops and rabid dogs hot on his heels. Through suburban backyards, living rooms, and supermarkets. H.I. runs into an assortment of funny characters and hilarious obstacles. It’s hard to beat.

#1 – “Casino Royale”

It was director Martin Campbell’s “Casino Royale” from 2006 that officially made me a James Bond fan. Daniel Craig’s 007 brought a gritty more realistic Bond to the big screen. and I absolutely loved it. It doesn’t take long for the action to crank up in “Casino Royale”. We see Bond in Madagascar where he has tracked down a wanted bomb manufacturer. When his partner botches the apprehension, the suspect takes off on foot with 007 right behind him. I recently rewatched this scene preparing for this list and it still blows my mind. The chase takes the two to a high-rise construction site. They leap up scaffolding, run along steel girders, and fight on sky-high cranes. Then the chase takes them back to the ground, through the busy streets and finally to the Nabutu Embassy where it has an explosive ending. Even though it’s close to 10 minutes long, this chase keeps you glued to the screen. It’s beautifully shot, masterfully edited, and it serves as a wonderful introduction to this new era of Bond.

There you have it – my 5 Phenomenal Movie Foot Chases. See something I missed? Disagree with any of my choices? Please take time to share your favorite movie foot chase below.

REVIEW: “A Good Woman is Hard to Find” (2020)

May 28, 2020 by Keith Garlington

The taut Irish crime-thriller “A Good Woman is Hard to Find” opens with a closeup of a young woman, her face covered in dried blood and her eyes full of concern. She steps into the shower revealing blood on her arms and back. It’s clearly not her own. This is how director Abner Pastoll introduces us to Sarah (played by Sarah Bolger), by giving us a glimpse into her traumatic future.

Hop back a few days. Sarah is a recently widowed mother of two still devastated by her husband’s recent murder. Her 9-year-old son hasn’t spoken a word since witnessing his father being stabbed to death. The local police aren’t any help, telling her “Just let sleeping dogs lie.” Her cold, surly mother (Jane Brennan) isn’t much better, thinking Her daughter should just get over it. “You’re too soft Sarah” she barks. “You always were.” So much for a family support system.

Things get even worse when a scar-faced hood named Tito (Andrew Simpson) bursts into Sarah’s apartment after stealing drugs from some neighborhood pushers. He stashes the dope in Sarah’s bathroom and threatens to hurt her kids if she doesn’t play along. Tito comes back periodically to pick up more drugs from his stash and to give Sarah a 40% cut she didn’t ask for. She wants no part of Tito’s dealing, but the money helps her put food on the table.

Here’s the thing, you don’t steal drugs from drug dealers, especially violently psychotic ones like Leo Miller (a borderline cartoonish Edward Hogg). He runs a local nightclub which is nothing more than a cover for his drug operation. The goons Tito stole the dope from worked for Leo. Gulp. Guilty by association (despite it being outside of her control), Sarah finds herself caught in the middle. But she’s determined not to let her kids lose another parent, regardless of what it takes.

Just recently I was chatting with a friend of the site about Sarah Bolger and my unfamiliarity with her work. Here she gives an eye-opening performance, quiet when it needs to be and fierce once the movie catapults her character into some dark demanding places. She’s the backbone of the movie, appearing in nearly every scene, and giving us a firm, relatable rooting interest. She’s so good here.

The not so great title aside, Pastoll, Bolger and screenwriter Ronan Blaney tell a gritty crime story that takes some unexpectedly grisly turns (it’s not for the squeamish). Yet despite the second half’s thick coat of blood and violence, “A Good Woman” is just as much a story about motherhood, deglamorized and grounded in real experience. In many ways the scenes showing Sarah’s economic and social struggles are the most potent. They do clash a bit with the final act’s gory revenge-fantasy vibe, but we never lose sight of the mother-children dynamic. And Bolger keeps us glued to the screen throughout.

VERDICT – 3.5 STARS

REVIEW: “Valley Girl” (2020)

May 27, 2020 by Keith Garlington

For those hoping 2016’s “La La Land” was going to usher in a new era of Hollywood musicals, it hasn’t really panned out. The critically acclaimed, feel-good Oscar-winner was a fresh breeze from a bygone era, but there haven’t been a slew of movies following its lead. The new film “Valley Girl” does, but not in a way that will change the movie landscape. Still, it’s a light and breezy musical with a fun nostalgic tinge. I kinda liked it.

“Valley Girl” comes from director Rachel Lee Goldenberg working from a screenplay by Amy Talkington. Their film sits down in the heart of the 1980’s, the time of Guess jeans, leg warmers, and MTV (when it actually played music). It takes place in Southern California where a San Fernando Valley girl and a Hollywood punker cross zip codes to be together despite the steady objections from their vastly different sets of friends.

Photo Courtesy of Orion Classics

The film stars 32-year-old Jessica Rothe who is still convincing playing a high school senior. Rothe is the real strength of the picture, delightful and full of charm and energy. She plays Julie, every bit a valley girl who loves shopping, fashion, and is fluent in all forms of Valleyspeak. She lives a comfortable, pampered life with her wealthy friends who are seemingly impervious to life outside of the Valley. Yet there are signs that Julie isn’t the snobby elitist some of her pals tend to be.

Just over the hills in Hollywood lies an entirely different world. That’s where Randy (Josh Whitehouse) lives, an aspiring punk rocker who is the antithesis of everything from the Valley. He fits the movie stereotype of every parent’s nightmare – he’s loud, rowdy, and has tons of family baggage. Oh, and there’s that whole punk rock thing which you know must mean he’s bad news.

The two opposites cross paths and there is an instant spark. Julie’s friends (Chloe Bennet, Mae Whitman, and Ashleigh Murray respectively) warn her that Randy is trouble and she should stick with her obnoxious bro-boyfriend Mickey (fittingly played by Logan Paul) who happens to be the toast of their high school. How someone so glaringly repellent and insufferable can be adored by students, teachers and parents is beyond me. Meanwhile Randy’s punk band members tell him he doesn’t belong with a rich, well-to-do valley girl and she’s sure to break his heart.

As it all plays out we get an assortment of 80’s pop inspired musical numbers. Almost inevitably we get the girlfriends singing Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”. And there’s a sweet duet of A-Ha’s “Take on Me”. We also get some punk versions of “You Might Think” by The Cars, and Madonna’s “Crazy For You”. Strangely, the music numbers are more fun than actually good. They’ll have you singing along with a smile on your face, but you won’t be rushing out to buy the soundtrack.

Photo Courtesy of Orion Classics

As a culture-clashing romance, “Valley Girl” is pretty predictable. None of the characters step out of their molds to offer much we haven’t seen before. But the cast is game, especially Rothe who had a small role in “La La Land” singing in one of the film’s best numbers. Here she shows the same charisma, while adding a dash of innocence and naïveté, which brings empathy to a character you can’t help but like.

The film opens with the line “Life was like a pop song, and we knew all the words.” It then goes on to show that no one really knows all the words and we should be learning new verses everyday. It’s one of the movie’s several themes splashed in aquas and pinks. I haven’t seen the movie it’s based on, a 1983 cult hit perhaps known best as Nicolas Cage’s first big screen role (sorta). But this one provides a nice little diversion in a time when a lot of us are looking for one.