First Glance: “The Night Clerk”

January 27, 2020 by Keith Garlington

Ana de Armas is unquestionably an actress on the rise. The 31-year-old Cuban star broke into American film in 2015 but it was last year’s “Knives Out” that opened up a ton of eyes. Things only get bigger in 2020 where she is set to be in four movies including the new James Bond flick and this intriguing crime thriller from writer-director Michael Cristofer.

“The Night Clerk” stars Tye Sheridan as a creepy, eccentric front desk clerk at a hotel. He works the night shift and apparently has an affection for voyeurism. In walks a beautiful yet mysterious young woman (de Armas) who gets a room. Soon after a murder takes place and Sheridan’s character appears to be the chief suspect. I’ll let you check out the trailer for yourself but it looks like a fun little crime story.

“The Night Clerk” is set to release February 21st. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

REVIEW: “A Fall from Grace” (2020)

January 27, 2020 by Keith Garlington

“Not everyone deserves grace“. Apparently that includes the audience. Actually those dual-meaning words slide across the screen in the trailer for Tyler Perry’s latest thriller that just debuted on Netflix. “A Fall from Grace”, front-ended with Perry’s familiar brand tag, marks the twentieth film where the entertainment heavyweight has served as writer, director, and producer. And it’s yet another film of his that would feel right at home on a Tyler Perry version of the Hallmark Channel. But to be honest, even Hallmark would send the film back to him for much needed re-shoots.

I don’t want to be too harsh because there is a lot to admire about Perry and his contributions to a community he clearly cares for. He works tirelessly and pours in a ton of his own resources and efforts to create opportunities in areas that sorely lack them. Those are all great qualities despite what Spike Lee says. I just wish Perry’s movies were better.

For what it’s worth, “A Fall from Grace” is never boring and it navigates its often shaky material on the back on one particularly strong performance from Crystal Fox. She plays Grace Waters who is set to go on trial for the murder of her younger husband Shannon (Mehcad Brooks). A freshly minted attorney named Jasmine Bryant (Bresha Webb) works for the Public Defender’s office and is assigned Grace’s case by her indifferent boss Rory (Perry). It seems pretty cut-and-dried. Grace wants to plead guilty, Jasmine is to manage the plea deal, case closed.

But Jasmine is encouraged to dig a little deeper much to the chagrin of her grumpy boss. She learns from Grace’s best friend (Phylicia Rashad) that she was a Sunday School teacher, sang in her church choir, and baked cookies for the neighborhood children. She urges Grace to share her story and through their conversations (and a series of flashbacks) were learn about what put her prison. We learn Grace, divorced and lonely, was swept off her feet by the young hipster Shannon. But all was not what it seemed and the scamming Casanova made Grace’s life a veritable hell.

Image via Netflix / Charles Bergmann

I’ll leave the story there but suffice it to say Grace is convinced to let Jasmine fight for her which leads to a final act courtroom drama that is mind-blowing but not in a good way. The later court scenes not only look stunningly cheap but play out like the whole thing is on a time clock. Not to mention it features some of the most astonishingly bad lawyering I have ever seen in a movie or on TV. Watching half a season of Law and Order would have led to a better case than Jasmine presented.

In fairness the movie was shot over the course of five days and unfortunately you can tell. So many scenes desperately need more attention and certain overlooked details stick out like a sore thumb. And boy has the internet been quick to point them out. Take the much talked about bad wigs which sometimes take wildly different forms within the very same scene. And then there is a diner scene where extras sitting in the background stare directly into the camera, drink water from empty glasses, and eat invisible food. I’m not making this stuff up.

I hate to be so hard on “A Fall from Grace” because my wife and I actually got a kick out of watching it together. The problem is much of our enjoyment came at the film’s expense. The cast gives it their all and you have to applaud them for working hard with some pretty bad material. But the story is riddled with head-scratching moments and I haven’t even talked about the ludicrous ending. Add in the production value which highlights the low budget rather than overcomes it and you have a movie that doesn’t exactly herald Tyler Perry’s arrival to Netflix.

VERDICT – 1.5 STARS

REVIEW: “Les Misérables” (2019)

January 24, 2020 by Keith Garlington

Those going into Ladj Ly’s “Les Misérables” expecting a retelling of Victor Hugo’s 1862 novel will be in for a big surprise. But Ly’s choice of title isn’t without reason. A chunk of Hugo’s classic takes place in the Parisian suburb of Montfermeil where Ly grew up. The neighborhood still suffers from crime, destitution, and an assortment of other social and class issues which Ly sets out to portray through an intensely personal lens.

This is Ly’s feature film directorial debut and it presents itself like a cross between a documentary and Denzel Washington’s “Training Day”. But the most striking aspect of the film is how true to life it is. Ly has stated that his goal for “Les Misérables” was to tell about life in this gritty community from the inside. From the very start the story feels authentic and firmly rooted within the merciless bounds of a poverty-stricken banlieue.

The movie opens with a crafty bit of misdirection as a mass of humanity gather throughout the streets of Paris to celebrate France winning the 2018 World Cup. We witness people of all races, creeds and colors side-by-side in a shared state of euphoria. It’s a picture of happiness and harmony. Then the title appears and Ly quickly snaps us back to reality.

Ly sets us down into the Montfermeil tinderbox with its factions, gangs, and (perhaps the biggest troublemakers) police. Our unsuspecting guide through it all is Stéphane (Damien Bonnard), the new member of an Anti-Crime squad that works the projects. He’s teamed with the abrasive and shamelessly bigoted Chris (Alexis Manenti who also cowrote the film) who bullies locals for the sheer enjoyment of it. And also the easygoing Gwada (Djebril Zonga) who was born and raised in the neighborhood. He has more of a conscience than Chris, but rarely uses it to rein his partner in.

As the cops patrol the community butting heads with various street personalities, another group is frequently in the background – the neighborhood kids. They are the real victims and play a variety of necessary roles in getting the story to its combustible ending. Most notably is a young boy named Issa (Issa Perica), a goodhearted but mischievous kid who has clearly been dealt a bad hand in life. He becomes a pawn in a power struggle between the three policeman and a shady local leader known as the Mayor (Steve Tientcheu).

Ly, Manenti, and fellow co-writer Giordano Gederlini keep the temperature at a steady simmer right up until the explosive final act which packs one heck of a kick. At times “Les Misérables” resembles a pretty standard police thriller, but I fell right in with its tense, fast-paced rhythm and it ends in a visceral place that shakes you up and leaves you with plenty to chew on.

REVIEW – 4 STARS

First Glance: “The Last Thing He Wanted”

January 23, 2020 by Keith Garlington

When it comes to original movies Netflix has evolved into a powerhouse. In 2018 Alfonso Cuarón’s “Roma” received tons of praise and end of the year awards. 2019 was even bigger with movies like “Marriage Story”, “The Irishman”, and others earning the streaming giant a whopping 24 Oscar nominations. It hasn’t taken them long to excite us for 2020.

“The Last Thing He Wanted” is a political thriller with an eye-catching cast: Anne Hathaway, Ben Affleck, Rosie Perez, and Willem Dafoe. More exciting is it’s the follow up film for director and co-writer Dee Rees. Her last movie “Mudbound” was one of my favorites from 2017 so this is a must-see for me. The first trailer has landed and things look promising.

We won’t have to wait long. “The Last Thing He Wanted” premieres at Sundance then hits Netflix on February 21st. Check out the new trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

https://youtu.be/KmrU6gMc1Lc

REVIEW: “Underwater” (2020)

January 23, 2020 by Keith Garlington

Readers of this modest little site probably know I have a soft spot for all kinds of science-fiction. That even includes movies like “Underwater”, a sci-fi/horror/survival mashup from director William Eubank. The movie follows a pretty familiar path – survivors find themselves trapped after a catastrophic event and must find a way to escape. Of course they won’t all make it out (they never do in these things). But who survives and who doesn’t, that is the question.

“Underwater” isn’t all that interested in setup or background. It opens with a series of images and reports that tell us a giant corporation is drilling for resources on the ocean floor deep down in the crescent-shaped Mariana Trench. From there the movie wastes no time getting going. We are immediately dropped nearly seven miles below the ocean’s surface where we meet Norah. She’s played by Kristen Stewart with cropped blonde hair almost as if she were prepping for a Jean Seberg biopic.

Norah is a mechanical engineer living and working on the Keppler 822 Deep Sea Station. Within a minute of actually screen time she begins hearing strange noises which are never a good sign. In an instant the hull of the facility begins to crack and Pacific Ocean water gushes in at every seam. Norah instinctually springs into action sprinting towards a hub where she is joined by a tech named Rodrigo (Mamoudou Athie). The two seal off the hub and begin their search for other survivors. The entire opening sequence is tense, energetic, even a bit thrilling.

Norah and Rodrigo eventually meet up with a handful of other station dwellers. Several of them fit particular types common to these movies: the stoic captain (Vincent Cassel), the terrified young technician who everyone tries to keep calm (Jessica Henwick), and the yawn-worthy comic relief (T.J. Miller before his litany of bad behavior had surfaced). None of the characters really develop past what you first see although Stewart deserves credit. She works hard to bring a welcomed vulnerability to Norah who turns out to be a tough woman but a very human one as well.

While the movie starts strong it’s hampered by a hit-or-miss mid-section. Way too much time is spent walking along the ocean floor in the dark murky waters. At first the tension is thick as the survivors come face-to-face with the harsh environment while an unknown and unseen predator prowls around in the shadows. But it eventually runs its course. And so much time in the water leads to several instances of undecipherable effects shots.

“Underwater” gets back on track in the third act where it fully embraces its ‘creature feature’ influences. Unfortunately the story doesn’t get any deeper and some character motivations are still a little muddled. But for a movie that languished in development purgatory for three years following Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox, it ends up being a fun although shallow (horrible pun intended) popcorn genre flick.

There are some who for whatever reason have zero tolerance for these kinds of movies. Perhaps its the redundancy of ideas or the predictable story structures. Maybe it’s the stock characters or their lack of depth. Those gripes aren’t without merit. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t fun to have with these genre pictures. All of those things describe “Underwater” to a T. It’s not all that original and it has some character issues. At the same time it’s a fun deep-sea survival romp that essentially delivers on its promises.

VERDICT – 3 STARS

REVIEW: “Bad Boys for Life” (2020)

January 22, 2020 by Keith Garlington

Full disclaimer: I’ve never been all that high on the “Bad Boys” films (something followers of my site probably already know). I say that just so you understand, I wasn’t coming at this sequel with any kind of deep appreciation or nostalgia for the series. So maybe it’s no surprise that the third and probably not final installment “Bad Boys for Life” didn’t exactly knock my socks off.

Going in I was most curious about whether this new film would simply beat the same deafening drum as the painfully bad “Bad Boys II” or would it actually try to inject something fresh into the series? You certainly wouldn’t expect them to just throw aside the big action and comedy shtick that is such a key part of the series. But toning it down for the sake of better storytelling would be a welcomed treat. “Bad Boys for Life” is definitely toned down from part two and it to its credit it does attempt to add needed depth to its characters.

This time around the one noticeable absence (sort of) is Michael Bay. Replacing him is the Belgian directing duo of Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah who must be into reviving old franchises (they are also set to bring back Beverly Hills Cop complete with Eddie Murphy). Some things haven’tchanged in the near 17 years since the last film. Mike Lowery (the now top-billed Will Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) are still partners with the Miami PD. They still yell at each other constantly. And they still don’t know the words to their Bad Boys theme song.

But not everything is the same. Marcus is a new grandfather. Mike has broken up with Syd (see “Bad Boys II”. Better yet, don’t). And the police department have a new young state-of-the-art unit called AMMO led by one of Mike’s old flames Rita (Paola Núñez). Marcus is ready to retire and let the new generation take over. But Mike is still “ride or die” and doesn’t care for his partner’s desire to quit. But come on, who thought this would be a movie about retirement? When Mike is targeted by a violent someone from his past, the best friends get together “one last time“.

Things start off on a strong note showing more heart than the previous two movies combined. And overall the movie avoids the nastiness of the last film even finding a way to apologize for one of BB2’s uglier scenes. But it doesn’t take long for the cracks in the central story to start showing. And despite Smith and Lawrence’s efforts, the movie loses steam as it limps towards a rather ludicrous story twist that could only come from the pages of a so-so movie script.

The action is pretty kill-by-the-numbers but it does bail the story out a times. And while Arbi and Fallah may not have Bay’s visual flair, they do create some high-energy (and controlled) sequences that the audience I watched with really enjoyed. Yes, you could call them silly and over-the-top, but that’s a target these movies have always aimed for and for the most part BB3’s action scenes hits their target.

“Bad Boys for Life” teases itself as the final chapter, the end of the trilogy, “one last time“. Don’t believe it, especially in today’s franchised obsessed movie culture. In fact the film’s title suddenly sounds like a studio promise more than the mantra of its two lead characters. And with sequel and spin-off rumors already running wild, this film comes across as a franchise building cash grab rather than a fitting send-off to a series that I may not like but that certainly has its fans.