First Glance: “Don’t Let Go”

July 18, 2019 by Keith Garlington

Thrillers come in all shapes and sizes. You could categorize Jacob Aaron Estes’ “Don’t Let Go” as a supernatural action-crime thriller. That’s certainly a mouthful but judging from the new trailer all of those descriptions seem to fit.

David Oyelowo stars as police detective who is devastated after losing his family to an intensely violent crime. While trying to cope he receives a phone call from his niece who was among those killed. Here’s the catch – she’s calling from two weeks in the past, before the murders took place. Weird, right? Promising concept for sure.

“Don’t Let Go” is set to open August 30th. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

REVIEW: “Transit” (2019)

July 17, 2019 by Keith Garlington

Christian Petzold’s stunning 2014 drama “Phoenix” featured a piercing story of lost identity, deep longing and heart-shattering betrayal all to the backdrop of post-World War II Germany. After a few quick glances at his latest film “Transit” you might be tempted to believe he was covering the same ground. In some ways the similarities are striking.

While the two films unquestionably have some of the same things on their minds, “Transit” carves out its own unique path and sets itself apart in a variety of ways. Much like “Phoenix”, the influence of history is all over his new film, but we quickly learn Petzold isn’t bound to it. It too features an enigmatic story, but “Transit” plays out with a complete disregard for expectation.

Petzold (who serves as both writer and director) bases his film on a 1942 novel by Anna Seghers about Nazi occupation during World War II. But finding your footing on Petzold’s timeline is easier said than done. At first glance you could easily think you were watching the story of a Jewish man on the run from the Gestapo. But then you see a modern car or the police’s advanced tactical gear and your sense of time is blurred.

The melding of historical and contemporary goes beyond appearances and often hints at more provocative ideas. For example the cities have the buzz of modernity but there is a noticeable lack of technology. We get plenty of worried talk about transit papers and exit visas. And the looming fascist forces are presented as current day yet they sharply resemble Hitler’s Nazism. Interestingly you could argue that the fascist threat is (at least in part) a MacGuffin and the movie’s interests are far more intimate and profoundly human. Like many truly great films, “Transit” allows room for various interpretations.

The film stars German actor Franz Rogowski who works with a quiet but ferocious intensity much in the vein of Joaquin Phoenix. He plays Georg who we first meet sitting in a Paris bar as police sirens wail in the background. The city has been occupied by an unnamed fascist regime and a “Cleansing” is underway (reminiscent of the horrific 1942 mass roundup of Jews).

Georg is anxious to flee the city but first he agrees to help a friend deliver two envelopes to a writer named Weidel who is in hiding at a nearby hotel. One of the envelopes contains a letter to the writer’s estranged wife. The other an exit visa to Mexico. Events quickly unfold and we see Georg escaping Paris for Marseilles with both envelopes and genuinely honorable intentions. But things can change in a blink of an eye.

In Marseilles a brief moment of indecision leads to Georg assuming the identity of Weidel and being granted passage out of the country. But first he must wait three weeks until his ship sets sail. During that time he connects with several people trying to escape the coming oppression. Among them is the widow (Maryam Zaree) and young son (Lilien Batman), a dispirited doctor (Godehard Giese), and a mysterious woman with a knack for vanishing as quickly as she appears. She’s played by Paula Beer.

Then there are the familiar faces of people who Georg repeatedly bumps into – fellow refugees who we never know intimately yet we hear them sharing their stories. As a narrator explains “Ports are places where stories are told” and telling their stories helps them deal with their troubles. These may seem like small touches but actually they’re among the many vibrant strokes of humanity on Petzold’s stunningly authentic canvas.

“Transit” is a film of many layers and much of the enjoyment comes from peeling them back and discovering the wealth of meaning underneath. It offers itself to many different readings – identity, fate, and the ever-present danger of repeating history just to name a few. And you can see it drawing from a variety of interesting influences – Alfred Hitchcock, Franz Kafka, even Curtiz’s “Casablanca”.

The world Petzold defines is girded by fear, paranoia and uncertainty yet his direction and the performances show a confident restraint. His intoxicating story moves to measured, melancholic beats while demanding every ounce of our attention and patience. This is one masterfully crafted movie if you’re willing to put in the effort. And it comes from a filmmaker so brilliantly in tune with his vision that it’s hard not to be dazzled.

VERDICT – 4.5 STARS

Vacation Time!

July 15, 2019 by Keith Garlington

Just a quick post to say that I’ll be on vacation this week with my family so the content will be a little light this week. I’m heading down to the Gulf of Mexico for plenty of beach time and even more fresh seafood. And time away with my wife and kids is always a blast.

But fear not (as if you feared this anyway), I do have a couple of posts planned including a review of a film that I think is easily one of the year’s best. Look for it probably around Wednesday. But that’s it for now. Have a great week! I know I will! 😎

REVIEW: “Ma” (2019)

July 12, 2019 by Keith Garlington

2019 has featured several talented actors/actresses unexpectedly taking on roles of creepy, unhinged maniacs. First was Isabelle Huppert in “Greta” followed shortly after by Dennis Quaid in “The Intruder”. The latest is Octavia Spencer in “Ma” and let’s just say she takes crazy to a whole new place.

Spencer is such a good actress and she can elevate almost any material she is given. And the fact that she almost rescues “Ma” from its missteps is a true testament to her talent. Her character Sue Ann gains the nickname Ma from local teens after she buys them booze and then later opens up her basement to be their secret party hot-spot. No parents, no police, and no protection from Ma as she slowly comes unglued.

But before we get to Ma we are introduced to Maggie (Diana Silvers) who is prepping for her first day at a new school. She quickly hits it off with a group of friends who perfectly embody Hollywood’s shallow and overused perception of teens. They’re dense, obnoxious boozehounds that check all the boxes – the muscular meathead, the beautiful but rude blonde, the nice (but objectively dumb) guy, and so on. The prospect of spending a big chunk of the film’s 100 minutes with them isn’t that appealing.

As the movie progresses Ma gains the trust of even more local teens. Her parties get wilder and we the audience grow more suspicious. Probably because Ma’s behavior steadily gets weirder and weirder, so much so that even our group of dim-witted teenagers begin noticing. And along the way some pretty effective flashbacks are tossed in to give reason to Ma’s madness.

Writer Scotty Landes puts a lot on the shoulders of backstory and much of your reaction to “Ma” could be shaped by how much you care about the reveals. Outside of that, most of the fun is found in Spencer’s performance which ranges from menacing to darkly funny. Several other familiar faces pop up including Juliette Lewis as Maggie’s single-parent mom, Luke Evans as a concerned parent, and Allison Janney in a small but very Allison Janney-like role.

The teen characters don’t fare quite as well and a lot of their back-and-forths are pretty uninspired. I mean there is only so much you can pull from what can best be described as run-of-the-mill teen stock characters. There is simply not enough about them that is original or even remotely interesting.

“Ma” is a Blumhouse film that follows the company’s very successful blueprint – make a horror movie with a minuscule budget and then secure a wide release so that almost any box office total is profitable. “Ma” will turn a profit (mainly due its tiny $5 million budget) but it hasn’t pulled in the audience’s quite like other Blumhouse pictures. I’m not surprised. I actually went into “Ma” expecting more than what I left with. Spencer carries the film on her back but even she can’t keep the film from being viewed as a missed opportunity.

VERDICT – 2.5 STARS

REVIEW: “Child’s Play” (2019)

July 11, 2019 by Keith Garlington

Am I wrong or are we witnessing the resurgence of the slasher sub-genre into mainstream horror? I first noticed it with the tame but surprisingly fun “Happy Death Day”. But it really stood out is when Hollywood starting bringing back old franchises. Last year “Halloween” was a big hit and a few rumors are swirling about a possible “Scream” sequel. But if there was one series I never expected to see back on a big screen it was “Child’s Play”. Yet here we are.

I remember when the original “Child’s Play” released in 1988. It was a unique and playful entry into a horror genre that frankly was growing a little stale. It was easy to laugh along with the movie but not with the host of terrible sequels that followed. Yet 2017’s unwatchably bad “Cult of Chucky” showed it still had life as a straight-to-streaming series. But now it’s actually back in theaters, remade and rebooted for a new audience. At least I think it’s for a new audience. I certainly wasn’t longing for a new installment.

This is the second feature film for Norwegian director Lars Klevberg. He teams with first-time screenwriter Tyler Burton Smith to completely reinvent and modernize the Chucky origin story. Buddi dolls now do a lot more than just talk. These versions are high-tech Alexa-like companions who can connect to numerous other devices created and sold by the multinational Kaslan Corporation (the ‘tech is scary’ and ‘beware of big business’ messaging is pretty obvious).

Also gone is the goofy serial killer possession angle. Instead a disgruntled worker at a Vietnamese sweatshop removes a Buddi doll’s safety protocols in retaliation for being fired. The doll ships overseas and ends up in the hands of a retail clerk and single mother named Karen (Audrey Plaza). She gives the doll as an early birthday present to her son Andy (Gabriel Bateman) who is having trouble adapting to their new neighborhood. He names it…well, you know.

Despite something clearly being off with Chucky (deviously voiced by a wonderful Mark Hamill), Andy grows attached to his new Buddi. Things start out great, but as Chucky processes and is influenced by Andy’s complex home life, lets just say the doll slowly becomes a menacing knife-wielding threat. And I do emphasize ‘slowly’ because it takes a while before any semblance of a horror thriller arrives.

In addition to its unexpectedly slow buildup, the film also suffers from an unfortunate identity crisis. I expected a “Child’s Play” reboot in 2019 would by necessity be a full-blown horror comedy. We get a few sparks of humor but far too often it takes itself way too seriously. And the uneven story treatment carries over to some of the characters.

Take Plaza’s Karen. She starts off as a signature Audrey Plaza character full of snark and dry, sarcastic wit. But that’s quickly tossed aside and Karen becomes little more than a necessary plot device. And it’s amazing how little agency she has. Take how oblivious she is to her jerk of a boyfriend’s treatment of Andy. A character with some level of conflict would have been interesting. The film isn’t much into that.

“Child’s Play” tries to make several statements on our culture, technology, and (somewhat hypocritically) the influences of violent entertainment. While some of it lands pretty well, it’s hard to take any of it too seriously. So in a nutshell it isn’t serious enough. It isn’t funny enough. It isn’t self-aware enough. Worst of all, it isn’t the slightest bit scary. There is some occasional fun and a little bit of amusing nostalgia, but certainly not enough to carry the movie through to its end.

VERDICT – 2 STARS

REVIEW: “Yesterday” (2019)

July 10, 2019 by Keith Garlington

From its very first trailer there was something really weird about “Yesterday”. I actually say that as a compliment. I was immediately fascinated by its bizarre concept and the wacky way it blended romantic comedy with a ‘price of fame’ cautionary tale veiled as a fun tribute to the Beatles.

Danny Boyle helms this light-hearted tale starring newcomer Himesh Patel. He plays Jack Malik, a struggling singer-songwriter who has lost faith in his chance at a career in music. His lone true supporter and loyal manager Ellie (a delightful Lily James) encourages him to stay with it while tirelessly working to secure him gigs. From the start it’s pretty obvious Ellie has feelings for Jack, but he’s too lost in his own perpetual pity-party to notice.

Now things get weird. One night while riding home on his bike Jack is hit by a bus during a brief worldwide blackout. He wakes up to discover that no one on the planet has ever heard of the Beatles. Along the way the movie randomly mentions several other random things the world has forgotten (Coca-Cola, Harry Potter, etc.) but we never learn what or if there is any connection.

But back to the Beatles. Jack (a big fan of the Fab Four) begins writing down the lyrics to their songs and singing them as his own. Ellie hooks him up with a small-time producer to do a demo which leads to performance on a local television talk show. Global pop star Ed Sheeran (playing himself) hears the new songs and invites Jack to be his opening act in Moscow.

His meteoric rise to stardom reaches its apex when a rapacious and brutally honest record company executive (a pretty funny Kate McKinnon) signs Jack to a lucrative recording contract. She whisks him away to Los Angeles to set up recording sessions and promotional appearances. Jack’s new found fame puts him on top of the world, but how long can he lie to the public, himself, and the one girl who loves him?

It goes without saying the whole thing is a little hokey, yet there is still a sweet and tender undercurrent that runs throughout the movie. Much of that is channeled through Lily James who is so earnest, charming and who you could argue is the heart of the movie. Patel is also really good in his feature film debut. In addition to acting, Patel does his own singing and playing on the movie’s numerous musical numbers.

Still, it’s hard to view “Yesterday” as anything more than lightweight, feel-good fluff. But is that such a terrible thing? Sure the premise is silly and makes little sense. Yes it zips through parts of the story too fast for us to ever get our footing. But as a pop music fairy tale and a reminder of how these songs stand the test of time, there is certainly room for a movie like this. And I kind of admire its complete disregard for conventional storytelling.