I think it’s safe to say that youth sports has never been as popular as it is right now. At the same time, it has become as addictive and consuming for grown-ups as crack cocaine. Where ‘win at all costs’ and ‘forsake all else’ mentalities are increasingly prevalent and drive many adults in charge and in the stands. We also live in a world where horror stories such as the USA Gymnastics sex abuse scandal are painful realities and monsters like Larry Nassar are able to prey on child athletes for 15 years.

We see these two issues converge in director Charlène Favier stinging feature debut “Slalom”. With a bracing and unflinching honesty, Favier details the vile, calculated sexual exploitation and abuse of a teen skiing prodigy by her much older adult trainer. The snow-covered French Alps make for a beautiful backdrop and setting, but don’t let it fool you. Favier never hides her movie’s intention so we know exactly where the story is heading. Incredibly, she’s able to turn predictability into a strength as she forces her audience to not only watch in discomfort, but to understand how our failures as adults have such devastating effects on our children.

Image Courtesy of Kino Lorber

A fiercely committed Noée Abita plays 15-year-old Lyz Lopez, a talented and ambitious downhill skier recently accepted into a prestigious skiing academy known for churning out champions. As the movie begins we see her already a part of an intense training regimen led by the school’s tenured ski coach Fred (played by Belgian star Jérémie Renier). He’s a product of a familiar mold – a coach who is hard, abrasive and insulting especially to his new trainees. “He crushes you, you listen and you get better.” Over time he has them starving for any scrap of approval he throws their way.

For Lyz, skiing is her passion and she wants to be the best. But when asked why, all she can muster is “I just want to.” It’s a telling moment that speaks a heartbreaking truth. Lyz is essentially alone. She has an absent father and a self-absorbed mother (Muriel Combeau) who is more interested in her new boyfriend and nice-paying job in Marseille. So she skis. Perhaps for validation. Maybe to prove herself. Either way, it leaves Lyz vulnerable to Fred who the movie slowly reveals to be monstrously skillful at manipulating his young prey. His slithery psychology is chilling to watch.

Soon Fred is crossing boundaries that make us squirm in our seats yet is so deceptively persuasive to Lyz, leading her to comply despite her discomfort. It has to be okay. After all he’s her coach. He’s an adult. He’s on her side. Of course he’s looking out for her. All are reasonable thoughts for any young girl to have. But the gross reality is that these vile predators exist and Favier uses her film to remind us of that harsh truth. Meanwhile Favier is subtly yet constantly emphasizing Lyz’s innocence. Her camera will often cut in close to show Lyz’s wide-eyed youthful gaze. Or we get scenes showing her catching snowflakes on her tongue or letting out a childlike giggle when she’s given a new pair of skis. It makes what we eventually see all the more repulsive.

Image Courtesy of Kino Lorber

Make no mistake, there are moments in “Slalom” that are extremely difficult to watch. At times you’ll want to turn your head and look away. Renier, a veteran of several Dardennes brothers films, has a knack for giving very natural and unvarnished performances which proves to be a real asset in fleshing out a character who by necessity is deeply rooted in reality. Renier’s grounded authenticity reveals the devious layers his character – his facade of respectability, his ability to veil his motives, the way he uses Lyz’s improvement on the slopes as a means of controlling her. It’s made more unnerving when put together with the earnestness and vulnerability Abita brings to Lyz.

“Slalom” is a gut-wrenching dose of realism that should leave any adult with a working moral compass uncomfortable, appalled, and enraged. There are a couple of short and needless angles that add more to the ‘mature’ rating than to the actual story. But those aside, the movie maintains a razor-sharp focus and a deep sense of conviction. It takes its subject seriously and forces its audience to do the same. It’s the kind of treatment this material needs and it speaks to an issue that can’t be allowed to continue. “Slalom” is now showing in select theaters and virtual cinemas.

VERDICT – 4 STARS

I’ve always been able to make time for a good action flick. Norwegian filmmaker Magnus Martens directs “SAS: Red Notice”, the new British action-thriller based on the novel of the same name by Andy McNab. Hardly original but reasonably entertaining, “SAS: Red Notice” squeezes everything it can out of its “Die Hard on a Train” premise. But it turns out to be a classic case of a movie that simply runs out of ideas. And while it does throw in a handful of original twists, most of them land with a thud.

The film stars Sam Heughan from television’s “Outlander” giving us his best ‘James Bond meets John McClain’ impression (sadly he doesn’t seem comfortable filling either’s shoes). Heughan plays cold-as-ice SAS Special Agent Tom Buckingham III (how’s that for a British name). His ability to shut off his emotions makes him one of the British government’s most lethal and effective agents. It has a much different affect on his relationship with his loving girlfriend Sophie (Hannah John-Kamen). He plans on asking her to marry him, but she’s concerned about his frosty demeanor.

Image Courtesy of Sky Cinema

The film opens with a beautifully shot prologue that quickly turns gritty and violent. In the beautiful mountains of Georgia near the Black Sea we’re introduced to the Black Swans, a mercenary group led by by William Lewis (Tom Wilkinson) and his family – his hardcore daughter Grace (Ruby Rose) and his dimmer but loyal son Olly (Owain Yeoman). The Swans secretly meet with a crooked military liaison named Clements (Andy Serkis) working for the Prime Minister (Ray Panthaki) who hires them to clear out a local village who refuses to relocate so that a gas pipeline can be ran through the area.

The Swans carry out the blood-soaked contract but are tagged by British SAS who issue red notices (essentially high-priority arrest warrants) for William, Grace, and Olly. This leads to the story’s labyrinthine political sub-plot involving the SAS attempting to take down the Swans, the Prime Minister trying to cover his tracks, and the Swans threatening terroristic attacks for being hung out to dry by the Prime Minister. All of it adds some okay twists and a few interesting layers to the story. But it also bogs things down and leaves you thirsty for the bigger action bits.

During all of this Tom schedules a romantic trip to Paris with Sophie where he plans on popping the question. But their train ride is interrupted by none other than a ruthless Grace and her mercs who hijack the Paris-bound Eurostar and bring it to a stop in the tunnel that runs under the English Channel. But little does she know Tom Buckingham III is onboard and he’s going to use his particular set of skills (I know, different guy) to make sure Grace and her goons have a fight on their hands.

Image Courtesy of Sky Cinema

The inevitable action in the tunnel starts strong and even though it’s familiar and formulaic, there’s enough energy to keep things upbeat and entertaining. Ruby Rose is a big reason why, gelling charisma and psychopathy to create a fun and engaging villain. Unfortunately the story does start to run out of gas both narratively and in the action scenes. Things pep up when Tom’s friends with the SAS and Clement and his team all converge on the tunnel. But even then the movie doesn’t seem confident in what it wants to do with all of its moving parts. It ends with an inevitable but really satisfying showdown that would have ended things on a high note. But regrettably there’s a laughably bad epilogue that even my far more forgiving wife couldn’t help but chuckle at.

Despite being a little too long and all over the place, “SAS: Red Notice” is still a pretty easy watch. There’s not much here that will stick with you or that will encourage a revisit. I understand there are two more books in Andy McNab’s Tom Buckingham series. It’s hard to say this movie warrants a trilogy, but I’ve seen franchises built on a lot worse. As usual, time (and more importantly money) will ultimately tell. “SAS: Red Notice” is now streaming on VOD.

VERDICT- 2.5 STARS

In the States it seems like “Stan & Ollie” came and went with barely a peep. Yes John C. Reilly earned a Golden Globe nomination and the film received a warm reception from critics, but otherwise it’s a film that got no real attention. I don’t remember it hitting any theater around me and the promotion for the movie seemed nonexistent. It’s unfortunate because “Stan & Ollie” is a solid biopic minus most of the usual trappings.

I’ve have an enormous affection for Laurel & Hardy going back to my childhood. PBS was instrumental in introducing me to and developing my love for the classic comics from the silent era (Lloyd, Keaton, Chaplin) as well as Hal Roach’s biggest acts, Our Gang and of course Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. To this day I adore all of these great comedians, but there was and is something special about Laurel and Hardy. I’ve seen most of their ‘talkie’ shorts and can quote many of them. I’ve watched their feature films like “Way out West”, “Sons of the Desert”, and “The Flying Deuces” countless times. So natural “Stan & Ollie” had an immediate appeal.

Photo: Sony Pictures

The film comes from director Jon S. Baird and screenwriter Jeff Pope. But the biggest draws are the two stars and their stunning likenesses to their characters (Steve Coogan as Stan Laurel and John C. Reilly as Oliver Hardy). Everything rings true – their distinct voices, comic mannerisms, even individual details from Oliver’s signature toothbrush mustache to Stanley’s wry smile. Most importantly, neither Coogan or Reilly are simply relying on impersonations. Their performances dig into both the personal and performance sides of Stan and Oliver.

The bulk of the film is set in 1953 during the comedy duo’s final appearances as an act. The two embark on an arduous stage tour across England and Ireland while struggling to find funding for their next movie. The tour starts in rinky-dink theaters with small crowds thanks to shoddy promotion from their British producer Bernard Delfront (Rufus Jones). But after adding more public appearances to their already intense schedule, they begin grabbing bigger crowds and booking larger venues.

The boys are joined by their wives in London where the duo is booked for a two-week engagement at the Lyceum Theatre. But soon old wounds from the the past begin festering, specifically about their brief split several years earlier (seen in a prologue). Pent-up bitterness and resentment threaten to not only end a beloved comedy team but a longstanding friendship as well.

Photo: Sony Pictures

The film is driven by its warm and endearing central relationship. There is a tender, organic chemistry between Coogan and Reilly that fits well with Stan and Ollie’s easy-going camaraderie. An unexpected spark comes with the appearance of their wives, Oliver’s anxious and concerned Lucille (Shirley Henderson) and Stan’s Russian-born fireball Ida (Nina Arianda). Both add a bit of zest at a time when the movie really needs it.

But I can’t overstate just how terrific the stage performance scenes are. With an almost eerie similitude, the film captures some of Laurel and Hardy’s greatest bits. Take the stage recreation of their classic short “County Hospital”. From the pinpoint line readings to the smallest gesture, you swear you’re seeing the real thing.

I’m not sure if any movie biopic has captured its subject(s) as authentically as “Stan & Ollie”. Fans of the pair will find the similarities uncanny. But what makes the movie is their ability to go beyond appearances and mix physical authenticity with genuine humanity. Best of all it captures what fans like myself love about Laurel and Hardy while giving us a behind the scenes glance at their enduring friendship.

VERDICT – 4 STARS

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

There is a beautiful nostalgic allure to the new romantic drama “Sylvie’s Love” that begins in the first frame and carries through the entire running time. It’s seen in the luscious cinematography, the detailed sets, the dialogue, the performances, the costumes, the music. Everything about “Sylvie’s Love” screams classic Hollywood romance. There’s one significant difference. The film features a predominately black cast and tells a love story of two black characters set during a time when representation was practically nonexistent.

The film is written, directed, and co-produced by Eugene Ashe who gives us a kind of movie that we simply don’t see these days. After an exquisite opening set in 1962 New York City the movie slides back to the summer of 1957. Sylvie (Tessa Thompson) works with her father Mr. Jay (played by the ever soothing Lance Reddick) running the family’s record shop. But she dreams of one day being a television producer. “Can you imagine,” her loving but cynical father remarks. “A colored girl making TV shows.”

Image Courtesy of Amazon Studios

One afternoon a young jazz saxophonist named Robert (former NFL star-turned actor Nnamdi Asomugha) walks into the record store to answer the ‘Help Wanted’ sign in the window. It doesn’t take long to notice the spark between Sylvie and Robert and soon casual flirting turns to romance. The stars seem to be aligning for the young couple in love. Then Robert and his quartet get the offer of a lifetime to play a series of jazz clubs in Paris. He asks Sylvie to go with him but she declines for some very personal reasons. And just like that their summer of love comes to an unexpected end.

Jump ahead five years and we’re back at the scene that opens the film. Sylvie is now married to a successful but very ‘me-first’ businessman named Lacy (Alano Miller). She also has her dream job working as an assistant to the barrier-breaking producer (Ryan Michelle Bathe) of a popular television cooking show. But then that storybook chance meeting happens as a Sylvie, radiating in an elegant turquoise Chanel gown, stands outside of a concert hall. Robert, back in New York to record an album, walks by and Sylvie instantly recognizes him. In a snap the smoldering chemistry is back as if they had never been apart. But as we are quickly reminded, a lot has changed in five years.

There are many components that make this old-fashioned romance such a delight. It starts with its two stars. Thompson is wonderful in capturing Sylvie’s evolution from naive and vulnerable to strong and self-assertive. Asomugha exudes a quiet dignity and has a classic leading man charisma that makes his performance stand-out. There’s also a great supporting cast around them including Reddick and Bathe. But also Aja Naomi King as Sylvie’s best friend Mona. She goes from saucy comic relief to an activist offering subtle references to the world outside of the story’s romantic bubble.

Image Courtesy of Amazon Studios

The film’s gorgeous, nostalgia-rich aesthetic is just as vital. Declan Quinn’s cinematography is some of the year’s best, offering up one frame-worthy shot after another. The visuals are transporting from the grainy film stock look to the warm and almost idyllic shots of New York City. The filmmaking style itself feels plucked straight out of cinema history. Meanwhile the lush period-perfect set designs and Phoenix Mellow’s elegant costumes work hand-in-hand with the jazzy and soulful sounds of Fabrice Lecomte’s score to create a rich and vibrant setting that’s easy to get lost in. I found myself admiring something in nearly every frame.

With “Sylvie’s Love” Eugene Ashe has made a swooning love story that feels so distinctly old-fashioned some may have a hard time connecting. The story doesn’t always explain the motivations of its characters well and certain plot points could use more attention. But I love what Ashe is going for, both narratively and visually. This is more than a simple nostalgia piece. It’s a tender, heartfelt, and irresistibly sweet romance. But it’s also a fresh and welcomed story of the black experience set during a time when the movie industry had little interest in exploring their lives and their stories. “Sylvie’s Love” is streaming now on Prime Video.

VERDICT – 4 STARS

Sometimes after a long hard day all you need is something to help you unwind. Movies are the perfect balm. Particularly stressful days often leave you looking for something light and breezy. Maybe something energetic and exciting. Even something a little bonkers. Light, breezy, and (most definitely) bonkers are all fitting descriptions for “Shadow in the Cloud”, the new action-horror film from Roseanne Liang.

Chloë Grace Moretz stars in this hard-to-categorize action/monster chamber piece that impresses early on with its nifty concept and unique approach to storytelling. Sadly it eventually runs out of gas even at a lean 83 minutes. And despite its noticeable efforts, the movie never quite gives you characters with any notable weight. Moretz is actually a nice fit and she has no shortage of grit and commitment. But she can only do so much, especially when given so many scenes that require little more from her than to grunt, scream, or sit quietly while she is berated and ridiculed by incessantly foul-mouthed and sexist men. Men who almost instantly devolve into hard-to-bear caricatures.

Image Courtesy of Vertical Entertainment

Set in World War II, Moretz plays Flight Officer Maude Garrett who boards a B-17 Flying Fortress as it’s about to take off from an airfield in New Zealand. She presents the surprised crew with paperwork giving her and her highly classified package safe passage. The crew doesn’t like it. It’s against protocol and after all she’s a “dame”. Unsure what to do but desperately needing to take off, the pilot orders Maude to be put in the gun turret on the plane’s belly. In the air Maude is greeted with all matter of misogynistic hostility, from straight-up sexual harassment to constantly questioning of her credentials (again, she’s just a “dame”). The only halfway compassionate voice comes from Staff Sergeant Walter Quaid (Taylor John Smith). The rest are for the most part dogs.

A big chunk of the first half is spent with Maude and the camera confined to the tight-quartered turret. During this long stretch we see no one other than Moretz. We only hear the voices of the pilot and crew members through the radio comms. On one hand it’s a bold choice from director Liang who keeps things interesting visually. Unfortunately the script gets stuck in one gear as the crew’s relentless abuse goes on and on and on. And of course when Maude spots a ghastly creature on the wing of the plane no one believes her until it’s too late. As the creature wrecks havoc with the engines, Japanese planes riddle the bomber’s hull with bullets. Meanwhile Maude fights to get out of the turret and to protect her package at all costs.

Image Courtesy of Vertical Entertainment

It all culminates in an action-filled final third that embraces the absurdity and tries to have fun with it. Sadly the baggage of the first half weighs it down. What models itself as a feminist power story loses a lot of its punch by essentially letting the misogynists off the hook. I won’t spoil it but let’s just say I was expecting some sort of reckoning. Instead all is forgotten (by the characters and the movie) and the crew along with their more than capable female plus-one fight for survival against man and beast.

Overall there is a swirl of fun ideas here that simply never come together. I liked the nuttiness of the concept and some of its audacious filmmaking choices. I’m always up for silly action-packed escapism. I think Moretz is quite good and should open some eyes with her performance. But “Shadow in the Cloud” is such an uneven film and it’s plagued by shallow characterizations which isn’t especially new for these kinds of movies. The problem is there aren’t enough thrills and excitement here to keep us from noticing, even when we turn our brains off. “Shadow in the Cloud” is now available on VOD.

VERDICT- 2 STARS