I've been traveling (on a bike and barge tour) to Belgium and France--gone for over three weeks, so I'm a bit behind on many new summer movies, but here's what I've been seeing. Some I saw at SIFF just before leaving, several I saw on board the planes, and some I've been catching up with on my MOVIE PASS--highly recommended for movie buffs seeing four or more films per month. (Although MOVIE PASS allows you to see only one movie per day--you could see up to 30 a month, but there aren't that many movies worth seeing in a month!)
A big sentimental and dramatic favorite at SIFF, the Argentinian film THE LAST SUIT hits the tear ducts in a major way. The main character, a cranky, elderly man that his adult children want to move into a senior home, grabs a suitcase and a garment bag and heads to Spain to visit one of his daughters, on his way to Poland. He's hard to like, but as the film progresses we find out that he has very good reason to be cantankerous, and his back story becomes very moving. One of the top ten for the Fool Serious pass holders, as well as the audience awards. GRADE---------A
Released back in January but viewed on the plane, HOSTILES is an engrossing account of an angry, bigoted Army officer who is assigned the task of returning a dying Indian chief and his family through hostile territory back to his newly formed reservation in Montana. Along the way he picks up a white widow whose family has been slaughter by hostile Indians, and this small group learns to trust each other in order to survive. Tear ducts opened for me on this one also. Christian Bale and Rosamond Pike are the leads here. GRADE----------A-
Released in February but viewed on the plane, this short (a brief 71 minutes) but devilishly stylish dark comedy THE PARTY directed by Sally Potter, features a treasure trove of skillful performances by Kristin Scott Thomas, Timothy Spall, Patricia Clarkson, Cherry Jones, Bruno Ganz, Emily Mortimor and others. When Thomas wins a prestigious post in British government (Ministry of Health), she throws herself THE PARTY for her long time friends, but this cracks open some festering wounds that her long time husband releases when he announces some startling news. Old friend Clarkson has some of the wittiest lines, but everyone seems to be having a good, good time. GRADE--------A-
A small, but intimate drama filmed in the Pacific Northwest, this new film LEAVE NO TRACE from the director of WINTER'S BONE (Debra Granik) focuses on a father/daughter relationship. The father has been traumatized by war and wants to live off the grid in the woods, but the teen daughter has other ideas, and this causes some tension and conflicting ideals. Actors Ben Foster and new comer Thomasin Harcourt are wonderful together. The film reminded me of the Viggo Mortensen film from two years ago called CAPTAIN FANTASTIC. Both films concentrate on relationships between families and nature. GRADE------------A-
This musical comedy/drama features a widower and his daughter--he wants to start a band with her before she leaves to college--a way to keep her close to him even when she's far away. HEARTS BEAT LOUD has some great music and a wonderful cast, including Nick Offerman, Kiersey Clemons, Ted Danson, Blythe Danner and Toni Collette, and it reminded me of the serious ONCE from a few years back---where a man and woman meet, fall in love, make a lot of music, but HEARTS BEAT LOUD has the drama and comedy to go with the music. GRADE------------B+
The new Marvel comics movie has ANT MAN and the WASP together again, and I think that this film has got to be the funniest of the superheroes films in years. It helps that Paul Rudd has a winning and amusing delivery, and the plot has to do with quantum physics and trying to rescue the WASPS mother (and Micheal Douglas' wife) and not some mad man conquering the world. The supporting cast is also amusing, with Randall Park and especially Michael Pina in fine form. GRADE------B+
Here's Toni Collette again, under a lot of pressure as her mother has just died, and now her young daughter is acting very strange indeed. A horrifying accident fractures the family, building to a bizarre, frightening finale. This film HEREDITARY will appeal to movies goers who like suspense and occult and seances and evil spirits, and people walking on ceilings, etc. GRADE--------B
Sandra Bullock plays the sister of the deceased George Clooney character from OCEANS 11,12,13 and whatever. So now we have an excuse for having eight smart, stylish women come together for a major crime--OCEANS EIGHT. It seems pretty routine, with each woman a specialist in their field (computer/hacker expert, diamond artist, fashion designer, etc) and these wonderful actors really won me over, including Cate Blanchet, Mindy Kaling, Anne Hathaway, Rihanna, Sarah Paulson, Helena Bonham Carter and others. We may have seen this type of caper many times before, but this was fun to watch by the end. GRADE--------B-
An odd documentary mixing Elvis Presley and Route 66 and fancy cars and Nashville and American politics, this film is a curious thing--not exactly dull, but I was never sure just what the purpose was. Apparently, the film was originally about Donald Trump, but when he won the election, the film maker went back, re shot and re-edited the entire film, and called it THE KING. GRADE-------------B-
Sometimes outrageous, sometimes hilarious, sometimes I winced, some of the jokes fall flat, the film making is weirdly rough around the edges---bottom line is I wanted to like this film more than I did. This independent low budget film called SORRY TO BOTHER YOU has a lot of creativity and ideas, (perhaps too many) but it doesn't all work for me, and it can't decide whether it's a comedy, satire, fantasy, science fiction thriller, or social drama, and it leaves a LOT of loose ends. It has all those factors in it, but they don't all jell together. One thing for sure--I can't wait for director Boots Riley's NEXT film--it could be the masterpiece that this one wants to be. GRADE--------C+
Here's a fine actress literally holding this film together: Julliette Binoche plays a gallery worker and artist who floats from man to man (many of them are married--and she wonders why her relationships aren't working out!). In LET THE SUNSHINE IN she has an elegance and maturity about her, but the writer/director Claire Denis does her no favors with the story and dialogue. Her final scene with Gerard Depardieu merely cements in our minds what a total flake she is. GRADE---------C+
We've seen this movie before---a high rise (always the tallest in the world!) is on fire and only one heroic stud can rescue the family caught on a SKYSCRAPER higher floor (his, naturally!).....This is a tired concept, and although Dwayne Johnson gives his athletic best to the role, I forgot about this film two days after seeing it. Twenty years ago, Neve Campbell was a rising teen age star. I haven't seen her in a while, but she is the best thing is this dull film--a smart powerful wife who knows as much as her husband, and literally saves the day! You go girl! GRADE---------C
VIEWED ON TV/DVD------------------------------------
BABY DRIVER 2017--Fast cars, zippy music, evil characters (Kevin Spacey), wild car chases, and a lovely romance between Ansol Elgort and Lilly James, this is an entertaining popcorn movie --fun to watch and not too serious. GRADE-------B+
IN BRUGE--2008---Two assassins hole up in picaresque Bruge when a hit job goes wrong. Witty, profane dialogue and great visuals keep nice balance between humor and suspense. We saw this just before going to Bruge--the start of our bike and barge tour. Director Martin McDonagh went on to write and direct THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING MISSOURI this past year. GRADE-----B+
BRIGHTON ROCK 2011--Remake of Graham Greene's noir novel about young man's rapid rise in crime--he woos a young woman who has incriminating evidence against him. John Hurt, Helen Mirren, Sam Riley, and Andrea Risebourge star in this cynical drama. GRADE-----------B
I'M ALRIGHT JACK-- 1959--Satire about union restriction on workers and the conflict between rich and working classes, with Peter Sellers, Terry-Thomas, Richard Attenborough, Ian Carmichael. GRADE-----------B
CONVOY--1978--Sam Peckinpah film about a convoy of truckers trying to escape the clutches of an evil sheriff who is chasing them from state to state. More entertaining than it should be, in a low brow manner. Kris Kristofferson and Ali McGraw play the leads and Ernest Borgnine is the evil cop. GRADE----B
SMALLEST SHOW ON EARTH--1957--Young British couple (Bill Travers and Virginia McKenna, who later starred in the epic hit BORN FREE) inherit a run down theatre and decide to reopen it with the hopes of selling it for a profit. With Peter Sellers, Margaret Rutherford and Bernard Miles. GRADE------------B-
TABLE 19--2017--Strangers all stuck at a wayward wedding table bond over their conflicts with the wedding party. Lowkey film doesn't always work, but the cast is charming--Anna Kendrick, Lisa Kudrow, June Squabb, Craig Robinson, Tony Revolore and others, and there are some sweet and funny scenes of wedding action. GRADE-------B-
CARLTON-BROWNE OF F.O.(Foreign Office)--1959--(aka MAN IN COCKED HAT--US title)--British film that needed subtitles about a small island being divided by Great Britain and Russia over minerals, which causes problems with the locals, who are having their own political issues. Some scenes were amusing, but I didn't really know or care about what all was happening. With Terry-Thomas, Peter Sellers, Luciana Paoluzzi, Ian Bannen. GRADE--------C
