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Harsh Times (2005)
Insanely fun crime drama
Is it perfect? Nope. Is it worth the watch? YES!
This is a fun film coming from the creator of Training Day. It's very similarly designed. In fact, it's almost the same formula. It doesn't nearly live up to the other so don't go in with high expectations.
A young Bale (Jim) who's a combat veteran with severe PTSD needs to find a job and so does his friend. They live in a primarily Hispanic neighborhood of L. A. (I'm not looking up the details on this) and he's the white boy in the crew. It seems that his friend Mike, played by Freddy Rodriguez, is the only delusional person about his lack of sanity.
Mike and Jim get jobs and want to celebrate before they start their new careers. Jim can't just go to a club. NOOOO! He wants to go to Mexico with his pal. He twists Jim's arm and curses out Jim's women and they head across the border for the second or third craziest scene in the film.
"VATOOOOOO" this is some "fountain of bloooooood"
Where the Crawdads Sing (2022)
So much was squandered here...
This is frustrating to review as it was to watch. This could've been a good film but the production drug on about an hour too long, there was no mystery to it and the director made the actors look incompetent. What happened here?
The casting was good. The set and costumes were pretty. I have not read the book so I can't compare the two. I was going to turn this off several times but I kept holding on in hopes that something would turn around. It did not. This ended up being a bunch of cliché characters in the South. The love scenes made me feel uncomfortable because of their length.
You can't paint a pretty picture and call it art. This was a huge disservice to some good actors.
Mark Normand: Out to Lunch (2020)
Irreverent, cerebral and hilarious
Mark is great at touching upon every taboo topic, making a joke about it (he may even take a stance if you're clever enough to follow his zany brain) and RAPIDLY transition to the next.
He's amongst the irreverent comics who will say the things that are on his mind without losing an audience. Perhaps we're getting the best takes rolled into great editing and experiencing that mashup of an audience.
Mark is new to me and I'm just enjoying a cerebral comedian who doesn't put on some character to get on stage. But, don't get me wrong I like some of those, too. He just seems like a relaxed natural.
What Doesn't Kill You (2008)
Action film based on a true story with solid performances
True story! I didn't know this until the end. This makes the film more fascinating.
Mark Ruffalo gives a spot on performance as Brian Goodman in this underground crime drama. He goes between being a husband and father to running with his pal, played by the consummate pro Ethan Hawke. This ends up causing friction in the home once Brian is introduced to free basing crack.
As he spirals out of control into his addiction Brian loses what he loves most along with his freedom. The story turns into a tale of redemption. Based on a memoir written by Goodman, the movie features good performances and it plays out like a Scorsese film.
If you enjoy heists, pals in the city, some car chases, shoot outs and some good old fashioned fights with the wife- here's one for you. Cheers!
Chris Rock: Selective Outrage (2023)
Message delivered brilliantly
Waking amidst us are two GOATs of comedy. Perhaps three. Chris Rock returns with this special and solidified that he belongs amongst in this trio.
He made some mistakes because it was live. Typically you get multiple shows or takes or rehearsals with edits. This wasn't my favorite Rock stand up show but it merits a four and a half stars for the laughs, messages and storytelling.
If you are easily offended or triggered by the truth then sit this one out. Rock dishes out the hard to swallow pills about "cancelling", social justice warriors and other relative topics.
He also tells stories about his kids. It's not as simple as the typical father with jokes, though. He spans three generations of black people in America. All of it is done with tact but there's always piercing veracity to his stories that bring both cheers and a reverence.
Chris Rock sent out a statement that needs to be heard, shared and obeyed, in my opinion. If someone enters the stage wearing The Love Symbol (AKA Prince's) and is true to oneself wish I could bump the rating up a notch.
The Whale (2022)
Have you ever seen the rain?
Someone told me long ago
There's a calm before the storm
I know, it's been coming for some time
When it's over, so they say
It'll rain a sunny day
I know, shining down like water
I wanna know, have you ever seen the rain?
I wanna know, have you ever seen the rain?
Coming down on a sunny day
This verse kept singing in my head throughout the film. An alternate soundtrack by John Fogerty of CCR kept playing for me. I can't tell you the last time I've heard CCR.
Now about what may have edged its way into the number one spot for best film of 2022. Drizzling off and on into the rain is so loud against his apartment I was in the same state. How could anyone who's been affected by loss or BETTER loved a morbidly obese person who is a compulsive over eater have watched this in a movie theater? The gnashing and screams of agony coming from me were so loud. WHEWWW! I haven't been moved by a piece of cinema like this in quite some time.
This tragedy was so cathartic. There are some things that Aronofsky does masterfully. One thing is bringing you straight into whatever world he's built. Another is casting. He doesn't budge on who he knows will get the job done most effectively. Thank you for pushing for Fraser. He deserved the awards he garnered and more.
I knew upon the arrival of Charlie's (Fraser's) second guest in his home that this had to be based off a stage play. I get a sense of this perhaps because that's is my background but I became too engrossed to look it up which was a first. The interactions between he and Liz (Chau) were so personal that the familiarity between them was a slice of life. It is special because it's like being a voyeur to very intimate moments of a REAL PERSON'S home.
Aronofsky and his cast took a play, made it into a film that felt like a person's life. Yes, parts are grotesque if you aren't aware of how a food addict actually eats his feelings and uses food as drugs. It can be disturbing. In fact, it still hurts me to witness it. That's not all of what is happening with Charlie here. Yes, he's hurting. But, he's become one of the most empathetic and joy-filled characters that I've gotten to witness. I fell in love and FVCK did I want to save him, too. ((He didn't want that. He didn't for that. Just give him what he wants.))
Every supporting cast member rose to the challenge of playing within this tiny space. It's dark and not the nicest place you'd want to live in. It's where Charlie works, lives... it is Charlie. They are all pieces of him. Thomas isn't but he's now a part of Charlie's world.
What's important? What's honest? Can you love someone just as they are? Do you demand that they change? Can we actually save one another? What is my role here on earth? What am I leaving behind?
That's just a distraction...
Out of the Furnace (2013)
Masterful violence with a purpose
Do you like violence? Want to see Woody Harrelson wreck three people in the first few minutes just like I did?!!?
Out of the gate Woody Harrelson kicks the movie off with extreme violence and is a force to be reckoned with. He's not the top billed actor in the amazing ensemble cast but his presence sets the tone for a bloody tale of loyalty, revenge and what love means when some listen to the animalistic nature.
Perhaps few will agree with my opening statement about love. The Baze brothers, played by Christian Bale and Casey Affleck, live in squalor. They're what most would call poor white trash-namely Rodney (Affleck). He's a veteran who signs up to go back to Iraq because it's the only way he can function. Whenever he's home he bets his money on the ponies and pisses his life away. Meanwhile his older brother, Russell (Bale), finds ways to pay off the debts his brother in a twisted codependent relationship. Okay, they're pretty trashy.
But, dammit, these characters are lovable. Hear me out. Perhaps it's the acting, scripting or directing. Maybe it's because Russell has redeemable qualities. He loves his girlfriend (portrayed by Zoe Saldana) and she loves him like mad. We see so much tenderness in his actions towards his father and uncle. He may be a rough blue collar man but his heart is good.
I know that words have no meaning but the way that Bale drew me into this grimy world of theirs and made me care... I lost my sense of a moral compass and went along with the Baze family. Chalk that up to Scott Cooper's directing or his co-writing on the script, perhaps!
The performances from Willem Defoe, Forest Whittaker and Sam Shepard are impeccable. I couldn't take my eyes off of the screen. I was able to rewind it a few times and abused that feature. I'm not certain how this film received an average score. I really don't care. Let me continue...
This tragedy isn't for the faint hearted. It involves the under world with bare knuckle fighting wherein people place bets on men who fight until near death. Here's where Harrelson comes back into the fold all hopped up on crank. It's glorious to watch him in this role of Harlen. John Petty, Willem Defoe, is introduced as some mysterious figure. Shady but he may just be a regular guy in this seedy world we're living in now.
The lives of the Baze's are tame compared to those of Harlen and Petty. This story turns into something that spoke to me. Maybe it's because I'm honest about my lower nature? That a mistake can lead to paying the price and having to rebuild your life all over again... fighting to keep it from crashing down because your "brother" can't get it right. The suffering of another eats at your core. The need for some Divine Intervention and Grace to save me from wanting revenge for what's been done. Knowing what's right but being some vigilante.
Look, I'm not saying I'd live like this or I am this way- it's the power of film that allows you to live in another character's shoes. This is cinema.
Manchester by the Sea (2016)
There's life beneath the pain
Perfect tragedy. If ever you were to watch a man and his nephew's world burn down as a voyeur in the perfectly scripted film then you are watching Manchester By The Sea. I did use "perfectly" and I'll apply it to each actor's performance here because I believe that it's merited.
A friend recommended this to me whenever I asked for a most depressing, moving and cathartic list of films that he would recommend. I went into this blindly.
I saw Casey Affleck's name and I recall that I liked him in some movies but on this day I couldn't recall even one of them. Still blindly, pressing play, I was immersed from the beginning.
At the start of the film we see Lee, played by Affleck, working in multiple people's apartments as some type of handyman. Everything is well lived in. The attention to detail caught my eye. Not only did the spaces resemble a person's home but I knew his frustration or his general feeling towards each tenant due to the care they gave to their space. The tight bathrooms added tension. Then there are the interactions, the passing of the days where we see him do the same thing but only in a different way... the landscape is livable but it isn't bright and cheery. This is Lee's life.
I know plenty of people who stumble through life this way. Sleeping. A mundane job. An ex spouse. Kids they don't know very well. They drink after the day is done. It's existing. Lee is relatable and Affleck plays Lee to such a high standard that I can't think of any other actor in this role.
Not too far into film, nor a moment too soon, tragedy strikes and Lee has to return home following a phone call from what we can assume is a relative. This is where we meet his family but we realize that he's so estranged that some whom he believes, TRULY believes in his heart, that he cares about have moved to another state.
I could go through each actor's name and character list but I don't think I will... it's as if the director, Kenneth Lonergan, had written this script with each person in mind for the role and called them whenever he was ready to shoot the film. It's that well made. I'm just learning that Lonergan is a playwright as well. I was going to liken him to some mixture of Eugene O'Neill, Tennessee Williams and Sam Shephard.
What tragedy? Multiple ones. That sounds absurd! Not in this context. Lee drinks more than the average blue collar single male clocking off of work. Yes, he's stricken with grief that is far beyond the reach of most people could tolerate. He's drinking to escape the ghosts of things that he cannot erase nor fix with his tool belt. The phantoms that greet him at home, that he thought he neatly evaded while working hours away, await him near the sea.
One bottle, one fight, one death after anothe- he finds himself left with his teenage nephew, Patrick, who's masterfully portrayed by Lucas Hedges. Patrick is a pretty typical high school boy. He plays hockey, he's in a band, he likes a couple of girls who he's trying to make it past first or second base with. The only issue that Patrick has been dealt is that he's now orphaned.
The bond between these two players becomes a lesson in how to grow up without training wheels for two. They struggle with who they really are and where they want to be. Patrick seems more like the adult in their meanderings. He craves a stability that Lee has never been able to find for himself.
This review may read as the most miserable film created. But, there's a fierceness when you play the game of tug of war with someone. You look them in the eye and can clearly see who wants it most. That's when you know in the struggle that neither of you want to let go because both of you want to win. And dammit, these two men are quitters. There's life beneath the pain. The fight is on to survive against all odds.
Moonage Daydream (2022)
A New Spin On The Documentary Apropos To Bowie
A must see for any fan of Bowie, rock and rollers or new converts waiting in the wings. This blend of his music, words, concerts, interviews are interwoven perfectly with a new spin on the documentary. It's an audio visual art experience with a philosophy that only David could articulate.
I wish I'd been able to see this in IMAX as it was originally released. If you're able to then at least have a quality sound system and I'd suggest turning off the lights in order to experience the kaleidoscope of colors.
David's arc of maturity is well expressed here. He was always authentically, and unabashedly, himself but we're allowed to travel along with him as he changes. And perhaps you may have your own metamorphosis during this experience.
There are moments where you feel like a spectator and some that are so personal that I felt as if he were speaking directly to me. It's bittersweet knowing I was interacting with a pieces of him that we never knew existed. Don't blink, listen well and stay until the VERY end or you'll miss a sliver of the Thin White Duke himself, which can equate to a mountain, at times.
Minari (2020)
Magnificent Minari
5/2/22 (First viewing writing this on a plane)
It's cliché to write but from the start of the film, the cinematography grabs you by the eyeballs and draws you in. The natural lighting and use of nature are used beautifully from the beginning and I believe it must be foreshadowing as I begin to watch Minari without knowing much about the premise. As I continued to watch, it's all about nature growth and the earth. All of the shots were stunning from beginning to the ending scene.
The costuming could be easily overlooked. It's definitely a huge asset to the film. The choices play a huge part to the color palette of the film as well as the character's standing in life and their unique personalities, especially Grandmother and David.
The relationship between David and his grandmother is magical. It's a back and forth of rawness. A true love/hate. But, really a love that a boy of his age cannot express nor understand coming from an elder. It continues to evolve throughout the film. It's one of the best things to witness. At one point in the film, David whispers to his sleeping grandmother, "This is all your fault." He holds nothing back. He's a typical child of his age. Or perhaps, Grandmother, herself is the greatest thing about Minari.
Grandmother reminds me of my own maw-maw, except she's not an alcoholic. She curses, she teaches the children games that they shouldn't know at their age, she is atypical, she brings an unruly sense of humor to the film, she dresses inappropriately and she brutally honest. When she arrives at the Yi's farm, there is a sign of life! We get some comic relief. She's a prankster as well as a wise woman who does want the best for her family. She's also a reminder to Jacob and Monica that they are a couple who are in love. They always have been and have had a dream to make it in America.
Jacob and Monica have a strained relationship and that's not a secret from the start. They've been through hell together and here they are, starting over again, as a Korean family in a small town in Arkansas. The love is there but they bicker a lot and the kids witness much of this. Their current state of affairs is what Jacob has chosen for the family. He wants to start his own farm with his own land where lots of the town folk aren't very welcoming to people like them.
I enjoyed Paul. I haven't read any other reviews to know what has been said about anything but I must include him. He's very religious and is a salt of the earth Arkansas man. He is helpful to Jacob and the entire Yi family. His beliefs may be off the wall to most but he doesn't try to push them on anyone. He's harmless. Paul just wants to help them and his convictions are strong about Jesus and how he feels he can be of service to the business that Jacob is trying to cultivate. He adds a splash of color that needn't be overlooked.
I don't want to give spoilers away about this movie. Minari is a plant that can be used for MANY things. Grandmother plays a huge role in this seed with her relationship with her grandson. All good things come to families who stick together through thick and thin. Sometimes you have to go through hell to get a little slice of Heaven on earth. Those who persevere through the roughest patches of life and find the good in people around them will discover that life is about love, and moreover, that living is about doing things as a "we" not going at it alone. Thanks, Lee Isaac Chung, for this magnificent gift of a film!