Quarantine Reviews 14: Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

Harrison Ford in his signature role as Indiana (photo credit: Lucasfilm)

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (released June 30, 2023)
Ryan's Rating: ✯✯1/2 (out of four)

"If Adventure has a Name it's Indiana Jones"

I was going back and forth between 2.5 and 3 stars. I initially chose 2.5 but went to 3 and now am back to 2.5. Overall the movie a fun though overlong ride not as good as the previous Indy films but better than many of the recent re-boot/sequels to come along.

The majority of the story takes place in 1969,  shortly after the Apollo 11 moon landing, with our favorite Dr. Jones retiring from teaching at Hunter College in New York City (a seeming step down from the vast Marshall College he and Marcus Brody worked at in the 1940s). He lives alone in a small apartment and is basically a man out of his time which has made him a curmudgeon. Then his estranged goddaughter Helena Shaw (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) shows up asking for Indy's help in locating Archimedes' Dial which is said to have magic powers. If you know anything about Indiana Jones you can probably guess this leads to a globe trotting adventure.  

First off Ford is (still) wonderful as Jones, and it is exciting to see him put on the hat and whip one last time. He gives a great performance adding real pathos to some scenes and acknowledging that time is passing Indy by and he's seen so many things both great and terrible yet he still has one more run in him. It also has the meta quality of Ford himself as he has seen the movie industry change through the years and we as his fans have seen him change. Waller-Bridge's performance is great and engaging though her character occasionally is given odd changes in the beginning of the film in what seems an attempt by the screenwriters to give her unneeded depth, this is a heroes and villains story people. I would watch a stand alone period piece adventure movie starring Waller-Bridge, she is a great addition to the film.

The villains led by Mads Mikkelsen (always a fine villain remember Casino Royale) and his group of "former" Nazis are never as memorable as the ones in Raiders or even Cate Blanchett's Soviet in Crystal Skull. They serve their purpose but I feel Jones is better when he is taking on an army of endless soldiers with tanks as opposed to a set group of bad guys.

As we see in the movie trailer there is a sequence where Ford is made to look like he did forty years ago through CGI effects. And this opening sequence on a Nazi train is one of the most imaginative and engaging in the whole film. Though the CGI seemed a little off almost as if Ford is wearing a mask but I suspended my critique to thoroughly enjoy the sequence. Some of the later chases in the movie are often so clearly CGI creations it may take some viewers out of the moment.

The film is overlong at 2 hours and 45 minutes. The makers forget Indy is based on the old time Saturday Matinee Serials which are little short films from the 1940s which ran on TV in the 1950s and 1960s. All the previous Indy adventures were right around two hours yet here when we start heading for the three hour mark the story gets overwhelming where exposition drags and the chase scenes feel repetitive. I will say the dialogue is far better than the JJ Abrams TV banter of the recent Star Wars trilogy.

Director James Mangold is a good filmmaker and I've enjoyed a number of his previous films (I think Knight and Day from 2010 is one of the most enjoyable and underrated action comedies). He knows how to film big widescreen action chases and get good performances yet he has the unfortunate task of following Steven Spielberg and Mangold is not Spielberg (not many are). Spielberg is one of the most imaginative and greatest filmmakers of the last fifty years and probably in the history of all cinema. He is able to imbue a film with a true sense of awe and wonder and joy that few others can (Remember the crew of the cargo ship cheering as Indy is riding the top of the Nazi sub from Raiders, the wind blowing his hat back to him after surviving the tank going over the cliff from Last Crusade, etc).

All this being said the movie is fun and I had a good time. The film is a nice finale to the series (a better closing than Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was fifteen years ago).It also reminded me how great John Williams' theme song is, the few times it is used brought me great joy. I saw it in a historic old movie theater which is how it is meant to be seen, a place where the seats aren't silly recliners, where you don't have to pick your seat in advance on a diagram that never resembles the actual auditorium, and the popcorn is not more expensive than the ticket. Maybe I have a little bit of Indiana Jones in me as well. "Give 'em Hell Indiana Jones". 

Quarantine Reviews 13: The Batman

Hello Readers, 2022 marked the return of the "only in theaters" movie releases. Here is a review of one of the movies I saw in 2022.

The Batman (released March 2022) Ryan's rating ✯✯✯ (out of four)

In Gotham City (here perpetually gloomy and often raining) a new to the cape Batman (Robert Pattinson) is working to clean up the crime in the city when a psycho calling himself The Riddler (Paul Dano) begins killing high level politicians and public servants (the mayor, the DA, Police Chief) in increasingly elaborate ways. Each death is accompanied by a riddle addressed to Batman and also gruesome videos shared on the internet with a greater conspiracy pointing to the late Thomas Wayne and family. This leads Batman to team up with Lt. Jim Gordon (the always reliable Jeffery Wright) and cat-burglar/club hostess Selina Kyle (Zoe Kravitz) to figure out the bigger picture and stop the madman. 

This is just part of the plot of this three hour film, there is also the Penguin (an unrecognizable Colin Farrell), Carmine Falcone (John Turturo), bigger societal issues of the wealthy vs. the working class, corruption in institutions, the internet creating extremism, etc. There is a lot going on in the film but it is very well made and well put together. The story by Matt Reeves and Peter Craig focuses more (compared to other Batman films) on Batman's detective origins with a lot of time spent investigating the Riddler's riddles, though savvy viewers will be able to figure out some of the clues far quicker than the people in the story. 

Reeves also serves as director and he and his team have fashioned a visually stunning film. Reeves knows how to stage scenes both big and small. The sequence where the Batmobile first appears is excellent, or when Batman first fights his way into the Iceberg Club with its bright red lights cutting through the darkness. The film often has one more trick or surprising gadget to showcase. In the final climax when Batman makes his entrance, it is truly exciting. The use of Nirvana's music in some key scenes is debatable, I personally was not a fan of its use here but I may be in the minority. Also note the movie is visually dark so if you're watching in a daytime room you may have a hard time seeing parts of the film. In the theater it was occasionally hard to see.

Pattinson is very good as Batman and to a degree Bruce Wayne. I say this because in the course of the long film he only appears as Bruce Wayne in a handful of scenes. Dano is very creepy as the Riddler (miles removed from Jim Carrey in the 1990s) though he has the unfortunate place of being behind Heath Ledger's Joker from The Dark Knight and some of his sequences are fairly similar (videos of his crimes, his long monologues, his crazed posse).

If you have no interest in a Batman movie then this is probably not for you. If you have the slightest interest there are rewards in watching the movie. I will say some of the content is pushing the limit of PG-13, the Riddler is intense and his murders are pretty graphic even if the most graphic moments are kept just out of frame there is enough shown. For example one victim's face is eaten by rats.

I am a fan of detective and investigative noir style movies so this was in my wheelhouse. It was a good film to get back into the theater to see.

Quarantine Reviews 12: AIR see this movie in the theater

 Air (released 2023). Ryan's Rating: ✯✯✯1/2 (out of four)

It's only a movie until someone goes to see it. 

This is the type of movie I truly wish there were more of in the theaters. Air directed by Ben Affleck and written by Alex Convery (in his first produced script) tells the story of Sonny Vaccaro (played by Matt Damon), the down on his luck Nike, Inc. recruiter who in 1984 bet his career and Nike's fledgling basketball shoe division on the wild idea to sign a rookie named Michael Jordan. We have all bought a pair of Air Jordan shoes and we know Michael Jordan would become one of, if not, the greatest basketball players but even with these foregone conclusions the film is still able to hold the tension, suspense and drama. While some may think this is a basketball movie or a story of Michael Jordan it really is not. It is the classic underdog story about the behind the scenes players when Nike was just a jogging shoe.

Damon, who gained a bit of weight for the role, is in a part similar to that of 2019's Ford v Ferrari (a movie I was also a big fan of and recommend). He brings an honesty, everyman quality, and screen presence and turns in a fine performance. It is also a joy for a fan like me who has seen him from his reckless young roles like Will Hunting and the gambler in Rounders through Jason Bourne actions, into these mature roles where he still carries the same determination and we stand for something attitude of those early films. To me he is the Jack Lemmon of today. The way Lemmon was to the 1970s and 1980s, a sturdy leading almost character actor who we can identify with and believe in.

The cast is filled with familiar faces and they fit their roles perfectly: Affleck plays Nike founder and CEO Phil Knight with his Buddhist aphorisms and his purple running suits. Chris Tucker as Howard White a Nike executive who eventually became the VP of the Air Jordan line, Tucker is very good as a supporting character actor at this point in his career while still employing the energy from his youth. I hope he does more of these dramatic supporting roles (similar to his work in Silver Linings Playbook). Jason Bateman plays the marketing executive and his deadpan expressions and delivery was made for this type of dialogue. Chris Messina, in a patented Messina role, as foul mouth sports agent David Falk. Matthew Maher steals his scenes as the odd designer who created the Air Jordan shoes. And the always wonderful Viola Davis (apparently requested by Michael Jordan to play this role) brings a gravitas and power to her handful of scenes as Mrs. Jordan, Michael's mom. The close-ups of her talking on the phone are a master class in performance. 

Convery's screenplay is well done with eloquent yet believable dialogue that is delivered in a fast back and forth manner it reminded me of Aaron Sorkin's work as well as those Howard Hawks 1940s films. Affleck's direction is also strong, he gets good performances and knows how to stage scenes while there aren't any big actions sequences he knows how to move the camera and he knows how to pace a film (neither of which are no longer givens in the movie industry sadly). The film also comes in just under two hours it knows how to tell its story. The omnipresent songs from the 1980s (Cyndi Lauper, Night Ranger, Big Country, etc) on the soundtrack was distracting and at times seemed overkill but I did appreciate the use of Tangerine Dream songs from other 1980s films, a nice nod to film buffs.

Produced by Amazon Studios they have decided to release it only in theaters and while it is not a special effects extravaganza it reminded me of how satisfying seeing a solid well made film on the big screen can be. Almost as satisfying as my Air Jordan shoes from when I was a kid.    

Quarantine Reviews 6: Four movie/music Documentaries to see

Dear Readers,

I hope you are having lovely Fall season. Here are several documentaries about music and movie people that I've watched recently. Happy Film Viewing everyone.

Hal Ashby w/ actress Ruth Gordon. pc: getty images

HAL (released 2018)  Ryan's Rating ✯✯✯✯ (out of four)

Hal Ashby was one of the 1970s American New Wave/Auteurs along with Scorsese, Coppola, Allen, Bogdanovich, Spielberg, etc. but Ashby has become a forgotten name among the group despite his films routinely appearing on greatest movies lists. Hopefully this excellent documentary will bring him back to prominence. Ashby started as a film editor, winning a best editing Academy Award for his work on In the Heat of the Night, before moving to directing with 1970's The Landlord. Following his debut is a string of seven critical and commercial successes from 1970 to 1979 (Harold and Maude, The Last Detail, Shampoo, Bound for Glory, Coming Home, and Being There). He was a free spirit and a bit eccentric (as you can tell by any one of the films listed) yet his movies had a warmth and quietness that was not often present in Coppola or Scorsese films of the era. Ashby's style, because of his editing background, was to film as much as possible and then form the movie in the editing room which worked in the artist centric Hollywood of the 1970s. When the system changed in the 1980s and the studios began to exert their control over filmmaking they often stopped him midway through the process thus leaving his released films unfinished and rearranged without his input. This also explains why his 1980s films are often incoherent his free style was butting heads with the restrictive new studios. I do want to say his final theatrical film, 8 Million Ways to Die (though very little relation to the book it is based on), is a fine Neo-Noir mystery/thriller despite its reputation as a bomb. Hal Ashby was an important director of 1970s American Cinema, his influence can be seen on directors like Noah Baumbach and many of the 1990s Independent Filmmakers. I loved this documentary and I hope it exposes more people to Ashby's work. Check this one out.

Nina Simone, pc: netflix

What Happened, Miss Simone? (released 2015) Ryan's Rating ✯✯✯

I am a little ashamed to say I did not know anything about Nina Simone before watching this documentary. I knew she was a famous musician/singer usually labeled jazz (though I learned here she mixed a number of styles) but that was it. This film (made with the participation of Simone's daughter) chronicles her life from being drawn to playing the piano as a child in the local church, to her not being accepted into a music conservatory college because she was black, through her popularity in the 1960s, her struggle with mental illness, and eventual comeback in the 1980s. Simone was a spectacular songwriter and pianist with a distinct voice who embraced the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. Her 1964 composition "Mississippi Goddam" became a famed protest song. Her abusive husband and manager wanted Simone to stay away from anything political but Simone ignored the demands of popular music to fight for equal rights, and she paid for it as concert venues and radio stations cancelled her and her songs. She eventually left the United States settling in Barbados and Liberia among other areas. She spent a large part of her life undiagnosed with bipolar disorder. While the documentary is well made it may only skim the surface of Simone's story. It was a good introduction for a neophyte like me. My two favorite moments herein are a scene late in the film during her 1980s comeback when she stops the concert to instruct a specific audience member to "sit back down" and does not return to performing until the person complies. The most moving moment is a performance of "To be Young, Gifted, and Black" at a college campus where only a small number of black students are studying, and the song brings everyone to their feet. Simone's piano playing is on display throughout and it is a treat to listen to.

Natalie Wood on the movie poster. PC: HBO

Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind (released 2020) Ryan's Rating ✯✯✯

Made for HBO Documentary Films and directed by Laurent Bouzereau (who made the excellent docuseries Five Came Back) is an American Masters style film looking at the life and career of actress Natalie Wood. Produced by Wood's oldest daughter, Natasha Gregson Wagner (who also serves as the on camera interviewer). She speaks with many of Wood's closest friends/family including Robert Redford, Mia Farrow, Richard Gregson (interviewed shortly before his death in 2019), Courtney Wagner, Elliot Gould, and naturally Robert Wagner among many others. Since Natasha knows all of these people very well the interviews have an intimate quality and I suspect the shared stories are ones the individuals would have only shared with Natasha. I learned a great deal about Wood's business ability in which she negotiated off-hours from filming each week to see a therapist, or as a teenager she created contracts which allowed her to pick one film a year that was not a studio choice (something very rare at the time especially for a young actress).  I didn't know she started acting at such a young age because her father lost his job and Wood, while still in elementary school, supported her whole family with her acting career. My main complaint is the film makes a statement that Wood's career and life are overshadowed by her mysterious death in 1981 at age 43 (which is true) and they state this film does not want to focus on her death as so many stories do. This sounds great but the last section of the film focuses entirely on her death with Robert Wagner recounting his memories in detail and what he suspects happened. A number of reviewers felt this turned the film into a PR stunt (also only friends are interviewed) because in 2018 Wood's death was reopened and Robert Wagner was now a person of interest. I was a bit dismayed at the fact Wood's death (again) overshadowed the story of the documentary. I am a big fan of Wood's work especially Love With the Proper Stranger and of course West Side Story and Splendor in the Grass among many other films. I enjoyed the home movies and personal touches of this documentary. If you are looking for a Dateline style expose this is not it, if you are interested in a well made documentary about an important actress this would be for you even with its flaws.

The Band with Robbie Robertson center. pc: getty images

Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and the Band (released 2019) Ryan's Rating ✯✯✯

A companion piece to Robbie Robertson's 2017 memoir/autobiography Testimony this film chronicles Robertson's history as well as the history of the seminal rock group The Band of which he was a member. In the years since the group's break up in 1977, Robertson has remained in control of the group's music and also received much of the royalties. Fellow group member Levon Helm made very vocal claims that Robertson was cheating the other members. This is Robertson's story and his view of the history of the group (as one of only two remaining members he has become sole spokesperson), it could also be an image rehabilitation as he stayed quiet regarding the one sided business accusations. He does not address those accusations directly though says he visited Helm shortly before Helm's death (but Helm was not awake due to illness). There are a number of great archival items shared here and Robertson is very charismatic throughout as he narrates the story. Also included are interviews with Ronnie Hawkins, Veronique (Robbie's wife), Bruce Springsteen, Martin Scorsese, David Geffen (seeming more pompous than usual) among others. Helm and other Band members appear in archival footage and Bob Dylan's interviews are taken from previous documentaries though edited to seem like they were conducted for this film. Your enjoyment of this movie will really depend on your taste for Robertson. I'm glad this film was made and regardless of your opinion on Robertson, the music is great and the history of the Band is always interesting.

Richard Stanley in his home. pc: Letterboxd

Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley’s Island of Dr. Moreau (released 2014) Ryan's rating ✯✯✯

Richard Stanley is a white South African film director who made a handful of short films and music videos in the 1980s then had two cult hits with his independent Hardware (1990) and Dust Devil (1992) both of which were science fiction/horror films that were later purchased for distribution in the USA. After these two films his dream project was to present a more faithful adaptation of H.G. Wells's 1896 novel The Island of Dr. Moreau. This documentary chronicles Stanley's plans for a film that was not made because Stanley was fired by New Line Cinema only a week into production and replaced by veteran director John Frankenheimer. The eventually released 1996 movie bore little resemblance to Stanley's vision. This is probably one of the best (though presented in a purposefully ragged style) documents of independent creators not able to work in the mainstream. This documentary features interviews with members of the cast and crew who were brought into the film by Stanley but then left adrift (and still having to make the movie) when Frankenheimer took over. Also featured are executives and back room people who shed light on the decision making process. And finally we have present day interviews with Stanley (still wearing a safari hat and vest) living seemingly in a cabin in the wild. This documentary can take a place next to It's All True, They'll Love Me When I'm Dead, and the recent short TCM documentary on the UCLA and Black Independent Film Movement of the late 1980s focusing on Charles Burnett.

Kalapana: The Original Albums CD Box Set!!!

Kalapana: The Original Albums Box Set

For this post I am stepping away from my normal Movie Reviews to talk about one of my favorite bands, Kalapana. I have been a fan since I was a little kid, my father had the cassette tapes in the car, and when I was a music columnist for Ka Leo O Hawaii my first several articles were all about Kalapana. The CD box set "Kalapana: The Original Albums" was released in 2018 and is the first time their first seven albums have been collected together on CD. It also marks the first time the band members of Kalapana will be getting their due royalties from their original and most popular albums. Released through Manifesto Records, if you like physical media and are a Kalapana fan you need to get this set before it is out of print. I've made a short video with my initial thoughts on the set that I need to figure out how to share, but in this post you will find more details I want to share with you all and that add to the video review.

Some general notes about the Kalapana CD Box Set. Individual Album info below.

• All seven albums have been remastered and the sound is clearer and crisper than the previously available CDs.
• The outer box is standard thicker cardboard (common in CD box sets) and it is painted to look like wood.
• Each disc has the respective album artwork printed on its top side.
• Each of the CDs is in its own cardboard gatefold cover (or eco-pack CD case) designed to resemble the original vinyl LP records sleeves. Be careful, the individual discs slide out of the cardboard sleeve very easily and they may fall out when you least expect it.
• While the CD sleeves are very similar to the original vinyl sleeves they are not exact replicas. For instance the inner sleeves of LP vinyl often included song lyrics but no lyrics are included here (except on Kalapana II since lyrics were printed on the outer sleeve of the original vinyl). 
• Also of note, all of Kalapana's albums are now available on streaming services and download purchase on places like iTunes. This includes their albums from the 1980s all the way into the 2000s (such as Lava Rock, Hurricane, Back in Your Heart Again, Walk Upon the Water, Blue Album, etc).

Notes about the Individual albums in the box:

1. Kalapana (also called Kalapana I)

Their big hit first album, featuring many of their best known songs ("The Hurt", "Nightbird", "You Make it Hard", "Naturally"). Released in 1975 in Hawaii on Vinyl, re-released on CD in the late 1980s in Hawaii by OTB Records. Note this boxset CD follows the original vinyl song order, this results in the song "Going, Going Gone" being the sixth track as it was on the original 1975 vinyl release and not the first track as it was on the 1980s OTB CD release. This album is a must own for any fan.

2. Kalapana II

Another hit with more classic songs, ("Juliette", "Blacksand", "(For You) I'd Chase a Rainbow"). Released in Hawaii on vinyl in 1976 and re-released on CD in Hawaii in the late 1980s by OTB Records. This is the first album to feature Alvin Fejarang on drums and Michael Paulo on saxophone/flute, both of whom would become official band members on the next release (here they are listed as side musicians). Mackey Feary left the group shortly after the release of this album. 

3. Kalapana III

Here is where the details get more complicated. Released on vinyl in Hawaii in 1977 but in the 1980s when it was transferred to CD, the CD was a Japanese edition (through Pony Canyon Records) and only available in Japan or as an import CD. This marks the first Hawaii/USA release of the album on CD. The song order is different on the various editions as well. The version in this boxset has "Alisa Lovely" as the opening track and the songs follow a largely alphabetical order based on song title this follows the listing on the original vinyl LP sleeve. As mentioned previously Michael Paulo and Alvin Fejarang are listed here as band members and Randy Aloya joined the band with this record as bass player and vocalist. 

4. Many Classic Moments (Studio Album)

There are two Kalapana albums with the title of "Many Classic Moments" (the other has the subtitle of Original Soundtrack listed below). Kalapana were hired to write songs for the surfing documentary Many Classic Moments. The eight songs featured on this album are the new songs for the documentary (really six new songs, a cover of the song "Can You See Him", and "Naturally" from their first album). The new songs include the popular title track, "The Water Song", and "Down By the Sea". Released on vinyl in Hawaii in 1978, again when transferred to CD in the 1980s it was only released in Japan or again as an import. This marks the first Hawaii/USA release of the album on CD.

5. Many Classic Moments (Original Soundtrack)

Released only in Japan on Trio Records in 1978 as a double vinyl album featuring all the music in the surfing documentary Many Classic Moments. Follow me here,  the eight songs from the Many Classic Moments studio album (listed above) are included, along with orchestral music (not written by Kalapana) and dialog snippets from the film. Older Kalapana songs (such as Blacksand, (For You) I'd Chase a Rainbow, Mana, etc.) are also included here as they were featured in the documentary film. Never released in Hawaii/USA until this box set.

6. In Concert

A double live album only released in Japan in 1978 on vinyl and then CD in the early 2000s (again only available as an import or in Japan). Recorded live in Japan and Guam this is a powerhouse recording and one of three live albums released by Kalapana (the others being "Reunion" in 1983 and the DJ Pratt led Kalapana album "Japan Jam Live" in 1980). These concerts feature exciting renditions of songs from Kalapana III and Many Classic Moments as well as the Malani Bilyeu songs from the first two albums. Kimo Cornwell (later of the Jazz band Hiroshima) joins the group on synthesizer for this album and the next.

7. Northbound

The group's final album before disbanding in 1979 (they would reunite with an altered lineup in the 1980s). Only available in Japan until this boxset. Most of the songs here will be new to fans but there are some gems. My personal favorite is "Rainy Day" by DJ Pratt that is available here (also on the compilation "Black Sand: The Best of Kalapana"). In the historical booklet it's noted that by the end of Northbound's recording there were only three of the seven band members left and those three decided to call it quits once the album was released.

I just have one criticism and it is not about the set itself it is about the marketing. I wish there was a better marketing or announcement when this was released November 30, 2018. I'm someone who is often searching and looking up information about Hawaii's music but I did not know about the box until January 2021. I know Malani Bilyeu (a founding member and lead singer) passed away suddenly in December 2018 so that overshadowed the release yet it would have been a perfect tribute to Malani for this to be really promoted especially to the fans. This is a small complaint since I found my way to the music. 

I am very very happy this set has been put together with such care. Happy listening everyone.

Quarantine Reviews 11: Movies released in the last year

Hello Readers,

I realize most of my reviews are for classic or older movies, so Here is a list of films released in 2020 or 2021 that I have seen and reviewed. Happy viewing everyone!

"Carnaval del Barrio" lifts the spirits. credit IMDB

In The Heights (released 2021) Ryan's Rating: ✯✯✯ (out of four)

Is it good? Yes. Is it great? No. Is it entertaining? Yes. The long awaited film version of Lin-Manuel Miranda's and Quiara Alegría Hudes's hit Broadway musical has arrived in select theaters and on HBOMax. I watched it on my TV but it is clearly designed for the big screen and I'm certain if you see this film in a theater it will increase your enjoyment and affection. Completed in 2019, but delayed due to the pandemic, the film tells the story of a community in the largely Dominican area of Washington Heights, New York. All of the characters have dreams and hopes but the world and the wealthy keep making these goals harder and harder to achieve. The main story takes place over three days during a record heatwave; our heroes are Usnavi (a bodega owner played by Anthony Ramos), Vanessa (a hair dresser who wants to be a fashion designer, Melissa Barrera), Nina (a local girl just back after her first year at Stanford, Leslie Grace), and Benny (a taxicab dispatcher, Corey Hawkins) among many others all of whom are at a crossroads in one way or another. The screenplay, also by Hudes, has been updated with new sequences to reflect changes since the play first appeared fifteen years ago. The elements from the play and the elements added for the film do not always fit together which sometimes makes the story move in fits and starts. There is an added framing device of Usnavi telling the story to his daughter that provides some great scenes but feels extraneous. The "Piragua Song" in the play served as a fun interlude that helped to build the world and also had a reprise that gave it a punch line, in the film (with the reprise cut) the song seems merely an excuse to give Miranda a part in the movie. On the upside director Jon M. Chu has a long history with musical and dance (he made Step Up 2 and 3, two Justin Bieber concert documentaries, as well as the musically influenced Crazy Rich Asians) and he uses that background to give us numbers that range from music videos to Busby Berkeley crowd sequences, and to the MGM musicals of yesteryear. The song "96,000" is filmed at a public swimming pool where the neighborhood goes to beat the heat and the sequence brings to mind the water dancing of Esther Williams films.  All this is to say the musical numbers had me smiling, the cast is good and engaging, and despite some of the clunky pacing I was entertained. 

Angelina Jolie looking for wildfires. Credit: IMDB

Those Who Wish Me Dead (released 2021) Ryan's Rating: ✯✯1/2 

In the Montana wilderness a former smoke jumper (Angelina Jolie), haunted by a deadly mistake during a fire, is posted in a secluded watch tower when she finds a young boy fleeing from two ruthless assassins. Visceral and entertaining though sometimes feels like an assemblage of good parts and not a full unit. Jolie is perfectly cast, it is great to see her back in this type of role and her presence fills the screen, but the narrative switches points of view which leaves Jolie largely absent from the first half of the movie. Director/Co-writer Taylor Sheridan (writer of a number of hit films and co-creator of the series Yellowstone) is widely praised for his detailed characters in action/thriller situations and here is no exception but for me this film seemed overstuffed with plot and backstory. The opening sequence (an exciting parachute jump into a fire) seems out of place, while it is a grabbing opening it turns out to be an abrupt backstory explanation that gets repeated throughout the film. The run time is short, the story is only an hour and a half, causing the multiple plots at times to seem geared for a mini-series as opposed to a single film. This could also be the result of the film being adapted from a novel where there is more space to explore subplots. I wanted the story to stay with Jolie and the boy battling the elements to escape the killers (which does happen but more in the second half). At the same time there is an excellent side character played by Medina Senghore, a pregnant woman who runs a wilderness survival camp. She could have had a whole movie to herself. I am a great fan of Sheridan's 2017 film Wind River which has a similar story, but that film pulled everything together in a solid whole and I wanted this film to be more like that one. Overall Those Who Wish Me Dead is exciting and fast paced (some of the violence is brutal so be warned) but at the end I felt it was just okay when it could have been great.    

Andra Day as Lady Day. credit IMDB

United States Vs. Billie Holiday (released 2020) Ryan's Rating ✯1/2

Andra Day (in her film debut no less) is excellent as Billie Holiday and it is a shame the film is not as good as her performance. The plot concerns the FBI's (at the request of the big wigs in Washington D.C.) pursuit of Holiday, due to her popular song "Strange Fruit" (about lynchings in the United States) which the government feared would stir up the population. The film covers about twenty years of Holiday's life (as well as some flashbacks to childhood) but it is so disjointed and confusing, we as the audience are often left wondering where we are in the story. There is a framing device (Holiday being interviewed on a radio station) which could have added some focus or clarity to the events but it is not used well. To top it off there are few scenes that explain why Holiday was such a success and her ability with music. A brief scene early in the film where she is rehearsing and is telling her band how to play this line and what would work in the club gives one of the few glimpses of Holiday's musical abilities and that she was more than an excellent voice. The moment is then lost in a sea of the ways Holiday was abused (both by herself and by many others). To top it all off the two hour running time feels like five hours. Billie Holiday is an important figure in history and the story of her unjust pursuit by the FBI is an important story. Surely there is a better film to be made from these powerful stories.

Vanessa Kirby and Ellen Burstyn. credit: IMDB

Pieces of a Woman (released 2020) Ryan's Rating ✯✯1/2

As many reviewers have noted the first nearly thirty minutes of the movie is a recreation of a home birth and ends with the baby turning blue and dying. This agonizing sequence is followed by the film title appearing on the screen which hits the viewer like a hammer. Vanessa Kirby (best known as Princess Margaret on the first two seasons of The Crown) plays the woman who lost her child and her performance, with all its nuance, is excellent though the film often moves away from her character which is where it falters. About half the story involves her construction worker husband (played by Shia LaBeouf) and the way he deals with the loss of the baby. LaBeouf gives a strong forceful performance but his character is the less intriguing of the couple which made me wish for more of Kirby on the screen. Also on board is Ellen Burstyn, as Kirby's high society mom (and Holocaust survivor), who fully embodies the character in all her love and vindictiveness. It is a great showcase for the actress. The best sequence is a dinner party that turns into a mother daughter argument performed with shattering power by Burstyn and Kirby. Written and directed by a husband wife team who based it on their experiences of losing their own child, and first done as a stage production. With this backstory it makes sense why the film follows both LaBeouf's and Kirby's characters, but I thought it would have been a stronger film if it focused more on Kirby and Burstyn. There are some symbolic moments that seem a little on the nose (a literal bridge being built, the growing of apple seeds) but that is nitpicking. The movie is well filmed (though clearly in Canada not in Boston where the story is set) sometimes in long unbroken takes where the camera drifts around the characters. The acting is uniformly strong and while the dialog is well done the story structure seems to drift away from the main character a little too often.

John David Washington on a mission. credit: IMDB

Tenet (released 2020). Ryan's Rating: ✯✯

I have to come right out and say it I am not a lover of Christopher Nolan's films. He knows how to stage scenes but I often find his story pacing/timing to be problematic which makes many of his films fall flat for me. (There are two of his films that I greatly enjoy Inception and Batman Begins, I haven't seen Dunkirk or Following or Memento, I have seen all the others). Tenet tells the story of a spy (a commanding John David Washington) who gets involved in a mission to find a group of wealthy European terrorists (led by Kenneth Branagh) who are using a time travel device to do bad things (as with Nolan movies it is never truly clear when you think about it). The catch is that when you travel through time everything is reversed (inverted), the characters walk backward, cars drive in reverse, marks on walls appear and disappear. There is the typical dialogue that is made to sound important but is really just elaborate and read by very good actors while not really saying much. This is all the more evident here because the basic plot is the same as any time travel movie (Bill & Ted, Timecop, etc.). As expected the action scenes are well filmed and at times very imaginative since many of them take place in a form of reverse movement. Alas, I had the same feeling blah feeling as I do after watching many of Nolan's movies. One part of the movie I found most interesting is the wonderful actress, Elizabeth Debicki, plays almost the exact same role as she does in the great 2016 limited series The Night Manager. I wonder if she was 'Teneting' and going back in time.

Theatrical poster. credit: IMDB

Belushi (released 2020) Ryan's Rating: ✯✯✯

A documentary on the life of the late John Belushi told through many years worth of audio recordings as opposed to the normal way of interviewing the surviving members on screen. The audio is paired with archival photos/videos as well as animated sequences and the outcome is similar to the way a Ken Burns documentary is put together. I never knew much about John Belushi's life except he died very young of a drug overdose, the most detail I read is in the excellent Roger Ebert collection of essays and interviews A Kiss is Still a Kiss. I found this documentary very interesting as I am a fan of Belushi's work (Animal House, Blues Brothers, Continental Divide, SNL) but it is sadly an overly familiar story, talented comic becomes famous and gets addicted to drugs. The audio recordings (some of the speakers have also passed away like Harold Ramis, Penny Marshall, Carrie Fisher) are fascinating to listen to for fans of 1970s SNL/Second City and the late 70s early 1980s films in which Belushi starred. Those who were alive when John Belushi was creating his famed comic moments may find some of the sequences overly familiar (critic Peter Sobczynski mentions this in his review) and works such as Continental Divide and Goin' South are barely mentioned. The film serves as a good archive for those of us who were not around but have come to know Belushi through his films.

Quarantine Reviews 10: Some movie I give one star or less...

Hello Fellow Film Fans,
I hope all is well with you as we head into the summer months. Here are six movies I do not care for and I'm reviewing them for your safety. Happy Viewing Everyone.

Jeffrey Wright on the hunt. photo credit: rogerebert.com

Hold the Dark (released 2018). Ryan's Rating: ✯ (out of 4). 

A good idea, a great location, and one excellent shootout sequence all wasted in a slog of a movie. The good idea: A baby disappears in a remote area of Alaska, possibly carried away by wolves. The baby's mother writes to an aged but noted wolf expert (Jeffrey Wright), asking him to come to Alaska to hunt and kill the wolves responsible but when he arrives something more sinister is a foot. Great location: the foreboding isolated snowy wilderness is well shot. Best scene: involves a police standoff between the local authorities and a Native American veteran. This sequence is so visceral and expertly staged it seems a shame the rest of the film is not better. After the first fifteen minutes the pace is nearly immobile. The atmosphere is ominous, and the performances are (I think purposefully) lifeless trying to make a comment on the darkness and mystical elements, but all that does is make the scenes boring. There's also a sequence featuring the baby's father in battle in Iraq that felt completely out of place to me. Too bad because it had promise.

Rambo ready to inflict pain. pc: IMDB

Rambo: Last Blood (released 2019). Ryan's Rating: zero stars 

I'm a big Sylvester Stallone fan and I like the previous four Rambo films but this one is a waste. Gruesomely violent in the extreme, it is more violent than the previous Rambo movies and feels overly violent even for a Rambo/Stallone picture (which is saying something). Please note I fast forwarded through several sequences because of the violence. John Rambo (Stallone) lives on a ranch in Arizona (as we saw him returning at the end of the previous movie). He suffers from PTSD from his Vietnam War (and other) experiences but seems to find peace raising horses, all the while he's built a giant underground tunnel system beneath the ranch. Also on the ranch are a woman who works for him and her teenaged daughter. The daughter wants to meet her estranged father living in Mexico. Against everyone's wishes the girl crosses the border, she's quickly captured by bad guys, pumped with drugs, and sold into the sex trade. Rambo goes to find her and get revenge on the big Mexican cartel. The abuse of the teenage character is also tough to watch and it becomes clear the movie will hurt/kill anyone for a shock. It's a poorly made off-putting film and all the worse if this is the end of the series. While the title indicates this may be the final film the ending leaves it open. Maybe Rambo: Final Blood, or Rambo: New Blood?

Tom Berenger & Melanie Griffith out in NYC. pc: IMDB

Fear City (released 1984). Ryan's rating: zero stars 

A serial killer is attacking strippers in New York City, a detective and some mafia backed club owners band together to find the psycho. Great cast: Tom Berenger, Melanie Griffith, Billy Dee Williams, Jack Scalia (all fairly early in their careers). Directed by famed independent filmmaker Abel Ferrara with his usual mix of grime and neon. Terrible, but then again you never know with Ferrara.

Brad Pitt with his Doodle partner. pc: IMDB

Cool World (released 1992). Ryan's Rating: ✯

I've always been curious to see this movie but I should have just stayed curious and avoided it. As many have described, this is a crazy (also bad) version of Who Framed Roger Rabbit. An animated world exists in an alternate dimension but it is threatening to merge with our Earth and we need to stop it. The animation seems unfinished and when the live actors interact with the animated world everything suddenly looks like cardboard cutouts. This may be on purpose, but it was distracting and makes the film look cheap. There's an unnecessary prologue and the movie as a whole drags and drags. Only interest is the pre-fame Brad Pitt (though his performance is not great) and Kim Basinger is fun as the cartoon (or Doodle as they're called here) who comes to life. While I am not a fan, this movie does have its supporters. 

Forger and Historian on the run. pc: IMDB

Incognito (released 1997). Ryan's Rating: ✯

An art forger (Jason Patric, zero charisma here) creates a fake "lost" Rembrandt painting but is double crossed by his employer and framed for murder. He goes on the run with an art historian (Irene Jacob) at his side. Beautiful European scenery/locations in a variation on a Hitchcock plot but a poor movie. Director John Badham is a decent director but he is unable to do anything here. Also despite Patric's 1990s good looks he shows no appeal and no ability to carry this type of adventure/thriller. He and co-star Jacob also have very little chemistry. There is a neat sequence showing how the forgery is created. That scene and the locations are all we have here.

Detective and Professor uncover the crime pc: IMDB

Separate Lives (released 1995). Ryan's Rating: ✯

A retired police detective (Jim Belushi) is studying to become a therapist. One day his professor (Linda Hamilton) hires him to follow her because she is having blackouts with no memory of what she's done. The detective quickly finds out she has multiple personalities (well two), one as the straitlaced college professor, and the other as a night owl who commits crimes. The rest of the story is not really worth your time. This film was released theatrically but looks and feels like a poor TV movie. The only interest for some might be seeing a young Elisabeth Moss (The Handmaid's Tale) playing Belushi's middle schooler daughter.