Jeff's Top 20 Movies of 2021!

Like most folks, 2021 was not my easiest year on record, but I did return to movie theatres!  For that, I am infinitely grateful.  Let’s hope for more progress and less heartache in 2022 and for three steps forward to combat the inevitable two steps back.  

Speaking of numbers, I caught plenty of flicks - via film festivals (including ours, obviously), frequent trips to local cineplexes, and streaming at home – and revisited the annual puzzle/beloved exercise of narrowing down my lengthy list of favorite films to just 20.  

Here they are: My Top 20 Movies of 2021! 

20. “The Truffle Hunters” – What is a truffle, and how do you hunt for one?  Well, a truffle is an underground fungus that doesn’t run, but it can undoubtedly hide, and directors Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw seek out the very few capable individuals – a group of recluses – who thrive in this eccentric profession.  In this minimalist documentary, Dweck and Kershaw do not formally introduce these generally anonymous huntsmen, who slog over Piedmont, Italy’s steep gradients, muddy roads, and leaf-littered forest floors, as they search for prized, evasive nuggets.  The film drops the audience into a world of tradition and trade, but without explanations or frameworks.  We must rely on osmosis and keen observation to learn anything because the hunters – and at least two are octogenarians - have all the answers but aren’t willing to hand over the Cliff Notes.  Geez, who are these guys?  Let’s watch this movie again! 

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19. “Introducing, Selma Blair” – Selma Blair owns 80 proud acting credits on IMDB.com – including “Cruel Intentions” (1999), “Legally Blonde” (2001), “Hellboy” (2004), and “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” (2008) - but you’ve never seen her in a role like this.  She plays herself in a documentary that chronicles her excruciating physical and emotional fight against Multiple sclerosis.  Selma gives director Rachel Fleit carte blanche, as the Gen-X actress wrestles with the toils of walking, speaking, staying awake, attempting to preserve an accustomed relationship with her young son Arthur, and coping with vigorous, invasive experimental stem-cell treatments to combat this cruel, disabling disease.  We may not have known the behind-the-scenes Selma before she became sick, but you’ll deeply care for the woman standing in front of Fleit’s camera.   

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18. “Shiva Baby” – Danielle (Rachel Sennott) isn’t keeping up with the Joneses these days, but she’ll need to stay one step ahead of her parents, her best pal Maya (Molly Gordon), distant aunts and uncles, five dozen other acquaintances, and her sugar daddy in a dandy and demanding comedy debut from Emma Seligman.  Sennott is marvelously convincing as a stressed-out young woman with too many moving parts spinning in her head and standing in front of her.  Danielle attempts to find solace - and trap doors - from sticky conversations, double-takes, and unadulterated embarrassment during a period of mourning, a shiva.  (Her uncle’s second wife’s sister died.)  Shot primarily at one location, Danielle needs an escape, but chances are that you’ll walk away from Seligman’s movie with a big smile and a few (more) strands of gray hair. 

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17. “A Hero” – Asghar Farhadi is a master at weaving intricate, knotty threads that snare his characters into stressful circles, especially within the confines of ordinary family homes.  In 2021, Farhadi crafts another bold picture with “A Hero”, and here, our protagonist (Amir Jadidi) attempts to thread a needle to restore his reputation.  Rahim (Jadidi) receives a short, temporary release from prison, but his girlfriend devises a scheme, a lie.  If all falls into place, Rahim will be portrayed as a Good Samaritan (maybe, a hero), and he might finally find the law on his side.  Hey, what could go wrong?  This cinematic yarn will bind audiences with collective dread and unwanted, uncomfortable pits in our stomachs, but maybe the predicament will resolve itself.  It’s possible, but you know that old saying:  Oh, what tangled webs we weave…    

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16. “Stillwater” – Stillwater, Okla. resident Bill Baker (Matt Damon) repeatedly travels overseas to Marseille and finally decides to make France his home, but he feels as out of place as a snowball sitting on a tropical island.  Tom McCarthy’s culture-clash drama is part-character study, part-crime thriller, and part-family drama.  Fans of “The Secret in Their Eyes” (2009) will appreciate McCarthy’s movie, as “Stillwater” also defies convention and plays with pace and genres, which drive the unexpected narrative.  Ultimately, both locales impact one man, an old soul who doubles as a new traveler.    

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15. “Passing” – By random chance or perhaps fate, high school friends Irene (Tessa Thompson) and Clare (Ruth Negga) reconnect at a posh New York City restaurant as 30-somethings.  They explore their life choices that afternoon and beyond in Rebecca Hall’s first feature film, an adaptation of Nella Larsen’s 1929 novel.  The story dives headfirst into identity and race, as Irene quickly discovers that Clare has been passing as a white woman for years.  Filmed in a rich black and white, Hall captures the big-band sights and sounds of the 1920s as well as the rigid racial lines of the period, ones that Clare has routinely crossed without consequences.  She, however, might discover what she’s lost.   

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14. “Final Account” – Some are ashamed.  Some are in denial.  One is defiant.  They are elderly German and Austrian men and women who share their recollections of life at home during World War II - and the years leading up to it - in Luke Holland’s sobering documentary.  In 2008, Holland, who passed away in 2020, started conducting interviews with the said senior citizens – from mostly small communities like Wilhelmshaven, Bernburg, and Brandenburg - who watched fascism unfold in front of their eyes.  In addition to the revealing, innermost conversations, Holland adds footage from Hitler Youth camps, and the film boils and broils into an unsettling cinematic concoction and a glaring conclusion:  tyranny can quickly rise on a foundation of apathy. 

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13. “The Velvet Underground” -  This iconic New York City rock band began its climb to fame via Andy Warhol’s support during the mid-to-late 1960s, and director Todd Haynes aptly takes an industrial, artistic approach to frame his documentary.  Visually, the film resembles a black and white multimedia exhibit in a modern art museum.  Haynes frequently divides the frame and simultaneously features multiple snippets and clips, like the introduction to “The Brady Bunch” on LSD.  It’s a trip!  Just like this unlikely quartet’s – Lou Reed, John Cale, Moe Tucker, and Sterling Morrison – musical voyage, and German model/singer Nico also plays a critical role in the group’s first album.  Still, in this doc, individual songs are less important than the avant-garde musicians’ initial connections and innovative, experimental collaboration.    

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12. “About Endlessness” – Roy Andersson’s unique on-screen perspective is back, as he devotes a series of peculiar sketches that present humanity’s everyday collisions with modern society.  A deliberately bland, brown color palette, stiff deliveries by the (mostly) amateur actors, and bleak, minimalist sets run throughout the film’s 78-minute runtime.  “About Endlessness” feels like a surreal trip to Whoville, if the collective Who-population was in dire need of Prozac, and their surroundings – although cartoonish – are devoid of whimsy.  Still, Andersson’s core observations are soaked with the truth.  Repeat viewings are required.  

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11. “Titane” – Julia Ducournau’s midnight madness, art-house flick – about a car model’s (Agathe Rousselle) baffling trek - is impossible to predict, scene to scene, moment to moment.  Rousselle’s and Vincent Lindon’s performances, a spellbinding score, and a mind-bending concept from a David Cronenberg fever dream yank us all over a highway to a chaotic and claustrophobic hell.  Ducournau pushes the pedal to the metal, as we race at 300 km/h, but she repeatedly brakes to observe intensely personal themes like sexual objectification, parent-child strife, and gender identity through a narrative that you couldn’t begin to dream up, even if you hired 100 writers, philosophers, artists, and psychotherapists and sent them on a 30-day hallucinatory retreat.  It’s a horrifying ride.  Buckle up!  

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10. “Belfast” – To open the “Belfast” TIFF 2021 premiere, Kenneth Branagh said, “I’ve been waiting and wanting to tell this story for 50 years, and over that time, I have repeatedly heard the beautiful, cacophonous noise of this city in my head.”  He sets his semi-autobiographical movie in Aug. 1969, during the early days of the Troubles, a conflict between Protestants and Catholics.  Although this gorgeously-filmed black and white picture features violence, looting, and barbed wire stacked on cobbled streets, the love of family, a charismatic nine-year-old boy (Jude Hill), welcome supporting performances from Jamie Dornan, Caitriona Balfe, Ciaran Hinds, and Judi Dench, along with a joyous soundtrack from Van Morrison won this critic over.  Sure, Belfast has a messy history, but Branagh may have just become the city’s greatest tourism ambassador, as he majestically frames countless shots with the meticulous precision of a scientist filled with joy and nostalgia. 

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9. “The Power of the Dog” – On March 27, 2022, Benedict Cumberbatch deserves to stride up the Dolby Theatre’s steps to the stage and collect a Best Actor Oscar for his commanding performance as Phil Burbank, a spiteful, heartless cattle rancher who vomits resentment and vitriol towards anyone who isn’t a steer.  It’s 1925 Montana, and although folks like Phil’s brother George (Jesse Plemons) drive gas-powered carriages from the Gatsby era, Jane Campion constantly fills the screen with desperation, desolate browns of mountainous rock and prairie grass, and a drafty homestead that call back to time-honored westerns and cruel and crafty Darwinism.  

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8. “Licorice Pizza” – Paul Thomas Anderson couldn’t decide on a title for his movie, but he landed on “Licorice Pizza”, the name of a Southern California record-store chain, and during a Nov. 10, 2021 Variety interview, he said, “It seemed like a catch-all for the feeling of the film.”  And how!  Anderson’s hang-out comedy – set in 1973 – is filled with a collection of oddball happenstances driven by an industrious 15-year-old high-school student/businessman (Cooper Hoffman) and his crush on a directionless 25-year-old (Alana Haim).  Unexpected astonishments, nonchalant pacing, and the coolest soundtrack since “Guardians of the Galaxy” (2014) act as a hypnosis of sorts, and first-time actors – Hoffman and Haim – cruise along with the script’s groovy (and sometimes purposely uncomfortable) vibes in this weird, winding journey.   

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7. “Limbo” - Omar (Amir El-Masry), a 20-something Syrian refugee, wishes to reside in the U.K., but he’s stranded on a desolate Scottish island while waiting for his paperwork to clear.  We live in a world of instant gratification, but the United Kingdom’s official “like” on his request doesn’t seem imminent, especially when his friend Farhad (Vikash Bhai), an Afghanistan native, has been stuck at this far northern outpost for 32 months.  Ben Sharrock’s dramedy takes full advantage of the great outdoors surrounding this sparsely-settled community - sitting on the 57th Parallel - with constant shots of barren, coastal grasslands that may resemble Washington’s Palouse commingled with gloomy, dormant volcanic buttes.  No question, Omar’s somber, stoic mood reflects this lonely place, as El-Masry delivers a compelling, restrained performance, but yes, “Limbo” does have comedic elements too.  In fact, a quirky dance scene with Hot Chocolate’s “It Started With a Kiss” opens the film, but Sharrock’s picture is primarily about the immigrant experience, where a numbing waiting game and reflection about one’s self-worth are the built-in conflicts.    

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6. “The Daughter” – Irene (Irene Virguez) – a pregnant 15-year-old – forges a pact with a 40-something childless couple, Javier (Javier Gutierrez) and Adela (Patricia Lopez Arnaiz), as the three commit an elaborate deception.  Irene pretends to run away from a juvenile detention center – where she resides and Javier works – so she can live in their massive, isolated home and carry her unwanted pregnancy to term without anyone else knowing.  Irene would then bequeath her baby to Javier and Adela.  In a Sept. 13, 2021 TIFF interview, director Manuel Martin Cuenca says, “At points, we were calling (the pact) a crystal agreement because it really was an impossible agreement.  At some point, it’s going to break.  It’s going to fall apart.  Why?  Because emotions are involved.”  Yes, this arrangement is a win-win for both parties, but it’s also a charade built on a foundation of deceit.  Javier and Adela’s house sits on a precipitous, intimidating mountain range in Spain’s Jaen Province, and fittingly, Cuenca’s jaw-dropping thriller takes razor-sharp, hairpin turns that will trigger whiplash.  

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5. “Drive My Car” – Trauma can invade one’s life in an instant, persist for a minute or perhaps a few startling seconds, but the recovery from the distressing event could carry on for years.  Ryusuke Hamaguchi models the aforementioned emotional feature of the human condition in the construction of his film.  Yusuke (Hidetoshi Nishijima) – a successful stage actor - suffers a devastating personal loss early in the 1st Act.  Actually, Hamaguchi includes enough drama for an entire movie within the first half hour of his 179-minute picture.  After two aching years, Yusuke leaves Tokyo for Hiroshima to direct a play, and the distance and this city’s history are metaphors for distraction and healing.  The narrative’s relaxed tempo offers room for our protagonist to express his regrets and develop a bond with his 20-something driver, Misaki (Toko Miura).  Sometimes, one has to reach for help or at least connect with a friend to pull through seemingly impossible times, and perhaps, hour-long commutes in a Red Saab might be a therapeutic “vehicle” for Yusuke.   

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4. “The Worst Person in the World” – Julie (Renate Reinsve) is a beautiful and bright 20-something living in the prosperous city of Oslo.  This charming, educated woman could blaze any career path that she chooses, and just about any single man would trip over himself for a first date.  However, too many options in life and love can be a stifling, paralyzing problem in the 21st century.  Joachim Trier captures this theme, but for storytelling sake, he pares down Julie’s choices to offer an awfully compelling and accessible romantic drama about embracing the here and now…or looking elsewhere.  What is the correct answer?  It’s all about perspective, gut feelings, needs, wants, and timing, as Reinsve and Anders Danielsen Lie navigate a likable, loving, modern-day couple who hopefully dodges roadblocks and avoids shortcuts that Trier places in their collective way.   

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3. “Mass” – On an ordinary afternoon, a volunteer and a social worker prepare a pleasant Episcopal church meeting room.  This unassuming space contains a table, chairs, snacks, a Kleenex box, and invisible tension.  It will house an assembly of four to discuss a topic unknown to the audience.  They (Jason Isaacs, Martha Plimpton, Reed Birney, and Ann Dowd) arrive in two pairs, sit, and debate in this chamber for most of the movie’s 110-minute runtime in Fran Kranz’s deeply affecting picture, one that feels like a no-frills Broadway play.  In his directorial debut, Kranz doesn’t immediately reveal the core event that brought these rational but emotionally-scarred individuals together.  However, he slowly divulges critical tidbits along the way and keeps us glued to the conversation.  Isaacs, Plimpton, Birney, and Dowd seem to bestow every one of their acting gifts – like athletes leaving it all on the field – in this consuming experience.  

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2. “Petite Maman” – Celine Sciamma’s contemporary fantasy begins with a loss.  Off-camera, eight-year-old Nelly’s (Josephine Sanz) grandmother passes away.  Nelly, her mom (Nina Meurisse), and her dad (Stephane Varupenne) travel to the late woman’s home to sift through belongings and settle customary affairs.  However, misfortune morphs into magic on the following day, when Nelly meets a new and noteworthy friend, Marion (Gabrielle Sanz), to distract her from yesterday’s sorrow.  In just 72 precious minutes, Sciamma opens a cinematic door, holds our hands, and leads us to a world with an impossible and mesmerizing connection between two kids.  (The movie’s secret is in its title.)  Rather than concoct grandiose set pieces, Sciamma grounds her picture with everyday happenings and tender steps, like making breakfast, building a fort in the woods, gentle discourse, and hugs between a parent and a child.  Every moment in this movie is endearing, and Josephine and Gabrielle completely sell the film’s premise.  “Petite Maman” might be the sweetest film that I’ve ever seen. 

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1. “Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)”

The Summer of 1969.  What’s the first image that comes to mind?  The Apollo 11 Moon landing or Woodstock might be #1 for most Americans.  For the Gen X crowd, Bryan Adams’ single “Summer of ‘69” could round out the Top 3.  After watching first-time director Questlove’s enormously entertaining and informative documentary, it’s time to move over Bryan Adams.  The Harlem Cultural Festival – held over six joyful Sundays from June 29 to Aug. 24, 1969 in Mount Morris Park - joins the famed NASA mission and that other music party.  If you haven’t heard of the Harlem Cultural Festival, you are not alone.  Now, 300,000 people – primarily Black audiences - attended the free New York City celebration of jazz, blues, Motown, and gospel, and a crew filmed the festivities, but “the footage sat in a basement for 50 years.  It has never been seen.  Until now.”  

Questlove – one of the founding members of The Roots – embraced a Herculean responsibility:  to decide which groups, singers, and songs make the cut for his documentary.  “Summer of Soul” has a 112-minute runtime, and 45 hours of festival film footage exists, so do the math.  

During a Feb. 3, 2021 IndieWire interview, Questlove says, “I probably had to do six or seven rounds of just sitting through all that footage, and either directly watching it or studying it, or just having it on in the background, and (then) something catches my attention.”  

He adds, “I wanted to take note of what just gave me goosebumps.”  

The man’s goosebumps-sense is on-point.  He finds and picks an abundance of flat-out dazzling performances from The 5th Dimension, Mahalia Jackson, B.B. King, Sly and the Family Stone, and more, including a mesmerizing 19-year-old Stevie Wonder donning a stylish brown suit with a mustard ruffles shirt flaring from underneath his jacket collars.  The film offers pulse-pounding, captivating on-stage recordings, but Questlove lets the video run for entire songs, rather than only offering small, 30-second clips here and there.  We are treated to the 3-to-5-minute classic tracks from start to finish.  Frequently, with any live performance, singers and their bands give us a little extra, which our filmmaker and the fans in attendance proudly embrace.  

Dorinda Drake was 19 at the time, and she remembers walking with her three best friends to the park because it was only 10 blocks away.  “It was exciting.  We hadn’t had anything like that in Harlem that I can recall,” Drake says. 

Musa Jackson was just a kid in 1969.  “I remember being with my family walking around the park, and as far as I could see, it was just Black people.  This was the first time I’d ever seen so many of us.  It was incredible,” Jackson says and adds, “Beautiful, beautiful women, beautiful men.  It was like seeing royalty.” 

In between songs and sometimes during them, Questlove finds stars like Gladys Knight and Lin-Manuel Miranda to opine about the festival’s magnitude.  He also intertwines political and socio-economic issues of the time.  The 1960s saw the assassinations of JFK, RFK, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King Jr.  Heroin addictions reached epidemic levels in American cities, and young men were fighting and dying in Vietnam.  The country was on fire, but the film explains that music is a release for the men and women on stage and in the audience.  “Summer of Soul” is a beautiful, eye-opening movie that reaches out to culture, spiritual beliefs, politics, and race relations.

It’s a time warp into a wondrous collection of shows – with striking fashion choices and theatrical movements - that should’ve received widespread pop-culture recognition over the last 50-plus years.  Most regrettably, the event did not, but that slight is passé.  Everyone can now celebrate the Harlem Cultural Festival, a 20th-century landmark event, with this 21st-century cinematic treasure.   

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Monte's Favorite Films of 2021

In another year of uncertainty, it was nice to return to the safe sanctum of the movie theater. While the movies that found the silver screen mainly were superheroes, franchises, or big budgets, there were still many rewarding films to search out and watch. With streaming services growing more dominant, the availability of the typically hard-to-find arthouse movies seemed far more accessible than ever before. While I still crave the popcorn-saturated smell of a beautiful cinema, 2021 displayed that people find new ways to connect with artistic visual media. And there was much to consume in 2021. These 12 films, plus a few more that almost made the list, are the ones that displayed the joy of discovery and gift of engagement that movies have always provided for me. Here are my favorites of 2021. 

12. The Tragedy of Macbeth

The Shakespearean tragedy that examines the fear, folly, and fall of Macbeth is adapted with meticulous detail in a visually stunning and faithfully authentic adaptation. Composed within the desolating contrast of black and white photography, the gloom of darkness grows more threatening as the film moves from treacherous betrayal to brutal uprising. The use of supernatural elements, with witches and ghostly shadows, is haunting. The madness of Macbeth, embodied by a spirited performance from Denzel Washington, is mesmerizing from start to finish. Joel Coen's artful adaptation is a marvel of design and structure. 

11. CODA

"CODA" tells the tale of a seventeen-year-old young woman named Ruby (Emilia Jones), the sole hearing member of a deaf family. This coming-of-age film doesn't rely on twists and turns to move its story forward but instead utilizes an accomplished cast to bring charm and heart to its plot. Emilia Jones is delightful, and the use of American Sign Language is lovely to see on film. "CODA" will have you smiling long after it leaves you.  

10. The Mitchells vs. The Machines

There aren't many films this year that I immediately wanted to watch again, "The Mitchells vs. The Machines" was one of those films. It is a feel-good family animation with a loving spirit for film and intelligent storytelling that displays the power of family and the importance of working together despite their differences. It's witty, charming, and surprisingly emotional. But perhaps the best recommendation comes from my 10-year son, who said, "we need more movies that show how important it is to work together."

9. Pig

The trailer for "Pig" evokes the sensibilities of recent action/revenge films like "John Wick" or "Nobody." A scruffy truffle hunter who lives a life of solitude in the Oregon wilderness ventures into the city to find the person who stole his beloved pig. While the premise may elicit more odd reactions than the actual desire to watch the film, I assure you that "Pig" is so much more than what it advertises. Anchored by a subdued yet passionate performance from Nicolas Cage, "Pig" is a poignant journey of love and redemption. 

8. Spencer

"Spencer," a boundary-breaking biopic about Diana, the Princess of Wales, is described by director Pablo Larraín as "a fable from a true tragedy." It is a psychological drama, a tense thriller, a claustrophobic horror film, and a satirical comedy. Kristen Stewart, who continues to grow captivatingly as an actor, displays grit, elegance, and grace in the lead role. Stewart's performance is a highlight of any in 2021. Johnny Greenwood's pulsating score amplifies the themes of captivity and the yearning to break free. "Spencer" delivers a fable of the precarious path traveled in an attempt at freedom. 

7. Petite Maman

To reveal the intentions of writer/director Céline Sciamma's elegant and emotional journey into the life of a grieving family, specifically, a young girl named Nelly (Joséphine Sanz), would do a disservice to the magical cinematic vision this film composes. "Petite Maman" is a beautifully crafted film for children of all ages. Whatever you call it, a fable or allegory, it's undeniably excellent storytelling. 

6. The Green Knight

The brilliance of David Lowery's vision, "The Green Knight," is that the film isn't interested in finding understanding. It never positions itself for easy answers but instead lavishes in the twisting quest from the Round Table into the forest citadel. It has everything that current times have instilled into stories of knights in shining armor, adventure, danger, monsters, witches, spirits, and bloodshed. But "The Green Knight" never feels modernized; instead, there is no effort to update the language or repurpose the legend to fit a comfortable category. "The Green Knight" casts a spell of storytelling, an absorbing and visually beguiling tale.

5. The Killing of Two Lovers

The opening of director Robert Machoian's deftly crafted drama of love, loss, and longing is a meticulously composed act of tension. The story, about a married couple struggling to keep their relationship alive while living separated, displays the complicated emotional struggles of two adults trying to make sense of their committed life and the responsibilities and obligations that consume it. At times a haunting wintry tale of lost love and, in other moments, a heartbreaking story of the hardships endured during marriage. It's a character drama of the highest degree, finely directed and acted.

4. Licorice Pizza

In "Licorice Pizza," a coming-of-age movie set in the San Fernando Valley during the 1970s, director Paul Thomas Anderson paints a passionate and personal film about youth and maturation. The film follows Gary; a hustling teenager played with sincerity by Cooper Hoffman. And Alana, an assertive and strong-willed young woman, played with vibrance by Alana Haim. The two bicker and banter, succeed and fail, flirt and fall in love in the shadow of Hollywood and the glow of daydream California. Anderson stages a careful yet carefree film in its execution of structure and storytelling. 

3. Power of the Dog

Director Jane Campion examines the shifting, visible and concealed, characteristics of identity for a group of people living on a ranch through the western genre. Campion, with expert precision, weaves a western that is complicated and compelling, a psychological thriller that operates with enough ambiguity to keep the mystery of manipulations intriguing until the bitter end. Benedict Cumberbatch crafts a menacing and manipulative character. It's an impressively constructed film from the hands of one of cinema's most accomplished directors.

2. Summer of Soul (Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)

Director Ahmir Thompson, a.k.a. Questlove, takes us to a six-week summer music festival in 1969 known as the Harlem Cultural Festival. Though on the surface a concert movie, this documentary is also a journey through a critical time in history for Black America. The music explores both diversity and unification, while the concert event displays a new movement in culture, politics, and pride. The interlacing of civil rights violence footage, speeches from political activists, and interviews with concert attendees are impeccably arranged. "Summer of Soul" is simply one of the best music documentaries ever made.

1. Drive My Car

In a film about dealing with grief, understanding the bounds of love, the traumatic and therapeutic process of work, and the healing capacity of art, director Ryusuke Hamaguchi crafts a stunning piece of cinema with "Drive My Car." At nearly 3-hours in length, Hamaguchi's film never outstays its tender yet complicated welcome. Centering on the life of a widowed theater director Yusuke (Hidetoshi Nishijima), working on an "Uncle Vanya" production for a festival in Hiroshima, the story maneuvers a delicate and meditative trance of emotion. "Drive My Car" is masterful filmmaking. 

Honorable Mentions:

• C'mon C'mon

• The Empty Man

• French Dispatch

• Judas and the Black Messiah

• The Lost Daughter

• Memoria

• Old Henry

• Passing

• Red Rocket

• Riders of Justice

• Saint Maud

• Shiva Baby

• Spiderman: No Way Home

• tick, tick…Boom!

• Titane

• The Velvet Underground

• The Vigil

• Westside Story

• The Worst Person in the World 

• Zola

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A Year in Review: Jen’s Favorite Films of 2021

By Jen Johans

An Introduction:

For me, it really starts in November. That's when I begin to draft my first tentative, incomplete list of the best films I've seen all year and it's also when more screeners land in my inbox and door. No longer covering festivals and instead, spending most of my year revisiting older titles to prepare for my podcast Watch With Jen, November is also when I survey my friends and colleagues to figure out which films I should prioritize, and how much I still need to watch to not only vote in three different critics organizations but create this list overall.

Boring bookkeeping aside, however, it's also when I do what I most love as a film buff, which is to go beyond frequently listed favorites to search for buried treasure to share with others. Every year, it seems, there are films that a majority of critics loved that, for whatever reason, just don't register with me nearly as much as others I feel a personal connection to that are either overlooked or under-praised by the traditional press. Of course, in this pursuit, I'm also limited by which films were available to be safely screened for me by my deadline. (For example, you won't read about “West Side Story” or “Parallel Mothers” in this article because I haven't seen them yet.)

Still, featuring everything from big studio franchise fare to the smallest indies, docs, or foreign titles, this compilation of 2021 favorites is much more diverse than the list I created a year ago. Another difference I've noticed is the sheer number of recurring themes that seem to exist within these films, regardless of who made them, where, and how.

From “American Graffiti” to “Three Colors: Red,” fittingly for the movies, which is a medium that Roger Ebert famously described as “a machine that generates empathy,” one of my main screen obsessions has always been tales of unexpected human connection or stories where characters you would never expect to cross paths and connect suddenly do. Whether it's in “Drive My Car” or “Language Lessons,” such films show up multiple times in this list and doubtlessly, have taken on more poignancy during the global pandemic, as did my interest in films and characters who are all grappling with the past.

From unearthed footage captured in the tumultuous 1960s that's been edited together in music documentaries like “The Beatles: Get Back” to tales of flawed individuals utterly haunted by their pasts, as we move forward yet stand still in life in the time of Covid, we increasingly find ourselves needing to look back. 

Rather than rank my favorites in arbitrary numerical order, I thought that it would make much more sense to write about them naturally by theme and focus on the ways that (for me, at least) so many of these films relate to and/or interact with one another. More than just rattling off these titles as options for a quick watch, while I know you probably won't love them all, I hope you'll find some new favorites from among this list to eagerly look back on as a snapshot of how art tried to make sense of life in 2021.

The films you'll read about here (in order of how they're dissected) include: “The Power of the Dog,” “Old Henry,” “The Harder They Fall,” “The Dry,” “Wrath of Man,” “The Many Saints of Newark,” “No Time To Die,” “The Lost Daughter,” “Mass,” “Test Pattern,” “Flee,” “The Velvet Underground,” “The Beatles: Get Back,” “Summer of Soul (...or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised),” “Drive My Car,” “Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy,” “The Worst Person in the World,” “Licorice Pizza,” “Cyrano,” “Language Lessons,” “Luca,” and “The Mitchells vs. the Machines.”

(Read the rest of Jen’s essay on Film Intution here: https://reviews.filmintuition.com/2022/01/FavoriteFilmsOf2021.html)

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The Tender Bar - Virtual Press Conference

“Sometimes you wanna go where everybody knows your name, and they’re always glad you came.”

“The Tender Bar” is the story about J.R. – as a kid (Daniel Ranieri) and then young adult (Tye Sheridan) - who looks up to his Uncle Charlie (Ben Affleck).  Since J.R.’s father is rarely in his life, Charlie fills the void and encourages his nephew to read and pursue his passions.  Hey, he even gives dating tips.  Everyone could use an Uncle Charlie!  

George Clooney’s film – adapted from J.R. Moehringer’s 2005 memoir – has a terrific ensemble cast, and the Phoenix Film Festival was invited to a “The Tender Bar” virtual press conference with Ben, Daniel, Tye, Lily Rabe, Briana Middleton, screenwriter William Monahan, and Christopher Lloyd!   The Phoenix Film Festival’s questions weren’t chosen, but we were thrilled to attend the event.

“The Tender Bar” is playing in theatres and streaming on Amazon Prime! 

Q:  Ben, in the film, J.R. looks up to Uncle Charlie, not only as a father figure but also as a guy who he admires.  When you were growing up, who did you most look up to?

BA:  I have a number of people in my life that I was lucky enough to really support me.  My father, interestingly, also was a self-taught guy.  He was very, very interested in language, writing, and storytelling.  Ultimately, I had a drama teacher who was extraordinarily inspiring and influential.  He gave me a sense of confidence about (pursuing acting), so I didn’t seem reckless, crazy, and absurd to go out to L.A. and decide that I could be in movies.  Despite the fact that nobody wanted me in their movies (at first), I thought, “Well, Jerry thinks I’m good, so I probably am, I guess.”  That’s an incredibly powerful thing that (mentors) provide.  It’s an undervalued role in society, but it makes a huge difference.

Q:  Daniel, was acting for the first time easier or harder than you thought it would be?

DR:  It was easier than I thought.  I was kind of nervous in the first scene, but after, I said, “Oh wait. (There’s) no reason to be nervous.  This is easy.”  I wasn’t nervous (during) the rest of the scenes.  We filmed (them), had a good time, and I loved the experience.  

Q:  Tye, how closely did you and Daniel work together to make the performances consistent in playing the same character at different ages?

TS:  We didn’t get to work too closely.  We were shooting on the same days.  We would often have lunch together, so we got to know each other a little bit off-camera.  We were almost building the character together at the same time.  George was at the helm of directing and making sure we were both growing in the right way.  What did you think, Daniel?

DR: Yea, the same thing!  Tye (and I) have a relationship now, and I love him so much, like my big brother.  

TS: I love you, Buddy.

Q:  William, what are the main assets of J.R.’s memoir, and what were the main challenges of translating it to cinematic language?

WM: The main problem always is that you’re looking at a 400 or 500-page book, and you’ve got to bring it in (to) about 115 or 120 pages.  If you did a straight adaptation, you would have the kid, (the) teenager, and the young man.  So, one of those had to go.  It had to be the teenager, and you try to make the young boy work with the college-aged kid.  The book itself is just a monument of riches, and I grew up at the same time (as J.R.).  We were journalists (in) New York at the same time.  I come from the same sort of background with very tough, literate Irish uncles, and (the book) suited me.  

Q:  Lily, what were your biggest sources of inspiration in coming up with your characterization of J.R.’s mom, Dorothy?

LR:  The memoir, like (William) said, is a mine of riches.  (J.R.) dedicated (it) to his mother, and there were so many beautiful things to fill my suitcase with before showing up to start shooting.  I had a very wonderful mother.  (We have) periods in (our lives) when we are waiting for the good things to start happening: to figure out who we are, to figure out what we love, to figure out what we’re going to do next, between breakups or between jobs.  My mother was so brilliant at pointing (out) that there’s so much life to be had in (those) “in between” moments.  There’s so much opportunity for joy in the down moments, in those moments of stillness.  That was such a remarkable quality in my mother.   

Q:  Briana, Sidney is a very complex character.  It’s very tough to side for or against her, depending upon the situation.  Is this something you felt when playing her? 

BM:  Yes and no.  I hope that people feel conflicted about her throughout the film.  I, as the person playing (Sidney), was an advocate for her and totally on her side.  I’m glad we get to see her family and the world that she comes from, and I hope that it adds an element to her, other than being the crazy girlfriend.  She’s very complex, and she’s someone who knows her trajectory but is maybe conflicted about what that is.  (Sidney) is still a young person but understands the world that she’s in, where she comes from, and the expectations that she has.  I think we’re seeing her figure that out too, and (J.R.) just happens to get caught in the wake of it.  

Q:  Christopher, when it comes to accepting roles, what do you look for in a project?

CL:  When I read (a script) for the first time, I want to feel that I can connect with something about the (character) that everybody else can connect with.  Otherwise, what’s the point?

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The Tender Bar – Movie Review

Directed by:  George Clooney

Written by:  William Monahan, based on J.R. Moehringer’s book

Starring:  Ben Affleck, Tye Sheridan, Daniel Ranieri, Lily Rabe, Briana Middleton, Max Martini, and Christopher Lloyd

Runtime:  106 minutes

‘The Tender Bar’ serves some lovely performances but only the Cliff Notes of a worthy story

“Sometimes you wanna go where everybody knows your name, and they’re always glad you came.” – “Cheers” Theme Song, “Where Everybody Knows Your Name” by Gary Portnoy and Judy Hart-Angelo

For J.R. (Daniel Ranieri, Tye Sheridan), that place is The Dickens Bar, his Uncle Charlie’s (Ben Affleck) modest but busy and beloved pub.  When we first meet J.R., he’s in elementary school, but Charlie doesn’t serve him alcohol at such a young age.  Instead, J.R. receives plenty of root beers and, more importantly, advice.  His thoughtful uncle encourages the lad to read, pursue his passion (writing), and he also gives dating tips.  

Charlie, in his 30s or 40s, has his issues – like gambling setbacks and still living with his mom (Sondra James) and dad (Christopher Lloyd) – but he’s awfully kind to - and protective of - J.R.  

Since the young man’s father (Max Martini) isn’t usually in the picture – and trust me, no one wants him to be – Charlie helps fill the parental gap with supportive words and old-school pick-yourself-up mantras.  

Everyone should have an Uncle Charlie. 

Director George Clooney adapts “The Tender Bar” from J.R. Moehringer’s 2005 memoir of the same name, and the film covers the author’s experiences from childhood to young adulthood.  Clooney’s film offers memorable personalities, like J.R.’s mom (Lily Rabe), grandpa (Lloyd), college girlfriend (Briana Middleton), and absent father (Martini).  However, we get small snippets of others that we – quite frankly – don’t see enough.  

For instance, Grandma may have spoken one line in the entire film.  Pub regulars played by Max Casella and Matthew Delamater frequent The Dickens Bar, but we only get occasional glimpses.  Chief (Casella) – after a couple of cocktails – succinctly states the Magna Carta’s importance to J.R. and his friend Wesley (Rhenzy Feliz), and we see him at a bowling alley get together and a few flashes in the background, but that’s it. 

Indeed, Charlie and his buds must have plenty of hilarious adventures and missteps with J.R. to showcase on the big screen.  Well, we enjoy their drive to the beach as Charlie packs them in his Cadillac convertible.  Unfortunately, this joyous jaunt occurs during the end credits with Steely Dan’s “Do It Again” blasting on the theatre speakers.  No doubt, this critic enjoys that song, but it’d be nice to hear the banter along the way. 

Look, “The Tender Bar” is a pleasant coming-of-age film. (It’s rated R because of a gratuitous sex scene and the frequent use of one particular word that forcibly pushes the Motion Picture Association of America away from PG-13.)  

The problem is that the movie covers too many ages in just 106 minutes, namely one too many. Screenwriter William Monahan has the unenviable task of baking an entire person’s memoir into a 1-hour 46-minute film.  He features J.R. as a child (Ranieri) and then a high schooler/college student/young journalist (Sheridan).  In doing so, the on-screen events leapfrog from memory to memory at a swift pace to embrace J.R.’s passage from age 10 to roughly 23.  

No doubt, the film has some genuine moments, like Grandpa taking J.R. to a Father and Son Breakfast, Mom’s heart-to-heart about success, and Charlie chewing out the school’s psychologist.  Affleck is flat-out terrific in every single on-screen moment, as Charlie provides his nephew with continuous counsel.  These scenes are insightful and glorious.  A 10-year-old needs guidance, and that’s what Charlie, Mom, and Grandpa provide.

However, J.R. needs to set aside conversing about life and live it, at least for a little while on-screen.  Other than the aforementioned bowling trip, young J.R. is mostly listening.  In fact, young J.R. writes up a newspaper called “The Family Gazette”, but we don’t see him work on it other than five seconds on a typewriter.   

Around the film’s 40-minute mark, Sheridan takes the full reins as J.R.  He goes to college (but this review will not reveal which university), meets new roommates, gets an on-again-off-again girlfriend, graduates, and lands a job as a reporter (on a trial basis).  

J.R. converses with key players, but the said events feel like a laundry list. For example, J.R. connects with brand-new college roommates – Wesley and Jimmy (Ivan Leung) - in the dorms, and Wesley says, “Let’s get f***** up.”  

In the next scene, we don’t see this college trio drink but sit in a class instead.  I imagine that Clooney filmed a raucous set of partying, but it ended up on the cutting room floor, or perhaps, the moment didn’t occur at all.  

It’s impossible to know, but there’s a lot of that in “The Tender Bar”.

Young J.R. writes “The Family Gazette” (as mentioned earlier), but he doesn’t do the research. 

Teenager J.R. goes to high school, but he doesn’t have friends or attend class.

College J.R. is a freshman, and in the next minute, he’s a senior. 

Adult J.R. works at The Dickens Bar, but he doesn’t bartend, bar-back, or wait tables.

Adult J.R. gets a job at a MAJOR newspaper, but we don’t see him write one story. 

The movie comes to a head when J.R. confronts his primary antagonist, but the emotional impact feels manufactured with some pretty brutal ugliness because maybe, we don’t really know this young man that much at all.  

Well, the movie certainly offers a soulful Ben Affleck supporting performance, some lovely moments from Ranieri, Sheridan, Lloyd, Rabe, and Middleton, and a toe-tapping soundtrack (including “Two of a Kind”, “Dancing in the Moonlight”, and “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover”).  

Unfortunately, “The Tender Bar” only serves the Cliff Notes of a worthy story.   

Jeff’s ranking

2/4 stars

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Licorice Pizza – Movie Review

Directed and written by:  Paul Thomas Anderson

Starring:  Cooper Hoffman and Alana Haim

Runtime:  133 minutes

‘Licorice Pizza’: Hoffman and Haim are a winning combination in this weird, winding journey

“I’m not gonna forget you.” – Gary (Cooper Hoffman)

You never forget your first crush, right?

Then again, you may, but not your first relationship.  

Gary isn’t in a relationship with Alana (Alana Haim), but he wants to be.  He tells his little brother that he’ll marry her someday.  Unfortunately, Gary – from Sherman Oaks, Calif. – has a problem about the size of the Rose Bowl and L.A. Coliseum combined.  He’s 15, and Alana – residing in nearby Encino, which is just 6.4 miles away according to Google maps – is 25.

Well, a major age difference, especially when the woman is older, can work just fine.  Comedian Nick Offerman (51) is 12 years younger than his comedienne wife Megan Mullally (63), and there’s Hugh Jackman (53) and Deborra-Lee Furness (66).  French President Emmanuel Macron (44) and Brigitte Macron (68) are a happy pair too, so comparatively, a 10-year gap is a mere pittance.  

C’est petite. 

Still, Gary is only 15, but he doesn’t operate like a typical teenager.  He’s an actor and also runs his mother’s public relations business, which seems fairly lucrative, or at the very least, it pays the bills.  Conversely, Alana proceeds like a directionless 18-year-old.  She – the youngest of three girls - lives with her parents, and the entire sister-triad inhabit their folks’ home.

Anyway, she works at Tiny Toes, a photography company, and Alana first meets Gary during his high school Picture Day!  Gary, who resembles a combination of Philip Seymour Hoffman (Cooper’s dad in real life) and Danny Partridge, gives his best effort as a conversationalist to win over Alana.  She’s a thin brunette – with a Marsha Brady hairstyle - who has heard every cheesy pickup line via the local pubs and burger joints for years and years. 

Since Alana does not see or anticipate better options on her immediate San Fernando Valley horizon (or for whatever reason), she reluctantly meets Gary for a drink.  They form a friendship and become business partners in writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson’s weird, winding story that happens to be the very best comedy that this critic has seen in 2021.  

One of the year’s best films, in fact.  

Anderson’s hang-out movie – set in 1973 - puts out a vibe that life is a collection of happenstances and oddities, although initially fueled by Gary Valentine’s ingenuity and resourcefulness.  He’s a go-getter who rushes toward opportunities.  Since our young hero lives in the Entertainment Capital of the World, this kid – filled with pure ambition to succeed – sometimes bumps elbows with Hollywood’s shakers.  

While this irresistible teenage force attempts to win over a mid-20s immovable object, Anderson sprinkles several surprises and a few prominent cameos (who will not be named in this review) that add vibrant cinematic sugar rushes to Gary and Alana’s journey.  

Gary’s “Avengers Assemble” gusto with his 8-year-old brother and 15-year-old friends and Alana’s varied responses to this young lad’s entrepreneurial and naive fearlessness hold our attention for two-plus hours.  The aforementioned unexpected astonishments - in the form of distinctly unique sequences with peculiar banter - act as a hypnosis of sorts into this otherworld called the early 1970s.  For good measure, Anderson throws in groovy tracks that flood our senses and rival the infinitely catchy “Guardians of the Galaxy – Vol. 1” soundtrack. 

What’s more, Anderson includes Alana, Gary, and the gang in an extended scene with a truck that will drop your jaw for about five minutes straight, as our damsel-in-command showcases her powers. 

So, when does an actual licorice pizza enter the silver screen?   

Well, in Brent Lang’s Nov. 10, 2021 “Variety” interview with Anderson, the director says, “Growing up, there was a record-store chain in Southern California called Licorice Pizza.  It seemed like a catch-all for the feeling of the film.  I suppose if you have no reference to the store, it’s two great words that go well together and maybe capture a mood.” 

It certainly does. 

Admittedly, the casual pacing and the 10-year age gap between the lead characters will turn off some audiences, but for those wishing to absorb sharp - and sometimes magical - discourse on a bizarre, nonchalant ride will earn big rewards in the theatre and smiles for days…maybe years. 

Jeff’s ranking

3.5/4 stars

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Spider-Man: No Way Home – Movie Review

Directed by:  Jon Watts

Written by:  Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers

Starring:  Tom Holland, Zendaya, Benedict Cumberbatch, Marisa Tomei, Jacob Batalon, and Jon Favreau

Runtime:  148 minutes

‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ is a crowd-pleasing, popcorn-snacking, jaw-dropping flick  

“Spider-Man.  Where are you coming from, Spider-Man?  Nobody knows who you are.” – “The Electric Company” Spider-Man Theme Song  

Many apologies for contradicting the aforementioned decree, but when we last saw the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Spider-Man (Tom Holland), everyone discovered “who he is.”

Everyone.

In director Jon Watts’ “Spider-Man: Far From Home” (2019) – which seems like it arrived in theatres a decade ago – Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) reveals Spider-Man’s identity as Midtown High School senior Peter Parker to the world through J. Jonah Jameson’s (J.K. Simmons) news report on TheDailyBugle.net.  

“What the---?!?” Spider-Man exclaims.

Well, “Spider-Man: No Way Home” – again, helmed by Watts (who also directed “Spider-Man: Homecoming” (2017)) – picks up immediately from the “Far From Home” post-credit scene.  Now, in a panic, our Friendly Neighborhood Red & Blue Hero, grabs MJ (Zendaya), swings across the city and inside some subway tunnels, and arrives at home to flee the chaos and hoopla. 

Oh, he and we ain’t seen nothing yet!

“No Way Home” is - far and away – the most ambitious (live-action) “Spider-Man” movie.  Second place isn’t close.  

While “Homecoming” offered a long-form introduction to the MCU’s web-slinger (outside Holland’s first appearance in “Captain America: Civil War” (2016)) and “Far From Home” was a denouement from the “Infinity War” (2018)/”Endgame” (2019) saga, this film takes a massive, incalculable concept – the multiverse – and introduces it to New York City.  More precisely, the multiverse’s expanse targets one human being, Peter Parker. 

The result is a crowd-pleasing, popcorn-snacking, and jaw-dropping 148-minute flick.

Sure, screenwriters Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers take apparent departures with logic and also construct an ordinary problem – albeit under extraordinary circumstances – to trigger Peter’s multiverse dilemma, but any scriptwriting shortcuts or tangled webs are forgiven through the pair’s sweat and determination to please the audience, and more specifically, Spider-Man fans.

Die-hard Spidey fanatics won’t want “No Way Home” to end, as McKenna, Sommers, and Watts joyfully and skillfully include oodles of references, quotes, Easter eggs, surprises, and nostalgic cues throughout the 2nd and 3rd acts.  The film feels like the three said fellas must have mapped out this movie over countless four-hour, past-midnight diner conversations with the overjoyed glee of teenagers hopped up on stacks of pancakes and 40-oz glasses filled with soda pop.

So, who or what did this Spidey Team conjure?   

Conjure is apropos because Peter turns to Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) for help with his current conundrum.  Since just about anyone on the planet tied to social media knows that Peter is Spider-Man, the folks closest to him – Aunt May (Marisa Tomei), MJ, and Ned (Jacob Batalon) – are negatively impacted.  No thanks to Mysterio and Jameson, Spider-Man/Peter is widely-considered a muddled hero or, at worst, a villain.  Chalk it up to guilt by association and perception is everything, so Peter asks Strange to stir up a spell that makes the world forget that he’s Spider-Man.  

The Good Doctor attempts to help this desperate teen, but due to Peter’s anxiety and meddling in the middle of the incantation, Strange ends the mystical experiment.  Unfortunately, the magic accidentally releases individuals from other universes who know Spider-Man’s true identity and brings them to this one.  

In other words, some specific villains from previous Spider-Man movies (namely from Sam Raimi’s and Marc Webb’s films) magically appear and hence offer brand-new challenges for Holland’s Peter. 

Doctor Strange assigns the unenviable task of cleaning up this mess to MJ, Ned, and Peter and exclaims, “Get on your phones, scour the Internet, and Scooby-Doo this ****.” 

Hey, just round up these new/old baddies, and then Strange will send them back to their respective homes.  Spidey, however, wants to travel an unselfish, noble path and help these otherworldly adversaries by “fixing” their problems.  

Have you ever dated someone who tried to fix you?  Maybe you were open to it, or perhaps not. 

Anyways, Peter attempts to “Scooby-Doo” and “Mr. Peabody” this super-predicament using Stark technology.  Since “No Way Home” is a comic book film that bathes in magic, multiverses, and superhero themes, one obviously suspends disbelief.  Still, Peter attempting to address immense physiological and technological challenges during a – seemingly - lazy Sunday afternoon has all the eye-rolling feelings of Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) unlocking the key to time travel over coffee in “Avengers: Endgame”.

Although the key to this movie’s success is not how we got here, but hey, that we’re here!

“No Way Home” is not a happy accident.  It’s a thrilling, stand-up-and-cheer one, and Watts throws everything plus the kitchen sink (and a toaster oven for good measure) on the screen to take full advantage of this cinematic event’s time and place.

In the process, Holland, Cumberbatch, Zendaya, Batalon, Tomei, Jon Favreau, and others gladly tinker with the appliances and scores of toys, as they seem to enjoy the experience as much as we are. 

The film’s intended payoffs, and there are many, outweigh some flawed logic, the 1st act’s slow pacing, and insanely-instantaneous scientific breakthroughs.  

Well, Watts’ Spider-Man trilogy is complete.  Also, Peter’s high school life is now behind him.  How does the pomp and circumstance of this Spider-Man film top the next one?  Your guess is as good as mine because “No Way Home” may or may not be the best Spider-Man movie, but it’s the most rewarding one.   

Jeff’s ranking

3.5/4 stars

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National Champions – Movie Review

Directed by:  Ric Roman Waugh

Written by:  Adam Mervis

Starring:  Stephan James, J.K. Simmons, Lil Rey Howery, Kristin Chenoweth, Timothy Olyphant, and Tim Blake Nelson

Runtime:  116 minutes

‘National Champions’ needs a little less talk and at least some action

“Get your popcorn ready because this is about to be a good one.”

Yes, in just 72 hours, the New Orleans Superdome will host the College Football Championship.  

The Missouri Wolves, led by quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner LeMarcus James (Stephan James), will face the Cougars and running back Cecil Burgess (Therry Edouard) in a gridiron clash for the ages.  

With a dizzying array of clips and commentary from familiar sports reporters during the opening, you could cut the air of excitement of director Ric Roman Waugh’s film with a chainsaw. 

However, after two minutes, the fanfare ends.  

You see, LeMarcus – the sport’s biggest star and the Miami Dolphins’ future # 1 draft pick – boycotts the big game to hold out for money and benefits for thousands of college football players.  No doubt, these athletes put their bodies in harm’s way during months of practice and 12-plus games a year, but they don’t earn a paycheck despite the NCAA raking in billions in annual revenues.  Sure, the football players earn scholarships and free living expenses for four years, but they don’t receive the slightest slice of the NCAA’s prosperous, posh pie.  As for the NFL, only a scant percentage of student-athletes graduate to the pros. 

Student-athletes face an unjust system, and the Missouri Wolves’ QB has lived through enough.  LeMarcus makes his most challenging attempt yet: facing a world of criticism during his biggest moment. 

Here’s one more criticism, and it’s a warning to the viewer:  “National Champions” doesn’t feature one play of the big game, as the entire premise circles around LeMarcus’ off-the-field fight with boosters, conference chairmen, other NCAA suits, his coach (J.K. Simmons), and a clever lawyer/hired gun.  

With just three days until kickoff, just about “everyone” wants him to give up this moral stance.  Rather than feature James firing touchdowns on the Superdome turf, Waugh sequesters his lead protagonist and his teammate Emmett Sunday (Alexander Ludwig) in a dimly lit hotel room.  Not just one chamber, but James, Sunday, Head Coach James Lazor (Simmons), Defensive Coordinator Ronnie Dunn (Lil Rel Howery), athletic booster Rodger Cummings (Tim Blake Nelson), and others pop into ordinary conference rooms or other suites as they chat, converse, discuss, and blather about the current stalemate.   

Sure, that’s the film’s point, but “National Champions” might be the most pedestrian sports movie in recent memory. 

Granted, addressing an inequitable economic system is an altruistic endeavor, and we should all applaud Waugh and screenwriter Adam Mervis for their message.  Still, I don’t know if a 116-minute cinematic narrative where players, coaches, administrators, and fans stand around and debate dollars is the best use of our time when an ESPN “30 for 30” documentary can flush out the same dispute.

To fill up nearly two hours, Waugh and Mervis break up the monotony with the coach’s wife (Kristin Chenoweth) engaging in an adulterous affair, and James and Sunday recite the Ezekiel 25:17 rant from “Pulp Fiction” (1994), so there’s that.  LeMarcus also nurses a bothersome head cold.  

For good measure, we get several drone shots of the football stadium and downtown New Orleans that might spark memories of the frequent San Francisco cuts in Tommy Wiseau’s “The Room” (2003).

Still, let’s not wholly compare this movie to Wiseau’s infamous film.  That’s not fair, especially because “National Champions” creates a miraculous event.  This film turns J.K. Simmons – who played J. Jonah Jameson and won an Oscar for portraying one of the most memorable 21st-century villains in “Whiplash” (2014) – into the most ineffectual coach since George (Chelcie Ross), the high school basketball lead from “Hoosiers” (1986).  You know, the guy who Norman Dale (Gene Hackman) replaced. 

Well, at least Coach Lazor isn’t afraid to admit to his bedroom impotence to all his players and staff during a critical speech.  Yea, that happened.   

Jeff’s ranking

1.5/4 stars

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Being the Ricardos – Movie Review

Directed and written by:  Aaron Sorkin

Starring:  Nicole Kidman, Javier Bardem, J.K. Simmons, and Nina Arianda

Runtime:  125 minutes

‘Being the Ricardos’ captures a ‘scary’ week in this gripping, insightful Lucille and Desi biopic  

“That was a scary week.  It was a very scary week.” – staff writer Bob Carroll (Ronny Cox)

Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz produced and starred in their megahit “I Love Lucy” (1951 – 1957) during the (first) Golden Age of Television.  It’s one of the all-time great sitcoms, as Lucy (Ball) usually knotted herself into harmless schemes over scores and scores of 23 to 26-minute episodes.  Lucy had to eventually and embarrassingly untangle her binds, and many times, in front of her husband Ricky (Arnaz).  

Hey, what’s your favorite “I Love Lucy” memory?  

The chocolate factory’s conveyor belt catastrophe – in S2E1’s “Job Switching” – might be this critic’s.  Then again, who could forget Lucy pitching Vitameatavegamin, but then stumbling over her words because the potion contains a sizeable percentage of alcohol in S1E30’s “Lucy Does a TV Commercial”.  

Yes, Lucille, Desi, William Frawley as Fred Mertz, and Vivian Vance as Ethel Mertz triggered raucous laughter and warm memories in millions and millions of households through the show’s initial run and for future generations in reruns.  

Writer/director Aaron Sorkin’s “Being the Ricardos” is a biopic about Lucille Ball, but not a traditional one.  A vast majority of the film’s 125 minutes transpires over one week, planning for an “I Love Lucy” episode, S2E4’s “Ethel and Fred Fight”.  

(For the record, this is an actual episode, but – in reality - in the show’s premiere season (S1E22).)

“I’m from the Midwest.  I’ve lived through The Depression, The Dust Bowl.  I don’t scare that easy, but yea, it was a scary goddamn week.”  - staff writer Madelyn Pugh (Linda Lavin)

Although we absorb snippets of Ball (Nicole Kidman), Arnaz (Javier Bardem), Frawley (J.K. Simmons), and Vance (Nina Arianda) playing their small-screen alter egos during takes and rewrites of this particular TV experience, the recreated show clips in this movie are few and far between.

With terrific comedic actors like Tony Hale, Alia Shawkat, and J.K. Simmons jousting at times, “Being the Ricardos” has some whip-smart witty moments.  Still, this movie is not a comedy, nor a two-hour construction of “Ethel and Fred Fight”.  It’s partially the latter, but Sorkin’s film is a twisty, layered drama with multiple storylines that fly towards the audience with the speed of a dozen car salespeople gushing their pitches and vying for our attention in rapid succession on the last day to make their monthly quotas.  

This review will not reveal the most prominent dilemma, but it is severe enough to sully Lucille’s reputation and cancel “I Love Lucy” in just its second season.  Other tricky issues present themselves, including Lucille and Desi’s sometimes-combustible marriage, Frawley and Vance’s snide warfare, oodles of individual conflicts between the stars, writers, head producer, director, and chief sponsor, and lastly, a fundamental disagreement about the “Ethel and Fred Fight” episode itself.

Anyone looking for a light, whimsical history of “I Love Lucy” or Kidman and company delivering uproarious recreations of the beloved program for two hours will be disappointed.

Instead, this film is an insider’s look at the intricate, thorny making of a big-time television show with competing personalities and - seemingly - hundreds of moving parts, like table reads, camera positioning, and sponsor meetings.  With Sorkin’s illustrious television and film history, he is exactly the right person to pen such a script. 

Obviously, Sorkin and Kidman compound the spectacle by plunging into deep icon waters.  Lucille Ball is as renowned as John Wayne, Bob Hope, Jimmy Stewart, or Jack Benny.  Notice that the aforementioned comparisons are men.  That’s by design because Ball was a pioneer as a female comedienne and resilient businesswoman. 

No question, this is a risky but also fruitful cinematic exploration, and during a Dec. 6 “Being the Ricardos” virtual press conference, Kidman voiced her apprehension about playing Ball (pardon the pun). 

“Initially, when I said, ‘Yes’, I did not realize what I was saying ‘yes’ too,” Kidman says and adds, “Maybe, a week later, it hit me.  I was trying to work on baby steps into her voice, and it was nowhere within reach.  I (thought), ‘Oh no.  What have I done?’”  

She then discusses discovering both Lucy’s and Lucille’s voices, literally and metaphorically.   

Kidman says, “I was able to work on the actual Lucy part of it.  I could hang my hat on that.  I’d (think), ‘I’m going to have the hair.  I’m going to have the lips, and I’m going to have all of that.’  Even though (playing Lucy on the show) is a sliver of the movie, I’ll have that.  Then, out of Lucy Ricardo came Lucille Ball.  Lucille Ball is very different (than) Lucy Ricardo.  Lucille Ball created Lucy Ricardo.”

Kidman portrays a formidable, demanding, and perceptive presence who calls most of the shots regarding the show.  Lucille is a mesmerizing, intimidating force, but she wholly partners with – rather than bullies – Desi.  In almost all cases, Lucille and Desi are professionally aligned, but they are sometimes personally fractured.  

Kidman meets this daunting challenge and commands the screen, and her Lucy Ricardo moments offer pretty darn close to dead-on remembrances of our treasured red-headed character.  

Personally, my repeated reactions - during those precious minutes - were, “Wow!  She got it!”

Bardem compliments Kidman just fine as Arnaz.  He doesn’t resemble or sound like the real-life actor/producer, but Bardem is quite believable as Desi, especially when Arnaz influences and navigates his and Lucille’s livelihood and image.   

Two of the most compelling images outside the leads are Simmons and Arianda as Frawley, Vance, and Fred and Ethel Mertz.  Simmons dons frumpy prosthetics and a frank, sarcastic guise that brings William/Fred to life in every frame.  Meanwhile, Arianda offers an authentic picture of a woman worthy of much more than a second fiddle, but Vivian is resigned to playing supporting, plain notes for the good of the show.  

It’s all about the show, and yes, it was a scary week…and an utterly gripping and insightful time at the movies.  

Jeff’s ranking

3.5/4 stars

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Being the Ricardos - Virtual Press Conference

“I Love Lucy” (1951 – 1957) graced millions of American households for six seasons during the (first) Golden Age of Television, and Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz’s hilarious sitcom made them stars.  Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem are two of today’s brightest movie stars, and they play Lucille and Desi, respectively, in writer/director Aaron Sorkin’s “Being the Ricardos”, a film set during one week of planning for an “I Love Lucy” episode, although most of this movie’s dramatics unfold behind the cameras. 

The Phoenix Film Festival was invited to a “Being the Ricardos” virtual press conference with Kidman, Bardem, and their co-stars J.K. Simmons and Nina Arianda, who are William Frawley and Vivian Vance (a.k.a. Fred and Ethel Mertz) in the film.  The Phoenix Film Festival’s questions weren’t chosen, but we were thrilled to attend the event!

“Being the Ricardos” arrives in theatres on Fri., Dec. 10 and on Amazon Prime Video on Fri., Dec. 21. 

Q:  Javier, I love that this movie is not just about Lucille and Desi as business partners, trailblazing business partners, but also as a married couple dealing with stuff.  How did those different aspects of their relationship appeal to you?

JB:  Well, that’s the complexity of the script.  It really goes to different places without abandoning (anyone) specific.  It (has) lots of aspects of them as a couple, as artists, as colleagues, and everything is so well put together that it makes it more exciting to perform it and watch it.  It’s full of details to give you a good idea of who they were and what they were doing. 

Q:  Nicole Kidman, I always wondered why there wasn’t a movie made about Lucille Ball.  Look, she was a studio head at the time when there weren’t that many women running a studio.

NK:  None. 

Q:  None.  Exactly!

NK:  Well, she wasn’t running a studio, but they had Desilu Productions.  No actors had that at that time.  She was the first of her kind.  She was one of a kind.  This film pulls the curtain back.  It’s not the “I Love Lucy” show.  It’s how it was made and who was this person that was capable of that genius.  What was her story?  What was her life?  Aaron Sorkin compresses a number of things into a week and, flashing forward and back, (shows) the essence of who this woman was and who these people were.  When I was sent (the screenplay), I couldn’t put it down.  (It’s) extraordinary.  I will ask anyone to read the screenplay because it’s such a good read.  

Q:  You are all giving two performances in this movie.  You’re playing the characters you’re playing, and then you’re playing the characters that they play on the show.   Nina, how did you approach that?   

NA:  For me, it was really important to honor the physical differences between the two women because they were so extreme.  Vivian was a wonderful dancer.  She was a leading lady.  She was an ingenue, and Ethel was Ethel.  (I had) all of the research I could possibly want for Ethel, but for Vivian, it was a little tougher.  A producer sent me a clip that was a couple of seconds long, and it was simply Desi introducing Vivian Vance to the audience right before they were taping.  It was really eye-opening for me.  Out came this woman with a long spine, her shoulders back, and she sashayed and took a graceful bow and left.  I just saw a completely different woman.  I became so obsessed with her background.  For me, I was really trying to be as respectful as I could to these very different bodies.  

Q:  How about for you, J.K.?

JKS:  As Nina said, we all had plenty of “I Love Lucy” to watch, so for those few moments when we were expected to sort of mimic the aspects of the show itself - the play within the play - that was very clear.  About Bill Frawley, there was zero video that I could find outside of his films and his appearances on “I Love Lucy”.  No talk shows, (nothing) on video, and not even a book.  Desi famously wrote a book called “A Book”.  There were plenty of books about Lucille Ball and even about Vivian Vance.  Much less about Bill Frawley.  

All of my research was (done) through the perspectives of Vivian, Lucille, Desi, Jess Oppenheimer, and some audio interviews.  In a way, I found that to be – sort of – freeing, in terms of how I portrayed off-camera Bill, which is 98 percent of the movie.  He was, honestly, not all that dissimilar from the cranky landlord Fred Mertz, but - the gift that we all got from Aaron Sorkin in this script and his direction along the way - there were so many beautifully detailed layers for all of us.  

We got to see multiple aspects of these characters as they relate to each other at different times.  The scene at the bar that I have with Lucille.  The scene after the table read that I have with Desi.  The back and forth that Vivian and Bill have.  It was not easy, but it was clear how to lift that off the page.  

Q:  Javier, what struck you the most when you researched Desi Arnaz?  What were your entry points to play Desi?

JB:  His absolute confidence in himself and how supportive he was of his wife and the whole show.  How he overcame obstacles with his strong sense of humor.  That doesn’t mean that he didn’t take (the work) seriously, but he didn’t get stuck in the drama of it all.   

Q:  Nicole, in terms of preparation to play Lucille Ball, it’s more than just preparation.  It’s a responsibility of sorts.   

NK:  Initially, when I said, “Yes”, I did not realize what I was saying “yes” too.  I (said) “yes” to an Aaron Sorkin script and a great opportunity.  I was like, “Wow!”  It was (during) a pandemic.  It was an extraordinary thing to sit on a Zoom (call) with Aaron, and (he said), “I want you to play Lucille Ball.”  

Maybe, a week later, it hit me.  I was trying to work on baby steps into her voice, and it was nowhere within reach.  I (thought), “Oh no.  What have I done?  I wish I had the talent to do this, but I don’t.”  

Luckily, I had a couple of months (to) work on it slowly, meticulously, methodically, watching the show, listening to the voice, and doing all of the preparation, which is very unusual for me.  A lot of times, I’ll start really inside, but the inside of it was already there, just because I could relate to her.  I could feel her.  (The script) was so beautifully written.

Then, I (thought), “How do I actually create Lucille Ball?”

Aaron was fantastic.  When I freaked out, which I did, he sent an email that basically (said), “You’ve got this.  You’re just going to have to take it day by day.  I don’t want an impersonation.  I want you to do the work that you can do…that I know you will do.  I (don’t) want you to freak out because I believe you can do it.”  

I would challenge him on that at different points, and he would never waver.  He was so consistent in his belief.  I would be begging for some sort of nose or chin, and he’d say, “I don’t care.”  

It was frustrating for him, I think, because he saw how he wanted it.  It took me time to give over to that.  In the process, I was able to work on the actual Lucy part of it.  I could hang my hat on that.  I’d (think), “I’m going to have the hair.  I’m going to have the lips, and I’m going to have all of that.”  Even though (playing Lucy on the show) is a sliver of the movie, I’ll have that.  Then, out of Lucy Ricardo came Lucille Ball.  Lucille Ball is very different (than) Lucy Ricardo.  Lucille Ball created Lucy Ricardo.   

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Wolf - Movie Review by Monte Yazzie

Dir: Nathalie Biancheri

Starring: George MacKay, Lily-Rose Depp, Paddy Considine, and Eileen Walsh

1h 38m

"Wolf," from writer-director Nathalie Biancheri, begins with a young man named Jacob (George MacKay) being admitted by his mother (Helen Behan) into a treatment clinic. Jacob believes that he is a wolf trapped in a human body; he uses all four limbs to move around, growls when threatened, and will howl loudly at the moon. At the clinic, other patients exhibit similar behavior; an overachieving young man (Fionn O'Shea) barks like a German shepherd, a young woman (Lola Petticrew) squawks defiantly like a parrot, while a preteen boy (Senan Jennings) waddles around like a duck. Jacob grows close with a fellow patient named Wildcat (Lily-Rose Depp), who assists in helping him find ways to unleash the animalistic urges that are forcefully, sadistically, prohibited by the therapy leader known as The Zookeeper (Paddy Considine). 

Nathalie Biancheri crafts an allegory about gender and sexual identity told within the confines of a conversion-therapy clinic with characters who have species dysphoria, a term used to define people who believe their body is the wrong species. The story is set in an interesting location inside a hostile clinic environment with an unfeeling staff and a cruel administrator. The facade of safety for this facility is undone by the cold walls and gloomy window views. When parental figures are taken away to discuss their child's care, the staff verbally shames the patient. It's difficult to watch how adults treat young people here. 

"Wolf" struggles at times to find which path it wants to take to tell its tale. In the beginning, Biancheri takes the deliberate approach of letting the environment take the viewer's grasp, a smart move considering the introduction of characters is a mix of jarring behaviors. However, once the film delves into the composition of the characters, specifically Jacob's struggle with the urges he is feeling, the focus becomes confused in a mix of different motivations. 

Early in the film, Jacob's journey feels like one of self-discovery. George MacKay does a fine job portraying Jacob, displaying the hesitancy with indulging in the activities at the facility while also being guarded about his inner urges. The film transitions from this meditative component and begins to lean into its doctor-patient conflict elements and the prison-verse-prisoner themes in the more abusive moments. It also introduces a confusing relationship piece with Lily-Rose Depp's character Wildcat that feels too underdeveloped to connect itself back to the story theme Biancheri is examining. 

The committed performances from the cast are exceptional; they are the strength holding the film's wandering narrative in place. MacKay and Depp have lovely chemistry, and they commit entirely to the subtle and blatant performance attributes. Paddy Considine is excellent as The Zookeeper, with domineering physical actions while spewing menacing discourses about acting "normal," he composes one of the most reprehensible villains in film for 2021.

"Wolf," in some places, has the mood of a horror film with its dark hallways, wicked caregivers, and howling man-beast. However, the scares are less unleashed monster and situated more within the social commentary for gender and sexual identity surrounding the troubling reality of hatred and prejudice experienced by these people. While Nathalie Biancheri proves a talented director of a cast of committed actors, the story wanders in too many directions and develops questions that become complicated to answer, ultimately muddling the presented metaphor. 

Monte's Rating

3.00 out of 5.00

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Wolf - Movie Review by Jeff Mitchell

Directed and written by:  Nathalie Biancheri

Starring:  George MacKay, Lily-Rose Depp, Paddy Considine, and Eileen Walsh

Runtime:  98 minutes

MacKay gives a compelling performance, but ‘Wolf’ is a difficult watch

“A man might befriend a wolf, even break a wolf, but no man can truly tame a wolf.” – George R. R. Martin

Jacob (George MacKay) has a problem.  His troubles are his family’s problem too, and his mom and dad turn over their hopes to a quasi-mental institution for help in writer/director Nathalie Biancheri’s disturbing drama, “Wolf”.  

You see, Jacob - a physically fit 20-something – believes that he’s a wolf.  Now, his eyesight seems satisfactory, and he lives in a world with mirrors, so he realizes that he doesn’t appear as a wild, four-legged canine.  This six-foot young man thinks he’s a wolf trapped in a human’s body, and Biancheri did not conjure up this concept, as she mentions during a Sept. 17, 2021 TIFF interview.

“I heard about this real-life phenomenon called species dysphoria, and I thought it was super-interesting.  I started researching it, and I found that it was just something I knew nothing about, where people actually believe that they’re an animal trapped in a human’s body, Biancheri says. 

She adds, “I used this conceptual idea of a person who believes that they’re an animal as a jumping-off point to then enter much more fictional territory.” 

“Wolf” is dystopian, and in fact, Biancheri’s picture has a “The Lobster” – Yorgos Lanthimos’ sensational and bizarre 2015 dramedy – vibe.  Sure, both movies were filmed in Ireland, but they each feature a society institutionalizing a number of human beings to fit within its norms.  Granted, the 2015 oddball flick’s premise – and chock-full of dry humor – is that single adults will live out the rest of their lives as animals of their choosing unless they find spouses or partners within 45 days.  The consequences reek with severity, but Lanthimos stirs comic absurdity with unexpected violence in his film to alienate or involve its audience.  

It all depends upon the viewer. 

Not so with “Wolf”.  This is a very different movie, as dread and unrest accompany the script and on-screen events.  

After Jacob’s folks drop him off at the hospital, and he dons blue and cream-colored attire (matching his fellow patients), we soon realize our protagonist’s worrisome road.  It’s not a winding one, but a straight-head, one-way freeway toward a cure, as it were.  A man nicknamed “The Zookeeper” (Paddy Considine) makes all the weighty decisions, including the final judgment about his patients actually leaving the unfriendly confines.  

The obvious goal is to free the patients from their animal notions.

Now, Eileen Walsh plays an amiable on-site therapist, and she welcomes a collection of young people (who individually think they are a dog, parrot, horse, squirrel, or name another member of the animal kingdom) to search their feelings or sing Laura Branigan’s “Gloria”.  However, The Zookeeper finds severe methods of persuasion. 

He delivers tough love in spades without any trace of empathy.  Although you and I will find these on-site inmates’ core beliefs utterly fantastical, The Zookeeper’s approach towards treating species dysphoria is callous, uncaring, and sometimes ruthless.  

Certainly, Biancheri plays with our patience and twists it in a bind.  The teens and 20-somethings - like the Wildcat (Lily-Rose Depp), German Shepherd (Fionn O’Shea), Jacob, and many more – act out their beastly alter-egos like an assembly of elementary school kids filled with sizable helpings of Monster Energy and LSD.  

It’s a madhouse.  

Honestly, only patron saints or dedicated health care professionals could stomach the lunacy within these walls.  The Zookeeper is neither one.  Well, he’s dedicated, but his methods are bathed in disdain.  His persona is a combination of Nurse Ratched (“One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” (1975)) and Gny. Sgt. Hartman (“Full Metal Jacket” (1987)), but he wraps himself in George Bailey (“It’s a Wonderful Life” (1946)) packaging. 

Still, there’s zero nuance here, as we know that this immovable object faces an irresistible force in the form of Jacob/The Wolf.   Sure, Jacob could have a change of heart, but the film frames his and the others’ internal wiring as permanent.  

In other words, this is a hopeless, one-note exercise.

Undoubtedly, “Wolf” is a thought-provoking idea as the film explores ethics and societal acceptance, but it also moves in one constant – unpleasant and peculiar – direction.  It carries and airs of doom and hopelessness without many breaks.  As the troubling and expected events between master and servant play out, the main question is:  will Jacob really transform into a wolf, a la “An American Werewolf In London” (1981) or “The Howling” (1981)? 

Ah, I won’t say, but I will unequivocally state that MacKay is compelling as a man believing that he is a wolf.  His snarling, bare-chested, crawling-on-all-fours performance is terribly unsettling, including one wince-inducing scene where Jacob courts Depp’s Wildcat in the middle of the night.

Now, the Wolf and Wildcat have another moment where they verbalize their convictions, as the screenplay finally reveals their headspaces.  We could’ve used a lot more of these scenes. 

Yes, these characters generally emote, but mainly in a primal manner without enough human shades to conflict with their split personalities.  They effectively gush as animals, and that’s the intended approach for this celluloid trial, but “Wolf” isn’t a palatable time at the movies, at least it wasn’t for this human.

Jeff’s ranking

2/4 stars

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Single All the Way - Movie Review

Director: Michael Mayer

Writer: Chad Hodge

Cast: Michael Urie, Philemon Chambers, Kathy Najimy, Jennifer Coolidge, & Barry Bostwick

Available 12/2/21 on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/81148358

By Jen Johans

Like putting new lenses in a beloved old pair of glasses, this week's sharply written, sweet-natured gay Netflix holiday romcom gives us a fresh look at a familiar genre.

Wisely and earnestly leaning into the tropes of a Christmas romance, in the quick-witted charmer “Single All the Way,” screenwriter Chad Hodge (who created one of my favorite little-seen TV shows of the late 2010s in “Good Behavior”) wins us over with his sincere affection for the films he's using as a jumping-off point.

To this end, when we first meet our adorable yet perpetually unlucky in love protagonist Peter (Michael Urie), he's disappointed once again after another short-lived romance goes down in flames. As tired of working on social media ad campaigns in Los Angeles as he is being single, when Peter begins making plans to visit his family in New Hampshire for the holidays, he ropes his oldest friend and roommate Nick (Philemon Chambers) into coming home with him and posing as his new boyfriend.

Not wanting to lie to a family that's come to mean almost as much to him as Peter, Nick begrudgingly goes along with Peter's plan. However, just when you think you've seen this movie before, almost as soon as they arrive at his parent's house, a wrench is thrown into the proceedings by Peter's jubilant mother Carole (Kathy Najimy).

Appearing on the scene with her newest homemade sign “Sleigh Queen,” before Peter and Nick can deliver their white lie, Carole decides to play another one of the romcom genre's greatest hits by happily announcing that she's set her son up on a blind date with her hunky spin instructor James (Luke Macfarlane).

But while his mom is content to try to craft a new romance for her son (like it's just one of the many signs she gives as gifts and hangs throughout the home), the rest of his family decides it's time to bring Peter and Nick together once and for all. Sensing not only their obvious chemistry but perhaps the lingering looks sent Peter's way by Nick, Peter's father (Barry Bostwick) and nieces make it their holiday mission to make this vital love connection. Gradually, they bring an amused, if torn, Nick into the fold.

Whether you're a devotee of the endless holiday romcoms produced by the Hallmark Channel or Lifetime every year, or your favorites are the classics like “The Shop Around the Corner,” and Christmas in Connecticut,” etc., or you stick with the treacly yet wicked wit of British comedies like “Bridget Jones's Diary” or “Love Actually,” romance fans know precisely where this film is headed almost as soon as it starts.

Yet rather than run from the genre conventions we routinely see in these traditionally straight romances, “Single All the Way” uses them as vibrant, positive building blocks to show that love is love, family is family, and it's both all relative and universal. Proving this, it layers in a variety of beloved romcom mainstays from its small-town setting (as Peter wonders if he should move back home) and a friends to lovers plotline to a dance number (to Britney, bitch!) and romantic hijinks care of quirky relatives, including an obligatory scene where the two leads must share a bed. 

Along the way, "Single" incorporates an amusing, if undercooked subplot involving a community Christmas pageant called “Jesus H. Christ” that's the brainchild of Peter's colorful Aunt Sandy, who's played by Jennifer Coolidge. Much like Najimy gives the film a needed shot of candy-cane-coated adrenaline as soon as we see her, with her warmth, humor, and vivacity, veteran Christopher Guest scene-stealer Coolidge buoys her part of the film, which, unfortunately, plays like a rushed afterthought.

Guided by a steady hand, “Single All the Way” was helmed by the versatile Michael Mayer, who directed the moving, gorgeously acted but woefully underseen adaptation of “A Home at the End of the World,” as well as the excellent “Flicka” and “The Seagull.” Mayer knows how to work with actors and it shows. 

With so much - at times, too much - going on throughout, although it's easy to predict that of course, Peter will end up with Nick, “Single All the Way” is a loving, spirited ensemble film that never runs out of plot. Tonally, as sunny and bright as the visuals are snowy and cozy, and filled with terrific turns by a talented cast that's ready for anything (including “Schitt's Creek” star Jennifer Robertson), as someone who watches a lot of these films, “Single All the Way,” greatly exceeded my expectations.

Succeeding where last year's well-intentioned, star-studded, but ultimately disappointing Hulu film “Happiest Season” failed, while I'm speaking merely as a straight film critic, it feels truly rewarding and vital for audiences to see an LGBTQ holiday romantic comedy that doesn't make coming out or lying to one's family the main character's entire narrative arc. Similarly fighting against other gay movie tropes where its protagonist desperately wants to escape their small town and go to the big city or make their parents understand their lifestyle, it's refreshing instead to see Bostwick and Najimy scheme and plan to get their son happily coupled up.

By making the sexuality of its characters secondary to everything else going on, "Single All the Way" cleverly sidesteps the need for any moral speechifying that would pull us out of the storyline and ring false. Respecting our maturity and intellect right from the start, Mayer's film counts on its audience to have already come to the realization that we all deserve love, not to mention contemporary, clear-eyed, re-framed romantic movies for one and all that are this heartfelt, genuine, and fun.

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A Netflix Holiday - “A Boy Called Christmas” and “A Castle for Christmas” - Movie Review

Movie Review: A Netflix Holiday - “A Boy Called Christmas” and “A Castle for Christmas”

by Jen Johans

“A Boy Called Christmas”

Director: Gil Kenan

Cast: Henry Lawfull, Maggie Smith, Michiel Huisman, & Sally Hawkins

On Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/81029733

“A Castle for Christmas”

Director: Mary Lambert

Cast: Brooke Shields, Cary Elwes, Andi Osho, & Lee Ross

On Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/81026181

The Netflix equivalent of putting up your Christmas tree and/or starting your holiday shopping the day after Thanksgiving, this year, the streaming service's version of Black Friday comes in two new high profile, high caliber Christmas movies which are scheduled to premiere on Friday, November 26.

Inspired by the question “was Father Christmas ever a boy?” which was posed by author Matt Haig's son, the first film, from “Monster House” director Gil Kenan, is a gorgeously crafted, old-fashioned fairytale adaptation of Haig's bestselling 2015 British children's book “A Boy Called Christmas.”

Tonally a cross between C.S. Lewis, Hans Christian Andersen, Charles Dickens, J.K. Rowling, and Roald Dahl in its balance of darkness, magic, heart, and light, Kenan's film begins with a framing device straight out of “The Princess Bride.”Arriving at their home late at night, a great aunt played by the irreplaceable Maggie Smith tells the tale of the brave boy we'll all eventually know as Father Christmas to her young relatives at bedtime. Next, switching to a different time and place, we move away from contemporary London as Smith's fable starts to play out before our eyes.

Still reeling from the loss of his mother, which is something shared by the characters in the modern setting as well, “Christmas” chronicles the plight of Nikolas (portrayed by top-notch relative newcomer Henry Lawfull). Fearing for the safety of the sole parent he has left (Michiel Huisman), Nikolas sets out on a perilous journey to the north to find his dad when he fails to return from his search for the village of Elfhelm in order to bring hope to us all.  

Populated by a who's who of great character actors, including Sally Hawkins, Kristen Wiig, Jim Broadbent, Toby Jones, and Stephen Merchant (priceless here as the voice of Miika the Mouse), the film looks and sounds like a dream, thanks to the effects team and production designer behind the “Paddington” movies, and a lovely score courtesy of the great Dario Marianelli. Additionally, it's fun to see the actors let loose, particularly Hawkins and Wiig who relish their Wicked Witch-like moments to eat up the screen. 

The type of film you could leave on in the background when you make cookies or put up your tree, while it's easy to lose yourself in the snowy spectacle of it all, disappointingly from a narrative standpoint, “A Boy Called Christmas” runs out of steam quickly. With episodic plot points, as the indefatigable, ever-determined, delightful Lawfull encounters one new character or problem after another in a by-the-numbers fashion, it grows increasingly repetitive as it continues on.

Although I am unfamiliar with the source material, I can't help but ask if perhaps its error might be an early “Harry Potter” franchise-style case of staying far too faithful to the book. Needless to say, of course, young fans of Haig's novel are sure to love seeing every moment come to life. For the rest of us, however, despite some beautiful revelations that come to light near the end of the movie, its muddled second act makes it feel twice as long as the first, and I think most viewers who don't know Haig's novel will grow restless as soon as the storyline begins to wander.

Still, from the jaw-dropping 4k presentation where even the opening sequence of Smith walking down a light-filled city street feels painterly (and indeed I wondered but really didn't care if it was CG), “A Boy Called Christmas” is a stellar technical achievement from these talented craftsmen, even if it doesn't fully work for me as a film overall. Not nearly as successful as “Monster House” or Kenan's wonderful adaptation of “City of Ember,” (of which I might be the only fan and still wish for a sequel), he's such a great director that regardless of the film's shortcomings, I look forward to seeing what he'll do next.

Incidentally, it turns out that looking forward is exactly what romance author Sophie Brown (Brooke Shields) realizes she needs to do at the start of director Mary Lambert's picturesque holiday romcom travelogue “A Castle for Christmas.” 

Whereas “A Boy Called Christmas” was made for the kids, “A Castle for Christmas” is Netflix's present for teens and adults. It comes in the form of a fun, fluffy, snowflake light hybrid of the kinds of seasonal romances that Lifetime and the Hallmark Channel produce with alarming frequency and the sassier UK romcoms that Hugh Grant made popular back in the '90s. 

Centered on Shields' Brown, the plot of "Castle" is incredibly straightforward.  Having killed off the romantic hero of her dozen bestselling novels after a messy divorce, Sophie Brown incurs the wrath of her heartbroken legion of fans who want their dream man back. In desperate need of a change of scenery, she journeys to Scotland to not only hide out and write the next book in her popular Emma Gale romance series but also visit the castle that her late father loved while growing up as the son of the groundskeeper there. 

Having barely arrived in her new surroundings, Sophie finds new friends quickly when she joins the knitting club in the pub of the inn where she's staying. The same dynamic we encountered in Netflix's outstanding (and much more substantive) adaptation of the acclaimed novel “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society," in “Castle,” the scenes that producer-star Shields shares with her motley knitting crew are absolutely delightful.

Still, as the romance author she's portraying here knows, you can't have a love story without a male lead, and thankfully, for that we have Cary Elwes getting his scowl on as the sour, curmudgeon-like Duke of said castle, who eventually melts under Sophie's charms.

Phenomenally predictable to anyone who's ever seen a romantic comedy before, while the pair are excellent in their roles, Sheilds and Elwes' chemistry does leave a little something to be desired, although that’s likely more the fault of their underdeveloped characters than the actors in question, who aren't given a whole lot with which to work.

One of those movies where the credits reveal that it was written by a committee of four different writers, it feels like certain screenwriters were hoping to emphasize the knitting club as well as develop a potential B or C romantic subplot, and others were more clearly focused on the castle angle. All in all, it's a bumpy yet nonetheless, above average cheery holiday romance.

Featuring a welcome cameo by Drew Barrymore that bookends the film as she first appears in a slightly cringeworthy, over-the-top introduction to Sophie Brown who loses it live on Barrymore's talk show (which Shields plays too broadly), Barrymore returns at the end during the final credits in a very funny two-hander between the two women.

Targeted to Gen X, it's ideally suited to those from the era who grew up watching Shields and Barrymore, were dazzled by Lambert's iconic Madonna music video “Like a Prayer,” and frightened by her adaptation of “Pet Semetary,” and fell in love with “Castle” leading man Cary Elwes in “The Princess Bride.” And indeed, Netflix is smart to aim for this demographic. 

Usually overlooked in seasonal fare that's often developed with late teens and early twenty-somethings in mind, “A Castle for Christmas” is just the pleasantly diverting, if ultimately forgettable thing to settle in with after you spend Thanksgiving in the kitchen and Black Friday setting up that tree and/or starting to shop. With so much holiday stress on the horizon, 'tis the season for snowy movies after all.

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C’mon C’mon – Movie Review

Directed and written by:  Mike Mills

Starring:  Joaquin Phoenix, Gaby Hoffmann, and Woody Norman

Runtime:  108 minuteS

‘C’mon C’mon’ is a beautiful but untethered journey  

Writer/director Mike Mills’ last two films – “Beginners” (2010) and “20th Century Women” (2016) – look to the past. 

His past.  

“Beginners” – starring Christopher Plummer, Ewan McGregor, and Melanie Laurent – is based on Mills’ dad.  Hal (Plummer) comes out during his golden years, and Plummer won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his revelatory performance.  

Six years later, Mills turns to his mother with “20th Century Women”, as Annette Bening plays Dorothea, a single mom who reaches out to a 30-something (Greta Gerwig) and a high school student (Elle Fanning) to help raise her teenage son.  The Academy wrongfully left Bening off their 2017 Oscar register, but Mills rightfully earned a screenwriting nomination.    

Mills grounds both movies with lengthy morsels of meaningful, everyday discourse.  Then, the moments soar into mystical spaces by overlaying an occasional new-age score and photo flashes of dear lineage and faraway places.  Walking away from these outstanding works, you’ll be magically compelled to dial into your history while exploring the sights and sounds of the director’s past.  

However, with “C’mon C’mon”, Mr. Mills partially departs from his winning cinematic formula.  

Presented in black and white and vastly conversational, his new movie feels like a gorgeously-captured French New Wave picture.  Especially with the color (or lack thereof) choice and urban settings (like Los Angeles, New York, and two other cities that will not be named in this review), shades of Jean-Luc Godard’s “Breathless” (1960) and Agnes Varda’s “Cleo from 5 to 7” (1962) come to mind.  

Also, in this celluloid effort, our director’s headspace is not looking to the past.  The film bathes in the present and gazes towards the future.  Yes, family is the prevailing theme, and this time, Mills garners inspiration from conversations with his child, Hopper.  

Rather than reference the aforementioned French Godard and Varda movies, German director Wim Wenders’ 1974 film, “Alice in the Cities” motivated him.

“I’d watch ‘Alice in the Cities’ as, like, a medicine situation.  I knew I wanted to try to do something about being a parent, about all those experiences,” Mills tells Josh Rottenberg in a Sept. 10, 2021 Los Angeles Times article.  

In “C’mon C’mon”, Viv (Gaby Hoffmann) asks her single and childless brother, Johnny (Joaquin Phoenix), to watch her 9-year-old son Jesse (Woody Norman) for several days while she tends to her husband in Northern California.

Jesse is an inquisitive and forthright kid, but he doesn’t know his uncle exceptionally well.  He hasn’t seen Johnny in a year.  Johnny lives a busy existence in New York as a nationally-syndicated radio journalist.  Nonetheless, Johnny is a supportive and thoughtful sort, and he gladly (but also a bit hesitantly) stays with Jesse in the City of Angels as a very temporary guardian.  

Yes, the screenplay dances with Johnny’s bachelordom versus Jesse’s limitless curiosity, but without dramatics, save for two stressful scenes, when the young lad disappears from his uncle’s sight.  Think a causally-paced “Kramer vs. Kramer” (1979), since Johnny and Jesse are forced to adjust from their previously comfortable lifestyles, but there’s no concern about permanent household changes.  Jesse’s mom will return, so the two converse in streams of constant nuance about some grand ideas, but they mostly chat about ordinary stuff, like meals, bedtimes, and defining boundaries through frank talk and mental judo. 

Their relationship is informal and untailored, but the clear hurdles are:

• Jesse copes with a new adult imposing his restrictions.

• Johnny muddles through a brand-new and crucial parenting responsibility. 

Mills and Phoenix frame Johnny’s emotional journey through his job because - as a radio journalist – he interviews seemingly dozens of teenagers about the state of the world.  His evident comfort with his vocation contrasts with his day-in and day-out rapport with Jesse because Johnny’s brief engagements with random, anonymous teens have exactly zero long-term consequences other than their recorded quotes.  

Granted, the teenagers offer heaping helpings of thoughtful insight into their perceptions of their current and future existences on Earth.  These frequent, valuable verbal marches provide ease and relief - to the audience - that the next generation might manage our planet with secure hands.  Thank you, On-screen Teens and Mills, for not submitting a 108-minute episode of “Kids Say the Darndest Things”.  

Far from it.  

What does it all mean?  It’s difficult to say.  The multiple threads between Johnny and Jesse, Viv in San Francisco, and our reporter’s work attempt to tie into an intricate and gentle picture of family and community under flat-out beautiful backdrops, like Santa Monica Pier and a New York City skateboard park.   

The said thematic strands are most likely connected, but this critic cannot find the bonds exactly.  The comedic elements didn’t always land, and the intended emotional weight didn’t register through the film’s untethered style and competing narratives.

Perhaps it’ll take another viewing or two for the movie’s lessons to emerge more clearly.  

Perhaps parents will find this picture dramatically more meaningful. 

Both statements are probably true.

Jeff’s ranking

2.5/4 stars

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Ghostbusters: Afterlife - Movie Review

Dir: Jason Reitman

Starring: Mckenna Grace, Finn Wolfhard, Celeste O'Conner, Logan Kim, Carrie Coon, and Paul Rudd

2h 4m

"Who you gonna call?" 

The cultural impact of Ivan Reitman's 1984 film "Ghostbusters" continues to display its influential grasp every year since its release. The repertory cinemas arranging screenings every Halloween, the hard to escape Ray Parker Jr. theme at parties, costumes with glowing proton packs, and the franchise's reboot with a female influence in 2016; "Ghostbusters" is undeniably a pop culture icon. 

Ivan Reitman, director of the original and sequel, created a not-so-scary film about ghosts with major crossover comedy appeal for audiences. Both of these films were met with mixed critical reactions. The reboot in 2016, directed by Paul Feig, gathered a group of hilarious women and placed them in a movie that had the simple goal of being an entertaining nostalgic revisit. The film received unnecessary hate from numerous regions of the internet. 

While the cards are stacked against "Ghostbusters: Afterlife," new director Jason Reitman takes the Ghostbuster's motto of "no job too big" and fashions an entertaining, kid-centric film that is also a loving tribute to his father, Ivan Reitman. Focusing solely on the original film as a jumping point for future events, Jason Reitman takes the ghostbusting out of the big city, transposes it into a small town, and hands the responsibility to a group of young people. "Ghostbusters: Afterlife" wears its heart on its sleeve proudly.

Egon Spengler, no longer known as a Ghostbuster but rather "the dirt farmer" in the small Oklahoma town where he lives a secluded life, is attacked and killed by an indiscernible entity. Callie (Carrie Coon), Egon's estranged daughter, struggles financially and decides to take her two kids to the farm to sort out the mysterious affairs left unresolved by her father. Trevor (Finn Wolfhard), the oldest of the siblings, is a teenager who finds work and a crush at the local diner. Phoebe (Mckenna Grace), an intelligent and curious 12-year-old, finds a fast friend named Podcast (Logan Kim) and begins to unravel the true nature of her grandfather's past. 

The town experiences small earthquakes and strange occurrences happening in the local abandoned mines. These disturbances catch the attention of Phoebe and her summer school teacher Mr. Grooberson (Paul Rudd). Once Phoebe begins investigating the unusual tremors and her grandfather's cryptic home, she discovers an evil force preparing its return to the world. 

 The introduction of "Ghostbusters: Afterlife" composes the most horror elements of the entire film; a chase scene with an unseen presence, lots of camera atmosphere, and a fun combination of scenarios help build the tension. An excellent introduction for a budding horror movie fan who might not be ready for more intense PG-13 horror films. The remainder of the film is less scary and more action and comedy-focused, featuring an eclectic group of characters committedly played by an ensemble of talented actors. 

The young actors bring the charm and heart out of "Ghostbusters: Afterlife." Mckenna Grace is a highlight as Phoebe; she imbues the character with the same dry wit and staunch composure as Harold Ramis playing Egon. Finn Wolfhard is also good, playing the committed and trustworthy older brother. Logan Kim, playing a humorous podcaster named Podcast, has terrific chemistry with every character on screen. The relationship between Phoebe and Podcast is the foundation for the film. 

The narrative brings pieces of the original film back into the frame while also developing some unique alterations and twists for new audiences. The story is a heartfelt attempt to pay homage to the original movie and redevelop the themes for a new generation. There are a few pacing issues with the film, which makes the final act feel a little rushed in the scheme of the story. But most of these issues go unnoticed because of the engaging cast and Jason Reitman's assured direction. 

"Ghostbusters: Afterlife" is a fun rehash of the original "Ghostbusters" film, utilizing young people to lead the charge. While it may not have the most engaging story to tell at times, it has a ton of heart and great humor. Jason Reitman has done a diligent job of updating this pop culture sensation for new audiences. 

Monte's Rating

3.50 out of 5.00

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Julia – Movie Review

Directed by:  Julie Cohen and Betsy West

Starring:  Jose Andres, Ina Garten, Marcus Samuelsson, and Julia Child (archived footage)

Runtime:  94 minutes

‘Julia’:  An enjoyable, breezy, and well-prepared doc

“Don’t be afraid of failure.” – Julia Child

Good advice!

Julia Child - television’s premiere cooking personality, who paved the way for hundreds (or is it thousands or tens of thousands?) of local, national, and worldwide on-air chefs – took her advice.  Naturally, she was speaking about culinary gymnastics, but directors Julie Cohen and Betsy West – the dynamic documentary-duo behind “RBG” (2018) and “My Name is Pauli Murray” (2021) – clearly reveal that Ms. Child applied those same principles outside the kitchen as well.  

Cohen and West lead the audience through the famous chef’s recipe of success and happiness over her 91 years.  A lovely remembrance of this one-of-a-kind personality, “Julia” is a worthy tribute, but it’s also a straightforward presentation that doesn’t deviate from traditional documentary ingredients.

After the first few minutes, this chronological arrangement starts at Julia Carolyn McWilliams’ affluent beginnings in Pasadena, Calif.  The oldest of three children, each kid grew into soaring statures, and Julia was the runt of the litter, standing at “only” 6’3”.  

Even though Julia could physically look above her classmates and friends, she – growing up - couldn’t necessarily see beyond her family’s sheltered lifestyle.  That all changed during WWII, as the United States shipped her overseas.  Julia worked as a typist and clerk, and she met her husband-to-be, Paul Child.  The young couple discovered each other and the world around them (in a couple of locations that will not be revealed in this review), but after the war, they landed in Paris, where Julia’s French cuisine education began.   

Through a longer-than-you-can-imagine collaboration with Simone Beck, the two – in 1961 - published “Mastering the Art of French Cooking”, a massive 700-plus hard-cover document that provided (and continues to supply) a far-reaching template for housewives (or anyone else) to prepare such meals at home with ordinary supermarket ingredients.  

Their book was a colossal and revolutionary departure from the era’s disposable, processed meal prep, and the film explains that Julia infused science into her literary creation. 

Science?  Yes, science. 

If her written words weren’t groundbreaking enough, wait for her WGBH (Boston) TV work on “The French Chef”.   This wildly successful show led Child into American households as the airwaves connected her studio kitchen to so many homes in the cities, suburbs, and countrysides.  The rest is history, and during the doc, chefs - like Jose Andres and Marcus Samuelsson – lather deserved praise Child for her enthusiasm, energy, and expertise.  

After this 94-minute film ends, you’ll wish for a time machine to catch just 10 minutes with Ms. Child, chat about her love for food, get a selfie, and profusely thank her for her delightful and celebrated impact!

Most certainly, “Julia” accomplishes these warm feelings.  If I had another 20 minutes, I’d ask questions that the movie doesn’t address:  her favorite meal, her challenges of competing in a male-dominated field, and – no question - the origin of her irreplaceable accent. 

That can’t be a Southern California cadence, right?  

Still, “Julia” is an enjoyable and light experience, and it has encouraged this critic to – someday soon - pick up “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” and actually use an appliance that others refer to as a stove.  

Jeff’s ranking

3/4 stars

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Passing – Movie Review

Directed by:  Rebecca Hall

Written by:  Rebecca Hall, based on Nella Larsen’s novel

Starring:  Tessa Thompson, Ruth Negga, Andre Holland, and Bill Camp

Runtime:  94 minutes

‘Passing’:  Don’t pass on experiencing this delicate, complex friendship

Irene (Tessa Thompson) and Clare (Ruth Negga) were high school friends.  Not close comrades, but dear enough to actively reach out if a future encounter ever occurs.

At least 12 years after school, that day arrives for the two ladies during an ordinary afternoon at The Drayton Hotel, an upscale spot in New York City.  Irene and Clare both sit alone at small, circular tables with white linen covers, and bright daylight illuminates every inch of a large, open sunroom with 30-foot high ceilings.  They catch each other’s eye, which is more difficult for Clare because Irene dons a cloche hat with an extended brim and frequently looks downward.  

She acts like a foreign spy on a secret mission and does not wish to be recognized.  Conversely, Clare places herself wide-open in plain sight, stares at her old friend, tries to place her for several seconds, perhaps 10, and then confidently stands up and approaches her.  

Nervously, Irene feels discovered and looks to scramble for an exit when Clare says, “Pardon me.  I don’t mean to stare, but I think I know you.”  

Their accidental meeting turns friendly, but Irene’s mind races with disbelief.  The setting is sometime during the 1920s, and ordinarily, the two women wouldn’t be welcome at The Drayton because they are Black.  However, they are passing as white.  Irene is discreet and traveling incognito, while Clare openly flaunts her whole person without a disguise or reservation.  Her complexion is light, and she has blonde hair.  Clare appears white, even to her husband, John (Alexander Skarsgard), a racist who unequivocally believes that she is Caucasian.  

This is the opening to Rebecca Hall’s first movie, and she wrote and directed “Passing”, based on Nella Larsen’s 1929 novel of the same name.  This story is particularly personal to Hall because she has explored her racial identity.  

During an Oct. 27, 2021 Film Independent Q&A with Thompson and Negga, Hall explained conversations with her mother.  

“She would say, ‘It’s possible that we’re black.  It’s possible that we’re Native American.  I don’t really know,’” Hall says. 

Hall adds, “I found myself in situations - specifically in America, actually, for what it’s worth - sitting in rooms where people made assumptions about what I am, based on what they’re seeing.  I found myself increasingly not being comfortable with that and sort of sticking out my hand and awkwardly saying, ‘I think I might be mixed-race.’  Someone handed me this book and said, ‘This is going to help with what you’re trying to articulate.’  And I looked at the book and thought, ‘Passing?  What does that mean?’”

Hall and cinematographer Eduard Grau’s present their film in a rich, nostalgic black and white.  Striking lighting and shadows contrast in various settings - like in the aforementioned hotel, quiet moments at Irene and her husband’s (Andre Holland) home, and snow blanketing a concrete courtyard – and they take on symbolism.  On the other hand, perhaps I am reading too much into these black, white, and gray backdrops. Maybe those double meanings don’t exist, but the exploration of race and identity seems ever-present throughout the 94-minute runtime. 

The movie’s most dramatic and heightened moments – when our eyes widen and ears perk – occur during all the precious seconds when Clare appears on-screen.  Irene frequently attempts to learn more about Clare’s emotional makeup but can’t quite get there.  Clare is a mystery.  Irene wonders how Clare can freely and willingly pass as a white woman 24/7 for weeks, months, and years on end, and especially when her husband, the father of her daughter, is a bigot.  It’s a betrayal. 

Still, Clare was her friend so many years ago, and she’s congenial and pleasant to everyone in Irene’s world today, even though Brian (Holland) recognizes her invented drama and social duplicity.  

Hall and Negga don’t just portray Clare as a mystery.  She’s a recurring recollection of sorts.  After a lengthy, opening set piece at the Drayton, Hall’s screenplay hops through time.  One minute, Clare lives in Chicago, and in the next scene, Irene and Brian discuss that she’s settled in New York City.  Soon after, she and her family reside in Switzerland. 

It’s almost as if “Passing” is a collection of memories, and the black and white celluloid canvas and accompanying, singular piano score add to this dreamlike time warp.  However, don’t mistake a dream with haze or fog because the gorgeously filmed and haunting images lay across our senses and settle into permanent recall.  

Even though race relations and societal conflicts are at the heart of the picture, the film only includes two brief scenes of ugly racially-motivated confrontations.  So, the movie doesn’t delve into 90 minutes of on-screen cruelty, but Irene and Brian often discuss their divided nation, as mentions of lynchings and hostile monikers fill some spaces while Clare is off-camera.  

Although Irene lives a comfortable lifestyle – due to Brian’s vocation as a doctor – she and her family don’t have the same advantages as their white counterparts.  This triggers conflicting feelings about Clare, the most prominent constant in “Passing”, as Thompson and Negga deliver standout performances depicting this delicate, complex friendship. 

Jeff’s ranking

3.5/4 stars

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Beans – Movie Review

Directed by:  Tracey Deer

Written by:  Tracey Deer and Meredith Vuchnich

Starring:  Kiawentiio, Rainbow Dickerson, Joel Montgrand, Violah Beauvais, and Paulina Alexis

Runtime:  92 minutes

‘Beans’:  Kiawentiio delivers a grown-up performance about growing up under perilous happenings

“Growing up is losing some illusions in order to acquire others.” – Virginia Woolf

Beans (Kiawentiio), 12, enjoys a content, supportive existence with her mom (Rainbow Dickerson), dad (Joel Montgrand), and younger sister, Ruby (Violah Beauvais), while living outside of Montreal.  She’s a happy kid, and the year is 1990, a time when parents drew distinct, discernable lines between themselves and their children, and Beans and Ruby respect their mother and father’s firm lead.  At the moment, Lily (Dickerson) and Kania’Tarilo (Montgrand) push Beans to pursue a private school education.  Sure, it’s not this about-to-be-a-teenager’s passion, but the posh academy seems lovely, and her folks know best.  

Director/co-writer Tracey Deer sets her debut narrative feature during one of the worst times for Beans, her family, and their local Mohawk community.  The Oka Crisis – a real-life land dispute between the Oka, Quebec government and the Mohawk people, which lasted for two and a half months and included violence – quickly overshadowed any stresses that Beans assembled over admittance (and fitting in) to a new school.  

Deer’s movie is semi-autobiographical, as she lived through that tumultuous, racially-divisive time as a child. 

“It actually took a very, very long time to write the script.  Figuring out what I wanted to say, but also having to revisit that time, revisit those emotions, I definitely hit a number of blocks,” Deer says during a Sept. 15, 2020 TIFF Originals interview.  

She adds, “I do say that the film is inspired by, so it is not truly autobiographical.  So, I do think of (Beans) as representative of not only my generation 30 years ago, but of kids today and the support, and the love, and the safety that they all need in order to thrive.”

The Oka Crisis included gun-pointed standoffs between Mohawk men versus police and also verbal confrontations with white locals.  The clashes get downright ugly and hurtful.  Deer includes a brutal moment where dozens of Quebecois Caucasians throw rocks at cars driven by First Nation families, including Lily, Beans, and Ruby.  

(After watching the film a second time, this critic also saw a law enforcement officer joining in the sickening display.)  

No doubt, Deer’s movie is a troubling, upsetting experience, and in addition to filming the said events from this volatile period, she adds news footage from 31 years ago.  Hence, the audience grasps the reality of the on-screen happenings.

Deer explores the larger politics, but briefly.  Instead, she tightens the story through the eyes of a 12-year-old girl, as Beans absorbs elevated prejudice first-hand.  It changes her.  Her innocence crumbles, as well as her family’s protected walls, because mom and dad face the same dangers.  Beans doesn’t help herself either, as she spends way too many hours, days, and weeks with older kids who bully her.  Of course, the taunts and physical blows morph into inclusion into mischief and adult vices.

Beans’ older “friend” April (Paulina Alexis) and other teens are endless sources of shoddy behavior.  Be warned, April and her pals’ rough vocab is too much for younger audiences.  

Still, Deer centers her picture around Kiawentiio and relies on this young actress to do the heavy lifting, as fiery outside forces and peer pressure contort Beans’ previously held conceptions and moral compass.  Kiawentiio handles all of Deer’s asks and successfully delivers a complex, emotionally elastic performance, where she embraces Beans’ precarious steps into reality.  Her work is so strong here, the film feels like a documentary at times, but the occasional news clips bring us out of those temporary trances.  

Dickerson’s performance stands out too, as she offers a resolute strength as a sometimes unshakable mom but also as a human being reacting to the acts and faces of hatred.

“Beans” might be the story of a preteen kid, but this is a grown-up movie, and our lead, unfortunately, loses her illusions of a just and fair society.  Rather than acquiring other misconceptions, at least Beans sees the world and herself on more genuine terms. 

 Jeff’s ranking

3/4 stars

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Eternals - Movie Review

Dir: Chloé Zhao

Starring: Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, Brian Tyree Henry, Ma Dong-seok, Lauren Ridloff, Barry Keoghan, Lia McHugh, and Kit Harington

2h 37m

Director Chloé Zhao won an Academy Award, both for achievement in directing and best picture, for the film “Nomadland” earlier this year. Zhao’s moody and minimalistic film follows a woman in her sixties embarking on a journey through the American West after losing everything in the Great Recession. During a worldwide pandemic, “Nomadland” touched on issues of isolation and loneliness while also beautifully portraying the independence and peace found within a solitary existence connected to the world. Zhao’s catalog of films examines identity within the complicated structures of the ever-changing American ideal. And Chloé Zhao is the director Marvel Studios chose to helm their newest franchise addition, “Eternals,”; and it’s a fascinating and complicated decision.

The Eternals, created by comic-book legend Jack Kirby in 1976, are lesser-known heroes in the Marvel Universe. The god-like humanoids have existed for centuries, watching/helping worlds evolve in creative and self-destructive ways while safeguarding humanity from threatening creatures known as Deviants. 

Zhao’s film takes the origins of Kirby’s comic and adapts a story for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) that feels like that one puzzle piece that could fit anywhere but also nowhere at the same time. With beautiful wide-framed locations and a sensibility leaning into authentic instead of artificial composition, Zhao’s filmmaking presence is felt from the opening scene and, at moments, within the performances from the impressive cast playing the immortal superheroes. However, despite all its attempts to separate itself from the MCU’s consistent, familiar structures, “Eternals” unique introductions get lost in the mix of mundane Marvel ingredients.

Ancient aliens known as Eternals have been living on Earth in secret for thousands of years. Their job is to support humanity by helping them advance while also protecting them from otherworldly creatures known as Deviants. The Eternals have seen their efforts preserve and devastate society. This cycle grows more difficult for the nine superheroes to accept, knowing that they have the abilities to help in different ways. After centuries of working as a team, the Eternals separate over how they should use their powers. They begin living their own lives amongst humanity. The Deviants, which the Eternals thought they had defeated, return and start attacking the separated heroes individually. These attacks bring the Eternals back together, exposing the truth about their long-lived history and the plan for the future of humanity.

Chloé Zhao’s filmmaking sensibilities are present throughout the film, at times obvious and other times more subtle. Zhao brings a sense of connection between the world and those separated into this massive Marvel machine. Much like her past films, which focus on the disenfranchised moving through the American dream, Zhao asks questions and explores feelings with these immortal aliens. Questions about worth, sacrifice, honor, and servitude. Emotions like confusion, fear, love, and contempt. It’s all there and examined through varying degrees of magnification. A scene that explores the bond of family, specifically the fear of leaving and losing family, is beautifully captured in a quiet moment during a bedtime routine with a child. At the same time, a scene about the joy and passion of love, both physical and emotional, is inelegantly portrayed with a passionless sex scene and a sappy moment of new love set against magic-hour sunlight. It’s easy to see that “Eternals” is trying to be different, trying to frame a story about superhuman beings, magic powers, and ancient universes with captivating actors and a dynamic director to bring a new and different quality to familiar material. While the execution is elegant, the story and characters rarely engage in anything new but instead exist to introduce prospective properties.

An impressive cast of characters, who range in ability, race, and sexuality, played by an equally impressive list of actors, helps “Eternals” remain engaging. Zhao is fantastic with actors; the ensemble is excellent when all together, but there isn’t enough material or time for the individual cast to develop beyond superficial qualities. Angelina Jolie’s character Thena is an impressive warrior, but the character often feels like an afterthought. Salma Hayek plays the leader Ajak but her screen time is limited to a couple of group scenes and a few short monologues where the character offers sage words of wisdom. Gemma Chan, playing the lead Sersi, is provided the most depth, but against the grand scheme of the story, the character’s change from reluctant team member to influential leader rarely has the effect it should. As the flying Ikaris, Richard Madden has a good screen presence and works his superhero arrogance with glee. Bryan Tyree Henry, Kumail Nanjiani, and Barry Keoghan have secondary roles, but they provide a few insightful moments and some laughs in their limited time. Lauren Ridloff, playing Marvel’s first deaf character Makkari, and Lia McHugh, portraying Sprite, shine bright in their limited roles.

“Eternals,” throughout the film, is planting the seeds of future stories for the MCU to cultivate. While this isn’t particularly new for the Marvel efforts, there are moments in “Eternals” that make you think about the future characters and story plots instead of remaining in the present with the story being told on the screen. While “Eternals” tries its best to stand on its own, as a separate pillar in the Marvel universe, it ultimately feels like another stepping stone.

Monte’s Rating

2.75 out of 5.00

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