The Monk and the Gun – Movie Review

Directed and written by:  Pawo Choyning Dorji

Starring:  Tandin Wangchuk, Tandin Sonam, Harry Einhorn, and Deki Lhamo

Runtime:  107 minutes

‘The Monk and the Gun’:  Dorji’s thoughtful approach will fire up audience applause

“You don’t think he’s going to kill anyone.  He’s a monk, right?” – Ron (Harry Einhorn) 

“I don’t know, Man. We live in strange times.” – Benji (Tandin Sonam)

Director/writer Pawo Choyning Dorji’s film isn’t strange but beautifully eccentric. 

Over a deliberately casual pace of 107 minutes, “The Monk and the Gun” introduces the brawny themes of politics and Western influences on the genial, gentle community of Ura, a secluded town in Bhutan.  Through comedy, dramatic theatre, and – yes - some palatable tension, Dorji delivers powerful, persuasive messages through exceptionally thoughtful storytelling.  

The screenplay’s relaxed tones and cinematographer Jigme Tenzing’s sweeping, wide shots of the peaceful, rolling countryside entice us into warm pleasantries of a down-to-earth existence, one without the hubbub of noisy industry or distracting media memoranda that gleefully promotes conflict and engenders consternation.  Still, this unassuming Bhutanese community offers answers to some complex questions about the human condition. 

Bhutan, with a population of about 800,000, is the size of Massachusetts and Connecticut combined, and it’s sandwiched between two behemoth authorities, India and China.  

Set in 2006, Bhutan is on the brink of turning from monarchy rule toward democratic reforms, as well-intentioned officials descend on the unsuspecting village of Ura and attempt to hold – with the help of some eager townsfolk – a mock election as a trial run.  

A hey-let’s-see-how-this-goes exercise.  

However, a voter-driven election is as foreign to Ura residents as a paper route to a Manhattan debutante.   

Simultaneously, the Internet and television have also arrived, and combined with the upcoming vote, Dorji sprinkles in distinctly memorable moments of observational humor as the local populace reacts to this new stimuli. 

For instance, determining one’s date of birth during the registration process becomes problematic for one potential voter, and Tashi (Tandin Wangchuk) – the monk noted in the movie’s title – guesses at the definition of the never-heard-before word “election” in the most surprising of fashions.  Speaking of fashion, TV is now a coveted science-fiction staple, as 10 to 15 Bhutan citizens huddle around a coffee shop and stare at the square box’s magnificence as U.S. suburban families did during the 1950s.  

In fact, a particular British movie spy – born into cinema in 1962 – becomes the object of the group’s gaze.  

Meanwhile, a local lama observes the upcoming sweeping changes in Bhutan and asks Tashi, “Can you get me guns?”  

Why would a lama bear arms?  Do desperate times call for extreme measures?  

Well, our young disciple follows his wishes as Tashi treks to the house of an elderly man who possesses a rifle from the U.S. Civil War, one that an American collector (Einhorn) covets as well.  

The race to retrieve this gun commences, but not in a “The Cannonball Run” (1981) style.  

Tashi strides on foot while a local, Benji, chauffeurs Ron in his compact burgundy Suzuki Quick Silver, a Fiat-sized vehicle – with four doors, mind you – that calmly and coolly saunters along Ura’s one-lane, winding dirt roads, as the occasional wandering dog trots from the other direction.   

Throughout the film, Pawo volleys between the struggles of an election and possessing a specific gun as the semi-irresistible forces of Western culture knock on Bhutan’s door, step inside, reach into the refrigerator, and plunk down on the couch as potentially permanent guests.  

In the house of Bhutan, these macro collision points unfold with delicate but profound individual realizations, including a mother’s (Deki Lhamo) frank concern about the potential cultural losses on her elementary-school-aged daughter.  

Some may view the Bhutanese as a simple community whose lives can only be improved with democracy, the Internet, and television, but on “The Monk and the Gun” IMDb page, Dorji explains in an interview that the film is “a celebration of the quality of innocence.” 

He adds, “As we embraced (democracy), we are suddenly told by the modern world that being innocent is being ignorant.  With this film, I wanted to show there’s a difference between innocence and ignorance.”  

This movie critic votes “Yes.”  Dorji certainly accomplishes his wish, as moviegoers should be fired up with applause after experiencing “The Monk and the Gun”.  

Jeff’s ranking

3.5/4 stars

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JEFF MITCHELL
JEFF MITCHELL

A member of the Phoenix Critics Circle, Jeff Mitchell has penned film reviews since 2008, graduated from ASU’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism, and is a certified Rotten Tomatoes critic. Follow Jeff and the Phoenix Film Festival on Twitter @MitchFilmCritic and @PhoenixFilmFest, respectively.

Suncoast – Movie Review

Directed and written by: Laura Chinn

Starring: Nico Parker, Laura Linney, Woody Harrelson, and Cree Kawa

Runtime: 101 minutes


Parker and Linney deliver glowing, memorable performances in ‘Suncoast’

“You all have, like, saved my life.” – Doris (Nico Parker)

Doris is a 17-year-old Clearwater, Fla. teen. She lives in a pink house in a town with constant sunshine and a nearby beach, and our lead attends the reputable (and expensive) Clearwater Christian High School. Our heroine - apparently - leads a life that most kids in freezing cold Duluth, Minn. or snowy Buffalo, N.Y. could only imagine in their wildest hopes and dreams.

Alas, Doris’ most recent six years have not been ideal, not by a long shot.

Quite the opposite.

Her brother, Max (Cree Kawa), has brain cancer. He can no longer speak, see, or walk, and Doris has been his part-time caretaker and full-time agonizing sister, along with her anxious, snappy, and single mother, Kristine (Laura Linney). Kristine’s husband and Doris’ dad sadly passed away 14 years prior.

Very early in the first act of director/writer Laura Chinn’s indie drama, “Suncoast”, Kristine drives Max and Doris – in their beat-up Ford pickup, with the “R” and “D” missing on its tailgate – to place their beloved son and brother in a hospice center called Suncoast.

Chinn’s feature film debut is semi-autobiographical, and she tells “Vulture” in a Jan. 2024 interview, “When I was a teenager, my brother was moved into a hospice with Terri Schiavo, and her story was on the national news. I knew I wanted to tell that story someday.”

Terri Schiavo’s plight gripped the nation in 2005 as her husband and parents debated in the courts about Ms. Schiavo’s right to life, and this saga serves as a noisy backdrop for Doris’ family quandary. However, there is no dispute in Max’s case. His time left on Earth will tragically end due to natural causes.

“Suncoast”, which opened at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, primarily champions Doris’ causes, ones of frustration, isolation, and her budding reach to thrive as a “normal” teenager.

The film shines with memorable performances from Parker and Linney. Woody Harrelson adds some nice touches. He plays Paul, Doris’ new friend who visits Suncoast to support Terri. Chinn also makes plentiful use of a southern small-town community. Even though filming occurred in South Carolina, just about everything on screen feels like Florida with warm tones, blue skies, and unkempt spaces dotted with unwanted – but accepted - crabgrass, including a wide-open spot where a 17-year-old kid learns how to drive.

Chinn uses conflicting tones and attempts to balance – although not perfectly - grief and loss with spurts of unexpected comedy and Doris’ trouble-free, coming-of-age journey. With Max’s death looming, Linney is flat-out fantastic in delivering frequent sarcastic, biting comments born from Kristine’s frustration and angst over the miserable cards that life dealt to Max. Our stressed-out mom casually refers to the hospice director as a sociopath and tells a concerned police officer that she “makes hospice bombs” in her spare time. No question, Kristine loves Doris, but our teen lead is never free from her mother’s criticism, demands, and scrutiny.

However, this also begs the question. Kristine unquestionably accepts that Paul, a 60-something man, is Doris’ new friend. On what planet would this 21st-century mother roll with Doris and Paul becoming pseudo-BFFs? Apparently, this one. Still, Harrelson’s Paul fills a purpose as a complementary adult for Doris to lean on for support, like Woody’s turn as Mr. Bruner in “The Edge of Seventeen” (2016).

Chinn plays with a couple of welcoming, noticeable contrasts in addition to Kristine and Paul.

For instance, Doris lives in a working-class neighborhood. She’s a poor girl growing up on the wrong side of the tracks, err…beach, and her wealthy classmates, who previously ignored this invisible introvert, suddenly accept her. It’s a classic – or recycled, depending on your point of view - case of income disparity via “Pretty in Pink” (1986) or “Some Kind of Wonderful” (1987). However, in this movie, Doris’ discoveries of friendship, games of truth or dare, and keg stands all become positive encounters with little or no resistance.

Yes, social breakthroughs of boyfriend discourse and gulps of alcohol present a reprieve from the cloudy overhang of her brother’s impending passing, but the constant camaraderie admittedly feels lightweight and without gravitas or consequences with her new friends, Brittany (Ella Anderson), Laci (Daniella Taylor), Nate (Amarr), and Megan (Ariel Martin).

Still, Brittany, Laci, Nate, and Megan are an escape, one free from consternation, and that’s by Chinn’s design. It’s a fair stance, even if one might nod off during affable and predictable shenanigans. Even though “Suncoast” tenders hints of “Valley Girl” (1983) and “Mean Girls” (2004), the writing and chemistry don’t match them.

However, the film’s intended chief disparity is that Doris finally finds a visible existence with her peers simultaneously as Max arrives at Suncoast, as an imminent loss furnishes new beginnings.

These two emotional movements cannot peacefully coexist, and Parker offers some powerful scenes that could shed tears from the driest of ducts.

Nico and we are wholly present in these moments.

Speaking of the present, “Suncoast” stays in the on-screen year of 2005 and doesn’t shuffle with constant flashbacks that could hurt the film’s deliberate, casual pacing, one that allows the audience to travel with Doris, Kristine, and Paul. This leaves Max as an unexplored individual, even though we see his motionless body throughout the picture. Additionally, the audience needs more time with Suncoast’s grief counselor, Sue (Pam Dougherty), and her informal sessions with Kristine. Chinn also explores religion, but more screentime on the pious topic is needed for the deliberation to stick.

Still, Parker’s and Linney’s glowing performances are enough to visit “Suncoast”.

Jeff’s ranking

2.5/4 stars

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JEFF MITCHELL
JEFF MITCHELL

A member of the Phoenix Critics Circle, Jeff Mitchell has penned film reviews since 2008, graduated from ASU’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism, and is a certified Rotten Tomatoes critic. Follow Jeff and the Phoenix Film Festival on Twitter @MitchFilmCritic and @PhoenixFilmFest, respectively.

The Teachers' Lounge - Movie Review

Directed by: Ilker Catak

Written by: Ilker Catak and Johannes Duncker

Starring: Leonie Benesch, Eva Lobau, Michael Klammer, Anne-Kathrin Gummich, and Leonard Stettnisch

Runtime: 98 minutes

The Oscar-nominated ‘The Teachers’ Lounge’ is more than a textbook whodunit

A crime has been committed.

Actually, a series of them.

An unknown thief or thieves have recently struck an institution, and after the latest larceny, an improvised inquiry is instigated.

This establishment, however, is not a bank or widget manufacturer.

It’s a German middle school set in a middle-class or upper-middle-class neighborhood, and the principal, Dr. Bettina Bohm (Anne-Kathrin Gummich), begins a makeshift investigation, including searching the children’s wallets to find the most recent culprit who possibly stole a menial sum of cash.

A new, young, idealistic, and quite popular teacher, Carla (Leonie Benesch), isn’t pleased with this rights violation. Still, when suspicions later rise that the perpetrators have access to the teachers’ lounge, Carla – in an impulsive moment – sets up her laptop’s camera to secretly film inside the sacred schoolteacher sanctuary. However, she inadvertently triggers further turmoil that erupts into the established order of instructor-student harmony…or at least a perceived coherence.

Director/co-writer Ilker Catak’s masterful “The Teachers’ Lounge” – nominated for a 2024 International Feature Film Oscar – leans into and then topples the supposedly robust relationships between parents, students, and educators and then squares his notice on Carla as the chief target and scapegoat of a flawed system and her unfortunate action, one that escalates into an unstable predicament. Benesch (“The White Ribbon” (2009), “Persian Lessons” (2020)) is outstanding here, and her performance has been widely overlooked during award season.

Benesch’s Carla is resolute and resilient, but even this dedicated, strong-willed optimist isn’t immune to enormous pressure from seemingly all sides, including rage from a parent (Eva Lobau) and a child (Leonard Stettnisch), scrutiny from her peers, and collective judgment from the students. Our heroine is composed and professional, but Catak and cinematographer Judith Kaufmann grab their camera and relentlessly follow Carla in the hallways and in and out of classrooms that are filled with emotional minefields. Catak’s frequent close-ups zero in on the tension written all over Carla’s face, and during a September 2023 Toronto International Film Festival screening and Q&A, Ilker calls out that Benesch has a remarkable ability to turn red on command.

With good reason, Carla sees red with anger, embarrassment, and frustration as the movie sharply contrasts her universal admiration before the laptop instance and the ridicule afterward. Attitudes from fellow teachers transform in subtle and obvious fashions through one-on-one discourse, and a collective effort from the student school newspaper becomes downright frightening with an incremental descent into a disapproving frame.

No, “The Teachers’ Lounge” doesn’t resort to “Children of the Corn” (1984) physical tactics (mostly), but a schoolhouse brood shifting into a singularly focused, silent mob mentality will chill your soul, especially as Carla and we simultaneously realize the traps that have been set.

Catak’s film feels like a claustrophobic, tick-tock thriller that Alfred Hitchcock would endorse, one accompanied by Marvin Miller’s nerve-racking score. “Lounge” – which also triples as an ethical-debate narrative and whodunit – zips by with its thrifty 98-minute runtime, and before you know it, the last bell rings, and the end credits roll.

Set down your pens, pencils, or chalk and applaud.

Jeff’s ranking

3.5/4 stars

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JEFF MITCHELL
JEFF MITCHELL

A member of the Phoenix Critics Circle, Jeff Mitchell has penned film reviews since 2008, graduated from ASU’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism, and is a certified Rotten Tomatoes critic. Follow Jeff and the Phoenix Film Festival on Twitter @MitchFilmCritic and @PhoenixFilmFest, respectively.

The Zone of Interest - Movie Review

Directed by: Jonathan Glazer

Written by: Jonathan Glazer, based on Martin Amis’ book

Starring: Christian Friedel and Sandra Huller

Runtime: 105 minutes

‘The Zone of Interest’ holds us captive to a haunting, surreal perspective of The Holocaust

“Bye, bye, Daddy.” – Hedwig (Sandra Huller)

The morning arrives, and Rudolf (Christian Friedel) prepares for his workday, possibly a Monday.

He climbs on his horse and will move through an open gate, as his workplace is adjacent to his home, separated by only a wall. While holding their infant, Hedwig casually throws out the affable goodbye, adieu, or tschüss, tschüss to Rudolf.

Rudolf and Hedwig Hoss are not an ordinary suburban couple living in Chandler, Ariz. or Orlando, Fla.

It’s 1943, and the pair and their children live in Poland. More specifically, they reside – literally - next to the Auschwitz concentration camp, and Rudolf s the commandant. The man runs the place, a horror show where 1.1 million people died (and nearly 1 million were Jewish) during WWII.

Writer/director Jonathan Glazer (“Sexy Beast” (2000), “Under the Skin” (2013)) brings this sinister history to the big screen in “The Zone of Interest”, adapted from Martin Amis’ 2014 book with the same title.

Glazer’s surreal creation is unlike any other Holocaust movie (at least that this critic has seen) because the picture takes a voyeur’s perspective of the Hoss family as they go about their day- to-day activities from behind the scenes, behind closed doors, as friends visit for tea, the family celebrates a birthday, housekeeping chores occupy the busy maid’s time, and Rudolf and Hedwig share pillow talk.

During a TIFF Sept. 10, 2023 screening, Glazer called his film – and he may have been quoting someone else – “’Big Brother’ in a Nazi house.” This critic calls “Zone” chilling, haunting, and a movie that deserves Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Director, Cinematography, and Sound.

Their lavish locale, a spacious domicile and bountiful grounds - complete with a pool and a garden with sunflowers and kale – occupies the vast majority of the film’s 105-minute runtime, where life flourishes. Meanwhile, well-documented atrocities occur just over the adjoining wall. Rather than visually display the murders, Glazer painstakingly films the camp from the Hoss’ perspective. The tops of the brick-and-mortar housing quarters and “offices” ominously tower over the aforementioned concrete divider while Hedwig proudly praises her garden to her visiting mother and where her kids randomly play.

For other select moments, Glazer will present the active chimney of the camp’s infamous furnace during the bright daylight hours and in the middle of black evenings, when it ferociously glows with a burning orange.

Our ears burn too, as we frequently hear screams and gunshots, but (almost) no one on the Hoss estate acknowledges the gruesome clatter because the house needs cleaning or dinner will shortly commence.

Due to the movie’s bizarre observation of this time and place in history, it becomes a challenging chore to grasp the on-screen events. What is Glazer presenting here?

Indeed, the face of evil is on display; however, during the Jan. 16, 2024 Q&A of “The Zone of Interest” Phoenix Film Society screening, one society member opined that we’re looking at indifference as well.

Indifference.

Indifference to the sounds of suffering and bullets, the smells of burning bodies, and the nature of Rudolf’s business. The latter reveals itself through Rudolf and Hedwig’s discourse of his career aspirations and a composed engineer describing Auschwitz’s efficiencies to an attentive Nazi audience, to name a couple.

No, indifference is not the emotion you will feel when held captive by “The Zone of Interest”.

Jeff’s ranking

4/4 stars

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JEFF MITCHELL
JEFF MITCHELL

A member of the Phoenix Critics Circle, Jeff Mitchell has penned film reviews since 2008, graduated from ASU’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism, and is a certified Rotten Tomatoes critic. Follow Jeff and the Phoenix Film Festival on Twitter @MitchFilmCritic and @PhoenixFilmFest, respectively.

Driving Madeleine – Movie Review

Directed by: Christian Carion

Written by: Cyril Gely and Christian Carion

Starring: Line Renaud, Dany Boon, Alice Isaaz, Jeremie Laheurte, and Elie Kaempfen

Runtime: 91 minutes

‘Driving Madeleine’: Renaud and Boon empathetically chauffeur this worthwhile Parisian trip

“I haven’t smoked in 30 years, but today’s special” – Madeleine Keller (Line Renaud)

Madeleine is 92 years young, and she’s right about today. However, the word “special” has a double meaning. Our unassuming Parisian nonagenarian is moving into a nursing home, a momentous life event that she might dread more than her own passing, but she secures a taxi to chauffeur her toward an impending end to autonomy.

Her driver, Charles (Dany Boon), is having a bad morning. Financial stress the size of the 7th arrondissement wears on his mood, and this middle-aged husband and father lashes out his frustrations at traffic and life in general.

These two strangers, attempting to cope with their anxieties, connect through happenstance, or perhaps fate, as director Christian Carion captures a lovely, soulful, but also harrowing (which I’ll briefly explain in a moment) trip filled with rich conversation and profound messaging about celebrating and embracing life, no matter how imperfect one’s path may be.

Semantically, “Driving Madeleine” is an accurate title because Ms. Keller’s automobile journey lasts from the beginning to nearly the end of this colloquial-driven picture through a brisk 91-minute runtime. However, rather than always featuring a setting in the present day, Carion frequently sends us into the past, including 1944, when Madeleine reveals her first kiss, one with an American soldier, as she recounts her years to this newly found chaperone maneuvering on Paris’ streets. During these moments, 32-year-old actress Alice Isaaz plays 20th-century Madeleine and leads the audience through everyday happenings and the crossroads that eventually escort her to Charles’ car.

Carion surprisingly steers us into twisty, dark turns in “yester-century” with dramatic shifts in tones that sharply contrast the casual getting-to-know-one-another cab-ride chitchat. Quite frankly, the striking emotional swings – in (the aforementioned) harrowing territory - feel over the top and steeped in far-fetched melodrama, devices frequently employed in the 1980s or 1990s network television movies of the week.

On the other hand, Renaud presents so much flat-out charm and stirs an abundance of empathy while recounting Madeleine’s history (and a genuine hope that Charles will take heed), our lead could’ve uttered that she flew to the Moon and back on Apollo 11, and just about everyone in the movie theatre would genuinely wonder, “Yes, please tell us more about Neil Armstrong.”

The mother-son/aunt-nephew chemistry between Renaud and Boon gushes off the screen, and why not? French audiences know that the two appeared in a few films together, like “La maison du bonheur” (2006), “Welcome to the Sticks” (2008), and “Family is Family” (2018), but for American moviegoers, this pairing seems brand new.

The 95-year-old singer/AIDS activist/actress and 57-year-old comedian/director/screenwriter lean into their characters’ vulnerabilities and actively listen. Madeleine and Charles - as one would expect - build trust, and they both take opportunities in proving it during unplanned detours that also forge our admiration during their urban trek on pavement and cobblestones. Meanwhile, we’re counting down the minutes towards the eventual (or possible) stop at an unwanted adult care facility.

Until then, “Driving Madeleine” offers feelings of rainbows, lollipops, stormy clouds, and castor oil, otherwise known as the human experience. This worthwhile outing – that features a fabulous soundtrack, including Etta James’ “At Last” - also delivers a flourishing collection of The City of Light’s sites, including classic Haussmann architecture, The Arc de Triomphe, La Defense, street cafés, The Eiffel Tower, and more, and all for the price of one movie ticket, a bargain in my book.

Jeff’s ranking

3/4 stars

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JEFF MITCHELL
JEFF MITCHELL

A member of the Phoenix Critics Circle, Jeff Mitchell has penned film reviews since 2008, graduated from ASU’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism, and is a certified Rotten Tomatoes critic. Follow Jeff and the Phoenix Film Festival on Twitter @MitchFilmCritic and @PhoenixFilmFest, respectively.

All of Us Strangers - Movie Review

Directed by: Andrew Haigh

Written by: Andrew Haigh, based on Taichi Yamada’s novel

Starring: Andrew Scott, Paul Mescal, Claire Foy, and Jaime Bell

Runtime: 105 minutes

‘All of Us Strangers’ effectively offers familiar, universal themes as delicate declarations of regrets, hopes, tenderness,
and forgiveness fill the screen.

Adam (Andrew Scott) lives alone.

He’s a successful screenwriter living in a London high-rise but doesn’t visibly engage with anyone except a neighbor, Harry (Paul Mescal). One day, Harry stops by Adam’s place, hoping to connect. Eventually, they begin a love affair while Adam reminisces about his late parents (Claire Foy and Jamie Bell), who died in a car accident – 30 years prior during the 1980s – “just before (he) was 12.”

Adam attempts to write about his late folks, and Harry asks, “How’s it going?”

He responds, “Strangely.”

You see, through his imagination or some unexplainable, mystical link, Adam reconnects with his mom (Foy) and dad (Bell), and – now – the three are adults.

In director/writer Andrew Haigh’s profoundly affecting cinematic tale – based on Taichi Yamada’s 1987 novel “Strangers”- he explores Adam’s feelings of comfortably belonging in today’s world while facing the wounds of emotional isolation from the past. “All of Us Strangers” tugs on the heartstrings as delicate declarations of hopes, regrets, tenderness, and forgiveness pour off the screen in the tearjerker of the year.

Emotionally, the movie resonates and thrives through personal, intimate discourse, but mechanically, Haigh and cinematographer Jamie Ramsay frequently travel between contrasting visuals of (recent) present-day and the 1980s. Now, the big-screen transitions between eras seem effortless, like gentle winds cradling us across time and space. Still, our director purposely highlights the stark differences, ones that established Adam’s foundation and shaped his current perspectives.

Adam resides in a state-of-the-art but admittedly antiseptic urban flat, but he visits his large, inviting suburban childhood home, complete with a detached pitched-roof garage. The differences are not limited to the physical surroundings. They also swim with personal outlooks. Mom and Dad carry their experiences through the Margaret Thatcher years, but their beloved son reaches his deceased parents as a 40-year-old man who lived through Britain’s communal changes over three decades.

Mom, Dad, and Adam profoundly love one another; however, mistakes, oversights, and miscommunications are as commonplace with any family as warm hugs, kind confessionals, and pure joy. This family is close, but they also are strangers, as parents can’t know all the mysteries, conflicts, feelings, and ideals within their children. In Adam’s case, an additional secret – his sexuality - alluded his guardians.

First and foremost, this new kinship reunion is a glorious, tangible gift for Adam (and for his mother and father), but it also presents an extraordinary opportunity to divulge all his confidences and for them to respond.

“All of Us Strangers” is a grounded film about healing and reconciliation through cinema’s spacious, transcendent magic. Its most moving scenes can be rightly compared to the final sequence between Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner) and John Kinsella (Dwier Brown) in “Field of Dreams” (1989), except in the 2023 movie’s case, Adam, Mom, and Dad share ample time together throughout 105 on-screen minutes.

“Always on My Mind” (1987) by Pet Shop Boys proudly rests on the film’s soundtrack, and the lyrics of the 80s new-wave remake wholly reflect the sentiment.

“Maybe I didn’t treat you quite as good as I should. Maybe I didn’t love you quite as often as I could. Little things I should have said and done; I never took the time. You were always on my mind. You were always on my mind.”

This is a story about second chances and embracing the moment. Adam acts both, and on the latter with Harry after our lead initially rebuffs his advance. Harry is assured of his position in the world but doesn’t possess Adam’s (initial) family footing. Still, Adam’s new partner offers a space of comfort and support while they share their vulnerabilities.

All four skillful leads – by welcoming Haigh’s script and extending warm chemistry – deliver soulful, touching performances through model, earnest exchanges.

In our off-screen, real world, let’s follow their lead in the here and now…before it’s too late.

Jeff’s ranking

3.5/4 stars

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JEFF MITCHELL
JEFF MITCHELL

A member of the Phoenix Critics Circle, Jeff Mitchell has penned film reviews since 2008, graduated from ASU’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism, and is a certified Rotten Tomatoes critic. Follow Jeff and the Phoenix Film Festival on Twitter @MitchFilmCritic and @PhoenixFilmFest, respectively.

Monte’s Favorite Films 2023

Deeply moving love stories, artful social commentary critiques, sprawling historical epics, pop culture icons, and ingenious science fiction worlds…2023 was a fun year to be a movie fan. Here are my favorite films of 2023.

10. Barbie 

"Barbie" is a silly yet sincere effort that creatively brings a witty and subversive story of changing times and shifting cultures to life. Director Greta Gerwig demonstrates a keen command of style and satire throughout the film, crafting a movie that surprisingly honors the legacy of the toy doll while also providing heartfelt and humorous meta-commentary concerning the negative and positive representations found throughout shifting cultural times. "Barbie" is a journey of self-discovery at its core, one that, in the expert care of Greta Gerwig, proves to be a joyous display of female strength and solidarity.

9. 20 Days in Mariupol

Over three devastating weeks, Ukrainian reporter Mstyslav Chernov documents the destruction of a city and the death of its people during wartime. The tenacity of the journalist documenting the invasion of Russian forces on Mariupol, which consistently comes with deep personal danger, is a testament to the power and risk of frontline journalism. The atrocities of war, the chaos, fear, and disregard for humanity are on unflinching display through this pieced-together firsthand account. "20 Days in Mariupol" is a painful yet powerful film.

8. The Holdovers

"The Holdovers" takes place in the 1970s at a New England prep school during Christmas break and focuses on a curmudgeon instructor, a career highlight for Paul Giamatti, who forms an unlikely relationship with an intelligent yet troubled student, an endearing Dominic Sessa, and the school's grieving head cook, an outstanding Da'Vine Joy Randolph. Director Alexander Payne composes a simplistic story but utilizes the characters to peel back the familiar surface elements to reveal deeper layers that engage the motivations and influence the perceptions of each character. "The Holdovers" is one of Alexander Payne's best works.

7. Return to Seoul

The sense of being lost in a place that you have searched so desperately to find is the lingering narrative tone of director Davy Chou's film "Return to Seoul." The story centers on Freddie, an energetic performance for newcomer Park Ji-min, who, on an impulse, leaves France and returns to South Korea to find her birth parents. The journey of self-discovery for Freddie is delicately observed, with an understanding of cultural differences, sensitivities, and the impact that time and place hold on relationships. "Return to Seoul" is the story of one woman's exploration of the past, journey in the present, and look into the future while portraying universal themes about the human condition.  

6. Godzilla Minus One 

Who would have expected in 2023 that a Godzilla movie, historically known for its charming monster fights in rubber suits that progressed to spectacles of computer-generated effects, would offer all the extravagance of a monster movie but also compose an emotional, character-driven story about trauma and grief but also unification and redemption. At the center of this creature feature is a story about historical trauma and the togetherness of a group of people to fight for their culture and future. Godzilla has always been the draw to the theater, a reason to cheer for a giant monster to indulge in havoc and destruction. Still, the beauty of "Godzilla Minus One" is its ability to make Godzilla a beast to be scared of and the humans the reason to cheer.

5. Oppenheimer

A complicated story about an equally complex man, Christopher Nolan's "Oppenheimer" is an achievement of storytelling and filmmaking. The film is a proud biopic that builds a tension-building timeline that leads to a devastating decision that alters the world's state and the applications of science moving forward. Supported on the shoulders of three beautiful performances from Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr., and Emily Blunt, "Oppenheimer" masterfully dissects the internal dialog, memory, and brilliant mind of its title character but also the personal and professional politics throughout Oppenheimer's life. Nolan's achievement with this film is the ability to establish and maintain an underlying sense of dread while skillfully portraying the tenacity of science and the philosophical contemplations leading to the creation of a weapon.  

4. Killers of the Flower Moon

Director Martin Scorsese takes a sobering look at the tragic history of the Osage People, examining the malicious greed and inhumane treatment of life for an Indigenous Community in 1920s Oklahoma territory. "Killers of the Flower Moon," an adaptation of David Grann's 2017 nonfiction novel, establishes a story about relationships between humans, political motivations, cultural understandings, and, at its core, a marriage between a white man and a Native American woman. It's this relationship between Mollie Brown, a delicate and confident performance from Lily Gladstone, and Ernest Burkhart, a restrained yet devious Leonardo DiCaprio, that builds the epicenter of trust but also deceit that transpires throughout the film. Scorsese, throughout the film, reflects on the historical and still prevalent traumas inflicted on Native American communities.

3. The Zone of Interest 

The canvas of director Jonathan Glazer's "Zone of Interest" is a view into the mundaneness of a family's everyday life framed by acts of unspeakable evil. The film focuses on the family life of a Commandant stationed at Auschwitz who is trying to build a happy life in a beautiful home next to the camp. Glazer meticulously composes every single frame with director of photography Lukasz Zal, setting a story with a string of wide angle and tracking shots that display the inhumane environment behind the lush gardens, birthday celebrations, and conversations of everyday family life. The sound design, a haunting mix of faint voices and crashes of metal and stone, further saturates the film with hopelessness and despair. It's a masterfully constructed horror film without a single jump scare or masked monster, a look into the ordinary existence of people connected to unforgivable, brutal acts of violence.

2. Poor Things 

The most wildly imaginative film of 2023 belongs to director Yorgos Lanthimos' "Poor Things," a fantastical story of evolution and the power of individualism. Lead by an enrapturing performance from Emma Stone, playing a reanimated character named Bella Baxter, "Poor Things" is vividly constructed in a world influenced by a mix of science and art, an elegance of design that makes every frame burst with life through fisheye lenses and vintage cameras. While beautifully composed, the story of Bella's self-discovery is far from pretty. Lanthimos' Frankenstein-like tale displays unbridled sexual desire in its raw, unglamorous state, the awful manipulations of men, and the unbalanced societal structure that reveals both immense privilege and the depths of poverty. All these moments influence Bella's perception and understanding of the world. Emma Stone is exceptional in the lead, building a consistently perceptive and thoughtful character that gestures, dances, ponders, and speaks with authority. "Poor Things" is never easy to categorize, and that's the beauty of this impressive film.

1. Past Lives 

Celine Song's debut feature film, "Past Lives," portrays the deeply connected lives of two childhood friends who reunite after being apart for two decades. It is a modern romance detailing the simplicity and complexity of how people identify the emotions of love. It's a beautiful and meditative analysis of the journey of a relationship that invites the viewer to actively participate in phone and video calls from bedrooms, offices, and restaurants. It places the viewer in the middle of thoughtful conversations and memory-making walks with two friends, starting as children, then college students, and finally grown professionals. The way Celine Song composes the film, combining two decades of life into two hours, builds an achingly romantic yet thoughtfully nuanced story of falling in love in many different ways with another person. The film gracefully maneuvers the relationship, making dramatic moments with subdued expertise and leading to a final image that conveys every single emotion about that complicated word called "love."

 
 

Honorable Mentions

Talk to Me

Anatomy of a Fall

Beau is Afraid

Fancy Dance

Spider-Man Across the Spiderverse 

Asteroid City

Godland

How to Blowup a Pipeline

May December 

The Iron Claw

Showing Up

The Boy and Heron

American Fiction

Featured
MONTE YAZZIE
MONTE YAZZIE

Monte Yazzie is the film reviewer for the North Phoenix publication “The Foothills Focus” and Festival Manager for the International Horror and Sci-Fi Film Festival. He continues to write consistently for www.dailydead.comand their recently launched magazine “Deadly”, and is a regular contributor to the Phoenix Film Festival and IHSFF website. You can find all Monte’s film reviews and work as an independent filmmaker at www.thecodafilms.com

Jeff Mitchell’s Top 20 Films of 2023

 
 

2023 is a banner year for cinema, and, once again, the annual best-movies selection becomes a challenging but rewarding responsibility.

I gladly experienced 220 new films in 2023 and proudly chronicled my 20 favorites.

Now, “20 Days in Mariupol”, “Air”, “Fancy Dance”, “Hey, Viktor!”, and “The Color Purple” just miss my list but don’t let these five impressive flicks pass you by, and I hope that you also explore the following motion pictures, my Top 20 Films of 2023.

20. “Upon Open Sky” – Writer Guillermo Arriaga turns the directing honors to his children, Mariana and Santiago, in this unsettling crime film, one immersed in an on-screen family affair. Teenage brothers Fernando (Maximo Hollander) and Salvador (Theo Goldin) seek to avenge their father’s death through an impulsive plan, but their new stepsister (Federica Garcia) unexpectedly joins the boys on their ill-conceived trek. The three young leads deliver absorbing performances through adolescent recklessness, especially during a stressful, unpredictable third act.

 
 

19. “American Fiction” – Thelonious ‘Monk’ Ellison (Jeffrey Wright) is an aggravated author and professor. He sees red when witnessing other novelists’ successes over Black literary works filled with stereotypes, so he writes his own as a parody. However, the laughs are on him when his new book becomes a wild success, much to his dismay and his agent’s (John Ortiz) outright joy. Director/writer Cord Jefferson confronts issues of race, the media, and present-day reactions to both in his funny and insightful first feature film. Jefferson compliments Monk’s wild new career trajectory with an inward look at the on-screen writer’s foundation through his family, new girlfriend, and everyday outlook.

 
 

18. “Priscilla” – Director/co-writer Sofia Coppola records a fascinating and uncomfortable Priscilla Presley biopic that presents the teenager’s/woman’s relationship and marriage to Elvis, a space filled with isolation, disregard, and a lopsided power dynamic. Elvis (Jacob Elordi) begins seeing Priscilla (Cailee Spaeny) when she is only 14, and Coppola makes an insightful casting choice by paring the 6’5” Elordi and the 5’1” Spaeny that visually reinforces their unsettling age difference. Armed with outstanding costume designs and stirring yesterdecade cinematography, Coppola, Elordi, and Spaeny convincingly convey Priscilla’s painful perspective.

 
 

17. “Dream Scenario” – College professor and family man Paul Matthews (Nicolas Cage) spends his days teaching lectures about evolutionary biology and supporting his wife, Janet (Julianne Nicholson), and their two daughters. However, nights suddenly become problematic because friends, colleagues, and strangers inexplicably begin dreaming about him. What? This mild-mannered, nondescript educator becomes an overnight sensation, and as Kristoffer Borgli’s wildly entertaining movie unfolds over 100 minutes, it becomes abundantly clear that Cage is a dream choice to play Paul.

 
 

16. “Talk to Me” – Brothers Danny and Michael Philippou turn teenage peer pressure on its head by – literally - introducing an ominous hand. You see, some Australian teens frequently caucus after school, and rather than goad their friends into drinking vast quantities of alcohol, they dare each other to grasp a severed, mummified hand for 90 seconds, as spirits from beyond the grave possess the said volunteers. Here’s a request: can we return to keg stands, please? Nope, and for 95 minutes, this frightening and vicious horror film doesn’t pull any punches.

 
 

15. “Toll” – Suellen (Maeve Jinkings) has a problem. Well, she thinks she does. Suellen discovers her teenage son, Antonio (Kauan Alvarenga), is gay and wants to set him “straight” at a conversion program, but she is a broke toll booth worker and doesn’t have the money. As luck would have it, her boyfriend includes her in a lucrative robbery ring, so her difficulties are now behind her, right? Carolina Markowicz’s (“Charcoal” (2022)) unconventional and frank second feature is constantly engaging, and her crackerjack script and Jinkings’ and Alvarenga’s million-dollar performances are infinitely more valuable than a pocketful of loose change or the price of a movie ticket.

 
 

14. “The Delinquents” – Moran (Daniel Elias) is a loyal, long-standing Buenos Aires bank employee, but this middle-aged rule follower has over two decades of shuffling papers left until his retirement. Well, Moran decides to break the rules and pocket a fortune by robbing his employer. He needs a partner and recruits his unsuspecting co-worker, Roman (Esteban Bigliardi), in director/writer Rodrigo Moreno’s 180-minute comedy-crime flick, one that – miraculously – is both utterly straightforward and unorthodox. Elias and Bigliardi are terrific as this unlikely pair, but Margarita Molfino will steal your attention.

 
 

13. “The Holdovers” – Alexander Payne (“Election” (1999), “Sideways” (2003)) is back to form in his hilarious - and sometimes heartfelt - story about an unlikable boarding school instructor (Paul Giamatti) who stays over Christmas break – against his will - to look after the kids who aren’t going home. Set in 1970, Payne leans into the period with a catchy soundtrack, rustic automobiles, and sobering dialogue about the Vietnam War. Speaking of dialogue, Mr. Hunham (Giamatti) teaches ancient civilizations and doesn’t hesitate to frequently apply his knowledge of the subject inside and outside the classroom. Giamatti is a legend.

 
 

12. “Godzilla Minus One” – After several tenuous recent entries in the Godzilla Universe, director/writer Takashi Yamazaki suddenly and completely changes the narrative with his spectacular, popcorn-munching, hand-clapping, and emotional-stirring movie. Set in post-WWII Japan - 1945 and the years following – Yamazaki creates a larger presence than the 164-foot monster: a vastly compelling human story, as Koichi (Ryunosuke Kamiki), a frustrated pilot, copes with his past failures and attempts to make amends in his personal life and against Godzilla. Yamazaki spent less than 15 million dollars on his film, but the impressive and dramatic set pieces look like 100 million bucks, an amount that you’ll also feel when leaving the theatre.

 
 

11. “Anatomy of a Fall” – Samuel (Samuel Theis), a husband and father, falls to his death from the top floor of his French countryside home, and an investigation dissects the anatomy of his fall. However, the inquiry soon reveals the complex layers of the relationship between Samuel and his wife, Sandra (Sandra Huller). Director Justine Triet’s absorbing and knotty courtroom drama keeps us guessing for 150 minutes, and this 2023 Palme d’Or winner deserves – at a minimum - Best Original Screenplay and Best Actress Oscar nominations. Huller is flat-out outstanding and gifts her character with deep nuance and striking bravado.

 
 

10. “Perfect Days” – 2023 Cannes Best Actor winner Koji Yakusho fills the screen with simple pleasures and wonder as Hirayama, a janitor who cleans public toilets all over Tokyo. Director/co-writer Wim Wenders (“The American Friend” (1977), “Wings of Desire” (1987)) offers a leisurely pace over a two-hour runtime, as evidenced by the movie’s first seven minutes that document Hirayama’s morning rituals. This modest custodian approaches his mundane tasks with gravitas and pride, and Wenders and Yakusho gradually reveal clues that there is more to this 60-something than meets the eye.

 
 

9. “The Teachers’ Lounge” – Leonie Benesch (“The White Ribbon” (2009), “Persian Lessons” (2020)) leads a talented ensemble of child and adult actors in a rapid-fire, restless tale of a teacher (Benesch) stepping over the line to investigate a wave of recent thefts at a German middle school. Ilker Catak’s movie triples as an ethical narrative, whodunnit, and claustrophobic thriller while examining the modern-day relationships between parents, students, and educators. The 98-minute runtime zips by, and before you know it, the last bell rings, and the end credits roll.

 
 

8. “Joy Ride” – Ashley Park, Stephanie Hsu, Sabrina Wu, and Sherry Cola star in a buddy road-trip comedy, and this critic hasn’t laughed out loud that much in a movie theatre since “Jackass Forever” (2022). Director/co-writer Adele Lim spins a sidesplitting story where the ladies fall into oodles of boisterous madness – including a run-in with a cocaine dealer and pretending to be a K-pop band – while traveling overseas to help support Audrey’s (Park) career and hopefully find her birth mother. The quartet shares lively chemistry and balances plenty of rated-R incidents with genuine emotional payoffs.

 
 

7. “All of Us Strangers” – Adam (Andrew Scott) lives alone. He’s a successful screenwriter living in a London high-rise but doesn’t visibly engage with anyone except a neighbor, Harry (Paul Mescal). They begin a love affair, and Adam reminisces about his late parents (Claire Foy and Jamie Bell), and then he reconnects with them, either in his mind or in some mystical way. Director/co-writer Andrew Haigh’s affecting, beautiful cinematic tale tugs at the heartstrings as the four characters offer delicate words of hope, regret, tenderness, and forgiveness in the tearjerker of the year.

 
 

6. “The Settlers” – In his stunning first feature, Felipe Galvez Haberle galvanizes a raw, brutal journey across the Chilean and Argentinian landscapes, where a pair of vicious mercenaries (Mark Stanley and Benjamin Westfall) and an unassuming hired hand (Camilo Arancibia) run a long-distance errand for a demanding, wealthy landowner. Set at the turn of the 20th century, the film’s deliberately grainy, muddy look and wide-open spaces stir feelings of Wes Craven’s “The Last House on the Left” (1972), a Werner Herzog production, and 1960s spaghetti westerns.

 
 

5. “Poor Things” – Bella Baxter (Emma Stone) is an unruly maniac. This 30-something, living in a posh abode in 19th-century London, routinely smashes dishes or spits out her food when instant gratification isn’t met. Who are you, Bella? What is going on? Twenty-three minutes into Yorgos Lanthimos’ most ambitious cinematic creation, the wildly imaginative director reveals the answer to both questions and then follows Bella on her fantastical, turbulent odyssey. Stone gives an Oscar-worthy performance, the best of her career, and Mark Ruffalo and Willem Dafoe deserve Academy Award nominations in a film filled with bizarre opulence.

 
 

4. “Fallen Leaves” – Match.com and other dating apps don’t appear in director/writer Aki Kaurismaki’s eccentric dramedy, so Ansa (Alma Poysti) and Holappa (Jussi Vatanen) must connect the old-fashioned way, by a chance meeting, perseverance, and some luck along the way. Initial sparks fly (internally, of course) for Ansa, a bashful grocery store clerk, and Holappa, an unpolished construction worker. However, they struggle to navigate their courtship via Kaurismaki’s droll, deadpan script, inventive framing, and art director Ville Gronroos’ visual delights, including countless hip posters hovering in the background. Love isn’t perfect, but this Finnish charmer gets pretty close.

 
 

3. “Godland” - Hlynur Palmason (“A White, White Day” (2019)) effectively presents a decisive clash between naivete and nature in a scenic drama about a Danish priest’s attempt to establish a church in 19th-century Iceland. Indeed, Palmason fashions the Icelandic topography as a mystical and intimating character for the audience and the aforementioned clergyman (Elliott Crosset Hove), but Lucas’ (Hove) lofty emotional make-up also collides with the locals’ earthy pragmatism. An instant classic. (Note: “Godland” is my #1 film of 2022, but Palmason’s movie is up for awards in 2023, so I’m including it again on my best-of list.)

 
 

2. “The Zone of Interest” – Director/writer Jonathan Glazer (“Sexy Beast” (2000), “Under the Skin” (2013)) recreates Rudolf Hoss’ (Christian Friedel) home that sits on the other side of a wall to the Auschwitz concentration camp. Hoss, his wife, Hedwig (Sandra Huller), and their children go about their lives like a suburban family while unspeakable atrocities occur just meters away. During a TIFF Sept. 10 screening, Glazer called his film – and he may have been quoting someone else – “’Big Brother’ in a Nazi house.” This critic calls “Zone” surreal, chilling, haunting, and a movie that deserves Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Director, Cinematography, and Sound.

 
 

1. “Past Lives” – Na Young and Hae Sung are pre-teen classmates and friends with feelings for one another. They live in South Korea, but when Na Young and her family move to Toronto, the pair loses touch until Hae Sung (Teo Yoo) reaches out to his long-lost childhood crush (Greta Lee) 12 years later through social media. After another 12 years, they reconnect in New York City in director/writer Celine Song’s soulful romantic drama. Song circumvents cliches and standard Hollywood formulas and replaces them with earnest, delicate wonder about fate, circumstances, destiny, and past choices while facing potential earth-trembling outcomes of the heart in the present.

 
 
Featured
JEFF MITCHELL
JEFF MITCHELL

A member of the Phoenix Critics Circle, Jeff Mitchell has penned film reviews since 2008, graduated from ASU’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism, and is a certified Rotten Tomatoes critic. Follow Jeff and the Phoenix Film Festival on Twitter @MitchFilmCritic and @PhoenixFilmFest, respectively.

The Boys in the Boat – Movie Review

Directed by: George Clooney

Written by: Mark L. Smith, based on Daniel James Brown’s novel

Starring: Callum Turner, Joel Edgerton, Luke Slattery, Hadley Robinson, and Peter Guinness

Runtime: 124 minutes

‘The Boys in the Boat’: This real-life sports story is an inspirational cinematic cruise

“The boys, that boat, it’s all I got.” – Joe Rantz (Callum Turner)

It’s the height of The Great Depression. Joe, a capable young man, cannot find work and frequently feels a bit useless, like the bottom of a shoe, and one of his soles suffers from a quarter-size hole.

If only he had two nickels to rub together.

Joe is a University of Washington student, but the billing department informs him that the latest tuition installment due date will arrive faster than you can say “impending doom.”

However, his fortunes, emotional and financial, change when he tries out for the University of Washington Huskies Rowing team under Coach Al Ulbrickson (Joel Edgerton), but Joe’s chances are slim when an army of dreamers turn up for the first meeting. Joe has zero experience, and only eight men make the team, the school’s junior squad.

Director George Clooney and screenwriter Mark L. Smith take a senior swing at delivering this big-screen story, not only Joe’s tale but the entire team’s inspirational voyage, based on Daniel James Brown’s 2013 non-fiction novel, “The Boys in the Boat”.

Clooney, Smith, Rantz, and the rest of the cast and crew are successful, as their 124-minute throwback sports movie feels like a 20th-century production, similar to “Hoosiers” (1986) or “Rudy” (1993), complete with fine attention on the specific athletic movements, a soaring musical score, and warm, pleasing, and dramatic cinematography of the grand events.

For some reason, the Motion Picture Association bestowed a PG-13 rating on Clooney’s film, but this is a satisfying, family-friendly PG-vibes cruise.

“The Boys in the Boat” chronicles Joe and the team’s remarkable travels towards worldwide acclaim, which includes a prestigious international 1936 event.

The movie harbors the Huskies’ exhaustive training, a few specific races, and impending stress and challenges. During a Dec. 11 Phoenix Film Society “The Boys in the Boat” screening, one of the society members mentioned – after the film - that Joe’s struggling relationship with his parents was a more prominent subject in the book.

In the film version, the strain with his father – who abandoned a teenage Joe years before – is explored, but in a limited fashion, just a few minutes on-screen. Still, it is addressed in an affecting scene when Joe confronts his father, Harry (Alec Newman). Credit Turner and Newman for churning up weighty audience empathy.

Now, Brown’s book runs 404 pages, and the challenge with most film adaptions from best-selling works is including enough of the needed source material into a two-hour celluloid presentation.

This critic did not read Brown’s page-turning effort, but Clooney and Smith are thrifty with their limited time and seem to hit most of the needed beats.

For example, in the first act, Joe falls asleep in class due to the extensive physical demands of practice, but an admiring co-ed, Joyce (Hadley Robinson), wakes the athlete just before the irritated professor gazes in his direction.

In only a 10-second sequence, Clooney establishes the team’s overly laborious practice schedule and Joyce’s attraction to Joe, which could blossom into romance later.

Nicely done.

In another example, cinematographer Martin Ruhe, costume designer Jenny Eagan, and supervising art director Simon Marsay effectively capture worlds where monetary strife bludgeons the masses while prosperity surrounds the UW Rowing team. No, Washington doesn’t overflow with an abundance of riches like the University of California, Berkeley or the Ivy League schools, but Joe, Bobby (Luke Slattery), Gordy (Joel Phillimore), and the rest of the crew are treated to the university’s beautiful surroundings, posh meals, and strolls through affluent dining halls and hotel lobbies, ones seemingly always covered with mahogany.

Meanwhile, marches in shanty towns are filtered with bleak grays and accompanied by drab textiles and long, tired faces, as the contrast between the two worlds highlights the blessing of this athletic squad, an absolute reprieve for Joe and company.

Clooney and Smith also squeeze in a lighthearted dance hall sequence, where the men build friendships, and Joe and Joyce strengthen their connection.

However, the one area that feels a little fuzzy is the reason for this junior squad’s vast success. Is it pure will that overcame their have-not beginnings? Is it Coach Ulbrickson’s ever-present guidance? Is the crew’s coxswain, Bobby, pushing them beyond their limits? Is it George Pocock’s (Peter Guinness) Ben Kenobi-like grandfatherly influence…and his handcrafted boat?

Probably all the above, but it isn’t easy to pinpoint one exact cause.

Still, it may not matter in the end, when Ruhe and Clooney convey complete thrills on the water, as three filmed regattas strike intense closeups when sweat, tears (but no blood), and strain pour off the men and broader, complex captures of racing theatre between Washington and their opponents. The film’s massive sound department pitches in, as swinging sculls frequently partner with sharp audio cracks and snaps. You’d swear the wooden oars split in two on a half-dozen occasions. Meanwhile, repeated drama ensues as various bows shove, strive, and dance with one another to the finish lines.

In fact, the first race offers tighter frames more often, but later regattas showcase wider ones, from above and at water level, as Clooney and company step up the nail-biting dramatics as the stakes grow.

Well, Joe may declare that the boys and the boat are all he has, but he and the entire UW crew reached millions, a priceless gift.

Jeff’s ranking

3/4 stars

Featured
JEFF MITCHELL
JEFF MITCHELL

A member of the Phoenix Critics Circle, Jeff Mitchell has penned film reviews since 2008, graduated from ASU’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism, and is a certified Rotten Tomatoes critic. Follow Jeff and the Phoenix Film Festival on Twitter @MitchFilmCritic and @PhoenixFilmFest, respectively.

Poor Things – Movie Review

Directed by: Yorgos Lanthimos

Written by: Tony McNamara, based on Alasdair Gray’s novel

Starring: Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, Willem Dafoe, Ramy Youssef, Suzy Bemba, and Jerrod Carmichael

Runtime: 141 minutes

‘Poor Things’, Lanthimos’ most ambitious creation, bursts with bizarre opulence

“Who are you? Who, who, who, who?” – “Who Are You” (1978) by “The Who”

“What’s going on? What’s going on? What’s going on? What’s going on?” – “What’s Going On” (1971) by Marvin Gaye

Meet Bella Baxter (Emma Stone), an attractive 30-something. She lives in a posh abode, about the size of a city block - in 19th-century London. Bella is unmarried but lives with Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe), presumably her father, but our heroine refers to him as “God,” an ironic moniker because the man’s face is an unholy mess.

God carries horrible scars, as if he regularly shaves with shards of broken glass, but he’s not a monster. He’s a surgeon and teaches various techniques with cadavers in front of crowded, intriguing audiences.

He cares for Bella but isn’t a trained psychologist. However, the woman needs one because she acts like an unruly maniac. Bella smashes dishes or spits out her food when instant gratification isn’t met.

God, who exudes Dr. Moreau or Dr. Frankenstein vibes, sports an odd, fatherly connection with Bella, and it’s impossible to ignore the nagging feeling that the good doctor brings his work home.

Who are you, Bella? What is going on?

Director Yorgos Lanthimos (“The Lobster” (2016), “The Favourite” (2018)) doesn’t keep us in suspense for too long. Twenty-three minutes into his latest mind-bender, the wildly imaginative director reveals both questions. Over the next 118 minutes, he grabs his camera and follows Bella on her journey.

“Poor Things”, Yorgos’ most ambitious movie, bursts with bizarre opulence.

It’s essentially a road-trip movie, a strange and hilarious one, and Emma is his muse in a film that should garner a barrel of Oscar nominations, including Best Actress, two Best Supporting Actor nods, Best Director, and Best Picture, in this critic’s opinion.

The picture’s primary hook is the aforementioned admission, 23 minutes in, and then following Bella’s external and internal trips of discovery, not only experiencing production designers Shona Heath and James Price’s visual smorgasbord for the senses but our heroine’s psychological travels.

Lanthimos and cinematographer Robbie Ryan shadow Bella to various European locales (which will not be named in this review), complete with sightseeing and fine dining in the wealthiest spaces. The wonderous sound stages offer an illustrative mashup of “Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” (1971) and Caesars Palace’s The Forum Shops with convex blue-sky ceilings, minus the Lululemon and Nike stores, naturally.

Bella chassés to one particular, beautiful city center but also wanders into the seediest corners, and she’s sans yoga leggings and Air Jordans in the 19th century.

Stone delivers a slam-dunk performance, as Yorgos asks her to stretch – emotionally and physically – into Bella’s elastic exploration – with frank observations and spot-on comedic delivery - that is infinitely more complex and intricate than her Oscar-winning turn in “La La Land” (2016). Stone has excelled in comedies before - like in “Superbad” (2007), “Easy A” (2010), and Lanthimos’ “The Favourite” (2018) - but we’ve never seen Stone this vulnerable and equally courageous on-screen (at least, I haven’t), including Bella’s sexual escapades, primarily with a debonair socialite, Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo). Ruffalo is an absolute riot, as Duncan frequently grapples with Bella’s inexplicable mindset beneath her gorgeous arm-candy wrapping.

Yes, “Poor Things” earns its R-rating in spades, and this is not a movie for easily-offended or family-oriented audiences. However, brave, enthusiastic moviegoers - who love challenges, a plethora of unpredictable sights, and a soaring, whimsical story arc with a disturbing foundation – will undoubtedly cash in.

Don’t ask questions before stepping into the theatre, including inquiries about Bella’s first-act disclosure. Discover who Bella is and what’s going on – for the first time – while this cinematic phenomenon of riches pours off the screen.

Jeff’s ranking

4/4 stars

Featured
JEFF MITCHELL
JEFF MITCHELL

A member of the Phoenix Critics Circle, Jeff Mitchell has penned film reviews since 2008, graduated from ASU’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism, and is a certified Rotten Tomatoes critic. Follow Jeff and the Phoenix Film Festival on Twitter @MitchFilmCritic and @PhoenixFilmFest, respectively.

The 2023 Phoenix Critics Circle Awards

On Dec. 14, the Phoenix Critics Circle, along with friends, family, and partners, enjoyed a festive evening at the Phoenix Film Festival home office and the Harkins Theatres Scottsdale 101 to proudly announce the PCC’s choices for 2023’s best films, performances, and efforts in technical categories.  

“Past Lives”, Celine Song’s stunning first feature film, seizes the day to win Best Picture, while Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” and Alexander Payne’s “The Holdovers” garner the most hardware with four and three awards, respectively.  

Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr. secure Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor for their atomic work in “Oppenheimer”, and Da’Vine Joy Randolph serves a stand-out Best Supporting Actress performance as an engaging but brokenhearted cafeteria worker in “The Holdovers”, which also won the PCC’s Best Comedy award. 

Valley native Emma Stone rounds out the acting honors with a Best Actress victory for her grand and whirlwind efforts in Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Poor Things”, and the wildly imaginative director cashes in with Best Director honors. 

Here is the complete list of winners and nominees. 

BEST PICTURE

  • THE HOLDOVERS

  • KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON

  • OPPENHEIMER

  • PAST LIVES - WINNER

  • POOR THINGS

  • THE ZONE OF INTEREST


BEST COMEDY FILM

  • AMERICAN FICTION

  • ASTEROID CITY

  • BARBIE

  • BOTTOMS

  • THE HOLDOVERS - wINNER


BEST SCIENCE FICTION FILM

  • ASTEROID CITY

  • THE CREATOR

  • GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3

  • INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY

  • INFINITY POOL

  • THEY CLONED TYRONE - wINNER


BEST HORROR FILM

  • EVIL DEAD RISE

  • NO ONE WILL SAVE YOU

  • TALK TO ME - WINNER

  • THANKSGIVING

  • WHEN EVIL LURKS


BEST ANIMATED FILM

  • THE BOY AND THE HERON

  • ELEMENTAL

  • SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE - WINNER

  • TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: MUTANT MAYHEM

  • WISH


BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

  • ANATOMY OF A FALL

  • FALLEN LEAVES

  • GODZILLA MINUS ONE

  • PERFECT DAYS

  • THE ZONE OF INTEREST - WINNER


BEST DOCUMENTARY

  • 20 DAYS IN MARIUPOL

  • AMERICAN SYMPHONY

  • BEYOND UTOPIA

  • THE MISSION

  • STILL: A MICHAEL J. FOX MOVIE - WINNER


BEST ACTOR

  • BRADLEY COOPER, MAESTRO

  • LEONARDO DICAPRIO, KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON

  • PAUL GIAMATTI, THE HOLDOVERS

  • BARRY KEOGHAN, SALTBURN

  • CILLIAN MURPHY, OPPENHEIMER - WINNER

  • JEFFREY WRIGHT, AMERICAN FICTION


BEST ACTRESS

  • LILY GLADSTONE, KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON

  • SANDRA HÜLLER, ANATOMY OF A FALL

  • GRETA LEE, PAST LIVES

  • NATALIE PORTMAN, MAY DECEMBER

  • MARGOT ROBBIE, BARBIE

  • EMMA STONE, POOR THINGS - WINNER


BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

  • WILLEM DAFOE, POOR THINGS

  • ROBERT DOWNEY JR., OPPENHEIMER - WINNER

  • RYAN GOSLING, BARBIE

  • MARK RUFFALO, POOR THINGS

  • DOMINIC SESSA, THE HOLDOVERS


BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

  • EMILY BLUNT, OPPENHEIMER

  • PENELOPE CRUZ, FERRARI

  • RACHEL MCADAMS, ARE YOU THERE GOD? IT’S ME, MARGARET.

  • JULIANNE MOORE, MAY DECEMBER

  • ROSAMUND PIKE, SALTBURN

  • DA’VINE JOY RANDOLPH, THE HOLDOVERS - WINNER


BEST DIRECTOR

  • GRETA GERWIG, BARBIE

  • JONATHAN GLAZER, THE ZONE OF INTEREST

  • YORGOS LANTHIMOS, POOR THINGS - WINNER

  • CHRISTOPHER NOLAN, OPPENHEIMER

  • MARTIN SCORSESE, KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON

  • CELINE SONG, PAST LIVES 


BEST SCREENPLAY

  • GRETA GERWIG AND NOAH BAUMBACH, BARBIE 

  • DAVID HEMINGSON, THE HOLDOVERS - WINNER

  • CORD JEFFERSON, AMERICAN FICTION

  • TONY MCNAMARA AND ALASDAIR GRAY, POOR THINGS

  • CELINE SONG, PAST LIVES 


BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

  • HOYTE VAN HOYTEMA, OPPENHEIMER - WINNER

  • MATTHEW LIBATIQUE, MAESTRO

  • RODRIGO PRIETO, BARBIE

  • RODRIGO PRIETO, KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON

  • ROBBIE RYAN, POOR THINGS

  • LUKASZ ZAL, THE ZONE OF INTEREST


BEST SCORE

  • JERSKIN FENDRIX, POOR THINGS

  • LUDWIG GÖRANSSON, OPPENHEIMER - WINNER

  • MICA LEVI, THE ZONE OF INTEREST

  • DANIEL PEMBERTON, SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE

  • ROBBIE ROBERTSON, KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON

Featured
JEFF MITCHELL
JEFF MITCHELL

A member of the Phoenix Critics Circle, Jeff Mitchell has penned film reviews since 2008, graduated from ASU’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism, and is a certified Rotten Tomatoes critic. Follow Jeff and the Phoenix Film Festival on Twitter @MitchFilmCritic and @PhoenixFilmFest, respectively.

The Oath – Movie Review

Directed by: Darin Scott

Written by: Darin Scott and Michelle Scott

Starring: Darin Scott, Nora Dale, Karina Lombard, and Billy Zane

Runtime: 104 minutes

Pledging to watch ‘The Oath’ might cause severe regrets

“You are so boring, all your thinking.” – Bathsheba (Nora Dale)

After a brief opening chase scene through a crowded forest in director/co-writer Darin Scott’s “The Oath”, the camera focuses on the lead, Moroni (also played by Scott), a muscular 40-something donning a warrior’s garb, complete with, perhaps, a cowhide vest.

He’s thinking.

Moroni stands, sits, and lies down in a vast patch of lush emerald pasture near an ocean coast, and the thoughts in his head – for some reason - are spoken aloud through narration in his native tongue while subtitles appear. He’s alone, the sole survivor of the Nephite Nation.

By sight alone, one might guess that Scott’s movie might be set during the fictional Hyborian Age, thousands of years before 0 A.D., but this story takes place during the 5th century in North America, as noted during the opening credits.

Scott and cinematographer Brian O’Carroll offer a grand entrance for Moroni, a stoic gentleman who might let his sword do most of the talking. The Nephites’ opposing nation, The Lamanites – “after a millennium of war” – killed all of Moroni’s people.

However, only scarce swathes of swashbuckling sprint to the screen, mostly late in the third act, as “The Oath” is primarily a slow, clumsy, colloquial-dominated narrative, where Moroni speaks in parables and formalities to himself and Bathsheba (Nora Dale) from the opposing nation, The Lamanites.

He will utter, “Their words will cry from the dust.”

“If they slay me, it matters not,” Moroni also says.

The central plot revolves around Moroni coping with the fact that the Nephites’ history could be wiped clean after his demise. King Aaron (Billy Zane) of The Lamanites – who apparently only rules over 10 on-screen citizens in his kingdom - wishes to rid the world of Moroni. Meanwhile, the ruler’s mistress, Bathsheba, leaves him and finds this lone Nephite. The rugged Moroni and beautiful Bathsheba might pledge some common ground and romance.

Bathsheba is running from an abusive relationship, but Moroni becomes possessive after just a couple of weeks and asks that she never leaves him.

Come on, Moroni. Give her some space.

Well, Scott’s production may be a passion project because “The Oath” is a religious chronicle about an important figure for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Admittedly, this critic didn’t realize it until the end, but most moviegoers – with or without some research beforehand – will grasp this obvious fact. My agnostic beliefs and frequent critic practice of “walking blindly into a movie” (without knowing anything about it) drove my naiveté for this 104-minute picture.

So, looking back, Scott’s constant gravitas towards Moroni’s everyday tasks – like handing a plate of food to Bathsheba or strolling through the woods – now draw clarity due to the widespread reverence given to this religious figure.

So, I respect Scott and his cast and crew’s intentions to bring Moroni to the big screen.

Still, as a movie, I must unfortunately vow – from my perspective - that “The Oath” is a clunky, awkward experience. It feels like it was filmed on a shoestring budget – without accompanying footwear - in one location out in the wilderness, like if you and your friends decided to shoot a movie over a three-day weekend.

It’s filled with wincing, wooden dialogue, but the performances – as a whole – aren’t second-rate. However, Scott often runs into problems, because he seemingly can’t quite find the balance between portraying Moroni’s respected sobriety and delivering needed emotion in critical spots. When in doubt, Scott seems to lean on the former, which is a safe bet, but his interpreted stoicism hampers the intended poignant moments.

The strained choreography with the supporting players doesn’t help the film’s cause. For example, the Lamanite combatants seem connected by an imaginary rope, so they don’t fall out of the camera frame during their repeated steps over the same woodsy acreage or path adjacent to a small rocky cliff throughout the movie.

During the eventual fight scenes between King Aaron’s entire militia of 10 combatants versus Moroni, Bathsheba’s sister Mahigana (Karina Lombard) fires off two arrows that land, but we don’t see her pull on the bow. Still, through the magic of editing and our imagination, she did.

Take the editing department’s word for it.

Speaking of words, “The Oath” is a movie where members of the warring factions sometimes speak their distinct languages or sometimes break into English. The rule of thumb is that the longer the movie runs, the more English you’ll hear. If Scott filmed “The Oath” linearly, maybe the cast and crew said, “Hey, let’s just drop the other languages, okay?”

Although Zane delivers a slight Irish accent throughout his performance, which comes out of nowhere, but hey, at least he’s not boring with all his talking.

Jeff’s ranking

1/4 stars

Featured
JEFF MITCHELL
JEFF MITCHELL

A member of the Phoenix Critics Circle, Jeff Mitchell has penned film reviews since 2008, graduated from ASU’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism, and is a certified Rotten Tomatoes critic. Follow Jeff and the Phoenix Film Festival on Twitter @MitchFilmCritic and @PhoenixFilmFest, respectively.

Dream Scenario – Movie Review

Directed and written by: Kristoffer Borgli

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Julianne Nicholson, Tim Meadows, and Dylan Gelula

Runtime: 102 minutes


‘Dream Scenario’: Cage is a dreamy choice for Borgli’s exceptional and eccentric dark comedy

“The Dream Police. They live inside my head.” – “Dream Police” (1979) by Cheap Trick

Paul Matthews (Nicolas Cage) isn’t a cop, but – for reasons that cannot (easily) be explained - he’s living inside people’s heads.

This college professor and family man spends his days giving lectures about evolutionary biology and supporting his wife, Janet (Julianne Nicholson), and their two daughters. However, nights suddenly become problematic because friends, students, colleagues, and strangers inexplicably begin dreaming about him.

What?

This mild-mannered, nondescript educator becomes an overnight sensation, and as director/writer Kristoffer Borgli’s inventive, satirical, and eccentric movie unfolds over 102 minutes, it becomes abundantly clear that Cage is a dream choice to play Paul.

Cage has been on a roll lately. Movie studios and filmmakers seem to have awakened with Nicolas in mind, and he’s accepted notable roles, led by “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent” (2022), where he plays a version of himself in an action comedy with Pedro Pascal.

But we can also look towards other recent flicks where the public has rediscovered Nicolas Kim Coppola, including “Pig” (2021), “Renfield” (2023), and an ever-so-brief cameo in “The Flash” (2023).

Cage fans may argue that he never separated from their lives. Just look at his lengthy IMDb resume with 116 credits as proof.

In a 2012 Werner Herzog Q&A (that’s available on YouTube at BAMorg), the famous director celebrates his collaboration with Nicolas on “Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans” (2009). Werner explains that Cage asked for insight into why his character – the bad lieutenant – was…bad.

Herzog responded, “’Nicolas, you know, there’s such a thing like the bliss of evil. Go for it!’ And he really went for it.”

Here, Nicolas’ Paul isn’t malevolent, but our lead thespian goes for it in “Dream Scenario”.

Professor Matthews – a follically-challenged 50-something suburbanite - is confident with his classroom material, but he’s insecure and awkward outside his teaching mode.

His ex-girlfriend, Claire (Marnie McPhail), remarks that he’s “always (waiting) for the insult.”

Janet states that he “scores high on assholeness.”

He doesn’t stand out in a crowd, and therefore, Paul is safe among the herd, not unlike an example in the animal kingdom that he calls out in class.

Cage is physically masterful here, with seemingly hundreds of moments where Paul’s internal churn of self-doubt rises to the surface with hesitations, graceless chit-chat, and clumsy exchanges.

With zero charisma, Matthews essentially goes unnoticed, but once colleagues, acquaintances, and unfamiliar individuals begin to recognize him (because he’s a frequent attendee during their slumber), this timid fellow gets a palatable taste of celebrity and far-and-wide curiosity.

Borgli and cinematographer Benjamin Loeb embrace the challenge of forging dream sequences, and they skillfully gather numerous five-second snippets of anxious, tangible images of snooze hallucinations. On most occasions, Borgli deliberately identifies which cinematic extractions originate from the on-screen characters’ headspaces, but he – sometimes - makes us guess.

Not only do Borgli and Loeb take meticulous care with the sporadic delusions’ visuals, but sound designer and Oscar winner Sylvain Bellemare and his team offer bold echoes, thuds, and reverberations to accompany these surprising fantasy morsels. Conversely, Bellemare and company hush the resonance during the story’s conscious minutes, reflecting Paul’s mundane existence.

Filmed in Toronto, the grey, overcast weather escorts our hero, not necessarily like a dark cloud but as a lingering malaise. It’s no accident that he roams through the ashen concrete walls of his university, where he takes pride in his life’s work, which contrasts with his luxurious brick home, one adorned with flowery, luxurious grounds.

Janet grew up in this domicile that Paul, she, and their two girls occupy, and it’s a refuge of opulence, comfort, and family. Outside fame should pale in comparison. Perhaps “Dream Scenario” shines a light on this searching-for-broad-acceptance dynamic, one magnified these days by social media’s ubiquitous force. It’s a movie filled with observational humor and prickly, frank looks at the human condition, one with odd surprises, including a 30-something well-known film comedian randomly popping up as a baseball-hat-wearing marketing executive.

Yes, it’s difficult to police the proceedings in this new Nicolas Cage vehicle. Hey, just dismiss any restraint and experience “Dream Scenario” with wide-open eyes.

Jeff’s ranking

3.5/4 stars

Featured
JEFF MITCHELL
JEFF MITCHELL

A member of the Phoenix Critics Circle, Jeff Mitchell has penned film reviews since 2008, graduated from ASU’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism, and is a certified Rotten Tomatoes critic. Follow Jeff and the Phoenix Film Festival on Twitter @MitchFilmCritic and @PhoenixFilmFest, respectively.

Next Goal Wins - Movie Review

Directed by: Taika Waititi

Written by: Taika Waititi and Iain Morris

Starring: Michael Fassbender, Oscar Kightley, Kaimana, David Fane, Uli Latukefu, Semu Filipo, Elisabeth Moss, Will Arnett, and Rachel House

‘Next Goal Wins’: This soccer movie should be an easy score, but the ball sails over the crossbar

2,555, 44,620, 77, 2,073, and 31-0.

American Samoa is an unincorporated U.S. territory, an island locale in the Pacific Ocean that sits 2,555 miles southwest of Hawaii. 44,620 people live on 77 square miles of tropical paradise.

Taika Waititi (“Boy” (2010), “What We Do in the Shadows” (2014), “Jojo Rabbit” (2019)) was born in Wellington, New Zealand, 2,073 miles southwest of American Samoa. In “Next Goal Wins”, this whimsical, creative mind directs and cowrites an American Samoan tale based on actual events involving the world’s most popular game.

On April 11, 2001, American Samoa lost a Men’s FIFA World Cup qualification match to Australia, but the word “lost” barely scratches the surface.

Crushed, mashed, smashed, destroyed, massacred, and demolished are better descriptions for the team’s 31-0 defeat at the hands of the Aussies.

Thirty-one to Zero!

Ten years later, the squad isn’t fairing much better, as they – still – haven’t scored a goal in international play. Simultaneously, the American Soccer Federation decides to send a lackluster, hothead, and vagabond of a coach, Thomas Rongen (Michael Fassbender), to manage the South Pacific squad in Taika’s take on this true “The Bad News Bears” (1976) story.

Thomas needs to help turn these zeroes into heroes!

“Next Goal Wins” is a sports comedy, or it attempts to fashion itself as one, but other than about a dozen or so sight gags and individual quips, the intended jokes – mostly involving the team’s inept skills - fall flat, and the mundanely filmed action on the pitch doesn’t inspire.

Worse yet, Rongen is a cantankerous, unlikable sort, and Fassbender’s Buttermaker garners no empathy throughout most (the key word is “most”) of the 103-minute runtime, so his arc barely registers by the movie’s final whistle.

Whether the team wins or loses, we should want to hoist Rongen on our shoulders and carry him (and the team) out of the theatre, but by the end, a simple fist bump - born out of acknowledgment and politeness - and a speedy exit seem apropos.

Granted, the collection of misfit athletes earns audience endearment. Still, like many sports movies, there are so many players but limited on-screen minutes. Hence, Waititi focuses on a few personalities, including the team’s president Tavita (Oscar Kightley), the goalie Nicky (Uli Latukefu), a cop named Rambo (Semu Filipo) with a wildly strong foot, and a trans woman, Jaiyah (Kaimana).

Tavita, the desperate-for-a-winner administrator (and he’s pining for just one goal), introduces Rongen and us to Samoan culture. The man is a gentle, agreeable force and a one-man welcoming party with some amusing moments and a bizarre, raunchy one. Nicky is a tall, athletic ringer for the crew, and Rambo’s best scene is an introductory one when he chases down a particular speed demon clocking in at 35 or 36 miles per hour.

Jaiyah garners the most player screen time.

Waititi, co-writer Iain Morris, and Kaimana feature her journey in a frank and sensitive manner, including Jaiyah dealing with hormonal issues and her new coach deadnaming her. Jaiyah and Thomas develop a delicate working relationship as player and coach, and the screenplay and the two actors offer a convincing run of initial conflict, acceptance, and collaboration.

Deciding where to place conflict becomes one of the movie’s chief problems because the generally sociable, gracious players do not fight with each other. No tension exists between them, and therefore, it’s a missed chance for comedy. And there are only so many times that one can sit through kicks that sail outrageously off target, tackles that are poorly missed, and easy saves that can’t be reached.

So, the tension is primarily set on Thomas’ fish-out-of-water routine with the Samoan players, people, and culture. Barely any intended laughs register with the coach vs. players, and Fassbender (to my knowledge) isn’t an experienced comedian. Michael delivers angst, disbelief, impatience, and frustration with his clumsy team, and the only glorious laugh-out-loud moment – that I can recall with these interactions – is when he quits for the day and leaves the coaching to a 10-year-old named Armani (Armani Makaiwa). That worked.

Still, Thomas shares frequent meltdowns, including embarrassing Bobby Knight routines, even when the team doesn’t play badly. He ponders quitting, threatens to leave, and quits, so the strain is between the coach and players. There are plenty of opportunities to explore the anxiety of his experience with the Samoan people and cultures, but the picture fails to build on that idea.

Perhaps Waititi, the filmmakers, and Fassbender are playing the real Rongen exactly (or close to exactly) right, and his short fuse and disinterest are on point. Well, it’s admirable that history might be valued, but the final presentation in its current state doesn’t translate to a raucous comedy or a compelling drama, and quite frankly, it should be at least one. At least! So, Waititi is responsible for recognizing any comedic shortcomings upfront or with the dailies. It feels like Fassbender and the other thespians needed support to set them up for success rather than the filmmakers relying on eccentric puns from supporting characters.

Speaking of support, it is not easy to discern the team’s improvement (other than recruiting new team members) and Rongen’s contributions. The club does develop, but the line between A (for Awful) and B (for Better) isn’t visible.

It’s also unclear how plays and formations transpire and how teamwork occurs on the pitch. Waititi and cinematographer Lachlan Milne film practices and matches at ground level. The camera sits close by and rarely delivers broad views of movement. Instead, in isolation, Jaiyah will dribble between defenders, or Rambo will set himself up for a rousing kick, while Rongen barks orders. So, the game experience doesn’t translate in the theatre, except for the designed big moments and the occasional shot from the last row of the stands, but – by and large – the film looks nothing like a televised soccer event.

Waititi and Milne didn’t score on the field, but they capture some beautiful surroundings, including a stirring hike up a mountain, even though the filming occurred in Hawaii, not in American Samoa (according to IMDb).

So, cheers to Taika and the cast and crew for bringing attention to this American Samoa soccer story. I’m glad that I know this sports tale. Still, Taika Waititi is directing Michael Fassbender as a Buttermaker-type who coaches the worst international soccer team in history.

This movie should write itself!

“Next Goal Wins” should be a layup, a slam-dunk. Sorry, wrong sport. This film is a penalty kick with an open goal, but, unfortunately, the ball sails over the crossbar.

Jeff’s ranking

1.5/4 stars

Featured
JEFF MITCHELL
JEFF MITCHELL

A member of the Phoenix Critics Circle, Jeff Mitchell has penned film reviews since 2008, graduated from ASU’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism, and is a certified Rotten Tomatoes critic. Follow Jeff and the Phoenix Film Festival on Twitter @MitchFilmCritic and @PhoenixFilmFest, respectively.

The Marvels – Movie Review

Directed by: Nia DaCosta

Written by: Nia DaCosta, Megan McDonnell, and Elissa Karasik

Starring: Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris, Iman Vellani, Zawe Ashton, and Samuel L. Jackson

‘The Marvels’: A messy, confounding story grounds this MCU space odyssey

“The jump point is still leaking energy.”

If that quote seems confusing, you aren’t alone.

“The Marvels” – the sequel to “Captain Marvel” (2019), starring Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris, and Iman Vellani – has a confounding plot, one that completes its cooked chronicle through several conveniences over an (approximate) 95-minute runtime.

It’s a messy space odyssey that shoehorns two Disney+ characters on the MCU’s big screen – Monica Rambeau (Parris), who works for Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), and a 16-year-old Jersey City kid, Kamala Khan (Vellani) - to partner with Carol Danvers (a.k.a. Captain Marvel) (Larson).

Captain Marvel, Professor Marvel (Parris), and Ms. Marvel (Vellani) banter about the universe in Carol’s ship – with buddy comedy vibes - but director/co-writer Nia DaCosta and co-writers Megan McDonnell and Elissa Karasik draw a jumbled, silly cinematic map.

Let’s map out the premise.

Dar-Benn (Zawe Ashton), a Kree warrior, leads an excavation on “NB 418” (I believe) to find a pair of ancient bracelets that can open portals in space to help save her planet. Hala, her home world, lacks the enough breathable air, suffers from a drought, and their sun is dying. Rather than simply move to another planet, she hopes to use the said portals to travel to other worlds and steal their air, water, and sun.

Umm, what?

Well, that’s not nice!

Hang on. The Kree has a vast empire with armies of spaceships, so why not simply move? Perhaps Hala recently dealt with COVID-19, and the general populace would rather work from home and watch Netflix.

That’s possible.

Oh, Dar-Benn hates Captain Marvel because – as explained in a flashback scene – CM destroyed the Kree’s Supreme Intelligence, a supercomputer of sorts, which then caused a civil war. Apparently, the conflict depleted Hala’s resources, which messed with the air, a drought somehow started, and the sun began losing its luster.

I’m no scientist, but how are those events connected?

Anyways, Dar-Benn finds one of the bracelets, but not the second, because Kamala – living in Jersey City, U.S.A. – sports the other. She got it from her grandmother, of course.

Well, Kamala’s bangle starts glowing, and Monica and Carol touch some light sources (caused by Dar-Benn), while working in the field simultaneously, and now, the three switch locations when they use their powers at the same time.

Switch locations!

Think “Quantum Leap” (1989 – 1993), but not exactly. The women literally change spots or positions, a phenomenon that’s inconvenient in everyday life but would work exceptionally well during Friday night’s group dance lessons.

The trio convenes at Kamala’s childhood home – after a bizarre extended fight scene that involves the teenager’s parents and brother - and decides to consort, waltz, rumba, and fox-trot as a team (because what choice do they have?) and aims to stop Dar-Benn before she steals three elements on a massive scale.

Speaking of scale, the film doesn’t make it easy to discern Carol’s, Monica’s, and Kamala’s powers. Monica briefly explains that she can “see light,” Carol can “absorb light,” and Kamala can “turn light into physical matter.”

Okay.

From what I can tell, Monica turns translucent, can pass through solid matter, and shoots energy beams from her hands. Kamala can form pink diamond shields and other shapes, again, from her hands, and Carol has superhuman strength, and she can fly and shoot energy, again, from her hands. Monica can fly as well, but she’s still learning.

With this movie, I am learning too!

Meanwhile, Dar-Benn has the same bracelet as Kamala, but she hasn’t sorted out the pink diamond thing. However, she sports a “universal weapon” similar to Ronan’s (Lee Pace) from “Guardians of the Galaxy” (2014). It’s a giant hammer with a long handle, and early in the first act, part of it had a purple glow. Does her weapon have a Power Infinity Stone, like Ronan briefly did? No, I guess not, but when she clangs her new bangle to the aforementioned hammer, it cracks open her desired portals in space, so air, water, and fire are ripe for the taking!

Does Kamala’s bangle do that?

Also, Dar-Benn’s bangle can absorb energy, so if The Marvels shoot laser beams (or energy beams or light beams, or choose your synonym) at her, she can soak up their power and shoot it back at them. A pretty cool feature!

Can Kamala’s bangle do that?

Since Captain Marvel is the strongest being in the universe, Dar-Benn – at one point – absorbs Carol’s strength. Wow! But how long does she soak up Carol’s powers? Does it last a few seconds? A week? Is it permanent? I can confirm it’s somewhere between a few seconds and a week.

Her bangle/hammer combo is vastly functional and makes a cool fashion statement too.

Think about it for the holiday season.

“The Marvels” celebrates some faraway locales, including a colorful and pleasing one called Aladna that could fit right into a “Guardians” flick or “Thor: Ragnarok” (2017), and cheers to production designer Cara Brower. The Aladnaians utter a unique language that can have hilarious repercussions, but DaCosta cuts the joke short because Aladna’s prince (Park Seo-joon) also speaks straight-up English. So, the film misses an opportunity of heightened whimsy.

Conversely, we also volley between Nick Fury’s space station and a stop on a dreary Skrull home called Tarnax. Kamala’s family - Muneeba (Zenobia Shroff), Yusuf (Mohan Kapur), and Aamir (Saagar Shaikh) – hang out with Nick, so they are frequently in touch with their daughter/sister throughout the film, whether we want to listen or not. We’re subjected to the Skrulls’ continual miserable trek of a refugee crisis. It’s a shame because the Skrulls used to be ferocious villains in the comics. Here, they are pitied.

Ah, the mighty have fallen.

The mighty have fallen in Captain Marvel’s living spaces too. Carol is not the fierce combatant that we’ve seen in her first movie and “Endgame” (2019). She puzzlingly flies a spaceship, even though she doesn’t need one, and she’s emotionally wounded from decades of fighting with the Kree, cerebral scratches that we didn’t see in previous movies.

Her indestructible vibes are stunted.

She is a distinctively different Carol Danvers, and the changes give her more humanity and vulnerabilities. Still, it’s tough to discern who she is as a Marvel hero.

Who is Captain Marvel? I’m not sure, and Carol doesn’t seem to know either.

(Note that Taika Waititi changed Thor’s (Chris Hemsworth) personality in “Thor: Ragnarok”, but the famous Asgardian found a new and delightful sense of humor. Carol doesn’t offer the same pleasantries in “The Marvels”.)

However, we know who Kamala and Monica are. Kamala is a bubbly, wide-eyed superhero fangirl, as she finds her footing among the Avengers’ stars. Vellani’s Kamala is awfully likable, and her naiveté is a frequent source of comic relief. Monica is pragmatic, grounded, and carries the professor moniker that Kamala gave her. She always has the correct answer and keeps the pain of her mother’s passing in check, even though it’s darn near impossible to check off her list of superpowers and follow along when she throws out varying accounts about jump points and quantum bands.

Following along is a tricky business in “The Marvels”. The film diverts precious minutes for frequent explanations about the cosmic science that stands before us, including the initial bonding between the three over light (which I still don’t understand). We receive exposition about Kamala’s backstory, Monica’s mentions (twice) that she traveled through a witch’s hex to gain her powers, and Carol’s 30-year fight with the Kree that forged hard feelings and guilt. Back on the space station, Fury occasionally opines but isn’t given much to do, and we meet some of his staff but don’t catch their names.

As far as Dar-Benn, her motivation is clear, but her ultimate weapon/hammer gadget has more charisma and personality.

Well, the Flerkens – wild aliens that look like ordinary house cats – may not have personality, but they can make zany and vastly impressionable entrances, and here, they offer an absolutely hilarious sight gag.

Cat people and “Guardians” admirers – like yours truly – will love it (and them) and will welcome the Flerkens in new MCU flicks, and hey, Carol, Monica, and Kamala too.

If Ms. Danvers gets a self-help course and the Marvel Factory scribes a suitable script that’s straightforward, linear, logical, and with less endless exposition about jump points that leak energy, sign me up to cheer on this team.

However, at the moment, I’ll refer to Monica’s quote during the movie’s third act.

“I can’t.”

Jeff’s ranking

1.5/4 stars

Featured
JEFF MITCHELL
JEFF MITCHELL

A member of the Phoenix Critics Circle, Jeff Mitchell has penned film reviews since 2008, graduated from ASU’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism, and is a certified Rotten Tomatoes critic. Follow Jeff and the Phoenix Film Festival on Twitter @MitchFilmCritic and @PhoenixFilmFest, respectively.

American Fiction - Cord Jefferson Press Conference

Cord Jefferson wrote and directed “American Fiction”, his first feature movie, and it won the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival People’s Choice Award. What a debut! In “American Fiction”, Jeffrey Wright stars as Thelonious ‘Monk’ Ellison, an author who is weary of current mass media, so he writes a book out of sarcasm, and it catches fire.

Rotten Tomatoes Awards Editor Jacqueline Coley recently hosted a virtual press conference with Cord, and the Phoenix Film Festival and other outlets, journalists, and critics joined the engaging discussion. Jacqueline took questions from the online audience, but the Phoenix Film Festival’s inquiries weren’t chosen. Still, here is a partial transcript from the talk, as Cord chats about his inspiration to write and direct his first film and connecting with Jeffrey to star in it.

“American Fiction” arrives in select theatres on Dec. 15 and expands on Dec. 22, 2023.

Q: Talk about how you came across the book “Erasure” by Percival Everett and why you wanted to adapt it as your first feature.

CJ: I first heard about the novel, reading a review for a different book, “Interior Chinatown”, in December 2020. In the review, it said this novel has a satire reminiscent of Percival Everett’s “Erasure”. So, I bought it and devoured it over Christmas break, and within 20 pages, I knew I wanted to adapt the screenplay. Within 50 pages, I was already reading the character of Monk in Jeffrey Wright’s voice.

By the time I was done, I knew that I wanted to direct it. There were so many overlaps with my personal life and things I’d been thinking about for literally decades.


Q: How did you get Jeffrey to say, “Yes,” (to the film)?

CJ: As soon as we got the script done, I told everybody (that) I really wanted Jeffrey. Everybody agreed immediately. He’s perfect. We sent it to him right away, and very thankfully, he met with me, and we talked about it for a few hours. Then we went away and met again a couple of weeks later, and he signed on.

There are a lot of actors of his caliber (who) would look at first-time directors and say, “I don’t think so. I don’t want to risk it, but thanks for asking, kid.”

But he leapt aboard, and everything got easier. We got more money for the film. Other actors became more interested because they wanted to work with Jeffrey. He was just incredibly gracious and collaborative from the get-go. He’s an amazing, amazing man, and I will be forever indebted to him.


Q: Is there anything from that initial conversation that solidified (in your mind that he was perfect for the role)?

CJ: The first thing he said when he sat down was (that he didn’t) want this movie to feel like it’s scolding or condemning anybody. That’s the exact perfect thing to say because that was exactly what I had in mind also. I don’t want this movie to feel like it’s a lecture, like people are coming in (to the theatres), and we’re telling them (that) there’s a right way to be Black. There’s a wrong way to be Black. There’s a right way to think about these issues, (and) a wrong way to think about these issues.

All we wanted to do was make a movie that sort of addressed these issues but also had a ton of levity, a ton of humor, and a real emotional heart to the whole thing. We wanted people to leave the theatre smiling and laughing with friends and family. So, as soon as he talked about that, I knew (he was) the guy.


Q: How much of the audience was in your mind as you (set) up (and created) uncomfortable humor?

CJ: I didn’t make anything with an audience necessarily in mind. When you start to do that, you start to second-guess yourself, and you start to think, “Well, maybe this group of people won’t like this, or maybe this audience won’t like (that).”

For me, it was a strategic balance. I wanted the movie to be satire. “Erasure” is a wonderful satirical novel, so I knew that it was going to be a large part of the story. (However,) to make sure that the film didn’t collapse under the weight of the satire, (Monk’s) emotional core, the family stuff, (and his) relationships with his siblings and mother help ground the story emotionally.

(These ideas) help balance each other out. So, it’s never too sweet; it’s never too bitter. The story doesn’t feel too saccharine, collapsing under the weight of the drama, or collapsing under the weight of the comedy.

When we (did) test screenings, we would sometimes ask, “What do you think this movie is, a comedy, drama, or dramedy?”

And we’d get different answers every time.


Q: How was it directing Jeffrey, who is celebrated so much for his dramatic on-screen presence, in a comedic role?

CJ: A great actor is a great actor. If they are given an opportunity to be funny, you’re going to see a lot of great dramatic actors (in comedies). Robert De Niro. Everybody thought of (him) as a premier dramatic mob actor, and then all of a sudden, he’s in “Meet the Parents”, and everybody is dying laughing. Think of Gene Hackman in “Young Frankenstein”, one of my father’s favorite movies.

One of the things that I think makes Jeffrey shine (in “American Fiction”) is that people don’t expect to see him in this kind of role. People (will) be pleasantly surprised when they see how funny he is.

Featured
JEFF MITCHELL
JEFF MITCHELL

A member of the Phoenix Critics Circle, Jeff Mitchell has penned film reviews since 2008, graduated from ASU’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism, and is a certified Rotten Tomatoes critic. Follow Jeff and the Phoenix Film Festival on Twitter @MitchFilmCritic and @PhoenixFilmFest, respectively.

The Persian Version – Movie Review

Written and directed by: Maryam Keshavarz

Starring: Layla Mohammadi, Niousha Noor, Bella Warda, Bijan Daneshmand, and Tom Byrne

Runtime: 107 minutes


‘The Persian Version’: Too many shifts in times, tones, and ideas crowd the earnest intentions

“Oh girls. Girls just wanna have fun. They just wanna. They just wanna.” – “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” (1983), performed by Cyndi Lauper and written by Robert Hazard

Within the first 10 minutes (or so) of director/writer Maryam Keshavarz’s “The Persian Version” – with a “Based on a True Story…Sort Of” tagline on the movie poster – a pre-teen, Leila (Chiara Stella), sneaks Michael Jackson, Prince, and Cyndi Lauper cassette tapes on a New York City trip to Iran.

She then leads an endearing romp, a choreographed music video, in an Iranian neighborhood with elderly, middle-aged, and young locals dancing to Ms. Lauper’s most famous song. The sweet moment – set in the 1980s - highlights that this bright-eyed, youthful Iranian American embraces her heritage and both countries.

However, Keshavarz’s movie opens during the 2000s with 20-something Leila (Layla Mohammadi) hooking up with Maximillian (Tom Byrne), a man dressed in drag as Hedwig, from “Hedwig and the Angry Inch”, at a party, so at first and second glances, “Version” seems to be a straight-up comedy.

It’s not. Save for a few instances – like an awkward family dinner where Maximillian is the guest, and Leila’s mother Shireen (Niousha Noor) points out that her daughter plays basketball and her son cheerleads – the intended jokes don’t land, unfortunately.

This autobiographical (sort of) dramedy follows Leila’s and Shireen’s individual stories and their collective combative relationship. However, sitting down and following the narrative – with constantly shifting timelines (from the ‘60s, ‘80s, ‘90s, and ‘00s), desperately needed narration from Leila and a younger Shireen (Kamand Shafieisabet), and dizzying shreds of subplots, including a fractured romantic relationship, an incapacitated relative, a budding real estate career, a couple of pregnancies, a family wedding, and eight brothers who randomly appear and disappear in unison – can be a conflicting experience.

Leila and Shireen endure a messy rapport, and Keshavarz’s screenplay follows their vibe with an authentic but chaotic collection of ideas scattered across the screen for 107 minutes. Ultimately, there is a method to Keshavarz’s “madness”, one steeped in earnest intentions and execution in the third act, but the ever-changing tones and time periods highlight a mad, madcap, murky, and makeshift cinematic journey.

On the bright side, Noor is compelling as a resolute matriarch, strong and determined, who ceaselessly focuses on her family’s well-being, first and foremost, even if Leila and she don’t connect. Shireen loves her daughter, but her motherly burden of obligations and Leila’s teenage and 20-something free-spirited exuberance constantly clash. Mohammadi – in a breakout role - exudes charisma in her first feature film and could easily fit and shine in future rom-coms. She – regrettably - doesn’t get enough screen time to show off and stretch these romantic-comedy muscles. Some of the most engaging moments are between Leila and Maximillian, even though the film doesn’t explore their potential or lack thereof because Leila is gay, which leaves him in a state of limbo or confusion.

There’s no confusion about Keshavarz’s desire to include plenty of calls to her and Leila’s Iranian culture, with history lessons about U.S./Iran political relations, Rostam Batmanglij’s lively score, several shots of traditional food, and Dila Bayrak and Burcu Yamak’s sharp costume designs. Bayrak and Yamak also get the ‘80s attire perfectly and tonally right, complete with a leopard-print headband. Ah, ‘80s fashion.

Visually, “The Persian Version” offers plenty to absorb, including the aforementioned impromptu music video, a random cheerleader dance, a festive wedding, living conditions in an isolated desert, and bustling conversations around a congested dining room and a hospital bed.

However, with the constant shifting tones, ideas, and decades that crowd the big screen, maybe Lauper’s “Time After Time” (1983) is a better fit here.

“Caught up in circles. Confusion is nothing new.”

Jeff’s ranking

1.5/4 stars

Featured
JEFF MITCHELL
JEFF MITCHELL

A member of the Phoenix Critics Circle, Jeff Mitchell has penned film reviews since 2008, graduated from ASU’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism, and is a certified Rotten Tomatoes critic. Follow Jeff and the Phoenix Film Festival on Twitter @MitchFilmCritic and @PhoenixFilmFest, respectively.

Anatomy of a Fall – Movie Review

Directed by: Justine Triet

Written by: Justine Triet and Arthur Harari

Starring: Sandra Huller, Swann Arlaud, Milo Machado Graner, Samuel Theis, Jehnny Beth, and Antoine Reinartz

Runtime: 152 minutes

‘Anatomy of a Fall’: Sandra Huller rises to deliver the best lead actress performance of the year so far

“I need you to be precise. Tell me everything.” – Vincent Renzi (Swann Arlaud)

Director/co-writer Justine Triet’s courtroom drama, “Anatomy of a Fall”, feels precise in just about every moment. However, a barrage of facts, figures, explanations, clarifications, and evidence - throughout a 152-minute runtime – cause knotty twists and turns in this absorbing legal rollercoaster, one that rides and rolls through mountains of intimate stress and anxiety in the French Alps.

Very early in the first act, Samuel Maleski (Samuel Theis) falls to his death from the attic window of his and his wife’s (Sandra Huller) towering countryside home. This tragedy occurs in the middle of a winter day under bright skies, but cloudy contemplations climb with suspicions. Sandra Voyter (Huller) was the only other person inside the house, so did Samuel slip in a disastrous accident, or did his spouse murder him?

Triet and co-writer Arthur Harari (also Justine’s partner) don’t leave clues leading up to Samuel’s demise, but yes, tension fills the abode during the movie’s opening minutes.

A student interviews Sandra, a celebrated writer, but Samuel triggers a spiteful act – one that will not be revealed in this review – that deeply embarrasses his wife. The student and Sandra’s recorded conversation can no longer continue.

Is the humiliating moment a microcosm of their marriage?

Sandra suffers from a conflict, either a temporary patch or a years-long battle.

Immediately after Samuel’s deadly descent, the audience doesn’t know how long the couple’s struggles have lingered, but Voyter, her lawyer Renzi, investigators, and a trial divulge the anatomy of a fall…and the anatomy of a marriage.

Over the next two-plus hours, all eyes in the movie theatre will stare squarely at this new widow, as she firmly denies that she murdered Samuel, but a trial opens.

Sandra is the prime suspect.

All eyes on the big screen also gaze at Sandra with varying degrees of concern, uncertainty, and straight-up doubt, and this questioning universe also includes her 11-year-old son, Daniel (Milo Machado Graner), a visually impaired little boy.

Daniel was walking his dog Snoop when disaster struck his family, so he wasn’t a direct witness, but the child has a natural basis – and bias - for forming an opinion on his mother’s potential guilt after living with his folks for a decade plus a year.

Meanwhile, Huller gives the best actress performance of the year so far as Ms. Voyter, a woman under an avalanche of pressure – guilty or not guilty – as she faces public scrutiny, intense exchanges in court, and private emotional examinations from Daniel and his newly assigned assistant guardian, Marge (Jehnny Beth).

You can sense Sandra aging 20 years during the constant back and forth between her home and the courthouse.

It’s impossible to identify Sandra’s guilt or innocence, but she holds everlasting consternation that boils deep and froths to the surface. Is her internal churn due to a constant push to declare truthful denials or a persistent pull to hide a murderous onus from view?

While Sandra stews, Triet and Harari’s nuanced and gutsy script dives into unanticipated layers of Sandra and Samuel’s marriage, a vast, turbulent pool of emotional waves that could wash away a holy union, either theirs or anyone else’s under similar circumstances. These break-up breakers expose themselves through discourse in court and between Sandra and Vincent.

Even though “Anatomy” occasionally relies on visual recreations to piece together the mystery, most of the revelations are driven through conversational means. Triet and cinematographer Simon Beaufils aren’t required to dazzle with elaborate illustrations, and they don’t, save for the striking eerie contrast of blue skies, white snow, and a dead body. Instead, Triet’s camera rightly converges on the interior, interpersonal predicament at hand. She often squarely focuses on Huller, and Voyter faces the fire and attempts to avoid drowning simultaneously, as this critic kept guessing about her guilt and legal fate.

American audiences may find French court procedures a bit baffling, and one or two plot devices - that appear in legal chambers - feel forced. Still, these moments drive the mystery, one set at an urban courthouse, an extravagant wooden residence, and during an - otherwise – ordinary, chilly afternoon with one devastating, deadly drop.

Huller and Triet may or may not drop enough hints and tell us everything, but you’ll have to examine the 2023 Cannes Palme d’Or winner - this anatomy of a fall and marriage – to know for sure.

Jeff’s ranking

3.5/4 stars

Featured
JEFF MITCHELL
JEFF MITCHELL

A member of the Phoenix Critics Circle, Jeff Mitchell has penned film reviews since 2008, graduated from ASU’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism, and is a certified Rotten Tomatoes critic. Follow Jeff and the Phoenix Film Festival on Twitter @MitchFilmCritic and @PhoenixFilmFest, respectively.

Butcher’s Crossing – Movie Review

Directed by: Gabe Polsky

Written by: Gabe Polsky and Liam Satre-Meloy

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Fred Hechinger, Jeremy Bobb, Xander Berkeley, Rachel Keller, and Paul Raci

Runtime: 105 minutes


‘Butcher’s Crossing’ offers remarkable footage and an important message, but narratively, the film doesn’t quite make the cut

Where would you take your dream vacation?

Maui? Walt Disney World? Los Angeles? Paris? London? Tokyo? The Bahamas?

In 2023, a family of four might choose one of those destinations, but in director/co-writer Gabe Polsky’s western, the year is 1874, and 20-something Harvard student Will Andrews (Fred Hechinger) wants to experience life.

So, he packs his bags, leaves Boston, and heads out west to the tiny municipality of Butcher’s Crossing, Kansas, where the harsh saloon whiskey might be the gentlest creature comfort in town. Its merchants and traders double as varmints and desperadoes.

This isn’t a place for its scenic views, but Will’s father knew a fella, J.D. McDonald (Paul Raci), who settled there to stake his claim, so the young scholar hopes to connect with him as a lifeline.

J.D. is a buffalo hide trader, who buys pelts for four dollars each, and Will decides to saddle up with a hunter and seek out 1,500-pound bison for commerce.

Okay, this is not a spring break escapade at Ft. Lauderdale, and Miller (Nicolas Cage) isn’t your friendly beach bartender. Well, he’s pleasant enough – at first - as this bald huntsman convinces Will to pay six hundred dollars to finance an expedition in Colorado, where Miller promises that an incalculable number of these mammals will roam an unchartered pass.

So, Miller, Will, an elderly carriage driver named Charley (an unrecognizable Xander Berkeley), and an ornery skinner named Fred (Jeremy Bobb) complete this somewhat fearless foursome in “Butcher’s Crossing”, a film adapted from John Williams’ 1960 novel of the same name.

Early on, “Butcher’s” seems like a typical, pragmatic western. The naive, inexperienced protagonist wades into foreign pools of rankled, coarsened lifestyles, and the grizzled veterans have weathered scores of distressing seasons as they embark on a demanding, dangerous trip.

All feels “right” in this troubled on-screen world, but this film features a buffalo hunt, and Polsky heavily bows into the sheer horrors of the late 19th-century practice.

Around 1860, approximately six million bison roamed North America, but hunters dramatically slaughtered the population. You wouldn’t believe the frightening facts and figures, and Polsky provides the sickening statistics at the film’s end.

So, this individual narrative – seemingly – mirrors the real-life descent, as Miller, Will, Charley, and Fred decline into madness, and the three latter men are helpless – for some unknown reason – to combat Miller’s psychosis.

Polsky, Cage, and cinematographer David Gallego effectively portray the insanity of the relentless killing, as Miller doesn’t exactly hunt here. Yes, he competently tracks his prey but then simply sets up camp and murders countless bison, like shooting fish in a barrel.

Target practice.

There is no defense for these animals; they are as powerless as Will, Charley, and Fred to stop Miller. It’s difficult to estimate the screentime of the constant bombardment of the dying four-legged targets. Maybe 40 or 45 minutes during the 2nd act, and Miller does take breaks to sleep and eat, but it all painfully feels like forever, and credit the cast, crew, and also co-writer Liam Satre-Meloy for placing us in anxious spaces by design.

No, the movie’s problems lie elsewhere. As mentioned earlier, the narrative plays out as a microcosm of the hunting period’s insanities, and it’s sometimes reflected in some bizarre dream sequences, maybe three or four, where reality fades away, and cerebral shadows within Will’s mind play out cinematically.

Embers from a campfire float and fly around, glimpses of Miller’s gunshots, severe weather, and more twirl about the screen to communicate our lead’s friction. Hey, his callus-less hands and big-city background are no match for Colorado’s high country, and the endless carnage and skinning wear on Will’s brain and body like a hacksaw grating through a stick of warm butter.

These step-away-from-reality moments are arthouse affairs, so this creative decision becomes a matter of taste. It may work well for some audiences, but these scenes distract from the compelling narrative (in my mind), as flat-out stress and strife through combative discourse and physicality would trump the artistic interpretations.

In a couple of cases, they don’t quite make sense. For example, the party desperately searches for water, and Will suffers the most during a taxing stretch. So, he visualizes mirages in a dizzying montage, but their problems are suddenly solved without an explanation or fanfare, so our investment in the team’s collective thirst becomes wasted. In a different instance, our bleak band struggles in severe snowy weather, but then Will seems to stroll along in a budding springtime forest. Is it spring? It might be. Is he dreaming? Possibly, because the glum gang then reverts to dealing with winter.

Also, in an isolated puzzling (albeit brief) scene, Charley – who lost his left hand before this adventure – miraculously gains it back, while the right one becomes absent. Which one is missing again?

Another missing feature is depth with the characters. The four feel one-dimensional, as they regularly pan over the same middling discussions about Miller’s obsession, Charley’s religious beliefs, Fred’s corruption, and Will’s blank slate. Sure, this tetrad isn’t the country’s finest and brightest, so the unexceptional exchanges are probably accurate but contrast these American blokes with the remarkable color of four travelers in S. Craig Zahler’s dastardly “Bone Tomahawk” (2015). Zahler’s script constantly feeds his four stars – Kurt Russell, Matthew Fox, Patrick Wilson, and Richard Jenkins - with engaging lines and character insight.

We are invested in those characters!

In “Butcher’s Crossing”, not so much.

Even though Miller, Will, Charley, and Fred become villains against nature, it’s an emotional tussle to feel for anything for them other than yearning to reach through the screen and rip the gun from Miller’s grip. Cage certainly is a fearsome force. In a striking visual, Polsky and Gallego offer an assist by capturing steam and smoke emanating from Miller’s head.

However, Will’s arc muddles in the grassy highlands and bloody skins as Hechinger’s character tussles about in this miserable environment. His boyish smile has long passed from his face, and the film is told through his eyes, his perspective, but his words and actions – by and large – remain mute and uninspiring.

Well, credit the movie’s vocal, troubling message of the bison plight, the Blackfeet Nation in Montana for providing the land, and the Blackfeet Tribe Buffalo Program for handling the unquestionably remarkable footage. No question, the fantastic plethora of these majestic animals is a sight to behold.

However, as a whole, “Butcher’s Crossing” doesn’t quite cut it…even on a holiday.

Jeff’s ranking

2/4 stars

Featured
JEFF MITCHELL
JEFF MITCHELL

A member of the Phoenix Critics Circle, Jeff Mitchell has penned film reviews since 2008, graduated from ASU’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism, and is a certified Rotten Tomatoes critic. Follow Jeff and the Phoenix Film Festival on Twitter @MitchFilmCritic and @PhoenixFilmFest, respectively.

The Burial – Movie Review

Directed by: Maggie Betts

Written by: Maggie Betts and Doug Wright

Starring: Jamie Foxx, Tommy Lee Jones, Jurnee Smollett, Mamoudou Athie, Pamela Reed, Amanda Warren, and Bill Camp

Runtime: 126 minutes


If you need a reprieve from October’s scary slasher flicks, let ‘The Burial’, an entertaining courtroom drama, rise towards the top of your movie queue


It’s October! For movie fans of all ages, ‘tis the season for forbidding films that thrill and chill, loaded with frightening frights and screeching scares!

Enter director/co-writer Maggie Betts’ “The Burial”.

Imagine the late, great movie-trailer legend Don LaFontaine introducing this new Halloween-month release.

“Arriving this October, Jamie Foxx and Tommy Lee Jones rise in the terrifying after-midnight graveyard gorefest, ‘The Burial’.”

Well, despite the ominous title, Betts’ (“Novitiate” (2017)) movie isn’t horror-based at all.

Not at all.

It’s a courtroom drama, and it doesn’t feature murder, like in “Jagged Edge” (1985), “Presumed Innocent” (1990), or “A Few Good Men” (1992).

Here, Betts and Doug Wright scribed a screenplay (adapted from Jonathan Harr’s 1999 “The New Yorker” article) about funeral director Jeremiah Joseph O’Keefe’s (Jones) real-life lawsuit, led by his lawyer, Willie Gary (Foxx), toward the Loewen Group, Inc., a conglomerate in the industry.

O’Keefe – a 70-something WWII vet, family man, and Mississippi resident - legitimately feels that the Loewen Group, Inc. – led by a greedy mogul, Ray Loewen (Bill Camp) – is trying to run him out of business, so he turns to Gary, a wealthy, successful Florida attorney for damages.

Foxx and Jones deliver some glorious thespian and charismatic damage of their own, and the film leans on their engaging performances as new brothers-in-arms, O’Keefe and Gary.

(Please note that Pamela Reed and Amanda Warren play admirable, supportive on-screen spouses to Jeremiah and Willie, respectively.)

Jeremiah is a small-town, Greatest-Generation businessman who covets routine quiet evenings – seven days a week – at home, while Willie regularly flies across the country on his private jet, securing multi-million-dollar settlements. Willie and Gloria (Warren) have a strong marriage, but sometimes he’s forced to voice his “Goodnights” from the road.

Willie is a brilliant legal tactician and a heck of a salesman too, complete with accessories like his aforementioned luxury aerial transport, expensive watch, and flawless suits. He also mentions his admiration for Johnnie Cochran, as this movie and the real-life events are set in the 1990s. Gary is a showman and a winner, with Ric Flair’s flair and Rod Tidwell’s (Cuba Gooding Jr., from “Jerry Maguire” (1996)) wells of confidence. Gary lights up every room he enters, makes terrific arguments, and wins over juries.

Why does Jeremiah want to hire an out-of-state, personal-injury attorney for his local Biloxi conundrum?

Because Willie Gary always wins!

Actually, Jeremiah’s biggest challenge is convincing Willie to take his case. This particular legal challenge involves O’Keefe’s contract with Loewen, and contract law isn’t Willie’s forte. The lawsuit is for only a “paltry” few million bucks, and Gary only works with Black clients.

After some major convincing from one of Jeremiah’s current lawyers, Hal Dockins (Mamoudou Athie), and a more lucrative endgame in mind, Willie takes the case, and we’re off to the judicial races.

Even with a 126-minute runtime, the movie breezes by, but first, Betts ensures to establish Jeremiah’s and Gary’s rock-solid but contrasting personas and plays off their differences, including race. Set in the south, the film confronts race with humorous and sobering effects. Jerimiah and Willie get along like peas and carrots, but Gary and his team’s presence disrupts O’Keefe’s long-time counsel, Mike Allread (Alan Ruck). Betts and Gary confront Mike’s discomfort head-on in a hilarious moment, and Jones’ Jeremiah is free from such biases, which offers a cozy foundation between the two lead characters.

However, Betts also includes grim race collisions, like featuring a slave burial ground, Willie’s personal story that propelled him into law, and two instances when white characters question Hal, based on the color of his skin. Meanwhile, Hal becomes Jeremiah’s and Willie’s MVA (most valuable attorney).

When Willie and the team run into the intimidating corporate monolith and its barrister, Harvard grad superstar Mame Downes (Jurnee Smollett), the audience can turn to Hal as a barometer of future victories and defeats over the lengthy legal arguments.

From an on-screen perspective, Jeremiah J. O’Keefe vs. Loewen Group, Inc. doesn’t entangle itself into twisty legal weeds. Instead, Betts and Wright paint the case in broad strokes, as the sizable sways in arguments are primarily – but not entirely – centered on obvious impacts to the jury.

Audiences won’t have to calculate differential equations to follow along, allowing the film to deliver rousing theatre – from Gary and Downes – and relax and breathe into Jeremiah and Willie’s journey and their relationships with new and old associates and respective families.

Foxx and Jones – former comic book movie villains – are stand-up-and-cheer good guys in this David vs. Goliath drama, and if you wish for a 2-hour 6-minute reprieve from October’s startling, scary slasher flicks, let “The Burial” rise towards the top of your movie queue.

Jeff’s ranking

3/4 stars

Featured
JEFF MITCHELL
JEFF MITCHELL

A member of the Phoenix Critics Circle, Jeff Mitchell has penned film reviews since 2008, graduated from ASU’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism, and is a certified Rotten Tomatoes critic. Follow Jeff and the Phoenix Film Festival on Twitter @MitchFilmCritic and @PhoenixFilmFest, respectively.

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