Irresistible (2020)

Political comedies are hard. They often either hit or miss. Part of the problem is finding the balance between not being too on the nose without being too esoteric. This appears to be a hard target to hit. if there is anyone who one would think would be able to walk this fine line it would be a very funny and smart creator who has spent decades examining and skewering the American political process. But despite what John Stewart brings to this project, Irresistible does not appear to hit the target.

He packs his movie with a great cast. Steve Carell and Rose Byrne both have the comedic and dramatic chops to pull off what this requires, as does the rest of the strong cast. It just never feels like the cast has the meat to do what they could do with a better film. There are funny people but the jokes here rarely generate more than a smile, let alone a full on laugh. Their arcs are rather streamlined leading to very little and an anti-climactic ending which feels like it's more interested in its "gotcha" moment then in telling a satisfying story or making a real comment on how the political sausage is made.

So much of Irresistible feels like low hanging fruit. The characters fall into cliched archetypes and the plot feels simplistic and obvious. Perhaps this is because the film wants to do this bait and switch at the end and upon pulling that off it just ends without really looking into any ramifications of what it's getting at. But even just on the larger scale, the whole idea of how the political structure is what screws up democracy feels little elementary. This sort of argument absolves voters and participants in the system of their own responsibility but it feels nice. It feels like our countries suck because of forces beyond our control and if the system just worked better, we'd all create a better government. Sorry but I call BS on that.

Perhaps what I expected from a political comedy from John Stewart was a biting, sharp critique of American politics and instead I got a charming little rom-com-ish inspirational comedy. And as that it works. As I said the jokes never got me laughing out loud but they're not clunkers. There is a rather satisfying rebuke of casting older male leads with younger female ones which starts out satisfying but then the film wants to hit us over the head with it. Carrell is as funny as he often can be, perhaps not his best but still he's funny enough to carry the film. As a pleasant little diversion perhaps Irresistible works, even with its rather abrupt end and the absurdist final scene. But honestly pleasant little diversion isn't what I had hoped for.

Irresistible
Starring: Steve Carell, Rose Byrne, Chris Cooper, Mackenzie Davis, Topher Grace, Natasha Lyonne, Debra Messing, Will Sasso
Writer/Director: John Stewart

Boyz n the Hood (1991) TOP 100

From the opening shot, focusing us on a stop sign while sirens wail in the background, I knew that I was seeing something different from anything else. The world of Inglewood California was completely different from my reality in Canada, the life of Tre had little to do with my day to day life. But his story was one that would resonate for me years, and decades later. First time film maker John Singleton created an epic masterpiece that captured a time and place and a human life in a such a powerful way I have never quite seen such a film again.

The story of Tre is an American story. It is tied into the identity of that nation. Tre's story is one of survival and all the pieces of that painful survival. There is a reason why the National Film Registry and Library of Congress recognize it. 

Tre is blessed with remarkable parents. Bassett and Fishburne are idealized human beings while also being grounded in an honest reality. We are shown how this blessing for Tre is what saves him from what the world and his country have in store for him. His strength, his survival is rooted in the love, strength, and survival of his family. His world is one where he is a prince and his father is a king. They matter. They are important. This is about learning to be a man in a world that doesn't see black men as men.

Singleton contrasts Tre's experience with the other boys in his neighbourhood but he doesn't do this simplistically. His portrait of the community is nuanced and complex all within a compelling and riveting story.  While Tre gets the love and support he needs, many around him do not. Boyz shows us this reality so clearly and brilliantly.

There is a moment near the beginning where Singlton invokes Stand By Me, the kids are walking along train tracks when someone says "wanna see a dead body?" The film shows us this is nothing like the experience of the four boys in Stand. This isn't that story. This is another understanding of the American coming of age story. It is a story of visceral emotion. It's no fairy tale. You feel what happens physically in your stomach. Singleton's power is in putting you as the audience into the story.

I've always been drawn to the relationship between Furious and Tre, father and son. I love the way the film explores how two-way it is. Furious is an amazing father but he makes it clear that it is being Tre's father that is a big part of what makes him the man he is. It isn't just about a father raising his son, it's about what that role does to make you into the person you can be. I was always taken with this but as I became a father it resonated so resoundingly.

Boyz has a dream cast. Gooding Jr. in his breakthrough performance gives one of the most complex performances I've seen him do. His "I'm so tired of this shit" scene breaks me down every time I see it. He bears the weight of black male frustration on his shoulders and Gooding Jr. expresses it. I especially love Ferrell as the tragic Brenda Baker with all she has going on. Her roller coaster arcs are more than anyone should have to endure and Farrell captures it all. But for me I love watching Fishburne and Bassett together. I can't take my eyes off them, especially Fishburne. He is iconic here as Furious. He is the opposite of toxic masculinity even before that was something we deconstructed.

Boyz' analysis of racial and gender relations is intricate and powerful. While it was part of a movement at the time of black film makers pushing back against the white cinematic hegemony, I always felt it went the farthest with its voice. It was brave and succeeded because of that boldness, not in spite of it.

Boyz has so much to say but even without all of that, the film is just gorgeous and watchable. I never tire of watching it. I can put it on and get pulled into its story, I can feel it all over again. It is both very much a moment in time and timeless. Decades later and it remains so relevant, it resonates so profoundly. Singleton may never have matched his debut but his legacy will always be with us and we are so lucky for that.

Boyz n the Hood
Starring: Cuba Gooding Jr., Laurence Fishburne, Angela Bassett, Ice Cube, Regina King, Morris Chestnut, Nia Long, Tyra Ferrell, Dedrick D. Gobert
Writer/director: John Singleton

Disclosure (2020)

Representation matters.

Little has come into focus like this truth recently. While LGB representation has exploded, yet might still have a long way to go, so much work remains regarding the T in the acronym. This is outlined explicitly in writer/director Sam Feder's documentary about Trans representation on screen.

Feder quite effectively and methodically walks the mainstream audience through exactly how problematic Cis representation of Trans lives are. He also gives Trans people faces and glimpses into experiences they will recognize. I think what struck me the most about this film was the way it both teaches those of us who need to better understand the effects and realities of media's depictions of Trans people and speaks to those Trans folks who have lived with those depictions for so long. Disclosure says to them they are seen.

There are good lessons here on what we can do different both as producers and consumers of media. But like all good films it tells a compelling story. Yes it uses the talking head trope popular in documentaries but those heads have fascinating things to say, and things that need to be be said. Disclosure is compelling and watchable and gripping.

Disclosure
Writer/Director: Sam Feder

You Should Have Left (2020)

I've said it before and I'll say it again, good horror speaks tome something important in our culture. You Should Have Left, from screenwriter turned director David Koepp explores the theme of privilege wrapped up in a very traditional scary story. Kevin Bacon plays the man to whom "everything came too easy" reckoning with the realization of what that does to him.

Buried in this fairly typical haunted house story, is something far more interesting, the story of coming to understand how just by taking advantage of all ones advantages, one does harm, and coming to the place where one can address that. It is an interesting concept in 2020. It's basically a white cis straight man coming face to face with how just being who he is, or just living as all that the world gives him for that, has brought about pain to others. It is about facing that and the the horror of that realization. But perhaps the most profound, the willingness to accept responsibility, the scariest part of all.

Bacon pulls this off. He's an underrated actor and his performance here is up to snuff to make this more than it is, something that can resonate and make you think. Koepp's film stick very clearly in a very traditional  genre place, probably for a reason, and it doesn't  go beyond that. Sometimes I think I wanted it to be a bit stronger in its form but for what it is it does it's job. I personally didn't find the horror parts very scary (although the allegory parts are spot on) and I wished it had managed to be that like similar recent films like Us and The Invisible Man. But it has the traditional genre kind of jump scares that most audiences scream at so maybe others will find it scarier than I did.

Still, the film is a little surprising in how it offers us something more than it appears.

You Should Have Left
Starring: Kevin Bacon, Amanda Seyfried
Writer/Director: David Koepp

The King of Staten Island (2020)

I tried really hard not to be bored out of my mind while watching Apatow's comedy The King of Staten Island, the story of a truly uninteresting young man who has no redeeming qualities other than just being a white man who can't get his shit together. I never manged more than a smile at any of the humour which felt obvious and forced. And I never cared one moment for the central character or any of the supporting cast.

The movie starts out with this semiconscious insecurity about being about Staten Island. It does that thing where it makes itself cool by trying to play not cool. The accents, the clothing, the way of talking and behaving, all exaggerated and in your face. I always felt like it was being put on. And this carries through the film, constantly justifying it's Staten Island-ness without ever really making one feel a sense of what does make the Island meaningful for its residents. I kept expecting the film to win me over with its love of place but it never gets there, mostly because it's just being so ironically humourous (without actually achieving a real level of funny).

But so much of what makes The King of Staten Island a slog is how little the film makes you care about its lead. I think we are so used to people like him just being the centre of the universe that we don't even bother to make him earn it. But maybe we're moving past that, and guys like him don't get a free pass anymore. Honestly Pete Davidson does what he can with the role but it's just lacking.. well... anything that makes me want to follow his story. And as the film reaches its forced conclusion, needing, I don't know, growth or closure, he ends up with everything working out without earning it.

Perhaps if the film had been a commentary on how guys like him get it all worked out with minimum effort that might have been something. But the film actually feels like it's trying to make him out to be a victim. I feel bad he lost his dad at a young age but literally everyone else in the film has to pick themselves up and make something of themselves except for him. He just gets to exist and ends up getting the girl and the job that is all handed to him without ever truly earning it.

And I was booooored.

The King of Staten Island
Starring: Pete Davidson, Marissa Tomei, Bill Burr, Bel Powley, Maude Apatow, Steve Buscemi
Director: Judd Apatow
Writers: Dave Sirus, Pete Davidson, Judd Apatow

Artemis Fowl (2020)

I remember when I first saw the film adaptation of The Bourne Identity, my first reaction was, "this isn't the story from the book." They took the basic premise and completely made up a new story. I had some reservations at first but over time I came to see the film for what it was being very good despite having little to do with the book series. I know sometimes seeing a well loved book come to life on the screen exactly as you pictured it can be a remarkable experience. But sometimes that's not what we get. Sometimes we get similar ideas to tell a new story.

That's what's happened with the film version of Artemis Fowl. There are big changes, mostly in terms of simplifying and streamlining the story, but a lot of what makes Artemis Artemis is here. I know a lot of fans will reject it on that alone, and I understand that. But instead of letting myself get worked up over that I tried to enjoy Fowl for what it was, a rather fun if simple fantasy story.

Visually Artemis Fowl is a striking movie. The film makers have come up with a visual language for the movie that is unique and feels like Fowl. The fight scenes and set pieces are well done and the story is quick paced and easy to follow. I've heard people describe the film as a muddled but I don't think that's accurate. Everything about this adaptation of Artemis Fowl is accessible and entertaining. If anything that's where the film falters.

My main critique of this film is how little is here. They have simplified it down to its most base elements and in doing so perhaps have removed some of the magic which could have turned this into a new fantasy franchise. The film at 95 minutes is just too short, never taking the time to build the world that it lives in enough to make it feel engrossing. The plot is streamlined and slick but imagine if there were more cool subplots and intrigue that could hook us. Fowl always felt a little lean and light. It's more like the film adaptation of Percy Jackson than it is Harry Potter. And I think we've come to see it's best to err on the side of richness as fans eat that stuff up. We want to see the references to all the little pieces and put together the puzzle of the whole.

But those rejecting this outright aren't being fair either. What is here is a fun adventure story that is cohesive and engaging. Sure, this likely could have been a whole lot more, but what we got is entertaining. It did leave me wanting more and I worry we won't get a follow up to this series which feels like a missed opportunity.

Artemis Fowl
Starring: Ferdia Shaw, Lara McDonnell, Josh Gad, Tarama Smart, Nonso Anozie, Collin Farrell, Judi Dench, Nikeh Patel
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Writers: Conor McPherson, Hamish McColl

Da 5 Bloods (2020)

Spike Lee has never been one to pull punches and with Da 5 Bloods he maintains that reputation. His film about Vietnam vets returning to that country to find something they left behind starts off bold, throwing history at us with newsreel footage reminding us of the context of an era, especially the way Black Americans experienced it. And from the that start he shows us a complicated, difficult, and anything but monolithic experience of black American soldiers and the Vietnamese people themselves.

Vietnam war movies have somewhat fallen out of fashion but Da 5 Bloods feels like a bit of a glorious return for the genre. Lee does a wonderful job oscillating between the present day and the past, filming the former with a glowing but gritty warm tone of resignation and redemption while the latter is made with a sepia toned nostalgia that brings both a remembered history and one that is revealing. In doing so he has painted a full picture of the toll of the war in ways Hollywood hasn't often focused.

War films are at their best when they explore how conflict and violence impact the humans involved. Da 5 Bloods does that both in the heart of battle and in the legacy, decades and lifetimes later. I think what most surprised me is the way he was able to have the Vietnamese experience bleed into his story. He is telling a story of black Americans and it's not his place to tell the asian perspective but he finds ways of seeing the intersections in moments.

Lee has his characters face their own demons. It would have been easy to make his characters 2 dimensional stand ins for their various perspectives but in a master like Lee's hands, they become something far richer and more honest. There are difficult, complicated politics that Lee embraces and makes us reckon with as his characters do.  He doesn't let us look away from it. But he plays this all out in intensely personal, lovely, funny, and tragic stories. The best part is how compelling these stories are. Da 5 Bloods is nothing if it isn't entertaining and it is a damn engaging adventure.

I love some of Lee's references, like playing Ride of the Valkyries as they sail down the river in a boat, like a big middle finger to well... so much. The flashes of photos, from Aretha to X and King, grounding us in everything that is needed to understand each moment. The way he captures the rage and conflicted feelings of African American soldiers so powerfully. These touches are uniquely Le, something that another film maker wouldn't do.Lee continues to do some of his best work and I hope he doesn't stop.

Da 5 Bloods
Starring: Delroy Lindo, Jonathan Majors, Clarke Peters, Norm Lewis, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Chadwick Boseman, Jean Reno, Le Y Lan, Melanie Thierry
Director: Spike Lee
Writers: Danny Bilson, Paul De Meo, Kevin Willmott, Spike Lee

All Day and a Night (2020)

After making a striking breakout in Moonlight, Ashton Sanders gives another standout performance in All Day and a Night, the story of a man reflecting on his life as he goes to prison for the rest of his life. The film sometimes feels like it gets a little lost, but it is anchored by Sanders' remarkable presence and powerful performance.

Writer/director Cole takes the idea of "why?" and runs with it. As a murder goes to jail he thinks back to all the points which lead him to where he is. The film takes the position his journey was pretty much inevitable. "We were born in prison." He makes us look through the eyes of that man, makes us experience his humanity. There is a strong desire in many of us to dismiss criminals as nothing more than what they did and All Day and a Night is an attempt to make that impossible. He is a son and a father. He is abused and an abuser.  He is a fully rounded human with all the baggage that brings. And his situation he was born into carves out who he can be as the best choices he is presented with are still dire. The film dares us to reckon with whether or not we could have been any different in his shoes.

The film sometimes falls into cliches and I get why. There is a reason we've seen these stories before. Yet there is a sense of redemption and release presented which keeps it from being too nihilist. What keeps All Day and a Night from being just another of these stories is Cole's rich and layered approach to his narrative paired with Sanders' complex and lush performance. In the end the story of Jahkor is one that demands you pay attention, even if it isn't overly original. It is their honesty which makes it work.

All Day and a Night
Starring: Ashton Sanders, Jeffrey Wright, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Regina Taylor, Jalyn Emil Hall
Writer/Director: Joe Robert Cole

The High Note (2020)

The High Note is the most interesting as it explores the way the music industry deals with aging talent and new talent, it's refusal to exploit lengthy careers and the struggle to even get a career started. There is a fascinating book ending feel to it which grabs you. It is less interesting when it plays its sort of cliched romance and family subplot. But in the end it comes together to be mostly entertaining, mostly due to director Ganatra's stylish approach which makes it just so watchable.

On the romance, sure a lot about The High Note's romantic plot, from its meet cute, through it's big reveal, is crowd pleasing, it also feels rather predictable and a little average. Harrison Jr., a young actor I have been watching for a few years now, has oodles of charisma and he makes it enjoyable but the romance still has a very common feeling. His presence makes it rise above the material. The script gives him and Johnson good banter and they pull it off. I kept enjoying their interactions despite them not having a lot of connection.

But the film still remains the most interesting in its musical performance. Both Ross and Harrison Jr. have star power that is magnetic and the film takes full advantage of that. Their songs immediately catch you. It's quality pop, the kind that gets in your head. And the singers are up for it.

So despite much of the film feeling rather been there done that, The High Note doesn't even feel like it drags, even if it is a bit forgettable.

The High Note
Starring: Tracee Ellis Ross, Dakota Johnson, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Ice Cube, Zoe Chao, June Diane Raphael, Bill Pullman, Eddie Izzard, Melanie Griffith
Director: Nisha Ganatra
Writer: Flora Greeson

Wrath of Silence (2017)

Sometimes violent revenge films can be cathartic. The narrative of seeing revenge is based on a sense of justice, someone wronged getting to punish those who have wronged them. Seeing this justice played out in fiction can give a release as that isn't right in reality. Wrath of Silence tackles this by focusing on a story that incorporates class power against the marginalized to deliver a truly moving and satisfying film.

Wrath of Silence isn't as violent as I had expected but the power in it remains as it builds its characters and their relationships so completely. Yukun does a wonderful job of centering the characters in the audience's hearts so we are greatly affected by what we see. This is what makes a good "action" film, a grounding in our characters and a gravity to their story.

And this story feels like it has a great deal of gravity. The powerful ending doesn't pull punches yet feels organic and appropriate. It may not be an easy story but one that feels worth it.

Wrath of Silence
Starring: Song Yang, Jiang Wu
Writer/Director: Xin Yukun

Beyond the Mountain (2019)

Beyond the Mountain is a poignant little story about the failure of fathers to connect with their sons. This exploration of masculinity and the burdens laid on women, and the disconnect between men is a touching and tragic tale. First time director Romay has shown real strength and patience in the way he tells Miguel's story with a grace and sensitivity.

The film is sold as a revenge thriller but that misses so much of what Beyond the Mountain is. The tension is high but the film doesn't fall into tropes. Instead it embeds us in Miguel's experience, his losses, and the depth of his emotion.

This beautiful little film is best experienced blindly. Watch it and let its power overtake you.

Beyond the Mountain
Starring: Benny Emmanuel, Renee Sabina
Writer/Director: David R. Romay

Love's Labour's Lost (2000) REVISIT

I've said it before and I've said it again, I love Shakespeare adaptations which reinvent and reinterpret the plays in investive ways. The idea of making a 40s style musical out of Love's Labour's Lost is, to my mind, a fabulous idea. Branagh makes a noble attempt at pulling off this experiment as his 2000 film is mostly a joy even if there are parts which are clunkier than others.

Branagh captures the spirit of the genre in the opening credits, a still shot of velvet with the cast imposed overtop. Like a true film fan he is making a love letter to the era. He fades into his framing sequence, the "newsreal" style to set up his story and move it along. And then his perfect capturing of the genre gels with his sets, costumes, and classic American songbook playlist. This is best summed up in the scene where he effortless merges Shakespeare's script into the lyrics of Cheek to Cheek leading into one of the film's most classic dance sequences. This whole part of the experiment works so wonderfully I watch it with a silly grin on my face.

But there are gaffs which take me out of this film. Some of the casting casting choices don't quite work. Silverstone doesn't have the acting or singing or dancing ability to pull off her role. And Spall hams up his role as Don Armodo to the point I can't take it. But perhaps the latter isn't the casting but Branagh's stylistic choice to go full Brit in the absurd humour. It's not just Spall, Lane and Lillard are also guilty of taking the humour into the most falldown slapstick, random funny voices, gross noises, scenery chewing, etc. This is a stylistic choice that just doesn't work for me. I always prefer my humour dry and witty. So as the film focuses on the silly sideplots it loses me, until it gets back to it's classics and romance.

But the film continues to pull me back, like with it's surprisingly racy Let's Face the Music and Dance number. It's an interesting choice to go from the rather chaste 40s romantic style to something as erotic as this scene but it fits as it is about deception and subterfuge. Branagh's ability to capture both the Shakespeare and the classic musical vibe is so impressive that it makes the film's awkward missteps even more glaring.

Finally I wasn't sure about the ending. One of the strengths of this play is how the film doesn't end with the traditional happy ending, the couples don't end up together. Here the film implies a happy ending, and eventual reuniting of lovers. And for that makes the rest of the story less poignant. I mean the title is Lost, right?

But, despite all that, the colour and the pageantry of this film wins me over each time. Lane saves himself with his final number as does the film. And I applaud.

Love's Labour's Lost
Starring: Alicia Silverstone, Alessandro Nivola, Kenneth Branagh, Nathan Lane, Emily Mortimer, Matthew Lillad, Carmen Ejogo, Natasha McElhone, Adrian Lester, Timothy Spall
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Writers: William Shakespeare, Kenneth Branagh