Black is King (2020)

Black is King is an experiment showing what can be done by merging the forms of cinema and music video. A collaborative work involving many directors, musicians, creators, and performers, this is a work credited to Beyoncé herself. A visual album, something done by this artist before as well as others, but something evolving.

Black is King is tied to the Disney Lion King remake of 2019. Deriving from Beyoncé's work in that film she crafted her own album out of the themes of the film and then from that came this. She uses James Earl Jones' powerful voice, reciting his famous lines as king to punctuate this story of a king.

In this form she is freed from the sort of narrative constraints we're used to in mainstream films, this approximating something more like an art film or series of music videos. Yet she successfully find a narrative to work through this. It isn't a loosely connect series of videos but a true story thread told through her visually striking  diversions and the music. It is transformative both as film as as music.

And it is a love letter to both Africa and to Blackness. We have a very short history of celebrating the beauty and power of Black bodies and Black people while we also have a long history of art denigrating those very people. Black is King is a conscious and glorious celebration. Black is King is gorgeous to watch while also being rich and nuanced. It is affirming. It isn't easy or delicate. It challenges its audience at points.

It is remarkable that a film like this comes through a machine like Disney. It is very much the story of The Lion King reinterpreted and re-explored. But it also takes those themes to more complex mature place. Yet this is a fascinating mixing of the corporate drivers and the artistic ambition. The Lion King is such a force in our culture, both as corporate IP and cultural phenomenon. There is some interesting critique to make regarding the corporate nature of all of this but for now Beyoncé has capitalized on that in way to tell a story she wants to tell, and send a message she wants to send. And it is just exciting that something like this can come about in this time, now.

Black is King
Starring: Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, Lupita Nyong'o, Kelly Rowland, Pharrell Williams, Tina Knowles-Larson, Naomi Campbell, Blue Ivy Carter, Chiwetel Ejiofor, James Earl Jones
Writer/Director: Beyoncé

Target Number One/Most Wanted (2020)

Writer/director Daniel Roby decided not to take the easy route when bringing the based on real events story of an CSIS cover up which left a Canadian man dying in a Thai prison. He tells the story from two angles at once, one story set far after the other, until they dovetail and crescendo to their climax. It's an effective tool for a film which sometimes becomes a bit heavy handed but remains entertaining throughout.

The cast does great work. Hartnett, freed from his career start heartthrob status, is now able to do character work. His character here has a little too much hero complex, but he pulls it off. Pilon, from Mommy, is quite strong here as he was in that film, bringing a complexity to his junkie character which helps us get into his shoes. But for me is was Gaffigan, cast completely against type, playing a sleazy exploitative low level criminal who steals the show.

A little long, but in the end satisfying, Target Number One manages to tell a very compelling story. It balances the creative license these ripped from the headlines movies have to take with getting the point of the actual events across very effectively. I wish Roby wasn't so dedicated to his wobbly cam (probably for the documentary effect it supposedly creates) which made the film a bit nausea inducing, but he does make this feel authentically powerful. A bit of editing might have helped but over all it is a satisfying film.

Target Number One/Most Wanted
Starring: Josh Hartnett,  Antoine Oliver Pilon, Jim Gaffigan, Stephen McHattie, Don McKeller
Writer/Director: Daniel Roby

The Matrix Trilogy (1999 - 2003) REVISIT

When I first saw The Matrix, I was deep into studying deconstruction theory from Derrida through many of the writers which built on those ideas. The premise of a film exploring our world as a construction and a force of heroes dismantling that structure held real promise for me. I remember upon originally seeing it being extremely disappointed for a number of reasons. While the film was a phenomenon and the sequels came almost too late, once the crest of that wave had already broke, I never jumped on that bandwagon, sticking with my criticisms of the series. But for a long time I felt I should give them films another chance and recently I had the chance to do that. Here are my thoughts reflecting as a much more mature film lover.

So there is a lot I have come to appreciate about The Matrix on rewatch. I truly enjoyed the esthetic and the Wachowskis' dedication to the grimy, bleak, art deco world they constructed. At the time I remember feeling it ripped off David Fincher, especially his Alien 3, but now I see it as part of a millennial trend taken through many films of the time such as Underworld. It works especially in light of the story's premise, and that with the cyber punk costuming creates a vibe which just fits perfectly for the story.

The film, despite its of-the-time special effects, has a cheap feel to it, perhaps due to budgetary concerns (the film makers didn't know it would be the blockbuster it was so like with the original Star Wars the budget was retrained) but that also fits thematically quite well to create world constructed. It's deliberate and appropriate. Sure the helicopter climax feels somewhat economically filmed and the special effects have a video game quality to them but that helps create the feeling of the film. Everything from the bullet time style to the wuxia appropriation is cinematically on point. For me it was never the technique of the film that felt like a let down, it was the story. As I rewatched the film for the first time in over a decade it all came back to me where it starts to fall apart for me.

There is a common assumption about what makes good film making; "show don't tell." While I am all for challenging these assumptions, most of the time this refrain holds true and here it is evident. The Matrix is all about telling. The characters rarely do things in this film. Most of the time they just explain. So much of the back story is just told to us. This can be a fascinating challenge for a lot of films with complicated plot points. Some films, such as Jurassic Park for example, find a way within the narrative to make explaining details (in that case the animation explaining the cloning process) feel organic to the story. For me The Matrix fails this test. So much time is spent by the characters giving plot details and explaining the world building and so little time is spent actually doing anything proactive.

Other films tackle this problem through being less concrete. For example Blade Runner finds little ways to slip in details of the background but leaves a lot for its audience to interpret which leaves grey area. The Matrix rejects this approach, holding the hands of the audience all the way through, ensuring every little detail is explained and clear so that no ambiguity is left. When it wants to introduce a traitor element, it does show by shoving it in our faces, without any room for doubt in the audience's mind. There is little to no ambiguity through any plot point. The film often overdoes it in that department making sure nothing is left for granted.

This isn't so much a critique. It's a stylistic approach which just doesn't work for me. Perhaps it works for the mainstream audience in a way a film like Mullholland Drive doesn't. Normally I prefer it when any movie asks us to question what we are seeing but here I think it is even more problematic that it spells everything out for us. It's the nature of this specific story which makes this story telling approach so frustrating for me. It is that the film sets up this story about getting us to question our reality, deconstruct what we see as real, and then lays into this very linear, very concrete story, the kind of story that leaves you no room for questions.

This leads into my biggest problem with the film. The film's story ends up being the traditional hero arc about the "one" (who yes happens to be a white straight man) who saves the world by being that thing no one else can be. he does it through being violent and asserting his  control. It is the same narrative that we have had time and again, the same narrative that reinforces the very structural beliefs and societal assumptions that a film with this story should be rejecting, should be getting us to question. This is my ultimate disappointment with The Matrix, for all its bravado about being revolutionary it is actually very reactionary, asserting the traditionalist individualist narrative that pervades American cinema and culture. It's Rambo in stylized special effects.

I remember leaving The Matrix the first time feeling a real sense of disappointment that it wasn't something more original, that it's story didn't deliver on its promise. Rewatching it that was confirmed. I got my hopes up and was once again let down.

The Matrix
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Laurence Fishbourne, Hugo Weaving, Joe Pantoliano, Marcus Chong, Mary Alice
Writers/Directors: The Wachowskis

The first thing you notice about The Matrix Reloaded is that they clearly had a much bigger budget. While the first film has a more indie feel to it as the effects often felt cobbled together, here the film makers revel in their new toys, showing off with a spectacular, very Matrixy opening scene showing us just what they are capable of. The set pieces here are very much next level. While watching the freeway chase scene I was reminded how limited the helicopter scene from the first film felt. there is no restraint here.
 
But it's not just the effects. The mythology and background were expanded, exponentially. The cast has multiplied, the back stories and subplots had grown like tendrils. Everything about The Matrix Reloaded is more. And mostly to the story's benefit. I really enjoyed some of the little diversions, such as Persephone and the Merovingian. I felt it added a richness to the world that the first film lacked. For me this enriching never felt too much, even if the Wachowskis' held little back. All of this amounts to a reworking of what's going on. Reloaded provides us with doubt, questions about what we've been told is true. This was extremely satisfying due to my disappointment in the first film's reliance on narrative and myth cliches.

But you know what didn't feel expanded or enriched? Neo and Trinity. The centre of this story still felt so blandly average. Now that Neo is confirmed as "the One" he gets his mission, go to the heart of the mainframe. It's all just so... straight forward. And so is he. He is a blank, bland, white man hero as there ever was. He is the epitome of the stereotype. And I get that could have been the point. But I honestly doubt it is. Nothing in the film tells me they are using this ironically or to prove some point. He just is what audiences expect their movie action heroes to be. He is a cliche and not in a good way.

Never once does the film show me that he is special. It tells me he is over and over but it never gives me the proof. We are told to believe it so we do. He gains abilities and powers and saves the day but never are we given a reason other than he is "the One." Trinity is equally poorly drawn. Other than just loving him she never does anything... except need to be saved. Her arc is as unsatisfying as Neo's. All this other interesting stuff is going on (including Morpheus, and the upending of how we understand Zion and the human resistance as part of the design) but we keep coming back to the boring centre which reinforces the traditional hero arc.

Because by the end of Reloaded we are back at where we ended last time. Neo pulls off hero-mode in the most traditional means available to him. He saves the damsel in distress then saves the other survivors leading to the film's cliffhanger ending. All of the interesting ideas being turned on their head for what, so we can have another savior story. I'm sorry but I found that so unsatisfying. It isn't just that the story feels so common, it's that the film series has purposefully set out the seeds for questioning why these narratives are so threaded through our culture and our expectations, only to then reinforce them and get in line with pop culture tradition. It is the series' boldness in asking the question only to cowardly answer them that I found so frustrating.

I held out hope the third would fix this.

The Matrix Reloaded
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Laurence Fishhourne, Huge Weaving, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Harole Perrineau, Randall Duk Kim, Collin Chou, Monica Bellucci, Lambert Wilson, Leigh Whannell, Gina Torres, Nona Gaye, Harry Lennix, Anthony Zerbe, Mary Alice, Ian Bliss, Anthony Wong, Cornel West
Writer/Directors: The Wachowskis


Sequels which pick up the plot directly from the previous film can face certain challenges, finding a way to introduce to audiences, which (1) haven't seen the previous chapter at all, or (2) haven't just watched the previous chapter, the current status quo and get everyone up to date. Revolutions does a great job of this, finding an in story way of giving us the goods. While I struggle with how these films like to tell us what's going on, at least here it works to get us all caught up for the final chapter, so that we can sum up what's happened and get to the last act.

And there is a lot interesting me here. I wanted this film to address its predecessors' blandness and Revolutions attempts to do that. All the ideas we are leaning that make us question our understanding. "The One" is part of a machine designed failsafe, that there have been other "the One's" before, that the programs are developing human like emotions and relationships (in the image of the creator?). All of this becomes fascinating as we use it to reflect back on what we had seen so far. That maybe this series will break out of the trap that I found the first film falling into.

The final chapter builds up to two monumental battle scenes. Both are spectacular in their own way. The first, the machines attacking Zion and the human resistance fending them off is a traditional action movie set piece. It's like the battle of Helm's Deep, or the destruction of the second Death Star. It's all there, the heroic sacrifices, the gigantic explosions, the sense of impending doom. It is all very exciting. The second, Neo's encounter with the Source, is everything The Matrix fans want, the cable work, the bullet time, trench coats and sunglasses, all the signature slo-mo Matrix moves.

But it's still the same tired saviour narrative the first two films have peddled. Neo is still the one who can save everything without really giving us a reason, the one who everyone else believes in to save them all. They all say it explicitly. Whether its Niobe, or Orpheus, or Trinity (who can't shut up about it), it is all about their belief in him. The film never, never questions this, never asks us to wonder if they are wrong. We are to believe it too. Cause that's what happens in movies. The one hero comes along to save the day.

And in the end he has saved the day. We think...

I like that finally, at the very end of this opus, there is some potential to see it all differently and perhaps break apart what it is we are assuming. In the end we are given a plot that says he, unlike his previous predecessors, has broken the pattern the machines have started of reloading and rebooting and resetting, and contributed to a better world for the humans who now get to choose to be free or not. Sure he didn't destroy the machines and the humans aren't left liberated to build a new world on the machine's ashes (which to be fair would be the typical end result). He has made a new deal with the machines.

But I do wonder if that's the case. I think you can make an argument he was used, once again by the machines to solidify their control. He helps them eliminate a virus which threatened to destroy them and they keep their human farming operation going. I think there is finally some interesting questions and arguments to end this on. What happens at the end can be interpreted a number of ways and some of them are more interesting than others. Maybe the film makers have left it open enough to allow some wiggle room. And that might be enough to redeem much of this for me.

Maybe I can just accept the films, with their predictable structure just aren't my cup of tea despite all their hipster gloss and gothic overtones. Or maybe I can read into this conclusion something more meaty a little less predictable. I like the ending doesn't force feed us an explanation like so much of the series does before this. There are clues at the end but not concrete exposition like we saw in the previous films. And that gives me hope for this series yet. I know it's popular to shit on the final film but for me it left the most openness and was therefore the most satisfying, even while it was trying to be all things to all matrix fans.

The Matrix Revolutions
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Laurence Fishhourne, Huge Weaving, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Harole Perrineau, Randall Duk Kim, Collin Chou, Monica Bellucci, Ian Bliss, Mary Alice, Harry Lennix, Lambert Wilson, Nona Gaye, Anthony Wong, Cornell West
Writer/Directors: The Wachowskis


Postscript:

Just after I revisited the films information came out about the Wachowskis and their embedding in these stories a trans narrative, a narrative that unfortunately is quite under the surface. Reconsidering based on this does add interesting layers to the film that I didn't as a cis person see. While this is enhanced my experiences with the films somewhat I also find it to continue to confound my experience of the films. As a trans narrative it still centres the cis white male and empowers him through reinforcing cis white male violence. The film makers, perhaps due to the time the films were made, deleted a possibly overt trans character, and kept all references to the trans experience metaphorical and symbolic. I understand how empowering that can remain in narratives for people whose identities are not being acknowledged in mainstream culture at all so I applaud that and certainly it adds something to the film I had been blind to before. But it remains problematic to me for the reasons that it still reinforces the traditional hegemony in ways I find utterly frustrating.

First Cow (2020)

I've heard First Cow described as and anti-western western. Westerns are often a reinforcement of values such as individualism and masculinity, as well as colonialism and white supremacy. This film, set in the 1800s, centres two men who quite clearly violate the traditional takes on masculinity and whiteness. One is of Asian descent and the other exhibits qualities many might identify with as being feminine. He's a care giver, a cook, not a fighter. The two of them embark on a business making plan and pay a serious price for it, asking us to question our assumptions not only about capitalism, but about American history.

Director Reighhardt is used to upending our expectations and focusing on characters on the margins. This film embraces that by painting a fairly queer (if not explicitly so) story set in the historical fiction of the American past. He film style hasn't changed, she remains stylistically rather restrained while subverting narrative tropes, while telling a very compelling story. She maybe drags things a bit in the middle, but the first and third acts are very strong and not only drive home her points but get us invested in her heroes and their story.

Beautiful and filled with a delicious sense of mystery, First Cow is fascinating as are the performances of the leads Lee and Magaro. It all comes together in a refreshing spin on an old style.

First Cow
Starring: John Magaro, Orion Lee, Toby Jones, Rene Auberjonois
Director: Kelly Reighardt
Writers: Anish Savjani, Kelly Reighardt

Palm Springs (2020)

I didn't think I wanted (or needed) another romantic comedy about being stuck in a timeloop where you have to relive the same day over and over. Turns out Palm Springs is a fun and funny take on the idea which also brings up some interesting things to think about it. Samberg and Milioti have great chemistry, the script is funny, and damn it if it won't make you smile.

That is all.

Palm Springs
Starring: Andy Samberg, Cristin Milioti, J.K. Simmons, Peter Gallagher, Camila Mendes, Tyler Hoechlin, June Squibb, Cliff Johnson
Director: Max Marbakow
Writer: Andy Siara

Much Ado About Nothing (2012) REVISIT

Filmed in only 12 days at the director's own residence, Joss Whedon's film adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing has a very grassroots feel to it. He literally just pulled together a group of his friends to hand out at his house and film the play. While this produces some mixed results, over all the experience is just so damn fun (especially due to the play chosen) that it remains a truly enjoyable film.

What works? The choice to film in black and white, and costume the cast in classic cut suits and dresses gives it an air of timelessness which allows for the language of the text to play out. Whedon's cut of the script is tight and modern, fast paced and funny.

But for me the thing that most works about this film is its star Amy Acker. Her Beatrice is a vision. She is all the complexities a Beatrice needs to be. Standing in the shadow of the great Emma Thompson isn't an easy thing, so taking on this role for a new film must have been daunting. But Acker proves up to the task, making it her own.

Fillion's Dogberry is a treat too. He doesn't play the role too over the top, which is clearly tempting in so many productions I have seen. Instead he is subtly incompetent and imbecilic, an approach which works so very well.

And finally the music is outstanding. The film's new versions of Sigh No More and Heavenly are gorgeous, with their slightly jazzy influence, fitting just right into this mix. The score itself is lush and lovely helping us all feel blithe and bonny. 

What doesn't work? Alexis Denisof as Benedick is truly terrible, butchering almost every scene he's in. I don't like to crap so hard on anyone but his Benedick is a mess, never once inspiring the sort of love from a woman like Beatrice necessary for the play to work. There are some other weak spots in the cast but Denisof stands out the most, pulling you out of the story. It's the power imbalance between the two leads which is ever so frustrating. I've always seen Much Ado as being about a few things, one predominantly contrasting a very mature love structured on partnership and equality against a fresh, young, idealistic love which is so easily shaken and pulled apart. I'm not sure this film accomplishes that.

I'm also not sure this film gets into the heart of how the play explores the power dynamics between men and women as effectively as some other films and adaptations. In some ways it treats Hero's shaming and the following comeuppance of her accusers more as plot points than as essential to the entirety of the story.

Still, Much Ado About Nothing is just so damn watchable, so engaging, even a fumbled version can be a true joy. And Whedon's take on it, despite what many may feel about him, remains so damn watchable, especially for Acker and just for it's outright beauty.

Much Ado About Nothing
Starring: Amy Acker, Alexis Denisof, Reed Diamond, Nathan Fillion, Clark Gregg, Fran Kranz, Sean Maher, Jillian Morgese, Spencer Treat Clark, Riki Lindhome, Ashley Johnson
Director: Joss Whedon
Writers: William Shakespeare, Joss Whedon

Abe (2020)

Abe is a charming idea that may not be executed in the best way but still ends up being pleasing, even if just for the food porn. The film perhaps tackles some issues that it never quite successfully addresses, it's also too short, skipping through some of the work necessary to truly take on those issues. But it's heart is in the right place and Noah Schnapp is outsanding in the title role.

Abe is the story of a boy whose father's family is Palestinian Muslim and whose mother's family is Israeli Jew. His grandparents can't stop fighting about the Middle East and Abe turns to his passion for food and cooking, especially the idea of fusion cuisine (you see where this is going) to get reprieve. He meets a street food vendor from Brazil, Chico, who teaches him about cooking and through this he brings his family together.

Okay yes it's cliched and yes the film presents its problem and solution rather ham-fistedly. But despite all that Abe remains enjoyable. At the centre of this is Schnapp as Abe and he sells it. he's got the makings of a star and he exhibits it here. Also director Fernando Grostein Andrade may fumble some of the narrative aspects but films his story beautifully with a loving eye for the food. You won't be able to come out of this film not feeling hungry.

And despite how elementary the film's take on religion, family dynamics, and interpersonal relationships are, they aren't off the mark. This is a very strong film for young viewers to tackle something a bit more heady than they might get in a standard children's film. For families, Abe is actually quite strong. So in the end Abe satisfies just enough, creating a fusion taste just like its title character would want.

Abe
Starring: Noah Schnapp, Seu Jorge, Dagmara Dominczyk, Arian Moayed, Mark Margolis, Salem Murphy, Tom Mardirosian
Director: Fernando Grostein Andrade
Writers: Lameece Issaq, Jacob Kader, Fernando Grostein Andrade

Much Ado About Nothing (1993) REVISIT

Hands down Much Ado is my favourite Shakespeare play. It's Three's Company style confusions, written with its hilarious one liners mixed with gorgeous love poetry, its analysis of gender politics and its glee in upending that, all come together into a play which I will enjoy no matter the production. I've seen it on stage and in a few films, but it is this movie which I feel captures the totality of everything delightful about Nothing. Branagh has crafted this as the quintessential embodiment of the work.

This sundrenched comedy of love is a joyous experience. We are dropped into a paradise, a verdant villa in the centre of Italy's most beautiful country, where this idyllic community does little but suck the marrow out of life. When the army comes back from battle, celebratory in victory as if war never had any effect but glory, the community and the army joyfully reunited, prepare to celebrate, communally bathing their tanned, lush bodies without shame. It is idyllic. The perfect centre for a tale of falling in love.

But it is this sort of love story which most grabs me. Shakespeare has set the typical set of lovers, young beautiful and passionate against a far more interesting pair, older, smarter, and more practical. And it is in their respectful wooing that some of the most gloriously romantic banter I have ever come across happens. Branagh along with his former real life wife Thompson are perfectly set for this. Both are more than capable of making the Bard's word trip off their tongues most naturally, as well as convincingly craft my favourite set of literary lovers of all time, the stubborn, the brilliant, the heroic Beatrice and Benedict who not only joust and parry their way into love but also together take on heroically what is wrong with their culture and their world.

But Branagh and Thompson aren't alone. This film of Much Ado is blessed with one of the most amazing casts ever, all gorgeous in the Italian sun (Keaton's dirty constable the exception) yet completely capable of tackling the play's script. Washington is the picture of beautiful nobility with all the presence and God given beauty that a prince should have. Reeves (the one week spot performance wise) is a swarthy and luscious villain who almost wins us over with his sweaty, naughty appeal. Beckinsale is young and pretty with only a hint of the more aggressive parts she would take on later while paired with Leonard in all his adorable boyish earnestness.

The cast is up for the parts of play which get more serious while also being up for playing the humour so well. The play is a bit of an emotional rollercoaster yet if all flows so smoothly here. The joy is even richer for the cast's ability to make us feel the sadness. Layered into this story is a thread of how women are abused and exploited by men, and there is some justice fantasized here, a justice that even today is rarely achieved. This adaptation juggles this deftly to make it all come together in a way that justifies the joy and redemption the story needs.

While I enjoy almost every production I have seen of this, this remains the gold standard for me, the perfect telling of a story full of love, of humour, humility, and hope.

Much Ado About Nothing
Starring: Emma Thompson, Kenneth Branagh, Denzel Washington, Keanu Reeves, Kate Beckinsale, Michael Keaton, Robert Sean Leonard, Imelda Staunton, Richard Briers
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Writers: William Shakespeare, Kenneth Branagh

Greyhound (2020)

There is a tense cat-and-mouse tension running through Greyhound. This is the story of a war ship captain who is tasked with helping safely transport a number of other ships across the Atlantic during WWII when a wolfpack of German U-Boats approach. This concise 90 minutes are packed with all the stress and drama of the moment, one where you can't be sure what you see, where the stakes are life and death. And the film works when it is in the heights of this game. 

One of the problems of war movies is how uniforms make all the characters look the same, making them often blend together and make it hard to build emotional connection to anyone in particular. Greyhound suffers from this a bit which I will get to, but overcomes it in a few ways. Hanks, who wrote the screenplay as well as stars in it, centres the film as the captain and bring the sort of gravitas necessary to such a story. But what he does interestingly as a screen writer is focus on certain characters (like the boat's chef) that help humanize what could have quite easily been a very clinical story about hit or miss, Battleship as a movie basically. Instead, the film finds a way through a few of the characters, to help you be able to feel the lives at risk and that helps. While most of the cast do blend together, there are those few that help give the film some human faces.

The runtime also helps keep the story tight and tense. With very little time the film must focus on its plot points and keep the story moving. This help keeps the momentum going and keeps the level of involvement high. But when the film tries to stop for some contemplative moments, it looses some of this momentum. There is a funeral scene which doesn't have the impact it might need to as the characters weren't necessarily built enough for us to have the emotional reaction to their loss, but also the film doesn't balance this with the action well. It's almost as if the film, with it's short timeline, should have focused more on one aspect of the story to truly maximize it's power.

And I'm not sure the film does much else to differentiate it from most other movies of its ilk. Once it's over it doesn't offer much which sets it apart. I've struggled to find something in recent war movies that feels original and Greyhound doesn't have anything here either. While the film is engaging as hell while you watch it, it also feels like it slips away a bit when it's over.

Greyhound came along during the COVID epidemic and it was moved from a big screen release to a streaming one. Apparently Hanks was quite disappointed this didn't hit the big screen. There is a lot this film may have benefited from being on a larger screen. But the story may not have offered much more anyway. I guess we'll never know.

Greyhound is good for what it is. Hanks is, not surprisingly, very strong in his role. And when it ups the ante to make us feel, like a punch in the gut, the stakes and the odds, it can be quite gripping. It struggles to do this always but when it does it truly does.

Greyhound
Starring: Tom Hanks, Elizabeth Shue, Rob Morgan, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo
Director: Aaron Schneider
Writer: Tom Hanks

The Old Guard (2020)

Many are calling The Old Guard a "superhero film" but I think that's misleading. I get why people say that. It's based on a comic book and features characters who have unreal abilities (in this case being unable to die). But "superheros" are, most of the time,  something different than what's here. Don't expect costumes, a variety of superpowers, codenames, or super villains. The Old Guard is more spy/action movie with this one fantastic element thrown in. Sure one can define "superhero" however you want but there is something that just doesn't quite fit with that label here. This is an exploration of something different, immortality, and its consequences.

The idea of immortality and the challenges that supposedly attractive idea presents is one that has been explored to death (pun intended) so The Old Guard has its own challenge to make those questions interesting again. What does it mean to live forever and why is that not the blessing it might seem at first blush? I felt The Old Guard does find an interesting question relating to this to wrestle with. Is there a responsibility to share? In a world of death, suffering and disease, and in a world of scientific expertise, is there a way to learn to be immortal? And if it requires the torture and suffering of some, does that make it worth it? I like the fact the film doesn't necessarily solve the conundrum, even if the film sort of skirts the issue a bit.

So while the questions it asks feel novel, The Old Guard takes a rather mainstream, traditional approach to telling its story. From its story structure and cinematic approach, The Old Guard isn't offering much new. There are the typical but well executed action sequences, the not really surprising twists and betrayals, the typical sacrificed characters, and final heroic redeeming saves. But it does find a new question and story to deal with immortality. And even if it's underlying story is rather straightforward it remains entertaining.

But every now and then The Old Guard surprises. There is a queer couple in the group (I'm not spoiling anything) and at one point a villain refers to one as the other's "boyfriend." The one goes into a beautiful speech about how the word in no way encapsulates the magnitude or breadth of just who they are to each other.

And it's moments like that which made The Old Guard more than what it could have been. We haven't seen the streaming world produce a franchise yet. Maybe this "superhero" movie could be that.

The Old Guard
Starring: Charlize Theron, Kiki Layne, Matthias Schoenaerts, Marwan Kenzari, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Luca Marinelli
Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood
Writer: Greg Rucka

Never Rarely Sometimes Always (2020)

I do not remember a film which so effectively walks its audience through what a woman seeking an abortion goes through, financially, emotionally, physically. I don't remember seeing a film that so deftly outlines all the hoops one jumps through, that's not really the right phrase, the ordeal that women are put through to make the choice they need to make, women who don't have the resources or independence to be able to make that choice.

Never Rarely Sometimes Always is sensitive and powerful. It isn't filled with dramatic set pieces and instead focuses on walking its audience through the reality of the process, a process which can be almost impossible for so many reasons. Writer/director Hittman is methodical in her story, we are hit with each beat, understand the every struggle. Her film is empathic, often making us feel more than we are shown.

There is so much unsaid in Never Rarely Sometimes Always. So much of this story isn't said aloud and is in the faces of the performers. Flanigan especially does an amazing job of this, showing us so much while remaining so quiet. There is a moment in the middle of the film where the weight of it all comes bearing down on her which is immensely powerful while still remaining so quiet and restrained.

Never Rarely Sometimes Always is a much stronger film for me than Hittman's last, Beach Rats, a film which showed a lot of potential. But this one, with its determined forward thrust mixed with what appears to be Hittman's quiet slice of life signature approach, felt like the right mix to hit all the buttons.

Never Rarely Sometimes Always
Starring: Sindey Flanigan, Talia Ryder, Theodore Pellerin, Ryan Eggold
Writer/Director: Eliza Hittman

Blow the Man Down (2020)

A murder, a brothel, a small town, hard living villagers, and sea shanties. This is the stuff of good story telling. This story of two sisters who get wrapped up in the seedier side of Maine fishing village is smart, funny, dark, compelling and just a damn good movie.

Writers/directors Cole and Krudy have put together a great little mystery filled with fascinating characters (in all definitions of the word) and cast the great character actors Martindale and Squibb along with a truly strong cast to tell this quirky and macabre comedy. There is just something so compelling about oddball small towns and the mischief their residents get up to. And Blow the Man Down is exactly that sort of charming, funny accented story that is so darn charming.

And there is something a little more to this little tale beyond just the eccentric little town mystery. There is a story of female resilience and strength in the face of adversity. This cast is full of strong women characters, each with their own histories and passions and struggles and opportunities. This is the story of women living in a very real world and facing all the challenges that world presents to them.

Blow the Man Down is a strong feature debut by this film making duo, the kind of debut that makes you want to see more from them. And in the case of Martindale, it's another amazing character study in a career filled with them. But her fishing village madame may be one of my favourite of her roles.

Blow the Man Down
Starring: Morgan Saylor, Sophie Lowe, Margo Martindale, June Sqibb, Annette O'Toole, Will Brittain
Writers/Directors: Bridgette Savage Cole, Danielle Krudy

The Dark Knight Trilogy (2005 - 2012) REVISIT TOP 100

In 2020 it's hard to remember a time when superhero films were not the dominant blockbuster genre. But after Batman & Robin in 1997, the genre had crashed and burned. Not only was the film universally criticized, but it bombed financially. Up to this point superhero films were mostly niche, characters running around in supersuits were still only accepted in certain circumstances. The X-men were building towards telling more serious stories but most comic book films remained rather campy and on the margins. It was the way we accepted stories about superheroes.

But despite the failure of Batman & Robin Warner Brothers wasn't going to not make another Batman movie but it was still rather a bold choice to tap indie director Christopher Nolan to do a real-world take on the character. Perhaps it was the only way to recover, to go in an entirely different direction. And when Batman Begins premiered in 2005 it turned out to be what audiences were looking for, and built a market for comic books films to be not only mainstream but taken seriously as films. The success of these films lead to the Marvel Cinematic Universe being possible, even if that series takes the genre back in a less serious direction.

Batman Begins takes a big step in the new direction but holds on to some of the campier elements of the genre. It spends a great deal of time setting up that this Batman lives in the real world with real world problems. This Gotham isn't overrun with costumed criminals it's a city where corruption is rampant and crime is a symptom of public institutions being susceptible to influence. This is different than most interpretations of the Batman world we've seen before. It comes up with real world reasons for Batman's suit, his cape, his equipment, almost hyperfocused on contextualizing the mythos.

Nolan is clearly interested in exploring the nature of a vigilante hero, starting to ask uncomfortable questions, the kind raised by having a character like Batman in the real world. The thing I most responded to was how the film started to make us question so many of the assumptions we have about our comic book heroes.

But Begins still falls into some traps. The villain's big plans are a bit nonsensical and over the top. It's like something out of a more campy movie and often pulls me out of the film. It is almost like they weren't sure they could go full real world and held on to a bit of the Bond Villain archetype.

I remember feeling the film makes needless changes to the Batman legend which take away from it's comic authenticity. It wasn't the first film to do this but certainly isn't the quintessential Batman adaptation. And part of why this bugs me is that many of these changes are unnecessary. Bruce's parents being killed after an opera instead of after a movie screening offers nothing to the story.

But there are other weird choices which keep this from being my favourite Batman film. The casting Katie Holmes as the new character Rachel Dawes, a character whose relationship on which so much of Bruce Wayne's development hinges, but Holmes just isn't up for what the role needs. This is highlighted in the next film when Maggie Gyllenhaal takes over the role and takes it much farther.

But what they build here allows them to move into the rest of the series and achieve something truly outstanding.

Batman Begins
Starring: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Gary Oldman, Cillian Murphy, Morgan Freeman, Tom Wilkinson, Rutger Hower, Ken Watanabe
Director: Christopher Nolan
Writers: David S Goyer, Christopher Nolan


The Dark Knight is one of my favourite movies ever. It didn't start out that way. Nolan's stark vision, set in the real world aesthetic he set up with Batman Begins, was unsettling at first. The morality play he spins questioning the nature of vigilantism and how the idea of a comic book hero is problematic when faced with the complexities of the real world, is a lot to take in. Part of what makes this such an incredible film is the way it walks the line between crowd pleasing blockbuster and complex thesis on difficult topics. But it walks this line perfectly.

The Dark Knight overcomes some of the issues I feel Batman Begins struggles with. While I don't think this film would be possible without the groundwork laid in Begins, I also think it manages to solve some of the problems of the earlier film. Knight pretty much moves away from the outrageousness of the genre and grounds itself firmly in reality (although Two-Face's, well... face... remains a bit much) and its plot is more complex and cohesive than the prior film's.

There are a lot of strengths here. People talk about Ledger's Joker a lot, and that is well deserved. It is a towering achievement. So far I haven't met a Joker performance I haven't liked. They all offer something good and the desire to compare and compete them is one I never understand. Ledger's Joker, as a part of Nolan's Dark Knight story, is not "crazy" in the slightest. He's an anarchist, a foil to the way Bruce Wayne is trying to force the world to makes sense. He is challenging the hypocrisy, not only of Batman but of the police, organized crime, politicians, and Gotham (read as us) itself. He tries to hold up a mirror to us to make us see what is wrong with ourselves. And what is brilliant in that story telling is how broken it makes us (as outlined in Harvey Dent's story) but even more so in Bruce's arc. He is pushed to the brink of breaking, and his heroism is not in how he "stops" the Joker, in fact much of that is extremely problematic, but in how he saves himself from breaking. He finds a way to find light and hope despite all the darkness around him and in himself. Nolan's film isn't completely nihilist, there is heroism here, not just in Bruce but in the citizens of Gotham themselves, and I think in Rachel.

Rachel Dawes, as I mentioned discussing Begins, could have been an extremely problematic character, fridged in this story if we don't understand what's really going on. But Nolan's handling of her and the recasting of the role with a truly powerful actor like Gyllenhaal, makes her so much more, makes her essential to the narrative, saving Bruce from what he could have become.

And then there is all of the amazing set pieces here. The under bridge chase is famously entertaining but the China withdrawal, Joker's interactions with the mob, the opening bank robbery scene. This is an amazing action film. It works on so many levels and so wonderfully on each. I never tire of watching The Dark Knight.

The Dark Knight
Starring: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Caine, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Cillian Murphy
Director: Christopher Nolan
Writers: Jonathan Nolan, Christopher Nolan


This is a strong trilogy but for me none of the films quite hold up to The Dark Knight. Rises has much about it I really love but there are also issues which keep it from quite rivaling its predecessor. Still, it is a remarkable piece of work. It takes the themes from the previous films to their logical conclusions. The challenge this times comes from opposition to the law and order Batman has established and what makes Bane as fascinating as he is, is that he's not far off in his critiques of who Batman and the GCPD are.

But the film fails a bit in making Bane's case strong enough. Bane is Napoleon in Animal Farm, a hypocrite who espouses ideology but ends up being the very things he criticizes. His "justice" is a farce. That would have been okay in a less complex story but after the Joker in TDK, creating such a smart critique, this stands out as weaker.

In my opinion a lot what is wrong about Rises is how desperate Nolan appears to end things. So much feels rushed. He is so determined to tell his trilogy and bring it all full circle without anyone being able to continue it that he doesn't allow the time or development for so much of what would make this story truly soar to emerge. This could have been a longer series but instead easy answers must be given to warp things up.

Still, Rises accomplishes a great deal. It's still smarter than most of its genre and its depiction of Catwoman starts out strong. I feel she is one of the things lost in the hurry up to end it push, but so much of what the script and Hathaway deliver here make for a very interesting Selina Kyle. The action is taken up a notch even from TDK, which in many ways also takes away from the realism aspect.

Perhaps the biggest flaw for me is Gordon-Levitt's character, a character who seems designed more to tick boxes than actually add something powerful to the story. The reveal of his "real" name at the end is a groaner, and there is this weird tension between how Nolan is ensuring everything is shutting down without possibility of continuation and then this character is almost set up as Batman 2. It is a needless awkward addition which just feels incongruent. I wish Nolan hadn't been so determined to burn it all down when he left ensuring no one else could play with his toys. It always feels like a bit of a let down after TDK and I always wish there could have been more to this version of the story. Then ending is rushed and leaves so many ideas unused on the table.

Still, there is a finality to the narrative about which much is quite satisfying. Alfred's final scene is gorgeously beautiful and there is an aching to it which is delicious. For me this series will always be a detour on Batman's journey, a very welcome and fascinating story that isn't quite Batman but is fascinating and remarkable and endlessly watchable.

The Dark Knight Rises
Starring: Christian Bale, Anne Hatha
way, Tom Hardy, Michael Caine, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Matthew Modine, Liam Neeson,
Director: Christopher Nolan
Writers: Jonathan Nolan, Christopher Nolan

The Vast of Night (2020)

When exciting new film makers come along and create something magical I get pretty excited. The Vast of Night is one of those debut films that just shake things up, grab you, and refuse to let go.

Crafted to be reminiscent of 50s sci fi TV memorabilia, the film is the story of something mysterious in the sky over a small American town. It's the stuff of pulpy magazines, the Twilight Zone, and yesteryear comic books. Writer/director Patterson perfectly captures the ambience and melodrama of the genre while adding both sentimental nostalgia and a creeping horror which just won't let up. As our heroes, a young switchboard operator and a local radio DJ, get closer to finding out a dark truth about "what's out there" the film becomes more and more gripping, more and more fascinating.

And it's all just perfectly crafted. It is both a tribute to past story telling and an exciting presentation of new ways of spinning these tales. The film is dripping in pathos, it's hard not to watch it without becoming emotionally invested. I just didn't want it to end. Its short run time was packed to the brim while feeling like the story had all the time it needed. Nothing feels rushed. It is quite organic in the way its narrative plays out.

We've seen these stories before, they have gripped us for generations, and this is the sort of legend which will just sit with you and haunt you. And it is just beautiful.

The Vast of Night
Starring: Sierra McCormick, Jake Horowitz
Director: Andrew Patterson
Writers: Craig W Sander, Andrew Patterson (as James Montague)