Power Ballad

I am a huge fan of John Carney (I really like Flora and Son but I absolutely love Once and Sing Street) so I had a lot of fun watching his latest movie, Power Ballad, at the Broadway last night.  Rick Power (Paul Rudd) is an aging American ex-pat who gave up on his dreams of being a rock star to marry Rachel (Marcella Plunkett), an Irish woman, and raise their daughter Aja (Beth Fallon) in Ireland.  He is now the lead singer of a wedding band based in Dublin but he still has dreams of writing and performing his own songs.  While at a wedding gig at a castle, he meets Danny Wilson (Nick Jonas), a childhood friend of the groom who was once a member of a popular boy band but is now working on a solo album.  They end up jamming all night and share the songs they are working on with each other.  When Danny returns to Los Angeles, his manager Mac Darling (Jack Reynor) tells him that his record label is not confident about his new music because they don't think he has a hit single.  He struggles to write one but, when he starts playing Rick's song "How to Write a Song (Without You)" on the piano, his girlfriend Marcia (Havana Rose Liu) loves it because she thinks it is about her.  He ends up recording it and it becomes a huge hit which reignites his career.  Rick immediately recognizes the song as his but he can't prove that he wrote it and his obsession with getting credit alienates both his band and his family.  He travels to Los Angeles to confront Danny but ultimately remembers his reason for writing the song.  I really loved the message about appreciating the life you actually have rather than mourning the life you thought you would have and I was really struck by the differences in how Rick and and Danny sing "How to Write a Song (Without You)" in the final scene.  I also liked the discussion about the high price that fame exacts when trying to stay authentic and I appreciated that Danny isn't portrayed as a one-dimensional villain.  In between the poignant moments are some hilarious ones, especially a scene in which Rick performs one of his songs at a wedding while fantasizing about adoring crowds in a large arena before realizing that the dance floor is empty.  Finally, Jonas and Rudd have great chemistry and I was really impressed with Rudd's singing chops (I can't decide whose version of "How to Write a Song (Without You)" I like better).  I loved this movie and highly recommend it to fans of Carney.

Note:  I immediately recognized Powerscourt Gardens, which I visited on a trip to Ireland, during the scenes at the castle.

Pressure

I always enjoy a well-made movie about a topic I find interesting featuring an actor I like and that is exactly what I got with Pressure last night.  It is June 1944 and General Dwight D. Eisenhower (Brendan Fraser) is preparing for the D-Day invasion of Normandy which could change the tide of World War II.  Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery (Damian Lewis) is pushing for a launch on June 5 so the Allies do not lose the element of surprise but Eisenhower wants a report from his meteorological team, which consists of Colonel Irving P. Krick (Chris Messina), an American who has successfully advised him during several battles in North Africa, and Group Captain James Stagg (Andrew Scott), a Scottish meteorologist recommended by Churchill, because the operation depends upon a favorable weather forecast.  Stagg is distracted because is wife Liz (Tamsin Topolski) is heavily pregnant and immediately runs afoul of Eisenhower, his personal assistant Kay Summersby (Kerry Condon), as well as the entire team with his prickly behavior.  Frick relies on historical weather patterns and predicts clear skies for June 5, which is what Eisenhower wants to hear, but Stagg uses barometric pressure data from weather stations all around Normandy in real-time and predicts a severe storm system.  Eisenhower reluctantly calls off the invasion on Stagg's recommendation, which is ultimately proven correct, but will he believe Stagg when he forecasts a window of calm on June 6?  Even though I knew the date of the invasion as well as its outcome, I was on the edge of my seat when Eisenhower makes the decision to go or not go and when the officers wait to hear the results of the battle because the editing, which features fast cuts between images of the officers at Allied HQ, the atmospheric conditions, and the soldiers preparing to deploy and then storming the beaches, is very effective at building tension.  I have always been fascinated by World War II so I really enjoyed seeing the events leading to D-Day from a new perspective (I knew about Allied efforts to deceive Germany about the location of the invasion but I never considered the importance of the weather) and, as nerdy as it sounds, I found the process of collecting weather data to be strangely compelling.  Finally, I really like Scott as an actor and his understated performance as Stagg is one of his best, especially when juxtaposed with Fraser's brashness as Eisenhower and Messina's arrogance as Frick (one of the biggest highlights is seeing Frick and Stagg go toe-to-toe).  I thoroughly enjoyed this and highly recommend it.

Backrooms

Last night I went to see Backrooms at a late night screening and I found it very interesting and quite unsettling.  Clark (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is an alcoholic who is angry about his recent divorce and his failed ambition of becoming an architect.  He frequently rants to his therapist Dr. Mary Kline (Renate Reinsve) and she tries to help him see how his patterns of behavior have created an endless cycle of unhappiness from which he cannot escape but she is also suffering from her own never ending loop of trauma stemming from a childhood spent with a mentally ill mother.  Clark, who is now living in the discount furniture warehouse where he works, notices flickering lights in the basement and goes to investigate which leads him to a portal to another reality filled with a seemingly endless space that reflects whoever enters it.  He wanders through a maze of rooms that are connected by long hallways before he is chased out by an unseen entity.  When Mary is skeptical about what he has experienced, he starts spending more and more time in this alternate reality and eventually becomes trapped.  Mary gets a disturbing message from Clark which prompts her to go to his warehouse to find him and she ends up in the space as his hostage.  Can she escape?  While the metaphor is a bit on the nose, I liked the exploration of how you can get trapped inside your head by memories that can be warped by time and a skewed perception.  Both Clark and Mary encounter malformed objects and people within the space because they can't remember them correctly and I was particularly struck by how Mary's experience becomes increasingly more distorted as she moves down through the levels because she has buried her trauma so deeply within her subconscious.  The visuals, which feature a drab monochromatic yellow color palette, uncanny architecture, and harsh fluorescent lighting, are incredibly disconcerting and the sound design evokes a sense of dread that is almost unbearable (I hate the buzzing of fluorescent lights so this just about drove me crazy).  The camerawork is very effective at building tension because it is from each character's POV, especially when grainy found footage is used, and you are never entirely sure what will be lurking around the corner.  Both Ejiofor and Reinsve give highly restrained performances that ground the dreamlike sequences in reality and this kept me engaged even with so much repetition in the space (see also Exit 8).  This might not be for everyone (some might find it too ambiguous) but I can't stop thinking about it!

Note:  I enjoyed this more than Exit 8 (movies about liminal spaces are having a moment) because my attention never wavered.

Tuner

I was so excited to see Tuner with my nephew at the Broadway last night because the trailer reminded me a lot of Baby Driver, a movie I absolutely love, and it definitely did not disappoint.  Niki White (Leo Woodall) was once a promising pianist but hyperacusis, a condition which makes him extremely sensitive to loud noise, forced him to stop playing.  He now works as an apprentice to a piano tuner named Harry Horowitz (Dustin Hoffman), a friend of his late father, and he begins a relationship with a student named Ruthie (Havana Rose Liu) after he tunes a piano at her conservatory.  When Harry has a heart attack and is faced with mounting medical bills, Niki reluctantly starts working for the group of thieves, led by Uri (Lior Raz), who manipulated him into opening a safe using his heightened sense of hearing at a wealthy client's house.  While Niki is able to pay all of Harry's bills and impress Ruthie with a meaningful gift, the heists become more and more dangerous and this threatens his relationships and, eventually, his life.  I think the screenplay is very clever (there are similarities to Baby Driver but it definitely has its own vibe), especially when Niki uses Uri's criminal philosophy against him to pull a heist of his own and when he uses the music he has denied himself for so long to form a real, if bittersweet, connection with Ruthie (the final scene is exhilarating).  I loved Niki's character arc (even though it is a suspenseful heist movie with some fun romantic elements, it is mostly a compelling character study about a young man who has lost himself) and I also loved Woodall's performance because the juxtaposition between his detachment and his joy in the final scene is incredibly powerful.  Finally, I enjoyed seeing all of the moving cogs in the safecracking scenes and hearing much of the action from Niki's POV (the sound design, in both the loud and quiet moments, is incredible because it is so immersive).  This is one of my favorite movies this year and I highly recommend it!

Passenger

The second movie in my double feature yesterday was Passenger and I am definitely happy that I saw it after my most recent solo road trip!  Maddie (Lou Llobell) and Tyler (Jacob Scipio) are a couple who leave everything behind to live the so-called "van life" but it soon becomes apparent that Tyler is more enamored with the lifestyle than Maddie is.  When they are unable to stay at a planned camping spot, they end up driving on an isolated road late at night and witness a car crash.  They stop to help the driver but are unable to save him.  When Maddie looks at their dashcam footage of the crash, she sees a mysterious figure in the passenger seat of the car and then imagines that this same figure is following them.  Tyler thinks that Maddie might be making excuses to quit living on the road but, when they participate in a van life gathering, they learn about a malevolent entity known as the "Passenger" who is believed to be responsible for the disappearance of many people over the years and a woman named Diana (Melissa Leo) warns them about stopping on the road at night.  It ultimately becomes a fight for survival when the Passenger (Joseph Lopez) starts attacking them wherever they go.  There are definitely some issues, most notably the lack of a backstory to explain the origin and defining characteristics of the enigmatic Passenger and a resolution that feels rushed, but I found this to be incredibly atmospheric and scary.  The cinematography uses light and shadow to great effect to evoke a sense of dread about what might be out there in the dark.  There are also several well-composed set pieces that are almost unbearably tense, including a scene in which Maddie hears someone following her while walking through an empty parking lot to get to the van which seems to get farther and farther away, a scene in which Maddie and Tyler use the light from their movie projector to locate the Passenger stalking them at their campsite (seeing Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn's faces, as their characters from the movie Roman Holiday, superimposed on the Passenger's face is incredibly creepy), and a scene in which Maddie and Tyler have to stop to change a flat tire knowing that the Passenger is out there in the dark.  Both Llobell and Scipio do a great job communicating their terror and I liked the dynamic between their characters, especially that he believes her before he actually sees the Passenger.  I enjoyed this, and recommend it to fans of the genre, mostly because I was reminded of all the times I have driven on isolated roads by myself late at night!!

I Love Boosters

Yesterday I had another double feature in the middle of the day and I started with with I Love Boosters because I think Sorry to Bother You, Boots Riley's directorial debut, is absolutely brilliant.  As with his previous movie, I Love Boosters is full of scathing commentary that is as funny as it is thought-provoking.  Corvette (Keke Palmer), an aspiring fashion designer, and her friends Sade (Naomi Ackie) and Mariah (Taylour Paige) regularly steal, or "boost," designer clothes from high-end stores and sell them at a discount to low-income people in their community.  This is a way for Sade to earn a better living for her two children but it becomes personal for Corvette when she discovers that her favorite fashion mogul, Christie Smith (Demi Moore), has stolen one of her designs.  Now Corvette wants to target Metro Designers, a clothing chain owned by Smith, so they get jobs at one of the stores run by Grayson (Will Poulter) and plan to steal the entire inventory.  However, their plan is disrupted by an employee named Violetta (Eiza Gonzalez) who is trying to organize a strike for better working conditions at all of the Metro Designer stores and a factory worker named Jianhu (Poppy Liu) who is protesting against conditions in Smith's sweatshops in China.  They eventually join forces to disrupt Smith's fall fashion show but mayhem is caused by a teleportation device, a mysterious man (LaKeith Stanfield) pursuing Corvette, and a group of media personalities (Don Cheadle, Kara Young, Jason Ritter, and Jermaine Fowler) who are used by Smith to influence opinion.  Much like Sorry to Bother You, this is an indictment of late-stage capitalism, income inequality, workplace abuse, exploitation, and propaganda framed as a comedy of the absurd with a wild and chaotic third act that requires a major suspension of disbelief.  This bold swing for the fences didn't work for me as much as it did in the previous movie but I really liked the surrealistic visual style, especially Smith's tilted office building, and the hyper-stylized costumes, particularly those worn in a boosting montage.  I enjoyed all of the performances (Poulter is a hoot and Cheadle is almost unrecognizable) and, even though some of the characters are not very well developed (Stansfield's character feels superfluous), the friendship between Corvette and Sade is quite poignant.  I didn't love this as much as Sorry to Bother You but I had a lot of fun with it.

Note:  My favorite scene is a documentary about Christie Smith's rise to success as a designer because it is narrated by Viggo Mortensen (I laughed out loud when I realized who it was).

The Mandalorian and Grogu

Last night my sister, my nephew, and I went to a Thursday preview of The Mandalorian and Grogu.  I am a huge fan of the series on Disney+ and I enjoyed this even though it is basically like watching several episodes of the show on the big screen.  Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and his apprentice Grogu are now bounty hunters searching for the last of the Imperial warlords on behalf of the New Republic.  Commander Ward (Sigourney Weaver) asks them to visit the Hut Twins to get information needed to capture the mysterious warlord Janu Coin (Jonny Coyne).  However, the Twins will only disclose this information if they find their kidnapped nephew Rotta (Jeremy Allen White), the son and heir of Jabba.  Djarin and Grogu travel to the planet Shakari to rescue him from the crime syndicate holding him captive but he doesn't want to go back to Nal Hutta (for reasons).  Djarin ultimately finds Coin himself to avoid having to return Rotta to the Twins but complications ensue when they seek retribution for breaking their agreement.  This does have a very episodic feel to it with lots of side quests (I even noticed when each episode could possibly begin and end) and the action sequences become a bit monotonous as Djarin fights one CGI creature after another (my favorite action set pieces are those that reference other films and shows in the Star Wars franchise, such as when Djarin and Grogu take down several AT-AT walkers, when Grogu and the Anzellans attempt to rescue Djarin, and when Ward attacks a droid army with a fleet of X-wing fighters).  I really liked Rotta's character arc as a son trying to move out of his notorious father's shadow (although I thought it was weird that Jeremy Allen White's voice is almost unrecognizable) and I absolutely loved Grogu's development as an apprentice proving himself to his master (I think the scenes in which he cares for Djarin are absolutely magical).  Another highlight is Ludwig Goransson's score, particularly during the scenes on Shakari and the scenes with Grogu on Nal Hutta (the music here is incredible because it evokes such a sense of wonder).  This is a lot of inconsequential fun and, if you are a fan of the series, you will probably enjoy it.

Note:  All I wanted from this movie was to learn how Djarin got the Razor Crest back and the explanation worked for me.

The Wizard of the Kremlin

The second movie in my double feature at the Broadway yesterday was The Wizard of the Kremlin.  I found it very intriguing because I love Russian history but also a bit of a slog to get through (can both things be true?).  An American academic named Lawrence Rowland (Jeffrey Wright) arrives in Moscow to research a Russian author when he is contacted by Vadim Baranov (Paul Dano) and invited to his isolated dacha to interview him about his former role as advisor to Vladimir Putin (Jude Law).  Barasov chronicles his rise from an avant-garde theatre director after the fall of communism to become the producer of trashy reality television during the surge in organized crime and then a media mogul as the new class of oligarchs manipulate the rule of Boris Yeltsin (George Sogis).  When the oligarchs realize that Yeltsin's health is declining, they handpick Putin, the balding and nondescript leader of the FSB, to be his successor because they think he will be easy to manage only to have him take control of the media away from them.  Baranov quickly makes himself indispensable to Putin and helps him manipulate public opinion about the Second Chechen War, the sinking of the Kursk submarine, and the invasion of the Crimea (the start of the war in Ukraine).  He also uses internet trolls to destabilize events in the West and propaganda during the Sochi Winter Olympics to change the world's perception of Russia.  However, it is his love for a woman named Ksenia (Alicia Vikander) that ultimately leads to his downfall.  Baranov is a fictionalized character (loosely based on Vladislav Surkov) who is at the fulcrum of Russian history from the dissolution of the Soviet Union to the formation of the current authoritarian regime but the narrative is simultaneously bloated with too much information and superficial without providing any insight.  My mind wandered multiple times during the endless exposition dumps.  Even though Dano, Law, and Vikander give fascinating performances (their inconsistent accents notwithstanding), their characters are very thinly drawn and I didn't really learn anything new about Putin.  I recommend giving this a miss.

Note:  I think this might have worked better as a limited series.

Omaha

Yesterday I had a double feature at the Broadway in the middle of the day (with a large group of other retired people who are now my new best friends) and I started with Omaha.  When this movie premiered at the Sundance Film Festival two years ago, the filmmakers (who are from Utah) invited so many friends and family members that even pass holders were not able to get into the screening. A lot of people were really upset but I knew that it would eventually come to the Broadway so I just got in line for something else.  Needless to say, after all of that drama I was really excited to finally be able to see it but it left me feeling very bleak.  An unnamed father (John Magaro) suddenly wakes his two children, nine-year-old Ella (Molly Belle Wright) and six-year-old Charlie (Wyatt Solis), early in the morning in order to go on a cross-country road trip along with their golden retriever Rex.  Ella is immediately suspicious because he won't tell them where they are going and she starts noticing other clues that lead her to believe that something about this trip is very wrong.  It is implied that their mother is dead and that the bank is foreclosing on their house but it is obvious that their father is on edge and that he is rapidly running out of money.  They have a series of adventures, including flying a kite on the Bonneville Salt Flats, swimming in a motel pool, and visiting a zoo together, but the real reason for their trip is finally revealed when they arrive in Nebraska.  I thought that I knew where the narrative was going because, like Ella, I also noticed the clues but the resolution is somehow even worse than I was expecting and I'm not sure how I am supposed to feel about the father's actions because there is almost no context provided.  The action is very episodic and impressionistic with no exposition and very little dialogue so I was left with many questions, chief among them being why they had to go to Nebraska (this is answered in a closing title card that left me gutted as well as frustrated).  Magaro gives an incredible performance because he becomes more and more agitated as the trip goes on while trying to create happy memories with his children (it is a tightrope of emotion and he balances it well).  I was also very impressed with Wright because you can see the worry on her face even as she tries to give her father the benefit of the doubt and shield her brother from her growing suspicions (it is one of the best performances by a child that I have seen).  This is absolutely devastating but I don't think it goes far enough in its indictment of the father's circumstances.

Obsession

Last night my nephew and I went to a Thursday preview of Obsession and we both had so much fun watching it with a big crowd.  Baron "Bear" Bailey (Michael Johnston) wants to tell his childhood friend Nikki Freeman (Inde Navarrette) that he has feelings for her but his co-workers Ian (Cooper Tomlinson) and Sarah (Megan Lawless) try to talk him out of it (for reasons).  When he misses a perfect opportunity to tell her in a moment of vulnerability, Bear uses a novelty item to wish for Nikki to love him more than anything in the world.  His wish immediately comes true although both he and Nikki recognize that something is amiss when she makes advances towards him.  He eventually comes to enjoy her attentions and they become a couple much to the chagrin of Ian and Sarah.  However, Nikki is increasingly needy, then possessive, and then absolutely terrifying.  Even though he fears for his life, Bear ultimately realizes that Nikki is the real victim and takes drastic steps to cancel his wish.  The scenes in which Nikki shows her *ahem* devotion are so much fun to watch, especially in a packed theater, because they are uncomfortably disturbing (the people in our audience were either laughing out loud or jumping out of their seats and, at one point, I wanted to throw up).  I loved the way these scenes are lit and framed because Nikki is often obscured and that adds to the unbearable tension.  Johnston is perfect as a character so passive that he doesn't even recognize that the girl he has a crush on might reciprocate his feelings without having to go to such extraordinary lengths and watching his downward spiral is oddly compelling (I loved his mannerisms and facial expressions) but Navarrette is brilliant because she is absolutely unhinged (in the best possible way) and yet she is also sympathetic as a woman who has lost her agency.  This is much more thought-provoking that it might seem on the surface but it is so wildly entertaining that my nephew and I had a blast with it.  I highly recommend it to fans of the genre.

Hokum

The second movie in my double feature at the Broadway last night was Hokum.  The story is a bit messy but there were moments when I was genuinely scared.  Ohm Bauman (Adam Scott) is a popular horror author suffering from writer's block (and his own personal demons) so he decides to travel to the remote and atmospheric hotel in Ireland where his parents spent their honeymoon so he can scatter their ashes there.  He is incredibly rude and antagonistic to the staff, including the owner Cob (Brendan Conroy), the front desk clerk Mal (Peter Coonan), the groundskeeper Fergal (Michael Patric), the bartender Fiona (Florence Ordesh), and the bellhop Alby (Will O'Connell), and dismisses their claims that the honeymoon suite is haunted by a witch from Irish folklore.  He also encounters an eccentric local named Jerry (David Wilmot) who lives in the woods and frequently ingests hallucinogenic mushrooms.  He eventually bonds with Fiona (for reasons) and, when she mysteriously goes missing after a Halloween party, he suspects that she might be trapped in the locked honeymoon suite.  He sneaks inside to look for her and becomes trapped and increasingly tormented by a supernatural figure that may or may not be the witch.  This sometimes doesn't know what kind of movie it wants to be (is it an exploration of grief and trauma, a mystery involving a missing person and a possible murder, or a supernatural ghost story?) but there is no doubt that it is incredibly unnerving.  Most of the action takes place in one darkly-lit and claustrophobic location that is only accessible by a creepy elevator and an even creepier dumbwaiter.  The tension builds and builds, more from what you don't see than from what you do, and Scott does a great job communicating his escalating terror (his performance is outstanding because he excels at making unsympathetic characters compelling).  There are some really effective jump scares (someone in my audience screamed) and I loved the use of folklore because I think that always makes the threat more plausible and, therefore, more frightening.  I had a lot of fun watching this with a large crowd late at night and I recommend it to fans of the genre.

Blue Heron

Last night I had a double feature at the Broadway starting with Blue Heron.  This is an incredibly moving look at the fallibility of memory and I absolutely loved it.  The narrative begins with flashbacks to when an eight-year-old girl named Sasha (Eylul Guven) moves to Vancouver Island in the 1990s with her mother (Iringo Reti), father (Adam Tompa), and older brothers Jeremy (Edik Beddoes), Henry (Liam Serg), and Felix (Preston Drabble) and her parents become worried about her brother Jeremy's increasingly erratic behavior.  Events are shown from Sasha's eight year old perspective with images that are hazy and fragmentary as the family settles into their new surroundings (the cinematography is beautiful).  Jeremy's actions are largely on the periphery with little explanation for what is motivating his behavior and dialogue is often muted, particularly when Sasha overhears tense phone calls to family members and conversations with psychologists and social workers.  The narrative then shifts to Sasha (Amy Zimmer) as an adult twenty years later.  She is working on a documentary about the events depicted and, as she views the photographs and videos taken during this period and listens to the interviews with psychologists and social workers with a different perspective, her memories are recontextualized.  She is finally able to reconcile her lack of understanding about her brother and his mental health issues and to absolve her parents for his fate (in an incredibly poignant twist that I will not spoil here).  I really love the theme of art as a way to heal and not only is this theme beautifully and hauntingly portrayed in this film but, because it is semi-autobiographical, the film itself is director Sophy Romvari's attempt to process her own childhood memories.  The structure is very impressionistic but every seemingly random vignette is imbued with meaning that is eventually revealed and I found it spellbinding.  I cannot recommend this enough but be prepared for an emotional response.

The Sheep Detectives

Last night I went to see The Sheep Detectives and I absolutely loved it!  I may or may not have had a tear in my eye on more that one occasion!  George Hardy (Hugh Jackman) is a shepherd content to live on his own with his flock of sheep just outside the village of Denbrook.  He interacts more with the sheep (he reads to them from detective novels every night) than the villagers because he has a contentious relationship with most of them.  When George is found murdered, Tim Derry (Nicholas Braun), a dim-witted policeman, and Elliot Matthews (Nicholas Galitzine), a reporter desperate for a big break, begin investigating but the sheep soon realize that the two of them are in over their heads and begin their own investigation.  They eavesdrop on the reading of the will by George's lawyer Lydia Harbottle (Emma Thompson) and determine that the main suspects include Rebecca Hampstead (Molly Gordon), George's estranged daughter, Caleb Merrow (Tosin Cole), a rival shepherd, Ham Gilyard (Conleth Hill), the local butcher, Beth Pennock (Hong Chau), a woman scorned by George, and Reverend Hillcoate (Kobna Holdbrook-Smith), a priest with whom George has had mysterious dealings.  The sheep, led by Lily (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), Mopple (Chris O'Dowd), Cloud (Regina Hall), Sir Richfield (Patrick Stewart), Zora (Bella Ramsey), Wool-Eyes (Rhys Darby), and twins Reggie and Ronnie (Brett Goldstein), discover multiple clues (and find highly amusing ways to inform Derry of their findings) but they must ultimately accept help from Sebastian (Bryan Cranston) and Winter Lamb (Tommy Birchall), two sheep who have been ostracized from the flock, to solve George's murder.  This is a clever murder mystery (I did not guess the identity of the murderer) that plays with the genre's tropes as the sheep try to figure out what to do but it is also surprisingly poignant with some powerful messages about grief and belonging.  I really loved the cast, especially the voice cast, and all of the performances are incredibly charming (but some of the actors, particularly Chau and Thompson, do not have a lot to do).  I also enjoyed the pacing, the action set pieces, the visual effects (I only noticed the CGI in one scene), and the bucolic setting (I really want to live in an English village).  This is an unexpected delight (it is so much better than I was expecting) and it is now one of my favorites this year.  I highly recommend it for everyone!

The Devil Wears Prada 2

Last night my sister and I went to see a Thursday preview of The Devil Wears Prada 2 and, as big fans of the original, we liked it but didn't love it.  Since leaving Runway magazine, Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) has become a respected and award-winning journalist but she is unceremoniously fired by text from the newspaper she works for when it folds.  Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) is having her own problems at Runway because she allowed an article praising a brand that uses sweatshop labor to be published.  The chairman, Irv Ravitz (Tibor Feldman), thinks that Andy will bring respectability back to the magazine and offers her the position of features editor.  She accepts because she now needs a job, much to Miranda's chagrin, but she finds things very different at Runway.  Nigel Kipling (Stanley Tucci) explains that Miranda has had to tone down her imperiousness to appease HR (in some hilarious scenes involving her new assistant played by Simone Ashley) as well as advertisers, including Emily Charlton (Emily Blunt) who now works at Dior, but she is surprised at Miranda's passive acceptance when Irv's son Jay (B.J. Novak) succeeds him as chairman and proposes new draconian cutbacks (including flying economy class to Italy).  However, Andy eventually inspires her to fight back when a tech billionaire (Justin Theroux) attempts to buy the magazine from Jay for nefarious reasons during Milan Fashion Week.  I really liked the commentary on the current state of journalism and the importance of keeping it alive because it makes the sequel relevant rather than mere fan service but, having said that, a Miranda resigned to the ever-changing media landscape for most of the runtime is not as much fun (I prefer the imperious Miranda).  That is not to say that there isn't a lot of fun to be had because it includes lots of buzzy cameos from fashion designers, models, and celebrities (my favorite was Lady Gaga), fabulous clothes, luxurious locations, and amusing call-backs to the original (a reference to using florals for spring made me laugh out loud).  While I do think that there are a lot of extraneous characters and subplots, I have to admit that I enjoyed seeing Streep, Hathaway, Blunt, and Tucci do what they do best and I liked their character development, especially the relationship between Miranda and Nigel.  This is good but not quite as good as the first movie.

I Swear

After Robert Aramayo won the BAFTA for his performance as a young man with Tourette syndrome in the movie I Swear, I hoped that it would eventually come to the Broadway.  I was able to see it there last night with my nephew and I found it both funny (which I wasn't expecting) and heartwarming.  John Davidson (Scott Ellis Watson) is a young teen living in Scotland when he suddenly develops tics and episodes of uncontrollable swearing just as he begins high school.  This leads to problems at school, for which he is ultimately expelled, and at home, which causes his father David (Steven Cree) to leave.  Everyone around him believes that he is faking his symptoms for attention and he eventually becomes so distraught that he attempts suicide.  Thirteen years later, John (Aramayo) has been diagnosed with Tourette's, is heavily medicated, and is still living with his exasperated mother Heather (Shirley Henderson) who is embarrassed by him.  His former childhood friend Murray Achenbach (Francesco Piacentini-Smith) invites him home for dinner and, when he predictably causes a scene, Murray's mother Dottie (Maxine Peake), a mental health nurse, decides to take him under her wing.  She invites him to live with her family, slowly weans him off his medication, and finds him a job working at a community center with Tommy Trotter (Peter Mullan).  When an episode at a nightclub leads to a fight for which he is arrested, Tommy speaks passionately on his behalf in court and blames John's problems on a lack of awareness about Tourette's rather than the condition itself.  This inspires John to work to inform schools, hospitals, police departments, and other organizations about how to support individuals with Tourette's which eventually leads to an MBE (in a hilarious scene with the Queen).  This is based on a true story and it features all of the usual biopic tropes but it is elevated by an absolutely brilliant performance from Aramayo that kept me riveted.  I was also very impressed by Watson's affecting performance, especially when he is forced to eat dinner away from the family.  I really loved that Davidson's story is told with humor and an emphasis on the need for understanding.  This is epitomized by my favorite scene in which John meets with a young girl who has Tourette's and they both engage in escalating tics and outbursts (which made me laugh out loud) until they both realize how powerful it is to interact with someone else who has the same condition (which brought tears to my eyes).  The best thing I can say about this movie is that it gave me a lot more empathy for people with this condition (especially in light of what happened with Davidson at the BAFTA awards ceremony) and I highly encourage everyone to see it.

Fuze

The second movie in the double feature with my nephew last night was Fuze (my nephew likes heist movies and I like Aaron Taylor-Johnson).  It is thoroughly entertaining even if the ending is a bit anticlimactic.  An unexploded World War II-era bomb is discovered on a construction site in the middle of London which necessitates the evacuation of the entire area, including an Afghani refugee named Rahim (Elham Ehsas) and his family.  The police, under the command of Chief Superintendent Zuzana Greenfield (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), monitor the area while the military, under the command of Major Will Tranter (Taylor-Johnson), attempt to diffuse the bomb.  The tense situation is further complicated when the police discover the heat signature of a group, led by Karalis (Theo James) and X (Sam Worthington), attempting to rob a bank inside the evacuated area.  The police initially suspect that Rahim is involved but, when they witness the group leaving the bank,  they give chase.  The sudden explosion of the bomb allows the robbers to get away but that is just the beginning as crosses, double-crosses, and triple-crosses ensue.  This is an economical and tightly-plotted thriller with lots of action and suspense.  The hand-held camera work is kinetic with quick cuts that emphasize the chaos and keep the audience feeling disoriented.  All of the twists and turns kept me riveted but the third act loses momentum and the abrupt ending is disappointing after all of the build-up.  James and Taylor-Johnson are fun to watch, for reasons, but Worthington barely makes an impression.  I ultimately enjoyed this and recommend it for a fun night out.

Mother Mary

I am a big fan of David Lowery (A Ghost Story and The Green Knight are two of my favorites) so I was really excited to see his latest, Mother Mary, as part of a double feature with my nephew last night.  It is a surrealistic psychological drama very much in the vein of Lowery's other films and I loved it.  An iconic pop star who uses the stage name Mother Mary (Anne Hathaway) is attempting a comeback after a traumatic injury.  She is nervous about her return to the stage and is unhappy with the costumes because she thinks they represent her stage persona rather than the real her so she travels to see Sam Anselm (Michaela Coel), her former stylist from whom she has been estranged for many years, hoping that she can help her rediscover her identity.  The two of them have a complicated relationship and their initial interactions are fraught with tension. Sam was incapacitated when Mother Mary abandoned her after achieving success and was only able to let go of the trauma, represented by a red ghost, by removing her from her life.  Now Mother Mary is debilitated by that same trauma, portrayed once again by a red ghost, and they both eventually realize that Sam must (literally) exorcise it for them to find success again.  Their reconciliation allows Sam to find the inspiration to create an iconic dress and allows Mother Mary to give an authentic performance that reignites her career.  I loved how the narrative uses the collaborative nature of the creative process to explore the need for resolution in broken relationships.  I also loved how Mother Mary's performances (which are incredibly theatrical and feature original songs by Charli XCX, Jack Antonoff, and FKA Twigs) are interspersed within the narrative to show the backstory of their rift and its effect on each of them.  The way that Sam's barn opens up to become Mother Mary's stage creates a very dream-like atmosphere and the visuals are incredible.  Watching the characters spar back and forth is very compelling and, even though many of the supernatural scenes involving the red ghost are a bit inscrutable (particularly a scene involving a seance), they are definitely intriguing.  Coel gives a powerful performance as an artist who has lost her muse and Hathaway is riveting as an a performer who needs help to shed a persona that no longer serves her (she is also fantastic in the concert sequences).  As with most of Lowery's films, I had to think about this for quite a while before I made sense of it so I would only recommend it to fans of the director (my nephew didn't enjoy it as much as I did).

Michael

Last night I went with my sister and nephew to an early access screening of Michael and I loved it so much!  Although, before you give credence to anything I say, you need to know that I was a huge fan of Michael Jackson during the time period depicted and his music and performances are an indelible part of my teenage years so my opinion is completely biased (see also: Bohemian Rhapsody).  It follows Michael Jackson (played as a child by Juliano Krue Valdi and as an adult by Jaafar Jackson) from 1966 to 1988 including when the Jackson 5 is discovered by Suzanne de Passe (Laura Harrier) and signed to Motown Records by Berry Gordy (Larenz Tate), when he records his solo album Off the Wall with Quincy Jones (Kendrick Sampson), when he hires entertainment lawyer John Branca (Miles Teller) as his manager and records Thriller, when he is coerced into reuniting with his brothers for the Victory Tour, and when he embarks on his first solo tour for the album Bad.  His story is told through the lens of how he finds the courage to break free from his controlling and abusive father Joseph (Colman Domingo) and I found it very moving.  I especially loved the scene in which he announces the final Jackson 5 performance to a stadium of fans for an audience of one after having others speak for him for so long.  I also loved the emotional interactions between Michael and his mother Katherine (Nia Long), who tries to protect him from his father's abuse, and his bodyguard Bill Bray (KeiLyn Durrel Jones), who is his only real friend.  However, my favorite scenes were the incredible recreations of some of Jackson's most iconic performances, particularly the live performance of "Billie Jean" for the Motown 25 Special and the making of the video for "Thriller" because they were incredibly nostalgic for me.  I don't think I will ever forget watching the premiere of "Thriller" on MTV (I was a sophomore in high school) because it absolutely blew me away!  It was the only topic of conversation at school the next day because we had never seen anything like it before (kids today will never know how groundbreaking it was).  Jaafar Jackson is brilliant in his portrayal of his uncle and he absolutely nails Michael's look, voice, and signature dance moves as well as his vulnerability.  There were many times when I thought that I was actually watching Michael perform and it gave me goosebumps.  I was also really impressed by Valdi because his singing and dancing are equally amazing (my favorite scenes were the recording of "Who's Loving You" and the live performance of "I'll Be There") and one scene in particular with Domingo brought tears to my eyes.  The critics have been brutal but the large crowd last night applauded enthusiastically at the end.  If you are a fan of Michael Jackson, you will definitely enjoy it and, if you are not, you probably won't.

Note:  I laughed out loud at a cameo by Mike Myers as a record executive (see also: Bohemian Rhapsody).

The Christophers

Last night my nephew and I saw The Christophers at the Broadway and I was pleasantly surprised by its moving portrayal of an unlikely friendship.  Lori Butler (Michaela Coel), a struggling artist known more for her work in art restoration than for her own paintings, is approached by Sallie Sklar (Jessica Gunning), a former classmate from art college, and her brother Barnaby (James Corden) about completing a series of unfinished paintings locked away by their estranged father Julian Sklar (Ian McKellen) so that they can be "discovered" after his imminent death and then sold for a fortune.  They contrive to have her hired as their father's personal assistant, ostensibly for the purpose of cataloging his work, but with the real intention of accessing the paintings as well as his paints and supplies to aid in the eventual authentication process.  Sklar is initially reluctant to even speak about the paintings because the subject of the series is his former lover (the titular Christopher) and the memories they evoke are painful to him.  He even suggests that they be destroyed but, when Lori eventually reveals the truth, the two of them plot to sabotage their plan (it involves the use of glitter).  This is a very dialogue-heavy movie that emphasizes character development over action but every conversation between Lori and Julian slowly reveals information that recontextualizes their relationship and it is very compelling.  I especially enjoyed their philosophical discussions about art and perception and the notion that a painting's worth is not necessarily determined by its value.  McKellen gives a brilliant performance as the curmudgeonly painter because you can actually see the mischief in his eyes as Julian and Lori spar with each other and Coel more than holds her own with the veteran actor (the chemistry between them is electric).  Finally, this is often quite funny, more so than I was expecting, and I laughed out loud when Sallie's attempt to copy one of the paintings is revealed (it is obvious that she was admitted to art school because of nepotism).  This is one of the most delightful movies I have seen in recent memory and I higly recommend it.

Exit 8

Next up in my double feature last night was Exit 8, a Japanese psychological horror film based on the video game of the same name.  The central conceit becomes a bit tedious as it goes on but I found it very thought-provoking.  The Lost Man (Kazunari Ninomiya) is riding the subway on his way to work when his ex-girlfriend (Nana Komatsu) calls him to tell him that she is pregnant with his child and to ask him what she should do.  This news is very overwhelming to him and, as he tries to exit the subway station, he soon finds himself in an endlessly looping corridor underground.  He eventually learns that the way to reach Exit 8 is to turn back whenever he sees an anomaly in the corridor.  If he doesn't turn back when an anomaly appears, he returns to Exit 0 which resets his progress.  While on his seemingly interminable journey, he encounters The Walking Man (Yamato Kochi) and The Boy (Naru Asanuma), who are also trapped in the corridor for various reasons, but only one of them can help him reach Exit 8.  I found the allegory about what you should prioritize in life to be very powerful, if a bit on the nose, and I loved the juxtaposition between the life represented by The Walking Man versus the one represented by The Boy.  I also liked the exploration of how important it is to be present in the moment (symbolized by the anomalies).  As I previously mentioned, seeing the exact same location, a sterile white tiled hallway, for most of the runtime is sometimes mind-numbing (which is the point) but the unsettling sound design and some of the more elaborate anomalies (especially an homage to The Shining) definitely kept my attention.  Finally, the use of Maurice Ravel's Bolero during both the opening and end credits is absolutely brilliant because it features a single repeating melody that builds in intensity.  I liked this (it was fun to see it with a big crowd late at night) and would recommend it.