Tag Archives: Drama

2024 Films, Adrien Brody, Alessandro Nivola, Brady Corbet, Drama, Emma Laird, Epic, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Independent, Independent Drama, Isaach de Bankolé, Joe Alwyn, Raffey Cassidy, Stacy Martin

The Brutalist-2024

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The Brutalist-2024

Director Brady Corbet

Starring Adrien Brody, Guy Pearce, Felicity Jones

Scott’s Review #1,468

Reviewed March 1, 2025

Grade: A

The three-hour and thirty-five-minute film The Brutalist (2024) captivated me from the first sequence.

Adrien Brody’s character László Tóth, emerges from what is revealed as a ship. He emigrated to the United States after being sent to the Buchenwald concentration camp and forcibly separated from his wife, Erzsébet, and orphaned niece, Zsófia.

As his ship enters New York Harbor, he sees the Statue of Liberty.

The sequence follows László in the dark, and the audience is confused and unaware of what’s happening. His wife reads a Hungarian letter amid the scene explaining the events.

This is a top notch first scene.

The film is very long, so if you can’t watch it in a movie theater, we recommend watching it in miniseries style and digesting the segments slowly.

While The Brutalist initially feels like a studio blockbuster extravaganza, it’s shockingly an independent film made for relatively little money.

It’s brilliant but slow and methodic with rich moments of raw emotion, and graceful humanity. Parts are edgy and artistically creative with a quiet bombast.

Events occur between 1947 and 1958; the conclusion is set in 1980.

Having escaped post-war Europe, visionary architect László is well-respected and admired in his home country. He finds his way to Pennsylvania, where the wealthy and prominent industrialist Harrison Lee Van Buren (Guy Pearce) recognizes his talent for building.

The central theme of The Brutalist is László’s struggles to achieve the American Dream. While a wealthy client changes his life, it comes at a price. Do we trust Harrison?

An early scene showcases Harrison’s bad temper, and we know this will come into play again, but it does at the expense of László.

There are so many wonderful facets to The Brutalist; some slowly build and reach a dramatic crescendo, and others continue to bubble under the surface, ripe for discussion after the film has ended.

Though sometimes conventional with a heartwarming story of an immigrant’s struggle to succeed in 1950s USA, it is anything but a mainstream film when looked at closely.

Is there an attraction between Harrison and László? Harrison has no wife and seems uninterested in women. László visits a prostitute and cannot perform; he dances with a gorgeous woman and cannot be seduced. He cannot have sex with his wife.

A male/male rape scene is both gorgeously shot and filled with animalistic brutality. It’s the most unconventional rape scene I’ve ever seen in cinema.

László is also addicted to heroin and has bouts of rage. Is his relationship with Erzsébet more a friendship than a romance?

Brady Corbet’s direction is flawless, and it is led by astounding cinematography of rural Pennsylvania. An early shot of a speeding bus with the opening credits shifting sideways brims with fresh style and creativity.

The sophisticated costumes and makeup perfectly fit the era, which is even more reason to give it kudos on such a small budget.

The acting by Brody, Pearce, and Jones is terrific.

We finally meet Erzsébet (Jones) halfway through the film when she makes her way to America. Crippled, due to osteoporosis, she is a brave and confident woman, finding career work as a writer for a newspaper.

Jones enfuses confidence into a role where she could be the victim. In a late scene, she tears down the house in a powerful performance, interrupting a family dinner.

Pearce electrifies in the best role of his career. His sexuality might explain his Jekyll and Hyde personality and bouts of rage. After all, this was the 1940s and 1950s. The actor plays ambiguity so well that knowing what Harrison feels is challenging.

Finally, Brody is brilliant. In a role arguably similar to his character in The Pianist (2002), he is a clever man forced as an immigrant to play the lousy cards he is dealt. With raw emotion, Brody makes every scene real and powerful.

Is he better off in Hungary or Israel?

Corbet, who also co-wrote the screenplay, delves into the experience of an immigrant. He showcases discrimination, preconceived notions, and the hopes and dreams of one man with the cards stacked against him.

The Brutalist (2024) is a beautiful film with much to say. It has soul and grit and perfectly pays tribute to an experience in the 1950s while sadly feeling relevant to the discrimination still facing immigrants in present times.

Oscar Nominations: Best Picture, Best Director-Brady Corbet, Best Actor-Adrien Brody, Best Supporting Actor-Guy Pearce, Best Supporting Actress-Felicity Jones, Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Score, Best Production Design, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing

Independent Spirit Award Nominations: Best Director-Brady Corbet

2024 Films, Danielle Deadwyler, Drama, Emma Stone, Fred Durst, Horror, Independent, Independent Drama, Independent Horror, Jack Haven, Jane Schoenbrun, Justice Smith

I Saw the TV Glow-2024

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I Saw the TV Glow-2024

Director Jane Schoenbrun

Starring Justice Smith, Jack Haven

Scott’s Review #1,467

Reviewed February 17, 2025

Grade: A-

I Saw the TV Glow (2024) is a bizarre independent psychological drama/horror film co-produced by Emma Stone and her husband.

It was produced by their Fruit Tree production company and distributed by A24, a brilliant independent film distributor, immediately giving the film credibility and a broad audience.

Writer/director Jane Schoenbrun perfectly depicts teenage angst via a visually cerebral and creative avenue. They sprinkle pink lettering and a colorful, moody aesthetic that is impressive.

The film is more than mysterious; it is hypnotic, with a dark mood evoking the dark underbelly of life in the suburbs.

Delving deeper after my initial viewing, I realized the film is an allegory for being transgender, which I did not know. Having that knowledge makes perfect sense because the characters feel trapped in their skin and fear being buried alive.

Transgender people often feel like the “egg crack,” a term for the moment in a trans person’s life when they realize their identity does not correspond to their assigned gender.

The film depicts bleak life in the suburbs and transitions between 1996 and 2026 when the main character is a teenager and finally a middle-aged man.

Owen (Justice Smith) is trying to make it through life in the suburbs when his older classmate, Maddy (Jack Haven), introduces him to a mysterious late-night TV show, a vision of a supernatural world beneath their own.

Both are loners and immediately bond over the young adult television show The Pink Opaque, which follows teenagers Isabel and Tara as they use their psychic connection to fight supervillain Mr. Melancholy, who has the power to warp time and reality.

Enthralled, Owen’s view of reality begins to crack.

I Saw the TV Glow is an unusual experience, especially during the 2006 chapter when Maddy returns to town after years away. When she explains that she paid a man to bury her alive, mirroring the finale of The Pink Opaque, the sequence is frightening, macabre, and hard to follow.

I wondered if she was speaking literally or figuratively.

But Maddy is trapped inside her own body, in her case, the wrong gender, and yearns to break out of her coffin. She encourages Owen to do the same, though it’s not clear if he identifies as female, is gay, or is just trapped in suburbia in a dead-end job.

In 2026, we realize that Owen has remained in the small town, mainly at the same job cleaning a movie theater, with his mother and stepfather long dead.

Sadly, he is still trapped inside his own body, aching to come to the surface. He screams out that he is dying and needs help, but nobody ever seems to notice.

He mentions a family, but they are never seen. Are they imagined? Is he living the life of a gay man or a straight man? Owen is mixed race, so what other issues does he face?

I wanted more concrete answers.

Even though the story is focused on a transgender lifestyle, Schoenbrun is never blatant about it.

Growing up in the lonely suburbs, I can relate to the feeling of suffocation at being unable to get out. Many are trapped for decades with the sameness day after day. Young people face this dilemma constantly, so I Saw the TV GLow is an essential film for most.

Debatable is whether I Saw the TV Glow was not overtly marketed as a trans film or even an LGBTQ+ film purposely. At a time in United States history when the trans community is under attack, they need all the support they can get.

The myriad of awards notice and star power (Emma Stone) supporting this film is reaffirming and another reason I love A24 so much.

But I Saw the TV Glow (2024) is a film with many interpretations and meanings.

Independent Spirit Award Nominations: Best Feature, Best Director, Jane Schoenbrun, Best Screenplay, Best Lead Performance-Justice Smith, Best Supporting Performance-Jack Haven

1942 Films, Bette Davis, Claude Rains, Drama, Gladys Cooper, Irving Rapper, Janis Wilson, Paul Henreid

Now, Voyager-1942

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Now, Voyager-1942

Director Irving Rapper

Starring Bette Davis, Paul Henreide, Claude Raines

Scott’s Review #1,466

Reviewed February 16, 2025

Grade: B+

Now, Voyager (1942) showcases Bette Davis’s acting chops in a dramatic film with a feminist stance. It also promotes believing in yourself and developing confidence, which can inspire us all.

Davis, a star, is the star of the film, so all eyes are on her. It’s an early role and one of an ingenue, but she adds a flurry of wit and humor to the role.

As the famous 1981 hit by Kim Carnes says, ‘She’s got Bette Davis Eyes,’ and the star evokes so much emotion with those eyes.

Films of the 1940s are magical and take me away to a time long before I was born. My husband had a fantastic encounter with director Irving Rapper years ago, necessitating our viewing of one of his films.

Boston heiress Charlotte Vale (Bette Davis) is a neurotic mess, primarily because of her domineering mother (Gladys Cooper). Reduced to insecurities and her mother’s glorified servant, Charlotte rarely leaves home.

But after a stint in a sanatorium, where she receives the attention of wise Dr. Jasquith (Claude Rains), Charlotte comes out of her shell and elects to go on a cruise for inspiration. Aboard the ship, she meets Jerry (Paul Henreid) and falls in love despite his being unhappily married.

They enjoy a brief tryst in Rio before returning to the States, where Charlotte struggles to forget him and find happiness in ordinary life.

But will she encounter him once again in an unexpected way? Will the link to his young daughter, Tina (Janis Wilson), who is similar to Charlotte, bring them together or drive them apart?

The pleasure in Now, Voyager is watching Davis play mousy- nervous and clad in an unflattering dress and spectacles. She couldn’t be more different from the regal star that Davis was. She frets with insecurity and a lack of self-confidence.

But it’s equally pleasing to see Davis as a blooming Charlotte. Dressed in a ravishing dress with a stylish hat and jewelry, she exudes confidence when she returns home to gaping mouths.

Is this the same Charlotte, they wonder?

I yearned for one big blowup scene where Charlotte puts her mother in her place, but she treads lightly. After all, Charlotte will inherit everything if she is just patient.

Still, it would have been satisfying to see Charlotte insult the shit out of Mommie dearest.

Cooper is divine in a one-note role as the callous and cold mother. Unhappy to have had Charlotte at all after birthing three sons, she mistreats her daughter and revels in her repression.

She’s a fantastic bitch to be remembered in cinema history.

While Charlotte’s relationship with Tina is delightful, and the pair helps each other heal, the film’s ending is unsatisfying.

Tina and Charlotte live happily ever after when Jerry agrees to let Tina reside in the Vale household, but Charlotte and Jerry don’t get the Cinderella story I had hoped.

Will Charlotte end up a spinster after all?

For 1942, Now Voyager was way ahead of its time in terms of mental illness, not given much credence until the 1960s or beyond. Charlotte’s time in a sanitarium is celebrated and healing for her, and stereotypes of ‘crazy people’ are not showcased.

Her doctor is a lifesaver for her, proving that mental health treatment can be successful. It was important to delve into that so early on.

Rapper competently directs the film. My favorite set is the quiet Boston area estate. The grand house is showcased amid pouring rain through the plentiful windows. This exudes coziness and stuffiness. Charlotte is trapped inside the walls.

Later, the Rio de Janeiro sequences are grand. An exciting trip to the top of Sugarloaf Mountain is a sheer delight and the highlight of the Charlotte/Jerry dynamic.

Now, Voyager (1942) is a gift for cinephiles eager for a trip down memory lane to see Bette Davus the star and a celebration of the Golden Age of Hollywood.

Oscar Nominations: Best Actress-Bette Davis, Best Supporting Actress-Gladys Cooper, Best Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture (won)

2024 Films, Biography, Drama, Fernanda Montenegro, Fernanda Torres, International, International Drama, Political Drama, Portuguese, Selton Mello, Walter Salles

I’m Still Here-2024

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I’m Still Here-2024

Director Walter Salles

Starring Fernanda Torres, Selton Mello, Fernanda Montenegro

Scott’s Review #1,464

Reviewed February 9, 2025

Grade: A-

A powerful political drama led by a riveting performance by Fernanda Torres gives a frightening view of government corruption. Her mother, Fernanda Montenegro, also plays a small yet pivotal role in a double dose of brilliant acting.

Ironically, twenty-five years after Montenegro, Torres was nominated for an Oscar for Salles’s film Central Station (1998). What lovely desserts!

Director Walter Salles showcases a loving family at the forefront that provides empathy for the audience. Events slowly build, so time is spent investing in the characters first so that we care about them before becoming immersed in their peril.

Though the setting is early 1970s Brazil, the stark reality is that corruption still exists in many countries, even the United States of America. While Brazil is now a democratic country, the US is teetering towards a villainous dictatorship. Brazil is also still threatened by the villainous right wing.

This adds a layer of fear that something that happened so long ago can quickly occur again.

The story is true.

Eunice Paiva (Torres/Montenegro) investigates her husband Rubens’ (Selton Mello) disappearance while trying to maintain family stability. Rubens is a former Congressman turned civil engineer opposed to military dictatorship. One night, he is taken away for questioning and never returns.

Most of the early events take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Paiva family resides in a beachfront house and regularly celebrates with neighbors and friends. The kids play volleyball and enjoy life. One of the kids traverses to London with family friends, joyfully exploring her obsession with the Beatles.

Salles perfectly exposes this forty-five minutes or so of celebration before turning to the darkness of the rest of the story.

There is a foreboding quality despite the parties, the drinking, the laughs, and many photographs, videos, and quiet moments between family members.

One of the daughters and her friends are stopped by military guards at a checkpoint and harassed. Eunice sees a tank drive by filled with military personnel. Ruben’s best friend needs to flee Brazil before something terrible happens to him.

Even the lighting turns darker once Rubens, Eunice, and her daughter are questioned at a military facility.

Dark sequences feature Eunice being kept in a dimly lit cell for days, dirty and disheveled.

Despite the compelling nature of 1970/1971, I breathed a sigh of relief when events moved to 1996 and, finally, 2014. The lighting became sunnier, the family had moved on, and their lives had a new meaning.

Enough raves cannot be given for Torres’s performance. Instead of giving Eunice a weepy, overly emotional quality, she plays her as strong and confident, always in control. Torres relays the woman’s pain, confusion, and heartbreak through her eyes and facial mannerisms, relaying her agonizing uncertainty.

Montenegro plays Eunice, an elderly older woman with late-stage Alzheimer’s disease, in a short but powerful scene.

Eunice knows her husband is involved in anti-military communications and supports him as a brilliant woman. She is not a simpering weak woman but an empowered, confident one.

Eunice returns to college and graduates law school at forty-eight, becoming an expert on Indigenous Rights.

So, the character and real-life figure inspire women and men to persevere under extreme circumstances. Both Eunice and Rubens are heroic.

As if there was ever doubt, Rubens Paiva’s true fate is revealed during the end credits, amid photographs of the real Paiva family.

Justice was never served.

The film portrays a biography of a man who wants to do the right thing and surrounds himself with allies and intellectuals who share his beliefs.

In the terrible state of United States politics in 2024, I’m Still Here (2024) resonates deeply on many levels. This compelling work teaches me a lesson in standing up for what’s right amid uncertainty and fear and connecting with like-minded people.

I may not need to see the film again, but the message was clear and hit home.

Oscar Nominations: Best Picture, Best Actress-Fernanda Torres, Best International Film

2024 Films, Daniel Craig, Drama, Drew Starkey, Jason Schwartzman, Lesley Manville, LGBTQ+ Drama, LGBTQ+ Films, LGBTQ+ Romance, Luca Guadagnino, Romantic Drama

Queer-2024

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Queer-2024

Director Luca Guadagnino

Starring Daniel Craig, Drew Starkey

Scott’s Review #1,462

Reviewed January 20, 2024

Grade: A

Daniel Craig sheds his James Bond (007) image for a more nuanced and challenging role in Luca Guadagnino’s film, Queer (2024). His layered and complex character must have been a dream role for the actor reportedly frustrated with the one-note Bond character.

Guadagnino, well-known for the similarly LGBTQ+-themed Call Me By Your Name (2017), trades Italy for Mexico and later Ecuador in his latest and darker project.

The film is a winning ticket and on an even keel with Call Me By Your Name, although I prefer the latter by a smidgeon. Queer is an exceptional film given the fabulous combination of elements like muted color tones, unrequited love, and the 1950s time period.

The sex scenes are pretty delicious and leave nothing to the imagination, providing titillation and appetite.

I was impressed by the unique incorporation of 1990s grunge band Nirvana in various sequences, including a beautiful rendition of ‘All Apologies’ by Sinead O’Connor as the film opens.

The funky, crisp blue/purple credits, which appear handwritten, are cool and modern, adding to the visual pleasures to come.

Events begin in 1950 when we meet William Lee (Craig), an American expatriate living in Mexico City, passing time by bar hopping and indulging in sexual activities with younger men.

One evening, he catches sight of Eugene Allerton (Drew Starkey), a young GI who is also an American expatriate. Lee becomes obsessed with Allerton and pursues him across various bars, hoping to gain his affection.

The men develop a relationship, but Eugene maintains an emotional distance from Lee. Despite Lee’s interest in a full-time connection, he is often seen with a mysterious red-haired woman.

As time marches on, Lee’s dependency on drugs and alcohol deepens, and the pair take an exotic and hallucinogenic trip to Ecuador to visit a wacky female doctor (Lesley Manville).

Will Lee and Eugene forge a dangerous same-sex relationship? Or will they go their separate ways as merely two ships passing at night?

The character of Lee is reportedly based on William S. Burroughs, a famous American author during the Beat Generation (a literary subculture of the 1950s).

His 1985 novella, Queer, is adapted.

Craig is dangerously good as Lee, invoking loneliness and hopefulness seemingly interchangeably in a given scene.

He’s relatively out of the closet, miraculous given that the gay rights movement would not happen for almost twenty years, but this begs the question of the progressive culture of Mexico City.

The audience realizes that Lee is yearning for a connection with another man and has repeatedly been unable to find it. Sure, he pays for the services of male prostitutes, but it’s not about the sex for him.

It’s a more profound desire.

As Lee embarrassingly admits his feelings for Eugene in a drunken confessional, Craig flawlessly reveals Lee’s pain. The actor rises way beyond the heights of James Bond in an acting extravaganza.

I adore the texture that Guadagnino films in. The gloomy streets and the fuzzy colors add the proper setting of emptiness and fulfillment.

Lee’s artist apartment is, in one way, calm and, in another way, bleak and shrouded with unhappy experiences. It’s littered with empty bottles and discarded drug paraphernalia.

The moments when Lee and Eugene are together in a movie theater or out to dinner when Lee imagines the pair embracing or stroking the young man’s face, are both tender and sad.

While the film doesn’t end happily, anyone familiar with Call Me By Your Name shouldn’t be surprised. Instead, Guadagnino showcases the reality and desperation of what being gay was like a long time ago.

It will not satisfy everyone, and the story teeters off course toward the end when the men get to South America, but the score and dazzling visuals make up for this.

Thanks to superior direction and a lead performance of excellence, Queer (2024) is a grand achievement in humanity and the complications that emerge when faced with emotions and desires that are not fulfilled.

1975 Films, Burgess Meredith, Donald Sutherland, Drama, Geraldine Page, Gloria LeRoy, Jackie Earle Haley, John Hillerman, John Schlesinger, Karen Black, Natalie Schafer, Richard Dysart, Satire, William Atherton

The Day of the Locust-1975

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The Day of the Locust-1975

Director John Schlesinger

Starring William Atherton, Karen Black, Donald Sutherland

Scott’s Review #1,460

Reviewed January 16, 2025

Grade: A

I love films set in Los Angeles, especially those dealing with Hollywood and/or the dark underbelly of the City of Angels. With its lights and allure, there is a murky side laden with drama, jealousy, and loneliness.

John Schlesinger’s dark period piece The Day of the Locust (1975) examines the bleak lives of several aspiring people in 1930s Hollywood, just before World War II.

The prominent themes are alienation and desperation, whose aspirations of success do not come true, emphasizing the sad saying, ‘The road to Hollywood is paved with broken dreams.’

It’s a brilliant adaptation by screenwriter Waldo Salt, based on Nathanael West’s 1939 novel of the same title. The film horrifically depicts the Hollywood film industry in all its artificial glitz and glamour.

In 1930s Los Angeles, sunny Hollywood shined like a beacon to helpless people across the city who were looking for fame, fortune, or a quick buck.

In one apartment block, blond bombshell Faye Greener (Black) aspires to be an actress, artist Tod Hackett (Atherton) seeks legitimacy, and a frightening child actor named Adore (Jackie Earle Haley) performs a grotesque homage to Mae West.

Introverted accountant Homer Simpson (Donald Sutherland) watches as society collapses under greed and ambition.

From a romantic standpoint, Homer and Tod vie for Faye’s affection in a tragic triangle fraught with jealousy and competition.

Schlesinger knows his way around dark, influential, intelligent films. He created stalwarts such as Midnight Cowboy (1969) and Sunday Bloody Sunday (1975), both unconventional and controversial, the former being the only film ever to win Best Picture and garnering an X rating.

The Day of the Locust is no different.

There is scarcely a likable character in the cast, but I ascertain that Tod is the most stable and trustworthy in the rogues gallery.

He appears grounded and the voice of reason, though he mocks Homer later on at a party, so he’s not exactly Prince Charming. He arrives to work as an art department production illustrator at a major film studio and rents an apartment in the same community as the other characters.

Gently, he places a lovely flower in a crack in the wall.

Tod is smitten with Faye, a callous vixen who beds not one, not two, not three, but four men and makes no bones about it. Not exactly a feminist, she is more concerned with rising to move star status at any cost.

We meet Faye as she works as an extra in a lavish production. She smacks gum and then snaps into character as a royal sophisticate, revealing a tacky and tawdry presence to the audience.

Later, during the grand finale, she tries to glimpse the big stars arriving in limos at a premiere event at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, one in a crowd of thousands.

She’s a lost soul, filled with self-deluded importance, desperately wanting the spotlight in whatever form she can.

Her father is played by Burgess Meredith, who nearly steals the show as an elderly, washed-up ex-vaudevillian.

Despite the outstanding performances, the production design and cinematography are flawless and seamlessly portray what life was like in Hollywood in the early days.

My favorite sequences are in the movie sets filled with pizazz, glamour, and intricacies.

The most significant scene, though, occurs at the star-studded event, a premiere of The Buccaneer, when all hell breaks loose, and a tragic death occurs, leading to subsequent bloodshed and further death and destruction.

It’s a spectacle, supposed to be the movie event of the year, with champagne and the ultimate celebration of film, but the stark nature of one’s rage overtakes the beautiful moment.

During this pivotal scene, we see the darkness of humanity counterbalanced against the glitz and glamour of movie stars.

Schlesinger masterfully takes us through this journey of human depravity with flawless ease.

The Day of the Locust (1975) is a brilliant film.

Oscar Nominations: Best Supporting Actor-Burgess Meredith, Best Cinematography

2024 Films, Billie Lourd, Brenda Song, Dave Bautista, Drama, Gia Coppola, Independent, Independent Drama, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jason Schwartzman, Kiernan Shipka, Pamela Anderson

The Last Showgirl-2024

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The Last Showgirl-2024

Director Gia Coppola

Starring Pamela Anderson, Jamie Lee Curtis, Dave Bautista

Scott’s Review #1,459

Reviewed January 12, 2025

Grade: A

The Last Showgirl (2024) is a powerfully acted and beautifully written story about an aging Las Vegas showgirl who struggles to find relevance and retain her identity after her show closes.

Pamela Anderson’s career-highlighting performance leads the film, featuring stellar acting from Jamie Lee Curtis, Dave Bautista, Billie Lourd, and Kiernan Shipka in supporting roles.

The story showcases a disenfranchised and easily dismissed group of Vegas performers like Boogie Nights (1997) did for the adult film industry and The Wrestler (2008) for the professional wrestling community.

Gia Coppola, granddaughter of legendary director Frances Ford Coppola (The Godfather and The Godfather Part II, 1972-1974), has talent in her blood as she creates the proper mood and the setup to showcase outstanding performances and the underbelly of the Vegas glitz and glamor.

Coppola uses handheld cameras and mostly close-up shots, which could distract some but allow for the rawness and blatancy of seeing Anderson, mainly sans makeup.

The film is a poignant story of resilience that anyone troubled by the aging process regarding their career and livelihood can easily relate to.

Pamela Anderson is a revelation as Shelley, a showgirl who must plan for her future when her show abruptly closes after a thirty-year run. She is proud to be in Le Razzle Dazzle, a classic French-style revue at a casino on the Las Vegas Strip, and views the show as glamorous art rather than a nudie show.

Her co-stars in the show include several younger women, including Mary-Anne (Brenda Song) and Jodie (Kiernan Shipka), who view Shelly as a mother figure.

Shelly’s older best friend, Annette (Jamie Lee Curtis), is boozy and has a gambling addiction, yet maintains a close relationship with Shelly. Years ago, she was ousted from the show and now works as a cocktail waitress.

Anderson, for years known as a sexpot, blonde bombshell femme fatale type who dates rockstars and keeps in the headlines, gives a stunning acting performance.

I was floored.

With her baby voice and kindness, the character of Shelly allows Anderson to give a refreshingly raw and dramatic performance. Usually there for everyone else, she faces an uncertain future, leaving her exposed and vulnerable.

A side story involves Shelly’s estranged daughter, Hannah, played by Billie Lourd. Shelly’s attempt to reconnect with her is interesting but not as effective as the loss of her show and her struggle with identity.

Anderson’s best scene occurs at the beginning and end of the film when she is forced to audition for a modern and sexy stage show. Shelly is confident and insecure as she struts around the stage to a 1980s Pat Benatar song, clumsily revealing her time capsule world with her song choice.

Ridiculed and brutally given honest advice by the director, she nonetheless champions herself, boldly describing herself as ‘fifty-seven years old and beautiful.’

One can’t help but see Anderson stripping off her defenses and applying makeup for herself and her character, Shelly.

Curtis gets better and better with age and now accepts supporting roles with grit and mustard rather than genre roles that define her. Annette wears dated blue makeup and a hairstyle she has undoubtedly had since the 1980s but cannot be held back; she is proud of who she is.

Former professional wrestler Bautista is amazing as Eddie, the revue producer.  Having succeeded at wrestling, he has now brilliantly forged into acting with stellar results. He gives a heartwarming performance.

The Last Showgirl (2024) left me mesmerized, teary, and pondering life and the reality of getting older. It does what great films are supposed to do and left me thinking long after the credits rolled.

Thanks to several awards season nominations for Anderson and Curtis, the small film receives proper exposure and word-of-mouth credibility, encouraging many cinema fans to see it.

2024 Films, Biography, Boyd Holbrook, Drama, Edward Norton, Elle Fanning, James Mangold, Monica Barbaro, Musical, Musical Drama, P. J. Byrne, Scoot McNairy, Timothée Chalamet

A Complete Unknown-2024

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A Complete Unknown-2024

Director James Mangold

Starring Timothée Chalamet, Edward Norton, Elle Fanning

Scott’s Review #1,457

Reviewed December 27, 2024

Grade: A-

James Mangold, who directs the Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown (2024), celebrates the folk singer as a humanitarian and champions Dylan’s dedication and confidence in his art.

Mangold is well known for directing other musical biopics, such as Walk the Line (2005), which focused on the lives and careers of Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash. He even incorporates Johnny as a prominent character in Dylan’s film, so there is a correlation between the two films.

With A Complete Unknown, Mangold focuses only on 1961-1965 rather than a decades-long approach beginning with the events in New York in 1961.

Set against a blossoming and vibrant music scene and a decade of tumultuous cultural upheaval, an enigmatic nineteen-year-old from Minnesota arrives with his guitar and revolutionary talent, destined to change the course of American music.

He crosses paths with folk greats and his idols, Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, and Joan Baez, and finds a niche within their Greenwich Village circle.

Like them, he is sympathetic to humanity and runs in the same circles as the Civil Rights movement and other humanitarian efforts.

Based on Elijah Wald’s 2015 book, Dylan Goes Electric! The film follows Dylan from his earliest folk music success to the momentous controversy over his use of electric instruments at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival.

Timothée Chalamet is exceptionally well cast. The actor, able to play waifish twinks, a fantasy chocolate maker, or a drug addict, is just as believable as Bob Dylan. His speech pattern is adjusted, and his vocals are convincing as he immerses himself in the folk world. 

He also plays guitar and harmonica frequently during the film.

The best scenes are when Chalamet performs in a dingy open mic club or on the festival stage. The actor performed a mind-blowing forty Dylan songs, so the film was showcased on the music.

The art and set design are pretty marvelous. The plumes of smoke in bars and the cloudy, smoky settings feel true to the 1960s when everyone regularly lit a cigarette or two.

A poet, Dylan knows and loves his craft and doesn’t waver in his notion of shaking up the folk world with an electric guitar, and Chalamet successfully replicates this.

Interestingly, Mangold doesn’t explore the singer’s family life or upbringing but instead focuses on the uproarious switch from acoustic to electric guitar and the stir it caused.

While not a womanizer, he does carry on an affair with Baez (Monica Barbaro) and dates Sylvie Russo (Elle Fanning) during this time. Russo (changed from Suze Rotolo at Dylan’s request) is a fascinating character since she reportedly influenced Dylan’s work during that period.

The focus is on creating the singer’s famous music rather than any demons or drama he may have faced.

In retrospect, this is a wise move by Mangold, and while the pacing of the film is relatively slow, the focus is crystal clear, and the 1960s revolution is front and center mixed with Dylan’s art.

The film feels fresh and authentic with the knowledge that Bob Dylan gave his approval stamp and served as an advisor or consultant to the finished piece. Since he had a hand in the overall product, there was a feeling of satisfaction knowing that the singer-songwriter was involved.

There are no blowup fights over jealousy, dramatic pieces about unfair songwriting credits, or other backstabbing trials and tribulations. Instead, the film does a great job of reaffirming that Bob Dylan is one of the greatest songwriters ever.

A Complete Unknown (2024) is a pleasing film, and I happily hummed ‘Like a Rolling Stone’ and ‘Blowin’ in the Wind’ on the way home from the theater.

I still am.

Oscar Nominations: Best Picture, Best Director-James Mangold, Best Actor-Timothée Chalamet, Best Supporting Actor-Ed Norton, Best Supporting Actress-Monica Barbaro, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Costume Design, Best Sound

2024 Films, Connie Nielsen, Denzel Washington, Derek Jacobi, Drama, Epic, Fred Hechinger, Historical Drama, Joseph Quinn, Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Ridley Scott

Gladiator II-2024

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Gladiator II-2024

Director Ridley Scott

Starring Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Denzel Washington

Scott’s Review #1,456

Reviewed December 21, 2024

Grade: B+

Ridley Scott, who directed Gladiator (2000), returns to the fold to direct Gladiator II almost twenty-five years later. Both are epic proportions and center on the barbaric yet luscious Ancient Roman Era.

It’s the type of film best seen in the theater on a large screen with loud surround sound. It’s bloodier than the first Gladiator.

Scott wisely incorporates snippets of the original’s ending to familiarize the audience with the events and ties a significant character to characters from the first film, both dead and alive.

The great thing about Scott directing both films is that despite the long gap between them, they feel very much aligned and have a similar tone.

When the film begins, we are told that Rome is nearly ruinous and led by tyrants. The peacefulness after Maximus’s (Russell Crowe in Gladiator) death is sadly gone.

Rome is now ruled by corrupt twin emperors, Geta (Joseph Quinn) and Caracalla (Fred Hechinger). They are barbaric and evil and use scare tactics to keep the masses in line.

We meet Lucius (Paul Mescal) when the emperors of Rome steal his home and kill his wife. He has unrelenting rage in his heart, and it’s revealed that he is the rightful heir to Rome and witnessed his father’s (Maximus) death at the hands of his uncle as a young boy.

With the empire’s future at stake, he looks to the past to find the strength and honor needed to return the glory of Rome to its people.

The fact that Lucius is the rightful heir and that his mother, Lucilla (Connie Nielsen), is still alive and now remarried to General Acacius (Pedro Pascal) provides immediate rooting value.

Combined with the viciousness of the current regime, we want the good guys to beat the bad guys. The bloody battles and the machismo nature of the story make it a muscular vehicle sure to appeal to a male audience.

It’s that type of film.

However, there is much to see visually to titillate one’s loins. Mescal looks chiseled and cut in his gladiator attire, sweatily and bloodily fighting others to the death. His hunky nature and dreamy blue eyes only make the character a sure crowd-pleaser.

Mescal also looks enough like Crowe to make the heritage believable.

Pascal and Denzel Washington are terrific in supporting roles. Washington, as Macrinus, a motivated leader intent on having the throne for himself, is bisexual, though this is hardly explored other than one line of dialogue.

A rumored kiss between Macrinus and another male character was reportedly scrapped, and shame on the powers that be for that. Too much for mainstream audiences?

The central LGBTQ+ presence is saved for the more unhinged twin ruler in a more stereotypical form.

There is little unpredictability since we know from the start that Lucius will conquer the tyranny and save the Roman people from further chaos.

But, the violent matches between gladiators and vicious beasts and one another are entertaining to watch and enthralling in their violence.

The visuals of a mock Roman Colosseum and palatial dining areas are well constructed and look real enough to transport us to the Roman Era.

Politically, the twins are compared to present-day tyrannical rulers in office and a rogue’s gallery of appointed officials. Although it can be argued that the twins are somewhat played for laughs, the fact that dictators like this rule is scary.

Gladiator (2000) packs more emotional punch than Gladiator II (2024), but watching them in parallel would be fun. From a story perspective, they link well and have the same look and feel.

Oscar Nominations: Best Costume Design

2024 Films, Adriana Paz, Drama, French, International, International Drama, International Musical, Jacques Audiard, Karla Sofía Gascón, LGBTQ+ Drama, LGBTQ+ Films, LGBTQ+ International, Musical, Musical Drama, Selena Gomez, Zoe Saldaña

Emilia Pérez-2024

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Emilia Pérez-2024

Director Jacques Audiard

Starring Karla Sofía Gascón, Zoe Saldaña, Selena Gomez

Scott’s Review #1,455

Reviewed December 15, 2024

Grade: A

Emilia Pérez (2024) is a brilliantly unique film that uses musical numbers to tell the riveting story of a transgender Mexican crime lord, her transition from male to female, and her difficult separation from her family.

Jacques Audiard, most known for A Prophet (2009) and Rust and Bone (2012), directs this unique and brave film.

Boldly featuring transgender actress Karla Sofía Gascón in the title role, the film showcases her talents and a needed burst of transgender representation in cinema.

The film also defies genres and expectations. Is it a crime thriller? A musical? An LGBTQ+ film? It’s a bit of each with an operatic spin.

On paper, it might seem jarring to watch a film about a Mexican drug cartel set against musical numbers, but I was immediately captured.

Emilia’s character is a feared cartel leader who enlists a lawyer, Rita (Zoe Saldañato), to help her disappear and achieve her dream of becoming a woman while whisking her clueless wife Jessi (Selena Gomez) and children off to snowy Switzerland.

While officially French, Emilia Pérez feels Latin since it is set mainly in Mexico, and most of the film is in Spanish.

The film follows several women’s journeys in Mexico through liberating song, dance, and bold visuals, each pursuing their own happiness. Emilia is center stage, and Rita, Jessi, and Emilia’s later love interest, Epifanía (Adriana Paz), also have their own stories, giving it an excellent ensemble feel.

Rita is an unappreciated lawyer stuck in a dead-end job, Jessi wants to move on from her presumed-to-be dead husband, and Epifanía intends to move on from her abusive husband.

Audiard makes it clear that the women cannot escape the drug cartel world even though they’d like to. Emilia even champions a movement to identify the victims of cartel-related deaths, attempting to give back to others with her new life.

Emilia Perez is a significant victory because it’s so different, and that word kept returning to me. Rather than a straightforward transgender story, it mixes many other genres and creative song and dance numbers.

Could Broadway be in its future?

Each musical number is excellent, but two themes resonate most and support the story best.

When Emilia, now pretending to be her children’s long-lost aunt, puts her son to bed, he confesses he still recognizes her scent (“Papá”). She quietly weeps, knowing he will never see the truth.

The other theme is merged into three musical numbers. After meeting with doctors in Bangkok (“La vaginoplasty”) and Tel Aviv (“Lady”), Rita finds a surgeon who agrees to perform the procedure on Emilia after hearing Manitas’ recollections of gender dysphoria during childhood (“Deseo”).

The numbers explain the transition procedure in graphic detail while reminding the audience of the powerful emotional toll the transition takes on a person.

The film’s final chapter is an energetic and classic crime thriller with a major reveal of the truth to a significant character. A deadly car chase scene culminates in a fiery explosion and a reminder that rarely can anyone leave the drug cartel circuit alive.

The release of Emilia Perez in the year 2024, when there is current United States legislation to limit or exterminate transgender rights altogether, is a powerful reminder of why it’s essential to showcase a film like this.

Fortunately, the film’s slew of year-end award nominations has increased viewership and, thus, awareness of this critical topic.

Oscar Nominations: Best Picture, Best Director-Jacques Audiard, Best Actress-Karla Sofía Gascón, Best Supporting Actress-Zoe Saldaña, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Film Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Original Score, Best Original Song-“El Mal,” “Mi Camino,” Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Sound, Best International Film

2024 Films, Comedy, Drama, Emma Stone, Independent, Independent Comedy, Independent Drama, Jennifer Grey, Jesse Eisenberg, Kieran Culkin, Will Sharpe

A Real Pain-2024

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A Real Pain-2024

Director Jesse Eisenberg

Starring Jesse Eisenberg, Kieran Culkin, Jennifer Grey

Scott’s Review #1,452

Reviewed November 25, 2024

Grade: A-

A Real Pain (2024) is a well-written film about life’s emotions, experiences, joys, and pains. It wonderfully mixes comedy with drama, not one genre or the other but a pot of delicious flavors forming a potent concoction.

Jesse Eisenberg produces, writes, directs, and acts in his creation, making it his own. Kieran Culkin is a revelation as a troubled young man plagued by depression and ravaged by passion.

Emma Stone co-produces.

David (Eisenberg) and Benji (Culkin) play New York Jewish cousins with seemingly minor in common who reunite for a tour through Poland to honor their beloved grandmother.

David, a reserved and pragmatic father and husband, contrasts sharply with Benji, a free-spirited and eccentric drifter. Their personalities clash as Benji criticizes David for losing his former passion and spontaneity, while David struggles with Benji’s unfiltered outbursts and lack of direction.

In Poland, the pair meets up with a Holocaust tour group that each shares a link to the Holocaust history.

Emotional honesty among the group members and tour guide occurs during their week-long trip as brutal truths and past tensions surface.

A Real Pain is a character study with flawless writing. Eisenberg delivers an effort reminiscent of a Woody Allen film with punchy moments, neurotic characters, and cheeky humor.

Benji and David, more like brothers than cousins, admire and resent each other. Benji wishes he had what David does- a stable job, a wife and child, and peace of mind. David resents the way Benji lights up a room with his passion, quickly becoming center stage while David is forced to lurk in his shadow.

Together, the film belongs to Eisenberg and Culkin as their dazzling chemistry emulates from the screen.

From the first scene, we sense David’s frustration. He rushes to the chaotic airport, hurriedly leaving voicemails for Benji. But the carefree Benji has been at the airport for hours and dismisses David at every measure.

David is a nice guy who selflessly gives Benji the window seat and first dibs on the shower. But he secretly feels bullied by Benji’s selfishness.

David realizes that people always fall for Benji and give him a pass, which frustrates him. He essentially mocks and calls the tour group assholes but somehow is deemed ‘real’ or ‘honest.’

Benji is tough to like, but Culkin’s wounded blue eyes allow the audience to realize he is hurting and suffering from deep pain.

My only knock is why the tour guide, who is mocked and criticized by Benji, ultimately thanks him for his brutal honesty and more or less snubs David.

Compared to the otherwise honest writing, this scene feels forced and unrealistic.

Eisenberg flawlessly delivers a performance that showcases his range of emotions. Sufferingly patient, he explodes during a dinner scene, letting his emotions spill onto the table.

Eisenberg and Culkin’s great acting is showcased, especially during the scenes where they let their emotions rip. Their best scene together is atop a hotel, where they smoke pot and old wounds furiously come to the surface.

Besides the acting, Eisenberg, the screenwriter, immerses the audience in the importance of Holocaust history.

It’s not for the faint of heart. Powerful scenes of the tour group walking through  Majdanek concentration camp are hard to watch, with the knowledge that thousands were exterminated.

Led by a scene-stealing turn from Culkin and a bevy of creative talents by Eisenberg, A Real Pain (2024) is a powerfully funny, emotionally resonant dramedy that finds him playing to his strengths on either side of the camera.

Oscar Nominations: Best Supporting Actor-Kieran Culkin, Best Original Screenplay

Independent Spirit Award Nominations: 1 win-Best Supporting Performance-Kieran Culkin (won), Best Screenplay (won)

1985 Films, Daniel Day-Lewis, Drama, Gordon Warnecke, LGBTQ+ Drama, LGBTQ+ Films, LGBTQ+ Romance, Romantic Drama, Roshan Seth, Saeed Jaffrey, Shirley Anne Field, Stephen Frears

My Beautiful Laundrette-1985

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My Beautiful Laundrette-1985

Director Stephen Frears

Starring Gordon Warnecke, Daniel Day-Lewis

Scott’s Review #1,451

Reviewed November 10, 2024

Grade: A-

My Beautiful Laundrette (1985) is an early LGBTQ+-themed British film directed by Stephen Frears. He would later become well-known for directing The Queen (2006).

Though the film is choppy and contains several stories, the LGBTQ+ story is one of the few in the genre that represents a satisfying and hopeful ending. Later, and admittedly, more defined films, like Brokeback Mountain (2006) and Boy’s Don’t Cry (1999), were harsher and more realistic.

The British flavor, interracial pairing, and class differences make My Beautiful Laundrette a lovely watch. But, it’s also all over the place.

In a seedy corner of London, a young Pakistani, Omar (Gordon Warnecke), is given a run-down laundromat by his affluent uncle Nasser (Saeed Jaffrey), who hopes to turn it into a successful business.

Soon after, Omar is attacked by a group of racist punks but realizes their leader is his former lover, Johnny (Daniel Day-Lewis). The men resume their relationship and rehabilitate the laundromat together, but various social forces threaten to compromise their success.

Omar’s father is an unhappy former left-wing journalist, who has turned to alcohol. Nasser’s daughter, Tania, is meant to be Omar’s future bride, while Nasser is in love with his mistress, Rachel (Shirley Anne Field).

Besides these storylines, there is a complicated relationship between brothers Nasser and Hussein, and a drug smuggling storyline.

While every story has some intrigue and shapes the structure, the male romance is not front and center enough to be completely developed.

Omar and Johnny hold interest because despite differences they connect and are truly in love. Politically, Omar is left-wing, and Johnny is right. Omar is upper class while Johnny is working class. Omar is Pakistani while Johnny is British.

Being 1985 and early in the LGBTQ+ genre, Frears focuses mostly on their romance and less on their differences. There is a brief sequence where Omar treats Johnny as a lowly employee but for the most part, they are in love.

It takes a long time to showcase Omar and Johnny making My Beautiful Laundrette only marginally an LGBTQ+ effort.

There is no mention of the A.I.D.S. epidemic which would have made it a different kind of film.

The romance between Nasser and Rachel is marvelous. They are a couple the audience shouldn’t root for but do anyway. Rachel is the other woman, merely a mistress, but why is she so appealing? Why do Nasser and Rachel connect so well?

Shirley Anne Field pours kindness and empathy into her character while Saeed Jaffrey relays his love for Rachel to Nasser. Yes, he is married but the marriage is traditional and his wife is Pakistani. We know that at another time Nasser and Rachel would have a chance.

When Tania snaps at Rachel and accuses her of being a woman who so easily lives off a man, Rachel reminds her that she does too. Rachel is from a different generation where opportunities for women are scarce.

Field makes the scene her own and wins over the audience which could have been against her.

The Rachel/Nasser romance parallels the Omar/Johnny love story. Both couples live secret lives, hidden from the world and shrouded in secrecy.

This is evident in a powerful scene when the two couples are simultaneously romantic in the laundrette. Neither sees each other at first but the audience sees both couples. This mirrors their mutual love and it’s a beautiful sequence.

While sometimes there is too much to follow, most of the material is poignant and relevant making My Beautiful Laundrette (1985) a film to recommend.

It has an LGBTQ+ presence but is not restricted to that genre offering other nice stories to the experience.

It also leaves one feeling hopeful which is sometimes needed in cinema.

Oscar Nominations: Best Original Screenplay

2024 Films, Best Feature- Independent Spirit Award Winners, Comedy, Drama, Independent, Independent Comedy, Independent Drama, Karren Karagulian, Mark Eidelstein, Mikey Madison, Romantic Comedy, Romantic Drama, Sean Baker, Yura Borisov

Anora-2024

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Anora-2024

Director Sean Baker

Starring Mikey Madison, Mark Eidelstein, Yura Borisov

Scott’s Review #1,450

Reviewed November 3, 2024

Grade: A

Anora (2024) is one of the boldest films I’ve seen in some time and is my favorite Sean Baker film so far. Tangerine (2015) and The Florida Project (2017) are also great works.

Those planning to see the film should do homework and learn what Baker films are about. He frequently directs independent feature films about the lives of marginalized people, especially immigrants and sex workers.

Baker’s films are dirty, dark, and outrageous.

Because Anora has received awards buzz and is classified as a romantic comedy, the audience at my showing seemed slightly overwhelmed by its raw nature. While there are comedic moments, they are shrouded in darkness, and I don’t think my audience quite knew how to respond.

Some cover art captured the main couple, played by Mickey Madison and Mark Eidelstein, happily dancing and depicted them with the caption ‘a modern day Cinderella story’. This is misleading to the gritty nature of the story.

Madison plays Ani (Anora), an exotic dancer and part-time sex worker at a swanky Manhattan strip club. She lives in a Russian section of Brooklyn. Her life takes an unexpected turn when she meets and impulsively marries Vanya (Mark Eidelstein), the childlike son of a Russian billionaire.

When Vanya’s godfather and parents catch wind of the union, they send their henchmen to annul the marriage, setting off a wild chase through the streets of New York. Vanya flees the scene, and the others must find him.

Madison is brilliant. Known for a small role as Susan Atkins in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019) and a role in one version of Scream (2022), the young actress comes on as gangbusters.

Her character is tricky. We only know she lives with her older sister, and their mother lives in Florida with her boyfriend. Presumably, her father is absent, and she has had to find work to support herself. She is brassy, savvy, and intelligent. Most importantly, the audience roots for her.

Madison has an aura surrounding her, and she believably plays loving and hysterical with ease. Ani wants love but is also intelligent enough to know love doesn’t come easy and has a price. Madison channels each emotion with seeming ease.

Baker has become a favorite director of mine. He also writes, produces, and edits most of his projects. Although his films are not easy to watch, that’s what I like about them.

His films take marginalized or dismissed groups and provide representation.

Another standout is Russian actor Yura Borisov. Since Ani is the only character worth rooting for, Borisov’s character, Igor, slowly becomes a fan favorite. Assumed to be a henchman, he begins to care for Ani and strive to do the right thing amid chaos.

Borisov provides Igor with warmth and kindness in a world of chaos. I yearned to know more about the character. How did he get to be where he is? Did he need to escape Russia any way he could?

It’s hard to like the other characters, and I wouldn’t say I enjoyed quite a few, especially the wealthier ones. I yearned to leap across the aisles and smack Vanya, his mother, and one stripper who is Ani’s rival.

This caused me to react viscerally to the film and think about my emotions after it ended. Anyone who appreciates good cinema knows that the longer you think about it, the better it is.

Towards the end, Baker incorporates satisfying moments of Ani standing up for herself, especially against Vanya and his mother. This only reaffirmed the passion of her character. Even in despair, Ani remains tough and refuses to be mistreated by anyone.

My favorite sequence is at the end, during a January snowstorm in Brooklyn. A tender moment occurs between Ani and Igor where the writing, cinematography, and camera angles are beautiful.

Anora (2024) is recommended for fans of Baker’s work. He successfully and carefully weaves a tale of adventure, romance, desperation, and the haves versus the have-nots that are emotional and raw.

Oscar Nominations: Best Picture, Best Director-Sean Baker, Best Actress-Mikey Madison, Best Supporting Actor-Yura Borisov, Best Original Screenplay, Best Film Editing

Independent Spirit Award Nominations: 3 wins-Best Feature-(won), Best Director-Sean Baker-(won), Best Lead Performance-Mikey Madison-(won), Best Supporting Performance-Yura Borisov, Karren Karagulian

2023 Films, Andrew Haigh, Andrew Scott, British, Claire Foy, Drama, Fantasy, Independent, Independent Drama, Jamie Bell, LGBTQ+ Drama, LGBTQ+ Films, Paul Mescal

All of Us Strangers-2023

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All of Us Strangers-2023

Director Andrew Haigh

Starring Andrew Scott, Paul Mescal, Claire Foy

Scott’s Review #1,439

Reviewed September 22, 2024

Grade: A

A moody, dark-lit experience, All of Us Strangers (2023) is a dreamy affair in all the best ways. It’s a bit of a ghost story combined with a love story and can be challenging to explain. 

Especially noteworthy are some elements like the lighting and mood which serve as enhancers. The lavish setting of London, England, and its surroundings are presented as lonely and depressing.

Loneliness is an encompassing description of the film summing up the character-driven story set mostly in an enormous yet almost vacant luxury high-rise apartment.

The vacant building is an effective backdrop to the main character’s experience.

We get inside his head and travel down a tunnel of self-reflection and acceptance just as he does. It’s unclear what is imagined or real, raising the stakes and catapulting the viewer into a world of questions.

The best pleasure comes after finishing the film and wondering how all the pieces come together or even if they do. I wasn’t sure what happened in the conclusion but the overall experience left me thinking. 

The British film follows a lonely screenwriter named Adam who works as a television writer. He develops an intimate relationship with his mysterious male neighbor while revisiting memories from the past involving his parents.

Andrew Haig directs the film and Andrew Scott plays the screenwriter from which the story is his vehicle. Paul Mescal plays his neighbor and love interest.

Haigh is best known for efforts like 45 Years (2015) and Lean on Pete (2017). Both are quiet films and character-driven. All of us Strangers is the best of the trio, though.

The film also has some teary moments of sweetness mostly shown through an LGBTQ+ lens but the film is not only for members or allies of the community but for anyone with a heart or craving something cerebral.

Viewers who have lost parents far too soon before feelings are expressed and only cherished memories remain will find All of Us Strangers to resonate mightily.

Specific to the LGBTQ+ community, what gay man wouldn’t want to travel thirty years into the future and have deep conversations with his parents about his lifestyle? Having missed those prominent years because of death. 

In the story, Adam’s parents died in a car accident when he was a child. Since he never ‘came out’ to them he travels to their house outside of London and imagines conversations with them separately and together. 

The best scenes are between Andrew Scott and Claire Foy who plays Adam’s mother. They are lengthy and poignant and brilliant acting by both are showcased. 

In an ideal fantasy, his mother would leap into Adam’s arms and champion his lifestyle becoming his most ardent supporter. Haig writes the scenes better than that as real-life situations might play out with conflict and misunderstandings.

The mother wants to understand and support but has hesitancies and ideas about a lifestyle different than Adam’s. The scenes become tense and complex not because of shouting but because of a deep struggle for understanding.

Not to be outdone by Foy’s performance in the unique relationship between father and son deliciously played by Jamie Bell. 

Adam has resented his father’s emotional distance for years never forgetting how he needed his father’s support as a child and never got it.

In a powerful scene, Adam and his father embrace. The embrace is one that Adam needed as a child.

The film is for everyone because why wouldn’t anyone want to visit their dead parents years later? Even if still alive there are things between parent and child never said or expressed. 

So many scenes are emotional, poignant, and meaningful in All of Us Strangers. 

The finale is trippy and made me recall David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive (1992) where what is real may not be and who we think a character’s life is all about may not be so.

Though wrapped in fantasy, All of Us Strangers (2023) is focused on grief through a deep emotional lens and uses superior acting to tell its story.

Independent Spirit Award Nominations: Best Film, Best Director-Andrew Haigh, Best Lead Performance-Andrew Scott

2024 Films, Austin Butler, Boyd Holbrook, Crime Drama, Drama, Emory Cohen, Jeff Nichols, Jodie Comer, Michael Shannon, Norman Reedus, Tom Hardy

The Bikeriders-2024

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The Bikeriders-2024

Director Jeff Nichols

Starring Austin Butler, Jodie Comer, Tom Hardy

Scott’s Review #1,431

Reviewed July 1, 2024

Grade: A-

The Bikeriders (2024) immediately informs the audience of the time and place the film will be told. A dry and dusty midwestern USA between 1965-1973 is the window explored and the defiance of the characters drawn.

This period is the Vietnam War, Civil Rights, assassinations, Woodstock, and many other historical moments. Dangerous, the culture and people were changing and very rebellious.

Director Jeff Nichols, who also wrote the screenplay based on ‘The Bikeriders’ by Danny Lyon, wonderfully presents a time capsule of a group of bikers who forged their subculture away from the uncertainty of the rest of the world.

After a chance encounter at a local biker bar, strong-willed Kathy (Jodie Comer) is drawn to handsome and mysterious Benny (Austin Butler), the newest member of the Midwestern motorcycle club, the Vandals, led by the enigmatic Johnny (Tom Hardy).

Much like the country around it, the club changes with time, transforming from an essential gathering place for local outsiders into an underworld of violence. This forces Benny to choose between Kathy and his loyalty to the club.

The most vital parts of The Bikeriders are the beginning and end, with portions in the middle section, making it drag and lowering a potential ‘A’ rating to an ‘A-.’

But the other sections are so rich with characterization and events that they usurp the dull parts.

Nichols, who has also directed Take Shelter (2011), Mud (2012), and Loving (2016), likes to focus on the decade of the 1960s in America with conflicted characters. He likes to work with Michael Shannon, who has a small yet pivotal role as a man who ponders life.

We meet Benny in a bar, where he sips a drink. Two local thugs hastily tell him to remove his biker jacket. After a bloody fight in the parking lot, we realize how much the biker club means to him and what it symbolizes.

It’s a club where the vermin, weirdos, undesirables, and those cast aside by society find a place and are cared for by one another. That is until the years pass and things change by meaner and less loyal bikers.

The symbolism resonates with all because time never stands still, and good things always come to an end.

The Bikeriders is told from Kathy’s perspective through interviews with her friend Danny (Mike Faist). He is the real-life author of the book on which the film is based.

Comer is outstanding in the lead female role. She is strong and resilient, attracted to the dangerous lifestyle and the bikers, but only has eyes for Benny and will not be taken advantage of.

She chronicles specific events like fights, death, and rape in painful yet thoughtful detail, inviting the audience into her dark world.

Butler and Hardy are also terrific. Arguably co-leads, Butler’s Benny is childless and more accessible than Hardy’s Johnny, a family man. Johnny sees Benny as the next leader of the Vipers, but Benny wants none of that.

Comparisons to the club and life outside the club torture both men. During a long homoerotic scene, Johnny and Benny are dangerously close to kissing as Johnny discloses the reasons why Benny should lead the club.

The scene is smoldering as the unspoken connection can be felt in raw form. Nichols doesn’t dare to make the film into anything LGBTQ+ related, but the nuances and subtleties exist.

Besides the acting, the gritty environment oozes with richness. The soiled biker bars, sticky floors laden with blood, beer, and vomit, emit from the silver screen.

You can almost smell the environment.

The bad teeth, foul language, and tacky Midwestern accents all portray the loneliness of these characters and their clinging to the club for dear life.

Nichols and the author Lyon depict a fresh look into the world of motorcyclists and the culture they lived and died in for a brief time. The Bikeriders (2024) presents violence mixed with brotherhood and loyalty, which is fascinating to watch.

2023 Films, Annette Bening, Biography, Drama, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin, Jodie Foster, Rhys Ifans, Sports

Nyad-2023

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Nyad-2023

Director Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin

Starring Annette Bening, Jodie Foster, Rhys Ifans

Scott’s Review #1,429

Reviewed June 28, 2024

Grade: B+

Nyad (2023) is a perfect example of a film made much better by the performances of its lead actors.

Heavyweights, Annette Bening, and Jodie Foster bring heart to their characters, making the viewer empathize and fall in love with them even when not likable.

Despite receiving Oscar nominations for both actors I semi-resisted watching the film and had it on my list for quite some time before biting the bullet and pressing play.

The previews enshroud the film in safety offering a feel-good, Cinderella-type story, pleasant but perhaps little more. A sports biography at that any nitwit searching Google could tell how the film would go.

The conclusion while inspiring is unsurprising and, spoiler alert, Bening as famous swimmer Diana Nyad, dramatically lumbers onto the sand of the Florida Keys amid cheers and chants of ‘Diana, Diana, Diana!’.

She is breathless and haggard but acknowledges her fans and friends.

Filmmakers, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin only needed to add slow-motion filmmaking to make this thunderous ovation more sappy. 

But they didn’t, and the husband and wife directors do an admiral job of incorporating various colors and cool editing tricks to make Nyad a bit more cutting-edge than it might have been.

The true story of tenacity, courage, friendship, and the human spirit’s triumph, is explored by telling of the life of world-class athlete Diana Nyad.

Three decades after giving up marathon swimming in exchange for a prominent career as a sports journalist, at the age of sixty, Diana has an epiphany.

She completes an epic swim of one hundred-and-ten-mile trek from Cuba to Florida, a feat she failed decades earlier. It takes her four years along with her best friend and coach Bonnie Stoll (Foster) and a dedicated sailing team.

Bening and Foster have tremendous chemistry and every scene together sizzles with authenticity and humanism. Both are gay, it’s assumed they are longtime partners or a married couple. But it’s explained early on that they dated ‘for a minute’ and became best friends.

It turns into a film about female friendship and determination rather than romance. Other than Diana’s one feeble attempt at dating an uptight Los Angeles blonde neither woman date at all.

The flashier role goes to Bening who does not mind looking hideous in her film roles. Determined and aggressive, she slowly transforms into bloated, puffy, and unrecognizable, especially after her long swims.

A wonderful actor, Bening powerfully relays Nyad’s absolute need to attempt this historic feat. She sees her life passing her by and even though she is hardly a failure she doesn’t see herself as anything more.

Foster on the other hand is calm cool and collected, quite familiar with Nyad’s trials and tribulations and bouts of neediness. She’s spent years cow-towing to these needs.

But, Foster’s Bonnie is hardly a patsy or merely a supportive friend. She’s way more. In a brilliant scene, Bonnie confronts Diana and the pair have a blow-up scene. Bonnie needs more from her life and deserves it.

The women grow even closer after this emotional scene.

The film’s mid-section got a bit boring and I found myself tuning out until the big finale I knew was coming.

Since I knew Diana would eventually achieve her goal the three or four attempts feel dull. Bad weather, a jellyfish, fatigue, or other issues force the team to cancel the attempt.

Going in I would have guessed I’d rate Nyad (2023) a ‘B’ but thanks to Bening and Foster a ‘B+’ is a must.

There is so much to be said for brilliant acting and these two ladies know how to deliver the goods.

Oscar Nominations: Best Actress-Annette Bening, Best Supporting Actress-Jodie Foster

2023 Films, Austrian, David Wagner, Drama, Gerhard Liebmann, International, International Drama, International Romance, LGBTQ+ Drama, LGBTQ+ Romance, Luka Dimic, Romantic Drama

Eismayer-2023

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Eismayer-2023

Director David Wagner

Starring Gerhard Liebmann, Luka Dimic

Scott’s Review #1,427

Reviewed May 31, 2024

Grade: A-

Eismayer (2023) may be the first Austrian-language film I’ve ever and is the first Austrian LGBTQ+ film. Similar to German cinema there is a cold and stark naturalistic veneer to the filmmaking making it feel moody and foreboding.

I’ve said this many times before but the statement still has merit. The LGBTQ+ cinema genre has been saturated with offerings since the late 1990s, especially into the 2000s and it can be difficult not to tell the same story continuously.

As proof of the above, our Prime subscription contains numerous LGBTQ+ films to showcase so we decided on Eismayer which sounded interesting.

It focuses on the military, is Austrian, and focuses on a love story between two soldiers. The fact that it is based on a true story held special intrigue.

Sergeant Major Eismayer (Gerhard Liebmann) is known and feared as the toughest training officer in the Austrian Armed Forces. He is ruthless and unfeeling with recruits and a staunch disciplinarian, with order and macho toughness.

Unsurprisingly, the new batch of recruits despises him.

Surprisingly, in his personal life, he is a loving father to his son whom he adores and treats his wife respectfully.

But when he starts to fall in love with Falak (Luka Dimic), a recruit who is unashamedly out and proud as a gay man Eismayer must decide if his closeted existence is worth it.

The director, David Wagner, paints a lovely canvas of the love between two men that slowly takes shape. He wisely makes the running time less than an hour and a half so the film doesn’t drag.

It’s not a shock what develops between Eismayer and Falak because their embrace appears on the cover art but that doesn’t detract from the enjoyment.

I like the direction Wagner takes with this story. Eismayer being the title character the focus is on his character not the couple as a whole. The plot centers on his plight to come to terms with his sexuality and also make it publicly known.

He doesn’t have to come out naturally but if he wants to have an open and honest romance with Falak he must do this genuinely.

It’s unexplained why Eismayer is the way he is but one can easily guess why. His father was probably stoic and military-like he is and the expectation was to be macho and tough at all costs, showing no vulnerability.

To satisfy his urges he is reduced to having hot sex with willing recruits in the back seat of a car but it’s hardly candlelit dinners and romance nor satisfying.

In addition to being in love with Falak, he admires his courage to be out and proud in a traditionally masculine environment.

We know virtually nothing about Falak’s backstory. What made him come out? What was his father like?

While there has been a clear shift in acceptance of gays in the military a story like this hasn’t been told in film to my knowledge.

Gone hopefully are the days when LGBTQ+ filmmakers told stories of mere resistance to a gay character’s happiness as an obstacle to their joy and acceptance.

There is a raised eyebrow or two when Falak makes his homosexuality evident in the shower and one grizzled senior officer complains that ‘fags don’t belong in the military’ but the younger officers have little issue.

They even applaud at the end when Eismayer and Falak kiss and embrace, cementing their open and blossoming romance.

A fantasy? Possibly, but Wagner gives the likely predominately gay male audience something to admire and cheer for.

Understated, but packs an emotional punch and an uplifting and inspiring message, Eismayer (2023) is an Austrian film I hope will inspire more American filmmakers.

2021 Films, Aaron Sorkin, Biography, Drama, J.K. Simmons, Jake Lacy, Javier Bardem, Linda Lavin, Nicole Kidman, Nina Arianda, Tony Hale

Being the Ricardos-2021

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Being the Ricardos-2021

Director Aaron Sorkin

Starring Nicole Kidman, Javier Bardem

Scott’s Review #1,426

Reviewed May 7, 2024

Grade: B+

Aaron Sorkin who has written or directed such efforts as A Few Good Men (1992), Moneyball (2011), and The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020) is typically associated with mainstream films.

While quality projects, he will never be accused of being a dangerous or auteur director. Since he is in the director’s chair for Being the Ricardos (2021) I knew going in that the film would be more or less a safe venture.

Ironically, the film that tells the story of famous comedian Lucille Ball played by Nicole Kidman, and her husband Desi played by Javier Bardem is not a comedy. It’s a drama mixed with a biography for those audiences unfamiliar with the duo explaining who they are.

For those of us at least mildly familiar with the iconic black and white show ‘I Love Lucy’ that pivoted television shows into the spotlight in the 1950s, Being the Ricardos serves as a slice of nostalgia.

The film depicts many aspects of the relationship of the pair and the challenges that went into producing the hit television show every week. But it also delves heavily into their rocky marriage, political smears, and cultural taboos that the show helped break.

Whoever thought that a pregnant character or a Cuban leading man would have stirred so much controversy?

But in the 1950s things were different and anyone even open to the idea of Communism faced career ruination.

Sorkin successfully treats the viewers to lengthy debates in the writers’ room, contentious star feuds, and the creative process in general.

More subtly, we see how a powerful woman in show business was the exception, not the rule, and how norms were very different for women.

The events of the film mostly surround one critical production week of their groundbreaking sitcom “I Love Lucy.”

J.K. Simmons and Nina Arianda play loveable Fred and Ethel, Lucy and Desi’s comical next-door neighbors in the sitcom. In real life, the actors despised each other frequently hurling insults at each other.

Comedy legend Linda Lavin makes a surprising appearance as Madelyn Pugh. The then-older television writer provides interviews along with other writers and producers to explain the earlier events.

Kidman is center stage as the icon. A brilliant actor in any role she is cast she does effectively depict the breathy voice and the mannerisms of Lucille Ball but she doesn’t look like her. Originally, Cate Blanchett was attached to the role and I’m very curious how she would have played her.

The obvious choice might have been television’s Debra Messing, brilliant on Will & Grace even portraying Lucy in one fantasy episode. My hunch is that Messing was too great a risk of lowering the film to sitcom standards and she isn’t a ‘movie star’ either.

And again, Being the Ricardos isn’t a comedy.

So, Kidman delivers the goods with some reservations mostly revealing what a strong woman Ball was and how she created many of the hilarious skits she is known for while not making the character seem like an idiot.

Bardem is also good in the role of Desi. He mixes conservative machismo with a thirst to be daring and challenge the mold. His womanizing would ruin their marriage but he was a savvy businessman and the film shows this.

An entertaining biopic that probably will be forgotten over time Being the Ricardos (2021) nonetheless shines a spotlight on the early days of television as a new medium and the hurdles its stars had to face in the woeful days of early apple pie and white picket fences that defined America.

Oscar Nominations: Best Actor-Javier Bardem, Best Actress-Nicole Kidman, Best Supporting Actor-J.K. Simmons

2023 Films, Drama, Ethan Hawke, International, International Drama, LGBTQ+ Drama, LGBTQ+ Films, Pedro Almodovar, Pedro Pascal, Shorts, Spanish, Western

Strange Way of Life-2023

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Strange Way of Life-2023

Director Pedro Almodóvar

Starring Ethan Hawke, Pedro Pascal

Scott’s Review #1,425

Reviewed April 22, 2024

Grade: A-

Pedro Almodóvar is a unique film director. Spanish, his films are flavorful, saucy, and unpredictable. He tends to mix melodrama, wacky humor, and a colorful landscape frequently sprinkling LGBTQ+ elements even if they are not classified with that specific genre.

I adore his films though they frequently blur together for me.

Though a Spanish film, Strange Way of Life (2023) is only Almodóvar’s second English language film and to my knowledge his first short feature film.

Watching the brief thirty-one-minute offering I fantasized about a full-length feature or even a television series based on the story and characters.

Since it’s short we get right down to business quickly.

One day Silva (Pedro Pascal) rides a horse across the desert to Bitter Creek to visit Sheriff Jake (Ethan Hawke). It is quickly revealed that twenty-five years earlier, the sheriff and Silva, worked together as hired gunmen.

They fell in love during a passionate encounter with three whores and barrels of wine who ditched the men when they realized they were not valued.

Silva provides Jake with the excuse that the reason for his trip is not to go down the memory lane of their old friendship but rather to rescue his son Joe (George Steane) from persecution for being suspected of killing Jake’s late brother’s wife, also a whore.

After Jake and Silva sip wine and enjoy a lovely meal they quickly engage in animalistic sex and reignite their long-dormant passion.

While Silva is gung-ho about reuniting Jake has reservations.

Pascal, who is everywhere due to the success of his television series The Last of Us is fabulous to watch. His sexy machismo pairs well with his passion for his soulmate. Because his character of Silva intends for him and Jake to live out their days running a ranch he is a more inspiring character than Jake.

This point is a nod to the groundbreaking Brokeback Mountain (2006) whose characters also flirted with running a ranch together during a time when any gay relations were forbidden territory.

Hawke is quite good too though I’m partial to Pascal. Buttoned up and law-abiding he rebuffs Silva’s advances, at first.

It’s nice to see Hawke in a gay role. Both characters are masculine thereby dismissing silly LGBTQ+ stereotypes that too often appear in cinema.

It also doesn’t hurt to get a glimpse of Pascal’s bare butt or Hawke’s buff physique as they while away time in the bedroom.

I love the sweaty and muscular Western genre being the backdrop of an LGBTQ+ film and tipped upside down. Not to reduce it to a tepid John Wayne film cliche there exists a gorgeous and melodic fado singer throughout the film.

It is performed by Manu Ríos.

This counterbalances the Quentin Tarantino-ish blood and violence with lovely music.

The film is titled after a 1960s Portuguese fado song by Amália Rodrigues

Since Strange Way of Life is a brief experience many facets could have been explored. Why did Silva leave Jake in the first place? What made him suddenly have a realization after twenty-five years? Were there other men at that time?

Being critical that the film is short and deserves full-length feature status it nonetheless deserves to be towards the top of Almodóvar’s catalog a testament to its power.

Strange Way of Life (2023) successfully takes a macho genre like the Western and lights it on fire proving that two men can be tough and tenderly love each other.

2023 Films, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Blitz Bazawule, Colman Domingo, Corey Hawkins, Danielle Brooks, Drama, Fantasia Barrino, Halle Bailey, Louis Gossett Jr., Musical, Musical Drama, Oprah Winfrey, Quincy Jones, Steven Spielberg, Taraji P. Henson, Whoopi Goldberg

The Color Purple-2023

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The Color Purple-2023

Director Blitz Bazawule

Starring Fantasia Barrino, Danielle Brooks, Taraji P. Henson

Scott’s Review #1,423

Reviewed March 16, 2024

Grade: B+

In 2023, director Blitz Bazawule recreated the famous 1985 cinematic version of The Color Purple by Steven Spielberg with mostly good results though it won’t be remembered like Spielberg’s is.

Bazawule is also a visual artist, rapper, singer-songwriter, and record producer so his version differs greatly from Spielberg’s in style and production design.

The ‘new’ version feels closer to what a feel-good Broadway stage version might feel like with incorporated musical numbers breaking up the drama and sometimes the comedy.

The Color Purple was a stage version and before that a much bleaker novel by Alice Walker so I’m not averse to comparing the 2023 version to all that preceded it.

Since we are talking cinema, although I’m more partial to the 1985 version mostly because that one packed a much greater emotional punch I think the numbers are a wise move and are choreographed well.

My favorite by far is ‘Hell No!’ an aggressive and anthemic stomp performed by a defiant Sofia (Danielle Brooks) and later reprised when mousy Celie (Fantasia Barrino) finds a set of balls.

We all probably know the story but here is a brief synopsis for those unfamiliar with the plot.

Set in the Deep South (Georgia) from the early 1900s until the 1940s, the main story follows the shy and put-upon Celie. She is raped and forced to bear the children of her father who then sells the babies. She is sent to marry and live with ‘Mister’ (Colman Domingo) who beats her and sets his sights on Celie’s sister Nettie (Halle Bailey).

Nettie and Celie are the best of friends but through circumstance lose touch for years.

The decades march on as Celie finds her voice and independence thanks to Sofia, jazz singer Shug Avery (Taraji P. Henson), and other kind folks.

The Color Purple is a lovely look at perseverance, extraordinary strength, and hope in the unbreakable bonds of sisterhood during a difficult time in history.

Black women especially were not always treated well.

The casting is uneven. I wasn’t completely won over by Barrino as Celie. The one-time ‘American Idol winner can sing and was Celie on Broadway in 2007 but I kept musing how exceptional Whoopi Goldberg was in the part in 1985.

Speaking of Goldberg, she appears in a cameo role early on as a midwife.

Henson, as Shug, has a tremendous voice and confidence providing the glamour and outrageousness needed for the role. However, she is supposed to be a drop-dead gorgeous woman who Celie is madly in love with and Henson doesn’t have the looks.

As my apt husband announced, Beyonce Knowles would have been a brilliant casting choice.

The standout is Brooks as Sofia, justifiably receiving the sole Academy Award nomination. The instant she appears on screen bullying her meek husband Harpo she has the audience wrapped around her finger giving as good a performance as Oprah Winfrey did in 1985.

While the musical numbers incorporate more of the Broadway-style they also contain a musical rock video vibe that takes away a bit of the cinematic production.  The dance moves are so perfect that they make the film feel ‘fun’ when it should feel ‘tragic’.

Even though Spielberg’s version was accused of excessive sappiness, it’s downright raw compared to the 2023 version. The finale is overly sentimental and the reunion of Celie and Mister, Mister now suddenly converted to a saint, is unrealistic.

Everything ends up so perfect for Celie and that’s all well and good but the fairy tale ending offsets some of the anguish she goes through early in the film.

Finally, Sofia’s big scene when she punches the mayor and other white townsmen lack the emotional heartbreak that the 1985 version did.

Held on its own merits, the film is a success. The Color Purple (2023) never drags and entertains from the first scene to the last. It’s a crowd-pleaser so those looking for a gooey experience will enjoy this version.

It’s safe waters without languishing towards dull or ineffectual.

Oscar Nominations: Best Supporting Actress-Danielle Brooks

2023 Films, Comedy, Cord Jefferson, Dark Comedy, Drama, Erika Alexander, Independent, Independent Comedy, Independent Drama, Issa Rae, Jeffrey Wright, Leslie Uggams, Satire, Sterling K. Brown, Tracee Ellis Ross

American Fiction-2023

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American Fiction-2023

Director Cord Jefferson

Starring Jeffrey Wright, Issa Rae, Sterling K. Brown

Scott’s Review #1,421

Reviewed February 11, 2024

Grade: A

American Fiction (2023) is an intelligently written expose of black culture and a poignant family drama mixed as one. Cord Jefferson makes his feature directorial debut with the satirical comedy-drama which he also wrote.

The film explores how perceptions of black people, mostly by white people but even amongst themselves, are categorized into neat little boxes.

Usually, the negative stereotypes are assumptions of bad grammar, poverty, and hardships in ghetto situations.

While some may be sympathetic these beliefs are either conscious or subconscious and they are propelled by the media. In the case of the film, through literary works.

Are white people intimidated by intelligent black people, the film questions. How do the intelligent black people feel about themselves?

American Fiction is a witty, smart, funny, and poignant film that will make you laugh as often as it makes you think about the perspectives offered.

Jefferson brilliantly offers up both an education and powerfully drawn black characters. In the middle is a sentimental family storyline that had me enraptured by almost all the characters.

The writer/director bases his film on the 2001 novel Erasure by Percival Everett. Thelonious “Monk” Ellison (Jeffrey Wright) is a highly intelligent African-American upper-class writer and professor living in Los Angeles.

He is a frustrated novelist-professor who doesn’t make much money or sales from his serious works.

Needing money after moving back to Massachusets on a leave of absence, he decides to write an outlandish satire of stereotypical “black” books, only for it to succeed by mistakenly thought of as serious literature and published to both high sales and critical praise.

He struggles with keeping his alter ego a secret while questioning the lack of intelligence with people assumed to be the liberal elite and the general public.

Wright is great and leads the charge of a dynamic cast. He makes his characters believable and their motivations clear while still showing Monk’s conflict. Monk has lived a privileged life with education, social status, and success.

His experience as a black man is different than other black men and he is smart enough to know this while still wrestling with his feelings.

Wright is dynamic at showing many emotions.

To make the film even better, the supporting characters are delightful with their own stories, making me fall in love with them. Special call-outs are for Sterling K. Brown and Erika Alexander who plays Monk’s brother and girlfriend, respectively.

Brown as Cliff is a successful surgeon but lives a conflicted life as a newly ‘out’ middle-aged gay man. He dabbles in drugs and promiscuous behavior but all he wants is approval by his family.

Alexander is a successful public defender and neighbor of the Ellison’s going through a divorce. She relates to Monk while challenging him on his bullshit and is a richly carved character.

Also, Leslie Uggams Monk’s mother suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, Ellison’s housekeeper Lorraine (Myra Lucretia Taylor), and Issa Rae as Sintara Golden are weaved into the canvas seamlessly and with purpose.

The film’s ending left me scratching my head and caught me off guard. While clever, it made me wonder if what I had just seen was reality or fantasy. Providing three different endings as adapted film options it’s tough to know which if any actually happened but maybe that’s the point.

I left the movie theater having laughed out loud, thought, and been entertained.

American Fiction (2023) made me feel like I had seen something relevant that would help me understand people better and give me insight into what other people feel.

Oscar Nominations: 1 win-Best Picture, Best Actor-Jeffrey Wright, Best Supporting Actor-Sterling K. Brown, Best Adapted Screenplay (won), Best Original Score

Independent Spirit Awards Nominations: 2 wins-Best Film, Best Lead Performance-Jeffrey Wright (won), Best Supporting Performance-Erika Alexander Sterling K. Brown, Best Screenplay (won)

1972 Films, Adventure, Agostina Belli, Comedy, Drama, Giancarlo Giannini, International, International Comedy, International Drama, Italian, Lina Wertmüller, Mariangela Melato

The Seduction of Mimi-1972

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The Seduction of Mimi-1972

Director Lina Wertmüller

Starring Giancarlo Giannini, Mariangela Melato, Agostina Belli

Scott’s Review #1,420

Reviewed February 4, 2024

Grade: B+

Lina Wertmüller, a visionary female director around a time when there were few female directors with notoriety, created The Seduction of Mimi (1972), a flavorful Italian adventure/drama/comedy.

Any fans of Federico Fellini will immediately draw comparisons to his films with saucy banter, odd characters, and lively music. But amid the fun exists importance.

Wertmüller produces a film with more of a defined plot focus than Fellini usually does.

The key to the enjoyment of The Seduction of Mimi is twofold. Actors, Giancarlo Giannini and Mariangela Melato starred in three of Wertmüller’s films together, usually as love-torn yet bickering couples with lots of drama and misunderstandings.

The other films are Love and Anarchy (1973) which I have not seen and Swept Away (1974) which I have seen.

The actors work so well together that anyone familiar with them will instantly be delighted especially during high-energy scenes when they spar or passionately solidify their romantic intentions.

Giannini was Wertmüller’s muse in a time when rarely if ever a male actor was a muse of a female director.

The other nicety is the title of the film. One might assume (I did) that the character of Mimi is female and is seduced by a male but in Wertmüller’s film, it is the reverse. This causes traditional gender stereotypes to be turned on their heads with more awareness of assumptions.

Mimi (Giannini) is a Sicilian dockworker who inadvertently becomes involved in an increasingly complicated series of personal conflicts.

After he loses his job after voting against a Mafia kingpin in a ‘secret’ election, Mimi leaves his frazzled wife Rosalia (Agostina Belli) to find work. He moves to Turin, where he engages in an affair with a Communist organizer, Fiorella Meneghini (Melato).

Soon Mimi finds himself juggling not two but three relationships and three children while plotting to take revenge against the corrupt forces that ruined his life.

The Seduction of Mimi is quite good but I’m more partial to her other films like Swept Away and the hysterically brash Seven Beauties (1975), her best work in my opinion.

Still, there is a lot to enjoy about ‘Seduction’.

Taking nothing away from Melato’s performance, Mimi is the focal point and Giannini is a pure delight. For viewers unfamiliar with his work, his dazzling green eyes and almost manic style fills the character with pizazz and passion.

The actor is also great at making his wacky shenanigans seem realistic.

Beyond the hijinks, Wertmüller offers serious messages about sexual hypocrisies, political dilemmas, and corruption. She mixes jokes with purpose so that the audience learns a thing or two while being richly entertained.

Like her obvious mentor, Fellini, she appreciates good satire and incorporates that into her films.

Visually, there’s some cool and wacky camera-angle stuff going on. Mimi repeatedly notices moles, beauty marks, or otherwise odd eccentric facial features which come into focus as shaky closeup camera shots.

Since the film is so Italian it’s joyful to watch it for this aspect alone. There are frequent sequences shot on location in Sicily, and around Italy, a treat for those partial to European films.

The Seduction of Mimi (1972) is a film I’d like to see again for more appreciation and further examination. It’s a film that has more going on than meets the eye and leaves its viewer pondering more specifically regarding the Union storyline.

2023 Films, Biography, Drama, Harris Dickinson, Holt McCallany, Jeremy Allen White, Lily James, Maura Tierney, Sean Durkin, Sports, Stanley Simons, Zac Efron

The Iron Claw-2023

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The Iron Claw-2023

Director Sean Durkin

Starring Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White, Harris Dickinson

Scott’s Review #1,416

Reviewed January 15, 2024

Grade: A

I was pleasantly surprised by how compelling and character-driven The Iron Claw (2023) is. Being a sports drama there is always a risk of cliches and little in the way of surprises but director Sean Durkin who also wrote the screenplay, delivers the goods.

Powerfully acted by all of the actors involved The Iron Claw is also profoundly sad and very hard-hitting emotionally which caught me off guard.

The trials and tribulations of the Von Erich family are explored in a fact-based story that honors the family ties with compassion and heart making the audience fall in love with and understand the feelings of the family.

There are triumphs but also much heartbreak with some outstanding acting in support of a very sad real-life story.

Efron who plays Kevin Von Erich gives the best performance of his career as a reasonable, stable young man living in a world of chaos.

It is perplexing, especially given the December release why the film received no awards mention especially for Efron.

One miss, most notable with Kevin, is the inclusion of a ridiculous wig and jacked-up body making him look more like a cartoonish Incredible Hulk than the clean-cut all-American young man that the real Kevin looked like.

Being a huge fan of professional wrestling as a youngster in junior high school the Von Erich family was somewhat familiar to me. However, I had to search my memory for long-forgotten specifics.

The family, led by former wrestler Fritz (Holt McCallany) was well-known throughout the 1970s-1990s in local Texas circles and then nationally as professional wrestling gained popularity. His sons Kevin (Efron), Kerry (Jeremy Allen White), David (Harris Dickinson), and Mike (Stanley Simons) are the focal points.

The true story of the inseparable brothers, who made history in the intensely competitive world of professional wrestling is recounted. Through tragedy and triumph, under the shadow of their domineering father and coach, the brothers seek larger-than-life immortality on the biggest stage in sports.

The family, similar perhaps to the Kennedys, were known for a widespread myth about a family curse, called the ‘Von Erich curse’.

The film has some narration from Kevin who immediately informs the audience of this curse which sets the tone for the chain of events the film explores.

Durkin is careful to present the film so masterfully as a cautionary tale about parental influence, sibling rivalry, and the various dangers of the professional wrestling business.

The Iron Claw begins with a black-and-white sequence from probably the 1950s when Fritz was a struggling local wrestler. His famous ‘finishing maneuver’ was called the ‘iron claw’ meant to make his opponent submit to the wrestling match.

From there the story is largely told from the point of view of Kevin wonderfully played by Efron. Kevin, now the oldest sibling following the tragic death of his older brother at age five, serves as the brother’s leader.

While he yearns for a title belt largely to satisfy the demands of his father, he is usurped by brothers Kerry and David in different ways. He meets a local girl, Pam (Lily James), who is an intellectual and supports him emotionally.

They make a fabulous couple because they are equals. Conversely, the Von Erich mother is a traditional housewife and the entire family is taught to show no emotion.

In a wonderful scene late in the film, Kevin’s son teaches him that it’s okay to cry and show love through emotion. Kevin sobs with relief and it’s a beautiful and pivotal lesson the film teaches.

The other actors are outstanding, especially kudos to Jeremy Allen White (Kerry), and the parents (Maura Tierney and McCallany) but there is not a weak performance to be found.

It is unnecessary to be a professional wrestling fan though it is a treat to see long-ago stars like Ric Flair, Harley Race, and Bruiser Brody represented.

The Iron Claw (2023) like Boogie Nights (1997) did for the porn industry shows the flaws, the hopes and dreams, and the pain of a category of people (professional wrestlers) too often dismissed and discarded.

As Durkin examines wonderfully, these people also have a story to tell.

2023 Films, Adam Rodriguez, Channing Tatum, Comedy, Drama, Joe Manganiello, Kevin Nash, Matt Bomer, Salma Hayek, Steven Soderbergh

Magic Mike’s Last Dance-2023

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Magic Mike’s Last Dance-2023

Director Steven Soderbergh

Starring Channing Tatum, Salma Hayek

Scott’s Review #1,415

Reviewed January 14, 2024

Grade: C-

Magic Mike’s Last Dance (2023) is the third and final installment in the Magic Mike trilogy, following the successful Magic Mike (2012) and the dismal Magic Mike XXL (2015).

Billed as ‘The Final Tease’ the sub-title of the last release is rather appropriate since there is nary a bare bum to be found much less any other nudity. Since the film is about the male stripper industry there is laughingly more female flesh than male.

While there are a couple of titillating sequences containing thrusting and gyrating the tone is watered down and extremely safe. Nothing warrants the R-rating that Magic Mike’s Last Dance received.

After my horrific review of Magic Mike XXL in which I awarded it a solid ‘F’ I will keep my manners in check and be mindful that Magic Mike’s Last Dance is intended to entertain on a late night.

I have rated it a generous ‘C-‘.

The film is pretty bad with no character development whatsoever, poorly written dialogue, and little chemistry between stars Channing Tatum and Salma Hayek. Mike is the only likable principal character in the bunch.

I’m very surprised that respected director Steven Soderbergh who received an Oscar nomination in 2000 for the terrific Traffic would have anything to do with this film.

His style is unnoticeable except for a setting of wealth and a brief and mediocre mention of capitalism and the rich manipulating the poor which the director sometimes includes in his films.

“Magic” Mike Lane (Tatum) has suffered a bad business deal that has left him bartending at parties in Florida. He meets a rich businesswoman, Max, played by Salma Hayek, who pays him for one of his legendary dances.

Smitten, Max immediately offers him a job directing a show at a famous theatre in London.  The show will include a smoldering feast of hot new dancers that Mike will choreograph.

The storyline, admittedly secondary in this type of film, has so many holes I wouldn’t know where to start, but the weakest point is expecting the audience to buy Mike and Max as having fallen in love after one dance.

Romance is a hard-swallow made worse by Max’s demanding personality and insecurities over her ex-husband. She’s a bit of a tyrant made more noticeable by Mike’s even-keeled nature.

While not worldly, Mike is kind and I desired to see him paired with nearly any other character other than Max.

Tatum is a much better actor than most assume based on his pinup beefcake good looks. Has anyone seen him in Foxcatcher (2015)? Sadly, the actor is given weak material to work with that does nothing to challenge him.

Furthermore, we are cheated and only see him twice in his underwear. Some stripper.

Supporting characters like Max’s brooding daughter, Zadie, and opinionated manservant, Victor, are stock and given uneven dialogue to work with. They are presumably added for comic moments that never come.

To be fair, the film is set in London in addition to Miami, and a few decent exterior shots of both locales are added which helps the film.

A ridiculous Zoom call cameo sequence meant to include Mike’s ‘bros’ from the other films (Matt Bomer, Adam Rodriguez, and Joe Manganiello) is a treat but has an ill-effect since that’s all we get from the handsome fellas.

Magic Mike’s Last Dance would have been saved if a scantily clad reunion dance had commenced with the ‘bros’ but sadly none was to be found.

The first film, Magic Mike (2012) is the only one of the three worth spending any time on. Pure juicy entertainment mixed with polished machismo is what was offered and Magic Mike’s Last Dance (2023) loses the ‘magic’ and instead offers a shriveled pickle of what used to be a commanding phallic symbol.

2023 Films, Charles Melton, Drama, Julianne Moore, Natalie Portman, Todd Haynes, Will Ferrell

May December-2023

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May December-2023

Director Todd Haynes

Starring Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore, Charles Melton

Scott’s Review #1,412

Reviewed December 13, 2023

Grade: A-

Throughout May-December (2023) there exists a quiet gloominess and a sense of foreboding dread during nearly every scene that as a viewer I could not shake. The unsettling nature is what makes the film so fascinating to watch.

Making it even more peculiar is the feeling seeps through a mirage of cheeriness, small-town humility, and the Southern politeness of Savannah, Georgia, United States amongst a lofty helping of cakes, parties, and sunshine.

All is not as it seems.

As a fan of director Todd Haynes and his brilliant films Far From Heaven (2002) and Carol (2015), I had an idea of his style and tone from the get-go.

As excellent as May-December is I was left wanting perhaps one more potato chip than I was offered.  I was slightly unsatisfied only because I had Haynes’s other films as a comparison and May-December is not quite on par with those masterpieces despite being exceptionally well made.

But we can’t always expect a classic like Led Zeppelin IV.

Twenty years after their notorious tabloid romance gripped the nation, Gracie Atherton-Yu (Julianne Moore) and her husband Joe (Charles Melton) who is twenty-three years her junior are happily preparing for their twins to graduate from high school.

When Hollywood actress Elizabeth Berry (Natalie Portman) arrives in town to study the family to better understand Gracie and prepare for the role the family dynamics crack under the pressure of the spotlight.

Joe, in particular, who never got a chance to deal with his feelings and emotions as a teenager, begins to face the reality of having grown-up children. At the age of thirty-six, he confronts the rest of his life.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth and Gracie study each other, and the similarities and differences between the two women begin to surface causing friction.

Drama develops between Elizabeth, Gracie, Joe, and various family members as long-buried emotions and new scandals erupt in the small town.

I felt snippets of Persona, a 1966 avante-garde psychological thriller by Ingmar Bergman, and even the theatrical posters of the two women looking into the camera and facing side by side are identical in both films.

There’s also a teasing Single White Female (1992) similarity to a lesser degree.

The point is that May-December produces a haunting merging of two female characters in a creepy way.

Identity and obsession are also explored.

Portman and Moore play against and with each other deliciously. It’s not so much a rivalry but an obsession. Portman’s Elizabeth refers while speaking to a class of aspiring actors about becoming a character and we know she means Gracie.

When Gracie helps put Elizabeth’s makeup on just the right way resembling her more and more they look at the camera and see themselves in a mirror. It’s a haunting realization that both women are neurotic and have issues.

Does Gracie want to become Elizabeth as much as Elizabeth wants to become Gracie? Is it real or pretend because of the film?

At different points, I felt sympathy for both characters but at other times I didn’t. Elizabeth seems kind, then not so kind, then dismissive, then demanding.

Gracie seems kind, then neurotic, then sympathetic, then catty. Did she give her daughter’s scales as a graduation present? Did she intentionally point out her daughter’s unflattering arms?

Portman and Moore are successful at portraying these emotions in the subtlest of ways making the characters complex and tough to figure out.

The standout is Melton though. As Joe, the actor made me wonder how astonishingly quick the teenager had to grow up. He never had a childhood and is subsequently childlike, unable to make himself be heard until he broils over with rage.

Melton is on the map as an up-and-coming actor.

At the end of the film, when Elizabeth heads off to the airport I was left disappointed. I wanted more and felt there was more to uncover. What’s to become of Joe and Gracie? Could the three be friends if Elizabeth lived in the town?

What Haynes does so well is create tension even when there is none on the surface. The guttural feelings I was left with made May-December (2023) a quiet and powerful experience.

Oscar Nominations: Best Original Screenplay

Independent Spirit Awards Nominations: 1 win-Best Film, Best Director-Todd Haynes, Best Lead Performance-Natalie Portman, Best Supporting Performance-Charles Melton, Best First Screenplay (won)