MCU Catch-Up: Ant-Man and Ant-Man and the Wasp

In preparation for the release of the third film in the series, I finally watched “Ant-Man” and “Ant-Man and the Wasp.” I reviewed both films for The Film Experience - head over there to read my review.

Movie with Abe: The Long Dumb Road

The Long Dumb Road
Directed by Hannah Fidell
Released November 9, 2018 (Netflix July 8, 2020)

Sometimes, the best road trips are unintentional. That’s usually the case with road movies, which find one character planning to go from one place to another and having an unexpected experience along the way. The people that they meet are often the most memorable part, and they can come to define the journey just as much as where they stop en route to their destination. Naturally, road trips serve as positive inspiration for comedy films, since there’s no end to the possibilities of just how wild and crazy time in a car driving across the country can get.

Nat (Tony Revolori) is leaving his hometown in Texas and driving his parents’ minivan to art school in California. When the trusted vehicle won’t start shortly into his drive, he is helped by an energetic mechanic named Richard (Jason Mantzoukas) who just been fired. Nat offers to take Richard to the nearest bus station but their time on the road lasts much longer than that as they get into considerable hijinks on what should be a simple and straightforward trip of several days, turning Nat into a whole new person thanks to Richard’s influence.

It would be totally acceptable to just let Mantzoukas talk for an hour and a half without having any plot to assist him, and he’s shown his comedic prowess in a supporting role in the 2015 Sundance hit “Sleeping with Other People” and in his recent guest appearance on “The Good Place.” Pairing him with Revolori, who played off Ralph Fiennes so well in “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” is a marvelous experiment, since it allows them to bicker frequently and create tremendous entertainment in the process. They’re a fantastic and very effective duo.

It’s hard to find a dull moment in this ninety-minute comedy, which is the first foray into that genre for Sundance alum and director Hannah Fidell. She wisely brings her star from “6 Years,” Taissa Farmiga, in for a supporting role as one of two sisters who meet the boys during their trip. She and Grace Gummer are superb, and Casey Wilson and Ron Livingston contribute in small parts as people from Richard’s past that he encounters on the trip. There are many laughs to be found in this very enjoyable comedy, which may not be arthouse cinema but still succeeds completely at being exactly what it means to be.

B+

Movie with Abe: Time for Ilhan

Time for Ilhan
Directed by Norah Shapiro
Released on DVD and VOD March 8, 2019

It’s a transformative era in politics in America, and so much of what’s going on in the country is permeating the world of film and television. Portraits of leaders like Donald Trump are frequently offered both in disturbing dramas and comical farces, and the real-life people who are making waves in both liberal and conservative circles are getting their own spotlights. A story of perseverance and incredible achievement despite humble beginnings and almost insurmountable obstacles is exactly what most audiences need now, and Ilhan Omar is a fantastic example.

Somali-born Omar, who came to the United States with her father and siblings after temporarily living in a refugee camp in Kenya, made history as one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress last year. Her desire to represent something to those around her is explored in detail, putting special emphasis on accurately conveying what the people in her district actually want as she runs against a Somali-born man and a Democratic incumbent who has been serving for decades and, in her opinion, runs each cycle on keeping up the status quo, something that Omar believes must not be allowed to continue.

This film is a fitting companion piece to “Knock Down the House,” which chronicles four progressive women seeking office, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who has already made a name for herself as an outspoken liberal intent on making change right away. Omar has been in the news recently as a result of her continued controversial comments about American support for Israel, something this film doesn’t address at all despite coming from a Jewish director, though it does touch upon the ugly tendency of some to target her religion, which has also recently flared up thanks to an anti-Muslim ad prominently displayed with her face on it in West Virginia.

Ultimately, what this film shows is that Omar is intent on being a game-changer, and she celebrates the milestones that she achieves as demonstrative of the true democracy that America is supposed to be and rarely seems like anymore today. It paints a human portrait that, more than anything, makes Omar seem like a completely normal person who happens to be more passionate, driven, and articulate than most. Those seeking a greater understanding of her political views will only find a resiliency here that helps to explain why she says what she does and, more importantly, why she refuses to back down when someone tries to tell her that she doesn’t have a voice.

B+

Movie with Abe: Christopher Robin

Christopher Robin
Directed by Marc Forster
Released August 3, 2018

Winnie the Pooh is a magical character, and there’s something about the Hundred Acre Wood that feels timeless, relevant both for children and adults. The animated ensemble, which includes Pooh, Tigger, Piglet, Eeyore, Kango, Roo, Owl, and Rabbit, has been appearing on screen since the 1940s in a number of productions from different studios and with slightly different interpretations and modifications of the classic stories. In 2011, Disney produced “Winnie the Pooh,” another idyllic chapter that went over well, and now, the characters come to life in this live-action look at what it means to return to a childlike sense of wonder.

Christopher Robin (Ewan McGregor) has grown up since his days spent with his friends in the Hundred Acre Wood, marrying Evelyn (Hayley Atwell) and raising a daughter, Madeline (Bronte Carmichael). His work at a luggage company has forced him to adapt the adage that nothing comes free in life, which leads him to skip a weekend away with his family to focus on work, a plan that is disrupted when Pooh wanders out of the wood and reminds him of his simpler, more serene way of looking at life. A return to the place he loved throughout his childhood starts to open Christopher’s eyes to what he has lost, but not enough to derail him from the work he is so desperate to finish to maintain what he believes will be a fulfilling life.

So much of this film’s narrative and structure is predictable, and audiences can likely write the plot for themselves. Yet the point is to experience the delight of seeing these talking animals come to life, almost stuck on loop with their typical lines, not even trying to convince Christopher of what’s missing for him but merely going about their days as they would, exhibiting a range of enthusiasm from Eeyore’s misery to Tigger’s uncontainable energy. Bringing in Madeline as an example of what Christopher was and who is about to go through a withdrawal from youthful optimism due to her impending departure for boarding school is an effective reminder of the power of imagination.

This film was a surprise nominee for Best Visual Effects at the Oscars, honored for its natural incorporation of these characters into the live-action world around them. Their colors are muted and less vibrant than past versions have been, but it does feel as if these animals are indeed as alive as star McGregor, who inhabits his role with all the gradually-removed stuffiness it requires. Most of all, Pooh remains a tremendously endearing protagonist, looking at life in the least complicated and often most beneficial way, where doing nothing often leads to the greatest things. This is a perfectly worthwhile if entirely uninventive next chapter in this heartwarming saga.

B

Movie with Abe: Border

Border
Directed by Ali Abbasi
Released October 26, 2018

Looking different can be one of the most significant factors in someone feeling out of place. The discrepancy between what someone sees in the mirror and what they see when they look around them will often pale in comparison to the way that others react upon first meeting them, which may be involuntary but still tends to acknowledge a classification of them as something apart. While it’s usually said that true beauty comes from within, that’s rarely how society anywhere practically functions, and therefore it can be particularly enlightening and eye-opening to meet another person with the same abnormal appearance.

Tina (Eva Melander) works as a border agent in Sweden, able to detect and stop undesirable elements from encountering the country thanks to her heightened sense of smell, which she says enables her to smell fear, guilt, and shame. Her physical facial deformity has led to a lonely life, and she has opened her home to a dog trainer named Roland (Jörgen Thorsson), who frequently takes advantage of her hospitality without taking her feelings into consideration. When she stops a man, Vore (Eero Milonoff), at the border whose face looks just like hers, Tina begins to learn about his life experiences and realize that she may have been looking at everything in a twisted, limited manner.

This film smartly begins by showing Tina at work, looked at questionably by those she surveys as they walk past her but respected by the agents that she instructs to search whatever person she flags. Her abilities are not in question because she gets results, and she knows that this is the right job for her because she’s able to do what no one else can. Vore’s arrival interrupts all that, since he truly sees her in a way that no one else ever has, and isn’t happy with the way that she lets other people treat her, forcing her to question how she has lived her entire life.

Sweden’s Oscar entry for Best Foreign Film didn’t end up making the cut in that race, but it did merit an Oscar nomination for Best Makeup and Hairstyling. Both Tina and Vore are made up to look distinctly different from those around them, though the performances by Melander and Milonoff also deserve commendation for the way they make their characters interact with the world around them and with each other. More than anything, this is a peculiar film that embraces the notion of the “other,” heading off on its own path much like its two protagonists. It’s intriguing but ultimately more weird than fulfilling, still a worthwhile watch for those who find its premise interesting.

B

Movie with Abe: Solo: A Star Wars Story

Solo: A Star Wars Story
Directed by Ron Howard
Released May 25, 2018

It’s been a busy few years for the Star Wars franchise. After the original films were released three years apart beginning in 1977 to acclaim both for their entertainment value and cutting-edge effects, a re-release twenty years later proved very successful before the prequel trilogy debuted in 1999 to extremely poor reviews. The third slate of films began in 2015 and has been doing incredibly well, now coming out every two years with standalone installments in between. This is the second of those, the first to open in the middle of the year and a sign that not every concept related to this franchise is worth making into a movie.

Han (Alden Ehrenreich) and Qi’ra (Emilia Clarke) stay alive on the streets of Corellia by employing their wits and skills, but they are separated when they try to make an escape for a better life. Determined to get back to rescue the woman he loves, Han trains to become a pilot before being kicked out of the flight academy and falling in with a crew of criminals led by Tobias Beckett (Woody Harrelson). His quest to find Qi’ra involves turning initial enemies Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo) and Lando Calrissian (Donald Glover) into friends before going up against dangerous kingpin Dryden Vos (Paul Bettany).

There’s no denying the appeal of Han Solo as a character, one of the best instances of comic relief in the original films. Harrison Ford made him unforgettable, and Ehrenreich does bear a physical resemblance to him even if he doesn’t possess the same charisma. Much of this film is focused on callbacks to fan-favorite elements featured in previous films, a device that occasionally works well but more often than not feels tired. Just as “Rogue One” felt like an installment created only to fill in gaps that didn’t necessarily need to be filled in, this story feels extremely unnecessary, providing little additional context and excitement that makes its existence worthwhile.

The cast of this film is made up mostly of actors who are currently enjoying relatively newfound success in their careers, from Clarke, who stars on the immensely popular “Game of Thrones,” to Glover, who created and stars in “Atlanta,” to Thandie Newton, a recent Emmy winner from “Westworld” who plays one of Beckett’s associates, with more established performers Harrelson and Bettany there to have fun. As usual, it’s the portrayer of a droid who steals most of the film’s scenes, and that’s Phoebe Waller-Bridge, star of “Fleabag” and creator of “Killing Eve,” as Lando’s L3-37. The big space-centered action sequences fans have come to expect from this series aren’t really present, which is the biggest disappointment. This film’s title is meant to reference its character’s last name, but it’s probably a more fitting descriptor of how this film shouldn’t be considered and grouped with the rest of the franchise.

C

Movie with Abe: Support the Girls

Support the Girls
Directed by Andrew Bujalski
Released August 24, 2018

Most movies, when boiled down, are simply about people trying to make it through the day. In the case of science-fiction films or crime thrillers, many factors may be stacked against them, with violence and the threat of death staring them down. Conflict need not be so dramatic, and those who lead perfectly ordinary lives may still struggle to keep it together and persist when obstacles, however small or seemingly insignificant, are thrown in their way. Putting on a happy face isn’t easy, and protagonists who persevere despite adversity can be just as compelling in any type of media.

Lisa (Regina Hall) is the general manager at Double Whammies, a sports bar with scantily-clad waitresses on the side of a highway in Texas. The owner Cubby (James Le Gros) tries each day to find a way to fire her, and she’s well aware that the spontaneous car wash she wants to engineer to raise money to help a friend in trouble with her boyfriend can serve as his latest ammunition. Concerned above all with the success and wellbeing of her employees even while she deals with problems in her own life, Lisa prepares for a big game night after a botched robbery attempt, leaning on her two most put-together waitresses, Danyelle (Shayna McHale) and Maci (Haley Lu Richardson), to help her keep things afloat.

This is a film that dives right in to its main character’s life, meeting her crying in her car before work and beginning a difficult day in which one new issue arises after another. There is no one express goal that Lisa has, and her aims change as she discovers new information and has to make on-the-spot calculations based on that for what her next move can be. Lisa can’t always present a strong face, but at no point does she exhibit a selfishness that overcomes her need to help others and do what she believes will best benefit everyone.

Hall received a handful of mentions for her lead performance, and it’s certainly a worthwhile turn, though this reviewer enjoyed her more in a supporting role in “People, Places, Things.” Both Richardson and rapper-turned actress McHayle are worthy of commendation for playing their parts superbly in a film that isn’t particularly novel or exciting but should manage to maintain audience interest in its perfectly standard and decently entertaining narrative.

B

Movie with Abe: Annihilation

Annihilation
Directed by Alex Garland
Released February 23, 2019

The notions of aliens coming in peace and holding a “first contact”-type event is featured frequently in science fiction. There are almost as many instances of hostile beings arriving intent on wiping out everyone on Earth, and then there are those films that represent the space in between, where something is going on but its nature and motivations are not at all clear. Investigating the mystery is the appeal of these projects, in which danger and doom may lurk around every unexplored corner, and those seeking answers will likely get much more than they would have liked in their search for the truth.

When her presumed-dead soldier husband (Oscar Isaac) returns after a year away on an unknown mission, biologist Lena (Natalie Portman) is read into a covert operation conducted around a phenomenon known as “The Shimmer” that has engulfed a national park and swallowed up anyone who has tried to enter it except for her husband. Lena joins psychologist Dr. Ventress (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and the rest of her team, paramedic Anya (Gina Rodriguez) and scientists Josie (Tessa Thompson) and Cassie (Tuva Novotny), to travel to the lighthouse that they suspect serves as the source, encountering bizarre instances of mutations and crossbreeding along their treacherous journey.

This is the second film from writer-director Alex Garland, this time based on the 2014 Jeff VanderMeer novel. “Ex Machina” explored human capacity as it relates to artificial intelligence, and this film takes a similar approach to the scientific investigation of the unknown and unexplainable. Its portrayal of extraterrestrial arrival is reminiscent of the three one-season 2005 science fiction television series – “Threshold,” “Invasion,” and “Surface” – that posited a different sort of invasion based on the manipulation and transformation of the human body and mind. To say more would spoil this film’s plot, but it is a refreshing and extremely thought-provoking take that’s equally haunting and disturbing.

Portman, who this year also stars in the regrettable “Vox Lux,” is a fine choice to anchor this mostly female cast, which also includes Rodriguez in a standout turn that’s entirely different from her likeable and innocent “Jane the Virgin” protagonist. All five featured women do a tremendous job of portraying the gradual unraveling of their mental states as they encounter unimaginable and illogical things along their journey. This film’s visual effects, which strangely didn’t even make Oscar’s twenty-wide semi-finalist is, are a crucial element of this film’s visual aesthetic, which serves as a terrific complement to its absorbing intellectual presentation of something that is so often seen in far more physical and comprehensible terms.

B+

Movie with Abe: Avengers: Infinity War

Avengers: Infinity War
Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo
Released April 27, 2018

In 2012, “The Avengers” was released, bringing together superheroes featured in five previous films, teaming up for one big awesome epic adventure. Four more films followed before the release of “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” a somewhat overstuffed sequel which was still enjoyable. Now, six more films later, the most incredible adventure yet unites more characters than ever before, demonstrating the capabilities of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and just how exciting and immersive a film can be with more characters than most would ever try to fit into multiple movies.

Thanos (Josh Brolin) kills all in his path to get all six of the Infinity Stones, sparing Thor (Chris Hemsworth) to make him suffer. Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) teams up with Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), and Peter Parker (Tom Holland) to try to stop several of his lieutenants from getting one stone, while the Guardians of the Galaxy go after Thanos, whose stepdaughter Gamora (Zoe Saldana) fears that he will try to capture her. After they are attacked, Vision (Paul Bettany) and Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) travel to Wakanda, where T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) prepares his army and all the gathered Avengers for an epic battle to save the world from Thanos’ desired omnipotence.

This was easily one of the most anticipated films of 2018, and it’s only because I missed out on a few previous films that I had hoped to screen at some point that it took me this long to finally decide to see it. The context that’s missing isn’t all that crucial, since the action and excitement arrives almost immediately. What’s most fun about it is the reintroduction of each familiar face, and the meeting of different characters previously unknown to one another is truly terrific. While some prior entries have suffered from issues with balancing humor, this film succeeds fantastically, making every single meeting extraordinarily worthwhile and superbly entertaining.

There’s so much that went into this movie and tying together so many characters from individual films and mythologies. The most enticing unification is that of the Guardians of the Galaxy with the Avengers, and it pays off very well. This film fully deserves its spot on the Oscar finalist list for its visual effects, which provide a stunning feast for the eyes for nearly the entire film. A cliffhanger ending that necessitates viewing of the next film in the series may frustrate some, but it just makes the notion of more of this so thrilling. Most of all, it means I won’t be waiting eight months to catch “Avengers: Endgame” after it’s released this April – I’ll be one of the first to buy tickets.

B+

Movie with Abe: Shirkers

Shirkers
Directed by Sandi Tan
Released October 26, 2018

Every year, hundreds of films are released and consumed by the public. Some screen across the globe for millions of people, while others play only to small audiences at film festivals. Year-end lists cite the best and award acting and technical achievements, but that’s only for those films that actually see the light of day. Tremendous time and effort is put into many projects that, for any number of reasons, don’t end up ever being completed and as a result are never seen.

In 1992, Sandi Tan is a teenager in Singapore obsessed with movies and trying to make her countercultural mark on her young country’s minimal cinema industry. She writes a screenplay for a road movie called “Shirkers,” and cobbles together a production with little more than youthful energy. As she works on the film with her friends Jasmine and Sophie, her teacher and mentor Georges Cardona, serving as director, remains distant and mysterious. His sudden disappearance at the very end of filming with all the footage leaves the friends dejected and heartbroken, until unexpected events give the project a new life almost two decades later.

This documentary is at once reminiscent of another construction of a film that never was, though production never got nearly as far on the project depicted in “Jodorowsky’s Dune.” Here, pieces of someone else’s work are not being assembled but instead it’s the filmmaker herself who is digging into the annals of her memory and the few physical remnants of her hard work. This experience, though it took place many years ago, feels impossibly recent, unmatched by anything else she has done in her career and all the more poignant because it never came to fruition.

Tan, who appears onscreen mostly only in archive footage as she remains behind the camera and narrates, describes her path to filmmaking as backwards, beginning with a full production followed by her studies at film school. What recovering this film does for her is helps her to fully understand and unpack her origins, aiming as a young visionary to reinvent the cinema of her country in a way that felt totally pure and unhinged. This film documenting that journey feels the same, inviting its audience on a wild, unexpected ride that proves to be immersive and exciting, showcasing true art from its conception to its disappearance to its unlikely reincarnation.

B+

Movie with Abe: Dark Money

Dark Money
Directed by Kimberly Reed
Released July 13, 2018

Money has the power to do many things, and those who have it in turn are able to exercise an enormous amount of control over whatever they want. This is especially true in politics, where votes can be directly influenced by advertising, and negative press as a deterrent often works much better than efforts to bolster a candidate. The amount spent on campaigns these days is unbelievable, and it’s problematic enough when the sources of funding are known. This documentary seeks to investigate all those contributions that can’t be traced and are far more prevalent than anyone would expect.

This exploration of the proliferation of dark money begins in Montana, where many groups with few members officially on the books are behind targeted advertising launched just days before elections designed to influence voters to suspend their support for a particular candidate because of alleged opinions or actions. Investigative journalist John S. Adams reports and researches extensively, pivoting to federal election commissions to show how, despite the intention of oversight, they are rarely doing their part in ensuring fair practices and the upholding of the law, which itself becomes murky when corporations and the first amendment become all too muddled.

Adams is a great protagonist to anchor this story because he will stop at nothing, including founding his own organization, The Montana Free Press, to continue to expose the process that makes dark money an influential actor in American politics. He frequently diagrams out the confirmed connections between massive organizations and the more shadowy links to these strongly-named fronts created almost explicitly to work against candidates that don’t follow the party line. His frustration with not being able to interview the funders because he doesn’t know who they are is felt as he presses on despite many obstacles. Adams describes the situation as “government controlled by a corporation controlling the people,” a fearsome concept extravagantly illustrated in this investigation.

This is an urgent film that doesn’t discriminate based on party affiliation, even if many of the corporations profiled are right-wing. Elected officials and failed candidates from both major parties decry this practice as something utterly opposite to the idea of democracy and corruptive of the nature of free speech. Those interviewed, as well as Adams, frequently respond with incredulity that their career aspirations have been so easily derailed by powerful people hiding behind invented advocacy groups. This is a thorough and immensely involving exposé fully worthy of inclusion both in PBS’ POV series and on the list of finalists for the Oscar for Best Documentary.

B+

The Film Experience: The Mule

I'm pleased to be making my debut over at a site I've been reading for almost two decades, The Film Experience, with a closer look at “The Mule.” Head on over to Nathaniel's site to read the piece!

Movie with Abe: Free Solo

Free Solo
Directed by Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi
Released September 28, 2018

Where some look and see an idea that scares them, others see an incredible opportunity and challenge. Most people would balk at the notion of scaling a mountain, and even fewer would ever consider doing it without a harness and people nearby to help them should anything occur to put their climb in jeopardy. Yet there do exist those for whom such possibilities are immensely appealing, and to try to accomplish a daring feat with safeguards in place diminishes the excitement and feeling of success that comes from the achievement of a climb without injury or, worse, death.

The focus of this documentary is on Alex Honnold, a climber in his early thirties who is an accomplished free soloist. His history of climbs is covered over the course of the film, but the main challenge he seeks to complete is to be the first person to ascend El Capitan in Yosemite National Park without any assistance. His friends follow him, adding to the experience by watching him as he moves up the side of the mountain with no knowledge of whether their next shot may capture his final moment since they too are in it with him as he works towards his next incredible goal.

This film serves as a spotlight on this field but also an examination of what kind of person lives this kind of life. Relationships are difficult since those who don’t have the same urge to climb can’t understand why someone feels the need to put themselves at risk. Alex describes how he didn’t learn much about love and hugs, and had to teach himself that as he grew up in this more isolated hobby, one that counts many among the dead. The realization of just how precarious each free solo is comes up again and again, with so many expert climbers lost far too soon in the midst of one of their daring ascents.

This film introduces its subject matter and dives right in, showcasing Alex in action as he plots out the mathematics of his route and the best way to be able to start and end without either stopping or falling. The influence of the camera is analyzed here too in an intriguing way, since, unlike most documentaries, its presence as a factor that affects the behavior of those captured within its lens is recognized and acknowledged. This film manages to be thought-provoking and exhilarating at the same time, and while this reviewer probably wouldn’t climb a moment even with all safety precautions, this world is completely worth visiting from this viewpoint.

B+

Movie with Abe: Charm City

Charm City
Directed by Marilyn Ness
Released April 22, 2018

The city of Baltimore, Maryland is very often in the news, and not usually for good reason. This film’s title references attempts to rehabilitate the image of a city ruled by crime and violence, repositioned by advertisers as a potential source of sunny tourism. The death of Freddie Gray in the back of a police van following his arrest in 2015 was an especially dark moment for Baltimore, and became the face of a movement to ensure that black lives do in fact matter. This documentary takes a look at the complicated nature of the community and what lies ahead for its future.

This film examines a few different facets of Baltimore’s neighborhoods. Police officers, some who are black and some who are not, struggle to stay on top of areas that they know are hotspots for drug dealers while being held back both by mistrust of the police from citizens and bureaucratic obstacles related to what they are legally able to do. Those who run community members and serve in local government are desperate to change the culture in a way that’s lasting and not simply based on each individual death, fully aware that what is happening in their city would easily be deemed a national emergency were it anywhere else or if the color of its population’s skin were different.

There are no easy answers to be found here, and the people interviewed know that. Hearing from black police officers who are regularly stopped and searched by unknowing colleagues is always disturbing, and enforcing the law becomes increasingly difficult with established discriminatory practices fueling anger and mistrust. One elected official stops along his drive to call in to a radio broadcast to acknowledge that one of his priorities – to increase penalties for illegal gun possession – is never going to work to truly discourage guns being on the street, but that any successful strategy needs to be cohesive and in conjunction with other efforts addressing the many factors that contribute to the makeup and tendencies of the city.

This is a film that seems to understand that what it is probing is indeed complex, and that anyone who believes that one single action can fix the problems Baltimore has is sorely mistaken. Yet it isn’t all bad, and there is an emphasis on the value of people there, with all participants in this film making concrete progress in thinking differently and acting in a way that should serve as an inspiration for future generations. This approach feels genuine and hard-hitting at the same time, creating an urgent and affirming documentary that tries to get to the heart of why Baltimore is what it is and how it can become better under the right circumstances.

B+

Movie with Abe: Minding the Gap

Minding the Gap
Directed by Bing Liu
Released August 17, 2018

Activities that for most are hobbies or ways to blow off steam may for others be a necessary escape from the harsh realities of their everyday lives. What it means for someone to be able to be free and away from stresses and miseries will be completely different than the same activity for someone who enjoys luxuries and privilege. Sports are one such outlet, with skateboarding representing a particular area that may seem like a throwaway appeal for those with little experience or interest in it, while others take considerably more meaning from indulgence in it.

In Rockford, Illinois, three young men with different identities share their stories. None of them have much in the way of money or possessions, and they rely on their social experiences to help them get by, connecting over a shared love for skateboarding. Zack is forced to grow up and accept the reality of his situation when his girlfriend Nina becomes pregnant. Kiere is the only African-American of the group, who doesn’t always feel comfortable as the representative of a minority, while Bing, who is Chinese-American, expresses himself through filmmaking, capturing this story and editing it together to represent the experiences of his friends that he rightly feels aren’t commonly showcased.

There is a great deal of self-reflection that happens in front of the camera, with each of the characters contemplating their pasts and what lies ahead for them in the future. Kiere explains how he didn’t realize that the fact that his family was black was important, while Zack tackles his newfound fatherhood as an extremely complex state. Conversations with their mothers to dissect the abuse they endured as children are extraordinarily eye-opening, especially as it helps them to realize what kind of adults and parents they want to be, deciding what should be justified and what represents crossing the line.

This is an extremely intimate film, one that truly allows its subjects to be themselves. No moments or scenes feel staged, and the three friends are eager to share their thoughts. For them, talking casually about their innermost feelings seems to feel just as natural as getting on a skateboard. After getting to know its characters in a real and honest fashion, Bing weaves together an endearing montage that demonstrates how it has managed to capture and translate the humanity of these people, assuring that even those who might not have connected throughout are hopeless to leave without feeling something.

B+

Movie with Abe: Hale County This Morning, This Evening

Hale County This Morning, This Evening
Directed by RaMell Ross
Released September 14, 2018

When the slate is listed for film festivals, the titles are usually divided into two main categories: documentary or narrative. That difference is meant to distinguish between nonfiction and fiction filmmaking, though it also implies, to a degree, the existence of a script to structure the latter, whereas the former may be composed of interviews and other footage edited together to create a coherent examination of its subject matter. While experimental filmmaking is found most commonly in narratives, it’s also possible to assemble a documentary from a series of shots or ideas into something that represents a facet of society.

This film is centered in Hale County, Alabama, looking at the lives of its black community. Individuals such as Daniel and Quincy are frequently shown but not fully introduced, captured during their daily lives as if there was no camera present. Director RaMell Ross proudly presents images constructed together to showcase the way in which black people in America are often misrepresented and have their culture portrayed, turning any previous conceptions on their head by presenting events expressly as they are, with his only commentary being the way in which he assembles the footage he has subtly taken to show what he sees as representative of the real black American community.

Those expecting any sort of conclusions to be concretely drawn or arguments to be made in an explicit way will be disappointed in this film, which puts its content out in the world to be taken as is. That style has the potential to be enlightening, but it also leaves much to be assembled and analyzed by the audience, which will delight some and frustrate others. In rare cases, Ross does juxtapose classic film footage of a man in blackface peering out of the bushes with shots of driving onto a plantation in the present day, but that’s among the most direct influence he lets seep into the film.

There is an intentionality to the randomness on display here, which often follows a child running around for a few minutes or ends up being just shadows on the wall. Those who prefer hard-hitting investigative documentaries that clearly posit what they aim to argue will find the experience of watching this film unfulfilling, with an added involvement and engagement with the material needed to truly internalize its message. It does have considerable value, but its deliberate lack of construction isn’t nearly as formidable an asset as framing it even slightly might have been.

B-

Movie with Abe: Stan and Ollie

Left to right: John C. Reilly as Oliver Hardy, Shirley Henderson as Lucille Hardy, Steve Coogan as Stan Laurel, Nina Arianda as Ida Laurel Photo by Nick Wall, Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics
Stan and Ollie
Directed by Jon S. Baird
Released December 28, 2018

There are names throughout history that speak for themselves and need to only be referenced in part for nearly any audience to know immediately who they are. Often, such people come in pairs. Laurel and Hardy are definitely well-known all throughout the world, and their many public and screen appearances seem worthy of a cinematic tale of their own to tell their story. While they were always called by their last names, this film chooses to use their first names, representing a more intimate chance to get to know these two comedy greats towards the end of their illustrious careers entertaining people together.

Stan Laurel (Steve Coogan) and Oliver Hardy (John C. Reilly) are legends in the industry, making crowds everywhere double over with laughter at their acts. Years after the height of their popularity, however, they find themselves on a tour through Ireland and England that hardly feels fitting for their universal appeal. Desperate to get funding for a Robin Hood parody film that Stan is writing, they play to barely-filled small venues in the hopes that the producer will come see their final performance in London, where their wives Ida (Nina Arianda) and Lucille (Shirley Henderson) will also arrive to show their respective brands of support.

Much of this film’s success hinges on the effectiveness of its actors imitating these famous performers. Coogan is known for his dry comedy, and this reviewer particularly appreciated his turn in “The Look of Love,” in which he played another larger-than-life personality, Paul Raymond. Here, he gets to play Stan, the straight man whose mind is always running, coming up with the next great idea to continue their greatest successes. Reilly, an Oscar nominee for his invisible husband in “Chicago” and a Golden Globe nominee for this film, is buried under extensive makeup as the extremely overweight Ollie, who follows the lead of his partner with considerably less ambition.

Coogan and Reilly prove to be strong choices to play these iconic figures, and they receive commendable support from Henderson, who portrays the shy, reserved Lucille, who worries constantly about her husband’s health, and Arianda, who steals her every scene with a formidable Russian accent and equally fierce personality to go with it. The film’s energy level mirrors the enthusiasm of its lead characters, which results in some lackluster mid-film scenes before a strong and optimistic rally as the two come to be nostalgic about everything they’ve done over their many years together.

B

Movie with Abe: The Guilty

Jakob Cedergren in THE GUILTY, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.
The Guilty
Directed by Gustav Möller
Released October 19, 2018

The person answering the emergency police line is the first point of contact for someone in distress. In film and television, procedure is usually stressed most, as whoever answers tries to get crucial information to be able to send help to the caller on the other end of the line. It’s not the job of the operator to see the entire case through, and there’s even an action procedural series on FOX dedicated to beginning each episode with the fateful call. This Danish film begins at a similar point but stays only with the operator for the duration of the film.

Asger Holm (Jakob Cedergren) has been assigned to desk duty in the wake of an investigation, culminating in a trial scheduled for the next day. Fielding emergency calls, Asger follows the script and passes each message along to the appropriate department. When a woman, Iben (Jessica Dinnage), calls and indicates that she has been abducted, the line is disconnected once Asger is sure that she is telling the truth and is under duress. Desperate to find her, Asger pushes to reconnect with her and do anything he can to locate her, seeming all too willing to disregard protocol and even the law to ensure the safety of a woman he has never met.

This film takes place entirely in the call center at the police station, with Asger interacting with a few colleagues around him, but otherwise sitting, or sometimes pacing, with his headset while on the phone with off-screen voices. The fact that the action can remain compelling when it’s seen from only one side for a duration of eighty-five minutes is impressive, and it helps to intensify the tension by trapping audience members with Asger, who wants nothing more than to be out in the field knocking down doors instead of coordinating from a computer screen.

Director Gustav Möller makes a noteworthy debut for what can best be described as a tight thriller that unfolds subtly as Asger learns more about what he’s gotten himself into and how much more complicated it is than in initially seems. Cedergren delivers a focused performance, conveying his impatience and frustration with the situation and showing just how dedicated he is to executing his job the way he sees fit. Denmark’s Oscar submission for Best Foreign Film, which made the nine-wide shortlist of contenders for the award, manages to feel like a more populated ensemble film while really only showing one central character on screen, an accomplishment in itself.

B+

Movie with Abe: RBG

RBG
Directed by Julie Cohen and Betsy West
Released May 4, 2018

There aren’t a lot of people who are known simply by their initials. While it does seem somewhat casual, it acknowledges a certain universality and recognizable nature that wouldn’t allow them to be confused with anyone else. Presidents come to mind, particularly FDR or JFK, though, in both of those cases, their legacies were cut short by their premature deaths while still serving in office. One person currently holding a high office has definitely gone much further than anyone expected, defying expectations throughout her entire life and earning her three-letter moniker.

RBG, whose full name is Ruth Bader Ginsburg, is the second woman ever appointed to serve on the United States Supreme Court. Her incredible life is chronicled, from her start at Harvard Law School as one of just a few women in her class. Her close relationship with her husband Martin, who never treated her as an inferior but an equal partner in their marriage, was central to her success, but RBG achieved everything on her own merits, working as a law professor when no firm would hire her and making magnificent strides to roll back gender discrimination laws in the United States on the path to the high court.

This documentary opens on an energetic note, showing the eighty-five-year-old lifting weights as quotes from those who doubted her abilities are played. Her diminutive stature is used as a weapon throughout the story of her life, as people constantly underestimated her because of her size and her gender. She is described by friends who have known her for decades as much shier than Martin, far more extroverted only in recent years. The fanbase that has amassed itself around her now is especially wonderful, and seeing how she responds to that affection with reserved gratitude is endearing.

RBG’s reputation may now be larger-than-life, but this is a documentary that really gets to who she is as an individual. Watching as she laughs at Kate McKinnon’s parody of her on “Saturday Night Live” is sweet and entertaining, as she notes that it’s funny even if it doesn’t remind her at all of herself. Seeing footage of her and her ideological opposite, Justice Antonin Scalia, appearing together as true friends despite their differences is a wonderful remnant of a time where one party’s judicial nominee being confirmed 96-3 was actually possible. This is a winning documentary that paints a marvelous portrait of a fascinating and impactful figure in recent – and current – American history.

B+

Movie with Abe: On the Basis of Sex

On the Basis of Sex
Directed by Mimi Leder
Released December 25, 2018

Movies often pull double duty as history lessons, bringing the past of a famous figure to the masses. Big names can in turn draw big audiences, and while physical resemblance can play a part in casting, makeup and a capturing of the overall essence of a person can compensate. Rarely is what plays out on the screen entirely true to life, and those interested in the subject matter would do well to do further research rather than take what is presented as fact. These films usually take one of two forms: a biopic about a person’s entire life or a more focused excerpt centered on one formative event or accomplishment.

Ruth Bader Ginsberg (Felicity Jones) begins law school at Harvard as one of just a few women, and soon begins attending the classes her second-year husband Martin (Armie Hammer) is enrolled in when he gets sick. After graduation, Ruth struggles to find a job at a law firm since no one wants to hire a woman and begins work instead as a professor at Rutgers Law School. As the years go by, Ruth’s frustration with not being able to fulfill her potential grows, until she finds the perfect opportunity to make her mark, defending Charles Moritz (Chris Mulkey), whose exclusion from a tax exemption for providing nursing care for his ailing mother because he is a man could provide a pathway towards ending legalized gender inequality in the United States.

Anyone paying even minimal attention to what’s going on in this country will be aware that Ruth is now a Supreme Court Justice, and therefore every hurdle she experiences during her early years will eventually lead to greatness and respect from the majority of the population. Ruth is evidently brilliant, and that makes watching men talk down to her and presume what she is capable of all the more agonizing. Her success, once achieved, is gratifying, and the film sets her up for a major victory by stacking everything against her along the way.

Ruth is undeniably a fantastic protagonist, also the subject this year of the likely Oscar-bound documentary “RBG.” Where this film falters in its miscasting of English actress Felicity Jones as Ruth. Her attempt to nail the Brooklyn accent distracts from the effectiveness of her performance. As her extraordinarily supportive husband, Hammer feels like a much more natural fit. Throughout most of its full two-hour runtime, this film acts like the feel-good Christmas movie it’s been marketed as rather than a cohesive biography of a trailblazing lawyer. It finishes strong, however, demonstrating the momentous nature of this case and the incredible contribution to law and gender equality that its subject has made.

B-