Talking Tribeca: Dean

I’ve had the pleasure this year of screening a number of selections from this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, which takes place April 13th-24th.

Dean
Directed by Demetri Martin
Festival Screenings

It’s funny how many films there are about people struggling with writer’s block. The lack of material that a character can come up with often directly translates to plenty of inspiration for cinematic storytelling about that very thing. There’s an added tendency for the second work to be a particular challenge for writers, and that’s no different for those who create collections of drawn images. Dean (Demetri Martin) is one such artist whose life is headed nowhere as he contends with many missed deadlines, his father’s attempts to sell his childhood home, and the frightening allure of selling out.

Dean is a celebrated artist whose first book performed very well. The untimely death of his mother has greatly affected him, prompting little motivation on his part to do anything and to care about much of what is going on in the world. He took back the proposal he made to his girlfriend Michelle (Christine Woods), claiming that he only asked her to marry him to give his mother some hope about his future. By the time he serves as one of two best men at his friend’s wedding, there is little optimism left, which causes him to fly out to Los Angeles to be courted for a more regular collaborative gig. While that meeting is a bust, Dean’s chance meeting at a party with Nicky (Gillian Jacobs) starts to inspire some long-dormant enthusiasm within him and makes him question what he is doing with his life.

Comedian Martin has a certain way about him that makes him the perfect lead for this film, which he wrote and which also marks his directorial debut. It’s a very pleasant and entertaining experience watching Martin, who usually shows up in supporting roles as an eccentric oddball of some kind, get to take center stage in a story about navigating both adulthood and human relationships. Casting Jacobs as the object of his affection is a resounding success, since she proves to be alluring enough to entrance him and distant enough to not let him feel secure in their potential future happiness. Woods is a great part of the cast in a small role, and Kevin Kline and Mary Steenburgen occupy appropriate screen time as Dean’s widowed father and his new realtor love interest in a side plotline. This isn’t a perfect film, but it’s an endearing and enjoyable comedy that, assisted by some fun drawing-inspired visual aids, provides more than a few laughs.

B+

Talking Tribeca: The Family Fang

I’ve had the pleasure this year of screening a number of selections from this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, which takes place April 13th-24th.

The Family Fang
Directed by Jason Bateman
Festival Screenings

You might think your parents are weird or embarrassing, but you’ve got nothing on the Fangs. Caleb and Camille Fang consider themselves performance artists, staging extravagant pranks in public places with no express aim other than to show the world that such an event is possible. One such prank displayed early in the film involves a staged bank robbery and death of a young child’s mother, while another is as simple as a fancy family photo showing the whole family with blood dripping out of their mouths. Corrupted by being forced to play a part in a number of these pranks, the adult Fang children take center stage in “The Family Fang” to try to make sense of their lives.

Annie (Nicole Kidman) and Baxter (Jason Bateman) are the adult versions of the Fang children. Annie is an actress known for diva behavior, while Baxter is an author getting nowhere on his second book. Their parents make plenty of appearances in flashbacks to earlier pranks, in which they are portrayed by Jason Butler Harner and Kathryn Hahn, and then rejoin the story after Baxter is injured while writing a magazine piece, now played by Christopher Walken and Maryann Plunkett. The sudden disappearance of their parents prompt the police to think they may have been murdered, and Annie and Baxter spiral into a maddening search for answers about what they thought they knew their whole lives.

Bateman is an actor known for his understated straight man portrayals in “Arrested Development” and a number of films since then. This is his second time behind the camera, after 2013’s “Bad Words,” and here he helms an adaptation of Kevin Wilson’s popular 2011 novel. Casting Kidman as Bateman’s onscreen sibling is a terrific choice since the two contrast and complement each other very well. The two pairs of actors who step in as their parents are particularly great, and the sedated joy they get out of showing the world what they can pull off is magnificent to watch.

This is an unapologetically bizarre film. Events like Baxter being shot in the head with a potato gun aren’t even the most ridiculous. Some of the film’s developments are meant to show more about the characters than they do about the society meant to experience the pranks, like when Caleb becomes infuriated after his handing out fake coupons for a free sandwich in front of a chicken stand leads to the employees behind the counter honoring them rather than citing their invalidity. The film’s tone shifts considerably throughout the film, wavering from fully comedic to hauntingly serious. It’s hard to break this film down and figure out how to come away from it, but it’s certainly an eye-opening and entertaining watch.

B

Talking Tribeca: The Ticket

I’ve had the pleasure this year of screening a number of selections from this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, which takes place April 13th-24th.

The Ticket
Directed by Ido Fluk
Festival Screenings

A disability of any kind affects the way that someone is perceived by those around them. However progressive any given society may be, treatment is still based at least in part on the differing way in which they lead their lives and experience situations as a result. What may not be as obvious is that those afflicted with disabilities or physical restrictions also interact with the world based on the existence of that condition. “The Ticket” tells the story of one man who went blind as a child and then miraculously finds his sight restored. The way in which he deals with that monumental change is at first gracious and inspiring, but quickly turns sour as he realizes how much he believes his literal inability to see has held him back.

“The Ticket” uses a strong visual style - distorted images that can’t be distinguished - to introduce its characters in its first scene, lending some small assist to viewers to comprehend how James (Dan Stevens) experiences the world. His wife Sam (Malin Akerman) is extremely supportive, and the two lead a very happy life with their young son. When James realizes that he can see again, he attacks his job as a phone agent trying to get people to sell their homes for a fraction of the price as an opportunity, immediately moving up the ranks and leaving many elements of his old life, including his coworker and friend Bob (Oliver Platt), who is also blind, behind.

There is a story that James references numerous times throughout this film in which a man prays to God to win the lottery every night for fifty years. The punchline comes when an angel asks God why he wouldn’t grant him that wish, to which God responds, “I’d love to, but he never bought a ticket.” This humorous tale is an anchor for this film, representing James’ new lease on life and the ways in which he abuses it by failing to appreciate the quality of life he had before he was newly able to see. Watching his transformation is unsettling but powerful.

Stevens is well-known for “Downton Abbey, and it’s nice to see that he’s pursuing challenging roles that give him something else to do other than protest the absurdity of the upper class while still being a part of it. Akerman and Platt are both sympathetic as the representatives of James’ earlier life, while Kerry Bishé is particularly great as James’ high-powered alluring work colleague who takes his attention as soon as he can see, a far cry from her neurotic beginnings on “Scrubs.” Despite its optimistic start, this film is not an overly affirming or positive one; rather an intriguing and thought-provoking exploration of privilege and humility.

B

Talking Tribeca: AWOL

I’ve had the pleasure this year of screening a number of selections from this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, which takes place April 13th-24th.

AWOL
Directed by Deb Shoval
Festival Screenings

Young adulthood is an interesting time in a person’s life. After high school, options abound, and higher education and employment are the two most common paths taken by the general population. It can also be a time of extreme aimlessness, with a perception that the future is a far away thing and there is no need to rush to get anywhere. “AWOL” checks in with Joey (Lola Kirke), who lives in rural Pennsylvania and works at an ice cream stand, as she tries to figure out what’s next for her: the army and the chance to leave her home or the inevitability of standing in place and never getting out.

Midway through the film, Joey is told by her brother-in-law that her mother believes she isn’t living up to her potential. Her reaction to that remark is not a good one, since she doesn’t understand why she should be seen as having potential when those around her, namely her brother-in-law and her sister, aren’t held to the same standard and are allowed to live their lives without anyone telling them to accomplish something. As she prepares to enlist in the army so that she can hone her skills fixing cars and have the army pay for college, she meets the alluring Rayna (Breeda Wool), a married mother of two adorable young kids who has only ever left the state once, who makes her reconsider everything.

This film’s title gives away part of its plot, but that doesn’t distract from its effectiveness. Joey is adrift without any sense of purpose, eager for some escape from her life but not truly prepared to effect change. Rayna opens her eyes to a whole new worldview, one which suggests that a human connection may be the most meaningful factor in figuring out her future. When Joey says that she and Rayna should take her daughters and run away from her husband to Vermont, Rayna insists that she doesn’t want to hold Joey back and that she will be right where Joey leaves her when she returns trained and educated.

Kirke, who stars in “Mozart in the Jungle” and had a lead role in “Mistress America,” is exactly the right actress to play the soft-spoken and quietly passionate Joey, who expresses plenty of emotion even if she rarely raises her voice. The breakout star of the film is Wool, who instantly makes Rayna absolutely irresistible to Joey and switches back and forth throughout the film from strong-willed dreamer to helpless housewife destined to fall back into the same unproductive patterns. The film is enthralling and involving, and while its end isn’t exactly satisfying, it’s a very worthwhile journey.

B+

Talking Tribeca: Little Boxes

I’ve had the pleasure this year of screening a number of selections from this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, which takes place April 13th-24th.

Little Boxes
Directed by Rob Meyer
Festival Screenings

The title “Little Boxes” immediately recalls the 1962 song by Malvina Reynolds that this reviewer came to know as the theme song for the television show “Weeds,” which describes “little boxes made of ticky-tacky” which “look all the same.” The reference is to homes in the suburbs and the way that suburban living discourages diversification and any sort of originality. That title is doubly significant in this film, where a biracial family moves to a new home across the country and is forced to adjust to their new surroundings without the comfort of their belongings, with only a few little boxes while they wait for the delayed arrival of their moving truck.

Mack (Nelsan Ellis) and Gina (Melanie Lynskey) live in Brooklyn with their son Clark (Armani Jackson). When the film starts, the family is packing up to leave New York and move to Rome, Washington. Gina has a tenure-track job waiting for her as a photography teacher at the local college, and Mack is looking forward to focusing on writing his second book so that he can stop contributing food articles to gastronomic magazines. Clark quickly makes friends with two girls who live down the street, while Gina realizes that the tenure-track lifestyle is not what she expected. Mack, who looks substantially different from all those around him, finds boredom and the constant suspicious smell of mold in their new house just as challenging as getting acclimated to a new way of life.

This film deals with many themes and presents them all from a respectfully comedic standpoint. Clark’s tween friends obsess over their dance routine, something totally inappropriate for their young age, but he goes along with it because he’s happy to have friends and doesn’t have anything else to do in the summer. Gina can’t quite hide her New York personality, which earns her raves and jealousy from some and casual contempt from others. Mack wants to believe that a small town might be nice, but the lack of culture and diversity just isn’t cutting it for him. Not having any of their things only adds to the frustration and makes confrontation inevitable.

At times, “Little Boxes” feels like it is taking a chapter out of a family’s life without much sense of where it will end, but as it progresses, it becomes more endearing and involving. Ellis and Lynskey are an unexpected but strong match, both familiar for great TV work on “True Blood” and “Togetherness,” respectively, and well-cast in perfect roles for them. Jackson is also great, as are supporting cast members Janeane Garofalo and Christine Taylor in small but important roles. This is a quiet movie about people transitioning, and it’s an entertaining if not entirely memorable one.

B+

Talking Tribeca: Wolves

I’ve had the pleasure this year of screening a number of selections from this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, which takes place April 13th-24th.

Wolves
Directed by Bart Freundlich
Festival Screenings

In high school, sports can be everything. There are those who simply embrace the spirit of the school teams and go to games and matches to cheer their peers on. There are those whose entire social circles are occupied and defined by a love of playing sports, both casually and on an organized team. And then there are those whose future depends on their sports career in high school, as it will catapult them to a great college with a substantial scholarship and set them up for a promising and comfortable life. “Wolves” tells the story of one of the star players of the team of the same name and the struggles he encounters as he does his best to make his mark and set himself up for post-high school life.

Anthony (Taylor John Smith) is the popular captain of his basketball team. He has good friends, a great girlfriend, and is already a known quantity to the coach from Cornell who encourages him to keep on going and he’ll be completely set to join their ranks. His mother Jenny (Carla Gugino) works hard at a department store to support the family, while his father Lee (Michael Shannon) teaches at a small college and vows to finish writing his book. Lee also devotes a large portion of his time to betting uncontrollably on sports games, racking up sizable debts to multiple bookies and threatening the livelihood of his family and any options for Anthony in the future if he doesn’t secure that scholarship.

There are many father-son dynamics that have been portrayed on film, and this movie crafts a truly intense and compelling relationship. The vigor of Lee’s addiction is matched by his enthusiasm for alcohol and his readiness to criticize his son for not accomplishing his full potential before complimenting him, pointing out the one or two things he could have done better rather than praising a near-perfect game. Anthony looks to his father for approval, and his lack of support, particularly his absence at all games due to teaching or gambling, truly wounds him. While Jenny is there for him in all those moments, she is also helpless to control the impulses and destructive behavior of her husband.

Shannon is everywhere at the moment, starring in three films premiering at Tribeca, with a few more in the pipeline. Here, he delivers a tremendous performance of a man so consumed by addiction and prone to fits of anger that he is unable to be defined by anything else. Gugino complements him well, and Smith is a particularly strong find, baring his emotions and believably portraying a wounded teenager driven by his love of sports and a desire to succeed. This film may be darker than most high school-set movies, but it has plenty of light, entertainment, and meaning along the way.

B+

Talking Tribeca: The Fixer

I’ve had the pleasure this year of screening a number of selections from this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, which takes place April 13th-24th.

The Fixer
Directed by Ian Olds
Festival Screenings

Adjusting to a new culture is a challenge, especially if the place or function one occupies in one place does not exist in the other. Celebrating new freedoms and opportunities can overcome a lack of purpose, though that’s not always a guarantee. In “The Fixer,” Osman (Dominic Rains), an Afghan “fixer” who served as a guide and liaison of sorts for journalists in his native country, arrives in California expecting a job as a reporter to find that there is nothing more than the crime blotter available at a very low rate. Not one to lose out on the experience, Osman embraces his new profession - which pays a mere fifty dollars per week - with the utmost enthusiasm.

Osman is first introduced sitting next to Gloria (Melissa Leo) watching a strange play. Their relationship is made clearer in the next scene, as Gloria, the town sheriff, emphasizes that Osman should make himself at home since he formed a bond with her reporter son, who is still actively working in dangerous areas of Afghanistan. Osman’s efforts to make the crime blotter more than it is lead him to interact with the unpredictable Lindsay (James Franco) and to be transfixed by the allure of Sandra (Rachel Brosnahan), the star of the play. As Osman eagerly begins to adapt to this new culture, events around him spiral out of his control.

The tone and mood of “The Fixer” are difficult to describe, since Osman comes from a large country on the other side of the world and there is something so small and insular about the area to which he has now arrived. It’s almost as if Osman shapes the events that occur in his new place of residence, transforming minor crime details that barely even pass for interesting and making them far more fantastical. With that comes violence and an eerie, foreboding feel that can’t really be described as suspenseful because its pace is relatively slow.

There are a few award-winning actors in this cast, including Oscar winner Leo, Oscar nominee Franco, and Emmy nominee Brosnahan. The three of them all represent the links to Osman’s new home, each with his or her own separate allure. Leo is the least dynamic of the three, while Franco is on full unhinged mode and Brosnahan is far happier and more aloof than her “House of Cards” character ever was. Iranian actor Rains is the real standout of the film, sympathetic and enthusiastic in a way that involve too much energy, anchoring a movie that is intriguing throughout but doesn’t ultimately travel in a gripping direction.

B

Talking Tribeca: Women Who Kill

I’ve had the pleasure this year of screening a number of selections from this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, which takes place April 13th-24th.

Women Who Kill
Directed by Ingrid Jungermann
Festival Screenings

The audience for a podcast about real-life crimes may not be large, but I’m sure there are plenty of people across the globe who are interested in that topic. In “Women Who Kill,” the feature film debut from Ingrid Jungermann, there are two women whose relationship failed but who found success in hosting such a show together, bonding over a shared interest and developing profession rather than a personal connection. Their story is not a typical romantic comedy, but instead a film whose events mirror some of the suspense and foreboding patterns that their podcasts often feature.

Morgan (Jungermann) is the film’s protagonist, sharing screen time with her live-in roommate and ex-girlfriend Jean (Ann Carr), who is also her co-host. Morgan comes off as an introvert, but as the film progresses, it becomes clear that she only opens up to those to whom she feels close, and can temper her enthusiasm at any moment while others, like Jean, feel some sense of catharsis letting their emotions bubble over. As she finds a sympathetic ear in imprisoned killer Lila (Annette O’Toole), Morgan embarks on a relationship with the mysterious, alluring Simone (Sheila Vand), as everyone around her tells that there is something suspicious and off about her.

The setting is crucial to this film, as Brooklyn, particularly the LGBTQ scene, acts almost as a character in itself. One major meeting point for the film’s characters - and where Morgan first spots Simone - is a food coop where Morgan always gets hit with the most boring jobs that constantly seem wrong for her. Running an orientation for new members deprives her of the opportunity to introduce Simone to the coop, but that is only a minor obstacle in the beginning of their relationship. Jungermann herself is based in Brooklyn, and it’s evident that she knows her town and how to best utilize it.

This film isn’t for everyone, to be sure, mainly because the film’s title and the one-line description will turn plenty off. But for those who do decide to explore, it’s an intriguing and different experience, one that doesn’t fall neatly into any genre classification. The film is funny at times and off-putting approaching disturbing at others. Jungermann is a talented filmmaker who casts herself in a perfect role, and while this film may leave viewers with more unpleasant thoughts than positive ones, it’s definitely hard to shake or to forget.

B

Talking Tribeca: Nerdland

I’ve had the pleasure this year of screening a number of selections from this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, which takes place April 13th-24th.

Nerdland
Directed by Chris Prynoski
Festival Screenings

R-rated animated films tend to get a lot of press because they’re not too common. Many times, they tell very adult stories with an amplified meaning due to the fact that their stories play out without live actors and take advantage of creative backdrops and other animation techniques. While a number of these films, like “Anomalisa” and “Waltz with Bashir,” are regarded as mature and accomplished, others, such as “Team America: World Police,” skew to a more uncensored and entertainment-prone audience. “Nerdland” definitely falls into the latter category.

John (Paul Rudd) and Elliot (Patton Oswalt) are good friends living together in Los Angeles trying - and failing - to make a go at being famous. John is an actor, and Elliot is a screenwriter, and neither have found success. This film finds the two of them at the most desperate point, coming up with terrible idea after terrible idea to truly make their mark. This wild, unfiltered adventure takes them them through their worst idea yet, to achieve eternal infamy by becoming notorious and feared killers. Predictably, this plan can’t go that well, but John and Elliot are at their rope’s end and are going to do what they can to make it big somehow.

There is an enormous amount of talent associated with this film, and like any good animated film, part of the fun is identifying which voices belong to which actors. Rudd and Oswalt are cast as characters whose physical appearances more closely mirror the other actor’s body type and demeanor. It’s obvious that these two friends are having a good time doing something different. Also in the cast are Hannibal Buress, Mike Judge, Kate Micucci, Riki Lindhome, Paul Scheer, and Reid Scott, all of whom work together well to create a fully absurd film with a number of colorful characters.

Throughout its short 85-minute runtime, it’s often hard to distinguish between a solid and legitimate plot development and a completely crazy and stupid one, and that’s what makes this one hell of a rollercoaster ride. Some humor can be described as crude, while other moments might simply be termed parody, or even likened to a complex comedic examination of society. I don’t imagine that a film with a title like “Nerdland” has such high aspirations, but this film is more fun and memorable than it could have been.

B

Talking Tribeca: Actor Martinez

I’ve had the pleasure this year of screening a number of selections from this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, which takes place April 13th-24th.

Actor Martinez
Directed by Mike Ott and Nathan Silver
Festival Screenings

Some actors thrive on attention, while others prefer to shy away from the spotlight. Usually, the level of press and stardom performers seek directly corresponds with the nature of their personalities. Those who are more boisterous and excitable are likelier to appear in front of the cameras even when they are not in character than those who lead quiet, personal lives away from prying eyes. In some cases, an actor’s perception of himself may not match reality, and a yearning for being in the public eye based on imagined enthusiasm and charisma doesn’t tend to work out.

“Actor Martinez” follows actor Arthur Martinez, who splits his time between acting workshops in the Denver community and regular work as a computer repairman. The acting scene isn’t what Arthur has hoped it would be, and so he commissions two directors, Mike Ott and Nathan Silver, to make a movie about him. The trouble is, both of Arthur’s professional lives aren’t terribly exciting or illuminating, and basing a film on a man whose energy level is most keenly compared to Louis C.K. as his most melancholy and stoic proves a difficult task indeed.

It’s near impossible to keep track of what is actually authentic and what has been invented for this film. Arthur plays himself, the directors play themselves, and Lindsay Burdge, an actress more well known than everyone else involved with the film combined, is a member of the cast as a big-name actress (herself) who Arthur considers a major get for the film even though she may not be the best fit for the part. Selecting Arthur as a subject is interesting in a sense explicitly because he is unknown, and therefore the audience has no preconceived notions about what to expect.

The problem, of course, is that his life is not inherently fascinating, and the obstacles encountered in the film-within-a-film are doubly true in the film itself. The style is a purposely slow and intentional one, spending a great deal of time on each scene to maximize its impact and to demonstrate the power of small moments. This film also has a lot to both subtly and overtly say about the nature of what it really means to act or to put on an act. As a case study of an actor and of the profession itself, this film has merit, but it doesn’t possess any truly defining qualities.

C+

Jewcy Interview: Wedding Doll

Director Nitzan Gilady's "Wedding Doll" opens today in Los Angeles and New York. Check out my interview with Gilady over at Jewcy.

Movie with Abe: An Eye for Beauty

An Eye for Beauty
Directed by Denys Arcand
Released April 15, 2016

For some reason, architects seem to make great film subjects. They possess an artistic vision that is readily apparent from the visual structures that they create and often show onscreen. It’s not necessarily a given that their lives would be just as interesting as they way they visualize and create, but in both documentary and narrative films, that has proven to be the case. The projects that Quebecan architect Luc (Éric Bruneau) is working on are certainly intriguing, but not quite as much as his personal life.

Luc is happily married to Stéphanie (Mélanie Thierry), though it is clear to him that her thoughts are elsewhere, a fact confirmed when he spots her kissing the spouse of their good friend Isabelle (Marie-Josée Croze). By the time this occurs, however, Luc is already in a different world, as the allure of an assistant named Lindsay (Melanie Merkosky) whom he meets in Toronto on business distracts him entirely from his seemingly perfect life. As he notices Stéphanie drifting away, Luc is entirely consumed by the thought of seeing Lindsay again, and their moments shared together in Toronto are dreamlike and hypnotic.

From this description, Luc might seem like a despicable person, unable to deal with his wife’s unhappiness and invested simultaneously in an escape from the marriage. Yet Luc is a relatively charming protagonist who doesn’t appear to possess any traits of maliciousness or cruelty. The entire film is pervaded by a sense of calm and an appreciation for the beauty of Canada. One particularly stirring and serene scene finds Luc and Lindsay biking through the streets of Toronto, completely invested in the mood of the moment.

This film takes a number of unexpected turns and it evolves from a light-hearted drama about an affair into a larger ensemble piece in which every character plays an important part. As Luc, Bruneau is endearing and likeable, an affable lead who is easy to connect to as the center of the story. Both Thierry and Merkosky give strong supporting performances as the two women in Luc’s life. Croze, who was a memorable part of “Tell No One” and “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly,” contributes as well as Isabelle, Luc’s friend and confidante who also happens to be his closest doctor friend. The film ends with a montage of the works that Luc has created, a fitting ode to the involving and entrancing story this film tells.

B+

Movie with Abe: Hostile Cargo

Hostile Cargo
Directed by Michael Dwyer
Released April 15, 2016

Bordering countries in which the quality of life is considered to be highly disparate make for great film subjects. Shows like “The Bridge” and films like “Sicario” have demonstrated the extent to which daily life in the United States and in Mexico just a few miles south look nothing alike, and those with mixed heritage find them themselves in an even more complicated position. “Hostile Border,” whose title speaks for itself, follows an undocumented illegal immigrant who goes from committing crime in America to figuring out how best to survive in Mexico after she is deported.

Claudia (Veronica Sixtos) is the film’s protagonist, a young woman first seen surrounded by computers and credit cards, talking to customer service representatives on the phone reading off different numbers one after another. The opening intertitle defines the word “pocha” as a Mexican who cannot even speak Spanish, hardly a compliment and an unflattering introduction to Claudia and her likelihood of survival when she is quickly caught in a police raid and placed briefly in a detention facility before being bussed back to Mexico. Her cattle rancher father is far less kind or forgiving about her lack of connection to her culture than her grandmother, and Claudia seems far from set for success in her new life.

As the film’s title implies, if Claudia’s life was already seedy and below-the-line in the United States, it has to become much worse in Mexico. It doesn’t take long for her to come face-to-face with Ricky, a smuggler who is taking advantage of his position in a foreign country to exert influence and intimidate those around him into submission. Claudia seemingly cannot pull away from a criminal lifestyle, and the fact that her new friend can freely travel to the United States without any scrutiny is certainly alluring.

There is little positivity to be found in “Hostile Border,” which is described as a “slow burning crime thriller and western,” an accurate description to a degree. This story is a dark and uninspiring one, with a decently compelling main character fighting to return to the relatively miserable lifestyle which she used to have. As a broader symbolic representation of immigration issues and wealth inequality, it’s a worthwhile conversation piece, but unfortunately it’s not nearly as memorable a film in its own right.

C+

Movie with Abe: The Measure of a Man

The Measure of a Man
Directed by Stéphane Brizé
Released April 15, 2016

The struggle to find work is a universal pain. Tumbling economies and failing businesses do not exist in just one language, and there is often little that can prepare people for an entirely new worldview based on the lack of stability of a job. How society treats those people and deals with the situation is dependent largely on the culture, but there is a fair degree of consistency across the board to how those who have been laid off and cannot find work are viewed. In “The Measure of a Man,” Thierry (Vincent London), a factory worker struggling to find new employment, has to contend with considerable obstacles in order to maintain his livelihood and provide for his family.

“The Measure of a Man” begins with Thierry discussing the absurdity of his having to take a course that was supposed to qualify him for a job only to learn that it did not include crucial components that are now deemed necessary to attain such a position. It is clear that Thierry has worked with the same kind of equipment and machinery all his life, yet his being out of work has led to the circular problem of not being familiar with the latest models, since the only way to get a job working with them is to have had the hands-on experience using them. Thierry shies away from a class-action lawsuit against the employers who laid him off, sternly arguing that he needs to move on and not simply get revenge on those who wronged him.

Thierry is not a particularly warm or likeable man, yet it’s impossible not to feel for him. He is by no means lazy, and consistently applies for jobs that seem like they should be a good fit. One particularly harrowing scene finds Thierry interviewing for a position via video conference with only his side of the conversation shown on screen. Thierry is told that he is interviewing for a lower position with a lower salary and then berated about the lackluster writing quality of his resume before being warned by the interviewer that he has a very low chance of getting the job. Thierry is hit again and again and told not to stand back up, but he continues to persist and to endure, eventually finding a monotonous job as a security guard.

This is hardly a fast-paced film, best compared to “Two Days, Two Nights,” which shares a theme of being French and dealing with unemployment, both films that linger in scenes rather than rush out of them. That style makes the ninety-three minutes of this film seem like an eternity, one that affords an opportunity to get to know Thierry, thanks also to the strong performance from London. This film feels highly relevant even if it does showcase a different society and culture, and its pensive structure makes it all the more poignant.

B+

Movie with Abe: Demolition

Demolition
Directed by Jean-Marc Vallée
Released April 8, 2016

One of Jake Gyllenhaal’s formative roles was playing Donnie Darko, an antisocial teenager who spent time talking to an imaginary evil bunny. In recent years, Gyllenhaal has explored new and challenging parts, and it should come as no surprise that a number of them cast him as someone not quite attuned to the norms of society. An eccentric cop and a sociopathic journalist are prominent examples from “Prisoners” and “Nightcrawler,” respectively. In Jean-Marc Vallée’s new film “Demolition,” Gyllenhaal is the perfect person to portray a man who deals with the untimely death of his wife in a way that can be described as anything but typical.

Investment banker Davis (Gyllenhaal) is introduced as a fierce, shrewd hard worker determined to be successful, accustomed to a certain routine that allows him to be most efficient. When his wife Julia (Heather Lind) is killed in a car crash, Davis begins to grieve in a strange way. He fixates on the vending machine in the hospital waiting room that wouldn’t give him a candy bar and begins writing a series of letters to the customer service department of the company. As his lack of social skills becomes apparent to those around him, including his disapproving father-in-law and boss (Chris Cooper), Davis begins to form a platonic relationship with Karen (Naomi Watts), the lonely woman on the receiving end of his letters, and her son Chris (Judah Lewis).

This isn’t simply a story about a man who moves on from the death of his wife by finding a new romance with someone who finds him sympathetic. Instead, it’s about a man who carefully constructed his life to the specifications he thought it should fit, including a house with so many glass windows that can be boarded up and darkened by automatically-powered shades. When one necessary component – a partner – is taken away, Davis realizes that an ordinary life is not for him, and, no longer living for someone else, he seeks to take the reins and do what makes him feel good.

This is Vallée’s follow up to “Dallas Buyers Club” and “Wild,” two Oscar-nominated films with strong protagonists determined to take on the world. In this case, Davis doesn’t care so much what the world thinks but still wants to turn what he knows on his head. While this may not be Gyllenhaal’s sharpest performance, he’s still inarguably the man for it, and Watts provides wonderful support in a sweet but not terribly likeable supporting role. “Demolition” is intriguing and involving if not totally accessible, a portrait of a man not overcome by grief but rather excited by the possibilities that looking at starting life over can bring.

B

Movie with Abe: My Golden Days

My Golden Days
Directed by Arnaud Desplechin
Released March 18, 2016

There’s nothing quite like youthful years, especially when reflected back upon later in life. There exists a certain simplicity to not knowing about larger problems that end up surfacing and coming up as people grow older, and almost anything seems possible. “My Golden Days,” the new film from noted French filmmaker Arnaud Desplechin, simplifies its original title, “Trois souvenirs de ma jeunesse” (Three memories of my childhood), and finds anthropologist Paul Dédalus (Mathieu Amalric) moving on to the next stage of his career and completely entranced by formative moments from his teenage years.

As he leaves Tajikistan, Dédalus is stopped by airport police who question him about a few discrepancies from his past. A perplexed and nostalgic Dédalus recalls the influential scenes from his childhood and young adulthood that led him down the path he took. The film shifts to introduce an adolescent Dédalus (Quentin Dolmaire), who, after growing up early due to the mental conditions of his parents, begins a lengthy and complicated relationship with the alluring Esther (Lou Roy-Lecollinet) while exploring his intellectual interests.

There are many adventures to be found in the life of the young Paul Dédalus, including a school trip to the USSR involving a side mission to smuggle passports to Soviet Jews looking to escape oppression. The nature of his relationship with Esther, which begins as less than warm but turns into a deep, haunting love that is conveyed via letters back and forth and infrequent visits that go from casual to furiously intense within moments. Dédalus’ story is a fantastical one, and his long-running romance is just one of its many interesting parts.

Amalric has worked with Desplechin before in the wonderful “A Christmas Tale,” and though he isn’t necessarily the star here, the “Diving Bell and the Butterfly” actor does a magnificent job portraying the adult Dédalus. Dolmaire and Roy-Lecollinet are great finds, each embodying a tremendous youthful energy that also shows them to be wise beyond their years while having no true grasp on what really awaits them later in life. This film isn’t necessarily a series of vignettes as its French title would suggest; instead it’s a collection of reflections neatly woven into a very compelling and engaging narrative that doesn’t lead to an entirely fulfilling resolution but is still hard to shake or forget once it’s come to its end.

B+

AFT Awards: Worst Movie of the Year

This is the twenty-third category of the 9th Annual AFT Film Awards to be announced. The AFT Awards are my own personal choices for the best in film of each year and the best in television of each season. The AFT Film Awards include the traditional Oscar categories and a number of additional specific honors, or dishonors in this case. Nominees are pictured in the order I’ve ranked them. Click here to see previous years of this category. I’m fortunate not to see too many truly awful movies, but here are the ones I hated this year.

The winner:
The Gunman still has me laughing, and I can’t decide whether Sean Penn wrapping himself in a towel to protect himself from deadly active flames is more ridiculous than him managing to get the drop on his pursuer after passing out cold in the middle of a chase. Truly terrible stuff.

Other nominees:
The Face of An Angel was a perfect example of a film with decent actors that should have been good but focused on all the wrong things. Western was my least favorite film at the Sundance Film Festival in 2015, a documentary that never managed to get anywhere and billed itself as much more interesting than it actually was. Effie Gray could have benefited from a different actress in the lead role – I suggested Saiorse Ronan – and any number of more interesting moments than the ones ultimately included. Closer to the Moon set out to tell an intriguing story-within-a-story, but it didn’t end up covering any worthwhile ground or making either story inviting.

Movie with Abe: Eye in the Sky

Eye in the Sky
Directed by Gavin Hood
Released March 11, 2016

Military engagement in foreign countries has been the subject of numerous films and television shows, be it fictional, based on fact, or documentary. Drone warfare is a more specific subtopic that played into the fourth season of “Homeland” and has been featured elsewhere as a hot and highly contested issue. “Eye in the Sky” presents a fictional dramatization of a situation in which an imminent threat presents itself but complicating factors threaten to ruin the entire operation, taking audiences through the layers of approval and rationalization that are needed to pull off a deadly and definitive strike.

“Eye in the Sky” introduces four primary protagonists, who are each in a different place and a different role. Colonel Katherine Powell (Helen Mirren) is the British officer in charge of the capture of two highly-wanted terrorists whose actions put them directly in the range of a missile that could easily take them out. Lieutenant General Frank Benson (Alan Rickman) sits in a room with high-ranking government officials who have the power to give the go-ahead for the mission. Steve Watts (Aaron Paul) is the drone pilot sitting in Las Vegas with his finger on the trigger. Jama Farah (Barkhad Abdi) is the agent on the ground in Nairobi, Kenya, who is forced to go in to try to diffuse the situation when a little girl sets up shop selling bread within the blast range of the intended target.

“Eye in the Sky” is a deconstructed experience, one that shows every level and step needed to release one missile. Things change quickly, as a capture mission is transformed into a potential drone strike once suicide vests and massive artillery are detected within the home where the terrorists are meeting. The unfortunate arrival of a certain civilian casualty prompts each group to question the validity and ethical quality of the operation and proceed accordingly. Similar to the cinematic trope of the literal ticking time bomb, this may not be how things play out in reality, but this is a fitting and thrilling moral exercise.

This shouldn’t be a termed an action movie, but might better be described as a suspense-laden drama. The performers are all up to the task, each appearing in scenes filmed completely separately but woven seamlessly together by sharp editing by Megan Gill. Mirren is an obvious fit for the determined military commander who doesn’t want ethics to hold her back, while Paul matches up just right as a kindhearted pilot driven by sentimentality. The late Rickman is dryly endearing in his final live action performance, and Abdi proves that “Captain Phillips” wasn’t a fluke with an appropriately subtle and nuanced performance. It’s hard to know how to feel after finishing this film, but it’s clear that this layered drama from the director of the similarly-themed “Rendition,” Gavin Hood, does its due diligence in crafting a complex and thought-provoking exploration of the legitimacy of military engagement.

B+

Movie with Abe: London Has Fallen

London Has Fallen
Directed by Babak Najafi
Released March 4, 2016

For those crazy people who thought that “Olympus Has Fallen” deserved a sequel, here it is. Looking back, I realize that I never wrote a full review of the first film, instead choosing to summarize it a bit more kindly than I remember it as part of my post in which I gave away a Blu-Ray DVD combo pack courtesy of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. I described it as an energetic thrill ride that might not be the brainiest or most logically supportable movie of the year. Multiply the latter sentiment by the highest number you can think of and you have this highly unnecessary and absurd sequel.

After (spoiler) successfully stopping North Korea from invading the White House and ending the United States of America as we know it, Secret Service agent Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) is now a father-to-be, thinking of turning in his resignation to spend more time with his wife and child. Naturally, that gets put on hold when he travels with the president (Aaron Eckhart) to London for the Prime Minister’s funeral. Understandably, vengeful terrorists have actually set a trap to take out a number of world leaders, and it’s up to Mike to single-handedly stop them and save the president.

All the excess and over-the-top action in the first film is amplified tremendously in this sequel that also doesn’t much let up. It does, however, go way too far on way too many occasions to be remotely believable. The entertainment value suffers because it’s just too much to take. Somehow, a band of terrorists operating out of another country have managed to attain the security details for multiple international dignitaries, and they have infiltrated the British police force in preposterously high numbers that make it so that they nearly outnumber the true cops. It’s a lot to take.

This film is considerably more fun when digested with a large bag of popcorn, as this reviewer did when it was screened earlier this week. It’s mindless entertainment that serves little purposes but still enthralls minimally. The experience will be bettered if audience members are applauding frequently, since there’s no other way to really absorb this inane film. The film’s best line, “Prepare for sacrificing,” uttered by pilots of a nearby helicopter when it becomes clear that the president is in imminent danger, exemplifies this film’s belief that it is much smarter than it is. No one should go in expecting that, and maybe this silly shoot-em-up blockbuster will prove satisfying.

F

Movie with Abe: Triple 9

Triple 9
Directed by John Hillcoat
Released February 26, 2016

In the cinematic world, it sometimes seems like there are just as many corrupt cops as there are true-blue good-natured officers of the law. There are degrees of corruption, starting with taking bribes or letting people off when they receive speeding tickets. In some cases, however, there is little distinguishing a cop from a criminal, and that has likely never been truer than in “Triple 9,” which finds a group of cops desperate to pull off a heist turn to the commission of a 9-9-9, killing a police officer, to distract the attention of those who might get in their way.

However vulgar and violent it may be, “Triple 9” has assembled a truly all-star cast. Introduced in the opening scene are the main players, military man Michael Atwood (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and his cop friends, Marcus Belmont (Anthony Mackie), brothers Russell Welch (Norman Reedus) and Gabe Welch (Aaron Paul), and Franco Rodriguez (Clifton Collins, Jr.). Atwood comes with considerable baggage, namely a son with the woman who happens to be the sister of a powerful Russian mafia queen, Irina Vlaslov (Kate Winslet). Marcus sets his sights on his new entitled partner, Chris Allen (Casey Affleck), whose uncle, Jeffrey Allen (Woody Harrelson), is the lead detective investigating the crimes they are perpetrating, as the target of their planned execution.

One thing that “Triple 9” does extremely well is to create and maintain suspense. From the start, it’s a furious and intense journey filled with excessive violence and brutality. Irina and her henchmen are particularly awful, delighting at causing others pain. The cops aren’t much better, though their horrific acts seem much more focused and part of a larger plan rather than simply to inspire terror. It’s difficult to watch the disturbing events that make up much of this story, and it feels like a similar film with less deplorable and unsettling violence might have gotten the same point across.

Mackie’s Marcus makes sense as a cool cop with a secret dark side, but he’s about the only one. Collins’ seedy homicide detective Franco is too creepy to be believed as a good guy by anyone, and Paul’s Gabe is far too drugged-out and disheveled for anyone to take him seriously. Irina is also magnificently exaggerated, and the portrayal of her henchmen as religious Jews is a pointless and wholly unnecessary subplot. The most legitimate character in the film is Ejiofor’s Michael, a man willing to do anything to stay alive and protect his son. The film that surrounds him is much less put-together and committed.

B-