Becoming the Bad Guy (Falling Down, 1993)

Falling_Down_PosterFalling Down opens with the intensely shot claustrophobic sequence of Michael Douglas stuck in traffic.  Full of uncomfortable close ups and an auditory assault, the opening sequence puts you centrally in the experience of a man we only know by his license plate… D-Fens. Having enough, this man just gets out of his car and walks away.

It is pretty clear he is on the edge, and desires to get to his Ex-Wife’s home to see his daughter on her birthday.  He starts to run into minor irritations, such as feeling like he is being charged too much for soda or a homeless man asking for money a bit too aggressively. But as things escalate, he angers a local gang. He eventually starts building up a collection of weapons as he carves out a path of “righteous indignation” through the city.

While the authorities do not connect the dots, Detective Prendergast starts to see that these apparently random events are tied to the same guy.

Falling Down was controversial upon release, as it does, on the surface, feed the white grievance attitudes that seemed to have driven some of the workplace shootings that occurred at the time before the film was released.  And the ads kind of pushed that narrative.  In his first interaction, D-Fens is racist, but it is that racism that we still hear today. He mistakes the ethnicity of the Korean store owner and then rants about immigrants.  This is over being charged 85 cents for a can of soda.  And when he demands breakfast after the fast food place has stopped serving breakfast, it feels like we are expected to understand his perspective as right.

That said, the film ultimately sides on the belief that D-Fens is, indeed, the villain of the film.  In spite of the muddled middle, it is clear he has been in a dangerous state for some time.  D-Fens asks Prendergast how he became the bad guy.  In a lot of ways, this feels like a stinging indictment of people today.  People who spew hate and support cruel ideas are shocked to find out that people do not see them as reasonable good guys anymore.  They seem desperate as they see themselves losing power…and do not understand how the life that used to be affirmed is no longer the status quo.

Even though there are some moments that seem to skirt to close to the line of validating the character D-Fens, Falling Down is still a compelling character study.  And again, the opening ten or so minutes is cinematic gold.  While Schumacher took a lot of heat, Falling Down is a film that proves he had a unique cinematic eye and deserves to be remembered as a respected director.

The Family That Wrestles Together (Fighting With My Family, 2019)

Fighting_With_My_Family_PosterFighting With My Family is the story of wrestler Paige.  Coming from a lower class family obsessed with wrestling, Zayara and Zak dream of the big time wrestling.  When they try out for WWE, only Zayara is selected, crushing her brother.  But when she tells him she won’t go, he lets her know he cannot take this away from her.

And so, Fighting With My Family takes us on Zayara’s journey to becoming the WWE Diva Paige.

As someone who has little knowledge of Wrestling beyond knowing who the Rock is, I cannot verify the accuracy of the film.  What I can confirm is that this is a fun film with a lot of heart.  Florence Pugh is incredibly sympathetic and lovable. The film does not make her pure of heart, she learns some hard lessons, like not seeing the other women as enemies.  As she grows, she pulls others with her.

The relationship that becomes most strained is Paige and her brother Zak.  He struggles with the idea that he cannot be where she is at.  And it drives him away from everything good in his life for a time. The Rock is charming as usual.

This is a good little inspirational sports film worth a watch.

Poison in the Well (Dark Waters, 2019)

Dark_Waters_PosterFrankly, companies do not care about you. Amazon does not care about you.  And chemical companies really do not care about you.  And Dark Waters is about the fight to not just expose this to the world, but to hold polluters accountable for the destruction they have caused.

Dark Water is a legal drama that somehow manages to pace itself like some sort of action movie. It does not spend a lot of time establishing Ruffalo’s Rob Bilot. He is a lawyer and has a family, and quickly he finds a farmer, Wilbur Tennant, in his office demanding his help. Wilbur is certain that Dupont chemicals have been destroying the earth and cattle of his farm.

Hesitant at first Bilot does a little research…it does not take long for him to suspect Tennant is on to something. His firm is unsure at first, as they normally defend companies like Dupont.  But as time passes and information comes in that seems more damning, top people in the firm start to share Bilot’s conviction.

One of the most effective aspects of this film is how they sell the paranoia and demoralizing nature that can be part of challenging the status quo. In one scene, a man Bilot believes he could trust tells him he is sending all their research.  It is so many boxes, as they pull away it feels defeating.  It is clear they were inundating Bilot with so much they hoped he would give up or never be able to process it all and therefore miss something.

Dark Waters spans over a decade, and sometimes the time jumps greatly between scenes.  This method of transition lulls the viewer a bit as you kind of expect maybe jumping a couple years here and there…and then around 2006, the screen stays dark as the title card jumps year by year.

Mark Ruffalo gives a great performance and you see the years of not getting justice take their toll, the fear that he and his family are in danger.

Dark Waters got kind of overlooked last year, but it is worth locating and watching.

 

Hot News (Bombshell, 2019)

Bombshell_PosterBombshell is the dramatic recounting of the harassment scandal surrounding Fox News top guy Roger Ailes in 2016. Focusing on a wide eyed new Fox News employee Kayla Pospisil. An ambitious Conservative Christian, she finds her reality challenged as she starts to rise through the ranks, eventually becoming a victim of Ailes.

Robbie’s Popsisil is a composite character invented for the film. Robbie manages to be sympathetic in spite of her aspirations. Theron and Kidman do a good job disappearing into their famous roles, as does Lithgow.

The real MVP of Bombshell is the make-up, which made many actors near unrecognizable.

This being your standard “inspired by a True Story” fare, there is a lot of embellishment (outside of actual Fox News personalities, the central people Kayla interacts with the most are fictional, including Kate McKinnon’s Jess Carr).

The story playing out is pretty engaging, but the film seems unsure of what it wants to be. Is it a drama that indicts a sick corporate culture? Is it a satire of a sick corporate culture? Is it just the facts?

The main story is bookended by two very different set pieces.  It opens with Megyn Kelly (Theron) giving us a tour of the Fox News offices. It closes with a Gretchen Carlson (Kidman) speech about sexual harassment in the work place.

Bombshell is largely well made, bolstered by excellent make up and good performances.  But it’s lack of focus on what type of film it is trying to be definitely is a detriment.

Uncut Tension (Uncut Gems, 2019)

Uncut_Gems_PosterAdam Sandler plays Howard, a man with a once thriving business as a jeweler whose gambling addiction has brought his life to a stressful ruin.  When he acquires a gem worth millions, that he plans to auction off, life spirals even farther out of control as his debtors close in.

The Safdie Brothers have crafted a film that is unrelenting in its desperation. It feels almost like a constant build up that never gives any release during its run time.  It never paints Howard as anything but a tragic fool, a slave to his greed and gambling addictions.

Sandler gives what is easily his strongest and most intense performance of all time.  Did you forget that Sandler can act? The Safdie Brothers did not and Sandler’s performance is one of the best performances of last year. The man was cheated by the Oscars.

Uncut Gems is not an easy watch, but it is rewarding and is a film worth checking out.

 

Gender War (Hustlers, 2019)

Hustlers_PosterDestiny is working in a strip club trying to make money.  She is taken under the wing of the superstar of the club, Ramona, they start to hatch a plan to increase their incomes by conning their wall street clients.  They build up a side business where the women set up private parties where they use drugs, alcohol and the promise of sex to get access to their client’s credit cards and bank accounts, spending exorbitant of the client’s money…and using humiliation to keep the men silent.

Inspired by a true story, Hustlers is a dark tale. Early on, it placates you into feeling like “okay, these guys deserve it”, but as the film plays out, we find ourselves and Destiny becoming increasingly concerned with the dangers and ethics of what they are doing.  This all starts to drive a wedge between Destiny and Ramona’s relationship.

Constance Wu and Jennifer Lopez deliver great performances.  Director Lorene Scafaria uses a peircing neon color scheme that has the result of giving everything an incredibly surreal feel.

Hustlers is a great film that deserved a lot more recognition. Very recommended.

Sally Forth! (Onward, 2020)

Onward_PosterIt is Ian Lightfoot’s 16th birthday. Shy and reserved, he really has no friends and has always felt like his life was missing something very specific.  His dad.  When his mother was pregnant, Ian’s father died.  Sixteen years later the family has rebuilt itself with his big brother Barley and mother and his centaur stepfather.

Oh, yeah, by the way, Onward is set in a universe where the world is populated by elves, centaurs, ogres, mermaids, goblins and unicorns. Years ago there was magic, but as it was not something everyone could do, technology developed, starting with electricity…eventually, magic was largely forgotten.

On his sixteenth birthday, his mother hands him a gift from his father.  What they find is a wizard staff, a jewel and a spell that will bring their father back for one day so he can see who his sons have become.  Things go wrong and they bring him back from the waist down…this sets Ian and Barley on a quest to find a new jewel to complete the spell before sundown robs them of their time.

Onward keeps its world building deceptively simple.  The opening couple minutes set up exactly why we basically see a world a lot like our own, just with mythical creatures.  They have a lot of fun with a concept where technology has caused natural things to the different creatures to atrophy, so when Barley tries to tell people how things used to be, they laugh at him (why would a centaur need to run up to 70 miles when they have a car?) or become angry (are you telling pixies they are lazy for not flying?). And Barley seems easy to write off, all his knowledge is based in a Dungeons and Dragons style game that he claims is historically accurate.

I really found the characters endearing.  The side plots are also engaging, especially the boys’ mom who teams up with the Manticore (Octavia is delightfully manic) to secure a sword that can end a curse the boys are on track to unknowingly release.

The character designs are solid, though not groundbreaking for Pixar.  But they are fun to watch and the voice cast gives them a vivid life.  I also love how colorful the film it.  Even when they are contrasting the world without magic with a more grimy look, it is really nice looking.

I had a great time watching Onward and think people of all ages will really enjoy it.

World Washed Away (The Last Wave, 1977)

The_Last_Wave_posterWhen five Indigenous men in Sydney are accused of murder, a lawyer (with no experience in murder defenses) is called on to provide their defense.  But instead, he finds he may have always been a part of something larger.

Haunted by nightmares and visions, including of Chris Lee (one of the accused), he finds he may be on the verge of a world ending cataclysm.

The Last Wave is Peter Weir taking his time and looking at the possible end of the world on a very small scale.  This is effective, as Richard Chamberlain struggles to piece things together and learn from his indigenous clients what is truly happening.  It ends on a haunting and slightly ambiguous note, but so very effective visually.

The Last Wave is kind of a forgotten film, but it is a strong entry in the realm of apocalyptic horror.

The Rich Eat the Poor Eat the Rich (Parasite, 2019)

Parasite_PosterParasite opens with a family struggling to find access to someone’s wi-fi so they can use their phones. Comical and relatable it is also clear the Kim Family are constantly trying to find ways to make money and cut costs.

When a friend of son Ki-Woo asks him to take over a job tutoring a girl from a rich family for him while he is away at college, the Kim family gets an idea.  They plot to infiltrate the family via employment.  They find ways to get the current employees of the rich Park family fired and take their places.

Parasite is one of the more clever and nuanced looks at class and really the entire system of capitalism.  Bong Joon Ho weaves a tale without heroes. Instead, we follow the families and see how different the worlds they live in are and yet how interdependent those worlds really become. It is not a critique of the rich.  The rich in the film are not direct evil. We Americans tend to be more comfortable with clearly delineated good and evil.  But Parasite looks at the economic system of capitalism and suggests it makes us all parasites.

The cast is terrific, with all great performances.  The writing is wickedly funny and emotionally charged. Parasite earned it’s Oscars and is a film I highly recommend.

Fast Cars and Overheating Egos (Ford Vs Ferrari, 2019)

Ford_vs_Ferrari_PosterI confess…the subject of the film is not close to my heart. Cars are a utilitarian tool for me. So, I confess, the trailers did not excite me much. Damon and Bale are pretty proven variables…and Mangold has shown himself to be a skilled director.

Dramatizing the events of Ford’s attempts to beat Ferrari in racing and the team Ford assembled to pull it off, this got pitched as a dad movie.  Which, I mean, I guess dads will like it… but really it is a film that fans of creative innovations and risk will find appealing.

Forced to stop racing Carroll Shelby is recruited by Lee Iacocca (for Henry Ford II) to create a race car that can beat Ferrari in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He reaches out to his friend, driver Ken Miles to help.  Reluctant at first, as he gave up racing to focuses on his life with his family, Miles becomes dedicated.  However, execs at Ford are not keen on having Ken as the driver, believing him too difficult.

The drama is terrific in the film, with the hard work, successes and disappointments as they fight to succeed against the odds. Damon and Bale have a very real connection as friends with a somewhat adversarial relationship.

There is some really solid cinematography on display here.  One of my favorite shots is Ken sits on the training track with his son as the night is falling. Just beautiful. I also thought the racing sequences were nicely played out.

Ford vs Ferrari is an engaging film worth watching, whether you are a dad or anyone else.

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