Love, Simon - Trailer

November 29th 2017 was possibly not a good day to drop a trailer for a new movie. From what I can tell all of the oxygen in the room was taken up by the Marvel's shared universe, cinematic extravaganza Avengers: Infinity War. That's fine. It gave me goosebumps.

Looking around today at new trailers, I came across Love, Simon which is adapted from the teen lit book Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens. I suppose the coming of age story is as the song says "a tale as old as time" and that's ok too because I seem to never tire of watching the good ones. Love, Simon stars Nick Robinson who I have enjoyed in several movies but most of all 2013's The Kings of Summer. Release date is March 16th 2018.

Crooked House - If You Can Survive Family, You Can Survive Anything

PG-13 1h 55 mm

I think people more often kill those they love, than those they hate. Possibly because only the people you love can really make life unendurable to you.
Agatha Christie from Crooked House, March 1949

I was extremely excited last week when I came across a trailer for Crooked House because I am an Agatha Christie fan and also because the screen play had been written by Julian Fellowes who captivated audience worldwide with the upstairs/downstairs antics of Downton Abbey. Even better I did not have to wait for the December 22nd, release date here in the U.S. because iTunes was doing a pre-release rental. Now, does it live up to my hype?

Aristide Leonides is dead and it appears to have been a murder by poison. He was a fabulously wealthy man,originally penniless and from Greece who fought his way to the top in English society, where rank often matters more than money. The Leonides family all live in one of those impossibly large English estate houses that dizzies the average person with thoughts of what would you do with all of that room. This arrangement has nothing to do with warm, fuzzy feelings. It's all about who has the money, having the control and that person was Aristide. The unhappy brood includes a younger wife,two sons, two daughter-in-laws, a sister-in-law and three grandchildren. It's one of the granddaughters, Sophia (Stefanie Martini) who approaches a detective about looking in to Aristide's death. The detective, Charles (Max Irons), shares a troubled romantic past with Sophia but agrees to take on the case. Charles proceeds to float around the large Leonides house encountering all of the residents one by one and asking the hard questions. There are predictable twists and turns involving competing wills, methods of murder and the inevitable second death (Don't accuse me of spoilers. The second death is a staple of murder mysteries). In the end you will get your culprit revealed and realize that Crooked House does deserve the description as one of Christie's most twisted novels.

No complaints here, really. The cast generally does what is intended. Since the Leonides family is so large, not every actor gets a chance to shine. Glenn Close is fantastic as the sister-in-law with severely coifed hair and an attitude to match. Maybe it's the accent but I got some Cruella De-Vil vibes. Max Irons is a good choice for Charles. He has the pretty face and frankly, the physical attributes to carry off the sharp 1950's suits. He also exudes a confident swagger that makes it believable when he makes the suspects squirm. Gillian Anderson (Magda vamping, actress daughter-in-law) and Christina Hendricks (Brenda, former Las Vegas showgirl turned blushing bride to Aristide) are probably my favorite of the Leonides family. They play similar roles, lounging around, drinking a bit too much and delivering some catty dialogue.... but they both pull back just at the point of going into some Clue like campiness. Finally, my favorite part of this movie is the reveal scene. We find out the killer in a way that sneaks up on you in a scene that at first seems joyful and innocent but then a scary truth will jump into your mind.

Kedi - A Self Proclaimed Love Letter to the Street Cats of Istanbul

Unrated 1h 19mm running time

Claiming no owners these animals live between two worlds, neither wild nor tame...and they bring purpose to those people they chose to adopt.

Confession time. I am a crazy cat person who has, with no complaints, allowed myself to be adopted by my furry, four legged friends. So flashback to earlier this year when I was at the theater and saw a trailer for a documentary about the street cats of Istanbul being made for the subscription service YouTube Red. I looked around wondering how many people were also thinking, "I will watch this movie".

Director Ceyda Torun spent her childhood in Istanbul and has described the street cats as her constant companions, playmates and friends. She felt she owed them a debt and decided to ignore the advice of "never working with children or animals" and make this documentary. It's literally a joyful and magical experience, certainly for cat lovers, but for everyone else too. As an ancient port city, Istanbul has collected cats who made their way off of arriving ships for centuries. Maybe for that reason, the city's residents have developed a unique and special relationship with the all too independent cats. We meet a series of residents who have bonded with individual cats and those who make daily trips to care for larger numbers. If you were to classify this as just watching cute cat antics for about an hour and half, you might have a loosing proposition for some audiences. Fortunately there is much more. From the music, the architecture, the people -everything has a whimsical but grounded feel.

If you're the target audience for Kedi, then I probably do not need to sell you on this much more. If not, give it a try anyway. You just might find it cat-tastic. Sorry, I had to work in at least one of those.

Crooked House

A dark, twisted Agatha Christie novel adapted for the screen by Julian Fellowes who is now synonymous with the grandeur, drama and mystery of the English manor house. Why hasn't this happened before? All of that, a great cast and Gillian Anderson's hair means you can save me a seat at the theater now please. Release date 12/22.

Atomic Blonde - Sound, Fashion and Fury

Lorraine Broughton (Charlize Theron) emerges from a bathtub full of ice water and sits on the edge, battered, bruised and bloodied. This is how we meet our main character in Atomic Blonde. It's 1989 in Berlin with riots in the streets and the prospect of the Berlin Wall falling is a silent prayer on the lips of people in the East and the West. Lorraine has some explaining to do because her mission from MI6 (British Intelligence) to obtain a missing list of double agents has not exactly gone as planned. The story begins at the end as Lorraine tells all to a British agent (Toby Jones) and a not very welcome official from the CIA (John Goodman). This is the set up for this crazy, frenetic, stylized take on a not very cloak and dagger story. Ok there are plenty of sharp objects in play but I didn't see an actual dagger anywhere.

From the moment Lorraine's feet touch the ground in Berlin to meet fellow agent David Percival (James McAvoy) her life is in danger. The welcome wagon is a literal who's who of Eastern European thugs, cronies and assassins who all want to abduct her, kill her or abduct and kill her. The plot and spy mechanizations going on may be a little hard to follow but that's ok because Atomic Blonde thrives on plenty of visual and auditory style - oh and precisely orchestrated fight scenes. There's a few of those too. East Berlin is a gray city punctuated by splashes of color such as the ever present graffiti on the walls and the day glow hair styles of the German punk movement. As controlled as the lives of the citizens may be, there is a thriving underground where the currency could be a bottle of Jack Daniels or information that would steer the direction of the Cold War. Finding herself in this snake's den and having to put some amount of trust in Percival who is a prince of sorts among these snakes, Lorraine has a tough job ahead of her.

I often break movies down into the good, the bad and the ugly. Fortunately there is no ugly but plenty of good and a small serving of bad. Charlize Theron who has a lot of personal stake in seeing this movie made is fantastic as Lorraine. She is cool and stylish knocking back her Stoli on ice and wearing some great 80's fashion from names like Dior, Galliano and Burberry...but as you know from the trailer she is nursing a seriously deadly rage beneath the surface. James McAvoy is just as good. You never know whether to trust his slacker like persona because you suspect he's a character you could be in the sheets with one day and fighting it out in the streets the next. A third leading character is the music. I'm reminded of 1998's Run Lola Run but if you need a more recent reference think of Baby Driver. So many scenes are highlighted by some great 80's synth pop such as Bowie, New Order, Queen, 'Til Tuesday and 99 Luftballons (a literal Cold War anthem). The bad I mentioned is very slight. With all of the names thrown around and the shifting loyalties, it's easy to loose track of the plot but if you can manage the the short IMBD synopsis, you'll be fine.

I enjoyed this enough that I am crossing my fingers for a sequel. Charlize Theron and director David Leitch (known for John Wick) have spoken so affectionately of Atomic Blonde that I think there is a good chance of that. One last note. If graphic novels are your thing, Atomic Blonde is based on a beautifully done graphic novel called The Coldest City.

Band Aid - Stop Your Messing Around and Sing a Little Song

Sometimes the name of my game is procrastination which means I add movies to my iTunes wish list and then never get around to watching them. This week, I noticed that Band Aid was the 99 cent rental of the week and it was also on my wish list. Needing no further incentive I jumped right in to see what I thought of his indie with a interesting premise.

Band Aid drops us into the a timeless domestic fight about who should be doing the dishes. Anne (Zoe Lister-Jones who also directed) and Ben (Adam Pally) argue about everything it seems. If this opening argument is any indication, they are fast moving, witty and self aware arguments. I would not have been surprised if the two had stopped mid way and broke into laughter, promising to get together again soon for an exercise in comedic improv. However that's not the case. Their's is a marriage in crisis. Therapy, smoking too much pot and other distractions are not working. The movie's main plot is set up when Anne decides that since they both love music, they should turn their worst arguments into songs and see if that might be an actual way to talk about what they're obviously not talking about. You see, there are most definitely heavier things going on than who does the dishes.

What follows is a sometimes off balance mix of comedy and drama. On the comedy side, we meet the slightly odd neighbor, Dave (Fred Armisen) who helps them out as the drummer in this little therapy session turned into a band. I truly love Fred Arisen's dry style and it worked here really well. Although I have to remind myself every time that I am not watching a sketch from Portlandia. Anne works as an uber driver while nursing a side career as a writer; so there is some successful observational humor with her passengers. For example we have in the credits "uber obnoxious"", "uber annoying" and "uber quiet". My favorite is Uber Obnoxious played by Colin Hanks. The music provides a bulk of the humor. Adam Pally and Zoe Lister-Jones play off of each other really well and make these scenes look as if they must have been quite a bit of fun to film. The songs themselves, while not a soundtrack I would buy, are relatable to anyone who has ever been in a relationship.

We do find out about the personal tragedy that took Anne and Ben's marriage off the rails. Essentially she is grieving and he is deflecting or as he says "managing his emotions in an appropriate way" (don't ever say those words to your significant other who is in tears, by the way). The layers are peeled away and the lighter tone is traded for short spurts of raw, emotional scenes followed by more music numbers. However this time it less about fighting and more about communicating.

Final thoughts? I wan't too familiar with either Adam Pally or Zoe Lister-Jones but will keep the names in my mind because they are fantastic and would be happy to watch either in future projects. If you're like me and ok with fast moving, dry humor served up with a little angst, then give Band Aid a try.

Patti Cake$ - A Little Indie That Could

Meet Patti Cake$ aka Killa P but ultimately aka Patricia Dombrowski (Danielle Macdonald). She's an unlikely rap star in the making, living her young life in a forlorn New Jersey town that if you want to stereotype seems to be the place where the bodies are buried. Patti is first introduced during an elaborate dream sequence where her rap idol O-Z (Sahr Ngaujah) is descending from the heavens to bestow his blessing on her. Reality interrupts and you see Patti's real life which ticks off some pretty bad boxes on the dismal life checklist - early morning collection calls, her mom in bed with the latest looser and finally a sick nana in the living room watching reality TV. How Patti reacts to this tells you a lot about what is to come - she looks at herself in the mirror and says "..you're gorgeous, ya boss bitch".

There is an urge to compare this story to 8 Mile, Hustle & Flow or maybe even something like Billy Elliot (Not a stretch. Watch and then think about it) but I decided to see Patti Cake$ as a coming of age super-hero story. Patti may have a rough home life and spend a lot of her other time working in New Jersey's most depressing Kareoke bar but when Killa P comes out she is a transformed and her super power is a voice. A voice that when unleashed via rap empowers her to plow through obstacles whether it be the lame fat jokes hurled at her or the hardened but ultimately fragile machismo of "the boys" threatened by her presence in their world. Every hero needs a sidekick and Patti gets three. First is her best friend and fellow rapper Jheri (Siddhartha Dhananjay) aka the do-rag Da Vinci. He is delightful and charming to watch as a pharmacist by day and a lyrical lover of the ladies at night. Second Patti and Jheri meet Bastard (Mamoudou Athie) a death metal/rap combo musician who brings a energetic rock vibe to Patti's rhymes. Third even her nana gets involved to lend some fish out of water humor.

The hits that knock Patti down on her quest for recognition come hard and fast in the mid part of the movie. Some are shockingly real to the point of violence and other more psychological such as being labeled a white "culture vulture". Ultimately though Patti and her gang get a chance to prove themselves in a very public venue. Endings are difficult. Make them vague and people are unhappy, make them too neat and, guess what, people are unhappy. I think the ending here leans a bit too far toward the latter but it's a pardonable sin when everything else is done so well. Director Geremy Jasper, who I am unfamiliar with, has a lot of credits for music videos; so he does a great job making all the musical and fantasy sequences engaging and energetic. My highest praise for the acting goes to Macdonald and Dhananjay because they shine especially the scenes where they playfully bouncing their rhymes off each other. So give this indie a chance and you will find some laughter and joy.

Thor : Ragnarok Review - The Gods Must Be Laughing

Based on all the online buzz and the reactions in the theater I was in Friday night, audiences are more than ready for an all out super hero comedy that does not star Chris Pratt or Ryan Reynolds. Thor : Ragnorak picks up with Thor (Chris Hemsworth) returning home to Asgard to deal with his ever present dysfunctional family issues. In a fast moving set up, he exposes Loki (Tom Hiddleston) as a fraud and with the help of Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) finds out the fate of his father, Odin (Anthony Hopkins). Then Boom! him and Loki meet Hela (Cate Blanchett), a long forgotten sister, who is brimming over with daddy issues and has the power to prove it.

After a knock down, drag out family reunion Thor ends up far, far away as a prisoner on a planet completely under the control of the Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum). He finds not only Loki weaseling his way into the Grandmaster's good graces but also his Avenger's teammate Hulk with no Bruce Banner to be found. He's Hulk 24/7. For the amusement of the Grandmaster and his flock of admirers (ok that would be his word - they are probably more like prisoners) Thor is forced to fight Hulk in space age gladiator like combat. This section of the movie is where director Taiki Waititi's touches really jump off the screen. The scenery is an overload of colors and exotic characters and the humor, both physical and verbal, flows freely. We do have some unresolved plot lines so Thor, Loki and Hulk eventually get back to Asgard and with the help of a rouge Valkyrie take on Hela. Thor does get his mojo back and the resulting battle scenes are electrifying (pun intended).

Do I have problems with this movie. Yes, that is who I am. I feel like the humor goes a step too far at times and I may have been laughing on the outside but inside I was cringing. There are short scenes that if lifted out of the film could fit right in as one of those spoofs they play before the MTV Movie Awards. Second, let's talk about Cate Blanchett. She is fantastic as the smack talking but clearly damaged Hela. I think she is underused though. I can see why since the bulk of the movie's fun is happening when Thor is away from Asgard. During that time we get some ok scenes of Hela slinking around, throwing out decent one liners and menacing the Renaissance Fair clad residents of Asgard.... but I felt at any minute she might break the fourth wall and say "Hey, remember me. I'm still here"

To sum it all up, Thor is left a much different character than he has been before with a very uncertain future. I don't think there is going to be a fourth Thor movie; so I guess we will see how things go for him in the next Marvel shared universe flick - Avengers: Infinity War.