Reel Talk Online

A Look Back At The New York Film Festival

2017-10-29T23:18:00.001-04:00

It's been two weeks since the New York Film Festival wrapped, nearly 4 weeks since Hollywood has imploded following the news of Harvey Weinstein's dirty behavior, and there is a lot to talk about. So I am going to get right into and highlight what I saw at the festival, and how the Weinstein case tainted certain films.

THE FLORIDA PROJECT
Director: Sean Baker
Writers: Sean Baker, Chris Bergoch
Cast: Willem Dafoe, Brooklynn Prince, Valeria Cotto
Quick Review: I would say I am surprised that this film has garnered so much praise from my fellow critics, but actually I'm not. Hollywood pundits may scoff at films that portray the experiences of disadvantaged people of color in film, but they will never, ever turn down a film about the white poverty experience. While it is solidly acted and does have its moments, there seems too much distance between the storyteller (Baker) and the story to truly connect with it. It seems more casually curious and at times even exploitative in its attempt to center the narrative of a poor, marginalized single mother and her precocious young daughter. This effort is at least an improvement from Baker's last film, Tangerine (which I despised), but he still leaves much to be desired. I just left the theater feeling very unaffected, and that shouldn't be the case--not for a story like this.

THE RAPE OF RECY TAYLOR
Director: Nancy Buirski
Writer: Nancy Buirski
Cast: Tommy Bernardi, Robert Corbitt, Alma Daniels
Quick Review: Not a perfect film by any means, but in the wake of Hollywood's implosion post-Weinstein, the film holds a significant relevance. Read my full review here via Hello Beautiful.

MUDBOUND
Director: Dee Rees
Writers: Virgil Williams, Dee Rees
Cast: Carey Mulligan, Garrett Hedlund, Jason Clarke
Quick Review: Dee Rees deserves all the praise she's (hopefully) going to get with this epic drama that contextualizes war and race between a white family and a black family. Read my full review here via Hello Beautiful.

WONDER WHEEL
Director: Woody Allen
Writer: Woody Allen
Cast: Jim Belushi, Juno Temple, Justin Timberlake
Quick Review: First of all, Justin Timberlake isn't that good of an actor to be leading a Woody Allen movie. Second, Allen's personal is...problematic, to say the least (and the fact that this concluding film in the festival premiered at the height of the Weinstein case was not lost on any of us). Third, there are few filmmakers (outside of Pedro Almodovar, who rarely gets his due) who can portray a woman spiraling out of control better than Allen--without parodying her. Of course, much of that credit is due to Kate Winslet's performance as a 1950s wife and mother suffering equally from boredom and feeling unloved. But as great an actress as Winslet is, I couldn't help but wonder what an actress like Julianne Moore would have brought to the role. I know she's played a lot of women on the verge of breakdowns in the past, but infusing that with Allen comedy (because really, that's a genre in and of itself) could have been interesting. The film is fine, romantically lit and beautifully shot (like many Allen films), but isn't nearly effective as, say, Allen's last great film--Blue Jasmine.

CALL ME BY YOUR NAME
Director: Luca Guadagnino
Writer: James Ivory
Cast: Armie Hammer, Timothee Chalamet, Michael Stuhlberg
Quick Review: A lot of folks are raving about Armie Hammer as the dashing American who comes and sweeps a boy (Chalamet) off his feet in his Italian home, but I say meh to that. Hammer is a dashing guy. He just shows up on screen and charms your underwear right off. But beyond charm, his performance is quite thin to me. Chalamet, however, is mesmerizing in the film. He carries the weight of the emotional layers so beautifully and effortlessly. But my, Stuhlberg nearly broke me. He plays an art scholar and Chalamet's dad in the film, and is for the most part just there to guide Hammer's visiting scholarship, but he delivers a monologue at the end of the film that just stops your heart.

It's Almost Time for Halloween, So You Know What That Means...

2017-09-22T23:30:00.000-04:00

It's the time of year when Stephen King reminds us that he is the king of terror. He's having a major year, what with the IT remake killing it at the box office and the small screen remake of The Mist (though I could barely get through the first two episodes without falling into a deep slumber). He's also got film adaptations coming our way that I am psyched about. Check below for deets:

GERALD'S GAME:

Launching exclusively on Netflix September 29

Starring: Bruce Greenwood and Carla Gugino, with Chiara Aurelia
Directed by: Mike Flanagan
Written by: Mike Flanagan, Jeff Howard, Stephen King (based on the novel by)

Synopsis:

While trying to spice up her marriage in a remote lake house, a woman must suddenly fight to survive when she is left handcuffed to a bed. Directed by Mike Flanagan.

1922

Launching exclusively on Netflix on October 20

Starring: Thomas Jane, Molly Parker, Dylan Schmid, Kaitlyn Bernard, Brian d'Arcy and Neal McDonough
Written/Directed by: Zak Hilditch

Synopsis:

1922 is based on Stephen King's 131-page story telling of a man's confession of his wife's murder. The tale is told from the perspective of Wilfred James, the story's unreliable narrator who admits to killing his wife, Arlette, with his son in Nebraska. But after he buries her body, he finds himself terrorized by rats and, as his life begins to unravel, becomes convinced his wife is haunting him.

My body is ready.

Hot Take: Here's My One Issue With STRONGER

2017-09-22T23:00:00.000-04:00

Some of you may already know what I am going to say here. But I am going to back into it anyway. STRONGER, the new Boston Marathon bombing movie starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Tatiana Maslany (from the dearly departed and sorely missed Orphan Black) is by most definitions a solid movie. The acting is good, with appropriately crushing performances by Maslany and a wheelchair-bound Gyllenhaal. The true story is as effective as you expect it to be, that of bomb victim Jeff Bauman (Gyllenhaal) as he fights to regain hope after losing both his legs in the blast. Maslany plays Erin, his former ex-girlfriend whose love for him is rekindled as Jeff is forced to reevaluate his priorities and his own self-compassion. It's inspiring, exactly the kind of story that Hollywood loves.

Another thing Hollywood loves, though? Stories about Boston through the eyes of a white man. I mean, we couldn't even get a white woman victim? I saw countless women impacted by what happened. None of them wrote books like Bauman's? Also, of alllll the people of color who actually have won so many of these marathons, none of their stories are worth telling? I'm just over Hollywood whitewashing the city (my native town) and portraying it as though no one else but white men live there and only their stories matter. It further perpetuates what has become a pervasive narrative of racism tied to the city (marginally portrayed in these white movies, still with no people of color).

I know this a Hollywood issue, what with its infatuation with white male stories and all. But it seems particularly centered in this location. Of course, it doesn't help that Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg and Ben Affleck have become power players in the industry, and they seem to all be determined to portray Boston in this homogeneous way. It's cool that they're putting Boston on the Hollywood map, in their own right, but what they need to do is hire women and people of color as writers. They are in desperate need of perspective.

STRONGER, directed by a white guy (David Gordon Green) and written by a white guy (John Pollono), is a safe, expected film featuring two strong talents (along with Miranda Richardson, who is aces as Jeff's mom), and does a good job at highlighting Boston patriotism. But impress me it has not.

George Takei Is Helping Bring an Epic Asian American Romance Saga to Film

2017-09-07T00:51:00.004-04:00

Let's all hail George Takei, who made it off the Starship Enterprise decades ago and since become a nerd icon and important human rights activist. He continues to do the Lord's work today by executive producing the film adaptation of author Jamie Ford's wildly popular WWII novel about the heartbreaking romance between a Japanese American boy and a Chinese American girl, HOTEL ON THE CORNER OF BITTER AND SWEET. And may I be the first to say thank you, Sulu.

Hopefully this drama receives the platform it deserves because goodness knows we need to see this kind of representation on the big screen. While the film centers on the love between the two main characters, the war setting and political turmoil are ripe for a major Hollywood saga. It will be great to see not one but two Asian American leads of color on screen (unless Hollywood opts for a white character, which would cause a Twitter riot that I would likely start).

According to the press release issued yesterday, production begins next year, so no word yet on a release date. Takei is definitely stoked about it, though, which means I'm stoked about it. From the release: “The book tells an intimate love story that is, at once, poignant and sweeping with historic magnitude told against the backdrop of the internment of Japanese Americans during WWII,” says Takei.“I was captivated by Jamie Ford’s novel when I first read it and visualized a compelling film in my mind’s eye. I saw the drama of enduring love despite governmental racism, the passage of time and the vicissitude of life. What a wonderful film it would make. Now we are beginning the exciting adventure of making it happen.”

So far, this is the information we have on the film, which is being co-written by the book's author Jamie Ford:

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is the story of Henry Lee, a Chinese American boy in Seattle who falls in love with Keiko, a Japanese American girl, as she is sent to an Internment camp during WWII. It is a bittersweet tale about racism, commitment and enduring hope–-a noble romantic journey set in 1942, and later in 1986, when the belongings of Japanese families are discovered in the basement of an old hotel. A widower now, Henry must reconcile the past and the present, the things he did or didn’t do, the things he said, and the things he left unspoken. Set during one of the most conflicted and volatile times in American history, this is a timeless tale of love lost, and found.

Will you support? I know I will.

While You Were Sleeping: The Brilliant Dee Rees Was Making MUDBOUND (Teaser Trailer Debut)

2017-09-06T23:41:00.002-04:00

The world has been in desperate need for an epic drama from a black woman director for quite some time time (Ava Duvernay's Selma was three whole years ago, during which time there have been 5 billion "epic" sagas from male directors). Dee Rees, the Pariah director who's been quietly brilliant and falling so far under your radar for no good damn reason. Here's hoping that now is the time you will start paying attention.

There's talk that Rees's next film, the star-studded MUDBOUND which premieres on Netflix and in select theaters November 17, will bring her to the forefront of the Oscar race. Well hell, that would be amazing. But she first needs to be acknowledged as among the most gut-wrenching young auteurs. Here's a little more on the film from the official synopsis:

Set in the rural American South during World War II, Dee Rees' Mudbound is an epic story of two families pitted against one another by a ruthless social hierarchy, yet bound together by the shared farmland of the Mississippi Delta.

Mudbound follows the McAllan family, newly transplanted from the quiet civility of Memphis and unprepared for the harsh demands of farming. Despite the grandiose dreams of Henry (Jason Clarke), his wife Laura (Carey Mulligan) struggles to keep the faith in her husband's losing venture. Meanwhile, Hap and Florence Jackson (Rob Morgan, Mary J. Blige) - sharecroppers who have worked the land for generations - struggle bravely to build a small dream of their own despite the rigidly enforced social barriers they face.

The war upends both families' plans as their returning loved ones, Jamie McAllan (Garrett Hedlund) and Ronsel Jackson (Jason Mitchell), forge a fast but uneasy friendship that challenges the brutal realities of the Jim Crow South in which they live.

Yes gawd, I am ready to get blown away by this. #LetsGo

Watch the trailer:

A New Sammy Davis, Jr. Biopic Aims to Explore the Man Behind the Politics

2017-08-16T21:15:00.002-04:00

I'm here for Hollywood icons telling their stories in their own words in documentary form. Because too often their stories are distorted or downright inaccurate in feature films--especially when it comes to black icons. So I am intrigued by the trailer for the upcoming film, SAMMY DAVIS, JR.: I'VE GOTTA BE ME, which will world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival next month.

Davis was an icon, a mystery, renowned, incredibly talented, yet still a controversial Hollywood figure in some circles. He was black, vocal, yet respected in a way that made white Hollywood uncomfortable. His story is ripe for a fascinating big screen narrative, so here's hoping that director Sam Pollard has pulled it off with this PBS American Masters documentary. Here's more about it:

SAMMY DAVIS, JR.: I’VE GOTTA BE ME is the first major film documentary to examine Davis’ vast talent and his journey for identity through the shifting tides of civil rights and racial progress during 20th-century America.

Sammy Davis, Jr. had the kind of career that was indisputably legendary, so vast and multi-faceted that it was dizzying in its scope and scale. And yet, his life was complex, complicated and contradictory. Davis strove to achieve the American Dream in a time of racial prejudice and shifting political territory. He was the veteran of increasingly outdated show business traditions trying to stay relevant; he frequently found himself bracketed by the bigotry of white America and the distaste of black America; he was the most public black figure to embrace Judaism, thereby yoking his identity to another persecuted minority.

Featuring new interviews with such luminaries as Billy Crystal, Norman Lear, Jerry Lewis, Whoopi Goldberg, Quincy Jones and Kim Novak, with never-before-seen photographs from Davis’ vast personal collection and excerpts from his electric performances in television, film and concert, SAMMY DAVIS, JR.: I’VE GOTTA BE ME explores the life and art of a uniquely gifted entertainer whose trajectory blazed across the major flashpoints of American society from the Depression through the 1980s.
Watch the trailer:

Writer/Director Justin Simien (DEAR WHITE PEOPLE) Signs On for a Hair-Rising Horror Satire

2017-08-15T22:52:00.003-04:00

None of that headline is actually me being facetious. It's true. Justin Simien, the writer/director behind both the TV and film versions of the race "satire" Dear White People, has signed on for what's also being pegged as a satire in the horror genre, BAD HAIR. (I use quotation marks around the word satire because I find nothing really satirical about blackface and black LGBT politics on college campuses. But, the media has apparently taken comfort in referring to it as such, so there's that). It seems to be about a young woman whose weave gets beyond her control...or something.

Read the synopsis:

Paralleling the rise of New Jack Swing in 1989, Bad Hair is a horror satire that follows an ambitious young woman who gets a weave in order to survive the image obsessed world of music television. Her professional success comes at a higher cost than anticipated, however, when she discovers her new hair may have a mind of its own. Filled with biting satirical commentary and genre bending thrills, Bad Hair marks both an evolution and departure for filmmaker Simien from his Dear White People film and television series.

Watch the teaser:

Yeah, I don't know. In this age of hair politics? We'll have to wait and see, I guess.

Your thoughts?

Want to Hear a Couple of Badass Women of Color Writers Get Real about Working in the Industry?

2017-08-09T07:31:00.000-04:00

Hey good people,

I, along with Jamie Broadnax and Valerie Complex (both from Black Girl Nerds), have just submitted a panel discussion Women of Color Film Critics and Representation for the 2018 SXSW Festival, exploring the importance of women of color voices in film and TV criticism, navigating the gatekeepers, and explaining what it truly means to be a woman of color on the web every day. And we need your help! Vote for us to have our panel among those selected. Polls are only open until August 25.

Click here to cast your vote. Thank you!

6 Intriguing Films on the New York Film Festival Main Slate

2017-08-09T00:27:00.002-04:00

Come hell or high water, I do plan to cover the New York Film Festival again this year. And, judging by the main slate of films just announced by the Film Society of Lincoln Center, it's going to be a great one. While there are many films on the list helmed by buzzworthy stars including Woody Allen (however you fall with that), Richard Linklater, Noah Baumbach, and Greta Gerwig (for her directorial debut), I took a liking to some work from the more seldom discussed filmmakers who excite me. Here's what I'm checking for this year (including my hot takes):

Before We Vanish
Dir. Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Japan, 2017, 129m
The latest from master of art-horror Kiyoshi Kurosawa is perhaps his most mainstream film yet, a throwback to 1980s sci-fi. An advance crew of three aliens journey to Earth in preparation for a complete takeover of the planet. They snatch not only bodies but memories, beliefs, values—everything that defines their conquests as human—leaving only hollow shells, which are all but unrecognizable to their loved ones. This disturbing parable for our present moment, replete with stunning images—including a drone attack and a bit of Clockwork Orange–style murder and mayhem—is also a profoundly mystical affirmation of love as the only form of resistance and salvation. A NEON release.

HOT TAKE: I read "a throwback to 1980s sci-fi" and "Clockwork Orange" and that already had me pulling up a chair. This sounds spectacular.

BPM (Beats Per Minute)/120 battements par minute
Dir. Robin Campillo, France, 2017, 144m
U.S. Premiere
In the early 1990s, ACT UP—in France, as in the U.S.—was on the front lines of AIDS activism. Its members, mostly gay, HIV-positive men, stormed drug company and government offices in “Silence=Death” T-shirts, facing down complacent suits with the urgency of their struggle for life. Robin Campillo (Eastern Boys) depicts their comradeship and tenacity in waking up the world to the disease that was killing them and movingly dramatizes the persistence of passionate love affairs even in dire circumstances. All the actors, many of them unknown, are splendid in this film, which not only celebrates the courage of ACT UP but also tacitly provides a model of resistance to the forces of destruction running rampant today. A release of The Orchard.

HOT TAKE: I feel like I've seen this story several times before, but I am curious to see a French narrative exploring the AIDS epidemic. I'll give it a chance.

Call Me by Your Name
Dir. Luca Guadagnino, Italy/France, 2017, 132m
A story of summer love unlike any other, the sensual new film from the director of I Am Love, set in 1983, charts the slowly ripening romance between Elio (Timothée Chalamet), an American teen on the verge of discovering himself, and Oliver (Armie Hammer), the handsome older grad student whom his professor father (Michael Stuhlbarg) has invited to their vacation home in Northern Italy. Adapted from the wistful novel by André Aciman, Call Me by Your Name is Guadagnino’s most exquisitely rendered, visually restrained film, capturing with eloquence the confusion and longing of youth, anchored by a remarkable, star-making performance by Chalamet, always a nervy bundle of swagger and insecurity, contrasting with Hammer’s stoicism. A Sony Pictures Classics release.

HOT TAKE: I'm literally only interested in this film because everyone has been raving about it. I can only assume the trailer doesn't do it any justice. I'll allow it.

Mrs. Hyde/Madame Hyde
Dir. Serge Bozon, France, 2017, 95m
North American Premiere
Serge Bozon’s eccentric comedic thriller is loosely based on Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, with many a twist. Mrs. Géquil (Isabelle Huppert), a timid and rather peculiar physics professor, teaches in a suburban technical high school. Apart from her quiet married life with her gentle stay-at-home husband, she is mocked and despised on a daily basis by pretty much everyone around her—headmaster, colleagues, students. During a dark, stormy night, she is struck by lightning and wakes up a decidedly different person, a newly powerful Mrs. Hyde with mysterious energy and uncontrollable powers. Highlighted by Bozon’s brilliant mise en scène, Isabelle Huppert hypnotizes us again, securing her place as the ultimate queen of the screen.

HOT TAKE: I'm still salty about how y'all fell over yourselves for Huppert's lackluster performance in last year's Elle, but this movie actually sounds really good. I haven't seen a Jekyll/Hyde approach in a long while. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Mudbound
Dir. Dee Rees, USA, 2017, 134m
Writer/director Dee Rees’s historical epic details daily life and social dynamics in the failing economy of Mississippi during the World War II era. Two families, one white (the landlords) and one black (the sharecroppers), work the same miserable piece of farmland. Out of need and empathy, the mothers of the two families bond as their younger male relatives go off to war and learn that there is a world beyond racial hatred and fear. The flawless ensemble cast includes Carey Mulligan, Mary J. Blige, Garrett Hedlund, Jason Mitchell, Jason Clarke, Rob Morgan, and Jonathan Banks. A Netflix release.

HOT TAKE: After giving us the deeply personal, and astounding Pariah back in 2011, I'd watch just about anything from Dee Rees. But at some point, we have to talk about Mary J. Blige as an actress....because how long can that go on?

Thelma
Dir. Joachim Trier, Norway/Sweden/France, 2017, 116m
In the new film from Joachim Trier (Reprise), an adolescent country girl (Eili Harboe) has just moved to the city to begin her university studies, with the internalized religious severity of her quietly domineering mother and father (Ellen Dorrit Petersen and Henrik Rafaelsen) always in mind. When she realizes that she is developing an attraction to her new friend Anja (Okay Kaya), she begins to manifest a terrifying and uncontrollable power that her parents have long feared. To reveal more would be a crime; let’s just say that this fluid, sharply observant, and continually surprising film begins in the key of horror and ends somewhere completely different. A release of The Orchard.HOT TAKE: I'm not 100% confident that I understand the premise, but I'm curious enough to at least find out what this "terrifying and uncontrollable" power is.

The 55th annual New York Film Festival takes place September 28-October 15 at the Film Society of Lincoln Center in New York City. For more information, visit their website.

Trailer Break: CALL ME BY YOUR NAME

2017-08-01T23:15:00.000-04:00

If there is one film I kept hearing about out of Sundance this year, it is this one. CALL ME BY YOUR NAME is said to be charming and soul stirring work from Italian director Luca Guadagnino. Check out the official synopsis:

CALL ME BY YOUR NAME, the new film by Luca Guadagnino, is a sensual and transcendent tale of first love, based on the acclaimed novel by André Aciman. It's the summer of 1983 in the north of Italy, and Elio Perlman (Timothée Chalamet), a precocious 17- year-old American-Italian boy, spends his days in his family's 17th century villa transcribing and playing classical music, reading, and flirting with his friend Marzia (Esther Garrel). Elio enjoys a close relationship with his father (Michael Stuhlbarg), an eminent professor specializing in Greco-Roman culture, and his mother Annella (Amira Casar), a translator, who favor him with the fruits of high culture in a setting that overflows wit h natural delights. While Elio's sophistication and intellectual gifts suggest he is already a fully-fledged adult, there is much that yet remains innocent and unformed about him, particularly about matters of the heart. One day, Oliver (Armie Hammer), a charming American scholar working on his doctorate, arrives as the annual summer intern tasked with helping Elio's father. Amid the sun-drenched splendor of the setting, Elio and Oliver discover the heady beauty of awakening desire over the course of a summer that will alter their lives forever.

Watch the trailer:

Goodness knows Armie Hammer needs a real hit (while I love Nocturnal Animals, that so isn't his movie). I'm very intrigued to see what he brings to his role as he tends to let his roles be more interesting than his performances. The film itself looks like something I've already seen...a few times. I'll reserve judgment on this one until I watch it.

What do you think of the trailer?

CALL ME BY YOUR NAME is in Select Theaters November 24.

SUBURBICON Trailer: The Suburbs are Just as Disturbing and Buckwild as You Always Suspected

2017-07-27T23:00:00.002-04:00

Literally every single time I think that I want to move to the suburbs when I grow up, I think about every single horror movie and the fact most heinous, unsolved murders happen in Suburbia. Then I think, nah I'm good.

I thought of this as I watched the trailer for director George Clooney's upcoming twisted dramedy rooted in picket fence-land, SURBURBICON. Like most his films, it's as dark as it is hilarious, and stars Matt Damon. So, he's definitely got a type. However, I can't say I was too hot on his last film, The Monuments Men. Let's hope this is significantly better. Official synopsis:

Suburbicon is a peaceful, idyllic suburban community with affordable homes and manicured lawns…the perfect place to raise a family, and in the summer of 1959, the Lodge family is doing just that. But the tranquil surface masks a disturbing reality, as husband and father Gardner Lodge (Matt Damon) must navigate the town’s dark underbelly of betrayal, deceit, and violence. This is a tale of very flawed people making very bad choices. This is Suburbicon.

Can I also just say, more Oscar Isaac in everything, please? Thanks in advance.

SUBURBICON is in theaters October 2.

THE INCREDIBLE JESSICA JAMES is Not So Incredible

2017-07-24T07:00:00.000-04:00

I'l have to assume that there will come a day when a black woman headlining a film isn't cause for a think piece, social media hashtag, and a parade. But today is still not that day. And I don't think I ever want to not celebrate the fact that a woman like Jessica Williams--irreverent, nose-ringed, confident but not sassy -- executive produced and stars in a film that was written just for her (by a white guy, no less). But sadly, THE INCREDIBLE JESSICA JAMES is only isn't up to par with the tremendous talent of the former Daily Show correspondent, who still brings her keen observational comedy and wit to this Netflix romantic comedy only to have it wasted.

Like anything involving Williams, THE INCREDIBLE JESSICA JAMES does play against type. It's a romcom that doesn't adhere to the typical girl meets boy, he breaks her heart, she runs after him, he's not ready to commit to her, then much later runs to find her when he is through man whoring around town format. Though the title character and Williams's alter ego is aching over a breakup, triggering her to passive aggressively plan dates with guys she's not interested in to places where she hopes she'll bump into her ex (Lakeith Stanfield), she is still very much in control of her situation. An aspiring screenwriter, Jessica meets Boone (Chris Dowd) on one of these non-date dates and ends up kinda liking him, at least enough to sleep with him. So, they have a thing, and it's light and fun until his baggage ends up getting between them and their situation becomes no longer tolerable.

But, the film is hollow and as scattered as its protagonist (who, to be fair, is also razor-sharp, ambitious, and delightfully feminist). The plot is paper thin, unorganized, and fails to make an impact. And I'm baffled by the fact that the story seems to take place in a metropolitan city, yet Jessica and her ex are the only people of color. Jessica's dates are all white. Her bestie Tasha (Noël Wells) is white. And the only places they seem to go are coffee shops and hipster joints (not like black folks don't like coffee or random bars, but I question it with these optics). It's like writer/director Jim Strouse (the white guy I mentioned earlier) saw Williams's talent, but could only write her in his dominant gaze of whiteness. Which is woefully problematic, a lost opportunity.

While Williams herself is magnetic and commanding in the role, she's just not given enough character development or substantial material to really use this vehicle to catapult her to the status of which she is so deserving.

THE INCREDIBLE JESSICA JAMES launches exclusively on Netflix July 28.

Watch the teaser trailer:

The WONDER WOMAN Origin Story About to Rock Your World

2017-07-19T00:14:00.000-04:00

Well, I'll be doggone. The Wonder Woman comic was inspired by two badass queer women? And we get to see their story on the big screen, written and directed by a queer woman of color (Angela Robinson, known for The L Word and True Blood)? Oh Hollywood gods, you get it wrong so many times, but when you're right it is so so good!

Set in 1940s, PROFESSOR MARSTON & THE WONDER WOMEN is an origin story that stars Luke Evans as Harvard psychologist and Wonder Woman creator Dr. William Moulton Marston and Rebecca Hall stars as his wife Elizabeth, while Bella Heathcote plays their lover. More in the official synopsis:

While Marston's feminist superhero was criticized by censors for her 'sexual perversity', he was keeping a secret that could have destroyed him. Marston's muses for the Wonder Woman character were his wife Elizabeth Marston and their lover Olive Byrne, two empowered women who defied convention: working with Marston on human behavior research -- while building a hidden life with him that rivaled the greatest of superhero disguises.

Please, please, please be good. This could be epic, y'all.

Here for Rebecca Hall, here for Angela Robinson, and here to look at Luke Evans. Bring it. My body is ready for it all.

PROFESSOR MARSTON & THE WONDER WOMEN hits theaters everywhere October 27, 2017!

Quickie Review: LANDLINE Starring Jenny Slate, Edie Falco, and John Turturro

2017-07-17T08:18:00.001-04:00

For what it's worth, LANDLINE is just about the most harmless film you'll watch this year. It's not bad. It's not great. But it is unremarkable.The most interesting thing about it is the fact that it's set in the 90s, making it a bit of a nostalgia trip and a reminder of how strange yet glorious that era was with its backpack purses, homemade mixtapes consisting of songs dubbed from the radio, and mom jeans. It was organized lunacy and we loved it.

But the film relies on this too heavily. It becomes clearly very early on that there is nothing more compelling about it. Certainly not the story, which is essentially about a family dealing with its individual existential crises -- none of which are particularly groundbreaking. There's Dana (Jenny Slate), engaged to be married to her l, longtime beau , Ben (Jay Duplass), when she regrettably hooks up with an old flame Nate (Finn Wittrock) for a frivolous affair. Her sister Ali (Abby Quinn) is in an experimental phase of her life, halfway committing to everything including her boyfriend (Marquis Rodriguez), drugs, and her unsatisfying home life. Pat (Edie Falco) is the tough-as-nails matriarch who may have just realized how cripplingly unhappy she is at home. And Alan (John Turturro) is the "the good cop" of the family, the dad who's always been too worried about his daughters hating him to discipline them, and whose passivity has made him the wilted wallflower in the house, unseen and ignored. Each of them is propelled to make a series of poor choices that serve as the climax of the film.

The thing is, it's too play-by-numbers and aggressively unspecial. This is from the same director (Gillian Robespierre), who gave us the wonderfully unexpected Obvious Child starring Slate. But LANDLINE doesn't have the same magic. It's shockingly...basic. The story and characters are stale, even despite the solid cast, which is the film's only sell point. But good chemistry between the actors (Slate is always a sure bet) and witty one liners aren't enough for today's more sophisticated indie audience craving something that sticks in their minds long after watching it. LANDLINE is at times endearing, funny, and crushing, but it is instantly forgettable.

Rating: C- (*** out of *****)

Amazon Studios will release LANDLINE in theaters Friday, July 21.
Watch the trailer:

We Need to Talk About WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES

2017-07-07T07:00:00.000-04:00

Make no mistake: what we've seen with the latest contributions to the Planet of the Apes franchise is in a word, spectacular. From the special effects to the astonishing performances led by Andy Serkis as the impenetrable ape Caesar are worth the price of admission alone. In this modern, somewhat anarchic sociopolitical era in which words like resistance and self-empowerment are merely a state of being rather than aspirations, there's something deeply comforting and humanistic about a species fiercely protecting their right to exist. So much so that they're willing to fight for it.

Which brings us to WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES. We're reached that point in this threequel when the usual tactics of mild but steady aggression and militancy are no match to good ole American warfare, machine weapons, minefields, and torture. And that's just where we're at in this movie. After losing his wife and son, Caesar is compelled to go off into the middle of battle and fight on his own, even if it means sacrificing himself. But of course, his posse--including Maurice (Karin Konoval)--doesn't let him go out on his own in good conscious. They follow him as he is lured right into the lion's den, so to speak.

Traveling across snowy mountains and dangerous terrain, they confidently combat the elements, until they come across one young girl (Amiah Miller), a mute, who somehow ends up being a part of their crew, even coming to their aid at their most vulnerable.

Now wait, for a franchise that has shepherded the very notion of authority and agency of a marginalized nation, inserting someone, a white girl at that, to be their lucky charm and miraculously circumvent capture of her own is counterproductive with the entire franchise's theme, and utterly unnecessary. Why, as we reach this culminating point in the franchise, is this even a thing? I have to tell you, I was perplexed and even angered by this.

It just seems so arbitrary, and really futile to have a quiet young white girl, a picture of innocence, tag along with this crew that already has their hands full with actual life and death drama. Is it to appeal to larger audiences (I mean, does this franchise really have an audience problem though)? Was the idea of a civil uprising in the midst of war too much for director/co-writer Matt Reeves, who may have been trying to move away from the narrative's racial themes? And so is that why we now have a silly little ape "Bad Ape" (Steve Zahn), for comic relief? I mean, we're in the middle of a major war that could annihilate the apes. Things are dire. Apes are dying left and right. And this is the culminating film in a franchise. We really don't need to have either of these characters, especially as Caesar himself is coming dangerously close to his own fate, and realizing his legacy among his comrades.

Not that Zahn and Miller aren't solid in their roles (this is the best work I've seen from Zahn in years); it's just that there's so much else here in the film that is in fact great. By this point in Caesar's story, we see the community he has led, the camaraderie and friendships he has nurtured and maintained. We see his strength and his vulnerability, effects of fighting endlessly for years, and a realization that he may not win this war but that he has not much else to lose except his surviving son, who he knows will be well taken care of. There's a complex, layered story here that is deeply captivating, but that is peppered with these frivolous add-ons that do nothing for what makes this series so great. And that's problematic.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Woody Harrelson's role in the film as Caesar's arch nemesis The Colonel. In true Harrelson form, he chews up scenery in a way that is both dramatic and hilarious, but he gets the point across. Caesar wants him dead, and therefore we want him dead. And he's just...a bad guy. That's made very clear here. Say what you want, but Harrelson has always been and still is very fun to watch. Does it work here? Eh, file it in the same folder as Zahn's performance. It's as perplexing as it is enjoyable. He makes it work for him.

All in all, WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES is as heart-wrenching as it is disappointing at times, with still some of the best performances we've seen from non-human characters in a long while. It's meant to be experienced on the big screen, and you're meant to be transported to this astonishing community, and want to fight their fight with them. For that, they succeed on all bases.

Rating: B (**** out of *****)

So, GIRLS TRIP Looks Hella Fun

2017-06-29T23:28:00.000-04:00

So, one of my writer friends insists that this is "the female version of The Hangover." Take from that what you will. The Hangover is actually a movie I can't seem to quit, but I have never cared for the act of describing a film through the guise of its male comparison. It's condescending and unnecessary.

That aside, word of mouth for GIRLS TRIP has been great, and folks on my Twitter feed are already buzzing about getting their crew together for a night out to the movie theater to see this. As for me, I can't say I am hyped about it, but I'll tell you one thing: whoever thought of putting Regina Hall and Queen Latifah in a movie together needs their own award because these two women are easily among the smartest, hardest working actors in Hollywood. I refuse to debate this. Oh, and Mike Colter (Luke Cage) and Larenz Tate? Yes, please. Plus, I can't stress how important it that Hollywood (shout out to director Malcolm D. Lee!) is attempting to break the stereotype that black people--particularly black women--don't travel. That's worth a discussion in itself.

Here's the official synopsis:

Producer Will Packer (Ride Along and Think Like a Man franchises, Almost Christmas) presents Girls Trip, a new comedy from director/producer Malcolm D. Lee (The Best Man franchise, Barbershop: The Next Cut).

When four lifelong friends—Regina Hall, Tiffany Haddish, Jada Pinkett Smith and Queen Latifah—travel to New Orleans for the annual Essence Festival, sisterhoods are rekindled, wild sides are rediscovered, and there's enough dancing, drinking, brawling and romancing to make the Big Easy blush.

Check out some stills:

GIRLS TRIP hits theaters July 21.

On BABY DRIVER, Defying Genre, and the Rebirth of the Soundtrack

2017-06-28T07:00:00.000-04:00

For all intents and purposes, writer/director Edgar Wright's BABY DRIVER is having a moment. Here it is, at the height of summer and, most of us still thinking that Wonder Woman is going to rule our lives at least through the end of August, then in comes this cool AF film, Think about it: it's an action/musical film that has not only defied genre expectations, but it's also re-imagining what musicals look like (like, re imagining them in a great way, not like La La Land).

Honestly, I didn't really know what to expect from this film walking into it. I have to admit, I half expected a toddler behind the wheel of a car. But no, it's a full-fledged adult (played by Ansel Elgort) with pouty pink lips and baby bottom-smooth skin burning rubber all over the highway in a car filled with criminals he's paid to chauffeur. How adorable.

This will likely be the only action movie you'll ever see with a choreographer credit taking prime real estate in the opening credits and it has nothing to do with amazing stunts or fights scenes. It is actually rhythmic movement to the beat of your favorite old school jams. The strangely affable Baby (Elgort), not to be confused with Jennifer Grey in Dirty Dancing, spends most the movie tuning out his adrenaline-fueled lifestyle with his favorite songs that far exceed his years on steady rotation through earbuds -- putting him in a constantly chill mood and disconnected with the slimy thugs around him (played by Jamie Foxx, Jon Bernthal, Jon Hamm, Eiza González, and Kevin Spacey) he drives from crime scene after another. The other part of the movie he spends wooing his ladylove (Lily James) who --unsurprisingly -- works at a ~~soda shop~~ diner off the road, just like your favorite 80s music video crush did. It's literally like we've been transported inside one of Rick Springfield's songs, if Rick Springfield also offered more gunfire and explosions. It's utterly delightful.

But what's most thrilling about BABY DRIVER is its soundtrack, which I alluded to above. You actually want to sing along to each of these songs! None of them is new, unless this is your first exposure to Barry White, Queen, and Martha and the Vandellas (in which case, shame on you), and Baby lip syncs each of them just like most of us do in the shower, except well. But this marks the return of a real film soundtrack that you actually want to seek out in a music store, er, on iTunes or wherever music is sold these days. Back in the day, there used to be myriad films with dope soundtracks (e.g. Boomerang, The Big Chill, Dirty Dancing, Saturday Night Fever, to name a few). That is, until around the 2000s when most were replaced with classical, purely instrumental, and moody tunes that you couldn't sing along to. That was a very long, and very dark time.

In that sense, Wright has perfectly packaged the type of film that appeals to music lovers, romantics, and action aficionados across generations alike. He has created a musical earworm that just so happens to come with wild car chases and a fun story that has heart when you least expect it. I dig it.

Rating: B+ (**** out of *****)

Check out this trailer remixed by Mike Relm:

THE BEGUILED is Overwhelmingly Empty and Out of Touch

2017-06-23T09:09:00.000-04:00

Sofia Coppola has a problem. I don't know if it's her privileged Hollywood upbringing or what, but she is fascinated by the mundane, detached, and the overwhelming emptiness of life. But my god, does she sure know how to make all of that look gorgeous. Because film is so visual, this is one of her assets. But what she struggles with is the story in between, or the lack thereof. Even Lost in Translation and Virgin Suicides, the only two films of hers I am fully engaged in and appreciate through the closing credits, follow this same pattern.

With THE BEGUILED, Coppola attempts to move beyond her typical character moroseness to which she has become accustomed to tackle broader themes of feminism and male chauvinism by way of a secluded group of Christian women and girls nestled in a Virginia mansion during the Civil War. Why Coppola, who wrote and directed this film from director Don Siegel's film of the same name, would choose to connect with the modern conversation with a premise so distant from a contemporary scope, is beyond me. On the one hand it's extremely hokey and conventional, its characters performing quaint songs inside their living room after dinner, making it hard to even hard to care about it. But beneath that lies a layer of repression, sexual frustration, and cunning. And I don't know whether that's Coppola's way of challenging the culture or presenting some kind of feminist statement. Either way, it is incredibly weak, proving that maybe Coppola isn't really comfortable with venturing outside her usual themes.

With a cast led by Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst, and Elle Fanning, THE BEGUILED has the potential to become a captivating narrative, but the characters are drawn in such a boring and uninspired way that they only become interesting once a man enters their lives. And that in itself defeats the whole feminist reaction to this film. Maybe in 1971 when the original film was released, the story of a small school of girls and women during the Civil War who retaliate against a wounded soldier (Colin Farrell) they take in after he seduces them and incites a rivalry between them was considered defiant. But now, it's just completely out of touch. The movie goes from 0 to 100 with no real objective but to look pretty and feminine. It's slow and prosaic, even when Coppola attempts to titillate audiences with close-ups of Farrell's bare body as Kidman's character washes him down, or even at the end when he meets his demise at the hands of his women caretakers. I just don't care by that point in the film. What Coppola fails to recognize is that her audience is far more sophisticated than this. None of this is impressive, special, or even beguiling for that matter. It's utterly outdated, awkwardly humorous at times, and by its last 30 minutes I honestly don't care what happens to any of these characters even when the setup becomes clear. Its conclusion is even more eye roll-worthy. Like, you're just going to end like that? Ugh, whatever.

There are no real takeaways from this film, nothing you want to remember it for after seeing it (unless you count the progressive adage that you become less of a man once your leg is amputated). The film kinda just goes off, presumably back inside the time machine from which it came. Good riddance.

Rating: D+ (** out of *****)

THE BEGUILED in theaters in New York and Los Angeles today, expanding to more theaters on June 30.

Watch a clip:

This Is How You Do a Movie Trailer

2017-06-22T07:00:00.000-04:00

In case you've been underground, the trailer for director Ryan Coogler's Black Panther hit recently and it was everything dreams are made of, and puts Chadwick Boseman at the forefront where he should always remain. I thought the actor would have more than enough to juggle given the ginormity of playing the title character of an iconic superhero on the big screen, but today brought MARSHALL to my attention, in which he plays the the title character again, the first African-American Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall.

Blending modern hip-hop tunes, endless swag that connects Marshall's character to today's contemporary idols and activists, and a stellar cast that includes Sterling K. Brown, Josh Gad, and James Cromwell, this trailer for MARSHALL is cute extraordinarily well. My body is ready.

Here's the synopsis:

Long before he sat on the United States Supreme Court or claimed victory in Brown v. Board of Education, Thurgood Marshall (Chadwick Boseman) was a young rabble-rousing attorney for the NAACP. The new motion picture, MARSHALL, is the true story of his greatest challenge in those early days – a fight he fought alongside attorney Sam Friedman (Josh Gad), a young lawyer with no experience in criminal law: the case of black chauffeur Joseph Spell (Sterling K. Brown), accused by his white employer, Eleanor Strubing (Kate Hudson), of sexual assault and attempted murder.
Watch the trailer:

MARSHALL opens in theaters October 13.

On Reinventing the Romantic Male Lead and THE BIG SICK

2017-06-19T07:00:00.000-04:00

I will always find it interesting when people fail to recognize (or flat out dismiss) a political statement, even despite the subtlety of the situation and the argument of "how far we've come since this was a real political statement." If Loving and the outrage over a recent Cheerios commercial featuring a biracial young girl and her interracial parents taught audiences anything, it is how far we've come yet how far we still have to go. That said, THE BIG SICK is one of those films that is a political statement despite it being presented as one.

Or so its co-writer and star Kumail Nanjiani has admitted. He recently told Variety Magazine, “It is interesting that the movie is being seen in a different context than it was intended. Obviously it would be great if our movie came out and people didn’t see it as a political statement because it really isn’t. It is just a love story and a comedy.” Here's the thing: THE BIG SICK is an interracial comedy starring a Pakistani-American male (Nanjiani) and a white American woman (Zoe Kazan) as the romantic leads, hitting theaters at a time when the United States president has tried to ban Pakistanis from entering the country, accusing them of being a terrorism threat. So yeah, it may not be his intent to make a statement (after all, the film is inspired by the true love story between Kumail and his real life wife--and co-writer--Emily V. Gordon), but it is one anyway.

In sharing their own romantic tale, Gordon and Nanjiani help normalize the idea of a love that can exist across cultures. But even more profoundly, it doesn't ignore the obvious differences between them -- from his family's tradition of arranged marriages to the fact that she's a free spirited divorcee. In other words, it doesn't neutralize their cultural nuances to try to appeal to mass audiences. In fact, similar to Aziz Ansari's wonderful Master of None series on Netflix, we see Kumail's (Nanjiani) family contextualized in the film and having a significant influence in his life as he straddles his cultural traditions and his very different American upbringing to which he's become assimilated.

But this isn't to take away from the fact that THE BIG SICK is thoroughly entertaining, and not to mention charming. Nanjiani is hilarious as Kumail, the deadpan uber driver/comedian whose chance encounter with the perky Emily (Kazan) would alter the way he looks at love. If Hollywood needs more proof that non-white male actors can be excellent romantic leading men, Nanjiani's performance here should be more than enough evidence of that. He's hilarious, while portraying the right amount of gravitas when the scene calls for it. As its title indicates, the film spends much of the time in a hospital when Emily suddenly falls gravely ill, bringing together Kumail and Emily's parents (played by the exceptional Holly Hunter and Ray Romano, who rush in from out of time to be by their daughter's side) to form an unlikely relationship. So Kumail shares the bulk of his scenes with Emily's parents, especially Terry (Romano), breaking romantic comedy tropes that show romance strictly between the man and woman. Here, the male love interest is circumstantially wooing her parents (which is actually not a bad way to court a woman). It has the same meet, conflict, and resolve format that most romantic comedies follow, but it has an actual purpose, intentionally or not.

Meanwhile, there's Kazan, who never really goes outside her natural range of cute and affable, though it works perfectly for this role. It lends itself to the tenderness of this movie, which is a much needed refresh for the romcom genre and, yes, the political statement we deserve right now.

Rating: B+ (**** out of *****)

THE BIG SICK opens in select theaters June 23, followed by a national release on July 14.

Watch the trailer:

Elizabeth Olsen and Jeremy Renner Star in a New Thriller from the Writer of SICARIO and HELL OR HIGH WATER

2017-06-16T22:39:00.001-04:00

Okay, first of all, if you still haven't seen Hell or High Water you are losing at life, big time. And not because Jeff Bridges is in it. Though his performance was hyped up, let the record show that it is in fact Chris Pine who is exceptional in this film (and should also put the whole "Which Hollywood Chris is Better?" debate to rest). Writer Taylor Sheridan's screenplay is a big reason why that movie worked so well (and why Sicario is even more tremendous to watch).

That said, I'd pretty much watch most anything Sheridan writes, including WIND RIVER, a new thriller starring Elizabeth Olsen and Jeremy Renner that he also directed. Olsen and Renner play a FBI agent and a game tracker, respectively, investigating the murder of a local girl on a remote Native American Reservation. Jon Bernthal (who was also in Sicario) is among the cast.

Watch the trailer and let me know what you think:

WIND RIVER hits theaters August 4.

Mandy Moore and Claire Holt are Deep Sea Bait in the Derivative But Decent 47 METERS DOWN

2017-06-15T07:00:00.000-04:00

I know, right? It's so cliche. Two young women look to spice up their summer and take their minds off things like sour breakups by going deep sea diving in the middle of the ocean, hoping to catch a glance at some of the beautiful sharks they keep hearing about out there. I'll never understand why people would intentionally put themselves in the middle of danger, and talk about it like it's supposed to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Yeah, it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity because you'll likely never get another opportunity to do anything else again, including swimming, walking, or even breathing. So yeah, fun time.

But this summer needed a shark thriller. It's become the American way. We spend all year talking about our big plans for the summer, which for many of us includes some kind of beach activity, so Hollywood naturally must combat that with its best don't-go-near-the-water movies. And we fall for it every single time. 47 METERS DOWN is no exception. Starring Claire Holt and Mandy Moore (aka my new favorite actress after completely slaying expectations in the NBC drama, This is Us), the film is every bit as basic as most Jaws knockoffs, but it's consistently engaging even though you know just about everything that's going to happen in every single scene.

The dichotomy between Holt as Kate, the more adventurous friend to Moore's more cautious Kate is just one reason why the film works. Though both characters could have been fleshed out more (I personally could have used some explanation as to why Lisa's ex would call her boring, right before he dumped her. But I guess we needed more affirmation that becoming shark bait wouldn't ever be a thing that for which Lisa would normally volunteer herself), we spend enough time with them to understand the strength of their friendship, its complexity, and how being in a life-or-death situation could really put that to the test.

But of course, the larger piece is the horror story. Lisa and Kate being locked inside a rickety cage and dropped into the ocean with the innocent intention of gawking at seawater creatures. You know nothing good can come from that, but you watch as they struggle to try to save their own lives, and taunt us with the notorious "I'll be right back" line when all their naive dreams end up in bloody tatters. Thankfully director and co-writer Johannes Roberts (The Other Side of the Door) at least doesn't subject his woman protagonists to skimpy bathing suits and flighty one-liners. Instead he delivers a thriller with atmospheric cinematography that places the viewer into the cage with Lisa and Kate, and into the dark, endless ocean that swallows them hole. We root for them, especially Lisa, for whom it becomes increasingly clear that this is a moment that she's determined to survive, to prove something to herself. But unlike Blake Lively's character in The Shallows, Lisa's motivation is a frivolous, underdeveloped breakup narrative, while the former carries far more urgency.

But 47 METERS DOWN is a cheap summer thriller with a bite, B-movie fare that's heavy on empty calories but engrossing enough to consume as a one-time only guilty pleasure. You'll likely not come back for seconds.

Rating: B-

47 METERS DOWN is in theaters Friday.

BEATRIZ AT DINNER: What Happens When White Hollywood Tries (and Fails) to Connect with a Woke Audience

2017-06-07T07:00:00.000-04:00

For a film that's supposedly "the first to address Trump-era issues this year," BEATRIZ AT DINNER quickly destroys the very character it aims to present as a social justice warrior, a woman of color who chooses not to sit idly as those around her bask in their own ignorance, to the point where each pointed, forward-thinking liberal rant she utters comes off awkward, terribly so. She's turned into a punchline instead. Despite being directed by a Puerto Rican-American filmmaker (Miguel Arteta, The Good Girl), it becomes painfully clear that the script was written by a white male scribe (Mike White) whose credits include nary a narrative that centers people of color.

Let me set this up for you: Salma Hayek plays the title character, a masseuse originally from Mexico whose healing has become the pride and joy of one of her most influential clients, Cathy (Connie Britton), a rich white woman who's hired Beatriz for an in-home treatment in preparation for her husband's corporate dinner party at their home that same evening. However, Beatriz has to stick around after the appointment because she gets stranded there when her car breaks down. Eager to express pity and inclusivity (mostly for bragging rights among her similarly aloof friends), Cathy invites Beatriz to her dinner. Already, Beatriz is an outsider, someone who was not invited to the party, inappropriately dressed, only brought to this residence to provide a service for Cathy. And even more strikingly, she's the only person of color at the table, the only one of working class. She's not even supposed to be there, and all the guests know it. It is expected that she shut up, eat her catered meal prepared by a Latina and a white gay chef (presumably also placed as intentional props in the film), and be thankful for Cathy's wonderful gesture. Right away, the sea of white faces at the dinner table very noticeably struggle to enjoy their dinner, empty conversation, and libations in the presence of the "immigrant help" sitting among them, silently not being addressed or catered to.

But wait, there's more. Beatriz shares a strange story with Cathy in the middle of her massage about how her goat was killed that morning. Yes, a goat, in Southern California. One of several she apparently keeps as pets, unironically. And she's deeply spiritual, in that she not only heals through the power of massage, but she apparently has visions. WHY must she be set up this way? Why couldn't she just be the only person of color at the table but maybe Cathy's friend or a corporate associate of her husband (David Warshofsky)? Or just a regular person with an actual invite to the party, who's responding as anyone would to the offensive and remarkably out-of-touch remarks of her white counterparts? Why oh why does she have to be so outside the box? It taints every clear-minded, valid thing she says to these fools.

Because White (or white Hollywood) clearly can't fathom why a person of color with the same economic status would even encounter a situation in which she is compelled to defend her citizenship among the clueless and privileged, or that a person of color would even be among this class. As a result, he makes her a stereotype, a trope that is more easily digested in white America than a three-dimensional character of color. He gives her agency in that the story is driven by her character, except he doesn't really because he neither portrays her genuinely nor thoughtfully.

So why even bother with this story at all? What is the point of plopping this character in the middle of a table of white conservatives whose conversations center on successful business ventures, hunting, and the latest reality star scandal? If you're going to make a statement, make the statement. White gets up to the plate, and decides to make her a joke instead. Literally, for no reason at all. Having Beatriz react in frustration over business titan Doug Strutt's (John Lithgow) corporate ivory tower of self motivation and indifference, after everything we know about her at that point, weakens everything she says because we're made to think that she's kind of a looney tune. And it doesn't help that her retort is more spiritually motivated, propelled by a "feeling" she gets, rather than a visceral reaction to injustice.

For the sake of avoiding spoilers, I won't tell you how the movie ended. But it is as frustrating to watch as, well, most other scene in the movie. It's unredeemable and unsatisfying. BEATRIZ AT DINNER could have been a very smart film that addresses some of the social issues brought to the service during this Trump era, but instead it chickened out, at the expense of its own protagonist. What a shame.

Rating: D (* out of *****)

BEATRIZ AT DINNER is in theaters Friday.

Interview: Gina Prince-Bythewood Talks SHOTS FIRED and Telling the Story of the America You Don't Normally See on TV

2017-05-23T07:00:00.000-04:00

Gina Prince-Bythewood and a scene from Shots Fired featuring DeWanda Wise

If you haven't been watching SHOTS FIRED on Fox, then you've been missing out on one of the smartest, timely, and fascinating shows on television right now (outside of ABC's American Crime, which was just brutally canceled for no reason at all). Set in Charlotte, North Carolina, the narrative kicks off with the murders of a young black man and a young white man at the hands of police. Through that impetus, it tells the story of criminal justice, police misconduct, civil unrest, and race.

In just nine episodes, the series, co-created by writer/director Gina Prince-Bythewood (Love & Basketball, Beyond the Lights), has explored what social justice looks like in the modern era, the role of the black church, local government corruption, and more, seamlessly. And on top of all that, it has one of the best casts on TV: Sanaa Lathan and Stephen James as the officers called to Charlotte in response to the murders, DeWanda Wise and Jill Hennessy as the mothers of the two men killed, the amazing Aisha Hinds as the respected pastor of the local church, Helen Hunt as the governor (yes, a woman governor!), Stephen Moyer as a police lieutenant, and Tristan Wilds as the sheriff deputy accused of killing an unarmed young white man. And that's not even everyone. Did I mention Richard Dreyfuss is also on the show too?

With the series finale of this limited television event coming up Wednesday, May 23, we caught up with Prince-Bythewood to talk about the inspiration behind the show, its phenomenal soundtrack, political statement, and working with some of the best talent Hollywood has yet to truly recognize on Sunday's Cinema in Noir podcast. Tune in below. The interview begins at the :30 minute mark.

Don't miss the highly anticipated finale of SHOTS FIRED Wednesday, May 23 at 8pm on FOX.

Interview: Director Salima Koroma on 'Authentic' Hip-Hop, Drake, and BAD RAP

2017-05-22T07:00:00.000-04:00

Koroma with producer Jaeki Cho

I maintain that director Salima Koroma's feature documentary, BAD RAP, was one of the most unexpected, personal, and bold non-fiction narratives at last year's Tribeca Film Festival. Highlighting the experiences of Asian-Americans in hip-hop, the film explores the significance of race and gender integration in the rap industry, authenticity, and who gets to be the arbiter of the narrative—reigniting a decades-long conversation among hip-hop fans.

I had a chance to catch up with Koroma, who talked about her inspiration behind the film, ownership in hip-hop, and the perception of Asian-American as a monolith:

First of all, congrats on this impressive feature! What inspired you to delve into the "niche" world of Asian-American rap?

Hey girl, hey! And thanks so much. This is a film about Asian-Americans, but it’s also about hip-hop. It’s about America and who can belong. Who can be part of hip-hop? Who is a real American? So, we made it a point to chronicle the Asian-American experience, emphasis on “American” because if you’re a group of people who’ve been fighting to be simply perceived as American, then you can just imagine what it’s like to be perceived as “hip-hop.”

Where does the title come from? Does it refer to the perception alluded to in the film that Asian rap is somehow inferior or inauthentic?

Well, the concept of “Asian rap” doesn’t really exist, so let’s just put that out there. There are Asian rappers, but there’s no such genre as “Asian rap,” because all Asian American rappers are different. Some Asian rappers are really, really good and some aren’t. But at the end of the day, they have a “bad rap,” which is just slang for having a bad reputation.

Lyricks

In your opinion, what makes great rap?

Anything that sounds good and feels authentic. Hip-hop is one of those things where if you’re not being authentic, people don’t like you. Let’s take Drake for example, a former child actor from the Toronto suburbs. Most people love Drake because a) The guy makes catchy tunes and b) He’s embraced what’s authentic about him, which is being the guy who raps about being in love and being heartbroken. He’s corny! And people love it because that’s just who he is! Now, imagine if Drake was rapping about being a gangster and how he sold dope on the Toronto streets. No one would believe him or take him seriously. So the best rap is the rap that’s true to who you are.

I admire that you did not sugarcoat the experiences of rappers whose lives and careers you explore. On the one hand, you highlight a humble upbringing, painting a more sympathetic picture, then you also introduce the pervasiveness of Asian rappers who incorporate misogyny in their music videos and receive criticism from black rappers for doing so. Where do you to draw the balance in optics and messaging?

If an Asian rapper makes a video with girls shaking their a$$es in front of the camera, that has nothing to do with an Asian backpack rapper rhyming about social consciousness. The only similarity is that they’re both Asian. And so when we highlight both of those things, we’re making it okay to criticize or accept it. And that’s all Asian rappers want, really: to be judged on the merits of the music and visuals, even if some people don’t like it.

Awkwafina

Awkwafina is a particularly compelling addition to the narrative. She talks about being a woman in a very male-dominated industry and being able to carve out her own niche. Why was it important to you to include her voice?

Because Awkwafina is dope. She talks a bit about the obstacles of being a woman in the music industry but that’s not really her full story. Each character had their own broad struggle and Awkwafina’s was about being a newcomer on the scene, doubting yourself, and wondering if the newfound fame you’ve gained is going to last for a long time, or for just an instant.

Of course, there will still be people who will come to this film with their own opinion of "who owns rap music." But what do you ultimately want people to take away from the story?
Yes, you’re right, there’s always going to be a discussion about “who owns rap.” And what I want people to take away from this film is that when someone tells you you shouldn’t follow a dream because they think you don’t belong there, tell them to f**k off.

BAD RAP opens nationwide on VOD May 23. Revisit my review here.