Gomorrah

Criterion keeps educating me, keeps expanding my film knowledge, reaching around the globe. This time it has taken me to Naples, Italy. The year is 2008. The fictional film is based on the nonfiction book by Roberto Saviano about the crime mafia of the region known as The Camorra. When I hear Italian "mafia" I think of films like The Godfather, Goodfellas, and The Untouchables. I think of men in suits, smoking cigars, and fancy cars. I think, Robert De Niro. Gomorrah isn't like that at all and De Niro is nowhere in sight. This is a grittier, Boyz N the (Italian) Hood style film. It was like Andrea Arnold or Sean Baker were asked to make an Italian mob movie - let me film-nerd translate that for you: What you get feels like a documentary style feature with its focus being on working class people and low level gangsters, in some cases, kids desiring to work for thugs. With a runtime of 137 minutes, director Matteo Garrone has made a big sweeping film with multiple overlapping story lines. One of which is about two adolescent young men who find a stockpile of mob guns. These two run around quoting Scarface, shooting off machine guns in their underpants by the edge of a shallow river - it's a crazy scene. Another story line follows a tailor who secretly sneaks off to help a rival Chinese company with their clothing - Italian fashion is cutthroat. This movie is shocking, riveting, and unforgettable. If you are looking for a contemporary crime drama with people in underpants, you could watch Joaquin Phoenix in Joker or you could watch Gomorrah. I would choose the latter, if you know what's good for you. Streaming on the Criterion channel or go rent it from Movies 'N Stuff here in Ottawa. 

The Ugly Stepsister

Last year my favourite film was The Substance. If you haven't seen it, you really should. If you were to take it and mash it together with Cinderella, you would have The Ugly Stepsister. This Norwegian horror comedy is something I wasn't expecting and didn't know I needed until I watched it. Quite frankly, I find it wild that it actually exists. I don't like period pieces - frilly lace, candelabras, and horse-drawn carriages usually are not my cup of tea. It's got to be pretty darn good to get my attention and The Ugly Stepsister is just that. First off, it's gorgeous - the costumes, the sets, the lighting. It feels like money, time and a lot of care went into it. Secondly, it's bananas - a body horror version of Cinderella. Seriously. And then, thirdly, Lea Myren . She plays Elvira, one of the stepsisters of Cinderella (known as Agnes in the film and played by Thea Sofie Loch Næss). Lea Myren is absolutely fantastic as the jealous, bug-eyed, will-do-anything (and I mean anything) character trying to beautify herself in order to win the hand of Prince Charming. I wish she would be nominated for some best actress awards, but sadly I think Hollywood Cinderellas will cause her to be overlooked. Like The Substance, this film is not for the squeamish - there is a lot of disturbing, gross, and very dark humour here. I loved it. Let writer/director Emilie Blichfeldt be your sick and twisted fairy godmother and catch it streaming on Shudder (or hopefully you can find a copy at Movies 'N Stuff here in Ottawa). Do it, before you turn into a pumpkin.      

The Stringer: The Man Who Took the Photo

So one of my favourite films this year is Weapons. If you have seen it or even seen the poster for it, you will see children running with their arms out, like the napalm girl in the famous 1972 Vietnam war photograph credited to photojournalist, Nick Út. Weapons writer/director, Zach Cregger based his children's unique running style on that famous photograph. That photo won Nick Út the Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography and the World Press Photo of the Year in 1973. The photo made Nick Út an international star. This photo has been attributed, partially, with ending the war in Vietnam. So for 52 years, this was the story. Then Carl Robinson showed up. His story changes everything. Not the power of the image - that remains intact. It's who took the picture. Robinson, who was working with the Associated Press (AP) at the time in 1972, was told by his boss, to change the name on the napalm girl photo from the stringer (a low level paid Vietnamese contract photojournalist) Nguyễn Thành Nghệ to Nick Út. Robinson did what he was told but it haunted him, especially since Nick Út received and took all the credit for the photo. This documentary reminded me of  Batman & Bill, which is about Bill Finger, the co-creator of Batman, and one might argue, the main creator of Batman. Bob Kane took all the credit and Bill Finger died alone and penniless. Bill Finger is now listed in the credits of all DC Batman related movies and comics. I hope that Nguyễn Thành Nghệ, because of this documentary, The Stringer, will be given his proper acknowledgement. Catch this fascinating documentary streaming now on Netflix. 

After the Hunt

I'm in the minority of people who liked this film. In fact, most critics and audiences hated it (as I type this, the Rotten Tomatoes scores stand at a dismal 37% and 38% respectively). And I will say this, the film is pretentious, sort of. I can understand if people feel this way. It didn't bother me. It reminded me of Fincher's The Social Network. There is a cool-hipster vibe here, intellectual PhD tigers on leather sofas like they were in an Annie Leibovitz photo shoot. They drink wine and spirits like they were the drinking the blood of weak first year undergraduates, ready to pounce on any struggling idea. Eat them alive. What's it about? Its focus is Yale College professor, Alma (Julia Roberts), her psychoanalyst husband, Frederik (Michael Stuhlbarg), her star student, Maggie (Ayo Edebiri), and Alma's fellow professor Hank (Andrew Garfield) as Alma and Hank vie for tenure. Maggie, post smarty-pants party accuses Hank of sexual assault and then everything falls into chaos. There are no clear answers given and no clear villains. I'm not exactly sure what we are to take away from it all. Perhaps it's a commentary on all the #Metoo films we have had, or maybe it's telling us that truth is messy, as is life. What it definitely is, it's captivating. And the soundtrack! If Spike Lee's Highest 2 Lowest is an example of how to ruin a film with a jazzy soundtrack, then After the Hunt is how make a film great with a jazzy soundtrack. Looking for a film that may challenge you? Want to see Julia Roberts give a performance that will knock your socks off? Then check out After the Hunt in theatres or go rent it from Movies 'N Stuff here in Ottawa. 

The Beast in Me

I haven't blogged about a series in a good long while, mostly because I tend to focus my attention on films but partially because most of the series I have watched recently aren't worth your time. Welcome to The Beast in Me - a high paced thriller starring Claire Danes as Aggie Wiggs, a grieving, recently divorced, Pulitzer prize-winning writer who is living in a wealthy neighbourhood somewhere in New Jersey. Her house is in decline as is her attempt to write a follow-up work to her wildly successful first book. Wiggs is a mess. Along comes a brash, new neighbour who has just moved into the giant house next door - a famous real-estate developer, Nile Jarvis (Matthew Rhys) who is rumoured to have killed his former wife - disappeared without a trace. Aggie and Nile clash, at first but then. . . could Nile be the inspiration Aggie needs for her new book? This is a wild ride of FBI agents, city developers, and artist exhibitions. Claire Danes and Matthew Rhys are fabulous in this. It's so well done and so fast-paced and it sticks the landing. It's not Pulitzer Prize winning stuff, it's bestseller trash, and I loved it all. Catch the page-turner now streaming on Netflix or go rent it from Movies 'N Stuff here in Ottawa when available.  

Wild Goat Surf

The U.K. has Andrea Arnold. The U.S. has Sean Baker. Who is the Canadian equivalent? Turns out it's Caitlyn Sponheimer. Never heard of her? Me neither. She is the writer, director, and star of Wild Goat Surf, a 2023 Canadian film which seems to have gotten overlooked by everyone. This one is about Goat (Shayelin Martin), a young skater-girl/tomboy who lives with her waitressing/hairdressing mother Jane (Sponheimer) and every summer they illegally sublet their apartment and go live in an Okanagan trailer park to make a little extra cash. Goat hangs with the other kids in the trailer park and they get up to some trouble. Part American Honey, part The Florida Project, this coming of age tale breathes like a harmonica in a Neil Young song around a campfire. Everyone seems to have a beer on the go and is always a little tipsy. Shayelin Martin (Goat) is excellent as she dreams about becoming a surfer - her world slowly crashing around her. Caitlyn Sponheimer has crafted a beautiful looking film. Catch this streaming on Crave, though I'm not sure where else you can find it. It's a shame because I think it's a film that deserves a bigger audience. I hope Ms. Sponheimer gets another chance to make another beautiful film.  

Stolen: Heist of the Century

2025 feels like the year of the documentary. Here is another Netflix true-crime doc gracing my blog as one of the year's best films. This is the true story of one of the largest diamond heists in history which took place in 2003 in Antwerp Belgium. A group of thieves broke into an almost impenetrable vault (obviously not that impenetrable if they got in, right?) and grabbed millions upon millions of diamonds and then simply disappeared. I love heist movies. This documentary plays like any great one. The fact it's a true story made me love it even more. Leonardo Notarbartolo was the mastermind behind it. He really is a remarkable character. Forget Mission: Impossible, this is the real deal. Or sort of. Can Notarbartolo be trusted in his recounting? Sometimes it felt like it was a Kaiser Soze tale being spun, which made the whole thing even more entertaining. I won't say anything more, because I don't want to spoil the magic of this incredible heist. Catch this while you can, if you can (see what I did there). Streaming on Netflix.