Run

It's a thriller. You have seen all of this before, but like Don't Breathe it's an extremely well put together monster. Everything is taut, lean, no fat. This is 90 minutes of pure suspenseful fun. What's it all about? It's about Cloe Sherman (Kiera Allen - she is wonderful) as a girl born with a series of aliments - sick from out of the gate. Her mother, Diane (Sharah Paulson - loved her in this) has been caring for Cloe with great tenderness for the last 17 years. Diane prepares all of her daughters meals, even growing her own vegetables in a large organic garden outside their home. This is healthy stuff for someone who needs to be so careful with what they eat - Cloe is diabetic, asthmatic, and has no use of her legs, bound to a wheelchair. But Cloe is a fighter and smart. So smart that she is soon off to college - she is just waiting for a college acceptance letter to come in the mail. Why aren't they coming? I won't say anything more. Get out your antianxiety medication for this movie, it will keep you on the edge of your seat. Catch it on streaming services.   

Sound of Metal

 

Riz Ahmed stars as Ruben Stone, a heavy metal/punk drummer in a two piece band, a kind of reverse White Stripes ensemble, with his girlfriend, singer and guitarist, Lou (Olivia Cooke). Ruben, for reasons unknown, although maybe because of constant exposure to loud noise, suddenly loses his hearing. Ruben, now four years clean from heroin addiction must learn to deal with his new-found deafness. He does so at a compound for the deaf/those in recovery center. The center is run by a deaf-hippie-therapist named Joe played with great charm by Paul Raci. It's the performances by Ahmed and Raci which gives this movie it feel of authenticity. Ruben, who has been working out his anger with the world through his drumming, must find a new way to deal with himself when he loses his hearing. It's a riveting performance. I wouldn't be surprised if Ahmed was nominated for a Golden Globe and a Oscar and a best-supporting for Raci. The film has a rawness to it, the grittiness of The Florida Project, American Honey, and Vox Lux to name a few recent films with similar aesthetics. Catch this one on Streaming Services. 

Another Round

 This is Danish director, Thomas Vinterberg's latest movie staring Mads Mikkelsen as Martin, a high school teacher who has lost his way as a teacher, a husband, and as a father. He has become by his own estimation (and to some degree others') boring. Life has overtaken Martin and the years of routine have found him settled into a complacent existence, that is until he discovers (maybe rediscovers) the liberation provided to him from the joys of consuming alcohol. Martin and three of his close friends and fellow teachers embark on an experiment - keep their blood alcohol level in their blood stream at .05% during the day. The idea being, we are better versions of ourselves with a few libations coursing through our system. This film is billed as a comedy, but it's more drama than anything. It's about our relationship with alcohol and society's relationship with alcohol - both at times revered and shunned. There is a societal respect for characters like Hemmingway and Churchill who accomplished so much, often drunk, whereas the gym teacher caught day-drunk is shunned. Vinterberg explores this dichotomy by pointing out that Demark, like Canada, promotes drinking and it's built into our culture - however calling someone "a drunk" carries much shame. These ideas are tossed around by Vinterberg, like he was sharing a bottle of booze with friends. Another Round is more sad than funny, like the guy at the bar who has had one too many. Vinterberg has made a film that feels like it was made in that sweet spot of a few drinks, where inhibitions are lost and we are doing our best work. Drink this one up on streaming services. 

  

The Outpost

What you need to know: This is based on a true story of an American army outpost in Northern Afghanistan in 2009. The outpost is a regular target by Taliban fighters - they seem to take daily pot-shots at the base; sometimes they get lucky, most often though, these Taliban fighters get picked off like Star Wars stormtroopers. There is a local Afghani who is helping the Americans. He often appears yelling, warning, "The Taliban are coming, the Taliban are coming!" This never-cry-wolf scenario plays itself out until, well, guess what, the Taliban show up. Big time. Then the battle happens which is what this movie is all about. I didn't think I would enjoy The Outpost because I thought it would be all rah-rah-America, a kind of, aren't-we-great movie. So I went in with low expectations. It's a bit rah-rah-America and I'm okay with that because let me tell you what this really is: It's an outstanding action picture. This is one of the best action pictures I've seen in a long time. The problem with all the super hero movies we are constantly inundated with is all the action that takes place, nobody really gets hurt. It's cartoon violence. When people get shot in this movie, well they are real people who could die - the stakes are high. I'm not familiar with director, Rod Lurie, but he has done a remarkable job with this film. If you want to see the best action film of the year, catch The Outpost on Netflix. 

Wayne

If Quentin Tarantino were to make a TV show about a teen romance, I think it would look a lot like Wayne. The show has a White Stripe' soundtrack and the whole show feels dirty and gets under your fingernails. What's it all about? Its main character is Wayne, played by Mark McKenna. Wayne doesn't have a whole lot going for him. Wayne's mom took off when he was a wee guy and he lives with his dying father in an impoverished area of Brockton, Massachusetts. They are dirt poor and Wayne has nothing to lose - this fact combined with Wayne's indignation with the world and his need to right all wrongs with his fists make Wayne a kind of anarchist-vigilante superhero. Wayne meets Del, played by Ciara Bravo, who he immediately asks to be his girlfriend. After Wayne bites off her dad's nose and beats the shit out of her twin brothers, they head off to Florida to get back Wayne's dad's gold Trans-Am. The police and the high school principal and Wayne's only friend are all in hot pursuit as Wayne and Del gypsy-hop motorcycle their way to Florida. The show is super violent and the fun comes with Wayne's strict moral compass, his crazy dancing, and the crazy side characters, like the police chief's back story of being in a Thai prison. Let this show punch you in the face on Amazon Prime. 

Waves

This is Trey Edward Shults' third major motion picture. His first was Krisha, which came out in 2015. I loved Krisha. If you haven't seen it, please do. Riveting family dysfunctional family drama playing out over Thanksgiving. Trey's next picture was It Comes At Night - a kind of post apocalyptic virus movie (perfect timing - just before COVID). I liked it, but not as much as Krisha. He set the bar high for himself and hit it on the second jump. Waves is his third movie and Trey went sailing clear over the bar. What's it all about? Imagine if Emilio Estevez's character in The Breakfast Club were black and his dad was portrayed by Sterling K. Brown (from This Is Us fame) and we were told the back story Andrew Clark, except it's Tyler Williams and the actor is Kelvin Harrison Jr. Tyler is on the high school wrestling team and his dad is pushing him to be the best. Tyler learns from his doctor that he has a severe injury in his shoulder and shouldn't be wrestling. Things go downhill from here.

The first half of Waves has a manic energy and a wild sense of urgency - the only thing I can compare it to is Uncut Gems. It's riveting stuff. Without spoiling the film, the second half of the movie deals with the fallout of Tyler's demise, about how his younger sister Emily (played by Canadian actor Taylor Russell) deals with what happened. She meets Luke (Lucas Hedges - this kid is a talent) and we watch their relationship unfold. Waves reminded me also of American Honey and to some extent Queen & Slim. There is a gritty realism to these films and something absolutely riveting about them to watch. Catch Waves on Amazon.

The Queen's Gambit

From the opening scene, the opening shot, of the movie "Split" I was hooked. I thought it all had to do with M. Night Shyamalan direction but now I realize it's also because Anya Taylor-Joy is a truly captivating presence on the screen. She is the star of Netflix's new series, "The Queen's Gambit." What's it all about? It's about an orphaned young girl who is taught chess by the grumpy janitor in the basement of the orphanage. It turns out that Beth (Anya Taylor-Joy) is a child chess prodigy. There are so many cliché possibilities here, it's impressive the smart and fresh moves this show makes. This fictional coming of age story is astounding for so many reasons, mainly because Anya Taylor-Joy is just so darn good. Isla Johnston, who plays the younger Beth Harmon is also fantastic. At the orphanage, young Beth is given tranquillizers daily along with her vitamin pill. This leads Beth to wig-out and play chess games in her mind on the ceiling of her dormitory. This upside-down chessboard is a wonderful effect and it appears when Beth gets high on her meds. The show is set in 1960s America and the costume designs are award worthy. In fact, the way the entire show is shot, the look and feel of it, is remarkable. It deals with addiction, mental illness, fame, sexism, and self destruction. It's one of the best things I've seen in 2020. Binge it now on Netflix.