I Care a Lot

How do you take your comedies? I take mine black. I Care a Lot is dark. It has a cruelty and goofiness which is reminiscent of a Coen brothers picture. What's it all about? Rosamund Pike plays Marla Grayson, a conniving, evil woman who dupes seniors; Marla has them fraudulently committed to old age homes or psychiatric care against their will, has a judge give her all the rights to manage their affairs, and then she goes about selling off all their material wealth so she can steal it all for herself. She's an evil piece of work. Things are moving along just fine until Marla happens to put the wrong old lady in a home (played by two time Oscar winner, Dianne Wiest). Wiest wasn't nominated for an Oscar or a Golden Globe, but she steals ever scene she is in. She is a joy to watch. Peter Dinklage plays her son Roman. He is just as evil as Marla. Let the games begin. This is a battle of wills between two monsters and it's a zany fun ride. Rosamund Pike was nominated and won the Golden Globe for best actress in a Musical or Comedy. Well deserved. Catch this on Amazon or Netflix depending on where you live. 

A Quiet Place Part II

It's rare for sequels to be better than their originals - The Empire Strikes Back, Godfather II, The Raid 2, to name a few. A Quiet Place Part II now ranks amongst them. I enjoyed the first but I loved the second. This is an origin story - what happened on day one. For those of you who didn't see the first one, we have monsters running around that have super hearing. If they hear you, they will find you and eat you. They have ruined the entire planet and have wiped out most of humanity. A Quiet Place Part II works so well because everyone is in jeopardy in parallel but in different places. You cut from one dramatic scene to the next, over and over; it's relentless and breathtaking. Let me tell you, you will be on the edge of your seat for the duration. John Krasinski has taken his talent to the next level. It's a hell of a fun ride. Catch it on Amazon.

Raging Fire

After having watched The Raid 2 and The Villainess, two of the best action films (out of Indonesia and Korea respectively) in the last decade, I thought I wouldn't see anything comparable for years. Wrong. Raging Fire stars martial artist Donnie Yen (of Ip Man fame or maybe you know him as the blind Jedi Monk from Rogue One). Donnie Yen is 58 years old. 58. He moves like a man in the prime of his twenties. He is rather remarkable. In Raging Fire he plays a cop (Bong). Bong's moral integrity has cost him promotions at work. It also sent six of his fellow officers to prison for beating a kidnapper to death. Bong could have lied and colleagues would have walked. But no, Bong's a moral man. So these cops, they served their time and now they are out and want revenge on Bong and the rest of the police department. That's about all the plot I need to explain. There is lots of shmaltzy melodrama mixed in, typical of many Asian action films - it's part of the charm if you ask me. So now onto the the action. Bananas! None stop gun fire, car chases, and hand to hand martial arts ass kicking! It's a blast. It will be hands down the best action film you see this year and maybe for the next several. Catch it where and when you can. 

Pig

Stage 3 of Ontario's reopening plan is now here and the first thing I did was go to the Mayfair Theatre to see "Pig" starring Nicolas Cage. I missed the Mayfair so much during the pandemic. It's one of my favourtie places on the planet. Anyway, back to Pig. For the last two decades, Cage has been churning out films like the machine at the exhibition churns out mini-doughnuts; sometimes yummy, mostly garbage. There have been rumours of financial problems, hence the overzealous output to pay off debts. Cage is actor know for his crazy, manic performances. Some of these B films he has made in recent years have been rather spectacular: Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, Color Out of Space, and my favourite of his most bananas roles, Mandy. The best thing I saw from Cage was Joe - this is  an excellent film and you should take the time find it and watch it. Most have been garbage films, mini doughnuts, fun to eat, not a meal to remember. And along came Pig. Pig is about Robin, living off the grid, deep in the woods, with his foraging truffle pig. I really don't want to tell you more because I don't want to spoil it for you. I suspect Cage will be nominated for a Golden Globe and an Oscar for this one. It's a beautifully shot film, gorgeous in subtle palate colours. Pig is a meal you will remember for a long time. Catch it in Theatres, and if you live in Ottawa, catch it this week at the Mayfair.

Army of the Dead

Full disclosure: I'm a sucker for Zombie films. I also dig a good heist film. Here we have have both. It's Ocean's Eleven meets Dawn of the Dead with a little Escape from New York thrown in. What's it all about? An army experiment/asset (a fast moving zombie) escapes during transport in the Nevada desert. The zombie beelines it for Las Vegas and quickly the whole city turns into Zombie Town. The entire city is walled off by box cars. The government's solution is to nuke the city of Vegas. So with 96 hours before the scheduled bombing, a rich Japanese billionaire (Hiroyuki Sanada) asks Scott Ward (decorated former mercenary) who is down on his luck and could use the money, to hand pick a team and go into Zombie Town and steal millions from a Vegas casino before the city is annihilated. Dave Bautista plays Scott. I like Dave Bautista, however this role could have been played by any of Hollywood's current A-list action stars (The Rock, Vin Diesel, etc.). I wish I had watched this in the theatre, post pandemic. It would have been the best move to see in the theatre because it's just so ridiculous. This is a big splashy zombie action film (lots of Zack Snyder slow-mo gun fire) with a runtime of 2.5 hours! Bananas! I loved it. It's by no means high art. It is the equivalent to spending a day a the fair grounds: candy floss, the haunted house ride, the rollercoaster, and the long line to the porta-potty (it's not all good). If you are looking for some dumb fun, bet it all on Zombie Elvis. Brains, baby, brains. Catch it on Netflix. 

Hacks

 If you finished Mare of Easttown and are having Jean Smart withdrawal, I got you covered: Hacks; also on HBOMAX. Jean plays Deborah Vance, an aging Las Vegas comedian. The character of Vance borrows heavily from real life comic Joan Rivers. Rivers wrote her own material, was a workaholic, had expensive and rather gaudy taste, would do infomercials, had every day packed with work, had a love for plastic surgery, and put her carrer above all else. Rivers was a groundbreaker for female comics. Personally I think that Rivers was a genius - if you haven't watched the documentary, Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work, you should. What I just said about Rivers sums up the character of Vance and Jean Smart is brilliant in her portrayal - my prediction is she will be nominated for a Golden Globe for best supporting in the Mare of Easttown and she will be nominated for a lead in Hacks - she might just win both. Hacks is not just about Deborah Vance, it's also about Ava (played by Hannah Einbinder - she is also wonderful) a 25 year old millennial comedian/writer who is bitter and out of work. Her agent sets her up with Deborah to help her write some new material. A love-hate relationship (mostly hate) forms between the two as Ava tries to get Deborah to explore her past as part of her new material. The writing in this show is whip smart and the characters are well formed. Double down of the poignant and funny dramedy, it's simply aces. 

Mare of Easttown

 

If you haven't already watched Mare of Easttown, well I guess I have given you something to do. It's probably the best thing since "The Killing" or "True Detective." What's is all about? Kate Winslet plays a middle-aged grizzled detective (Mare) investigating missing girls and a homicide in a small Pennsylvania town. Mare has a lot going on in her life and well, so does everyone else in town, including her ex-husband who lives in the house behind hers. There are a ton of characters and most of them are well formed, for the most part. In fact there is so much going on, it borders on bananas ("Tell Me Your Secrets" like bananas). But I loved it. This is another well put together show. Every single actor in this is great. Particularly wonderful is Jean Smart who plays Mare's mother. Every time she is on the screen, she holds me mesmerized. Fabulous. What makes it special is each of these characters feels real, the way they speak, the way they eat their food, the way act when they get home from a hard day at work. The show also throws a bunch of refreshing plot twists surprises at you; keeps you on your toes. Go investigate this one on HBOMax.