The Feast

 This is the first feature for director Lee Haven Jones and it's something to behold. It's a horror film that Cronenberg would have been proud to have made - it's slow, aesthetically extremely cold, and creepy as fuck. If this doesn't sound like your bag, the The Feast is not for you. Also it's in the Welsh language, so subtitles to boot. For me, this is all good stuff. What's it all about? A wealthy family is throwing a dinner party and they hire Cadi (Annes Elwy) to help prepare the meal. Cadi, well she is one creepy freak for sure but the whole family is odd and everyone seem to have a strange fetish. Lots of kinking voyeuristic action takes place in The Feast, including the audience - the act of watching others in their private moments is both unsettling as an invasion of privacy but also perversely alluring to see what is really going on. Isn't that what film and books are though, keyholes into the lives of others? This little film looks great and it offers up a three course horror show. If you like your horror movies strange, mythical, and gross, then dig into The Feast on streaming services. 

Boiling Point

Like 1917 or Birdman, Boiling Point is a one shot movie, no edits or cuts; it's just one take (or at least that's what it's supposed to feel like). Anyway, for me, the gimmick usually gets old, but not in the case; for Boiling Point it just ramps up the tension. If you have every worked in a restaurant, then Boiling Point is must viewing - they have achieved a great feeling of authenticity; people have obviously put themselves through film school washing dishes and/or waiting tables - this stuff is spot on. The story revolves mostly around head chef Andy (Stephen Graham) and all he and his restaurant have going on. There is a lot on his plate (order up restaurant puns!) - from cranky health inspectors, a surprise food critic and a celebrity chef drop in, nut allergies, rude guests, bickering staff, lazy dishwashers, and the pressure of a full house, Boiling Point cooks right along. There was even a small moment between two pastry chefs in the back kitchen which had me of the cusp of tears. The movie is technically brilliant but also truly engaging. The entire cast is really fabulous - Vinette Robinson as Carly was a stand out. Make a reservation to watch Boiling Point when the opportunity arrives. It's a five star. 

King Richard

 Welcome to the next movie which will be nominated for Oscar's Best Picture. Based of the true story of Venus and Serina Williams and how their father helps turn them into international tennis stars. The story really is a remarkable one, Richard Williams (played by Will Smith - will he be nominated for this?) had five kids from his first marriage, two with his second and his second wife had three from a previous marriage. Richard's second marriage is what the film focuses in on, raising these five girls, Venus and Serina being his biological kids. He wrote out a plan, an 85 page plan, to turn them into tennis pros. The film portrays Richard poor, working as a security guard in the evening and training his daughters in the day in a scroungy ghetto of L.A., They practice tennis on a crappy court surrounded by bad-ass gangsters who like to talk smack. The whole movie follows the playbook of the underdog sports movie; so yes, it's a bit cliched at times but King Richard, well it delivers an ace down the center line. And I love to root for the underdog. Catch this on in the theatres or on streaming services. 

Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)

 

1969, a lot of crazy stuff happened in America that year. A lot of culture changes were afoot. The Woodstock music festival has a historic place in the consciousness of North American society, especially white society; largely due to the fact that the documentary Woodstock won the Oscar for best documentary in 1970. Everyone has seen it (if you haven't, more film homework for you). What I didn't know, what the world didn't know was100 miles away in Harlem, in New York City there was an almost all-black music festival known as the Harlem Cultural Festival - a festival that spanned over six weekends at fifty thousand people at a time. That's 300,000 people, a mostly all black audience, listening to some of the greatest black artists of the time (except for Jimi, he was at Woodstock) and nobody knows anything about it; well that is, until now. Summer of Soul is the documentary about this festival, it's place of relevance to the people who lived in Harlem, for those who attended, and those who performed. It's as culturally significant as Woodstock, both for the music and the fact that it was ignored. Ignored nor more. Summer of Soul is much watch viewing for both its importance in the place of history but also for the great music of  Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, Sly and the Family Stone, B.B. King, The 5th Dimension, and Gladys Knight (to name some of the highlights). We get to see Stevie Wonder playing drums! Amazing! Catch this wonderful time capsule on Disney+ or in theatres if you can. 

VAL

If you don't like Val Kilmer, then this isn't for you. I've liked him since I watched Top Secret!. I thought he was genius as Jim Morrison in Oliver Stone's The Doors. I loved him in Michael Mann's Heat and later in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang with Robert Downey Jr. If you haven't seen the movie Felon, check it out. But I think my favourite Val role was as Doc Holiday in one of my favourite Westerns, Tombstone.

I was having lunch this summer on a patio and the subject of Val Kilmer came up. Somebody told me, you know he has throat cancer, can't speak anymore, don't you? I didn't know. Which explained why I hadn't been seeing him in any recent films. Shortly after, maybe a week later, I noticed, VAL, on Amazon - a documentary about Val Kilmer by Val Kilmer. So I watched. When Val begins to narrate his own story, I was baffled; I thought he couldn't speak, or speak well? Val's son Jack, who sounds exactly like Val, narrates this poignant, warts-and-all biography of his star father. Val has had a very interesting life, not all of it easy. He may continue to do some acting, but he will never be able to do the the same kind of work which I so admired him for. That's okay, because this is a portrait of a grateful man, lucky enough to have gifted us some tremendous performances, performances which are continued to be loved by fans wherever he goes. If you want to have some intimate personal time with the star, check out VAL on Amazon. 

The Last Duel

The Last Duel is, so far, my favourite picture of 2021. If that's not a good enough reason to go see it then let me tell you you it was directed by Ridley Scott, who is one of my favourite directors (Blade Runner being the greatest film of all time). If this were not enough reason to go out and see The Last Duel, then how about the fact that it was written by Oscar winners, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon (and Nicole Holofcener this time too). Ben and Matt didn't win for acting, they won for writing. Good Will Hunting is one of the reasons I became a writer - I thought if these guys can win an Oscar for writing, why can't I? (Hey! I'm still working on it. I will get there - sit tight). Anyway, what's it all about? Based on a true story, let's call it the #metoo of the 14th Century. It's a story told from three different perspectives in a similar way the TV show The Affair gave us different points of view. I’m not a huge fan of period pieces and I loved this. It's gripping, exciting, well written, well acted, and it looks impeccable. Go out and watch what is likely the best film of the year.   

The Rescue

If you remember the kids, the soccer team, that got got stuck in that cave in Thailand back in 2018, well this film, this National Geographic documentary is about that story; it's The Rescue. We get to  find out exactly who "they" are when people say, "They rescued them." If you think you know the story, you might not know all the harrowing details. Even knowing the outcome, The Rescue is truly gripping. It almost brought me to tears a few times. If you want to get into the mood, get a sense of who "they" are (recreational cave divers, people who go down into the dark depths for hours at a time in tight confining spaces, places if anything were to go wrong, well it's usually not good) then check out the documentary, Dave Not Coming Back on Netflix - another cave diving rescue mission of a different kind and from the title alone, not such a happy finish. It's good, but not nearly as captivating as The Rescue. This documentary will no doubt be nominated for an Oscar. Heck, it might even win. Catch it in theatres now.