Land of Bad

In terms of military action thrillers, we are in the Land of Good. One time Academy Award winner and two time Golden Globe winner, Russell Crowe has recently been in a string of films which geographically have been located in the Land of Bad. I'm happy to inform you, Crowe has snuck across the border, along with Liam Hemsworth, into the Land of Good. This military action movie follows in the footsteps of such films as "The Covenant," "The Outpost"  and "Black Hawk Down." In this film, a group of American muscly military commando types are on a dangerous mission in a foreign county (the Philippines), to acquire the asset - some kidnapped fellow. Along with our seasoned combat vets is the rookie (Liam Hemsworth) who they have nicknamed, Playboy or Airforce. The eyes in sky (and the bringers of doom) are Reaper (Russell Crowe) with his partner (Chika Ikogwe) who are back in the US controlling a drone remotely. Of course shit goes sideways and Playboy must go it alone with only the help of Reaper and his partner to guide him. I had a ball (which was in the shape of a grenade, tossed at my feet - run, run, RUN!). Russell Crowe ordering artisanal vegan cheese at the deli counter might just be one of my favourite guilty pleasure moments of cinema this year. Catch "Land of Bad" in theatres now. 

American Nightmare

My wife and I have been watching true crimes shows together for over twenty years. Friday or Saturday nights often included "Unsolved Mysteries" or "Dateline." Now it seems Netflix has cornered the market on TV true crime. These docuseries or documentaries are usually pretty good but they often get repetitive. Spouse killing spouse, affair boyfriend killing husband, affair turned into a "Fatal Attraction" style killing; we have seen it all before. There isn't a whole lot new. Like a serial killer looking to up his game, "American Nightmare" has done it. When my wife suggested we watch, it was with great reluctance and some mild protest ("Oh god, not another one") but I finally agreed. We binged all three episodes of this short true crime miniseries. Fascinating. This is home invasion/kidnapping. It was the media's, police's, and the FBI's responses which I found the most fascinating  and shocking - including my own biases I brought to the table. There is no handbook on how people act or should act when they have been violently attacked. The year prior to this "Gone Girl" had been released and it seemed to have played deeply into the psyche of America and into all those involved in this case; most troubling, law enforcement. Fascinating. Emotional. Powerful. Catch one of best of the true crime series I've seen in a while, now streaming on Netflix. 

Memory

Unforgettable? Not sure about that but it's unlikely to be forgotten anytime soon. Peter Sarsgaard plays Saul, a man who has dementia and Jessica Chastain plays Sylvia, a damaged woman who works at an adult daycare; adults with some sort of cognitive impairment (Down syndrome, etc.). For reasons unclear, Saul follows Sylvia home from their high school reunion. From there, their strange love affair begins. Peter Sarsgaard - I've pretty much liked him in everything he has done. He has that John Malkovich style of a simple and understated delivery but you can feel a looming intellect behind it. And Jessica Chastain - loved her in " The Eyes of Tammy Faye" and "Molly's Game." We have two fine actors playing damaged people crashing into each other. It works. I found it to be absorbing and emotional. One of the most unconventional love stories to come along ever. It's rather fascinating. Don't forget about this one (see what I did there - I'm sorry). Catch this one in the theatres now or on streaming when available (or even at your local video store - Movies 'N' Stuff here in Ottawa). 

American Star

The aged old hitman, out on what might be his last job, it's almost a sub genre of the action genre; George Clooney in "The American;" Liam Neeson in "Memory," and you might lump in most recently, Michael Fassbender in David Fincher's excellent film, "The Killer." Do we really need another film about this? "American Star" stars, Ian McShane as a hitman on what might be his last job - settling down on a tropical island presents itself as an option. You might know Ian McShane better as Winston from the John Wick series - all the good folks there are hitmen or hitwomen or hitpeople. Anyway, I was expecting a run of the mill, by the numbers hitman's-last-job film. I was also expecting it to be not very good. What I found was art. ART. It has the pacing and feel of "Sundown" or "Aftersun" or maybe a film by Wim Wenders or Terrence Malick. It’s a film by Gonzalo López-Gallego and he has crafted something special. It's slow and thoughtful but it grips your attention. Ian McShane’s performance is beautiful. A single bullet in this film is worth 10,000 bullets in "John Wick" - there is power and purpose. This is an excellent piece of cinema. Catch this in the theater if possible or on streaming services when available. Or grab a copy from your local video store. In Ottawa that would be Movies 'N' Stuff. 

Dogman

Luc Besson. The man has given us so many riveting action films: "Nikita," "The Fifth Element," "Léon: The Professional," and has been the writer or co-writer on "Taken," "Unleashed," and "District B13," just to name a few. Besson writes B-action movies like nobody else. His writing is so well done he manages to elevate his material to a solid A. Besson is back after a four year hiatus and he has given us "Dogman," a story which in someway echoes Besson's own life. If you read Besson's IMDB bio, he was on his way to becoming a marine biologist specializing in dolphins when an accident left him unable to drive and he went into film. The story of "Dogman" is about a young boy who suffers an injury, leaving him unable to walk and proceeds to get a biology degree while being heavily involved in the theatre arts. Dogman is about, Douglas Munrow, played by Caleb Landry Jones. It is because of Caleb Landry Jones' performance that this movie has landed here on the Marquee. He has delivered a captivating drag-queen Hannibal Lecter like performance; Douglas is calm, well mannered, and has a fierce intelligence behind his eyes. He prefers the company of dogs over humans. When he picks a fight with the local mob boss, well it all goes woof woof. The story is ridiculous, absurd, but again, Besson raises high these roofbeams. And the final shots - all pure cinematic ice-cream and I loved it. Catch this one in the theatre or on streaming services when available.  

30 Coins

HBO Europe! It's a thing. I didn't know it even existed. Well it does and in 2020 they released a show entitled, "30 Coins." If you are okay with subtitles, keep reading. What's it all about? It's kind of like if you crossed "The X-Files" with "The Exorcist" as if it was made by the love child of Robert Rodriguez and Matthew Barney - it has a bullets-dipped-in-holy-water "From Dusk Till Dawn" sensibility. It's bananas. It's about a Priest, Padre Vergara (Eduard Fernández) who has come to a small Spanish village to be the town's man of God. He is an exorcist with a troubled past and that trouble has followed him to the town. The town mayor's, Paco (Miguel Ángel Silvestre) has a thing for the town's veterinarian, Elena (Megan Montaner) and together they Mulder-and-Scully the bizarre events which happen inside their little village. The bigger story line is about the thirty pieces of silver, the 30 coins, Judas received for betraying Jesus. There are dark forces at work who want these coins as they wield great demonic power! At times the show's imagery is gory as a "Saw" film - a wall of fly covered pig heads! It's exciting, bizarre, thrilling, and even contains the melodrama of a soap opera. I LOVED IT! This show is one of the wildest things on TV. Go check it out on HBO/CRAVE. If you don't fall in love in the first seven minutes of the first episode, well then you can stop watching. 

Jojo Rabbit

Again, not really sure why I didn't watch this film back in 2019. It has been at the urging of my sister-in-law, Claire, to get my ass to watch this. I'm happy to report, it was excellent, blog worthy. What's it all about? Roman Griffin Davis plays Jojo Rabbit, a ten year old  Nazi living in Germany six months away from the end of WWII. Like most ten year old Nazis who have lost their big sister and have a father who has gone off to fight in Italy, Jojo has an imaginary friend, Adolf Hitler. Imagine Big Bird from Sesame Street pretending to be Hitler and you kind of get the idea. Jojo's mother, played by Scarlett Johansson, has a secret, a young Jewish girl living in the walls of her house. Jojo comes upon the girl and the film is about their relationship as Jojo discovers what the Nazi movement is all about. It's clever, funny, and surprisingly emotional. It kind of has a Wes Anderson feel about it, however in this film you actual care about the characters and the dialogue is far more interesting. I thought it was brilliant. Hats off to director, co-writer, and star, Taika Waititi (he plays Hitler). Catch this gem from 2019 streaming on Disney. Or grab a copy from your local video store. In Ottawa that would be Movies 'N' Stuff.