"Dave Made a Maze"

"Dave Made a Maze" ATLFF Movie Review

"Dave Made a Maze"

Posted on March, 28, 2017 on CWAtlanta.cbslocal.com

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Dave Made a Maze ATLFF Movie Review

Annie (Meera Rohit Kumbhani) comes home with her suitcase in tow to her apartment that she shares with her boyfriend Dave (Nick Thune). She opens the door and is hit with the scene of a bunch of cardboard boxes in the middle of her living room, all interconnected in some sort of fort-like shape. There are smokestacks, fans and a blanketed entrance that is marked with a lit sign that says, “Enter Here.”

She shouts out for Dave, and he answers from inside the cardboard structure. They exchange a bit of pleasantries, and then Annie asks what he is doing inside the boxes in her living room. He explains that he is in the process of building a maze. When Annie tells him to come out, he explains that he can’t, he is lost, can’t find his way out and has also hurt his hand. Annie learns that he has been building the maze for three straight days, having survived on some trail mix. Concerned, Annie shakes one of the corners of the maze, and a horrible noise comes from inside the boxes, with Dave shouting at her to stop doing that. Annie wants Dave to just come out, via cutting his way out or just lifting the boxes up and crawling under, but Dave explains that the maze is much larger inside that it appears outside, plus he wants to finish it. He is a little concerned about not eating and asks Annie to call Gordon to come over.

Gordon (Adam Busch) arrives sees the boxes and immediately does the same thing that Annie tried, shaking the boxes and getting the horrible noise inside the maze. He talks to Dave, going over various scenarios, most of which he had just discussed with Annie. Dave suggests going into the maze, which Dave tells him that you will get lost exactly like me, plus there are a bunch of booby traps, and he could get hurt. Gordon’s solution is to call a bunch more friends over, including a filmmaker (James Urbaniak) and his crew (Frank Caeti, Scott Narver) a couple of Flemish tourists (Drew Knigga, Kamilla Aines) , two friends who finish their sentences together (Stephanie Allynne, Timothy Nordwind) and a hobo (Rick Overton) from the street that claims he has experience with mazes. After listening to everyone with their theories on how to help Dave, Annie decides to pack a few things in a backpack and go into the maze to find Dave. It’s a trip that Annie, Dave and the rest of the gang won’t ever forget.

Bill Watterson makes an impressive directorial debut with the highly creative and amusing Dave Made a Maze. It’s hard to describe this film since it involves the construction of imaginative sets that used 3,000 glue sticks and over 30,000 square feet of cardboard. The maze Dave has created is seemingly endless with rooms that have themes, such as a room made from the cardboard of an electronic piano, where the keys in the cardboard play notes, or a room filled with a giant cardboard face that spits up origami birds which magically come to life. The characters that have ventured into the maze soon learn the booby traps Dave constructed can be deadly with Criminal Minds star Kristen Vangsness comes to a hysterical end when she steps on a trap, losing her head to a cardboard guillotine as yarn comes flying out of her neck, as her head rolls along the ground.

While Watterson and co-writer Steven Sears should be credited with a very imaginative script, the stars of the film are the production designers John Sumner and Trisha Gum, who had to lead a team of set builders who use just about every medium in the book, including puppetry, stop-motion animation, and rear projection. One of my favorite scenes is where the cast comes into one of those rooms that messes with optical illusions, as the cast explores the room revealing some objects are bigger are smaller than they appear initially in the scene.

Dave Made a Maze was the opening-night movie of the 2017 Atlanta Film Festival and delighted a sold-out crowd that whooped and roared at every new maze reveal. It was the perfect film to open a movie festival that delights in the puppetry arts and quirky comedies that entertain its audiences. You will want to spend some time exploring the maze with this zany cast of characters, just make sure not to step on any booby traps, or it could be your last film ever.   My Rating: Full Price  

My movie rating system from Best to Worst:  1). I Would Pay to See it Again  2). Full Price  3). Bargain Matinee  4). Cable  5). You Would Have to Pay Me to See it Again

"Colossal"

"Colossal" SXSW Movie Review

"Colossal"

Post on Mar. 20, 2017 on CWAtlanta.cbslocal.com

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Colossal SXSW Film Review

 

A young girl along with her mother are looking for a lost doll in a Seoul park. She searches while her mother keeps trying to get her to give up her quest. She finally spots the doll and goes over to retrieve it. Just as she clutches the doll to her chest, a cracking sound comes from the sky, and the child looks up in terror at the sky.

We cut to present-day New York City, where Gloria (Anne Hathaway) is clumsily letting herself into an apartment. She drunkenly stumbles down the hallway, to be confronted by Tim (Dan Stevens), her boyfriend of the past year. He is eating breakfast in the kitchen as Gloria makes up a story that she was waylaid by a friend and ended up sleeping at her apartment. Tim angrily reacts to the apparently made-up story and tells Gloria that he has had enough. He has packed her bags and does not want to see her in the apartment when he gets back from work. Tim leaves, and Gloria is shell-shocked and just sits there. A quick knock at the front door and then a steady stream of partygoers let themselves into the apartment, and it’s apparent this morning-after party is something that has happened in the past. Gloria remains where she is staring off into space, not sure what her next move is.

We cut to a small-town neighborhood, and a cab drives to a pleasant looking house. Gloria gets out and gathers her bags to make her way to the house. She looks under the welcome mat and gets the keys to the house. Once inside, it’s obvious that the house has not been in use for a while with dust on the floors and absolutely every speck of furniture is gone. Gloria looks around and sighs. She wakes up the next morning and reacts to her stiff neck, a result of sleeping on the floor.

We next see Gloria coming out of a small-town store, having bought a rather large item that she carries in a bag over her shoulder. As she walks down the street heading toward her house, an old pickup truck passes her, and then suddenly stops. It backs up and out pops Oscar (Jason Sudeikis), a childhood friend of Gloria’s. They quickly catch up, and he offers to give her a ride. It turns out Oscar is now running his late father’s bar and offers to take Gloria there. Never one to turn down a free drink or two, Gloria says yes. It’s a ride that will change her life forever.

Writer/director Nacho Vigalondo brings us an unusual tale of part Science Fiction and part domestic abuse film, with a splash of alcoholism thrown in. It’s strange mix with giant monsters appearing straight from those bad 60’s Japanese larger than life reptile movies. At first used for comic effect and then later as symbolism between the struggle between good and evil, the monsters appear half way across the world, in Seoul, South Korea. It’s a world that is foreign to Gloria, seemly so far away that what she does can’t possibly affect what happens in that part of the world. And that’s Vigalondo’s point, that we live in a global community, no one or no country is isolated from another, we are all connected.

Aside from a few small supporting roles, this film revolves around the relationship between Oscar and Gloria. When we first meet Oscar, he seems in awe of Gloria, someone who has gotten out of the neighborhood and made something of themselves. Oscar, being saddled with his Dad’s old bar, had tried to make it his own, remodeling half of it, before he ran out of money. It’s important to note that Oscar has cordoned off the old portion of the bar, hidden by a false wall and it’s not until Gloria enters the picture that he is willing and able to open up the older half of the bar.

Hathaway is asked to carry this film, and at first, it’s rather easy, for Gloria is an alcoholic, who can stay up and drink with the boys until the sun comes up. The biggest problem with Colossal is that Hathaway’s character is very one dimensional. We never really know why Gloria drinks so much, never actually finding out what demons that she is trying to get away from. Hathaway is what I call a pretty drunk, someone we can laugh at, and not be too concerned with because, other than a boyfriend that drops her, her drinking never seems to really get her in trouble. Her realization that her being intoxicated could cause other people pain seems shallow and too simply realized.

Jason Sudeikis has a much meatier part. At first, Oscar seems too nice to a fault, going out of his way to help Gloria get back on her feet, and yes, he realizes that she is not doing as well as she says she is when they first meet. We soon see some signs that maybe Oscar may not be quite as decent at heart as we hoped. It’s a complex role, and Sudeikis does a good job keeping us guessing just what his motivations are. There seems to be a bit of menace that Sudeikis lets near the surface early on in the film, and it always seems to be lurking in the dark, waiting to come out.

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed this film, but I just don’t think there is as much to it as Nacho Vigalondo wants us to believe that there is. Much like the Japanese monsters, the film is pretty much what you see on the surface; there’s not a lot of substance lying beneath the water.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee 

 

My movie rating system from Best to Worst:  1). I Would Pay to See it Again  2). Full Price  3). Bargain Matinee  4). Cable  5). You Would Have to Pay Me to See it Again

For more of Mike’s reviews and interviews click here

"The Big Sick"

"The Big Sick" SXSW Movie Review

"The Big Sick"

Posted on Mar. 18, 2017 on CWAtlanta.cbslocal.com

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The Big Sick SXSW Movie Review

Kumail (Kumail Nanjiani) is a stand-up comedian in Chicago. He regularly works at a local, small time comedy club, performing his routine in front of audiences on a nightly basis. His hope, like his fellow comedians at the club, is to make a living doing this, with the goal of maybe moving to New York or L.A. to further his career. He and the other comedians in the club are always on the lookout for talent scouts from the talk shows or the big comedy festivals. Until he makes it big, Kumail supplements his incoming by being a Uber driver.

He goes over to his parent’s house for a weekly dinner. His parents aren’t happy that he is trying to be a comedian instead of something respectable like being a doctor or lawyer. His mother wants Kumail to meet a nice Pakistani woman and is constantly inviting one woman after another to these family dinners. His parents feel that it’s his duty to his family to get married to a Muslim woman and start a traditional Pakistani family. His parents are always holding Kumail’s brother over his head, as he is married to a Pakistani woman.

Kumail gets the heads up that a talent scout for the Montreal Comedy Festival is looking for new talent and will be at the show tonight. As he is doing his standup act, a young woman (Zoe Kazan) reply’s to one of his lines with a “Woo!” He proceeds to call her out, giving her a lesson in how to heckle, explaining that “Heckling doesn’t have to be a negative.” When she makes a witty reply, keeping up with Kumail’s wit, he is intrigued. He later sees the woman at the bar and goes over to ask her name. After he tries to impress her by writing her name, Emily, in Urdu, she gives him a hard time over his pickup technique. Little do these two know that this is the start of an incredible romance and that this relationship will force Kumail to make some hard life choices.

Based on his life, writer/star Kumail Nanjiani and his wife in real life Emily V. Gordon, along with director Michael Showalter, have brought us a brilliant film that is one part romantic comedy and one part serious drama. Front and center to this movie is the comedy of Nanjiani, and it’s in full force. Using his usual “man-child” approach that is a staple in his standup, the movie revolves around Nanjiani’s struggle to juggle his family expectations to follow the Pakistani way of life (especially with dealing with the opposite sex) with the fact that he has been living in the U.S. for most of his life. He is always being exposed to a totally different world than the one of his parents, and that constant clash is one of the central themes of the movie. The film covers a broad range of subjects from racial profiling, 9/11, dating in the Internet age, the hard life of a comic and putting your needs above your family and its traditions.

The cast makes this film so enjoyable to watch. Nanjiani and Kazan are incredibly on the screen together, playing off one another with an ease that makes us root for the couple from the start. Kazan shows great comic timing, and it’s a credit that she can quip with Nanjiani on an equal basis. Of the rest of the cast, the big standouts to me were Holly Hunter and Ray Romano, who play Emily’s supportive to a fault parents. Hunter plays a force of nature mom who is hyper protective of her daughter. Romano’s character is more bluff than substance, and Kumail sees him as a way to get into good favor with Emily’s mom. Hunter chews a bit of scenery from time to time, but it fits the character she is playing, so it works in the film.

The film doesn’t feel it’s 2-hour length, mostly because the laughs keep coming. There are a few behind the scenes at the comedy club that could have been cut, but even then I didn’t mind them because there was usually a joke or two told, mostly at the expense of one of the fellow comics. There are some serious moments in this film, and they are dealt with a loving touch, though always humor is just around the corner waiting until it’s time to break the tension.

The Big Sick is one of those great date films, one that has something for everyone. And you just might have to go a second time, because you will be laughing so hard, you won’t hear the next line and believe me, it’s worth it.    My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again 

My movie rating system from Best to Worst: 1). I Would Pay to See it Again 2). Full Price 3). Bargain Matinee 4). Cable 5). You Would Have to Pay Me to See it Again

For more of Mike’s reviews and interviews click here

"Barracuda"

"Barracuda" SXSW Movie Review

"Barracuda"

Posted on Mar. 17, 2017 on CWAtlanta.cbslocal.com

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Barracuda SXSW Movie Review

Film is reviewed from the 2017 SXSW Film Festival screening

When first see Sinaloa (Sophie Reid), a young woman with long, black hair, she is taking a midnight swim. We next see her moving around next to a bed in a home by a lake, a naked unmoving sleeping body rests as Sinaloa moves around the room. We see her gather what looks to be all of her possessions and stuff them into a backpack. We see her as she backpacks across the countryside, sometimes walking, sometimes hitching a ride on a car, truck or cargo train. She seems comfortable doing this as if it’s something she has done for what seems like her whole life.

Sinaloa ends up in Austin and heads straight for a local cemetery, where she finds a grave with a headstone. She pulls incense out of her bag and places it in front of the headstone, which we can’t see fully. She then pulls out a pint of whiskey, taking a sip before pouring the rest overthe grave. Soon we see her walking in one of those quirky neighborhoods that Austin is known for, houses that have been lovingly restored by the people living in them. It’s a nice neighborhood full of families, that while they don’t make a ton of money, still are doing pretty well. She stops at one of the nice looking house, knocks on the front door and looks through windows when no one answers. Resigned to the fact that no one is home, she plants herself on the porch swing, seemingly determined to wait there until someone comes home.

It’s night when we see a car pull into the driveway as Sinaloa waits on the porch in the dark. We hear happy voices talking as a family approaches the porch, obviously having been on some outing. Merle (Allison Tolman) turns on the porch light, looking for her keys to open the front door when Sinaloa makes her presence known. Merle is taken aback as her finance, Raul (Luis Bordonada) and his son appear on the porch. Sinaloa asks if Merle is the daughter of Wayne Klein, a famous deceased singer/songwriter. When Merle tells her yes she is, Sinaloa introduces herself as her long lost half-sister, the product of the late singer spending some time in England.

Reluctantly Merle and her family let Sinaloa into their home. Once inside she insists to Merle that she isn’t there for anything. That she already knows that she wasn’t written into the will. All Sinaloa wanted was just to meet her half-sister, and maybe get a singing gig or two in Austin. At the insistence of Raul, Merle asks Sinaloa to spend the night, offering to take her to town the next day. This encounter, between two sisters who never knew each other before, is going to have significant consequences for both of their lives.

Directors Jason Cortlund and Julia Halperin (from a script by Cortland) bring us a remarkable tale of two strangers who are bound by blood trying to figure out their relationship, a relationship that neither of them knew they needed. The two sisters had very different childhoods. Merle was the recognized daughter of this songwriter legend, her place in the family firmly situated, so much so that she has inherited the family ranch, which is the house she now lives in. Just the opposite is Sinaloa, a troubled daughter from a long forgotten waitress in a Brighton bar, the result of her father’s need for isolation to write songs. While Merle inherited the property of her late father, Sinaloa inherited the talent, someone who can sing and write songs that people will pay attention to.

I have loved Allison Tolman, who plays Merle, since her breakout role in the first season of Fargo. In Barracuda, Tolman gives a powerful performance of a woman who has become tired of living in the spotlight of her father, the fans constantly showing up at her house or her father’s grave. When we first meet Merle, she seems to have everything under control, but due to Sinaloa’s presence, we soon learn that Merle’s world isn’t as perfect as she wants or hopes it to be. Tolman quietly gives a multi-layered performance that slowly peels back the coating over time and lets us see that Merle is as much damaged by her childhood as Sinaloa is. Under a lesser actress, the part could have been lost, as Sinaloa’s character has a way to dominate the room, but we are always conscious that Tolman is in each and every scene.

Making her feature-film debut lead in the complex role of Sinaloa is Sophie Reid, a talented musician, and actress whose only other movie credit is Village Lass in this year’s Beauty and the Beast. Reid is given the challenging role making someone who is hard and jaded likable, but she carries it off by giving Sinaloa a hint of vulnerability. Reid has a beautiful, soulful voice and the film utilizes it to the maximum effect. It’s a powerful performance, one full of danger and intrigue, which gives Reid command of the screen in everything she is in. I am excited to see more of this talented actress in performances down the line.

Barracuda captures the Austin scene beautifully and lets this intriguing story of lost sisters trying to slowly reconnect with a sudden and jarring conclusion. Barracuda is a film that grips you from the start and won’t let go long after the movie on the screen is finished.    My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again

My movie rating system from Best to Worst: 1). I Would Pay to See it Again 2). Full Price 3). Bargain Matinee 4). Cable 5). You Would Have to Pay Me to See it Again

For more of Mike’s interviews and reviews click here

For more information on the SXSW Film Festival go to www.sxsw.com

"Mr. Roosevelt"

"Mr. Roosevelt" SXSW Movie Review

"Mr. Roosevelt"

Posted on Mar. 16, 2017 on CWAtlanta.cbslocal.com

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Mr. Roosevelt SXSW Movie Review

We see Emily (Noël Wells), a struggling comedian, as she is talking about herself, letting us know more about her than we could possibly want to know. It turns out that she is telling this story to a casting director and she has just blown 2 of her 3 minutes allotted time for her audition on her back story.  As the bored casting director and her people look on, in a rapid fire succession Emily goes through a number of impressions, including Holly Hunter. When she is finally finished, Emily is met with the same bored stares she started with, and she leaves disenchanted.

We see her show up at her job, some ad agency that seems to run out of a someone’s home. The boss (Doug Benson) doesn’t appear to support Emily’s attempt to be a comedian/actress and is rather displeased with her being late (even though she told him she would be late the day before) until he sees her edit work on a commercial for a drug company.

Emily gets a phone call, and it’s bad news, someone has died back home in Austin. Emily rushes to the airport to return home. She makes her way to the hospital, when she gets there, we realize that she was rushing to Austin over a cat named Mr. Roosevelt, not a person. At the vet’s she encounters her old boyfriend, Eric (Nick Thule), who she left the cat with when she headed to L.A. two years prior. While it’s nice to see Eric again, he has a new girlfriend, Celeste (Britt Lower), a woman who seems to be everything that Emily isn’t.  Where Emily is a ball of energy, full of quips and her life a mess, Celeste is the model of composure and style. Celeste and Eric insist that Emily stay with them, in the house that once was the home of Emily shared with Nick. This weekend is going to be a wild ride, will Emily survive it?

Director/writer/star Noël Wells brings us a amusing tale of the trials and tribulations of going home again. Emily left two years ago full of hopes and dreams of making it as a comedian in L.A., fueled on by her viral success of a few funny YouTube videos. Achievement hasn’t come for Emily, and she has to return home to find that everyone else has moved on – their existences have evolved into stable, successful lives. Emily, who has to keep wearing the same outfit every day (she didn’t pack much in her haste to get to Austin), is a fish out of water in her own hometown. That is until she finds a new set of friends, led by Jen (Daniella Pindeda) who is a free-spirit who supports her career playing drums in a rock band by being a waitress. Jen gives Emily unconditional support, no matter how crazy Emily gets. It’s a theme in this film that men aren’t always around, so a strong support group of women is needed to keep going.

Wells is a ball of energy on the screen, and while at the start of the film, I was afraid that I might tire of her character. Instead I fell in love with her, wanting her character to succeed, even in spite of herself. I loved the writing in this film, which is a love letter to the weird side of Austin and all the people that make that city so unique. Wells gives us an inside look into the neighborhoods and bar scenes of the city so that we experience what is the day-to-day life for Austin’s residents.

Wells tackles everything from online dating, one night stands, getting internet famous and the harsh life of an actor, all with a wry sense of humor that makes this movie a blast to watch.  Wells lets us see that Emily isn’t just about being funny, she has a dark side that can be self-centered and a bit tunnel visioned, something that she struggles to overcome. Wells takes Emily on a journey that is tough to confront, but once she does she realizes that it’s time to move on and make the world her’s.

Mr. Roosevelt is a joy to watch, a film that feels very personal and inviting. We may not always approve of the choices that Emily makes, but we are more than willing to find out where those choices take her, most likely with hilarious results.   My Rating:  Full Price

My movie rating system from Best to Worst: 1). I Would Pay to See it Again 2). Full Price 3). Bargain Matinee 4). Cable 5). You Would Have to Pay Me to See it Again

"Small Town Crime"

"Small Town Crime" SXSW Movie Review

"Small Town Crime"

Posted on Mar. 15, 2017 on CWAtlanta.cbslocal.com

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Small Town Crime SXSW Movie Review

Film is reviewed from the 2017 SXSW Film Festival screening

We see that we are in a nice neighborhood, with the exception of one house, where a muscle car is sitting on the front lawn, having crashed through a picket fence. The garbage door opens, and we see ex-cop Mike Kendall (John Hawkes) in a t-shirt and jeans. He looks at his car briefly, knowing that he was the one who crashed the car in the first place. We watch as Mike benches more and more weight, while also drinking a beer or three.

We see Mike getting ready for what we think is work, as he puts on a dress shirt and tie. He gets a phone call, and it’s bad news, it’s unlikely that they will reinstate Mike to the police force. He hangs up, and curses then heads to his car in the front yard. Mike starts up the car, and it roars to life, making a huge noise. He backs up the car, then peels down the road laying tire marks and making a lot of noise as his neighbors react angrily to the display of muscle car power.

We see Mike go to several job interviews, failing badly in all of them. There is hope at one interview, some sort of office setting. The hiring manager seems to be inclined to hire Mike, that is until Mike warns her that he isn’t much good till noon, due to the amount of daily drinking that he does. We see Mike happily picking up his unemployment check, having a present exchange with the government worker and we can tell this dance has been going on for quite a while.

Mike heads to his local watering hole, where everyone greets him by his name. The place is jumping, and Mike is right at home in this element. Later we see Mike and another man (Anthony Anderson) being thrown out of the establishment. By both the bouncers and Mike’s reaction, this is something that happens on a regular basis. Both men are drunk but Mike’s friend tries to talk Mike into riding with him with an offer for Mike to crash at his house. Mike declines the offer and takes off in his muscle car, leaving a cloud of dust in his wake. We see Mike buy a six-pack and then head down the road. While driving Mike flashes back a year or so to a shooting that he was involved in, one that caused his partner to die from. We next see that it’s morning and Mike wakes up in the middle of a field, with his car have been abandoned several hundred yards from where Mike is laying. He gets up, finds his car and heads back for the road. Mike is moving down the isolation road when he suddenly notices something that is in a ditch by the side of the road. He stops and discovers a bloody and battered woman, who is barely alive. Mike drives her to the nearest hospital and waits for the detectives to show up. At that moment Mike has decided to try and find out what happened to this girl, no matter who or what gets in his way.

This is an old fashioned hard drinking murder mystery from writer/directors Eshom Nelms and Ian Nelms. Small Town Crime is the kind of story that the hero isn’t above breaking a few laws to solve the case. Part dark comedy, part private eye film, it’s a look into the sleazy life of the world of dive bars, boozy patrons and prostitution with a little bit of backstabbing thrown in for fun. It’s a trip you will want to take because of John Hawkes. Hawkes is one of those rare actors that as soon as he appears on the screen, we are already rooting for his character, no matter how many flaws his character has. Hawkes is a gifted actor that can do low key comedy, then shift to high-stakes drama with ease. The hard drinking, guilt-ridden unemployed former cop Mike is the perfect sad-sack character for Hawkes to play and he seems to relish every moment on screen in this part.

The supporting cast is exceptionally strong, though I have no idea why Octavia Spencer, playing Mike’s adopted sister, is being used in almost a throwaway role. It’s as if Spencer has decided to do what Michael Caine did in the 80’s and be in every film made in this decade. Anthony Anderson is an excellent addition as the sometimes drinking partner of Mike’s that just happens to be married to Spencer’s character. Anderson is a good comedic sounding board for Hawkes’ character and their scenes together are some of the best of the film. Anytime you have a P.I. film and you can get Robert Forster in it; you know your film will just be that much better. Forster plays the grandfather of the woman that Mike finds. Forster’s character hires Mike to find who hurt his granddaughter, with the understanding that Mike should use any means necessary to make that person pay for hurting his family. Michael Vartan plays a detective that is willing to let Mike have a little leeway in the investigation, much more than most of the force that is giving Mike the evil eye. I especially enjoyed the performance of Clifton Collins, Jr. who plays a purple Impala driving pimp with the name of Mood, who decides to help Mike because it’s his girls that are being attacked. Each character is well-defined, unique and perfectly match Mike’s way of life.

This is a film that someone like old pulp fiction writer Mickey Spillane or even any character that the Coen brothers have created would be happy to be in. It’s a world of booze, dead bodies, and bad intentions; thank God we have John Hawkes to lead us through it!    My Rating: Full Price

My movie rating system from Best to Worst: 1). I Would Pay to See it Again 2). Full Price 3). Bargain Matinee 4). Cable 5). You Would Have to Pay Me to See it Again

For more of Mike’s reviews and interviews here

For more information on the SXSW Film Festival go to www.sxsw.com

"Win it All"

"Win it All" SXSW Movie Review

"Win it All"

Posted on Mar. 14, 2017 on CWAtlanta.cbslocal.com

Wayback Machine Archive Post

Win It All SXSW Movie Review

We first see Eddie (Jake Johnson) working the streets of Chicago as one of those flag guys that tries to get you to park in his parking lot. We see him get paid some cash by the lead worker and then Eddie heads to a neighborhood. There he goes down a back ally and nods to a guy hanging out by the back door. Eddie heads in, and we realize that this is an illegal gambling establishment. It’s obvious that this is a second home for Eddie, that this is his element. We see him play various games while drinking the night away.

It is very evident that while Eddie thinks he is good a gambling, he is pretty bad. We can tell that by the end of the night, he has blown the money he just got paid for. He leaves the gambling establishment just as the sun is coming up. This is a routine that Eddie is used to, including the losing. Eddie knows he is a loser, you can see it in his body language as he heads home on the train. Waking up just before his stop he wearily heads down to his neighborhood. He goes into a local shop and tells the exasperated store owner that he is a little short and will pay him for the coffee and sandwich at the end of the week.

Eddie opens his apartment only to find a local gangster sitting at his breakfast table. Eddie is instantly worried that the gangster is there to collect an old debt, but instead, he has a proposition for Eddie. The gangster is about to serve 6 to 9 months in prison. If Eddie holds onto a duffle bag of the mobster, he will give Eddie 10,000 dollars as soon as the gangster gets out. His only conditions; Eddie does not look into the bag and does not tell anyone about it. Eddie decides that this is easy money and he agrees to keep the bag hidden. Eddie being Eddie, it’s doubtful that he can keep his curiosity from looking into the bag and we all know what happened to the cat that was curious.

This is how the latest movie starts from the team that brought us the excellent Drinking Buddies (2013), Joe Swanberg and Jake Johnson. After whiffing on the too dark film Digging for Fire (2016), Johnson and Swanberg are back in the romantic comedy business, and it’s right where they belong. The dialogue is sharp, quick and flowing, with the interaction of the characters is real and believable. There is an almost improvisation feel to the interaction between characters, with some of the best scenes of the film filled with the characters just interacting as their lives go on. The script does a great job of making the sad sack Eddie seem lovable; we want him to turn his life around and succeed. We just wonder if he is too stubborn to finally admit that he needs to change.

The heart of the film is the relationships that Eddie has in his life. He has a brother, Ron (Joe Lo Truglio), a family man who adores his brother but has been burned too many times by Eddie. Ron would love nothing more than for his brother to come to work at the family landscaping business. Eddie, like everything in his life, doesn’t want to put in the hard work, he wants the easy score to make a living, and always thinks the next big one is right around the corner. Eddie also has a long-term relationship with his on again/off again gamblers anonymous sponsor (Keegan-Michael Key). The sponsor has also been burned by Eddie, so much so, that he is more amused by Eddie’s troubles than worried about them. Lastly, Eddie has started a relationship with a nurse named Eve (Aislinn Derbez), who he meets by chance at Eddie’s local dive bar. For the first time in his life, Eddie realizes that this is the woman that he could change for; the big question is, will he have the strength and fortitude to follow through?

I loved the performances in this film. Keegan-Michael Key is so much fun to watch as the put-upon counselor. Johnson and Key play off each other with great comedic ease. There are some real “brother-like” chemistry between Johnson and Truglio. You can feel the love the two characters have for each other on the screen, right along with his brother you are rooting for Eddie to clean up his act. There are some nice romantic sparks between Johnson and his love interest, played by the great Mexican actress, Aisling Derbez. Johnson allows us to see that Eddie knows that this woman is special and he can’t mess this relationship up. Derbez is a delight to watch interact with Johnson as their characters go from flirtatious feelings to the knowledge that something serious could be happening between the two of them.

While most of the film is light-hearted, this is a dark undercurrent of how gambling can affect not only the lives of the gamblers, but also their family and friends. The film treats gambling for the disease that it is, though a lot of the comedic elements come from the same source. Johnson and Swanberg do a great job of not letting the comedic elements get too out of control, as well as not allowing the seriousness of gambling addiction to dominate the cinematic experience.

Win it All is a film that while the main character usually draws a bad hand, you get a winning feature that is both funny and moving to watch.    My Rating: Full Price

My movie rating system from Best to Worst: 1). I Would Pay to See it Again 2). Full Price 3). Bargain Matinee 4). Cable 5). You Would Have to Pay Me to See it Again

"Prevenge"

"Prevenge" SXSW Movie Review

"Prevenge"

Posted on Mar. 14, 2017 on CWAtlanta.cbslocal.com

Wayback Machine Archive Post

Prevenge SXSW Movie Review

The film is being reviewed from the 2017 SXSW film festival.

We see Ruth (Alice Lowe) sitting on a bench with a stunned look on her face. Rock climbing equipment is lined up behind her. As she sits on the bench, we cut to a shoreline with waves crashing against the rocks. We get glimpses of blood and brain matter on the rocks, a climbing rope that has been cut and left dangling against the side of a cliff and Ruth sitting alone, not saying a word.

We cut to Ruth taking public transportation downtown, looking about 4 to 5 months pregnant. She is dressed the way a businesswoman does, professionally and put together. We see her enter an exotic reptile and insects store. She is greeted by the store owner for her tour of what’s for sale. She tells him that she wants to buy her eight-year-old son a “special birthday” gift. Everything that the owner says, while on the surface seems innocent, there is also a layer of sleaze that undercuts the situation. He is defiantly hitting on Ruth, even though she is very pregnant. Ruth seems no to notice, more interested in the animals in the terrariums. When she tells him that she wants to get her son something special, the owner offers to show her his private collection. They head to the back of the shop, and behind a curtain, they go. The owner bends down to retrieve a creature from a cage in the private storage area. When Ruth asks if the creature is dangerous, the owner says “definitely” with a sense of glee in his voice. Just at that moment, Ruth takes a knife and slices the owner’s neck open with one quick movement. The man quickly bleeds out in front of Ruth. Ruth stares at the man, tells him he is disgusting and then bends down and kisses the man on the forehead.

As she walks out of the store, we hear a small child talking, telling Ruth how disgusting the man was. It is very evident from this first exchange that the voice is coming from the baby in her womb and this baby is in charge of telling his mother what to do and when. This mother/daughter bond is going to be a strange and puzzling path to childbirth.

Writer/director and lead actress Alice Lowe brings us a remarkable film that is one part black comedy and one part social commentary on how we perceive the modern views of how a mother is supposed to feel about her unborn child during pregnancy. Lowe has a remarkable ear for dialogue, and her delivery is even better, with great comedic timing. My favorite scenes were between Ruth and her doctor (Jo Hartley).The doctor is talks nonsense each time she sees Ruth, the kind of trivial, banal talk that most mothers would eat up. Ruth has a real problem that the child she has inside of her hates everyone and wants Ruth to kill them. The clueless doctor never figures out how messed up Ruth is, putting all her emotional outbursts on the flighty experiences of a pregnant mother. The scenes play out with great comedic effect and Lowe has the great ability to turn a small line into something magical.

The movie also deals with how society perceives and treats women who are pregnant. Ruth encounters in an interview for a job, a cold professional businesswoman (Kate Dickie). The businesswoman, seeing that Ruth is pregnant, automatically dismisses her saying “just when you learn where the staplers are, you will go on maternity leave.” As the woman struggles to remain “PC” and not come straight out saying she won’t hire Ruth because she is pregnant, we know that this is just playing into the unborn child’s hands. As she drones on the businesswoman has no clue that she just about cuts her own throat in the scene.

We are used to seeing the happy, at one with child, pregnant mother. With Ruth, we get a woman who is lost and can’t get ahold of the situation. She worries that someone will find out that the baby talks to her and will take her away. At the same time, Ruth also worries what life will be like once the baby is born, will she still control Ruth? Alice Lowe has brought us a remarkable piece of filmmaking that makes you laugh at the absurd situations but also wonder if we take the glowing pregnant woman for granted. My guess is we do.    My Take: Full Price

My movie rating system from Best to Worst: 1). I Would Pay to See it Again 2). Full Price 3). Bargain Matinee 4). Cable 5). You Would Have to Pay Me to See it Again

For more of Mike’s reviews and interviews here