'Tully'

'Tully' Movie Review

'Tully'

Posted on April 22, 2018  on CWAtlanta.cbslocal.com

Wayback Machine Archive Post

Photo courtesy of Focus Features

Tully (2018)  

Film review from the 2018 Atlanta Film Festival.

Marlo (Charlize Theron) is a woman at the end of a very short rope. She is nine months pregnant with a seven-year-old girl, Sarah (Lia Frankland) and a five-year-old boy Jonah (Asher Miles Fallica). Marlo has her hands full with Jonah, as he has special needs and tends to throw a fit when his routines are altered and delayed. One of the first scenes of Tully is Marlo going to her kid’s school to meet with the principal. Jonah throws a massive fit, screening and kicking Marlo’s seat because the regular parking lot is full and Marlo has to park in a different parking lot.  

Marlo is married to Craig (Mark Duplass) a caring father who works during the day but does help out with the kids at night, helping Sarah with homework and reading to Jonah before bedtime. The house is a mess, and it’s not uncommon for the family to have frozen food for dinner. While Marlo and Craig have a loving relationship, their sex life is non-existent. It’s all Marlo can do to make it to the bedroom before she passes out and Craig has a nightly routine of playing video games before he goes to sleep.  

Marlo, Craig and the kids go to her brother’s house for dinner. Drew (Ron Lingston) is doing much better financially than Marlo and Craig. They have a vast, immaculate house, a nanny who takes care of the kids and the dinner, and a chef. Elyse(Elaine Tan), Drew’s wife, is the type of person who thinks everyone lives this way and is in the dark on how hard it is for Marlo to raise her kids. For a birthday present, Drew offers to hire a night nurse for Marlo for when the baby comes. Marlo initially turns the offer down but when she does have the baby, and she becomes sleep deprived she decides to accept the offer and get a night nurse. Tully (Mackenzie Davis) pops up one night at the front door and immediately tells Marlo, that ‘I’m not here to take care of the baby, I am here to take care of you.’ With the help of Tully, Marlo’s life is about to drastically change. 

Tully

Photo courtesy of Focus Features

Tully is the third collaboration between director Jason Reitman and writer Diablo Cody. While I am a huge fan of their first film Juno (2007), I never warmed up to their 2nd film Young Adult (2011). I am happy to say that third time’s the charm, as Tully is witty, funny and overall moving. They say, write what you know and Diablo Cody has done just that since she is the mother of two kids. Cody has created characters that seem real and rich in substance. Marlo, the world-weary mom who always has a quick retort to anyone who is giving her trouble, is one of the funniest characters that Cody has ever created. I am guessing that there is a lot of Cody in the role of Marlo. A good portion of this film is a comedy, mostly due to Marlo’s lines, though there are also some funny physical moments too, like the state of the house before Tully arrives and after Tully has applied her magic.  

While at first glance, the character of Tully seems like your stereotypical manic pixie girl that used to be popular in the 90s but there is more substance to Tully, a character that becomes more and more important in the plot of the film. The relationship between Tully and Marlo makes this film work. They have real conversations, and as Marlo gets to know and trust Tully, Marlo is willing to talk more about herself, especially her past (which may have been a little wild) and her relationship (or lack of) with her husband. There isn’t anything that is taboo in their conversations, including the lack of sex between Marlo and Craig. These conversations are funny, warm and make some of the best dialogue that Cody has ever written.  

The cast is superb, led by Charlize Theron’s Marlo, a performance that could get her an Academy Award nomination. We forget just how good Theron’s comedic timing is, and she uses it to perfection in this film. Theron’s on-screen chemistry with Davis is sublime and makes this film so enjoyable to watch. Davis gives an equally strong performance as the insightful Tully. Their banter back and forth almost seems like a tennis match, each actor pitching lines back and forth. The rest of the cast, though somewhat in the shadows, are outstanding, with Mark Duplass, playing the living but sometimes clueless husband, standing out from the rest.  

Reitman and Cody have given us in Tully a film that is funny, touching and packed with a few surprises. While not quite on the level of the brilliant Juno, Tully still is a film not to be missed. It’s a hilarious film that any mother can relate to. Now if every mother could get someone like Tully to help them out.   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

'RBG'

'RBG' Movie Review

'RBG'

Posted on April 20, 2018 on CWAtlanta.cbslocal.com

Wayback Machine Archive Post

Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures

'RBG'  (2018)

Film review from the 2018 Atlanta Film Festival

Ruth Bader Ginsburg has become almost a folk hero to a lot of Americans. It’s not often that the likeness of a Supreme Court Justice is on a T-shirt with the expression ‘Notorious RBG’ over it. She’s on coffee mugs, sweatshirts, hundreds of memes and Kate McKinnon has played her on numerous Saturday Night Live specials. RBG gets beneath the outer layer of her persona, and we get to know the real Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Ginsburg was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York to Russian Jewish immigrants. Her mother, who had a significant influence on her life, died the day before Ginsburg was to graduate high school. She graduated with an undergraduate degree from Cornell, a school that was well known as a school that a young woman could find a husband (the ration of men to women was 5 to 1, so the odds were good). In fact, Cornell worked for Ruth, for there she met and eventually married fellow law student Martin Ginsburg. She had a baby before enrolling into Harvard Law School, who just a few years before had started admitting women. She was one of just eleven women in her freshman class. When Martin (who was a few years older than Ruth) got his law degree and got a job in New York City, Ruth and the baby followed Martin, leaving Harvard behind. Ruth next entered the Columbia University Law School and obtained her law degree. Ruth later started teaching law at Rutgers University, teaching a class on gender equality, one of the first in the country.

While at Rutgers, she began taking cases to the Supreme Court, winning five of the six cases, all were dealing with gender equality and women’s rights. In 1980, his first appointment was selecting Ginsberg to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. In 1993, Bill Clinton appointed her Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, where she remains on the bench to this day.

Directors Julie Cohen and Betsy West bring an insightful, funny and thoroughly engaging look at this national treasure of a woman. We get unprecedented access to Ginsburg, seeing her work late into the night at her desk at home, going to her beloved Opera, touring art museums around the U.S.. We even get a guided tour of her court robes and those famous lace collars that Ruth designed herself because the neckline of the robe was designed to accommodate a man with a shirt and tie.

RBG uses home movies and family photos, along with news stories and interviews that Ruth has done throughout her years on the court. One of the coolest things in the film is with the cases she brought to the Supreme Court, or her giving the dissenting rebuttal while she was on the court, we get to hear her voice at the time presenting the case before the court, which then slowly fades into Ginsberg in present time reading the decision.

Key to her makeup was her longtime marriage to Martin. Martin is described by friends and family interviewed in the film, as the life of the party, always ready to make the shy, reserved Ruth laugh. He was also, at a time the man was considered the head of the household, willing to be in the background, supporting his wife by making sure she came home for dinner. Martin even cooked their meals, which is a good thing because the son and daughter of Ruth laugh on camera if asked if Ruth could cook.

The film looks in-depth at Ginsberg’s work to try to make the laws in the U.S. treat men and women equally. RBG looks at all six cases that Ginsberg took to the Supreme Court, and you come away from that a great many women in this country owe a significant debt of gratitude for the rights that they enjoy today.

There are a few surprises in the film. One is how hard she works out with a trainer. We see her sweating up a storm, sometimes complaining that the exercises are too easy to her trainer. It’s an impressive sight to see this small woman workout with such an intensity. The second surprise is her best friend on the court is ultra-conservative Associate Justice Antonin Scalia. They have bonded over their mutual love of Opera, and Ruth thinks Scalia’s sense of humor is the best of all the justices.

In the screening I saw at the Atlanta Film Festival, just about any time Ginsberg was quoted about equal rights, a great deal of the crowd would clap in appreciation of her words. This is one of the best documentaries of the year, and if you are a fan of Ginsburg, you have to see this film. I have a feeling that after you see RBG, you just might get on the Internet and buy one of those notorious RBG T-shirts or coffee mugs.     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

RBG Website

Atlanta Film Festival Website

'Maynard'

'Maynard' Movie Review

'Maynard'

Posted on April 19, 2018 on CWAtlanta.cbslocal.com

Wayback Machine Archive Post

Photo courtesy of PBS

Maynard (2017)

Film review from the 2018 Atlanta Film Festival

Maynard Jackson is a legend in the city of Atlanta, GA. He was the first African-American to be elected to a major southern city, and that was in 1973. Maynard was destined to be a public servant. His grandfather was legendary civil rights leader John Wesley Dobbs. Maynard’s mother graduated, along with her five sisters, from the historically black female Spelman College. When Maynard was fifteen, his father, a Baptist preacher, died and John Wesley Dobbs stepped in to raise and influence Maynard. He graduated from historically black college for men. Morehouse College, at age eighteen. He got his law degree from North Carolina Central University in 1964. Maynard worked as an attorney for the National Labor Relations Board until, at age 30, he decided to run for the US Senate as a Democrat. While he lost the election, he did win in Atlanta, which got him noticed by the local government officials. The next year he won Vice Mayor, but feuded with the mayor, Sam Massell, and decided to run for Mayor.

Maynard Jackson was elected in 1973, soundly defeating Massell, who was seen as voters as part of the ‘Good Ole Boys’ network of government. Maynard served three terms (1974-1982, 1990-1994). As he pushed for vast and highly impacting public work projects, including greatly expanding the Atlanta Airport, which in the 2000s became the world’s busiest airport. He also pushed for increased minority business involvement with public projects and reformed the Atlanta Police Department making sure more black police officers were hired. Under his helm, Atlanta became an important and powerful piece in the economy of the South. Maynard was instrumental in getting Atlanta the 1996 Olympics and after leaving the mayor’s office became a well-known speaker on civil rights.

Director Samuel D. Pollard brings us this documentary using home movies, TV news reports, and interviews with a vast collection of Maynard Jackson’s colleagues and family. The film follows Maynard’s path to becoming Mayor of Atlanta: from his civil rights roots with his grandfather, get his undergraduate degree at age 18, his foray into law, his historic run for the US Senate and then his reign as a very powerful mayor.

The film touches on how Maynard guided the city of Atlanta through some tough times both economically and socially. A portion of the film looks at how the city was shaken to its core when young boys begin disappearing from the streets of Atlanta. What became known as the Atlanta Child Murders gripped a city, and the film effectively uses news footage and interviews to show just how impactful the murders were. Maynard also had to weather a scandal in the police department and a murder rate that was one of the highest in the nation.

Maynard became a celebrity in the city, and he used it to his full political advantage. There is hilarious footage of some sort of charity event where the portly Maynard (the man had trouble controlling his appetite and had severe weight problems) took on Muhammad Ali in a boxing match.

Photo courtesy of PBS

The film interviews some famous politicians and civil rights leaders to give insight into Maynard’s life. Activist Al Sharpton, attorney Vernon Jordan, President Bill Clinton, civil rights authority Jesse Jackson and Andrew Young, who followed Jackson as Mayor, are just some of the people interviewed.

It’s the family of Maynard Jackson that gives us the best understanding of how Maynard thought and worked. Jacksons son Maynard III, whose life was a rocky path trying to live in the shadow of a powerful man. Maynard’s daughters, who come off as smart and strong women who loved their father. The best information comes from Maynard’s first wife, Burnella “Bunnie” Hayes, who had a hard time dealing with a man who always wanted to be in the spotlight. And his second wife, Valerie Richardson, a devoted wife who was with Maynard until the end.

Maynard gives us a good look into the life of an essential time in Atlanta’s history. The production values of Maynard are top notch, but I came away thinking that maybe its reliance on so many interviews makes the film feel a little generic. All in all, Maynard is an intriguing look at a man who made history, and to this day still impacts the city of Atlanta.     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

Maynard Website

Atlanta Film Festival Website

'Liyana'

'Liyana' Movie Review

'Liyana'

Posted on April 18,2018 on CWAtlanta.cbslocal.com

Wayback Machine Archive Post

Photo courtesy of Intaba Creative

'Liyana'  (2017)

Movie review from the 2018 Atlanta Film Festival

The resiliency of children is remarkable. This film, part documentary, part animated narrative film, takes place at the Likhaya Lemphilo Lensha home for orphans in Swaziland, located in southern Africa. A storyteller is brought in order to help the children; most look to be ten or eleven, create a folktale about a girl named Liyana, on a quest to find and rescue her two younger siblings from the men who stole them. The story the children tell is beautifully animated, and the kids do the narration to the story, often acting out the parts on the screen.

Directors Aaron and Amanda Kopp bring us this moving and inspirational documentary with a twist. The film covers a lot of subjects that children movies don’t touch on: AIDS, rape, murder, abduction, alcoholism, starvation and abandonment, all things these orphans have experienced. That’s the reality of their world where there are 200,000 orphans in a tiny country of just 1.3 million people. Twenty-five percent of the population has AIDS, and the average life expectancy is 50 years. The orphans live in a world where almost half of all deaths of five years old and younger are due to AIDS. Liyana, the movie, looks at this world like the orphans do, you just have to accept it and try to move on.

World-famous South African author and storyteller Gina Mhlophe is brought in to help guide the orphans with their storytelling. She pokes and prods the orphans to help them decide what the next step in the story is. The central figure is Liyana, a young girl of 12 or so, whose parents died of AIDS. The three kids are on their own until, one night, robbers break in, tie up Liyana, and take her two younger siblings. Once freed, Liyana is told by her grandmother to take the family bull and go after the robbers. Liyana goes on a massive quest, surviving attacks by jackets, almost dies of thirst in the desert, crosses deep canyons and climbs mountains, even fight with a monster, all to rescue the siblings. It’s not all avoiding the clutches of an alligator. Liyana also takes time to enjoy the world; she sleeps next to the bull, she admires sunrises and is willing to take time to stop and smell the flowers.

We get to know five or six core storytellers, who light up when telling the tale, sometimes adding sound effects or acting out, to their delight that they just can’t contain themselves. Cracking up at their jokes or getting truly serious as they describe their families that are now gone, some of which they barely remember if at all. Not only do we get to see these kids tell the story, but we also see their daily life; playing out in the front yard, helping prepare meals, playing soccer. It’s not all fun stuff either. On young boy gets tested for the AIDS virus putting the audience on pins and needles as the results are revealed.

The animation is breathtaking, as Nigerian-born visual artist Shofela Coker, uses animated stills to tell the story of Liyana. The gorgeous landscape that Liyana travels is filled with lush colors, and the animated portions of the film make the lives of the orphans seem much warmer and happier. The animation in the foreground doesn’t move, but objects in the background, like stars or birds, do move. Liyana has some of the most beautiful animated scenes I have ever seen.

The orphans of Likhaya Lemphlio Lensha have created a tale that both children and adults can enjoy and be inspired by. Liyana is a magical movie that is deeply moving but also gives you hope for the orphans and for the world. If Liyana can overcome her obstacles, surely the orphans of Swaziland can survive in this harsh, harsh world. The film shows you the power of healing that imagination and storytelling can hold.    My Take: 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

Liyana Website

Atlanta Film Festival Website

'Blindspotting'

'Blindspotting' Movie Review

'Blindspotting'

Posted on April 16, 2018 on CWAtlanta.cbslocal.com

Wayback Machine Archive Post

Photo is courtesy of Lionsgate

Review is from the 2018 Atlanta Film Festival 

Collin (Daveed Diggs) and Miles (Rafael Casal) have been friends since eleven years old, both having grown up on the tough streets of Oakland, CA. Collin is three days from finishing his parole, having spent time in prison for a felony. Collin lives in a halfway house run by an iron-fisted man who lives for catching anyone breaking the rules in the house. Collin and Miles work for a moving company, with Collin’s life complicated by the dispatcher, is his ex and love of his life, Val (Janina Gavankar). It is very evident that Collin is still in love with Val, but Val is cool to any advance that he makes.  

Miles is married to Ashley (Jasmine Cephas Jones), and they have a young son named Sean (Ziggy Baitinger). Miles enjoys spending time with Miles and his family, especially Sean, who is always playing with. Collin is just trying to keep his head down and get through his parole, but it’s complicated by the friends he hangs out with. When we first see Collin in Oakland, he is in a car with Miles and another buddy. Collin is in the back seat of a two-door tricked out car. Miles discovers that their friend that owns the car has not one but six guns in the car. Collin desperately wants out of the car, but his two friends would rather torture Collin by playing with the guns. Collin is saved with the car owner gets a Uber call and makes Collin and Miles get out of the car.  

Miles and Collin are best buds, making up rap songs as they walk through their neighborhood. Miles is a hot head and is always looking for a confrontation. Both men are known by their look; Miles wears a gold grill over his bottom teeth when he isn’t working. Collin has dreadlocks of which he is quite proud of. The lifelong friends obviously care about each other, but the question is will the reckless Miles get Collin into trouble before his parole is up? Collin is the level-headed of the two, and there is one significant difference between the two men; Collin is black, and Miles is white, and that could get Collin into trouble. If Miles starts something, it’s more than likely in this neighborhood that the police will, at the least, blame Collin for the trouble, and at the worst, kill him for it. 

David Diggs and Rafael Casal co-wrote the script and spent ten years trying to get this film made and man, oh, man, am I glad they got it made because it is a spectacular piece of filmmaking. The film covers a great many topics; how some friendships aren’t always good for both people, the growing problem of police too easily killing black men in the streets, and the gentrification of Collin’s and Miles neighborhood. It’s not lost on the two men that their jobs are the result of the hipsters moving into their community. 

Collin very earlier on in the film witnesses the killing of an unarmed black man by a police officer who shoots four bullets into the man as the man shouts “don’t shoot.’ Collin, as anyone would, is shaken to his core and throughout the film, he has flashbacks to the shooting, raising his paranoia.  

Daveed Diggs, who played Jefferson on Broadway in Hamilton, is impressive as the moody Collin. There is a moment near the end of the film that he takes over the movie and just blows you away. Diggs has star power, and it shows throughout the film. There is excellent chemistry between Diggs and Casel, especially in the scenes where they rap together. The best scenes in the movie are the ones with Diggs and Janina Gavankar who plays the love interest of Collin. Their scenes are moving as Diggs plays the man who made a mistake and Gavankar is the woman who isn’t ready to forgive him for that mistake. 

Blindspotting is a film that tackles today’s issues with heart and soul. Funny at times and equally moving, the film touches on a number of aspects of modern life in an urban city that is trying to define itself.   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