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Mudbound

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True to its name, this gritty, earthy tale is harsh, bitter and uneven. Mudbound opens with a thunderous, darkening storm descending on a southern farm just following the end of World War II. Brothers Jamie (Garrett Hedlund) and Henry (Jason Clarke) dig a grave for their father (Jonathan Banks). Henry is the elder, strong and no-nonsense. Little brother Jamie is handsome, save for a fresh shiner on his left eye, and distracted - by what we don’t know yet. Jamie offers a voice over where he shares his view of his brother and the world. Henry refuses to bury his father in what they discover is a slave’s grave - claiming there’s nothing his father would have hated more. The overt and brutal racism that follows backs up Henry’s claim and then some. The film sharply flips to Henry’s wife, Laura (Carey Mulligan), via her voice over. She tells us what she thinks of the farm and the mud that perpetually coats everything - she’s not a fan. As the brothers struggle to lay their father ...
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The Florida Project

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I haven't been this deeply and emotionally moved by a film in quite some time.  The effect of a movie upon the viewer depends on what the viewer brings to the film. If you have kids, or just truly love kids, The Florida Project will likely be your Kleenex film of the year. The opening salvo features two kids, Moonee (Brooklynn Prince) and Scooty (Christopher Rivera), no more than seven years old each, sitting against a tropical Florida pink wall outside a run down Orlando motel, called "The Magical Castle". They are bored and waiting for something to happen. It is devastatingly simple, poetic and it pays off. The fantasy of this being a fun summer for kids in the Orlando sun is offered in that opening, when Moonee and Scooty's friend, Dicky (Aiden Malik) comes running over to declare, "Freshies at the Future!" They run off, dangerously unaware of cars and the bustling traffic from the nearby route 192, arriving at Futureland Inn - an...
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The Shape of Water

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Paranoid, government secret love may be the best kind of love - that is the shape of Guillermo del Toro’s latest, beautiful myth. Elisa (Sally Hawkins) is a woman without a voice, mopping the floors and bathrooms in a secret government lab in 1962. The cold war is icy - with the Russians man in outer space and missiles on Cuba putting the Americans G-men on the highest, high alert. Strickland (Michael Shannon) is the G-man in charge, and he kicks things into high gear by introducing the mysterious South American Amphibian Man (Doug Jones) to the lab. The Amphibian Man is a cross between the Creature from the Black Lagoon, E.T. and Star Man in film parlance. He looks creepy, but still, human enough for Elisa to fall for him. How she reaches out to him is simple and show us how ridiculously limited and unfortunately awkward our verbal language is in comparison. The rest of the supporting cast is fantastic, too. Richard Jenkins as Elisa’s sweet neighbor, Giles, is fun, sw...
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Roman J. Israel, Esq.

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There are a lot of interesting ideas here that ultimately don’t add up, but that doesn’t take away from  Denzel Washington’s brilliant performance. If the blunt question is, “is Roman J. Israel, Esq. a good film?” - my answer, truthfully, is, no, due to its  lack of cohesion. That being said, I enjoyed it and would recommend it with a few caveats. There are  parts of it, particularly with its idealism and the misfit/outcast character that is Roman, that feel  i ncredibly important and timely. “Important”, however, doesn’t always add up to broadly entertaining.  Put another way, for those who desire flash and fire, you won’t find them here. The film is rich and heady with ideas about the role of law in society. Downtown L.A. is an interesting  backdrop, only partially explored and exploited against its themes. The outstanding soundtrack and  nods toward the social movements of the late 60’s and early 70’s against the modern landscape...
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Darkest Hour

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“Success is not final. Failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts.” Winston Churchill Winston Churchill is a massive historical figure. Gary Oldman commands that looming figure and brings his brooding, powerful and surprisingly insecure character to the screen in a solid, but not spectacular, biopic. The moments all around Churchill are closing in. Hitler and the Nazis are on their way. France has folded. Norway and Belgium too. It appears England is just the next domino in line. So the argument begins - is it better to live in relative peace under the terms of a dictator or quite possibly die fighting for freedom? As the newly appointed Prime Minister, Churchill is resolute in the idea that peace talks are absolutely off the table. Lord Halifax and recently demoted Neville Chamberlain work furiously behind the scenes to keep the opportunity for peace talks alive. Director Joe Wright does a very nice job of keeping the tension and peril in place. As...
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Call me by your name

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Slow, sensual and hypnotic, Call me by your name is a stunningly different looking and feeling film than I have seen in a long time. Director Luca Guadagnino is achingly patient, demanding the same of the audience. The setting in Northern Italy should be enough to keep most intrigued. The hints of the romance in this coming of age tale are hinted at, then dismissed. They seem to be blocked off, only to come rushing forward then pour out all over the screen. The film is lush, dangerous, and passionate - but, perhaps, above all: beautifully human. Oliver (Armie Hammer) is a doctoral research exchange student studying abroad with an archaeology professor, (Michael Stuhlbarg). Elio (Timothee Chalamet) is a 17-year old son who is bored, facing the prospect of an aimless summer of reading and wondering what is next. He is shy, introverted and unable to move forward sexually with a young lady he cares for - even going so far as to share that with his father and Oliver, who encourage ...
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I, Tonya

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With wit, frankness and in your face, fuck-you-if-you-don’t-like-it, style, “I, Tonya” soars like one of  Harding’s signature triple axels. Margot Robbie slides into this role so deeply you can somehow forget  the stunning beauty she is and concentrate on the amazing actor she has become. This isn’t to dismiss her work in Wolf of Wall Street, Focus or Suicide Squad, but none of those roles  gave her the opportunity or space to show the tremendous depth in character she does in this film. Right out of the gate, the film tells you it’s irony free, and based on wildly contradictory and yet totally  true interviews. This brings up a great theme that plays throughout and is very timely for a subject that  happened over 20 years ago: What is a fact? And how does media portrayal of a thing (and the  amount of it) change that fact? Since this story broke in the early 1990’s, right as the 24 hour news cycle was ramping up and the  tabloids...
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