The Last Shift

 

We've seen many films that involve two individuals where they are as mismatched as any could--a sort of 'odd couple' type of situation, but "The Last Shift" certainly exemplifies that definition. Two totally different men attempt to survive working together in a fast-food eatery simply in order for one to retire and the other to try to make something of his life.

This film is an American story about two men struggling in the same town of Albion, Michigan while worlds apart. Stanley (Richard Jenkins), an aging fast-food worker, plans to call it quits after 38 years on the graveyard shift at Oscar's Chicken and Fish. His last weekend takes a turn while training his replacement, Jevon (Shane Paul McGhie), a talented but stalled young writer whose provocative politics keep landing him in trouble. These two who share little in common are brought together through circumstance. Stanley, a high school dropout who has watched life pass by his drive-through window, proudly details the nuances of the job. While Jevon, a columnist who's too smart to be flipping patties, contends their labor is being exploited. A flicker comradery sparks during the long overnight hours in a quiet kitchen. Dale (Ed O'Neill), a friend of Stanley, attempts to encourage him in what Stanlet deems as a worthless town, as the two mens' manager, Shazz (Da'Vine Joy Randolph) tries to hold them and the place together. 

Others to round out the cast are Allison Tolman as Mrs. Kelly, Jevon's social worker, Birgundi Baker as Sydney, Jevon's girlfriend, Dano Duran as Fernando, John Gawlik as Police Officer, Deron J. Powell as Perry and Jeff Dlugolecki as Degenerate Rommate.

This was refreshingly directed by Andrew Cohn ("Medora" (documentary) '13, "Night School" (documentary) '16, "Danny Brown: Live at the Majestic" (documentary) '18) plus TV, TV series documentaries, a documentary short and a short. Considering the amount of documentary experience this filmmaker has accumulated, I am very surprised that he was able to pull off this film as well as he did. I've seen direction by seasoned directors that weren't half as talented as this filmmaker. The pacing and staging was professional and the emotion and pathos he was able to extract from his actors was phenomenal. He will receive more feature film work. It was written by Cohn as well. The only other writing credit he has to his resume is a short, "Chile Road" '11, so when I viewed this, knowing this information, astounded me! Now, was it an Academy Award caliber film? Not really, however, considering all, this was a well delineated and thought out film. There were a few places of a lack of continuity, but watching this definitely kept me riveted to my seat. Not to be a spoiler alert, but this does end bitter sweetly in that one would not like the ending, but one can appreciate its conclusion. Even with such limited writing experience, I can certainly see this writer receiving more work along with directing. And what can I say about Jenkins? He is a consummate actor, and his co-star, McGhie definitely was not upstaged by Jenkins. He held his own easily. 

If you are interested in a well constructed character study of extreme opposites, this is the film for you. It being an independent film, has the propensity of being bittersweet, but sometimes life doesn't end with a nice bow tied at the end of a situation. If you want a well crafted American film that's artistically done, then delve into this one, otherwise pass it on.

Out of 4 Stars: 3.5                                                   Rated: R                                                   90mins.

Resistance

 

When it comes to war films, Hollywood is the king. This was supposed to be released on 3-27-20, but because of the pandemic, it was sent to online for sale. I, in turn, purchased it and decided to see it as to review it, and it was every bit worth the purchase. This wasn't as much a war film as much as it was centered on a pivotal person in our past and what he did to attempt to change the course of WWII.

Before he was the world-famous mime Marcel Marceau, he was Marcel Mangel (Jesse Eisenberg), an aspiring Jewish actor who, in inadvertently, joined the French Resistance during WWII to save thousands of children orphaned at the hands of the Nazis. He and others, including Emma (Clemence Posey), Georges (Geza Rohrig), Mila (Vica Kerekes) and Dominique (Aurelie Bancilhon) are unsung heroes who put themselves in extreme harm's way to rise above hatred and oppression. As told as a flashback eight years later by General Patton (Ed Harris) to his troops, this film, based on the inspiring true story, is the revolutionary tale of a selfless act that would forever change countless lives. 

Others to round out the cast are Matthias Schweighofer as Klaus Barbie, Karl Markovics as Charles Mangel, Marcel's father, Bella Ramsey as Elsbeth, Alicia von Rittberg as Regine, Klaus' wife, Martha Issova as Flora, Felix Moati as Alain, Edgar Ramirez as Sigmund, Elsbeth's father and Klara Issova as Judith, Elsbeth's mother.

This was rivetingly written and directed by Jonathan Jakubowicz ("Ships of Hope" (documentary) 2000, "Secuestro express" '05, "Hands of Stone" '16) plus TV and a short. Even though this filmmaker hasn't got a tremendous amount of feature film experience, he certainly knows how to direct actors where they emit the correct amount of emotions and intensity to convey the realism needed for its audience. His writing was amazingly intense and was interesting in that it conveyed the story well to the audience, except that it became a bit long-in-the-tooth about half way through. It probably could've been cut ten minutes from its running time and still convey the story easily enough. Believe me, I wasn't disappointed; this story kept me on the edge of my seat, so how bad could it have been? The cast lead up by Eisenberg was credible and certainly added its own nuance to the story. I definitely believe that this filmmaker will have a far reaching career considering this film. 

As I had mentioned above, this is not so much a war film as it is a backdrop to people's survival and willingness to stick together especially at a time of crisis. Considering we are living through a pandemic, it seems like we are living in a life that pales in comparison to those that lived during this time that atrocities ruled the earth. I believe that in watching this, maybe, just maybe people could see that, as compared, we have it fairly easily. Just saying.

Out of 4 Stars: 3.5                                   Rated: R                                                 120mins.

Infidel

 

We've seen terrorist oriented films before and also inspirational ones as well, but when have we seen a combination of the two? Probably never that I can remember. This film is as riveting as it is uncomfortable anticipating two extreme beliefs colliding within the Middle East. It truly shows that all people aren't what a lot of people here seem to think they are. Oh, there's lots of baddies, but it also shows us a side to them we don't see on the news.

Doug Rawlins (Jim Caviezel), an outspoken American Christian blogger and journalist is kidnapped by members of the Iranian regime headed up by terrorist, Ramzi (Hal Ozsan) while in Cairo, Egypt on a talk show where the conversation, instigated by the host, turned into Rawlins telling them that although Jesus Christ was a good prophet, he was also the Son of God who came to earth to redeem mankind toward the creator, lest he be a liar. Rawlins is ultimately taken to Lebanon and put on trial for erroneous and phony spying charges. Rawlins' wife, Liz (Claudia Karvan), a State Department official, attempts to use her influence to persuade the American government to become involved to no avail. Since our government backs out of helping Rawlins escape, Liz is the forced to go to the Middle East to search for him herself.

Others to round out the cast are Stelio Savante as Doug's Iranian friend, Bijan Daneshmand as Dr. Houssein Tehrani, Isabelle Adriani as Maria Landi, J.R. Cacia as Sgt. Knebel, Hanna Jiryis as Agent Ardy, Nadeem Strouji as Larijani and Noor Taher as Meena.

This was rivetingly directed by Cyrus Nowrasteh ("Veiled Threat" '89, "The Island" '98, "The Day Reagan Was Shot" (TV movie) '01, "The Stoning of Soraya M." '08, "The Young Messiah" '16) plus TV. The way this filmmaker use the editing along with the ability to extract the fear, suspense and peril that he was able to get out of his actors was phenomenal. He's directed many political thrillers before, so he is right at home with this, however he is amazingly adept at it and this certainly showcases his ability in spades. It is also written by Nowrasteh ("Veiled Threat" '89, "The Interview" '95, "The Advocate's Devil" (TV movie) '97, "The Island" '98, "The Day Reagan Was Shot" (TV movie) '01, "10,000 Black Men Named George" (TV movie) '02, "The Stoning of Soraya M." '08, "The Young Messiah" '16) plus TV. This writer's ability to convey an intense and thrilling story is about as amazing as his directing ability. Although this is not based on a true story, it is based on true events, meaning, in this case, it's not based on an actual person as much as those who are and have been abducted and taken to the Middle East for reasons of espionage or something political or something else equally as bizarre. It starts as a flashback and then leads us back to the events that bring him to the horrendous situation he ends up experiencing. Other than a couple of very small areas that were a bit choppy, this script was spot on. 

Mind you, one truly has to be in a certain mood to be able to sit through this considering how violent and suspenseful it undoubtedly is. The performance by Caveizel was amazing. Certainly his role as Jesus Christ in Mel Gibson's 2005 "The Passion of the Christ" has got to be Caveizel's best performance to date, however this was delineated as well.

Out of 4 Stars: 3.5                                         Rated: R                                                  107mins.

The Personal History of David Copperfield

We've seen many biopics before--it seems to be a Hollywood fave, but what makes "The Personal History of David Copperfield" so much more interesting is the fact that this film, based on a fictitional character plays out as though Copperfield is a real person. Based on Charles Dickens' classic novel, this is an original expose of what this character must've been like.

A fresh and distinctive take on Charles Dickens' semi-autobiographical masterpiece, this story, set in the 1840's, chronicles the life of its iconic title character as he navigates a chaotic world to find his elusive place within it. David's (Dev Patel) journey is by turns hilarious and tragic, but always full of life, color and humanity. Along his trek as his life unfolds is Peggotty (Daisy May Cooper), Betsy Trotwood (Tilda Swinton), Mr. Dick (Hugh Laurie), Uriah Heep (Ben Whishaw), Steerforth (Aneurin Barnard), Mr. Micawber (Peter Capaldi).

Others to round out the cast are Rosalind Eleazar as Agnes, Anthony Welsh as Ham, Benedict Wong as Mr. Wickfield, Gwendoline Christie as Jane Murdstone and Paul Whitehouse as Daniel Peggotty. 

This was whimsically directed by Armando Iannucci ("2004: The Stupid Version" (TV movie) '04, "In the Loop" '09, "The Death of Stalin" '17) plus TV and a TV short. The way this filmmaker was able to convey this film into it appearing as though it was a biopic was brilliant. As the audience watches this, one has to keep telling themselves that this isn't a biopic, but a fresh and original story about this character. Dev Patel has certainly proven himself as an accomplished actor, but this was incredible. He was amazingly believeable. It was effectively written by Simon Blackwell ("The Way It Is" (TV movie) 2000, "Monkey Trousers" (TV movie) '04, "2004: The Stupid Version" (TV movie) '04, "In the Loop" '09, "Four Lions" (additional writing) '10) plus TV and a TV short, and Iannucci ("Angllan Lives: Alan Partridge" (TV movie) '03, "2004: The Stupid Version" (TV movie) '04, "In the Loop" '09, "Milton's Heaven and Hell (TV movie documentary) '09, "The Death of Stalin" '17) plus TV, a TV short and a video, based on the classic novel by Charles Dickens. Although it was a fesh, original chronicling of the Dickens' character, the way the film kept going back and forth in a fashback format, normally it would be an effective way to tell the story, but with this, it went back and forth a bit too much, so it became somewhat confusing. Maybe if it was constructed in more of a sequential way within the flashback, it might have worked better. Not sure. The acting by Patel, Swinton, Laurie, Whishaw, Barnard and Capaldi are all seasoned pros in their field which made this the film it truly wanted to be, but the writing could've been a bit more polished. Still, at the end of the day, this was a very interesting way to convey a classic story for a new generation of moviegoers. 

If you are a Dickens fan or even a period film fan, you will love this. This comedy-drama will warm the hearts and entertain you all the while keeping one wondering if this is a biopic or not. The direction is tight, concise and absolutely makes these characters come to life. 

Out of 4 Stars: 3                                          Rated: PG                                              119mins.

 

The Broken Hearts Gallery

Typically rom-coms are fraught with predictability, with trite and banal storylines--most are a complete letdown, but, along with a small handful of other rom-coms, "The Broken Hearts Gallery" was actually better than I expected, mostly due to a somewhat interesting premise along with an effective chemistry between the two lead stars.

What if you saved a souvenir from every relationship you've ever been in? This story follows the always unique Lucy Gulliver (Geraldine Viswanathan), a 25-year-old art gallery assistant living in New York City, who also happens to be an emotional hoarder. After she gets dumped by her latest boyfriend, Max Vora (Utkarsh Ambudkar) due to his infidelity with one, Dr. Amelia Black (Tattiawna Jones), Lucy is ultimately inspired to create The Broken Heart Gallery, a pop-up space for the items love has left behind. She is also motivated after being fired from the art gallery she worked at owned by Eva Woolf (Bernadette Peters). Enters into her life but Nick (Dacre Montgomery), a construction worker attempting to renovate an old hotel with his best buddy Marcos (Arturo Castro), and as circumstances that happen, whether realized or not, Nick and Lucy meet and ultimately help each other on so many levels.

Others to round out the cast are Molly Gordon as Amanda, Phillipa Soo as Nadine, Suki Waterhouse as Chloe, Nathan Dales as Jeff and Sheila McCarthy as Cheryl Gulliver.

It was written and directed with relative graceful pacing by Natalie Krinsky (TV). Other than a healthy dose of TV experience, this filmmaker is virtually a newcomer to the feature film realm. The direction was truly spot on showing these young people in their everyday lives with all the pathos and emotions that come with that. Krinsky extracted just the correct amount of these emotions that made these characters come to life. The writing by Krinsky was definitely better than I ever expected. Other experience--this being TV, certainly served her with this film. Although the film was predictable and shared the usual format with other rom-coms, what made this more palatable was the premise--different than other rom-com premises--and the chemistry between Nick and Lucy. Even though I haven't heard of these two actors, they came across likeable, affable and truly strived to stick together no matter what the obstacles. Montgomery looks a lot like Zac Efron facially--he could be his brother it's so uncanny. 

After seeing so many banal, unoriginal and trite rom-coms in the past, this film certainly gave me a little more faith in this particular genre. Did it still need some work? Clearly, but I can definitely see Krinsky making more films considering this is her first feature film. I'm curios in what she'll attempt in the future. 

Out of 4 Stars: 2.5                                       Rated: PG-13                                       108mins.

The New Mutants

Really, since the late 70's, we have seen a plethora of superhero films, or, as I like to call them, comic book films. More to the point, of all those films, one of the franchises we've seen many incarnations of is that of the "X-Men" one. "The New Mutants" is basically taking five teenagers attempting to, not only to realize what their mutant ability is, but also how to harness it so they can control.

Others to round out the cast are Adam Beach as Dani's father, Thomas Kee as Sam's father and Colbi Gannett as young Illyana.Illyana Rasputin (Anya Taylor-Joy), Rahne Sinclair (Maisie Williams), Sam Guthrie (Charlie Heaton) and Roberto da Costa (Henry Zaga) are four young mutants being held against their will in an isolated hospital for psychiatric monitoring. Dr. Cecilia Reyes (Alice Braga), believing the teenagers are a danger both to themselves and to society as a whole, keeps a close eye on them as she struggles to teach them how to rein in their mutant abilities. When newcomer Danielle 'Dani' Moonstar (Blu Hunt) joins the other patients in the facility, strange occurrences begin to take place. The hospital's patients are plagued by hallucinations and flashbacks, and their new mutant abilities--and their friendships--will be tested as they battle to try to make it out alive.

This was effectively directed by Josh Boone ("Stuck in Love." '12, "The Fault in Our Stars" '14) plus TV. Even though this filmmaker doesn't have a ton of experience, he still has the ability to extract from his actors the pathos and emotion to set the mood given the scene at hand. His "The Fault in Our Stars" was an amazingly well directed film, so I depended on that same caliber and got it. It was interesting written by Boone ("Stuck in Love." '12, "All We Had" '16, "The Pretenders" '18) plus TV and Knate Lee ("Cardboard Boxer" '16, "Kidnap" '17) plus TV. Even though it worked that Boone didn't have a ton of experience when directing, not having a ton of experience in the writing category didn't serve him as well as Lee. Mind you, it wasn't a wash--it did have certain redeeming values. Such as creating this entire film holed up in a creepy, old psychiatric hospital. With this--it definitely gave the audience a chance to get to know these young people. Where this film got bogged down was that in places, certain things couldn't have happened, and there was more than one place where the audience had to scratch their heads in how did certain characters get from one place to another, The visual effects predominantly designed by Method Studios, MPC (Moving Picture Company) and Double Negative didn't seem heavy-handed as with other films of this type, which certainly did help.

If you're a comic book film fan, or specifically an "X-Men" affictionado, this film will work for you. However if you're looking for a tighter script that follows easily, you may have to flip a coin. A little heads up: there are some graphic scenes and adult scenes that probably won't be suited for the kiddies. This could've been rated R easily.

Out of 4 Stars: 2.5                                            Rated: PG-13                                       94mins.

Tenet

 It is official--the movie theaters are back open following a forced closing back in March due to the coronavirus pandemic. So many films were forced to push their release dates back ("Tenet's" release date originally being 7-17-20), that it was practically a miracle the films are starting at this time. So now, with "Tenet" being released today, 9-3, it's an epic Christopher Nolan vehicle with so many places that simply bend the mind, much like "Inception" and "Interstellar". 

Armed with only one word--Tenet--and fighting for the survival of the entire world, the Protagonist (John David Washington) along with his espionage partner, Neil (Robert Pattinson), Kat (Elizabeth Debicki) and Ives (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) journeys through a twilight world of international espionage on a mission that will unfold in something beyond real time. Crime boss, Andrei Sator (Kenneth Branagh) attempts to use Tenet in order to fulfill his evil plan toward his greedy end.

Others to round out the cast are Michael Caine as Michael Crosby, Himesh Patel as Mahir, Clemence Poesy as Barbara, Fiona Dourif as Wheeler, Dimple Kapadia as Priya, Wes Chatham as Sammy, Martin Donovan as Victor and Yuri Kolokolnikov as Quinton.

This was mesmerisingly written and directed by the incomparable Christopher Nolan ("Following" '98, "Memento" 2000, "Insomnia" '02, "Batman Begins" '05, "The Prestige" '06, "The Dark Knight" '08, "Inception" '10, "The Dark Knight Rises" '12, "Interstellar" '14, "Dunkirk" '17) plus shorts and a video. One has to have a tremendous amount of respect for this filmmaker considering his incredible talent of not only writing but helming a production as well. Also this filmmaker is one of a few who opted to wait for the theaters to open instead of selling the film to Netflix, streaming or putting it up on VOD--he is a purist who truly believes that films are meant to be shown on the large screen. His direction of this was crisp, tight and simply kept the audience riveted to the screen. He definitely has a distinct style to helming a picture which is evident in other productions, i.e. "Memento" 2000, "Inception" '10 and "Interstellar" '14. The plot and the process he used to convey the storyline is a bit cerebral so it can seem confusing to some, but I believe this is Nolan's style--hence the other aforementioned films. This film is true artistry, in the writing, directing and the sond mixing by sound veteran, Willie D. Burton. The sound mixing was haunting and enhanced the feel of the film hands down. Nolan and Burton could be considered for Oscar nominations. It will be interesting to see what Nolan does with his remake of "Memento" which has been announced.

Of all the films that filmgoers would see coming up, this film must be seen on the large screen, otherwise it will be lost on 50 incher. In fact, I was thinking about seeing it in IMAX, however that would've been a 35 minute trek for me, and since this is the first film out, I thought that seeing it on a large screen would suffice and it did. In retrospect, this film would be killer in the IMAX format it's being offered in as well. 

Out of 4 Stars: 3.5                               Rated: PG-13                                      150mins.