Movies

Subterms

    More stories

    • 125 Shares149 Views

      in Movies

      ‘The Lady of Heaven’ Review: A Tale of Two Eras

      by

      This historical epic about the life of Fatima, the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad, is a mechanical history lesson riddled with clichés.Directed by Eli King, “The Lady of Heaven” chronicles the life of Lady Fatima, the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad, the founder of Islam.The movie opens with the ISIS invasion of modern-day Iraq. In an unexpectedly graphic scene, a young boy, Laith (Gabriel Cartade), witnesses jihadists murder his mother. He’s then adopted by a strapping Iraqi soldier and his kindly mother, Bibi (Denise Black).Black, a white actress, makes for a questionable casting decision, though she’s primarily a narrator and her silky voice does lend the story a certain gravitas. Bibi comforts the traumatized boy with the faith-affirming tale of Fatima, plunging the viewer into seventh-century Arabia, where the bulk of the film takes place.Thing is, the film is hardly about Fatima.Islamic tradition forbids the direct portrayal of religious figures by individual actors, a code “The Lady of Heaven” abides by. Completely shrouded in a black veil, Fatima is a faceless character who, more important, never truly seems to be the focus.Instead, the film is more of a history lesson that happens to take her into account. King traces the rise of Muhammed; Fatima’s marriage to Muhammad’s cousin, Ali; the death of Muhammad; and the ensuing split between Shiite and Sunni Muslims. In the last act, Fatima emerges as a martyr whose suffering assumes contemporary resonance in Laith’s rejection of Islamic extremism.All the boxes of the historical epic genre are ticked — a bloody battle sequence, an ethereal wedding ceremony and intrigue among power mongering factions. The film runs through plot points in appropriately spectacular, if mechanical, fashion. A shoddy script and an overwhelming reliance on clichés, however, make this would-be blockbuster feel incredibly cheap.The Lady of HeavenRated R for wartime violence. Running time: 2 hours 21 minutes. In theaters. More

    • 113 Shares149 Views

      in Movies

      ‘The Real Charlie Chaplin’ Review: Not Enough Funny Business

      by

      The documentary attempts to restore a sense of mystery to Chaplin’s life and work, but the filmmakers mostly run through a well-trodden timeline.The biographical documentary “The Real Charlie Chaplin” looks to restore a sense of mystery to its beyond-famous subject. The filmmakers, Peter Middleton and James Spinney, mostly run through the well-trodden timeline of Charlie Chaplin’s life and fame — from poverty to ubiquity to exile in Switzerland — but they keep up a wondering, questing approach.Narrated by the actress Pearl Mackie (“Doctor Who”), the film maintains a sprightly tempo, trying out angles on Chaplin: his technique of working out comedy bits and scenes on camera; the story of an impersonator named Charlie Aplin; his satire of Adolf Hitler in “The Great Dictator”; and his virtuosic creation, the Little Tramp, which is linked to the star’s impoverished upbringing in South London. There is also commentary by the actor and director Mack Sennett, the actress Virginia Cherrill (star of “City Lights”), and Lita Grey Chaplin, who worked for Chaplin at 12 years old and married him at 16.The film features two dramatizations of audio interviews by lip-syncing actors (a method the directors also used in “Notes on Blindness”). In one chat, Chaplin imparts behind-the-scenes tidbits to Life magazine at his Swiss mansion; in the other, an older neighbor in South London reminisces about Charlie to Kevin Brownlow (who himself co-directed the important three-part 1983 series “Unknown Chaplin”). There’s also a recreation of a contentious press conference from 1947.Middleton and Spinney address Chaplin’s romantic scandals but sympathetically dwell on his persecution by anti-Communists in the United States. The tell-all promise of the film’s title dwindles away into predictable perspectives from members of his family. But this introduction to Chaplin shines whenever he performs, displaying his comic genius for doing everything wrong to absolute perfection.The Real Charlie ChaplinNot rated. Running time: 1 hour 54 minutes. In theaters, and on Showtime platforms Dec. 11. More

    • 63 Shares109 Views

      in Movies

      Five Holiday Movies to Stream

      by

      A list of quality holiday movies on streaming services other than Netflix.There is hope for holiday-loving cord-cutters who don’t have access to the Hallmark Channel and Lifetime’s bulging libraries and have already binged the new Netflix offerings: Other streaming services have stepped up their game when it comes to tinselly and cheery originals.Here are five new movies that run the gamut from violent to heartwarming. Just try to guess where the new “Home Alone” installment falls in this range.‘The Advent Calendar’Stream it on Shudder.As much as many people like to complain about the holidays, their actual experience remains fairly mild and any mention of nightmares is largely metaphorical. Not so in this new French-Belgian movie, which is streaming on the horror platform Shudder, and where the gore and violence are very real.Eva (Eugénie Derouand) is a former dancer who began using a wheelchair after a car accident. Her best and apparently only friend, Sophie (Honorine Magnier), gives her a beautifully designed German advent calendar for Christmas. It’s a gift that keeps on giving — and not in a good way, because a malevolent force becomes unleashed.The most interesting aspect of the writer-director Patrick Ridremont’s shockfest is that Eva is a complicated, flawed protagonist. Because she is in a wheelchair, she is constantly mistreated and bullied by callous colleagues and friends. But the advent calendar also exploits her bitter regrets and frustrations — it is those colleagues, not her disability, that have made her vulnerable to the temptations and delusions that her new possession feeds on.‘8-Bit Christmas’Stream it on HBO Max.The elevator pitch for this HBO Max film is simple: imagine “A Christmas Story” but in the 1980s, and with a Nintendo Entertainment System instead of the Red Ryder BB gun.To stop her incessant requests for a cellphone, Jake (Neil Patrick Harris) tells his daughter, Annie (Sophia Reid-Gantzert), a long, convoluted story — which he clearly hopes is a teachable moment — about the winter when he was 11 and desperately trying to get his hands on the console every kid coveted.Most of the film stays in the ’80s with young Jake (the very good Winslow Fegley), as he and his friends cook up incredibly elaborate schemes to procure that Nintendo. One of them even includes actually working hard selling wreaths to win a contest with a Nintendo as the grand prize.The best part of the movie, at least for adult viewers, is a wonderful performance by Steve Zahn as the young Jake’s father, simultaneously cranky and warm, and with a welcome soupçon of almost unsettling unpredictability. But while there are plenty of references to the 1980s, including a subplot about the scarcity of a certain Cabbage Patch Kid, the decade’s main influence is in the storytelling, which often recalls the “National Lampoon” movies at their most politically incorrect — think projectile vomiting, something happening to a family dog, a slightly gonzo vibe.‘Home Sweet Home Alone’Stream it on Disney+.Unless you are a dedicated fan, you may not have realized that the 1990 hit “Home Alone” had turned into a franchise. All the films involve a boy who somehow ends up on his own during the holidays and must fend off intruders. In the latest and sixth installment, available on Disney+, it’s the turn of Max (Archie Yates, from “Jojo Rabbit”) to be mistakenly left behind by his family — this time as they leave for vacation in Japan.A key narrative switch is that this film is mostly told from the perspective of the home invaders, the cash-strapped Jeff and Pam McKenzie (Rob Delaney and Ellie Kemper), who try to retrieve a precious possession they think was stolen by Max. As funny as Delaney and Kemper are — which is very, and they should get a franchise of their own — watching a couple afraid to lose their house suffer through a booby-trapped gauntlet devised by a rich brat does not exactly feel hilarious right now.As for the original forgotten kid, Kevin McCallister, we learn from his slovenly older brother Buzz (still played by Devin Ratray three decades later) that he now runs a home-security company and still likes pranks. Sounds like an open invitation for Kevin’s eventual return to the franchise’s fold, were Macaulay Culkin ever to decide that he’s game.‘The Housewives of the North Pole’Stream it on Peacock.North Pole, Vermont, is the kind of only-in-movies small New England town whose folksy Main Street has all the ritzy bearings of Rodeo Drive. Which sort of makes sense since its self-proclaimed queen, Trish, is played by Kyle Richards of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.”Trish always wins the annual Christmas home-decorating contest, thanks to the help of her best friend, the sweet-tempered artist Diana (Betsy Brandt, of “Breaking Bad”). But when the women’s friendship abruptly flames out, Trish’s streak is compromised while Diana is left feeling betrayed and lonely. Don’t worry, lessons will be learned and bridges will be mended.Accepting a parallel universe where a Vermont burg hosts insane displays of ostentatious wealth and folks brave December in shorts and a T-shirt without freezing to death will greatly improve your chances of enjoying this Peacock original. Indeed, the movie is so nuttily untethered to any semblance of reality that it’s almost enjoyable. How far can it go? After a while, you even start thinking that everybody is in on the joke.But what is that joke, exactly? A satire of a status-obsessed, by-any-means-necessary woman with a lot of time on her hands? “The Housewives of the North Pole” never quite goes there.‘Zoey’s Extraordinary Christmas’Stream it on the Roku Channel.In yet another example of a canceled show finding a new life on a different platform and, in this case, a different format, the Roku Channel’s first original feature picks up where Season 2 of the NBC series “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist” left off.The overall premise is that the title character (Jane Levy) hears people’s emotions as songs. And now so does her boyfriend, Max (Skylar Astin). Zoey provides a very brief explanation/recap at the start for newcomers, but they are largely on their own — “Zoey’s Extraordinary Christmas” is a gift to fans of the show, now watching the heroine try to get through her first holiday season without her late father.Those with a low tolerance for Christmas tunes will be glad to hear that while the movie has its fair share of them, it also incorporates regular songs — Mary Steenburgen’s version of “Call Me Maybe” is a sweet highlight. Other pluses include terrific performances by Alex Newell, back as the gender-nonconforming Mo, and Bernadette Peters as Steenburgen’s friend. Overall, though, the film may feel too insular to those who have not already embraced its whimsical world. More

    • 88 Shares109 Views

      in Movies

      ‘Beijing Spring’ Review: The Politics of Aesthetics

      by

      This new documentary chronicles the movement for democratic artistic expression that exploded in the wake of the Cultural Revolution in China.Can art effect real change in the world? To this ever-urgent question, “Beijing Spring” — a new documentary about the titular movement for democratic expression that exploded in the wake of the Cultural Revolution in China — responds with a resounding yes.Directed by Andy Cohen with Gaylen Ross, the film focuses on the Stars Art Group, a collective of self-taught practitioners who seized on the tumult after Mao Zedong’s death in 1976 and deployed their art like Molotov cocktails. They circulated their paintings and literature via underground magazines; papered revolutionary poems and calligraphy on the famed Democracy Wall; and, most notably, mounted a show on the exterior of the National Art Museum of China after being denied permission to exhibit within.Rousing if somewhat schematic, “Beijing Spring” unfolds as a kind of art-history lesson: In interviews, the Stars look back wistfully on their work, which married ravenous experimentation — including abstract styles and nude figures violently forbidden under Mao — with strident political critique. Wang Keping’s sculpture “Idol” uses some canny detailing to turn a likeness of Mao into that of the Buddha, quietly excoriating the leader’s deification.But the most stirring parts of “Beijing Spring” showcase the power of the cinematic arts. The film weaves in long-unseen footage of the artists’ demonstrations that thrums with both history and stunning aesthetic beauty. Perched on a fence while dodging the police, the young cameraman, Chi Xiaoning, captured the thronging crowds with startling, intuitive immediacy.Cohen and Ross’s own filmmaking suffers in comparison to the crafts on display within the film: “Beijing Spring” assembles its materials into a by-the-book progression of archival excerpts and talking-head commentary, serving best as a primer on — rather than an embodiment of — the radical possibilities of artistic form.Beijing SpringNot rated. In Mandarin and French, with subtitles. Running time: 1 hour 40 minutes. In theaters. More

    • 88 Shares189 Views

      in Movies

      ‘National Champions’ Review: A College Football Revolution

      by

      Athletes go on strike seeking health insurance in this drama as a coach tries to forge his legacy.In New Orleans, two college teams, the Cougars and the Wolves, are days from facing off in a major game — a game that will make or break the legacy of one coach. That would be James Lazor of the Wolves. One of the TV sportscasters hyping the game announces, “Monday night is about etching his name in the history books.”His star quarterback, LeMarcus James, has other plans. Along with his best friend, a lesser player named Emmett Sunday, James is going on strike. Referring to his fellow college athletes, James says in one televised statement, “Over 12,000 of us participate in a multibillion-dollar business that doesn’t even give us health insurance.”Written by Adam Mervis and directed by Ric Roman Waugh, “National Champions” is a drama whose timeliness has only been slightly compromised by the N.C.A.A.’s recent interim policy allowing athletes to earn revenue via endorsement deals. To go by this fictional movie’s argumentation, that real-life shift only slightly changes the overall picture for college athletes.Coach Lazor is played by J.K. Simmons, but his character here is no “Whiplash”-style martinet. He’s ostensibly compassionate, and says he sees LeMarcus as a son. But, unsurprisingly, the coach’s patriarchal stance is later shown to be part of the problem.The movie wants to make its points on class and race hotly. LeMarcus, appealingly played by Stephan James, is Black, and then again so is Katherine Poe (a simultaneously imposing and enigmatic Uzo Aduba), the ruthless lawyer the N.C.A.A. has put on a mission to destroy and discredit the quarterback. The vicious machinations echo an adage popularized by Jenny Holzer: “Abuse of power comes as no surprise.” But the movie dilutes its impact with lackluster direction of samey scenes — people in hotel rooms speechifying — and a distracting nighttime soap subplot.National ChampionsRated R for language. Running time: 1 hour 56 minutes. In theaters. More

    • 138 Shares179 Views

      in Movies

      ‘Joy Womack: The White Swan’ Review: When Success Is a Stretch

      by

      This documentary chronicles an American ballet dancer’s efforts to become a star in Russia.Sometime in “Joy Womack: The White Swan,” determination starts to look like monomania, even if the directors, Dina Burlis and Sergey Gavrilov, never tip their hands on where they stand. Their documentary follows Joy Womack, an American ballet dancer who moved alone to Moscow at 15 with aspirations of joining the Bolshoi Ballet. After achieving that goal, she quit the company and made international headlines in 2013 saying that she was told she would have to pay a bribe for a solo role. (She subsequently joined the Kremlin Ballet.)Drawn from seven years of shooting, the documentary charts Womack’s life in Russia, where she says success is more elusive than in the United States. In the U.S., she says, “If you’re a hard worker, you can make it happen,” but in Russia, “it’s like if you do not have the aesthetic, forget about it, just don’t even try it.” The film observes her efforts to reconcile what a ballet critic in the film calls a Broadway style with the Russian style. Womack also has to dance and medicate through injuries. Less than two minutes in, the movie shows her going for an M.R.I.To a degree, Womack’s audacious career path has been shoehorned into a conventional profile format. The directors might have done more to illuminate Womack’s offstage life (you’re left wondering if she learned to speak Russian overnight), although they do chronicle the struggles of a marriage she entered into in apparent sincerity, while also knowing it would help her obtain permission to stay in Russia. Womack comes across as incredibly adaptable, which may be the film’s ultimate point.Joy Womack: The White SwanNot rated. In English and Russian, with subtitles. Running time: 1 hour 30 minutes. In theaters and on virtual cinemas. Also available to rent or buy on Google Play, Vudu and other streaming platforms and pay TV operators. More

    • 100 Shares149 Views

      in Movies

      ‘Agnes’ Review: A Crisis of Faith, and Filmmaking

      by

      In this plodding horror-drama from Mickey Reece, a possessed nun drives one of her sisters to leave their convent.The art house fascination with nuns is hardly new: Jacques Rivette’s vibrant drama “The Nun” made waves in the 1960s; Jeff Baena’s “The Little Hours” lampooned medieval Catholicism in 2017. Theaters have again opened their arms to nunsploitation this month with “Benedetta,” Paul Verhoeven’s latest shocker, and now “Agnes,” from the wildly prolific director Mickey Reece — it’s his 18th feature film to come out in the last 10 years.Unfortunately for Reece, quantity is no indicator of quality; this choppy film has little to say, particularly about cloistered women, despite being named after a possessed sister and dedicating a plotline to an ex-nun.Though “Agnes” opens during a Mass in the convent before introducing its titular character (Hayley McFarland) — a satanic sister who reveals her wickedness by cursing and levitating teacups — it quickly centers the religious men tasked with exorcising Agnes. Men like the jaded Father Donaghue (Ben Hall), who is soon to be relocated to some faraway country after being accused of child molestation. He warns Benjamin (Jake Horowitz), a priest-in-training just shy of taking his vows, against the lifestyle.The second act focuses on Agnes’s friend, Mary (Molly C. Quinn), after she leaves the convent. As she navigates normal life, she connects with Agnes’s former lover, a comedian named Paul Satchimo (Sean Gunn).If that all sounds confusing and pointless, that’s because it mostly is. There is a clear through line of faithlessness in the script by Reece and John Selvidge, but it is otherwise so aimless and underdeveloped as to turn this 93-minute film into a plodding slog. (If you’re expecting to learn anything substantial about Agnes herself, for instance, you won’t.) Couple that with erratic editing and endless horror clichés and you have a boring movie that, like its titular character, causes some bloodshed but for the most part does absolutely nothing at all.AgnesNot rated. Running time: 1 hour 33 minutes. In theaters and available to rent or buy on Apple TV, Google Play and other streaming platforms and pay TV operators. More

    • 63 Shares189 Views

      in Movies

      ‘Encounter’ Review: The Scenic Route

      by

      A volatile veteran attempts to rescue his sons from a perceived alien threat in this confused cross between sci-fi thriller and family drama.At the beginning of “Encounter,” the sophomore feature from the British director Michael Pearce, something bright and blazing crash-lands in the night and a swarm of microorganisms appears to colonize an earthly host. This body-snatching setup could not be more familiar. It could also be a feint.Using the tropes of the alien-invasion thriller to tell another, more complicated story, Pearce and his co-writer, Joe Barton, make exactly half of a good movie. For a while, it’s enough to watch Malik (an electric Riz Ahmed), a stressed-out former Marine, interact with his two young sons (Aditya Geddada and Lucian-River Chauhan) as they drive full-tilt from Oregon to Nevada. Believing he is saving the boys from an extraterrestrial threat, Malik has kidnapped them from the home of his ex-wife and her new partner. His destination is a bunker where, he explains to the children, scientists are secretly working to repel the microbial invaders.To the boys, this is initially a welcome adventure; but as Malik’s behavior becomes more volatile and unnerving — and we learn more of his history — his sons grow anxious and the movie grows too fond of its ambiguities. Malik’s trauma is clear, his invisible wounds as evident as the parasites he sees crawling in the eye of a California state trooper. Yet, after setting up a potentially powerful study of damage and delusion, Pearce (whose 2018 feature debut, “Beast,” signaled an unusual talent) remains torn between science fiction and psychological fact. And despite Benjamin Kracun’s sometimes haunting visuals — a decaying mining community in the Nevada desert; a drone shot of government vehicles gathering with insectoid purpose — the movie finally has nowhere to run but out of steam.EncounterRated R for men with guns and creepy-crawlies with agendas. Running time: 1 hour 48 minutes. In theaters and on Amazon Prime Video. More