Movies

Subterms

    More stories

    • 125 Shares99 Views

      in Movies

      Hearing the City, Too, at an Outdoor Berlin Film Festival

      by

      The movie soundtracks are competing with distant techno beats and the subway’s rattle at a coronavirus-proof edition of the annual event.BERLIN — On Thursday night, the mood at the Hasenheide open-air movie theater was buoyant. An audience of about 200 people had assembled for a screening of “The Seed,” a German drama about a construction worker struggling to take care of his daughter in a rural part of the country. Despite the grim subject matter, audience members chatted and drank beer, and a faint smell of pot smoke drifted through the air. More

    • 100 Shares99 Views

      in Movies

      ‘Queen Bees’ Review: Mean Girls on Social Security

      by

      Jane Curtin, Loretta Devine and Ann-Margret rule their senior community in this conventional comedy-drama that doesn’t waste its cast.In what may be a first for cinema, “Queen Bees,” directed by Michael Lembeck, depicts a senior citizen using a mobile phone with no difficulty whatsoever. The senior in question is Helen, played by Ellen Burstyn, an independent woman who’s calling the living center for elders that keeps sending her brochures. In emphatic tones she tells the representative that she’s not moving from her house, which is pleasant but feels a little empty.The problem is, she keeps locking herself out of her house. This habit, and Helen’s isolation as a widow, are of concern to her grandson Peter (Matthew Barnes) and of perhaps mercenary concern to her daughter Laura (Elizabeth Mitchell). When a kitchen fire necessitates repairs, Helen is compelled to move into that living center — on what she repeatedly insists will be a temporary basis.Here she meets the “Queen Bees” of the movie’s title, a trio of imperious women, led by Janet (Jane Curtin), Sally (Loretta Devine) and Margot (Ann-Margret), who rule the community’s card room and cafeteria. When Sally tries to convince Helen to ingratiate herself with these power holders, Helen protests that this isn’t high school. Sally responds that it’s worse; in “high school we graduate. Here, we die.”One needn’t bother to make a “Mean Girls” comparison, as the movie’s dialogue itself does. “Queen Bees” is a thoroughly conventional comedy-drama right down to its saccharine score by Walter Murphy. (Yes, the “A Fifth of Beethoven” guy.) That said, it does not waste its impeccable cast, which also includes Christopher Lloyd and a remarkably game James Caan as Helen’s love interest. Each of these stalwarts bring more than charisma to their roles, and when the writing itself displays some snap (which admittedly isn’t that often) the performers bite right into it.Queen BeesRated PG-13 for language, senior themes. Running time: 1 hour 40 minutes. In theaters and available to rent or buy on Apple TV, Vudu and other streaming platforms and pay TV operators. More

    • 113 Shares99 Views

      in Movies

      Hong Kong to Censor Films Under China’s Security Law

      by

      The city’s government said it would block the distribution of films that are deemed to undermine national security, bringing the territory more in line with mainland Chinese censorship.For decades, Hong Kong’s movie industry has enthralled global audiences with balletic shoot-em-ups, epic martial-arts fantasies, chopsocky comedies and shadow-drenched romances. Now, under orders from Beijing, local officials will scrutinize such works with an eye toward safeguarding the People’s Republic of China.The city’s government on Friday said it would begin blocking the distribution of films that are deemed to undermine national security, marking the official arrival of mainland Chinese-style censorship in one of Asia’s most celebrated filmmaking hubs.The new guidelines, which apply to both domestically produced and foreign films, are the latest sign of how thoroughly Hong Kong, a semiautonomous Chinese territory, is being reshaped by a security law enacted last year to quash antigovernment protests.With the blessing of the Communist government in Beijing, the Hong Kong authorities have changed school curriculums, pulled books off library shelves and moved to overhaul elections. The police have arrested pro-democracy activists and politicians as well as a high-profile newspaper publisher.And in the arts, the law has created an atmosphere of fear.The updated rules announced Friday require Hong Kong censors considering a film for distribution to look out not only for violent, sexual and vulgar content, but also for how the film portrays acts “which may amount to an offense endangering national security.”Anything that is “objectively and reasonably capable of being perceived as endorsing, supporting, promoting, glorifying, encouraging or inciting” such acts is potential grounds for deeming a film unfit for exhibition, the rules now say.The new rules do not limit the scope of a censor’s verdict to a film’s content alone.“When considering the effect of the film as a whole and its likely effect on the persons likely to view the film,” the guidelines say, “the censor should have regard to the duties to prevent and suppress act or activity endangering national security.”A Hong Kong government statement on Friday said: “The film censorship regulatory framework is built on the premise of a balance between protection of individual rights and freedoms on the one hand, and the protection of legitimate societal interests on the other.”The vagueness of the new provisions is in keeping with what the security law’s critics say are its ambiguously defined offenses, which give the authorities wide latitude to target activists and critics.Supporters of pro-democracy activists who have been charged under the national security law protested in Hong Kong last month.Lam Yik Fei for The New York Times“How do you raise funds?” asked Evans Chan, a filmmaker who has faced problems screening his work in Hong Kong. “Can you openly crowdsource and say that this is a film about certain points of view, certain activities?”Even feature filmmakers, he said, will be left to wonder whether their movies will fall afoul of the new law. “It’s not just a matter of activist filmmaking or political filmmaking, but the overall scene of filmmaking in Hong Kong.”At its peak during the decades after World War II, the city’s film industry enjoyed huge influence across the moviegoing world, churning out popular genre flicks and nurturing auteurs like Wong Kar-wai and Ann Hui. The influence of Hong Kong cinema can be seen in the work of Hollywood directors including Quentin Tarantino and Martin Scorsese, and in blockbusters such as “The Matrix.”More recently, Hong Kong’s political turmoil has been of intense interest to artists and documentarians, even if their work has sometimes struggled to be shown before audiences.A screening of a documentary about the 2019 protests was canceled at the last minute this year after a pro-Beijing newspaper accused the film of encouraging subversion. The University of Hong Kong urged its student union to cancel a showing of a film about a jailed activist.The screening went on as planned. But a few months later, the university said it would stop collecting membership fees on the organization’s behalf and would stop managing its finances as punishment for its “radical acts.” More

    • 113 Shares139 Views

      in Movies

      ‘Wish Dragon’ Review: ‘Aladdin’ Goes to Shanghai, Sort Of

      by

      John Cho, as Long the dragon, does his best Robin Williams impression in this film animation about a teenage boy who releases him from a magic teapot.In the engaging animated feature “Wish Dragon,” a teenage boy comes into possession of a magic teapot containing a world-weary dragon who’s obliged to grant him three wishes.The movie is geared toward children, but for anyone old enough to remember the Disney Renaissance, there should be a déjà vu warning: Netflix’s newest animation effort is essentially Disney’s “Aladdin” transposed to Shanghai. John Cho, who voices Long, the dragon, does his best impression of Robin Williams, who lent his voice to the fast-talking Genie in the 1992 Disney animation. But without the catchy songs and intergenerational appeal, this movie can only wish to measure up to that classic.When the story begins, Din (Jimmy Wong) is a genial, imaginative child who soon befriends Li Na (Natasha Liu Bordizzo), a fellow troublemaker in school. The pair is shown cavorting in a best-friend montage that screeches to a halt when Li Na’s father moves her out of their humble neighborhood, saying, “We’re off to a better life, and we have to leave this one behind.”Fast-forward by a decade: A chic Li Na appears on billboards around town, while Din lives in the same cramped apartment with his mother (Constance Wu), and works as a food delivery boy, all the while yearning to win back his partner in crime. If only a magical dragon could help Din bluff his way into Li Na’s moneyed circle.Here, the movie goes full folk tale. Some moments, such as when Long’s voice turns squeaky-high as he squeezes back into his itty-bitty teapot space, seem to explicitly quote “Aladdin,” not to mention the airborne date Din and Li Na have on a flying dragon.The biggest break from formula arrives through Long, the wish granter. Unlike the Genie, Long possesses a compelling human back story and follows a defined character arc. Absent a razzle-dazzle production number akin to “Friend Like Me,” endowing the dragon with some emotional depth is the least this movie, directed by Chris Appelhans, could do. “Wish Dragon” is a transporting experience, but it’s far from a whole new world.Wish DragonRated PG. Running time: 1 hour 38 minutes. Watch on Netflix. More

    • 138 Shares169 Views

      in Theater

      ‘In the Heights’ Premiere Celebrates the Neighborhood That Started It All

      by

      As throngs of residents watched, the stars of the movie, set in Washington Heights, walked a sunny yellow carpet outside the United Palace.At the Plaza de las Americas in Washington Heights, fruit and vegetable vendors usually sell produce until dusk. But on Wednesday, it was transformed into a replica of any other block in the neighborhood. There was a mock bodega, decorated with three Dominican flags that hung from an awning, a faux fire hydrant and a plastic fruit stand. Underneath the entire set ran a yellow carpet.The reproduction served as a backdrop for the luminaries attending for the premiere of “In the Heights,” the big-screen adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda and Quiara Alegría Hudes’s Tony-winning Broadway show. The sunny carpet welcomed the cast and crew back to the Upper Manhattan neighborhood where it was filmed. The premiere, which also served as opening night of the 20th Tribeca Festival, was held at the United Palace, a majestic 91-year-old theater with a projection system that, years earlier, before his success on Broadway, Miranda had helped raise money to buy and then helped install.While the actors, producers and executives streamed down the yellow carpet, pausing for pictures with photographers and interviews with the news media, the real Washington Heights whirred behind them. Waitresses at Malecon, a Dominican restaurant across the street from the plaza, peered outside the windows in between serving heaps of rice, stew chicken and beans, trying to figure out why crowds had formed in front of their restaurant on a sticky 90-degree day.Maritza Luna, left, and Eglis Suarez were among the fans waiting outside the theater for a glimpse of the stars.Nina Westervelt for The New York TimesDiners at El Conde Nuevo, another Dominican restaurant across the street, stood on the corner also trying to decipher the rumpus outside. And then, Miranda — wearing a pale blue, long-sleeve chacabana, jeans and the same Nike Air Force 1s, often called Uptowns in the City, that he wore to the Broadway opening of “In the Heights” — arrived with his family, and everyone erupted in cheers.Jorge Peguero, 71, was on his way home when he stopped and became a proud member of the crowd.“I’ve lived here my whole life, and this is fantastic,” said Peguero, a resident of Washington Heights since 1969. “It’s a big deal that Tribeca chose to represent the Dominican community, and it’s the first time ever that we see anything like it.”Miranda, who still lives in Washington Heights, had hoped to premiere the movie where it is set.“All I ever wanted was this neighborhood to be proud of themselves and the way they are portrayed,” said Miranda, who was within walking distance of his home and his parent’s home. “I still walk around here with my headphones on, and everyone is just like well, Lin-Manuel is writing.”“I feel safe here,” he added.Lin-Manuel Miranda, left, who wrote the music and lyrics for “In the Heights,” and Anthony Ramos, who stars in the movie.Nina Westervelt for The New York TimesMany Washington Heights residents have not yet had their encounter with Miranda in the neighborhood. Eglis Suarez, 48, was hoping to change that.“I want to see Lin,” she said. “We are so proud, this is progress for this community and for the city.”Exuberant and critically adored, “In the Heights,” directed by Jon M. Chu, is a look at the shifts that happen between first- and second-generation immigrants. The elders hope to make it out of the neighborhood they left home for, while their younger counterparts plan to stay in the neighborhood they call home. It is a story that has occurred a million times over in the area and one that Hudes, who also lives there, encountered daily while filming.“This isn’t about a hero or a protagonist, it’s about what happens when a community holds hands together and life kind of pushes those hands apart,” said Hudes, who wore large hoops and a flower-print jumpsuit. “It’s about these blocks and these living rooms where you go after school and do your homework or play bingo during a blackout, it’s all here.”Washington Heights has been home to middle- and working-class Dominicans since the 1960s. In the 1980s, the neighborhood, like many others in the city, was flooded with cocaine and crack, making it unsafe for the community. Those days are past now and some residents say it’s time to move on from a narrative in countless movies and rap songs that no longer fits the neighborhood.“I’m so proud of this movie,” said Sandra Marin Martinez, 67, a lifelong Washington Heights resident. “Who wouldn’t be? At least there’s no shooting.”“Everything is dancing, these are my people, I grew up dancing here,” she added as she waited for a glimpse of the cast walking into the theater.“In the Heights” Premiere13 PhotosView Slide Show ›Nina Westervelt for The New York TimesYudelka Rodriguez, 51, was standing with her daughter waiting for the cast to arrive. She was excited to see her hood in the movie and herself represented.“I am so emotional,” Rodriguez said as she leaned on a metal gate. “This is the most beautiful thing, to see that your barrio is involved in this; it’s the best feeling.”That feeling is something Paula Weinstein, an organizer of the Tribeca Festival (which dropped “film” from its name this year), hoped to replicate all over the city with this movie.“This is what we’ve been dreaming of — New York is back,” Weinstein said. “This is a tribute to the Dominican community, this is what is the best of New York. Every generation of immigrants start one place and move into the community, That’s what’s great about New York, that’s what we want to celebrate.”In the theater, Robert De Niro, a founder of the festival, introduced Miranda, who then introduced the rest of the cast. The energy was electric from the stage to the seats. When a title card that read “Washington Heights” appeared on the screen, the crowd whooped and applauded.When the movie’s star, Anthony Ramos, arrived, the makeshift set was surrounded by a small crowd. As he stepped out in black-and-white cheetah-print pants, with a matching shirt and jacket, gingerly placed on his shoulders, the crowd at the corner of 175th and Broadway thundered with applause and cheers.“I didn’t grow up even going to Broadway, and most New York people don’t grow up going to Broadway,” said Ramos, who is a Brooklyn native. “To tell a New York story about a community that’s so familiar and so special to people from New York is particularly special for me.” More

    • 63 Shares129 Views

      in Movies

      ‘Sublet’ Review: A Less-Than-Intrepid Traveler

      by

      A strait-laced fictional New York Times writer meets a freewheeling younger man in this low-key gay romance from Israel.An understated gay romance, “Sublet” follows a fictional middle-aged New York Times travel writer assigned to discover what’s what in Tel Aviv over the course of five days. Michael (played by John Benjamin Hickey with guarded propriety and bristling vulnerability) seems at odds with the city’s madcap energy. When he arrives at his temporary abode in a particularly hip part of town, he’s caught off guard by Tomer (Niv Nissim), his chaotically free-spirited “landlord,” who rents his home out to tourists for extra cash.The film doesn’t exactly subvert its clichéd “when two worlds meet” premise, and its bubbly but lame music cues are no help. The Israeli director Eytan Fox offers insights into two generations of gay men that at times can seem superficial. Nevertheless, he creates a pleasurably low-key double character study.With Tomer as his guide, the stiff, bespectacled Michael, who is quietly reeling from a personal loss, sees the “real” Tel Aviv — that is, the Tel Aviv of a bohemian 20-something who has never been persecuted for his sexual orientation. The two enjoy local restaurants, see an avant-garde dance performance and visit a disco, though Michael calls it a night when Tomer offers him MDMA.Fox’s critique runs both ways. Tomer is a broke, commitment-phobic wild child, while Michael, insulated by his privilege and shaped by the AIDS epidemic, comes off as woefully out of touch, when, for example, he attempts to weigh in on the Israeli government’s efforts to silence artists.At the same time, the film is never interested in political proselytizing; neither does it depict a life-upending love story. Though far from the gold standard of “brief encounter” dramas like Andrew Haigh’s “Weekend,” “Sublet” nevertheless wins you over with its subtle charm and its mellow depiction of two men forging an unexpected connection.SubletNot rated. Running time: 1 hour 29 minutes. In theaters. More

    • 100 Shares99 Views

      in Movies

      ‘Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway’ Review: Rabbit Redux

      by

      This sassy sequel, with James Corden as the voice of Peter Rabbit, snarks at itself while also snarking at viewers.“Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway” wants to have its carrot and eat it, too. For anyone who complained that the 2018 live action-animation hybrid “Peter Rabbit” betrayed Beatrix Potter’s whimsical vision, and seemed less concerned with the plunder of Mr. McGregor’s vegetables than with its own raid of corporate music catalogs, the sequel, once again directed by Will Gluck, pre-empts such objections.Bea (Rose Byrne), the rabbits’ surrogate mother, has turned their adventures into a book. Its success attracts the attention of a publisher (David Oyelowo), who woos Bea with fancy cars and the rabbits with sparkling water and crudités. He envisions a 23-book series featuring 109 characters. Bea fears her work might be adapted into something sassy and hip — in other words, into a movie like “Peter Rabbit 2.” And if it’s annoying to watch a follow-up snark at itself while implicitly snarking at viewers for buying tickets to a crass-ified Peter Rabbit, the conceit offers evidence that things might have been worse. At least Gluck doesn’t send Peter into space.Also annoying is that the commercial calculations are still livelier than the wholesome dialogue between Peter (James Corden supplies his voice) and Bea’s new husband, Thomas (Domhnall Gleeson, miscast both as a romantic lead and the Mr. Wilson to Peter’s Dennis the Menace). It is more fun when Peter, having sulk-walked to Green Day, encounters Barnabas (Lennie James), a thief rabbit who enlists him for a heist at a farmers’ market. Note to bunny criminal masterminds: The prize score is the dried fruit.Peter Rabbit 2: The RunawayRated PG. Running time: 1 hour 33 minutes. In theaters. More