Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot

— I want the Gus Van Sant of “Milk,” “Finding Forrester,” “Good Will Hunting,” and “My Own Private Idaho” to show up a little more often. “Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot” just doesn’t measure up. Joaquin Phoenix is a fine actor, but the film jumps around more than it needs to, maybe trying to keep us interested even though the film is mostly structured around AA’s 12 Steps. It's about John Callahan, an alcoholic who, at the age of 21, became a quadriplegic when a car driven by a drunk friend crashed, and the subsequent rebuilding of his life, becoming a successful but controversial cartoonist. From my perspective, too little time was spent on Callahan’s cartoons and way too much time, with very little humor, was spent on his road to sobriety. The story was originally one Robin Williams wanted to tell and I can’t help but think he would have infused the part with a less somber air. That said, it’s still a good film, something of a lauding of higher powers and counseling, but it’s not a great film. It does, however, stand out as having the worst part Rooney Mara should ever have, particularly unsettling for someone twice nominated for a Golden Globe and an Oscar.

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[2018. 114 min. Directed by Gus Van Sant. Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Jonah Hill, Rooney Mara, and Jack Black]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/dont-worry-he-wont-get-far-on-foot-2018

Wonder Wheel

— Woody Allen sure has his ups and downs, and keeps attracting some first-rate actors. This isn’t what I’d call Woody at his best—that’s “Blue Jasmine,” “Midnight in Paris,” and “Match Point.” “Wonder Wheel” is gorgeous cinematography, perfectly thought out scenes, more a feeling of a play than a film [DVD], and plenty of drama on Coney Island. Kate Winslet shines but, at the end, all you have is a beautiful piece of film that didn’t manage to move me.

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[2017. 101 min. Written and directed by Woody Allen. Starring Kate Winslet, Justin Timberlake, Jim Belushi, and Juno Temple.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/wonder-wheel-2017

BlacKkKlansman

— I often think Spike Lee’s films are good, but I just don’t like them. This is one of the good films that I also like! It’s the story of a Colorado Springs’, black police officer who infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan in the early 1970s. An offhand telephone call led to the black officer and his white, Jewish partner adopting a single undercover persona—one handled phone conversations with everyone from local Klansman to David Duke and the other gave a white face to the duo for physical meetings. With a plot like that, it would have been tempting to push things to absurdity. Instead, there’s something almost easygoing and believable in the telling as we’re transported back 40 years to a time when opposing white and black power forces were ready to erupt into violence, to a time before the divide narrowed and the bigotry lessened. But with good editing, powerful images, and eerily familiar words, the attitudes of the past begin to look a lot like the present. We’re left with a terrible realization that, instead of dissipating, the intolerance and racism have become normalized, to the point that mainstream politics now carries the message. The relaxed feeling floating through the story reminds us how easily we have been lulled into acceptance of an undercurrent of hatred. It isn’t lost that the black and white undercover officers may have become a single person, but everywhere else things are still very separate. It’s a frightening indictment and an excellent film.

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[2018. 135 min. Directed by Spike Lee. Starring John David Washington, Adam Driver, and Laura Harrier
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/blackkklansman-2018

Murder on the Orient Express

— I missed this one when it was in theaters. Agatha Christie's story is so well known that there aren't really plot surprises even in an updated version, but someone must have assumed this group of actors would be able to make this slow-paced version somehow shine. It was still fun to watch so many first-rate actors, but the film [DVD] itself, not so much. Really, in the end, its too bad the cast didn't have something better to sink their teeth in. The film's worth it for the cast but not otherwise outstanding.

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[2017. 114 min. Directed by Kenneth Branagh. Starring Kenneth Branagh, Penelope Cruz, Willem Dafoe, Judi Dench, Johnny Depp, Josh Gad, Derek Jacobi, Leslie Odam, Jr. Michelle Pfeiffer, and Daisy Ridley.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/murder-on-the-orient-express-2017

Eighth Grade

— This is an unusual coming of age film, and a very good one. Often there’s a dose of nostalgia, and sometimes of doom or anger, because most coming of age films are told in retrospect or as period pieces. “Eighth Grade” sometimes flashes back a year or two but there’s something very “in the moment” about it that gives it such a ring of truth. Well, that and video blogs, an isolation only fully evolved social media can bring, and a very talented star. Bo Burnham’s script and direction coupled with Elsie Fisher’s eighth-grade Kayla are a perfect combination. I felt like I was experiencing those awkward, anxious, awful days all over again—the situations are a lot different 50 years later, but the angst and terror aren’t much different!

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[2018. 93 min. Written and directed by Bo Burnham. Starring Elsie Fisher, Josh Hamilton, Emily Robinson, and Jake Ryan.]
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/11/movies/eighth-grade-review-bo-burnham.html

Mission: Impossible - Fallout

— “Mission Impossible” is what it is—an espionage film with a budget to make it spectacular, fun, summer entertainment. I’m a little embarrassed to like such things but this is the sixth film in the franchise and I’m still going to see them in theaters. The M:I plots get more and more unbelievable with each new film but somehow they’re tethered enough so you feel like you haven’t stepped completely off the reality cliff. Of course, there’s plenty of what’s expected and Tom Cruise’s character is chased on a motorcycle, freefalls from an airplane, dangles from a helicopter, leaps from rooftop to rooftop, and climbs a cliff without a rope, in addition to holding his own in numerous encounters with knifes, fists, and guns. When I see Cruise, famous for doing his own stunt work, and realize he’s just 56, I have to wonder if he made a deal with the devil to age so slowly. Another miracle for this film is the fact that Henry Cavill, not known for his acting ability, is plausible as the stiff CIA agent assigned to chaperone Cruise’s Ethan Hunt. It doesn't take itself too seriously and it’s a good formula for escape so, when the first notes of M:I’s theme started up, I knew it was time to enjoy the show…and I did.

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[2018. 147 min. Directed by Christopher McQuarrie. Starring Tom Cruise, Henry Cavill, Ving Rhames, and Simon Pegg.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/mission-impossible---fallout-2018

Leave No Trace

— “Leave No Trace” is a low-key, richly textured, poignant story about an Army veteran and his daughter, devoted to each other and living off the grid outside Portland. They’re not homeless; they’ve just chosen to live in harmony with the forest and there’s a peacefulness and intimacy to their daily existence that is ultimately threatened when they’re discovered by the authorities and taken in for all types of testing and assessment, forcing them to consider their own happiness and stability. Both try to demonstrate that they are adapting, but the daughter’s natural curiosity and newfounded desire to interact with the outside clashes with her father’s need for reclusiveness brought on by some form of PTSD. As she tentatively begins to like life in a society, her father’s need to return to the woods only increases until a resolution must be reached. There’s a tenderness to their relationship that touches viewers' hearts. This is a wonderful film by a remarkably talented filmmaker. The images and issues are still in my mind a day after seeing it and they don’t seem likely to fade quickly.

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[2018. 109 min. Directed by Debra Granik. Starring Thomasin McKenzie and Ben Faster.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/sundance/sundance-2018-leave-no-trace

Gifted

— A better film [DVD] than you'd expect since it sounds like a made-for-Lifetime-TV bit of tear-jerking sensitivity complete with a cute kid as star. It's actually toned down and with some decent performances.

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[2017. 110 min. Directed by Tom Flynn. Starring Chris Evabns, Mckenna Grace, Lindsay Duncan, and Octavia Spencer.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/gifted-2017