MIDNIGHT IN THE SWITCHGRASS

 Megan Fox     Bruce Willis     Emile Hirsch     Lukas Haas     Machine Gun Kelly     Caitlin Carmichael

            This is a thriller to be sure.  It starts out showing us the derring-do of female FBI agent Rebecca (Fox) whose risk-taking freaks out her partner Karl (Willis).  She is bound and determined to ensnare a serial killer of young women, doing it by making dates with suspects.  After a few hunches that turn out to be wrong, Karl worries about his own safety as well as hers and quits the case.

            Rebecca has her counterpart in young local detective Byron (Hirsch), whom she gets to partner with her after Karl has withdrawn.  She is still confident that she will be able to snare the killer.  Byron’s supervisors have asked him to drop his searches, but both he and Rebecca are aware that since many of the slain girls were prostitutes, law enforcement doesn’t show much interest in solving the crimes.  They both show empathy for the girls and feel impelled to save others, no matter the risk.

            The filmmakers (director Randall Emmett and writer Alan Horsnail) keep the tale taut and suspenseful, even after the murderer is revealed to us.  In the process, the characters’ stories become ironic at times, telling at other times, and sometimes just plain eerie.  My only wish was that Karl’s backstory was revealed.  Willis is a powerful presence—and well-known, of course—so we’re given tidbits, but I think revealing more about his character would have contributed to a fuller enactment.

            Even so, Fox, Hirsch, and Haas keep us engaged the whole time.  They are all talented in bringing their characters to life in roles that complement the main character.  

 

            While Midnight in the Switchgrass is thrilling and interesting to watch, I see little that is new and innovative in the genre.  For those who love this kind of movie, it is well worthwhile.

 

Grade:  C+                            By Donna R. Copeland

MOTHERLESS BROOKLYN

Edward Norton     Willem Dafoe     Gugu Mbitha-Raw     Bruce Willis     Alec Baldwin

Dallas Roberts     Leslie Mann     Bobby Cannavale     Michael Kenneth Williams     Cherry Jones

     Picture New York City in the 1950’s with a gumshoe detective following clues to weed out the killer of his life-long mentor.  Or at least picture one of the detective films you’ve seen—or heard on the radio—from that time (e.g., Mr. Keen, Tracer of lost persons; Dragnet), with the smokiness of the rooms, the seediness of the neighborhoods, and the persistence of a committed private detective.  That’s the movie Edward Norton has written (based on Jonathan Lethen’s novel), produced, directed, and starred in, in Motherless Brooklyn.  Norton and his cinematographer Dick Pope capture this period’s mood and effluence of city corruption that ends up being a crime thriller, complete with car chases, goons, and the pressure of rescuing an endangered damsel.

     The extra intriguing twist to this story is that the main character Lionel Essrog (what a name!), played spot on by Norton, has Tourette’s Syndrome (a disorder involving involuntary tics and utterances).  It’s not really relevant or essential to the story, but adds a touch of color.  Lionel works in a private detective agency headed by his lifelong mentor Frank Minna (Willis).  From the time Frank took pity on and rescued Lionel from bullies in a boy’s home, he has continued to protect him.

     But Frank is also mysterious about jobs he’s working on, giving Lionel and the others only sketchy details about it, but explicit instructions about how to keep an eye out and what to do if…  The movie begins with just such a job, during which Frank is killed.  What ensues is Lionel following the slim clues he’s been given or picked up to find the killer.

     This leads him into major city politics and Frank’s role in it; Moses Randolph (Baldwin), who seems to be in charge of major city “improvements”; a homeless man (Dafoe); activist    Gabby Horowitz (Jones); and a mysterious “black woman” Laura Rose (Mbitha-Raw).

     The novel—and consequently the film—seem to be at least loosely based on true historical events in the 1950’s, documented in a 2018 film, Citizen Jane:  Battle for the City, when Robert Moses, a city planner, began to dismantle city neighborhoods to construct freeways and bridges through them without regard for the people affected.  That is what is happening in this film, but it’s put into a drama that is exciting and will pull at the heartstrings.  

     This is a fun movie for those who can get into period dramas from not too long ago and follow leads and cues the detective Lionel chases—all while explaining his “brain problem.”  The cast is superb (what a juxtaposition of Baldwin’s Moses Randolph and his “Saturday Night Live” Trump impersonations), with Norton capturing the Tourette-plagued Lionel, Mbitha-Raw as an attractive, accomplished woman with a dark history, Willem Dafoe as the mysterious homeless man with a significant background, Bobby Cannavale as a compromised man, and Leslie Mann, Michael K. Williams, and Cherry Jones all providing star-quality performances.

A cloak and dagger story harking back to the 1950s with the added twist of a detective with Tourette’s, but possessing a formidable memory.

Grade:  B                                                By Donna R. Copeland

GLASS

James McAvoy     Sarah Paulson     Bruce Willis     Samuel L. Jackson

Anya Taylor-Joy     Spencer Treat Clark     Charlayne Woodard

     M. Night Shyamalan has written and directed a number of films (The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, Signs, The Village, Lady in the Water) that seem to have a hit or miss quality about them, at least from film critics’ points of view.  Glass is intended to be the third in a trilogy with Unbreakable and Split, neither of which was up to his first success, Sixth Sense.  It is a sequel with promise, but falls short, partly because of a complicated story that contains multiple back stories, but mostly because of the editing, which forces the viewer to spend too much time wondering what is being portrayed in many scenes.  Perhaps devotees of M. Night Shyamalan’s previous two films, Unbreakable and Split, the first two parts of a trilogy, of which Glass is the third, will be able to establish precedence and context to certain scenes, but the general public will be frustrated in trying to figure out what is going on, particularly in the beginning scenes. 

     The main players are:  1) Kevin Crumb (McAvoy), an established master at portraying dissociative identity disorder (DID), who has multiple personalities, one of which is a superhuman hunk capable of, say, overturning cars, another of which is a nine year-old with a lisp.  An abusive mother is the cause of his problems.  2) David Dunn (Willis) has a security business with his son Joseph (Clark), who believes his father has superhuman powers, but knows he is to keep quiet about it.  David is committed to preventing crimes from happening through his tactile sensitivity, whereby he can sense when someone is doing something wrong and goes about trying to stop it.  3) Elijah Price (Jackson) having grown up with a bone disease that makes his bones extremely fragile, decides, based upon his expertise in comics, that there must be the opposite of weaknesses such as his—superheroes, who have extraordinary strengths.  The movie does have a clever way of showing how each of these characters confronts his weakness and develops a superpower, but logic about their existence soon falls away. In a grandiose turn showing his supreme confidence in his belief, Elijah goes about convincing Kevin and David that they are indeed superheroes. 

     Once again in this last of a loosely connected trilogy, James McAvoy is the most interesting aspect of a film about disturbed individuals.  I don’t know if he necessarily captures the actual DID disorder, but he is entertaining in his ability to be so many personalities.  Bruce      Willis and Samuel L. Jackson have roles that they could easily “phone in”, but certainly provide more interest than would be there otherwise.  The addition of a psychiatrist (Paulson) and her staff at the mental hospital once again implies that the care in such places is self-serving rather than to help patients.  Paulson is a fine actress, but she is wasted here.

     In short, Glass is overly ambitious and too reliant on sketchy scenes to provide necessary information to follow the convoluted story, so many times it comes across as a jumbled mess.  Although it has been shown that many people can turn weaknesses into strengths, a man becoming a super-hero as a result is hardly a possibility.

This Glass is less than half full.

Grade:  D                                    By Donna R. Copeland

DEATH WISH

Bruce Willis     Vincent D’Onofrio     Elisabeth Shue     Camila Morrone     Dean Norris     Kimberly Elise

     This is a film that will definitely appeal to gun enthusiasts.  It not only glorifies guns, but it drums in the message throughout about how important they are for protection.  Why, a gun can shoot an intruder in seconds, while it takes police minutes to reach you, exclaims the young, attractive gun dealer at the Jolly Roger.  The film opens up with numerous announcements of all the murders in Chicago, saying to the audience, “Be afraid.” 

     Then we get a picture of a golden family:  Father (Willis) a surgeon, mother (devoted and earning a Ph.D.), daughter (Morrone) just accepted by her first-choice university, and loyal uncle (D’Onofrio) who is needy, but clearly loves his brother and his family.  Heinous things then happen to the wife and daughter, leaving the father, Paul, in despair.  He is a successful surgeon used to solving medical problems, and when he learns from Detective Raines (Norris) how slowly his investigations are proceeding and how few murders are actually solved, this, coupled with his guilt about not protecting his family, spurs him into action.

     Paul begins to educate himself about guns and practices shooting.  But he also has time on his hands and starts wandering the streets and riding buses, hoping he will run into a white van with three men inside (his only clue about the intruders).  He doesn’t see that, but he does see crimes being committed and feels behooved to intervene, which he does in a car jacking and when a young boy is shot in the leg by the “Ice Cream Man.”

     His interventions earn him a reputation, which, with his determination in finding the perpetrators in his own case, serves to encourage him in vigilantism.  Now, keep in mind, this is Bruce Willis the actor; he will be imminently successful, will be a perfect shot, and will have the best and biggest guns at his disposal.  What follows is entertaining if you like that kind of story and if you can ignore all the blood and torture that follows. 

     It’s hard to see what the purpose is in movies like Death Wish, which glorify guns and vigilante heroism, beyond that of supporting the National Rifle Association (NRA), which probably helped finance this film.  While the deaths that Paul wreaks seem justified in the heat and emotion of the moment, it sets a bad precedent for execution without the benefit of trial by jury. 

     Films such as this are troubling to me, especially when I hear audience reactions (like chuckles and laughs) that clearly indicate so many do not comprehend the enormity of the gun issue.  This is not “light entertainment”, nor should it be.  The only redeemable aspect of this film is that the acting is very good. 

This is a bad model for anyone to follow, even if you think you can be as successful a vigilante as a Bruce Willis character.

Grade:  D                                    By Donna R. Copeland

ROCK THE KASBAH

Bill Murray   Zooey Deschanel   Leem Lubany   Kate Hudson   Bruce Willis

            Rock the Kasbah is billed as a comedy, but it’s really one huge absurdity.  Now, if absurd is always funny to you, then you will enjoy the picture.  A washed-up agent for musicians, Richie (Murray), stumbles on a chance to go on a USO tour in Afghanistan, and takes his young client (Deschanel) who is begging to sing her own songs.  From the plane trip over, it becomes clear that she is not up to the “adventures” that seem to be in store for her, especially when they find Kabul is on lock-down and bombs are going off in the streets.  Needless to say, she doesn’t last long, and Richie has a major dilemma.  Will she return in time for the performance?  Where are his credit cards and money?

            To cope with his grief, Richie visits an ambitious American woman (Hudson), who knows an infinite number of ways to make him feel better.  They become friends and eventually partners in his business.

            As one of the sub-plots, Richie gets involved with some gun/ammunition dealers and winds up in a small village.  In the evening when he goes for a walk, he hears singing that stops him in his tracks.  The singer is so talented he must find her and contract to be her agent.  (It only takes a handshake, mind you; no one needs a contract because his word is good.)  That this is a Muslim country and women are prohibited from singing in public, especially (God forbid!) in English(!), is no deterrent for the supremely confident Richie. 

            Of course, he is able to locate Salima (Lubany) and plans are made to enter her in Afghanistan’s counterpart to our “American Idol.”  She sings once, and is a hit; however, being a loyal and obedient daughter, her ambivalence emerges, and it’s not clear whether she will compete in the second round for her chance to win. 

            Intrigue, challenges, and conflicts abound, and it’s touch-and-go as to whether Richie will even be able to survive, much less finally score a hit.

            Murray is a fine comedian, and does his “stuff” here, but I think it’s the script by Mitch Glazer that lets him down.  We see/hear none of the cleverness that elicits spontaneous chuckles from the audience, as in his role in Moonrise Kingdom and other films.  The same thing happens to Bruce Willis, a proven artist; his character should be hilarious, but it falls flat too. 

            And of course, Barry Levinson is an acclaimed producer/director/writer, but for some reason, his talent doesn’t come across here. 

            In addition to the script, I think that perhaps the problem with the film is the choice of Afghanistan, a Muslim country, as a setting.  So much tragedy and outright horrors of all kinds have taken place there, it’s incongruent and rather insensitive to make it the setting for a comedy.  I also wonder how well received the story will be by Muslims, as they are not shown in a very good light (backward and war-like).  Why was Afghanistan chosen? 

Bottom line:  Avoid this film if you are politically sensitive and look for clever comedy.

Grade:  D                                    By Donna R. Copeland