I WANT YOU BACK

 Charlie Day     Jenny Slate     Scott Eastwood     Gina Rodriguez     

Manny Jacinto     Clark Backo     Luke David Blumm

            This is a smart comedy—laugh-out-loud funny in places—well written (Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger) and suspenseful because it’s unclear just how everything will be worked out.  In some ways, it’s a series of funny disasters, but it’s more than that in its touching on the difficulties in long-term relationships and the hazards of scheming to achieve an aim.

            Much of the credit for its spontaneity and set-ups goes to an excellent cast of actors experienced in the art of comedy.  Peter (Day) has a serious relationship with Anne (Rodriguez), and Noah (Eastwood) and Emma (Slate) have been together (happily from her point of view) long enough to consider taking the next step.  The two couples’ break-ups take Peter and Emma totally by surprise, and they feel the stings of being dumped.

            It turns out, they work in the same multi-story building, and when they meet unexpectedly in a stairway after individual meltdowns in meetings, they commiserate with one another, and decide to get together after work.  While trying to work through their grief by drinking and singing about their troubles at a karaoke bar, they come up with an ill-conceived plan to break up their former mates’ new relationships.

            This leads to sometimes hilarious situations in all kinds of settings with additional characters thrown in, the most touching of which is Emma coming across 12 year-old Trevor in her work as a “volunteer” for a middle-school drama, directed by Logan (Jacinto), Anne’s new love.  Trevor is filled with rage about his home situation, and Emma is able to do some amateur (but helpful) counseling to steer him onto a better track.

            Other funny scenes come up with paunchy Peter attempting to befriend Noah, a physical trainer.  Noah trains Peter in physical activities he never dreamed of doing, much less mastering.  In the process—exhausting as it is—Peter discovers a new side of himself.  

            Jason Orly directs I Want You Back admirably.  The timing of the scenes in telling a story and balancing out the comedic and “truthy” elements skillfully sustain interest and engagement of the viewer.

 

A comedy that will make you laugh out loud while making some insightful statements about people and relationships.

 

Grade:  B                              By Donna R. Copeland

KAJILLIONAIRE

Debra Winger     Richard Jenkins     Evan Rachel Wood     Gina Rodriguez

     This is another one of Miranda July’s quirky movies (Me and You and Everyone we Know) in which grifter parents bring up their daughter to scam with the best of them. After taking acrobatic leaps and ducks to avoid the cameras outside a post office, Old Dolio (Wood) goes in, opens a mailbox, and after making sure no one inside can see her, she reaches in and steals an envelope from the box next door, being very careful not to drop it as she slides it into her own slot.  She then rejoins her parents waiting outside, and they explore their loot.

     The parents are Theresa (Winger) and Robert (Jenkins) who are clearly surviving on whatever they can scam.  We accompany them in their nondescript clothes as they dream up more jobs, carefully avoiding their landlord who wants the rent checks.  They’re getting into the big time when Old Dolio comes up with a plan to use a prize (a trip to New York City) and when they return, make a claim on a lost bag, which mysteriously disappears.  

     Complexity is introduced during the flight home when the parents get acquainted with a fellow passenger, Melanie (Rodriguez), who is intrigued by their proposal to involve her in the bag scheme and split the winnings.  She is so opposite her age peer Old Dolio, in that she’s an attractive Puerto Rican who dresses sexily and is able to engage anyone in conversation.  They don’t seem to be taking to one another, with Old Dolio criticizing Melanie’s way of dressing, and though less judgmental, Melanie sees her counterpart as a bit odd.  

     The most interesting aspect of these characters is the mix in values.  Although they all have tolerance for scamming, they each have their limits, which are different one from the other.  How they react in the face of the death of one of their subjects starkly differs.  One is able to gently help in the dying process, one draws a line about how much they will scam, and another has guilt feelings afterwards, which need attending to.

      In the process of all this, Old Dolio starts having feelings about how she has been brought up after she attends a required class in the stead of an offender for twenty bucks.  Watching a video about motherhood, she realizes how differently she has been brought up, compared to almost everyone else.  

      The story then takes a sharp turn, with different alliances and twists in plot. 

     Miranda July seems to put her characters in a glass, so to speak, and shakes it up to see how they’ll turn out, and they never seem to end up as we expect. But sometimes, as in some of the characters in this movie, they ultimately bear out their stories of introduction.  Others shift and make changes to adapt to new situations.  

     Kajillionaire is a strange title for a group of low scammers; perhaps the dream of making millions is the key.  And although surviving on low stakes is a theme of the movie, it’s more about connections among people from different backgrounds searching for substance.

 

Quirkiness is a stamp of Miranda July’s movies, which are replete with enchanting characters.

 

Grade:  C+                                    By Donna R. Copeland 

MISS BALA

Gina Rodriguez    Anthony Mackie    Ismael Cruz    Thomas Dekker    Matt Lauria

     It’s a mystery to me why a remake of a mildly successful movie would be attempted. This production directed and executive produced by Catherine Hardwicke is an example.  The previous Miss Bala (2011) received some recognition after its premier at the Cannes Film Festival, but did not win any significant awards.  Nevertheless, it was regarded more highly than this version is likely to be.  Both are based on an actual event that occurred in 2008 when a beauty pageant winner in Mexico, got mixed up in a drug trafficking scandal.

     In 2019’s Miss Bala, Gina Rodriguez as Gloria, a makeup artist, returns to Mexico where she grew up to visit her old friend Suzu (Christina Rodlo), who is competing in a contest to become Miss Bala of Baja, California.  They’re thrilled to be together again and decide to go to a club in the evening where the mayor is supposed to be.  Suzu tells Gloria that he is influential in the contest, and she wants to make contact with him.  She does indeed, and introduces him to Gloria.  The evening is cut short when the club is terrorized by gang members shooting it up.  The two women are separated, and although Gloria survives, she can’t find Suzu.

     What follows is a series of mishaps in Gloria trying to get help, and instead, getting abducted, not just once, but twice.  The first time is by Lino (Cruz), the leader of the Estrellas gang, who eventually promises to help her find Suzu IF she will do something(s) for him.  The second time is by a DEA agent (Lauria) who wants her to help him locate Lino.  Each man places her in a double bind so that she is forced to help both of them—a real dilemma.

     There are some exciting, interesting scenes and plot twists, but these are weakened by illogical and implausible situations and actions, some simply going against common sense.  An example is when the club is attacked and bodies are falling all around her, Gloria does not lie on the floor and play dead.  She risks her life by running through a barrage of bullets, and then puts her trust in someone who betrays her.  Another is when Gloria becomes an expert shot with an AK 47 after one lesson.  A major issue for me is when a DEA agent (Lauria) is portrayed unfavorably as compared to Lino, who is shown at times to be heroic and respectful.  Not to say that DEA agents are all fine and upstanding, but this portrayal seems to come from a bias against them.

     The main actors (Rodriguez, Mackie, Cruz, Lauria) hold their own in terms of skill and being convincing; Rodriguez and Mackie, especially so.  Probably the weakest aspect of the film lies in the script by Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer that stretches plausibility.  Catherine Hardwicke’s direction seems well measured with a good sense of timing.

     For viewers looking for an entertaining two hours and willing to accept flaws in the plot, this is an OK movie.

A novel twist on a beauty pageant mixed up with drug trafficking.

Grade:  C-                                    By Donna R. Copeland

ANNIHILATION

Natalie Portman     Oscar Isaac     Jennifer Jason Leigh     Gina Rodriguez     Tessa Thompson

     Think about mixing the surreal and mysterious with real human drama within a glorious visual spectacle, and you can envision Annihilation.  Alex Garland has drawn on his previous experience with Ex Machina and plunged ahead with another futuristic presentation of humans confronting what may or may not be an alarming future.  He has the ability to balance the fantastic with the real so that one can buy into his dramas.  They seem otherworldly, yet something we can imagine really happening.  Part of the success of his work is in giving clues from the beginning that will inform the viewer later in trying to explain what transpires later.

     We’re first confronted with a puzzling interrogation of biologist Lena (Portman) by a military person in a hazmat suit (Benedict Wong).  He’s asking her who-what-when kinds of questions, the answer to which she says, “I don’t know” or “I can’t remember.”  She appears to be a little dense, but this is one of the nicely misleading cues that Garland does so well.  He does let us know she is a respected biologist at John Hopkins University.

     We soon see Lena’s missing husband Kane (Isaac) who appears suddenly after such a long absence she thinks he has died.  Although we learn that he has been involved in a covert operation, he doesn’t have many answers and seems very different from his old self.  But then abruptly he shows signs of a medical condition, which involves calling emergency services.

    More drama ensues, after which we see Lena volunteering to explore a new phenomenon that has occurred on earth called “the shimmer.”  Her team is led by psychologist Dr. Ventress (Leigh), and includes three other female scientists.  They will follow in the steps of other military people who have explored the region, but never came back, except for one.  This is a group of very brave women (nice to see!) who have no ties at home (“We’re all damaged goods here”), and for various reasons want to find a scientific explanation for The Shimmer, which “swallowed up” the military’s Southern Reach. 

     This is where the real adventure begins, with the expected strains on loyalty and mental balance, in confronting threats never before imagined.  It was especially gratifying to see a female character (Lena) having such deep curiosity, determination, and clear-headedness that she is able to confront whatever is before her, without becoming unhinged or allowing images from the past to distract her.

     Finally, the electrically charged ending leaves the viewer with possibilities rather than a neat package. 

This is a film not to miss for its thrills, human drama, and eloquently presented futuristic possibilities.

Grade:  A                                    By Donna R. Copeland

DEEPWATER HORIZON

Mark Wahlberg   Kurt Russell   Kate Hudson   Gina Rodriguez   John Malkovich

          This is a thrilling, tense movie, but I wished I had had a tutorial about offshore oil drilling before I saw it; explaining, for instance, some of the jobs of the main characters, what the significance of mud is (it's oil), what kinds of tests were needed to assure safety, and so on.  I acknowledge that it’s not really necessary to understand these things to get a sense of the experience of a gas well blowing up, but since I like to learn things from movies, that would be my preference.  Instead of that, the filmmakers chose to open with the testimony of one of the survivors at a hearing.  The value of this is in knowing later, during the blow-up when you’re biting your nails, that this person will survive.

        Peter Berg and the writers Matthew Michael Carnahan and Matthew Sand have chosen to give us a candid look at one of the main characters, Mike Williams (Wahlberg), who is married to Felicity (Hudson) and has a young girl he adores.  She idolizes him, and writes stories about his work that tie into her current interest in dinosaurs.  But we learn almost nothing about any of the other characters except Andrea (Rodriguez), one of the few (only?) women working on the rig who prides herself on her mechanical knowledge.  She represents women well in her expertise, her calmness, and her practicality in an emergency situation—most of the time.  In the end, her character is made to be a bit wimpy, but it’s hard to say how much of that is real and how much of it was in the screenwriters’ dramatizing hands.

           It’s fascinating to get a glimpse into the world of offshore drilling populated mostly with males who only know how to tease and talk rudely with one another.  But what comes through as well is the importance of knowledge, experience, and judgment in a job that could affect hundreds of people.  Deals among big international companies to collaborate on a project often underestimate the implications for those down the chain of command.  Here, BP, Transocean, and Schlumberger are all involved.  The story begins with the issue of the project’s being behind in its schedule, with the money people monitoring the cost and wanting to skip some tests of rig operations and safety.

           Long story short—corners should not have been cut in jobs like these.  Safety of the workers and the rig should be front and center.  Ah, but human fallibility and hubris must be taken into account.  In the end, the companies involved have been held accountable—to some extent.  And there are always heroes in situations like these, which inspire us and renew our faith in humankind.

      I think the real stars of this tantalizing film are the special effects, sound, and cinematography (Enrique Chediak) artists.  It really does feel like you are on an oilrig and everything is blowing up around you and fiery things are raining down on you during the conflagration.  I certainly never realized how noisy it is on a rig even when everything is going according to plan.  I guess that’s why I saw so many ear plugs/hearing aids in the workers’ ears. 

     That being said, Mark Wahlberg, Kurt Russell, and Gina Rodriguez give stellar performances of heroes willing to risk their lives for others, and John Malkovich always nails the baddy role subtly and perfectly.

See the fiery inferno at sea and be amazed.

Grade:  B                                    By Donna R. Copeland