THE DEATH OF STALIN

Adrian McLoughlin     Steve Buscemi     Jeffrey Tambor     Michael Palin     Simon Russell Beale

Paddy Considine     Olga Kurylenko     Andrea Riseborough     Rupert Friend     Jason Isaccs

       This is a film that is likely to pass right over the heads of most Americans, whose knowledge of the history of Russia during the 1950’s is meager at best.  In my own case, I was unable to catch the satire and the rolling out of gags and slapstick that so many critics, by their reviews, have obviously enjoyed.   Curiously, instead, I was constantly reminded of the chaos reigning in our current U.S. government, which detracted majorly from the humor I might have enjoyed if I had seen the film three years ago.  (Another time; another place.  But not now!).

        The Death of Stalin deals with the death of a ruthless leader (played by McLoughlin) who tortured, had shot, and sent to Siberia millions of innocent people.  I guess it takes a special kind of British humor by co-writer/director Armando Iannucci to make it into a political satire that juxtaposes Stalin-era atrocities and comical bureaucratic dysfunction at his death. The production is originally based on a comic book, “The Death of Stalin”, by Fabien Nury and Thierry Robin. 

         The filmmakers have chosen to allow the cast to speak in their usual accents, which range from regional British Isles to American (no feigning of Russian language), so the viewer unfamiliar with history and the characters has a lot to keep track of. 

     This is an outstanding cast, especially Steve Buscemi, who looks nothing like Kruschchev, yet is able to be convincing.  Jeffrey Tambor (Malenkov), Michael Palin (Molotov), Simon Russell Beale (Lavrenti Beria) as head of the Russian secret police, Jacon Isaacs (Field Marshal Zhukov), Andrew Riseborough (Svetlana Stalin), and Rupert Friend (Vasily Stalin) all play their roles exactly as prescribed and lend generous entertainment. 

British humor juxtaposes Stalin’s atrocities and comic dysfunction at his death among bureaucrats.

Grade:  B                                               By Donna R. Copeland

TROLLS

Voices of:  Anna Kendrick   Justin Timberlake   Christopher Mintz-Plasse   Zooey Deschanel  

Christine Baranski   Russell Brand   John Cleese   James Corden   Jeffrey Tambor

       I think kids will really take to this animation with simple messages that will be meaningful to them, delivered in eye-catching, colorful visual effects.  The message is basically pitting “look on the bright side of life” against “look out; they’re out to get you.”  And further, that true happiness is inside all of us; it’s up to us to find it.  The film also demonstrates that making friends of enemies is ultimately life-saving.

       The story is that the Trolls are too exuberant with their singing, dancing, and hugs which are put forth by King Peppy (Tambor) and his daughter Poppy (Kendrick).  For good reason, which we find out why later, Poppy’s friend Branch (Timberlake) turns away from what he sees is nonsense and further endangers the Trolls because their loud parties inform the Bergens of their whereabouts.  Bergens are dour beings who are huge grouches, convinced that eating Trolls is the only way they can be happy.

         Despite Branch’s warnings, the Bergen king’s chef (Baransky) who has been banished because she hasn’t served Trolls for 20 years sees and hears the partygoers and manages to grab a half dozen of them to take back to King Gristle (Mintz-Plasse), thereby getting back into his good graces.  King Gristle is too young to have ever tasted Troll happiness and was told by his father (Cleese) that he never would.  Her bounty certainly does get her forgiven, and she is gleeful with her newly regained power.

     Meanwhile, Poppy feels guilty about not listening to Branch’s warning, and feels responsible for the Trolls that got into the Chef’s hands.  The Troll mantra, “No Troll left behind”, prompts her to go to the land of the Bergens and rescue her friends.  At first, Branch refuses to go with her, but does show up on the trail, knowing that Poppy will need his help.  Most of the rest of the film is about their ruses and adventures in rescuing the prisoners, which involves making friends with the scullery maid Bridget (Deschanel) and doing a little matchmaking.

       The soundtrack has a number of original songs, the most important being “Can’t Stop the Feeling” by Justin Timberlake (who served as music producer), which won Best Song from the Hollywood Film Awards.  The singers include Timberlake, Anna Kendrick, Zooey Deshanel, Gwen Stefani, and James Cordon along with others.  Paul Simon’s “The Sound of Silence” is inserted during a key moment, drawing chuckles from the audience.  The original score is by Christophe Beck. 

       Cinematographer Young Duk Jhun, who has had experience with visual effects (The Croods, Monsters vs. Aliens, and Over the Hedge) is joined by the Production, Art, Visual Effects, and Animation artists to create a beautifully rendered show, brought together by Co-directors Mike Mitchell and Walt Dohm (with previous contributions to Shrek and SpongeBob SquarePants films).  The ways in which the Trolls use their hair is definitely clever sometimes humorous, and part of the fascination in Trolls.

Although not a groundbreaker, the music, visual and special effects, and heartwarming messages, gives Trolls high entertainment value, particularly for young children.

Grade:  B                                    By Donna R. Copeland

THE ACCOUNTANT

Ben Affleck   Anna Kendrick   J. K. Simmons   Jeffrey Tambor   John Lithgow   Cynthia Addai-Robinson   Jon Bernthal

          Don’t let the title mislead you; this is a crafty, entertaining thriller with rapid plot twists and shifting identities.  Not what you ever imagined an accountant’s life to be like.  But Christian Wolff (Affleck), the accountant in this story, grew up “different” (Asperger’s Syndrome, a form of autism) with a military father who pushed him to overcome weakness and deal with taunts and bullying he was encountering.  Training included fostering his innate talent for numbers, family loyalty, martial arts and target practice.  So Christian (take note of the name’s associations) then becomes a fairly unique individual with Robinhood values, which makes this film a character study as well as an action thriller, showing the influence of early family relationships and events on adulthood in this and other characters.

          Director Gavin O’Connor enhances the mystery quotient by jumping back and forth in time [which I normally detest, but it works here], showing events in Christian’s life and an FBI investigation.  Mystery is inserted by withholding reasons why, for instance, FBI Director Raymond King (Simmons) is pursuing a perp he calls “The Accountant”, and charges one of his supervisees, Marybeth Medina (Addai-Robinson), to smoke this guy out.  (We’re given satisfaction later as to its importance to him.)

          It’s an amazing—although still plausible—story involving a savant mathematician, big corporations, underworld crime, FBI investigations, and a young well-meaning accountant (Kendrick) who unwittingly blows the whistle at a prominent company, thereby setting off a chain of events no one expects.

          O’Connor has done extremely well in putting Bill Dubuque’s screenplay on film, using their combined knowledge of cinema, human psychology and families to create a compelling tale that is more than a simple thriller.  This film would not have worked nearly as well without the personal histories of Christian, Ray, and Marybeth; they fit together exquisitely with—something I loved—a kind of tenderness running through.  On top of all this, there is a “coming together” at the end, which is priceless. 

         The actors are well cast, with the ever-talented Ben Affleck taking the lead, but with strong support from Anna Kendrick, J. K. Simmons, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Jeffrey Tambor, and John Lithgow.  Each one of these actors has stellar performances in showing their vulnerabilities:  Affleck as an autistic, Kendrick as a bright but repressed artist-mathematician, Simmons as an FBI agent with insight and heart, Addai-Robinson as one whose secret is outed but hopes diligence will save her, Tambor as an inmate who’s reformed and has acquired character, and Lithgow who is gobsmacked by just about everything going on around him.

       Mark Isham’s music and Seamus McGarvey’s cinematography are the behind-the-scenes enhancements that help make this film significant. 

This film has all the elements that many of us go to the movies for.

Grade:  A                                    By Donna R. Copeland