NOCTURNAL ANIMALS

Amy Adams   Jake Gyllenhaal   Michael Shannon   Aaron Taylor-Johnson   Armie Hammer  

Laura Linney   Andrea Riseborough   Michael Sheen   Isla Fisher

          It’s paradoxical that a designer of beautiful things can just as well create the same measure of ugliness.  Tom Ford’s Nocturnal Animals is stunning both for its beauty (people, art, landscapes) and its depravity (grossly obese naked dancers, disgusting images and sounds, menacing characters).  I assume that this reflects Ford’s view of the world in that he can find beauty even in ugliness. 

       After the shocking opening scenes with the credits, we are introduced to lovely, gorgeous Susan (Adams) driving through the gate to her architecturally striking home.  Eye-catching works of paintings and sculpture abound, and we soon learn that she is the owner of an art gallery.  Her equally attractive husband Hutton (Hammer) arrives, and we’re soon looking at the other side of the beauty; she is cynical and he is angry, anxious, and avoidant.  Their relationship seems strained.

          He flies back to New York for business, and Susan is left at home, alone because she let the help take the weekend off.  When she got home, she had opened a package from her ex-husband Edward (Gyllenhaal), which contained a copy of his latest novel, Nocturnal Animals.  The two had not spoken in years, so she was curious about why he had sent it.  But as she read it over the weekend, it became clear to her. 

      Most of the film thereafter jumps back and forth between Susan’s life now, with flashbacks of an earlier time when she was married to Edward, and to a movie of the novel.  The main character in the novel is Tony Hastings (Gyllenhaal as the character as well as the author) who, with his wife and daughter, are terrorized by “nocturnal animals” in the middle of the night on an isolated road on their way to Marfa, Texas.

         The novel has maximum impact on Susan, pulling up her memories and guilt about her first marriage and how she left it, and feeling threatened by Edward’s sending it to her.  Amy Adams’ performance is probably one of her best—much more impressive than in her other current release, Arrival, although she is outstanding in that as well.  The reason lies mostly in the difference between the two characters, one a scientist, the other a gallery owner with a complex history.

         The gifted actor Jake Gyllenhaal likewise pulls off a difficult challenge of portraying two different characters who have some similarities, but one is something of a pansy, whereas the other is more layered in temperament—a super nice, sensitive guy who has deeply vengeful thoughts and impulses that are terrifying.

          Reflecting Ford’s penchant for mixing up the good with the bad, the sinister character Ray (Taylor-Johnson) embodies the psychopath on the road who puts on an act of being rule-bound, polite and charming, but in reality is exceedingly cruel and twisted.  He and the policeman Carlos (Shannon) will send chills up your spine.

         Nocturnal Animals is exemplary as an art house film, one that doesn’t hold back any image, action, or state of mind, but covers a wide range of same.  That means it’s not always enjoyable or that it’s for everyone.  But Tom Ford’s script and direction, the cinematography (Seamus McGarvey), the music (Abel Korzeniowski), and the acting (Adams, Gyllenhaal, Taylor-Johnson, Shannon, Linney, and the rest of the cast) all come together to form a gripping production.

Hold onto your seats; this one is big, bad, and beautiful.

Grade:  A                                    By Donna R. Copeland

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: OUT OF THE SHADOWS

Megan Fox   Will Arnett   Laura Linney   Stephen Amell  

Noel Fisher   Jeremy Howard   Pete Ploszek   Alan Ritchson  

Brian Tee   Tyler Perry   Gary Anthony Williams   Stephen Farrelly   Brad Garrett

      There is a new villain in TMNT:  Out of the Shadows, who plots with the imprisoned/escaping  Shredder (Tee) for world domination through extraterrestrial means.  Kraang (Garrett) has a robot body that has a pink tumor-like head thrusting out of its midsection to snarl and threaten whoever comes into its path.  It and Shredder have enlisted the aid of Baxter Stockman (Perry) and his lab to assemble the necessary materials for achieving their ends.  The assembly requires obtaining three critical parts scattered around the world.  It also involves a purple substance that when ingested will transform two criminals, Rocksteady (Farrelly) and Bebop (Williams) into a rhino and a warthog who will be super soldiers for Shredder.  The thunderously bumbling antics of these two provide some of the better humor of the film.

          Meanwhile, we can savor the interactions of the four Turtle brothers horsing around, eating pizza, quibbling with one another, and going after the bad guys.  They are chafing at having to remain underground so they won’t frighten American citizens but will still be on call to rescue their beloved New York City when necessary.  Their reporter friend April (Fox) is excellent at snooping around and uncovering evil plots where the Turtles can intervene.  In addition to April, their team is able to call on diffident Vernon Patrick (Arnett) who took credit for the Turtles’ saving New York previously to keep the true heroes’ identity secret, and Casey Jones (Arnett), a vigilante with an assortment of sporting goods.

         April has uncovered the plot being set in motion and calls the Turtles into action.  Along the way, she will need the help of Patrick the “Falcon” and Jones, despite the latter’s offending Police Chief Vincent (Linney) and warrants for the arrest of the Turtles.

          I think one goes to see movies like this for the special effects and stunts rather than for the story, and in that respect, the film is entertaining and will appeal to mainstream audiences who like this genre.  Subjects did arise that would be worthy of discussion, such as arguments for and against the Turtles’ using the purple substance to transform themselves into human shapes, the struggle to maintain leadership and teamwork among the Turtles, and the “no honor among thieves” theme in regard to the villains. 

If you like the Turtles, you’ll probably like this; otherwise, skip it.  You won’t miss a thing.

Grade:  C                        By Donna R. Copeland

MR. HOLMES

Ian McKellen     Laura Linney     Milo Parker

What a wonderful portrayal Mr. Holmes is of a life in its senescence, with all its joys, delights, regrets, and longing.  All this without being depressing in the least.  My hats off to the writers (Jeffrey Hatcher, Mitch Cullin) and director Bill Condon in being able to so creatively build on the Sherlock Holmes stories and visualize what his life might have been when the stories ended.  With the inimitable McKellen in the role of Holmes, talented Linney as his frumpy housekeeper Mrs. Munro, and bright-eyed Parker as Roger, we’re completely sold on this version of Mr. Hatcher’s vision in his novel.

           Holmes has become an apiary while he desperately tries to remember details of his last case, which he does recall as the reason he left the profession.  But he is having trouble remembering the details.  He is becoming senile, and his doctor insists that he get a housekeeper to look after him.  She has a son who looks like he is about 10 or 11, and Holmes is grumpy with him until he finds the boy is bright, interested in Holmes’ stories, and above all a budding detective who ends up helping Holmes with some of his memories, as well as with the bees. 

           This not-quite-happy household may be about to break up because Mrs. Munro is considering taking a job at a hotel in another city where she will earn more.  Moreover, she has concerns about the growing closeness that is developing between the old man and the boy; she knows Holmes is not long for this world and she wants to protect Roger from grief.  A part of it, though, is that she is becoming the third wheel and is having problems sharing control and her son’s affection.

           This is an intelligent film in so many ways.  First of all, it is difficult to go so much in depth into old age, senility, and loss without the story becoming depressing.  But here is a chance to see the “one door closes and another opens” phenomenon.  Secondly, Mr. Holmes and Roger get such delight in their work together and have so much fun it offsets the more heavy considerations.  Thirdly, in addition to the writing, the directing, cinematography (Tobias Schliesser) and music (Carter Burwell) all work together so well it’s a bit like a perfect match.  And finally the story is reminiscent of the other Sherlock Holmes works in that we’re party again to the thrill of the sleuth, trying to solve a puzzle.

If you’re a Sherlock Holmes fan at all, this is a must-see.

Grade:  A                                    By Donna R. Copeland