Culture Representation: Taking place in Kanasas, Oklahoma, and a few other U.S. states, the comedy film “Golden Arm” features a predominantly white cast of characters (with some African Americans and Asians) representing the middle-class and the working-class.
Culture Clash: A mild-mannered baker is recruited by her truck-driving best friend to enter an arm-wrestling tournament.
Culture Audience: “Golden Arm” will appeal primarily to people who are interested in watching a foul-mouthed but ultimately sentimental and predictable comedy film.
Dawn Luebbe and Olivia Stambouliah in “Golden Arm” (Photo courtesy of Utopia Distribution)
A movie as formulaic as the comedy “Golden Arm” can be enjoyable if the cast members make the film more interesting. Thanks largely to a charming performance by lead actress Mary Holland, “Golden Arm” is a breezy and occasionally raunchy story of how a shy baker ended up as a serious contender in an arm-wrestling tournament. Of course, the story is about much more than winning the contest and more about how what she discovers about herself along the way.
“Golden Arm” is the feature-film directorial debut of Maureen Bharoocha, who has a background in directing television (such as ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live”) and short films. The “Golden Arm” screenplay (written by Ann Marie Allison and Jenna Milly) hits all the major clichés of sports comedies and buddy comedies. There’s a big sports competition with a high-stakes prize for the protagonists. There’s a duo of opposite personalities who are stuck together while traveling, with some inevitable bickering and a falling out or two. And, of course, there’s a villain who’s intent on defeating the protagonists.
In “Golden Arm,” Holland portrays a meek and neurotic baker named Melanie, who is in her mid-30s and who lives somewhere in Kansas. Melanie is financially struggling to keep her bakery in business. She’s the bakery’s only employee. And her personal life is also in a rut, because her marriage of five years has ended in divorce. The movie’s first scene with Melanie features her arrogant ex-husband Steve (played by Matt Newell) showing up unannounced at the bakery so that Melanie can sign the final divorce papers.
As an example of Melanie being afraid of confrontation, the movie shows that she has a regular customer named Kristen (played by Lauren Knutti), a snooty yoga instructor who orders the same thing every time: a cup of coffee, which automatically comes with a free scone. Kristen makes a point of demanding the scone, she takes one bite, and then makes sure that Melanie sees her throws the scone away in the bakery’s trash bin. Melanie displays a cheerful “the customer is always right” attitude, but inside she’s seething at Kristen’s insulting rudeness.
And speaking of rude people, Melanie’s best friend/former college roommate is the loud and obnoxious Danny (played by Betsy Sodaro), who drives a big rig truck for a living. In her free time, Danny loves to hang out in bars, arm wrestle, and pick fights with unsuspecting people. However, Danny is fiercely loyal to the friends that she has, which include a group of female arm wrestlers called The Dominators.
The opening of “Golden Arm” shows Danny in a seedy-looking bar and losing a wrestling match to someone who’s an even bigger menace than Danny is: Brenda (played by Olivia Stambouliah), also known by her arm wrestling name The Bone Crusher. Danny loses so badly that her wrist is fractured. In retaliation, Danny head butts Brenda, and they get into a big brawl.
Outside the bar, Danny gripes about Brenda to Danny’s friends Jerry (played by Ahmed Bharoocha), Rambea (played by Veronique Parker) and Momo (played by Ashley Mandanas): “She’s getting rid of all of the competition so that she can get the Grand Slam. And there’s no way in hell I’m going to let her win this tournament! We need somebody new, somebody she’s not expecting. We need a ringer.”
You know what that means. It isn’t long before Danny shows up at Melanie’s bakery and asks her to go on a big rig haul with her to make some money and have a gal pal road trip. Melanie and Danny haven’t seen each other in a while, but they still consider each other to be close friends. Later in the movie, there are a few flashbacks of Melanie and Danny during their college roommate days, when they used to smoke marijuana and arm wrestle for fun.
At first, Melanie immediately declines Danny’s offer to go on a road trip. Melanie’s excuse is that she can’t afford to take time off from work. But when Danny tells her that they will make enough money to help Melanie pay her increasing debt and bills, Melanie changes her mind and calculates that she can afford to close the bakery for about a week to go on the trip.
During their road trip in Danny’s truck, viewers find out that Melanie and Danny’s favorite song is Heart’s 1980s hit “These Dreams.” Cue the scene where they sing along to “These Dreams” in the truck. It’s not the last time the song will be heard in the movie. Danny and Melanie also stop at a bar, where a misunderstanding happens between the bar’s no-nonsense owner Randy (played by Kate Flannery) and Melanie.
To smooth things over, Danny suggests that Melanie and Randy arm wrestle each other, and the winner will get some cash. Some of the bar patrons take bets. The odds are in favor of Randy, because of her tough demeanor. But viewers shouldn’t be surprised when Melanie wins, because why else would Danny think that Melanie was a good candidate to be in an arm wrestling tournament on short notice?
This small victory boosts Melanie’s confidence. And so, Danny decides the time is right to reveal the real agenda for the trip. Danny tells Melanie about the national arm wrestling tournament in Oklahoma City that she wants Melanie to enter. Melanie reluctantly agrees to compete in the tournament because the grand prize is $15,000.
Melanie hasn’t arm wrestled in years and feels like her wrestling skills are rusty. During their road trip, Melanie reluctantly agrees to do some training with a tough-talking taskmaster named Big Sexy (played by Dot-Marie Jones), who is a friend of Danny’s. Big Sexy, who has 15 arm-wrestling world titles, is shocked to find out that Melanie is actually a powerhouse arm wrestler.
However, Melanie gets angry about Danny pressuring her to be in the tournament, and they argue about it. She tells Danny: “I’m just so sick of everyone dictating my life! I never put myself first! I don’t listen to my gut!”
Eventually, Melanie calms down and says she’ll still be in the tournament. Melanie and Danny continue on to Oklahoma City. However, Melanie keeps getting plagued by self-doubt, and there are more moments in the film where she might or might not quit the tournament. The event is being held at a place called Star Arena, which really just looks like a large dive bar.
Meanwhile, Melanie has an awkward “meet cute” moment with a potential love interest named Greg (played by Eugene Cordero), when they both end up in their underwear in the same dressing room. Greg is a Major League Baseball umpire, he’s single, and there’s an immediate attraction between him and Melanie. Their blossoming romance is sweet and a counterbalance to a lot of the crudeness in the movie.
As watchable as Holland is in “Golden Arm,” a lot of viewers might find Sodaro’s Danny character very grating and hard to take. Danny’s over-aggressiveness is best served in small doses. However, there are enough comedic moments with Danny that might give people some chuckles. One of the funniest running gags is the lusty relationship that Danny has with tournament emcee/referee Carl (played by Ron Funches), which results in some amusing slapstick comedy.
Stambouliah’s portrayal of ruthless villain Deborah is very caricature-like. Deborah, who is constantly snarling or smirking, dresses in an outer corset and other clothes that look like she watched too many episodes of “Xena: Warrior Princess.” Deborah has a sniveling sidekick named Tessie (played by Dawn Luebbe), who brings some occasional laughs to the story.
Although “Golden Arm” plays out exactly like you think it does, there’s enough originality in the story so that it isn’t a completely paint-by-numbers project. Aparna Nancherla has a small but scene-stealing role as an arm wrestler named Coco Cherie, who dresses like a mermaid cosplayer. Coco Cherie has a hilarious monologue in the movie about the differences between labia and testicles and how they can be used in metaphors for bravery.
Melanie’s experience in this wrestling tournament doesn’t go very smoothly, because “Golden Arm” is a stereotypical underdog story. She goes through three different name changes for her wrestling persona, which is also symbolic of Melanie’s search for self-confidence and her true identity during this life-changing trip. All of the production elements of “Golden Arm” are solid, although at times it looks like a made-for-TV movie. And that’s okay. Not all entertaining movies have to be Oscar-worthy, just like not all arm wrestlers can be champions.
Utopia Distribution released “Golden Arm” in select U.S. cinemas, on digital and VOD on April 30, 2021.
Culture Representation: Taking place in an unnamed U.S. city, the action film “Vanquish” features a predominantly white cast of characters (with a few African Americans) representing the criminal underground and law enforcement.
Culture Clash: A corrupt and retired police officer forces a former colleague to do some of his dirty work, in exchange for setting her kidnapped underage daughter free from captivity.
Culture Audience: “Vanquish” will appeal primarily to people who don’t mind wasting time watching a dimwitted, poorly made and incoherent film.
Morgan Freeman in “Vanquish” (Photo courtesy of Lionsgate)
At some point while filming the horrific embarrassment that is “Vanquish,” Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman must have asked himself, “How did I end up in this garbage movie?” It might have been an easy paycheck for Freeman, but it came at a cost to some of his dignity to be in this putrid cesspool of terrible filmmaking. Freeman seems to know it too, based on his zoned-out performance, which is barely distinguishable from the rest of the stiff and terrible acting that stinks up this trash pile of an action flick.
Viewers unlucky enough to watch “Vanquish” might think that the movie’s sloppy and amateurish filmmaking might be from a first-time feature-film director. No, “Vanquish” is the 13th feature film directed by George Gallo, who made his feature directorial debut with the 1991 dramedy “29th Street,” starring Anthony LaPaglia, Danny Aiello and Lainie Kazan. Gallo is best-known as the screenwriter for the 1988 crime-caper comedy “Midnight Run” (starring Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin) and for coming up with the story that would turn into the 1995 action hit movie “Bad Boys,” starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence.
Based on his filmography, Gallo has done plenty of movies about mismatched people who are involved in some criminal activities. In other words, this type of subject matter isn’t new to him. And that’s why it’s even more mind-boggling that “Vanquish” (which Gallo wrote with Sam Bartlett) is so badly bungled on every single level of filmmaking. The plot is nonsensical, the aforementioned acting is cringeworthy, and the way that the film was shot and edited makes some no-budget YouTube prank videos look like masterpieces in comparison.
It’s a very bad sign when “Vanquish” has an opening credits sequence that lasts for a bloated six minutes. That’s how long it takes for the movie to repetitively show newspaper clippings and news footage of police officer Damon Hickey (played by Freeman) becoming a decorated hero during the course of his long career. (The movie doesn’t mention where this story takes place, but it’s supposed to be in a U.S. city.)
Damon’s career was cut short when he was gunned down in a shootout that left him with paraplegia. And so, throughout this entire dull and dreary movie, Damon is in a wheelchair while he lives by himself in a sleek-looking mansion worth millions. How could a retired police officer afford such a luxurious home when he doesn’t come from a rich family and there’s no sign that he married into wealth? And how could Damon’s ownership of this mansion, which is beyond his cop salary, not raise suspicions from law enforcement?
This illogical movie never answers the second question, but it answers the first question. Damon has been a corrupt cop involved in skimming money from drug deals and other crimes. And he’s been able to get away with it. For reasons that aren’t made clear except for vague references to revenge, Damon now wants payback from certain people in the criminal underworld. And he plans to steal loads of cash from them.
And that’s where Victoria (played by Rose) comes into the picture. Victoria, who is originally from Australia (as is Rose in real life), is Damon’s caretaker and a single mother to a daughter named Lily (played by Juju Journey Brener), who’s about 8 or 9 years old. Victoria is in for a shock one night when she and Lily are in Damon’s home, and Lily goes missing. Damon calmly informs Victoria (whom he calls Vicky) that Lily is safe but in captivity, and Victoria won’t get Lily back unless Victoria does what Damon says.
Damon wants Victoria to go to five different pre-planned places to pick up cash. But it’s not as simple as that. Damon also wants Victoria to murder anyone who gets in her way. Damon knows exactly where his criminal targets are gathered at these places. And so, even if any of these crooks owed Damon any money, he won’t be satisfied with just the money. He wants them dead.
And why is Victoria so qualified to do these dirty deeds? She used to be a drug courier for the Russian mafia, which explains why she has assassin skills. It doesn’t explain why viewers have to be subjected to the idiocy of scene after scene where she’s able to single-handedly take on several armed opponents at once and never miss a target when she fires a gun.
After Victoria goes to each of the location to murder people and pick up a bag of cash, she gets on her motorcycle and delivers the cash to Damon. Then, Damon and Victoria spew some badly written lines that are supposed to be arguments. And then, Victoria hops on her motorcycle to go to the next destination. Freeman literally does nothing in this movie but sit in a wheelchair and act cranky and self-righteous.
During the course of this movie, viewers find out that Victoria can not only speak Russian but she can also speak German and French. Be prepared to hear Rose mangle words in different languages. With her limited acting range (and that’s putting it nicely), she barely has command of the English language.
Near the beginning of the movie, there’s a muddled storyline about some gangsters who’ve caught a snitch in their group. This snitch’s secret audio surveillance was found on a portable cassette tape recorder that would need a wire for remote recording. What year is this? 1991?
Viewers know that this movie takes place in the era of digital, wireless recorders because Damon keeps track of Victoria through a high-tech digital video surveillance system that he requires her to wear during her robbery/killing spree. And that’s why it’s almost laughable that the snitch was found with a cassette recorder that looks like it was left over from an old episode of “Law & Order.”
The snitch has been killed, and the people he secretly recorded are corrupt cops who used to work with Damon. They include B.J. (played by Paul Sampson), Erik (played by Miles Doleac), Sniper (played by Richard Salvatore) and Max (played by Ele Barda). These goons show up at various points in this messy story, where not even the clergy is immune to the corruption. In a flashback scene, Damon is shown in a confessional with a priest named Father Thomas (played by Bill Luckett), who’s been in cahoots with Damon in their criminal activities.
Are there any good cops in this story? Not really. There are some law enforcement people who turn up at various points in the movie, but they don’t do anything except say moronic lines while they hang out in seedy bars. The cops in the movie certainly don’t seem to be doing any real police work.
These useless characters include Detective Stevens (played by Nick Vallelonga), Detective Kehoe (played by Chris Mullinax) and Agent Monroe (played by Patrick Muldoon). Freeman isn’t the only Oscar winner in the “Vanquish” cast. Vallelonga won two Oscars for being a writer and a producer of the 2018 dramedy “Green Book.” It goes to show that being an Oscar winner doesn’t automatically give someone the good sense to avoid bottom-of-the-barrel projects.
While Victoria speeds around the city in her motorcycle to go from destination to destination, Damon inexplicably acts as if he’s her personal GPS, by giving her directions. Expect to see a lot of footage of Freeman sitting in a wheelchair and barking empty lines such as “Go there!” or “Turn left!” The only direction this movie goes is off the rails.
Victoria is armed with two large guns that she keeps exposed in full view while they’re tucked into the back side of her jeans. And so, there’s scene after scene of her walking into these criminal hangouts, where her guns are exposed and no one stops her or questions her. The bodyguards who are supposed to protect the criminals are completely incompetent (just like this movie’s screenplay is incompetent), because it doesn’t take long for Victoria to open fire and slaughter everyone in sight. Remember, she never misses a target.
During her first stop at a nightclub where her targets are, Victoria shoots and kills some people in a back room without a gun silencer, and the movie wants viewers to believe that no one could hear the gunshots because the door was closed. These lunkheads apparently didn’t think that a known associate of Damon’s who walked into the club with two guns sticking out of her back wasn’t going to use these guns.
After these murders, Victoria manages to rescue a prostitute named Galyna (played by Hannah Stocking), who begs to be set free from these thugs. Victoria decides that she and Galyna should play it cool and walk out of the club as if they’re friends having a laugh. “Can you pretend I’m funny?” Victoria asks Galyna. Galyna replies, “I’m a prostitute!,” as if to say “I already know how to act.” Too bad no one knows how to act in this film.
Another mindless massacre scene is one where Victoria encounters an over-the-top effeminate/flamboyant gangster named Rayo (played by Joel Michaely), who has one of the worst fake Southern accents you’ll ever hear in a movie. Victoria shows up unannounced at Rayo’s home. Rayo offers Victoria some Mint Julep, as if she’s at the Kentucky Derby, not in the lair of a sleazy criminal who has some heavily drugged young men on his living room sofa. (Adults will know exactly what those young men are doing there and why they’ve been drugged.)
And because Victoria is as dimwitted as this movie’s screenplay, she drinks the Mint Julep, even though she sees that there are people on the sofa who are in a drugged stupor. The Mint Julep is laced with a sedative, of course. Damon is watching this fiasco the whole time on his video surveillance camera. As Victoria is about to pass out from the unnamed drug that she ingested in the Mint Julep, Damon sees that there’s a small mound of cocaine on a nearby table. You can easily guess what he tells Victoria to do and what happens next.
And did we mention that Victoria used to have a (now-dead) brother who was her partner in crime? It’s of no consequence to this movie’s plot because it’s just another useless detail that’s thrown in to make it look like Victoria has a backstory. She really doesn’t.
That’s why there’s a ludicrous moment toward the end of the film where viewers find out that Victoria’s mother is the governor of the unnamed state where this movie takes place. Governor Ann Driscoll (played by Julie Lott) had not one but two children caught up in running drugs for the Russian mafia, and somehow this was never exposed by her political opponents. What a way to get elected.
One of the most annoying aspects of “Vanquish” is how it over-saturates the movie with fade-in/fade-out editing, as if to mimic a fever dream. It’s more like a nightmare to sit through this rubbish. The movie’s blaring soundtrack is distracting and often drowns out the dialogue.
And the filmmakers mistakenly thought that “Vanquish” would look artsy by having substandard cinematography that tries to make almost every interior look like a neon aquarium. It doesn’t look artsy. It looks garish and tacky.
In the production notes for “Vanquish,” director/co-writer Gallo makes this statement that reads, in part: “I have always enjoyed the Korean gangster film genre ever since I first became aware of them. These films have a cool, bouncy and deliciously dark vibe and most importantly, a great sense of humor … My attraction to ‘Vanquish’ was that I could make a film that I hadn’t really done before and infuse my love of these genres into my film.”
First of all, please don’t insult Korean cinema by comparing “Vanquish” to Korean gangster films. It’s like comparing toxic trash to works of art. Secondly, there is absolutely no humor in “Vanquish,” unless viewers want to laugh at how horrible everything in this movie is. And lastly, “Vanquish” does the exact opposite of what Victoria does every time she fires her gun: The movie completely misses the mark.
Lionsgate released “Vanquish” in select U.S. cinemas on April 16, 2021, on digital and VOD on April 20, 2021, and on Blu-ray and DVD on April 27, 2021.
Culture Representation: Taking place in Los Angeles, the action flick “Wrath of Man” features a nearly all-male, predominantly white cast of characters (with some African Americans, Latinos and Asians) representing the middle-class, law enforcement and the criminal underground.
Culture Clash: A crime boss goes undercover as an armored truck driver to avenge the murder of his teenage son, who was killed during a heist of an armored truck.
Culture Audience: “Wrath of Man” will appeal primarily to people who want to see a predictable and violent movie with no imagination.
Raúl Castillo, Deobia Oparei, Jeffrey Donovan, Chris Reilly, Laz Alonso and Scott Eastwood in “Wrath of Man” (Photo by Christopher Raphael/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures)
The fourth time isn’t the charm for director Guy Ritchie and actor Jason Statham in the vapid action flick “Wrath of Man,” their fourth movie together. It’s tedious and predictable junk filled with cringeworthy dialogue and stunts with no creativity. People who are familiar with Statham’s work already know that his movies are almost always schlockfests that are essentially about violence and car chases. However, Ritchie’s filmography is much more of a mixed bag. “Wrath of Man” isn’t Ritchie’s absolute worst film, but it’s a movie that could have been so much better.
Ritchie co-wrote the “Wrath of Man” screenplay with Marn Davies and Ivan Atkinson. The movie is based on the 2004 French thriller “Le Convoyeur,” directed by Nicolas Boukhrief and written by Boukhrief and Éric Besnard. Ritchie and Statham previously worked together on 1998’s “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels” (Ritchie’s feature-film debut), 2000’s “Snatch” and 2005’s “Revolver.” Whereas those three movies had plenty of sly comedy with brutal action, “Wrath of Man” is so by-the-numbers and soulless, it seems like a computer program, not human beings, could’ve written this movie.
The movie’s simplistic plot could’ve been told in 90 minutes or less. Instead, it’s stretched out into a nearly two-hour slog with repetitive and unnecessary flashbacks. In “Wrath of Man,” which takes place in Los Angeles, Statham plays a mysterious crime boss who’s out to avenge the murder of his son Dougie (played by Eli Brown), who was about 17 or 18 and an innocent bystander when he was shot to death by a robber during a heist of an armored truck.
Dougie’s murder (which is not spoiler information) is shown in a flashback about halfway through the movie. Until then, viewers are left to wonder who Statham’s character really is when he shows up at the headquarters of Fortico Security to apply for a job working as a guard in an armored truck. When he applies for the job, he identifies himself has Patrick Hill, a divorcé with more than 25 years of security experience. Later, viewers find out that it’s an alias; his real last name is Mason.
But he was able to create an entire false identity as Patrick Hill, with documents provided by his trusty assistant Kirsty (played by Lyne Renée), one of the few women with a speaking role in this movie. The false identity includes phony job references and a fake job stint at the now-defunct Orange Delta Security, which was a well-known company. Based on this elaborate scheme, Patrick is easily able to get a job at Fortico.
Fortico is described in the movie as one of the top armored vehicle companies that does cash pickups and deliveries in the area. The company’s clients include retail department stores, marijuana dispensaries, cash vaults, casinos and private banks. On a typical pickup or delivery, there are two or three employees in the truck: a driver, a guard and/or a messenger. The company isn’t huge (it only has 12 trucks), but it’s very profitable. A Fortico truck haul can total around $15 million a day, sometimes more.
Patrick is trained by Hayden Blair (played by Holt McCallany), who goes by the nickname Bullet. Almost everyone Bullet works with directly seems to have a nickname, so he immediately gives Patrick the nickname H, an abbreviation of Hill. Patrick/H goes through the training process (including gun defense skills) and he barely gets passing grades. He’s assigned to work with a cocky driver named David Hancock (played by Josh Hartnett), whose nickname is Boy Sweat Dave. Another colleague is Robert Martin (played by Rocci Williams), whose nickname is Hollow Bob.
When Bullet introduces H to these two co-workers, Bullet says, “He’s H, like the bomb. Or Jesus H.” The bad dialogue doesn’t get any better. H is told that he’s replacing a co-worker named Sticky John (who came up with these cringeworthy nicknames?), who died during a heist that killed multiple employees. The robbers got away, so the Fortico employees on are on edge about this shooting spree, which they call the Gonzo Murders. Boy Sweat Dave says, “We ain’t the predators. We’re the prey.”
The insipid dialogue continues throughout the entire movie. In a scene with some Fortico workers off-duty in a bar, Boy Sweat Dave is playing pool with Dana Curtis (played by Niamh Algar), the token female on Fortico’s armored truck crew. Dana says sarcastically to Boy Sweat Dave: “The point of the game is to get the ball in the hole.” Boy Sweat Dave snaps back, “The point of a woman is to shut the fuck up, Dana.”
Dana replies, “Well, that Ivy League education is really working for you, Boy Sweat.” (How can you say a line like that with a straight face?) Boy Sweat Dave retorts, “Pretty soon, you’ll all be working for me. The power is in this big head here.” Dana snipes back, “Well, it’s definitely not in your little head. Or are you still blaming the beer?”
The character of Boy Sweat Dave is an example of how “Wrath of Man” wastes a potentially interesting character on silly dialogue. What kind of person with an Ivy League education wants to work as an armored truck driver, a job which doesn’t even require a high school education? Viewers never find out because Boy Sweat Dave is one of several characters in the movie who are shallowly introduced, just so there can be more people in the body count later.
And because Dana is H’s only female co-worker, this movie that treats women as tokens can’t let her be just a co-worker. No, she has to serve the purpose of fulfilling H’s sexual needs too, since he and Dana have a predictable fling/one night stand. He finds out something about her when he spends the night at her place that helps him unravel the mystery of who killed his son.
It isn’t long before Patrick/H experiences his first heist as a Fortico employee. He’s partnered with Boy Sweat Dave, who’s driving, while H is the lookout. The heist is unrealistically staged in the movie as one of those battles where one man (in this case, H) can take down several other men in a shootout where a Fortico employee has been taken hostage by the thieves. Post Malone fans (or haters) might get a kick out of the scene though, since he plays one of the nameless robbers who doesn’t last long in this movie. H has saved his co-workers’ lives in this botched heist, so he’s hailed as a hero by the company.
Meanwhile, the FBI has been looking for Patrick because he’s been an elusive crime boss. There are three FBI agents, all very uninteresting, who are on this manhunt: Agent Hubbard (played by Josh Cowdery), Agent Okey (played by Jason Wong) and their supervisor Agent King (played by Andy Garcia). Hubbard and Okey come in contact with Patrick/H, when they investigate the botched robbery where Patrick/H ended up as the hero.
Agent King orders Hibbard and Okey not to let on that they know H’s real identity and to keep tabs on why this crime boss is working at an armored truck company. Eddie Marsan, a very talented actor, has a very useless role in “Wrath of Man,” as an office assistant named Terry. Terry becomes suspicious of who H really is, because in his heroic rescue, H showed the type of expert combat skills that contradicts the mediocrity that he displayed in the company’s training.
And just who’s in this group of murderous thieves? They’re led by mastermind Jackson (played by Jeffrey Donovan), a married man with two kids who lives a double life. This seemingly mild-mannered family man works in a shopping mall. But he also apparently has time to lead a group of armored truck thieves, who pose as street construction workers when they commit their robberies. The robbers use a concrete mixer truck to block the armored truck and then ambush the people inside the armored truck.
What’s really dumb about “Wrath of Man” is that these armed robbers use the same tactic every time. In real life, repeating this very cumbersome way of committing an armed robbery would make them easier to catch, not harder. Apparently, these dimwits think that the best way to not call attention to yourself during a robbery is to haul out a giant concrete mixer truck.
Jackson’s crew consists of a bunch of mostly generic meatheads: Brad (played by Deobia Oparei), Sam (played by Raúl Castillo), Tom (played by Chris Reilly) and Carlos (played by Laz Alonzo), with Jan (played by Scott Eastwood) as the loose cannon in the group. Guess who pulled the trigger on Patrick/H/Mason’s son Dougie? Guess who’s going to have a big showdown at the end of the movie?
Of course, a crime boss has to have his own set of goons. Patrick/H/Mason has three thugs who are closest to him and who do a lot of his dirty work: Mike (played by Darrell D’Silva), Brendan (played by Cameron Jack) and Moggy (played by Babs Olusanmokun). There’s a vile part of the movie that shows Patrick/H/Mason ordering his henchman to beat up and torture anyone who might have information on who murdered Dougie. The operative word here is “might,” because some people who had nothing to do with the murder are brutally assaulted.
Mike has a conscience and he says that he won’t commit these vicious attacks anymore to try to find Dougie’s killer. Mike advises Patrick/H/Mason to think of another way to find the murderer. And that’s when Patrick/H/Mason got the idea to go “undercover” at Fortico, with the hope that he could catch the murderous thieves in their next heist on a Fortico truck.
And what do you know, this gang of thieves will be doing “one last heist” on a Fortico truck, to get a haul that’s said to be at least $150 million. What could possibly go wrong? You know, of course.
Ritchie’s previous film “The Gentlemen” (which was also about gangsters and theives) had a lot of devilishly clever dialogue and crackled with the type of robust energy that hasn’t been seen in his movies in years. And although “The Gentlemen” wasn’t a perfect film about criminal antics, it at least made the effort to have memorable characters and to keep viewers guessing about which character was going to come out on top. “Wrath of Man” is a completely lazy film that has no interesting characters, no suspense, and not even any eye-popping stunts. It’s just a silly shoot ’em up flick that’s as empty as Statham’s dead-eyed stares.
Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM) Pictures and Miramax Films will release “Wrath of Man” in U.S. cinemas on May 7, 2021.
“Twelve Minutes” (Photo courtesy of Annapurna Interactive)
The following is a press release from the Tribeca Film Festival:
The 2021 Tribeca Festival, presented by AT&T, today unveiled its Tribeca Games lineup featuring eight titles joining the Festival as Official Selections, a first-of-its-kind opportunity for multiple video games in a film festival format since Rockstar Games’ L.A. Noire became the first video game ever to be honored as Official Selection at the 2011 Festival. The titles will be in competition for the inaugural Tribeca Games Award, which honors an unreleased game for its potential for excellence in art and storytelling through design, artistic mastery and highly immersive worlds.
To celebrate the ten years since video games became part of the Tribeca Festival, Rockstar Games will return with a special live outdoor performance in New York City’s The Battery, featuring Red Dead Redemption 2 Original Soundtrack producer, Daniel Lanois, his band and some very special guests performing versions of highlight songs from the evocative and emotional soundtrack of the latest blockbuster game, live in New York City for the first time. Set to take place at sunset in this iconic location, The Songs of Red Dead Redemption 2 will be a must-see performance.
Additionally, Tribeca Games programming will offer digital experiences as part of the Tribeca At Home virtual offerings. From June 11-20, Tribeca will invite game fans from around the world to be the first to experience playable hands-on digital demos, powered by Parsec’s remote interactive streaming technology, from emerging and established creators. Demo sessions may be reserved starting May 24 at www.tribecafilm.com/games.
In addition, the Tribeca Games Spotlight, an online showcase of this year’s Official Selections, will feature exclusive gameplay footage as part of the Summer Game Fest, a free, all-digital seasonal event streaming online. Fans from around the world will be able to tune in via Tribeca’s website, major streaming platforms, and summergamesfest.com.
“For over a decade, our mission has been to be a catalyst for placing games and their creators at the forefront of mainstream and artistic culture alongside film, TV and VR/AR,” said Tribeca Enterprises and Tribeca Festival Co-Founder and CEO Jane Rosenthal. “We continue to embrace the cross pollination and intersection of these storytellers with this year’s Tribeca Games Official Selections. And this is just the beginning.”
“This year’s selections showcase the potential for phenomenal storytelling in interactive experiences, with characters and worlds that explore the deep connection we have to ourselves and the world around us,” said Casey Baltes, Vice President of Tribeca Games. “From action/adventure to interactive thriller to intimate point and click narratives, these selections demonstrate a range of story and gameplay as well as visual style. We fell in love with the characters and the worlds that each game presented to us.”
The 2021 Tribeca Festival Games Official Selections are as follows:
Outdoor in-person Immersive installations will be located at various locations throughout NYC; these experiences are free and open to everyone throughout the Festival. Those available virtually can be accessed via the Tribeca Festival website.
“Harold Halibut” (Photo courtesy of Slow Bros.)
Harold Halibut (World Premiere) – Germany Developer and Publisher: Slow Bros. Project Creators: Onat Hekimoglu, Ole Tillmann, Fabian Preuschoff, Daniel Beckmann Key Collaborator: Ilja Burzev Harold is a lab assistant to the ship’s lead scientist, who despite general fatigue aboard the retro-futurist vessel continues to look for a way back into space. While the stale day-to-day life under water grows more and more familiar, one day a fateful encounter plunges Harold into an unknown world.
Kena: Bridge of Spirits (World Premiere) – United States Developer and Publisher: Ember Lab Project Creators: Josh Grier, Mike Grier Key Collaborator: Hunter Schmidt Kena, a novice Spirit Guide, uncovers an abandoned village. Wandering spirits, trapped between worlds, sow chaos and decay. With the help of tiny forest creatures called Rot and her knowledge of the Spirit Realm, Kena faces her own losses as she untangles the secrets of this forgotten community.
Lost in Random (World Premiere) – Sweden Developer: Zoink Games Publisher: EA Originals, Electronic Arts Project Creator: Klaus Lyngeled Key Collaborator: EA Partners Team From the award-winning Swedish game studio, Zoink, play the odds in Lost in Random, a gothic fairytale-inspired action adventure where every citizen’s fate is determined by the roll of a dice. The player walks the Kingdom of Random’s mysterious cobbled streets, meets its unpredictable residents and takes on courageous quests. Through fearsome battles with a unique blend of tactical combat, card collection, and explosive dice gameplay, they’ll quickly learn to adapt or perish as they battle inside giant board game arenas that change with every dice throw. Learn how to tip the odds and dive in a dark wonderland where only the brave survive. Play the odds. Win the game.
NORCO (World Premiere) – United States Developer: Geography of Robots Publisher: Raw Fury Project Creator: Geography of Robots Key Collaborator: fmAura This sci-fi Southern Gothic adventure immerses players in the sinking suburbs and industrial swamps of Louisiana’s petrochemical hinterlands. The hero’s brother goes missing; in the hopes of finding him, players must follow a fugitive security cyborg through the refineries, strip malls, and drainage ditches of suburban New Orleans.
Sable (World Premiere) – United Kingdom Developer: Shedworks Publisher: Raw Fury Project Creators: Gregorios Kythreotis, Daniel Fineberg Key Collaborators: Japanese Breakfast, Martin Kvale Join Sable on her gliding, a rite of passage that will take her across vast deserts and through landscapes littered with fallen spaceships. Explore the desert on a hoverbike, scale monumental ruins, and encounter other nomads in the wilds whiet unearthing mysteries long forgotten.
Signalis (World Premiere) – Germany Developer: rose-engine Publisher: Humble Games Project Creator: Yuri Stern Key Collaborator: Barbara Whitmann Stranded on a desolate world, a lone Replika must explore the ruins of an abandoned reeducation facility in search for answers—and a way to escape. Solve puzzles, fight nightmarish creatures, and navigate through dystopian, surreal worlds as Elster, a technician Replika looking for a lost dream.
The Big Con (World Premiere) – Canada Developer: Mighty Yell Project Creator: Dave Proctor Key Collaborator: Saffron Aurora In classic 90s con movie style, the player gets to persuade and pilfer their way to greatness. Sneak around, wear disguises, pickpocket, solve puzzles, and maybe profit from the latest collectible plushie craze, and make a friend or two along the way.
Twelve Minutes (World Premiere) – United States Developer: Luis Antonio Publisher: Annapurna Interactive Project Creator: Luis Antonio A man’s romantic evening with his wife is interrupted by a violent home invasion. He tries to stop the attacker and gets knocked out only to find himself stuck in a time loop of 12 minutes. He must use the knowledge of what is about to happen to change the outcome and break the loop. Featuring James McAvoy, Daisy Ridley, and Willem Dafoe. ence. The viewer’s decisions will determine their chances for survival when they come into direct communication with the artificial intelligence deciding the future.
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Passes and Tickets for the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival Festival passes are on sale now. Tickets for the June 10 The Songs of Red Dead Redemption 2 event go on sale Monday, May 10 at 11:00am EST. Game demo sessions may be reserved starting Monday, May 24 at 11:00am EST. Sign up to be notified at: https://www.tribecafilm.com/games
About the Tribeca Festival The Tribeca Festival, presented by AT&T, brings artists and diverse audiences together to celebrate storytelling in all its forms, including film, TV, VR, games, music, and online work. With strong roots in independent film, Tribeca is a platform for creative expression and immersive entertainment. Tribeca champions emerging and established voices; discovers award-winning filmmakers and creators; curates innovative experiences; and introduces new technology and ideas through premieres, exhibitions, talks, and live performances.
The Festival was founded by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal, and Craig Hatkoff in 2001 to spur the economic and cultural revitalization of lower Manhattan following the attacks on the World Trade Center. Tribeca will celebrate its 20th year June 9 – 20, 2021 www.tribecafilm.com/festival
In 2019, James Murdoch’s Lupa Systems, a private investment company with locations in New York and Mumbai, bought a majority stake in Tribeca Enterprises, bringing together Rosenthal, De Niro, and Murdoch to grow the enterprise.
About the 2021 Tribeca Festival Partners: The 2021 Tribeca Festival is presented by AT&T and with the support of our corporate partners: Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Audible, Bloomberg Philanthropies, CHANEL, City National Bank, CNN Films, Diageo, DoorDash, FreshDirect, Hudson Yards, Indeed, Montefiore-Einstein, NYC Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, P&G, PwC, Roku, Spring Studios New York.
Culture Representation: The documentary “In Our Mothers’ Gardens” features a variety of African American and Afro-Caribbean women discussing their heritage and the relationships they’ve had with their mothers and grandmothers.
Culture Clash: Many of the women talk about the unique challenges that black women face when managing self-care and trauma.
Culture Audience: “In Our Mothers’ Gardens” will appeal primarily to people who are interested in vivid stories about black women in North America and their appreciation of family roots and ancestry.
Tarana Burke in “In Our Mothers’ Gardens” (Photo courtesy of Array)
Black women have a unique resilience that is celebrated in the storytelling documentary “In Our Mothers’ Gardens,” which focuses specifically on black women in North America who share candid tales about themselves, their mothers and their grandmothers. Directed by Shantrelle P. Lewis, “In Our Mothers’ Gardens” will inspire and entertain viewers who appreciate a variety of fabulous and outspoken women telling their truths.
The documentary has more of a conversational tone than an academic or historical tone. Because these stories are so personal, they provide snapshots, rather than a broad overview, of the diversity within African American communities. It’s also refreshing to hear these unfilitered stories in a documentary coming from a team of all-African American producers, considering that movies about African Americans are often made by filmmakers who are not African American.
The women interviewed in the documentary are:
Tarana J. Burke, activist/founder of the MeToo movement
Brittney Cooper, assistant professor of women’s and gender studies and Africana studies at Rutgers University
Desiree B.T. Gordon, performer/writer
Tina Farris, tour manager who has worked with artists such as Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj and Chris Rock
Adama Delphine Fawundu, photographer/visual artist
Titi Fawundu, Adama’s retired mother
Shantrelle P. Lewis, filmmaker/”In Our Mother’s Gardens” director
Yolanda Sangweni, senior director of programming at National Public Raadio (NPR)
Erica Sewell, head of inclusive talent Outreach at Netflix
Rev. Dr. Theresa S. Thames, associate dean of religious life and the chapel at Princeton University
Latham Thomas, lifestyle/wellness expert
Dr. Marta Moreno Vega, educator/activist
Dr. Kokahvah Zauditu-Selassie, a professor at Morgan State University and a priest of Obatala in the Lukumi/Yoruba tradition
Most of the women have families who’ve lived in the United States for several generations, such as Burke, Cooper, Lewis, Sewell, Thomas, Thames and Zauditu-Selassi. The other women have families with more recent immigrant experiences. Gordon is originally from Antigua. Sequeni was born in South Africa. Vega is a native of Puerto Rico. The Fawundus immigrated to the United States from Sierra Leone.
What all of the women have in common is their respect for how their family histories have influenced them, as well as a strong sense of how they’ve been able to forge their own identities, often while dealing with many adversities. Some of the stories are heartwarming, but not all of the stories are warm and fuzzy.
Farris and Adama Delphine Fawundu speak fondly of having matriarchs in the family who were loving, supportive and experts at making comfort food. Farris comments, “My grandmother has the best advice and the best recipes.” Adama Delphine Fawundu believes she had an amazing trip when she traveled to South Africa for the first time, because she took her mother Titi’s advice of following African tradition of pouring libation for ancestors before her trip. Vega talks about coming from a family with traditions steeped in spiritual healing. Vega says that her grandmother was a spiritualist who liked to wear a lot of white and who loved to cook.
By contrast, practicing priest/spiritualist Zauditu-Selassi says that her mother and grandmothers were spiritual but not the type to go to church on a regular basis. Zauditu-Selassi quips in the movie about her two grandmothers: “One bred horses, and one had 11 husbands. ‘A man is like a bus—miss one and catch the next.’ These are words of wisdom from my grandmother.”
Burke comments that her grandmother Willie Mae was “not a milk and cookies type.” The founder of the MeToo movement shares a story indicating that standing up to abusive people might have been something that she learned from her grandmother. Burke says that when she was a girl, she was slapped by a man in a grocery store for making a bratty comment.
When her grandmother found out, she marched over to the grocery store and demanded an apology. When the store manager did nothing, she broke one of the grocery store windows. “It’s a legendary story in our family,” says Burke with a laugh.
Cooper has family in Louisiana going back for many generations. She remembers her gun-toting grandmother who armed herself to keep the Ku Klux Klan and other threats away. Lewis, who also has family roots in Louisiana, mentions her tough-talking grandmother who didn’t hesitate to discipline the kids in her home. Farris says that her 4’9″ grandmother kept a knife on her at all times. “She didn’t play games,” Farris adds.
The need to be tough and having a means of self-defense isn’t about the “angry black woman” negative sterotype. It comes from the harsh reality that the history of slavery, racial segragation and other civil rights violations have been particularly hard on black women, who have been the targets of a lot of racist hate. And whether or not a black mother has a partner to help raise her children, she is usually looked to as the backbone of the family.
In fact, the stories told in “In Our Mothers’ Gardens” are often about how the women in black families are more likely to be the ones who are the most educated ones in the families. The words “trailblazer” and “badass” are heard when the interviewees describe how their mothers and grandmothers took risks in periods of time when women weren’t expected to get college graduate degrees or start their own businesses.
Thomas says that her grandmother decided to take a cross-country road trip at a time when it was considered “unladylike” for a woman to travel by herself. Lewis calls her mother a “firecracker,” “educated” and “independent,” who taught her the value of being financially independent. And after Gordon’s mother graduated from law school, she passed the bar in New York and New Jersey on her first try, within weeks of each other. (Most aspiring lawyers don’t pass the bar on their first try.)
Sewell, who grew up on Chicago’s South Side, comes from an activist family where the men and women had healthy, loving relationships. She says that her mother taught her that money, more than someone’s race, is the real barrier to power and privilege. “The way the women in our family move,” says Sewell, “they’re unfazed by the word ‘no.'” She continues, “I grew up in a black liberation church where people were cursing from the pulpits, in the name of Jesus though. Jesus was an activist.”
Thames shares fond memories and expresses gratitude for her maternal grandmother, who raised her because Thames’ mother was a crack cocaine addict for many years. (Thames says she still has a difficult relationship with her mother.) Thames describes her grandmother, who was a Head Start teacher, as someone who devoted herself to her family, her church and to her work, which didn’t leave much time for herself.
Self-care and dealing with trauma are topics discussed in the documentary. The general consensus is that black women have a tendency to work hard to care for other people before taking care of themselves. Working hard is part of black women’s psyche, which goes against the negative stereotype that black people are lazy. And because black women are often underestimated, many black women experience the old adage of having to work twice as hard to be considered just as good as a white person.
Most of the interviewees in the documentary say that younger generations of black women are more likely to carve out healthy “me” time or seek therapy for problems that need professional help, compared to older generations. However, many black women come from cultures where people are taught that wanting “me” time is selfish, and seeking help for problems is a sign of weakness. There’s also the matter of racial inequalities in income that can determine what people do in their leisure time. Take a look at the racial demographics of high-end retreats and cruises, and that will give people an idea of who can afford these types of vacations.
Burke, Lewis and a few other women in the documentary also talk about the culture of silence that black women experience when opening up about trauma. Farris says that her grandmother had to become “completely independent” at 19 years old, when her single mother and two siblings died in a fire, and that trauma affected the restrictive way in how Farris’ mother was raised. Farris mentions that this family tragedy is one of the reasons why her grandmother didn’t like to see people cry.
Cooper, who describes her mother as a “loner” and a “rebel,” reveals that a dark family secret was kept from her for most of her childhood: When her mother was pregnant with her, her parents were shot by an angry ex-boyfriend of her mother’s. Luckily, Cooper’s parents survived the shooting. Cooper says that her family has such a difficult time talking about this traumatic experience, that she didn’t get the whole story of what happened, and was only able to figure it out from bits and pieces told to her over the years.
It’s mentioned in the documentary that the attitude in many families is to “keep it moving” after a tragedy, and that trauma should be compartmentalized. Black women are often raised to keep domestic problems in the family, even when these problems should be reported to authorities. And that’s probably because there are too many examples of how someone’s race can affect the type of justice that someone gets in America.
Sangweni and her family members experienced apartheid South Africa before she moved to the United States. She comments on what she’s learned: “No matter what white people are doing to us, you will never take away my joy and my pride.” She adds, “Laughter, to me, is my safe space.”
Speaking of laughter, Zauditu-Selassi gets a lot of screen time with her intentionally humorous stream-of-consciousness rambling. She’s feisty and full of stories—so much so that there’s a segment about 10 minutes long with nothing but Zauditu-Selassi sharing her thoughts and memories while she’s cooking in the kitchen. She peppers her monologue with the occasional: “You feel me? I know you do.”
Zauditu-Selassi says that she comes from a long line of “vain women from New Orleans,” as she is doing her makeup and rattles some of her many trinket-like jewelry. (“These are not accessories,” Zauditu-Selassi quips about her jewelry. “These are necessities.”) She also describes an aunt of hers who lived in Los Angeles and was a “millionaire” stylist for clients such as actress Dorothy Dandridge, doctors and other well-to-do professionals. “She was a millionaire, but we were poor in Compton.”
It seems as if the filmmakers found Zauditu-Selassi to be so entertaining, they just wanted to let the cameras roll while she talked. However, the documentary could have used tighter editing, because some of it looks like a mini-biography of Zauditu-Selassi. She’s featured in the movie in a way that’s different from the other interviewees: She’s interviewed in more than one room in her home, and she essentially gives a cooking lesson while in the kitchen. Maybe she should get her own documentary, because viewers will get the impression that she has many more fascinating stories to tell.
“In Our Mothers’ Gardens” has the expected inclusion of several of the interviewees’ family photos and home videos. It’s unclear why Adama Delphine Fawundu is the only one in the documentary whose mother is interviewed, because the movie could have benefited from the perspectives of more mothers of the interviewees. Many of the interviewees make it clear that their mothers were still alive at the time this documentary was filmed.
The documentary has a few moments of whimsy, such as a short segment with black Barbie dolls re-enacting Harriet Tubman’s Underground Railroad. Some of the interviews are also edited so that interview footage looks like it’s inside a graphic of a photograph frame. But the real heart of the movie comes from the stories the women tell about how mothers and grandmothers in their families helped shaped their legacy and are part of the extraordinary culture of black people in America.
Array released “In Our Mothers’ Gardens” in select U.S. cinemas on May 6, 2021, the same day that the movie premiered on Netflix.
Culture Representation: Taking place from September 2019 to January 2020 in Riverside, California, the dramatic film “Four Good Days” features a predominantly white cast of characters (with some African Americans and Latinos) representing the middle-class and working-class.
Culture Clash: A heroin addict and her long-estranged mother try to repair their rocky relationship when the mother allows her 31-year-old daughter to move back home with her in the daughter’s attempt to get clean and sober.
Culture Audience: “Four Good Days” will appeal primarly to people interested in watching dramas about mother-daughter relationships or the struggles of drug addicts, but the movie’s overwrought and sometimes unrealistic scenes will be a turnoff to some viewers.
Nicholas Oteri, Audrey Lynn, Joshua Leonard and Mila Kunis in “Four Good Days” (Photo courtesy of Vertical Entertainment)
The dramatic film “Four Good Days” was inspired by a true story, but the shrill melodramatics in too many badly written scenes just make the movie look like overly staged phoniness. Even though lead actresses Glenn Glose and Mia Kunis seem to be putting their best efforts forward as a mother and a daughter with a troubled relationship, “Four Good Days” is ruined by a plethora of eye-rolling, ridiculous moments, especially in the last 15 minutes of the film. Instead of “Four Good Days,” the movie is better-described as “100 Irritating Minutes.”
The beginning of “Four Good Days” (directed by Rodrigo García) sets the tone for the rest of this disappointing movie, which was written by García and Eli Saslow. The movie’s screenplay is based on Saslow’s 2016 Washington Post article “Four Good Days,” about the real-life relationship between recovering drug addict Amanda Wendler and her mother Libby Alexander. In the “Four Good Days” movie, the bickering mother and daughter are Deb (played by Close) and her daughter Margaret “Molly” Wheeler (played by Kunis).
During the opening credits, Molly is seen as a vibrant, healthy-looking person frolicking on a beach. And then, the movie, shows what Molly looks like in September 2019, when this story begins. She’s very thin and strung-out on heroin, with sores all over her face and no upper teeth. She’s disheveled and looks like the homeless person that she is.
Molly hasn’t talked to her mother Deb in years (the movie doesn’t say for how many years), but Molly has shown up unannounced at the front door of Deb’s home in suburban Riverside, California, to beg Deb for a place to stay. Deb says no and firmly tells Molly: “The deal was you wouldn’t come back until you were clean.”
Deb also tells Molly that Deb and Deb’s husband Chris (played by Stephen Root) changed the locks on their home because Molly and her junkie boyfriend Eric stole guitars and other items. Molly says that she and Eric are no longer together, but Deb remains unmoved. She shuts the door on Molly and tells her to come back when she’s clean.
After this “tough love” rejection of her daughter, Deb goes inside the house and is comforted by Chris, who tells Deb that she did the right thing and that she can’t back down from her resolve. Chris comments to Deb about Molly: “She can’t walk if you carry her.” (This movie is filled with trite platitudes that sound like slogans from a drug rehab poster.)
Molly doesn’t go away. Instead, she spends the night sleeping on Deb’s porch. And the next morning, after Molly promises that she’s ready to get clean, Deb relents and tells Molly to get in Deb’s car because Deb is driving her to rehab immediately. Molly tries to make an excuse to go in the house, by saying she hasn’t taken a shower in weeks. However, Deb refuses to let her in the house, and they drive to a detox center called Clear Horizons Recovery. The movie reveals that it’s Molly’s 15th trip to rehab in the 14 years since she became a drug addict at age 17.
During the check-in process, Molly says her main drug of choice is heroin, but she’s also recently done other drugs, such as methadone, crack cocaine, Vicodin and Adderall. Molly’s Medicaid insurance will only cover a three-day stay at Clear Horizons. After that, Molly expects to stay with Deb, but Deb still won’t fully commit to it yet. After Molly is checked into to detox center and as Deb walks away, Molly yells at Deb and calls her a derogatory name that rhymes with “witch.”
Back at home, Deb is struggling with mixed feelings. On the one hand, Deb is relieved that Molly is getting the help that she needs. On the other hand, Deb has been down this road with Molly too many other times before, and it’s always led to Molly relapsing back into drug use. Will this latest rehab stint work this time?
Deb tells Chris in a private conversation in their home how she feels about Molly: “Sometimes I get the feeling that I don’t want to love her anymore … This is the mess you married into.” Chris replies, “You always talk like that when she’s around. Stop doing it.”
Who is this dysfunctional family and how did they end up this way? Through conversations in the movie, it’s gradually revealed in layers what happened. Chris (who is retired) is the second husband of Deb, who works as a facialist in a hotel spa. When Molly was about 15 years old and a freshman in high school, Deb left her first husband Dale and their two children (Molly and Molly’s older sister Ashley) because Deb felt trapped and unhappy in an emotionally abusive marriage.
Deb lived apart from her children for about two years and let Dale take full custody. This estrangement caused a lot of bad blood between the family members. And even though Deb is shown making sincere apologies to a now drug-addicted Molly for abandoning the family, Molly still has a lot of deep-seated resentment against her mother. Meanwhile, Dale (played by Sam Hennings) has essentially cut himself off from Molly because of her constant relapses after promising to get clean.
How did Molly become a drug addict? When Molly was 17 years old, she sprained her knee while water skiing. A doctor prescribed her OxyContin. And as Deb describes it when ranting to Molly’s current rehab doctor, “no refill was denied” in this OxyContin prescription. Molly got hooked on OxyContin and then later turned to heroin. Molly also dropped out of high school because of her drug addiction.
At some point during her on-again, off-again drug use, Molly got married and had two children. But not surprisingly, the marriage didn’t last, and Molly lost custody of the children. Molly’s ex-husband Sean (played by Joshua Leonard) works in construction. Molly and Sean’s children are a son named Colton (played by Nicholas Oteri), who’s about 10 or 11 years old when this story takes place, and Chloe (played by Audrey Lynn), who is about 8 or 9 years old. Molly doesn’t see them on a regular basis, but Deb seems to keep in frequent contact with Molly’s kids, since they all live nearby.
Before Molly checks out of Clear Horizons, she and Deb have an assessment appointment with Clear Horizons physician Dr. Oritz (played by Carlos Lacamara), who has to listen to Deb berate him and blame medical professionals for prescribing OxyContin to people who end up getting addicted. Deb yells at the doctor by saying “you people” are responsible for Molly’s drug addiction. This isn’t the last that viewers will see Deb’s awful shrewishness.
Dr. Ortiz is calm and patient with Deb’s outburst (Molly is mortified) and explains that a post-rehab option for Molly is for her to take an opiate antagonist, which is a medication that supresses cravings for opiates. The doctor explains that this medication, which makes people “immune from getting high,” is an injection administered by a medical professional once a month. Dr. Ortiz also makes it clear that the medication only works on people who have no opioids and other dangerous drugs in their system. Otherwise, it could lead to serious health damage and possible death.
Molly and Deb want to get this opiate antagonist treatment right away. However, Dr. Ortiz explains that the earliest that Molly can get the treatment is in four days. Molly can no longer stay in the detox center because Molly’s insurance won’t cover it and her rehab bed has to go to someone else. And so, Deb lets Molly come home with her.
Most of the movie chronicles the four-day wait for Molly to get her first opiate antagonist treatment. And, unlike what the movie title suggests, it’s a miserable four days. Not surprisingly, Molly and Deb argue a lot, because Deb understandably has a hard time trusting Molly. Deb won’t leave any money or her car keys in places where Molly could steal them. Deb gives Molly a “burner” cell phone that she says Molly can only use to call family members or a medical professional.
Meanwhile, Molly goes through the expected heroin withdrawals, but the movie unrealistically spends just a few scenes showing Molly in agony in one day. She’s shown curled up in a fetal position, complaining about how cold she is. And there are the expected scenes of Molly vomiting. But after Molly’s first full day back in Deb’s home, Molly’s withdrawals aren’t really mentioned again, as if they were just some pesky aches and pains. It’s a very simplistic and inauthentic portrayal of heroin withdrawals.
The movie takes a more realistic approach in how Molly’s physical appearance has been ravaged by drug use. There’s a scene where Molly and Deb visit with a dentist named Dr. Stevens (played by Kim Delgado), who gives Molly a set of upper-teeth dentures to wear. Molly complains that the false teeth hurt because her inflamed gums are so sore. And speaking of sores, the makeup team of “Four Good Days” did a good job of making Molly’s face look like what can really happen to a hardcore drug addict.
Deb’s approach to having Molly live in the home is like a strict parent dealing with a child who is grounded. Molly has a suspended driver’s license because of past DUI arrests. But Deb says that even if Molly had a valid driver’s license, she wouldn’t trust Molly to drive any vehicle because of the possiblity that Molly would be tempted to drive somewhere to get drugs.
After a while, Molly becomes restless and frustrated with feeling like a prisoner in Deb’s home, so there’s more arguing between Deb and Molly. And where is Deb’s retired husband Chris during all this family drama? This movie is so sloppily written that there are long stretches where Chris is nowhere to be seen and he’s not even mentioned.
The house isn’t that big, but even if it were, Chris’ presence is almost like an afterthought in the movie. He vaguely seems to support Deb’s decision to let Molly stay in the house, as long as Molly stays clean, but he’s not in the movie enough to make a real impact. However, Root and Close have one pretty good scene together where Deb is ranting and yelling at Chris to say something and she calls him a “fucking wimp.” Chris explodes and gives bullying Deb the verbal smackdown that she deserves, by yelling back at her, “I’m not your punching bag!”
“Four Good Days” should be commended for not sugarcoating the reality that families who deal with drug addiction often have at least one enabler/co-dependent who hurts more than helps the addict. Deb has all the characteristics of being a toxic enabler/co-dependent. Deb thinks she means well, but she often makes things worse. A perfect example of her toxic enabling/co-dependency is a very irresponsible decison that Deb makes in the last 15 minutes of the film. It’s a decision that will make viewers really dislike this movie.
“Four Good Days” goes a little too overboard in showing Deb vaccillating between wanting to distrust Molly and wanting to coddle Molly. In one of the worst scenes in “Four Good Days,” Deb goes to a diner to have breakfast with her older daughter Ashley (played by Carla Gallo), who is estranged from Molly. Molly was supposed to be at this breakfast meeting too, but she backed out at the last minute. Ashley doesn’t seem too surprised.
Deb and Ashley start off having a good mother-daughter talk. Deb tells Ashley how Molly is doing. Ashley, who is an attorney and a single mother, gives Deb updates on what’s been going on in her life, including Ashley’s new relationship with a boyfriend. There’s a little bit of tension when Ashley comments that Deb is obsessed with Molly and Molly’s problems. Deb essentially admits it’s true.
Things take a turn in the conversation when Deb notices that she left her wallet at home. Deb wants to go back and get the wallet because she doesn’t want Molly to be alone in the house with any cash that’s easy to find. Ashley insists that she will pay for their meal and she orders Deb not to go back to the house. It’s Ashley’s way of telling her mother not to let Molly’s addiction take over Deb’s life.
Ashley continues to talk happily about her new boyfriend, but Deb has an expression on her face that she’s tuned out of what Ashley is saying. Ashley can tell that her mother is thinking about Molly possibly finding Deb’s wallet at home. And then, Deb suddenly gets up and leaves Ashley at the table without even saying goodbye. Horrible. Ashley is not seen or mentioned in the movie again.
Molly gets restless from being cooped up in the house, so Deb invites Molly to go grocery shopping with her. At the grocery store, they run into a former high school classmate of Molly’s named Coach Miller (played by Rebecca Field), who now teaches a health and fitness class at a local high school. Molly’s drug problems are apparently very well-known in the community, because Coach Miller tells Molly that people are rooting for her in her recovery.
Coach Miller says that Molly could be an inspiration/deterrent to the kids in Coach Miller’s class. She invites Molly to be a guest speaker in the class, to talk about the dangers of drug addiction. Molly politely declines because she says she’s not good at public speaking. The problem with this invitation is that Coach Miller doesn’t know if Molly (who is fresh out of rehab) is really the best person to lecture anyone about what it takes to have long-term sobriety.
But then later in the movie, Molly is later shown giving a tear-filled speech in front of Coach Miller’s students, while Deb is standing near the back of the class. Molly is both self-righteous and apologetic in her speech. Molly berates a smug student (played by Gabriela Flores), who says that she would never become a drug addict. And to throw in some more melodrama, Molly pulls out the dentures in her mouth so that the students can see Molly’s diseased, toothless gums. And then, Molly wails and sobs toward the end of the speech, as she tells Deb how sorry she is about the pain she caused.
During the car drive from the school, Deb tells Molly how proud she is of her. And then, Molly uses that moment to tell her mother that she wants to help other drug addicts in their recoveries. And by the way, Molly says, she wants to check in on a 15-year-old girl druggie friend named Sammy, because Molly is worrried about Sammy. And so, Molly begs her mother to drive to a drug-infested area to help Molly look for Sammy.
At first, Deb is dead-set against the idea. But she’s worn down by Molly’s pleading and drives to the area and tells Molly that she has five minutes to ask around for Sammy. This eventually leads to another ridiculous scene where Deb and Molly end up in a drug house, where Deb aggressively confronts a large man on drugs who could have a weapon on him. But Deb doesn’t think about these things when she loses her temper, which she does a lot in this movie.
“Four Good Days” isn’t all about Deb and Molly’s hostile conflicts with each other. They have some occasions where they try to repair their damaged relationship. In one scene, mother and daughter have a tender moment together when Deb gives Molly a much-needed facial treatment. And in another scene, Molly’s ex-husband Sean brings Colton and Chloe over to the house to visit. It’s a glimpse of how this fractured family could be if they can heal in the right ways.
But those moments of tranquil harmony are overshadowed by angry turmoil. After a while, it’s very obvious that Molly isn’t the only addict in the family. Her mother Deb is addicted to chaos. And she’s in deep denial over it, which makes her even more insufferable to watch.
Close’s immense talent as an actress is hampered by how the character of Deb veers into asburdity and self-delusion. Deb is intended to be a complicated, flawed person, but some of the decisions that Deb makes and how she handles situations actually make Deb more into a bad stereotype of a domineering, ill-tempered matriarch. “Four Good Days” director García and Close previously worked together on the drama “Albert Nobbs,” which earned Close an Oscar nominaton for playing the movie’s cross-dressing title character. “Four Good Days” is far from an Oscar-caliber film.
Kunis’ depiction of a flaky drug addict has moments of realism, especially in the first half of the movie, but there are other times when Kunis is over-acting. It’s almost as if she’s thinking that her portrayal of drug addiction in this movie will possibly get her nominated for major awards. It won’t. The rest of the movie’s cast members are serviceable in their very sparsely written roles.
One of the best scenes in the film isn’t with Deb and Molly. It’s a scene when Deb angrily confronts her ex-husband Dale (played by Sam Hemmings) and tries to shame him for not being in contact with Molly in the days since Deb told Dale that Molly was spendng time recovering in Deb’s home. In this scene, the pent-up resentment that these two ex-spouses have had for each other over the years comes out like a bomb exploding. Deb and Dale each blame each other in some way for Molly’s addiction, when in reality Molly is the only one who can and should take responsibility for her life.
One of the worst things about “Four Good Days” is that it starts off fooling viewers into thinking that it will be a realistic story of how drug addiction can damage relationships. And although some scenes crackle with intensity, the movie takes a very Hollywood approach to how these real-life issues are handled. The character of Deb gets angry with screwed-up daughter Molly for dragging Deb down with Molly’s problems. However, Molly and Deb are such grating, self-pitying characters that this whole movie is dragged down by their annoying antics.
Vertical Entertainment released “Four Good Days” in select U.S. cinemas on April 30, 2021.
Roy Horn and Siegfried Fischbacher of Siegfried & Roy are the subect of an Apple TV+ podcast that will premiere at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival (Photo courtesy of Getty Images)
The following is a press release from the Tribeca Film Festival:
The 2021 Tribeca Festival, presented by AT&T, announced today that it will welcome podcasts for the first time in the Festival’s history. As the first major festival to premiere Official Selection podcasts, Tribeca has once again demonstrated why it is at the forefront of championing all forms of storytelling. The 20th anniversary celebration will take place city-wide June 9-20 and will be the first major film festival to host in person events.
The first-ever Tribeca Podcasts lineup will feature world premieres of fiction and nonfiction stories from some of today’s most exciting emerging creators, as well as special events that include live recordings, discussions and more with the most influential names in audio including: Jad Abumard discusses his work on Radiolab, More Perfect, Dolly Parton’s America and more with Academy Award-nominated filmmaker, Jason Reitman; Ear Hustle, co-founded by bay area artist, Nigel Poor alongside Earlonne Woods and Antwan Williams, is the first podcast created and produced in prison and features stories of the daily realities of life inside California’s San Quentin State Prison; and the new Apple TV+ podcast about Siegfried & Roy, produced by Will Manalti and Steven Leckart.
“The past few years have seen an explosion in the popularity of podcasts, making this the perfect time to introduce our inaugural Tribeca Podcast Program,” said Jane Rosenthal, Co-Founder and CEO of Tribeca Enterprises and the Tribeca Festival. “We look forward to welcoming the creative forces behind this year’s most anticipated new programs.”
“2020 saw so many people seek new forms of entertainment as theaters, sports arenas, and museums had to temporarily close their doors. For so many podcasts became not only a source of entertainment, but also a source of comfort,” said Paula Weinstein, Chief Content Officer of Tribeca Enterprises. “We’re thrilled to launch Tribeca Podcasts at this year’s Festival.”
“From Immersive in 2013, to TV in 2016, Tribeca has always been at the forefront of embracing new modes of cinematic storytelling, “ said Cara Cusumano, Festival Director and Vice President of Programming for the Tribeca Festival. “Now with Tribeca Podcasts, we are once again expanding the scope of our programming to spotlight the innovative creators and stories happening in the audio form.”
Tribeca welcomes Audible, Inc. as the first-ever Exclusive Audio Entertainment sponsor of the Tribeca Festival. Audible, Inc. will celebrate the Tribeca creative community and showcase bold creators who are developing innovative, cinematic audio entertainment through Juneteenth programming and the premiere of queer action comedy Audible Original Hot White Heist, produced by Broadway Video and Club Cumming Productions, written, created, and produced by Adam Goldman, directed and produced by Alan Cumming, and starring an ensemble of queer performers including Bowen Yang, Cynthia Nixon, Jane Lynch, and Bianca del Rio.
The Tribeca Podcasts program is curated by Leah Sarbib, Manager, Audio Storytelling, along with the counsel of an advisory board whose members have greatly contributed to and influenced the podcast industry. They include:
Sarah Koenig: Host and co-creator of the groundbreaking Serial podcast, and Executive Producer of Serial Productions.
Jad Abumrad: Host and creator of Radiolab, More Perfect, and Dolly Parton’s America (a collaboration with OSM Audio’s Shima Oliaee). He’s been called “master of the radio craft” for his unique ability to combine cutting edge sound-design, cinematic storytelling, and a personal approach to explaining complex topics—from the stochasticity of tumor cells to the legal underpinnings of the war on terror. He composes much of the music for Radiolab, and has composed music for film, theater and dance. He’s received three Peabody Awards, and the prestigious MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship.
Nikole Hannah-Jones: Pulitzer Prize-winning creator of The 1619 Project and a staff writer at The New York Times Magazine. She has spent her career investigating racial inequality and injustice, and her reporting has earned her the MacArthur Fellowship, known as the Genius grant, a Peabody Award, two George Polk Awards and the National Magazine Award three times. Hannah-Jones also earned the John Chancellor Award for Distinguished Journalism and was named Journalist of the Year by the National Association of Black Journalists and the Newswomen’s Club of New York. In 2020 she was inducted into the Society of American Historians and in 2021, into the North Carolina Media Hall of Fame. She also serves as the Knight Chair of Race and Investigative Reporting at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Alex Blumberg: Co-host of the Spotify podcast How to Save a Planet produced by Gimlet Media, the company behind hit podcasts like The Journal, Homecoming, Stolen: The Search for Jermain and more. Prior to founding Gimlet, Blumberg worked for years in public radio. He is an award-winning radio journalist known for his work as a producer on the wildly popular podcasts This American Life and Planet Money, which he co-founded at NPR. In 2014, he hosted the first season of the Gimlet podcast StartUp, which was about the founding of the company. Blumberg’s work has won every major award in broadcast journalism, including the Polk, the duPont-Columbia, and the Peabody. His award-winning documentary on the housing crisis, The Giant Pool of Money, was named one of the last decade’s top ten works of journalism by the Arthur L. Carter School of Journalism and New York University. It’s also the first podcast ever put in the Smithsonian. Alex holds a BA in Political Science and Government from Oberlin College.
Connie Walker: Started her career at CBC in Canada, where she was an award-winning investigative reporter. In 2016, Walker created Missing & Murdered, a CBC podcast that captivated listeners around the world and was downloaded more than 30 million times. Missing & Murdered: Finding Cleo was featured in The New York Times, The Rolling Stone, The Columbia Journalism Review and won the inaugural Best Serialized Story award at the Third Coast International Audio Festival in 2018. Walker is Cree from Okanese First Nation in Canada.
Conal Byrne: Chief Executive Officer of the iHeartMedia Digital Audio Group, which includes the company’s fast-growing and high-profile podcasting business and #1 podcast publisher globally according to Podtrac, as well as the industry-leading iHeartRadio digital service; the company’s digital sites, services, newsletters and programs; and its digital advertising technology companies, including Jelli, RadioJar, Unified, Voxnest and the recently-announced Triton Digital acquisition, upon its completion.
Tanya Somanader: Chief Content Officer of Crooked Media, Tanya oversees political and content strategy for the progressive media company. In the last 4 years, she has led Crooked’s transformation from a niche political podcast company with a few flagship shows into a robust player with 15 podcasts and counting, digital initiatives like Vote Save America, as well as television and film projects.
The 2021 Tribeca Podcast Program:
Special Events:
Ear Hustle: Launched in 2017 from Radiotopia and PRX, this is the first podcast created and produced in prison. The show features stories of the daily realities of life inside California’s San Quentin State Prison, shared by those living it, as well as stories from the outside, post-incarceration. Ear Hustle was co-founded by Bay Area artist Nigel Poor alongside Earlonne Woods and Antwan Williams, who were incarcerated at the time. Rahsaan “New York” Thomas joined the team as a co-host inside San Quentin in 2019. Heard by listeners more than 50 million times across the globe, in 2020, Ear Hustle was named a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize in audio reporting, the first time the category was recognized, for bringing audiences “a consistently surprising and beautifully crafted series on life behind bars.” Ear Hustle has also received recognition from the Peabody Awards, the duPont-Columbia awards, the Third Coast International Audio Festival, and more. Hosts Earlonne Woods and Nigel Poor will sit down together to discuss their years of collaboration, share behind-the-scenes stories from their show, and speak about what’s next.
Preview: Hot White Heist: In this new scripted podcast from Audible a group of LGBTQIA+ contemporaries attempts to steal the U.S. government’s sperm-bank deposits from some of history’s most brilliant minds — in the hopes of selling the genetic material on the black market to buy an island for a new queer paradise. Tribeca’s premiere event will include an exclusive preview and a live performance.
Juneteenth Celebration: A special celebration featuring influential Black voices in audio entertainment. Programming will be announced next week.
Jad Abumrad with Jason Reitman: Since his early days composing film scores, award winning audio producer Jad Abumrad has always had an exceptional ear. He has been called “master of the radio craft” for his unique ability to combine cutting edge sound-design, cinematic storytelling, and a personal approach to explaining complex topics. He’ll discuss his work on Radiolab, More Perfect, Dolly Parton’s America and more with Academy Award nominated filmmaker, Jason Reitman. Reitman’s films include Tully, Juno, Up in the Air, Thank You for Smoking, and the highly anticipated upcoming Ghostbusters: Afterlife slated to release November 2021.
Preview: Red Frontier: In Red Frontier, a forthcoming Spotify Original fiction podcast from Gimlet, Commander Taylor Fullerton is haunted by the mysterious tragedy that killed her crew as she alone endures their one-way mission to colonize Mars against all odds. Tribeca will present an exclusive preview of this highly anticipated fiction podcast from Spotify and Gimlet Media, followed by a conversation with the cast and creators.
Live Recording: Resistance: Resistance is a widely acclaimed narrative nonfiction podcast from Gimlet Media and Spotify. It was released last fall by a homegrown team inspired by the extraordinary movements for Black lives sweeping the country. Resistance takes listeners to the frontlines to hear stories from the generation fighting for change. Host Saidu Tejan-Thomas Jr. and guests are coming to Tribeca to do a special live recording of a Fuck Your Water Fountain Episode, a segment on the podcast that celebrates little known stories of historical resistance.
Preview: Apple TV+ Siegfried & Roy original podcast: The Siegfried & Roy original podcast from Apple TV+ presents the first, compelling in-depth podcast series about Siegfried & Roy, the most famous, controversial magicians in history, who were widely misunderstood, frequently satirized and feverishly criticized, hosted by veteran investigative journalist and Emmy-winning filmmaker Steven Leckart. The podcast goes behind the velvet curtain to examine the pop culture icons, lionized by a global fan base for more than 40 years, to deconstruct the illusions they created, the empire they constructed, and the story behind what really happened on the night that a tiger attack ended their reign. The podcast is executive produced by Will Malnati of award-winning podcast production company AT WILL MEDIA, and Leckart. Tribeca will present an exclusive preview of the podcast, followed by a conversation with the creative team.
Official Selections: The following will be eligible for the inaugural juried Fiction Podcast Award and Narrative Nonfiction Podcast Award.
Anomaly, created by Heather Taylor, Hillary Nussbaum (United States) – World Premiere, Fiction After an earth-changing event causes civil war along the east coast, 17-year-old Kory Hernandez is sent to live with a host family in a small Illinois town battling the impact of climate change. Unsure of her place in this new world, she wonders: what, and who, can one trust in a world turned upside down?
Black Santa, created by Jordan Crafton (United States) – World Premiere, Fiction Slide and his friends are risking it all for a Christmas miracle, as they look for “Black Santa” of the Brooklyn projects. Slide’s love for sixteen-year-old Gianna has him and his friends willing to risk it all for a Christmas miracle. But first, they must receive a pardon from “Frosty the Snowman” to travel through “Jack Frost’s” Projects. This Christmas tale is like none else. It’s a holiday story with a modern twist.
Blind Guy Travels, created by Matthew Shifrin (United States) – World Premiere, Narrative Nonfiction Blind Guy Travels invites you into life without sight. Join host Matthew Shifrin as he experiences a Marx Brothers comedy, crafts a TED Talk, and then a Hinge profile, collaborates with LEGO to develop instructions for blind builders, and prepares for college graduation. Blind Guy Travels is a production of Radiotopia from PRX.
Earth Eclipsed, created by Nicholas Prufer, AJ Churchill, Victor Lee (United States) – World Premiere, Fiction A neuroscientist on the brink of a galaxy-changing discovery that will save millions of lives has her work interrupted when she’s kidnapped by a renegade miner. Set in the distant future, this immersive audio series explores what it means to live in a utopian society and the great lengths one must go to preserve humanity.
Guardians of the River, created by House of Pod and Wild Bird Trust (United States, Angola, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa) – World Premiere, Narrative Nonfiction This is the story of the guardians of the Okavango water system, a network of rivers spanning three countries in Africa, and home to some of the most endangered animals on the planet. These guardians have a monumental task: trying to protect a remote, near pristine environment facing threats from all sides. This podcast follows what happens when worlds connect, and at times collide, with the common goal of protecting a place.
I’ll Never Be Alone Anymore – The Story Of The Skala Eressos Lesbian Community, created by Cecile C. Simon, Anais Dupuis, Anais Carayon (France) – World Premiere, Narrative Nonfiction The story of a lesbian community that is situated in a remote village in Lesbos, Greece. Created in the 70s, it welcomed thousands of women before declining in the 2000s. Nowadays, the community is formed by older lesbians. But they are not your typical 60 year old women. They party, they have sex and they speak their minds. What they say about themselves is a precious testimony of a vanishing community that once changed so many women’s lives.
The Imperfection, created by Alex Kemp (United States) – World Premiere, Fiction Charlie and Amber both suffer from a rare condition that causes them to wildly hallucinate. When their psychiatrist suddenly goes missing, they rally together with the doctor’s other patients to search for him. Along the way, they encounter secret societies, half-human half- spider centaurs, and a hidden borough of New York under the East River. But how do you find the truth when you can’t tell what’s real?
Monster, created by Tommy Bertelsen (United States) – World Premiere, Narrative Nonfiction A sonic memoir about confronting a real demon while making a horror movie in Latvia.
Mother of Maricopa, created by Leah Henoch, Katie Henoch, Sydney Fleischmann (United States) – World Premiere, Narrative Nonfiction In 2011, police raided a Tantric temple in Phoenix, Arizona and arrested its founder, Tracy Elise, on 100 counts related to prostitution, money laundering, and more. What the state saw as a brothel, Elise saw as a house of worship. In Mother of Maricopa, sisters Leah and Katie Henoch explore the story of the Phoenix Goddess Temple and the compelling questions that lie beyond Elise’s guilt or innocence.
Something Strange Is Happening, created by Tessa Bartholomew, Christina Kingsleigh Licud (United States) – World Premiere, Fiction This scripted horror anthology podcast is built around one terrifying premise: When immigrants came to America, we brought our languages and cultures, but there’s one thing we miscalculated: we brought our monsters, too. Set in LA’s Historic Filipino Town, Season One features monsters and evil spirits of Filipino folklore, back for vengeance in modern times. Each season travels to a different immigrant town for an American horror story like you’ve never heard.
Un(re)solved, created by FRONTLINE PBS (United States) – World Premiere, Narrative Nonfiction What prompted the FBI to reinvestigate over one hundred unsolved civil rights era murders? And what does justice look like for families whose loved ones were killed? Reporter James Edwards seeks answers to these questions, reflecting on his own family’s experiences along the way.
Vermont Ave., created by James Kim, Brooke Iskra (United States) – World Premiere, Fiction John walks down Vermont Ave. to clear his head before a big decision. This is an atmospheric and intimate portrait of a thirtysomething in LA during the end of 2020. The fiction piece highlights the things that are unsaid and how the silence between two people can be louder than words. Captured in one long take using 3D sound from Sennheiser Ambeo binaural in-ear microphones, it places the listener directly in the main character’s shoes.
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Passes and Tickets for the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival Festival passes are on sale now. Tribeca at Home tickets go on sale Monday, May 3 @ 11:00am EST. Tickets to attend the outdoor in-person screenings / events are available starting Monday, May 10 @11:00am EST. Visit: https://www.tribecafilm.com/festival/tickets
About the Tribeca Festival The Tribeca Festival, presented by AT&T, brings artists and diverse audiences together to celebrate storytelling in all its forms, including film, TV, VR, gaming, music, and online work. With strong roots in independent film, Tribeca is a platform for creative expression and immersive entertainment. Tribeca champions emerging and established voices; discovers award-winning filmmakers and creators; curates innovative experiences; and introduces new technology and ideas through premieres, exhibitions, talks, and live performances.
The Festival was founded by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal, and Craig Hatkoff in 2001 to spur the economic and cultural revitalization of lower Manhattan following the attacks on the World Trade Center. Tribeca will celebrate its 20th year June 9 – 20, 2021. www.tribecafilm.com/festival
In 2019, James Murdoch’s Lupa Systems, a private investment company with locations in New York and Mumbai, bought a majority stake in Tribeca Enterprises, bringing together Rosenthal, De Niro, and Murdoch to grow the enterprise.
About the 2021 Tribeca Festival Partners: About the 2021 Tribeca Festival Partners The 2021 Tribeca Festival is presented by AT&T and with the support of our corporate partners: Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Audible, Bloomberg Philanthropies, CHANEL, City National Bank, CNN Films, Diageo, DoorDash, FreshDirect, Hudson Yards, Indeed, Montefiore-Einstein, NYC Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, P&G, PwC, Roku, Spring Studios New York.
Culture Representation: Taking place primarily in Sweden and briefly in Norway, the atmospheric dramedy “About Endlessness” features a predominantly white cast (with some people of Arabic heritage) representing mostly middle-class people from various walks of life.
Culture Clash: Various characters in the movie express angst about themselves or other people.
Culture Audience: “About Endlessness” will appeal primarily to people who don’t mind watching slow-paced films that don’t have a plot but present various scenarios that are meant to reflect the human condition.
Jan-Eje Ferling (standing in front) in “About Endlessness” (Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures)
There’s a good chance that people who watch “About Endlessness” are already familiar with the work of the movie’s director, Roy Andersson, a Swedish filmmaker who’s made a name for himself with his brand of slow-paced, absurdist observations of life. But if people aren’t familiar with Andersson’s work, “About Endlessness” might be a curious and often-frustrating hodgepodge of vingnettes that range from provocative to mundane. “About Endlessness” isn’t for everyone, but if people are interested in watching an artsy, plot-less meditation on timeless human qualities, then the movie takes viewers on an unpredictable ride.
It’s clear from watching “About Endlessness” that the title of the movie comes from the movie’s concept that no matter what happens in the past, present or future, some things won’t change about humanity. “About Endlessness” presents a series of scenarios, where most of the characters do not have names. The scenarios are mostly “slice of life” and represent a broad range of emotions, which are usually expressed in a deadpan manner.
Ech scenario usually features long stretches of silence. A group of people could be gathered somewhere, such as in a food market or a restaurant, and it’s eerily silent, without the usual buzz of several people talking at once in different conversatons. This filmmaking technique works best if viewers aren’t expecting to see a movie with a typical story in three acts. Viewers also have to be in the mood for a movie that lingers on characters who don’t do much and seem deep in thought. In other words, “About Endlessness” is the opposite of an adrenaline-pumping action movie.
Guiding viewers through this series of short scenarios is a female voice providing narration. She will begin each sentence with the words “I saw,” as the scenario plays out on screen. For example, there’s a scene with a man in his bedroom, patting his mattress before he kneels down to pray and settles into his bed. The narrator says, “I saw a man who didn’t trust banks, so he kept his savings in his mattress.”
In another scene, a middle-aged man and woman are at a graveyard. The narrator says, “I saw two parents who lost their son in the war.” The mother talks to her son (whose name is Tommy) at the son’s grave, while the father waters the flowers that will be put on the grave.
At a train station, a women in her 30s disembarks from a train and looks around and appears annoyed. She sits down on a bench on the platform. The narrator says, “I saw a woman who thought no one was waiting for her.” Eventually, a man runs up the stairs to the platform, with the demeanor of someone who is late. He and the woman leave together without saying a word.
Another scene shows a young woman in her late teens or early 20s watering a plant outside of a beauty spa. She appears to work at the spa. Just as she goes inside, a young man who’s about the same age, comes out of a business next door, goes outside on the sidewalk, and stares wistfully at her. The narrator says, “I saw a young man who had not yet found love.”
You get the idea. Usually, once a scenario is shown, the people in that scenario are not seen again in the movie. There are a few exceptions. A recurring character throughout the movie (and the one who gets the most screen time) is an unnamed priest (played by Martin Serner), who’s going through a crisis of faith.
He’s first seen carrying a crucifix on a winding street and wearing a crown of thorns (like Jesus Christ), while various people physically assault him, by whipping him, hitting him, or beating him with a stick. Is this a re-enactment of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ? No, it turns out it’s just a nightmare that the priest is having.
He wakes up next to his wife after having this nightmare. And he tells her, “They drove nails through his hands!” Later, the priest visits a psychiatrist named Dr. Lindh (played by Bengt Bergius), who tells the priest that it’s normal to have bad dreams. The priest tells the psychiatrist that he began having nightmares around the same time he began losing his faith in God. They agree to make an appoinment for the following week.
But before the next appointment can happen, the next time the movie shows the priest, he’s in a private chamber room at a church while his congregation is waiting in the next room for a chruch service. The priest takes a swig of wine from a bottle and gives the appearance of being drunk, because he is unsteady on his feet. He stumbles into the main church service area and serves communion to his parishioners.
At an unspecified time later, the priest shows up unannounced at the psychiatrist’s office, which is about to close for the day. The priest shouts several times, “What should I do now that I’ve lost my faith?” The psychiatrist’s secretary (played by Anja Broms) tells the priest that the office is about to close and that he needs to come back when he has his appointment. The priest doesn’t want to leave. Eventually, the psychiatrist and the secretary forcefully make the priest leave the office by literally shoving him out of the door.
There’s another character who is in more than one scenario in the movie. He’s a middle-aged man who first appears near the beginning of the movie. The man (played by Jan-Eje Ferlin) is standing at the top of the stairs outside of a train station. And he begins to talk about how he keeps seeing a former schoolmate named Sverker Olsson walking near him, but Sverker snubs him when he says hello.
Just then, another middle-agded man walks out of the train station. The first man says the second man is Sverker’s name, and he says hello to Sverker. But the man identified as Sverker keeps walking, as if he never heard this former schoolmate try to talk to him.
Later, the snubbed schoolmate is shown in his kitchen with his wife sitting at a nearby table. The ma then starts to rant about Sverker snumbbing him and then repeats that he can’t believe that Sverker has a Ph. D. This character is a satirically deapan embodiment on human insecurity that can lead to jealousy.
There are more scenarios, some more memorable than others. A man named Torbjörn has an uncomfortable visit with his dentist named Hasse (played by Thore Flygel). An army of men, identified by the narrator as prisoners of war, are shown marching silently in Siberia to their prison camp. A grandmother joyfully takes photos of her baby grandson outside of a building, while the baby’s father holds the child and the baby’s mother stands nearby. A man helps his daughter ties her shoelaces during a walk in the rain on her birthday.
“About Endlessness” does have some dark moments. One is showing a Middle-Eastern/Arabic man, crying and looking distressed while sitting down in a living room in disarray, as if a physical altercation had taken place there. The man is holding his dead teenage daughter, who has a large bloodstain on her chest.
The man’s wife and teenage son are standing nearby watching, as if they’re in shock and don’t know what to do. Viewers soon see that the father is holding a knife. And then, the narrator explains the horror of what happened: The father had murdered his daughter in an “honor killing” and changed his mind after it was too late.
In another scene, about four Nazi soldiers are in a bomb-shelter room, as bombs can be heard going of outside the building. Based on the soldiers’ demeanor, it’s the end of World War II, and they are experiencing defeat. One soldier is already drunk, while the others look like they’re in a daze.
The narrator says, “I saw a man who wanted to conquer the world and realized that he would fail.” And then, Adolf Hitler (played by Magnus Wallgren) walks into the room, and he also seems to be in shock over the defeat. And then, the drunk soldier gives a Nazi salute to Hitler and says, “Sieg Heil,” which is a victory salute in German. It’s a dark comedic way of showing that, even in defeat, Hitler and his brainwashed followers were clinging to a delusional sense of superiority.
Most of the characters in “About Endlessness” are rooted is some type of realistic scenario. The exceptions are fantastical characters (a man and a woman) who are seen floating through the air while they cling to each other. The movie’s narrator says, “I saw a couple, two lovers, floating above the city.” Because of its slow pace and snippets of life that aren’t tied to any big story, watching “About Endlessness” is a lot like that dream-like state of mind that can happen before someone goes to sleep. Knowing that before watching the movie will affect your expectations.
Magnolia Pictures released “About Endlessness” in select U.S. cinemas, on digital and VOD on April 30, 2021.
Culture Representation: Taking place in early 1930s China, the dramatic film “Cliff Walkers” features an all-Asian cast representing the middle-class, wealthy and government spies.
Culture Clash: Four Communist spies, who are on a mission to rescue a former prisoner who witnessed war crimes by Japanese invaders, are betrayed by a traitor and try to stay alive during various deadly threats.
Culture Audience: “Cliff Walkers” will appeal primarily to people who are interested in riveting spy thrillers told from a historical Chinese perspective.
Liu Haocun in “Cliff Walkers” (Photo courtesy of CMC Pictures)
“Cliff Walkers,” the first spy movie from celebrated Chinese director Zhang Yimou, tells a captivating and thrilling tale (inspired by real events) of four Communist spies in 1931 China. The spies face life-threatening obstacles not only from their own ranks but also from the Japanese who invaded China during this time period. Much more than the usual “cloak and dagger” story about spies, “Cliff Walkers” has plenty of emotional resonance by realistically showing the heart-wrenching toll on the family lives of spies when these espionage agents go into this line of work.
“Cliff Walkers” (formerly titled “Impasse”) is the first feature-film screenplay from Quan Yongxian. He was previously a writer for the 2021 Chinese drama TV series “Cliff,” which was about spy couple working in Harbin, China. “Cliff Walkers,” which also takes place primarily in Harbin, is an apt title for the movie, since the main characters are constantly on the precipice of danger.
The suspense in this thriller doesn’t let up and will also keep viewers on edge. And although there’s some raw violence in the movie, this isn’t an over-the-top “Mission: Impossible”-styled spy flick where the spies also happen to be stunt masters. These espionage agents have to use their wits more than physical tricks to help them get out of predicaments.
Taking place in 1931, “Cliff Walkers” has a brief written intro explaining the historical context of what is going on while the story is happening. Japan has invaded China, resulting in secret camps where Chinese people are tortured. The puppet state Manchuku in China was controlled by the Japanese during this time period.
In the midst of this political and human-rights turmoil, four Chinese Communist Party (CCP) spies have returned to Manchuku from the Soviet Union. These four espionage agents are doing a secret mission called Operation Utrennya. The operation’s purpose is to rescue a former prisoner named Wang Ziyang, who escaped from the Japanese-operated killing grounds Beiyinhe in China that was evenutally bombed by the Japanese. Because of what he experienced and witnessed, Wang Ziyang could expose war crimes (such as human experimentation) committed by the Imperial Japanese Army’s Unit 731.
The four spies happen to be two couples: quick-thinking and empathetic leader Zhang Xianchen (played by Zhang Yi), a former journalist; Wang Yu (played by Qin Hailu), who is Zhang’s even-tempered wife; Chu Liang (played by Qin Hailu), who is younger and more impulsive than Zhang; and Xiao Lan (played by Liu Haocun), who is Chu’s chameleon-like girlfriend. In the beginning of the story, the four comrades have split into two groups, as decided by Zhang. Group 1 consists of Zhang and Lan. Group 2 consists of Yu and Liang.
During freezing snowy weather, their caper begins. And, of course, there are immediate problems. A betrayal within the CCP spy ranks leads to the deaths of certain people early on in the story. And this traitorous ambush sends Zhang and Lan on a frantic quest to Harbin, in order to warn Yu and Liang about the betrayal while also trying to stay alive. Meanwhile, a fellow CCP agent named Zhou Yi (played by Yu Hewei) has his loyalties tested, since he is embedded with the enemy.
It wouldn’t be a spy story without a chief villain. And in this story, the villain is Gao Bin (played by Ni Dahong), a sadistic enforcer of the Japanese invasion. He represents the type of citizen who will be a traitor if it means he will be in a position of power. The Chinese spies willing to fight for their country have poison pills (kept in a mtachbox) that play a signficant role in the story.
Adding to the drama, Zhang and Yu are separated from their two kids who have become wayward street urchins. Their daughter is 8 years old, while their son is about 5 or 6 years old. At one point in the movie, Zhang is told that the children were last scene begging near the Modern Hotel. It just so happens that the Modern Hotel is where Lan goes with soem trusted allies to hide out.
What makes “Cliff Walkers” different from many other spy movies is the heartbreaking storyline of two spy parents (Zhang and Yu) who have been separated from the children and are trying to reunite with them, while the parents also having to fulfill their government responsibilities in their line of work. If they abandon their jobs, they are at risk of being punished and perhaps permanently separated from ther children. It’s a stressful and life-threatening tightrope that’s pulled in man different directions throughout the story.
Zhang’s portrayal of the spy whos shares his name is one of courage and humanity. It’s not an overly flashy role, but there are action sequences where Zhang the spy shows impressive combat skills. Lan is the other character who has many physically challenging action scenes. Frequently, she is the only woman with any power in the room. And she uses that power wisely.
While making “Cliff Walkers,” director Zhang Yimouwent for as much realism as possible. According to some production information from the movie’s U.S. publicist: “Historical locations in Harbin were 100% rebuilt just for the film, such as the city’s central street, Asia Cinema and Martyr Hotel which were completely recreated in 1930s style. Lead actor Zhang Yi grew up in Harbin and in fact lived on a street that was one of the rebuilt filming locations. During filming, he was able to find his parents’ old house there and video chatted them to show them how accurately recreated it was.” And the freezing, snowy weather wasn’t faked for the movie.
The accurate production design and the striking cinematopgraphy make “Cliff Walkers” an visually intriguing movie to watch. But the movie wouldn’t work as well, if not for the success it has at maintaining a tone of urgency and suspense, thanks to the absorbing screenplay and well-paced direction. “Cliff Walkers” is not a movie for people who are negatively triggered by scenes of violence and torture. But for people who can handle on-screen depictions of the realistic cruel inhumanity that’s inflicted during political oppression, then “Cliff Walkers” offers a compelling look that is filled with despair and hope, just like real life.
CMC Pictures released “Cliff Walkers” in select U.S. cinemas on April 30, 2021, the same day that the movie was released in China.
Available in the original Japanese version (with English subtitles) or in a dubbed English-language version.
Culture Representation: Taking place in early 1900s Japan, the animation film “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba The Movie: Mugen Train” features Japanese characters involved in adventures in demon slaying.
Culture Clash: During a train ride, a master demon slayer and four of his assistants fight a demon.
Culture Audience: Aside from the obvious target audience of people who are fans of the “Demon Slayer” TV series, “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba The Movie: Mugen Train” will appeal primarily to people who are interested in anime or any animated films that have engaging fantasy adventure stories with graphic fight scenes.
Enmu in “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba The Movie: Mugen Train” (Image by Koyoharu Gotoge/SHUEISHA/Aniplex/Ufotable)
The animated film “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba The Movie: Mugen Train” (based on the popular “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba” anime TV series and comic book series) has broken records to become to highest-grossing movie of all time in Japan and the top-grossing movie worldwide of 2020. Since its release in Asia in October 2020, the movie has since become a chart-topping hit. And in 2021, “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba The Movie: Mugen Train” became a hit in several places outside of Asia, including the United States, several countries in Europe and in South America.
Is this movie worth all the hype? Mostly yes, but the movie is best enjoyed by people who are inclined to like anime that have more adult-oriented violence than a typical anime film. The movie (directed by Haruo Sotozaki) has some eye-popping visuals that deserve to be seen on the biggest screen possible. And the story is an immersive experience should please fans of animated stories that blend fantasy adventures with some horror elements.
Where the movie falls a little short is in how it introduces the characters. If people don’t know anything about these characters before seeing the movie, the backstories might be a little rushed for newcomers to process everything as easily as people who are already familiar with these characters. Anyone going into this movie with no knowledge of the “Demon Slayer” canon might find themselves at times lost and occasionally bored by the film.
However, that doesn’t mean that “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba The Movie: Mugen Train” is difficult to understand. Anime production company Ufotable is credited with writing the screenplay, based on a story by Koyoharu Gotoge. The movie’s plot continues with the central theme of the franchise: Red-haired and courageous teenage boy Tanjirō Kamado (the protagonist) and his two male friends: blonde and fearful Zenitsu Agatsuma and impulsive hothead Inosuke Hashibira (who wears a boar’s head mask to hide his delicate-looking face) have teamed up with a young adult Flame Hashira warrior named Kyōjurō Rengoku to slay demons.
Tanjirō, who is the franchise’s main protagonist, has a tragedy which is feuling his motivations to find and kill demons: His parents and three brothers were slaughtered by demons, while his younger sister Nezuko Kamado was turned into a demon. Tanjirō keeps Nezuko hidden, usually in a knapsack that he has with him. However, Nezuko has not turned into a completely evil demon, because she is known to help Tanjirō and his friends when they need it.
“Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba The Movie: Mugen Train” begins with Tanjirō, Zenitsu and Hashibira boarding a train. The three pals meet up with Kyōjurō on the train, where he’s having a meal. During the beginning of the movie, there’s a running joke in that Kyōjurō keeps saying, “Tasty!” while he’s eating.
The main demon in the story is Enmu, Lower Rank One of the Twelve Kizuki, who finds four young passengers who have insomnia and orders them to enter the demon slayers’ dreams. The rest of the movie has a fever-dream quality where the demon slayers slip in and out of consciousness to fight Enmu and other demons.
“Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba The Movie: Mugen Train” doesn’t hold back on blood and gore. The movie dosn’t really start to pick up steam until the haflway mark. And from there, it’s an adrenaline-pumping ride as Enmu literally takes over the train in a way that won’t be revealed in this review. The visuals can be stunning, but not anything extraordinary. However, there are some genuinely creepy images in the movie, such as Enmu’s hand, which has a mind of its own.
Most viewers of this movie are watching for the fight scenes. And the movie should meet or surpass expetations. It should come as no surprise that Tanjirō and Enmu have a big showdown (it’s one of the highlights of the film), some of which takes place on top of the train. Kyōjurō also has climactic scene that’s an epic battle.
Because this movie is dubbed in several different languages (and also available in Japanese with subtitles), several voice actors portray the same characters. In the Japanese-language version, the voice actors are Natsuki Hanae asTanjirō Kamado; Yoshitsugu Matsuoka as Inosuke Hashibira; Satoshi Hino as Kyōjurō Rengoku; Akari Kitō as Nezuko Kamado; and Daisuke Hirakawa as Enmu/Lower Moon One. In the English-language version, the voice actors are Zach Aguilar asTanjirō Kamado; Bryce Papenbrook as Inosuke Hashibira; Aleks Le as Kyōjurō Rengoku; Abby Trott as Nezuko Kamado; and Landon McDonald as Enmu/Lower Moon One.
The acting and dialogue in “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba The Movie: Mugen Train” are what viewers might expect from an anime film. The biggest appeal that the movie has is how it hooks people into this world (there are flashbacks to give the characters backstories) and gives viewers many reasons to root for the heroic characters. These demon slayers are far from perfect, and that’s why people of all ages can relate them any or all of them in some way.
This movie also doesn’t gloss over the tragedy and trauma of murders. Tanjirō has flashback scenes with his family members when they were alive, and it gives emotional delpth to the tremendous loss that he has suffered. Tanjirō has solidarity and acceptance in his new family of demon slayers, but viewers will also sense that he will be forever haunted by the tragic murders of his biological family members. And just like any good story, “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba The Movie: Mugen Train” leaves audiences wanting more at the end.
Aniplex of America and Funimation released “Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie: Mugen Train” in U.S. cinemas on April 23, 2021. The movie’s digital and VOD release date is June 22, 2021. The movie was released in Japan in 2020.
