Tag: movies

Articles about movies

Review: ‘My Happy Ending,’ starring Andie MacDowell, Miriam Margolyes, Sally Phillips, Rakhee Thakrar, Tom Cullen, Michelle Greenidge and Tamsin Greig

March 11, 2023

by Carla Hay

Tamsin Greig and Andie MacDowell in “My Happy Ending” (Photo courtesy of Roadside Attractions)

“My Happy Ending”

Directed by Tal Granit and Sharon Maymon

Culture Representation: Taking place mainly in London, the comedy/drama film “My Happy Ending” features a predominantly white cast of characters (with a few black people and people of South Asian heritage) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.

Culture Clash: While in London to work in a West End play that flops, a famous American actress reluctantly gets treatment for Stage 4 colon cancer in a public hospital, where she makes unexpected friends with three other female cancer patients. 

Culture Audience: “My Happy Ending” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of Andie MacDowell and movies that have simple-minded depictions of cancer treatment.

Sally Phillips, Andie MacDowell, Miriam Margolyes and Rakhee Thakrar in “My Happy Ending” (Photo courtesy of Roadside Attractions)

“My Happy Ending” is anything but joyful. The only happy ending that viewers might get from watching this poorly made and fake-looking cancer comedy/drama is when this boring train wreck is finally over. Tamsin Greig gives the movie’s only adequate performance. Everyone else’s acting falls flat.

Directed by Tal Granit and Sharon Maymon, “My Happy Ending” is based on the play “Sof Tov,” written by Anat Gov. Rona Tamir wrote the shoddy adapted screenplay for “My Happy Ending.” Most of the movie takes place in the section of a London hospital where cancer patients are being treated. Anyone who endures the entirety of this dreadful film will have to sit through tiresome scenes that either show people complaining about something, gossiping about other people, or having fantasies about being in an exotic place.

Almost nothing about this movie looks authentic, including the fact that the story’s protagonist has Stage 4 colon cancer, but she never looks like she’s sick or in pain. Cancer just seems to be used as a cheap gimmick to get laughs from listless and unfunny dialogue posing as “jokes.” Cancer is a tricky subject to cover for entertainment. “My Happy Ending” fails miserably on every single level.

The improbably healthy-looking Stage 4 cancer patient who’s at the center of “My Happy Ending” is a famous American actress named Julia Roth (played by Andie MacDowell), who spends much of the movie whining that she doesn’t want to be at this hospital that isn’t private enough for her. Considering all the hospitals that exist in England, viewers will constantly be thinking this solution to Julia’s hospital problem: “Why don’t you just leave?” It’s the same question that viewers might be thinking if they’re stuck watching this movie somewhere and are debating whether or not to keep watching this mopey garbage.

The movie has this flimsy excuse for why Julia doesn’t leave the hospital that she’s constantly griping about: Her main physician Dr. Fletcher (who is never seen or heard in the movie), who is in the United States, recommended her to Dr. Ben Hanson (played by Tom Cullen), who only works at this particular hospital. Someone should have told Julia: “Haven’t you heard of getting another doctor’s opinion?”

Julia also reveals about halfway through the movie that she only recently found out that she has cancer, and she doesn’t know what Stage 4 cancer means. It means she needs to get a better doctor. And it means this movie needed a better screenplay.

These are just a few of many reasons why “My Happy Ending” falls off the rails over and over again in pathetic attempts to be a “female empowerment” film. Most of the scenes with the female cancer patients together show that the women are too gossipy and too catty to become real friends. Julia is uncomfortable because she’s put in an infusion therapy room with three other female patients, who immediately recognize her. Julia throws a little bit of a diva tantrum, because she was promised her own private room for the infusion treatments, but she’s told by a no-nonsense nurse named Emilia (played by Michelle Greenidge) that Julia has no choice but to be in this shared room with other patients.

What is Julia doing in London? She recently starred in a West End play that flopped. (The play opened and closed during the same week.) Even though Julia is famous, her career peaked years ago. She blames her “has-been” status on sexism and ageism against women who are over the age of 50. It’s probably the only complaint that Julia makes that sounds believable and grounded in reality.

Julia has only told a few people she has cancer. Members of her immediate family do not know yet. Julia is also very paranoid that the media will find out about her cancer. Julia tries to hide in a section of the room that has a thin fabric partition, similar to a shower curtain, but it’s a futile attempt to get some privacy, because three nosy women in the room can still hear Julia talking on the phone and talking to hospital employees.

The three other cancer patients in the room are star-struck that celebrity Julia is in their midst while also envious that Julia still has a full head of hair. Middle-aged Mikey (played by Sally Phillips) is an intrusive busybody and a single mother who regrets being a neglectful parent when she was younger. Elderly cynic Miriam (played by Miriam Margolyes) is a Holocaust survivor who says she was born in the Auschwitz concentration camp. Young married mother Imaan (played by Rakhee Thakrar) is the quietest and most mild-mannered of these three women. It turns out that Mikey is a big fan of Julia and is kind of obsessed with her, which makes Mikey look creepy and weird.

Julia has a very hyper and snobby manager named Nancy (played by Greig), who is openly a lesbian and just so happens to be the sister of Julia’s ex-husband. (The ex-husband is never seen or heard in the movie.) Even though that marriage failed, the friendship of Nancy and Julia survived the divorce. Nancy is Julia’s closest friend, which is a sign that Julia is a lonely person if her closest friend is also her manager. Nancy, who is an ambitious schemer, is the only person in Julia’s inner circle who knows about Julia’s cancer.

Julia has a daughter in her 20s named Cassidy (played by Lily Travers), who is getting married in an upcoming wedding. Julia frets about what Julia will look like when she’s at the wedding. “My Happy Ending” has a scene where Julia reacts in horror when she imagines being at Cassidy’s wedding in a wheelchair and with no hair. Instead of worrying about how glamorous she wants to look at her daughter’s wedding, Julia should be more worried about living long enough to be at the wedding.

The first third of the movie is about Julia not being able to make up her mind if she wants to be friends with “common folks” like Mikey, Miriam and Imaan. They aren’t exactly welcoming to Julia either at first. Julia has to listen to these three (especially loudmouth Mikey) constantly make reaction comments as they eavesdrop on conversations that Julia has with Nancy or hospital employees. It’s just a “mean girls” scenario that is neither amusing nor interesting.

Julia asks Nancy to find her another hospital, but there are vague and weak excuses made that the nearest hospital that could treat Julia is just too far away. Meanwhile, the movie has a lot of time-wasting scenes of Julia clashing with Dr. Hanson, as if he’s the only person who could possibly be her doctor. The movie also drags on and on in stretching out the subplot of Julia deciding whether or not she will get chemotherapy.

Eventually (as shown in the “My Happy Ending” trailer), Julia decides that these three other cancer patients in the infusion room are worth getting to know. The movie then goes off on a very corny tangent where Mikey confides in Julia that they all have group fantasies together to take their minds off of their cancer issues. Mikey invites Julia to join in on their group fantasies, which range from frolicking in a forest to eating sumptuous banquets in open fields to having rave parties on exotic beaches.

There is so much that looks awkward and phony in “My Happy Ending,” including MacDowell’s very stiff acting. It’s a disappointment, because MacDowell is capable of doing much better, but there’s only so much she can do with a terrible screenplay and misguided direction. When she grits her teeth in the movie, it’s probably not because her Julia character is uncomfortable. It’s probably because MacDowell knows that she signed up to be in a bad movie.

British comedian David Walliams has a cameo as a hair stylist named Joey, who stops by the infusion room to bring Mikey some wigs to choose from, since Mikey is bald because of chemotherapy. And what a coincidence: Joey worked with Julia years ago on a movie adaptation of a Jane Austen novel. He’s surprised to see Julia in this hospital room for cancer patients, so Julia lies and tells Joey that she’s doing “research” for a movie role. Walliams’ cameo is so inconsequential, it just reeks of the “My Happy Ending” filmmakers thinking, “Oh, look, we’ve got David Walliams in our movie. Let’s not bother to have a good role for him. Stunt casting is enough.”

That’s not the only thing that reeks in “My Happy Ending.” This entire movie reeks of glib insincerity. Even though Julia wallows in a lot of self-pity about having Stage 4 cancer, the movie never actually shows her going through any real physical suffering that a Stage 4 cancer patient would experience. It’s such a fraudulent way of making a cancer film, it will surely offend people who’ve had cancer experiences in real life. “My Happy Ending” actually has a horrible ending that’s proof the filmmakers made the tacky decision to use cancer in an exploitative way, in order to get people interested in this awful movie.

Roadside Attractions released “My Happy Ending” in select U.S. cinemas on February 24, 2023.

Review: ‘Blue’s Big City Adventure,’ starring Josh Dela Cruz and the voice of Traci Paige Johnson

March 11, 2023

by Carla Hay

Blue (voiced by Traci Paige Johnson) and Josh Dela Cruz in “Blue’s Big City Adventure” (Photo courtesy of Nickelodeon/Paramount+)

“Blue’s Big City Adventure”

Directed by Matt Stawski

Culture Representation: Taking place mainly in New York City, the live-action/animated/musical film “Blue’s Big City Adventure” features a racially diverse cast of characters (Asian, white, African American and Latino) representing the working-class and middle-class.

Culture Clash: Josh and his dog best friend Blue travel to New York City so that Josh can audition for a Broadway musical, but they encounter obstacles along the way. 

Culture Audience: “Blue’s Big City Adventure” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the “Blue’s Clues & You!” TV series and musical family-oriented films.

Josh Dela Cruz and Blue (voiced by Traci Paige Johnson) in “Blue’s Big City Adventure” (Photo courtesy of Nickelodeon/Paramount+)

As long as viewers know in advance that children under the age of 10 are the target audience for “Blue’s Big City Adventure,” it’s much more enjoyable to watch. It’s sweet, sincere, and has some cute musical moments. The movie is based on Nickelodeon’s “Blue’s Clues & You!” series, which is a spinoff revival of Nickelodeon’s 1996 to 2006 TV series “Blue’s Clues.” Both shows are about the live-action/animated adventures of an inquisitive dog named Blue (shown in animated form) and his human best friend. It’s completely lightweight and harmless entertainment with positive messages of self-acceptance and empathy for others.

Directed by Matt Stawski and written by Angela Santomero, “Blue’s Big City Adventure” has a simple plot. Blue’s cheerful best friend Josh (played by Josh Dela Cruz) gets an audition in New York City for a Broadway musical starring Rainbow Puppy (voiced by Brianna Bryan), one of the recurring characters in the “Blue’s Clues” series. Josh finds out about this audition when he gets a letter from Rainbow Puppy, who comes to life in the envelope.

The next thing you know, Josh and Blue are in New York City, with four of their non-human friends along for the ride: a bar of soap named Slippery Soap (voiced by Jacob Soley); an alarm clock called Tickety Tock (voiced by Ava Augustin); a shaker of salt named Mr. Salt (voiced by Nick Balaban); and a shaker of pepper named Mrs. Pepper (voiced by Gisele Rosseau). They board a bus that floats magically into a Times Square billboard.

The sights and sounds of bustling Times Square are overwhelming and fascinating for these new visitors. Josh has directions to the audition in his “handy-dandy notebook.” And predictably, the notebook gets lost, and Josh doesn’t remember the address. There are some other obstacles on the way to the audition.

“Blue’s Big City Adventure” has several original songs performed as musical scenes in the movie. A standout is “On My Way,” which is the featured tune when Josh and his group first arrive in New York City. The pals’ big city adventure takes them to famous places in New York City, such as Central Park, Grand Central Station and, of course, the Broadway Theater District.

Several well-known entertainers have nameless cameos or supporting roles. Alex Winter plays a taxi driver who gives Josh and Blue a ride. BD Wong is the musical’s director. Phillipa Soo (of “Hamilton” fame) plays an auditioner. Tony-winning actress Ali Stoker plays a version of herself. The movie also features former “Blue’s Clues” stars Steve Burns (as Steve) and Donovan Patton (as Joe) together in a scene with Dela Cruz.

“Blue’s Big City Adventure” is as bubbly and sugary as a soft drink. The movie doesn’t try to be masterful entertainment. It’s entirely predictable, but it doesn’t feel like a complete waste of time to watch. The musical numbers are perky and uplifting. And all of the characters are inoffensively appealing. In other words, it’s adorable family-oriented entertainment for kids and people who are kids at heart.

Paramount+ premiered “Blue’s Big City Adventure” on November 18, 2023.

Review: ‘Hunt’ (2022), starring Lee Jung-jae and Jung Woo-sung

March 11, 2023

by Carla Hay

Lee Jung-jae and Jung Woo-sung in “Hunt” (Photo courtesy of Magnet Releasing)

“Hunt” (2022)

Directed by Lee Jung-jae

Korean with subtitles

Culture Representation: Taking place mainly in South Korea (and briefly in Washington, D.C., Japan, and Thailand), in 1983, the action film “Hunt” features a predominantly Asian cast of characters (with some white people) representing the working-class and middle-class.

Culture Clash: Two agents of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA) work together and clash with each other in their efforts to find a mole who has been leaking valuable information. 

Culture Audience: “Hunt” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the movie’s headliners and complex spy movies.

Lee Jung-jae in “Hunt” (Photo courtesy of Magnet Releasing)

“Hunt” sometimes gets too convoluted for its own good, but it offers a mostly engaging mystery for viewers who have the attention span and interest to follow this twist-filled spy thriller that’s set in the 1980s. The movie has commendable acting and enough tension-filled action to keep viewers interested in what’s going to happen next. However, this movie is not going to have much appeal to viewers who want a more straightforward narrative in a spy movie.

Directed by Lee Jung-jae (who co-wrote the “Hunt” screenplay with Jo Seung-hee), “Hunt” has the tried-and-true spy movie plot of a rivalry between colleagues fueling much of the tensions and suspicions in the story. The movie takes place mostly in South Korea, in 1983, the same year that there was an assassination attempt South Korean president Chun Doo-hwan in real life. North Koreans airplane pilots were also defecting to other countries in record numbers in the 1980s. These historical facts are used in the context of “Hunt,” which is Lee’s feature-film debut as a director and writer. “Hunt” had its world premiere at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival.

In “Hunt,” Lee portrays Korean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA) Foreign Unit chief Park Pyong-ho, who often clashes with KCIA Domestic Unit chief Kim Jung-do (played by Jung Woo-sung), because each man thinks he is better than the other. Pyonh-ho has been with the KCIA for 13 years. Jung-do is a former military officer who is newer to the KCIA.

The movie’s opening scene takes place in Washington, D.C., where Pyong-ho and Jung-do have been assigned to the protection team for the South Korean president, who is visiting amid a storm of controversy. During the South Korean president’s arrival at a government event, there are local Korean American protestors outside the building who are angry over the how the return of military rule of the South Korean government.

Although the name of the South Korean president is not in the movie, this part of the movie’s plot is a reference to the real-life Gwangju Uprising of May 1980, when numerous people were killed over protesting military rule of South Korea. President-elect Chun Doo-hwan was largely blamed for this massacre. In the movie, some of the protesters have sign that call the South Korean president a “murderer.”

The head of the CIA’s East Asia unit, whose name is Director Gee (played by Paul Battle), has relayed information that there’s an assassination plot against the South Korean president that is expected to happen at this event. Pyong-ho is ordered to have his team on high alert. And sure enough, the assassination attempt happens, but Pyong-ho is able to thwart it by taking it upon himself to shoot and kill the assassin. Instead of praising Pyong-ho as a hero, Pyong-ho’s boss Director Kang (played Song Young-chang) scolds Pyong-ho for killing the suspect instead of wounding the suspect and taking the suspect into custody.

The investigation into this assassination attempt reveals that an unidentified mole with the code name Donglim is in the KCIA. It leads to Pyong-ho’s team and Jung-do’s team investigating each other. Early on, a economics professor named Shin Ki-Cheol, who was part of the delgation in Washington, is considered to be part of the assassination conspiracy. But is this professor really involved or just a scapegoat?

The people on Pyong-ho’s team include Bang Joo-kyung (played by Jeon Hye-jin) and Agent Yang (played by Jung Man-sik). Jung-do’s team includes Jang Cheol-seong (played by Heo Sung-tae). In between all this espionage intrigue, Pyong-ho has been tasked with protecting a slightly rebellious college student named Jo Yoo-jeong (played by Go Youn-jung), who unfortunately is a character that looks like a token female in this movie where the cast members with significant speaking roles are almost all men.

Under the direction of Lee, “Hunt” does a pretty good job of increasing the suspense, but at the expense of causing more confusion in the plot. The stakes get higher for the characters when Pyong-ho’s team and Jung-do’s team are each convinced that the mole is on the other team. Both teams also want to impress the newly appointed KCIA Director Ahn (played by Kim Jong-soo), who is an ex-military officer. Double-cross plots are uncovered. And the race to find out the identity of Donglim leads to uncovering more assassination plots that take some of the characters to Japan and Thailand.

Lee, who is best known as a star of the Netflix series “Squid Game,” performs admirably in the role of Pyong-ho, always leaving audiences guessing until a certain point in the movie how much Pyong-ho really knows about the Donglim the mole. Woo-sung does very well in his scenes when his Jung-do character has conflicts with Pyong-ho. Will these fierce rivals ever trust each other? And who is Donglim? The movie answers these questions in some ways that are less predictable than others. The last 20 minutes of “Hunt” are an adrenaline-packed knockout that achieves the intentions of “Hunt” to not have a typical ending for a spy movie.

Magnet Releasing released “Hunt” in select U.S. cinemas, on digital and VOD on December 2, 2022. The movie was released in South Korea on August 10, 2022.

Review: ‘The Grandmaster of Kung Fu,’ starring Dennis To

March 11, 2023

by Carla Hay

Dennis To in “The Grandmaster of Kung Fu” (Photo courtesy of Well Go USA)

“The Grandmaster of Kung Fu”

Directed by Cheng Si-Yu

Mandarin and Japanese with subtitles

Culture Representation: Taking place in Tianjin, China, in 1894 or 1895, the action film “The Grandmaster of Kung Fu” features an all-Asian cast of characters representing the working-class and middle-class.

Culture Clash: As Japan begins to take over parts of China, the martial arts city of Tianjin resists this invasion, and a Chinese porter becomes an unlikely kung fu hero against the Japanese invaders. 

Culture Audience: “The Grandmaster of Kung Fu” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of star Dennis To and no-frills kung-fu movies.

A scene from “The Grandmaster of Kung Fu” (Photo courtesy of Well Go USA)

“The Grandmaster of Kung Fu” does nothing groundbreaking, but it delivers what it’s supposed to deliver: an action-filled, uncomplicated story with interesting characters. Kung fu fans should at least be moderately entertained by this briskly paced movie. “The Grandmaster of Kung Fu” has a total running time of 74minutes, which is just the right amount of time, because the plot didn’t need to be stretched out to an overly long run time.

Directed by Cheng Si-Yu, “The Grandmaster of Kung Fu” takes place in Tianjin, China, in 1894 or 1895, when Japan invaded China. Tianjin is considered one of the top martial-arts cities in China. The movie begins by showing a martial-arts contest where the winner will be named the leader of the Wushu Association, which oversees the martial-arts activities in Tianjin.

The elderly Master Yu (played by Zhou Pengcheng) is retiring as the leader of the Wushu Association. The arrogant Master Zhao (played by Yin Jian) is expected to be easily named as Master Yu’s successor. But an unlikely contender steps forward to enter this contest: a humble porter named Huo Yuanjian (played by Dennis To, also known as Dennis To Yu-hang), who is laughed at by many people in the crowd, because Yuanjian is much smaller than Master Zhao.

Master Zhao doesn’t take Yuanjian seriously as an opponent. However, a colleague named Master Feng (played by Yin Zhiwei) taunts Master Zhao, by saying: “Are you afraid to fight a porter? He’s challenging you right now. Don’t be a coward!”

Yuanjian says he is from Mi Zong Chinese boxing, but this experience doesn’t help him in his fight against Master Zhao, who quickly defeats him. Yuanjian is embarrassed, but he graciously accepts the defeat. Yuanjian doesn’t know it yet, but he and Master Zhao will cross paths again

The Japanese want to open their own martial-arts school called Hong Hua in Tianjin, but the residents of Tianjin are suspicious of this idea. The Japanese officials who have arrived in Tianjin—including an imperious military leader named Yoshida Masaichi and the would-be Hong Hua school leader Mr. Takeda—try to make the school sound like a friendly cultural exchange of Japanese and Chinese cultures. However, the presence of Japanese in this area represents acceptance of Western culture that the Chinese think will denigrate Chinese culture.

The Japanese have a champion martial artist named Anbei, who wants to do things the Japanese way. Anbei is very prejudiced against the Chinese way of martial arts, because he thinks it’s inferior to the Japanese way. (Curiously, the actors who portray the Japanese actors are not listed in the movie’s end credits.) Anbei is obviously presented as the villain of the story, especially since he has a bullying personality. It’s already revealed in the trailer for “The Grandmaster of Kung Fu” that Yuanjian will get involved in some kind of showdown with Anbei to defend the honor of the Chinese people.

“The Grandmaster of Kung Fu” has some supporting characters who don’t add much depth to the story, but are worth mentioning. Chen Zhen (played by Deng Wei), a handyman for the Wushu Association, asks Yuanjian to mentor him. Yuanjian has a wife (played by Gao Xuemei) and and son named Dongge, who’s about 6 or 7 years. Yuanjian’s wife doesn’t have much to do in the movie, except to play a stereotypical “worried wife at home” role.

Of course, part of the story is about Yuanjian overcoming his self-doubt and people’s perceptions of him, in order to become a hero on his own terms. Alliances shift, as national pride take precedence over individual grudges. You know how this movie is going to end. Lo (who is best known for the “Ip Man” movie series) lives up to his reputation for doing some memorable fight scenes. Ultimately, “The Grandmaster of Kung Fu” is like a quicky and tasty snack for people who have an appetite for kung fu movies.

Hi-YAH! premiered “The Grandmaster of Kung Fu” on November 4, 2022. Well Go USA released the movie on digital, VOD, Blu-ray and DVD on January 31, 2023.

Review: ‘Southern Gospel,’ starring Max Ehrich, Katelyn Nacon, J. Alphonse Nicholson and Emma Myers

March 10, 2023

by Carla Hay

Max Ehrich and J. Alphonse Nicholson in “Southern Gospel” (Photo courtesy of Iconic Events)

“Southern Gospel”

Directed by Jeffrey A. Smith

Culture Representation: Taking place from the 1950s to the 1980s, primarily in Alabama and Florida, the faith-based dramatic film “Southern Gospel” (which is based on a true story) features a predominantly white cast of characters (with a few African Americans) representing the working-class and middle-class.

Culture Clash: A son of a pastor goes from being a religious kid to being a hedonistic rock musician to being a pastor, and he experiences a lot of tragedy and heartache along the way. 

Culture Audience: “Southern Gospel” will appeal primarily to people who are interested in watching faith-based biopics that tell fascinating stories about overcoming a troubled pas, as long as viewers don’t expect top-notch filmmaking.

Gary Weeks and Max Ehrich in “Southern Gospel” (Photo courtesy of Iconic Events)

Many aspects of “Southern Gospel” are predictable, but solid performances from most of the cast members help overcome some clichés of faith-based films. This biopic of Dream Church founder Samuel Allen also benefits from having good original songs. It’s a reasonably entertaining film, as long as viewers don’t expect it to be the best faith-based movie they could ever see.

Written and directed by Jeffrey A. Smith, “Southern Gospel” takes place from the 1950s to the 1980s, mostly in Alabama and Florida. The movie is mostly told in chronological order, with occasional, brief flashbacks. Because the story takes place over several decades, the movie sometimes suffers from over-simplification of some heavy life issues. There are also large gaps in the story, which skips over certain periods in Samuel Allen’s life, such as when he struggled with his band to “make it” in the music business.

“Southern Gospel” begins in the mid-1950s, when Samuel (played by Beau Hart) is about 10 years old. He is the only child of a widower pastor named Joe Allen (played by Gary Weeks), who leads a small congregation of a fundamentalist Christian church in Alabama. Due to pregnancy complications, Samuel’s mother died while pregnant with Joe’s younger sibling, who also did not survive. Joe is a part-time pastor. His other job is as the owner of a small company called Allen’s Paper Hangers.

Samuel is a slightly rebellious child who is endlessly curious and asks a lot of questions. His curiosity irritates the teacher of his Sunday school—a stern nun named Sister Abernathie (played by Sharon Blackwood)—who is quick to scold Samuel if he dares do anything that she thinks is “sinful.” The people in Joe’s religious community and church are so strict, they don’t believe in swimming in public places, because they think wearing swimsuits could cause sexual arousal and is therefore is “sinful.” They also believe that rock music is the devil’s music.

Joe appears to be a very judgmental pastor in church. “God knows how to spot a fake!” he tells his congregation during a sermon. However, when Joe is at home, he’s much more relaxed about the church’s “rules.” For example, when Samuel and Joe are sitting together at a dining table at home, Samuel tells Joe that Sister Abernathie told Samuel will go to hell for cursing. Samuel asks Joe if it’s true. Joe replies by saying with a smile, “Sister Abernathie doesn’t know what the hell she’s talking about.”

Privately, Joe also doesn’t seem to mind too much that Samuel has an interest in rock music, as long as Samuel isn’t too public about it. At this young age, Samuel has shown talent for being a singer and a guitar player. Joe privately encourages Samuel to continue his passion for music: “You have a gift, son. It’s in your blood.”

Samuel’s best friend Barry Linkler (played by Kal-El White) is a big fan of Elvis Presley. Barry says about Presley: “That white boy’s got soul.” Barry tries to convince Samuel to go with him to see Presley perform at an upcoming concert, but Samuel says his pastor father would never let him go to the concert or publicly listen to rock music,

Barry and Samuel both have acoustic guitars, and the two friends practice playing their guitars together. Joe doesn’t seem to mind that either, because electric guitars are considered sinful due to electric guitars being mostly associated with rock music at the time. Barry happens to be African American, but there is no mention of his race or racial segregation at all in “Southern Gospel.” It’s a very unrealistic part of the movie, because the shameful practice of racial segregation was prevalent and legal in Alabama in the 1950s.

“Southern Gospel” establishes early on who will be the “villain” of the story. His name is T.L. Whittmore (played by Justice Leak), the church’s state overseer. T.L. is self-righteous, arrogant and vengeful against anyone whom he thinks is a “sinner” who cannot be redeemed. And you know what that means: He will become a nemesis to Samuel.

The movie then fast-forwards to Samuel (played by Max Ehrich) as a teenager in high school. He’s the lead singer/guitarist for a band, and he become fairly popular because of his talented performances at school assemblies and at local church gatherings. A classmate named Julie Ledbetter (played by Katelyn Nacon) has a big crush on Samuel, but she’s too shy to let him know. Julie has a secret that she eventually tells Samuel about: Her father William Ledbetter (played by William Gregory Lee) is an alcoholic who is physically and emotionally abusive to her.

Another classmate named Angie Blackburn (played by Emma Myers) is more outgoing and flirtatious with Samuel. Angie is the daughter of Dr. Wade Blackburn (played by Ric Reitz), a prominent medical doctor in the community. Angie invites Samuel to her family’s Fourth of July party. Dr. Blackburn, who is a religious conservative, is a little suspicious of Samuel because he thinks Samuel might be a “rock and roll” type of person. Without giving away too much information, a fatal tragedy happens, and Samuel is immediately and unfairly blamed for it.

The movie then abruptly cuts to the Fox Theatre in Atlanta in 1969. Samuel is a long-haired, drug-abusing musician in a rock band called Bama Wildfire. It’s a trio consisting of Samuel on lead vocals and guitar, Barry (played by J. Alphonse Nicholson) on bass, and a blonde hippie named James (played by Dylan Barnes) on drums. Before going on stage, Samuel takes a tab of LSD while he’s in the dressing room.

After the concert, James is smoking marijuana while driving the three of them in a car. Barry and Samuel are asleep or passed out from whatever substances they ingested. James nods off and drops the lit marijuana joint on the car floor, which catches on fire. The flames wake James up, but it’s too late. James crashes the car into a tree, and he’s trapped inside the flaming car.

Barry was in the front passenger seat, and the crash ejected him from the front window, but not without getting serious burns and cuts. Samuel was in the back seat, and he was able to get out from the car with no serious injuries. But James dies in this car wreck. And it’s another tragic and shocking death for someone close to Samuel, who is arrested because a lot of drugs were found in the car.

The rest of “Southern Gospel” shows Samuel’s journey on his path to redemption. Barry remains a close friend, but he is struggling with his own personal demons, as he becomes an alcoholic. Sometime after the car wreck, when Samuel is trying to turn his life around, he sees Julie performing in a church. They reconnect, start dating, get married, and have two children together. None of this is spoiler information, since it’s all in the “Southern Gospel” trailer.

However, the movie shows how Samuel, Julie and Barry deal with their personal traumas. And it’s a very rough road in many ways. Samuel also has to decide if he wants to continue being a full-time musician or become a pastor.

Throughout the 1970s, Samuel and Julie start performing Christian rock as a touring duo, because they don’t see anything wrong with rock music being performed in churches. It’s an idea that’s a little too radical for some fundamental Christians. Samuel and Julie get a lot of resistance and criticism for performing rock music, including from T.L., who’s still acting like he’s the overlord of everyone else’s morality.

The movie’s best-acted scenes are those that show the friendship of Samuel and Barry after that fatal car accident. There are some heartwarming and harrowing moments that truly show the highs and lows of this brother-like relationship. Nicholson and Ehrich are very convincing as longtime friends who share good times as well as painful memories.

The romance between Samuel and Julie is less convincing, as much of it looks like a fairy tale that’s sometimes marred by Julie being haunted by memories of her father’s abuse, and Samuel experiencing inner turmoil over his own personal problems. However, Ehrich capably handles portraying the myriad of emotions and life phases that Samuel goes through in the movie. Nacon is perfectly fine in her performance as Julie, which doesn’t require as many transformative qualities as the role of Samuel.

“Southern Gospel” writer/director Smith wrote several of the original songs that Ehrich (as Samuel) sings in the movie. Many of the songs aren’t award-worthy but they’re catchy and are well-placed in scenes where the musical performances enliven this occasionally dull film. “Southern Gospel” actually has very little gospel music and has mostly Christian rock/pop music.

The makeup and hairstyling for “Southern Gospel” fall short of excellence. Samuel and Julie still look like they’re in their 20s when they’re supposed to be in their 40s, while the wigs they wear in some scenes look terribly obvious. Those are minor flaws that don’t take too much away from “Southern Gospel,” which ends exactly the way that you think it will end in a movie about someone who founded a church after going through some rough and troubled times.

Iconic Events released “Southern Gospel” in select U.S. cinemas on March 10, 2023.

Review: ‘The House of No Man,’ starring Lê Giang, Huỳnh Uyển Ân, Tran Thanh, Khả Như, Song Luân, Ngoc Rich and Việt Anh

March 10, 2023

by Carla Hay

Huỳnh Uyển Ân and Song Luân in “The House of No Man” (Photo courtesy of 815 Pictures)

“The House of No Man”

Directed by Tran Thanh

Vietnamese with subtitles

Culture Representation: Taking place in the Thu Duc area of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, the dramatic film “The House of No Man” (also titled “Ms. Nu’s House”) features an all-Vietnamese cast of characters representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.

Culture Clash: A domineering matriarch/restaurateur (who lives with her mother, her two adult daughters, and her son-in-law) has various clashes with people in her family, especially her younger daughter who has very different plans on how she wants to live her life. 

Culture Audience: “The House of No Man” will appeal primarily to people who are interested in seeing a melodramatic but well-acted movie about how family issues and society’s gender roles can affect relationships.

Lê Giang in “The House of No Man” (Photo courtesy of 815 Pictures)

There have been plenty of movies made about overbearing matriarchs, but “The House of No Man” is one of the more memorable of these types of films in the early 2020s. Some of the characters’ shrillness can get irritating and repetitive. However, this drama about a female-dominated family gets better in the last half of the movie. Huỳnh Uyển Ân gives a standout performance as someone who learns lessons about life.

Directed by Tran Thanh and written by Tran Hoang Ngoc Huyen, “The House of No Man” (also titled “Ms. Nu’s House”) is a much better film than Tran Thanh’s 2021 movie “Bố Già (Dad, I’m Sorry),” which he co-directed and co-wrote. “Bố Già (Dad, I’m Sorry)” is another drama about a bickering family with an aspiring YouTube star. Whereas “Bố Già (Dad, I’m Sorry)” was mainly about father-son issues, “The House of No Man” is mainly about mother-daughter issues. Realistic scenarios and convincing performances make “The House of No Man” an interesting character study about control and growing pains within a dysfunctional family.

In “The House of No Man” (which takes place and was filmed in the Thu Duc area of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam), the household of the movie’s title is ruled over by Ngoc Nu (played by Lê Giang), a middle-aged divorcée, who is still bitter that her ex-husband left her and their two daughters several years earlier, when the children were underage. Her ex-husband has not been in the family’s life since he left them. Because of this bitterness, Nu has deep mistrust and hatred of most men. It’s mentioned later in the movie that she hasn’t been in a serious romance since her divorce.

Nu owns and operates a small, casual restaurant called Bā Nū’s (which means “Ms. Nu’s” in Vietnamese) that’s part of the apartment complex where she lives with several other family members. The restaurant’s specialty is crab soup cakes, which Nu prides in making herself. The movie opens with a close-up scene of Nu shucking crabs.

Working at the restaurant is one of the few things that seems to bring Nu a little happiness. She’s a tough taskmaster at work and at home. Her biggest personality flaw is that she has a nasty temper and will fly into a rage and get violent. There are several scenes of her slapping, punching, kicking, and inflicting other physical abuse on people inside and outside her household. She also frequently yells at people and is verbally abusive if she doesn’t get her way.

In other words, Nu is a nightmare to be around, more often than not. The family members who live with her in the same apartment unit are fearful of Nu. They can’t just leave, because she is the main source of income in the household, and they depend on her financially. Nu uses this power to her advantage to control people in the household and tell them how they should live their lives.

Nu’s elderly mother Ngoc Ivory (played by Ngoc Rich) is kind and compassionate—in other words, the opposite of Nu. Ivory is the only person in the household who isn’t a target of Nu’s raging tantrums and physical abuse. Ivory is usually the peacemaker in the household when Nu gets in a conflict with another member of the family.

Nu’s older daughter, Ngoc Nhu (played by Kha Nhu), who’s in her late 20s, is an aspiring YouTube star who does “influencer” videos about domestic activities, such as cooking, applying makeup and interior decorating. Nhu, who has a tendency to be vain and superficial, helps at the restaurant by being a server. Nu doesn’t approve of Nhu’s social media activities and thinks it’s all a waste of time.

Nhu is married to Phu Nhuan (played by “The House of No Man” director Tran Thanh), who is the only male in the household. To say that Nhuan is a “henpecked husband” is an understatement. Not only does Nhu constantly yell at Nhuan because she doesn’t like it when he wants to hang out in bars with his buddies, but Nu also berates Nhuan frequently because she thinks Nhu made a bad choice in marrying Nhuan.

Nu thinks Nhuan is a loser because he doesn’t seem interested in having a career or a job that pays enough to support him and Nhu. Nhuan works as a delivery person for Nu’s restaurant, but he’s not very good at the job. He’s prone to make mistakes or make late deliveries. Nhuan is unhappy in his marriage because he can’t seem to do anything right to please his wife and mother-in-law.

Nu’s younger daughter, Ngoc Nhi (played by Huỳnh Uyển Ân), is in her late teens. Nhi is very sensitive, creative and intelligent. Nhi dreams of being a maker of pottery and other handmade crafts. Nu thinks it’s a foolish goal, so she pressured Nhi to take banking classes instead. (The banking classes part of Nhi’s life is not shown in the movie but is talked about in the film.) Nu thinks Nhu is a lost cause, but Nu has high hopes that Nhi will be a success. And that’s why Nu is extra-controlling and critical of Nhi, who inevitably starts to rebel.

How controlling is Nu? When Nhi goes to a nightclub where her best friend Lan (played by Phuong Lan) is having a birthday party, Nu won’t give Nhi permission to go. Nhi goes to the party anyway. And when Nhi gets home, she is scolded by Nu: “No more friends named Lan! No more friends whose name that starts with ‘L’!”

Lan is very bossy with her on-again, off-again boyfriend of six years, whose name is Bộ Của Lan (played by Phan Đạt), but she is a loyal and understanding friend to Nhi. Lan encourages Nhi to follow her dreams and not let Nu bully her. Lan’s group of close friends also includes a platonic male pal named Quynh Ly (played by Li Hao Meng Quynh), who is mild-mannered and a little shy. Ly has a crush on Nhi, and he is usually at social gatherings with Lan, her boyfriend and Nhi.

It’s at this birthday party that Nhi meets one of Lan’s friends who will change the course of Nhi’s life. His name is John (played by Song Luân), whose full Vietnamese name is Banh Kem. John, who is about the same age as Nhi, is a rich guy who has recently moved back to Vietnam after living in the United States to attend an unnamed school. It’s infatuation at first sight for John and Nhi, who have immediate romantic sparks with each other from their first conversation.

Nhi and John begin dating each other, to the disapproval of their families. Nhi knows that her controlling mother doesn’t want her dating anyone, so Nhi keeps her relationship with John a secret from her mother for as long as possible. But man-hating Nu eventually finds out and gets angry about this young romance, because she says that John will just use Nhi for sex.

John’s father Dai Phat (played by Cong Ninh) owns several factories (what is made in those factories is never mentioned in the movie), and he wants John to eventually take over the business. John’s mother (played by Ngan Quynh), who doesn’t have a name in the movie, agrees with whatever her husband says. John’s parents are snobs, so it should come as no surprise that they don’t approve of John dating Nhi, because they think Nhi comes from a gold-digging, trashy family.

John and Nhi continue to date each other, despite the objections and disapproval from their parents. John doesn’t want to go into his family’s business. He wants to open a cafe with Nhi, and they plan to sell Nhi’s pottery and other craftwork in the cafe. Certain things happen that dramatically alter John and Nhi’s relationship in the last half of the movie, which is the best part of the “The House of No Man.”

Two characters in the movie don’t get a lot of screen time, but they play significant roles in how the story develops. Nu’s middle-aged landlord Liem Van (played by Việt Anh) is an easygoing and calm person who witnesses a lot of the turmoil in Nu’s family. Someone else who knows what’s going on with the family is a YouTuber/social media influencer in his 20s named Le Minh Tiger (played by Le Duong Bao Lam), who likes to do a lot of livestreams at the restaurant. Tiger, who is a nosy gossip, tells a curious John about Nu’s divorce, in order to explain why Nu is the way that she is.

“The House of No Man” is at its best when it’s about the relationship between Nhi and John. For all of Nu’s domineering ways, Nu is often a one-note character, who only shows another side of herself much later in the movie. Nhi is by far the most interesting character in the movie, made all the better because of Huỳnh’s terrific performance. Viewers get to see Nhi mature during the story, which takes place during the course of about two years.

“The House of No Man” is a story about mothers and daughters, but it’s also a story about the highs and lows of a first serious romance. There are also issues of social class and family legacies that are told effectively in this movie. Some of the plot developments in “The House of No Man” are very melodramatic, but there’s nothing unrealistic about this movie.

The movie’s depiction of violent abuse coming from a woman puts a spotlight on the harsh reality that there is often a double standard when it comes to this type of abuse. Nu does a lot of violent harm to people (male and female) that she probably would have been arrested for if she were a man. The movie doesn’t try to pass judgment on Nu’s violent abuse, but the movie seems to be saying that how you react to this violence says a lot about what you think about gender roles in society.

“The House of No Man” shows issues concerning generational trauma and how children who think they won’t be affected by it are actually affected by it so much, it becomes part of their personality. Nhu has a love/hate relationship with her mother, but Nhu doesn’t really see how much she is turning into her mother, in the way that Nhu disrespects and abuses her long-suffering husband Nhuan. “The House of No Man” is not an indictment or condemnation of households led by women. Rather, this drama demonstrates in poignant ways how any angry and abusive household can take a damaging toll on the people who live there, and what it might take to heal some of those emotional wounds.

815 Pictures released “The House of No Man” in select U.S. cinemas on March 3, 2023. The movie was released in Vietnam on January 22, 2023.

Review: ‘Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar,’ starring Ranbir Kapoor and Shraddha Kapoor

March 10, 2023

by Carla Hay

Ranbir Kapoor and Shraddha Kapoor in “Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar” (Photo courtesy of Yash Raj Films)

“Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar”

Directed by Luv Ranjan

Hindi with subtitles

Culture Representation: Taking place in India and in Spain, the romantic comedy film “Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar” features a predominantly Indian cast of characters (with some white people) representing the working-class, middle-class and the wealthy.

Culture Clash: A 30-year-old wealthy heir, who has a secret business where he is paid to help people break up with their love partners, has a passionate, whirlwind romance with a woman he met during a vacation, and she unknowingly hires him so that she can break up with him. 

Culture Audience: “Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the movie’s headliners and don’t mind watching predictable and long-winded romantic comedies where almost everything looks phony.

Anubhav Singh Bassi, Ranbir Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor and Monica Chaudhary in “Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar” (Photo courtesy of Yash Raj Films)

“Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar” is so formulaic, you can predict within the first 15 minutes what’s going to happen and how this romantic comedy is going to end. The entire movie is built on the shaky foundation that two lovers wouldn’t know each other’s undisguised voices over the phone. There’s no originality at all in this tiresome romantic comedy. And the 150-minute total running time is just too long for plot this lightweight and stupid.

Directed by Luv Ranjan (who co-wrote the movie’s terrible screenplay with Rahul Mody), “Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar” (which roughly means “You Liar Main Mecca” in Hindi) has the biggest clichés possible for a romantic comedy and does nothing clever with these stereotypes. The would-be couple have a “meet cute” moment. The male protagonist is good-looking, has a tendency to be arrogant, and he’s shocked when his would-be female love interest plays hard-to-get. They end up having a romance, which is then damaged because of a big secret. This dishonesty or lack of trust causes the couple to break up. But will they get back together? You already know the answer.

In “Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar” the cocky playboy is Rohan “Mickey” Arora (played by Ranbir Kapoor), the wealthy heir to a multifaceted business that was co-founded by his parents Ramesh Arora (played by Boney Kapoor, who is not related to Ranbir Kapoor) and Renu Arora (played by Dimple Kapadia), who have let Mickey take over the business. Mickey has an MBA degree, and his family’s company has thrived under his leadership. However, Mickey’s mother Renu is worried that Mickey’s partying lifestyle is a distraction that could ruin the business.

Mickey lives in a mansion in Delhi, India, with several of his family members: his parents, who own the house; his sister Minny (played by Hasleen Kaur); Minny’s daughter Sweetu (played by Inayat Verma, an adorable scene stealer), who is about 6 or 7 years old; Minny’s husband; and Ramesh’s mother (played by Jatinder Kaur). Renu is constantly scolding and lecturing Mickey to be more responsible. She’s also eager for Mickey get married and start a family of his own, so that he will move out of the house.

Even though he is a successful businessman with his family’s company, Mickey has a secret business with his best friend Manu Dabbas (played by Anubhav Singh Bassi): The two men are consultants for people who want to break up with love partners. The way that the business works is that Mickey and Manu usually hire people to “tempt” someone to committing infidelity, which is then documented as proof that the cheating happened. It’s all part of a set-up so that the partner who was cheated on can use the infidelity as an excuse to break up with that person.

It’s a horrible and sleazy way to make money (and Mickey certainly doesn’t need the money), so the movie is already off-putting in how it expects audiences to root for Mickey, who willfully participates in hurting people and ruining relationships. Somehow, Mickey thinks there’s nothing wrong with what he’s doing because the people who are his clients are strangers to him. Of course, the table turns on Mickey when he becomes the target of a breakup scheme—and his breakup business is the one hired to instigate the breakup.

Before that happens, the movie wastes a lot of time showing the antics of Mickey and Manu. Manu is engaged to a woman named Kinchi (played by Monica Chaudhary), but he wants to break up with her before their upcoming wedding. In a poorly written sequence, Manu asks Mickey to do something to get Kinchi to break up with Manu. Mickey’s ill-conceived plan doesn’t work. And it all happens at the funeral of Manu’s grandfather. It all looks so bizarre and unbelievable.

Mickey, Manu, and Kinchie then travel to Spain for Manu’s bachelor party. They stay at a luxury resort near a beach. It’s a fateful vacation, because it’s where Mickey meets 27-year-old Nisha “Tinni” Malhotra (played by Shraddha Kapoor, who is not related to Ranbir Kapoor and Boney Kapoor), who is a friend of Kinchie’s. There’s an elaborate musical sequence that takes place in a nightclub, Tinni and Mickey end up being backup dancers to the singer who’s performing. Yes, it’s that kind of movie.

It’s attraction at first sight for Mickey who doesn’t waste time in asking Tinni if she’s single and available. The answer is “yes,” but that doesn’t mean that Tinni will make it easy for Mickey to court her. However, when they start dating, things heat up between Tinni and Mickey so quickly, by the end of the vacation, he’s ready to marry her. The movie has a lot of repetitive music video-styled scenes of Tinni and Mickey in romantic bliss.

Things for this new couple also go smoothly when it comes to their families meeting each other. Tinni’s father (played by Rajesh Jais) and Tinni’s mother (played Ayesha Raza Mishra) are thrilled that Tinni is headed toward marriage to a handsome and rich businessman. Mickey’s parents approve of Tinni. When both sets of parents meet each other for the first time, Mickey uses the occasion to propose marriage to Tinni, who says yes.

But there would be no “Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar” if this romance didn’t have any problems. Mickey has a tendency to be clingy with Tinni, who worries about losing her independence in this relationship. Mickey also expects his future wife to live with him and his parents in the family mansion, and Tinni doesn’t like that idea. Tinni secretly decides she wants to break up with Mickey, but she doesn’t know how to do it on her own. And who does she call for help? She heard about a certain breakup consulting business that has been successful in helping people end relationships.

When Tinni calls this business, using an undisguised voice, Mickey gets the call. And like a fool, he doesn’t recognize Tinni’s voice because he can’t even comprehend that Tinni would ever need this service. Likewise, when Tinni is on the phone with someone she doesn’t know is Mickey, she doesn’t recognize his undisguised voice either. Does any of this sound believable or logical to you? If you’re willing to let this idiotic part of the movie slide, then you might enjoy “Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar” more than it deserves.

During this ridiculous charade of hidden identities, Tinni’s London-based co-worker Anya (played by Nushrat Bharucha) is enlisted to tempt Mickey into cheating. Mickey is the one who anonymously hired her, not knowing that he was the target of this infidelity temptation. Kartik Aaryan has a cameo as Tinni’s former college boyfriend Rahul. The rest of the movie wastes more time with more lies and deception, which make Tinni and Mickey look even more idiotic at how long they haven’t figured out each other’s secret.

Probably the best thing about “Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar” is Santhana Krishnan Ravichandran’s cinematography, which makes the musical numbers and vacation scenes look fleetingly fun and glamorous. But these are visual elements that can’t cover up the rotten storytelling that’s at the core of “Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar.” And it’s kind of pathetic that these characters in their late 20s and early 30s are acting like immature teenagers.

To make matters even more tedious, all of the principal characters are rehashed versions of many other romantic comedy characters. No one does a particularly outstanding job with the acting, although Verma as precocious Sweetu has a delightful screen presence as a child actress. The overly long run time of the movie (which has a lot of musical numbers as filler) will just add to viewer irritation, unless watching a subpar romantic comedy is how the viewer wants to waste two-and-a-half hours. “Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar” has a lot of pretty locations and pretty people, but the movie is ultimately superficial and boring junk.

Yash Raj Films released “Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar” in select U.S. cinemas and in India on March 8, 2023.

Review: ’65,’ starring Adam Driver

March 9, 2023

by Carla Hay

Adam Driver and Ariana Greenblatt in “65” (Photo by Patti Perret/Columbia Pictures)

“65”

Directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods

Culture Representation: Taking place 65 million years ago, mostly on Earth, the sci-fi action film “65” features a cast of white and black characters representing beings (who look human) from another planet.

Culture Clash: An interstellar pilot from another planet crashes his spaceship on Earth, where the only talking being he finds is an orphaned girl, and they are surrounded by deadly dinosaurs. 

Culture Audience: “65” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of star Adam Driver and action movies with dinosaurs, no matter how silly those movies are.

Chloe Coleman in “65” (Photo by Patti Perret/Columbia Pictures)

The sci-fi movie “65” might have had a major studio budget, but it’s a minor and embarrassing footnote in Adam Driver’s career. What was he thinking to sign up for this shoddy and idiotic mess of a movie? It’s a hodgepodge of ripoffs of much better films, such as “Jurassic Park,” “A Quiet Place” and “The Man Who Fell to Earth.”

Written and directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, “65” is a misfire on almost every level. Beck and Woods are co-writers of 2018’s “A Quiet Place,” and “65” is obviously aspiring to be that type of crowd-pleasing blockbuster. “65” has similarities to “A Quiet Place” in how it’s about an adult/child trek through dangerous territory plagued by giant, deadly creatures. “65” is supposed to take 65 million years ago on Earth, with Earth’s dinosaurs as the menacng beasts, whereas “A Quiet Place” has outer-space aliens doing the attacking.

There’s really not much of a plot in “65,” because the movie is just mindless scene after mindless scene of dinosaur attacks, with no character development or anything interesting to say about what Earth was like 65 million years ago. Even with the required suspension of disbelief for this train-wreck film—such as, most of the characters not only speak English, but they also speak English with an American accent, even though the English language and the United States did not exist 65 million years ago—the last 15 minutes of the movie are completely insulting to viewers’ intelligence.

In “65,” Driver portrays a interstellar pilot named Mills, who lives on an outer-space planet with advanced technology. Mills goes on a two-year mission to Earth with several passengers, whose identities are never shown in detail in the movie. The first scene of “65” shows Mills on a beach on his home planet, with his wife or partner (played by Neka King) and their adolescent daughter Nevine (played by Chloe Coleman), who are both reluctant to have him go away on this mission.

When his spaceship crashes on Earth because of a random and unexpected meteor, the spaceship is split in two and is inoperable. Keep that in mind during the last 15 minutes of the movie. At first, Mills think he’s the only survivor of this crash. He has a gun, as well as bombs shaped like billiards, that he uses as weapons. Mills is able to send a message to his planet to call for help, but will help arrive in time?

Soon after crashing in a swampy area, Mills finds another survivor of the spaceship crash: a girl named Koa (played by Ariana Greenblatt), who was in a cyrogenic pod. Koa, who is about 9 years old, doesn’t speak English (she speaks an unnamed language that was fabricated for the movie), but Mills finds ways to communicate with her. Meanwhile, Mills has holograms, videos and photos of Nevine, whose fate is revealed later in the movie. Most of “65” consists of contrived jump scares, as Mills and Koa try to dodge and defend themselves against dinosaurs and other deadly creatures around them in a forest area that resemble a jungle. (“65” was actually filmed in Oregon.)

Even though Mills goes through a lot of injuries that would leave most people incapacitated and bloodied (including a dislocated shoulder that he relocates just in time during a dinosaur attack), Mills’ shirt is barely soiled and is not torn for a great deal of the movie. As the Mills character, Driver just seems to be going through the motions in this poorly conceived movie, which can’t even come close to 1993’s “Jurassic Park,” in terms of dinosaur action and thrills. The movie “65” goes back in time, but unfortunately, people who waste time watching this dreck won’t be able to get that time back.

Columbia Pictures will release “65” in U.S. cinemas on March 10, 2023.

Review: ‘iMordecai,’ starring Judd Hirsch, Carol Kane, Sean Astin, Stephanie J. Block and Azia Dinea Hale

March 8, 2023

by Carla Hay

Azia Dinea Hale and Judd Hirsch in “iMordecai” (Photo courtesy of Greenwich Entertainment)

“iMordecai”

Directed by Marvin Samel

Culture Representation: Taking place in Miami, the comedy/drama film “iMordecai” features a predominantly white cast of characters (with a few African Americans and Latin people) representing the working-class and middle-class.

Culture Clash: Against the wishes of his wife, a Holocaust survivor secretly befriends an iPhone salesperson, who teaches him how to use his iPhone, while he has a tension-filled relationship with his son. 

Culture Audience: “iMordecai” will appeal primarily to people who are interested in watching family-oriented comedy/drama movies about real-life Holocaust survivors, even if many of the scenarios in the movie look very fake.

Stephanie J. Block and Sean Astin in “iMordecai” (Photo courtesy of Greenwich Entertainment)

The disjointed comedy/drama “iMordecai” is based on a true story, but this dull movie looks more like fragmented segments of a very phony sitcom. Even with the talents of Judd Hirsch and Carol Kane, “iMordecai” is undone by misguided filmmaking. It’s one of those movies where a family member’s quirks are supposed to look charming and cute to people who watch the movie. But that’s where “iMordecai” has a big disconnect with authenticity, because in the real world, those quirks would be very annoying and bizarre.

Marvin Samel makes his feature-film debut as a director, co-writer and producer of “iMordecai,” a movie that he made about his family. The movie’s title character, Mordecai Samel, is played by Hirsch and is based on Marvin Samel’s real-life father. Marvin Samel co-wrote the maudlin “iMordecai” screenplay with Rudy Gaines and Dahlia Heyman. It’s a film that takes serious subjects, such as the Holocaust and dementia, and downplays them for the sake of creating some trite comedic moments in the film. Other problems experienced by the movie’s characters are resolved in very sitcom-like ways.

There’s really not much depth to the plot of “iMordecai,” which has irritating repetition of this theme: “Look at how quirky this old man is and how he and his son have problems in their relationship.” Mordecai is married to his longtime wife Fela (played by Kane), who is a harmless and passive oddball. Marvin (played by Sean Astin) is married to his devoted wife Netta (played by Stephanie J. Block), and they are the parents of infant twin daughters (played by Yosef Friedman and Ari Friedman). These wives are often sidelined in the story, just to contrive another scenario where Mordecai and Marvin clash with each other. Fela is diagnosed with having a form of dementia, but her dementia is barely addressed in the movie until it is used to set up an emotionally manipulative turning point in the story.

In “iMordecai,” which takes place in Miami, Mordecai is a retired plumber who stubbornly thinks that he can fix any plumbing problems, anywhere, at any time. Near the beginning of the movie, Marvin (who is the only child of Mordecai and Fela) goes to visit his parents at their high-rise apartment building. Marvin sees Mordecai is using a jackhammer to install a walk-in shower for Fela. The apartment looks like it was hit by a bomb, which is an indication that Mordecai doesn’t really know what he’s doing.

Later in the movie, in another sitcom-ish scenario, Marvin goes to visit Mordecai and finds Mordecai on a residential street, digging a hole in the grass on a sidewalk. The sidewalk is mostly likely the property of the city, and Mordecai most likely doesn’t have a permit to do this digging. But that doesn’t matter in this movie, because it’s all a setup to show Mordecai damaging a water main, which sends a gush of water flying into the air. Marvin predictably gets upset, and Mordecai acts like Marvin is just being uptight. And then, they have an argument that looks straight out of a low-quality sitcom.

Throughout the movie (whose pacing often drags and will test the patience of people looking for less flimsy repetition and more substance), scenarios are presented over and over where it’s obvious that the “iMordecai” filmmakers want viewers to think, “Oh, look at wacky Mordecai. There he goes again with his quirky antics. Isn’t he adorable?” But many of his antics are too irresponsible for someone of Mordecai’s age (he was born in 1933), and they aren’t very adorable at all.

Marvin isn’t exactly a responsible adult either. He owns a cigar company that is financially struggling, and he’s been lying to members of his family about it. Marvin has maxed out his credit cards to keep the company afloat. He irresponsibly doesn’t tell Netta until she sees a bill for a maxed-out credit card that she didn’t even know Marvin had. Marvin also can’t get any more bank loans.

Netta is worried because she and Marvin couldn’t pay their house’s mortgage for the previous month, but Marvin assures her that everything will work out for them. He tells Netta that he will take care of everything. Marvin sells his car, but that’s barely enough to pay off his debts, so he eventually decides to sell the cigar company.

Marvin has been hiding his money problems from his parents because he’s already borrowed $50,000 from Mordecai for the cigar company, and Marvin doesn’t want to ask Mordecai to borrow more money or for help in paying off Marvin’s debts. The movie then goes into a tangent that Marvin thinks Mordecai is a financial jinx for Marvin, ever since Mordecai interrupted a poker game that Marvin lost when Marvin was a teenager and playing poker with some of his buddies. The movie has a flashback to this poker game, and it’s not as funny as it was probably intended to be. (Simon Lee has the role of a teenage Marvin.)

Early on in the movie, Marvin brings Mordecai and Fela to a phone store at a local shopping mall to get Mordecai a new iPhone, because the flip phone that Mordecai has been using is worn down, barely functioning and hopelessly outdated. At the store, Mordecai meets a sales representative named Nina (played by Azia Dinea Hale), who is friendly and helpful. Nina has a co-worker named Jared (played by Nick Puga), who is an iPhone specialist. Jared is also an aspiring stand-up comedian, which becomes a weak subplot used as a setup for Mordecai to get on stage and interrupt Jared’s stand-up act when Jared flops in his stand-up routine.

Nina offers to give Mordecai private lessons to learn how to use an iPhone. The problem is that Fela is deeply superstitious about iPhones and other smartphones. Fela calls an iPhone a “brainwashing device” and says it’s “like Stalin.” “iMordecai” then becomes a tedious back-and-forth narrative: Nina and Mordecai have secret meetings where they get to know one another as friends, while Marvin tries to close a business deal for the sale of his cigar company to a potential buyer named Fernando Vazquez (played by Mike Benitez), who has a fateful chance encounter with Mordecai. (You can easily predict how this encounter affects the business deal.)

Eventually, Mordecai and Nina spend time together for platonic companionship that has nothing do with her giving him iPhone lessons. During a trip to the artsy Wynwood area of Miami (which has a lot of public art on display, such as murals), Mordecai tells Nina that he’s a painter artist. You can almost do a countdown to a scene where Nina inspires Mordecai to start painting again.

Mordecai (who was born in Poland) also tells Nina more details about his life, such as how the Holocaust affected his family, some of whom escaped to Russia, while others died in a concentration camp in Poland. The flashbacks to Mordecai’s childhood are shown as animation. Meanwhile, Nina has a secret that she’s afraid to tell Mordecai: Her recently deceased paternal grandfather used to be a Nazi guard at a concentration camp. You don’t have to be a genius to guess which concentration camp it was.

Although it’s possible this strange coincidence could have happened in real life, it looks very contrived and cringeworthy in “iMordecai,” which treats the Holocaust and how it affected Mordecai’s family in a glib way that’s very off-putting. And did we mention that Nina is also a volunteer at a local Jewish community center? She’s also estranged from her parents, for reasons that aren’t really made clear in the movie. However, it’s mentioned that Nina unfairly blames her parents (especially her father) for not telling her about her paternal grandfather’s Nazi past, even though Nina herself says that the grandfather kept it a secret from his American descendants. The secret was discovered only after he died, and his Nazi possessions were found.

The movie also has a weird tangent about Mordecai revealing that he when he was younger and working in Brooklyn, New York, he pretended that he had an identical twin brother named Martin, who was a building painter. Mordecai even had a separate business where he posed as Martin being a professional painter. It’s supposed to be an endearing joke in “iMordecai,” but the movie never gives a good reason for why Mordecai would go to such lengths for such an unnecessary lie. Apparently, Mordecai deceived customers for years with this fraud. It makes him look mentally ill, but the movie brushes it off, as if Mordecai’s elaborate deception is perfectly acceptable and not a sign of serious mental health issues.

There are so many ways that “iMordecai” rambles and wanders in the story, that it all becomes tiresome after a while. The movie has too many instances of people talking and acting very unrealistically, even though Hirsch puts in a commendable effort to make his character believable. The other cast members are serviceable in their roles, while Kane continues to be typecast as an eccentric who lives in her own world. The movie reaches a point where viewers will start to see “iMordecai” for what it is: a vanity project about a family that isn’t nearly as interesting or amusing as the “iMordecai” filmmakers want viewers to think the family is, while some serious issues are made trivial for the sake of trying to get cheap laughs.

Greenwich Entertainment released “iMordecai” in select U.S. cinemas on February 24, 2023. The movie will be released on digital and VOD on April 11, 2023.

Review: ‘Scream VI,’ starring Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega, Mason Gooding, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Courteney Cox, Hayden Panettiere and Dermot Mulroney

March 8, 2023

by Carla Hay

Mason Gooding, Jenna Ortega, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Devyn Nekoda and Melissa Barrera in “Scream VI” (Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures)

“Scream VI”

Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett

Culture Representation: Taking place in New York City, the horror film “Scream VI” features a racially diverse cast of characters (Latin, white African-American) representing the working-class and middle-class.

Culture Clash: The four main survivors of the serial killings in the 2022 movie “Scream” have relocated from the fictional Woodsboro, California, to New York City, where they are plagued by a new set of Ghostface Killer murders. 

Culture Audience: “Scream VI” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the “Scream” franchise and horror movie sequels that make several references to its preceding movies.

Dermot Mulroney and Hayden Panettiere in “Scream VI” (Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures)

“Scream VI” has further cemented the “Scream” franchise as an intentionally comedic self-parody, but this entertaining movie doesn’t skimp on the horror thrills. The movie’s best scenes make up for the far-fetched revelations in the last 15 minutes. As the sixth movie in the “Scream” series, “Scream VI” is best appreciated by people who’ve seen all the previous “Scream ” movies, because there are many jokes and references to this predecessor films. However, if it’s not possible for someone to see all the previous “Scream” movies, then the 1996 “Scream” film (the one that started the series) and the 2022 “Scream” film are the two most essential moves to watch before seeing “Scream VI.”

The 2000 movie “Scream 3” added a movie-within-a-movie storyline, by creating a fictional horror movie series called “Stab,” which was inspired by what happened in the first “Scream” movie. It’s helpful, but not essential, to watch “Scream 3” before seeing “Scream VI.” What’s most important for viewers of “Scream VI” to know is that “Scream VI” gives a summary of all the revealed identities of the Ghostface Killer (who wears a creepy ghostface mask and a black hooded robe), who is a different person or people in each “Scream” movie. If you didn’t know their identities before seeing “Scream VI,” then the movie spoils all that information.

“Scream VI” reunites directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett with screenwriters James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick, who had the same roles for the 2022 “Scream” movie. Most of the same producers from 2022’s “Scream” are also part of the “Scream VI” team. “Scream VI” picks up one year after the events of the 2022 “Scream” movie, which took place mainly in the fictional Woodsboro, California. Four of the survivors of the Ghostface Killer murders and mayhem that happened in 2022’s “Scream” are trying to put this trauma behind them, and have relocated to New York City. (“Scream VI” was actually filmed in Montreal.)

Samantha “Sam” Carpenter (played by Melissa Barrera), who is 25 or 26, is in therapy but finds it difficult to open up to her therapist Dr. Christopher Stone (played by Henry Czerny) until a pivotal scene that’s a helpful summary for anyone who didn’t see 2022’s “Scream.” When Sam isn’t busy with her two jobs, she’s being overprotective of her younger half-sister Tara Carpenter (played by Jenna Ortega), who 18 years old and a first-year student at the fictional Blackmore University. Tara and Sam live in the same apartment building.

The other two people in this tight-knit foursome are twins Mindy Meeks-Martin (played by Jasmin Savoy Brown) and Chad Meeks-Martin (played by Mason Gooding), who are also first-year students at Blackmore University. The uncle of Mindy and Chad was Randy Meeks (played by Jamie Kennedy), whose fate is shown in 1997’s “Scream 2.” Mindy is a “Stab” trivia fanatic, while Chad (who was a popular athlete in high school) has a not-so-secret crush on Tara. Chad has come up with a nickname for this quartet of survivors: The Core Four. It’s a name that the other three think is corny, and the movie shows whether or not they go along with Chad’s enthusiasm to give themselves this nickname.

Three of the new characters that are introduced in “Scream VI” have gotten close to the Core Four. Tara’s free-spirited roommate Quinn Bailey (played by Liana Liberato) is having fun dating various men, but her sex life sometimes gets in the way of Tara wanting some peace and quiet. Chad’s roommate is Ethan Landry (played by Jack Champion), a socially awkward misfit who wants to be accepted by Chad and his friends. Anika Kayoko (played by Devyn Nekoda) is dating openly queer Mindy, in a fairly new romance.

As several scenes in the movie show, Tara is resentful of Sam’s hovering presence, because Tara wants to be treated like an independent adult, not a helpless child. Tara and Sam also disagree about how to cope with what happened to them in Woodsboro. Tara refuses to go to therapy, she doesn’t like to talk about what happened in Woodsboro, and she thinks Sam is living too much in the past. Sam thinks it’s detrimental for Tara to avoid getting therapy. Meanwhile, Sam becomes the subject of untrue gossip spread on the Internet that she was really the Ghostface Killer in Woodsboro.

To its credit, “Scream VI” is less cluttered with characters than 2022’s “Scream.” The movie’s opening scene continues the “Scream” tradition of someone being murdered by the Ghostface Killer, who has called that victim on the phone. The person who gets slaughtered in the opening scene is Laura Crane (played by Samara Weaving), an associate professor of film studies at Blackmore University. She teaches horror movies as part of her curriculum.

On the night that Laura is murdered, it’s close to Halloween, and many people are dressed up in Halloween costumes for parties and other Halloween festivities. Laura is not in a Halloween costume when she is seen at a bar, talking on the phone with what she thinks is her blind date for the night. The date is really a Ghostface Killer.

The “date” pretends to be lost and asks Laura to step outside the bar into an alley where he says he is. While she’s on the phone, the caller’s tone turns menacing as he snarls, “You teach a class about slashers, and you still walk into a dark alley alone.” Needless to say, Laura doesn’t last long in this movie.

Without giving away too much information, it’s enough to say that it’s revealed early on in the movie that Sam and Tara are the main targets for the Ghostface Killers. It’s also revealed that whoever is behind the murders that happen also wants to finish the “Stab” tribute movie that was started by Richie Kirsch (played by Jack Quaid), who was Sam’s boyfriend in 2022’s “Scream,” but (spoiler alert for people who haven’t seen 2022’s “Scream”), Richie turned out to be the Ghostface Killer, and Sam killed him in self-defense.

Some other characters who are part of the “Scream VI” are Blackmore University student Jason Carvey (played by Tony Revolori); Quinn’s father Detective Bailey (played by Dermot Mulroney), who is a police officer who investigates homicides; and David Brackett (played by Josh Segarra), an attractive neighbor who lives in the apartment building directly across from the apartment building where Sam, Tara and Quinn live. Sam and Tara (who has given David the nickname Hot Boy) can see directly into David’s apartment and vice versa.

“Scream VI” also has the return of ambitious and arrogant TV news journalist Gale Weathers (played by Courteney Cox), who has written a book about the events that happened in 2022’s “Scream.” Tara and Sam are furious about this book not only because Gale had broken her promise not to write a book about what happened but also because the book at unflattering descriptions of Tara and Sam.

Also making her return to “Scream VI” is Kirby Reed (played by Hayden Panettiere), who was the “final girl” in 2011’s “Scream 4.” Kirby, who is now 30 years old and an agent for the FBI, arrives in New York City to investigate this new set of Ghostface Killer murders. Kirby was a senior at Woodsboro High School when Sam was a freshman at the school. As for other familiar characters from the “Scream” franchise, Sidney Prescott (played by Neve Campbell), the original target of the Ghostface Killer, is not in “Scream VI” but is briefly mentioned as being in hiding in a safe place. Campbell went public about declining an offer to be in “Scream VI” because she felt that the offered salary was too low for her.

“Scream VI” delves more than 2022’s “Scream” did into the psychological fallout of all of these killings. “Scream VI” does a fairly good job at contrasting the ways that Sam and Tara feel about therapy, without passing judgment on either character. As already revealed in 2022’s “Scream,” Sam and Tara are the children of the late Billy Loomis (played by Skeet Ulrich), who was one of killers in the first “Scream” movie. As shown in 2022’s “Scream” and “Scream VI,” there are big indications that Sam is worried that she could have inherited a desire to become a murderer. “Scream VI” has more exploration of how Sam’s suspected “dark side” is affecting her.

The movie’s scenes with Ghostface Killer on a rampage are among the best of the “Scream” franchise. A standout scene is one that involves a ladder between buildings. Another scene that’s suspenseful is when Ghostface Killer goes after Tara and Sam in a convenience store. Meanwhile, there is plenty of sarcastic wisecracking (especially from Libby) about horror movie clichés, who the likely suspects are, and who’s most likely to be killed next. All of these self-referential jokes in “Scream VI” are sometimes to the detriment of the story. The movie doesn’t take itself too seriously, but it expects viewers to know a lot about the “Scream” movies, in order to get most of the jokes.

Barrera and Ortega, who are very believable as sisters with a love/hate relationship, are excellent additions to the “Scream” franchise. Mulroney really hams it up and delivers some of his lines in ways that are pure camp. Panettiere also gives a good performance as “all grown up now” Kirby. Cox doesn’t really do anything new with the Gale character, but she performs well in her action scenes. Savoy Brown is a sassy scene stealer with the Libby character, who has much better character development and funnier lines of dialogue than in 2022’s “Scream.”

There’s no doubt that “Scream VI” is an unapolgetic “fan service” movie that isn’t particularly accommodating to newcomers to the “Scream” movie franchise. And there isn’t anything innovative about the plot reveals, which might remind “Scream” fans of a certain previous “Scream” movie. “Scream VI” is not the best movie in the “Scream” franchise, but “Scream VI” delivers exactly what it intends: horror entertainment that serves up plenty of gore with self-deprecating laughs.

Paramount Pictures will release “Scream VI” in U.S. cinemas on March 10, 2023.

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