Tag: reviews

Review: ‘Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe,’ starring Max Pelayo, Reese Gonzales, Veronica Falcón, Kevin Alejandro, Eva Longoria and Eugenio Derbez

December 18, 2023

by Carla Hay

Max Pelayo and Reese Gonzales in “Artistotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe” (Photo courtesy of Blue Fox Entertainment)

“Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe”

Directed by Aitch Alberto

Some language in Spanish with subtitles

Culture Representation: Taking place in 1987, in El Paso, Texas, and in Chicago, the dramatic film “Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe” (based on the 2012 novel of the same name) features a predominantly Latin cast of characters (with some white people) representing the working-class and middle-class.

Culture Clash: When a 16-year-old brooding loner meets a teenage boy of the same age who has an opposite personality, they become unlikely friends that could turn into something more, but one of the teens is afraid to admit this romantic attraction. 

Culture Audience: “Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe” will appeal primarily to people who are interested in watching well-acted coming-of-age dramas told from a queer perspective.

Reese Gonzales and Max Pelayo in “Artistotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe” (Photo courtesy of Blue Fox Entertainment)

“Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe” isn’t just another “opposites attract” movie. The engaging and realistic performances by Max Pelayo and Reese Gonzales keep things interesting in this self-identity teen drama when the story starts to wander and get unfocused. The ending is predictable, but the journey to get there is worth watching.

Written and directed by Aitch Alberto, “Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe” is based on Benjamin Alire Sáenz’s 2012 novel of the same name. The movie had its world premiere at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival. It’s an emotionally authentic story about friendship and young love that happens to also be about coming to terms with someone’s true sexuality.

The movie, which takes place in 1987, begins in El Paso, Texas. That’s where 16-year-old Aristotle “Ari” Mendoza (played by Pelayo) lives with his parents. Ari’s father Jaime Mendoza (played by Eugenio Derbez, one of the movie’s producers) is a mailman. Ari’s mother Liliana Mendoza (played by Veronica Falcón) appears to be a homemaker. Ari is a student at Austin Public High School, where he is a quiet and introverted loner.

Ari has a brother who’s about 10 years older named Bernardo, who is in prison. Bernardo went to prison when Ari was too young (about 5 years old) to know what happened. Ari’s parents have refused to tell Ari why Bernardo is in prison because it’s a shameful secret. The only thing that Ari knows is that Bernardo is in prison for a violent crime.

There’s a scene early on in the movie where Ari and Liliana are in the kitchen in their family home. She gets upset when Ari jokes that he’s going to join a gang. “I’m Mexican,” Ari says. “Isn’t that what we do?”

In the beginning of the movie, Ari says in a voiceover: “One summer night, I fell asleep, hoping the night would be different when I woke up. In the morning, I opened my eyes, and the world was the same.” However, that summer, Ari would meet someone special, and both of ther lives would never be the same.

That special someone is Dante Quintana (played by Gonzales), who meets Ari for the first time when they happen to be at the same public swimming pool. Dante offers to teach Ari to swim when he notices Ari struggling a little bit in the pool. Ari is too proud to ask for a lot of help, but he and Dante strike up a conversation. It’s not that hard to do because Dante is very friendly and talkative.

The conversation turns into a genuine friendship, despite Dante and Ari having opposite personalities and different family backgrounds. Dante’s father Sam Quintana (played by Kevin Alejandro) is a university professor. Dante’s mother Soledad Quintana (played by Eva Longoria) is sophisticated and very open-minded. Dante (who is an only child) mentions at one point in the movie that he has Mexican heritage because of his mother’s side of the family.

Ari’s and Dante’s bedrooms are also a study in contrasts. Ari’s room is small and uncluttered, with nothing hanging on the walls. Dante’s room is large, cluttered and messy. Each of their rooms is a reflection of how they live their lives. Ari is guarded and doesn’t easily reveal himself to a lot of people. Dante, who doesn’t really care if people think he’s a little weird, lives his life exuberantly.

Ari and Dante eventually meet each other’s parents. When Dante meets Ari’s parents for the first time, he gives them a book of Mexican art. Dante says that it was Dante’s father’s idea to give this gift. Dante is the type of person who likes artsy independent films, while Ari likes more mainstream entertainment. Ari looks like he could be a heartthrob athlete. Dante looks like he could be a sensitive intellectual.

Dante and Ari’s close friendship continues after their summer break is over and the new school year begins. Dante is new to the school, so Ari has to be the one to tell him to steer clear of the school’s chief gossip Gina Navarro (played by Isabella Gomez) and her equally nosy sidekick Susie Byrd (played by Hanani Taylor), who both immediately notice how close Dante and Ari are. As far as Ari is concerned, he wants everyone to think that he’s heterosexual and that his seemingly unlikely friendship with Dante is strictly platonic.

Ari becomes so close to Dante and Dante’s parents, they all go on a camping trip together. It’s during this trip that Ari and Dante look through a telescope. Dante tells Ari, “Someday, I’m going to discover all the secrets of the universe.”

The friendship of Dante and Ari is put to the test when Dante drops some surprising news: Dante’s father accepted a year-long visiting professor job at the University of Chicago. The middle section of the movie shows what happens when Dante is in Chicago and Ari is in El Paso. Dante writes letters to Ari, and they both go on dates with girls who are about the same age.

Ari’s would-be love interest is a schoolmate named Elena Tellez (played by Luna Blaise), who makes the first move in flirting with Ari. As for Dante, it’s obvious that Dante is not entirely comfortable being romantic with girls, and he’s been in love with Ari all along. And what about Ari? The rest of the movie is about whether or not Ari can express his true feelings, which are confusing to him and which he often denies.

“Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe” has some parts of the story that are somewhat mundane and somewhat melodramatic. Because it takes less time for Dante to express his true feelings, the last third of the movie becomes an extended “guessing game” of what Ari will do when he finds out that Dante has romantic feelings for him. The direction of the movie is solid, but the pacing of the film could have been better.

However, because of the talented cast in “Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe,” viewers will get a good sense of what the characters are feeling from different angles. Although the focus of the story is on Ari and Dante, their parents’ perspectives are also given importance and show why Ari and Dante both have different ways of coming to terms with their respective sexualities. There’s plenty of teen angst in the movie, but what viewers will most remember is that it’s a story about living your truth, even when being honest about who you are and who you love can be painful.

Blue Fox Entertainment released “Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe” in select U.S. cinemas on September 8, 2023. The movie was released on digital and VOD on November 14, 2023.

Review: ‘Wonka,’ starring Timothée Chalamet

December 16, 2023

by Carla Hay

Calah Lane and Timothée Chalamet in “Wonka” (Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures)

“Wonka” 

Directed by Paul King

Culture Representation: Taking place in an unnamed island city in England, the musical “Wonka” (which is inspired by Roald Dahl’s 1964 “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” children’s book) features a predominantly white group of characters (with some black people and a few Asians) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.

Culture Clash: Willy Wonka, a young chocolate maker, attempts to make his dream come true of opening his own chocolate shop, but he is opposed by various villains, including a three-man cartel that wants to have a monopoly on selling chocolate in the area.

Culture Audience: In addition to appealing to the obvious target audience of fans of Dahl and previous “Chocolate Factory” movie adaptations, “Wonka” will appeal primarily to fans of star Timothée Chalamet and family-friendly musicals that have messages about following your dreams, even when faced with obstacles.

Mathew Baynton, Matt Lucas, Keegan-Michael Key and Paterson Joseph in “Wonka” (Photo by Jaap Buittendijk/Warner Bros. Pictures)

“Wonka” is best enjoyed if viewers know in advance that it’s a cartoonish musical that tells an adoring origin story of chocolate maestro Willy Wonka. Scene stealer Hugh Grant as an Oompa Loompa brings some amusing saltiness to this saccharine spectacle. “Wonka” is inspired by Roald Dahl’s 1964 children’s book “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” which has previously been made into two feature films featuring Willy Wonka as a middle-aged man: 1971’s “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” (starring Gene Wilder) and 2005’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” (starring Johnny Depp), with each of those movies presenting Willy Wonka as an eccentric loner who has somewhat bitterly shut himself off from the rest of the world.

Directed by Paul King (who co-wrote the “Wonka” screenplay with Simon Farnaby), “Wonka” depicts Willy Wonka as an earnest and idealist American in his 20s. Willy wants to make his dream come true: opening his own chocolate shop at a place called Galeries Gourmet in an unnamed island city in England. As such, the tone of “Wonka” is much more lighthearted and doesn’t have any of the dark comedy that was in previous “Chocolate Factory” movies.

Neil Hannon wrote the music and wrote or co-wrote the lyrics for the six original songs written for “Wonka,” whose songs are pleasant enough but won’t be considered exceptional classics. The original songs in the movie are “A Hatful of Dreams,” “Scrub Scrub,” “Sweet Tooth,” “For a Moment,” “You’ve Never Had Chocolate Like This” and end-credits tune “A World of Your Own.” The lyrics are occasionally trite, but that could also describe the movie’s screenplay.

When the young version of top-hat-wearing Willy Wonka is first seen on screen, he’s on a shabby-looking ship and singing “A Hatful of Dreams,” as he bounces and dances on the ship with enthusiastic optimism. The movie takes place in an unspecified year, but the costumes indicate that the time period is in the late 1800s or early 1900s. There are also fantasy elements in “Wonka” that use competent-looking visual effects.

Viewers find out that Willy, who is an orphan, has been living at sea for the past seven years, but he now wants to permanently relocate to the city where Galeries Gourmet is located to open his own chocolate shop. In a “A Hatful of Dreams,” Willy sings: “I’ve poured everything I’ve got into my chocolates. Now, it’s time to show the world my recipes.”

A flashback a little later in the movie reveals that Willy as a boy (played by Colin O’Brien) was raised by a single mother (played by Sally Hawkins), who doesn’t have a name in the movie. Willy’s mother is the one who taught him how to make chocolate. She was also the one who told Willy about Galeries Gourmet, which she described as the best place in the world to sell and make chocolate.

As a boy, Willy told his mother that his dream would be for them to have a chocolate shop together at Galeries Gourmet. However, his mother died of an unnamed illness before Willy became an adult. She also died before she ever told him a big secret. It’s at this point in the movie that you know Willy will eventually find out his mother’s secret near the end of the film.

As soon as he arrives in this unfamiliar place, Willy finds out that there’s literally a price to be paid for dreaming. The city’s basic monetary unit is called a sovereign which come in the form of a coin. (It’s similar to what a dollar would be in the United States.) At the retail space where he hopes will be the location of his chocolate shop, there’s a sign that says “No Daydreaming,” with the penalty being a fine of three sovereigns.

Willy dreams about his hoped-for chocolate shop in a musical sequence, but he gets a rude awakening when a cop named Office Affable (played by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith) tells Willy that he has to be fined for this daydream. Willy pays the fine, but that doesn’t stop him from dreaming. Soon after he arrives in his new place, a homeless Willy is offered a place to stay by a gruff-looking brute named named Bleacher (played by Tom Davis), who meets Willy when Bleacher’s pit bull Tittles accosts Willy on a street.

Bleacher takes Willy back to the place where Bleacher works with the cruel and uncouth Mrs. Scrubitt (played by Olivia Colman), who owns a laundry service with Bleacher. Their place of business is also a boarding house, where Mrs. Scrubitt is raising a curious and intelligent orphaned girl named Noodle (played by Calah Lane), who ends up becoming Willy’s closest companion, in a big brother/little sister type of relationship. Noodle is about 12 or 13 in the story. She was raised by Mrs. Scrubbitt since Noodle was a baby.

Upon arriving at the guest house, Mrs. Scrubitt wants to Willy to sign a contract document with several pages. Noodle whispers a warning to Willy to “read the small print” before he signs the document. Mrs. Scrubitt rudely dismisses Noodle and tells Willy that Noodle is overly pessimistic because Noodle is an orphan.

A gullible Willy is so happy that he’s found a place to live, he doesn’t listen to Noodles advice, and he signs the document. Of course, it’s obvious that Mrs. Scrubbit is up to no good. She later uses that contract to punish Willy and force him to work for her in miserable conditions.

Before that happens, Willy seems to be on the right track to opening his chocolate shop. In the town square, he gives out free samples of hover chocs, which are magical chocolates that give people the ability to temporarily float in the air. The hover chocs wear off when the chocolates complete their journey in a person’s digestive system. The hover chocs and Willy are a big hit with the crowd of onlookers who sample the chocolates.

But three wealthy businessmen in the audience don’t like what’s happening and want to crush Willy’s dream of opening a chocolate shop. Mr. Slugworth (played by Paterson Joseph), Mr. Prodnose (played by Matt Lucas) and Mr. Fickelgruber (played by Mathew Baynton) are in a long-running cartel that has been prevented anyone else besides themselves from selling chocolate in Galeries Gourmet. Slugworth is the ruthless leader of this dastardly trio, and he tells Willy that the hover chocs are the worst chocolate he’s ever had. Prodnose is the goofball of the group, while Fickelgruber is the elitist snob, who slightly retches whenever someone says the word “poor.”

Willy’s successful promotional event then gets shut down by the Chief of Police (played by Keegan-Michael Key), who doesn’t have a name in the movie. This police chief is a chocolate addict who is later approached by the cartel to threaten Willy to not open a chocolate shop and get out of town. The cartel offers large amounts of chocolate as bribes to the police chief, who is initially reluctant to accept these bribes and do the cartel’s bidding. The police chief changes his mind because he can’t resist the temptation of this large supply of chocolates.

A running “joke” in the movie is how the police chief gains a lot of weight because of his chocolate addiction. It’s not fully mean-spirited body shaming, but it’s questionable comedy for a family film to make someone’s body size the butt of some not-very-funny jokes. Food addiction, which is an eating disorder, should not be made into something that deserves to get cheap laughs for a movie.

“Wonka” also has the problem of being too overstuffed with villains. In addition to Mrs. Scrubitt, Bleacher, Slugworth, Prodnose, Fickelgruber, and the Chief of Police, there’s a corrupt cleric named Father Julius (played by Rowan Atkinson), who works at a place called Benedict’s Cathedral. The movie also crams in a subplot about an adorable animal that befriends the protagonist, as if it’s a requirement to put a token adorable animal in a family film. In this case, the friendly animal is a giraffe that Willy names Abigail, whose milk Willy needs to make a special type of chocolate.

And there’s more. “Wonka” would have plenty to work with if it only focused on the friendship of Willy and Noodle. But then, there’s a subplot involving four of Mrs. Scrubitt’s employees who form an alliance with Willy. These employees are Abacus Crunch (played by Jim Carter), the skeptical elder of the group; talkative plumber Piper Benz (played by Natasha Rothwell); struggling comedian Harry Chucklesworth (played by Rich Fulcher); and quiet communicator Lottie Bell (played by Rakhee Thakrar), who used to work as a phone operator.

“Wonka” takes very little risks in the story, except for a few things that go outside the norm of these types of movies. Instead of making Willy a super-smart protagonist, “Wonka” makes him illiterate and uneducated. He is taught to read and write by Noodle, who actually comes up with some of the smart ideas that help Willy. However, this unconventional part of the story is overshadowed by many moments that are very easy to predict.

The movie doesn’t have enough of Grant’s Oompa Loompa character (a miniature humanoid with orange skin and green hair), whose sarcastic and grumpy attitude is the perfect counterpart to Willy’s sincere and sunny attitude. The screen time for the Oompa Loompa is less than 15 minutes in “Wonka.” Viewers who like this Oompa Loompa character will wonder if a better movie would’ve been made if this Oompa Loompa, not Noodle, had been Willy’s main sidekick. (Grant previously worked with “Wonka” director King on the first two “Paddington” movies.)

As for the musical numbers in “Wonka,” they are good enough but not mind-blowing. Chalamet performs in the movie like he’s in a stage musical, not a movie, which is another way of saying that he tends to over-act as if he’s playing to the back of a room. It doesn’t ruin the movie, but some people might find it annoying, while others will find it very charming. Lane gives an appealing performance as Noodle. The rest of the supporting characters are written broadly and are a tad generic.

Without question, the strongest asset in “Wonka” is the movie’s production design, which excels in immersing viewers in this vibrant and unique world that often looks like a candy-coated and imaginative playground. Speaking of imagination, toward the end of “Wonka,” there’s a nostalgic nod to the beloved song “Pure Imagination” from “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.” It’s a moment in “Wonka” that will remind “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” fans that “Wonka” acknowledges the 1971’s film’s influence, but “Wonka” (for better or worse) is intent on having its own unique place in cinema history.

Warner Bros. Pictures released “Wonka” in U.S. cinemas on December 15, 2023.

Review: ‘The Boys in the Boat,’ starring Callum Turner, Joel Edgerton, Jack Mulhern, Hadley Robinson, James Wolk, Peter Guinness and Chris Diamantopoulos

December 15, 2023

by Carla Hay

Bruce Herbelin-Earle, Callum Turner and Jack Mulhern in “The Boys in the Boat” (Photo by Laurie Sparham/Amazon MGM Studios)

“The Boys in the Boat”

Directed by George Clooney

Culture Representation: Taking place in 1936, in the United States and in Germany, the dramatic film “The Boys in the Boat” (based on the non-fiction book of the same name) features an all-white cast of characters representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.

Culture Clash: Against the odds, the University of Washington junior varsity rowing team becomes a winning team in the United States, and competes in the 1936 Olympics against the Nazi German team that is expected to win the gold medal. 

Culture Audience: “The Boys in the Boat” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of filmmaker George Clooney and old-fashioned sports movies that are conventional to a fault.

Chris Diamantopoulos, James Wolk, Joel Edgerton and Dominic Tighe in “The Boys in the Boat” (Photo by Laurie Sparham/Amazon MGM Studios)

“The Boys in the Boat” is the cinematic equivalent of stale and lukewarm comfort food for people who like formulaic underdog sports movies with no surprises. The acting performances are competent, but the screenplay and direction have too many dull clichés. Even if you didn’t know the true story on which this movie is based, it’s very easy to know how the movie is going to end within the first 15 minutes of watching the film.

Directed by George Clooney and written by Mark L. Smith, “The Boys in the Boat” is based on Daniel James Brown’s 2013 non-fiction book of the same name. The movie waters down, oversimplifies, and omits many interesting facts from this true story. The end results are a plodding and monotonous catalogue-type film, where most of the characters are either stereotypes or utterly forgettable.

“The Boys in the Boat” movie takes place in 1936, when the United States was in the midst of the Great Depression. In the city of Seattle, a financially struggling, working-class student named Joe Rantz (played by Callum Turner) is on the verge of being removed from enrollment at the University of Washington because he hasn’t been able to pay his tuition. In the beginning of the movie, Joe is told by a university official that Joe has two weeks to pay the tuition that he owes, or else he can no longer be enrolled in the university.

As luck would have it in a movie like “The Boys in the Boat,” Joe finds out that he can make the money that he needs in a short period of time if he gets chosen for the university’s junior varsity rowing team: the Washington Huskies. Only eight students will be chosen from a group of about 100 students who have tried out for these coveted slots. The team’s head coach Al Ulbrickson (played by Joel Edgerton) is a typical no-nonsense sports leader who warns everyone that being on this rowing team is physical torture, and most of the people who want to be on the team don’t have what it takes to succeed in rowing.

It’s not spoiler information to say that Joe makes the team, because the movie’s trailer and other marketing materials already reveal who’s on the team. The other students who are chosen are Don Hume (played by Jack Mulhern), Shorty Hunt (played by Bruce Herbelin-Earle), Jim McMillin (played by Wil Coban), Chuck Day (played by Thomas Elms), Johnny White (played by Thomas Stephen Varey) and Gordy Adam (played by Joel Phillimore). Nathan Coy (played by Tom Claxton) is the team’s reserve member. Glenn Morry (played by Frankie Fox) is the team’s coxswain.

Joe’s love interest is Joyce Simdars (played by Hadley Robinson), who was his crush in the fourth grade, but she moved away with her family and hasn’t seen Joe in years. But lo and behold, there she is at the University of Washington as a student. And when Joyce and Joe see each other again, she immediately reminds a slightly embarrassed Joe about the love note that he gave to her when they were children. Joyce, who comes from an affluent family, says she mainly enrolled in the university to get away from her religious mother. The romance between Joe and Joyce goes exactly the way you think it’s going to go in this type of movie.

Joe’s family background is reduced to a soundbite, in a scene where he tells the team’s boat maker George Pocock (played by Peter Guinness) that he’s been on his own since he was 14 years old. The character of George is a sports movie stereotype of a wise elder who’s not the main coach but who gives mentor advice to troubled athletes. Joe’s mother died when Joe was about 4 years old. His father Harry Rantz left to find work when Joe was in high school, and he didn’t come back. Joe briefly mentions he has a stepmother who had two young sons in her care. “It worked out best for everybody,” Joe says of his fractured family.

Really? Because in real life, things were much more difficult for Joe than how it’s described in the movie. In real life, Joe had an older brother named Fred, who is completely erased from the story. And although it’s true that Joe’s father Harry left, what the movie doesn’t mention is that Harry took his wife and stepsons with him. According to “The Boys in the Boat” book, Joe’s stepmother disliked Joe and insisted to Harry that Joe had to be left behind to fend for himself.

This traumatic abandonment is barely explored in the movie, which failed to give a deeper understanding of Joe’s intense motivation to succeed on the rowing team, other than the need to get money for tuition. Instead, the movie turns this parental abandonment into a glib line that Joe says about things working out for the best. You can almost do a countdown to the scene when deadbeat dad Harry (played by Alec Newman) shows up again at a certain point in Joe’s life.

“The Boys in the Boat” makes the same mistake that mediocre and bad movies about sports teams tend to make: Instead of giving distinct and memorable personalities to several of the team members, only one or two team members get this type of showcase. But even in this area, “The Boys in the Boat” falls short with trite dialogue for the two team members who get the most screen time: Joe and Don. Joe is in the team’s seventh boat position to set the pace, while Don is in the eighth position as the stroke anchor.

Joe is a typical star of a team in a sports underdog movie: He’s talented but he had to overcome a lot of obstacles to get to where he is. Joe is a good guy who’s a little bit introverted. He’s very shy when it comes to dating, which is supposed to make him look endearing to the viewers of “The Boys in the Boat.”

In these types of generic sports movies, the protagonist can’t be completely confident or completely privileged, or else the protagonist won’t be “relatable.” But “The Boys in the Boat” filmmakers don’t want to make Joe have too many hardships, or else that won’t make him “relatable” either. Even when Joe experiences a “will he or won’t he stay on the team” moment, there’s no real gravitas, because this moment comes and goes so quickly in the movie.

Every star on the team has a rival on the same team, who could either become a close ally or a bitter enemy. In this case, Joe’s competition for being the team’s biggest standout is Don, who’s even more socially awkward than Joe when it comes to dating. At least Joe can initiate a conversation with a potential love interest. In a scene taking place at a school dance, Don is afraid to look at and talk to a woman who looks at him flirtatiously when she’s sitting about six feet away from him.

Don’s rowing teammates are at the same dance. They know that Don is a talented piano player. And so, when they see that Don is having a hard time connecting with any women at this dance, what do his teammates do? They get up on stage and tell a reluctant Don that he has to play piano for the crowd, with the ulterior motive being that this performance will impress any women who could be Don’s love interest.

Don starts off playing bashfully, but he quickly improves and wins over the people in the audience, who respond with loud cheering. It gives Don the confidence he needs when that woman who was looking at him earlier has an inevitable conversation with him at the dance. Yes, it’s that kind of movie.

The coaches in the movie are also fairly predictable. Coach Ulbrickson is typically gruff and tough in training and during rowing matches, but he shows a compassionate side when necessary. His two assistant coaches—Coach Tom Bolles (played by James Wolk) and Coach Brown (played by Dominic Tighe)—are mostly inconsequential characters. Coach Bolles is the more upbeat counterpart to frequently scowling Coach Ulbrickson, while Coach Brown is written with an almost completely blank personality.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer sports journalist Royal Brougham (played by Chris Diamantopoulos) shows up occasionally to give the coaches information on how rival teams are doing. The movie becomes a checklist of stepping stones for the team, until the Huskies reach their ultimate challenge: competing in the 1936 Olympics against the frontrunner rowing team from Nazi-controlled Germany. There is no suspense, because there would be no “Boys in the Boat” movie if the villain team won.

Along the way, viewers of “The Boys in the Boat” are constantly pounded over the head with corny dialogue saying that because the University of Washington’s junior varsity team members come from working-class backgrounds, they “deserve” to win more than any affluent and privileged students from opposing teams. This heavy-handed messaging is especially hammered into the Pacific Coast Regatta scenes, where the Washington Huskies face off against the better-funded and more experienced Cal Bears from the University of California at Berkeley. It’s reverse snobbery that’s kind of obnoxious and hypocritical, considering that “The Boys in the Boat” director/producer Clooney comes from the same type of affluent and privileged family background that is frequently insulted in this hokey movie.

And therein lies what is ultimately the undoing of “The Boys in the Boat.” By trying too hard to look “relatable” by appealing to “working-class/common-person” sensibilities, everything is “dumbed down” and ends up looking too phony in the movie. “The Boys in the Boat” needed to give audience members more credit in being able to handle the grittier and more complex nuances of these real rowing team members, instead of forcing these athletes into looking like “too good to be true” heroes with cardboard personalities.

Amazon MGM Studios will release “The Boys in the Boat” in U.S. cinemas on December 25, 2023.

Review: ‘What Happens Later,’ starring Meg Ryan and David Duchovny

December 14, 2023

by Carla Hay

David Duchovny and Meg Ryan in “What Happens Later” (Photo courtesy of Bleecker Street)

“What Happens Later”

Directed by Meg Ryan

Culture Representation: Taking place in an unnamed regional airport in the United States, the comedy/drama film “What Happens Later” (based on the play “Shooting Star”) features an all-white cast of characters representing the middle-class.

Culture Clash: After not seeing each other for years, two ex-lovers find out that they are taking the same plane flight, and they start arguing about their relationship when they get stuck at the airport after the plane flight is delayed because of a snowstorm.

Culture Audience: “What Happens Later” will appeal primarily to fans of stars Meg Ryan and David Duchovny, because there is very little that is appealing about this annoying and frequently boring movie.

David Duchovny and Meg Ryan in “What Happens Later” (Photo courtesy of Bleecker Street)

Almost everything in “What Happens Later” shows two former lovers bickering and bantering with each other, after not seeing each other for years, while their plane flight is delayed overnight at an airport because of a snowstorm. “What Happens Later” should’ve been called “What Happens When Co-Stars With No Chemistry Together Try and Fail to Make a Cute Romantic Comedy.” No airport during a snowstorm gets this deserted, although the movie’s awful dialogue is enough to clear a room.

Directed by Meg Ryan, “What Happens Later” was co-written by Ryan, Steven Dietz and Kirk Lynn. The movie is based on Dietz’s play “Shooting Star.” It’s the type of movie where only two people have the on-screen speaking roles. And that means if viewers are stuck with these two people for the entire movie, then these two people better be compelling to watch. Unfortunately, “What Happens Later” makes these two people the opposite of compelling.

Almost everything in the movie takes place at an unnamed regional airport in the United States. The movie’s two main characters are Wilhelmina “Willa” Davis (played by Ryan) and William “Bill” Davis (played by David Duchovny), who used to be college sweethearts, but they broke up about 35 years ago and haven’t seen each other in about 20 years. Willa and Bill were never married. They have the same last name by sheer coincidence.

Willa and Bill had a bitter breakup and still haven’t had closure over it. And so, when they first see each other at this airport, they each try to avoid being seen by the other person. Eventually, they make eye contact and start talking to each other when they find out that they’re both on the same plane flight to Boston.

Willa, who lives “in the woods” north of Boston, is a wellness practictioner in the “healing arts.” She has arthritis in one of her hips and walks with a limp. Willa is carrying a “healing” rain stick with her. She says she’s flying to meet a female friend/client who needs a healing session because the friend is going through a difficult divorce. Willa tells Bill that she’s never been married and has no children.

Bill, who lives in Austin, is a businessman who works for a company that “liquefies a lot of damaged assets,” he tells Willa. When Bill and Willa were a couple, he used to be a poet and songwriter. Bill is married to a woman named Bethany, and they have a teenage daughter named Rose. Bill doesn’t approve of Rose’s wish to become a dancer, because he thinks she should have a more financially stable career. Bill tells Willa that he’s upset because Rose doesn’t want to talk to him.

During the course of this slog of a movie, viewers find out that Willa is still angry at Bill for breaking up with her. The way she remembers it, Bill told Willa that he was breaking up with her because he didn’t like her behavior. Bill denies that he ever said that was the reason for the breakup. Eventually, it’s revealed that when Willa and Bill were a couple, they tried having an open relationship, but he got jealous and resentful that Willa seemed to be having too much fun with her other lovers.

About 15 minutes into the movie, Willa and Bill find out that their flight has been delayed due to a snowstorm, so they are stuck at the airport and have to spend the night there. As time goes on in the movie, the airport unrealistically becomes increasingly empty until at one point in the movie, it looks like Willa and Dave are the only people spending the night at a darkened airport. It all looks so phony and ridiculous.

And let’s not get started on the extremely annoying announcements (voiced by Hal Liggett) over the public address system that sound like lines from a poorly written soap opera, not a real airport. Adding to the cheesiness of it all, the airport plays Muzak versions of 1990s songs such as Sheryl Crow’s “My Favorite Mistake” and Third Eye Blind’s “Semi-Charmed Life.” The movie’s lighting looks like it’s taken straight from the stage play. Cinematically, it looks like an awkward transition.

The vast majority of “What Happens Later” consists of Willa and Bill spewing repetitive and irritating back-and-forth barbs where they blame each other over what went wrong in their relationship, insult each other, and nitpick over trivial things about their trip. And you know where all of this is going, of course. The “anger” is supposed to really be a mask for the “passion” that Willa and Bill supposedly still have for each other.

The problem is that Willa and Bill are two miserably neurotic people who are obviously not compatible together. There’s nothing in the movie to indicate that a romantic reunion between these two would actually be the right decision for both of them. And because secrets are revealed, Willa and Bill also show themselves to be dishonest with each other. In other words, there’s no good reason for viewers to root for this ex-couple to get back together. Ryan and Duchovny try to cover up their lack of chemistry with smirks and sarcasm, but it all looks so uncomfortable and forced.

Here’s an example of the horribly written conversations in the movie: In an early scene in the film, when Willa tells Bill that her client is fighting for custody of three dogs in the client’s divorce battle, Bill makes this quip that he thinks is hilarious: “You know what they say about a dog who represents herself in court: She has a bitch for a client.”

Willa tells Bill that this particular day is an extra-magical day because it’s Leap Day (February 29). She adds, “On this extra-magical day, are you on a trip or a journey?” When Bill looks confused, Willa explains: “A trip is when you try to reach a destination. A journey is when you try to reach a goal, like serenity or awareness.” Whether you want to call it a trip, a journey or something else, “What Happens Later” is a cringeworthy ride where the best part is when it’s finally over.

Bleecker Street released “What Happens Later” in U.S. cinemas on November 3, 2023. The movie was released on digital and VOD on November 28, 2023.

Review: ‘The Iron Claw’ (2023), starring Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White, Harris Dickinson, Maura Tierney, Stanley Simons, Holt McCallany and Lily James

December 13, 2023

by Carla Hay

Jeremy Allen White, Harris Dickinson, Michael J. Harney and Zac Efron in “The Iron Claw” (Photo by Brian Roedel/A24)

“The Iron Claw” (2023)

Directed by Sean Durkin

Culture Representation: Taking place in the United States (mostly in Texas), from the late 1970s to the early 1990s, the dramatic film “The Iron Claw” (based on a true story) features a predominantly white cast of characters (with a few Latin people) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.

Culture Clash: In professional wrestling, the Von Erich family (led by hard-driving patriarch Fritz Von Erich) achieves great success, but the family also experiences immense tragedies.

Culture Audience: “The Iron Claw” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of professional wrestling, star Zac Efron, and impactful stories about the down sides of chasing after fame and fortune.

Pictured in center, from left to right: Maura Tierney, Holt McCallany, Stanley Simons, Zac Efron and Harris Dickinson in “The Iron Claw” (Photo by Brian Roedel/A24)

The emotionally wrenching drama “The Iron Claw” tells the tragic story of pro wrestling’s Von Erich family from Kevin Von Erich’s perspective. There are advantages and disadvantages to this narrative choice. Good performances outweigh the movie’s flaws. Viewers who already know what happened in real life can still feel deeply affected by how it’s portrayed in this movie.

Written and directed by Sean Durkin, “The Iron Claw” is based on the true story of the Von Erich family, led by domineering patriarch Fritz Von Erich (played by Holt McCallany), a professional wrestler who had one main ambition in life after he retired: make all of his sons world champions in wrestling, just like he was in the 1960s, when he was known for his signature wrestling move called the Iron Claw. Almost all of the movie’s story takes place from the late 1970s to the early 1990s. Fritz and his devout Christian wife Doris Von Erich (played by Maura Tierney) had no daughters. Fritz’s birth name was Jack Barton Adkisson. He changed his name when he became a wrestler.

The sons of Fritz and Doris are introverted Kevin (played by Zac Efron), born in 1957; charismatic David (played by Harris Dickinson), born in 1958; brooding Kerry (played by Jeremy Allen White), born in 1960; and sensitive Mike (played by Stanley Simons), born in 1964. Fritz and Doris had a first-born son named Jack, who died in a drowning accident in 1952, at the age of 6. (In the movie, Jack’s age at the time of death is mentioned as 5 years old.) In real life, Fritz and Doris had another son named Chris (born in 1969), who does not exist in “The Iron Claw.”

The beginning of the movie is a flashback in black and white to a time in the early 1960s, when Fritz’s career was on the rise. After defeating an opponent in a match, a triumphant Fritz is congratulated at the venue by Doris, who has brought their two sons Kevin (played by Grady Wilson), who’s about 6 years old, and David (played by Valentine Newcomer), who’s about 5 years old. As they walk to the parking lot, Fritz proudly shows a Cadillac that he has recently purchased, but the family can’t afford it.

Doris tells Fritz that she’s worried about this financial burden, but Fritz dismisses her concerns and tells her that in order to be a big star, he has to live like a big star. Fritz promises Doris that he will become a world champion and make enough money for them to be affluent. Doris believes that her husband is the boss of their household, so her main response is to start praying out loud.

The movie switches to color when it fast-forwards to 1979, at the beginning of the wrestling careers of Kevin and David. The Von Erichs live on a ranch in Texas, in the Dallas area. (“The Iron Claw” was actually filmed in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.) Kerry is away from home, because he’s training as a track-and-field Olympian for the 1980 Summer Olympics. Kevin, David and Mike live with their parents, who are very strict.

The Von Erichs are a tight-knit clan who love each other and are very loyal to each other. The “Iron Claw” has several scenes of the Von Erich brothers bonding over athletics, whether it’s during their wrestling training, being in the wrestling ring together with opponents, or playing a casual game of football. Fritz’s name is associated with the Iron Claw, but he rules his family with an iron fist. There is harmony overall in the family, as long as Fritz gets his way in telling other people in the family what to do.

Fritz makes their lives revolve around wrestling. Doris makes sure the family also regularly attends church services. Both parents don’t like to get involved in any conflicts that the brothers have with each other and don’t like to hear about any personal problems that their sons might be having. In a scene where Kevin tries to talk to Doris about a problem with David, she cuts him off and tells him that he and David have to work it out amongst themselves.

As Kevin says in a voiceover: “Ever since I was a child, people said our family was cursed. We never talked about it … Bad things kept happening. Mom tried to protect us with God. Dad tried to protect us with wrestling. He said if we were the toughest, the strongest, the most successful, nothing would ever hurt us. We believed him.”

This isn’t a household where the parents act as if they love their children equally. In a scene that takes place during a family breakfast at the Von Erich home, Fritz openly says that Kerry is his favorite child, followed by Kevin, David and Mike. Fritz also says “the rankings can change,” which is an obvious sign that Fritz pits his sons against each other to compete for his approval. Doris doesn’t “rank” her children, but she passively goes along with whatever Fritz’s parenting decisions are.

Although Kevin and David have enthusiastically become wrestlers, Mike isn’t as athletic and shows indications that he would rather be a musician. Mike is in a local rock band, where he plays guitar and sings lead vocals, but he lies to his parents by saying that he’s in a classical quartet. Mike’s brothers know about this secret though, and they support what Mike does with his band. When the Von Erich sons aren’t wrestling, they make some money from the family’s ranch activities.

“The Iron Claw” somewhat wanders for the first third of the film when showing how the wrestling careers of Kevin and David develop. After the United States boycotts the 1980 Summer Olympics, Kerry returns to the family home and willingly becomes a wrestler on Fritz’s orders. At first, Kevin seems to be the son who will become the first wrestling champ of his brothers, but eventually one of the brothers overshadows him, as commanded by Fritz.

A great deal of the movie shows the relationship between Kevin and a local young woman named Pam (played by Lily James), who meets Kevin when he’s approximately 22 or 23 years old, and she’s about the same age. Pam introduces herself to Kevin after one of his wrestling matches. She asks for his autograph, which quickly turns into Pam flirting with Kevin and prompting him to ask her out on a date.

Kevin is depicted as very inexperienced with dating. He later reveals to Pam that he’s a virgin. They have a sweet courtship, with Pam (who is very outspoken and bold) announcing fairly quickly to Kevin that she wants to become a veterinarian and expects her future husband to be okay with her having a career outside the home. Kevin approves and says they can be a power couple who could live on a big ranch with his family.

One of the noticeable shortcomings with “The Iron Claw” is it makes Kevin look too squeaky clean to be completely believable. As the wrestling success of the Von Erich brothers begins to grow, Kerry and David are shown indulging in illegal drugs (such as cocaine) and using steroids. But the movie makes it look like Kevin was just an observer who stayed away from those vices. It’s not very credible, considering that Kevin in real life has openly said in interviews that he had those vices.

Based on what happens to this family, it’s understandable why the movie is told from Kevin’s perspective. Efron gives an admirable performance as Kevin, who keeps a lot of his feelings bottled up inside, often to Kevin’s detriment. However, “The Iron Claw” tends to gloss over the real-life horrific emotional abuse that Fritz inflicted on his sons. And although White gives a very nuanced performance as Kerry, when Kerry starts to unravel, many unflattering details that happened in real life are left out of the story.

Richard Reed Parry and Little Scream’s song “Live That Way” is performed by the character of Mike with his band. Parry (who also composed the musical score for “The Iron Claw”) uses instrumental snippets of “Live That Way” throughout the film. And by the time the song is heard again during the movie’s end credits, it packs an emotional punch that will leave many viewers sobbing.

“The Iron Claw” succeeds in its intentions to be a tearjerking drama. The movie also has well-shot wrestling scenes that will be thrilling for wrestling fans to watch. There’s some good comic relief in scenes depicting real-life wrestling stars Harley Race (played by Kevin Anton), Ric Flair (played by Aaron Dean Eisenberg) and the Fabulous Firebirds (played by Michael Proctor, Silas Mason and Devin Imbraguglio). However, some viewers might think a few of the movie’s sad scenes are too cloying and manipulative.

The character of David is underdeveloped, which is a disappointment, considering that the movie shows glimpses of David’s big extroverted personality but doesn’t really bother to reveal what was going on in David’s interior life. “The Iron Claw” has other huge gaps in the story that raise questions that remain unanswered in the movie. Despite some of these imperfections, “The Iron Claw” is worth seeing and has enough appeal to be appreciated by people who aren’t wrestling fans. Just don’t expect the movie to be a comprehensive character study of all of the Von Erich brothers.

A24 will release “The Iron Claw” in U.S. cinemas on December 22, 2023. A sneak preview of the movie was shown in select U.S. cinemas on December 13, 2023.

Review: ‘Animal’ (2023), starring Ranbir Kapoor, Anil Kapoor, Bobby Deol, Rashmika Mandanna and Tripti Dimri

December 12, 2023

by Carla Hay

Ranbir Kapoor in “Animal” (Photo courtesy of AA Films)

“Animal” (2023)

Directed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga

Hindi with subtitles

Culture Representation: Taking place in India and in the United States, the action film “Animal” features an all-Indian cast of characters representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.

Culture Clash: A “bad boy” from a rich family gets into violent feuds with family members and other people. 

Culture Audience: “Animal” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the movie’s headliners and don’t mind watching long-winded movies with mindless plots and gory and excessive violence.

Cast members of “Animal.” Pictured sitting in front, from left to right: Adyaan Sachdeva, Suresh Oberoi and Ananya Bhati. Pictured standing in back, from left to right: Kalyan Vittapu, Siddhant Karnick, Saloni Batra, Anil Kapoor, Charu Shankar, Anshul Chauhan and Ranbir Kapoor. (Photo courtesy of AA Films)

Trashy, idiotic, and filled with disgusting bloody violence that’s overly repetitive, “Animal” is excruciatingly too long at about 200 minutes. This garbage movie has no redeeming qualities. It’s yet another stupid story about feuding and vengeful families. All of the acting performances are unimpressive. And to make things worse, by the end of this irritating dump of the movie, it’s obvious that it was made with a sequel in mind.

Written and directed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga, “Animal” has a very tiresome and over-used plot. A “rogue” goes on killing sprees to gain power and to avenge things that happened to his family. If a movie like this is done right, audiences will root for this anti-hero. But when the central character is an unrelenting jerk with no charm or wit, there’s no reason to care.

Unfortunately, “Animal” (which takes place primarily in India and in the United States) panders to the lowest and worst possible choices on how this story could have gone. The movie has several characters who are just empty vessels for the awful dialogue that they have to spew. And the plot twists (especially in the film’s mid-credits scene) are just too ridiculous to take.

The central character in this moronic mess is Ranvijay “Vijay” Singh (played by Ranbir Kapoor), who is the rebellious son of wealthy business mogul Balbir Singh (played by Anil Kapoor, no relation to Ranbir Kapoor). Balbir has inherited the Delhi-based company Swastik Steel, which he hopes to pass on to Vijay. Balbir, who is Swastik Steel’s CEO, is frustrated and worried that Vijay isn’t responsible enough to take over the company. Vijay’s history of getting into trouble has brought shame and scandal to the family.

The Singh family is a large clan that includes Balbir’s wife/Vijay’s mother Jyoti Singh (played by Charu Shankar), who is a typical “trophy wife” socialite. Vijay is the middle child with two siblings. Vijay’s older sister Reet Singh (played by Saloni Batra) is frequently embarrassed by Vijay. Vijay’s younger sister Roop Singh (played by Anshul Chauhan) is more tolerant of Vijay. Balbir is preoccupied with his work, so he often neglected his kids when they were growing up. This neglect is a touchy subject for Vijay, who has “daddy issues.”

Reet’s husband Varun Pratap Malhotra (played by Siddhant Karnick) is a high-ranking executive at Swastik Steel. Reet and Varun have two children: a son (played by Adyaan Sachdeva) and a daughter (played by Ananya Bhati). Other members of the family are Balbir’s father Rajdheer Dodamal Singh, nicknamed Dadaji (played by Suresh Oberoi) and Balbir’s mother Rani Kaur Singh, nicknamed Beeji (played by Madhu Raja), who don’t do much in the movie. Varun also has a brother (played by Kalyan Vittapu), who is a trusted confidant.

Near the beginning of the movie, Vijay is in his mid-20s, and the Singh family is attending the engagement party of a family friend named Gitanjali, nicknamed Gitu (played by Rashmika Mandanna), who has known Vjay since they were children and schoolmates. Vijay still has romantic feelings for Gitanjali, but this is his idea of a complimentary pickup line: At the party, he tells Gitanjali that she has a wide pelvis, which is ideal for giving birth.

Vijay and Varun get into an argument at the party. Vijay tells Reet not to interfere. Upset and mortified that Vijay is causing a scene, his father takes him aside to scold him: “I thought you had grown up!”

It turns out that Vijay has returned to India after being sent away to boarding school in the United States. Why was he sent away? When he was a teenager, Vijay found out that some guys in Reet’s college were bullying her. In response (which the movie shows as a flashback), Vijay showed up at the school with an AK-47 rifle, went to a classroom where he knew the bullies would be, and shot the gun in the classroom to “scare” the bullies. Luckily, no one was hurt or killed.

One can assume that Vijay didn’t spend any time in jail for this heinous crime because of his father’s money and power. One can also assume that it’s just a way for the “Animal” filmmakers to show unnecessary violence for violence’s sake. It’s just one of many examples in the movie that demonstrate how much of an unstable and loathsome jerk Vijay is.

Incredibly, Vijay is able to convince Gitanjali to break off her engagement after he confesses to her that he’s been in love with her for years. Gitanjali and Vijay quickly get engaged, and then they elope for their wedding by going to a remote mountaintop for the ceremony. They arrive by a private plane, with Vijay as the pilot and Gitanjali as the only passenger.

For their honeymoon, Vijay has arranged for a king-sized bed to be placed outdoors on the airstrip. He thinks it would be romantic for them to have sex outdoors on this bed. At first, Gitanjali is reluctant and self-conscious, but changes her mind when Vijay convinces her that no on else will see them.

Vijay and Gitanjali also have sex in the airplane. Later, Vijay plays Gitanjali the “black box” recording of them having sex. He thinks it’s hilarious that Gitanjali didn’t know that everything had been recording without her knowledge or consent.

At the 60th birthday party of Balbir, Vijay has another argument with Varun. This time, a fed-up Balbir kicks Vijay out of the party. In anger, Vijay decides that he and Gitanjali will move to the United States and become estranged from his family. Vijay and Gitanjali start their own family in the United States, where their son and daughter are born. But since Vijay is a narcissistic cretin, the marriage runs into major problems for exactly the reasons you think it does.

Vijay’s estrangement from his parents and other family members lasts for eight years. Vijay ends up back in India after Balbir is nearly assassinated. Vijay finds out that a rival named Asrar Haque (played by Babloo Prithiveeraj) was behind this murder plot. Asrar has a brother named Abrar Haque (played by Bobby Deol), who works with Asrar in their dirty deals. And you know what that means for someone like Vijay: He’s going on a revenge rampage.

“Animal” is a tangled slog of betrayals, murders, family feuds, near-death experiences, spying, look-alikes deceiving people, and a bizarre and unnecessary scene where Vijay parades around his estate naked after an unrealistic medical transformation. It’s all so mind-numbing and senseless. And although Vijay and Gitanjali are married for several years in the story, he treats her with such disrespect, the movie fails to convince that Vijay could love anyone but himself.

Violence is expected for most action movies, but the murders and torture in “Animal” are done with such sadistic glee, it will surely make some viewers feel sick. In “Animal,” it’s not enough for someone to get slashed or stabbed. The slashing or stabbing is shown as overkill, with the murderer having an evil smirk while getting soaked in the victim’s blood.

Toward the end of this soulless movie, “Animal” has one of the weirdest-looking showdown scenes you’ll ever see, with body contortions that would not be in a real fight. And it’s one of those “only in a movie” showdowns where henchmen thugs just stand around and watch instead of helping their leader. Viewers will despise “Animal” even more for how everything just gets dragged out for too long in this scene. People are tortured in the movie, but anyone who watches all of “Animal” experiences the torture of a horrible movie that is too long and takes itself too seriously.

AA Films released “Animal” in U.S. cinemas and in India on December 1, 2023.

Review: ‘The Oath’ (2023), starring Darin Scott, Nora Dale, Karina Lombard, Eugene Brave Rock and Billy Zane

December 11, 2023

by Carla Hay

Nora Dale and Darin Scott in “The Oath” (Photo courtesy of Freestyle Digital Media)

“The Oath” (2023)

Directed by Darin Scott

Culture Representation: Taking place in the 5th century in the Americas, the action film “The Oath” (inspired by the Book of Mormon and based on the short film “Reign of Judges”) features a cast of white and Native American characters representing the working-class and middle-class.

Culture Clash: A Hebraic fugitive named Moroni fights to save the history of Israel as he is hunted by a ruthless king. 

Culture Audience: “The Oath” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of faith-based movies, no matter how amateurish the filmmaking is.

Billy Zane and Eugene Brave Rock in “The Oath” (Photo courtesy of Freestyle Digital Media)

“The Oath” is a faith-based movie about Judeo-Christian historical people, but this tedious drama is actually very soulless. The characters, story and filmmaking are woefully generic, while the acting performances are dismally substandard. The story is told in a jumbled way and becomes a very misguided and dull movie.

Darin Scott is the co-writer, director and star of “The Oath,” which also has Scott as one of the movie’s producers. If that sounds like a vanity project, it comes across that way in “The Oath,” which is based on Scott’s short film “Reign of Judges.” It looks like no one stepped in to tell Scott that “The Oath” is a very incoherent and sloppily made movie that needed a serious overall in almost every way. Michelle Scott co-wrote “The Oath” screenplay.

“The Oath” (which is inspired by the Book of Mormon) begins with the statement that a legend tells of an ancient grudge, where two brothers from Egypt had a feud that sparked an ancient war between the Nephites and Lamanites. After a millennium of war, only one Nephite remains. Most of the story takes place in the 5th century, somewhere in the Americas. (“The Oath” was actually filmed in upstate New York.)

Moroni (played by Darin Scott) is a Hebraic loner living in the woods. He meets a battered woman named Bathsheba (played by Nora Dale), who is pregnant and who has escaped from her abuser. Bathsheba is a Lamanite and is surprised to find out that Moroni knows the Lamanite language. Moroni says his father taught him.

Through a monotonous series of events, Moroni and Bathsheba find some writings about the Lamanite/Nephite war and about the birth of Israel, a land that Moroni tells Bathsheba is “our common birthright.” He also tells her, “I can show you a life you’ve never known: freedom.” This type of simplistic dialogue clogs up the entire movie.

It should come as no surprise that Bathsheba and Moroni fall in love. It’s a “romance” that looks very phony in the movie because co-stars Darin Scott and Dale just do not have believable chemistry with each other. The love scenes have all the passion of staring at a blank piece of paper.

It isn’t long before Moroni and Bathsheba are being hunted by the murderous King Aaron (played by a very miscast Billy Zane), who is aided by a warrior named Mahigana (played by Karina Lombard) and a sidekick named Cohor (played by Eugene Brave Rock). Expect to see too many nonsensical scenes where Moroni and Bathsheba try to evade their hunters, occasionally encounter them, escape, get lost, and all the usual things that a weak-plotted movie does to stretch its unjustified feature-length running time.

It all leads up to an inevitable showdown, which is as hokey and badly choreographed as you think it will be, considering the low quality of the rest of the movie. The acting performances in “The Oath” are more wooden than the trees in the woods where these characters wander around like people stuck in a terrible maze. “The Oath” might have been made with very good intentions, but one of those intentions clearly was not learning how to make a good movie.

Freestyle Digital Media released “The Oath” in U.S. cinemas on December 8, 2023. The movie will be released on digital and VOD on March 26, 2024.

2024 Golden Globe Awards: ‘Barbie’ is the top nominee

December 11, 2023

Emma Mackey, Simu Liu, Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling and Kingsley Ben-Adir in “Barbie” (Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures)

The following is a press release from CBS:

[Editor’s Note: In the movie categories, “Barbie” has the most nominations (10), followed by “Oppenheimer,” which has eight nominations. In the TV categories, “Succession” has the eight nominations, followed by five nominations each for “The Bear” and “Only Murders in the Building.”]

The Golden Globes® announced the nominees of the 81st ANNUAL GOLDEN GLOBE® AWARDS, which will air Sunday, January 7, 2024 (8:00 PM, ET/5:00 PM, PT) live on CBS and streaming on Paramount+ (live and on demand for Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers, or on demand for Paramount+ Essential subscribers the day after the special airs)*. The nominations were announced by Cedric the Entertainer and Wilmer Valderrama, who presented nominees for each of the 27 award categories.

Multi-Emmy Award®-winning producing duo Glenn Weiss and Ricky Kirshner of White Cherry Entertainment (WCE) will serve as executive-producing showrunners for the 81st ANNUAL GOLDEN GLOBE® AWARDS, with Weiss also set to direct. Produced and owned by Dick Clark Productions, the Golden Globe Awards has been viewed in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide and is one of the few awards ceremonies to include both motion picture and television achievements.

Following is the complete list of nominees for the 81st ANNUAL GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS:

BEST MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA

  • ANATOMY OF A FALL (NEON)
  • KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON (Apple Original Films)
  • MAESTRO (Netflix)
  • OPPENHEIMER (Universal Pictures)
  • PAST LIVES (A24)
  • THE ZONE OF INTEREST (A24)

BEST MOTION PICTURE – MUSICAL OR COMEDY

  • AIR (Amazon MGM Studios)
  • AMERICAN FICTION (Orion Pictures / Amazon MGM Studios)
  • BARBIE (Warner Bros. Pictures)
  • THE HOLDOVERS (Focus Features)
  • MAY DECEMBER (Netflix)
  • POOR THINGS (Searchlight Pictures)

BEST MOTION PICTURE – ANIMATED

  • THE BOY AND THE HERON (GKIDS)
  • ELEMENTAL (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
  • SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE (Sony Pictures Releasing)
  • THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE (Universal Pictures)
  • SUZUME (Crunchyroll / Sony Pictures Entertainment)
  • WISH (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)

CINEMATIC AND BOX OFFICE ACHIEVEMENT

  • BARBIE (Warner Bros. Pictures)
  • GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3 (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
  • JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 4 (Lionsgate)
  • MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – DEAD RECKONING PART 1 (Paramount Pictures)
  • OPPENHEIMER (Universal Pictures)
  • SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE (Sony Pictures Releasing)
  • THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE (Universal Pictures)
  • TAYLOR SWIFT: THE ERAS TOUR (AMC Theatres Distribution)

BEST MOTION PICTURE – NON-ENGLISH LANGUAGE

  • ANATOMY OF A FALL (NEON) – FRANCE
  • FALLEN LEAVES (MUBI) – FINLAND
  • IO CAPITANO (Pathe Distribution) – ITALY
  • PAST LIVES (A24) – USA
  • SOCIETY OF THE SNOW (Netflix) – SPAIN
  • THE ZONE OF INTEREST (A24) – UNITED KINGDOM / USA

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA

  • ANNETTE BENING (NYAD)
  • LILY GLADSTONE (KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON)
  • SANDRA HÜLLER (ANATOMY OF A FALL)
  • GRETA LEE (PAST LIVES)
  • CAREY MULLIGAN (MAESTRO)
  • CAILEE SPAENY (PRISCILLA)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA

  • BRADLEY COOPER (MAESTRO)
  • LEONARDO DICAPRIO (KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON)
  • COLMAN DOMINGO (RUSTIN)
  • BARRY KEOGHAN (SALTBURN)
  • CILLIAN MURPHY (OPPENHEIMER)
  • ANDREW SCOTT (ALL OF US STRANGERS)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – MUSICAL OR COMEDY

  • FANTASIA BARRINO (THE COLOR PURPLE)
  • JENNIFER LAWRENCE (NO HARD FEELINGS)
  • NATALIE PORTMAN (MAY DECEMBER)
  • ALMA PÖYSTI (FALLEN LEAVES)
  • MARGOT ROBBIE (BARBIE)
  • EMMA STONE (POOR THINGS)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – MUSICAL OR COMEDY

  • NICOLAS CAGE (DREAM SCENARIO)
  • TIMOTHÉE CHALAMET (WONKA)
  • MATT DAMON (AIR)
  • PAUL GIAMATTI (THE HOLDOVERS)
  • JOAQUIN PHOENIX (BEAU IS AFRAID)
  • JEFFREY WRIGHT (AMERICAN FICTION)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN ANY MOTION PICTURE

  • EMILY BLUNT (OPPENHEIMER)
  • DANIELLE BROOKS (THE COLOR PURPLE)
  • JODIE FOSTER (NYAD)
  • JULIANNE MOORE (MAY DECEMBER)
  • ROSAMUND PIKE (SALTBURN)
  • DA’VINE JOY RANDOLPH (THE HOLDOVERS)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN ANY MOTION PICTURE

  • WILLEM DAFOE (POOR THINGS)
  • ROBERT DE NIRO (KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON)
  • ROBERT DOWNEY JR. (OPPENHEIMER)
  • RYAN GOSLING (BARBIE)
  • CHARLES MELTON (MAY DECEMBER)
  • MARK RUFFALO (POOR THINGS)

BEST DIRECTOR – MOTION PICTURE

  • BRADLEY COOPER (MAESTRO)
  • GRETA GERWIG (BARBIE)
  • YORGOS LANTHIMOS (POOR THINGS)
  • CHRISTOPHER NOLAN (OPPENHEIMER)
  • MARTIN SCORSESE (KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON)
  • CELINE SONG (PAST LIVES)

BEST SCREENPLAY – MOTION PICTURE

  • GRETA GERWIG, NOAH BAUMBACH (BARBIE)
  • TONY MCNAMARA (POOR THINGS)
  • CHRISTOPHER NOLAN (OPPENHEIMER)
  • ERIC ROTH, MARTIN SCORSESE  (KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON)
  • CELINE SONG (PAST LIVES)
  • JUSTINE TRIET, ARTHUR HARARI (ANATOMY OF A FALL)

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE – MOTION PICTURE

  • JERSKIN FENDRIX (POOR THINGS)
  • LUDWIG GÖRANSSON (OPPENHEIMER)
  • JOE HISAISHI (THE BOY AND THE HERON)
  • MICA LEVI (THE ZONE OF INTEREST)
  • DANIEL PEMBERTON (SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE)
  • ROBBIE ROBERTSON (KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON)

BEST ORIGINAL SONG – MOTION PICTURE

  • “ADDICTED TO ROMANCE” — SHE CAME TO ME; Music & Lyrics by: Bruce Springsteen
  • “DANCE THE NIGHT” — BARBIE; Music & Lyrics by: Mark Ronson, Andrew Wyatt, Dua Lipa, Caroline Ailin
  • “I’M JUST KEN” — BARBIE; Music & Lyrics by: Mark Ronson, Andrew Wyatt
  • “PEACHES” — THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE; Music & Lyrics by: Jack Black, Aaron Horvath, Michael Jelenic, Eric Osmond, John Spiker
  • “ROAD TO FREEDOM” — RUSTIN; Music & Lyrics by: Lenny Kravitz
  • “WHAT WAS I MADE FOR?” — BARBIE; Music & Lyrics by: Billie Eilish O’Connell, Finneas O’Connell

BEST TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA

  • 1923 (PARAMOUNT+)
  • THE CROWN (NETFLIX)
  • THE DIPLOMAT (NETFLIX)
  • THE LAST OF US (HBO | MAX)
  • THE MORNING SHOW (APPLE TV+)
  • SUCCESSION (HBO | MAX)

BEST TELEVISION SERIES – MUSICAL OR COMEDY

  • ABBOTT ELEMENTARY (ABC)
  • BARRY (HBO | MAX)
  • THE BEAR (FX)
  • JURY DUTY (AMAZON FREEVEE)
  • ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING (HULU)
  • TED LASSO (APPLE TV+)

BEST TELEVISION LIMITED SERIES, ANTHOLOGY SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

  • ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE (NETFLIX)
  • BEEF (NETFLIX)
  • DAISY JONES & THE SIX  (PRIME VIDEO)
  • FARGO (FX)
  • FELLOW TRAVELERS (SHOWTIME)
  • LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY (APPLE TV+)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA

  • HELEN MIRREN (1923)
  • BELLA RAMSEY  (THE LAST OF US)
  • KERI RUSSELL (THE DIPLOMAT)
  • SARAH SNOOK (SUCCESSION)
  • IMELDA STAUNTON (THE CROWN)
  • EMMA STONE (THE CURSE)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA

  • BRIAN COX (SUCCESSION)
  • KIERAN CULKIN (SUCCESSION)
  • GARY OLDMAN (SLOW HORSES)
  • PEDRO PASCAL (THE LAST OF US)
  • JEREMY STRONG (SUCCESSION)
  • DOMINIC WEST (THE CROWN)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – MUSICAL OR COMEDY

  • RACHEL BROSNAHAN (THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL)
  • QUINTA BRUNSON (ABBOTT ELEMENTARY)
  • AYO EDEBIRI (THE BEAR)
  • ELLE FANNING (THE GREAT)
  • SELENA GOMEZ (ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING)
  • NATASHA LYONNE (POKER FACE)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – MUSICAL OR COMEDY

  • BILL HADER (BARRY)
  • STEVE MARTIN (ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING)
  • JASON SEGEL (SHRINKING)
  • MARTIN SHORT (ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING)
  • JASON SUDEIKIS (TED LASSO)
  • JEREMY ALLEN WHITE (THE BEAR)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES, ANTHOLOGY SERIES, OR A MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

  • RILEY KEOUGH (DAISY JONES & THE SIX)
  • BRIE LARSON (LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY)
  • ELIZABETH OLSEN (LOVE & DEATH)
  • JUNO TEMPLE (FARGO)
  • RACHEL WEISZ (DEAD RINGERS)
  • ALI WONG (BEEF)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES, ANTHOLOGY SERIES, OR A MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

  • MATT BOMER (FELLOW TRAVELERS)
  • SAM CLAFLIN (DAISY JONES & THE SIX)
  • JON HAMM (FARGO)
  • WOODY HARRELSON (WHITE HOUSE PLUMBERS)
  • DAVID OYELOWO (LAWMEN: BASS REEVES)
  • STEVEN YEUN (BEEF)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE ON TELEVISION

  • ELIZABETH DEBICKI (THE CROWN)
  • ABBY ELLIOTT (THE BEAR)
  • CHRISTINA RICCI (YELLOWJACKETS)
  • J. SMITH-CAMERON (SUCCESSION)
  • MERYL STREEP (ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING)
  • HANNAH WADDINGHAM (TED LASSO)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE ON TELEVISION

  • BILLY CRUDUP (THE MORNING SHOW)
  • MATTHEW MACFADYEN (SUCCESSION)
  • JAMES MARSDEN (JURY DUTY)
  • EBON MOSS–BACHRACH (THE BEAR)
  • ALAN RUCK (SUCCESSION)
  • ALEXANDER SKARSGÅRD (SUCCESSION)

BEST PERFORMANCE IN STAND-UP COMEDY ON TELEVISION

  • RICKY GERVAIS (RICKY GERVAIS: ARMAGEDDON)
  • TREVOR NOAH (TREVOR NOAH: WHERE WAS I)
  • CHRIS ROCK (CHRIS ROCK: SELECTIVE OUTRAGE)
  • AMY SCHUMER (AMY SCHUMER: EMERGENCY CONTACT)
  • SARAH SILVERMAN (SARAH SILVERMAN: SOMEONE YOU LOVE)
  • WANDA SYKES (WANDA SYKES: I’M AN ENTERTAINER)

About The Golden Globe® Awards

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About Dick Clark Productions

Dick Clark Productions is the world’s largest producer and proprietor of televised live event entertainment programming including the “Academy of Country Music Awards,” “American Music Awards,” “Billboard Music Awards,” “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest,” “Golden Globe Awards,” “So You Think You Can Dance,” from 19 Entertainment and DCP, and “Streamy Awards.” Dick Clark Productions owns one of the world’s most extensive and unique entertainment archive libraries with more than 60 years of award-winning shows, historic specials, performances, and legendary programming. Dick Clark Productions is a Penske Media company. For more information, please visit www.DickClark.com.

About CBS

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*Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers will have access to stream live via the live feed of their local CBS affiliate on the service, as well as on demand. Paramount+ Essential subscribers will not have the option to steam live but will have access to on-demand the day after the special airs.

Review: ‘Origin’ (2023), starring Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor

December 10, 2023

by Carla Hay

Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor in “Origin” (Photo by Atsushi Nishijima/Neon)

“Origin” (2023)

Directed by Ava DuVernay

Some language in German and Hindi with subtitles

Culture Representation: Taking place in the United States, Germany, and India, the dramatic film “Origin” (based on the non-fiction book “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents”) features an African American, white and Asian cast of characters representing the working-class and middle-class.

Culture Clash: After experiencing two major deaths in her family, a grieving non-fiction author decides to write a book investigating how societal prejudices around the world are interconnected through different forms of caste systems, even though some people are skeptical that this is a viable concept for a research book.

Culture Audience: “Origin” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of filmmaker Ava DuVernay and movies that take uncomfortable but necessary looks at how harmful societal prejudices come in many different forms but have the same goals of oppressing other people.

Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor in “Origin” (Photo by Atsushi Nishijima/Neon)

“Origin” weaves a meaningful cinematic tapestry that shows how societal prejudices are interconnected. The acting performances in this drama are admirable, but some viewers might think the movie’s pacing is too slow. “Origin” also presents multiple timeline-jumping storylines alongside the main story. This juggling of different stories in one movie might not appeal to everyone, with some viewers thinking that this narrative is too cluttered and messy. “Origin” (which had its world premiere at the 2023 Venice International Film Festival) is best appreciated by people who have the patience to watch a layered 135-minute movie with no distractions.

Written and directed by Ava DuVernay (who is one of the movie’s producers), “Origin” is based on American journalist-turned-author Isabel Wilkerson’s best-selling 2020 non-fiction book “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents.” In the book, Pulitzer Prize-winning Wilkerson presents the theory that caste systems based on societal prejudices have caused various forms of damaging oppression around the world. In “Origin,” Wilkerson (played by Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, also known as Aunjanue Ellis) is the movie’s main character, who researches this theory by using three main examples: racism in the United States, the Holocaust in Europe, and the caste system in India.

Racism in the United States includes scenes and mentions about the Trayon Martin tragedy of 2012, when 17-year-old Martin (who was unarmed) was shot and killed in Sanford, Florida, by a man who followed Martin and called 911 to report that Martin looked suspicious. (Myles Frost portrays Martin in “Origin.”) The killing of Martin is widely considered to be a flashpoint for the start of the Black Lives Matter movement.

At the time this tragedy occurred, Isabel is shown to be in a happy interracial marriage with her husband Brett Hamilton (played by Jon Bernthal), who is a mathematician and financial analyst. Isabel’s widowed mother Ruby Wilkerson (played by Emily Yancy), who uses a wheelchair, lives with Isabel and Brett. Isabel and Brett, who do not have children, have an upper-middle-class lifestyle where they go to parties attended by affluent and intellectual people. It’s at one of these parties where Isabel (a former newspaper journalist) is approached by her former editor Amari Selvan (played by Blair Underwood) to do a news article on the Martin tragedy, but she declines the request because she says she doesn’t want to be a journalist anymore.

Although things are going well in the marriage of Isabel and Brett, the spouses have to grapple with the difficult decision of putting Ruby in an assisted living facility when Ruby’s physical condition requires more medical attention than what Isabel and Brett can provide in their home. Isabel has a close emotional bond with Ruby, as well as with Isabel’s cousin Marion Wilkerson (played by Niecy Nash-Betts). Within a year, two of these family members will be dead.

A grieving Isabel then gets the idea to write “Caste” and goes on an international journey to do research for the book. (“Origin” was filmed in Germany, India, and the American cities of Montgomery in Alabama and Savannah in Georgia.) Ellis-Taylor gives a very good performance as the quietly determined Isabel, whose grief is not just on a personal level but also on a collective level for all the suffering and inhumanity that she has to report in her book.

While Isabel is on this research journey (she travels to Germany and India), “Origin” simultaneously shows stories that took place in the past. In 1930s Nazi-controlled Germany, African American husband-and-wife scholars Allison Davis (played by Isha Carlos Blaaker) and Elizabeth Davis (played by Jasmine Cephas Jones) experience racism when they are visiting in Berlin. The racist Germans whom Allison and Elizabeth encounter are openly hostile in their disbelief that black people can be well-educated and intelligent.

Meanwhile, a German shipyard worker named August Landmesser (played by Finn Wittrock), a gentile whose community is largely supportive of the Nazi antisemitic agenda, has to decide how he’s going to handle his secret romance with a Jewish woman named Irma Eckler (played by Victoria Pedretti), who wants to be more publicly open about their relationship. Allison and Elizabeth later team up with Harvard University anthropology spouses Burleigh Gardner (played by Matthew Zuk) and Mary Gardner (played by Hannah Pniewski) for an undercover social experiment that won’t be revealed in this review but is shown in the movie.

When Isabel is in India, she does deep-dive research into the caste system and learns more about the horrible treatment of Dalit people, who are considered the lowest of the low in India’s hierarchal society. Isabel also becomes familiar with the teachings of India’s former minister of law and justice Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, a controversial Dalit leader who fought for the civil rights of Dalit people. The parts of “Origin” that take place in India seem a little rushed in toward the end of the film.

The problem that some people might have with “Origin” is that it takes close to an hour into the movie before Isabel starts her research journey. The backstory about her family and the August/Irma romance fill up most of the first half of the film. “Origin” certainly could have used better film editing in this first half. For example, the movie really didn’t need to spend as much time as it did showing Isabel and Brett doing a search for an assisted living facility for Ruby.

A few notable actors have cameos in the parts of “Origin” that take place in the United States. Audra McDonald has the role of Miss Hale, one of the people who’s interviewed by Isabel for the book. Miss Hale shares vivid and painful memories of experiencing racism as a child.

Connie Nielsen has the role of Sabine, a German who meets Isabel in Germany, during a small dinner party at the home of their mutual friend Ulrich (played by John Hans Tester). Sabine is skeptical of Isabel’s theory that the Nazis in 1930s Germany used racial segregation and slavery laws from the United States as a blueprint for the Holocaust. Sabine thinks the book’s concept is flawed and doesn’t hesitate to tell Isabel her opinions. Sabine says that slavery in the United States was about “subjugation,” while the Holocaust in Europe was about “extermination.”

In an earlier scene, Nick Offerman has the role of a plumber named Dave, who visits Isabel’s home to fix a plumbing problem in her basement. Dave wears a Make America Great Again hat (a signature look of Donald Trump supporters), which is supposed to signal that he’s the type of politically conservative person who might clash with politically liberal Isabel. However, the conversation that Isabel and Dave have in the movie will surprise viewers who might be expecting some type of confrontation.

“Origin” takes a while to get to the heart of the story, but its approach to the subject matter should be admired for not being entirely predictable. Just like Wilkerson did in “Caste,” DuVernay wants viewers of “Origin” to understand that although certain laws exist that have banned slavery and genocide in certain countries that have been notorious for both, the toxic prejudices that fueled these horrors still exist in one form or another. By bringing together stories that take place in various time periods, “Origin” succeeds in its intention to show people a deeply moving film that exemplifies Spanish philosopher George Santayana’s famous quote about the pitfalls of forgetting what history has taught: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

Neon released “Origin” in select U.S. cinemas on December 8, 2023, with a wider release in U.S. cinemas on January 19, 2024.

Review: ‘Anselm,’ starring Anselm Kiefer

December 10, 2023

by Carla Hay

Anselm Kiefer in “Anselm” (Photo courtesy of Sideshow and Janus Films)

“Anselm”

Directed by Wim Wenders

German with subtitles

Culture Representation: Taking place in primarily in France, the documentary film “Anselm” features an all-white group of people telling the life story of German painter and sculptor Anselm Kiefer.

Culture Clash: Kiefer has a reputation for being controversial because he often does art about taboo subjects, such as the sordid history of Nazi Germany. 

Culture Audience: “Anselm” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of Kiefer, filmmaker Wim Wenders, and artsy documentaries that don’t stick to the usual formulas.

Anselm Kiefer in “Anselm” (Photo courtesy of Sideshow and Janus Films)

Don’t expect a traditional biographical documentary of Anselm Kiefer when watching “Anselm.” It’s an unconventional showcase of a collection of his notable art on display in warehouses and outdoor settings, mixed with archival footage and his recollections. “Anselm” had its world premiere at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival and then made the rounds at other film festivals in 2023, such as the Telluride Film Festival.

Directed by Wim Wenders, “Anselm” is unlike most documentaries, because there isn’t a lot of talking in this movie. Interspersed with the majestic views of Kiefer’s art, he occasionally makes comments about his life. He is known for making art that is always unque, often provocative, sometimes controversial. (He got a lot of criticism when he was younger for being seemingly fixated on doing art about Nazi Germany.)

The documentary also has re-enactments of his life, with Anselm’s son Daniel Kiefer portraying Anselm as a young man. Anton Wenders portrays Anselm as a boy of about 5 or 6 years old. The depictions of Anselm as a boy also showed he liked to spend time alone drawing and having a vivid imagination n which he would tell stories to himself.

Anselm was born in 1947, in Donaueschingen, Germany. Since 1992, he has lived in France, where he has a 200-acre property (in southern France’s Barjac) that is like a museum of his artwork. “Anselm” has multiple scenes of Anselm riding a bicycle through the massive warehouses on the property. He says he likes living in isolation.

He’s seen occasionally smoking a cigar during his interview commentary, which isn’t particularly revealing, because it’s obvious he doesn’t really like talking about himself too much. (His personal life is not discussed at at all in the documentary.) He gets more animated when talking about an artist he admires: Paul Celan, a Romanian poet and translator, who died in 1970, at the age of 49. Anselm comments that it must have been difficult for Celan to be Jewish in Nazi Germany.

Viewers also get a peek into Anselm’s creative process. The documentary shows him making the piece “Sky Painting Earth,” which involves him torching large swaths of straw on massive panels. There are a few workers occasionally shown assisting him, but no one else is interviewed in this documentary except for Anselm.

“Anselm” opens with sweeping views of Anselm’s 1999 installation “The Women of Antiquity,” which features sculptures of wedding dresses on display outdoors and in warehouse spaces. As the camera glides over the sculptures, a chorus of imaginary women’s voices can be heard whispering things, such as “We may be homeless and the forgotten ones, but we don’t forget a thing.” This installation is seen as visual bookends to the movie, which has many stunning images of Anselm’s inventive art.

“Anselm” was originally released in cinemas as a 3D-only film, which enhances the impressive cinematography by Franz Lustig. The camera work for this documentary doesn’t evoke “fly on the wall” filmmaking; it’s more like a soaring bird. Leonard Küßner’s elegant musical score helps take viewers on this carefully curated but still immersive journey into Anselm Kiefer as an artist. It’s a journey worth taking for viewers who are open-minded enough to go with the flow and expect the unexpected. As a documentary filled with inspired art, “Anselm” is a distinctive portrait unto itself.

Sideshow and Janus Films released “Anselm” in select U.S. cinemas on December 8, 2023.

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