Tag: reviews

Review: ‘The Locksmith’ (2023), starring Ryan Phillippe, Kate Bosworth, Jeffrey Nordling, Gabriela Quezada, Madeleine Guilbot, Charlie Weber and Ving Rhames

April 24, 2023

by Carla Hay

Gabriela Quezada and Ryan Phillippe in “The Locksmith” (Photo courtesy of Screen Media Films)

“The Locksmith” (2023)

Directed by Nicolas Harvard

Culture Representation: Taking place in New Mexico, the dramatic film “The Locksmith” features a predominantly white cast of characters (with a few African Americans and Latinos) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.

Culture Clash: After spending 10 years in prison on burglary charges, a former locksmith is released from prison and gets lured back into a life of crime while he tries to make amends with his family and with the daughter of his former partner in crime. 

Culture Audience: “The Locksmith” will appeal primarily to people who don’t mind watching stupid crime dramas.

Ving Rhames in “The Locksmith” (Photo courtesy of Screen Media Films)

“The Locksmith” is an idiotic flop whose screenplay should’ve stayed locked up in places where bad screenplays never get made into movies. The plot twists are really plot holes. The performances and direction are low-quality and uninspired. Everything about this movie looks misguided and fake.

Directed by Nicolas Harvard, “The Locksmith” (which is Harvard’s feature-film directorial debut) was written by Joe Russo and Chris LaMont. It might be surprising for some people to know that Russo co-directed several Marvel Studios blockbusters, including 2018’s “Avengers: Infinity War” and 2019’s “Avengers: Endgame.” It just goes to show that directing mega-hits doesn’t automatically turn someone into a great screenwriter. “The Locksmith” is an example of one bad decision after another, not just from the movie’s main characters but also the filmmakers.

“The Locksmith” (which takes place and was filmed in New Mexico) begins by showing a nighttime break-in at a warehouse by two burglars who are there to steal a large amount of cash from a locked safe. No one else is in the warehouse. Miller Graham (played by Ryan Phillippe) and his partner Kevin Reyes (played by George Akram) both have different feelings about this theft.

Before they broke into the warehouse, Kevin said to Miller: “I’ve got a bad feeling about this, man. Didn’t Frank pass on this job?” Miller replies, “I need the money, Kevin.” Unfortunately for these two thieves, the cash in the safe has a motion sensor, which triggers a silent alarm. Before these two burglars can make a getaway, police arrive to apprehend them.

The first cop on the scene is Ian Zwick (played by Jeffrey Nordling), who does something that unarmed Miller and Kevin don’t expect: Ian shoots out the tires of the getaway car and then coldly murders Kevin by shooting him, even though Kevin had no weapon and was not resisting arrest. Miller surrenders without a fight. When other cops arrive as backup, Ian lies to them and says that he shot Kevin in self-defense. Miller knows the truth, but he doesn’t say anything, because he knows that the other cops won’t believe him.

The movie then fast-forwards to 10 years later. Miller has gotten out of prison. He actually had a prison sentence that was longer than 10 years, but he was released early due to good behavior. At various times in the movie, Miller meets with his parole officer Sharon (played by Livia Treviño), who is firm but empathetic about Miller trying to turn his life around. It’s a lot easier said than done for Miller.

The person who gives Miller a car ride after Miller gets out of prison is his former boss Frank (played by Ving Rhames), who owns a small business as a locksmith. Frank feels a little guilty because he was the one who influenced Miller to do the burglary that got Miller arrested and Kevin killed. Therefore, Frank offers to give Miller a job, but he says it can only be as a handyman, since Miller’s felony theft conviction means that Miller lost his locksmith license.

Kevin was a single father raising a teenage daughter named April, who was put in the foster care system after Kevin died. After Miller gets out of prison, Frank mentions that Frank tried to become a father figure to April, but she rejected his attempts. Frank has not kept in touch with April for years.

Miller has a lot of things he wants to make amends for that he couldn’t do while he was in prison. For starters, Miller was married with a baby daughter named Lindsay Graham when he was sent to prison. His wife Beth Fisher (played by Kate Bosworth) divorced him while he was in prison. Miller has not seen or talked to Lindsay since being sent to prison.

Shortly after his prison release, Miller has an uncomfortable reunion with Beth and Lindsay. They have met at Miller’s request. The meeting place that Miller chose is a diner where he and Beth used to go on dates when they were a happy couple. Lindsay (played by Madeleine Guilbot), who is now 10 years old, is polite but shy around Miller, whom she thinks of as a stranger.

Miller is apologetic to Beth about how much he hurt their family, but he promises her that he’s turning his life around and he wants to be a good father to Lindsay. He asks Beth to let him prove how much he’s changed. Beth is very skeptical and standoffish, but she reluctantly agrees to Miller having visits with Lindsay.

One day, Frank sends Miller out on a locksmith job, even though Miller doesn’t have a license. The customer is a wealthy businessman named Garrett Field (played by Charlie Weber), who is smug and arrogant with almost everyone. Miller has been assigned to do a lock job at one of the apartment buildings owned by Garrett. Miller is shocked to find out that the person who recommended him for the job is Garrett’s employee April Reyes (played by Gabriela Quezada), the daughter of Miller’s deceased thief partner Kevin.

April is now in her 20s, and she has turned into a very jaded person because of all the bad experiences she’s had in her life. She shows up unexpectedly at the apartment building to talk to Miller, who has an awkward reunion with her. April tells Miller that she’s in a lot of trouble (she doesn’t go into details at first), and she asks Miller to do one last burglary, so she can have the cash to “start a new life.” April makes Miller feel guilty about the way Kevin died, but Miller refuses her request, because he doesn’t want to risk going back to prison.

Shortly after finishing the job at Garrett’s apartment building, Miller is pulled over by three cops: his old enemy Ian (who is now a police sergeant) and two of Ian’s subordinates in the police department’s vice division: Detective Perez (played by Noel Gugliemi, also known as Noel G) and Detective Jones (played by Bourke Floyd), who enable Ian’s bullying. Ian, Perez and Jones rough up Miller a little bit. Ian warns Miller that he better not tell anyone what happened the night that Kevin was shot to death.

Miller assures these corrupt cops that he won’t tell anyone. But in order to further intimidate Miller, Ian does a search of the company van that Miller is driving. The cops find locksmith tools in the van, so they assume that Miller is working as an unlicensed locksmith, which is in violation of Miller’s parole. Miller says he’s just a handyman, but the cops don’t believe him. And so, Miller is arrested on the spot.

Miller is eventually released with no charges being filed, because Police Chief Stern (played by Tom Wright) has decided there was no proof that Miller actually used these locksmith tools. And guess who also happens to be a cop working at the same police station? Miller’s ex-wife Beth, who is angry and embarrassed that Miller got arrested again. Ian is retiring soon, and he tells Beth that he’s recommended that she get a promotion to work in the vice division.

“The Locksmith” becomes a tangled and silly mess when Miller changes his mind about committing a burglary for April, after she tells him that her boss Garrett has been physically abusing her. April shows Miller some bruises on her body that she says are from Garrett’s abuse. This information is already revealed in “The Locksmith” trailer, which gives away about 75% of the movie’s ludicrous plot.

Of course, things go very wrong with this burglary too. There are double-crosses, shootouts, at least one kidnapping and many scenes that don’t look believable at all. Certain scenarios in the movie make no sense and just insult viewers’ intelligence. “The Locksmith” is ultimately as unappealing as a rusty lock.

Screen Media Films released “The Locksmith” in select U.S. cinemas, on digital and VOD on February 3, 2023.

Review: ‘Nefarious’ (2023), starring Sean Patrick Flanery and Jordan Belfi

April 23, 2023

by Carla Hay

Jordan Belfi and Sean Patrick Flanery in “Nefarious” (Photo courtesy of Soli Deo Gloria Releasing)

“Nefarious” (2023)

Directed by Chuck Konzelman and Cary Solomon

Culture Representation: Taking place in Oklahoma, the dramatic film “Nefarious” features a predominantly white group of people (with a few black people) representing the working-class and middle-class.

Culture Clash: A psychiatrist is tasked with evaluating the mental health of a death row inmate, who claims to be possessed by a devil named Nefarious and who is about to be executed within 12 hours. 

Culture Audience: “Nefarious” will appeal primarily to people who think that everyone should have extremely conservative lifestyles and values, because that type of propaganda is what is being pushed in this boring movie with a “holier than thou” attitude.

Jordan Belfi and Tom Ohmer in “Nefarious” (Photo courtesy of Soli Deo Gloria Releasing)

“Nefarious” has been inaccurately described as a horror movie. It’s a poorly made psychological drama about a death row inmate, with no real scares and too much over-acting. As this dull movie drones on, it becomes preachy propaganda for right-wing beliefs. “Nefarious” has no nuance and leaves no room for tolerance of other points of view, because this rigidly judgmental tripe is just one big toxic lecture saying that anyone who doesn’t have a conservative mindset needs to be condemned.

Written and directed by Chuck Konzelman and Cary Solomon, “Nefarious” is inspired by Steve Deace’s 2016 novel “A Nefarious Plot.” The “Nefarious” movie, just like the book that inspired it, is a thinly veiled collection of politically conservative and paranoid rants about demons threatening to tear apart American society. The movie wants to put forth the concept that atheists are among the chief culprits of this destruction and are more likely to “do the work of the devil.”

One such atheist is Dr. James Martin (played by Jordan Belfi), a psychiatrist who has arrived at an unnamed maximum security prison in an unnamed city in Oklahoma. James is at the prison because he has been appointed the psychiatrist who will evaluate the mental health of prison inmate Edward Wayne Brady (played by Sean Patrick Flanery), who is on death row for being a serial murderer. On the day that James and Edward meet each other, Edward is scheduled to be executed by electrocution later that evening.

James got this assignment on short notice because Edward’s regular psychiatrist Dr. Alan Fischer (played by Mark De Alessandro) fell from his high-rise office building the night before. This fall is shown in the movie’s opening scene, which suggests that supernatural forces were involved. The official cause of death is suicide. But was it suicide or something else?

Before meeting Edward at the prison, James is warned by prison warden Tom Moss (played by Tom Ohmer) that Edward is a “master manipulator” who will try to get James to diagnose Edward as mentally unfit to be executed. James tells the warden that Dr. Fischer was “somewhat of a mentor” to James, who says that he doesn’t get easily fooled or manipulated. James also says that he will evaluate Edward fairly and objectively. James does not give any indication of what his personal beliefs are about death penalty executions.

The hammy acting in “Nefarious” begins and doesn’t let up during the long and tedious scenes showing the moronic conversations between Edward and James. Much of the movie looks like a very unimaginative and soulless stage play. Edward immediately puts on a not-very-believable show, by saying that he is possessed by a demon who calls himself Nefarious. When Edward speaks in his “real” voice, he stutters and acts like an emotionally damaged person.

But when Nefarious speaks, Nefarious is cocky, taunting and vulgar to James. Nefarious is also the one who takes credit for the murders that Edward was convicted of and suspected of committing. You can almost do a countdown to when “Nefarious-possessed” Edward violently lunges during the interview and has to be held back by prison guards. The over-the-top way that Flanery acts when switching back and forth between these two personalities is supposed to be scary, but it’s actually just cringeworthy.

James becomes increasingly unsettled when it becomes obvious that Edward knows a lot about James’ personal life. Edward (as Nefarious) also says that by the end of their evaluation session, it will be proven that James committed three murders. It sounds intriguing, but “Nefarious” just uses this statement as a gimmick to preach about certain controversial medical procedures. In case viewers still haven’t figured out that “Nefarious” is just a right-wing diatribe disguised as a crime drama, there’s a laughably bad scene toward the end of the movie where conservative media personality Glenn Beck (playing a version of himself) interviews James on a talk show.

The very last scene is this awful movie is especially heinous, since it portrays a homeless African American woman (played by Sheran Godspeed Keyton) as being a vessel for the devil, for no reason except that she’s a homeless African American woman. Regardless of anyone’s political or religious beliefs, anyone who wants to see a well-made and suspenseful thriller is better off not watching “Nefarious.” It’s a very delusional and trashy film that advocates for intolerant and destructive bigotry in a world where various lifestyles and cultures are facts of life that cannot be erased.

Soli Deo Gloria Releasing released “Nefarious” in U.S. cinemas on Aprl 14, 2023.

Review: ‘Summoning Sylvia,’ starring Travis Coles, Frankie Grande, Troy Iwata, Noah J. Ricketts, Nicholas Logan, Veanne Cox and Michael Urie

April 23, 2023

by Carla Hay

Pictured clockwise, from left to right: Troy Iwata, Frankie Grande, Travis Coles and Noah J. Ricketts in “Summoning Sylvia” (Photo courtesy of The Horror Collective)

“Summoning Sylvia”

Directed by Wesley Taylor and Alex Wyse

Culture Representation: Taking place in an unnamed city in upstate New York, the horror comedy film “Summoning Sylvia” features a cast of predominantly white characters (with two African Americans and one Asian) representing the working-class and middle-class.

Culture Clash: Four gay male friends go to a remote house in the woods for a bachelor party, and they end up holding a séance to summon the spirit of the house’s original owner, who was accused of murdering her son in the early 20th century. 

Culture Audience: “Summoning Sylvia” will appeal primarily to people who like watching horror comedies that skillfully blend campiness with raunchiness.

Troy Iwata, Noah J. Ricketts, Travis Coles and Frankie Grande in “Summoning Sylvia” (Photo courtesy of The Horror Collective)

“Summoning Sylvia” is a sassy and hilarious séance comedy, told from a gay male perspective. Travis Coles and Frankie Grande are scene-stealing delights. The unpredictable jokes and gags make this film appealing to people who like comedy made for adults. And at a brisk total running time of 75 minutes, “Summoning Sylvia” is just the right length to prevent the movie from getting stale and repetitive.

Written and directed by Wesley Taylor and Alex Wyse, “Summoning Sylvia” takes place in an unnamed city in upstate New York. (The movie was actually filmed in New Jersey.) Four gay male friends in their mid-to-late 30s have gathered for what they hope will be a fun-filled bachelor party at a remote house in the woods. Of course, since this a horror comedy, the house has a sinister history that will cause some terror for these visitors.

The house is owned by someone named Frank (voiced by Wyse), who is never seen but who is heard over the phone. Frank has rented out house for the weekend to Reggie (played by Troy Iwata), the person in the group who has organized this party. Reggie is very meticulous and gets very uptight if things don’t go according to his plans. The bachelor party is a surprise for the grooms-to-be who are expected at the party.

The first groom-to-be to arrive at this gathering is Larry (played by Coles), who is a high-strung people pleaser. When his friends start bickering with each other, Larry is the one who nervously tries to keep the peace. Larry’s fiancé Jamie (played by Michael Urie) is about five or six years older than Larry. Jamie was supposed to be there at the same time as the rest of the group, but he calls Larry from his car to say he is running late because work obligations prevented him from leaving sooner.

Nico (played by Grande) is the most flamboyant and outspoken friend in the group. His fashion choices range from dressing like a grungy club kid to wearing bold makeup and androgynous clothes. Out of all these friends, Nico is the most superstitious and the one who’s most likely to believe in ghosts. He is also very confrontational with anyone he thinks is homophobic.

Kevin (played by Noah J. Ricketts) is the most laid-back of the friends. Reggie and Kevin have a crush on each other and don’t really know how to handle it. Kevin keeps hinting that they should be more than friends, but Reggie awkwardly avoids talking about it. Reggie is a bit of a control freak and probably wants to plan out any relationship that he might have instead of letting it happen naturally. If anything sexual is going to happen between Kevin and Reggie, then Kevin is more likely to make the first move.

During the phone conversation between engaged couple Jamie and Larry, an awkward topic comes up: Jamie has a brother named Harrison (played by Nicholas Logan), a military veteran who recently spent time in Kuwait. Harrison has briefly met Larry before, but Jamie thinks Larry and Harrison should get to know each other better before the wedding. Larry doesn’t feel comfortable around Harrison, but he wants to please Jamie. And so, Larry tells Jamie that Harrison can go to the party.

It’s an invitation that Larry immediately regrets. When Harrison arrives (wearing military camouflage gear), he’s stereotypically macho and homophobic. At first, Nico and Kevin think that Harrison might be a surprise stripper. Reggie is annoyed about this unannounced visit from Harrison. Reggie quips about Harrison, “The crew cut. The camo. What is he? A lesbian?”

There’s another concern that these friends have besides Harrison. Shortly before Harrison’s arrival, Reggie told the other pals that the house they’re staying at has a reputation for being haunted. Back in the early 20th century, the house’s original owner was a woman named Sylvia Lawrence. According to a local legend, Sylvia driven insane and murdered he son Phillip Lawrence (her only child) and buried his body somewhere on the estate.

After some snooping around the house, the four pals find some of Sylvia’s possessions, including items and clothing and photographs. Throughout the movie, there are visions of Sylvia (played by Leanne Voss) and Phillip (played by Camden Garcia) that might or might not be real. These visions eventually reveal what happened between Sylvia and Phillip that resulted in her being accused of killing her son Phillip.

It doesn’t take long for Nico to come up with the idea to have a séance to try to contact Sylvia and ask her what really happened the night she supposedly murdered her Phillip. Reggie is very skeptical about this idea and is reluctant to go through with the séance. Nico snaps at Reggie: “Bitch, do you know how many times I’ve seen ‘Wicked’? Fourteen times! So, do not question my devotion to the dak arts!”

Harrison shows up after the séance has begun. Many hijinks ensue. Nico and Harrison immediately clash with each other the most. However, people with enough life experience can see that Harrison might be homophobic on the outside, but Harrison might be secretly attracted to Nico, whom he sometimes misgenders as “she” and “her.” Harrison tries to act like he’s disgusted by being around these gay men, but he also seems fascinated with them.

“Summoning Sylvia” has plenty of snappy banter and amusing slapstick comedy that enliven the film. However, this comedy also has some social commentary about the divides that can exist between homophobes and the LGBTQ people who are the targets of homophobic hate. “Summoning Sylvia” ultimately triumphs because it’s not a movie that makes gay people the “victims.” It’s a memorable movie that makes gay people the heroes of their own stories.

The Horror Collective released “Summoning Sylvia” in select U.S. cinemas on March 31, 2023. The movie was released on digital and VOD on April 7, 2023.

Review: ‘Somewhere in Queens,’ starring Ray Romano, Laurie Metcalf, Jacob Ward, Sadie Stanley, Jennifer Esposito, Sebastian Maniscalco and Tony Lo Bianco

April 22, 2023

by Carla Hay

Cast members of “Somewhere in Queens” Pictured in back row, from left to right: Jon Manfrellotti, Franco Maicas, Adam Kaplan, Sebastian Maniscalco, Dierdre Friel and Jacob Ward. Pictured in front row, from left to right: June Gable, Tony Lo Bianco, Laurie Metcalf and Ray Romano (Photo by Mary Cybulski/Roadside Attractions)

“Somewhere in Queens”

Directed by Ray Romano

Culture Representation: Taking place in New York City’s Queens borough and in Philadelphia, the comedy/drama film “Somewhere in Queens” features a cast of predominantly white characters (with a few African American, Latinos and Asians) representing the working-class and middle-class.

Culture Clash: A married father deals with several issues in his large Italian American family, including trying to influence his teenage son on what the son will do after graduating from high school. 

Culture Audience: “Somewhere in Queens” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of filmmaker/star Ray Romano and dramedies about families experiencing life transitions.

Sadie Stanley and Jacob Ward in “Somewhere in Queens” (Photo by Mary Cybulski/Roadside Attractions)

“Somewhere in Queens” has a lot of expected characteristics of movies about large families who frequently bicker but ultimately have a lot of love and loyalty to each other. It’s a movie with realistic characters but very sitcom-like scenarios that are put into the context of a family drama. Laurie Metcalf is a standout in this entertaining movie directorial debut from Ray Romano. “Somewhere in Queens” had its world premiere at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival.

Romano has a background in stand-up comedy and is widely known for his starring role in the comedy series “Everybody Loves Raymond,” which was on the air from 1996 to 2005. He is one of the stars, producers and writers of “Somewhere in Queens,” which benefits greatly from comedic pacing that is naturalistic and doesn’t look forced or over-rehearsed. Romano co-wrote the “Somewhere in Queens” screenplay with Mark Stegemann, who’s written mostly for TV series (including “Scrubs” and “Preacher”) and who also makes his feature-film debut with “Somewhere in Queens.”

“Somewhere in Queens,” as the title says, takes place in New York City’s Queens borough, which is the borough that is more likely to have family houses with backyards, compared to the high-rise buildings that populate New York City’s Manhattan borough. It’s in Queens where the Russo family lives. This large Italian American clan is working-class and tight-knight, but sometimes has friction that threatens to unravel some of these family bonds.

Here are the members of the family who are featured in the story:

  • Leo Russo (played by Romano) works with his two brothers, his two nephews and his father in the family’s Russo Construction business. Leo often feels insecure because he’s never felt like he’s lived up to his father’s expectations.
  • Angela Russo (played by Metcalf) is Leo’s sarcastic and outspoken wife. She and Leo were sweethearts in high school and are each other’s first love.
  • Matthew “Sticks” Russo (played by Jacob Ward) is the only child of Leo and Angela. Sticks, who got his nickname because he is tall (6’2″) and thin, is quiet and introverted but he has a passion for playing basketball. In this movie, Sticks is in his last year of high school.
  • Dominic “Pops” Russo (played by Tony Lo Bianco) is the family’s no-nonsense patriarch who expects all of the men in his immediate family to work with him in the family’s construction business.
  • Mama Russo (played by June Gable) is Dominic’s wife, who doesn’t talk much, but she is very observant, and when she does say something, it’s usually important.
  • Petey Russo (played by Jon Manfrellotti) is Leo’s laid-back older brother, who is a never-married bachelor with no children.
  • Frank Russo (played by Sebastian Maniscalco) is Leo’s competitive and arrogant younger brother, who has had a longtime sibling rivalry with Leo. Frank is Dominic’s favorite child and is the son who is most likely to take over the family business when Dominic retires.
  • Luigi Russo (played by Franco Maicas) and Marco Russo (played by Adam Kaplan) are Frank’s two wisecracking sons, who are in their early 20s. (Luigi’s and Marco’s mother is mentioned but not seen in the film.)
  • Rosa Russo (played by Dierdre Friel) is Leo’s youngest sibling. Rosa is often teased by Frank for being a never-married bachelorette with no children. She is self-conscious about her weight and being unlucky in love. Her traditional parents see Rosa’s unmarried marital status as a stigma for a woman of a certain age, and they worry that Rosa will never get married and have children.

Several scenes in “Somewhere in Queens” take place at a local banquet hall called Versailles Palace, which is the type of place that is rented out for wedding receptions and family celebrations. It’s where the movie’s opening scene takes place, showing the Russo family attending the wedding reception of a newlywed couple named Louise and Sebastian. The Russos aren’t close to this couple, but apparently were invited to the wedding anyway.

A videographer (played by Lucas Owen) is going around the room to film guests giving short congratulations speeches for the newlyweds. Leo says in his awkward speech, “The best advice I can give to you is don’t hurt each other, if you can avoid it. God bless you, and God bless to all the children you’re going to make for all of America.” The videographer says in an unimpressed tone, “That was different.” Leo then asks the videographer to delete Leo’s recording.

Viewers will see more of Leo’s insecurities and neuroses throughout the movie. At work, he’s treated like an inferior employee by his father. It doesn’t help that Leo has a habit of showing up late for work and isn’t as skilled in construction as Frank is. Leo regrets being stuck in a job with family members who don’t completely respect him. He doesn’t want to quit because he knows how much of a rift it would cause in the family.

At home, Leo and Angela (who is a homemaker) have been having some issues in their marriage. Their sex life is practically non-existent. They don’t really argue a lot, but they’ve become somewhat emotionally distant from each other. And it has something do with Leo and Angela disagreeing about how she’s been handling a medical issue. Leo thinks that Angela should go to support group counseling, but independent-minded Angela thinks that she doesn’t need it. Angela’s medical issue is revealed later in the movie.

Like many middle-aged married couples who’ve raised children together, there comes a time when these couples will have an “empty nest,” with the children no longer living in the home. Angela in particular is dreading not having Sticks in the family home anymore. She thinks she has a few more years after Sticks graduates from high school, because he is expected to work in the family business and eventually get his own place when he can afford to do so. In the meantime, Leo and Angela are supportive parents who go to Sticks’ basketball games to cheer him on as a member of his school team, the Glendale Cougars.

One day, the Glendale Cougars narrowly lose a game (59-61 was the final score) that would have taken the team to the state finals. After the game, a basketball talent scout named Ben Parson (played by P.J. Byrne) notices that Leo is Sticks’ father, from the way that Leo and other Glendale Cougars fans are behaving during the game. Ben approaches Leo after the game and asks Leo what Sticks’ college plans are.

Leo says that Sticks has no plans to go to college because Sticks will be working in the family’s construction business. Ben is surprised and says that someone with Sticks’ basketball talent could easily get a basketball scholarship—maybe not at a top-tier basketball school, but at a mid-tier basketball school. Ben says he knows a recruiter at Drexel University in Philadelphia and can recommend Sticks to Drexel. Leo says he’ll think about it.

Leo does more than think about it. When he brings up the idea to the family, he gets a lot of resistance from almost everyone else in the family. Dominic and Frank think it’s not worth paying for a college degree that Sticks won’t need in their line of work. Angela is worried about Sticks moving away from New York, even though Philadelphia is only a two-hour drive away. Leo convinces Angela and Sticks to at least visit the Drexel campus with him to see what Drexel has to offer.

Meanwhile, around the same time that these college plans start to take shape for Sticks, he has fallen in love with an extroverted, intelligent and vivacious classmate named Dani Brooks (played by Sadie Stanley), who comes from an upper-middle-class family in the Queens neighborhood of Forest Hills. Dani is Sticks’ first girlfriend, and she’s a lot more experienced in dating than he is. Sticks doesn’t introduce Dani to his parents until after his school’s last basketball game of the season.

Angela is immediately annoyed that Sticks kept this relationship a secret for as long as he did. She also doesn’t trust Dani because she thinks Dani is the “heartbreaker” type. Still, Angela puts up a front of being welcoming and invites Dani over to a family dinner, where Dani gets a full view of what the Russo clan is like. It’s at this dinner that the family finds out that Dani is assertive, adventurous, and not afraid to disagree with people about her own firm beliefs. Dani is very opinionated in telling the family why she thinks it’s a good idea for Sticks to go to college.

Dani says her own plans after high school are to take a cross-country road trip by herself. She mentions that her parents want her to go to a university, preferably an Ivy League university, but Dani doesn’t think that getting a university education is the right decision for her at this time in her life. And she says that her father told her that he will only financially support her if she goes along with her parents’ wishes to got to a university. Dani, who has a part-time waitress job at a local diner, says she took the job to save up for money to buy the car that she wants to take on her road trip.

“Somewhere in Queens” then becomes about how Leo gets obsessed with what Sticks wants to do with his life after graduating from high school. Leo doesn’t want Sticks to have the same life and the same regrets that Leo has. Leo wants Sticks to explore the options that Leo never did. Leo is also excited about the possibility of his son being a college graduate. It’s not said out loud, but it’s obvious that Sticks would be the first person in his family to get a college degree, if he chooses to make that decision.

There are a few unexpected turns in the story that involve Leo crossing a boundary and doing some meddling-parent things that are downright creepy. It leads to some sitcom-ish scenarios that don’t look very realistic. “Somewhere in Queens” also has a subplot about Leo being attracted to a Russo Construction customer named Pamela Carmelo (played by Jennifer Esposito), a lonely widow who seems attracted to Leo too. The outcome of this flirtation is fairly predictable.

Romano’s direction of “Somewhere in Queens” moves the story along at a leisurely but engaging pace. As an actor in the movie, he’s doing a version of the neurotic father he played in “Everybody Loves Raymond,” so there are no real surprises in his performance. Metcalf has the best role in the movie, and she rises to the occasion by going through a myriad of emotions that are authentically portrayed and make Angela a completely believable character.

Angela is an overprotective mother who’s trying to appear strong but is really desperately holding on to the one thing (parenthood) that she feels she’s been good at in her life. She’s also feeling a sense of mortality because of her medical issue. It’s a different type of mid-life crisis than what Leo is experiencing. And it’s affected Leo and Angela’s marriage a lot more than they care to admit.

“Somewhere in Queens” also has very good performances from Ward and Stanley, because Sticks and Dani’s relationship is the catalyst for many things that happen in the movie. This teen romance is also very realistic in all of its ups and downs, especially when it comes to the issue of what will happen to the relationship after they graduate from high school. The character of Sticks is interesting because he’s a star of his school’s basketball team, but he isn’t the typical movie stereotype of a popular jock. Sticks is almost painfully shy, but Dani helps him come out of his shell and express his true feelings.

Above all, “Somewhere in Queens” succeeds in showing how people in the same family can discover in different ways what their own comfort levels or discomfort levels are, when it comes to self-esteem and family relationships. A trite movie would have made it look like the teenagers are the only ones who have a lot to learn. “Somewhere in Queens” shows in charming and poignant ways how there’s no age expiration date on learning self-acceptance and learning to accept people for who they really are.

Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions released “Somewhere in Queens” in U.S. cinemas on April 21, 2023.

Review: ‘Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant,’ starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Dar Salim

April 22, 2023

by Carla Hay

Dar Salim and Jake Gyllenhaal in “Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant” (Photo by Christopher Raphael/Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures)

“Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant”

Directed by Guy Ritchie

Culture Representation: Taking place in 2018, in Afghanistan and in the United States, the action film “Guy Ritche’s The Covenant” features a cast of white and Middle Eastern characters (with a few African American, Latinos and East Asians) representing the working-class and middle-class and who are connected in some way to the U.S. war in Afghanistan.

Culture Clash: U.S. Army master sergeant John Kinley, who has his life saved by an Afghan interpreter, goes on a mission to rescue the interpreter and the interpreter’s family from war-torn Afghanistan and to keep the U.S. government’s promise to give U.S. visas to the family. 

Culture Audience: “Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of filmmaker Guy Ritchie, the movie’s headliners, and stories about noble rescue missions during a war.

Jake Gyllenhaal and Antony Starr in “Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant” (Photo by Christopher Raphael/Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures)

“Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant” offers an overly simplistic portrayal of an American rescue mission in Afghanistan. However, this action flick has solid performances and capably shows the importance of interpreters during war. The movie is a mixed bag of questionable scenarios that look very fabricated for a movie and realistic depictions of the emotions and motivations for these actions.

Guy Ritchie tends to write and direct action movies that have a lot of wisecracking banter among the characters. Compared to those other films, “Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant” is a departure for him, since it’s a deadly serious film that is inspired by harrowing situations from the 2001 to 2021 war that the U.S. waged in Afghanistan. (The movie, which takes place in 2018, was actually filmed in Spain.) In addition to directing “Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant” and being one of the movie’s producers, Ritchie co-wrote the screenplay with Ivan Atkinson and Marn Davies.

The rescue mission part of the story doesn’t happen until the last third of the movie. Until then, viewers get to know the two central characters when the movie shows how these two men bonded during the horrors of war. John Kinley (played by Jake Gyllenhaal), who is American, is a master sergeant for the U.S. Army. Ahmed Abdullah (played by Dar Salim), who is Afghan, currently works as an interpreter for the U.S. military. Other things about Ahmed’s background are eventually revealed and cause people to trust or mistrust Ahmed. John and Ahmed are both in their 40s and happily married to loyal wives.

The beginning of “Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant” takes place in Afghanistan, where John is leading a squad of staff sergeants who are tasked with finding explosives from the Taliban. It’s a tight-knit unit that has overall good camaraderie. The members of this specialist unit under John’s leadership are Joshua “JJ” Jung (played by Jason Wong); Tom “Tom Cat” Hancock (played by Rhys Yates); Eduardo “Chow Chow” Lopez (played by Christian Ochoa); Charlie “Jizzy” Crow (played by Sean Sagar); and Jack “Jack Jack” Jackson (played by James Nelson Joyce); and Steve Kersher (played by Bobby Schofield), the youngest sergeant in the group.

Because this is a brutal war, not everyone will make it out alive. The unit has an interpreter named Kalan (played by Walid Shahalami), who is killed by a hidden bomb. John chooses Ahmed from a group of local interpreters to replace Kalan. John hired Ahmed without knowing much about him, except that Ahmed can speak four langauges, and Ahmed needs the money for this interpreter job. Ahmed also has a brother named Ali (played by Damon Zolfaghari), who has a pivotal role in the story.

There are the predictable clashes between Ahmed (who has a tendency to defy John’s orders) and John (who has a tendency to not trust Ahmed’s information over the U.S. military’s intel), but Ahmed and John eventually learn to trust each other. Later, it’s revealed that Ahmed decided to help the U.S. government out of revenge for the Taliban killing his son years earlier, and because the interpreter job comes with the promise that Ahmed and his wife Basira (played by Fariba Sheikhan) can get U.S. visa for themselves and their unborn child. Basira is pregnant at the beginning of the story. The Taliban considers Ahmed to be a traitor, so he’s also a target for murder by the Taliban.

Through a series of events, John and Ahmed are separated from the rest of the unit. Ahmed saves John’s life on multiple occasions. After John gets serious injuries, Ahmed carries a barely conscious John in a cart on a dangerous trek through the mountains. This trip results in John being rescued and sent back to the U.S., but Ahmed is left behind in Afghanistan. Ahmed gets put on the Taliban’s “most wanted” list, so he and his family go into hiding. John is also put on the Taliban’s “most wanted” list.

The fact that John makes it home alive because of Ahmed’s help is not spoiler information, because these details are already revealed in the trailer for “Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant.” The middle of the movie is about John recovering at his home in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where he lives with his wife Caroline (played by Emily Beecham) and their two underage children: son Lil Chris (played by Kieran Fort) and daughter Jess (played Savannah Fort). It’s mentioned at one point in the story that Caroline (who does administrative work for the U.S military) and John have been together for 12 years.

John is overwhelmed by guilt, post-traumatic stress disorder, and a driving motivation to make good on the promise that Ahmed and his family will get U.S. visas. Not surprisingly, John gets stymied by a tangled web of bureaucracy in the U.S. government. Expect to see montages where John makes phone calls to uncaring bureaucrats, and he gets increasingly frustrated to the point where he has screaming meltdowns over the phone with people who are of no help.

John’s commanding officer Colonel Vokes (played by Jonny Lee Miller) is empathetic, but he tells John that John has to go through the proper channels to get help for Ahmed. John’s U.S. Army sergeant Declan O’Brady (played by Alexander Ludwig), who served in combat alongside John and has a lot of admiration for John, decides to give more pro-active assistance that can bypass the U.S. government. Declan refers John to military contractor Eddie Parker (played by Antony Starr), who can help John for a hefty price.

“Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant” certainly has a lot of action-packed suspense and American patriotic moments. And it’s admirable that, unlike many other war movies, it does not portray one side as all “good” and the other side as all “evil.” However, “Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant” stumbles with some very corny dialogue that prevents this movie from becoming a classic war film. During one of his angst-filled moments, John says to Caroline after she says she’s grateful that John came home alive: “You think they blessed you. Well, they cursed me. I am a man who gets no rest.”

“Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant” is different in tone from most of Ritche’s other movies, but this very male-dominated film still continues Ritchie’s pattern of having women in his action flicks only as tokens. In the case of “Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant,” Basira and Caroline get very limited screen time and just have roles where they are “the worrried wives at home.” Caroline has one short monologue, where she gives a “stand by your man” pep talk to John before he decides to go back to Afghanistan and rescue Ahmed and Ahmed’s family.

Although it’s a very noble deed for John to go back and rescue Ahmed and Ahmed’s family, the movie makes it unrealistically look like John is some kind of super-soldier. John recovers so quickly from his injuries and is operates on such a high level of extraordinary skills, he can lead a combat mission and be a top-notch international spy (he goes back to Afghanistan under an alias), all without the U.S. government knowing about it. Parker’s team helps, of course, but John uses an alias with Parker too. It’s very hard to believe that a special ops expert like Parker would be this easily fooled.

A movie like “Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant” isn’t too concerned about making everything look accurate and believable. The film’s main purpose is to make viewers root for the “heroes” of the story. In that respect, these flawed heroes are compelling to watch, even if they always act like movie characters. The meaningful friendship that develops between John and Ahmed is the heart of the story, which gives this movie enough life for it to be worth watching.

Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures released “Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant” in U.S. cinemas on April 21, 2023.

Review: ‘Chevalier’ (2023), starring Kelvin Harrison Jr., Samara Weaving, Lucy Boynton, Minnie Driver, Sian Clifford, Alex Fitzalan and Ronkẹ Adékoluẹjo

April 21, 2023

by Carla Hay

Kelvin Harrison Jr. and Joseph Prowen in “Chevalier” (Photo by Larry Horricks/Searchlight Pictures)

“Chevalier” (2023)

Directed by Stephen Williams

Culture Representation: Taking place in France, from the 1750s to the 1790s, the dramatic film “Chevalier” (a biopic of musician/fencer Joseph Bologne, also known as Chevalier de Saint-Georges) features a predominantly white group of people (with a few black people) representing the working-class, middle-class and royalty.

Culture Clash: Bologne experiences racism, an illicit love affair and treacherous politics in his journey to becoming a celebrated musician and fencer. 

Culture Audience: “Chevalier” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of history-based biopics and classical music and don’t mind if a movie set in 1700s France has some modern touches that didn’t exist in that century.

Kelvin Harrison Jr. and Ronkẹ Adékoluẹjo in “Chevalier” (Photo courtesy of Searchlight Pictures)

“Chevalier” has its share of corny “only in a movie” moments, but the essential truths of oppression and racial barriers in society have the most resonance in this story. Kelvin Harrison Jr. gives an admirable performance. The costume designs are gorgeous. You don’t have to be fan of classical music to enjoy the movie, but it certainly helps. History purists will be wincing through some of the story, because it’s yet another biopic that takes liberties with facts, in order to make the movie more dramatic.

Directed by Stephen Williams and written by Stefani Robinson (who is one of the producers of the movie), “Chevalier” (which takes place in France, mostly in Paris) tells the story of Joseph Bologne, also known as the Chevalier de Saint-Georges, who lived from 1745 to 1799. He the first black person to conduct a major orchestra in France. He was also renowned for being a champion fencer. The movie depicts Joseph mostly in his 20s, 30s and 40s, but there are flashback scenes to his teens and younger childhood. “Chevalier” had its world premiere at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival.

The movie tells viewers right from the beginning that Joseph (played as an underage teen and as an adult by Harrison) was so phenomenal, he outshone Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (played by Joseph Prowen) in concert. The opening scene shows Mozart conducting an orchestra in Paris, sometime in the 1780s, and asking the audience for requests. Joseph confidently strolls into the concert hall and asks to play the violin alongside Mozart.

Mozart looks slightly amused and asks, “Who put you up to this?” Joseph says, “Myself, monsieur.” Mozart calls Joseph a “dark stranger” and smugly says, “I hope this won’t be too embarrassing for you.” They proceed to play the violin, as if it’s a dueling competition of musicianship.

And in the end, Mozart is the one who’s embarrassed, as Joseph proves that he’s the more talented violinist. Joseph is so masterful, the crowd gives him a standing ovation. An infuriated Mozart runs off stage and fumes, “Who the fuck was that?” Clearly, “Chevalier” is not a movie that wants to look historically accurate.

This scene is a perfect example of how “Chevalier” tries but doesn’t always succeed in balancing hokey drama with regal gravitas. It’s a movie with a lot of 1700s pomp and circumstance, but with a modern approach to melodrama that takes viewers out of this time period, especially in a lot of the dialogue that sounds too contemporary. The movie’s messages about racism sometimes get bogged down in too much exposition, but luckily the cast is talented enough to elevate the material.

If some of the scenes in “Chevalier” look over-the-top and fabricated for a movie, that’s because the real life of Bologne did not get a lot of historical documentation. However, you don’t have to be a historian or a classical music expert to know that the opening scene definitely looks fake. Mozart running off stage in humiliation because of a newcomer rival—if it happened in real life—would have gone down in history as one of the most notorious stories about him.

What the movie does depict that is historically accurate is that at the age of 7, Joseph (played by Reuben Anderson) was taken by his white French American father to live in France, where Joseph was educated and lived for the rest of his life. Joseph’s father was a wealthy plantation owner named Georges de Bologne Saint-Georges, and his mother was an enslaved black woman named Nanon, who was originally from Senegal. In real life, Georges de Bologne Saint-Georges lived in the Caribbean archipelago Guadeloupe, which was a colony of France at the time.

The “Chevalier” movie changes the location of Joseph’s birthplace from Guadeloupe to Louisiana. His father’s name has the English-language spelling of George Bologne (played by Jim High), a French American who spends time at his plantations in Louisiana and Guadeloupe. Joseph’s mother Nanon (played by Ronkẹ Adékoluẹjo) is depicted as being originally from Senegal and brought to North America in enslavement, just like in real life. The “Chevalier” filmmakers perhaps made Joseph have a connection to Louisiana because Harrison is American, and his American accent can be heard in much of the dialogue.

Before abandoning his son in France at the private Academie de La Boëssière, George instills the belief in Joseph that Joseph must be the best at anything he does if he is going to survive and succeed. The academy’s owner Tessier de La Boëssière (played by Ben Bradshaw) reluctantly enrolls Joseph in the school and warns George that Joseph people at the school will not be kind to this “Negro bastard.” In real life, Joseph had an older white half-brother named Pierre (they had the same father), who was already enrolled at the academy when Joseph was admitted as a sudent. However, the “Chevalier” movie erases Pierre, probably to make it look more dramatic that Joseph felt isolated by not knowing any at the academy as a new student.

“Chevalier” shows the expected racist bullying that Joseph received throughout his life. But the movie also shows how he achieved greatness, despite many obstacles put in his way. Expect to see several montages of him practicing his music or fencing, as if his life depended on it, because in many ways, his life really did depend on it. Joseph eventually became well-known for his talents and got respect from members of high society.

This notoriety resulted in a volatile friendship with the fun-loving but very spoiled Marie Antoinette (played by Lucy Boynton), the queen of France, who introduced him to powerful members of her inner circle. This inner circle includes Marie’s cousin Philippe (played by Alex Fitzalan), the Duke of Orleans. Philippe becomes Joseph’s close confidant, and their friendship leads to an important political alliance.

As already revealed in the trailer for “Chevalier,” Nanon reunites with Joseph around the time that he becomes a famous musician and a champion fencer. The reunion doesn’t go smoothly at first, because Nanon represents a part of Joseph’s life that he wants to keep in the past. Eventually, Nanaon and Joseph become close when he begins to understand that he should embrace and appreciate his African American heritage.

“Chevalier” is not subtle in its messages about how black people who achieve success in a predominantly white culture have to decide how much “black culture” will be part of their identity when interacting with white people. The way that Joseph chooses to wear his hair in public (African-styled cornrow braids or European-made wigs) is a manifestation/symbol about how much of his “black” or “white” identity that he wants to express.

Some of the best aspects of “Chevalier” have to do with Joseph confronting his “assimilation” into white French society and what that assimilation will cost him, in terms of his self-respect, his relationship with his mother and his career. Joseph has to deal with constant condescension from white people who think that Joseph will never be equal to them, simply because he is not white. Marie Antoinette often treats him like “charity case” who needs her and other white people to “save” him. At one point, Joseph assertively says to her: “Not everything is about you people.”

The movie’s strongest non-musical scenes are those between Joseph and the women in his life: his kind and patient mother Nanon, his unpredictable friend Marie Antoinette, and his conflicted lover Marie-Josephine (played by Samara Weaving), an opera singer who is an unhappy marriage to a cruel and wealthy man named Marquis De Montalembert (played by Marton Csokas). Marie-Josephine was the one who introduced Joseph to her husband, who could immediately sense that there was an attraction between her and Joseph. Privately, Marquis De Montalembert tells Joseph (who has a reputation for being a ladies’ man) that he doesn’t “wish for my Marie-Josephine to become a whore.”

Joseph also has to navigate the power and politics of getting investments for an original opera that he is composing and plans to conduct. Marie-Josephine’s cousin La Guimard (played by Minnie Driver), who is a rich opera singer, expresses interest in being an investor, but she enjoys manipulating Joseph, because she knows she has the financial upper hand. Joseph ends up wanting Marie-Josephine to be the star of his opera. Marquis De Montalembert doesn’t want Marie-Josephine to take the job, for obvious reasons.

Another affluent potential investor is Madame De Genlis (played by Sian Clifford), who believes in Joseph’s talent, but she wants some creative control that he’s reluctant to give. She says she will finance the opera if he bases it on a story that she wrote. Observant viewers will notice that no matter how exceptional Joseph can be, it causes resentment among racist people who will use any excuse to try to tear him down.

“Chevalier” does not make Joseph look like a saint. He can be stubborn and arrogant to a fault. His affair with Marie-Josephine is an example of his selfish recklessness. And even though Joseph thinks he loves Marie-Josephine, it’s pretty obvious that people will get very hurt by this love affair. The movie takes an abrupt turn into some melodrama that comes as a result of this extramarital relationship.

Despite some cringeworthy lines of dialogue in “Chevalier” and occasionally slow pacing of the movie, Harrison holds everything together and keeps things watchable in his intriguing portrayal of this complex character. Boynton has some memorable moments in her performance as the imperious and fickle queen Marie Antoinette. The movie’s costume design by Oliver García and production design by Karen Murphy are truly feasts for the eyes.

The music of “Chevalier” is also noteworthy, including a vibrant original score by Kris Bowers and production and musical arrangements of Bologne’s music by Michael Abels. In terms of overall storytelling, “Chevalier” is no masterpiece. However, the movie has enough compelling moments and good acting to maintain viewer interest in this very dramatic version of an extraordinary and talented life.

Searchlight Pictures released “Chevalier” in U.S. cinemas on April 21, 2023.

Review: ‘Evil Dead Rise,’ starring Lily Sullivan, Alyssa Sutherland, Morgan Davies, Gabrielle Echols and Nell Fisher

April 21, 2023

by Carla Hay

Gabrielle Echols, Nell Fisher, Lily Sullivan, Morgan Davies and Alyssa Sutherland in “Evil Dead Rise” (Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures)

“Evil Dead Rise”

Directed by Lee Cronin

Culture Representation: Taking place in California, the horror film “Evil Dead Rise” features a predominantly white group of people (with a few Asians and Latinos) representing the working-class and middle-class.

Culture Clash: A guitar technician/roadie goes to Los Angeles and gets thrown into the middle of supernatural terror when she visits her sister and her sister’s three children. 

Culture Audience: “Evil Dead Rise” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the “Evil Dead” franchise and have a high tolerance for gory but effective horror movies.

Alyssa Sutherland in “Evil Dead Rise” (Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures)

“Evil Dead Rise” is a very back-to-basics horror story that is neither terrible nor outstanding. But there’s nothing basic about the overload of blood in the movie. People who easily get squeamish from the sight of bloody gore: You have been warned.

Written and directed by Lee Cronin, “Evil Dead Rise” had it world premiere at the 2023 SXSW Film & TV Festival. It’s a continuation of the “Evil Dead” franchise that began with 1981’s “The Evil Dead.” Sam Raimi, who wrote and directed “The Evil Dead” and 1987’s “Evil Dead II,” is an executive producer of “Evil Dead Rise.”

One of the best things about “Evil Dead Rise” is that it doesn’t waste time with a lot of boring and useless scenes. The horror starts within the first 10 minutes of the movie. The story is set in California, but “Evil Dead Rise” was actually filmed in New Zealand.

“Evil Dead Rise” begins by showing three people in their early 20s on a getaway trip at a remote cabin near a lake. Yes, that sounds like the most cliché of horror story clichés, but “Evil Dead Rise” makes this opening scene memorably gruesome.

The three people on this trip are named Teresa (played by Mirabai Pease); her cousin Jessica (played by Anna-Maree Thomas); and Jessica’s boyfriend Caleb (played by Richard Crouchley), who is a bit of a prankster. Richard has a toy drone with him that he uses to scare Teresa while she is relaxing on a deck near the lake.

Teresa isn’t just annoyed with Caleb. She’s annoyed because she really didn’t want to be on this trip in the first place. Several friends of Jessica and Caleb were supposed to be a part of this trip, but they cancelled their plans to be there. And now, Jessica has been acting weird, by staying in bed when she should be in a party mood.

Teresa goes in the bedroom where Jessica is hunched over on the bed. Teresa begins reading Emily Brontë’s classic Gothic 1847 novel “Wuthering Heights” while complaining to Jessica that this party is dead and she wants to leave. And then, Jessica eerily starts reading the words from the book out loud. Jessica has a “possessed by a demon” voice, so you can easily figure out what will happen next. Viewers will find out at the end of the movie how Jessica got to be that way.

“Evil Dead Rise” then does a flashback to one day earlier. Beth (played by Lily Sullivan) is a guitar technician/roadie for an unnamed rock band that has been on tour of grungy clubs. Beth, who is a freewheeling bachelorette, is seen in a restroom of one such dumpy club, where she’s about to find out the result of a home pregnancy test. You can easily predict the result there too.

After Beth finds out if she’s pregnant or not, she makes an unannounced visit to her estranged older sister Ellie (played by Alyssa Sutherland), who is a tattoo artist in Los Angeles. Ellie has three children: Danny (played by Morgan Davies), an aspiring DJ, is about 15 or 16 years old. Bridget (played by Gabrielle Echols), an aspiring political activist, is about 13 or 14 years old. Kassie (played by Nell Fisher) is about 9 or 10 years old.

The tension between the Beth and Ellie is immediately apparent. Beth resents that Ellie, who likes to call Beth a “groupie,” doesn’t take Beth’s job seriously. Ellie resents Beth for dropping in and out of her life whenever Beth pleases.

It’s also a very bad time for Beth to visit. Ellie’s husband Jay abandoned the family two months ago. And to make matters worse, the apartment building where Ellie and her kids live is about to be torn down the next month. Ellie, who is struggling financially, has not found a new place to live yet.

Shortly after Beth arrives, an earthquake measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale happens while Beth and the kids are in the building’s parking garage. The family survives this earthquake, but the earthquake has opened up a hole in the parking garage of the building, which used to be a bank. The hole exposes a hidden bank vault, where Dan finds what “Evil Dead” fans will immediately recognize as the Book of the Dead.

And you can easily predict what happens next, even if you don’t know it’s already shown in the trailer and poster for “Evil Dead Rise”: Ellie gets possessed by a demon. Some of the building’s other residents—including a helpful young man named Gabriel (played by Jayden Daniels) and a shotgun-wielding, middle-aged man named Mr. Fonda (played by Mark Mitchinson)—encounter a possessed Ellie. The earthquake has destroyed the building’s stairs, while the elevator is unsafe. Who will survive and who will die? That’s the only real spoiler information for this movie.

“Evil Dead” makes a few major departures from previous “Evil Dead” movies, which include the 2013 “Evil Dead” reboot. First, most of the action takes place in an apartment building instead of a remote wooded area. Second, most of the characters involved in the action are female. (Original “Evil Dead” actor Bruce Campbell has an uncredited voice cameo as a priest heard on an old vinyl album that Danny plays backwards.)

“Evil Dead” borrows some ideas from the 1986 sci-fi horror movie “Aliens” but it’s not a complete ripoff. The performances are serviceable in “Evil Dead Rise,” which doesn’t have much suspense when it comes to jump scares or terrifying surprises. The movie’s real horror is about seeing a loved one transform into something demonic and knowing that it’s a “kill or be killed” situation. And that blood. So much blood. After seeing “Evil Dead Rise,” some viewers will feel nauseated and/or feel like taking a long shower.

Warner Bros. Pictures released “Evil Dead Rise” in U.S. cinemas on April 21, 2023.

Review: ‘Judy Blume Forever,’ starring Judy Blume

April 21, 2023

by Carla Hay

Judy Blume in “Judy Blume Forever” (Photo courtesy of Prime Video)

“Judy Blume Forever”

Directed by Davina Pardo and Leah Wolchok

Culture Representation: Taking place in various parts of the U.S., the documentary film “Judy Blume Forever” features a predominantly white group of people (with a few African Americans, Asians and Latinos) who are fans, loved ones and business associates of author Judy Blume, who also participated in this documentary.

Culture Clash: Blume talks about the controversies surrounding some of her books, her two failed marriages, and various insecurities and tragedies that she’s had in her life. 

Culture Audience: Besides appealing to the target audience of Judy Blume fans, “Judy Blume” will appeal to people interested in documentaries about famous and influential book authors.

Judy Blume in “Judy Blume Forever” (Photo courtesy of Prime Video)

“Judy Blume Forever” is a fan tribute documentary in the best sense of the term. It doesn’t need a lot of exposé journalism, because Judy Blume candidly shares her flaws and failings in the movie. Anyone who is a fan of Blume should consider this documentary as essential as her best books. “Judy Blume Forever” had its world premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.

Directed by Davina Pardo and Leah Wolchok, “Judy Blume Forever” beings with a scene of Blume reading an excerpt from her 1973 young-adult novel “Deenie.” In this excerpt, gym teacher Mrs. Eileen Rappaport talks to her students about masturbation. It’s the type of writing that got some of Blume’s books denounced or outright banned for being “inappropriate” reading for children. This type of banning is still going on in some places for books by Blume and many other authors.

Most of the protagonists in Blume’s books are tweens and teenagers, usually girls. And for millions of people, Blume’s books were the first books that they read as children where topics such as masturbation, menstruation, bullying, eating disorders, physical disabilities and teenage sex were openly discussed as facts of life that not everyone dealt with in the same way. The books validated many underage readers’ own feelings and insecurities about these issues that these kids couldn’t or wouldn’t be able to discuss with any adults.

Former 1980s teen idol Molly Ringwald, who knows what it’s like to be thought of as a relatable “role model” for girls, is one of several Blume fans interviewed in the documentary. Ringwald says, “Everything I learned about sex, or thinking about sex or crushes, I learned from Judy.” Filmmaker/TV producer/actress Lena Dunham adds, “Judy’s books speak about the unspeakable. It’s the reason why her books were so complicated for people.”

And author Tarayi Jones comments on what it was like to read a Blume book as a child: “It was like a look into a secret world. I felt someone was being honest. That’s a gift. That’s magic.” Tony-nominated actress Caitlin Kinnunen “(The Prom”) adds, “Judy wrote these scenes that were awkward.” It was that awkwardness that made her work so realistic, say many of her fans.

Blume says in the documentary, “When I started to write, I only identified with kids, not adults.” Although Blume would later write some books about and for adults, she is most famous for her books about adolescents and teenagers. She adds, “I was an anxious child. I felt like adults kept secrets from the kids. I hated the secrets. I had to make up what those secrets were. That fueled my imagination.”

Born in 1938 as Judith Sussman, she was born and raised in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Blume describes herself as a child who loved to go to the library with her homemaker mother Esther Sussman. Her father Rudolph Sussman was a dentist. Blume describes him as a “nurturer.” She adds, “I adored my father. He tried to raise me to want an adventurous life … and to take chances.” Blume also grew up with a brother named David, who was four or five years older than her.

As an anxious child, Blume says what worried her the most was her father dying in middle-age, because all seven of her father’s siblings died before they reached the age of 60. Blume (whose family is Jewish) also remembers childhood worries about the Holocaust and World War II. Blume admits that she’s struggled with lifelong insecurities about not being “good enough.”

Joanne Stern, Blume’s best friend since childhood, describes Blume as a child: “She was a good girl. She was very cute, very pretty, had beautiful clothes. She was very thin.” Blume adds, “I was a good girl with a bad girl lurking inside.” Mary Weaver, another Blume friend since childhood, is also shown in the documentary. Weaver and Blume fondly reminisce about a boy who was a schoolmate crush.

Blume came of age in the 1950s, a decade that she describes as “the era of pretend: Pretend that we’re happy when we’re not. Pretend that everything is great when it isn’t.” You don’t have to be a psychiatrist to know maybe that’s why Blume chose to be so frankly realistic in her books that are fiction but discuss issues that happen to real people.

Blume met her first husband, attorney John Blume, when she was a second-year undergraduate student at New York University. Sadly, her worst fear about her father came true, when he died of a heart attack at age 54, just five weeks before her wedding in 1959. Judy and John became the parents of two kids: daughter Randy and son Lawrence, also known as Larry. Blume said she knew she wanted a career outside of the home. And so, this avid reader decided to become a professional writer.

Like many famous authors, Judy’s early career was filled with a lot of rejections from publishers. She describes her earliest unpublished work as “imitation Dr. Seuss.” Judy says her mother was always her biggest supporter, who typed all of Judy’s manuscripts and never gave any criticism of her work. But Judy also admits her feelings toward her mother were complicated: “My mother had some low self-esteem issues herself. She wanted me to be perfect.”

Judy’s first children’s book to be published was 1969’s “The One in the Middle Is the Green Kangaroo,” which went largely unnoticed by the general public at the time of its publication. And then, Judy heard that book publisher Bradbury Press was looking for realistic fiction for middle-school kids. After getting a series of rejections, Blume finally got her big break: Bradbury published Blume’s 1970 novel “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.” It was a bestseller and is widely considered one of the most influential young-adult novels of all time. It has now been made into a movie, starring Abby Ryder Fortson as the title character.

In the book, 11-year-old Margaret Simon has parents who are in an interfaith marriage (her father is Jewish, her mother is Christian) but they chose not to raise Margaret in any religion. Margaret frequently talks to God about her hopes, dreams and fears about her life and about growing up. She is afraid of being the last in her peer group to grow breasts and get her menstrual period. And she worries about being accepted by her peers in school and in her New Jersey community.

These are all insecurities that Judy says she went through in her own adolescence. She was embarrassed that she hadn’t started menstruating yet, like most of her female friends, so she lied to her friends about getting her menstrual period. Judy says, just like Margaret, she was also self-conscious about being flat-chested. Judy can laugh about it now, but at the time, these issues weighed heavily on her adolescent life.

“I wanted the truth, the reality of being that age,” Judy says about how she wrote “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.” Judy adds, “Writing ‘Margaret’ gave me my sense of who I was and what I might be able to do.” Pat Scales, a librarian, comments on the phenomenal success of the book: “I knew when I read ‘Margaret’ that kids would flock to this book. The ‘realism’ that was available prior to Judy [Blume books] was not realistic at all.”

Simon & Schuster publishing executive Justin Chanda comments on the book: “It was explaining things that were foreign to me, quite frankly. But it was also speaking to me about stuff that I was thinking about, in terms of religion and where you fit in the world.” Young-adult author/historian Gabrielle Moss quips about the book: “Come for the masturbation. Stay for the empowerment.”

Judy says that although she supported the feminism movement that flourished in the 1970s at the same time as her career flourished, she was not an outspoken, public supporter. She says she wanted to march in protests and burn bras, like many feminists did at the time, “but I didn’t. I could be fearless in my writing in a way [that] in my own life I could not.

Among her other bestsellers are the aforementioned “Deenie,” whose title character has scoliosis and wears a brace; 1974’s “Blubber,” which covered issues of bullying and body shaming; and 1975’s “Forever…,” perhaps her most controversial young-adult book, because it had descriptions of unmarried 18-year-olds having sex with each other. It’s common for today’s young-adult books to have frank descriptions of teen sexuality, but back in 1975, it was unprecedented.

Judy says that even with all of her success, she’s always had many critics and opponents. “Some people weren’t necessarily wishing me well,” she wryly comments. Judy says one of the questions she would often get from literary snobs was: “When are you going to write a real book?”

After “Deenie” was published, she says a male school principal told her that male masturbation was normal, but female masturbation was not normal. During the worst of the criticism that she got from people who wanted to ban her books, Judy says that she was getting death threats, “which I took very seriously.”

At the height of Judy’s fame in 1975, she decided to end her first marriage. All she will say about why she and her first husband John were incompatible is this comment: “I married a man who, like my mother, never talked about his feelings.” Judy remembers feeling stifled in her marriage at the time: “Enough of this. I have to get out of here. I have to live.”

By her own admission, she jumped too quickly into another marriage after her first divorce. Her second husband was a London-based scientist named Thomas Kitchens. That marriage ended in divorce in 1978. Blume says her biggest regret in life is deciding to uproot her kids to live in England during this doomed marriage.

“I didn’t know what I was doing,” Judy comments on her second marriage. “I was rebelling in the stupidest way. It was very rough, not just for me but my kids. I still have guilt about that. The honest thing was to admit I had made a terrible mistake … Through all the worst times in my life, I’d been able to write, and my writing has gotten me through.”

Judy has been happily married to her third husband, George Cooper, since 1987. She describes him as “easygoing” and “non-judgmental.” Together, they own the retail store Books & Books in Key West, Florida. They are frequently in the store and make themselves accessible to customers and other visitors. The documentary includes footage of the couple greeting many of these people and interacting with employees, such as Michael Nelson and Emily Berg. Judy’s biological children are not in the movie, but Judy’s stepdaughter Amanda Cooper is briefly interviewed in the documentary.

Speaking of fans and admirers, one of the best parts of the documentary is how it shows that Judy considers her fan mail to be among her most treasured possessions and some of her fans to be among her closest friends. She reads some of her fan mail out loud and is obviously still emotionally touched by people telling her how her books have changed their lives and made them feel less alone in the world. Judy has kept so much of her fan mail, in 2017, Yale University acquired 50 years’ worth of her writing and fan mail to keep in the Yale archives.

Lorrie Kim, who has been writing to Judy since Kim was 9 years old, is one such superfan who became a friend. The documentary shows Judy attending Kim’s graduation from Bryn Mawr College. Karen Chilstrom, who’s been writing to Judy since Chilstrom was 12, shares her traumatic family history of having a brother who sexually abused her and who then committed suicide. Chilstrom says of how her friendship with Judy developed: “She saw a person who was hurting, and she didn’t give up on me.”

The documentary has mention of Judy’s foray into adult-oriented novels—most notably 1978’s “Wifey,” which covered the topic of marital infidelity. Judy also talks about how she’s said no to numerous lucrative offers to turn her books into movies because she’s so protective of her work. Her 1981 young-adult novel “Tiger Eyes” (which was inspired by her own real-life experiences of her father’s death) is one of the few of her books that has been made into a movie. The 2013 “Tiger Eyes” movie, starring Willa Holland and directed by Judy’s son Lawrence, was a low-budget independent film that flopped.

Many fans of Judy’s books talk about how her books helped them learn about many of life’s issues that are larger than a girl worrying about if she’ll be popular in her school. Jones comments on the impact that “Blubber” had on her: “It made me understand that just being a bystander to cruelty made you cruel.”

Other fans and associates interviewed in the documentary include comedian/media personality/author Samantha Bee, author Jacqueline Woodson, screenwriter/producer Anna Konkle (“PEN15”), author Cecily von Ziegesar (“Gossip Girl”), author Mary H.K. Choi, book publisher/editor Beverly Horowitz, author Alex Gino, sex educator Rachel Lotus and author Jason Reynolds. There are also numerous children of various races who are shown reading from her books out loud.

“Judy Blume Forever” is more of a “fan appreciation” documentary than a “fan worship” documentary. The movie doesn’t shy away from including criticism of Judy’s work, although that criticism is mostly shown in archival clips. One of the more memorable clips is from 1984, when Judy appeared on the CNN talk show “Crossfire” for a heated discussion with conservative media pundit Pat Buchanan, who was one her most outspoken critics. In the documentary, Judy comments on this “Crossfire” appearance: “It was a very strange experience.”

The documentary also mentions the uproar that some people had because of a line in Judy’s 1993 young-adult book “Here’s to You, Rachel Robinson.” The line was “Here’s to my fucking family.” This was in 1993, when most kids had access to movies and TV shows with vulgar language on cable TV and home video releases, but book publishers were still skittish about putting profanity in books geared to tweens and teens. Judy says that her editor told her that she would have full support from the editor on her decision to keep that line in the book. Judy describes her former book editor Richard “Dick” Jackson (who died at the age of 84 in 2019) as “the best editor in the world.”

The documentary probably would been more interesting if it had current interviews with Judy’s critics, especially since book banning (particularly in schools and in libraries) has been having a resurgence in recent years. Not surprisingly, Judy is vehemently in support of writers’ rights. Even with the absence of recent criticism of Judy’s work, “Judy Blume Forever” doesn’t feel like it’s an incomplete movie. The documentary undoubtedly shows that Judy Blume, who is a master of soul-baring storytelling, is indeed the best person to tell her own life story.

Amazon Studios released “Judy Blume Forever” in select U.S. cinemas on April 21, 2023, the same day that the movie premiered on Prime Video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neWsO1Rk_q0

Review: ‘Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.,’ starring Rachel McAdams, Abby Ryder Fortson and Kathy Bates

April 20, 2023

by Carla Hay

Rachel McAdams and Abby Ryder Fortson in “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.” (Photo by Dana Hawley/Lionsgate)

“Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret.”

Directed by Kelly Fremon Craig

Culture Representation: Taking place in 1970, in New Jersey and New York City, the comedy/drama film “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.” (based on Judy Blume’s 1970 novel) features a predominantly white cast of characters (with a few African Americans) representing the working-class and middle-class.

Culture Clash: In a period of time when Margaret Simon goes from 11 to 12 years old, she worries about making friends at her new school, reaching puberty, and dealing with family issues that have to do with her parents’ interfaith marriage. 

Culture Audience: “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.” will appeal primarily to fans of the novel on which the movie is based and family-friendly movies about adolescent girls.

Abby Ryder Fortson, Amari Price, Elle Graham and Katherine Kupferer in “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.” (Photo by Dana Hawley/Lionsgate)

Even though Judy Blume has authored many bestselling novel (most in the young adult genre), not many of these books have been made into feature films. The movie adaptation of Blume’s 1970 novel “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.” is a delightful and faithful version of the beloved book. It’s not edgy, but it has accessible and well-done depictions of family angst, adolescent self-discovery and personal growth.

Written and directed by Kelly Fremon Craig, the comedy/drama “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.” has the benefit of a very talented cast that does justice to all the complex emotions that are described in the book. Because the story takes place in 1970, it recalls a simpler time in America, when children did not have to deal with the traumas of cyberbullying and school mass shootings. At the same time, children back then had less resources and less options on how to get information on issues about growing up. Despite the “quaint” aspects of the story, “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.” still has relatable topics that are timeless, especially to girls and women.

The movie “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.” begins with the title character Margaret Simon (played by Abby Ryder Fortson), who has no siblings, feeling uprooted and unsettled. Her father Herb Simon (played by Benny Safdie) has gotten a job promotion, so he and his wife Barbara Simon (played by Rachel McAdams), who is Margaret’s compassionate mother, have decided to move from their New York City apartment to a larger home in New Jersey. The move is only a less than 50 miles away, but it might as well be a long-distance move, as far as Margaret is concerned.

Margaret, who celebrates her 12 birthday during the course of the story, worries about leaving her current friends behind and whether or not she’ll make friends in her new school. The move also means that Margaret won’t be able to spend as much time with Herb’s widowed mother Sylvia Simon (played by Kathy Bates), who lives in New York City and has a close emotional bond to Margaret. Sylvia is the only grandparent in Margaret’s life.

It’s later revealed that Barbara’s parents (who are conservative Christians) disapproved of Barbara marrying Herb, just because Herb is Jewish. Barbara’s parents, who live in Ohio, practically disowned Barbara because of this difference in religion. Barbara has been estranged from her parents for years. As a result, Herb and Barbara have decided not to raise Margaret in any religion and have told Margaret that she can decide which religion (if any) she wants to choose when she’s an adult.

Margaret is worried about other things besides moving to a new place. Many of her female peers are starting to grow breasts and get their menstrual periods. Margaret hasn’t had those biological developments yets, and she’s terrified that she’ll be a considered a “freak” if she’s a late bloomer. Much of the story is about Margaret getting involved in some hijinks (and a lot of talking to God) about wanting to become biologically developed by the time she becomes a teenager.

The movie also prominently features Barbara’s self-discovery and coming to terms with her family issues. Because Herb is earning more money from his job promotion, Barbara has decided to give up her job as an art teacher and become a homemaker. It allows her to spend more time at home and notice more of what’s going on with Margaret, who goes back and forth between confiding in her mother and hiding her true feelings from her mother.

On the day that the Simon family moves into their New Jersey house, a talkative neighbor girl with bossy and elitist tendencies comes over unannounced and invites Margaret to play in the yard sprinklers with her. Nancy Wheeler (played by Elle Graham) considers herself to eb the “queen bee” of her small clique at the school that she and Margaret attend. Nancy invites Margaret into a “secret club” that includes two other students from the school: easygoing Janie Loomis (played by Amari Price) and slightly nerdy Gretchen Potter (played by Katherine Kupferer).

Margaret makes fast friends with this group of girls. But she finds out that being part of this “secret club” comes with a social price. One of the club’s “rules” is that all of the members have to tell each other very private things, such as which boys they have crushes on and when they get their menstrual periods. Nancy is also a catty gossip who spreads unfounded promiscuity rumors about a classmate named Laura Danker (played by Isol Young), who is taller than most of the students and has all the physical developments of a woman.

A lot of stories with these types of adolescent would make a lot of the conflicts center on rivalries to get the attention of boys. There’s a small subplot about Margaret seeming to have a mutual attraction to a “nice guy” classmate nickname Moose Freed (played by Aidan Wojtak-Hissong), who is a friend of Nancy’s bratty older brother Evan Wheeler (played by Landon Baxter). However, the movie is much more focused on the female bonding, such as the relationships that Margaret has with her new friends, as well as those with her mother Barbara and grandmother Sylvia.

If these female relationships are the heart of the story, Margaret’s evolving relationship with God is the soul of the story. Just like in the book, Margaret talks to God during moments when she feels the most hope, fear, confusion and joy. She has to reckon with her evolving feelings about religion when a teacher named Mr. Benedict (played by Echo Kellum) encourages her to choose religion as her subject for an assigned class project where the student can choose which topic to research.

Ryder Fortson gives an utterly charming performance in “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.” She isn’t overly perky, not is she an insufferable grouch. She’s completely convincing as the Margaret character in the way that Blume depicted her in the book. McAdams and Bates also have standout moments in their roles as family matriarchs who are very different from each other but share a similar fierce love for Margaret.

The movie gets occasionally dull and repetitive. This story is not going to endear itself to anyone who will get tired of hearing Margaret mope about how her breasts aren’t growing as fast as she wants to them to grow. And there’s a useless subplot about Barbara volunteering for too many parent-teacher association committees that are overseen by Nancy’s mother Jan Wheeler (played by Kate MacCluggage), who likes to think of herself as the high-society maven of the mothers in the community. (Blume has a cameo in the movie as a dog-walking neighbor.) Jan ends up overloading Barbara with work.

“Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.” is certainly told through the lens of middle-class privilege, because it’s about girls who go to summer camp and never have to worry about being homeless or not having enough to eat. If people want a dark and depressing movie about adolescents, this isn’t it. But “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.” delivers what it intends in offering a wistful and nostalgic look at adolescent girlhood in early 1970s America but remaining relatable to anyone who goes though a journey of self-identity.

Lionsgate will release “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.” in U.S. cinemas on April 28, 2023. A sneak preview of the movie was shown in select U.S. cinemas on April 19, 2023.

Review: ‘In Viaggio: The Travels of Pope Francis,’ starring Pope Francis

April 18, 2023

by Carla Hay

Pope Francis (center) in “In Viaggio: The Travels of Pope Francis” (Photo courtesy of Archivo Vatican Media/Magnolia Pictures)

“In Viaggio: The Travels of Pope Francis”

Directed by Gianfranco Rosi

Some language in Italian, Spanish and Portuguese with subtitles

Culture Representation: Taking place from 2013 to 2022, in various countries around the world, the documentary film “In Viaggo: The Travels of Pope Francis” features a racially diverse group of people (white, Latino, Asian and black) who gather to see or meet Pope Francis.

Culture Clash: During his travels, Pope Francis gives speeches where he speaks out against crimes, wars and social injustice. 

Culture Audience: “In Viaggio: The Travels of Pope Francis” will appeal primarily to people who are interested in watching “play it safe” documentaries about religious leaders.

Pope Francis in “In Viaggio: The Travels of Pope Francis” (Photo courtesy of Archivo Vatican Media/Magnolia Pictures)

The documentary “In Viaggio: The Travels of Pope Francis” consists almost entirely of archival news footage. Therefore, nothing new is revealed. It’s an up-close but not very personal compilation of Pope Francis’ international tour visits and some of his inspirational speeches.

Overall, the movie is good, but it’s not great. Non-religious people will probably get bored quickly by this documentary, but might want to keep watching the movie out of curiosity toe see the spectacle of how large crowds react to the Pope. “In Viaggo: The Travels of Pope Francis” had its world premiere at the 2022 Venice International Film Festival. (“In viaggo” means “traveling” in Italian.)

Directed by Gianfranco Rosi, “In Viaggio: The Travels of Pope Francis” has footage of the Pope’s travels to various countries from 2013 to 2022. Not surprisingly, he attracts the types of huge and diverse crowds that only the upper echelon of superstars can attract. Many people treat him like a god who can somehow make their lives better, if he can just look or nod in their direction. Ironically, this over-adulation of a human being is exactly what Pope Francis preaches against, since he has a reputation for being one of the humblest Popes of the past 100 years.

In between the footage of the screaming and adoring crowds, the documentary takes the time to show other footage, to put things in a larger context. In footage from his 2013 trip to Brazil, the massive and loud audience gathered to see the Pope is contrasted with footage of armed security soldiers up on the hills, watching the crowd but far from the sight of the crowd. It’s a reminder that Pope, as one of the most famous people in the world, needs this type of protection when he’s out in public.

During a visit to the Philippines in 2015, when the country was ravaged by Typhoon Koppu, also known as Typhoon Lando, the documentary shows footage from the typhoon. Footage of refugees dying at sea precedes footage of the Pope speaking in Lampedusa in 2015. He talks about immigrants dying at sea as something that “unfortunately occurs all too frequently … So I was moved to come here and pray.”

In a trip to the United States in 2015, the Pope speaks to members of the U.S. Congress and namechecks Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr., Dorothy Day and Thomas Merton when talking about peace and ending war. He also makes this comment on why there is such a problem with gun violence: “It’s money that is drenched in blood, often innocent blood.”

On the same trip, he speaks sternly to a group of Catholic bishops about child sex abuse caused by Catholic clergy: “I continue to be ashamed, because people charged with the tender care of those little ones abused them and caused them great harm. I commit myself to ensuring that the Church makes every effort to protect minors, and I promise that those responsible will be held to account.” Most of the bishops have no reactions or no expression on their faces, while others shift a little uncomfortably in their seats.

After a while, the documentary has a repetitious pattern of showing Pope Francis being treated like a religious rock star and then giving speeches tailor-made for soundbites. During a 2018 trip to Chile, Pope Francis says, “Losing freedom does not mean losing our dreams and hopes.” At a speech in Mexico in 2016, Pope Francis talks about the evils of human trafficking.

While in Canada in 2022, Pope Francis speaks out against the marginalization and colonization of indigenous people. During a 2015 trip to the Central African Republic, he talks about unity among religions and is seen visiting the United Nations office in Nairobi. In the United Arab Emirates in 2019, Pope Francis gives a speech talking about having hope amid suffering.

You get the idea. And there’s footage of him paying respects to countries’ historical wounds. During visits in 2014 to Israel and Palestine, he’s shown visiting the West Bank barrier. He’s also seen on a bus speaking with members of the Pan-Orthodox Council. “I pray to the Lord for your Pan-Orthodox synod,” he comments.

While in Armenia in 2016, and in Turkey in 2014, Pope Francis preaches against the horrors of genocide. During his 2019 visit to Japan, he pays tribute to those whose lives were devastated by atomic bombs in 1945. There’s also footage of him during his 2021 trip to Iraq, his 2022 visit to Malta, and his 2022 tour of Canada. He’s also shown talking by satellite to members of the International Space Station, which he calls a “mini-United Nations.”

Because “In Viaggio: The Travels of Pope Francis” is not a truly intimate documentary of Pope Francis, everything looks very formal and emotionally sterile in moments that show the Pope away from the crowds. Pope Francis is friendly to everyone, but there are no moments that reveal the Pope to have any human flaws. Then again, based on the way that most people act when they’re around the Pope, that type of reality is something that they probably don’t want to see.

Magnolia Pictures released “In Viaggio: The Travels of Pope Francis” in select U.S. cinemas, on digital and VOD on March 31, 2023.

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