Diamantino (2018)

Diamantino, written and directed by Daniel Schmidt and Gabriel Abrantes is a wonderfully bizarre Portugal film where at the center lies an incredible warm-hearted sweetness. 

The title character, played by Carlota Cotta, is a soccer player (clearly inspired by Cristiano Ronaldo), who is responsible for a cultural disappointment after missing a penalty kick during the final moments of a World Cup championship game. Diamantino decides to make good for himself by adopting a refugee. Unbeknownst to him, the adopted refugee is actually a lesbian secret service agent who is investigating him for money laundering. Diamantino's problems worsen once his money obsessed siblings decide to hand him off to a mad scientist with plans to clone his genetics for a government plot to strengthen Portugal's power within the EU. The under the radar queerness is almost undermined with the muddy sexual dynamics of the narrative. The film veers into the dangerous old school notion that male charm is irresistible, even for a lesbian. A notion that hopefully contemporary audiences have enough sense not to buy into as an argument for sexual preferences instead of orientation. 

Additionally, the lesbian/secret service/refugee character Aisha, who is pretending to be a young boy and calls Diamantino ‘daddy' while watching the character development between the two becoming more intimate had me absolutely squirming in my seat with its implications. The redemption of the film is the compassionate message about finding acceptance and love, even if gender bending, genetically modified breasts are involved.  🎬🎬🎬 (3 out of 4)

First Reformed (2017)

First Reformed marks Paul Schrader's triumphant return to compelling cinema following a series of not so wonderful films that peaked with The Canyons. Ethan Hawke plays Reverend Toller, a minister of a church whose dwindling faith and physical health is further challenged after meeting an environmental activist and his wife. 

While the film feels modest in tone, Ethan Hawke's performance and the screenplay written by Schrader help exhibiit his auteur style that is slightly reminiscent of his earlier films Taxi Driver and Hardcore, particularly regarding the conflict between religion and contemporary morality that result in one of the year's best films.  🎬🎬🎬 🎬 (4 out of 4)

Keep The Change (2017)

Keep The Change is the debut feature film by Rachel Israel about two people with autism who find romance in this warm and honest New York City romantic comedy. David (Brandon Polansky) meets Sarah (Samantha Elisofon) while attending a court ordered support group for autistic people. After several failed attempts to establish a connection with women online, he reluctantly decides to accompany Sarah for a group assignment at the Brooklyn bridge. Sarah approaches her autism with direct honesty, but often overlooks how other people respond to her open sexual candidness and lack of understanding jokes. David, often brushing his disability aside and seemingly meant for bigger things, ultimately accepts his love for Sarah and his own need for help that culminates in a final scene of him reaching out to the rejected and defeated Sarah, first by David's family and then a stage performance when she understands how she is different. 

While the film does follow the standard formula for a romance genre film, Keep The Change wisely avoids stereotypes and clichés by featuring authentic non-actors whose honest portrayals is so convincing that it is easy to forget they are characters in a film. The authentic New York City locations help enhance the realistic premise that explores the universal theme of fitting into society as a functional person with a heartfelt and authentic approach, despite the low budget, occasional continuity flaw and shaky camera.  🎬🎬🎬 (3 out of 4)

A Quiet Place (2018)

A Quiet Place offers an interesting premise for a horror film that is told through sign language and subtitles instead of spoken words. This narrative device does allow for greater intensity because the few sound effects that are utilized, it becomes very jarring when they do occur. The screenplay is taut and effective on slowing increasing the intensity as the plot progresses. John Krasinski and Emily Blunt star as the remaining survivors of an alien invasion which responds to sound in order to exterminate mankind. 

Much of the action is built around Evelyn's impending childbirth and many scenes throughout the screenplay turn the screw even tighter. The most effective scene involves Evelyn when she steps on an exposed nail with her bare foot at the worst possible time during labor. This scene is pushed further because it is shot in an excruciating close-up. The film does tend to fall apart at the conclusion because of the open ending intentionally done for the sole marketing purpose of a sequel. While A Quiet Place is a decent film, it works as a standalone and not something interesting enough to warrant a sequel or two.   🎬🎬 🎬 (3 out of 4)

A Wrinkle in Time (2018)

I was finally able to check out Ava DuVernay's film A Wrinkle in Time during a rainy Thursday matinee after several weeks in wide release. At this point, there is not much to the plot synopsis that I can really add. But, the screen presence of Mindy Kaling, Oprah Winfrey and Reese Witherspoon as celestial guides speaking of light, energy, vibes and balance help elevate this Disney sci-fi fantasy into an enjoyable and mystical film that left me with a feeling of exhubeation long after the screening was over. 

By responding to A Wrinkle in Time in such an emotive manner, I know there are others as well, so I am completely perplexed why this film has a low rating on movie sites like Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb? The female driven narrative about finding your own light, despite of other people's darkness is a positive message for a younger Disney audience and makes A Wrinkle in Time far from a terrible film.  🎬🎬🎬 (3 out of 4)

Ready Player One (2018)

Ready Player One is the latest film by Steven Spielberg and based from the science fiction novel written by Ernest Cline. The sci-fi adventure is set in the dystopian future in Columbus, Ohio where the residents immerse themselves in a virtual reality game called The Oasis to escape the hopelessness of their own lives. There is a downside to the Oasis as players can become addicted to their virtual reality world and lose all their personal possessions or worse, become labor workers for the IOI corporation and its corrupt leader, Sorrento (Ben Mendelsohn), whose objective is to remove all the names from a giant scoreboard and destroy the Oasis. Wade (Tye Sheriden) is perfectly cast as an appealing protagonist who sets out to save his beloved Oasis by finding three keys (or easter eggs) that are hidden within the game and inherit the game creator's fortune. 

Ready Player One features non-stop, impressive CGI effects and at times manage to pull the audience into the immersive virtual reality world. The plot constantly references 1980s pop culture, including an extended action sequence that is a mind-bending mash up of the Stanley Kubrick film called The Shining. The more interesting aspect lies within the subplot that suggest virtual reality is not a replacement for actual real life human connection. This idea features several scenes of visual humor mocking the ridiculous body movements of those playing virtual reality games. Ready Player One is loud, fast and busy and the narrative does offer humanism amid the virtual reality CGI effects, but ultimately the film is flat with no edge of your seat thrills.  🎬🎬 (2 out of 4)

Unsane (2018)

Unsane is a surprisingly effective psychological horror film directed by Steven Soderbergh. Without giving too much of the film away, Claire Foy plays a young executive who seeks a counseling session regarding a stalker and unwittingly commits herself into a mental institution. Unsane was shot using an iPhone 7, which help give the film a lo-fi, grainy feel similar to the low budget exploitation films during the 1970's to mid 1980's. The lighting is kept low and compliments the tone of the film. The freeze frame shot at the conclusion help illustrate the genre style Soderbergh is going for. 

The subtext in Unsane is about the fraudulent business between health care facilities and insurance companies. The theme of corporate paranoia was frequently explored in the early work of David Cronenberg and coincidentally, David is the name of the antagonist in this film. Savvy exploitation audiences will also find similarities between Unsane and the 1985 exploitation film called Hell Hole, just without the boobs and lesbian sex. There are tense moments, particularly during the solitary confinement scene, which utilize a minimal music score to its advantage. It is a pleasure to see a current horror film finally delivering the goods and a subtle touch is Amy Irving in a supporting role that provides relief from a genuinely unsettling film.      🎬🎬🎬🎬 (4 out of 4)

Una Mujer Fantastica (A Fantastic Woman) (2017)

Un Mujer Fantastica (A Fantastic Woman) is Chilean film directed by Sebastian Lelio and the winner of the Best Foreign Film at the 2018 Academy Awards. Marina (Daniela Vega) is a transgender woman who faces transphobia and discrimination after the death of her lover Orlando (Francisco Reyes). The story follows Marina during the days after her tragedy as she struggles to process grief, anger and finally acceptance. Orlando's family provide no support as they prevent her from attending his funeral and kicking her out of his apartment. Orlando's family view her as a perversion rather than the person that Orlando was in love with. 

The narrative arc is how Marina's resilience ultimately helps her reclaim her own self-respect. This idea is reinforced in a scene involving Orlando's brother, Gabo (Luis Gneccio), who finally defends her gender identity. Marina's journey is reinforced by an earlier scene in the film of her performing a campy song in a nightclub. At the end of the film we see her singing again, this time in a more formal concert hall setting. 

The story also touches on the difficulty that Marina (and many people within the transgender community) who face transphobia on a daily basis in their lives and finding love within oneself and with a significant other. Thankfully, Una Mujer Fantastica (A Fantastic Woman)  does offer a happy ending of sorts.  🎬🎬🎬 (3 out of 4)

Love, Simon (2018)

Love, Simon is an uplifting and irresistible new coming out story directed by Greg Berlanti. Simon (played by Nick Robinson) plays gay teenager Simon, who is struggling with his sexuality while trying to find out who the mutually gay and anonymous classmate is at his school whom he is chatting with online. Finally, Hollywood has produced a romantic comedy for young LGBT audiences that is refreshing and fun.        🎬🎬🎬🎬 (4 out of 4)

The Party (2018)

Arthouse favorite Sally Potter, director of The Tango Lesson and Orlando, returns with an efficiently written film called The Party. Kristin Scott Thomas plays Janet, the party host and a successful London parliament politician who approaches life with an idealistic point of view. The celebration takes a turn for the worst as confessions are told, marital affairs are exposed and a pointed gun is inevitable. Bruno Ganz is wonderful as Gottfried, a life coach whose focus on meditation and mindfulness is a source of irritation for his current love interest April (played by the magnificent Patricia Clarkson), a realist who approaches the events unfolding around her with honest clarity. Martha (Cherry Jones) and Jinny (Emily Mortimer) play a lesbian couple whose pregnancy with male triplets present a direct challenge to Jinny's feminist view that all men are evil. As April points out, she has three of them inside of her.

The natural and honest dialogue is a screenwriting wonder because so much is accomplished within the short running time regarding sex, religion, politics and feminism. The story features complex characters whose intentions are never revealed too early and no one is completely innocent. The characters are identifiable, empathetic and Potter wisely keeps the antagonist Marianne off-screen. 

The Party is shot in black and white cinematography and compliments the minimal, yet effective production design because the audience is given a direct reference point of the social status of the partygoers and host. The Party is a delicious film and highly recommended.  🎬🎬🎬🎬 (4 out of 4)

Thoroughbreds (2018)

Thoroughbreds is the directorial debut from Cory Finley, which stars Olivia Cooke and Anya Taylor-Joy. Mis-marketed as the latest Heathers knockoff for teens, this film was dropped into an arthouse theater in my neighborhood instead of the multiplexes. Why a distributor would ever think a typical teenager would be found in an arthouse cinema is uncertain. The story consists of two teenage friends, Lily (Taylor-Joy) and Amanda (Cooke), both damaged and disturbed in their own way. Amanda is emotionally unable to feel anything which allows her to have a pending animal cruelty charge looming over her head. Lily despises her stepfather and the stakes are raised once her mother informs her she is being shipped off to a boarding school for troubled girls and her stepfather adds that after a year, her tuition will be her own responsibility. After the local drug dealer bails after being hired as a hitman, the two friends decide to take matters into their own hands. 

While the film does display talent with witty dialogue (unsurprisingly, the director is also playwright), the slow burn narrative suffers tremendously because there is no one to care about. The protagonists Lily and Amanda are played in such a deadpan, cynical manner that it is difficult to empathically connect with either one of them and ultimately gives implausibility to the entire script. Equally distasteful is the antagonist stepfather Mark (Paul Sparks), whose terse arrogance creates a cold distance between the audience and character. 

With the unoriginal story as Thoroughbreds presents (although forgiving since very few ideas are completely original these days), along with the large portion of screen time emphasizing the internal conflict of pulling off such a heinous act with dry and deadpan enthusiasm, Thoroughbreds does not have enough juice to recommend.  🎬 (1 out of 4)

Death Wish (2018)

Eli Roth returns and scales it way back with his latest film Death Wish. Bruce Willis plays Paul Kersey, a surgeon turned vigilante after his family is attacked. While the film feels faithfully planted in its grindhouse/exploitation roots, it is also a modern update without the sleaze factor of the 1974 original. There are many scenes of surveillance cameras, camera phones and monitors that suggest the power of social media and the internet as Kersey learns various weaponry skills simply by watching YouTube posts from gun crazy aficionados. Also included are De Palma-esque split screen sequences as racially mixed media hosts debate if the vigilante is a hero or a criminal. 

Considering the recent real life tragic events involving shooters, the film is discomforting during the scenes that are played for laughs. The car shop scene is particularly gruesome, yet effective. Death Wish does deliver a fast-moving action genre thriller and the charisma of Bruce Willis gives the remake an extra polish. It is surprising that MGM did not pull Death Wish from a general release due to timing and it is difficult to recommend. With that in mind, it is not a terrible film either.  🎬🎬🎬 (3 out of 4)

Annihilation (2018)

Annihilation is the latest masterpiece written and directed by Alex Garland, based off the novel by Jeff VanderMeer. Natalie Portman stars along with Jennifer Jason Leigh as a biologist who ventures into an environmental phenomenon called Area X to find out what happened to her husband. What transpires on the screen for the two hour running time is an absolutely mind-blowing science fiction/horror genre film that left me stunned and exhilarated leaving the theater long after the final credits. 

The narrative manages to follow the events logically without giving away all the answers to what the film is about. Similar to his previous film Ex Machina, the narrative is a steady and slow build that kept me glued to the screen. Technical strengths are the cinematography and sound. The earlier scenes are shot in very soft muted color tones. During the final quarter of the film when the remaining survivors of the group reach the lighthouse, there is a noticeable color pop that replaces the hazy cinematography with crisp and bright primary digital colors. 

The electronic musical score during the last quarter of the film moved around the auditorium and was booming out of the sound system and by that time what I was feeling is completely indescribable. Annihilation is recommended for those who enjoy thoughtful and intelligent filmmaking and is an early entry as one of the best films of 2018.  🎬🎬🎬🎬 (4 out of 4)

Point Break (2015)

Point Break is a reductive remake of Kathryn Bigelow's far superior 1991 action thriller. The very flimsy narrative consists of extreme sports enthusiasts who risk their lives to complete eight increasingly dangerous adventures that will, supposedly, help them obtain Zen and enlighten others. However, this is merely an excuse to showcase 90 minutes worth of extreme sports, cataloguing everything from surfing to motor cross biking in high altitudes. The action moves so fast that it is difficult to really see anything, as well as the heavy reliance on CGI effects. 

However, the worst part is how the filmmakers failed to create any tension or suspense throughout the action sequences, which the entire film is built around. The zero chemistry between Johnny Utah and Bodhi prevents the audience from believing anything the narrative wants us to about their conflict with each other. As far as the underlying homoeroticism that has often been cited in the original film, none of it is to be found here.  🎬 (1 out of 4)

The Hateful Eight (2015)

Quentin Tarantino's latest film, The Hateful Eight, is a post-Civil War spaghetti western that is predominately dialogue driven and broken up into six chapters. The first half of the film takes place mostly in a stagecoach and the last half of the narrative in the destination spot of Minnie's Haberdashery. Tarantino is careful not to reveal much of the narrative details until the right moment, which result in many plot twists as the characters reveal themselves to be not who they were once thought to be. Also, with hidden motives that are explained during the later chapters in the film. The Hateful Eight attempts to tackle ideas of racial and gender conflicts, while referencing Tarantino's earlier films, most notably Reservoir Dogs. 

Strong cinematography by Robert Richardson and the musical score by Ennio Morricone add a fine touch, but is also the audience expectation of Tarantino at this point in his career. Jennifer Jason Leigh does a fine acting job in a role that requires her to mostly be chained alongside her abusive bounty hunter, played by Kurt Russell. Samuel L. Jackson also gives an excellent performance as Major Marquis Warren.  🎬🎬🎬🎬 (4 out of 4)

Sisters (2015)

Sisters is a lightweight, fun and often raunchy comedy starring the SNL alumni comedy duo Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. The film is about two very different sisters who decide to throw one last party before their parents sell their childhood home. 

As one can imagine, things get very out of control as the narrative progresses during its relatively short running time. Many other SNL alumni appear throughout the film, particularly Maya Rudolph, who is hilarious as a jealous realtor. The film is harmless fun that is worth checking out during a night out on the town.  🎬🎬🎬 (3 out of 4)

Carol (2015)

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Todd Haynes latest film is an impeccable and beautifully photographed film adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's novel The Price of Salt. The technical standout is the precise and exquisite cinematography by Edward Lachman, as well as the production design by Judy Becker, which effortlessly pulls the viewer into the narrative. Cate Blanchett is elegant and demure, quite different than her explosive performance in Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine. 

The uplifting conclusion is a refreshing change from the tragic suffering of the LGBT community commonly found within films set during the 1950's. One of the best films of 2015.  🎬🎬🎬🎬 (4 out of 4)

The Big Short (2015)

The Big Short is a daring and humorous film adaptation from the novel by Michael Lewis. Screenwriters Adam McKay and Charles Randolph brilliantly transform what could be a dry and boring film about the mid 2000 housing and financial crisis into a relevant criticism of the apathetic banking industry. As well as the greed filled entrepreneurs who predicted the crisis and profited off the economic collapse, much to the detriment of the American people. The quick editing and humorous cameos, including Selena Gomez at a casino table, easily wash down insider financial language. The dream team casting of Steve Carell, Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling and Brad Pitt help elevate The Big Short into one of the best films of 2015.  🎬🎬🎬🎬 (4 out of 4)