Movie theaters may soon run out of big movies. Apparently a slowdown is coming, though it’s hard to feel that when Top Gun, Thor, The Minions and others are doing very well right now. It’s also hard to understand when there are so many new small and mid-sized titles coming out right now. See below and note this: my favorite movie of the last few weeks, Marcel the shell with shoes on has now expanded, it was in just two cities, and now it’s in nine more, from Halifax to Victoria.
And these are new…
The gray man: 3 stars
Where the locusts sing: 3 ½
Hallelujah: 4
Persuasion: 2 ½
Mrs Harris goes to Paris: 3
what people are reading
Murina: 3 ½
Fury Paws: 2
THE GRAY MAN: This might be the most action-packed blowout of the summer. I haven’t seen this many car accidents, bus rollovers, wild driving on film in a long time. But there it is, in a chase sequence on a street in a big city (I think Prague) in the middle of this Netflix movie that just never stops. It’s the most expensive movie in its history and it’s directed by the Russo brothers, Anthony and Joe, who have done this kind of thing for a few Marvel movies. In fact, they brought in the writers and crew from those movies and Chris Evans, who played Captain America for them. They have him playing an operative described as a “psychopath” who is hired by the CIA to take down a former agent, played by Ryan Gosling.
Ryan was recruited into an elite program called Sierra, He’s Number 6, by a handler played by Billy Bob Thornton. It was never clear to me why others now want him out, something about dark secrets, but it’s the chase that’s important, not what it’s about. There is a lot of that in various cities around the world. There is spirited dialogue around it, man-on-man fights, and a subtext about questioning authority. He also places a heavy emphasis on loyalty, sticking with his real friends (eg Ryan and Billy Bob) and an agent (Ana de Armas) who backs him up. Interesting angle: Evans says that he is in the private sector and therefore not hampered by government rules. Ideas are scattered amidst the outrageous action. He’s in some theaters for a week, well for that, and then on Netflix. 3 of 5
WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING: As a novel it has been tremendously popular. It was #1 on two separate lists in the New York Times last week. Now, as a movie, it has some of the same attraction, the lighthearted side of summer reading, but it also shows what it’s not. Big issues are downplayed, issues like class prejudice, the judgment of the poor, women abused by men. They’re all there, but a colorful image of a wild child is what really catches the eye.
Kya, played by English actress Daisy Edgar-Jones, lives alone in an old house in the swamps of North Carolina. Her family is gone. She has to survive on her own and not be broken by the slights she receives in the nearby town. People know her only as The Marsh Girl and assume that she is cheap and short. Two young men get to know her but she breaks up with them and when one is found dead, she is put on trial for murder. David Strathairn plays a lawyer who takes her case out of pity and it’s through flashbacks of that case that we get his story. We see a vicious father, a weak mother, and their own efforts to establish themselves. She is a talented naturalist and artist. We are on her side. Edgar-Jones takes us there with her performance. But the problems that plague her are too low-key as director Olivia Newman presents them. (In theaters) 3 ½ of 5
HALLELUJAH: LEONARD COHEN, A SONG, A JOURNEY: We’ve seen Leonard Cohen’s life told before in documentaries, but this one is different. We see his life completely through a song: Hallelujah. The song itself has a complex story. It is now well known that Cohen’s record company refused to release it and let it appear first on a small independent label. But the rest of the story is just as incredible. Folk singer Jeff Buckley covered for him and started what eventually became an avalanche. Some 300 artists have recorded the song. John Cale’s version was used in the movie Schrek and that gave it another big boost.
Cohen spent years writing it, with dozens of verses and two versions. One addressed to God; the other to the women in Cohen’s life. The song reflects both Cohen’s spiritual quest and his everyday life. Shrek’s version is edited to clean up some racy content, which also allowed the song to be played at many functions, especially weddings. You’ll hear snippets of many versions in this movie. Prepare to get an earworm. And a deeper understanding of Leonard Cohen, as well as the strange history of a single song. (Theaters in Toronto–Varsity–Vancouver–5the Avenue—and Montreal with more coming soon.) 4 of 5
PERSUASION: This is the latest film version (the 5the according to my calculations) of Jane Austen’s latest novel, but unfortunately it is not the best. Not that I’ve seen them all, but I’ll point out a better one below. This one has all the rich design, grand houses and skilled English actors that would like to bring the Regency period to life once again. But two problems stand out. First, modernization. Not the look, but the tone. The bits of dialogue are anachronistic: one character calls another “a 10”. I doubt that Jane Austen wrote that.
Ann Elliott, played by Dakota Johnson, is a modern woman, for her time, but she gives the impression of having entered our time. She speaks directly to us repeatedly, even winking from time to time. She may be ordinary in the theater, where she is from director Carrie Cracknell, but here she feels bad. Ann doesn’t feel English either, and what’s worse, there’s no chemistry between her and Captain Frederick Wentworth (played by Cosmo Jarvis). He is the heartthrob she was talked into rejecting seven years earlier because her status was too low for her snobbish family. He has come back into his life now, richer and more esteemed, but is there a match to be made? The film overlooks a major concern of Austen’s: the low status at the time of women who were not yet married. It’s barely mentioned and we’re left with essentially a costume rom-com. Check out the 1995 version with Amanda Root and Ciarán Hinds. Beat This (Netflix) 2 ½ out of 5
MRS. HARRIS GOES TO PARIS: I think this could be a very pleasurable fantasy for many women. Imagine a woman who cleans houses in London (Lesley Manville) going to Paris to buy a Dior dress, just to feel good. Yes, as if. But then, due to a unique circumstance, she was thrust into a private and highly exclusive showing of the latest dresses, met Dior himself, attracted the attention of a friendly marquis, and annoyed a snobbish Dior employee (Isabelle Huppert). That would be a trip, vacation or not.
And there is more The House of Dior is in decline. Ideas are needed to revive it. Meanwhile there are layoffs and worker demonstrations. No, Mrs. Harris doesn’t have the answers, but she manages to encourage those who do. It’s thanks to her cheerful manner and her optimism about people. Most are good, or can be talked into becoming good. It’s not a pervasive idea in movies, even a bit quaint these days, but this movie, directed and co-written by Anthony Fabian from a novel by Paul Gallico, makes it work and it doesn’t even feel like polyanism. This movie makes you feel good. (In theaters) 3 of 5
MURINE: We get coming-of-age movies pretty regularly, though not often from Croatia. This is a delight and a couple of years ago it captivated the Cannes judges so much that they gave it a grand prize, best first film. They gave it to Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic, who directed and wrote the film and set it near Dubrovnic, where he grew up. She also spent time in the US, so we have a hybrid.
Teenager Julija (Gracija Filipovic) lives with a controlling father and longs to escape. The murine is a type of eel that is very adept at that. Dad gets a visit from an old friend (Cliff Curtis) who is now rich and living in the US and hoping to sell his land to him. Julija feels that there was something in the past between him and her mother. That gives him an idea of her: she replaces her dad with him and she can be free of her. There is a lot of subtle plot to come, hints at past relationships and seething emotions that they evoke. The director subtly blends all this into a story that will keep you engaged. It’s slow but engaging and steamy. (Small theaters, like the Rio in Vancouver) 3 ½ of 5
PAWS OF FURY THE LEGEND OF HANK: Do you want an animated movie to take your kids and make them jump and kick in the car on the way home? This one will get on their nerves, which is unusual for American kids’ movies these days, but you’ll have to explain what all that showbiz humor is about. A lot of this is pure Catskills gimmick. Mel Brooks, for example, voicing a shogun character, saying multiple times, “There’s no business, like Shogun business.” Brooks helped write the screenplay and produce the film. Don’t explain what’s so funny about this phrase from Samuel L. Jackson: “What the hell is going on here?”
Michael Cera plays Hank, a dog who wants to be a samurai. His mission: to defend a town full of cats. A dog, defending cats? Well, it’s a twisted cat plot voiced by Ricky Gervais to destroy the city. It turns out that he is also a call to overcome hatred and prejudice. Cats and dogs don’t like each other. Hank has to earn the cats’ respect. It’s also a mild homage, perhaps a weak copy, of Brook’s classic western spoof. hot saddles. Children won’t understand that; adults will also have problems with the connection. Noise, bombast and fart jokes abound. Leading the three directors is Rob Minkoff, who worked on The Lion King Y Stuart Little. This is not very funny or entertaining. (In theaters) 2 of 5