Race [2016]

MPAA (PG-13)  CNS/USCCB (A-II)  ChicagoTribune (2 Stars)  RogerEbert.com (2 1/2 Stars)  AVClub (C+)  Fr. Dennis (3 Stars)

IMDb listing
CNS/USCCB (J. McAleer) review
ChicagoTribune (M. Phillips) review
RogerEbert.com (O. Henderson) review
AVClub (J. Hassenger) review

TheSource.com (K. Fields) interview w. Stephan James on playing Jesse Owens
Atlanta Daily World (T. Shropshire) article on film's red carpet premiere in Atlanta, GA


Race [2016] (directed by Stephen Hopkins, screenplay by Joe Shrapnel and Anna Waterhouse) plays as a SOLID children's oriented (school / family friendly) film about 1930s era African American track-star Jesse Owens [wikip] [IMDb] (played in the film by Stephan James).

Adults might come away a little disappointed, as various aspects of the story from (perhaps) parts his personal life to the racism of the time (both in the U.S. and Nazi Germany) were softened for the children's audience.  Nevertheless, the broad points of his story are there:

Hitler's Regime wished to make Germany's holding of the 1936 Olympics in Berlin a showcase of Nazi / Aryan supremacy.  Yet an unlikely African American athlete, Jesse Owens, who grew-up in an environment of otherwise obvious Jim Crow Era racial prejudice against him at home, ended-up showing-up this Nazi-style White Supremacist arrogance in such spectacular fashion -- winning 4 gold medals and even the friendship / admiration of some of the GERMAN athletes, notably German long jumper Carl "Lutz" Long (played in the film by David Cross) with whom he made a lifelong friendship -- that pretty much THE ONLY THING THAT PEOPLE REMEMBER TODAY OF THE 1936 OLYMPICS is Jesse Owens winning all those medals ;-)

And the film does point out various other, less known aspects of the story:

(1) The U.S. came _very close_ (within 2 votes of the U.S. Olympic Committee) to boycotting the Berlin Olympics completely, and then U.S.O.C. chairman Jeremiah Mahoney (played in the film William Hurt) actually resigned in protest after the boycott vote failed.

(2) Jesse Owens' 4th gold medal, in the 4x 100 m relay came at the expense of two JEWISH AMERICAN athletes -- Marty Glickman [wikip] [IMDb] (played in the film by Jeremy Ferdman) and Sam Stoller [wikip] (played in the film by Giacomo Giancotti) -- set to run for the American team in the race, who were scratched by the head official of the U.S. Olympic team, Avery Brundage (played in the film by Jeremy Irons) at the behest of Nazi officials for not exactly "salutary reasons" that play themselves out in the film.  One feels sorry for those two Jewish-American athletes, Glickman and Stoller, who were simply told that they won't run (and one HONESTLY WONDERS "what could have been" if they did). And yet (AT THAT TIME...) what could the two have honestly done?  So they simply tell Jesse Owens and the others: YOU BETTER WIN.  That's honestly the _saddest_ moment in the film.

(3) We're reminded of the controversial Nazi era film-maker Leni Riefenstahl [wikip] [IMDb-dir] [IMDb-ch] (played in the film by Carice Van Hauten).  I had always thought that she was a bigger Nazi sympathizer than apparently she was (after WW II, she won upwards of 50 libel cases against people with regards to the question of her ties with Hitler and the Nazi party).  In to the story here, she's shown as having broad (arguably exclusive) rights to the filming of the Berlin Olympics, but it's certainly noted that she quarreled with the Nazis, notably with Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebels [wikip] [IMDb] (played by Barbary Metschurat) over various aspects of her filming of said Games.  More to point / more poignantly, we're reminded that regardless of whatever else we may have previously thought of Leni Riefenstahl, she pointedly insisted on filming _the whole Olympics_ (including Jesse Owens' victories) and that she may have even invited Jesse Owens to make some extra long jumps for her so that she could better capture them for her film.  And we're reminded today that whatever footage we have of Jesse Owens' performance at the Berlin Olympics, we have largely thanks to her.  It makes for an interesting point, and one that supports her insistence after the War that she never was a Nazi, just a very conscientious / very precision driven film-maker, who, yes, due to her thoroughness and the high quality of her work, many German government officials (who at the time were Nazis) liked.  Again, something to, perhaps, think about, when thinking about her legacy.

(4) We're reminded at the end of the film, that even though Jesse Owens was / is celebrated as "the One who showed-up Hitler at the Games", when he returned to the United States, he still largely walked-back into the same Jim Crow era United States that he had left.  Pointedly, we're reminded that while Hitler refused to congratulate him / shake his hand at the Games, FDR _didn't_ publicly congratulate him / invite him to the White House / "shake his hand" EITHER when he came home. 

Sigh ... that's how it was ... Yet, certainly NO ONE will doubt today that Jesse Owens' success at the Berlin Olympics helped _to begin_ to "change hearts / minds" in the United States making all sorts of motions toward eventual equality between Whites and Blacks in the States possible: Even the celebrated (still necessarily ALL African American squadron) of Tuskegee Airmen [2012 film] and future baseball hall of famer Jackie Robinson [2013 film] owed a lot to Owens' legacy.

So then, this is a very nice, again children / family / school friendly film, reminding us both of "where we were" and where we are (hopefully in a better place) today.

Good job!


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Risen [2016]

MPAA (PG-13)  CNS/USCCB (A-III)  ChicagoTribune (1 1/2 Stars)  RogerEbert.com (2 1/2 Stars)  AVClub (C+)  Fr. Dennis (1 1/2 Stars)

IMDb listing
CNS/USCCB (J. Mulderig) review

NCROnline.org (Sr. R. Pacatte) review
NCRegister.com (K. Schiffer) review 
ChristianPost.com (M. Foust) review

ChicagoTribune (K. Walsh) review
RogerEbert.com (M. Zoller-Seitz) review
AVClub (I. Vishnevetsky) review  


While many Catholic / Christian reviewers (above) have dutifully even surprisingly gushed over the recent film Risen [2016] (directed and screenplay cowritten by Kevin Reynolds along with Paul Aielo on whose story the film is based) I left decidedly unimpressed. 

Call it a rather poor mash-up of Ben Hur [1959] and CSI [2000-2015] that expects its audience to be not particularly bright:   The story follows an invented Roman Legionary named Clavius (played by Joseph Fiennes) who is tasked by Pontius Pilate (played by Peter Firth) to investigate "the Rumors" that the Galilean preacher Yeshua (Jesus, played by Cliff Curtis), who was brought to him by the Sanhedrin (the Jewish temple authorities) in the midst of the already quite chaotic Jewish festivities of Passover and who he had crucified, had now somehow "risen from the dead."

Okay, the premise itself does not sound bad.  Wouldn't Pilate have made such an investigation?  Perhaps or ... PERHAPS NOT.

Pilate is presented _in all four of the Gospels_ as NOT HAVING EVEN KNOWN who Jesus was (esp. John 18:33ff) prior to him being presented to him by the Sanhedrin for quick trial / crucifixion.  Yes, Pilate did order a plaque be put over Jesus' head on the Cross declaring him "The King of the Jews" but the conventional interpretation of the gesture was that it was sarcastic: "Yes, this is 'YOUR KING', nailed to OUR CROSS.  This will happen TO ANYONE who defies OUR AUTHORITY."

So Pilate could well have been "done" with the affair as soon as Jesus was dead / put in the grave.  Yes, the Gospels report that Jewish Authorities came to him and asked for a guard be placed by the tomb and that he obliged.  BUT THE GOSPELS DO NOT REPORT THAT PILATE CONCERNED HIMSELF ONE WAY OR ANOTHER after the tomb was empty.  Besides by the day of Jesus' Resurrection the "annual Roman nightmare" that was the Jewish Passover was over.  It was time to just pack-up go home (to Ceasarea Philippi). As the Pilate imagined in (1970s-era) Jesus Christ Superstar declared: "You Jews (back in Jesus' time) pick your Messiahs (anointed ones) by the sackful ..." 

Where the story here collapses however, is in its imagining of how EASY such a ROMAN investigation would have been, almost like in the NY based Law and Order [1990-2010] series.

Why would it be hard?  Well (1) The Romans and the Jews didn't speak each others' language, (2) The Romans were OCCUPIERS and THE JEWS HATED THEM, (3) Beyond the "normal" hatred that would have existed between the Roman occupiers and the Jewish occupied populace, the Jews of the time took it even a step further, where they wouldn't normally even talk (even if they could) with the Roman occupiers (hence why Pilate didn't even know who Jesus was prior to him being brought to him by the Jewish authorities).

So a ROMAN investigation into Jesus' rumored Resurrection wouldn't have been a simple calling of Mary, mother of Jesus (played by Frida Cauchi) / Mary Magdalene (played by Maria Botto) "over to the Constabulary" "for a chat": "Before we get started, would you want some coffee or perhaps a donut?"  It would be more like our troops investigating "the whereabouts of some random Islamic mystic / perhaps two-bit terrorist" after some incident at some Shiite holy day celebrated in (the Shiite holy city of ) Karbala during the years of our recent occupation of Iraq -- Who'd honestly "talk to us"?  We'd have to go out and capture them.  Would "our people" even be able to understand what they had to say even if "they" did talk to us (first in terms of language, then of custom)?  And could we trust anything that "they" told us even if we did (sort of) understand?

So this film is horrendously, even arrogantly naive -- all the characters in the film, of course, speak English (the Romans, English accented of course).   And Clavius, of course, is largely "converted" by the experience after being _welcomed_ into THE INNERMOST CIRCLE of Jesus' disciples (the Apostles), this even before Pentecost, heck even before Jesus' Ascension.

Anyone who doesn't see a problem with this, PLEASE READ THE BOOK OF ACTS  to appreciate "the journey of conversion" that it was FOR THE EARLY CHURCH to begin accepting non Jews into the Christian faith:  Long after Pentecost (Acts 2), St. Peter (played in the film by Stewart Scudamore) had difficulty EVEN ENTERING A ROMAN LEGIONARY'S HOUSE (Acts 10), and even afterwards, after the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15, Gal 2) where the Early Church formally accepted non-Jewish Christians (mostly Greeks) into the Church, St. Paul wrote to the Galatians that he had to reprimand him for his inconsistency of not eating with Greek Christians when Jewish Christians were around (Gal 2:11ff).

So it's just a sloppy film that assumes that its audience is too either dumb or simply too Anglocentric to appreciate the complexities -- ethnic/linguistic, religious, political -- of Jesus' time.


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2015 Denny Awards - Pt 2 - Most Compelling Performances (Male)

Part 2/3 of my Annual "Denny Awards" ;-)
(Other Years' Awards)


Part I - Best Films of 2015
Part II - Most Compelling Performances / Character Roles (Male)
Part III - Most Compelling Performances / Character Roles (Female)


CHILD (male)
    Most Compelling:
            Amir and Amiri O'Neill twin brothers who play Michael, an African American boy in the Deep South of the 1950s, who just wanted taste the "white people's water" in White Water [2015]
     Honorable Mentions: 
             Steele Stebbins as Kevin, the "evil little brother" / younger son in the remake of Vacation [2015]     
             Petr Šimčák and Jan Maršál as Tomáš and Haris, 11 year old BFFs video-chronicling their 6th grade year, growing up in the Czech midsized South Bohemian town / regional capital of Česke Budejovice in To See the Sea (orig. Pojedeme k Moři) [2014] 
            Noah Wiseman as Samuel, a 7 year-old Australian boy "with some issues" being raised by a harried widowed mother in Babadook [2014]           
            Bill Melendez voicing Charlie Brown,  Alexander Garfin voicing Linus in The Peanuts Movie [2015]


TEEN (male)
    Most Compelling:
            Atli Oskar Fjalarsso as Ari a 15-year-old child of divorce in the Icelandic film Sparrows [2015] who comes to better appreciate his quite simple fisherman-by-trade of a father (played by Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson) after his mother basically abandons him to him for a "far more interesting" Danish man who "works for some NGO" somewhere in Africa.  
    Honorable Mentions:
             Nat Wolff as the somewhat nerdy high-schooler named Quentin in Paper Towns [2015] who falls in love with (in his view) a far cooler young girl, but as the story goes on, he learns far more than he had expected.
             Dylan O'Brien as Thomas who in The Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials [2015] learns that a society that would put quite random teenagers (or any teenagers) into a maze is going to be pretty desperate / messed up.  Why would it do that?  Well, why?
              Pedro Maia as Ciao a high-schooler in Salvador Brazil in the mid-1980s in After the Rain (orig. Depois da Chuva) [2013] a "John Hughes"-like film but set in the context of Brazilian reality: as Brazil was transitioning from nearly two decades of military rule to democracy once again and concurrently Ciao's own school was electing a student government for the first time in a similarly long time.
            Thales Cavalcanti as Jean a previously quite "pampered rich kid" in Casa Grande [2015] in his last year prior to going to college.  The role plays-out as a straighter / more serious version Tom Cruise's in Risky Business [1983].  Basically Jean has to grow-up and to some extent "on his own."  
             Skyler Gisondo as the annoying / übersensitive older brother James in the remake of Vacation [2015] 
             
 
YOUNG ADULT (male)            
     Most Compelling:

              Ravi Patel as a somewhat fictionalized version of himself in Meet the Patels [2015] who despite being born already in the States or having arrived here when he was very young, tries very, very hard to fulfill his immigrant parents' dream of "marrying another Patel."  An unforgettable, often funny and heartfelt performance that gives viewers a lovely view into his / his parents' world.

     Honorable Mentions:
               Michael B. Jordan as Adonis Johnson who's grown-up knowing he was the illegitimate son of the boxer Apollo Creed (of  Rocky saga fame), who's had a lot of confusion about this and good deal of anger issues as well to deal with as he tries to decide what he wants to be / do with his life in Creed [2015]
               Sam Riley as Grieder, a "stranger" from America who rides in, on horseback, to a high Alpine village in Austria of the late 1800s in The Dark Valley (orig. Das Finstere Tal) [2014].  What's he doing there?  He says his mother was from there.  What's he doing there now?  He's says he's there "to set things right." 
              Alexander Fehling as Johann Radmann a young junior Prosecutor in Frankfurt, West Germany in the early 1960s, who decided in good part out of boredom to follow-up on a seemingly small case that opened-up into the 1960s-era Frankfurt Auschwitz Trials in which hundreds of former Nazis were tried (finally) in German courts for their Nazi Era Crimes, in Labyrinth of Lies (orig. Im Labyrinth des Schweigens) [2014] 
              Daniel de Oliveira as Arminto Cordovi a prodigal son of a rich shipbuilder from Belem, Brazil along the banks of the Amazon in Orphans of Eldorado (orig. Órfãos do Eldorado) [2015].  He returns home, not exactly repentant, at the behest of his father's housekeeper, who knows the father is dying.  Yet instead of reconciliation with dad, he falls in love with a random if attractive lounge-singer he meets at a random river-side bar and spends the next 10 years chasing after her up and down the river in what becomes almost a Brazilian (though sexier) Apocalypse Now [1979]

               Rodrigo De la Serna as Sebastian a random if generally nice / underemployed 20-something Argentinian who's given by an elderly man, who turns out to be an Argentinian Muslim a surprising / challenging assignment in Road to La Paz (orig. Camino a La Paz) [2015]

              Odilion Esteves as simply "Any Man" in the Brazilian sci-fi film Blue Desert (orig. Deserto Azul) [2014] where everyone seemed content, the basic needs of all seemed met, but everyone, communicating almost entirely by computer / smartphone like devices also seemed lonely.
                Alejandro Aguilar as Luis, a gregarious construction worker / part-time referee who in this Colombian film Wasting Time (orig. Tiempo Perdido) [2014] composed of ever so slightly interconnected Crash [2004] / Babel [2006]-like vignettes has put much of his dreams on hold care to take care of his mother who's come down with Alzheimers Disease.


ADULT (male)
    Most Compelling:
                 David Wilmot in the Irish film Gold [2014], Tomasz Kot in the Polish film Life Must Go On (orig. Żyć nie umierać) [2015] and Konstantin Khabenskiy in the Russian film The Geographer Drank His Globe (World) Away (orig. Географ Глобус Пропил) [2013] all playing essentially the same role, that of men in their late 30s-40s who've realized that they've made some very big mistakes in life, disappointing a large number of loved ones, and seeking, with varied degrees of success to "make amends" or at least "make peace" with their situation.
    Honorable Mentions:

                Géza Röhrig as Saul Ausländer in Son of Saul (orig. Saul Fia) [2015] as an inmate in Auschwitz during WW II trying desperately to keep at least a tiny shred of agency / dignity in an otherwise utterly inhuman / Hellish situation.

                Kevin James as the honest if perhaps somewhat "boring" "regular guy" Paul Blart in Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 [2015].  Yes, no one aspires to grow-up to be a "mall cop," but he's come to embrace his super-mundane job with awe inspiring sincerity.

                John Cusack as a model Fr. Pfleger-like activist priest in Chi-Raq [2015]

                Arnold Schwarzenegger as an good / honest Midwestern Farmer trying to do the right thing even after his beloved oldest daughter had been attacked and bitten by Zombies and was now slowly, irreversibly turning into a Zombie herself in Maggie [2015]
                Tom Hanks as  James B. Donovan a New York insurance lawyer / former Nuremberg Trial lawyer and quiet Patriot who is recruited by the U.S. government to quietly / competently negotiate an early Cod War Ear prisoner swap Russian spy Rudolf Abel for U.S. U-2 pilot Gary Powers) in Bridge of Spies [2015]
                 Kevin Costner as Jim White, a previously problematic high school teacher / football coach in McFarland, USA [2015] finally lands a job way out at a high school in the San Joaquin Valley where the kids don't really have time to play football.  But what they do is ... run.  So he becomes the coach of a truly remarkable all-Hispanic California cross country team.
                Ed Helms as the now adult Rusty Griswald of American family comedic classic Vacation [1983] fame, who's basically "grown-up to be his dad" in Vacation [2015] the sequel 30 years later, putting "family first" to such an extent that though an airline pilot he spends more time getting out of the parking-lot to come home from work than in the air.  On the other hand, he really cares about his family.
                Édgar Ramírez as Tony, Joy Mongano's ex-husband in Joy [2015] who remains nice and a worthwhile confidante to Joy even after their divorce, reminding us that it is possible divorce / separate amicably.
                Ben Stiller as Josh in While We're Still Young [2015] who for reasons not entirely clear (certainly it's partly his fault, but it's also partly not) has never reached his potential, becoming an increasing disappointment to his wife (played by Naomi Watts) and especially to his former mentor father-in-law (paleyd by Charles Grodin)


ELDER (male)
    Most Compelling:
                 José Carlos Ruiz, Eduardo Manzano, Luis Bayardo) playing three octogenarian friends in One for the Road (orig. En el Último Trago) [2014] who decide to fulfill the dying wish of a fourth life-long buddy (played by Pedro Weber 'Chatanuga') and go on a road trip to carry an autographed napkin given to the fourth friend by a famous mariachi singer with the lyrics of that singer's most famous song back to the museum dedicated to that singer's memory in that singer's home town.  Much, often heartfelt, hilarious, and often _very, very slow_ ensued ;-)
    Honorable Mentions:
                Ernesto Suárez as Khalil in the Argentinian film - Road to La Paz (orig. Camino a La Paz) [2015] an elderly Muslim immigrant to Argentina who near the end of his life decides that he wants to complete the Hajj (the once in a lifetime pilgrimage that Muslims are asked to undertake to Mecca).  To help him along on the first let of his journey, from Buenos Aires to La Paz,  Khalil invites a nice if random 20-something Argentinian driver to take him there.
                Ian McKellen in Mr. Holmes [2015] as an aging Sherlock Holmes, trying to solve one last case whose resolution eluded him up-onto-this point.  But he's ALSO really "starting to forget"
                Robert DeNiro as Ben a retired widower who after 5 years of retirement decides that he'd still like to do some more with his life in The Intern [2015]. 
                Silvester Stallone as a now older Rocky Balboa serving as a mentor figure to Adonis Johnson a son of his friend / fellow boxer Apollo Creed in Creed [2015]

HERO / VILLAIN (male)
    Most Compelling:   
                   Michael Shannon as Florida "Real Estate Broker" turned Mephistopheles in 99 Homes [1999] who, "a survivor" that he was had made the 2008 Financial Crisis / Housing Collapse "work" ... for him.
    Honorable Mentions:
                  Sam Riley as Grieder, a "stranger" from America who rides in, on horseback, to a high Alpine village in Austria of the late 1800s in The Dark Valley (orig. Das Finstere Tal) [2014] to "set things right."
                  Dylan O'Brien as Thomas in The Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials [2015] who even after escaping "the Maze" at the end of the first episode of this story, spend much of this the second, trying to figure "What the heck is going on?" (Why was I / we in The Maze to begin with?)
                  Michael B. Jordan as Adonis Johnson who's grown-up knowing he was the illegitimate son of the boxer Apollo Creed (of  Rocky saga fame), who's had a lot of confusion about this and good deal of anger issues as well to deal with as he tries to decide what he wants to be / do with his life in Creed [2015]
                 Matt Damon as Astronaut Mark Watney who after being left behind on Mars during sand storm, doesn't lose his head but slowly, methodically works out a means of reestablishing contact with Earth and then surviving long enough to be rescued in The Martian [2015]. 
                 Daniel de Oliveira as Arminto Cordovi a something of an a-hole (not exactly repentant) prodigal son of a rich man who comes home to his dying father in Orphans of Eldorado (orig. Órfãos do Eldorado) [2015] only to run off again chasing after some random if attractive lounge singer he heard in some random riverside side.  
                 Arnold Schwarzenegger as a Midwestern Farmer trying to do what is right even in the midst of a Zombie Apocalypse and after his beloved oldest daughter had been attacked and bitten by Zombies and was now slowly, irreversibly turning into one herself in Maggie [2015]


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2015 Denny Awards - Pt 3 - Most Compelling Performances (Female)

Part 3/3 of my Annual "Denny Awards" ;-)
(Other Years' Awards)
 

Part I - Best Films
Part II - Most Compelling Performances / Character Roles (Male)
Part III - Most Compelling Performances / Character Roles (Female)


CHILD (female)
    Most Compelling:
             Kaitlyn Dias voicing 10-12 yr old Riley a little girl who's "growing up" from was born in Minnesota but recently moved to San Francisco in Inside Out [2015] 
    Honorable Mentions:
             Iranian film-maker Jafar Panahi's "niece" in Taxi Tehran [2014] who'd like to be a film-maker when she grows up as well, but has all kinds of questions about what (current Iranian law) would make for a "screenable film."
              Güneş Nezihe Şensoy as Lale (whose name means Tulip), the narrator / youngest of five sisters in the Turkish Repunzel-like horror fairytale Mustang [2015]


TEEN (female)
    Most Compelling: 
                    Raini Rodriguez as Maya, Paul Blart's _ever cheerful_ teenage daughter (even if she could have had any number of reasons to be unhappy if she chose to) in Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 [2015]
     Honorable Mentions:
                    Britt Robertson as Casey Newton, the optimistic teenager in Tomorrowland [2015], who despite dire predictions of climate change / environmental destruction challenges her teachers / adults to "not just give up"
                     Karidja Touré as Marieme, a French 15-16 y/o of West African heritage growing-up with her BFFs in a concrete and not much grass "project" at the outskirts of Paris in Girlhood (orig. Bande de Filles) [2014]
                     Maisie Williams as Abbey, an Irish teenager growing-up at the outskirts of Dublin today, trying _really hard_ (perhaps _too hard_) in difficult circumstances to be a good kid to all in Gold [2014]
                     Daisy Ridley as Rey, a de facto orphaned teenager, in Star Wars: The Force Awakens [2015] who's been waiting for years for her parents to come back for her.  Instead "the Force" / "Universe" gently tells her that her waiting (in the Desert) is over and hurls her off on her own adventure.
                     Madison Davenport as Beth, a random teenager from Evanston, IL who finds herself taking care of / arguably parenting her manic-depressive mother in A Light Beneath Their Feet [2015].
                    Darya Saveleva as Sveta in The Hope Factory (orig. Комбинат «Надежда» / Kombinat "Nadezhda") [2014] who was growing-up in the Russian north-Siberian city of Norisk (originally built by Stalin's GULAG), and just wanted to get out of there. 
                    Hunter King as Avery Keller, the "popular girl" / bully (but also with a story) in A Girl Like Her [2015]
                    Abigail Breslin as the title character in Maggie [2015] a beloved teenage daughter of a Midwestern farmer, who after she was bitten by a Zombie was slowly turning into one herself. 
                    Joséphine Japy as Charlie (Charléne) a random French teenager from a random  provincial town somewhere in Southern France who has her life turned upside down when a new girl Sarah (played by Lou de Laâge), who turns out to be something of a bully, moves into town in Breathe (orig. Respire) [2014]
                    İlayda Akdoğan, Tuğba Sunguroğlu, Elit İşcan and Doğa Zeynep Doğuşlu who play the four older (teenage) sisters of Lale (above) in the Turkish contemporary Repunzel-like teenage fairy-tale / horror tale Mustang [2015].


YOUNG ADULT (female)
     Most Compelling:
                    Shiela Vand as the quiet / demure / chador covered "Girl" that nobody pays much attention to in the Iranian-exile made Vampire destined-to-be classic A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night [2015] ;-).
     Honorable Mentions:
                    Anne Hathaway as Jules, a 20-something entrepreneur in  The Intern [2015] who's worked very hard and succeeded in what she's done, but to take things to the next level, she realizes (and proves open) to taking some sage advice.
                   Saoirse Ronan as Ellis an early 20-something immigrant from Ireland to the United States in the early 1950s in the immigrant drama Brooklyn [2015].  
                   Lesliana Pereira in the title role of Njinga Queen of Angola (orig. Njinga Rainha de Angola) [2013] who, still in late 1500s-early 1600s, taking-over after her father's death (her older brother wasn't of much use ...) using her wits kept the Portuguese and Dutch colonizers (and slave traders...) at bay during her lifetime.
                   Jennifer Lawrence as the heroine Katniss in the final episode of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay -- Part 2 [2015], who never signed-up to do any of what she had to do, but kept her integrity through the whole of the extended story.
                    Svetlana Ivanova as Marina a university student in contemporary St. Petersburg, who "never really fit in" (but that's because ...) in an inspired Russian "LOTR meets the Twilight Saga" mash-up called Dark World (orig. Темный мир / Temnyy Mir) [2010].  There's some pretty good fodder for some pretty compelling stories "out there" in the forests of Karelian Tiaga ;-)
                   Deepika Padukone as Mastani in Bajirao Mastani [2015] a 1/2 Muslim warrior princess in 16th century pre-colonial India and the second wife of a general (Bajirao I played in the film by  Ranveer Singh) from a neighboring (Hindu) state.  Despite much prejudice against her because of her heritage she remained nice to everyone even her enemies throughout, and gained respect / love as a result.
                   Shu Qi in the title role in the Chinese/Taiwanese film The Assassin (orig. Nie yin niang) [2015].  Growing-up in late Tang Dynasty China (600-700s AD), she was handed over to a "warrior nun" by her family after boy to whom she was engaged "found a better deal."  Trained then as an assassin by said "nun" she's eventually tasked with killing the boy now man (with a family...) to whom she had been engaged.  Could she do it ...?  
                   Kangana Ranuat as the "always was good girl" Rani in Queen [2014] until she was dumped by her fiance just before their (would have been beautiful) Bollywood-style wedding (the dancing in this film comes at its beginning ;-).  Depressed for a couple of days, she decides to "take her honeymoon" if alone (it's already been paid for ...) anyway.   
                    Aislinn Derbez as Maria Laura (MaLa) in A la Mala [2015] a struggling actress in Mexico City who finds herself with a rather odd / interesting business that pays her bills: She finds herself being hired by young women to "hit on" their boyfriends to see if they would cheat.
                    Amy Schumer as "Amy" in Trainwreck [2015] as a "promiscuous to the point of boredom" no-nonsense blue-collarish 20-30 y/o young adult,, her character proves far kinder and wiser than her "tough exterior" would perhaps suggest.
                    Louisa Krause as "Streak" in The Abandoned [2015] a 20-something single mom who takes an awful job as a night-time security guard at a never-completed "luxury hotel" just so that she could keep her kid.


ADULT (female)
    Most Compelling:
                 Diane Lane as Cleo the wife of blacklisted Academy Award winning screenwriter Dalton Trumbo in Trumbo [2016].  She did not leave him when he was black-listed and even jailed (for Contempt of Congress) during the McCarthy Era even though their standard of living _dropped_ precipitously as a result.
    Honorable Mentions:       
                Jennifer Lawrence as the title character Joy Mongano in Joy [2015] the QVC entrepreneur / inventor of "the miracle mop" who despite modest beginnings and all kinds of reasons to accept failure / quit, nonetheless _succeeded_ AND _REMAINED NICE_ to all her loved ones in the process.  
                Sareh Bayat in the title role of Nahid [2015], a tough, kind and competent divorcing 30-something year old Iranian woman from a mid-sized Iran town on the Caspian Sea with an 8 year old boy who'd just like to be given a chance to "make it own her own."

                Cate Blanchett as the title character in the 1950s era lesbian love-story Carol [2015] as a 40 something divorcing woman who’s sincerely even tried to be(come) straight, but simply could not.

                Juliette Binoche as Maria Elena as an ex-wife of one of The 33 [2015] miners trapped in a Chilean mine back in 2010 who did let the authorities to "just let them die."
                Carey Mulligan as Maud Watts a working class woman in London in turn of the 20th century England in Suffragette [2015] who reluctantly finds herself entering into battle for women's rights. 

                 Elizabeth Banks as Melinda Ledbetter who eventually became often depressed / even troubled Beach Boys songwriter Brian Wilson's second wife in Love & Mercy [2014].  Her performance is wonderful as one can empathize with her situation: "OMG, I could be dating one of the Beach Boys!  OMG, there are some real issues with him / his family..." 
                Sharon Leal as the "still learning" late-20 / early-30 something African American mom raising a precocious 7-8 year old boy (Michael) during the Segregation Era when the boy got it into his head that he'd _really_ like to drink "the white people's water" in White Water [2015[
                Gemma Arterton in the title role as Gemma Bovary [2015], one somewhat bored late-30-something / 40-something woman with a cursed name who proved way too attractive for her own good.
                Essie Davis as Amelia the harried single-mom of a 7-8 year old boy (Samuel) "with some issues" in the children's scary-movie Babadook [2014]


ELDER (female)
    Most Compelling:
               Helen Mirren as Maria Altman in Woman in Gold [2015] who in her 70s decided to take-on the Austrian government for return of a beautiful painting of her aunt that had hung in her home when she was a child.  The painting had been confiscated by the Nazis and was being exhibited, prominently, at a Vienna Museum and had come to be considered "Austria's Mona Lisa."  Yet, that wasn't any "Mona Lisa."  At the end of the day, it was a painting of Altman's aunt ...    
    Honorable Mentions:
                 Laura Bonaparte* as herself in Time Suspended (orig. Tiempo Suspendido) [2015] a documentary about her life.  In the 1970s she was a human rights activist in Argentina and had to flee the country as a result.  Her ex-husband as well as every one of her children died in custody during the Argentina's "Dirty War" at the time.  She survived.  But that was 30-40 years ago.  Now in her last years, she was coming down with Alzheimers...

 
HERO / VILLAIN (female)
    Most Compelling:
                 Daisy Ridley as Rey, a de facto orphaned teenager, in Star Wars: The Force Awakens [2015] who after years of waiting "in the Desert" is hurled off her planet to an adventure / destiny that she does not yet understand. 
    Honorable Mentions:
                 Britt Robertson as Casey Newton, the indomitably optimistic teenager in Tomorrowland [2015]
                 Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss in the final episode of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay -- Part 2 [2015], who never asked / wanted to be a hero, but repeatedly "stepped-up" for the sake of others / justice until she saw the whole revolution against the social structures that she lived in through.
                  Lesliana Pereira in the title role of Njinga Queen of Angola (orig. Njinga Rainha de Angola) [2013] who really was, in her life-time able to keep her people safe.
                  Deepika Padukone as Mastani in Bajirao Mastani [2015] a 1/2 Muslim warrior princess in 16th century India whose bravery and _kindness_ could give a wonderful example to all people, Muslim and non, today.
                 Shiela Vand as the quiet / demure / chador covered (Iranian) "girl" that nobody pays much attention to but has more power than most could ever imagine in A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night [2015] ;-).
                 Kaitlyn Dias voicing 10-12 yr old Riley in Inside Out [2015] about the "whole drama" of "growing up" ;-)
                  Güneş Nezihe Şensoy as Lale (meaning Tulip) who narrates a "different kind of drama" about growing up in a different part of the world in Mustang [2015]
                   Laura Bonaparte* as herself in Time Suspended (orig. Tiempo Suspendido) [2015] an Argentine human rights activist who really gave an enormous amount of her life, and suffered unimaginable losses (not unlike Katniss above ...) in striving to make the world a better more just place.
                  Carey Mulligan as Maud Watts a working class woman in London in turn of the 20th century England in Suffragette [2015] who reluctantly finds herself entering into battle for women's rights.


* Reasonably good (sense) translations of non-English webpages can be found by viewing them through Google's Chrome browser. 

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Zoolander 2 [2016]

MPAA (PG-13)  CNS/USCCB (O)  ChicagoTribune (1 1/2 Stars)  RogerEbert.com (3 Stars)  AVClub (B-)  Fr. Dennis (3 Stars)

IMDb listing
CNS/USCCB (J. McAleer) review
ChicagoTribune (K. Walsh) review
RogerEbert.com (G. Kenny) review
AVClub (J. Hassenger) review  


Zoolander 2 [2016] (directed and screenplay cowritten by Ben Stiller along with Justin Theroux, Nicholas Stoller and John Hamburg based on characters by Ben Stiller and Drake Sather) continues the comedic "send-up" of the over the top "arrogance" / narcissism of the "upper reaches" of the high fashion industry of the original Zoolander [2001]

Now it has been 14-15 years since the story's left-off and so early in the film viewers are clued-in to what's happened to the two rather odd, and not exactly super-physically attractive, male supermodels Derek Zoolander (played by Ben Stiller) and his once rival turned BFF Hansel (played by Owen Wilson):  Both had turned into recluses of sorts.  Why?

Well Zoolander's downward spiral began with a terrible accident at the dedication of his "Institute for Very Attractive People so that they Could Learn to Read and do Other Cool / Important Stuff" in which Zoolander's wife Matilda (played as in the original by Ben Stiller's own wife Christine Taylor) was crushed.  Why?  Because Zoolander had insisted that the building be made of the same materials -- paper and popsicle sticks ;-) -- its architectural model.  Then his / Matilda's son, Derek, Jr, was taken from him because Zoolander proved wildly incapable of properly taking care of him.  Seriously, social workers working for DCFS would probably shake their heads laughing (hopefully not with too much recognition ;-) at Zoolander's incompetence here: He didn't even know how to make spaghetti noodles "soft" like mom used to make .. ;-).  So Zoolander, depressed, "left civilization" to hole himself up in a "stylish shack" (not exactly "Unibomber"-style) in the "Extreme (and Snowy) Mountains" of the "outer reaches" of ... New Jersey ;-).

Then, Hansel, "disfigured" as a result of the above mentioned collapse of the above mentioned "Zoolander Institute," retired -- along with his 10-15 member "orgy" (Parents take note...) ensemble which included a cute little gold-helmeted Cherub-like midget, an African American super-model dressed as a Warrior Princess and, for some reason ... Keifer Sutherland ;-) --- to the "Dunes" of an "uncharted Malibu beach" ;-) --

The two are "called back" to "the world" by separate "hologram messages" (a la the message sent by Princess Leia in Star Wars IV: A New Hope [1977]) sent here by a really _ugly_ (err ... "exotic") fashion guru named Alexanya Atoz (played by Kristin Wiig doing a play on her previous SNL "Donatella Versace" impression ;-).  She asks both of them, separately to come, for reasons unspecified but extremely "urgent", to Rome.  For reasons not particularly clear -- both had been recluses for nearly 15 years -- both agree to do so.

That proves to be a good decision as Agent Valentina (played by Penélope Cruz) of Interpol's "Fashion Division" had been looking for at least Zoolander but had not been able to find him -- even though fashion guru Alexanya (and even Netflix ;-) ... have been able to find both ;-).  Agent Valentina, a "former swimsuit model turned police detective" (a little disgruntled because her boobs proved "just too big" for her to "successfully transition to runway modelling" sigh ... "the sufferings" we bear ;-), had been looking for him because of a string of murders of "Pop icons" including, in the film's initial sequence, of Justin Bieber.

All of these Pop Icons had mysteriously "Instagrammed" final pictures of themselves, just before they died, "sporting a trademark look" of Zoolander's.   She thought the look was that of "Cold Steel" but he quickly corrects her when they meet, saying, "Sigh <eyes rolling>, it's actually my look from 'Aqua Vitae.'"

That all these famous "Pop Icons" were dying sporting Zoolander's "Aqua Vitae" look, and ALL the main characters in the story now find themselves IN ROME, sends the story amusingly in a Dan Brown a la Da Vinci Code [2006] / Angels and Demons [2009] direction ;-) ... with also a nod to The Silence of the Lambs [1991] ... in order to get the "Evil Designer" Mogatu (played by Will Farrell) from the first Zoolander film out of "Fashion Prison" ;-).

What ensues is really, really stupid ;-) ... funny, stupid ;-)

Parents, I would certainly say that the film would not be for the littlest of kids.  But there is no nudity, no real violence, just A LOT of high fashion, stupid, sexual innuendo that is _so over the top_ that it's obvious that it's to be taken as a joke (and NOT like anyone would want it to be):

Consider simply that when Hansel and Zoolander find Zoolander's long lost son, now tweenage and "chubby" Derek, Jr (played by Cyrus Arnold, Jr), Hansel _realizes_ that ALL he's ever done with Zoolander before involved one-or-another random / group sexual encounter, and so he _repeatedly_ has to stop himself as he tries to tell Derek, Jr something about his father's and even his mother's past.  At the end, he realizes that he doesn't have anything _appropriate_ to tell Derek, Jr at all ;-).  

HOPEFULLY, we're BETTER THAN THAT ... ;-)

So this is just one "really out there" / "dumb" comedy that probably hits the edges of PG-13 / R. 
It's certainly _not pretty_ (even though it's about "high fashion" ;-) but it certainly is (often) very, very funny ;-)


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Avalanche (orig. Bahman) [2015]

MPAA (UR would be PG-13)  Fr. Dennis (3 1/2 Stars)

IMDb listing
Cinando.com listing
SourehCinema.com listing*

Fars News Agency article*
TasmimNews.com article*

MehrNews.com interview w. director*
TahlilPress.ir interview w. director*

Film-Magazine.com (M. Jfryrad) review*
SalamCinema.ir (R. Farokhi) review*
SalamCinema.ir (S. Mostafaei) review*

SalamCinema.ir listing / viewer comments*

Keeping It Reel (D.J. Fowlie) review


Avalanche (orig. Bahman) [2015] [IMDb] [Cin] [SC]* (written and directed by Morteza Farshbaf [IMDb] [Cin] [SC]*) is a fairly simple yet as always, poignant, at least partly allegorical and for the Westerner, informative, Iranian film that opened the recent 26th Annual Chicago Festival of Films from Iran being held at the Gene Siskel Film Center here in Chicago over the course of February.

The film is about Homa (played in the film by Fatemah Motamed-Aria [IMDb] [Cin] [SC]), a nurse in her mid-50s, who lives in a fairly nice duplex with her husband Ahmad (played by Ahmad Hamed [IMDb] [SC]) in an upper-middle class section / suburb of Tehran.

It's winter.  When Ahmad picks her up at the end of her shift, or perhaps she was shopping, it has already been snowing for some time, AND IT DOES NOT STOP, SNOWING, THROUGH THE ENTIRE FILM.

Ahmad is all smiles at Homa enters the car.  A writer, who hasn't been writing for some time (why, is unclear...), recently he's started writing again.  Further, he's succeeded in unloading (finally selling) a ton of olive oil, which the two had apparently bought as part of some sort of a speculation scheme and had been stuck with, without a buyer (who could pay), for some time.  Readers remember here that Iran's been under fairly severe economic sanctions for some time.  These kind of schemes of buying / stocking-up / selling commodities as hedges against the relative worthlessness / unreliability of currency become reasonable, even common, in such situations.  Stocking-up on olive oil in a culture like Iran's -- people use it for cooking, AND CAN EVEN USE IT FOR LIGHTING (if it came down to it ...) -- would have seemed like "a good bet." 'Cept you still need buyers able ... to pay.

Homa, in contrast, is not ... "all smiles."  She's been asked by her boss, to take take the night shift for the next ten days at a hospital, now really at the outer edges of Tehran, to look after his ill / dying mother (played by Shirri Yazdanbakhsh [IMDb] [Cin] [SC]) who's a patient there while _he_ is out-of-town to deal with another family emergency -- his daughter had apparently been in a severe accident somewhere, "outside," presumably (outside of Iran...) in the West.

Working the night shift is never fun, but now it's snowing.  So each night she has to drive to-and-from work at this hospital "at the edge of town", in awful traffic, slowed-up even more due to the terrible / unrelenting snow.

Now Readers note here that despite Western perceptions, Iran has actually always (even under the current Islamic regime ...) been a relatively "moderate Islamic country."  So women in Iran _can_ drive, get university degrees and hold professional jobs.  Homa does / has all three.  That she was picked-up by her husband at the beginning of the story was _not_ because she wasn't allowed to drive, but rather because SHE had a steady job while HER HUSBAND (until recently) did not, and instead spent much of his time running errands while SHE worked.

Then, besides the awful hours / bad snow, she's dealing with several other irritations at home:

(1) Thanks be to God / Allah, Homa's husband's finally working (writing) again (and sold that "stupid olive oil") ... And remember, this was Iran, an Islamic country, where its relative "moderation" notwithstanding (see immediately above), MEN are supposed to be doing MOST THINGS and women are "oppressed" NOT ALLOWED TO DO MUCH.  Yet SHE'S actually been the one holding down a steady / meaningful job, keeping the family afloat, while her ever smiling, gregarious husband did ... what exactly did he do all those years? Apparently, he pretended that was some sort of a "Sinbad the Sailor" "Merchant" from "Silk Road" days ... "buying and selling" ... "olive oil" ... A TON OF WHICH apparently sat, FOR A LONG TIME, in a barrel in some storage space somewhere ;-/.

(2) She's been left taking care of "the stuff" left by her equally "happy-go-lucky" but _stupid_ / certainly immature, 20-30 something son, notably HIS (once) "beloved" dog named "Bobby."  Where's the son?  Apparently, after years of living in some apartment somewhere "closer to downtown Tehran" with "a friend" (played by Amir Nasiriunique [IMDb] [Cin] [SC]) WHO WAS ARGUABLY _A GAY LOVER_ ;-), he had recently "picked-up sticks" and left Iran for the West.  We see, briefly, Homa's son calling home by means of a skype-call.  And after "talking to mom," he wanted to "talk to his dog ..." ;-/.   Later mom, had to deal with her son's former "friend", who came by (while poor Homa just wanted to sleep ...) to go through / take back some of his "stuff" that her son / his former "friend" had left behind...

Finally (3) as "(bad) luck would have it," a new set of neighbors moved next door, and the wife was "a piano teacher."  So pretty much ALL DAY, EVERYDAY the sounds coming "from next door" were the awful sounds of very average, often quite _lousy_ students taking "piano lessons."

So each morning Homa comes home after working the night shift at a hospital "at the far edge of town" taking care of the quite irritable / ungrateful, elderly / unwell mother of her boss (who's "away"). And after driving through terrible traffic in a snowstorm that _does not seem to end_, she comes home to a house with a barking dog (left there by her son ... who's again "away").  And then ALL DAY she hears ALL the MISSED KEYS of her neighbor's WILL-NEVER-BE-MOZART "piano students." ;-)

It all "kinda feels like an avalanche" waiting to happen ...

When will it end? ;-)

And can one relate?  ... SURE ;-)


This was another quite excellent, if _small_ film coming from Iran, which reminds us in the West of Iran's artistic community's OBVIOUS talents / capabilities.  And one honestly wishes _the best_ for that OBVIOUSLY talented community and it's, again obviously, QUITE CULTURED PEOPLE.

Iran / Persia has at least a 3,000 year cultural history.  And despite everything else that may be happening in the world, films / film festivals like this one held here annually at the Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago do remind us of this.   Excellent job!


* Foreign language webpages are most easily translated using Google's Chrome Browser. 

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The Choice [2016]

MPAA (PG-13)  CNS/USCCB (A-III)  ChicagoTribune ()  RogerEbert.com (1 1/2 Stars)  AVClub (C-)  Fr. Dennis (3 Stars)

IMDb listing
CNS/USCCB (K. Jensen) review
ChicagoTribune () review
RogerEbert.com (S. Wloszczyna) review
AVClub (A.A. Dowd) review  


The Choice [2016] (directed by Ross Katz, screenplay by Bryan Sipe based on the novel [GR] [WCat] [Amzn] by Nicholas Sparks [wikip] [GR] [WCat] [Amzn] [IMDb]) is a _nice_, very well made, at times even _somewhat_ "thought provoking" (yet in an ever "safe" sort of way) contemporary romantic drama, that _plenty_ of 20-something American couples (looking for something to do / somewhere to go) will definitely appreciate come Valentine's Day.   After all, this is certainly _not_ writer / producer Nicholas Sparks' "first rodeo" [IMDb].  He knows what he's doing, and he does it very, very well.

As such, cinephiles looking for something "new" will probably leave disappointed.  But couples on a first or second date, just looking for something _safe_ to do will probably leave relieved ;-) -- (I was once "there" too ;-).

The story, set in a sea-side town somewhere in North Carolina -- I do like Sparks' setting of many of his romances "in the South" as in a polarized country like the United States is today, he reminds us that we could "get along" (quite nicely, in fact) if we chose to -- is a grand romance between two very attractive if at least initially quite different people:

Travis (played by Benjamin Walker) is a popular (late 20s-something) hometown boy.  Gabrielle "Gabby" (played by Teresa Palmer) is a recently arriving (from a fairly wealthy family in Charleston, SC), again, later-20-something, "Resident" at a local hospital.  She moves in (presumably rents) the sea-side house next to Travis'.  Yet, if at first sight, Travis may seemed like a rather loud local "good ole boy," Gabby (as well as Viewers) soon learn that Travis is no Neanderthal.  It turns out that he's a vet(erinarian) and so ... "a doctor" if perhaps "of another kind."

With this "filling-in" of  Travis' "CV" it's "game on" ... and much, often quite lovely / beautiful ensues.

My ONLY COMPLAINT with the film is that BOTH of the principal protagonists are _so absurdly attractive_ (physically, socially, economically, professionally) that the vast majority of Viewers would realize, if they thought about it at all, that the two protagonists don't really "belong to this world."  And while it could be said that "Travis" and "Gabby" are fictional characters and hence, _by definition_ are "not real" (not "of this world"); there are fictional characters created by other authors in other works that are drawn in ways that more correspond to Readers' / Viewers' realities.  Instead, the two protagonists here are clearly "Ideals" (belonging to some extent to the universe of Archetypes or perhaps even better belonging to the universe of "Platonic Forms").  

Yet, perhaps because they _are_ Ideals / Platonic Forms largely expressing  the _essences_ of "the young, attractive Male and Female" of our time, WE CAN STILL RELATE TO THEM (in our minds / imaginations) and then relate to their various trials / tribulations in the story.

As such, it is truly is "a mind game" that we're asked to play as we watch this film ;-).  It's not necessarily a bad one, indeed, a quite enjoyable one.  And it's not necessarily even a bad one for a couple to play together on a date.  It's just that it isn't real, 'cept in that universe of "Platonic Ideals" as almost NO ONE is that attractive, that socially capable, that happily economically "unworried" as the characters of this story are.

And yet, "Wouldn't it be nice?" ;-)

Again, it's not an altogether bad "date movie" for (fast approaching) Valentine's Day ;-)  Just do realize that "it's not real" ;-).


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