Sorry to Bother You [2018]

MPAA (R)  CNS/USCCB ()  RogerEbert.com (3 1/2 Stars)  AVClub (B)  Fr. Dennis (3 1/2 Stars)

IMDb listing
CNS/USCCB () review
Los Angeles Times (J. Chang) review
RogerEbert.com (B. Tallerico) review
AVClub (J. Hassenger) review


Sorry to Bother You [2018] (written and directed by Boots Riley) is a fun African-American centric Kafkaesque near-future dystopian scifi flick in which Cassius Green (played wonderfully in mildly grifter - hey, I'm just trying to stay afloat / eke-out a living - fashion by Lakeith Stanfield) finds himself in a way, way, way more bizarre "this is how the world works" conspiracy than he could imagine.

The story begins with Cassius at a job interview in which he gets busted in an awfully embarrassing way for padding his resume -- "Cassius, do you know WHY I know that you never ever got 'employee of the month' nor even worked as a bank teller at that Oakland branch that you put in your resume?  BECAUSE I WAS THE MANAGER THERE at the time ;-) -- "HS, am I horribly busted!" -- But before you get a cardiac here son, as many lies as you've put on that resume of yours, you've taught me the only two things I know to give you this (entry level telemarketing) job; (1) You show initiative ;-), and (2) you can read.  THAT'S ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW to be a telemarketer: STAY ON-SCRIPT and FIND A WAY to make it sell.  That's all you need to know."

Yea!  Cassius is now on his way to finally be able to pay rent to his uncle for the two car garage which he and his ever big-earring-always-with-a-message-wearing girlfriend named Detroit (played by Tessa Thompson) have called "home" ;-).

Ah yes, but how to you sell stuff -- on the phone -- that people don't really need and at times can't really afford?  Well after a few days of - "OMG I'm going to lose this job again" - he's told by an older / more experienced coworker (played by Danny Glover) "Cassius, you're going to have to find your 'white voice.'"  "WT... does that mean?"  "No, not a white, white voice, but the voice that tells the person on the other end of the line 'You know, I don't need to make this sale, after I finish talking to you, I'm taking the rest of the day off to take my Ferrari for some detailing again.  I'm not calling you because I need you, I'm calling you today because you need me, and you need this product that I'm offering you.'"  

Cassius figures it out ... and ... soon he's becomes one of the company's best sellers, indeed being "bumped up" to its "Diamond Sellers" level.  Those who "make this level: get special perks -- a special gold plated elevator, activated by an insanely long "security code," that literally takes him to said "new level."

But it's there of course, that he finds that things are _far, far, far weirder_ than he even would have imagined.  But does he "play the game?"  Or say something?  And who would actually even believe him if he did?

A FUN and GREAT MOVIE that would have made Kafka of "The Castle" fame proud ;-)



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Eighth Grade [2018]

MPAA (PG-13)  CNS/USCCB ()  RogerEbert.com (3 1/2 Stars)  AVClub (B+)  Fr. Dennis (4+ Stars)

IMDb listing
CNS/USCCB () review
Los Angeles Times (J. Chang) review
RogerEbert.com (S. O'Malley) review
AVClub (A.A. Dowd) review


Eighth Grade [2018] (screenplay and directed by Bo Burnham) is one of those small summer, often enough teenage / young adult angst filled, indie films that like Safety Not Guaranteed [2012], The Way, Way Back [2013], the "Before" series (Before Sunrise [1995], Before Sunset [2004] and Before Midnight [2013]) and Boyhood [2014] reminds a film lover like me _why_ I love films so much.

Yes, thanks to Terry Gross of NPR's Fresh Air, I already knew a little about this film before I went to see it here at the Landmark Theater in Los Angeles, but I WAS COMPLETELY SOLD in the film's first thirty seconds, as one of the most jaw-droppingly sincere -- OMG this _couldn't possibly_ have been simply "read from a script" -- scenes that I've ever witnessed played.  It featured Kayla (played with dead-on sincerity throughout by Elsie Fisher), a thoroughly average, stumbling, a smattering of pimples and all, eighth grader video-recording herself for her little Vlog (with all of five subscribers ;-) on her entry's decided theme of the day -- "Confidence."   Once again, OMG, one just wanted to give her a hug.

And so the story went ... Kayla's just a thoroughly _normal_ middle school kid just about to finish eighth grade, young -- again, only in eight grade -- but already realizing that her life's not going to be what younger self (when she was in 6th grade (!) ...) thought it was going to be.  And yet, of course, that wasn't necessarily awful: there was always someone who'd drop into her life, even if for a moment, including not the least her single parent dad (played also with appropriate "OMG this parenting is sooo much, much harder / more complicated than I ever could have imagined but I've got keep smiling" honesty by Josh Hamilton) that helps her make it through.

The performances here are simply remarkable and the film's destined to be one of the best "teen age angst films" since The Breakfast Club [1985].  Indeed it may make that previous film (that I grew up on) feel positively like kitsch.

A simply outstanding job!


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Mamma Mia! Here We go Again [2018]

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

IMDb listing
CNS/USCCB (J. Mulderig) review
Los Angeles Times (J. Chang) review
RogerEbert.com (C. Lemire) review
AVClub (I. Vishnevetsky) review


Mamma Mia! Here We go Again [2018] (directed and screenplay by Ol Parker, story by Richard Curtis, Ol Parker and Catherine Johnson, originally conceived by Judy Craymer, based on the original musical by Catherine Johnson) continues the fun if certainly on-one-level morally questionable ABBA-based [wikip] [Amzn] story of "Donna" (played here wonderfully in her youth by Lily James and then in her middle-to-older age by Meryl Streep) who, back the late-1970s, had found herself pregnant with a daughter she later named "Sophie" (played in the near present by Amanda Seyfried, hence about 30) with the father being as many as three different men "Sam, Bill and Harry" (played in the current film in their youth by Jeremy Irvine, Josh Dylan and Hugh Skinner respectively and in their middle-to-older age by Pierce Brosnan, Stellan Skarsgård and Colin Firth). 

Yes, it's all kinda scandalous, and yet, for better-or-for-worse kinda possible as it "all happened" back in the hedonistic late 1970s.

That said, as I would say about the Meryl Streep starring first film (made in 2008 and based on the already decade-long popular ABBA based musical) HOW GOOD IT IS TO SEE SWEDES  _smiling_ perhaps "messing around sexually" BUT SMILING rather than wondering if they should be "goose stepping" like their previously similarly sexually repressed German cousins to the south.  Yes, it's a false choice, but "free love" IS SO MUCH BETTER (and literally more LIFE GIVING) than OPPRESSION and WAR.

For as nominally immoral as this story is IT'S SO MUCH BETTER (and again LIFE-GIVING) than ANYTHING that Franco, Pinochet or Milosevic could offer or for that matter what Putin / Trump would offer today -- though Putin / Trump and Berlusconi before them (Italy's always seemed to be a "trend-setter" when it comes to Fascism...) have now proven that one CAN be _both_ RANDY and FASCIST at the same time.   Sigh ...

Still I will definitely say that FASCISM -- ripping children by the thousands from their shocked and sobbing moms -- IS INFINITELY WORSE than any strictly lustful transgression.  And even Dante would bear me out on this.  His levels of Hell for the Incontinent were near the top of the Pit while the levels Below were reserved for Violent and at the Bottom for the Treacherous. 

So please folks, if you don't already understand, then please do ... it's _not_ supposed to be "normal" for someone to not be sure which of three possible men could be the father of one's child.   That said, while not exactly "for the little ones" for the rest of us, please if you go see it, _enjoy the film_ FOR WE'RE WITNESSING FAR GREATER AND MORE VIOLENT CRIMES IN OUR TIMES TODAY than this.


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The Incredibles 2 [2018]

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

IMDb listing
CNS/USCCB (J. McAleer) review
Los Angeles Times (K. Turan) review
RogerEbert.com (B. Tallerico) review
AVClub (A.A. Dowd) review


The Incredibles 2 [2018] (screenplay and directed by Brad Bird) is a fun Disney-Pixar animinated family-oriented superhero film, IMHO even better than the original, about said "Incredibles" a family -- mom Helen (voiced by Holly Hunter), pop Bob (voiced by Craig T. Nelson), teenage daughter Violet (voiced by Sarah Vowell), tweenage son Dasheill (voiced by Huck Milner) and baby Jack-Jack (voiced by Eli Fucile) -- with superpowers, that as in the first film finds itself shackled and arguably made "illegal" by a world / society afraid of their superpowers. 

Thus even though in the opening sequence of the film, the family foils the evil plot of a simultaneously family-friendly but FIENDISHLY GOOFY mole-like super-villain calling himself The Underminer (voiced by John Ratzenberger) "Haha, I'm ALWAYS beneath you, but NOTHING is beneath me ..." who tries using ridiculously HUGE tunneling machines to burrow-under, collapse, and break-into Municiberg's (the city in which the Incredibles live) banks, the city shows its "gratitude" by actually arresting The Incredibles for using their super-powers (to save them) and forcing them to leave to the outskirts / margins of town: "You mean, you wanted us to just leave The Underminer alone when we could do good and stop him?"  "Yes, we had everything under control" is the response of the hapless police official arresting them.

Well fortunately for The Incredibles / the world, there were people, including a billionaire named Winston Deaver (voiced by Bob Odenkirk) and his sister Evelyn (voiced by Catherine Keener), who appear to be on their side and accept the occasional wanton collateral destruction that super-heroes cause often in the defense of the rest of society.  But said wanton destruction caused by super-heroes leads Winston to ask that Helen aka "Elastigirl" be the face of his "Bring back the Super Heroes" campaign instead of Bob aka "Mr Incredible" who was, well, known to be far more destructive.

Well much ensues and Helen and later the whole family along with fam BFF / fellow superhero Lucius Best aka Frozone (voiced wonderfully by Samuel L. Jackson) get into a battle with a new and again amusingly super-villain known as The Screenslaver (voiced by Bill Wise) who hypnotizes people into doing fiendish things through the various screens that they'd be looking at.

All in all, it makes for a FUN family oriented film -- emerging super-baby "Jack Jack" steals the show every time he's on the screen ;-) -- with messages of (1) being allowed to become who one's destined to be, (2) using one's gifts in the service of others, and (3) the benefits of working together as a family and/or team.   Good job!  Very good job!


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Adrift [2018]

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

IMDb listing
CNS/USCCB (K. Jensen) review
Los Angeles Times (J. Chang) review
RogerEbert.com (S. O'Malley) review
AVClub (J. Hassenger) review


Adrift [2018] (directed by Baltasar Kormákur, screenplay by Aaron Kandell, Jordan Kandell and David Branson Smith based on the memoir [GW] [GW2] [WCat] [Amzn] of Tami Oldham Ashcraft [GW] [WCat] [Amzn]) tells the true story of Tami Oldam Ashcraft (played in the film by Shailene Woodley) who (it was 1983) had been sailing a yacht with her fiancé Richard Sharp (played in the film by Sam Claflin) from Tahiti to San Diego when they got themselves caught in a Hurricane Raymond (they were unable to outrun the storm).

The 40+ foot waves severely damaged the ship and threw Richard overboard.  The story that followed was about getting that ship, again severely damaged, with only a make-shift sail, from the middle of nowhere in the Central Pacific over to Hawaii (without missing the islands ...) to safety.  It took 41 days.

As compelling as these stories always are [1] [2] -- "alone on the sea" -- the current film IMHO did have a somewhat CREEPY DIMENSiON in its filming.  Yes, the film involved a young attractive actress portraying who would have been a young attractive woman first sailing and then adrift for over a month in circumstances where keeping clothes clean, dry and not covered with salt, would be really hard + one would have had _a lot more to worry about_ than about what one was wearing (largely alone) and how.  But one got the sense that the film makers took the approach of "trying to show as much of" the actress, here Shailene Woodley, as she as the contract with her would allow.

So ... while there actually wasn't a lot of actual nudity -- indeed there was EXACTLY ONE VERY SHORT SCENE that could have been _easily_ cut from the film WITHOUT LOSING ANY OF ITS CONTENT ("But Shailene, you're contractually obligated to "give us" at least one scene like this no matter how stupid or pointless to the story it may be...") -- there were _a lot of shots_ with her in tight, wet, form-fitting clothes (get the picture...) that after a while made one roll one's eyes thinking "Oh come on ..."

Seriously, it was silly ... but I do hope that in the post-Weinstein / #MeToo Era this would be one of the last Hollywood films that oozed such creepiness.

Those who would read my blog regularly would know that I rarely complain about either sex or violence portrayed in film SO LONG AS IT LEGITIMATELY FURTHERS THE STORY.  But when it is gratuitous (even of a "glass shattering" variety) or exploitative as it felt here, I make mention of it.

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The Seagull [2018]

MPAA (PG-13)  CNS/USCCB ()  RogerEbert.com (3 Stars)  AVClub (B-)  Fr. Dennis (4 Stars)


IMDb listing
CNS/USCCB () review
Los Angeles Times (M. Philips) review
RogerEbert.com (G. Cheshire) review
AVClub (M. D'Angelo) review


 The Seagull [2018] (directed by Michael Mayer screenplay by Stephen Karam based on the stage play [wikip] [GR] [WCat] [Amzn] by Anton Chekhov [wikip] [GR] [WCat] [Amzn] [IMDb]) is a "small indie, arguably chamber piece" that, small though it is, DESERVES TO BE SEEN.

As in Chekhov's original, it's a spectacularly poignant story about the awkwardness of growing'up -- WHAT WOULD YOU DO if someone infatuated in you GAVE YOU the dead carcass of a once beautiful white seagull THAT HE SHOT FOR YOU ... as a token of his affection? "Well, thanks (help!) ... I guess" ;-) -- and of recognizing when one's "passed their prime" / growing old.

So the story involves a brooding young early 20-something wannabe playwright named Konstantin (played by Billy Howle) who's trying _really_ hard to create a name for himself, hence _really_ into "symbolism" (words, are not enough for him, they have to really MEAN something ;-).  So he's the one who shoots that seagull for the girl he's trying to impress, WT ... did he _mean_ by doing so? ;-) or :-|.

That young girl, Nina (played by Saoirse Ronan) doesn't mind Konstantin, but SHE's really trying to _find her own way_ and hence looking for someone she considered _more experienced_ to lead her there (hence DEFINITELY NOT the still growing, still really not knowing what the heck he's doing,  Konstantin).

Who impresses her more is Boris Trigonin (played by Corey Stoll) a 30 perhaps early 40-something already somewhat established playwright and yet still somewhat of a "boy-toy" (younger-than-her) lover of Konstantin's "successful actress" late 40-early 50 something mother Irina (played wonderfully by Annette Bening) who DEFINITELY doesn't know how/when to "get off the stage" (it must have been A JOY to play her role ;-).

These four, come together at the "outside of Moscow" summer home (dacha) of Irina's older brother Sorin (played by Brian Dennehy) where the story, often awkward, often funny in its painful awkwardness plays out.  Sorin, for instance, unlike his younger sister Irina, knows well that he's getting older, but HE takes it to the other extreme ... basically "waiting to die" when, it's +pretty clear_ that it's "probably going to be some time" before the Lord takes him away ;-).

Then add _the priceless_ eye-rolling "help" -- Elizabeth Moss steals the show every time she's onscreen as "Masha" the _bitter_ but probably _dead-on right_ (about her place in that world at that time) daughter of the Sorin's head housekeeper Polina (played also wonderfully by Mare Winningham).

So it's an excrutiatingly painful but also often quite funny look on "growing up" / "growing old" and why SIMPLY EVERYBODY -- YOUNG, OLD, IN BETWEEN -- NEED TO KNOW CHEKHOV.  Written a hundred years ago, ALL the characters in this story are relateable today.


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Solo: A Star Wars Story [2018]

MPAA (PG-13)  CNS/USCCB (A-III)  RogerEbert.com (2 1/2 Stars)  AVClub (B)  Fr. Dennis (4 Stars)


IMDb listing
CNS/USCCB (J. Mulderig) review
Los Angeles Times (J. Chang) review
RogerEbert.com (M. Zoller Seitz) review
AVClub (J. Hassenger) review

Solo: A Star Wars Story [2018] (directed by Ron Howard screenplay by Jonathan Kasdan and Lawrence Kasdan based on the characters created by George Lucas [wikip] [IMDb]) was quite possibly _the most enjoyable installment_ in the whole Star Wars franchise.

Why??  Because _unlike_ Rogue One of a few years past, Solo _wasn't_ slavishly attached to the Star Wars franchise's main story arc.

Sure, focused as the current film was on Han Solo (played here by Alden Ehrenreich) "in his early years," the story _had to_ lead us _in the direction_ of where we _eventually_ meet him (as a 35-40 year-old played by Harrison Ford) in Star Wars: Episode 4 - A New Hope [1977] (actually the first movie released) of the Star Wars Saga). 

HOWEVER, we the Viewers were allowed to experience A BIT of THE WONDER of this enormous and diverse galaxy (yes, perhaps being pulled together by the tentacles of an Evil Homogenizing Empire).  But, Han's home (industrial) planet of Corellia was SO OUTLYING, sooo full of smoke and soot, that it's hard to imagine that "The Republic" would have been much better for its citizenry than the Evil Empire.

BUT Han's world had it own joys:  We, the Viewers, get to hear a Jazz singing duo in which one of the two is really "cool-cat" / presumably intelligent fish ;-) and we find that Han's future partner Lando Calrissian (played by Donald Glover) was madly in love with a FUN "bot-ist" L3-37 (robot) with an attitude (voiced by Phoebe Waller-Bridge).  Han's own first love serious love interest Qi'ra (played wonderfully in the film by Emilia Clarke) asks "her" "But how does it work?" to which L3-37 answers: "Oh yes it does honey, oh yes it does."  And honestly we do see a minutes later Lando clearly showing feelings for this "Equal Rights for Bots" significant other of his ;-).

Other new characters enter into the story, a "good thief" mentor-for-Han-figure named Becket (played by Woody Harrelson) and Becket's tough as nails girlfriend named Val (played by Thandie Newton).

All in all, this film serves as a reminder to all of us that the Star Wars Saga really is to have played out IN A GALAXY _filled with_ ALL KINDS OF INTERESTING BEINGS for a good number of whom, the Evil Empire, as awful as it was, was still relatively inconsequential to their lives.  The Han that we meet in Episode 4 of Star Wars would have had already _a full life_ without ever having been sucked into the conflict between the Empire and the Rebellion.

And this may actually be a _very interesting_ (if perhaps UNINTENTIONAL) message of this film -- Life and EVEN FUN can exist _outside of politics_, no matter who the President or "Great Leader" is. Yes a Regime can become so oppressive that it does begin to diminish Life for all, but generally speaking, in all but the most oppressive circumstances (here honestly we come to appreciate the unique horror Nazi Germany which had _no place_ for tens of millions to hundreds of millions of people) there's at least some Life present.  And that Life has a way to EXPLODE into joy.   

Anyway, I THOROUGHLY ENJOYED THIS FILM ABOUT "THE LITTLE PEOPLE" OF "THE GALAXY FAR FAR WAY" and sincerely _hope_ that more will come.  Incessant "grand battles" against "Evil Empires" get tiresome and as we are seeing in the Hunger Games story / the last Trilogy of the Star Wars Saga ... get quite depressing as well.

So great / fun job here!


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