MOVIE REVIEW: NOMADLAND

 

A woman embarks on a journey through the American West after losing everything during the recession.

Director: Chloé Zhao

Cast: Frances McDormand, David Strathairn, Linda May, Swankie, Bob Wells

Release Date: February 19, 2021

Genre: Drama

Rated R for some full nudity.

Runtime: 1 h 48 min

Review:

Chloé Zhao’s Nomadland is a dreamlike portrait of grief and self realization.  Her film is methodically paced travelogue through the country through the eyes of a forgotten population.  At the center of the entire film is Frances McDormand who delivers an understated multilayered performance that anchors the film.  McDormand’s ability to channel an authentic everywoman is on par with Tom Hanks.  It’s a talent that fits this role perfectly and she delivers one of the most authentic and grounded performances of her career.  She emotes an immense amount of emotional information with gestures or looks with the script keeping dialogue at a minimum.  The supporting cast is a mixture of non actors and familiar character actors like David Strathairn.  Strathairn is equally understated as the love interest in the thickest story thread in the film.  McDormand’s work with non actors Linda May, Swankie and Bob Wells feels improvised giving portions of the film an almost documentary feel.  The story introspective journey is deeply personal but universal at the same time which gives the film its emotional impact.

A

Cindy Prascik's Review of Judas and the Black Messiah

 

My dear reader(s), the long Presidents' Day weekend provided me an opportunity to catch up with what's sure to be one of 2021's best and most important movies: Judas and the Black Messiah.

Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailers or from actual events.

The FBI pressgangs a small-time criminal into infiltrating the Black Panthers.

Judas and the Black Messiah is an explosive story propelled by powerhouse performances. LaKeith Stanfield and Daniel Kaluuya will garner the bulk of the glory - and rightly so - but in truth the whole cast is magnificent. Viewers may well know the outcome of this tale due to its being based on actual events, but the movie does an excellent job of sustaining tension and never feels less than edge-of-your-seat. The curse of ongiong racial injustice makes Judas and the Black Messiah a difficult watch, but a necessary one.

Judas and the Black Messiah clocks in at 126 minutes and is rated R for "violence and pervasive language."

Judas and the Black Messiah sets a high bar for films in 2021. Of a possible nine Weasleys, Judas and the Black Messiah gets eight.

Judas and the Black Messiah is now playing in cinemas and streaming on HBO Max.

Until next time...

MOVIE REVIEW: MUSIC

Zu is newly sober when she receives news that she is to become the sole guardian of her half-sister named Music, a young girl on the autism spectrum. The film explores two of Sia's favourite themes finding your voice and creating family.

Director: Sia

Cast: Kate Hudson, Maddie Ziegler, Leslie Odom Jr., Héctor Elizondo, Ben Schwartz, Beto Calvillo

Release Date: February 10, 2021

Genre: Drama, Musical

Rated PG-13 for thematic content, drug material, brief violence and strong language

Runtime: 1 h 47 min

Review:

Sia’s directorial debut has garnered a massive amount of press before its release mainly for all the wrong reasons.  Sia’s intentions and heart seem to be in the right place but the finished product falls into a strange hybrid of a visual album and an autistic melodrama.  The musical numbers are very much on brand with Sia’s previous works and performances.  They are candy colored fantasy’s that pop right off the screen with booming vocals that’s sure to please fans of the singer.  The drama portion is anchored by strong performances from Kate Hudson and Leslie Odom Jr. who elevate the script which feels like a relic from the past.  It unapologetically pulls on every heartstring possible which makes film’s like 1985’s Mask or 1976’s The Boy in the Bubble seem subtle by comparison.  Maddie Ziegler casting as the titular Music has caused the biggest uproar since she’s a neurotypical actress playing an autistic character.  The issue is ultimately a bigger issue that needs to be addressed but in terms of this film, Ziegler’s performance is decidedly broad and overstated.  Music is ultimately the type of vanity project that’s probably suffered from being created in a bubble which resulted in tunnel vision to its detriment.

C

MOVIE REVIEW: JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH

 

Offered a plea deal by the FBI, William O'Neal infiltrates the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party to gather intelligence on Chairman Fred Hampton.

Director: Shaka King

Cast: Daniel Kaluuya, Lakeith Stanfield, Jesse Plemons, Dominique Fishback, Ashton Sanders, Darrell Britt-Gibson, Lil Rel Howery, Algee Smith, Martin Sheen

Release Date: February 12, 2021

Genre: Biography, Drama, History

Rated R for violence and pervasive language

Runtime: 2 h 6 min

Review:

Judas and The Black Messiah is heart wrenching look into our past that holds the mirror up and reflects it back to us in the present day.  Shaka King’s debut feature film is visually affecting while being intimate in its examination of its two primary characters.  The story itself is cinematically familiar as it treads on similar beats to something like Donnie Brasco.  Daniel Kaluuya and Lakeith Stanfield are the heart and soul of the movie.  Both just inhabit the skins of their characters with impressive ease and heartbreaking authenticity.  Kaluuya has amassed an impressive resume of performances improving on each with his turn as Fred Hampton marking another high point.  He’s thoroughly engaging and charismatic as Hampton which makes the entire film work, you sense his desire and passion through the big moment and smaller ones as well.  Lakeith Stanfield, meanwhile, has proven himself a chameleon who can transform himself into pretty much anything.  He nails the duplicitous self serving nature of his real life character while still imbuing him with enough pathos to make the audience feel his conflicted nature.  The supporting cast is made up of recognizable faces that add to the overall quality of the film.  Judas and The Black Messiah is a film that’s filled with tension and pain but it feels terribly necessary at this point in history to remember how much process still needs to be made all these years later while still remembering those trailblazers who paved the way.   

A-

MOVIE REVIEW: SAINT MAUD

 

Maud is a reclusive young nurse whose impressionable demeanour causes her to pursue a pious path of Christian devotion after an obscure trauma. Now charged with the hospice care of Amanda, a retired dancer ravaged by cancer, Maud's fervent faith quickly inspires an obsessive conviction that she must save her ward's soul from eternal damnation, whatever the cost.

Director: Rose Glass

Cast: Morfydd Clark, Jennifer Ehle, Lily Knight, Lily Frazer, Turlough Convery

Rated R for disturbing and violent content, sexual content and language

Release Date: January 29, 2021

Genres: Drama, Horror, Mystery

Runtime: 1h 24 min

Review:

Saint Maud is one of the most impressive debut films from a horror director since Ari Aster’s Hereditary.  Writer director Rose Glass delivers a self assured, prestige horror film which echoes classic like Possession, Rosemary’s Baby and Don't Look Now.  There’s a sense of uneasiness and dread from the opening frame of the film.  It’s a slow burn of a film but you can sense something off kilter from the start.  There’s something unsettling and pervasive while never being over the top, it’s definitely a film that uses mood over gore.  Welsh actress Morfydd Clark carries the majority of the film and does so with impressive subtly and bite.  Clark’s performance is the driving force of the film as we follow her religious/psychotic journey down the rabbit hole.  Jennifer Ehle is the primary supporting player with Clark and the pair shares an interesting type of chemistry that pays off in the long with horrific results.  Once the film kicks into its final act, Glass lets the sparks fly with impressive creativity and maximum impact.  Saint Maud is the type of horror film the burrows into you mind leaving a lasting impact long after it’s over.

A

MOVIE REVIEW: THE LITTLE THINGS

Deputy Sheriff Joe "Deke" Deacon joins forces with Sgt. Jim Baxter to search for a serial killer who's terrorizing Los Angeles. As they track the culprit, Baxter is unaware that the investigation is dredging up echoes of Deke's past, uncovering disturbing secrets that could threaten more than his case.

Director: John Lee Hancock

Cast: Denzel Washington, Rami Malek, Jared Leto, Chris Bauer, Natalie Morales, Terry Kinney

Release Date: January 29, 2021

Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller

Rated R for violent/disturbing images, language and full nudity

Runtime: 2 h 7 min

Review:

There’s plenty that will feel familiar about The Little Things, it’s a film that feels stuck in the past on multiple levels.  John Lee Hancock’s film is methodically paced and well filmed but all of it feels perfunctory and familiar.  The character’s all have specific quirks or demon’s they are dealing with but the story never gives us anything new or revelatory about these tortured men.  Instead its stellar cast is stuck making the best of this script which feels like it’s from another era, mainly because it is.  This script has been languishing in development since the 90’s and so much about it feels like it would have been fresh back then but now some of these tropes have been done multiple times over.  It’d be easy to get some Seven vibes here and there but its never as polished or refined as that film.  Denzel Washington leads the film ably and honestly he can play this type of character in his sleep so it’s not a challenging role for him.  That being said, he’s able make his character interesting enough to keep the proceedings engaging enough to keep you moving forward.   Rami Malek feels miscast as the young rising detective, something about Malek’s talents and this type of role just don’t mesh in a believable fashion.  Jared Leto’s performance here lacks any sort of subtly which takes you out of the film once he gets the spotlight.  The third act can be described as problematic without giving anything away.  The Little Things is saved from being a complete mess by top tier talent but even then it’s decidedly middle of the road.

C