NEW REVIEW:  

HALLOWEEN KILLS ★★½

Having firmly established a new mythology for continuing the franchise, by ignoring all previous sequels and focusing on the aftermath of events from the original 1978 film, the 2018 "Halloween" gave us a worthy return to Haddonfield. As that film closed Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis), her daughter Karen (Judy Greer) and her granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak) were battle-bruised but content that they had rid the world of Michael Myers. Or so they thought.

In particularly brutal fashion, Myers escapes his flame-blazing hell-journey by knifing his way through a firefighting rescue team. In response the neighborhood of Haddonfield is led into a frenzied revolt by none other than Tommy Doyle (Anthony Michael Hall, "The Breakfast Club"), one of the kids babysat by Laurie on that fateful 1978 night. As this is going on, bed-ridden Laurie shares a hospital room with a recovering Deputy Frank Hawkins (Will Patton, "Copycat"), who was attacked by crazed Dr. Sartain in the previous film. Both desperately want to help fight against Michael, once they realize that he's not dead, but are rendered virtually useless due to their injuries. This makes Laurie even more frustrated, as her family tries to compensate by finding their own ways to confront the danger.

"Halloween Kills" isn't as organized as the 2018 film was. The ensuing chaos on screen is at times almost as confusing to us as it is to the characters, which breaks up the tension from time to time. But there is some suspense and plenty of gore attacks for fans of the genre. The story does gain forward motion as we reach the dramatic climax that sets up the final chapter, next year's "Halloween Ends." It is a sufficiently executed and well-acted continuation that we do want to know how the saga will conclude. On that level, the movie works even if it's just a notch below the surprisingly effective previous entry.


 FLASHBACK REVIEW:

HALLOWEEN (2018)  ★★★

John Carpenter's "Halloween" was a milestone moment in independent film making, grossing $70 million worldwide on a budget of $300,000 partly on the strength of good reviews and word of mouth. It also introduced audiences to two iconic horror genre characters, babysitter Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) and evil incarnate Michael Myers (Nick Castle). Over the next few decades, numerous sequels attempted to flesh out the story of Myers and his hunt for living family members to kill while destroying anyone else in his path. There was even a remake that diluted much of the character's effect by expounding on what made him into a killer in the first place.

The 1998 anniversary of the series presented a chance to go back to the basics, devoid of druid cults or psychic connections in what became the franchise's most successful sequel "H20," in which Ms. Curtis returned to face Michael (we thought) one last time. The producers had other ideas, particularly the late Moustapha Akkad who had a clause put into the contracts that Michael could never really be killed off. This upset Curtis, who agreed to "H20" on the condition that her character would believe he was gone for good. Then came the nadir of the franchise, "Resurrection" (2002). Now enter director David Gordon Green and Danny McBride with a vision to again wipe the slate clean back to the original concept, ignoring all the entries after the original.

Forty years after the events of the 1978 film, Michael is in an institution where he is visited in the opening moments by a pair of true crime podcasters intent on reopening the old case while taunting him with his mask. The next day, while being transferred to another facility he escapes and makes his way back to Haddonfield, where Laurie has been waiting all this time.

In the prior decades, Laurie has tried to prepare her daughter and granddaughter for the eventuality of Michael's homecoming which has estranged her from them. Her perceived overzealousness and paranoia has made her daughter Karen (Judy Greer) resentful and she refuses to entertain her mother's warnings that danger is on the way. Thus sets up this latest chapter in the storied franchise.

This sequel works surprisingly well as a direct continuation of the first movie. It is smartly written and acted, contains solid suspense and enough kills to please gore fans. Creator John Carpenter has even returned with a good, spooky score. Jamie Lee Curtis infuses Laurie with the same determination she had before, now mixed with a certain bitterness for all the lost years caused by her encounter with Michael Myers years ago. Fans should celebrate this return to Haddonfield.

REVIEW: 

CRY MACHO ★★★

At an age when most actors are either retired or picking up checks from character roles on TV ensemble shows, Clint Eastwood defies expectations and continues to find suitable starring roles at 91. In "Cry Macho" he plays ex-rodeo star who fell on hard times after a tragedy left him a shell of his former self. One day, his old boss Howard (Dwight Yoakam, "Sling Blade") comes to him with a proposition to travel to Mexico and retrieve his young son for him as payback for the help he's given him over the years.

Thus sets up the premise for the film, which unfolds in a very relaxed, easy manner, as Eastwood's character Mike Milo meets and befriends the teenager Rafo (Eduardo Minett) on what essentially becomes a scenic road trip with a stop in a quaint town where they hide out from authorities in churches and diners. Along the way, they meet a kindly local Mexican woman named Marta (Natalia Traven) who provides the duo with some food and comfort on their journey.

The two are joined on their quest by Rafo's pet rooster, which is used for cockfighting and therefore named Macho for his ability to defeat other roosters. It also serves as a metaphor for a number of things in the film, which is about what really matters in life and how to pick our battles. A couple of henchmen loyal to the boy's sketchy mother try to prevent them from reaching the border, which leads to a nice little show of physicality on Eastwood's part, but for the most part the movie focuses on the lessons learned between a boy finding out who he wants to be and an old man trying to find a reason for being. On that level, "Cry Macho" works, because we like these people and want them to be happy.

However, the script doesn't have the ambition to reach for more when it could have been a bit deeper or more epic. I think that was a deliberate choice for Eastwood as a director, wanting to simplify his message and just show people living and continuing to grow internally. The picture is typically well-made, with lovely cinematography by Ben Davis ("Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri") and an equally nice score by veteran composer Mark Mancina ("Speed," "August Rush").

If anything, this is a film that proves that less can sometimes be more. Eastwood's "Cry Macho" is a fairly undemanding but welcome addition to his varied and impressive resume. 


REVIEW:  

ANNETTE ★★★★

Stand-up shock comedian Henry (Academy Award nominee Adam Driver, "BlackKklansman") and opera star Ann (Academy Award winner Marion Cotillard, "La Vie en Rose") become a celebrity couple, marry and have a child they name Annette. Everything seems fine until Henry begins to grow restless. Ann dreams of a MeToo type situation where she is warned of Henry's true nature, but she continues and the relationship becomes rather toxic.

In a conventional film these events would take on the feel of a Hallmark TV movie, but in the hands of French director Leos Carax ("Holy Motors," 2012), who wrote the screenplay with composer brothers Ron and Russell Mael, "Annette" is a rock musical that is anything but conventional in its style. Even the appearance of baby Annette, who becomes the center of the turmoil that eventually takes place between Henry and Ann, is completely original and unexpected. I don't want to spoil the film by giving too many details, so let's just say the movie takes a lot of twists and turns. The story gets much darker than you might expect.

All of this is presented in a mix of the absurd, the tragic and dark humor. The production design and cinematography are beautiful. Add to that a score made up of songs new and old from the pop duo Sparks, the aforementioned Mael brothers. At times the film's turns may feel oppressive, as there is some violence and some of the situations take on a surreal element, but it is always fascinating. Stick with it, I say. The performances make this task rewarding, especially Driver, who seems to dare us to sympathize with a very complex character. "Annette" is one of the best, and most original, films of the year.

 HOME VIEWING REVIEW:

THE KID DETECTIVE ★★★

Abe Applebaum (Adam Brody, "Ready or Not") was once the local celebrity for solving all kinds of crimes for his neighbors. Now he's all grown up, and business is not exactly thriving. Still taking small-time cases involving missing cats and the like, Abe is viewed as the town disappointment. Drinking and sleeping in, wallowing in past glories, he has never confronted the realities of his life. Particularly the one case of his school friend Gracie, missing since the age of 12 and her case never resolved.

One day a young teen girl named Caroline (Sophie Nélisse) asks him to help her investigate the murder of her boyfriend. Though he has never had a case of this level, he wants to redeem himself as the town's genius kid detective. Along the way he learns a few lessons about himself and his perceptions about the past.

All of this could have been played strictly for laughs. Indeed there are a few nods in that direction, as we witness Abe climbing through windows and hiding in closets just as a kid sleuth might. What surprised me was that the movie posits the question of what would happen to a boy whose life centered on being showered with accolades at a young age, even being given the keys to the town by the Mayor. In doing so, the movies takes some interesting turns. Particularly as he interacts with the people in his town, as the girl who hires him makes some observations of her own that lead him to question his worth as a detective. 

Adam Brody infuses this character with a sense of desperation mixed with determination. He was a local star at 12 but is now a joke at 32, and doesn't really understand how that happened. His quest to redeem himself becomes poignant, as well as funny at times. This is a good little movie that goes in a direction you might not be expecting.


CLASSIC HOME VIEWING REVIEW:  

A FAMILY UPSIDE DOWN ★★★½

Academy Award winner Helen Hayes ("Airport," 1970) and Academy Award nominee Fred Astaire ("The Towering Inferno," 1974) play an elderly couple named Emma and Ted Long, whose cheerful existence is thrown out of balance when one suffers a heart attack. Suddenly their very ability to live out their days independently becomes a problem. The concerned adult children Mike (Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.) and Wendy (Patty Duke Astin) play out the family dynamic about how much they can do financially and emotionally for their ailing parents. Simple freedoms like driving a car or painting the house walls are suddenly forbidden activities. Despite the love and concern of their children, the couple becomes increasingly frustrated by these circumstances and begin to seem resigned to an inevitable fate. Is it too late for them to find happiness again?

This poignant television drama centers on what it means to grow old. While the effects of aging has been explored before ("Make Way for Tomorrow," 1937) and since ("The Father," 2020) in various forms, "A Family Upside Down" nevertheless elicits the empathy of the audience due mainly to a solid cast and a straightforward script. All four main actors were nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award, with Astaire taking home the prize for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama or Comedy Special. It was a rare dramatic role for the veteran screen star best known for tap dancing his way through classic musicals.

 REVIEW:  

CODA ★★★½ ★★★★

Aug 15, 2021

Bryan Macklowe’s review published on Letterboxd:

Ruby (Emilia Jones, Netflix's "Lock & Key") is a high school teenager who happens to be a CODA, child of deaf adults. Her family is a hard-working unit which operates within the local fish industry. She is the family's only link to the hearing world, placing a lot of responsibility onto her young shoulders. One day, Ruby decides to take a chance on signing up for the school choir. She loves to sing along to the radio on fishing shifts, so why not? 

While at first shy about singing in front of her classmates, her teacher encourages Ruby to develop her talent. Before long she is invited to take lessons with her music teacher, Mr. Villalobos (Eugenio Derbez, "How to Be a Latin Lover"), in order to study for a prestigious college audition. This creates a clash between her desire to sing and her family's reliance on her. Making matters even more complicated is that her loving but rather isolated parents (Academy Award winner Marlee Matlin, "Children of a Lesser God," and Troy Kotsur, "Wild Prairie Rose") don't really understand or, at first, want to understand, her interest in singing. They see the hearing world as filled with enemies and bullies, and would rather have Ruby stay with them selling fish. How she balances these conflicting issues is at the core of the film, in addition to navigating her own social life and developing a relationship with a fellow musician student (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, so good as the lead in "Sing Street" a few years ago).

Some of these elements reminded me a bit of the now-classic coming-of-age movie "Billy Elliot," in which an aspiring young dancer must confront his coal-mining family about his desire for a different life. "CODA," despite familiar themes of the genre, differentiates itself through this fresh perspective of a family struggling to communicate in a world that seems separated from their own lives. 

The performances are uniformly good here, with particular attention to Emilia Jones, who brings a grounded appeal to Ruby that immediately creates sympathy for her situation. Matlin and Kotsur are excellent as the parents who must slowly come to a recognition that their experience might be clouding their view of their expectations for their daughter. Also strong is Daniel Durant ("Silent Notes") as Ruby's strong-headed older brother Leo, who is also deaf and wants the family to stand up to the people who take financial advantage of them at the fishing docks.

"CODA" transcends its genre origins as a coming-of-age story to tell an engaging story about family and following your passions in a way that isn't cloying or sappy.

 BEST PICTURE

Da 5 Bloods
Minari
Nomadland
One Night in Miami
The Trial of the Chicago 7

BEST DIRECTOR

Lee Isaac Chung, Minari
Regina King, One Night in Miami
Spike Lee, Da 5 Bloods
Aaron Sorkin, The Trial of the Chicago 7
Chloé Zhao, Nomadland

--Everyone nominated is new except Spike Lee, who won this category two years ago for BlacKkKlansman.

BEST ACTOR

Riz Ahmed, Sound of Metal
Chadwick Boseman, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Anthony Hopkins, The Father
Delroy Lindo, Da 5 Bloods
Dev Patel, The Personal History of David Copperfield

-- Possibly the toughest category for me this year. All wonderful performances. Boseman's death adds poignancy to his nomination, but I went with the legendary Hopkins doing some of his best work. Hopkins is actually a two-time winner in this category, having won for The Silence of the Lambs and Nixon (with another win in support for Amistad). Ahmed was nominated a few years ago for his supporting role in Nightcrawlers. Patel won in support for Lion.

BEST ACTRESS

Viola Davis, 

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Diane Lane, Let Him Go
Frances McDormand, Nomadland
Elizabeth Moss, The Invisible Man
Carey Mulligan, Promising Young Woman

-- Davis won in support for Doubt (2008) and Fences (2016). Lane was nominated for Unfaithful (2002). McDormand won here for Fargo (1996) and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017). Mulligan as nominated for An Education (2009) and in support for Shame (2011).

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Chadwick Boseman, Da 5 Bloods
Billy Crystal, Standing Up, Falling Down
Bill Murray, On the Rocks
Leslie Odom, Jr., One Night in Miami
Paul Raci, Sound of Metal

-- I debated whether this would seem too calculated. In my defense, I did very much like Boseman's performance when I saw the film so I'm not merely giving this as a consolation prize. However, I was so strongly moved by Hopkins in The Father that I felt I couldn't resist awarding him in lead over Boseman. His role is what a true supporting part should be, and he gives Da 5 Bloods some its best emotional scenes.
Some will wonder about the choice of nominating Crystal. I think it's his best work in years, and some scenes resonated with me since I was close with someone who had been diagnosed with clinical depression -- something that affects his character's life in the film. Murray was nominated here in support for Get Low and won in lead for Lost in Translation.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Candice Bergen, Let Them All Talk
Amanda Seyfried, Mank
Olivia Coleman, The Father
Youn Yuh-Jung, Minari
Helena Zengel, News of the World

-- Coleman was nominated here for The Favourite, though she won the Oscar for lead that year.  Everyone else is on their first nomination.




BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

The Father
News of the World
Nomadland
One Night in Miami
The Personal History of David Copperfield

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Mank
Minari
Promising Young Woman
Sound of Metal
The Trial of the Chicago 7

BEST ANIMATED FILM

Onward
Over the Moon
A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon
Soul
Wolfwalkers

BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM

All In: The Fight for Democracy
Boys State
Crip Camp
The Social Dilemma
Time

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM

Another Round (Sweden)
The Disciple (India)
I Carry You with Me (Mexico)
The LIfe Ahead (Italy)
Night of the Kings (Ivory Coast)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Da 5 Bloods
Gretel & Hansel
Minari
News of the World
Nomadland

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Emma
Enola Holmes
Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
The Personal History of David Copperfield

BEST FILM EDITING

The Father
Mank
News of the World
Nomadland
The Trial of the Chicago 7

BEST MAKEUP

Bill & Ted Face the Music
Emma
Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Pinocchio


BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

Blizzard of Souls
Mank
The Personal History of David Copperfield
Soul
Wolfwalkers

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

"The Square Root of Possible," from Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey
"Lo Si (Seen)," from The Life Ahead
"Rain Song," from Minari
"Speak Now," from One Night in Miami
"Rocket to the Moon," from Over the Moon

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Mank
Mulan
News of the World
The Personal History of David Copperfield

BEST SOUND EDITING

Greyhound
The Invisible Man
Mulan
Tenet
Wonder Woman 1984

BEST SOUND MIXING

Greyhound
Mank
News of the World
Soul
Sound of Metal

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Greyhound
The Invisible Man
Love & Monsters
The Midnight Sky
Sonic the Hedgehog

AUDIENCE AWARD (voted on by the public):

The Invisible Man
Minari
Palm Springs
Promising Young Woman
Soul



___________________________________________________________________
TALLY:

7 Nominations:

News of the World (0 wins)

6 Nominations:
Nomadland (3 wins)

5 Nominations:

Da 5 Bloods (1 win)
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (0 wins)
Mank (0 wins)
Minari (Audience Award)
One Night in Miami (1 win)
The Personal History of David Copperfield (2 wins)

4 Nominations:

The Trial of the Chicago 7 (3 wins)
The Father (2 wins)

3 Nominations:

Greyhound (1 win)
The Invisible Man (1 win)
Jingle Jangle (0 wins)
Sound of Metal (1 win)
Soul (2 wins)

2 Nominations:

Emma (0 wins)
The Life Ahead (0 wins)
Mulan (0 wins)
Over the Moon (0 wins)
Wolfwalkers (0 wins)