'Rez Ball' A Review

Rez Ball is a sports drama about the Chuska Warriors a Native American high school basketball team from New Mexico and their run for the state title.

The cast are all mostly great, Jessica Matten as former WNBA player and Warriors coach Heather Hobbs gives some nice dimension and emotion, nice to see her have an opportunity to play with a bit more range than her other(great but perhaps more confined role) big project Dark Winds. Julia Jones as the team's star's mom is also wonderful providing a relatively honest and straightforward look at addiction and recovery. Dallas Goldtooth is always exceptional and here as one of the team's announcers he injects some much needed energy and humor. The issue is the team, they're not bad, but they don't really fill out the film and they are constrained somewhat by the confines of the formula, couple that with the fact most of them seem to be either green or non-professionals. They're serviceable but not exactly inspiring. Somewhat oddly similar to last year's Saltburn in that the seasoned adult actors are better and more interesting than the younger cast which are the actual focus.

Filmed on location in the Navajo Nation it looks great, the soundtrack works, it hits all the beats it needs to and its pleasing and entertaining. But it isn't really able to push through to that next level, it perhaps follows the 'inspiring sports drama' beats to strictly, is not totally able to break out from the confines of the genre to really soar, seems too beholden to movies like Hoosiers and Remember The Titans to be really unique.

Competent, engaging, if lacking electricity.

Currently streaming on Netflix.

Rent It.

Fall

The arms of winter
slowly close

into a chill embrace

not with malice

but an icy

inevitable

indifference

'The Wild Robot' A Review

The Wild Robot is a scifi family adventure set in an unspecified future. A service robot Roz(Lupita Nyong'o) crashes into an unpeopled island and inadvertently becomes the caretaker of a gosling Bright Bill(Kit Connor). With the help of a fox, Fink(Pedro Pascal), Roz prepares Bright Bill for the annual migration.

The voice cast is stellar and are all able to build out pretty remarkably dimensional characters enabled by a stunning script. The story is richly emotional, funny, relatively straight forward but with vast worldbuilding and potent themes. Nyong'o both as the lead and with the most complicated part soars and is able to translate, ground, and make us empathize with this character, which on paper, is somewhat inscrutable(not to mention she's funny). This used to be the kind of film Pixar was known for making, engaging for both kids and adults a purely entertaining adventure with a compelling but subtle morality.

The animation style is a catching mix of CG with almost a pastoral watercolor overlay. The score is stirring, its paced perfectly, and it has something to say. It works great both as a genre film, investigating reoccurring SF themes like sentience and technology, as a coming-of-age adventure reminiscent of the Ugly Duckling as Bright Bill grows up, migrants, and finds his place, as well as a film with something to say about compassion, the environment, and community but it doesn't shout it.

A spectacularly potent surprise. One of the best of the year.

Currently in theaters.

Don't Miss It.

'Megalopolis' A Review

Megalopolis is a scifi/drama set in 'New Rome' aka NYC about Cesar(Adam Driver) a rich, genius architect who has invented a miracle substance that he wants to use to recreate the city into what he believes will be a utopia, he's opposed by other rich, powerful individuals.

Other than Talia Shire in too brief a role, the entire cast is absolutely adrift, unable to make sense of the stilted, barely cogent dialogue, and schizophrenic tone. They all flounder and it is in turns boring and pitiful to watch. Most of the women characters only agency or purpose is through sex and the offensive virgin/whore archetype is pretty much expressly embodied by Aubrey Plaza and Nathalie Emmanuel. Writer/director Francis Ford Coppolla, because of some kind of Boomer petulance, also specifically cast "cancelled" actors Shia LaBeouf and Dustin Hoffman(who are profoundly boring in their roles) as well as Jon Voight(who at least imbues his stereotype of a character with some energy) but none are particularly compelling and their presence serves as a distraction, a hinderance, rather than the vindication of whatever point old, white, rich dude Coppolla thinks it is. All in all you simply feel bad for the actors, one assumes they signed up specifically and exclusively because it was Coppolla but whatever edge or artistry he had in the 70's/80's has abandoned him.

There are moments of visual flare, every 20 minutes or so there's a sequence that's really interesting and compelling. Unfortunately its not consistently so and with flat, awkward, inscrutable characters moving through them they lack much impact. The production as a whole is discordant, the movie claims to be set in "New Rome" but it very much looks like New York City, there are a couple interior scenes with lavish sets but then the following scene is just on a straight up unadorned NYC street. The costuming is also all over the place, the quality ranges from incredibly cheap to high end, the design ranges from "New Rome" to just regular street clothes. The score is numbing, somniferous. The sound mix is shoddy and there are multiple scenes where it is difficult to hear the dialogue. All in all a total mess.

What its "about" is equally baffling and offensive. There's a weird and dated kind of Ayn Rand vibe that underscores the whole picture, there's much pontificating about ideas but what it boils down to is the rich and powerful believing they know what's best for the people and taking action with no real knowledge or interest in what that effect will be(in the context of the movie hundreds if not thousands of people are displaced in the service of this 'utopia' with no real thought). Very libertarian bootstraps bullshit. Cesar is John Galt.

What your left with is a passion project that absolutely would not have been made had Coppolla not self funded it and because he self funded it he had no one to reign him in or offer him constructive feedback. And the reality is filmmaking is a collaborative process and the constraints of budget and/or a studio, more often than not, make for a better result particularly when you're dealing with these aging directors who, with all due respect, have lost much of their creative ability and insight being inoculated by wealth and success- Coppolla has nothing left to say or what he does have to say is standard Boomer bleating that the majority of movie goers have no interest in(nor should they).

An absolute and just flop.

Currently in theaters.

Don't See It.

The Bear

The tourists gawp
at the bear
and all I can feel
is pity
this creature
of power and hunger
subjected to this
indecent
oggling
and disgust
for my fellows
in their leering, slathering, avariciousness

I can see them drool
as they shutter away.

'Will & Harper' A Review

Will & Harper is a documentary that follows Will Farrell and Harper Steele, collaborators and friends, as they take a road trip from the east coast to the west.

Harper's recent transition is the focus of the film and how it relates to her new position in the world and how she relates to it as well as the effect on and perspective of her friends and loved ones namely Farrell(for the purposes of the film). They travel the country and go to small towns, dive bars, and truck stops(places Harper use to love to frequent but now is unsure of her safety in). And mostly its a success, she explores and revels in her new/true identity, her and Will remanence, have adventures, and grow. The trip is not without overt hate and the way the two confront, process, and move through it is inspiring if painfully real. Farrell is more human than perhaps he's ever been, its a doc so one would hope so, but he is actively trying to understand, be compassionate, and show up for his friend which is cool. In some ways it feels like Trans 101 for Cis folks but Harper is incredibly open, vulnerable, and game and her truth especially the more day-to-day struggles and issues- make up, clothes, calmly but reflexively correcting pronouns etc.- elevates it to something intimate and poignant. 

If there is a critique it is simply in form. The film feels a bit truncated, by the third act it rushes to wrap things up and provide some kind of conclusionary pathos(which is absolutely earned) and yet the best parts are the various stops along their journey across the country and the challenges they face and fun they have. In the end credits its clear that there is a lot of extra footage and you wish you could see it, it may have been better as a multi-installment show a la Long Way Round. 

A funny, moving, powerful portrait of an evolving friendship.

Currently in theaters and streaming on Netflix.

See It.

'His Three Daughters' A Review

His Three Daughters is a drama about three sisters Christina(Elizabeth Olsen), Katie(Carrie Coon), and Rachel(Natasha Lyonne) who are attending the death bed of their father in his NYC apartment.

All three actors are at the top of their craft and give absolutely captivating performances. Coon is icy, anxious, and controlling, of the three the most grating to watch at the beginning which makes her transformation into a more relatable human that much more impactful. Olsen, after being underutilized for years in the MCU, kind of emotionally explodes in this, not explicitly, but you can just see her talent bursting forth and the gratification she has in tackling this challenging role. Her character is in some ways the most mysterious and idiosyncratic and she takes full advantage. Lyonne doesn't really have the same approach as the other two actors, she's a movie star, but she tamps down and subverts her charisma, channels it into vulnerability and a kind of listless perseverance that is captivating. It cannot be understated how impactful it is to see these three share the screen. The supporting cast is solid but mostly they come and go and the focus is, justly, on the sisters.

The production is minimal, taking place primarily in one location, the apartment, with limited scoring and restrained camera work focused more on capturing the dramatic action rather than visual artistry. As a result it feels intimate and serves the themes and aims of the film and almost surprisingly feels more impressive due to that discipline. Writer/director trusts his story and more importantly trusts his actors, the production fluidly, organically flows around that and all serves to deliver this meditation on family and death that has humor, pathos, and insight.

Three of the years best performances within a moving even inspiring story about grief and connection.

Currently streaming on Netflix.

Don't Miss It.