'Queen Of Chess' A Review

Queen Of Chess is a documentary about Hungarian chess grandmaster Judit Polgár. Through talking head interviews, archival footage, and some chess match reenactments her life and career are explored.

Polgár and her sisters were an 'experiment' by their father, attempting to create genius from intense study from an early age. As her chess prowess grew so did her ambition becoming a trail blazer in crossing over to men's chess and climbing the rankings. The film loosely revolves around her various games with then world champion Kasparov.

Visually the film is relatively pedestrian but the content is so engaging it doesn't particularly matter and ultimately the subject doesn't necessitate any formal invention. It's nice to see somewhat of a classic documentary in form that simply engages thoroughly with a captivating subject.

Stirring in content if somewhat conventional in form.

Currently streaming on Netflix.

See It.

'The Moment' A Review

The Moment is a mocumentary about British musician Charlie XCC beginning in September 2024 at the tail end of Brat summer as Charlie grapples with her new level of fame, an upcoming arena tour, and commercial pressures.

Charlie XCX is compelling as this version of herself but much like similar projects I'm Still Here and The Nowhere Inn there's a bit of frustration in that who she actually is is still unknown. This 'character' is all artifice, this plot is all artifice and as a result any kind of artistic truth is hard to parse. The supporting cast is talented- Rosanna Arquette(love to see her), Alexander Skarsgård, Hailey Gates- to name a few. But the plot they all inhabit is all pretty meager and it appears much of the dialogue was improvised which gives the whole thing a pretty stilted feel.

Visually the film is rich with striking, colorful, intriguing imagery there's just not a ton under the surface. And there's a kind of a stunning lack of music. The production all works but there's ultimately just not much of a coherent vison for it to bolster up. There's feints at commenting about image, commercialism, and artistic vs. financial success but when you boil it down the film has no answers. For Charlie XCX fans that may be more than enough but as a standalone piece of cinema, much like last year's Pavements, there's not a ton for the uninitiated to enjoy.

Ambitious if underbaked.

Currently in theaters.

Stream It.

Parable Of The Drowning Man

New Orleans, 2005, Katrina
A man stands on his roof
as the flood waters rise

a woman in a canoe paddles up

says to the man

"get in, the water is rising fast"

the man says

"no, God will save me"

she paddles on

a short time later a boy

in a 4-stroke motorboat comes along

"mister" he says "you gotta get in here"

the man says 

"no, God will save me"

the boy leaves

the water rises

it covers the mans feet

he hears the pulsing of a helicopter

a coast guard search and rescue team

shouts down

"HEADS UP, WE'RE THROWING DOWN A LADDER"

the man says

"NO, GOD WILL SAVE ME"

and after some argument

the helicopter flies off

to the next rescue

and the waters rise

and the pious man

is washed away

in the tumult

and the churn

In Heaven

the man stands before God

the man says

"God, I strived to live a devout life.

My faith in you never waivered.

Why did you forsake me in my hour of need?"

and God says

"I sent you two boats and a helicopter.

What did you want?

A gilded invitation!?"

'Send Help' A Review

Send Help is a survival horror/thriller about Linda(Rachel McAdams) an awkward and timid(but extremely competent) corporate strategist and her new boss Bradley(Dylan O'Brien) a misogynist nepo baby who get stranded on a tropical island following a plane crash. Their dynamic shifts as Bradley is injured and Linda is a surprise survival enthusiast.

McAdams is one of our great movie stars, her presence, authenticity, and versatility just grows with age and that is very apparent here. She's having a ball and giving this character all different kinds of dimensions- menace, humor, pathos- the whole gambit. In one pretty incredible solo sequence on the island she discovers a waterfall and baths, notices her skin glowing and hair shiny, she's transformed from her beaten down office drudgery into the woman she's always wanted to be. McAdams just conveys this ocean of history and subtext with an effortlessness that's just stupendous to watch. And O'Brien is good too! Out of all the crowded Hollywood leading-men hopefuls O'Brien is actually one I can get behind. He's got talent and good lucks but also a grounded approachability and naturalism that for my money puts him head and shoulders above the Austin Butlers and the Chalamets. And the two have magnetic chemistry. The support cast is limited, it's basically a two-hander, and as such a real pleasure just to watch McAdams and O'Brien work off each other.

Visually the film is relatively simple yet evocative with a couple pretty spectacular gore set pieces and judicious use of CGI. The score is subtle and effective, overall the production design is focused, effective, if not particularly flashy(which given the budget, works perfect). The film somewhat stumbles in the third act but the journey is fun enough it doesn't particularly matter. A near perfect January release, a welcome piece of well-done dimensional entertainment to offset the long shadow of overly serious 2025 awards flicks still in theaters.

McAdams for the win.

Currently in theaters.

See It.

Nor Wish To Shut The Door On It

Odd

when the past

reminds you

of its presence

like a hot breath

on the neck,

that improv creep

I hadn't thought of

in over a decade

I see on IG

getting me-too'd,

my college ex

I see outside

a pizza place

smoking a cig

background actors

in the story

of my life

and me

a footnote

in theirs

'28 Years Later: The Bone Temple' A Review

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is a zombie movie, a direct continuation of last summer's 28 Years Later. At the end of the previous film Spike(Alfie Williams) had been rescued by the satanist Jimmy(Jack O'Connell) and his group of teenage cultists, now he must be initiated into the group and join them as they roam the countryside mindlessly torturing survivors. Concurrently Dr. Ian(Ralph Fiennes) befriends and attempts to treat Samson(Chi Lewis-Parry) an infected Alpha. Eventually the two must collide.

O'Connell is compelling here, particularly in the one normal scene he shares with Fiennes, but the whole Jimmy plot-line doesn't have much depth to it. The second time he goes into his, I'm communing with Satan spiel, and orders his little droogies to kill someone it becomes surprisingly rote. The film really comes alive when Fiennes is on screen, the camera loves him, and he's absolutely captivating. The humanist perspective he brings to his character and to the zombie-world of the series feels like the most logical and compelling evolution of the franchise and makes the violent parts of the film seem dated. The limited supporting cast are all good but no one really distinguishes themselves save for Erin Kellyman as one of the Jimmys.

Visually the film is just as rich as its predecessor but has a narrower focus, doesn't stray far from the titular Bone Temple, which works in it's favor. Director Nia DaCosta has style and she paints with a rich brush here but you get the sense she is constrained a bit by this being such a direct sequel. The soundtrack works, the costuming in make up are impeccable, it's just the story that falls a bit short. Like the first one, the focus is split when it should be narrow, Williams as Spike is a decent child actor but his storyline was never that interesting and his presence here feels almost perfunctory. Fiennes is clearly the star, the movie wants to be about him, anytime we cut away we want to return, and this is no where more apparent than in the climatic "meeting" of Dr. Ian and the Jimmys underscored to Iron Maiden. Even if the film meanders and doesn't meet its full potential it is unquestionably worth it based on that singular scene alone.

A sequel constrained by its predecessor, still interesting, with one truly transcendent scene.

Currently in theaters.

Rent It.

Polar Vortex

I find I am relieved
after several
mild winters waiting

the snow and the cold

the ice and the bite

return, unrelenting

and it is certainly

inconvenient

the layering

the preparation

the deliberate caution

but in a time

when so much

is uncertain

there is a comfort

in the bluntness

of a classic

Chicago January