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JUST MERCY (2019) movie review
Category: Streaming in Quarantine
THE HIGH NOTE (2020) movie review by Gwen Hughes
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THE CHOSEN (2019) series review
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OUTLAW KING (2019) Netflix movie review in haiku
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AERONAUTS (2019) Amazon Prime movie review in haiku
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PEANUT BUTTER FALCON (2019) movie review
Peanut Butter Falcon rescued me somehow.
It’s a Huck Finn story about two runaway renegades with a plan and their unlikely friendship.
Zack Gottsagen, Shia LaBeouf, and Dakota Johnson star.
Endearing and hopeful, this story will pick up up out of any desperate spot, baptize you on the southeastern shores, and walk you homeward toward new hope. That’s a lot to say for a little oddly named indie film about friends being family, but it’s true. This film is precious to me.
NEVER HAVE I EVER (2020) Netflix original series
From “Office” writer Mindy Kaling comes the only level of drama most of us can handle right about now. It’s high school’s hilarious punch up starring a swash of underdogs who finally take the leads.
One part Tina Fey’s Mean Girls pop plot meets two parts Freaks and Geeks nostalgia. Add the zest of some Bring It On-style iconic vocab and the full-speed-ahead dialogue almost Gilmore-pace (almost). Sprinkle a bit of High School Musical-esque cheese with the added touch of plenty of PG-13 dialogue (aka swearing and overt discussions about sex). Toss in heavy doses gorgeous cultural heritage. And you have the newest Netflix binge-worthy series. I laughed hard through it all, mostly because of the narration by John McEnroe and for a moment Andy Samburg.
The lead, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan is excellent. Kaling proves that she can offer true heart through believable, triumphant, flawed characters in a well-paced story that feels kind of just right for right now.
LITTLE MEN (2016) film review by Gwen Hughes
No, definitely not Louisa May Alcott’s Little Men. This film from director Ira Sachs tells the story of a friendship between two young boys growing up in Brooklyn.
Brian and Kathy Jardine (Greg Kinnear and Jennifer Ehle) move to Brooklyn with their 13-year-old son, Jake (Theo Taplitz), after Brian’s dad dies and leaves them the building he owns. Having grown up in Manhattan, Jake is reticent at first but learns to enjoy the quieter side of the city and space to roam.
Jake befriends Tony (Michael Barbieri), another 13-year-old whose mother Leonor (Paulina Garcia) rents the storefront below the Jardines’ apartment. Exuberant Tony dreams of being an actor and looks to Jake’s dad, a washed-up movie star for inspiration, because his own absentee father is a nurse working overseas.
Jake and Tony spend days rollerblading and scootering through Brooklyn. Sleepovers and video games abound. But problems arise when Jake’s parents must raise Leonor’s rent to support their family. Leonor objects, citing her close relationship with Brian’s late father as the reason she deserves to stay. She’s a single parent, an immigrant and longtime tenant, and she won’t go down without a fight.
The dilemma is unique, and the solution is sure to be complex, if it exists at all.
Amidst this simple story, some scenes drag. Long scenes are used to exhibit the slower pace of life in Brooklyn but frequently end up feeling rather clunky.
Overall though, the script is tight. Insightful and simple dialogue is knocked out of the park by perfect casting. The two young boys, newly discovered by Ira Sachs, give honest and raw performances. A highlight is Theo Taplitz’s emotional monologue at the end of the film – he had me in tears.
Paulina Garcia is also incredible. The Chilean actress plays the role of disgruntled Leonor beautifully. She shines in the uncomfortable money discussions with Kinnear, where her searing and highly personal insults pack a punch.
Little Men is simple and unassuming. Friendship is at its heart, but the demands of parents and city life won’t let up. Head to Hulu and see how they fare.
(Now streaming on Hulu)
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Gwen Hughes is a seasoned writer and the Editor-in-Chief at Madison Park Living magazine. When she is not working, she enjoys reading short stories, quoting John Mulaney Netflix specials, and eating family-size boxes of Mott’s Fruit Snacks.
THE DEATH OF STALIN (2017) movie review by Gwen Hughes
I didn’t expect to laugh out loud at the story of a communist dictator. But here we are.
The Russian cousin of Jo Jo Rabbit, The Death of Stalin tells the story of Josef Stalin’s demise and the subsequent chaos of planning a funeral and finding his successor. Seasoned satirist and director Armando Iannucci (Veep, In the Loop) brings together a cast of A-list actors who make the antics of Stalin’s right-hand men utterly hilarious.
Like audiences, Stalin (the brilliant Adrian McLoughlin) laughs himself to death. The General Committee of goons, Nikita Khrushchev (Steve Buscemi), Georgy Malenkov (Jeffrey Tambor), and Laventri Beria (Simon Russell Beale) among others, unite to save their boss. Too bad they’ve sent all the doctors in Moscow to the Gulag. They were traitors, every last one of them.
Beria silently rejoices at the dictator’s death, hoping for a seat on the throne. Malenkov, the General Secretary and official successor, can’t make a decision to save his life, and they are all relieved they won’t have to sit through any more Westerns (Stalin’s actual favorite films!)
While the characters are sometimes hard to keep track of, you almost don’t care. A bunch of masterful comedic actors delivering the brilliant lines of Iannucci’s script and, no doubt, improvising some of the best. This is not Crime and Punishment, and there won’t be a test, though you will likely learn some Russian history along the way.
Don’t shy away from this film, thinking it’s a historical drama. Unlike Taika Waititi’s World War II satire, Iannucci doesn’t build up heartfelt relationships only to give you a punch in the gut in the end. This film is Steve Buscemi as a reluctant funeral director, Jeffrey Tambor in a girdle, and grown men cowering in the shadow of their 5’8” predecessor.
Not to mention it’s banned in Russia. Go nuts.
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Gwen Hughes is a seasoned writer and the Editor-in-Chief at Madison Park Living magazine. When she is not working, she enjoys reading short stories, quoting John Mulaney Netflix specials, and eating family-size boxes of Mott’s Fruit Snacks.
BLINDED BY THE LIGHT (2019) movie review by Gwen Hughes
From Bend It Like Beckham director, Gurinder Chadha, comes this coming-of-age story of a young British Pakistani teen and his love affair with the music of Bruce Springsteen.
Set in Luton, England in 1987, Javed Kahn is busy trying to complete high school, while helping his controlling father earn a living for their family. Poetry and journals are his only outlet.
But when Sikh student, Roops, joins Javed at lunch and introduces him to ‘The Boss,’ Javed discovers a new reason for living.
Viveik Kalra’s brilliant performance as Javed perfectly captures each one of us the moment we discover art that speaks to our heart: invigorated and forever changed. A montage of Javed singing in the street, with lyrics schmeared across the screen is admittedly, cheesy, but gets the point across.
Surrounded by blaring synth, gravity-defying hair, and oodles of neon, the two friends marvel at how an all-American artist from New Jersey can to speak to them through decade-old records in rural England.
Now all Javed needs is a cut-off-at-the-shoulders flannel shirt and a denim jacket to complete his transformation. With a newfound confidence, Javed spits on his bullies, gets the girl, and dances to the beat of his own drum.
Despite his new-found joie de vivre, his non-traditional dream coupled with hate crimes and financial hardships, raise doubts that Javed will ever achieve his ambition of making it out of his stultifying hometown.
The power struggle between rock-obsessed teen and tradition-focused father may seem cliché, but Javed’s story evokes all the emotions of Springsteen’s oeuvre in an hour-and-fifty-minute, heartwarming package.
For Springsteen fans this movie is a must-see. Many of his classics get their very own, extended montages and reverence for The Boss permeates this small-town story.
(Now streaming on Hulu)
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Gwen Hughes is a seasoned writer and the Editor-in-Chief at Madison Park Living magazine. When she is not working, she enjoys reading short stories, quoting John Mulaney Netflix specials, and eating family-size boxes of Mott’s Fruit Snacks.
Splatter: on FILM 