"Oscar Nominated Short Films 2017: Animation" Review

Borrowed Time - OP-ROB RATING: BUST            

From Andrew Coats and Lou Hamou-Lhadj, “Borrowed Time” is a short film from two Pixar animators that worked on feature films such as “Inside Out”, “The Good Dinosaur” and “Brave”.  This connection can be readily observed in the faces of the sole two characters in the 7 minute short.  The film opens with a gruff, western sheriff approaching a cliff overlooking a vast canyon.  However, this man does not have the look of your typical sheriff.  He has a long face with sad eyes to fit a tall yet thin frame.  He slowly walks toward the edge of the cliff past some debris including pieces of a wagon and a horse skeleton.  The film shifts to a flashback of the sheriff as a teenager, with brightness in his eyes and face, sitting in a wagon with his oddly bulky father who is a sheriff himself.  However, the calm of the moment is shattered when a group of bandits chase after their wagon and drive them to crash near the edge of the cliff.  As the flashback cuts in and out, a damning series of events lead to the older sheriff’s death.  The teenager fails to save his father.  As the film is brought back to the present, we are wondering if this now battered old sheriff has decided to call it quits and throw himself from the cliff into the vast canyon.

           The bright spot in “Borrowed Time” is certainly the expressions in the face of the younger sheriff.  Since there are no words, his face is all we have to read the situation.  However, the short film is confusing and depressing.  Why would the sheriff kill himself now?  He has to have aged like thirty years.  On top of that, the climax of the film occurs when the sheriff is teetering on the edge of the cliff and a ray of light refracts off of a pocket watch in the wreckage of the wagon.  The sheriff scurries off the edge of the cliff and opens the pocket watch that contains a picture of himself and his father.  It is at this sight that the sheriff breaks into tears, and the film ends.  Seriously? All this drama for that? While it has many of the redeeming attributes of a Pixar short, “Borrowed Time” is an unashamedly sappy and failed attempt at depicting grief. 

Pearl - OP-ROB RATING: STARTER

"Pearl" is about a single father who raises his daughter as he drives across the United States in a rickety hatchback trying to make it as a guitarist. The entire story is depicted through the car. He parks and stands outside with his guitar while people listen and sometimes drop money into his guitar case.  As Pearl grows, she learns to play as well. While she seems to be having a ton of fun, her father knows that being on the road 24/7 is no life for a little girl. He settles down with a desk job and the story fast-forwards until she has grown into a young woman. Still playing guitar, she takes the car on road trips and joy rides with her friends. Ultimately, she ends up becoming a commercially successful musician. On the way to a concert opening, she picks up her now middle-aged father in the very same car he abdicated for a desk. 

All of this occurs in the time it takes for the upbeat song "No Wrong Way Home" to play as a narrative.  The 6 minutes are packed with moments of joy, sacrifice, and nostalgia.  The low point of the film is the quality of the animation, which looks on par with the kinds of video games you might have played on the original Play Station.  The reason for the shoddy graphics could be attributed to the fact that “Pearl” is the first-ever “virtual reality” animation film to be nominated for an Academy Award.  You can actually watch the film on YouTube and look around the hatchback a full 360 degrees.  Despite the gimmick, “Pearl" is the second best amongst this year’s nominees. In a stronger lineup it may have fallen towards the back. Nonetheless, "Pearl" is a heartwarming story, with a good song, that is undoubtedly worth the 6 minutes.

Piper - OP-ROB RATING: BENCH

“Piper” is Disney Pixar’s contribution to the 2017 nominees and is the story of a baby sandpiper presumably named Piper.  The tiny bird is enticed by its mother to shimmy down to the seashore and search for baby clams.  However, on Piper’s first hunting trip she fails to retreat with the other sandpipers and is swept under the surf.  Traumatized, Piper refuses to come out and hunt again until she notices some hermit crabs going full on into the waves without fear.  Piper decides to follow the crabs and discover their secret to outsmarting the surf.

Keeping with the Disney Pixar standard, “Piper” is beautifully animated and methodically scored.  The crisp animation of the beachfront scene could easily be mistaken for something from the real life “Planet Earth” series.  The music is equally well done.  As Piper darts across the beach and dips under the ocean there is a perfectly timed note to accompany every move of her journey. 

Despite the quality production of the film, at 6 minutes “Piper” is pretty shallow on meaningfulness.  Compared to 2014’s “Feast” and 2012’s “Paperman”, it feels a bit thin.  Perhaps Disney Pixar set the bar too high with the aforementioned shorts, which both took home the Oscar for Best Animated Short at their respective Academy Awards.  But nonetheless, the bar has been set, and “Piper” offers little more than well-executed cuteness.

Blind Vaysha - OP-ROB RATING: BUST

“Blind Vaysha” is a Canadian short about a girl named Vaysha who is born with a terrible curse; she can only see the past out of one eye and out of the other eye she can only see the future.  The distance in time between the two eyes varies greatly.  For example she may see sunrise and sunset out of the two eyes, but at other times she sees a prehistoric wasteland and then a post-apocalyptic hell.  Rough times for Vaysha, who the townspeople deem “Blind Vaysha”.  The film details her woes, especially in finding a suitable husband.  All of her suitors approach as children out of one eye, and as decrepit old men out of the other. 

            The story is at first fascinating, but plateaus quickly.  The 8-minute run time is dominated by all of the problems Vaysha faces with her terrible curse.  As if to end the unsolvable problem of seeing only the past and the future, the narrator turns the curse on the audience and literally asks you to close one eye and then the other and imagine what it would be like.  Finally, the narrator drops the hammer with a question that amounts to, “do you fail to live in the present?”  Nice try, but I’ll pass on the 8-minute medievally illustrated lecture next time.

Pear Cider and Cigarettes - OP-ROB RATING: LEGEND

“Pear Cider and Cigarettes” was the final short in the lineup and was preceded by a warning for adult themes.  When the film was introduced the main thing I noticed was the glaring 32-minute run time inside the parentheses.  In all honesty, I was apprehensive about a not so short 32-minute “short”.  The film, which is written, directed and animated by Rob Valley, is a personal account of his childhood friend Techno Stypes.  The film opens swiftly when Valley receives a letter informing him that Techno has died.  The intrigue builds when Rob tells us that he had just gotten back from a trip to China at the request of Techno’s parents.  As Valley explains he had two objectives in China, “1. Get Techno to stop drinking long enough to receive the liver transplant, and 2. Get him back home to Vancouver.”

There is not one single aspect of “Pear Cider and Cigarettes” that made it the best film out of the nominees, but rather the cohesiveness of the narration, animation, and story together.  Everything just fits perfectly.  The darkly animated shots cement the film in a unique kind of noir.  Furthermore, by opening with news of Techno’s death, the whole narrative has an investigative feel similar to “True Detective”.  Who was Techno? And how did he die? The film is steeped in mystery at the outset and the story momentously unravels.

The animation is sharp, and the slender characters moves in a pronounced, assured way.  Techno is portrayed as a sturdy, fast, and powerful young man but eventually becomes lean and rigid as his liver fails due to alcoholism.  The cities of Vancouver, BC and Guangdong, China each take on an air of smoky, neon-lit ruthlessness under Valley’s focused artwork.  The world in which “Pear Cider and Cigarettes” takes place is real, but dark and unforgiving.  Just as the animation fuses to the story, so does Valley’s narration.  As a true story, “Pear Cider and Cigarettes” has an extra layer of authenticity and Valley narrates with brutal honesty as he describes the self-fulfilling downfall of his friend Techno.  Finally, the background music in “Pear Cider and Cigarettes” adds to the grittiness of the film featuring artists such as Morphine, Queens of the Stone Age, Cypress Hill, and Pink Floyd.

In the end, “Pear Cider and Cigarettes” is a very simple lesson about human nature delivered with distinct style.  People want what they don’t have, and those that have everything often can’t seem to find purpose.  Techno is one of those rebels without a cause.  In a somewhat dull roster of Oscar Nominees, “Pear Cider and Cigarettes” is undoubtedly the sharpest.

"La La Land" Revisited

Barry Jenkins, the director of “Moonlight’’ recently said in an interview with Esquire,

“I think there's a very superficial read of La La Land that does injustice to what Damien's doing in the film, and it's convenient because these are tough times to make a superficial read of that film. But it's like, no, this is America. This is what this shit is. You gain something; you sacrifice something else in the gaining of that thing. I mean, that's dark stuff.”[1]

            Jenkins was right.  And I was wrong in my review of “La La Land” over a month ago.  And so, for the first time on Op-Rob I will be revisiting a film.  But not purely because of Jenkins’ sage statement. 

One of the things I love about movies, and what keeps me coming back to them, is how they can transform along with you.  By that I mean you have new experiences, live a bit more of life, and a movie’s meaning can change.  On my first viewing of “La La Land” there was an overwhelming sense of frustration and disappointment.  In the film, Mia and Sebastian take this wonderful musical journey and fall in love while chasing their dreams.  But in the end, they don’t end up together.  It doesn’t work out.  As a viewer, and as a person, I felt like there was something left on the table.  Why wouldn’t Mia and Sebastian stay together?  Isn’t that how life is supposed to happen?

The answer, unfortunately, is no.  There are several subtle reminders throughout the film that point to the reality that these two people are at crossroads that do not lead to the same place.  For example, Mia is in a far more fresh stage of her acting career, while Sebastian is near the end of his rope as a struggling musician.  One individual is prepared to take the route of idealism, while the other is more inclined to compromise.  This dynamic plays out when Sebastian sells out classic jazz to take a position in an alt-jazz band, while Mia cannot come to accept the practicality of the decision.  Mia continues on her path of idealism apart from Sebastian, and it culminates in astounding success when she lands the film role of a lifetime.  Meanwhile, it is implied that Sebastian parlays his alt-jazz success into achieving his own dream of owning a classic jazz club.  In a superficial viewing, these discrepancies are ignored or perhaps missed because of the incredible pace and style of the film.  Director Damien Chazelle’s subtle message can easily be lost in the fantastic visual and musical narrative. 

            This brings me back to Barry Jenkins’ comments about “La La Land”.  He perceptively points out that anyone viewing the film as a light, happy musical is mistaken.  Or perhaps that people watching “La La Land” for uplift will be disappointed, like I was.  The overarching message of the film is rather that life doesn’t work out like a Hollywood script.  Yes, there can be moments of idealism and triumph, but in the end life is full of reevaluations and compromise: often at the expense of people that we love.  In the words of Jenkins, “that’s dark stuff”.  In my previous review I summed up “La La Land’s” message as nothing more than a half-hearted “you can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you get what you need”.  Upon revisiting the film, the meaning is far more heavy and vital to everyday life than I could have realized at the time.  “La La Land”, does not just offer a visually stunning story and beautifully scored music.  It bears a subtle, sobering and crushingly true message about life.  "La La Land" is not a starter.  It's a legend.

[1] http://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/q-and-a/a52155/barry-jenkins-moonlight-interview/

"Paterson" Review

OP-ROB RATING: LEGEND

            “Paterson” is an indie drama written and directed by Jim Jarmusch.  To see it, I had to venture downtown to the E Street Cinema in Washington, DC.  Just a few short blocks away from the White House, the Capitol Building, and the Trump International Hotel: all of the buzzy hotspots that were featured in this weekend’s inauguration and protests.  I waited until Sunday to go downtown in order to avoid all of the chaos and jogged down Pennsylvania Avenue to check out the aftermath of the weekend.  With the exception of a few signs and pink hats and a lot of trash, the streets were normally crowded if not a bit empty.  By the time I got to E Street Cinema I was excited for “Paterson”, which details a week in the life of a bus driver and amateur poet named Paterson (Adam Driver).  Ironically or perhaps poetically, Paterson lives in the City of Paterson, New Jersey with his beautiful wife, Laura (Golshifteh Farahani) and their ill-behaved English bulldog Marvin. 

            Beginning on Monday, “Paterson” depicts a relatively routine week in the life of Paterson.  He wakes up between 6:10 and 6:30 in the morning and promptly gets dressed, drinks coffee, eats cheerios and then walks down to the bus depot.  In the average day, Paterson drives the bus route around the city sometimes thinking of poetry and other times listening to his passenger’s conversations.  After work Paterson returns home to Laura and takes Marvin out for a walk.  The walk always leads to a small bar where Paterson stops for a beer and chats with Doc (Barry Shabaka Henley), the perennial local bartender.  Afterwards, Paterson returns home to go to bed and restart the cycle.  By all means it would seem that Paterson is a simple man leading a simple life.  Yet, as only his wife Laura knows, he is a talented poet.  Throughout the film Jarmusch inserts voiceovers of Paterson’s simple and beautiful poetry that he writes in his “secret” notebook.  The turning point of the film occurs when Marvin tears up Paterson’s singular volume of poetry, which Laura had earlier implored him to Xerox copies of. 

            As with all Jim Jarmusch films, “Paterson” is unpredictable and doesn’t follow a typical narrative.  In fact, the “turning point” of Marvin destroying Paterson’s poetry doesn’t necessarily represent the climax.  The strength of the film is not in the plot, but rather in Jarmusch’s unique attention to detail.  While many scenes don’t make much sense to the storyline, they force you to reconsider the meaning of the film over and over.  While driving the bus Paterson listens to passengers discuss various former residents of Paterson, New Jersey such as the middleweight boxer Rubin “Hurricane” Carter and the anarchist Gaetano Bresci.  In the bar, Doc constantly searches for historical pop-culture references to Paterson, New Jersey to pin on his “wall of fame”.  These scenes evoke the feeling of a forgotten city that never quite made it, remembered only by its last inhabitants.  It’s ideas like these that force the viewer to listen more carefully to the plot points in Paterson’s personal story.

            Ultimately, one of the greatest aspects of Paterson is the representation of diversity, and celebration of intellect.  On one night while Paterson is walking Marvin, he stops by a Laundromat where a man (Method Man)[1] is working on a rap song.  Paterson stands by the Laundromat entrance and just listens, carefully taking in the man’s lyrics.  To listen is to care, which is a great compliment.  This human recognition is returned to Paterson in a scene after his notebook is shredded.  As Paterson sits on a bench despondently looking at his favorite view of the city, the Paterson Great Falls, a Japanese poet (Masatoshi Nagase) joins him.  The mysterious man asks Paterson various questions about poetry, seemingly aware that Paterson himself is a poet.  Although the Japanese man cannot speak very good English, he and Paterson share a universal language.  The Japanese man ultimately gives Paterson a brand new, blank notebook before leaving.  The interaction is sparse, yet powerful.

In the end "Paterson" presents a lot of ideas.  The more obvious one is that sometimes disappointments and even tragedies can lead to beautiful new beginnings. But there are other, more subtle notions throughout the film such as the double-edged nature of focusing on every little detail.  Paterson is so viscerally aware of his surroundings that he can get caught up in them and miss the point, or become addicted to his own routine.  After all, meaningful growth is often spurred on by change.  In my own life I've had moments when I felt like my whole volume of work got torn up.  I'm sure I'll have a few more.  Starting from a blank page is never easy.  However, as the Japanese man reminds Paterson, "sometimes an empty page presents the most possibilities."

And so jogging back to Georgetown through the remnants of the protests and scarce marchers that still remained, I had to reevaluate the grandeur of everything that had occurred just a day before.  I had to question if we are all so numb-skulled that any kind of meaning has to be thumped over our heads for us to finally get it.  Was anyone not already aware of President Trump's offenses or personal flaws?  Did any American have a single doubt over the polarization of this election?  It is movies like "Paterson" that serve as a reminder that true meaning comes in tidbits, day after day.  Many people believe that historians will look back on the Women’s Marches as a watershed moment.  Time will tell, but as the story presented in “Paterson” teaches, daily life has more influence.  As a large-scale protest the Marches were unprecedented.  But as the photos get lost in the Instagram feed and the headlines get replaced by new ones, what influence will the marches have if people cannot take their meaning into daily life?  As a country moving forward with President Trump, perhaps we all need to calm our voices, and take the time to listen to one another.  Sometimes meaning can come from the most foreign and unlikely sources.

[1] Cameo of the year so far

"Split" Review

OP-ROB RATING: BENCH

            “Split” is the latest film from writer/director M. Night Shyamalan since 2015’s “The Visit”, which I reviewed here.  With another thriller, Shyamalan seems to be retracing his steps trying to regain the success of his early career.  “Split” stars James McAvoy as Kevin, a man with dissociative identity disorder who drugs and kidnaps three teenage girls after a birthday party.  Because of Kevin’s psychological disorder, there are many different personalities that are revealed throughout the film.  The kidnapping is executed by an intense and methodical personality named Dennis.  The girls awaken in a creepy, sparsely decorated underground bunker consisting of a hallway and a few rooms: there are no windows. 

Backstory is only given for one of the three girls whose named Casey (Ana Taylor-Joy).  The other two girls, played by Haley Lu Richardson and Jessica Sula are largely tertiary characters.  Casey differs from the other girls in that she has been through significant trauma as a child and is very introverted.  In the first couple of sequences several of Kevin’s personalities are introduced including a stern older woman named Patricia, and an unassuming nine-year-old boy named Hedwig.  Casey quickly figures out that she can manipulate Hedwig in order to try and escape the bunker.  The story becomes more complicated when Kevin ventures out his domicile and visits his psychiatrist Dr. Karen Fletcher (Betty Buckley).  The personality that interacts with Dr. Fletcher is named Barry, an upbeat aspiring fashion designer.  In separate scenes with Dr. Fletcher we discover that Kevin has 23 different personalities.  We actually are not introduced to the original “Kevin” personality until the tail end of the movie, along with a personality called “The Beast”.  As many of the different personalities tell the girls, they are food for “The Beast”.  The tension of the film builds around the question of whether or not Kevin can actually become a superhuman creature.

The main problem with “Split” is not inherent within the plot, or acting.  Both are acceptable and even above average for an M. Night Shyamalan movie.  The problem is rather that Shyamalan fails to bolster the film with his own distinct charm.  In the director’s three best films, “The Sixth Sense”, “Unbreakable”, and “Signs” he builds the story up to a final climax complete with a crafty revelation to the audience; something small or seemingly insignificant earlier in the film suddenly because crucial to the story.[1]  The other Shyamalan feature is his skillful use of the City of Philadelphia and its surrounding areas.  Shyamalan made an extra effort to authentically display Philadelphia in “The Sixth Sense” and “Unbreakable” and in the case of “Signs” Newtown and Doylestown, Pennsylvania.  The most memorable scenes from those movies occur in beautiful areas such as St. Alban’s street in South Philly, Franklin Field at Penn and the vast countryside north of the city.  “Split” lacks both of Shyamalan’s most redeeming qualities as a director.  The “twist” ending is unoriginal and related to “Unbreakable” and the majority of the location scenes are shot at night along US Route 13 outside of the Philadelphia Zoo…

While “Split” lacks the best qualities of Shyamalan’s early films, it does have a few positive aspects.  McAvoy is intriguing to watch as he rotates between personalities displaying the full gamut of his acting ability.  Ana Taylor-Joy is equally as impressive portraying Casey, the damaged young girl.  However, the most effective scenes in “Split” occur in the flashbacks providing Casey’s backstory.  In these flashbacks we discover that Casey was molested by her uncle.  In a series of scenes Shyamalan provides a truly shocking and unsettling picture of an innocent young girl being taken advantage of by her much older relative.  Keep in mind that “Split” is PG-13.  Yet Shyamalan rises to the challenge and presents this disturbing facet of the film in a subtle yet powerful way.  The flashbacks left me far more disturbed than anything having to do with Kevin, and made me wonder if Shyamalan is limiting his own talents by resorting to the supernatural.

            With every M. Night Shyamalan film, fans hold their breath in anticipation for a classic thriller like “The Sixth Sense”, or a raging dumpster-fire like “After Earth”. “Split” ranks somewhere slightly above average in the vast spectrum of Shyamalan filmography.  The context of “Unbreakable” gives the movie a slight boost in relevance.  Yet on its own, “Split” is largely forgettable as a charmless, middle-of-the-road thriller. The question now becomes was “The Sixth Sense” a fluke? Or simply, do moviegoers need to readjust their expectations for the seemingly “multiple-identity” director?

[1] Examples: All of Dr. Crowe’s human interactions in the “Sixth Sense”, the unusual durability of David Dunn in “Unbreakable”, and the glasses full of water in “Signs”. 

"Nocturnal Animals" Review

OP-ROB RATING: ALL-STAR

        A little less than a year ago, a girl asked me what it felt like to be spineless.  I don’t remember what I said in reply, but I remember how it felt to be affronted like that.  “Nocturnal Animals” brought that feeling to the surface of my memory through its innovative, and shocking story.  Directed by Tom Ford, “Nocturnal Animals” is a story within a story.  The first layer of the film is about a middle-aged Art Gallery Owner named Susan Morrow (Amy Adams).  She lives a sleek and lavish lifestyle in Los Angeles with her unfaithful husband, Hutton Morrow (Armie Hammer).  One day Susan receives a package in the mail from her ex-husband Edward Sheffield (Jake Gyllenhaal) containing a copy of a manuscript for a novel he plans to publish.  Susan begins reading the novel titled Nocturnal Animals and the second layer of the film portrays the events written by Edward in the book.  Ford periodically shifts in and out of the novel as Susan works her way through it.

Edward's novel opens with a man named Tony Hastings (also portrayed by Jake Gyllenhaal) driving his wife and daughter down the highway through West Texas in the middle of the night. All is well until they encounter two other vehicles, one of which runs them off of the road. Tony is helpless to protect his family, as three young men get out of their cars and surround them.  Ultimately, Tony and his wife and daughter are forced out of their car and separated. A beaten up Tony is driven by one of the young men down a dirt road and left there.  The leader of the bandits, a scruffy and wild-eyed kid named Ray Marcus (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), returns with his friend to pick up Tony calling out to him, "Hey mister, your wife and daughter want you!" However, Tony hides behind some rocks, afraid that they may already be dead, or possibly out of his own cowardice. By light of day, Tony eventually makes his way out of the desert to a police station where he reports what happened. He is then introduced to Detective Bobby Andes (Michael Shannon) who takes on the case. A stark contrast is drawn between Tony and Bobby. One is sensitive, while the other is as gritty and unforgiving as the landscape of West Texas.  The pair embarks on a mission to find Tony's family as well as the evil men who kidnapped them. 

In the film, Ford cuts in between the real story happening with Susan and the fictitious novel she is working through.  It is an ambitious move to have two stories going at once and it doesn’t always work.  There are multiple cuts to Susan just lying down as if she were in a fashion advertisement, totally meaningless, and then back to the novel.  This happens too many times to ignore and shows Ford's weakness as a compulsive director who has the tendency to over-stylize aspects of his film. Another example of this occurs in the opening scene, which is of nude, obese women dancing around at Susan’s art gallery.  These scenes are distractions from the actual story and drain from the film’s potency.

Despite these problems, "Nocturnal Animals" is a fascinating exploration into what it means to be masculine.  In both storylines there are "weak" and "sensitive" men in Edward and Tony.  Unfortunately for the latter, his demeanor robs him of all that he has.  It is only through the ultra-masculine Bobby Andes that he is guided toward vengeance.  However, it is Edward’s story that is the most effective in Ford's film, because he is also robbed of something invaluable because of his “weakness”.  As we learn throughout the movie and with various tidbits of foreshadowing, Edward's novel Nocturnal Animals is a direct message to Susan.  In a masterful ending, she realizes what the novel meant.

“Nocturnal Animals” was recommended to me by one of the most astute observers of film that I know.  He described it as “a jab to the ego of any man”, and he was absolutely correct.  It reminded me exactly of the question that girl asked me many months ago, which was a jab to my core as well.  Not many films have the ability to shake you like the real thing. “Nocturnal Animals” does.  While there are some annoying artistic gimmicks here and there throughout the film, the overall product is focused and powerful.  Ultimately, the film could mean many things, possibly that unpleasant and brutal men like Bobby Andes are needed to combat the vast evil that exists in this world while quiet, sensitive men like Tony Hastings are needed to preserve the good that’s also here.  Or perhaps that revenge is best served cold.

"Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" Review

OP-ROB RATING: ALL-STAR

           “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” is the latest film to be added to the Star Wars canon, though it is not an official “episode”.  Directed by Gareth Edwards, the movie details a period of time in the Star Wars Universe between the events portrayed in “Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith” and “Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope”.  “Rogue One” tells the story of how the Rebel Alliance obtained the schematic plans to the Galactic Empire’s infamous planet-killing weapon, the Death Star.

While the plot of film nestles nicely into the existing Star Wars storyline, "Rogue One" is all but formulated.  The main character is a rebellious young woman named Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) who is brought in by the Rebel Alliance to help track down her father Galen Erso (Mads Mikkelson).  Galen is the master architect of the Death Star, but a defector pilot from the Empire named Bodhi Rook (Riz Ahmed) escapes to deliver a hologram to a gritty Rebel war-lord named Saw Gererra (Forest Whitaker).  The hologram is of Galen explaining he has purposefully constructed a fatal flaw in the Death Star, which would allow it to be destroyed by the Rebels.  As we learn in an opening flashback, Galen originally left the Empire for moral reasons when Jyn was a little girl, but the Empire’s Lead Weapons Researcher Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn) tracked Galen down and forced him back to work.  Now, years later Jyn is tasked by the Rebellion to find Saw on the desert planet of Jedha to verify the hologram.   In a series of twists and turns, Jyn ultimately must help the Rebels obtain the schematic plans to the Death Star so that the events in "A New Hope" can take place.

Along the way Jyn is helped by an ensemble cast including Bodhi the pilot, a slick Rebel spy named Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), and a cynical smart-talking droid named K-2SO (Alan Tudyk) among many others.  Standing in the way is the entire Galactic Empire, led by the Sith Lord Darth Vader and his legions of storm troopers and generals.  Among the antagonists in the film are the slimy weapons developer Krennic, and the familiar Grand Moff Tarkin (Peter Cushing).  Because Cushing passed away in 1994, Moff Tarkin is actually CGI generated in "Rogue One".  The same technological trick is used for a Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) cameo at the end of the film.

“Rogue One” corrects several of the faults that were in “Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens”.  In Abrams’ 2015 film, the story was consistently bogged down by old characters and nostalgic references.   “Rogue One” also has several ties to the original films, but does an excellent job of keeping the throwbacks fresh and relevant.  For example, Darth Vader (voiced by James Earl Jones) has a few brief appearances, but in each them he appears in a way audiences have never seen before: he is angrier, and more physically ruthless.  In one scene near the end of the film Vader boards a rebel ship and violently annihilates a band of rebels.  The scene is shocking, given Vader’s restrained fighting tactics in the older movies.

“Rogue One” is also led by protagonists with very human qualities.  In one scene Cassian is shown murdering an innocent informer for the sake of Rebel secrecy.  He later expresses his guilt over what he has done for the Rebellion, while Jyn is faced with all that she has had to give up for the greater good of the galaxy.  Furthermore, “Rogue One” has an element of finitude that is new to the Star Wars genre.  Many of the characters in the film actually die in Death Star strikes.  Unlike previous films where the Death Star immediately destroys a planet, in “Rogue One” the single blast hits the planet like an atom bomb, and the subsequent shockwaves move toward survivors who face certain death.  Seeing a planet blow up from afar is one thing, but to be shown the destruction from the victim's point of view is another.  These kinds of elements have been glazed over in most Star Wars films; “Rogue One” breaks through the often-distant sci/fi fantasy to show real loss, distress, and destruction.  The reward is more authentic joy, triumph and hope.

Despite all of its strengths, “Rogue One” is also a restricted film.  The actual story takes place in between two other concrete stories that have already occurred.  From the outset, “Rogue One” does not have much wiggle room but works as a stand-alone film because of an innovative plot and a thrilling cast of characters.  Many fans of the Star Wars franchise are eagerly waiting for that break out film that pushes the boundaries of the original story.  “Rogue One” is not that film.  But despite the constraints, “Rogue One” is a strong addition to the Star Wars franchise that fills in the cracks in of Death Star narrative while defying many of the norms set forth in previous films.  Perhaps Jyn Erso’s story of going rogue for the greater good will inspire the writers of future Star Wars films to do the same. 

"La La Land" Review

OP-ROB RATING: STARTER

          Mia (Emma Stone) is an aspiring young actress grinding out a living as a barista in Los Angeles while she pursues her dream of making it onto the big screen.  Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) is a talented pianist who is stuck playing cheap gigs in restaurants while he gathers money to open his own Jazz club that will play “true” Jazz.  Through a series of happenstance meetings all over the city of Los Angeles, Mia and Sebastian eventually fall in love.  The two share an appreciation for the past.  For Mia it is the classic Hollywood movies that inspired her to pursue acting; for Sebastian it is the fading Jazz of legends like Miles Davis, Charlie Parker and Thelonius Monk.   Most importantly, the two share the same struggle of desperately eeking out a life in the City of Angels while reaching for their dreams.

Such is the premise of “La La Land”, a musical romance written and directed by Damien Chazelle.  The last film that Chazelle wrote and directed was “Whiplash” which came out in 2014 to widespread acclaim.  Though it wasn’t a musical, “Whiplash” was also wrapped up in music culture, depicting the hardships of an aspiring jazz drummer in a competitive New York City music school.  For “La La Land”, Chazelle has abandoned the gloomy streets of New York for the sunny avenues of Los Angeles.  In fact, the film opens with a song titled “Another Day of Sun”, in which people stuck in a typical L.A. traffic jam get out of their cars and dance and sing about the wonderful weather among many other stereotypical aspects of L.A. 

The contrast between the reality of Los Angeles and the dreamer’s fantasy of Los Angeles is an interesting comparison that plays out throughout much of the film.  In the opening scene, the joke is obvious:  the traffic is unbelievably bad… but at least it’s always sunny!  In other scenes the comparison is more subtle.  For example, after Mia and Sebastian start dating, Mia speaks with her parents on a phone call about her upcoming one-woman play production and Sebastian’s plans to open a jazz club.  Her parents ask questions like, “Who’s paying for the production?” and “Has he rented out space for the club?”  Mia answers in the negative, revealing how far they are from actually reaching their dreams.  It is moments like these that prove Chazelle’s skill as a writer and director.  While the musicality of Mia and Sebastian’s journey may say one thing, the reality is not so whimsical.

“La La Land” is also bolstered by excellent performances from Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling.  There is strong chemistry between these two performers making Mia and Sebastian’s romance feel real and not forced.  However, Stone and Gosling’s strongest moments occur when their characters face failure one their own in the film.  Mia attends several auditions that are cut short by snotty talent scouts or interrupted by rude production workers.  Sebastian deviates from the tacky Christmas set list one night at a restaurant and is promptly fired.  These moments are masterfully acted out by two performers at the top of their game in Stone and Gosling.

However “La La Land”, with all of its strengths, is ultimately a frustrating film.  There are so many meaningful moments that are lost throughout the story.  By the end of the film I found myself questioning what “La La Land” really had to say.  Follow your dreams?  Be true to yourself?  The end of the movie suggests a variety of possibilities, but none are very clear.  Mia and Sebastian both achieve their lifetime dreams, but lose each other in the process.  Also, the entertaining and poignant contrast between reality Los Angeles and the fantasy Los Angeles is heavily tilted toward the latter towards the end of the film.  After all, both characters “make it”, while most people who move out to L.A. waste away as baristas and restaurant workers auditioning for roles they never land.  It is clear that Chazelle has many dreams with “La La Land”, but in the end fails to truly fulfill them.  A film so rich in content should have more to offer than a half-hearted statement akin to, “you can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you get what you need.”

 Despite the disappointments I still found myself wanting to dance out the theater.  While “La La Land” is not particularly profound in meaning, the film is simply alive.  “La La Land” is too well done and musically satisfying to dismiss, even if it misses a few notes.  

"The Edge of Seventeen" Review

OP-ROB RATING: BUST

           “The Edge of Seventeen” is a coming-of-age dramedy directed by Kelly Fremon Craig starring Hailee Steinfeld as Nadine, a distraught seventeen year-old struggling through adolescence.  Nadine goes to a high school where she has a single friend in Krista (Haley Lu Richardson).  Surprisingly, Krista falls in love with Nadine’s golden boy older brother Darian (Blake Jenner).  Nadine is rendered friendless when she rejects Krista because of this.  Throughout the film, Nadine interacts with a few individuals who truly care for her even though she cannot see it.  One of these people is actually Darian; another is her charming history teacher Mr. Bruner (Woody Harrelson) as well as a nerdy suitor named Erwin (Hayden Szeto).  “The Edge of Seventeen” is about Nadine’s journey out of depression and into appreciation for what she has had all along.

With the exception of a few poignant scenes, “The Edge of Seventeen” is a throwaway movie.  The humor can be seen coming from a mile away, while the dramatic developments fail to break the genre standard.  For example, Mr. Bruner never fails to counter Nadine with a witty comeback.  It is a given.  Like when he responds to Nadine’s proclamation of her intended suicide with a proclamation for his own.  In another sequence Nadine talks with another loner at a house party about the movie “Twins” starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito.  Inevitably, the loner compares Nadine to the unattractive sibling, further insulting her.  With regard to the storyline, Nadine eventually does find the acceptance that has been there all along in Mr. Bruner and Erwin. 

The biggest issue with the film is the blatant lack of depth in its cast of characters. Kyra Sedgwick portrays Nadine’s self-absorbed mother, Blake Jenner plays a good-guy all-American big brother, and Woody Harrelson turns in a performance as the loveable teacher with all the one-liners. With such a talented lineup, and such little substance, “The Edge of Seventeen” is insulting.  Audiences have seen these stock characters time and time again.  In the burgeoning canon of coming-of-age dramedies it takes more than a clever script and a few shallow characters to break the mold.

Worst of all though is Hailee Steinfeld in the lead role as Nadine.  Steinfeld burst into stardom for her incredible performance as Mattie Ross in the Coen Brothers’ remake of “True Grit” in 2010, garnering an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.  Since then, Steinfeld has been like Benjamin Button.  But instead of age, it’s acting performances.  All of the poise and promise she displayed in “True Grit” is slowly deteriorating.  The most recent glimpse of the phenomenon is in “The Edge of Seventeen” where she sulks around as a teenage stereotype until she has an attitude change and the world turns into a Nickelodeon show.  But hey, at least her hit song “Love Myself” is pretty good![1]

There is a scene in “The Edge of Seventeen” when Nadine awkwardly stands alone outside of a circle of people at a house party.  Most people have been there.  I have been there.  It sucks.  After standing around briefly, Nadine goes outside the house where she gets the “Twins” joke.  Being an adolescent is a universal experience that is sometimes very hard, which is meaningful and worth exploring.  Yet, “The Edge of Seventeen” skirts the real stuff and opts for a generic story fueled by shallow characters and cheap jokes.

[1] Full disclosure… Hailee Steinfeld is several months younger than me and she already has an Academy Award nomination and a Platinum Single.  I am an average college student with a movie blog almost no one reads.  She is winning big time.

"Moana" Review

OP-ROB RATING: ALL-STAR

             Moana (Auli'i Cravalho) is the daughter of Chief Tui Waialiki (Temuera Morrison) of the Island Motunui.   Like every other citizen on the island, she has a job.  For Moana, this job is to stay on the island and rule the people there.  However, as is evident from the very first scene in Disney’s new animation adventure “Moana”, this girl is destined for the sea.  Set in a mythic Polynesian land, “Moana” is the story of this daring girl.  A succession of introductory scenes and catchy songs set the stage for the film.  In years past, a shape-shifting demigod by the name of Maui (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) had the nerve to steal the life-giving heart of the Goddess Te Fiti.  Maui’s rash decision awakened various mystical beasts across the islands and below the sea, not to mention sapping the goddess of her life-giving power and unleashing a destructive force across the entire land.  This destructive force has suddenly reached Moana’s home of Motunui, where they have run out of fish and vegetation has started to crumble.  To save her island Moana is tasked by the Ocean itself to find Maui, and deliver him across the ocean to return the heart of Te Fiti.

My favorite scene in “Moana” is unequivocally her discovery of Maui.  After washing up on a tiny dessert island, Moana is quickly introduced to the loud, egotistical, yet ultimately charming Maui.  He emerges dressed only in a leafy skirt, tattooed from the neck down with a head of hair that would make Troy Polamalu proud.  While Moana tries to explain her quest to the mystical demigod, he ignores her and breaks into song, “Okay, okay. I see what’s happening, yeah. You’re face to face with greatness and it’s strange…  I know it’s a lot, the hair, the bod! When you’re staring at a demigod. What can I say except, you’re welcome!”  Maui goes on and on about how great he is and all of the prizes he won for humanity, like the breeze and coconuts and fire and various other natural phenomena.  As he sings, a “mini-Maui” tattoo dances all around his body, each piece of artwork depicting a great accomplishment.  This scene, among others, is so full of color and energy it’s impossible to turn away.

Aside from the quality music and plot we have come to expect from Disney animation, “Moana” features a powerful female lead voiced by Auli'i Cravalho.  The quest that Moana undertakes is one of great danger, and there are several points where she encounters the kind adversity most animation films would shy away from.  Throughout the film she overcomes obstacles through unconventional intellect, wit, and fearlessness.  As a kid, I had the joy of watching a lot of male heroes like Hogarth in “The Iron Giant” and Buzz and Woody in “Toy Story”, amongst many others.  Not that those films don’t inspire all children, but it is special to have heroes you can relate to on a base level just as a boy or a girl.  Moana joins a growing lineup of dynamic animated female leads that have emerged in theaters over the past few years.

In a not-too-short, not-too-long 107 minutes Moana and Maui are led on a thrilling journey that involves run-ins with monsters, moments of self-doubt, and plenty of music.  The imagery throughout the film is crisp, beautiful, and infused with Polynesian folklore.  By all means, “Moana” is a breezy oceanic voyage that should fill the sails of anyone in need of a lift this winter season. 

"Manchester by the Sea" Review

OP-ROB RATING: LEGEND

          “Manchester by the Sea” is a film directed by Kenneth Lonergan starring Casey Affleck as Lee, a Boston janitor who spends his days serving rude apartment tenants and getting into bar fights.  Lee is suddenly yanked out of his normal life when his brother Joe (Kyle Chandler) dies of heart failure, leaving behind a teenage son named Patrick (Lucas Hedges) and several other assets including a house and a fishing boat.  The subsequent burial, allocation of the will, and funeral require Lee to temporarily relocate an hour away from Boston to Manchester by the Sea, Massachusetts where his brother lived.  Lee himself once lived in Manchester by the Sea, but made a mistake one night that resulted in a horrific personal loss.  Throughout the film, Lee finds himself caught between his responsibility for Patrick and his desire return to his secluded life outside of Boston.

           Most of us know what it feels like to have bad memories connected to a physical location.  Most of us know what it feels like to lose something invaluable in our lives.  Granted, the tragedy that haunts Lee is probably far more dreadful than anyone in the theater can relate to.  But it is his despair that makes the story so compelling.  Because despair is always deeply, impossibly personal.  However, Lonergan manages to build a story that reveals despair with refreshing clarity.  Earlier this year I reviewed a film called “Demolition” that sought to explore this very same human affliction.  While “Demolition” made a grand effort, it ultimately failed because of a muddled plot that overextended itself.  “Manchester by the Sea” avoids this pitfall.  Furthermore, Casey Affleck turns in a fantastic performance that will likely land him an armful of awards this winter.  Few actors have portrayed such an authentically unsettled man.

          In addition to Affleck’s performance the simply told story in “Manchester by the Sea” is refreshingly original.  In many films audiences are presented with a character that has experienced a great tragedy, whether it be Sean Thornton (John Wayne) in “The Quiet Man” or Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) in “The Shawshank Redemption”.  These characters almost always find a path out of the darkness that haunts them.  “Manchester By the Sea” presents a similarly challenged main character in Lee, yet his experience with loss proves much different.  At many points during the film Lee is presented with opportunities for redemption, often arriving in the form of typical drama movie tropes.  However, instead of taking the bait, Lee constantly defies the viewer’s expectations.

          Another facet of the film that is worth noting is the beautiful cinematography throughout.  The wide shots of the open Atlantic coupled with the distinctly New England architecture are particularly compelling.  Throughout the film Lonergan manages to keep the viewer in perspective.  The beauty of the film always bolsters the plot and never dominates it.  The brisk shots of the New England winter are nicely paired with the hardy attitude of the blue-collar characters.  “Manchester by the Sea” is very well done yet never condescending in its excellence. 

          Ultimately some viewers might be disappointed with “Manchester by the Sea” because of its rather cold ending.  There is a scene near the end of the film in which Lee tells Patrick, “I can’t beat it”.  While there is something comforting about films that wrap everything up, there is also something unrealistic about them.  In life, some wounds never heal, and “Manchester by the Sea” reflects this reality in beautifully effective fashion.

"Don't Breathe" Review

OP-ROB RATING: ALL-STAR

“Don’t Breathe” is a horror film directed by Fede Alvarez about three young thieves, specializing in house robberies in the Detroit area.  In an opening scene the trio breaks into a nice residential home to steal electronics and jewelry and each burglar is quickly introduced.  Rocky (Jane Levy), a slender girl with blonde hair, is focused on making enough money to flee her abusive mother in order to start a new life in California. Money (Daniel Zovatto) is a reckless loudmouth and a wannabe gangster, who displays little respect for professionalism during the robbery. Finally there is Alex (Dylan Minnette), who reluctantly steals information from his father’s security business in order to rob the houses.  Alex is seemingly responsible and appears to be robbing the houses mostly to win over Rocky, who has placed him in the “friend-zone”, opting for the more rambunctious Money.

After the robbery yields underwhelming returns, Money seeks out a job involving an old man (Stephen Lang) that is rumored to be sitting on a large cash sum in his run-down, two-story suburban house outside of Detroit.  The old man came into the money after a girl from a wealthy family killed his only daughter in a motor accident that resulted in a six-figure settlement.  Money proposes the robbery to Rocky and Alex, and after some deliberation, they decide to take on the challenge as “one last job”.  A successful robbery would mean Rocky could achieve her dream of moving to California. During the recon mission to the old man’s ghostly neighborhood, the group discovers the old man is blind, further strengthening their confidence in the job.  Late that night, Money, Rocky and Alex approach the house and manage to break in through an upstairs window.  A series of twists and turns ensue as the group discovers the man, the house, and the situation are far beyond their expectations.

“Don’t Breathe” thrives under excellent direction from Alvarez. A very distinctive film technique gives “Don’t Breathe” an edge with the pop-outs as with many scenes the camera moves through an entire room, giving the viewer a full view of the situation, before finally settling in on a character.  This heightened awareness of space and location gives the audience a sense of placement within the movie. The vast majority of the film takes place inside the Blind Man’s house, and feels like a prolonged cat and mouse hunt for survival, reminiscent of the final sequence in the classic horror film “The Silence of the Lambs”. 

Perhaps the greatest compliment that can be given “Don’t Breathe” is that it is just plain smart.  The plot is clean-cut, and Alvarez doesn’t mess around with extra scenes that don’t add up to the story.  An example of this focused direction is how objects are emphasized early in the story and become relevant later on.  When Rocky initially breaks into the house, a piece of broken glass sticks to her boot, and is dislodged in the middle of the upstairs hallway.  When the Blind Man awakens and searches for the burglars’ point of entry, he stumbles upon the piece of glass, which leads him into the bathroom where he subsequently boards up the broken window with a piece of plywood.  In the film there are several objects that share a delayed importance, some more vital than others:  a hammer, a cell phone, an alarm trigger, a pair of shoes, a gun.  Another intelligent aspect of “Don’t Breathe” is the judicious use of sound.  The title may imply this, but there are multiple scenes that involve such silence that a character’s breath or any small movement sounds booming.

Further strengthening “Don’t Breathe” is an overarching narrative about human nature.  At many junctures each of the burglars are presented with a very stark choice, go after the money or walk away.  In the beginning that choice carries little consequence, but as the story progresses so does the gravity of the decision.  Time and time again the burglars choose to pursue the money, even at junctures when that could mean their lives.  The exploration of these basic human desires is also reflected in the films’ villain.  The Blind Man, as we find out in a disturbing revelation, is interested in a basic human entity that money can’t buy.  “Don’t Breathe” lacks any kind of superstitious element, employing only plausible events, and is much more unsettling as a result.

There are a few slip-ups in “Don’t Breathe”, including the addition of a few unnecessary scenes following the climax of the film.  However, on the whole it is a very smart, very scary, and ultimately satisfying horror film.  Along with David Robert Mitchell’s 2014 film “It Follows”, Detroit is quickly becoming somewhat of a modern horror mecca, the derelict suburban houses ready-made for eerie events.  Coming off a disastrous summer for movies, “Don’t Breathe” is a welcome sigh of relief for moviegoers and horror fans alike.

"Suicide Squad" Review

OP-ROB RATING: BUST

 “Suicide Squad” is a DC Comics film directed by David Ayer and starring an ensemble cast headlined by Will Smith, Jared Leto, Margot Robbie, and Viola Davis. In the wake of Superman’s demise, a ruthless Intelligence Operative named Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) proposes an idea to assemble a team of villains to combat the next inevitable disaster.  The strategy is similar to combatting cancer; her team of destructive villains is the radiation treatment.  Despite obvious concerns from government higher-ups, Waller gets the go ahead for her “suicide squad” when an evil witch named “Enchantress” (Cara Delevingne) escapes captivity and begins destroying Midway City.

Waller handpicks several individuals including Floyd Lawton aka Deadshot (Will Smith) a skilled sniper and hit man, Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) a psychopathic killer, Diablo (Jay Hernandez) a Mexican gangster with powerful pyrotechnic abilities and Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) a cannibalistic man-crocodile. To contain the volatile team Waller employs Colonel Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman), a cocky special forces leader with extensive field experience.  After a head-spinning number of introductory scenes, the squad is sent into Midway City to neutralize the Enchantress.

A prominent subplot in “Suicide Squad” involves the Joker, portrayed by Jared Leto.  As Harley Quinn’s boyfriend, the Joker is central to her backstory and introduction.  When the squad arrives in Midway City, the Joker is there to try and break Harley out of the group and away from captivity.  Compared to portrayals of the character by Jack Nicholson and Heath Ledger in other movies, Leto's is disappointing.  Perhaps the underwhelming performance is inevitable, given the legendary status of the formerly mentioned actors.  More of an erratic mob boss/gangster than genuine psychopath, the Joker in “Suicide Squad” mostly struts around in an over-stylized costume and mumbles formulaic lines.  Having said that, the Joker is an entirely tangential character in the movie, so it is hard to judge Leto’s performance with certainty.

The most puzzling and ultimately damning problem with "Suicide Squad" is that it doesn't deliver on its central promise: that these characters are villains. Villains, if you didn’t already know, are supposed to be bad.  In reality, not one of the seven members of the squad is actually an evil individual. Deadshot is a very reasonable hit man and a genuinely caring father.  There are several scenes, which are the finest in the movie, in which Deadshot spends time with his daughter.  Killer Croc would probably be a regular guy if not for his horrific mutation. Even Harley is just one bad boyfriend away from being a model citizen.  In a strange dream sequence Harley envisions her ideal life as a domesticated mother and housewife with the Joker as a clean looking guy in a suit.[1]  Of the entire squad Diablo is probably the most evil given his past as a gang lord, but even he has a conscious so powerful that he refuses to use his powers for the first two thirds of the movie. 

The main selling point (“Worst. Heroes. Ever.”) of the movie is so false that the whole thing feels like a big gyp.  In one scene, the squad puts the mission on hold and visits a deserted bar in downtown Midway. While sitting around and having drinks, these supposed "super-villains" confess to each other and share deeply personal stories.  Flag joins the sob fest and mopes about his girlfriend problems. At the end of the pity party, the squad decides they will do the right thing and save the city together.  As it turns out the only truly wicked character aside from Enchantress is Amanda Waller.  Deadshot directly points this out after she murders several employees and he mutters to Flag, "yeah, and I'm the bad guy".

 “Suicide Squad” is a stark reminder that Marvel sets the gold standard for the genre. A few months ago I went and saw “Captain America: Civil War”.  At the time, I felt it was pretty average and had felt the same way about preceding “Captain America” and “Avenger” films as well as “X-Men: Days of Future Past”.  At a certain point the superhero formula gets old.  However, Marvel films are always well written, and at the very worst feel lukewarm.  DC Comics has been playing catch-up with the Marvel machine, and “Suicide Squad” is yet another ramshackle production that wastes its actors’ talents and audience’s time.  With a slew of DC Comics films set to release over the next few years, one has to wonder if life is too short to waste on another one not directed by a guy named Nolan.

[1] RIP Paul Allen. Cameo of the year

"The Fits" Review

OP-ROB RATING: LEGEND

 “The Fits”, a 2016 independent film directed by Anna Rose Holmer is about an elementary school girl named Toni (Royalty Hightower) living in a Cincinnati housing project.  She is slender, sports two tightly woven braids that bounce behind her head, and has the look of someone wise beyond her years. Aside from the hairdo, Toni could easily be mistaken for a boy.  She follows in the footsteps of Jermaine (Da’Sean Minor), her older brother, who is an amateur boxer.  In the local community center, Toni boxes with the guys, does sit-ups with the guys, and runs stairs with the guys.  Older males surround her in the boxing environment.  However Toni ventures across the community center to spy on the girls dance group, “The Lionesses”.  The group performs in a competitive hip-hop circuit. The practices that Toni frequently observes sometime involve a one-on-one “dance-off” that is in tune with the intensive nature of boxing.  Fascinated and with the blessing of Jermaine, Toni decides to try out for the all-female group. 

The theme of  “The Fits” is centered around gender roles, and what effect “choosing” a certain gender has on an individual.  For Toni, she unknowingly “chooses” to be a girl when she joins the Lionesses.  For example, she pierces her ears, paints her nails, and makes new female friends.  While all of these things aren’t necessarily bad, they alienate Toni from her brother, and from the boys she used to hang out with.  At a certain point in the film, Toni no longer fits in with her former friends. 

An overarching dynamic in the film involves a series of seizure-like attacks on various members of the Lionesses.  One day at practice one of the older girls loses control of her body and begins convulsing.  The violent shaking is preceded by a brief trance like state.  The event shocks all of the girls, and they suspend practice.  Although quite frightening, the “fit” doesn’t harm the girl, and she returns to normal as if nothing occurred. Over a period of time each girl succumbs to the fits, one by one.  Although the community center blames the drinking water, none of the boys are taken with the fits.  The meaning of the attacks is up for interpretation, but it is undeniably intertwined with gender.  The girls are affected while the boys are not.  As the film reaches its climax we wonder if young Toni, like the rest of the girls, will fall victim to the strange attack.

“The Fits” is full of interesting comparisons regarding gender. One such comparison is between boxing and dancing.  With the exception of Toni, who does both, the sports are restricted to either boys or girls.  The boxing is brutal, yet precise and calculated.  The Lionesses’ style of dancing is also very aggressive, but in a much wilder and reckless sense. In one of the dance routines there is a punch integrated with the rest of the moves.  On one of Toni’s first days as a Lioness, her authentic punch looks out of place with the rest of the routine.  Like a sound-byte of classical music being spliced into a DMX song.  These stark comparisons add layers to a seemingly basic story. 

Most importantly “The Fits” is bolstered by superb direction from Holmer and a riveting performance from Royalty Hightower.  Each scene is filmed with the kind purpose that is rarely displayed on the screen in this day and age.  For example, when Toni first spies on the Lionesses she does so from behind a door, looking through a narrow rectangular window.  The shot emphasizes her separation not only from the dancers, but also from the female gender role.  As the film runs its course and Toni “becomes a girl”, she looks at her former training partners in the boxing gym from an identical vantage point.  These tiny details are interspersed throughout “The Fits”, and add further intrigue to the story. 

Perhaps the seminal moment in “The Fits” occurs about halfway through the movie, when Toni stands on small arched bridge over a busy highway.  In a long take, she starts dancing and punching.  The two don’t mix, and it looks awkward.  But she continues with intensity, alone and unbothered.  By the end of her little workout she is smiling and laughing, completely content and full of confidence.  In reality, true individualism is independent of gender.  For a brief period, Toni embodies this kind of total freedom.  She can have the best of both worlds.  It is only when she commits to one over the other, or perhaps is inevitably taken by one that she loses the equilibrium embodied in the bridge scene.  “The Fits” runs for only 72 minutes, but packs the punch of a three-hour epic.  A film so unique in its execution and so universal in its meaning, “The Fits” is the best movie of this summer so far.

Farewell, Timmy D

Tim Duncan will leave an indelible mark on the NBA because of his dominance in the power forward position.  A quick glance over his statistics and accolades prove that he belongs in the top ten players of all time. 

·      5 NBA Championships

·      3 NBA Finals MVP’s

·      2 League MVP’s

·      15 All-Star Appearances

·      10 All-NBA Team Awards

Duncan ranks 14th all-time in scoring, 6th in rebounding, and 5th in shot blocking. 

What’s more astounding is that Duncan cranked out 19 NBA seasons and currently holds the 4th best ELO rating of any NBA player ever (An ELO rating measures the all-around skill/efficiency of a player, Duncan is right up there with Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, and Hakeem Olajuwon). 

            Aside from the numbers, Duncan’s career holds a wonderful story and legacy.  Drafted in 1998, Duncan has spent his entire career with the San Antonio Spurs.  For almost two decades he has worn number 21 for the Spurs.  He has led his team through the twilight years with David Robinson, into the big -three era with Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, and finally into the new big-three with Kawhi Leonard, LaMarcus Aldridge and Pau Gasol.  He is leaving the Spurs is superb condition.

            Tim Duncan was a superb basketball player, seeing him dunk a ball, or bank in a shot was to see a master perform his craft.  One of my favorite memories was in 2014 when he manhandled Serge Ibaka using old-man strength and pure skill.  Duncan was the perennial power forward, and I will miss his style of play on the court.  However, the reasons for which Duncan leaves such a void in the NBA actually have nothing to do with basketball.  They have to do with character and awareness and with doing things the right way.  They have to do with taking the high road time and time again.  Duncan’s game was defined by consistency, but so was his demeanor.

            Despite his immense drive to succeed, Timmy D was never one to talk trash, as Draymond Green recounted earlier this year.  In fact Duncan would often do the opposite, even giving opponents advice on how to improve their game.  Many commentators chock Duncan’s commendable demeanor up to his personality.  As if it were automatic or just how he was.  However, I believe that this kind of thinking robs Duncan of his greatest impact on the game, and on the lives of those who admired him.

            Basketball is a sport in which players often wear their emotions on their sleeves.  Any small bit of trash talk, a misplaced elbow, or a dirty glance can lead to a scuffle.  A recent example would be Draymond Green calling LeBron a “little bitch” and inciting a suspension-worthy altercation.  A more famous incident would be the “Malice in the Palace” where Ron Artest jumped into the stands and fought with fans.  Of course there are dozens of scraps in any given month in the NBA that are spawned from a lack of self-control.  Somehow, Tim Duncan rose above all of this.  Did his inherent personality help?  Sure it did.  But any player in any sport with comparable success to Duncan has a brutally competitive edge. Timmy D, with all of his composure, had a vein of sheer determination that drove him to be the best, to win more than any player of his era.

            This is where Duncan truly becomes great.  He chose to act the way he did, to lead the way he did.  Night after night Duncan performed like a superstar while neglecting the uglier side of the game, the uglier side of humanity.  While many would disagree with me, I would argue that on innumerable occasions Duncan probably wanted to retaliate to a trash-talker like Kevin Garnett, or add a taunting gesture after throttling an opponent. It is in human nature to add insult to injury because it feels good.  It grants a kind of instant gratification that is addicting.  For nineteen years, Tim Duncan blocked out the noise and just played great basketball. 

            When you consider the level of professionalism and respect for fellow players that Tim Duncan brought to the table he is truly second to none.  The reason I’ll miss Tim Duncan most is not because I wont get to see his pretty bank shot, or see him high-five the bench warmers at the end of the game, or watch his pre-game ritual of hugging the basketball with his arms raised high.  The reason I will miss Tim Duncan is because I won't be able to watch the man that I try, and fail, every day to live up to in my daily life. Tim Duncan applies to the real world in a way that includes a minuscule number of other athletes.  I fall prey to my emotions more than I would like to admit, but Duncan has proven that good nature and calmness can always prevail.  Over the years I have seen Tim Duncan play his hardest and lose on multiple occasions. Whatever the case he handled his situation with grace and humility.  He gives me, and everyone else an example to strive for.  His basketball legacy pales in comparison to his life legacy. 

Next year, when I tune in to watch the Spurs, I will miss my hero. 

Thank you Tim, for everything.  I wish you the very best in retirement. Go Spurs Go.

"The Shallows" Review

OP-ROB RATING: BUST

“The Shallows” is a 2016 thriller directed by Jaume Collet-Serra and starring Blake Lively as Nancy, a medical school student and surfer on a journey of self-discovery.  The film begins as Nancy is driven out to a “secret” beach by an amiable Mexican man named Carlos (Óscar Jaenada). During the ride Nancy explains that her mother came to the beach after becoming pregnant, and the spot is personally special. With the exception of a pair of local guys out in the water, the beach is entirely empty.  In the following sequences Nancy enjoys surfing on the crystal clear, blue waves and eventually goes back to the beach for a lunch break.  It is at this point that Nancy Facetimes with her father (Brett Cullen) and we discover the mother’s death has prompted an identity crisis, and which may cause her to drop out of medical school.  Nancy’s father implores her to return home to Galveston, Texas and explains that she couldn’t have done anything to prevent her mother from succumbing to cancer.  Nancy shrugs off her father’s comments and quickly says goodbye before hitting the waves again.

Of course we all know what happens next.  “The Shallows” is a shark movie, and during Nancy’s second surfing session she gets bit.  After happening upon a dying whale washed up on a reef, Nancy is attacked by a great white shark, presumably drawn into the shallows by the bleeding whale.  The attack leaves her with a sizeable bite in her upper thigh.  Amazingly, she manages to swim to a small rock landing jutting out of the water.  For the vast majority of the film, Nancy is confined to the rock accompanied only by her thoughts, and by a seagull with a broken wing.  Although the rock is relatively close to shore, Nancy is too hurt to make the swim, and she must find a way to elude the circling predator.

Nancy’s 24-odd-hour journey back to shore in “The Shallows” involves suturing her thigh with earrings, eating a baby crab, puking the crab, a lot of napping, talking to the seagull, trying to get the attention of a cargo ship, and finally confronting the shark in a climactic scene.  While there is certainly a lot going on, none of it is particularly innovative to the shark movie/survival genre.  “The Shallows” isn’t based on a true story, either, so it is not as if the movie couldn’t have been more creative. “The Shallows” is not unique as a thriller, or even a shark movie and Collet-Serra resorts to gimmicks like the wounded seagull, and several scenes with social media to bolster the film.  In one scene Nancy obtains a flare gun and fires it at the shark.  At this point the shark is near the wounded whale, and the whale oil ignites. Before firing the round she exclaims, “Fuck you.”  The token “f-word” for the PG-13 rating is all too predictable.  Perhaps this was a misfire attempt to pay homage to Roy Scheider’s line in the classic shark blockbuster “Jaws” (In the film, Scheider’s character tells the shark “Smile you son-of-a-bitch” before blasting it out of the water).

Perhaps the worst aspect in “The Shallows” is in the misuse of Blake Lively in the lead role.  There is nothing wrong with casting a stunningly gorgeous actress.  There is nothing wrong with showing how beautiful she is on camera.  But there is a distinct difference between building the beauty around the story, and simply exploiting the physical features of the actor/actress.  In “The Revenant” you didn’t find Alejandro G. Iñáritu panning over Leonardo DiCaprio’s abs as he pulled himself through the snow.  In Jean-Marc Vallée’s “Wild”, you didn’t see Reese Witherspoon hiking in a sexy outfit just for the audience’s viewing.  Granted, those are both top-tier, critically acclaimed films based on true stories, not summer shark thrillers.  But there is a distinct tone of physical worship in “The Shallows” that dilutes the quality of the film.  The obsession with Lively’s body is evidence of a weak script, and even weaker directing.  This misdirection severely hurts the actually important parts of the film, like storyline and character development.  But the greatest disservice is toward Blake Lively, who never really gets to act.  Even in the scenes where Nancy is suffering immensely, she looks great:  And not in a natural way, but in a very intentional and artificial way.  There might be four frames in the entire film in which Nancy looks truly destitute.  

Maybe I’m missing the point of this film.  Maybe it’s supposed to look the way it does.  Maybe Blake Lively is totally fine with doing movies like “The Shallows”.  Whatever the case, “The Shallows” is not good enough on its own to survive without the constant drooling over its lead actress.  Most of the scenes feel distracted, and the entire film crumbles on a rickety plotline.  One such massive loophole is that Nancy doesn’t drink any water during her entire fight for survival, how is something so crucial as potable water overlooked?  This film is a lazy, cheap, summer thriller starring a popular actress.  The real victim of “The Shallows” is not Nancy, but rather the poor soul who bought a ticket.