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Two Cents Saves What We Love About STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI
Two Cents is an original column akin to a book club for films. The Cinapse team will program films and contribute our best, most insightful, or most creative thoughts on each film using a maximum of 200 words each. Guest writers and fan comments are encouraged, as are suggestions for future entries to the column. Join us as we share our two cents on films we love, films we are curious about, and films we believe merit some discussion.
*SPOILERS ABOUND!*
The Pick
James Mangold recently commented on Twitter that making a new movie in a popular franchise was less like storytelling and more like adding a new Gospel to the Bible, such is the intense scrutiny and exhaustive/exhausting cycles of excitement and outrage that go into the anticipation and reception of each new film.
And since there’s perhaps no fanbase on earth as evangelical as Star Wars die-hards, The Last Jedi was primed to make something of a splash.
But no one could have predicted just how much Rian Johnson would break from Star Wars norms with his chapter, nor how virulent the response from some corners of fandom would prove. Continuing the story set-up by JJ Abrams in The Force Awakens, Jedi finds the shattered remnants of the Resistance scramble to escape the clutches of Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis). Hotshot pilot Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) clashes with General Leia (Carrie Fisher, in her final film performance) and Admiral Holdo (Laura Dern), while reformed stormtrooper Finn (John Boyega) and mechanic Rose (Kelly Marie Tran) undertake their own desperate plan. Meanwhile, Rey (Daisy Ridley) finally tracks down reclusive Jedi master Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) but discovers that the legendary Luke has become a bitter hermit, determined to let the Jedi order end with himself. As Rey begs Luke for his help, she discovers great truths about herself, as well as a connection with the evil Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) that will reshape their fates, and the fate of the galaxy.
The Last Jedi proved intensely divisive among fans and filmgoers, with some appreciating the way Johnson broke from, and expanded upon, the established canon and style of the other films, while others felt he strayed too far from the core ideas and ideals of Star Wars (there’s also a sub-category of sub-intellectual mouthbreathing fuckwits who hate the film for the way it deconstructs traditional masculine heroism and brings women, people of color, and women of color to the forefront). Months later, debate over the film still rages. With The Last Jedi now streaming on Netflix Instant, it seemed like a good time to take the film’s temperature and see how the latest, and most contested, episode in the saga is settling in.
Austin readers: Catch both The Last Jedi and The Force Awakens playing free at Community Cinema! TFA screens tonight (July 6), and TLJ next Friday!
Next Week’s Pick
We move from The Last Jedi to The Last Movie Star! Written and directed by Adam Rifkin specifically for Burt Reynolds, the film reflects on the victories and failures of a fictional aging Hollywood legend, incorporating Burt’s own charisma, life experiences, and iconic status to craft a uniquely engaging character piece.
Would you like to be a guest in next week’s Two Cents column? Simply watch and send your under-200-word review to twocents(at)cinapse.co anytime before midnight on Thursday!
Our Guests
Jaime Burchardt:
The Last Jedi is a master class. I never really thought of it as such after my first viewing eight months ago. After rewatching it, I realized a few things. First off, it’s not perfect. I won’t kid or convince myself that it’s absolutely flawless. Secondly, thank God it’s not. Rian Johnson has given us a Star Wars film that I feel should’ve been delivered to us a long time ago. It’s not betraying the old, nor is it saying the new should follow traditions. Jedi finds that center…that balance. It gives its heart to what we’ve come to love while fusing it with ideas that are inspiring. As for the future, well the franchise isn’t bogged down anymore. It’s not black and white. Is that why fanboys are so scared of this movie? Don’t get me wrong, I loved The Force Awakens and it was the proper boot-up, but The Last Jedi is the chapter that breathes in new life. As long as the characters are written with passion, love and conflict (that makes sense, which it does here) and the rest of the stories are told with just as much intensity, it doesn’t matter who’s related to who or how everything needs to connect. On top of that, The Last Jedi sports another John Williams classic, breathtaking cinematography, wonderful performances and a script that simply isn’t afraid. When I said this was a masterclass, I meant this. Anybody aspiring to be a filmmaker should watch this and take away from what it what you will. What to do, what not to do. Like I said earlier, it’s flawed, but it’s something that can be learned from. It’s a movie that’s willing to give you all of itself so that you can just think. Think and feel. So thank you Mr. Johnson, for making my favorite Star Wars movie. Thank you.
P.S. — It goes without saying that all the people who have given the word “fandom” its toxicity, harassed Kelly Marie Tran and Daisy Ridley, the “fans” who want to remake this, and anyone spewing hate because this movie didn’t sit right with them… are completely unconscionable. (@jaimeburchardt)
I’m still not sure if The Last Jedi is my favorite Star Wars movie, but it is definitely my favorite sequel/prequel/interquel/whatever in the series. It is a film where characters do the wrong things with the best of intentions. They suffer dire consequences, but learn not to be defined or consumed by their mistakes. It is a film about progress — which does not require burning down the past as Kylo Ren suggests but instead learning from it, both celebrating the good and not repeating the bad. The toxicity of blind nostalgia is a thread that runs throughout the film (and, to a degree, The Force Awakens before it), revealed primarily through the Imperial cosplay of the First Order. But the other side of that is the inspirational power of myths and storytelling, and the ability of a few to be the spark that lights the fire of rebellion.
When The Last Jedi first came out, I remember lots of comparisons to Empire Strikes Back which superficially makes sense. But in a lot of ways this movie is an anti-ESB. Structurally it moves in reverse, and while both end on notes of uncertainty The Last Jedi tempers that with far more optimism for the future. Star Wars has been in the pop culture lexicon for over 40 years now. Nothing can stay popular for that long without evolving and adapting to new audiences. That can be upsetting for some, but I think that it embodies the very virtues that the series has always espoused. The Force is with us all. (@T_Lawson)
Brendan Agnew (The Norman Nerd):
“You think — what — I’m gonna walk out with a laser sword and face down the whole First Order? What did you think was gonna happen here?”
Good movies will call their shots. Great ones will make you think about why you want them called in the first place.
I’m not gonna waste much time on arguing if The Last Jedi is great (for the record: it is great, Holdo rocks, Rey rocks, Rose rocks, Snoke’s death rocks, Space Leia rocks, everything about Luke rocks, and Canto Bight is the thematic fulcrum of the film), but let’s talk about this moment of both subverting expectations while also directly playing into them. As soon as Rey holds out the lightsaber to Luke, we the viewers want exactly this. As an audience, we absolutely want Space Arthur to use Excalibur once more for a righteous cause and use his power to bring his enemies low.
But… SHOULD we want that from a Jedi?
The three protagonists of Rian Johnson’s film want essentially this outcome for various flawed reasons. Rey wants this to happen in an almost performative manner, because it’s what is “supposed to happen, it’s how this story goes.” Finn wants this for reasons driven by selfish desire to protect what he cares for, regardless of who else he puts in danger. Poe wants this because he only sees the short-term fight, not the longterm consequences of his actions. Each hero does their own version of this and fails — learning (through what the wisest character in Star Wars calls “the greatest teacher”) to reorient themselves. Each finds acceptance and success in a less destructive version of this action — Poe in calling off the final assault, Finn going from a suicide run to dragging Rose from the battlefield, and Rey in… moving rocks.
And then Luke fulfills his own prophecy in a way totally befitting a Jedi. He *does* walk out with a laser sword and face down the whole First Order, but using his powers for knowledge and defense. He refuses to even take a swing at the boy who thought his teacher would cut him down, and not only cements the legend of Luke Skywalker, but does so as an icon of bad-ass pacifism. Johnson walks the line between giving the viewer precisely the “Hell yeah, Luke!” moment they’ve wanted for years while also presenting the choice behind that in a thematically rich way.
While still doing the awesome thing where the hero brushes non-existent dust from their shoulder AND COME ON, HOW IS THERE ANY DEBATE THAT THIS MOVIE IS AWESOME? (@BLCAgnew)
Travis Warren:
I did not grow up with Star Wars. I did not see the original trilogy until after I graduated high school. When I first saw them, I have to say that I was not blown away by them after all the hype. I like them just fine, but I’m not crazy about them. I thought The Force Awakens was pretty much on the same level as the original trilogy. So, leading up to The Last Jedi, I found myself more excited for it as a Rian Johnson film than as a Star Wars film. I had seen all three of Johnson’s previous films and become a fan. However, nothing prepared me for the actual film. Johnson built off of the foundation of The Force Awakens to make a film about letting go of nostalgia and paving a new way forward. The writing, the visuals and the acting are inspired. I never expected to ever love a Star Wars film like this. It is a masterpiece.
The Team
For me, it all comes down to the kid with the broom. There are plenty of other reasons why The Last Jedi is probably my favorite Star Wars film, starting with the fact that I’ve never been much of a Star Wars fan. The old films are buried beneath the stank of the Special Editions and are largely unavailable in their classic form, while the prequels are a nexus of suck that not even compelling thematic material can bring to life. Part of why the prequels soured me on Star Wars in general was the way they shrunk the universe down so that it seemed like only five people were responsible for literally everything that happened in a galaxy over the course of like 40 years, while every person’s relative importance being contingent entirely on how closely they are linked to the Skywalker brood. Given that A New Hope contains maybe the single greatest visual depiction of the youthful dream of adventure and escape, that subsequent chapters cordoned off that adventure unless you have the correct magic blood.
That’s why the final shot of the film is so critical. It’s not just that Johnson calls back the beginning of Luke Skywalker’s journey moments after he concluded it. By ending the film not with a cliffhanger, not with any of our established characters and conflicts, but with a child who occupies the lowest possible rung of space society, yet who shares in the Force and dreams of adventure, Johnson restores the aspirational wonder of that first film. The Force, and Star Wars, belongs to all of us, and thanks to Rian Johnson, its future is wide open. (@theTrueBrendanF)
As divisive as The Last Jedi is, we had kind of assumed some critical reviews would be submitted. As it turns out, the feedback has been entirely positive overall.
That said, I do sympathize with some of the more reasonable criticisms levied against the movie. It would’ve been great to see Luke, Leia, and Han together again and there’s a missed opportunity there (though that’s more of a TFA criticism, no?). And grim though it may be, the scene in which Leia gets blown out of her ship did make for a sensible exit for the late Carrie Fisher. We’ll just have to wait and see how this is handled in the next film, though there’s no doubt it’ll be done with respect and love. The film’s biggest problem may not be specific to any scene or character, but simply that the series lacks a singular vision. If the filmmakers are to believed, each entry is a new entity with its own direction, with no overall construct to the trilogy and each film is doing its own things without moving toward a specific destination. (I find this all rather incredulous, and assume that Rian Johnson is just being generous in describing the creative freedom he was given).
But when it comes down to it, I just dig the heck out of this movie. For all its flaws, real or received, The Last Jedi is great. The biggest kick I got out of it was that it wasn’t really like anything I expected, which I think is the biggest “problem” of criticizers. The big throne room “finale”, surely earmarked for the trilogy closer? It’s the midway battle now, and unfolds in a completely unexpected (and awesome) fashion. Kylo Ren, the weakest and lamest character in The Force Awakens? He’s both put in his place and finally made into a formidable foe. And Yoda’s return? Absolutely perfect. (@VforVashaw)
Watch it on Netflix:
https://www.netflix.com/title/80192018
Next week’s pick:
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ESCAPE PLAN 2: HADES: Chinese Investment Algorithm Leads To Action Movie
Sylvester Stallone Makes An Appearance
I’m going to be straight with you: I enjoyed Escape Plan 2: Hades. I’m exactly the demographic being catered to, and enough breadcrumbs were sprinkled out for me to not so much give the film a pass as to just force me to throw up my hands and admit that sometimes what I’m looking for out of a film is exactly what Escape Plan 2 affords me, even if the final product isn’t good by any respectable measure.
I don’t think I’m being cynical when I say that this movie appears to exist because enough number crunchers (primarily Chinese number crunchers) came to believe that a DTV sequel to Escape Plan could eke out a profit, and a movie was set into production based upon that inspired notion. It really doesn’t bother me that Chinese money is a major part of international action cinema these days. It’s just humorous to watch the naked requirements that that money brings with it. In huge budget films like, say, whatever the last Transformers movie it was that I saw, you generally see the film take place at least partially in China so that production money gets funneled that way, and also China gets to be showcased on the big screen to international audiences. You also often see a Chinese star in a supporting role of some kind, likely to help further promote a Chinese presence on the big screen to international audiences.
This formula was tweaked slightly for Escape Plan 2 to fit more into the DTV action mold. By that I mean Escape Plan 2 actually stars Chinese actor Xiaoming Huang as Shu, a protege of Stallone’s Ray Breslin. Shu is our primary protagonist here, despite all the marketing of the film hyping a team up of Sylvester Stallone and Dave Bautista as the film’s leads. This is a tactic often seen in DTV action cinema, where… say… Danny Trejo is billed as the star of a film, but it turns out he plays only a minor role he probably filmed in 2 days’ time. Here Stallone and Bautista do play lead characters, but not THE lead characters. And they’re rarely actually on screen, much less on screen together. All of this is a drastic step down from the lead hook of the first film, in which Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger (nowhere to be found here) legitimately team up as leads on the big screen for the first time ever.
This enormous misdirect would be extremely disheartening to the average viewer who was expecting a Stallone-led DTV sequel. I must admit I was one of those viewers. But a couple of things kept this from being disastrous for me. One: I’m used to this kind of thing from watching so much DTV action cinema. But more importantly, it turns out that Xiaoming Huang is actually a pretty strong lead. I’ve never seen him before despite having close to 45 acting credits to his name on IMDb. Shu isn’t exactly an incredibly written character, and nothing about Miles Chapman’s script feels organic or particularly well done. But Huang makes the most of a fairly thankless project and holds down the screen with some pretty skilled screen fighting and convincing character beats.
I suspect Chapman, who wrote the first film as well, was pretty hamstrung by the mandates of the funders of this project. It has to have been tough to write parts that provided halfway decent paychecks to Stallone and Bautista (not to mention Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson returning from the first film and Jaime King [who had worked with gun-for-hire director Steven C. Miller previously on his Silent Night]), but not TOO much screen time for any of them as that would be expensive. The younger, less known cast members really do most of the heavy lifting here and none of that must have been easy for the screenplay’s sense of logic and flow. There’s more ADR’d dialog in this film than I’ve seen in a long time, and it sometimes feel like the whole thing is about to burst at the seams. I’m not sure if Steven C. Miller and his editor deserve credit for keeping the entire crazy project from collapsing, or if a bunch of the blame rather falls on them for the film’s shortcomings?
Regardless of all the zany elements that pushed this film into existence, a minor and forgettable good time at the movies is had here in Hades. This time around Breslin has become the head of a crack team of security experts rather than necessarily being the one man who can break out of any prison as he was in the first film. Shu is one of several younger team members who are a part of Breslin’s company and who are the main characters of all the shenanigans that happen here. This time it’s Shu that ends up captured in a high tech, futuristic prison. With Breslin as his mentor, he hars pre-recorded pearls of wisdom drip from Stallone’s lips as his inner inspiration and teams up with some other tough guys on the inside to plan his escape. I’m honestly fairly unclear on Bautista’s character motivations or connections to the narrative. He’s some kind of former competitor of Breslin’s whom Stallone recruits as extra muscle while his young bucks are imprisoned. Bautista gets to fire the giant automatic weapons in slow motion this time instead of Schwarzenegger, and that’s just as glorious as it sounds, honestly. It’s just that Bautista feels tacked on and in-essential to the main narrative, even if he is one of the best check marks in the plus column of Escape Plan 2.
There’s no doubt that Escape Plan 2 banks on a bit of a head fake in order to meet its clearly restricted budget. It’s also a marked step down from its big screen predecessor. The knowing camaraderie between Stallone and Arnold was much appreciated in that first film and there’s nothing really close to that here, even if Bautista is an exciting stand-in for Arnold. I’d gladly revisit this ridiculous franchise (which is a guarantee since two DTV sequels were filmed back to back with part 3 coming soon… further evidence for my profit algorithm theory) even though literally everything this had to offer was a huge regression from the first installment. What can I say? This kind of trash is my kind of trash. If you already know you have no interest or will never see it, then you really didn’t need to hear my thoughts to know this isn’t for you. If you’re a Stallone fan or DTV action enthusiast or even a Bautista acolyte, then hopefully I’ve offered some food for thought on what this movie will and won’t deliver for you. Bring on Escape Plan 3: The Escapiest, but my expectation levels are significantly diminished, and you’d do well to do the same regarding this one.
The Package
There are some bonus features, including one about a robot… a robot I had already forgotten existed in the movie before seeing it’s special feature. Look, this is a cheap movie with some cheap bonus features. It occasionally looks really nice because it’s 2018 and a competent team can bring about some good visuals. But it also occasionally looks its budget, especially when explosions or chases are attempted. This is an easy rental recommend for die hard action fans (no need to purchase the Blu-ray), and a pass for anyone else.
And I’m Out.
Escape Plan 2: Hades is now available on Blu-ray/DVD combo pack from Summit Entertainment.
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NYAFF 2018: WE WILL NOT DIE TONIGHT Shies From No Stabbing
Filipino Survival Action Hacks & Slashes To Survive
The trailer hooked me. A badass action heroine, a single night of survival, street gang battles, and a little heavy metal.
Writer/Director Richard Somes does not pull any punches with this one, letting it all hang out regarding the influences and genre of We Will Not Die Tonight. With a little heavy metal flavor, a bad situation getting worse, and our gang of main characters trapped by a larger gang, one can’t help but compare this film to Jeremy Saulnier’s Green Room. The trouble there being that Green Room was probably the very best film released in 2015.
New-to-me star Erich Gonzalez (who, based on her IMDb profile, is a very established star in her native Philippines) leads as Kray. Trying to make a living as a stunt professional in the movies while also staying afloat and helping pay for her father’s mounting medical costs, we quickly establish Kray to be tough and determined, though struggling to make ends meet. Erich Gonzalez puts in an incredibly rigorous performance as our lead and is definitely among the chief highlights of the final product. Somes puts her through the ringer here, and all the action and stunt work appears to be done by Gonzalez herself.
When her gang of friends show up at her place, led by ex-boyfriend Ramil (Alex Medina), to propose “one last score”, you just know exactly where this is headed. But you might not expect how brutal and gory it’ll be on the way there. That’s all well and good, and as I mentioned, all of the ingredients in this recipe are ingredients I generally go in for. Sadly I don’t think they all come together to create an enduring final course. We Will Not Die Tonight is totally fine and distractingly enjoyable, but I didn’t ultimately find a whole lot to grasp onto here. Kray is a super tough heroine and some really great hand to hand fight-to-survive sequences stand out as the high points of the film. Sadly the character work is never more than one dimensional and the biggest sin is that there’s no real sense of mounting tension. Rather than the situation ratcheting up it feels like there’s little rhythm to the piece and it becomes one battle in a darkened warehouse space or stairwell after another. With something like The Raid, which I absolutely flipped for and which similarly features little more than a couple of lead characters fighting hoards of bad guys, much work is done to make each action sequence stand out and keep viewers on their toes. Less so with We Will Not Die Tonight, much to its detriment. And I guess I just never bought in. The evil gang’s motivations for hunting and killing Ramil’s crew are that they turned down a dirty job. Granted it’s a VERY dirty job that gives our heroes the moral high ground and establishes the bad guys as monsters. But even monsters would eventually do the math and realize that their entire gang is getting wiped out in pursuit of these scrappers and go live to fight another day.
I caught the film via a screener link and that’s definitely not the ideal environment for a hard rockin’ heavy metal action-survival film. I’d bet a packed audience at the New York Asian Film Festival had a blast with its high energy and crowd pleasing pace. So while I ultimately don’t believe it came together in a satisfactory way, it’s still fairly cool. Gonzalez gives it her all and none of the shortfalls of the film rest on her shoulders. It’s gory and people are getting hacked up left and right, which I’m listing as a plus here. I’ll keep my eye out for future work from both Somes and Gonzalez, but can’t quite give We Will Not Die Tonight a full endorsement.
And I’m Out.
We Will Not Die Tonight had it’s World Premier at the New York Asian Film Festival. About Subway Cinema and the New York Asian Film Festival.
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Two Cents Feels the Fire with LA 92
National Geographic recounts the Rodney King incident and ensuing madness of the LA riots
Two Cents is an original column akin to a book club for films. The Cinapse team will program films and contribute our best, most insightful, or most creative thoughts on each film using a maximum of 200 words each. Guest writers and fan comments are encouraged, as are suggestions for future entries to the column. Join us as we share our two cents on films we love, films we are curious about, and films we believe merit some discussion.
The Pick
Over the years, different documentary filmmakers have adopted different approaches for imparting the import of their subject matters. Talking heads, voice overs, dramatic recreations, there is really no end to the number of approaches that can taken.
LA 92 opts to let the past do the talking. Formed almost entirely out of contemporary footage (with infrequent, intermittent cards providing timeline/background info), the documentary from directors T.J. Martin and Daniel Lindsay charts the uneasy history of race in Los Angeles, culminating in the 1993 Rodney King riots, in which the public ideal of Los Angeles as an idealized, utopic melting pot of different races and cultures went up in very literal flames. LA 92 lays out the ways in which the fault-lines in LA’s power dynamics existed for decades before a long hot summer brought a quake whose rumbling is still being felt all these years later.
Tragically relevant, LA 92 premiered on the National Geographic Channel and went on to win an Emmy for Documentary Filmmaking, upsetting the highly-touted, Oscar-winning OJ: Made in America. So this week, the Two Cents team decided to take a stroll down memory lane, reminding ourselves that the madness of our time didn’t come from nowhere.
Next Week’s Pick
In December, Rian Johnson released the latest installment in the ongoing Star Wars saga, The Last Jedi, and seeing as how there have been close to a dozen of these things, everyone just sort of shrugged and went about their business.
LOL, JK, people lost their shit. Shit remains lost, as Star Wars ‘fans’ are now in the sixth month of an ongoing tantrum (and associated harassment campaign against Johnson and several actors). Some who dislike the film have reasonable, well-articulated grievances with Johnson’s choices.
But, and let’s be upfront here, for every reasonable argument against The Last Jedi, there’s a dozen mouth-breathing dipshits pitching a fit because the new Star Warses prominently feature women, people of color, and don’t conform to the fan fiction they’ve been penning/masturbating to for years.
Ignoring the dipshits, we hope you will join us next week as we cover The Last Jedi, newly added to Netflix Instant.
Would you like to be a guest in next week’s Two Cents column? Simply watch and send your under-200-word review on any MCU film to twocents(at)cinapse.co anytime before midnight on Thursday!
The Team
In 1992, I was 10. While young when it all went down, I remember the Rodney King beating, trial, and proceeding riots quite clearly. Revisiting this period of history with the documentary LA 92 brought me back to my youth, yet felt more relevant for me in its relationship to today’s world.
Simply put, the footage used in this film is powerful and moving. It’s serious a must watch documentary for both its historical importance and its modern application. (@thepaintedman)
Scarier than most horror movies, LA 92 is bitter, necessary medicine, and a stark reminder of both how much and how little has changed in over 25 years. I thought I knew all the major bullet points about the 1992 riots, but the film illustrates in great detail how the riots were the end result of years and years of previous incidents and mounting tensions, finally exploding when a people were pushed too far and given too little hope. The immediacy of the footage transports you back to that time, letting you feel the heat of the sun and the spreading blaze, the mounting terror as aggression escalates, and the sheer tonnage of bad faith that the citizens in Los Angeles had for each other at this time. Even knowing the story going in, the imagery is still shocking, a testament to how expertly Martin and Lindsay utilize their footage. (@theTrueBrendanF)
I felt somewhat ignorant about the LA riots, which was part of my reason for choosing this film, (the other being more obvious — how relevant it is today with so much racism and anger boiling up in American again).
I only really know of the riots by reputation, not having ever actually viewed the Rodney King video, nor much of the news coverage. National Geographic’s documentary is an incredibly balanced assemblage of primary source footage, eschewing narration or commentary and letting powerful archival footage do all the talking.
What’s revealed is an American tragedy of immense scope and horror. Police brutality. A city pillaged and set on fire. Racism and hatred lashing out in all directions. Koreans (yeah, that would be my people so I can call them out specifically) shooting guns all over the place. There are no “sides”, just a mess of confusion and hostility.
But in watching this I’m also reminded of the advice that Fred Rogers reassures us with when scary t hings are happening: “‘Look for the helpers”. In the madness and ruination, there are people doing the right thing. Assisting the wounded, speaking out against the madness, and cleaning up after the damage is done. Let’s not only find encouragement in that, but strive to be those people. (@VforVashaw)
Watch it on Netflix:
http://www.netflix.com/title/80184131
Next week’s pick:
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The Elevated Horror of SICARIO: DAY OF THE SOLDADO
Taylor Sheridan Pens Another Awe-Filled Descent Into Border Horror
Early in the film, Matthew Modine’s politician James Riley looks into a news camera and issues the central tenet of the film. Roughly: “You terrorists do not terrify us, you strengthen our resolve to unleash the most terrifying force on the planet: The full weight of the United States military.” If the cartels moved the needle of immorality and societal decay in Sicario, it’s the United States itself that haunts Sicario: Day Of The Soldado.
Never quite better than Sicario in most any regard from direction to score to script, Day Of The Soldado is nevertheless an excellent horror film masquerading as a border action thriller that catapults the burgeoning Sicario franchise into even more devastatingly brutal territory. I hate to deal in sweeping overture, but screenwriter Taylor Sheridan came out of the gate swinging with Sicario in 2015, then Hell Or High Water, Wind River, and now this. Perhaps it’s not too early to dub him a master of contemporary American crime thrillers? Each of those films offers a crackling piece of entertainment that is simultaneously inextricable from the bleak and deep-cutting human issues of today. Sicario and it’s sequel pull any kind of possible curtain back from the motives and black hearts of those in power both in the cartels and in the fighting forces of the “good guys” battling them; in doing so they rank among the most urgent films set on the Texas-Mexico border.
Previously Emily Blunt’s character Kate Macer (and her partner played by Get Out’s Daniel Kaluuya) had been our cyphers, guiding us into a world right next to our own, but operating under different rules and setting a new standard of barbarity. The terror of Sicario was revealed through Kate’s journey from a by-the-books American officer to an agent who has been in the trenches of the very dirtiest of wars. Blunt is incredible in the role, rising to the occasion and proving her capability, she’s nevertheless too good of a person to go down the roads that Benicio Del Toro and Josh Brolin’s characters trod as the blunt hammers of the United States. So there’s no question that losing Blunt was a blow to any potential Sicario sequel. But narratively, Sheridan uses this to remove the franchise’s moral compass, allowing Day Of The Soldado to be even more nihilistic. Sheridan does not think very highly of the tactics of the United States military, it would seem; even if its capabilities are depicted with a sense of awe.
It should be mentioned that Sicario was helmed by Denis Villeneuve, shot by Roger Deakins, and scored by Johann Johannson. It was an A-list project that became one of the very best films of 2015. Sadly, we’ve lost Johannson and Day of the Soldado is touchingly dedicated to his memory. 13 time Oscar nominee and one-time winner Deakins made Sicario one of the most visually impressive films in recent memory, drawing beauty out of the border and also revealing its horror. And Villeneuve is on a hot streak on par with Sheridan’s, becoming a sort of sci-fi wunderkind in recent years with Arrival, Blade Runner 2049, and the upcoming Dune re-boots. I mention all of this because the pedigree of Sicario is unassailable. It’s therefore not an insult to say that Day Of The Soldado never quite reaches the heights of craft that the first film did. But rather, it’s a bit of a miracle that Day Of The Soldado is as impressive and potent as it ultimately is. Italian director Stefano Sollima (son of famed director Sergio Sollima and creator on the tv series Gommorah) absolutely holds his own following in the considerable footsteps of Villeneuve, imbuing Day Of The Soldado with a similar sense of visual awe and shying away from precisely zero of the violence the drug war inflicts upon its combatants and bystanders.
This time around, the inciting incident is basically the US government just trying to start some shit. Yes, there’s a domestic terrorist bombing that is an absolute gut punch to watch. But the result of the bombing is that the US tries to squeeze Mexican cartels into their definition of terrorism so that they can unleash Josh Brolin’s Matt Graver and his crack team of black ops soldiers on the Mexican cartels without any rules to speak of. Graver will recruit Benicio Del Toro’s Alejandro (whom we’ve watched kill women and children in order to gain his revenge against the cartels for the deaths of his own wife and daughter) to start a war between the cartels.
I don’t know if you’ve heard this one before, but wars tend to get people killed. And soon enough, after their attempt to kidnap a cartel leader’s daughter (Isabela Moner holding her own amongst a bunch of tough guys) and blame it on another cartel lead to the deaths of dozens of Mexican police officers, the US government gets cold feet about their war-starting, and all hell breaks loose.
It could be hard for wide audiences to enjoy Day Of The Soldado. Virtually every character dwells in the muck of violence and crime, dealing death and causing injustice even as they enact the policies of the US government or seek vengeance against evil that may be fractionally worse than their own. It’s a total horror show. Hildur Guðnadóttir steps into Johannson’s shoes unleashing yet another white-knuckle score that wrings dread out of you at every turn. Sheridan’s screenplay is just so nihilistic and loaded with detail as to feel documentary-like. (Think The Wire on the border). You watch the Sicario films and you think: “Yeah, it probably really is this bad, and our government probably is this culpable.” The tension and action set pieces are edge-of-your-seat throughout, but the emotion one feels when watching is more dread and fear than excitement or titillation.
Sicario: Day Of The Soldado is grimy, awe-inspiring, horrific, and occasionally a little silly or over the top. It’s not the masterwork that its predecessor was, but it more than justifies its own existence and ultimately begs for more chapters in this sordid tale to be told. I’d absolutely welcome further chapters in the Sicario saga assuming Taylor Sheridan continues to fill their pages with pulpy prophecy and vitriol towards our amoral overlords.
And I’m Out.
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Two Cents Gets In-Car-Cer-Ray-Ted with LOGAN LUCKY
Two Cents is an original column akin to a book club for films. The Cinapse team will program films and contribute our best, most insightful, or most creative thoughts on each film using a maximum of 200 words each. Guest writers and fan comments are encouraged, as are suggestions for future entries to the column. Join us as we share our two cents on films we love, films we are curious about, and films we believe merit some discussion.
The Pick
Apparently, Steven Soderbergh really was sincere when he announced a few years back that he was giving up filmmaking to pursue a career as a painter. He even went so far as to apprentice himself with acclaimed artist Walton Ford in order to better prepare for his new craft.
But then, well, someone handed him the script for The Knick. And somewhere in the process of making every episode of that show, American cinema’s most nebulous shapeshifter realized that being a director is what he was meant to do. Sorry, Walton.
For his first foray back in the land of feature films after his aborted retirement, Soderbergh returned to the heist formula he had utilized to such great results in Ocean’s 11, 12, and 13 (well…two out of three). But this time, instead of a murderer’s row of movie stars hanging out in ultra-swanky casinos while dressed to the nines and exchanging pithy banter, Logan Lucky focuses on down-and-out blue collar folks in West Virginia who see robbery not as an afternoon leisure activity but as a last desperate chance to free themselves from the deep holes that debt and bad luck have left them in.
Masterminding this endeavor is Jimmy Logan (Channing Tatum) a once-promising football star who was sidelined following an injury. Determined to raise enough money to stay in his daughter’s life, Jimmy recruits his Iraq War veteran brother (Adam Driver), gear-head sister (Riley Keough), and imprisoned demolitions expert Joe Bang (Daniel Craig). Together, they plot to rob the Charlotte Motor Speedway during the biggest NASCAR race of the year.
But is Logan Lucky as light on its feet as the beloved Ocean’s series (now enjoying its fourth entry in Ocean’s 8, produced by Soderbergh with new director and cast), or is this one criminal crew likely to go bust before they even get close to payday? Find out below!
Next Week’s Pick:
The racially charged 1992 LA Riots are one of the most formative events in our country’s recent social and political memory. Speaking personally, I was too young at the time to really understand what was transpiring. The documentary LA 92 analyzes the tumultuous events surrounding Rodney King and his trial — and the verdict that devastated a city and disquieted a nation. LA 92 is available streaming on Netflix.
Would you like to be a guest in next week’s Two Cents column? Simply watch and send your under-200-word review on any MCU film to twocents(at)cinapse.co anytime before midnight on Thursday!
Our Guests
Kaoru Negisa:
Logan Lucky works as a companion piece to Soderbergh’s much more famous Ocean’s films rather than as something to compare it to. The slick, cool detachment of Danny’s crew is replaced by a messier, but ultimately more emotionally satisfying cast of characters. It’s this very inelegance that makes us connect with the characters to the point that it’s difficult to notice that there are no real stakes to the film at all.
Think about it: what does Jimmy want? To not lose his daughter when she moves out of state. However, nothing that Jimmy can do will change this. It isn’t a case like Gus in The Full Monty who needs money to pay off child support. And in the end [SPOILER], he just moves to be close to his daughter’s new home.
However, the lack of stakes doesn’t matter, nor the payoff-less setups, because our stakes in the film is that we like Jimmy, Clyde, Joe Bang, etc. enough that their merely wanting something makes us want them to have it. That’s a cinematic magic trick that far too many people slept on and should blow our minds. This movie’s all heart, so we ignore the lack of connective tissue. (@moonpanther22)
Logan Lucky is Ocean’s Eleven by way of Raising Arizona, and if that isn’t enough to sell you on it then I just don’t know what else to say. As with that other Soderbergh-directed heist film, its greatest strength is its ensemble (led by Channing Tatum and Adam Driver). What sets Logan Lucky apart from Ocean’s is that it goes out of its way to show the real struggles, personal and economic, of its characters. Far from being slick and cool, these thieves scrape by on limited resources and improvisation. Because of that, my empathy with the characters is stronger and the stakes far higher. And yet there is a layer of manic chaos layered on top of that emotional core, especially once Joe Bang (Daniel Craig) and his two brothers show up. It is alternately funny, exciting, and touching, and having spent most of my life in the South it often felt surprisingly authentic. My only complaint is the ending, which without spoiling anything, leaves more loose threads than I would have liked. But other than that, Logan Lucky is Soderbergh firing on all cylinders. (@T_Lawson)
The Team
Heist movies are fine, I guess. With the 305th Ocean’s film out in theaters, I guess there are quite a few folks who like these films much more than I. However, Logan Lucky is the shit.
It’s well written, wonderfully quirky, and perfectly acted. I watched it for the first time a few months back, knowing nothing about it. I was quite pleasantly surprised. Honestly, it’s the first heist movie since The Italian Job that I can say I truly love. (@thepaintedman)
I actually differ from many of my Film Twitter brethren in that I’m largely ambivalent about Steven Soderbergh. He’s got enough no-arguing classics (Out of Sight, Ocean’s 11, The Limey) to be counted as one of the major voices in American cinema, but I often find the scripts he shoots to be half-baked at best, approached more as exercises in style and mechanics than engrossing narratives.
But when Soderbergh gets his hands on a truly choice bit of story, the results are often magic. Rebecca Blunt’s script for Logan Lucky is a thing of beauty, managing the neat trick of being an expertly-crafted machine of set-up/payoff and misdirection, while also maintaining a shaggy, hangout vibe. Like the Ocean’s movies, the true joy of Logan Lucky is one-part playing along with the convoluted plotting and tricky staging of the heist, and one-part just kicking back and enjoying the interactions between various characters.
With the exception of a baffling, needlessly prominent supporting role for Seth MacFarlane, just about everyone here is at the top of their game. I’d like to give a special shout-out to Sebastian Stan for his brief turn as a truly idiosyncratic NASCAR driver. Like Chris Pine, Stan is someone that Hollywood desperately wants to frame as an interchangeable hunk, but is clearly more comfortable letting his freak flag fly. Stan’s role is little more than a goofy bit of color, but it’s probably the thing that makes me laugh the hardest each time I watch the film.(@theTrueBrendanF)
To me, Soderbergh is a lot like Ron Howard in terms of consistency — he’s got a lot of really incredible masterworks, and a lot of stuff that’s either really bad or just unappealing. But I think he does his best work when he’s simply trying to be fun.
Like the Ocean’s series, Logan Lucky is Soderbergh cranking up the fun and making an inventive, hilarious, and imminently watchable whirlwind of planning and execution. That may be where the similarities end, as the bumpkins who populate this redneck rampage are far removed from the Clooney/Pitt mold of suave, ultrahip Vegas fancypants.
The three leads are played by Channing Tatum, Adam Driver, and Daniel Craig — three actors that I’m not particularly fond of — but that’s all the greater testament that I fell in love with their characters. They do very funny and endearing work here with their exaggerated drawls and odd mix of thievery, good ol’ boy antics, and sincere family values. (@VforVashaw)
Next week’s pick:
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GERONIMO: AN AMERICAN LEGEND [Twilight Time Blu Review]
Walter Hill & John Milius made a western!
As gorgeous as it is melancholy, Walter Hill’s Geronimo is an odd bird. Far more effective than his own Wild Bill, (a western made around the same point in his career as this film) Geronimo is a potent film that’s none the less a challenging watch. Hill ranks among my very favorite directors of all time. While not successful every time at bat, few and far between are other directors who’ve had their hand in so many all-time classics, and his name attached makes a film an instant watch. The 1990s simply weren’t as fertile for Hill as the 70s and 80s were, with duds like the aforementioned Wild Bill (perhaps the only Hill film I’ve seen that I outright dislike) and titles I quite enjoy like Trespass and Last Man Standing, which while fun, aren’t the cultural touchstones that many of his early works remain.
Geronimo comes at an interesting time in Hill’s career. Still getting budgets and wide-releasing films in theaters across the country, there’s a sweeping feel here. Gorgeous and classical western vistas are lavished upon the viewer throughout Geronimo. One absolutely comes to understand the holy nature of the southwest lands upon which Geronimo rode and raided, defying the relentless waves of “White Eye”. While at the same time, one understands that this American legend played out on the fringes and largely in places of isolation, a fact which does not elude Geronimo and his people: Why does the white eye need ALL of this land?
Probably the most distinguished Native American actor of my lifetime, Wes Studi is the highlight here among a remarkable cast playing the titular role. Then you’ve got Jason Patrick as Lt. Gatewood, a career military man who conducts his work with a quiet respect for the Apache. Gene Hackman plays General Crook, who’s tasked with subduing the Apache and bringing in Geronimo (but who also has at least a passing respect for his longtime rivals). Robert Duvall’s Al Sieber is a colorful bigot who hunts Natives for a living, and Matt Damon’s youthful Lt. Davis is our narrator and guide into this story, being trained by Lt. Gatewood and clearly sympathizing with Geronimo and his warriors.
At first I was quite troubled by how many of our lead (white) characters all come across as somewhat noble and sympathetic. The last thing I needed was some kind of story that reframed the tragic destruction of the Native American way of life as somehow nobly stewarded along by some nice white men. And I must admit there’s so much nobility going on among these men of action here in John Milius’ (!) screenplay that it’s just a bit much. Fortunately, Milius and Larry Gross’ script has more going on. In the end, it seems that the American Legend in question has more to do with the systems that grind on and crush the individuals who dare to try and shift it or oppose it. The sheer number of white people pressing into the west is something Geronimo and his men cannot comprehend. Their desire is to fight to the death to preserve their way of life… but eventually they come to understand that there’s simply no end to the sheer number of the invaders. Our white eyes also understand this in such a way that allows them to attempt to reason with Geronimo and bring him into captivity without having to wipe out his people.
Don’t get me wrong: There’s no question that Geronimo is a tragedy that is epic in scope. It’s just explored through the eyes of a cast of characters who are almost trapped by the grander narrative and can’t possibly shift the course of history, despite their varying levels of righteousness. It’s Geronimo’s rage against the inevitable which is the film’s heartbeat and greatest strength. But even that passion is extinguished as Geronimo himself comes to understand the inevitability of the white eye. In the end it’s a powerful story, but one which is hobbled somewhat by a lack of focus. With this incredible cast of actors, there’s never quite a lead who emerges among them. Studi, Patric, and Damon clearly round out the main characters, but it’s hard to get emotionally attached to most of them as the story bounces between them. They feel more symbolic than fleshed out. It may have benefitted from giving Studi’s Geronimo even more screen time and getting us inside his headspace and inside his dying culture just a little bit more.
Ultimately Hill and his writers and cast get across a vital and relevant idea: That while the west was won, and the land indeed beautiful beyond description… victory came at a price to all involved. The white American soul is forever tainted by the atrocities and dishonesty and terror inflicted upon the Native people in order to claim the land at any cost. And the Native culture forever altered. Those legendary individuals who fought, died, and rebelled against the onslaught of western civilization will largely be forgotten, ground down by the sheer size of the machine of which they were mere parts. It’s not a perfect film, but its tragedy is potent none the less.
The Package
Twilight Time has been doing the Lord’s work for years now and releasing many of the films from Walter Hill’s career on Blu-ray. This is absolutely thrilling and has resulted in an opportunity to revisit and write about a number of his fantastic films. While the revisit of Wild Bill recently confirmed my personal distaste for that particular film, this revisit of Geronimo was quite refreshing. This may not be one of Hill’s best films overall, but it’s certainly a largely forgotten gem at an interesting time in Hill’s career. The cast is A-list, the pairing of Hill and Milius is just flat out legendary, and the thematic potency is brave. This disc has no real bonus features to speak of, but it brings this film into a new era and gives it a gorgeous HD update.
And I’m Out.
Geronimo: An American Legend is now available in limited edition Blu-ray from Twilight Time.
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Two Cents Feels Emotional as We Drive Through Sacramento with LADY BIRD
Two Cents is an original column akin to a book club for films. The Cinapse team will program films and contribute our best, most insightful, or most creative thoughts on each film using a maximum of 200 words each. Guest writers and fan comments are encouraged, as are suggestions for future entries to the column. Join us as we share our two cents on films we love, films we are curious about, and films we believe merit some discussion.
The Pick
Not too long ago, Greta Gerwig was being spoken of as a muse for a new generation of independent cinema, and as a potential mainstream star in movies where she would smile at lovable scamps played by Russell Brand and etc. as she taught them how to be better people so they might win her as a prize.
But Gerwig quickly proved that she was uninterested in being relegated to other people’s dream girl. As a screenwriter, she collaborated with Noah Baumbach on acclaimed films like Frances Ha and Mistress America (in which she also starred), and for her directorial debut she took the world by storm with last year’s Lady Bird.
Set in 2002–2003, Lady Bird follows young Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson (Saoirse Ronan, Oscar-nominated) through her senior year of high school in Sacremento, California, charting the ups and downs in her quest for college and her relationships with her best friend (Beanie Feldstein), with boys (including Lucas Hedges and Timothée Chalamet [Oscar-nominated that year, but not for this role, for the one where he puts his dick in a peach), with her father (Tracy Letts), and, most importantly, with her combative but loving mother (Laurie Metcalf, Oscar-nominated).
Characters in the film often don’t know what to make of Lady Bird, but Lady Bird was rapturously received and became distributor A24’s highest grossing film (by a margin of about $50 million), and an award season mainstay.
Gerwig has stated that she plans to make an entire trilogy of films about life in Sacramento, so, while we wait for those, we thought it might be fun to sink back into the hazy, floating memory that is Lady Bird.
Next Week’s Pick:
In theaters right now is a film in which someone with the surname of “Ocean” assembles an elite team of fellow thieves to rob jerks blind and look great while doing it. And so, all is right with the world.
Heist movies are something of a specialty for Ocean’s 8 producer Steven Soderbergh. As a director, Soderbergh helmed the original Ocean’s 11 trilogy, of which 8 is a delightful spin-off. And just last summer, Soderbergh returned from brief, self-imposed directorial exile (give or take a couple seasons of a TV show) with next week’s pick, Logan Lucky.
Logan Lucky follows down-on-his-luck good ol’ boy Jimmy Logan (Channing Tatum) as he rallies his brother (Adam Driver), sister (Riley Keough), and demolition genius Joe Bang (Daniel Craig) to help him rob the Charlotte Motor Speedway during the biggest NASCAR race of the year.
Logan Lucky is available to stream on Amazon Prime.
Would you like to be a guest in next week’s Two Cents column? Simply watch and send your under-200-word review on any MCU film to twocents(at)cinapse.co anytime before midnight on Thursday!
Our Guests
Carly Booth:
One thing that really stuck out to me in Lady Bird were all the characters. They were all so refreshingly real. Greta Gerwig really captures all those little intricacies about people you encounter in high school and with parent-child relationships during that stage of life (leaving high school, going to college). There were moments in that movie that I remember happening in my own life, especially regarding a few spats with my mother at that age. I remember wanting to go to college far away and fighting with her about it every day. I did end up going far away but transferring two years later because man did it suck.
While we’re on the subject, I had such an immediate and intense hatred for Kyle, Timothée Chalamet’s character. He reminded me so much of my own high school nemesis and had so many similar mannerisms, that every time he opened his mouth I wanted to give him an uppercut. I like that actor, but wow… he plays a smarmy, pompous little twat with such aplomb. I guess such a visceral reaction to a character like that is just a testament to how well the characters are written.
Kyle was my most hated character of an Oscar contender movie last year until I saw The Shape of Water the following month, because while Kyle is a douchebag who lied to Lady Bird about being a virgin, at least he never tortured a magical sea monster for poops and giggles. If that intense hatred holds up when I rewatch Lady Bird, I’ll let you know.
P.S. In case you’re wondering, unlike Lady Bird, I did not lose my virginity to my high school nemesis because, well, I found him repulsive. (@Carly_Booth8)
Brendan Agnew (The Norman Nerd):
Lady Bird has maybe the best editing of any film this century apart from Mad Max: Fury Road.
Oh yeah, bring on the air horns because I’m dead serious.
Eighty-nine minutes. That’s how long it takes for this film to go from opening titles to rolling credits, and during that time, writer/director Greta Gerwig and editor Nick Houy craft an experience that flows through a year in the life of the titular high schooler that feels full and lived in and wholly relatable while also keeping an insanely brisk pace and never feeling obvious about marking time with “now we’re in *this* part of the year” choices.
The film’s opening scene has a smash cut for the ages, and Gerwig and Houy continue to demonstrate economy, pacing, and a confidence in their actors to communicate through nonverbal cues and body language (or even props). The film exists in the space between a slice of life indie and slick montage-heavy filmmaking, with music used to set a mood in one scene before cutting to the next where it’s revealed to be diagetic, or clever matching transitions like the lead-in to the anti-abortion assembly (which is easily the meanest Lady Bird — the character and the film — gets, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t laugh anyway). It captures the feeling of teenage years being both full of towering passions and explosive conflict, but also the reality of life being equally full of unexplained absences and the mundane fading of relationships.
I could keep going about how the film folds multiple memorable characters with defined arcs into the background of a story largely about two very strong-willed women, or the deft hand that Gerwig uses when switching between medium/wide shots and punctuated close-ups allow her to dance along the line between intimate drama and broad visual comedy, but…I’ve got a phone call I should make. (@BLCAgnew)
The Team
I’ll be honest. I know it’s a really well made movie, especially for a debut. I enjoyed it, for that matter. However, it didn’t leave an impression on me.
To be fair, I’m not really the target audience and I expect it resonated much more with many other filmgoers. Moreover, I appreciate a good amount about it and I am always happy to see strong new female voices in the film world.
In short, solid film even if it’s not totally my thing. I am excited to see what comes next, too! (@thepaintedman)
I’ve written at length about why Lady Bird is such a deeply meaningful film to me, both HERE and in various ramblings on Twitter when I get…emotional, let us say. Most of the folks in the column this week have spoken to the numerous ways in which Lady Bird is an expertly put-together and highly entertaining film.
What I just wanted to highlight for my own bit was the way the film took me completely by surprise. In 2017, there were plenty of movies that I was hyped to see for months, if not years, in advance, as the massive infrastructure surrounding blockbuster films makes sure you have a long lead time to anticipate each fresh batch of sequels and new installments. I went in to films like Guardians Vol. 2 or Spider-Man: Homecoming primed and ready to love them. Hell, in a way, I knew enough going in to movies like that to know that I was going to love them. It would’ve taken real effort for them to have failed.
Lady Bird, though, I saw with virtually no idea what it was about. I think I had seen a trailer, maybe. But basically what it came down to was being bored on a weeknight, feeling like going to the movies, and recognizing the title as something that some folks in my Twitter feed were euphoric about a few weeks beforehand. 90 minutes later, I came dancing out of the cinema, immediately texting my brother to tell him that whenever he was around next there was a movie he had to see.
I love that feeling, that moment when a movie comes out of nowhere to blindside you and claim previously-unclaimed real estate in your heart. That’s the pure, uncut high that I think we all chase as movie lovers, but it’s harder and harder to attain as you get older, especially in the current cultural climate where it feels like movies are completely digested before they even hit theaters (I feel like I’ve already consumed the new Jurassic World, for example, and it’s not out yet). Lady Bird is a reminder that you never know when something new might bowl you over, and that your next favorite film/book/show/game/whatever could be anything, made by anyone. If you had told me at the start of 2017, a year that featured new films about Spider-Man, Thor, the Guardians of the Galaxy, Wonder Woman, the rest of the Justice League, Pennywise the Dancing Clown, plus new features from Jordan Peele, Guillermo del Toro, Chris Nolan, and Steven Soderbergh,that out of all of that the film I would love the most would be the one about a teenage girl in Sacramento dealing with her mom, well, I just never would have believed you. But movies are magic, man, and this one especially has magic to spare.(@theTrueBrendanF)
When director Greta Gerwig was up for the Best Director Academy Award for Lady Bird, her face lit up with delight as competitor Guillermo del Toro was announced as the winner. I’m not very familiar with her work but this display of character raised both the director and her film on my radar immediately.
Lady Bird certainly bears the mark of such a genuine soul. The crude general beats of the story sounded like something that I’d find abrasive or uncomfortable — a high school senior fights with her mother, resents her Catholic school, and loses her virginity to her douchebag boyfriend. But the handling is not some exploitative or mean-spirited glamorization of rebelliousness. Sensitive and real, we follow the struggles of a confused girl who is trying to find herself in a world where her dreams and reality don’t seem to ever intersect.
Populating Lady Bird’s world are a number of side characters who are similarly infused with depth and emotion — a best friend with a crush on her handsome teacher. Her parents who struggle to barely get by financially. A closeted boy who grapples with being gay. A lovable drama instructor who harbors some unknowable hidden heartache. Lady Bird doesn’t tell a story so much as invite you into the world of these characters for awhile and let you participate in their humanity. (@VforVashaw)
Watch it on Amazon Prime:
Next week’s pick:
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LIONHEART: JCVD Classic Gets a Blu-ray With Heart
MVD Rewind Collection Packs Out its Release of Jean-Claude Van Damme’s ROCKY
Without Lionheart, Jean-Claude Van Damme never becomes the household name he is to this day. Among his earlier starring roles, it’s perhaps the case that Bloodsport has become the most enduring of the bunch. But Lionheart is where Van Damme becomes noticed by the American studios and charts his course to becoming a headliner and a leading man. And deservedly so. Lionheart is a fantastic piece of entertainment, and Van Damme himself gives a charismatic performance proving he’s not only got the goods for martial arts action, but can also hold his own with drama.
Lionheart was co-written by Van Damme and first-time director Sheldon Lettich. Lettich already had a history with Van Damme in writing Bloodsport, and the two of them have collaborated on many projects since. I adore the film and find that it really succeeds at what it’s going for, which is combining an underground fighting tournament with a pressing family drama that tugs at the heartstrings. It’s all about heart, making it a risky proposition at this early stage of Van Damme’s career. If it had fallen flat it could have strayed over into a kind of self parody. But Lionheart’s cast is filled top to bottom with real pros that stick the landing and make it so effective as a melodrama that it’s easy to make the comparison that this is Van Damme’s Rocky.
Van Damme plays Leon Gautier, a legionnaire who escapes across the sea to America to try to help his brother, who’s been badly burned by some gangsters he’d fallen in with. With some soldiers from the foreign legion on his tail, he tries to reconnect with his sister-in-law and niece (Lisa Pelikan as Helene and the precocious and charming child actress Ashley Johnson absolutely stealing the show as Nicole). Helene sees Leon as an absentee and believes her recently deceased husband went down the wrong path because of Leon’s influence, so she’s not having any of his help. Leon is undeterred, however, and utilizes his street hustler fight manager Joshua (Harrison Page in one of the film’s most standout roles) to both rise in the ranks of the underground fighting ring, and to funnel money secretly to Helene and Nicole. Finally you have Deborah Rennard chewing the scenery as the breathy, leggy, femme fatale of a villain Cynthia, who rules the underground fighting circuit and wants a piece of Leon in more ways than one.
While Bloodsport is clearly the more iconic of the two films, Lionheart is actually a fantastic fight film in its own right. As Leon rises through the ranks of the underground fighting ring, he fights a Street Fighter II-esque rogues gallery of characters in a wide array of settings. Lionheart would make a killer 2D fighting game on home video game consoles. You’ve got the kilted guy (in a garage surrounded by cars), the Capoeira guy (in an empty pool), the redneck dude (in a racketball court?), and the final boss Attila (who looks exactly like one of the guys you had to fight a hundred times in the Final Fight video games). These kinds of details aren’t exactly indicators of storytelling acumen, but it does help keep the film visually interesting. And Lettich and Van Damme really perfected their shooting and editing style here in such a way that makes each fight clear, stylish, and exciting. That gimmick where you see a single JCVD spin kick delivered multiple times in an editing burst? That’s used to perfection here.
And the screenplay legitimately does a good job of amping up the drama and tightening the noose around Leon and Joshua. I’ll admit feeling incredulity at producer Erik Karson (who directed Van Damme in Black Eagle and is prominently featured in bonus features on this disc) suggesting Lionheart is a movie unlike anything we’ve ever seen before. This is hilarious because in multiple ways it is EXACTLY like Bloodsport. It just so happens that the devices employed in the screenplays of each film both work like gangbusters. In both films Van Damme beats the odds in an underground fight tournament. In both films he’s AWOL and being pursued by officers tasked with apprehending him. In both films the odds stack against our hero increasingly, tensions rise, and the best man prevails in the end. Lionheart ups the stakes with the desperate grieving family and stands out as a heart-on-its-sleeve melodrama as a result. The cast also heightens the drama across the board in a way not achieved in Bloodsport.
America was hungry for good-guy-on-the-ropes action hero tales like Lionheart in 1990, and Van Damme broke through to a much wider audience with this film. Soon to follow would be big budget studio fare like Universal Soldier, Hard Target, and Street Fighter. Van Damme was a mainstay at the multiplex as I was growing up and I more or less took that for granted among a plethora of ripped and shredded leading men headlining massive action epics. Those times are largely gone now, and the sincere effort, charisma, and ego that it must have really taken to get Van Damme to the heights of his career now merits a lot more respect and appreciation. Lionheart is an excellent piece of popcorn entertainment that maximized its resources and hit a cultural sweet spot, and still works today as an underdog crowd pleaser that might even getting you clapping as the end credits roll.
The Package
I’m having a blast watching MVD Rewind Collection come into their own with their Blu-ray releases. Only the 8th title in this new line, we’ve already gotten two Van Damme collector’s editions and I couldn’t be more thrilled to live in this world. Packed top to bottom with interviews featuring all the major cast members (including Van Damme himself), there are literally hours of bonus features and brand new content on this disc. I watched all that stuff first before revisiting the movie itself as I’ve basically memorized this film. It’s all really great supplemental content. Sheldon Lettich comes off as quite sincere and intelligent, and has many wild stories about connections that led to, say, current-mega-producer and Tarantino-collaborator Lawrence Bender appearing in Lionheart in a small speaking role as a rich douchebag that Van Damme gets to threaten.
MVD Rewind Collection is still a little scrappy, and these home video releases aren’t necessarily polished in the way a Criterion disc would be. But none of that matters because they’re putting genuine love and effort into movies that I care about. This is the definitive home video release of Van Damme’s entire filmography at this point. With both the theatrical cut (which looks fantastic) and an extended cut (in which the extended pieces aren’t quite the same HD quality), and both a Blu-ray and a DVD, MVD is clearly offering a product that will make all other versions of this film obsolete. Hours of bonus content, multiple cuts, a commentary track, and even the fun retro slipcover that MVD includes on all their releases all stack up to make Lionheart a must-own for Van Damme fans. One of my most anticipated home video releases of this year, I’m thrilled that this disc lived up to all my expectations and will become one of my most cherished discs in my collection.
And I’m Out.
Lionheart is now available on Blu-ray + DVD Combo Pack from MVD Rewind Collection
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NINJA III: THE DOMINATION — Blu-ray Screen Comparisons
See how Shout Factory’s new 4K restored Collector’s Edition Blu-ray stacks up against their 2013 release
This article contains several comparisons which contrast the older Blu-ray’s transfer with the new restoration. The frames aren’t necessarily exact matches, but should give a solid indication of the visual differences.
Shout! Factory previously released Ninja III to Blu-ray in 2013 but has newly upgraded the cult favorite to “Collector’s Editon” status with a new transfer, bonus features, and artwork.
Looking at the transfers specifically, there are a few generalizations the hold true throughout –
- Overall, the clearest upgrade (literally) with the new version is that the grain looks much finer and less chunky — likely the direct benefit of working from a 4K scan.
- The new picture is generally brighter and of higher contrast, which is not necessarily a good or bad thing.
- The picture is now slightly cropped, introducing thin black mattes on the top and bottom. It’s a very small loss, but as the image is no wider than before, a seemingly unnecessary one.
Additionally, a couple other notes before jumping into the comparisons —
- Colors and vividness are often a matter of personal preference. There are definite variances here, but as the screens indicate, no particular identifiable sweeping changes — some shots are warmer, others cooler. Some more vivid, others less so.
- I think it’s fun to compare transfers and meaningful for people to see the differences — but in the long run these are things most viewers, myself included, would never notice under normal viewing circumstances. It’s only in direct comparison that most of these differences are evident, and you shouldn’t let small differences in a transfer hamper your enjoyment of this film on any disc.
The Comparisons
Besides being noticeably less gritty, This first shot from the opening credits demonstrates a cooler palette and a stronger contrast.
Top: Old // Bottom: New Conversely, here the newer image is less vivid and more filmlike. It’s also evident that the grain is much finer now.
Top: Old // Bottom: New Here’s perhaps the least impressive shot I pulled from the new transfer. Comparing the sky in these shots, the old disc retains color information while the new release washes out to white. And just generally speaking this scene looks kind of harsh now – the older shot is clearly favorable.
Top: Old // Bottom: New Here’s a spot where the colors appear more muted now…
Top: Old // Bottom: New …but then again we also see the opposite. In this comparison, the new transfer is much more vivid, so much so that the sword resembles a lightsaber. It also seems a bit murkier and less defined.
Top: Old // Bottom: New Here’s another look at how much finer the grain presentation is. Whether from a lower resolution scan or from digital compression, the old transfer has a much more “marbley” structure.
Top: Old // Bottom: New Coloration appears richer and more lifelike in the new transfer below.
Top: Old // Bottom: New Here’s another instance of how the brighter, higher contrast image introduces some white-out in the patches of sky that peek through the trees.
Top: Old // Bottom: New I don’t have any particular observations on this last comparison, I just love James Hong.
Top: Old // Bottom: New
Conclusion
Comparing the two transfers, I don’t have a clear favorite. The new transfer has a much cleaner and finer appearance, but I think in terms of color representation, I prefer the older transfer which is overall more natural looking (though as I noted, this varies scene to scene). If you own or plan to buy a large-screen TV, the finer grain structure and clarity will have a more meaningful impact on your viewing. If that’s not a concern, then the old transfer may actually be preferable.
Besides a new 4K-sourced transfer, the new Collector’s Edition also boasts several new special features. The transfer alone isn’t a slam-dunk upgrade, but these additional features make the new disc the definitive version for fans to own.
- NEW Interview With Actress Lucinda Dickey
- NEW Interview With Actor Jordan Bennett
- NEW Interview With Producer And Stuntman Alan Amiel
- NEW Audio Interviews With Production Designer Elliot Ellentuck And Co-Composer Misha Segal Featuring Isolated Tracks From The Original Score
- Theatrical Trailer (In HD) With Optional Trailers From Hell Commentary With Screenwriter Josh Olson
- Audio Commentary By Director Sam Firstenberg And Stunt Coordinator Steve Lambert
Get it at Amazon:
Except where noted, all 16:9 screen images in this review are direct captures from the disc(s) in question with no editing applied, but may have compression or resizing inherent to file formats and Medium’s image system. All package photography was taken by the reviewer.
